Polar opposites? NGOs, left parties and the fight for social change in Nepal

In the early 1990s, when NGOs were rising to prominence as an ostensible force for social change in Nepal, the Maoists were also beginning to organise, and denounced NGOs as agents of imperialism. The Maoists came to prominence by fighting a People’s War launched in 1996, with the intention of improving life for the poor peasant and working-class majority. But after a decade-long struggle, the Maoists became incorporated into the parliamentary system. While Nepal’s first democratic revolution in 1990 met formal, popular political demands, which were consolidated in a subsequent revolution in 2006 overthrowing the monarchy and bringing the People’s War to an end, there was little socio-economic progress for the vast majority. The argument advanced in this article is that this lack of progress relied on the interplay of two phenomena: an anti-Maoist alliance consisting of the international community, the domestic ruling elite and NGOs, and a fundamental ambiguity at the heart of the Maoists’ political theory

Ficaria verna Huds. extracts and their β-cyclodextrin supramolecular systems

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Obtaining new pharmaceutical materials with enhanced properties by using natural compounds and environment-friendly methods is a continuous goal for scientists. <it>Ficaria verna </it>Huds. is a widespread perennial plant with applications in the treat of haemorrhoids and to cure piles; it has also anti-inflammatory, astringent, and antibiotic properties. The goal of the present study is the obtaining and characterization of new <it>F. verna </it>extract/β-cyclodextrin complexes by using only natural compounds, solvents, and environment-friendly methods in order to increase the quality and acceptability versus toxicity indicator. Thus, the flavonoid content (as quercetin) of <it>Ficaria verna </it>Huds. flowers and leaves from the West side of Romania was determined and correlated with their antioxidant activity. Further, the possibility of obtaining β-cyclodextrin supramolecular systems was studied.</p> <p>Results</p> <p><it>F. verna </it>flowers and leaves extracts were obtained by semi-continuous solid-liquid extraction. The raw concentrated extract was spectrophotometrically analyzed in order to quantify the flavonoids from plant parts and to evaluate the antioxidant activity of these extracts. The <it>F. verna </it>extracts were used for obtaining β-cyclodextrin complexes; these were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and Karl Fischer water titration; spectrophotometry was used in order to quantifying the flavonoids and evaluates the antioxidant activity. A higher concentration of flavonoids of 0.5% was determined in complexes obtained by crystallisation method, while only a half of this value was calculated for kneading method. The antioxidant activity of these complexes was correlated with the flavonoid content and this parameter reveals possible controlled release properties.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The flavonoid content of <it>F. verna </it>Huds. from the West side of Romania (Banat county) is approximately the same in flowers and leaves, being situated at a medium value among other studies. β-Cyclodextrin complexes of <it>F. verna </it>extracts are obtained with lower yields by crystallisation than kneading methods, but the flavonoids (as quercetin) are better encapsulated in the first case most probably due to the possibility to attain the <it>host</it>-<it>guest </it>equilibrium in the slower crystallisation process. <it>F. verna </it>extracts and their β-cyclodextrin complexes have antioxidant activity even at very low concentrations and could be used in proper and valuable pharmaceutical formulations with enhanced bioactivity.</p

Influences on uptake of reproductive health services in Nsangi community of Uganda and their implications for cervical cancer screening

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cervical cancer is the most common female cancer in Uganda. Over 80% of women diagnosed or referred with cervical cancer in Mulago national referral and teaching hospital have advanced disease. Plans are underway for systematic screening programmes based on visual inspection, as Pap smear screening is not feasible for this low resource country. Effectiveness of population screening programmes requires high uptake and for cervical cancer, minimal loss to follow up. Uganda has poor indicators of reproductive health (RH) services uptake; 10% postnatal care attendance, 23% contraceptive prevalence, and 38% skilled attendance at delivery. For antenatal attendance, attendance to one visit is 90%, but less than 50% for completion of care, i.e. three or more visits.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted a qualitative study using eight focus group discussions with a total of 82 participants (16 men, 46 women and 20 health workers). We aimed to better understand factors that influence usage of available reproductive health care services and how they would relate to cervical cancer screening, as well as identify feasible interventions to improve cervical cancer screening uptake.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Barriers identified after framework analysis included ignorance about cervical cancer, cultural constructs/beliefs about the illness, economic factors, domestic gender power relations, alternative authoritative sources of reproductive health knowledge, and unfriendly health care services. We discuss how these findings may inform future planned screening programmes in the Ugandan context.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Knowledge about cervical cancer among Ugandan women is very low. For an effective cervical cancer-screening programme, awareness about cervical cancer needs to be increased. Health planners need to note the power of the various authoritative sources of reproductive health knowledge such as paternal aunts (<it>Sengas</it>) and involve them in the awareness campaign. Cultural and economic issues dictate the perceived reluctance by men to participate in women's reproductive health issues; men in this community are, however, potential willing partners if appropriately informed. Health planners should address the loss of confidence in current health care units, as well as consider use of other cervical cancer screening delivery systems such as mobile clinics/camps.</p

A global database of dissolved organic matter (DOM) concentration measurements in coastal waters (CoastDOM v1)

Measurements of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), nitrogen (DON), and phosphorus (DOP) con-centrations are used to characterize the dissolved organic matter (DOM) pool and are important components ofbiogeochemical cycling in the coastal ocean. Here, we present the first edition of a global database (CoastDOMv1; available at https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.964012, L\uf8nborg et al., 2023) compiling previously pub-lished and unpublished measurements of DOC, DON, and DOP in coastal waters. These data are complementedby hydrographic data such as temperature and salinity and, to the extent possible, other biogeochemical variables(e.g. chlorophyll a, inorganic nutrients) and the inorganic carbon system (e.g. dissolved inorganic carbon andtotal alkalinity). Overall, CoastDOM v1 includes observations of concentrations from all continents. However,most data were collected in the Northern Hemisphere, with a clear gap in DOM measurements from the SouthernHemisphere. The data included were collected from 1978 to 2022 and consist of 62 338 data points for DOC,20 356 for DON, and 13 533 for DOP. The number of measurements decreases progressively in the sequenceDOC &gt; DON &gt; DOP, reflecting both differences in the maturity of the analytical methods and the greater focuson carbon cycling by the aquatic science community. The global database shows that the average DOC concen-tration in coastal waters (average \ub1 standard deviation (SD): 182 \ub1 314 μmol C L−1; median: 103 μmol C L−1) is13-fold higher than the average coastal DON concentration (13.6 \ub1 30.4 μmol N L−1; median: 8.0 μmol N L−1),which is itself 39-fold higher than the average coastal DOP concentration (0.34 \ub1 1.11 μmol P L−1; median:0.18 μmol P L−1). This dataset will be useful for identifying global spatial and temporal patterns in DOM and willhelp facilitate the reuse of DOC, DON, and DOP data in studies aimed at better characterizing local biogeochem-ical processes; closing nutrient budgets; estimating carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorous pools; and establishing abaseline for modelling future changes in coastal waters

The Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum: Plants as Paleothermometers, Rain Gauges, and Monitors

We travel back in time through this chapter and take a field trip to western North America during the Paleocene– Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), some 56 million years ago. Here, plant-and-animal fossils were discovered in the warmest interval of the last 500 million years, a condition that lasted only 200,000 years. We provide a brief review of what may have caused a massive influx of atmospheric carbon detected during the PETM. We contrast the PETM to similar ongoing thermal events that began during the Industrial Revolution and persist today. We discuss the tools that paleobotanists have devised to interpret climate from fossil leaf, pollen, and wood records and present a brief overview of floral changes that occurred in western North America before, during, and right after this thermal maximum. Lastly, we explore how fossil data can be incorporated with ecological and systematic information into biogeographical models to predict how Cenozoic plants respond to climate change