HIV Transmission Potential Among Local and Migrant Factory Workers in Kolkata, India

Migrant workers in India play a key role in the spread of HIV. Kolkata is a common destination for workers, who may acquire infection and transmit it to their wives and/or other sexual partners. We investigated sexual relations and condom use by factory workers. Migrant and local factory workers were randomly selected from five wards of Kolkata. Information was collected about demographic and socio-economic characteristics, sexual relationships, condom usage, and perceptions and intent to use condoms. Condom use was very low in both groups of workers, particularly among migrants. Many married workers visited female sex workers but never used condoms. Few intended to use condoms, and if they did, it did not always translate into actual usage. There is great potential for transmission of HIV/sexually transmitted infections by these workers. Carefully designed intervention and education programs in the context of low literacy and cultural norms are urgently needed

Communities, birth attendants and health facilities: a continuum of emergency maternal and newborn care (the global network's EmONC trial)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Maternal and newborn mortality rates remain unacceptably high, especially where the majority of births occur in home settings or in facilities with inadequate resources. The introduction of emergency obstetric and newborn care services has been proposed by several organizations in order to improve pregnancy outcomes. However, the effectiveness of emergency obstetric and neonatal care services has never been proven. Also unproven is the effectiveness of community mobilization and community birth attendant training to improve pregnancy outcomes.</p> <p><b>Methods/Design</b></p> <p>We have developed a cluster-randomized controlled trial to evaluate the impact of a comprehensive intervention of community mobilization, birth attendant training and improvement of quality of care in health facilities on perinatal mortality in low and middle-income countries where the majority of births take place in homes or first level care facilities. This trial will take place in 106 clusters (300-500 deliveries per year each) across 7 sites of the Global Network for Women's and Children's Health Research in Argentina, Guatemala, India, Kenya, Pakistan and Zambia. The trial intervention has three key elements, community mobilization, home-based life saving skills for communities and birth attendants, and training of providers at obstetric facilities to improve quality of care. The primary outcome of the trial is perinatal mortality. Secondary outcomes include rates of stillbirth, 7-day neonatal mortality, maternal death or severe morbidity (including obstetric fistula, eclampsia and obstetrical sepsis) and 28-day neonatal mortality.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>In this trial, we are evaluating a combination of interventions including community mobilization and facility training in an attempt to improve pregnancy outcomes. If successful, the results of this trial will provide important information for policy makers and clinicians as they attempt to improve delivery services for pregnant women and newborns in low-income countries.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01073488</p

Empowerment of women and mental health promotion: a qualitative study in rural Maharashtra, India.

BACKGROUND: The global burden of mental illness is high and opportunities for promoting mental health are neglected in most parts of the world. Many people affected by mental illness live in developing countries, where treatment and care options are limited. In this context, primary health care (PHC) programs can indirectly promote mental health by addressing its determinants i.e. by enhancing social unity, minimising discrimination and generating income opportunities. The objectives of this study were to: 1. Describe concepts of mental health and beliefs about determinants of mental health and illness among women involved with a PHC project in rural Maharashtra, India; 2. Identify perceived mental health problems in this community, specifically depression, suicide and violence, their perceived causes, and existing and potential community strategies to respond to them and; 3. Investigate the impact of the PHC program on individual and community factors associated with mental health METHOD: We undertook qualitative in-depth interviews with 32 women associated with the PHC project regarding: their concepts of mental health and its determinants; suicide, depression and violence; and the perceived impact of the PHC project on the determinants of mental health. The interviews were taped, transcribed, translated and thematically analysed. RESULTS: Mental health and illness were understood by these women to be the product of cultural and socio-economic factors. Mental health was commonly conceptualised as an absence of stress and the commonest stressors were conflict with husbands and mother-in-laws, domestic violence and poverty. Links between empowerment of women through income generation and education, reduction of discrimination based on caste and sex, and promotion of individual and community mental health were recognised. However, mental health problems such as suicide and violence were well-described by participants. CONCLUSION: While it is essential that affordable, accessible, appropriate treatments and systems of referral and care are available for people with mental illness in developing country settings, the promotion of mental health by addressing its determinants is another potential strategy for reducing the burden of mental illness for individuals and communities in these settings

CW CO<SUB>2</SUB> laser annealing of boron-doped polycrystalline silicon

CW CO<SUB>2</SUB> laser annealing of boron-doped polycrystalline silicon at various substrate temperature, from room temperature to 600 &#176; C, is reported. The overall improvement in charge carrier conduction of polycrystalline silicon is shown to occur at a substrate temperature of 200 &#176; C, where the maximum improvement is observed in the charge carrier mobility. These changes in the electrical properties of polycrystalline silicon are correlated with the structural modifications occurring due to laser annealing, as observed by scanning electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction. The simultaneous changes in the electrical and structural properties of polycrystalline silicon are thus carefully studied and reported

Hydrogen-induced structural changes in polycrystalline silicon as revealed by positron lifetime spectroscopy

Hydrogen passivation of polycrystalline silicon wafer is carried out in order to reduce the deleterious effects of grain boundaries. A systematic variation is made in the process parameters implemented during hydrogen passivation and the results of room temperature resistivity measurements are reported. As an efficient tool to study the structure change, positron lifetime spectroscopic measurements are performed on original and hydrogenated polycrystalline silicon wafers and a systematic correlation is sought between the changes that take place in the electrical and structural properties of polycrystalline silicon water, brought about by hydrogen passivation

Systematic study of the process parameters affecting hydrogen plasma passivation of polycrystalline silicon and polycrystalline silicon solar cells

We report detailed studies of hydrogen passivation of polycrystalline silicon wafers by RF plasma and the effect of various process parameters on the extent of passivation as seen through electrical measurements. Similar studies made on polysilicon solar cells are also reported. The need for such studies is emphasized via some interesting results which show an excessive dependence of effective passivation on the process conditions such as processing time, substrate temperature, gas pressure and RF power which seems to have been overlooked by earlier workers. Our results reveal that there is an optimum for almost all the above parameters which yield the most effective passivation of the grain boundaries in polycrystalline silicon. Physically, therefore, it implies that optimum hydrogen incorporation in a particular bonding configuration is a necessary condition to achieve best passivation. Results of samples passivated for several hours indicate the presence of yet another process along with the normal hydrogen diffusion. Possibilities of bond breaking or hydrogen incorporation in different bonding configurations cannot be completely ruled out. The dependence of effective passivation on these process conditions is also revealed by the systematic studies of variation in average carrier concentration, charge carrier mobility and resistivity with substrate temperature, RF power and gas pressure. Polycrystalline silicon solar cells passivated with the optimum process conditions show significant improvement in the efficiency and fill factor. Presence of hydrogen was confirmed by quadrupole mass spectrometry studies by heating the passivated samples