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The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is now a global crisis, resulting in the intermittent closure of many schools, worldwide. The school closures are believed to have affected adolescents’ education, particularly for vulnerable adolescents including those from a refugee-background. The study explores the home learning experiences of adolescent Bhutanese refugees in Tasmania, Australia and draws on social capital theory to interpret findings. Interviews with adolescent Bhutanese refugees revealed four overarching themes: disengagement from learning, the experience of isolation, the complexity of family relationships and motivation through relationships. This article makes an important practical and theoretical contribution to home learning through challenging Putnam’s binary distinction between bonding and bridging and suggesting alternative conceptualisations based on the role of bonding in the creation of bridging social capital. These findings have potential implications for the development of mitigation measures to support refugee-background students under extraordinary circumstances.

The majority of schools across Australia rapidly implemented online education during the first wave of COVID-19 restrictions. The school closure disproportionately affected the routines and socialisation of vulnerable students, including those with a refugee background. Refugee-background students have been impacted by COVID-19 as school closures interrupted face-to-face education, including English language and tutorial support and counselling services. School shutdown also impeded refugee-background students’ activities outside the home, which could render adverse effects on their physical, mental and social wellbeing. Holistic efforts are urgently needed in Australia to support refugee-background students in order to prevent further learning loss and promote health and wellbeing. Keywords: COVID-19, refugee-background students, education loss, physical, mental and social wellbeing, Australia

Farmers value the diversity because of diverse environments both in production and consumption. On-farm morphological variation on pigeon peas (2n = 2x= 22 or 4x, 6x?) was studied at Kachorwa, Bara, Nepal to assess the household categories that have maintained diversity. Household diversity Index (HDI) of 10 different farmer categories was estimated based on Shanon-Weaver method. Eighteen quantitative and qualitative (quant-qualitative) traits were used for on-farm variation and HDI studies. On farm ANOVA was generated on eight quantitative traits. Highest diversity (HDI, 0.265) was maintained by farmer of medium wealth category who grows pigeon pea in upland bund. Pigeon pea grown in khet (low land) bund with Pajawa landrace expressed least diversity (HDI, 0.079). Pigeon pea growing in monoculture was more diverse (HDI, 0.224) for 18 traits than in other production environments. Maximum variation was observed in growth habit followed by seed color pattern. The highest grain yield among the Chanki growers was produced by the farmer of medium wealth category growing pigeon pea in upland bund. Significance variation among farmers in quantitative traits indicates the intra varietal diversity in pigeon pea. Diversity varied with respect to wealth category and production environments. Farmer who has maximum diversity on pigeon pea could able to receive the higher grain yield. Result related to where and who maintain the diversity may be useful for development of on-farm conservation strategy. Possibility of developing good varieties exits using Pajawa and Chanki landraces. Nepal Agric. Res. J. Vol. 8, 2007, pp. 23-28DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/narj.v8i0.11567

Aim This paper explores diversity of wheat gene pool present in the Nepalese bread wheat cultivars and landraces, and discusses their conservation initiatives. Location Nepal. Material and Methods This study is carried out using an extensive literature survey on distribution of landraces and wild relatives of wheat in Nepal. Key findings The results showed that there were 35 improved wheat cultivars, 540 landraces and 10 wild relatives of wheat in Nepal. Mexico, India and Nepal were the countries of origin for 35 cultivars. A total of 89 ancestors of wheat originated from 22 countries were used to develop 35 cultivars. The highest number of ancestors was from India. Ancestors of both aestivum and durum species having winter, spring and intermediate growth habit indicated that these species were of wide gene pool. The genetic erosion in wheat gene pool is the main conservation challenge of landraces due to introduction of improved varieties. Conservation implications Genetic diversity of wheat is indispensible for sustainable wheat production. Therefore, on-farm and ex-situ conservations of cultivars, landraces and wild varieties of wheat and their use in breeding programs are necessary for maintaining existing genetic diversity. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/cs.v1i1.9584 Conservation Science 2013 1(1), 39-46

Foxtail millet (Setaria italica (L) P Beauv) falls on the category of underutilized crops in Nepal and mainly cultivated in Karnali region of the country. It is hardy crop and considered as one of the potential crops for future food security with respect to climate change. Five accessions of Nepalese foxtail millet were purposefully selected for evaluation of the agro-morphological characteristics. Foxtail landraces from Dolpa, Mugu, Bajura, Bajhang and Lamjung districts of Nepal were evaluated at Khumaltar, Lalitpur, Nepal during 2010. The plot size was 1m2 and there were five samples. Days to heading and days to maturity varied from 33-56 and 59 to 87 days after germination respectively. Similarly, flag leaf length/breadth ratio, flag leaf sheath length, ligule length, peduncle length, peduncle exertion and plant height varied from 3.84-10.90, 5.47-9.84 cm, 0.1-0.2 mm, 10-22.57 cm, 2.7-13.58 cm and 41.67-120 cm, respectively. Fruit and apiculus color varied from straw to black. All accessions were actively growing with very slight lodging. Similarly, the thousand grain weight varies from 1.064 g to 2.172 g. This variation is useful in foxtail millet breeding program. Similarly, the significant correlation between thousand kernel weight and total basal tiller (r=-0.975) showed that foxtail millet lines with low tillering ability is better for yield enhancement. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ajn.v2i0.7528 Agronomy Journal of Nepal (Agron JN) Vol. 2: 2011 pp.133-138

The diversity of agro-environmental conditions among wheat-based farming systems in the mountainous regions of Nepal may favor the development and production of multiple narrowly adapted varieties over a few broadly adapted varieties. Sixteen genotypes were tested using Participatory Varietal Selection (PVS) trials at farmers' fields in three districts in the Kathmandu Valley. Grain yield was the trait most preferred by farmers, followed by tillering, resistance to diseases, drought, and lodging. Farmer selection of optimal genotypes varied over time and location depending on agronomic and climatic pressures, indicating a preference by farmers for growing multiple, narrowly adapted varieties. Production potential of PVS genotypes averaged up to 142% greater than the most widely grown variety, RR21. With farmer participation in the selection process in different agro-ecological micro-niches of Nepal, both yield potential and yield stability of wheat should increase significantly, thereby providing farmers ...

Improving livelihood of resource poor farmers is an important goal of wheat research in developing countries. Although remarkable success has been achieved to date in developing widely adapted wheat cultivars, many resource poor farmers in marginal areas in developing world have not benefited. Participatory research could greatly enhance identifying cultivars according to the choice of the poor farmers. This study was conducted to examine how farmers’ selection criteria could assist breeders in identifying superior wheat cultivars, and determine if a new statistical analysis tool, GGE biplot, could be effectively used in selection of improved cultivar based on quantitative (grain yield) and qualitative data (farmers’ preference score). The field experiments were conducted in 3 years (2003–2005) in three mid-hill districts in the central Nepal involving resource poor wheat farmers. Sixteen wheat genotypes, including a long-term and a current commercial cultivar, were used in the study. Data were collected on agronomic traits considered important by the participating farmers. These included days to heading and maturity, plant height, effective tiller number, spike length, kernel per spike, 1000-kernel weight and grain yield. Farmers also qualitatively scored each genotype for multiple traits based on their preference. In general, the farmers used the same traits in selecting a superior cultivar that are used by breeders. However, relative importance of different traits differed, not necessarily following in line with the breeder preference. The cultivar superiority based on quantitative agronomic data (breeders’ criteria) and qualitative preference scores (farmers’ criteria) often showed synergies, however, there were differences as well. This indicates farmers’ ability to choose superior cultivars based on qualitative observation compared to tedious quantitative data recording in the on-station testing. In the first year, a greater number of farmers selected improved check as a better choice than recent advanced breeding lines. In the 2nd and 3rd years, the farmers preferred genotypes other than the checks. This underlines the importance of testing of advanced materials in farmers’ fields in multiple years. Principal component analysis using GGE-biplot was useful in identifying superior genotypes based on both quantitative and qualitative data recorded across environments. This approach could be useful in analyzing data from participatory agricultural research conducted under highly diverse farmers’ field conditions where it is easier to record observations on qualitative than quantitative scale. This technique can also be extended to on-farm participatory testing of other technologies. The findings bear implications for a broad range of participatory research and technology evaluation and verification.

There are many socioeconomic and technological constraints that affect the production of wheat and other staple cereals in South Asia. Wheat production is one of the economic mainstays in South Asia, but the yield gap between farmers’ fields and experimental yields is wide across the region. For the last 3 years, CIMMYT and the CAZS-NR have been collaborating with farmers, NARS, and other South Asian partners to promote improved wheat varieties and new resource conservation technologies (RCTs) in farmers’ fields. Participation fostered among farmers, scientists, extension specialists, NGOs and the private sector included variety selection (PVS), and evaluation of agronomic practices. Through PVS, several farmer-preferred technologies have been identified including wheat varieties for adverse conditions in eastern Uttar Pradesh (India) and for boron deficiency in parts of Nepal. There has been considerable improvement in the access of farmers to new varieties and technologies in the rural areas. Yield increases (15–70%) have been achieved by resource-poor farmers over the existing varieties through the adoption of new varieties and RCTs. The farmers have also made substantial cost savings and achieved higher yields through resource-conserving agronomic techniques such as zero till. Seed of the new farmer-selected cultivars has been multiplied by groups of collaborating farmers and widely distributed.

Background Studies of the association between the apolipoprotein C3 gene (APOC3) rs5128 polymorphism and plasma levels of apolipoprotein C3 (APOC3) and lipids have reported apparently conflicting findings. This meta-analysis aimed to investigate the associations of the rs5128 polymorphism with fasting APOC3 and lipid levels. Methods The following information was abstracted for each study: ethnicity, age, sex, health condition, sample size, genotyping and lipid assay methods, mean and standard deviation or standard error by genotypes for APOC3 and lipid variables. There were 42 eligible studies with 23846 subjects included in this meta-analysis. A dominant model was used for this meta-analysis. Results The results showed that the carriers of the variant allele G had higher levels of APOC3 [standardized mean difference (SMD): 0.22, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.12-0.31, P

Background: Violence against Women (VAW) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) both constitute major public health issues and there is an increasing evidence of their intersection. Data are sparse on the intersection of VAW and HIV in South Asia region. We aimed to identify different forms and magnitude of violence incurred by women living with HIV, and analyse causes and consequences. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 43 HIV positive women in three districts of Nepal, in the period of March-May 2008. Data was collected through semi-structured interview questionnaire. Results: The vast majority of the participants (93.02%) had suffered from at least one form of the violence. The prevalence of violence rose up sharply after being diagnosed with HIV positive than before (93.02% vs.53.5%). Forty-five percent of the participants reported their husbands being main perpetrator of violence. Self-humiliation and health and treatment problem were the major consequences of violence as reported by 90% and 77.5% of the participants respectively. Conclusion: Violence was observed to be highly prevalent among women living with HIV in Nepal. Further larger and nationally representative researches are imperative to better understand the cross-section between VAW and HIV. Our finding recommends to prioritizing programs on social aspects of HIV such as violence.

Genetic diversity must be maintained and utilized for sustainable agriculture development. The amount of genetic diversity in the country depends on the number and diversity of the original ancestors involved in the creation of a germplasm pool, wild relatives and existing landraces. The objective of this research was to study the diversity of wheat gene pool present in the Nepalese bread wheat cultivars and landraces that could help for developing conservation and utilization strategy effectively. We examined the pedigrees of 35 Nepalese wheat cultivars and surveyed the literature for distribution of landraces and wild relatives of wheat. Cultivated landraces of spring and winter type, wild landraces and diploid species of wheat are found in Nepal. There are 35 improved wheat cultivars, 540 landraces and 10 wild relatives of wheat. Crosses between winter and spring wheat gene pools are far more common and offer a new source of diversity. Mexico, India and Nepal are the origin countries for 35 cultivars. In Nepal four cultivars were bred and developed using foreign landraces and maximum number of cultivars was developed in Mexico. Lerma 52, first improved cereal variety to be released in the history of cereal breeding in Nepal was released in 1960. A total of 89 ancestors originated in 22 different countries were used to develop these cultivars. Highest number of ancestors was from India. Ancestors of both aestivum and durum species having winter, spring and intermediate growth habit indicated the collection of wide gene pool. Most of the ancestors were aestivum (76.40%) and spring growth habit (57.31%). Modern varieties are replacing the landraces and improved old varieties resulted in the genetic erosion. Therefore, in situ , on farm and ex situ conservations are necessary for maintaining these genetic variations. Unutilization of local landraces in breeding program may be the major factor that causes to accelerate the genetic erosion. Gene pool from these landraces along with international gene pool could make towards success in developing high yielding cultivars with wide adaptability. In this study, cultivars and landraces surveyed represent a wide range of variation for different areas of origin and adaptation. Key words: Ancestor; landrace; origin; wheat gene pool DOI: 10.3126/narj.v7i0.1859 Nepal Agriculture Research Journal Vol.7 2006 pp.1-10