Significance of Vitamin D Binding Protein in Assessing Vitamin D Status Among Under-Five Children

Despite ample sunshine, 50–90% Indian children have Vitamin D deficiency (VDD). This enigma of widespread VDD needs exploration especially among under-fives as physiological variations in Vitamin D Binding Protein (VDBP) levels could be potential confounders in the interpretation of total 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D]. However, there is scarce information about relevance of VDBP levels in under-five age group. We therefore, explored association of VDBP levels among 1–5 year old children with VDD. Serum levels of 25(OH)D, VDBP, calcium, parathyroid hormone (PTH) and alkaline phosphatase were estimated in 210 apparently healthy children in the age group of 1–5 years. VDD was defined as serum 25(OH)D levels < 20 ng/ml as per the IOM classification. VDBP levels were classified as low if levels were < 168 μg/ml as per the kit. The prevalence of VDD was 79.5% (n = 167) and VDBP levels were low in 48.6% (n = 102) of children. 25(OH)D levels correlated positively with VDBP (r = 0.298, p = 0.0001). A significant number of children (52.7%) with VDD had low VDBP (p = 0.015). and despite adequate sun exposure, 43% of children showed VDD and 56.6% had low VDPB levels. The low VDBP levels largely explain low 25OHD levels without necessarily implying VDD. It may add a new dimension for better understanding of widespread VDD among under-five children. It thus, points towards the need for redefining cut offs and complete evaluation of vitamin D status among under-fives including VDBP.     

Life after death in the magazine industry

The magazine industry has succumbed to severe cutbacks in recent months but nevertheless is still a vibrant industry. In order to become a successful part of this industry, magazines must go through certain stages of life in which they meet with certain challenges. Surviving these stages is the mark of a truly auspicious publication, but surviving also means being able to adapt to market and readership changes.     

Examining calculator use among students with and without disabilities educated with different mathematical curricula

This study assessed if students with and without disabilities used calculators (fourfunction, scientific, or graphing) to solve mathematics assessment problems and whether using calculators improved their performance. Participants were sixth and seventh-grade students educated with either National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded or traditional mathematics curriculum materials. Students solved multiple choice and open-ended problems based on items from the State’s released previous assessments. A linear mixed model was conducted for each grade to analyze the factors impacting students’ self-reported calculator use. Chi Square tests were also performed on both grade’s data to determine the relationship between using a calculator and correctly solving problems. Results suggested only time as a main factor impacting calculator use and students who self-reported using a calculator were more likely to answer questions correctly. The results have implications for practice given the controversy over calculator use by students both with and without disabilities.     

Characteristics of the Literature Used by Arab Authors in Library and Information Science

Abstract

This paper attempts to shed some light on the scientific communication behavior of Arab authors in library and information science by studying the characteristics of the literature used by these authors. A bibliometric study by way of citation analysis was conducted on the articles published from 1978 to 1988 in Maktabat Al-Idarah, an elite Arab scholarly journal in the field. It was concluded from this study that English literature is the main source of information for Arab authors in library and information science. They rely on English literature that is between 5 and 15 years of age more than on their own literature and use books more than any other form of publication. They cover almost all areas of the field with special emphasis on technical services as represented by cataloging, classification and aquisition, library administration and library education. Local materials published in their own country were also important.     

Weldon’s search for a direct proof of natural selection and the tortuous path to the Neo-Darwinian Synthesis

W F R Weldon first clearly formulated the principles of natural selection in terms of what would have to be observed in natural populations in order to conclude that natural selection was, indeed, acting in the manner proposed by Darwin. The approach he took was the statistical method developed by Galton, although he was closer to Darwin’s conception of selection acting on small individual variations than Galton was. Weldon, together with Karl Pearson, who supplied the statistical innovations needed to infer the action of selection from populational data on trait distributions, laid the foundations of biometry and provided the first clear evidence of both stabilizing and directional selection in natural populations.     

A comparative study of reactive oxygen species (ROS) related parameters in rat tissues

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are believed to be responsible for pathogenesis of various diseases affecting tissues and systems. ROS generated by mitochondrial electron transport chain as well as extra-mitochondrially are eliminated by the respective defense mechanisms. We checked the activity of ROS generating system such as xanthine oxidase and also the parameter of ROS defense mechanism e.g. superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, glutathione peroxidase (GPox), reduced glutathione content (GSH) and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) in mitochondrial and post-mitochondrial fractions from various tissues (liver, kidney, brain and heart) of normal rats. Extent of lipid peroxidation (LPO) which is immediate consequence of ROS generation was also examined. Our results shows that significant tissue-specific differences exist in mitochondrial and cytosolic ROS generating systems and ROS defense mechanisms.