Factors Responsible for Resistance in Okra against Aphid, Aphis Gossiypii Glover (Homoptera: Aphididae)

Aphids are herbivores that feed on plant’s sap and are widespread throughout the globe. To assess the factors affecting the infestation of Aphis gossypii (Glover) and to use antixenosis a trial was conducted using 5 okra genotypes (Sabz Pari, Advanta, Durga, Kaveri, and Shandar) during spring, 2017 at “Agriculture Research Institute” (ARI) Tarnab, under Random Complete Block Design (RCBD) in field and Completely Randomized Design (CRD) in lab with 3 and 8 replications, respectively. Weekly data gathering for mean percent infestation of A. gossypii on each genotype to note variation among genotypes. The aphid infestations (2.5 Aphid leaf-1) recorded on Shandar was higher than others and lowest (2.0 Aphids leaf-1) was recorded on Durga. Initially the infestation was lesser (0.5) but with time it reaches to peak (3.62) on 1st May and then gradually declined to least (2.0 aphid leaf-1) in the 10th week. A statistically significant negative relationship existed between aphid abundance and crop yield. In the antixenosis trial, the Durga variety showed significant antixenosis resistance towards aphids after 12, 24, and 48 hours. Furthermore, the maximum yield of Durga variety (8.3 Tons (t)/ha) and the least yield (5.2 tons/ha) Shandar was obtained. Relating to aphid infestation and yield, the Durga variety performed exceptionally well. It is concluded from the results that the varieties showing antixenosis resistance towards insects must be recommended to not only reduce insect attacks but also to enhance yield

Appropriate Exchange Rate Regime for Economic Structure of Pakistan

Abstract. This study attempts to find the appropriate exchange rate regime for economic structure of Pakistan. To this end the study uses ARDL bond testing approach to estimate long run and for the estimation of short run analysis Error correction model (ECM) is applied. Time series data is used over the period from 1984 to 2012. Findings reveal that Trade openness, foreign exchange reserves, and inflation rate are important determinant while choosing appropriate exchange-rate regime for economy having features like Pakistan. On the basis of analysis, this study suggests that both extreme ends hard peg and free float are unfavorable for it. The results also survive during robustness check. However, caution is required while making a policy decision as clear-cut answer is absent.  Nonetheless, choice of regime is a difficult task in empirical analysis because few factors cannot explain actual regime.Keywords. Exchange Rate Regime, Classification, ARDL.JEL. F31, F33, F44

Machine learning and blockchain technologies for cybersecurity in connected vehicles

Future connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) must be secured againstcyberattacks for their everyday functions on the road so that safety of passengersand vehicles can be ensured. This article presents a holistic review of cybersecurityattacks on sensors and threats regardingmulti-modal sensor fusion. A compre-hensive review of cyberattacks on intra-vehicle and inter-vehicle communicationsis presented afterward. Besides the analysis of conventional cybersecurity threatsand countermeasures for CAV systems,a detailed review of modern machinelearning, federated learning, and blockchain approach is also conducted to safe-guard CAVs. Machine learning and data mining-aided intrusion detection systemsand other countermeasures dealing with these challenges are elaborated at theend of the related section. In the last section, research challenges and future direc-tions are identified

Optimizing diamond-like carbon coatings - From experimental era to artificial intelligence

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings are widely used for numerous engineering applications due to their superior multi-functional properties. Deposition of good quality DLC is governed by energy per unit carbon atom or ion and plasma kinetics, which are independent parameters. Translating independent parameters to dependent parameters to produce a best DLC is subjected to deposition method, technology, and system configurations which may involve above 50 combinations of bias voltage, chamber pressure, deposition temperature, gas flow rate, etc. Hence DLC coatings are optimized to identify the best parameters which yield superior properties. This article covers DLC introduction, the role of independent parameters, translation of independent parameters to dependent parameters, and discussion of four generations of DLC optimization. The first-generation of DLC optimization experimentally optimizes the parameter-to-property relationship, and the second-generation describes multi-parameter optimization with a hybrid of experimental and statistical-based analytical methods. The third generation covers the optimization of DLC deposition parameters with a hybrid of statistical methods and artificial intelligence (AI) tools. The ongoing fourth generation not only performs multi-parameter and multi-property optimization but also use AI tools to predict DLC properties and performance with higher accuracy. It is expected that AI-driven DLC optimizations and progress in virtual synthesis of DLC will not only assist in resolving DLC challenges specific to emerging markets and complex environments, but will also become a pathway for DLC to enter a digital-twin era

Design and Evaluation of a Button Sensor Antenna for On-Body Monitoring Activity in Healthcare Applications

A button sensor antenna for on-body monitoring in wireless body area network (WBAN) systems is presented. Due to the close coupling between the sensor antenna and the human body, it is highly challenging to design sensor antenna devices. In this paper, a mechanically robust system is proposed that integrates a dual-band button antenna with a wireless sensor module designed on a printed circuit board (PCB). The system features a small footprint and has good radiation characteristics and efficiency. This was fabricated, and the measured and simulated results are in good agreement. The design offers a wide range of omnidirectional radiation patterns in free space, with a reflection coefficient (S11) of −29.30 (−30.97) dB, a maximum gain of 1.75 (5.65) dBi, and radiation efficiency of 71.91 (92.51)% in the lower and upper bands, respectively. S11 reaches −23.07 (−27.07) dB and −30.76 (−31.12) dB, respectively, with a gain of 2.09 (6.70) dBi and 2.16 (5.67) dBi, and radiation efficiency of 65.12 (81.63)% and 75.00 (85.00)%, when located on the body for the lower and upper bands, respectively. The performance is minimally affected by bending, movement, and fabrication tolerances. The specific absorption rate (SAR) values are below the regulatory limitations for the spatial average over 1 g (1.6 W/Kg) and 10 g of tissues (2.0 W/Kg). For both indoor and outdoor conditions, experimental results of the range tests confirm the coverage of up to 40 m

Potential of dairy digestate as a biofertilizer: effects on growth, yield and phytochemicals of lettuce in hydroponics

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L) is a leafy vegetable containing an immense variety of minerals, vitamins and health-promoting secondary metabolites which are required for normal functioning of human body and health. Anaerobic digestate contains proportionately higher mineralized nutrients particularly ammonium-N (NH4⁺ -N) compared to undigested materials, and therefore has the potential to be used as a mineral nutrient source in soil based and soilless culture. A pilot study was conducted at St. Davids dairy farm site to investigate the effects of anaerobic dairy digestate (DD), inorganic nutrient solution (NS) and combine application of DD and NS on the growth, yield and quality indices of lettuce varieties in hydroponics under controlled environment conditions. Results showed that NS produced significantly higher leaf area (LA), chlorophyll content, root dry weight, yield, minerals and vitamins concentration of lettuce, compared to DD solution which produced lower LA, chlorophyll contents, yield and higher concentration of phenolics (chicoric acid, chlorogenic acid, luteoline, quercitin-3-b-d-gluconide, quercitin-3-glucoside and quercitin-b-malonyl) and antioxidants. Romaine lettuce showed superior performance and produced higher LA, chlorophyll contents, root dry weight, yield, minerals, vitamins, total phenolics, total antioxidants and polyphenols than Newham. It can be concluded that DD can be used as an organic fertilizer/nutrient source in hydroponics to enhance phenolics and antioxidants of lettuce without significant reduction in yield. Further research is needed to reduce Ammonium-N/Nitrate (NH4⁺/NO3⁻) in DD without dilution to avoid phytotoxic effects of NH4⁺ and loss of other macro and micro nutrient , and to establish the utilization of DD as a sole fertilizer source in hydroponic system

Effects of pre-heating method on the optical, wetting, photo-catalytic and UV sensing properties of Al:ZnO thin films

Aluminum doped zinc oxide thin films/ nanostructures have great importance in many technological applications such as transparent conducting oxides, photo-catalytic, electrochemical and opto-electronic devices. The pre-heating (drying) stage during sol–gel spin coating method is crucial for achieving better transparency level and smooth unstressed surface. In this research, effects of drying at fixed temperature (220 °C) and gradually rising temperature (rising rate 11 °C/min) under two different environments (i.e. temperature drying on i. hot plate ii. Oven) were explored. The SEM results showed that surface produced by fixed temperature drying on hot plate as well as in oven were cracked and rope stressed type, respectively. The texture obtained by gradually rising temperature was stressed granular on hot plate whereas uniformly distributed plane nano-granular in oven (on petri-dish). The XRD pattern revealed the polycrystalline nature and good crystal quality for sample with gradually rising temperature in oven. In case of gradually rising temperature in oven the maximum transmittance and band gap obtained were > 90% and 3.36 eV respectively. The refractive index and extinction coefficient were used to determine level of transparency in visible region by achieving values of 1.7 and 0.1 respectively. The super hydrophilic character achieved by contact angle 10° and better stain self-cleaning with degradation efficiency around 71% by photo-catalytic effect after UV irradiation. UV sensitivity was performed by using ardino microcontroller and max photo-response (voltage variation) was found 1.5 V. Moreover, response and recovery was around 14 s and 15 s respectively

Hierarchical, Attribute and Hash-Based Naming and Forwarding Aided Smart Campus of Things

In order to provide universal ability to access information and communication among Internet-connected devices, the Sustainable Internet of Things (IoT) is on a mission to bring all objects or devices under one roof. Future Internet architecture, especially Information-Centric Networking (ICN), can easily handle the connectivity offered and information created by the massive amount of devices to make it as sustainable IoT applications. Named Data Networking (NDN), one of the several future Internet designs that employ ICN as its foundation, shows promise. NDN integration with IoT-based applications gives solutions to numerous problems. However, this fusion makes accessing the IoT content easier, provided that an effective naming scheme is created to execute this operation. In this work, we build an innovative NDN-based naming scheme (NDN–NS) and put it into practise for consumer, producer, and content routers using our own secure forwarding schemes (NDN–NFS). Due to its scalability, heterogeneity, and security needs, IoT-based Smart Campus (IoT-SC) scenarios are taken into consideration for design and evaluation. We give a complete activity list based on NDN–NS that is split into two communication models (PusH Type Communication (PHTC) and PulL Type Communication (PLTC)) that can be applied to any IoT application. In terms of interest satisfaction rate (ISR), delay, and number of transmissions, we compare the NDN–NFS to legacy NDN. The outcomes demonstrate that NDN–NFS outperforms classic NDN in terms of performance and efficiency.</jats:p

The relational factors in managing rural water supply in Punjab, Pakistan

The Punjab Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) and community-based organizations (CBOs) collaboratively manage the rural water supply (RWS) system in Punjab, Pakistan since the mid-nineties. In a command-and-control administration, a collaborative approach to managing RWS is atypical. The study addresses this gap by analyzing the relational behavior as a monitoring and enforcement mechanism to ensure community compliance with government-produced institutions for managing RWS. Four focus group interviews were conducted with the CBO members and the survey of households from the same villages. Using the partial-least square structural equation model (PLS-SEM), the mediating influence of frequent communication, commitment of users, and shared meaning on community compliance with institutions was analyzed. The integrated results from the two methods imply that trained CBOs better self-organize, as they communicate frequently with the community members. It is recommended that for the sustainability of the RWS system, regular government support for CBOs underscores the success of collaborative collective action, though trained CBOs better manage RWS in weak monitoring by the government. HIGHLIGHTS Relational factors are under studied in managing RWS.; The mixed method is used to understand and explain the relational factors.; The study combines community development, collaborative theory and compliance literature to explicate sustainability of collective resource.