Goals for development : history, prospects and costs

The Millennium Development Goals set quantitative targets for poverty reduction and improvements in health, education, gender equality, the environment, and other aspects of human welfare. At existing rates of progress many countries will fall short of these goals. However, if developing countries take steps to improve their policies and increased financial resources are made available, significant additional progress toward the goals is possible. The suthors provide a preliminary estimate of the additional financial resources which would be required if countries would work vigorously toward meeting the Millennium Development Goals. Two estimates of the resource gap are developed, one by estimating the additional resources necessary to increase economic growth so as to reduce income poverty, the other by estimating the cost of meeting specific goals in health, education, and the environment. Both estimates yield a figure in the range of $40-$70 billion in additional assistance per year, which is in line with estimates from other international development agencies and which would roughly represent a doubling of official aid flows over 2000 levels. While the authors believe this is a reasonable first approximation of the costs associated with achieving the Millennium Development Goals, it should be interpreted with caution for several reasons, including the lack of empirical data in many countries to estimate the relationship between expenditures on health or education and related outcomes, or the relationship between investment and growth, the sensitivity of the results to changes in the policy environment (both at the macroeconomic and sector level, and with respect to international trade), and opportunities for increased-and more efficient-domestic resource mobilization.Early Child and Children's Health,Public Health Promotion,Decentralization,Health Economics&Finance,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Poverty Assessment,Health Economics&Finance,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Early Child and Children's Health,Earth Sciences&GIS

Comparison of effectiveness of Swamiji Vethathiri Maharishi’s acupressure 14 points exercise with TCM acupressure therapy in the treatment of depression, thyroid problems and heart ailments

In this research article, the research scholar has made a maiden attempt in presenting three original case reports pertaining to the treatment of depression, thyroid problems and heart ailments faced by three different patients and a gradual recovery from these problems through a regular and unintermittent practice of Acupressure 14 points exercise designed by Swamiji Vethathiri Maharishi (1911-2006) a South Indian born Saint and Savant. According to him a continuous practice of this acupressure 14 points exercise ensures free flow of bio-magnetic energy or vital life force energy throughout the body without any short-circuit by removing air bubbles in the nerves and helps in the free flow of blood circulation and restores the body to the normal condition free from pain and diseases. In a similar manner, the concept of Traditional Chinese Medicine acupressure therapy involves Qi energy or vital life force energy which circulates through natural pathway in the body called meridians such as Yin-Yang channels. Blockage or an imbalance or disharmony in the flow of Qi energy or vital life force energy in Yin and Yang channels can cause illness and pain. Thus, concept of TCM acupressure therapy as well as Swamij Vethathiri Maharishi’s Acupressure 14 points exercise help the patients to correct the functional imbalance and restore the free flow of bio-magnetic energy or Qi energy and thereby returning the body to a more natural state of well-being. Thus, Swamiji Vethathiri Maharishi's acupressure14 point’s exercises and TCM acupressure therapy can be regarded as a priceless treasure to the society in general and to the patients suffering from various illnesses in particular. Swamiji Vethathiri Maharishi's Acupressure 14 points exercises as well as TCM acupressure therapy using fingertips is a non-pharmacological and self-care treatment, very safe, involves no side-effect and an inexpensive method which doesn’t require any equipment

Investigation on D-STATCOM Operation for Power Quality Improvement in a Three Phase Three Wire Distribution System with a New Control Strategy

This paper deals with the issue of modeling and analysis of power controllers, power electronic-based equipment aimed at improving the reliability, stability and quality of power flows in low voltage distribution networks. A new control scheme is proposed to generate the PWM signal based on the measurements of voltage, and no reactive power measurements are required. The operation of the proposed control method is presented for D-STATCOM. Simulations and analysis are carried out in MATLAB/PLECS with this control method for the proposed systems. The reliability of the control scheme in the system response to the voltage instabilities due to system faults or load variations is proved obviously in the simulation results. Keywords: D-STATCOM, PWM, VSC, MATLAB/PLECS

Analysing an Imbalanced Stroke Prediction Dataset Using Machine Learning Techniques

A stroke is a medical condition characterized by the rupture of blood vessels within the brain which can lead to brain damage. Various symptoms may be exhibited when the brain's supply of blood and essential nutrients is disrupted. To forecast the possibility of brain stroke occurring at an early stage using Machine Learning (ML) and Deep Learning (DL) is the main objective of this study. Timely detection of the various warning signs of a stroke can significantly reduce its severity. This paper performed a comprehensive analysis of features to enhance stroke prediction effectiveness. A reliable dataset for stroke prediction is taken from the Kaggle website to gauge the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. The dataset has a class imbalance problem which means the total number of negative samples is higher than the total number of positive samples. The results are reported based on a balanced dataset created using oversampling techniques. The proposed work used Smote and Adasyn to handle imbalanced problem for better evaluation metrics. Additionally, the hybrid Neural Network and Random Forest (NN-RF) utilizing the balanced dataset by Adasyn oversampling achieves the highest F1-score of 75% compared to the original unbalanced dataset and other benchmarking algorithms. The proposed algorithm with balanced data utilizing hybrid NN-RF achieves an accuracy of 84%. Advanced ML techniques coupled with thorough data analysis enhance stroke prediction. This study underscores the significance of data-driven methodologies, resulting in improved accuracy and comprehension of stroke risk factors. Applying these methodologies to medical fields can enhance patient care and public health outcomes. By integrating our discoveries, we can enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the public health system

Growth of the spiny lobster Panulirus polyphagus (Herbst) reared in the laboratory

Growth of Panulius polyphagus from the puerulus stage was studied in the laboratory for twenty eight months on a diet of Meretrix casta and Perna viridis. The lobsters were kept either in isolation or in groups of three per tank at laboratory temperature ranging between 21.4° and 29.5°C. The survival was higher (70%) in those reared in groups, however, the growth rate was not depressed in individuals held in isolatio

An unusual congregation of organisms in the catches off Kovalam, Madras

The fishermen belonging to Kovalam had a hectic activity in harvesting huge quantities of fish from the Kovalam bay from 26-8-'87 to 4-9-'87. Fishermen employed all available gears for catching the fish and prawns. According to them, this was due to the appearance of 'Vandal thanneer' or turbid water close to the shore. The present account embodies the results of the observations made on this unusual phenomenon

Larval development — Penaeus semisulcatus de Haan

The larvae of Penaeus semisulcatus reared from eggs spawned in the laboratory are described and illustrated tor the first tlma. At a rearing tamparatura of 31.0'c the nauplii hatched out 12 to 13 hours after spawning; the duration of tha nauplius, protozoaa and mysis stages was 42 hours, 154 hours and 96 hours respectively. The larvae passed through 6 nauplius substages, 3 protozoea substages and 3 mysis substages before transforming into postlarva I

Rationale and protocol for estimating the economic value of a multicomponent quality improvement strategy for diabetes care in South Asia

Background: Economic dimensions of implementing quality improvement for diabetes care are understudied worldwide. We describe the economic evaluation protocol within a randomised controlled trial that tested a multi-component quality improvement (QI) strategy for individuals with poorly-controlled type 2 diabetes in South Asia. Methods/Design: This economic evaluation of the Centre for Cardiometabolic Risk Reduction in South Asia (CARRS) randomised trial involved 1146 people with poorly-controlled type 2 diabetes receiving care at 10 diverse diabetes clinics across India and Pakistan. The economic evaluation comprises both a within-trial cost-effectiveness analysis (mean 2.5 years follow up) and a microsimulation model-based cost-utility analysis (life-time horizon). Effectiveness measures include multiple risk factor control (achieving HbA1c \u3c 7% and blood pressure \u3c 130/80 mmHg and/or LDL-cholesterol\u3c 100 mg/dl), and patient reported outcomes including quality adjusted life years (QALYs) measured by EQ-5D-3 L, hospitalizations, and diabetes related complications at the trial end. Cost measures include direct medical and non-medical costs relevant to outpatient care (consultation fee, medicines, laboratory tests, supplies, food, and escort/accompanying person costs, transport) and inpatient care (hospitalization, transport, and accompanying person costs) of the intervention compared to usual diabetes care. Patient, healthcare system, and societal perspectives will be applied for costing. Both cost and health effects will be discounted at 3% per year for within trial cost-effectiveness analysis over 2.5 years and decision modelling analysis over a lifetime horizon. Outcomes will be reported as the incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICER) to achieve multiple risk factor control, avoid diabetes-related complications, or QALYs gained against varying levels of willingness to pay threshold values. Sensitivity analyses will be performed to assess uncertainties around ICER estimates by varying costs (95% CIs) across public vs. private settings and using conservative estimates of effect size (95% CIs) for multiple risk factor control. Costs will be reported in US$ 2018. Discussion: We hypothesize that the additional upfront costs of delivering the intervention will be counterbalanced by improvements in clinical outcomes and patient-reported outcomes, thereby rendering this multi-component QI intervention cost-effective in resource constrained South Asian settings