Search results for: dry matter

Authors: Petros Gkotsis, Giorgos Stratidis, Manassis Mitrakas, Anastasios Zouboulis

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This study investigates the use of original and pre-polymerized iron (Fe) reagents compared to the commonly applied polyaluminum chloride (PACl) coagulant for surface water treatment. Applicable coagulants included both ferric chloride (FeCl₃) and ferric sulfate (Fe₂(SO₄)₃) and their pre-polymerized Fe reagents, such as polyferric sulfate (PFS) and polyferric chloride (PFCl). The efficiency of coagulants was evaluated by the removal of natural organic matter (NOM) and suspended solids (SS), which were determined in terms of reducing the UV absorption at 254 nm and turbidity, respectively. The residual metal concentration (Fe and Al) was also measured. Coagulants were added at five concentrations (1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 mg/L) and three pH values (7.0, 7.3 and 7.6). Experiments were conducted in a jar-test device, with two types of synthetic surface water (i.e., of high and low organic strength) which consisted of humic acid (HA) and kaolin at different concentrations (5 mg/L and 50 mg/L). After the coagulation/flocculation process, clean water was separated with filters of pore size 0.45 μm. Filtration was also conducted before the addition of coagulants in order to compare the ‘net’ effect of the coagulation/flocculation process on the examined parameters (UV at 254 nm, turbidity, and residual metal concentration). Results showed that the use of PACl resulted in the highest removal of humics for both types of surface water. For the surface water of high organic strength (humic acid-kaolin, 50 mg/L-50 mg/L), the highest removal of humics was observed at the highest coagulant dosage of 5 mg/L and at pH=7. On the contrary, turbidity was not significantly affected by the coagulant dosage. However, the use of PACl decreased turbidity the most, especially when the surface water of high organic strength was employed. As expected, the application of coagulation/flocculation prior to filtration improved NOM removal but slightly affected turbidity. Finally, the residual Fe concentration (0.01-0.1 mg/L) was much lower than the residual Al concentration (0.1-0.25 mg/L).

Keywords: coagulation/flocculation, iron and aluminum coagulants, metal salts, pre-polymerized coagulants, surface water treatment

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Authors: Laura Masilionyte, Danute Jablonskyte-Rasce, Kestutis Venslauskas, Zita Kriauciuniene

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Alternative farming systems are used to cultivate high-quality food products and sustain the viability and fertility of the soil. Plant nutrition in all ecosystems depends not only on fertilization intensity or soil richness in organic matter but also on soil physical parameters –bulk density, structure, pores with the optimum moisture and air ratio available to plants. The field experiments of alternative (sustainable and organic) farming systems were conducted at Joniskelis Experimental Station of the Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry in 2006–2016. The soil of the experimental site was Endocalcari-Endohypogleyic Cambisol (CMg-n-w-can). In alternative farming systems, farmyard manure, straw and catch crops for green manure were used for fertilization both in the soil with low and moderate humus contents. It had a more significant effect in the 0–20 cm depth layer on soil moisture than on other physical soil properties. In the agricultural systems, where catch crops were grown, soil physical characteristics did not differ significantly before their biomass incorporation, except for the moisture content, which was lower in rainy periods and higher in drier periods than in the soil of farming systems without catch crops. Soil bulk density and porosity in the topsoil layer were more dependent on soil humus content than on agricultural measures used: in the soil with moderate humus content, compared with the soil with low humus content, bulk density was by 1.4% lower, and porosity by 1.8% higher. The research findings allow to make improvements in alternative farming systems by choosing appropriate combinations of organic fertilizers and catch crops that have a sustainable effect on soil and maintain the sustainability of soil productivity parameters. Rational fertilization systems, securing the stability of soil productivity parameters and crop rotation productivity will promote the development of organic agriculture.

Keywords: agro-measures, soil physical parameters, organic farming, sustainable farming

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Authors: Xiaoqing Liu, Kurt Friese, Karsten Rinke

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Lacustrine sediment archives rich paleoenvironmental information in lake and surrounding environment. Additionally, modern sediment is used as an effective medium for the monitoring of lake. Organic carbon in sediment is a heterogeneous mixture with varying turnover times and qualities which result from the different biogeochemical processes in the deposition of organic material. Therefore, the isolation of different carbon pools is important for the research of lacustrine condition in the lake. However, the numeric available fractionation procedures can hardly yield homogeneous carbon pools on terms of stability and age. In this work, a multi-step fractionation protocol that treated sediment with hot water, HCl, H2O2 and Na2S2O8 in sequence was adopted, the treated sediment from each step were analyzed for the isotopic and structural compositions with Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer coupled with element analyzer (IRMS-EA) and Solid-state 13C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), respectively. The sequential extractions with hot-water, HCl, and H2O2 yielded a more homogeneous and C3 plant-originating OC fraction, which was characterized with an atomic C/N ratio shift from 12.0 to 20.8, and 13C and 15N isotopic signatures were 0.9‰ and 1.9‰ more depleted than the original bulk sediment, respectively. Additionally, the H2O2- resistant residue was dominated with stable components, such as the lignins, waxes, cutans, tannins, steroids and aliphatic proteins and complex carbohydrates. 6M HCl in the acid hydrolysis step was much more effective than 1M HCl to isolate a sedimentary OC fraction with higher degree of homogeneity. Owing to the extremely high removal rate of organic matter, the step of a Na2S2O8 oxidation is only suggested if the isolation of the most refractory OC pool is mandatory. We conclude that this multi-step chemical fractionation procedure is effective to isolate more homogeneous OC pools in terms of stability and functional structure, and it can be used as a promising method for OC pools fractionation of sediment or soil in future lake research.

Keywords: 13C-CPMAS-NMR, 13C signature, lake sediment, OC fractionation

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Authors: Vanessa Morgado, Ricardo Bettencourt da Silva, Carla Palma

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The environmental pollution by microplastics is well recognized. Microplastics were already detected in various matrices from distinct environmental compartments worldwide, some from remote areas. Various methodologies and techniques have been used to determine microplastic in such matrices, for instance, sediment samples from the ocean bottom. In order to determine microplastics in a sediment matrix, the sample is typically sieved through a 5 mm mesh, digested to remove the organic matter, and density separated to isolate microplastics from the denser part of the sediment. The physical analysis of microplastic consists of visual analysis under a stereomicroscope to determine particle size, colour, and shape. The chemical analysis is performed by an infrared spectrometer coupled to a microscope (micro-FTIR), allowing to the identification of the chemical composition of microplastic, i.e., the type of polymer. Creating legislation and policies to control and manage (micro)plastic pollution is essential to protect the environment, namely the coastal areas. The regulation is defined from the known relevance and trends of the pollution type. This work discusses the assessment of contamination trends of a 700 km² oceanic area affected by contamination heterogeneity, sampling representativeness, and the uncertainty of the analysis of collected samples. The methodology developed consists of objectively identifying meaningful variations of microplastic contamination by the Monte Carlo simulation of all uncertainty sources. This work allowed us to unequivocally conclude that the contamination level of the studied area did not vary significantly between two consecutive years (2018 and 2019) and that PET microplastics are the major type of polymer. The comparison of contamination levels was performed for a 99% confidence level. The developed know-how is crucial for the objective and binding determination of microplastic contamination in relevant environmental compartments.

Keywords: measurement uncertainty, micro-ATR-FTIR, microplastics, ocean contamination, sampling uncertainty

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Authors: Mohammad Zaeimzade

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The development of communication technologies is clearly and rapidly moving towards reducing the distance between the virtual and real worlds. Of course, living in a two-spatial or two-globalized world or any other interpretation that means mixing real and virtual life is still relevant and debatable. In the present age of communication, where social networks have transformed the message equation and turned the audience out of passivity and turned into a user. Platforms have penetrated widely in various aspects of human life, from culture and education and economy. Among the messengers, Instagram, which is one of the most extensive image-based interactive networks, plays a significant role in the new economic life. It doesn't need much explanation that the era of thinking of every messenger as a non-insulating conductor that is just a neutral load has passed. Every messenger has its own economic, political and of course security background, Instagram is no exception to this rule and of course it leaves its effects in bio-economics as well. Iran, as the 19th largest economy in the world, has not been unaffected by new platforms, including Instagram, and their consequences in the economy. Generally, in the policy-making space, there are two simple and inflexible pessimistic or optimistic views on this issue, and each of the holders of these views usually have their own one-dimensional policy recommendations regarding how to deal with Instagram. Prescriptions that are usually very different and sometimes contradictory. In this article, we show that this confusion of policymakers is the result of not accurately describing the reality of its effect, and the reason for this inaccurate description is the existence of a conflict of interests in the eyes of describers and researchers. In this article, we first take a look at the main indicators of the Iranian economy, estimate the role of the digital economy in Iran's economic growth, then study the conflicting descriptions of the Instagram-based digital economy, the statistics that show the tolerance of economic users of Instagram in Iran. 300 thousand to 9 million have been estimated. Finally, we take a look at the government's actions in this matter, especially in the context of street riots in October and November 2022. And we suggest an intermediate idea.

Keywords: digital economy, instagram, conflict of interest, social networks

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Authors: Shih-Chieh Liao, Cheng-Yan Shuai

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"Party game" is a game mode that enables players to maintain a good social and interactive experience. The common game modes include Teamwork, Team competitive, Independent competitive, Battle Royale. Party games are defined as a game with easy rules, easy to play, quickly spice up a party, and support four to six players. It also needs to let the player feel satisfied no matter victory or defeat. However, players may feel negative or angry when the game is imbalanced, especially when they play with teammates. Some players care about winning or losing, and they will blame it on the game mechanics. What is more serious is that the player will cause the argument, which is unnecessary. These behaviors that trigger quarrels and negative emotions often originate from the player's determination of the victory and the ratio of victory during the competition. In view of this, our research invited a group of subjects to the experiment, which is going to inspect player’s emotions by Electromyography (EMG) and Electrodermal Activity (EDA) when they are playing party games with others. When a player wins or loses, the negative and positive feeling will be recorded from the game beginning to the end. At the same time, physiologic and emotional reactions are also being recorded in each part of the game. The game will be designed as telling the interaction when players are in the quest of a party game. The experiment content includes the emotional changes affected by the physiological values of game victory and defeat between “player against friend” and “player against stranger.” Through this experiment, the balance between winners and losers lies in the basis of good game interaction and game interaction in the game and explore the emotional positive and negative effects caused by the result of the party game. The result shows that “player against friend” has a significant negative emotion and significant positive emotion at “player against stranger.” According to the result, the player's experience will be affected with winning rate or form when they play the party game. We suggest the developer balance the game with our experiment method to let players get a better experience.

Keywords: party games, biofeedback, emotional responses, user experience, game design

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Authors: Ankita Tiwari, Jyoti Saini, Subhasis Ghosh

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For many years, researchers have been fascinated by the subject of how properties evolve as dimensionality is lowered. Early on, it was shown that the presence of a significant magnetic anisotropy might compensate for the lack of long-range (LR) magnetic order in a low-dimensional system (d < 3) with continuous symmetry, as proposed by Hohenberg-Mermin and Wagner (HMW). Strong magnetic anisotropy allows an LR magnetic order to stabilize in two dimensions (2D) even in the presence of stronger thermal fluctuations which is responsible for the absence of Heisenberg ferromagnetism in 2D. Van der Waals (vdW) ferromagnets, including CrI₃, CrTe₂, Cr₂X₂Te₆ (X = Si and Ge) and Fe₃GeTe₂, offer a nearly ideal platform for studying ferromagnetism in 2D. Fe₃GeTe₂ is the subject of extensive investigation due to its tunable magnetic properties, high Curie temperature (Tc ~ 220K), and perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. Many applications in the field of spintronics device development have been quite active due to these appealing features of Fe₃GeTe₂. Although it is known that LR-driven ferromagnetism is necessary to get around the HMW theorem in 2D experimental realization, Heisenberg 2D ferromagnetism remains elusive in condensed matter systems. Here, we show that Fe₃GeTe₂ hosts both localized and delocalized spins, resulting in itinerant and local-moment ferromagnetism. The presence of LR itinerant interaction facilitates to stabilize Heisenberg ferromagnet in 2D. With the help of Rhodes-Wohlfarth (RW) and generalized RW-based analysis, Fe₃GeTe₂ has been shown to be a 2D ferromagnet with itinerant magnetism that can be modulated by an external magnetic field. Hence, the presence of both local moment and itinerant magnetism has made this system interesting in terms of research in low dimensions. We have also rigorously performed critical analysis using an improvised method. We show that the variable critical exponents are typical signatures of 2D ferromagnetism in Fe₃GeTe₂. The spontaneous magnetization exponent β changes the universality class from mean-field to 2D Heisenberg with field. We have also confirmed the range of interaction via the renormalization group (RG) theory. According to RG theory, Fe₃GeTe₂ is a 2D ferromagnet with LR interactions.

Keywords: Van der Waal ferromagnet, 2D ferromagnetism, phase transition, itinerant ferromagnetism, long range order

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Authors: Marta Błażkiewicz, Adam Konefał

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Currently, boron-neutron therapy is carried out mainly with the use of a neutron beam generated in research nuclear reactors. This fact limits the possibility of realization of a BNCT in centers distant from the above-mentioned reactors. Moreover, the number of active nuclear reactors in operation in the world is decreasing due to the limited lifetime of their operation and the lack of new installations. Therefore, the possibilities of carrying out boron-neutron therapy based on the neutron beam from the experimental reactor are shrinking. However, the use of nuclear power reactors for BNCT purposes is impossible due to the infrastructure not intended for radiotherapy. Therefore, a serious challenge is to find ways to perform boron-neutron therapy based on neutrons generated outside the research nuclear reactor. This work meets this challenge. Its goal is to develop a BNCT technique based on commonly available neutron sources such as Cf-252 and PuBe, which will enable the above-mentioned therapy in medical centers unrelated to nuclear research reactors. Advances in the field of neutron source fabrication make it possible to achieve strong neutron fluxes. The current stage of research focuses on the development of virtual models of the above-mentioned sources using the Monte Carlo simulation method. In this study, the GEANT4 tool was used, including the model for simulating neutron-matter interactions - High Precision Neutron. Models of neutron sources were developed on the basis of experimental verification based on the activation detectors method with the use of indium foil and the cadmium differentiation method allowing to separate the indium activation contribution from thermal and resonance neutrons. Due to the large number of factors affecting the result of the verification experiment, the 10% discrepancy between the simulation and experiment results was accepted.

Keywords: BNCT, virtual models, neutron sources, monte carlo, GEANT4, neutron activation detectors, gamma spectroscopy

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Authors: Konstantinos Tolidis

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The mountains are amongst the most fragile environments in the world. The world’s mountain areas cover 24% of the Earth’s land surface and are home to 12% of the global population. A further 14% of the global population is estimated to live in the vicinity of their surrounding areas. As urbanization continues to increase in the world, the mountains are also key centers for recreation and tourism; their attraction is often heightened by their remarkably high levels of biodiversity. Due to the fact that the features in mountain areas vary spatially (development degree, human geography, socio-economic reality, relations of dependency and interaction with other areas-regions), the spatial planning on these areas consists of a crucial process for preserving the natural, cultural and human environment and consists of one of the major processes of an integrated spatial policy. This research has been focused on the spatial decision problem of land use allocation optimization which is an ordinary planning problem on the mountain areas. It is a matter of fact that such decisions must be made not only on what to do, how much to do, but also on where to do, adding a whole extra class of decision variables to the problem when combined with the consideration of spatial optimization. The utility of optimization as a normative tool for spatial problem is widely recognized. However, it is very difficult for planners to quantify the weights of the objectives especially when these are related to mountain areas. Furthermore, the land use allocation optimization problems at mountain areas must be addressed not only by taking into account the general development objectives but also the spatial objectives (e.g. compactness, compatibility and accessibility, etc). Therefore, the main research’s objective was to approach the land use allocation problem by utilizing a hybrid meta-heuristic optimization technique tailored to the mountain areas’ spatial characteristics. The results indicates that the proposed methodological approach is very promising and useful for both generating land use alternatives for further consideration in land use allocation decision-making and supporting spatial management plans at mountain areas.

Keywords: multiobjective land use allocation, mountain areas, spatial planning, spatial decision making, meta-heuristic methods

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Authors: Marijana Ivanov, Roman Šubić

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The single rulebook together with the Single Supervisory Mechanism and the Single Resolution Mechanism - as two main pillars of the banking union, represent important steps towards completing the Economic and Monetary Union. It should provide a consistent application of common rules and administrative standards for supervision, recovery and resolution of banks – with the final aim that a former practice of the bail-out is replaced with the bail-in system through which bank failures will be resolved by their own funds, i.e. with minimal costs for taxpayers and real economy. It has to reduce the financial fragmentation recorded in the years of crisis as the result of divergent behaviors in risk premium, lending activities, and interest rates between the core and the periphery. In addition, it should strengthen the effectiveness of monetary transmission channels, in particular the credit channels and overflows of liquidity on the single interbank money market. However, contrary to all the positive expectations related to the future functioning of the banking union, low and unbalanced economic growth rates remain a challenge for the maintenance of financial stability in the euro area, and this problem cannot be resolved just by a single supervision. In many countries bank assets exceed their GDP by several times, and large banks are still a matter of concern because of their systemic importance for individual countries and the euro zone as a whole. The creation of the SSM and the SRM should increase transparency of the banking system in the euro area and restore confidence that have been disturbed during the depression. It would provide a new opportunity to strengthen economic and financial systems in the peripheral countries. On the other hand, there is a potential threat that future focus of the ECB, resolution mechanism and other relevant institutions will be extremely oriented to the large and significant banks (whereby one half of them operate in the core and most important euro area countries), while it is questionable to what extent the common resolution funds will be used for rescue of less important institutions.

Keywords: banking union, financial integration, single supervision mechanism (SSM)

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Authors: Maisa Sales Gama Tobias, Humberto de Paiva Junior, Luciano Silva Brito, Rui António Rodrigues Ramos

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Waterway transport in the Amazon was the first means of access and occupation in the region. For the economic and social matter of high importance, still nowadays one of the main transport modes to several places in the region. To some places, still the only transport mode. With the advent of the pandemic, transport companies that already faced management challenges began to experience unprecedented structural changes and trends in trade and global supply chains. Thus, companies need operational reorganization to maintain the sustainability of the service under the penalty of loss of demand. Allied to this fact, it was observed that the demand presented behavior changes to adapt to this new moment. However, the lack of information about these changes makes it difficult to find solutions to maintain the quality of service. This work aimed to characterize the changes in the demand of waterway passengers through an empirical study with field research involving interviews with users and crew, on-board journeys, and visits to the waterway service company. The case study is the route Belém-Camara, on Marajó Island, in the state of Pará. This line is traditionally the only means of transport for this route, besides air transport on a much smaller scale. The collected data had a descriptive and analytical statistical treatment presented in this work. As the main result, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant changes, mainly in trip time and motives and, in the perception itself on service quality by part of the demand, with the increase of trip time and the feeling of insecurity. In conclusion, the service operator must review cost management and business survival strategies and tactics. The viability of the service and the social guarantee of transport proved to be threatened, putting at risk the service to the riverside populations.

Keywords: demand of waterway transport passengers, data analysis, COVID-19, amazonia

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Authors: Sataroopa Mishra, Mona Basker, Sneha Varkki, Ram Kumar Pandian, Grace Rebekah

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Background: Sleep deprivation is a matter of public health importance among adolescents. We used adolescent sleep wake scale and adolescent sleep hygiene scale to determine the sleep quality and sleep hygiene respectively of school going adolescents in Vellore city of India. The objective of the study was to do factorial analysis of the scales and validate it for use in local population. Methods: Observational questionnaire based cross sectional study. Setting: Community based school survey in a semi-urban setting in three schools in Vellore city. Data collection: Non probability sample was collected form students studying in standard 9 and 11. Students filled Adolescent Sleep Wake scale (ASWS) and Adolescent Sleep Hygiene Scale (ASHS) translated into vernacular language. Data Analysis: Exploratory Factorial Analysis was used to see the factor loading of various components of the two scales. Confirmatory factorial analysis is subsequently planned for assessing the internal validity of the scales.Results: 557 adolescents were included in the study of 12 – 17 years old. Exploratory factorial analysis of adolescent sleep hygiene scale indicated significant factor loading for 18 items from 28 items originally devised by the authors and has been reconstructed to four domains instead of 9 domains in the original scale namely sleep stability, cognitive – emotional, Physiological - bed time routine - behavioural arousal factor (activites before bedtime and during bed time), Sleep environment (lighting and bed sharing). Factorial analysis of Adolescent sleep wake scale showed factor loading of 18 items out of 28 items in original scale reconstructed into 5 aspects of sleep quality. Conclusions: The factorial analysis gives a reconstructed scale useful for the local population. Further a confirmatory factorial analysis has been subsequently planned to determine the internal consistency of the scale for local population.

Keywords: factorial analysis, sleep hygiene, sleep quality, adolescent sleep scale

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Authors: Haruka Ito, Toru Maruyama, Michihiro Ito, Chuya Shinzato, Hiroyuki Fujimura, Yoshikatsu Nakano, Shoichiro Suda, Sachiyo Aburatani, Haruko Takeyama

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Clarifying symbiotic relationships is one of the most important theme for understanding the marine eco-system. Coral reef has been regarded as an important environmental resource. Coral holobiont composed by coral, symbiotic microalgae zooxanthellae, and bacteria have complexed relationship. Zooxanthellae mainly supply organic matter to the host corals through their photosynthetic activity. The symbiotic relationship is indispensable for corals but may easily collapses due to the rise of seawater temperature. However, the molecular mechanism how seawater temperature influences their relationships still remain unclear. In this study, the transcriptomic analysis has applied to elucidate the coral-zooxanthellae relationships under high seawater temperature stress. To observe reactions of corals and zooxanthellae against the rise of seawater temperature, meta-gene expression in coral have been analyzed. The branches from six different colonies of a stony coral, Acropora tenuis, were sampled at nine times by 2016 at two locations, Ishikawabaru and South of Sesoko Island, Okinawa, Japan. The mRNAs extracted from the branches including zooxanthellae were sequenced by illumina HiSeq. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) based on hyper geometric distribution was performed. The seawater temperature at 2016 summer was unusually high, which was caused by El Niño event, and the number of zooxanthellae in coral was decreased in August. GSEA derived the several specific genes expressed in A. tenuis under heat stress conditions. The upregulated genes under heat stress highly related with infection immunity. The downregulated genes significantly contained cell cycle related genes. Thu, it is considered that heat stress cause disorder in cell metabolism of A. tenuis, resulting in serious influence to coral holobiont.

Keywords: coral, symbiosis, thermal stress response, transcriptome analysis

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Authors: Avijit Mahala

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Present study is primarily concerned with the physical processes and status of land degradation in a tropical plateau fringe. Chotanagpur plateau is one of the most water erosion related degraded areas of India. The granite gneiss geological formation, low to medium developed soil cover, undulating lateritic uplands, high drainage density, low to medium rainfall (100-140cm), dry tropical deciduous forest cover makes the Silabati River basin a truly representative of the tropical environment. The different physical factors have been taken for land degradation study includes- physiographic formations, hydrologic characteristics, and vegetation cover. Water erosion, vegetal degradation, soil quality decline are the major processes of land degradation in study area. Granite-gneiss geological formation is responsible for developing undulating landforms. Less developed soil profile, low organic matter, poor structure of soil causes high soil erosion. High relief and sloppy areas cause unstable environment. The dissected highland causes topographic hindrance in productivity. High drainage density and frequency in rugged upland and intense erosion in sloppy areas causes high soil erosion of the basin. Decreasing rainfall and increasing aridity (low P/PET) threats water stress condition. Green biomass cover area is also continuously declining. Through overlaying the different physical factors (geological formation, soil characteristics, geomorphological characteristics, etc.) of considerable importance in GIS environment the varying intensities of land degradation areas has been identified. Middle reaches of Silabati basin with highly eroded laterite soil cover areas are more prone to land degradation.

Keywords: land degradation, tropical environment, lateritic upland, undulating landform, aridity, GIS environment

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Authors: Jeremy Attard, Jordan François, Serge Lazzarini, Thierry Masson

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Gauge theories are the natural background for describing geometrically fundamental interactions using principal and associated fiber bundles as dynamical entities. The central notion of these theories is their local gauge symmetry implemented by the local action of a Lie group H. There exist several methods used to reduce the symmetry of a gauge theory, like gauge fixing, bundle reduction theorem or spontaneous symmetry breaking mechanism (SSBM). This paper is a presentation of another method of gauge symmetry reduction, distinct from those three. Given a symmetry group H acting on a fiber bundle and its naturally associated fields (Ehresmann (or Cartan) connection, curvature, matter fields, etc.) there sometimes exists a way to erase (in whole or in part) the H-action by just reconfiguring these fields, i.e. by making a mere change of field variables in order to get new (‘composite‘) fields on which H (in whole or in part) does not act anymore. Two examples: the re-interpretation of the BEHGHK (Higgs) mechanism, on the one hand, and the top-down construction of Tractor and Penrose's Twistor spaces and connections in the framework of conformal Cartan geometry, one the other, will be discussed. They have, of course, nothing to do with each other but the dressing field method can be applied on both to get a new insight. In the first example, it turns out, indeed, that generation of masses in the Standard Model can be separated from the symmetry breaking, the latter being a mere change of field variables, i.e. a dressing. This offers an interpretation in opposition with the one usually found in textbooks. In the second case, the dressing field method applied to the conformal Cartan geometry offer a way of understanding the deep geometric nature of the so-called Tractors and Twistors. The dressing field method, distinct from a gauge transformation (even if it can have apparently the same form), is a systematic way of finding and erasing artificial symmetries of a theory, by a mere change of field variables which redistributes the degrees of freedom of the theories.

Keywords: BEHGHK (Higgs) mechanism, conformal gravity, gauge theory, spontaneous symmetry breaking, symmetry reduction, twistors and tractors

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Authors: M. Shivakumar, S. R. Somashekhar, C. V. Raju

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Secondary salinization of agricultural lands in any command areas of the world is the major issue in the recent past. Currently, it is estimated that the 954 mh of saline and alkaline soil is present in the world. Thousands of hectares of land, getting added every year. Argentina, Bangladesh and Australia are most affected countries. In India, out of 142.80 million hectare (mh) cropped area, 56 mh is irrigated area. Of which, more than 9 mh (about 16.%) of land is found to be alkaline/saline. Due to continuous utilization of same land for same agricultural activities, excessive usage of fertilizers and water, most of the soils have become alkaline, saline or water logged. These lands are low productive and at times totally unfit for agricultural activities. These soils may or may not posses good physical condition, but plants may suffer from its inability to absorb water from salty solution. Plants suffer from dehydration and loose water to the soil, shrink, resulting death of plant. This process is called plasmolysis. It is the fact that soil is an independent, organic body of nature that acquires properties in accordance with forces which act upon it. Aquaculture is one of the solutions to utilize such problematic soils for food production. When the impoundments are constructed in an area 10-15% of the affected areas, the excess water along with the salts gets into impoundments and management of salt is easier in water than in the soil. Due to high organic input in aquaculture such as feed, manure and continuous deposition of fecal matter, pH of the soil gets reduced and over the period of time such soils can be put back into the original activity. Under National Agricultural Development Program (NADP), the project was implemented in 258 villages of Mandya District, Karnataka State, India and found that these lands can be effectively utilized for fish culture and increase the proteinacious food production by many folds while conserving the soils. The findings of the research can be adopted and up scaled in any country.

Keywords: saline and alkaline soils, Aquaculture, Problematic soils, Reclamation

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Authors: Aniekan James Akpan, Inemesit Akpan Umoren, Uduak Iwok

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From prehistoric and primitive cultures, education was seen as a process of culture transmission by way of guiding children into becoming good members of their local communities. Even in modern cultures, education is seen as a systematic discipline aimed at cultivating genuine values to improve oneself and society. Without education, the chances of realizing the desired vision are marred as it is believed that nations that invest much in education are able to reap the desired benefits technologically, economically, socially, politically, and otherwise. In this sense, the moulding of character is considered the primary purpose of education, and until the audience of mass media through its various vehicles is seen as tools for improving the overall development of society. It is believed that a media-friendly person is likely to perform better than someone who is less friendly. This work, therefore, examines the role media play in educational development. As highlighted by the study, a summary of the functions of media shows that they widen horizon by acting as a liberating force, breaking distance, bonds, and transforming a traditional society into a modern one. With the use of technological development theory, agenda-setting theory as well as uses and gratification theory and multiple intelligence theory, the work identifies different ways in which mass media help in educational development and draws attention to the audience’s perception of media functions in terms of educational development. With a survey method and a population of 6,903,321 people, the work sampled 220 respondents using purposive technique drawn from rural communities in the South-South region of Nigeria. The work concludes that mass media are potent vehicles for teaching and learning and therefore recommends that government should provide basic infrastructures to the rural communities to aid full utilization of media potentials in educational development and equally urge media owners and practitioners to as a matter of urgency increase coverage time on issues bordering on education as it is done for political and other issues.

Keywords: educational, development, media usage, perception

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Authors: Abdul Nasir Zamir

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After the downfall of Ottoman Caliphate, it scattered into different small Muslim states. Muslim leaders, intellectuals, revivalists as well as modernists started trying to boost up their nation. Some Muslims are also trying to establish the caliphate. Every Muslim country has its own political system, i.e., kingship, dictatorship or democracy, etc. But these are not in their original forms as the historian or political science discussed in their studies. The laws and their practice are mixed, i.e., others with Islamic laws, e.g., Saudi Arabia (K.S.A) and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, etc. There is great conflict among the revivalist Muslim parties (groups) and governments about political systems. The question is that the subject matter is Sharia or political system? Leaders of Modern Muslim states are alleged as disbelievers due to neglecting the revelation in their laws and decisions. There are two types of laws; Islamic laws and management laws. The conflict is that the non-Islamic laws are in practice in Muslim states. Non-Islamic laws can be gradually changed with Islamic laws with a legal and peaceful process according to the practice of former Muslim leaders and scholars. The bloodshed of Muslims is not allowed in any case. Weak Muslim state is a blessing than nothing. The political system after Muhammad and guided caliphs is considered as kingship. But during this period Muslims not only developed in science and technology but conquered many territories also. If the original aim is in practice, then the Modern Muslim states can be stabled with different political systems. Modern Muslim states are the hope of survival, stability, and development of Muslim Ummah. Islam does not allow arm clash with Muslim army or Muslim civilians. The caliphate is based on believing in one Allah Almighty and good deeds according to Quran and Sunnah. As faith became weak and good deeds became less from its standard level, caliphate automatically became weak and even ended. The last weak caliphate was Ottoman Caliphate which was a hope of all the Muslims of the world. There is no caliphate or caliph present in the world. But every Muslim country or state is like an Amarat (a part of caliphate or small and alternate form of the caliphate) of Muslims. It is the duty of all Muslims to stable these modern Muslim states with tolerance.

Keywords: caliphate, conflict resolution, modern Muslim state, political conflicts, political systems, tolerance

Procedia PDF Downloads 134

Authors: Moet Moet Myint lay

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Professional learning communities provide ongoing professional development for teachers, where they become learning leaders and actively participate in school improvement. The development of professional knowledge requires a significant focus on professional competence in the work of teachers, and a solid foundation of professional knowledge and skills is necessary for members of society to become intelligent members. Continuing professional development (CPD) plays a vital role in improving educational outcomes, as its importance has been proven over the years. This article explores the need for CPD for teachers in Myanmar and the utility of professional learning communities in improving teacher quality. This study aims to explore a comprehensive understanding of professional learning communities to support the continuing professional development of teacher educators in improving the quality of education. The research questions are: (1) How do teacher educators in Myanmar understand the concept of professional learning communities for continuing professional development? (2) What CPD training is required for all teachers in teachers' colleges? Quantitative research methods were used in this study. Survey data were collected from 50 participants (teacher trainers) from five educational institutions. The analysis shows that professional learning communities when done well, can have a lasting impact on teacher quality. Furthermore, the creation of professional learning communities is the best indicator of professional development in existing education systems. Some research suggests that teacher professional development is closely related to teacher professional skills and school improvement. As a result of the collective learning process, teachers gain a deeper understanding of the subject matter, increase their knowledge, and develop their professional teaching skills. This will help improve student performance and school quality in the future. The lack of clear understanding and knowledge about PLC among school leaders and leads teachers to believe that PLC activities are not beneficial. Lack of time, teacher accountability, leadership skills, and negative attitudes of participating teachers were the most frequently cited challenges in implementing PLCs. As a result of these findings, educators and stakeholders can use them to implement professional learning communities.

Keywords: professional learning communities, continuing professional development, teacher education, competence, school improvement

Procedia PDF Downloads 35

Authors: Victoria Bila, Iryna Ventskivska, Oleksandra Zahorodnia

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The goal of the study: To study the distribution of patients of the Kiyv Perinatal Center according to the Robson system and compare it with world data. Materials and methods: a comparison of the distribution of patients of Kiyv Perinatal center according to the Robson system for 2 periods - the first quarter of 2019 and 2020. For each group, 3 indicators were analyzed - the share of this group in the overall structure of patients of the Perinatal Center for the reporting period, the frequency of abdominal delivery in this group, as well as the contribution of this group to the total number of abdominal delivery. Obtained data were compared with those of the WHO in the guidelines for the implementation of the Robson system in 2017. Results and its discussion: The distribution of patients of the Perinatal Center into groups in the Robson classification is not much different from that recommended by the author. So, among all women, patients of group 1 dominate; this indicator does not change in dynamics. A slight increase in the share of group 2 (6.7% in 2019 and 9.3% - 2020) was due to an increase in the number of labor induction. At the same time, the number of patients of groups 1 and 2 in the Perinatal Center is greater than in the world population, which is determined by the hospitalization of primiparous women with reproductive losses in the past. The Perinatal Center is distinguished from the world population and the proportion of women of group 5 - it was 5.4%, in the world - 7.6%. The frequency of caesarean section in the Perinatal Center is within limits typical for most countries (20.5-20.8%). Moreover, the dominant groups in the structure of caesarean sections are group 5 (21-23.3%) and group 2 (21.9-22.9%), which are the reserve for reducing the number of abdominal delivery. In group 2, certain results have already been achieved in this matter - the frequency of cesarean section in 2019 here amounted to 67.8%, in the first quarter of 2020 - 51.6%. This happened due to a change in the leading method of induction of labor. Thus, the Robson system is a convenient and affordable tool for assessing the structure of caesarean sections. The analysis showed that, in general, the structure of caesarean sections in the Perinatal Center is close to world data, and the identified deviations have explanations related to the specialization of the Center.

Keywords: cesarian section, Robson system, Kyiv Perinatal Center, labor induction

Procedia PDF Downloads 108

Authors: I. A. Landa-Fernandez, I. Monje-Ramirez, M. T. Orta-Ledesma

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Every year plant-parasitic nematodes diminish the yield of high-value crops worldwide causing important economic losses. Currently, Meloidogyne enterolobii has increased its importance due to its high aggressiveness, increasing geographical distribution and host range. Root-knot nematodes inhabit the rhizosphere soil around plant roots. However, they can come into contact with irrigation water. Thus, plant-parasitic nematodes can be transported by water, as eggs or juveniles. Due to their high resistance, common water disinfection methods are not effective for inactivating these parasites. Ozone is the most effective disinfectant for microbial inactivation. The objective of this study is to demonstrate that ozone treatment is an alternative method control in irrigation water of the root-knot nematode M. enterolobii. It has been shown that ozonation is an effective treatment for the inactivation of protozoan cysts and oocysts (Giardia and Cryptosporidium) and for other species of the genus Meloidogyne (M. incognita), but not for the enterolobii specie. In this study, the strain of M. enterolobii was isolated from tomatoes roots. For the tests, eggs were used and were inoculated in water with similar characteristics of irrigation water. Subsequently, the disinfection process was carried out in an ozonation unit. The performance of the treatments was evaluated through the egg's viability by assessing its structure by optical microscopy. As a result of exposure to ozone, the viability of the nematode eggs was reduced practically in its entirety; with dissolved ozone levels in water close to the standard concentration (equal to 0.4 mgO₃/L), but with high contact times (greater than 4 min): 0.2 mgO₃/L for 15 minutes or 0.55 mgO₃/L for 10 minutes. Additionally, the effect of temperature, alkalinity and organic matter of the water was evaluated. Ozonation is effective and a promising alternative for the inactivation of nematodes in irrigation water, which could contribute to diminish the agricultural losses caused by these organisms.

Keywords: inactivation process, irrigation water treatment, ozonation, plant-parasite nematodes

Procedia PDF Downloads 148

Authors: Meriem Taleb, Ghania Tail, Fatma Zohra Kara, Brahim Djedouani, T. Moussa

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Forensic entomology is the use of insects and their arthropod relatives as silent witnesses to aid legal investigations by interpreting information concerning a death. The main purpose of forensic entomology is to establish the postmortem interval or PMI Postmortem interval is a matter of crucial importance in the investigations of homicide and other untimely deaths when the body found is after three days. Forensic entomology has grown immensely as a discipline in the past thirty years. In Algeria, forensic entomology was introduced in 2010 by the National Institute for Criminalistics and Criminology of the National Gendarmerie (NICC). However, all the work that has been done so far in this growing field in Algeria has been unknown at both the national and international levels. In this context, the aim of this paper is to describe the state of forensic entomology in Algeria. The Laboratory of Entomology of the NICC is the only one of its kind in Algeria. It started its activities in 2010, consisting of two specialists. The main missions of the laboratory are estimation of the PMI by the analysis of entomological evidence, and determination if the body was moved. Currently, the laboratory is performing different tasks such as the expert work required by investigators to estimate the PMI using the insects. The estimation is performed by the accumulated degree days method (ADD) in most of the cases except for those where the cadaver is in dry decay. To assure the quality of the entomological evidence, crime scene personnel are trained by the laboratory of Entomology of the NICC. Recently, undergraduate and graduate students have been studying carrion ecology and insect activity in different geographic locations of Algeria using rabbits and wild boar cadavers as animal models. The Laboratory of Entomology of the NICC has also been involved in some of these research projects. Entomotoxicology experiments are also conducted with the collaboration of the Toxicology Department of the NICC. By dint of hard work that has been performed by the Laboratory of Entomology of the NICC, official bodies have been adopting more and more the use of entomological evidence in criminal investigations in Algeria, which is commendable. It is important, therefore, that steps are taken to fill in the gaps in the knowledge necessary for entomological evidence to have a useful future in criminal investigations in Algeria.

Keywords: forensic entomology, corpse, insects, postmortem interval, expertise, Algeria

Procedia PDF Downloads 381

Authors: Ravi Kant, Banshi D. Gupta

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The unbridled application of insecticides to enhance agricultural yield has become a matter of grave concern to both the environment and the human health and, thus pose a potential threat to sustainable development. Fenitrothion is an extensively used organophosphate insecticide whose residues are reported to be extremely toxic for birds, humans and aquatic life. A sensitive, swift and accurate detection protocol for fenitrothion is, thus, highly demanded. In this work, we report an SPR based fiber optic sensor for the detection of fenitrothion, where a nanocomposite arrangement of Ta2O5 and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) (Ta₂O₅: rGO) decorated on silver coated unclad core region of an optical fiber forms the sensing channel. A nanocomposite arrangement synergistically integrates the properties of involved components and consequently furnishes a conducive framework for sensing applications. The modification of the dielectric function of the sensing layer on exposure to fenitrothion solutions of diverse concentration forms the sensing mechanism. This modification is reflected in terms of the shift in resonance wavelength. Experimental variables such as the concentration of rGO in the nanocomposite configuration, dip time of silver coated fiber optic probe for deposition of sensing layer and influence of pH on the performance of the sensor have been optimized to extract the best performance of the sensor. SPR studies on the optimized sensing probe reveal the high sensitivity, wide operating range and good reproducibility of the fabricated sensor, which unveil the promising utility of Ta₂O₅: rGO nanocomposite framework for developing an efficient detection methodology for fenitrothion. FOSPR approach in cooperation with nanomaterials projects the present work as a beneficial approach for fenitrothion detection by imparting numerous useful advantages such as sensitivity, selectivity, compactness and cost-effectiveness.

Keywords: surface plasmon resonance, optical fiber, sensor, fenitrothion

Procedia PDF Downloads 186

Authors: Alex Baratta

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In Britain, accent is arguably still a sensitive issue, and for broad regional accents in particular, the connotations can often be quite negative. Within primary and secondary teaching, what might the implications be for teachers with such accents? To investigate this, the study collected the views of 32 British trainee teachers via semi-structured interviews, and questionnaires, to understand how their accent plays a role in the construction of a professional identity. From the results, it is clear that for teachers from the North and Midlands, in particular, accent modification is something that is required by their mentors; for teachers from the Home Counties, accent is rarely mentioned. While the mentors’ rationale for accent modification is to ensure teachers are better understood and/or to sound ‘professional’, many teachers feel that it is a matter of linguistic prejudice and therefore regard an accent modified for someone else as leading to a fraudulent identity. Moreover, some of the comments can be quite blunt, such as the Midlands teacher who resides in the South being told that it was ‘best to go back to where you come from’ if she couldn’t modify her accent to Southern pronunciation. From the results, there are three broad phonological changes expected: i) Northern/Midlands-accented teachers need to change to Southern pronunciation in words such as bath and bus; thus, a change from [baθ] [bʊs] to [bɑ:θ] [bʌs], ii) Teachers from the North, notably Yorkshire, told to change from monophthongs to diphthongs; thus, a change from [go:] to [goʊ], iii) Glottal stops are to be avoided; a teacher from South London was told by her mentor to write the word ‘water’ with a capital t (waTer), in order to avoid her use of a glottal stop. Thus, in a climate of respect for diversity and equality, this study is timely for the following reasons. First, it addresses an area for which equality is not necessarily relevant – that of accent in British teaching. Second, while many British people arguably have an instinct for ‘broad’ versus more ‘general’ versions of regional accents, there appear to be no studies which have attempted to explain what this means from a purely phonological perspective. Finally, given that the Teachers’ Standards do not mention accent as part of the desired linguistic standards, this study hopes to start a national debate as to whether or not they should, rather than shy away from what can be a potentially complex – and sensitive – topic.

Keywords: accent, accommodation, identity, teaching

Procedia PDF Downloads 128

Authors: Younis Jabarzadeh, Rahim Sarvari, Negar Ahmadi Alghalandis

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Entrepreneurship at both individual and organizational level is one of the most driving forces in economic development and leads to growth and competition, job generation and social development. Especially in developing countries, the role of entrepreneurship in economic and social prosperity is more emphasized. But the effect of global economic development on the environment is undeniable, especially in negative ways, and there is a need to rethink current business models and the way entrepreneurs act to introduce new businesses to address and embed environmental issues in order to achieve sustainable development. In this paper, green or sustainable entrepreneurship is addressed in Iran to identify challenges and barriers entrepreneurs in the economic and social sectors face in developing green business solutions. Sustainable or green entrepreneurship has been gaining interest among scholars in recent years and addressing its challenges and barriers need much more attention to fill the gap in the literature and facilitate the way those entrepreneurs are pursuing. This research comprised of two main phases: qualitative and quantitative. At qualitative phase, after a thorough literature review, fuzzy Delphi method is utilized to verify those challenges and barriers by gathering a panel of experts and surveying them. In this phase, several other contextually related factors were added to the list of identified barriers and challenges mentioned in the literature. Then, at the quantitative phase, Interpretive Structural Modeling is applied to construct a network of interactions among those barriers identified at the previous phase. Again, a panel of subject matter experts comprised of academic and industry experts was surveyed. The results of this study can be used by policymakers in both the public and industry sector, to introduce more systematic solutions to eliminate those barriers and help entrepreneurs overcome challenges of sustainable entrepreneurship. It also contributes to the literature as the first research in this type which deals with the barriers of sustainable entrepreneurship and explores their interaction.

Keywords: green entrepreneurship, barriers, fuzzy Delphi method, interpretive structural modeling

Procedia PDF Downloads 137

Authors: Km Tanu

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It has been widely accepted that the learning style of adults and children is different, the learning motivation among adults vary, and even their learning preferences cannot be predetermined. In India, where the population is widely diverse and socio-economic and cultural disparities are there, the learning strategies should also be according to their needs and preferences. The present study explores the concept of adult learners in India in order to understand their needs and styles better. The adult learning principles of Malcolm Knowles have been analyzed, and its presence in the different policies and programs has been traced. To what extent these principles and other such concepts would be beneficial for the Indian population and for effective learning strategies, and what contextual understanding is needed, has been argued in the study. Descriptive research methodology, along with content and thematic analyses, has been used for the paper. It has been argued that there are four areas that play crucial roles in making learning effective. These are the learner, the facilitator, the resources and the policy. The prior experiences of the learners, their motivation, the group to which they belong (i.e., the learning styles and the strategies can be varied for the group of farmers and migrant laborers), and their expected outcome play an important role in making any adult education program successful but along with this, the role of facilitator or the educator is also very important as it is not easy to deal with the adult learners, the understanding that the task is not to teach the adult learners but to make them learn and to use their prior knowledge is a task in itself, proper training is needed for that matter. Many times, it has been seen that adult education programs are poorly funded, or even if they are funded, the fund is not utilized well; the unavailability of the resources is one of the reasons for the failure of adult education programs, and if we see these four points as a triangle, at the bottom, there is a policy document. A well-stated and described doable policy document is also equally important.

Keywords: adult education, Indian adult learner, effective learning styles, Malcolm Knowles learning principles, adult education policies and program

Procedia PDF Downloads 45

Authors: Dammar Bahadur Adhikari

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Community forestry in Nepal has got disproportionately high level of support from government and other actors in forestry sector. Even though master plan for forestry sector (1989) has highlighted community and private forestry as one component, the government policies and other intervention deliberately left out private forestry in its structure and programs. The study aimed at providing the pathway for formulating appropriate policies to address need of different kind of forest management regimes in Rautahat district, Nepal. The key areas the research focused were assessment of current status of private forestry, community forest users' understanding on private forestry; criteria for choosing species of private forestry and factors affecting establishment of private forestry in the area. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected employing questionnaire survey, rapid forest assessment and key informant interview. The study found out that forest policies are imposed due to intense pressure of exogenous forces than due to endogenous demand. Most of the local people opine that their traditional knowledge and skills are not sufficient for private forestry and hence need training on the matter. Likewise, local use, market value and rotation dictate the choice of species for plantation in private forests. Currently district forest office is the only government institution working in the area of private forestry all other governmental and non-governmental organizations have condoned. private forestry. Similarly, only permanent settlers in the area are found to establish private forests other forest users such as migrants and forest encroachers follow opportunistic behavior to meet their forest product need from community and national forests. In this regard, the study recommends taking appropriate step to support other forest management system including private forestry provide community forestry the benefits of competition as suggested by Darwin in 18th century, one and half century back and to help alleviate poverty by channelizing benefits to household level.

Keywords: community forest, forest management, poverty, private forest, users’ group

Procedia PDF Downloads 320

Authors: P. Selyshchev

Abstract:

Construction materials for nuclear facilities are operated under extreme thermal and radiation conditions. First of all, they are nuclear fuel, fuel assemblies, and reactor vessel. It places high demands on the control of their state, stability of their state, and their operating conditions. An irradiated material is a typical example of an open non-equilibrium system with nonlinear feedbacks between its elements. Fluxes of energy, matter and entropy maintain states which are far away from thermal equilibrium. The links that arise under irradiation are inherently nonlinear. They form the mechanisms of feed-backs that can lead to instability. Due to this instability the temperature of the sample, heat transfer, and the defect density can exceed the steady-state value in several times. This can lead to change of typical operation and an accident. Therefore, it is necessary to take into account the thermal instability to avoid the emergency situation. The point is that non-thermal energy can be accumulated in materials because irradiation produces defects (first of all these are vacancies and interstitial atoms), which are metastable. The stored energy is about energy of defect formation. Thus, an annealing of the defects is accompanied by releasing of non-thermal stored energy into thermal one. Temperature of the material grows. Increase of temperature results in acceleration of defect annealing. Density of the defects drops and temperature grows more and more quickly. The positive feed-back is formed and self-reinforcing annealing of radiation defects develops. To describe these phenomena a theoretical approach to thermal instability is developed via formalism of complex systems. We consider system of nonlinear differential equations for different components of microstructure and temperature. The qualitative analysis of this non-linear dynamical system is carried out. Conditions for development of instability have been obtained. Points of bifurcation have been found. Convenient way to represent obtained results is a set of phase portraits. It has been shown that different regimes of material state under irradiation can develop. Thus degradation of irradiated material can be limited by means of choice appropriate kind of evolution of materials under irradiation.

Keywords: irradiation, material, non-equilibrium state, nonlinear feed-back, thermal instability

Procedia PDF Downloads 249

Authors: Hui Long, Chun Yin Tang, Ping Kwong Cheng, Xin Yu Wang, Wayesh Qarony, Yuen Hong Tsang

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Two dimensional (2D) materials have recently attained substantial research interest since the discovery of graphene. However, the zero-bandgap feature of the graphene limits its nonlinear optical applications, e.g., saturable absorption for these applications require strong light-matter interaction. Nevertheless, the excellent optoelectronic properties, such as broad tunable bandgap energy and high carrier mobility of Group 10 transition metal dichalcogenides 2D materials, e.g., PtS2 introduce new degree of freedoms in the optoelectronic applications. This work reports our recent research findings regarding the saturable absorption property of PtS2 layered 2D material and its possibility to be used as saturable absorber (SA) for ultrafast mode locking fiber laser. The demonstration of mode locking operation by using the fabricated PtS2 as SA will be discussed. The PtS2/PVA SA used in this experiment is made up of some few layered PtS2 nanosheets fabricated via a simple ultrasonic liquid exfoliation. The operational wavelength located at ~1 micron is demonstrated from Yb-doped mode locking fiber laser ring cavity by using the PtS2 SA. The fabricated PtS2 saturable absorber offers strong nonlinear properties, and it is capable of producing regular mode locking laser pulses with pulse to pulse duration matched with the round-trip cavity time. The results confirm successful mode locking operation achieved by the fabricated PtS2 material. This work opens some new opportunities for these PtS2 materials for the ultrafast laser generation. Acknowledgments: This work is financially supported by Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Commission (JCYJ20170303160136888) and the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong, China (GRF 152109/16E, PolyU code: B-Q52T).

Keywords: platinum disulfide, PtS2, saturable absorption, saturable absorber, mode locking laser

Procedia PDF Downloads 168

Authors: Vaibhav Singh Parihar

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Incidents of serious offenses being committed by children are increasing day by day thereby becoming a matter of great concern. The involvement of a 17-year-old boy in the incident that took place on 16th December 2012 (most commonly known as ‘Nirbhaya Case’)wherein a 23-year-old girl was brutally gang-raped and thrown out of the moving bus, took the entire nation by shock. Previously, the legislation dealing with juvenile delinquency in India considered a child to be juvenile if he/she was below the age of 18 years. As a consequence, the accused who was just six months short of attaining the age of 18 years was convicted for only three years. The primary objective of the study is to understand the gravity as to why the need for distinguishing a child and juvenile arose in this time and to what extent legislations are successful in this regard. It initially explains the history and evolution of juvenile legislation in India and the provisions contained in the Indian Constitution. It then goes on to explain the causes of juvenile delinquency in India. Further, the study focuses on the latest trends that have developed in juvenile delinquency, explaining how the Nirbhaya Case led to the amendments made to the Juvenile Justice Act, 2010. Also, it focuses on the Child Rights and Child Protection and the stand taken by the National Human Rights Commission and the international community. An attempt has been made to settle the debate as to whether the juvenile justice system in India is reformative or punitive. The need for amendment in the Juvenile Justice Act is also highlighted. The outcome of the study suggests that the legislation relating to juvenile delinquency have not been able to achieve the desired results. The age determination method in our system has been given paramount importance. The maximum punishment prescribed, even for heinous crimes, is only three years. Also, the reformative style of punishment is not adequate and more emphasis should be laid on penalization. Finally, the author concludes that the legislation has failed at creating a deterrent effect. It is suggested to strengthen the role of government authorities and to sensitize people in this regard to increase community participation. A non-doctrinal and analytical approach has been adopted and secondary sources of data have been relied upon by the author for conducting the research for the study.

Keywords: child, delinquency, juvenile, Nirbhaya case

Procedia PDF Downloads 168