Fetal Outcomes among Grand Multiparous and Multiparous Women in Mulago Hospital, Uganda

Objective: To compare fetal outcomes among grand multiparous (para 5-9) and multiparous (para 2-4) delivering in Mulago hospital, Uganda.Design: Prospective cohort study.Setting: Mulago hospital, Uganda.Subjects: One hundred and fifty six grand multiparous and multiparous women were recruited on admission in labour ward and followed up through labour and immediate post partum period. Fetal outcomes among the two groups were collected and analyzed.Results: The admissions to SCU were similar in the two groups i.e. 11(7%) GMP vs. 11(7%) MP, the number of fresh still births was higher among the grandmultiparas 13(8.3%) GMP vs. 7(4.5%) MP though this was not statistically significant. The fetal weight did not significantly differ in the two groups.Conclusion: There was no difference in fetal outcomes among GMPs when compared to MPs.Key words: Grand multiparous (GMP), Multiparous (MP), Birth weight,  Special Care Unit (SCU), Apgar score, Fresh Still Birth (FSB)

A Process for Co-Designing Educational Technology Systems for Refugee Children

There is a growing interest in the potential for technology to facilitate emergency education of refugee children. However, designing in this space requires knowledge of the displaced population and the contextual dynamics surrounding it. Design should therefore be informed by both existing research across relevant disciplines, and from the practical experience of those who are on the ground facing the problem in real life. This paper describes a process for designing appropriate technology for these settings. The process draws on literature from emergency education, student engagement and motivation, educational technology, and participatory design. We emphasise a thorough understanding of the problem definition, the nature of the emergency, and of socio-cultural aspects that can inform the design process. We describe how this process was implemented leading to the design of a digital learning space for children living in a refugee camp in Greece. This drew on involving different groups of participants such as social-workers, parents, and children

Magnetic-Field-Induced Antiferromagnetism in Two-Dimensional Hubbard Model: Analysis of CeRhIn5_5

We propose the mechanism for the magnetic-field-induced antiferromagnetic (AFM) state in a two-dimensional Hubbard model in the vicinity of the AFM quantum critical point (QCP), using the fluctuation-exchange (FLEX) approximation by taking the Zeeman energy due to the magnetic field $B$ into account. In the vicinity of the QCP, we find that the AFM correlation perpendicular to $B$ is enhanced, whereas that parallel to $B$ is reduced. This fact means that the finite magnetic field increases $T_N$, with the AFM order perpendicular to $B$. The increment in $T_N$ can be understood in terms of the reduction of both quantum and thermal fluctuations due to the magnetic field, which is caused by the self-energy effect within the FLEX approximation. The present study naturally explains the increment in $T_N$ in CeRhIn_5 under the magnetic field found recently.Comment: 5 page

Development of new all-optical signal regeneration technique

All-optical signal regeneration have been the active research area since last decade due to evolution of nonlinear optical signal processing. Existing all-optical signal regeneration techniques are agitated in producing low Bit Error Rate (BER) of 10-10 at below than -10 dBm power received. In this paper, a new all-optical signal regeneration technique is developed by using phase sensitive amplification and designed optical phase locked signal mechanism. The developed all-optical signal regeneration technique is tested for different 10 Gb/s Differential Phase Shift Keying degraded signals. It is determined that the designed all-optical signal regeneration technique is able to provide signal regeneration with noise mitigation for degraded signals. It is analyzed that overall, for all degraded test signals, average BER of 10-13 is achieved at received power of -14 dBm. The designed technique will be helpful to enhance the performance of existing signal regeneration systems in the presence of severe noise by providing minimum BER at low received power

WHO 2010 infant feeding guidelines in resource-limited settings: attitudes of human immunodeficiency virus-infected women and other role players in Kampala, Uganda

Objective: The objective of the study was to describe the attitudes of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected women and other role players towards the World Health Organization (WHO) 2010 infant feeding guidelines.Design: This was formative evaluation research, carried out from September-November 2011.Setting: The study was conducted at Mulago Hospital, Kampala, Uganda.Subjects: Focus group discussions (FGDs) were held among five groups: HIV-infected pregnant women (9), HIV-infected postpartum mothers (10), HIV-infected peers (10), male partners (10), family members of the pregnant women (10) and key informants (12).Outcome measures: Descriptive data were collected through FGDs and key informant interviews.Results: With the exception of male partners, the majority of FGD participants and key informants who were health workers held a positive attitude towards exclusive breastfeeding. The introduction of complementary foods at six months while HIV-infected lactating mother continued to breastfeed was supported by all of the health workers, but by only a minority of participants from each focus group discussion. The majority of FGD participants and the health workers were in favour of an HIV-infected lactating mother taking antiretroviral (ARV) drugs during the breastfeeding period, rather than the infant.Conclusion: Three conclusions can be drawn from this study. Firstly, general attitudes towards the WHO 2010 infant feeding guidelines on exclusive breastfeeding were positive. Secondly, there were still fears about an HIV-infected mother introducing complementary foods at six months while continuing to breastfeed. Thirdly, all of the FGD participants and the majority of the health workers recommended that the mother should take ARV drugs in the lactating period.Keywords: infant feeding, exclusive breastfeeding, HIV-infected lactating mothers, male partners, WHO, resource-limited setting

Transport criticality of the first-order Mott transition in a quasi-two-dimensional organic conductor, κ\kappa-(BEDT-TTF)2_{2}Cu[N(CN)2_{2}]Cl

An organic Mott insulator, $\kappa$-(BEDT-TTF)$_{2}$Cu[N(CN)$_{2}$]Cl, was investigated by resistance measurements under continuously controllable He gas pressure. The first-order Mott transition was demonstrated by observation of clear jump in the resistance variation against pressure. Its critical endpoint at 38 K is featured by vanishing of the resistive jump and critical divergence in pressure derivative of resistance, $|\frac{1}{R}\frac{\partial R}{\partial P}|$, which are consistent with the prediction of the dynamical mean field theory and have phenomenological correspondence with the liquid-gas transition. The present results provide the experimental basis for physics of the Mott transition criticality.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Infrared Studies of the Onset of Conductivity in Ultra-Thin Pb Films

In this paper we report the first experimental measurement of the infrared conductivity of ultra-thin quenched-condensed Pb films. For dc sheet resistances such that $\omega \tau \ll 1$ the ac conductance increases with frequency but is in disagreement with the predictions of weak localization. We attribute this behavior to the effects of an inhomogeneous granular structure of these films, which is manifested at the very small probing scale of infrared measurements. Our data are consistent with predictions of two-dimensional percolation theory.Comment: Submitted to Physical Review Letter

ATP synthase: from single molecule to human bioenergetics

ATP synthase (FoF1) consists of an ATP-driven motor (F1) and a H+-driven motor (Fo), which rotate in opposite directions. FoF1 reconstituted into a lipid membrane is capable of ATP synthesis driven by H+ flux. As the basic structures of F1 (α3β3γδε) and Fo (ab2c10) are ubiquitous, stable thermophilic FoF1 (TFoF1) has been used to elucidate molecular mechanisms, while human F1Fo (HF1Fo) has been used to study biomedical significance. Among F1s, only thermophilic F1 (TF1) can be analyzed simultaneously by reconstitution, crystallography, mutagenesis and nanotechnology for torque-driven ATP synthesis using elastic coupling mechanisms. In contrast to the single operon of TFoF1, HFoF1 is encoded by both nuclear DNA with introns and mitochondrial DNA. The regulatory mechanism, tissue specificity and physiopathology of HFoF1 were elucidated by proteomics, RNA interference, cytoplasts and transgenic mice. The ATP synthesized daily by HFoF1 is in the order of tens of kilograms, and is primarily controlled by the brain in response to fluctuations in activity