Does Nepal’s Climate Change Adaptation Policy and Practices Address Poor and Vulnerable Communities?

Climate change (CC) impact, adaptation practices and policies are an emerging area of research and development in Nepal. Many households were deeply affected by, climatic variability and natural disasters coupled with a decade-long conflict, leaving them with few options to cope with CC in Nepal. The study was done through reviewed CC related policies and programs initiated at the national to local level.  Additionally, study was conducted to analyze different CC adaptation programs and practices in different eco-region from Himalaya to Inner Terai region of center and western Nepal through shared learning dialogue, field observation, key informant interview, regional and district level consultative workshop and focus group discussion. To address the issues of CC, different government and nongovernment institutions have initiated its adaptation programs in Nepal. NAPA and LAPA- Nepal highlighted the adaptation practices and adaptation framework from national to local level. These national programs initiatives have been endorsed by the GoN (Government of Nepal) through the promulgation of CC Policy Nepal 2011.  The policy has focused on interdisciplinary approach with 80% funds allocated at the local level particularly for poor and vulnerable groups. Some district level offices have initiated CC adaptation activities such as construction of water harvesting pond for irrigation, water source protection, agroforestry practices and training on CC adaptation and mitigation. Similarly, in some project supported districts, community level and VDC level five year local adaptation plans have been prepared. However, it is observed that there is a big gap in institutional arrangement, capacity to implement and mechanisms for adaptation programs at local level and poor communities. It was also observed that different GOs programs and NGOs were involved to improve the livelihood of the poor and vulnerable communities through pro-poor programs at local level which resulted improve CC adaptation capacity. It is suggested that CC policy in Nepal be formulated with holistic approach, institutionalized implementing mechanism and focus on livelihood improvement of the poor and vulnerable communities that have joint environmental, social or economic benefits. Keywords:  Community, Institutions, NAPA, no-regret approach, LAPA, Livelihood, Vulnerabilit

Zn-Co metal organic frameworks coated with chitosand and Au nanoparticles for chemo-photothermal-targeted combination therapy of liver cancer

The toxic effects of chemotherapy drugs on normal tissues are still a major limiting factor in cancer treatment. In this paper, we report a metal-organic framework (Zn-Co ZIF) with chitosan-coated outer layer as a carrier for the drug adriamycin hydrochloride (DOX), a treatment for liver cancer, as a novel anti-cancer nanodrug-enhanced carrier. Gold nanoparticles, a good photothermal conversion agent, were combined with the target SH-RGD during surface functionalisation to prepare Zn-Co ZIF@DOX-CS-Au-RGD (ZD-CAR), a nanoplatform with good photothermal conversion properties and targeting for combined liver cancer therapy. ZD-CAR was developed after RGD accurately targeted the tumour and entered the tumour microenvironment (TME), it cleaves and releases the liver cancer therapeutic agent (DOX) in a weak acidic environment to effectively kill tumour cells. The metal skeleton cleavage releases Co2+, which catalyzes the production of oxygen from H2O2 to alleviate the tumour hypoxic environment. The dissolved oxygen could reach 14 mg/L after adding 80 mg/mL of ZD-CAR. Meanwhile, gold nanoparticles could convert light energy into heat energy under 808 NIR irradiation to induce local superheating and kill tumour cells. In summary, this study developed a nanoplatform that combines chemo-photothermal-targeted therapy. It has shown good therapeutic effeciency in cellular experiments and performance tests and has promising applications in anti-cancer therapy

Poboljšanje potisnute imunoreaktivnosti prouzročene virusom zarazne anemije pilića upotrebom imunomodulatora i hematika.

Nutritional immunomodulation represents a new frontier area of research for achieving rational goals of efficient and healthy livestock production, as continuous genetic selection and intensive productions systems have made the animals highly susceptible to various pathogens. In this study, the amelioration of haematinic and immunomodulator on chicken infectious anemia virus (CIAV) induced immmunosupression was studied, with regard to haematological and immunological parameters. Vaccines against Newcastle disease (ND) and infectious bursal disease (IBD) were used as markers for immunological parameter studies. A total of 80 specific pathogen free (SPF) broiler chicks, negative for CIAV antibodies, were randomly divided into four groups (Group I-IV) and were vaccinated against ND and IBD on days 1 and 12, respectively. All chicks of groups II, II and IV were inoculated with CIAV intramuscularly on day 15 of the study, while group I served as control. The chicks of group III and IV were treated with a haematinic (haemocare) and haematinic (haemocare) + immunomodulator (Immuno care), respectively, in drinking water for the entire study period (28 days). Live body weights, haematological parameters, along with humoral immune response (HIR) were measured at regular intervals. The CIAV infected groups showed a significant decline in cell count of erythrocyte and most leukocyte lineages, reduction in live body weights, and antibody titres against ND and IBD viruses. Theintensity of body weight loss, anaemia, leukopenia and depressed humoral immune responses were less severe in CIAV infected chicks fed with haematenic and immunomodulator supplementation diets. Interestingly, dually treated chicks (group IV) had a significantly higher response than the group treated by haematinic alone . In conclusion, the use of immunomodulator plus haematinic supplementation is suggested for providing better protection compared to haematinic supplementation alone, and the combination can be used for prophylaxis and therapeutic purposes against CIA, an economically important and emerging disease of poultry.Imunomodulacija putem hrane predstavlja novo područje istraživanja s ciljem da se postigne učinkovita proizvodnja zdrave stoke, jer su trajni genetski odabir i zahtjevni proizvodni sustavi učinili životinje visoko prijemljivima na različite patogene. U ovom je radu, na osnovi hematoloških i imunoloških pokazatelja, istražen učinak hematika i imunomodulatora na imunosupresiju izazvanu virusom zarazne anemije pilića. Cjepiva protiv newcastleske bolesti i zaraznog burzitisa kokoši rabljena su kao osnova za istraživanje imunoloških pokazatelja. Ukupno je 80 tovnih pilića, slobodnih od specifičnih patogenih uzročnika, negativnih na protutijela za virus zarazne anemije pilića, bilo nasumce podijeljeno u četiri skupine (I-IV) te prvog dana cijepljeno protiv newcastleske bolesti, a 12. dana protiv zaraznog burzitisa kokoši. Svi pilići skupine II, III i IV bili su intramuskularno zaraženi virusom zarazne anemije pilića 15. dana pokusa, dok je skupina I bila kontrolna. Pilići skupine III dobivali su hematik, a skupine IV hematik i imunomodulator u pitkoj vodi tijekom čitavog razdoblja istraživanja (28 dana). Tjelesna masa, hematološki pokazatelji i humoralni imunosni odgovor bili su mjereni u pravilnim razmacima. Skupina zaražena virusom zarazne anemije pokazivala je značajni pad broja eritrocita i leukocita te smanjenje tjelesne mase i titra protutijela za virus newcastleske bolesti i virus zaraznog burzitisa. Gubitak tjelesne mase, anemija, leukopenija i humoralni imunosni odgovor bili su slabiji u pilića zaraženih virusom zarazne anemije koji su dobivali hematik i imunomodulator u hrani. Zanimljivo je da je u pilića koji su dobivali dvostruki dodatak (skupina IV) zabilježen značajno bolji odgovor nego u pilića koji su dobivali samo hematik. Može se zaključiti da je upotreba imunomodulatora i hematika pružila bolju zaštitu u odnosu na upotrebu samog hematika. Kombinacija se može upotrijebiti za profilaksu i terapiju protiv zarazne anemije pilića, gospodarski važne i emergentne zarazne bolesti

Recent Progress in Graphene-Based Electrocatalysts for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

Hydrogen is regarded as a key renewable energy source to meet future energy demands. Moreover, graphene and its derivatives have many advantages, including high electronic conductivity, controllable morphology, and eco-friendliness, etc., which show great promise for electrocatalytic splitting of water to produce hydrogen. This review article highlights recent advances in the synthesis and the applications of graphene-based supported electrocatalysts in hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Herein, powder-based and self-supporting three-dimensional (3D) electrocatalysts with doped or undoped heteroatom graphene are highlighted. Quantum dot catalysts such as carbon quantum dots, graphene quantum dots, and fullerenes are also included. Different strategies to tune and improve the structural properties and performance of HER electrocatalysts by defect engineering through synthetic approaches are discussed. The relationship between each graphene-based HER electrocatalyst is highlighted. Apart from HER electrocatalysis, the latest advances in water electrolysis by bifunctional oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and HER performed by multi-doped graphene-based electrocatalysts are also considered. This comprehensive review identifies rational strategies to direct the design and synthesis of high-performance graphene-based electrocatalysts for green and sustainable applications

N-Doped Graphenelike Nanostructures from p-Nitro Aniline-Based Foam: Formation, Structure, and Applications as a Nanofiller

Production of snake foam based on p-nitro aniline (PNA) was considered fun in old-school chemistry laboratories. Herein, we report the fabrication of a new carbon nanomaterial from PNA-based foam. The resulting material, resembling graphene and consisting of nitrogen heteroatoms, is N-doped graphene like nanostructures, and their morphology, structure, and stability are comprehensively examined using combined techniques including C-13 NMR spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). An optimized route was also established for their large-scale production. Further experimental validation of them as a nanofiller in polymer [SEBS (20 wt %) and paraffin wax (80 wt %)]-based nanocomposites was carried out, and we foundthat the thermomechanical properties of the nanocomposites were synchronously improved, which was attributed to the enshrouding effect of the nanofiller to the polymer chains. Owing to their good thermomechanical property and low-cost feature, these new nanomaterials can be further explored as a promising candidate for applications in energy storage, catalysis, and CO2 capture