Economic Inequality in Kathmandu: A Multi-Indicator Perspective

Studying economic inequality is increasingly important because of its multidimensional effects on human and societal well-being. This paper examines economic inequality in Kathmandu using wealth, income, and consumption as its indicators. Amidst the finding that wealth, income, and consumption have mutually reinforcing relationships, recent survey data indicate that high income many not necessarily accumulate into wealth as normally expected. Data also show that the household and householder characteristics somewhat differ when it comes to explaining disparities in household wealth, income, and consumption. The suggestion that spatial segregation, human capital and capability, inheritance, and household composition are important determinants of economic inequality—with almost no systematic role for discrimination—provides enormous implications for policies aimed at curbing economic inequality in Kathmandu

Registered Dietitians: Attitudes And Perceptions Regarding Bachelor’s Degree In Nutrition And Dietetics

The profession of dietetics is transitioning to the master’s degree (MS) as the entry-level requirement for registered dietitians’ (RDs) to practice. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the attitudes and perceptions of registered dietitians with bachelor’s degrees (BS, RD’s) regarding a transition to the MS degree as the requirement for the RD certification. This study also examined these RD’s attitudes and perceptions regarding impacting factors such as their years of work experience including salary levels and increments, professional stature including promotions and positions, and scope and type of practice. A cross-sectional survey was utilized to collect data and Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 22.0 was used to conduct data analysis. The participant pool was comprised of 107 BS, RDs and included 99 (92.5%) females and 8 (7.5%) males. Fifty-six percent of participants (n=60) were predominantly between the ages of 30-39 years and 88.0% (n=94) reported working in California. Participants expressed greater support for a one-year transitional master’s degree (tMS) rather than the MS degree, and findings indicated lack of support for the universal degree requirement of the MS degree for practice. Participants felt that the MS degree improved the RD’s ability to apply research in clinical practice and improved clinical reasoning skills, however, the degree would not alter the role of the RD, lead to a more defined type and scope of practice, improve the quality of health care for the patients, improve leadership skills or enhance professionalism. RDs who were younger in age and had practiced for a few years were more inclined to be supportive of the transition and were willing to enroll in the MS degree. However, the support decreased with increase in age and years of practice. Participants who believed that the transition was a positive change were found to favor the MS degree and were willing to enroll in the tMS degree, and preferred the “online” mode of instruction. This study provides insight into some attitudes of BS, RDs toward both the educational changes that are taking place and those that may be implemented in the near future

The magnitudes and caste/ethnic bases of transient and chronic poverty in Nepal: A longitudinal household-level analysis (2014)

Using panel data from the Nepal Living Standard Surveys, this paper examines the dynamics of chronic and transient poverty and their socioeconomic determinants between 1996 and 2011

Remittance to Nepal from foreign employment: Changes and implications

Using data from the 1995/96 and 2003/2004 waves of the Nepal Living Standard Survey (NLSS), this paper examines how large a role remittance is playing in the household economy nationwide, how different socioeconomic and demographic groups have benefitted from it, and how it is changing over time. The analysis will be both horizontal across groups and temporal over time

The Impact of Foreign Remittances on Poverty in Nepal: A Panel Study of Household Survey Data, 1996-2011

Using data from the longitudinal panel surveys of 1996, 2004, and 2011, this paper examines the dynamics of foreign remittances and their impact on poverty in Nepal. The intent is to explore how foreign remittances have evolved and impacted poverty and economic well-being of households. Focusing on a consistent set of households across the three survey rounds in a balanced panel format helps examine the effect of foreign remittances with appropriate controls. Results from methodologically consistent, random-effects regressions that correct for potential attrition and heterogeneity bias support significant poverty-reducing and, more accurately, economic well-being-enhancing effects of foreign remittances especially when originating in countries other than India. This and other findings are valuable to the assessment of policies on utilizing foreign labor migration and remittances as a vehicle to reduce poverty in Nepal

The SUMMIT trial: a field comparison of buprenorphine versus methadone maintenance treatment.

This prospective patient-preference study examined the effectiveness in practice of methadone versus buprenorphine maintenance treatment and the beliefs of subjects regarding these drugs. A total of 361 opiate-dependent individuals (89% of those eligible, presenting for treatment over 2 years at a drug service in England) received rapid titration then flexible dosing with methadone or buprenorphine; 227 patients chose methadone (63%) and 134 buprenorphine (37%). Participants choosing methadone had more severe substance abuse and psychiatric and physical problems but were more likely to remain in treatment. Survival analysis indicated those prescribed methadone were over twice as likely to be retained (hazard ratio for retention was 2.08 and 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.49-2.94 for methadone vs. buprenorphine), However, those retained on buprenorphine were more likely to suppress illicit opiate use (odds ratio = 2.136, 95% CI = 1.509-3.027, p < .001) and achieve detoxification. Buprenorphine may also recruit more individuals to treatment because 28% of those choosing buprenorphine (10% of the total sample) stated they would not have accessed treatment with methadone

Feeding Habits of the Eastern Woodrat (\u3ci\u3eNeotoma floridana\u3c/i\u3e) in Southern Illinois

The eastern woodrat, a state-endangered species, is a generalist herbivore that depends on cached food during part of the year. We identified seasonal variation in the diet of woodrats at Pine Hills, Union County, Illinois, based on analysis of fecal pellets, and determined if they consumed forage in proportion to its availability in the habitat. Woodrats did not consume forage in proportion to availability for any season during 1995. Mast, primarily hickory nuts, comprised 61-67% of the diet each season, despite no mast available in the habitat during spring, and relatively little during summer. Few herbaceous species were eaten during any season; only Virginia creeper was identified in fecal samples throughout the year. Virginia creeper, spicebush, and sedge accounted for 79.4% of the identified herbaceous material consumed throughout the year, despite relatively low availability in the habitat. Resource caching decisions of woodrats depend on nutrient content and perishability. Woodrats appeared to ration cached resources so as not to be left with poor foods at the end of the cache-dependent period

Asynchronous Execution of Python Code on Task Based Runtime Systems

Despite advancements in the areas of parallel and distributed computing, the complexity of programming on High Performance Computing (HPC) resources has deterred many domain experts, especially in the areas of machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI), from utilizing performance benefits of such systems. Researchers and scientists favor high-productivity languages to avoid the inconvenience of programming in low-level languages and costs of acquiring the necessary skills required for programming at this level. In recent years, Python, with the support of linear algebra libraries like NumPy, has gained popularity despite facing limitations which prevent this code from distributed runs. Here we present a solution which maintains both high level programming abstractions as well as parallel and distributed efficiency. Phylanx, is an asynchronous array processing toolkit which transforms Python and NumPy operations into code which can be executed in parallel on HPC resources by mapping Python and NumPy functions and variables into a dependency tree executed by HPX, a general purpose, parallel, task-based runtime system written in C++. Phylanx additionally provides introspection and visualization capabilities for debugging and performance analysis. We have tested the foundations of our approach by comparing our implementation of widely used machine learning algorithms to accepted NumPy standards

Recently Discovered Populations of Eastern Woodrats (\u3ci\u3eNeotoma floridana\u3c/i\u3e) in Southern Illinois

Until recently it was believed that the population of eastern woodrats (Neotoma floridana) in Pine Hills, Union County, Illinois, represented the only extant population remaining in the state. Trapping at sites formerly occupied by woodrats and in areas with suitable habitat resulted in the documentation of additional populations at Fountain Bluff, Little Grand Canyon, and Horseshoe Bluff, Jackson County. Woodrats currently are more numerous and have a wider distribution in southern Illinois than previously believed