Established in 1959, TU is the oldest university in Nepal. In terms of enrollment, it is the 12th largest university in the world. The college offers 1000 undergraduate and 500 postgraduate programs across a wide range of disciplines.[citation needed] Additionally, the institution has 30 constituent campuses and over 600 affiliated colleges across the country. Because it is government-funded, the tuition fees are less expensive than that of private (affiliated) college campuses.
Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a staple food for more than half of the global population but faces escalating yield losses from abiotic stresses, notably submergence, drought, salinity, heavy metals, cold, and heat. These stresses act at different developmental stages, altering growth, physiology, and grain quality through common bottlenecks in photosynthesis, water and ion balance, and reproductive development. This review provides a consolidated stress-wise synthesis of morpho-physiological injury and adaptive traits, associated biochemical responses (ROS dynamics, antioxidant enzymes, osmolyte accumulation, carbohydrate metabolism), and molecular regulation (ABA/ethylene/GA/BR crosstalk, Ca2+ signaling, and transcriptional networks including DREB, NAC, MYB, and WRKY). The key genetic hubs such as SUB1A (submergence), qDTY1.1 (drought), Saltol (salinity), COLD1 (cold), HSF-HSP (heat), and HMA3/ZIP1/NIP2 (heavy metals) are highlighted as central to stress tolerance. This review emphasizes integrated management approaches, nutrient and water regimes, post-stress recovery inputs, seed priming, soil amendments, microbial interventions, and nano-enabled solutions that align with physiological and molecular responses to enhance stress resilience. This article provides a comprehensive framework to guide breeding, agronomic management, and future research toward multi-stress tolerance and yield stability in rice under climate change by linking stage specific injury with mechanistic pathways and actionable strategies.
What drives user perceptions and acceptance of earthquake early warning systems (EEWS) as an emerging technology? Do distinct types of transparency into EEWS affect users' perceptions of the system's usefulness and desirability differently? To address these questions, we focus on Nepal, an earthquake-prone country with no active public EEWS infrastructure, to test if and how 1) information on how the system works and 2) information about the system's limitations can drive outcomes related to technology acceptance, namely the desire for system implementation, perceptions of its usefulness, and interest in learning more about the system. We administered an online survey (n = 567) with a preregistered embedded survey experiment to test this model and collect novel data on extant knowledge of and preferences for EEWS. We supported this analysis with semistructured interviews (n = 35). The results are mixed. Opinions on implementation were not affected by type of information. However, limitations alone and combined with technical information decreased opinions of the system's usefulness, and information about limitations alone increased interest in learning more. The interviews further suggest that these lower perceptions of usefulness may affect how some residents position EEWS in a larger framework of earthquake disaster risk management. This study extends research on technology acceptance, advances what is known about what kinds of information drive perceptions of EEWS, and contributes to knowledge about how residents of Nepal relate to EEWS.
This study investigates alpine 'vegetation line' (the upper limit of continuous plant community) dynamics in the Himalayan alpine zone (HAZ) over a 24-year timescale (1999-2022) using maximum NDVI products derived from Landsat series datasets, adjusted for sampling bias using phenological modelling. Vegetation line elevations across six regions spanning from Ladakh in the west to Bhutan in the east were analysed for temporal dynamics, spatial patterns of elevation and greening/browning trends (i.e. temporal increase or decrease in NDVI). Results revealed consistent upward shifts in vegetation lines across all regions, with rates ranging from 1.42 m year-1 in Khumbu (Nepal) to 6.95 m year-1 in Manthang (central High Mountain Asia). Initial levels of vegetation greenness generally increased from west to east. Across all study regions, greening trends were more prevalent than browning trends, while significant browning trends were observed in more easterly regions, specifically in Khumbu and Bhutan. Integration with the ERA5 dataset suggests snow depth as a key driver associated with the upward migration of vegetation lines, while variations in precipitation appear linked to the extent and intensity of browning. This study is the first to demonstrate vegetation line shifting patterns across the Himalayas at a 30 m spatial resolution, providing robust evidence of upward vegetation line movement under climate change and exploring underlying climatic trends.
A new BNKT-based lead-free relaxor ceramics (1 − x)Bi0.5(Na0.74K0.26)0.5TiO3–xBi(Mg0.5Zr0.5)O3 (BNKT − xBMZ, 0.00 ≤ x ≤ 0.10) has been developed with promising energy storage performance. The dielectric analysis reveals that the material has relaxor behavior and undergoes a diffuse phase transition at higher temperatures. A notable recoverable energy storage density (Wrec) of 0.907 J/cm3 and normalized energy storage density (Wstor/Emax.) of 17.64 mJ/(KVcm2) with an efficiency of 60
The current study evaluates the efficiency of a biosorbent produced from Areca catechu waste (ACW) for removing chromium(VI) from both synthetic and industrial water in a packed column system. ACW was initially activated with phosphoric acid (H3PO4) and thereafter carbonized to make phosphoric acid activated Areca catechu waste (PACW), where active sites were generated for the biosorption of chromium(VI) ions from the aqueous phase. Biosorption performance of PACW was measured under various operational conditions, where an equilibrium column capacity of 12.03 +/- 0.08 mg/g was achieved at a continuous fluid flow rate of 2.33 mL/min. Furthermore, the experimental data were analyzed utilizing the linear and nonlinear forms of the Thomas, the Adams-Bohart, and the Yoon-Nelson models to evaluate the various column parameters. The column capacities from linear and nonlinear Thomas models were determined to be 11.74 +/- 0.16 and 12.31 +/- 0.16 mg/g, respectively. A study on industrial wastewater obtained from the carpet dyeing industry located in Jorpati, Kathmandu, Nepal, which contained 2.30 mg/L of chromium(VI), indicated that PACW could successfully reduce the chromium(VI) to 0.10 mg/L, meeting the water regulatory standard as specified by the World Health Organization. Therefore, the PACW investigated in this study demonstrates significant potential for the removal of trace amounts of chromium from contaminated water in a packed column setting.
