Disposable clean delivery kits and prevention of neonatal tetanus in the presence of skilled birth attendants.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the use of disposable clean delivery kits (CDKs) is effective in reducing neonatal tetanus (NNT) infection, regardless of the skills of birth attendants in resource-poor settings. METHODS: A secondary analysis was conducted on data from a matched case-control study in Karachi, Pakistan, involving 140 NNT cases and 280 controls between 1998 and 2001. Conditional logistic regression was performed to assess the independent effect on NNT of CDKs and skilled birth attendants (SBAs). RESULTS: After adjustment for socioeconomic factors, both CDKs (adjusted matched odds ratio [mOR] 2.0; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.3-3.1) and SBAs (adjusted mOR 1.7; 95% CI, 1.1-2.7) were independently associated with NNT. The association with CDKs remained significant when additionally adjusted for SBAs (mOR 2.0; 95% CI, 1.0-3.9; P=0.05). The population attributable risk for lack of CDK use was 24% in the study setting. CONCLUSION: In the context of resource-poor settings in low-income countries with poor coverage of tetanus toxoid immunization, the use of CDKs seems to be an effective strategy for reducing NNT infection, irrespective of the skill levels of birth attendants. Approximately one-quarter of NNT cases could be prevented in low-income populations with the use of CDKs

Multi-Component KdV Hierarchy, V-Algebra and Non-Abelian Toda Theory

I prove the recently conjectured relation between the $2\times 2$-matrix differential operator $L=\partial^2-U$, and a certain non-linear and non-local Poisson bracket algebra ($V$-algebra), containing a Virasoro subalgebra, which appeared in the study of a non-abelian Toda field theory. Here, I show that this $V$-algebra is precisely given by the second Gelfand-Dikii bracket associated with $L$. The Miura transformation is given which relates the second to the first Gelfand-Dikii bracket. The two Gelfand-Dikii brackets are also obtained from the associated (integro-) differential equation satisfied by fermion bilinears. The asymptotic expansion of the resolvent of $(L-\xi)\Psi=0$ is studied and its coefficients $R_l$ yield an infinite sequence of hamiltonians with mutually vanishing Poisson brackets. I recall how this leads to a matrix KdV hierarchy which are flow equations for the three component fields $T, V^+, V^-$ of $U$. For $V^\pm=0$ they reduce to the ordinary KdV hierarchy. The corresponding matrix mKdV equations are also given, as well as the relation to the pseudo- differential operator approach. Most of the results continue to hold if $U$ is a hermitian $n\times n$-matrix. Conjectures are made about $n\times n$-matrix $m^{\rm th}$-order differential operators $L$ and associated $V_{(n,m)}$-algebras.Comment: 20 pages, revised: several references to earlier papers on multi-component KdV equations are adde

Synthesis and Characterisation of Polyamidoamine-cured DGEBA-siloxane Interpenetrating Polymer Network

A commercially viable polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS)diglyceryl ether of bisphenol-A (DGEBA)interpenetrating network from hydroxyl terminated PDMS and DGEBA was synthesised.Epoxy resin was thoroughly mixed with PDMS to get a prepolymer. The interpenetrating polymer network has better electrical and thermal characteristics with high impact resistance compared to the virgin epoxy system

How to achieve Financial Gains with Corporate Social Responsibility in businesses

This research paper presents a conceptual framework for companies to manage their financial gains or profitability with the help of Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives and attempts. A case of Sharp electronics and Samsung will also be discussed that how these companies gain profits through implementing CSR in companies. And we will also do a graphical analysis of Asian countries involve in CSR activities. The results of the present study showed that an organization can increase its output by effectively using corporate social responsibility activities. Key words: Corporate Social Responsibility, Financial gains, Conceptual framewor

Rational vs Polynomial Character of Wnl_n^l-Algebras

The constraints proposed recently by Bershadsky to produce $W^l_n$ algebras are a mixture of first and second class constraints and are degenerate. We show that they admit a first-class subsystem from which they can be recovered by gauge-fixing, and that the non-degenerate constraints can be handled by previous methods. The degenerate constraints present a new situation in which the natural primary field basis for the gauge-invariants is rational rather than polynomial. We give an algorithm for constructing the rational basis and converting the base elements to polynomials.Comment: 18 page

Prevalence of topical corticosteroids related adverse drug events and associated factors in selected community pharmacies and cosmetic shops of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Introduction: Inappropriate use of topical corticosteroids was found to cause different dermatological complications. Despite its complex adverse effects, misuse of topical corticosteroids has been a common practice throughout the world. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of misuse of topical corticosteroids and its associated factors in selected community pharmacies and cosmetics shops of AddisAbaba. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was conducted from February to April in twelve community pharmacies and six cosmetics shops in Addis Ababa. A topical corticosteroids use pattern and related adverse events. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the nature and frequency of cosmetic use while binary and multinomial logistic regression was employed to test associated factors. Statisticalsignificance was set at p<0.05. Result: From a total of 286 participants, more than two third obtained the topical corticosteroids as over the counter. Among these, majority (59.8%) used for beautification purpose. More than half of the users faced adverse drug events and the most common affected site was face. Educational status was found to be associated with OTC use of corticosteroids. Age, reading of label, frequency of application, recommendation by friends and, mixing with other cosmetics and water have shown statistically significant association with occurrence of adverse drug events. Conclusion: Majority of the topical corticosteroids were obtained without prescription for the purpose of beautification rather than treatment. A higher proportion of cosmetic users reported to have experienced at least one adverse event. There needs to consider safety concerns related to topical corticosteroids use in the city

Assessment of Patient Counseling on Dispensing of Medicines in Outpatient Pharmacy of Tikur-Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Ethiopia

Background: Patients’ care when dispensing of Medicines could be ensured through the delivery of drug information either orally or in written form. Pharmacists are expected to ascertain that patients or caregivers have gained clear and complete information. The objective of this study was to assess patient counseling during dispensing of medicines and associated factors in Tikur-Anbessa Specialized Hospital.Method: A cross sectional study was conducted to assess patients’ counseling and a convenient sampling technique was employed to select study participants. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire and observation checklist and, analyzed by using SPSS version 20. Descriptive statistics and odds ratio were used to present study results.Results: A total of 286 respondents were included in this study. Most (93.7%; 94.4%; 91%) of the respondents were told the drug unit dose, frequency of administration and duration of therapy respectively. Less than a third of the patients received information on drug-drug interactions, storage of medications and side -effects. None of the patients were told what to do on missed dose and, none were asked back to repeat their understanding. Three fourth of the patients reported that they were satisfied with the counseling services provided. Females were more likely to be satisfied than males whereas, level of education showed a negative association with pharmacist counseling services.Conclusion: Drug dose, frequency of administration and duration of therapy were the most frequently delivered information to patients. Gender and level of education have significant association with medication counseling service in the study setting

Swarm intelligence-based model for improving prediction performance of low-expectation teams in educational software engineering projects

Software engineering is one of the most significant areas, which extensively used in educational and industrial fields. Software engineering education plays an essential role in keeping students up to date with software technologies, products, and processes that are commonly applied in the software industry. The software development project is one of the most important parts of the software engineering course, because it covers the practical side of the course. This type of project helps strengthening students' skills to collaborate in a team spirit to work on software projects. Software project involves the composition of software product and process parts. Software product part represents software deliverables at each phase of Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) while software process part captures team activities and behaviors during SDLC. The low-expectation teams face challenges during different stages of software project. Consequently, predicting performance of such teams is one of the most important tasks for learning process in software engineering education. The early prediction of performance for low-expectation teams would help instructors to address difficulties and challenges related to such teams at earliest possible phases of software project to avoid project failure. Several studies attempted to early predict the performance for low-expectation teams at different phases of SDLC. This study introduces swarm intelligence -based model which essentially aims to improve the prediction performance for low-expectation teams at earliest possible phases of SDLC by implementing Particle Swarm Optimization-K Nearest Neighbours (PSO-KNN), and it attempts to reduce the number of selected software product and process features to reach higher accuracy with identifying less than 40 relevant features. Experiments were conducted on the Software Engineering Team Assessment and Prediction (SETAP) project dataset. The proposed model was compared with the related studies and the state-of-the-art Machine Learning (ML) classifiers: Sequential Minimal Optimization (SMO), Simple Linear Regression (SLR), Naïve Bayes (NB), Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), standard KNN, and J48. The proposed model provides superior results compared to the traditional ML classifiers and state-of-the-art studies in the investigated phases of software product and process development