MORPHOLOGICAL DIVERSITY OF MANGO GERMPLASM FROM THE UPPER ATHI RIVER REGION OF EASTERN KENYA: AN ANALYSIS BASED ON NON- FRUIT DESCRIPTORS

Phenotypic variation in plants can be evaluated by morphological characterization using visual attributes. Fruits have been the major descriptors for identification of different varieties of fruit crops. However, even in their absence, farmers, breeders and interested stakeholders require to distinguish between different mango varieties. This study aimed at determining diversity in mango germplasm from the Upper Athi River (UAR) and providing useful alternative descriptors for the identification of different mango varieties in the absence of fruits. A total of 20 International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) descriptors for mango were selected for use in the visual assessment of 98 mango accessions from 15 sites of the UAR region of eastern Kenya. Purposive sampling was used to identify farmers growing diverse varieties of mangoes. Evaluation of the descriptors was performed on-site and the data collected were then subjected to multivariate analysis including Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Cluster analysis, one- way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Chi square tests. Results classified the accessions into two major groups corresponding to indigenous and exotic varieties. The PCA showed the first six principal components accounting for 75.12% of the total variance. A strong and highly significant correlation was observed between the color of fully grown leaves, leaf blade width, leaf blade length and petiole length and also between the leaf attitude, color of young leaf, stem circumference, tree height, leaf margin, growth habit and fragrance. Useful descriptors for morphological evaluation were 14 out of the selected 20; however, ANOVA and Chi square test revealed that diversity in the accessions was majorly as a result of variations in color of young leaves, leaf attitude, leaf texture, growth habit, leaf blade length, leaf blade width and petiole length traits. These results reveal that mango germplasm in the UAR has significant diversity and that other morphological traits apart from fruits can be useful in morphological characterization of mango.

Holomorphic functions on non-Runge domains and related problems.

Let U be a domain in CN that is not a Runge domain. We study the topological and algebraic properties of the family of holomorphic functions on U which cannot be approximated by polynomials.

Rapid, simultaneous activation of thin nanowire growth in low-temperature, low-pressure chemically active plasmas

Multiscale numerical modeling of the species balance and transport in the ionized gas phase and on the nanostructured solid surface complemented by the heat exchange model is used to demonstrate the possibility of minimizing the Gibbs-Thompson effect in low-temperature, low-pressure chemically active plasma-assisted growth of uniform arrays of very thin Si nanowires, impossible otherwise. It is shown that plasma-specific effects drastically shorten and decrease the dispersion of the incubation times for the nucleation of nanowires on non-uniform Au catalyst nanoparticle arrays. The fast nucleation makes it possible to avoid a common problem of small catalyst nanoparticle burying by amorphous silicon. These results explain a multitude of experimental observations on chemically active plasma-assisted Si nanowire growth and can be used for the synthesis of a range of inorganic nanowires for environmental, biomedical, energy conversion, and optoelectronic applications.

Comparison Of If Estimation Methods For Noise Robustness

Non-stationary signal modeling is a well addressed problem in the literature. Many methods have been proposed to model non-stationary signals such as time varying linear prediction and AM-FM modeling, the later being more popular. Estimation techniques to determine the AM-FM components of narrow-band signal, such as Hilbert transform, DESA1, DESA2, auditory processing approach, ZC approach, etc., are prevalent but their robustness to noise is not clearly addressed in the literature. This is critical for most practical applications, such as in communications. We explore the robustness of different AM-FM estimators in the presence of white Gaussian noise. Also, we have proposed three new methods for IF estimation based on non-uniform samples of the signal and multi-resolution analysis. Experimental results show that ZC based methods give better results than the popular methods such as DESA in clean condition as well as noisy condition.

迎风紧致格式的混淆误差分析及其同谱方法的比较

对运用迎风紧致格式求解非线性方程时混淆误差产生的机理进行了研究，通过算例对五阶迎风紧致格式与谱方法进行了比较，发现在混淆误差的处理上迎风紧致格式优于谱方法。

粘性可压混合层时间稳定性对称紧致差分求解

基于可压扰动方程组的一阶改型，将高精度对称紧致格式引入边值法数值线性稳定分析。对所获非线性离散特征值问题给出了一个通用形式二阶迭代局部算法，实现了时间模式和空间模式的统一求解，并将扰动特征及其特征函数同时得到。据此分析了可压平面自由混合层时间稳定性，涉及二维/三维扰动波、粘性/无粘扰动波、第一/第二模态、特征函数、伪特征值谱等。研究表明，压缩性效应和粘性效应对最不稳定扰动波数和增长率呈相似的减抑作用；在Mc = 1附近，从高波数段开始，粘性效应可强化二维不稳定扰动波由第一模态向第二模态的过渡。

可压缩流气动声场的数值模拟

气动声学是一门流动力学和声学之间的交叉学科，主要研究流动及其与物体相互作用产生噪声的机理。动用计算技术研究气动声学问题的手段称为计算气动声学。本文的目的是，基于高精度数值算法的研究，分别运用Lighthill比拟理论、Kirchhoff积分和直接数值模拟等方法，针对翼型绕流、激波-涡干扰和轴对称射流，研究了物面非定常脉动压力、涡脱落、激波-涡干扰以及涡对并等产生噪声的机理。首先针对声场与主流场在能级和特征尺度等方面的差异，从空间离散角度分析了几种差分格式，表明迎风紧致格式/对称紧致格式有较小的数值色散、耗散和各向异性误差，因而适用于气动噪声的计算。以Runge-Kutta格式为例，对时间离散带来的误差进行了分析。指出对声波计算来说，仅考虑格式稳定性是不够的，时间步长还受到允许色散误差和耗散误差的限制。基于保色戎关系的思想，构造了优化Runge-Kutta格式。处例显示优化Runge-Kutta格式相对于经典格式有更高的计算效率。采用3阶迎风紧致格式和3阶Runge-Kutta格式数值模拟了NACA0012翼型的可压缩非定常绕流流场，并将此流场作为近场声源，运用声学比拟理论对偶极子声和四极子声进行研究。结果指出，主流速度对远场声压有决定性影响，在来流马赫数较大时，四极子噪声和偶极子噪声具有相同量级，不能被忽略，表明了可压缩效应对声场的影响。采用5阶迎风紧致格式和4阶Runge-Kutta格式求解非定常可压缩Navier-Stokes方程，对激波-单涡/双涡干扰导致的声场进行了直接数值模拟。详细研究了激波-涡干扰产生噪声的机理，指出噪声的产生及其性质和激波变形密切相关。研究了近场噪声衰减和传播距离r的关系，发现噪声衰减大致和r~(4/5)而不是r~(1/2)成反比关系，提出这种差异是由流场的非线性效应引起的。构造了Kirchhoff积分和非定常流动计算相结合的算法。采用5阶迎风紧致格式和3阶Runge-Kutta格式对亚声速轴对称射流进行直接数值模拟。将射流流场作为近场声源，结合Kirchhoff方法求解远场 气动噪声。数值结果表明远场噪声具有方向性，噪声声压在离开对称轴20°处达到最大值。随着传播距离增大，噪声方向性逐渐减弱。

Discrete Modeling of Granular Media: A NURBS-based Approach

This dissertation is concerned with the development of a new discrete element method (DEM) based on Non-Uniform Rational Basis Splines (NURBS). With NURBS, the new DEM is able to capture sphericity and angularity, the two particle morphological measures used in characterizing real grain geometries. By taking advantage of the parametric nature of NURBS, the Lipschitzian dividing rectangle (DIRECT) global optimization procedure is employed as a solution procedure to the closest-point projection problem, which enables the contact treatment of non-convex particles. A contact dynamics (CD) approach to the NURBS-based discrete method is also formulated. By combining particle shape flexibility, properties of implicit time-integration, and non-penetrating constraints, we target applications in which the classical DEM either performs poorly or simply fails, i.e., in granular systems composed of rigid or highly stiff angular particles and subjected to quasistatic or dynamic flow conditions. The CD implementation is made simple by adopting a variational framework, which enables the resulting discrete problem to be readily solved using off-the-shelf mathematical programming solvers. The capabilities of the NURBS-based DEM are demonstrated through 2D numerical examples that highlight the effects of particle morphology on the macroscopic response of granular assemblies under quasistatic and dynamic flow conditions, and a 3D characterization of material response in the shear band of a real triaxial specimen.

Compact finite difference - Fourier spectral method for three-dimensional incompressible Navier-Stokes equations

A new compact finite difference-Fourier spectral hybrid method for solving the three dimensional incompressible Navier-Stokes equations is developed in the present paper. The fifth-order upwind compact finite difference schemes for the nonlinear convection terms in the physical space, and the sixth-order center compact schemes for the derivatives in spectral space are described, respectively. The fourth-order compact schemes in a single nine-point cell for solving the Helmholtz equations satisfied by the velocities and pressure in spectral space is derived and its preconditioned conjugate gradient iteration method is studied. The treatment of pressure boundary conditions and the three dimensional non-reflecting outflow boundary conditions are presented. Application to the vortex dislocation evolution in a three dimensional wake is also reported.

Effect of exercise referral schemes in primary care on physical activity and improving health outcomes: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective To assess the impact of exercise referral schemes on physical activity and health outcomes. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis. Data sources Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, Cochrane Library, ISI Web of Science, SPORTDiscus, and ongoing trial registries up to October 2009. We also checked study references. Study selection - Design: randomised controlled trials or non-randomised controlled (cluster or individual) studies published in peer review journals. - Population: sedentary individuals with or without medical diagnosis. - Exercise referral schemes defined as: clear referrals by primary care professionals to third party service providers to increase physical activity or exercise, physical activity or exercise programmes tailored to individuals, and initial assessment and monitoring throughout programmes. - Comparators: usual care, no intervention, or alternative exercise referral schemes. Results Eight randomised controlled trials met the inclusion criteria, comparing exercise referral schemes with usual care (six trials), alternative physical activity intervention (two), and an exercise referral scheme plus a self determination theory intervention (one). Compared with usual care, follow-up data for exercise referral schemes showed an increased number of participants who achieved 90-150 minutes of physical activity of at least moderate intensity per week (pooled relative risk 1.16, 95% confidence intervals 1.03 to 1.30) and a reduced level of depression (pooled standardised mean difference −0.82, −1.28 to −0.35). Evidence of a between group difference in physical activity of moderate or vigorous intensity or in other health outcomes was inconsistent at follow-up. We did not find any difference in outcomes between exercise referral schemes and the other two comparator groups. None of the included trials separately reported outcomes in individuals with specific medical diagnoses. Substantial heterogeneity in the quality and nature of the exercise referral schemes across studies might have contributed to the inconsistency in outcome findings. Conclusions Considerable uncertainty remains as to the effectiveness of exercise referral schemes for increasing physical activity, fitness, or health indicators, or whether they are an efficient use of resources for sedentary people with or without a medical diagnosis.

Fourth order accurate compact scheme with group velocity control (GVC)

For solving complex flow field with multi-scale structure higher order accurate schemes are preferred. Among high order schemes the compact schemes have higher resolving efficiency. When the compact and upwind compact schemes are used to solve aerodynamic problems there are numerical oscillations near the shocks. The reason of oscillation production is because of non-uniform group velocity of wave packets in numerical solutions. For improvement of resolution of the shock a parameter function is introduced in compact scheme to control the group velocity. The newly developed method is simple. It has higher accuracy and less stencil of grid points.

Effect on trend estimates of the difference between survey respondents and non-respondents: Results from 27 populations in the WHO MONIICA Project

Introduction: In the World Health Organization (WHO) MONICA (multinational MONItoring of trends and determinants in CArdiovascular disease) Project considerable effort was made to obtain basic data on non-respondents to community based surveys of cardiovascular risk factors. The first purpose of this paper is to examine differences in socio-economic and health profiles among respondents and non-respondents. The second purpose is to investigate the effect of non-response on estimates of trends. Methods:Socio-economic and health profile between respondents and non-respondents in the WHO MONICA Project final survey were compared. The potential effect of non-response on the trend estimates between the initial survey and final survey approximately ten years later was investigated using both MONICA data and hypothetical data. Results: In most of the populations, non-respondents were more likely to be single, less well educated, and had poorer lifestyles and health profiles than respondents. As an example of the consequences, temporal trends in prevalence of daily smokers are shown to be overestimated in most populations if they were based only on data from respondents. Conclusions: The socio-economic and health profiles of respondents and non-respondents differed fairly consistently across 27 populations. Hence, the estimators of population trends based on respondent data are likely to be biased. Declining response rates therefore pose a threat to the accuracy of estimates of risk factor trends in many countries.

Investigation on a simulation model of floating half zone convection .2. Experiment

A simulation model of floating half zone with non-uniform temperature distribution at the upper rod and uniform temperature distribution at lower rod was discussed by numerical investigation in a previous paper. In the present paper, the experimental investigation of the simulation model is given generally. The results of the present model show that the temperature profile is quite different and the critical applied temperature difference is lower than the one of usual model with same geometrical parameters in most cases. The features of critical Marangoni number depending on the liquid bridge volume are also different from the ones of usual model.

Contrasting code performances for computational aeroacoustics of jets

The numerical propagation of subcritical Tollmein-Schlichting (T-S), inviscid vortical and cut-on acoustic waves is explored. For the former case, the performances of the very different NEAT, NTS, HYDRA, FLUXp and OSMIS3D codes is studied. A modest/coarse hexahedral computational grid that starkly shows differences between the different codes and schemes used in them is employed. For the same order of discretization the five codes show similar results. The unstructured codes are found to propagate vortical and acoustic waves well on triangular cell meshes but not the T-S wave. The above code contrasting exercise is then carried out using implicit LES or Smagorinsky LES for and Ma = 0.9 plane jet on modest 0.5 million cell grids moving to circa 5 million cell grids. For this case, even on the coarse grid, for all codes results were generally encouraging. In general, the spread in computational results is less than the spread of the measurements. Interestingly, the finer grid turbulence intensity levels are slightly more under-predicted than those of the coarse grid. This difference is attributed to the numerical dispersion error having a favourable coarse grid influence. For a non-isothermal jet, HYDRA and NTS also give encouraging results. Peak turbulence values along the jet centreline are in better agreement with measurements than for the isothermal jets. Copyright © 2006 by University of Wales.