Comparative study on technical efficiency of mechanized and traditional rice farm in Nepal

The study was conducted among 274 mechanized and 220 traditional rice farms using multistage sampling technique to assess the technical efficiency in rice production among mechanized and traditional farmers in Jhapa, Sunsari and Bardiya districts.  The Cobb-Douglas functional form of the stochastic production frontier was employed to obtain the technical efficiency in mechanized and traditional rice farms. The overall technical efficiency of the mechanized and traditional rice farm ranged from 40.31 to 92.23 and 31.21 to 85.02%t with the mean technical efficiency of 80.56 and 70.11% respectively. The scope of increasing output by adopting the technology adopted by the best performer was 19.44% in mechanized and 29.89% in traditional rice farm respectively. Majority of the farmers were operating at an efficiency level 70-80% and 60-70% in mechanized and traditional farms respectively. The average technical efficiency of mechanized rice farm was higher than that of traditional rice farm and the difference was significant. There was scope of increasing output through rational use of existing resources in both farm categories. Manures, chemical fertilizers had significant and positive effect to total yield of rice kg/ha. The effect of machine use to total yield of rice was positive and significant. Rice farms adopting machines were more technically efficient compared to traditional rice farm

Sol-gel synthesis, characterization of ZnO thin films on different substrates, and bandgap calculation by the Tauc plot method

The sol-gel spin coating method was used for the preparation of the Zinc Oxide which was coated over polymer, transparent, and glass translucent substrates and characterized with the help of a UV-Vis Spectroscope. The wavelength bandgap of those samples was found to be 296nm, 310.5nm, and 330nm respectively. The actual band gap of ZnO is 388nm. Similarly, their optical bandgap energy calculated by the Tauc Plot method were 3.641eV, 3.385eV, and 3.495 eV respectively. The transparent polymer slide has the lowest wavelength bandgap and the translucent glass slide has the highest. Further, the bandgap’s value differs from its actual value to the difference in the absorption process due to the presence of the substrate. These results suggest that the choice of substrate can significantly impact the optical properties and performance of the zinc oxide thin film. This result can be applied in developing and optimizing zinc oxide thin films for various purposes, such as in solar cells, sensors, and optoelectronics. By carefully selecting the substrate, it may be possible to tailor the bandgap energy and other optical properties of the thin film to better suit the specific application

Study of status of safe injection practice and knowledge regarding injection safety among primary health care workers in Baglung district, western Nepal

Abstract Background Unsafe injection practices and injection overuse are widespread in developing countries harming the patient and inviting risks to the health care workers. In Nepal, there is a dearth of documented information about injection practices so the present study was carried out: a) to determine whether the selected government health facilities satisfy the conditions for safe injections in terms of staff training, availability of sterile injectable equipment and their proper disposal after use and b) to assess knowledge and attitudes of healthcare workers in these health care facilities with regard to injection safety. Methodology A descriptive cross-sectional mixed type (qualitative and quantitative) survey was carried out from 18th May to 16th June 2012. In-depth interviews with the in-charges were conducted using a semi-structured questionnaire. Observation of the health facilities using a structured observation tool was done. The data were analysed manually by summarizing, tabulating and presenting in various formats. Results The in-charges (eight males, two females) who participated in the study ranged in age from 30 to 50 years with a mean age of 37.8 years. Severe infection followed by pain was the most important cause for injection use with injection Gentamicin being most commonly prescribed. New single use (disposable) injections and auto-disable syringes were used to inject curative drugs and vaccines respectively. Sufficient safety boxes were also supplied to dispose the used syringe. All health care workers had received full course of Hepatitis B vaccine and were knowledgeable about at least one pathogen transmitted through unsafe injection practices. Injection safety management policy and waste disposal guideline was not available for viewing in any of the facilities. The office staff who disposed the bio-medical wastes did so without taking any safety measures. Moreover, none of these staff had received any formal training in waste management. Conclusions Certain safe injection practices were noticed in the studied health care facilities but there remain a number of grey areas where unsafe practices still persists placing patient and health workers at risk of associated hazards. Training concentrating on injection safety, guidelines to dispose biomedical waste and monitoring of the activity is needed.</p

Abdominal Wall Dyskinesia in a Child Presenting as Belly Dancers’ Syndrome: A Case Report

Belly dancer’s dyskinesia or syndrome is a rare condition characterized by involuntary, undulating, infrequent diaphragm movements. The etiologies for this disorder include nervous system disorders (peripheral or central), drug-induced, psychological, or idiopathic. This article describes a 10-year-old boy with an underlying psychological stressor who suddenly experienced involuntary abdominal wall movements after salbutamol nebulization. After a detailed history, physical examination, and abdominal ultrasound that revealed rapid rhythmic diaphragm movements, the child was diagnosed with salbutamol-induced belly dancer's dyskinesia with an underlying psychological problem. These movements subsided with medical and psychological therapy for two weeks. Belly dancer’s dyskinesia is a complex disorder that is difficult to diagnose but can be managed with medical treatment and psychological counseling alone in a few patients. In contrast, in other cases, surgical intervention may be required

Influence of Doping Concentration and Thickness of Regions on the Performance of InGaN Single Junction-Based Solar Cells: A Simulation Approach

The impact of doping concentration and thickness of n-InGaN and p-InGaN regions on the power conversion efficiency of single junction-based InGaN solar cells was studied by the Silvaco ATLAS simulation software. The doping concentration 5 &times; 1019 cm&minus;3 and 1 &times; 1015 cm&minus;3 were optimized for n-InGaN and p-InGaN regions, respectively. The thickness of 300 nm was optimized for both n-InGaN and p-InGaN regions. The highest efficiency of 22.17% with Jsc = 37.68 mA/cm2, Voc = 0.729 V, and FF = 80.61% was achieved at optimized values of doping concentration and thickness of n-InGaN and p-InGaN regions of InGaN solar cells. The simulation study shows the relevance of the Silvaco ATLAS simulation tool, as well as the optimization of doping concentration and thickness of n- and p-InGaN regions for solar cells, which would make the development of high-performance InGaN solar cells low-cost and efficient

Influence of Doping Concentration and Thickness of Regions on the Performance of InGaN Single Junction-Based Solar Cells: A Simulation Approach

The impact of doping concentration and thickness of n-InGaN and p-InGaN regions on the power conversion efficiency of single junction-based InGaN solar cells was studied by the Silvaco ATLAS simulation software. The doping concentration 5 × 1019 cm−3 and 1 × 1015 cm−3 were optimized for n-InGaN and p-InGaN regions, respectively. The thickness of 300 nm was optimized for both n-InGaN and p-InGaN regions. The highest efficiency of 22.17% with Jsc = 37.68 mA/cm2, Voc = 0.729 V, and FF = 80.61% was achieved at optimized values of doping concentration and thickness of n-InGaN and p-InGaN regions of InGaN solar cells. The simulation study shows the relevance of the Silvaco ATLAS simulation tool, as well as the optimization of doping concentration and thickness of n- and p-InGaN regions for solar cells, which would make the development of high-performance InGaN solar cells low-cost and efficient

Histopathological audit of renal biopsy in Nepalese children: two center experience

Background: Renal biopsy is an invaluable tool which provides histopathological description of renal disease in terms of severity of lesion and helps in formulating the long term plan. However such studies with histopathological description of renal biopsy among Nepalese children are scarce.Material and Methods: This was a retrospective study conducted among all children aged less than 18 years who underwent renal biopsy at two tertiary centers in Nepal between July 2015 and December 2017.Results: All 72 renal biopsies were done with Bard 18G spring loaded gun. Nephrotic syndrome and mixed nephritic-nephrotic features were the commonest indications for renal biopsy. IgA nephropathy was the most frequent histopathological diagnosis (20.8%) which was mainly observed in children of age group 11-18 years followed by minimal change disease (16.7%) and diffuse proliferative glomerulonephritis (16.7%). Majority of children with recurrent gross hematuria (6/7) or mixed nephritic-nephrotic features (6/8) had IgA nephropathy. Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (6/8) was commonest in children with steroid resistant nephrotic syndrome and nephrotic syndrome with atypical features. Majority of children (10/12) with diffuse proliferative glomerulonephritis had features of poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis and 6/12 had crescents in glomeruli. Lupus nephritis (13.9%) was the commonest secondary cause of glomerular pathology and was observed predominantly in 11-18 years age.Conclusion: Renal biopsy is safe and not associated with clinically significant complications. Nephrotic syndrome was the commonest indication for renal biopsy and minimal change disease predominated. IgA nephropathy was the commonest histological diagnosis overall, as well as in children who presented with recurrent gross hematuria or mixed nephritic-nephrotic features.</p

Influence of Efficient Thickness of Antireflection Coating Layer of HfO₂ for Crystalline Silicon Solar Cell

Anti-reflective coating (ARC) layers on silicon (Si) solar cells usually play a vital role in the amount of light absorbed into the cell and protect the device from environmental degradation. This paper reports on the thickness optimization of hafnium oxide (HfO2) as an ARC layer for high-performance Si solar cells with PC1D simulation analysis. The deposition of the HfO2 ARC layer on Si cells was carried out with a low-cost sol-gel process followed by spin coating. The thickness of the ARC layer was controlled by varying the spinning speed. The HfO2 ARC with a thickness of 70 nm possessed the lowest average reflectance of 6.33% by covering wavelengths ranging from 400–1000 nm. The different thicknesses of HfO2 ARC layers were used as input parameters in a simulation study to explore the photovoltaic characteristics of Si solar cells. The simulation findings showed that, at 70 nm thickness, Si solar cells had an exceptional external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 98% and a maximum power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 21.15%. The thicknesses of HfO2 ARC considerably impacted the photovoltaic (PV) characteristics of Si solar cells, leading to achieving high-performance solar cells

Influence of Efficient Thickness of Antireflection Coating Layer of HfO2 for Crystalline Silicon Solar Cell

Anti-reflective coating (ARC) layers on silicon (Si) solar cells usually play a vital role in the amount of light absorbed into the cell and protect the device from environmental degradation. This paper reports on the thickness optimization of hafnium oxide (HfO2) as an ARC layer for high-performance Si solar cells with PC1D simulation analysis. The deposition of the HfO2 ARC layer on Si cells was carried out with a low-cost sol-gel process followed by spin coating. The thickness of the ARC layer was controlled by varying the spinning speed. The HfO2 ARC with a thickness of 70 nm possessed the lowest average reflectance of 6.33% by covering wavelengths ranging from 400&ndash;1000 nm. The different thicknesses of HfO2 ARC layers were used as input parameters in a simulation study to explore the photovoltaic characteristics of Si solar cells. The simulation findings showed that, at 70 nm thickness, Si solar cells had an exceptional external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 98% and a maximum power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 21.15%. The thicknesses of HfO2 ARC considerably impacted the photovoltaic (PV) characteristics of Si solar cells, leading to achieving high-performance solar cells

Numerical assessment of optoelectrical properties of ZnSe–CdSe solar cell-based with ZnO antireflection coating layer

Abstract In this work, a numerical assessment of the optoelectrical properties of the ZnO–ZnSe–CdSe heterojunction for a thin and cost-effective solar cell was made by using the PC1D simulation software. The photovoltaic (PV) properties have been optimized by varying thicknesses of the absorber layer of the p-CdSe layer, the window layer of n-ZnSe, and the antireflection coating (ARC) layer of ZnO, a transparent conductive oxide with enhanced light trapping, and wide bandgap engineering. There is a positive conduction band offset (CBO) of ΔEc = 0.25 eV and a negative valence band offset (VBO) of ΔEv = 1.2 − 2.16 =  − 0.96 eV. The positive CBO prevents the flow of electrons from the CdSe to the ZnSe layer. Further, the impact of doping concentration on the performance of solar cells has been analyzed. The simulation results reveal the increase in the efficiency of solar cells by adding an ARC. The rapid and sharp increase in the efficiency with the thickness of the window layer beyond 80 nm is interesting, unusual, and unconventional due to the combined effect of morphology and electronics on a macro-to-micro scale. The thin-film solar cell with the structure of ZnO/ZnSe/CdSe exhibited a high efficiency of 11.98% with short-circuit current (Isc) = 1.72 A, open-circuit voltage (Voc) = 0.81 V and fill factor (FF) = 90.8% at an optimized thickness of 2 μm absorber layer, 50 nm window layer, and 78 nm ARC layer. The EQE of solar cells has been observed at about 90% at a particular wavelength at 470 nm (visible light range). Around 12% of efficiency from such a thin-layered solar cell is highly applicable