An unusual nail presentation in Marfan's syndrome

Skin and nail lesions are very rare in Marfan's syndrome. We reported a 14-year-old boy who presented with pterygium in the nails of both the upper and lower limbs with chest deformity along with other features of Marfan's syndrome. Histopathological findings revealed hyperkeratosis with a scant perivascular inflammatory infiltrate. It was not clear whether this case is the first presentation of pterigium in Marfan's syndrome or congenital lichen planus. To our knowledge, this kind of feature is the first Marfan's syndrome case of its kind.     

A study of feeding patterns in young infants

With the aim of studying the feeding patterns in infants under 6 months of age, 451 mothers attending the children's clinic in two university hospitals in the north of Tehran were interviewed. All babies had been born in hospital and > 98 per cent had been breastfed during the first few hours of birth. The rate of full breastfeeding at 6 months of age, with no introduction of the bottle, was 83 per cent; approximately 6.5 per cent of infants were fed on breast and bottle concomitantly, and in about 10.5 per cent breastfeeding had been discontinued before 6 months and the babies were fed on bottle only. About 60 per cent of mothers who stopped breastfeeding, did so during the first postnatal month and another 20 per cent during the 2nd and 3rd month after the babies' birth. The mother's age, education or parity, did not affect the rate of breastfeeding. Low birthweight, especially birthweight less than 2 kg, was a risk factor for early termination of breastfeeding. Caesarean delivery and hospitalization of the infant during the neonatal period was also associated with a higher rate of bottlefeeding compared with newborns who had been delivered normally, discharged early, and nursed at home. Although breastfeeding rates are high, the finding that the majority of mothers who give up breastfeeding do so in the early weeks, calls for better support to all mothers by committed health personnel during the period when breastfeeding is being established, and for extra assistance to women whose infants are hospitalized or have a low birthweight.     

Violence against women

In India, violence against women is increasing and takes many forms while laws to protect women are ignored. Despite this fact, the new reproductive and child health program ignores sexual violence. Health personnel can respond by: 1) accepting the magnitude of the problem; 2) investigating the deaths of young women; 3) documenting findings; 4) ensuring that sexual abuse is recognized as a public health problem; 5) disseminating findings; 6) ensuring the protection of female field workers; 7) recognizing violence as an occupational health hazard; 8) facilitating the empowerment of women; 9) training women in self-defense; 10) ensuring that colleges and training institutes address violence as a women's health concern; 11) studying the psychological effects of violence; 12) collaborating with the National Commission for Women and the National Human Rights Commission; and 13) advocating for incorporation of sexual violence as a reproductive health issue in the national reproductive health program. In particular, domestic violence is a pervasive violation of women's human rights and has been resistant to social advances because of its "hidden" nature. Domestic violence exists because husbands believe they have an absolute right over the sexuality of their wives. Abusive husbands also abuse their daughters while sons learn violent behavior from their fathers. Crimes must be considered irrespective of whether they are committed outside or inside the home.     

Gender equity

This paper focuses on gender equity. Gender equity is difficult to achieve when there is no economic, social, or political equity. The Gender Development Index evidenced this. There were a lot of instances where women are psychologically traumatized, whether it is through domestic rape, purchased sexual services in the red light area, and seduction or violation of neighbors, relatives, daughter or child. The economic changes linked with globalization and media's influence have worsened women's position. The policy for empowerment of women is an attempt toward ensuring equity. Furthermore, many women and women's organizations are trying to address these inequities; wherein they fight for strong acceptance of women's rights, social, economic, and political rights, as well as equities between gender and within gender.     

ICPD: in whose interest?

The International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) is set for September 1994. Arms control and control of military interests are as crucial as population control. The expenditure on the military and arms should go to social measures and true socioeconomic development. Women are leading the movement against war and towards peace. Women make up 70% of current refugees of ethnic conflicts. The conquest of free trade with little or no restriction and globalization trends forces developing countries to accept nonessential luxury items which tend to be irrational, hazardous consumer articles and technologies from industrialized countries. The privileged elite in developing countries and the industrialized countries overconsume, while the basic needs of the poor majority are not being met. The rich view the poor as a global threat and a threat for environmental degradation. They believe that free trade will solve all problems, yet it only marginalizes the poor and the vulnerable. The pattern of overconsumption is the threat. The poor are characterized as demons responsible for the population explosion. Women are angry that population control policies are attempts to control women's fertility. Specifically, most contraceptive technologies and most family planning programs target women. Male responsibility is ignored. Religious fundamentalists tell women not to become pregnant, not to use contraception, and not to seek abortion, yet they allow male sex behavior, e.g., sexual violence. This attitude leaves women vulnerable to unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, and AIDS. Developing countries should be concerned about chapter III on Population, Environment, and Development in the ICPD text. Most countries, including India, have formed a consensus on this chapter. The Vatican and some Latin American countries have objections, however. The meeting in Cairo will likely continue to promote the view that the fertility of women in developing countries and of women of color must be controlled.     

A phase I/II study of ribociclib following radiation therapy in children with newly diagnosed diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG)

Journal of Neuro-Oncology - Cyclin-dependent kinase-retinoblastoma (CDK-RB) pathway is dysregulated in some diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas (DIPG). We evaluated safety, feasibility, and early...     

Retinal degeneration but not obesity is observed in null mutants of the tubby-like protein 1 gene

The tub gene is a member of a small, well conserved neuronal gene family of unknown function. Mutations within this gene lead to early-onset blindness and deafness, as well as late-onset obesity and insulin resistance. To test the hypothesis that mutations within other members of this gene family would lead to similar phenotypes as observed in tubby mice, and hence have similar functional properties, we have generated null mutants of the tubby-like protein ( Tulp ) 1 gene by homologous recombination. Similarly to tubby mice, Tulp1 (-/-)mice exhibit an early-onset retinal degeneration with a progressive, rapid loss of photoreceptors, further supporting the notion that previously identified mutations within the human TULP1 gene are indeed causative of retinitis pigmentosa. However, in contrast to tubby mice, Tulp1 (-/-)mice exhibited normal hearing ability and, surprisingly, normal body weight despite the fact that both TUB and TULP1 are expressed in the same neurons within the hypothalamus in areas known to be involved in feeding behavior and energy homeo stasis. However, TUB and TULP1 show a distinctly different staining pattern in the nucleus of these neurons, perhaps explaining the difference in body weight between the Tulp1 (-/-)and tubby mutant mice.