3,609 research outputs found
Economic liberalisation targeted programmes and household food security
"Although there is little consensus on the impact of trade liberalization on poverty and food security, it is nevertheless widely acknowledged that there is a need for governments to establish safety-nets to guard against any potentially harmful effects on the poor and vulnerable sections of society. Against this background, programs aimed at achieving food security and reducing poverty gain increased importance in the reform era. This study aims to evaluate several such programs that are currently in place in the country from the point of view of their impact, efficiency and financial sustainability. The purpose is to determine how these programs may be improved and propose appropriate policy options for reform, while also keeping in mind the new challenges that might lie ahead. Specifically, the study evaluates the Public Distribution System (PDS), Public Works Programs, and certain food-based direct intervention programs such as the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) and Tamil Nadu Integrated Nutrition Program (TINP), with a view to suggest how they can be made more cost effectiveness and better targeted." From Author's Executive SummarySafety nets ,
Peri-operative management of fracture neck of femur patients on anti-coagulant or anti-thrombotic medication. Abstract
Multiwavelength study of radio galaxy Pictor A: detection of western hotspot in far-UV and possible origin of high energy emissions
A comprehensive study of the nucleus and western hotspot of Pictor A is
carried out using AstroSat observations, 13 years of Fermi, and archival Swift
observations, along with other published data. We report the first detection of
the western hotspot of Pictor A in the far-UV band using observations from
AstroSat-UVIT. The broad-band SED of the western hotspot is explained by a
multizone emission scenario where X-ray emission is caused by synchrotron
emission process in the substructures embedded in the diffuse region, while the
emission in radio to optical is caused by synchrotron emission process in the
diffuse region. We do not notice any excess in the IR band and an additional
zone (beyond 2-zone) is not required to account for the X-ray emission. Our
broad-band spectro-temporal study and associated modelling of the core and
hotspot of Pictor A suggests that (a) gamma-rays originate in the nuclear jet
and not from the hotspot (b) X-ray emission from the core of Pictor A has
nuclear jet-origin instead of previously reported disk-origin.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, Accepted for publication in MNRA
Resilience and well-being among children of migrant parents in South-East Asia
There has been little systematic empirical research on the well-being of children in transnational households in South-East Asiaāa major sending region for contract migrants. This study uses survey data collected in 2008 from children aged 9, 10 and 11 and their caregivers in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam (N=1,498). Results indicate that while children of migrant parents, especially migrant mothers, are less likely to be happy compared to children in non-migrant households, greater resilience in child well-being is associated with longer durations of maternal absence. There is no evidence for a direct parental migration effect on school enjoyment and performance. The analyses highlight the sensitivity of results to the dimension of child well-being measured and who makes the assessment.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe
Implications of anticoagulant and antiplatelet therapy in patients presenting with hip fractures: a current concepts review.
The increasing use of anticoagulant and antiplatelet therapy for the prevention of thromboembolic disease poses a significant challenge to orthopaedic surgeons treating elderly patients presenting with proximal femoral fractures. Early surgical intervention is known to be beneficial from a clinical perspective and has been encouraged in the UK through the introduction of best practice tariffs providing increased remuneration for prompt treatment. An understanding of the necessary delay to surgery or reversal options for each type of antiplatelet or anticoagulant agent is therefore important. A number of professional bodies have recently produced guidelines that help clinicians manage these patients during the peri-operative period. We review the guidelines relating to antiplatelet and anticoagulant agents during the perioperative period with respect to hip fracture surgery. Antiplatelet agents should not interfere with timing of surgery, but may affect the choice of anaesthetic performed. The action of warfarin should be reversed to expedite surgery. Newer direct oral anticoagulants are more problematic and surgical delay may be necessary, though reversal agents are becoming available
Automated Determination of Stellar Parameters from Simulated Dispersed Images for DIVA
We have assessed how well stellar parameters (T_eff, logg and [Fe/H]) can be
retrieved from low-resolution dispersed images to be obtained by the DIVA
satellite. Although DIVA is primarily an all-sky astrometric mission, it will
also obtain spectrophotometric information for about 13 million stars
(operational limiting magnitude V ~ 13.5 mag). Constructional studies foresee a
grating system yielding a dispersion of ~200nm/mm on the focal plane (first
spectral order). For astrometric reasons there will be no cross dispersion
which results in the overlapping of the first to third diffraction orders. The
one-dimensional, position related intensity function is called a DISPI
(DISPersed Intensity). We simulated DISPIS from synthetic spectra (...) for a
limited range of metallicites i.e. our results are for [Fe/H] in the range -0.3
to 1 dex. We show that there is no need to deconvolve these low resolution
signals in order to obtain basic stellar parameters. Using neural network
methods and by including simulated data of DIVA's UV telescope, we can
determine T_eff to an average accuracy of about 2% for DISPIS from stars with
2000 K < T_eff < 20000 K and visual magnitudes of V=13 mag (end of mission
data). logg can be determined for all temperatures with an accuracy better than
0.25 dex for magnitudes brighter than V=12 mag. For low temperature stars with
2000 K < T_eff < 5000 K and for metallicities in the range -0.3 to +1 dex a
determination of [Fe/H] is possible (to better than 0.2 dex) for these
magnitudes. Additionally we examined the effects of extinction E(B-V) on DISPIS
and found that it can be determined to better than 0.07 mag for magnitudes
brighter than V=14 mag if the UV information is included.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, Accepted for publication in A&
Nitrification inhibitors II. Studies with furano compounds
The effects of furano compounds, furfural (furfuraldehyde) and furfuryl alcohol (5, 10, 20 and 30% of N applied) on nitrification of ammonium sulfate and urea N were studied in a sandy clay loam in laboratory. Both furfural and furfuryl alcohol significantly retarded the nitrification rates of both the fertilizers by inhibiting the conversion of NH4 + to NO2 - without affecting the oxidation of NO2 - to NO3 --N. 10, 20 and 30% concentrations of the compounds were effective up to 75 days with ammonium sulfate but more or less up to 45 days with urea
Randomised trial of combination cytokine and adult autologous bone marrow progenitor cell administration in patients with non-ischaemic dilated cardiomyopathy - the regenerate-dcm randomized phase II
The REGENERATE-DCM trial is the first phase II randomized, placebo-controlled trial aiming to assess if granulocyte
colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) administration with or without adjunctive intracoronary (IC) delivery of autologous
bone marrow-derived cells (BMCs) improves global left ventricular (LV) function in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and significant cardiac dysfunction.
Methods
and results
Sixty patients with DCM and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) at referral of ā¤45%, New York Heart Association
(NYHA) classification ā„2 and no secondary cause for the cardiomyopathy were randomized equally into four groups:
peripheral placebo (saline), peripheral G-CSF, peripheral G-CSF and IC serum, and peripheral G-CSF and IC BMC. All
patients, except the peripheral placebo group, received 5 days of G-CSF. In the IC groups, this was followed by bone
marrow harvest and IC infusion of cells or serum on Day 6. The primary endpoint was LVEF change from baseline to
3 months, determined by advanced cardiac imaging. At 3 months, peripheral G-CSF combined with IC BMC therapy
was associated with a 5.37% point increase in LVEF (38.30%+12.97 from 32.93%+16.46 P Ā¼ 0.0138), which was
maintained to 1 year. This was associated with a decrease in NYHA classification, reduced NT-pro BNP, and improved
exercise capacity and quality of life. No significant change in LVEF was seen in the remaining treatment groups.
Conclusion This is the first randomized, placebo-controlled trial with a novel combination of G-CSF and IC cell therapy that
demonstrates an improvement in cardiac function, symptoms, and biochemical parameters in patients with DCM.The trial was supported by unrestricted grants from the Heart Cells Foundation and Barts and the London Charity. Chugai Pharmaceutical donated supplies of G-CSF and pharmaceutical costs. Funding to pay the Open Access publication charges for this article was provided by the Barts Cardiovascular Biomedical Research Unit (CVBRU)
Spontaneous coronary artery dissection: Current state of the science: A scientific statement from the American Heart Association
Ā© 2018 American Heart Association, Inc. Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) has emerged as an important cause of acute coronary syndrome, myocardial infarction, and sudden death, particularly among young women and individuals with few conventional atherosclerotic risk factors. Patient-initiated research has spurred increased awareness of SCAD, and improved diagnostic capabilities and findings from large case series have led to changes in approaches to initial and long-term management and increasing evidence that SCAD not only is more common than previously believed but also must be evaluated and treated differently from atherosclerotic myocardial infarction. High rates of recurrent SCAD; its association with female sex, pregnancy, and physical and emotional stress triggers; and concurrent systemic arteriopathies, particularly fibromuscular dysplasia, highlight the differences in clinical characteristics of SCAD compared with atherosclerotic disease. Recent insights into the causes of, clinical course of, treatment options for, outcomes of, and associated conditions of SCAD and the many persistent knowledge gaps are presented
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