Gender responsive participatory varietal selection for sustainable seed potato systems in Assam, India.

This report presents the results of the Participatory Varietal Selection (PVSs) implemented in 2018. A total of 116 people participated in the PVSs at the flowering stage and 139 people participated at the harvesting stages. Gender‐responsive approaches were employed to facilitate women’s active participation. More than 50% of participants were women, and gender segregated group discussions were held to create a comfortable environment for women to speak in public

Structure and stability of spiro-cyclic water clusters

The structure and stability of spiro-cyclic water clusters containing up to 32 water molecules have been investigated at different levels of theory. Although there exist minima lower in energy than these spiro-cyclic clusters, calculations at the Hartree-Fock level, density functional theory using B3LYP parametrization and second order Møller-Plesset perturbation theory using 6-31G∗ and 6-311++G∗∗ basis sets show that they are stable in their own right. Vibrational frequency calculations and atoms-inmolecules analysis of the electron density map confirm the robustness of these hydrogen bonded clusters

Identification of the Factors Affecting the Academic Performance of the Science Undergraduates of the Eastern University, Sri Lanka: A Case Study

Academic performance of Undergraduates in Sri Lankan Universities becomes an important factor among the academics and educators because the employability of the Sri Lankan graduate is growing as a challenge these days. Therefore, there is a need to identify and address the factors affecting the academic performance of Undergraduates in Sri Lankan universities.  A survey designed was employed with questionnaires administered to the third year undergraduates of the Faculty of Science, Eastern University, Sri Lanka. The questionnaire covered the socio-economic factors, academic performances of the General Certificate of Education (GCE) Examinations in schools, extra studies of computer courses and English, extra-curricular activities and family backgrounds. The Grade Point Average for the first and second year of studies was used as the responses for the academic performance. The study revealed that gender, mother language, academic grades obtained for English language and general English at the GCE examinations, the stream of study of the degree programme in the University, the number of attempt at the GCE examination to enter the university were the mostly influencing factors. This study therefore recommended giving priority for learning mother language and improving English language and general English in GCE examinations in order to improve the academic performance of the students in the Faculty of Science, Eastern University, Sri Lanka. Keywords: Academic Performance, Undergraduates, GPA, Gender, Proficiency in English. DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-15-17 Publication date:May 31st 202

Protective Efficacy of Menthol Propylene Glycol Carbonate Compared to N, N-diethyl-Methylbenzamide Against Mosquito Bites in Northern Tanzania.

The reduction of malaria parasite transmission by preventing human-vector contact is critical in lowering disease transmission and its outcomes. This underscores the need for effective and long lasting arthropod/insect repellents. Despite the reduction in malaria transmission and outcomes in Tanzania, personal protection against mosquito bites is still not well investigated. This study sought to determine the efficacy of menthol propylene glycol carbonate (MR08), Ocimum suave as compared to the gold standard repellent N, N-diethyl-methylbenzamide (DEET), either as a single dose or in combination (blend), both in the laboratory and in the field against Anopheles gambiae s.l and Culex quinquefasciatus. In the laboratory evaluations, repellents were applied on one arm while the other arm of the same individual was treated with a base cream. Each arm was separately exposed in cages with unfed female mosquitoes. Repellents were evaluated either as a single dose or as a blend. Efficacy of each repellent was determined by the number of mosquitoes that landed and fed on treated arms as compared to the control or among them. In the field, evaluations were performed by human landing catches at hourly intervals from 18:00  hr to 01:00  hr. A total of 2,442 mosquitoes were collected during field evaluations, of which 2,376 (97.30%) were An. gambiae s.l while 66 (2.70%) were Cx. quinquefaciatus. MR08 and DEET had comparatively similar protective efficacy ranging from 92% to 100 for both single compound and blends. These findings indicate that MR08 has a similar protective efficacy as DEET for personal protection outside bed nets when used singly and in blends. Because of the personal protection provided by MR08, DEET and blends as topical applicants in laboratory and field situations, these findings suggest that, these repellents could be used efficiently in the community to complement existing tools. Overall, Cx. quinquefasciatus were significantly prevented from blood feeding compared to An. gambiae s.l. The incorporation of these topical repellents for protection against insect bites can be of additional value in the absence or presence of IRS and ITNs coverage. However, a combination of both the physical (bed nets) and the repellent should be used in an integrated manner for maximum protection, especially before going to bed. Additional research is needed to develop repellents with longer duration of protection

Midgut microbiota of the malaria mosquito vector Anopheles gambiae and Interactions with plasmodium falciparum Infection

The susceptibility of Anopheles mosquitoes to Plasmodium infections relies on complex interactions between the insect vector and the malaria parasite. A number of studies have shown that the mosquito innate immune responses play an important role in controlling the malaria infection and that the strength of parasite clearance is under genetic control, but little is known about the influence of environmental factors on the transmission success. We present here evidence that the composition of the vector gut microbiota is one of the major components that determine the outcome of mosquito infections. A. gambiae mosquitoes collected in natural breeding sites from Cameroon were experimentally challenged with a wild P. falciparum isolate, and their gut bacterial content was submitted for pyrosequencing analysis. The meta-taxogenomic approach revealed a broader richness of the midgut bacterial flora than previously described. Unexpectedly, the majority of bacterial species were found in only a small proportion of mosquitoes, and only 20 genera were shared by 80% of individuals. We show that observed differences in gut bacterial flora of adult mosquitoes is a result of breeding in distinct sites, suggesting that the native aquatic source where larvae were grown determines the composition of the midgut microbiota. Importantly, the abundance of Enterobacteriaceae in the mosquito midgut correlates significantly with the Plasmodium infection status. This striking relationship highlights the role of natural gut environment in parasite transmission. Deciphering microbe-pathogen interactions offers new perspectives to control disease transmission.Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement (IRD); French Agence Nationale pour la Recherche [ANR-11-BSV7-009-01]; European Community [242095, 223601]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Investigating the VLSI Characterization of Parallel Signed Multipliers for RNS Applications Using FPGAs

Signed multiplication is a complex arithmetic operation, which is reflected in its relatively high signal propagation delay, high power dissipation, and large area requirement. High reliability applications such as Cryptography, Residue Number System (RNS) and Digital Signal Processing (DSP)2019;s effective performance is mainly depend on its arithmetic circuit's performance. Trend of using Residue Number System (RNS) instead of Constrain over-whelming Binary representation is promising technique in VLSI Systems and Multiplier is the basic building block of such systems. In this paper we have considered signed Modified Baugh Wooley Multiplier and Modified Booth Encoding (MBE) Multiplier logic for analysis and synthesized on best suited application platform. Analysis has taken account of Delay, Number of Logic Element requirements; Number of Signal Transition for particular sample input and its Power Consumption were analyzed for both Modified Baugh Wooley Multiplier and Modified Booth Encoding Multiplier. Analysis of Multiplier is described in Verilog HDL and Simulated using two different simulators namely Xilinx ISIM and Altera Quartus II. Then for comparative study, both multipliers are synthesized with Xilinx Virtex 7 XCV2000T-2FLG1925 and Altera Cyclone II EP2C35F672C6 and same parameter as discussed above are also evaluated. Booth Recoding provides overall advent of 9.691% in terms of area and approximately 43 % in terms of Delay compared to Modified Baugh Wooley Multiplier implemented using FPGA Technology

The Effect of High Loaded Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes in Natural Rubber and Their Nonlinear Material Constants

The aim of this paper is to study the high load of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in natural rubber (NR) matrix. Firstly, the rubber matrix, fillers, and crosslinker are thoroughly mixed together in two-roll mill. Rheological tests are done from which scorch time, cure time, and cure index are estimated. The kneaded mixer is then compression molded, dumb bell samples as per ASTM D412 are prepared, and tensile strength, tensile modulus, elongation at break, and hardness are measured. It is noticed that NR/30% MWCNT has shown the highest tensile strength of 23.38 MPa and Shore A hardness of 90, which is 78.18% and 91.5%, respectively, higher than the unfilled NR. The increase in strength and hardness, the ductility loss, and decrease in elongation at break are observed upon increase in filler. FTIR, SEM, and AFM examinations are done and the results show high dispersion of nanofillers and strong interfacial interaction with rubber, which is responsible for overall enhancement in mechanical properties of the nanocomposites. Furthermore, the nonlinear material constants are evaluated through extended tube model and corresponding nonlinear material constants of different filler compositions are presented for the designers to use them in their component design and analysis

Proposing new variables for the identification of strategic groups in franchising

The identification of strategic groups in the Spanish franchising area is the main aim of this study. The authors have added some new strategic variables (not used before) to the study and have classified franchisors between sectors and distribution strategy. The results reveal the existence of four perfectly differentiated strategic groups (types of franchisors). One of the major implications of this study is that the variables that build a strategic group vary depending on the respective sector the network operates in and its distribution strategy. This fact indicates that including sector and distribution strategy is absolutely necessary to achieve good classifications of franchisor type

Control of substrate access to the active site in methane monooxygenase

Methanotrophs consume methane as their major carbon source and have an essential role in the global carbon cycle by limiting escape of this greenhouse gas to the atmosphere. These bacteria oxidize methane to methanol by soluble and particulate methane monooxygenases (MMOs). Soluble MMO contains three protein components, a 251-kilodalton hydroxylase (MMOH), a 38.6-kilodalton reductase (MMOR), and a 15.9-kilodalton regulatory protein (MMOB), required to couple electron consumption with substrate hydroxylation at the catalytic diiron centre of MMOH. Until now, the role of MMOB has remained ambiguous owing to a lack of atomic-level information about the MMOH–MMOB (hereafter termed H–B) complex. Here we remedy this deficiency by providing a crystal structure of H–B, which reveals the manner by which MMOB controls the conformation of residues in MMOH crucial for substrate access to the active site. MMOB docks at the α[subscript 2]β[subscript 2] interface of α[subscript 2]β[subscript 2]γ[subscript 2] MMOH, and triggers simultaneous conformational changes in the α-subunit that modulate oxygen and methane access as well as proton delivery to the diiron centre. Without such careful control by MMOB of these substrate routes to the diiron active site, the enzyme operates as an NADH oxidase rather than a monooxygenase. Biological catalysis involving small substrates is often accomplished in nature by large proteins and protein complexes. The structure presented in this work provides an elegant example of this principle.National Institute of General Medical Sciences (U.S.) (Grant GM 32114