72 research outputs found

    Poverty Dynamics of Female-headed Households in Pakistan: Evidence from PIHS 2000-01 and PSLM 2004-05

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    The paper attempts to empirically test a naïve version of what is rather stylistically termed as “feminisation of poverty”, using the sub-sample of female -headed households (FHHs) from two household surveys in Pakistan. Although, the database is constrained by quality factors and small sample size, the following findings add to the richness of current research in this area: (a) The numerical incidence of poverty among households headed by females is less than that for all households in the country, at the national, urban and rural level for both the years. This can be traced to the finding that more than 70 percent of households headed by females receive remittances, (b) The incidence of poverty among FHHs during the period 2000-01 to 2004-05 did not decline as fast as it did for mixed households, nationwide. In urban areas, it did not decline at all, (c) Among the determinants of poverty of FHHs, illiteracy, dependency and rural residence exacerbate poverty, while remittances domestic and/ or foreign reduce poverty, (d) The dynamics of incidence of poverty among FHHs during the period indicated that Illiteracy as the factor exacerbating poverty became less important in 2004-05. Moreover, residence in rural areas was also a weaker factor in determining the incidence of poverty. By far the most notable contribution in reducing the incidence of poverty was self-employment in agriculture in 2004-05.

    Carbon-based sorbets for heavy metal removal from aqueous solution, discrepancies, and future prospects: a state-of-the-art review

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    Heavy metal contamination is severely affecting human health and environment. These metals are known to exist naturally but the anthropogenic activities have contributed towards increasing their concentrations beyond permissible limits, which in turn have proved to be hazardous for the human health as well as environment. Various industries release the untreated wastewater containing heavy metals into the open streams, thereby creating a contaminated source affecting negatively on consumers. In order to deal with this, several materials have been researched and proposed as adsorbents to remove these contaminants. Amongst them are carbon-based materials, that have shown to be effective, efficient, and environment-friendly option for heavy metal adsorption from aqueous solutions. The present review thoroughly summarizes the recent developments of carbon-based materials, specifically in terms of their application in heavy metal removal from aqueous solutions. Moreover, it elaborates the adsorption mechanism and compares it with other technologies available for metallic removal. Similarly, various parameters affecting the adsorption using carbon-based materials and their recent regenerative strategies are presented. In the end, numerous shortcomings and discrepancies associated with carbon-based materials are given along with their future prospects that need to be addressed in the upcoming research.Fil: Akhter, Faheem. No especifíca;Fil: Miranda Zoppas, Fernanda. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Investigaciones en Catálisis y Petroquímica "Ing. José Miguel Parera". Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Investigaciones en Catálisis y Petroquímica "Ing. José Miguel Parera"; ArgentinaFil: Soomro, Mehran. Mehran University Of Engineering & Technology; PakistánFil: Sattar Jatoi, Abdul. Dawood University Of Engineering & Technology; PakistánFil: Noureen, Fozia. No especifíca;Fil: Naeem Akhtar, Muhammad. Beijing Institute Of Technology,; ChinaFil: Mehreen, Faiza. Mehran University Of Engineering & Technology; Pakistá

    Methods of synthesis of hydrogels … A review

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    AbstractHydrogels are being investigated recently for the bioactive molecules (in particular pharmaceutical proteins) controlled release, such as matrices, and for the living cells encapsulation. Biodegradable nature of hydrogels has created much interest for drug delivery systems. The original three-dimensional structure disintegrates into nontoxic substances to ascertain an excellent biocompatibility of the gel. Chemical cross-linking is the highly resourceful method for the formation of hydrogels having an excellent mechanical strength. Cross-linkers used in hydrogel preparation should be extracted from the hydrogels before use due to their reported toxicity. Physically cross-linked methods for preparation of hydrogel are the alternate solution of cross-linker toxicity

    Amplicon-based RNA interference targeting V2 gene of cotton leaf curl kokhran virus- burewala strain can provide resistance in transgenic cotton plants

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    The conserved coat or V2 gene of begomoviruses is responsible for viral movement in the plant cells. RNAi technology was used to silence V2 gene for resistance against these viruses in transgenic plants. The transformation of the RNAi-based gene construct targeting V2 gene of CLCuKoV-Bur, cloned under 35S promoter, was done in two elite cotton varieties MNH-786 and VH- 289 using shoot apex cut method of gene transformation. The transformation efficiency was found to be 3.75 and 2.88 % in MNH-786 and VH-289, respectively. Confirmation of successful transformation was done through PCR in T0, T1, and T2 generations using gene-specific primers. Transgenic cotton plants were categorized on the basis of the virus disease index in T1 generation. Copy number and transgene location were observed using FISH and karyotyping in T2 generation which confirmed random integration of V2 RNAi amplicon at chromosome 6 and 16. Real-time quantitative PCR analyses of promising transgenic lines showed low virus titer compared to wild-type control plants upon challenging them with viruliferous whiteflies in a contained environment. From the results, it was concluded that amplicon V2 RNAi construct was able to limit virus replication and can be used to control CLCuV in the field

    Validering av Machine Learning and Visualization bygger statisk kod analysteknik

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    Software security has always been an afterthought in software development which results into insecure software. Companies rely on penetration testing for detecting security vulnerabilities in their software. However, incorporating security at early stage of development reduces cost and overhead. Static code analysis can be applied at implementation phase of software development life cycle. Applying machine learning and visualization for static code analysis is a novel idea. Technique can learn patterns by normalized compression distance NCD and classify source code into correct or faulty usage on the basis of training instances. Visualization also helps to classify code fragments according to their associated colors. A prototype was developed to implement this technique called Code Distance Visualizer CDV. In order test the efficiency of this technique empirical validation is required. In this research we conduct series of experiments to test its efficiency. We use real life open source software as our test subjects. We also collected bugs from their corresponding bug reporting repositories as well as faulty and correct version of source code. We train CDV by marking correct and faulty version of code fragments. On the basis of these trainings CDV classifies other code fragments as correct or faulty. We measured its fault detection ratio, false negative and false positive ratio. The outcome shows that this technique is efficient in defect detection and has low number of false alarms.Software trygghet har alltid varit en i efterhand inom mjukvaruutveckling som leder till osäker mjukvara. Företagen är beroende av penetrationstester för att upptäcka säkerhetsproblem i deras programvara. Att införliva säkerheten vid tidigt utvecklingsskede minskar kostnaderna och overhead. Statisk kod analys kan tillämpas vid genomförandet av mjukvaruutveckling livscykel. Tillämpa maskininlärning och visualisering för statisk kod är en ny idé. Teknik kan lära mönster av normaliserade kompressionständning avstånd NCD och klassificera källkoden till rätta eller felaktig användning på grundval av utbildning fall. Visualisering bidrar också till att klassificera code fragment utifrån deras associerade färger. En prototyp har utvecklats för att genomföra denna teknik som kallas Code Avstånd VISUALISERARE CDV. För att testa effektiviteten hos denna teknik empirisk validering krävs. I denna forskning vi bedriver serie experiment för att testa dess effektivitet. Vi använder verkliga livet öppen källkod som vår test ämnen. Vi har också samlats in fel från deras motsvarande felrapportering förråd samt fel och rätt version av källkoden. Vi utbildar CDV genom att markera rätt och fel version av koden fragment. På grundval av dessa träningar CDV klassificerar andra nummer fragment som korrekta eller felaktiga. Vi mätt sina fel upptäckt förhållandet falska negativa och falska positiva förhållandet. Resultatet visar att den här tekniken är effektiv i fel upptäckt och har låga antalet [email protected] +4676231610

    Improving Gander Reproductive Efficacy in the Context of Globally Sustainable Goose Production

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    The goose is a popular poultry species, and in the past two decades the goose industry has become highly profitable across the globe. Ganders low reproductive performance remains a barrier to achieving high fertility and hatchability in subsequent flocks. To address the global demand for cheaper animal protein, various methodologies for improving avian (re)production should be explored. A large amount of literature is available on reproduction traits and techniques for commercial chicken breeder flocks, while research on improved reproduction in ganders has been carried out to a lesser extent. The present review aims to provide a comprehensive literature overview focusing on recent advancements/techniques used in improving gander reproductive efficacy in the context of ensuring a globally sustainable goose industry

    Biochemical properties of lactic acid bacteria for efficient silage production: an update

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    Ensiling, a microbial-driven process employed for preserving fresh forage in both bio-refineries and animal production, triggers significant biochemical transformations. These changes have spurred the exploration of novel silage additives, with a particular emphasis on the potential of microbial strains that exhibit superior biopreservation capabilities. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) species have gained widespread recognition for their diverse applications as additives in the fermentation of crops and forage biomasses during ensiling. Nonetheless, recent variations in silage quality might be attributed to a lack of comprehensive information on the gene expression and molecular mechanisms of the microbiota involved in silage production. Contemporary research efforts have been directed toward uncovering nutrient-rich animal feed solutions through enhanced LAB inoculants. This review aims to shed light on the role of LAB inoculants in silage production and the modern biotechnological methods, including metabolomics, proteomics, metagenomics, genomics, transcriptomics, and genetic manipulation. These powerful tools are instrumental in the identification, enhancement, and development of high-performance LAB strains. Additionally, the review outlines emerging trends and prospective developments in LAB advancement for the enhancement of silage, which holds significant promise for breakthroughs in sustainable agriculture and improved animal feed production

    A Universal Mathematical Methodology in Characterization of Materials for Tailored Design of Porous Surfaces

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    Understanding adsorption phenomena is essential to optimize and customize the energy transformation in numerous industrial and environmental processes. The complex and heterogeneous structure of the adsorbent surface and the distinct interaction of adsorbent-adsorbate pairs are attributed to the diverse response of adsorption phenomena, measured by the state diagrams of adsorption uptake known as adsorption isotherms. To understand various forms of adsorption isotherms, the surface characteristics of the adsorbent surface with the heterogeneity of adsorption energy sites must be analyzed so that they can be modified for the tailored response of the material. Conventionally, such material synthesis is based on chemical recipes or post-treatment. However, if the adsorbent's surface characteristics and heterogeneity are known, then a directed change in the material structure can be planned for the desired results in the adsorption processes. In this paper, a theoretical and mathematical methodology is discussed to analyze the structure of various adsorbents in terms of the distribution of their adsorption energy sites. The change in their surface is then analyzed, which results in the tailored or customized response of the material

    A zero liquid discharge system integrating multi-effect distillation and evaporative crystallization for desalination brine treatment

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    With growing global desalination capacity, brine from desalination plants has become an environmental threat to the ecosystems. One sustainable method for brine treatment is to develop zero liquid discharge systems that completely convert seawater into freshwater and salts. This paper presents a zero liquid discharge system, which consists of multi-effect distillation and evaporative crystallization, to treat desalination brine with a salinity of 70 g/kg. A thermodynamic analysis is firstly conducted for the proposed system. The specific heat consumption, specific heat transfer area, and Second-law efficiency are found to be 600–1100 kJ/kg, 110–340 m2/(kg/s), and 10–17%, respectively. The heat consumption can be effectively reduced by increasing the number of MED stages, while the specific heat transfer area decreases significantly with higher heat source temperatures. Based on the thermodynamic performance, a techno-economic analysis is conducted for the proposed system, and the specific cost is calculated to be $4.17/m3. Cost reduction can be achieved via employing cost-effective heat sources, reducing heat consumption, and scaling up the system. By selling the freshwater and salt crystals, the system will be more competitive than other existing brine treatment methods
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