Data on identification of desertified regions in Anantapur district, Southern India by NDVI approach using remote sensing and GIS.

Present dataset aims at the inventory data on preparation of Desertification Status Maps (DSM) for the first time in semi-arid region of Anantapur district in the state of Andhra Pradesh, South India by applying Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) with acquired Remote Sensing (RS) satellite imageries and processed in ERDAS Imagine and ArcGIS software's. The NDVI has been classified into five such as water body, vegetation, fallow land, degradation land, and desertified land. Further, degradation land has been decreased to 4.87% which lead to desertification in the study region. The current research data will be resourceful to the environmental scientists and planning agencies who can utilize optimum for sustainable development and good governance in land degradation, desertification, and conserve land resources.

Onsite mentoring of special newborn care unit to improve the quality of newborn care.

BACKGROUND: It has been possible to set up special newborn care units (SNCUs) and to improve the survival of newborns in India. However, several challenges remain affecting their effective functioning. Different approaches have been attempted and several policies have also been implemented to address this issue. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the feasibility of implementing best practices in neonatal care by onsite mentoring in an SNCU over 4 months. METHODS: The mentoring team was from a tertiary care hospital in Karnataka. The SNCU was functioning at the district hospital, catering to approximately 3500 live births per year. Onsite mentoring was carried out from August 2016 to November 2016. This was a prospective implementation research. Framework focused on infection control, preterm care, care at birth, advocacy for infrastructure and resources, and facility-based refresher training. RESULTS: A total of 16 visits were done by the mentoring team and 2 weeks of in-house residency. There were improvements in hand hygiene compliance from 0% to 87.5%, in cleaner IV site (from 50% to 100%), decreased unnecessary oxygen administration (from 75% to 33.3%), decreased antibiotic usage (from 70.5% to 35.5%), decrease in the number of babies receiving >5 days of antibiotics (from 41.6% to 0%), and increased kangaroo mother care initiation rate from 0% to 41.6%. The facility got level IIA accreditation by the end of the intervention period. CONCLUSIONS: Onsite mentorship program of SNCU is feasible and planning should be contextual. With the problems being uniform across most facilities, the model could be replicated across the country.

Data on comparative studies of lineaments extraction from ASTER DEM, SRTM, and Cartosat for Jilledubanderu River basin, Anantapur district, A.P, India by using remote sensing and GIS.

The data deals with the functions that automatically extracted lineaments from the Cartosat, ASTER and SRTM of Digital Elevation Model (DEM) of different spatial resolutions, in the software ArcGIS 10.4. The extracted lineaments result shows the ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) DEM gives the lowest number of lineaments reflects Cartosat and SRTM (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission) DEM shows a medium number of lineaments. Cartosat DEM is most appropriate for extraction of contours precisely rather than ASTER and SRTM. This study reveals the Cartosat DEM data is best to use extraction of lineaments in the Indian provinces, offers at most comprehensive geological structural info amongst all the data sets. The extracted lineaments lengths and densities are determined by the statistical method. Based on the data generated lineament density and rose diagram. Cartosat DEM data are the best suited for studying very small areas as through geological and structural information can be mined by using this data.

Knowledge, attitude, and practice toward cervical cancer among women attending Obstetrics and Gynecology Department: A cross-sectional, hospital-based survey in South India.

INTRODUCTION: Cervical cancer-related deaths among women in India are often due to late diagnosis of disease. Knowledge about disease and early screening is the most effective measure for cervical cancer prevention. Lack of awareness, negative attitude, and poor practice about cervical cancer and screening are the major causes to increase the incidence of disease. AIM: The study is designed to assess knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) toward cervical cancer, screening, and prevention. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A cross-sectional, hospital-based survey was conducted in women attending Obstetrics and Gynecology Department of a secondary care referral hospital. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 403 subjects were enrolled and subjected for interview using prevalidated KAP questionnaire on cervical cancer. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Descriptive statistics were used to represent the sociodemographic characteristics and KAP levels. Association of sociodemographic variables with KAP levels is determined using Chi-square test. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Most of (301; 74.6%) the respondents had heard about cervical cancer and majority of them are heard from media (168; 41.6%) and friends (83; 20.5%). Most women knew symptoms (259; 64.2%), risk factors (253; 62.7%), screening methods (310; 76.9%), and preventive measures (249; 61.7%) for cervical cancer. More than half of the women (252; 62.5%) having positive attitude toward screening. More than three-fourth of women (349; 86.6%) are not having practice toward cervical cancer screening. Sociodemographic characteristics are strongly associated with KAP levels. CONCLUSION: Although women are having good knowledge, positive attitude toward cervical cancer screening and prevention still there is a gap to transform it into practice. There is a need for more educational programs to connect identified knowledge slits and uplift of regular practice of cervical cancer screening.