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Physical feature:
Both Nepal and Japan
are located in Asia with elongated
shape. Nepal is extended in
east-west direction with a total
length of 900 km whereas Japan is
located in south-west to north-east
direction with a total length of
25000 km. Nepal is a landlocked
country whereas Japan is an archipelago
with four large
islands – Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku
and Kyushu and more than 3000
smaller islands. Nepal has a total
area of 147181 sq. km with a total
population of 23.1 million (2001).
In terms of area Japan is 2.7 times
bigger than Nepal. The population
size of Japan is 5 times bigger than
Nepal.
Both are mountainous countries.
Mountains occupy more than 75
percent of the total area. However,
the mountains in Nepal are tall.
There are more than 10 mountain
peaks with altitude more than 8000 m
in Nepal. Mount Everest (8848 m) is
the highest mountain peak in the
world. Other important peaks in
terms of altitude are Kanchanjunga
(8586 m), Lhotse (8516 m), Yalung
Kang (8505 m), Makalu I (8463 m),
Chooyu (8201 m), Dhaulagiri I (8167
m), Manaslu (8163 m) and Annapurna I
(8091 m). The highest peak in Japan
is Mt. Fuji (3776 m). Only a few
mountain peaks in Japan have height
between 3000-3776 m and most of them
are less than 3000 m in altitude.
Unlike in Nepal, many of the
mountains in Japan are volcanic
origin. But a few mountain ranges
like Hidaka in Hokkaido are similar
to Himalayas in its orogeny. Both
the countries are located in active
tectonic belt with frequent
earthquakes. Japan is known as the
land of fire where many of the
volcanoes are very active. There are
more than 67 active volcanoes in
Japan. In contrast to this, no
volcanic activity is found in Nepal.
Himalayas and Tibetan plateau have
played significant role in the
climate of both countries and they
are influenced by summer monsoon
precipitation. However, there is
strong seasonality in precipitation
and winter is almost dry in Nepal.
The climatic condition ranges from
subtropical to artic. Such a vast
difference in climatic condition in
Nepal is mainly due to altitudinal
variation whereas in Japan it is due
to altitudinal differences as well
as latitudinal differences in its
location. High intensity rainfall is
one of the characteristics of both
countries. Both countries are
suffered from hazards such as
landslides, floods, debris flow,
wind storm and thunderstorm
associated with extreme weather
events. In addition to these Japan
is highly affected by typhoons every
year. Nepal has four distinct
seasons whereas Japan enjoys six
seasons namely winter, spring, Baiu,
midsummer, Shurin and late autumn
because of its locational
advantages.
The proportion of
level land suitable for farming and
buildings is less than 15 percent in
both countries. In terms of land use
and land cover, arable land consists
about 17 percent of the total land
in Nepal whereas it is only 11
percent in Japan. However, the
productivity of agricultural crops
is significantly high in Japan than
in Nepal. The use of modern
technology in agriculture has made
it possible to achieve such a high
productivity of agricultural crops
in Japan. Forest and wood land
comprise about 67 percent of the
total area in Japan whereas it is
only 42 percent in Nepal. Though the
proportion of permanent pasture is
significantly high (15 percent) in
Nepal than in Japan (2 percent), its
utilization in Nepal is highly
limited due to its rugged terrain
and inaccessibility to animal
grazing in many parts of pasture
land. Japan enjoys the opportunity
of fishing in the sea. Fish is one
of the important diets of Japanese
people. Fishing in Japan accounts
for nearly 15 percent of the global
catch. This opportunity is not
available for Nepal.
Socio-economic
conditions
There is high
difference in demographic and other
socio-economic conditions between
these two countries. Gross
population density is approximately
two times higher in Japan than in
Nepal (157 persons per sq. km). The
family size is about 2.74 persons
per household in Japan whereas it is
5.45 persons in Nepal. Similarly,
annual growth of population is about
2.2 percent (1991-01) in Nepal
whereas it is less than 0.17 percent
in Japan. Life expectancy at birth
is only 59.7 year in Nepal whereas
it is 81.04 year in Japan. The
proportion of economically active
population with age between 15-64 is
only 56.16 percent in Nepal whereas
it is 67.83 percent in Japan. As
compared to Japan, the proportion of
children (0-14 years) is
significantly high in Nepal (40.35
percent) than in Japan (14.64
percent). The literacy rate is still
very low in Nepal (53.7 percent) as
compared to Japan (more than 99
percent). Japan is highly urbanized
country with 79 percent urban
population whereas current urban
population in Nepal is only 14.2
percent of its total population.
There are more than
60 ethnic groups in Nepal. Nearly 81
percent is Hindu and 10 percent is
Buddhist by religion. In Japan,
there are two ethnic groups-
Japanese (99.4 percent) and Korean
(0.6 percent). The majority (84
percent) in terms of religion is
Buddhist.
There is high difference in the
proportion of labour force engaged
in different activities. Nearly
two-thirds of the total labour force
is engaged in agriculture in Nepal
whereas it is only 5 percent in
Japan. Japan is self sufficient in
rice production even with such a
small proportion of labour force
engaged in agricultural activities.
Proportion of labour force engaged
in industry is only 3 percent in
Nepal whereas it is 30 percent in
Japan. Similarly, the proportion of
people engaged in service sector is
approximately 30
percent in Nepal and it
is very high (65 percent) in Japan.
Though industrial development in
both countries depends on imported
raw materials and fuels, easy access
to domestic and international
markets and raw materials, highly
developed entrepreneurships with
strong government-industry
cooperation and technological
development have made Japan possible
to be one of the highly
industrialized countries in the
world. In terms of gross national
income Japan ranks second position
in the world whereas Nepal is in 110th
position. Per capita GDP (purchasing
power parity) is $26,900 in Japan
whereas it is only $1,370 in Nepal
which is 18 times greater than that
of Nepal. The contribution of
industry and service sector to GDP
in Japan is 35 and 63 percent
whereas its share in Nepal is 22 and
37 percent respectively. Still the
major portion (41 percent) of GDP is
from agriculture in Nepal whereas it
is only 2 percent in Japan.
Japan has developed
nuclear energy and it constitutes
nearly 31 percent of the total
energy use which is not available in
Nepal. Japan has also developed
dense network of transportation and
communication. In Japan, the length
of railways is 0.1 km per sq km and
1.87 km per 10,000 populations
whereas the total length of railway
in Nepal is only 59 km. Similarly,
the length of highway in Japan is
3.1 km per sq km and 91 km per
10,000 populations whereas it is
only 0.1 km per sq km and 5.7 km per
10,000 populations in Nepal. The
development of transportation
network is more than 34 times higher
in Japan than in Nepal.
In summary, though there are some
similarities in physical features
between Nepal and Japan, the
infrastructural and socio-economic
development is highly distinct. The
locational advantage and development
in technology and entrepreneurships
have played major role in the
advancement of Japan.
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Bharse village is
located in Gulmi district at an
altitude of 1600 m. There are 481
households of different ethnic
groups with a total population of
2856 in this village. Magar is
dominant ethnic group in terms of
the size of population (95
percent).
The development history of this
settlement is not too long. Three
families of Magar came in Bharse
and settled here in around 1750s.
The main purpose for migration
from Lek Khani, Baglung district
was to excavate mines (copper and
iron) for Arkul principality under
the Gulmi kingdom. They continued
mining activities to supply raw
materials for agricultural
implements for their own use as
well as people living in
surrounding areas. Since, the
government of Nepal banned the
mining activities in the country
in 1910; they had to search for
other alternative economic
activities for their livelihood.
As a consequence, they started to
expand their agricultural land
into forest area. The forest land
in its vicinity declined
drastically due to increasing
demand for food, timber, firewood,
litter etc as a result of
increasing population.
Further
extensification of agricultural
land in order to fulfill the
increasing demand for food was not
possible since forest area
suitable for agricultural use was
already cleared and utilized. The
prospect for intensification of
agriculture and consequent
increase in production was limited
whereas their population was
increasing very rapidly. In this
context, they had to search for
other alternatives to supplement
their food and other household
requirements.
Another strategies adopted by
these people to cope with
increasing problem of food
shortage and poverty is migration.
Many young people started to go
temporarily outside the village in
search for jobs after 1920s. Many
of them joined military services
of British Gurkhas. Bharse is one
of a few villages in Nepal from
where large numbers of people are
employed in British and Indian
army. The main sources of family
income at present are the
remittances and pensions. The
annual income of majority of
families in this village is quite
high as compared to other villages
in Gulmi district.The literacy
rate has increased gradually over
the last decades. People had
established school long time ago
in in 1930 (BS 1987) in this
village.
The increasing
off-farm sources of income in the
form of remittances and pensions
on the one hand and growing
awareness about the consequences
of degradation of forest on the
other, people have evolved forest
management practices by
themselves. They institutionalized
forest management practices
through forest management
committee since 1952. They had
employed 6 guards to look after
nearby forests in 1952. They have
divided forest into several
patches and developed distinct
rules and regulation regarding the
use of forest resources for each
patch. As a consequence, the
condition of these forests has
been improved now than in the
past.
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Pavements represent
the largest capital investment in
any modern highway system. To keep
the highway performing and the
operating costs at an acceptable
level, complex decisions regarding
the operation and maintenance of
pavements need to be made.
Traditional methods of selecting
pavement treatment based on the
extensive knowledge and experience
is still widely used and works
well in low traffic areas or where
repair/restoration funds are not
limited. In most cases, however,
this is not the situation.
Firstly, rarely are there enough
funds to complete all identified
road repairs, and secondly, high
traffic levels severely restrict
when roads can be closed for
maintenance. Pavement management
system brings more science into
this process. A pavement
management system consists of
three major components:
1) A system to
regularly collect highway data.
2) A system (like
computer) to sort and store the
collected data
3) A system (like
analysis program) to evaluate
repair or preservation
strategies and suggest
cost-effective projects to
maintain highway conditions.
The decision
regarding the best time for the
application of suitable preventive
maintenance treatment and the
allocation of budget for the
maintenance of roads is indeed the
core objective of any Pavement
Management Systems (PMS).
PMS should be able
to answer the following important
questions regarding pavements:
• What is the
current condition of the roadway
network?
• Which roads
should be prioritized for
maintenance?
• What techniques
should be used for best results?
• What are the
projected long-term consequences
if we delay repairs?
The significance of
PMS lies in the fact that it not
only enhances the life of the
pavement but also minimizes the
higher road user cost. One can
simply estimate how much can be
saved if the reconstruction and
rehabilitation of roads can be
restricted to periodic maintenance
through proper pavement management.
It is therefore necessary that
we shift from responsive
approach (i.e. dealing in
emergencies) to control
management (i.e. planning and
use of available information) in
order to achieve the said
objectives of PMS.
Methodology for PMS
The major decision
in any pavement management system
(i.e. suitable pavement treatment
and budget allocation for repair
and maintenance) is and should be
based on the existing and/or
projected level of serviceability,
traffic volumes and strategic
importance of the road networks.
Thus it is quite clear that the
inputs for decision making should
be the pavement condition and the
measure of the traffic volumes.
The major
parameters that determine the
condition of the road are rutting,
cracking, skid resistance,
roughness, potholes, deflection,
edge damage etc.
In this regard
there are essentially four
measures of pavement condition.
•
Road roughness
Road roughness can
be defined as “the deviation of a
pavement surface from a true
planar surface with characteristic
dimensions that affect vehicle
dynamics, ride quality, dynamic
pavement load and pavement
drainage” (ASTM,
E867-87).
It is a major
parameter associated with road
user cost. Vehicle Mounted Bump
Integrator and Merlin Roughness
Machine are the instruments
currently used in Nepal for
roughness measurement.
•
Surface distress
It provides the
first visual indication of
pavement deterioration
characteristics. The approach is
to quantify the surface distress
characteristics by means of visual
examination and then combine the
results into SDI rating 0 (good)
to 5 (poor). It provides basis to
determine the levels of
intervention for maintenance
activities as well as objective
assessment of the conditions of
the road network.
•
Structural capacity
It is a measure of
pavement’s ability to carry the
design loading. These are assessed
through Non-Destructive as well as
Destructive Tests and are the
inputs for any rehabilitation or
reconstruction.
•
Pavement Texture:
It is concerned
with the safety on paved roads
i.e. with skid resistance
especially in wet conditions. As
the vehicular speed in highways is
high the measure of Pavement
Texture is significant.
In order to assess
the deterioration characteristics
of the road networks visual
condition survey is conducted. The
survey includes all types of
defects (both major and minor),
affecting the integrity of the
surface, which if left untreated,
will seriously reduce the
serviceability of the road and
consequently the life of the
pavement. The visually assessed
characteristics are then used to
develop a visual indicator called
a Surface Distress Index (SDI)
rating from 0 to 5, to categorize
the road condition as good, fair
and poor. The scoring is and
should be based on the extent and
severity of the defect. Average
SDI values for the assessment of
road condition for Strategic Road
Networks in Nepal are presented in
Table 1.
Table 1: Assessment
of road condition for Strategic
Roads Networks
(Based on condition
in Nepal)
|
Average SDI
value |
Condition
|
|
0 – 1.7 |
Good
|
|
1.8 – 3.0 |
Fair
|
|
3.1 – 5.0 |
Poor
|
Source:
MRCU, 1995
There are various
methods for collecting surface
distress data. It becomes more
complex and sophisticated as
required information is of high
quality. The usual practice of
“drive and walk survey” also known
as 10% sampling procedure (for
strategic road networks) in Nepal
comprises of a walk-over survey
generally covering the last 100
meter section in each km. of the
road on which the SDI is to be
determined while the 900 meters
are assessed by driving. Once the
SDI values for the road sections
are obtained the type of
maintenance required for each road
section is categorized. This
categorization should be defined
based on the level of
serviceability required.
Once the
maintenance type required in each
road section and the traffic count
is in hand the roads are
prioritized for maintenance. For
the road sections requiring
rehabilitation and reconstruction,
destructive and non destructive
tests are conducted and the
results from these tests are used
for the design accordingly. Doing
these tests only in the
prioritized sections not only
reduces the cost of destructive
and non destructive tests but also
minimizes the obstruction to the
high traffic in urban roads to a
larger extent.
Conclusions
Technology has
advanced rapidly in the field of
PMS in the past decade and it is
now possible to develop prediction
models, methods to optimize choice
between competing alternatives, to
develop multi year prioritization,
remaining life of pavements and
feed back information. PMS however
is not a decision in itself, nor
can it make one. But the question
is whether the decision makers are
using the best tools to assist
themselves or not. PMS in Nepal is
still at initial stage and
requires serious research works.
When implementing
and introducing the PMS for urban
roads following points are
notable:
• The purpose of
the Visual Condition Survey is to
determine the condition of each
road segment based on pavement
distresses. The condition survey
is a critical part of pavement
management, since specific
distresses are very much related
to certain causes of pavement
deterioration. An accurate
condition survey (through walk
survey) is critical in helping
determine appropriate repair
strategies to restore a
deteriorated pavement to an
acceptable level.
• In order to
provide effective pavement
management, the strategies of the
concerned department must be
changed from response management
(dealing with emergency) to
control management (planning and
making the best use of available
information), because the focus
should be to minimize the crisis
rather than dealing with crisis.
• Planned
maintenance activities comprising
interdependent routine, recurrent,
and periodic maintenance
activities should be introduced
with priority being given to the
heavily trafficked roads and roads
of strategic importance. The cost
of rehabilitation and
reconstruction are many times (3
to 9 times) higher than the cost
of planned maintenance. Hence, the
pavement management principles
should be such that its actions
keep the roads in serviceable and
maintainable condition so as to
restrict the maintenance to
planned periodic maintenance.
References
IOE (2002),
Project Report on Pavement
Management System for Urban Roads,
A study on road networks of
Lalitpur Sub-Metropolitan City,
Course code:
EG777CE, I.O.E, Pulchowk Campus
**************************************
Infertility is
defined as a failure of conception
within 2 years of regular,
unprotected intercourse. Many
couples of reproductive age are
relatively affected with this
problem and considered to be common.
A couple with such infertility
suffers from the frustration of the
natural drive to procreate.
Involuntary childlessness is a
condition in which biological and
psychological factors inter-react,
often producing significant
emotional distress in the couple.
Clinical research suggests that the
infertile couple is at the risk of
emotional dysfunction, distress,
marital conflict, and sexual
dysfunction. There are different
factors which causes the
infertility. Major factors of
infertility are;
1.
Female factors:
Tubal disease,
endometriosis, unexplained
infertility, ovarian disorders,
genetic disorders, uterine disease,
postponement of pregnancy after
marriage, advanced age (more than 35
years), etc.
2.
Male
factors:
Oligospermia is often
associated with the poor motility of
the sperm.
3.
Immunological factors:
Presence of antisperm
antibodies in the male or female
body can interfere the process of
conception.
Medical advancements
in the field of Artificial
Reproduction Technology (ART) are
taking place in recent years. IVF-ET
is on those ART. The full form of
IVF-ET is ‘In Vitro Fertilization
and Embryo Transfer’. In another
word, it is also called a Test Tube
Baby. This ART is a new option for
an increasing number of couples with
infertility. IVF-ET is a procedure
designed to enhance the likelihood
of conception in couples for whom
other fertility therapies have been
unsuccessful or are not possible. It
is a complex procedure which
includes four procedures. Each of
the procedure must be carried out
successfully. Pregnancy cannot occur
if just one step of this procedure
fails. These procedures are as
follows:
1.
Hormonal
stimulation to develop the egg
To proceed with IVF-ET,
well-developed eggs are needed from
the ovaries and this will be
accomplished by administering
fertility drugs (hormones) at the
beginning of a menstrual cycle. Egg
development will be monitored by
measuring the changes of hormones in
the blood and performing pelvic
sonograms and pelvic examinations.
2.
Retrieval of eggs
Under intravenous
sedation, transvaginal
ultrasound-guided oocyte (egg)
retrieval is performed. Suction
apparatus is used to take out the
egg from the ovary. But in some
cases, laparoscopic egg retrieval is
also performed under general
anesthesia condition.
3.
Fertilization of egg with sperm
After the egg is
taken out from the ovary, it is
fertilized with the sperm specimen
of the patient’s husband in the
laboratory inside an incubator. It
is allowed to proceed for about 48
to 72 hours. The fertilized egg is
then known as embryo.
4.
Transfer of the embryo into the
mother’s uterus
After a short period
of development of the embryo within
the incubator, it is transferred
into the uterus by a small transfer
catheter which is similar to a
pelvic examination. The transferred
early embryos might not develop
within the uterus. All the cases of
such transferred embryo might not
develop within the uterus.
5.
Implantation of the embryo into the
uterus and nurturing of the embryo
In normal pregnancy,
the early implantation is under the
control of the corpus luteum, which
secrets progesterone hormone for the
further growth of embryo. But in IVF-ET
pregnancy, the function of the
corpus luteum is supplemented by the
daily injection of administrated
progesteron.
In the natural way of pregnancy,
normal fertile couples achieve
pregnancy after an average exposure
of 3 months which is called to one
exposure. But if not within one
exposure
pregnancy
might achieve within several months,
sometimes even years. Contrarily,
the expectation of pregnancy in any
one attempt with the IVF-ET method,
it takes less than the average
exposure period that is necessary in
the normal natural pregnancy.
Approximately, it takes 6 weeks from
hormone stimulation to pregnancy
test with the process of IVF-ET. But
the process including the retrieval
of egg and transferring the embryo
in to the uterus is accomplished
within 2 weeks.
In the developing
country like Nepal, about 15% of the
women are infertile. The advent of
ART- IVF-ET is really beneficial for
such couples who are seeking to have
children. Earlier, Nepalese couples
who are seeking children had to go
abroad for such treatment which is
time consuming and expensive too.
But with a new step to 21st
century, in Nepal, Om Hospital and
Research Centre of Nepal has started
to provide IVF-ET service for the
first time in Nepal, from July 10,
2004. With this new achievement,
there is a hope for many Nepalese
couples who are suffering from
infertility problem. Now their
dreams of having children could be
fulfilled within the country
herself.
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