Archives-May 2014

The main aim of this study was to determiner modeling and sensitivity analysis of rice production based on energy inputs and farm sizes using artificial neural networks in Guilan province of Iran. For this purpose the initial date were collected from 120 rice farmers by a face-to-face questionnaire in Astaneh Ashrafiyeh city of Guilan province of Iran. Total energy consumption and output energy was 51430 and 66387 MJ ha-1, respectively. Diesel fuel with 44.61% had the highest energy use among all of the inputs. Medium farms had the best condition in three group sizes from average of total energy consumption point of view. The Levenberg-Marquardt Learning Algorithm was trained for calculation of prediction models for rice yield based energy inputs and area. The results of the ANN model revealed the 12-13-1 structure belonged to the best topology with highest R2 and lowest RMSE and MAPE. The rate of R2, RMSE and MAPE was computed as 0.972, 0.153 and 0.007, respectively. With respect to sensitivity analysis human labor had the highest sensitivity with 0.311. It indicates that using an additional of 1 MJ either for human labor or seed energy would result in increasing the yield by 0.311 and 0.286 kg, respectively.

Shot-peening is a cold-working process primarily used to improve the fatigue life and strength of metallic structural components. In this work, the shot-peening time (SPT) effect on fatigue life of 7075-T651 Al-alloy was investigating at room temperature stress ratio R=-1 and reversed bending. An increase in shot-peening time (SPT) resulted in an increase in fatigue life improvement percentage (FLI %). For 5 SPT, reducing the applied stress, increasing (FLI%) while at 10 and 15 SPT reducing the applied stress reducing the (FLI%).

Having realized that the students at post graduate level need to have language skills to communicate effectively in professional context, the present paper has attempted to identify the communicative capabilities of Business students by conducting a survey on their business English knowledge level. The study used a well-defined questionnaire containing questions related to business letters, reports, memos, emails, minutes of meetings, telephonic conversation and presentations, testing the communicative competency of the respondents. The test was conducted to assess the language skills of the students after they finished a specific course in Business English. Students performance was evaluated and presented through a graph. The assessment outcome manily focusing on the factors that affect the learning of business English is discussed.

The harmonic wave numbers of allopurinol were calculated by using of density functional theory with B3LYP/6-311++ G(d,p) level. The molecular electrostatic potentials (MEP) of allopurinol isomers were calculated with help of Spartan 10 software at the B3LYP/6-31++ (d,p) level , and the molecular surface was taken to be the 0.002 au contour of the electron density. These MEP map surfaces show that different colors, the red color shows positive potentials and blue color shows negative potentials. From the MEP results, the positive potentials sites are located an electronegative nitrogen and oxygen atoms and the negative potentials sites are located around the hydrogen atoms in the isomers. These potentials sites are mainly give the information about intermolecular interactions possible in the molecule.

This study aimed to assess and rank the quality of central library websites of government universities in Iran based on the fuzzy deduction system. Statistical society includes independent central library websites of government universities in Iran (n=55) that were managed by Ministry of Science, Research and Technology. A survey method research was used for the aim of the study. Moreover, a check list and MATLAB Software were used. Among content criteria, website title was the most important one and among structural criteria, searching in continuous catalogue of the library was the most significant. Classic assessment of findings showed that central library websites of University of Shahed and Sahand University of Technology had the highest quality; on the contrary, central library websites of (Shahid Abbaspour) Power & Water University of Technology and Gorgan University of Agricultural Science and Natural Resources had the lowest quality. Findings of fuzzy deduction system showed that central library website of University of Shahed had the highest quality; however, central library website of (Shahid Abbaspour) Power & Water University of Technology had the lowest quality among other websites. Comparison of classic assessment and fuzzy assessment of central library websites of Iran showed that in an assessment based on the fuzzy deduction system, more precise results are obtained and websites are correctly ranked. In addition, websites can be ranked based on low, medium and high quality. Therefore, it seems that fuzzy deduction system is a better method for assessing and ranking the quality of university library websites. Keywords: Fuzzy Logic; Central Library Website; Applied System, Government Universities, Library Website

Pesticides are one of the most significant environmental factors that cause various metabolic and physiological dysfunctions in the male reproductive system. In the present investigation, alterations in sperm morphology, sperm count and sperm motility, as well as in the testosterone levels and histopathology of testicular cells due to endosulfan toxicity was studied. Sexually matured male Swiss albino mice (Mus musculus), weighing 30±2g, were segregated into 4 different groups with ten mice in each group. 3 groups were administered with the dose of 3mg/kg body wt per day of Endosulfan by oral gavage method for 6, 12 and 18 weeks respectively, and one group served as control. After the last treatment, the animals were sacrificed on 6th, 12th, 18th weeks and the sperm parameters were estimated. The mice testes were fixed for light microscopy study and serum testosterone levels were estimated. Endosulfan significantly decreased the sperm motility and sperm count, and there were distinct histopathological abnormalities in testicular tissue. Significant decline in the testosterone levels was also observed. Endosulfan causes deleterious effects on the spermatological parameters of Swiss albino mice,thus negatively affecting the fertility. Keywords: Endosulfan, Mus musculus, Sperm count, Sperm motility, Sperm morphology.

Knowledge management is an important issue for business life and one cannot achieve a competitive advantage without completely relying on KM’s innovative work and HRD interventions. HRD includes a wide range of activities that make work possible for business managers that are competing in global work to gain competitive edge. HRD activities make KM work easy and thus knowledge flow becomes mollifying and then use and reuse of knowledge creates value. The value addition brings out organizational effectiveness. The gap has been identified from the study conducted by (Elena, 2013). In the paper researchers main focus was on accessing the HRD efficiencies in Knowledge Management. Researchers left space for future researcher to find the link between HRD interventions and KM. In this study the focus is on two HRD interventions i.e. performance appraisal and training with great emphasis on Knowledge Management. Both are of great importance in an organization and needs continuous feed back and improvement.

The levels of heavy metals (Cr, Cd, Pb, Cu, Co, Ni and Zn) in soil nd plant (cassia occidentalis) of jega town were determined using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The sample area was divided into five units (JE, JC, JW, JN and JS) using stratified random sampling method. Results revealed significant (p<0.05) difference between the samples in terms of Cr, Pb, Cu, Co, Ni and Zn contents in soil with Cd showing no significance at 5% level of significance. Cr, Cd and Zn levels are of no significance (p>0.05) between the samples. However, high significance different (p<0.05) exists between the samples for the remaining metals. Pearson Product Moment Correlation showed that Pb in plant correlated positively with all other metals in the soil; with higher significance correlation at 1% level of significance between Pb in soil. However, Co and Cr in plant showed significant correlation with Pb and Zn in soil at 5% level of significance. However, results indicated that the area is moderately polluted based on the US EPA standard of heavy metals in soils.

Oxalate (soluble and total), phytic acid, hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and tannin content of Lasienthera Africana (Editan), Heinsia Crinata (Atama) and piper quineensis (Adusa) were analyzed. The moisture content was first determined and results showed the highest level for lasienthera Africana as (7.52%) and the least (5.14%) for Heinsia Crinata. Standard analytical method was used to estimate the levels of the toxicants in the three vegetables. The result of the analysis showed that Heinsia Crinata, had the maximum total oxalate content of (10.40mg/10g) while piper quineensis had the minimum level of (2.50mg/100g). The highest value of phytic acid (743.00mg/100g) was found in piper quineensis and the minimum value (484.00mg/100g) was found in Lasintherra Africana. The maximum level of HCN (0.43mg/100g) was found in Heinsia Crinata and the minimum value (0.17mg/100g) obtained for piper quineensis. While Tannin recorded least (50.20mg/100g) for piper quineensis and maximum (63.40mg/100g) for Lasienthera Africana. When these result were compared with their respective, lethal does, and the values obtained for other edible leaves the leaves were found to be fit for consumption with respect to their toxicant contents.

The performance of a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell is greatly affected by the operating parameters. Appropriate operating parameters are necessary for PEM fuel cells to maintain stable performance. The results indicate that the cell performance can be enhanced by increasing operating temperature. The anode humidi?cation has more signi?cant in?uences on the cell performance than the cathode humidi?cation, and the best performance occurs at moderate air relative humidity while the hydrogen is fully humidi?ed. In addition, the fuel and oxidant flow rate proves to be influencing the cell performance. Based on these conclusions, several suggestions for engineering practice are also provided.