A health decision support system for rural india

In India and other developing nations, the bulk of the morbidity & mortality is due to commonly occurring communicable diseases & parasitic diseases coupled with malnutrition especially in rural areas. The effective decision making at the top level of any health services mostly depends on the availability of various resources such as human expertise, equipments, and medicine. People die from infectious and/or chronic diseases are the leading causes of death, especially in rural areas. By analyzing mortality, morbidity, and behavioral data, one can attempt to quantify health problems and the behavioral risk factors that contribute to them Hence in a country like India an effective multi disease surveillance system is essential for the General Health Care System to detect an outbreak, monitor the trend, prevent an epidemic & decrease the morbidity & mortality rate of India The proposed DSS is targeting to assist the top management of the State health service which will provide a practical, relatively inexpensive and replicable model of disease surveillance. The proposed system consists of application and management software that support clinical and operational data. The software is designed for multi-site use in individual medical facilities and health workers in remote villages. The disease surveillance data is collected and updated periodically by the health workers to the central database through SMS. This disease surveillance system through SMS will provide real time data and extract the statistical and customized information and even facilitate the prediction of the outbreak of epidemics and report emergencies. It also provides an automatic response messaging through SMS to people regarding basic preventive measures and cures. A smart phone application is built using J2ME which make data transmission error free and secured. The use of SMS as the mode of data transmission will help reduce bureaucratic delays and will automate the task of disease surveillance by providing an inexpensive replacement to the existing trend

Quantum Phase Transitions of Hard-Core Bosons in Background Potentials

We study the zero temperature phase diagram of hard core bosons in two dimensions subjected to three types of background potentials: staggered, uniform, and random. In all three cases there is a quantum phase transition from a superfluid (at small potential) to a normal phase (at large potential), but with different universality classes. As expected, the staggered case belongs to the XY universality, while the uniform potential induces a mean field transition. The disorder driven transition is clearly different from both; in particular, we find z~1.4, \nu~1, and \beta~0.6.Comment: 4 pages (6 figures); published version-- 2 references added, minor clarification

Bearing capacity of pond ash overlain by sand bed

In the recent past large amount of Pond ash are generated by the thermal power plants. It is a major reason of concern for the people living around the power plants. Statistical observation shows that the current rate of deposition of Pond ash in India has reached 170 million tons/annum. About 90,000 acres of precious cultivable land is used for the storage of abandoned ash. But the current rate of utilization of ash is only about 35-40%.The unused ash leads to an increasing ponding area for storing of ash and related environmental problems for the people who live around the power plants. Besides this, over the last few years, due to development the construction of skyscrapers, highways and roads has taken a boost. This requires a large amount of natural soil and aggregates to excavated or to be deposited. Hence this is a both environmental and economic issue. These are some issues now-a-days which motivates in development of alternative methods to overcome those environmental and also the economic issues which leads to the reuse of suitable industrial waste products which can fix those issues and also fulfill the specifications. During this work, the effect of moisture content, degree of compaction, dry densities etc. on various geotechnical properties of pond ash are studied. Specific gravity test, grain size distribution test by mechanical sieve analysis etc. are performed to obtain some physical properties of the pond ash. A series of tests such as light compaction as well as heavy compaction test, Direct shear test, Footing load test are done to estimate the strength characteristics of suitably compacted pond ash. The footing load test of saturated pond ash sample over lain by some thickness of sand bed is done and increase in the strength of pond ash is observed. These results will be very much helpful for the successful application of pond ash in different fields as well as the disposal of pond ash in an ecofriendly manner

Collaborative Governance: Analysing Social Audits in MGNREGA in India

In the history of social protection programmes in India, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is the most expansive and ambitious programme ever. In 2009/10 alone, over 380 billion rupees (US$8 billion) were spent to employ over 50 million households under this scheme. To oversee such expansive coverage, an elaborate monitoring and evaluation system has been enshrined in the law. It was also realised that non?state actors need to be included in the monitoring process for collective accountability and ensuring transparency. Social audits are unique collaborative governance mechanisms which are not only participatory programme evaluation exercises but also lead to empowerment of the poor. They are a platform for the vulnerable to raise their ‘voice’ and assert their ‘rights’; to hold the administration accountable and assume collective responsibility, thereby potentially transforming social protection to social justice. This article analyses the social audit framework from a policy design perspective, in light of field reports and recent changes in the rules and aims, to unravel why, despite the merits, it is not yet the ‘magic silver bullet’ for poverty alleviation

Early Follow-Up Phone Calls to Reduce 30-Day Readmissions For Stroke Patients Discharged to Home

Patients admitted to the acute stroke unit with minor neurologic deficits are frequently discharged directly to home rather than to a rehabilitation center. Data from our tertiary care comprehensive stroke center has shown that in a 7-month period, 37% of patients admitted to the stroke unit were discharged home versus discharged to rehab or other location. Our average 30-day readmission rate for home discharges is 5.14%. More than 30% of these readmitted patients had been discharged on a Thursday or Friday on their index admission. When discharged home, patients typically are tasked with several responsibilities including but not limited to medication management, organizing follow-up appointments, monitoring blood pressure, and coordinating home services. In addition to recovering mentally and physically from stroke, these tasks can lead to additional burden particularly on weekends when access to care may be limited. We hypothesize that those who are discharged home on a Thursday or Friday are at higher risk for readmission and predict that scripted phone calls to these patients over the weekend could result in reduction in readmissions

Development of the financial sector and growth of microfinance institutions: The moderating effect of economic growth

ABSTRAC: This article analyzes the moderating effect the degree of economic growth has on the relationship between the development of the financial system and the microfinance industry activity. The hypotheses proposed establish that the influence of the development of the financial system on the activity of the microfinance sector will be different depending on the level of economic growth. The estimates were made using the System-GMM methodology for panel data, which allows controlling the unobservable heterogeneity and the problems of endogeneity. We find that the degree of economic growth affects the relationship between the financial sector development and microfinance activity. Under negative economic growth conditions, the development of the financial sector has a negative impact on the activity of the microfinance sector, but when economic growth is high, the development of the financial sector positively influences the activity of the microfinance sector

ECONOMIC VALUATION OF REGION OF THE SIVALIK RANGE � A STUDY ON RAJAJI NATIONAL PARK

Master'sMASTER OF SCIENCE (ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT) (MEM

Abstract Number ‐ 215: Distinct presentation of RCVS and PRES co‐existence and overlap of their pathophysiology

Introduction Reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS), is characterized by reversible segmental and multifocal vasoconstrictionof cerebral arteries leading to infarcts and cytotoxic edema. Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) is characterized by vasogenic edema predominantly in the parieto‐occipital regions associated with acute onset encephalopathy, seizures, headache, and visual disturbances.Whether PRES and RCVS are independent syndromes and sometimes overlapped or part of a continuum process, these theories are still debated. We report a case of a patient with distinct overlapping of RCVS and PRES. Methods Case Report Results 52‐year‐old woman with past medical Hx of Hypertension, Diabetes, Migraines and cocaine use, initially presented with hypertensive emergency andsubacute headaches with worsening confusion. Initial CT head was negative for bleed but showed evolving subcortical hypodensities in the right parietal and left frontal lobes. CTA head and neck showed multifocal intracranial irregularities of bilateral ACAs and MCAs with paucity of left anterior M2 branch, left V3/V4 steno‐occlusion. This vasculopathy and clinical presentation is very consistent with RCVS.MRI of brain showed multiple acute / subacute punctate infarcts in the left corona radiata, bilateral basal ganglia, right greater than left thalami, right dorsal pons, right mesial temporal lobe, bilateral occipital regions. Vasogenic edema was noted in the bilateral border zone regions, right parietal being most prominent with some contrast enhancement. The MRI showed vasogenic edema and cytotoxic edema with multiple infarcts which is consistent with PRES and RCVS vasculopathy. CSF analysis was negative for pleocytosis and showed mildly elevated protein. The patient was started on Verapamil and Aspirin and Atorvastatin for secondary stroke prevention. With improvement in mental status was discharged to Rehab. Conclusions The pathophysiological mechanisms of PRES and RCVS are still unknown. Theories whether RCVS and PRES are independent syndromes and sometimes overlap or part of spectrum, are still debated. However, some common characteristics make conceivable a common origin linked with impaired cerebral autoregulation, endothelial dysfunction, and BBB breakdown. Increased clinical awareness of their co‐existence may help in quickerdiagnosis and treatment