Teaching Principles of Clear Writing Through Activities for Tertiary Level Learners

This article looks at teaching principles of clear writing to tertiary level learners using activities. While the general lecture method uses the lecture mode of teaching which caters only to the auditory learners, most other learners (the VAK) are left behind. This paper attempts to weave certain activities into a writing lesson inorder to make the lesson more rich, enjoyable and enrichin

Development of Test Items for Technical and General English Language with Specific Reference to Knowledge Domain of Bloom\u27s Taxonomy

Taxonomy of educational objectives has always been providing an objective and scientific framework both for setting educational objectives and restructuring test items for evaluation. This paper is an attempt to describe various components of the knowledge domain of Blooms taxonomy and design different test items which could be included in a typical question paper. The test items are based on the explanation of terms provided by Benjamin Blooms and are confined only to the domain of knowledge. The questions are restricted to the course contents of the first year BE engineering students at PSG college of Technology, the researcher\u27s workplace and are pitched at the level of intermediate and advanced learners, who are familiarized with the basic nuances of style, grammar, USAge, syntax and other elements of language through the course. The design of questions presuppose that a certain level of mastery in the English language has been attained the learners

Applications of Box-Behnken experimental design coupled with artificial neural networks for biosorption of low concentrations of cadmium using Spirulina (Arthrospira) spp.

The present study deals with the application of artificial intelligence techniques coupled with Box-Behnken (BB) design to model the process parameters for biosorption of cadmium using live Spirulina (Arthrospira) spp. as adsorbent in open race way pond with Zarrouk medium. The biomass concentration of Spirulina spp. decreased to half at 4 ppm Cd (II) after 8 days. Based on the LCt50 values, 3.69 ppm (8th day), Spirulina (Arthospira) maxima showed maximum tolerance. Considerable growth and bioaccumulation of Spirulina spp. is observed below 1 ppm and tolerant up to 3 ppm. The cadmium adsorption on Spirulina spp. showed good correlation (R2 = 0.99) when applied to Freundlich equation and data fit into pseudo second order kinetics. A four factorial, three blocks and three level Box-Behnken design with initial concentration (1 ppb to 5 ppb), biosorbant dosage (0.1 gdw to 0.2 gdw), agitation speed (12 rpm to 16 rpm) and pH (6 to 8) as independent variables and percentage adsorption as dependent variable were selected for study. The data were further processed using artificial neural network model and DIRECT algorithm for better optimization. The final Cd (II) concentration of 0.5 ppb was achieved with 1 ppb initialconcentration under optimal conditions. A continuous desorption process was also developed for removal of cadmium from Spirulina (Arthrospira) sp

Genetische Variation in der Resistenzinduktion gegenüber Phytophthora infestans bei Tomaten

There are numerous instances in which induced plant resistance responses (IR) have been demonstrated. However, before IR can be made use of in practice it is important to understand as much as possible the ecology and genetics of the inducing agents and their interactions with plants and pathogens. Effects of host genetic background were tested with thirteen tomato varieties and two isolates of Phytophthora infestans. Isolate effects on inducibility were tested with six varieties and six pathogen isolates. Leaf disks of plants that had been treated with BABA (DL-3-aminobutyric acid) or water were inoculated seven days later with 20 µl sporangial solutions of 5*104 sporangia ml-1. All experiments were repeated three times with six replications each. Disease reductions due to induction ranged from 43 to 100% and were independent of the susceptibility of the variety to the isolates when not induced. The interactions between isolate and variety with respect to inducibility were highly significant

Cooking practices, air quality, and the acceptability of advanced cookstoves in Haryana, India: an exploratory study to inform large-scale interventions.

BackgroundIn India, approximately 66% of households rely on dung or woody biomass as fuels for cooking. These fuels are burned under inefficient conditions, leading to household air pollution (HAP) and exposure to smoke containing toxic substances. Large-scale intervention efforts need to be informed by careful piloting to address multiple methodological and sociocultural issues. This exploratory study provides preliminary data for such an exercise from Palwal District, Haryana, India.MethodsTraditional cooking practices were assessed through semi-structured interviews in participating households. Philips and Oorja, two brands of commercially available advanced cookstoves with small blowers to improve combustion, were deployed in these households. Concentrations of particulate matter (PM) with a diameter <2.5 μm (PM2.5) and carbon monoxide (CO) related to traditional stove use were measured using real-time and integrated personal, microenvironmental samplers for optimizing protocols to evaluate exposure reduction. Qualitative data on acceptability of advanced stoves and objective measures of stove usage were also collected.ResultsTwenty-eight of the thirty-two participating households had outdoor primary cooking spaces. Twenty households had liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) but preferred traditional stoves as the cost of LPG was higher and because meals cooked on traditional stoves were perceived to taste better. Kitchen area concentrations and kitchen personal concentrations assessed during cooking events were very high, with respective mean PM2.5 concentrations of 468 and 718 µg/m3. Twenty-four hour outdoor concentrations averaged 400 µg/m3. Twenty-four hour personal CO concentrations ranged between 0.82 and 5.27 ppm. The Philips stove was used more often and for more hours than the Oorja.ConclusionsThe high PM and CO concentrations reinforce the need for interventions that reduce HAP exposure in the aforementioned community. Of the two stoves tested, participants expressed satisfaction with the Philips brand as it met the local criteria for usability. Further understanding of how the introduction of an advanced stove influences patterns of household energy use is needed. The preliminary data provided here would be useful for designing feasibility and/or pilot studies aimed at intervention efforts locally and nationally

Assessment of soil physical health and productivity of Kharkhoda and Gohana blocks of Sonipat district (Haryana), India

In order to assess soil health of Kharkhoda and Gohana blocks of Sonipat district (a part of western Yamuna canal irrigated region), important parameters namely pH, electrical conductivity (EC), texture, bulk density (BD), saturated hydraulic conductivity (HC), soil organic carbon (OC), available water retension capacity (AWRC) and non capillary pores (NCP) were measured by collecting undisturbed soil samples in nearly 66 villages. Soil physical rating index (PI) method was used to compute PI which was an indicator of soil physical health of thatregion. Results revealed that in Gohana and Kharkhoda blocks, nearly 90% area had pH <8.0 and EC>4 dS m-1, which indicated that soils were saline. Prediction maps of soil BD showed that 75% of the total area in 15-30 cm soil layer had BD above >1.6 mg m-3, which indicated the presence of hard pan in subsurface. HC data of subsurface layer also showed that 60% of the area had values<0.5 cm hr-1 which reconfirmed the presence of hard pan. For both surface as well as subsurface soil layers, mostly AWC was >10% which indicated adequate water retention capacity of these soils. However 85% of subsurface had poor soil aeration capacity as indicated NCP range < 10 %. Prediction map of PI for subsurface layer showed that majority of area had PI<0.4 which indicated that expected yield of the crop cannot be more than 70% of the potential yield even under normal or higher levels of fertilizer and water inputs