Host plant selection and oviposition behaviour of whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) in a mono and simulated polyculture crop habitat

The host plant selection, oviposition behaviour and survivorship of whitefly (Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) was evaluated in green house. Three host plants cultivars namely: Brinjal (Solanum malagna), chilli (Capsicum annuum) and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) were placed in a multiple crop habitat at 34 - 36°C, 70 - 80% relative humidity (RH) in a normal day light. There was a variation of morphological characteristic among host plants (smooth and thick trichome leaves) where all developmental stages of pest were given free choice of foraging. Although the host plants genus C. annum and S. lycopersicum were also the potential host of B. tabaci but in the presence of S. malagna, the attack rate remains minimum on both the host plants. The feeding and egg laying was significantly higher on S. malagna L. leaves as compare to other two host plants in the open arena. S malagna L. was also preferred when pest was tested in confined cages for free choice probing on capsicum and S. malagna L. There was no significant but a slight difference in survivorship of all developmental stages of whitefly when Brinjal and Chilli and then Brinjal and tomato from two different experimental arenas were compared. There was no host plant varietal effect on the overall developmental time from egg eclosion to the adult. The leaves of S. malagna with thick trichomes were chosen significantly more higher for egg laying compared to other host plants. The morphological characters and plant architecture contribute to higher densities of adult whitefly (wf) compared to new leaves. No symptoms of viral infection has been observed on the chilli with Brinjal, whereas, the same variety of chilli was reasonably infected with virus in chilli monocrop arena.Key words: Multiple cropping, host plant selection, oviposition fecundity, intrinsic rate of increase

Suicide Clause in Various Life Policies in India

oai:ojs2.ijohmn.com:article/1Life insurance policy is a contract between the policy holder (assured) and the insurer (insurance company), where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money (a "premium") upon the death of the insured person. In return, the policy holder agrees to pay a stipulated amount (at regular intervals or in lump sums). In nutshell, life policies are legal contracts and the terms of the contract describe the limitations of the insured events. Specific exclusions are often written into the contract to limit the liability of the insurer; common examples are claims relating to suicide, fraud, war, riot and civil commotion.  Suicide means a wilful and intentional act on the part of the selfdestroyer. It includes every act of self-destruction. Policies of life insurance contain conditions by which the liability of the insurer is modified and limited in case of suicide by the assured. Where there is such a clause in a policy, the insurer can avoid the policy. The position in England and in India is different on this issue. In England suicide is a crime and hence no money is payable if a person commits suicide while in a sane state of mind. On the other hand if the assured was insane at the time of committing suicide, the sum due can be recovered by his legal representatives. Under the Indian law, suicide in itself is not an offence, and as such a policy cannot be avoided on the ground of suicide, unless the policy otherwise provides. Suicide will, however, not affect the rights of assignee, if the policy holder had assigned the policy for valuable consideration. The burden of proving suicide is upon the insurers and where the cause of death is not known, the presumption is against suicide and the policy cannot be avoided. This same is followed in India. According to this approach, the claim would be barred on a contractual level because the assured cannot be the author of his own loss, and on a broader level, because the law will not allow him to benefit from his own criminal acts. This paper examines the development of law and policy in relation to claims on life insurance policy where the assured or insured has committed suicide after the commencement of the policy and the effect of suicide clause in life insurance contract. Is that the present practice of insurance companies to insert suicide clause in life policies, indirectly promotes commercial suicide in cases of intentional suicides.

Cracking the Corruption Code: The Case of Afghanistan

This paper is about a very complicated and multifaceted issue of corruption. The main purpose of this paper is to find the impact of development indicators which are political stability and violence, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, rule of law, voice and accountability on the control of corruption in Afghanistan. Furthermore we are interested to know the direction of causality among these variables. The data is analyzed through ordinary least square regression method. Johansen test is applied for cointegration and to find the causality we have applied the Granger causality test. Political Stability and violence, government effectiveness and voice and accountability have shown very strong results and can have higher impact. Policy recommendations are made at the end of the paper

From Habermas Model to New Public Sphere: A Paradigm Shift

Though Habermas model of public sphere was framed for describing the public and sphere at the state-level however its principles and mechanisms are postulated as relevant to the theory and practices of global public sphere GPS and global civil society GCS The emerging digital technologies and particularly global connectivity through Internet and social networking have added new dimensions to the existing GPS thereby generating a new public sphere NPS The determinants of NPS like globalization social software etc do not seem to stand against the Habermas view of public sphere rather stand supportive and enhancing to the principles and requirements of an ideal public sphere both at the national and global levels This paper unfolds this issue at length by juxtaposing the research findings from the existing researc

Influences of Non-economic Responsibilities on Economic Responsibilities: A study on Consumers of Banking Industry in Sylhet

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) comprises of economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic responsibilities. However, these aspects of CSR may have significant influence over each other. The rest of the aspects of CSR may influence specifically the most critical aspect of CSR, economic responsibilities. Therefore, the aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of philanthropic, ethical, and legal responsibilities on economic responsibilities of banks. In total 250 customers of different banks in sylhet district were surveyed for the study. Multiple linear regression method in SPSS was used to analyze the data. Among the non-economic dimensions of CSR, the ethical and philanthropic responsibilities found to be significant influencer of economic responsibilities of CSR. On the other hand, the legal responsibilities was concluded as an insignificant influencer of economic responsibilities. More precisely, one percent increase in ethical responsibility will increase the economic responsibility by 50 percent and alike one percent development in philanthropic responsibility will increase the economic responsibility by 20 percent

The Problems and Prospects of New Public Sphere for Global Civil Society

Information and communication technologies (ICTS) have revolutionized almost every aspect of life particularly it has created a new global public sphere by providing endless list of tools for global communication thereby establishing a new global society with novel norms and mundane issues. This paper is an effort to review the state of affairs in new public sphere with a focus on the digital tools under use, their role in creating the global society and the threats and opportunities available for the international citizens for behaving effectively to utilize the opportunities and manage threats to the maximum. The paper explores interlinks between the digital gadgets, emerging global public sphere and the mundane issues emanating from this situation. The paper ends with a theoretical model constructed out of the themes floating across the review and analysis

Laparoscopic Conservative Management Of A Spontaneously Ruptured Spleen: Case Report

A case of an acute abdomen secondary to a ruptured spleen managed laparoscopically is presented. Laparoscopy is currently widely used for the initial diagnosis and management of such cases as an alternative to laparotomy due to the numerous advantages of the minimal access techniques. With widespread availability and adequate training in laparoscopy, minimal access surgery is likely to play a bigger role in the initial management of patients with an acute abdomen in Kenya. It is with this realisation that we present the case of a 25 year old male who presented with an acute abdomen and thrombocytopaenia due to a ruptured spleen following severe malaria that was managed laparoscopically. The aim is to highlight and encourage conservative management of acute abdomen due to splenic rupture in a patient with malaria

Institutional repositories for higher educational institutions: A new opportunity for Academic Libraries

Digital information created for pedagogical and research purposes is gaining traction, and there is a growing interest within academic institutions to gather, archive, and provide value-added services based on this content. The term institutional repository refers to a novel system for storing and sharing digital academic works produced by students and teachers at different educational institutions. It was conceived as a solution to the issues plaguing the present model of scholarly communication, which is dominated by for-profit journal publishers and suppliers. Libraries will need to hire librarians with knowledge of digital collection management and the Open Archive Information System (OAIS) to ensure the successful implementation of these repositories. Some of the new responsibilities for libraries include teaching students and teachers how to use OAIS, assisting them in the creation of digital products, incorporating them into the formulation of institutional policy, and establishing objectives for institutional repositories

Antimicrobial and phytotoxic screening of various fractions of Sonchus asper

Sonchus asper is used in the treatment of many diseases ethnopharmacologically in Pakistan. In the present manuscript we demonstrate the antimicrobial and phytotoxic effects of various fractions of S.asper. Six (6) different bacteria (Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Micrococcus luteus, klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) are used in the screening of extract as well as 4 strains of fungi are characterized. Raddish root inhibition assay was used for phytotoxic screening. Methanolic fraction of S. asper showed best activities in all of assays, in inhibition of microbes and phytotoxic activities. The potency of these activities is due to the presence of bioactive flavonoids, saponins and phenolic compounds

Optimization of CO2 production rate for firefighting robot applications using response surface methodology

A carbon dioxide gas-powered pneumatic actuation has been proposed as a suitable power source for an autonomous firefighting robot (CAFFR), which is designed to operate in an indoor fire environment in our earlier study. Considering the consumption rate of the pneumatic motor, the gas-powered actuation that is based on the theory of phase change material requires optimal determination of not only the sublimation rate of carbon dioxide but also the sizing of dry ice granules. Previous studies that have used the same theory are limited to generating a high volume of carbon dioxide without reference to neither the production rate of the gas nor the size of the granules of the dry ice. However, such consideration remains a design requirement for efficient driving of a carbon dioxide-powered firefighting robot. This paper investigates the effects of influencing design parameters on the sublimation rate of dry ice for powering a pneumatic motor. The optimal settings of these parameters that maximize the sublimation rate at the minimal time and dry ice mass are presented. In the experimental design and analysis, we employed full-factorial design and response surface methodology to fit an acceptable model for the relationship between the design factors and the response variables. Predictive models of the sublimation rate were examined via ANOVA, and the suitability of the linear model is confirmed. Further, an optimal sublimation rate value of 0.1025 g/s is obtained at a temperature of 80°C, the mass of 16.1683 g, and sublimation time of 159.375 s