Archives-April 2013

Nowadays it is of major importance to monitor and collect information about the environment and there are several instances wherein the environs are not conducive to human presence. For underwater pipeline monitoring, detection of enemy submarines, exploration of marine life, search and rescue operations, and surveillance in hazardous environments, it is necessary to develop an unmanned remote controlled vehicle which can do all the required functions. Considering terrains under water and on land, an amphibious robot is best suited for these kinds of activities. The amphibious robot (R-CAR) designed is capable of moving on land as well as on water. It swims with the help of its flaps, rather than using conventional thrusters and control surfaces for propulsion. Through an appropriate set of gaits, this robot is capable of translatory and rotatory motion in the open water. Wheels are attached for movement on land. This robot is controlled by Dual Tone Multi Frequency (DTMF) tones produced by a mobile phone which acts as a remote. These tones are then transmitted by a transmitter-encoder module. The receiver-decoder pair placed inside the robot receives and decodes the signal to detect what key the user has pressed. This signal is then received by an on-board microcontroller which is programmed to drive the powerful servo motors by pulse width modulation. The hydro dynamically designed flaps are fastened to the servo motors which provide movement to this robot. All the electronic circuitry is enclosed in streamlined water sealed enclosure. For movement on land, wheels are driven by the DC motors which are programmed by the microcontroller. The robot was found to move satisfactorily on land as well as in water as per the design.

Epoxy/Unsaturated polyester (UP) blend is prepared with varying montmorillonite (MMT) clay (viz. 0%, 1%, 2%, 3%, 4% and 5% by weight) content. The chemical resistance of these nanocomposites to some acids, alkalis and solvents is studied. The hardness property of these nanocomposites is determined. The nanocomposites showed good resistance to acids and alkalis, but showed minimal resistance to solvents. The nanocomposite blend indicated better hardness at 3% clay when compared to other combinations considered in this study. The homogeneous morphologies of the UP toughened epoxy and epoxy/UP/clay nanocomposite systems are ascertained using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) studies. The above studies indicate that the Epoxy/UP/MMT clay nanocomposite can be used in applications like aerospace, automobiles and marine systems. The main objective of the study is to identify a low-cost, light-weight, eco-friendly and high-strength composite material that can be used for various engineering and commercial applications.

Ethics and ethical behaviors are the ancient concepts which their history goes back to human’s life; and minds of many researchers have been involved in. In this regard, various theories have been proposed. In the field of ethics, one of the theories has been considered by masters is Ethical Work Climate Model presented by Victor & Cullen (1987). This model is the basis of our study. We aim to clarify the influence of gender and marital status on ethical work climate. So we studied ethical work climate in Agriculture Jihad Organization of Qom among men and women and also married and unmarried persons. Findings show there is no significant difference among men and women in ethical work climate. But one of the components of this model has a significant difference among men and women; this component is Independence Ethical Culture. It means in comparison with women, men are more independent in decision making about what is right and what is wrong. Also we found that there is no significant difference in ethical work climate among married and unmarried persons.

Fish is a vital source of high-quality protein, providing approximately16% of the animal protein consumed by the world’s population (FAO 1997). It is a particularly important protein source in regions where livestock is relatively scarce. Fish supplies less than 10% of animal protein consumed in North America and Europe, but 17% in Africa, 26% in Asia and 22% in China (FAO, 2000). The FAO estimates that about one billion people world-wide rely on fish as their primary source of animal protein (FAO, 2000).

The formation of complexes of tolbutamide and Zn(II) was studied in aqueous media at pH 3.4±0.1 by polarography and spectroscopy. The polarogram indicated formation of complexes between tolbutamide and Zn(II). Tolbutamide produces a well-defined direct current polarogram and differential pulse polarogram in 1M KCl (supporting electrolyte) at pH 3.4±0.1. The stoichiometry of the Zn(II)-tolbutamide complex is 1:1. Antidiabetic studies on the drug and its metal complex have been performed in albino mice. Revealing the complex to be more potent in antidiabetic activity compared to the parent drug.

The aim of this paper is to inspect the dares of female entrepreneurship in Lahore (n=150). Through a questionnaire, major obstacles are found among women on jobs and those who running their traditional business like; boutiques, parlor and embroidery. Descriptive analysis and Factor Analysis Model is used for data analysis. The results are proposed that females want to work and can manage their business self-sufficiently but due to social culture issues they are not taking any initiative to start a new business. Government does not support the female’s entrepreneurship and does not take action for providing the basic education to the females. The female entrepreneurship development is not only due to dearth of financial resources but also lack awareness for facilities available to develop their skills.

Reticulocytosis is an important previously unappreciated surrogate marker of recent Plasmodium falciparum reticulocyte parasitation. Evidence from studies in murine and primate models show increased prevalence of Plasmodium falciparum parasitisation of reticulocytes. The increase in reticulocyte infection has been attributed to compensatory reticulocytosis and increased parasite densities. However, the prevalence of P. falciparum parasitisation of reticulocytes in human populations in holoendemic areas of malaria is unknown. Therefore, the current study examined the prevalence of P. falciparum parasitation of reticulocytes and its association with clinical, parasitological and haematological outcomes in children (n=164) and adults (n=41) with acute P. falciparum malaria and healthy malaria-negative controls (children, n=132 and adults, n=60) from a holoendemic area of malaria of western Kenya. Malaria diagnosis and species identification was performed using Giemsa-stained thick and thin blood smears while reticulocyte parasitation was determined using New Methylene Blue- Giemsa counter-stained thin blood films. Results of this study showed that children with malaria presented with increased numbers of infected reticulocytes compared to adults with malaria (p=0.006; Mann-Whitney U test). In addition, children with malaria presented with higher reticulocyte counts compared to those without malaria (p<0.0001; Mann-Whitney U test).

The soils derived from charnockite in Ekiti State Nigeria were found to be low in zinc and phosphorus. This study was therefore conducted during the rainy seasons of 2006 and 2007 to evaluate growth and yield response of soybean TGX-1440LE from the direct effect and interaction of phosphorus and zinc. Treatments consisted of factorial combination of two levels of P(0,and 30kgPha-1), three levels of Zn(0,2,and 4kg Zns04ha-1) in a randomized complete block design in a soil developed in charnockite in Ekiti State The growth data were collected at 2 weekly intervals while yield components were taken at harvest. Stem girth, number of nodules and nodule weight significantly (P < 0.05) increased with 2kg Zn ha-1 application, which gave 111.2% yield advantage over the control treatment (0kgZn ha-1). Fertilizer rate above 2kgZn ha-1 significantly (p<0.05) decreased P uptake. The 30kgP ha-1 rate produced better growth, which was not significantly different from 0 kgP ha-1 while increase in P and Zn uptake was significant. The P x Zn interaction was significant for grain yield and Zn uptake. The treatment combination that gave the highest yield was 30kgP ha-1 and 2kgZn ha-1.

One of the major problems confronting cities and towns of the third world countries today is that of population explosion leading to uncontrolled urban growth. This, aside the fact that it leads to the conversion of agricultural land into other uses (residential especially), also affects negatively, the general well-being of the urban dwellers as well as the environment as a result of rural-urban migration. It was on this basis that this paper set out to assess the impact of the expansion of Minna, along the Minna-Bida road on agricultural land. In order to effectively achieve this, both the primary and secondary sources of data collection were employed. The primary data was obtained through the administration of 60 questionnaires on the natives of the communities under study, while the secondary data was obtained from sources like internet materials and journals. The result of the study revealed that the quantity of farm produce being evacuated from the communities to Minna has been on steady decline owing to the selling of agricultural land by the natives. The result also confirmed that the development activities now taking place in the study areas are not guided by any policy guideline (as a result of the obsoleteness of the Minna master plan), thus the haphazard development of the communities. Owing to this therefore, the paper recommended that there should be a paradigm shift in physical planning, where all stakeholders would deliberate and find solutions to the problems confronting the communities in terms of their agricultural and socio-economic activities. It was also recommended that government should show more commitment to the economic, physical and social development of people through the review of the Minna.

This paper aims to examine drivers and its moderating variable that influencing consumers’ purchase intention on green personal care products. Total of 137 completed and usable set of questionnaires was obtained from white collars employees that having knowledge about the availability of green personal care products that working in Penang, Malaysia. Data were analyzed by employing multiple regression analysis on testing on the independent variables (drivers) to dependent variables (purchase intention) and hierarchical regression analysis for moderating relationship between the drivers and purchase intention. The results revealed that environmental attitudes and self efficacy were found to be the factors that drive the purchase intention of consumers on purchasing of green personal care products. In addition, it was found that willingness of consumers to pay more on green personal care products was moderating the relationship between environmental attitudes and purchase intention. The findings created an understanding on what are the factors that influencing consumer purchase intention on green personal care product and serve as the information for marketers to plan for the marketing program that able to enlarge the market size of the said products.