Large Scale Earth's Bow Shock with Northern IMF as simulated by PIC code in parallel with MHD model

In this paper, we propose a 3D kinetic model (Particle-in-Cell PIC ) for the description of the large scale Earth's bow shock. The proposed version is stable and does not require huge or extensive computer resources. Because PIC simulations work with scaled plasma and field parameters, we also propose to validate our code by comparing its results with the available MHD simulations under same scaled Solar wind ( SW ) and ( IMF ) conditions. We report new results from the two models. In both codes the Earth's bow shock position is found to be ~14.8 RE along the Sun-Earth line, and ~ 29 RE on the dusk side. Those findings are consistent with past in situ observations. Both simulations reproduce the theoretical jump conditions at the shock. However, the PIC code density and temperature distributions are inflated and slightly shifted sunward when compared to the MHD results. Kinetic electron motions and reflected ions upstream may cause this sunward shift. Species distributions in the foreshock region are depicted within the transition of the shock (measured ~2 c/{\omega}pi for {\Theta}Bn =90o and MMS =4.7 ) and in the downstream. The size of the foot jump in the magnetic field at the shock is measured to be (1.7 c/{\omega}pi ). In the foreshocked region, the thermal velocity is found equal to 213 km.sec-1 at 15 RE and is equal to 63 km.sec-1at 12 RE (Magnetosheath region). Despite the large cell size of the current version of the PIC code, it is powerful to retain macrostructure of planets magnetospheres in very short time, thus it can be used for a pedagogical test purposes. It is also likely complementary with MHD to deepen our understanding of the large scale magnetosphereComment: 26 pages, 8 figures, 1 table , 66 references, JOAA-D-16-00005/201

Mosses of Mt. Trus Madi, Sabah, Malaysia

A species list of mosses collected in Mt. Trus Madi, Sabah, between 10 September and 10 October 1996 is presented. A total of 153 taxa were collected, of which 11 are new to Borneo and five new to Sabah

Performance Analysis of the Decentralized Eigendecomposition and ESPRIT Algorithm

In this paper, we consider performance analysis of the decentralized power method for the eigendecomposition of the sample covariance matrix based on the averaging consensus protocol. An analytical expression of the second order statistics of the eigenvectors obtained from the decentralized power method which is required for computing the mean square error (MSE) of subspace-based estimators is presented. We show that the decentralized power method is not an asymptotically consistent estimator of the eigenvectors of the true measurement covariance matrix unless the averaging consensus protocol is carried out over an infinitely large number of iterations. Moreover, we introduce the decentralized ESPRIT algorithm which yields fully decentralized direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimates. Based on the performance analysis of the decentralized power method, we derive an analytical expression of the MSE of DOA estimators using the decentralized ESPRIT algorithm. The validity of our asymptotic results is demonstrated by simulations.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figures, submitted for publication in IEEE Transactions on Signal Processin

The Political Economy Of Privatization In Nigeria: A Case Study Of The Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (Nitel)

Privatization in Nigeria was thought to have represented a reversal of the entire post-military and post-authoritarian interventionist policy paradigm. The privatization decision resulted from demands associated with the international institutions such as the World Bank and globalization in general. The sad reality, however, is that privatization in Nigeria has been abominably politicized, climaxing at political patronage and cronyism as clearly shown by biased selection of candidates, inadequate regulatory framework and the poor mode of privatization. Using the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) as a Case Study, this dissertation rehearses the problematical scenery of privatization in Nigeria, and how privatization, rather than serving as an economic reformatory tool, has been used as a tool for political settlements. The result of the study corroborates previous researchers‟ position that privatization in Nigeria failed to deliver the economic goal of efficiency and improved productivity. In the case of NITEL particularly, the results of the study (using information and data collected on NITEL, a thorough insight of the performance after privatization exercise were taken with references to some performance indicators such as profitability, operating efficiency, capital investment, leverage and employment), showed that the company almost experienced bankruptcy before the Nigerian government revoked the sale from Transnational Corporations (TRANSCORP). The pinnacle of the findings of the study reveals that political corruption and institutional failures are the most responsible factors for the failure of privatization in Nigeria, generally, and in the case of NITEL, particularl

Criminality and election outcomes in Nigeria

This study explores democratic practice in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic in the light of globally prescribed and acceptable norms, tenets and values of democracy as a form of government. The study was conducted in Nigeria and adopted a multistage sampling technique to administer questionnaire to 700 delegates across the six (6) geopolitical zones of Nigeria’s 36 States. The results and findings show that Nigeria’s democracy is plagued with massive electoral fraud, including intimidation, disenfranchisement of eligible contestants and voters from participating in the democratic process, corruption of the election process, scam, and fraudulent declaration of winners of elections. The implications of such democratic deceit in Nigeria’s democracy includes voter apathy resulting from lack of confidence in the democratic process and outcome, violence and political instability and the nonparticipation of qualified and honest citizens in the politics of Nigeria. Consequently, leaders that emerge from Nigeria’s democratic politics are not always the choice of the people, which explains why they are not accountable to the people as well as why there is deficit of public trust in Nigeria’s democratic system

Deflection of Laminated Composite Plates Using Dynamic Relaxation Method

First – order orthotropic shear deformation equations for the nonlinearly elastic bending response of rectangular plates are introduced. Their solution using a computer program based on finite differences implementation of the Dynamic Relaxation (DR) method is outlined. The convergence and accuracy of the DR solutions for elastic large deflection response of isotropic, orthotropic, and laminated plates are established by comparison with various exact and approximate solutions. The present Dynamic Relaxation method (DR) coupled with finite differences method shows a fairly good agreement with other analytical and numerical methods used in the verification scheme. It was found that: The convergence and accuracy of the DR solution are dependent on several factors including boundary conditions, mesh size, and type, fictitious densities, damping coefficients, time increment and applied load. Also, the DR large deflection program using uniform finite differences meshes can be employed in the analysis of different thicknesses for isotropic, orthotropic, or laminated plates under uniform loads. All the comparison results for simply supported (SS4) edge conditions showed that deflection is almost dependent on the direction of the applied load or the arrangement of the layers

The Potential of Some Plant Powders as Biopesticides against Sitophilus Zeamais (Motsch.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) and Callosobruchus maculatus (F.) (Coleoptera: Bruchidae) On Stored Grains: A Review

Powders prepared from parts of different plant species indigenous to Nigeria were tested by various Nigerian scientists under laboratory conditions for their insecticidal activities against the common insect pests of maize and cowpea, i.e. Sitophilus zeamais and Callosobruchus maculatus during storage. Results showed that at certain concentrations, the plant materials had both ovicidal and larvicidal effects. They also reduced adult emergence, progeny development and increased mortality of the adults. Some have anti-feedant effects on the insect pests. Looking into the side effects of synthetic pesticides, the studies demonstrated that these plant parts can play an important role in protection of stored grains from insect invasion during storage.Key words: Biopesticides, Callosobruchus maculatus, Plant powders, Sitophilus zeamais Stored grain