Political Stability and FDI in Nepal

Surya Nepal,박세운 한국무역연구원 2018 무역연구 Vol.14 No.5

The objective of this research is to empirically assess the relationship between political stability and FDI inflows in the context of Nepal. Time series data for the period 1998-2016 is used in the study. This study uses a co-integration approach, bounds test, ARDL model, and Granger causality test. The empirical findings confirm the existence of a long run relationship between FDI and political stability. The results show that a 1% increase in FDI inflows results in a 0.14% increase in political stability in the long run. It implies that an increment of FDI inflows will help create political stability in Nepal. The coefficient in the short run is also significant. In addition, the result confirms bi-directional causality between political stability and FDI in Nepal. Only one of the indicators of the World Governance Indicators (WGI) that represents the political stability is taken into consideration in the study. This paper exclusively considers the case of Nepal in order to determine the relationship between political stability and FDI in Nepal.

ICT development in Nepal

Deepak Nepal Chhetri 한국멀티미디어학회 2007 한국멀티미디어학회 국제학술대회 Vol.2007 No.-

The information technology revolution has been making significant impact in our daily life and changed landscape of human existence. IT industry maximize growth industry and demand of IT core professionals. As a result of rapid growth in highly skilled IT occupations, low unemployment rate and rising salaries etc. Multimedia technologies is one of the methods which can be used in teaching and learning activities, where both the instructors and learners can achieve importance of media-rich training material is increasing day-by-day. But do not forget the ultimate goal is to achieve learning objective.

[외국 BT맨의 한국사는 이야기] Korea: My First Foreign Country

Keshav Kumar Nepal 한국생물공학회 2009 BT NEWS Vol.16 No.1

Modulation of Cell Death and Survival by Adipokines in the Liver.

Nepal, Saroj,Park, Pil-Hoon Pharmaceutical Society of Japan 2015 Biological & pharmaceutical bulletin Vol.38 No.7

<P>Adipokines, hormones predominantly produced from adipose tissue, have been shown to impart dynamic functions in the liver. Emerging evidence has shown that adipokines are also involved in modulating liver cell survival and/or death. Among the various adipokines, adiponectin and leptin directly regulate proliferation of hepatocytes, Kupffer cells, and hepatic stellate cells. Moreover, these adipokines control apoptosis and cell cycle of hepatic cancer cells in a complex manner. Adiponectin possesses both pro- and anti-proliferative properties, whereas leptin appears to play roles as a pro-survival hormone. Recent studies have revealed that regulation of cell death and proliferation is one of the critical factors regulating liver physiology by adipokines. In this review, we summarize the effects of adipokines on apoptosis and survival of liver cells and also demonstrate their implications in regulating various liver functions and decipher the underlying molecular mechanisms.</P>

Proteins and Carbon Nanotubes: Close Encounter in Water

Nepal, Dhriti,Geckeler, Kurt ,E. WILEY-VCH Verlag 2007 Small Vol.3 No.7

<P>The interactions between biological substances and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and their effect on the nanotubes are of significant importance in this emerging era of nanobiotechnology. Consequently, highly stable dispersions of debundled CNTs in aqueous solution are an important prerequisite for their applications and for the development of nanotube-based molecular electronic and nanobiomedical devices. Here, we report that proteins can work as tools to this end if their primary structure and the pH value of the system are chosen appropriately. Proteins containing a large number of basic residues, for example, histone, are found to be the most promising protein tools for the dispersion of nanotubes. Apart from other interactions, the polarity of the protein seems to play a vital role in obtaining high yields of debundled nanotubes. In addition, an enrichment of metallic nanotubes in the products is observed, which offers a facile approach for separating nanotubes according to their electronic properties in the bulk.</P> <B>Graphic Abstract</B> <P>Watered down: The use of proteins as a tool for the dispersion of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) in water is demonstrated. The suitability of the protein depends on its primary structure and the pH of the system. Proteins containing a high number of basic residues, such as histone, are the most promising for the dispersion of SWNTs (see picture). An enrichment of metallic nanotubes in the products is also observed. <img src='wiley_img/16136810-2007-3-7-SMLL200600511-content.gif' alt='wiley_img/16136810-2007-3-7-SMLL200600511-content'> </P>

pH-Sensitive Dispersion and Debundling of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes: Lysozyme as a Tool

Nepal, Dhriti,Geckeler, Kurt ,E. WILEY-VCH Verlag 2006 Small Vol.2 No.3

<P>Highly dispersed and debundled carbon nanotubes were prepared in an aqueous solution of lysozyme using a combination of ultrasonication and ultracentrifugation. The product is a pH-sensitive dispersion, which remains in a highly dispersed state at pH<8 and pH>11, but in an aggregated state at pH 8–11. Photoluminescence measurements show that by changing the pH value, a reversible conversion of the highly dispersed state to the aggregated state (or vice versa) could be observed. Circular dichromism analysis confirmed that the secondary structure, as well as the majority of the tertiary structure, remains intact. Some lysozyme molecules were irreversibly bound to the nanotubes, which is possibly due to π–π or hydrophobic interactions. However, these interactions alone are not enough to produce fine dispersions of the nanotubes. Protonated amine interactions on the defect sites of the nanotubes play a vital role in the stabilization of the nanotubes below the isoelectric point and amine adsorption on the sidewalls of nanotubes occurs in cases where the pH value is higher than the isoelectric point.</P> <B>Graphic Abstract</B> <P>Lysozyme-stabilized carbon nanotubes are highly disperse in aqueous solution, and exhibit pH-sensitive emission. At pH 12.5, a typical emission pattern for individual, isolated nanotubes is obtained, which is not observed at pH 9.0 (see Figure). However, readjusting the pH value back at 12.5 recovered the emission properties. Such pH-sensitive reversibility in the dispersions holds great promise in the development of optical pH sensors. <img src='wiley_img/16136810-2006-2-3-SMLL200500351-content.gif' alt='wiley_img/16136810-2006-2-3-SMLL200500351-content'> </P>

Characterization of RbmD (Glycosyltransferase in Ribostamycin Gene Cluster) through neomycin production reconstituted from the engineered Streptomyces fradiae BS1

Nepal, Keshav Kumar,Oh, Tae-Jin,Subba, Bimala,Yoo, Jin Cheol,Sohng, Jae Kyung Korean Society for Molecular Biology 2009 Molecules and cells Vol.27 No.1

Amino acid homology analysis predicted that rbmD, a putative glycosyltransferase from Streptomyces ribosidificus ATCC 21294, has the highest homology with neoD in neomycin biosynthesis. S. fradiae BS1, in which the production of neomycin was abolished, was generated by disruption of the neoD gene in the neomycin producer S. fradiae. The restoration of neomycin by self complementation suggested that there was no polar effect in the mutant. In addition, S. fradiae BS6 was created with complementation by rbmD in S. fradiae BS1, and secondary metabolite analysis by ESI/MS, LC/MS and MS/MS showed the restoration of neomycin production in S. fradiae BS6. These gene inactivation and complementation studies suggested that, like neoD, rbmD functions as a 2-N-acetlyglucosaminyltransferase and demonstrated the potential for the generation of novel aminoglycoside antibiotics using glycosyltransferases in vivo.

Biosynthetic approach for the production of new aminoglycoside derivative

Nepal, K.K.,Yoo, J.C.,Sohng, J.K. Society for Bioscience and Bioengineering, Japan ; 2010 Journal of bioscience and bioengineering Vol.110 No.1

Aminoglycoside antibiotics can be classified into two major groups; streptamine containing and 2-deoxystreptamine containing antibiotics. Here, we report a biosynthetic approach for the fusion of spectinomycin and kanamycin biosynthetic gene clusters to yield the new aminoglycoside derivative, oxykanamycinC, in a non-aminoglycoside producing heterologous host.

Ubiquitin specific protease 2 acts as a key modulator for the regulation of cell cycle by adiponectin and leptin in cancer cells

Nepal, S.,Shrestha, A.,Park, P.H. North-Holland 2015 Molecular and cellular endocrinology Vol.412 No.-

Adiponectin and leptin, both produced from adipose tissue, cause cell cycle arrest and progression, respectively in cancer cells. Ubiquitin specific protease-2 (USP-2), a deubiquitinating enzyme, is known to impair proteasome-induced degradation of cyclin D1, a critical cell cycle regulator. Herein, we investigated the effects of these adipokines on USP-2 expression and its potential role in the modulation of cell cycle. Treatment with globular adiponectin (gAcrp) decreased, whereas leptin increased USP-2 expression both in human hepatoma and breast cancer cells. In addition, overexpression or gene silencing of USP-2 affected cyclin D1 expression and cell cycle progression/arrest by adipokines. Adiponectin and leptin also modulated in vitro proteasomal activity, which was partially dependent on USP-2 expression. Taken together, our results reveal that modulation of USP-2 expression plays a crucial role in cell cycle regulation by adipokines. Thus, USP-2 would be a promising therapeutic target for the modulation of cancer cell growth by adipokines.

A simple <i>in chemico</i> method for testing skin sensitizing potential of chemicals using small endogenous molecules

Nepal, Mahesh Raj,Shakya, Rajina,Kang, Mi Jeong,Jeong, Tae Cheon Elsevier 2018 Toxicology letters Vol.289 No.-

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>Among many of the validated methods for testing skin sensitization, direct peptide reactivity assay (DPRA) employs no cells or animals. Although no immune cells are involved in this assay, it reliably predicts the skin sensitization potential of a chemical <I>in chemico</I>. Herein, a new method was developed using endogenous small-molecular-weight compounds, cysteamine and glutathione, rather than synthetic peptides, to differentiate skin sensitizers from non-sensitizers with an accuracy as high as DPRA. The percent depletion of cysteamine and glutathione by test chemicals was measured by an HPLC equipped with a PDA detector. To detect small-size molecules, such as cysteamine and glutathione, a derivatization by 4-(4-dimethylaminophenylazo) benzenesulfonyl chloride (DABS-Cl) was employed prior to the HPLC analysis. Following test method optimization, a cut-off criterion of 7.14% depletion was applied to differentiate skin sensitizers from non-sensitizers in combination of the ratio of 1:25 for cysteamine:test chemical with 1:50 for glutathione:test chemical for the best predictivity among various single or combination conditions. Although overlapping HPLC peaks could not be fully resolved for some test chemicals, high levels of sensitivity (100.0%), specificity (81.8%), and accuracy (93.3%) were obtained for 30 chemicals tested, which were comparable or better than those achieved with DPRA.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> An <I>in vitro</I> method to differentiate skin sensitizers and non-sensitizers is proposed by using cysteamine and glutathione. </LI> <LI> The study follows a simple covalent binding of a test chemical with low-molecular weight endogenous compounds. </LI> <LI> The proposed method presents sufficiently high sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy when compared with the existing methods. </LI> </UL> </P> <P><B>Graphical abstract</B></P> <P>[DISPLAY OMISSION]</P>