Numerical solution of fractional integro-differential equations with nonlocal conditions

In this paper, we present a numerical method for solving fractional integro-differential equations with nonlocal boundary conditions using Bernstein polynomials. Some theoretical considerations regarding fractional order derivatives of Bernstein polynomials are discussed. The error analysis is carried out and supported with some numerical examples. It is shown that the method is simple and accurate for the given problem

Pregnancy outcomes of normal versus abnormal cardiotocography in a tertiary centre in Nepal

Background: Pregnancy and childbirth is normal physiological process with great pathological potential. The obstetricians are more concerned with the early recognition of fetal distress during labour and such an adverse outcome should be detected at the earliest point of time by an effective surveillance method. Cardiotocography as a part of biophysical profile has become an established diagnostic tool for fetal surveillance. To compare early perinatal outcome of normal and abnormal cardiotocography in terms of APGAR scores, need for neonatal resuscitation, NICU admission, perinatal death and mode of delivery.Methods: It was a cross-sectional study. 200 nulliparous/multiparous women with singleton pregnancy in cephalic presentation at gestational age 37-42 weeks in latent stage of labor were enrolled in the study and subjected to admission test in left lateral position using fetal monitor. Baseline FHR and contraction pattern were determined for 20 minutes and classification of patients was done into normal, and suspicious or abnormal according to the FIGO guidelines 2015.Results: Low APGAR scores, rate of LSCS, need for neonatal resuscitation, neonatal admission were more in the abnormal cardiotocography group. Cardiotocography in the current study has high sensitivity and high negative predictive value for detecting fetal distress.Conclusions: From the analysis of this study, it would be safe to conclude that an ominous cardiotocography should be managed appropriately without delay and obstetrician should be vigilant in suspicious as well as in normal admission test group for timely intervention for bettering the neonatal outcome

Body Size Influences Stingless Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Communities Across a Range of Deforestation Levels in Rondônia, Brazil

A grant from the One-University Open Access Fund at the University of Kansas was used to defray the author's publication fees in this Open Access journal. The Open Access Fund, administered by librarians from the KU, KU Law, and KUMC libraries, is made possible by contributions from the offices of KU Provost, KU Vice Chancellor for Research & Graduate Studies, and KUMC Vice Chancellor for Research. For more information about the Open Access Fund, please see http://library.kumc.edu/authors-fund.xml.Developments in understanding bee responses to habitat loss indicate that body size is a trait with important consequences for conservation. Stingless bees (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponini) are a diverse group of eusocial bees providing pollination services in tropical landscapes, exhibiting a large range in body size across species. We tested the effects of deforestation on the body sizes of stingless bee communities by using museum specimens and revisiting a previous effort that sampled stingless bee communities across varying levels of deforestation at 183 sites in Rondônia, Brazil, in 1996–1997. Body size measurements (intertegular distance) from 72 species collected were included as dependent variables in response to forest area, forest edge, and connectivity of forest patches at several spatial scales. We find that stingless bee body size is negatively related to forest cover: mean community body size was larger in areas with greater amounts of deforestation, and smaller in areas with less deforestation. Second, stingless bee species richness was positively associated with forest edge regardless of body size. Lastly, we find that as forest patch isolation increased, the stingless bee community body size also increased. These findings support hypotheses that small stingless bee species might be more negatively affected by deforestation, adding to the growing body of evidence that stingless bees require areas of intact forest in near proximity to other forest patches to conserve these diverse pollinator communities.TecnosoloRoyal Haskoning DH

Wave loadings on a vertical cylinder due to heave motion

Wave forces and moments due to scattering and radiation for a vertical circular cylinder heaving in water of finite depth are derived analytically. These are derived from the total velocity potential which can be decomposed as two velocity potentials; one due to scattering in the presence of an incident wave on fixed structure (diffraction problem), and the other due to radiation by the heave motion on calm water (radiation problem). For each part, the velocity potential is derived by considering two regions, namely, interior region and exterior region. The complex matrix equations are solved numerically to determine the unknown coefficients to compute the wave loads. Some numerical results are presented for different depth to radius and draft to radius ratios

Principal variable selection to explain grain yield variation in winter wheat from features extracted from UAV imagery

Background: Automated phenotyping technologies are continually advancing the breeding process. However, collecting various secondary traits throughout the growing season and processing massive amounts of data still take great efforts and time. Selecting a minimum number of secondary traits that have the maximum predictive power has the potential to reduce phenotyping efforts. The objective of this study was to select principal features extracted from UAV imagery and critical growth stages that contributed the most in explaining winter wheat grain yield. Five dates of multispectral images and seven dates of RGB images were collected by a UAV system during the spring growing season in 2018. Two classes of features (variables), totaling to 172 variables, were extracted for each plot from the vegetation index and plant height maps, including pixel statistics and dynamic growth rates. A parametric algorithm, LASSO regression (the least angle and shrinkage selection operator), and a non-parametric algorithm, random forest, were applied for variable selection. The regression coefficients estimated by LASSO and the permutation importance scores provided by random forest were used to determine the ten most important variables influencing grain yield from each algorithm. Results: Both selection algorithms assigned the highest importance score to the variables related with plant height around the grain filling stage. Some vegetation indices related variables were also selected by the algorithms mainly at earlier to mid growth stages and during the senescence. Compared with the yield prediction using all 172 variables derived from measured phenotypes, using the selected variables performed comparable or even better. We also noticed that the prediction accuracy on the adapted NE lines (r = 0.58–0.81) was higher than the other lines (r = 0.21–0.59) included in this study with different genetic backgrounds. Conclusions: With the ultra-high resolution plot imagery obtained by the UAS-based phenotyping we are now able to derive more features, such as the variation of plant height or vegetation indices within a plot other than just an averaged number, that are potentially very useful for the breeding purpose. However, too many features or variables can be derived in this way. The promising results from this study suggests that the selected set from those variables can have comparable prediction accuracies on the grain yield prediction than the full set of them but possibly resulting in a better allocation of efforts and resources on phenotypic data collection and processing

Genetic Parameters of Common Wheat in Nepal

Knowledge on variation within traits and their genetics are prerequisites in crop improvement program. Thus, in present paper we aimed to estimate genetic and environmental indices of common wheat genotypes. For the purpose, eight quantitative traits were measured from 30 wheat genotypes, which were in randomized complete block design with 3 replicates. Components of variance and covariance were estimated along with heritability, genetic gain, realized heritability, coheritability and correlated response. Differences between phenotypic and genotypic variances in heading days, maturity days and plant height were not large. Grain yield and plant height showed the highest phenotypic (18.189%) and genotypic (12.06%) coefficient of variances, respectively. Phenotypic covariance was higher than genotypic and environmental covariance in most of the traits. The highest heritability and realized heritability were of heading days followed by maturity days. Genetic gain for plant height was the highest. Co-heritability of 1000-grain weight with tillers number was the highest. The highest correlated response was expressed by grain yield with tillers number. This study indicates the possibility of improving wheat genotypes through selection utilizing existing variation in these traits.Journal of Nepal Agricultural Research Council Vol.1 2015 pp.9-1

Multi-band optical variability of a newly discovered twelve blazars sample from 2013-2019

Here we present the first optical photometric monitoring results of a sample of twelve newly discovered blazars from the ICRF - Gaia CRF astrometric link. The observations were performed from April 2013 until August 2019 using eight telescopes located in Europe. For a robust test for the brightness and colour variability, we use Abbe criterion and F-test. Moreover, linear fittings are performed to investigate the relation in the colour-magnitude variations of the blazars. Variability was confirmed in the case of 10 sources; two sources, 1429+249 and 1556+335 seem to be possibly variable. Three sources (1034+574, 1722+119, and 1741+597) have displayed large amplitude brightness change of more than one magnitude. We found that the seven sources displayed bluer-when-brighter variations, and one source showed redder-when-brighter variations. We briefly explain the various AGN emission models which can explain our results.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures, 11 tables, 6 supplement figures can be provided on request, MNRAS in pres

Pathways to raising disaster risk reduction awareness among the informal construction stakeholders: a case of Nepal

Nepal is a low-income country where the majority of people live in chronic poverty, with vulnerabilities exacerbated by various natural hazards (in particular earthquakes). Whilst Nepal has implemented comprehensive building codes and a Building Act, a major challenge exists as both the existing building stock is refurbished and the new stock is continuously added by the informal construction sector, without adherence to any building standards and codes. Such informal construction leaves urban areas highly vulnerable and with little resilience to any disaster. This situation is not unique to Nepal’s urban areas, as rapid urbanisation in many developing countries has similarly led to a boom in informal construction sectors and construction that has little regard for building codes and regulations. Based on a case study of Banepa’s 11 wards, this paper will discuss the informal construction stakeholders’ awareness of disaster risk reduction measures, and provide an overview of existing initiatives to engage the informal construction sector in appreciating the importance of hazard-resilient buildings