Embed[d]ed Zerotree Codec

This thesis discusses the findings of the final year project involving the VHDL (V= Very High Speed Integrated Circuit, Hardware Description Language) design and simulation of an EZT (Embedded Zero Tree) codec. The basis of image compression and the various image compression techniques that are available today have been explored. This provided a clear understanding of image compression as a whole. An in depth understanding of wavelet transform theory was vital to the understanding of the edge that this transform provides over other transforms for image compression. Both the mathematics of it and how it is implemented using sets of high pass and low pass filters have been studied and presented. At the heart of the EZT codec is the EZW (Embedded Zerotree Wavelet) algorithm, as this is the algorithm that has been implemented in the codec. This required a thorough study and understanding of the algorithm and the various terms used in it. A generic single processor codec capable of handling any size of zerotree coefficients of images was designed. Once the coding and decoding strategy of this single processor had been figured out, it was easily extended to a codec with three parallel processors. This parallel architecture uses the same coding and decoding methods as in the single processor except that each processor in the parallel processing now handles only a third of the coefficients, thus promising a much speedier codec as compared to the first one. Both designs were then translated into VHDL behavioral level codes. The codes were then simulated and the results were verified. Once the simulations were completed the next aim for the project, namely synthesizing the design, was embarked upon. Of the two logical parts of the encoder, only the significance map generator has been synthesized

GNH 2022

The GNH Index is a unique approach to measuring the wellbeing and happiness of the Bhutanese population, focusing on multiple indicators and domains that go beyond traditional economic metrics. GNH 2022, produced by the Centre for Bhutan & GNH Studies in the Royal Government of Bhutan, provides detailed insights into the measurements, analysis, and policy implications of the Gross National Happiness Index for 2022 and covers changes in happiness from 2010. The book highlights different typologies of happy people to deepen the Government of Bhutan’s understanding of the nature and causes of wellbeing and happiness, and guides for policies to accelerate GNH growth going forward

An Extensive Analysis of GNH Index

The Gross National Happiness Index is a single number index developed from 33 indicators categorized under nine domains. The GNH Index is constructed based upon a robust multidimensional methodology known as the Alkire-Foster method. The GNH Index is decomposable by any demographic characteristic and so is designed to create policy incentives for the government, NGOs and businesses of Bhutan to increase GNH. The 33 indicators under the nine domains aim to emphasize different aspects of wellbeing and different ways of meeting these underlying human needs. The 33 indicators are statistically reliable, normatively important, and easily understood by large audiences. The domains are equally weighted. Within each domain, the objective indicators are given higher weights while the subjective and self-reported indicators are assigned lower weights. This is a detailed exposition of the construction of the GNH Index

A Short Guide to Gross National Happiness Index

Bhutan’s GNH Index is a multidimensional measure and it is linked with a set of policy and programme screening tools so that it has practical applications. The GNH index is built from data drawn from periodic surveys which are representative by district, gender, age, rural-urban residence, etc. Representative sampling allows its results to be decomposed at various sub-national levels, and such disaggregated information can be examined and understood more by organizations and citizens for their uses. In the GNH Index, unlike certain concepts of happiness in current western literature, happiness is itself multidimensional – not measured only by subjective well-being, and not focused narrowly on happiness that begins and ends with oneself and is concerned for and with oneself. The pursuit of happiness is collective, though it can be experienced deeply personally. Different people can be happy in spite of their disparate circumstances and the options for diversity must be wide. The GNH Index is meant to orient the people and the nation towards happiness, primarily by improving the conditions of notyet-happy people. We can break apart the GNH Index to see where unhappiness is arising from and for whom. For policy action, the GNH Index enables the government and others to increase GNH in two ways. It can either increase percentage of people who are happy or decrease the insufficient conditions of people who are not-yethappy. In the way the GNH Index is constructed, there is a greater incentive for the government and others to decrease the insufficiencies of not-yet-happy people. This can be done by mitigating the many areas of insufficiencies the not-yet-happy face. Not-yet-happy people in rural Bhutan tend to be those who attain less in education, living standards and balanced use of time. In urban Bhutan, not-yet-happy people are insufficient in non-material domains such as community vitality and culture and psychological well-being. In Thimphu, the capital, for example, the biggest insufficiencies are in community vitality. The GNH Index provides an overview of performance across 9 domains of GNH (psychological wellbeing, time use, community vitality, cultural diversity, ecological resilience, living standard, health, education, good governance). The aggregation method is a version of Alkire-Foster method (2007, 2011). The index is aggregated out of 33 clustered (grouped) indicators. Each clustered indicator is further composed of several variables. When unpacked, the 33 clustered indicators have 124 variables, the basic building blocks of GNH Index. Weights attached to variables differ, with lighter weights attached to highly subjective variables. A threshold or sufficiency level is applied to each variable. At the level of domains, all the 9 domains are equally weighted as they are all considered to be equally valid for happiness. Three cut off points have been used to identify degrees of happiness. Not all people need to be sufficient in each of 124 variables to be happy. People are diverse in the ways and means they can have fulfilling life. Not all variables need to be present to be happy. People have freedom of choice in which ways they can make life fulfilling, so not all variables have universal applicability. For such reason, we divide the Bhutanese into four groups depending upon their degree of happiness. We use three cutoffs: 50%, 66%, and 77%. People who have achieved sufficiency in less than 50% are ‘unhappy’, and they comprise only 10.4% of the population. A total of 48.7% of people have sufficiency in 50-65% of domains and are called ‘narrowly happy’. A group of 32.6%, called ‘extensively happy’, have achieved sufficiency in 66-76% – in between 6 and 7 domains. And in the last group, 8.3% of people are identified as ‘deeply happy’ because they enjoy sufficiency in 77% or more of weighted indicators – which is the equivalent of 7 or more of the nine domains. In order to have one overall index, the GNH cut off was set at 66% of the variables, which is the middle cutoff used above. People can be considered happy when they have sufficiency in 66% of the (weighted) indicators or more – that is, when they were identified as extensively happy or deeply happy. The GNH Index value for 2010 is 0.743. It shows us that 40.8% of people in Bhutan have achieved such happiness, and the remaining 59% - who are narrowly happy or unhappy - still enjoy sufficiency in 57% (not 66% as required by the index) of the domains on average. The cut off does make a difference in the GNH Index. The middle cutoff gives a relatively low score of GNH index is a result of its requirement that a diverse set of conditions and states, represented by 124 variables, must be simultaneously prevalent for a person to be robustly happy. It is a tougher measure because it is not focussed on survival like poverty, but rather on flourishing over a wide array of conditions. However the GNH Index, and the four categories of people – unhappy, narrowly happy, extensively happy, and deeply happy – will be reported and analysed when the GNH Index is updated over time, as they are in this report. Taken together they will provide a nuanced picture of the composition, diversity, and evolution of GNH across Bhutan

Water-based therapies of Bhutan: current practices and the recorded clinical evidence of Balneotherapy

Medical water therapy (also called medical hydrology) is practiced worldwide both for relaxation and treatment of diseases. While this practice is still thriving in Bhutan, there is a lack of proper documentation and critical study. Therefore, the current study reports on the water therapies practiced in Bhutan and their health benefits. We used four-stage process: (1) a review of literature on balneotherapy (both traditional textbooks and scientific papers); (2) listing and surveying the hot springs, mineral, and holy spring waters; (3) reviewing the health records of the patients maintained at the traditional hospitals and interviewing traditional physicians and patients about health benefits; and (4) reviewing available literature to identify existing clinical trials data to provide evidence for hydrotherapies. We found three main forms of hydrotherapies are practiced in Bhutan, which comprises herbal bath therapy, balneotherapy, and spiritually empowered waters.The most popular hydrotherapies are herbal bath and hot spring therapies. Herbal bath therapy needs traditional physicians' prescriptions, while hot springs do not require it. Through field surveys, ten different hot springs (tsha-chu) and 17 medicinal water or mineral springs (sman-chu), and 17 holy spring-waters (sgrub-chu) were identified. In general, medical water therapies are used by the Bhutanese people to treat various ailments, including gastritis, neurological disorders, arthritis, dermatological diseases, and rheumatological and musculoskeletal disorders. Even though a lack of scientific evidence makes it difficult to draw concrete conclusions on their traditionally claimed efficacy and safety, there are clinical evidences documented from other countries

Lead and Mercury Exposure and Related Health Problems in Metal Artisan Workplaces and High-Risk Household Contacts in Thimphu, Bhutan

Background. Metal artisans have been using lead and mercury in their settings for centuries. Exposure to these toxic heavy metals causes adverse health effects. We assessed the occupational exposure of metal artisans and their high-risk household contacts at Thimphu, Bhutan. Methods. A cross-sectional study in which 134 metal artisan center employees and 48 high-risk household contacts were tested for blood lead and mercury levels. Sociodemographic data, occupational exposure risk factors, and clinical syndrome related to lead and mercury exposure were further obtained and analyzed using EpiInfo 7.0. Results. The mean age of the metal artisan center employees was 36.02 ± 10.3. The prevalence of elevated blood lead and mercury level was 38.4% and 51.9%, respectively. Significantly higher prevalence of mercury level was observed among the artisans compared to nonartisans (66.97 vs, 16.0). Among three centers, the goldsmith section of the Department of National Properties had the highest (94.1%). Profession as an artisan, mold designing, performing gold amalgamation, working for >8 hours a day, working for >5 years, and working at home were significant risk factors associated with elevated blood mercury level. Significant association was observed between elevated mercury level and complaints of burning or watery eyes (p=0.001), anxiety, nervousness, irritability, severe shyness (p=0.029), muscle aches (p=0.019), and stomach cramps or pain (p=0.009). Conclusion. The prevalence of elevated blood mercury level is concerning among the artisans. Advocacy, proper usage of personal protective equipment, awareness on chemical safety, and hazard associated with lead and mercury usage are needed to minimize the exposure

The Tortricidae (Lepidoptera) of Bhutan

Groenen, Frans, Wangdi, Karma (2019): The Tortricidae (Lepidoptera) of Bhutan. Zootaxa 4658 (3): 526-540, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4658.3.

A new critical habitat for conservation of the White-bellied Heron Ardea insignis Hume, 1878 (Aves: Ardeidae) from Bhutan

The White-bellied Heron Ardea insignis is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species due to its extremely small and rapidly dwindling population. Bhutan is home to the highest number of White-bellied Heron and the species is distributed patchily across 11 different sites in central and south-west Bhutan. In this note, we present the first evidence of the species in eastern Bhutan, on the Drangmechhu River in Trashi Yangtse district. The finding extends the distribution of the species in Bhutan and recognizes one more potentially critical habitat for immediate conservation attention. As elsewhere, the new site is found to be primarily threatened by hydropower development. The need for conservation initiatives for the species is immediate and highly recommended

Taxonomic review of the superfamily Pyraloidea in Bhutan (Lepidoptera)

The result of an investigation of the lepidopteran fauna of Central and Southern Bhutan (Bumthang, Dagana, Trongsa, Tsirang, and Sarpang districts) is presented in this study. The investigation was the part of the Invertebrate Documentation Project of Bhutan initiated by the National Biodiversity Center, Thimphu, funded by the Bhutan Trust Fund for Environmental Conservation, Thimphu. The checklist was based on the systematic collections by light trapping at nine locations and the occasional collections from native forest and gardens within the five districts of Central and Southern Bhutan. The specimens were photographed and collected as specimens for future identification and reference. A list of 182 species belonging to families Crambidae and Pyralidae is presented, including 92 species as new records for the country. All the studied specimens are deposited at “Invertebrate Referral Collection Center” at the National Biodiversity Center, Thimphu

Assessment of exposure to pesticides and the knowledge, attitude and practice among farmers of western Bhutan.

An estimated 69% of the population of Bhutan is engaged in agriculture. Farmers are exposed to a wide variety of pesticides during the preparation, transport, storage, mixing and application of pesticides posing a significant health risk. A controlled cross-sectional study of farmers in selected sites of Bhutan was conducted to characterize the level of exposure to pesticides and assess their knowledge attitude and practice on the safe handling of pesticides. A total of 399 participants were enrolled in the study comprising of 295 exposed farmers and 104 healthy and unexposed controls. A structured investigator administered questionaries was used to assess their Knowledge, Attitude and practice, and their blood samples were taken for measuring Acetyl Cholinesterase enzyme activity level. There was a significant difference between the Acetyl Cholinesterase enzyme inhibition of exposed and non-exposed control groups observed in the study (P 30% as compared to the unexposed group. Safety practices of handling pesticides were low. The most common symptoms self-reported were headache (OR 1.08, 0.60-1.93) and neurological problems like forgetfulness, lack of concentration (OR 1.12, 0.50-2.48) and increased tiredness (OR 1.075, 0.52-2.19) that were significantly associated with the enzyme inhibition. In addition, we record a very low level of knowledge (17.0%), a fair attitude (63.0%) and poor practice (35.0%) on the safe handling and management of pesticides. This pilot study provides indication of exposure to pesticides in the selected sites of the country. Furthermore, it provides evidence for public health interventions by identifying the exposure patterns and pathways of individuals most at risk in the farming communities of the country. Surveillance and bio-monitoring programs are deemed necessary