Effect of aqueous fruit extract of Xylopia aethiopica on reproductive hormones in male guinea pigs

The effect of aqueous fruit extract of xylopia aethiopica on reproductive hormones in male guinea pigs was investigated using 60 mature male guinea pigs which were randomly divided into 5 groups of 12 animals each. Daily oral doses of 2.5mg/kg, 5mg/kg, 10mg/kg and 20mg/kg of extract were administered to each of the animals in the four treatment groups respectively, while the control group received equal volume of distilled water only. Blood from 6 animals in each group were analysed for leuteinising hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) andTestosterone on the 8th and 15th days of the experiment by classical ELISA method, using Human kits. The result shows a dose dependent significant (p<0.05) decrease in the plasma levels of LH, FSH and Testosterone for both the 7 days and 14 days treatment groups respectively. Also, a time dependent significant (p<0.05) decrease wasobserved for both LH and FSH at all treatment doses. This suggests that the use of xylopia aethiopica fruits by human males may have both dose and time dependent adverse effects on the reproductive hormones, and therefore on their reproductive capacity

Human Error Management in Aviation Maintenance using Hybrid FMEA with a Novel Fuzzy Approach

Human errors significantly contribute to aviation accidents during aircraft maintenance. Therefore, managing human errors becomes a critical aspect of aviation maintenance. The existing literature has extensively analysed human errors. However, there is a gap in accurately identifying and prioritising critical human errors and effectively managing them to reduce incidents and accidents. This research work proposes a novel fuzzy approach for human error analysis using a hybrid FMEA with Fuzzy AHP-TOPSIS. We identified inadequate maintenance processes, attention/memory, inadequate documentation, inadequate supervision, judgement/decision-making, and knowledge/rule base as some of the critical human errors in aircraft maintenance. Based on these findings, we recommended practically implementable solutions at the organisational, workspace, and individual levels to mitigate human errors in aircraft maintenance

Diffuse phase transition and electrical properties of lead-free piezoelectric (LixNa1-x)NbO3 (0.04 to x to 0.20) ceramics near morphotropic phase boundary

Temperature-dependent dielectric permittivity of lead-free (LixNa1-x)NbO3 for nominal x = 0.04-0.20, prepared by solid state reaction followed by sintering, was studied to resolve often debated issue pertaining to exactness of morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) location along with structural aspects and phase stability in the system near MPB. Interestingly, a diffuse phase transition has been observed in the dielectric permittivity peak arising from the disorder induced in A-site and structural frustration in the perovskite cell due to Li substitution. A partial phase diagram has been proposed based on temperature-dependent dielectric permittivity studies. The room temperature piezoelectric and ferroelectric properties were investigated and the ceramics with x = 0.12 showed relatively good electrical properties (d33 = 28 pC/N, kp = 13.8%, Qm = 440, Pr = 12.5 {micro}C/cm2, EC = 43.2 kV/cm, Tm = 340 oC). These parameter values make this material suitable for piezoelectric resonator and filter applications. Moreover, a high dielectric permittivity (= 2703) with broad diffuse peak near transition temperature along with low dielectric loss (< 4%) in a wide temperature range (50-250 oC) found in this material may also have a potential application in high-temperature multilayer capacitors in automotive and aerospace related industries.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figure

Access to water, sanitation and hygiene for people living with HIV and AIDS: a cross-sectional study in Nepal

People living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) are one of the most vulnerable people to WASH associated diseases in Nepal. They are still stigmatized while enjoying WASH services and their risk & vulnerability are further exacerbated due to lack of inadequate WASH. A descriptive cross-sectional study was commissioned by WaterAid in Nepal (WAN) with the objectives to increase understanding of PLHA’s access to WASH and its impact on their daily lives in order to inform health, HIV and WASH sectors. This was a cross-sectional study used mixed methods. Data were collected from 196 PLHAs from different geographic areas. The study does re-emphasize that PLHA have limited access to safe water and improved hygiene & sanitation services, more pronounced in rural areas than in urban. There is an increased need of WASH for them but lacking to meet the needs. Lack of access to WASH and its effect on quality of life invariably call for an urgent action by all stakeholders. The study also revealed some evidence of stigma and discrimination faced by PLHAs

RoboCup 2D Soccer Simulation League: Evaluation Challenges

We summarise the results of RoboCup 2D Soccer Simulation League in 2016 (Leipzig), including the main competition and the evaluation round. The evaluation round held in Leipzig confirmed the strength of RoboCup-2015 champion (WrightEagle, i.e. WE2015) in the League, with only eventual finalists of 2016 competition capable of defeating WE2015. An extended, post-Leipzig, round-robin tournament which included the top 8 teams of 2016, as well as WE2015, with over 1000 games played for each pair, placed WE2015 third behind the champion team (Gliders2016) and the runner-up (HELIOS2016). This establishes WE2015 as a stable benchmark for the 2D Simulation League. We then contrast two ranking methods and suggest two options for future evaluation challenges. The first one, "The Champions Simulation League", is proposed to include 6 previous champions, directly competing against each other in a round-robin tournament, with the view to systematically trace the advancements in the League. The second proposal, "The Global Challenge", is aimed to increase the realism of the environmental conditions during the simulated games, by simulating specific features of different participating countries.Comment: 12 pages, RoboCup-2017, Nagoya, Japan, July 201