Electrification Ionization: Fundamentals and Applications

Electrification ionization is a method to produce ions from solid samples by charge separation. This separation of charge can be enhanced by organic molecules known as matrix compounds to produce highly charged molecules. In this research, new methods were developed for the application of electrification ionization for surface analysis and the ionization mechanism was investigated. First, an electrification ionization matrix was used for tissue imaging using laser ablation. A two-component matrix of 2-nitrophloroglucinol and silica nanoparticles was found to increase the number of multiply charged ions from the tissue. Images of mouse brain with multiply charged ions were obtained. In a second study, a method for electrification ionization was developed using a pulsed valve for material removal. The pulsed valve was directed at a thin metal foil with sample and matrix deposited on the opposite side. The resulting ions were sampled into a mass spectrometer. The method had an ion production time of 4 seconds but had limited spatial resolution. To improve spatial resolution, a piezoelectric cantilever striker with a needle tip attached to the arm was used. A lateral resolution of around 1 mm was obtained with the piezoelectric cantilever and the temporal resolution was comparable to the pulsed valve. Highly charged ions of peptides and proteins deposited on foil were obtained. With an improved nanoparticle co-matrix, lipid and gangliosides were detected from tissue. The addition of nanoparticles improved the ionization of molecules from tissue under both atmospheric and high vacuum conditions. To understand the ionization mechanism, sublimation electrification of matrix was studied. Electrification produces a current when the matrices are sublimed. The sign of the current depended on the compound sublimed. The polarity of the current could be altered by the application of an electric field or by changing the pH. The results are interpreted as separation of charge in particles ejected from stress cracking crystals

Point of Sale Display: A Call to Action on Prohibition of Tobacco Products in Nepal

https://blogs.bmj.com/tc/2015/08/05/point-of-sale-display-a-call-to-action-on-prohibition-of-tobacco-products-in-nepal

The pension reform in Norway: A measure of adequacy in retirement benefits from fully funded occupational schemes

The implementation of mandatory occupational pension schemes has created a second pillar in the Norwegian Pension System. The trend of moving from Defined Benefit schemes (DB) to Defined Contribution (DC) schemes has shifted the risk of adequacy to the employees. This increase in enrolment to the DC schemes, and the introduction of new Hybrid schemes, has exposed Norwegian employee’s to market risk, thus increasing the risk of having inadequate pension benefits. In this master thesis we set out to analyse the performance of these fully funded pension schemes. Throughout our thesis we will walk the reader through the maze that is considered the Norwegian Pension System, and analyse these fully funded schemes using historical data from 1900 to 2013. Based on the approach used by Antolin (2009), we calculate replacement rates for a total of 75 hypothetical cohorts. Consistent with the past theoretical and empirical findings, our result shows that the all-equity allocation yields better median values of replacement rates than for bonds and balanced portfolios. There is a need for higher contribution levels than five per cent for all schemes and all investment strategies, except the Standard Model with all-equity allocation, to have an equal replacement rate as a public sector employee that receives a guaranteed retirement benefit equal to 66 per cent of final salary. As of 2013, more than 40 per cent had only the minimum contribution level of two per cent, suggesting that future retirees will end up having a lower replacement rate in the private sector in comparison to the public sector, and there is a need for evaluating the policies for minimum contributions. Further, our results imply that the life-cycle investment strategies available in the Norwegian market should be more aggressive.Introduksjonen av obligatorisk tjenestepensjon har laget en andre søyle av det norske pensjonssystemet. Siden flere har flyttet over fra ytelsespensjon til innskuddspensjon, har risiko knyttet til inntjening av pensjon blitt flyttet til arbeidstakere. Denne økte oppslutningen om innskuddspensjon, samt introduseringen av et nytt produkt; Hybridmodellen, har utsatt norske arbeidstagere for markedsrisiko, dermed økt risikoen for uforutsigbare pensjonsgodtgjørelser. I denne masteroppgaven skal vi analysere ytelsen av disse fonderte pensjonsordningene, og vi vil følge leseren gjennom det norske pensjonssystemet, for så å analysere de fonderte pensjonsordningene ved bruk av historiske data fra 1900 til 2013. Baser på metodene til Antolin (2009) beregner vi kompensasjonsgrader for totalt 75 hypotetiske kohorter. I samsvar med tidligere forskning og empiriske resultater viser våre resultater at investering i aksjer gir bedre kompensasjonsgrader enn obligasjonsinvesteringer og investering i kombinasjonsporteføljer. For alle pensjonsordninger og alle porteføljesammensetninger, må arbeidsgivere skyte inn mer kapital enn fem prosent av lønning hvert år for å oppnå en kompensasjonsgrad som tilsvarer 66 prosent slik som arbeidstakere i offentlig sektor har krav på. Dette er ikke medberegne Standardmodellen med aksjesammensetning. Fra statistikk gjort i 2013 mottar flere enn 40 prosent bare minimumsinnskuddet på to prosent, noe som antyder at fremtidige pensjonister i privat sektor vil motta lavere kompensasjonsgrad enn de i offentlig sektor. Det er dermed grunn til evaluering av minimumssatsene. Videre antyder våre resultater at nedrappingsmodellene tilgjengelig i det norske markedet burde inneholde større andel av aksjer.Master i okonomi og administrasjo

The Epidemiology of Hospitalization for Pneumonia in Children under Five in the Rural Western Region of Nepal: A Descriptive Study

© 2013 Banstola, Banstola. Pneumonia is one of the major public health problems in children under five years of age. The aim of this study was to analyze the time, place, and characteristics of the distribution of pneumonia in hospitalized children under five years of age at the Dhaulagiri Zonal Hospital (DZH) in Nepal. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out at DZH from July 16, 2008 to August 17, 2011 for hospitalized children under five years of age and diagnosed with pneumonia. The main bacterial cause of pneumonia was Streptococcus pneumoniae and the main viral cause was Respiratory Syntical Virus (RSV). The majority of children admitted for treatment of pneumonia were males (60%), from upper class ethnic groups, and common among those aged 29 days to one year (49.1% of overall pneumonia cases). Data from this study show that pneumonia episodes in DZH occurred throughout the year with a sharp increase in the occurrence at the end of August to September. More cases were recorded during the rainy seasons and winter months in all three study years. The cases were from households most concentrated in Baglung municipality where the hospital is located. Pneumonia was found in higher proportions among hospitalized male children, those aged 29 days to one year, and in upper ethnic groups, during the rainy seasons and in winter months, and among local populations near the hospital in the rural western region of Nepal. Strengthening community-based case management, prevention strategies, and health care delivery system would help reduce pneumonia cases and the overall burden associated with it. © 2013 Banstola, Banstola

Interaction between limbic circuits and basal ganglia in behaviour inhibition

Changing behaviour in response to changing internal and external situations is crucial for survival. In particular, we need to inhibit ongoing, unwanted or inappropriate behaviour. Behavioural inhibition includes inhibition of an ongoing action, thought or emotion (in the basal ganglia; BG). But it can also involve inhibition of goals (in the limbic system) – which is much slower. A better understanding of the neural mechanisms controlling inhibition of behaviour is important for cognitive neuroscience, particularly in relation to problems of impulsivity. This thesis aims to fill a gap in our understanding of behavioural inhibition and to elucidate the parallel circuits that control its different types. Several lesion, neuroimaging, and electrophysiological studies have been conducted to understand the role of brain regions in behavioural inhibition. Previous research has identified roles for the BG, orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and hippocampus (HPC) in generation of various frequencies of rhythmicity during behavioural inhibition. However, the interaction between these regions has not been studied in rats during simple learning, simple action inhibition and complex behavioural inhibition. The stop signal task (SST) is the most commonly used paradigm to study simple behavioural inhibition. In this study, I recorded local field potentials (LFPs) simultaneously from BG (particularly striatum; STR and subthalamic nucleus; STN), OFC and HPC while rats performed the SST to assess how simple action inhibition differs from complex behavioural inhibition linked to goal-conflict. The data show increases in the STN LFP spectral beta power and coherence with OFC after stopping an ongoing action (simple stopping). In contrast, stop failure increased HPC-STN coherent activity in the theta frequency band. In addition to the HPC, goal-conflict also activates OFC and STN during high conflict at higher theta frequency (11-12 Hz). In contrast, the conflict induced coherence effect was seen at lower theta frequencies (5-8 Hz) between two pairs of STN (HPC-STN and OFC-STN). The results from the various experiments suggest that part of BG (STR and STN) and limbic system work in parallel and in a dynamic way for learning, response inhibition and complex behavioural inhibition (approach-avoidance conflict). The HPC is not involved in simple motor learning but may receive motivational information form STR and OFC. Simple inhibition involves mainly cortex and BG, while complex inhibition during goal-conflict also involves HPC, OFC and STN. Interestingly, goal inhibition appears to access circuits involved in simple stopping via OFC. In conclusion, functional connections between limbic and BG provides an adaptive control, so that goal selection (limbic structures) and programming of motor action (BG) can operate in parallel

Economic burden of road traffic injuries in Nepal

The evidence of the economic burden of road traffic injuries (RTIs) in Nepal is limited. The most recent study, conducted in 2008, is now considered outdated because there has been a rapid increase in vehicle numbers and extensive road building over the last decade. This study estimated the current economic costs of RTIs in Nepal, including the direct costs, productivity costs, and valuation of pain, grief, and suffering. An incidence-based cost-of-illness analysis was conducted from a societal perspective, employing a bottom-up approach using secondary data. All costs incurred by the patients, their family members, and costs to society were estimated, with sensitivity analyses to consider uncertainty around the data estimates available. Productivity loss was valued using the human capital approach. The total costs of RTIs in 2017 were estimated at USD 122.88 million. Of these, the costs of productivity loss were USD 91.57 million (74.52%) and the pain, grief, and suffering costs were USD 18.31 million (14.90%). The direct non-medical costs were USD 11.50 million (9.36%) whereas the direct medical costs were USD 1.50 million (1.22%). The economic costs of RTIs increased by threefold since 2007 and are equivalent to 1.52% of the gross national product, indicating the growing national financial burden associated with preventable RTIs

Risk behavior among adolescents in Nepal

2020岡山県立大学大学

Mapping sheep to human brain: The need for a sheep brain atlas

A brain atlas is essential for understanding the anatomical relationship between neuroanatomical structures. Standard stereotaxic coordinates and reference systems have been developed for humans, non-human primates and small laboratory animals to contribute to translational neuroscience research. Despite similar neuroanatomical and neurofunctional features between the sheep and human brain, little is known of the sheep brain stereotaxy, and a detailed sheep atlas is scarce. Here, we briefly discuss the value of using sheep in neurological research and the paucity of literature concerning the coordinates system during neurosurgical approaches. Recent advancements such as computerized tomography, positron emission tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, functional magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging are used for targeting and localizing the coordinates and brain areas in humans. Still, their application in sheep is rare due to the lack of a 3D stereotaxic sheep atlas by which to map sheep brain structures to its human counterparts. More recently, a T1- and T2-weighted high-resolution MRI 3D stereotaxic atlas of the sheep brain has been generated, however, the journey to create a sheep brain atlas by which to map directly to the human brain is still uncharted. Therefore, developing a detailed sheep brain atlas is valuable for the future to facilitate the use of sheep as a large animal experimental non-primate model for translational neurological research

The Availability of Emergency Obstetric Care in Birthing Centres in Rural Nepal: A Cross-sectional Survey.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this health system's study is to assess the availability of Emergency Obstetric Care (EmOC) services in birthing centres in Taplejung District of eastern Nepal. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2018 in all 16 public health facilities providing delivery services in the district. Data collection comprised: (1) quantitative data collected from health workers; (2) observation of key items; and (3) record data extracted from the health facility register. Descriptive statistics were used to calculate readiness scores using unweighted averages. RESULTS: Although key health personnel were available, EmOC services at the health facilities assessed were below the minimum coverage level recommended by the World Health Organisation. Only the district hospital provided the nine signal functions of Comprehensive EmOC. The other fifteen had only partially functioning Basic EmOC facilities, as they did not provide all of the seven signal functions. The essential equipment for performing certain EmOC functions was either missing or not functional in these health facilities. CONCLUSIONS FOR PRACTICE: The Ministry of Health and Population and the federal government need to ensure that the full range of signal functions are available for safe deliveries in partially functioning EmOC health facilities by addressing the issues related to training, equipment, medicine, commodities and policy

The economic burden of multimorbidity: Protocol for a systematic review

Data Availability: No datasets were generated or analysed during the current study. All relevant data from this study will be made available upon study completion.Supporting information is available online at: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0301485#sec019 .Multimorbidity, also known as multiple long-term conditions, leads to higher healthcare utilisation, including hospitalisation, readmission, and polypharmacy, as well as a financial burden to families, society, and nations. Despite some progress, the economic burden of multimorbidity remains poorly understood. This paper outlines a protocol for a systematic review that aims to identify and synthesise comprehensive evidence on the economic burden of multimorbidity, considering various definitions and measurements of multimorbidity, including their implications for future cost-of-illness analyses. The review will include studies involving people of all ages with multimorbidity without any restriction on location and setting. Cost-of-illness studies or studies that examined economic burden including model-based studies will be included, and economic evaluation studies will be excluded. Databases including Scopus (that includes PubMed/MEDLINE), Web of Science, CINAHL Plus, PsycINFO, NHS EED (including the HTA database), and the Cost-Effectiveness Analysis Registry, will be searched until March 2024. The risk of bias within included studies will be independently assessed by two authors using appropriate checklists. A narrative synthesis of the main characteristics and results, by definitions and measurements of multimorbidity, will be conducted. The total economic burden of multimorbidity will be reported as mean annual costs per patient and disaggregated based on counts of diseases, disease clusters, and weighted indices. The results of this review will provide valuable insights for researchers into the key cost components and areas that require further investigation in order to improve the rigour of future studies on the economic burden of multimorbidity. Additionally, these findings will broaden our understanding of the economic impact of multimorbidity, inform us about the costs of inaction, and guide decision-making regarding resource allocation and cost-effective interventions. The systematic review’s results will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal, presented at conferences, and shared via an online webinar for discussion.The author(s) received no specific funding for this work. This study is part of the first author's PhD project and that the first author is sponsored by the Department of Health Sciences at Brunel University London