Use of salt, sugar in Indian fast food likely to come under scanner

NEW DELHI: The amount of salt and sugar on the menus of fast food companies in India may soon come under the scanner.The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday said it would like to see the Union health ministry regulate the use of salt and sugar in the fast food being dished out.
Experts say junk food —high on salt and sugar content — is fuelling India's hypertension and obesity epidemic.
Dr Nata Menabde, country representative of the WHO, told TOI that the global health watchdogs would support India with scientific evidence to help better negotiate with companies on cutting down salt and sugar use. 

Read more: TOI

 

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh voices concern over quality of medical education

 Expressing concern over the quality of medical education, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday said a "credible regulatory" mechanism should be put in place and a "serious look" given at the curriculum.
"There is a perception of deteriorating quality. We cannot allow this situation to continue. We must put in place a credible regulatory and institutional mechanism to help develop standards in our medical education", he said in his address at the third Convocation in Jawaharlal Institute of Post graduate Medical Education and Research here.. 

Source: India Today 

AIIMS authors in Pubmed

AIIMS authors in Pubmed:  There are 11071 papers in this database as of now.

International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking - 26 June

 UN Theme for 2012: Global Action for Healthy Communities without Drugs

 The General Assembly recognized that despite continued and increased efforts by the international community, the world drug problem continues to constitute a serious threat to public health, the safety and well-being of humanity, in particular young people, and the national security and sovereignty of States, and that it undermines socio-economic and political stability and sustainable development. It encouraged the Commission and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to continue their work on international drug control and urged all Governments to provide the fullest possible financial and political support to enable UNODC to continue, expand and strengthen its operational and technical cooperation activities, within its mandates.

SOURCE: http://www.un.org/

World Sickle Cell Awareness Day -19 June

Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is an inherited group of red blood cell disorders. Among people with SCD, "sickle" or abnormally shaped red blood cells get stuck in small blood vessels and block the flow of blood and oxygen to organs in the body. These blockages can cause repeated episodes of severe pain, organ damage, and serious infections, or even stroke.(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

One of the relevant article of Indian origin that I found on my searches in PubMed database is  by Mohanty D, Mukherjee MB. Sickle cell disease in India. Curr Opin Hematol. 2002 Mar;9(2):117-22. Review. PubMed PMID: 11844994 and More can be found at NLM's PubMed.

Deckle edge books 

They are bound with pages that are made to resemble handmade paper by applying a frayed texture to the edges. Deckle edge is an ornamental feature designed to set certain titles apart from books with machine-cut pages.

Partnerships in Health Information (Phi), UK aims to:

• Build the capacity of librarians and other health information professionals to develop innovative information services
• Work collaboratively with others to increase the flow of timely, reliable and appropriate health information
• Facilitate partnerships between health libraries in the UK and those in developing countries

INASP works with partners to support global research communication through innovation, networking and capacity strengthening, focusing on the needs of developing and emerging countries.