The actual rate of Exclusive Breast Feeding (EBF) (up to the age of 6 months) is dismally low in urban slums of India. The reasons and determinants of this are debatable. The study was planned to understand the determinants of EBF in the infants in urban slums. A community-based cross sectional study was done in urban slums of Gwalior, India. The data were collected by interviewing the caregivers of 279 infants aged between 6 and 11 months from November 2005 to July 2006. Only 11 (3.8%) mothers knew that EBF should be done till six months and 22 (7.8%) actually practiced EBF. A total of 178 (63.8%) and 212 (76.0%) newborns were given pre- and post-lacteal feeds with 26.2% discarding colostrum. Only 22 (7.8%) practiced EBF. The early breastfeeding (BF) initiation, Ante Natal Clinic (ANC) visits, mothers' education and immunization visits were significantly associated with higher probability of EBF. There were a number of myths and misconceptions about BF in this urban slum population. The correct information about BF was more common amongst the women who had frequent contacts with health facilities due to any reason or during ANC or immunization visit. Similarly, it is the continuum of good health and feeding practices and the mothers who start early BF or get their child immunized regularly are more likely to EBF their children. Considering the widely prevalent myths and low rate of utilization of health services along with high potential benefits of EBF, every opportunity of mothers' interaction with the health facility should be utilized for promoting correct and EBF practices.

Most of the palynozonation schemes so far proposed for the Gondwana sequence of India are based on quantitative representation of spore-pollen genera. These proposals have limited value for interbasinal correlation. The present synthesis deals with a model for species-based stratigraphy. Palynologically well studied Permian and Triassic sequences in the Damodar Graben and Permian, Triassic and Cretaceous sequences in the adjacent Rajmahal Basin have been taken as key regions to establish the zonation scheme. Based on the FADs and LADs and totality of composition of selected species, twenty Species Assemblage-Zones have been recognised. The reorganisation of this data through computer has also resulted in the identification of thirty Species Acme-Zones.

In smokers with OSA, increased gas trapping and emphysema as assessed by CT are associated with a decreased AHI. Along with sex and BMI, these measurements may be important in determining the severity of OSA in patients with COPD and may offer a protective mechanism in patients with more advanced disease.

Calcium-substituted lanthanum manganite compounds were synthesized by the spray drying technique. This method-whose main advantages are versatility, high reproducibility and scalability-yields small grain materials of high homogeneity and displaying low-field magnetoresistance effects. We report about the physical and chemical characterizations of these samples in order to investigate the potential interest of spray drying for the production of materials for low-field magnetoresistance applications. We have studied the dependence of the low-field magnetoresistance on the temperature and duration of the thermal treatment applied to the pelletized powders. The issue of the shape anisotropy (demagnetisation effects) influence on the magnetoresistance properties has also been dealt with.

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S.paucimobilis has a diverse nutritional substrate spectrum and found in both environmental and hospital settings. Sphingomonas paucimobilis is rarely isolated from clinical specimen. This low virulence organism since has been reported to cause a variety of diseases since 1979. It has been reported to be associated with both community acquired and nosocomial diseases including bacteremia, catheter related sepsis, diarrhoeal diseases, peritonitis, meningitis, cutaneous infections, endopthalmitis, visceral infections , urinary tract infections etc. We report two cases of community acquired primary bacteremia by Sphingomonas paucimobilis. One of the patients was 55-year-old female who had gallbladder carcinoma and the other was a 2-year-old healthy male who had no history of any underlying disease. Both got admission in hospital with complaints of pyrexia. Blood culture yielded S.paucimobilis which was found to be sensitive to quinolones, chloramphenicol, carbapenems, aminoglycosides and beta lactams except penicillin and amoxicillin.

Background:Suicide is a major public health problem. Suicide can be prevented by understanding the disorder. Attitude plays a significant role in doing so.Aim:To assess the attitudes of mental health professionals and non-mental health professionals towards an act of suicide and to compare the two groups regarding their attitudes.Materials and Methods:A semistructured questionnaire having yes/no type questions was administered to 30 mental health and 30 nonmental health professionals. A blind analysis of the data was done.Statistical Analysis:Comparative analysis using mean and standard deviation and analysis of variance was performed to rate significance in differences of responses to questions that rate attitudes.Results:The results show a significant positive attitude of mental health professionals toward dealing with the patients who attempted suicide.Discussion:Considering the magnitude of the problem, simple training and education of nonmental health professionals can change their attitude toward patients who attempt suicide, which in turn leads to an optimal management.Conclusion:The study shows that the mental health professionals are much more positive in their approach towards a patient of parasuicide.

Overweight and obesity are defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation in the body that may impair health. Body mass index is a simple index of weight for height that is commonly used to classify overweight and obesity among adults. It is defined as a person's weight in kilograms divided by the square of his height in meters (kg/m 2). The WHO definition of overweight is a BMI greater than or equal to 25 and the definition of obesity is a BMI greater than or equal to 30. Overweight and obesity are the fifth leading risk factors for global death. At least 2-8 million adults die each year as a result of being overweight or obese. In addition, 44% of the diabetes burden, 23% of the ischemic disease burden and between 7% & 41% of certain cancer burdens are attributable to overweight and obesity. 1 The prevalence of obesity was higher among boys than in among girls and slightly higher in urban areas (12%) than rural areas. 2 Body mass index has been one of the commonest way to determine the transition of a person from normal weight to obesity. It is simple to calculate and to categorize a person as underweight, normal, ABSTRACT Background: Obesity is emerging as a serious problem throughout the world, not only among adults but also children, teenagers and young adults. Medical education is stressful throughout the whole course of training. Overweight and obesity is one of the preventable cause of morbidity and mortality. The social implications of obesity are a major problem that is often neglected. Objectives of current study were to assess the prevalence of overweight and obesity in medical students and to assess the factors influencing the development of overweight and obesity. Methods: The present study was a cross sectional study of II nd semester medical students in which, a total of 131 students were included. The study involved administration of a pretested questionnaire to the students and their anthropometric measurements. Results: In a batch of 150 students 131 participated in the study in which 90 (68.70%) were males and 41 (31.30%) were females. The prevalence of overweight was 13 (9.93%) and the prevalence of obesity was 2 (1.53%). Conclusion: The study showed a high prevalence of overweight and obesity among the medical students. At the time of anthropometric measurements awareness was created for their weight and for the promotion of physical activity among medical students.