Study on fish hatchery and nurseries in Mymensingh, Bangladesh

In generally, fish hatchery and nursery owners having both hatchery and nursery facilities were financially stronger, well-educated and well-trained than only nursery ponds owners in Mymensingh aquaculture region. On the other hand, only nursery pond owners were more experienced in fish seed business than only hatchery owners. Most of the owners were satisfied with existing communication facilities. Lack of technical knowledge was one of the major constraints which could be solved by ensuring proper training. This business can be made more profitable providing loan to poor farmers and improving law and order situation

PriorVAE: encoding spatial priors with variational autoencoders for small-area estimation.

Gaussian processes (GPs), implemented through multivariate Gaussian distributions for a finite collection of data, are the most popular approach in small-area spatial statistical modelling. In this context, they are used to encode correlation structures over space and can generalize well in interpolation tasks. Despite their flexibility, off-the-shelf GPs present serious computational challenges which limit their scalability and practical usefulness in applied settings. Here, we propose a novel, deep generative modelling approach to tackle this challenge, termed PriorVAE: for a particular spatial setting, we approximate a class of GP priors through prior sampling and subsequent fitting of a variational autoencoder (VAE). Given a trained VAE, the resultant decoder allows spatial inference to become incredibly efficient due to the low dimensional, independently distributed latent Gaussian space representation of the VAE. Once trained, inference using the VAE decoder replaces the GP within a Bayesian sampling framework. This approach provides tractable and easy-to-implement means of approximately encoding spatial priors and facilitates efficient statistical inference. We demonstrate the utility of our VAE two-stage approach on Bayesian, small-area estimation tasks

Analysing The Effect Of Metal Complexes With Cefuroxime On Some Selected Bacteria

Silver and its compounds have long been utilized as antimicrobial agents in medicine. Silver sulfadiazine, a broad-spectrum antibiotic ointment, is widely used and effective against a wide range of bacteria and some yeast. Copper and its alloys possess natural antimicrobial properties. Ancient civilizations recognized and utilized the antimicrobial effects of copper long before the understanding of microbes in the nineteenth century. Mechanochemistry refers to reactions induced by the input of mechanical energy, typically involving solids, such as grinding in ball mills. It is gaining increased attention due to its ability to promote rapid and quantitative reactions between solids, often without the need for additional solvents. Historically, mechanochemistry has been a secondary approach to chemical synthesis, with solution-based methods being the default choice. Building upon our previous research on antibiotic resistance, this paper presents the impact of mechanochemically synthesized copper (II) and silver (I) complexes with cefuroxime on cephalosporin-resistant bacteri

Structure modeling and mutational analysis of gap junction beta 2 (GJB2)

The genome sequencing accomplishes complete genetic blue prints for hundreds of organisms, including humans. In the current era, we are trying to focus on analyzing, controlling and modifying functions of proteins encoded by these genomes. This task is attained by protein three dimensional structures. Three dimensional (3 D) structure is very useful for understanding biological functions. Gap junction beta 2 (GJB2), human gene encoding for gap junction beta 2 protein is involved in various hearing disorders in Pakistani families. After the first report of GJB2 involvement in Pakistani families, it was necessary to further study this protein. Therefore, a 3D structure of GJB2 was developed using comparative modeling approach. For modeling, a template was selected by blastp at NCBI and the best template selected was 2ZW3. By comparing the template-target sequence, a model was created using MODELLER, a program for homology modeling. The accuracy of the predicted structure was checked using Ramachandran plot which showed that the residue falling in the favored region was 92.4%. The predicted GJB2 model can be used to understand the defects that lead to deafness and eventually in drug designing. Domains and different properties of GJB2 were analyzed by applying online servers. Most frequent mutations of GJB2 were discussed by differentiating between damaging and benignity.Key words: GJB2, 3D structure, 2ZW3, DFNB1, MODELLER

Alternatives Strategies to Empower Youth Volunteering in Omani Society Using SWOTAnalysis Technique

The study aimed to develop strategic alternatives to activate volunteer work among Omani youth. SWOT analysis was used to indicate the strength, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges faced by youth. A questionnaire of 32 items with two domains was developed. An estimation of reliability using Cronbach-Alpha indicated 0.887 for level of effectiveness, and 0.918 for level of existences. A sample of 89 experts from civil society organizations and higher education institutions from different Omani governorates was selected. The results revealed that the most powerful aspects of volunteering were the incentives to encourage youth, notably the Sultan Qaboos Award for Volunteerings at the national level, and the existence of many charities, including those related to women associations, and others that provide voluntarily services to special needs people. The overall average weight of the strengths and weaknesses was 194.44 and 186.46 respectively. The main opportunities were reflected by existing governmental departments to follow up the work of the voluntary institutions, and the NGO civil societies’ global awareness of volunteering. Further, the study results showed that average percentage means of opportunities and challenges were 145.04 and 143.79 respectively. Considering these results, four strategic alternatives were developed

Biodiesel production from Cannabis sativa oil from Pakistan

The present study was appraised using response surface methodology for process optimization owing to strong interaction of reaction variables: NaOCH3 catalyst concentration (0.25–1.50%), methanol/oil molar ratio (3:1–9:1), reaction time (30–90 min), and reaction temperature (45–65°C). The quadratic polynomial equation was determined using response surface methodology for predicting optimum methyl esters yield from Cannabis sativa oil. The analysis of variance results indicated that molar ratio and reaction temperature were the key factors that appreciably influence the yield of Cannabis sativa oil methyl esters. The significant (p < 0.0001) variable interaction between molar ratio × catalyst concentration and reaction time × molar ratio was observed, which mostly affect the Cannabis sativa oil methyl esters yield. The optimum Cannabis sativa oil methyl esters yield, i.e., 86.01% was gained at 53°C reaction temperature, 7.5:1 methanol/oil molar ratio, 65 min reaction time, and 0.80% catalyst concentration. The results depicted a linear relationship between observed and predicted values. The residual analysis predicted the appropriateness of the central composite design. The Cannabis sativa oil methyl esters, analyzed by gas chromatography, elucidated six fatty acid methyl esters (linoleic, α-linolenic, oleic, palmitic, stearic, and γ-linolenic acids). In addition, the fuel properties, such as kinematic viscosity at 40°C; cetane number; acid value; flash point; cloud, pour, and cold filter plugging points; ash content; density; and sulphur content, of Cannabis sativa oil methyl esters were evaluated and discussed with reference to ASTM D 6751 and EU 14214 biodiesel specifications

NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS OF PARTICLE IN A DOUBLE OSCILLATORS

In the present work, we extend the Hermann and Al-Rashid works to the problem of particle in a double oscillators potential. In this problem, one can take a special case when oscillation quantum number ( ) is none negative integer. Computer programming is built to make numerical simulations to this problem. The probability density of finding particle in a double oscillators potential is calculated without using Schrِdinger equation or any conventional quantum mechanics. This probability is compared with probability of conventional quantum mechanics

Ethnobotanical studies on Berberis aristata DC. root extracts

The aqueous and alcoholic extract of fresh Berberis aristata DC roots, as well as aqueous extract of dried roots were compared for their antibacterial and antifungal activities by the disc diffusion method.All three extracts showed wide antibacterial activity against Gram-positive bacteria. Among the Gramnegative bacteria tested, the antibacterial activity was limited to Escherichia coli, Salmonellatyphimurium, Shigella dysenteriae type 1 and Vibrio cholerae; with the best activity against V. cholerae. MICs of the alcoholic extracts against Gram-positive bacteria ranged between 3.8 ×10-3 to 6.1 ×10-3 mg/ml and for Gram-negative bacteria from 6.1 ×10-3 to 7.6 10-3 mg/ml. The MICs for Candida species ranged between 0.02 to 3.8 ×10-3 mg/ml and for Aspergillus species, it was 3 × 10-3 mg/ml. All three extracts also had antifungal activity against the fungal species tested, except Candida krusei. The extracts of B. aristata also demonstrated anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and antipyretic activities.Chemical analysis revealed the presence of alkaloids, amino acids, tannins, terpenes, resins, phenols and reducing sugars as major compounds. FTIR-spectral analysis of all the extracts revealed thepresence of berberine, as a major constituent, along with other chemical constituents

Millennial-scale deep ocean ventilation and sea-surface variability during the last four glacial cycles : a new assessment for the Northern Hemisphere ice-sheet growth

AGU Fall Meeting, S. Francisco (USA), 19-14 December 2007, Suppl., Abstract PP44B-0