Inequalities in maternity care and newborn outcomes: one-year surveillance of births in vulnerable slum communities in Mumbai

Background: Aggregate urban health statistics mask inequalities. We described maternity care in vulnerable slum communities in Mumbai, and examined differences in care and outcomes between more and less deprived groups. Methods: We collected information through a birth surveillance system covering a population of over 280 000 in 48 vulnerable slum localities. Resident women identified births in their own localities and mothers and families were interviewed at 6 weeks after delivery. We analysed data on 5687 births over one year to September 2006. Socioeconomic status was classified using quartiles of standardized asset scores. Results: Women in higher socioeconomic quartile groups were less likely to have married and conceived in their teens (Odds ratio 0.74, 95% confidence interval 0.69–0.79, and 0.82, 0.78–0.87, respectively). There was a socioeconomic gradient away from public sector maternity care with increasing socioeconomic status (0.75, 0.70–0.79 for antenatal care and 0.66, 0.61–0.71 for institutional delivery). Women in the least poor group were five times less likely to deliver at home (0.17, 0.10–0.27) as women in the poorest group and about four times less likely to deliver in the public sector (0.27, 0.21–0.35). Rising socioeconomic status was associated with a lower prevalence of low birth weight (0.91, 0.85–0.97). Stillbirth rates did not vary, but neonatal mortality rates fell non-significantly as socioeconomic status increased (0.88, 0.71–1.08). Conclusion: Analyses of this type have usually been applied across the population spectrum from richest to poorest, and we were struck by the regularly stepped picture of inequalities within the urban poor, a group that might inadvertently be considered relatively homogeneous. The poorest slum residents are more dependent upon public sector health care, but the regular progression towards the private sector raises questions about its quality and regulation. It also underlines the need for healthcare provision strategies to take account of both sectors

Comparison of perturbative expansions using different phonon bases for two-site Holstein model

The two-site single-polaron problem is studied within the perturbative expansions using different standard phonon basis obtained through the Lang Firsov (LF), modified LF (MLF) and modified LF transformation with squeezed phonon states (MLFS). The role of these convergent expansions using the above prescriptions in lowering the energy and in determining the correlation functions are compared for different values of coupling strength. The single-electron energy, oscillator wave functions and correlation functions are calculated for the same system. The applicability of different phonon basis in different regimes of the coupling strength as well as in different regimes of hopping are also discussed.Comment: 24 pages (RevTEX), 12 postscript figures, final version accepted in PRB(2000) Jornal Ref: Phys. Rev. B, 61, 4592-4602 (2000

Valence fuctuation and magnetic ordering in EuNi2(P1-xGex)2 single crystals

Unusual phases and phase transitions are seen at the magnetic-nonmagnetic boundary in Ce, Eu and Yb-based compounds. EuNi$_2$P$_{2}$ is a very unusual valence fluctuating Eu system, because at low temperatures the Eu valence stays close to 2.5 instead of approaching an integer value. Eu valence and thus the magnetic property in this system can be tuned by Ge substitution in P site as EuNi$_2$Ge$_{2}$ is known to exhibit antiferromagnetc (AFM) ordering of divalent Eu moments with $T_N$ = 30 K. We have grown EuNi$_2$(P$_{1-x}$Ge$_x$)$_2$ (0.0 $\leq$ $x$ $\leq$ 0.5) single crystals and studied their magnetic, thermodynamic and transport properties. Increasing Ge doping to $x >$ 0.4 results in a well-defined AFM ordered state with $T_N$ = 12 K for $x$ = 0.5. Moreover, the reduced value of magnetic entropy for $x$ = 0.5 at $T_N$ suggests the presence of valance fluctuation/ Kondo effect in this compound. Interestingly, the specific heat exhibits an enhanced Sommerfeld coefficient upon Ge doping. Subsequently, electronic structure calculations lead to a non-integral valence in EuNi$_2$P$_{2}$ but a stable divalent Eu state in EuNi$_2$Ge$_{2}$ which is in good agreement with experimental results.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figure

Antifertility effect of curcumin, an indigenous medicine in rats

Background: Curcumin is an active constituent, obtained from rhizome of Curcuma longa linn, known to have broad medicinal properties, was studied for its effect on fertility in female rats. Curcumin has anti-ovulatory effect probably by its antiestrogenic activity through suppression of negative feedback of estrogen on pituitary.Methods: Inbred Charles Foster female albino rats (150-180 gm) were used for study. They were divided into different groups and treated with curcumin (25 mg/kg. and 50 mg/kg body weight) as per schedule. The antigonadotropic, antiestrogenic, anti-implantation and abortifacient effect on curcumin treated albino rats were demonstrated.Results: The results showed significant reduction in the number of implants and size of litters in curcumin treated rats compared to normal control group. The results were compared with Tamoxifen (10mg/ kg bodyweight) a known antifertility drug, which further substantiated the antifertility effects of curcumin.Conclusions: The results indicated the ways in which curcumin exerts antifertility effects and thus can play a vital role in fertility control

Standardization of setting temperature and time for fish meat

Meat to water ratio used for washing was 1:3 for oil sardine and mackerel; but for pink perch and croaker, it was 1:2. Again the washing process was repeated three times for oil sardine and mackerel; but two times for pink perch and croaker. The washed meat was mixed with 2.5% NaC1 and set at +5°C and +40°C for 1, 2 and 3hrs. The gel strength and expressible water content was measured. Basing on this study, setting temperature at +40°C was selected and with respect to time 1hr for sardine and mackerel and 3hrs for pink perch and croaker was selected

Lenses in the forest: cross-correlation of the Lyman-alpha flux with CMB lensing

We present a theoretical estimate for a new observable: the cross-correlation between the Lyman-alpha flux fluctuations in quasar (QSO) spectra and the convergence of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) as measured along the same line-of-sight. As a first step toward the assessment of its detectability, we estimate the signal-to-noise ratio using linear theory. Although the signal-to-noise is small for a single line-of-sight and peaks at somewhat smaller redshifts than those probed by the Lyman-alpha forest, we estimate a total signal-to-noise of 9 for cross-correlating QSO spectra of SDSS-III with Planck and of 20 for cross-correlating with a future polarization based CMB experiment. The detection of this effect would be a direct measure of the neutral hydrogen-matter cross-correlation and could provide important information on the growth of structures at large scales in a redshift range which is still poorly probed by observations.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, matches published versio

Hall state quantization in a rotating frame

We derive electromagnetomotive force fields for charged particles moving in a rotating Hall sample, satisfying a twofold U(1) gauge invariance principle. It is then argued that the phase coherence property of quantization of the line integral of total collective particle momentum into multiples of Planck's quantum of action is solely responsible for quantization in the Hall state. As a consequence, the height of the Hall quantization steps should remain invariant in a rapidly rotating Hall probe. Quantum Hall particle conductivities do not depend on charge and mass of the electron, and are quantized in units of the inverse of Planck's action quantum.Comment: 6 pages, accepted for publication in Europhysics Letter

A study on the structure of the convective atmosphere over the Bay of Bengal during BOBMEX-99

Convective activity is one of the major processes in the atmosphere influencing the local and large-scale weather in the tropics. The latent heat released by the cumulus cloud is known to drive monsoon circulation, which on the other hand supplies the moisture that maintains the cumulus clouds. An investigation is carried out on the convective structure of the atmosphere during active and suppressed periods of convection using data sets obtained from the Bay of Bengal and Monsoon Experiment (BOBMEX). The cumulus convection though being a small-scale phenomenon, still influences its embedding environment by interaction through various scales. This study shows the variation in the kinematic and convective parameters during the transition from suppressed to active periods of convection. Convergence in the lower levels and strong upward vertical velocity, significant during active convection are associated with the formation of monsoon depressions. The apparent heat source due to latent heat release and the vertical transport of the eddy heat by cumulus convection, and the apparent moisture sink due to net condensation and vertical divergence of the eddy transport of moisture, are estimated through residuals of the thermodynamic equation and examined in relation to monsoon activity during BOBMEX

Extended Self-similarity in Kinetic Surface Roughening

We show from numerical simulations that a limited mobility solid-on-solid model of kinetically rough surface growth exhibits extended self-similarity analogous to that found in fluid turbulence. The range over which scale-independent power-law behavior is observed is significantly enhanced if two correlation functions of different order, such as those representing two different moments of the difference in height between two points, are plotted against each other. This behavior, found in both one and two dimensions, suggests that the `relative' exponents may be more fundamental than the `absolute' ones.Comment: 4 pages, 4 postscript figures included (some changes made according to referees' comments. accepted for publication in PRE Rapid Communication