Archives-November 2013

Pollution of inland waters by agricultural, industrial and municipal wastes is a global problem and a common phenomenon in developing countries. These anthropogenic activities within the landscape facilitate the transfer of nutrients into aquatic ecosystems, sometimes leading to eutrophication which has adverse effects on aquatic ecosystems. Deposition of nutrient-rich sediments washed into rivers and stream is common during rainy season in places where the riparian buffer zones have been destroyed. River Isiukhu watershed land use comprises sugar-cane farm, forested, peri-urban and mixed agriculture from upstream to downtream. The research employed stratified random sampling. Nitrate-nitrogen was determined through ultra-violet screening spectrophotometric method while phosphate-phosphorus through ascorbic acid method. Data analyses were done using Statistical Analysis System, version 9.1. Land use had a significant effect of both nitrate-nitrogen (F=1372.25, p<0.05) and phosphate-phosphorus concentrations. Peri-urban and mixed agricultural land uses recorded higher concentrations of these two nutrients while the forest land use recorded the lowest. The study showed that the type of riparian land use land cover influences nutrient concentrations in a water body and is an important area to be focused on by watershed managers.

Put your money in trust, not trust in money’ attracts the small investors who are risk neutral or risk averse. Small investors prefer some kind of collective investment vehicle which can pool their managerial resources, invest it in securities and distribute returns among them on cooperative principles. This led to the growth of mutual fund industry in developed and developing capital market. The mutual fund industry in India, which is a little over three decades old, has undergone a sea change since the introduction of mutual fund regulations in 1993.This research paper covers various aspects of mutual funds industry in India, Starting with the basic concept of mutual fund, it throws light on the growth of Indian mutual fund industry and its present status, the different types of mutual funds based on structure, investment and special schemes, performance, problems and future of mutual funds industry in India.

The effect of addition of Santalum paniculatum leaves extract on the corrosion of steel in 0.5M H₂SO₄ acid has been studied by weight loss measurements, potentiodynamic polarisation and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) measurements. The inhibition efficiency was found to increase with inhibitors content to attain 59.38% and 91.66% Santalum paniculatum leaves extract on and 25ppmTBAB respectively. Data obtained from EIS studies were analyzed to determinate the model inhibition process through appropriate equivalent circuit models. Inhibition efficiency IE (%) obtained from the various methods is in good agreement.

The organic nonlinear optical (NLO) crystals of thiourea mono acetate were grown by slow evaporation method. The solubility study was carried out for water solvent from 30 to 50 °C. Powder XRD study reveals the crystalline nature of the grown sample. The mode of vibration of different molecular groups present in TMA was identified by FTIR spectral analysis. The UV-vis-NIR spectrum of TMA shows less optical absorption and good transmittance in the entire visible region. The second harmonic generation (SHG) was confirmed by Kurtz powder method. The frequency dependent dielectric studies were carried out. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss of TMA were measured in the frequency range 100 Hz to 5M Hz at different temperatures. The photo current and dark current with applied field were measured. The grown crystal of TMA exhibit negative photoconductivity and reported for the first time.

In Indian education system, there has always been discussion on the issue of English language---whether to marginalize it or to abolish it—by politicians and educationists. Some say that it is the symbol of slavery and colonialism; others say that its use has created a gap in the society, while many advocate for total abolition as it is the outcome of Lord Macaulay’s education system that has created Indian babus (clerks).The aim of the author in this paper is to present the condition English language in Indian backward society on the one hand and to suggest some measures to learn and improve this language, particularly for the learners to whom it is a second language. For, it is observed that the people, who are financially well off, prefer to send their children to the institutions where English is the medium of education and where its use shows a sense of pride.

Customer loyalty has become one of the key factors for strong company competitiveness. It has become a matter of concern, for both managers and researchers. Despite the relatively abundant literature on loyalty in Marketing, the notion of loyalty appears to be ambiguous. Our paper proposes a new conceptualization and an attempt to measure the concept of loyalty using a “relational approach”. It apprehends loyalty through customers’ responses towards “critical incidents” in the context of customer-bank relationships. In our research, we represent “critical incidents" by a “punctual dissatisfaction” and a “higher degree of competitiveness offered by competitors”. We use the Structural Equation Model to analyze the survey data given from 729 respondents from banks in Tunisia. The results have revealed five dimensions of customer loyalty: “tolerance of punctual dissatisfaction”, “resistance to competitors’ persuasion”, “integrative negotiation and claims”, “negative word of mouth”, and “opportunism”.

This paper presents a proposal of detection of brain tumor of fetus through its MRI image during 25-27 week of pregnancy. This detection is based on edge detection technique and its implementation on FPGA. For FPGA implementation use MATLAB/SIMULINK graphical user interface with Xilinx System Generator which is the integrated design environment for FPGA within ISE11.3 design suit.

This paper presents the development and implementation of a new and practical fuzzy switching position controller for process industry control. Compatible with the structure of a bang–bang controller, a two-input fuzzy switching position controller with five rules is proposed. The idea is based on constructing a fuzzy switching control law which is functionally analogous to a traditional bang–bang controller. Fuzzy logic rules are used to enable an improved version of the conventional bang–bang control. The objective is to replace the conventional bang–bang controller with the proposed fuzzy switching position controller. A modified three-stage bang–bang controller is also designed and implemented. This controller is tested under the same conditions as that of the proposed fuzzy switching position controller, and its performance is used as a basis of comparison by which both controllers are measured. Both controllers are developed using MATLAB using the position control of a brushless dc motor drive found in the majority of these new robotic devices. Simulation Results shows that the fuzzy switching position controller produces adequate control performance, particularly in handling nonlinearities and external disturbances. The efficacy of the fuzzy switching position controller is demonstrated by its positive results, practicality, and feasibility in the process industry sector, when compared with a modified traditional bang–bang controller.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of favoritism and organizational politics on job satisfaction in public sector organizations of Pakistan. A convenience sampling technique was used to collect the data. 250 Questionnaires were distributed to full time employees of 15 public sector organizations. 222 usable questionnaires were retrieved. The main findings of this research are that favoritism and organizational politics have a positive relationship with job satisfaction in public sector of Pakistan. Conclusion, Recommendation and limitation of the study are also discussed.

Housefly (Musca domestica L.) is considered a key domestic, veterinary and medical pest, causes irritation, spoils food and also an important vector for many pathogenic organisms. A number of social and health problems are caused due to housefly, which emphasize the need to control its population. Hence several control strategies viz., cultural, biological, chemical control and certain technical customs are commonly used. The main purpose of this review is to highlight different house fly control strategies such as ultraviolet machines, through biological control agents, plant sources chemicals (Neem, Wood vinegar and Basel plant). The IPM (integrated pest management) practices, which can offer relatively more reliable field performance, have also been described. However the preservation of the housefly's natural enemies could be an ecologically sustainable method of maintaining the fly populations below threshold level.