Bioethanol (a renewable resource), blended with gasoline, is used as liquid transportation fuel worldwide and produced from either starch or lignocellulose. Local production and use of bioethanol supports local economies, decreases country's carbon footprint and promotes self-sufficiency. The latter is especially important for bio-resource-rich landlocked countries like Nepal that are seeking alternative transportation fuels and technologies to produce them. In that regard, in the present study, we have used two highly efficient ethanol producing yeast strains, viz., Saccharomyces cerevisiae (CDBT2) and Wickerhamomyces anomalous (CDBT7), in an electrochemical cell to enhance ethanol production. Ethanol production by CDBT2 (anodic chamber) and CDBT7 (cathodic chamber) control cultures, using 5% glucose as substrate, were 12.6 ± 0.42 and 10.1 ± 0.17 mg•mL −1 respectively. These cultures in the electrochemical cell, when externally supplied with 4V, the ethanol production was enhanced by 19.8 ± 0.50% and 23.7 ± 0.51%, respectively, as compared to the control cultures. On the other hand, co-culturing of those two yeast strains in both electrode compartments resulted only 3.96 ± 0.83% enhancement in ethanol production. Immobilization of CDBT7 in the graphite cathode resulted in lower enhancement of ethanol production (5.30 ± 0.82%), less than free cell culture of CDBT7. CDBT2 and CDBT7 when cultured in platinum nano particle coated platinum anode and neutral red-coated graphite cathode, respectively, ethanol production was substantially enhanced (52.8 ± 0.44%). The above experiments when repeated using lignocellulosic biomass hydrolysate (reducing sugar content was 3.3%) as substrate, resulted in even better enhancement in ethanol production (61.5 ± 0.12%) as compared to glucose. The results concluded that CDBT2 and CDBT7 yeast strains produced ethanol efficiently from both glucose and lignocellulosic biomass Joshi et al. Enhancement of Ethanol Production in Electrochemical Cell hydrolysate. Ethanol production was enhanced in the presence of low levels of externally applied voltage. Ethanol production was further enhanced with the better electron transport provision i.e., when neutral red was deposited on cathode and fine platinum nanoparticles were coated on the platinum anode.

Microorganisms producing laccases may be used for the pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass to recover fermentable sugar. Very few fungi and other microbes growing in high altitudes have been tested for this purpose. As part of this study, we have collected soil samples from different parts of the Kathmandu Valley and the Rautah at district of Nepal (1600 to 2303 m above sea level) and successfully cultured 53 different isolates of microorganisms. Among the 53 isolates obtained 30 were Actinomycetes, 20 were Streptomycetes, and three were fungi). These isolates were tested for laccase expression using guaiacol, tannic acid, and 1-naphthol as substrates. Twelve of the 53 isolates tested positive for the expression of laccase. Among the laccase- positive isolates, a fungal species designated as CDBT-F-G1was found to produce high levels of laccase. This isolate was identified as Pestalotiopsis species based on 18S rRNA sequencing. Pestalotiopsis spp. CDBT-F-G1 isolate grows efficiently in PDB media containing 1% Kraft lignin at pH 5 and 30 °C and secretes 20 ± 2 U/mL laccase in culture medium. Further optimization of growth conditions reveled that addition of (i) metal salts, e.g., 1 mM magnesium sulfate (51 ± 25 U/mL); (ii) agitation of cultures at 200 rpm (51 ± 9U/mL); (iii) surfactants, e.g., 0.75 mM Tween 80 (54 ± 14 U/mL); (iv) 40% dissolved O2 (57 ± 2 U/mL) and inducers, e.g., 1 mM gallic acid (69 ± 11 U/mL), further promote laccase production by Pestalotiopsis spp. CDBT-F-G1 isolate. On the other hand, 0.1 mM cysteine inhibited laccase production. The secretory laccase obtained from fermentation broth of CDBT-F-G1 was partially purified by ammonium sulfate (13-fold purification with specific activity 26,200 U/mg) and acetone (14-fold purification with specific activity 31,700 U/mg) precipitation methods. The enzyme has an approximate molecular mass of 43 kDa, pH and temperature optima werepH6 and 60 °C, respectively. Vmax and Km were 100 μmol/min and 0.10 mM, respectively, with ABTS as the substrate. Given the above characteristics, we believe Pestalotiopsis spp. CDBT-F-G1 strain native to high altitudes of Nepal could be used to pretreat lignocellulosic biomass to efficiently recover fermentable sugars.

From psychological perspective, job satisfaction is the pleasant feelings that results from the appraisal of the job or by the job facilities. Job satisfaction is the level of contentment a person feels regarding his or her job. This feeling is based on an individual's perception of satisfaction. Job satisfaction can be influenced by a person's ability to complete required tasks, the earning, learning in an organization, and the way management treats employees. This research tries to study the level of job satisfaction on the basis of gender and their salary among college teachers of Lalitpur district. This survey research was conducted upon 122 (male 72 and female 50) respondents by using The Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ). Result of study shows male respondents were earning more than female respondents. Male respondents are more satisfied than female. The job satisfaction is positively correlated to salary.

No abstract

Introduction: Several studies suggest that health workers and medical students suffer from psychological problems during the pandemic. Paramedic trainees were doing duty at the hospital round the clock as other trainee health care workers during the first wave of COVID-19, but there was no published study regarding mental health issues of paramedic trainees till the date in Nepal. This study aims to assess their well-being to full fill the gap. Methods: This is a descriptive, cross-sectional study design carried out with 280 paramedics. The study period was September - October 2020. Depression, anxiety and stress scale – 21 (DASS 21) and self - care assessment worksheet was used to collect the data after getting permission from the concerned authors.  Results: The point prevalence of psychological problems as defined by DASS-21 was 117 (45.3%). Specifically, DASS-21 sub-scales-defined caseness was: Depression 31 (12.0%), anxiety 55 (21.3%) and stress 31 (12.0%), where 218 (80%) of participants were not taking any self-help care-related training to enhance their coping skills to date. Chi-square (χ2) test found that there was a significant association between emotional self-care and severity of depression (P = 0.001), anxiety (P = 0.03) and stress (P = 0.04).  Conclusions: A significant number of paramedic trainees suffered from depression, anxiety and stress during the first wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Therefore, psychological interventions like stress management, positive coping skills, and self-care training may be beneficial to help them cope with the situation.