Diagnostic yield of percutaneous computed tomography guided core needle biopsy of lung lesion and its complications in tertiary hospital

Background: Early diagnosis of lung cancer can reduce its mortality and morbidity. Minimally invasive image guided percutaneous core needle biopsy can obtain tissue sample for diagnosis and staging of lung cancer, which is crucial for correct management of lung lesions. Common complications of lung biopsy include pneumothorax, parenchymal haemorrhage and haemoptysis. The study was aimed to determine diagnostic yield and complications of the percutaneous computed tomography (CT) guided core needle biopsy of lung lesion in tertiary hospital.Methods: Hospital based prospective study was performed in 40 patients in Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital. CT guided biopsy of lung lesions was performed with 18-gauge semi-automated biopsy instrument. The complications following the biopsy were recorded and correlated with different factors using chi-square test. Histopathology report were obtained to measure the diagnostic yield.Results: Among 40 patients who underwent guided lung biopsy, histopathology showed definitive diagnosis in 37 patients; 31 malignant and 6 benign lesions. Parenchymal haemorrhage, pneumothorax and haemoptysis were seen in 13, 8 and 5 respectively; however, none required active intervention. Emphysema in traversing lung and numbers of pleural punctures used were predictive factors of complication (p value <0.05).Conclusions: The study showed percutaneous image guided core needle biopsy has high diagnostic yield with fewer complication rates and is thus recommended for routine biopsies of lung lesions

Habitat Suitability and Conflict Zone Mapping for the Blue Bull (Boselaphus tragocamelus) across Nepal

Rapidly changing environmental conditions (bioclimatic, anthropogenic, topographic, and vegetation-related variables) are likely to alter the spatial distribution of flora and fauna. To understand the influence of environmental variables on the Blue bull’s distribution and to identify potential conflict zones, the habitat suitability analysis of the Blue bull was performed using ensemble modeling. We modelled the distribution of the Blue bull using an extensive database on the current distribution of the Blue bull and selected 15 ecologically significant environmental variables. We used ten species distribution modeling algorithms available in the BIOMOD2 R package. Among the ten algorithms, the Random Forest, Maxent, and Generalized linear model had the highest mean true skill statistics scores, ensuring better model performance, and were considered for further analysis. We found that 22,462.57 km2 (15.26%) of Nepal is suitable for the Blue bull. Slope, precipitation seasonality, and distance to the road are the environmental variables contributing the most to the distribution of Blue bull. Of the total predicted suitable habitats, 86% lies outside protected areas and 55% overlaps with agricultural land. Thus, we recommend that the future conservation initiatives including appropriate conflict mitigation measures should be prioritized equally in both protected areas and outside protected areas to ensure the species’ survival in the region

Domesticating cleaner cookstoves for improved respiratory health: Using approaches from the sanitation sector to explore the adoption and sustained use of improved cooking technologies in Nepal

Drawing on village-based data from Nepal, this paper explores the transferability of the Integrated Behavioural Model for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (IBM-WASH) to the clean cooking sector and its potential to elucidate how barriers to improved cookstove adoption and sustained use intersect at different scales. The paper also explores the potential of IBM-WASH, behaviour settings theory and domestication analysis to collectively inform effective behaviour change techniques and interventions that promote both adoption and sustained use of health-promoting technologies. Information on cookstove use in the community since 2012 enables valuable insights to be gained on how kitchen settings and associated cooking behaviour were re-configured as homes and stoves were re-built following the April 2015 earthquake. The methodological approach comprised of semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, direct observation and household surveys. The findings indicated that the IBM-WASH framework translated well to the improved cookstove sector, capturing key influences on clean cooking transitions across the model's three dimensions (context, psychosocial and technology) at all five levels. Understandings gained from utilising IBM-WASH were enhanced – especially at the individual and habitual levels – by domestication analysis and settings theory which elucidated how different cooking technologies were incorporated (or not) within physical structures, everyday lives and routine behaviour. The paper concludes that this combination of approaches has potential applicability for initiatives seeking to promote improved environmental health at community-wide scales

Mapping geographical inequalities in access to drinking water and sanitation facilities in low-income and middle-income countries, 2000-17

Background: Universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities is an essential human right, recognised in the Sustainable Development Goals as crucial for preventing disease and improving human wellbeing. Comprehensive, high-resolution estimates are important to inform progress towards achieving this goal. We aimed to produce high-resolution geospatial estimates of access to drinking water and sanitation facilities. Methods: We used a Bayesian geostatistical model and data from 600 sources across more than 88 low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) to estimate access to drinking water and sanitation facilities on continuous continent-wide surfaces from 2000 to 2017, and aggregated results to policy-relevant administrative units. We estimated mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive subcategories of facilities for drinking water (piped water on or off premises, other improved facilities, unimproved, and surface water) and sanitation facilities (septic or sewer sanitation, other improved, unimproved, and open defecation) with use of ordinal regression. We also estimated the number of diarrhoeal deaths in children younger than 5 years attributed to unsafe facilities and estimated deaths that were averted by increased access to safe facilities in 2017, and analysed geographical inequality in access within LMICs. Findings: Across LMICs, access to both piped water and improved water overall increased between 2000 and 2017, with progress varying spatially. For piped water, the safest water facility type, access increased from 40·0% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 39·4–40·7) to 50·3% (50·0–50·5), but was lowest in sub-Saharan Africa, where access to piped water was mostly concentrated in urban centres. Access to both sewer or septic sanitation and improved sanitation overall also increased across all LMICs during the study period. For sewer or septic sanitation, access was 46·3% (95% UI 46·1–46·5) in 2017, compared with 28·7% (28·5–29·0) in 2000. Although some units improved access to the safest drinking water or sanitation facilities since 2000, a large absolute number of people continued to not have access in several units with high access to such facilities (>80%) in 2017. More than 253 000 people did not have access to sewer or septic sanitation facilities in the city of Harare, Zimbabwe, despite 88·6% (95% UI 87·2–89·7) access overall. Many units were able to transition from the least safe facilities in 2000 to safe facilities by 2017; for units in which populations primarily practised open defecation in 2000, 686 (95% UI 664–711) of the 1830 (1797–1863) units transitioned to the use of improved sanitation. Geographical disparities in access to improved water across units decreased in 76·1% (95% UI 71·6–80·7) of countries from 2000 to 2017, and in 53·9% (50·6–59·6) of countries for access to improved sanitation, but remained evident subnationally in most countries in 2017. Interpretation: Our estimates, combined with geospatial trends in diarrhoeal burden, identify where efforts to increase access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities are most needed. By highlighting areas with successful approaches or in need of targeted interventions, our estimates can enable precision public health to effectively progress towards universal access to safe water and sanitation

Insights into the taxonomy and evolution within an orchid, Platanthera dilatata, based on morphometrics and molecular markers

Documenting biodiversity, at and below the species level, is a persistently challenging task for biologists. Poor understanding of biodiversity may lead to incorrect interpretations of observed variation. The underlying basis of variation can be understood by quantifying multiple sources of information. Nine morphometric characters and plastid DNA sequences (2511 bps) were quantified in a highly variable orchid species, Platanthera dilatata, to evaluate taxonomy of the three named varieties and to understand patterns of evolution. Three morphological groups, identified in a cluster analysis, were distinct in multiple floral traits. Additionally, the three clusters were consistently genetically divergent as indicated by infrequent haplotype sharing, significantly different haplotype frequencies, and significant values of the genealogical sorting index. This level of genetic divergence suggests three species rather than varieties in this complex. The divergent floral morphologies suggest that pollinator-mediated selection may be a driving factor for speciation in this complex

Data from: Does the Platanthera dilatata (Orchidaceae) complex contain cryptic species or continuously variable populations?

Floral phenotypic traits are expected to reflect evolutionary changes and are used as a reliable basis for species delimitation. However, when traits overlap among populations of newly emerging species, this confounds identification of evolutionarily distinct lineages and reduces taxonomic stability. In this study, we quantified variation in ten floral traits and plastid DNA sequences across 26 populations of Platanthera dilatata (Orchidaceae) in North America to determine geographic structure among populations and to evaluate support for three varieties recognized in the current taxonomy. k-means clustering analysis, in the absence of a priori designation of groups, indicated two morphologically distinct groups. Spur length was the most distinctive character between groups. The group containing larger flowers with longer spurs corresponds to the var. leucostachys and most samples in this group are from western North America. The vars. albiflora and dilatata could not be distinguished within the second group, which exhibited flowers with short to intermediate spurs and include samples from eastern and western North America. Morphological variation in P. dilatata may reflect pollinator-mediated selection, particularly in spur length, which is known to vary in association with pollinators across Platanthera. Significant genetic divergence was observed between the two groups (F ST = 0.15; P ≤ 0.001), but we did not find corresponding phylogenetic structure, which may reflect recent divergence and retention of ancestral polymorphisms. Based on these results, we suggest preserving the current intraspecific taxonomy until further studies determine the origin of floral variation and the extent of gene flow between morphologically divergent populations

Leopard preyed on Jungle cat: evidence from the mid-hill of Nepal: Leopard preyed on Jungle cat

In the pictures taken by the camera trap, the photo of a leopard hunting a jungle cat is rare. This type of evidence makes it easier to understand the current status of wildlife and also implement further conservation actions. This study was conducted from November 2020 to December 2020 in the mid-hill regions of Nepal. We installed the camera traps in l*1 km grid cell covering about 60 km2. Out of 36 camera trap locations, 1 leopard preying on a jungle cat was captured in one location. Our study concluded that carnivores could capture another sympatric family because of the lack of natural prey species. Therefore, conservation of the natural prey species including small carnivores or mammals is also essential to conserve the leopard population

P_dilatata plastid sequences

This data file contains aligned sequences from 78 samples of Platanthera dilatata and 2 samples of Platanthera aquilonis for 6 plastid regions (rpl16_intron:1-648, ndhC_trnV:649-1301, accD_psaI:1302-2005, psbC_trnS:2006-2064, atpF_atpH:2065-2220, psbA_trnK:2221-2499) and gaps coded as simple characters (2500-2566)

Effect of Different Organic and Inorganic Fertilizers on Spring Rice Var. (Hardinath 1) Production in Rural Gorkha, Nepal

The effect of different organic and inorganic fertilizers had a significant effect on the yield of spring rice. A field experiment was carried out to determine the effects of different organic and inorganic fertilizers on the yield of spring rice var Hardinath-1 at Siranchowk rural municipality-4, Gorkha during the spring season of 2021 with four replications and five treatments: T1[Recommended inorganic fertilizer Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potassium (@100:30:30 kg/ha)], T2[75% recommended inorganic fertilizer + 25% recommended organic fertilizer: i.e. (Farm Yard Manure (6 ton /ha)], T3(50% recommended inorganic fertilizer + 50% recommended organic fertilizer), T4(25% recommended inorganic fertilizer + 75% recommended organic fertilizer ), and T5 (Recommended organic fertilizer) using simple Randomized Complete Block Design with 3*3 m of individual plot size. A biometrical observation like plant height (95.33 cm), and the number of tillers (340.75/ m2) were found significantly highest on T2. Similarly, yield attributing characteristics like the number of effective tillers (315.75/m2), several filled grains per panicle (150.25), and highest panicle length (25.06 cm) were also significantly highest on T2. The highest grain yield (8.27 ton/ha), straw yield (12.14 ton/ha), and harvest index (0.40) were also observed on T2. Total net return was found highest on T2: 287330 Nepalese Rupees(NPR) incurring the cost of fertilizer Rs NPR 18940 per hectare returning the gross return of NPR 268390 per hectare. In conclusion, T2 was the best combination of other biofertilizer combinations. So, the spring rice productivity can be enhanced via the adoption of 75% recommended inorganic fertilizer + 25% recommended organic fertilizer in fertilizer management practice at Chorkate, Gorkha