Comparative assessment of Industrial air pollutant exposure on pulmonary function and respiratory symptoms among primary school children, Kala Amb, Sirmour, Himachal Pradesh, India

Background: Outdoor air quality has been connected with the prevalence of allergic respiratory infections in children. The impact of industrial pollution on respiratory health during early years of life in school children is a major concern. Pulmonary function tests can be used to assess the impact of air pollution and the degree of airway reactivity.Methods: A cross sectional comparative study was conducted between Primary school children aged 6 to 10 years in the industrial area and non-industrial area. Structured questionnaire based data was recorded from the students regarding respiratory symptoms. Spirometric parameters recorded were Forced Vital Capacity (FVC), Forced Expiratory Volume at one second (FEV1), Maximal Midexpiratory flow (FEF 25-75%) and Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (PEFR).Results: Data from 102 students from each of the two primary schools revealed mean forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) as 1.01±0.31 L/sec in industrial area and 1.12±0.34 L/sec in non-industrial area (p=0.01). Four or more episodes of allergic rhinitis in the last year were present in 24/84 (28.5%) children in the industrial area as compared to 8/90 (8.8%) in the non-industrial area (p=0.002). Point prevalence of allergic rhinitis was 36 (35.3%) students in industrial area and 22 (21.6%) students in non-industrial area (p=0.03).Conclusions: Industrial air pollution has impact on the lung function tests of school children in the age group of 6 to 10 years with significant difference in spirometric parameters of FEV1, frequency of episodes of allergic rhinitis and point prevalence of allergic rhinitis

A Novel Approach to PID Controller Design for Improvement of Transient Stability and Voltage Regulation of Nonlinear Power System

In this paper, a novel design method for determining the optimal PID controller parameters for non-linear power system using the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is presented. The direct feedback linearization (DFL) technique is used to linearize the nonlinear system for computing the PID (DFL-PID) controller parameters. By taking an example of single machine infinite bus (SMIB) power system it has been shown that PSO based PID controller stabilizes the system and restores the pre-fault system performance after fault is cleared and line is restored. The performance of this controlled system is compared with the performance of DFL-state feedback controlled power system. It has been shown that the performance of DFL-PID controlled system is superior compared to DFL-state feedback controlled system. For simulation MATLAB 7 software is used.

Setting the agenda for nurse leadership in India: what is missing.

BACKGROUND: Current policy priorities to strengthen the nursing sector in India have focused on increasing the number of nurses in the health system. However, the nursing sector is afflicted by other, significant problems including the low status of nurses in the hierarchy of health care professionals, low salaries, and out-dated systems of professional governance, all affecting nurses' leadership potential and ability to perform. Stronger nurse leadership has the potential to support the achievement of health system goals, especially for strengthening of primary health care, which has been recognised and addressed in several other country contexts. This research study explores the process of policy agenda-setting for nurse leadership in India, and aims to identify the structural and systemic constraints in setting the agenda for policy reforms on the issue. METHODS: Our methods included policy document review and expert interviews. We identified policy reforms proposed by different government appointed committees on issues concerning nurses' leadership and its progress. Experts' accounts were used to understand lack of progress in several nursing reform proposals and analysed using deductive thematic analysis for 'legitimacy', 'feasibility' and 'support', in line with Hall's agenda setting model. RESULTS: The absence of quantifiable evidence on the nurse leadership crisis and treatment of nursing reforms as a 'second class' issue were found to negatively influence perceptions of the legitimacy of nurse leadership reform. Feasibility is affected by the lack of representation of nurses in key positions and the absence of a nurse-specific institution, which is seen as essential for creating visibility of the issues facing the profession, their processing and planning for policy solutions. Finally, participants noted the lack of strong support from nurses themselves for these policy reforms, which they attributed to social disempowerment, and lack of professional autonomy. CONCLUSIONS: The study emphasises that the nursing empowerment needs institutional reforms to facilitate nurse's distributed leadership across the health system and to enable their collective advocacy that questions the status quo and the structures that uphold it

Health care equity in urban India

The report is based on the data drawn from detailed interactions with civil society organisations working on urban health in different cities and town across geographies including Mumbai, Bengaluru, Surat, Lucknow, Guwahati, Ranchi, Delhi etc., inputs from health officials in select cities, analysis of select data bases including NFHS, Census of India, government websites and secondary literature on urban health. The report focuses on a) understanding the health vulnerabilities of the urban poor b) the availability, accessibility, cost and quality of health care facilities and challenges therein c) and to propose possible pathways towards fixing the gaps in urban health care governance and provisioning. It also outlines the detailed provision and governance of health care in four different cities and towns including Bengaluru (Tier I), Thiruvananthapuram (Tier II), Raipur (Tier III) and Davanagere (Tier III)