Maternal Health Financing in Gujarat: Preliminary Results from a Household Survey of Beneficiaries under Chiranjeevi Scheme

The objective of this paper is to provide preliminary analysis of information collected at household level from beneficiaries of the Chiranjeevi scheme and from those who have not used the scheme (non-user group). The key findings have been discussed. Some of the questions which have guided this exercise are: understanding the socio-economic profile and differences of the households who have used the scheme and those who have not used the scheme, ability of scheme to target the poor and out-of-pocket expenditures incurred both users and non-users of the scheme. We have discussed this by analysing education, land holding, number of earning members in the family, possession of specific assets, age of women at the time of delivery, ANC services received, place of delivery, distance and time taken to reach the facility, status (normal or complication) of delivery, complications experienced, and cost incurred during the process. The total sample size consists of 656 respondents from 3 talukas of Dahod District. Of these total 656 respondents, 262 (40 per cent) are Chiranjeevi clients and 394 (60 per cent) comprise the non-user group. Key findings of the study are: * The Chiranjeevi scheme is being used by relatively younger mothers and having lesser number of children at the time of index delivery. * Most of the Chiranjeevi users have income levels less than Rs. 12,000 per annum indicating the scheme is able to target the poor families in these three blocks of the district, * The expenditure incurred by non-user group on index (recent) delivery at a private facility is Rs. 4000. * The average expenditure incurred by the Chiranjeevi beneficiary on their previous delivery was Rs. 3070. On index delivery a Chiranjeevi client has spent out-of- pocket on an average Rs. 727 per delivery on medicine (self Rs. 297, child Rs. 358) and transportation Rs.72 indicating that the delivery is not really cash-less. However, the average amount saved by the Chiranjeevi client by availing the benefit of the scheme is Rs 3273 (Rs. 4000 minus Rs. 727). * The average distance travelled by a Chiranjeevi client to reach the health care facility is 13.79 kms and the average time taken is 44 minutes. * The average expenditure on transportation using mostly private transport by a Chiranjeevi client is Rs.272 as compared to Rs. 200 which the Chiranjeevi client is reimbursed, * Private doctors have conducted 41 per cent of deliveries where as rest of the deliveries have been conducted by staff at the private health care facility under the Chiranjeevi scheme, * ANMs have been the source of information to 55 per cent of Chiranjeevi scheme users. Anganwadi workers provided information to 17 percent of the clients and Female Health Workers to 10 per cent of the Chiranjeevi clients. Thus, 82 per cent of the total beneficiaries of the Chiranjeevi scheme were provided information by the community health workers.

Structural and dynamical properties of liquid and solid phases of ionic liquids confined inside nanoporous materials

The purpose of this research is to investigate the physical properties of ionic liquids (ILs) confined inside nanopores of different materials and morphologies. We are interested to study the effect of pore material, morphology and addition of organic solvents on the properties of confined ILs. Understanding the behavior of ILs inside nanopores is relevant to potential applications of these systems in electrochemical double layer capacitors (EDLCs) and dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Such a fundamental understanding is also crucial to optimize the synthesis of hard-templated 1D nanostructures (nanorods, nanotubes, nanowires) based on organic salts, which may be imparted properties (e.g., magnetic, optical) that are desirable for different applications (magnetic hyperthermia cancer treatment, medical imaging, sensors). In this work we have used molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to investigate systems of representative ILs, [BMIM+][PF6-] and [EMIM+][TFMSI-], inside several model materials (e.g., slit-shaped graphitic and titania pores, carbon nanotubes). Formation of different layers of ions was observed for the confined ILs irrespective of variations in pore size, shape, material and amount of solvent. In all cases, change in pore loading leads to lower densities of ions in the center of the pore. The cations close to the pore walls tend to align with their imidazolium rings parallel to the pore surface in the case of carbon materials, and multiple preferential orientations are observed in the case of titania pores. For all porous materials studied, the dynamics of the ions depend strongly on their location with respect to the surface; bulk-like dynamics are generally observed for the ions in the center regions of the pore, with the dynamics becoming slower as the ions get closer to the pore surfaces. Addition of acetonitrile solvent also shows similar layering behavior for ILs and solvent near the pore wall with less variation in the center of the pore. Preferential orientations of the ions remain unaffected and solvent molecules tend to align flat near the pore surface. The dynamics of the ions and molecules increases linearly with increase in IL molar concentration both near the wall and in the center of the pore

Weak-antilocalization and Surface Dominated Transport in Topological Insulator Bi2Se2Te

We explore the phase coherence of thin films of the topological insulator material Bi2Se2Te grown through pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. The films were characterised using various techniques for phase and composition. The films were found to be of good quality. We carried out extensive magneto-transport studies of these films and found that they exhibit two dimensional weak antilocalization behaviour. A careful analysis revealed a relatively high phase coherence length (58nm at 1.78K) for a PLD grown film. Since PLD is an inexpensive technique, with the possibility to integrate with other materials, one can make devices which can be extremely useful for low power spintronics and topological quantum computation.Comment: 16 page

Earth Observation and Sustainable Development Goals

Planet Earth is a dynamic body, which is home to 7.8 billion people, and strong interactions exist between the human population and the Earth’s different components (land, ocean, biosphere, cryosphere and atmosphere). The impacts of such interactions are observed from the day-to-day changes in weather, solar radiation, cloudy conditions, poor visibility, rainfall and frequency of natural hazards around the globe. The dynamic nature of the Earth is evident at the ocean coast through the ocean waves, the nature of these waves varies from day-to-day and also morning to evening. For example, the heights of waves can now be predicted through ocean modelling studies, which requires input from ground and satellite data. The Earth’s components, the lithosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere and biosphere, interact closely with the human population (Figure 1). As a result, changes may not be visualized on a day-to-day basis; however, short- and long-term changes can be observed by using various Earth-observation systems. Over the years, the Earth has become more complex, due to strong interactions between the various components of the Earth’s systems and the influence of population living and interacting closely. Such interactions lead to degradation of the environment and to the depletion of resources, raise question of sustainability and pose a threat for our survival on Earth. This calls for the attention of all section of scientists to understand interaction, which is a challenging job in this complex system of systems. This also calls the attention of everyone on this Earth planet

Temperature and soil nutrient availability shape tree responses to elevation in the Australian Wet Tropics: growth, physiology, and chemistry

Arun Singh Ramesh investigated growth, physiology and biochemistry of Flindersia species distributed along an elevation gradient in the Australian Wet Tropics. He found that a mountaintop restricted species was sensitive to high temperatures and demonstrated limited acclimation of growth and physiological functioning compared to more widespread species

Teacher Education: Perspective in Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand was formed on 9, November, 2000, as the 27th state of India, when it was carved out of northern Uttarpradesh. Located at the Himalayan mountain ranges it is largely a hilly state having international boundaries with China (Tibet) in the north, Nepal in the east, Himachal Pradesh in the north-west and Uttarapradesh in the south. The word Uttarakhand was derived from the Sanskrit words “UTTARA”meaning north & “Khand” meaning part of a country. It was formerly known as Uttaranchal. The state is also referred to as the “land of the Gods” or Dev Bhoomi on account of the large number of Hindu temples and place of religious importance in the state. With levels of literacy higher than the national average, the state has abundant availability of quality human resources. Uttarakhand for investments in manufacturing industry, tourism, mountaineering and infrastructure. As per the census carried out by government of India in 2011 the total population of uttarakhand is 10086292 compared to 8489349 in the 2001census.uttarakhand has registered a population growth of 18.81% over the last decade. It is the 20th most populated state in India. The population of uttarakhand constitutes 0.83% of the total population of India. The total area of uttarakhand is 53,483 sq.km the population density is189 per squ. Which is lower than national average of 382per.squ.uttarakhand has a literacy rate of 78.82%.the Male literacy is 87.40% and the female literacy is 70.01%. The State is rich in mineral deposits like limestone, marble, rock phosphate, dolomite, magnetite, copper, gypsum, etc. The number of small scale industries is 25,294 providing employment to 63,599 persons. As many as 1802 heavy and medium industries with an investment of Rs 20,000 core employ 5 lakh persons. Most of the industries are forest based. There is a total of 54,047 handicraft units in the state. The statistics in the uttarakhand census 2011 reveal facts that can be instrumental in planning for a better development plan for the state. The capital city which is also the largest city in the state of uttarakhand is Dehradun. The languages spoken are the uttarakhand state includes Hindi, English and Sanskrit

Multi Geophysical Parameters for Earthquake Forecasting

This article focuses on the importance of keeping the public aware of earthquake forecasting. This article also encourages proper seismic codes to design buildings in the seismic-prone regions because such practice can save lives and property associated with an earthquake

Laser Assisted Mechanical Micromachining of Hard-to-Machine Materials

There is growing demand for micro and meso scale devices with applications in the field of optics, semiconductor and bio-medical fields. In response to this demand, mechanical micro-cutting (e.g. micro-milling) is emerging as a viable alternative to lithography based micromachining techniques. Mechanical micromachining methods are capable of generating three-dimensional free-form surfaces to sub-micron level precision and micron level accuracies in a wide range of materials including common engineering alloys. However, certain factors limit the types of workpiece materials that can be processed using mechanical micromachining methods. For difficult-to-machine materials such as tool and die steels, limited machine-tool system stiffness and low tool flexural strength are major impediments to the use of mechanical micromachining methods. This thesis presents the design, fabrication and analysis of a novel Laser-assisted Mechanical Micromachining (LAMM) process that has the potential to overcome these limitations. The basic concept involves creating localized thermal softening of the hard material by focusing a solid-state continuous wave laser beam of diameter ranging from 70-120 microns directly in front of a miniature (300 microns-1 mm wide) cutting tool. By suitably controlling the laser power, spot size and speed, it is possible to produce a sufficiently large decrease in flow stress of the work material and, consequently, the cutting forces. This in turn will reduce machine/tool deflection and chances of catastrophic tool failure. The reduced machine/tool deflection yields improved accuracy in the machined feature. In order to use this process effectively, adequate thermal softening needs to be produced while keeping the heat affected zone in the machined surface to a minimum. This has been accomplished in the thesis via a detailed process characterization, modeling of process mechanics and optimization of process variables.Ph.D.Committee Chair: Melkote, Shreyes; Committee Member: Vengazhiyil, Roshan; Committee Member: Graham, Samuel; Committee Member: Johnson, Steven; Committee Member: Liang, Steve

Effect of Pre-Storage GA3 Pulsing on Keeping Quality of Gladiolus Spikes

Pre-storage pulsing of gladiolus spikes with a solution containing 20% sucrose and 400 mg/l aluminium sulphate [Al2(SO4)3.16H2O] significantly improved vase life, floret size and per cent opening of florets. The effect was significantly enhanced with addition of GA3 @ 100 mg/l. Spikes pulse-treated with GA3 could be stored for 14 days with an acceptable vase life of 5.44 days. These spikes also exhibited 49.65 per cent opening of florets even at 21 days from onset of storage. On the other hand, spikes pulse-treated with a solution containing 20% sucrose and aluminium sulphate [Al2(SO4)3.16H2O] @ 400 mg/l or water (Control) showed no opening of florets after 21 days of storage