Interaction between population and Enviromental Degradation

The present study investigates the long-run interrelationship among the demographic variables and environmental indicators by using the Johansen-Juselius cointegration technique and error correction model to determine the short-run dynamics of the system related to time series data for Pakistan economy, over the period 1972–2001. The paper finds the existence of a cointegrating vector, indicating a valid long-run relationship among the variables. Moreover, demographic variables have a significant effect in the short-run on AL but their short-run coefficients have an insignificant impact on CO2 emission. The empirical evidence clearly support that high population growth rates have a deleterious impact on environment. The policy implication thereof is to enhance the need of lowering population in Pakistan which seems to be a burden on the existing resources and a challenge to the environment.

Interaction between Population and Environmental Degradation

Economic development and population growth in the poor areas of the earth is a subject of an essential concern for the environmental economists. Developing countries are facing and suffering by the serious problem of high population growth which is causing environmental degradation. A rapidly growing population exerts pressure on agricultural land and raises demand for food and shelter which encourages the conversion of forest land for agricultural and residential uses, now we know that growing population is a major cause of air, water, and solid waste pollution. The world population was 2.52 billion in the year 1950, which increased to 6.06 billion in 2000 and is likely to reach 8.3 billion by the year 2030. While the population size will remain almost stationary in the economically developed part of the world, around 1.2 billion, during the same period population is likely to grow in the less developed regions. This is likely to pose challenges for the economic growth and pressure on environmental resources in the developing countries. Furthermore, most of the population growth in the developing countries is likely to be concentrated in the urban areas. This has implication for increased demand for energy and water resources in the urban areas. This will also pose challenges for the management of increased solid waste, air and water pollution. One of the striking experiences of the developin

Comparison of nutrients uptake in different varieties of rice in Pakistan

The objective of this research was to determine the uptake of different elements (K, Mg, Ca, Na, Fe, Co, Mn, Pb, Cu, Zn and Ni) which are used as nutrients by the rice crop. Different types of rice seeds KSK-282, KSK-134, BAS-515, IR6, BAS-2000, KSK-133 and super-BAS were collected from National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC) Islamabad Pakistan and grown in different plastic pots containing soil under the same condition. Ten days old immature plants of different varieties of rice were dried and their roots were separated from the whole plants. The dried roots were ground into fine powder followed by acid digestion (HNO , H SO and 3 2 4 HClO ) solution in a ratio of (5:1:0.1) individually. After digestion the solutions were filtered and the filtrates 4 were diluted by adding distilled water. The diluted solutions of all the above mentioned varieties of rice were analyzed by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS) for nutrients (K, Mg, Ca, Na, Fe, Co, Mn, Pb, Cu, Zn and Ni) concentration. The different values obtained from AAS had shown that some rice varieties had taken up nutrients (elements) in large amount (e.g., KSK-134 had taken up maximum Fe while KSK-133 had taken up minimum) as compared to other varieties. Similarly, several verities absorbed comparatively minimum concentration of elements. The results obtained in this research work clearly indicated that the absorption of these elements from the soil was dependent on the rice variety (e.g., BAS-2000 absorbed maximum Mg while minimum Super-BAS). Interestingly most of the rice vaities had absorbed the beneficial elements in large quantity as compared to other toxic elements

Twenty-three unsolved problems in hydrology (UPH) – a community perspective

This paper is the outcome of a community initiative to identify major unsolved scientific problems in hydrology motivated by a need for stronger harmonisation of research efforts. The procedure involved a public consultation through on-line media, followed by two workshops through which a large number of potential science questions were collated, prioritised, and synthesised. In spite of the diversity of the participants (230 scientists in total), the process revealed much about community priorities and the state of our science: a preference for continuity in research questions rather than radical departures or redirections from past and current work. Questions remain focussed on process-based understanding of hydrological variability and causality at all space and time scales. Increased attention to environmental change drives a new emphasis on understanding how change propagates across interfaces within the hydrological system and across disciplinary boundaries. In particular, the expansion of the human footprint raises a new set of questions related to human interactions with nature and water cycle feedbacks in the context of complex water management problems. We hope that this reflection and synthesis of the 23 unsolved problems in hydrology will help guide research efforts for some years to come

Multi-Layered Hierarchical Bounding Box based interaction in virtual environments

International audienceInteraction techniques play a vital role in the success and effectiveness of a virtual environment. Therefore, researchers have put much effort on the design and development of easy, realistic and intuitive interaction techniques. In this paper we present a new interaction technique specifically designed for educational environments. The technique uses a step by step and hierarchical approach to have information rich, selection/ manipulation and exploration of an object and its constituent parts (objects). The technique is implemented and evaluated in a virtual environment having a human skeleton designed in 3DS max. Subjective evaluation reveals that the technique is very useful and suitable for educational virtual environments

Multisource Data Integration and Comparative Analysis of Machine Learning Models for On-Street Parking Prediction

Searching for a free parking space can lead to traffic congestion, increasing fuel consumption, and greenhouse gas pollution in urban areas. With an efficient parking infrastructure, the cities can reduce carbon emissions caused by additional fuel combustion, waiting time, and traffic congestion while looking for a free parking slot. A potential solution to mitigating parking search is the provision of parking-related data and prediction. Previously many external data sources have been considered in prediction models; however, the underlying impact of contextual data points and prediction has not received due attention. In this work, we integrated parking occupancy, pedestrian, weather, and traffic data to analyze the impact of external factors on on-street parking prediction. A comparative analysis of well-known Machine (ML) Learning and Deep Learning (DL) techniques, including Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), Random Forest (RF), Decision Trees (DT), K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN), Gradient Boosting (GA), Adaptive Boosting (AB), and linear SVC for the prediction of OnStreet parking space availability has been conducted. The results show that RF outperformed other techniques evaluated with an average accuracy of 81% and an AUC of 0.18. The comparative analysis shows that less complex algorithms like RF, DT, and KNN outperform complex algorithms like MLP in terms of prediction accuracy. All four data sources have positively impacted the prediction, and the proposed solution can determine the best possible parking slot based on weather conditions, traffic flow, and pedestrian volume. The experiments on live prediction showed an ingest rate of 0.1 and throughput of 0.3 events per second, demonstrating a fast and reliable prediction approach for available slots within a 5–10 min time frame. The study is scalable for larger time frames and faster predictions that can be implemented for IoT-based big data-driven environments for on-street and off-street parking

Serious Games as planning support systems : Learning from playing maritime spatial planning challenge 2050

The inherent complexity of planning at sea, called maritime spatial planning (MSP), requires a planning approach where science (data and evidence) and stakeholders (their engagement and involvement) are integrated throughout the planning process. An increasing number of innovative planning support systems (PSS) in terrestrial planning incorporate scientific models and data into multi-player digital game platforms with an element of role-play. However, maritime PSS are still early in their innovation curve, and the use and usefulness of existing tools still needs to be demonstrated. Therefore, the authors investigate the serious game, MSP Challenge 2050, for its potential use as an innovative maritime PSS and present the results of three case studies on participant learning in sessions of game events held in Newfoundland, Venice, and Copenhagen. This paper focusses on the added values of MSP Challenge 2050, specifically at the individual, group, and outcome levels, through the promotion of the knowledge co-creation cycle. During the three game events, data was collected through participant surveys. Additionally, participants of the Newfoundland event were audiovisually recorded to perform an interaction analysis. Results from survey answers and the interaction analysis provide evidence that MSP Challenge 2050 succeeds at the promotion of group and individual learning by translating complex information to players and creating a forum wherein participants can share their thoughts and perspectives all the while (co-) creating new types of knowledge. Overall, MSP Challenge and serious games in general represent promising tools that can be used to facilitate the MSP process.</p

Comparative toxicity study on classical and modified version of Jawarish Jalinoos (a traditional Unani formulation) in rats

Background: Jawarish Jalinoos (JJ) is a classical semisolid traditional Unani formulation clinically used for the treatment of weakness of vital organs, liver, and stomach. Although JJ has been widely used clinically for several decades, no scientific report is available for its safety. Methods: JJ and its sugar-free tablet version (SFJJ; formulated to target diabetic population) were assessed for safety in rats. Ninety-day repeated dose oral toxicity study was performed as per the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Guideline 408. JJ was orally administered at the dose of 2000 mg/kg bw/d, whereas SFJJ was orally administered at the doses of 506 mg/kg body weight (bw)/d, 1012 mg/kg bw/d, and 2024 mg/kg bw/d for 90 days. The animals were periodically observed for clinical signs of toxicity, mortality, morbidity, body weight changes, and feed consumption. At the end of the study, hematology, clinical biochemistry, electrolytes, gross pathology, relative organ weight, and histological examination were performed. Results: Treatment with SFJJ and JJ showed no significant differences in body weight gain, feed consumption, hematology, clinical biochemistry, and serum electrolytes. No gross pathological findings and differences in relative organ weights were observed between control and drug treated rats. Histological examination revealed no toxicologically significant abnormalities related with SFJJ or JJ treatment. Conclusion: The 90-day repeated dose oral toxicity study demonstrates that the no observed adverse effect level of SFJJ and JJ is greater than 2024 mg/kg bw/d and 2000 mg/kg bw/d (p.o.) in rats, respectively. Both formulations were found to be safe up to the tested dose levels and experimental conditions, and therefore safe for clinical use as specified in the literature