Holiday for nature: a way forward in sustainability of the planet.

This paper proposes to observe a day's break as the Planet Day (While the proposed day can also be named as the Gaia Day (after James Lovelock), Planet Day seems to be simpler and easier name for better understanding by the masses and greater connect of the issues with them. Hence, here the proposed day is termed as the Planet Day) every month to allow the nature to heal and ensure sustainability of the planet in the long run. Based on the concept of sustainable degrowth, the paper carries out benefit-cost analysis of the proposed Planet Day and presents a framework based on extensive literature review, secondary data analysis and stakeholders' (Here, participants are referred to as one of the "stakeholders" in the sense that every human being who lives on this planet is accountable for the harm done to it and is impacted by ecological degradation. Hence, they are supposed to contribute to healing of the nature through appropriate initiatives both individually and collectively. In addition to the common residents, there are other stakeholders of the ecology as well such as the government, the business enterprises, and manufacturing firms, etc.) perceptions through a non-random convenience sample survey. The paper finds that the net benefit from the Planet Day amounts to be USD 9002.37 billion across the world and USD 102.48 billion for India per annum. The respondents also perceive the proposed Planet Day as ecologically and economically beneficial and thus support the idea of healing time for the planet. However, a critical challenge is to take different stakeholders on board, ensure their active participation, and design appropriate institutional mechanisms for its successful implementation.

Perinatal outcomes in a South Asian setting with high rates of low birth weight.

BACKGROUND: It is unclear whether the high rates of low birth weight in South Asia are due to poor fetal growth or short pregnancy duration. Also, it is not known whether the traditional focus on preventing low birth weight has been successful. We addressed these and related issues by studying births in Kaniyambadi, South India, with births from Nova Scotia, Canada serving as a reference. METHODS: Population-based data for 1986 to 2005 were obtained from the birth database of the Community Health and Development program in Kaniyambadi and from the Nova Scotia Atlee Perinatal Database. Menstrual dates were used to obtain comparable information on gestational age. Small-for-gestational age (SGA) live births were identified using both a recent Canadian and an older Indian fetal growth standard. RESULTS: The low birth weight and preterm birth rates were 17.0% versus 5.5% and 12.3% versus 6.9% in Kaniyambadi and Nova Scotia, respectively. SGA rates were 46.9% in Kaniyambadi and 7.5% in Nova Scotia when the Canadian fetal growth standard was used to define SGA and 6.7% in Kaniyambadi and < 1% in Nova Scotia when the Indian standard was used. In Kaniyambadi, low birth weight, preterm birth and perinatal mortality rates did not decrease between 1990 and 2005. SGA rates in Kaniyambadi declined significantly when SGA was based on the Indian standard but not when it was based on the Canadian standard. Maternal mortality rates fell by 85% (95% confidence interval 57% to 95%) in Kaniyambadi between 1986-90 and 2001-05. Perinatal mortality rates were 11.7 and 2.6 per 1,000 total births and cesarean delivery rates were 6.0% and 20.9% among live births >or= 2,500 g in Kaniyambadi and Nova Scotia, respectively. CONCLUSION: High rates of fetal growth restriction and relatively high rates of preterm birth are responsible for the high rates of low birth weight in South Asia. Increased emphasis is required on health services that address the morbidity and mortality in all birth weight categories.

Association of genetic variants with response to iron supplements in pregnancy.

The incidence of iron deficiency anemia in pregnancy is high in India where iron supplementation is a regular practice. The response to oral iron is influenced by several factors such as age, body mass index, gravida, socioeconomic status, food, vitamin deficiency and compliance to supplements. The major challenge is to understand the various modulators of iron status in this high-risk group so that we can improve the diagnosis and the management of these patients. The current study was designed to evaluate the iron status during pregnancy and to identify factors which might be influencing their response to oral iron. We investigated a total of 181 pregnant women with anemia (Hb < 11 g/dl) and evaluated the impact of probable factors on anemia and their iron status. Assessment of the response was based on hemoglobin and serum ferritin or transferrin saturation level after 8 and 20 weeks of iron supplementation. Socioeconomic, clinical, hematological, biochemical and genetic factors were all evaluated. Molecular analysis revealed that HFE variant allele (G) (rs1799945) was significantly associated with an adequate response to iron supplementation. We identified five subjects with a sustained poor response, and targeted re-sequencing of eleven iron-related genes was performed in them. We have identified seven novel variants in them, and in silico analysis suggested that these variants may have an iron regulatory effect. Taken together, our findings underscore the association of genetic variants with response to supplements in pregnancy, and they can be extended to other diseases where anemia and iron deficiency coexist.

A community health programme in rural Tamil Nadu, India: the need for gender justice for women.

This article highlights the efforts of the Community Health and Development (CHAD) Programme of Christian Medical College to address the issues of gender discrimination and improve the status of women in the Kaniyambadi Block, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India. The many schemes that are specifically for women and general projects for the community from which women can also benefit represent a multi-pronged approach whose aim is the improvement of women's health, education and employment in the context of community development. However, despite five decades of work with a clear bias in favour of women, the improvement in health and the empowerment of women has lagged behind that achieved by men. We believe this is because the community, with its strong male bias, utilises the health facilities and education and employment programmes more for the benefit of men and boys than women and girls. The article argues for a change of approach, in which gender and women's issues are openly discussed and debated with the community. It would appear that nothing short of social change will bring about an improvement in the health of women and a semblance of gender equality in the region.