Microbial and Physico-Chemical Quality Assessment of Rivers of Kathmandu Valley

Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, biological characteristics of water. It is a measure of condition of water relative to requirement of one or more biotic species and or to any human need or purpose. The main objective of the study is to detect the physio-chemical and microbiological parameters of water sample from the Bagmati river and its tributaries of Kathmandu valley along with antibiotic susceptibility. In physico-chemical parameters, turbidity, temperature, pH, Electrical conductivity, Dissolved Oxygen, Biological Oxygen Demand, Ammonia, Alkalinity, Hardness, Chloride, Phosphate, Iron, Nitrate, Total Dissolved solids, and color were analyzed. Iron and Turbidity was found to be above the World health organization and Nepal Standard guideline in all the samples (100%), while Ammonia was found to be above the WHO guideline in 10(90%) samples. Among 11 samples, 10(90%) showed a low Dissolved oxygen level. Most Probable Number method was followed for counting total load of coliform and fecal coliform. Escherichia coli was isolated from the sample and subjected to Antibiotic susceptibility. Coliform was detected in all the samples and E. coli was identified as highly resistant towards Gentamicin (81.8%) and sensitive towards Chloramphenicol (81.8%). High value of ammonia, turbidity and low value of Dissolved Oxygen in the lower belts of river was due to large inputs of wastewater and organic loads caused by anthropogenic activities. High value of Coliform in all the samples indicates bacterial contamination in river water. The comparative study for the water quality variables in the urban areas showed that the main rivers and its tributaries were equally polluted

Determinants of agriculture biodiversity in Western Terai landscape complex of Nepal

The study explored agriculture biodiversity around protected areas and identified factors affecting diversity of agriculture biodiversity in farming households. The study analyzed the data collected from household survey of about 907 farmers from Western-Terai Landscape Complex of Nepal. Intra-species and inter-species richness and evenness in agriculture landscape were estimated and compared across a spectrum of land-uses. The study identified different social, economic, technological and ecological factors affecting the richness of intra-species and inter-species diversity of agriculture biodiversity using generalized linear regression models. Technology index, information index, food security, animal holding, ethnicity, irrigation facility and land-use were found as major variables affecting agriculture. The results also indicated that buffer zones had higher diversity than other land-uses, indicating positive effects of protected-land on surrounding agriculture biodiversity. Results supported need of coordinated efforts to mainstream agriculture biodiversity conservation with landscape conservation plans and socio-economic developments of the region

Determinants of agriculture biodiversity in Western Terai landscape complex of Nepal

The study explored agriculture biodiversity around protected areas and identified factors affecting diversity of agriculture biodiversity in farming households. The study analyzed the data collected from household survey of about 907 farmers from Western-Terai Landscape Complex of Nepal. Intra-species and inter-species richness and evenness in agriculture landscape were estimated and compared across a spectrum of land-uses. The study identified different social, economic, technological and ecological factors affecting the richness of intra-species and inter-species diversity of agriculture biodiversity using generalized linear regression models. Technology index, information index, food security, animal holding, ethnicity, irrigation facility and land-use were found as major variables affecting agriculture. The results also indicated that buffer zones had higher diversity than other land-uses, indicating positive effects of protected-land on surrounding agriculture biodiversity. Results supported need of coordinated efforts to mainstream agriculture biodiversity conservation with landscape conservation plans and socio-economic developments of the region

The perfect storm: Disruptions to institutional delivery care arising from the COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has led to system-wide disruption of health services globally. We assessed the effect of the pandemic on the disruption of institutional delivery care in Nepal. Methods We conducted a prospective cohort study among 52356 women in nine hospitals to assess the disruption of institutional delivery care during the pandemic (comparing March to August in 2019 with the same months in 2020). We also conducted a nested follow up cohort study with 2022 women during the pandemic to assess their provision and experience of respectful care. We used linear regression models to assess the association between provision and experience of care with volume of hospital births and women’s residence in a COVID-19 hotspot area. Results The mean institutional births during the pandemic across the nine hospitals was 24563, an average decrease of 11.6% (P<0.0001) in comparison to the same time-period in 2019. The institutional birth in high-medium volume hospitals declined on average by 20.8% (P<0.0001) during the pandemic, whereas in low-volume hospital institutional birth increased on average by 7.9% (P=0.001). Maternity services halted for a mean of 4.3 days during the pandemic and there was a redeployment staff to COVID-19 dedicated care. Respectful provision of care was better in hospitals with low-volume birth (β=0.446, P<0.0001) in comparison to high-medium-volume hospitals. There was a positive association between women’s residence in a COVID-19 hotspot area and respectful experience of care (β=0.076, P=0.001). Conclusions The COVID-19 pandemic has had differential effects on maternity services with changes varying by the volume of births per hospital with smaller volume facilities doing better. More research is needed to investigate the effects of the pandemic on where women give birth and their provision and experience of respectful maternity care to inform a “building-back-better” approach in post-pandemic period

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

Short term effects of manure and irrigation application on soil nutrients content, water use efficiency and maize productivity in Chitwan, Nepal

A field experiment was conducted at Chitwan, Nepal to evaluate the effects of manure and irrigation application on soil nutrients content, water use efficiency and maize productivity. The experiment was laid out in a factorial complete randomized block design with three replications. The treatments were consisted of two manure levels: no manure and manure with fertilizer based on 120 kg ha-1 nitrogen recommended. Similarly, another factor was irrigation water application with five levels which were control (no irrigation) and irrigation applications of 300, 600, 900 and 1200 mm during growing period. The manure application significantly affected the total nitrogen (0.13%) and available phosphorus (37.5 kg ha-1) content in the soil. Interestingly, different irrigation treatments enhanced soil nutrient content differently except soil nitrogen. Similarly, the highest grain yield was observed on 1200 mm irrigation which corresponded to 169% increment over control irrigation treatment but not significant with 600 and 900mm irrigation. The 1200 mm irrigation showed the lowest irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) (5.96 kg ha-1 mm-1), while 300 mm irrigation showed maximum (18.37 kg ha-1 mm-1) followed by 600 mm irrigation (7.04 kg ha-1 mm-1) based on grain yield. In conclusion, it seems that 600 mm irrigation treatments are quite suitable for the maize production in spring season with benefits of increasing IWUE and saving water around 50% of water which will help in growing more areas and in managing the limited water resources in Chitwan, Nepal

Proceedings of International Conference on Applied Mathematics & Computational Sciences

This proceedings contain articles of the various research ideas of the academic community and practitioners presented at the International Conference on Applied Mathematics &amp; Computational Sciences (ICAMCS 2019). ICAMCS2019 aimed to provide a platform to discuss ideas, issues, challenges, findings, opportunities, and applications of Applied Mathematics and Computational Sciences in various fields. It is a great privilege for us to present the proceedings of ICAMCS2019 to the authors and the delegates of the event. We hope that you will find it useful, valuable, aspiring, and inspiring. Conference Title: International Conference on Applied Mathematics &amp; Computational SciencesConference Acronym: ICAMCS-2019Conference Date: 17-19 October, 2019Conference Location: DIT University, DehradunConference Organizers: DIT University, Dehradun, Indi

Village-integrated eye workers for prevention of corneal ulcers in Nepal (VIEW study): a cluster-randomised controlled trial

BackgroundCorneal ulcers are a common cause of blindness in low-income and middle-income countries, usually resulting from traumatic corneal abrasions during agricultural work. Antimicrobial prophylaxis of corneal abrasions can help prevent corneal ulcers, but delays in the initiation of therapy are frequent. We aimed to assess whether a community-based programme for corneal ulcer prevention would reduce the incidence of corneal ulceration.MethodsA cluster-randomised trial was performed in village development committees (VDCs) in Nepal. VDCs in the catchment area of Bharatpur Eye Hospital, Nepal with less than 15 000 people were eligible for inclusion. We randomly assigned (1:1) VDCs to either an intervention group or a control group. In the intervention VDCs, existing female community health volunteers (FCHVs) were trained to diagnose corneal abrasions and provide a 3-day course of ophthalmic antimicrobials to their patients. In the control VDCs, FCHVs did not provide this intervention. Participants were not masked given the nature of the intervention. Both groups were followed up for 3 years for photographic evidence of corneal ulceration. The primary outcome was the incidence of corneal ulceration, determined by masked assessment of corneal photographs. The analysis was by intention to treat. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01969786.FindingsWe assessed 112 VDCs, of which 24 were enrolled. The study was performed between Feb 4, 2014, and Oct 20, 2017. 12 VDCs were randomly assigned to the intervention group and 12 to the control group. 252 539 individuals were included in the study (130 579 in the intervention group and 121 960 in the control group). FCHVs diagnosed and provided antimicrobials for 4777 corneal abrasions. The census identified 289 corneal ulcers among 246 893 person-years in the intervention group (incidence 1·21 cases [95% CI 0·85-1·74] per 1000 person-years) and 262 corneal ulcers among 239 170 person-years in the control group (incidence 1·18 cases [0·82-1·70] per 1000 person-years; incidence rate ratio 1·03 [95% CI 0·63-1·67]; p=0·93). Medication allergy was self-reported in 0·2% of participants.InterpretationWe did not detect a reduction in the incidence of corneal ulceration during the first 3 years of a community-based corneal ulcer prevention programme. Further study might be warranted in more rural areas where basic eye care facilities are not available.FundingNational Eye Institute

Effect of Antiplatelet Therapy on Survival and Organ Support–Free Days in Critically Ill Patients With COVID-19

International audienc