| 1. |
- Adhikari, Tara Ballav, et al.
(författare)
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Community-based intervention for prevention and management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Nepal (COBIN-P trial) : study protocol for a cluster-randomized controlled trial
- 2021
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Ingår i: Trials. - : BioMed Central (BMC). - 1745-6215. ; 22
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the leading causes of death worldwide and the commonest of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Nepal. Risk factors like indoor and outdoor air pollution, a high prevalence of smoking, and the lack of awareness of COPD make it a serious public health concern. However, no attempt has been made in Nepal to estimate its burden and address the disease at the community level.Method: This study aims to evaluate the effect of a community-based health educational intervention administered by Female Community Health Volunteers (FCHVs) on the prevention and management of COPD. An open-label, two-group, community-based, cluster-randomized controlled trial will be implemented in the semi-urban area of Pokhara Metropolitan city (former Lekhnath Municipality) located in the Kaski district of Nepal. The estimated sample size of the intervention will be 1143. The unit of randomization is the ward (administrative unit) of the study area. The follow-up survey will be conducted immediately after 12months of FCHVs-led interventions. The difference in the rate of decline of forced expiratory volume in 1s (FEV1) and FEV1/FVC (forced vital capacity) ratio are the primary outcomes and the change in the proportion of modifiable risk factors of COPD, health-related quality of life scores, and change in knowledge of COPD will be secondary outcomes.Discussion: This study will estimate the burden of COPD, the magnitude of risk factors and generate evidence to mobilize community health workers for COPD prevention and management at the community level in Nepal.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT03797768. Registered on January 9, 2019.
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| 2. |
- Adhikari, Tara Ballav, et al.
(författare)
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Prevalence of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and its Associated Factors in Nepal : Findings from a Community-based Household Survey
- 2020
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Ingår i: The International Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1176-9106 .- 1178-2005. ; 15, s. 2319-2331
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Despite chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) being the commonest non-communicable disease in Nepal, there is limited research evidence estimating the spirometry-based burden of COPD. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of COPD and its correlates through a community-based survey in Pokhara Metropolitan City, a semiurban area of Western Nepal. Methods: A cross-sectional household survey was conducted among 1459 adults >= 40 years. COPD was defined according to the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) criteria as a post-bronchodilator ratio of forced expiratory volume in 1st second (FEV1) to forced vital capacity (FVC) <0.70 with the presence of symptoms. COPD was also defined by the lower limit of normal (LLN) threshold - FEV1/FVC < LLN cut-off values with the presence of symptoms. Study participants were interviewed about sociodemographic and behavioural characteristics and respiratory symptoms. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis were applied. Results: Spirometry reports were acceptable in 1438 participants. The mean age of the participants was 55 (+/- 10) years, and, 54% were female. The prevalence of GOLD-defined COPD was 8.5% (95% CI: 7.1-10.0) and based on the LLN threshold of 5.4% (95% CI: 4.2-6.6). The multivariate logistic regression showed that increasing age, low body mass index, illiterate, current or former smoker, and biomass fuel smoke increased the odds of COPD in both the definitions. Conclusion: COPD is highly prevalent at community level and often underdiagnosed. Strategies aiming at early diagnosis and treatment of COPD, especially for the elderly, illiterate, and reducing exposure to smoking and biomass fuel smoke and childhood lung infection could be effective.
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| 3. |
- Augustin, Ramona, et al.
(författare)
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MUSE-ALMA Haloes X : the stellar masses of gas-rich absorbing galaxies
- 2024
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Ingår i: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 528:4, s. 6159-6166
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The physical processes by which gas is accreted onto galaxies, transformed into stars, and then expelled from galaxies are of paramount importance to galaxy evolution studies. Observationally constraining each of these baryonic components in the same system, however, is challenging. Furthermore, simulations indicate that the stellar mass of galaxies is a key factor influencing CGM properties. Indeed, absorption lines detected against background quasars offer the most compelling way to study the cold gas in the circumgalactic medium (CGM). The MUSE-ALMA Haloes survey is composed of quasar fields covered with VLT/MUSE observations, comprising 32 H I absorbers at 0.2 < z < 1.4 and 79 associated galaxies, with available or upcoming molecular gas measurements from ALMA. We use a dedicated 40-orbit HST UVIS and IR WFC3 broad-band imaging campaign to characterize the stellar content of these galaxies. By fitting their spectral energy distribution, we establish they probe a wide range of stellar masses: 8.1 < log (M∗/M⊙) < 12.4. Given their star formation rates, most of these objects lie on the main sequence of galaxies. We also confirm a previously reported anticorrelation between the stellar masses and CGM hydrogen column density N (H I), indicating an evolutionary trend where higher mass galaxies are less likely to host large amounts of H I gas in their immediate vicinity up to 120 kpc. Together with other studies from the MUSE-ALMA Haloes survey, these data provide stellar masses of absorber hosts, a key component of galaxy formation and evolution, and observational constraints on the relation between galaxies and their surrounding medium.
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| 4. |
- Ballav Adhikari, Tara, et al.
(författare)
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Health-Related Quality of Life of People Living with COPD in a Semiurban Area of Western Nepal : A Community-Based Study
- 2021
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Ingår i: COPD. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1541-2555 .- 1541-2563. ; 18:3, s. 349-356
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in Nepal. It is a progressive lung disease and has a significant impact on the quality of life of patients. Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) reflects the health- and disease-related facets of quality of life. Limited studies have assessed the impact of COPD on HRQOL and associated factors in Nepal. This study is based on a cross-sectional household survey data from a semiurban area of Western Nepal. A validated Nepali version of St George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) was used to measure the HRQOL. COPD was defined together with post-bronchodilator airflow obstruction and the presence of respiratory symptoms. Post-bronchodilator airflow obstruction was defined as Forced Expiratory Volume in 1st second (FEV1) to Forced Vital Capacity (FVC) ratio < 0.70. COPD was diagnosed in 122 participants, and their median (IQR) total score of HRQOL was 40 (26 - 69); the score of symptoms, activity, and impact area were 53 (37 - 74), 57 (36 - 86), and 26 (13 - 62), respectively. The overall HRQOL was significantly different in terms of age, occupational status, physical activity, and comorbidities. Disease severity and the presence of respiratory symptoms had a significant difference in HRQOL (p = 0.0001). Appropriate measures to improve conditions and addressing the associated factors like respiratory symptoms and enhancing physical activity are necessary and important.
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| 5. |
- Karki, Arjun, et al.
(författare)
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MUSE-ALMA Haloes - IX. Morphologies and stellar properties of gas-rich galaxies
- 2023
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Ingår i: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 524:4, s. 5524-5547
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Understanding how galaxies interact with the circumgalactic medium (CGM) requires determining how galaxies’ morphological and stellar properties correlate with their CGM properties. We report an analysis of 66 well-imaged galaxies detected in Hubble Space Telescope and Very Large Telescope MUSE observations and determined to be within ±500 km s−1 of the redshifts of strong intervening quasar absorbers at 0.2 ≲ z ≲ 1.4 with H I column densities NHI>1018cm−2�HI>1018cm−2. We present the geometrical properties (Sérsic indices, effective radii, axis ratios, and position angles) of these galaxies determined using GALFIT. Using these properties along with star formation rates (SFRs, estimated using the H α or [O II] luminosity) and stellar masses (M* estimated from spectral energy distribution fits), we examine correlations among various stellar and CGM properties. Our main findings are as follows: (1) SFR correlates well with M*, and most absorption-selected galaxies are consistent with the star formation main sequence of the global population. (2) More massive absorber counterparts are more centrally concentrated and are larger in size. (3) Galaxy sizes and normalized impact parameters correlate negatively with NHI, consistent with higher NHI absorption arising in smaller galaxies, and closer to galaxy centres. (4) Absorption and emission metallicities correlate with M* and specific SFR, implying metal-poor absorbers arise in galaxies with low past star formation and faster current gas consumption rates. (5) SFR surface densities of absorption-selected galaxies are higher than predicted by the Kennicutt–Schmidt relation for local galaxies, suggesting a higher star formation efficiency in the absorption-selected galaxies.
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| 6. |
- Weng, Simon, et al.
(författare)
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MUSE-ALMA Haloes XI : gas flows in the circumgalactic medium
- 2023
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Ingår i: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 523:1, s. 676-700
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The flow of gas into and out of galaxies leaves traces in the circumgalactic medium which can then be studied using absorption lines towards background quasars. We analyse 27 log[N(H I) /cm(-2)] > 18. 0 H I absorbers at z = 0.2 to 1.4 from the MUSEALMA Haloes survey with at least one galaxy counterpart within a line of sight velocity of +/- 500 km s(-1). We perform 3D kinematic forward modelling of these associated galaxies to examine the flow of dense, neutral gas in the circumgalactic medium. From the VLT/MUSE, HST broad-band imaging, and VLT/UVES and Keck/HIRES high-resolution UV quasar spectroscopy observations, we compare the impact parameters, star-formation rates, and stellar masses of the associated galaxies with the absorber properties. We find marginal evidence for a bimodal distribution in azimuthal angles for strong H I absorbers, similar to previous studies of the Mg II and O VI absorption lines. There is no clear metallicity dependence on azimuthal angle, and we suggest a larger sample of absorbers is required to fully test the relationship predicted by cosmological hydrodynamical simulations. A case-by-case study of the absorbers reveals that ten per cent of absorbers are consistent with gas accretion, up to 30 per cent trace outflows, and the remainder trace gas in the galaxy disc, the intragroup medium, and low-mass galaxies below the MUSE detection limit. Our results highlight that the baryon cycle directly affects the dense neutral gas required for star-formation and plays a critical role in galaxy evolution.
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