Accurate interpretation of reported breastfeeding rates is essential in understanding the true picture of a country's breastfeeding status. In Sri Lanka, where the reported exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) rate among infants aged from 0 to 5 months is 75%, accurate understanding of this rate is of the utmost importance. The danger of misinterpreting the data and assuming that Sri Lanka has achieve...

BACKGROUND Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) improves infant health and survival. We tested the effectiveness of a home-based intervention using Community Health Workers (CHWs) on EBF for six months in urban poor settings in Kenya. METHODS We conducted a cluster-randomized controlled trial in Korogocho and Viwandani slums in Nairobi. We recruited pregnant women and followed them until the infant'...

Transcriptionally silent genes are maintained in inaccessible chromatin. Accessibility of these genes requires their modification by chromatin remodeling complexes (CRCs), which are recruited to promoters by sequence-specific DNA-binding proteins. Early B-cell factor (EBF), which is crucial for B-cell lineage specification, reprograms mb-1 (Ig-alpha) promoters by increasing chromatin accessibil...

PURPOSE A mother's working environment is believed to be a major determinant of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) practice. We aimed to define the influence of a facility dedicated to breastfeeding and a breastfeeding support program at the workplace on breastfeeding practice. METHODS A cross-sectional study was performed in five workplaces. The inclusion criteria were female workers whose last c...

IL-7 plays a critical role in B cell fate decision by regulating early B cell factor (EBF) expression. However, it was not clear when IL-7 stimulation is necessary in hemato-/lymphopoiesis in adult mice. Here we show that pre-proB cells derived from IL-7-/- mice have lost B cell potential, despite up-regulation of EBF expression following IL-7 stimulation. Pre-proB cells from wild-type mice can...

Wnt signaling pathways are involved in embryonic development and adult tissue maintenance and have been implicated in tumorigenesis. Dishevelled (Dvl/Dsh) protein is one of key components in Wnt signaling and plays essential roles in regulating these pathways through protein-protein interactions. Identifying and characterizing Dvl-binding proteins are key steps toward understanding biological f...

BACKGROUND Breastfeeding is an unequalled way of providing ideal food for the healthy growth and development of infants. World Health Organization (WHO) recommend exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) for six months which has a great contribution in reducing under five mortality, which otherwise leads to death of 88/1000 live birth yearly in Ethiopia. Hence, this study aimed to assess prevalence of EBF...

OBJECTIVES The optimal age for introducing complementary feeding to breast-fed infants may differ depending on the setting. Prolonged exclusive breast-feeding (EBF) protects against infection but may increase the risk of iron deficiency (ID)/anaemia (IDA) in vulnerable infants. The aim of the present study was to compare haemoglobin (Hb), serum ferritin (SF), anaemia (Hb < 11 g/L), ID (SF < 12 ...

OBJECTIVES To study the trends and patterns of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) for under-6-month-old infants in the city of Bauru, Brazil. METHODS Data from three methodologically equivalent cross-sectional surveys integrating the project for monitoring breastfeeding indicators in São Paulo state were compared. Infants aged zero to 6 months who attended one of the two phases of the Multivaccina...