Archives-December 

Software effort estimation is an important area in the field of software engineering. If the software effort is over estimated it may lead to tight time schedules and thus quality and testing of software may be compromised. In contrast, if the software development effort is underestimated it may lead to over allocation of man power and resource. There are many models for estimating software effort. The aim of the work is to estimate software effort using various machine learning techniques like Artificial Neural Network (ANN), Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS), and Decision Tree (DT). China dataset of software projects has been used in order to compare the performance results obtained from these models. The indices are Sum-Square-Error (SSE), Mean-Square-Error (MSE), Root-Mean-Square-Error (RMSE), Mean-Magnitude-Relative-Error (MMRE), Relative-Absolute-Error (RAE), Relative-Root-Square-Error (RRSE), Mean-Absolute-Error (MAE), Correlation Coefficient (CC), and PRED (25).

Heavy metals contamination was carried out with the aim to assess the levels of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn) and chromium (Cr) in various fruits and vegetables sold in Ghanaian markets. A total of 350 fruits and vegetable samples were tested and analyzed by Atomic Absorption spectrometry. The test results showed that the average concentrations detected were ranged from below detection limit to 0.56, below detection limit to 0.08, 1.24 to 6.32, 2.32 to 21.4 and below detection limit to 1.06 mg/kg for Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn and Cr, respectively. The highest mean levels of Pb and Cd were detected in lettuce, Cu and Zn in cucumber and Cr in carrot samples. The daily intakes of Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn and Cr through fruits and vegetables have also been estimated. The levels of metals were all below the permissible limits by WHO/FAO. For there were heavy metals present in the fruits and vegetable samples, consumption of fruits and vegetables there was no zero risk. But the exposure of consumer did not exceed the acceptable daily intake (ADI). This study suggests that a yearly monitoring program for heavy metal in foodstuffs is necessity.

In this study, the Azadirachta Indica tree was evaluated as the biomonitors of heavy metals such as Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu contaminated in Madurai City. The soil samples at depth ( 0-20cm) and Azadirachta Indica leaves were taken from different sampling sites namely Kalavasal (S1), Palaganatham (S2), Periyar (S3), Simmakal (S4), Goripalayam (S5) and Mattuthavani (S6). Then, the concentrations of Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu were measured using Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer Perkin Elmer Model 1100. The result of this study showed that the concentration of Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu varied between 11.96µg/m3-21.6 µg/m3, 5.36 µg/m3 - 16.25 µg/m3, 4.38 µg/m3 - 7.22 µg/m3 and 1.58 µg/m3 - 5.03 µg/m3respectively at depth 0-20cm. The concentration of heavy metals such as Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu in Azadirachta Indica ranged between 206.92 µg/m3- 1661.3 µg/m3, 45.0 µg/m3 – 273.75 µg/m3, 112.67 µg/m3 – 345.67 µg/m3 and 15.0 µg/m3 - 23.25 µg/m3 respectively. According to these results the concentration of heavy metal Fe was found to be high in all the sampling sites at depth of soil 0-20cm. The mobility ratio value for heavy metals in Azadirachta Indica was found to be greater than one in all the sampling sites, thus Azadirachta Indica is said to be heavy metal accumulator. The variation in heavy metal concentrations is due to changes in traffic density and anthropogenic activities. It is concluded that Azadirachta Indica can be applied to monitor polluted sites.

The range of brightness levels and Histogram shows how individual brightness levels are occupied in any image, for image contrast measurement .Low-level image processing is one of the most important issues of image enhancement. To control and enhance the contrast, Histogram Equalization (HE) is the simple and effective technique, but this approach causes some unnatural look in output image. For best effect the brightness of input image must be retained. Fuzzy techniques can manage the vagueness and ambiguity efficiently. Fuzzy logic is a powerful tool to represent and process human knowledge in form of fuzzy if-then rules. In this work we are using fuzzy membership function in the proposed algorithm. The proposed concept in this paper is named as Brightness Preservation by Fuzzy based Multi-peak Generalized Histogram Equalization (BPFMGHE) and it is simulated by MATLAB; this technique first combined the global histogram equalization of image with local information and then after calculating noise free generalised multi-peak histogram by equalization, the image was again decomposed into several sub-images, and then applied the fuzzy membership function dependent HE process to each of them to preserve image brightness.The distribution of grey level is in complete control with the given method and image improvement is effective. Image is improved and brightness is preserved effectively with the discussed process.

Primary clarified bone waste (PCBW) from ossein factory was anaerobically co-digested with cattle dung in relative proportions at ambient temperature. A substitution of PCBW (60%) with cattle dung (40%) reported herein to be appropriate for a maximum biogas production yield with 68-71% methane content. The pH of the slurry was intensively maintained until the course of digestion. The best degradation of organic matter was achieved at a low proportion of PCBW used in the digesters. Thus, co-digestion of PCBW and cattle dung at a moderate proportion is a more noteworthy for producing maximum biogas yield with high quality methane content and to control odor in ossein factory.

Comparative study of the adsorption capacities of four calcareous shells for Pb(II), Cr(VI) and Fe(II) was investigated. The study was conducted at room temperature as a function of pH, initial concentration of the metals and contact time. Optimum sorption at pH of 2.0, 5.0 and 6.0 was observed for Fe (II), Cr (VI) and Pb (II) respectively. Adsorption removal efficiency increased proportionally to contact time and decreased as the initial concentration was increased. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms were applied to model the process and good fitness was found for Langmuir R² > 9.5 with values of R_L<1. Pseudo second-order kinetic provided the best fit for the experimental data with calculated values of q_e almost equal to the experimental values. Chemical reaction was determined to be the primary mechanism of adsorption. Results indicated that animal shells could be employed as excellent adsorbents for the removal of heavy metals from wastewater pollutants.

Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is a type of discourse-analytical research that primarily investigates the way ideology, dominance, social power abuse, and inequality are enacted, reproduced, and resisted by text and talk (and, more recently, through visual images, sound and other forms of semiosis in the social and political context. This entails a diversity of approaches to CDA research, drawing on various linguistic analytic techniques and different social theories, although all involve some form of close textual (and/or multimodal) analysis. This paper attempts to provide an overview of CDA, the multiple meanings of CDA, and the most important models of CDA, namely Critical Linguistics and Social Model, Relational-Dialectic Model, Socio-cognitive Model, and Discourse-Historical Model.

This paper analyzes the vibration of non-homogeneous transversely isotropic electro-magneto-elastic plate of arbitrary cross-section using the Fourier expansion collocation method. The frequency equations are derived for the arbitrary cross-sectional boundary conditions, since the boundary is irregular in shape; it is difficult to satisfy the boundary along the surface of the plate directly. Hence, the Fourier expansion collocation method is applied along the boundary to satisfy the boundary conditions. The secant method is applied to determine the roots of the frequency equation. The non-dimensional frequencies are computed numerically and are plotted in the form of dispersion curves and further their characteristics are discussed. This problem may be extended to any kinds of cross-sections using the proper geometrical relations.

The purpose of this study is to examine the behavior of exchange rate movements towards foreign direct investment (FDI). Comparative data analysis is applied through answering developed research questions, which are: “What are different types of exchange rate risks that multi-national corporations face?”; “Is there any impact of exchange rate movement on capital market structure of recipient country?”; “Does decision of pioneer Multi-national Corporation affect rivals’ FDI decision?”; and “What is the impact of exchange rate movement on exchange theories?”. Study found that Multi-National Corporations face two main exposures of exchange rate known as cash flow exposure and accounting exposure; exchange rate movements affect market structure; firms follow the rivals in an oligopoly while making foreign direct investment with product differentiation; and exchange rate variations have longitudinal impact on trade theory and state that investment abroad is alternative to trade when free flow of goods is impeded by tariff or other barriers.

We are very happy to announce that from 1st February 2017, Dr. Sanjay Kumar Bharti has joined the team of Elixir Editorial Advisory Board. He/She will carry a special responsibility for dealing with manuscripts based on Veterinary Science. Dr. Sanjay Kumar Bharti working as Assistant Professor-cum-Junior Scientist, Department of Veterinary Anatomy, Bihar Veterinary College, Patna-800014. The appointment of Dr. Sanjay Kumar Bharti as member Editorial Advisory Board strengthens the links and will make it easier for prospective authors to establish contact with the journal.