Climate Change Instability and Gender Vulnerability in Nepal: A Case Study on the Himalayan Region

For the past decade, low-income developing countries have and will continue to remain on the frontline for the consequences of human induced climate change. While climate change is expected to have universal negative impacts on the health, well-being and the livelihoods of people, it is expected to specifically affect women from low-income developing countries where poverty and gender inequality are both still very prevalent. A closer look at previous research reveals that women, specifically in the Himalayan region of Nepal are more vulnerable due to the already challenging terrain in which they live in. This paper analyzes the vulnerability of women in Nepal based on their roles in society and as effects of migration and the agriculture industry. It is therefore necessary to realize that climate change is not a gender-neutral occurrence and it has become very important, especially for developing countries, to identify gender sensitive strategies that can respond to the needs for women and reduce their vulnerability

Rehabilitation of hearing impaired children in India – An update

The prevalence of deafness in India is fairly significant. It is the second most common cause of disability. Approximately 63 million people (6.3%) in India suffer from significant auditory loss.1 Rehabilitation of hearing impaired children in India remains a challenging task. Early detection and intervention are the mainstay of this initiative. This article does not purport to detail the clinical aspects and surgical management of hearing handicapped children.We discuss here the resources and options available in India for the education of deaf children and the role of the Government bodies in rehabilitation. Awareness abouteducation and rehabilitation of hearing handicapped is low among the general public and even among the medical fraternity.

Sentimental Analysis and Its Applications - A Review

Sentimental Analysis over the years has received a lot of recognition as it has shown a tremendous growth. Nowadays Sentimental analysis can be applied to any field as to bring out the emotions attached to it and also we can be able to know what the other person wants to convey. In our work we will be applying the sentimental analysis on the dataset of 15 hotels from the city and apply the new technique of Statistical Analysis. The Statistical Analysis Technique has taken the attributes like Food Quality, Ambience, area of Location etc into the account for calculating Document Index. The Reviews are taken from a trusted website. It is observed that people before making any decision do visit the reviews before making out the further decisions so e-WOM is the most effective to way to convey the views .Nowadays people rely a lot on electronic form of reviews because it is considered as the most trusted way that people can convey the views

An experience with COVID-19 positive pregnant patients at a tertiary care center

Background: The Covid-19 pandemic is a global phenomenon. The lockdown imposed by the central and state governments, has also led to restriction of movement of patients thus reducing their access to antenatal care. Our hospital was officially declared as a Covid-19 centre as per government directives. The hospital has been managing Covid-19 positive patients as per guidelines. We here present the data of management of COVID-19 positive pregnant patients.Methods: A retrospective study. All COVID positive patients admitted to the obstetric unit of the hospital from 23 March 2020 to November 2020 were analysed. A total of 96 COVID positive patients were analysed. The patients were analysed for antenatal complications, complications during delivery, mode of delivery and neonatal complications.Results: There was only one patient with major complications associated with COVID. Most of the patients were either asymptomatic or had mild symptoms. There was only one maternal mortality. 23 out of the 89 antenatal cases required emergency caesarean section. The caesarean section rate was higher in COVID positive patients though the caesarean sections were done for obstetric indications only. Three neonates tested positive for the virus. 2 of the neonate required NICU admission.Conclusions: COVID-19 is a completely unprecedented situation. The aim of this study was to demonstrate that the effect of COVID-19 on pregnant women is minimal. There were only 2 patients with major complications. The COVID positive pregnant patients can be managed effectively with proper personal protective equipment and adherence to guidelines

A prospective randomized controlled trial to study the effect of prenatal yoga on maternal weight gain and psychological stress in pregnancy and its association with pregnancy outcomes

Background: Objective of study was to evaluate the effect of prenatal yoga on maternal gestational weight gain (GWG) and psychological stress in pregnancy (PSS) and to evaluate the effect of prenatal yoga on labour outcomes. Methods: Prospective randomized controlled trial conducted at AIIMS, New Delhi between May 2020-December 2021. Sixty women each were recruited in the yoga and control group. Women in the yoga group attended 60 minutes supervised yoga sessions followed by self-sessions. Women in the control group received routine antenatal care along with 30 minutes per day of walking and dietary counselling. The assessment was done for the weight(WT), dietary intake (D) and perceived stress score (PSS) at the time of recruitment (WT1, D1, PSS1), 28 weeks (WT2, D2, PSS2) and 36 weeks (WT3, D3, PSS3) and the results were then compared. Results: At recruitment all the parameters in both groups were comparable. The difference in mean and difference in percentage in terms of gestational weight gain (GWG) at recruitment and at 36 weeks was statistically significant (p-value=0.027). The per cent weight gain in the Yoga group was significantly low (p value=0.048). The control group experienced more amount of stress both at 28 weeks (p-value = 0.021) and 36 weeks (p-value <0.0001). The difference in mean and difference in percentage in terms of PSS1 and PSS2 (p-value=0.011), PSS2 and PSS3 (p-value=0.0001) PSS1 and PSS 3 (p-value=0.0001). Labour outcomes were comparable between both groups. Conclusions: Yoga helps in controlling excessive GWG and helps prevent many adverse feto-maternal outcomes associated with obesity

Artificial Intelligence : Implications for the Agri-Food Sector

Artificial intelligence (AI) involves the development of algorithms and computational models that enable machines to process and analyze large amounts of data, identify patterns and relationships, and make predictions or decisions based on that analysis. AI has become increasingly pervasive across a wide range of industries and sectors, with healthcare, finance, transportation, manufacturing, retail, education, and agriculture are a few examples to mention. As AI technology continues to advance, it is expected to have an even greater impact on industries in the future. For instance, AI is being increasingly used in the agri-food sector to improve productivity, efficiency, and sustainability. It has the potential to revolutionize the agri-food sector in several ways, including but not limited to precision agriculture, crop monitoring, predictive analytics, supply chain optimization, food processing, quality control, personalized nutrition, and food safety. This review emphasizes how recent developments in AI technology have transformed the agri-food sector by improving efficiency, reducing waste, and enhancing food safety and quality, providing particular examples. Furthermore, the challenges, limitations, and future prospects of AI in the field of food and agriculture are summarized

Vascular reconstruction of the decellularized biomatrix for whole-organ engineering—a critical perspective and future strategies

Whole-organ re-engineering is the most challenging goal yet to be achieved in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. One essential factor in any transplantable and functional tissue engineering is fabricating a perfusable vascular network with macro- and micro-sized blood vessels. Whole-organ development has become more practical with the use of the decellularized organ biomatrix (DOB) as it provides a native biochemical and structural framework for a particular organ. However, reconstructing vasculature and re-endothelialization in the DOB is a highly challenging task and has not been achieved for constructing a clinically transplantable vascularized organ with an efficient perfusable capability. Here, we critically and articulately emphasized factors that have been studied for the vascular reconstruction in the DOB. Furthermore, we highlighted the factors used for vasculature development studies in general and their application in whole-organ vascular reconstruction. We also analyzed in detail the strategies explored so far for vascular reconstruction and angiogenesis in the DOB for functional and perfusable vasculature development. Finally, we discussed some of the crucial factors that have been largely ignored in the vascular reconstruction of the DOB and the future directions that should be addressed systematically

Isolation and therapeutic efficacy of enteropathogenic E. coli phage cocktail against colibacillosis in neonatal goats

Phage based therapeutics have shown promising results against the infections caused by the drug resistant bacteria. To combat the problem of antibiotic resistance posed by diarrhoeagenic E. coli, here, we identified and characterized 38 E. coli phages which were isolated from 70 solid sources (goat-faeces and soil). The in vitro lytic range of phage isolates (n=38) against 439 isolates of E. coli was found between 16 and 53%. Three phage isolates with highest host range showed lytic efficacy against 53, 48 and 46% of E. coli isolates, respectively. A preparation with above three phages was developed, and the phages of the preparation were found stable at wide range of temperature, pH and chloroform treatment. Endotoxin content of the preparation was found below the threshold level and it also passed safety and sterility tests. a total of 40 diarrheic goat kids were administered orally with the therapeutic phage preparation for two days twice daily. Total 21 diarrheic goat-kids were successfully treated using the therapeutic phage preparation, whereas 19 kids could not be treated (success rate: 52.5%; 21/40). The results of the current study provide insight for using lytic bacteriophages for therapeutic interventions against drug resistant E. coli responsible for colibacillosis in neonatal goat kid