development during these formative years. In the long run, malnutrition decreases the educational achievement, labor productivity, and economic growth of a country. The various risk factors identified for undernutrition are related to the child, mother, and largely their environment. Adequate nutrition during infancy and childhood is fundamental to a child's full developmental potential [1] whereas poor quality of infant and young child feeding practices are the major cause of malnutrition among the under-5 children of any society. [2] As per UNICEF, under-5 mortality rate is the best single indicator of social development and well-being rather than gross national product per capita, as it reflects income, nutrition, health education, and basic education. [3] A study of childhood mortality in the Americas showed that no less than Background: In India, undernutrition remains a major public health problem despite several national programs targeting vulnerable groups, especially children. Objectives: To assess the nutritional status and morbidity profile of under-5 children and to elicit the explanatory and contextual factors of this malady. Materials and Methods: An observational, cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted among under-5 children in a slum area of Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Anthropometric measurements were made following standard operative procedures and recall period of morbidity profile of last 2 weeks was recorded. Results: Of total 100 under-5 children assessed, the mean (standard deviation) of the sample was 23.52 (15.65) months. About 55% children were found to have anthropometric failure using composite index of anthropometric failure. However, with standard anthropometric indices such as weight for age, weight for height, height for age, and mid upper arm circumference prevalence of malnutrition were 42% (underweight), 30% (wasting), 28% (stunting), and 48% (undernutrition), respectively. About 48% children had some kind of morbidity of which acute respiratory infection accounted for 9%, diarrhea 11%, fever 9%, and skin infection 6%. Age [OR = 5.17 (2.09-12.76)], family type [

Background: Vector borne diseases (VBDs) form a major part of the communicable diseases in India. Ignorance and impoverished conditions of people contribute in creating source and spread of vector borne diseases and hinder disease control strategy. Slums are more vulnerable to vector borne diseases because of poor environmental condition, standard of living, poverty and ignorance of the people. This study is a small endeavour to highlight the awareness of residents of slum area of Chetla, Kolkata, West Bengal, India regarding vector borne diseases. Objectives were to assess the awareness of the study population regarding different vector borne diseases and to find out the association of awareness with relevant demographic variables.Methods: A community based observational, cross-sectional study was conducted among adult population in a slum area of Chetla, Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Multivariate logistic analysis was done to find out association of awareness with relevant variables.Results: Awareness regarding malaria was good and that of dengue was satisfactory while awareness regarding other vector borne diseases was poor. Age, sex, caste, education and social class were found significantly associated with satisfactory awareness. Younger population i.e. age ≤35years, males, general caste people, literacy status above primary school and social class III and above had better awareness regarding vector borne diseases.Conclusions: This study uncovered the lacunae regarding awareness of the study population regarding vector borne diseases. It can be concluded that intensified efforts towards creating public awareness and mobilizing the community regarding the identified issues should be addressed.

Background Globally, there has been an exponential rise in smartphone use and selfie taking among youth. To make selfies exciting, dangerous selfies are often taken that may lead to catastrophic consequences, including death. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of dangerous selfies and to determine the factors associated with dangerous selfies among medical and nursing students in India. Methods The study was conducted at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bhubaneswar, India, in April–August 2018. The inclusion criteria were students enrolled in the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) and nursing courses of AIIMS, Bhubaneswar. Students who did not use smartphones were excluded from the study. The interview schedule and Selfitis Behaviour Scale (SBS) were used to collect information on sociodemographic variables, smartphone use and variables related to selfies and dangerous selfies. Forward stepwise logistic regression was undertaken with the probability of entry and removal as 0.05 and 0.10, respectively. Results Of 633 eligible participants, 595 were included in the study. The mean (SD) age of the participants was 21.2 (1.6) years. More than half (56.8%) of the participants were female, 384 (64.5%) were medical students and 211 (35.5%) were nursing students. Nearly two-thirds of the participants (70.6%) preferred to take selfie. One hundred thirty three (40.3%) of the participants posted selfies on social media daily. The prevalence of dangerous selfies was 8.74% (95% CI: 6.73–11.28). Eight injury episodes while taking selfies were reported by seven (1.2%) participants. Being male (AOR 4.96, 95% CI 2.53–9.74), posting selfies on social media daily (AOR 3.33, 95% CI 1.71–6.47) and an SBS score > 75 (AOR 4.97, 95% CI 1.43–17.28) were independent predictors of dangerous selfies. Conclusion Nearly one in ten medical and nursing students reported having taken a dangerous selfie, and one in one hundred reported having been injured while attempting to take a selfie. Being male, posting selfies on social media daily and an SBS score > 75 were independent predictors of dangerous selfies. Further research is required to identify the community burden of dangerous selfies and to develop strategies to prevent selfie-related fatalities among youths.

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