BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES OF SOME SELECTED NEPALESE MEDICINAL PLANTS AND ISOLATION OF CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS FROM CALLICARPA MACROPHYLLA

Objective: The main objectives of this study was to analyze the phytochemicals, determine the total flavonoid content, brine shrimp toxicity, antibacterial activity, evaluate the antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-diabetic activities of nine medicinal plants Callicarpamacrophylla, Bauhinia purpurea, Plumeriarubra, Girardiniadiversifolia, Acacia nilotica, Woodfordiafruticosa (Bark) Woodfordiafruticosa (flower), Terminaliaalata, and Premnabarbata. Methods: The cold percolation method was adopted for the extraction of secondary metabolites in methanol. The preliminary phytochemical analysis was performed by colour differentiation methods. The radical scavenging activity was evaluated by DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) method. The antidiabetic activity was performed by α-amylase enzyme inhibition activity. The chemical constituent was isolated by column chromatography from the biologically active plant fraction. Results: The phytochemical investigation has shown plants are the rich source of secondary metabolites as quinones, saponins, terpenoids and glycosides. Among the nine tested plants, Terminaliaatalia showed the highest radical scavenging activity 96.41±0.47 with IC50 value 6.353 µg/ml, followed by Girardiniadiversifolia 97.26±0.67 with IC50 value 11.52 µg/ml whereas ascorbic acid has 39.85 µg/ml as standard. Bauhinia purpurea showed significant inhibition to the α-amylase enzyme having inhibitory concentration IC50 17.05±13.00 SD in a dose-dependent manner. Woodfordiafruticosa demonstrated significant toxicity to A. salina with LC50 value of 457.08 µg/ml. Callicarpamacrophylla bark showed a potential inhibitory activity against the growth of Straphylococcusaureus as compared to standard chloramphenicol. Active plant extract of Callicarpamacrophylla was subjected for column chromatography. Conclusion: Out of nine plant samples Terminaliaatalia showed the highest radical scavenging activity. The plant extract of Bauhinia purpurea showed significant inhibition to the α-amylase enzyme inhibition. Woodfordiafruticosa demonstrated significant toxicity to A. salina, whereas Callicarpamacrophylla showed the potent antibacterial activity. The active plant extract was subjected for column chromatography and different fractions were collected in solvent polarity basis. Conclusion: The phytochemical investigations showed that plant extracts are the rich sources of secondary metabolites such as alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, glycosides, polyphenols, coumarins and reducing sugars which showed they are supposed to be responsible for different biological activities. IC50 values showed the varied degree of antioxidant property of which Plumeriarubra and Acacia nilotica exhibit good antioxidant property with IC50 value close to the standard ascorbic acid

IDENTIFYING THE BEST DECENTRALIZED RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEM FOR RURAL ELECTRIFICATION IN NEPAL

Access to electricity is generally recognized as an important factor for economic and social development. Moreover, the world energy consumption depends on the use of limited resources like fossil fuels that induce adverse impact on the environment and society. As an alternative, renewable energies turn into crucial alternative energy ensuring sustainable energy needs and taking care of society, economy and the environment. In order to combat such issues, the United Nations has declared universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy for by 2030. In many cases, different types of renewable energy systems are being developed to serve energy need without considering the best alternative. Thus, this paper tries to prioritize the installed Decentralized Renewable Energy (DRE) systems for rural electrification in Nepal by analyzing nineteen sustainability indicators related to four sustainability dimensions - technical, social, economic and environmental. An Analytical Hierarchy Process-Online Software (AHP-OS) model is used for ranking various DRE systems. Suitable goals, criteria, sub-criteria, and alternatives are developed after reviewing pertinent literature and consultation of the experts. The results reveal that micro-hydropower is the best electrification option followed by the solar home system, solar mini-grid, and wind-solar hybrid for decentralized electrification in Nepal. Biomass is found to be the least prioritized alternative in Nepal. The outcome of the research can help the policy-makers and decision-makers in shaping energy policies, plans, and programs, and foster sustainable energy development in the country. Similarly, the relevant stakeholders will be benefited by improving their products and services in the future

Examining Agency in Agriculture: The Feminization Debate in Nepal

This paper examines the nature of the feminization of agriculture, and factors influencing the phenomenon in citrus producing pocket areas of Sindhuli district in Central Nepal. Presenting the intra-household division of work in agriculture among better-off family members in rural farms, emerging themes from narratives of women farmers’ lived-experience as farmers are discussed. Based on the narratives, this paper explores how household members’ everyday lifestyles regarding agriculture and non-agriculture shape their lives differently. Outlining the problematic of gendered agricultural engagement, three in-depth case analyses of farm families have been presented through data collected from narratives and participant observation as part of ethnographic study. These case studies highlight how women attribute economic and non-economic rationales for their life choices, using agency as an analytical lens. Finally, given the choice dilemma individuals face to reshape their lives, this paper shows how and why women farmers’ socially ascribed responsibility for livestock rearing spurs the feminization debate. It also demonstrates the need to further explore the extent of livestock feminization to the pattern of gendered mobility and non-mobility

Decadal Analysis of ESBL-Escherichia coli Antibiotic Resistance Patterns in Urine Samples from Nepal: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Copyright (c) 2024 Bibek Rana Chhetri, Rajat Thapa, Megha Raj Banjara. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.33314/jnhrc.v21i3.4723This systematic review aimed to determine the antimicrobial resistance pattern of the extended-spectrum β-lactamases producing Escherichia coli (ESBL-EC) in urine samples in Nepal. Systematic literature review was conducted to locate all articles reporting ESBL-EC in urine samples published between January 2012 to December 2022. The Egger's weighted regression analysis was done to assess the publication bias. A random-effects model was used to calculate the pooled prevalence and corresponding 95% confidence interval due to significant between-study heterogeneity. The strength of correlation between multidrug resistance and ESBL production in E.coli strains was determined using Pearson's correlation coefficient. The data were analyzed using R-language 4.2.2. software. The combined prevalence of E.coli in urine samples was found to be 14 % (95% CI, 11-18), while the overall pooled prevalence of ESBL E.coli and MDR E.coli were 30% (95% CI, 20-42) and 70% (95% CI, 38-90) respectively. A strong positive correlation of 0.99 (95% CI, 0.89-1.0) was found between ESBL production and MDR among E.coli isolates. Imipenem was the drug of choice against ESBL-E.coli in urine specimens. Our analyses showed the overall ESBL-EC and MDR-EC burden in Nepal is considerably high. Likewise, the study also infers an increasing trend of antibiotic resistance pattern of ESBL-EC in urine samples

Randomized Phase III Trial Comparing Epirubicin/ Doxorubicin Plus Docetaxel and Epirubicin/ Doxorubicin Plus Paclitaxel as First Line Treatment in Women with Advanced Breast Cancer

This study aimed to examine the efficacy of docetaxel plus epirubicin against docetaxel plus capecitabine as first-line therapy for women with advanced breast cancer (ABC). Patients with ABC who had not been treated in the past were split into two groups: those who received docetaxel and epirubicin (DE) on day 1 and those who received docetaxel and capecitabine (DC) on day 1 and twice daily on days 1-14 of each 21-day cycle. Prior neoadjuvant treatment with anthracyclines was permitted if it had been finished more than a year prior to enrolment. The study\u27s major aim was to evaluate the difference in time to disease progression (TTP). Median TTP for DE was 10.6 months and for DC it was 11.0 months (P = 0.7), with each arm treating 170 women. Using the RECIST criterion, we found that the rates of complete responses were higher in DC (61%) than in DE (11%), and that the rates of partial responses were lower in DC (40%) than in DE (45%) (P = 0.8). Grade 3-4 neutropenia was more common with DE than DC (57% vs. 46%, P = 0.07), as were febrile neutropenia (11% vs. 8%, P = 0.4), hand-foot syndrome (0% vs. 4%, P = 0.02), grade 2-3 anemia (20% vs. 7%, P = 0.001), and asthenia (12% vs. 6%, P = 0.09)

Problems and Challenges of Internally Displaced Persons in the wake of Operation Zarb-e-Azb: Case Study of District Lakki Marwat

The Operation Zarb-e-Azb was a full-scale operation launched against terrorists and their hideouts in North Waziristan. The operation resulted in massive number of IDP’s displaced from their homes. They settled in many different parts of Pakistan, including Lakki Marwat. They have experienced severe problems and challenges since the time they were displaced from their native area. The most prominent were the homes, food and health as their basic needs and problem. These problems were coupled with a lot of other related problems like hygiene, access to education, loss of property, identity issues, and the problem of assimilation, security threats and a denial of political rights on a general scale. The paper will try to discuss and analyze the level and extent of these problems and the response of the government and other non-government agencies to tackle with these issues. Key Words: Identity, IDP, s, Hygiene, Food, Health, Political right

Study of In-vitro Antioxidant and Antibacterial activity of leaf extract of Azadirachta indica, and Ocimum sanctum in different organic solvents and Cow urine

Background: Neem (Azadirachta indica), Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum) and Cow urine (Bos indicus) has been widely used as a therapeutic potential or additive agent in different ethnomedicinal practices as well as modern science also proved its therapeutic potential to treat various diseases and balance the body conditions. Aims: Alone study on Neem, Tulsi and Cow urine (CU) has been widely performed but this study aims to evaluate the individual as well as synergistic antioxidant and antibacterial activity of Neem, and Tulsi’s leaves extract in different organic solvents and Cow urine. Materials and Methods: Antioxidant activity was carried out by using 2,2-Diphenyl1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity and the antibacterial activity was tested by the agar disc diffusion method against gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus)  and gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Proteus vulgaris and Klebsiella species) bacteria. Results: The antioxidant and antibacterial activity is concentration-dependent. The neem extract in chloroform shows the highest ZOI against S. aureus (14±2). Similarly, the neem extract in cow urine (8±0.86) and tulsi extract in methanol (8±1.04) shows the highest ZOI against E. coli. Against K. species cow urine is most effective (9±0.29) followed by neem extract in chloroform and cow urine (8±0.77). In P. vulgaris almost all sample shows ZOI around 7 mm. In synergistic antibacterial study tulsi and neem extract in cow urine shows the highest ZOI against E. coli (12±1.75) and P. vulgaris (10±1.44). The tulsi and neem extract in hexane is not effective against S. aureus and E. coli but effective in P. vulgaris and K. species (ZOI 7 mm). Tulsi and neem extract in chloroform, methanol, and cow urine show similar ZOI (9 mm). In DPPH free radical scavenging activity the methanolic extract of tulsi shows the highest inhibition of free radicle (96.35±0.001), followed by methanolic extract of neem (84.85±0.042). The fresh cow urine inhibits (25.19±0.037) followed by neem extract in chloroform (24.53±0.003), neem extract in cow urine (21.8±0.012), tulsi extract in chloroform (20.86±0.047), tulsi extract in hexane (19.5±0.031), tulsi extract in cow urine (18.33±0.023) and the least inhibition by neem extract in hexane (6.74±0.042)

Prioritizing the Weightage of Sustainability Criteria and Sub-Criteria of Decentralized Micro-Hydropower Projects for Rural Electrification in Nepal

In many cases, sustainability of renewable energy systems (RES) is being analyzed by identifying certain criteria and sub-criteria considering equal weightage among the respective groups. However in reality, relative weightage of criteria and sub-criteria vary due to many reasons. Thus, this paper tries to prioritize the weightage of criteria and sub-criteria of decentralized micro-hydropower projects for rural electrification by analyzing sustainability indicators related to four dimensions- technical, social, economic, and environmental. An Analytical Hierarchy Process –Online Software (AHP-OS) model is used to prioritize the weightage of respective criteria and sub-criteria through expert opinion. Suitable goal, criteria and sub-criteria are developed after reviewing pertinent literature and consultation of the experts. The results reveal that technical criteria (0.362) is the most crucial sustainability criteria followed by economic (0.290) and social (0.226). Environmental criteria (0.122) is found to be the least preferred criteria. The results reveal that ‘energy availability’ (10.8%) is observed to be the most preferred and ‘GSI inclusion’ (2.4%) is ranked to be the least preferred sub-criteria among the 19 sub-criteria. Nepal, being a developing country, shows a trend of people preferring the development of energy services first at a relatively low cost without considering the environment and gender/social inclusion. As a result, technical and economic criteria and sub-criteria are preferred more than that of environmental and social. The outcome of the research can help decision-makers and policy-makers in shaping energy policies, plans, and programs, and foster future pathways for providing sustainable rural electrification in the country. Keywords: Indicators, Sustainability, Multi-criteria analysis, Prioritizing, Pairwise DOI: 10.7176/JETP/9-9-02 Publication date: December 31st 201

Theoretical Investigation of α-decay Chains of Fm-isotopes

Background: The theoretical and experimental investigations of decay properties of heavy and superheavy nuclei are crucial to explore the nuclear structure and reaction dynamics. Purpose: The aim of this study is to probe the α-decay properties of 243Fm and 245Fm isotopic chains using relativistic mean-field (RMF) approach within the framework of preformed cluster-decay model (PCM). Methods: The RMF densities are folded with the relativistic R3Y NN potential to deduce the nuclear interaction potential between the α particle and daughter nucleus. The penetration probability is calculated within the WKB approximation. Results: The α-decay half-lives of even-odd 243Fm and 245Fm isotopes and their daughter nuclei are obtained from the preformed cluster-decay model. These theoretically calculated half-lives are found to be in good agreement with the recent experimental measurements. Conclusions: The novel result here is the applicability of the scaling factor within the PCM as a signature for shell/sub-shell closures in α-decay studies. As such, we have also demonstrated that N=137, 139 and Z=94 corresponding to 231,233Pu could be shell/sub-shell closures. The least T1/2 is found at 243,245Fm which indicate their individual stability and α-decay as their most probable decay mode