Unruptured left ventricular pseudoaneurysm following inferior wall myocardial infarction

Left ventricular (LV) pseudoaneurysm is a rare but potentially lethal complication of acute myocardial infarction (MI). We report a very rare case of a 60 year-old woman with a ruptured myocardial wall, and a non-ruptured LV pseudoaneurysm. The patient presented with acutely worsening shortness of breath and exertional dyspnea of one month’s duration, and palpitation. She had an inferior wall MI nine months previously. Coronary angiography showed severe stenosis at right coronary artery. Echocardiography, LV angiography, and computed tomography angiography revealed a large pseudoaneurysm postero-inferior to the LV. Surgical resection of the pseudoaneurysm was performed and repair of the ruptured LV wall done, with good results. (Cardiol J 2012; 19, 5: 539-542

Existing agroforestry practices and their contribution to the socio-economic condition of the people of west Nawalparasi, Nepal: A case study

The modern agroforestry systems have the potential to improve livelihood through the production of food, fodder, and firewood as well as mitigation of the impact of climate change. Therefore, it's high time to study local people's perception towards agroforestry adoption and suggest potential agroforestry practices and their benefits for the upliftment of their livelihood. This research was conducted in Susta rural municipality, Pratappur rural municipality, and Bardaghat municipality of Nawalaparasi (West) district to explore the existing agroforestry practices followed by the people, its contribution to the economy of households, to understand the people's perception/attitude towards its adoption and finally to propose the potential agroforestry practices. Primary data were collected using Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) tools and secondary information through journals and reports. The analysis begins with distinguishing agroforestry systems and practices, preference of trees, benefits through these practices, people's perception, and problems regarding these practices. A total of 39 tree species and 30 food crop species were planted by 282 household people surveyed. Mangifera indica (relative prevalence 25.92%) is the most predominant fruit species whereas Dalbergia sissoo (relative prevalence 21.28%) is the most predominant timber species. It was found that the boundary planting pattern of the agroforestry system is most (40%) used by farmers of Parasi. The result demonstrated that agroforestry aids in the improvement of livelihood. Nevertheless, respondents have experienced increment incidences of pests and diseases to the annual crops and trees. Hence, the provision of training to improve the skills and knowledge of households seem to be the major need to flourish the agroforestry practices

Nutritional, ecological and livelihood significance of Moringa oleifera: A review

The potential ecological and livelihood benefits of Moringa plants are often overlooked. There is a need to raise awareness and encourage farmers and decision makers to adopt Moringa on marginal and degraded lands with changing climate risks. Previous studies have focused mainly on the pharmacological uses and oil content from a commercial point of view and failed to explore its ecological benefits and economic potential to address the growing problems of global food insecurity, malnutrition, and climate risks. Planting Moringa on unused and marginal land can improve soil fertility, food production, and resilience to climate change, offering a significant opportunity for diversification of livelihoods and economic development in the changing climate. Henceforth, this study compiles scientific evidence through a systematic literature search to highlight the ecological benefits and livelihood opportunities associated with the use of Moringa. Initially, we retrieved 206 pieces of global literature and, through the application of inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted information from 22 articles. Various studies have consistently shown that Moringa leaves are highly nutritious and that their consumption can combat food and nutrition insecurity in low-income countries. Its seeds offer the potential for the commercial production of oils with heart-healthy properties. The oil is stable and suitable for cooking and its quality varies depending on location and environmental factors. When included in the diet, Moringa leaves improve the quality and quantity of goat milk and support the growth of fish in aquaculture. The extract of Moringa provides versatile uses in water purification, offering sustainable solutions to water pollution. We thus conclude that Moringa's diverse applications can contribute to the livelihood enhancement and economic well-being of poor and marginalized farmers in low-income countries. Planting Moringa trees in abandoned croplands and other degraded areas can have positive ecological and socioeconomic outcomes for rural communities. However, to support smallholders in low-income countries, favorable policies, field-based research evidences, and products development are crucial

Assessing the prospects of transboundary multihazard dynamics:The case of Bhotekoshi—Sunkoshi watershed in Sino—Nepal border region

The impacts of multihazards have become more pronounced over the past few decades globally. Multiple hazards and their cascading impacts claim enormous losses of lives, livelihoods, and built environment. This paradigm prompts integrated and multidisciplinary perspectives to identify, characterize, and assess the occurrence of multihazards and subsequently design counter-measures considering impending multihazard scenarios at the local level. To this end, we considered one of the most egregious transboundary watersheds, which is regarded as a multihazard hotspot of Nepal, to analyze the underlying causes and cascade scenarios of multihazards, and their associated impacts. In this paper, geophysical, hydrometeorological, and socioeconomic perspectives are formulated to characterize the watershed from the dimension of susceptibility to multihaz-ard occurrence. To characterize the complex dynamics of transboundary multihazard occurrence, insights have been presented from both the Nepali and the Chinese sides. Individual case studies and the interrelation matrix between various natural hazards are also presented so as to depict mul-tihazard consequences in the transboundary region. The sum of the observations highlights that the watershed is highly vulnerable to a single as well as multiple natural hazards that often switch to disasters

Multi-Hazard Risk Assessment of Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

Natural hazards are complex phenomena that can occur independently, simultaneously, or in a series as cascading events. For any particular region, numerous single hazard maps may not necessarily provide all information regarding impending hazards to the stakeholders for preparedness and planning. A multi-hazard map furnishes composite illustration of the natural hazards of varying magnitude, frequency, and spatial distribution. Thus, multi-hazard risk assessment is performed to depict the holistic natural hazards scenario of any particular region. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, multi-hazard risk assessments are rarely conducted in Nepal although multiple natural hazards strike the country almost every year. In this study, floods, landslides, earthquakes, and urban fire hazards are used to assess multi-hazard risk in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), which is then integrated with the Geographical Information System (GIS). First, flood, landslide, earthquake, and urban fire hazard assessments are performed individually and then superimposed to obtain multi-hazard risk. Multi-hazard risk assessment of Kathmandu Valley is performed by pair-wise comparison of the four natural hazards. The sum of observations concludes that densely populated areas, old settlements, and the central valley have high to very high level of multi-hazard risk

Unzipping flood vulnerability and functionality loss:tale of struggle for existence of riparian buildings

Floods pose significant risk to riparian buildings as evidenced during many historical events. Although structural resilience to tsunami flooding is well studied in the literature, high-velocity and debris-laden floods in steep terrains are not considered adequately so far. Historical floods in steep terrains necessitate the need for flood vulnerability analysis of buildings. To this end, we report vulnerability of riparian-reinforced concrete buildings using forensic damage interpretations and empirical/analytical vulnerability analyses. Furthermore, we propose the concept and implications of functionality loss due to flooding in residential reinforced concrete (RC) buildings using empirical data. Fragility functions using inundation depth and momentum flux are presented for RC buildings considering a recent flooding event in Nepal. The results show that flow velocity and sediment load, rather than hydrostatic load, govern the damages in riparian RC buildings. However, at larger inundation depth, hydrostatic force alone may collapse some of the RC buildings

Insect pathogens as biological control agents: back to the future

The development and use of entomopathogens as classical, conservation and augmentative biological control agents have included a number of successes and some setbacks in the past 15 years. In this forum paper we present current information on development, use and future directions of insect-specific viruses, bacteria, fungi and nematodes as components of integrated pest management strategies for control of arthropod pests of crops, forests, urban habitats, and insects of medical and veterinary importance. Insect pathogenic viruses are a fruitful source of MCAs, particularly for the control of lepidopteran pests. Most research is focused on the baculoviruses, important pathogens of some globally important pests for which control has become difficult due to either pesticide resistance or pressure to reduce pesticide residues. Baculoviruses are accepted as safe, readily mass produced, highly pathogenic and easily formulated and applied control agents. New baculovirus products are appearing in many countries and gaining an increased market share. However, the absence of a practical in vitro mass production system, generally higher production costs, limited post application persistence, slow rate of kill and high host specificity currently contribute to restricted use in pest control. Overcoming these limitations are key research areas for which progress could open up use of insect viruses to much larger markets. A small number of entomopathogenic bacteria have been commercially developed for control of insect pests. These include several Bacillus thuringiensis sub-species, Lysinibacillus (Bacillus) sphaericus, Paenibacillus spp. and Serratia entomophila. B. thuringiensis sub-species kurstaki is the most widely used for control of pest insects of crops and forests, and B. thuringiensis sub-species israelensis and L. sphaericus are the primary pathogens used for medically important pests including dipteran vectors,. These pathogens combine the advantages of chemical pesticides and microbial control agents (MCAs): they are fast acting, easy to produce at a relatively low cost, easy to formulate, have a long shelf life and allow delivery using conventional application equipment and systemics (i.e. in transgenic plants). Unlike broad spectrum chemical pesticides, B. thuringiensis toxins are selective and negative environmental impact is very limited. Of the several commercially produced MCAs, B. thuringiensis (Bt) has more than 50% of market share. Extensive research, particularly on the molecular mode of action of Bt toxins, has been conducted over the past two decades. The Bt genes used in insect-resistant transgenic crops belong to the Cry and vegetative insecticidal protein families of toxins. Bt has been highly efficacious in pest management of corn and cotton, drastically reducing the amount of broad spectrum chemical insecticides used while being safe for consumers and non-target organisms. Despite successes, the adoption of Bt crops has not been without controversy. Although there is a lack of scientific evidence regarding their detrimental effects, this controversy has created the widespread perception in some quarters that Bt crops are dangerous for the environment. In addition to discovery of more efficacious isolates and toxins, an increase in the use of Bt products and transgenes will rely on innovations in formulation, better delivery systems and ultimately, wider public acceptance of transgenic plants expressing insect-specific Bt toxins. Fungi are ubiquitous natural entomopathogens that often cause epizootics in host insects and possess many desirable traits that favor their development as MCAs. Presently, commercialized microbial pesticides based on entomopathogenic fungi largely occupy niche markets. A variety of molecular tools and technologies have recently allowed reclassification of numerous species based on phylogeny, as well as matching anamorphs (asexual forms) and teleomorphs (sexual forms) of several entomopathogenic taxa in the Phylum Ascomycota. Although these fungi have been traditionally regarded exclusively as pathogens of arthropods, recent studies have demonstrated that they occupy a great diversity of ecological niches. Entomopathogenic fungi are now known to be plant endophytes, plant disease antagonists, rhizosphere colonizers, and plant growth promoters. These newly understood attributes provide possibilities to use fungi in multiple roles. In addition to arthropod pest control, some fungal species could simultaneously suppress plant pathogens and plant parasitic nematodes as well as promote plant growth. A greater understanding of fungal ecology is needed to define their roles in nature and evaluate their limitations in biological control. More efficient mass production, formulation and delivery systems must be devised to supply an ever increasing market. More testing under field conditions is required to identify effects of biotic and abiotic factors on efficacy and persistence. Lastly, greater attention must be paid to their use within integrated pest management programs; in particular, strategies that incorporate fungi in combination with arthropod predators and parasitoids need to be defined to ensure compatibility and maximize efficacy. Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) in the genera Steinernema and Heterorhabditis are potent MCAs. Substantial progress in research and application of EPNs has been made in the past decade. The number of target pests shown to be susceptible to EPNs has continued to increase. Advancements in this regard primarily have been made in soil habitats where EPNs are shielded from environmental extremes, but progress has also been made in use of nematodes in above-ground habitats owing to the development of improved protective formulations. Progress has also resulted from advancements in nematode production technology using both in vivo and in vitro systems; novel application methods such as distribution of infected host cadavers; and nematode strain improvement via enhancement and stabilization of beneficial traits. Innovative research has also yielded insights into the fundamentals of EPN biology including major advances in genomics, nematode-bacterial symbiont interactions, ecological relationships, and foraging behavior. Additional research is needed to leverage these basic findings toward direct improvements in microbial control

The pursuit of sustainability : architecture and component based design

Architectural sustainability is ambiguous. The contemporary understanding of sustainability is often debated on the basis of environmental and humanitarian focus. This focus often brings ambiguity when the concept of sustainability is promoted as an end product and not as a perpetual process. For ecologically harmonious and sustainable human survival, sustainable methods and processes are believed to encourage reworking the course of human development.The Component-based design approach is a promising and appropriate method for achieving sustainability. The method involves systems thinking and illustrates characteristics like flexibility, resilience, adaptability and generative system. The focus of design should be in making relationships among these various components and processes, rather than emphasis on end product. This creative project illustrates these conceptual processes using computational logic to create a project for graphics and multimedia presentation.Department of ArchitectureThesis (M. Arch.

The pursuit of sustainability : architecture and component based design

Architectural sustainability is ambiguous. The contemporary understanding of sustainability is often debated on the basis of environmental and humanitarian focus. This focus often brings ambiguity when the concept of sustainability is promoted as an end product and not as a perpetual process. For ecologically harmonious and sustainable human survival, sustainable methods and processes are believed to encourage reworking the course of human development.The Component-based design approach is a promising and appropriate method for achieving sustainability. The method involves systems thinking and illustrates characteristics like flexibility, resilience, adaptability and generative system. The focus of design should be in making relationships among these various components and processes, rather than emphasis on end product. This creative project illustrates these conceptual processes using computational logic to create a project for graphics and multimedia presentation.Thesis (M. Arch.)Department of Architectur

Impact of climate change on the ecosystem of the central Himalayas, Nepal

The threats of climate change are found in both developed and developing countries. Since the impacts of climate change are global, irreversible, and pervasive, it is gaining worldwide attention. High mountains are the first indicators of climate change. However, the idea of what causes climate change effects on multiple ecosystem services remains scattered. This article is meant for information regarding the impacts of climate change on the ecosystem of Nepal. The result shows that climate change causes tree line shifting, change in land cover, extinction of species due to loss of habitat, imbalance in carbon sequestration on the terrestrial ecosystem while eutrophication of water bodies and extinction of endemic fish species was reported from the aquatic ecosystem. Tropical area is considered to be more affected by climate change in terms of Natural disasters and Health impacts. Moreover, different types of ecological modeling can be simulated in the context of Nepal for the prediction and future analysis of the impacts of climate change in the Ecosystem. Therefore, the impact of climate change is crucial and challenging