Search results for: Kathmandu Valley

Authors: Aidan Jacobsen, Morgan Motia, David Sam, Jonathan Mudge

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Background: The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) lists vaccine requirements for children under two years old to correlate with development markers. CDC lists the coverage by age 24 months to be at least 90% nationally and 84% for Rhode Island Blackstone Valley Community Health Center (BVCHC) in Central Falls, Rhode Island, currently has a completed vaccination rate of 51% for children by the age of 24 months. Current barriers to care for up to date well child vaccinations include lack of transportation, parental work, childcare, and other social stressors. Objective: Increase the vaccination rate of children under the age of 24 months at BVCHC. Conduct a literature review to identify the common barriers preventing children under 24 months from receiving vaccinations. Reduce the barriers to expand access to vaccination care for infants Methods: Setting: Blackstone Valley Community Health Center, Pawtucket, RI Participants: (n=41), Patients between the age of 20-24 months, not up to date with the CDC vaccination recommendations and without a future appointment. QI Intervention: Patients were contacted via phone and offered an appointment during extra Saturday clinic hours in order to receive up to date vaccine care. A Saturday vaccine clinic was established specifically for patients in need of vaccines and having identified barriers to care. Conclusions: Expanding clinic hours and targeting non vaccine up –to-date patients can increase the current standard of childhood immunizations at BVCHC. Overcoming barriers preventing childhood immunization can improve access to providing up to date vaccinations. Other barriers still deter from reaching the national standard of immunizations rates.

Keywords: vaccinations, well child care, barriers to care, social determinants of health

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Authors: Abdul Salam Turkmani

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Clay of the northern Palmyra region is one of the most important raw materials used in the Syrian ceramics industry. This study is focused on the evaluation of various laboratory analyses such as chemical analysis (XRF), mineral X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), differential thermal analysis (DTA), and semi-industrial tests carried out on samples collected on two representative locations of the upper Oligocene in AlMkamen valley (MK) and lower Miocene in AlZukara valley (ZR) of the northern part of Palmyra, Syria. Chemical results classify the (MK) and (ZR) clays as semi-plastic red clay slightly carbonate and (eliminate probable) illite-chlorite clays with a very fine particle size distribution. Content of SiO₂ between 46.28-57.66%, Al2O3 13.81-25.2%, Fe₂O₃ 3.47-11.58%, CaO 1.15-7.19%, Na₂O+K₂O varied between 3.34-3.71%. Based on clay chemical composition and iron and carbonate content, these deposits can be considered as red firing clays. Their mineralogical composition is mainly represented by illite, kaolinite and quartz, and accessories minerals such as calcite, feldspar, phillipsite, and goethite. The results of the DTA test confirm the presence of gypsum and quartz phases in (MK) clay. Ceramic testing shows good green and dry bending strength values, which varied between 9-14 kg/cm², at 1160°C to 1180°C. Water absorption moves from 14.6 % at 1120°C to 2.2% at 1180°C to 1.6% at 1200°C. Breaking load after firing changes from 400 to 590 kg/cm². At 1200°C (MK), clay reaches perfect vitrification. After firing, the color of the clay changes from orange-hazel to red-brown at 1180°C. Technological results confirmed the suitability of the studied clays to produce floor and wall ceramic tiles. Using one of the two types of clay into the ceramic body or both types together gave satisfactory industrial results.

Keywords: ceramic, clay, industry , Palmyra

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Authors: S. Sulochana Singha

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Dhiyan or Dehan is the name of the community and language spoken by the Koch-Rajbangshi people of Barak Valley of Assam. Ethnically, they are Mongoloids, and their language belongs to the Indo-Aryan language family. However, Dhiyan is absent in any classification of Indo-Aryan languages. So the classification of Dhiyan language under the Indo-Aryan language family is completely based on the shared typological features of the other Indo-Aryan languages. Typologically, Dhiyan is an agglutinating language, and it shares many features of Indo-Aryan languages like presence of aspirated voiced stops, non-tonal, verb-person agreement, adjectives as different word class, prominent tense and subject object verb word order. Reduplication is a productive word-formation process in Dhiyan. Besides it also expresses plurality, intensification, and distributive. Generally, reduplication in Dhiyan can be at the morphological or lexical level. Morphological reduplication in Dhiyan involves expressives which includes onomatopoeias, sound symbolism, idiophones, and imitatives. Lexical reduplication in the language can be formed by echo formations and word reduplication. Echo formation in Dhiyan is formed by partial repetition from the base word which can be either consonant alternation or vowel alternation. The consonant alternation is basically found in onset position while the alternation of vowel is basically found in open syllable particularly in final syllable. Word reduplication involves reduplication of nouns, interrogatives, adjectives, and numerals which further can be class changing or class maintaining reduplication. The process of reduplication can be partial or complete whether it is lexical or morphological. The present paper is an attempt to describe some aspects of the formation, function, and usage of reduplications in Dhiyan which is mainly spoken in ten villages in the Eastern part of Barak River in the Cachar District of Assam.

Keywords: Barak-Valley, Dhiyan, Indo-Aryan, reduplication

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Authors: Rajkumar Ghosh

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Out-of-sequence thrusts (OOST) are reported at different geographic locations with various local names along Siwalik Himalaya (SH), Lesser Himalaya (LH), Higher Himalaya (HH) from Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Pakistan Himalayan range. Most of OOSTs have been identified within the upper LH, and the lower HH based on geochronological age jump across. These thrusts activated from Late Miocene to recent. The Chaura Thrust (CT) was deciphered from age jump of Apatite Fission Track (AFT) and considered as blind thrust base on variable exhumation rates in Chaura region, Satluj river valley, Himachal Pradesh. CT is located north of Jhakri Thrust (JhT) and is also differently identified as Sarahan thrust (ST). Structural documentation from the rocks near the OOST in Chaura was not so far done. Detail structural study of the Jeori Group of rocks was carried out in this study to understand the manifestation of the Chaura thrust and associated structures in meso- to micro-scale. Box fold, scar fold, kink fold, crenulation cleavages, and boudins are developed in the Chaura region. These structures usually do not indicate shear sense. When studied under an optical microscope, the Chaura samples reveal that the mica fish are usually lenticular with aspect ratio (R) varying from 6–11 and inclination angle (α) from 15–40°. According to ‘R’ and ‘α’, elongated sigmoid shaped mica fish and parallelogram shaped mica fish were also documented. Asymmetric mica fish demonstrate top-to-S/SW ductile shear, which is similar as that of Chaura thrust. Grain boundary migration (GBM) structures in quartzo-feldspathic grains from Jeori Group of rocks indicate deformation temperature ranging from 400 to 650°C. This can indicate that the OOST at Chaura, i.e., the Chaura Thrust, underwent thrusting in the ductile regime.

Keywords: out-of-sequence thrust, chaura thrust, sarahan thrust, jakhri thrust, higher himalaya, s/c- fabric

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Authors: Erika De Finis, Paola Gattinoni, Laura Scesi

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Massive rock avalanches formed some of the largest landslide deposits on Earth and they represent one of the major geohazards in high-relief mountains. This paper interprets a very large sedimentary fan (the Sernio fan, Valtellina, Northern Italy), located 20 Km SW from Val Pola Rock avalanche (1987), as the deposit of a partial collapse of a Deep Seated Gravitational Slope Deformation (DSGSD), afterwards eroded and buried by debris flows. The proposed emplacement sequence has been reconstructed based on geomorphological, structural and mechanical evidences. The Sernio fan is actually considered anomalous with reference to the very high ratio between the fan area (about 4.5km2) and the basin area (about 3km2). The morphology of the fan area is characterised by steep slopes (dip about 20%) and the fan apex is extended for 1.8 km inside the small catchment basin. This sedimentary fan was originated by a landslide that interested a part of a large deep-seated gravitational slope deformation, involving a wide area of about 55 km². The main controlling factor is tectonic and it is related to the proximity to regional fault systems and the consequent occurrence of fault weak rocks (GSI locally lower than 10 with compressive stress lower than 20MPa). Moreover, the fan deposit shows sedimentary evidences of recent debris flow events. The best current explanation of the Sernio fan involves an initial failure of some hundreds of Mm3. The run-out was quite limited because of the morphology of Valtellina’s valley floor, and the deposit filled the main valley forming a landslide dam, as confirmed by the lacustrine deposits detected upstream the fan. Nowadays the debris flow events represent the main hazard in the study area.

Keywords: anomalous sedimentary fans, deep seated gravitational slope deformation, Italy, rock avalanche

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Authors: Kwan-Ho Kim, Jin-Hong Park

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The multi-valued logic (MVL) circuits, which can handle more than two logic states, are one of the promising solutions to overcome the bit density limitations of conventional binary logic systems. Recently, tunneling devices such as Esaki diode and resonant tunneling diode (RTD) have been extensively explored to construct the MVL circuits. These tunneling devices present a negative differential resistance (NDR) phenomenon in which a current decreases as a voltage increases in a specific applied voltage region. Due to this non-monotonic current behavior, the tunneling devices have more than two threshold voltages, consequently enabling construction of MVL circuits. Recently, the emergence of two dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) crystals has opened up the possibility to fabricate such tunneling devices easily. Owing to the defect-free surface of the 2D crystals, a very abrupt junction interface could be formed through a simple stacking process, which subsequently allowed the implementation of a high-performance tunneling device. Here, we report a vdW heterostructure based tunneling device with multiple threshold voltages, which was fabricated with black phosphorus (BP) and hafnium diselenide (HfSe₂). First, we exfoliated BP on the SiO₂ substrate and then transferred HfSe₂ on BP using dry transfer method. The BP and HfSe₂ form type-Ⅲ heterojunction so that the highly doped n+/p+ interface can be easily implemented without additional electrical or chemical doping process. Owing to high natural doping at the junction, record high peak to valley ratio (PVCR) of 16 was observed to the best our knowledge in 2D materials based NDR device. Furthermore, based on this, we first demonstrate the feasibility of the ternary latch by connecting two multi-threshold voltage devices in series.

Keywords: two dimensional van der Waals crystal, multi-valued logic, negative differential resistnace, tunneling device

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Authors: Ramon F. B. da Silva, Mateus Batistella, Emilio Moran

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Although the existence of two Forest Transition (FT) pathways, the economic development and the forest scarcity, there are many contexts that shape the model of FT observed in each particular region. This means that local conditions, such as relief, soil quality, historic land use/cover, public policies, the engagement of society in compliance with legal regulations, and the action of enforcement agencies, represent dimensions which combined, creates contexts that enable forest regeneration. From this perspective we can understand the regeneration process of native vegetation cover in the Paraíba Valley (Forest Atlantic biome), ongoing since the 1960s. This research analyzed public information, land use/cover maps, environmental public policies, and interviewed 17 stakeholders from the Federal and State agencies, municipal environmental and agricultural departments, civil society, farmers, aiming comprehend the contexts behind the forest regeneration in the Paraíba Valley, Sao Paulo State, Brazil. The first policy to protect forest vegetation was the Forest Code n0 4771 of 1965, but this legislation did not promote the increase of forest, just the control of deforestation, not enough to the Atlantic Forest biome that reached its highest pick of degradation in 1985 (8% of Atlantic Forest remnants). We concluded that the Brazilian environmental legislation acted in a strategic way to promote the increase of forest cover (102% of regeneration between 1985 and 2011) from 1993 when the Federal Decree n0 750 declared the initial and advanced stages of secondary succession protected against any kind of exploitation or degradation ensuring the forest regeneration process. The strategic policy formulation was also observed in the Sao Paulo State law n0 6171 of 1988 that prohibited the use of fire to manage agricultural landscape, triggering a process of forest regeneration in formerly pasture areas.

Keywords: forest transition, land abandonment, law enforcement, rural economic crisis

Procedia PDF Downloads 522

Authors: Shivani Thakur, Jasmin Dominguez Cervantes, Ahmed Zabiba, Fatima Zabiba, Sandhini Agarwal, Kamalpreet Kaur, Hussein Maatouk, Shae Chand, Omar Madriz, Tiffany Huang, Saloni Bansal

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Contraceptives are an effective public health achievement, allowing for family planning and reducing the risk of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). California’s rural Central Valley has high rates of teenage pregnancy and STDs. Factors affecting contraceptive usage here may include religious concerns, financial issues, and regional variations in the accessibility and availability of contraceptives. The increasing population and diversity of the Central Valley make the understanding of the determinants of unintended pregnancy and STDs increasingly nuanced. Patients in California’s Central Valley were surveyed at 6 surgical clinics to assess attitudes toward contraceptives. The questionnaire consisted of demographics and 14 Likert-scale statements investigating patients’ feelings regarding contraceptives. Parametric and non-parametric analysis was performed on the Likert statements. A correlation matrix for the Likert-scale statements was used to evaluate the strength of the relationship between each question. 76 patients aged 18-75 years completed the questionnaire. 90% of the participants were female, 76% Hispanic, 36% married, 44% with an income range between 30-60K, and 83% were between childbearing ages. 60% of participants stated they are currently using or had used some type of contraceptive. 25% of participants had at least one unplanned pregnancy. The most common type of contraceptives used were oral contraceptives(28%) and condoms(38%). The top reasons for patients’ contraceptive usage were: prevention of pregnancy (72%), safe sex/prevention of STDs (32%), and regulation of menstrual cycle (19%). Further analysis of Likert responses revealed that contraception usage increased due to approval of contraceptives (x̄=3.98, σ =1.02); partner approval of contraceptives (x̄=3.875, σ =1.16); and reduced anxiety about pregnancy (x̄=3.875, σ =1.23). Younger females (18-34 years old) agreed more with the statement that the cost of contraceptive supplies is too expensive than older females (35-75 years old), (x̄=3.2, σ = 1.4 vs x̄=2.8, σ =1.3, p<0.05). Younger females (44%) were also more likely to use short-acting contraceptive methods (oral and male condoms) compared to older females (64%) who use long-acting methods (implants/ intrauterine devices). 51% of Hispanic females were using some type of contraceptive. Of those Hispanic females who do not use contraceptives, 33% stated having no children, and all plan to have at least one child in the future. 35% of participants had a bachelor's degree. Those with bachelor’s degrees were more likely to use contraceptives, 58% vs 51%, p<0.05, and less likely to have unplanned pregnancy, 50% vs. 12%, p<0.01. There is increasing use and awareness among patients in rural settings concerning contraceptives. Our finding shows that younger women and women with higher educational attainment tend to have more positive attitudes towards the use of contraceptives. This work gives physicians an understanding of patients’ concerns about contraceptive methods and offers insight into culturally competent intervention programs that respect individual values.

Keywords: contraceptives, public health, rural california, women of child baring age

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Authors: Kevin T. Inks

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India’s Brahmaputra River Valley has, since independence, experienced consistent low-intensity guerrilla warfare between ethnic and religious groups. These groups are often organized around perceived ethnic territoriality, and target civilians, communities, and especially migrants belonging to other ethnic and religious groups. Intense flooding and erosion have led to widespread displacement, and disaster relief funds are largely tied to legal land tenure. Displaced residents of informal settlements receive little or no resettlement aid, and their subsequent migration strategies and risk from guerrilla violence are poorly understood. Semi-structured interviews and comprehensive surveys focused on perceptions of risk, efficacy of disaster relief, and migration and adaptation strategies were conducted with households identified as being ‘at-risk’ of catastrophic flooding and erosion in Majuli District, Assam. Interviews with policymakers and government workers were conducted to assess disaster relief efforts in informal settlements, and remote sensing methods were used to identify informal settlement and hydrogeomorphic change. The results show that various ethnic and religious groups have differential strategies and preferences for resettlement. However, these varying strategies are likely to lead to differential levels of risk from guerrilla violence. Members of certain ethnic groups residing in informal settlements, in the absence of resettlement assistance, are more likely to seek out unofficial settlement on land far from the protection of the state and experience greater risk of becoming victims of political violence. As climate change and deforestation are likely to increase the severity of the displacement crisis in the Brahmaputra River Valley, more comprehensive disaster relief and surveying efforts are vital for limiting migration and informal settlement in potential sites of guerrilla warfare.

Keywords: climate, displacement, flooding, India, violence

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Authors: Lateef Hakim Zai Khyber, Syed Rashid Ali

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In the post 9/11 era, a new trend has developed of terrorist profiling on the basis of the ethnic, religious, political, psychological, social, and economic background of the terrorists to anticipate and assess the possible risk and to prevent and prosecute the suspected before they commit any violent act. The same profiling approach was adopted in different militant or terrorist de-radicalization and rehabilitation programs across the world in order to evaluate and identify the reasons and causes for joining terrorism in terms of push and pull factors. This paper attempts to explore and investigate the profiles of the detainees in the Sabaoon de-radicalization and Emancipation program, which aimed at de-radicalizing the former militants of Tehrik-e-Taliban (TTP) Pakistan in the Swat valley of Pakistan. This research attempted to use qualitative methods for collecting data, including a number of formal and informal open-ended interviews with the former staff members of Sabaoon to explore various aspects of the program, such as various approaches used at Sabaoon for terrorist profiling. It conducts a thorough examination of the profiles of the terrorist through their socioeconomic, ideological, emotional, intellectual, and psychological conditions and orientations, personal details, family issues, social preferences, etc. The study finds out that the majority of the terrorists belonged to the marginalized groups or lower class, including underprivileged tenants and poor laborers, of society having no access to land. They possess almost the same profiles, including low socioeconomic status, absence of a father or strict behavior of parents, large and combined families, lack of education, lack of religious understanding, etc. They also possess some common traits such as anxiety disorder, emotional instability, aggressive impulses and insecurity, depression, inferiority complex, lack of critical thinking and logical reasoning, authority-seeking behavior, and revenge-seeking behavior.

Keywords: terrorist profiling, Sabaoon, de-radicalization, rehabilitation, Swat, Pakistan, juvenile militants

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Authors: Fang Liu, JunShuai Xue, JiaJia Yao, XueYan Yang, ZuMao Li, GuanLin Wu, HePeng Zhang, ZhiPeng Sun

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III-Nitride resonant tunneling diode (RTD) is one of the most promising candidates for multiple-valued logic (MVL) elements. Here, we report a monolithic integration of GaN resonant tunneling diodes to realize multiple negative differential resistance (NDR) regions for MVL application. GaN RTDs, composed of a 2 nm quantum well embedded in two 1 nm quantum barriers, are grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy on free-standing c-plane GaN substrates. Negative differential resistance characteristic with a peak current density of 178 kA/cm² in conjunction with a peak-to-valley current ratio (PVCR) of 2.07 is observed. Statistical properties exhibit high consistency showing a peak current density standard deviation of almost 1%, laying the foundation for the monolithic integration. After complete electrical isolation, two diodes of the designed same area are connected in series. By solving the Poisson equation and Schrodinger equation in one dimension, the energy band structure is calculated to explain the transport mechanism of the differential negative resistance phenomenon. Resonant tunneling events in a sequence of the series-connected RTD pair (SCRTD) form multiple NDR regions with nearly equal peak current, obtaining three stable operating states corresponding to ternary logic. A frequency multiplier circuit achieved using this integration is demonstrated, attesting to the robustness of this multiple peaks feature. This article presents a monolithic integration of SCRTD with multiple NDR regions driven by the resonant tunneling mechanism, which can be applied to a multiple-valued logic field, promising a fast operation speed and a great reduction of circuit complexity and demonstrating a new solution for nitride devices to break through the limitations of binary logic.

Keywords: GaN resonant tunneling diode, multiple-valued logic system, frequency multiplier, negative differential resistance, peak-to-valley current ratio

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Authors: Nino Kobakhidze, Endi Varsimashvili, Davit Makadze

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The Caucasus is a link of the Alpine-Himalayan fold belt and involves the Greater Caucasus and the Lesser Caucasus fold systems and the Intermountain area. The study object is located within the northernmost part of the Lesser Caucasus orogen, in the eastern part of Achara-Trialeti fold -thrust belt. This area was rather well surveyed in 70th of the twentieth century in terms of oil-and-gas potential, but to our best knowledge, detailed sedimentological studies have not been conducted so far. In order to fill this gap, the authors of the present thesis started research in this direction. One of the objects selected for the research was the deposits of the Kavtura river valley situated on the northern slope of the Trialeti ridge. Paleocene-Lower Eocene deposits known in scientific literature as ‘Borjomi Flysch’ (Turbidites) are exposed in the mentioned area. During the research, the following methodologies were applied: selection of key cross sections, a collection of rock samples, microscopic description of thin sections, mineralogical and petrological analysis of material and identification of trace fossils. The study of Paleocene-Lower Eocene deposits starts with Kavtura river valley in the east, where they are well characterized by microfauna. The cross-section of the deposits starts with Danian variegated marlstone conformably overlain by the alternation of thick and thin-bedded sandstones (thickness 40-50 cm). They are continued with interbedded of thin-bedded sandstones and shales(thickness 4-5 m). On the sole surface of sandstones ichnogenera ‘Helmintopsis’ and ‘Scolicia’ are recorded and within the bed –‘Chondrites’ is found. Towards the Riverhead, there is a 1-2 m gap in sedimentation; then again the Paleocene-Lower Eocene sediments crop out. They starting with alternation of grey-green medium-grained sandstones and shales enclosing dark color plant detritus. They are overlain by the interbedded of calcareous sandstones and marls, where the thickness of sandstones is variable (20-70 cm). Ichnogenus – ‘Scolicia’ is found here. Upwards the above-mentioned deposits pass into Middle Eocenian volcanogenic-sedimentary suits. In the Kavtura river valley, the thickness of the Paleocene-Lower Eocene deposits is 300-400 m. In the process of research, the following activities are conducted: the facial analysis of host rocks, correlation of the study section with other cross sections and interpretation of depositional environment of the area. In the area the authors have found and described ichnogenera; their preliminary determination have shown that they belong to pre-depositional (‘Helmintopsis’) and post-depositional (‘Chondrites’) forms. As known, during the Cretaceous-Paleogene time, the Achara-Trialeti fold-thrust belt extensional basin was the accumulation area with great thicknesses (from shallow to deep marine sediments). It is confirmed once more by the authors investigations preliminary results of paleoichnological studies inclusive.

Keywords: flysh deposits, lithology, The Lesser Caucasus, trace fossils

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Authors: Fitih Ademe, Kibebew Kibret, Sheleme Beyene, Mezgebu Getnet, Gashaw Meteke

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Changes in precipitation, temperature and atmospheric CO2 concentration are expected to alter agricultural productivity patterns worldwide. The interactive effects of soil moisture and nutrient availability are the two key edaphic factors that determine crop yield and are sensitive to climatic changes. The study assessed the potential impacts of climate change on maize yield and corresponding water productivity and nutrient use efficiency under climate change scenarios for the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia by mid (2041-2070) and end century (2071-2100). Projected impacts were evaluated using climate scenarios generated from four General Circulation Models (GCMs) dynamically downscaled by the Swedish RCA4 Regional Climate Model (RCM) in combination with two Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP 4.5 and RCP8.5). Decision Support System for Agro-technology Transfer cropping system model (DSSAT-CSM) was used to simulate yield, water and nutrient use for the study periods. Results indicate that rainfed maize yield might decrease on average by 16.5 and 23% by the 2050s and 2080s, respectively, due to climate change. Water productivity is expected to decline on average by 2.2 and 12% in the CRV by mid and end centuries with respect to the baseline. Nutrient uptake and corresponding nutrient use efficiency (NUE) might also be negatively affected by climate change. Phosphorus uptake probably will decrease in the CRV on average by 14.5 to 18% by 2050s, while N uptake may not change significantly at Melkassa. Nitrogen and P use efficiency indicators showed decreases in the range between 8.5 to 10.5% and between 9.3 to 10.5%, respectively, by 2050s relative to the baseline average. The simulation results further indicated that a combination of increased water availability and optimum nutrient application might increase both water productivity and nutrient use efficiency in the changed climate, which can ensure modest production in the future. Potential options that can improve water availability and nutrient uptake should be identified for the study locations using a crop modeling approach.

Keywords: crop model, climate change scenario, nutrient uptake, nutrient use efficiency, water productivity

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Authors: Theodrose Sisay, Kindie Tesfaye, Mengistu Ketema, Nigussie Dechassa, Mezegebu Getnet

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Agriculture is a sector that is very vulnerable to the effects of climate change and contributes to anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the atmosphere. By lowering emissions and adjusting to the change, it can also help to reduce climate change. Utilizing Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) technology that can sustainably boost productivity, improve resilience, and lower GHG emissions is crucial. This study sought to identify the CSA technologies used by farmers and assess adoption levels and factors that influence them. In order to gather information from 384 smallholder farmers in the Great Rift Valley (GRV) of Ethiopia, a cross-sectional survey was carried out. Data were analysed using percentage, chi-square test, t-test, and multivariate probit model. Results showed that crop diversification, agroforestry, and integrated soil fertility management were the most widely practiced technologies. The results of the Chi-square and t-tests showed that there are differences and significant and positive connections between adopters and non-adopters based on various attributes. The chi-square and t-test results confirmed that households who were older had higher incomes, greater credit access, knowledge of the climate, better training, better education, larger farms, higher incomes, and more frequent interactions with extension specialists had a positive and significant association with CSA technology adopters. The model result showed that age, sex, and education of the head, farmland size, livestock ownership, income, access to credit, climate information, training, and extension contact influenced the selection of CSA technologies. Therefore, effective action must be taken to remove barriers to the adoption of CSA technologies, and taking these adoption factors into account in policy and practice is anticipated to support smallholder farmers in adapting to climate change while lowering emissions.

Keywords: climate change, climate-smart agriculture, smallholder farmers, multivariate probit model

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Authors: Esther Friedlander, Philip Friedlander

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The use of immunotherapy that inhibits programmed death-1 (PD-1) or its ligand PD-L1 confers survival benefits in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, approximately 45% of patients experience primary treatment resistance, necessitating the development of strategies to improve efficacy. While the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) has systemic hemodynamic effects, tissue-specific regulation exists along with modulation of immune activity in part through regulation of myeloid cell activity, leading to the hypothesis that RAS inhibition may improve anti-PD-1/L-1 efficacy. A retrospective analysis was conducted that included 173 advanced solid tumor cancer patients treated at Valley Hospital, a community Hospital in New Jersey, USA, who were treated with a PD-1/L-1 inhibitor in a defined time period showing a statistically significant relationship between RAS pathway inhibition (RASi through concomitant treatment with an ACE inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker) and positive efficacy to the immunotherapy that was independent of age, gender and cancer type. Subset analysis revealed strong numerical benefit for efficacy in both patients with squamous and nonsquamous NSCLC as determined by documented clinician assessment of efficacy and by duration of therapy. A PUBMED literature search was now conducted to identify studies assessing the effect of RAS pathway inhibition on anti-PD-1/L1 efficacy in advanced solid tumor patients and compare these findings to those seen in the Valley Hospital retrospective study with a focus on NSCLC specifically. A total of 11 articles were identified assessing the effects of RAS pathway inhibition on the efficacy of checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy in advanced cancer patients. Of the 11 studies, 10 assessed the effect on survival of RASi in the context of treatment with anti-PD-1/PD-L1, while one assessed the effect on CTLA-4 inhibition. Eight of the studies included patients with NSCLC, while the remaining 2 were specific to genitourinary malignancies. Of the 8 studies, two were specific to NSCLC patients, with the remaining 6 studies including a range of cancer types, of which NSCLC was one. Of these 6 studies, only 2 reported specific survival data for the NSCLC subpopulation. Patient characteristics, multivariate analysis data and efficacy data seen in the 2 NSLCLC specific studies and in the 2 basket studies, which provided data on the NSCLC subpopulation, were compared to that seen in the Valley Hospital retrospective study supporting a broader effect of RASi on anti-PD-1/L1 efficacy in advanced NSLCLC with the majority of studies showing statistically significant benefit or strong statistical trends but with one study demonstrating worsened outcomes. This comparison of studies extends published findings to the community hospital setting and supports prospective assessment through randomized clinical trials of efficacy in NSCLC patients with pharmacodynamic components to determine the effect on immune cell activity in tumors and on the composition of the tumor microenvironment.

Keywords: immunotherapy, cancer, angiotensin, efficacy, PD-1, lung cancer, NSCLC

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Authors: Muhammad Zafar Khan, Babar Khan, Muhammad Saeed Awan, Farida Begum

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Livestock depredation has greater significance in pastoral societies like Himalaya-Karakoram-Hindu Kush mountain ranges. The dynamics of depredation by large predators (snow leopard and wolf) and its implications for conservation and livelihoods of local people was investigated by household surveys in Hushey valley of Central Karakoram National Park, Pakistan. We found that, during five years (2008-12) 90% of the households in the valley had lost their livestock to snow leopard and wolf, accounting for 4.3% of the total livestock holding per year. On average each household had to bear a loss of 0.8 livestock head per year, equivalent to Pak Rupees 9,853 (US$ 101), or 10% of the average annual cash income. Majority of the predation incidences occurred during late summer in alpine pastures, mostly at night when animals were not penned properly. The prey animals in most of the cases were females or young ones. Of the total predation incidences, 60% were attributed to snow leopard, 37% to wolf, while in 3% the predator was unknown. The fear of snow leopard is greater than that of wolf. As immediate response on predation, majority of the local people (64%, n=99) preferred to report the case to their village conservation committee, 32% had no response while only 1% tended to kill the predator. The perceived causes of predation were: poor guarding practices (77%); reduction in wild prey (13%) and livestock being the favourite food of predators (10%). The most preferred strategies for predator management, according to the respondents were improved and enhanced guarding of livestock (72%), followed by increasing wild prey (18%) and lethal control (10%). To strike a balance between predator populations and pastoral livelihoods, better animal husbandry practices should be promoted including: improved guarding through collective hiring of skilled shepherds; corral improvement and use of guard dogs.

Keywords: Panthera unica, Canis lupus, Karakoram, human-carnivore conflict, predation

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Authors: Fang Liu, JunShuai Xue, JiaJia Yao, GuanLin Wu, ZuMaoLi, XueYan Yang, HePeng Zhang, ZhiPeng Sun

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Terahertz spectra is in great demand since last two decades for many photonic and electronic applications. III-Nitride resonant tunneling diode is one of the promising candidates for portable and compact THz sources. Room temperature microwave oscillator based on GaN/AlN resonant tunneling diode was reported in this work. The devices, grown by plasma-assisted molecular-beam epitaxy on free-standing c-plane GaN substrates, exhibit highly repeatable and robust negative differential resistance (NDR) characteristics at room temperature. To improve the interface quality at the active region in RTD, indium surfactant assisted growth is adopted to enhance the surface mobility of metal atoms on growing film front. Thanks to the lowered valley current associated with the suppression of threading dislocation scattering on low dislocation GaN substrate, a positive peak current density of record-high 2.1 MA/cm2 in conjunction with a peak-to-valley current ratio (PVCR) of 1.2 are obtained, which is the best results reported in nitride-based RTDs up to now considering the peak current density and PVCR values simultaneously. When biased within the NDR region, microwave oscillations are measured with a fundamental frequency of 0.31 GHz, yielding an output power of 5.37 µW. Impedance mismatch results in the limited output power and oscillation frequency described above. The actual measured intrinsic capacitance is only 30fF. Using a small-signal equivalent circuit model, the maximum intrinsic frequency of oscillation for these diodes is estimated to be ~260GHz. This work demonstrates a microwave oscillator based on resonant tunneling effect, which can meet the demands of terahertz spectral devices, more importantly providing guidance for the fabrication of the complex nitride terahertz and quantum effect devices.

Keywords: GaN resonant tunneling diode, peak current density, microwave oscillation, intrinsic capacitance

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Authors: Retang A. Mokua, Julia Glenday, Jacobus M. Nel

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Understanding hydrological processes in mountain headwater catchments, such as the Jonkershoek Valley, is crucial for improving the predictive capability of hydrologic modeling in the Cape Fold Mountain region of South Africa, incorporating the influence of the Table Mountain Group fractured rock aquifers. Determining the contributions of various possible surface and subsurface flow pathways in such catchments has been a challenge due to the complex nature of the fractured rock geology, low ionic concentrations, high rainfall, and streamflow variability. The study aimed to describe the mechanisms of streamflow generation during two seasons (dry and wet). In this study, stable isotopes of water (18O and 2H), hydrochemical tracer electrical conductivity (EC), hydrometric data were used to assess the spatial and temporal variation in flow pathways and geographic sources of stream water. Stream water, groundwater, two shallow piezometers, and spring samples were routinely sampled at two adjacent headwater sub-catchments and analyzed for isotopic ratios during baseflow conditions between January 2018 and January 2019. From these results, no significance (p > 0.05) in seasonal variations in isotopic ratios were observed, the stream isotope signatures were consistent throughout the study period. However, significant seasonal and spatial variations in the EC were evident (p < 0.05). The findings suggest that, in the dry season, baseflow generation mechanisms driven by groundwater and interflow as discharge from perennial springs in these catchments are the primary contributors. The wet season flows were attributed to interflow and perennial and ephemeral springs. Furthermore, the observed seasonal variations in EC were indicative of a greater proportion of sub-surface water inputs. With these results, a conceptual model of streamflow generation processes for the two seasons was constructed.

Keywords: electrical conductivity, Jonkershoek valley, stable isotopes, table mountain group

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Authors: Kayode A. Olaniyi, Tola. M. Osifeko, Adeola A. Ogunleye

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Text line segmentation is an important step in document image processing. It represents a labeling process that assigns the same label using distance metric probability to spatially aligned units. Text line detection techniques have successfully been implemented mainly in printed documents. However, processing of the handwritten texts especially unconstrained documents has remained a key problem. This is because the unconstrained hand-written text lines are often not uniformly skewed. The spaces between text lines may not be obvious, complicated by the nature of handwriting and, overlapping ascenders and/or descenders of some characters. Hence, text lines detection and segmentation represents a leading challenge in handwritten document image processing. Text line detection methods that rely on the traditional global projection profile of the text document cannot efficiently confront with the problem of variable skew angles between different text lines. Hence, the formulation of a horizontal line as a separator is often not efficient. This paper presents a technique to segment a handwritten document into distinct lines of text. The proposed algorithm starts, by partitioning the initial text image into columns, across its width into chunks of about 5% each. At each vertical strip of 5%, the histogram of horizontal runs is projected. We have worked with the assumption that text appearing in a single strip is almost parallel to each other. The algorithm developed provides a sliding window through the first vertical strip on the left side of the page. It runs through to identify the new minimum corresponding to a valley in the projection profile. Each valley would represent the starting point of the orientation line and the ending point is the minimum point on the projection profile of the next vertical strip. The derived text-lines traverse around any obstructing handwritten vertical strips of connected component by associating it to either the line above or below. A decision of associating such connected component is made by the probability obtained from a distance metric decision. The technique outperforms the global projection profile for text line segmentation and it is robust to handle skewed documents and those with lines running into each other.

Keywords: connected-component, projection-profile, segmentation, text-line

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Authors: Ammar Amsyar Abdul Haddi, Mohd Hasni Jaafar

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Heavy metals are elements naturally presented in the environment that can cause adverse effect to health. But not much literature was found on effects toward lung function, where impairment of lung function may lead to various lung diseases. The objective of the study is to explore the lung function impairment, urinary heavy metal level, and its associated factors among the community in Klang valley, Malaysia. Sampling was done in Kuala Lumpur suburb public and housing areas during community events throughout March 2019 till October 2019. respondents who gave the consent were given a questionnaire to answer and was proceeded with a lung function test. Urine samples were obtained at the end of the session and sent for Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analysis for heavy metal cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) concentration. A total of 200 samples were analysed, and of all, 52% of respondents were male, Age ranging from 18 years old to 74 years old with a mean age of 38.44. Urinary samples show that 12% of the respondent (n=22) has Cd level above than average, and 1.5 % of the respondent (n=3) has urinary Pb at an above normal level. Bivariate analysis show that there was a positive correlation between urinary Cd and urinary Pb (r= 0.309; p<0.001). Furthermore, there was a negative correlation between urinary Cd level and full vital capacity (FVC) (r=-0.202, p=0.004), Force expiratory volume at 1 second (FEV1) (r = -0.225, p=0.001), and also with Force expiratory flow between 25-75% FVC (FEF25%-75%) (r= -0.187, p=0.008). however, urinary Pb did not show any association with FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC, or FEF25%-75%. Multiple linear regression analysis shows that urinary Cd remained significant and negatively affect FVC% (p=0.025) and FEV1% (p=0.004) achieved from the predicted value. On top of that, other factors such as education level (p=0.013) and duration of smoking(p=0.003) may influencing both urinary Cd and performance in lung function as well, suggesting Cd as a potential mediating factor between smoking and impairment of lung function. however, there was no interaction detected between heavy metal or other influencing factor in this study. In short, there is a negative linear relationship detected between urinary Cd and lung function, and urinary Cd is likely to affects lung function in a restrictive pattern. Since smoking is also an influencing factor for urinary Cd and lung function impairment, it is highly suggested that smokers should be screened for lung function and urinary Cd level in the future for early disease prevention.

Keywords: lung function, heavy metals, community

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Authors: C. Yin, B. Zhang, Y. Liu, J. Cai

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Airborne EM (AEM) is an effective geophysical exploration tool, especially suitable for ridged mountain areas. In these areas, topography will have serious effects on AEM system responses. However, until now little study has been reported on topographic effect on airborne EM systems. In this paper, an edge-based unstructured finite-element (FE) method is developed for 3D topographic modeling for both frequency and time-domain airborne EM systems. Starting from the frequency-domain Maxwell equations, a vector Helmholtz equation is derived to obtain a stable and accurate solution. Considering that the AEM transmitter and receiver are both located in the air, the scattered field method is used in our modeling. The Galerkin method is applied to discretize the Helmholtz equation for the final FE equations. Solving the FE equations, the frequency-domain AEM responses are obtained. To accelerate the calculation speed, the response of source in free-space is used as the primary field and the PARDISO direct solver is used to deal with the problem with multiple transmitting sources. After calculating the frequency-domain AEM responses, a Hankel’s transform is applied to obtain the time-domain AEM responses. To check the accuracy of present algorithm and to analyze the characteristic of topographic effect on airborne EM systems, both the frequency- and time-domain AEM responses for 3 model groups are simulated: 1) a flat half-space model that has a semi-analytical solution of EM response; 2) a valley or hill earth model; 3) a valley or hill earth with an abnormal body embedded. Numerical experiments show that close to the node points of the topography, AEM responses demonstrate sharp changes. Special attentions need to be paid to the topographic effects when interpreting AEM survey data over rugged topographic areas. Besides, the profile of the AEM responses presents a mirror relation with the topographic earth surface. In comparison to the topographic effect that mainly occurs at the high-frequency end and early time channels, the EM responses of underground conductors mainly occur at low frequencies and later time channels. For the signal of the same time channel, the dB/dt field reflects the change of conductivity better than the B-field. The research of this paper will serve airborne EM in the identification and correction of the topographic effects.

Keywords: 3D, Airborne EM, forward modeling, topographic effect

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Authors: Yongjun Kim

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Since the agreement on the historicity of historical Buddha in eastern India, the beginning, heyday and decline of Buddhism in Early India have been discussed in urbanization, commercialism and state formation context, in short, Weberian socio-politico frame. Recent Scholarship, notably in archaeology and anthropology, has proposed ‘re-materialization of Buddhism in Early India’ based on what Buddhist had actually done rather than what they should do according to canonical teachings or philosophies. But its historical narrations still remain with a domain of socio-politico meta-narrative which tends to unjustifiably dismiss the naturally existing heterogeneity and often chaotic dynamic of diverse agencies, landscape perceptions, localized traditions, etc. An author will argue the multiplicity of theoretical standpoints for the reconstruction on the Buddhism in Early India. For this, at first, the diverse agencies, localized traditions, landscape patterns of Buddhist communities and monasteries in Trans-Himalayan regions; focusing Zanskar Valley and Spiti Valley in India will be illustrated based on an author’s field work. And then an author will discuss this anthropological landscape analysis is better appropriated with textual and archaeological evidences on the tension between urban monastic and forest Buddhism, the phenomena of sacred landscape, cemetery, garden, natural cave along with socio-economic landscape, the demographic heterogeneity in Early India. Finally, it will be attempted to compare between anthropological landscape of present Trans-Himalayan and archaeological one of ancient Western India. The study of Buddhism in Early India has hardly been discussed through multivalent theoretical archaeology and anthropology of religion, thus traditional and recent scholarship have produced historical meta-narrative though heterogeneous among them. The multidisciplinary approaches of textual critics, archaeology and anthropology will surely help to deconstruct the grand and all-encompassing historical description on Buddhism in Early India and then to reconstruct the localized, behavioral and multivalent narratives. This paper expects to highlight the importance of lesser-studied Buddhist archaeological sites and the dynamic views on religious landscape in Early India with a help of critical anthropology of religion.

Keywords: analogy by living traditions, Buddhism in Early India, landscape analysis, meta-narrative

Procedia PDF Downloads 307

Authors: Fitih Ademe, Kibebew Kibret, Sheleme Beyene, Mezgebu Getnet, Gashaw Meteke

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Soil moisture and nutrient availability are the two key edaphic factors that affect crop yields and are directly or indirectly affected by climate variability and change. The study examined climate-induced yield level, yield variability and gap of maize during 1981-2010 main growing season in the Central Rift Valley (CRV) of Ethiopia. Pearson correlation test was employed to see the relationship between climate variables and yield. The coefficient of variation (CV) was used to analyze annual yield variability. Decision Support System for Agro-technology Transfer cropping system model (DSSAT-CSM) was used to simulate the growth and yield of maize for the study period. The result indicated that maize grain yield was strongly (P<0.01) and positively correlated with seasonal rainfall (r=0.67 at Melkassa and r = 0.69 at Ziway) in the CRV while day temperature affected grain yield negatively (r= -0.44) at Ziway (P<0.05) during the simulation period. Variations in total seasonal rainfall at Melkassa and Ziway explained 44.9 and 48.5% of the variation in yield, respectively, under optimum nutrition. Following variation in rainfall, high yield variability (CV=23.5%, Melkassa and CV=25.3%, Ziway) was observed for optimum nutrient simulation than the corresponding nutrient limited simulation (CV=16%, Melkassa and 24.1%, Ziway) in the study period. The observed farmers’ yield was 72, 52 and 43% of the researcher-managed, water-limited and potential yield of the crop, respectively, indicating a wide maize yield gap in the region. The study revealed rainfed crop production in the CRV is prone to yield variabilities due to its high dependence on seasonal rainfall and nutrient level. Moreover, the high coefficient of variation in the yield gap for the 30-year period also foretells the need for dependable water supply at both locations. Given the wide yield gap especially during lower rainfall years across the simulation periods, it signifies the requirement for a more dependable application of irrigation water and a potential shift to irrigated agriculture; hence, adopting options that can improve water availability and nutrient use efficiency would be crucial for crop production in the area.

Keywords: climate variability, crop model, water availability, yield gap, yield variability

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Authors: Hussien Ali, Mesfin Menza, Fitsum Hagos, Amare Haileslassie

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Climate change has perverse effects on agricultural productivity and natural resource base, negatively affecting the well-being of the households and communities. The government and NGOs promote climate smart agricultural (CSA) practices to help farmers adapt to and mitigate the negative effects of climate change. This study aims to identify widely available CSA practices and examine their impacts on food security and multi-dimensional poverty of rural farm households in the Central Rift Valley, Ethiopia. Using three-stage proportional to size sampling procedure, the study randomly selected 278 households from two kebeles from four districts each. A cross-sectional data of 2020/21 cropping season was collected using structured and pretested survey questionnaire. Food consumption score, dietary diversity score, food insecurity experience scale, and multidimensional poverty index were calculated to measure households’ welfare indicators. Multinomial endogenous switching regression model was used to assess average treatment effects of CSA on these outcome indicators on adopter and non-adopter households. The results indicate that the widely adopted CSA practices in the area are conservation agriculture, soil fertility management, crop diversification, and small-scale irrigation. Adopter households have, on average, statistically higher food consumption score, dietary diversity score and lower food insecurity access scale than non-adopters. Moreover, adopter households, on average, have lower deprivation score in multidimensional poverty compared to non-adopter households. Up scaling the adoption of CSA practices through the improvement of households’ implementation capacity and better information, technical advice, and innovative financing mechanisms is advised. Up scaling CSA practices can further promote achieving global goals such as SDG 1, SDG 2, and SDG 13 targets, aimed to end poverty and hunger and mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change, respectively.

Keywords: climate-smart agriculture, food security, multidimensional poverty, upscaling CSA, Ethiopia

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Authors: Shirl H. Terrell

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In the telling of mythologies, stories of cultural and religious histories, the creative arts provide an archetypal lens through which the personal and collective unconscious are viewed, thus revealing mysteries of the unknown psyche. To that end, the author of this paper, using the hermeneutic approach, proves that Carlisle Floyd’s (1955) English language opera Susannah illuminates humanity’s instinctual nature and behaviors through music, libretto, and drama. While impressive musical works such as Wagner’s Ring Cycle and Webber’s Phantom of the Opera have received extensive Jungian analyses, critics and scholars often ignore lesser esteemed works, such as Susannah, notwithstanding the fact that they have been consistently performed on the theater circuit. Such pieces, when given notice, allow viewers to grasp the soul-making depth and timeless quality of productions which may otherwise go unrecognized as culturally or psychologically significant. Although Susannah has sometimes been described as unsophisticated and simple in scope, the author demonstrates why Floyd’s 'little' opera, set in New Hope Valley, Appalachia, a cultural region in the Eastern United States known for its prevailing myths and distortions of isolation, temperament, and the judgmentally conservative behavior of its inhabitants, belongs to opera’s hallmark works. Its approach to powerful underlying archetypal themes, which give rise to the poignant and haunting depictions of the darker and destructive side of the human soul, the Shadow, provides crucial significance to the work. The Shadow’s manifestation in the form of the scapegoating complex is central to the plot of Susannah; the church’s meting out of rules, judgment, and reparation for sins point to the foreboding aspects of human behavior that evoke their intrinsic nature. The scapegoating complex is highlighted in an eight-step process gleaned from the works of Kenneth Burke and Rene Girard. In summary, through depth psychological terms and mythological motifs, the author provides an insightful approach to perceiving instinctual behaviors as they play out in an American opera that has been staged over eight-hundred times, yet, unfortunately, remains in the shadows. Susannah’s timelessness is now.

Keywords: archetypes, mythology, opera, scapegoating, Shadow, Susannah

Procedia PDF Downloads 125

Authors: Fang Liu, JiaJia Yao, GuanLin Wu, ZuMaoLi, XueYan Yang, HePeng Zhang, ZhiPeng Sun, JunShuai Xue

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The explosive increasing needs of data processing and information storage strongly drive the advancement of the binary logic system to multiple-valued logic system. Inherent negative differential resistance characteristic, ultra-high-speed switching time, and robust anti-irradiation capability make III-nitride resonant tunneling diode one of the most promising candidates for multi-valued logic devices. Here we report the monolithic integration of GaN resonant tunneling diodes in series to realize multiple negative differential resistance regions, obtaining at least three stable operating states. A multiply-by-three circuit is achieved by this combination, increasing the frequency of the input triangular wave from f0 to 3f0. The resonant tunneling diodes are grown by plasma-assistedmolecular beam epitaxy on free-standing c-plane GaN substrates, comprising double barriers and a single quantum well both at the atomic level. Device with a peak current density of 183kA/cm² in conjunction with a peak-to-valley current ratio (PVCR) of 2.07 is observed, which is the best result reported in nitride-based resonant tunneling diodes. Microwave oscillation event at room temperature was discovered with a fundamental frequency of 0.31GHz and an output power of 5.37μW, verifying the high repeatability and robustness of our device. The switching behavior measurement was successfully carried out, featuring rise and fall times in the order of picoseconds, which can be used in high-speed digital circuits. Limited by the measuring equipment and the layer structure, the switching time can be further improved. In general, this article presents a novel nitride device with multiple negative differential regions driven by the resonant tunneling mechanism, which can be used in high-speed multiple value logic field with reduced circuit complexity, demonstrating a new solution of nitride devices to break through the limitations of binary logic.

Keywords: GaN resonant tunneling diode, negative differential resistance, multiple-valued logic system, switching time, peak-to-valley current ratio

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Authors: A. Daftari, W. Kudla

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Liquefaction is a phenomenon in which the strength and stiffness of a soil is reduced by earthquake shaking or other rapid cyclic loading. Liquefaction and related phenomena have been responsible for huge amounts of damage in historical earthquakes around the world. Modelling of soil behaviour is the main step in soil liquefaction prediction process. Nowadays, several constitutive models for sand have been presented. Nevertheless, only some of them can satisfy this mechanism. One of the most useful models in this term is UBCSAND model. In this research, the capability of this model is considered by using PLAXIS software. The real data of superstition hills earthquake 1987 in the Imperial Valley was used. The results of the simulation have shown resembling trend of the UBC3D-PLM model.

Keywords: liquefaction, plaxis, pore-water pressure, UBC3D-PLM

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Authors: Doron Markel

Abstract:

Water availability in most of the Middle East (especially in Jordan) is among the lowest in the world and has been even further exacerbated by the regional climatic change and the reduced rainfall. The Araba Valley in Israel is disconnected from the national water system. On the other hand, the Araba Valley, both in Israel and Jordan, is an excellent area for solar energy gaining. The Dead Sea (Israel and Jordan) is a hypersaline lake which its level declines at a rate of more than 1 m/y. The decline stems from the increasing use of all available freshwater resources that discharge into the Dead Sea and decreasing natural precipitation due to climate change in the Middle East. As an adaptation tool for this humanmade and Climate Change results, a comprehensive water-energy and environmental project were suggested: The Red Sea-Dead Sea Conveyance. It is planned to desalinate the Red Sea water, supply the desalinated water to both Israel and Jordan, and convey the desalination brine to the Dead Sea to stabilize its water level. Therefore, the World Bank had led a multi-discipline feasibility study between 2008 and 2013, that had mainly dealt with the mixing of seawater and Dead Sea Water. The possible consequences of such mixing were precipitation and possible suspension of secondary Gypsum, as well as blooming of Dunaliella red algae. Using a comprehensive hydrodynamic-geochemical model for the Dead Sea, it was predicted that while conveying up to 400 Million Cubic Meters per year of seawater or desalination brine to the Dead Sea, the latter would not be stratified as it was until 1979; hence Gypsum precipitation and algal blooms would be neglecting. Using another hydrodynamic-biological model for the Red Sea, it was predicted the Seawater pump from the Gulf of Eilat would not harm the ecological system of the gulf (including the sensitive coral reef), giving a pump depth of 120-160 m. Based on these studies, a pipeline conveyance was recommended to convey desalination brine to the Dead Sea with the use of a hydropower plant, utilizing the elevation difference of 400 m between the Red Sea and the Dead Sea. The complementary energy would come from solar panels coupled with innovative storage technology, needed to produce a continuous energy production for an appropriate function of the desalination plant. The paper will describe the proposed project as well as the feasibility study results. The possibility to utilize this water-energy-environmental project as a climate change adaptation strategy for both Israel and Jordan will also be discussed.

Keywords: Red Sea, Dead Sea, water supply, hydro-power, Gypsum, algae

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Authors: George Mariano Soriano

Abstract:

In this study, a Rapid Earthquake Risk Ranking Criteria was formulated by integrating various existing maps and databases by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS). Utilizing Geographic Information System (GIS) software, the above-mentioned maps and databases were used in extracting seismic hazard parameters and bridge vulnerability characteristics in order to rank the seismic damage risk rating of bridges in the National Capital Region.

Keywords: bridge, earthquake, GIS, hazard, risk, vulnerability

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Authors: Dawit Hailekrios Hailu

Abstract:

The main objective of this study is to predict the sediment yield of the Jido River Watershed. Jido River is the largest tributary and covers around 50% of the total catchment area of Lake Shala. This research is undertaken to analyze the sediment yield of the catchments, transport capacity of the streams and sediment deposition rates of Jido River, which is located in the Sub-basin of Shala Lake, Rift Valley Basin of Ethiopia. The input data were Meteorological, Hydrological, land use/land cover maps and soil maps collected from concerned government offices. The sediment yield of Jido River and sediment change of the streams discharging into the Shala Lake were modeled.

Keywords: sediment yield, watershed, simulation, calibration

Procedia PDF Downloads 25