Vancomycin Intermediate MRSA Isolates Obtained from Retail Chicken Meat and Eggs Collected at Pokhara, Nepal

Antimicrobial resistance among food animal isolates is increasing as a result of their uncontrolled uses. The monitoring of antibiotic resistance among these isolates is very necessary. S aureus was isolated from eggshells and chicken meat samples collected from different retail outlets of the Pokhara metropolitan. Samples were inoculated on Mannitol salt agar aseptically and inoculated overnight. Isolated yellow colonies were further examined by Gram-staining, catalase, and coagulase test to detect S aureus. Methicillin resistance was screened using cefoxitin disc. Vancomycin minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of Methicillin-resistant S aureus (MRSA) isolates were determined by the agar dilution method following CLSI guidelines. 139 S aureus were isolated from 205 samples. Among them, 89 were from egg samples (out of 125 samples) and 50 from chicken (out of 80 samples). The overall prevalence of MRSA was 12.94%. Antibiotic resistance was significantly higher in MRSA isolates compared to Methicillin sensitive S aureus (MSSA) isolates. The highest rate of resistance was noted for ampicillin, amoxicillin, and erythromycin while the least resistance was noted for gentamicin and amikacin. Vancomycin minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) range of the MRSA isolates was 0.25-8μg/ml indicating the detection of both vancomycin-intermediate and sensitive isolates from the samples. This is the first study reporting vancomycin-intermediate S aureus (VISA) isolates from Nepal and indicates the increasing drug resistance among animal isolates. Further surveillance studies about the transmission of these pathogens to humans as well as detail molecular analyses are imminent

Hepatitis B and C Virus Infections among Blood Donors in Blood Transfusion Center, Pokhara, Nepal: Seroprevalence and its Associated Risk Factors

Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) and Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infections lead to chronic diseases and are the most common causes of liver cirrhosis and cancer in developing countries like Nepal. The study is carried out to determine the seroprevalence of HBV and HCV by using a Rapid kit method and Elisa Method to find out its risk factors. The cross-sectional study was done among blood donating people from 16th August 2016 to 19th November 2016. Blood donors in Pokhara Valley were screened for anti-HCV antibodies, anti-HBV antibodies using third generation ELISA kits and automated ELISA Processor in serology laboratory at Central Blood Transfusion Service (CBTS) of Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS) in Pokhara, Nepal. 1777 (87.2%) units were male blood donors and 260 (12.6%) units were female donors out of 2037 participants. Gender wise, the ratio between male and female was 1:0.1. HBV and HCV infection rate in blood donors were detected at 0.7% (15/2037) and 0.5% (8/2037) respectively. HBV infection rate in volunteer blood donor people was 0.7% (14/1881) which was higher than the replacement donors i.e. 0.6% (1/156). Similarly, in HCV infection rate in volunteer donor were 0.4% (8/1881). HBV infected people are detected higher than the HCV infected people among the blood donors. In addition, there was no significant relationship between positive results of HBV and HCV tests with the gender, age, tattoo, donor type

Using GIS and Remote Sensing to Map Grassroots Sustainable Development for a Small NGO in Nepal

Geographic information systems, through analysis and visualizations, can aid in pursuing and improving sustainable development. Thousands of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in developing countries provide a wide range of services and local organizations with fewer resources must often be more efficient to offer their services effectively. The accessibility of spatial data for assessment and, in turn, improved planning could enable these organizations to increase efficiency, thereby maximizing aid and sustainable development, as well as the number of people helped in a variety of ways. Focusing on mapping outreach and quantifying land use for a locally run NGO in Nepal, this study mapped and established a geodatabase of ongoing and completed outreach projects, as well as quantified land use using an unmanned aerial vehicle to gather high-resolution imagery at the site. The NGO, a grassroots foundation south of Kathmandu, provides workshops and funding for sustainable and empowerment projects and opportunities for learning through workshops. They were also able to provide significant disaster relief to surrounding communities following the 2015 Gorkha earthquake. We found that most programs are spatially centered near the foundation, with some programs reaching across districts. Land use at the foundation is predominantly biodynamic gardening followed by education (classrooms). We created a Story Map to share the results with the NGO and local community. The study provides baseline data for the organization that previously had none, with the goal of maximizing efficiency and ultimately increasing capacity

Fecal carriage of Extended Spectrum β-Lactamases (ESBL) Producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella spp. among School Children in Pokhara, Nepal

Extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBL) producing microbes in recent years have been a major problem in developing countries like Nepal, with limited treatment options. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of ESBL producing E. coli and Klebsiella spp. in school children in Pokhara, Nepal. The study was conducted from June to October, 2015 at the microbiology laboratory of Manipal Teaching Hospital, Pokhara, Nepal. Antibiotic Susceptibility Test (AST) was done after isolation and identification of bacterial isolates. Then, presence of ESBL enzymes in E. coli and Klebsiella spp. were tested by combination disc diffusion test using cefotaxime and ceftazidime alone and with clavulanic acid. Out of total 309 school children, 211 (68%) bacterial isolates were detected from stool samples. Among them, E. coli and Klebsiella spp. were detected in 97 (46%) and 39 (19%) stool samples respectively. Bacteria isolated from 14 (5%) stool samples were multi-drug resistant (MDR) positive. After applying combined disk method, 88 (29%) isolates were found to be ESBL producer. Emerging prevalence rate of ESBL producing E. coli and Klebsiella spp. are major problem in medical history. Therefore, rapid need of surveillance for effective management of such MDR-strain is required

Refractive Error among Children Visiting the Department of Paediatric Opthalmology of a Tertiary Eye Care Center

Introduction: Refractive error is the inability of eyes to focus clearly on images. Visual impairment due to refractive error has a major impact on children's education and daily activities. The hospital has no documentation of the ocular morbidity related to refractive errors in children. The aim of this study was to find out the prevalence of refractive error in children visiting the Department of Paediatric Ophthalmology of a tertiary care centre. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was done in the Outpatient Department of Paediatric Ophthalmology in a tertiary care centre from 8 September 2022 to 7 March 2023 after obtaining ethical approval from the Institutional Review Committee. A convenience sampling method was used. The point estimate was calculated at 95% Confidence Interval. Results: Among 3600 children, the prevalence of refractive error was seen in 668 children (18.56%) (15.61-21.51, 95% Confidence Interval). Refractive error was seen in 363 (54.34%) boys and 305 (45.66%) girls. Myopia was found in 340 (50.90%), astigmatism in 207 (30.99%), and hyperopia in 121 (18.11%). Conclusions: The prevalence of refractive error among children attending a tertiary care centre was found to be higher than studies done in similar settings. Regular screening of refractive error for visual impairment is recommended among school going children.    

On-farm agrobiodiversity measurement and conservation

Total agrobiodiversity of any area is necessary to plan the implementation of agricultural and environmental projects and activities. Diversity is most for advancing agriculture development, however, modern agriculture has accelerated the replacement of old age crop diversity. Agrobiodiversity index and measures are commonly used and estimated for crop and animal species, landraces and sites. These are useful for locating sites, crops and custodians of agrobiodiversity. Agrobiodiversity includes crop and plant; livestock and fish, insect and microbial genetic resources that are cultivated, semi domesticated or wild. Diversity are ated properly that leads to choose the conservation approaches effectively

Health literacy of common ocular diseases in Nepal

BACKGROUND: Poor health literacy is often a key cause of lack of or delayed uptake of health care services. The aim of this study was to assess the health literacy of common ocular diseases, namely cataract, glaucoma, night blindness, trachoma and diabetic retinopathy in Nepal. METHODS: A cross sectional study of 1741 participants randomly selected from non-triaged attendants in the outpatient queue at Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology, a semi urban general population of Bhaktapur district of Kathmandu Valley and patients attending rural outreach clinics. Participants responded to trained enumerators using verbally administered, semi structured questionnaires on their awareness and knowledge of cataract, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, night blindness, and trachoma. RESULTS: The awareness of cataract across the entire sample was 49.6%, night blindness was 48.3%, diabetic retinopathy was 29%, glaucoma was 21.3% and trachoma was 6.1%. Patients presenting to rural outreach clinics had poorer awareness of cataract, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, night blindness and trachoma compared to those from a semi-urban community and an urban eye hospital (p<0.05), Old age was directly associated with poorer awareness of cataract, glaucoma, night blindness, trachoma and diabetic retinopathy (p<0.05). Female gender was associated with lower awareness of cataract, glaucoma, night blindness and trachoma (p<0.05). Literacy was associated with greater awareness of cataract, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, night blindness and trachoma (p<0.05). Higher education was significantly associated with greater awareness of cataract, night blindness and trachoma (p<0.05). Multivariate analysis found that the awareness of common ocular diseases was significantly associated with level of education (p<0.05). Similarly, awareness of cataract, glaucoma, trachoma and night blindness was associated with female gender (p<0.05) whereas awareness of cataract, night blindness, trachoma and diabetic retinopathy was associated with age (p<0.05) but the awareness glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy was associated with camps. CONCLUSIONS: Low awareness of common ocular conditions is associated with factors such as female gender, old age, lower levels of education and rural habitation. A would be successful health promotion programs should specifically target health determinants to promote health literacy and to ensure timely utilization of eye care services

Germplasm rescue and repatriation

Due to many factors such as increase access and availability of modern varieties, change in market preferences, low productivity of native landraces and climate change, crop landraces are threatened and are at the risk of losing from the fields. Still there are many rare and unique landraces conserved by farmers in different parts of the country. Native agricultural genetic resources that are being grown in red zone areas are all endangered. Unique and rare landraces as well as landraces grown in small areas by few farmers are also endangered. Different natural calamities also make native landraces endangered. Such landraces are lost if further conservation action did not take place. Exploration and collection of such endangered landraces is called germplasm rescue. National gene bank started rescue since 2014 for buckwheat diversity in Dolpa district

Dicer Represses the Interferon Response and the Double-Stranded RNA-Activated Protein Kinase Pathway In Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells

Recent studies have demonstrated that embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are deficient in expressing type I interferons (IFN), the cytokines that play key roles in antiviral responses. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms and biological implications of this finding are poorly understood. In this study, we developed a synthetic RNA-based assay that can simultaneously assess multiple forms of antiviral responses. Dicer is an enzyme essential for RNA interference (RNAi), which is used as a major antiviral mechanism in invertebrates. RNAi activity is detected in wild-type ESCs but is abolished in Dicer knockout ESCs (D-/-ESCs) as expected. Surprisingly, D-/-ESCs have gained the ability to express IFN, which is otherwise deficient in wild-type ESCs. Furthermore, D-/-ESCs have constitutively active double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-activated protein kinase (PKR), an enzyme that is also involved in antiviral response. D-/-ESCs show increased sensitivity to the cytotoxicity resulting from RNA transfection. The effects of dsRNA can be partly replicated with a synthetic B2RNA corresponding to the retrotransposon B2 short interspersed nuclear element. B2RNA has secondary structure features of dsRNA and accumulates in D-/-ESCs, suggesting that B2RNA could be a cellular RNA that activates PKR and contributes to the decreased cell proliferation and viability of D-/-ESCs. Treatment of D-/-ESCs with a PKR inhibitor and IFNβ-neutralizing antibodies increased cell proliferation rate and cell viability. Based on these findings, we propose that, in ESCs, Dicer acts as a repressor of antiviral responses and plays a key role in the maintenance of proliferation, viability, and pluripotency of ESCs