Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) is endemic in Nepal and causes substantial economic losses in the livestock industry. The goal of this study was to perform an epidemiological analysis of FMD outbreaks reported to the Veterinary Epidemiology Center, Tripureshwor, Nepal during 2010–2015, in order to strengthen the National FMD Control Program. These current data were considered in the context of historical data on FMD virus (FMDV) serotypes detected in the country between 1965 and 2015. During 2010–2015, a total of 1333 livestock holdings reported FMD outbreaks in Nepal. On average, 71.2 animals were affected in each outbreak, with a case fatality rate of 3.6%. FMD was reported throughout the country, and the proportion of affected holdings was not significantly among eco‐zones, regions, or species. The Hill eco‐zone had the highest number of holdings affected (782), followed by Mountain (304), and Terai (247). When analysed by the developmental region, the Western (381) and Central (368) Developmental Regions had the highest numbers of holdings affected. Cattle were the most frequently affected species (39%), followed by buffalo (33%), and goats (19%). FMD occurred throughout the year, with peaks in winter (December/January) and in the pre‐monsoon period (April/May). Between 1965 and 2015 FMDV serotype O had the highest prevalence (81%), followed by Asia‐1 (11%), A (6%), and C (2%). Serotype C was not detected after 1996, and only serotype O was reported after 2011. These descriptive analyses provide critical landmarks to establish baselines, and document early progress of the ongoing Progressive Control Pathway of FMD (PCP‐FMD) which could be useful in Nepal and other South Asian nations.

Introduction: COVID-19 infection is caused by a new strain of SARS CoV-2 virus, which transmits directly from person-to-person and has become a pandemic. To counteract this, actions related to mass quarantines or stay-at-home orders have been used termed as lockdown. This study aims to study lifestyle, behaviour, perception and practice of people regarding during the lockdown. Methods: An online survey was conducted with structured questionnaire in Google forms after ethical approval from Nepal Health Research Council (Ref-2631). The attributes of knowledge, attitude and practices were explored using multiple-choice questions and results were statistically analysed using Microsoft excel. Results: Five hundred fifty-five respondents completed the survey with 280 (50.5%) males and 275 (49.5%) female. The knowledge regarding viral pandemic was increased in 496 (89.3%) respondents. 424 (76.4%) people developed stress due to pandemic. Three hundred fifty three (63.6%) were adversely affected by professional works or suffered economic loss in business. More than 42% participants are using their time for study in personal development, online classes etc. Conclusions: The knowledge of viral pandemic as well as personal hygiene habits have improved in majority of people but many also developed stress. They were convinced that lockdown lowered transmission of infection which in turn affected lifestyle behaviour and practices. Practicing social distancing becomes too difficult for the poor in the absence of proper social security system and government support. E-Learning has become more acceptable due to lockdown. Further studies with in-person interviews are warranted.

Rationality of public policy analysis emerges due to the need of understanding the nature of policies and their elements towards solving societal problems. National supply policy is formulated and implemented for the regular supply of necessary goods and services in the country. Effective implementation of the policy depends on its structure as well as on the external factors from the prevailing situation in the country. In the present article an attempt has been made to highlight the basic features of the current national supply policy of Nepal and discuss the issues related with its effective implementation. Despite several elements proposed in the policy only few have the result oriented features. Many of the elements are ambitious as well as vague. Imperfection in policy implementation witnessed during the suddenly arrived difficulties as well as at the normal time. From the discussion it has been concluded that the policy has weaknesses in its structure, basically in maintenance of hierarchy of objectives and has been facing several unsolved practical issues.

The determination of the required sample size is always an important step during the planning of the quality of research for a quantitative study. The researchers need to have sound prerequisite knowledge of the inferential statistics concept for determining a minimum sample size requirement and its estimation because an insufficient sample size may not be able to answer the research questions and a large sample is wastage of resources, may add to the complexity, and take more time for the study. Both situations are ethically unacceptable for the researchers. Therefore, this study provides researchers with appropriate sample size determination methods for quantitative study. The Google Scholar, PubMed, and Library Genesis were used to find out the required information for the review of this paper. This study presents the sample size calculation formula in a simplified manner with relevant examples so that researchers may effectively use them in their research.

The geology of the Himalayas is intricated and intriguing. It features numerous tectonic bodies and structures too complex to interpret. Along with such mysteries it has too many common geohazards, such as landslides. In this study, a detailed geological investigation is carried out to overcome the discrepancies in structural interpretation, the nature of two crystalline bodies, and non-uniformity in geological mapping in the central Himalayan arc, in the Jajarkot district of Nepal. Along with the geological exploration and landslide characterization of the area, consequent landslide susceptibility mapping is performed considering 13 causative factors related to geology, topography, land use, hydrology, and the anthropogenic factor, using two bivariate statistical models. This study concludes that the two metamorphic crystalline bodies in the study area are most probably the klippen, due to the absence or erosion of the root zone. The field study revealed that haphazard road excavation without the consideration of geological and geotechnical features has caused shallow landslides. The results obtained from the susceptibility maps, with a varying range of susceptibility zones, are in good agreement with the spatial distribution of pre-historic landslides. The results of the susceptibility modeling are validated by calculating landslide density and plotting area under curves (AUC). The AUC value for the WOE, and the FR method, revealed an overall success rate of 79.42% and 77.62%, respectively.