IMPACT : International Journal of Research in Applied, Natural and Social Sciences

1-10

Authors: Mustafa Murtaza, MN. Malehah, Shah M. Jawad & Shafi Saima

Humans and animals intimately sharing same environments will inevitably be exposed to each other’s normal flora. Veterinarians have higher rates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) nasal carriage compared to the general population and many human infections have been attributed to close animal contacts. Researchers in Europe favor the view that livestock particularly pigs and horses may represent an important reservoir for MRSA. In studies from three continents, MRSA has been isolated from retail meat products from milk and meat samples and from meat industry workers. Some studies have not found any colonization among surveyed pets, for example, among 200 healthy dogs in Europe. One outbreak of MRSA in a family was linked to pet cat. The clearance of ST 80 MRSA colonization in family member with furunculosis did not occur until systemic antimicrobial drug therapy was administered to the cat, which was colonized with same strain. More research is needed to assess the importance of pets as a reservoir of MRSA in the home and to what degree of S.aureus is a Zoonosis.

17-24

Authors: S. R. Saranya Kumar

A town is a place for every citizen to work and reside-in. Of all the amenities, good hygiene of its inhabitants is most essential for the hygiene development of any town. The hygiene environment of the town is not satisfactory in pre-1917 period. Council tried its best to maintain the hygiene environment. Maternity and Child Welfare Centres played vital role in meeting the needs of the town. It took firm action in dealing with epidemics. Compulsory vaccination, taking firm steps in dealing with Food Adulteration are some of the effective step taken by the municipality. I made an effort to study the various aspects of Hygiene Management council in this paper. I consulted Municipal rewards. Government letters, Government orders, Revenue Disposals Council Resolutions in addition to published works on madras presidency.

1-14

Authors: Hassiba Stambouli - Meziane & Mohamed Bouazza

This study is devoted to the analysis of the vegetation of coastal dunes in the region of Tlemcen. Results were obtained on these in general, including the biological and ecological. These results allowed us to individualize different phytosociological classes: The Cakiletea maritimae and Ammophiletea for cash at the beach; the Thero Brachypodietea and Quercetea ilicis in the sand dune and fixed dunes. Class Cakiletea maritimae and Ammophiletea grouped species of embryonic dunes. Thero Brachypodietea class includes species of sand dune. The class of Quercetea ilicis includes species of the dunes most advanced and most determined. Using phytosociological data and plant dynamics, we understand the evolution of the vegetation and its diversity.

27-34

Authors: Amitava Ghosh, Arpita Sharma & S. K. Das

Central and State Governments have dedicated television programmes based on agriculture, animal husbandry and fisheries which are telecast via public (Krishidarshan) and private television channels like ETV. Fisheries is a sunrise sector but there are not many studies on fisheries based television programmes. Accordingly, a study was carried out to assess viewers’ preference and develop a model for effective fisheries based television programmes. Study was undertaken in West Bengal as it has highest fish production. Viewers were asked to rank their preference of fisheries based television programmes. Aquaculture based topics had a Rank based Quotient (RBQ) value of 80.56 followed by fish processing (71.67) and fish health management (53.89). Fisheries scheme scored least (27.36). Hypothesis that viewers were applying same standard in ranking topics was accepted as value of Kendall’s Coefficient of Concordance (W) was 0.63. As X2 ≥ 118.8 with df = 9 has probability of occurrence under Ho of p < 0.001 it could be concluded that agreement among viewers is higher than it would be by chance. Based on the findings 4 P’s model for effective fisheries based television programmes consisting of presentation, programme content, programme telecast timing and policy issues was developed.

43-50

Authors: Frangis Ghassemi & Hossein Kargar Jahromi

Bats make up a large proportion of mammalian diversity in Iran. Highest ranking sites for Rousettus aegyptiacus presence are located in Jahrom in southwest of Iran. Dominant vegetation in this region is Palm, Jujube, Figure, and Citrus. Ten specimens were captured using mist-net (4 cm mesh). Species were identified according to their morphological characters, and then autopsied and their digestive systems were observed for determination of diet types. Tongues were fixed in 10% formaldehyde, samples were taken from tip, middle and hind tongue and placed in tissue processor and dehydrated in graded series of ethanol (70%-100%), then impregnated with paraffin and serial Sections (4μ thickness) were prepared. sections were subjected to Haematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) stains and mounted on binocular microscope and micrographs were taken with digital camera. Presence of seeds, pieces of leaf and fruit in their gut and feces showed their frugivory diet type. Elongated and movable tongue and tine keratinized epithelium especially on ventral surface of tongue, numerous and different types (4 types) of papilla on the dorsal surface of tongue in different locations and orientation were seen in this species. Hyaline cartilage was observed in tip of tongue.

1-8

Authors: Jokthan G. E

A study was conducted to determine the effect of inclusion of Maize offal, Wheat offal, Rice offal and Sorghum panicle as energy sources in the fattening diet of cattle. Twenty White Fulani bulls of average weight of 225kg were used. A Completely Randomizes Design was used and five bulls were allotted to treatment. The result showed that bulls on the Wheat offal and Maize offal treatments had significantly (p<.05) higher intake of the concentrate while the intake of the basal Bracharia hay was similar across all treatments. Total feed intake was however significantly (p<0.05) higher in bulls fed the Wheat offal based diet. Average daily Weight Gain has significantly (p<0.05) high in the Wheat based bulls. It was concluded that Smallholder cattle farmers can adopt the use of the Maize offal and wheat offal based diets in fattening rations.

15-22

Authors: Monoara Begum & Md. Harunor Rashid Khan

Water soluble Na content in saline soils were increased strikingly with the increment of salinity levels (6, 12 dS m-1) and also with time, which ranged from 0.30 to 3.87 C mol kg-1 and 0.59 to 3.82 C mol kg-1 in Sonagazi and Badarkhali saline soils at maturity stage, respectively. Gypsum and rice-hull alone or in combinations were observed to be effective in decreasing Na even at the higher salinity levels. Water soluble K, Ca and Mg were found to be increased with the treatments. In Sonagazi soil Na content 43.40%, K 42%, Ca 33.33% and Mg 30.37% decreased with the combined application of gypsum 300 kg ha-1 and rice-hull 8 t ha-1 as compared with controlled (EC0G0H0). Same as in Badarkhali saline soil Na content 44.34% and Ca content 23.40% decreased with the combined application of gypsum 300 kg ha-1 and rice-hull 8 t ha-1, but K content 45.63% decreased with the application of gypsum 300 kg ha-1 alone, whereas Mg content 11.76% decreased with the combined application of gypsum 300 kg ha-1 and rice-hull 4 t ha-1 as compared with controlled (EC0G0H0) at maturity stage of wheat. In both saline soils organic matter content increased with the increased salinity levels. Organic matter content 48.78% and 48.68% increased in Sonagazi and Badarkhali saline soil respectively with the combined application of gypsum 300 kg ha-1 and rice-hull 8 t ha-1.

27-32

Authors: Solomon. Z. Wuyep, Ambrose A. Zemba & C. J. Jahknwa

This study investigates the effect of precipitation effectiveness on the yield of Irish potato in Jos-Plateau, Nigeria. Rainfall data for 20 years (1989–2008) was collected from National Root Crop Research Institute (NRCRI), Vom, Plateau state. Precipitation effectiveness indices including dry spell or drought, onset dates of rains, and hydrologic ratio were derived from and used together with total annual rainfall data to assess their effects on yields of Irish potato. The indices were subjected to various descriptive and inferential statistical techniques, including correlation and regression analysis. While the correlation analysis was employed to determine the degree of relationship between yields and the indices, the regression technique was adopted to identify the factors that are critical in influencing yields. Results reveal that while rainfall total correlates positively with yields, dry spell, onset dates of rains and hydrologic ratio exhibit negative correlation with yields. The correlation between onset dates of rains and yields was found to be statistically significant at 5% while others are insignificant. Step-wise regression analysis identifies onset dates of rains as the most critical factor affecting Irish potato in the area. The coefficient of determination of r2=0.219 shows that the index contributes about 22% to variations in the yields of Irish potato on the Plateau. It was recommended that further studies should consider combine effects of climate and other factors like farming practices, soil factors and cultural practices of the farmers so as to generate comprehensive information for better agricultural planning and development in the area.

1-8

Authors: Sudipta Kumar Sarkar, Purna Chandra Barman & Malay Kumar Das

We report the measurements of birefringence as a function of temperature of a homologous series of alkyl cyanobiphenyls (nCB) liquid crystalline compounds by means of high resolution optical transmission method. The temperature dependence of the birefringence (n) were determined from the transmitted intensity data for wavelength = 532nm. From the birefringence data, orientational order parameters () were determined using three parameter Haller’s extrapolation technique. The order parameter critical exponents  obtained in this way have values <0.2, which do not match any of the predicted theoretical values. However, the critical exponent () obtained from Haller’s extrapolation technique can be improved by using four-parameter fitting procedure, which yielded a higher value of consistent with the mean-field theory for a weakly first order transition. Moreover, we have fitted our experimental order parameter values with those calculated from the Maier-Saupe theory for the nematic and McMillan’s theory for the Sm A phase. 

15-22

Authors: K. L. Palanisamy, V. Devabharathi & N. Meenakshi Sundaram

The significance of nanoparticles for various applications is often assessed by their narrow size distribution, suitable magnetic saturation, better biocompatibility and low toxicity effects. In this work superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) were synthesized via a co-precipitation technique using ferrous salts with a Fe3+/Fe2+. Carrier oils such as olive oil, and flaxseed oil have been used as the coating material, owing to their benefits to the environment. This paper is concerned with the removing a heavy metal, copper, nickel and chromium, from its aqueous solution by carrier oils mediated iron oxide nanoparticles filtration. The prepared nanoparticles were studied in terms of size, morphology, magnetic behavior, structure, surface area including surface chemical structure and charges using different techniques such as XRD, FTIR and TEM.

1-8

Authors: A. K. M Eamin Ali Akanda & Md. Armanul Haque

Through a questionnaire based survey, newspaper reading habits of the graduate students of Social Science faculty of University of Rajshahi in Bangladesh has been studied.The study demonstrates that majority of the graduate students read Bengali and English newspapers. Moreover, the research reveals that international section of the newspaper is the mostly preferred section. This paper also highlights that a majority portion of respondents prefer hall library to read printed newspaper while a large number of them prefer computer center of the university central library to read online newspapers. The study also highlights the barriers and attempts to provide the suggestions to overcome the hurdles of reading both printed and online newspapers.

19-28

Authors: Nivedita Sharma, Shweta Handa & Anupama Gupta

Himachal Pradesh, a state with diverse culture and tradition is located between 30o22'40'' north latitudes and 75o45'55'' to 79o04'20'' east longitude. The state revealed a wide range of uniqueness and variability in traditional fermented foods made of cereal, pulses and milk. Most of these items are prepared by boiling, smoking, roasting, frying and fermentation. These food items are explored for their biochemical analysis and microbial profile and main nutritional aspects. Biochemical analysis of these food items showed an acidic nature with pH in the range of 3.25-4.20. Total soluble solids were in the range of 8oB-16oB. Microbial examination of these food items, their morphological and biochemical identification and 16S rRNA of some of important microorganisms revealed the presence of Lactobacillus, Bacillus and yeast species predominantly.

37-48

Authors: Muhammad Shakil, Tahir Khan, Hafiz Abdul Wahab & Saira Bhatti

In this paper, approximated solutions for some non linear problems are calculated by the Adomian Decomposition Method (ADM) and Homotopy Perturbation Method (HPM) and then the results are compared. The fact that the Homotopy Perturbation Method (HPM) solves nonlinear problems without using Adomian’s polynomials is a clear advantage of this technique over the Adomian Decomposition Method (ADM).

49-58

Authors: K. Kalimuthu & R. Prabakaran

Phytochemical constituents are responsible for medicinal activity of plant species. Hence in the present study preliminary phytochemical screening of Ceropegia pusilla a medicinal plant was carried out. Qualitative phytochemical analysis of these plants confirm the presence of various secondary metabolites like saponins, triterpenoids, steroids, tannins, lignins, alkaloids, glycosides, flavonoids and phenols. The results suggest that the phytochemical properties for curing various ailments and possess potential anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and antioxidant and leads to the isolation of new and novel compounds. GC-MS analysis showed the existence of various compounds with different chemical structures. The presence of various bioactive compounds confirms the application of Ceropegia pusilla for various ailments by traditional practitioners. However, isolation of individual phytochemical constituents may proceed to find a novel drug.

63-74

Authors: Sajib Chakrabortty & Zakaria Ahmed

The antimicrobial activity of Ayurvedic medicine (Draksharishta, Kanakasava, Jierbadyarishta) and Unani medicine (Alvasin and Carmina syrup) against different microbes (Staphylococcus sp., Escherichia coli, Klebsiella sp., Salmonella typhi, Bacillus subtilis, Proteus sp., Enterococcus sp., Acinetobacter sp.) were investigated using the agar well method. Ayurvedic medicine were showed more effective antimicrobial activity than unani medicine. In case of Ayurvedic, Jierbadyarishta showed 15mm zone of inhibition against Proteus sp., Enterococcus sp., Acinetobacter sp., Staphylococcus sp., Klebsiella sp. and 10mm zone of inhibition was observed against Salmonella typhi, Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli. On the other hand, Draksharishta showed 15mm zone of inhibition against Staphylococcus sp., Klebsiella sp., Salmonella typhi, Bacillus subtilis, Enterococcus sp., Acinetobacter sp. whereas 17.5mm and 10mm zone of inhibition were found against Proteus sp., and Escherichia coli respectively. Kanakasava showed 17.5 mm zone of inhibition against Proteus sp., Enterococcus sp. In all the cases, commercial antibiotic showed less antimicrobial activity than Ayurvedic medicine against all the test organisms. All of Ayurvedic medicine showed the MIC values ranged from 1-100 µl/ml while the MBC values ranged from 0.1-10 µl/ml. This study is an indication that the test Ayurvedic medicine is more challengeable than the test Unani medicine.

87-90

Authors: Ashma Gupta, Parvinder Kumar, Subash Gupta & Abhay Singh Yadav

The present study is an account of the karyotypic analysis carried out in a three and half year old male child born to a young, healthy, non-consanguineous couple. Clinically the child had undescended testes (Cryptorchidism) with empty scrotal sac. It was an uneventful, full term delivery with no family history of congenital anomalies. Besides cryptorchidism, the child had developmental delay as well as mental retardation. Chromosome study was carried out to rule out the chromosomal cause, if any in the child having gross phenotypic anomalies. The karyotype of the child was found to be 49, XXXYY.

97-104

Authors: Sapna Ratan Shah

This mathematical model has been presented to study the effect of a stenosis shape on arterial blood flow characteristics with the representation of blood by Bingham plastic fluid model. The governing equations of proposed model are solved and closed form expressions for the blood flow characteristics, namely dimensionless resistance to flow, flow rate and wall shear stress are derived. It has been found that the wall shear stress and resistance to flow increase with increasing tube radius for constant value of the stenosis height, while decreases as stenosis shape parameter increases.

111-124

Authors: Medhi Pallabi & Choudhury Amit

Reneging involves the phenomenon of customers joining a queuing system but departing without completely receiving service. There are situations where customers begin receiving service but disengage before service completion. Emergency patients attended by critical care professionals are of such type. This paper deals with the analysis of Markovian finite buffer queuing system without any waiting space under the assumption that customers may disengage i.e. renege before the completion of service. Explicit results for this model are presented. A few fresh performance measures have been suggested. A numerical example with design implications rounds up the paper.

133-140

Authors: T. M. Ramanappa, K. Chandrashekara & D. Nuthan

Chickpea is the premier pulse crop of India grown on about 8.25 million ha. area with a production of 7.05 million tones, which accounts for 75% of the world chickpea production. In Karnataka, the area under chickpea is around 6.50 lakh ha. with a production of 3.1 lakh tonnes at an average productivity of 620kg/ha. However, the overall production and productivity of the country is much lower than the other countries. The success of chickpea improvement programme largely depends on the wealth of the genetic resources and are the most valuable and essential basic raw material to meet the current and future needs in chickpea crop improvement programme. The present investigation consisted of one hundred and seventy nine chickpea genotypes were evaluated for genetic variability in qualitative and quantitative traits of economic importance in simple lattice design with two replications. Analysis of data revealed that the genotypes exhibited highly significant differences for days to 50 % flowering, plant height (cm), number of primary branches, number of pods per plant, days to maturity, 100 seed weight (g), harvest index and grain yield per plant(g). A considerable variation between genotypes for qualitative traits such as early plant vigour, growth habit, seed colour, seed shape and testa texture was also recorded. The grain yield showed highly significant positive association with number of pods per plant, harvest index, number of primary branches, plant height, and number of seeds per pod at phenotypic level. However, days to maturity was negatively correlated with grain yield. Genetic variability for plant height, number of primary branches, number of pods per plant and 100 seed weight respectively ranged from 23.2–49.6 cm, 1.8–5.6, 12.4–66.4 and 9.0–30.0. Whereas grain yield per plant varied from 1.7–30.0g, and harvest index ranged from 0.02–0.46 while the variation for days to flowering was in the range of 44.0–76.0 and 89.0–114.0 for days to maturity. The variation revealed in this study would be exploited in breeding programs aimed at development of high yielding genotypes.