Effect of Different Concentrations of Potassium Metabisulphite and Bavistin on Postharvest Life of Litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn var. Muzaffarpur)

Litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn var. Muzaffarpur) is cultivated in 57 districts of Nepal. However, proper post-harvest loss reduction activities are lacking, resulting in significant losses every year. In June 2023, an experiment on Litchi post-harvest was conducted at HRS, Malepatan. The Litchi fruits were uniformly mature and treated with varying concentrations of potassium metabisulfite (50, 75, 100, and 125 ppm) and Bavistin at 100 ppm. They were then stored at ambient conditions (29±4°C and RH 75±5%) for 10 days. The following parameters were recorded: physiological loss in weight (PLW), decay loss, total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), ascorbic acid content (Vit-C), and fruit weight to juice ratio. The fruit that was treated with 50 ppm of potassium metabisulphite recorded the lowest PLW at 20.12%. The fruit treated with 125 ppm of potassium metabisulphite had a minimum decay loss of 23.08%. The control treatment had the highest TSS at 23.65% with a minimum TA of 0.50%.  The fruit treated with 100 and 125 ppm of potassium metabisulphite had the maximum ascorbic acid content at 87 mg and 85 mg, respectively, and the highest fruit weight-to-juice ratio at -2.80 and 2.73, respectively.  Therefore, this study concludes that applying potassium metabisulfite at a concentration of 100-125 ppm is suitable for postharvest treatment of Litchi fruit to prolong its shelf life and maintain its quality parameters

Elderly Gravida with Bombay Blood Group and Placenta Previa Managed with Autologous Blood Transfusion

The Bombay blood group is a rare blood type with an incidence of around one in a million. There is no known reported case of an obstetric patient with the Bombay blood group from Nepal. People with this rare blood group can receive blood only from those with the same blood type. We report an elderly gravida with the Bombay blood group who had a pregnancy complicated by diabetes, placenta previa, and transverse lie (back up) following an in vitro fertilization. Placenta previa posed a greater risk of hemorrhage and hence the need for transfusion. The main challenge was arranging blood for transfusion, and as the Bombay blood group was unavailable, she was managed with autologous blood transfusion which was performed for the first time in a pregnant lady in our institute. She underwent Cesarean section for placenta previa with transverse lie, and both mother and baby were sent home in good health

Structure and Function of Major SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV Proteins

SARS-CoV-2 virus, the causative agent of COVID-19 pandemic, has a genomic organization consisting of 16 nonstructural proteins (nsps), 4 structural proteins, and 9 accessory proteins. Relative of SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV, has genomic organization, which is very similar. In this article, the function and structure of the proteins of SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV are described in great detail. The nsps are expressed as a single or two polyproteins, which are then cleaved into individual proteins using two proteases of the virus, a chymotrypsin-like protease and a papain-like protease. The released proteins serve as centers of virus replication and transcription. Some of these nsps modulate the host’s translation and immune systems, while others help the virus evade the host immune system. Some of the nsps help form replication-transcription complex at double-membrane vesicles. Others, including one RNA-dependent RNA polymerase and one exonuclease, help in the polymerization of newly synthesized RNA of the virus and help minimize the mutation rate by proofreading. After synthesis of the viral RNA, it gets capped. The capping consists of adding GMP and a methylation mark, called cap 0 and additionally adding a methyl group to the terminal ribose called cap1. Capping is accomplished with the help of a helicase, which also helps remove a phosphate, two methyltransferases, and a scaffolding factor. Among the structural proteins, S protein forms the receptor of the virus, which latches on the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptor of the host and N protein binds and protects the genomic RNA of the virus. The accessory proteins found in these viruses are small proteins with immune modulatory roles. Besides functions of these proteins, solved X-ray and cryogenic electron microscopy structures related to the function of the proteins along with comparisons to other coronavirus homologs have been described in the article. Finally, the rate of mutation of SARS-CoV-2 residues of the proteome during the 2020 pandemic has been described. Some proteins are mutated more often than other proteins, but the significance of these mutation rates is not fully understood

Early Childhood Oral Health and Nutrition in Urban and Rural Nepal

Globalization and urbanization in Nepal have driven a nutritional transition from an agricultural-based diet to an ultra-processed, sugary diet. This study assessed the nutrition and oral health of 836 children age 6 months to 6 years and their families in rural and urban Nepal. Mothers were interviewed about maternal–child oral health and nutrition, and children received dental exams and height and weight measurements. Analyses utilized SPSS statistical software. Most families lived within a 5-minute walk to a store selling ultra-processed snacks and sugary drinks. While most mothers knew sweets caused tooth decay, half of the children were given sweets daily, and 58.2% of children had dental caries. Caries began in the first 2 years and increased in prevalence and severity to age 6, when 74.3% had caries and 20% experienced mouth pain. Despite greater health knowledge and resources among urban mothers, urban children’s increased access to junk food and frequency of consumption was associated with higher prevalence and severity of caries compared to rural children. Severe caries was associated with malnutrition, especially in rural children. Preventive strategies are needed in early childhood to incorporate nutrition and oral health education and dental care into maternal–child health services, and develop policies to prohibit the sale of junk food around school

Early Childhood Oral Health and Nutrition in Urban and Rural Nepal

Globalization and urbanization in Nepal have driven a nutritional transition from an agricultural-based diet to an ultra-processed, sugary diet. This study assessed the nutrition and oral health of 836 children age 6 months to 6 years and their families in rural and urban Nepal. Mothers were interviewed about maternal–child oral health and nutrition, and children received dental exams and height and weight measurements. Analyses utilized SPSS statistical software. Most families lived within a 5-minute walk to a store selling ultra-processed snacks and sugary drinks. While most mothers knew sweets caused tooth decay, half of the children were given sweets daily, and 58.2% of children had dental caries. Caries began in the first 2 years and increased in prevalence and severity to age 6, when 74.3% had caries and 20% experienced mouth pain. Despite greater health knowledge and resources among urban mothers, urban children’s increased access to junk food and frequency of consumption was associated with higher prevalence and severity of caries compared to rural children. Severe caries was associated with malnutrition, especially in rural children. Preventive strategies are needed in early childhood to incorporate nutrition and oral health education and dental care into maternal–child health services, and develop policies to prohibit the sale of junk food around school

Small-Molecule Modulation of TDP-43 Recruitment to Stress Granules Prevents Persistent TDP-43 Accumulation in ALS/FTD.

Stress granules (SGs) form during cellular stress and are implicated in neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia (ALS/FTD). To yield insights into the role of SGs in pathophysiology, we performed a high-content screen to identify small molecules that alter SG properties in proliferative cells and human iPSC-derived motor neurons (iPS-MNs). One major class of active molecules contained extended planar aromatic moieties, suggesting a potential to intercalate in nucleic acids. Accordingly, we show that several hit compounds can prevent the RNA-dependent recruitment of the ALS-associated RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) TDP-43, FUS, and HNRNPA2B1 into SGs. We further demonstrate that transient SG formation contributes to persistent accumulation of TDP-43 into cytoplasmic puncta and that our hit compounds can reduce this accumulation in iPS-MNs from ALS patients. We propose that compounds with planar moieties represent a promising starting point to develop small-molecule therapeutics for treating ALS/FTD