Experiences of pregnancy, childbirth and post-partem period in urban and suburban immigrant Pakistani women

A body of research suggests that immigrants arrive in the U.S. in good health, a healthy immigrant effect. As immigrants acculturate and absorb dominant cultural norms (measured by proxy variables such as language preference, employment, smoking and alcohol consumption), their health status deteriorates. There is a need to understand how immigrants adapt to a changed social and cultural environment and how this may influence health. A study of pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period in immigrant Pakistani women living in New Jersey explored the interface of culture, immigration and health. The study employed a three pronged approach. Census data were analyzed to identify areas with the largest Pakistani immigrant populations in New Jersey. A sample of 26 women from urban (Jersey City) and suburban (Parsippany and Edison) towns were then interviewed, and tours of their neighborhoods were undertaken to describe their environments. The in-depth interview data revealed that the pregnancy experience of these women was influenced by the timing of their pregnancy, the quality of their social networks, socio-economic status, and knowledge and ease of negotiation of the U.S. healthcare system. Initially, these women experienced a weakening of social networks and a fall in socio-economic status. Moreover, women who experienced a pregnancy soon after immigrating to the U.S. also encountered a healthcare system that was difficult to navigate. These women adapted by building new networks (friends and neighbors), strengthening kinship ties (in-laws), investing in relationships (exchange of favors) and consequently deepening embeddedness in these new networks. These new networks also functioned as conduits of information that facilitated the obtaining of healthcare. Social networks in Pakistan were linked via a range of transnational mechanisms. Differences in socio-cultural adaptation occurred based on urban and suburban location, and these influenced the women\u27s pregnancy experience. Urban and suburban networks differed in composition (e.g. urban networks were comprised of other Pakistani immigrants vs. suburban networks that were more diverse) and collective social capital, and these women used their social capital to address different needs and to achieve different goals. Urban women tended to be more conservative in their adaptations and maintained old social patterns, while suburban women were comparatively more flexible. Additionally, these individual adaptations have collectively shaped urban and suburban Pakistani immigrant communities

Aluminum-Doped Cobalt Ferrite as an Efficient Photocatalyst for the Abatement of Methylene Blue

The present study is aimed to access the photodegradation efficiency of methylene blue dye using CoFe_{2}O_{4} and Co_{0.1}Al_{0.03}Fe_{0.17}O_{0.4} nanoparticles. The synthesis of spinel ferrites nanoparticles was performed by a facile sol-gel method. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by FTIR, XRD, SEM, EDS, Nitrogen adsorption/desorption and UV–Visible spectroscopy. The XRD studies confirmed the spinel cubic structure of ferrite. It was also found that the crystallinity increases at an annealing temperature of 800 °C. The application of these nanoparticles for methylene blue’s photocatalytic degradation was explored and also the optimization of several parameters involving dye’s concentration, amount of catalyst and pH of the solution was done. Photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue showed that at pH 11, using 200 W visible light bulb and in 120 min; 93% methylene blue dye was degraded by using 0.1 g of Co_{0.1}Al_{0.03}Fe_{0.17}O_{0.4}

Sustainable Development of Chitosan/Calotropis procera-Based Hydrogels to Stimulate Formation of Granulation Tissue and Angiogenesis in Wound Healing Applications

The formation of new scaffolds to enhance healing magnitude is necessarily required in biomedical applications. Granulation tissue formation is a crucial stage of wound healing in which granulation tissue grows on the surface of a wound by the formation of connective tissue and blood vessels. In the present study, porous hydrogels were synthesized using chitosan incorporating latex of the Calotropis procera plant by using a freeze–thaw cycle to stimulate the formation of granulation tissue and angiogenesis in wound healing applications. Structural analysis through Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy confirmed the interaction between chitosan and Calotropis procera. Latex extract containing hydrogel showed slightly higher absorption than the control during water absorption analysis. Thermogravimetric analysis showed high thermal stability of the 60:40 combination of chitosan (CS) and Calotropis procera as compared to all other treatments and controls. A fabricated scaffold application on a chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) showed that all hydrogels containing latex extract resulted in a significant formation of blood vessels and regeneration of cells. Overall, the formation of connective tissues and blood capillaries and healing magnitude decreased in ascending order of concentration of extract