Reforms, Growth and Persistence of Gender Gap: Recent Evidence from Private School Enrolment in India

This paper examines the extent of gender gap in private school enrolment in India, an issue that has not been adequately addressed previously. Results based on individual level unit record data shows that a girl is less likely to be sent to private schools holding other factors constant and controlling for selection into school enrollment, and this disadvantage is particularly higher for younger girls in the family. The extent of gender bias in private school enrolment is double that of overall enrollment. Additionally, irrespective of policy reforms and overall economic growth, female disadvantage in rural private school enrolment appears to have increased over the decade 1993-94 to 2004-05. This can partly be attributed to the declining agricultural output as well as labour force participation rates among rural women over much of this period. Our results have important policy implications at a time when policy makers are eager to explore a potential role for private sector in delivering basic education.policy reforms, economic growth, private school choice, gender gap, India

Design of a 3.1-4.8 GHZ RF front-end for an ultra wideband receiver

IEEE 802.15 High Rate Alternative PHY task group (TG3a) is working to define a protocol for Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs) which makes it possible to attain data rates of greater than 110Mbps. Ultra Wideband (UWB) technology utilizing frequency band of 3.168 GHz 10.6 GHz is an emerging solution to this with data rates of 110, 200 and 480 Mbps. Initially, UWB mode I devices using only 3.168 GHz 4.752 GHz have been proposed. Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) and I-Q mixers are key components constituting the RF front-end. Performance of these blocks is very critical to the overall performance of the receiver. In general, main considerations for the LNA are low noise, 50 broadband input matching, high gain with maximum flatness and good linearity. For the mixers, it is essential to attain low flicker noise performance coupled with good conversion gain. Proposed LNA architecture is a derivative of inductive source degenerated topology. Broadband matching at the LNA output is achieved using LC band-pass filter. To obtain high gain with maximum flatness, an LC band-pass filter is used at its output. Proposed LNA achieved a gain of 15dB, noise figure of less than 2.6dB and IIP3 of more than -7dBm. Mixer is a modified version of double balanced Gilbert cell topology where both I and Q channel mixers are merged together. Frequency response of each sub-band is matched by using an additional inductor, which further improves the noise figure and conversion gain. Current bleeding scheme is used to further reduce the low frequency noise. Mixer achieves average conversion gain of 14.5dB, IIP3 more than 6dBm and Double Side Band (DSB) noise figure less than 9dB. Maximum variation in conversion gain is desired to be less than 1dB. Both LNA and mixers are designed to be fabricated in TSMC 0.18µm CMOS technology

Impact of Cold Wave on Vulnerable People of Tarai Region, Nepal

Climate extremity phenomena are increasing with the global climate change. Cold wave is one of these climate extremities affecting the health of people, especially vulnerable groups. Nepal is also experiencing the impacts of global warming on its temperature patterns. The climate data of more than four decades have shown an increasing trend of annual temperatures across Nepal. However, the change in temperatures is found varying greatly among its three broad physiographic regions: Tarai, hill, and mountains, as well as among four distinct seasons: winter, pre-monsoon, monsoon, and post-monsoon during a year. Further, since the last two decades Nepal has experienced climatic extremities such as heat wave, cold wave, precipitation concentration, prolonged dryness affecting livelihood of the people and demographic features like mortality, morbidity, etc. This study intends to deal with the impact of cold extremity on the death of vulnerable people such as children and elderly in the Tarai region. It draws on meteorological data for four decades since 1974. The magnitude of mortality rate of those vulnerable people is analyzed from 1974 to 2013, and prediction of mortality rate is made with respect to decrease in temperature or intensity of cold wave

Visceral leishmaniasis outbreaks in Bihar: community-level investigations in the context of elimination of kala-azar as a public health problem.

BACKGROUND: With visceral leishmaniasis (VL) incidence at its lowest level since the 1960s, increasing attention has turned to early detection and investigation of outbreaks. METHODS: Outbreak investigations were triggered by recognition of case clusters in the VL surveillance system established for the elimination program. Investigations included ascertainment of all VL cases by date of fever onset, household mapping and structured collection of risk factor data. RESULTS: VL outbreaks were investigated in 13 villages in 10 blocks of 7 districts. Data were collected for 20,670 individuals, of whom 272 were diagnosed with VL between 2012 and 2019. Risk was significantly higher among 10-19 year-olds and adults 35 or older compared to children younger than 10 years. Outbreak confirmation triggered vector control activities and heightened surveillance. VL cases strongly clustered in tolas (hamlets within villages) in which > 66% of residents self-identified as scheduled caste or scheduled tribe (SC/ST); 79.8% of VL cases occurred in SC/ST tolas whereas only 24.2% of the population resided in them. Other significant risk factors included being an unskilled non-agricultural laborer, migration for work in a brick kiln, living in a kuccha (mud brick) house, household crowding, habitually sleeping outside or on the ground, and open defecation. CONCLUSIONS: Our data highlight the importance of sensitive surveillance with triggers for case cluster detection and rapid, careful outbreak investigations to better respond to ongoing and new transmission. The strong association with SC/ST tolas suggests that efforts should focus on enhanced surveillance in these disadvantaged communities

A compendium of molecules involved in vector-pathogen interactions pertaining to malaria

Malaria is a vector-borne disease causing extensive morbidity, debility and mortality. Development of resistance to drugs among parasites and to conventional insecticides among vector-mosquitoes necessitates innovative measures to combat this disease. Identification of molecules involved in the maintenance of complex developmental cycles of the parasites within the vector and the host can provide attractive targets to intervene in the disease transmission. In the last decade, several efforts have been made in identifying such molecules involved in mosquito-parasite interactions and, subsequently, validating their role in the development of parasites within the vector. In this study, a list of mosquito proteins, which facilitate or inhibit the development of malaria parasites in the midgut, haemolymph and salivary glands of mosquitoes, is compiled. A total of 94 molecules have been reported and validated for their role in the development of malaria parasites inside the vector. This compendium of molecules will serve as a centralized resource to biomedical researchers investigating vector-pathogen interactions and malaria transmission. © 2013 Sreenivasamurthy et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

Regulation of Plasmodium falciparum Glideosome Associated Protein 45 (PfGAP45) Phosphorylation

The actomyosin motor complex of the glideosome provides the force needed by apicomplexan parasites such as Toxoplasma gondii (Tg) and Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) to invade their host cells and for gliding motility of their motile forms. Glideosome Associated Protein 45 (PfGAP45) is an essential component of the glideosome complex as it facilitates anchoring and effective functioning of the motor. Dissection of events that regulate PfGAP45 may provide insights into how the motor and the glideosome operate. We found that PfGAP45 is phosphorylated in response to Phospholipase C (PLC) and calcium signaling. It is phosphorylated by P. falciparum kinases Protein Kinase B (PfPKB) and Calcium Dependent Protein Kinase 1 (PfCDPK1), which are calcium dependent enzymes, at S89, S103 and S149. The Phospholipase C pathway influenced the phosphorylation of S103 and S149. The phosphorylation of PfGAP45 at these sites is differentially regulated during parasite development. The localization of PfGAP45 and its association may be independent of the phosphorylation of these sites. PfGAP45 regulation in response to calcium fits in well with the previously described role of calcium in host cell invasion by malaria parasite

Late pleistocene sedimentation history of the Shirshov Ridge, Bering Sea

The analysis of the lithology, grain-size distribution, clay minerals, and geochemistry of Upper Pleistocene sediments from the submarine Shirshov Ridge (Bering Sea) showed that the main source area was the Yukon–Tanana terrane of Central Alaska. The sedimentary materials were transported by the Yukon River through Beringia up to the shelf break, where they were entrained by a strong northwestward-flowing sea current. The lithological data revealed several pulses of ice-rafted debris deposition, roughly synchronous with Heinrich events, and periods of weaker bottom-current intensity. Based on the geochemical results, we distinguished intervals of an increase in paleoproductivity and extension of the oxygen minimum zone. The results suggest that there were three stages of deposition driven by glacioeustatic sea-level fluctuations and glacial cycles in Alaska

Development and Evaluation of Active Case Detection Methods to Support Visceral Leishmaniasis Elimination in India.

As India moves toward the elimination of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) as a public health problem, comprehensive timely case detection has become increasingly important, in order to reduce the period of infectivity and control outbreaks. During the 2000s, localized research studies suggested that a large percentage of VL cases were never reported in government data. However, assessments conducted from 2013 to 2015 indicated that 85% or more of confirmed cases were eventually captured and reported in surveillance data, albeit with significant delays before diagnosis. Based on methods developed during these assessments, the CARE India team evolved new strategies for active case detection (ACD), applicable at large scale while being sufficiently effective in reducing time to diagnosis. Active case searches are triggered by the report of a confirmed VL case, and comprise two major search mechanisms: 1) case identification based on the index case's knowledge of other known VL cases and searches in nearby houses (snowballing); and 2) sustained contact over time with a range of private providers, both formal and informal. Simultaneously, house-to-house searches were conducted in 142 villages of 47 blocks during this period. We analyzed data from 5030 VL patients reported in Bihar from January 2018 through July 2019. Of these 3033 were detected passively and 1997 via ACD (15 (0.8%) via house-to-house and 1982 (99.2%) by light touch ACD methods). We constructed multinomial logistic regression models comparing time intervals to diagnosis (30-59, 60-89 and ≥90 days with =90 days compared to the referent of <30 days for ACD vs PCD were 0.88, 0.56 and 0.42 respectively. These ACD strategies not only reduce time to diagnosis, and thus risk of transmission, but also ensure that there is a double check on the proportion of cases actually getting captured. Such a process can supplement passive case detection efforts that must go on, possibly perpetually, even after elimination as a public health problem is achieved