July 2014

In the present work, some polymeric additives were prepared via copolymerization of hexadecylacrylate and dodecylacrylate with styrene. Structure of the prepared compounds was confirmed by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (F.T.I.R.), Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1H-NMR), and Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC). The rheological properties of lube oil (SAE-30) with and without additives were studied at different temperatures (40oC, 60oC and 100oC) and it was found that they behave as Bingham fluids. The sensitivity of the prepared terpolymers to mechanical stresses was studied. It was found that the sensitivity increases with increasing the molecular weight of the prepared additives.

To be useful for decision making, costing reports produced by the cost accounting system should be characterized by various attributes (relevance, summarization, accuracy, etc.). This paper aims at exploring the associations between cost systems and the quality of costing reports attributes, specifically the cost accounting systems structures in terms of level of details, level of disaggregation, variances calculation, and frequency of reporting. It also intends to explain the variance in report attributes. Data collected from Syrian Corporations listed in the Syrian Commission of Financial Markets & Securities using the survey strategy. Questionnaires were sent by email and data was collected during the first three months in 2014. The empirical analysis supported the theoretical argument between cost accounting systems structure and costing report attributes. However, explaining the variance in report attributes by cost systems structure has not yet been studied in management accounting literature, which is the main contribution of this study. It is believed that managerial reporting has not got sufficient attention comparing with financial reporting by accounting researchers.

Set out to investigate the importance attached to quality of sachet water produced, the study used a sample of 215 respondents in the Tamale Metropolitan Area. The study established that, a significant number of producers of sachet water are not certified in the metropolis. It was also manifested from the study that, consumers of sachet water in the Tamale Metropolis are not sufficiently educated on their rights to information on the safety of sachet water sold in the metropolis. It further became apparent from the findings that sachet water consumers are aware of the existence of uncertified producers who violates regulations on consumer safety but are not aware of any available channel for such complaints to be made. In view of the findings, the study recommends that the regulators intensify their monitory activities and in collaboration with other relevant stakeholders engage the public in education to avoid uncertified sachet water.

This paper discussing about the issue of corruption in India, specifically look on the links between media and corruption. This study discuss about the freedom limitation and importance of media in democracy like fourth pillar. Major issue of this paper is discussing about the role of media to fight against corruption. This paper provides an overview over the basic principles of media effects and illustrates these with a few case studies before presenting specific techniques of involving the media in the fight against grand corruption and every-day corruption.

The researchers focused on the challenges faced by women owned micro enterprises in accessing business information in Limuru Constituency, Kenya. Survey research design was used. The target population included 1764 women owned micro enterprises. Stratified random sampling and focus group discussions were utilized. The researchers found that the women respondents were fairly well educated as 77.2% of the women interviewed had secondary and post secondary education. Lack of information systems presented the biggest challenge at 76.5% followed by information available being expensive (71.6%) and business information available not being applicable to the local context (66.8%). To a lesser but still significant degree, outdated information, lack of knowledge on the availability of information and lack of relevant skills to access the information were identified. Information that was most sought after was in finance/credit, markets and investments while the least sought after was on taxation and insurance. Through cross tabulation and correlation analysis, it was found that there was minimal relationship between most of the factors above. The conclusion was that while an area may be in a rural setting, having an information system which disseminates relevant information may be a greater determinant of access to information than the geographical location.

One of the leading sectors in current global business is tourism, responsible for significant proportion of world production, trade, employment and investment, helping inflow of foreign exchange and FDI. Although India’s share in global tourism remained meager till early part of last decade however the sector has taken rapid strides in recent years by attracting national and international visitors in number, contributing towards countries GDP, employment generation, etc. The geographical diversity in terms of climate, culture, flora and fauna, nature (snow capped mountain ranges to desert, plain, rainforests, hills and plateaus, white water rivers, wild life, historical temples and monuments and its colorful people and culture) across various regions are amazing for attracting tourist in India. India’s North East region is a virgin unexplored terrain with vast tourism potential in the form of wild life sanctuaries, holy shrines, lush green tea gardens, adventure tourism assets, diverse cultural heritage, multi faceted fairs & festivals, world famous Buddhist monasteries etc. However, the difficult terrain with transport bottlenecks, limited alternative for tourist accommodation, wayside amenities, poor law and order condition has constrained promotion of tourism in India’s North East region so far. The 4th sectorial summit of N.E.C primarily addressed the issues on the problems on the way of promotion of tourism in N.E region and has taken initiative in support with Ministry of Tourism and DoNER. Mizoram is a mountainous state nestling in the southern tip of the north-east region of India. Important tourism attraction is verdant forests cover dominated by thick bamboo groves, teeming with vibrant wildlife, sheer cliffs and breath-taking waterfalls, dotted with unique landmarks of myriad folklores and picturesque villages of houses built on stilts, a land of dramatic seas of morning mists that enfold islands of hills and peaks, pleasant weather. Present study attempts to understand the influence of tourism on the GDP of the Mizoram considering different related factors, the paper will also throw some light on the growth of tourism in the state.

In this paper, two different approaches such as ranking value of a fuzzy number approach and a distinct approach to critical path analysis in project networks are presented in a fuzzy environment. In project network, the activity times are uncertain and are represented by interval valued fuzzy numbers (IVFNS) in the work. The corresponding fuzzy arithmetics and fuzzy ranking values of a fuzzy numbers are utilized to determine the fuzzy critical path without converting the fuzzy activity time to classical number. Relevant numerical examples are also included to justify the proposed notions.

Reduced Graphene Oxide (rGO) based Nickel Sulfide (NiS) anchor nanocomposites were developed via hydrothermal approach. We have investigated the effect of different concentration of thioglycolic acid on graphene oxide reduction. More the thioglycolic acid present with the graphene oxide, the reduction is more and high electrochemical activity is also achieved by the composite having high concentration of sulfur. We have achieved specific capacitance of 109.37 F/g at 2.5 A/g for the composite rGO-NiS using 2.7 ml of thioglycolic acid. Energy density and power density of this composites show9.72Wh/kg and 1000W/kg, respectively.

Keeping in view the guidelines given in the rulebook of the event Formula SAE 2013 (FSAE 2013), which is organized by SAE International, the chassis of car (which could successfully compete all events) was designed using Solid Works 2013. Various tests were performed using the same software. The weight of the car was set at an upper limit of 300 Kilograms. The front wheel track width was set at 52 inches and the rear wheel track width at 51 inches. Front impact, rear impact and side impact tests were performed, in order to establish the maximum displacement that the vehicle chassis may undergo in the event of collision

Static access memory (SRAM) is a building block of several logic circuits. SRAM is a fast memory which consumes low power. It is a fundamental building block of central processing unit of a computer. In this paper we design a low power circuit for 64 bit 5T SRAM using bottom-up approach. We use 0.12 micron meter technology and 90 neno meter technology for designing and simulation low power dissipation SRAM with dsch and micro wind. In this paper we simulate that reduction of power consumption in .12 micro technologies and 90 neno meter technology is 93% and 94% respectively.

Biological Park is within Bannerghatta National Park. Physico-chemical analysis was carried out on water samples of Kavalkere pond in Bannerghatta Biological Park area. The pond is used for recreation and the water analysis showed that water is slightly coloured and slightly contaminated while the other characteristics fall within Indian permissible limits.

This study elaborates how John Habwe depicts Christianity in his book Paradiso (2005). Throughout the book, the writer shows how Christian religion can be used as a tool of oppression. Habwe uses examples from some churches to depict conflicts and hypocrisy in the church. This leads to the conclusion that Christianity has been used to con members of the church in order to enrich its leaders. This paper explains various types of oppression against believers in the church as portrayed in Paradiso. It was found out that religious leaders and believers employ the following in oppressing other believers: use of oppressive religious regulations, hiding behind religious fellowship, promise of economic prosperity, justifying wrong deeds, use of propaganda and scramble for power.

Education brings excellence, enriches the mind and illuminates the spirit. It prepares a child for good citizenship. It liberates the from ignorance, superstition, prejudices and ultimately unfolds the vision and truth. Ignorance is the mother of weakness and helplessness, whereas education brings light of knowledge and knowledge in itself is power. Education is the process of getting knowledge. Right to education is a part and parcel of right to life and personal liberty. This right flows directly from right to life. A good quality education is the birth right of every child. Education is a necessary condition for the development of any country. It directs the political, social, cultural and economic life into desirable channels. Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality. Right to Education is the basic fundamental human Right and it should be properly protected and promoted in India. The right to life under Article 21 and the dignity of an individual cannot be assured unless it is accompanied by the right to education. The State Government is under an obligation to make endeavor to provide educational facility at all levels to its citizens. In 2002, the 86th amendment to the Constitution introduced Article 21-A making the right to education a fundamental right. The right to education which is implicit in the right to life and personal liberty guaranteed by Article 21 must be construed in the light of the directive principles in Part IV of the Constitution.

It is an acceptable fact that Yorùbá include in their vocabulary, expressive words, marked off from the rest of the vocabulary by similar phono-syntactic characteristics, which they call idiophones. This fact has long been recognized by the Yorùbá scholars at one time or the other, and have written extensively on it. Of particular interest to this paper is that of Newman (1968) who asserts that idiophones have some syntactic functions. Samarin (1967) also argues that idiophones should be identified primarily on the basis of syntactic behaviour rather than phono-semantic criterion. While some scholars see idiophones as adverbs (Bamgbose 1966, 1972, 1990; Awobuluyi 1975, 1978), others see them as nouns (Rowland 1970). Some even advocate a separate category for idiophones (Awoyale, 1981). However, our focus in this paper will go along the line of Newman (1968). In this paper, therefore, we examine the grammatical implication of tone on idiophones, the selectional restriction and sub-categorization restriction. The paper is discussed under four sections. While section one is purely introductory, section two discusses tone implication on idiophones. Section three looks at the selectional and sub-categorization restrictions; section four gives the summary.

Effects of the addition of 1.5 mol% CuSO4 on the growth and the various properties of Lithium Ammonium Sulphate (LAS) single crystals grown by the slow evaporation solution growth technique have been studied. The grown crystals were characterized by single crystal X- Ray Diffraction analysis (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared spectral studies (FT-IR), UV-Vis- NIR, Atomic Absorption Study (AAS), Thermal analysis and Micro hardness studies. It is observed that the intensity of the plane (111) in pure LAS increases with that of CuSO4-doped LAS increases than in the pure LAS crystal. The strong peak for both crystals in the region 1120 -1130 cm-1 in FTIR spectra corresponds to the SO42- symmetric stretching modes. UV-Vis-NIR spectra revealed that absorption occurs at 205 nm. The metal contents in the doped LAS crystals were estimated as 662 ppm from the Atomic Absorption studies. Thermal studies indicate that the decomposition temperature of the crystal are decreased in CuSO4 - doped LAS crystals. Vicker’s micro hardness study reveals that the addition of CuSO4 increases the hardness of the crystal.

The theoretical study of energy dependence of charged multiplicity could discriminate among the different theoretical models of particle production. In the present work, an attempt has been made to analyse the data on mean charged multiplicity in Hadron-Hadron interactions and also to modify the earlier parameterization with modified values of different parameters on the basis of some unambiguous phenomenon. The mean charged multiplicity has been calculated at different energies, ranging between 1.0 GeV to 1500 GeV for proton-antiproton interactions and the results are compared with experimental data as well as, with other theoretical results. Proposed parameterization is found to be capable of predicting the entire data, even at threshold energy.

Treatment of malarial infection has becoming extremely challenging due to widespread resistance of the parasite towards available antimalarial drugs. In the present study, we investigated the antimalarial activity of the ethanolic extracts of Streptomyces sp (KMA08) in Plasmodium berghei infected mice. The antimalarial activities during early and established infections were evaluated using Peters’ 4-day suppressive test method. Different concentration of the crude extracts were orally administered to screen for their antimalarial activities. The extracts significantly inhibited parasitemia dose-dependently. Each extract showed variable level of parasitemia suppression in dose related manner. The ethanolic extract of Streptomyces sp was found to produce 47.5% (30ml/kg) parasite suppression. The test substance observed to be safe with no toxicity on the mice even at 30 ml/kg. Results showed that significantly improved the suppression of parasitemia. The results of the present work supported the use of the Streptomyces sp against malaria and confirmed the antimalarial activity. Moreover, antimalarial compounds can be isolated and tested against human malaria parasite in the future.

Fertility is an existential necessity and assumes overwhelming importance to men and women in all times. Existence depends upon fertility of land and live stock as well upon human procreation. With time, Social habits and religion influenced human perception of fertility or infertility. Pregnancy, child birth and child rearing generally have greater physical reality for women than men, as does the monthly reminder of the absence of a pregnancy for an infertile woman. This is compounded by a cultural belief that infertility is a woman’s problem. A study of married couples found that while wives experienced infertility as cataclysmic role failure, husbands tended to see infertility as a disconcerting event but not a tragedy. Both partners tended to see infertility as a problem for wives. Therefore an exploratory study to assess the psychosocial and physical problems among infertile women in selected hospital of Ludhiana Punjab was undertaken with the objectives: to assess the psychosocial and physical problems among infertile woman and to ascertain the relationship of psychosocial and physical problems with selected demographic variables. A non-experimental, exploratory study was conducted in infertility clinics of selected hospital Ludhiana, Punjab. The study sample consisted of total 100 infertile women. Data was analyzed by inferential statistics and presented through tables and figures.

The intensive care unit is a unique hospital setting, not only because of its physical environment but also because the patients are unstable and submitted to physical and psychological stresses. Delirium is a common disorder in intensive care unit. It is still misdiagnosed by healthcare providers and is treated inappropriately or neglected. Nursing care for delirium includes regular assessment and monitor frequently for at risk patients. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of educational program on nurses’ knowledge and practice regarding delirium among critically ill patients. The study was conducted at intensive care unit at Tanta university hospital. It included 40 critical care nurses working in the previously mentioned setting. Also, fourty critically ill patients were used in this stud. They divided into two equal groups. 20 critically ill patients were evaluated before implementation of educational program. Another 20 critically ill patients were evaluated after implementation of educational program. Three tools were used in the study for data collect tool 1: structure questionnaire sheet. It divided into two parts: part A: nurses socio demographic assessment sheet. Part B: nurse’s knowledge assessment sheet, tool 2: Observational checklist and tool 3: intensive care delirium screening checklist (ICDSC). The main results of this study were that, the majority of the studied nurses have good knowledge after educational program. Also, the majority of studied nurses (97.5%) have poor score in their practice pre educational program compared while77.5% of studied nurses have good score in their practice post program. Also, about 30% of pre test group had delirium at 5th, 6th, and 7th days of admission compared with 10% in the post program group. The study recommended that In-services training program should be donاe continuously for updating critical care nurses’ knowledge and practices regarding delirium detection and prevention. Incorporating cognitive assessment in general and delirium assessment in particular into nursing education courses.

Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) provides people with the opportunity to learn and accept their sero status in a confidential environment. Recent studies have shown that VCT is a cost-effective intervention for reducing HIV amongst pregnant women. To know their HIV status is an important tool for prevention of mother to child transmission. VCT among pregnant women attending antenatal care (ANC) clinics is the first filter to access Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT). The objective of this study is to investigate into factors responsible for the acceptance of VCT among pregnant women in the Wa Municipality. The study is a descriptive cross-sectional study which adopts both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection. Two hundred pregnant women attending ANC were exit interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Key Informant Interview was conducted for 10 health providers involved in VCT and ANC activities. The study shows that 83 percent of pregnant women attending ANC had knowledge on VCT services though acceptance level was only 32 percent. Forty-four percent of them mentioned that the main barrier was fear, stigma and discrimination. Intensive health education on VCT using available methods like mass communication, peer group education, community meetings are recommended. VCT being the entry point for PMTCT should be strengthened.

Lymph node infarction refers to a syndrome of spontaneous coagulative necrosis. One case of lymph node infarction will be encountered in every 450 lymph node biopsied lesions. It is a rare phenomenon associated with various neoplastic and nonneoplastic conditions. The non-neoplastic conditions include polyarteritis nodosa, viral infections (Parvovirus B19, Infectious mononucleosis), thrombosis, gold injections, fine needle aspiration cytology and finally may be idiopathic. The neoplastic lesions most commonly associated with infarction are malignant lymphoma and metastatic melanoma. Case report: A 40 year HIV infected male presented with fever, cough with expectoration and generalized weakness since 10 days and a solitary right axillary swelling measuring 2x1 cm, tender and mobile on palpation. Fine needle aspiration cytology of the lymph node was performed which revealed poorly preserved morphology of polymorphous population of lymphocytes with amorphous debris and focal areas of necrosis. Secondary causes for lymph node infarction like tuberculosis and fungal infections were ruled out by specific and systemic investigations. Conclusion: Fine needle aspiration cytology remains a very important tool for diagnosing the non-neoplastic and neoplastic lesions of lymph nodes.

Making a successful international PhD application is always a nightmare to graduate students after the completion of their masters degree. Numerous documents need to be prepared to file in an international PhD application. There are different modes and specific processes involved in this task. Making the right use of available resources and expertise will lead to a desired PhD position. This short communication will serve as a cookbook to graduate students, guide them in a step-wise manner and encourage them to pursue their PhD overseas.

A gallstone is a crystallineconcretion formed within the gallbladder by accretion of bile components. These calculi are formed in the gallbladder, but may pass distally into other parts of the biliary tract such as the cystic duct, common bile duct, pancreatic duct or the ampulla of Vater. Presence of gallstones in other parts of the biliary tract can cause obstruction of the bile ducts, which can lead to serious conditions such as ascending cholangitis or pancreatitis. Either of these two conditions can be life-threatening, and are therefore considered to be medical emergencies. Thirty-two rats were divided into an experimental and a control group, with 16 hamsters in each group. Fenofibrate, cholestyramine and a low protein and high cellulose diet will be given for 6 weeks to induce the formation of pigment gallstones in the experimental group and a normal diet was given to the control group. Ursodiol will be given to control treatment group and plant extract such as leaves of Borreriaarticularis, Peppermint leaf extract and Ginger root extract has been given separately to test treatment group. Liver function tests, Lipid profile, renal function tests has been assessed and statistically interpreted after 6 weeks. All the values are statistically treated.

Background: Nursing care provided to mothers during post partum period constitutes an essential component of the package of maternal and child health services in any population. A woman's body undergoes several changes after delivery, these changes can be a source of considerable concern and may contribute to a number of adverse health conditions. For these reasons, Nursing care is of utmost importance in preventing adverse health outcomes for mothers and their newborn babies. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess mothers' satisfaction regarding quality of postpartum nursing care and discharge teaching plan at Ain Shams Maternity and Gynecological Hospital –Cairo, Egypt. Subjects and Methods: The study was conducted in the postpartum ward at Ain Shams Maternity and Gynecological Hospital – Cairo, Egypt. A convenient sample of one hundred and four postpartum mothers and their neonates were recruited for this study according to the inclusion criteria. An Interviewing Assessment Sheet was designed by the researcher to collect data. Results: The results of the present study revealed that less than three quarters of mothers (71.0%) were not satisfied by the quality of post natal care services provided to them. In addition, 83.0% of women were not satisfied by the instructions of the discharge teaching plan. In addition, the older, low educated, rural area resident, housewives women and those who had low parity were more satisfied with the quality of postpartum care and discharge teaching plan. However, the difference observed was statistically significant. Conclusion and Recommendations: it can be concluded that most of the mothers and their newborn did not receive important aspects of postpartum care and required health education rendering postpartum nursing care poor. The hospital should implement regular checks on the postpartum nursing care given to mothers. So, health care providers will have a sense of duty consciousness.

Effectiveness is a measure of whether or not organizational objectives are accomplished. In contrast, efficiency is the relationship between outputs and inputs. Only monopolies can get away with being effective. Moreover, in an era of diminishing resources and increasing concern about civil rights, society is reluctant to label “effective” any organisation that wastes scare resources or tramples on civil rights. Management’s definition of organisation effectiveness therefore needs to be refined. The related issue of organisation decline also needs to be understood and skillfully managed. Organisation effectiveness, also called as organisational success or growth, is defined and conceptualized in different ways, and no unanimity is found in different approaches, though a large volume of literature is available on the concept and working of the organisational effectiveness.

The infant is a dynamic, ever-changing being who undergoes an orderly and predictable sequence of neuro developmental and physical growth. This sequence is influenced continuously by intrinsic and extrinsic forces that produce individual variation and make each infant’s developmental path unique. Parents need to understand growth and development in order to monitor child’s progress, to identify delays or abnormalities in development. By monitoring child and family the nurse can observe the inter-relationship of physical growth and cognitive, motor and emotional development. Therefore a descriptive study to assess the knowledge of mothers regarding developmental milestones of infants in selected hospital of Ludhiana Punjab was undertaken with the objectives: to assess the knowledge of mothers regarding developmental milestones of infant and to ascertain the relationship of knowledge of mothers with selected demographic variables. A non-experimental, descriptive study was conducted in various child care areas of selected hospital Ludhiana, Punjab. The study sample consisted of total 100 mothers of infants from child care areas. Data was analyzed by inferential statistics and presented through tables and figures. Findings revealed that maximum number of mothers (53%) had good knowledge score regarding developmental milestones of infants. Mean percentage and rank order of knowledge score was highest in introduction (63% and rank 1st) and lowest in the area of social development (21% and rank 6th). Variables i.e. age, parity, educational status, occupation, monthly family income, source of information, place of living and number of children were found to be non significant.

Agriculture is one of the key sectors of a country’s economy and the linchpin of rural development. Essentially, seventy-five (75%) of world’s rural population which lives in rural areas depend on agriculture for their livelihood. Hence, Agricultural growth is a crucial factor for inclusive growth and helps in raising rural income and purchasing power. However, agriculture in the rural areas is highly at the mercy of climatic parameters principally rainfall, which makes it critically vulnerable to climate change. Anchoring on exploratory research method and considerable reliance on secondary sources of data, the paper probes in-depth the nexus between climate change and agricultural development cum rural transformation. The mainspring of this article is to analyse the effects of climate change on the role of agriculture in rural development in terms of food production, reduction of poverty and hunger, creation of jobs and exports. To sum up, the paper contends that agriculture should be accorded its prime position in the national economy. It calls for concerted and informed efforts by government to create the enabling environment for Climate Change mitigation, agricultural development and rural transformation, especially in terms of policy formulation, articulation and implementation that would eventually enhance the living conditions of the rural dwellers.

Background: Patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) had a low serum level of vitamin D. Also, genotypic analysis in Bahraini SCD patient has not been investigated. Aim: To investigate gene polymorphisms (SNP) and to observe if genotyping, allelic discrimination or allele frequency have any effects on SCD patients compared to controls. Methods: For quantification of serum PTH, ELISA kits were used. Calcium (Ca), phosphate (Ph) and Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP) were measured using the auto analyzer (Cobas). Gene polymorphisms of VDR and PTH genes were investigated using real-time PCR. Results: Genotypic analysis in the VDR gene revealed complete absence of homozygous allele A (the mutant allele) among both SC patients and controls. AG genotypes was more frequent than the GG genotypes in patient and controls (p<0.012). The percentage of allele A frequency was 61.4% and 66.1% within patient and controls, respectively with no statistical difference. Yet, the analysis showed no association within sex between genotypes and allele’s frequency. In the PTH gene, the GG-genotype was more frequent than the AG genotype in patients and controls (p<0.022). The percentage of A allele was 34.3% in patients and 25.8% in controls, but the difference was not significant. No association was found between GG genotype in sex and allele frequency and sex in PTH gene. Conclusion: In the VDR gene the AG genotype is associated with SCD, while in PTH gene the GG genotype is associated with SCD. There was no statistical difference in allele’s frequencies between patients and controls in both VDR and PTH genes. Moreover, no association was found between VDR and PTH gene polymorphisms and their corresponding serum levels suggesting that allele A may be associated with vitamin D serum level.

This study investigated the effect of 6-weeks of dynamic and contract- relax antagonist contract PNF stretching intervention on performance measures of long distance runners. To obtain data, the investigators had selected sixty (N=60) female long distance runners of 18-23 years of age to act as subjects The purposive sampling technique was used to select the subjects. All the subjects were purposively allotted to Contract Relax Antagonist Contract PNF (CRAC-PNF) stretching group (n1 =20); Dynamic stretching group (n2=20) & control Group (n3=20). All the subjects, after having been informed about the objective and protocol of the study, gave their consent and they volunteered to participate in this study. An Analysis of Covariance was employed to determine the intra group differences among the three groups. When a significant difference among the groups was observed, a pair-wise comparison of the groups was done by using the LSD post-hoc test to identify direction and significant differences between the groups. To test the hypothesis, the level of significance was set at 0.05. The results revealed insignificant differences among long distance runners of three groups on the balance. Significant differences were observed on the variable of agility, flexibility and muscular endurance among the three groups of long distance runners (p≤0.05). Thus, when LSD Post-Hoc test was applied to study the direction and significance of differences between the paired adjusted final means for flexibility and muscular endurance, the experimental groups were found to be significantly different when compared with the control group. It has been observed that dynamic stretching group had demonstrated significantly better on agility, flexibility and muscular endurance whereas CRAC- PNF stretching group had demonstrated better on agility than control group though not significantly. However, CRAC- PNF stretching group has demonstrated significantly better on flexibility than control. This study concludes that significant differences are observed in agility, flexibility and muscular endurance whereas insignificant differences are observed in balance with regard to long distance runners of three groups.

Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a major health problem worldwide. It is a disease which is not cured once it is developed, but it can be controlled. It causes many complications when uncontrolled but can be prevented with proper control. Overall knowledge on health promotion is essential to prevent complications of DM. The aim of this study is to assess the knowledge of DM, its treatments, complications, prevention of complications and maintaining general health among the Tamils attending the Diabetic Education Center at the Teaching Hospital, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka. A descriptive cross sectional study involving a systematic sample of 384 patients was conducted using an interviewer administered semi structured questionnaire in Tamil diabetic patients attending the Diabetic Education Center at the Teaching Hospital, Batticaloa, Sri Lanka. Majority of patients (73.3%) scored less than 50 in the knowledge test and critical gaps in knowledge were revealed, especially regarding knowledge of risk factors, symptoms, type of DM and fasting blood sugar level. However patients of younger age (less than 50 years), higher education levels, high monthly income, with a family history of diabetes and unemployed obtained significantly higher mean knowledge score (P<0.05). Knowledge among subjects (80%) regarding complications of DM was optimal. Many subjects (95.3%) reported routinely controlling their DM through modifying diet. A majority of subjects had an unsatisfactory level of overall knowledge related to DM. Further, education programmes are needed to address critical gaps in patients’ knowledge.

Background: Erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, and leukocyte count are commonly used inflammatory markers. It is debatable whether each of these tests can be used individually or always these tests should be used in together. Objective: This study aimed to compare C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and leukocyte count as inflammatory markers. Materials and Methods: This is an analytical comparative study; included 50 patients with different inflammatory disorders. Three blood samples were collected from each patient. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate was measured by Erythrocyte sedimentation rate fast detector, C-reactive protein was measured by immunofluorcent assay, and total and differential leukocyte counts were performed by automated haematology analyzer. Results: All patients were found to have high C-reactive protein and high erythrocyte sedimentation rate; while 19(38%) were had leuckocytosis, 25(50%) had normal leukocyte count, and 6(12%) had low leukocyte count. The correlation analysis showed a significant positive correlation between the C-reactive protein and each of total leukocyte count, absolute neutrophil count, absolute monocyte count, and absolute eosinophil count. Conclusion: As inflammatory markers, C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate can be used as interchangeably, while leukocyte count, when used, should be accompanied with either C-reactive protein or erythrocyte sedimentation rate.

The fruit fly Drosophila has been extensively important organism not only for genetic, molecular, developmental studies but for also medicinal science, because of similiarility in pharmacological and physiological properties common to humans. The seed of Mucuna pruriens suggested in the treatment of gonorrhea, general debility and many studies have showed that it possess a wide range of pharmacologic activities such as antimicrobial, anti-protozoal, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, antidiabetic and antioxidant and aphrodisiac property etc. Thus the present study is focused on the aphrodisiac property of the Mucuna pruriens seed on courtship behaviour and fitness of D. melanogaster. To examine this, D. melanogaster flies were treated with aqueous extracts of Mucuna pruriens seeds by adult feeding method along with control. Mating latency and copulation duration was observed and the same flies were used to check their egg laying ability and fertility. The results revealed that there is decrease in the mating latency and increase in copulation duration compared to control. Flies have showed increased fecundity and fertility compared to untreated flies. There is 10-15% increase in reproductive ability of the flies.

Leaf blight of rice is a disease of major concern in rice cultivation. This disease caused by bacterial pathogen Xanthomonas oryzae pv oryzae creates major issues during export and import of food material between countries. World loss due to this disease is the major concern of today’s pathologists and food technologists. Conventional methods used for determining the disease consume time, not viable for accurate pathogen identification and thereby hinder the implementation of apt control measures. Molecular methods for identification of pathogen are often reliable, econometric, less time consuming and flexible for easy usage. The regulatory measures levied for controlling the movement of pathogen from one country to other country can be addressed by molecular identification methods determining pathogenic and non-pathogenic Xanthomonads. In the present paper an attempt was made to identify wild xanthomonads using conventional and molecular methods (16S r DNA).

The avifaunal diversity of Hokersar wetland was studied for a period of one year from December 2012 to December 2013. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the diversity and distribution of species in and around the wetland. A total of 58 species were recorded belonging to 27 families from 7 different habitats. Family Anatidae shows maximum species diversity. Among the recorded species(41%) were resident, summer migrant (28%), winter migrant (21%), and local migrant (10%). Open water habitat supports most of the winter migrant birds and plantation supports most of the summer migrant species. Most of the species belong to insectivorous category (45%) and most of the waterfowl species were herbivorous (14%).The vegetation structure and diversity of habitats provide food and shelter for thousands of waterfowl in winter. The main threats responsible for the destruction of the wetland are invasive plants, eutrophication, urbanization, hunting, landscape alteration,soil erosion and flooding.

In India a number of agriculturally important crops are attacked by the obligate biotrophic fungi of the family Erysiphaceae (Ascomycota: Erysiphales) causing powdery mildew resulting in great economic losses. Psyllobora bisoctonotata (Mulsant) a mycophagous coccinellid (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) has been found to feed on powdery mildew in natural condition. A study was conducted to gather information on the development of P. bisoctonotata feeding on the powdery mildew (Erysiphe Polygoni) of the blackgram (Vigna mungo). Results indicate short developmental duration and higher survival ratio.

Ailanthus triphysa is the most preferred species in the safety matches industry. Under the tree improvement programme, selections of this species are to be multiplied by vegetative means for large scale deployment in clonal plantations for productivity enhancement and to meet the industrial demand. Vegetative propagation by rooting of juvenile coppice shoots of A. triphysa was assessed by subjecting them into different concentrations of Indole Butyric acid (IBA). Juvenile shoots were collected from the stumps of the selected trees. IBA with different concentrations (250 ppm, 500 ppm, 750 ppm, 1000 ppm, 1500 ppm, 200 ppm, 2500 ppm, 3000 ppm, 3500 ppm, 4000 ppm and control) were tried to initiate rooting. 2000 ppm concentration was performing maximum level of rooting. This treatment may be used for mass multiplication of A.triphysa.

Influenza A viruses are animal disease pathogens that ceaselessly mutated and flow into in many hosts, as birds, pigs, and human. The spectrum of morbidity and mortality of H1N1, H5N1, and H3N2 viruses are related mainly to the pathological lesions they turn out. H1N1 and H5N1 viruses are usually associated with inflammation, congestion and necrosis of the larger airway's epithelium with extension into the alveoli producing interstitial leukocytic infiltration and oedema. High morbidity by H1N1 virus is owned to infection of the epithelium at upper and lower airways. On the other side, seasonal H3N2 virus has primarily displayed inflammation, congestion and tissue injuries of the larger airways with lesser extension into alveoli. Localization of the inflammatory reactions depends upon the presence of virus in membrane tissue cells of the airways, alveolar macrophages, and pneumocytes. Throughout this review, we tend to explain and compare the pathology of these viruses in human cases and animal models.

Monsoon is an annually recurring weather phenomenon due to variations in precipitation. Some regions in India receive very large monsoon precipitation causing floods and some parts are facing water scarcity problems due to low precipitation resulting in droughts condition. Almost half of the world's population lives in areas affected by the monsoons of Asia and most of these people are farmers, so the coming and goings of the monsoon are vital to their livelihood to grow food to feed them. Ministry of Water Resources and the Central Water Commission formulated a number of inter-basin water transfer links under a National Perspective Plan (NPP) in 1980, to overcome the problems of flood and drought. The purpose of the inter-basin water transfer links is to transfer surplus water from surplus regions to deficit regions which will help in minimizing the problem of flood and drought in India.

The present research article reports the mechanical and morphological properties of a new nano composite material derived from aniline - ortho toludine - diethylaniline terpolymer (AOTDEA) and graphene oxide (GO). The composite under present investigation has shown significant improvement in its mechanical properties and morphological characters as compared to terpolymer alone. AOTDEA terpolymer was obtained by condensation polymerisation of the starting materials and its structure has been assigned by physicochemical and spectral evidences. GO was prepared from graphite using a modified Hummers method. GO was used as a nano-filler for the fabrication of AOTDEA-GO composite. It is evident that addition of 5% by weight of GO led to significant enhancement in tensile strength of the composite. It is supported by the drastic decrease in the Young’s modulus values of terpolymer and its composite with GO that is 3.9 GPa and 2.3 GPa respectively. It is further supported by increased elongation at break values. The decrease in volume resistivity values suggests that incorporation of GO during composite fabrication served as a conducting filler material to form elec-trical percolation networks in the composites. The improved morphological properties are supported by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images.

There have been several investigations using social science approaches into the impacts of fashion on how other people perceive us, as a result of the clothes we wear. Clothing is the most important feature in people’s lives. When we buy any article of clothing we consciously or unconsciously think about its relationship with our personality type. Dress, a visible symbol for fundamental beliefs, can be influenced by several factors. Swaziland, through print media has published concerns on female students’ dress code, especially during graduation ceremonies, asserting that students dressed inappropriately. This descriptive study therefore, was conducted to ascertain factors that influenced University of Swaziland (UNISWA) female students’ dress-code; and, also to determine types of clothes students perceived as modest. Furthermore, the study sought to determine how respondents prioritised purposes of clothing. A closed-ended questionnaire was validated, pilot-tested with UNISWA students, at Mbabane Campus; a reliability coefficient of 0.881 obtained. Questionnaires were distributed to ninety six 3rd and 4th year Luyengo Campus female students’ residents. SPSS version 17.0 was used for data analysis. Study results indicated that students’ dress code was influenced by competition among friends (32.3%), celebrities’ lifestyles (32.7%), while self-confidence (35.0%) was the most influential factor. With reference to purposes of clothing, protection (46.8%) was the most important, and modesty (23.0%) being the least important to respondents. Thus, it can be concluded that respondents considered protecting themselves from the harsh weather conditions and the environment whenever making clothing selections, with little consideration on modest clothing in their clothing selections.

The study was conducted to investigate the relationship between Library management and the adoption of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in University Libraries in Akwa-Ibom and Cross River States, Nigeria. To achieve this, two hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. Survey research design was adopted for the study using a total of one hundred and fifty (150) respondents, through purposive sampling technique. A validated questionnaire with a reliability estimate of 0.86 was used for data collection. Data collected were analyzed through the use of Pearson Product Moment Correlation Analysis technique. The testing was carried out at .05 level of significance. Results of the analysis among other things revealed that, planning of library services and staffing have statistically significant relationship with the adoption of ICT in University libraries in Akwa-Ibom and Cross River States, Nigeria. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that: proper planning should be a continuous process in order to improve ICT competences among institutional administrators. It was equally suggested that library staffs and education planners should be properly trained in the use of ICT in library operations in other to enhance the advantages derivable from library services.