Analysis of Environmental Initiatives on Business Performance Sustainability at the Lake Naivasha Ecosystem, Kenya

Increasing degradation of the natural environment is one of the main threats to human survival in the long term. Business enterprises’ environmental commitment has, therefore, become an important variable in most of today’s competitive business environment. Activities of most enterprises are the main causes of environmental degradation which in turn impact on their performance. This study therefore looks at the specific business environmental initiatives and how they impact on their performance. The overall objective of the study was to establish the impact of environmental initiatives on business performance sustainability around Lake Naivasha. In order to achieve this objective, the research was guided by various specific objectives which included examining forms of environmental degradation, examining environmental initiatives put in place to mitigate on degradation, and examining effects of environmental initiatives of various business operations on social capital. Both primary and secondary data were collected for the purposes of the study. Primary data was collected through various instruments including questionnaires administered to individual respondents, focus group discussions, in depth interviews and observation schedules. Secondary data was obtained from previous study reports, articles, professional journals, various businesses’ monitoring records, annual sales reports and any other relevant literature that the researcher came across in the course of the study. The collected data was interpreted and analysed using discriminant analysis. The Scientific Package for Social Studies (SPSS) was used for the analysis. The study design was descriptive survey in order to pick behaviours which needed to be mitigated for purposes of enterprise performance sustainability. Purposive random sampling was used from the target population which comprised of farming, hospitality and fishing sectors. For purposes of establishing the views of the stakeholders, the officials of various organisations that have interests on the Lake Naivasha ecosystem were incorporated into a focus group and their views were sought through group discussions. The key findings of the study were that; the main forms of environmental degradation are nutrients discharge to the lake, water abstraction, cutting of trees, overgrazing and green house gases effects. The implication of the findings is that unless businesses concerned address environmental issues their performance sustainability may not be assured going forward. The study recommends that an evaluative criteria defining the impacts that are acceptable to the society be determined, policy bundles that are currently in place be reviewed to achieve diverse societal objectives, strategic decisions made by organisations operating in the area be assessed in light of the actors involved and investment in better information monitoring and enforcement of rules and regulations be undertaken. Lastly, since specific organisational sustainability outcomes seem to consistently fail to meet broad societal expectation, the articulation of stakeholder interests need to be considered by involving all actors in the environmental governance process. Keywords: Environmental initiative on Business Performance Sustainability, Lake Naivasha, Keny

Design of a Load Modulated Balanced Amplifier with a Two-Stage Control Power Amplifier

While an ideal Doherty power amplifier has a linear response, the load modulated balanced amplifier (LMBA) has a compressive response under ideal conditions. This inherent nonlinear characteristic is due to the lower power contribution of the single auxiliary device as the balanced amplifier transistors approach compression. This article presents an LMBA with a two-stage control signal amplifier in place of the single auxiliary device. The idea is to preserve a high and constant gain across the high- and low-power regions by tuning the two-stage gain control signal to match the balanced amplifier gain. An optimal load trajectory can be found for a high-efficiency design by appropriately terminating the second harmonic while ensuring an optimal impedance match in all devices. At the same time, by setting an optimal output power from the auxiliary device, sufficient power is provided to linearize the response of the main power amplifier beyond the output back-off power boundary. As proof of concept, a prototype is designed and implemented. The experimental measurements demonstrate a drain efficiency of 59%–64% at maximum output power and 46%–52% at 7.5 dB output back-off power over the target frequency range of 3.3–3.8 GHz

Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Opportunities for Oklahoma (FHWA-OK-01(02) 2154)

The U.S. Department of Transportation, through the Transportation Equity Act for the 21 st Century (TEA-21), and its predecessor, the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (!STEA), have encouraged research, deployment, and integration ofITS technologies that have led to the implementation offaster, smoother, and cost-effective strategies . Some states have taken advantage of these acts and successfully developed and implemented statewide strategic plans. This study looked at the potential for applying the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) in Oklahoma using advanced sensor, computer, electronics, and communications technologies and management strategies. The study aimed at identifying and summarizing ITS programs, activities, and opportunities at national, regional, state, and local levels of government; identifying existing resources and ITS related goals in Oklahoma; and providing a strategy, identifying resources, constraints, potential barriers, and recommendations for addressing potential barriers in Oklahoma. A survey was conducted in Oklahoma among potential stakeholders for the implementation ofITS. These stakeholders represented Federal/State transportation, public safety/emergency, cities/ municipalities, private/academia, and public nonemergency/ non-transportation entities. ITS technologies exist in Oklahoma that have been individually deployed, especially in the two biggest metropolitan areas: Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Oklahoma is one of the leaders in electronic toll payments through the PikePass. Most ITS technologies are used in emergency and traffic systems. Knowledge on the potential benefits of ITS is limited. A need exists to educate senior level managers , policymakers, decision makers, and the general public about the benefits ofITS. A statewide strategic plan is needed consisting of key stakeholders who could assist in developing the Oklahoma ITS Architecture and help in deploying and integrating ITS technologies . A Transportation Center to do research, analyze, and disseminate ITS information, as well as a management center are urgently needed. Regional cooperation among the bordering states would enhance commercial vehicle operations.Final Report August 1999-December 2000N

Physical Exercise During Pregnancy Prevents Cognitive Impairment Induced by Amyloid-ß in Adult Offspring Rats

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the main aging-associated neurodegenerative disorder and is characterized by mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, synaptic failure, and cognitive decline. It has been a challenge to find disease course-modifying treatments. However, several studies demonstrated that regular physical activity and exercise are capable of promoting brain health by improving the cognitive function. Maternal lifestyle, including regular exercise during pregnancy, has also been shown to influence fetal development and disease susceptibility in adulthood through fetal metabolism programming. Here, we investigated the potential neuroprotective role of regular maternal swimming, before and during pregnancy, against amyloid-β neurotoxicity in the adult offspring. Behavioral and neurochemical analyses were performed 14 days after male offspring received a single, bilateral, intracerebroventricular (icv) injection of amyloid-β oligomers (AβOs). AβOs-injected rats of the sedentary maternal group exhibited learning and memory deficits, along with reduced synaptophysin, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels, and alterations of mitochondrial function. Strikingly, the offspring of the sedentary maternal group had AβOs-induced behavioral alterations that were prevented by maternal exercise. This effect was accompanied by preventing the alteration of synaptophysin levels in the offspring of exercised dams. Additionally, offspring of the maternal exercise group exhibited an augmentation of functional mitochondria, as indicated by increases in mitochondrial mass and membrane potential, α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase, and cytochrome c oxidase enzymes activities. Moreover, maternal exercise during pregnancy induced long-lasting modulation of fusion and fission proteins, Mfn1 and Drp1, respectively. Overall, our data demonstrates a potential protective effect of exercise during pregnancy against AβOs-induced neurotoxicity in the adult offspring brain, by mitigating the neurodegenerative process triggered by Alzheimer-associated AβOs through programming the brain metabolism.This study was supported by the Pró-Reitoria de Pesquisa/Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (PROPESQ/UFRGS). CPK is a PhD Postgraduate student in Biological Sciences – Biochemistry receiving grants from the Brazilian agency Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq). CM received grants from CNPq (Universal 442406/2014-2 and INCT 465671/2014-4)

Determination and Mapping of the Bearing Capacity of Subsurface Soil: A Case Study of Moi University, Eldoret Kenya

Ground investigation is a prerequisite for any construction work that ultimately transfers its loads to the earth. Geotechnical investigation eliminates the uncertainties of ground conditions and can be planned for and considered accordingly during actual design and construction. In Kenya, ground investigation is not given the weight it deserves since most players in the sector use their experience and physical inspection to judge on the soil conditions. This is however very risky especially for high-rise buildings. Moi University, the case study, is one of the institutions that has in its plan, a series of construction developments. This study aimed at investigating, determining and mapping of index properties and bearing capacity of subsurface soil. Direct shear box and tri-axial tests results were used to map soil bearing capacity by geospatial interpolation within geographical information system platform (GIS). 9 trial pits mapped by triangulation and visual inspection were excavated and soil samples obtained at a depth of up to 3 m. The soil samples were tested for soil index and engineering properties and classified using the USCS approach. A relationship between tri-axial and direct shear box test results was developed by correlating soil bearing capacity results from the two tests. This paper provides a thematic map of the bearing capacity for the study area derived from spatial interpolation. Four geospatial interpolation methods namely; Ordinary Kriging (OK), spline, Natural Neighbour (NN) and Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) were used. In this paper, the most suitable method for interpolating the soil bearing capacity of the four methods is provided. Six of nine sample test results were used for interpolation and the other three used for validation and error correction. Ordinary Kriging generated satisfactory results for soil bearing capacity for the study area with a relative error of 2.23 % and R2 of 0.9993. From the safe bearing capacity map, the ground conditions of the study area varied gradually with the bearing capacity ranging from   to . Generally, the amount of clay in the soil within the area affected to a large extent, the soil bearing capacity. Keywords: Soil bearing capacity, Geospatial interpolation, Deterministic interpolation, correlation. DOI: 10.7176/CER/12-7-05 Publication date:July 31st 202

Using wearable technology to gain insight into children's physical and social behaviors

Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Engineering, System Design and Management Program, Engineering and Management Program, 2016.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (pages 71-74).Due to social and financial demands, at least 61% of households have both parents working. Parents and children spend 8 to 10 hours away from each other on a daily basis. During this time, there is very limited communication between parents and the children. Parents have little visibility into what happens during the day with their children and have to heavily rely on the basic notes provided by the teachers. Alternatively, their children have to communicate to them the happenings of their day. Young children and children with special needs have a much harder time communicating the details of their day to their parents. Wearable technology is going through a revolution with 1 in 5 Americans owning a wearable device. There are already many devices on the market which measure biological functions. As a result, we are presented with an opportunity to close the communication gap using technology to gather data on children while they are away from their parents. This data can be analyzed to gain better insight into children's social and physical behaviors. An online survey was conducted for this thesis to understand the potential market. Research was done to understand what physiological factors would be of interest to parents as well as other factors. Results concluded that parents were in fact interested in receiving data about their children. They were most interested in knowing their child's location and when their child was experiencing a stressful situation. Based on the results of the survey, a device is proposed to help address this problem. An approach for a phased rollout is provided as well as an experiment to gather data.by Sagini Ramesh.S.M. in Engineering and Managemen

Rocio Virus Encephalitis: In Silico Evidence for Drug Repurposing

Arboviral diseases have a high incidence in Brazil and constitute a serious public health problem. Rocio virus (ROCV) is an arbovirus belonging to the family Flaviviridae. It was responsible for the emergence of an outbreak of encephalitis on the São Paulo state coast in the late 1970s. Although no recent case of this virus has been reported, data suggest the circulation of ROCV throughout the Brazilian territory. Given these indications and the strong presence of fundamental factors for the resurgence of emerging diseases in Brazil, we conducted this study using virtual screenings to identify targets and therapeutic molecules that could be redirected to fight infections related to ROCV. Herein, we demonstrated that the National List of Essential Medicines of the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS) has several molecules that could be redirected to combat this flavivirus, namely simeprevir, daclatasvir, iloprost, and itraconazole. Among them, itraconazole was found to be an interesting candidate since it interacts with both structural and nonstructural proteins of this virus and it is a strong binder to the NS1 protein, as confirmed by molecular simulations

e-voting system

I did research on the technologies behind the electronic voting system. I handled each technology in one chapter. In the end, I implemented one of the technologies which is the smart contract. I did documentation of the implementation of a smart contract where I took screenshots of my running codes and explained what the do to get the result at the end. I learned a new programming language that enabled me to implement the smart contract.BSc/BAComputer Science Engineerin