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Successful tannery sludge amendment with rice husk silica formed tobermorite under subcritical water (SCW) treatment conditions can effectively immobilize HMs reducing their environmental toxicity.

The handloom weaving industry in India employs 14% of the poor (second only to agriculture) and provides around 11% of total textile exports annually. The availability of various fabric patterns and the production of garments and outfits, which are the occupations of millions of weavers employed by the handloom sector in India, have contributed to the rise in popularity of India's handloom industry. The Indian state of Uttar Pradesh has around 130778 handloom weavers. This study discusses the socio-economic conditions of silk handloom weavers in the Azamgarh and Varanasi districts of Uttar Pradesh. The study is based on primary data through a structures interview schedule. The total sample respondents for the survey from Azamgarh and Varanasi were 405, comprising 205 samples from the Azamgarh district and 200 samples from the Varanasi district. In Azamgarh district, 35 representatives were from Akbarpur, 40 samples were from Atraulia, 32 samples were from Jahanagaj, 28 were from Jeeyanpur, and 70 were from Mubarakpur. In the same way, 200 samples were selected from Varanasi, in which 60 samples were from Bajardiha, 50 samples from Jaitpura, 30 samples were from Jallalipura, 30 were from Lohta, and 30 were from Madanpura. The data were evaluated using a simple percentage, annual growth, and compound annual growth rate and presented by pie and bar diagrams. This study is based on location, age, gender, religion, social group, educational qualification, type and size of the family, employment status, type and ownership of dwelling units, ration card, source of loan and purpose of the loan, monthly household income from handloom related activities, and possession of looms. The study results indicated that the position of handloom weavers was miserable. The youth participation in this profession is meagre 3.5 per cent. They are not interested in choosing this as a profession. The majority of workers are men, 91 per cent, and the women worker's participation is not in a good ratio. The Muslim religion dominates the silk handloom weaving industry at 65 per cent. The weaving activity is shared mainly by OBCs 63.1 per cent (Other Backward Class) social group. Most households (63 per cent) have a monthly household income range of less than Rs. 5001-7500, and 56.8 per cent of the respondents have a monthly consumption expenditure of Rs. 5001-7500.

Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT) activity was evaluated in the African (AFR)/EMRO region and compared to the global activity for the years 2006–2013. Data were obtained from 1570 teams in the 6 WHO continental regions. Of these, 29 (1.85%) of all teams were active in 12 of the 68 AFR/EMRO countries. They reported 2.331 (3.3%) of the worldwide 71.036 HSCT, and a median transplant rate of 32.8 (TR; HSCT/10 million inhabitants; worldwide 128.5). This reflects still the lowest regional TR despite an increase of 90% since 2006. HSCT activity in AFR/EMRO countries was characterized by a higher use of allogeneic compared to autologous HSCT, an almost exclusive use of family donors, including haploidentical family donors. These findings contrast with the prevalence of autologous over allogeneic HSCT, and a higher frequency of unrelated HSCT in other parts of the world. Of note, the increase by 200% in HSCT for hemoglobinopathies from 2006 to 2013 (72/year) in the AFR/EMRO region. This reflects the specific role of HSCT for these disease categories with high prevalence and incidence in the AFR/EMRO region. This report provides information for the competent authorities to foster adequate infrastructure. It urges transplant organization to optimize their cooperation.

Clustering has become an increasingly popular method of multivariate analysis over the past two decades, and with it has come a vast amount of published material. Since there is no journal devoted exclusively to cluster analysis as a general topic and since it has been used in many fields of study, the novice user is faced with the daunting prospect of searching through a multitude of journals for appropriate references. In order to organize this diverse and voluminous material the following points will be considered: the terminology associated with cluster analysis; the journals containing the most significant papers; the broad nature of the published papers. Finally, a few thoughts on the state of the literature of cluster analysis are given.

Summary Background One-third of preterm births are attributed to pregnancy infections. We implemented a community-based intervention to screen and treat maternal genitourinary tract infections, with the aim of reducing the incidence of preterm birth. Methods We did an unblinded cluster-randomised controlled trial in two subdistricts of Sylhet, Bangladesh. Clusters were defined as the contiguous area served by a single community health worker, and each cluster comprised several contiguous villages, contained roughly 4000 people, and had about 120 births per year. Eligible participants within clusters were all ever-married women and girls of reproductive age (ie, aged 15–49 years) who became pregnant during the study period. Clusters were randomly assigned (1:1) to the intervention or control groups via a restricted randomisation procedure. In both groups, community health workers made home visits to identify pregnant women and girls and provide antenatal and postnatal care. Between 13 and 19 weeks' gestation, participants in the intervention group received home-based screening for abnormal vaginal flora and urinary tract infections. A random 10% of the control group also received the intervention to examine the similarity of infection prevalence between groups. If present, abnormal vaginal flora (ie, Nugent score ≥4 was treated with oral clindamycin (300 mg twice daily for 5 days) and urinary tract infections with cefixime (400 mg once daily for 3 days) or oral nitrofurantoin (100 mg twice daily for 7 days). Both infections were retreated if persistent. The primary outcome was the incidence of preterm livebirths before 37 weeks' gestation among all livebirths. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01572532. The trial is closed to new participants, with follow-up completed. Findings Between Jan 2, 2012, and July 28, 2015, 9712 pregnancies were enrolled (4840 in the intervention group, 4391 in the control group, and 481 in the control subsample). 3818 livebirths in the intervention group and 3557 livebirths in the control group were included in the primary analysis. In the intervention group, the prevalence of abnormal vaginal flora was 16·3% (95% CI 15·1–17·6) and that of urinary tract infection was 8·6% (7·7–9·5). The effective coverage of successful treatment in the intervention group was 58% in participants with abnormal vaginal flora (ie, abnormal vaginal flora resolved in 361 [58%] of the 622 participants who initially tested positive), and 71% in those with urinary tract infections (ie, resolution in 224 [71%] of the 317 participants who initially tested positive). Overall, the incidence of preterm livebirths before 37 weeks' gestation did not differ significantly between the intervention and control groups (21·8% vs 20·6%; relative risk 1·07 [95% CI 0·91–1·24]). Interpretation A population-based antenatal screening and treatment programme for genitourinary tract infections did not reduce the incidence of preterm birth in Bangladesh. Funding Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and Saving Lives at Birth Grand Challenges.