Alcohol consumption is a risk factor for various diseases, especially non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and injuries. The reduction of the harmful use of alcohol is mentioned in Target 3.5 of the Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDG). This study aimed to determine factors associated with current alcohol drinking among Malaysians aged 15 years and above. Data from the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2019, a cross-sectional nationwide survey using a two-stage stratified random sampling design, was used. Current alcohol drinking was defined as having consumed any alcoholic beverage in the past 12 months. Descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regression analysis were employed. The prevalence of current drinkers was 11.5%; 95% CI: 9.8, 13.5. The majority (65%) consumed alcoholic beverages in Category 2, which is mainly beer. Current drinkers consumed alcohol mostly once a month (59.0%), one or two drinks (71.1%), on a typical day. Most respondents had six or more drinks less than once a month (27.6%). Sex, age, ethnicity, education, employment, and smoking were found to be significantly associated with current alcohol drinking. Marital status, locality of residence, and household income were not significantly associated. Alcohol drinking is a problem among certain vulnerable groups and should be tackled appropriately.

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Findings from a Nationwide Study on Alcohol Consumption Patterns in an Upper Middle-Income Country

High lifetime prevalence of major mental disorders and suicidality are common among Opioid Agonist Treatment (OAT) service users and impact on the outcomes of OAT programs. Despite the known detrimental effects across personal, social and economic aspects of life these associations and implications remain under-studied in resource poor settings. The aim of this study was to identify common mental disorders among OAT service users in Kathmandu valley and to explore factors associated with lifetime suicidality and major depressive disorder. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 231 participants from five OAT centers in the Kathmandu valley. Participants were administered a semi-structured questionnaire, the Nepalese version of the Kessler 6 Psychological Distress Scale (K6), and the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (M.I.N.I.) 7.0.2. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were employed to identify associations between lifetime suicidality and lifetime major depressive disorder with socio-demographic variables, other mental disorders, and substance use related variables. Among OAT service users, 16.5% reported a history of mental disorder and one in four had a Kessler-6 psychological distress score ≥13 within the last four weeks. Using M.I.N.I lifetime suicidality was observed in 26.0% and lifetime major depressive disorder in 24.2%. Lifetime suicidality were significantly higher among participants with lifetime psychotic disorder (AOR = 5.94; 95% CI:1.66, 21.34, p = 0.006), lifetime antisocial personality disorder (AOR = 2.60; 95% CI:1.0, 6.71, p = 0.049) and having a Kessler-6 score ≥13 (AOR = 2.45; 95% CI:1.13, 5.29, p = 0.023). Lifetime major depressive disorder was independently associated with a Kessler-6 score ≥13 (AOR = 5.38; 95% CI:2.49, 11.62, p < 0.001). This study revealed a high prevalence of mental disorders and lifetime suicidality among OAT service users. Reviewing initial screening and assessment protocols for OAT, and routine use of brief screening tools to ensure better identification of those at risk is warranted, including suicidality risk assessment. 

Mental disorders and suicidality among Opioid Agonist Treatment service users in Nepal: A cross sectional study

Antiferromagnetic Weyl semimetals with spin chirality offer excellent platforms to address the Berry phase physics, which manifests prominently in several of their electro-optical and electro-magnetic responses including as a large anomalous Hall effect (AHE) and spin Hall conductivity. Here, we report measurements of magneto-transport in c-axis textured Mn3Sn thin films grown on the [111] plane of single crystal MgO. At room temperature, these films display a weak uncompensated magnetic moment of \approx 0.12 \micro_{B}/f.u. in the basal plane and a longitudinal resistivity (\rho_{xx}) close to \approx 3.8 \micro\Omega.m. A residual resistivity ration (\rho_{xx} (300 K)/\rho_{xx} (2 K)) of \approx 3.92 further indicates the high quality of the films. While at 300 K a weak AHE together with field-linear Hall resistivity (\rho_{xy}) is observed in magnetic fields (H) applied perpendicular to the Kagome planes, the temperature (T) dependence of \rho_{xy} shows prominent signatures of three magnetic phases in the temperature regime of 2 to 300 K. The \rho_{xy} also derives a non-trivial topological contribution (\r{ho}THE \approx 1n\Omega.m) in the spin glass phase which appears at T \geq 100 K. Our measurements of anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) and planar Hall effect (PHE) over a wide H-T phase space reveal the hitherto unseen effects in the three magnetic phases of Mn3Sn. While the AMR and PHE are negative in the inverse triangular spin phase (250 K \geq T \geq TN), the helical phase (100 \geq T \geq 250 K) is devoid of anisotropic in-plane resistivity, and the spin glass phase shows a sign reversal of AMR with the increasing magnetic field. The origin of this sign change in AMR/PHE is attributed to the emergence of topologically protected spin textures like skyrmions where the fictitious effective magnetic field is estimated to be \approx 4.4 tesla.

Planar Hall effect and Anisotropic Magnetoresistance in Thin Films of Chiral Antiferromagnet Mn3Sn

Spin-to-charge conversion (S2CC) processes in thin-film heterostructures have attracted much attention in recent years. Here, we describe the S2CC in a 3D topological insulator Bi2Te3 interfaced with an epitaxial film of Fe75Co25. The quantification of spin-to-charge conversion is made with two complementary techniques: ferromagnetic resonance based inverse spin Hall effect (ISHE) at GHz frequencies and femtosecond light-pulse induced emission of terahertz (THz) radiation. The role of spin rectification due to extrinsic effects like anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) and planar Hall effects (PHE) is pronounced at the GHz timescale, whereas the THz measurements do not show any detectible signal, which could be attributed to AMR or PHE. This result may be due to (i) homodyne rectification at GHz, which is absent in THz measurements and (ii) laser-induced thermal spin current generation and magnetic dipole radiation in THz measurements, which is completely absent in GHz range. The converted charge current has been analyzed using the spin diffusion model for the ISHE. We note that regardless of the differences in timescales, the spin diffusion length in the two cases is comparable. Our results aid in understanding the role of spin pumping timescales in the generation of ISHE signals.

Comparing spin injection in Fe75Co25/Bi2Te3 at GHz and optical excitations

AIMS
To scope the breadth of existing cultural and community assets and how alcohol drinkers and community health workers perceived them in relation to reducing alcohol-related harm.


METHODS
The study was conducted in Chitwan, south-central Nepal, which has considerable alcohol problems. Participatory asset mapping was conducted using field notes, photography, and through engaging with communities to explore how community assets affect alcohol consumption. Semi-structured photovoice interviews were conducted with harmful/hazardous drinkers (AUDIT score 8 to 19) and community health workers. Purposive and snowball sampling were used to recruit participants. During interviews, participants used their photographs to reflect on how community assets influenced alcohol use. Thematic framework analysis was used to analyse the data.


RESULTS
We recruited 12 harmful/hazardous drinkers (3 females) and 6 health workers (2 females). The mean AUDIT score of the former was 12.17 (SD ±2.86). Thematic analysis of the photovoice interviews produced three themes: 'influences and impact of families and communities'; 'culture and spirituality'; and 'nature and the environment'. The community mapping produced five assets that promoted alcohol consumption: (1) availability; (2) advertising; (3) negative attitudes towards users; (4) festivals/gatherings; and (5) illiteracy/poverty. Six assets that discouraged consumption were: (1) legislation restricting use; (2) community organisations; (3) cultural/spiritual sites; (4) healthcare facilities; (5) family and communities; and (6) women's community groups. Those from certain ethnic groups consumed more alcohol, experienced more family discord, or felt stigmatised due to their drinking. Assets 'festivals/gatherings' and 'negative attitudes toward users' and the theme 'family and communities' concerned with relationships and community activities were perceived to both promote and reduce alcohol use.


CONCLUSIONS
This study provides new insight into a variety of cultural and community assets that promote and reduce alcohol use. The study identifies new possibilities to build on visual participatory and arts-based methods that have potential to be effectively implemented at scale.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/17579139231180744

Participatory asset mapping and photovoice interviews to scope cultural and community resources to reduce alcohol harm in Chitwan, Nepal.

Background. According to the WHO STEPS survey 2013 in Nepal, 17% of the surveyed population had consumed alcohol within the last 30 days. Alcohol consumption in Nepal is socially and culturally accepted in many ethnic groups. The purpose of this study was to determine various factors associated with problematic alcohol consumption among adults in Putalibazar Municipality of Syangja district. Methods. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted between September 2020 and January 2021 among 300 adults between ages of 18–64 years in Putalibazar Municipality of Syangja district of Nepal. Using a pretested semistructure questionnaire, a face-to-face interview was performed for collecting the data. An Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) was used as a guiding tool to determine the audit-risk level category among adults according to their drinking status. Respondents with scores 0–7 in AUDIT scores were considered as nonproblematic drinkers, while respondents scoring 8–40 in the AUDIT scores were considered as problematic drinkers. Bivariate and multivariable analysis was performed to find out the association between dependent and independent variables. Variables which were found statistically significant at 95% CI (
 
 p
 
  ≤ 0.05) during bivariate analysis were further analyzed using the logistic regression model in multivariable analysis to identify determinants associated with problematic alcohol consumption among adults. Results. The mean age of participants was 36.72 years with a ±10.81 standard deviation. A total of 56.3% of adults were problematic drinkers. The multivariable regression analysis model identified adults within the age group of 25–34 years and 35–44 years along with males significantly associated with problematic alcohol consumption. Adults within the age group of 25–34 years and 35–44 years were 7.4 times (AOR = 7.4, CI: 1.97–27.60) and 5.7 times (AOR = 5.7, CI: 1.58–20.56) more likely to be problematic drinkers than their counterparts who were from the age group of 55–64 years. Males were 6.9 times more likely to be (AOR = 6.9, CI: 3.35–14.26) problematic drinkers than females. Conclusion. Problematic alcohol consumption among males was common and significantly associated within the age group of 25–34 years and 35–44 years. This study concerns the need for policy makers to launch awareness programs and community-based interventional programs considering identified factors associated with excessive drinking.

Factors Associated with Problematic Alcohol Consumption among Adults in Putalibazar Municipality of Syangja District, Nepal

Disorder driven variations in magnetoresistance and planar Hall effect in Bi2Te3 thin films

Background: High maternal morbidity and mortality has been a major public health problem in Nepal which may be due to the low utilization of maternal health services in Nepal. Utilization of maternal services is found very low in slum areas as compared to upscale areas. This study aims to find out the prevalence of utilization of maternal health services and its associated factors in slum areas of Butwal sub-Metropolitan city. 
Methods: A community based cross sectionalstudy was conducted among 202 women who had given birth to baby within 1 year. Semi-structured questionnaire and face to face interview was done to collect the data. Descriptive as well as inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. 
Results:The results showed thatabout 81.18% women had taken complete ANC and 34.65% had taken complete PNC services as per protocol of WHO. Multivariate logistic regression showed that respondent education, monthly income, nearest to health care facilities, knowledge level, and women’s autonomy was found to be associated significantly with complete utilization of ANC services. Similarly, Respondent occupation and nearest to health care facilities were found to be associated significantly with complete utilization of PNC. 
 Conclusion: Though ANC utilization was found to be satisfactory but PNC utilization was found very low so more focused should be given to increase the utilization of PNC services in slum area. 
 

Rajeev Nepal

Papers

Factors Associated with Problematic Alcohol Consumption among Adults in Putalibazar Municipality of Syangja District, Nepal

Disorder driven variations in magnetoresistance and planar Hall effect in Bi2Te3 thin films

Planar Hall effect and Anisotropic Magnetoresistance in Thin Films of Chiral Antiferromagnet Mn3Sn

Comparing spin injection in Fe75Co25/Bi2Te3 at GHz and optical excitations

Utilization of Maternal Health Services in Slum Area of Butwal Sub-Metropolitian City