Exposure to respirable silica among clay brick workers in Kathmandu valley, Nepal

2018 ◽  
Vol 73 (6) ◽  
pp. 347-350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seshananda Sanjel ◽  
Sanjay N. Khanal ◽  
Steven M. Thygerson ◽  
William Carter ◽  
James D. Johnston ◽  
...  
2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jagadeesh Bhattarai ◽  
Dol Bahadur Ghale ◽  
Yagya Prasad Chapagain ◽  
Narendra Bahadur Bohara ◽  
Nijan Duwal

Physical and mechanical properties of seven ancient clay brick samples of Kathmandu valley consisting of quartz, feldspars, spinel, margarite, muscovite type of mica mineral and hematite were studied using ASTM standards. All the brick samples used in this study have the water absorption, apparent porosity and bulk density in the range of 10-28 percent, 17-33 percent and 1.2-1.8 g/cm3, respectively, while the compressive strength of all the brick samples is found to be in the range of 5-23 MPa. The bulk density of the tile samples is found to be increased with decreasing the water absorption and apparent porosity. The compressive strength of all the clay brick samples can be correlated with their physical properties. Consequently, durability of the ancient bricks is directly influenced by their physical properties of water absorption, apparent porosity and bulk density.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 109-118
Author(s):  
Bhu Dev Jha

 Emergency Contraceptive Pill (ECP) is used for preventing pregnancy after having unprotected sexual intercourse, contraceptive failure or forced sex. The use of ECP within 120 hours of sexual intercourse could prevent unwanted pregnancy and its adverse effects particularly unintended childbirth and unsafe abortion. The study, therefore, aimed to assess knowledge and use of emergency contraceptives among Bachelors level female students from Kathmandu Valley. A descriptive cross-sectional study was undertaken from August to November 2017 among 347 female students who were studying at the Bachelors's level. A random sampling technique was used to select study participants and a structured self-administered questionnaire was used to assess the knowledge and use of ECP after securing informed consent. Epi data and SPSS version 22 were used for data processing and analysis. The mean age of the female students was 21.5 years. Overall, 91.4% of the respondents had ever heard about emergency contraceptives. The main sources of information were radio or television, the internet and newspapers. About 4.6% of the undergraduate female students used ECP. Age, marital status, use of contraceptives and knowledge of ECP used within 72 hours were significantly associated with use of ECP. Although the findings of this study showed a high prevalence of knowledge among respondents, the improvement of female students’ knowledge on specific details of ECP and its advantages/disadvantages and timely utilization needs to be considered for any future awareness programmes.  


2007 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raj Man Shrestha

The increase of population in Kathmandu valley is bringing a considerable change in cropping system. Rapid urbanization and introduction of new agriculture technology have encouraged the valley’s farmers to change their cropping patterns from traditional (low value crops) to new crops (high value crops). According to numerous studies made in Nepal, the change is seen considerably in winter crops than in summer crops and the land under cultivation of green leafy vegetables is increasing rapidly in the urban and semi-urban areas. An average growth of population at 3 % in the valley during the period 1951-2001 has resulted in the rapid expansion of area under urban coverage (24.6 % growth per year from 1984 - 2000) has made agriculture land of Katmandu valley to decline per year by 2.04 % (836.27 ha per year). If this trend of decline in agriculture land in Kathmandu valley continues in future too, it is expected that there will be no agriculture land left over by two and half decades in the valley. The planners should take note of this fact that if fertile land of Katmandu valley is to be preserved for agriculture necessary planning is urgently needed. <i>Nepal Journal of Science and Technology</i> Vol. 7, 2006


2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-68
Author(s):  
Laxmi Joshi Shrestha ◽  
Mohan Devkota ◽  
Bhuvan Keshar Sharma

 The study was conducted in two sacred groves of Kathmandu Valley, Pashupati Sacred Grove, and Bajrabarahi Sacred Grove, aiming to analyze the diversity of tree species and their role in conserving biodiversity. Parallel transects with concentric circular plot survey methods were applied for data collection. During the study, 23 tree species belonging to 22 genera and 15 families were recorded in Pashupati sacred grove, whereas only 19 tree species belonging to 16 genera and 13 families were recorded from Bajrabarahi Sacred Grove. The Shannon-Weiner diversity indices were higher (H=1.91) in Pashupati Sacred Grove compared to Bajrabarahi Sacred Grove, with 1.80 Shanon-Weiner Indices. Three types of forest were recorded from Pashupati Sacred Grove, namely the Schima-Pyrus forest, Myrsine-Persea forest, and Quercus-Myrsine forest, and only one Neolitsiacuipala forest from Bajrabarahi Sacred Grove. The sacred grove is one of the pioneers and community-based management regimes of the forest resource management system. It plays a decisive role in biodiversity conservation as it associated with many taboos and belief systems, thus providing a better opportunity for conservation compared to that of the government management system.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 110
Author(s):  
Alexandra Titz

Disaster-related internal displacement is on the rise in many countries and is increasingly becoming an urban phenomenon. For many people, as in the case of the earthquake disaster 2015 in Nepal, protracted or multiple disaster displacements are a lived reality. While the drivers of displacement are relatively well understood, significant uncertainties remain regarding the factors that trigger prolonged or secondary displacement and impede ending of displacement or achieving durable solutions. The purpose of this article is to illustrate and theorise the discourse of reconstruction and return that shapes experiences, strategies, and policies in order to gain a better understanding of the obstacles to pursuing durable solutions that are still shaping the reality of life for urban internally displaced people (IDPs) in Kathmandu Valley. I use the concepts of ‘fields of practice’ and ‘disaster justice’ to provide insights into the theorisation of the links between social inequality, structural forms of governance, and the reconstruction process itself. Findings demonstrate that the application of these concepts has great potential to expand our understanding of ‘realities of life’ and practices of IDPs, and thus contribute to a more differentiated evidence base for the development and implementation of appropriate disaster risk reduction policies and practices.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 5369
Author(s):  
Rajesh Khatakho ◽  
Dipendra Gautam ◽  
Komal Raj Aryal ◽  
Vishnu Prasad Pandey ◽  
Rajesh Rupakhety ◽  
...  

Natural hazards are complex phenomena that can occur independently, simultaneously, or in a series as cascading events. For any particular region, numerous single hazard maps may not necessarily provide all information regarding impending hazards to the stakeholders for preparedness and planning. A multi-hazard map furnishes composite illustration of the natural hazards of varying magnitude, frequency, and spatial distribution. Thus, multi-hazard risk assessment is performed to depict the holistic natural hazards scenario of any particular region. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, multi-hazard risk assessments are rarely conducted in Nepal although multiple natural hazards strike the country almost every year. In this study, floods, landslides, earthquakes, and urban fire hazards are used to assess multi-hazard risk in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), which is then integrated with the Geographical Information System (GIS). First, flood, landslide, earthquake, and urban fire hazard assessments are performed individually and then superimposed to obtain multi-hazard risk. Multi-hazard risk assessment of Kathmandu Valley is performed by pair-wise comparison of the four natural hazards. The sum of observations concludes that densely populated areas, old settlements, and the central valley have high to very high level of multi-hazard risk.


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