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Introduction Antepartum depression is a contributing factor for adverse maternal and perinatal outcome. The study aimed to assess the antepartum depressive symptoms in selected public health facilities of Nepal. Methodology This is a mixed-method cross-sectional study that included 143 pregnant women attending the antenatal checkup in four public health facilities of Kathmandu. Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) tool with cut-off score > = 10 was used to assess the antepartum depressive symptoms. Bivariate and multivariable analysis was carried out to identify factors associated with the depressive symptoms. Further semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 pregnant women identified with the depressive symptoms. Result Of the total 143 pregnant women, 26 (18%, CI at 95% 12.6–25.5) reported depressive symptoms. Multivariable analysis reported higher odds of antepartum depressive-symptoms with health problem, early gestational age, sex preference, and spousal alcohol intake. Thematic analysis of qualitative data further revealed participants’ apprehension on; birth outcome, a family expectation of male child, inadequate support from the family/husband and disturbed family environment. Conclusion Notable proportion of pregnant women were reported with antepartum depressive symptoms. Women’s perception on patriarchal values for childbirth was revealed to be important factor for the depressive symptoms. The study draws an attention to a need for screening for antepartum depression into primary health care system. Strengthening ongoing efforts on gender equity could contribute the psychological well-being of pregnant women.

Background: Adolescence is a transition period from childhood to adult life during which pubertal development and sexual maturation takes place, thus adolescents have to face physiological development challenges. Adolescent girls often lack knowledge regarding reproductive health including menstrual hygiene which can be due to socio-cultural barriers in which they are grown up. Objective: To assess the knowledge and practices regarding menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls. Methods: A descriptive study was done among one hundred and two adolescent girls of Shree Jansewa Higher Secondary School, Bayarban-8, Morang, where data was collected from the adolescent girls meeting the inclusion criteria. Results: It was found that majority (83.3%) of girls knew that menstruation is a physiological process, 52% knew that it is caused by hormone. More than half of the respondents (53.9%) were taught about menstruation by their mother. Only 33.3% of the respondents used sanitary pad during menstruation. Adolescent girls still have different type of restrictions during menstruation like not being allowed to cook food, not being allowed to visit holy places and sleep in own house during menarche. Conclusion: Socio-cultural restrictions regarding menstruation still persist and knowledge regarding menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls was found to be unsatisfactory. So, the girls should be educated about the process of menstruation, use of proper pads for absorbents and its proper disposal. This can be achieved by giving them proper training and health education by teachers, family members, health educators, and media so that there won't be any misconception to the adolescent girls regarding menstrual hygiene.

Using a qualitative approach, based on extensive fieldwork and surveys, this article examines how participatory institutions in Nepal perform and affect local planning. The evidence points to mixed outcomes: citizen participation can improve local planning, especially with regard to achieving planning efficacy and equity; and at the same time, it sometimes yields no such effects or may produce negative effects including raising expectations, skewing priorities and producing faulty compartmentalization, besides adding to administrative complexities. This is because the anticipated benefits of citizen participation are strongly embedded in local, socio-political realities such as the degree of power exercised by the local elites, mainly politicians, a collusive nexus among them, prior history of citizen mobilization and empowerment and the degree to which citizens and civil society organizations are able to exercise their agency to countervail those forces.

Silencing of tissue-specific gene expression in mammalian somatic cell hybrids is a well-documented epigenetic phenomenon which is both profound (involving a large number of genes) and enigmatic. Our aim was to utilize whole-genome microarray analyses to determine the true extent of gene silencing on a genomic level. By comparing gene expression profiles of hepatoma×fibroblast cell hybrids with those of parental cells, we have identified over 300 liver-enriched genes that are repressed at least 5-fold in the cell hybrids, the majority of which are repressed at least 10-fold. Also, we identify nearly 200 fibroblast-enriched genes that are repressed at least 5-fold. Silenced hepatic genes include several that encode transcription factors and proteins involved in signal transduction pathways. These data suggest that extensive reprogramming occurs in cell hybrids, leading to a nearly global (although not complete) loss of tissue-specific gene expression.