Vitamin D level as a predictor of pneumonia and asthma in children less than 5 years of age

Background: Childhood pneumonia is a global health problem .It the leading cause of death for children under the age of five years. 95% of all pneumonia cases under the age of five occurs in developing countries. Asthma remains the most common chronic disease of childhood in the world. The observation that vitamin D deficiency and asthma share risk factors such as urban residence, obesity and African American ethnicity has generated interest in exploring a link between these two conditions. This study was taken up to assess the role of vitamin D as a predictor of pneumonia and asthma in children less than 5 years of age.Methods: A prospective observational case control study was conducted in MLB Medical college, Jhansi from January 2015 to December 2016 (1 year 11 months). A total of 60 children including 30 asthma cases, 20 pneumonia cases and 10 controls, aged, 6-60 months were enrolled. Controls were healthy children attending outpatient services for immunization.Results: The mean age of the pneumonia patient was 1.5 years, while mean age in asthma patients was 3.1yrs. Ratio of male and female in pneumonia cases was1.5:1, while is asthma ratio was 2:1. In our study 45% pneumonia cases had deficient level of vitamin D (<20ng/ml) and mean level was 11.08±4.68 while 40% of control had deficient level of vitamin D and mean level was 16.04±1.61, p value was 0.0166 and there was significant difference in both the groups. In Asthma cases 53.33% patient had deficient level of vitamin-D and mean level was 10.62±2.908 as compared to 40% control (mean : 16.04±1.62) ‘p’ value was <0.0001 and was highly significant.Conclusions: Our study has illustrated that vitamin-D levels were significantly low in pneumonia and asthma patients as compared to control.

Human Resources Identification in Ever Inactive Village-Owned Business Entities

This research to identify the condition of human resources in Village-Owned Business Entity (abbreviated as VOBE in this research) that ever inactive in West Tanjungjabung Regency . The method used in this research is survey with descriptive analysis. The result showed from 27 VOBE that were ever inactive in 2017, there are still 2 villages that haven't started to operate yet since they were built, due to passive administrators. Dominant businesses are service and trade. There was advantegous business unit in the VOBE, it didn’t prevent the VOBE to stop operating. The knowledge of VOBE management owned by respondents who are the village head and the head of VOBE was categorized as deficient. The motivation of the village head was in avarage category while the head of VOBE was persistence in the deficient level. The communication between respondents was categorized as adequate. Even though the head of village had avarage motivation, passable communication skill as the advisor, his knowledge was still minimum. The other obstacles for the village head was the head of VOBE was also having minimun knowledge about managing VOBE and also lack of motivation to run it.

Nutritional Status of Rural Women in Bengaluru Rural District

The study was undertaken on the nutritional status of rural women in Heggadehalli of Doddaballapur taluk and Venkathalli of Devanahalli taluk in Bengaluru rural district with the sample size of 200 respondents. Mean anthropometric measurement of rural women was 153.8 cm of height, 46.8 kg of weight. In comparison with the mean BMI standards, it was observed that 20 percent of women were undernourished, 64 percent of women were normal, and 16 percent of women were obese. In comparison with the mean waist/hip ratio with standards, it was observed that 84 percent were in normal category and 16 percent were obese. Education, land holding, income, and age had a significant positive association with anthropometric measurements of rural women. The deficient level of hemoglobin existed in 53 percent of rural women, low in 20 percent and only 27 percent had an acceptable level. The occurrences of morbidity symptoms were higher in rural women.

Disaster risk management in secondary education teachers in Chincha Province, Peru [Gestión de riesgo de desastres en docentes de educación secundaria de la provincia de Chincha, Perú]

The objective of the research was to identify the levels of knowledge in Risk Management in teachers of secondary education in the province of Chincha. Basic research was carried out, descriptive level, cross section and non-experimental design. The population was constituted by teachers of educational institutions of secondary level of the city of Chincha. The sample size was calculated probabilistically, being constituted by 298 teachers from seven schools, between State and Private. A Questionnaire with thirty-three questions was applied. The results show a deficient level of knowledge about the prevention of disaster risks among the teachers of the investigated schools. It is concluded that the levels of knowledge of teachers facing earthquakes do not reach optimal or adequate levels, which is very worrying, considering that there is a high probability of occurrence of seismic events of high magnitude in the context of the Province of Chincha, as in the entire Ica Region.

El Aprendizaje Significativo Como Estrategia De Estimulación De La Escritura Del Idioma Inglés En Educación General Básica

The objective of the present investigation was the analysis of the use of strategies of significant learning in order to stimulate writing in the English language, which affect the development of the writing skill causing low performance and deficient level of knowledge in the students of sixth and seventh years of general basic education. The bibliographic information on significant learning sustains the importance of the use of didactic material in the processes of assimilation and interaction when acquiring educational skills and competences. They facilitate the connection to preexisting mental schematics in order to incorporate knowledge that generates significant learning. The methods used were deductive-inductive, documentary and applied bibliography, which allowed the collection of information through observation sheets. The results showed that the cognitive processes are inadequate due to lack of didactic material to develop and stimulate the writing of the English language. Due to this worksheets were designed and applied that contain grammatical structure, vocabulary, completion exercises, active memorization, spelling, word classification, sentence formation, short sentences and long with positive and negative answers; use of demonstrative adjectives, possessive pronouns, classification of nouns; all this to stimulate writing and a base of knowledge in the learning of English as a second language.

Zinc pools and their availability to maize-wheat rotation

SUMMARYIn a long-term experiment with maize-wheat rotation, no response to zinc application was observed, even after 13 years of cropping though the status of zinc had decreased to a deficient level (0.35 mg/kg; DTPA). A study was, therefore, planned to find the reasons for lack of response, and the zinc fractions in the soil were analysed to assess their contribution to plant growth. All the zinc fractions other than organic zinc decreased as a result of continuous cropping without zinc application. Depletion was from the 0-30 cm layer and mainly from acid-soluble and weakly adsorbed Zn fractions. Applied zinc remained mainly in the 0-30 cm layer as acid soluble and weakly adsorbed Zn pools. All the fractions were strongly related to each other. The acid-soluble zinc fraction contributed 54 % to zinc uptake by the crops. Thus release of zinc from this pool was perhaps the main reason for lack of response to zinc.

Studies in porphyria. IV. Expression of the gene defect of acute intermittent porphyria in cultured human skin fibroblasts and amniotic cells: prenatal diagnosis of the porphyric trait.

The gene lesion of the porphyrin-heme synthetic pathway in acute intermittent porphyria (AIP) is reflected in a deficient level of activity of the cytosol enzyme uroporphyrinogen I synthetase (URO-S). A marked URO-S deficiency has been demonstrated in the liver and in circulating erythrocytes of individuals with both active and latent AIP. This enzymic abnormality accounts for the excessive production and excretion into urine of the porphyrin precursors, lamda-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) and porphobilinogen (PBG) in AIP subjects. In this study, utilizing cell culture techniques, a marked URO-S deficiency has also been demonstrated in skin fibroblasts from AIP patients and in cells derived through aminocentesis from an approximately 17-wk old fetus. The prenatal diagnosis of the AIP trait in this fetus was confirmed postnatally by the demonstration in the child of a deficient level of erythrocyte URO-S activity which was comparable to those found in her AIP mother and affected sibling and which was approximately one-half the levels characterizing her normal father and aunt and a second unaffected sibling. The identification of the URO-S deficiency in cultured human fibroblasts from AIP patients was facilitated by a newly developed, sensitive assay for the enzyme activity. In this assay, the ability of such cells to convert ALA to protoporphyrin was quantitated; in the sequence of reactions involved in this transformation, URO-S is limiting so that the gene defect of AIP could be simply and precisely determined by appropriate spectrofluorometry of cell extracts. The technique described has distinct advantages over the direct enzymatic assay for URO-S activity in cultured human skin fibroblasts and permits clear differentiation of AIP carrier from normal individuals.