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IntroductionMenstruation, also known as a period, is a natural process that occurs in the female body as apart of the menstrual cycle. The menstrual cycle is the monthly hormonal cycle that preparesthe female body for pregnancy. The objective of this research is to find the prevalence andassociated factors of menstruation pattern among schools adolescents. MethodsA descriptive cross sectional study was conducted among 355 adolescent girls of (10-19 years) in five boarding and government school of Bharatpur municipality, Chitwan. Self- structure questionnaire was then distributed to those students who had already attended their menstruation. Data was entered and analyse by using descriptive and inferential statistical tools in SPSS 20. P-value

On-farm varietal trial was carried out to evaluate promising genotypes of potato received from International Potato Centre (CIP), Lima, Peru through National Potato Research Program (NPRP), Khumaltar at Guthichaur Rural Municipality in the high hills of Jumla during two consecutive years 2017 and 2018. Five promising potato genotypes and two check cultivars i.e. Desiree and Jumli Local were tested in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD). The treatments were replicated three times. Compost was used at the rate of 20 t/ha. Well sprouted tubers of 25-50 g were planted at 60cm x 25cm spacing. Observations were recorded on vegetative parameters and yield attributes. Tested genotypes differed significantly for emergence percentage at 30 days after planting, uniformity, ground coverage, plant height, number of main stems, total number of tubers and tuber yield per hectare. The highest tuber yield (26.14 t/ha) was recorded in CIP393073.179 followed by CIP 395112.32 (24.56 t/ha) and CIP 390478.9 (23.12 t/ha). The average results of both years showed that potato genotypes CIP393073.179, CIP 395112.32 and CIP 390478.9 were promising for commercial cultivation in Jumla and in the similar agro-ecological domains of Karnali province.

Background: Introduction to Clinical Medicine (ICM) is a relatively new and innovative approach for teaching medicine. ICM engages medical students in their understanding of the disease process from clinical feature to diagnosis, studying abnormalities of complaints, examination. The aim of this study was to find the undergraduate medical students’ perceptions and opinions towards Introduction towards Clinical Medicine. Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted among MBBS students using non-probability sampling technique from 22nd June 2022 to 15th October 2022. Ethical approval was taken from institutional review committee of College of Medical Sciences. Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical tools in SPSS-20. P-value

Introduction: The immunogenicity of COVID-19 disease and variability among adverse effects following COVID-19 vaccine in previously infected and non-infected individuals is not clearly understood. So, this study aims to assess the association of adverse effects of COVID-19 vaccine with previously infected and non-infected individuals. Methods: A case-control study was conducted at College of Medical Sciences, Bharatpur, Chitwan, Nepal from July 2021 to February 2022 among 324 health care professionals who had received two doses of COVID-19 vaccine. Cases included those who developed any adverse effects following COVID-19 immunization and controls included those who did not develop any adverse effects. Exposure was presence and non-exposure was absence of previous COVID-19 infection. The data collected was analyzed in SPSS version 17 software in terms of frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, chi-square, exposure rates and odds ratio. Results: Mild adverse effects like fever, myalgia, headache and pain in injection site were observed following both first dose (46.9%) and second dose (6.17%) of vaccine. The exposure rate was more in cases (23.45%) than in controls (11.11%). Odds ratio was 2.452 (95 % CI, 1.332 to 4.512, p

Nepal is facing more intense early-season drought stress associated with climate change. The introgression of reduced height (Rht) alleles to enable stem dwarfism in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) inadvertently reduced coleoptile length and growth plasticity in seedlings, making improved varieties less suitable for deep seeding; these alleles may have also reduced seedling root length. Therefore, with the long-term objective of breeding wheat for early-season drought stress, a Nepali spring wheat panel was evaluated to assess allelic variation at the most common dwarfing-associated loci (Rht-B1, Rht-D1) and their impact on coleoptile/seedling root traits, and to identify accessions with longer and/or more GA-responsive coleoptiles as parents for future breeding. Here, Kompetitive Allele Specific PCR (KASP) was used to genotype accessions. The panel was phenotyped using the cigar-roll method in the presence/absence of GA3. Plant height was measured under field conditions. The results showed that Nepali landraces had a significantly higher frequency of the non-dwarfing allele Rht-B1a. The dwarfing alleles Rht-B1b and Rht-D1b had negative effects on coleoptile length but positive effects on the length of the longest seedling root. However, 40 potential semi-dwarf accessions (possessing Rht-B1b and/or Rht-D1b alleles) with long and/or more plastic coleoptiles suited for deep sowing were identified. This included 12 accessions that exhibited significant changes in coleoptile length in response to GA3 treatment.

Ground and aerial-based high throughput phenotyping platforms (HTPPs) to evaluate chlorophyll-related traits have been utilized to predict grain yield in crops including wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). This study evaluated chlorophyll-related and other physiological and yield traits in a panel of 318 Nepali spring wheat genotypes, termed the Nepali Wheat Diversity Panel (NWDP). Field experiments were conducted using an alpha-lattice design in Nepal and Canada. Chlorophyll-related traits were evaluated with a Soil Plant Analysis Development (SPAD) meter and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) using a handheld GreenSeeker and an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). Relative leaf epicuticular waxiness was recorded using visual assessments. There was a significant positive association (p &lt, 0.001) between waxiness and SPAD-based chlorophyll estimates, and both of these traits displayed a significant positive relationship with grain yield. However, unexpectedly, NDVI derived from both GreenSeeker and UAV was negatively associated with waxiness and grain yield. The results obtained after segregating the trait means into groups based on waxiness scores and breeding history of genotypes indicated that waxiness along with precipitation could be affecting the multispectral reflectance. These results suggest that caution should be taken when evaluating a large and diverse wheat population for leaf chlorophyll using high-throughput NDVI methods.

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.

IntroductionThere 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.MethodologyWe 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.ResultsThe 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), patients feeling stigmatized by society (45.8% vs. 22.6%, p=0.001), and had higher platelet count (253× 109/L vs. 185×109/L, p=0.02).ConclusionsMost 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.

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.

SUMMARYPlant breeding makes genetic gains over years, so growing newer varieties generally provides greater benefits than growing older ones. However, in low-altitude districts of Nepal, a few rice varieties covered 75% of the rice area and were more than 20 years old (first paper in this series). We test here if this slow rate of adoption of new varieties could be accelerated using a participatory method, Informal Research and Development (IRD), where packets of seeds of new rice varieties are widely distributed to many farmers. From 2008 to 2011, over 117 000 IRD packets were distributed in 18 districts of the Nepal Terai, including over 70 000 of three released varieties from a client-oriented breeding (COB) programme in Nepal. The IRD significantly increased the adoption of the three COB varieties. The benefits obtained by farmers in a single growing season equal the costs of IRD, if for every 75 kits distributed an additional 1 ha is grown. This assumes that the new varieties produce a 10% increase in yield (lower than that evidenced in their release proposals). On an average, fewer than three IRD kits were distributed for each hectare of a new variety grown by farmers in 2011. Furthermore, the effectiveness of IRD could be increased 1.2 to 2.7 fold (depending on the COB variety) if the IRD distribution were to be restricted to the region where the variety was most accepted. The best comparison of IRD with extension by the conventional system was their popularity compared with similar-aged varieties that had been promoted in the two systems. The adoption of three COB varieties was about twicethat of three varieties from the National Rice Research Programme (NRRP) that were closest in release date to the COB varieties. Unlike cost effectiveness assessed by hectares grown per IRD kit distributed, this comparison can only indicate efficacy because, as well as extension method, many factors influenced the adoption rates of the COB and NRRP varieties. The costs of IRD are small, both relative to the cost of breeding new varieties and to the benefits gained; so it is one of the simplest and most cost-effective interventions to increase agricultural productivity.

SUMMARYFarmers who continue to grow old and obsolete varieties do not gain the benefits they could get from growing newer ones. Given the potential large scale of these foregone benefits, relatively few studies have examined the age of varieties that farmers grow. In three surveys, members of over 3300 households were interviewed to find the rice varieties they grew in 2008 and 2011 in 18 districts in the Terai, the low-altitude region of Nepal. This provided the first description of detailed geographical patterns of adoption of rice varieties and their ages that were repeated over time. There were large differences between district and individual varieties that showed specific geographical patterns of adoption. Such detailed knowledge on spatial diversity of varieties is invaluable for planning extension activities and developing breeding programmes, and cheaper ways than household surveys of collecting this information are discussed. Some of the factors considered important in determining this complex pattern of adoption were seed availability, growing environments that differed from east to west and the continued popularity of varieties once they had established markets. Rice diversity was low because a small number of rice varieties occupied large areas. In 2011, nine varieties covered at least 75% of the total rice area in western districts, just four in central districts and eight in eastern districts. Of these, most were released before 1995 resulting in a high average age of the predominant varieties – they always had an average age of over 20 years no matter which region or year was considered. Even though there were some large changes in varietal composition from 2008 to 2011, the average age of the predominant varieties remained almost the same. In a second paper in this series, we examine how these very low varietal replacement rates, that reduce yields and increase risk to farmers, can be accelerated using a participatory research for development approach called Informal Research and Development (IRD) (Joshi et al., 2012).

Mungbean (Vigna radiata (L). Wilczek) is becoming an important grain legume in Nepal. It can be grown as an additional crop after harvesting winter crops such as winter wheat, winter legumes and oilseeds and before planting main season rice from the low-altitude Terai through to the middle hills of Nepal. Replacing short fallows in the spring, it provides additional high quality food, enhances soil fertility and increases the yield of the following crop. In spite of continued varietal research by the National Grain Legume Research Programme, no mungbean varieties were released from 1975 to 2006. The old variety, Pusa Baishakhi, was released in 1975, but became susceptible to Mungbean Yellow Mosaic Virus (MYMV) and several other diseases so mungbean became limited to a rarely grown, green manure crop. In 2003, we introduced four mungbean varieties resistant to MYMV from the Asian Vegetable Research and Development Centre. These were evaluated in participatory varietal selection (PVS) mother and baby trials in low fertility and droughted conditions using farmers’ levels of inputs and management. Variety spread was promoted by distributing free small seed samples in a process known as Informal Research and Development (IRD); and community-based seed production and marketing. Of the four varieties, NM94 and VC6372 consistently produced higher grain yields than the local check varieties, were resistant to MYMV and hence were preferred by farmers. The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives endorsed a new variety release procedure in 2005 that permitted the use of data from PVS trials to support the release or registration of new crop varieties. In 2006, on the basis of data generated from PVS trials alone, the National Seed Board released NM94 as ‘Kalyan’ while, on the basis of combined data from the PVS trials and from on-station trials, VC6372 (45-8-1) was released as ‘Prateeksha’. The use of PVS contributed greatly to fast-tracking the release process and this resulted in farmers getting new MYMV-resistant mungbean varieties more quickly. Varieties spread rapidly through IRD and farmer-to-farmer seed networks and provided benefits to farming households. Regulatory reforms to speed up and simplify the process of varietal release are discussed.

Ricebean is a neglected and underutilized grain legume grown in specific pockets by poor and marginal farmers. Despite being a multipurpose legume, its use in food, fodder and green manure crop were limited to farmers knowledge. Recognizing multiple use of ricebean a reconnaissance survey was conducted in Chitwan valley to assess the potential of ricebean as one of the home garden species in December 2007. Household survey was done to appraise the knowledge on ricebaean and its use. Agro-morphological traits were analysed. The study showed ricebean to be a new crop in the valley. Rice bean is helping the farmers to diversify their diet. Ricebean is also a good source of fodder and farmers believe that ricebean enriches soil fertility in the home gardens. Descriptive analysis of the agro-morphological traits showed diversity in the ricebean accessions grown by the farmers. The study clearly indicated that ricebean can be a potential crop in the home gardens of the Chitwan valley.

Many studies have shown that local landraces are found to be better adapted to changing climatic conditions. The screening of local land races is one of important processes to detect drought tolerant behavior of crop species to further verify in similar field situation and genomic/molecular level studies. In 2009 for main season rice, a study was done to identify different land races of rice in Jhapa and Kailali districts to know their performance on drought stressed conditions by field techniques. Among the 22 rice land races studied, Kataush showed maximum drought tolerant efficiency (DTE) of 192.8% and minimum drought susceptibility index (DSI) of -0.88% followed by Guthanisaro (DTE=181% and DSI= -0.77%). Likewise, in the cluster analysis, these genotypes formed a cluster with two highest DTE and minimum DSI. Hence, these two land races could be used for drought stressed breeding program in the future to include drought resistant genes for variety impovement. Also, it was recorded that these land races could be used as the most drought tolerant variety in Terai region similar to Jhapa and Kailali, Nepal. These varieties could play important role in climate extreme situations, where farmers can adopt them as climatic resilient rice genotypes. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ajn.v1i0.7546 Agronomy Journal of Nepal (Agron JN) Vol. 1: 2010 pp.80-84

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. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13205-016-0450-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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.