Design of a nanoscale gold-coated photonic crystal fiber biosensor

A simple two-layer refractive index sensor based on surface plasmon resonance has been proposed in this work, which evinces high sensitivity for detecting unknown analytes. This sensor design includes hexagonal- and octagonal-shaped air-hole rings, which have been introduced in the first and second layers, respectively. By performing this amalgamation of different types of air holes, this gold-coated plasmonic sensing scheme provides the broad sensing limit of the analyte, which is 1.32–1.40. The sensing performance has been examined by applying the finite element method, which is being used for modeling complex and irregular-shaped geometry. The wavelength interrogation method has demonstrated a maximal wavelength sensitivity of 9,000 nm/RIU (refractive index unit). The maximal amplitude sensitivity of 1902 RIU−1 has been exhibited in the y-polarized mode using the amplitude interrogation method. Moreover, the maximal sensor resolution of 1.11 × 10−5 RIU covers the entire sensing range. Furthermore, by adjusting the air-hole diameter, pitch, and depth of the gold layer coating, many more investigations have been demonstrated in this design. This highly sensitive sensor is very convincing to be used in many applications like chemical, biological, and also in physical sensing analyses

Adverse Selection in Community Based Health Insurance among Informal Workers in Bangladesh: An EQ-5D Assessment

Community-based Health Insurance (CBHI) schemes are recommended for providing financial risk protection to low-income informal workers in Bangladesh. We assessed the problem of adverse selection in a pilot CBHI scheme in this context. In total, 1292 (646 insured and 646 uninsured) respondents were surveyed using the Bengali version of the EuroQuol-5 dimensions (EQ-5D) questionnaire for assessing their health status. The EQ-5D scores were estimated using available regional tariffs. Multiple logistic regression was applied for predicting the association between health status and CBHI scheme enrolment. A higher number of insured reported problems in mobility (7.3%; p = 0.002); self-care (7.1%; p = 0.000) and pain and discomfort (7.7%; p = 0.005) than uninsured. The average EQ-5D score was significantly lower among the insured (0.704) compared to the uninsured (0.749). The regression analysis showed that those who had a problem in mobility (m 1.25–2.17); self-care (OR = 2.29; 95% CI: 1.62–3.25) and pain and discomfort (OR = 1.43; 95% CI: 1.13–1.81) were more likely to join the scheme. Individuals with higher EQ-5D scores (OR = 0.46; 95% CI: 0.31–0.69) were less likely to enroll in the scheme. Given that adverse selection was evident in the pilot CBHI scheme, there should be consideration of this problem when planning scale-up of these kind of schemes

Inequalities in Health Status from EQ-5D Findings: A Cross-Sectional Study in Low-Income Communities of Bangladesh

Background: Measuring health status by using standardized and validated instrument has become a growing concern over the past few decades throughout the developed and developing countries. The aim of the study was to investigate the overall self-reported health status along with potential inequalities by using EuroQol 5 dimensions (EQ-5D) instrument among low-income people of Bangladesh. Methods: A cross-sectional household survey was conducted in Chandpur district of Bangladesh. Bangla version of the EQ-5D questionnaire was employed along with socio-demographic information. EQ-5D questionnaire composed of 2-part measurements: EQ-5D descriptive system and the visual analogue scale (VAS). For measuring health status, UK-based preference weights were applied while higher score indicated better health status. For facilitating the consistency with EQ-5D score, VASs were converted to a scale with scores ranging from 0 to 1. Multiple logistic regression models were also employed to examine differences among EQ-5D dimensions. Results: A total of 1433 respondents participated in the study. The mean EQ-5D and VAS score was 0.76 and 0.77, respectively. The females were more likely to report any problem than the males (P<0.001). Compared to the younger, elderly were more than 2-3 times likely to report any health problem in all EQ-5D dimensions (OR [odds ratio]=3.17 for mobility, OR=3.24 for self-care). However, the respondents of the poorest income group were significantly suffered more from every EQ-5D dimension than the richest income quintile. Conclusion: Socio-economic and demographic inequalities in health status was observed in the study. Study suggests to do further investigation with country representative sample to measure the inequalities of overall health status. It would be helpful for policy-maker to find a new way aiming to reduce such inequalities

The Impact of Community-Based Health Insurance on the Utilization of Medically Trained Healthcare Providers among Informal Workers in Bangladesh

We aimed to estimate the impact of a Community-Based Health Insurance (CBHI) scheme on utilization of healthcare from medically trained providers (MTP) by informal workers. A quasi-experimental study was conducted where insured households were included in the intervention group and uninsured households in comparison group. In total 1,292 (646 insured and 646 uninsured) households were surveyed from Chandpur district comprising urban and rural areas after 1 year period of CBHI introduction. Matching of the characteristics of insured and uninsured groups was performed using a propensity score matching approach to minimize the observed baseline differences among the groups. Multilevel logistic regression model, with adjustment for individual and household characteristics was used for estimating association between healthcare utilization from the MTP and insurance enrolment. The utilization of healthcare from MTP was significantly higher in the insured group (50.7%) compared to the uninsured group (39.4%). The regression analysis demonstrated that the CBHI beneficiaries were 2.111 (95% CI: 1.458-3.079) times more likely to utilize healthcare from MTP.CBHI scheme increases the utilization of MTP among informal workers. Ensuring such healthcare for these workers and their dependents is a challenge in many low and middle income countries. The implementation and scale-up of CBHI schemes have the potential to address this challenge of universal health coverage

Neuroentrepreneurship: an integrative review and research agenda

There is emergent literature that converges from neuroscience and entrepreneurship research, but the definitions and interlinkages are still inconsistent. We conduct a systematic literature review of 167 papers on the interface between neuroscience and entrepreneurship to address this. We observe the literature trends examining the interlinkages between neuroscience and entrepreneurial intention through six antecedents, namely - molecular neuroscience, systems neuroscience, behavioral neuroscience, cognitive neuroscience, social neuroscience, and computational neuroscience. Our findings suggest that entrepreneurial intention impacts entrepreneurial activity through five factors, including (1) opportunity recognition, (2) evaluation and risk-taking, (3) entrepreneurial cognition, (4) entrepreneurial behavior, and (5) entrepreneurial decision-making. From our discussions, the links among the neural factors affecting entrepreneurship are identified, and a research agenda highlighting a pathway for future studies is proposed

Neuroentrepreneurship: an integrative review and research agenda

There is emergent literature that converges from neuroscience and entrepreneurship research, but the definitions and interlinkages are still inconsistent. We conduct a systematic literature review of 167 papers on the interface between neuroscience and entrepreneurship to address this. We observe the literature trends examining the interlinkages between neuroscience and entrepreneurial intention through six antecedents, namely - molecular neuroscience, systems neuroscience, behavioral neuroscience, cognitive neuroscience, social neuroscience, and computational neuroscience. Our findings suggest that entrepreneurial intention impacts entrepreneurial activity through five factors, including (1) opportunity recognition, (2) evaluation and risk-taking, (3) entrepreneurial cognition, (4) entrepreneurial behavior, and (5) entrepreneurial decision-making. From our discussions, the links among the neural factors affecting entrepreneurship are identified, and a research agenda highlighting a pathway for future studies is proposed

Sharma et al. 2020 Neuroentrepreneurship - an integrative review and research agenda.pdf

There is emergent literature that converges from neuroscience and entrepreneurship research, but the definitions and interlinkages are still inconsistent. We conduct a systematic literature review of 167 papers on the  interface between neuroscience and entrepreneurship to address this. We  observe the literature trends examining the interlinkages between neuroscience and entrepreneurial intention through six antecedents, namely -  molecular neuroscience, systems neuroscience, behavioral neuroscience,  cognitive neuroscience, social neuroscience, and computational neuroscience. Our findings suggest that entrepreneurial intention impacts  entrepreneurial activity through five factors, including (1) opportunity  recognition, (2) evaluation and risk-taking, (3) entrepreneurial cognition,  (4) entrepreneurial behavior, and (5) entrepreneurial decision-making.  From our discussions, the links among the neural factors affecting entrepreneurship are identified, and a research agenda highlighting a pathway  for future studies is proposed. </p