Socio-economic Factors Influencing Adoption of Fertilizer for Maize Production in Nepal: A Cast Study of Chitwan District

Soil fertility is considered as the most important constraint to increase maize production in Nepal. Although farmers generally apply farmyard manure available on their farms, there is increasing trend towards the use of fertilizers that is likely to augment maize production in Nepal. This study was carried out to identify the influence of socio-economic factors of the improved maize adopters on the decision to adopt fertilizers in the Chitwan district of Nepal, using the survey data collected from 117 farm households in May-June 2005. The impact of age, education, family size, farm size, extension service, credit use, manure application, off-farm income and timely irrigation availability on the adoption of fertilizers were analyzed using the Tobit regression model. The major factors having positive influence on use of fertilizer in maize production were found to be family size, farm size, credit use, off-farm income and irrigation availability. There is need of adequate irrigation facility and assured credit availability to the farmers in the study area. Further, creation of off-farm activities is crucial to obtain additional household income to fulfill cash requirements required for investment in improved technologies. The present study emphasize the provision of technical support via training, seminars, field demonstrations to increase the adoption of fertilizers to improve maize productivity and consequent food security in Nepal.Maize, Soil fertility, Food security, Tobit model, International Development,

STUDY OF THE COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY MEASUREMENT OF DIAMETER OF ABDOMINAL AORTA IN NEPALESE

Background: The diameter of abdominal aorta (DAA) has its own importance in human body in diagnosing several abdominal aortic diseases. Its size is the diagnostic parameter for the abdominal aortic aneurysm which is the localized dilation of the abdominal aorta. Methods: The DAA of Nepalese was measured according to age and sex at three different levels, just superior to the celiac axis, at renal pedicle level and just superior to bifurcation by using Computerized Tomography (CT) scan. Also the DAA of the normal people was compared to those having hypertension, alcohol consumption and smoking habit. Study Sample: Altogether, 125 patients were included who came to Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH), Maharajgung, Kathmandu, Nepal for abdominal CT scan. Among them 100 are normal population and 25 are the victim of hypertension, alcohol consumption and smoking habit. Results: The findings revealed that the DAA in most of the observed patients is less than the aneurysm limit i.e. smaller than 30mm except in one male patientof age 72 years. Conclusion: It is concluded that the diameter of abdominal aorta increases with ages and is pronounced more in Nepalese male population than in female. It is also higher in patients of both sexes having hypertension and smoking habit. KEYWORDS: Bifurcation; Celiac axis; CT scan, DAA; Renal pedicle level

Study on Consumers’ Preference and Price Premium for Organic Vegetables in Budhanilkantha Municipality Kathmandu Valley

Paying regard to the increasing concern of consumers towards nutrients-loaded food products and agriculture sustainability, the main aim of this paper is to assess the consumers’ willingness to pay the price premium for organic vegetables and to know their perception of the organic vegetables in Budhanilkantha-8 municipality, Kathmandu. A total of 100 respondents were randomly surveyed using a questionnaire. The first part of the questionnaire included the demographic section, while in the second part, consumers were asked about their perception of organic vegetable consumption. The consumers’ survey revealed that 28% of the respondents were willing to pay a 0-10% price premium compared to inorganic vegetables. Similarly, 24% were willing to pay a 20-30% price premium. Some (22%) were willing to pay a 10-20% price premium, 9% liked to pay a 30-40% price premium, 1% liked to pay a 40-50% price premium, and 8% were willing to pay greater than 50% price premium, while 8% of surveyed consumers denied paying price premium even in case of product availability. The consumers’ willingness to pay was health properties, followed by freshness and taste. Few factors, such as low availability, low trust, lack of information, and high price, were considered barriers to purchasing organic vegetables. The survey also suggested that the consumption of organic vegetables is increasing; however, to stimulate further demand for its consumption, huge production and timely availability, credible certification, processing, and packaging are needed to be promoted

STUDY OF THE COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY MEASUREMENT OF DIAMETER OF ABDOMINAL AORTA IN NEPALESE

Background: The diameter of abdominal aorta (DAA) has its own importance in human body in diagnosing several abdominal aortic diseases. Its size is the diagnostic parameter for the abdominal aortic aneurysm which is the localized dilation of the abdominal aorta. Methods: The DAA of Nepalese was measured according to age and sex at three different levels, just superior to the celiac axis, at renal pedicle level and just superior to bifurcation by using Computerized Tomography (CT) scan. Also the DAA of the normal people was compared to those having hypertension, alcohol consumption and smoking habit. Study Sample: Altogether, 125 patients were included who came to Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH), Maharajgung, Kathmandu, Nepal for abdominal CT scan. Among them 100 are normal population and 25 are the victim of hypertension, alcohol consumption and smoking habit. Results: The findings revealed that the DAA in most of the observed patients is less than the aneurysm limit i.e. smaller than 30mm except in one male patientof age 72 years. Conclusion: It is concluded that the diameter of abdominal aorta increases with ages and is pronounced more in Nepalese male population than in female. It is also higher in patients of both sexes having hypertension and smoking habit. KEYWORDS: Bifurcation; Celiac axis; CT scan, DAA; Renal pedicle level

Screening of Potential Plant Growth Promoting Properties of Bacillus Species Isolated from Different Regions of Nepal

The deleterious effects of intensive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture has led to the substantial research efforts on finding the alternatives to these agrochemicals. This study was aimed to isolate Bacillus species from soil of different regions of Nepal and screen for their ability to promote plant growth directly or indirectly by testing their ability to produce plant growth hormone indole acetic acid, hydrogen cyanide, ammonia and protease as well as phosphate solubilization. Thirty nine Bacillus strains were isolated from 25 soil samples of different regions of Kathmandu and Chitwan districts of Nepal. These isolates were tested for plant growth promoting traits in vitro. Among the total isolates, about 48.7% were indole acetic acid producers, 38.4% of the isolates showed the ability to solubilize the phosphate, 71.8% were able to produce ammonia and all the isolates had the ability to produce hydrogen cyanide and protease. The isolated strains showed positive results to maximum PGPR traits and exhibited a potential to be used as alternatives to chemical fertilizers and pesticides and could be used as low-cost bio-based technology to promote plant growth in the agricultural sector

Agreement Between Lea Symbols and Patti Pics Visual Acuity in Children and Adults

Patti Pics (PP) and Lea Symbols (LS) are commonly used by eye care practitioners worldwide. Although the relationship between the two tests is fairly well understood, the availability of different chart designs (single optotypes, multiple optotypes, multiple optotypes with crowding box) merits futher understanding. The purpose of this study is to explore the agreement between the acuity measures obtained with Patti Pics and Lea Symbols in children and adults and compare their performance with the Sloan Letter (SL) chart in adults. Methods: Monocular visual acuity was obtained from ninety-three 3 to 5-year-old children using Patti Pics and Lea Symbols. Acuities were also obtained from 113 adults using the same tests under identical conditions. Acuity results obtained with the pediatric tests were compared with the gold-standard Sloan Letter chart in adults. The Bland-Altman method was implemented to compare the level of agreement between tests. Results: Patti Pics yielded worse visual acuity than the Lea Symbols by approximately half a logMAR line in both children (mean difference: -0.07 § 0.07 logMAR,

Clinical profile and drug utilization pattern in an intensive care unit of a teaching hospital in western Nepal

To analyze the clinical profile of patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of Manipal Teaching Hospital (MTH) at Pokhara, Nepal, identify the commonly prescribed drugs, drug categories, dosage forms, antimicrobials, sensitivity pattern of antimicrobials and the treatment outcomes. A cross sectional, descriptive study in which he case records of all the patients admitted in the ICU during 1st August to 30th September, 2007 were collected and the details were entered in the patient profile form. The filled patient profile forms were retrospectively analyzed as per the study objectives. Altogether, 201 patients [males 101 (50.25%)] were admitted. Most common diagnosis was 'Myocardial Infarction /Ischemic heart disease' [13.96 % (n=62)]. The median (interquartile range) of the ICU stay was 3 (2-4) days. Cardiovascular drugs [31.7% (n=761) were the most commonly prescribed. Among the antimicrobials, metronidazole was most commonly prescribed followed by ceftriaxone. The morality rate in the ICU was 17.41 % and the major causes of mortality were cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Antimicrobials was the most common drug category used in the ICU and 'pantoprazole' was the most commonly prescribed individual drug. Cardiovascular and respiratory diseases were major causes of death in the ICU

Prenatal and Perinatal Risk Factors for Autism at National Children’s Hospital

Background: Autism, or autism spectrum disorder, refers to a broad conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication. Objectives: To determine the demographic profile of patients diagnosed with ASD, determine the significant prenatal and perinatal risk factors associated with ASD. Results: A total of 116 subjects were included in the study with 58 cases and 58 controls. They belong to the age ranging from 4 to 16 years old. Every case had a confirmed diagnosis of autism at NCH. There was a significant association noted between neonatal jaundice, nulliparity (OR=2.38; 95% CI, 0.85-6.8) and family history of autism (OR=5.30; 95% CI, 1.29-25.1) with ASD. Exposure to x-ray, medical problems, medicine intake and maternal complications during pregnancy were not significantly associated with ASD with OR 0.74; 95% CI, (0.12-4.15), OR 1.00; 95% CI (0.38-2.61), OR1.49; 95% CI, (0.63-3.53), and OR 1.27; 95% CI, (0.28-6.05), respectively. Conclusion: The current study indicates that the only significant predictor of ASD is a family history of autism. However, neonatal jaundice, maternal age of >40 years old, smoking during pregnancy and nulliparity showed a trend towards being risk factors for ASD. None of the other prenatal and perinatal characteristics significantly predicts ASD

Induced Magnetic Anisotropy and Spin Polarization in Pulsed Laser-Deposited Co2MnSb Thin Films

Co2MnSb thin films were grown on glass and GaAs (001) substrates using pulsed laser deposition. The films were grown in magnetic fields (HG = 500 Oe and 0 Oe) that were applied in the plane of the substrate during the deposition process. Angle-dependent magneto-optic Kerr effect measurements for films grown on glass revealed a uniaxial magnetic anisotropy in the direction of the applied growth field. Films grown on GaAs (001) exhibited more complicated magnetic anisotropy behavior, due to additional contributions from the substrate. Point contact Andreév reflection spectroscopy measurements indicated that the spin polarizations of the films were about P~ 50%, with negligible difference between films grown in zero and non-zero applied fields