Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a serious global public health problem. The infection may be transmitted through sexual intercourse, parenteral contact or from an infected mother to the baby at birth and, if contracted early in life, may lead to chronic liver disease, including cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. On the basis of the HBV carrier rate, the world can be divided in 3 regions of high, medium and low endemicity. The major concern is about high endemicity countries, where the most common route of infection remains vertical transmission from mother to child. Screening of all pregnant women and passive immunization with human hepatitis B immunoglobulin are not affordable for many developing countries. The infection rate can be reduced by modifying behavior, improving individual education, testing all blood donations, assuring asepsis in clinical practice and screening all pregnant women. However, availability of a safe and efficacious vaccine and adoption of appropriate immunization strategies are the most effective means to prevent HBV infection and its consequences. The unsolved problem for poorest countries, where the number of people currently infected is high, is the cost of the vaccine. A future challenge is to overcome the social and economic hurdles of maintaining and improving a prevention policy worldwide to reduce the global burden of the disease.

Hepatitis B: Epidemiology and prevention in developing countries.

The circulation of seed among farmers is central to agrobiodiversity conservation and dynamics. Agrobiodiversity, the diversity of agricultural systems from genes to varieties and crop species, from farming methods to landscape composition, is part of humanity’s cultural heritage. Whereas agrobiodiversity conservation has received much attention from researchers and policy makers over the last decades, the methods available to study the role of seed exchange networks in preserving crop biodiversity have only recently begun to be considered. In this overview, we present key concepts, methods, and challenges to better understand seed exchange networks so as to improve the chances that traditional crop varieties (landraces) will be preserved and used sustainably around the world. The available literature suggests that there is insufficient knowledge about the social, cultural, and methodological dimensions of environmental change, including how seed exchange networks will cope with changes in climates, socio-economic factors, and family structures that have supported seed exchange systems to date. Methods available to study the role of seed exchange networks in the preservation and adaptation of crop specific and genetic diversity range from meta-analysis to modelling, from participatory approaches to the development of bio-indicators, from genetic to biogeographical studies, from anthropological and ethnographic research to the use of network theory. We advocate a diversity of approaches, so as to foster the creation of robust and policy-relevant knowledge. Open challenges in the study of the role of seed exchange networks in biodiversity conservation include the development of methods to (i) enhance farmers’ participation to decision-making in agro-ecosystems, (ii) integrate ex situ and in situ approaches, (iii) achieve interdisciplinary research collaboration between social and natural scientists, and (iv) use network analysis as a conceptual framework to bridge boundaries among researchers, farmers and policy makers, as well as other stakeholders.

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Seed exchange networks for agrobiodiversity conservation. A review

Public sector seed programs in most sub-Saharan African countries targeted the dissemination of quality seed of improved varieties in the 1970 and '80s, assuming that the informal seed system would disappear. The orientation in 1990s shifted toward withdrawal of the public sector, promoting privatization and liberalization of the seed market. The informal seed system remained dominant. Integrated seed sector development aims to better link informal and formal seed systems, and balance public and private sector involvement. It explores variation among seed value chains, with the aim of making seed programs and policies more coherent with farmers' practices and more effective at reaching food security.

Integrated seed sector development in Africa: a conceptual framework for creating coherence between practices, programs, and policies

This paper reviews and discusses how studies on (i) on-farm diversity assessment, (ii) access to diversity and information, (iii) extent of use of available materials and information, and (iv) benefits obtained by the farmer or farming community from their use of local crop diversity, are necessary to identify the different ways of supporting farmers and farming communities in the maintenance of traditional varieties and crop genetic diversity within their production systems. Throughout this paper two key themes are emphasized. First, any description or analysis within the four main areas (assessment, access, use and benefit) can, and most probably will, lead to a number of different actions. Second, the decision to implement a particular action, and therefore its success, will depend on farmers and the farming community having the knowledge and leadership capacity to evaluate the benefits that this action will have for them. This in turn emphasizes the importance of activities (whether by local, national...

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/07352689.2011.554358

An Heuristic Framework for Identifying Multiple Ways of Supporting the Conservation and Use of Traditional Crop Varieties within the Agricultural Production System

https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/54099/1/Seed_Network_Misconceptions_on_line_first.pdf

Farmer seed networks make a limited contribution to agriculture? Four common misconceptions

Jethobudho is an aromatic rice landrace of the Pokhara valley in middle hills of Nepal. Although local consumers are willing to pay a high price for its purchase, the landrace has a problem with quality variation. Decentralized participatory population improvement for specific market-identified traits was conducted on “Jethobudho” populations collected from farmers’ fields in seven geographic regions of the valley in Nepal. The preferred post harvest quality traits, field tolerance to blast and lodging, and superior post harvest quality traits of Jethobudho were established by a consumer market survey. These traits were used for screening the materials. 338 sub-populations of Jethobudho were evaluated for yield, disease, lodging resistance, and post harvest quality traits. Significant variation was found for culm strength, neck blast tolerance, awn characteristics, panicle length, number of grains per panicle, test grain weight and post harvest quality traits, whereas no significant variation was found in grain yield, plant height, tiller number, maturity period and leaf blast. Based on these identified traits and micro-milling evaluations, 183 populations were screened in on-farm and on-station nurseries, and in succeeding years populations were further screened by plant breeders and expert farmers in research trials, resulting in the selection of 46 populations for post harvest quality traits. Six accessions with similar agronomic traits, field tolerance to blast and lodging, and superior post harvest quality traits, were bulked and evaluated on-farm using participatory variety selection (PVS). The enhanced Jethobudho accessions were also evaluated for aroma using simple sequence repeat (SSR) and found to have unique aromatic genetic constitution. Community based seed production groups were formed, linked to the Nepal District Self Seed Sufficiency Programme (DISSPRO), and trained to produce basic seeds (truthfully labeled) of Jethobudho. The National Seed Board of Nepal released the enhanced landrace in the name of “Pokhareli Jethobudho” in 2006, as the first bulk variety of traditional high quality aromatic rice improved through participatory plant breeding to be formally released in Nepal for general cultivation under the national seed certification scheme. Landrace improvement is shown as an important option for supporting programmes for in situ conservation of landraces on-farm.

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Participatory crop improvement and formal release of Jethobudho rice landrace in Nepal

The cause of mad honey poisoning is the toxin grayanotoxin, found in honey obtained from the nectar of Rhododendron species on the higher altitudes. This case report is about seven cases of grayanotoxin poisoning that occurred after consumption of wild honey that was brought from the Himalayan belt of Nepal. Most of them presented with symptoms of blurring of vision, diplopia, nasea and vomiting and two of them presented with symptoms of cardiac depression. All of the cases responded well to intravenous fluid and/ or pressor agents while none proved to be fatal

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Mad honey poisoning: a rare case report of seven cases.

The present study aimed to find out prevalence and severity of viral hepatitis during pregnancy in the department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Nepal Medical College Teaching Hospital Out of 5602 pregnant women admitted in the ward from 2001-2007; viral hepatitis was seen in 29 cases HBV was detected in 18/29 (620%), HEV in 6/29 (206%) and viral hepatitis of undetected serology was seen in 5/29 (172%) Serology was undetected in these cases because of financial constraints The mortality rate was 8/29 (275%) Three out of eight cases who expired were HEV positive and five were of undetected serology Seven out of 8 maternal deaths were in preterm gestation and undelivered Fulminant hepatitis with hepatic encephalopathy was the commonest cause of death Hepatitis E was the commonest etiological agent in those who had fulminant disease during pregnancy and was associated with high mortality rate

A study of viral hepatitis during pregnancy in Nepal Medical College Teaching Hospital.

In this study the effect of intraumbilical vein oxytocin on duration and amount of blood loss in third stage of labour was studied. Pregnant women were randomized into two groups of fifty each. Study group was managed with 10 units of oxytocin diluted with 10 ml of normal saline given through umbilical vein while control group was managed with 10 units of oxytocin in 500 ml of normal saline through intravenous infusion after delivery of the baby. The mean blood loss in the third stage of labour was 143.30 ml for the control group and 151.43 ml for the study group while the duration of the third stage of labour was 6.02 and 5.42 minutes for each group. There was no significant difference in the duration and amount of blood loss between the two groups.

Influence of umbilical vein oxytocin on blood loss and length of third stage of labour.

The fractures of metacarpal and phalanges of the hand are the most common injury encountered inemergency department. Most often these injuries are neglected as minor injuries and later on developsa functional limit of the hand. Joshi’s external stabilizing system (JESS) fixator based on the principleof ligamentotaxis, stabilize the unstable and intraarticular fractures of metacarpal and phalangeal andalso provides an environment for rapid soft tissue healing without further damaging the microvascularcirculation. The study includes total number of 38 patients with a diagnosis of fracture of Metacarpal andphalanx of hand admitted in Nepal Medical college and Teaching Hospital who were treated with JESSfixator. The functional outcome after the removal of JESS fixator was assessed by calculating AmericanSociety for Surgery of Hand and Total Active flexion (ASSH TAF). Among the 38 patients, all fractures wentto union with an average union period of 6 weeks. The mean period of treatment for metacarpal fractureswas12 weeks and for phalangeal fractures 16 weeks by which time patients regained full functional activityof hand and returned back to their respective works. The functional outcome assessed by ASSH-TAF scorewas excellent in 28 patients, good in 10 patients and none of them had a poor result. The complication wasseen in 9(23.68%) cases, superficial pin tract infection and K Wire Loosening. JESS fixator is cheap, easilyavailable and less technically demanding, provides with an effective treatment for the metacarpal andphalanges fracture, as it provides adequate stability that allows early rehabilitation with soft tissue careand has got a good functional outcome
Keywords : American Society for Surgery ofHand and Total Active flexion(ASSH TAF), Fixator, Joshi’s externalstabilizing system (JESS), Metacarpaland Phalangeal fracture

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P Shrestha

Papers

Participatory crop improvement and formal release of Jethobudho rice landrace in Nepal

Mad honey poisoning: a rare case report of seven cases.

A study of viral hepatitis during pregnancy in Nepal Medical College Teaching Hospital.

Influence of umbilical vein oxytocin on blood loss and length of third stage of labour.

Jess Fixator for Metacarpal and Phalangeal Fracture