Archives-December 

By refusing to separate the management and workforce into water-tight compartments, the concept of Quality Circles made a radical departure from the western style of management. In the Quality Circle approach, the task performers at the grass-root level are given the privilege of participation in progress and to have a say in the work they do. Similarly, when we apply in academics, we suppose that people performing the tasks can rise to the occasion, solve their problems and recommend solutions provided the knowledge to analyze their problems is given. Ownership and responsibility towards the task are passed to the teachers and students doing the job. Quality Circles in academics do not segregate management, teachers and students into different blocks but treat them all as seekers of truth, together treading the path of knowledge. This in essence is the conceptual frame of the Quality Circles when we apply them in education.

Osmotic dehydration of mango fruits (Mangifer indica L.) is directed towards reduction of its seasonal losses at glut. Effects of sucrose concentrations; 40 to 65°Brix; temperatures; 30 to 50 ºC and time of immersion between 0 to 180 min were studied using samples of diced mango cubes of 2 cm3 dimensions. The measured response variables of water loss, solute gain and performance ratio were subjected to statistical analysis. The results were modelled and optimised on the premise of maximum WL and minimum SG and maximum PR as constraints using the modified distance approach of the response surface methodology (Design Expert 6.08). Optimal osmotic dehydration evaluated were 59.19oBx, 32.06oC and 156.min. of 53.03°Bx sucrose concentration yielded 42.32% WL, 3.41% SG and PR of 10.69 with a desirability of about 89.73%. The results showed that all the input process variables had a significant effect at 5% level of significance (P < 0.05). Optimal process conditions adopted in a semi-continuous pilot plant yielded about 47 (%) water loss and 7.1 (%) solute gain of the initial sample content. The system proved efficient in the treatment of mango with performance ratio in the range of 3 – 7 and could be used in the food industry for the preservation of fruits. More so, the model could be used to predict operational conditions for the OD of other similar fruits. Running title: Optimal osmotic dehydration of mango cubes

In this paper we describes and analyzes the Zone Routing Protocol (ZRP),which is a hybrid mobile ad-hoc protocol which fragments the network into overlapping routing zones, allowing for the use of independent protocols within and between the zones. ZRP performance better than other protocols ,but increase network load by use of useless control packets and decrease of network performance.

Background: The parity is the number of times that she has given birth to a fetus with a gestational age of (24) weeks or more, regardless of whether the child was born alive or was stillborn. The aim of this study is to shed more like on the role of effect parity on fibrinogen level. Objectives: study the effect of parity on the plasma fibrinogen in normal pregnant Sudanese women, and determination of levels of plasma fibrinogen in pregnant women Material and method: cross- sectional study was conducted at Algazera& Khartoum states during October to November 2015. (120) normal pregnant women with age ranging (20 – 42) years, classified as (60) non pregnant women (nullparas) as control group, (30) multiparae and (30) grand multipara’s. Results: The concentration of fibrinogen in the multiparae mean (6.20) as compared to (8.52) mg/dl in the control group (P.value 0.266) was insignificant, Grand multipara mean (3.77) as compared to (8.52) mg/dl in the control group (P.value 0.015) were significantly decreased compared to control.Conclusion: Normal pregnant multipara and grand multipara women fibrinogen levels are lower than in aged matched with non pregnant women. These changes are not directly associated with lipid metabolism during pregnancy (8).

Population and workforce, the most important indicators, which should be considered, and the growth of power in each territory are considered. Today, demographic factors and social characteristics of each country or territory, as a major force in determining the fate of the economy - the political and cultural situation, and the quality and efficiency of their current situation and future prospects, can positive and negative factors. The study also examined the distribution of rural and urban populations, migration and dispersal of non-resident population in the country, in order to plan and manage the appropriate distribution of the population, as well as the cause of the distribution is paid. Required data population ( total population, rural population (total, male and female), non-resident population (total, male and female ), and immigrant intake ), this research is provided for each province, and after review and the data transferred to the GIS environment, and maps of each of the demographic factors, to better understand the zoning for the entire country, and the reasons for the uneven distribution of population was described, The results indicate that, Tehran as the country's most populous province, and the province's most vulnerable immigrant is introduced. Ilam, in terms of population and in terms of immigration, there is the last category provinces, Khorasan Razavi province, has the highest rural population, and Qom, has the smallest population is rural, Sistan and Baluchestan Province has the highest number of nomadic populations, and Qom was seen as the minimum number of rural population, had the province in terms of soil and water are no facilities for pastoral work.

This paper explains the process of measuring and analyzing Bank’s total productivity (BTP) and the productivity changes in bank branches using Slack Based Measure (SBM) of DEA and Malmquist Productivity Index (MPI). in Export Development Bank of Iran (EDBI). For this purpose, we have measured and analyzed the productivity growth in EDBI branches using MPI in the period of 2000-2011. The trend of efficiency scores’ moving averages confirms improvement in BTP over the period of study. Moreover, the results show %1 and %2 on average improvement in the productivity of EDBI branches in period 2000 and 2011, respectively.

The solid phase FT-IR and FT-Raman spectra of pyridine-2,6-dicarbonyl dichloride (PDD) have been recorded in the regions 4000-400 cm^-1 and 3500-100 cm^-1, respectively. Geometry and vibrational wavenumbers are calculated using ab-initio Hartree-Fock (HF) and Density Functional Theory (DFT) methods employing the 6-311+G (d,p) basis set. The observed FT-IR and FT-Raman vibrational frequencies have been analyzed and assigned to different normal modes of the molecule. Using PEDs, the contributions are determined for different modes to each wavenumber.

Reading strategies are of interest for what they reveal about the way readers manage their interaction with written text and how these strategies are related to text comprehension. The aims of this study is to compare using of metacognitive strategies in reading skill by advanced, intermediate and elementary levels learners of English language. 200 Iranian EFL students both male and female were participated in this study. Their language proficiency level was classified to elementary, intermediate and advanced learners. It is convincing to mention that the participants were English major in teaching, translation and literature. The researcher utilized a questionnaire which was 22 items based on Likert Scale. The metacognitive reading strategies questionaire (MRSQ)is administered to investigate the frequency of participants'useof metacognitive reading strategies developed by Taraban,Kerr and Rynerson (2004). The results of the chi-square indicate that there is a significant relationship between the proficiency level of the students and their use of meta-cognitive strategies (x2 (8) = 74.67, P = .000 < .05). That is, as proficiency level increases the students make more use of meat-cognitive strategies. It should be also noted that gender as an independent variable in this study didn't cause any significant difference in the performance, i.e., we can claim that no significant differences between male and female students exist regarding the use of metacognitive strategies.

This paper presents the rehabilitation of a bridge (Zero bridge) which is constructed of old traditional construction material i.e. Wood (Timber). It includes the design considerations of substructure and superstructure of the bridge, Need for rehabilitation of bridge, difference between old and new design of bridge. Apart from the modern construction materials which are well documented in the codes of practice, Wood is an old traditional construction material which has proved to be durable, easy constructable , and effective for resisting earthquake loading as well.

Relationship of landscape position and soil properties to maize (Zea mays L.) yield was studied in coastal plain soils of Akwa Ibom state. The study aimed at assessing the physico-chemical soil attributes down the geomorphic surface as well as assessing the yield of maize in the respective landscape positions. A total of 3600 plant population (hybrid maize) were planted on 0.072ha in a Randomized complete block design. The traditional land preparation technique was employed after slashing the re-growth vegetation with cutlass. The trashes was left on the sites and allowed to dry for three weeks before burning. Pre-burn soil samples were taken before burning the trashes at the end of three weeks after slashing. The samples collected were analyzed in the laboratory for physico-chemical properties using standard methods (ASTM and IITA). Collected data were statistically analyzed and means of statistically significant parameters were separated using LSD (0.05). The results showed that sand particle of burnt and un-burnt soils were significantly different at 0-15cm of Upper slope (US) but not significantly different in other landscape positions (p<0.05). Soil pH in burnt soil was significantly different from the un-burnt soil (both at surface and sub surface) in the three landscape positions. Mean maize yields (with husk) was 0.09 and 0.11kg/ha ‘before’ and ‘after’ burning plots of US ; 0.12 and 0.16kg/ha in ‘before’ and ‘after’ burning plot of the middle Slope (MS) while the Bottom valley (BV) had 0.14 and 0.16kg/ha in ‘before’ and ‘after’ burning plots. Altogether, both husked and de-husked yields were higher in burnt plots than un-burnt plots. Along the slope, husked yield followed the order: BV (0.15kg/ha) > MS (0.14kg/ha) > UP (0.10kg/ha)) while de-husked yield also followed similar pattern but different magnitude.