Zero-tillage Technology and Farm Profits: A Case Study of Wheat Growers in the Rice Zone of Punjab

The rice-wheat cropping zone of Punjab is the main producer of high-valued and fine quality basmati rice in Pakistan. The rice produced in this area is famous for its grain length and aromatic characteristics. Being an important export item, rice contributes significantly to the national foreign exchange earnings. Wheat is the other major crop of the rice-wheat system and being the staple food is central to national agricultural policies. Rice is grown on a vast area in this zone during Kharif mostly followed by wheat in the Rabi season. Studies have shown that a large gap exists between the potential and yields actually realised by the wheat growers of the area [Byerlee, et al. (1984); Hobbs (1985) and Sheikh, et al. (2000)]. Farmers’ practices regarding land preparation for paddy, wheat planting time, and other conflicts endogenous to the rice-wheat based cropping system were identified as the major factors limiting wheat yield in the area. The flooded and puddled soils that are well suited for paddy production as compared to well-drained conditions required for wheat is such an example of the system conflicts. The farmers in the rice-wheat zone of the Punjab predominantly grow basmati varieties, which are late maturing as compared to coarse varieties of rice. Therefore, paddy harvest is generally delayed at most of the farms in this zone. The late paddy harvest coupled with poor soil structure and loose plant residues create problems for preparation of a good seedbed and planting of wheat often gets late [Byerlee, et al. (1984)]. The farmers also had to resort to the broadcast method for wheat sowing which results in poor and patchy plant stands.

HEER: Hybrid Energy Efficient Reactive Protocol for Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) consist of numerous sensors which send sensed data to base station. Energy conservation is an important issue for sensor nodes as they have limited power.Many routing protocols have been proposed earlier for energy efficiency of both homogeneous and heterogeneous environments. We can prolong our stability and network lifetime by reducing our energy consumption. In this research paper, we propose a protocol designed for the characteristics of a reactive homogeneous WSNs, HEER (Hybrid Energy Efficient Reactive) protocol. In HEER, Cluster Head(CH) selection is based on the ratio of residual energy of node and average energy of network. Moreover, to conserve more energy, we introduce Hard Threshold (HT) and Soft Threshold (ST). Finally, simulations show that our protocol has not only prolonged the network lifetime but also significantly increased stability period.Comment: 2nd IEEE Saudi International Electronics, Communications and Photonics Conference (SIECPC 13), 2013, Riyadh, Saudi Arabi

An Indirect View of the Fertility Changes in Pakistan

An effort has been made in this paper to arrive at some indirect assessment of the levels of birth rates from the same survey data sources. The basis for this approach is the internal consistency of the relevant data.! Ideally, in a series of repeated surveys the variations ih the estimated yearly rates should be only due to the sampling and non-sampling errors and not due to changes in the numerator or the denominator resulting from variations in the procedures of measurement. In other words, such changes if any, should not result in any erratic variations between the estimates of one series to the other, otherwise they may lead to some erroneous inference about the levels and trends. Let us now have a look at the crude birth and death rates for Pakistan, as reported from different surveys. From Table 1 it is clearly evident that the crude birth rate as reported from yearly repeated surveys (pGE, PGS and PDS series), show erratic up and down movements over the years 1962-65 through 1988, with the level of the rate remaining over 40 [Farooqui and Farooq (1971); Government of Pakistan (1973, 1973a, 1974, 1974a, 1981, 1983, 1983a, 1984, 1984a, 1990)]. The corresponding crude death rates also show year to year variations but in their case a net decline of 4.1 is evident over the same period. Table 1 also shows that the estimates of Crude Birth Rate (CBR) reported by 1975 Pakistan Fertility Survey (PFS), 1984-85 Pakistan Contraceptive Prevalence Survey (PCPS) and 1990-91 Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey (PDHS) show a declining trend [Government of Pakistan (1976, 1986); NIPS (1992»). Moreover the levels of CBR given by these types of one-time surveys are reported to be lower than the rates reported for the nearest years by the series of yearly repeated surveys. Conducted by Pakistan Federal Bureau of Statistics

SIMPLE: Stable Increased-throughput Multi-hop Protocol for Link Efficiency in Wireless Body Area Networks

In this work, we propose a reliable, power efficient and high throughput routing protocol for Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs). We use multi-hop topology to achieve minimum energy consumption and longer network lifetime. We propose a cost function to select parent node or forwarder. Proposed cost function selects a parent node which has high residual energy and minimum distance to sink. Residual energy parameter balances the energy consumption among the sensor nodes while distance parameter ensures successful packet delivery to sink. Simulation results show that our proposed protocol maximize the network stability period and nodes stay alive for longer period. Longer stability period contributes high packet delivery to sink which is major interest for continuous patient monitoring.Comment: IEEE 8th International Conference on Broadband and Wireless Computing, Communication and Applications (BWCCA'13), Compiegne, Franc

Comparison between kNN and SVM for EMG Signal Classification

This paper shows an approach for EMG signal processing and classification as a tool to classify neuromuscular disorder. EMG signal classification is an emerging field of science and engineering providing efficient way for diagnosing neuromuscular disorder. Several techniques have been suggested for classification of EMG signals.This paper shows an approach for EMG signal processing and classification based on discrete wavelet transform as a tool to extract important information such as approximate and detail coefficients. Present work shows the comparison of kNN (k-Nearest Neighbours) and Support vector machin

Effect of Area Ratio on Base Pressure in a Suddenly Expanded Duct for Under Expanded Flow ft Mach 1.87

The results of an experimental investigation carried out to control the base pressure in a suddenly expanded axi-symmetric passage is presented in this paper. An active control in the form of micro jets is employed to control the base pressure. Air injection at four locations at the base, symmetric to the nozzle axis is used as the active control. The jet Mach number studied and the area ratios are 1.87, and 2.56, 3.24, 4.84, and 6.25. The L/D ratio is varied from 10 to 1. The experiments are conducted at a fixed level of under expansion (i.e. Pe/Pa = 1.5). In addition to base pressure, wall pressure field along the duct was also measured. As high as 80 percent increase in base pressure was achieved for certain combination of parameters of the present study. The minimum Length-todiameter ratio of the duct required is L/D = 2 for area ratios 6.25 and 4.84. Whereas, this requirement is L/D = 1 for area ratios 2.56 and 3.24

On -analogue of two parametric Stancu-Beta operators

Abstract Our purpose is to introduce a two-parametric ( p , q ) $(p, q)$ -analogue of the Stancu-Beta operators. We study approximating properties of these operators using the Korovkin approximation theorem and also study a direct theorem. We also obtain the Voronovskaya-type estimate for these operators. Furthermore, we study the weighted approximation results and pointwise estimates for these operators

Vasopressin for the management of catecholamine-resistant anaphylactic shock

Severe anaesthetic anaphylaxis is relatively uncommon. Oxygen, fluids and epinephrine are considered to be the mainstay for treatment of cardiovascular collapse and current guidelines for the management of anaphylaxis list only epinephrine as a vasopressor to use in the event of a cardiovascular collapse. Recently, evidence has emerged in the support of the use of vasopressin in cardiopulmonary resuscitation, it is also recommended for the treatment of ventricular fibrillation, septic shock and post-cardiopulmonary bypass distribution shock. Currently, there is no algorithm or guideline for the management of anaphylaxis that include the use of vasopressin. We report a 24-year-old woman who developed severe anaphylactic shock at induction of anaesthesia while undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Circulation shock was refractory to epinephrine and high doses of pure alpha-agonist phenylephrine and norepinephrine. Single intravenous dose of two units of vasopressin re-established normal circulation and blood pressure