Consensus Statement of the IAP - Neurodevelopmental Chapter On Neurodevelopmental Disorders Habilitation Process: Strategic Plan for Prevention, Early Detection and Early Intervention.

JUSTIFICATION: Neurodevelopmental disorders, as per DSM-V, are described as a group of conditions with onset in the development period of childhood. There is a need to distinguish the process of habilitation and rehabilitation, especially in a developing country like India, and define the roles of all stakeholders to reduce the burden of neurodevelopmental disorders. PROCESS: Subject experts and members of Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) Chapter of Neurodevelopmental Pediatrics, who reviewed the literature on the topic, developed key questions and prepared the first draft on guidelines. The guidelines were then discussed by the whole group through online meetings, and the contentious issues were discussed until a general consensus was arrived at. Following this, the final guidelines were drafted by the writing group and approved by all contributors. OBJECTIVES: These guidelines aim to provide practical clinical guidelines for pediatricians on the prevention, early diagnosis and management of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) in the Indian settings. It also defines the roles of developmental pediatricians and development nurse counselor. STATEMENT: There is a need for nationwide studies with representative sampling on epidemiology of babies with early NDD in the first 1000 days in India. Specific learning disability (SLD) has been documented as the most common NDD after 6 years in India, and special efforts should be made to establish the epidemiology of infants and toddlers at risk for SLD, where ever measures are available. Preconception counseling as part of focusing on first 1000 days; Promoting efforts to organize systematic training programs in Newborn Resuscitation Program (NRP); Lactation management; Developmental follow-up and Early stimulation for SNCU/ NICU graduates; Risk stratification of NICU graduates, Newborn Screening; Counseling parents; Screening for developmental delay by trained professionals using simple validated Indian screening tools at 4, 8, 12, 18 and 24 months; Holistic assessment of 10 NDDs at child developmental clinics (CDCs) / district early intervention centre (DEICs) by multidisciplinary team members; Confirmation of diagnosis by developmental pediatrician/developmental neurologist/child psychiatrist using clinical/diagnostic tools; Providing parent guided low intensity multimodal therapies before 3 years age as a center-based or home-based or community-based rehabilitation; Developmental pediatrician to seek guidance of pediatric neurologist, geneticist, child psychiatrist, physiatrist, and other specialists, when necessary; and Need to promote ongoing academic programs in clinical child development for capacity building of community based therapies, are the chief recommendations.

Arsenic remediation from drinking water using Fenton's reagent with slow sand filter.

This paper describes the development of a remediation approach based on the pre-oxidation using Fenton's reagent and the subsequent removal of arsenic (As) through sand filtration from drinking water. The efficiency of the process was carried out including As(III) and As(V) with various concentration ratios up to 3,000 ppb. Efficient removal of As was observed within WHO guideline value of 10 ppb. The recoveries of samples were found to be 98 % ± 2.5 %. The process was applied to field samples, where results show considerable reduction in As concentrations. This process is cost effective for treatment of drinking water with high concentration of As.

Development of arsenic testing field kit--a tool for rapid on-site screening of arsenic contaminated water sources.

Recognizing the enormity and severity of the problem of arsenic poisoning in ground water, the capabilities of commercially available arsenic detection field kits were critically evaluated. In the light of findings of the evaluation of these kits, their merits and limitations; a simple, efficient, prudent, userfriendly, indigenous field kit has been developed. The kit can be used for rapid on-site screening of arsenic contaminated water sources and is capable of detecting arsenic concentration as low as 0.01 mg L(-1), the guideline value for arsenic set by the WHO. The kit has been subjected to extensive laboratory and field testing. The details of development of the kit and its salient features are presented in the paper.

Water quality status of Murda village in Ramtek tehsil.

Major concern for the tribals, residing at Murda village in Ramtek tehsil, has always been assumed to be the contaminated drinking water. It has been frequently reported that adults and children of this village possess white patches on hands due to consumption of this contaminated water. In this context, an attempt has been made to assess the water quality of Murda village so as to find out the effective solutions. The paper highlights the studies carried out to assess the quality of drinking water supplied to the village Murda and its impacts, on the habitants.

Water quality assessment of the Purna river for irrigation purpose in Buldana district, Maharashtra.

The paper presents the assessment of water quality of Purna river for its suitability for irrigation purpose. Geologically the basin comprises deep alluvium, which is of basaltic and volcanic origin. Water quality was monitored at various locations along 78 km stretch of the river Purna, upstream and downstream, from proposed Jigaon dam in Buldana district of Maharashtra State. The assessment was carried during pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon seasons. The analytical results indicate higher concentrations of certain ions during pre-monsoon and post-monsoon seasons may be attributed to seepage of ground water from aquifer to surface water body and lower concentrations during monsoon may be due to dilution effect with surface runoff. The values of SAR, %Na and RSC indicate good to permissible quality of water as per the BIS standard for irrigation.