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Provincial Disparities in Child Undernutrition in Nepal.
No full textThis presentation was from 6th Annual scientific Symposium in Nepal
Fundamentalist Metamorphosis: Hezbollah's Evolution from Ideological Ideals to Pragmatic Practices
No full textAbstract: What is the effect of political change on an insurgency's ideology? What causes an insurgency to perceive who the enemy is? What happens to the ideology when a more imminent, more terrifying threat arises? In addition, is it possible for an insurgency to change the perception of who the enemy is or include yet another one? This research advances the argument that an insurgency would shift the perception of who the enemy is depending on the perceived threat. The ideology will consequently change as well to legitimize the use of violence in order to preserve the group's survival. The specific case study is the change in Hezbollah's ideology because of its involvement in the Syrian civil war. Israel was the main enemy from the year Hezbollah was formally created in 1985 and continued to be so after the Israeli withdrawal from Southern Lebanon in 2000. The main aim of Hezbollah now, however, is to help the Syrian regime stay in power because the alternative constitutes an existential threat. Syria has been one of the most important players - at times the sole player - in Lebanon. Consequently, whoever controls Syria would have massive influence in Lebanon so if the Assad regime is toppled the alternative will not be favorable to Hezbollah's interest. Hezbollah's leadership believed their interest dictates military intervention, and consequently ideology took a legitimizing role through purporting several reasons for intervention in Syria. Throughout my research I employed a within case study through looking at four time periods of Hezbollah's history, and obtained data through interviews, a focus group, and secondary sources and documentation. The results of the research address a gap in the literature through explaining a different dynamic between a patron-state and an insurgency. The norm has been a varied support by patron-states to insurgencies, but in this instance, the roles are reversed. Moreover, the result explains the changing role of insurgency's ideology. While most scholars believe ideology has a fixed role, this research proves ideologies evolve and change. These new phenomena are worthy of academic analysis and may help construct policy prescriptions that could be applied in the Middle East and other parts of the world. Furthermore, there has been an exponential rise in the number of insurgences in several countries that are based on sectarian identities. The finding of the research presents a different understanding as to the significance of ideology for insurgencies.Thesis (Ph.D.)--Tufts University, 2016.Submitted to the Dept. of Diplomacy, History, and Politics.Advisor: Richard Shultz.Committee: Robert Pfaltzgraff, and Ibrahim Fraihat.Keywords: Middle Eastern studies, International relations, and Islamic studies
School of Dental Medicine Bulletin, Spring 2018
No full textSchool of Dental Medicine Bulletin, Spring 201
Objective Performance Assessment Using Artificial Neural Networks
No full textAbstract: Bridge behavior is used as an objective, data-driven indicator of the performance of bridges. A framework with which bridge behavior can be identified and learned is presented, and a method of long-term damage identification using the expected bridge behavior is introduced. At the Powder Mill Bridge (PMB) in Barre, Massachusetts, strains at each strain gage location are recorded during operational traffic events. Bridge behavior is defined as each sensor location's range of expected peak strain during a traffic event based on all other measured strains at the time at which it experiences its peak strain. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are trained with operational data in a bootstrapping scheme to generate a probabilistic model of bridge behavior. When tested against new data, the ANN-learned model of bridge behavior is validated for a variety of traffic events with unknown loading conditions. Structural damage is one way that bridge behavior, an indicator of performance, of a bridge can change. Damage scenarios are simulated in a finite element model (FEM) which is calibrated to PMB truck load test data. The effects of damage are extracted from FEM truck runs and applied to operational data to assess the capability of the proposed damage identification method through a series of trials. It is effective at detecting damage, with no Type I and no Type II errors when using a Wilcoxon rank-sum test of an appropriate significance level. Damage is effectively localized for two out of three damage scenarios.Thesis (M.S.)--Tufts University, 2018.Submitted to the Dept. of Civil Engineering.Advisors: Masoud Sanayei, and Brian Brenner.Committee: Masoud Sanayei, Brian Brenner, and Erin Bell.Keyword: Civil engineering
Pretreatment loss to follow-up of tuberculosis patients in Chennai, India: a cohort study with implications for health systems strengthening.
No full textBackground: Pretreatment loss to follow-up (PTLFU) is a barrier to tuberculosis (TB) control in India's Revised National TB Control Programme (RNTCP). PTLFU studies have not been conducted in India's mega-cities, where patient mobility may complicate linkage to care.Keywords: Tuberculosis, India, Cascade of care, Quality of care, Linkage to care, Initial default, Pretreatment loss to follow-up, Implementation science, Health systems research, Operations research.Springer Open
Readings from The Blue Clerk, ars poetica.
No full text"Readings from The Blue Clerk, ars poetica." Dionne Brand reads from her latest book, The Blue Clerk (McClelland and Stewart and Duke UP, 2018)
Database Searches.
No full textThis presentation was given on how to search database for articles at First National workshop in Nepal
Research Design - Types of Interventions and Statistical consideration.
No full textThis presentation was given at First National Workshop in Nepal
Predicting the in vivo pulmonary toxicity induced by acute exposure to poorly soluble nanomaterials by using advanced in vitro methods.
No full textBackground: Animal models remain at that time a reference tool to predict potential pulmonary adverse effects of nanomaterials in humans. However, in a context of reduction of the number of animals used in experimentation, there is a need for reliable alternatives. In vitro models using lung cells represent relevant alternatives to assess potential nanomaterial acute toxicity by inhalation, particularly since advanced in vitro methods and models have been developed. Nevertheless, the ability of in vitro experiments to replace animal experimentation for predicting potential acute pulmonary toxicity in human still needs to be carefully assessed.Keywords: Poorly soluble nanomaterials, Acute exposure, Pulmonary toxicity, Alternative toxicity testing, Air-liquid interface, In vivo - in vitro comparison.Springer Open