Multilevel factors influencing contraceptive use and childbearing among adolescent girls in Bara district of Nepal: a qualitative study using the socioecological model.

Objectives: This study aimed to identify the multilevel factors that influence contraceptive use and childbearing decisions in Nepal and examine relationships among these factors.

Design: The study drew on qualitative data collected through in-depth interviews (IDIs) and key informant interviews (KIIs) and triangulated results.

Setting: An urban municipality and a rural municipality in Bara district, Nepal.

Identifying the causal effect of child marriage on unmet needs for modern contraception and unintended pregnancy in Nepal: a cross-sectional study using propensity score matching.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate whether child marriage had causal effects on unmet needs for modern contraception, and unintended pregnancy, by estimating the marginal (population-averaged) treatment effect of child marriage.

Design: This study used secondary data from the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2016. Applying one-to-one nearest-neighbour matching with replacement within a calliper range of ±0.

Comparative functional analysis between human and mouse chitotriosidase: Substitution at amino acid 218 modulates the chitinolytic and transglycosylation activity.

Chitotriosidase (Chit1) and acidic mammalian chitinase (AMCase) have been attracting research interest due to their involvement in various pathological conditions such as Gaucher's disease and asthma, respectively. Both enzymes are highly expressed in mice, while the level of AMCase mRNA was low in human tissues. In addition, the chitinolytic activity of the recombinant human AMCase was significantly lower than that of the mouse counterpart.

The effect of child marriage on the utilization of maternal health care in Nepal: A cross-sectional analysis of Demographic and Health Survey 2016.

A range of demographic and socioeconomic factors are known to account for enormous disparities in the uptake of maternal health care in low- and middle-income countries. In contrast, contextual factors such as child marriage are far less explored as a deterrent to the uptake of maternal health care. The present study aimed to assess the total effect of child marriage on the utilization of maternal health services in Nepal.

Feasibility of a Comprehensive Targeted Cholera Intervention in The Kathmandu Valley, Nepal.

A comprehensive targeted intervention (CTI) was designed and deployed in the neighborhoods of cholera cases in the Kathmandu Valley with the intent of reducing rates among the neighbors of the case. This was a feasibility study to determine whether clinical centers, laboratories, and field teams were able to mount a rapid, community-based response to a case within 2 days of hospital admission. Daily line listings were requested from 15 participating hospitals during the monsoon season, and a single case initiated the CTI.

Lessons Learned from Enhancing Sentinel Surveillance for Cholera in Post-Earthquake Nepal in 2016.

A major earthquake in 2015 that struck Nepal created a favorable environment for the rapid spread of infectious diseases. In anticipation of a cholera outbreak in 2016, UNICEF, Johns Hopkins University, and the Group for Technical Assistance, Nepal, collaborated to assist the government of Nepal to strengthen early warning surveillance, laboratory-based diagnosis, and field investigation. This article outlines the challenges and lessons learned in cholera prevention and control based on the authors' experiences in 2016.

Emergency response in water, sanitation and hygiene to control cholera in post-earthquake Nepal in 2016.

After the 2015 earthquake in Nepal that killed approximately 9,000 people, the country faced an increased risk of cholera outbreaks due to extensive destruction of water and sanitation infrastructure and massive displacement. The disaster revealed long-standing weaknesses in water and sanitation systems in the country. Anticipating a cholera outbreak in 2016, UNICEF, Johns Hopkins University, and the Group for Technical Assistance partnered to support the Government of Nepal to ensure a safe water supply and improve sanitation and hygiene.

Humanitarian response to reproductive and sexual health needs in a disaster: the Nepal Earthquake 2015 case study.

This case study describes the health response provided by the Ministry of Health of Nepal with support from UN agencies and several other organisations, to the 1.4 million women and adolescent girls affected by the major earthquake that struck Nepal in April 2015. After a post-disaster needs assessment, the response was provided to cater for the identified sexual and reproductive health (RH) needs, following the guidance of the Minimum Initial Service Package for RH developed by the global Inter-Agency Working Group.

Effect of child marriage on girls' school dropout in Nepal: Analysis of data from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2014.

School dropout and child marriage are interrelated outcomes that have an enormous impact on adolescent girls. However, the literature reveals gaps in the empirical evidence on the link between child marriage and the dropout of girls from school. This study identifies the 'tipping point' school grades in Nepal when the risk of dropout due to marriage is highest, measures the effect of child marriage on girls' school dropout rates, and assesses associated risk factors.

Functional Properties of Mouse Chitotriosidase Expressed in the Periplasmic Space of Escherichia coli.

Chitotriosidase (Chit1) is an enzyme associated with various diseases, including Gaucher disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Alzheimer disease and cystic fibrosis. In this study, we first expressed mouse mature Chit1 fused with V5 and (His)6 tags at the C-terminus (Chit1-V5-His) in the cytoplasm of Escherichia coli and found that most of the expressed protein was insoluble. In contrast, Chit1 tagged with Protein A at the N-terminus and V5-His at the C-terminus, was expressed in the periplasmic space of E.