Impact of mobile phone-based technology to improve health, population and nutrition services in Rural Bangladesh: a study protocol.

BACKGROUND: Mobile phone-based technology has been used in improving the delivery of healthcare services in many countries. However, data on the effects of this technology on improving primary healthcare services in resource-poor settings are limited. The aim of this study is to develop and test a mobile phone-based system to improve health, population and nutrition services in rural Bangladesh and evaluate its impact on service delivery. METHODS: The study will use a quasi-experimental pre-post design, with intervention and comparison areas. Outcome indicators will include: antenatal care (ANC), delivery care, postnatal care (PNC), neonatal care, expanded programme on immunization (EPI) coverage, and contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR). The study will be conducted over a period of 30 months, using the existing health systems of Bangladesh. The intervention will be implemented through the existing service-delivery personnel at various primary-care levels, such as community clinic, union health and family welfare centre, and upazila health complex. These healthcare providers will be given mobile phones equipped with Apps for sending text and voice messages, along with the use of Internet and device for data-capturing. Training on handling of the Smartphones, data-capturing and monitoring will be given to selected service providers. They will also be trained on inputs, editing, verifying, and monitoring the outcome variables. DISCUSSION: Mobile phone-based technology has the potential to improve primary healthcare services in low-income countries, like Bangladesh. It is expected that our study will contribute to testing and developing a mobile phone-based intervention to improve the coverage and quality of services. The learning can be used in other similar settings in the low-and middle-income countries.

Zinc Stannate Nanostructure: Is It a New Class of Material for Multifunctional Cotton Textiles?

This study demonstrates the synthesis of nano-zinc stannate and its application as a novel multifunctional finishing agent on cotton fabric. Nano-zinc stannate has been synthesized by the co-precipitation method, and the nanostructures produced have been characterized to investigate their morphology and microstructure by using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction techniques. The synthesized nano-zinc stannate has been applied on cotton fabric and the multifunctional efficacies of the treated fabric, like UV resistance, antibacterial property, self-cleaning, as well as thermal stability, were analyzed. The as-synthesized zinc stannate-treated cotton fabric showed excellent efficiency in self-cleaning, antibacterial property, and flame-resistant action compared to the annealed nano-zinc stannate-treated cotton fabric. It was observed that the ultraviolet protection factor of the treated (annealed zinc stannate-treated) fabric shoot up more than 45 after treatment, and the same fabric showed more than 90% bacterial resistance against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Concerning thermal kinetics, the as-synthesized zinc stannate-treated fabric registered a 39% reduction in the peak heat release rate compared to the untreated cotton fabric, and it also showed catalyzed pyrolysis action and more amount of char mass (30-40% more compared to the control cotton) formation at higher temperature. The self-cleaning efficacy of the treated fabric has been examined against coffee stain and basic methylene blue dye. The treated fabric exhibited a good efficiency in cleaning of stain due to the free-radical scavenging behavior. Finally, it also has been proved that the integration of these nanostructure did not have any detrimental effect on the important physical properties (tensile strength, flexibility, and crease resistance) of the treated fabric.

Green synthesis of chitosan-cinnamaldehyde cross-linked nanoparticles: Characterization and antibacterial activity.

Traditional method of chitosan (naturally available abundant biopolymer) nanoparticles synthesis is the ionic cross-linking between chitosan and say, sodium tri-polyphosphate (TPP). These nanoparticles are structurally less stable and are basically obtained viaconversion of chitosan, a pure bio-based material, into a hybrid structure of biopolymer and a synthetic chemical. The present work reports a novel attempt to synthesize antimicrobial chitosan nanoparticles by chemical cross-linking with cinnamaldehyde, another eco-friendly bactericidal agent. The synthesized nanoparticles (size range, 80-150 nm) were analysed for their surface morphology. X-ray diffraction pattern denoted the amorphous characteristics of the formed nanoparticles. The FTIR analysis revealed formulation of chitosan nanoparticles to be based on Schiff reaction between amino group of chitosan and aldehyde group of cinnamaldehyde. NMR analysis also confirmed the formulation of cinnamaldehyde cross-linked chitosan nanoparticles. TGA and DSC were performed to analyse thermal characteristics and stability of prepared nanoparticles. Subsequently, the study successfully indicated that the synthesized nanoparticles exhibit synergistic antibacterial activity (98%) against Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive) and (96%) Escherichia coli (Gram-negative) bacteria. The MIC and MBC values were found to be 5 mg/mL and 10 mg/mL, respectively, for both types of bacteria.

Bulk vs. Nano ZnO: Influence of fire retardant behavior on sisal fibre yarn.

Flame retardant functionality was imparted in sisal (leaf fibre) yarn whereas a strong scientific finding has been established between fire retardant efficacy of bulk and nano zinc oxide based formulations. Bulk and nano ZnO treated sisal yarns have been compared on the basis of their flame retardant efficacy, weight add-on% and tensile strength. Limiting oxygen index and char length of the 12% ZnO treated sisal was found to be well comparable with the 1% nano ZnO treated yarn. Further, add-on% and the tensile strength of the nano ZnO treated sample is 70-80% lower and 20% more, respectively, compared to the 12% bulk ZnO treated sisal yarn. Besides, thermo-gravimetry and char morphology of the control and both the formulation treated sisal yarn were compared and analysed to understand the pyrolysis path of the sisal yarn. The possible mechanism of attachment of ZnO to the microstructure of sisal has also been established.

A solvent induced crystallisation method to imbue bioactive ingredients of neem oil into the compact structure of poly (ethylene terephthalate) polyester.

Neem oil, a natural antibacterial agent from neem tree (Azadarichtaindica) has been used to impart antibacterial activity to polyester fabrics. Solvent induced polymer modification method was used and that facilitated the easy entry of neem molecules into the compact structure of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) polyester. The polyester fabric was treated with trichloroacetic acid-methylene chloride (TCAMC) solvent system at room temperature prior to treatment with neem oil. The concentration of TCAMC and the treatment time were optimised. XRD and SEM results showed that the TCAMC treatment causes polymer modification and morphological changes in the PET polyester. Antibacterial activity of TCAMC pre-treated and neem-oil-treated polyester fabric was tested using AATCC qualitative and quantitative methods. Both Gram-positive and Gram-negative organisms were used to determine the antimicrobial activity. It was observed that the treated fabric registers substantial antimicrobial activity against both the Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive) and the Escherichia coli (Gram-negative) and the effect increases with the increase in concentration of TCAMC treatment. The antibacterial effect remains substantial even after 25 launderings. A kinetic growth study involving the effect of antibacterial activity at various incubation times was carried out.