Response of Stubble Shaving Times on Ratoon Yield of Different Sugarcane Genotypes

Ratooning is common practice done in sugarcane with purpose of reducing the total cost of cultivation and early cane maturity. More than 35% of sugarcane productivity is lost due to improper attention of the farmers towards ratoons. Majority of farmers reported that the ratoonability wasn’t good when harvested in December-January. This experiment was carried out to find the appropriate ratoon shaving time with response to different varieties in sugarcane ratoon crop in the year 2018/19 at national sugarcane research project, Jitpur, Bara. The experiment was conducted in split plot design with four levels of cane genotypes as Co – 0238, CoLk – 94184, Co – 0233 and CoS – 07250 as the main plot factor while four harvesting dates as sub plot factor with three replications. Observations of a number of millable canes, single cane weight, plant height and single cane diameter were recorded, tabulated and analyzed in R-studio. Ratoon stubble shaving in the month of November had the highest number of millable canes (88079/ha) which wasn’t significantly different from the stubble shaving in the month of December, January. Likewise, highest cane yield (60.04 mt/ha), single cane weight (0.757 kg), cane diameter (2.11 cm), plant height (1.82 m) were found in early stubble shaving dates. Cane Yield and various yield parameter shows better performance in early ratoon shaving periods i.e. from November to January than late ratoon shaving dates

Evaluation of the functional outcome of surgically corrected uretero-pelvic junction obstruction

Introductions: Ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJO) is a common renal disease where flow of urine is obstructed from renal pelvis to ureter leading to renal function deterioration. This study analysed the functional outcome of patients after Anderson-Hynes (A-H) pyeloplasty for UPJO. Methods: Retrospective analysis was done for renal function outcome on patients who underwent either open or laparoscopic dismembered A-H pyeloplasty during 20 months period from May 2017 to November 2018 in the Department of Urology in Bir Hospital, National Academy of Medical Sciences (NAMS), Kathmandu, Nepal. Renal functional outcome was based on pre and post-operative glomerular filtration rate and split renal function. Ethical approval was obtained from institutional review board (IRB-NAMS). Descriptive analysis of data was performed. Results: Total 22 patients, 15 male and 7 female underwent dismembered pyeloplasty. The age ranged from 18 months to 65 years. Improvement of split renal functions was noted in 18 out of 22 (81.3%). Conclusions: A-H pyeloplasty is effective surgical option for functional renal improvement in patients with obstructive UPJO . Keywords: Anderson-Hynes pyeloplasty, split renal function, ureteropelvic junction obstructio

Citizen Charter in Nepali Public Sector Organizations: Does it Really Work?

Citizen Charter is an instrument of citizen-centric governance that confirms quality in public service delivery by holding public sector organizations directly accountable, responsive, and transparent. In this regard, this study aimed to disclose the current picture of Citizen Charter in Nepali public sector organizations from service users’ perspectives. For this, the survey was conducted in key six public sector organizations of Lalitpur Metropolitan City by using the client exit interview method, with the help of a semi-structured interview schedule. The study result indicates that the use of the Citizen Charter is extensively low. Service users are not fully aware and well informed about it, and its values. Service users prefer to receive services by asking from duty holders, intermediates (agents), and previous service users than the Citizen Charter. Service users believe that the promises of the Citizen Charter and the behavior of duty holders are inconsistent. However, some service users are demanding services as per the Citizen Charter

Infective complications after percutaneous nephrolithotomy in relation to preoperative urine culture status

Introductions: Fever and sepsis after percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) secondary to urinary tract infection is a major determinant of overall post PCNL complications. This study aims to analyse infective complications after PCNL in relation to pre-operative urine culture status. Methods: A comparative analysis of post PCNL infective complications in pre-operative urine culture positive (Group A) and negative (Group B) was done for one year during June 2017 to May 2018 in department of urology, Bir Hospital, National Academy of Medical Sciences, Kathmandu, Nepal. Demographics, stone characteristics, mean operative time, post-operative hospital stay and post-operative complications as per Modified Clavien classification were compared between the two groups. Results: Out of total 136 PCNL patients, 51 were in Group A and 85 in Group B. Infective complications were significantly high, 28 (54.90%) in group A compared to 20 (23.53%) in group B, p=0.004. The most common isolate was Escherichia coli 19 (37.25%), sensitive to amikacin 37 (72.55%). The mean operation time, transfusion and hospital stay was not statically different in two groups. Morality occurred in 1 (1.96%) in group A. Conclusions: Infective complications were significantly high after PCNL in patients with preoperative positive urine culture, even when it was treated to sterile with sensitive antibiotics, compared to patients with preoperative negative urine culture. Keywords: modified Clavien classification, percutaneous nephrolithotomy PCNL, sepsis, urine cultur

Outcome of Febuxostat treatment in hyperuricemic pre-dialysis chronic kidney disease patients

Introduction: Hyperuricemia is a cause and effect of chronic kidney disease (CKD), accelerates its progression and predisposes to acute kidney injury. Present study aimed to find out the outcome of Febuxostat treatment in hyperuricemic pre-dialysis CKD patients. Method: This was a cross sectional study conducted in Nephrology department, Bir hospital, Nepal, during from February 2019 to January 2020, among pre-dialysis CKD stage 3-5 non dialysis (ND) patients with serum uric acid (SUA) >7 mg/d L who were treated with Febuxostat 40 mg once a day and followed up at one, two and three months. The baseline SUA, creatinine, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) calculated by the modification of diet in renal disease (MDRD) equation compared with values at follow up and according to CKD stages. The adverse effects and liver enzymes were recorded. Result: There were total 50 patients, mean age 54.2±16.5 years, male 31 (62%). There were significant reductions of SUA from baseline of 8.9±1.4 to 7.1±1.2 vs 5.9±0.9 vs 4.7±1.0) at one, two and three month respectively, p=0.000 and increment of eGFR (ml/min/1.73m2) from 29.6±15.0 to 31.6±16.0, 33.6±16.6, 34.1±17.1, p=0.000 and 41 (82%) patients achieved uric acid < 6mg/dl at three month. Significant reduction of uric acid in all CKD stages and increment of eGFR in CKD stage 3 and 4 were observed. Adverse effects were epigastralgia in 5 (10%) and joint pain in 13 (26%). Conclusion: Febuxostat is an effective SUA lowering drug in pre-dialysis chronic kidney disease patients with improvement of kidney function

Seawater pre-treatment for reverse osmosis system

University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology.Membrane based desalination technology such as reverse osmosis (RO) has rapidly become a viable alternative to conventional treatment for drinking water production from seawater. However, membrane fouling is a major concern in reverse osmosis (RO) based seawater desalination. The fouling on RO membrane deteriorates the performance of RO membranes and increases the energy consumption and even requires more frequent replacement of the membranes. The objective of the study was to assess the different pre-treatment systems to reduce membrane fouling reduction, and remove organic matter in terms of dissolved organic carbon in RO desalination projects. Silt density index (SDI), modified fouling index (MF/UF-MFI) and cross-flow sampler modified fouling index (CFMF-MFI) were used to study the pre-treatment efficiency of different process such as flocculation, deep bed filtration, microfiltration, ultrafiltration and biofiltration. A long term on site biofilter experiment was investigated in terms of removal of particulate matter, different fouling indices and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) from sea water by the use of biofiltration. In this study, three biofilter columns were operated packed with granular activated carbon (GAC), anthracite and sand as a filter media. The experimental results indicated that biofiltration pre-treatment systems reduced organic matter and particulate matter. It was expected that biofilter can lower fouling to a subsequent RO process in desalination plant. In terms of DOC removal efficiency, GAC biofilter showed higher and stable removal efficiency (41-88%), than sand biofilter (7-76%) and anthracite biofilter (3-71%). All biofilters used in this study removed most of hydrophobic organic compounds (around 94%). On the other hand, hydrophilic organic removal varied depending on the media filter. GAC biofilter removed more organic bio-polymers (51%), humic substances (75%) and building blocks (50%) compared with sand and anthracite biofilters. Thus GAC filter was the best medium to provide the lowest fouling potential as it showed the highest removal efficiency of DOC, including hydrophilic, humic, building blocks and biopolymer. The fouling potential of treated seawater (filtrate) was evaluated using three different fouling MF-MFI, UF-MFI, and CFMF-MFI. GAC biofilter had lower fouling potential compared to sand and anthracite biofilters. The in-line flocculation and spiral-flocculation followed by media filtration (sand or anthracite) have been investigated as a pre-treatment of seawater to reverse osmosis (SWRO). In the case of in-line flocculation filtration system, the seawater was passed through the media filter just after rapid mixing of raw seawater with flocculants for 10 seconds. In the case of spiral-flocculation filtration, after the rapid mixing of seawater with flocculants, it was then passed through the spiral-flocculation. Both filtrations showed good turbidity removal efficiency (up to 71%). In-line flocculation filtration showed 2-3 times higher headloss than the spiral-flocculation filtration. The UF-MFI reduction was 63-70% for sand as medium in the presence of the flocculant whereas it was 65-76% for anthracite. Both filtration systems in the presence of flocculant (3 mg/L Fe³⁺) led to 50-65% removal of hydrophobic organics. The hydrophilic organic removal was around 30-38%. The predominant portion of hydrophilic was humic substances which had a poor removal. In general sand filter gave a higher removal than anthracite filter. The performance of TiCl₄ and Ti(SO₄)₂ was compared to FeCl₃ at different coagulant concentrations (1-30 mg/l) of Ti salts and FeCl₃ and at different pH of 5 to 9. Coagulation was conducted using conventional jar test. For each jar test, six 1 litre beakers were filled with raw seawater. The pH was adjusted with 0.1 N solution of hydrochloride acid and sodium hydroxide prior to coagulant addition. The solution was subjected to rapid mixing (100 rpm) for 2 min followed by slow mixing (20 rpm) for 30 min. It was then stopped to allow the aggregated flocs to settle down for 30 min. The supernatant samples were drawn for the measurements of turbidity, UV-254 absorbance and DOC, zeta potential and particle size distribution. The results showed that at pH of 8.0 (similar to seawater pH), TiCl₄ had advantages over FeCl₃ and Ti(SO₄)₂ at the same coagulant dose of 20 mg/L. Under this condition, TiCl₄ achieved ~70% DOC and UV-254 removal. This was approximately two times higher than FeCl₃ and Ti(SO₄)₂. Nevertheless, FeCl₃ and Ti(SO₄)₂ showed better turbidity removal. At higher coagulant dose (30 mg/L), the turbidity removal of TiCl₄, was especially compromised. The differences in the performance of the coagulants were associated with the coagulant mechanisms based on the floc zeta potential evaluation. The coagulant mechanisms of Ti-salts could be associated to charge neutralization while FeCl₃was inclined towards adsorption mechanism. The study found that biofiltration, in-line flocculation and spiral-flocculation followed by media filtration, coagulation and flocculation are appropriate pre-treatment before RO. In particular, Biofilter showed to a consistent removal of organic matter over a long period of time

Translation and cultural adaptation of EORTC QLQ-LC 29 into Nepalese language for lung cancer patients in Nepal

Background: The quality of life (QoL) of patients with lung cancer (LC) may be affected by disease-related limitations such as patients’ functioning, the severity of symptoms, financial problems resulting along with the side effects of the treatment. The objective of this study was to translate LC-specific QoL questionnaire EORTC QLQ-LC29 into Nepalese language for Nepalese LC patients. Methods: In the process of translation, the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) translations guidelines were followed. The translated questionnaire was pilot-tested in a sample of 15 patients with LC. Descriptive statistics were calculated with SPSS version 21.0. Results: All steps of the EORTC translation guideline were followed successfully. Fifteen lung cancer patients were included in the pilot study. Sixty percent were male and the mean age was 49.87 (range 21–76 years). For all items not related to thoracic surgery, patients used the entire range of the response options from 1 to 4 and no missing responses were observed. The highest mean (indicating a high symptom burden) was observed for the item number. 35 (shortness of breath; Mean = 3.33, SD = 1.11) and the lowest mean for an item number. 45 (dizzy; Mean = 1.73, SD = 0.96). Conclusion: The Nepalese version of EORTC QLQ-LC29 is a result of a successfully conducted rigorous translation procedure, and is highly comprehensible as well as acceptable to Nepalese LC patients. Thus, the Nepalese version of EORTC QLQ-LC29 is ready to be used in international clinical studies as well as in Nepalese clinical practice

A prospective cross-sectional study on prescribing pattern of antibiotics on patients suffering from ENT infections in tertiary care hospital, Pokhara, Nepal

Background: This survey was designed to assess and evaluate the prescribing pattern of antibiotics used in patients suffering from ENT (Eye, Nose, and Throat) infections in ENT outpatient departments (OPD) at Manipal Teaching Hospital (MTH), Phulbari, Pokhara, Nepal.Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted in out-patients of ENT department at MTH for 6 month in which a total of 216 prescriptions were observed randomly and data filled patient profile forms were collected and analyzed.Results: Out of 216 patients, 126(58.33%) were male and 90 (41.67%) were female. Patients of age group 21-30 were maximum (29.16%) followed by age group of 11-20 (22.22%). Only 6.7% of drugs were prescribed from their generic names. Data analysis revealed that about 72.24%, 24.53% and 3.23% of prescription contained one, two and three antibiotic drugs respectively. All together 970 drugs were prescribed in 216 prescriptions out of which 251 (25.87%) were antibiotics drugs. This suggested that the average no. of antibiotics per prescription was 1.16. Among prescribed antibiotics, Amoxicillin (7.56%) of penicillin group, Azithromycin (8.36%) of macrolides, Cefuroxime (9.56%) of 2nd generation cephalosporin followed by Cefpodoxime (32.27%) of 3rd generation cephalosporin and Ofloxacin (6.37%) of quinolones group were frequently prescribed. From analysis, we found that other concomitant medications were also prescribed such analgesics, antihistamines, PPI (Proton Pump Inhibitors) and vitamins, minerals and dietary enzymes. The prescribed antibiotics accounted for large percentage of oral dosage forms (89.90%) followed parental injection dosage forms 5.05%.Conclusions: Prescribing more than one antibiotics was commonly encountered indicating the occurrence of polypharmacy which were based on empirical therapy without any culture and sensitivity test report. Therefore, local hospital culture sensitivity database for ENT infections has to be developed and prescribing with generic name from existing essential drug list or formulary should be encouraged for rational drug therapy

Study of Serum Lactate Dehydrogenase and Gamma-Glutamyl Transpeptidase in Breast Cancer Patients Receiving Chemotherapy.

Breast cancer (BC) is the most common type of cancer worldwide, being a major cause of morbidity in female. In Nepal it is the second most common type of cancer among females of perimenopausal age group. More than one quarter of the BC diagnosed in young Nepalese female, with familial history of breast cancer, early pregnancy, longer lactation and estrogen exposure and often with tumors showing aggressive biological behaviors. Anthracyclines (Doxorubicin) based treatment regime were reported to cause cardiotoxicity by increasing intramyocardial free radical production, lipid alterations and decreasing antioxidant level. Oxidative stress involving cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) production is widely accepted mechanism but the molecular basis of chemotherapy induced organ toxicity remains highly controversial. An increased rate of metabolism and oxidative stress results rapid turnover of cancer cells that modulates the enzyme level in blood circulation. Serum LDH and GGT level correlates with tumor burden, metastatic character of BC and intensity of organtoxicity. The aim of our study is to evaluate the serum level of LDH and GGT in BC patients receiving chemotherapy and correlate these enzyme levels with different stages of BC. A total number of 150 subjects were included in the study, comprising 90 histopathologically confirmed 24 to 76 years aged patients of different breast cancer stages, receiving at least 3 cycles of 5-Fluorouracil, Adriamycin and Cyclophosphamide (FAC) chemotherapy. Sixty age- matched healthy women were enrolled as controls. Blood samples from each individual was collected after informed consent and analysed for serum LDH and GGT levels using standard biochemical methods. Data were analyzed using student's paired 't' test, Pearson correlation test and ANOVA. Serum LDH and GGT levels were significantly (p<0.001) increased in BC patients as compared to control group. When all 4 stages of BC were compared to control group, LDH and GGT showed steady and progressive increase in the activities of these enzymes from stage I-IV. The study concludes that serum LDH and GGT may be sensitive, specific and cost effective biomarkers in early diagnosis of breast cancer, assessing cancer prognosis and response to treatment

International Collaboration on a Sustainable Forestry Management OER Online Program – A Case Study

[EN] Over time, forest education has had to adapt to keep up with global changes and to accomodate the needs of students and society. While facing pressing global issues like climate change, deforestation, illegal logging and food security, the role of higher forest education has shifted away from traditional teaching approaches and practices to methods that emphasize sustainable development, community-based management and environmental conservation in forestry. In doing so, forest education has cultivated human expertise that understands the complexity of ever-changing environments, masters state of the art technologies to manage fores and natural resources, and is capable of creating, communicating and implementing related policies in global communities and societies. In this context, educational technology and online lerning enable flexible, accessible, effective, and high-quality forest education. A case study of a Sustainable Forest Management Online program led by the Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia (UBC) shows that appropriately integrating educational technologies into an interntionally developed and recognized high quality curriculum is an effective way to create accessible and affordable forest education in meeting the demand of evolving societal and environmental conditions.Keywords: forest education; educational technology; international collaboration, open educational resourcesThis paper is based on studies conducted along with the delivery of a series of online courses in sustainable forest management supported by the Asia-Pacific Network for Sustainable Forest Management (APFNet) and the Asia Pacific Forestry Education Coordination Mechanism (AP-FECM).Zeng, MQ(.; Chen, H.; Shrestha, A.; Crowley, C.; Ng, E.; Wang, G. (2020). International Collaboration on a Sustainable Forestry Management OER Online Program – A Case Study. En 6th International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd'20). Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. (30-05-2020):1253-1260. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAd20.2020.112421253126030-05-202