Older People's Understanding on Old Age: A Mixture of Myth and Reality in Nepal

Living longer is regarded as a triumph of human development. In Nepal, by and large, old age has been understood largely from the physical dimension; thus, there is wider belief that in old age people are frail and weak. The socio-psychological dimensions, in which elderly people are facing isolation due to loss of spouse, negligence from family and negatively viewed by society with old age stereotypes, are overlooked. The main objective of this research paper is to explore the elderly's own experiences and understanding on old age. This is qualitative research within the interpretative research paradigm.  Interview, field notes and participant observation were the key information gathering methods adopted. The study was carried out in Kathmandu Metropolitan City. And total six elderly persons, their family members and eleven stakeholders are selected purposively representing different ages and gender. Keywords: Ageing, senior citizen,Kathmandu, Nepa

Microbial Biosynthesis of Chrysazin Derivatives in Recombinant <i>Escherichia coli</i> and Their Biological Activities

Anthraquinone and its derivatives show remarkable biological properties such as anticancer, antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral activities. Hence, anthraquinones derivatives have been of prime interest in drug development. This study developed a recombinant Escherichia coli strain to modify chrysazin to chrysazin-8-O-α-l-rhamnoside (CR) and chrysazin-8-O-α-l-2′-O-methylrhamnoside (CRM) using rhamnosyl transferase and sugar-O-methyltransferase. Biosynthesized CR and CRM were structurally characterized using HPLC, high-resolution mass spectrometry, and various nuclear magnetic resonance analyses. Antimicrobial effects of chrysazin, CR, and CRM against 18 superbugs, including 14 Gram-positive and 4 Gram-negative pathogens, were investigated. CR and CRM exhibited antimicrobial activities against nine pathogens, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) in a disk diffusion assay at a concentration of 40 µg per disk. There were MIC and MBC values of 7.81–31.25 µg/mL for CR and CRM against methicillin-sensitive S. aureus CCARM 0205 (MSSA) for which the parent chrysazin is more than >1000 µg/mL. Furthermore, the anti-proliferative properties of chrysazin, CR, and CRM were assayed using AGS, Huh7, HL60, and HaCaT cell lines. CR and CRM showed higher antibacterial and anticancer properties than chrysazin

Metabolic Comparison and Molecular Networking of Antimicrobials in <i>Streptomyces</i> Species

Streptomyces are well-known for producing bioactive secondary metabolites, with numerous antimicrobials essential to fight against infectious diseases. Globally, multidrug-resistant (MDR) microorganisms significantly challenge human and veterinary diseases. To tackle this issue, there is an urgent need for alternative antimicrobials. In the search for potent agents, we have isolated four Streptomyces species PC1, BT1, BT2, and BT3 from soils collected from various geographical regions of the Himalayan country Nepal, which were then identified based on morphology and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The relationship of soil microbes with different Streptomyces species has been shown in phylogenetic trees. Antimicrobial potency of isolates was carried out against Staphylococcus aureus American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) 43300, Shigella sonnei ATCC 25931, Salmonella typhi ATCC 14028, Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC 700603, and Escherichia coli ATCC 25922. Among them, Streptomyces species PC1 showed the highest zone of inhibition against tested pathogens. Furthermore, ethyl acetate extracts of shake flask fermentation of these Streptomyces strains were subjected to liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometric (LC-MS/MS) analysis for their metabolic comparison and Global Natural Products Social Molecular Networking (GNPS) web-based molecular networking. We found very similar metabolite composition in four strains, despite their geographical variation. In addition, we have identified thirty-seven metabolites using LC-MS/MS analysis, with the majority belonging to the diketopiperazine class. Among these, to the best of our knowledge, four metabolites, namely cyclo-(Ile-Ser), 2-n-hexyl-5-n-propylresorcinol, 3-[(6-methylpyrazin-2-yl) methyl]-1H-indole, and cyclo-(d-Leu-l-Trp), were detected for the first time in Streptomyces species. Besides these, other 23 metabolites including surfactin B, surfactin C, surfactin D, and valinomycin were identified with the help of GNPS-based molecular networking

Landslide Susceptibility Assessment in Nepal’s Chure Region: A Geospatial Analysis

The Chure Hills, already vulnerable due to their fragile nature, face increased landslide risk, prompting the need for reliable susceptibility assessment. This study uses Poisson regression modeling to assess landslide susceptibility in two highly susceptible districts of the Chure region. Variance inflation factor (VIF) tests were conducted to ensure robustness, indicating no multicollinearity among the variables. Subsequently, Poisson regression analysis identified eight significant variables, among which geology, lineament density, elevation, relief, slope, rainfall, solar radiance, and land cover types emerged as important factors associated with landslide count. The analysis revealed that higher lineament density and slope were associated with lower landslide counts, indicating potential stabilizing geological and topographical influences. The categorical variable, namely geology, revealed that middle Siwalik, upper Siwalik, and quaternary geological formations were associated with lower landslide counts than lower Siwalik. Land cover types, including areas under forest, shrubland, grassland, agricultural land, water bodies, and bare ground, had a substantial significant positive association with landslide count. The generated susceptibility map that exhibited a substantial portion (23.32% in Dang and 5.22% in Surkhet) of the study area fell within the very-high-susceptibility categories, indicating pronounced landslide susceptibility in the Dang and Surkhet districts of the Chure hills. This study offers valuable insights into landslide vulnerability in the Chure region, serving as a foundation for informed decision-making, disaster risk reduction strategies, and sustainable land-use and developmental policy planning

Health system gaps in cardiovascular disease prevention and management in Nepal

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of deaths and disability in Nepal. Health systems can improve CVD health outcomes even in resource-limited settings by directing efforts to meet critical system gaps. This study aimed to identify Nepal's health systems gaps to prevent and manage CVDs. METHODS: We formed a task force composed of the government and non-government representatives and assessed health system performance across six building blocks: governance, service delivery, human resources, medical products, information system, and financing in terms of equity, access, coverage, efficiency, quality, safety and sustainability. We reviewed 125 national health policies, plans, strategies, guidelines, reports and websites and conducted 52 key informant interviews. We grouped notes from desk review and transcripts' codes into equity, access, coverage, efficiency, quality, safety and sustainability of the health system. RESULTS: National health insurance covers less than 10% of the population; and more than 50% of the health spending is out of pocket. The efficiency of CVDs prevention and management programs in Nepal is affected by the shortage of human resources, weak monitoring and supervision, and inadequate engagement of stakeholders. There are policies and strategies in place to ensure quality of care, however their implementation and supervision is weak. The total budget on health has been increasing over the past five years. However, the funding on CVDs is negligible. CONCLUSION: Governments at the federal, provincial and local levels should prioritize CVDs care and partner with non-government organizations to improve preventive and curative CVDs services.</p