Growth Inhibition of Grain Spoilage Fungi by Selected Herbs and Spices Essential Oils

Natural plant extracts are promising alternatives for chemical food additives and synthetic pesticides. In this study, essential oils of selected herbs and spices were tested for their antimicrobial activities against Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus niger, two of the most common food spoilage  microorganisms. Agar disk diffusion assay was used for screening of the most effective essential oils, agar dilution assay was used to determine Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of the essential oils and broth dilution assay was employed to the spore germination inhibition assay. Tests were also conducted to examine the effects of the essential oils for sorghum kernel protection against the tested fungi, and the optimal  protective dosages on the sorghum grains were also determined. From the preliminary tests, essential oils of Cinnamomum zeylanicum (Cinnamon) and Thymus schimperi (thymus) were found to be the most effective. However piper nigrum (black pepper) had no effect on the test organisms. In MIC, spore germination inhibition and grain protection assay, cinnamon essential oil was found to be superior where its MIC on the isolates was found to be 0.0156% and its optimum protective dosage on the sorghum grain was 5%. It inhibited spore germination at a concentration of 3ìL/mL. The effect of thymus oil was also very much comparable to these results (no significant difference at P>0.05). Finally, it was concluded that essential oil extracts of cinnamon and thymus can be a useful source of antifungal agents for protection of grain spoilage by fungi

Designing and Manufacturing of Bamboo Processing Machine

This document describes about designing and manufacturing of bamboo processing machine having three functions, namely; splitting, grinding and sanding bamboo surfaces. It helps to avoid a tedious and time taking manual bamboo processing. Three people can work at the same time when a need arise. It is designed considering safety factors and ergonomic considerations. The machine is robust in design having low sound, and good aesthetic so as to look attractive and durable while giving service. Designing and fabricating such type of machine is important so as to save money and it avoids from buying individual machine. For the purpose of convenience, focusing on the need assessment of the project, developers are using exploratory research method. Exploratory research made by conducting focus group interviews to get detail information. Developers used four data gathering techniques (tools), namely; oral questions, direct observation, document analysis and questionnaires (closed and open questionnaires) to understand current problems of bamboo processing activities and for the need of this machine. After the quantitative and qualitative data are gathered from those sources developersreached at conclusion to designed and manufactured bamboo processing machine as a solution to facilitate bamboo products. The findings indicate that, there is lack of bamboo processing machine and having high demand of it. In general, according to the newly designed and manufactured bamboo processing machine, it can perform manual splitting, grinding bamboo knots and sanding bamboo surfaces. For the future it can create job opportunity to the society

A multi-color fast-switching microfluidic droplet dye laser

We describe a multi-color microfluidic dye laser operating in whispering gallery mode based on a train of alternating droplets containing solutions of different dyes; this laser is capable of switching the wavelength of its emission between 580 nm and 680 nm at frequencies up to 3.6 kHz -— the fastest among all dye lasers reported; it has potential applications in on-chip spectroscopy and flow cytometry

The Status and Determining Factors to Develop Students Self-Regulated Behavior in Learning among Fourth Generation Universities in Ethiopia

The main objective of the present study was to assess the status and determining factors to develop student self-regulated behavior in learning among fourth generation universities in Ethiopia. To achieve this objective, both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from primary and secondary source of data. The study employed random and purposive sampling techniques to select 270 instructors, 4 department heads and 6 well-experienced teachers. Data from the quantitative survey were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, t-test, analysis of variance and multiple regressions. Qualitative data was analyzed through thematic narration. The study found that the mean score of teacher’s practice of self-regulated behavior in learning was 2.72 and standard deviation 4.379. The independent samples t-test and One-way ANOVA indicated that, there was statistically significant mean difference in gender and educational statues of teachers’ in practice of self-regulated strategies. Women and teachers who had higher educational status performed better than other instructors. Multiple regression analysis indicated teachers’ negative attitude toward their profession and lack of commitment was significant factor for low development of self-regulated behavior in learning in fourth generation Universities in Ethiopia. However, pedagogical knowledge, teaching experience, age and educational was non- significant at P<0.05 level of significance

The Role of the Einstein Library of Nova Southeastern University in Meeting the Needs of Distance Education Students

The goal of this study was to evaluate the information needs of a selected segment of the distance learning graduate student population served by the Einstein Library at Nova Southeastern University and to propose a new model of library service based on the implementation of current and emerging technologies. Several survey instruments were developed and administered through electronic mail to students and faculty in the School of Computer and Information Sciences, the Center for Psychological Studies, and the School of Social and Systemic Studies, the Fischler Center for the Advancement of Education and the School of Business and Entrepreneurship at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The results of the survey were analyzed using a variation on the Quality Function Deployment Methodology. Based upon this analysis, a model for library services is proposed which integrates electronic and print resources into a unified system of information delivery. Various methods of presenting information resources are compared and used as examples of potential solutions. As distance education continues to expand and develop, innovative methods must be found to provide information resources to students studying at a distance. The proposed model provides a framework for the future development of library services

Concrete paving blocks: an overview.

There is a widespread perception in the U.S. that a concrete block pavement (CBP) is an untried pavement alternative. However, each year more of these pavements are being installed. The available literature concerning this type of pavement is limited in the U.S. as most research papers are published elsewhere. This report examines CBP's from several perspectives in order to provide an overview of this alternative pavement technology. First, the CBP system is described. The importance of using the proper bedding sand gradations is stressed and the phenomenon of lock-up, or interlock, is explained. The various design methods for CBP's are also presented. Here, the concept of equivalency factors is discussed. Next, the structural performance of several CBP projects varying from 1 to 10 years are reviewed. Finally, the range of,, CBP costs in the Puget Sound area are provided, and a review of those prices paid by WSDOT for asphaltic concrete and Portland cement concrete is made to determine cost competitiveness with a CBP. Concrete paving blocks, Pavement performance, Pavement design, Pavement costshttp://archive.org/details/concretepavingbl00abatNAN

Ranking and Repulsing Supermartingales for Reachability in Probabilistic Programs

Computing reachability probabilities is a fundamental problem in the analysis of probabilistic programs. This paper aims at a comprehensive and comparative account on various martingale-based methods for over- and under-approximating reachability probabilities. Based on the existing works that stretch across different communities (formal verification, control theory, etc.), we offer a unifying account. In particular, we emphasize the role of order-theoretic fixed points---a classic topic in computer science---in the analysis of probabilistic programs. This leads us to two new martingale-based techniques, too. We give rigorous proofs for their soundness and completeness. We also make an experimental comparison using our implementation of template-based synthesis algorithms for those martingales

Holomorphic linearization of commuting germs of holomorphic maps

Let $f_1, ..., f_h$ be $h\ge 2$ germs of biholomorphisms of \C^n fixing the origin. We investigate the shape a (formal) simultaneous linearization of the given germs can have, and we prove that if $f_1, ..., f_h$ commute and their linear parts are almost simultaneously Jordanizable then they are simultaneously formally linearizable. We next introduce a simultaneous Brjuno-type condition and prove that, in case the linear terms of the germs are diagonalizable, if the germs commutes and our Brjuno-type condition holds, then they are holomorphically simultaneously linerizable. This answers to a multi-dimensional version of a problem raised by Moser.Comment: 24 pages; final version with erratum (My original paper failed to cite the work of L. Stolovitch [ArXiv:math/0506052v2]); J. Geom. Anal. 201