Community-based study on knowledge, attitudes and perception of rabies in Gelephu, south-central Bhutan.

postprintCommunity knowledge, attitudes and practices are important both for prevention of human deaths due to rabies and for control of the disease in animals. This study was a cross-sectional survey investigating the level of community knowledge as well as attitudes and perceptions about rabies in Gelephu, south central Bhutan, a region endemic for rabies. A total of 615 household respondents were interviewed, of which 224 (36%) were males and 391 (64%) were females. The majority of the respondents had high level of knowledge, and attitude and perception of rabies, and has a positive attitude towards the prevention and control of rabies. Multivariable logistic regression model showed that better knowledge about rabies was predicted by gender, educational level and dog ownership status of the respondents, whilst health-seeking behaviours of animal bite injuries were predicted by dog ownership status, presence of children in the household and occupation of the respondents. The majority of the respondents believed that stray dogs are a problem in the community and felt that it was important to control the dog population in Gelephu. These findings also indicate that there exists a knowledge gap about rabies in the community that could be improved by creating an awareness education programme. Keywords: Knowledge, Attitude, Perception, Rabies, Cross-sectional survey, Bhuta

Community-based study on knowledge, attitudes and perception of rabies in Gelephu, south-central Bhutan.

Community knowledge, attitudes and practices are important both for prevention of human deaths due to rabies and for control of the disease in animals. This study was a cross-sectional survey investigating the level of community knowledge as well as attitudes and perceptions about rabies in Gelephu, south central Bhutan, a region endemic for rabies. A total of 615 household respondents were interviewed, of which 224 (36%) were males and 391 (64%) were females. The majority of the respondents had high level of knowledge, and attitude and perception of rabies, and has a positive attitude towards the prevention and control of rabies. Multivariable logistic regression model showed that better knowledge about rabies was predicted by gender, educational level and dog ownership status of the respondents, whilst health-seeking behaviours of animal bite injuries were predicted by dog ownership status, presence of children in the household and occupation of the respondents. The majority of the respondents believed that stray dogs are a problem in the community and felt that it was important to control the dog population in Gelephu. These findings also indicate that there exists a knowledge gap about rabies in the community that could be improved by creating an awareness education programme. Keywords: Knowledge, Attitude, Perception, Rabies, Cross-sectional survey, Bhuta

Indigenous Uses, Phytochemical Analysis, and Anti-Inflammatory Properties of Australian Tropical Medicinal Plants

Australian tropical plants have been a rich source of food (bush food) and medicine to the first Australians (Aboriginal people), who are believed to have lived for more than 50,000 years. Plants such as spreading sneezeweed (Centipeda minima), goat’s foot (Ipomoea pes-caprae), and hop bush (Dodonaea viscosa and D. polyandra) are a few popular Aboriginal medicinal plants. Thus far, more than 900 medicinal plants have been recorded in the tropical region alone, and many of them are associated with diverse ethnomedicinal uses that belong to the traditional owners of Aboriginal people. In our effort to find anti-inflammatory lead compounds in collaboration with Aboriginal communities from their medicinal plants, we reviewed 78 medicinal plants used against various inflammation and inflammatory-related conditions by Aboriginal people. Out of those 78 species, we have included only 45 species whose crude extracts or isolated pure compounds showed anti-inflammatory properties. Upon investigating compounds isolated from 40 species (for five species, only crude extracts were studied), 83 compounds were associated with various anti-inflammatory properties. Alphitolic acid, Betulinic acid, Malabaric acid, and Hispidulin reduced proinflammatory cytokines and cyclooxygenase enzymes (COX-1 and 2) with IC50 values ranging from 11.5 to 46.9 uM. Other promising anti-inflammatory compounds are Brevilin A (from Centipeda minima), Eupalestin, and 5′-methoxy nobiletin (from Ageratum conyzoides), Calophyllolide (from Calophyllum inophyllum), and Brusatol (from Brucea javanica). D. polyandra is one example of an Aboriginal medicinal plant from which a novel anti-inflammatory benzoyl ester clerodane diterpenoid compound was obtained (compound name not disclosed), and it is in the development of topical medicines for inflammatory skin diseases. Medicinal plants in the tropics and those associated with indigenous knowledge of Aboriginal people could be a potential alternative source of novel anti-inflammatory therapeutics

Found in Translation: Collaborative Contemplations of Tibetan Buddhism and Western Science

Development of an inclusive scientific community necessitates doing more than simply bringing science to diverse groups of people. Ideally, the sciences evolve through incorporation of diverse backgrounds, experiences, and worldviews. Efforts to promote inclusion of historically underrepresented racial, ethnic, cultural, religious, gender, and socioeconomic groups among science scholars are currently underway. Examination of these efforts yields valuable lessons to inform next steps in engaging diverse audiences with science. The Emory-Tibet Science Initiative may serve as one example of such efforts. The Dalai Lama invited Emory University to develop and teach a curriculum in Western science to Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns. As the science curriculum has been taught and refined over the past decade, monastic scholars increasingly have taken ownership of the material. As Western scientific ideas and practices take hold in this setting, the experiences of monks and nuns offer unique insights into the process of translation, modes of communication, and long-term impacts of integrating diverse systems of knowledge. Given that the dominant language of science is English, Tibetan interpreters have been essential throughout the implementation of this project. Through the process of translating scientific terms, interpreters have considered differences in how words categorize, and therefore how people conceptualize, the world. Through comprehensive, culturally-responsive communication, scientific language is used as a tool to build and strengthen connections between monastics and their local and global communities. The intertwining of these complementary systems of knowledge iteratively informs translation, modes of communication, and broader impacts in the community

Collinear Rashba-Edelstein effect in non-magnetic chiral materials

Efficient generation and manipulation of spin signals in a given material without invoking external magnetism remain one of the challenges in spintronics. The spin Hall effect (SHE) and Rashba-Edelstein effect (REE) are well-known mechanisms to electrically generate spin accumulation in materials with strong spin-orbit coupling (SOC), but the exact role of the strength and type of SOC, especially in crystals with low symmetry, has yet to be explained. In this study, we investigate REE in two different families of non-magnetic chiral materials, elemental semiconductors (Te and Se) and semimetallic disilicides (TaSi$_2$ and NbSi$_2$), using an approach based on density functional theory (DFT). By analyzing spin textures across the full Brillouin zones and comparing them with REE magnitudes calculated as a function of chemical potential, we link specific features in the electronic structure with the efficiency of the induced spin accumulation. Our findings show that magnitudes of REE can be increased by: (i) the presence of purely radial (Weyl-type) spin texture manifesting as the parallel spin-momentum locking, (ii) high spin polarization of bands along one specific crystallographic direction, (iii) low band velocities. By comparing materials possessing the same crystal structures, but different strengths of SOC, we conclude that larger SOC may indirectly contribute to the enhancement of REE. It yields greater spin-splitting of bands along specific crystallographic directions, which prevents canceling the contributions from the oppositely spin-polarized bands over wider energy regions and helps maintain larger REE magnitudes. We believe that these results will be useful for designing spintronics devices and may aid further computational studies searching for efficient REE in materials with different symmetries and SOC strengths

Field study of the building physics properties of common building types in the Inner Himalayan valleys of Bhutan

Traditionally, buildings in the Inner Himalayan valleys of Bhutan were constructed from rammed earth in the western regions and quarry stone in the central and eastern regions. Whilst basic architectural design elements have been retained, the construction methods have however changed over recent decades alongside expectations for indoor thermal comfort. Nevertheless, despite the need for space heating, thermal building performance remains largely unknown. Furthermore, no dedicated climate data is available for building performance assessments. This paper establishes such climatological information for the capital Thimphu and presents an investigation of building physics properties of traditional and contemporary building types. In a one month field study 10 buildings were surveyed, looking at building air tightness, indoor climate, wall U-values and water absorption of typical wall construction materials. The findings highlight comparably high wall U-values of 1.0 to 1.5 W/m²K for both current and historic constructions. Furthermore, air tightness tests show that, due to poorly sealed joints between construction elements, windows and doors, many buildings have high infiltration rates, reaching up to 5 air changes per hour. However, the results also indicate an indoor climate moderating effect of more traditional earth construction techniques. Based on these survey findings basic improvements are being suggested

Community opinion towards a village homestay program in Soe, a small nomadic community in the North-West of Bhutan

Bhutan strongly adheres to a policy of ‘High-Value, Low-Impact tourism’ guided by the doctrine of Gross National Happiness (GNH) to make Bhutan a high-end tourist destination. In Bhutan, the tourism industry contributed about US$ 79.87 million in 2017 making it one of the most important economic contributors. However, rural communities are not equally benefitting from tourism activities due to less tourism development. The main objective of this article was to evaluate the opinion of the community towards the opportunities of the village homestay programme. The study was conducted within a small nomadic community in Soe which is located in the North-West of Bhutan. This paper was a qualitative study based on in-depth semi-structured interviews which were limited to twenty key informants due to the small size of the community. Data were analysed with a content analysis approach. The study found that there was some mixed opinion towards the concept of the village homestay programme in the community. The majority of the key informants, particularly the males, expressed quite a strong support for the concept of the village homestay programme. The findings revealed that the male key informants consider that the development could generate additional revenue, enhance health and sanitation and requires less investment for the development. On the other hand, the female key informants expressed some what negative opinions towards the concept of the village homestay programme. The key reasons include lack of experiences in tourism, workloads and the general safety of the women. In spite of varied opinion towards the concept, it was found that the majority of the key informants were very supportive of the development of the village homestay programme and were thus able to see the positive benefits and a good future for the village homestay programme in Soe community

Analogs of Rashba-Edelstein effect from density functional theory

Studies of structure-property relationships in spintronics are essential for the design of materials that can fill specific roles in devices. For example, materials with low symmetry allow unconventional configurations of charge-to-spin conversion which can be used to generate efficient spin-orbit torques. Here, we explore the relationship between crystal symmetry and geometry of the Rashba-Edelstein effect (REE) that causes spin accumulation in response to an applied electric current. Based on a symmetry analysis performed for 230 crystallographic space groups, we identify classes of materials that can host conventional or collinear REE. Although transverse spin accumulation is commonly associated with the so-called 'Rashba materials', we show that the presence of specific spin texture does not easily translate to the configuration of REE. More specifically, bulk crystals may simultaneously host different types of spin-orbit fields, depending on the crystallographic point group and the symmetry of the specific $k$-vector, which, averaged over the Brillouin zone, determine the direction and magnitude of the induced spin accumulation. To explore the connection between crystal symmetry, spin texture, and the magnitude of REE, we perform first-principles calculations for representative materials with different symmetries. We believe that our results will be helpful for further computational and experimental studies, as well as the design of spintronics devices.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure

Rabies virus strains circulating in Bhutan: implications for control.

postprintWe report a molecular epidemiological study of rabies virus strains circulating in animal populations in Bhutan, and investigate potential origins of these viruses. Twenty-three rabies virus isolates originating from dogs and other domestic animals were characterized by sequencing the partial nucleoprotein (N) gene (395 bp). Phylogenetic analysis was conducted and the Bhutanese isolates were compared with rabies viruses originating from other parts of the world. Phylogenetic analysis showed that Bhutanese isolates were highly similar and were closely related to Indian strains and South Asian Arctic–like–1 viruses. Our study suggests that the rabies viruses spreading in southern parts of Bhutan have originated from a common ancestor, perhaps from the Indian virus strain. Keywords: molecular epidemiology, rabies, Arctic–like virus, BhutanThailand Research Fund (grant No.DBG5180026