An Evaluation of Training Delivery Effectiveness of a Program Conducted by a Private Training Company

The aim of this study was to evaluate a series of a training programs called Effective Supervisor organized by a private training provider who is registered with the Human Resource Development Fund (HRDF) of the Ministry of Labour, Malaysia. The evaluation was undertaken by analysing perceived achievement of stated training objectives as measurement of training delivery effectiveness visa viscourse contents, trainer and external factors. The study was done by using secondary data, that is the questionnaires that have been filled by the participants of the programs 'Effective Supervisor' provided by Consembition Jaya Sdn Bhd. for the period between May 1996 and June 1998. The data collated for all the 151 participants over the seven sessions of the program between May 1996 and June 1998 were used in this study. This evaluation was basically a Kirkpatrick's Level One measurement carried out to assess the participants' reaction towards the training program

Analysis of harmonics using wavelet technique

This paper develops an approach based on wavelet technique for the estimation of harmonic presents in power system signals. The proposed technique divides the power system signals into different frequency sub-bands corresponding to the odd harmonic components of the signal. The algorithm helps to determine both the time and frequency information from the harmonic frequency bands. The comparative study will be done with the input and the results attained from the wavelet transform (WT) for different conditions and Simulation results are given

CRISPR/Cas9: an advanced platform for root and tuber crops improvement

Root and tuber crops (RTCs), which include cassava, potato, sweet potato, and yams, principally function as staple crops for a considerable fraction of the world population, in addition to their diverse applications in nutrition, industry, and bioenergy sectors. Even then, RTCs are an underutilized group considering their potential as industrial raw material. Complexities in conventional RTC improvement programs curb the extensive exploitation of the potentials of this group of crop species for food, energy production, value addition, and sustainable development. Now, with the advent of whole-genome sequencing, sufficient sequence data are available for cassava, sweet potato, and potato. These genomic resources provide enormous scope for the improvement of tuber crops, to make them better suited for agronomic and industrial applications. There has been remarkable progress in RTC improvement through the deployment of new strategies like gene editing over the last decade. This review brings out the major areas where CRISPR/Cas technology has improved tuber crops. Strategies for genetic transformation of RTCs with CRISPR/Cas9 constructs and regeneration of edited lines and the bottlenecks encountered in their establishment are also discussed. Certain attributes of tuber crops requiring focus in future research along with putative editing targets are also indicated. Altogether, this review provides a comprehensive account of developments achieved, future lines of research, bottlenecks, and major experimental concerns regarding the establishment of CRISPR/Cas9-based gene editing in RTCs

A to G transitions at 260, 386 and 437 in DAZL gene are not associated with spermatogenic failure in Indian population

The autosomal DAZL (Deleted-in-Azoospermic-Like) gene, mapped to the short arm of the human chromosome 3, is the precursor for the Y-chromosomal DAZ cluster, which encodes for putative RNA-binding proteins. Mutations in the DAZL have been reported to be associated with spermatogenic failure in Taiwanese population but not in Caucasians. As there was no study on Indian populations, we have analysed the entire coding sequences of exons 2 and 3 of DAZL in a total of 1010 men from Indian subcontinent, including 660 infertile men with 598 non-obstructive azoospermia, 62 severe oligozoospermia and 350 normozoospermic fertile control men, to investigate whether mutation(s) in the DAZL is associated with male infertility. Interestingly, none of our samples (1010) showed A386G (T54A) mutation, which was found to be associated with spermatogenic failure in Taiwanese population. In contrast, A260G (T12A) mutation was observed in both infertile and normozoospermic fertile control men, without any significant association with infertile groups (χ2=0.342; p=0.556). Similarly, we have found a novel A437G (I71V) mutation, which is also present in both infertile and normozoospermic fertile control men without any significant difference (χ2=0.476; p=0.490). Our study clearly demonstrates the complete absence of the A386G (T54A) mutation in Indian subcontinent and the other two mutations- A260G (T12A) and A437G (I71V)- observed are polymorpic. Therefore, we conclude that these mutations in the DAZL gene are not associated with male infertility in Indian subcontinent

Wifi Infrastructure Security System from Vulnerable Attacks

Abstract Wi-Fi is a very popular wireless technology which is powerful core for the global digital infrastructure. A device connected using Wi-Fi can access the network resource such as the Internet via a wireless network access point. Recent discoveries and initiatives highlight a simple fact that the core is just as vulnerable as the edge. Wi-Fi can be less secure than wired connections because an intruder does not need a physical connection. Though security threats are imminent due to the open nature of communication, there are certain ways to protect the infrastructure of a network.In this paper, we examine the vulnerabilities of Wi-Fi network and this includes the intrusion detection in the security architecture of that network. We have shown such mechanism to solve arrival of intruders by Man-in -the-middle attack on a Wi-Fi network. Also, provide the steps to eliminate hackers from the Wi-Fi network and descriptions regarding the operations performed by different tools to avoid attackers from network. There are several holes in the wireless environment through which the attacks enter the network. In future those holes may be blocked completely by eliminating hackers from all attacks through which they enter. We also discuss a number of available solutions for controlling those threats

On unusual heavy landing of cat fish Tachysurus dussumieri (Valenciennes) at Kasimedu, Madras

An unusual catch of cat fishes was recorded from 'Eda valai' (Bag net) netters. Out of that, 14 t was netted iix a single haul by 'Eda valai' opeiated by a catamaran at a depth of 10-15 m. 'Eda valai' is a traditional boat seine usually operated in shallow coastal areas with an extremely wide rectangular mouth or nearly square, measuring 20 m to catch pelagic shoals

GGN repeat length and GGN/CAG haplotype variations in the androgen receptor gene and prostrate cancer risk in south Indian men

The ethnic variation in the GGN and CAG microsatellites of the androgen receptor (AR) gene suggests their role in the substantial racial difference in prostate cancer risk. Hence, we performed a casecontrol study to assess whether GGN repeats independently or in combination with CAG repeats were associated with prostate cancer risk in South Indian men. The repeat lengths of the AR gene determined by Gene scan analysis, revealed that men with GGN repeats £21 had no significant risk compared to those with >21 repeats (OR 0.91 at 95% CI-0.52–1.58). However, when CAG repeats of our earlier study was combined with the GGN repeat data, the cases exhibited significantly higher frequency of the haplotypes CAG £19/GGN £21 (OR-5.2 at 95% CI-2.17– 12.48, P 21(OR-6.9 at 95%CI-2.85–17.01, P < 0.001) compared to the controls. No significant association was observed between GGN repeats and prostate-specific antigen levels and the age at diagnosis. Although a trend of short GGN repeats length in high-grade was observed, it was not significant (P = 0.09). Overall, our data reveals that specific GGN/CAG haplotypes (CAG £19/GGN £21 and CAG £19/GGN > 21) of AR gene increase the risk of prostate cancer and thus could serve as susceptibility marker for prostate cancer in South Indian men