EFFECTS OF HOUSING SYSTEMS ON PRODUCTIVE PERFORMANCE OF COMMERCIAL LAYERS FOLLOWING INDUCED MOLTING BY ALUMINIUM OXIDE SUPPLEMENTATION

The project was carried out to compare the performance of molted layers by aluminium oxide supplementation in cages and on litter floor system. Seventy two Single Comb White Leghorn commercial layers (60 weeks old) were divided into six experimental units of 12 layers each. These experimental units were randomly divided into two groups, each consisting of three experimental units, one group was reared on litter floor and the other in cages. The layers were provided with 35 gm feed containing 4 gm aluminium oxide/kg of feed for first 14 days of molting period (66-67 weeks of age). The layers showed significant reduction in body weight following induced molting by aluminium oxide under both housing systems. Body weight loss was higher, while feed consumption was lower, in the cages as compared to litter floor system. The layers molted by aluminium oxide showed significantly higher egg production in the cages (P≤0.05) than in litter floor system (P≤0.05). The layers in the subsequent production cycle showed improvement in egg weight, egg shell thickness and Haugh Unit Score. The egg weight and egg shell thickness were higher in the birds kept on litter floor system than those kept in cages (P≥0.05). However, Haugh unit score was higher in the cage system. It was concluded that aluminium oxide can be effectively supplemented for better production performance and improved egg quality in the second production cycle preferably in the cages

The Chandra X-Ray Observatory's Radiation Environment and the AP-8/AE-8 Model

The Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO) was launched on July 23, 1999 and reached its final orbit on August 7, 1999. The CXO is in a highly elliptical orbit, approximately 140,000 km x 10,000 km, and has a period of approximately 63.5 hours (~ 2.65 days). It transits the Earth's Van Allen belts once per orbit during which no science observations can be performed due to the high radiation environment. The Chandra X-ray Observatory Center (CXC) currently uses the National Space Science Data Center's ``near Earth'' AP-8/AE-8 radiation belt model to predict the start and end times of passage through the radiation belts. However, our scheduling software uses only a simple dipole model of the Earth's magnetic field. The resulting B, L magnetic coordinates, do not always give sufficiently accurate predictions of the start and end times of transit of the Van Allen belts. We show this by comparing to the data from Chandra's on-board radiation monitor, the EPHIN (Electron, Proton, Helium Instrument particle detector) instrument. We present evidence that demonstrates this mis-timing of the outer electron radiation belt as well as data that also demonstrate the significant variablity of one radiation belt transit to the next as experienced by the CXO. We also present an explanation for why the dipole implementation of the AP-8/AE-8 model is not ideally suited for the CXO. Lastly, we provide a brief discussion of our on-going efforts to identify a model that accounts for radiation belt variability, geometry, and one that can be used for observation scheduling purposes.Comment: 12 pgs, 6 figs, for SPIE 4012 (Paper 76

The dark side of phubbing in the workplace: Investigating the role of intrinsic motivation and the use of enterprise social media (ESM) in a cross-cultural setting

Despite the increasing phenomena of supervisor phubbing (a counterproductive workplace behaviour of managers), very few studies have explored its outcomes in organisations. This study aims to bridge this gap by investigating the relationships between supervisor phubbing and key employee outcomes. We conducted two studies in cross-cultural settings. In Study 1, which was conducted in Pakistan (a collectivistic culture), we collected 370 useable responses through an online survey from the employees working in the service sector organisations. Study 2, which was conducted in the United States of America (an individualistic culture), utilised the Prolific data collection service to gather 352 responses. Our results from both studies reveal that supervisor phubbing is negatively related to employee job performance and work engagement via intrinsic motivation. Further, enterprise social media (ESM) usage in organisations moderates the relationships between supervisor phubbing and its outcomes such that these relationships are weaker for employees whose ESM usage is higher. Our work offers significant contributions to the literature on technology use at workplace as it discusses a counterproductive workplace behaviour of managers (phubbing) and that behaviour’s association with key employee outcomes in organisations while also considering the moderating role of ESM usage in organisations

Evaluating Impact of Mobility on Wireless Routing Protocols

In this paper, we evaluate, analyze, and compare the impact of mobility on the behavior of three reactive protocols (AODV, DSR, DYMO) and three proactive protocols (DSDV, FSR, OLSR) in multi-hop wireless networks. We take into account throughput, end-to-end delay, and normalized routing load as performance parameters. Based upon the extensive simulation results in NS-2, we rank all of six protocols according to the performance parameters. Besides providing the interesting facts regarding the response of each protocol on varying mobilities and speeds, we also study the trade-offs, the routing protocols have to make. Such as, to achieve throughput, a protocol has to pay some cost in the form of increased end-to-end delay or routing overhead

PREVALENCE AND ANTHELMINTIC EFFICACY OF ABAMECTIN AGAINST GASTROINTESTINAL PARASITES IN HORSES

The prevalence and anthelmintic efficacy of Abamectin against gastrointestinal parasites under field conditions in Faisalabad (Punjab, Pakistan) was studied in 100 horses. The overall prevalence of gastrointestinal parasites was 75%, including Strongylus spp. (50%), Oxyuris equi (12%), Parascaris equorum (8%) and mixed infection (5%). Among these naturally infected animals, 15 were selected. These horses were assigned to three groups on the basis of prevalent species of gastrointestinal parasites. Each group had five animals, comprising four treatment horses and a control horse. Abamectin was evaluated against these gastrointestinal parasites with a single shot at the dose rate of 0.2 mg/kg body weight administered through subcutaneous route which resulted in 98% reduction in faecal egg count after day 14 post-treatment. Non-treated horses remained positive for gastrointestinal parasites. No adverse reactions were observed during the experimental period. It was concluded that Abamectin is highly effective against gastrointestinal parasites in horses

Jet-Induced Nucleosynthesis in Misaligned Microquasars

The jet axes and the orbital planes of microquasar systems are usually assumed to be approximately perpendicular, eventhough this is not currently an observational requirement. On the contrary, in one of the few systems where the relative orientations are well-constrained, V4641Sgr, the jet axis is known to lie not more than ~36 degrees from the binary plane. Such a jet, lying close to the binary plane, and traveling at a significant fraction of the speed of light may periodically impact the secondary star initiating nuclear reactions on its surface. The integrated yield of such nuclear reactions over the age of the binary system (less the radiative mass loss) will detectably alter the elemental abundances of the companion star. This scenario may explain the anomalously high Li enhancements (roughly ~20-200 times the sun's photospheric value; or, equivalently, 0.1-1 times the average solar system value) seen in the companions of some black-hole X-ray binary systems. (Such enhancements are puzzling since Li nuclei are exceedingly fragile - being easily destroyed in the interiors of stars - and Li would be expected to be depleted rather than enhanced there.) Gamma-ray line signatures of the proposed process could include the 2.22 MeV neutron capture line as well as the 0.478 MeV 7Li* de-excitation line, both of which may be discernable with the INTEGRAL satellite if produced in an optically thin region during a large outburst. For very energetic jets, a relatively narrow neutral pion gamma-decay signature at 67.5 MeV could also be measurable with the GLAST satellite. We argue that about 10-20% of all microquasar systems ought to be sufficiently misaligned as to be undergoing the proposed jet-secondary impacts.Comment: ApJ, accepted. Includes referee's suggestions and some minor clarifications over previous versio

Time course of salivary protein responses to cranberry-derived polyphenol exposure as a function of PROP taster status

Astringency is a complex oral sensation, commonly experienced when dietary polyphenols interact with salivary proteins. Most astringent stimuli alter protein levels, which then require time to be replenished. Although it is standard practice in astringency research to provide breaks in between stimuli, there is limited consensus over the amount of time needed to restore the oral environment to baseline levels. Here we examined salivary protein levels after exposure to 20 mL of a model stimulus (cranberry polyphenol extract, 0.75 g/L CPE) or unsweetened cranberry juice (CJ), over a 10 min period. Whole saliva from healthy subjects (n = 60) was collected at baseline and after 5 and 10 min following either stimulus. Five families of proteins: basic proline-rich proteins (bPRPs); acidic proline-rich proteins (aPRPs); histatins; statherin; and S-type cystatins, were analyzed in whole saliva via HPLC-low resolution-ESI-IT-MS, using the area of the extracted ion current (XIC) peaks. Amylase was quantified via immunoblotting. In comparison to baseline (resting), both stimuli led to a rise in levels of aPRPs (p < 0.000) at 5 min which remained elevated at 10 min after stimulation. Additionally, an interaction of PROP taster status and time was observed, wherein super-tasters had higher levels of amylase in comparison to non-tasters after stimulation with CJ at both timepoints (p = 0.014–0.000). Further, male super-tasters had higher levels of bPRPs at 5 min after stimulation with both CJ and CPE (p = 0.015–0.007) in comparison to baseline. These data provide novel findings of interindividual differences in the salivary proteome that may influence the development of astringency and that help inform the design of sensory experiments of astringency

Data analytics and optimization for assessing a ride sharing system

Ride-sharing schemes attempt to reduce road traffic by matching prospective passengers to drivers with spare seats in their cars. To be successful, such schemes require a critical mass of drivers and passengers. In current deployed implementations, the possible matches are based on heuristics, rather than real route times or distances. In some cases, the heuristics propose infeasible matches; in others, feasible matches are omitted. Poor ride matching is likely to deter participants from using the system. We develop a constraint-based model for acceptable ride matches which incorporates route plans and time windows. Through data analytics on a history of advertised schedules and agreed shared trips, we infer parameters for this model that account for 90% of agreed trips. By applying the inferred model to the advertised schedules, we demonstrate that there is an imbalance between riders and passengers. We assess the potential benefits of persuading existing drivers to switch to becoming passengers if appropriate matches can be found, by solving the inferred model with and without switching. We demonstrate that flexible participation has the potential to reduce the number of unmatched participants by up to 80%

Real-world outcomes in thoracic cancer patients with severe Acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2 (COVID-19): Single UK institution experience.

BACKGROUND: UK COVID-19 mortality rates are amongst the highest globally. Controversy exists on the vulnerability of thoracic cancer patients. We describe the characteristics and sequelae of patients with thoracic cancer treated at a UK cancer centre infected with COVID-19. METHODS: Patients undergoing care for thoracic cancer diagnosed with COVID-19 (RT-PCR/radiology/clinically) between March-June 2020 were included. Data were extracted from patient records. RESULTS: Thirty-two patients were included: 14 (43%) diagnosed by RT-PCR, 18 (57%) by radiology and/or convincing symptoms. 88% had advanced thoracic malignancies. Eleven of 14 (79%) patients diagnosed by RT-PCR and 12 of 18 (56%) patients diagnosed by radiology/clinically were hospitalised, of which four (29%) and 2 (11%) patients required high-dependency/intensive care respectively. Three (21%) patients diagnosed by RT-PCR and 2 (11%) patients diagnosed by radiology/clinically required non-invasive ventilation; none were intubated. Complications included pneumonia and sepsis (43% and 14% respectively in patients diagnosed by RT-PCR; 17% and 11% respectively in patients diagnosed by radiology/clinically). In patients receiving active cancer treatment, therapy was delayed/ceased in 10/12 (83%) and 7/11 (64%) patients diagnosed by RT-PCR and radiology/clinically respectively. Nine (28%) patients died; all were smokers. Median time from symptom onset to death was 7 days (range 3-37). CONCLUSIONS: The immediate morbidity from COVID-19 is high in thoracic cancer patients. Hospitalisation and treatment interruption rates were high. Improved risk-stratification models for UK cancer patients are urgently needed to guide safe cancer-care delivery without compromising efficacy

Consumer responses to the failure of self-service banking technology: moderating role of failure stability

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of dissatisfaction and anger, driven by the failure of the self-service technology (SST) of banks, on customers' post-purchase behavioral reactions, such as complaints, negative word-of-mouth and supplier change. Stability of the failure is proposed to moderate these relationships. Design/methodology/approach: The proposed research model was tested through data collected from an online survey of a Tunisian sample of 300 respondents, using the scenario method. Findings: The study validates the positive impact of dissatisfaction on anger and negative word-of-mouth, as well as that of anger on complaint behavior and negative word-of-mouth. The relation between dissatisfaction and negative word-of-mouth is mediated by anger. When the failure is stable, dissatisfied users of the SST seek to enhance their negative word-of-mouth and supplier change. The results also show that the stability of the failure enhances the effect of anger on complaint behavior. Practical implications: Banks should invest efforts to accelerate the recovery of services to reduce consumer dissatisfaction and anger, and prevent adverse behavioral outcomes. Further, they need to ensure that failures are not repeated, as failure stability activates some otherwise non-significant behavioral outcomes like supplier change. Originality/value: Previous works have focused on the impact of dissatisfaction and negative emotions for interpersonal services, but very few have come to associate dissatisfaction, anger, complaint, negative word-of-mouth, and supplier change in an integrative framework for an SST failure