Pregnant women’s satisfaction and comprehension level of information given during HIV Counseling and Testing for PMTCT in public health facilities in Addis Ababa

Background: In Ethiopia PMTCT services began in 2003, but only 0.8% of HIV infections among births to HIV positive mothers were averted in 2005/6 through PMTCT.Objective: To determine the pregnant women’s satisfaction and comprehension level of the information given during pre- and post- HIV counselling and testing for PMTCT in public health centers in Addis Ababa City.Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted on purposively selected 10 health centers in Addis Ababa from April to May 2008. Data were collected at exit points using a pre-tested structured questionnaire adapted from UNAIDS tools. Descriptive and analytic statistics were computed.Result: Of the 422 women interviewed, 314 (74.6%) had discussion on MTCT/PMTCT; and 287 (91.4%) of those 314 reported to have comprehended the information. Of the 196 third trimester mothers, 83 (42.3%) were counselled on infant feeding options; among whom 59 (71.1%) reported to have comprehended the explanations well. Two hundred eighty-eight (68.4%) of the 422 clients had held discussions on HIV/AIDS; and 261 (90.6%) reported that they had understood the discussions well. The odds of knowing why HCT is offered during pregnancy was higher among clients who spent 5-15 minutes on discussion with their counsellors [OR=2.1, 95%CI: 1.03, 4.24].Conclusion: About 3/4th of the ANC clients were covered with PMTCT counseling in the ANC and the vast majority of the women interviewed reported that they were satisfied with the counselling and counsellors’ interactions with them. However, when prompted at the exit points, 21% of the mothers didn’t know why they were offered HCT particularly during pregnancy. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2011;25(2):126-134

Status of ANC-linked HIV counseling and testing as an intervention for PMTCT in public health facilities in Addis Ababa: quality of HIV counseling given to pregnant women for PMTCT

Background: A high quality of PMTCT is essential for success: done well, it will result in significant reduction in child mortality through decreased peri-natal and postnatal HIV transmission; done badly, it could lead to deaths, increased drug resistance, and poor infant feeding. Objective: the aim of this study was to assess the quality of antenatal–based HIV counseling and testing as an intervention for PMTCT at ten public Health Centers in Addis Ababa City. Methodology: a cross sectional study was conducted at purposively selected 10 health centers in Addis Ababa fromApril to May 2008. Methods included observations of counseling sessions, and interview of key informants at PMTCT sites. Data on counselors’ communication skills, duration and content of pre- and post test counseling was collected using a structured questionnaire adapted from UNAIDS tools. SPSS Version 15.0 was used to enter, clean, and analyzethe data. Results: A total of 66 (31 pre- and 35 post test) counselling sessions were observed. The mean duration of pre-test counselling was 5.37 minutes (+3.34) and that of post test was 3.0 minutes (+ 2.24). In 78.8% of the sessions, the counsellors gave clear and simple information to mothers; in 25.8% of the sessions, the mothers were not given the chance to freely consent or dissent for blood test. In the post test sessions, 42.9% of the mothers’ understanding of the meaning of their test results was not explored. Conclusions: The communication skill of the counselors was generally ‘satisfactory’. The majority of pre- and post test sessions included the basic information on HIV and PMTCT/MTCT. However, the discussions were unusually brief, rudimentary and lacked depth and coverage

Studying the Dynamical Properties of 20 Nearby Galaxy Clusters

Using SDSS-DR7, we construct a sample of 42382 galaxies with redshifts in the region of 20 galaxy clusters. Using two successive iterative methods, the adaptive kernel method and the spherical infall model, we obtained 3396 galaxies as members belonging to the studied sample. The 2D projected map for the distribution of the clusters members is introduced using the 2D adaptive kernel method to get the clusters centers. The cumulative surface number density profile for each cluster is fitted well with the generalized King model. The core radii of the clusters' sample are found to vary from 0.18 Mpc \mbox{h}^{-1} (A1459) to 0.47 Mpc \mbox{h}^{-1} (A2670) with mean value of 0.295 Mpc \mbox{h}^{-1}. The infall velocity profile is determined using two different models, Yahil approximation and Praton model. Yahil approximation is matched with the distribution of galaxies only in the outskirts (infall regions) of many clusters of the sample, while it is not matched with the distribution within the inner core of the clusters. Both Yahil approximation and Praton model are matched together in the infall region for about 9 clusters in the sample but they are completely unmatched for the clusters characterized by high central density. For these cluster, Yahil approximation is not matched with the distribution of galaxies, while Praton model can describe well the infall pattern of such clusters.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figure

Adaptive spatial mode of space-time and spacefrequency OFDM system over fading channels

In this paper we present a 2 transmit 1 receive (1 Tx : 1 Rx) adaptive spatial mode (ASM) of space-time (ST) and space-frequency (SF) orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM). At low signal to noise ratio (SNR) we employ ST-OFDM and switch to SF-OFDM at a certain SNR threshold. We determine this threshold from the intersection of individual performance curves. Results show a gain of 9 dB (at a bit error rate of 10-3) is achieved by employing adaptive spatial mode compared to a fixed ST-OFDM, almost 6 dB to fixed SF-OFDM, 4 dB to Coded ST-OFDM and 2 dB to a fixed coded SF-OFDM, at a delay spread of 700 ns

Optimum Failure-Censored Step-Stress Life Test Plans for the Lomax Distribution

Рассматриваются частично ускоренные ресурсные испытания при пошаговом изменении напряжений, при которых постулируется, что время до разрушения характеризуется распределением Ломакса при цензурировании разрушения. Получены показатели максимальной вероятности параметров данной модели и соответствующие среднеквадратичные отклонения, а также рассчитаны доверительные интервалы параметров с соответствующими вероятностями покрытия. Изучены оптимальные варианты проведения ресурсных испытаний. Для верификации полученных теоретических результатов выполнено численное моделирование тестовых задач.Розглядаються частково прискорені ресурсні дослідження при покроковій зміні напружень, за яких постулюється, що час до руйнування характеризується розподілом Ломакса при цензуруванні руйнування. Отримано показники максимальної імовірності параметрів даної моделі і відповідні середньоквадратичні відхилення та розраховано довірчі інтервали параметрів із відповідними імовірностями покриття. Вивчено оптимальні варіанти проведення ресурсних випробувань. Для верифікації отриманих теоретичних результатів виконано чисельне моделювання тестових задач

Planning Step-Stress Life Tests for the Generalized Rayleigh Distribution under Progressive Type-II Censoring with Binomial Removals

In this article, both the parameter estimation and optimal design problems of step-stress partially accelerated life test units whose lifetimes follow the generalized Rayleigh distribution are considered under progressive type-II censoring scheme with binomial removals. The maximum likelihood estimators of the scale and shape parameters as well as the acceleration factor are obtained. The concert of the estimators is assessed. In addition, approximate confidence intervals of the model parameters are constructed and their coverage probabilities are computed. Moreover, optimum test plans are also developed to improve/guarantee the quality of the statistical inference. Finally, simulation studies and a numerical example are provided for illustrative purposes.Рассмотрены параметр оценки и оптимальное проектирование частично ускоренных испытаний на долговечность при ступенчатой нагрузке на основе обобщенного рэлеевского распределения при прогрессивном цензурировании типа II с биномиальными выборками. В качестве фактора ускорения используются максимальные оценки вероятности параметров масштаба и формы, которые согласуются между собой. Построены приближенные доверительные интервалы параметров модели и рассчитаны границы вероятности. Разработаны оптимальные планы испытаний для улучшения статистического анализа. Предложены результаты моделирования и числовой пример.Розглянуто параметр оцінки і оптимальне проектування частково прискорених випробувань на довговічність при ступеневому навантаженні на основі узагальненого релеївського розподілу при прогресивному цензуруванні типу ІІ з біноміальними виборками. Як фактор прискорення використовуються максимальні оцінки імовірності параметрів масштабу і форми, які узгоджуються між собою. Побудовано наближені довірчі інтервали параметрів моделі і розраховано границі імовірності. Розроблено оптимальні плани випробувань із метою покращання статистичного аналізу. Запропоновано результати моделювання і числовий приклад