Background The risk of losing traditional knowledge of medicinal plants and their use and conservation is very high. Documenting knowledge on distribution and use of medicinal plants by different ethnic groups and at spatial scale on a single platform is important from a conservation planning and management perspective. The sustainable use, continuous practice, and safeguarding of traditional knowledge are essential. Communication of such knowledge among scientists and policy makers at local and global level is equally important, as the available information at present is limited and scattered in Nepal. Methods In this paper, we aimed to address these shortcomings by cataloguing medicinal plants used by indigenous ethnic groups in Nepal through a systematic review of over 275 pertinent publications published between 1975 and July 2021. The review was complemented by field visits made in 21 districts. We determined the ethnomedicinal plants hotspots across the country and depicted them in heatmaps. Results The heatmaps show spatial hotspots and sites of poor ethnomedicinal plant use documentation, which is useful for evaluating the interaction of geographical and ethnobotanical variables. Mid-hills and mountainous areas of Nepal hold the highest number of medicinal plant species in use, which could be possibly associated with the presence of higher human population and diverse ethnic groups in these areas. Conclusion Given the increasing concern about losing medicinal plants due to changing ecological, social, and climatic conditions, the results of this paper may be important for better understanding of how medicinal plants in use are distributed across the country and often linked to specific ethnic groups.

Background: Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureushas emerged as one of the most important nosocomial pathogens. It invokes a tremendous financial burden and enhanced morbidity and mortality due to difficult to treat systemic infections.Aim of this study was to determine antibiotic susceptibility pattern of Staphylococcus aureus and Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Materials and Methods: Different clinical specimens were collected and processed for routine culture and antibiotic sensitivity test by standard microbiology techniques. Results: Out of 1173 samples received for microbiological examination, 100 were found to be S. aureus with 19% cases were Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Fourteen MRSA were found from inpatient and 5 were from outpatient. MRSA was found higher in female than male and maximum number (31.5%) was found in age group 0-10 years. Staphylococcus aureus was 100% sensitive to Vancomycin followed by Amikacin (90%), Gentamycin (83%), and tetracycline (81%). On urine isolates Nitrofurantoin(91.6%) was drug of choice. All the isolates were resistant to Penicillin G. In case of Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus showed 100% sensitive to Vancomycin followed by Amikacin (84.2%), Tetracycline (63.1%), Ciprofloxacin (42%) and Gentamycin (36.8%). Among urine isolates Nitrofutantoin showed 87.5% sensitive followed by Norfloxacin (75%). Conclusion: Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus was found 19% of Staphylococcus aureus isolates. It was most common in females, hospitalized patients and young age group. Vancomycin seems to be drug of choice followed by Amikacin. It would be helpful to formulating and monitoring the antibiotic policy and ensure proper empiric treatment. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jpn.v4i7.10297 Journal of Pathology of Nepal (2014) Vol. 4, 548-551

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A severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS CoV2), also known as coronavirus disease 2019 , is an ongoing pandemic. Although COVID-19 is primarily a lung disease, it has been linked to several cutaneous symptoms in COVID-19 patients. 1 The reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus (VZV), which causes herpes zoster, is a noteworthy discovery (HZ). 1 HZ was the first sign of COVID-19 infection in several patients. Vaccination initiatives against COVID-19 have been carried over since December 2020. Pain at the injection site, fever, nausea, myalgia, and exhaustion are among the most commonly reported side effects. 2 HZ was noted in patients after vaccination with tozinameran, Pfizer-BNT162b2 mRNA, Moderna mRNA-1273, and ChAdOx1 nCoV-19. [3][4][5] However, reactivation of HZ has not been reported so far. Here, we describe a rare side effect, that is, HZ eruptions in 51-year-old male patient after vaccination with Sinopharm (Vero cell). | CASE PRESENTATIONA 51-year-old male patient presented to our center with the chief complaints of rashes over the abdomen (T 8 -T 10 dermatome distribution) for five days (Figure 1). The rashes were itchy, and the tender lesions spread along the periumbilical region. He complained of a burning sensation over the lesions. He had no history of fever, limb weakness, or paresthesia. He does not smoke or consume alcohol. He had herpes zoster infection at 3 years of age on trunk, which he recalls as vesicular eruptions which subsided without treatment. He had no history of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, previous COVID-19 infection, and pulmonary tuberculosis. He was administered Sinopharm BBIBP-CorV (Vero cell) COVID-19 vaccine five days prior to the cutaneous reaction.On examination of the lesion, the distribution was over dermatome T 8 -T 10 in the right side of back and abdomen. Rashes were maculopapular, vesicular, pustular with crusts, and tender to touch, and spread over an area

Context: Streptomyces species are prolific sources of bioactive secondary metabolites known especially for their antimicrobial and anticancer activities.Objective: This study sought to isolate and characterize antioxidant molecules biosynthesized by Streptomyces sp. KTM18. The antioxidant potential of an isolated compound and its toxicity were accessed. Materials and methods: The compound was purified using bioassay-guided chromatography techniques. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments were carried out for structure elucidation. The antioxidant potential of the isolated compound was determined using DPPH free radical scavenging assay. The toxicity of the isolated compound was measured using a brine shrimp lethality (BSL) assay. Results: Ethyl acetate extract of Streptomyces sp. KTM18 showed more than 90% inhibition of DPPH free radical at 50 mg/mL of the test concentration. These data were the strongest among 13 Streptomyces isolates (KTM12-KTM24). The active molecule was isolated and characterized as maculosin (molecular formula, C 14 H 16 N 2 O 3 as determined by the [M þ H] þ peak at 261.1259). The DPPH free radical scavenging activity of pure maculosin was higher (IC 50 , 2.16 ± 0.05 mg/mL) than that of commercial butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) (IC 50 , 4.8 ± 0.05 mg/mL). No toxicity was observed for maculosin (LD 50 , <128 mg/mL) in brine shrimp lethality assay (BSLA) up to the compound's antioxidant activity (IC 50 ) concentration range. The commercial standard, berberine chloride, showed toxicity in BSLA with an LD 50 value of 8.63 ± 0.15 mg/mL. Conclusions: Maculosin may be a leading drug candidate in various cosmetic and therapeutic applications owing to its strong antioxidant and non-toxic properties.