Associations of womens position in the household and food insecurity with family planning use in Nepal.

BACKGROUND: Women in Nepal have low status, especially younger women in co-resident households. Nepal also faces high levels of household food insecurity and malnutrition, and stagnation in uptake of modern family planning methods. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to understand if household structure and food insecurity interact to influence family planning use in Nepal. METHODS: Using data on married, non-pregnant women aged 15-49 with at least one child from the Nepal 2011 Demographic and Health Survey (N = 7,460), we explore the relationship between womens position in the household, food insecurity as a moderator, and family planning use, using multi-variable logistic regressions. We adjust for household and individual factors, including other status-related variables. RESULTS: In adjusted models, living in a food insecure household and co-residing with in-laws either with no other daughter-in-laws or as the eldest or youngest daughter-in-law (compared to not-co-residing with in-laws) are all associated with lower odds of family planning use. In the interaction model, younger-sisters-in-law and women co-residing with no sisters-in-law in food insecure households have the lowest odds of family planning use. CONCLUSION: This study shows that household position is associated with family planning use in Nepal, and that food insecurity modifies these associations-highlighting the importance of considering both factors in understanding reproductive health care use in Nepal. Policies and programs should focus on the multiple pathways through which food insecurity impacts womens reproductive health, including focusing on women with the lowest status in households

A new microscopic nucleon-nucleon interaction derived from relativistic mean field theory

A new microscopic nucleon-nucleon (NN) interaction has been derived for the first time from the popular relativistic mean field theory (RMFT) Lagrangian. The NN interaction so obtained remarkably relate to the inbuilt fundamental parameters of RMFT. Furthermore, by folding it with the RMFT-densities of cluster and daughter nuclei to obtain the optical potential, it's application is also examined to study the exotic cluster radioactive decays, and results obtained found comparable with the successfully used M3Y phenomenological effective NN interactions. The presently derived NN-interaction can also be used to calculate a number of other nuclear observables.Comment: 4 Pages 2 Figure

Near-IR studies of recurrent nova V745 Scorpii during its 2014 outburst

The recurrent nova (RN) V745 Scorpii underwent its third known outburst on 2014 February 6. Infrared monitoring of the eruption on an almost daily basis, starting from 1.3d after discovery, shows the emergence of a powerful blast wave generated by the high velocity nova ejecta exceeding 4000 kms$^{-1}$ plowing into its surrounding environment. The temperature of the shocked gas is raised to a high value exceeding 10$^{8}$K immediately after outburst commencement. The energetics of the outburst clearly surpass those of similar symbiotic systems like RS Oph and V407 Cyg which have giant secondaries. The shock does not show a free-expansion stage but rather shows a decelerative Sedov-Taylor phase from the beginning. Such strong shockfronts are known to be sites for $\gamma$ ray generation. V745 Sco is the latest nova, apart from five other known novae, to show $\gamma$ ray emission. It may be an important testbed to resolve the crucial question whether all novae are generically $\gamma$ ray emitters by virtue of having a circumbinary reservoir of material that is shocked by the ejecta rather than $\gamma$ ray generation being restricted to only symbiotic systems with a shocked red giant (RG) wind. The lack of a free-expansion stage favors V745 Sco to have a density enhancement around the white dwarf (WD), above that contributed by a RG wind. Our analysis also suggests that the WD in V745 Sco is very massive and a potential progenitor for a future SN Ia explosion.Comment: To appear in ApJ (Letters

Assessment of capsicum nutrient levels affected by lime and phosphorus application in Fijian soil

The application of lime and phosphorus is a common practice for improving crop production in acidic soils of tropical countries and temperate regions. An experiment in factorial combination was laid out at the College of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry to investigate the effects of lime and phosphorus on the quality and nutrient content of Capsicum annum. Treatment includes 4 levels of lime (0, 250, 500 and 750 kg ha-1 represented as L0, L250, L500, L750) and 4 phosphorus levels (0, 20, 40 & 60 kg ha-1 and represented as P0, P20, P40 and P60 respectively). Total ash content, moisture content, protein and other nutrients were analysed. Total ash, moisture, protein and other plant nutrients increased significantly with an increase in lime dose up to 500 kg ha-1, while total ash, moisture content, protein and other nutrients increased significantly up to P40 (40 kg ha-1). Copper and magnesium showed no significant difference with the application of lime and phosphorus

Surgical Stabilization of Femur Fractures in Post-Traumatic Hypoxemic Patients: When and Why?

Background: Post-traumatic hypoxemia can deteriorate during operative manipulations. Objectives: In the present study, criteria-based approach was applied to determine optimum conditions for femur surgery. The aim of this study was to optimize perioperative management of post-traumatic hypoxemia. Patients and Methods: In this prospective observational study, post-traumatic adults with PaO2 200 mmHg (FiO2 < 0.5, PEEP < 8 cm H2O). Results: A total of 31 adults (26 males and 5 females) with LIS of 0.1 to 2.5 (26 patients) and > 2.5 (five patients) at admission were recruited. Sixteen patients were admitted within 24 hours and 15 between 24 and 90 hours after injury. Thirteen patients were operated within 24 hours. Post-operative LIS was improved. No adverse sequels or mortality were seen. Conclusions: Appropriate surgical stabilization can be safely performed during established post-traumatic hypoxemia using a multidisciplinary approach, continuous monitoring, and serial investigations to diagnose fulminant pathology and associated injuries