Pattern of Acute Poisoning Attending a Tertiary Care Hospital of Western Nepal

Introduction: Poisoning with various substances is a major public health problem and a reason for significant morbidity and mortality throughout the globe. It is one of the most common presentation in an emergency department. This study was conducted to determine the sociodemographic, poisoning types, and mode of poisoning in cases attending a tertiary hospital of Western Nepal. Methods: A retrospective observational study of two years was conducted from July 2014 to June 2016. Demography details, name of poisonous substance, and reasons for poisoning were reviewed and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: A total of 65 cases of poisoning were recorded. The occurrence was more common in female (n=44, 67.7%) than in male (n=21, 32.3%) with a F:M ratio of 2.1:1.  Poisoning  was most  common in the age group of 11-20 years (32.3%). Most of the cases were students (37%) followed by farmers (26%). The most commonly abused poisoning substance were organophosphorous compounds, zinc-phosphate,  and  kerosene in adults, adolescents, and children respectively. Oral route was the most common (99%) route of administration. Suicidal attempt, as a mode of poisoning, accounted for 70.8% of total poisoning cases. Conclusion: Female and young people are at greater risk of acute poisoning. Insecticide was the most common agent and self administer poisoning was the most common mode of poisoning. The occurrence of poisoning and its morbidity and mortality can be reduced by developing and implementation of effective prevention strategies like restricting easy poison sales, establishing drug and poison information centers,  and community awareness programs

Plasmon-enhanced circular dichroism spectroscopy of chiral drug solutions

We investigate the potential of surface plasmon polaritons at noble metal interfaces for surface-enhanced chiroptical sensing of dilute chiral drug solutions with nano-litre volume. The high quality factor of surface plasmon resonances in both Otto and Kretschmann configurations enables the enhancement of circular dichroism thanks to the large near-field intensity of such plasmonic excitations. Furthermore, the subwavelength confinement of surface plasmon polaritons is key to attain chiroptical sensitivity to small amounts of drug volumes placed around $\simeq$ 100 nm by the metal surface. Our calculations focus on reparixin, a pharmaceutical molecule currently used in clinical studies for patients with community-acquired pneumonia, including COVID-19 and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Considering realistic dilute solutions of reparixin dissolved in water with concentration $\leq$ 5 mg/ml and nl volume, we find a circular-dichroism differential absorption enhancement factor of the order $\simeq$ 20 and chirality-induced polarization distortion upon surface plasmon polariton excitation. Our results are relevant for the development of innovative chiroptical sensors capable of measuring the enantiomeric imbalance of chiral drug solutions with nl volume

Multifunctional Properties of a 1D Helical Co(II) Coordination Polymer: Toward Single-Ion Magnetic Behavior and Efficient Dye Degradation

This contribution deals with the synthesis and utilization of a new pyrazole-based unsymmetrical ligand, 3-(3-carboxyphenyl)-1<i>H</i>-pyrazole-5-carboxylic acid (H₂CPCA), for generating multifunctional materials. The reaction with the Co­(II) salt in the presence of a co-ligand 2,9-dimethyl phenanthroline (dmphen) results in the formation of the helical compound {[Co₂(dmphen)₂(CPCA)₂]­DMF}<i>_n</i> (<b>1</b>). However, two isostructural monomeric complexes are formed {[M­(HCPCA)₂(H₂O)₂], M = Co­(II), (<b>2</b>) and Mn­(II) (<b>3</b>)} when reactions were carried out in the absence of dmphen. Compound <b>1</b> shows some highly encouraging single-ion magnetic (SIM) properties. Detailed magnetic studies unveil slow relaxation of magnetization of compound <b>1</b>, driven by the higher magnetic anisotropy of the cobalt ion, with the energy barrier of ∼9.2 K and relaxation time of 9.1 × 10^–5 s, suggesting a SIM behavior. Moreover, UV–vis and fluorescence studies confirm the selective dye degradation of compound <b>1</b> with methylene blue both in the presence and absence of H₂O₂, with the remarkable degradation efficiency of ∼98 and ∼82%, respectively

Small carnivores in the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal

The leopard cat Prionailurus bengalensis, large Indian civet Viverra zibetha and yellow-throated marten Martes flavigula are widely distributed through much of South and Southeast Asia, but their ecology remains poorly understood. We recorded these small carnivores during a camera trapping survey in the eastern mid-hills of the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal. This protected area is the largest in the country and represents Himalayan mountain ecosystems. Our study area comprised an elevation range of 1550 – 2950 m in upper subtropical to upper temperate bioclimatic zones. During a sample effort of 370 trap days, leopard cat was the most commonly recorded carnivore, followed by large Indian civet and yellow-throated marten. We obtained the highest altitudinal record of a large Indian civet in Nepal at an altitude of 2420 m. Capture rates for small carnivores were broadly similar across bioclimatic zones. The level of human activity was low in the temperate bioclimatic zone during the late winter season when the study was conducted

Temperature-Induced Single-Crystal-to-Single-Crystal Transformations with Consequential Changes in the Magnetic Properties of Fe(III) Complexes

The present article deals with an one-to-one structure–property correspondence of a dinuclear iron complex, [Dipic(H2O)FeOH]2·H2O (1) (Dipic = pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylic acid). Variable-temperature X-ray single-crystal structural analysis confirms a phase transition of complex 1 to complex 2 ([Dipic(H2O)FeOH]2) at 120 °C. Further, single-crystal-to-single-crystal (SCSC) transformation was monitored by temperature-dependent single crystal X-ray diffraction, powder X-ray diffraction, time-dependent Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry. SCSC transformation brings the change in space group of single crystal. Complex 1 crystallizes in the C2/c space group, whereas complex 2 crystallizes in the Pi̅ space group. SCSC transformation brings the change in packing diagram as well. Complex 1 shows two-dimensional network through H-bonding, whereas the packing diagram of complex 2 shows a zigzag-like arrangement. Phase transformation not only fetches structural changes but also in the magnetic properties. Difference in Fe–O–Fe bond angles of two complexes creates notable variation in their antiferromagnetic interactions with adjacent metal centers

Designing Functional Metal–Organic Frameworks by Imparting a Hexanuclear Copper-Based Secondary Building Unit Specific Properties: Structural Correlation With Magnetic and Photocatalytic Activity

In continuation of our research interest in pyrazole-based multifunctional metal organic frameworks (MOFs), we report here three Cu­(II) MOFs using pyrazole and various aromatic carboxylic acid-based ligands. The main theme of interest is to design functional MOFs by imparting a multinuclear metal center as a secondary building unit (SBU). Accordingly, three MOFs are synthesized based on a hexanuclear Cu-pyrazolate unit as the SBU with some intriguing structural networks like (4,4) type herringbone grid or an archetypal Kagomé topology. We have successfully synthesized functional MOFs by incorporating hexanuclear Cu-pyrazolate SBU-specific properties viz. magnetism and catalysis, the central theme of this work. All the MOFs show some photocatalytic degradation of toxic dye molecules. On the other hand, magnetic behaviors of <b>MOF-2</b> and <b>MOF-3</b> associated with the Cu₆ unit have also been investigated