Possible high risk of transmission of the Nipah virus in South and South East Asia: a review.

Nipah virus (NiV) is a zoonotic, single-stranded RNA virus from the family Paramyxoviridae, genus Henipavirus. NiV is a biosafety-level-4 pathogen that is mostly spread by Pteropus species, which serve as its natural reservoir host. NiV is one of the major public health challenges in South and South East Asia. However, few molecular studies have been conducted to characterise NiV in a specific region. The main objective of this review is to understand the epidemiology, pathogenesis, molecular surveillance, transmission dynamics, genetic diversity, reservoir host, clinical characteristics, and phylogenetics of NiV. South and South East Asian nations have experienced NiV outbreaks. Phylogenetic analysis confirmed that two primary clades of NiV are in circulation. In humans, NiV causes severe respiratory illness and/or deadly encephalitis. NiV is mainly diagnosed by ELISA along with PCR. Therefore, we recommend that the governments of the region support the One Health approach to reducing the risk of zoonotic disease transmission in their respective countries.

Assessing Impact of Health Education in Improving Knowledge of Children on Child Sexual Abuse.

BACKGROUND: Every year, millions of children around the world face sexual abuse and exploitation. Sexual and reproductive health education is an important form of health promotion action against it. This study aims to assess the impact of health education program in improving knowledge of the children on child sexual abuse. METHODS: A school based pre-experimental study was done among 120 lower secondary level students of a private school in Bharatpur municipality of Chitwan District, Nepal during March 2021. An interventional health education program imparting knowledge on child sexual abuse and its preventive measures was given to the children. Their knowledge was assessed and compared before and after intervention using paired t-test. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 17 software. RESULTS: The mean age of children was 13.77±0.65 years with 1:1.18 girls to boys ratio. The level of knowledge of the children on child sexual abuse and its preventive measures increased significantly post-intervention as compared to pre-intervention. The mean scores of post-test (29.80±4.53) was higher than pre-test (17.04±6.96). The intervention was proved effective with statistically significant t-test values (t=20.996, p=<0.001). About 6.7% children disclosed an experience of child abuse post-intervention. CONCLUSIONS: The school based health education program effectively increased the knowledge of the children on child sexual abuse, thus helping in preventing and protecting them from child sexual abuse and its harmful effects.

Characteristics and outcomes of hospitalized adults with COVID-19 in Nepal: a multicenter, prospective cohort study.

INTRODUCTION: There is limited data on clinical course and outcomes of hospitalized adults with COVID-19 in Nepal. Thus, it is imperative to characterize the features of this disease in the domestic context. METHODOLOGY: We identified all adult patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 admitted to five different hospitals in Nepal from June 15 to July 15, 2020. We collected epidemiological, socio-cultural and clinicopathologic data, and stratified the patients based on their symptom status. RESULTS: The study included 220 patients with an overall median age of 31.5 (25-37) years, and 181 (82.3%) were males. 159 (72.3%) were asymptomatic, and 163 (74.1%) were imported cases. Of 217 patients with the available data, 110 (50.7%) reported their annual household income less than 2000 US dollars, and 122 (56.2%) practiced Pranayama (yogic rhythmic breathing techniques) regularly. Eight patients (3.6%) required supplemental oxygen and two patients (0.9%) died. None of the patients who practiced Pranayama regularly required supplemental oxygen. Compared to asymptomatic patients, symptomatic patients had greater proportion of females (31.1% vs. 12.6%, p = 0.001), imported cases (85.2% vs. 69.8%, p = 0.02), illiterates (26.8% vs. 12.1%, p = 0.01), alcohol users (43.3% vs. 24.5%, p = 0.01), and had higher platelet count (253×109/L vs. 185×109/L, p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Most cases were imported, asymptomatic young males, with very few deaths. Pranayama practice was associated with protection against severe COVID-19, but more data is needed to substantiate this. The association of platelets count with symptom status in the Nepalese population needs further exploration.

Population structure of Nepali spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) germplasm.

BACKGROUND: Appropriate information about genetic diversity and population structure of germplasm improves the efficiency of plant breeding. The low productivity of Nepali bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a major concern particularly since Nepal is ranked the 4th most vulnerable nation globally to climate change. The genetic diversity and population structure of Nepali spring wheat have not been reported. This study aims to improve the exploitation of more diverse and under-utilized genetic resources to contribute to current and future breeding efforts for global food security. RESULTS: We used genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) to characterize a panel of 318 spring wheat accessions from Nepal including 166 landraces, 115 CIMMYT advanced lines, and 34 Nepali released varieties. We identified 95 K high-quality SNPs. The greatest genetic diversity was observed among the landraces, followed by CIMMYT lines, and released varieties. Though we expected only 3 groupings corresponding to these 3 seed origins, the population structure revealed two large, distinct subpopulations along with two smaller and scattered subpopulations in between, with significant admixture. This result was confirmed by principal component analysis (PCA) and UPGMA distance-based clustering. The pattern of LD decay differed between subpopulations, ranging from 60 to 150 Kb. We discuss the possibility that germplasm explorations during the 1970s-1990s may have mistakenly collected exotic germplasm instead of local landraces and/or collected materials that had already cross-hybridized since exotic germplasm was introduced starting in the 1950s. CONCLUSION: We suggest that only a subset of wheat "landraces" in Nepal are authentic which this study has identified. Targeting these authentic landraces may accelerate local breeding programs to improve the food security of this climate-vulnerable nation. Overall, this study provides a novel understanding of the genetic diversity of wheat in Nepal and this may contribute to global wheat breeding initiatives.

Recent Progress in Germplasm Evaluation and Gene Mapping to Enable Breeding of Drought-Tolerant Wheat.

There is a need to increase wheat productivity to meet the food demands of the ever-growing human population. However, accelerated development of high yielding varieties is hindered by drought, which is worsening due to climate change. In this context, germplasm diversity is central to the development of drought-tolerant wheat. Extensive collections of these genetic resources are conserved in national and international genebanks. In addition to phenotypic assessments, the use of advanced molecular techniques (e.g., genotype by sequencing) to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for drought tolerance related traits is useful for genome- and marker-assisted selection based approaches. Therefore, to assist wheat breeders at a critical time, we searched the recent peer-reviewed literature (2011-current), first, to identify wheat germplasm observed to be useful genetic sources for drought tolerance, and second, to report QTLs associated with drought tolerance. Though many breeders limit the parents used in breeding programs to a familiar core collection, the results of this review show that larger germplasm collections have been sources of useful genes for drought tolerance in wheat. The review also demonstrates that QTLs for drought tolerance in wheat are associated with diverse physio-morphological traits, at different growth stages. Here, we also briefly discuss the potential of genome engineering/editing to improve drought tolerance in wheat. The use of CRISPR-Cas9 and other gene-editing technologies can be used to fine-tune the expression of genes controlling drought adaptive traits, while high throughput phenotyping (HTP) techniques can potentially accelerate the selection process. These efforts are empowered by wheat researcher consortia.

A Physio-Morphological Trait-Based Approach for Breeding Drought Tolerant Wheat.

In the past, there have been drought events in different parts of the world, which have negatively influenced the productivity and production of various crops including wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), one of the world's three important cereal crops. Breeding new high yielding drought-tolerant wheat varieties is a research priority specifically in regions where climate change is predicted to result in more drought conditions. Commonly in breeding for drought tolerance, grain yield is the basis for selection, but it is a complex, late-stage trait, affected by many factors aside from drought. A strategy that evaluates genotypes for physiological responses to drought at earlier growth stages may be more targeted to drought and time efficient. Such an approach may be enabled by recent advances in high-throughput phenotyping platforms (HTPPs). In addition, the success of new genomic and molecular approaches rely on the quality of phenotypic data which is utilized to dissect the genetics of complex traits such as drought tolerance. Therefore, the first objective of this review is to describe the growth-stage based physio-morphological traits that could be targeted by breeders to develop drought-tolerant wheat genotypes. The second objective is to describe recent advances in high throughput phenotyping of drought tolerance related physio-morphological traits primarily under field conditions. We discuss how these strategies can be integrated into a comprehensive breeding program to mitigate the impacts of climate change. The review concludes that there is a need for comprehensive high throughput phenotyping of physio-morphological traits that is growth stage-based to improve the efficiency of breeding drought-tolerant wheat.

From food security to food wellbeing: examining food security through the lens of food wellbeing in Nepal's rapidly changing agrarian landscape.

This paper argues that existing food security and food sovereignty approaches are inadequate to fully understand contradictory human development, nutrition, and productivity trends in Nepalese small-scale agriculture. In an attempt to bridge this gap, we developed a new food wellbeing approach that combines insights from food security, food sovereignty, and social wellbeing perspectives. We used the approach to frame 65 semi-structured interviews in a cluster of villages in Kaski district in the mid-hills of Nepal on various aspects of food security, agriculture, off-farm livelihood opportunities, and women's wellbeing. Our results indicate that context-specific subjective and social relational factors highlighted by the food wellbeing approach are key to understanding a paradox of increased food security, yet decreasing sustainability of small-scale agriculture. Increased levels of male out-migration and opportunities for local off-farm work have increased local capacity to purchase food. The positive consequences for food security are indicated by evidence that households with non-farm income sources had better food sufficiency, absorption capacity, nutritional quality, and stability of food supply. These off-farm employment opportunities have also led to the greater involvement of low caste groups and women in small-scale agriculture. This has been empowering for both groups and led to an increase in wellbeing, particularly for those women who have become de facto heads of household. Yet, small landholdings, persistent patterns of unequal and absentee land ownership, sharecropping, women's overwork, and the aspirations of low caste farmers and women away from agriculture are simultaneously driving the erosion of local small-scale agricultural productivity and ecological sustainability.

DNA record of some traditional small millet landraces in India and Nepal.

Despite the extensive use of small millet landraces as an important source of nutrition for people living in semi-arid regions, they are presently marginalized and their diversity and distribution are threatened at a global scale. Local farmers have developed ancient breeding programs entrenched in traditional knowledge (TK) that has sustained rural cultures for thousands of years. The convention on biological diversity seeks fair and equitable sharing of genetic resources arising from local knowledge and requires signatory nations to provide appropriate policy and legal framework to farmers' rights over plant genetic resources and associated TK. DNA barcoding employed in this study is proposed as a model for conservation of genetic diversity and an essential step towards documenting and protecting farmers' rights and TK. Our study focuses on 32 landraces of small millets that are still used by indigenous farmers located in the rain fed areas of rural India and Nepal. Traditional knowledge of traits and utility was gathered using participatory methods and semi-structured interviews with key informants. DNA was extracted and sequenced (rbcL, trnH-psbA and ITS2) from 160 samples. Both multivariate analysis of traits and phylogenetic analyses were used to assess diversity among small millet landraces. Our research revealed considerable variation in traits and DNA sequences among the 32 small millet landraces. We utilized a tiered approach using ITS2 DNA barcode to make 100 % accurate landrace (32 landraces) and species (six species) assignments for all 160 blind samples in our study. We have also recorded precious TK of nutritional value, ecological and agricultural traits used by local farmers for each of these traditional landraces. This research demonstrates the potential of DNA barcoding as a reliable identification tool and for use in evaluating and conserving genetic diversity of small millets. We suggest ways in which DNA barcodes could be used in the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights in India and Nepal.

Eye care project in Gaur, Nepal.

PURPOSE: The aim of the eye care project is to clear the backlog of cataract blindness for the people of Gaur and its surrounding districts in southeast Nepal. The purpose of this study is to analyze the progress of this eye care project. METHODS: In mid 1997, the Nepal Netra Jyoti Sangh (NNJS), the national society for comprehensive eye care in Nepal, with financial support from the Association for Ophthalmic Cooperation to Asia (AOCA) and the 24 Hour Television (24HTV) Charity Committee established an eye hospital in the district headquarters of Gaur under the name of Narayani Eye Care Project (NECP). The hospital provides surgery, an outpatient department (OPD) and emergency services. We analyzed the number of patients, the number of surgeries and the profile of patients. RESULTS: The hospital was found to be providing services with modern equipment and instruments and the number of patients frequenting it had increased in accordance with the improved services. From mid 1997 until the end of 2002, the hospital provided services to a total of 122,093 patients and performed 6,143 major surgeries and 541 minor surgeries. CONCLUSIONS: It has been possible to conduct sight restorations of poor and blind individuals in this region at the Gaur eye hospital with the support of the NECP.