Monthly and Diurnal Variability of Rain Rate and Rain Attenuation during the Monsoon Period in Malaysia

Rain is the major source of attenuation for microwave propagation above 10 GHz. In tropical and equatorial regions where the rain intensity is higher, designing a terrestrial and earth-to-satellite microwave links is very critical and challenging at these frequencies. This paper presents the preliminary results of rain effects in a 23 GHz terrestrial point-to-point communication link 1.3km long. The experimental test bed had been set up at Skudai, Johor Bahru, Malaysia. In this area, a monsoon equatorial climate prevails and the rainfall rate can reach values well above 100mm/h with significant monthly and diurnal variability. Hence, it is necessary to implement a mitigation technique for maintaining an adequate radio link performance for the action of very heavy rain. Since we now know that the ULPC (Up Link Power Control) cannot guarantee the desired performance, a solution based on frequency band diversity is proposed in this paper. Here, a secondary radio link operating in a frequency not affected by rain (C band for instance) is placed parallel with the main link. Under no rain or light rain conditions, the secondary link carries without priority radio signals. When there is an outage of the main link due to rain, the secondary link assumes the priority traffic. The outcome of the research shows a solution for higher operating frequencies during rainy events

MODELING AND ANALYSIS OF MAGNETIZED CHEMICALLY REACTIVE FLUID FLOW PAST OVER POROUS STRETCHED SHEET

The aim of this article to inspect the effect of nonlinear thermal radiation, heat joule, viscous dissipation and magnetic field on viscoelastic second grade fluid. Flow is generated due to stretching of sheet. Flow features are studied considering hydrodynamic boundary conditions. Chemical reaction on the surface is further accounted. The flow governing nonlinear partial system of differential equations is obtained incorporating boundary layer assumptions. The dimensional model is made dimensionless by taking suitable transformations and then tackled via HAM for convergent series solution. Effects of flow controlling parameters on velocity, concentration, temperature, local skin friction coefficient, Sherwood number and Nusselt numbers are discussed by plotting graphs. Main observations are listed at the end

Association of Physical Activity with Co-morbid Conditions in Geriatric Population

To find out association of physical activity with co-morbid conditions in geriatric population, a cross-sectional study was conducted in different cties of Pakistan in 2015. A total of 114 participants were inducted by non-probability convenience sampling technique. Data was collected after informed verbal consent by a validated questionnaire that is Rapid Assessment of Physical Activity (RAPA). Participants were categorized into two groups i.e. physically active and physically inactive. Data was entered and analyzed in SPSS version 20. There were 66 (57.9%) males and 48 (42.1%) females with mean age of 57.04±7.348 years. Among hypertensive individuals (n=43, 37.7%) there were 39 (90.7%) physically inactive, among individuals having angina (n=17, 14.9%) there were 15 (88.2%) physically inactive. Out of 37 (32.5%) diabetics, 35 (94.6%) were physically inactive. Among individuals suffering from arthritis (n=40, 35.1%), there were 38 (95%) physically inactive. A significant association was found between physical activity and diabetes and arthritis with p-value of 0.048 and 0.029 respectively. Physical activity is significantly associated with diabetes and arthritis in geriatric population. Adequate physical activity should be performed to reduce the risk of co-morbid conditions and improve the quality of life in geriatric population

Object's shadow removal with removal validation

We introduce in this paper, a shadow detection and removal method for moving objects especially for humans and vehicles. An effective method is presented for detecting and removing shadows from foreground figures. We assume that the foreground figures have been extracted from the input image by some background subtraction method. A figure may contain only one moving object with or without shadow. The homogeneity property of shadows is explored in a novel way for shadow detection and image division technique is used. The process is followed by filtering, removal, boundary removal and removal validation

ISOLATION OF EGG DROP SYNDROME VIRUS AND ITS MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION USING SODIUM DODECYL SULPHATE POLYACRYLAMIDE GEL ELECTROPHORESIS

Six isolates of egg drop syndrome (EDS) virus were recovered from five different outbreaks of EDS in commercial laying hens in and around Faisalabad. The aberrant eggs were fed to the susceptible laying hens for experimental induction of infection. The samples from infected birds (egg washing, cloacal swabs, oviducts and spleens) were collected, processed and inoculated into 11-day old duck embryos. The presence of virus in harvested allanto-amniotic fluid was monitored by spot and microhaemagglutination tests and confirmed by haemagglutination inhibition and agar gel precipitation tests. The EDS virus grew well in duck embryos and agglutinated only avian but not mammalian red blood cells. These isolates were purified through velocity density gradient centrifugation. Protein concentration was determined through Lowry method and sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) was conducted by loading 300 µg protein concentration on 12.5% gel using discontinuous buffer system. All the six isolates showed 13 polypeptides, which were identical to those described in the referral EDS-76 virus (strain-127). The molecular weights of the polypeptides ranged from 6.5 KDa to 126 KDa

Chemical and biological investigations of Delonix regia (Bojer ex Hook.) Raf.

U radu je opisana izolacija pet sastojaka petroleterske i diklormetanske frakcije metanolnog ekstrakta kore biljke Delonix regia: lupeol (1), epilupeol (2), β-sitosterol (3), stigmasterol (4) i p-metoksibenzaldehid (5). Nadalje, testirano je antimikrobno djelovanje različitih ekstrakata difuzijskom metodom na disku (15 μg mm2). Zone inhibicije za sastojke topljive u petroleteru, tetraklormetanu i diklormetanu bile su 914 mm, 1113 mm, odnosno 920 mm, dok je zona inhibicije standarda kanamicina bila 2025 mm. U biološkom pokusu smrtnosti morskih kozica najveću toksičnost pokazali su spojevi topljivi u tetraklormetanu (LC50 = 0,83 μg mL1), dok je topljivost sastojaka topljivih u petroleteru i diklormetanu bila LC50 14,94, odnosno 3,29 μg mL1, a standarda vinkristin sulfata 0,812 μg mL1. Ovo je prvo izvješće o izolaciji sastojaka, antimikrobnom djelovanju i citotoksičnosti biljke D. regia.In this study five compounds, lupeol (1), epilupeol (2), β-sitosterol (3), stigmasterol (4) and p-methoxybenzaldehyde (5) were isolated from the petroleum ether and dichloromethane fractions of a methanolic extract of the stem bark of Delonix regia. Antimicrobial screening of the different extracts (15 μg mm2) was conducted by disc diffusion method. The zones of inhibition demonstrated by the petroleum ether, carbon tetrachloride and dichloromethane fractions ranged from 914 mm, 1113 mm and 920 mm, respectively, compared to kanamycin standard with the zone of inhibition of 2025 mm. In brine shrimp lethality bioassay, the carbon tetrachloride soluble materials demonstrated the highest toxicity with LC50 of 0.83 μg mL1, while petroleum ether and dichloromethane soluble partitionates of the methanolic extract revealed LC50 of 14.94 and 3.29 μg mL1, respectively, in comparison with standard vincristine sulphate with LC50 of 0.812 μg mL1. This is the first report on compounds separation from D. regia, their antimicrobial activity and cytotoxicity

Stress and Failure Analysis of Double-Bolted Joints in Douglas-Fir and Sitka Spruce

Stresses in, and strength of, single- and double-bolted mechanical joints in wood members are analyzed experimentally and numerically. The analyses account for the nonlinear geometric and stress-strain responses and the thicknesses of the members. Stresses are obtained using finite elements, strain gages, and moiré techniques. Failure is predicted from assumed strength criteria. Stresses and strength are influenced by end-distance, bolt-spacing, edge-distance, bolt-clearance, and load distribution between bolts of a multiple fastener. Predicted initiation of failure agrees with visible and audible damage initiation in full-scale components. These occur at 10 to 25% of ultimate structural strength

Rare case report of accidental intravenous injection of oral probiotic

Oral probiotics containing spores of Bacillus clausii are given to the patients who have undergone major surgery or are on long term antibiotic course, to restore intestinal microbial flora. We are reporting a rare case where the oral probiotic suspension was injected intravenously by mistake. We shall be discussing in detail the reactionary changes caused by erroneous injection of oral probiotics in the body, its effects, complications and treatment of the reactionary changes

Comparative Study of Monosex Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) Production under Different Stocking Density in Ponds

A field experiment was conducted to study the effect of stocking density on the growth and production of monosex male tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus L.) conducted in six ponds commencing from 7th July to 4th November, 2012. Feeding frequency were two times in a day. The mean initial weight of fry in all the treatments were 5.7±0.04 g and after completion of the experiment the mean final weight of tilapia was 321.62±1.11 g for T1, 300.12±0.87 g for T2 and 256.25±2.38 g for T3. The mean weight gain of 315.92±1.11, 294.42±0.87  and 250.552.38g and mean percent weight gain of 5542.40, 5165.20 and 4395.61% and mean FCR was 1.41±0.00, 1.46±0.01 and 1.59±0.00and mean SGRof 3.36, 3.30 and 3.17% and the survival rate was 97.67, 94.25 and 93.40% were recorded in T1, T2 and T3, respectively. The highest weight gain, percent weight gain, SGR and survival rate were found in T1 and lowest were found in T3. The production was observed to be 47.12±0.52, 56.57±0.80 and 59.84±1.10 kg/dec/4 months in T1, T2 and T3, respectively. The significant (P?0.01) highest fish production and FCR was obtained 59.84 kg/dec/4 months and 1.59 respectively in T3 under stocking density was 250 fish/decimal and production, FCR was found to be decreased significantly with the decrease in stocking density. The lowest fish production 47.12 kg/dec/4 months were observed in T1. Although higher production was obtained in T3 but individually growth performance of monosex tilapia was higher in T1. Keywords: Monosex tilapia, growth performance, stocking density, tilapia production