15,189 research outputs found
Spatial and temporal variation in crop diversity in agroforestry homegardens of southern Ethiopia
No full textA key assumption in many homegarden studies is that homegardens are ecologically and socio-economically sustainable due to their species diversity. The precise relation between diversity and sustainability is still heavily debated, however. A basic question is how diversity in homegardens can best be characterized in view of the various dimensions of species diversity and their variation in time and space. This paper assesses different types of species diversity in the homegardens of Sidama region of southern Ethiopia. In a survey of crop species in 144 homegardens a total of 78 cultivated crop species (excluding trees) belonging to 10 functional groups were recorded; there were on average 16 crop species and 8 functional groups per farm. Within homegardens, plots differ in species composition and crop diversity. Four types of homegarden systems are distinguished differing in both type and area-share of dominant species, relative orientation at subsistence or cash production and overall crop diversity. The gradual replacement of enset by maize and of coffee by more financially attractive cash crops khat and pineapple causes a decrease in overall crop diversity. Our data demonstrate that it is incorrect to consider homegardens as generic systems with a uniform distribution of species diversity: important within and between homegarden variation exists. Ecological and socio-economic sustainability is not just related to species diversity per se, but rather to more specific features such as presence of keystone species and diversity in functional species groups. Socio-economic sustainability in terms of adjustment to socio-economic change implies dynamics in species diversit
Link stability estimation based on link connectivity changes in mobile ad-hoc networks
No full textDear Wang,
Re: Link Stability Estimation Based on Link Connectivity Changes in Mobile Ad-hoc Networks
I have not been able to assess if this is an author version peer-reviewed or is it an author version non peer reviewed. Could you please clarify this so I can proceed to add your paper to Spiral. Spiral digital repository only accept peer-reviewed papers.
30/11/12 author has confirmed peer reviewe
A Response to the Article “Seroprevalence of Hepatitis B and C Viruses and Their Associated Factors Among Military Personnel at Military Camps in Central Gondar, Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study” [Response to Letter]
No full textAyanaw Dinku Abebe, Muluneh Assefa, Debaka Belete, Getachew Ferede Department of Medical Microbiology, School of Biomedical and Laboratory Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Muluneh Assefa, Department of Medical Microbiology, School of Biomedical and Laboratory Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, P.O.Box 196, Gondar, Ethiopia, Tel +251-944-90-06-00, Email [email protected]; [email protected]
Cerebral atrophy in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer disease: rates and acceleration.
No full textOBJECTIVE: To quantify the regional and global cerebral atrophy rates and assess acceleration rates in healthy controls, subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and subjects with mild Alzheimer disease (AD). METHODS: Using 0-, 6-, 12-, 18-, 24-, and 36-month MRI scans of controls and subjects with MCI and AD from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) database, we calculated volume change of whole brain, hippocampus, and ventricles between all pairs of scans using the boundary shift integral. RESULTS: We found no evidence of acceleration in whole-brain atrophy rates in any group. There was evidence that hippocampal atrophy rates in MCI subjects accelerate by 0.22%/year2 on average (p = 0.037). There was evidence of acceleration in rates of ventricular enlargement in subjects with MCI (p = 0.001) and AD (p < 0.001), with rates estimated to increase by 0.27 mL/year2 (95% confidence interval 0.12, 0.43) and 0.88 mL/year2 (95% confidence interval 0.47, 1.29), respectively. A post hoc analysis suggested that the acceleration of hippocampal loss in MCI subjects was mainly driven by the MCI subjects that were observed to progress to clinical AD within 3 years of baseline, with this group showing hippocampal atrophy rate acceleration of 0.50%/year2 (p = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: The small acceleration rates suggest a long period of transition to the pathologic losses seen in clinical AD. The acceleration in hippocampal atrophy rates in MCI subjects in the ADNI seems to be driven by those MCI subjects who concurrently progressed to a clinical diagnosis of AD
Research on the effects of varying Zn2+ solution concentrations on the growth rate of terrestrial plant Cicer arietinum L. (Chickpea) measured in terms of length
No full textPollution is a big problem in today’s world. Zinc deposition in nature can cause toxic effect
for living organisms and human activity is big source of zinc output. This experiment focused
on effects zinc deposition and dealt with the research question, “How is the growth
(irreversible change in size) of Cicer arietinum L. (Chickpea) in terms of height (cm) effected
by different concentrations of Zn2+ solutions mixed different groups while the soil quality, pH,
temperature and pressure is tried to be constant for all groups?” Would zinc increase of
decrease plant growth? How would it affect photosynthesis? Scope of this experiment is
limited to terrestrial plants and the effects of zinc given in zinc sulfate form. Results may not
be valid for aquatic plants and zinc given in different forms and mixed with other materials.
The plant used in this experiment was Cicer arietinum L. (Chickpea). 10 mL of solutions
having different concentrations of zinc were added once two days to plant samples and stem
lengths were recorded daily. Five groups were tested, they were watered, 0g /10 mL, 0.25 g
/10 mL, 0.50 g /10 mL, 0.75 g /10 mL and 1.00 g /10 mL for groups 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
respectively. The samples were observed for 20 days and their growths were measured.
The results showed that there was a clear decline in growth as the zinc concentrations
increased. There was significant growth difference present between the groups. The results of
this experiment supported my hypothesis that stated there would be significant growth
difference caused by zinc deposition and lead to the conclusion that high quantities of zinc has
a toxic effect and had a negative effect on plant growth
A Fair and Secure Cluster Formation Process for Ad Hoc Networks
No full textAn efficient approach for organizing large ad hoc networks is to divide the nodes
into multiple clusters and designate, for each cluster, a clusterhead which is responsible for
holding intercluster control information. The role of a clusterhead entails rights and duties.
On the one hand, it has a dominant position in front of the others because it manages the
connectivity and has access to other node¿s sensitive information. But on the other hand, the
clusterhead role also has some associated costs. Hence, in order to prevent malicious nodes
from taking control of the group in a fraudulent way and avoid selfish attacks from suitable
nodes, the clusterhead needs to be elected in a secure way. In this paper we present a novel
solution that guarantees the clusterhead is elected in a cheat-proof manner
Energy efficiency in ad-hoc wireless networks
No full textIn ad-hoc wireless networks, nodes are typically battery-powered, therefore energy limitations are among the critical constraints in ad-hoc wireless networks' development. The approaches investigated in this thesis to achieve energy efficient performance in wireless networks
can be grouped into three main categories.
1. Each wireless network node has four energy consumption states: transmitting, receiving, listening and sleeping states. The power consumed in the listening state is less than the power consumed in the transmitting and receiving states, but significantly greater than that in the sleeping state. Energy efficiency is achieved if as many nodes as possible are put into the sleeping states.
2) Since energy is consumed for transmission nonlinearly in terms of the transmission range, transmission range adjustment is another energy saving approach. In this work, the optimal transmission range is derived and applied to achieve energy efficient performance in a number of scenerios.
3) Since energy can be saved properly arranging the communication algorithms, network topology management or network routing is the third approach which can be utilised in combination with the above two approaches. In this work, Geographical Adaptive Fidelity (GAF) algorithms, clustering algorithms and Geographic Routing (GR) algorithms are all utilised to reduce the energy consumption of wireless networks, such as Sensor Networks and Vehicular Networks.
These three approaches are used in this work to reduce the energy consumption of wireless networks. With the GAF algorithm. We derived the optimal transmission range and optimal grid size in both linear and rectangular networks and as a result we show how the network energy consumptions can be reduced and how the network lifetime can be prolonged. With Geographic Routing algorithms the author
proposed the Optimal Range Forward (ORF) algorithm and Optimal Forward with Energy Balance (OFEB) algorithm to reduce the energy consumption and to prolong the network lifetime. The results show that compared to the traditional GR algorithms (Most Forward within Radius, Nearest Forward Progress), the network lifetime is prolonged. Other approaches have also been considered to improve the networks's energy efficient operation utilising Genetic Algorithms to find the optimal size of the grid or cluster. Furthermore realistic physical layer models, Rayleigh fading and LogNormal fading, are considered in evaluating energy efficiency in a realistic network environment
The impact of mobility models on the performance of mobile Ad Hoc network routing protocol
No full textA mobility model represents nodes distribution and movement over the network. Several research works have shown that a selection of mobility model can affect the outcome of routing performance simulation in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks. Thus, a routing protocol may only be effective in a particular mobility model or scenario but performs inferiorly in another. As a result, analyses of routing protocol performance are often based on inadequate information leading to inaccurate argument and conclusion. In this paper, three different mobility models have been selected, where each of them is highly distinctive in terms of nodes movement behavior. In addition, a new measurement technique called probability of route connectivity is introduced. The technique is used to quantify the success rate of route established by a routing protocol. Extensive simulation runs are done and results are compared between each mobility model
Internet connection method for mobile ad hoc wireless networks
No full textIn recent years, wireless networks with Internet services have become more and
more popular. Technologies which integrate Internet and wireless networks have
extended traditional Internet applications into a more flexible and dynamic
environment. This research work investigates the technology that supports the
connection between a Mobile Ad Hoc Wireless Network (MANET) and the
Internet, which enables the current wireless Internet technologies to provide a
ubiquitous wireless life style.
With detailed analysis of the existing wireless Internet technologies and
MANETs regarding their features and applications, the demand and lack of
research work for an application to provide Internet connection to MANET is
indicated. The primary difficulty for MANET and Internet connection is that the
dynamic features of MANET do not suit the traditional connection methods used
in infrastructure wireless networks. This thesis introduces new concept of the
'Gateway Awareness' (GAW) to the wireless devices in the MANET. GAW is a
new routing protocol designed by the author of this thesis, at the University of
Warwick. Based on GAW, an inclusive definition for the connection method,
which supports the Internet connection and keeps the independency of routing in
MANET, is addressed. Unlike other research work, this method supports the
MANET and Internet communication in both directions. Furthermore, it explores
possible ways of using the Internet as an extension for wireless communications.
The GAW routing method is developed from destination sequenced distance
vector (DSDV) routing protocol. However, it defines a layer of wireless nodes
(known as GAWNs) with exclusive functions for the Internet connection task.
The layer of GAWNs brings a new set of route update and route selection
method. Simulations show that the GAW routing method provides quality
Internet connection performance in different scenarios compared with other
methods. In particular, the connection is completed with minimum effect on the
independent MANET while the routing efficiency and accuracy is guaranteed
Funeral March to the Memory of Cornelius Vanderbilt.
No full textda capo with trio and codapiano[Cornelius Vanderbilt].9273Johns Hopkins University, Levy Sheet Music Collection, Box
057, Item 126aComposed by Ad. Meyer.Ferd. Mayer, Gen'l Lith's, 96 & 98 Fulton St. N.Y
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