Food Habits and Helminth Parasites of Skittering Frog (Euphlyctis cyanophlyctis) in the Lower Dir, Pakistan

A total of 30 specimens of Skittering frog (Euphlyctis cyanophlyctis),(Anura: Dicroglossidae) were captured from seven selected localities inthe Dir Lower, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan from Aprilto August 2016. They were euthanized with the help of Chloroform(CHcl3) solution. The biometry of each specimen was measured, thendissected to examine for helminth parasites and foodstuff. All helminths were isolated, washed with normal saline at room temperature,and then preserved in 70% GL ethyl alcohol. Later on, the parasiteswere classified and studied under the electric compound microscope. Ina total of 30 specimens, 17(56.66%) were found infected with 62 helminths parasites belongs to four different species. Among four species,one was Cestodes Nematotaenia dispar species and remaining threewere Nematodes i.e. Cosmocerca species, Cosmocercoides (Raillietnema species) and Strongyloides species. Cosmocerca with a percentageof 56.45% was the most dominant. In the total of 30 specimens’ alimentary canal, 10 were found empty, containing nothing while in remaining20 were full of 9 types of food materials which included insects i.e.Ants, Beetles, Wasps, Spiders, Mosquito larvae and cockroaches, andnon-living things like stone pebbles and mollusks shells. Among the serial, flies and snails were in the lowest prevalence and ants were recorded the most important component of the frog diet. Among the insects,ants have occurred in higher prevalence 44.50% and flies 1.15% withthe lowest prevalence. The results emphasize the significance of furtherexpected studies in the Dir Lower to get a good understanding of thehelminth parasites with the ecological relations of their hosts

Development of Environment-Friendly Concrete through Partial Addition of Waste Glass Powder (WGP) as Cement Replacement

This paper presents the study carried out on the utilization of Waste Glass Powder (WGP) as supplementary cementitious material in concrete. The evaluation of the influence of WGP on the mechanical properties of concrete was carried out by casting and testing of concrete samples as per ASTM standards (cylinders and beam elements). The control samples were designed to represent field conditions with a target compressive strength of 20,000 kPa. The Portland cement in concrete was substituted with WGP in proportions of 0%-35% by weight, in increments of 5%. Two curing domains were adopted in the preparation of the test samples to evaluate the effect of pozzolanic material wherein the tested samples were cured for 28, 56, and 84 days. The study results indicated a reduction in compressive strength of concrete up to 10% with partial replacement of cement with 25% of WGP when standard curing of 28 days was adopted. Furthermore, with the same replacement proportion and prolonged curing for 84 days, the gap in strength reduction was reduced by 5%. However, a significant decrease in workability was noted between the control concrete samples and glass powder infused concrete. Furthermore, the Waste Glass Powder Concrete (WGPC) exhibited an improved flexural strength with the modulus of rupture for WGPC being 2% higher than control concrete at the age of 84 days. Based on the results of this study it was concluded that 25% replacement of cement with WGP provides an optimum replacement ratio. Doi: 10.28991/cej-2020-03091620 Full Text: PD

Energy-Efficient RIS-Enabled NOMA Communication for 6G LEO Satellite Networks

This paper proposes an energy-efficient RIS-enabled NOMA communication for LEO satellite networks. The proposed framework simultaneously optimizes the transmit power of ground terminals at LEO satellite and passive beamforming at RIS while ensuring the quality of services. Due to the nature of the considered system and optimization variables, the problem of energy efficiency maximization is formulated as non-convex. In practice, it is very challenging to obtain the optimal solution for such problems. Therefore, we adopt alternating optimization methods to handle the joint optimization in two steps. In step 1, for any given phase shift vector, we calculate efficient power for ground terminals at satellite using Lagrangian dual method. Then, in step 2, given the transmit power, we design passive beamforming for RIS by solving the semi-definite programming. To validate the proposed solution, numerical results are also provided to demonstrate the benefits of the proposed optimization framework.Comment: 4,

Swarm of UAVs for Network Management in 6G: A Technical Review

Fifth-generation (5G) cellular networks have led to the implementation of beyond 5G (B5G) networks, which are capable of incorporating autonomous services to swarm of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). They provide capacity expansion strategies to address massive connectivity issues and guarantee ultra-high throughput and low latency, especially in extreme or emergency situations where network density, bandwidth, and traffic patterns fluctuate. On the one hand, 6G technology integrates AI/ML, IoT, and blockchain to establish ultra-reliable, intelligent, secure, and ubiquitous UAV networks. 6G networks, on the other hand, rely on new enabling technologies such as air interface and transmission technologies, as well as a unique network design, posing new challenges for the swarm of UAVs. Keeping these challenges in mind, this article focuses on the security and privacy, intelligence, and energy-efficiency issues faced by swarms of UAVs operating in 6G mobile networks. In this state-of-the-art review, we integrated blockchain and AI/ML with UAV networks utilizing the 6G ecosystem. The key findings are then presented, and potential research challenges are identified. We conclude the review by shedding light on future research in this emerging field of research.Comment: 19,

Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces for 6G Non-Terrestrial Networks: Assisting Connectivity from the Sky

This paper studies the potential of RIS-integrated NTNs to revolutionize the next-generation connectivity. First, it discusses the fundamentals of RIS technology. Secondly, it delves into reporting the recent advances in RIS-enabled NTNs. Subsequently, it presents a novel framework based on the current state-of-the-art for low earth orbit satellites (LEO) communications, wherein the signal received at the user terminal traverses both a direct link and an RIS link, and the RIS is mounted on a high-altitude platform (HAP) situated within the stratosphere. Finally, the paper concludes by highlighting open challenges and future research directions to revolutionize the realm of RIS-integrated NTNs.Comment: 6,

Impact of Heads’ Teachers’ Supervision on Secondary School Performance in Bannu Division

To highlight the important role of teachers’ supervision by head in Secondary School is the main purpose of this paper. Nature of this study was descriptive. Attempt was made to examine the impact of teachers’ supervision by heads’ on Secondary schools performance. The secondary schools’ teachers and 10th class students’ record made the population of the study. The sampled respondents were 330 out of 1650. Questionnaire of five point Likert scale was utilized for data collection. Analysis of data was made through SPSS (Version 16.o). Through utilizing Linear Regression; the impact of teachers’ supervision by heads on Secondary school performance was analyzed. The results showed that there is clear impact of teachers’ supervision on Secondary school performance. Keywords: Head of School, Teachers’ supervision, Public School, Private School, Bannu division. DOI: 10.7176/JEP/10-36-12 Publication date: December 31st 201

Synthesis, characterization and biological activities of hydrazone schiff base and its novel metals complexes

Recently, researchers are focusing on the synthesis of Schiff base complexes due to their promising biological activities and frequent use in the pharmaceuticals. In the present study we synthesized Schiff base of salicyldehyde and 2, 4-dinitrophenylhydrazine by modified method and its novel metal complexes with Cu (II), Zn (II), Co (II), Ni (II), Mn (II), V (II) and AU (IIII). For spectroscopic studies and characterization, UV-Vis and FT-IR spectroscopy were used. The Schiff base and its metals complexes were tested for antimicrobial, cytotoxic and antioxidant activities. Significant results are showed by the all synthesized complexes