Leveraging SmallSat Technology at NOAA for Space Weather Observations

Space weather observations is a strategic priority for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration\u27s (NOAA) National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Services (NESDIS). In 2023, NOAA NESDIS established the Office of Space Weather Observations (SWO) to manage NESDIS\u27 space weather satellite portfolio. SWO is formulating a new Space Weather Next (SW Next) program under the joint NOAA/National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Space Weather Observations Programs Division. The SW Next program will provide critical space weather data products, making observations from a variety of orbits and utilizing diverse platforms and sensors. The SW Next program reference architecture is expected to include a mix of NOAA-operated observatories, NOAA-provided instruments on partners\u27 missions, and commercial data sources. The feasibility of this architecture is facilitated by SmallSat technologies and business models. As previously bespoke science observatories evolve towards more manufacturable and commercially available solutions, SW Next will be ready to capitalize on the opportunity

Conjugate heat and mass transfer in square porous cavity

The present article deals with the issue of heat and mass transfer in a square porous cavity having a small solid wall or block inserted at various places at bottom surface. The main objective is to investigate the effect of size of solid wall and its location inside the porous cavity on double diffusive convention. The heat and mass transfer behavior are governed by momentum, energy and concentration equations which are converted into a set of finite element equation with the help of Galerkin method. The left surface of cavity is maintained at higher temperature and concentration, Th and Ch as compared to that of right surface at Tc and Cc. The results are presented in terms of thermal, concentration and fluid flow profiles across the porous cavity

Fostering ICT Competencies in Blended Learning : Role of Curriculum Content, Material, and Teaching Strategies

The study examined the direct and indirect influence of information communication technology (ICT)-integrated curriculum content, material, and teaching strategies on ICT competencies of students in blended learning. The ICT-integrated teaching strategies were used as a mediator in between the relationships of curriculum content, material, and ICT competencies. We used a survey questionnaire containing 26 items on the variables of research in this study. The data were collected from six universities in the Hunan Province of China. The target population consisted of undergraduate students of blended learning. In total, 486 participants participated in the study. Partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was applied to measure the relationships among variables. The results revealed that there were significant and positive relationships among ICT-integrated curriculum content, material, teaching strategies, and ICT competencies of students. Furthermore, it was also revealed that ICT-integrated teaching strategies in blended learning mediated the relationships in between ICT integrated curriculum content, material, and ICT competencies. It was concluded that the effective curriculum content, curriculum material, and teaching strategies are the critical predictors of ICT competencies. Moreover, teaching strategies worked as an intervening factor between the curriculum content, curriculum material, and ICT competencies. The practical implications and directions for future research are also presented in this study.Peer reviewe

Correlation of Musculoskeletal Dysfunctions with Enhanced Computer Usage and Prescription of Management Strategies, In Computer Users of Afro Asian Institute, Lahore (Pakistan)

OBJECTIVE: To nail down the frequency of musculoskeletal problem’s in computer users and Recommend treatment/management options to the papulation with MSK problems. STUDY DESIGN: It is a cross-sectional descriptive study. PLACE AND DURATION: This study was performed from April 2019 to November 2019 at Afro Asian institute. Lahore (Pakistan). METHODOLOGY: One hundred subjects (54 males and 46 females) who were using computers were studied from Afro Asian institute Lahore. We used a questionnaire for collecting data about MSK status of individuals, data was statistically analyzed using SPSS. We used Chi-square test for evaluation of data. Moreover, Physiotherapy Management (Postural education, stretching of tightened structures, strengthening of weakened structures, heating modalities and periodic AROM exercises) and medical management (NSAIDS, muscle relaxant, analgesics) was prescribed for improvements, according to the severity and grading of MSK problems. RESULTS: The frequency of MSK dysfunctions was 52.60% in those who had been using computers for less than or equal to 2 hrs, 68.15% for 2-4 hrs computer users,81.45% for subjects with computer using of 4-6 hrs, and 93.72% in subjects who were using computer for more than 6 hours, respectively. The frequency of MSK problems (cervicalgia, LBP, shoulder pain, and elbow pain and pain in carpels) was classified according to a scale of pain ranging from grade I to grade V. Keywords: Musculoskeletal Problems, Management Strategies, Postural Education DOI: 10.7176/JHMN/71-08 Publication date: February 29th 202

STUDIJE ISTRAŽIVANJA PODZEMNIH VODA I PRODORA SLANOSTI S POMOĆU ISTRAŽIVANJA ELEKTRIČNOGA OTPORA (ERS), SLUČAJ PODRUČJA WINDER, BELUDŽISTAN, PAKISTAN

The groundwater resources have always been explored for its utilization in domestic and agriculture purposes. In this study, Winder area in Balochistan which is along the coast of Offshore Indus Basin has been explored using electrical resistivity method for deeper understanding of hydrogeological and hydrogeophysical conditions. Schlumberger electrode arrays have been used to acquire vertical electrical sounding data for 23 different sites in this area. The field data were calibrated with theoretical curves during processing using software with graphical interface. The true resistivities, depths, thicknesses, aquifer attributes, soil type and groundwater quality has been extracted from the processed data. Pseudo-sections and geo-electrical lithology sections have been generated for lateral distribution of hydrogeological settings. Furthermore, Dar-zarrouk parameters calculations have been made and 3D surfaces generated at 30m and 60 m depth for transverse resistance (T), longitudinal conductance (S) and anisotropy (λ) plotted for resistivity distribution and coastal salinity intrusion analysis. The soundings results depict five layers mainly composed of silty sand, sandy clay, sand, and sandy gravel and the depth ranges from 0-110m. The interpretation illustrates that freshwater unconfined aquifer are present in the quaternary sand and sandy gravel deposits. The water table is at shallow depth along the river and deeper in northeast and away from Winder river. The resistivity ranges 29-1091 Ωm in layer-3 interpreted as saturated zone. The approximate range of water table is 19-30 m. The higher value of T greater than 10000 shows fresh water and low value 8200 for salinity intrusion in southwest toward sea.Izvori podzemne vode uvijek su se istraživali radi njihove upotrebe u kućne i poljoprivredne svrhe. U ovoj je studiji područje Windera u Beludžistanu, uz obalu priobalnoga bazena Inda, istraženo korištenjem metode električnoga otpora radi dubljega razumijevanja hidrogeoloških i hidrogeofizičkih uvjeta. Nizovi elektroda Schlumberger korišteni su za prikupljanje podataka o vertikalnome električnom sondiranju za 23 različita mjesta u ovome području. Podatci na terenu kalibrirani su teoretskim krivuljama tijekom obrade s pomoću softvera s grafičkim sučeljem. Iz obrađenih podataka izdvojena je stvarna otpornost, dubine, debljine, svojstva vodonosnika, vrsta tla i kvaliteta podzemne vode. Za bočnu raspodjelu hidrogeoloških postavki stvoreni su pseudopresjeci i geoelektrični litološki odsjeci. Nadalje, izrađeni su proračuni Dar-zarroukovih parametara i generirane su 3D površine na dubini od 30 m i 60 m za poprečni otpor (T), uzdužnu vodljivost (S) i anizotropiju (λ). Ti su parametri ucrtani za raspodjelu otpora i analizu upada slane obale. Rezultati sondiranja prikazuju četiri sloja uglavnom sastavljena od muljevitoga pijeska, pjeskovite gline, pijeska i pješčanoga šljunka, a dubina se kreće od 0 do 110 m. Tumačenje ilustrira da su slatkovodni vodonosnici prisutni u kvartarnim pjeskovitim i pjeskovitim naslagama šljunka. Vodeni je sloj na maloj dubini uz rijeku, a dublje na sjeveroistoku i dalje od rijeke Winder. Otpornost se kreće od 29 do 1091 Ωm u sloju 3, što se tumači kao zasićena zona. Približni je domet vodostaja 19 – 30 m. Viša vrijednost T veća od 10000 pokazuje slatku vodu i nisku vrijednost 8200 za prodiranje slanosti na jugozapadu prema moru

Go Together: Bridging the Gap between Learners and Teachers

After the pandemic, humanity has been facing different types of challenges. Social relationships, societal values, and academic and professional behavior have been hit the most. People are shifting their routines to social media and gadgets, and getting addicted to their isolation. This sudden change in their lives has caused an unusual social breakdown and endangered their mental health. In mid-2021, Pakistan's first Human Library was established under HelpingMind to overcome these effects. Despite online sessions and webinars, HelpingMind needs technology to reach the masses. In this work, we customized the UI or UX of a Go Together Mobile Application (GTMA) to meet the requirements of the client organization. A very interesting concept of the book (expert listener or psychologist) and the reader is introduced in GTMA. It offers separate dashboards, separate reviews or rating systems, booking, and venue information to engage the human reader with his or her favorite human book. The loyalty program enables the members to avail discounts through a mobile application and its membership is global where both the human-reader and human-books can register under the platform. The minimum viable product has been approved by our client organization

The sedimentology of the Lower Permian Dandot Formation: a component of the Gondwana deglaciation sequence of the Salt Range, Pakistan

The Dandot Formation is a part of the Lower Permian, dominantly continental, Gondwanan Nilawahan Group in the Salt Range, Pakistan. The formation conformably overlies the glacio-fluvial Tobra Formation and has a sharp conformable contact with the overlying fluvio-continental Warchha Sandstone. Sedimentary analyses show that the Dandot Formation consists of 1: bioturbated sandstone lithofacies (L1), 2: dark green mudstone/shale lithofacies (L2), 3: flaser bedded sandstone lithofacies (L3), 4: rippled sandstone lithofacies (L4), 5: cross-bedded sandstone lithofacies (L5), and 6: planar sandstone lithofacies (L6). These can be grouped into shoreface, inner shelf, and tidal flat and estuarine facies associations, deposited in shallow marine to intertidal environments. The upper part of the Tobra Formation at the Choa-Khewra road section, where it conformably underlies the Dandot Formation, contains palynomorphs assignable to the earliest Permian 2141B Biozone. In south Oman, the 2141B Biozone is closely associated with the Rahab Shale Member, a widespread shale unit which is considered to represent part of a Permian deglaciation sequence which culminates in the marine beds of the Lower Gharif Member, interpreted as due to post glacial marine transgression. Thus, the Tobra Formation and the overlying marine Dandot Formation may form part of a similar deglaciation sequence

Starch and polyvinyl alcohol encapsulated biodegradable nanocomposites for environment friendly slow release of urea fertilizer

Low nitrogen (N) use efficiency from urea fertilizers due to environmental losses results in high cost of fertilizers for agricultural productions. Coating of urea with biodegradable polymers makes them effective for control and efficient N release. In this study, starch and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) were used in combination with acrylic acid (AA), citric acid (CA) and maleic acid (MA) for the coating of urea prills. Different formulations of the coating were prepared and applied on urea prills such as urea coated with starch (10%) and PVA (5%) with acrylic acid: 2, 4 and 6% (USP-A2, USP-A4, USP-A6), with citric acid: 2, 4 and 6% (USP-C2, USP-C4, USP-C6), and with maleic acid: 2, 4 and 6% (USP-M2, USP-M4, USP-M6). After urea coating in fluidized bed coater, all uncoated and coated urea samples were characterized by scanning electron spectroscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), crushing strength and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The morphological and XRD analysis indicated that a new uniform coating with no new phase transformation occurred. Among all urea coated samples, USP-A2 and USP-C2 showed the highest crushing strengths: 12.08 and 13.67 N with nitrogen release efficiency of 70.10 and 50.74% respectively. All coated urea samples improved the spinach plants’ foliage yield, chlorophyll content, N-uptake and apparent nitrogen recovery (ANR) than uncoated urea and control plants. However, USP-A2 and USP-C2 provided promising results among all coated samples with dry foliage yield (2208 ± 92 and 2428 ± 83 kg/ha), chlorophyll (34 ± 0.6 and 34 ± 0.4 mg/g), N-uptake (88 ± 4 and 95 ± 6 kg/ha) and ANR (59 ± 4 and 67 ± 6%). Therefore, urea prills coated with a combination of biodegradable polymers can be a better choice for the farmers to enhance agronomical productions by controlling the fertilizer nutrient release rate

Effect of size and location of solid on conjugate heat transfer in porous cavity

The highlight of this article is the influence of a solid over heat transfer characteristics in a square porous cavity. The solid placed inside the porous medium is fraction of the whole domain whose size is varied at 5 different locations of the cavity such as left ( = 0 ), center ( = 0.5), right ( = 1), mid of left and center ( = 0.25), mid of center and right ( = 0.75) wall of cavity. The equations that govern the physical phenomenon have been simplified using popular numerical technique such as finite element method. These simultaneous equations are solved for the solution variables such as temperature and the stream function. The physical domain is divided into smaller segments with the help of triangular elements. The left and right vertical surfaces of cavity are maintained at hot and cold temperature Th and Tc such that Th>Tc

Metaplastic breast carcinoma: Clinicopathological parameters and prognostic profile

Introduction: Metaplastic breast carcinoma (MBC) is defined as breast cancer with a heterologous non-glandular component. MBC is considered a special type of breast cancer with a prognosis that is worse than invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) of the breast. MBC is the most common breast cancer with a triple-negative profile. Therefore, in this study, we evaluated the clinicopathological parameters, recurrence and survival of MBC in our population.Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational study in the Department of Histopathology at Prince Faisal Oncology Centre, Buraidah, Saudi Arabia, over a period of five years. All cases diagnosed as MBC were included in the study. Estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2/neu) immunohistochemistry (IHC) was performed on representative tissue blocks.Results: Total 183 cases of MBCs were included in the study, out of which 120 cases were excision specimens. The mean age of the patients was 48.84±12.99 years, and the most common age group was between 36 and 50 years of age. Most of the cases were tumor (T) stage T3 (50%), and nodal metastasis was present in 40% of cases. Most cases were grade III (78.7%). ER, PR and HER2/neu positivity was noted in 15.8%, 13.1%, and 9.8% cases, respectively. Follow-up data were available for 70 cases, with a median follow-up period of 4 (1-7) years. Tumor recurrence was noted in 31.4% cases, with a survival rate of 71.4%. Squamous, chondroid, spindle cell differentiation, and matrix production were noted in 70.5%, 7.1%, 13.7%, and 2.2% cases, respectively. A significant association of squamous differentiation was noted with HER2/neu positivity. An inverse association of spindle cell differentiation was seen with axillary metastasis. Survival analysis by Kaplan-Meier revealed a significant association of survival with tumor recurrence.Conclusion: MBC is an important subtype of breast cancer, histopathological identification of which is challenging, owing to varied histological differentiation. We found squamous differentiation to be the most common in MBC, which was associated with HER2/neu positivity. A high recurrence rate of MBC was also observed in our study that was significantly associated with survival