Revisiting failures in mucogingival surgery.

Failures of soft tissue grafting are relatively common and can be stressful when encountered for both the clinicians and patients. Soft tissue grafting has predictable success most of the time when proper selection and implementation of surgical procedure is done. This case report describes management of soft-tissue surgery failure after multiple mucogingival grafting for enhancing the soft-tissue quality, quantity, and aesthetic outcomes. Augmentation by free gingival graft using periodontal microsurgical principle resulted complete coverage of the defect suggesting that careful treatment planning, immaculate execution by skillful technique definitely helped to achieve a successful result. Simultaneous use of photobiomodulation (PBM) helped in faster and better healing of the grafted area.

Oral Solid Dosage form Modification in Community Pharmacies of Kavrepalanchok and Bhaktapur Districts of Nepal.

Background People may modify their oral solid dosage form of medicine to deal with problem faced during medicine administration. The modification of dosage form may adversely affect the quality, safety and efficacy of the medicine. Objective To investigate the causes and practices of oral solid dosage form modification among the consumers going to community pharmacies. Method A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in five community pharmacies of Kavrepalanchok and Bhaktapur districts of Nepal. The consumers visiting these pharmacies for their oral solid dosage form of medicine were invited to participate in interview using structured questionnaire. Result Among 419 participants,13.6% of participants reported having problem of taking intact medicine. Most of them (12.4% of total participants) experienced difficulty swallowing the medicine. The swallowing difficulty is significantly associated with age and sex (p < 0.05). Around one third (36.8%) of participant with medicine administration problem modified the dosage form of medicines. One quarter of medicine dosage form modifications (25.0%) were inappropriate. Medicine dosage form modification is associated with age and number of daily medicine intake (p < 0.05). Among participants modifying dosage form of medicines, 66.7% were advised to do so mainly by family and friends; 33.3% were modifying on their own and 76.2% were unaware of possible effects of medicine dosage form modification. About 62.3% of total participants were never asked about any problems on taking medicines by doctor/pharmacists. Conclusion Difficulty swallowing medicines and medicine dosage form modification were prevalent in the Nepalese population. Medicine dosage form modifications also involved inappropriate modifications due to specialized design of such dosage forms. So, it seems important to provide proper counseling while dispensing such dosage forms.

Awareness Regarding Diabetes Mellitus among General Population of Banepa Municipality.

Background Diabetes is a silent disease and many people with diabetes may become aware of it only after life-threatening complications. The presence of knowledge of diabetes could contribute in early diagnosis and minimize the occurrence of complications. Hence, healthcare and public policy makers are putting extensive efforts to aware them on diabetes. Objective To assess the level of diabetes knowledge and its risk among the general public of Banepa municipality. Method A Cross sectional study was conducted to assess the awareness about diabetes among the general public of Banepa municipality. During the period of November 2019 to January 2020, 273 respondents of Banepa municipality were included with informed consent. Data was collected using a pre-tested structured questionnaire through one-to-one interviews. Indian Diabetes risk score (IDRS) was used to identify the risk of diabetes among them that consists of four elements i.e. age, abdominal obesity, physical activity, and family history. Data entry and analysis was done using SPSS version 20. Result It was found that 61.9% had a higher level of knowledge of diabetes. IDRS score shows more than half percent (53.5%) of respondents were in high risk, 39.2% were in medium risk and 7.3% were in low risk. Conclusion This study implies that there was good knowledge about diabetes among people. However, the majority of them are at risk for developing diabetes in future which may be due to lack of practical implication of knowledge. It reflects the necessity to educate and reinforce the public regarding prevention of diabetes which further postpones its complications.

Chest CT Scan Findings in Symptomatic Patients Infected with COVID-19 in Norvic International Hospital, Nepal.

Background Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is the recent global health emergency making it crucial for rapid diagnosis and intervention. Computed tomography (CT) is important for screening, diagnosis and evaluating severity and disease progress. Objective To assess the CT changes in COVID patients and study its relationship with various factors. Method A retrospective study was conducted at Norvic International hospital from August 2020 to November 2020 among RT-PCR positive symptomatic COVID cases who had positive CT changes. CT imaging data were analyzed by radiology expertise. Statistical analysis was carried out with the help of SPSS 16. Result Out of 120 patients, 75% were males and mean age was 54.70±15.56 years. The mean CT severity score was 18.35±6.87. Pure ground glass opacities was seen in 74(61.7%), reticulations 89(74.2%) and crazy-paving pattern 28(23.3%). CT scans with bilateral 118(98.3%) and peripheral involvement 109(90.8%) in all five lobes. CT- severity score was positively correlated with oxygen and mechanical ventilation requirement (P-value < 0.05 and 0.011 respectively). Conclusion CT findings including pure ground glass opacities, reticulations, bilateral and peripheral involvement involving all five lobes were more frequent. Our data suggest that CT-severity score significantly correlates with oxygen and mechanical ventilation requirements.

Analysis of Factors Associated with Thyroid Dysfunction: A Hospital Based Study.

Background Thyroid dysfunction (TD) is one of the major public health concerns in Nepal. This study intends to identify factors in association with thyroid dysfunction and its hospital based prevalence. Objective To determine hospital-based prevalence of thyroid dysfunction and to identify and analyze factors in association with thyroid dysfunction. Method A retroprospective cross-sectional study was conducted among patients attending Dhulikhel Hospital-Kathmandu University Hospital (DH,KUH) from January to December, 2015 with prospective part carried out from July to December 2015 in the patients visiting Dhulikhel hospital for health check-up and requested for Thyroid Function Tests (TFTs). Thyroid Function Tests of 1530 subjects were performed in the biochemistry laboratory and semi-structured questionnaire were introduced to 312 participants with convenient sampling method and their anthropometric measurements were taken. Chi-square test, Pearson's correlation and student-t test were used as a measure to analyze factors. Result Out of total 1530 subjects, 35.3% were having thyroid dysfunction with the prevalence of overt hyperthyroidism, subclinical hyperthyroidism, overt hypothyroidism and subclinical hypothyroidism to be 2.5%, 2.4%, 5.6% and 24.8% respectively. The distribution of thyroid dysfunction was preponderant among females and among older age. The prevalence of thyroid dysfunction was highest among Terai/Madhesi (40.0%) and lowest among Newars (28.5%) with higher fraction of hypothyroidism in each ethnic group. There were significant correlation between Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) with waist-hip ratio (p<0.05) and weight (kg) with free thyroxine (fT4) (p<0.05). Direct pesticide exposure (p<0.05) was significantly associated with hypothyroidism. The serum fT4 was significantly different (p<0.05) among vegetarian and non-vegetarian whereas TSH and free triiodothyronine (fT3) were not significantly different. Smoking, alcoholism, dietary food habits, diabetes and hypertension were not significantly associated with thyroid dysfunction. Conclusion Thyroid dysfunction was highly prevalent among participants with higher proportion of subclinical hypothyroidism. Besides, direct pesticide exposure found to be factor in association with hypothyroidism, this study could not find significance relation with other established risk factors.

Acceptance of family planning amongst patients attending Dhulikhel hospital obstetrics and gynecology department.

BACKGROUND: Knowledge of contraceptive methods is an important factor for an individual to use or not use of family planning methods. In Nepal, at least one modern method of family planning is universal amongst both men and women. OBJECTIVES: To assess the knowledge, attitude regarding various family planning methods and practice of contraceptives amongst couples attending Dhulikhel Hospital Obstetrics and Gynecology Department. METHODS: Five hundred and fifteen couples were interviewed. Their knowledge, attitude and practice of contraception were evaluated with the help of pre-evaluated questionnaire. The other variable used were the age of the couple, parity, educational status and economic status having effect on the contraceptive acceptance were taken into consideration. Descriptive analysis was conducted to obtain percentages. RESULTS: We observed that 74.98% of women were in the age group of 20-29 years and 59.22% of men were within the age group of 20-29 years. Teen age mothers were 17.86% and teen age fathers were 1.35%. In our study, we observed that higher the educational level better was the acceptance for family planning methods. The higher income group had less number of children compared to lesser income group. In our study, we noticed that all the couples knew about different methods of family planning, main sources of information were television, pamphlets and healthworkers. Only 16 males had undergone vasectomy and 32 women had undergone tubectomy. Fewer number of vasectomy was due to the belief that undergoing vasectomy will make the male partner weak physically. 13.20% of women preferred Depot medroxy progesterone as a temporary method of family planning, 13% of males preferred condom as a temporary method of family planning. CONCLUSION: We conclude that education plays a vital role in the acceptance of family planning. As couples who have higher education level tend to have higher income and they have lesser number of children. They are more receptive towards counseling and agree upon the various methods of family planning. The easy accessibility to the various media like radio, television tend to make people aware of various methods of family planning.

Subsurface synthesis and characterization of Ag nanoparticles embedded in MgO.

Metal nanoparticles exhibit a localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) which is very sensitive to the size and shape of the nanoparticle and the surrounding dielectric medium. The coupling between the electromagnetic radiation and the localized surface plasmon in metallic nanoparticles results in a sizable enhancement of the incident fields, making them possible candidates for plasmonic applications. In particular, partially exposed metallic nanoparticles distributed in a dielectric matrix can provide prime locations for LSPR spectroscopy and sensing. We report the synthesis and characterization of a plasmonic substrate consisting of Ag nanoparticles partially buried in MgO. Ag nanoparticles of different shapes and size distributions were synthesized below the surface of MgO by implanting 200 keV Ag(+) ions followed by annealing at 1000 °C for 10 and 30 h. A detailed optical and structural characterization was carried out to understand the evolution of the Ag nanoparticle and size distribution inside the MgO matrix. Micro x-ray diffraction (Micro-XRD) was employed to investigate the structural properties and estimate the crystallite size. The nanoparticles evolved from a spherical to a faceted morphology with annealing time, assuming an octahedral shape truncated at the (001) planes, as visualized from aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images. The nanoparticles embedded in MgO were shown to be pure metallic Ag using atom probe tomography (APT). The nanoparticles were partially exposed to the surface by employing plasma etch techniques to remove the overlaying MgO. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were employed to study the surface morphology and obtain a height distribution for the partially exposed nanoparticles.

Breech presentation among nullipara at term: an indication for caesarean section.

BACKGROUND: Breech is the commonest malpresentation. Vaginal breech delivery in a nulliparous lady carries higher risk than in multiparous ladies. Poor neonatal outcome following vaginal delivery has made the mode of delivery a matter of controversy. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the outcome of planned caesarean section among nullipara ladies with breech presentation. METHOD: This is a prospective, analytical study conducted in Dhulikhel Hospital Kathmandu University Hospital from January 2008 to June 2012 among 102 nullipara ladies at term gestation with breech presentation. All cases underwent caesarean section either elective or emergency. During section cause of breech presentation was searched for. Neonatal condition was evaluated using APGAR Score, need for resuscitation and admission in NICU. Post partum status was also recorded for evaluation of maternal morbidity and mortality. RESULTS: These Nullipara ladies often had some reason for breech presentation, the most common being cord around the neck. Perinatal outcome was uneventful in 97(95%) neonates, there were two (2%) still birth and three (3%) needed NICU care. APGAR was good in 92 neonates, average in eight and poor in two. Total 16(15.6%) ladies stayed hospital for more than eight days. Among them 11(10.7%) developed wound infection and five stayed in hospital waiting for baby. CONCLUSION: Nullipara ladies with breech presentation should have elective caesarean section as a preferred route of delivery.

A fatal outbreak of neonatal sepsis caused by mcr-10-carrying Enterobacter kobei in a tertiary care hospital in Nepal.

BACKGROUND: Enterobacter kobei is an emerging cause of outbreak of nosocomial infections in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). Between July and September 2016, a NICU in a tertiary care hospital of Nepal observed an abrupt increase in the number of neonatal sepsis cases caused by Enterobacter spp. infecting 11 out of 23 admitted neonates, five of whom died of an exacerbated sepsis. AIM: To confirm the suspected outbreak, identify environmental source of infection, and characterize genetic determinants of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and virulence of the pathogen. METHODS: Whole-genome sequencing of all Enterobacter spp. isolated from blood cultures of septic neonates admitted to NICU between May 2016 and December 2017 was performed. Also, an environmental sampling was intensified from fortnightly to weekly during the outbreak. FINDINGS: The genomic analysis revealed that 10 out of 11 non-duplicated E. kobei isolated from neonatal blood cultures between July and September 2016 were clonal, confirming the outbreak. The isolates carried AMR genes including blaAmpC and mcr-10 conferring reduced susceptibility to carbapenem and colistin respectively. The environmental sampling, however, failed to isolate any Enterobacter spp. Reinforcement of aseptic protocols in invasive procedures, hand hygiene, environmental decontamination, fumigation, and secluded care of culture-positive cases successfully terminated the outbreak. CONCLUSION: Our study underscored the need to implement stringent infection control measures to prevent infection outbreaks. For the first time, we report the emergence of carbapenem and colistin non-susceptible E. kobei carrying mcr-10 gene as a cause of nosocomial neonatal sepsis in a NICU.

Causes of stillbirths and neonatal deaths in Dhanusha district, Nepal: a verbal autopsy study.

BACKGROUND: Perinatal (stillbirths and first week neonatal deaths) and neonatal (deaths in the first 4 weeks) mortality rates remain high in developing countries like Nepal. As most births and deaths occur in the community, an option to ascertain causes of death is to conduct verbal autopsy. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to classify and review the causes of stillbirths and neonatal deaths in Dhanusha district, Nepal. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Births and neonatal deaths were identified prospectively in 60 village development committees of Dhanusha district. Families were interviewed at six weeks after delivery, using a structured questionnaire. Cause of death was assigned independently by two pediatricians according to a predefined algorithm; disagreement was resolved in discussion with a consultant neonatologist. RESULTS: There were 25,982 deliveries in the 2 years from September 2006 to August 2008. Verbal autopsies were available for 601/813 stillbirths and 671/954 neonatal deaths. The perinatal mortality rate was 60 per 1000 births and the neonatal mortality rate 38 per 1000 live births. 84% of stillbirths were fresh and obstetric complications were the leading cause (67%). The three leading causes of neonatal death were birth asphyxia (37%), severe infection (30%) and prematurity or low birth weight (15%). Most infants were delivered at home (65%), 28% by relatives. Half of women received an injection (presumably an oxytocic) during home delivery to augment labour. Description of symptoms commensurate with birth asphyxia was commoner in the group of infants who died (41%) than in the surviving group (14%). CONCLUSION: The current high rates of stillbirth and neonatal death in Dhanusha suggest that the quality of care provided during pregnancy and delivery remains sub-optimal. The high rates of stillbirth and asphyxial mortality imply that, while efforts to improve hygiene need to continue, intrapartum care is a priority. A second area for consideration is the need to reduce the uncontrolled use of oxytocic for augmentation of labour.

Tetanus.

Tetanus is now a rare disease in developed world. However it remains an important cause of death worldwide and is associated with a high case fatality, particularly in the developing world. Tetanus is caused by contamination of wound by spores of Clostridium tetani. Neonatal tetanus results from contamination of the umbilical stump at or following delivery of a child born to a mother who did not possess sufficient circulatory antitoxin to protect the infant passively by transplacental transfer. It produces its clinical effects via a powerful exotoxin, tetanospasmin, which leads to uncontrolled disinhibited efferent discharges from motor neurons in the spinal cord and brainstem, causing intense muscular rigidity and spasm. Shorter incubation and onset times are associated with more severe disease and poorer prognosis. Four clinical forms of tetanus are recognised. They are generalised, localised, cephalic and neonatal tetanus. Tetanus is associated with several complications like respiratory failure, cardiovascular instability, renal failure and autonomic dysfunctions. Recovery from tetanus takes a long time. Diagnosis is established clinically. Symptomatic management, early recognition of complications, careful monitoring for dysautonomia and respiratory assistance are the anchors for successful outcome of patients. Tetanus is preventable through vaccination. Vaccination is highly safe and efficacious. Active immunisation should be instituted in all partially immunised, unimmunised persons and those recovering from tetanus. Passive immunisation is given as treatment of a case as well as prevention following high risk injury. Nepal has achieved neonatal tetanus elimination status on 2005 and is running different programs to sustain the status.

Immediate Effect of Slow Deep Breathing Exercise on Blood Pressure and Reaction Time.

Blood pressure in our body is finely regulated through autonomic nervous system and cardiac centers and studies established that parasympathetic dominance exerted by slow deep breathing decreases blood pressure. Reaction time is an estimate of the subject's capacity for inhibiting pre-potent motor responses. Decreased reaction time indicates greater alertness, faster information processing and less distractibility. Nevertheless, there has been conflicting results about the effect of deep slow breathing on reaction time The present research targeted a community based cross sectional observational study (n=80, age=17-70 years) performed in Lalitpur Municipality, Ward number-14, Nepal from May 2019 to June 2019, to observe the immediate effect of slow deep breathing exercise on blood pressure and reaction time by using online visual reaction time test. Volunteers performed the slow breathing exercise (approximately 4seconds inhalation and 6 seconds exhalation) in Sukhasana for 5 minutes. Base-line and post-slow-breathing blood pressure and visual reaction time was recorded and compared. Decrease in systolic and diastolic pressure was recorded in all, but statistically insignificant. Among the whole study population, significant decrease (p<0.001) in reaction time was noted (90.35±13.96 msVs 76.68±9.90 ms). Among male subjects of age-group 17-28 years, and 50-70 years, significant decrease in reaction time was noted (p<0.05) whereas, among the female subjects of all age groups, reaction time decreased significantly (p<0.05). Decrease in reaction time signifies improved central neuronal processing activity. This may be due to greater arousal, faster information processing, and ability to ignore or inhibit extraneous stimuli. Hence, regular practice of slow deep breathing exercise may be beneficial to lower blood pressure and to improve concentration.

Brain tumours in children.

A 10 years old, female patient presented with symptoms of abnormal movement of the body for 5 years, deviation of mouth to left side for 12 days and difficulty in walking for 12 days. We report a very rare case of Brain Stem gliomas. Clinical and imaging findings were suggestive of brain stem gliomas.

Acceptability and Reliability of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development III Cognitive and Motor Scales among Children in Makwanpur.

BACKGROUND: The Bayley Scales of Infant Development III (BSID III) is an instrument to measure the development of children aged 1-42 months. Our study sought to assess the feasibility and reliability of the BSID III's cognitive and motor sub-scales among children in rural Nepal. METHODS: For this study, translation and back translation in Nepali and English for cognitive and motor sub-scale of BSID III were done. Two testers assessed a total of 102 children aged 1-42 months and were video-recorded and rescored by the third tester. Raw scores were calculated for each assessment. Inter and intra-observer reliability of scores across the three testers was examined. Raw score was converted into scaled score to examine the mean score. The study received ethical clearance from NHRC. RESULTS: A total of 102 children were assessed. The inter-rater reliability of the BSID III among three testers using the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient by age group was 0.997 (95% CI: 0.996-0.998) for the cognitive scale, 0.997 (95% CI: 0.996- 0.998) for the gross motor scale, and 0.998 (95% CI: 0.997- 0.999) for the fine motor scale. All were statistically significant (p< 0.0001). The mean scaled cognitive, fine motor and gross motor development scores in this group of children were 8.3 (SD: 2.5), 8.5 (SD: 2.6) and 9.5 (3.2), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Assessing the cognitive and motor development of children under five using the BSID III was feasible in Makwanpur district, Nepal. The inter-rater reliability was highly comparable among the three testers.

Dermatophytic Infections among the Patients Attending Di Skin Hospital and Research Center at Maharajgunj Kathmandu.

BACKGROUND: Dermatophytosis is the common and most significant superficial fungal infections because of their widespread involvement among the people all over the world. The clinical presentation, though very typical of ringworm infection, is often confused with other skin disorders, making laboratory diagnosis and confirmation necessary. The aim of this research is to study different clinical variants of dermatophytosis and its associated risk factor among the patients attending Di Skin Hospital and Research Center. METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used. Total of 110 samples collected from suspected cases of dermatophytosis were studied among the patients attending DI Skin Hospital and Research Center at Maharajgunj, Kathmandu, Nepal. Skin, hair and nail specimens taken from the patients were processed by direct microscopy and culture using a standard protocol. Macroscopic appearance and microscopic morphology of micro and macroconidia were studied for proper identification of dermatophytes. Data were analyzed using the statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) version 20 for windows. RESULTS: Dermatophytosis was more common in the age group of 21-30 (29.1%) years and was more predominant among male population with male to female ratio being 1.39:1. Among the total number of dermatophytosis cases only 52.72% showed fungal elements in KOH preparation and only 43.63% were culture positive. Most common clinical type was tinea corporis (29.1%) followed by tinea cruris (18.2%). Among the total isolates T. rubrum was most common (58.33%) followed by T. mentagrophytes (20.83%), other Trichophyton spp (12.5%) and Microsporum gypseum (8.33%). Most of the positive cases used to take bath, change their dresses and innerwear only once a week. Similarly, Sweating nature could be the possible cause for dermatophytic infection (P=0.006 at CI=95%) and also there was a significant relation between the sharing habit of dress materials and positive cases (P=0.033 at CI=95%). Among the total cases, most of the positive cases did not have any knowledge about fungal infection.Study concluded that more the knowledge of fungal infection less the chance of fungal infection (P=0.003 at CI=95%). CONCLUSIONS: Tinea corporis was the commonest clinical pattern and overall predominance in the study was male with 21-30 being most affected age group. T. rubrum forms the commonest aetiological agent of dermatophytosis. Possible cause of dermatophytic infection was due to poor hygienic status and lack of knowledge on fungal infection and its preventive measures.

Analysis of Health Facility Based Perinatal Verbal Autopsy of Electoral Constituency 2 of Arghakhanchi District, Nepal.

BACKGROUND: Verbal autopsy is a method to diagnose possible cause of death by analyzing factors associated with death through detailed questioning. This study is a part of the operational research program in electoral constituency no. 2 (EC 2) of Arghakhanchi district by MIRA and HealthRight International. METHODS: Two day essential newborn care training followed by one day perinatal verbal autopsy training and later one day refresher verbal autopsy training was given for health staff of EC 2 of Arghakhanchi district in two groups. Stillbirths of >22wks or > 500 gms and Early neonatal deaths (newborns died within7 days of life) were included in this study. The Nepal Government approved verbal autopsy forms were used for performing autopsies. Perinatal deaths were classified according to Wigglesworth's Classification. Causes of Perinatal deaths were analyzed. Data were analyzed in the form of frequencies and tabulation in SPSS 16 . RESULTS: There were 41 cases of perinatal deaths (PND) were identified. Among them, 37 PNDs were from Arghakhanchi district hospital, 2 PNDs from Thada PHC, and one PND each from Subarnakhal and Pokharathok HPs. Among the 41 PNDs, 26 were stillbirths (SB) and 15 were early neonatal deaths (ENND). The perinatal mortality rate (PMR) of Arghakhanchi district hospital was 32.2 per 1,000 births and neonatal mortality rate (NMR) was 9.8 per 1,000 live births. Out of 26 stillbirths, 54% (14) were fresh SBs and 46% (12) were macerated stillbirths. The most common cause of stillbirth was obstetric complications (47%) where as birth asphyxia (53%) was the commonest cause of ENND. According to Wigglesworth's classification of perinatal deaths, Group IV (40%) was the commonest cause in the health facilities. CONCLUSIONS: Obstetric complication was the commonest cause of stillbirth and birth asphyxia was the commonest cause of early neonatal death. This study highlighted the need for regular antenatal check-ups and proper intrapartum fetal monitoring with timely and appropriate intervention to reduce the incidence of stillbirths and intrauterine asphyxia.

Maternal and Neonatal Health Knowledge, Service Quality and Utilization: Findings from a Community Based Quasi-experimental Trial in Arghakhanchi District of Nepal.

BACKGROUND: As part of the Partnership for Maternal and Newborn Health Project (PMNH), HealthRight International collaborated with Mother and Infant Research Activities (MIRA) to conduct operations research in Arghakhanchi district of Nepal to explore the intervention impact of strengthening health facility, improving community facility linkages along with Community Based Newborn Care Program (CB-NCP) on Maternal Neonatal Care (MNC) service quality, utilization, knowledge and care seeking behavior. METHODS: This was a quasi-experimental study. Siddahara, Pokharathok, Subarnakhal,Narpani Health Posts (HPs) and Thada Primary Health Care Center(PHCC)in Electoral Constituency-2 were selected as intervention sites and Arghatosh, ,Argha, Khana, Hansapur HPs and Balkot PHCC in Electoral Constituency-1 were chosen as controls. The intervention started in February 2011 and was evaluated in August 2013. To compare MNC knowledge and practice in the community, mothers of children aged 0-23 months were selected from the corresponding Village Development Committees(VDCs) by a two stage cluster sampling design during both baseline (July 2010) and endline (August, 2013) assessments. The difference in difference analysis was used to understand the intervention impact. RESULTS: Local resource mobilization for MNC, knowledge about MNC and service utilization increased in intervention sites. Though there were improvements, many effects were not significant. CONCLUSIONS: Extensive trainings followed by reviews and quality monitoring visits increased the knowledge, improved skills and fostered motivation of health facility workers for better MNC service delivery. MNC indicators showed an upsurge in numbers due to the synergistic effects of many interventions.

Cross-sectional serosurvey of avian influenza antibodies presence in domestic ducks of Kathmandu, Nepal.

Kathmandu, Nepal has been classified as a high-risk area for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) by the Nepali Government. While ducks have an important role in the transmission of avian influenza viruses (AIV), including HPAI, seroprevalence of antibodies to AIV in domestic ducks of Kathmandu has never been assessed. The objectives of this study were (i) to estimate the prevalence of seroconversion to AIV in domestic ducks in major duck-raising areas of Kathmandu and (ii) to assess the effect of age, sex, presence of swine and the number of ducks on the farm on the carriage of antibodies to AIV in these ducks. From April through July of 2011, a cross-sectional study was conducted and a total of 310 ducks in the major duck-raising areas of Kathmandu were sampled. The estimated prevalence of AIV antibodies was 27.2% [95% confidence interval (CI): 24.6-29.5]. Of 62 enrolled farms, 42% had at least one seropositive duck. Half of the enrolled farms also kept pigs of which 52% had at least one seropositive duck. Bivariate analysis indicated association between ducks' seroconversion to AIV and their age, sex and farm size. However, the final multivariable model, after controlling for clustering of ducks within farms, identified age as the only significant risk factor. Based on this model, ducks older than 1 year of age were more likely to be seropositive compared to ducks <6 months of age [odds ratio = 2.17 (1.07-4.39)]. These results provide baseline information about the AIV seroprevalence in domestic ducks in the major duck-raising areas of Kathmandu and identify a high-risk group that can be targeted in surveillance activities. Future studies should be conducted to differentiate the subtypes of AIV present among domestic ducks in Kathmandu, with particular interest in the presence of HPAI viruses.

Impact of lattice mismatch and stoichiometry on the structure and bandgap of (Fe,Cr)2O3 epitaxial thin films.

The structural properties of phase-pure epitaxial (Fe1-xCrx)2O3 thin films deposited on α-Al2O3(0 0 0 1) substrates by oxygen-plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy are investigated across the composition range using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, high-resolution x-ray diffraction, scanning transmission electron microscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy, and non-Rutherford resonant elastic scattering measurements. The films possess a columnar grain structure with uniform mixing of cations on the nanometer scale. Fe-rich films are relaxed and appear to be slightly oxygen-rich, while Cr-rich films remain partially strained to the Al2O3 substrate and are found to be oxygen deficient. A model is proposed to explain the oxygen stoichiometry results based on the energetics of oxygen defect formation and rate of oxygen diffusion in the corundum lattice, and the dependence on the cation composition. Deliberately introducing residual compressive biaxial strain into (Fe1-xCrx)2O3 thin films (x = 0, 0.41, 0.52) by employing a Cr2O3 buffer layer is shown to narrow the optical bandgap, from 1.80(1) eV for relaxed (Fe0.47Cr0.53)2O3 to 1.77(1) eV for partially strained (Fe0.48Cr0.52)2O3. The relationships which are elucidated between epitaxial film structure and optical properties can be applied to bandgap optimization in the (Fe,Cr)2O3 system.