Factors associated with lack of postnatal care among Palestinian women: A cross-sectional study of three clinics in the West Bank

Dhaher E, Mikolajczyk RT, Maxwell AE, Krämer A. Factors associated with lack of postnatal care among Palestinian women: a cross-sectional study of three clinics in the West Bank. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth. 2008;8(1): 26.Background: Only about one-third of women in Palestine (West Bank and Gaza) obtain postpartum care. Therefore, the goal of this study was to assess factors associated with lack of postnatal care, women's reasons for not obtaining postnatal care, and their attitudes towards its importance. Methods: In early 2006, a cross-sectional survey was conducted at three clinics run by the Ministry of Health providing Mother and Child Health Care in West Bank, Palestine. A total of 264 postpartum women attending the clinics were interviewed face-to-face, using a structured questionnaire. Results: Although the majority of women considered postnatal care necessary (66.1%), only 36.6% of women obtained postnatal care. The most frequent reason for not obtaining postnatal care was that women did not feel sick and therefore did not need postnatal care (85%), followed by not having been told by their doctor to come back for postnatal care (15.5%). Based on a multivariable analysis, use of postnatal care was higher among women who had experienced problems during their delivery, had a cesarean section, or had an instrumental vaginal delivery than among women who had a spontaneous vaginal delivery. Use of postnatal care was also higher among women who delivered in a private hospital as compared to those who delivered in a public hospital. In addition, we found regional differences. Conclusion: The higher use of postnatal care among high-risk women is appropriate, but some clinically dangerous conditions can also occur in low-risk women. Future efforts should therefore focus on providing postnatal care to a larger number of low-risk women

Numerical model to predict the settlement response of two nearby foundations due to geotextile slippage

In this paper, a numerical study is undertaken on the settlement response of two nearby flexible loads resting on a reinforced granular bed underlain by a soft soil, considering plain strain loading conditions. The finite element code PLAXIS-8 has been used. The granular fill, soft soil and geosynthetic reinforcements are considered as linear elastic materials. The geosynthetic reinforcement is modeled with interface elements for allowing slip between the soil and reinforcement. When no interface elements were used, the geosynthetic reinforcement was modeled as if there were no slip. It appears that allowing slip has a negligible effect on the settlement predicted. The results obtained from the present investigation showed that as the number of reinforcement layers increase up to three layers, the vertical stresses in the loaded region decreases causing maximum settlement reduction at a decreasing rate of 16% and 20% for 3-layers without and with slippage respectively. A parametric study has been carried out to bring out the effect of slippage of the reinforcement layer on the settlement response in dry and saturated soils. The increase in the settlement is not significant when the slippage of the reinforcement is considered. An interesting observation in this note is that the settlement was about 10% less when there were two nearby footings compared to when there was only one. The interaction between the footings resulted in reduction in the settlements, possibly due to reduced confining pressures

Slippage effect on the settlement response of a granular soft soil system

In this paper a numerical study using the finite element method is undertaken to predict the settlement response of a footing, considering plane strain conditions, resting on a reinforced granular bed on soft soil. The granular fill, soft soil and geosynthetic reinforcement are considered as non linear materials. The geosynthetic reinforcement is modelled with interface elements for allowing slip between the soil and reinforcement. The results obtained from the present investigation showed close agreement when compared with the results of finite element analysis and lumped parameter modelling carried out by previous researchers, assuming no slip conditions. The number of reinforcement layers was taken as one or three (multilayer). A parametric study has been carried out to illustrate the effect of slippage of the reinforcement layer on the settlement response. The increase in the settlement is not significant when the slippage of the reinforcement is considered

Numerical modeling to reduce Baghdad soil subsidence and settlement on locations of sewage systems

Sewage-related subsidence is a serious problem in Baghdad, and it represents severe damages and disturbances to services. The soils of Baghdad show a wide range of variation in grain size distribution. The aim of this paper is to study strategies to prevent and/or minimise soil subsidence phenomena affecting the sewerage and road systems in Baghdad city. This was achieved through simulation of soil profi les with appropriate properties to a depth up to 12 m at nine different locations by using PLAXIS, a fi nite element (FE) 2D modelling software. The subsidence and resulting settlements were reduced by providing a geosynthetic-reinforced granular fill placed over a soft soil deposit, as well as through grouting techniques. A simulation of these two types of ground treatments suggests that they have been quite effective in reducing the settlement. By using one layer of geotextile reinforcement with stiffness of 5 kN/m, acceptable and noticeable subsidence and settlement reduction of 12% to 80% were achieved for most of the studied locations. Grouting was modelled as volume change in soft soils and weakness cluster, and it showed reasonable results with settlement reduction from 0.5 to 0.1 mm at the nine different locations. It would appear that the particular simulation chosen for the calculation of this problem model fulfi ls the two important treatment methods, which are common with the FE simulations

Fission Research at IRMM

Fission Research at JRC-IRMM has a longstanding tradition. The present paper is discussing recent investigations of fission fragment properties of 238 U(n,f), 234 U(n,f), prompt neutron emission in fission of 252 Cf(SF) as well as the prompt fission neutron spectrum of 235 U(n,f) and is presenting the most important results