Pub Date : 2022-12-31DOI: 10.3126/njst.v21i1.49916
P. K. Neupane, S. Shrestha, D. Rupakheti, D. Joshi, Tista Prasai Joshi
The Government of Nepal implemented a nationwide lockdown from 24 March 2020 to 21 July 2020 to control the person-to-person transmission of COVID-19. This study was conducted in a trafficintensified area of Kathmandu valley, where vehicular movement represents one of the main sources of air pollution. Hence, this study was intended to quantify the concentration of particulate matter (PM2.5) for 11 hours of daytime from 23 April to 20 May 2020. It was also to evaluate the influences of lockdown on air quality. PM2.5 was observed using HAZ-Dust, Environmental Particulate Air Monitor in the 18 different traffic sites of the Kathmandu valley. During the lockdown period, a substantially low mean concentration of PM2.5 ranging from 3.69±1.78 µg/ m3 to 7.58±3.98 µg/m3 was recorded in Kathmandu valley, which reflected improved air quality due to the cessation of vehicular activities. Therefore, the study outcome suggests that controlling the existing vehicular activities and promoting energy-efficient vehicles like electric vehicles in specific locations in the city will improve air quality and benefit public health.
{"title":"A Short-Term Measurement of PM2.5 Concentration During the COVID-19 Lockdown Period in Kathmandu Valley","authors":"P. K. Neupane, S. Shrestha, D. Rupakheti, D. Joshi, Tista Prasai Joshi","doi":"10.3126/njst.v21i1.49916","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3126/njst.v21i1.49916","url":null,"abstract":"The Government of Nepal implemented a nationwide lockdown from 24 March 2020 to 21 July 2020 to control the person-to-person transmission of COVID-19. This study was conducted in a trafficintensified area of Kathmandu valley, where vehicular movement represents one of the main sources of air pollution. Hence, this study was intended to quantify the concentration of particulate matter (PM2.5) for 11 hours of daytime from 23 April to 20 May 2020. It was also to evaluate the influences of lockdown on air quality. PM2.5 was observed using HAZ-Dust, Environmental Particulate Air Monitor in the 18 different traffic sites of the Kathmandu valley. During the lockdown period, a substantially low mean concentration of PM2.5 ranging from 3.69±1.78 µg/ m3 to 7.58±3.98 µg/m3 was recorded in Kathmandu valley, which reflected improved air quality due to the cessation of vehicular activities. Therefore, the study outcome suggests that controlling the existing vehicular activities and promoting energy-efficient vehicles like electric vehicles in specific locations in the city will improve air quality and benefit public health.","PeriodicalId":129302,"journal":{"name":"Nepal Journal of Science and Technology","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114722653","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-12-31DOI: 10.3126/njst.v21i1.49959
Ikram E Khuda
In electromagnetics and antenna engineering, reflection and transmission coefficients are important parameters to be evaluated statistically and numerically to obtain effective computer simulations. This paper proposes a pedagogy to understand the development methodology of numerical reflection and transmission coefficient models. The proposed method employs relatively easy mathematics instead of the conventional ways that use difficult mathematics. These are then simulated as computer models. The study in this paper included a medium comprising of air and glass placed in it. Firstly, the region was divided into a gridded structure where the grids were mathematically formulated. Points on the grid were distinguished between different media using electrical permittivity and conductivity. The grids included boundary conditions and electric field wave propagation through them. Both boundary conditions and field equations were numerically modelled and discretized using the finite difference method with a proportional h2 error. This method provided a system of linear equations, which were then solved linearly to obtain the required reflection and transmission coefficients. An important aspect of the presented work is to provide an example approach for computational thinking (CT), which is now considered an important part of any engineering curriculum
{"title":"Development of Numerical Modeling for Finding Reflection and Transmission Coefficients in an Engineering Learning Paradigm of Computational Thinking","authors":"Ikram E Khuda","doi":"10.3126/njst.v21i1.49959","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3126/njst.v21i1.49959","url":null,"abstract":"In electromagnetics and antenna engineering, reflection and transmission coefficients are important parameters to be evaluated statistically and numerically to obtain effective computer simulations. This paper proposes a pedagogy to understand the development methodology of numerical reflection and transmission coefficient models. The proposed method employs relatively easy mathematics instead of the conventional ways that use difficult mathematics. These are then simulated as computer models. The study in this paper included a medium comprising of air and glass placed in it. Firstly, the region was divided into a gridded structure where the grids were mathematically formulated. Points on the grid were distinguished between different media using electrical permittivity and conductivity. The grids included boundary conditions and electric field wave propagation through them. Both boundary conditions and field equations were numerically modelled and discretized using the finite difference method with a proportional h2 error. This method provided a system of linear equations, which were then solved linearly to obtain the required reflection and transmission coefficients. An important aspect of the presented work is to provide an example approach for computational thinking (CT), which is now considered an important part of any engineering curriculum","PeriodicalId":129302,"journal":{"name":"Nepal Journal of Science and Technology","volume":"28 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127924146","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-12-31DOI: 10.3126/njst.v21i1.49892
C. Thapa, K. Pant, H. Bhattarai, B. Pant
Piper longum L. (Family Piperaceae) is a well- known health promoter used to treat cough, chronic bronchitis, asthma, and diabetes mellitus. The study is aimed to develop a protocol for callus induction and proliferation in P. longum. The leaf explants from mature plants were cultured on an MS basal medium supplemented with various concentrations of plant growth hormones, viz. 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2, 4-D), Kinetin (KN), 6-Benzylaminopurine (BAP), and α-Naphthalene acetic acid (NAA), as well as 10% coconut water. In primary culture, the callus was compact and light white. The best callus induction and growth were observed in the MS basal medium containing1.0 mg/L 2,4-D+ 2.0 mg/L KN at 12 weeks of primary culture. At eight weeks of secondary culture, the MS medium containing 2.0 mg/L BAP alone and 0.5 mg/L NAA + 2.0 mg/L BAP and 10% coconut water had the best callus proliferation. Compared to 2,4-D and KN alone, BAP alone supported rapid callus growth in the MS medium. In P. longum, large-scale callus formation from leaf explants could be exploited to produce, isolate, and increase bioactive secondary metabolites for therapeutic purposes.
{"title":"In vitro Induction and Proliferation of Callus in Piper longum L. through Leaf Culture","authors":"C. Thapa, K. Pant, H. Bhattarai, B. Pant","doi":"10.3126/njst.v21i1.49892","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3126/njst.v21i1.49892","url":null,"abstract":"Piper longum L. (Family Piperaceae) is a well- known health promoter used to treat cough, chronic bronchitis, asthma, and diabetes mellitus. The study is aimed to develop a protocol for callus induction and proliferation in P. longum. The leaf explants from mature plants were cultured on an MS basal medium supplemented with various concentrations of plant growth hormones, viz. 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2, 4-D), Kinetin (KN), 6-Benzylaminopurine (BAP), and α-Naphthalene acetic acid (NAA), as well as 10% coconut water. In primary culture, the callus was compact and light white. The best callus induction and growth were observed in the MS basal medium containing1.0 mg/L 2,4-D+ 2.0 mg/L KN at 12 weeks of primary culture. At eight weeks of secondary culture, the MS medium containing 2.0 mg/L BAP alone and 0.5 mg/L NAA + 2.0 mg/L BAP and 10% coconut water had the best callus proliferation. Compared to 2,4-D and KN alone, BAP alone supported rapid callus growth in the MS medium. In P. longum, large-scale callus formation from leaf explants could be exploited to produce, isolate, and increase bioactive secondary metabolites for therapeutic purposes.","PeriodicalId":129302,"journal":{"name":"Nepal Journal of Science and Technology","volume":"5 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129573094","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-12-31DOI: 10.3126/njst.v20i2.45775
H. K. Neupane, N. Adhikari
The novel properties of pristine h-BN, oxygen (O) atom impurity defects in h-BN (h-B(N-O) and h-(B-O)N), one boron (1B) atom vacancy defect in h-BN (h-BN_1B) and one nitrogen (1N) atom vacancy defect in h-BN (h-BN_1N) materials are investigated by spin-polarized density functional theory (DFT) using computational tool Quantum ESPRESSO. We found that they are stable materials. From the band structure calculations, we found that all the considered systems are wide bandgap materials. The bandgap energy of pristine h-BN, impurity defects h-B(N-O) and h-(B-O)N, and vacancy defects h-BN_1B and h-BN_1Nmaterials have values 4.98 eV, 4.19 eV& 2.47 eV,and 4.84 eV& 3.62 eV respectively. Also, it is found that h-B(N-O) and h-BN_1N materials have n-type Schottky contact while h-(B-O)N and h-BN_1B materials have p-type Schottky contact. From the analysis ofdensity of states (DOS) and partial density of states (PDOS) calculations, we found that non-magnetic pristine h-BN changes to magnetic h-B(N-O) andh-(B-O)N materials due to presence of impurity defects,and h-BN_1B andh-BN_1N materials due to presence of vacancy defects. Magnetic moments of h-B(N-O), h-(B-O)N, h-BN_1B and h-BN_1N materials are 1.00 µB/cell, 0.94 µB/cell, 3.00 µB/cell and 1.00 µB/cell respectively. They are obtained due to unpaired up and down spins state of electrons in 2p orbital of B and N atoms in the structures.
{"title":"First-Principles Study of Defected Single Layer Hexagonal Boron-Nitride (h-BN)","authors":"H. K. Neupane, N. Adhikari","doi":"10.3126/njst.v20i2.45775","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3126/njst.v20i2.45775","url":null,"abstract":"The novel properties of pristine h-BN, oxygen (O) atom impurity defects in h-BN (h-B(N-O) and h-(B-O)N), one boron (1B) atom vacancy defect in h-BN (h-BN_1B) and one nitrogen (1N) atom vacancy defect in h-BN (h-BN_1N) materials are investigated by spin-polarized density functional theory (DFT) using computational tool Quantum ESPRESSO. We found that they are stable materials. From the band structure calculations, we found that all the considered systems are wide bandgap materials. The bandgap energy of pristine h-BN, impurity defects h-B(N-O) and h-(B-O)N, and vacancy defects h-BN_1B and h-BN_1Nmaterials have values 4.98 eV, 4.19 eV& 2.47 eV,and 4.84 eV& 3.62 eV respectively. Also, it is found that h-B(N-O) and h-BN_1N materials have n-type Schottky contact while h-(B-O)N and h-BN_1B materials have p-type Schottky contact. From the analysis ofdensity of states (DOS) and partial density of states (PDOS) calculations, we found that non-magnetic pristine h-BN changes to magnetic h-B(N-O) andh-(B-O)N materials due to presence of impurity defects,and h-BN_1B andh-BN_1N materials due to presence of vacancy defects. Magnetic moments of h-B(N-O), h-(B-O)N, h-BN_1B and h-BN_1N materials are 1.00 µB/cell, 0.94 µB/cell, 3.00 µB/cell and 1.00 µB/cell respectively. They are obtained due to unpaired up and down spins state of electrons in 2p orbital of B and N atoms in the structures.","PeriodicalId":129302,"journal":{"name":"Nepal Journal of Science and Technology","volume":"56 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127710259","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-12-31DOI: 10.3126/njst.v20i2.45808
S. Shrestha
Urbanization is undergoing rapidly in Nepal. The causes are rural to urban migration and addition of municipalities by merging a number of rural areas. During the restructuring of the state, Government of Nepal declared 293 as municipalities among 753 local government units. Considering the municipalities as urban areas, urban population has reached more than sixty percent of Nepal’s total population. But the urban areas still have rural characteristics and insufficient infrastructures. Due to the increasing urbanization, the maintenance of sufficient open spaces, greeneries and the preservation of agricultural lands has become important urban issues in Nepal. The loss of productive lands has resulted in decrease of food self-sufficiency and green spaces in the cities. To tackle this urban issue, the Fourteenth National Development Plan has emphasized the concept of Food Green City (FGC) by integrating urban agriculture into urban planning. This paper aims to elaborate the concept of FGC and explore necessary policy intervention to realize the concept of FGC in practice based on the study of Godawari Municipality of Nepal. Finally, this study recommends FGC as a pathway for sustainable urban development of Nepal by highlighting FGC contribution in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
{"title":"Food Green Cities: A Pathway to Sustainable Urban Development of Nepal","authors":"S. Shrestha","doi":"10.3126/njst.v20i2.45808","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3126/njst.v20i2.45808","url":null,"abstract":"Urbanization is undergoing rapidly in Nepal. The causes are rural to urban migration and addition of municipalities by merging a number of rural areas. During the restructuring of the state, Government of Nepal declared 293 as municipalities among 753 local government units. Considering the municipalities as urban areas, urban population has reached more than sixty percent of Nepal’s total population. But the urban areas still have rural characteristics and insufficient infrastructures. Due to the increasing urbanization, the maintenance of sufficient open spaces, greeneries and the preservation of agricultural lands has become important urban issues in Nepal. The loss of productive lands has resulted in decrease of food self-sufficiency and green spaces in the cities. To tackle this urban issue, the Fourteenth National Development Plan has emphasized the concept of Food Green City (FGC) by integrating urban agriculture into urban planning. This paper aims to elaborate the concept of FGC and explore necessary policy intervention to realize the concept of FGC in practice based on the study of Godawari Municipality of Nepal. Finally, this study recommends FGC as a pathway for sustainable urban development of Nepal by highlighting FGC contribution in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).","PeriodicalId":129302,"journal":{"name":"Nepal Journal of Science and Technology","volume":"57 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133642344","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-12-31DOI: 10.3126/njst.v20i1.43361
R. Shrestha, Prabin Dawadi, Santosh Bhusal, Lok Ranjan Bhatt
Fruit consumption has long been recognized for its beneficial impact on human health. Persimmon fruit (Diospyros malabarica (Desr.) Kostel.) is a popular wild edible fruit distributed in mid-hill regions of Western Nepal and is used in treatment of various ailments by local people. Although, persimmon is a popular fruit, its significant nutritive values and bioactive compounds are still unexplored in Nepal. This research on nutritional and phytochemical analysis of persimmon fruit pulp was carried out using standardized analytical methods (Association of Official Analytical Chemists, AOAC) and microplate spectrophotometry with ultraviolet (UV) detection. The results revealed that the fruit is rich in sugar (66.52±2.17 mg /g), fiber (103.95 mg/g), ash (107.44 mg/g) and total phenolic content (112±2.89 mg GAEs/g) and the mild supplier of antioxidants.
{"title":"Nutritional value and antioxidant properties of Diospyros malabarica (Desr.) Kostel., fruit from midhills of western Nepal","authors":"R. Shrestha, Prabin Dawadi, Santosh Bhusal, Lok Ranjan Bhatt","doi":"10.3126/njst.v20i1.43361","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3126/njst.v20i1.43361","url":null,"abstract":"Fruit consumption has long been recognized for its beneficial impact on human health. Persimmon fruit (Diospyros malabarica (Desr.) Kostel.) is a popular wild edible fruit distributed in mid-hill regions of Western Nepal and is used in treatment of various ailments by local people. Although, persimmon is a popular fruit, its significant nutritive values and bioactive compounds are still unexplored in Nepal. This research on nutritional and phytochemical analysis of persimmon fruit pulp was carried out using standardized analytical methods (Association of Official Analytical Chemists, AOAC) and microplate spectrophotometry with ultraviolet (UV) detection. The results revealed that the fruit is rich in sugar (66.52±2.17 mg /g), fiber (103.95 mg/g), ash (107.44 mg/g) and total phenolic content (112±2.89 mg GAEs/g) and the mild supplier of antioxidants.","PeriodicalId":129302,"journal":{"name":"Nepal Journal of Science and Technology","volume":"55 4","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132575511","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-12-31DOI: 10.3126/njst.v20i2.45804
S. Tiwari, K. Shrestha, Meghnath Dhima, J. Timsina, K. Belbase, P. Dahal
Global programs are involved to improve food and nutrition security in the low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). Increasing agrobiodiversity by maintaining local genetic resources has been proposed to achieve food and nutrition security. However, technology to maintain local germplasms/seed stocks are not available to the smallholders. This inability to save seeds translates into 25% annual low moisture food losses to rainfall/floods. As moisture builds up in improperly stored foods, insects, and carcinogenic molds proliferate along with nutrient loss. A dry chain (drying and moisture-proof packaging) could minimize these losses and even enable disaster resiliency. About 40% high moisture foods (fruits and vegetables) are lost due to lack of the cold chain facilities. Additionally, most people in the LMICs ingest artificial toxins daily through high moisture foods due to improper pesticide use. The prevalence of health compromising food toxins in nutritious foods has been complicating malnutrition alleviation efforts in the LMICs. Adopting Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies followed by sensitive monitoring could reduce pesticide residues to CODEX standards and enable healthy food systems. A way forward to achieve quality food and nutrition security in the post-Covid-19 era with a particular reference to LMICs like Nepal is presented.
{"title":"Complementing Food and Nutrition Security Using Toxin Minimizing Dry Chain and Integrated Pest Management: A Review","authors":"S. Tiwari, K. Shrestha, Meghnath Dhima, J. Timsina, K. Belbase, P. Dahal","doi":"10.3126/njst.v20i2.45804","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3126/njst.v20i2.45804","url":null,"abstract":"Global programs are involved to improve food and nutrition security in the low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). Increasing agrobiodiversity by maintaining local genetic resources has been proposed to achieve food and nutrition security. However, technology to maintain local germplasms/seed stocks are not available to the smallholders. This inability to save seeds translates into 25% annual low moisture food losses to rainfall/floods. As moisture builds up in improperly stored foods, insects, and carcinogenic molds proliferate along with nutrient loss. A dry chain (drying and moisture-proof packaging) could minimize these losses and even enable disaster resiliency. About 40% high moisture foods (fruits and vegetables) are lost due to lack of the cold chain facilities. Additionally, most people in the LMICs ingest artificial toxins daily through high moisture foods due to improper pesticide use. The prevalence of health compromising food toxins in nutritious foods has been complicating malnutrition alleviation efforts in the LMICs. Adopting Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies followed by sensitive monitoring could reduce pesticide residues to CODEX standards and enable healthy food systems. A way forward to achieve quality food and nutrition security in the post-Covid-19 era with a particular reference to LMICs like Nepal is presented.","PeriodicalId":129302,"journal":{"name":"Nepal Journal of Science and Technology","volume":"50 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131268382","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-12-31DOI: 10.3126/njst.v20i1.43347
K. Berarma, A. Raghdi, Ghania Benaiche
This work aimed to produce and characterize composite coatings of nickel incorporating TiO2 nanoparticles on a copper substrate. These deposits were obtained from watts bath. In the study, the cyclic voltammetry technique was employed to provide a better understanding of the cathodic behavior of nickel deposition. The effects of the potential scanning rate and the effect of cathodic limits on cyclic voltammograms deposition of Ni in Primitive Watts Bath (BWP) were determined. The composite coatings of nickel incorporating TiO2 nanoparticles were characterized using various electrochemical techniques such as open circuit potential (OCP) and potentiodynamic polarization measurements, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopic methods. The current density values for the Ni-TiO2 in the case of 5 g/L and 10 g/L of TiO2 determined from the polarization curves recorded in 3.5% NaCl indicate that the corrosion process on nickel incorporating the TiO2 nanoparticle composite surface is slower than on pure nickel. The TiO2 particles embedded in the electroplated nickel, increase the polarization resistance and decrease the corrosion rates as compared with electrodeposited pure nickel. Electrochemical impedance spectra obtained at the open-circuit potential ( OCP) in 3.5% NaCl showed an increase of polarization resistance with time in all cases.
{"title":"Electrochemical Characterization of Electrodeposited Ni-titanium Dioxide Deposits on Copper and their Corrosion Study","authors":"K. Berarma, A. Raghdi, Ghania Benaiche","doi":"10.3126/njst.v20i1.43347","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3126/njst.v20i1.43347","url":null,"abstract":"This work aimed to produce and characterize composite coatings of nickel incorporating TiO2 nanoparticles on a copper substrate. These deposits were obtained from watts bath. In the study, the cyclic voltammetry technique was employed to provide a better understanding of the cathodic behavior of nickel deposition. The effects of the potential scanning rate and the effect of cathodic limits on cyclic voltammograms deposition of Ni in Primitive Watts Bath (BWP) were determined. The composite coatings of nickel incorporating TiO2 nanoparticles were characterized using various electrochemical techniques such as open circuit potential (OCP) and potentiodynamic polarization measurements, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopic methods. The current density values for the Ni-TiO2 in the case of 5 g/L and 10 g/L of TiO2 determined from the polarization curves recorded in 3.5% NaCl indicate that the corrosion process on nickel incorporating the TiO2 nanoparticle composite surface is slower than on pure nickel. The TiO2 particles embedded in the electroplated nickel, increase the polarization resistance and decrease the corrosion rates as compared with electrodeposited pure nickel. Electrochemical impedance spectra obtained at the open-circuit potential ( OCP) in 3.5% NaCl showed an increase of polarization resistance with time in all cases.","PeriodicalId":129302,"journal":{"name":"Nepal Journal of Science and Technology","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127363156","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-12-31DOI: 10.3126/njst.v20i2.45777
M. Sharma, S. Khanal, J. Acharya, R. Adhikari, C. Budhathoki
COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered microorganism called corona virus, a pandemic. Knowledge, attitudes and practices are prime components that play a crucial role in spreading the disease. These elements would support focusing on the people with underlying medical problems, and old-aged people, including children, are more likely to be susceptible. The main objective of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices amongst the students, teachers, and health workers, including staff members of the NGOs/INGOs. This cross-sectional study was done, including 224 respondents. A self-administered-structured questionnaire comprised of nineteen structured questions exploring the pandemic’s knowledge, attitudes and practices was done. The data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 25.0. Of the total, 67.4% were males, and 32.6% were females. Nearly 50% of the respondents were with M-Phil/PhD degrees, while 4.9% had a secondary level. The study revealed that 28.0% of the participants knew about the pandemic, 41.0% had positive attitudes, and 54.0% experienced good practices. The knowledge level on the pandemic was statistically significant where attitudes and practices were poor. This study suggests that public health approaches such as awareness, masseducation campaigns, etc., are urgently required to control the outbreaks strongly associated with the community’s knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours.
COVID-19是一种传染病，由新发现的冠状病毒引起，这是一种大流行。知识、态度和做法是在疾病传播中发挥关键作用的主要因素。这些因素将支持把重点放在有潜在医疗问题的人身上，老年人，包括儿童，更容易受到影响。本研究的主要目的是评估学生、教师和卫生工作者(包括非政府组织/非政府组织的工作人员)的知识、态度和做法。这是一项横断面研究，包括224名受访者。完成了一份自我管理的结构化问卷，其中包括19个结构化问题，探讨了大流行病的知识、态度和做法。使用SPSS 25.0版社会科学统计软件包(Statistical Package for The Social Sciences)软件对数据进行分析。男性占67.4%，女性占32.6%。近50%的受访者拥有硕士/博士学位，而4.9%的受访者拥有二级学位。研究表明，28.0%的参与者了解大流行，41.0%的参与者持积极态度，54.0%的参与者采取了良好做法。在态度和做法较差的地方，对这一流行病的了解程度在统计上很显著。这项研究表明，迫切需要采取公共卫生措施，如提高认识、群众宣传运动等，以控制与社区知识、态度和行为密切相关的疫情。
{"title":"COVID-19: Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices among the Scholarly Cohorts of Nepal","authors":"M. Sharma, S. Khanal, J. Acharya, R. Adhikari, C. Budhathoki","doi":"10.3126/njst.v20i2.45777","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3126/njst.v20i2.45777","url":null,"abstract":"COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered microorganism called corona virus, a pandemic. Knowledge, attitudes and practices are prime components that play a crucial role in spreading the disease. These elements would support focusing on the people with underlying medical problems, and old-aged people, including children, are more likely to be susceptible. The main objective of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices amongst the students, teachers, and health workers, including staff members of the NGOs/INGOs. This cross-sectional study was done, including 224 respondents. A self-administered-structured questionnaire comprised of nineteen structured questions exploring the pandemic’s knowledge, attitudes and practices was done. The data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 25.0. Of the total, 67.4% were males, and 32.6% were females. Nearly 50% of the respondents were with M-Phil/PhD degrees, while 4.9% had a secondary level. The study revealed that 28.0% of the participants knew about the pandemic, 41.0% had positive attitudes, and 54.0% experienced good practices. The knowledge level on the pandemic was statistically significant where attitudes and practices were poor. This study suggests that public health approaches such as awareness, masseducation campaigns, etc., are urgently required to control the outbreaks strongly associated with the community’s knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours.","PeriodicalId":129302,"journal":{"name":"Nepal Journal of Science and Technology","volume":"39 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132949887","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-12-31DOI: 10.3126/njst.v20i1.43358
Gita Shrestha, N. Singh, Priti Shrestha, C. Baniya
β-thalassemia is the most common autosomal recessive haemoglobin disorder worldwide. Although more than 200 β-thalassemia mutations have been reported, few ethnic group-specific alleles account for 90-93% of the β-thalassemia alleles in each population. The primary purpose of the study was to identify the prevalence of different types of beta-thalassemia mutations in the study group, and to establish a genotype-phenotype correlation. Complete blood count, peripheral blood smeacr, capillary electrophoresis and multiples arms refractory mutation system based polymerase chain reaction (MARMS) were performed on the peripheral blood samples to detect beta mutations at Decode Genomics and Research Centre, Sinamangal Kathmandu. The MARMS-PCR technique was applied for the detection of nine common mutations IVS1- 5(G>C), 619 bp del, FS8/9 (+G), IVS1-1 (G>T), FS 41/42 (-CTTT), C-15 (G>A). FS 16 (-C), C-30 (G>C) and C-5 (-CTCT). In the study group, three mutations, C-15(G>A), C-26 (Glu-Lys) and IVS1-5 (G>C) were detected. The study revealed a characteristic mutational profile in the five ethnic groups of eastern Nepal. It is the first report of HbE in the Koch Rajbanshi of eastern Nepal. The mutation C-15 reported as rare by earlier workers was the most common mutation identified in this research work.
{"title":"Detection of Common β-Globin Gene Mutation in Eastern Nepal by Multiplex Amplification Refractory Mutation System Polymerase Chain Reaction System","authors":"Gita Shrestha, N. Singh, Priti Shrestha, C. Baniya","doi":"10.3126/njst.v20i1.43358","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3126/njst.v20i1.43358","url":null,"abstract":"β-thalassemia is the most common autosomal recessive haemoglobin disorder worldwide. Although more than 200 β-thalassemia mutations have been reported, few ethnic group-specific alleles account for 90-93% of the β-thalassemia alleles in each population. The primary purpose of the study was to identify the prevalence of different types of beta-thalassemia mutations in the study group, and to establish a genotype-phenotype correlation. Complete blood count, peripheral blood smeacr, capillary electrophoresis and multiples arms refractory mutation system based polymerase chain reaction (MARMS) were performed on the peripheral blood samples to detect beta mutations at Decode Genomics and Research Centre, Sinamangal Kathmandu. The MARMS-PCR technique was applied for the detection of nine common mutations IVS1- 5(G>C), 619 bp del, FS8/9 (+G), IVS1-1 (G>T), FS 41/42 (-CTTT), C-15 (G>A). FS 16 (-C), C-30 (G>C) and C-5 (-CTCT). In the study group, three mutations, C-15(G>A), C-26 (Glu-Lys) and IVS1-5 (G>C) were detected. The study revealed a characteristic mutational profile in the five ethnic groups of eastern Nepal. It is the first report of HbE in the Koch Rajbanshi of eastern Nepal. The mutation C-15 reported as rare by earlier workers was the most common mutation identified in this research work.","PeriodicalId":129302,"journal":{"name":"Nepal Journal of Science and Technology","volume":"105 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122329890","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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