Current Journal of Applied Science and Technology

Advances in robotics have paved the way for a novel approach of organizing large numbers of robots, otherwise referred to as multi-robots. Multi-robots can either be homogenous or heterogeneous. Nevertheless, a group of autonomous and relatively homogenous robots that interacts with one another as well as with their environment is referred to as swarm robots. Swarm robots are biologically inspired by natural swarms as found in animal societies such as birds and fishes as well as social insects such as honey bees, wasps, termites and ants. Hence, they exhibit certain properties which are similar to those found in these creatures such as aggregation, self-organization, foraging as well as flocking. Swarm robots work together to achieve a desired goal, which is usually too complex for a single robot to accomplish. They are typically characterized by simplicity of individuals, fault tolerance, autonomy, parallelism, high reliability, scalability as well as robustness. They can be used for mining, military, medical and agricultural activities. They can also be used for search and rescue missions, toxic waste cleanup, and for piling sandbags along coastlines in preparation for floods or hurricane. Nevertheless, swarm robots are plagued with the stigma of widespread, interference, uncertainty, safety and lack of reliable communication. Furthermore, studies in swarm robotics are practically limited to virtual reality simulations. Hence, the principles of swarm robotics are rarely applied to real-life problems.  It is against this background that this study systematically explores swarm robots. This study reviewed eighty literatures relating to swarm robots. These literatures were obtained from journal articles, technical reports, books, and conference proceedings. The selection of these literatures was based on their relevance to the research problem. This study revealed that the application of swarm robots to real life problems would promote the development of systems that are robust, fault tolerant and scalable.

The COVID-19 Pandemic has been governed by various policies across the world, with corresponding public health measures varying in rigidity. Does this influence the course of the illness within each nation? This research presents an analysis of policy approaches adopted by the United States, China, and India, to describe the rigidity of public health measures and effects on case numbers and mortality rates. We show that in India, high rigidity is correlated with lower mortality. Rigidity in policy is also influenced by available resources in the country; for a resource-poor country like India, strict lockdown measures are vital to prevent overwhelming the healthcare systems and its resources. However, for a nation like the United States, a greater availability of resources may result in less stringent measures, putting greater emphasis on the workforce that prevents total lockdown. Similarly, we observe that citizen trust also influences public health policies. Chinese citizens had greater trust in their government and followed the less strict measures, and were successful in decreasing the case number and mortality rates.

In India, 58% of net sown area is under dryland agriculture, where rain is the only source of irrigation water.  Sowing is usually done in dryland whenever the ground is wet due to rainfall. But, if there is no rainfall within 30-40 days after sowing, the crop will be under severe dry spell condition and many a times the crop fails due to which the farmer incurs heavy losses. To solve this problem, a solar operated micro-irrigation applicator was developed and tested at Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University (CCSHAU), Hisar, Haryana, India. The machine consists of body structure with inbuilt 500 litres capacity water storage tank, solar panels, battery, solar charger, mono-block pump set with DC motor, transportation wheel and  drip irrigation system.  Water has to be taken from the pond where rain water has been stored during rainy season.   The machine works on solar power and can be installed anywhere in remote area.  In the last week of January, 2019, at CCSHAU, Hisar, the average solar insolation was 948 W/m² and the average voltage developed by the solar panels was 12.86 V.  The average discharge rate of dripper and sprinkler were 79.9 and 640.2 ml/minute, respectively. The performance of the machine was evaluated in bottle gourd and it was found to be satisfactory to save the crop under dry spell conditions.

Introduction: Occupational exposure to blood and body fluids (BBFs) is a serious public health concern and it constitute a major risk factor for transmission of infectious diseases such as hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus, and human immune deficiency virus. Therefore, regular adherence to standard precautions remains the best strategy advocated by World Health Organization and Centres of Disease Control for controlling occupational exposure to blood and body fluids.

Objectives: To evaluate the knowledge and practice of HCWs, as it relates to exposure to BBFs and adherence to standard precautions.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out within 8 months among primary health care workers. Information on knowledge of exposure to BBFs, standard precaution practices and post-exposure management were collected using interviewers’ administered questionnaire and observational checklist. The study was conducted among two hundred and thirteen health care workers in Ekpoma, Edo State. Data were entered, cleaned and analyzed using SPSS for window, version 16 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) statistical package software.

Results: Sixty eight (41.7%) of cleaners and 29(17.8%) of nurses/community health extension workers were aware of blood borne infections associated with occupational exposure to BBFs compared to doctors, 3(1.8%) and laboratory workers, 4(2.5%). It was also found out that majority (74.2%) of the participants had poor knowledge of infection control practices.

Conclusion: The knowledge and practice of standard precautions was found to be generally poor. Hence, all health care workers should be trained on the principles of infection control and exposure prevention. Also, relevant authorities need to formulate new strategies to create a favorable working environment that will ensure HCWs adherence to standard precautions.

The increasing energy demands in the building sector is considered as a main issue and has result both in the energy shortage and also environmental impact such as climate change and global warming. This demand is always increasing due to the high-rise level and also the need of thermal comfort. This paper aims to describe a passive approach to reduce the energy demand for a building through an improvement of the design of the thermal envelope. Within this work, we utilized the thermophysical properties of four building materials: three local materials (compressed earth, lateritic, and raw material) and one modern (Hollow cement) and an energy analysis of the building has been carried out. The numerical optimization of the building design has been performed dynamically by COMSOL Multiphysics software: case study of Ouagadougou and surface is 100m². Also, the temporal variations in the inside of the room as well as the temperature of the walls and the ceiling with four different materials have been determined. The result shows that, for BLT, the maximum obtained around 22H is 308K, for Adobe it is 309K around 18H30, for BTC it was 309.2K at 20H and finally for cement block it is 310K around 18H. The mean average temperature of the building is low when we use local materials instead of modern one. Then, we conclude that, the use of local materials in the building design is an option for reducing the heat transfer into the room and at the energy consumption.

Cabbage is one of the most popular vegetables in the world because of its adaptability to a wide range of climatic conditions and soil type, ease of production and storage, and its food value. Commercial cultivation of Cabbage is very successful due to high market demand and its medicinal importance to treat gout, deafness, headache and hangovers in the early days. The present study aimed to assess the Knowledge level of cabbage growers towards the recommended package of practices in Budgam District of Jammu and Kashmir, India during the year 2017-18. Ex- post- facto research design was adopted. The study was carried out in purposively selected Zone Chadoora of district Budgam of Jammu and Kashmir State, as having maximum area under cabbage crop. A sample of 120 cabbage growers was selected by proportionate allocation method from randomly selected six villages. The data was collected with the help of a well structured interview schedule. Data derived from the growers was analyzed by employing suitable statistical methods. Twelve independent variables were categorized and studied in relation to dependent variable i.e. knowledge   level about cabbage cultivation practices. Majority of the growers had medium knowledge level regarding the recommended package of practices for cabbage cultivation given by SKUAST-Kashmir. Correlation analysis revealed that education, occupation, operational land holding, area under cabbage, experience in cabbage cultivation, net income, mass media exposure and scientific orientation  had significant relationship with the knowledge level of cabbage growers whereas the remaining independent variables starting with age had a negative and significant relationship with the knowledge whereas, family size, innovation proneness and extension contact had no significant relationship with the knowledge level of cabbage growers. The identified gaps in farmers practices and recommended cultivation practices may help to give directions to the field level extension workers to manipulate the appropriate factors so as to increase the adoption level. The results of the study will be useful to extension personnel and administrators so that they could know the extent of knowledge and adoption behaviour of cabbage growers. The results could also be used to bridge the gap through intensive training and organizing of other extension activities.

Iron toxicity that seriously affect rice yield is a critical concern for the crop improvement programs in rice. Morphological analysis of germplasm is essential for the success of varietal crop improvement programs. The objective of this investigation is to estimate the phenotypic diversification of one hundred and fifty germplasm to identify the tolerant genotypes under iron toxic situation for exploitation of inherited variability from the accessible germplasm. Experiment has been carried out under lowland field condition to determine the reaction of rice germplasm under hotspots for iron toxicity. Significant differences among the genotypes have been observed. A significant difference is present among all the traits like days to 50% flowering, Plant height, panicle length, grain/panicle, grain weight, yield, leaf bronzing index (LBI) and tillers number. The phylogenetic analysis was also carried out to find out a core population for further study like association mapping with trait of interest. The genotypes like Mahsuri, Kusuma, Ganjamgedi, Pratikhya, Swarna, Dhusura have been found to be tolerant genotypes under iron toxic condition.

Aim: Scavengers are individuals who gather waste and recyclable materials from refuse dumpsites, and thus are exposed to varieties of deleterious substances that have the potential to modulate and affect human health. This study was designed to assess the lipid and atherogenic profile of scavengers utilising refuse dumpsites in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

 Methodology: Fifty (50) exposed (scavengers) aged 31.32±9.49 years and 50 non-exposed (control) aged 32.92 ±10.63 years (age-matched) male subjects were sampled. The blood pressure was measured and body mass index calculated from the height and weight of the subjects. Total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein, low density lipoprotein and triglycerides levels of the subjects were determined from fasting serum samples using standard spectrophotometric methods. Atheogenic ratios were also computed using established formulae. The data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21 and expressed as mean and standard deviations. Variations between parameters was considered significant at p<0.05.

Results: The result obtained revealed that the mean ± SD of total cholesterol, triglycerides and low density lipoprotein showed no significant difference (p > 0.05) while the level of high density lipoprotein showed significant difference (p < 0.05) between exposed (scavengers) and non-exposed (control) individuals. Body mass index and blood pressure did not also vary significantly (p>0.05) between the two group of subjects.

Conclusion: Cardiovascular disease risk exist among the study subjects as revealed by atherogenic profiling of the subjects indicating the need for life style changes and socio economic intervention among the subjects.

An earthquake with magnitude 5.9 occurred in the east of Falam on 16th April, 2020 at 11:45:23 (UTC). The epicenter is situated at latitude 22.789°N, longitude 94.025°E, 38 km ESE of Falam, at the depth of 10 km. Focal mechanism solution for this event is normal faulting (USGS). The epicentral location is in the Kabaw Valley along which Kabaw fault runs through in N-S direction. The Kabaw fault is situated in forearc region at the eastern base of N-S trending Rakhine Western Ranges under which the India oceanic plate is obliquely subducting beneath the Burma continental plate. The 2020 M 5.9 Falam earthquake occurred along two closely linked tectonic settings: north-eastward oblique subduction zone and north-south trending Kabaw fault zone system in the forearc region.The Falam earthquake ruptured the Tripura segment, one of the segments of India subduction zone, located approximately between latitude 22°-24°N according to the geographical location. This event is a rare intraplate earthquake and a subduction-induced strike-slip earthquake that ever occurred for the recent time in Myanmar. The shock was felt by cities of Gangaw, Kalemyo, Kalewa, Mandalay, Kyauk-se, Monywa. This earthquake was preceded by a loud sound and shaking lasts 1 minute. A few aftershocks of magnitude >3.5 followed the main shock in the vicinity of the epicenter. The vibration spread a wide area along Rakhine Yoma and Myanmar lowland area. The investigation of field survey from social media was found that the event reaches Modified Mercalli Intensity scale VIII based on people’s perception, indoor effects and damaged buildings. Damage is severe in some poorly built structures and upper parts of stupa and pagodas.

According to the literature, satellite imagery has positive effects on the teaching of Geography. Some of the most prominent benefits to students are the development of geographic thinking, the holistic understanding of the world, and the recognition of the problems the active citizen of the future will encounter. The present study forms part of a broader postgraduate work focusing on Satellite Imagery in Education.

Aims: The research undertaken for the present study aimed to determine the appropriateness for the Greek school system of a case study (i.e. theoretical background and worksheet exercises) presented through the European Space Agency’s (ESA) website, Eduspace.

Study Design:  Quasi-experimental.

Place and Duration of Study: National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, between December 2016 and May 2017.

Methodology: The case study entitled “Climate change and glaciers” was implemented to 19 Greek lower secondary students (control group) as approached by ESA. The purpose was to determine its positive aspects as well as points that could be further improved. Based on the findings of the implementation, researchers modified the case study proposing qualitative changes to adapt it to the Greek lower secondary school. The modified case study was applied to 20 Greek lower secondary students (experimental group).

Results: Results indicated there were differences in the educational outcomes of the two groups and, more specifically, in the degree of students' understanding of the theoretical framework and the corresponding exercises, as well as their understanding of glaciers as systems influenced by many factors.

Conclusion: Modifications can be made to the ESA case study “Climate change and glaciers” in order for it to be effective and useful in Greek lower secondary school.

The objective of this study was to determine the genotype × environment interaction (GEI) and stability performance of eight promising cotton genotypes at four agro-ecologies in Telangana State. The experimental material consisting of eight genotypes were planted in randomized block design replicating thrice in four diverse environments of Telangana state during 2017, Kharif season. The present investigation was carried out in four diverse environments of Telangana state viz. RARS, Warangal, ARS, Adilabad, ARS, Modhole and RARS, Palem (Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University) during 2017, Kharif season. The study was conducted at four diversified agro-ecologies of Telangana State. The experimental material comprised of eight genotypes viz., WGCV-109, ADB-638, WGCV-122, Narasimha, WGCV-119, WGCV-119, Srirama, WGCV-48 and ADB 645. First pooled analysis of variance was carried out to know the significance variation in genotype x environment interaction followed by AMMI analysis for genotype x environment interaction studies. Analysis of variance was significant for environments and (G x E) components indicating the use fullness of AMMI analysis in identifying the stable genotypes.  Among the eight cotton genotypes, WGCV-109, Narasimha and ADB-645 were found to be best yielders over environments whereas the genotypes G7 (WGCV-48) and G4 (Narasimha) found to be stable. Most of the genotypes showed environment specificity. As a result, almost all of the evaluated genotypes were affected by the genotype x environment interaction effects, hence no genotype had superior performance in all environments.  

An experiment was carried out on study of genetic variability in 30 genotypes of ivy gourd at Horticulture Department of Rajasthan College of Agriculture, MPUAT, Udaipur during July to September 2017. Twelve Growth and quality characters were studied. The analysis of variance indicated that the mean sum of square due to genotypes were highly significant for all the characters suggesting the presence of good deal of variability in material studied. High magnitude of genotypic as well as phenotypic coefficient of variations were recorded for traits viz., petiole length (27.63% and 29.93%), inter nodal length (22.73% and 23.40%), leaf width (22.63% and 23.35%) and leaf width (22.52% and 23.56%) and highest heritability recorded for inter nodal length (94.30%) followed by leaf length (93.92%), leaf width (91.37%), ascorbic acid (89.48 %), petiole length (85.17%), fruit weight (82.10%), fruit length (79.98%) and chlorophyll content in leaves (78.23%).The highest genetic gain was recorded for petiole length (52.52%) followed by viz., inter nodal length (45.47%), leaf length (45.17%), leaf width (44.34%), fruit weight (34.21%),  fruit length (28.24%) fruit diameter (23.31%) & genetic advance were also higher for some characters. Availability of high GCV & PCV shows presence of sufficient genetic variability for evaluated traits. This indicates that there is an ample scope of selection in the present gene pool for yield and its components.

Entrepreneurship in agriculture and allied activities provide better income generating and employment opportunities among the rural households. With changes like globalization, deregulation, open competition and technological change taking place, our society is becoming an entrepreneurial society. However, in an entrepreneurial society, individuals face a tremendous challenge in running an enterprise. In this context, the study was purposively conducted in Krishi Vigyan Kendra (Farm Science Center) operating under ICAR-NDRI which imparts regular training to farmers, youth and women on major areas of agriculture such as crop production, dairy farming, dairy processing, vermiculture, beekeeping, fish farming and home science. A total of twenty respondents/entrepreneurs; who had previously attended entrepreneurship training programme were finally selected based on random sampling. Therefore, entrepreneurs from various sectors i.e. four in seed production (4), beekeeping (4), vermi-composting (3), dairy processing (4), fish farming (3) and home science (2) were finally selected. The constraints were operationalised as certain irresistible forces which are creating obstacles in establishment and running of entrepreneurial unit like constraints related to establishment of farm enterprise, production, marketing and government rules and regulation were identified. The major constraints in establishment of farm enterprise was lack of new idea for starting new entrepreneurial ventures, high-cost and non-availability of input was the major production related constraints. In case of marketing, operation of unorganized agricultural market was the major perceived constraints whereas lack of digital literacy such as digital mode of payment was the major constraint highlighting the inefficiency of government rules and regulations.

A field investigation was conducted to evaluate the effect of moisture conservation practices [flat bed sowing, ridge and furrow, broad bed and furrow (BBF) and poly mulch on BBF] and integrated nutrient management treatments [Farmer’s practice, 100% recommended dose of fertilizers (RDF) of 150:60:60 NPK kg ha^-1, 125% RDF, 100% RDF along with 25% N through Farm Yard Manure (FYM) or press mud] and their combined effect on weed dynamics of Bt cotton at College Farm, Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University (PJTSAU), Telangana, India. The experiment was laid out in strip-plot design and replicated thrice. Pooled data of the two years (2015 and 2016) indicated that poly mulch on broad bed (M₄) registered significantly lower weed density and dry weight at 30 days after sowing (DAS) and it was followed by broad bed and furrow (M₃) which was at par with flat bed (M₁) and ridge and furrow (M₂) methods. Among nutrient management practices, lower weed density was recorded with the application of 100% RDF (S₂) followed by 125% RDF (S₃) and 100% RDF (S₅) along with pressmud equivalent to 25% RDN (S₅). However, the interaction effect on weed density and drymatter was found to be non-significant at 30 DAS. Contrary to this, at 60 and 90 DAS, the interaction was found to be significant. At 60 DAS, poly mulch on broad bed (M₄S₂) along with 100% RDF and poly mulch on broad bed (M₄S₃) along with 125% RDF recorded lower weed density over other treatment combinations. At 90 DAS also similar results were observed with respect to weed density. However, lower weed dry weight was observed with poly mulch on broad bed (M₄S₃) along with 125% RDF.

The availability of micronutrients in the niche defines the growth and yield parameters of chickpea. The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of different levels of biofertilizer with and without molybdenum on growth and seed yield of chickpea, at Seed Production Block, SGRR University, Dehradun, Uttarakhand. The experiment included seven treatment groups replicated thrice in Randomized Block Design. It was observed that all growth and seed yield parameters varied significantly with the application of different levels of biofertilizers with or without molybdenum. The observed results showed that all the plant growth parameters like plant height (54.67 cm), number of primary branches (5.34/ plant), number of pods per plants (64.00), fresh weight of plant (81.66 g) were maximum with treatment T₆ (20 g Rhizobium+25 g PSB +0.3 g molybdenum/kg seeds). The number of nodules per plant (28.00) and 1000 seed weight (142 g) were recorded maximum with the application of treatment T₇ (25 g Rhizobium + 30 g PSB + 0.3 g molybdenum per kg of seeds). The seed yield of chickpea was recorded maximum (15.67 q/ha) with the application of 20 g Rhizobium along with 25 g PSB and 0.3 g molybdenum per kg of seeds (T₆). Thus, our findings indicate that, among all other treatments, the application of 20 g Rhizobium along with 25 g PSB and 0.3 g molybdenum per kg of seeds is suitable for higher seed yield of chickpea in Doon valley of Uttarakhand.

The investigation was carried out for managing leaf and sheath blight of maize (Zea mays L.) by using different fungicides and bio control agents. The bio control agents and fungicides exhibited inhibitory action against the test pathogen under laboratory condition. Field experiment conducted during  kharif  season 2016 revealed that two sprays of  validamycin (0.2%), 30 and 40 days after sowing, gave maximum grain yield (30.0 q/ha) and 100-seed weight (208.0 g) with minimum percentage disease incidence (7%), (severity 1 on 1-5 scale), followed by difenoconazole @ 0.15% and hexaconazole (0.2%) for effective control of BSLB. Use of bio control agents Trichoderma harzianum and Pseudomonas fluorescens was found as best strategy for BSLB management.

Fusarium wilt of tomato caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici is a serious problem limiting tomato production worldwide. The intent of the study was to evaluate potential of bacterial antagonists to suppress fusarium wilt disease development and evaluate the role of the strains as plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) in tomato. Among fifty-two bacterial strains isolated from rhizoplane and rhizosphere of healthy tomato roots, five isolates viz. isolate-01, isolate-17, isolate-23, isolate-24 and isolate-32 were found highly inhibitory against mycelial growth of Fusarium sp., in dual cultures.  Highest inhibition of radial mycelial growth of pathogen in dual culture was induced by isolate-24 (72.2%) followed by isolate-32 (71.9%). In greenhouse experiments percent disease incidence (PDI) was lower in artificially inoculated tomato plants treated with isolate-32 (7.8%) and isolate-24 (8.9%), with percent disease reduction over control of 85.6% and 83.6%, respectively. These isolates also exhibited significant difference in seed germination percentage under artificial inoculation along with pathogen, highest germination percentage was recorded by isolate-32 (91%) followed by isolate-24 (89%) as compared to pathogen inoculated control (24%). The study concluded that the two native rhizobacteria isolated from root zone of healthy tomato plants could successfully protect the tomato plants from the lethal infection by Fusarium sp. while enhancing the germination of the treated plants.