Sequence Analysis of Rifampicin Resistance Determining Region (RRDR) of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis

Mycobacterium tuberculosis has become the cause for one of the most dreadful disease which the mankind has ever known i.e. Tuberculosis. The organism holds the ability to infect multiple organs at a time resulting in multiple symptomatic presentations in pathogenic condition while in non-pathogenic condition, it can lay dormant and remain asymptomatic. The research work presented here aimed at sequencing of Rifampicin Resistance Determining Region (RRDR) of the rpoB gene present in phenotypically multidrug resistant M. tuberculosis. The findings showed that the major point of mutations to be present within this region was at codon 516, 526, and 531. Early diagnosis of multidrug resistance in any pathogen has become a pre – requisite for proper treatment and efficient elimination of pathogenic organisms from the host with minimal toxicity. Similarly, understanding the mutation dynamics of target genes also help in novel drug design and discovery

Phytochemical screening and antihelminthic activity of leaf and root extracts of Cassia tora plant

Cassia tora is one of the most important sources of medicinally important phytochemicals and widely used in Ayurvedic and Chinese system of medicine. The fresh plants of cassia tora were collected from the different locality of Dharan, Sunsari district during the month of August. In this study leaves and root extracts were subjected to extraction by soxheletion by using ethanol and water and the extracts were subjected to antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus. and Citrobacter koseri, the ethanolic extracts were screened for antihelmenthic activity against Indian adult earth worm (Pheretima posthuma) with a moderate result. The result of antibacterial activity revealed that aqueous extract  of leaves and roots showed better activity in comparison to aqueous extracts particularly against gram positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus)

Mitochondrial DNA analysis of critically endangered Chinese Pangolins (Manis pentadactyla) from Nepal

Chinese Pangolins (Manis pentadactyla) are Critically Endangered and one of the most illegally traded mammals globally. We generated first COI sequences from five individuals of this species from Nepal. BLASTn search of our 600bp sequences at GenBank showed pair-wise identity between 99.17% and 100% to M. pentadactyla. There were three haplotypes and a total of five variable sites among five M. pentadactyla sequences. Neighbor-joining tree revealed that all M. pentadactyla from Nepal clustered into same group further splitting into two sub-groups albeit with low bootstrap value, suggesting potential multiple geographic origins. The K2P distance was 0.3% within group and 0.7% between four sequences from Bhaktapur and Kavrepalanchok districts (Mape2, Mape3, Mape5 and Mape6) and museum sample (Mape10). This study has generated reference samples for M. pentadactyla from Nepal and will be helpful in understanding dynamics of illegal trade of this species and in successful identifi- cation of M. pentadactyla from Nepal even in the absence of intact specimens

Regional integration in South Asia: Potential and promise

In their quest for rapid economic growth, a group of South Asian countries Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri-Lanka formed the South Asian Preferential Trading Arrangement (SAPTA) in 1994. This dissertation consists of three different but interrelated essays that analyze the potential of SAPTA to increase intra-regional trade, the underlying factors that have inhibited intra-regional trade flows in South Asia, and the implications of SAPTA to Nepal, a small landlocked country in the region. ^ In an effort to learn whether a lack of complementarity between the exports and imports of countries in the region has precluded any substantial expansion of intra-regional trade, the first essay measures the trade complementarity between the South Asian countries. The results show that even if there is low trade potential between the South Asian countries from the perspective of individual country pairs, there is potential for much greater intra-regional trade from the perspective of overall region. ^ The second essay shows that policy-induced distortions have significantly restricted regional trade flows in South Asia. In particular, the findings indicate that exchange rate liberalization and the removal of non-tariff barriers could significantly increase regional trade flows in South Asia. This study further finds that political and cultural factors have an important influence on regional trade flows in South Asia, and efforts to improve political relations are likely to yield a large payoff in terms of expanded intra-regional trade. ^ The third essay measures the distributional impact of SAPTA on a small landlocked country, Nepal and its large neighboring country, India. The essay develops a theoretical framework to explore the impact of regional integration on industrial location and the resultant welfare effects for each country and in the aggregate. The results show that integration increases wage earnings for workers in both countries, decreases firm profits in the large country but enhances the aggregate welfare of the region. The overall findings of the dissertation suggest that SAPTA can enhance economic growth and total welfare of the region if it successfully eliminates trade as well as political barriers between the South Asian countries.