Open Science Journal (OSJ)
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Physicochemical analysis of Lake Enriquillo in Dominican Republic
Get PDFThe water level in Lake Enriquillo in the Dominican Republic (DR) has increased by an unprecedented amount over the last decade, inundating thousands of acres of farmland and more than a dozen villages and inflicting adverse social, environmental, and economic impacts on the nation. The Lake Enriquillo Basin (LEB), located near the towns of Independencia and Bahoruco in the southwest region of the DR, is bordered to the north by the Sierra de Neyba mountain range and to the south by the Sierra de Bahoruco mountain range. Lake Enriquillo is hypersaline and endorheic, with a water level that normally fluctuates between 40–50 m below sea level (BSL). However, since 2000, both Lake Enriquillo and Lake Azuei (Sumastre) in Haiti have experienced alarming water level increases, with Lake Enriquillo’s water level rising to 17.2 m BSL This article explores the changes in some of the important physicochemical parameters—such as salinity, dissolved oxygen, temperature, and pH—that have occurred in the period from 1977 to 2012. The highest salinity value occurred in 2012, at a value 103.1‰, with an average increase of 27.06‰, coinciding with the lake level of 17.2 m BSL. Changes in these parameters have caused damage to the ecosystem and the lives of people and species that inhabit the region.
Applicability of Becker’s theory of allocation of time in modelling married women’s allocation of time between household duties and labour force participation in Zimbabwe
Get PDFWith the rise in women participation in labour force and gender equality campaigns on the one hand and cultural norms which characterise women as house makers on the other, most married women often find themselves in a dilemma as to how to allocate their time among competing needs. This paper used a theoretical approach in reviewing the applicability of the proposals of Becker’s allocation of time theory to the married women’s allocation of time between household duties and labour force participation to the Zimbabwean situation. It was concluded that though the model ignores the cultural norms of assigning household roles to specific gender, it explained to a greater extent the trends observed in which women spend more time in household chores to which they have a comparative advantage as opposed to their male counterparts. The substitution and income effects explained in this model are also applicable to the preferences and patterns of time allocation by married when faced with a change in wages.
The Effects of Foreign Direct Investment on Economic Growth in Libya: A Causality Analysis
Get PDFThis paper aims to analyse the causal relationship between Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows and economic growth in Libya by using empirical analysis to examine FDI Led-Export (FLE) and Export Led-Growth (ELG) hypotheses, over the period, 1992-2010. Most of FDI inflows are concentrated in the oil sector of the Libyan economy, which led to make Libya as one of the Petroleum Exporting Countries around the world. However, the role of FDI, oil exports and GDP growth relationship in Libya is still unclear. Therefore, the major focus of this paper is to explore this relationship through employing Vector Autoregressive (VAR) Model on the relevant variables which are FDI inflows, Oil exports and GDP growth. Our results confirm that there is a long-term relationship between FDI and increasing oil exports, and economic growth in Libya
Collaborative leadership in skills development: Getting the fundamentals right
Get PDFCollaborative leadership in skills development is fundamental for the success of Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) and state education institutions like Sector Education Training Authorities (SETAs) in promoting sustainable livelihoods and social wellbeing in communities. The purpose of this research was to find out how Nongovernmental Organizations and state education leaders collaborate in building skills, what challenges hamper collaboration and what should be done to improve collaboration. The qualitative research approach was used in this study and nine participants from five organizations were purposely selected and interviewed. The major findings indicated the existence of inadequate collaborative practices between NGOs and educational leaders, exacerbated by recurrent major challenges like disunity or fragmentation amongst NGOs, over dependence on external funding and weak capacity which hampered their sustainability as partners as well as skills developers. This study has not only re-emphasised the need for effective collaborative leadership between NGOs and educational leaders in South Africa, it has also provided suggestions to their numerous challenges
Community Knowledge in Restoring Trees in Controversial Forest Hot Spots: Case of Nkanya-Lusewa rivers catchment area in Zomba-Malosa Forest Reserve, Malawi
Get PDFTrees planted by the Forestry Department and other institutions in Nkanya-Lusewa river hotspot in Zomba-Malosa forest reserve in Domasi area in Malawi have not been surviving because villagers have been defiantly encroaching the forest reserve and this has led to many problems such as intermittent piped water supply in dry season. The study was done to investigate the community’s knowledge on better forest restoration strategies in the hotspot and it involved 591 interviewees selected from 2,111 households in 25 villages. Several sampling methods were used such as cluster, purposeful, snowballing and accessibility methods. The majority of people in the area know the importance of forests and impacts of deforestation mostly citing direct-use values such as firewood, rainfall, construction materials, medicine, and water catchment conservation. Many villagers (56%) view previous reforestation efforts in the area as being unsuccessful while 34% considered them as successful. Seedling uprooting, bush fires and lack of post-planting care are the key activities that lead to high mortality of young trees. Most respondents (28%) indicated that yearly tree planting must fully involve the community and that garden owners must provide post-planting care (19%) in their prohibited gardens. Khaya anthotheca, Senna siamea, Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Pterocarpus angolensis, Mangifera indica, Toona ciliata, Breonadia salicina, Uapaca kirkiana, and Albizia lebbeck were highly preferred for their various characteristics and purposes. Most villagers (96.1%) are willing to participate in forestry activities as long as their views are appreciated while 3.4% of them indicated unwillingness because they are busy with personal work, are aged and/or sickly
Influence of anthropogenic activities on the initial establishment and growth rate of introduced Senna siamea in Zomba-Malosa Forest Reserve, Malawi
Get PDFThe study was conducted along the Nkanya-Lusewa rivers catchment as hot spot in Zomba-Malosa Forest Reserve in Domasi area in Malawi to determine the influence of anthropogenic activities on the growth of Senna siamea planted by the community using integrated indigenous-technocrat model. The study focused on 28 gardens along the rivers whose owners encroached the forest reserve and willed to participate in the study. In total we planted 101 S. siamea seedlings within a distance of 10 m on either side of the study rivers and we determined tree total height, canopy height, canopy base diameter and canopy base area in February, May, August, and November in 2014 using a ruler. We found that the average tree total height and canopy height slightly decreased from February to November from initial 34.7 cm to 31.1 cm and 16.8 cm to 12.1 cm respectively due to impact of transplanting shock and bushfires which led to loss of tree tops and some branches but those of canopy base diameter and canopy base area increased slightly following sprouting of burnt seedling stems. We further found that tree growth rates varied among the gardens due to transplanting shock, post-planting care differences, soil moisture variation, and incidence of bushfires
Editor message
Get PDFDear readers,It’s been just over a month since we first opened our doors to submissions. In that time our team has been engaging with the research community for feedback on the journal and our aspirations. One of the first questions researchers ask us is why Open Science Journal. Looks like a simple question, right? Yet it is difficult to answer just in one sentence. So, rather than one succinct sentence, let’s breakdown the most important information you need to know about who we are. Open Science Journal (OSJ) is a multidisciplinary Open Access (OA) journal, we accepts scientifically rigorous research, regardless of novelty. OSJ broad scope provides a platform to publish original research in all areas of sciences, including interdisciplinary and replication studies as well as negative results. OSJ is high quality OA online-only journal that publishes articles under a Open Access Creative Commons Attribution License. This means easy compliance with the Open Access Policy of many institutions and funders all over the world who made open access to publications mandatory. The Open Science Journal follows the highest publishing and ethical standards. We have modeled our submissions and review process on the standards, procedures by the Public Library of Science (PLOS). Right, so that’s more than one sentence, but we hope you have a better feel for what services we are providing researchers and what kind of journal we aspire to be. Igor Salak Editor in chief Open Science Journal
Spectrum of Transfusion Transmitted Infections Among Apparently Healthy Blood Donors in Blood Bank RIMS Ranchi From 2008 to 2014
Get PDFContext: Apparently healthy blood donors might carry out transfusion transmitted infections which might be fatal for the donor himself as well as the recipient later on.Aim: To assess the seroprevalence of transfusion-transmitted infections (TTI) among apparently healthy blood donors in Ranchi, India.Methods and Materials: All blood samples were screened for HIV-I and II, HBsAg, HCV (by using third generation enzyme-linked immunoadsorbent assay technique), Syphilis (by Rapid Plasma Reagin Kit), and Malaria antigen both for plasmodium falciparum and plasmodium vivax (by One step, rapid, immunochromatographic test).Result: On screening of 106,306 blood units for TTIs, 1,462 (1.37 %) donors were found positive for one of the TTIs. Highest prevalence was for HBV (970 donors - 0.91%) ranging from 0.73% to 1.19%. This was followed by Malaria (272 donors - 0.25%) ranging from 0.08% to 0.48%, HCV (127 donors - 0.11%) ranging from 0.04% to 0.25%, HIV (72 donors - 0.06%) ranging from 0.03% to 0.10%, and syphilis (21 donors 0.01%) ranging from 0.00% to 0.09%.Conclusions: Apparently healthy blood donors are not omitted from the danger of transfusion-transmitted infection.
A Review On Sub-Surface Flow Constructed Wetlands In Tropical And Sub-Tropical Countries
Get PDFWater pollution is mostly caused by direct disposal of waste to the ground or river without prior treatment. Several methods had been proposed to overcome the pollution, e.g. by treating the waste prior disposal or by applying artificial wetland systems (constructed wetlands) to treat domestic wastewater. Artificial wetland systems (constructed wetlands) resembles water treatment processes in natural wetlands, that utilizes hydrophytes to symbiose with the microorganisms in the media around the rhizosphere of the plants. A good example of the plant is Cyperus alternifolius, a plant that grows rapidly in wet environments. This plant has a triangular stem, with adult stem height ranged between 0.5-1.5 m. Organic materials contained in the wastewater will be cleaved by the microorganisms into simpler compounds and will be consumed by the plants as a nutrient, while the root system of aquatic plants will produce oxygen that can be used as a source of energy or catalyst for a series of metabolic processes for heterotropic aerobic microorganism. In general, horizontal flow SSF-Constructed Wetlands (hSSF-CW) is being used continuously and applied in many tropical countries. SSF-CW is a good choice for wastewater treatment due to its low maintenance costs and simple operational
A New Simulation Model for a Comprehensive Evaluation of Yard Truck Deployment Strategies at Marine Container Terminals
Get PDFTaking into account increasing volumes of the international seaborne trade and increasing port congestion, marine container terminal operators have to improve efficiency of their operations in order to provide timely service of vessels and avoid product delivery delays to customers. This paper focuses on improvement of container transfer operations between the seaside and the marshaling yard and proposes five yard truck deployment strategies. Performance of the considered marine container terminal is evaluated under each one of the yard truck deployment strategies via simulation. Different performance indicators are estimated to determine how the suggested yard truck deployment strategies will affect all equipment types, involved in container handling and transfer. Results from the extensive simulation experiments showcase that all five yard truck deployment strategies provide similar values of vessel service and quay crane performance indicators, while the shortest distance based yard truck deployment strategy yields superior gantry crane and yard truck performance indicators. The worst values of performance indicators are recorded for the random yard truck deployment strategy. Furthermore, the developed simulation model can serve as an efficient planning tool for marine container terminal operators and enhance productivity of the available equipment