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Simplified Intuitionistic Neutrosophic Soft Set and its Application on Diagnosing Psychological Disorder by Using Similarity Measure
Get PDFThe primary focus of this manuscript comprises three sections. Initially, we introduce the concept of a simplified intuitionistic neutrosophic soft set. We impose an intuitionistic condition between the membership values of truth and falsity such that their sum does not exceed unity. Similarly, for indeterminacy, the membership value is a real number from the closed interval [0, 1]. Hence, the sum of membership values of truth, indeterminacy, and falsity does not exceed two. We present the notion of necessity, possibility, concentration, and dilation operators and establish some of its properties. Second, we define the similarity measure between two simplified intuitionistic neutrosophic soft sets. Also, we discuss its superiority by comparing it with existing methods. Finally, we develop an algorithm and illustrate with an example of diagnosing psychological disorders. Even though the similarity measure plays a vital role in diagnosing psychological disorders, existing methods deal hardly in diagnosing psychological disorders. By nature, most of the psychological disorder behaviors are ambivalence. Hence, it is vital to capture the membership values by using simplified intuitionistic neutrosophic soft set. In this manuscript, we provide a solution in diagnosing psychological disorders, and the proposed similarity measure is valuable and compatible in diagnosing psychological disorders in any neutrosophic environment
Modelling Classroom Space Allocation at University of Rwanda-A Linear Programming Approach
Get PDFEducation and training play a key role as the human capital function. This is especially true for tertiary education. However, infrastructure and equipment limitations are some factors that limits levels of students\u27 enrollment in universities. This is moreso the case in developing countries where much of the infrastructure developments are donor-funded. For institutional managers and administrators, the allocating of the limited available classroom space is a constant problem that needs sophisticated approaches to deal with. Linear Optimization technique has shown promise in dealing with this problem. This research seeks to assess the Rwandan education system and highlight strides made to broaden access to tertiary education. Using data accessed from the College of Science and Technology for the 2019/2020 academic year, a linear programming model is formulated to assess the level of usage of the available classroom space at the College. The model is solved using the Dual Simplex algorithm via the Cplex solver implemented in AMPL. A solution analysis shows that, out of the 68 classrooms available on the Nyarugenge campus, only 18 with a seating capacity of 2,147 are being used to facilitate the learning of approximated 4,088 students, and that 50 classrooms with a seating capacity of 1,506 are being underutilized or not being used at all. Relevant recommendations including that the college explores the usage of virtual laboratory platforms to overcome space and material limitations associated with physical laboratories are presented
Performance of spring and summer-sown maize under different irrigation strategies in Pakistan
Get PDFPakistan is facing severe water shortages, so using the available water efficiently is essential for maximizing crop production. This can be achieved through efficient irrigation practices. Field studies were carried out to determine the dynamics of soil water and the efficiency of water utilization for maize grown under five irrigation techniques (flood-irrigated flatbed, furrow-irrigated ridge, furrow-irrigated raised bed, furrow-irrigated raised bed with plastic mulch, and sprinkler-irrigated flatbed). Spring and summer maize was grown for two years. The Irrigation Management System (IManSys) was used to estimate the irrigation requirements, evapotranspiration, and other water balance components for this study’s different experimental treatments based on site-specific crop, soil, and weather parameters. The results showed that the flood irrigation flatbed (FIF) treatment produced the highest evapotranspiration, leaf area index (LAI), and biomass yield compared to other treatments. However, this treatment did not produce the highest grain yield and had the lowest water use efficiency (WUE) and irrigation water use efficiency (WUEi ) compared to the furrow-irrigated raised-bed treatment. The furrow-irrigated raised bed with plastic mulch (FIRBM) treatment improved grain yield, WUE, WUEi, and harvest index compared to the flood irrigation flatbed (FIF) treatment. The results showed a strong correlation between measured and estimated net irrigation requirements and evapotranspiration, with high r2 values (0.93, 0.99, 0.98, and 0.98) for the spring-and summer-sown maize. It was concluded that the FIRBM treatments improved the grain yield, WUE, and WUEi, which ultimately enhanced sustainable crop production. The growing of summer-sown maize in Pakistan has the potential for sustainable maize production under the semiarid and arid climate
Soil Moisture and Porosity Affects the Abundance and Distribution of Ageratum houstonianum
Get PDFIntroduction: Ageratum houstonianum is an herbaceous, drought-tolerant plant also known as Blue billygoat weed. It grows well in drained soil and shaded areas. Soil moisture and porosity are two abiotic factors that affect the abundance and distribution of A. houstonianum. An ideal condition for plants to grow includes a greater amount of soil moisture and porosity. Higher porosity would mean that there is a greater number of pores, which would result in more significant plant nutrients because of its ability to retain more water. The purpose of this research was to see how soil moisture and porosity based on the gradient with regards to distance from the tree impact the abundance and distribution of A. houstonianum.
Materials and Methods: The belt transect method was used to test the soil moisture and porosity, and three belts with four quadrants in each were formed. For each of the belts, the first two quadrants closer to the tree were called zone 1, and the last two quadrants were labeled as zone 2. We hypothesized that there was an increase in abundance and distribution further away from the tree. Abundance was calculated by finding the density of the total number of species over each quadrant area. Soil samples were collected to test the soil moisture and porosity. Paired two-sample t-tests and ANOVA single factor tests were performed.
Results and Conclusion: The t-tests showed a difference between the relationship of abundance/moisture, abundance/porosity, and moisture/porosity. The ANOVA test compared the means of density/moisture/porosity between zone 1 and 2 to see if they were statistically different from each other. Based on the results, there was a decrease in the density as the distance from the tree increased. Soil moisture and porosity also decreased as the distance from the tree increased, which rejected the hypothesis. Closer to the tree, there was an increase in moisture, density, and porosity, which led to the abundance of A. houstonianum species because the ideal conditions were met
ENGL 2311 - Technical and Professional Writing - Language and Communication
Get PDFThis OER packet contains the course materials for ENGL 2311 - Technical and Professional Writing that introduce you to some of the most important aspects of writing in the worlds of science, technology, and business—in other words, the kind of writing that scientists, nurses, doctors, computer specialists, government officials, engineers, and other professionals do as a part of their regular work. The skills learned in technical writing courses can be useful in other fields as well, including education and social sciences. Technical writing involves communicating complex information to a specific audience who will use it to accomplish some goal or task in a manner that is accurate, useful, and clear. Whether you write an email to your professor or supervisor, develop a presentation or report, design a sales flyer, or create a webpage, you are a technical communicator.https://digitalcommons.pvamu.edu/pv-open-education-resources/1001/thumbnail.jp
Photothermal effect and cytotoxicity of CuS nanoflowers deposited over folic acid conjugated nanographene oxide
No full textHerein, we present the rational synthesis of a multimode photothermal agent, NGO-FA-CuS, for the advancement of photothermal therapy of cancer. The hierarchical architecture created in NGO-FA-CuS was attained by the covalent conjugation of folic acid (FA) to nanographene oxide (NGO) through amide bonding, followed by the hydrothermal deposition of CuS nanoflowers. In this approach, instead of mere mixing or deposition, FA was covalently bonded to NGO, which helped in retaining their intrinsic properties after binding and allowed to access them in the resulting hybrid nanostructure. In this specifically designed photothermal agent, NGO-FA-CuS, each component has an explicit task,i.e., NGO, FA and CuS act as the quencher, cancer cell-targeting moiety and photothermal transduction agent, respectively. Prior to the grafting of FA molecules and the deposition of CuS nanoflowers, sulfonic acid groups were introduced into NGO to provide stability under physiological conditions. Under irradiation using a 980 nm laser, NGO-FA-CuS was able to attain a temperature of 63.1 °C within 5 min, which is far beyond the survival temperature for cancer cells. Therefore, the resulting temperature recorded for NGO-FA-CuS was sufficient to induce hyperthermia in cancer cells to cause their death. When coming into contact with cancer cells, NGO-FA-CuS can cause a rapid increase in the temperature of their nucleus, destroy the genetic substances, and ultimately lead to exhaustive apoptosis under illumination using a near-infrared (NIR) laser. An excellent photothermal efficiency of 46.2% under illumination using a 980 nm laser and outstanding cytotoxicity against HeLa, SKOV3 and KB cells were attained with NGO-FA-CuS. Moreover, NGO-FA-CuS displays exceptional persistent photo-stability without photo-corrosiveness. The photothermal effect of NGO-FA-CuS was found to be dependent on its concentration and the power density of the laser source. It was found that its cytotoxicity toward cancer cells was enhanced with an increase in the concentration of NGO-FA-CuS and the incubation period
Stability of fucoxanthin in pasteurized skim and whole goat milk
No full textObesity has become a worldwide problem giving rise to several health issues. Fucoxanthin, a marine carotenoid with anti-obesity activity, has potential application as a biofunctional ingredient in human food. The objective of this study was to evaluate the thermal stability of fucoxanthin at pasteurization temperature and, subsequently, its storage stability in goat whole milk (WM) and skim milk (SM) at refrigeration temperature for four weeks. Additionally, the effect of supplementation of fucoxanthin on the composition of milk, pH, acidity, color, and lipid oxidation of WM and SM was evaluated during the four week storage period. Fresh goat WM and SM were supplemented with fucoxanthin at a concentration of 10.67 µg/mL (2.56 mg/240 mL of milk, one serving), pasteurized at 64◦C for 30 min and stored at 4◦C for four weeks. The quantification of fucoxanthin in WM and SM was performed every week using a HPLC method. Moreover, the effect of supplementation of fucoxanthin on the composition of WM and SM was evaluated by a LactiCheck milk analyzer, and the color was evaluated by reflectance using a HunterLab colorimeter. Lipid oxidation, as the 2-thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) at A532, was determined using a Spectramax Plus spectrophotometer during storage. Data were analyzed by a split-plot design using PROC MIXED of SAS. The recovery yields of fucoxanthin from the pasteurized WM and SM were 96.17 ± 1.5 % and 96.89 ± 1.5 %, respectively. Both milks exhibited high recovery yields of fucoxanthin. Fucoxanthin was stable in goat WM and SM during storage at 4◦C for four weeks. The addition of fucoxanthin, at the concentration reported to have an anti-obesity effect in humans, to pasteurized WM and SM did not affect the composition or the physicochemical properties of milks but influenced the color, especially increasing the yellowness in the samples. These results revealed that goat milk can be used as a suitable matrix for the supplementation of fucoxanthin as a biofunctional ingredient in human foods
Current progress and future prospects of agriculture technology: Gateway to sustainable agriculture
No full textThe agricultural industry is getting more data-centric and requires precise, more advanced data and technologies than before, despite being familiar with agricultural processes. The agriculture industry is being advanced by various information and advanced communication technologies, such as the Internet of Things (IoT). The rapid emergence of these advanced technologies has restructured almost all other industries, as well as advanced agriculture, which has shifted the industry from a statistical approach to a quantitative one. This radical change has shaken existing farming techniques and produced the latest prospects in a series of challenges. This comprehensive review article en-lightens the potential of the IoT in the advancement of agriculture and the challenges faced when combining these advanced technologies with conventional agricultural systems. A brief analysis of these advanced technologies with sensors is presented in advanced agricultural applications. Numerous sensors that can be implemented for specific agricultural practices require best management practices (e.g., land preparation, irrigation systems, insect, and disease management). This review includes the integration of all suitable techniques, from sowing to harvesting, packaging, transportation, and advanced technologies available for farmers throughout the cropping system. Besides, this review article highlights the utilization of other tools such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for crop monitoring and other beneficiary measures, such as optimizing crop yields. In addi-tion, advanced programs based on the IoT are also discussed. Finally, based on our comprehensive review, we identified advanced prospects regarding the IoT, which are essential tools for sustainable agriculture
Characterization and surface impact of paracetamol granules formed by binder dropping
No full textDrug bioavailability and solubility is a constant challenge with pharmaceuticals. About 80% of drugs are administered orally because the method is cost effective and convenient. The challenge for scientists and engineers is to increase the efficiency of orally administered drugs. Most active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) are administered in a drug formulation containing excipients or binders to prevent segregation; however, these additives can hinder drug dissolution and cause mild adverse effects. The purpose of this research is to investigate the influence of a single excipient on the properties of paracetamol tablets or granules especially the cohesiveness of the granules. Testing also included developing paracetamol granules of similar size, shape, and weight for consistency and uniformity. Granules were formed by dropping aqueous binder solution onto a powder bed or binder dropping. The active pharmaceutical ingredient, paracetamol (APAP), served as the powder for the beds. From this investigation, an optimum number of drops were determined which resulted in a common granule shape and size while preventing spreading. Surface impact force analysis was conducted to test granule stability using free fall analysis at 12 and 24 inches. Compression resistance was analyzed and force measurements recorded. Binder dropping proved an efficient method of creating paracetamol granules. Granule size was affected by choice of excipient. Excipient selection also determined granule performance and stability
Perceived and Actual Knowledge Gain among Juvenile Drug Treatment Court Team Members: A Pre-Post Analysis of On-Site Training and Technical Assistance
No full textJuvenile drug treatment courts (JDTCs), in large part, are a product of the therapeutic jurisprudence movement. When they were established in 1993 in the U.S., JDTCs were initially modeled after adult drug treatment courts but insufficiently addressed unique characteristics of adolescence. In 2003, recommended practices, known as the 16 Strategies, for JDTCs working with adolescent offenders with substance use disorders were introduced to the field by the National Drug Court Institute (NDCI) and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ). Recently, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and the American Institute of Research (AIR), proposed a set of evidence-based, recommended practices outlined in the Juvenile Drug Treatment Court Guidelines (JDTC Guideline). However, little research examines the effectiveness of training and technical assistance on recommended, evidence-based practices for JDTC teams. The current study uses a pre/post-training survey design to examine perceived and actual knowledge gain of JDTC practitioners who receive targeted training and technical assistance on recommended practices for JDTCs. The data demonstrate significantly higher perceived knowledge gain, post-training, on the topics of recommended practice (as outlined in the 16 Strategies and JDTC Guidelines). Implications are discussed