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The Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) has experienced a rapid population decline throughout its distribution. In Nepal, it mostly occurs outside protected areas; therefore, habitat degradation due to anthropogenic activities is one of the major threats to its survival. However, the scarcity of information on the ecology and distribution of pangolins impedes evidence-based conservation of this species in Nepal. Its habitat preferences and distribution and the factors influencing people’s attitude to its conservation were studied in Gorkha District in central Nepal. Thirteen transects, each 0.5 km in length, were used for recording burrows indicating the presence of pangolin. In total, 124 burrows were recorded, of which 38 were new and 86 were old, which indicated a clumped distribution. Based on the highest percentage frequency of occurrence, most burrows occurred between 650 and 800 m a.s.l., in areas with a south-facing aspect, with moderate canopy cover, in forest, red soil and gentle terrain. The logistic regression model revealed that habitat type, soil type, crown cover, terrain, and distance to water were the most important factors affecting pangolin presence. In total, 87 households and 9 key informants were interviewed using questionnaires to determine the people’s knowledge of pangolins and attitude to their conservation. More than 50% of the respondents had seen pangolin in the areas studied and had a general knowledge of their habitat and benefits. However, most of them were unaware that it was illegal to hunt pangolins and were involved in opportunistic hunting for meat consumption. Pangolins were mostly recorded in forest at altitudes 650–800 m a.s.l., with moderate canopy cover, red soil, and close to a source of water; habitat, soil, canopy cover, terrain, and distance to water were statistically significantly associated with the presence of pangolin burrows. This study revealed that an increase in public awareness (mainly through education) would help to increase the likelihood of pangolin survival. These results can also serve as guidelines for protecting pangolin habitats for use by local authorities.

This thesis deals with an endangered large mammal species - snow leopard, its distribution, population dynamics, landscape genetics and connectivity, trophic ecology and human-snow leopard conflicts in the Nepalese Himalaya (Sagarmatha National Park (SNP), Lower Mustang (LM) and Upper Manang (UM) in the Annapurna Conservation Area, during Wet and Dry seasons in 2014-2016. In the case of snow leopard study, we used data obtained from camera traps, scat's genetic analysis and monitoring of fresh pugmarks and scrapes while direct count method was used to study for its main prey, blue sheep and Himalayan tahr. In study 1, we assessed the determinants of habitat suitability of snow leopards using MaxEnt model and mapped the distribution of suitable habitat for snow leopards in Nepal. Altitude and Annual mean temperature are important common factors contributing to snow leopard habitat suitability within the area studied, which is indicated by both the percentage contribution of environmental variables and Jackknife test from MaxEnt model. Some other uncommon factors also seem to play a role, as they were important in at least one of the analyses. These were: distance from road, and precipitation of driest month but their importance has to be considered with caution. In study 2, we present our...

Background: A clinico-epidemiological study helps to plan future preventive measures and management strategies for spinal trauma. This is a 10 years′ retrospective review of spinal-injury patients treated at a tertiary health center in the eastern of Nepal to determine clinico-epidemiological aspects of spinal-injury patients in a predominantly rural population of eastern Nepal. Materials and Methods : All medical record files of patients with spinal injury from 1996 to 2005 in the Medical Record Section of BPKIHS (B. P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences) were studied. The preformed pro forma consisting age, sex, place of living, mode of injury, hospital stay level of injury, site of injury, associated injury, Frankel grading of neural deficit and treatment modality was filled from the record files of patients. These parameters were entered in Excel 8 and analyzed by EPI INFO 2002. Details of 896 patients of spinal injury were recorded in the 10-year period of review. Results : 684 (76.35%) male and 212 (23.66%) female patients with mean age of 41.74 ± 16.53 years and 38.56 ± 15.86 years respectively were studied. Two hundred forty-two (27%) patients were from hilly districts of eastern Nepal. Fall from height [in 350 (39%) patients] was the commonest mode of spinal injury. Six hundred thirty-six (71%) patients presented with a neurological deficit. Seven hundred thirty-three (85%) patients were treated conservatively, compared to 163 (15%) surgically treated patients. One hundred forty-six (22%) patients were treated with operative interventions in the last five years. Conclusion : The study shows that the most vulnerable group for spine injury was the group of patients of productive age with late presentation (i.e., injury hospital duration - 41.64 ± 54.24 hours) without proper pre-hospital management. The treatment modalities have changed (from conservative to surgical) in this part of the world. These specific observations help us in further planning for preventive measures and management in our setting.

Apresentamos aqui um caso de tumor de células gigantes na extremidade distal do fêmur direito tratado com ressecção da massa tumoral em bloco com remoção aguda da extremidade proximal e distal e fixado com hastes longas em K atravessando o joelho, do fêmur à tíbia. Após a consolidação / união completa das extremidades, foi feita a remoção da haste em K, seguida pela corticotomia juntamente com a osteogênese da distração com o auxílio do anel fixador de Ilizarov. O comprimento foi alcançado com este processo. O resultado final foi muito bom neste caso. Revisamos as opções de tratamento para tumor maligno de células gigantes na extremidade distal do fêmur e as dificuldades de tratá-lo. We present a case of malignant giant cell tumor of distal end of right femur treated with resection of the tumor mass en block with acute docking of proximal and distal end and fixed with long K-nail across knee from femur to tibia. After complete consolidation/ union of the ends, removal of K nail was done followed by corticotomy along with distraction osteogenesis with the help of Ilizarov ring fixator. The length was achieved with this process. The end result was very good in this case. We reviewed the treatment options for malignant giant cell tumor of femoral distal end and the challenges in its treatment.