A comparative study of verbal IQ, performance IQ and verbal IQ-performance IQ disparity among Turner syndrome patients and patients with primary amenorrhoea due to other aetiologies

Background: Assessing disparity in IQ is important in selecting an occupation and thus helping people lead a productive life. In Turner syndrome patients, this shall be more important as assessment of verbal IQ- and performance IQ disparity could be used in helping them select an occupation so that productivity and quality of life is not grossly compromised.Methods: Based on karyotyping, 30 patients with turner syndrome and 30 patients with primary amenorrhoea due to other aetiologies were selected for the study. Cytogenetic analysis was done for every case using G-banding technique. Assessment of intellectual functions was done using Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS).Results: Mean value of PIQ of X0 (turner) was 74.67 and that of XX (other amenorrhoea patients) was 90.30. Mean value of VIQ of X0 (turner) was 93.67 and that of XX (other amenorrhoea patients) was 93.60. Mean value of VIQ and PIQ disparity of X0 (turner) was 18.67 and that of XX (other amenorrhoea patients) was 3.Conclusions: Turner syndrome patients have high VIQ-PIQ disparity when compared to other primary amenorrhoea patients

The HANCI Donor Index 2013: Measuring Donors’ Political Commitment to Reduce Hunger and Undernutrition in Developing Countries

This report presents the Hunger And Nutrition Commitment Index (HANCI) 2013 for donor countries. The HANCI Donor Index has been created to: rank donor governments on their political commitment to tackling hunger and undernutrition in developing countries; measure what donors achieve and where they fail in addressing hunger and undernutrition, thereby providing greater transparency and public accountability; praise donor governments where due, and highlight areas for improvement; support civil society to reinforce and stimulate additional commitment towards reducing hunger and undernutrition; and assess whether improving donor commitment levels leads to a reduction in hunger and undernutrition.UK Department for International Development; Government of Irelan

Unravelling Commitment? An Empirical Assessment of Political Commitment to Reduce Hunger and Undernutrition in Five High Burden Countries

In recent years, the global hunger and nutrition community has increasingly come to view political commitment as an essential ingredient for pushing food and nutrition security higher up public policy agendas (Foresight Project 2011; te Lintelo et al. 2011, 2014b; FAO, IFAD and WFP 2013, 2014; Gillespie et al. 2013; International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) 2014). In response, commitment metrics and scorecard tools to assess levels of political commitment have proliferated. They enhance accountability of governments, donors, civil society and private sector organisations for actions addressing hunger and nutrition. International organisations and aid donors also use these tools to make decisions on funding and programmatic action. Examples of these metrics include the World Health Organization’s (WHO) nutrition landscape analyses (Engesveen et al. 2009); the HungerFree scorecard (ActionAid 2009, 2010); the Hunger Reduction Commitment Index (te Lintelo et al. 2011, 2014b); the Nutrition Barometer (Save the Children and World Vision International 2012); the Hunger And Nutrition Commitment Index (te Lintelo et al. 2013, 2014a); the Political Commitment Rapid Assessment Tool (Fox et al. 2014) and the Global Nutrition Report’s review of Nutrition 4 Growth Summit commitments (IFPRI 2014). These metrics have focused on operationalising the concept of political commitment to enable its measurement. Yet many inadvertently conflate commitment to address food security with commitment to tackle nutrition security; and commitment to fight hunger with commitment to combat undernutrition. This conflation is also common in the policy and academic literature (World Bank 2006) and in dominant narratives on nutrition in development (Nisbett et al. 2014). Because the concepts of food security and nutrition security are only partially overlapping, we hypothesise that government commitment to hunger reduction is empirically different from government commitment to reducing undernutrition. This study accordingly builds on research that has used secondary data to demonstrate that developing countries often have divergent strengths of commitment to hunger reduction and to nutrition (te Lintelo et al. 2013, 2014a). We review the literature to synthesise a set of nine political commitment indicators; construct a survey instrument; and collect primary data in five high burden countries (Bangladesh, Malawi, Nepal, Tanzania and Zambia) to ascertain whether government commitment to hunger is the same as commitment to nutrition.UK Department for International Development; Government of Ireland; Transform Nutritio

Excretion of lysine by Micrococcus glutamicus

Analysis of intracellular and extracellular lysine concentration during lysine fermentation by Micrococcus glutamicus AEC RN-13-6/1 indicated that lysine excretion occurs against a concentration gradient towards the end of the fermentation period. The capacity to excrete lysine against a concentration gradient may be a factor contributing to the high yield of lysine

Lessons learned in promoting evidence-based public health: Perspectives from managers in state public health departments

Evidence-based public health (EBPH) practice, also called evidence-informed public health, can improve population health and reduce disease burden in populations. Organizational structures and processes can facilitate capacity-building for EBPH in public health agencies. This study involved 51 structured interviews with leaders and program managers in 12 state health department chronic disease prevention units to identify factors that facilitate the implementation of EBPH. Verbatim transcripts of the de-identified interviews were consensus coded in NVIVO qualitative software. Content analyses of coded texts were used to identify themes and illustrative quotes. Facilitator themes included leadership support within the chronic disease prevention unit and division, unit processes to enhance information sharing across program areas and recruitment and retention of qualified personnel, training and technical assistance to build skills, and the ability to provide support to external partners. Chronic disease prevention leaders\u27 role modeling of EBPH processes and expectations for staff to justify proposed plans and approaches were key aspects of leadership support. Leaders protected staff time in order to identify and digest evidence to address the common barrier of lack of time for EBPH. Funding uncertainties or budget cuts, lack of political will for EBPH, and staff turnover remained challenges. In conclusion, leadership support is a key facilitator of EBPH capacity building and practice. Section and division leaders in public health agencies with authority and skills can institute management practices to help staff learn and apply EBPH processes and spread EBPH with partners

Comparison of vitamin D levels in obese and non obese patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome in a South Indian population

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common metabolic abnormality occurring in young women of reproductive age. Low vitamin D levels were found to be associated with the development of obesity and insulin resistance in young women with PCOS. The study was conducted as a prospective observational study involving 121 women with PCOS. The diagnosis of PCOS cases were based on the revised Rotterdam consensus criteria. Vitamin D levels were compared in the obese and non obese PCOS groups and also with the controls. In the PCOS group, sixty subjects were obese with BMI of ≥25 kg/m2 and forty seven subjects were found to be non obese. In the control group, sixteen subjects were obese and sixty five subjects were non obese. The mean vitamin D level in the PCOS group was 15.45±7.88 ng/ml and in the control group was 12.83±5.76ng/ml. The mean vitamin D levels in the obese and non obese group with PCOS were 16.11±8.9ng/ml and 14.61±6.1ng/ml respectively. Majority of the patients and controls had vitamin D deficiency and there was no difference in the vitamin D levels in PCOS group and controls as well as obese and non obese groups

Complexes of Benzoylisonicotinic Acid Hydrazide with VO(II), Mn(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II) & Zn(II)

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Complexes of VO(IV), Mn(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II) & Zn(II) with N-Acetyl-N' –isonicotinoylhydrazine

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