Optimum strategic management system for Lesotho roads network through RONET model

Published ArticleThe paper presents the application of World Bank's Model RONET to optimize strategic management system for Lesotho roads network. The Lesotho road network condition deteriorated considerably during the 2000s due to underfinancing of operations and maintenance. In recent years, as the financial situation in Lesotho has improved, financing for the road sector has gradually increased, focusing on the most hazardous and highly trafficked parts of the road network. However, the overall budget allocated to the sector remains inadequate to maintain the entire district road network in a stable condition. This research is going to present the application of World Bank's model Road Network Evaluation Tool (RONET) to strategic network level analysis of the Lesotho road network. The goals of the presented study are to obtain the optimum maintenance and rehabilitation strategy and related budget, estimate the impact of different funding levels on the future quality and estimate the economic consequences of budget constraints. The application of RONET model will lead to an optimal maintenance and rehabilitation strategy with a good balance between rehabilitation, periodic and recurrent maintenance. The implementation of optimal maintenance and rehabilitation strategy would cause major improvement compared to current condition of the network. Implementation of higher than optimal maintenance and rehabilitation leads to substantially higher roads directorate costs and consequently lower net benefits, while the implementation of the lower than optimal maintenance and rehabilitation standards would lead to considerably worse network condition for slightly lower agency costs. This means that even minor budget constraints would result in considerably higher total road transport costs in the country's economy

Year-Long Monthly Rainfall Forecasting for a Coastal Environment of Bangladesh

Forecasting rainfall plays an important role to develop, planning and management a sustainable water resource system. In this study stochastic Seasonal Auto Regressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA) were used to forecast monthly rainfall of Teknaf for 12 month lead time. The best SARIMA (0, 0, 0) (1, 1, 1) model was selected based on Normalized BIC (Bayesian Information Criteria) and R-squared. Diagnostic check was then conducted for the best fitted model to check if the residuals are white noise. The predicted rainfall amount from the best fitted model was compared with the observed data. The predicted values shows reasonably good result. Thus the model can be used for future rainfall prediction. Keywords: Bangladesh, Teknaf, Rainfall, ARIMA, Forecas

Power loss estimation due to difference transformer tap changer position at interface

No Abstract

Culture potentials of climbing perch, Anabas testudineus (Bloch) under different stocking densities at semi-intensive management

Anabas testudineus was cultured at different stocking density for the period of five months from May to September. Three stocking densities such as 50,000 (Treatment-1, T1), 56,250 (Treatment-2, T2) and 62,250/ha (Treatment-3, T3) were tested with three replications. After five months rearing, the mean weights of koi were 46.74±2.59, 40.44±2.98 and 37.27±3.01 in T-1, 2 and 3, respectively. The calculated production of native koi in T1 T2 and T3 were 1,916±314, 1,774.31 ±260 and 1,431 ±297 kg/ha, respectively which were significantly different (p<0.05) from each other

Prospects and Present Status and of Entomopathogenic Nematodes (Steinernematidae and Heterorhabditidae) in Nepal

Naturally occurring entomopathogenic nematodes(EPN) and their symbiotic bacteria are important biotic factor in suppression of insect pest populations in soil and cryptic habitats. These nematodes can control pests due to their mutualistic association with bacteria that kill the hosts by septicemia and make the environment favorable for EPN development and reproduction.The virulent species of EPN can commercially be mass produced as biological control agents all over the world. Nepal  has a great potential to exploit these beneficial nematodes for the control of insect pests. Exploration of indigenous EPN is receiving attention around th eworld. Numerous surveys conducted worldwide have detected many indigenous isolates. Altogether 115 species of EPN (97 of Steinernema and 18 of Heterorhabdits species) have been reported so far worldwide. However, very limited research on EPN in Nepal has been done with 29 species only with some new species. Hence,the isolation and description of the native efficacious species and populationsof EPN is the need of the hour,not only from a biodiversity view point but also from an environmental and biological control perspective.Thei dentification of EPNs, adapted to environmental and climatic conditions of cultivated areas, is important for sustainable pest suppression in integrated management programs in agricultural areas of Nepal. This article provides an overview of recent development on EPN research and evaluates their potential for use and exploitation in Nepal

Productivity of Apple as Influenced by Rates of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Irrigation Interval

Field experiment was conducted on an established orchard of the Kaduna State Agricultural Development Project (KADP) at Maigana during the 1998- 2001 to evaluate the effect of nitrogen, phosphorus and irrigation interval on some selected growth attributes of apple. The treatments consisted of four levels of nitrogen (0, 60, 120 and 180 kg N h -1, three levels of phosphorus (0, 22 and 44) and irrigation intervals (3, 5 and 7 days). Treatments were laid out in a split plot design with factorial combination of nitrogen and irrigation interval allocated to main plots and phosphorus assigned to sub-plots and replicated three times. The result showed that application of nitrogen up to 180 kg N ha -1 resulted to taller plants with more branches and wider canopy as well as thicker stem and heavier fruit yield. Likewise, applications of phosphorus up to 44 kg P ha -1 resulted to taller plants, more branches, wider canopy, thicker stem and heavier fruit yield. There was inconsistency in response of the parameters to irrigation interval, however the yield responded up to 7 days irrigation interval. It can be concluded that for proper apple growth, application of 180 kg N ha -1 plus 44 kg P ha -1, with 7 days irrigation interval should be adopted. Keywords: fruit yield, nitrogen, phosphorus, irrigation and nitrogen conten

Multitraits evaluation of Pakistani ecotypes of berseem clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L.) under full-irrigation and water restriction conditions

Berseem clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L.) is an important forage crop in Pakistan and many ecotypes are grown across the country. Its yield is however frequently affected by insufficient irrigation due to unavailability of water. In the present study, twenty Pakistani ecotypes of berseem clover have been evaluated in lysimeters under full irrigation and water restriction conditions. In the full irrigation treatment soil humidity was maintained at field capacity, while in the water restriction treatment water was only supplied after severe wilting and to maintain humidity in the deep profile of the soil. Assessed traits included forage yield, calculated as the sum of the biomass harvested at 70 and 110 DA days after emergence, and morpho-physiological traits. Significant effects of water restriction were noted on yield, leaf gas exchange parameters, canopy temperature and osmotic adjustment. Most morpho-physiological traits had higher broad sense heritability than forage yield, both under full irrigation and water restriction conditions. Water restriction increased genetic and phenotypic variability and heritability of most traits under study. Under these conditions forage yield was positively associated to leaf temperature and recovery rate index and, under full irrigation, to net photosynthetic rate, canopy depression temperature and leaf area. The possible use of these traits as indirect selection criteria in berseem clover breeding programs is discussed. Some ecotypes with favorable traits such as high forage yield potential, good adaptation to water restriction and aptitude to multiple harvesting have also been identified

Phosphorus and potassium application improves fodder yield and quality of sorghum in Aridisol under diverse climatic conditions

Fodder yield and quality must be improved for sustainable livestock production. A lack of or low application of phosphorus (P) and potassium (P) are among the leading constraints of lower fodder yield and quality of sorghum [most cultivated fodder crop during kharif season (crop cultivation in summer and harvesting during winter] in Aridisol of Pakistan. Therefore, this two-year field study evaluated the role of different P and K levels on fodder yield and quality of sorghum cultivar ‘Ijar-2002’ planted in Multan and Okara districts, Punjab, Pakistan. Seven P-K (kg ha−1) levels, i.e., T1 (40–0), T2 (80–0), T3 (0–40), T4 (0–60), T5 (40–40), T6 (80–40), T7 (60–80) and an untreated T0 (control) were included in the study. Results indicated that individual effects of years, locations and P-K levels had a significant effect on fodder yield and quality. All treatments received an equal amount of nitrogen (i.e., 120 kg ha−1). Application of P-K in Aridisols at both locations significantly improved fodder yield, dry matter yield, and ether contents during both years. The T6 (80–40 kg ha−1) significantly improved yield and quality traits of sorghum fodder except for crude fiber (CF) and acid and neutral detergent fiber (ADF and NDF) at both locations during both years of study. Moreover, fodder harvested from Multan observed significantly higher CF, ADF, NDF, cellulose and hemicellulose contents than Okara. However, sorghum grown in Okara harvested more fodder yield due to more plant height and ether contents. In conclusion, planting sorghum in Aridisols, fertilized with 80–40 kg ha−1 P-K seemed a viable option to harvest more fodder yield of better quality

Motion Sensor-based Small Cell Sleep Scheduling for 5G Networks

No abstract available

Development of a semi-active car suspension control system using magneto-rheological damper model

In this paper, the development of a semi- active suspension control of quarter car model using fuzzy-based controller has been done. The quarter car model to be used here can be described as a nonlinear two degrees of freedom system which is subject to excitation from different road profile. The semi-active control is designed as the fuzzy control inferred by using two single input rule fuzzy modules, and the road model is used as the control force is released by actuating an electromagnetic shaker. To implement semi-active suspension system experimentally, the MR damper is used here as the adjustable damper. The MR damper is a control device that consists of a hydraulic cylinder filled with magnetically polarizable particles suspended in a liquid. MR dampers dissipate vibration by absorbing energy. Magnetorheological (MR) fluids dampers are very effective to control vibration, which use MR fluids to produce controllable damping force and provide both the reliability of passive systems and the facility of active control systems with small power supply. Due to their mechanical simplicity, high dynamic range, low power requirements, large force capacity, and robustness, offer an attractive means of vibration protection. The objectives of this are modeling of semi-active suspension system, developing controller and understanding the characteristics of the MR damper to provide effective damping for the purpose of suspension isolation or suppression car model. In this work pid, fuzzy logic and fuzzy-hybrid controller are used to control semi-active car suspension system