Critical Appraisal of Baby Friendly Hospital Initiatives among the beneficiaries of Indore Urban - A Comparative Study

Background: Majority of the women in M.P who breastfeed their babies throw away the colostrum before they begin actual feed. Only 14.9% females feed their babies with in 1/2 an hour (National Family Health Survey-3). In Indore 2 hospitals have been given designation of baby friendly hospital (BFH) namely M.Y. hospital (MYH) which is a tertiary care center, attached to Medical College and District hospital (DH). Objectives: (1) To assess the process of implementation of baby friendly hospital initiative programme. (2) Knowledge, Attitude, Practice regarding breast feeding amongst the beneficiaries. Methods: A comparative study was conducted between two BFH and two NBFH (Non Baby Friendly Hospitals) of Indore. The respondents were categorized into health care providers and beneficiaries. A pretested questionnaire was used to interview the respondents which was made taking into consideration the essential 10 Criteria of BFHI Programme. Results: 89% in BFH and 97% in NBFH were having positive attitude towards colostrum feeding. 81% postnatal mothers in BFH and 96% in NBFH were having knowledge about benefits of exclusive breast feeding. 21% postnatal mothers in BFH and 39% in NBFH initiated breast feeding within ½ an hour. 64 % of mothers in BFH and 62 % mothers in NBFH were practicing exclusive breast Feeding. Conclusion: The above findings show that although designated as BFH, the breast feeding practices remained poor as compared to NBFH. There is an utmost need to reinforce training and constant monitoring of health care providers regarding BFHI

Estimating the fraction of progeny virions that must incorporate APOBEC3G for suppression of productive HIV-1 infection

AbstractThe contest between the host factor APOBEC3G (A3G) and the HIV-1 protein Vif presents an attractive target of intervention. The extent to which the A3G–Vif interaction must be suppressed to tilt the balance in favor of A3G remains unknown. We employed stochastic simulations and mathematical modeling of the within-host dynamics and evolution of HIV-1 to estimate the fraction of progeny virions that must incorporate A3G to render productive infection unsustainable. Using three different approaches, we found consistently that a transition from sustained infection to suppression of productive infection occurred when the latter fraction exceeded ~0.8. The transition was triggered by A3G-induced hypermutations that led to premature stop codons compromising viral production and was consistent with driving the basic reproductive number, R0, below unity. The fraction identified may serve as a quantitative guideline for strategies targeting the A3G–Vif axis

Holographic inflation in non-static plane symmetric space-time

The current analysis uses the non-static plane symmetric space-time to dynamically examine the holographic dark energy model as a candidates of IR cut-offs (specifically Hubble's and Granda-Oliveros cut-off). Using the Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method, we estimate the best fit values for the model parameters imposed from the combined datasets of $CC+SC+BAO$. Now, it has been found that the characteristics of space-time that have been addressed and formulated using both models are flat universe and observed that the model appears to be in good agreement with the observations. In addition, we investigate the behavior of equation of state parameters along with the energy conditions. Finally, we found that in both the cut-offs the models predict that the present and late universe are accelerating and the equation of state parameter behaves like the quintessence model.Comment: 15-pages; 13-figure

The Effect of Time Variation in the Higgs Vacuum Expectation Value on the Cosmic Microwave Background

A time variation in the Higgs vacuum expectation value alters the electron mass and thereby changes the ionization history of the universe. This change produces a measurable imprint on the pattern of cosmic microwave background (CMB) fluctuations. The nuclear masses and nuclear binding energies, as well as the Fermi coupling constant, are also altered, with negligible impact on the CMB. We calculate the changes in the spectrum of the CMB fluctuations as a function of the change in the electron mass. We find that future CMB experiments could be sensitive to |\Delta m_e/m_e| \sim |\Delta G_F/G_F| \sim 10^{-2} - 10^{-3}. However, we also show that a change in the electron mass is nearly, but not exactly, degenerate with a change in the fine-structure constant. If both the electron mass and the fine-structure constant are time-varying, the corresponding CMB limits are much weaker, particularly for l < 1000.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, Fig. 3 modified, other minor correction

Environmentally Friendly Machining

Environment-Friendly Machining provides an in-depth overview of environmentally-friendly machining processes, covering numerous different types of machining in order to identify which practice is the most environmentally sustainable. The book discusses three systems at length: machining with minimal cutting fluid, air-cooled machining and dry machining. Also covered is a way to conserve energy during machining processes, along with useful data and detailed descriptions for developing and utilizing the most efficient modern machining tools. Researchers and engineers looking for sustainable machining solutions will find Environment-Friendly Machining to be a useful volume

Electronic autoionization and vibrational-state distributions in resonant multiphoton ionization of H2

We investigate the effects of electronic autoionization on the vibrational branching ratios in resonant multiphoton ionization of H2. Ab initio calculations are performed to obtain the vibrational branching ratios for (3+1) resonant-enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) of H2 via the C 1Πu state. Our calculations include the effects of the dissociative 1Πg(1σu1πu) autoionizing state and properly account for the interference between the direct and the indirect (autoionization) channels. We find that the direct and indirect amplitudes are comparable for excitation via the higher (vi≥2) vibrational levels of the C state. Autoionization greatly enhances the branching ratios for Δv≠0 transitions. These calculations underscore the necessity for a proper treatment of both the direct and indirect contributions in understanding the REMPI of molecules via autoionizing states

Design of an Innovative Tractor-Operated Seeder for Mat Type Paddy Nursery

This study contains the design approach, development details, and field evaluation of an innovative tractor-operated seeder for sowing mat type paddy nursery. In order to design and select the various components of mat type nursery seeder, the fundamentals of farm machinery design were taken into due consideration. The machine comprises of soil cutting unit, inclined conveyor unit, screw type conveyor auger, sieving unit, compaction roller, polythene sheet laying unit, soil metering and seed metering unit. The basic criteria for design were to prepare a soil bed with a width of 1000 mm and width of cut of channel 240 mm on both sides of the bed to irrigate the prepared soil bed. The soil cutting unit and conveyor unit were designed based upon amount of soil required on soil bed to have 20–30 mm soil mat bed thickness and seed metering unit was designed to deliver 2–3 seeds∙cm−2 on the bed. The machine was fabricated based on design calculations and then evaluated in laboratory as well as actual field conditions. During field evaluation of this machine, it was found that the coefficient of uniformity for seed spread was 7.33%, coefficient of uniformity for soil spread 5.67%, fuel consumption 39.6 l.ha−1 and actual field capacity 0.11 ha∙h−1 with 1.7 km∙h−1 forward speed of machine. Labour saving using the designed tractor-operated seeder was observed to be 86.4% as compared to the manual method of sowing mat type nursery using steel frames

Gas-liquid transition in the model of particles interacting at high energy

An application of the ideas of the inertial confinement fusion process in the case of particles interacting at high energy is investigated. A possibility of the gas-liquid transition in the gas is considered using different approaches. In particular, a shock wave description of interactions between particles is studied and a self-similar solution of Euler's equation is discussed. Additionally, Boltzmann equation is solved for self-consistent field (Vlasov's equation) in linear approximation for the case of a gas under external pressure and the corresponding change of Knudsen number of the system is calculated.Comment: 24 pages, 2 figur

Detection of Elements at All Three r-process Peaks in the Metal-Poor Star HD 160617

We report the first detection of elements at all three r-process peaks in the metal-poor halo star HD 160617. These elements include arsenic and selenium, which have not been detected previously in halo stars, and the elements tellurium, osmium, iridium, and platinum, which have been detected previously. Absorption lines of these elements are found in archive observations made with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph onboard the Hubble Space Telescope. We present up-to-date absolute atomic transition probabilities and complete line component patterns for these elements. Additional archival spectra of this star from several ground-based instruments allow us to derive abundances or upper limits of 45 elements in HD 160617, including 27 elements produced by neutron-capture reactions. The average abundances of the elements at the three r-process peaks are similar to the predicted solar system r-process residuals when scaled to the abundances in the rare earth element domain. This result for arsenic and selenium may be surprising in light of predictions that the production of the lightest r-process elements generally should be decoupled from the heavier r-process elements.Comment: Published in the Astrophysical Journal (22 pages, 12 figures