Periodic Intervals Research Articles

Analysis of Dynamic Evolution of Surrounding Rock Movement and Stress-Fracture in the Upward and Repeated Mining of Close-Distance Coal Seams

The distribution of mining-induced stress and the resulting rock fractures are two crucial factors affecting mineral extraction in protective layer mining. This research establishes a correlation between the vertical fracture aperture and the second derivative of the rock layer’s subsidence curve equation. The article explores the span requirement for a simply supported beam to fracture. This condition is relevant to understanding the dynamic evolution of rock movement and stress fractures during repeated mining of close-distance coal seams. Our study investigates alterations in rock stress and fractures resulting from repeated upward mining of coal seams, using the nearby coal seam cluster in Jincheng Mine as a case study. The research findings indicate that during the mining of the upper coal seam, the roof experiences significant but brief periodic loading intervals, as well as severe and moderate periodic loading. As mining progresses to the lower coal seam, pressure relief of the upper coal seam gradually increases in both degree and range. In the upper coal seam, the vertical stress distribution follows a sequence of “V,” “U,” and “W” forms. The upper coal seam undergoes five stages of expansion deformation: compression, expansion, increased expansion, decreased expansion, and stable expansion.

Investigating the Mechanism of Strong Roof Weighting and Support Resistance Near Main Withdrawal Roadway in Large-Height Mining Face

Abstract Aiming at investigating the strong roof weighting when the large height mining face is nearing the main withdrawal roadway, the 52,304 working face (WF) nearly through the main withdrawal roadway mining in a colliery of Shendong coalfield was taken as the research background. The ground pressure, roof structure, and superposition effect of stress in the last mining stage were studied by field measurement, physical simulation, and numerical calculations. The obtained results demonstrated that the main roof formed the “long step voussoir beam” structure under the influence of the main withdrawal roadway. The superposition effect of the front abutment pressure of the WF and the concentrated stress of the main withdrawal roadway caused the stress asymmetrical distribution on the two sides -level hard rock straof the main withdrawal roadway, and the stability of the pillar on the mining side decreases. The initial average periodic weighting interval was 20.7 m. While the WF approaches the main withdrawal roadway, the pillar near the WF of the main withdrawal roadway collapsed, the main roof was broken ahead of the WF, and the actual roof control distance of support and the periodic weighting interval increased by 2.56 and 1.26 times the normal state, respectively. Consequently, the “static load” of the immediate roof and the “dynamic load” of the sliding unsteadiness of the long step voussoir beam increased. The structural model of the “long step voussoir beam” under the superposition of “static and dynamic load” was established concerning those results, and an expression was proposed to compute the support resistance. Meanwhile, the mechanism of strong roof weighting was revealed when the WF was nearly through the main withdrawal roadway. The research conclusion is expected to provide a guideline for the safe withdrawal of the large-height mining faces under similar conditions.

Evaluation of cerebral autoregulation of oxygen by NIRS method during postnatal transition period in term and late preterm newborns without resuscitation requirement.

Pulse oximetry is commonly used to monitor arterial oxygen saturation and heart rate during the transition period and reference intervals have been determined. However, the effect of the change in arterial oxygen saturation on tissue oxygenation does not seem to be the same. So, a non-invasive method for monitoring cerebral or regional tissue oxygenation will be potentially useful for vulnerable infants. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of cerebral autoregulation in the first 10 min after delivery in term and late preterm newborns without resuscitation requirement. Cerebral tissue oxygen saturation was measured in the first 10 min after birth with near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) from the left forehead. Peripheral oxygen saturation was measured with pulse oximetry from the right hand and cerebral fractional tissue oxygen extraction was calculated. Nineteen late preterms and 20 term infants were included in the study. There was no statistically significant difference between median cerebral tissue oxygen saturation and cerebral fractional tissue oxygen extraction values of late preterm and term infants (p < 0.001). There was a strong inverse relationship between cerebral tissue oxygen saturation and cerebral fractional tissue oxygen extraction (p < 0.001). In late preterm infants similar to term infants, arterial oxygen saturation and cerebral tissue oxygen saturation increased with time, but inverse reduction of cerebral fractional tissue oxygen extraction showed the presence of an active autoregulation in the brain. This can be interpreted as the ability of the brain to protect itself from hypoxia by regulating oxygen uptake during normal fetal-neonatal transition process. A larger scale multi-center randomized control trial is now needed to further inform practice.

Effect of Sowing Environment and Varieties on Growth Attributes of Rain-fed Wheat under Sub-tropical Foothills of Jammu

A field experiment was conducted at the Research Farm Advanced Centre for Rain-fed Agriculture (ACRA), Rakh-Dhiansar of Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu. The experiment was laid out in factorial randomized block design with three replications at during Rabi season of 2018-19 to study the effect of six dates of sowing (31st October, 15th November, 30th November, 15th December, 30th December and 14th January) on growth attributes of two wheat varieties (PBW-175 and JAUW-598). The sowing of rain-fed was done at spacing of 20 cm in sandy loam soil. The observations were recorded on plant height, total dry matter accumulation, crop growth rate and relative crop growth rate of wheat crop. Growth of wheat in terms of plant height, dry matter accumulation, crop growth rate and relative growth rate at periodic intervals revealed that at all the growth stages, the growth characters of wheat showed a pronounced improvement with varieties and sowing environments. The data showed significant effects of different sowing time on plant height, total dry matter and crop growth rate while relative crop growth rate found to be non-significant. Among varieties total dry matter found to be significant at 90, 120 DAS and at harvest as well as CGR at 60-90 DAS and 90-120 DAS while plant height and RGR showed to be non-significant at periodic intervals. In addition, the interaction effects were significant in some of observations.

Experiences of "Antara": The Injectable Contraceptive in Rural Indian Women Presenting to a Tertiary Care Hospital of Eastern India.

Depot medroxy progesterone acetate (DMPA) is an injectable contraceptive with well-proven effectiveness and excellent safety profile. It is marketed as Antara in India as a part of the government's family planning programme. This study aimed to assess the experiences of women using Antara (DMPA) at a tertiary care hospital of Eastern India. An institution-based retrospective cross-sectional study was carried out in the family planning unit of the study institution from April 2021 to October 2022 among 200 women of reproductive age. Each of the mothers was administered a researcher-administered questionnaire containing questions pertaining to their sociodemographic characteristics and Antara use experience. The mean age of the study participants was 26.4 ± 5.9years. Most of the participants were Hindus (55.0%), homemakers by their occupation (86.0%), and from lower socio-economic status. A significant proportion of the women had no formal education (14.0%) or had below primary education (14.5%). The most common reason provided by the participants for the discontinuation of Antara was the incidence of various side effects such as irregular menstruation, amenorrhea and apprehension. Lower educational status (p value < 0.001), poorer socio-economic status (p value < 0.001), and interval period starting of Antara (p value < 0.001) were statistically significantly associated with the discontinuation of the contraceptive. Most women who started taking DMPA (Antara) discontinued due to the fear of side effects. Therefore, the focus should be to educate women regarding the benefits and side effects of DMPA through proper counselling.

Discrete-Time Adaptive Control for Uncertain Scalar Multiagent Systems with Coupled Dynamics: A Lyapunov-Based Approach

Discrete-time architectures offer a distinct advantage over their continuous counterparts, as they can be seamlessly implemented on embedded hardware without the necessity for discretization processes. Yet, because of the difficulty of ensuring Lyapunov difference expressions, their designs, which are based on quadratic Lyapunov-based frameworks, are highly complex. As a result, various existing continuous-time results using adaptive control methods to deal with system uncertainties and coupled dynamics in agents of a multiagent system cannot be directly applied to the discrete-time context. Furthermore, compared to their continuous-time equivalent, discrete-time information exchange based on periodic time intervals is more practical in the control of multiagent systems. Motivated by these standpoints, in this paper, we first introduce a discrete-time adaptive control architecture designed for uncertain scalar multiagent systems without coupled dynamics as a preliminary result. We then introduce another discrete-time adaptive control approach for uncertain multiagent systems in the presence of coupled dynamics. Our approach incorporates observer dynamics to manage unmeasurable coupled dynamics, along with a user-assigned Laplacian matrix to induce cooperative behaviors among multiple agents. Our solution includes Lyapunov analysis with logarithmic and quadratic Lyapunov functions for guaranteeing asymptotic stability with both controllers. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control architectures, we provide an illustrative example. The illustrative numerical example shows that the standard discrete-time adaptive control in the absence of observer dynamics cannot guarantee the reference state vector tracking, while the proposed discrete-time adaptive control can ensure the tracking objective.

Effects of multiple hydraulic punching for ultra-deep buried high ground stress powdered coal seam with low permeability

The high ground stress and poor gas permeability of the ultra-deep buried highland stress coal seam make it difficult for conventional unloading and permeability-increasing techniques, such as fracturing or cutting, to achieve the goal of coal seam pressure relief. This article proposes a multi-stage hydraulic punching permeability increasing scheme for the M1-7∼M1-9 gas drainage project of the powdered coal seam with highland stress (44.42 MPa) in tunnel No. 2 of Zhaotong, and studies the effect of cavity formation and gas changes caused by multiple hydraulic punching through theoretical analysis and numerical simulation methods. The gas drainage effect after multiple hydraulic punching was also monitored on-site and systematically compared with natural gas drainage and single hydraulic punching permeability-increasing techniques to determine the optimal solution for multi-stage hydraulic punching. Using the COMSOL numerical simulation software, a coal body model was established based on theoretical analysis. Boundary pressures, ideal gas pressures, and high-pressure water flow pressures were set as boundary conditions to simulate the process of hydraulic punching. The theoretical analysis and numerical simulation were then used to guide on-site experiments. The research results shows that for ultra-deep buried highland stress powdered coal seams, natural gas drainage efficiency is extremely low, and the initial effect of single hydraulic punching permeability increasing is significant, but the fast decay rate of short gas is still due to the time that the cavity formed by hydraulic punching exists. Multiple hydraulic punching effectively alleviates the gas decay rate, and the gas drainage efficiency can reach three times and 22 times that of single hydraulic punching and natural drainage techniques, respectively. When the hydraulic punching interval period is five days and the hydraulic punching frequency is three times, the gas drainage effect is optimal. Multiple hydraulic punching permeability-increasing technologies can provide reference for gas extraction in similar low permeability coal seams with highland stress. The research holds great significance in promoting efficient gas extraction and ensuring the safety construction of gas tunnels.

Prescription Sequence Symmetry Analysis (PSSA) to assess prescribing cascades: a step-by-step guide

Prescribing cascades occur when patients are prescribed medication to treat the adverse drug reaction of previously prescribed medication. Prescription sequence symmetry analysis (PSSA) can be used to assess the association between two medications in prescription or dispensing databases and thus the potential occurrence of prescribing cascades. In this article, a step-by-step guide is presented for conducting PSSA to assess prescribing cascades. We describe considerations for medication data collection and setting time periods for relevant parameters, including washout window, exposure window, continued exposure interval and blackout period. With two examples, we illustrate the impact of changes in these parameters on the strengths of associations observed. Given the impact seen, we recommend that researchers clearly specify and explain all considerations regarding medication included and time windows set when studying prescribing cascades with PSSA, and conduct subgroup and sensitivity analyses.

Forecasting-Aided State Estimation in Power Systems During Normal Load Variations Using Iterated Square-Root Cubature Kalman Filter

The main aim is to estimating the voltage profile at all the buses in the system before the arrival of next set of hybrid measurements from field. The effectiveness of the algorithm ISCKF during load variations is evaluated with respect to already implemented Kalman filter approaches for this application. This includes the sudden changes in loads which occurring in practical power systems. The utilization of an iterated square-root cubature Kalman filter (ISCKF) for power system forecasting-aided state estimation (FASE) is being studied during normal load variations. Its implementation involves "Newton-Gauss iterative method being embedded into the square-root cubature Kalman filter (SCKF)" at the measurement update step of Kalman filter. The square-root factor of error covariance matrices is calculated by utilizing QR decomposition to avoid losing of positive definiteness of the matrix. The estimation is carried out utilizing hybrid measurements from remote terminal units and phasor measurement units. The state vector is forecasted using the proposed method in the interval period between two measurement arrivals from the devices. Thereby, caters to state estimation of the voltages at buses in the system even when the measurements are unavailable. The efficacy of the proposed algorithm to FASE is evaluated for IEEE 30-bus system and Northern Region Power Grid (NRPG) 246-bus system. The simulation results show that the proposed ISCKF outperforms the CKF by significant improvement in accuracy of forecasting-aided state estimation. ISCKF will be able to give results before the next set of hybrid data arrives (expected from an estimation algorithm). Therefore, the proposed estimation algorithm is applicable for real-time practical application, with respect to large power systems as well.

Exploring Thermoregulatory Responses and Hormonal Changes in Heat Stressed Assam Hill Goats

Background: Livestock productivity and health are adversely affected by heat stress (HS). The aim of this study was to determine the effects of HS on the thermoregulation and hormonal profile in Assam Hill Goats reared in the subtropical hilly regions of Meghalaya so as to arrive at a conclusion on its heat adaptation abilities. Methods: An experiment was conducted during the year 2022 for 120 days with twelve (12) Assam Hill Goats, aged between 3-5 months, randomly divided into 2 groups (n=6 per group). The goats in group I were exposed to HS through natural exposure to sunlight during the extreme summer months (May to August) for 07 hours (8 AM to 3 PM) during grazing. The control animals (CON, group II) were maintained under shade with no exposure to sunlight. Thermoregulatory responses viz., rectal temperature, respiratory rate and pulse rate and body weight data were recorded every 15 days interval of the sampling period. The hormonal profile viz., serum T3 (nmol/L), T4 (nmol/L) and Cortisol (ng/mL) were also determined. Result: Results revealed a significant (p less than 0.05) increase in rectal temperature, pulse rate (day 45 onwards to day 120) and respiratory rate in HS group in comparison to CON. A significantly (p less than 0.05) lower average daily gain was recorded in HS group. Serum T3 and T4 concentrations were significantly (p less than 0.05) reduced and cortisol concentration was significantly (p less than 0.05) elevated in HS group in comparison to CON. In conclusion, Assam Hill Goats exposed to environmental HS shows elevated thermoregulatory responses, decreased thyroid hormone activity and increased cortisol activity to reduce production to support life sustaining activities in the hilly regions.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of parenteral iron therapy compared to oral iron supplements in managing iron deficiency anemia among pregnant women.

This study compared the clinical efficacy and cost-effectiveness of parenteral iron, using intravenous iron sucrose (IVIS) therapy against the standard regimen of oral iron (OI) therapy for managing iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) among pregnant women in a natural primary care setting in Gujarat. A prospective cost-effectiveness study was conducted in natural programme setting wherein 188 pregnant women in their 14 to 18weeks with moderate and severe anemia women enrolled from two districts of Gujarat, and 142 were followed up until the post-partum phase. The intervention group comprised of 82 participants who were administered IVIS, while the comparison group comprised of 106 participants who were put on OI therapy. Hemoglobin (Hb) levels were measured at periodic intervals, first during enrollment and then during each month of pregnancy period and finally on the 42nd day of the post-natal period. Change in mean Hb level from baseline was the primary outcome, while the incidence of morbidity and mortality was a secondary outcome measure. The intervention group showed a significant incremental mean change in Hb level from 8.2g/dl to 11.45g/dl at the fourth follow-up, while the control group's mean Hb level reduced from 9.99g/dl to 9.55g/dl. The discounted cost per beneficiary for IVIS was US$ 87, while that for OI was US$ 49. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was US$ 9.84, which is 0.049% of India's per capita GDP. IVIS therapy was more clinically effective and cost-effective than OI therapy among pregnant women for management of moderate and severe anemia.

Determinants of Adoption of Mobile Health Applications: A Machine Learning Approach

Mobile health (mHealth) application concerns the use of wireless and mobile technologies to support the accomplishment of health objectives. With a doctor’s help, consumers may monitor their health metrics. This is exceptionally focal with the persistent torrent of the unstructured and structured data sets created on periodic intervals from the augmentation of mobile health applications in distinct healthcare systems and products universally. In this study, the leading principle was to examine the impact of perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use on the intentions to adopt Mobile Health application and elucidate with a extensive knowledge of machine learning techniques that might be applied to improve the expertise and knowledge of a mobile health application.12 measurements are based on perceived usefulness in the article, and 8 are based on perceived ease of use. Information was gathered from 200 respondents, of whom 102 used mobile health applications, considered them helpful, and preferred to use them again. The outcomes from the proposed machine learning prototypes have been shown to be quite accurate and effective. A comparison study was conducted based on accuracy values, and the findings indicate that Random Forest and Decision Tree models provide more accuracy than the other models. The research shows that Random Forest and Decision Tree models, which have 100% accuracy rate, produce the most accurate results. Therefore, the study is applicable to forecast accuracy and is valuable. for patients’ readiness to use mHealth applications and can be used to Contact doctors and get health information available at any time and from any location.

Enhanced particle separation through ultrasonically-induced microbubble streaming for automated size-selective particle depletion.

In this study, we present an automated method for achieving Size-Selective Particle Depletion in microchannels. This technique is notable for its label-free, sheath-free, and cost-effective attributes. It combines continuous Poiseuille flow with microbubble streaming to enable the manipulation of particles in an automatic or semi-automatic manner at periodic intervals. Larger particles are retained in proximity to the microbubble, with the option for subsequent eviction through a designated waste exit or their accumulation within a collection chamber for future analysis or manipulation. Unlike many conventional methods, our approach keeps the target particles in the vortices near the microbubble while the primary fluid flows continuously through the microchannel. Subsequently, these particles are ejected in just a few milliseconds, preserving the primary fluid and significantly reducing fluid wastage. We conducted an analysis covering multiple critical facets of the study. This included a rigorous statistical examination, flow characterization using volumetric micro PTV, high-frequency micro PTV for observing flow field transitions, evaluating the system's particle trapping capabilities across different sizes with a proprietary algorithm, and investigating the z-axis distribution of both incoming and escaped particles using volumetric micro PTV. The invaluable insights gleaned from this data played a pivotal role in refining the system and optimizing its operational parameters to achieve peak efficiency across various conditions, encompassing varying particle sizes, flow rates, and seeding densities.

Effect of denture base acrylic resin containing silver nanoparticles on Candida Albicans adhesion and its release in artificial saliva

Background Candida albicans was considered a main reason of precipitate formations and decomposition of acrylic denture base; so many trials were objected to resist this microbial action and prolong the shelf life of the formulated fitting base. Aim of the work The present study aimed to adopt a new mixture of the silver nanoparticles with the PMMA denture base to get a prolonged antimicrobial protection for the formed base against Candida albicans. Statement of problem Accumulation of Candida Albicans on fitting surface of poly methyl meth-acrylate (PMMA) denture base. Purpose To evaluate the effect of denture base acrylic resin containing silver Nanoparticles (Ag NP) on Candida Albicans adhesion and its release in artificial saliva. Materials and methods Sixty round disks with dimensions of 15 mm diameter and 3 mm thickness specimens were prepared for this research. Control group A: 10 specimens were prepared from pure PMMA. Experimental group B: 50 specimens were prepared from PMMA containing 5% of Ag NP. Isolation and identification of Candida Albicans were taken from oral cavity of 10 patients by swabbing. The Specimens were immersed in artificial saliva for 3, 6, and 9 months. Microbiological test was done for specimens of each group to detect Candida Albicans accumulation at the same interval period by measuring the inhibition zone created around the disks. Specimens were taken from the artificial saliva to evaluate silver release in it by using UV-Vis Spectrophotometer Instrument ‘SHIMADZO UV-310 PC. For Spectrophotometer 1.0 cm and/or 0.2 cm matched silica cells. The amount of accumulated silver released was calculated to detect its cytotoxic effect1. Results For control group A there was no inhibition zone for Candida growth around the specimens. While for group B with Ag NP the greatest antimicrobial effect was found at zero time then was decreased gradually with increasing the time till reaching zero effect after 9 months resembling the control group. The amount of Nano silver in artificial saliva after 3 months was found to be little then it was increased gradually with increasing time. Conclusion Adding Ag NP to PMMA denture base has antimicrobial effect against Candida Albicans for only 9 months; then there was no effect as silver was released in saliva. The amount of released silver was found to be with no cytotoxic effect.

A constraint programming approach for multi-objective tourist trip design problem with mandatory visits: A case study for İzmir Turkey

The Orienteering Problem (OP) is an optimization problem that finds the locations and routes that will return the highest profit/benefit, starting from the initial location of the traveler/vehicle, visiting these locations, and ending with the starting location of the tour within a given time or distance limit. There is no obligation to visit all locations in the problem structure. OP has many real-life applications, such as staff routing and disaster relief routing. In this study, OP with Time Windows (OPTW), an extension of OP, is discussed with hotel selection and mandatory visits. Although the main objective of OPTW is profit maximization, it is also essential to minimize the total travel time to complete the tour efficiently. For this reason, we consider the OPTW as a multi-objective problem. In the problem considered here, it is assumed that the profit/benefit, travel time between locations, service period, and time interval that each location can be visited are determined to be known. Within the scope of the study, first, a Mixed Integer Programming (MIP) model is prepared for the problem. Since the proposed mathematical model does not provide solutions in a reasonable time for large networks, the problem is solved by a Constraint Programming (CP) approach. Attractive tourist points of interest for Izmir, one of Turkey's major tourist cities, are determined, and the proposed method is applied to the real-life problem. The problem is modeled as Multi-Objective OPTW with MIP and CP and solved. Also, sensitivity analysis is performed by considering two different scenarios.

ТЕКТОНОФИЗИЧЕСКИЕ ОСОБЕННОСТИ ПРОЯВЛЕНИЯ LURR (LOAD-UNLOAD RESPONSE RATIO) НА ПРИМЕРЕ ЗЕМЛЕТРЯСЕНИЯ ТОКАЧИ-ОКИ (25.09.2003, MW = 8.3)

The paper presents the results of retrospective and tectonophysical analysis in the source area of the September 25, 2003 Mw = 8.3 Tokachi-Oki earthquake. Particular attention is paid to the Hidaka tectonic belt, the structures of which are involved in the Tokachi-Oki earthquake. The load-unload response ratio (LURR) method was applied at sufficient spatial (a square with a side of about 400 km) and temporal (continuous 20-year period) intervals to consider the results reliable. The harbingers for the Tokachi-Oki earthquake were obtained (2 years on average before the event), which strictly determined the earthquake location. Findings of the characterization of weak cataclastic fault rocks together with LURR results showed the stages of instability development in the Hidaka collision zone. The Hidaka tectonic belt was delineated by destruction zones (mainly horizontal compression) from 1997 to 2003 (up to the Tokachi-Oki earthquake). The LURR anomalies were detected along the belt a couple of years before the earthquake. The Tokachi-Oki earthquake prediction by the LURR method is one of the best in our practice.

A meta-regression analysis to evaluate the effects of narasin on grow-finish pig performance.

Ionophores are feed additives that decrease gram-positive microbial populations by disrupting the ion transfer across cell membranes resulting in improved growth performance. Narasin (Skycis; Elanco Animal Health, Greenfield, IN) is an FDA-approved ionophore utilized for increased rate of weight gain and improved feed efficiency in growing-finishing pigs. A meta-regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the effects of added narasin in growing-finishing pig diets to predict its influence on average daily gain (ADG), feed efficiency (G:F), and carcass yield. A database was developed containing 21 technical reports, abstracts, and refereed papers from 2012 to 2021 representing 35 observations for growth performance data in studies ranging from 35 to 116 d in length (overall data). In addition, within these 35 observations, individual period data were evaluated (143 observations) using weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly performance intervals (period data). Regression model equations were developed, and predictor variables were assessed with a stepwise manual forward selection procedure. The ADG model using the overall data included ADG, ADFI, and G:F of the control group, added narasin dose, and narasin feeding duration categorized as longer or shorter than 65 d. Predictor variables included in the G:F model using overall data were ADG, ADFI, and G:F of the control group and added narasin dose. For carcass yield, the final model included ADFI and G:F of the control group, added narasin dose, and narasin feeding duration of longer than 65 d. In the period model for ADG, the predictors included ADG, ADFI, and G:F of the control group, added narasin dose, and average BW of the control group categorized into greater than or less than 105kg. For period data for G:F, the model selected ADG, ADFI, and G:F of the control group and added narasin dose. Based on the results, the overall response to added narasin for ADG and G:F was quadratic and tended to decrease as ADG and G:F increased. A similar quadratic response was observed for the individual period data. In summary, using median values from the database for predictor variables, this meta-analysis demonstrated narasin would be expected to improve ADG between 1.06% and 1.65%, G:F between 0.71% and 1.71%, and carcass yield by 0.31% when fed continuously for longer than 65 d.

Anticipating Soil Erosivity of Kulfo Watershed in the Southern Main Ethiopian Rift in Response to Changes in Land Use and Land Cover

This study evaluates the land use and land cover (LULC) dynamics that play an indispensable role in the degradation and deterioration of soil and water quality affecting the natural resources throughout the Kulfo watershed in Ethiopia. Directed image classification is initiated for satellite images to study the watershed. The image classification is categorized into ten different LULC classes with validation of ground control points. A Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model was used to generate the average soil loss of the watershed. The model involves the Rainfall Erosivity factor (R), Soil Erodibility factor (K), Length and Slope factor (LS), Cover Management factor (C), and Support Practice factor (P). The dynamics of LULC change and rainfall erosivity over the past 30 years have been interpreted using maps from 1990, 2005, and 2020 using the C-factor and R-factor. The remaining factors, like K-factor, LS-factor, and P-factor, were kept constant over the period. The results reveal that the average annual soil loss rate (A) of the watershed is estimated to be 138.8 t ha-1, 161.2 t ha-1, and 173.25 t ha-1 per year, for the selected period intervals. During the past three decades, the soil loss rate in the watershed has increased by 34.4 t ha-1 per year. The watershed and sustainable soil and water conservation practices need special attention to mitigate the severity of soil erosion risks to avoid disaster.

Hybrid Power Source in Fish Farming With Help of IoT Technology

Fish farming is a difficult, task that involves growing fish without risk. Maintaining the pond's water quality allows for safe fish production. This will go over the creation of a real-time water quality system to monitor fish farms. The water quality monitoring system includes a dissolved oxygen sensor, a pH sensor, and a water temperature sensor. The Arduino Nano microcontroller is linked with the Internet of Things (IoT) platform to provide real-time remote water monitoring. The system is intended to efficiently monitor water quality in freshwater fish farms, specifically water parameters suitable for fish. Instead of testing the system in the real fish farm, it is tested using water that is simulated to the water quality for the fish farm. If the water was above and below the fixed parameter it gives us an alert and water exchange mechanism get started by remove the dirty water from the pond through the solenoid valve and provide the fresh water into the pond. By measuring the dissolved oxygen level if is any deviation occurs water circulation mechanism should be established and circulate the water for increasing the oxygen level by using the padding wheel which all these done automatically. It also done the automatic food feeding at the periodic interval time without the manual involvement sometimes it may cause a manual error such as underfeeding and overfeeding which may affect the fish health to reduce such stuffs we use this automatic food feeding system. Keywords: Fish farming; IoT; Solar energy; Solar PV.

Determination of gas flux and animal performance test duration of growing cattle in confined conditions.

Data from three experiments was analyzed to determine the number of visits and days to assess gas flux (CH4, CO2, and O2), dry matter intake (DMI), and average daily gain (ADG) from growing animals under confined conditions. In experiment 1, 213 animals (461 ± 91kg initial body weight [BW]) were fed a backgrounding diet and evaluated for 60 d. In experiment 2, 169 steers (488 ± 37kg initial BW) were fed a finishing diet and assessed for 70 d. In experiment 3, 64 steers (514 ± 42kg initial BW) were fed a finishing diet and evaluated for 80 d. In each experiment, animals were placed in one pen with one Greenfeed and five SmartFeeds to collect gas flux and feed intake simultaneously. Gas flux was analyzed using data from 161 animals from the three experiments with 100 visits for 2 or more min or 3 or more min. Also, metabolic heat production (MHP) was estimated using the individual gas flux. Daily DMI was calculated as the daily feed intake corrected by the dry matter concentration. ADG was computed as the slope of the regression of the shrunk BW (96% BW) throughout each of the experimental periods. The mean gas flux and MHP were estimated for increasing or decreasing 5-visit intervals starting with the first or the last 5 visits and increasing or decreasing until the full 100-visit dataset was utilized, respectively. Intervals of DMI were estimated for increasing or decreasing 5-d intervals starting with the first or the last 5 d and increasing or decreasing until the end of the experimental period, respectively. Intervals of ADG were estimated for increasing or decreasing measurement period intervals until the end of the experimental period, respectively. Pearson and Spearman correlations were computed between the maximum visits or days and each shortened visit or day interval. The minimum number of visits and days was determined when correlations with the total visits were greater than 0.95. The results indicated that the minimum number of visits needed to quantify CO2, O2, and MHP accurately was 40, while CH4 was 60. A visitation length of 2min or more or 3min or more did not modify the gas flux determination. Thus, based on the average daily visitation in these experiments, gas flux data could be collected for 25 d. Additionally, the required days to determine DMI was 30, while ADG could not be assessed in a shorter than 60-d period.