The aim of this study was to investigate combination treatments of chemical enhancers and 20 kHz ultrasound across porcine skin in order to identify possible synergistic and/or additive effects. For this purpose, three different classes of permeation enhancers were selected. These were: terpenes, fatty acids and sodium lauryl sulphate (a surfactant). Terpenes were chosen as their low cutaneous irritancy makes them attractive for clinical use. Fatty acids were chosen due to their general potency, widespread historical use and established status as dermal enhancers. Sodium lauryl sulphate was chosen as it has already been proven to act synergistically with low frequency ultrasound. Throughout, hydrocortisone was used as a model drug screen the selected ultrasound application with various chemical enhancer pretreatments. The 300s concurrently-applied beam, at a 10% duty cycle was used as an application protocol for the study. Synergism with menthone and sodium lauryl sulphate occurred. More interesting was the fact that ultrasound exposure following 1% SLS treatment caused a highly significant synergistic 8.8-fold increase in hydrocortisone delivery. Treatment with 0.25% SLS and ultrasound caused a significant additive effect. A simultaneous administration of all three treatments could be more effective and probably simpler to apply to hydrocortisone compared with passive transdermal delivery.

Seasonal changes in the biology of Proteocephalus filicollis were investigated for 27 months in three-spined stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus from Airthrey Loch Scotland. A total of 1301 fishes were sampled and 1949 P. filicollis worms were extracted. Proteocephalus filicollis were abundant throughout the year as indicated by high prevalence (38.66%), mean intensity (3.87) and abundance (1.49). Monthly prevalence and abundance showed significant difference in two years. Growth and maturation of P. filicollis showed a marked seasonal cycle, as both of these were occurring in spring and summer. The monthly mean length of worm showed positive correlation with water temperature (Year I, r2=93.1; Year II, r2=77.9) but negative correlation with mean intensity (Year I, r2 =30.7; Year II, r2 =5.6). The recruitment of plerocercoid worms occur throughout the year. Four factors are proposed which influence the maturation of P. filicollis; rise in water temperature in summer, low mean intensity; host length and host endocrine system. The natural population of P. filicollis is generally high in Airthray Loch and is correlated to abiotic factors and eutrophic nature of the Loch.

Transplanting using rice transplanter is a cost effective technology. It is a promising technology in Bangladesh due to labor shortage during peak period of rice transplanting. We conducted two experiments in Bangladesh Rice Research Institute, Bangladesh in aman season (Sptember, 2012) and boro season (January, 2013) to find out suitable seedling raising materials for rice transplanter. Seedlings were raised on plastic trays using soil alone, 75% soil + 25% decomposed cow dung, 75% soil + 25% ash, 75% soil + 25% saw dust, 75% soil + 25% rice husk and 75% soil + 25% decomposed poultry manure. The sprouted and dry seed of BRRI dhan49 and BRRI dhan29 were sown for aman and boro season, respectively. The recommended seedling number (3 leaves per seedling) and suitable seedling height (12cm) could be achieved from 12 days old seedling in aman and 25 days old seedling in boro for transplanting using rice transplanter. Both sprouted and dry seeds showed satisfactory performance with soil media alone. Greener leaves, longer shoot and root length, more seedling vigor and strength, and better nutrient composition as well as field performance was obtained from seedling grown on soil media containing 25% cow dung or rice husk or poultry manure mixture. Using rice transplanter farmers could be saved US $ 5.0-9.0 per 33 decimal of land.

Medicinal plants have long been recognized for their applications in pharmaceutical, cosmetic, agriculture and food industry. The medicinal plants of genus Polygonum have far been used for a variety of purposes including the treatment of infectious diseases, inflammatory conditions, gastrointestinal disorders and cancer. Polygonum amplexicaule has folk medicinal use in Pakistan for such diseases. Since, the discovery of therapeutic agents depends on the knowledge of chemical constituents of the plant hence the present study was designed to evaluate the phytochemicals present in this specie’s rhizome with respect to their importance in the field of phytomedicines. Different phytochemicals were analyzed qualitatively by using various assays. Antitumor and brine shrimp cytoxicity assay were performed along with tyrosinase inhibition assay to check the suitability of the extract for cosmetics. The qualitative analysis of phytochemicals reveals the presence of various secondary metabolites that includes alkaloids, steroids, cardiac glycosides, saponins, fixed oils and fats, phenolic compounds including flavonoids, saponins, tannins and terpenoids, gums and mucilages and anthraquinones, while phytosterols and phlabatannins have not been detected. The rhizome extract has shown significant cytotoxic and antitumor activities with 13.57?g/mL IC50 towards brine shrimp assay. The tyrosinase inhibition assay validates its suitability for cosmetics with 64.6% tyrosinase inhibition at 10?g/ml treatment. The phytochemicals evaluated in the rhizome extract of P. amplexicaule and its biological activities validates its folkloric use and prospects its future use towards isolation of therapeutic agents.

The present study was aimed to focus on the food and feeding habits of the grey mullet at east coast of Andhra Pradesh, India. Total 558 specimens in length range 113 to 370 mm were subjected into analysis for the period of September 2010 to August 2011. In adult fish the analysis of the gut revealed that the Chlorophyceae, Myxophyceae, Bacillariophyceae, Dino-flagellates, copepods and polycheatae worms along with sand and mud were the prominent representatives of the species Mugil cephalus. Where as in Juveniles the volume of the gut varied according to season the Bacillariophyceae (Diatoms) and micro algae, cladophora (Green algae) and Myxophyceae were prominent. The volume of the gut in Juveniles maximum in the months of October and September, low in the month of April was observed.

The species of genus Scelio L. are exclusively parasitoids of Orthoptera eggs in many countries including Pakistan. During the present study information is presented on the general morphology, along with measurement of different body parameters, distribution and host specificity of this genus from Pakistan. Three species are recognized as valid for the Pakistani fauna i-e Scelio hieroglyphi (Timb.), S. aegypticus Priesner and S. mauritanicus Risbec from three host species of grasshoppers viz: Hieroglyphus perpolita (Uvarov), H. oryzivorus Carl and H. nigrorepletus I. Bolivar. Beside this, identification keys are also provided for Scelio and male of S. aegypticus is described for the first time from Pakistan.

The present field studies were undertaken to collect data on the distribution and status of the birds in the Khirthar Protected Areas Complex (KPAC). These took place for a period of six months from September, 2012 to March, 2013. The data were collected at 50 sites throughout the Complex and compiled. Seven different habitats were identified for the study of the birds of the area. A total of 207 species of birds belonging to 15 Orders and 38 Families alongwith their status were recorded. Among them, 08 species have been listed as threatened and 06 as near threatened as per IUCN Red List.The highest avian biodiversity was found at the wetland sites and at cropland/ villages, and the lowest in mountainous areas. From the conservation view point, highest number of threatened/ Near threatened species of birds were found at the Wetland Sites and next at Riparian/ Sandy/Plain areas.

The aim of this study was to determine and compare the frequencies of ocular dominance amongst the Okrikas and Ikwerres of Rivers State, Nigeria. A total of 1000 questionnaires were used, out of which 534 questionnaires were administered to the Okrikas and 466 to the Ikwerres, cutting across all age groups. 92.2% of the subjects used in this study were right-eye dominant, 5.5% were left-eye dominant with only 2.3% using both eyes. 89.7% and 95.1% of Okrikas and Ikwerres respectively were found to be right-eye dominant, while 7.1% and 3.6% of Okrikas and Ikwerres respectively were found to be left-eye dominant. The study also shows that 3.2% of Okrikas use both eyes as against 1.3% of the Ikwerres (equidominant). Most people switch eye preference depending upon the task being carried out, while some do not change their eye preference no matter the task they perform. Majority of the people preferred eye corresponds with their preferred hand, while some change their preferred eye and hand from time to time. In some cases the dominant eye did not match the dominant hand and the eye-hand preference is also influenced by handedness. This study is important as it has provided the necessary data for the Nigerian populations under investigation. The data is recommended to Ophthalmologists, medical practitioners, physical anthropologists, and forensic scientists.

The study investigated the effect of rainy and dry seasons on the Packed Cell Volume (PCV), Red Blood Cell count (RBC count), and Hemoglobin concentration (Hb conc.) of the Common African Toad (Bufo regularis). Adult toads of both sexes weighing between 70-100g were randomly selected and used in the study. Each toad was fasted for 24hr and anesthetized with sodium pentobarbitone (3mg/100g i.p). Blood sample was taken from truncus arteriosus to determine the PCV, RBC counts, and Hb conc. using standard laboratory techniques. The results showed the normal fasting PCV, RBC counts, and Hb conc. during rainy season was significantly higher (p<0.01) than the fasting PCV, RBC count, and Hb conc. during the dry season. Also, the PCV, RBC count, and Hb conc. of the female toad was significantly (p< 0.01) lower compared with the male toad during the rainy season while there was no significant difference in the PCV, RBC count, and Hb concentration of male and female toads during the dry season. Therefore, seasonal changes have significant effect on the PCV, RBC count, and Hb conc. of the Common African Toad (Bufo regularis).

Mentha longifolia L. is native to Europe, Central Asia and Australia. It is used as carminative, stomachic and stimulant and also in aromatherapy. In the present study, Essential oil extracted from Mentha longifolia L. has been evaluated. Gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) were employed to determine the chemical composition of essential oil obtained from dry shoot of Mentha longifolia L. Pulegone, 1,8-cineole, Menthone, ?-Pinene and Isomenthone werefound to be the major constituents of the oil. Results of this study showed that the presentation of chemical compounds of Mentha longifolia L. essential oil is different in Borujerd and Khoram Abad.

The endosymbiotic gram positive and negative endophytic bacteria that originate from epiphytic bacterial communities colonize and build up a barrier against pathogenic organisms (Kloepper et al., 1997; Rosenblueth and Martinez- Romero, 2006; Higgins et al., 2007; Panchal and Ingle, 2011). Influenced by the biotic and abiotic factors in host plants they produce bio active and growth competitive interactions (Owen et al., 2004; Ting et al., 2010; Hallmann et al., 2011; Sheng Qin et al., 2011). These bacteria obstinately survive in nature by a wide variety of microbe-microbe interactions (Hallmann et al., 1997; Zinniel et al., 2002; Rosenblueth and Martinez-Romero, 2006; Benardi-Wenzel et al., 2010; Saunders et al., 2010; Joseph and Mini, 2011).

A rapid procedure involving liquid nitrogen pre-treatment of gelatinous samples prior to laser ablation was developed. Laser depth-profiling is usually limited to solid samples. Our technique with liquid nitrogen pre-treatment provides the unique capability to study elemental profiles in gels, waxes and “soft” samples. A range of samples including globules of hair gels, face creams, toothpaste and soap were petrified in aliquots of liquid nitrogen and immediately subjected to laser irradiation. The study was largely qualitative to demonstrate the potential of the pre-treatment approach. This format lends itself to direct multi-elemental analysis and obviates the tedium of digesting samples in mild acidic media. Depth-profiling was limited to specific depths, and rapid spatial and sub-surface distributions of metal components in the petrified samples were achieved well before “thawing” set in. An Nd:YAG deep UV (213-nm) laser ablation system was attached to a high-precision ICP-MS instrument. Irradiations were conducted with a flat-beam profile of 60% total energy and 55 ?m diameter. The laser dwell time was 5 s and the repetition rate was 10 Hz. Following iterative surface scanning on a 9-point sample grid, the laser ablated a total depth of 25 ?m at 5 ?m-intervals at each point. The experimental results showed promise and the distinct capability to record spectra in the absence of “splashing” effects. This pre-treatment approach is, therefore, highly viable, and a useful contribution to analytical science and instrumental analysis.

This theoretical report provides the supplemental theoretical results concerning the propagation of the shear-horizontal surface acoustic waves in the transversely isotropic piezoelectromagnetics (magnetoelectroelastic materials) of class 6mm. In this theory, the pure SH-waves are guided by the free surface of the bulk piezoelectromagnetic material. The following mechanical, electrical, and magnetic boundary conditions at the common interface between two continua such as a vacuum and the bulk material are employed in this study: the mechanically free surface, continuity of both the electrical and magnetic inductions, and continuity of both the electrical and magnetic potentials. Based on the natural coupling mechanisms such as e? ? h? and ?? ?? 2 in the coefficient of the magnetoelectromechanical coupling (CMEMC) it is argued that some additional new true solutions for the new surface SH-waves can exist. The existing incorrect solutions for this problem are also given and discussed. The obtained theoretical results can be useful for constitution of various technical devices based on smart magnetoelectroelastic materials and the further researches on the propagation of the interfacial SH-waves and the plate SH-waves in the piezoelectromagnetic (composite) materials. PACS: 51.40.+p, 62.65.+k, 68.35.Gy, 68.35.Iv, 68.60.Bs, 74.25.Ld, 74.25.Ha, 75.20.En, 75.80.+q, 81.70.Cv

Hydrological modelling provides a means for the investigation of the interaction between climate and riverflow. It also acts as a vehicle for the assessment of the impact of human activities on hydrological regimes. Within this paper a review of some of the approaches employed in rainfall-riverflow modelling is presented. The paper highlights the rationale and structure of the modelling approaches, and their strengths and weaknesses which may assist in making an informed choice of a modelling approach for hydrological studies.

We show explicitly in this contribution that with a correct identification of the underlying symmetry group to the physical system that represent a finitely many harmonic oscillators in the Euclidian plane, namely the dynamical symmetry group U(rd)=UN(1)×SU(rd), it’s possible to remove fully the degeneracy that such systems carry for which, furthermore, there is no need to show the importance in physics. In this group notation, r=2 refers to as the dimension of the plane, while d is the number of particles.

In this paper, applications of the methods of ASTM G16 for addressing inherent conflicts in laboratory measurements of corrosion test data were studied, using the inhibiting effect of NaNO2 on the corrosion of concrete steel-rebar for the case study. For this, electrochemical monitoring techniques were employed for studying effectiveness of different concentrations of NaNO2 admixture in replicated concrete samples immersed in NaCl and in H2SO4 media for an experimental period of sixty-eight days. The corrosion test data from this experimental setup were subjected to the probability density fittings of the Normal and the Weibull functions as well as to significance testing methods of ASTM G16-99 R04 specifications. Results identified 10g (0.1208M) NaNO2 admixture with optimal inhibition efficiency model, ? = 88.38±4.62%, in the saline/marine simulating environment and the 8 g (0.0966M) NaNO2 admixture with optimum effectiveness, ? = 13.51±83.48%, in the acidic environment. The techniques of ASTM G16 adequately identified and addressed conflicting effectiveness from the test data of NaNO2 admixtures in the studied test environments.

The aim of this study was to investigate the uptake of heavy metals in a cash crop and vegetable, Brassica compestris irrigated by Hudiara drain. A survey was conducted along the whole length (55km) of Hudiara drain from Lallo village to Khurdpur village. Twenty nine samples of freshly plucked leaves of B. compestris were collected at three sites, Lallo village (Site 1), Mohlanwall (Site II) and Khurdpur village (Site III). Heavy metals like Na, Mg, Al, K, Ca, Mn, Fe and Zn were detected by PIXE technique from tender parts of B. compestris leaves of all samples. The mean concentrations of heavy metals in B. compestris leaves samples from Sites I, II and III were; Na (3053, 16941, 25025ppm), Mg (2668, 10826, 16158ppm), Al (1152, 4740, 27201ppm), K (35214, 104643, 112038ppm), Ca (13827, 49586, 110263ppm), Mn (0, 168, 244ppm), Fe 9277, 470,1615ppm) and Zn (223, 169, 179ppm). The heavy metals concentration in B. compestris increased from site I to site III gradually. The concentrations of heavy metals were significantly high in all samples, when compared to permissible International standards set by FAO/WHO, SEPA, and India. It is concluded that Hudiara drain is highly polluted due to the addition of untreated industrial effluents and city sewage both in India and Pakistan. The use of B. compestris grown on water from Hudiara Drain can have a very serious impact on human health and other organisms of the area.

Chemical bath deposition (CBD) has been adjudged as a simple and convenient process of producing large area thin films, favourable for photovoltaic application. However, there is competing undesirable homogeneous precipitation reaction and molecular level heterogeneous precipitation surface reaction that can affect the film quality. Degree of supersaturation of solution in CBD depends on which of these reactions reign supereme. pH of the reacting solution and ammonia concentration are two contrasting factors affecting both film thickness and supersaturation ratio. Hence, there is need to find correct pH and ammonia concentration that will put the solution at supersaturation ratio within the acceptable range for good guality film as well as the desired thickness at less deposition time. In this work, genetic algorithm (GA) in the frame multiobjective optimization (MO) was used to search for optimal pH, ammonia concentration and deposition time in order to minimize supersaturation ratio to the acceptable range for good quality film and maximize film thickness at the optimal deposition time. Multiobjective functions were formulated with constraint decision variables to evalutate fitness function for GA searching. Other genetic manupulative factors were fixed except population size which were varied from 30 to 90 in the step of 30 to search for near optimal solutions. The results show that population size of 90 gives best result with film thickness of 1.36?m and supersaturation ratio of 7.94 at deposition time 600s. The pH and ammonia concentration that evaluated these results are respectively 12.0 and 0.001142mol/cm3.

Information technology has become an indispensable part of business organizations and as a result greater interdependence between IT and business has emerged. Due to increasingly dependency of business on information technology (IT) it is necessary that business processes and IT co-evolve so that co-evolutionary changes generate successes in business organizations. This paper presents study aims at providing a co-evolutionary framework that could facilitate organizations to understand co-evolution in an integrated way. A co-evolutionary layered framework will help understand the reasons for business-IT gap and assists organizations to reducing the gap in order to achieve alignment business and IT. A co-evolutionary methodology adopted for studying evolution in business and IT. Together with this a survey instrument technique has also been used for data collection in financial domain that is used to study and validate the framework. This study encourages researchers to further develop a framework that could determine the rate of coevolution in order to control evolution of business and IT in organizations.

Three mixed ligand metal complexes of Sulphadoxine and Pyrimethamine were prepared by using Mn(II), Ni(II) and Co(II) metal chloride hexahydrate and characterized by elemental analysis, molar conductivity, magnetic susceptibility measurement, AAS, IR and UV-Vis. spectroscopy. Some physical parameters were obtained using molar conductance measurement and melting point determination. Based on the analytical and spectroscopic data, the complexes were proposed to have the formulae: [ML1L2](Cl)2 (where M = Mn(II), Ni(II) and Co(II); L1 = sulphadoxine, L2 = pyrimethamine). The spectroscopic data proposed that L1 and L2 coordinated through N of NH2 groups in L1 and through N atom of NH group in L2. Thus, pyramethamine was proposed to be a tridentate ligand, while sulphadoxine was proposed to be a monodentate ligand. Micro-analysis further supported the proposed structure for the complexes. The antibacterial activity of the metal complexes were compared with their ligands by screening them against isolates of some strains of g(-) Escherichia coli, g(+) Proteus sp., g(+) Pseudomonas aureginosa and Salmonella typhi by using diffusion method. The results obtained showed the metal complexes to be more potent antibacterial than the parent drugs against the four species used. Toxicology tests against some tissues of albino rat (Rattus novergicuss) revealed toxicity of the complexes in the kidney as compared to the parent drugs. However, ALP values for metal complexes were found to be non-significantly different from the ALP values obtained for livers and the sera. This indicates that the metal complexes are not excessively toxic.

Information on plot-specific background concentrations of trace metals in manufactured soils is critical for evaluating performance of soil manufacturing recipes and for monitoring the annual bio-availability of trace metals. In this project, total concentrations of trace metals (Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn) and macro nutrients (Ca, Mg, K, P, N) in manufactured soil samples were determined. Seven soil samples were analyzed for pH, cation exchange capacity (CEC), extractable phosphate and sulfate, total concentrations of trace metals (Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn) and macro nutrients (Ca, Mg, K, P). A subset of these metals (Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, and Pb) are indicators of contamination by acid mine drainage or manufacturing byproducts in the manufactured soil recipe. Average precision for elements Cu, Mg, Fe, Mn, K, and Zn were < 15% relative standard deviation (RSD) using Method 3051.

DSSC was fabricated using glass as the substrate with copper metal attached to the surface, eosin blue as sensitizer, Lemon juice as electrolyte and ZnO nanoparticles as photoelectrode. The nanostructured ZnO was synthesized by precipitating Zn nitrate hexahydrate with NaOH which was characterized structurally using XRD and optically with a UV-VIS Spectrophotometer. The fabricated DSSC was evaluated and a fill factor of 0.85 obtained with an efficiency of 0.15%.

Many communication channels are subject to noise, and thus errors may be introduced during transmission. Error codes can be units of deliberate error injection or faults, which alters and cause hazards during communication, this makes error detection and correction important in the computing environment. Coding techniques restricted to detecting errors only are either limited to analyzing only the length of the encoded message bits or repeats every transmitted stream of bit(s) several times in order to check for correctness, which is not effective if similar error occurs within the same position on all clusters of bits in the encoded message. Error detecting and correcting techniques are more thorough by introducing extra redundant codes to detect the actual position of errors and correcting them, however if more than one error occurs, it becomes difficult to detect all errors and decode correctly. We therefore propose a hybrid error detecting and correcting technique, AN-VE, that simultaneously detect the existence of faulted codes right from the transmitter domain, analyzes all error positions in the encoded message via the use of extra parity bits, decode all errors correctly and verify error messages with the original message. We evaluate our approach using simulated and real data.

Settlement parameters of shallow foundations placed on clayey soils have been studied in PortHarcourt City of Nigeria. Fifty soil samples were obtained from six locations and subsequently subjected to oedometer tests. Settlement parameters of void ratio,e, coefficient of volume compressibility, mv, and compression modulus, Ec, were deduced from oedometer results. Results of e, and mv generally showed a decreasing trend with increase in pressure, while Ec increases with pressure. Predictive models relating void ratio and pressure, coefficient of volume compressibility and pressure, and that of compression modulus and pressure, were subsequently formulated. The generated models can be used for quick evaluation of settlement input parameters required in settlement analysis of foundation placed on cohesive soil formation.

The movement against noise pollution is weak in Duhok city, Kurdistan region in north of Iraq. Most of the people do not consider it as pollution and accept it as a part of their routine life. This paper reports a qualitative study that was carried out to investigate the noise pollution, and finds the relation between the occupational noise level and arterial blood pressure (Systolic Blood Pressure and Diastolic Blood Pressure). The Study Sample consisted of 180 pupils aged 16 years old and18 years old distributed equally in six schools (3 males and 3 females), studied school were selected in three different regions very noise, noise and quite. The noise levels measured during day school in the chosen schools and the arterial blood pressure were measured before and after exposure to noise for five hours. This study shows that after five hours of exposure to noise for pupils through the day school, there was a significant relation between the arterial blood pressure and sound pressure levels also shows that female\'s pupils were more affected by noise pollution than male\'s pupils at the same level of noise. While, the effected of noise pollution according to the pupils age shows there was no significant relation.