The Effect of Np Fertlizer Rates on the Yield and Yield Components of Ginger (Zingiber Offcinale Rosc.) in Kindo-Koysha Woreda; Wolaita, South Ethiopia

A field experiment was conducted at  Kindo-Koyisha, Wolaita Zone, South Ethiopia during the 2012/2013 cropping season to evaluate the influences of different rates of NP on yield, yield components. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. The treatments consisted of five levels of N (0, 23, 46, 62 and 92kg/ha) and four levels of P (0, 10, 20 and 30 kg/ha). Duncan’s multiple range tests were employed to compare means at 5% probability levels. The analysis revealed that increase in N level had very highly significant (p<0.001) effect on average leaves number per plot,  plant height, leaf length, leaf width, leaf area, tiller number per hill, and number of plants per plot  in  Kindo-Koyisha woreda. The level of P for Kindo-KoyishaWoreda had very highly significant (p<0.001) effect on average  plant height, leaf length , and leaf area, tillers number per hill and number of plants per plot; and it showed highly significant (p<0.01) effect on average leaf significant effect (p<0.05) on leaf width.NP interaction highly significantly (p<0.01) affected the average leaf area, and number of plots per plot whereas, very highly (p<0.001) affected average number of leaves per plant, plant height, and leaf length.  The highest record of data obtained at 92kg/ha of nitrogen and 30kg/ha of phosphorous levels in experimental sites. The future studies should articulate towards and studies involving more cultivars, multi-location and additional rates of N and P application, under diverse management practices such as farmers, irrigated or rained conditions, which may facilitate fine-tuning of fertilizer recommendations. Keywords:  Ginger, yields, growth, interaction, fertilize

Assessment of the current status of and characterization mango anthracnose (Colletotrichum gloeosporioides) isolates in Wolaita zone, south Ethiopia

Mango anthracnose (Colletotrichum gloeosporioides) poses a significant threat to small-scale mango producers in the Wolaita zone of southern Ethiopia. This study investigated the disease's incidence and severity, along with characterizing the pathogen and its impact on mango production in the area. Disease incidence was determined by examining eight randomly selected mango plants per farm field, while severity was assessed by measuring the percentage of leaf/fruit area infected on eight randomly selected plants. Laboratory analysis focused on characterizing C. gloeosporioides isolates collected from infected plant material. Conidial morphology was examined by measuring the length and width of 20 conidia per isolate. Cultural characteristics, including colony growth, color, form, and diameter, were also documented for each isolate grown on potato dextrose agar. Results revealed a high incidence of mango anthracnose in the surveyed orchards, ranging from 60.5% to 84.0% on leaves and 70.8% to 79.0% on fruits. Disease severity also varied significantly between locations, with leaf severity ranging from 39.75% to 76.75% and fruit severity ranging from 40.25% to 57.15%. Morphological analysis of C. gloeosporioides isolates revealed an average conidial length of 10.65 μm and width of 4.46 μm. Colony morphology on potato dextrose agar exhibited variability, with an average diameter of 34.47 mm and the lowest mycelial growth of 18.18 mm. The study highlights the significant threat of mango anthracnose to mango production in the Wolaita zone. The observed variability in disease severity and pathogen characteristics underscores the need for location-specific disease management strategies. Future research should focus on developing effective and affordable control measures for mango anthracnose in the Wolaita zone, considering the observed variability in disease severity and pathogen characteristics

A Comparison Between Zen Buddhism and Philosophy of Heidegger With Regard to Death, Nothingness and Being

In the field of comparative studies regarding the history of philosophy some cases are perhaps more thought provoking and intriguing than others. I attempt to display and critically discuss here what I take to be one such case which involves two prominent perspectives in the context of the notions of death, nothingness and being: Zen Buddhism and the Heideggerian ontology. With regard to their commonality, it can be pointed out that they both refrain from taking emptiness (nothing) to be opposite to or disconnected from fullness (being). Moreover, they both refuse to view death as an event happening at a particular moment. At the same time, however, they do handle the concepts of “nothing” and “being” in remarkably different ways. The crux of my argument is that Heidegger, in a manner different from Zen Buddhism, brings to bear the interplay between disclosures of “nothing” and “being”. Furthermore, I maintain that we need to focus on his notion of “anxiety” to fully appreciate the difference in question here.Temizler, B. A Comparison Between Zen Buddhism and Philosophy of Heidegger With Regard to Death, Nothingness and Being. Journal of East-West Thought. 1(9), 41-51

Characterisation of the Scs system that confers copper tolerance in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium

Gram-negative bacteria have a variety of systems that catalyse the formation of disulphide bonds, which are essential for the folding, activity, and stability of many periplasmic and secreted proteins. The scsABCD (suppressor of copper sensitivity) locus of Salmonella enterica encodes four proteins with thioredoxin-like catalytic motifs. Previous work has shown that Salmonella encounters toxic levels of copper during infection and the scs system provides protection against copper-mediated toxicity. Given that Cu2+ ions are known to promote disulphide oxidation, it was hypothesised that the StScs proteins and copper both influence the thiol redox status of periplasmic proteins in vivo. The current work reports that expression of the soluble periplasmic protein StScsC is copper-specific, and copper was found to oxidise StScsC in vivo. Using a combination of genetic and proteomics approaches, the abundance of various cysteine-containing periplasmic/secreted proteins were found to be elevated by StScsC and copper in the Salmonella periplasm. Copurification and mass spectrometry approaches provide additional evidence that the arginine-sensing periplasmic protein ArtI interacts with StScsC. Intramacrophage survival data demonstrates that loss of StScsC results in a significant decrease in survival. The current work reports a new role for the thioredoxin-like StScsC protein in disulphide folding of ArtI, a periplasmic L-arginine sensing protein. Given the known impact of arginine sensing/uptake upon c-di-GMP signalling and the production of nitric oxide (NO) by host cells, the current work demonstrates a role for the Scs system in facilitating intramacrophage survival through alleviating copper-stress, and implicates StScsC in a broader role in immune evasion. In addition, the presence of StScs proteins and copper was shown to increase the yield of Herceptin Fab fragments (used to treat breast cancer) in the E. coli periplasm. Hence, the StScs proteins have the potential to facilitate the formation of disulphides in protein therapeutics that can be used in biotechnological platforms. This work provides novel insights into the in vivo role for the Scs system in Salmonella, and highlights the importance of disulphide stress responses and copper tolerance during infection

Rifampicin + ceftriaxone versus vancomycin + ceftriaxone in the treatment of penicillin-and cephalosporin-resistant pneumococcal meningitis in an experimental rabbit model

Abstract This study was planned to compare the efficacy of ceftriaxone + vancomycin with ceftriaxone + rifampicin in a rabbit model of penicillin and cephalosporin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae meningitis. Meningitis was induced by intracisternal inoculation of S. pneumoniae. After 18 h of incubation, Group 1 was given saline solution (control group), whilst Groups 2 and 3 were given ceftriaxone + vancomycin and ceftriaxone + rifampicin, respectively. Cerebrospinal fluid bacterial concentrations were measured at 0, 2, 12, 14 and 24 h after therapy was initiated. In the control group, bacterial growth was present at all time points, whereas no growth was observed in either the ceftriaxone + vancomycin group or the ceftriaxone + rifampicin group after 2 h of therapy. Ceftriaxone + rifampicin was found to be as effective as ceftriaxone + vancomycin in the treatment of penicillin-resistant S. pneumoniae meningitis in experimental rabbit model

Pengaruh Country Of Origin, Persepsi Harga, Persepsi Kualitas Dan Viral Marketing Terhadap Keputusan Pembelian Online (Studi Pada Skincare Skintific)

Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk menganalisis seberapa besar pengaruh country of origin, persepsi harga, persepsi kualitas, dan viral marketing terhadap keputusan pembelian online pada produk Skincare Skintific. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kuantitatif dengan sampel sebanyak 200 responden yang pernah membeli produk Skincare Skintific. Penulis menggunakan kuesioner dalam mengumpulkan data kemudian melakukan analisis secara deskriptif, uji validitas dan reliabilitas, asumsi klasik, kelayakan model, hipotesis, dan analisis linear berganda. Hasil penelitian menunjukan variabel country of origin, persepsi harga, persepsi kualitas dan viral marketing berpengaruh positif terhadap keputusan pembelian online pada produk Skincare Skintific. Dilihat bahwa koefisien determinasi (adjusted R square) sebesar 0,345 yang menunjukan bahwa sebesar 34,5% keputusan pembelian sebagian besar dipengaruhi oleh variabel country of origin, persepsi harga, persepsi kualitas, dan viral marketing. Kemudian sisanya sebesar 65,5% dipengaruhi oleh variabel lain selain variabel yang diteliti dalam penelitian ini.The purpose of this study is to analyze how much country of origin, price perception, quality perception, and viral marketing influence online purchase decisions on Skintific Skincare products. This study uses a quantitative method with a sample of 200 respondents who have purchased Skintific Skincare products. The authors used questionnaires in collecting data and then conducted descriptive analysis, validity and reliability tests, classical assumptions, model feasibility, hypotheses, and multiple linear analysis. The results of the study show that the variables of country of origin, price perception, quality perception, and viral marketing have a positive effect on online purchase decisions for Skintific Skincare products. It is seen that the determination coefficient (adjusted R square) is 0.345, which shows that 34,5% of purchasing decisions are mostly influenced by the variables of country of origin, price perception, quality perception, and viral marketing. Then the remaining 65,5% was influenced by other variables other than the variables studied in this study

Approximation and polynomial convexity in several complex variables

This thesis is a survey on selected topics in approximation theory. The topics use either the techniques from the theory of several complex variables or those that arise in the study of the subject. We also go through elementary theory of polynomially convex sets in complex analysis

Cross-training with Imperfect Training Schemes

Cross-training workers is one of the most efficient ways to achieve flexibility in manufacturing and service systems to increase responsiveness to demand variability. However, it is generally the case that cross-trained employees are not as productive as employees who are originally trained on a specific task. Also, the productivity of the cross-trained workers depend on when they are cross-trained. In this work, we consider a two-stage model to analyze the affect of variations in productivity levels of workers on cross-training policies. Our results indicate that the most important factor determining the problem structure is the consistency in productivity levels of workers trained at different times. As long as cross-training can be done in a consistent manner, the productivity differences between cross-trained workers and workers originally trained on the task plays a minor role. We also analyze the effect of the variabilities in demand and producivity levels. We show that if the productivity levels of workers trained at different times are consistent, the decision maker is inclined to defer the cross-training decisions as the variability of demand or productivity levels increases. However, when the productivities of workers trained at different times differ, the decision maker may prefer to invest more in cross-training earlier as variability increases

Reproduction of Islamophobia in a Digital Cloak: An Analysis on Digital War Game “Call of Duty”

Islamophobia popularized as an anti-Muslim public discourse in the decade following the al-Qaida attack on the Twin-towers and Pentagon in the United States of America. Following the attacks, numerous scholarly studies have confirmed that anti-Muslim prejudice, commonly referred to as Islamophobia, has become a prominent feature of Western societies. The perception of threat at home placed Muslims at the focus as the Christian West’s “Other.” Within this context, this study contributes to the debate on the meaning of ‘Islamophobia’ based on generalizations, assumptions, and stereotypes of Islam and Muslims. Following discourse analysis as its primary methodology, the article deconstructs the representations of Islam and Muslims in the most popular digital war game, Call of Duty. Thus, this article contributes to how digital war games communicate misleading stereotypes and have been involved in stigmatizing Islam and Muslims and perpetuating Islamophobia in the context of the US-led Global War on Terror. Based on its analysis of the game, the article concludes that the stereotyped group is portrayed more often in a violent-terrorism context than in a nonviolent context where a solid associative link between terrorism and Arabs is established

Separable approximations and decomposition methods for the augmented Lagrangian

In this paper we study decomposition methods based on separable approximations for minimizing the augmented Lagrangian. In particular, we study and compare the Diagonal Quadratic Approximation Method (DQAM) of Mulvey and Ruszczyński [13] and the Parallel Coordinate Descent Method (PCDM) of Richtárik and Takáč [23]. We show that the two methods are equivalent for feasibility problems up to the selection of a single step-size parameter. Furthermore, we prove an improved complexity bound for PCDM under strong convexity, and show that this bound is at least 8(L ′ / ¯ L)(ω − 1) 2 times better than the best known bound for DQAM, where ω is the degree of partial separability and L ′ and ¯ L are the maximum and average of the block Lipschitz constants of the gradient of the quadratic penalty appearing in the augmented Lagrangian.