AN EFFECTIVE APPROACH OF FOUR-STEP METHOD FOR OPTIMAL SOLUTION OF TRANSPORTATION PROBLEM

Transportation problem (TP) in operation research is one of the most in use optimization technique to deal the problems that are related with transportation of goods from sources to destinations. Initial Basic Feasible Solution (IBFS) plays a vital role in TP which offers a way to obtain the optimal solution. The objective is to prevail the total transportation cost equivalent or nearer to optimal solution. In this paper, an effective approach of Four Step Method (FSM) for optimal solution of TP has been brought up in order to get optimal solution of TPs. In this method we construct the Maximum Column Table (MCT) and Maximum Row Table (MRT). Several problems has been solved using this method to get the optimal solution. The outcomes of proposed method are contrasted with results of North West Corner Method (NWCM), Least Cost Method (LCM) and Vogal’s Approximation Method (VAM). It is observed that the proposed method is not only achieving better results but also overcoming the limitation of VAM. Key Words: Transportation problem, Initial Basic Feasible Solution, Optimal solution, Linear programming proble

Assessment of Seismic Capacity for Reinforced Concrete Frames with Perforated Unreinforced Brick Masonry Infill Wall

Infill walls increase the strength and stiffness of the reinforced concrete frames, but they usually are not considering in design. However, when the infills are considered in the design, the opening for doors/windows necessitates investigation as well. This research work aims to investigate the effect of perforations (openings) in the infill walls on the performance of infilled RC frames, in other words, this research investigates the number of infill walls in infilled RC frames. Based on the current construction practices in Pakistan, two full scales perforated infilled RC frames were constructed in the laboratory. One infilled RC frame has an eccentric door and window (specimen-1) while the other has only window at its centre (specimen-2). Both the specimens were tested against reverse cyclic loading (quasi-static test). From the experimental testing, it was found that infilled RC frame having less amount of opening in infill wall has more resistance to lateral loads, have more stiffness and dissipated higher energy as compared to infilled RC frame having a significant size of the opening in infill wall. Similarly, displacement ductility (µD) and Response modification factor (R) also depend on the quantity of opening in infill wall in infilled RC frame. Doi: 10.28991/cej-2020-03091625 Full Text: PD

No Action Today, No Cure Tomorrow - A Review of Agricultural Factors Predisposing Humans at The Risk of Antimicrobial Resistance and Its Preventive Strategies

One of the most significant public health issues today is AMR (AMR), which poses significant difficulties in controlling and treating infectious diseases. It is believed that the abuse and overuse of numerous antibacterial agents in the healthcare and agriculture industries led to the emergence of antimicrobial resistance. Even though irrational prescriptions have been blamed for the rise in resistance among microbes to various antimicrobial drugs, a variety of environmental factors have also been linked to the development of multidrug-resistant (MDR) organisms. Several studies have stressed the significance of using a one-health approach, or a holistic strategy, to combat antibiotic resistance that takes into account people, animals, and the environment. Models describing how resistance starts and spreads could be created with a better understanding of the environmental factors that encourage its development. Yet, preventing the establishment and spread of mobile resistance elements is challenging since it is unclear how and when the environment favors resistance growth. Hence the current review focuses on the agricultural factors predisposing humans to the risk of AMR and preventive strategies

Response Surface Methodology for Optimization of Operational Parameters to Remove Ciprofloxacin from Contaminated Water in the Presence of a Bacterial Consortium

Ciprofloxacin (CFX) is a broad-spectrum fluoroquinolone antibiotic that is widely used to treat bacterial infections in humans and other animals. However, its unwanted occurrence in any (eco)system can affect nontarget bacterial communities, which may also impair the performance of the natural or artificially established bioremediation system. The problem could be minimized by optimization of operational parameters via modeling of multifactorial tests. To this end, we used a Box–Behnken design in response surface methodology (RSM) to generate the experimental layout for testing the effect of the CFX biodegradation for four important parameters, that is, temperature (°C), pH, inoculum size (v/v %), and CFX concentration (mg L–1). For inoculation, a consortium of three bacterial strains, namely, Acenitobacter lwofii ACRH76, Bacillus pumilus C2A1, and Mesorihizobium sp. HN3 was used to degrade 26 mg L–1 of CFX. We found maximum degradation of CFX (98.97%; initial concentration of 25 mg L–1) at 2% inoculum size, 7 pH, and 35 °C of temperature in 16 days. However, minimum degradation of CFX (48%; initial concentration of 50 mg L–1) was found at pH 6, temperature 30 °C, and inoculum size 1%. Among different tested parameters, pH appears to be the main limiting factor for CFX degradation. Independent factors attributed 89.37% of variation toward CFX degradation as revealed by the value of the determination coefficient, that is, R2 = 0.8937. These results were used to formulate a mathematical model in which the computational data strongly correlated with the experimental results. This study showcases the importance of parameter optimization via RSM for any bioremediation studies particularly for antibiotics in an economical, harmless, and eco-friendly manner.The authors are thankful to Higher Education Commission (HEC) for the grant No TTSF-77.Scopu

Traditional healers working with primary care and mental health for early intervention in psychosis in young persons: protocol for the feasibility cluster randomised controlled trial

Objectives In low/middle-income countries (LMICs), more than half of patients with first-episode psychosis initially seek treatment from traditional and religious healers as their first care. This contributes to an excessively long duration of untreated psychosis (DUP). There is a need for culturally appropriate interventions to involve traditional and spiritual healers to work collaboratively with primary care practitioners and psychiatrists through task-shifting for early detection, referral and treatment of first episode of psychosis. Methods To prevent the consequences of long DUP in adolescents in LMICs, we aim to develop and pilot test a culturally appropriate and context-bespoke intervention. Traditional HEalers working with primary care and mental Health for early interventiOn in Psychosis in young pErsons (THE HOPE) will be developed using ethnographic and qualitative methods with traditional healers and caregivers. We will conduct a randomised controlled cluster feasibility trial with a nested qualitative study to assess study recruitment and acceptability of the intervention. Ninety-three union councils in district Peshawar, Pakistan will be randomised and allocated using a 1:1 ratio to either intervention arm (THE HOPE) or enhanced treatment as usual and stratified by urban/rural setting. Data on feasibility outcomes will be collected at baseline and follow-up. Patients, carers, clinicians and policymakers will be interviewed to ascertain their views about the intervention. The decision to proceed to the phase III trial will be based on prespecified stop–go criteria. Ethics and dissemination Ethical approval has been obtained from Keele University Ethical Review Panel (ref: MH210177), Khyber Medical University Ethical Review Board (ref: DIR/KMU-EB/IG/001005) and National Bioethics Committee Pakistan (ref no. 4-87/NBC-840/22/621). The results of THE HOPE feasibility trial will be reported in peer-reviewed journals and academic conferences and disseminated to local stakeholders and policymakers. Trial registration number ISRCTN75347421

VID: Human identification through vein patterns captured from commodity depth cameras

Herein, a human identification system for smart spaces called Vein-ID (referred to as VID) is presented, which leverage the uniqueness of vein patterns embedded in dorsum of an individual\u27s hand. VID extracts vein patterns using the depth information and infrared (IR) images, both obtained from a commodity depth camera. Two deep learning models (CNN and Stacked-Autoencoders) are presented for precisely identifying a target individual from a set of N enrolled users. VID also incorporates a strategy for identifying an intruder—that is a person whose vein patterns are not included in the set of enrolled individuals. The performance of VID by collecting a comprehensive data set of approximately 17,500 images from 35 subjects is evaluated. The tests reveal that VID can identify an individual with an average accuracy of over 99% from a group of up to 35 individuals. It is demonstrated that VID can detect intruders with an average accuracy of about 96%. The execution time for training and testing the two deep learning models on different hardware platforms is also investigated and the differences are reporte