Implementing the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture in Nepal: achievements and challenges

This book documents the results of the research and capacity development efforts to implement the ITPGRFA in Nepal. Its chapters cover five main interrelated themes: national-level multi-lateral system policy development; policy actors and networks; germplasm flows and interdependence; farmers’ involvement; and technology transfer. ITPGRFA implementation in Nepal has made considerable progress, but the policy environment in Nepal could be further improved. A positive development is the drafting of new policy and legal instruments, such as the agro-biodiversity conservation and utilization act and regulations

Seed systems of rice and finger millet in Nepal, between formality and informality

In Nepal, more than 90% of cereal seed flows from informal systems and there are regions and groups of farmers that are not connected at all to any seed networks with external seed supply. Nepal's agricultural policies and formal institutions are promoting the development of the formal seed system. However, knowledge gaps exist on the opportunities and challenges for smallholder farmers when formal seed systems are becoming accessible. This study identified impacts of different seed systems on agrobiodiversity, seed value chains and livelihood of smallholder farmers in Ghanpokhara, a mid-hill region of Nepal. A survey was conducted in 40 farm households (rice and finger millet), numerous key informants and experts involved in Nepal's seed systems were interviewed and extensive literature review was done. Four different seed systems were identified: the formal system, the intermediary system, the informal system and the no seed supply system (except local seeds). The latter was found in Ghanpokhara for rice and finger millet. Although (seed and crop) markets can be found not too far away, farmers in the study site appear to be locked off from the formal seed system. Their interest to purchase new seed seems to be high, but their awareness about potential benefits of quality seed is low, and they have limited access to information and new seed. The present research also found that varietal diversity along the continuum of seed systems is highest in informal seed systems. Besides numerous benefits, increasingly formal seed systems bear also disadvantages (and risks) for small-holder farmers: higher costs of input, dependency from formal seed sources and changes in crop genetic diversity, among others. The recommendations derived from this study are: extension service should be promoted in remote areas, more resources should be made available for farmers' training on seed production, selection and storage techniques. Furthermore, the organisation in farmer groups for seed production should be facilitated (socially inclusive) in order to produce good quality seed of farmer preferred varieties locally and in sufficient quantity

Quasinormal Spectrum and Quantization of Charged Black Holes

Black-hole quasinormal modes have been the subject of much recent attention, with the hope that these oscillation frequencies may shed some light on the elusive theory of quantum gravity. We study {\it analytically} the asymptotic quasinormal spectrum of a {\it charged} scalar field in the (charged) Reissner-Nordstr\"om spacetime. We find an analytic expression for these black-hole resonances in terms of the black-hole physical parameters: its Bekenstein-Hawking temperature $T_{BH}$, and its electric potential $\Phi$. We discuss the applicability of the results in the context of black-hole quantization. In particular, we show that according to Bohr's correspondence principle, the asymptotic resonance corresponds to a fundamental area unit $\Delta A=4\hbar\ln2$.Comment: 4 page

Perturbative calculation of quasi-normal modes of Schwarzschild black holes

We discuss a systematic method of analytically calculating the asymptotic form of quasi-normal frequencies of a four-dimensional Schwarzschild black hole by expanding around the zeroth-order approximation to the wave equation proposed by Motl and Neitzke. We obtain an explicit expression for the first-order correction and arbitrary spin. Our results are in agreement with the results from WKB and numerical analyses in the case of gravitational waves.Comment: 11 pages; references added and a sign error corrected; to appear in CQ

The role of molecular chaperonins in warm ischemia and reperfusion injury in the steatotic liver: A proteomic study

BACKGROUND: The molecular basis of the increased susceptibility of steatotic livers to warm ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury during transplantation remains undefined. Animal model for warm I/R injury was induced in obese Zucker rats. Lean Zucker rats provided controls. Two dimensional differential gel electrophoresis was performed with liver protein extracts. Protein features with significant abundance ratios (p < 0.01) between the two cohorts were selected and analyzed with HPLC/MS. Proteins were identified by Uniprot database. Interactive protein networks were generated using Ingenuity Pathway Analysis and GRANITE software. RESULTS: The relative abundance of 105 proteins was observed in warm I/R injury. Functional grouping revealed four categories of importance: molecular chaperones/endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, oxidative stress, metabolism, and cell structure. Hypoxia up-regulated 1, calcium binding protein 1, calreticulin, heat shock protein (HSP) 60, HSP-90, and protein disulfide isomerase 3 were chaperonins significantly (p < 0.01) down-regulated and only one chaperonin, HSP-1was significantly upregulated in steatotic liver following I/R. CONCLUSION: Down-regulation of the chaperones identified in this analysis may contribute to the increased ER stress and, consequently, apoptosis and necrosis. This study provides an initial platform for future investigation of the role of chaperones and therapeutic targets for increasing the viability of steatotic liver allografts

Editorial: Endocrine modulators of neurological processes: potential treatment targets of pediatric neurological diseases.

Editorial on the Research Topic Endocrine Modulators of Neurological Processes: Potential Treatment Targets of Pediatric Neurological Diseases