A qualitative study of quality of care in rural Karnataka

The Third Five-Year Plan (1961–66) aimed at reducing the crude birth rate in India to 25 per 1,000 population by 1973, however this goal has not been achieved. Several other demographic goals were set later, to be achieved by specified years, but they were deferred or revised. One major reason for the failure to achieve these goals was thought to be the lack of adequate infrastructural facilities for the family welfare program, thus it was decided to improve the institution–population ratio. The primary objective of this study is to assess the quality of interaction between clients and providers, and the quality of family welfare services. More specifically, the study examines how family welfare program personnel interact with clients in a given setting, the quality of interaction, how frequently such interaction takes place, the provider\u27s view of, and satisfaction with, the information and quality of family welfare services provided, and the client\u27s view of, and satisfaction with, the information and quality of family welfare services received. The focus of the investigation is on the family welfare program—the maternal and child health and family planning programs

Influence of KCl and HCl on a Laser Clad FeCrAl Alloy: In-Situ SEM and Controlled Environment High Temperature Corrosion

This study investigated the effects of HCl and KCl on a laser-clad FeCrAl coating at 450 °C in an in-situ ESEM followed by a furnace exposure. In all in-situ TEM cross-sections, three major phases were identified: an iron rich oxide, an iron-chromium mixed oxide and an aluminium enriched layer. HCl allowed chlorine based corrosion to occur which suggests interaction from its gas phase. EDX of the regions around KCl crystals showed a decrease in chromium which is an indication of chlorine selectively removing chromium. Moreover, the mass gain in HCl with KCl was significantly lower than that observed in air with KCl

Process parameter optimisation of laser clad iron based alloy: predictive models of deposition efficiency, porosity and dilution

As a candidate coating material for heat-exchanger surfaces in commercial power generation boiler, an amorphous/glass forming Fe-Cr-B alloy NanoSteel SHS 7170 was deposited by a 2 kW fibre laser onto a boiler grade steel substrate (15Mo3). A comprehensive trial with 28 single track optimisation runs was carried out to develop models of the influence of three processing parameters, laser power, laser traverse speed and powder feed rate, on powder deposition efficiency, dilution and porosity. It was found that deposition efficiency is dependent on laser power and powder feed rate, increasing with increasing power and decreasing powder feed rate when tested within the parameter window of laser power ranging from 0.4 to 2 kW; traverse speed varying from 150 to 1200 mm min‑1; and powder feed rate varying from 4 to 10 g min‑1. Similarly, it was found that dilution is also dependent on laser power and powder feed rate. Dilution increases with increasing power and decreases with increasing powder feed rate within the same parameter window discussed above. This means that through processing parameter selection, these properties can be adjusted to suit their application. Porosity was found to be independent of processing parameters and instead mostly dependent on the feedstock material. A model was produced for predicting porosity within a powder feedstock, found to be 8.5%. These models were used to successfully produce an optimised coating

Nanoparticles for Applications in Cellular Imaging

In the following review we discuss several types of nanoparticles (such as TiO2, quantum dots, and gold nanoparticles) and their impact on the ability to image biological components in fixed cells. The review also discusses factors influencing nanoparticle imaging and uptake in live cells in vitro. Due to their unique size-dependent properties nanoparticles offer numerous advantages over traditional dyes and proteins. For example, the photostability, narrow emission peak, and ability to rationally modify both the size and surface chemistry of Quantum Dots allow for simultaneous analyses of multiple targets within the same cell. On the other hand, the surface characteristics of nanometer sized TiO2allow efficient conjugation to nucleic acids which enables their retention in specific subcellular compartments. We discuss cellular uptake mechanisms for the internalization of nanoparticles and studies showing the influence of nanoparticle size and charge and the cell type targeted on nanoparticle uptake. The predominant nanoparticle uptake mechanisms include clathrin-dependent mechanisms, macropinocytosis, and phagocytosis