The inflow caused by tourists in peak seasons exerts an uncontrollable pressure on the existing infrastructure. The Ayubia National Park in Pakistan faces traffic delays and capacity restraints on the connecting roads...The inflow caused by tourists in peak seasons exerts an uncontrollable pressure on the existing infrastructure. The Ayubia National Park in Pakistan faces traffic delays and capacity restraints on the connecting roads in peak season. The study focuses on the formulation of critical strategies by deploying amendments in the transport network. The methodology contains three parts</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">:</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> 1) a questionnaire was designed to inquire about several variables from the visitors</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">;</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">2) the</span><span style="font-family:""> </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">second part was traffic count data collection and analysis. Based on the response collected, the impact of multiple strategies on the network was analyzed using TransCad</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">;3) </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">in the third part</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">, </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">the results obtained were shared with experts to gain their valuable opinions. It was observed that the time of the day based access restriction to heavy vehicles could lead to dropping the Volume to capacity ratio from 1.7 to 1.2. However, the experts were also of the view that network changes can enhance and improve the visitors’ experience.展开更多
Precipitation, a natural feature of weather systems in the Earth, is vitally important for the environment of any region. Under global climate change condition, the characteristics of precipitation have changed as a c...Precipitation, a natural feature of weather systems in the Earth, is vitally important for the environment of any region. Under global climate change condition, the characteristics of precipitation have changed as a consequence of enhanced global hydrological cycle. The source region of the Yellow River（SRYR）, locating within the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, is sensitive to the global climate change due to its complex orography and fragile ecosystem. To understand the precipitation characteristics and its impacts on the environment in the region, we studied the characteristics of rainy days and precipitation amount of different precipitation classes, such as light（0–5 and 5–10 mm）, moderate（10–15, 15–20 and 20–25 mm） and heavy（≥25 mm） rains by analyzing the precipitation data of typical meteorological stations in the SRYR during the period 1961–2014, as well as the trends of persistent rainfall events and drought events. Results showed that annual average precipitation in this area had a non-significant（P〉0.05） increasing trend, and 82.5% of the precipitation occurred from May to September. Rainy days of the 0–5 mm precipitation class significantly decreased, whereas the rainy days of 5–10, 10–15, and 20–25 mm precipitation classes increased and that of ≥25 mm precipitation class decreased insignificantly. The persistent rainfall events of 1-or 2-day and more than 2-day showed an increasing trend, with the 1-or 2-day events being more frequent. Meanwhile, the number of short drought periods（≤10 days） increased while long drought periods（〉10 days） decreased. Since the 0–5 mm precipitation class had a huge impact on the grasslands productivity; the 5–10, 10–15, and 20–25 mm precipitation classes had positive effects on vegetation which rely on the deep soil water through moving nutrients and water into the root zone of these vegetation or through the plant-microbe interactions; the ≥25 mm precipitation class contributed to the floods; and more persistent rainfall events and fewer long drought events inferred positive effects on agriculture. Thus, these results indicate grassland degradation, less risk of floods, and the upgrading impact of climate change on agriculture. This study may provide scientific knowledge for policymakers to sustain the eco-environmental resources in the SYSR.展开更多
There are serious concerns of rise in temperatures over snowy and glacierized Himalayan region that may eventually affect future river flows of Indus river system.It is therefore necessary to predict snow and glacier ...There are serious concerns of rise in temperatures over snowy and glacierized Himalayan region that may eventually affect future river flows of Indus river system.It is therefore necessary to predict snow and glacier melt runoff to manage future water resource of Upper Indus Basin(UIB).The snowmelt runoff model(SRM)coupled with MODIS remote sensing data was employed in this study to predict daily discharges of Gilgit River in the Karakoram Range.The SRM was calibrated successfully and then simulation was made over four years i.e.2007,2008,2009 and 2010 achieving coefficient of model efficiency of 0.96,0.86,0.9 and 0.94 respectively.The scenarios of precipitation and mean temperature developed from regional climate model PRECIS were used in SRM model to predict future flows of Gilgit River.The increase of 3 C in mean annual temperature by the end of 21 th century may result in increase of 35-40%in Gilgit River flows.The expected increase in the surface runoff from the snow and glacier melt demands better water conservation and management for irrigation and hydel-power generation in the Indus basin in future.展开更多
Phosphorus(P)is a critical nutrient that plays an essential role in improving soil fertility for optimum plant growth and productivity.It is one of the most deficient macro-nutrients in agricultural soils after nitrog...Phosphorus(P)is a critical nutrient that plays an essential role in improving soil fertility for optimum plant growth and productivity.It is one of the most deficient macro-nutrients in agricultural soils after nitrogen and is considered inadequate for plant growth and production.To P availability in soils,the farmers are applying huge amounts of synthetic P fertilizers that adversely affect the wider environment,groundwater,soil fertility and microbial population.Many beneficial microbes are known to release and supply soluble P for improving growth and yield of a variety of plants in a sustainable manner in P deficient soils.Thus,inoculation of these microbes,including arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi(AMF)and phosphate solubilizing bacteria(PSB)to soil to enhance crop production without harming the environment,is an alternative approach to chemical fertilizers.The combined role of AMF and PSB in P solubilization is not well understood and the application and mode of action of these microbial groups are often naive due to variation in the environment.Therefore,the current review article would develop a better understanding of the interactive role and mechanisms of AMF and PSB in improving P availability from both organic and inorganic sources in a sustainable crop production system.Finally,the current review would loop out further avenues for researchers interested to commercially produce effective AMF and PSB-based biofertilizers for sustainable management of phosphorus over a wide range of agricultural crops worldwide.展开更多
This paper presents an assessment of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool(SWAT) on a glaciated(Qugaqie) and a non-glaciated(Niyaqu) subbasin of the Nam Co Lake. The Nam Co Lake is located in the southern Tibetan Plateau...This paper presents an assessment of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool(SWAT) on a glaciated(Qugaqie) and a non-glaciated(Niyaqu) subbasin of the Nam Co Lake. The Nam Co Lake is located in the southern Tibetan Plateau, two subbasins having catchment areas of 59 km^2 and 388 km^2, respectively. The scores of examined evaluation indices(i.e., R^2, NSE, and PBIAS) established that the performance of the SWAT model was better on the monthly scale compared to the daily scale. The respective monthly values of R^2, NSE, and PBIAS were 0.94, 0.97, and 0.50 for the calibration period while 0.92, 0.88, and -8.80 for the validation period. Glacier melt contribution in the study domain was simulated by using the SWAT model in conjunction with the Degree Day Melt(DDM) approach. The conjunction of DDM with the SWAT Model ensued improved results during both calibration(R^2=0.96, NSE=0.95, and PBIAS=-13.49) and validation (R^2=0.97, NSE=0.96, and PBIAS=-2.87) periods on the monthly time scale. Average contribution(in percentage) of water balance components to the total streamflow of Niyaqu and Qugaqie subbasins was evaluated. We found that the major portion(99.45%) of the streamflow in the Niyaqu subbasin was generated by snowmelt or rainfall surface runoff(SURF_Q), followed by groundwater(GW_Q, 0.47%), and lateral(LAT_Q, 0.06%) flows. Conversely, in the Qugaqie subbasin, major contributor to the streamflow(79.63%) was glacier melt(GLC_Q), followed by SURF_Q(20.14%), GW_Q(0.13%), and LAT_Q(0.089%). The contribution of GLC_Q was the highest(86.79%) in July and lowest(69.95%) in September. This study concludes that the performance of the SWAT model in glaciated catchment is weak without considering glacier component in modeling; however, it performs reasonably well in non-glaciated catchment. Furthermore, the temperature index approach with elevation bands is viable in those catchments where streamflows are driven by snowmelt. Therefore, it is recommended to use the SWAT Model in conjunction with DDM or energy base model to simulate the glacier melt contribution to the total streamflow. This study might be helpful in quantification and better management of water resources in data scarce glaciated regions.展开更多
A pot experiment was conducted to determine the potential of AM fungi in phytoremediation of heavy metals and its effect on yield of wheat crop. The experiment was conducted in CR Design with four replications during ...A pot experiment was conducted to determine the potential of AM fungi in phytoremediation of heavy metals and its effect on yield of wheat crop. The experiment was conducted in CR Design with four replications during rabi 2012-13. Data showed no increase in grain and shoot yields by AMF inoculation with Zn, Cu, Fe, Mn at different levels but increased root yield, plant height, spike length and hundred grains weight of wheat as compared with uninoculated crop. Post-harvest soil Zn, Cu, Fe and Mn contents of 2, 4.4, 2.8 and 2.9 mg·kg-1, respectively were maximum in uninoculated plants treated with Zn, Cu, Fe, Mn at triple of recommended level. No increases in plant P, N, Zn, Cu, Fe and Mn uptakes were observed by the inoculation of AMF when compared with uninoculated crop. Maximum plant Zn, Cu, Fe and Mn uptakes of 160.5, 206, 1914.6 and 2653 g·ha-1, respectively were recorded in uninoculated plants applied with Zn, Cu, Fe, Mn at triple of recommended levels. Wheat roots infection intensity by AMF increased with higher AMF soil spores density. Results suggest the potential of phytoremediation of contaminated soil to be improved by the inoculation of crops with AMF.展开更多
Mesoscale bubbles exist inherently in bubbling fluidized beds and hence should be considered in the constitutive modeling of the drag force.The energy minimization multiscale bubbling(EMMS/bubbling)drag model takes th...Mesoscale bubbles exist inherently in bubbling fluidized beds and hence should be considered in the constitutive modeling of the drag force.The energy minimization multiscale bubbling(EMMS/bubbling)drag model takes the effects of mesoscale structures(i.e.,bubbles)into the modeling of drag coefficient and thus improves the coarse-grid simulation of bubbling and turbulent fluidized beds.However,its dependence on the bubble diameter correlation has not been thoroughly investigated.The hydrodynamic disparity between homogeneous and heterogeneous fluidization is accounted for by the heterogeneity index,H_(d),which can be affected by choice of bubble diameter correlation.How this choice of bubble diameter correlation influences the model prediction calls for further fundamental research.This article incorporated seven different bubble diameter correlations into EMMS/bubbling drag model and studied their effects on H_(d).The performance of these correlations has been compared with the correlation used previously by EMMS/bubbling drag model.We found that some of the correlations predicted lower Hd by order of a magnitude than the correlation used by the original EMMS/bubbling drag.Based on such analysis,we proposed a modification in the EMMS drag model for bubbling and turbulent fluidized beds.A computational fluid dynamics(CFD)simulation using two-fluid model with the modified EMMS/bubbling drag model was performed for two bubbling and one turbulent fluidized beds.Voidage distribution,time averaged solid concentration and axial solid concentration profiles were studied and compared with the previous version of the EMMS/bubbling drag model and experimental data.We found that the right choice of bubble diameter correlations can significantly improve the results for CFD simulations.展开更多
Hydrologiska Byrans Vattenbalansavdeling(HBV) Light model was used to evaluate the performance of the model in response to climate change in the snowy and glaciated catchment area of Hunza River Basin. The study aimed...Hydrologiska Byrans Vattenbalansavdeling(HBV) Light model was used to evaluate the performance of the model in response to climate change in the snowy and glaciated catchment area of Hunza River Basin. The study aimed to understand the temporal variation of streamflow of Hunza River and its contribution to Indus River System(IRS). HBV model performed fairly well both during calibration(R2=0.87, Reff=0.85, PBIAS=-0.36) and validation(R2=0.86, Reff=0.83, PBIAS=-13.58) periods on daily time scale in the Hunza River Basin. Model performed better on monthly time scale with slightly underestimated low flows period during bothcalibration(R2=0.94, Reff=0.88, PBIAS=0.47) and validation(R2=0.92, Reff=0.85, PBIAS=15.83) periods. Simulated streamflow analysis from 1995-2010 unveiled that the average percentage contribution of snow, rain and glacier melt to the streamflow of Hunza River is about 16.5%, 19.4% and 64% respectively. In addition, the HBV-Light model performance was also evaluated for prediction of future streamflow in the Hunza River using future projected data of three General Circulation Model(GCMs) i.e. BCC-CSM1.1, CanESM2, and MIROCESM under RCP2.6, 4.5 and 8.5 and predictions were made over three time periods, 2010-2039, 2040-2069 and 2070-2099, using 1980-2010 as the control period. Overall projected climate results reveal that temperature and precipitation are the most sensitiveparameters to the streamflow of Hunza River. MIROC-ESM predicted the highest increase in the future streamflow of the Hunza River due to increase in temperature and precipitation under RCP4.5 and 8.5 scenarios from 2010-2099 while predicted slight increase in the streamflow under RCP2.6 during the start and end of the 21 th century. However, BCCCSM1.1 predicted decrease in the streamflow under RCP8.5 due to decrease in temperature and precipitation from 2010-2099. However, Can ESM2 predicted 22%-88% increase in the streamflow under RCP4.5 from 2010-2099. The results of this study could be useful for decision making and effective future strategic plans for water management and their sustainability in the region.展开更多
The penetration and use of social media services differs from city to city.This paper is aimed to provide a comparison of the use of Twitter between different cities of the world.We present a temporal analysis of acti...The penetration and use of social media services differs from city to city.This paper is aimed to provide a comparison of the use of Twitter between different cities of the world.We present a temporal analysis of activity on Twitter in 15 cities.Our study consists of two parts:First,we created temporal graphs of the activity in the 15 cities,through which hours of high and low activity could be identified.Second,we created heat map visualizations of the Twitter activities during the period of 19 September 2012–25 September 2013.The heat map visualizations make the periods of intense and sparse activity apparent and provide a snapshot of the activity during the whole year.展开更多
Cloud computing is a demanding business platform for services related to the field of IT.The goal of cloud customers is to access resources at a sustainable price,while the goal of cloud suppliers is to maximize their...Cloud computing is a demanding business platform for services related to the field of IT.The goal of cloud customers is to access resources at a sustainable price,while the goal of cloud suppliers is to maximize their services utilization.Previously,the customers would bid for every single resource type,which was a limitation of cloud resources allocation.To solve these issues,researchers have focused on a combinatorial auction in which the resources are offered by the providers in bundles so that the user bids for their required bundle.Still,in this allocation mechanism,some drawbacks need to be tackled,such as due to the lower average bid price the users are dropped from the auction process.To solve this problem,we proposed a“Negotiation based Combinatorial Double Auction Mechanism for Resource Allocation(N-CDARA)in cloud computing”.The proposed method negotiates with dropped users.Lower average bid price users are asked by our proposed mechanism to increase their bids,as by the quoted bids they will be dropped by the auctioneer.Most of the users that are close to winning accept the proposal and increase their bid prices.The proposed mechanism is implemented in a CloudSim simulation toolkit.Results are compared with the latest model and performance study shows that in our proposed scheme more users win and get their requested services and the utilization of offered services is increased up to 18.4%than the existing schemes.展开更多
An Information-Centric Network(ICN)provides a promising paradigm for the upcoming internet architecture,which will struggle with steady growth in data and changes in accessmodels.Various ICN architectures have been de...An Information-Centric Network(ICN)provides a promising paradigm for the upcoming internet architecture,which will struggle with steady growth in data and changes in accessmodels.Various ICN architectures have been designed,including Named Data Networking(NDN),which is designed around content delivery instead of hosts.As data is the central part of the network.Therefore,NDN was developed to get rid of the dependency on IP addresses and provide content effectively.Mobility is one of the major research dimensions for this upcoming internet architecture.Some research has been carried out to solve the mobility issues,but it still has problems like handover delay and packet loss ratio during real-time video streaming in the case of consumer and producer mobility.To solve this issue,an efficient hierarchical Cluster Base Proactive Caching for Device Mobility Management(CB-PC-DMM)in NDN Vehicular Networks(NDN-VN)is proposed,through which the consumer receives the contents proactively after handover during the mobility of the consumer.When a consumer moves to the next destination,a handover interest is sent to the connected router,then the router multicasts the consumer’s desired data packet to the next hop of neighboring routers.Thus,once the handover process is completed,consumers can easily get the content to the newly connected router.A CB-PCDMM in NDN-VN is proposed that improves the packet delivery ratio and reduces the handover delay aswell as cluster overhead.Moreover,the intra and inter-domain handover handling procedures in CB-PC-DMM for NDN-VN have been described.For the validation of our proposed scheme,MATLAB simulations are conducted.The simulation results show that our proposed scheme reduces the handover delay and increases the consumer’s interest satisfaction ratio.The proposed scheme is compared with the existing stateof-the-art schemes,and the total percentage of handover delays is decreased by up to 0.1632%,0.3267%,2.3437%,2.3255%,and 3.7313%at the mobility speeds of 5 m/s,10 m/s,15 m/s,20 m/s,and 25 m/s,and the efficiency of the packet delivery ratio is improved by up to 1.2048%,5.0632%,6.4935%,6.943%,and 8.4507%.Furthermore,the simulation results of our proposed scheme show better efficiency in terms of Packet Delivery Ratio(PDR)from 0.071 to 0.077 and a decrease in the handover delay from 0.1334 to 0.129.展开更多
The modulus of viscoelastic materials varies with excitation frequency.However,during modal analysis of frequency dependent materials,a material evaluation frequency is necessary because stiffness cannot be modified d...The modulus of viscoelastic materials varies with excitation frequency.However,during modal analysis of frequency dependent materials,a material evaluation frequency is necessary because stiffness cannot be modified during eigenfrequency procedure.As a result,only those vibration modes are accurate,of which eigenfrequency is close to the material evaluation frequency.In order to obtain vibration modes of solid rocket motor(SRM) using material modulus based on frequency which is the same as the eigenfrequency,an iterative approach was proposed.Results of the iterative technique show that frequency modes obtained from the method are in complete agreement with the eigenfrequency and material evaluation frequency.展开更多
A method is presented here for structural optimization of elliptical-tip star grain.The grain structural integrity was improved by minimizing the most critical area of inner bore hoop strain during cool down.Optimizat...A method is presented here for structural optimization of elliptical-tip star grain.The grain structural integrity was improved by minimizing the most critical area of inner bore hoop strain during cool down.Optimization was done by sub-problem approximation method in conjunction with finite element analysis.Both radii of the ellipse were varied during optimization to find the optimal ellipse.The optimization resulted in grain geometry having minimum level of Inner bore hoop strain without violating the preset limits of burning perimeter.The von mises strain at grain inner bore was also reduced in resultant grain.展开更多
Objective:To gather the fragmented literature on ethnobotany,phytochemistry and in-vitro activities of medicinal plants of Pakistan being used against common infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus(S.aureus).Method...Objective:To gather the fragmented literature on ethnobotany,phytochemistry and in-vitro activities of medicinal plants of Pakistan being used against common infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus(S.aureus).Methods:A large number of published and unpublished research studies related to the ethnomedicinal,phytochemical and anti-S.aureus activity of medicinal flora of Pakistan published from 1990-2018 were reviewed using online bibliographic databases such as PubMed,Web of Science,Science Direct,ResearchGate and libraries.Results:S.aureus can cause many human ailments including endocarditis,staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome,septic arthritis,respiratory problems with an estimated infection rate of 25%-35%across the globe.This review comprised of 86 medicinal plants.Data showed that people mostly used leaves(50%)for the preparation of traditional medicines.Correlation analysis on the reviewed data revealed that methanolic extract concentrations of medicinal plants was highly significantly positive correlated(r=0.8;P<0.01)with the S.aureus zone of inhibitions.S.aureus reportedly showed complete resistant to the commonly used antibiotic erythromycin.Isolated compounds like altheahexacosanyl lactone,cinnamaldehyde,niloticane,gobicusin A,asparacosin A,muzanzagenin,isoagatharesinol,friedelin,inophynone and eugenol were active against S.aureus.This study provided in-vitro proof for the flora of Pakistan used against different infections caused by S.aureus.Conclusions:Antibacterial agents from natural sources could be more effective against bacterial pathogens and will be helpful in minimizing the adverse effects of synthetic drugs,and hence provides a base for the pharmaceutical industries.展开更多
One hundred twenty-five endophytic microorganisms were isolated from the roots,stems,and leaves of four prominent rice cultivars growing in temperate regions.Their potential to combat rice blast disease and promote pl...One hundred twenty-five endophytic microorganisms were isolated from the roots,stems,and leaves of four prominent rice cultivars growing in temperate regions.Their potential to combat rice blast disease and promote plant growth was investigated.The dual culture tests highlighted the strong antagonistic activity of five fungal(ranging from 89%–70%)and five bacterial(72%–61%)endophytes.Subsequent examination focused on volatile compounds produced by selected isolates to counter the blast pathogen.Among these,the highest chitinase(13.76μg mL−1)and siderophore(56.64%),was exhibited by Aspergillus flavus,and the highest HCN production was shown by Stenotrophomonas maltophilia(36.15μM mL−1).In terms of growth promotion traits,Aspergillus flavus and Enterobacter cloacae excelled in activities viz,phosphorous solubilization,ammonia production,auxin and gibberellic acid production,and nitrogen fixation.The Identity of these endophytes was confirmed through molecular analysis as Trichoderma afroharzianum,Trichoderma harzianum,Penicillium rubens,Aspergillus flavus,Stenotrophomonas rhizophila,Stenotrophomonas maltophilia,Bacillus cereus,Enterobacter cloacae,and Bacillus licheniformis.Under greenhouse conditions,the highest disease control was shown by isolate Bacillus licheniformis and A.flavus with an inhibition of 79%,followed by S.rhizophila(77%)and T.afroharzianum(73%).The overall results of this study showed that Bacillus licheniformis and Stenotrophomonas rhizophila have great potential to be used as bio-stimulant and biocontrol agents to manage rice blast disease.展开更多
BACKGROUND Monogenic forms of diabetes(MFD)are single gene disorders.Their diagnosis is challenging,and symptoms overlap with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.AIM To identify the genetic variants responsible for MFD in the ...BACKGROUND Monogenic forms of diabetes(MFD)are single gene disorders.Their diagnosis is challenging,and symptoms overlap with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.AIM To identify the genetic variants responsible for MFD in the Pakistani population and their frequencies.METHODS A total of 184 patients suspected of having MFD were enrolled.The inclusion criterion was diabetes with onset below 25 years of age.Brief demographic and clinical information were taken from the participants.The maturity-onset diabetes of the young(MODY)probability score was calculated,and glutamate decarboxylase ELISA was performed.Antibody negative patients and features resembling MODY were selected(n=28)for exome sequencing to identify the pathogenic variants.RESULTS A total of eight missense novel or very low-frequency variants were identified in 7 patients.Three variants were found in genes for MODY,i.e.HNF1A(c.169C>A,p.Leu57Met),KLF11(c.401G>C,p.Gly134Ala),and HNF1B(c.1058C>T,p.Ser353Leu).Five variants were found in genes other than the 14 known MODY genes,i.e.RFX6(c.919G>A,p.Glu307Lys),WFS1(c.478G>A,p.Glu160Lys)and WFS1(c.517G>A,p.Glu173Lys),RFX6(c.1212T>A,p.His404Gln)and ZBTB20(c.1049G>A,p.Arg350His).CONCLUSION The study showed wide spectrum of genetic variants potentially causing MFD in the Pakistani population.The MODY genes prevalent in European population(GCK,HNF1A,and HNF4a)were not found to be common in our population.Identification of novel variants will further help to understand the role of different genes causing the pathogenicity in MODY patient and their proper management and diagnosis.展开更多
An experiment was conducted in pots under natural condition with two factor factorial completely randomized design (CRD) (CRD) to investigate the integrated effect of rhizobia inoculums and inorganic fertilizers on gr...An experiment was conducted in pots under natural condition with two factor factorial completely randomized design (CRD) (CRD) to investigate the integrated effect of rhizobia inoculums and inorganic fertilizers on growth and yield of wheat crop at The University of Agriculture Peshawar, during 2012-2013. The experiment was comprised of four inoculums (no, lentil, peas and chickpeas) and two NPK levels (recommended 120:90:60 kg·ha-1 & 20% less of recommended). It was observed that inoculation of wheat by rhizobia significantly increased tillers per plant by a maximum of 42%, plant height by 13%, grain per spike by 16%, 100 grain weight by 10%, biological and grain yield by 10% over un-inoculated (control) treatment. Among inoculums, peas inoculum was found to be the most efficient for all traits except plant height where chickpea inoculum performed better. Similarly recommended NPK significantly increased tillers per plant by 33%, plant height by 19%, grain per spike by 9%, 100 grain weight by 10%, biological yield by 8% and grain yield by 10% compared with 20% less of recommended NPK. Interactive effect of inoculum x NPK was significant for tillers per plant, grain per spike, grain yield and non-significant for plant height, 100 grain weight and biological yield. However, it was evident from the results that inoculation improved all traits both under recommended and 20% less of recommended NPK. The persistent good performance of peas and lentil rhizobial inoculation in wheat growth exhibited that this could be used as a plant growth promoting rhizobacteria for wheat and other cereal crops in prevailing soil and climatic conditions.展开更多
基金Project(2019YFC1803601)supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of ChinaProject(2022)supported by the Complementary Fund from the Guizhou Provincial Department of Science and Technology,China。
文摘The inflow caused by tourists in peak seasons exerts an uncontrollable pressure on the existing infrastructure. The Ayubia National Park in Pakistan faces traffic delays and capacity restraints on the connecting roads in peak season. The study focuses on the formulation of critical strategies by deploying amendments in the transport network. The methodology contains three parts</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">:</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> 1) a questionnaire was designed to inquire about several variables from the visitors</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">;</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">2) the</span><span style="font-family:""> </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">second part was traffic count data collection and analysis. Based on the response collected, the impact of multiple strategies on the network was analyzed using TransCad</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">;3) </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">in the third part</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">, </span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">the results obtained were shared with experts to gain their valuable opinions. It was observed that the time of the day based access restriction to heavy vehicles could lead to dropping the Volume to capacity ratio from 1.7 to 1.2. However, the experts were also of the view that network changes can enhance and improve the visitors’ experience.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41530529,41375022,41575013)the Key Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (KZZD-EW-13)
文摘Precipitation, a natural feature of weather systems in the Earth, is vitally important for the environment of any region. Under global climate change condition, the characteristics of precipitation have changed as a consequence of enhanced global hydrological cycle. The source region of the Yellow River（SRYR）, locating within the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, is sensitive to the global climate change due to its complex orography and fragile ecosystem. To understand the precipitation characteristics and its impacts on the environment in the region, we studied the characteristics of rainy days and precipitation amount of different precipitation classes, such as light（0–5 and 5–10 mm）, moderate（10–15, 15–20 and 20–25 mm） and heavy（≥25 mm） rains by analyzing the precipitation data of typical meteorological stations in the SRYR during the period 1961–2014, as well as the trends of persistent rainfall events and drought events. Results showed that annual average precipitation in this area had a non-significant（P〉0.05） increasing trend, and 82.5% of the precipitation occurred from May to September. Rainy days of the 0–5 mm precipitation class significantly decreased, whereas the rainy days of 5–10, 10–15, and 20–25 mm precipitation classes increased and that of ≥25 mm precipitation class decreased insignificantly. The persistent rainfall events of 1-or 2-day and more than 2-day showed an increasing trend, with the 1-or 2-day events being more frequent. Meanwhile, the number of short drought periods（≤10 days） increased while long drought periods（〉10 days） decreased. Since the 0–5 mm precipitation class had a huge impact on the grasslands productivity; the 5–10, 10–15, and 20–25 mm precipitation classes had positive effects on vegetation which rely on the deep soil water through moving nutrients and water into the root zone of these vegetation or through the plant-microbe interactions; the ≥25 mm precipitation class contributed to the floods; and more persistent rainfall events and fewer long drought events inferred positive effects on agriculture. Thus, these results indicate grassland degradation, less risk of floods, and the upgrading impact of climate change on agriculture. This study may provide scientific knowledge for policymakers to sustain the eco-environmental resources in the SYSR.
文摘There are serious concerns of rise in temperatures over snowy and glacierized Himalayan region that may eventually affect future river flows of Indus river system.It is therefore necessary to predict snow and glacier melt runoff to manage future water resource of Upper Indus Basin(UIB).The snowmelt runoff model(SRM)coupled with MODIS remote sensing data was employed in this study to predict daily discharges of Gilgit River in the Karakoram Range.The SRM was calibrated successfully and then simulation was made over four years i.e.2007,2008,2009 and 2010 achieving coefficient of model efficiency of 0.96,0.86,0.9 and 0.94 respectively.The scenarios of precipitation and mean temperature developed from regional climate model PRECIS were used in SRM model to predict future flows of Gilgit River.The increase of 3 C in mean annual temperature by the end of 21 th century may result in increase of 35-40%in Gilgit River flows.The expected increase in the surface runoff from the snow and glacier melt demands better water conservation and management for irrigation and hydel-power generation in the Indus basin in future.
文摘Phosphorus(P)is a critical nutrient that plays an essential role in improving soil fertility for optimum plant growth and productivity.It is one of the most deficient macro-nutrients in agricultural soils after nitrogen and is considered inadequate for plant growth and production.To P availability in soils,the farmers are applying huge amounts of synthetic P fertilizers that adversely affect the wider environment,groundwater,soil fertility and microbial population.Many beneficial microbes are known to release and supply soluble P for improving growth and yield of a variety of plants in a sustainable manner in P deficient soils.Thus,inoculation of these microbes,including arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi(AMF)and phosphate solubilizing bacteria(PSB)to soil to enhance crop production without harming the environment,is an alternative approach to chemical fertilizers.The combined role of AMF and PSB in P solubilization is not well understood and the application and mode of action of these microbial groups are often naive due to variation in the environment.Therefore,the current review article would develop a better understanding of the interactive role and mechanisms of AMF and PSB in improving P availability from both organic and inorganic sources in a sustainable crop production system.Finally,the current review would loop out further avenues for researchers interested to commercially produce effective AMF and PSB-based biofertilizers for sustainable management of phosphorus over a wide range of agricultural crops worldwide.
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (41671067 and 41630754)State Key Laboratory of Cryosphere Science (SKLCS-ZZ-2015)
文摘This paper presents an assessment of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool(SWAT) on a glaciated(Qugaqie) and a non-glaciated(Niyaqu) subbasin of the Nam Co Lake. The Nam Co Lake is located in the southern Tibetan Plateau, two subbasins having catchment areas of 59 km^2 and 388 km^2, respectively. The scores of examined evaluation indices(i.e., R^2, NSE, and PBIAS) established that the performance of the SWAT model was better on the monthly scale compared to the daily scale. The respective monthly values of R^2, NSE, and PBIAS were 0.94, 0.97, and 0.50 for the calibration period while 0.92, 0.88, and -8.80 for the validation period. Glacier melt contribution in the study domain was simulated by using the SWAT model in conjunction with the Degree Day Melt(DDM) approach. The conjunction of DDM with the SWAT Model ensued improved results during both calibration(R^2=0.96, NSE=0.95, and PBIAS=-13.49) and validation (R^2=0.97, NSE=0.96, and PBIAS=-2.87) periods on the monthly time scale. Average contribution(in percentage) of water balance components to the total streamflow of Niyaqu and Qugaqie subbasins was evaluated. We found that the major portion(99.45%) of the streamflow in the Niyaqu subbasin was generated by snowmelt or rainfall surface runoff(SURF_Q), followed by groundwater(GW_Q, 0.47%), and lateral(LAT_Q, 0.06%) flows. Conversely, in the Qugaqie subbasin, major contributor to the streamflow(79.63%) was glacier melt(GLC_Q), followed by SURF_Q(20.14%), GW_Q(0.13%), and LAT_Q(0.089%). The contribution of GLC_Q was the highest(86.79%) in July and lowest(69.95%) in September. This study concludes that the performance of the SWAT model in glaciated catchment is weak without considering glacier component in modeling; however, it performs reasonably well in non-glaciated catchment. Furthermore, the temperature index approach with elevation bands is viable in those catchments where streamflows are driven by snowmelt. Therefore, it is recommended to use the SWAT Model in conjunction with DDM or energy base model to simulate the glacier melt contribution to the total streamflow. This study might be helpful in quantification and better management of water resources in data scarce glaciated regions.
文摘A pot experiment was conducted to determine the potential of AM fungi in phytoremediation of heavy metals and its effect on yield of wheat crop. The experiment was conducted in CR Design with four replications during rabi 2012-13. Data showed no increase in grain and shoot yields by AMF inoculation with Zn, Cu, Fe, Mn at different levels but increased root yield, plant height, spike length and hundred grains weight of wheat as compared with uninoculated crop. Post-harvest soil Zn, Cu, Fe and Mn contents of 2, 4.4, 2.8 and 2.9 mg·kg-1, respectively were maximum in uninoculated plants treated with Zn, Cu, Fe, Mn at triple of recommended level. No increases in plant P, N, Zn, Cu, Fe and Mn uptakes were observed by the inoculation of AMF when compared with uninoculated crop. Maximum plant Zn, Cu, Fe and Mn uptakes of 160.5, 206, 1914.6 and 2653 g·ha-1, respectively were recorded in uninoculated plants applied with Zn, Cu, Fe, Mn at triple of recommended levels. Wheat roots infection intensity by AMF increased with higher AMF soil spores density. Results suggest the potential of phytoremediation of contaminated soil to be improved by the inoculation of crops with AMF.
基金financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21978227)
文摘Mesoscale bubbles exist inherently in bubbling fluidized beds and hence should be considered in the constitutive modeling of the drag force.The energy minimization multiscale bubbling(EMMS/bubbling)drag model takes the effects of mesoscale structures(i.e.,bubbles)into the modeling of drag coefficient and thus improves the coarse-grid simulation of bubbling and turbulent fluidized beds.However,its dependence on the bubble diameter correlation has not been thoroughly investigated.The hydrodynamic disparity between homogeneous and heterogeneous fluidization is accounted for by the heterogeneity index,H_(d),which can be affected by choice of bubble diameter correlation.How this choice of bubble diameter correlation influences the model prediction calls for further fundamental research.This article incorporated seven different bubble diameter correlations into EMMS/bubbling drag model and studied their effects on H_(d).The performance of these correlations has been compared with the correlation used previously by EMMS/bubbling drag model.We found that some of the correlations predicted lower Hd by order of a magnitude than the correlation used by the original EMMS/bubbling drag.Based on such analysis,we proposed a modification in the EMMS drag model for bubbling and turbulent fluidized beds.A computational fluid dynamics(CFD)simulation using two-fluid model with the modified EMMS/bubbling drag model was performed for two bubbling and one turbulent fluidized beds.Voidage distribution,time averaged solid concentration and axial solid concentration profiles were studied and compared with the previous version of the EMMS/bubbling drag model and experimental data.We found that the right choice of bubble diameter correlations can significantly improve the results for CFD simulations.
基金the National Natural Science foundation of China(Grant Nos.41690145 and 41670158)
文摘Hydrologiska Byrans Vattenbalansavdeling(HBV) Light model was used to evaluate the performance of the model in response to climate change in the snowy and glaciated catchment area of Hunza River Basin. The study aimed to understand the temporal variation of streamflow of Hunza River and its contribution to Indus River System(IRS). HBV model performed fairly well both during calibration(R2=0.87, Reff=0.85, PBIAS=-0.36) and validation(R2=0.86, Reff=0.83, PBIAS=-13.58) periods on daily time scale in the Hunza River Basin. Model performed better on monthly time scale with slightly underestimated low flows period during bothcalibration(R2=0.94, Reff=0.88, PBIAS=0.47) and validation(R2=0.92, Reff=0.85, PBIAS=15.83) periods. Simulated streamflow analysis from 1995-2010 unveiled that the average percentage contribution of snow, rain and glacier melt to the streamflow of Hunza River is about 16.5%, 19.4% and 64% respectively. In addition, the HBV-Light model performance was also evaluated for prediction of future streamflow in the Hunza River using future projected data of three General Circulation Model(GCMs) i.e. BCC-CSM1.1, CanESM2, and MIROCESM under RCP2.6, 4.5 and 8.5 and predictions were made over three time periods, 2010-2039, 2040-2069 and 2070-2099, using 1980-2010 as the control period. Overall projected climate results reveal that temperature and precipitation are the most sensitiveparameters to the streamflow of Hunza River. MIROC-ESM predicted the highest increase in the future streamflow of the Hunza River due to increase in temperature and precipitation under RCP4.5 and 8.5 scenarios from 2010-2099 while predicted slight increase in the streamflow under RCP2.6 during the start and end of the 21 th century. However, BCCCSM1.1 predicted decrease in the streamflow under RCP8.5 due to decrease in temperature and precipitation from 2010-2099. However, Can ESM2 predicted 22%-88% increase in the streamflow under RCP4.5 from 2010-2099. The results of this study could be useful for decision making and effective future strategic plans for water management and their sustainability in the region.
基金This work was completed as part of the EPSRC research Grant“The Uncertainty of Identity:Linking Spatiotemporal Information in the Real and Virtual Worlds”(EP/J005266/1).
文摘The penetration and use of social media services differs from city to city.This paper is aimed to provide a comparison of the use of Twitter between different cities of the world.We present a temporal analysis of activity on Twitter in 15 cities.Our study consists of two parts:First,we created temporal graphs of the activity in the 15 cities,through which hours of high and low activity could be identified.Second,we created heat map visualizations of the Twitter activities during the period of 19 September 2012–25 September 2013.The heat map visualizations make the periods of intense and sparse activity apparent and provide a snapshot of the activity during the whole year.
基金This publication was supported by the Deanship of Scientific Research at Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University,Alkharj,Saudi Arabia.
文摘Cloud computing is a demanding business platform for services related to the field of IT.The goal of cloud customers is to access resources at a sustainable price,while the goal of cloud suppliers is to maximize their services utilization.Previously,the customers would bid for every single resource type,which was a limitation of cloud resources allocation.To solve these issues,researchers have focused on a combinatorial auction in which the resources are offered by the providers in bundles so that the user bids for their required bundle.Still,in this allocation mechanism,some drawbacks need to be tackled,such as due to the lower average bid price the users are dropped from the auction process.To solve this problem,we proposed a“Negotiation based Combinatorial Double Auction Mechanism for Resource Allocation(N-CDARA)in cloud computing”.The proposed method negotiates with dropped users.Lower average bid price users are asked by our proposed mechanism to increase their bids,as by the quoted bids they will be dropped by the auctioneer.Most of the users that are close to winning accept the proposal and increase their bid prices.The proposed mechanism is implemented in a CloudSim simulation toolkit.Results are compared with the latest model and performance study shows that in our proposed scheme more users win and get their requested services and the utilization of offered services is increased up to 18.4%than the existing schemes.
基金This work was supported by the MSIT(Ministry of Science and ICT),Korea,under the ITRC(Information Technology Research Center)support program(IITP-2023-2018-0-01431)supervised by the IITP(Institute for Information&Communications Technology Planning&Evaluation).
文摘An Information-Centric Network(ICN)provides a promising paradigm for the upcoming internet architecture,which will struggle with steady growth in data and changes in accessmodels.Various ICN architectures have been designed,including Named Data Networking(NDN),which is designed around content delivery instead of hosts.As data is the central part of the network.Therefore,NDN was developed to get rid of the dependency on IP addresses and provide content effectively.Mobility is one of the major research dimensions for this upcoming internet architecture.Some research has been carried out to solve the mobility issues,but it still has problems like handover delay and packet loss ratio during real-time video streaming in the case of consumer and producer mobility.To solve this issue,an efficient hierarchical Cluster Base Proactive Caching for Device Mobility Management(CB-PC-DMM)in NDN Vehicular Networks(NDN-VN)is proposed,through which the consumer receives the contents proactively after handover during the mobility of the consumer.When a consumer moves to the next destination,a handover interest is sent to the connected router,then the router multicasts the consumer’s desired data packet to the next hop of neighboring routers.Thus,once the handover process is completed,consumers can easily get the content to the newly connected router.A CB-PCDMM in NDN-VN is proposed that improves the packet delivery ratio and reduces the handover delay aswell as cluster overhead.Moreover,the intra and inter-domain handover handling procedures in CB-PC-DMM for NDN-VN have been described.For the validation of our proposed scheme,MATLAB simulations are conducted.The simulation results show that our proposed scheme reduces the handover delay and increases the consumer’s interest satisfaction ratio.The proposed scheme is compared with the existing stateof-the-art schemes,and the total percentage of handover delays is decreased by up to 0.1632%,0.3267%,2.3437%,2.3255%,and 3.7313%at the mobility speeds of 5 m/s,10 m/s,15 m/s,20 m/s,and 25 m/s,and the efficiency of the packet delivery ratio is improved by up to 1.2048%,5.0632%,6.4935%,6.943%,and 8.4507%.Furthermore,the simulation results of our proposed scheme show better efficiency in terms of Packet Delivery Ratio(PDR)from 0.071 to 0.077 and a decrease in the handover delay from 0.1334 to 0.129.
文摘The modulus of viscoelastic materials varies with excitation frequency.However,during modal analysis of frequency dependent materials,a material evaluation frequency is necessary because stiffness cannot be modified during eigenfrequency procedure.As a result,only those vibration modes are accurate,of which eigenfrequency is close to the material evaluation frequency.In order to obtain vibration modes of solid rocket motor(SRM) using material modulus based on frequency which is the same as the eigenfrequency,an iterative approach was proposed.Results of the iterative technique show that frequency modes obtained from the method are in complete agreement with the eigenfrequency and material evaluation frequency.
文摘A method is presented here for structural optimization of elliptical-tip star grain.The grain structural integrity was improved by minimizing the most critical area of inner bore hoop strain during cool down.Optimization was done by sub-problem approximation method in conjunction with finite element analysis.Both radii of the ellipse were varied during optimization to find the optimal ellipse.The optimization resulted in grain geometry having minimum level of Inner bore hoop strain without violating the preset limits of burning perimeter.The von mises strain at grain inner bore was also reduced in resultant grain.
文摘Objective:To gather the fragmented literature on ethnobotany,phytochemistry and in-vitro activities of medicinal plants of Pakistan being used against common infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus(S.aureus).Methods:A large number of published and unpublished research studies related to the ethnomedicinal,phytochemical and anti-S.aureus activity of medicinal flora of Pakistan published from 1990-2018 were reviewed using online bibliographic databases such as PubMed,Web of Science,Science Direct,ResearchGate and libraries.Results:S.aureus can cause many human ailments including endocarditis,staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome,septic arthritis,respiratory problems with an estimated infection rate of 25%-35%across the globe.This review comprised of 86 medicinal plants.Data showed that people mostly used leaves(50%)for the preparation of traditional medicines.Correlation analysis on the reviewed data revealed that methanolic extract concentrations of medicinal plants was highly significantly positive correlated(r=0.8;P<0.01)with the S.aureus zone of inhibitions.S.aureus reportedly showed complete resistant to the commonly used antibiotic erythromycin.Isolated compounds like altheahexacosanyl lactone,cinnamaldehyde,niloticane,gobicusin A,asparacosin A,muzanzagenin,isoagatharesinol,friedelin,inophynone and eugenol were active against S.aureus.This study provided in-vitro proof for the flora of Pakistan used against different infections caused by S.aureus.Conclusions:Antibacterial agents from natural sources could be more effective against bacterial pathogens and will be helpful in minimizing the adverse effects of synthetic drugs,and hence provides a base for the pharmaceutical industries.
基金The authors extend their appreciation to the Researchers Supporting Project Number(RSP2023R298),King Saud University,Riyadh,Saudi Arabia.
文摘One hundred twenty-five endophytic microorganisms were isolated from the roots,stems,and leaves of four prominent rice cultivars growing in temperate regions.Their potential to combat rice blast disease and promote plant growth was investigated.The dual culture tests highlighted the strong antagonistic activity of five fungal(ranging from 89%–70%)and five bacterial(72%–61%)endophytes.Subsequent examination focused on volatile compounds produced by selected isolates to counter the blast pathogen.Among these,the highest chitinase(13.76μg mL−1)and siderophore(56.64%),was exhibited by Aspergillus flavus,and the highest HCN production was shown by Stenotrophomonas maltophilia(36.15μM mL−1).In terms of growth promotion traits,Aspergillus flavus and Enterobacter cloacae excelled in activities viz,phosphorous solubilization,ammonia production,auxin and gibberellic acid production,and nitrogen fixation.The Identity of these endophytes was confirmed through molecular analysis as Trichoderma afroharzianum,Trichoderma harzianum,Penicillium rubens,Aspergillus flavus,Stenotrophomonas rhizophila,Stenotrophomonas maltophilia,Bacillus cereus,Enterobacter cloacae,and Bacillus licheniformis.Under greenhouse conditions,the highest disease control was shown by isolate Bacillus licheniformis and A.flavus with an inhibition of 79%,followed by S.rhizophila(77%)and T.afroharzianum(73%).The overall results of this study showed that Bacillus licheniformis and Stenotrophomonas rhizophila have great potential to be used as bio-stimulant and biocontrol agents to manage rice blast disease.
基金Canadian Institutes of Health Research,No.PJT-159715.
文摘BACKGROUND Monogenic forms of diabetes(MFD)are single gene disorders.Their diagnosis is challenging,and symptoms overlap with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.AIM To identify the genetic variants responsible for MFD in the Pakistani population and their frequencies.METHODS A total of 184 patients suspected of having MFD were enrolled.The inclusion criterion was diabetes with onset below 25 years of age.Brief demographic and clinical information were taken from the participants.The maturity-onset diabetes of the young(MODY)probability score was calculated,and glutamate decarboxylase ELISA was performed.Antibody negative patients and features resembling MODY were selected(n=28)for exome sequencing to identify the pathogenic variants.RESULTS A total of eight missense novel or very low-frequency variants were identified in 7 patients.Three variants were found in genes for MODY,i.e.HNF1A(c.169C>A,p.Leu57Met),KLF11(c.401G>C,p.Gly134Ala),and HNF1B(c.1058C>T,p.Ser353Leu).Five variants were found in genes other than the 14 known MODY genes,i.e.RFX6(c.919G>A,p.Glu307Lys),WFS1(c.478G>A,p.Glu160Lys)and WFS1(c.517G>A,p.Glu173Lys),RFX6(c.1212T>A,p.His404Gln)and ZBTB20(c.1049G>A,p.Arg350His).CONCLUSION The study showed wide spectrum of genetic variants potentially causing MFD in the Pakistani population.The MODY genes prevalent in European population(GCK,HNF1A,and HNF4a)were not found to be common in our population.Identification of novel variants will further help to understand the role of different genes causing the pathogenicity in MODY patient and their proper management and diagnosis.
文摘An experiment was conducted in pots under natural condition with two factor factorial completely randomized design (CRD) (CRD) to investigate the integrated effect of rhizobia inoculums and inorganic fertilizers on growth and yield of wheat crop at The University of Agriculture Peshawar, during 2012-2013. The experiment was comprised of four inoculums (no, lentil, peas and chickpeas) and two NPK levels (recommended 120:90:60 kg·ha-1 & 20% less of recommended). It was observed that inoculation of wheat by rhizobia significantly increased tillers per plant by a maximum of 42%, plant height by 13%, grain per spike by 16%, 100 grain weight by 10%, biological and grain yield by 10% over un-inoculated (control) treatment. Among inoculums, peas inoculum was found to be the most efficient for all traits except plant height where chickpea inoculum performed better. Similarly recommended NPK significantly increased tillers per plant by 33%, plant height by 19%, grain per spike by 9%, 100 grain weight by 10%, biological yield by 8% and grain yield by 10% compared with 20% less of recommended NPK. Interactive effect of inoculum x NPK was significant for tillers per plant, grain per spike, grain yield and non-significant for plant height, 100 grain weight and biological yield. However, it was evident from the results that inoculation improved all traits both under recommended and 20% less of recommended NPK. The persistent good performance of peas and lentil rhizobial inoculation in wheat growth exhibited that this could be used as a plant growth promoting rhizobacteria for wheat and other cereal crops in prevailing soil and climatic conditions.
