Customer Satisfaction with Domestic Water Supply in India – A Study in Hubli city

Severe water crisis prevailed in twin Cities of Hubli-Dharwad in South India for a long time. During the last ten years, there has been considerable improvement in the water service. While most parts of the city is having intermittent supply system, a pilot 24/7 water service was implemented in a Demonstration Zone through the World Bank assistance, and State Government of Karnataka. The 24x7 project covers about 12 % of the total population of the city.  The objective of this paper is to study the customer satisfaction in both intermittent and 24/7 water service areas in Hubli city.  Stratified sampling method was adopted for four groups namely, low, medium, high income and backward classes namely the Scheduled Cast/Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) groups.  The results of the study revealed that most customers in 24/7 demo zone were highly satisfied with water quality, continuity, quantity, and pressure; whereas there was slight dissatisfaction (12%) with regard to redressal of customer complaints. In contrast, there was considerable dissatisfaction with water quality, continuity and pressure in intermittent supply areas. There was universal opinion from both 24/7 demo zone and intermittent service areas supporting 24/7 water service scale up project in the city. Keywords: Intermittent Water Service, 24/7 Water Service, Customer Satisfactio

Interstitial cell network volume is reduced in the terminal bowel of ageing mice

Ageing is associated with impaired neuromuscular function of the terminal gastrointestinal (GI) tract, which can result in chronic constipation, faecal impaction and incontinence. Interstitial cells of cajal (ICC) play an important role in regulation of intestinal smooth muscle contraction. However, changes in ICC volume with age in the terminal GI tract (the anal canal including the anal sphincter region and rectum)have not been studied. Here, the distribution, morphology and network volume of ICC in the terminal GI tract of 3‐to 4‐month‐old and 26‐to 28‐month‐old C57BL/6mice were investigated. ICC were identified by immunofluorescence labelling of wholemount preparations with an antibody against c‐Kit. ICC network volume was measured by software‐based 3D volume rendering of confocal Z stacks. A significant reduction in ICC network volume per unit volume of muscle was measured in aged animals. No age‐associated change in ICC morphology was detected. The thickness of the circular muscle layer of the anal sphincter region and rectum increased with age, while that in the distal colon decreased. These results suggest that ageing is associated with a reduction in the network volume of ICC in the terminal GI tract, which may influence the normal function of these regions

Influence of Ag+ and Mn2+ ions on structural, optical and photoluminescence features of ZnS quantum dots

The current study deals with the structural, morphological, elemental, optical and photoluminescence behaviors of Ag+, Mn2+ dual doped ZnS quantum dots (QDs). The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) studies confirmed the cubic structure and size of the crystallites (~2 nm). The Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) photographs portrayed the surface and morphological structure of prepared samples. Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectra (FTIR) ensured the presence of Zn, Ag, Mn and, S in the samples as per the anticipated stoichiometry ratio. The UV–visible spectra showed a red shift in optical absorption and band gap gets narrowed due to the incorporation of Ag+ ions. The size effect has overcome the quantum confinement effect in this case. Through photoluminescence (PL) studies, a weak UV emission and strong red wavelength emissions were received and discussed on the basis of sulfur vacancies. This red emission was dealt in terms of d-electrons transition between host and dopant ions

Body Image Perception among Undergraduate Female Medical Students in Mangalore: A Cross Sectional Study

Background: Body image is the dynamic perception of one’s body. Body image perception depends on anthropometric and psychological factors. Body dissatisfaction is influenced by the socio-cultural environment and is associated with eating disorders and low self-esteem.Ojectives: To study the body image perception among undergraduate female students in a medical college.Materials And Methods: It is a cross-sectional study conducted among 239 undergraduate female medical students. It was conducted during December 2015-January 2016 in one of the medical colleges in Mangalore. A 34 item Body Shape Questionnaire(BSQ) along with the details on socio-demography was collected using a validated questionnaire. The 34-item BSQ measures body image concern through a 6-point Likertscale. The scores are classified into 4 categories: satisfied (not worried) about body shape (140). The data so obtained was entered and analyzed using SPSS version 16.0.Results: Median age of the students was 20 years.64% of them were in the age group of 20-26 years.50% of them were from Karnataka. According to the BSQ it was seen that up to 32.6% were dissatisfied with themselves. No association was noted between the body image perception and place of origin or agegroups of the subjects. But a significant association was noted between body image perception and subjects avoiding communal changing rooms and self consciousness.Conclusion: With adequate health education people can be made aware that being dissatisfied with their body images could lead to adverse health events like anorexia nervosa and bulimia. A number of potential factors that may help to protect against negative body image or prevent negative body image exist

Mandating Self-Imposed Curfew - An Analysis of PM Modi's Janta Curfew Speech

This study explores the persuasive strategies used by the Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi to appeal to the citizens of India, to observe ‘Janta Curfew’ or People’s Curfew, as a preventive measure to contain the spread of Covid-19 infections in India. The study maps the speech to established strategies and theories of persuasion such as Aristotle’s Rhetorical Triangle, Elaboration Likelihood Model, Monroe's Motivated Sequence, and Cognitive Dissonance Theory; and ascertains the indispensability of the aforementioned theoretical frameworks. The study also identifies Modi’s unique persuasive strategies such as wheedling, building-up (before delivering), complimenting before criticizing, Eutrepismus, and subtly titling the task; and analyzes their effectiveness in persuading the citizens of India to comply with Janta Curfew

Case report-baboon syndrome with paracetamol

Adverse drug reaction (ADR) is defined as “any response to drug which is noxious or unintended and occurs at a dose normally used in man for prophylaxis, diagnosis or treatment of diseases or for modification of physiological function”. Among the ADRs reported, cutaneous drug reactions are most common. Symmetrical drug-related intertriginous and flexural exanthema (SDRIFE), also known as baboon syndrome (BS), is included in the spectrum of systemically induced allergic contact dermatitis. Characteristics of SDRIFE include a sharply defined symmetric erythema in the gluteal area and in the flexural or intertriginous folds without any systemic symptoms or signs. We present a case of 30-year-old female with baboon syndrome after taking the combination of paracetamol and diclofenac. Awareness of SDRIFE (BS) as an unusual drug reaction is especially important since the connection between skin eruption and drug exposure may easily be overlooked or misdiagnosed

The usefulness of confusion, urea, respiratory rate, and shock index or adjusted shock index criteria in predicting combined mortality and/or ICU admission compared to CURB-65 in community-acquired pneumonia

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Use of natural plant extracts as a novel microbiological quality indicator in raw milk: An alternative for resazurin dye reduction method

In the present study, we propose a novel field-scale analytical tool for rapid screening of microbiological quality in raw milk using aqueous extracts of plant materials, i.e. flowers (e.g. Hibiscus rosa-sinensis L. and Clitoria ternatea), taproots (e.g. Beta vulgaris) and pricklypears (e.g. Opuntia dillenii). For each plant extract, the colour changes in raw milk were evaluated between 4.5 and 6.5 pH against the resazurin dye as a control. The plant anthocyanin content in each extract was analyzed by the differential pH method using a spectrophotometer. The Hibiscus rosa-sinensis flower extract was opted to further test since it had a pH-sensitive colour change (6.5; maroon to 6.2; light-pink) compared to other plant extracts, which did not indicate a noticeable colour variation with pH. Anthocyanin content of the Hibiscus extract was 0.59 g/mL. The novel method showed high linearity (R-2 = 0.95), 100% accuracy and greater repeatability with an intermediate level of precision. The limit of quantification and detection was 0.46 and 0.15 g/mL, respectively. In conclusion, we demonstrated the potential in using water extract of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis L. flowers as an alternative to the resazurin dye reduction method for rapid and accurate microbiological quality control for raw milk procurement in remote areas

Extraction of manganese from Ferro-manganese slag

In the present investigation an attempt has been made to recover manganese from ferro-manganese slag of ferro-alloy plant. Roasting and leaching are the techniques used to recover- manganese. Roasting has been carried out by mixing the slag with CaO and CaCO3, at 1200Cfor 2 hours. The leaching of the roasted mass has been carried out in ferric chloride solution alone, as well as in presence of sucrose in ferric chloride solution. The optimum condit-ions have been established by varying the parameters like concentration of leaching agent, percent solids, particle size of the slag, temperature and time of leaching. It is possible to recover 87% of manganese from the ferro-manganese slag of 200# at a temperature of 80°C, 2 hours of leaching time and 5% solids in 0. 154 M ferric chloride solution. It has been found that the presence of sucrose in ferric chloride solution enhances the rate & recovery)recovery of manganese from slag