Search results for: seasonal evolution

Authors: Faroudja Meziani, Amar Kahil

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In order to study the variation in settlement of soil under a dyke dam, the modelisation in our study consists of applying an imposed displacement at the base of the mass of soil (consisting of a saturated sand). The imposed displacement follows the evolution of acceleration of the earthquake of Boumerdes 2003 in Algeria. Moreover, the gravity load is taken into consideration by taking account the specific weight of the materials constituting the dyke. The results obtained show that the gravity loads have a direct influence on the evolution of settlement, especially at the center of the dyke where these loads are higher.

Keywords: settlement, dynamic analysis, rockfill dam, effect of earthquake, soil dynamics

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Authors: Kun-Ting Song, Christian Schott, Peter Schneider, Sebastian Watzele, Regina Kluge, Elena Gubanova, Aliaksandr S. Bandarenka

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The combination of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and the hydrodynamic technique like rotation disc electrode (RDE) provides a critical method for quantitively investigating mechanisms of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in acidic and alkaline media. Pt5Gd represented higher HER activities than polycrystalline Pt (Pt(pc)) by means of the surface strain effects. The model of the equivalent electric circuit to fit the impedance data under the RDE configurations is developed. To investigate the relative reaction contribution, the ratio of the charge transfer reactions of the Volmer-Heyrovsky and Volmer-Tafel pathways on Pt and Pt5Gd electrodes is determined. The ratio remains comparably similar in acidic media, but it changes in alkaline media with Volmer–Heyrovsky pathway dominating. This combined approach of EIS and RDE can help to study the electrolyte effects and other essential reactions for electrocatalysis in future work.

Keywords: hydrogen evolution reaction, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, hydrodynamic methods, electrocatalysis, electrochemical interface

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Authors: Nabil Abu-Heakal, Ismail Abo-Ghanema, Basma Hamed Merghani

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The aim of this investigation is to study the effect of seasonal variations in Egypt on hematological parameters, reproductive and metabolic hormones of Egyptian buffalo-cows. This study lasted one year extending from December 2009 to November 2010 and was conducted on sixty buffalo-cows. Group of 5 buffalo-cows at estrus phase were selected monthly. Then, after blood sampling through tail vein puncture in the 2nd day after natural service, they were divided in two samples: one with anticoagulant for hematological analysis and the other without anticoagulant for serum separation. Results of this investigation revealed that the highest atmospheric temperature was in hot summer 32.61±1.12°C versus 26.18±1.67°C in spring and 19.92±0.70°C in winter season, while the highest relative humidity % was in winter season 43.50±1.60% versus 32.50±2.29% in summer season. The rise in temperature-humidity index from 63.73±1.29 in winter to 78.53±1.58 in summer indicates severe heat stress which is associated with significant reduction in total red blood cell count (3.20±0.15×106), hemoglobin concentration (8.83±0.43 g/dl), packed cell volume (30.73±0.12%), lymphocytes % (40.66±2.33 %), serum progesterone hormone concentration (0.56±0.03 ng/mll), estradiol17-B concentration (16.8±0.64 ng/ml), triiodothyronin (T3) concentration (2.33±0.33 ng/ml) and thyroxin hormone (T4) concentration (21.66±1.66 ng/ml), while hot summer resulted in significant increase in mean cell volume (96.55±2.25 fl), mean cell hemoglobin (30.81±1.33 pg), total white blood cell count (10.63±0.97×103), neutrophils % (49.66±2.33%), serum prolactin hormone (PRL) concentration (23.45±1.72 ng/ml) and cortisol hormone concentration (4.47±0.33 ng/ml) compared to winter season. There was no significant seasonal variation in mean cell hemoglobin concentration (MCHC). It was concluded that in Egypt there was a seasonal variation in atmospheric temperature, relative humidity, temperature humidity index (THI) and the rise in THI above the upper critical level (72 units), which, for lactating buffalo-cows in Egypt is the major constraint on buffalo-cows' hematological parameters and hormonal secretion that affects animal reproduction. Hence, we should improve climatic conditions inside the dairy farm to eliminate or reduce summer infertility.

Keywords: buffalo, climate change, Egypt, physiological parameters

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Authors: Marcelo Araujo da Nóbrega, Ariel Moura Vilas Boas

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This study aims to characterize the physicochemical aspects of the soils of southeastern Chapada Diamantina - Bahia related to the phytophysiognomies of this area, rupestrian field, small savanna (savanna fields), small dense savanna (savanna fields), savanna (Cerrado), dry thorny forest (Caatinga), dry thorny forest/savanna, scrub (Carrasco - ecotone), forest island (seasonal semi-deciduous forest - Capão) and seasonal semi-deciduous forest. To achieve the research objective, soil samples were collected in each plant formation and analyzed in the soil laboratory of ESALQ - USP in order to identify soil fertility through the determination of pH, organic matter, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, potential acidity, sum of bases, cation exchange capacity and base saturation. The composition of soil particles was also checked; that is, the texture, step made in the terrestrial ecosystems laboratory of the Department of Ecology of USP and in the soil laboratory of ESALQ. Another important factor also studied was to show the variations in the vegetation cover in the region as a function of soil moisture in the different existing physiographic environments. Another study carried out was a comparison between the average soil moisture data with precipitation data from three locations with very different phytophysiognomies. The soils found in this part of Bahia can be classified into 5 classes, with a predominance of oxisols. All of these classes have a great diversity of physical and chemical properties, as can be seen in photographs and in particle size and fertility analyzes. The deepest soils are located in the Central Pediplano of Chapada Diamantina where the dirty field, the clean field, the executioner and the semideciduous seasonal forest (Capão) are located, and the shallower soils were found in the rupestrian field, dry thorny forest, and savanna fields, the latter located on a hillside. As for the variations in water in the region's soil, the data indicate that there were large spatial variations in humidity in both the rainy and dry periods.

Keywords: Bahia, Brazil, chapada diamantina, phytophysiognomies, soils

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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: Ananya Mitra Pramanik, Anjali Agrawal

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The objective of this paper is to trace the origin and evolution of clothing in the Indian Subcontinent. The paper seeks to understand the need for mankind to shed his natural state and adopt clothing as an inseparable accessory for his body. It explores the various theories of the origin of clothing. The known journey of clothing of this region started from the Indus Valley Civilisation which dates back to 2500 BC. Due to the weather conditions of the region, few actual samples have survived, and most of the knowledge of textiles is derived from the sculptures and other remains from this era. The understanding of textiles of the period after the Indus Valley Civilisation (2500-1500 BC) till the Mauryan and the Sunga Period (321-72 BC) comes from literary sources, e.g., Vedas, Smritis, the eminent Indian epics of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, forest books, etc. Textile production was one of the most important economic activities of this region. It was next only to agriculture. While attempting to trace the history of clothing the paper draws the evolution of Indian traditional fashion through the change of rulers of this region and the development of the modern Indian traditional dress, i.e., sari, salwar kamiz, dhoti, etc. The major aims of the study are to define the different time periods chronologically and to inspect the major changes in textile fashion, manufacturing, and materials that took place. This study is based on secondary research. It is founded on data taken primarily from books and journals. Not much of visuals are added in the paper as actual fabric references are near nonexistent. It gives a brief history of the ancient textiles of India from the time frame of 2500 BC-8th C AD.

Keywords: evolution, history, origin, textiles

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Authors: Ahmed Negm, George Aggidis, Xiandong Ma

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With the diverse nature of urban cities, customer demand patterns, landscape topologies or even seasonal weather trends; managing our water distribution networks (WDNs) has proved a complex task. These unpredictable circumstances manifest as pipe failures, intermittent supply and burst events thus adding to water loss, energy waste and increased carbon emissions. Whilst these events are unavoidable, advanced pressure management has proved an effective tool to control and mitigate them. Henceforth, water utilities have struggled with developing a real-time control method that is resilient when confronting the challenges of water distribution. In this paper we use deep reinforcement learning (DRL) algorithms as a novel pressure control strategy to minimise pressure violations and leakage under both burst and background leakage conditions. Agents based on asynchronous actor critic (A2C) and recurrent proximal policy optimisation (Recurrent PPO) were trained and compared to benchmarked optimisation algorithms (differential evolution, particle swarm optimisation. A2C manages to minimise leakage by 32.48% under burst conditions and 67.17% under background conditions which was the highest performance in the DRL algorithms. A2C and Recurrent PPO performed well in comparison to the benchmarks with higher processing speed and lower computational effort.

Keywords: deep reinforcement learning, pressure management, water distribution networks, leakage management

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Authors: JooYoung Lee, Rasheed Hussain

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Understanding the relationships among communities of users is the key to blueprint the evolution of human society. Majority of people are equipped with GPS devices, such as smart phones and smart cars, which can trace their whereabouts. In this paper, we discover communities of device users based on real locations in a given time frame. We, then, study the associations of discovered communities, referred to as temporal communities, and generate temporal and probabilistic association rules. The rules describe how strong communities are associated. By studying the generated rules, we can automatically extract underlying hierarchies of communities and permanent communities such as work places.

Keywords: association rules, community detection, evolution of communities, spatiotemporal

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Authors: Igor A. Krichtafovitch

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The evolutionary processes are not linear. Long periods of quiet and slow development turn to rather rapid emergences of new species and even phyla. During Cambrian explosion, 22 new phyla were added to the previously existed 3 phyla. Contrary to the common credence the natural selection or a survival of the fittest cannot be accounted for the dominant evolution vector which is steady and accelerated advent of more complex and more intelligent living organisms. Neither Darwinism nor alternative concepts including panspermia and intelligent design propose a satisfactory solution for these phenomena. The proposed hypothesis offers a logical and plausible explanation of the evolutionary processes in general. It is based on two postulates: a) the Biosphere is a single living organism, all parts of which are interconnected, and b) the Biosphere acts as a giant biological supercomputer, storing and processing the information in digital and analog forms. Such supercomputer surpasses all human-made computers by many orders of magnitude. Living organisms are the product of intelligent creative action of the biosphere supercomputer. The biological evolution is driven by growing amount of information stored in the living organisms and increasing complexity of the biosphere as a single organism. Main evolutionary vector is not a survival of the fittest but an accelerated growth of the computational complexity of the living organisms. The following postulates may summarize the proposed hypothesis: biological evolution as a natural life origin and development is a reality. Evolution is a coordinated and controlled process. One of evolution’s main development vectors is a growing computational complexity of the living organisms and the biosphere’s intelligence. The intelligent matter which conducts and controls global evolution is a gigantic bio-computer combining all living organisms on Earth. The information is acting like a software stored in and controlled by the biosphere. Random mutations trigger this software, as is stipulated by Darwinian Evolution Theories, and it is further stimulated by the growing demand for the Biosphere’s global memory storage and computational complexity. Greater memory volume requires a greater number and more intellectually advanced organisms for storing and handling it. More intricate organisms require the greater computational complexity of biosphere in order to keep control over the living world. This is an endless recursive endeavor with accelerated evolutionary dynamic. New species emerge when two conditions are met: a) crucial environmental changes occur and/or global memory storage volume comes to its limit and b) biosphere computational complexity reaches critical mass capable of producing more advanced creatures. The hypothesis presented here is a naturalistic concept of life creation and evolution. The hypothesis logically resolves many puzzling problems with the current state evolution theory such as speciation, as a result of GM purposeful design, evolution development vector, as a need for growing global intelligence, punctuated equilibrium, happening when two above conditions a) and b) are met, the Cambrian explosion, mass extinctions, happening when more intelligent species should replace outdated creatures.

Keywords: supercomputer, biological evolution, Darwinism, speciation

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Authors: Traore Papa Touty

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This article presents a numerical method for determining the thermal conductivity of local materials, kapok plaster and tow plaster. It consists of heating the front face of a wall made from these two materials and at the same time insulating its rear face. We simultaneously study the curves of the evolution of the heat flux density as a function of time on the rear face and the evolution of the temperature gradient as a function of time between the heated face and the insulated face. Thermal conductivity is obtained when reaching a steady state when the evolution of the heat flux density and the temperature gradient no longer depend on time. The results showed that the theoretical value of thermal conductivity is obtained when the material has reached its equilibrium state. And the values obtained for different values of the convective exchange coefficients are appreciably equal to the experimental value.

Keywords: thermal conductivity, numerical method, heat exchange coefficient, transitional regime

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Authors: Anjuman Antil, Anuj Kapoor, Neha Saini

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Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to study the evolution of insurance in India and the world. The paper also traced the historical basis of life insurance in the world and how it emerged as a major sector in India’s economy. The promotional strategies and distribution channel of top three companies in the Indian insurance sector are also discussed. Design/methodology/approach: The paper examined the secondary data which includes the reports issued by Insurance Regulatory Authority of India, websites of companies, books, and journals relevant to the study. Findings: The paper argued the role and importance of insurance in an emerging economy. The challenges and opportunities of the insurance sector are briefed out. The emerging areas in the insurance sector in terms of promotional strategies and distribution channel are also listed. Implications: The historical evolution can be studied by companies while formulating their strategies. It will help them analyse the insurance sector, how things have changed and how to change with the changing times. Originality/value: This paper gives comprehensive data regarding the background of the insurance sector. Along with historical perspective, marketing and distribution, current and future trends have been discussed.

Keywords: insurance, evolution, life insurance, marketing, distribution channels

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Authors: Javier Barrachina, Piedad Garrido, Manuel Fogue, Julio A. Sanguesa, Francisco J. Martinez

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It is very common to observe, especially in Computer Science studies that students have difficulties to correctly understand how some mechanisms based on Artificial Intelligence work. In addition, the scope and limitations of most of these mechanisms are usually presented by professors only in a theoretical way, which does not help students to understand them adequately. In this work, we focus on the problems found when teaching Evolutionary Algorithms (EAs), which imitate the principles of natural evolution, as a method to solve parameter optimization problems. Although this kind of algorithms can be very powerful to solve relatively complex problems, students often have difficulties to understand how they work, and how to apply them to solve problems in real cases. In this paper, we present two interactive graphical applications which have been specially designed with the aim of making Evolutionary Algorithms easy to be understood by students. Specifically, we present: (i) TSPS, an application able to solve the ”Traveling Salesman Problem”, and (ii) FotEvol, an application able to reconstruct a given image by using Evolution Strategies. The main objective is that students learn how these techniques can be implemented, and the great possibilities they offer.

Keywords: education, evolutionary algorithms, evolution strategies, interactive learning applications

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Authors: Alaa Sheta

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Economic Load Dispatch (ELD) is one of the vital optimization problems in power system planning. Solving the ELD problems mean finding the best mixture of power unit outputs of all members of the power system network such that the total fuel cost is minimized while sustaining operation requirements limits satisfied across the entire dispatch phases. Many optimization techniques were proposed to solve this problem. A famous one is the Quadratic Programming (QP). QP is a very simple and fast method but it still suffer many problem as gradient methods that might trapped at local minimum solutions and cannot handle complex nonlinear functions. Numbers of metaheuristic algorithms were used to solve this problem such as Genetic Algorithms (GAs) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). In this paper, another meta-heuristic search algorithm named Differential Evolution (DE) is used to solve the ELD problem in power systems planning. The practicality of the proposed DE based algorithm is verified for three and six power generator system test cases. The gained results are compared to existing results based on QP, GAs and PSO. The developed results show that differential evolution is superior in obtaining a combination of power loads that fulfill the problem constraints and minimize the total fuel cost. DE found to be fast in converging to the optimal power generation loads and capable of handling the non-linearity of ELD problem. The proposed DE solution is able to minimize the cost of generated power, minimize the total power loss in the transmission and maximize the reliability of the power provided to the customers.

Keywords: economic load dispatch, power systems, optimization, differential evolution

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Authors: Ilya A. Snegirev

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The article focuses on the comparative study of Russian military poetry of the 20th century. To make a complete description, the verse of different genres, mainly minor lyrical form, is taken. The study makes it possible to emphasize the idea that genre is not completely representative for a comprehensive research, as it is also necessary to dwell upon the strategies of war description in verse. Furthermore, the tendency of lyrical hero individualization is noted. This tendency can be traced throughout the whole second half of the 20th century – the poets of the Second World War – and further, to the whole post-war poetry. To characterize these changes, the texts by K.M. Simonov and A.A. Surkov are being analyzed as the examples of the qualitative transition to an individual hero.

Keywords: literature’s evolution, narrator, storytelling poetry, tradition

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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: Zayre I. Gonzalez-Acevedo, Marco A. Garcia-Zarate

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Environmental pollution by heavy metals is due to several processes, whether natural as weathering, or anthropogenic, related to human activities. Geysers may content dissolved heavy metals, related with their geothermal origin, and they are widely used by local people and tourists for treatment of dermal diseases and other therapeutic applications. In this study, 20 geysers with temperatures between 32 to 94 °C, located in the vicinity of Queretaro and Guanajuato in Central Mexico, were studied. These geysers were sampled in dry and rainy seasons in order to investigate seasonal changes of trace elements. The samples were analyzed in SWAMP Lab, University of Alberta, Canada for 34 elements. Most of the analyzed trace elements sowed concentrations below guidelines for natural waters. The elements showed seasonal variability with higher concentrations during rainy season. Arsenic varied from 49.29 to 2.16 µg L⁻¹. Arsenic was highly correlated with Fe, Sr, Th and Tl. Barium varied from 93.52 to 1.79 µg L⁻¹. Barium was highly correlated with Co, Cr, Mo, Ni, U, V, and Y. Copper and Zinc were correlated as well. According to the comparison of sites and the correlations between trace elements, their source was identified as natural regional, geothermal or anthropogenic origin. Because of application of geyser's water to balneology and health treatments, and also, because they are located in an urban zone in development, advise on their direct uses, according to their environmental quality is appointed in this research.

Keywords: balneology, direct uses, environmental quality and trace elements

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Authors: Yi Yu, Vu Xuan Nguyen, Gaoxi Xiao

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Opinion formation in complex social networks may exhibit complex system dynamics even when based on some simplest system evolution models. An interesting and important issue is the effects of the initial state on the final steady-state opinion distribution. By carrying out extensive simulations and providing necessary discussions, we show that, while different initial opinion distributions certainly make differences to opinion evolution in social systems without noises, in systems with noises, given enough time, different initial states basically do not contribute to making any significant differences in the final steady state. Instead, it is the basal distribution of the preferred opinions that contributes to deciding the final state of the systems. We briefly explain the reasons leading to the observed conclusions. Such an observation contradicts with a long-term belief on the roles of system initial state in opinion formation, demonstrating the dominating role that opinion mutation can play in opinion formation given enough time. The observation may help to better understand certain observations of opinion evolution dynamics in real-life social networks.

Keywords: opinion formation, Deffuant model, opinion mutation, consensus making

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Authors: Yu Zhang, Jie Wu, Li Dong

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Rural tourism is the service industry which regards the agricultural production, rural life, rural nature and cultural landscape as the tourist attraction. It aims to meet the needs of the city tourists such as country sightseeing, vacation, and leisure. According to the difference of the tourist resources, the rural settlements can be divided into different types: The type of tourism resources, scenic spot, and peri-urban. In the past ten years, the rural tourism has promoted the industrial transformation and economic growth in rural areas of China. And it is conducive to the coordinated development of urban and rural areas and has greatly improved the ecological environment and the standard of living for farmers in rural areas. At the same time, a large number of buildings and sites are built in the countryside in order to enhance the tourist attraction and the ability of tourist reception and also to increase the travel comfort and convenience, which has significant influence on the spatial evolution of the village settlement. This article takes the XiangYing Subdistrict, which is in JinPu District of Dalian in China as the exemplification and uses the technology of Remote Sensing (RS), Geographic Information System (GIS) and the technology of Landscape Spatial Analysis to study the influence of the rural tourism development in the rural settlement spaces in four steps. First, acquiring the remote sensing image data at different times of 8 administrative villages in the XiangYing Subdistrict, by using the remote sensing application EDRAS8.6; second, vectoring basic maps of XiangYing Subdistrict including its land-use map with the application of ArcGIS 9.3, associating with social and economic attribute data of rural settlements and analyzing on the rural evolution visually; third, quantifying the comparison of these patches in rural settlements by using the landscape spatial calculation application Fragstats 3.3 and analyzing on the evolution of the spatial structure of settlement in macro and medium scale; finally, summarizing the evolution characteristics and internal reasons of tourism-oriented rural settlements. The main findings of this article include: first of all, there is difference in the evolution of the spatial structure between the developing rural settlements and undeveloped rural settlements among the eight administrative villages; secondly, the villages relying on the surrounding tourist attractions, the villages developing agricultural ecological garden and the villages with natural or historical and cultural resources have different laws of development; then, the rural settlements whose tourism development in germination period, development period and mature period have different characteristics of spatial evolution; finally, the different evolution modes of the tourism-oriented rural settlement space have different influences on the protection and inheritance of the village scene. The development of tourism has a significant impact on the spatial evolution of rural settlement. The intensive use of rural land and natural resources is the fundamental principle to protect the rural cultural landscape and ecological environment as well as the critical way to improve the attraction of rural tourism and promote the sustainable development of countryside.

Keywords: landscape pattern, rural settlement, spatial evolution, tourism-oriented, Xiangying Subdistrict

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Authors: Subramanian Chidambaran

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Right from the Vedic period, we have instances of human heroes being deified and later even assimilated into other deities. Many scholars opine Indra to be one such Vedic deity who rose from a ‘human leader’ to the position of Devata. We also see the assimilation of the Vedic deity Rudra into Śiva in post-Vedic period. Thus the current deities and Gods we worship in the polytheistic Hindu system have been a result of many such deifications and assimilations. Hanumān is one such contemporary character in Indian culture that changed from a valiant hero of the Rāmāyaṇa to a prominent deity in present days. There are also many arguments on whether Hanumān was truly a monkey or a human as the term ‘vānara’ could be interpreted as ‘vā narah’ i.e. ‘or a human’. Despite the popularity of this deity, there is very little academic research done on the genesis and evolution of him. There are many questions that arise - Does Hanumān find any mention (in any form) in literature or archaeological evidence prior to Vālmῑki Rāmāyaṇa? What is the character of Hanumān in the Vālmῑki Rāmāyaṇa? How has this evolved in later Indian literature and where do we see the deification process beginning? What’s the character of Hanumān in literature beyond Indian shores such as Southeast Asian literature and how does it compare with those in Indian literature? This paper is an attempt to answer these questions and trace the evolution of the character Hanumān right from the Vālmῑki Rāmāyaṇa to other Indian literature as well as Southeast Asian literature.

Keywords: Hanumān, Indian, Rāmāyaṇa, Southeast Asia

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Authors: Guoqin Ge, Minhui Huang, Yazhou Zhou

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The growth of the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration has been designated as a national strategy in China. Analyzing its spatial evolution characteristics is crucial for devising relevant development strategies. This paper enhances the gravitational model by using temporal distance as a factor. It applies this improved model to assess the economic interconnection and concentration level of each geographical unit within the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration between 2011 and 2019. On this basis, this paper examines the spatial correlation characteristics of economic agglomeration intensity and urban-rural development equalization by employing spatial autocorrelation analysis. The study findings indicate that the spatial integration in the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration is currently in the "point-axis" development stage. The spatial organization structure is becoming more flattened, and there is a stronger economic connection between the core of the urban agglomeration and the peripheral areas. The integration of the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration is currently hindered by conflicting interests and institutional heterogeneity between Chengdu and Chongqing. Additionally, the connections between the relatively secondary spatial units are largely loose and weak. The strength and scale of economic ties and the level of urban-rural equilibrium among spatial units within the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration have increased, but regional imbalances have continued to widen, and such positive and negative changes have been characterized by the spatial and temporal synergistic evolution of the "core-periphery". Ultimately, this paper presents planning ideas for the future integration development of the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration, drawing from the findings.

Keywords: integration, planning strategy, space organization, space evolution, urban agglomeration

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Authors: Ryan B. Simpson, Margaret A. Waskow, Aishwarya Venkat, Elena N. Naumova

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that 31 known foodborne pathogens cause 9.4 million cases of these illnesses annually in US. Over 90% of these illnesses are associated with exposure to Campylobacter, Cryptosporidium, Cyclospora, Listeria, Salmonella, Shigella, Shiga-Toxin Producing E.Coli (STEC), Vibrio, and Yersinia. Contaminated products contain parasites typically causing an intestinal illness manifested by diarrhea, stomach cramping, nausea, weight loss, fatigue and may result in deaths in fragile populations. Since 1998, the National Outbreak Reporting System (NORS) has allowed for routine collection of suspected and laboratory-confirmed cases of food poisoning. While retrospective analyses have revealed common pathogen-specific seasonal patterns, little is known concerning the stability of those patterns over time and whether they can be used for preventative forecasting. The objective of this study is to construct a calendar of foodborne outbreaks of nine infections based on the peak timing of outbreak incidence in the US from 1996 to 2017. Reported cases were abstracted from FoodNet for Salmonella (135115), Campylobacter (121099), Shigella (48520), Cryptosporidium (21701), STEC (18022), Yersinia (3602), Vibrio (3000), Listeria (2543), and Cyclospora (758). Monthly counts were compiled for each agent, seasonal peak timing and peak intensity were estimated, and the stability of seasonal peaks and synchronization of infections was examined. Negative Binomial harmonic regression models with the delta-method were applied to derive confidence intervals for the peak timing for each year and overall study period estimates. Preliminary results indicate that five infections continue to lead as major causes of outbreaks, exhibiting steady upward trends with annual increases in cases ranging from 2.71% (95%CI: [2.38, 3.05]) in Campylobacter, 4.78% (95%CI: [4.14, 5.41]) in Salmonella, 7.09% (95%CI: [6.38, 7.82]) in E.Coli, 7.71% (95%CI: [6.94, 8.49]) in Cryptosporidium, and 8.67% (95%CI: [7.55, 9.80]) in Vibrio. Strong synchronization of summer outbreaks were observed, caused by Campylobacter, Vibrio, E.Coli and Salmonella, peaking at 7.57 ± 0.33, 7.84 ± 0.47, 7.85 ± 0.37, and 7.82 ± 0.14 calendar months, respectively, with the serial cross-correlation ranging 0.81-0.88 (p < 0.001). Over 21 years, Listeria and Cryptosporidium peaks (8.43 ± 0.77 and 8.52 ± 0.45 months, respectively) have a tendency to arrive 1-2 weeks earlier, while Vibrio peaks (7.8 ± 0.47) delay by 2-3 weeks. These findings will be incorporated in the forecast models to predict common paths of the spread, long-term trends, and the synchronization of outbreaks across etiological agents. The predictive modeling of foodborne outbreaks should consider long-term changes in seasonal timing, spatiotemporal trends, and sources of contamination.

Keywords: foodborne outbreak, national outbreak reporting system, predictive modeling, seasonality

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Authors: Deyu Zhou, Xiao Xue, Lizhen Cui

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With the increasing collaboration among various services and the growing complexity of user demands, there are more and more factors affecting the stable development of the cloud manufacturing service economic system (CMSE). This poses new challenges to the evolution analysis of the CMSE. Many researchers have modeled and analyzed the evolution process of CMSE from the perspectives of individual learning and internal factors influencing the system, but without considering other important characteristics of the system's individuals (such as heterogeneity, bounded rationality, etc.) and the impact of external environmental factors. Therefore, this paper proposes an integrated artificial social model for the cloud manufacturing service economic system, which considers both the characteristics of the system's individuals and the internal and external influencing factors of the system. The model consists of three parts: the Agent model, environment model, and rules model (Agent-Environment-Rules, AER): (1) the Agent model considers important features of the individuals, such as heterogeneity and bounded rationality, based on the adaptive behavior mechanisms of perception, action, and decision-making; (2) the environment model describes the activity space of the individuals (real or virtual environment); (3) the rules model, as the driving force of system evolution, describes the mechanism of the entire system's operation and evolution. Finally, this paper verifies the effectiveness of the AER model through computational and experimental results.

Keywords: cloud manufacturing service economic system (CMSE), AER model, artificial social modeling, integrated framework, computing experiment, agent-based modeling, social networks

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Authors: K. Digheche, K. Saadi, Z. Boumerzoug

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Welding is one of the most important technological processes used in many branches of industry such as industrial engineering, shipbuilding, pipeline fabrication among others. Generally, welding is the preferred joining method and most common steels are weldable. This investigation is a contribution to scientific work of welding of low carbon steel. This work presents the results of the isothermal heat treatment effect at 200, 400 and 600 °C on microstructural evolution in weld region of X70 pipeline steel. The welding process has been realized in three passes by industrial arc welding. We have found that the heat treatments cause grain growth reaction.

Keywords: heat treatments, low carbon steel, microstructures, welding

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Authors: Mohammad Borhani, Ahmad Jamshidzaei, Mehdi Koohsari

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The study of climate has captivated human interest throughout history. In response to this fascination, individuals historically organized their daily activities in alignment with prevailing climatic conditions and seasonal variations. Understanding the elements and specific climatic parameters of each region, such as precipitation, which directly impacts human life, is essential because, in recent years, there has been a significant increase in heavy rainfall in various parts of the world attributed to the effects of climate change. Climate prediction models suggest a future scenario characterized by an increase in severe precipitation events and related floods on a global scale. This is a result of human-induced greenhouse gas emissions causing changes in the natural precipitation patterns. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reported global warming in 2001. The average global temperature has shown an increasing trend since 1861. In the 20th century, this increase has been between (0/2 ± 0/6) °C. The present study focused on examining the trend of monthly, seasonal, and annual precipitation in Sistan and Baluchestan provinces. The study employed data obtained from 13 precipitation measurement stations managed by the Iran Water Resources Management Company, encompassing daily precipitation records spanning the period from 1997 to 2016. The results indicated that the total monthly precipitation at the studied stations in Sistan and Baluchestan province follows a sinusoidal trend. The highest intense precipitation was observed in January, February, and March, while the lowest occurred in September, October, and then November. The investigation of the trend of seasonal precipitation in this province showed that precipitation follows an upward trend in the autumn season, reaching its peak in winter, and then shows a decreasing trend in spring and summer. Also, the examination of average precipitation indicated that the highest yearly precipitation occurred in 1997 and then in 2004, while the lowest annual precipitation took place between 1999 and 2001. The analysis of the annual precipitation trend demonstrates a decrease in precipitation from 1997 to 2016 in Sistan and Baluchestan province.

Keywords: climate change, extreme precipitation, greenhouse gas, trend analysis

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Authors: Yu Zhang, Mingxue Lang, Li Dong

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The hundreds of years of slow succession of living environment in rural area is a crucial carrier of China’s long history of culture and national wisdom. In recent years, the space evolution of traditional rural settlements has been promoted by the intervention of tourism development, among which the public architecture and outdoor activity areas together served as the major places for villagers, and tourists’ social activities are an important characterization for settlement spatial evolution. Traditional public space upgrade and layout study of new public space can effectively promote the tourism industry development of traditional rural settlements. This article takes Qi County, one China Traditional Culture Village as the exemplification and uses the technology of Remote Sensing (RS), Geographic Information System (GIS) and Space Syntax, studies the evolution features of public space of tourism-oriented traditional rural settlements in four steps. First, acquire the 2003 and 2016 image data of Qi County, using the remote sensing application EDRAS8.6. Second, vectorize the basic maps of Qi County including its land use map with the application of ArcGIS 9.3 meanwhile, associating with architectural and site information concluded from field research. Third, analyze the accessibility and connectivity of the inner space of settlements using space syntax; run cross-correlation with the public space data of 2003 and 2016. Finally, summarize the evolution law of the public space of settlements; study the upgrade pattern of traditional public space and location plan for new public space. Major findings of this paper including: first, location layout of traditional public space has a larger association with the calculation results of space syntax and further confirmed the objective value of space syntax in expressing the space and social relations. Second, the intervention of tourism development generates remarkable impact on public space location of tradition rural settlements. Third, traditional public space produces the symbols of both strengthening and decline and forms a diversified upgrade pattern for the purpose of meeting the different tourism functional needs. Finally, space syntax provides an objective basis for location plan of new public space that meets the needs of tourism service. Tourism development has a significant impact on the evolution of public space of traditional rural settlements. Two types of public space, architecture, and site are both with changes seen from the perspective of quantity, location, dimension and function after the intervention of tourism development. Function upgrade of traditional public space and scientific layout of new public space are two important ways in achieving the goal of sustainable development of tourism-oriented traditional rural settlements.

Keywords: public space evolution, Qi county, space syntax, tourism oriented, traditional rural settlements

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Authors: Kishor Kumar Sadasivuni, Mizaj Shabil Sha, Assim Alajali, Godlaveeti Sreenivasa Kumar, Aboubakr M. Abdullah, Bijandra Kumar, Mithra Geetha

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A potential pathway for efficient hydrogen production from water splitting electrolysis involves catalysis or electrocatalysis, which plays a crucial role in energy conversion and storage. Hydrogen generated by electrocatalytic water splitting requires active, stable, and low-cost catalysts or electrocatalysts to be developed for practical applications. In this study, we evaluated combination of 2D materials of NiS nanoparticle catalysts for hydrogen evolution reactions. The photocatalytic H₂ production rate of this nanoparticle is high and exceeds that obtained on components alone. Nanoparticles serve as electron collectors and transporters, which explains this improvement. Moreover, a current density was recorded at reduced working potential by 0.393 mA. Calculations based on density functional theory indicate that the nanoparticle's hydrogen evolution reaction catalytic activity is caused by strong interaction between its components at the interface. The samples were analyzed by XPS and morphologically by FESEM for the best outcome, depending on their structural shapes. Use XPS and morphologically by FESEM for the best results. This nanocomposite demonstrated higher electro-catalytic activity, and a low tafel slope of 60 mV/dec. Additionally, despite 1000 cycles into a durability test, the electrocatalyst still displays excellent stability with minimal current loss. The produced catalyst has shown considerable potential for use in the evolution of hydrogen due to its robust synthesis. According to these findings, the combination of 2D materials of nickel sulfide sample functions as good electocatalyst for H₂ evolution. Additionally, the research being done in this fascinating field will surely push nickel sulfide-based technology closer to becoming an industrial reality and revolutionize existing energy issues in a sustainable and clean manner.

Keywords: electrochemical hydrogenation, nickel sulfide, electrocatalysts, energy conversion, catalyst

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Authors: Rajan Jakhu, Rohit Mehra

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Radon (²²²Rn) and its decay products are the major sources of natural radiation exposure to general population. The activity concentrations of radon, thoron gasses, and their unattached and attached short-lived progeny in indoor environment of the Jaipur and Ajmer districts of Rajasthan had been calculated via passive measurements using the Pinhole cup dosimeter, deposition based progeny sensors (DRPS/DTPS) and wire mesh capped (DRPS/DTPS) progeny sensors. The results of this study revealed that radon and thoron concentrations (CRn, CTn) are highest in the winter season. The variation of the radon and its decay products are observed to vary seasonally, but these environmental parameters seem not to be affecting the thoron and its decay product concentrations in a regular manner. The average values of the radon and its decay products are maximum in winter and minimum in summer. The equilibrium factor for radon is observed to be 0.50, 0.47 and 0.49 in winter, rainy and summer seasons. The annual average value of the unattached fraction of the radon progeny comes out to be 0.34. On the other hand, the average value of thoron (²²⁰Rn) concentration and its equilibrium factor in the studied area comes to be 74, 39, 45 Bq m⁻³ and 0.07, 0.11, 0.07 respectively for the winter, rainy and summer seasons with the annual average value of the unattached fraction of about 0.18. The annual average radiological dose from exposure to indoor radon and thoron progeny comes out to be 0.88 and 0.78 mSv.

Keywords: equilibrium factor, radon, seasonal variation, thoron, unattached fraction

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Authors: Kwaku Damoah

Abstract:

The agricultural sector is characterized by continuous transformation, driven by factors such as demographic shifts, evolving consumer preferences, climate change, and migration trends. This dynamic environment presents complex challenges for key stakeholders including farmers, governments, and investors, who must navigate these changes to achieve optimal investment returns. To effectively predict market trends and uncover promising investment opportunities, a systematic, data-driven approach is essential. This paper introduces the Structural Evolution Index (SEI), a machine learning-based methodology. SEI is specifically designed to analyse long-term trends and forecast the potential of emerging agricultural products for investment. Versatile in application, it evaluates various agricultural metrics such as production, yield, trade, land use, and consumption, providing a comprehensive view of the evolution within agricultural markets. By harnessing data from the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAOSTAT), this study demonstrates the SEI's capabilities through Comparative Exploratory Analysis and evaluation of international trade in agricultural products, focusing on Malaysia and Singapore. The SEI methodology reveals intricate patterns and transitions within the agricultural sector, enabling stakeholders to strategically identify and capitalize on emerging markets. This predictive framework is a powerful tool for decision-makers, offering crucial insights that help anticipate market shifts and align investments with anticipated returns.

Keywords: agricultural investment, algorithm, comparative exploratory analytics, machine learning, market trends, predictive analytics, structural evolution index

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Authors: Yongde Xia, Laicong Deng, Zhuxian Yang

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Developing cost-effective electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is vital in energy conversion and storage applications. Herein, we report a simple method for the synthesis of graphene-reinforced cobalt sulfide/carbon nanocomposites and the evaluation of their electrocatalytic performance for typical electrocatalytic reactions. Nanocomposites of cobalt sulfide embedded in N, S co-doped porous carbon and graphene (CoS@C/Graphene) were generated via simultaneous sulfurization and carbonization of one-pot synthesized graphite oxide-ZIF-67 precursors. The obtained CoS@C/Graphene nanocomposite was characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, Thermogravimetric analysis-Mass spectroscopy, Scanning electronic microscopy, Transmission electronic microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and gas sorption. It was found that cobalt sulfide nanoparticles were homogenously dispersed in the in-situ formed N, S co-doped porous carbon/Graphene matrix. The CoS@C/10Graphene composite not only shows excellent electrocatalytic activity toward ORR with high onset potential of 0.89 V, four-electron pathway and superior durability of maintaining 98% current after continuously running for around 5 hours, but also exhibits good performance for OER and HER, due to the improved electrical conductivity, increased catalytic active sites and connectivity between the electrocatalytic active cobalt sulfide and the carbon matrix. This work offers a new approach for the development of novel multifunctional nanocomposites for the next generation of energy conversion and storage applications.

Keywords: MOF derivative, graphene, electrocatalyst, oxygen reduction reaction, oxygen evolution reaction, hydrogen evolution reaction

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Authors: Ricardo Chaves, Carlos Vasconcelos

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Candidates to join the Naval Academy have to take a set of physical tests, which is crucial for a high level of physical fitness. Thus, the planning of physical exercises for candidates to the Naval School must take into account the improvement of their physical fitness. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of a 6-month exercise program to improve the physical fitness of an individual who will apply for the Naval Academy. This was a non-experimental pre-post-evaluation study. The patient was male, had 18 years old, and a body mass index of 21.1 kg.m². The patient participated in a 6-month aerobic and strength exercise program (3 sessions per week, 75 minutes duration each session). Physical fitness tests were performed according to the physical fitness requirements for entry into the Naval academy (muscle strength [maximum number of lifts and maximum number of sit-ups for 1 minute]; aerobic fitness [2.4 km run and 200 m swimming test]) before (baseline) and after the exercise intervention (6 months). Regarding muscle strength, in the abdominal test, the improvements between the pre-test (39 abdominals.) and post-test (61 abdominals) were 56.4%. For elevations, there was an increase in its number by 150% between the pre-test (4 elevations) and post-test (10 elevations). With regard to aerobic fitness, in the 2.4 km race, there was an evolution of 32.0% between the pre-test (16.46 min.) and the post-test (12.42 min.). For the 200-meter swimming test, there was a negative variation of 2% between the pre-test (2.25 min.) and post-test (2.28 min). A 6-month aerobic and strength exercise program leads to a positive evolution in the muscular strength of the patient. Regarding aerobic fitness, opposite results were found, with a positive evolution in the 2.4 km running test and a negative evolution in the swimming test. In future exercise programs for the improvement of the physical fitness of candidates for the Naval Academy, more emphasis has to be done on specific swimming training.

Keywords: case study, exercise program, Naval Academy, physical fitness

Procedia PDF Downloads 61