| 1. |
- Bhandari, Rajendra, et al.
(författare)
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Bulk carbon and lignin fingerprinting of catchment sediments transported by mountain rivers in Nepal Himalayas
- 2022
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Ingår i: Catena (Cremlingen. Print). - : Elsevier. - 0341-8162 .- 1872-6887. ; 216
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Himalayan rivers yield the most significant flux of continental sediments into the ocean. Organic matter (OM) transported by these rivers provides a peek at the influence of diverse geological terrains, soil types, vegetation, and climate on carbon cycling within a narrow boundary. We analyzed suspended and bedload sediments from four Himalayan rivers to trace their sources, elucidate their fate during fluvial transport, and estimate the organic carbon (OC) flux. Hence, total OC (TOC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), C:N ratios, and lignin phenols were measured. Consistent with the erosional intensity in the rivers, suspended sediment load input followed the order: Kaligandaki > Myagdikhola > Aadhikhola > Tinahukhola. C:N values in rivers from the Lesser Himalayas and Siwalik indicate sediments from mixed biogenic sources. In contrast, high TOC and C/N values in the trans-Himalaya rivers flowing through barren landscapes reflect the erosion of catchment sediments yielding petrogenic carbon. The suspended matter in rivers from the Lesser Himalayas and Siwalik has higher lignin phenol concentrations than the trans-Himalaya and Higher Himalaya rivers. The lignin phenol ratios indicate higher degradation in rivers from the trans and Higher Himalaya sections. This implies that only a small fraction of the terrestrial OM transported by these rivers deposits in the ocean sink. In contrast, rivers from the Lesser Himalayas and Siwaliks sequester a significant amount of OM bound to their bedload. As a result, these rivers transferred lower particulate OC (POC) but higher DOC than similar rivers worldwide. Rivers from Lesser Himalayas and Siwaliks transfer > 90 % of annual POC flux during monsoons. Finally, although Himalayan rivers transport less OC than other global rivers traversing densely vegetated landscapes, the sheer number of these rivers has significant implications on the fate and transport of total OC from catchments sediments.
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| 2. |
- Bhandari, Rajendra, et al.
(författare)
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Contrasting lipid biomarkers in mountain rivers in the Nepal Himalayas : Organic matter characteristics and contribution to the fluvial carbon pool
- 2021
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Ingår i: Geoscience Frontiers. - Beijing : China University of Geosciences. - 1674-9871. ; 12:6
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Nepal Himalayas is the source of many glacial and spring-fed river systems crisscrossing the mountainous terrain. There is an increasing recognition of small mountain rivers (SMRs) to have a significant combined export of dissolved and particulate organic carbon to the global carbon flux. We analyzed fluvial sediments from two SMRs and compared the results with two large mountain rivers (LMRs) in Nepal. We investigated the organic matter (OM), its compositional variability, and seasonal export using a suite of lipid biomarkers, namely n-alkanes, n-alkanoic acids, n-alkanols, and sterols. The SMRs indicated a similarity in lipid distribution and were affected by a strong seasonal variability. The LMRs showed a distinct contrast in the distribution of lipids in suspended sediments. Bedload sediments in SMRs were derived from diverse sources with weak terrigenous dominance all-year-round compared to the suspended load. Functional lipids (n-alkanoic acids and n-alkanols) were the major constituents in SMR sediments, indicating better preservation. In contrast, n-alkane concentration dominated over other fractions in suspended sediments retrieved from LMRs. The biomarker trends differentiate SMRs from LMRs with lower transformed/degraded OM in SMRs. A common observation was the strong presence of even carbon compounds in short-chain n-alkanes in SMR bedload sediments and their predominance in suspended sediments in LMRs. Such an unusual trend is attributed to specific biomarker sources from the catchment and ongoing processes in fluvial systems. Topsoil colonized by fungal species under moist acidic conditions and autochthonous bacteria contributes to the organic matter pool in shallow SMRs. In LMRs, the contribution from thermally mature sedimentary hydrocarbons and the diagenetic reduction of nalkanoic acids to n-alkanes are additional contributors to the allochthonous carbon pool. The differences in lipid concentrations, their distribution, seasonality, and the size of rivers suggest differential preservation/degradation of the organic matter pool and their importance in contributing to the carbon budget. (c) 2021 China University of Geosciences (Beijing) and Peking University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/
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| 3. |
- Bhandari, Rajendra, 1986-
(författare)
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Provenance, transport, and the fate of organic matter and sediments drained through Himalayan Rivers in Nepal
- 2022
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Despite its small area (ca. 595,000 km2), the Himalayan region transfers disproportionally high amounts of sediments and organic matter (OM) through a network of rivers into the oceanic sink. Such a high contribution is due to the synergistic effects of active tectonics, variable precipitation, and steep slopes aided by human perturbations on exhumed and young mountain terrains. Seasonality in the mobilization and transport of fresh biogenic OM and petrogenic carbon, including paleosols, is dominant in this unique landscape with implications for climate change and the global carbon budget. However, a comprehensive assessment of sources and the fate of organic carbon (OC) in Himalayan rivers remains elusive, driving considerable uncertainty in estimates of the fluvial transport of carbon, its budget, and its impacts on the global carbon cycle. Four rivers from diverse physiographic zones with specific rock types were selected from the Nepal Himalayas to characterize the OM sources and their fate using C:N ratios, lipid biomarkers, and lignin phenols. The seasonal OC fluxes were estimated, and strontium (Sr) and neodymium (Nd) isotope data were utilized to elucidate the provenance. Finally, monitoring of runoff plots and RUSLE modeling was conducted to estimate soil erosion from different land-use practices. The suspended sediment load in these rivers was proportional to the erosional intensity. Unlike suspended sediments, OM in bedload samples was derived from multiple sources with weak terrigenous dominance. The influence of seasonality on OM and elemental concentrations was evident in the new data. The abundance of sedimentary lipids in these small rivers represents high OM sequestration and corroborates the inference derived from diagnostic lignin ratios. These rivers transport > 90% POC and ca. 75% DOC during the short monsoon season, highlighting rapid transport/mobilization of OC from the Nepal Himalayas. The high strontium isotope (87Sr/86Sr) ratio in silicates drives the high radiogenic Sr input, which exceeds the global average. The clusters in Sr and Nd isotope data represent specific physiographic zones and rock types that can help infer OM provenance and trace the fate of carbon from source to sink. Data from the runoff plots suggest that irrigated croplands drive topsoil erosion. The soil erosion rate in the watersheds is high (> 24 tons ha-1 yr-1). This is attributed to anthropogenic disturbance associated with cropping patterns, soil disturbance, and waterlogging. The contrasting features in the Himalayan region and new data on the role of mountain rivers invite global attention to infer ongoing and future changes in OM flux.
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| 4. |
- Bentham, James, et al.
(författare)
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A century of trends in adult human height
- 2016
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Ingår i: eLIFE. - 2050-084X. ; 5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Being taller is associated with enhanced longevity, and higher education and earnings. We reanalysed 1472 population-based studies, with measurement of height on more than 18.6 million participants to estimate mean height for people born between 1896 and 1996 in 200 countries. The largest gain in adult height over the past century has occurred in South Korean women and Iranian men, who became 20.2 cm (95% credible interval 17.522.7) and 16.5 cm (13.319.7) taller, respectively. In contrast, there was little change in adult height in some sub-Saharan African countries and in South Asia over the century of analysis. The tallest people over these 100 years are men born in the Netherlands in the last quarter of 20th century, whose average heights surpassed 182.5 cm, and the shortest were women born in Guatemala in 1896 (140.3 cm; 135.8144.8). The height differential between the tallest and shortest populations was 19-20 cm a century ago, and has remained the same for women and increased for men a century later despite substantial changes in the ranking of countries.
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| 5. |
- Bentham, James, et al.
(författare)
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A century of trends in adult human height
- 2016
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Ingår i: eLIFE. - : eLife Sciences Publications Ltd. - 2050-084X. ; 5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Being taller is associated with enhanced longevity, and higher education and earnings. We reanalysed 1472 population-based studies, with measurement of height on more than 18.6 million participants to estimate mean height for people born between 1896 and 1996 in 200 countries. The largest gain in adult height over the past century has occurred in South Korean women and Iranian men, who became 20.2 cm (95% credible interval 17.5–22.7) and 16.5 cm (13.3– 19.7) taller, respectively. In contrast, there was little change in adult height in some sub-Saharan African countries and in South Asia over the century of analysis. The tallest people over these 100 years are men born in the Netherlands in the last quarter of 20th century, whose average heights surpassed 182.5 cm, and the shortest were women born in Guatemala in 1896 (140.3 cm; 135.8– 144.8). The height differential between the tallest and shortest populations was 19-20 cm a century ago, and has remained the same for women and increased for men a century later despite substantial changes in the ranking of countries.
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| 6. |
- Danaei, Goodarz, et al.
(författare)
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Effects of diabetes definition on global surveillance of diabetes prevalence and diagnosis: a pooled analysis of 96 population-based studies with 331288 participants
- 2015
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Ingår i: The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology. - 2213-8595 .- 2213-8587. ; 3:8, s. 624-637
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background Diabetes has been defined on the basis of different biomarkers, including fasting plasma glucose (FPG), 2-h plasma glucose in an oral glucose tolerance test (2hOGTT), and HbA(1c). We assessed the effect of different diagnostic definitions on both the population prevalence of diabetes and the classification of previously undiagnosed individuals as having diabetes versus not having diabetes in a pooled analysis of data from population-based health examination surveys in different regions. Methods We used data from 96 population-based health examination surveys that had measured at least two of the biomarkers used for defining diabetes. Diabetes was defined using HbA(1c) (HbA(1c) >= 6 . 5% or history of diabetes diagnosis or using insulin or oral hypoglycaemic drugs) compared with either FPG only or FPG-or-2hOGTT definitions (FPG >= 7 . 0 mmol/L or 2hOGTT >= 11 . 1 mmol/L or history of diabetes or using insulin or oral hypoglycaemic drugs). We calculated diabetes prevalence, taking into account complex survey design and survey sample weights. We compared the prevalences of diabetes using different definitions graphically and by regression analyses. We calculated sensitivity and specificity of diabetes diagnosis based on HbA1c compared with diagnosis based on glucose among previously undiagnosed individuals (ie, excluding those with history of diabetes or using insulin or oral hypoglycaemic drugs). We calculated sensitivity and specificity in each survey, and then pooled results using a random-effects model. We assessed the sources of heterogeneity of sensitivity by meta-regressions for study characteristics selected a priori. Findings Population prevalence of diabetes based on FPG- or-2hOGTT was correlated with prevalence based on FPG alone (r= 0 . 98), but was higher by 2-6 percentage points at different prevalence levels. Prevalence based on HbA(1c) was lower than prevalence based on FPG in 42 . 8% of age-sex-survey groups and higher in another 41 . 6%; in the other 15 . 6%, the two definitions provided similar prevalence estimates. The variation across studies in the relation between glucose-based and HbA(1c)-based prevalences was partly related to participants' age, followed by natural logarithm of per person gross domestic product, the year of survey, mean BMI, and whether the survey population was national, subnational, or from specific communities. Diabetes defined as HbA(1c) 6 . 5% or more had a pooled sensitivity of 52 . 8% (95% CI 51 . 3-54 . 3%) and a pooled specificity of 99 . 74% (99 . 71-99 . 78%) compared with FPG 7 . 0 mmol/L or more for diagnosing previously undiagnosed participants; sensitivity compared with diabetes defined based on FPG-or-2hOGTT was 30 . 5% (28 . 7-32 . 3%). None of the preselected study-level characteristics explained the heterogeneity in the sensitivity of HbA(1c) versus FPG. Interpretation Different biomarkers and definitions for diabetes can provide different estimates of population prevalence of diabetes, and differentially identify people without previous diagnosis as having diabetes. Using an HbA(1c)-based definition alone in health surveys will not identify a substantial proportion of previously undiagnosed people who would be considered as having diabetes using a glucose-based test.
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| 7. |
- Day, Louise T., et al.
(författare)
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"Every Newborn-BIRTH" protocol : observational study validating indicators for coverage and quality of maternal and newborn health care in Bangladesh, Nepal and Tanzania
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of Global Health. - : International Global Health Society. - 2047-2978 .- 2047-2986. ; 9:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: To achieve Sustainable Development Goals and Universal Health Coverage, programmatic data are essential. The Every Newborn Action Plan, agreed by all United Nations member states and >80 development partners, includes an ambitious Measurement Improvement Roadmap. Quality of care at birth is prioritised by both Every Newborn and Ending Preventable Maternal Mortality strategies, hence metrics need to advance from health service contact alone, to content of care. As facility births increase, monitoring using routine facility data in DHIS2 has potential, yet validation research has mainly focussed on maternal recall surveys. The Every Newborn - Birth Indicators Research Tracking in Hospitals (EN-BIRTH) study aims to validate selected newborn and maternal indicators for routine tracking of coverage and quality of facility-based care for use at district, national and global levels.Methods: EN-BIRTH is an observational study including >20000 facility births in three countries (Tanzania, Bangladesh and Nepal) to validate selected indicators. Direct clinical observation will be compared with facility register data and a pre-discharge maternal recall survey for indicators including: uterotonic administration, immediate newborn care, neonatal resuscitation and Kangaroo mother care. Indicators including neonatal infection management and antenatal corticosteroid administration, which cannot be easily observed, will be validated using inpatient records. Trained clinical observers in Labour/Delivery ward, Operation theatre, and Kangaroo mother care ward/areas will collect data using a tablet-based customised data capturing application. Sensitivity will be calculated for numerators of all indicators and specificity for those numerators with adequate information. Other objectives include comparison of denominator options (ie, true target population or surrogates) and quality of care analyses, especially regarding intervention timing. Barriers and enablers to routine recording and data usage will be assessed by data flow assessments, quantitative and qualitative analyses.Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first large, multi-country study validating facility-based routine data compared to direct observation for maternal and newborn care, designed to provide evidence to inform selection of a core list of indicators recommended for inclusion in national DHIS2. Availability and use of such data are fundamental to drive progress towards ending the annual 5.5 million preventable stillbirths, maternal and newborn deaths.
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| 8. |
- Day, Louise T, et al.
(författare)
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"Every Newborn-BIRTH" protocol: observational study validating indicators for coverage and quality of maternal and newborn health care in Bangladesh, Nepal and Tanzania.
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of global health. - : International Global Health Society. - 2047-2986 .- 2047-2978. ; 9:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To achieve Sustainable Development Goals and Universal Health Coverage, programmatic data are essential. The Every Newborn Action Plan, agreed by all United Nations member states and >80 development partners, includes an ambitious Measurement Improvement Roadmap. Quality of care at birth is prioritised by both Every Newborn and Ending Preventable Maternal Mortality strategies, hence metrics need to advance from health service contact alone, to content of care. As facility births increase, monitoring using routine facility data in DHIS2 has potential, yet validation research has mainly focussed on maternal recall surveys. The Every Newborn - Birth Indicators Research Tracking in Hospitals (EN-BIRTH) study aims to validate selected newborn and maternal indicators for routine tracking of coverage and quality of facility-based care for use at district, national and global levels.EN-BIRTH is an observational study including >20 000 facility births in three countries (Tanzania, Bangladesh and Nepal) to validate selected indicators. Direct clinical observation will be compared with facility register data and a pre-discharge maternal recall survey for indicators including: uterotonic administration, immediate newborn care, neonatal resuscitation and Kangaroo mother care. Indicators including neonatal infection management and antenatal corticosteroid administration, which cannot be easily observed, will be validated using inpatient records. Trained clinical observers in Labour/Delivery ward, Operation theatre, and Kangaroo mother care ward/areas will collect data using a tablet-based customised data capturing application. Sensitivity will be calculated for numerators of all indicators and specificity for those numerators with adequate information. Other objectives include comparison of denominator options (ie, true target population or surrogates) and quality of care analyses, especially regarding intervention timing. Barriers and enablers to routine recording and data usage will be assessed by data flow assessments, quantitative and qualitative analyses.To our knowledge, this is the first large, multi-country study validating facility-based routine data compared to direct observation for maternal and newborn care, designed to provide evidence to inform selection of a core list of indicators recommended for inclusion in national DHIS2. Availability and use of such data are fundamental to drive progress towards ending the annual 5.5 million preventable stillbirths, maternal and newborn deaths.
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| 9. |
- Day, Louise Tina, et al.
(författare)
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Labour and delivery ward register data availability, quality, and utility - Every Newborn - birth indicators research tracking in hospitals (EN-BIRTH) study baseline analysis in three countries.
- 2020
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Ingår i: BMC health services research. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1472-6963. ; 20:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Countries with the highest burden of maternal and newborn deaths and stillbirths often have little information on these deaths. Since over 81% of births worldwide now occur in facilities, using routine facility data could reduce this data gap. We assessed the availability, quality, and utility of routine labour and delivery ward register data in five hospitals in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Tanzania. This paper forms the baseline register assessment for the Every Newborn-Birth Indicators Research Tracking in Hospitals (EN-BIRTH) study.We extracted 21 data elements from routine hospital labour ward registers, useful to calculate selected maternal and newborn health (MNH) indicators. The study sites were five public hospitals during a one-year period (2016-17). We measured 1) availability: completeness of data elements by register design, 2) data quality: implausibility, internal consistency, and heaping of birthweight and explored 3) utility by calculating selected MNH indicators using the available data.Data were extracted for 20,075 births. Register design was different between the five hospitals with 10-17 of the 21 selected MNH data elements available. More data were available for health outcomes than interventions. Nearly all available data elements were > 95% complete in four of the five hospitals and implausible values were rare. Data elements captured in specific columns were 85.2% highly complete compared to 25.0% captured in non-specific columns. Birthweight data were less complete for stillbirths than live births at two hospitals, and significant heaping was found in all sites, especially at 2500g and 3000g. All five hospitals recorded count data required to calculate impact indicators including; stillbirth rate, low birthweight rate, Caesarean section rate, and mortality rates.Data needed to calculate MNH indicators are mostly available and highly complete in EN-BIRTH study hospital routine labour ward registers in Bangladesh, Nepal and Tanzania. Register designs need to include interventions for coverage measurement. There is potential to improve data quality if Health Management Information Systems utilization with feedback loops can be strengthened. Routine health facility data could contribute to reduce the coverage and impact data gap around the time of birth.
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| 10. |
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