Use of health services in Hill villages in Central Nepal

This paper reports the use and non-use of health care facilities in the Hill villages in central Nepal. The health behaviour model (HBM) is applied to test the significance of socio-economic variables on the use of the modern health care system. The study finds that all three characteristics of the HBM model, predisposing, enabling and need, are significantly related to use and non-use of the modern health care system. The analysis shows that number of living children, respondent’s education, nearness to the road and service centre, value of land, knowledge about health workers and experience of child loss are some of the variables that are positively and significantly related to the use of modern health care. Age of the respondents and household size were found to be negatively associated with health-care use. Contrary to expectation, caste is unimportant. Making use of the qualitative data, this paper argues that the health care system is unnecessarily bureaucratic and patriarchal, which favours the socio-economically well-off

Study of Phytochemical, Anti-Microbial, Anti-Oxidant, Phytotoxic, and Immunomodulatory Activity Properties of Bauhinia Variegata

There is growing interest in the use plants for the treatment and prevention of cancer and are currently being evaluated as promising anticancer agents. In this paper, we investigated the anti-microbial, anti-oxidant, phytotoxic and immunomodulatory of plant Bauhinia variegata and also established the presence of important phytoconstituents which might signify its anticancer property. Phytochemical screening, anti-microbial assay, phytotoxicity assay, anti-oxidant assay and immunomodulatory analysis was done according to the protocol established at Department of Biotechnology, Kathmandu University and Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, University of Karachi, Pakistan.In the phytochemical screening, we observed the presence of different phytochemicals like steroids, terpenoids, flavonoids, reducing sugars and glycosides. In case of Antimicrobial assay, the plant was found to be most effective against B.cereus with the highest zone of inhibition (ZOI) of 12mm and against Rhizopus with ZOI of 11mm. During the antioxidant assay in comparison to Ascorbic acid; at highest concentration, the scavenging activity shown by the plant Bauhinia variegata are 43.38% as compared to ascorbic acid 89.25%. In the Immunomodulatory assay at the highest concentration i.e. 250 µg/ml, the plant showed 75.1% effect, which showed that the plant has potential anti-inflammatory potential. In phytotoxicity assay, Bauhinia variegata showed 20% phytotoxicity. Bauhinia variegata has thus been proven to be an important candidate to be used as an antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, phytotoxic and anticancer agent. Separation of pure compounds with bioassay guided extraction, spectrometric analysis and subsequent cytotoxicity assay of the pure bioactive compounds from Bauhinia variegate is highly recommended as crude extract itself showed promising phytotoxicity and other pharmaceutical potential

Ferromagnetic Alloys: Magnetoresistance, Microstructure, Magnetism, and Beyond (Review)

When suitably alloyed, ferromagnetic-nonmagnetic (FM-NM) and ferromagnetic-ferromagnetic (FMFM) alloys display remarkable saturation magnetization and magnetoresistance (MR). They also possess the ability to form well defined, unique micro and nano structures over a wide temperature range, and when prepared under closely controlled condition. This review aims to provide insights on how to synthesize macro and nano structures from the nano particles Co-Ag, Co-Cu, Co-Au, and Fe-Co alloys under controlled condition and explores magnetic and MR characteristics of thus synthesized micro and nano alloy structures - including giant MR, and saturation magnetization. Fabrication of these alloy based micro and nano structures was conducted using pulse-current deposition. Characterization was carried out using vibrating sample magnetometer, X-ray diffractometer (XRD), and rf-SQUID meter. XRD profiles and other characteristics of variously prepared nanostructures are compared in terms of particle size and lattice constant. Results suggest that both the increase in MR and saturation magnetization in FM-FM based alloys strongly depend on particle size and lattice constant in micro and nano structures. This manuscript reviews the presence of a variety of MR effects in nano-structures of FM-NM alloys and it also investigates the relationship between saturation magnetization, alloy composition, and lattice constant, also referred to as crystallographic state of the constituent element, employing phase diagram. Results presented in this review suggest that these nano-structures can potentially be employed to create next generation of bio-magnetic devices for bio-medical and electronic applications due to the ease of fabrication and low cost associated with their preparation as opposed to presently available similar material used for biomedical application

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope: The polarization-sensitive ACTPol instrument

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) is designed to make high angular resolution measurements of anisotropies in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) at millimeter wavelengths. We describe ACTPol, an upgraded receiver for ACT, which uses feedhorn-coupled, polarization-sensitive detector arrays, a 3 degree field of view, 100 mK cryogenics with continuous cooling, and meta material anti-reflection coatings. ACTPol comprises three arrays with separate cryogenic optics: two arrays at a central frequency of 148 GHz and one array operating simultaneously at both 97 GHz and 148 GHz. The combined instrument sensitivity, angular resolution, and sky coverage are optimized for measuring angular power spectra, clusters via the thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich and kinetic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich signals, and CMB lensing due to large scale structure. The receiver was commissioned with its first 148 GHz array in 2013, observed with both 148 GHz arrays in 2014, and has recently completed its first full season of operations with the full suite of three arrays. This paper provides an overview of the design and initial performance of the receiver and related systems

Monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitory effects of candidate MAO inhibitors found in cigarette smoke.

There is strong evidence that tobacco smoke inhibits both MAO A and MAO B isoforms in the body. However, which components of cigarette smoke are responsible for MAO inhibition is not clear yet. Our group has identified six previously unidentified candidate MAO inhibitors from the tobacco smoke. The MAO inhibitory effects of these candidate inhibitors were compared with that of nicotine and TPM (Tobacco Particulate Matter). An SH-SY5Y cell line was exposed to different regimens of ethanol (control), nicotine, TPM and the cocktail of candidate inhibitors. A final concentration 0.2 μM nicotine was used and the concentration of each candidate inhibitor was relative to that originally found in TPM. We found that nicotine did not have any significant MAO inhibitory effect compared to the control. TPM inhibited overall MAO activity by 39%, while the MAO inhibition by cocktail of candidate inhibitors was 47%. The results suggest that the candidate inhibitors identified by our group are the major contributors to the total MAO inhibitory activity depicted by cigarette smoke and potentially unlocks the mystery behind the components responsible for MAO inhibition by cigarette smoke in smokers

Study of Temperature and Concentration Dependence of Refractive Index of Liquids Using a Novel Technique

A simple and reliable method of measuring the refractive index of liquids is reported in the present paper. The technique was employed to study the temperature dependence of refractive index of water (at sodium D-line 589nm). By measuring the refractive index of water at different temperatures, the temperature coefficient of refractive index (dn/dT) was determined. In addition to this, refractive index of different solutions as a function of the concentration was studied. The results were compared with the results obtained from commercial refractometers and it was found that this technique is quite reliable and can be safely used in the study of the optical properties of any transparent liquids

EVALUATION OF THE BUSINESS EXCELLENT IMPLEMENTATION AMONG HALAL CERTIFIED FOOD MANUFACTURERS IN MALAYSIA

Purpose of the study: The aim of this study is to highlight the strongest and the weakest aspects of Halal food manufacturing industries in Malaysia based on AT&T criteria. Methodology: This research used survey strategy. Based on this research choice, the data was collected through questionnaire. Main findings: Achievement of the halal certified food manufacturers is 823.7. Halal certified food manufacturers’ performance is at the silver level. Applications of this study: Top management of the halal sector will be able to grasp their strongest point and set goals and strategic plans to improve the key elements that need attention. Use of a self-reported questionnaire in the study can serve as a benchmark for future research in other countries of the world. Novelty/Originality of this study: The study provides new insights in the area of Business Excellence, especially related to halal manufacturing

Gradual distraction on hinged-based Ilizarov ring fixator to correct fixed flexion deformity of knee: description of the surgical technique

Knee deformity in flexion is the most disabling deformity. Surgical correction can be attempted with soft tissue release, osteotomy, or both. However, acute correction can cause serious complications. Ilizarov technique has become an appealing alternative to open surgery, where skeletal traction is used to distract the joint gradually and steadily in order to reduce the risk of skin problems or neurovascular injuries. Two patients and three limbs, male aged 28-42 (mean=35 years) with severe fixed flexion deformity were corrected by a hinged-based Ilizarov ring fixator. Mean flexion of the knee was pre-operatively 86.66 degrees (80-90 degrees). The mean extension angle at the last follow-up was 168.3 degrees (165-170). The mean knee society score (KSS) was 44.3 (35-50), mean KSS functional score was 43.3 (0-65). One patient had satisfactory outcomes and could stand without walking aids and walks on extended knee with walking aids. Arthrodesis of knee or creating a stiff knee in the most extended position may be most effective for severe, fixed contractures.With the gradual, calculated distraction, the Ilizarov apparatus is an effective tool for treating severe cases of knee contracture