Daily Bread: Women’s Self-Help Microfinance and the Social Meanings of Money

In this article we explore the impacts and implications of ‘Rojiroti’, a women’s self-help group (SHG) microfinance scheme operating in poor communities in Bihar, India. We focus particularly on how improvements found in women’s circumstances and in children’s health might result from Rojiroti SHG membership. Through data from five focus groups and 19 individual interviews with women in communities where Rojiroti operates, we discover how the scheme is regarded and how it affects women’s management of household budgets. Moreover, we explore the relational aspects of SHG microfinance and the ways that it can alter family and social dynamics. Drawing on notions of ‘earmarked’ money (Zelizer, 1997) and ‘safeguarded’ money (Wilkis, 2017), we argue that the money itself has meaning and non-pecuniary value in the form of other currencies including power and agency, which can lead to improved wellbeing and health of families

Defining the causes of sporadic Parkinson's disease in the global Parkinson's genetics program (GP2)

The Global Parkinson’s Genetics Program (GP2) will genotype over 150,000 participants from around the world, and integrate genetic and clinical data for use in large-scale analyses to dramatically expand our understanding of the genetic architecture of PD. This report details the workflow for cohort integration into the complex arm of GP2, and together with our outline of the monogenic hub in a companion paper, provides a generalizable blueprint for establishing large scale collaborative research consortia

Multi-ancestry genome-wide association meta-analysis of Parkinson?s disease

Although over 90 independent risk variants have been identified for Parkinson’s disease using genome-wide association studies, most studies have been performed in just one population at a time. Here we performed a large-scale multi-ancestry meta-analysis of Parkinson’s disease with 49,049 cases, 18,785 proxy cases and 2,458,063 controls including individuals of European, East Asian, Latin American and African ancestry. In a meta-analysis, we identified 78 independent genome-wide significant loci, including 12 potentially novel loci (MTF2, PIK3CA, ADD1, SYBU, IRS2, USP8, PIGL, FASN, MYLK2, USP25, EP300 and PPP6R2) and fine-mapped 6 putative causal variants at 6 known PD loci. By combining our results with publicly available eQTL data, we identified 25 putative risk genes in these novel loci whose expression is associated with PD risk. This work lays the groundwork for future efforts aimed at identifying PD loci in non-European populations

Levetiracetam versus Oxcarbazepine as monotherapy in newly diagnosed focal epilepsy: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Abstract Objective To compare the efficacy and safety of Levetiracetam (LEV) and Oxcarbazepine (OXC) as monotherapy for the treatment of newly diagnosed focal epilepsy. Methods We searched PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and Google Scholar from January 1, 2000 to May 11, 2022, with no language restrictions along with The ClinicalTrials.gov website and the WHO International Controlled Trials Registry platforms. We pooled the risk ratio (RR) and corresponding 95% confidence interval (95% CI) for the efficacy and safety outcomes. The quality of included trials was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration's tool. Results Two RCTs included a total of 574 newly diagnosed focal epilepsy patients (the LEV group [282 patients] and the OXC group [292 patients]). LEV group when compared with the OXC group had no significant difference in the pooled estimate of seizure freedom at week 24. (RR: 0.81; 95% CI: 0.62–1.05, p = .11). Similarly, there was no significant difference in the pooled estimate of withdrawal due to adverse events (AEs) (RR: 0.87; 95% CI: 0.34–2.23, p = .77). The commonly reported AEs in both trials were dizziness, headache, rash, somnolence, and nasopharyngitis with zero medication‐related death and few serious AEs. Conclusions LEV is noninferior to OXC in terms of seizure freedom at week 24 and treatment withdrawal rate due to AEs among adults but long‐term treatment data is still missing. Future multicentric double‐blinded RCTs and real‐world studies are of great need

In the era of OCT, is detection of early papilledema using Frisen scale grading valid? A study to evaluate the role of spectral domain-OCT in papilloedema among the population of hilly areas of Northern India

Context: Papilloedema is defined as optic disc oedema secondary to raised intracranial pressure (ICP). Grading the degree of oedema using only subjective, examiner-dependent and non-quantitative fundoscopic classification like Modified Friesen Clinical Scale (MFS), may be subject to errors even when used by experienced examiners. The use of spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT), a non-invasive imaging technique, for early identification of raised ICP even before the clinical appearance of papilloedema by quantifying the thickness of the peripapillary retinal nerve fibre layer (ppRNFL) is crucial for such patients. Aims: To evaluate the ppRNFL using SD-OCT in patients with papilloedema. Settings and Design: Hilly North Indian population, Prospective case-control study. Methods and Material: From January 2018 to December 2018, a total of 45 patients diagnosed with papilloedema were included. Age and sex-matched controls were recruited. Detailed demographic information and the history of study subjects were noted. All subjects underwent systemic and detailed ophthalmic examination. Disc photographs were graded as per Modified Frisen Criteria (MFS). SD-OCT of the optic nerve head was done to provide a mean peripapillary RNFL thickness parameters in the different quadrants of the disc in each eye. Statistical Analysis Used: For analysis, statistical software SPSS version 23 and appropriate statistical tests were applied. P value < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: The median age of presentation was 36 years (Range 10–68 years). The male to female ratio was 1:1.3. The mean ppRNFL thickness of both right and left disc in all quadrants was significantly higher in cases in comparison to controls (P-value < 0.05 is significant). The average ppRNFL thickness in all the quadrants of both eyes was significantly higher in the mild grade of papilloedema in comparison to controls (P-value < 0.05 is significant). Conclusions: SD-OCT can be ordered as a routine important non-invasive investigation in addition to basic fundoscopic examination in all patients with papilloedema or suspected to have papilloedema

Effects of spatial resolution on WRF v3.8.1 simulated meteorology over the central Himalaya

The sensitive ecosystem of the central Himalayan (CH) region, which is experiencing enhanced stress from anthropogenic forcing, requires adequate atmospheric observations and an improved representation of the Himalaya in the models. However, the accuracy of atmospheric models remains limited in this region due to highly complex mountainous topography. This article delineates the effects of spatial resolution on the modeled meteorology and dynamics over the CH by utilizing the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model extensively evaluated against the Ganges Valley Aerosol Experiment (GVAX) observations during the summer monsoon. The WRF simulation is performed over a domain (d01) encompassing northern India at 15 km × 15 km resolution and two nests (d02 at 5 km × 5 km and d03 at 1 km × 1 km) centered over the CH, with boundary conditions from the respective parent domains. WRF simulations reveal higher variability in meteorology, e.g., relative humidity (RH = 70.3 %–96.1 %) and wind speed (WS = 1.1–4.2 m s−1), compared to the ERA-Interim reanalysis (RH = 80.0 %–85.0 %, WS = 1.2–2.3 m s−1) over northern India owing to the higher resolution. WRF-simulated temporal evolution of meteorological variables is found to agree with balloon-borne measurements, with stronger correlations aloft (r = 0.44–0.92) than those in the lower troposphere (r = 0.18–0.48). The model overestimates temperature (warm bias by 2.8 ∘C) and underestimates RH (dry bias by 6.4 %) at the surface in d01. Model results show a significant improvement in d03 (P = 827.6 hPa, T = 19.8 ∘C, RH = 92.3 %), closer to the GVAX observations (P = 801.4 hPa, T = 19.5 ∘C, RH = 94.7 %). Interpolating the output from the coarser domains (d01, d02) to the altitude of the station reduces the biases in pressure and temperature; however, it suppresses the diurnal variations, highlighting the importance of well-resolved terrain (d03). Temporal variations in near-surface P, T, and RH are also reproduced by WRF in d03 to an extent (r>0.5). A sensitivity simulation incorporating the feedback from the nested domain demonstrates the improvement in simulated P, T, and RH over the CH. Our study shows that the WRF model setup at finer spatial resolution can significantly reduce the biases in simulated meteorology, and such an improved representation of the CH can be adopted through domain feedback into regional-scale simulations. Interestingly, WRF simulates a dominant easterly wind component at 1 km × 1 km resolution (d03), which is missing in the coarse simulations; however, the frequency of southeasterlies remains underestimated. The model simulation implementing a high-resolution (3 s) topography input (SRTM) improved the prediction of wind directions; nevertheless, further improvements are required to better reproduce the observed local-scale dynamics over the CH

Effects of spatial resolution on WRF v3.8.1 simulated meteorology over the central Himalaya

The sensitive and fragile ecosystem of the central Himalayan (CH) region, experiencing enhanced anthropogenic pressure, requires adequate atmospheric observations and an improved representation of Himalaya in the models. However, the accuracies of atmospheric models remain limited here due to highly complex mountainous topography. This article delineates the effects of spatial resolution on the modeled meteorology and dynamics over the CH by combining the WRF (Weather Research and Forecasting) model with the GVAX (Ganges Valley Aerosol Experiment) observations during the summer monsoon. WRF simulation is performed over a domain (d01) encompassing northern India at 15 km × 15 km resolution, and two nests: d02 (5 km × 5 km) and d03 (1 km × 1 km) centered over CH with boundary conditions from respective parent domains. WRF simulations reveal higher variability in meteorology e.g. Relative Humidity (RH = 71.4–93.3 %), Wind speed (WS = 1.6–3.1 ms−1), as compared to the ERA Interim reanalysis (RH = 79.4–85.0, and WS = 1.3–2.3 ms−1) over the northern India owing to higher resolution. WRF simulated temporal evolution of meteorological profiles is seen to be in agreement with the balloon-borne measurements with stronger correlations aloft (r = 0.44–0.92), than those in the lower troposphere (r = 0.27–0.48). However, the model overestimates temperature (warm bias by 2.8 °C) and underestimates RH (dry bias by 7.6 %) at surface in the d01. Model results show a significant improvement in d03 (P = 827.6 hPa, T = 19.8 °C, RH = 90.2 %) and are closer to the GVAX observations (P = 801.3, T = 19.5, RH = 94.5 %). Temporal variations in near surface P, T and RH are also reproduced by WRF d03 to an extent (r > 0.5). A sensitivity simulation incorporating the feedback from nested domain demonstrated improvements in simulated P, T and RH over CH. Our study shows the WRF model set up at finer spatial resolution can significantly reduce the biases in simulated meteorology and such an improved representation of CH can be adopted through domain feedback into regional-scale simulations. Interestingly, WRF simulates a dominant easterly wind component at 1 km × 1 km resolution (d03), which was missing in the coarse simulations; however, a frequent southeastward wind component remained underestimated. Model simulation implementing a high resolution (3 s) topography input (SRTM) improved the prediction of wind directions, nevertheless, further improvements are required to better reproduce the observed local-scale dynamics over the CH