Home-based records for poor mothers and children in Afghanistan, a cross sectional population based study.

Background: No studies have examined distribution, retention and use of maternal and child health (MCH) home-based records (HBRs) in the poorest women in low income countries. Our primary objective was to compare distribution of the new Afghanistan MCH HBR (the MCH handbook) to the poorest women (quintiles 1-2) with the least poor women (quintiles 3-5). Secondary objectives were to assess distribution, retention and use of the handbook across wealth, education, age and parity strata.

Adapting home-based records for maternal and child health to users' capacities.

Home-based records have been used in both low- and high-income countries to improve maternal and child health. Traditionally, these were mostly stand-alone records that supported a single maternal and child health-related programme, such as the child vaccination card or growth chart. Recently, an increasing number of countries are using integrated home-based records to support all or part of maternal and child health-related programmes, as in the maternal and child health handbook.

Maternal and Child Health Handbook use for maternal and child care: a cluster randomized controlled study in rural Java, Indonesia.

Background: Effectiveness of the Maternal and Child Health Handbook (MCHHB), a home-based booklet for pregnancy, delivery and postnatal/child health, was evaluated on care acquisition and home care in rural Java, a low service-coverage area.

Methods: We conducted a health centre-based randomized trial, with a 2-year follow-up. Intervention included (i) MCHHB provision at antenatal care visits; (ii) records and guides by health personnel on and with the MCHHB; and (iii) sensitization of care by volunteers using the MCHHB.

Distinct B subunits of PP2A regulate the NF-κB signalling pathway through dephosphorylation of IKKβ, IκBα and RelA.

PP2A is composed of a scaffolding subunit (A), a catalytic subunit (C) and a regulatory subunit (B) that is classified into four families including B, B', B'' and B'''/striatin. Here, we found that a distinct PP2A complex regulates NF-κB signalling by dephosphorylation of IKKβ, IκBα and RelA/p65. The PP2A core enzyme AC dimer and the holoenzyme AB'''C trimer dephosphorylate IKKβ, IκBα and RelA, whereas the ABC trimer dephosphorylates IκBα but not IKKβ and RelA in cells.

Effectiveness of the Maternal and Child Health handbook in Burundi for increasing notification of birth at health facilities and postnatal care uptake.

Background: In Burundi, birth certificate ownership (56.4%) and postnatal care (PNC) coverage (30%) remain low. Birth certificates prove birth registration and allow clients to receive free medical care including PNC.

The role of home-based records in the establishment of a continuum of care for mothers, newborns, and children in Indonesia.

Background: The provision of appropriate care along the continuum of maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) service delivery is a challenge in developing countries. To improve this, in the 1990s, Indonesia introduced the maternal and child health (MCH) handbook, as an integrated form of parallel home-based records.

Objective: This study aimed to identify the roles of home-based records both before and after childbirth, especially in provinces where the MCH handbook (MCHHB) was extensively promoted, by examining their association with MNCH service uptake.

[Clostridium difficile TOX A/B II TEST evaluation].

We compared the performance of two commercial toxin detection kits, C. difficile toxin A/B (C. difficile TOX A/B II test; TOX A/B II) and C.