Chandan Kumar

Under-Five Mortality in High Focus States in India: A District Level Geospatial Analysis

Background This paper examines if, when controlling for biophysical and geographical variables (including rainfall, productivity of agricultural lands, topography/temperature, and market access through road networks), socioeconomic and health care indicators help to explain variations in the under-five mortality rate across districts from nine high focus states in India. The literature on this subject is inconclusive because the survey data, upon which most studies of child mortality rely, rarely include variables that measure these factors. This paper introduces these variables into an analysis of 284 districts from nine high focus states in India. Methodology/Principal Findings Information on the mortality indicator was accessed from the recently conducted Annual Health Survey of 2011 and other socioeconomic and geographic variables from Census 2011, District Level Household and Facility Survey (2007–08), Department of Economics and Statistics Divisions of the concerned states. Displaying high spatial dependence (spatial autocorrelation) in the mortality indicator (outcome variable) and its possible predictors used in the analysis, the paper uses the Spatial-Error Model in an effort to negate or reduce the spatial dependence in model parameters. The results evince that the coverage gap index (a mixed indicator of district wise coverage of reproductive and child health services), female literacy, urbanization, economic status, the number of newborn care provided in Primary Health Centers in the district transpired as significant correlates of under-five mortality in the nine high focus states in India. The study identifies three clusters with high under-five mortality rate including 30 districts, and advocates urgent attention. Conclusion Even after controlling the possible biophysical and geographical variables, the study reveals that the health program initiatives have a major role to play in reducing under-five mortality rate in the high focus states in India.

Coverage gap in maternal and child health services in India: assessing trends and regional deprivation during 1992–2006

BACKGROUND Increasing the coverage of key maternal, newborn and child health interventions is essential, if India has to attain Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5. This study assesses the coverage gap in maternal and child health services across states in India during 1992-2006 emphasizing the rural-urban disparities. Additionally, association between the coverage gap and under-5 mortality rate across states are illustrated. METHODS The three waves of National Family Health Survey (NFHS) conducted during 1992-1993 (NFHS-1), 1998-1999 (NFHS-2) and 2005-2006 (NFHS-3) were used to construct a composite index of coverage gap in four areas of health-care interventions: family planning, maternal and newborn care, immunization and treatment of sick children. RESULTS The central, eastern and northeastern regions of India reported a higher coverage gap in maternal and child health care services during 1992-2006, while the rural-urban difference in the coverage gap has increased in Gujarat, Haryana, Rajasthan and Kerala over the period. The analysis also shows a significant positive relationship between the coverage gap index and under-five mortality rate across states. CONCLUSION Region or area-specific focus in order to increase the coverage of maternal and child health care services in India should be the priority of the policy-makers and programme executors.

Ultraviolet Detection Properties of p-Si/n-TiO 2 Heterojunction Photodiodes Grown by Electron-Beam Evaporation and Sol–Gel Methods: A Comparative Study

This paper reports a comparative study of the ultraviolet (UV) detection properties of n-TiO2/p-Si heterojunction devices fabricated using two different deposition techniques namely the electron-beam evaporation (EBE) and sol-gel (SG) methods. A systematic study has also been carried out to investigate the structural, electrical, and optical properties of the as deposited TiO2 thin films on p-Si substrates by the EBE and SG methods. The electrical parameters of both the n-TiO2/p-Si heterojunction photodiodes have been measured and compared under dark and UV illumination conditions. The SG based n-TiO2/p-Si heterojunction photodiodes are observed with an excellent contrast ratio of ~83911 at -5.2 V bias voltage, which is ~6445 times higher than the EBE-based device. The measured responsivities of the EBE and SG based devices are ~0.69 and ~1.25 A/W at a bias voltage of -10 V (Popt = 650 μW and λ = 365 nm), respectively. Thus, the n-TiO2/p-Si heterojunction diodes with SG derived TiO2 films are considered to be a better choice over the EBE-based n-TiO2/p-Si diodes for UV detection applications.

Correlates of maternal healthcare service utilisation among adolescent women in Mali: analysis of a nationally representative cross-sectional survey, 2006

AimThis study examines the factors associated with the utilisation of maternal healthcare services by married adolescent women in the age group 15–19.Subjects and methodsUsing the nationally representative cross-sectional data from the fourth wave of Mali Demographic and Health Survey (MDHS), 2006, the present study tries to demonstrate the factors associated with the indicators of maternal healthcare service utilisation among women who had the experience of childbirth in their adolescence (age 15–19) during the 5 years preceding the survey date. Three indicators were measured: adolescent women who had at least four antenatal care visits, those who had undergone safe delivery care, and those who had received post natal care after delivery. Bivariate analyses including chi-square tests to determine the difference in proportion, and logistical models to understand the net effect of explanatory variables on selected outcomes were applied.ResultsResults show the poor performance in maternal healthcare utilisation in Mali. Factors such as women’s education, husband’s education, women’s personal barrier index, mass media exposure, place of residence and previous delivery services used appeared to be the most significant factors associated with the utilisation of maternity services by Malian adolescents.ConclusionThe present study indicates that a strong community based campaign is necessary to raise awareness about the adverse effects of early marriage and childbearing. It is important to tailor programs to meet the unique needs of the varied teen populations and take into consideration how the family environment and relationships influence decision making about sex, contraception and childbearing.

Colloidal ZnO Quantum Dots Based Spectrum Selective Ultraviolet Photodetectors

This letter reports (possibly for first time) the synthesis, fabrication, and characterization of a solution processed colloidal ZnO quantum dots (QDs) photoconductor-based spectrum selective ultraviolet (UV) photodetector on low-cost glass substrates without using any additional absorption tuning layer. The QD nature of colloidal ZnO was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy measurements in terms of average particle size (~2.53nm) smaller than Bohr’s radius (~2.87 nm for ZnO). Furthermore, annealing at the ambient environment showed a shift in the bandgap from 3.231 to 3.136 eV of the ZnO QDs corresponding to the change in the annealing temperature from 450 °C and 600 °C. The responsivity characteristics showed a spectrum selective UV photoconductor nature with a full width half maximum of ~49 nm and the maximum responsivity of ~15.04 A/W at 2 V bias voltage and ~360-nm operating wavelength. The response time and recovery time were measured as 7.2 and ~18.5 s, respectively. The responsivity is believed to be the best among the reported ZnO QDs-based spectrum selective detectors.

A Triangular Patch Antenna with Bow Tie Aperture Coupling for Improved Ellipticity Bandwidth

Improvement in ellipticity bandwidth with an equilateral triangular shaped microstrip patch antenna is analyzed in this paper. The triangular patch is electromagnetically coupled using two orthogonally oriented bow tie shaped apertures fed by a 3dB 90deg hybrid for dual polarization operation. The radiating triangular patch has an optimized side length of 52.0 mm. The antenna is designed to transmit and receive the two differently circularly polarized wide band signals simultaneously with a single antenna. The use of a thick, low cost dielectric foam yields further improvement in bandwidth. A 2:1 impedance bandwidth of 38% and 3 dB axial ratio bandwidth of 23% has been achieved practically with the optimized geometry. An improvement of 7.16% in impedance bandwidth and 10.14% in ellipticity bandwidth is obtained over a patch of similar geometry with conventional rectangular shaped apertures. The use of dielectric foam makes the antenna light weight and low cost. The above features make it an ideal element for wide band application as required for Personal, Mobile Satellite and Wireless Communication Systems.

Design of 2.4 GHz differential low noise amplifier using 0.18 μm CMOS technology

In this paper the inductive degenerated Differential Low Noise Amplifier (DLNA) is designed with operating frequency 2.4 GHz using 0.18 μm CMOS Technology. The DLNA is biased at 1.8 V supply and perfectly matched with input impedance of 50 Ω. Designed DLNA provides power gain of 21.59 dB with a noise figure of 398.1 mdB.

Area optimization of two-stage amplifier using modified particle swarm optimization algorithm

Modern era cannot be consider without an electronics circuits. If Signal strength at the receiving antenna is very weak then there must be required a device that increase the strength of the received signal (power), known as Amplifier. Output of an amplifier is always stronger than its input. So amplifiers are the simplest yet one of the most important parts of electronic circuits. This is why the designing of amplifiers is crucial in analog circuit designing. This paper investigated to minimize the area of a two stage amplifier using modified particle swarm optimization (MPSO) method considering other constraints. The total transistor area obtain using MPSO in this paper is 2.61×10-10 m2 and it is the best of my knowledge, also the power dissipation is much lesser, 1492 μW. Obtained values are verified by the CADENCE simulator and validated. The results proved that the use of modified particle swarm optimization made it possible to achieve better results.

Structural and optical characteristics of n-TiO2 thin films by sol-gel method

The present work reports the fabrication and optical characterization of n-TiO2 thin film prepared by sol-gel method. Sol-gel solution of TiO2 was prepared using titanium isopropoxide and hydrochloric acid as a precursor and stabilizer, respectively. As-deposited, TiO2 thin film on p-Si and glass substrates have the thickness of ~120 nm. The surface morphology and crystallinity of the as-deposited TiO2 thin film have been determined by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) techniques. SEM and AFM images shows that as-deposited TiO2 thin film is homogeneous, cracks free and uniform in nature. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis shows that the as-grown TiO2 thin films have anatase phase. The optical properties of TiO2 thin film have been analyzed by UV-Vis, reflectance and transmission spectrum. Our results suggest that as-deposited TiO2 thin films are a promising candidate material for the photodetectors applications, mainly in the UV region.

Erratum to: Early Neonatal Mortality in India, 1990–2006

1. ‘‘postnatal’’ should be replaced by ‘‘post neonatal’’ in the 3rd line of the first column under the ‘‘Abstract’’ section, on p. 1. 2. ‘‘and for major states in India’’ should be deleted in the 15–16th line of the first column under the ‘‘Abstract’’ section on p. 1. 3. ‘‘postnatal’’ should be replaced by ‘‘post neonatal’’ in the 5th line of the first column under the subheading ‘‘Data’’, on p. 2. 4. ‘‘postnatal’’ should be replaced by ‘‘post neonatal’’ in the 8th line of the first column under the subheading ‘‘Trends in ENMR in India: 1970–2008’’, on p. 4. 5. In Figs. 1, 2 and their caption, ‘‘postnatal’’ should be replaced by ‘‘post neonatal’’.