Complementary feeding: a Global Network cluster randomized controlled trial

Background: Inadequate and inappropriate complementary feeding are major factors contributing to excess morbidity and mortality in young children in low resource settings. Animal source foods in particular are cited as essential to achieve micronutrient requirements. The efficacy of the recommendation for regular meat consumption, however, has not been systematically evaluated. Methods/Design: A cluster randomized efficacy trial was designed to test the hypothesis that 12 months of daily intake of beef added as a complementary food would result in greater linear growth velocity than a micronutrient fortified equi-caloric rice-soy cereal supplement. The study is being conducted in 4 sites of the Global Network for Women\u27s and Children\u27s Health Research located in Guatemala, Pakistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Zambia in communities with toddler stunting rates of at least 20%. Five clusters per country were randomized to each of the food arms, with 30 infants in each cluster. The daily meat or cereal supplement was delivered to the home by community coordinators, starting when the infants were 6 months of age and continuing through 18 months. All participating mothers received nutrition education messages to enhance complementary feeding practices delivered by study coordinators and through posters at the local health center. Outcome measures, obtained at 6, 9, 12, and 18 months by a separate assessment team, included anthropometry, dietary variety and diversity scores, biomarkers of iron, zinc and Vitamin B(12) status (18 months), neurocognitive development (12 and 18 months), and incidence of infectious morbidity throughout the trial. The trial was supervised by a trial steering committee, and an independent data monitoring committee provided oversight for the safety and conduct of the trial. Discussion: Findings from this trial will test the efficacy of daily intake of meat commencing at age 6 months and, if beneficial, will provide a strong rationale for global efforts to enhance local supplies of meat as a complementary food for young children

Polo kinase recruitment via the constitutive centromere-associated network at the kinetochore elevates centromeric RNA

The kinetochore, a multi-protein complex assembled on centromeres, is essential to segregate chromosomes during cell division. Deficiencies in kinetochore function can lead to chromosomal instability and aneuploidy-a hallmark of cancer cells. Kinetochore function is controlled by recruitment of regulatory proteins, many of which have been documented, however their function often remains uncharacterized and many are yet to be identified. To identify candidates of kinetochore regulation we used a proteome-wide protein association strategy in budding yeast and detected many proteins that are involved in post-translational modifications such as kinases, phosphatases and histone modifiers. We focused on the Polo-like kinase, Cdc5, and interrogated which cellular components were sensitive to constitutive Cdc5 localization. The kinetochore is particularly sensitive to constitutive Cdc5 kinase activity. Targeting Cdc5 to different kinetochore subcomplexes produced diverse phenotypes, consistent with multiple distinct functions at the kinetochore. We show that targeting Cdc5 to the inner kinetochore, the constitutive centromere-associated network (CCAN), increases the levels of centromeric RNA via an SPT4 dependent mechanism

Philips Oy Healthcaren asiakaspalveluprosessin kehittäminen

Tämän insinöörityön aiheena on parantaa Philips Oy Healthcaren asiakaspalveluprosessia. Työn aiheeseen kuuluu vain pelkästään Suomessa palvelevaa Healthcaren osastoa. Työn tavoitteena oli parantaa Philips Oy Healthcaren asiakaspalveluprosessia työntekijöiden näkökulmasta, koska Philipsin johto näki siinä eniten parannettavaa. Tämän insinöörityön tutkimusmenetelmä oli laadullinen tutkimus, jolloin kaikkia Philips Oy Healthcaren asiakaspalvelijoita haastateltiin sekä myynnin että huollon puolelta. Haastateltavia oli yhteensä kuusi kappaletta ja heitä haastateltiin henkilökohtaisesti. Haastatteluista tehtyjen johtopäätöksien mukaan työtehtävät olivat erittäin epäselkeät. Tämän lisäksi puhelinrinkiin ei saatu sitovuutta ja sähköpostien hoitamisessa oli myös suuria vaikeuksia. Tutkimuksen tulokseksi saatiin uusi prosessikuvaus asiakaspalveluprosessiin, jossa on selitetty eri vaiheet ja tapahtumajärjestykset mahdollisimman selkeästi sekä ratkaisut sähköpostiin ja puhelinrinkiin. Tutkimustulosta eli prosessikuvaus annetaan työntekijöille työtehtävien selkeyttämiseksi, jolloin suurin hyöty aiheutuu työntekijöille työskennellessä