A New Weighting Scheme in Weighted Markov Model for Predicting the Probability of Drought Episodes

Drought is a complex stochastic natural hazard caused by prolonged shortage of rainfall. Several environmental factors are involved in determining drought classes at the specific monitoring station. Therefore, efficient sequence processing techniques are required to explore and predict the periodic information about the various episodes of drought classes. In this study, we proposed a new weighting scheme to predict the probability of various drought classes under Weighted Markov Chain (WMC) model. We provide a standardized scheme of weights for ordinal sequences of drought classifications by normalizing squared weighted Cohen Kappa. Illustrations of the proposed scheme are given by including temporal ordinal data on drought classes determined by the standardized precipitation temperature index (SPTI). Experimental results show that the proposed weighting scheme for WMC model is sufficiently flexible to address actual changes in drought classifications by restructuring the transient behavior of a Markov chain. In summary, this paper proposes a new weighting scheme to improve the accuracy of the WMC, specifically in the field of hydrology

HR Practices and Employee Retention in the Banking Sector of Pakistan

Purpose: Human Resource is one of the most valuable resources in any organization and its contribution is massive everywhere in the world.  Human Resources (HR) practices can be helpful to retain valued employees. This study examines the role and association between HR practices and employee retention. HR practices include training & development, compensation, job security, working environment, leadership and culture & policies. Major objective of this study is indentfiy the roele and effect of HR practices on employee retention in banking sector of Pakistan.   Design: The population of this study consists of 8 major banks of Pakistan including public, private, Islamic and foreign banks.  The mixed-method was employed to get the data through interviews and questionnaires. Simple random sampling and stratified random were used for interviews and questionnaires respectively. Findings: Findings of the study indicate that compensation; job security, training & development, working environment and leadership practices have a significant association with employee retention. These variables also play a very imperative role in employee retention except job security. The culture & policies have no significant association and role on employee retention. Value: The research findings may help the policymakers to prioritize the areas of instant concerns and invest resources as per the local requirement of staff for their retention in the banking sector of Pakistan

Minat Murid Terhadap Gaya, Kaedah Pengajaran dan Pembelajaran Guru dalam Pendidikan Sejarah

Kajian ini dijalankan adalah untuk melihat tahap minat murid dalam gaya pengajaran dan juga kaedah pengajaran dan pembelajaran guru dalam pendidikan sejarah. Kajian tinjauan ini dengan pendekatan kuantitatif ini melibatkan seramai 100 orang murid dalam Daerah Kuantan. Borang soal selidik dalam bentuk Google Form digunakan untuk mendapat data atau maklumat yang berkaitan dengan maklumat yang berkaitan dengan kajian. Maklumat data yang diperolehi dianalisis dengan menggunakan perisian SPPS Version 22.0 (Statistical For Social Science). Hasil dapatan kajian ini dianalisis menggunakan statistik deskriptif yang merangkumi taburan frekuensi , peratusan, min dan sisihan piawai serta analisis inferensi yang menggunakan ujian t-tidak bersandar untuk melihat perbezaan minat terhadap gaya pengajaran dan pembelajaran guru berdasarkan jantina. Dapatan kajian mendapati kaedah penggunaan buku teks mempunyai frekuensi dan peratusan yang tertinggi dan penggunaan bahan bantu mengajar seperti animasi, animasi bercetak, drama dan filem mendapat frekuensi dan peratusan yang terendah. Begitu juga dengan gaya pengajaran dan pembelajaran guru yang diminati oleh murid. Dapatan mendapati murid berminat apabila guru memberikan latihan yang sesuai dengan tahap dan kemahiran mereka dalam subjek sejarah. Dapatan untuk analisis inferensi iaitu ujian T-Tidak bersandar mendapati bahawa terdapat perbezaan yang signifikan dalam gaya pengajaran dan pembelajaran guru dalam pendidikan sejarah yang diminati murid berdasarkan jantina. Ini bermakna kaedah pengajaran dan pembelajaran guru masih lagi menggunakan buku teks sebagai kaedah pengajaran utama tetapi disertakan dengan penggunaan teknologi maklumat dan komunikasi sebagai alat bantu mengajar. Gaya pengajaran dan pembelajaran juga ialah guru menyediakan soalan yang sesuai dengan tahap dan pencapaian pelajar dalam pendidikan sejarah

Ksilanaze i njihova primjena u pekarskoj industriji

Xylan is the second most abundant polysaccharide and a major component of plant cell wall. Cereal xylans contain large quantities of L-arabinose and are therefore, often referred to as arabinoxylans. Xylanases are hydrolytic enzymes, which randomly cleave the β-1,4 backbone of this complex plant cell wall polysaccharide. Different species of Aspergillus and Trichoderma produce these enzymes. Xylanases are of great value in baking as they have been found to improve the bread volume, crumb structure and reduce stickiness. When xylanases are used at optimum levels, they play a significant role in increasing shelf life of bread and reduce bread staling. There is an increasing trend in baking industry towards the application of xylanases in bread production. This review discusses the application of xylanase in the bakery industry, alone and in combination with other enzymes when it shows synergism in the action with them.Ksilan je drugi najčešći polisaharid i glavni sastojak stanične stijenke biljaka. Ksilani žitarica sadržavaju veliku količinu L-arabinoze i stoga ih često nazivaju arabinoksilanima. Ksilanaze su hidrolitički enzimi koji nasumce cijepaju β-1,4 vezu tih složenih polisaharida. Proizvode ih različite vrste plijesni rodova Aspergillus i Trichoderma. Vrlo su važne u pekarstvu jer povećavaju obujam kruha, poboljšavaju strukturu mrvica te smanjuju ljepljivost. Dodatkom optimalne količine ksilanaza povećava se trajnost i smanjuje starenje kruha, pa se u pekarskoj industriji sve više koriste. U ovom se revijalnom radu raspravlja o njihovoj mogućoj primjeni te kombiniranoj primjeni ksilanaza i drugih enzima sa sinergijskim djelovanjem

Gaps Between Theory and Practice: Novice Teachers’ Perspectives

This study aimed to explore the novice teachers’ perception of gaps between theory andpractice. Novice teachers’ perceptions were further explored based on teachers’ gender. The surveymethod was used to collect the data. A questionnaire was developed by the researcher consisted of 39items with 5 points Likert rating scale to collect data from randomly selected 600 teachers includingmale and female. The data were analyzed by using the mean, standard deviation, and percentage ofeach five points of the Likert rating scale. The results revealed that most novice teachers were applyingtheir learned theory in their practice regarding lesson planning & delivery, classroom management,and students’ active involvement. They were not only willing to but also were applying learned theoriesin their practice. It also came into the knowledge that there were fewer gaps between novice teachers’theory and practice. It is recommended by the researchers suggested that these pre-service trainingcenters should develop a strong and viable link to make the theory more practical, operational and upto-dat

Heavy metals and nutritional composition of some selected herbal plants of Soon Valley, Khushab, Punjab, Pakistan

Herbal plants and their extracts deserve special attention because of the important influence they have on human health. For the majority of the world population, herbal plants represent the primary source of the health care. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) report, almost 80% of people in marginal communities use only herbal plants for the treatment of various diseases. Although, the effectiveness of the herbal plants is mainly associated with their constituents such as essential oils, vitamins, glycosides and many other products but prolonged intake can cause health problems due to the presence of heavy metals. The human body requires both the metallic and the non-metallic elements within certain permissible limits for growth and good health. Therefore, the determination of element compositions in food and related products is essential for understanding their nutritive importance. The accumulation of some heavy metals in large quantities in the body may have a toxic effect. The concentration levels ( mg/L) of selected heavy metals (Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn and Pb) and macronutrients (Na, Ca, Mg, K and P) in eight useful herbal plants of Soon Valley District Khushab were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometer and colorimeter. The herbal plants having different growing seasons and uses were collected from different locations. The results revealed that the herbal plants accumulate the elements at different concentrations. The maximum concentrations ( mg/L) of heavy metals in the analyzed samples were 47.25 ± 0.01, 26.6 ± 0.01, 207.6 ± 0.08, 78.90 ± 0.04 and 0.39 ± 0.01 for Zn, Cu, Fe, Mn and Pb, respectively. The maximum concentrations ( mg/L) of macro elements were 728 ± 0.60, 28300 ± 113, 68500 ± 25, 24250 ± 55 and 3700 ± 299 for Na, K, Mg, Ca and P, respectively. The levels of heavy metals determined in the analyzed samples were found below the maximum allowable limit. Hence they were safe for consumption. Fe was accumulated most among the plants analyzed for heavy metals. The analyzed samples were good source of important macro elements.Keywords: Heavy metals, nutritional composition, medicinal herbs, Soon Valley

WEARABLE TECHNOLOGIES: THE IMPLICATIONS OF UNIFIED THEORY OF ACCEPTANCE AND USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN CROWD SOURCING LOGISTICS

Information communication technologies have added a tremendous amount of impetus to the concept of crowdsourcing and as a result organizations all over the world are able to find the solution to the most current and significant problems through the general public. In this study, the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) has been used to find user intention to use crowdsourcing applications and their acceptance of wearable devices for collaborative innovation and logistics performance. Data has been collected from China through survey method. Results have empirically supported the conceptual model. The implication of this study will enhance the crowdsourcing in logistics

WEARABLE TECHNOLOGIES: THE IMPLICATIONS OF UNIFIED THEORY OF ACCEPTANCE AND USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN CROWD SOURCING LOGISTICS

Information communication technologies have added a tremendous amount of impetus to the concept of crowdsourcing and as a result organizations all over the world are able to find the solution to the most current and significant problems through the general public. In this study, the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) has been used to find user intention to use crowdsourcing applications and their acceptance of wearable devices for collaborative innovation and logistics performance. Data has been collected from China through survey method. Results have empirically supported the conceptual model. The implication of this study will enhance the crowdsourcing in logistics

Corrosion mechanisms of 304L NAG in boiling 9M HNO3 containing Cr (VI) ions

In this research, the mechanisms of end-grain corrosion of 304L NAG tubes in boiling 9M HNO3-containing Cr (VI) ions are reported to sustainably manage the corrosion of nuclear fuel reprocessing plant components. Specific heat treatments were applied to as-received specimens to produce phosphorus and/or sulphur intergranular segregation. End-grain corrosion on heat-treated specimens and the effect of a Cr (VI) concentration on a 304L NAG tube (as-received) were investigated. It has been reported that an increase in Cr (VI) ions leads to the acceleration of end-grain corrosion due to high electrochemical potential. After systematic heat treatments on the 304L NAG specimens, it is concluded that the primary causes of heat-induced end-grain corrosion are phosphorus or sulphur segregation to the grain boundaries. The key findings of this research are highly significant in terms of understanding the corrosion mechanisms and controlling the end-grain corrosion of NAG steel in boiling HNO3 environments. This research will help to sustainably reduce power plant maintenance costs and will have a significant impact on the delivery of long-term, clean, secure, and tenable energy

Factor affecting Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of rice chitinase gene in Solanum tuberosum L.

Potato is a very important food crop and is adversely affected by fungus. Agrobacterium-mediated transformation can play an important role in the improvement of potato. The present study was conducted to optimize the different factors affecting Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of chitinase gene. Nodes were used as explant of potato cultivars Desiree and Sh-5. Agrobacterium tumefacien strain LBA4404 harboring a pB1333-EN4-RCG3 plasmid having chitinase gene and selectable marker hygromycin gene under the control of the CaMV 35S promoter was used. The parameters optimized for the potato transformation includes co-cultivation time, cefotaxime concentration, and days to pre-selection. The results show that the infection time (2 min) gave best mean value of transformation efficiency, that is, 2.9 and 2.1 in Desiree and Sh-5, respectively. The over growth of Agrobacterium were controlled with a concentration of 200 mg/l of cefotaxime and obtained maximum mean value of transformation efficiency of 3.38 and 3.10 in Desiree and Sh-5, respectively. The pre-selection period seven days prior to selection were considered effective for regeneration of explants and high transformation efficiency. The high mean value of regeneration (3.08 and 2.82) and transformation efficiency (3.00 and 2.60) was observed in Desiree and Sh-5, respectively. The putative transgenic plants were analyzed through PCR by using RCG-3 specific primers.Key words: Agrobacterium, potato, transformation, rice chitinase gene, factors