Physicochemical and Bacteriological Analyses of Groundwater in the Periphery of the Bagmati River in Kathmandu Valley

The objective of this study was to assess the physicochemical and bacteriological quality of groundwater samples. A total of 34 samples were taken during the time period of June 6 to June 21 of 2016 from the groundwater sources in Kathmandu, located in the periphery of Bagmati river, from Chobhar to Sinamangal with approximate distance of 10 km. Site for study, sample collection, transportation, preservation and processing (bacteriological and physicochemical analyses) of samples were carried out following standard protocols issued by [1, 2]. Membrane filtration technique was employed for enumeration of indicator organism (coliform and thermotolerant coliform) and biochemical tests for its identification

Knowledge, Practices and Anxiety related to Corona Virus Disease-19 (COVID -19) among Nursing Students in Nepal

 Introduction: COVID-19 is a pandemic that emerged and rapidly spread throughout the world in no time. Nursing students are the foundation of nursing profession and they have enormous role to control the spread of the disease in society. The present study was conducted to assess knowledge, practice and anxiety related to COVID-19 among nursing students of Nepal and to find out the correlation between anxiety and knowledge and practice. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted among 214 Proficiency Certificate Level and Bachelor of Sciences in Nursing students of Nursing Programme, Manipal College of Medical Sciences. Data were collected from 25th May to 2nd June 2020 through self-developed structured questionnaire to measure knowledge and practice whereas, a validated “Self -rating Anxiety scale (SAS)” was used to measure anxiety level via Google form. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential (spearman rho correlation) statistics. Results: Majority (73.80%) were from age group 16-20 years of age with mean age of 19.33±1.96 years. Majorities (83.60%) were Hindus. More than half (57.50%) of the respondents had adequate knowledge regarding corona virus infection, 58.90% had good practice and only 6.10% had mild to moderate anxiety level. There was no significant correlation of anxiety with knowledge (p=0.857) and practice (p=0.375). Conclusion: The study showed that more than half of the nursing students had inadequate knowledge, poor practices regarding corona virus infection and very few had mild to moderate anxiety level. Anxiety was not related to knowledge and practice regarding corona virus infection

Acetyl cholinesterase: a potential target for Alzheimer’s disease intervention

Alzheimer's disease is a neurological disorder in which the death of brain cells causes memory loss and cognitive decline. The role of treatment is not limited to pharmacology, but also involves many factors, such as the psychological, social, and economic aspects of the patient and family. It is important to consider the use of AChe inhibitors in patients with mild to moderate AD, despite cost issues and in the absence of any other immediate progression. Although there are allots of currently available inhibitor for acetyl cholinesterase but there is no selective potent inhibitor for AD. so, there is an urgent need discover of compounds that are active against Acetyl cholinesterase, along  with there is need of molecular modeling for  identifying functional groups that may be important for inhibiting Acetyl cholinesterase activity

Study and Design of Pendulum Assisted Hand Water Pump

The designed pump consists of a normal hand pump and a pendulum, held together into a mechanism by a metal structure. This pendulum pump aims to provide a solution for lifting water manually, which requires a large human effort when operated continuously. It is based on a very simple principle of the pendulum, lever two-staged oscillator mechanism. With the help of this principle, the reciprocating motion of the piston in the pump is obtained using the oscillation of a pendulum. The pendulum pump was designed using different calculations and was fabricated adding frame, springs, pendulum to normal piston pump for the actual experimentation. The project purely deals with the mechanical aspect of the pendulum pump, where an experimental approach is implemented to conclude. The average discharge of water at 30°, 40°, 50° and 60° swing angles were 51ml, 59ml, 70ml, 98ml respectively which concluded that the discharge of this designed pump extremely depends on the swing angle of the pendulum as water discharge is increased with increasing angle as seen from experimentation. Also, from experimentation, this designed pump pumps out approximately 9% of more water than a conventional hand water pump taken average discharge of normal pump as reference under the same circumstances. As this pump can be operated with minimum effort compared to a normal hand pump, it can be operated by people of any age and even by physically challenged people. This machine can be useful for small scale irrigation, handling of wastewater, lifting water to small height for household purposes or to lift water from well

Lymphangiomatous Polyp Presenting as Tonsillar Mass

A 19-year-old female presented to ENT OPD of Dhulikhel Hospital, Kathmandu University Hospital, with history of foreign body sensation in throat for 2 weeks and mass in left tonsil for 1 week. There is no history of difficulty swallowing or recurrent throat infection. Physical examination revealed a pedunculated mass arising from upper pole of left tonsil. Bilateral tonsillectomy was done under general anaesthesia. Grossly, 2.5 × 1.5 × 1 cm polypoidal mass, soft in consistency, was found to be attached to left tonsil. Histopathology report was consistent with lymphangiomatous polyp of tonsil. Postoperative period was uneventful and she was normal during her follow-up at 1 month with bilateral healthy tonsillar fossa

A Global Collaboration to Develop and Pilot Test a Mobile Application to Improve Cancer Pain Management in Nepal

INTRODUCTION: Quality palliative care, which prioritizes comfort and symptom control, can reduce global suffering from non-communicable diseases, such as cancer. To address this need, the Nepalese Association of Palliative Care (NAPCare) created pain management guidelines (PMG) to support healthcare providers in assessing and treating serious pain. The NAPCare PMG are grounded in World Health Organization best practices but adapted for the cultural and resource context of Nepal. Wider adoption of the NAPCare PMG has been limited due to distribution of the guidelines as paper booklets. METHODS: Building on a long-standing partnership between clinicians and researchers in the US and Nepal, the NAPCare PMG mobile application (“app”) was collaboratively designed. Healthcare providers in Nepal were recruited to pilot test the app using patient case studies. Then, participants completed a Qualtrics survey to evaluate the app which included the System Usability Scale (SUS) and selected items from the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS). Descriptive and summary statistics were calculated and compared across institutions and roles. Regression analyses to explore relationships (α = 0.05) between selected demographic variables and SUS and MARS scores were also conducted. RESULTS: Ninety eight healthcare providers (n = 98) pilot tested the NAPCare PMG app. Overall, across institutions and roles, the app received an SUS score of 76.0 (a score > 68 is considered above average) and a MARS score of 4.10 (on a scale of 1 = poor, 5 = excellent). 89.8% (n = 88) “agreed” or “strongly agreed” that the app will help them better manage cancer pain. Age, years of experience, and training in palliative care were significant in predicting SUS scores (p-values, 0.0124, 0.0371, and 0.0189, respectively); institution was significant in predicting MARS scores (p = 0.0030). CONCLUSION: The NAPCare PMG mobile app was well-received, and participants rated it highly on both the SUS and MARS. Regression analyses suggest end-user variables important to consider in designing and evaluating mobile apps in lower resourced settings. Our app design and pilot testing process illustrate the benefits of cross global collaborations to build research capacity and generate knowledge within the local context

Severe early onset preeclampsia: short and long term clinical, psychosocial and biochemical aspects

Preeclampsia is a pregnancy specific disorder commonly defined as de novo hypertension and proteinuria after 20 weeks gestational age. It occurs in approximately 3-5% of pregnancies and it is still a major cause of both foetal and maternal morbidity and mortality worldwide1. As extensive research has not yet elucidated the aetiology of preeclampsia, there are no rational preventive or therapeutic interventions available. The only rational treatment is delivery, which benefits the mother but is not in the interest of the foetus, if remote from term. Early onset preeclampsia (<32 weeks’ gestational age) occurs in less than 1% of pregnancies. It is, however often associated with maternal morbidity as the risk of progression to severe maternal disease is inversely related with gestational age at onset2. Resulting prematurity is therefore the main cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity in patients with severe preeclampsia3. Although the discussion is ongoing, perinatal survival is suggested to be increased in patients with preterm preeclampsia by expectant, non-interventional management. This temporising treatment option to lengthen pregnancy includes the use of antihypertensive medication to control hypertension, magnesium sulphate to prevent eclampsia and corticosteroids to enhance foetal lung maturity4. With optimal maternal haemodynamic status and reassuring foetal condition this results on average in an extension of 2 weeks. Prolongation of these pregnancies is a great challenge for clinicians to balance between potential maternal risks on one the eve hand and possible foetal benefits on the other. Clinical controversies regarding prolongation of preterm preeclamptic pregnancies still exist – also taking into account that preeclampsia is the leading cause of maternal mortality in the Netherlands5 - a debate which is even more pronounced in very preterm pregnancies with questionable foetal viability6-9. Do maternal risks of prolongation of these very early pregnancies outweigh the chances of neonatal survival? Counselling of women with very early onset preeclampsia not only comprises of knowledge of the outcome of those particular pregnancies, but also knowledge of outcomes of future pregnancies of these women is of major clinical importance. This thesis opens with a review of the literature on identifiable risk factors of preeclampsia

Penilaian Kinerja Keuangan Koperasi di Kabupaten Pelalawan

This paper describe development and financial performance of cooperative in District Pelalawan among 2007 - 2008. Studies on primary and secondary cooperative in 12 sub-districts. Method in this stady use performance measuring of productivity, efficiency, growth, liquidity, and solvability of cooperative. Productivity of cooperative in Pelalawan was highly but efficiency still low. Profit and income were highly, even liquidity of cooperative very high, and solvability was good

Synthesis, characterization and antimicrobial study of silver nanoparticles using methanolic fraction of Artemisia vulgaris leaf

Rational selection of active biomolecules in the synthesis of nanoparticles for reducing the precursor and functionalizing the nanoparticles (NPs) can offer remarkable comeback of biocompatibility and biological applicability. This work aimed at the synthesis of a cost-effective, ecofriendly, and a facile approach of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using methanolic leaf extract of Artemisia vulgaris. The phytochemical constituents present in the methanolic extract were characterized by qualitative chemical tests and spectroscopic measurements and employed for the reduction of silver nitrate into silver nanoparticles. Formation of AgNPs was monitored by UV-visible spectroscopic measurement. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy reflected the presence of characteristic functional groups associated with the phytochemical constituents involved in the formation of nanoparticles. The crystalline phase and morphology of the NPs were assessed form X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), respectively. XRD pattern revealed the crystalline nature of nanoparticles with grain size of ∼ 28 nm based on the Debye Scherer formula. Study of antimicrobial activity of AgNPs against Gram-positive bacteria Bacillus subtili, Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli, and fungus Candida albicans exhibited good potential to control the bacterial and fungal growth