Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANMs) are the back bone of primary health care services in India. The horizontal integration of various national health programmes has increased their responsibility and workload. So a need was felt to conduct a study to assess the workload and performance of ANMs. The objective of the study was to explore the workload and performance of ANMs in selected health care settings in North India. An exploratory cross-sectional study was conducted in two selected health care settings of North India. The study was conducted on all the 7 ANMs working in the selected health care settings. Data was collected by observing the activities of ANMs using time activity record sheet. The nursing care procedures performed were observed and scored by using performance check list. T-test was used to compare actual time against standard time for performing procedures. ANMs spent 2/3rd of their time in indirect care activities. Direct care and personal activities accounted for 19 % of their time. Their performance was rated as good. Majority of the time spent by ANMs was utilized in performing indirect care activities. This study recommends that more time is needed to be devoted to direct care by ANMs.​

Epilepsy in Duchene’s muscular dystrophy, though more prevalent than in general population, is seen in only 6-10% cases of DMD. Earlier studies have reported nonspecific MRI findings in DMD patients with epilepsy. We report a patient of DMD, diagnosed on muscle biopsy who had definite MRI brain imaging abnormalities. Our case highlights the rare association of MRI brain signal changes in this patient with DMD.
Epilepsy

Aortic Coarctation ; diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Paraparesis ; diagnosis

Endovascular treatment is a standard mode of treatment for traumatic cavernous internal carotid artery (ICA) pseudoaneurysms with good results and relatively low rates of complications. We describe a case of an unusual, potentially fatal, delayed postoperative event happening in a case of post-traumatic pseudoaneurysm of ICA, which had been previously managed with endovascular coiling.
Aneurysm ; Aneurysm, False ; Carotid Artery, Internal ; Endoscopy ; Foreign Bodies* ; Pharynx*

Background and Objectives: Cochlear implantation in late implanted prelinguals necessitates a complex decision-making process for clinicians and patients due to the uncertainty of achieving adequate benefit in auditory and speech perception. This study longitudinally evaluated clinical and social outcomes of prelingually deaf children with implantation in their late childhood. Subjects and Methods: A total of 113 (49 females and 64 males) participants, with an age range of 5-15 years, were assessed for the pre-implant parameters such as hearing loss etiology, aided responses, anatomical aspects, and psychological evaluation. The Category of Auditory Performance, Speech Awareness Threshold, Speech Reception Threshold, and Speech Discrimination Score were administered to assess the patient’s auditory skills. Further, the Speech Intelligibility Rating scale was administered to evaluate the patient’s speech intelligibility at 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24 months post-surgery. Subjectively perceived benefits were evaluated using the satisfaction rating scale and a questionnaire. Results: The statistical results showed a significant impact of cochlear implantation in all domains. Positive impact and improvement post-implantation were noted in all the spheres, including auditory, linguistic, social, and educational. Conclusions The study highlighted that the outcomes of a cochlear implant at a later age might not parallel with the implantation at a younger age. However, this still provides measurable benefits even after a longer period of auditory deprivation.

Adansonia digitata L. (Malvaceae) is commonly known as baobab tree native to Africa. Baobab is a multi-purpose tree which offers protection and provides food, clothing and medicine as well as raw material for many useful items. The fruit pulp, seeds, leaves, flowers, roots, and bark of baobab are edible and they have been studied by scientists for their useful properties. The fruit pulp have very high vitamin C, calcium, phosphorus, carbohydrates, fibers, potassium, proteins and lipids content, which can be used in seasoning as an appetizer and also make juices. Seeds contain appreciable quantities of phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, sodium, iron, manganese, whereas they have high levels of lysine, thiamine, calcium and iron. Baobab has numerous biological properties including antimicrobial, anti-malarial, diarrhoea, anaemia, asthma, antiviral, anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activities amongst others. Phytochemical investigation revealed the presence of flavonoids, phytosterols, amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. The review summarizes the information on various aspects of traditional information, taxonomic description, medicinal properties and importantly nutritional value.