Aging is a natural lifelong process ending in death. Many older people are living in poverty. Older people are generally considered dependent on others as they grow older. The purpose of this article is to explore the...Aging is a natural lifelong process ending in death. Many older people are living in poverty. Older people are generally considered dependent on others as they grow older. The purpose of this article is to explore the entrepreneurship activities of Nepalese older adults. Data for this study were collected from the project Help Age International (HAI) implemented in Nepal. Qualitative data observations and interviews were used to collect data. The findings of this study show the formation of the Older People’s Association (OPA) has supported many older people to participate outside the home in various social activities. Moreover, regular deposits through OPAs offer little help. OPAs support older people in their need of financial support to implement minor entrepreneurship. Older people who received support were pleased and were actively involved in their activities and also regularly deposited money in them. Subsequently, older people’s participation in social activities has increased and also helped to lower elderly abuse, loneliness, and depression. Local governments should promote such activities which will help with healthy aging.展开更多
This study aimed to compare the distribution patterns and trends of plant parts used among different groups of medicinal plants, geographical regions,and between medicinal plants and all vascular plants.We used the pu...This study aimed to compare the distribution patterns and trends of plant parts used among different groups of medicinal plants, geographical regions,and between medicinal plants and all vascular plants.We used the published sources for elevation records of 2,331 medicinal plant species to interpolate presence between minimum and maximum elevations and estimated medicinal plant richness for each 100-m elevational band. Monte Carlo simulations were used to test whether differences in elevational distribution between different groups of medicinal plants were significant. Total number of medicinal plants as well as different groups showed unimodal relationship with elevation. The elevational distributions of medicinal plants significantly differ between regions and between medicinal plant groups.When comparing the richness of all medicinal plants to all vascular plants,Monte Carlo simulations indicated that the numbers of medicinal plants are higher than expected at low elevations.The highest richness of medicinal plants at low elevation could be possibly due to favorable environmental factors such as high temperature, rainfall,sunlight or due to higher density of human population and thus higher pressure on use of any plants in lower elevations.展开更多
Background: β lactamase is a plasmid-encoded enzyme that hydrolyzes β lactam ring of β lactam antibiotics rendering them ineffective. These enzymes, produced by Staphylococcus aureus along with many other organisms...Background: β lactamase is a plasmid-encoded enzyme that hydrolyzes β lactam ring of β lactam antibiotics rendering them ineffective. These enzymes, produced by Staphylococcus aureus along with many other organisms, have hindered the use of many useful and once life-saving β lactam antibiotics from clinical practice. Methods: This study was aimed to compare three test methods-chromogenic, acidimetric and iodometric-for the detection of β lactamase enzyme produced by 404 nosocomial induced S. aureus isolated from two Nepali hospitals, Kathmandu based hospital (KBH) and Lalitpur based Hospital (LBH). The study was carried out following standard methodology during November 2007 to June 2009 in the Department of Microbiology, Institute of Medicine, Kathmandu, Nepal. Sensitivity, specificity, efficiency, positive predictive value, and negative predictive values of the tests were calculated taking penicillin resistance and sensitivity as the standard. Results: Chromogenic method was found to be the most sensitive (98.93%) and efficient (98.51%) test and had a high positive predictive value (99.46%). Sensitivity (98.4%) and efficiency (98.27%) of iodometric method was found to be comparable to chromogenic test;its specificity (96.55 %) and positive predictive value (99.73%) were the highest among the 3 tests. Acidimetric test was the least sensitive (97.33%) and efficient (96.78%). Of note, the sensitivity and specificity of these test methods have been compromised due to the negativity of few penicillin resistant isolates and positivity of some penicillin sensitive isolates, respectively. Conclusion: Chromogenic method was found comparatively to be the best test method for the detection of β lactamase production. However, in contrast to the other two test methods whose reagents can be locally and economically prepared, chromogenic test’s use has been impeded by its cost and unavailability in the local Nepali market.展开更多
Background: The incumbent of medical professional is expected to be socially responsible and emotionally empathetic along with good communication propensity to fasten the doctor-patient relationship. Whilst doctor’s ...Background: The incumbent of medical professional is expected to be socially responsible and emotionally empathetic along with good communication propensity to fasten the doctor-patient relationship. Whilst doctor’s proficiency to recognize a patient’s perspectives, and convey such an understanding back to the patient;in our case, the empathy and compassion level of promising medical professional is unknown in Nepal. Thus, this study aimed to analyze the compassion and empathy score of final year’s undergraduate students of four medical colleges in Nepal. Methods: Self-reported empathy measures were obtained using the Jefferson Scale of Physician-Student version. Results: The degree of empathy for the participants was 97.28 (SD = 14.44) with a median score of 96.00 and a range of 44 (min) to 133 (max). There was a significant difference on scores of the Jefferson scale of physician empathy between NMC Nepalgunj and BPKIHS (p = 0.00) and between NMC Nepalgunj and Manipal Pokhara (p = 0.00), as well as between UCMS and Manipal Pokhara (p = 0.044). These results were significant at the 95% confidence interval. Conclusions: The mean empathy score for the Nepali students is lower than medical students from developed countries but almost similar to medical students from other Asian medical students. The female Nepali medical students scored slightly higher than their male counterparts. Thus colleges have to develop academic programs to improve empathy and compassion among medical students through providing adequate time to consult with patient and faculties.展开更多
After the 2015 M_S8. 1 Nepal earthquake,a strong and moderate seismicity belt has formed in Tibet gradually spreading along the northeast direction. In this paper,we attempt to summarize the features and investigate t...After the 2015 M_S8. 1 Nepal earthquake,a strong and moderate seismicity belt has formed in Tibet gradually spreading along the northeast direction. In this paper,we attempt to summarize the features and investigate the primary mechanism of this behavior of seismic activity,using a 2-D finite element numerical model with tectonic dynamic settings and GPS horizontal displacements as the constraints. In addition,compared with the NEtrending seismicity belt triggered by the 1996 Xiatongmoin earthquake,we discuss the future earthquake hazard in and around Tibet. Our results show that: the NE-directed seismicity belt is the response of enhanced loading on the anisotropic Qinghai-Tibetan plateau from the Indian plate and earthquake thrusting. Also,this possibly implies that a forthcoming strong earthquake may fill in the gaps in the NE-directed seismicity belt or enhance the seismic hazard in the eastern( the north-south seismic zone) and western( Tianshan tectonic region) parts near the NE-directed belt.展开更多
At the invitation of the Nepal Council of World Af-fairs(NCWA),a 5-member CAFIU delegation headed by Mr.Wu Xingtang,Secretary General of CAFIU paid a goodwill visit to Nepal from Oct.2-7,1996.It was CAFIU'S second...At the invitation of the Nepal Council of World Af-fairs(NCWA),a 5-member CAFIU delegation headed by Mr.Wu Xingtang,Secretary General of CAFIU paid a goodwill visit to Nepal from Oct.2-7,1996.It was CAFIU'S second visit to Ne-pal after an eight-year inter-val following the last one in 1988.展开更多
Research on social aspects of energy and those applying machine learning(ML)is limited compared to the‘hard’disciplines such as science and engineering.We aim to contribute to this niche through this multidisciplina...Research on social aspects of energy and those applying machine learning(ML)is limited compared to the‘hard’disciplines such as science and engineering.We aim to contribute to this niche through this multidisciplinary study integrating energy,social science and ML.Specifically,we aim:(i)to compare the applicability of different ML models in household(HH)energy;and(ii)to explain people’s perception of HH energy using the most appropriate model.We carried out cross-sectional survey of 323 HHs in a developing country(Nepal)and extracted 14 predictor variables and one response variable.We tested the performance of seven ML models:K-Nearest Neighbors(KNN),Multi-Layer Perceptron(MLP),Extra Trees Classifier(ETC),Random Forest(RF),Ridge Classifier(RC),Multinomial Regression–Logit(MR-L)and Probit(MR-P)in classifying people’s responses.The models were evaluated against six metrics(confusion matrix,precision,f1 score,recall,balanced accuracy and overall accuracy).In this study,ETC outperformed all other models demonstrating a balanced accuracy of 0.79,0.95 and 0.68 respectively for the Agree,Neutral and Disagree response categories.Results showed that,compared to conventional statistical models,data driven ML models are better in classifying people’s perceptions.It was seen that the majority of the surveyed people from rural(68%)and semi-urban areas(67%)tend to resist energy changes due to economic constraints and lack of awareness.Interestingly,most(73%)of the urban residents are open to changes,but still resort to fuel-stacking because of distrust in the state.These grass-root level responses have strong policy implications.展开更多
THE year 1898 is worth remembering for China’ s women. It was that year that a large group of women who advocated social change established the Women’s Association for Progress, the Women’s School of China and star...THE year 1898 is worth remembering for China’ s women. It was that year that a large group of women who advocated social change established the Women’s Association for Progress, the Women’s School of China and started the first women’s newspaper, "Chinese Girl’s Progress" in Guishuli, Shanghai, with the support and participation of the reformers during the latter part of the Qing Dynasty. The article "On Equality展开更多
OF nearly 8,000 newspapers and periodicals in China, women’s newspapers and periodicals, a new force suddenly coming to the fore, have attracted the attention of many. Today, with more and more fierce competition amo...OF nearly 8,000 newspapers and periodicals in China, women’s newspapers and periodicals, a new force suddenly coming to the fore, have attracted the attention of many. Today, with more and more fierce competition among newspapers and magazines, women’s newspapers and magazines have found favor with readers for their lively, friendly, and practical formats. Currently, 47 newspapers and magazines are sponsored and openly published by the All-China Women’s Federation and women’s federations at various levels. Circulation is among the largest of all cultural comprehensive periodicals all over the country.展开更多
WOMEN’S newspapers and magazines began to appear in China almost a century ago, during the Constitutional Reform and Modernization (1898), which is also referred as the Reform Movement of 1898. When the western bourg...WOMEN’S newspapers and magazines began to appear in China almost a century ago, during the Constitutional Reform and Modernization (1898), which is also referred as the Reform Movement of 1898. When the western bourgeois democratic ideology was introduced to China at the end of the 19th century, the Chinese bourgeoisie, influenced by the thought of equality of the sexes, initiated the women’s movement. This movement was mainly characterized by promoting women’s education, the abolition of foot-binding and the founding of publications for women.展开更多
文摘Aging is a natural lifelong process ending in death. Many older people are living in poverty. Older people are generally considered dependent on others as they grow older. The purpose of this article is to explore the entrepreneurship activities of Nepalese older adults. Data for this study were collected from the project Help Age International (HAI) implemented in Nepal. Qualitative data observations and interviews were used to collect data. The findings of this study show the formation of the Older People’s Association (OPA) has supported many older people to participate outside the home in various social activities. Moreover, regular deposits through OPAs offer little help. OPAs support older people in their need of financial support to implement minor entrepreneurship. Older people who received support were pleased and were actively involved in their activities and also regularly deposited money in them. Subsequently, older people’s participation in social activities has increased and also helped to lower elderly abuse, loneliness, and depression. Local governments should promote such activities which will help with healthy aging.
基金supported by GACR 526/09/0549and partly by AV0Z60050516
文摘This study aimed to compare the distribution patterns and trends of plant parts used among different groups of medicinal plants, geographical regions,and between medicinal plants and all vascular plants.We used the published sources for elevation records of 2,331 medicinal plant species to interpolate presence between minimum and maximum elevations and estimated medicinal plant richness for each 100-m elevational band. Monte Carlo simulations were used to test whether differences in elevational distribution between different groups of medicinal plants were significant. Total number of medicinal plants as well as different groups showed unimodal relationship with elevation. The elevational distributions of medicinal plants significantly differ between regions and between medicinal plant groups.When comparing the richness of all medicinal plants to all vascular plants,Monte Carlo simulations indicated that the numbers of medicinal plants are higher than expected at low elevations.The highest richness of medicinal plants at low elevation could be possibly due to favorable environmental factors such as high temperature, rainfall,sunlight or due to higher density of human population and thus higher pressure on use of any plants in lower elevations.
文摘Background: β lactamase is a plasmid-encoded enzyme that hydrolyzes β lactam ring of β lactam antibiotics rendering them ineffective. These enzymes, produced by Staphylococcus aureus along with many other organisms, have hindered the use of many useful and once life-saving β lactam antibiotics from clinical practice. Methods: This study was aimed to compare three test methods-chromogenic, acidimetric and iodometric-for the detection of β lactamase enzyme produced by 404 nosocomial induced S. aureus isolated from two Nepali hospitals, Kathmandu based hospital (KBH) and Lalitpur based Hospital (LBH). The study was carried out following standard methodology during November 2007 to June 2009 in the Department of Microbiology, Institute of Medicine, Kathmandu, Nepal. Sensitivity, specificity, efficiency, positive predictive value, and negative predictive values of the tests were calculated taking penicillin resistance and sensitivity as the standard. Results: Chromogenic method was found to be the most sensitive (98.93%) and efficient (98.51%) test and had a high positive predictive value (99.46%). Sensitivity (98.4%) and efficiency (98.27%) of iodometric method was found to be comparable to chromogenic test;its specificity (96.55 %) and positive predictive value (99.73%) were the highest among the 3 tests. Acidimetric test was the least sensitive (97.33%) and efficient (96.78%). Of note, the sensitivity and specificity of these test methods have been compromised due to the negativity of few penicillin resistant isolates and positivity of some penicillin sensitive isolates, respectively. Conclusion: Chromogenic method was found comparatively to be the best test method for the detection of β lactamase production. However, in contrast to the other two test methods whose reagents can be locally and economically prepared, chromogenic test’s use has been impeded by its cost and unavailability in the local Nepali market.
文摘Background: The incumbent of medical professional is expected to be socially responsible and emotionally empathetic along with good communication propensity to fasten the doctor-patient relationship. Whilst doctor’s proficiency to recognize a patient’s perspectives, and convey such an understanding back to the patient;in our case, the empathy and compassion level of promising medical professional is unknown in Nepal. Thus, this study aimed to analyze the compassion and empathy score of final year’s undergraduate students of four medical colleges in Nepal. Methods: Self-reported empathy measures were obtained using the Jefferson Scale of Physician-Student version. Results: The degree of empathy for the participants was 97.28 (SD = 14.44) with a median score of 96.00 and a range of 44 (min) to 133 (max). There was a significant difference on scores of the Jefferson scale of physician empathy between NMC Nepalgunj and BPKIHS (p = 0.00) and between NMC Nepalgunj and Manipal Pokhara (p = 0.00), as well as between UCMS and Manipal Pokhara (p = 0.044). These results were significant at the 95% confidence interval. Conclusions: The mean empathy score for the Nepali students is lower than medical students from developed countries but almost similar to medical students from other Asian medical students. The female Nepali medical students scored slightly higher than their male counterparts. Thus colleges have to develop academic programs to improve empathy and compassion among medical students through providing adequate time to consult with patient and faculties.
基金funded by China Comprehensive Geophysical Field Observation in North China of Earthquake Scientific Research(201508009)
文摘After the 2015 M_S8. 1 Nepal earthquake,a strong and moderate seismicity belt has formed in Tibet gradually spreading along the northeast direction. In this paper,we attempt to summarize the features and investigate the primary mechanism of this behavior of seismic activity,using a 2-D finite element numerical model with tectonic dynamic settings and GPS horizontal displacements as the constraints. In addition,compared with the NEtrending seismicity belt triggered by the 1996 Xiatongmoin earthquake,we discuss the future earthquake hazard in and around Tibet. Our results show that: the NE-directed seismicity belt is the response of enhanced loading on the anisotropic Qinghai-Tibetan plateau from the Indian plate and earthquake thrusting. Also,this possibly implies that a forthcoming strong earthquake may fill in the gaps in the NE-directed seismicity belt or enhance the seismic hazard in the eastern( the north-south seismic zone) and western( Tianshan tectonic region) parts near the NE-directed belt.
文摘At the invitation of the Nepal Council of World Af-fairs(NCWA),a 5-member CAFIU delegation headed by Mr.Wu Xingtang,Secretary General of CAFIU paid a goodwill visit to Nepal from Oct.2-7,1996.It was CAFIU'S second visit to Ne-pal after an eight-year inter-val following the last one in 1988.
文摘Research on social aspects of energy and those applying machine learning(ML)is limited compared to the‘hard’disciplines such as science and engineering.We aim to contribute to this niche through this multidisciplinary study integrating energy,social science and ML.Specifically,we aim:(i)to compare the applicability of different ML models in household(HH)energy;and(ii)to explain people’s perception of HH energy using the most appropriate model.We carried out cross-sectional survey of 323 HHs in a developing country(Nepal)and extracted 14 predictor variables and one response variable.We tested the performance of seven ML models:K-Nearest Neighbors(KNN),Multi-Layer Perceptron(MLP),Extra Trees Classifier(ETC),Random Forest(RF),Ridge Classifier(RC),Multinomial Regression–Logit(MR-L)and Probit(MR-P)in classifying people’s responses.The models were evaluated against six metrics(confusion matrix,precision,f1 score,recall,balanced accuracy and overall accuracy).In this study,ETC outperformed all other models demonstrating a balanced accuracy of 0.79,0.95 and 0.68 respectively for the Agree,Neutral and Disagree response categories.Results showed that,compared to conventional statistical models,data driven ML models are better in classifying people’s perceptions.It was seen that the majority of the surveyed people from rural(68%)and semi-urban areas(67%)tend to resist energy changes due to economic constraints and lack of awareness.Interestingly,most(73%)of the urban residents are open to changes,but still resort to fuel-stacking because of distrust in the state.These grass-root level responses have strong policy implications.
文摘THE year 1898 is worth remembering for China’ s women. It was that year that a large group of women who advocated social change established the Women’s Association for Progress, the Women’s School of China and started the first women’s newspaper, "Chinese Girl’s Progress" in Guishuli, Shanghai, with the support and participation of the reformers during the latter part of the Qing Dynasty. The article "On Equality
文摘OF nearly 8,000 newspapers and periodicals in China, women’s newspapers and periodicals, a new force suddenly coming to the fore, have attracted the attention of many. Today, with more and more fierce competition among newspapers and magazines, women’s newspapers and magazines have found favor with readers for their lively, friendly, and practical formats. Currently, 47 newspapers and magazines are sponsored and openly published by the All-China Women’s Federation and women’s federations at various levels. Circulation is among the largest of all cultural comprehensive periodicals all over the country.
文摘WOMEN’S newspapers and magazines began to appear in China almost a century ago, during the Constitutional Reform and Modernization (1898), which is also referred as the Reform Movement of 1898. When the western bourgeois democratic ideology was introduced to China at the end of the 19th century, the Chinese bourgeoisie, influenced by the thought of equality of the sexes, initiated the women’s movement. This movement was mainly characterized by promoting women’s education, the abolition of foot-binding and the founding of publications for women.
