Suppression of bottomonia states in finite size quark gluon plasma in PbPb collisions at Large Hadron Collider

The bottomonium states due to their varying binding energies dissolve at different temperatures and thus their nuclear modification factors and relative yields have potential to map the properties of Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP). We estimate the suppression of bottomonia states due to color screening in an expanding QGP of finite lifetime and size with the conditions relevant for PbPb collisions at LHC. The properties of $\Upsilon$ states and recent results on their dissociation temperatures have been used as ingredient in the study. The nuclear modification factors and the ratios of yields of $\Upsilon$ states are then obtained as a function of transverse momentum and centrality. We compare our theoretical calculations with the bottomonia yields measured with CMS in PbPb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 2.76 TeV. The model calculations explain the data very well.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, To appear in Int. j. of Mod. Phy

Analisis Potensi Sungai Atep Oki Serta Desain Dasar Bangunan Sipil Untuk Pembangkit Listrik Tenaga Air

Desa Atep Oki merupakan desa pesisir pantai di Kecamatan Lembean Timur Sulawesi Utara yang masih kekurangan energi listrik. Sungai Atep Oki di desa tersebut dapat dimanfaatkan sebagai pembangkit listrik tenaga air untuk memenuhi kekurangan energi yang ada. Analisis potensi sumber daya air sebagai pembangkit listrik dilakukan untuk mendapatkan debit andalan sungai, dengan menggunakan metode F. J. Mock dan Nreca. Data yang digunakan adalah data curah hujan, data klimatologi tahun 2002-2011, dan peta DAS Atep Oki. Analisis debit untuk perencanaan PLTA di ambil sebesar 80% berdasarkan perhitungan probabilitas dan disajikan dalam bentuk grafik. Perhitungan dilanjutkan dengan menghitung daya terbangkit sampai merencanakan dimensi bangunan-bangunan PLTA, termasuk intake dan pipa pesat. Dari hasil penelitian didapat daya terbangkit sebesar 21,07 kW dan hanya mampu memenuhi kebutuhan penduduk Desa Atep Oki sebanyak 46 KK. Berdasarkan hasil perhitungan daya tersebut maka dapat dibangun Pembangkit Listrik Tenaga Mikro Hidro

Isolation and characterisation of microorganisms contaminating herbal infusion sold in Minna, Nigeria

The microbiological assessment of ten herbal infusion samples from ten different locations in Minna, Niger State was investigated. The assessment of the microbial contamination on the herbal products was carried out, using standard methods. Pour plate method was used to cultivate serially diluted portions of the medicinal plant infusion samples. The results revealed that all the herbal preparations had the presence of microbial contaminants. The total heterotrophic counts of the different herbal samples ranged from 0 cfu/mL to 25.0 × 108cfu/mL while the total fungal counts ranged from 3.0×106cfu/mL to 3.5×108cfu/mL. The total viable bacteria counts showed that the highest counts of 25.0 × 108cfu/mL was recorded in the sample from Bosso and the least counts of 0 cfu/mL from Kasuwan-Gwari while the total fungal counts showed that the highest count of 3.5×108cfu/mL was found in the sample obtained from FUT campus and the least counts of 3.0×106cfu/mL in the sample from Mai-Kunkele. One way analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that there was significant difference (p<0.05) in the microbial load of the herbal infusions from each location. The microbial isolates identified were E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Shigella sp, Klebsiella sp, Pseudomonas sp, Micrococcus sp, Salmonella sp, Aspergillus sp, Penicillium sp and Saccharomyces cerevisaie. Members of the genus Aspergillus were found to be predominant. This suggests that the herbal infusion harbors microorganisms that could be hazardous to human health and hence producers should maintain the highest possible level of hygiene during the processing and packaging of the products in order to ensure safety of the products

Cassava: adding value for Africa - Strategic market initiatives that support wealth creation for women along the Cassava Value Chains in Southwest, Nigeria.

Empowering and creating wealth for cassava producing and processing smallholder farmers (of which women constitute the majority) through value addition and competitive market led opportunities for inclusive growth in agriculture is very important to counter poverty and ensure food security. This study attempts to examine the extent to which Cassava: Adding Value for Africa (C:AVA) project in Nigeria has created market led opportunities for smallholder farmers of cassava roots in Southwest Nigeria from 2008 to 2010. Data were collected through interview schedule administered on 237 randomly selected farmers who are participants in C:AVA project registered with the Agricultural Development Project (ADP) in Ogun, Ondo States and Justice, Development and Peace Movement (JDPM). Catholic Diocese of Abeokuta from Ogun State and Ondo State respectively. Data were analyzed descriptively by using measures such as frequency distribution, table, percentages and Chi-Square. The study revealed that 60% of the respondents were men and 40% were women. Men were more educated that women with 28.6% of women farmers having no formal education when compared with 10.3% of men. The difference in income between the third and fourth quartile was very high compared with other quartiles and the mean income earned by male farmers was more than twice the mean income earned by female farmers. With regards to level of production there was an increase in the yield of cassava roots on the farms surveyed from the average national range of 10-12 tonnes/ha in 2008 to an average range of 20-25 tonnes/ha in 2010. These improved varieties resulted in an average yield advantage of about 65% over local varieties. Owing to the observable increase in yield, farmers in the study area increased the hectares under cassava from an average of 0.5 - 1.5 ha in 2008 to an average of 10.0-20.0 ha in 2010. The average annual income of women farmers increased from $1000 in 2008 to an additional average income of$1700 in 2010. Chi-square analysis revealed significant associations (p<0.05) between yield of improved varieties (X2=29.187), gender (X2=50.632), value addition (X2=32.547), improved technologies (X2=29.507); Types of market (X2=14.743), group membership (X2=10.973), capacity building (X2=68.490) with income. The study concluded that C:AVA has provided systematic development of specialization in which women cassava roots producers/ processors produce specifically for multiple markets to ensure wealth and household food security for women and their households

Study the concentrations of Ni, Zn, Cd and Pb in the Tigris River in the city of Baghdad

Four heavy metals were selected to estimate their concentrations on the Tigris River in the Baghdad area, the water samples collected from three stations on the river represented the northern, central and southern Baghdad, using apolyethylene bottles of 2-liter for the period from March 2010 until February 2011 and then on a monthly basis. It observed from the results, that all of the concentrations of heavy metals under the study, were within the permissible limits for the three stations depending on the values of Iraqi Rivers Maintenance Regulation No. 25 of 1967.In many of the recoding data it was within intangible readings because of the low concentration of the heavy metals in the sample

The biological indicators studies of zooplankton in the Tigris River at the city of Baghdad

The study of biological indicators for zooplanktonis important factors in environmental studies to show the extent of the surrounding organisms, distribution and deployment environment affected. Zooplankton samples were collected from three stations on the Tigris River in the city of Baghdad using zooplankton net, specimens preserved and laboratory-diagnosed using Internationally recognized classifications. Results show through the presence of relatively high abundance of zooplankton in the three stations and not affected by the city in addition to the species abundance is the other index gave few differences between stations, a lack of environmental pressures on these organisms in the station directory. Also, Shannon-Weiner diversity Indexpointer gave no significant differences between the study stations

Nutritional and socio-economic determinants of cognitive function and educational achievement of Aboriginal schoolchildren in rural Malaysia

A community-based cross-sectional study was carried out among Aboriginal schoolchildren aged 7–12 years living in remote areas in Pos Betau, Pahang, Malaysia to investigate the potential determinants influencing the cognitive function and educational achievement of these children. Cognitive function was measured by intelligence quotient (IQ), while examination scores of selected school subjects were used in assessing educational achievement. Blood samples were collected to assess serum Fe status. All children were screened for soil-transmitted helminthes. Demographic and socio-economic data were collected using pre-tested questionnaires. Almost two-thirds (67·6 %) of the subjects had poor IQ and most of them (72·6 %) had insufficient educational achievement. Output of the stepwise multiple regression model showed that poor IQ was significantly associated with low household income which contributed the most to the regression variance (r2 0·059; P = 0·020). Low maternal education was also identified as a significant predictor of low IQ scores (r2 0·042; P = 0·043). With educational achievement, Fe-deficiency anaemia (IDA) was the only variable to show significant association (r2 0·025; P = 0·015). In conclusion, the cognitive function and educational achievement of Aboriginal schoolchildren are poor and influenced by household income, maternal education and IDA. Thus, effective and integrated measures to improve the nutritional and socio-economic status of rural children would have a pronounced positive effect on their education

Ethnographic study of the use of interventions during the second stage of labor in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND: Routine use of medical interventions during labor has been identified as a clinical area for concern, since such routinized practice is not consistent with an evidence-based approach to care and continues to increase despite efforts to encourage normal childbirth. Therefore, the aim of our study was to explore maternity health professionals' use of interventions during the second stage of labor in two hospitals in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to understand what influences their decision-making and practices. METHODS: This was an exploratory study using an ethnographic approach. Data collection methods included participant observations of 19 labors and births (n = 8 at City Hospital and n = 11 at King's Hospital) and semi-structured interviews with 29 health care professionals. In addition, the hospital labor and delivery ward policies and guidelines from those hospitals were collected. Data were analyzed thematically. RESULTS: Medical interventions were used during the second stage of labor routinely, regardless of clinical indication. Three core influences that shaped the clinical decision-making were identified as follows: (a) organizational culture, (b) a medical concept of birth, and (c) a hierarchical system of control. We suggest that the clinical decision-making and routine practice in this setting arises out of the interface between these three core influences whereby hierarchical control and clinicians' exercise of power and feelings of powerlessness are fundamental drivers for an organizational culture of medicalized childbirth, despite the differing models of childbirth which professionals described. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical decisions relating to the use of interventions during childbirth are both complex and socially negotiated. The findings reflect the complexity of the use of interventions during the second stage of labor and the multiple influences on professionals' practices. We have shown how three key influences interact to shape clinical decision-making during the second stage of labor in this cultural setting and how the use of medical interventions can be analyzed as an illustration of the power dynamic in the maternity health care system. We suggest that written policies are insufficient to bring about evidence-based practice and approaches to change need to take into account these different levels of influence

Combined search for the quarks of a sequential fourth generation

Results are presented from a search for a fourth generation of quarks produced singly or in pairs in a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5 inverse femtobarns recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC in 2011. A novel strategy has been developed for a combined search for quarks of the up and down type in decay channels with at least one isolated muon or electron. Limits on the mass of the fourth-generation quarks and the relevant Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix elements are derived in the context of a simple extension of the standard model with a sequential fourth generation of fermions. The existence of mass-degenerate fourth-generation quarks with masses below 685 GeV is excluded at 95% confidence level for minimal off-diagonal mixing between the third- and the fourth-generation quarks. With a mass difference of 25 GeV between the quark masses, the obtained limit on the masses of the fourth-generation quarks shifts by about +/- 20 GeV. These results significantly reduce the allowed parameter space for a fourth generation of fermions.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Measurements of branching fraction ratios and CP-asymmetries in suppressed B^- -> D(-> K^+ pi^-)K^- and B^- -> D(-> K^+ pi^-)pi^- decays

We report the first reconstruction in hadron collisions of the suppressed decays B^- -> D(-> K^+ pi^-)K^- and B^- -> D(-> K^+ pi^-)pi^-, sensitive to the CKM phase gamma, using data from 7 fb^-1 of integrated luminosity collected by the CDF II detector at the Tevatron collider. We reconstruct a signal for the B^- -> D(-> K^+ pi^-)K^- suppressed mode with a significance of 3.2 standard deviations, and measure the ratios of the suppressed to favored branching fractions R(K) = [22.0 \pm 8.6(stat)\pm 2.6(syst)]\times 10^-3, R^+(K) = [42.6\pm 13.7(stat)\pm 2.8(syst)]\times 10^-3, R^-(K)= [3.8\pm 10.3(stat)\pm 2.7(syst]\times 10^-3, as well as the direct CP-violating asymmetry A(K) = -0.82\pm 0.44(stat)\pm 0.09(syst) of this mode. Corresponding quantities for B^- -> D(-> K^+ pi^-)pi^- decay are also reported.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure, accepted by Phys.Rev.D Rapid Communications for Publicatio