Identification of homogeneous rainfall regions in New South Wales, Australia

Identifying homogeneous regions based on spatial variables is vital for providing a certain and fixed region’s spatial and temporal behavior. However, a significant problem of non-separation rises when the geographic coordinates are utilized for clustering, just because the Euclidean distance is not suitable for clustering when considering the geographic coordinates. Therefore, this study focuses on employing such methods where the non-separation is minimum for identifying homogenous regions. The average annual rainfall data of 226 meteorological monitoring stations for 1911–2018 of New South Wales (NSW), Australia, was considered for the current study. The data is standardized with zero mean and unit variance to remove the effect of different measurement scales. The geographical coordinates are then converted to rectangular coordinates by the Lambert projection method. Using the Partition Around Medoid (PAM) algorithm, also known as the kmedoid algorithm (which minimizes the sum of dissimilarities instead of the sum of squares of Euclidean distances) on rectangular Lambert projected coordinates, 10 well-separated clusters are obtained. The Mean Squared Prediction Error (MSPE) is comparatively smaller if the prediction of unobserved locations in cluster 3 is made. However, this error increases if the prediction is made for a complete monitoring network. The identified 10 homogeneous regions or clusters provide a good separation when the lambert coordinates are used instead of geographical coordinates

Physiological response of late sown wheat to exogenous application of silicon

Late planting of wheat in rice-wheat cropping system is perhaps one of the major factors responsible for low crop yield. The main cause of reduction in yield is due to supra-optimal conditions during the reproductive growth. High temperature during reproductive phase induces changes in water relations, decreases photosynthetic rate, and transpiration rate, stomatal conductance and antioxidative defence system. Silicon (Si), being a beneficial nutrient not only provides significant benefits to plants growth and development but may also mitigate the adversities of high temperature. A field study was conducted at Agronomic Research Area of University of Agriculture; Faisalabad, Pakistan to assess the performance of late sown wheat with the soil applied Si. Experiment was comprised of three sowing dates; 10th Nov (normal), 10th Dec (late), 10th Jan (very late) with two wheat varieties (Sehar-2006 and Faisalabad-2008), and an optimized dose of Si (100 mg per kg soil), applied at different growth stages (control, crown root, booting and heading). Results indicated that 100 mg Si per kg soil at heading stage offset the negative impact of high temperature and induced heat tolerance in late sown wheat. Silicon application improved 34% relative water contents (RWC), 30% water potential, 26% osmotic potential, 23% turgor potential and 21% photosynthetic rate, and 32% transpiration rate and 20% stomatal conductance in wheat flag leaf than control treatment. Further it was observed that Si application preventing the oxidative membrane damage due to enhanced activity of antioxidant enzymes, i.e. 35% superoxide dismutase (SOD) and 38% catalase (CAT). In conclusion results of this field study demonstrated that soil applied Si (100 mg per kg soil) at heading stage enhanced all physiological attributes of wheat flag leaf. Which in turn ameliorated the adverse effects of high temperature in late sown wheat. Study depicted that Si can be used as a potential nutrient in order to mitigate the losses induced by high temperature stress

ADIPONECTIN VERSUS THIAZOLIDINEDIONES AND ANGIOTENSIN RECEPTOR BLOCKERS

Adipose tissue has gained great attention during the last decade. It represents not only a depot for energy stores, but also releases adipocytokines regulating energy disposal and can therefore be considered from therapeutic point of view. Hypoadiponectemia is an independent threat for development of metabolic syndrome. When subjects treated with antidiabetic (Thiazolidinediones) and antihypertensive (angiotensin receptor blocker) agents , the plasma concentration of adiponectin, the only component of adipocytokines, directly proportional to plasma values of these drugs. The prevalance of hypertension and T2DM is mounting with unprecedented degree in both developing and advanced countries, therefore, there is a dire need to find safer and economical therapeutic regimes for the treatment of these ailments, and intensive research is also underway for this purpose. PPARγ serves as a common link in the actions of ADN, TZDs and ARBs when exerting their effects, and it is responsible for stimulation of adiponectin receptors, thus ultimately enhancing the levels of adiponectin in plasma. This review aims to elucidate the role, link and use of ARBs, ADN and TZDs as a safer and convenient approach for the treatment of these co-morbidities as a unanimous or single remedy from comparative point of view

Purification and medium optimization of α-amylase from Bacillus subtilis 168

α-Amylase was first time isolated and purified from Bacillus subtilis 168 (1A1). Purified α-amylase fraction showed a single protein band with a molecular weight of 55 kD. Chemical characterization of the purified α-amylase revealed optimum amylolytic activity at 37°C and pH 7.0 using starch as substrate. It was stable at pH 5.0 to 9.0 and at temperatures 25–70°C. Culture conditions were optimized by using statistics-based experimental designs to enhanced α-amylase (EC.3.2.1.1) production. A two level fractional factorial Plackett-Burman design was used for the preliminary screening significant media components and conditions. Response surface methodology (RSM) involving a 24 full-factorial central composite design (CCD) and a second-order polynomial equation was then employed to identify the relationship between the α-amylase yield and the four significant variables. Optimal levels of the significant variables for the maximum α-amylase yield were starch 2.55 g/l, yeast extract 8.4 g/l, sodium chloride 8.1% and 48 h of incubation. Mean value of α-amylase yield was 639.7 IU/ml, which was in excellent agreement with the predicted value (633.5 IU/ml).Key words: Bacillus, α-amylase, optimization, Plackett-Burman design, response surface methodology

Exogenously Applied Trinexapac-ethyl Improves Photosynthetic Pigments, Water Relations, Osmoregulation and Antioxidants Defense Mechanism in Wheat under Salt Stress

The impact of trinexapac-ethyl (TE) on salinity subjected wheat plants was evaluated via pot based experiment. The treatments applied to wheat seedlings included (Ck) control (no NaCl nor TE spray), foliar spray of TE (1.95 ml L−1), only NaCl (50 mM) and NaCl+ TE (50 mM + 1.95 ml L−1). Foliar application of TE was done seven days after imposition of salinity. Growth parameters (root length, shoot length, fresh weight, and dry weight) and photosynthetic pigments content (chlorophyll a, b, a + b and a/b), water relation (water potential, osmotic potential, turgor potential and relative water contents) as well as catalase (CAT) activity exhibited marked reduction in comparison to control. In addition, an increment was noted in organic solutes content (proline, soluble protein and soluble sugar) and enzyme activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) in stressed seedlings over control seedlings. The foliar applied TE mostly enhanced growth of salt stressed seedlings, accompanied by reinforcement in photosynthetic pigments, organic solutes, and enzyme activity (SOD, CAT, POD, and APX) in comparison to stressed seedlings. It is worthy to mention that, TE has potential to enhance salt tolerance of wheat seedlings. Thus, our findings suggest that seedling treated with TE is an effective strategy that can be used to enhance salt tolerance of wheat crop

Experimental investigation to thermal performance of different photo voltaic modules for efficient system design

Due to rapid industrialization, and depletion of fossil fuels, alternative renewable resources are mandatory, where solar thermal energy is one of the promising alternate. In this study, an experimental investigation was conducted to analyze the thermal performance of different photovoltaic-modules under varying climate conditions. These include thin plate Copper indium diselenide, mono-crystalline silicon, micro crystalline silicone, amorphous silicon and poly-crystalline silicon. The analysis was concentrated on the evaluation of module efficiency, solar irradiance absorption rate, maximum power output, performance ratio, normalized power output efficiency and temperature effect on each module at real operational outdoor conditions. Mono-crystalline silicon module showed high average efficiency of 20.8% and average performance ratio 1.21 compared to the other PV modules. It was observed that all types of modules have higher average temperature in summer season and showed low performance ratio and low module efficiency as compared to winter season. Average normalized power out of mono-crystalline silicon 56.2% more efficient than the other modules. The increased thermal performance of mono-crystalline silicon was related with its high absorption rate and high conduction rate. Thus, mono-crystalline silicon PV module is the best potential candidate for solar capturing technique to be utilize in diverse solar thermal energy applications

Optimization of boron dispersion on fibrous-silica-nickel catalyst for enhanced CO2 hydrogenation to methane

There are numerous reports regarding boron-containing catalysts for hydrogen-related reactions from CO2 including dry reforming of methane and methanation. Besides enhancing the productivity, boron also improved nickel activity and stability. However, the detailed mechanistic study, particularly in explaining the starring role of boron in the enhanced reactions, is still lacking. Thus, herein we loaded boron on fibrous-silica-nickel and investigated their physicochemical properties and mechanistic route by means of in-situ FTIR for enhanced CO2 methanation. It was found that the appropriate dispersion of boron surrounds the nickel particles is an important factor to improve the adsorption of CO2 before interacting with split hydrogen atom from the nickel sides to form intermediates which are subsequently dehydrated, and then serial hydrogenation gave the final product of methane. Boron also accelerated the methanation and restricted coke formation. A hybrid approach on optimization via a face-centered central composite design and a response surface methodology showed that reaction using H2/CO2 ratio of 6, GHSV of 10,500 mL g−1 h−1, at 500 °C gave the highest percentage of CH4 of 84.3%. To indicate the error, the predicted values were compared to the experimental values, yielding an accurately minimal error ranging from 0 to 11%. As a result, the empirical models generated for CO2 hydrogenation to methane were reasonably accurate, with all actual values for the confirmation runs fitting within the 94% prediction interval

Molecular epidemiology of hcv among health care workers of khyber pakhtunkhwa

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Studies of the molecular epidemiology and risk factors for hepatitis C virus (HCV) in health care workers (HCWs) of Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region are scarce. Lack of awareness about the transmission of HCV and regular blood screening is contributing a great deal towards the spread of hepatitis C. This study is an attempt to investigate the prevalence of HCV and its possible association with both occupational and non-occupational risk factors among the HCWs of Peshawar.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Blood samples of 824 HCWs, aged between 20-59 years were analysed for anti-HCV antibodies, HCV RNA and HCV genotypes by Immunochromatographic tests and PCR. All relevant information was obtained from the HCWs with the help of a questionnaire. The study revealed that 4.13% of the HCWs were positive for HCV antibodies, while HCV RNA was detected in 2.79% of the individuals. The most predominant HCV genotype was 3a and 2a.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>A program for education about occupational risk factors and regular blood screening must be implemented in all healthcare setups of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in order to help reduce the burden of HCV infection.</p

Fuzzy Logic in Surveillance Big Video Data Analysis: Comprehensive Review, Challenges, and Research Directions

CCTV cameras installed for continuous surveillance generate enormous amounts of data daily, forging the term “Big Video Data” (BVD). The active practice of BVD includes intelligent surveillance and activity recognition, among other challenging tasks. To efficiently address these tasks, the computer vision research community has provided monitoring systems, activity recognition methods, and many other computationally complex solutions for the purposeful usage of BVD. Unfortunately, the limited capabilities of these methods, higher computational complexity, and stringent installation requirements hinder their practical implementation in real-world scenarios, which still demand human operators sitting in front of cameras to monitor activities or make actionable decisions based on BVD. The usage of human-like logic, known as fuzzy logic, has been employed emerging for various data science applications such as control systems, image processing, decision making, routing, and advanced safety-critical systems. This is due to its ability to handle various sources of real world domain and data uncertainties, generating easily adaptable and explainable data-based models. Fuzzy logic can be effectively used for surveillance as a complementary for huge-sized artificial intelligence models and tiresome training procedures. In this paper, we draw researchers’ attention towards the usage of fuzzy logic for surveillance in the context of BVD. We carry out a comprehensive literature survey of methods for vision sensory data analytics that resort to fuzzy logic concepts. Our overview highlights the advantages, downsides, and challenges in existing video analysis methods based on fuzzy logic for surveillance applications. We enumerate and discuss the datasets used by these methods, and finally provide an outlook towards future research directions derived from our critical assessment of the efforts invested so far in this exciting field