Depth-wise variations of soil physicochemical properties in the apple growing area of Mustang district, Nepal

Understanding the soil fertility is an important management tool in assessing the nutrient requirement of the crops. Considering this, a study was done to determine depth-wise soil parameters distribution in the apple growing areas of Gharpajhog Rural Municipality, Mustang during October 2019. The total 68 sampling points were selected randomly in the different sites, and collection was done from three depths viz. 0-20cm, 20-40cm and 40-60cm by using soil sampling auger. The soil separates, pH, organic matter, total N, available P2O5 and K2O were determined following standard methods in National Soil Science Research Centre, Khumaltar. The results of the study revealed that the effect of depth was significant in the sand and silt proportion, while non- significant in clay proportion. The highest (40.17±1.57%) sand content was in 40-60cm depth, meanwhile highest (45.64±1.07%) silt content was in surface (0-20cm) depth. In addition to this, soil pH, OM, total N, available P2O5 and K2O were also affected by the depth. The highest (8.27) pH was determined in the lower (40-60cm) depth. On the other hand, highest OM (4.93±0.2%), total N (0.24±0.01%), available P2O5 (43.47±4.35 mg/kg) and available K2O (95.91±5.8 mg/kg) in surface (0.20 cm) depth. The surface depth possessed strong content of studied soil parameters might be due to in-situ incorporation of leaf litter, residue etc. as well as applied manure in the surface. Finally, we can also conclude that the adopted current nutrient management practice should be continued for apple production in the study area

MOLECULAR EVALUATION OF ANTISTAPHYLOCOCCAL SECONDARY METABOLITES OF BACTERIAL ISOLATES FROM HOSPITAL WASTEWATER ENVIRONMENT

Objective: Antibiotics revolutionized medicine in the 20th century, and have together with vaccination led to the near eradication of diseases such as tuberculosis in the developed world. Their effectiveness and easy access led to overuse, especially in livestock raising, prompting bacteria to develop resistance. The lantibiotics form a particular group among the antimicrobial peptides and are characterized by unique structural features. They are produced by a group of bacteria against some gram-positive bacteria. The present study was designed to screen for the lantibiotic producing organisms from the hospital samples.Methods: The bacterial isolates were identified based on Bergey's manual of bacteriology and screened for the epidermin gene by polymerase chain reaction amplification.Results: Of the 21 isolates screened, only 10 of them showed positive amplification for the epigene. Based on the biochemical characteristics, the isolates obtained were identified and labeled.Conclusion: Further study on the purification of the compound need to be done. Some bacterial samples may not have the epidermin gene which does not show amplification, this confers that the epidermin gene is absent in certain organisms

Transabdominal pre-peritoneal mesh repair versus Lichtenstein's hernioplasty

BACKGROUND: In the era of minimal invasive surgery, hernia repair has seen a paradigm shift from open to laparoscopic technique. However, superiority of laparoscopic repair over open repair is still controversial. Available literatures have shown laparoscopic technique to be better in term of post-operative pain and early return to work. METHODS: In this prospective study, a total of 102 patients aged 21-78 years with inguinal hernia were recruited and enrolled into two comparative groups, namely Lichtenstein's and Transabdominal pre-peritoneal, and each group containing 51 participants. Hospital ethical committee approval and written informed consent from patients was obtained. Primarily, the duration of operation, post-operative pain and complication, and quality of life after surgery was compared between the two different approaches of hernia repair. RESULTS: The study results demonstrated a statistically significant superiority of trans abdominal pre-peritoneal repair over Lichtenstein's hernioplasty in terms of post operative pain (2.00±0.63 vs 3.90±0.74 VAS score, P valu