Technology Utilization of Banana in Thiruvananthapuram District of Kerala

The present study conducted in Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala involved 90 commercial banana growers, The objective of the study was to assess the level of adoption of selected KAU (Kerala Agricultural University) practices in banana cultivation A wellstructured interview schedule was used for data collection from the respondents. The study revealed that majority of the farmer respondents had medium level of adoption

Miscellany: benefits of forests, direct and indirect

Forests are known to provide a wide range of benefits including provisioning, regulatory, cultural and supporting services.They provide food, fodder, fuelwood, timber, manure, and medicinal products. Forests also absorb rain water and release it slowly, allowing seepage into the soil, preventing its run-off with water

LEAD Program Evaluation: Recidivism Report

The LEAD program was established in 2011 as a means of diverting those suspected of low-level drug and prostitution criminal activity to case management and other supportive services instead of jail and prosecution. The primary aim of the LEAD program is to reduce criminal recidivism. Secondary aims include reductions in criminal justice service utilization and associated costs as well as improvements for psychosocial, housing and quality-of-life outcomes. Because LEAD is the first known pre-booking diversion program of its kind in the United States, an evaluation is critically needed to inform key stakeholders, policy makers, and other interested parties of its impact. The evaluation of the LEAD program described in this report represents a response to this need.Background: This report was written by the University of Washington LEAD Evaluation Team at the request of the LEAD Policy Coordinating Group and fulfills the first of three LEAD evaluation aims. Purpose: This report describes findings from a quantitative analysis comparing outcomes for LEAD participants versus "system-as-usual" control participants on shorter- and longer-term changes on recidivism outcomes, including arrests (i.e., being taken into custody by legal authority) and criminal charges (i.e., filing of a criminal case in court). Arrests and criminal charges were chosen as the recidivism outcomes because they likely reflect individual behavior more than convictions, which are more heavily impacted by criminal justice system variables external to the individual. Findings: Analyses indicated statistically significant recidivism improvement for the LEAD group compared to the control group on some shorter- and longer-term outcomes

Bioremediation of Heavy Metal by Algae: Current and Future Perspective

Instead of using mainly bacteria, it is also possible to use mainly algae to clean wastewater because many of the pollutant sources in wastewater are also food sources for algae. Nitrates and phosphates are common components of plant fertilizers for plants. Like plants, algae need large quantities of nitrates and phosphates to support their fast cell cycles. Certain heavy metals are also important for the normal functioning of algae. These include iron (for photosynthesis), and chromium (for metabolism). Because marine environments are normally scarce in these metals, some marine algae especially have developed efficient mechanisms to gather these heavy metals from the environment and take them up. These natural processes can also be used to remove certain heavy metals from the environment. The use of algae has several advantages over normal bacteria-based bioremediation processes. One major advantage of the removal of pollutants is that this is a process that under light conditions does not need oxygen. Instead, as pollutants are taken up and digested, oxygen is added while carbon dioxide is removed. Hence, phytoremediation could potentially be coupled with carbon sequestration. Additionally, because phytoremediation does not rely on fouling processes, odors are much less a problem. Microalgae, in particular, have been recognized as suitable vectors for detoxification and have emerged as a potential low-cost alternative to physicochemical treatments. Uptake of metals by living microalgae occurs in two steps: one takes place rapidly and is essentially independent of cell metabolism – “adsorption” onto the cell surface. The other one is lengthy and relies on cell metabolism – “absorption” or “intracellular uptake.” Nonviable cells have also been successfully used in metal removal from contaminated sites. Some of the technologies in heavy metal removals, such as High Rate Algal Ponds and Algal Turf Scrubber, have been justified for some practical application in China and abroad and limitations of these methods in large-scale still exist. As an innovative clean-up technology, it mainly depends on the biosorption and bioaccumulation abilities of algae, and the former is dominated in the whole process of bioremediation. Studies suggest that the constituents of algae cell wall such as alginate and fucoidan which have key functional groups are chiefly responsible for biosorption of heavy metal ions

CLINICAL AND DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES ASSOCIATED WITH COGNITIVE DEFICITS, SYMPTOM SEVERITY, AND DURATION AFTER CONCUSSIVE INJURY IN ADOLESCENTS: A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY

Background: Concussions in adolescents are a public health concern with the growing popularity of high school sports. Recent legislation mandates that athletes who are suspected of a concussion be cleared to return-to-play by a clinician. More research is needed to develop a concussion predictive model to identify populations at risk for more severe and prolonged symptoms and long-term neurologic deficits. Aims: The aims of this study were to (1) examine the effect of race and gender on neurocognitive and symptom scores and (2) determine which clinical (e.g., number of concussions, migraine history, learning disabilities/ attention deficit disorders) and demographic factors (e.g., age, gender, race/ ethnicity, health insurance, mechanism of injury/ sport, education) predict prolonged recovery times. Methods: This was an observational cohort study of clinical data reviewed retrospectively in adolescents aged 13 to 19 years who were evaluated for an acute concussion (≤ 10 days from injury) at a university-based concussion clinic between January 1, 2012 to August 1, 2015. Multivariate analysis of variance was used to examine the role of gender and race on Immediate Post-concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing composite scores. Logistic regression, Kaplan-Meier analysis, and Cox regression proportional hazards model were utilized to examine predictors of concussion recovery times. Results: The sample (N = 118) was primarily male (71.2%) with a median age of 16 (range 13-19 years old). Ethnic minorities (Blacks and Hispanics) constituted 40% of the sample. Univariate analyses revealed that females had slower reaction times than males (p = .04) and minority females performed significantly worse on verbal memory (p = .04) than other groups. Predictors of protracted recovery included ADHD (p \u3c .001) and prior concussion history (p = .03). Predictors of shorter recovery times included student athletic insurance (p = .02) and public insurance (Medicaid or Chips) (p = .03) as compared with private or no insurance. Conclusions: The findings showed that there was a gender difference on reaction time and there was an interaction of race and gender on verbal memory after a concussion. This study also identified key risk factors that may be used prognosticate concussion recovery times in adolescents

Service and Repeated Volley Skills among Volleyball Players: A Relationship Study

Present study examined the relationship between Service and Repeated Volley Skills among Volleyball Players. Total twenty five (N-25) female volleyball players their age ranged from 17 to 19 years were selected as subject from Navodaya Vidyalaya School, Sector25, Chandigarh. Service and Repeated Volley abilities were measured by administrating RussellLange Volleyball Skill Test. The data was analyzed statistically by computing Pearson Product Moment Correlation method to find out the relationship between service and repeated volley skills among female volleyball players. Results revealed the significant relationship between service with repeated volleys as the coefficient of correlation value of .593 was statistically significant at 0.01 level

Implementation of Input Oriented Dynamic Voltage and Frequency Scaling for Multiplier on FPGA

This paper presents an Implementation of Dynamic voltage and frequency scaling according to input data. In the conventional method the power supply is fixed and independent on workload, so, voltage and area will be consumed unnecessary .Paper proposes the approach which focuses on making system dynamic for low power digital multiplier on reconfigurable device FPGA (Spartan III). For making system Dynamic input workload should be known and scanning is used to detect range of input so system can adjust voltage and frequency. Control signal generated from scanning which can dynamically change voltage and frequency for low power consumption according to input data