Background Establishing personal identity is one of the main concerns in forensic investigations. In forensic anthropology, estimation of height from head circumference has a significant role in establishing personal identity.Objective The objective of the present study was an attempt to understand the relationship between height and head circumference of an individual and to derive regression formulae to estimate the height from the head circumference.Method The present study consisted of 440 (258 male and 182 female) students of age group 17 to 25 years studying in Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences, Dhulikhel, Nepal during the period from November 2012 to October 2013. Height and head circumference of an individual were measured in centimeter. Data were analyzed by using statistical software SPSS-16Result The findings of the present study were significant correlation between height and head circumference (r = 0.443, p < 0.01 for male, r = 0.302, p<0.01 for female, and r = 0. 398, p < 0.01 for combined (male and female). The regression equation for height and head circumference was found to be Y = 1.734X + 70.36 (R2 = 0.196) for male, Y = 0.916X + 106.8 (R2 = 0.091) for female, and Y = 1.648 X + 71.69 (R2 = 0.158) for combined (male and female), where Y is the height of Individual and X is the Head Circumference.Conclusion Head circumference showed highly significant positive correlation with individual’s height. Therefore, the present study will help in medico-legal cases in establishing the identity of an individual and this would also be useful for Anatomists and Anthropologists.Kathmandu University Medical Journal Vol.12(2) 2014: 89-92

Background: Lumbar region is the most vulnerable area for the common symptom of backache. The lumbar part of spinal canal encloses the cauda equina. Narrowing of the canal can be either developmental or acquired. This leads to compression of the cauda equina and subsequently pain develops which may be further associated with neurological features. The aim of the present study was to measure the dimensions of lumbar vertebrae.  Methods: The present study was a descriptive and cross-sectional type. It consisted of 266 images of computed tomography scan of individuals. The various dimensions of lumbar vertebral canal and body were measured in millimeter. The descriptive statistical analysis was done. Results: The mean of the transverse diameter of lumbar vertebral canal increased from L1 to L5 but the antero-posterior diameter decreased from L1 to L4 followed by increased at L5. It was also observed that both transverse and antero-posterior diameter of body progressively increased from L1 to L5 vertebrae. The canal-body ratio was inconsistent for any vertebral level. There were sig­nificant differences in various dimensions of lumbar vertebrae between males and females. Conclusions: All the measured diameters of canal and body revealed increasing cranio-caudally  sequence in the lumbar part of spine. The antero-posterior diameter of canal could attract the attention of clinician as an important structural change with significant radiological and clinical implications. Keywords: back pain; lumbar vertebrae; stenosis  

Introduction: Poor nutritional status during adolescence is an important determinant of health outcome. The adolescents have different needs and have diverse problems. Nutritional assessments among adolescents are important as they are the future parents and constitute a potentially susceptible group. The present study is an attempt to evaluate the prevalence of underweight, stunting and thinness including overweight among adolescent girls from rural community.Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among school going adolescent girls, 9-16 years studying in various schools in rural area of Kavre district, Nepal during 15thMarch to 15th September 2014. The weight and height were recorded from each participant in kilogram and centimetre respectively, and nutritional status of the adolescent girls was assessed through the Z-scores of underweight (weight for age), stunting (height for age) and thinness (BMI for age) according to WHO criteria. Data was entered and analyzed by using SPSS 19.0.Results: The overall prevalence of underweight, stunting and thinness was 31.98%, 21.08% and 14.94% respectively. It was concluded that highest (49.5%) prevalence of underweight was among 11 years of adolescent girls and the lowest (20.7%) was found in the age group of 13 years. Stunting was highest in age group of 9 years (37.34%) and the lowest prevalence of stunting was 10.7% in the age group of 14 years. The highest prevalence (24.2%) of thinness was found in 9 years and lowest prevalence (11.0%) was found in 10 years adolescent girls.Conclusion: It is concluded that there is a high prevalence of under nutrition among studied adolescent girls in the rural areas of Kavre district. Health education and nutrition interventions are needed on priority basis.J Nepal Paediatr Soc 2015;35(2):129-135

Introduction: Growth reference charts are essential to assess appropriate growth of individual children. The height of an individual is the most widely accepted method for the evaluation of growth of the children. The child's height is primarily determined by the length of his/her bones, and thus the children become tall because their bones grow in length. The purpose of the present study was to develop the mean height reference charts for school going children residing in Dhulikhel and to evolve an easily applied formula to assess the height of the children at different age groups. Material and Methods: The present study consisted of 1726 healthy school going children (945 boys and 781 girls) aged 3-16 years, from different Schools of Dhulikhel Municipality during July – December 2015. Age was recorded in year and height of each child was measured cross-sectionally in centimeter and statistical analysis was done.Results: It has been observed that there was a progressively increasing trend in the mean values of the height with advancement of age in both sexes. The study revealed that the adolescent growth spurt or highest peak velocity of girls (11-12 years) was attained earlier by one year than boys (12-13 years). Conclusions: If a child’s height is consistently or substantially different from the height of other children of the same age and gender, it indicates that the child may have a medical problem and requires monitoring or treatment. The trend of physical growth as observed in height may be expected to serve as the growth standards of Dhulikhel’s children.J Nepal Paediatr Soc 2015;35(3):209-217

Thus the sexually dimorphic pattern is established around 14 weeks prenatally and is fixed from the second postnatal year or later 19-21. After birth, 2D:4D ratios and sex differences in 2D:4D ratios are seen by the age of two and is thought to be stable, and they seem not to be affected by postnatal variations in hormone levels, including the large variations that occur at puberty 10,11,20. The vertebrate Hox gene family is essential for limb and genital development 22,23. The Hox gene family is organized into four clusters Hoxa to Hoxd and the posterior-most Hoxd and Hoxa genes are required for the growth and patterning of digits and the differentiation of the genital bud 24. Males produce testosterone prenatally, particularly from around gestation week 8 to 24, and for approximately the first 6 months postnatally 25. Female fetuses probably produce estrogens, although it is unclear how much of a contribution the fetal ovary makes to development 26. However, it has only recently been suggested that sex differences in 2D:4D arise from in utero concentrations of sex steroids, with 2D:4D negatively related to prenatal testosterone and positively associated with prenatal oestrogen 20, 27. Prenatal testosterone masculinises the brain, resulting, among other things, in higher spatial ability 28 , higher musicality 29 , proneness to immune system and heart diseases 30-32 , depression and autism in men 33, 34 and it is related to sexual orientation 35-40. All the studies mentioned above regarding digit ratio (2D:4D) have been conducted in other countries than Nepal. Therefore, the present study was intended to find associations between 2D:4D ration and aggression in the students of