A Short Note on Linkage of Climatic Records between Terai and Mid-mountain of Central Nepal

The steep North to South (N-S) gradient and complex topography markssignificant variations in the spatial and temporal patterns of climatic variation surrounding within a few distances in the Nepal Himalayas. Hence,to validate climatic linkages between the stations under two distinct topographic conditions, the study examines the observational climatic data from 106m a.s.l. and 1801m a.s.l., as a representative station from a plain and hilly area. Different statistical tools including Pearson correlation analysis and a best-fit regression model were applied to analyze climate data. The analysis of 13129 daily average temperature records and 13147 daily total precipitation records showed that the variation in their sum and average of daily, five days, ten days, and monthly values between the stations in the different elevations marked significantly.Despite these variations, temperature records are measured to be consistent in different altitudes and strongly correlated. The precipitation data showed a comparatively weaker correlation. The coefficients (0.85-1.6) with R2 >0.50 in the regression models for the lower elevation and higher elevation station in the mid-mountain region except for the monsoon season. It indicated a similar fluctuation of temperature between these two stations in the respective area. The strong degree of association and the change of climatic parameters in different range and elevations indicate the possibilities of using climatic data from Terai to represent the Mid-mountain region of central Nepal

Ageratum conyzoides: A Potential Source for Medicinal and Agricultural Products

Ageratum conyzoides is a widely spread weed, especially in the tropical and subtropical regions. It has been reported to be used as folk medicine in different countries for treating burns, wounds, skin disorders, headaches, fever, pneumonia, gynecological diseases, leprosy, snakebites, rheumatism, inflammations, stomach ailments like parasites, colic, diarrhea, dysentery, used as a painkiller during childbirth, and many more. It has been reported to contain active secondary metabolites such as alkaloids, tannins, phenols, saponins, coumarins, essential oils, and flavonoids, which support its medicinal uses in disease treatment and prevention. It can be a potential source of drugs for various diseases. In fact, pharmaceutical companies are being run in Brazil using A. conyzoides as raw material with recommendations from the Brazilian Drug Centre. It is also used for agricultural purposes as manure, insecticide, pesticide, herbicide, nematicide, fodder, etc. In China, it is widely intercropped in the citrus orchard to control pests and weeds. The review attempts to bring together medicinal and agricultural usage of Ageratum conyzoides with scientific evidence to demonstrate its efficacy. This weed has a negative influence in agriculture and the ecosystem but after studying about its potential medical and agricultural uses, we now have a different viewpoint on this weed, and we believe that further harnessing it for such positive uses might be a management strategy for this weed

Feminization of Agriculture in Nepal and its implications: Addressing Gender in Workload and Decision Making

The study assesses the two approaches of feminization: labor and managerial, and explores the implication of feminization in agricultural production in Gorkha and Chitwan district of Nepal. We examine the degree to which men, women or men and women jointly make agriculture-related decisions, and discuss the labor feminization and managerial feminization using five domains of the Women Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI), relative to the degree to which women’s decision-making power relates to the feminization of agriculture leading to women empowerment and food security. The results revealed that the average workload for women (86.50 hours/week) was more than that for men (55.52 hours/week). Workload was found significantly affected by the total cultivated area (ha), gender of household head, occupation, number of livestock holdings, number of children, number of elders and household location.All aspects of operational and strategic decision making were dominated by jointly made decisions, except in the case of income utilization where female showed dominance. The implication of feminization in agriculture is reflected by reduction in cropping cycle, lower productivity of cereals and vegetables which led to food insecurity by own production. The income from remittance was observed to be mainly used for consumption purposes to ensure food security. It appears that the feminization of agriculture leads to women playing not only important role in decision-making but also more responsibilities and heavier workloads without necessarily resulting in empowerment and improvement in well-being

FOREIGN INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN NEPAL : Case: Production of Hydroelectricity in Nepal

Nepal at present is suffering from the energy crisis due to the lack of enough production of electricity in the country. The main purpose of this thesis is to evaluate the present situation of electricity crisis in Nepal and provide the information to the foreign investors about the investment opportunities in hydropower sector in Nepal. The theoretical section gives the details about Nepal and electricity production scenario in Nepal. It also gives the detail about the demand and supply of electricity, investment policies in hydropower, and risks in the investment of hydropower as well as the barriers of investment in hydropower in Nepal. In the empirical study, an interview was conducted with the senior officer from hydropower related government as well as private sectors to get the details about the hydropower investment opportunities in Nepal. Eventually, based on the theoretical overview as well as the empirical study deep analysis is done to make the conclusion of the thesis. The major problems of not being able to produce enough electricity in the country were found to be the lack of capital, lack of stable government and stable political situation. The investment policy of Nepal was found to be compatible for foreigner to invest in the country. Finally, the thesis was concluded with a finding that there are very good opportunities for investors to invest in hydropower sector in Nepal.Nykypäivän Nepalia on koetellut energiakriisi, johtuen maan riittämättömästä sähköntuotannosta. Tämän opinnäytetyön tarkoitus on arvioida energiakriisin tämänhetkinen tilanne ja antaa lisätietoa ulkomaalaisille sijoittajille vesivoimasektorin sijoitusmahdollisuuksista Nepalissa. Teoreettinen osuus esittää Nepalin tämänhetkisensähköntuotannon tilanteen. Osuudessa esitellään myös yksityiskohtaisesti sähkön kysyntä ja tarjonta, vesivoiman sijoitustoimintatavat sekä riskit ja esteet vesivoimaan sijoittamisessa. Empriisisessä tutkimuksessa haastateltiin yleisellä sektorilla toimivaa virkamiestä sekä yksityissektorijoin, joilta edustajia saatiin tietoa vesivoiman sijoitusmahdollisuuksista Nepalissa. Perustuen sekä teoreettiseen että empiiriseen osuuteen työssä suoritettiin perusteellinen analyysi, jonka perusteella opinnäytetyön päätelmät tehtiin. Löytöjen perusteella riittämätön sähköntuotanto johtui pääoman puutteesta, sekä epätasapainoisesta valtion poliittisesta tilanteesta. Nepalin sijoitus olosuhteidensa ansiosta todettiin olevan kilpailukykyinen ulkomaalaisille sijoittajille. Opinnäytetyön loppupäätelmän mukaan Nepal tarjoaa erittäin hyviä sijoitusmahdollisuuksia vesivoimasektorilla

Molecular dynamics approach to the I431V mutational impact on thyroid hormone receptor-beta

The point mutations like I431V on thyroid hormone receptor-beta (THR-β) gene cause resistance to thyroid hormones (RTH) with the clinical diagnosis of elevated free triiodothyronine (T3) and free thyroxin (T4) but not suppressed thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) on the blood serum. Some ultrasonographic (USG) reports of the patients with RTH show thyroid gland disorder with goiter or nodule(s) or cyst(s) and some USG reports even with RTH are normal. I431V-mutant causes more steric hindrance while binding T3 into THR-β than the native wild type THRT3. The residue on the 431-codon is dynamic in nature showing its flexibility over the course of entry and release of T3-hormone into/from the ligand binding pocket. The more increased solvent accessible surface area of I431V-mutant than that of native I431-residue makes the partial unfolding of the globular THR-β protein. The smaller height of radial distribution function between I431-mutant and T3 shows the decrease in probability of finding the atomic particles nearby T3-hormone in THRT3-MT than in THRT3-WT. The electrostatic interaction energy between native I431 and T3 is negative, but it is positive between I431V and T3. Moreover, the internal energy of I431V-mutant has been found smaller than that of native I431-residue in THRT3 systems.BIBECHANA 16 (2019) 79-91</p

Incarcerated Littre’s Umbilical Hernia: A Case Report

Littre’s hernia is an extremely rare type of hernia which has Meckel’s diverticulum as its content. A 63-year-old male, presented to the emergency department with chief complaints of swelling and pain around the umbilicus. The patient was diagnosed with an incarcerated umbilical hernia. Following the emergency laparotomy, the intraoperative finding depicted an umbilical Littre’s hernia. The patient underwent open Meckel’s diverticulectomy with mesh repair. Preoperative diagnosis of Littre’s hernia is unlikely due to its low incidence and lack of specific radiological and clinical findings, but the role of computed tomography scan and ultrasound are important in differentiating between strangulated or incarcerated bowel and omentum and in guiding the urgency of operative management