Honey, milk and antibiotics

The indiscriminate use of antibiotics has made many microorganisms develop resistance to them. This has created immense clinical problems in the treatment of infectious diseases. Therefore, there is a need to develop alternative antimicrobial agents for the treatment of infectious diseases. Non-antibiotic approaches to the treatment and prevention of infection includes the application of honey and milk. Milk naturally contains an array of bioactivities due to lysozyme, lactoferrin, immunoglobulins, growth factors, and hormones, which are secreted in their active form by the mammary gland. The combination of milk and honey may prove to be important source of nutrition and for protection against microbial infection. In this review article we discuss the importance of honey, milk and their combination in providing protection from infection

SOIL PROPERTIES OF THE ALLUVIAL PLAIN AND ITS POTENTIAL USE FOR AGRICULTURE IN DONGGALA REGION, CENTRAL SULAWESI

Agricultural lands of Donggala region are extensively distributed in alluvial plain. However, information on soil properties and fertility constraints has not been known in detail. An investigation of soil resources was conducted in September 2003 and December 2004 to characterize surface soil properties of alluvial plain and to evaluate soil fertility constraints. For this study, 55 representative soil profiles consisting of 187 soil samples were selected for physical, chemical, and mineralogical analyses. The soil profiles were classified as soil groups of Ustifluvents, Haplustepts, Eutrudepts, and Endoaquepts. All the soil physical and chemical data were calculated as weighted average based on top 30 cm soil layer analyses. The results showed that soil texture ranged from sandy loam to loam. In ustic moisture regime, the average pH was neutral (7.0-7.2), but in udic moisture regime it was slightly acid (5.5-6.2). In all soil groups, the organic carbon content was very low to low (0.58-1.44%), P retention was very low (3-18%), and soil cation exchange capacity (CEC) was very low to low (9-14 cmol(+) kg-1). In contrast, all the soil groups showed very high content of potential phosphate (81- 118 mg P2O5 100 g-1) and potassium (338-475 mg K2O 100 g-1), but the available phosphate and potassium were 16-47 mg kg-1 P and 0.18-0.35 cmol(+) kg-1, respectively, which were considered to be low to medium range. The very high P2O5 and K2O were probably derived from weathered mica-schist and granite rocks, but low exchangeable K was probably due to K fixation. The sand mineral fraction was composed of relatively high (> 20%) weatherable minerals of acid parent materials, such as orthoclase and sanidine, while the clay mineral was composed of smectite and illite. The low soil-CEC, low organic matter, and exchangeable K contents were the main soil fertility constraints. Therefore, soil management should be directed to organic matter application to increase soil carbon content, CEC, and nutrient availability. Fertilizer recommendation for wetland rice and several upland crops is suggested based on the soil properties

Wild olive in Oman and its Conservation A Review

The wild olive, Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata (Wall. & G.Don) Cif is one of the three dominant species of the common tree exits in the ecosystem of the mountains of northern and southern Oman. There are insufficient studies about the use, ecology and preservation of this species in Oman. The mountain ecosystem habitation is highly sensitive to disturbances and not easy to rehabilitate. These disturbances are caused by range of anthropogenic effects, such as urbanisation, climate change, overgrazing, introducing non-native species, as well as naturally occurring insects pests and diseases. Introduction of cultivated olive orchards (Olea europaea L. subsp. europaea) in Oman was introduced in 2001 for oil production and its consumption in western Hajar Mountains has added a genetic threat where wild olives are grown. This paper highlights the importance of this subspecies in Oman and the threats that Oman is currently facing. The question is rising here “do we need to be concerned about wild olive in Oman?” This paper gives a clear picture of the wild olive in Oman including its description, distribution, ecology and current conservation status

Land seismic repeatability prediction from near-surface investigations at Naylor Field, Otway

Time-lapse seismic is a powerful methodology for remotely monitoring changes in oil and gas reservoirs. Its high sensitivity and resolving power make it the methodology of choice for monitoring CO2 sequestration in deep saline aquifers or depleted oil and gas fields. This method is now routinely applied offshore but rarely onshore because of inherently poor repeatability of land seismic data. Considering that CO2 sequestration on land is becoming a necessity, there is a great need to evaluate the feasibility of this method for land based CO2 sequestration projects. A feasibility study, onshore Otway Basin, Australia, aims at evaluating the viability of monitoring methodologies for the case of CO2 storage into a depleted gas field. Since injection of CO2 into a depleted gas field at a depth of around 2 km causes very subtle changes in elastic properties of the reservoir rock, it is critical to achieve high repeatability of time-lapse seismic surveys if they are to be implemented into a monitoring program.The goal of this thesis is to analyse the main factors affecting seismic repeatability at the Otway site. I aim to achieve this goal through the deployment of pre-base line measurements and combining the results with detailed numerical modelling studies. Such measurements have to be rapid, effective and quantitative so that a seismic monitoring team can decide whether to use time-lapse methodology when processing their data.To find the most likely repeatability at the Otway site I used so-called micro-arrays (surface and borehole) in a time-lapse manner to determine the seasonal variation of elastic properties of the near surface. The measurements were aimed at determining directional P-wave velocity and attenuation (Q-factor). The top soil (0.5m thick agricultural layer or elasto-plastic zone) had a low velocity and low Qfactor and hence significantly attenuated seismic energy.The elastic parameters obtained were then used to numerically simulate real timelapse surveys. The results obtained were compared and verified against conventional time-lapse studies conducted at the Otway site over a three year period, at different times of the year and with different sources. The agreement between numerical and field data, expressed through a normalised root mean square (NRMS) difference confirms that the effect of the near surface variation in the time-lapse land seismic can be predicted with minimum cost and through the deployment of small, inexpensive experiments

Soil Properties of the Alluvial Plain and Its Potential Use for Agriculture in Donggala Region, Central Sulawesi

Agricultural lands of Donggala region are extensively distributed in alluvial plain. However, information on soil properties and fertility constraints has not been known in detail. An investigation of soil resources was conducted in September 2003 and December 2004 to characterize surface soil properties of alluvial plain and to evaluate soil fertility constraints. For this study, 55 representative soil profiles consisting of 187 soil samples were selected for physical, chemical, and mineralogical analyses. The soil profiles were classified as soil groups of Ustifluvents, Haplustepts, Eutrudepts, and Endoaquepts. All the soil physical and chemical data were calculated as weighted average based on top 30 cm soil layer analyses. The results showed that soil texture ranged from sandy loam to loam. In ustic moisture regime, the average pH was neutral (7.0-7.2), but in udic moisture regime it was slightly acid (5.5-6.2). In all soil groups, the organic carbon content was very low to low (0.58-1.44%), P retention was very low (3-18%), and soil cation exchange capacity (CEC) was very low to low (9-14 cmol(+) kg-1). In contrast, all the soil groups showed very high content of potential phosphate (81- 118 mg P2O5 100 g-1) and potassium (338-475 mg K2O 100 g-1), but the available phosphate and potassium were 16-47 mg kg-1 P and 0.18-0.35 cmol(+) kg-1, respectively, which were considered to be low to medium range. The very high P2O5 and K2O were probably derived from weathered mica-schist and granite rocks, but low exchangeable K was probably due to K fixation. The sand mineral fraction was composed of relatively high (> 20%) weatherable minerals of acid parent materials, such as orthoclase and sanidine, while the clay mineral was composed of smectite and illite. The low soil-CEC, low organic matter, and exchangeable K contents were the main soil fertility constraints. Therefore, soil management should be directed to organic matter application to increase soil carbon content, CEC, and nutrient availability. Fertilizer recommendation for wetland rice and several upland crops is suggested based on the soil properties

The Utilizing of Zeolite Minerals as Agriculture Soil Conditioner in Relation to Its Standarization and Increasing Food Crop

The used of zeolite mineral as soil ameliorant on agricultural had been known since long time ago. Cation exchange capacity (CEC) of zeolite is ≥ 100 cmol(+) kg-1 which regulated on SNI No 13-3494 1994 is a determining quality of zeolite test. However, it is very reasonable to be revised. There are several reason why determining CEC of zeolite on SNI No 13- 3494-1994 must to be revised, because there is an error as possible as on determining CEC of soil. The research aimed to study the measurement of CEC zeolite for agricultural which conducted on five laboratories were (1) Bogor Agricultural University by using stirring (shaking)-sentrifusi decantation methods, (2) Service Soil Laboratory at Indonesian Soil Research Institute by using percolation method that measured by calorimetric auto analyzer, (3) Soil Laboratory at Indonesian Soil Research Institute by using percolation method that measured by spectrometry, (4) PT. Sucofindo, and (5) Research and Development Centre for Mineral and Coal Technology by using percolation method. The result from quality test of CEC zeolite A and zeolite B from five laboratories was significant different, because the difference procedures of the method such as zeolite quality (grade and types), zeolite fineness, and ratio of zeolite to ammonium acetate solution. The criteria of CEC zeolite for agricultural on SNI recommended to be revised on five types are (1) ≥ 100 cmol(+) kg-1(class A); 100 - 80 cmol(+) kg-1 (class B); 80 – 60 cmol(+) kg-1 (class C), 60 – 40 cmol(+) kg-1 (class D), < 40 cmol(+) kg-1 (class E). The result from test of zeolite effectiveness on green house condition showed that distributing of zeolite soil ameliorant could improving grain yield pithy about 19,41% with the average weight of grain pithy with zeolite are 73,30 gram/pot, while without zeolite are 61,22 gram/pot. Giving the combination of ZKK with manure increasing higher the dry weight loose maize is 8,44 tons/ha than without giving the ZKK is 5,65 tons/ha

Trust in supply chain relationships and its impact on organisation and supply chain performance

This thesis identifies the role of trust in the supply chain relationship on supply chain performance and organisation performance. An extensive review of literature identified a lack of empirical research to fill a gap in supply chain and operations management knowledge and this gap is mainly related to identification of the role that trust has on performance. This thesis considers this gap with other relevant issues identified through the literature. It presents a research framework formulated to tackle the research problem and reports an attempt to fill the existing gap through empirical research. The thesis contains analyses of three case studies related to three different territories, namely; Oman, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and State of Qatar. The case studies encompass large and medium size organisations from three different industrial settings. In Oman, the case study is related to oilfield services and the oil production industry while in UAE the case study is related to real estate and the property development industry, and the case study in Qatar is related to the chemical industry. In addition to identifying the influence of trust in supply chain relationships on organisation performance and supply chain performance, the research considers the influence of the duration of the supply chain relationship on trust development in the relationship. Additionally, it explores the impact of trust on the avoidance of the bullwhip effect in the supply chain and shows through empirical evidence the role of trust in minimising supply chain risk. Consideration is given to the impact of different territory and different industrial settings on the trust/performance relationship. Triangulation of research approaches and methods is utilised in this research to enrich the research findings by exploiting the advantages of each approach and method advantages while reducing the disadvantages through complementarities between them. The results of this thesis indicate that the supply chain parties should adopt trust in their relationship whenever considering supply chain performance improvement, organisation performance improvement, and overcoming risk

The Perceptions of Adopters and Non-Adopters of Cloud Computing: Application of Technology-Organization-Environment Framework

The purpose of this research is to explore the differences between cloud computing adopters and non-adopters. This study used technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework to investigate the perceptions of IT staff towards cloud computing adoption. The specific factors in the TOE framework are relative advantage, complexity, compatibility, top management support, organizational readiness, competitive pressure, and business partner pressure. An online-based survey was employed to collect data from IT managers, IT consultants, and IT professionals working at Saudi organizations. The findings revealed that adopters have higher perceptions to cloud computing than the non-adopters, except for complexity. The findings offer organizations and cloud computing service providers with better understanding of factors to be considered when making decisions about the adoption of cloud computing. The findings would also help organizations to consider their information technologies investments when implementing cloud computing

Shrinking generators and statistical leakage

AbstractShrinking is a newly proposed technique for combining a pair of pseudo random binary sequences, (a,s), to form a new sequence, z, with better randomness, where randomness here stands for difficulty of prediction. The ones in the second sequence s are used to point out the bits in the sequence a to be included in z. The generator that performs this process is known as the shrinking generator (SG). In this paper, it is shown for the existing combining method that deviation from randomness in the statistics of a leads to the leakage of this statistics into z. We also show that it is sufficient for constructing a statistically balanced SG to at least have one statistically balanced generator. A new shrinking rule that yields statistically balanced output, even if a and s are not balanced, is then proposed. Self-shrinking in which a single pseudo random bit generator (PRBG) shrinks itself is also investigated and a modification of the existing shrinking rule is proposed. Simulation results show the robustness of the proposed methods. For self-shrinking, in particular, results show that the proposed shrinking rule yields sequences with balanced statistics even for extremely biased generators. This suggests possible application of the new rule to strengthen running key generators