Emerging Technologies: Implications for the Nepalese Tourism Industry

This paper intends to present the potential technologies for sustainable tourism development and promotion of Nepal. Based on secondary literature, various emerging technologies that help to reduce manual works, maximize productivity and ensure the physical security of entities have been explored in the paper. Similarly, some challenges of technological interventions and needful steps to overcome the obstacles are also illustrated. Moreover, this paper also addresses the impacts of the prevailing COVID- 19 crisis on tourism in Nepal and puts forward the needful suggestions to mitigate the crisis. It is hoped that this paper can be a reference to scholars, tourism stakeholders, and policymakers as it delivers plentiful information on the potentialities and feasibilities of ICT implementation in Nepal

Distribution Of Porcine Endogenous Retrovirus (PERV) Variants In Domestic And Feral Pig

Xenotransplantation is considered an alternative to allotransplantation to relieve the current shortage of human organs. Due to their similar size and physiology, the organs of pigs are of particular interest for this purpose. Endogenous retroviruses are a result of integration of retroviral genomes into the genome of infected germ cells as DNA copies (proviruses), which are then carried in all cells of the offspring of the organism. Porcine Endogenous Retroviruses (PERVs) are of special concern because they are found in pig organs and tissue that might be used for xenotransplantation. PERV proviruses, already incorporated into the pig’s genome, can be induced to replicate and recombine in pigs, and have been shown to infect human cells in vitro. There are three classes of PERVs, namely PERV-A, PERV-B, and PERV-C. PERV-A and PERV-B can infect human cells in vitro and can recombine with PERV-C, resulting in a recombinant virus with a higher rate of replication in pig and human cell lines. In this study, a PCR based analysis of 50 domestic and 35 feral pigs was carried out to study the distribution of PERVs A, B, and C. PERV-A and PERV-B were universal in both domestic and feral pigs. The feral varieties of pigs displayed a higher frequency of 85.67% of PERV-C compared to 42.00% in domestic pigs. However, comparative study of presence of PERVs A, B, and C in different breeds of domestic pigs shows there is variation in distribution among breeds, and among individuals of same breeds. From the results of this study, I hypothesize that presence of endogenized PERV genomes in individuals of the same breed is dependent on genetic properties of individual pigs

Comparative Evaluation of Flexural Strength of Two Newer Composite Resin Materials: An in Vitro Study

Objective: To evaluate in vitro the flexural strength of two newer composite resin materials. Material and Methods: Twenty-four samples were equally divided into two groups: G1 - Brilliant EverGlow and G2: Brilliant NG. The rectangular blocks of 25 mm in length, 2 mm in width and thickness were prepared from two composite materials. Blocks were created by applying composites to a customized split mold and formed between two parallel glass plates. Before light-curing, blocks were covered with Mylar strips and rinsed for 10 seconds in water. Subsequently, they were stored in distilled water for 24 hours at 37ºC and 100% humidity before testing. Each sample was placed within a suitable framework of aluminum. The length of gap between the support was 21 mm and the speed of crosshead at 1 mm/minute. The data were subjected to an independent t-test. The level of significance was set at p <0.05. Results: A less flexural strength was observed in G1 (77.43 Mpa) compared to G2 (118.70 Mpa) (p<0.001). Conclusion: Universal nanohybrid composite resin material was found to have greater flexural strength than universal submicron hybrid composite material

Efficacy of ProTaper Retreatment System in Root Canals Obturated with Gutta-Percha Using Two Different Sealers and GuttaFlow

Objective. To compare the efficacy of ProTaper retreatment files in removing three different obturating materials. Study Design. Forty-five human, single-rooted premolars were divided into three experimental groups. Group 1 was obturated with gutta-percha and AH Plus sealer, Group 2 was obturated with gutta-percha and zinc oxide eugenol sealer, and Group 3 was obturated with GuttaFlow. Retreatment was done using the ProTaper universal rotary retreatment files. Root halves were visualized using magnifying loops at 3X magnification and optical stereomicroscope at 10X magnification. Images were analyzed using AutoCAD 2004 software to calculate area of the remaining debris in the canal. For statistical analysis were used variance test and ANOVA. Results. Total debris/canal area ratio between the three groups showed a statistically significant difference (P < 0.001). Conclusion. ProTaper retreatment system did not produce completely clean canals in any of the groups. However, it had the best efficacy towards removing silicon based obturating material GuttaFlow

Comparative Evaluation of Surface Roughness of Resin- Modified Glass Ionomer and Glass Hybrid Restorative Materials Simulated by Tooth Brushing: An in-Vitro Study

Objective: To compare the effect of tooth brushing on surface roughness of Resin-Modified Glass Ionomer Cement (RMGIC; GC Gold label 2LC Light Cured Universal Restorative) and Glass Hybrid (GH; GC EQUIA SYSTEM- EQUIA Forte™ Fil and EQUIA Forte™ Coat) restorative material at 1- and 3-months interval simulated by tooth brushing. Material and Methods: RMGIC and GH material specimens (20 each) were prepared according to manufacturer instructions in 10 mm × 2 mm dimensions using a mylar strip. A specially designed toothbrush simulator was used along with Oral B Pro 2 2000N powered toothbrush and Colgate Total dentifrice (Colgate-Palmolive India limited; Relative dentin abrasivity - RDA: 70 - Low abrasive) to perform brushing strokes. Specimens were subjected to surface roughness analysis before and after simulated tooth brushing at baseline, 1, and 3 months. Results: The intragroup comparison was done using repeated-measures ANOVA. Intergroup comparisons were done using an independent sample t-test and General Linear Model (ANCOVA). Surface roughness increased from baseline through 3 months in both RMGIC and GH groups. The mean surface roughness in RMGIC group was significantly higher than GH group at baseline 1 and 3-months, respectively (p&lt;0.001, &lt;0.001, and &lt;0.001). Interaction between group and baseline surface roughness was not significant (p=0.466).&nbsp; The estimated marginal means were significantly higher in RMGIC than GH group (p=0.008). Conclusion: The surface roughness of both RMGIC and GH restorative increased from baseline to 1 month and 3 months after the simulated toothbrushing protocol. GH exhibited significantly lower surface roughness than RMGIC at all the tested intervals

Preliminary PCR-based screening indicates a higher incidence of Porcine Endogenous Retrovirus subtype C (PERV-C) in feral versus domestic swine

Xenotransplantation is considered a potential alternative to allotransplantation to relieve the current shortage of human organs. Due to their similar size and physiology, the organs of pigs are of particular interest for this purpose. Endogenous retroviruses are a result of integration of retroviral genomes into the genome of infected germ cells as DNA proviruses, which are then carried in all cells of the offspring of the organism. Porcine endogenous retroviruses (PERVs) are of special concern because they are found in pig organs and tissues that might otherwise be used for xenotransplantation. PERV proviruses can be induced to replicate and recombine in pigs, and have been shown to infect human cells in vitro. There are three subtypes of PERVs based on differences in the receptor binding domain of the env protein; PERV-A, PERV-B, and PERV-C. PERVs A and B can infect human cells in vitro and can recombine with PERV-C, resulting in a recombinant virus with a higher rate of replication in pig and human cell lines. In this study, we used a PCR-based analysis of 50 domestic and 35 feral pigs to study the distribution of PERVs A, B, and C in swine raised under domestic conditions, versus feral swine from rural areas. PERV-A and PERV-B were universal in both domestic and feral swine. Feral swine had a higher incidence of PERV-C (85.7%) compared to domestic swine (42.0%). Further studies in other feral swine herds are ongoing to verify this observation

Prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) among rheumatoid arthritis: results from national inpatient database.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is being increasingly recognized as an important contributor to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Although smoking is a major risk factor, other factors may play a role. We used National Inpatient Sample (NIS) from 2013 to explore this relationship. We used propensity matching with a 1:3 nearest-neighbor-matching algorithm to match 1 RA hospitalization to 3 age- and-sex-matched comparators. In the age- and-sex-matched population, RA had a higher odds of COPD (OR 1.20, 95% CI: 1.17-1.22

Assessment of patients presenting in shock at emergency department in a tertiary care teaching hospital Hospital

IIntroductions: Clinical profile of patient presenting with shock is important in early recognition and intervention to improve outcome especially in resource limited setup. This study is designed with an objective to evaluate history, clinical findings, laboratory findings and provisional diagnosis of patient presenting with shock. Methods: This was cross sectional observational study conducted at Patan Hospital emergency department from September to November 2014. All consecutive patients presenting with shock were included in this study during that period of time. Patient’s demography, clinical profile, provisional diagnosis and treatment were analyzed. Results: In two month period, 40 patients presented with shock to the emergency. Out of them 21(53.3 %) were female and 17(47.7%) were male. Commonest presenting complain was fever and shortness of breath 12(31.6%) each, shortness of breath followed by diarrhea 6(13.4%) and shortness of breath 5(13.2%). The diagnosis was as follows; septic shock 17(44.7%), hypovolaemic shock 10(26.3%), cardiogenic shock 7(18.4%) and unclassified 4(10.5%). Out of 17 patients with septic shock, 12 patient had pneumonia. Mean duration of stay in emergency was 100.6 minutes, minimum 30 minutes and maximum 225 minutes. Mean fluid given in emergency was 2328.9 milliliters, minimum 1000 millilitres and maximum 5000 millilitres. Conclusions: Sepsis was an important cause of shock in the emergency department. Pneumonia was common cause of sepsis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was common underlying condition. Keywords: emergency, lactate, shockÂ

REMOVAL OF SULPHUR DIOXIDE FROM FLUE GASES IN THERMAL PLANTS

ABSTRACT The demand of electricity is continuous increasing and it is expected to double in 7 -10 years and the pollution in the environment likely to increase in the coming years. The main pollutants from the thermal power plants are dust and objectible gases like CO, CO 2 , SO 2 , NO 2 etc. SO 2 is a major constituent in air pollution. Sulphur dioxide (SO 2 ) which produces during combustion of Coal in power plants and reacts with atmospheric water and oxygen to produce sulphuric acid (H 2 SO 4 ). This sulphuric acid is a component of acid rain, which lowers the pH of soil and freshwater bodies, resulting in substantial damage to the natural environment and chemical weathering of statues and structures. Hence our aim of the project is removal of SO 2 in flue gases and production of commercial applicable product with these gases. Laboratory studies were conducted to compare the efficiency of different concentration of NaOH, pH of solution, and temperature of NaOH solution for absorption of SO 2 contained in flue gases. Thus it is concluded that the 5 % Conc. of the NaOH is found to be optimum as compared to higher concentrations. pH of the solution should be alkaline for good absorption of SO 2 . Maximum absorption of SO 2 found in temperature range between 20-25 o C