A study on clinical outcomes of people living with HIV/AIDS on anti retroviral therapy from rural hospital in Nepal

ABSTRACT Anti Retroviral Therapy has been started in Nepal since 2004 and the treatment centers have been upgrading all over the country regularly. A prospective observational study was carried out from August 2008 to December 2009 with an objective to evaluate clinical outcome of People Living with HIV/AIDS undergoing the therapy as per National Guidelines. After taking written informed consent pre-structured questionnaire was fi lled and patients were followed for next six months. All information were entered into SPSS 11.5 system and analyzed. Out of 44 patients, 24 (54.6%) were males and 20 (45.4%) were females. Age group 31-35 years were predominant 16 (36.6%) followed by 36-40 years 12 (27.2%). Clinically WHO stage III was found among 97.7% of the patients and 45.4% of housewives got HIV transmitted from husbands. Anti Retroviral Therapy was started in 25 (59.2%) of patients within three months HIV test positive. From initiation of therapy till six months there was, 1.7 kg of mean increase weight gain and 354 cells/mm 3 increase in mean Total Lymphocyte Count. Opportunistic infections occurrence decreased signifi cantly from 34.1% to 2.3% and 41 (93.2%) patients had drug adherence scale of more than 95 percentile. Hence it can be concluded that there is an urgent need of expanding the accessibility of the therapy to eligible patients throughout the country

Amniotic Band Syndrome with CTEV and Meningocele: A Rare Case Report

Amniotic band syndrome (ABS) is a group of rare congenital abnormalities caused by wrapping of parts of the foetus by fibrous amniotic bands during intrauterine life. It can be seen in infants without any known genetic mutations. Band formation most frequently affects the distal segments, including the hand. Here, we report a case of a neonate who presented with multiple congenital abnormalities and clinical features that suggest the Amniotic Band Syndrome. It was delivered by a 17-year-old female patient at 28 weeks period of gestation, who had a medical abortion

Mitigating losses: how scientific organisations can help address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on early-career researchers.

Scientific collaborations among nations to address common problems and to build international partnerships as part of science diplomacy is a well-established notion. The international flow of people and ideas has played an important role in the advancement of the 'Sciences' and the current pandemic scenario has drawn attention towards the genuine need for a stronger role of science diplomacy, science advice and science communication. In dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, visible interactions across science, policy, science communication to the public and diplomacy worldwide have promptly emerged. These interactions have benefited primarily the disciplines of knowledge that are directly informing the pandemic response, while other scientific fields have been relegated. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on scientists of all disciplines and from all world regions are discussed here, with a focus on early-career researchers (ECRs), as a vulnerable population in the research system. Young academies and ECR-driven organisations could suggest ECR-powered solutions and actions that could have the potential to mitigate these effects on ECRs working on disciplines not related to the pandemic response. In relation with governments and other scientific organisations, they can have an impact on strengthening and creating fairer scientific systems for ECRs at the national, regional, and global level

Responses of soil surface greenhouse gas emissions to nitrogen and sulfur fertilizer rates to Brassica carinata grown as a bio-jet fuel

Carinata (Brassica carinata A. Braun), a non-food oilseed crop and an alternative bio-jet fuel feedstock, has received attention for its potential as a low-input option for production in the semi-arid region of the Northern Great Plains of the United States. Research addressing the impacts of nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) fertilizers on soils and greenhouse gas (GHG; CO2, N2O, and CH4) emissions from carinata production are limited. Thus, objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of different rates of N and S fertilizers applied to carinata on soil properties and GHG emissions. Field experiments were conducted in 2017 and 2018 to assess the response of carinata to four N (56, 84, 112, and 140 kg N ha−1) and three S (0, 22, and 45 kg S ha−1) rates. Soil samples were collected at crop harvest to measure soil properties; however, soil surface GHG fluxes were measured during 2017 and 2018 growing seasons using static chamber method. Data showed that application of N fertilizer increased soil EC, soil organic carbon (SOC), stable C, and labile N. However, sulfur fertilizer decreased SOC, labile N, and soil inorganic N contents. Results from GHG fluxes showed that higher rates of N fertilizer application increased the soil CO2 and N2O emissions, whereas the S fertilizer did not impact these fluxes. This study concludes that S and N fertilizers application to carinata crop affected soil properties, and higher rates of N fertilizer increased the GHG emissions. Therefore, N fertilizer application rate needs to be optimized to mitigate GHG emission for carinata production

Evaluation of Temperature-Based Empirical Models and Machine Learning Techniques to Estimate Daily Global Solar Radiation at Biratnagar Airport, Nepal

Global solar radiation (GSR) is a critical variable for designing photovoltaic cells, solar furnaces, solar collectors, and other passive solar applications. In Nepal, the high initial cost and subsequent maintenance cost required for the instrument to measure GSR have restricted its applicability all over the country. The current study compares six different temperature-based empirical models, artificial neural network (ANN), and other five different machine learning (ML) models for estimating daily GSR utilizing readily available meteorological data at Biratnagar Airport. Amongst the temperature-based models, the model developed by Fan et al. performs better than the rest with an R2 of 0.7498 and RMSE of 2.0162 MJm−2d−1. Feed-forward multilayer perceptron (MLP) is utilized to model daily GSR utilizing extraterrestrial solar radiation, sunshine duration, maximum and minimum ambient temperature, precipitation, and relative humidity as inputs. ANN3 performs better than other ANN models with an R2 of 0.8446 and RMSE of 1.4595 MJm−2d−1. Likewise, stepwise linear regression performs better than other ML models with an R2 of 0.8870 and RMSE of 1.5143 MJm−2d−1. Thus, the model developed by Fan et al. is recommended to estimate daily GSR in the region where only ambient temperature data are available. Similarly, a more robust ANN3 and stepwise linear regression models are recommended to estimate daily GSR in the region where data about sunshine duration, maximum and minimum ambient temperature, precipitation, and relative humidity are available

Abdominoscrotal Haematocele in an Adult and Its Successful Treatment

Abdominoscrotal hydrocele (ASH) is a variant of hydrocele that rarely occurs in adults. ASH has two sacs, one in the scrotum and one in the abdomen connected through the inguinal canal. Abdominoscrotal haematocele is a rare complication of ASH. We report a 57-year-old male patient who presented to a tertiary care hospital in Puducherry, India, in 2019 with complaints of swelling in the scrotum for 15 years and abdominal pain for two months. Both the swellings were soft and cross fluctuation was present. Imaging confirmed the diagnosis of ASH. During a diagnostic laparoscopy, the abdominal sac was decompressed and found to have thick brownish fluid suggestive of haematocele. It was demonstrated that both sacs were connected. Due to difficulty in the dissection of the sac, the procedure was converted to an open procedure. Both the sacs were excised and Lytle’s repair was done for the dilated internal ring. The patient recovered and no recurrence of any swelling in the abdomen or scrotum was found at the end of a one-year follow-up. Keywords: Testicular Hydrocele; Scrotal Hydrocele; Testicular Haematocele; Scrotal Haematocele; Laparoscopic Surgical Procedure; Laparoscopic Surgery; Case Report; India.

Genetic Dissection of Alkalinity Tolerance at the Seedling Stage in Rice (<i>Oryza sativa</i>) Using a High-Resolution Linkage Map

Although both salinity and alkalinity result from accumulation of soluble salts in soil, high pH and ionic imbalance make alkaline stress more harmful to plants. This study aimed to provide molecular insights into the alkalinity tolerance using a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population developed from a cross between Cocodrie and Dular with contrasting response to alkalinity stress. Forty-six additive QTLs for nine morpho-physiological traits were mapped on to a linkage map of 4679 SNPs under alkalinity stress at the seedling stage and seven major-effect QTLs were for alkalinity tolerance scoring, Na+ and K+ concentrations and Na+:K+ ratio. The candidate genes were identified based on the comparison of the impacts of variants of genes present in five QTL intervals using the whole genome sequences of both parents. Differential expression of no apical meristem protein, cysteine protease precursor, retrotransposon protein, OsWAK28, MYB transcription factor, protein kinase, ubiquitin-carboxyl protein, and NAD binding protein genes in parents indicated their role in response to alkali stress. Our study suggests that the genetic basis of tolerance to alkalinity stress is most likely different from that of salinity stress. Introgression and validation of the QTLs and genes can be useful for improving alkalinity tolerance in rice at the seedling stage and advancing understanding of the molecular genetic basis of alkalinity stress adaptation

Changes in Wheat Rhizosphere Carbon Pools in Response to Nitrogen and Straw Incorporation

Large-scale burning of rice straw causes air pollution and deterioration of soil health, which challenges the sustainability of the rice&ndash;wheat system (RWS) in north-western India. In a field experiment on sandy loam (Typic Ustochrept) soil at Punjab Agricultural University, India, with split plot design, effects of four nitrogen (N) levels (0, 90, 120, and 150 kg N ha&minus;1) in main plots and four levels of rice straw (RS) incorporation (0, 5, 7.5, and 10 Mg ha&minus;1) in wheat in sub-plots were studied after 7 years on carbon (C) pools at maximum tillering (MT) and flowering (FL) stages of wheat and crop yields. Rice straw (RS) incorporation at 10 Mg ha&minus;1 with N application at 120 kg N ha&minus;1 in wheat not only increased labile C pools significantly especially at MT but also increased the wheat yield compared with no straw incorporation. Principal component analysis suggests that total polysaccharide carbon, basal soil respiration, and pH can be used as sensitive parameters for assessing soil quality in RWS