Pluralistic care and therapeutic itineraries among a migrant tribal community in an eastern Indian city

In medical pluralism, issues of the selective use of one sort of healer over another and what makes people opt for a specific source of health care are important. In this article, we discuss the availability of different health-care alternatives, the conditions that lead the health-care seeker to choose them and ‘therapeutic itineraries' among a migrant tribal community living in an eastern Indian city. A mixed methods approach, combining quantitative and qualitative research techniques, was adopted. Different sources of health care, conditions of illnesses for which people sought treatment and treatment-seeking behaviour in relation some common illnesses are examined. The source of treatment depends upon the type of illness, its symptoms and perceived severity. The reasons for pluralistic care-seeking are the failure of modern medicines and the perceived causes of illness. This has created dilemmas for people and often led to pluralistic care, which is sometimes pragmatic

Prediction of Microstructure in Laser Deposition of Titanium Alloys

Laser deposition of titanium alloys is under consideration for aerospace applications, and offers significant increases in efficiency and flexibility compared to conventional manufacturing methods. However, its ultimate success will depend on the ability to predict and control the microstructure and resulting mechanical properties of the deposit. In this study, both 2-D continuum finite element modeling and 3-D cellular automaton finite element modeling of a thinwall geometry are used to investigate the effects of deposition process variables on microstructure in laser deposited Ti-6Al-4V. Numerical results for cooling rate and thermal gradient obtained from the 2-D models are used to provide insight into grain size and morphology, while the 3-D cellular automaton models are used to provide direct predictions of deposited microstructure. The numerical model predictions are subsequently compared with observed microstructures in LENSTM deposited Ti-6Al-4V.This work was supported by the Joint AFRL/DAGSI Research Program, project number ML-WSU-01-11, as well as by a grant from Wright State University and the Ohio Board of Regents.Mechanical Engineerin

Effects of Process Variables and Size Scale on Solidification Microstructure in Laser-Based Solid Freeform Fabrication of Ti-6Al-4V

Mechanical Engineerin

Effect of truss retention and pruning of berry on seed yield and quality of cherry tomato (Solanum lycopersicum var cerasiforme) grown under different polyhouse structures

Study was conducted to evaluate the effect of retention of truss per plant and pruning of berries per truss on seed yield and quality of cherry tomato (Solanum tycopersicum var cerasiforme L.) grown under three different polyhouse structures, viz. semi climate controlled polyhouse (P1), naturally ventilated polyhouse (P2) and insect proof nethouse (P3). Among the structures P1 gave higher berry weight (7.67 g), number of seeds/berry (60.66), 100 seed weight (0.1328 g), seed yield/berry (0.0912 g), germination (84.90%), vigour index-I (650.64), vigour index-II (1.47) and lower EC (0.0086 µS/g/cm), when compared to P2 and P3. The retention of 5 truss per plant (V1) recorded higher berry weight (7.37 g), number of seeds/berry (63.25), 100 seed weight (0.1319 g), seed yield/berry (0.0886 g), germination (84.68 %), vigour index-I (640.97), vigour index-II (1.43) and lower electrical conductivity (0.0083 µS/ g/cm), as compared to V2 and V3. The thinning of berry, i.e 10 per truss (B1) has given significantly higher mean berry weight (8.21 g), number of seeds/berry (61.53), 100 seed weight (0.1323 g), 100 seed weight (0.1323 g), seed yield/berry (0.0913 g), germination (86.01%), vigour index-I (651.96), vigour-II (1.46) and lower EC (0.0080 µS/g/ cm) in comparison to B2 and B3

Microstructural characterization of AISI 431 martensitic stainless steel laser-deposited coatings

High cooling rates during laser cladding of stainless steels may alter the microstructure and phase constitution of the claddings and consequently change their functional properties. In this research, solidification structures and solid state phase transformation products in single and multi layer AISI 431 martensitic stainless steel coatings deposited by laser cladding at different processing speeds are investigated by optical microscopy, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), orientation imaging microscopy (OIM), ternary phase diagram, Schaeffler and TTT diagrams. The results of this study show how partitionless solidification and higher solidification rates alter the microstructure and phase constitution of martensitic stainless steel laser deposited coatings. In addition, it is shown that while different cladding speeds have no effect on austenite–martensite orientation relationship in the coatings, increasing the cladding speed has resulted in a reduction of hardness in deposited coatings which is in contrast to the common idea about obtaining higher hardness values at higher cladding speeds.

Large-Scale Spray Releases: Additional Aerosol Test Results

One of the events postulated in the hazard analysis for the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) and other U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear facilities is a breach in process piping that produces aerosols with droplet sizes in the respirable range. The current approach for predicting the size and concentration of aerosols produced in a spray leak event involves extrapolating from correlations reported in the literature. These correlations are based on results obtained from small engineered spray nozzles using pure liquids that behave as a Newtonian fluid. The narrow ranges of physical properties on which the correlations are based do not cover the wide range of slurries and viscous materials that will be processed in the WTP and in processing facilities across the DOE complex. To expand the data set upon which the WTP accident and safety analyses were based, an aerosol spray leak testing program was conducted by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). PNNL’s test program addressed two key technical areas to improve the WTP methodology (Larson and Allen 2010). The first technical area was to quantify the role of slurry particles in small breaches where slurry particles may plug the hole and prevent high-pressure sprays. The results from an effort to address this first technical area can be found in Mahoney et al. (2012a). The second technical area was to determine aerosol droplet size distribution and total droplet volume from prototypic breaches and fluids, including sprays from larger breaches and sprays of slurries for which literature data are mostly absent. To address the second technical area, the testing program collected aerosol generation data at two scales, commonly referred to as small-scale and large-scale testing. The small-scale testing and resultant data are described in Mahoney et al. (2012b), and the large-scale testing and resultant data are presented in Schonewill et al. (2012). In tests at both scales, simulants were used to mimic the relevant physical properties projected for actual WTP process streams

Hanford Tank Farms Waste Certification Flow Loop Test Plan

A future requirement of Hanford Tank Farm operations will involve transfer of wastes from double shell tanks to the Waste Treatment Plant. As the U.S. Department of Energy contractor for Tank Farm Operations, Washington River Protection Solutions anticipates the need to certify that waste transfers comply with contractual requirements. This test plan describes the approach for evaluating several instruments that have potential to detect the onset of flow stratification and critical suspension velocity. The testing will be conducted in an existing pipe loop in Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s facility that is being modified to accommodate the testing of instruments over a range of simulated waste properties and flow conditions. The testing phases, test matrix and types of simulants needed and the range of testing conditions required to evaluate the instruments are describe

Modeling of Ti-W Solidification Microstructures Under Additive Manufacturing Conditions

Additive manufacturing (AM) processes have many benefits for the fabrication of alloy parts, including the potential for greater microstructural control and targeted properties than traditional metallurgy processes. To accelerate utilization of this process to produce such parts, an effective computational modeling approach to identify the relationships between material and process parameters, microstructure, and part properties is essential. Development of such a model requires accounting for the many factors in play during this process, including laser absorption, material addition and melting, fluid flow, various modes of heat transport, and solidification. In this paper, we start with a more modest goal, to create a multiscale model for a specific AM process, Laser Engineered Net Shaping (LENS™), which couples a continuum-level description of a simplified beam melting problem (coupling heat absorption, heat transport, and fluid flow) with a Lattice Boltzmann-cellular automata (LB-CA) microscale model of combined fluid flow, solute transport, and solidification. We apply this model to a binary Ti-5.5 wt pct W alloy and compare calculated quantities, such as dendrite arm spacing, with experimental results reported in a companion paper

Marriage, Sex, and Hydrocele: An Ethnographic Study on the Effect of Filarial Hydrocele on Conjugal Life and Marriageability from Orissa, India

Lymphatic filariasis, the second leading cause of permanent and long-term disability, affects 120 million people globally. Hydrocele, an accumulation of fluid in the scrotum that causes it to swell, is one of the chronic manifestations of LF among men and there are about 27 million men with hydrocele worldwide. We conducted ethnographic interviews and discussions with patients, women whose husbands have hydrocele, and the general public in a rural community of eastern India. The study describes how hydrocele impacts patients' sexual and marital life. It reveals the most worrisome effect of hydrocele for patients and their wives due to the inability to have a satisfactory sexual life. Patients expressed their incapacity during sexual intercourse. A majority of hydrocele patients' wives reported that their married life became burdened and couples were not living happily. This study also highlights the impact on marriageability, and some women expressed that a hydrocele patient is the “last choice”. In some cases, the patients were persuaded by their wives to remove hydrocele by surgery (hydrocelectomy). Hence, access to hydrocelectomy has to be strengthened under the Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis, which is operational in several endemic areas in the world. Also, this activity may be integrated with primary healthcare services and interventions of other neglected tropical diseases

Domestic violence against women in eastern India: a population-based study on prevalence and related issues

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Violence against women is now widely recognised as an important public health problem, owing to its health consequences. Violence against women among many Indian communities on a regularly basis goes unreported. The objective of this study is to report the prevalence and other related issues of various forms of domestic violence against women from the eastern zone of India.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>It is a population-based study covering both married women (n = 1718) and men (n = 1715) from three of the four states of Eastern India selected through a systematic multistage sampling strategy. Interviews were conducted using separate pre-piloted structured questionnaires for women (victimization) and men (perpetration). Women were asked whether their husband or any other family members committed violent acts against them. And men were asked whether they had ever perpetrated violent acts against their wives. Three principle domestic violence outcome variables (physical, psychological and sexual violence) were determined by response to a set of questions for each variable. In addition, data on socio-economic characteristics were collected. Descriptive statistics, bi- and multivariate analyses were done.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The overall prevalence of physical, psychological, sexual and any form of violence among women of Eastern India were 16%, 52%, 25% and 56% respectively. These rates reported by men were 22%, 59%, 17% and 59.5% respectively. Men reported higher prevalence of all forms of violence apart from sexual violence. Husbands were mostly responsible for violence in majority of cases and some women reported the involvement of husbands' parents. It is found that various acts of violence were continuing among majority of women who reported violence. Some socio-economic characteristics of women have significant association with the occurrence of domestic violence. Urban residence, older age, lower education and lower family income are associated with occurrence of domestic violence. Multivariate logistic regressions revealed that the physical violence has significant association with state, residence (rural or urban), age and occupation of women, and monthly family income. Similar associations are found for psychological violence (with residence, age, education and occupation of the women and monthly family income) and sexual violence (with residence, age and educational level of women).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The prevalence of domestic violence in Eastern India is relatively high compared to majority of information available from India and confirms that domestic violence is a universal phenomenon. The primary healthcare institutions in India should institutionalise the routine screening and treatment for violence related injuries and trauma. Also, these results provide vital information to assess the situation to develop public health interventions, and to sensitise the concerned agencies to implement the laws related to violence against women.</p