Comparative study on indoor fungi growth incorporated with different antifungal and wall finishings

Indoor air quality is important to the health and comfort of building occupants. There are many sources of pollutants that can be found in the building. One of the sources of pollutants is fungus. Fungi are present almost everywhere in indoor and outdoor environments. Building materials supporting fungal growth must be remediated as rapidly as possible in order to ensure a healthy environment. The goal of this study is to compare the growth of indoor fungal by using three different antifungals such as potassium sorbate, zinc salicylate and calcium benzoate. The indoor fungi were isolated from selected room at Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering (FKAAS). The objective is to enumerate the growth of indoor fungal after incorporate with antifungal at different types of wall finishes and evaluate its efficiency. This research was done on three main substrates which are wood, plasterboard and concrete. These main materials were each coated with four types of coating which are thin wallpaper, thick wallpaper, glycerol based paint and acrylic paint. The growth rate was monitored as all the materials was applied with the antifungal. The antifungal has reduced the growth rate of the fungus but depending on the type of material and coating that is used. Results shows that for wood substrate, the best antifungal treatment is a mix of thick wallpaper and calcium benzoate, where the growth stops at 53% (CB 53% < PS 87% < ZS 90% < CTRL 93%). As for plasterboard substrate, thin wallpaper and potassium sorbate hinders the growth at 40% (PS 40% < ZS 73% < CB 80% < CTRL 97%) whereas for concrete substrate, acrylic paint and glycerol based paint incorporated with calcium benzoate renders the growth of fungi to stop at 0% throughout the test (Acrylic Paint = CB 0% < ZS 7% < PS 7% < CTRL 33%) and (Glycerol Based Paint = CB 0% < PS 70% < ZS 73% < CTRL 87%). Thus, the best building material would be concrete with the application of calcium benzoate for paint type of wall finishing’s

The Aliens in Our Midst: Managing Our Ecosystems

"The Aliens in Our Midst: Managing Our Ecosystems," in Controversies in Science and Technology : From Sustainability to Surveillance, edited by Daniel Lee Kleinman, et al., Oxford University Press, Incorporated, 2014. 228-24

Colonial Legacies, Postcolonial Biologies: Gender and the Promises of Biotechnology

Three decades of work in the feminist studies of science and technology have shaped our evolving understandings of the relationships between sex, gender, and biotechnology. Sex, and gender are most often reduced to binary categories, severely limiting our conceptions not only of human diversity, but those of science and technology. Using two case study set in India, transnational surrogacy and the Indian Genome Variation Project, this paper explores how popular positions around biotechnology are reduced to binary positions promoting and opposing biotechnology as the solution for the economic and social development of India. By locating surrogacy and genomics within the larger geopolitical, historical, economic and cultural transformations of postcolonial India, the paper argues that both technologies are far more complex in their impact on women and gender. Why does technology become the major site of hope for the future? Why does genomics become the site for the promises of good health? Why has India become a site for reproductive tourism, and transnational surrogacy in particular? Drawing on the social studies of science, the paper argues that technology and human bodies are never neutral but always prefigured with a gender, race, caste and sexuality. Surrogacy and genomics should be understood within these colonial and postcolonial histories of science and technology

Cluster formation versus star formation rates around six regions in the LMC

The stellar population and star clusters around six regions in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) are studied to understand the correlation between star formation and cluster formation rates. We used the stellar database of the OGLE II LMC survey and the star cluster catalogues. The observed distribution of stellar density on the colour-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) were compared with the synthetic ones generated from the stellar evolutionary models. By minimising the reduced chi-square values, the star formation history of the regions were obtained in terms of the star formation rates (SFRs). All the regions were found to show large SFRs between the ages 500 Myr - 2 Gyr with lower values for younger and older ages. The correlated peak in the cluster and SFRs is found for ages $sim$ 1 Gyr, and for ages less than 100 Myr. Five out of six regions show significant cluster formation in the 100 - 300 Myr, while the SFRs were found to be very low. This indicates anti-correlation between star and cluster formation rates for the 100 - 300 Myr age range. A possible reason may be that the stars are predominantly formed in clusters, whether bound or unbound, as a result of star formation during the above age range. The enhanced cluster formation rate at 100 - 300 Myr age range could be correlated with the encounter of LMC with the Small Magellanic Cloud, while the enhanced star and cluster formation at $\sim$ 1 Gyr does not correspond to any interaction. This could indicate that the star formation induced by interaction is biased towards group or cluster formation of stars.Comment: to appear in A&A, 12 pages including 7 figure

Distributed intelligent robotics : research & development in fault-tolerant control and size/position identification : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering in Computer Systems Engineering at Massey University

This thesis presents research conducted on aspects of intelligent robotic systems. In the past two decades, robotics has become one of the most rapidly expanding and developing fields of science. Robotics can be considered as the science of using artificial intelligence in the physical world. Many areas of study exist in robotics. Among these, two fields that are of paramount importance in real world applications are fault tolerance, and sensory systems. Fault tolerance is necessary since a robot in the real world could encounter internal faults, and may also have to continue functioning under adverse conditions. Sensory mechanisms are essential since a robot will possess little intelligence if it does not have methods of acquiring information about its environment. Both these fields are researched in this thesis. In particular, emphasis is placed on distributed intelligent autonomous systems. Experiments and simulations have been conducted to investigate design for fault tolerance. A suitable platform was also chosen for an implementation of a visual system, as an example of a working sensory mechanism

Recent star formation history of the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds

We traced the age of the last star formation event (LSFE) in the inner Large & Small Magellanic Cloud (L&SMC) using the photometric data from the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE-III) and the Magellanic Cloud Photometric Survey (MCPS). The LSFE is estimated from the main-sequence turn off point in the color-magnitude diagram (CMD) of a region. Extinction corrected turn off magnitude is converted to age, which represents the LSFE in a region. The spatial map of the LSFE age shows that the star formation has shrunk to the central regions in the last 100Myr in both the galaxies. The location and age of LSFE is found to correlate well with those of the star cluster in both the Clouds. The SMC map shows two separate concentrations of young star formation. We detect peaks of star formation at 0-10, 90-100Myr in the LMC, and 0-10, 50- 60Myr in the SMC. The quenching of star formation in the LMC is found to be asymmetric with respect to the optical center such that most of the young star forming regions are located to the north and east. On deprojecting the data on the LMC plane, the recent star formation appears to be stretched in the north-east direction and the HI gas is found to be distributed preferentially in the North. The centroid is found to shift to north in 200-40Myr, and to north-east in the last 40Myr. In the SMC, we detect a shift in centroid of population of 500-40Myr in the direction of the LMC. We propose that the HI gas in the LMC is pulled to the north of the LMC in the last 200Myr due to the gravitational attraction of our Galaxy at the time of perigalactic passage. The shifted HI gas is preferentially compressed in the north during 200-40Myr and in the north-east in the last 40Myr, due to the motion of the LMC in the Galactic halo. The recent star formation in the SMC is due to the combined gravitational effect of the LMC and the perigalactic passage.Comment: Accepted to A&A on August 31, 201

Disk of the Small Magellanic Cloud as traced by Cepheids

The structure and evolution of the disk of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) are traced by studying the Cepheids. We aim to estimate the orientation measurements of the disk, such as the inclination and the position angle of the line of nodes, and the depth of the disk. We used the V and I band photometric data of the fundamental and first-overtone Cepheids from the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment survey. The period-luminosity relations were used to estimate the relative distance and reddening of each Cepheid. A weighted least-square plane fitting method was then applied to estimate the structural parameters. The line-of-sight depth and then the orientation corrected depth or thickness of the disk were estimated from the relative distance measurements. The period-age-colour relation of Cepheids were used to derive the age of the Cepheids. A break in the PL relations of the fundamental-mode and first-overtone Cepheids at P ~ 2.95 days and P ~ 1 day are observed. An inclination of 64$^o$.4$\pm$0$^o$.7 and a PA$_{lon}$=155$^o$.3$\pm$6$^o$.3 are obtained from the full sample. A reddening map of the SMC disk is also presented. The orientation-corrected depth or thickness of the SMC disk is found to be 1.76 $\pm$ 0.6 kpc. The scale height is estimated to be 0.82 $\pm$ 0.3 kpc. The age distribution of Cepheids matches the SMC cluster age distribution. The radial variation of the disk parameters mildly indicate structures/disturbances in the inner SMC (0.5 $<$ r $<$ 2.5 degree). Some of the Cepheids found in front of the fitted plane in the eastern regions are possibly the youngest tidally stripped counterpart of the H {{\sc i}} gas of the Magellanic Bridge. The Cepheids behind the fitted plane are most likely the population in the Counter Bridge predicted in recent numerical simulations. Different scenarios for the origin of the extra-planar Cepheids are also discussed.Comment: Accepted for publication in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, 18 pages, 18 figure

MRS. GANDHI GAVE NEW ECONOMIC APPROACHES

Plenty of food, Sufficient clothing, Proper monitoring of the Key Socio- Economic factors, with commitment to Domestic Productivity were the Essence of the Administrative strategy of Mrs. Indira Gandhi (Late Prime Minister of India). These approaches could be critically related to the remarkable Economic advancement of the Indian sub-continent, with Self- sufficiency in Agriculture, leaving a surplus for export and strides in Industry, Atomic Research, and Space Exploration in India. The author feels that these unique thoughts and approaches of the late Prime Minister could serve as an eye-opener to all the Third World Nations to Accelerate their pace of Social and Economic development. ================================================================ Between 1972 and 1981, the author was a Social worker in India, and a Honorary Consultant for the effective implementation and monitoring of the 20 Point Socio-Economic Development programs designed by Shrimathi Indira Gandhi, the late Prime Minister of India. Centre page article by DR.VSRS in the Barbados Advocate, the largest circulated Daily in Barbados, West Indies, and the English speaking Caribbean Countries. Page 4 - Tuesday - January 8, 1985. During 1982 - 1986, the author was a “Consultant Adviser - Computer Services”, to the Caribbean Development Bank, Barbados, West Indies ( World Bank / UNDP Setup ), under nomination from his assignment as the “Data Processing Expert” to the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co- operation, London, UK.20 Point Program, Economic Development, Development Ratios, Government Strategy, Indira Gandhi, Key Ratios, Management Decision, Mass Development, Mrs.Gandhi, Political Economics, Productivity, Redefined Productivity, Social Development, Socio-Economic Development