The Status and Threats of Birds: A Case Study of Birds in Nayapul to Ghandruk Area, Kaski, Nepal

The purpose of this study is to quantify species diversity of birds in the study area and to explore the biotic and abiotic factors affecting the bird population. This study was carried out by using the fixed point counting method. The study area was situated in Annapurna Rural Municipality of Kaski district. A total of 147 bird species belonging to 46 families and 14 orders were identified in the study area. It was found that Muscicapidae was the largest family and Passeriformes the largest order. Among the reported species, 50% were residents, 31% were full-migrants, 18% were altitudinal migrants and the remaining were 1% nomadic. Habitats of birds included the forest 68%, the scrubland 17 %, the grassland 7% and the wetland 6 % of the study area. Similarly, the rocky area and artificial area covered 1% of the total species. The results showed that most of the bird species i.e. 136 were least concerned, 4 of them were nearly threatened, 3 of them were endangered, 3 were critically endangered and only one species was vulnerable. The most important threats included hunting and trapping, killing for fun, shift in crop production, use of insecticides and pesticides, improved storage devices, habitat destruction, developmental activities, tourism, buried carcasses and predatory.

Self-Medication Practices in Pokhara: A Study of Knowledge and Purpose among Non-Medical Students

This study has tried to assess the self-medication practice among non-medical students. For this purpose, data were collected from 206 Bachelor’s and Master’s level students by using self-administered questionnaire at Prithvi Narayan Campus, Pokhara. Quick relief from pain is one of the reasons for self-medication, followed by previous experiences of illness, pharmacist’s advice, ease and convenience and time saving. The majority of students has been practiced self-medication to treat headache (62.9%), fever (32.7%), gastric acidity (23.9%), cough (27.3%), common cold (34%), dental pain (18.5%) and dandruff (24.4%). Almost two fifth of the respondents (37.37%) had knowledge regarding the composition of drugs and minority (8.74%) that had knowledge about dose, content, therapy duration and reaction of the drug. In addition, the majority of the respondents practiced Antipyretic (38.6%) followed by analgesics (33.4%), general antibiotics (17.7%) and anti-ulcerants (14.1%) without proper consultation with professionals. The findings of the study showed that non-medical students had self-medication practices, depending on their age, gender and academic level. Due to a high level of practice on self-medication, the study recommended that the concerned authority should formulate a set of rules and implement to prevent such practices in the university, providing adequate facilities for healthcare medical treatment.

The Status of Abiotic Components in Aquatic Environment of Khaste Lake, Pokhara

Water is one of the most significant natural resources. In plants and animals, different physiological processes like respiration, photosynthesis, absorption of nutrients and other metabolic process get influenced by the amount of availability of water. This study has been conducted to evaluate water quality of Khaste Lake, Pokhara. After the collection of water samples, chemical parameters such as dissolved oxygen (DO), free carbon dioxide (F-CO2), hydrogen ion concentration (pH), total alkalinity (TA), total hardness (TH), total solid (TS), total dissolved solid (TDS), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and chloride ions (Cl-) have been measured in the chemistry laboratory, using standard methods prescribed by American Public Health Association (APHA, 1999) whereas the depth, transparency and temperature have been measured on the spot. The obtained values of physico-chemical parameters have been compared with the criteria of World Health Organization (WHO) and other lakes. The research reveals that all the abiotic components of the Khaste Lake meet the WHO standard of water quality. This research work concludes that the water quality of Khaste Lake is much less polluted and suitable for all the aquatic lives so far. Discharge of domestic sewage, use of fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture fields and other solid waste dumps can be the major threats for sustainability of the lakes. Awareness to the public and continual management need to be done to prevent the possibility of pollution and eutrophication process.

The Role of Birthplace in the Mode of Delivery in Nepal

The mode of delivery is strong-minded by diverse aspects. The available data and literature argue that the birthplace and birth orders play an imperative role in determining the mode of delivery. This study has been done with the objective to examine the association between the place of delivery and cesarean section in Nepal. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among women who have delivery experience in the last five years of survey, but only the last one has been included. This study is based on the data of Nepal demographic and health survey 2016 [NDHS]. The data were collected from 19 June 2016 to 31 January 2017 through the questionnaires. The sampling frame of Central Bureau of Statistics [CBS] has been updated and used by NDHS where districts and provinces are categorized into urban and rural areas. Frequency tabulation, χ2 test and multivariate binary logistic regressions are used to analyze the data. There are 10.2 percent of women who had a cesarean section. Out of 3998 total deliveries, cesarean deliveries are 406 (10.2%) at 95 percent confidence interval (9-11). The prevalence of cesarean delivery was seen in women delivered in private hospitals 36.3 percent compared to women delivered in government health facilities 12.8 percent. Among 3998 deliveries, 57.4 percent are institutional deliveries. The place of delivery, anti-natal care visit and cesarean section delivery are related to each other. Women who go to private hospitals for anti-natal care and delivery, such hospitals are found to have performed more caesarean sections than the recommended level of World Health Organization (WHO).

Insect Pest Management of Vegetables in Pocket Areas of Modi Rural Municipality, Parbat

Modi Rural Municipality is one of the commercial vegetable pocket areas under temperate climate. A study was carried out during July 2021 in three vegetable growing areas: Tilahar, Deupur and Bajung of Modi Rural Municipality. A total number of nine quadrates (10×10) m2 were laid, including three replicating quadrates in each area with 500m differences from each quadrates in the sampling site. Overall, 18 farmers were interviewed to collect information about vegetables grown, insect pests that affected vegetables and their management practices. The total number of 24 insect pests were recorded belonging to five orders from 14 vegetable crops. Greater Sorensen's similarity index of insects was recorded in Tilahar and Deupur (ß=0.52) because there was similarity in environment, habitats, larval host plants and visiting plants of insects. Lower Sorensen's similarity index (ß=0.25) was recorded in Deupur and Bajung as there was less similarity in environment, habitats, larval host plants and visiting plants of insects. Insect pests and diseases on vegetables were the major problems in the study areas. The use of chemical insecticides was the means to control adopted by most of farmers while a few of them used other control methods. Insecticides on pests were applied considering fewer precautions. The study clearly indicated that the farmer’s knowledge towards Integrated Pest Management (IPM) was null and thus necessary action should be taken by concerned agencies to increase rate of vegetable production, avoid the heavy use of chemicals and allied consequences.

COVID-19 and Tourism in Pokhara: Strategies for Industry’s Recovery

Tourism is considered as travel related activities. Pokhara has many attractions for tourists including lakes, hills, religious and cultural sites. The presence of Phewa Lake in the west, Begnas Lake in the east attracts a large number of domestic and international tourists. The main objective of this study is to explore the impact of COVID-19 on tourism of Pokhara. Altogether 120 samples were taken purposively in the major touristic areas of Pokhara. Interviews were taken with key informants and the observation technique was also used. The obtained data were discussed in the form of table, charts and figures. The number of tourists visiting Pokhara is found decreasing over the last two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic. High quality hotels are only in the Phewa Lake area whereas there are very few quality hotels in the study area, so quality hotels with better facilities should be established in other areas, too. New tourism activities need to be explored and after the operation of international airport, the option for the present paragliding spots need to be managed in time. To minimize the impact of Covid-19 pandemic, there should be a provision of easy refinancing facilities from the financial institutions to be provided to the tourism entrepreneurs, including subsidies on the equated monthly instalments and decreasing the interest rate and quick vaccination to the people involved in tourism sectors.

A Comparison of Antibacterial Potential of Different Soil Actinomycetes from Pokhara

Actinomycetes are widely distributed in the environment and used for the production of several important secondary metabolites like antibiotics, immunosuppressive agents, enzymes and antitumor agents. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to isolate and assess antibacterial potential of different actinomycetes obtained from different soil samples. This study was conducted in the microbiology laboratories of Prithvi Narayan Campus and Lambda Food Lab Pvt Ltd, Pokhara. A total of nine soil samples were collected from different places of Pokhara (forest land, agriculture land and lake bank) and processed. Isolated actinomycetes were screened by primary and secondary screening for antibiotic producers against test organisms like Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853) and Bacillus spp, E coli (ATCC 25922). This study isolated 27 actinomycetes in total, using the soil samples through spread plating on Starch Casein Agar (SCA) and by serial dilution. After incubation, actinomycetes colonies (rough, chalky) were selected for gram staining to observe thin thread-like mycelial and hyphal structures. The highest number of actinomycetes isolates were obtained from agricultural land’s soil samples (14 out of 27 isolates i.e. 51.85%) whereas only 3 isolates were obtained from the lake soil. Primary screening was performed on Nutrient agar where test bacteria were streaked perpendicular to the isolated actinomycetes to observe antagonism. This showed 12 actinomycetes as active isolates inhibiting at least one test bacteria. The antibacterial compounds were extracted by ethyl acetate method and used in secondary screening. Secondary screening in Mueller Hinton agar (MHA) further revealed five isolates showed promising inhibitory capacity. In both screening methods higher sensitivity was observed towards Gram-positive bacteria especially S aureus (ATCC 25923), and the least sensitivity towards Gram-negative bacteria especially Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853). Agricultural land was shown to harbor more actinomycetes than forest land and lake bank soil. Though variations were observed in primary and secondary screening, actinomycetes obtained from agricultural land demonstrated an inhibitory action against the Gram-positive and Gram-negative test organisms. As compared to Gram-negative bacteria, the Gram-positive had higher effects. These findings showed that soil of different locations of Pokhara valley found many actinomycetes strains, preventing the growth of pathogenic bacteria of certain kinds. The study suggested that further investigations need to be done that helped obtain new antimicrobial agents from actinomycetes, using various other sources.

University Teachers’ Motivation and Challenges: A Gender Perspective on Professional Development

This article has attempted to explore motivation for female teachers in the classroom and to find out the affecting factors in the process of becoming a successful teacher in the university. This study is theoretically based on motivation theory and critical theory. The female teachers' professional challenges have persisted for many years. In this study, motivation for the female teachers and their challenges that focus on the participation of all strata of gender, race, ethnicity and other aspects are two sides of teachers’ professional identity. Therefore, motivation for female teachers in higher education is an urgent need for improving teaching and learning environment and for job security. This article includes a narrative inquiry based on an in-depth interview that includes three female teachers of the university. The thematic content analysis of this study is based on primary sources of data and theoretical observations. This study concludes that the female participation in higher education in Nepal is satisfactory, but they have not been able to improve their situation though they are capable of encouraging motivation for students to learn and face challenges in higher education.

Knowledge of Unsafe Abortion among Female Students in Nepal

The term 'abortion' is a deliberate termination of unwanted human pregnancy. To save maternal health and life and control population growth, abortion has been legally permitted in Nepal since 2002. Most of the female youths stay away from home and are vulnerable to risky behavior regarding sex related matters. They have no proper knowledge about unsafe abortion. The objective of this article is to investigate the knowledge about unsafe abortion among the female youths in Pokhara. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 133 BBS first-year female students by using the simple random sampling. A self-administered questionnaire was prepared to assess the participants’ socio-demographic factors along with their knowledge about unsafe abortion. The association of knowledge was categorized with selected variables. Out of the 133 respondents, 49.6 percent were from the age group 19-20, 46.6 percent from the group of Janjati, 78.2 percent from the group of Hindu followers and 86.5 percent from the single respondents. The majority of the respondents (71.4 percent) were found to have the knowledge that over-bleeding was the consequence of abortion. Among the total respondents, 58 percent respondents had good knowledge about unsafe abortion and 15 percent had poor knowledge about unsafe abortion. No significant connection of age with knowledge of unsafe abortion has been observed during the study as the p value is greater than 0.05 at 95 confidence level, but other variables like caste, religion, place of residence and marital status have been found to have a significant relation with knowledge of unsafe abortion because p value is smaller than 0.05 at 95 confidence level.

Corporate Efficiency in the Nepali Hotel Industry

Financial sources and corporate investment are the key components for business operation and corporate activities focus on to increase efficiency. The study has attempted to analyze the impact of leverage and firm-specific variables on efficiency of Nepali hotel industry. In this study, efficiency is the dependent variables whereas the independent variables are leverage, size, tangibility and growth. The descriptive and causal comparative research design has been used to examine and analyze the impact on efficiency. The data were collected from annual reports of respective hotels. The study was based on 18 observations and the sample comprises of three hotels, which were purposively selected. Descriptive statistics, correlation and regression analysis have been employed to assess the relationship among the variables. The result showed that the hotels having high leverage have higher efficiency. This study concluded that size, leverage, growth and tangibility are the major factors to determine and increase the corporate efficiency. The findings of the study suggested that there are practical implications to take financing, investment and operating decisions of service sectors like hotels of Nepal. The study has also aimed to support the increase in corporate efficiency.