Wireless Sensor Enabled Public Transportation System

Automatic Vehicle Identification (AVI) in real time is becoming an urgent necessity due to rapid increase in the number of vehicles on roads. The Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Technology can be used for vehicle identification to gather information in real-time from roads by getting the vehicles location from RFID readers placed in the vehicle. This paper focuses on designing the Public Vehicle Location System (PVLS). The proposed structure consists of passive RFID tags placed at various locations on the chosen route, RFID reader on the Bus, wireless communication with a PC and commanding software (RFID reader and database structure), also PVLS applications and website. The designed system controls, manages and monitors the performance of RFID readers. It also filters and stores the information in an appropriate format so that it could be used without difficulty in the application system and website. The system implemented by using RFID is placed in the Bus which is programmed by Visual C# 2008 with Compact .Net Framework

Identifying Appliances using NIALM with Minimum Features

Government of India has decided to install smart meters in fourteen states. Smart meters are required to identify home appliances to fulfill various tasks in the smart grid environment. Both intrusive and non-intrusive methods have been suggested for identification. However, intrusive method is not suitable for cost and privacy reasons. On the other hand, techniques using non-intrusive appliance load monitoring (NIALM) are yet to result in meaningful practical implementation. Two major challenges in NIALM research are the choice of features (load signatures of appliances), and the appropriate algorithm. Both have a direct impact on the cost of the smart meter. In this paper, we address the two issues and propose a procedure with only four features and a simple algorithm to identify appliances. Our experimental setup, on the recommended specifications of the internal electrical wiring in Indian residences, used common household appliances’ load signatures of active and reactive powers, harmonic components and their magnitudes. We show that these four features are essential and sufficient for implementation of NIALM with a simple algorithm. We have introduced a new approach of ‘multi point sensing’ and ‘group control’ rather than the ‘single point sensing’ and ‘individual control’, used so far in NIALM techniques.DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.11591/ijece.v4i6.671

ON KENMOTSU MANIFOLDS WITH SEMI-SYMMETRIC METRIC CONNECTION

The aim of the present paper is to study the properties of locally and globally $\phi$-concircularly symmetric Kenmotsu manifolds endowed with a semi-symmetric metric connection. First, we will prove that the locally $\phi$-symmetric and the globally $\phi$-concircularly symmetric Kenmotsu manifolds are equivalent. Next, we will study three dimensional locally $\phi$-symmetric, locally $\phi$-concircularly symmetric and locally $\phi$-concircularly recurrent Kenmotsu manifolds with respect to such connection and will obtain some geometrical results. In the end, we will construct a non-trivial example of Kenmotsu manifold admitting a semi-symmetric metric connection and validate our results. 

Biomass as a Source of Household Energy and Indoor Air Pollution in Nepal

This paper reviews the status of biomass as a source of household energy and indoor air pollution in Nepal. The current statistics show that about 89% of total energy is consumed in residential sector is largely for cooking and heating purpose. The major sources of residential energy are fuel wood (86.5%), animal dung (6.5%) and agricultural residue (3.7%), which clearly indicates a huge demand for biomass as household energy in the country. Several studies have shown that particulate matter (PM10) concentration on cooking place was about 8000 μg/m³ against the national standard of 120 μg/m³ in 24 hours average time. Similarly, the total suspended particle (TSP) was about 8,800 μg/m³ against national standard of 230 μg/m³, 21 ppm of carbon monoxide (CO) against national standard of 9 ppm in 8 hour average was found where biomass was used as fuel. Moreover, these studies have also shown that mortality and morbidity rates among children and women are extremely high due to acute respiratory infection (ARI) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This clearly indicates that the major cause behind it is indoor air pollution

Partial Crystallinity in Alkyl Side Chain Polymers Dictates Surface Freezing

We have studied the structure of a novel crystalline surface monolayer on top of a disordered melt of the same material [poly(n-alkyl acrylate)s] using grazing incidence x-ray diffraction. The grazing incidence x-ray diffraction, surface tension, and bulk latent heat results show that side chains crystallize except the nine methylene units of the alkyl side chains closest to the polymer backbone. The partial crystallinity along with a thicker surface layer, due to the additional length of the linker group, explains why the difference between the surface order-to-disorder transition temperature and bulk melting temperature increases with a decrease in the length of the alkyl side chain

Reproductive Ecology of Male and Female Strobili and Mating System in Two Different Populations of Pinus roxburghii

We studied several flowering traits, namely, male-female cone phenology, male-female cone production per tree, mating system, sex ratio, air-borne pollen grains and pollen migration, over four successive years in two different natural populations of P. roxburghii from Garhwal Himalaya, India. Assessment of each trait mentioned except pollen dispersion was done by selecting five representative trees randomly in each population. The pollen migration was studied on naturally isolated source trees. The pollen trapping was done in all directions up to 2.5 km. The average reproductive period in P. roxburghii was 36 days with 3–5 days protandry. There were significant year and population effects for male and female cone output and pollen grains production per tree. In mass production year (1999), an average production of pollen cone per tree was estimated as 42.44 ± 8.32 × 103 at lower altitude and 28.1 ± 0.89 × 103 at higher altitude. The controlled pollination results in high level of outcrossing with 90% seed setting. We conclude that the high male-female ratio and tremendous pollen production capacity in P. roxburghii indicate high male competition among trees within populations. The isolation strip of 600 m is considered minimal for the management of seed orchard

A case of strongyloidiasis in pregnancy

Helminthic infections such as Strongyloides stercoralis occurs commonly in immunocompromised states. However, they can rarely occur in normal individuals also. A 23 year old multigravida presented at 39 weeks gestation with watery diarrhoea. She was evaluated and diagnosed of strongyloidiasis. Medical management was given and pregnancy outcome was successful. This case is reported because strongyloidiasis is a rare and underreported occurrence in pregnancy, which can occasionally be fatal

Plant protection measures to promote organic farming in Nepal: prospects and challenges

Organic farming is a production system that relies on ecosystem management rather than external agricultural inputs to sustain the health of soils, ecosystem and organisms. This needs enough organic plant protection measures and biological fertilizers by eliminating synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. An attempt was made to review current plant protection measures for organic farming in Nepal. Though some insect pests and diseases are very hard to control without the use of chemical pesticides, this is high time to produce agriculture products organically. There is ample prospect of organic production in Nepal utilizing traditional knowledge of Nepalese farmers and existing agri-biodiversity. The paper is focused on best utilization of local natural resources, indigenous knowledge and bio-control agents for plant protection in organic agriculture. The information related to organic plant protection measures are collected from various sources and are grouped. The authors have listed technologies on organic plant protection measures in Nepal and made some suggestions to improve the organic farming of the country