Analysis of Automobile Advertisements in American Magazines

The automobile is one of the most important products in American consumer culture. Throughout the history of the automobile industry in America, advertising has been an important strategy for marketing automobiles and their features to consumers on a mass scale. The purpose of this study was to evaluate how print (magazine) automobile advertisements have changed through time (1960-2013) and across different genres of magazines: general (National Geographic, New Yorker), male-oriented (Esquire), female-oriented (Cosmopolitan), and ethnic (Ebony). The trends that we examined included: numbers and proportions of car advertisements, relative numbers of domestic and foreign car advertisements, and the mix of automobile features. We found that the total number of car advertisements per magazine peaked in the late 1990s overall, with differences among the magazine genres. The number of advertisements for cars produced by American manufacturers peaked in the mid-1990s. The number of foreign car advertisements significantly increased after 1975, with Japanese cars leading this group. We discuss the trends in advertising parameters over time and across magazine genres in light of changes in buyer attitudes, including attitudes towards the environment

Structural evaluation of concrete expanded polystyrene sandwich panels for slab applications

Sandwich panels are being extensively and increasingly used in building construction because they are light in weight, energy efficient, aesthetically attractive and can be easily handled and erected. This paper presents a structural evaluation of Concrete-Expanded Polystyrene (CEPS) sandwich panels for slab applications using finite element modeling approach. CEPS panels are made of expanded polystyrene foam sandwiched between concrete skins. The use of foam in the middle of sandwich panel reduces the weight of the structure and also acts as insulation against thermal, acoustics and vibration. Applying reinforced concrete skin to both sides of panel takes the advantages of the sandwich concept where the reinforced concrete skins take compressive and tensile loads resulting in higher stiffness and strength and the core transfers shear loads between the faces. This research uses structural software Strand7, which is based on finite element method, to predict the load deformation behaviour of the CEPS sandwich slab panels. Non linear static analysis was used in the numerical investigations. Predicted results were compared with the existing experimental results to validate the numerical approach used

MCMFIT: A Program to fit a generalized non-linear advection- dispersion model to experimental data

The problem of estimating model parameters is encountered frequently in practice. There are several packages available for estimating the parameters for linear advection-dispersion equations (ADE) for which there are exact solutions (e.g., CXTFIT, TFMFIT, etc.). For non- linear transport equations, the use of standard numerical solutions (e.g., Crank-Nicolson) to estimate parameters is very time consuming and hence inefficient. On the other hand, mixing-cell solutions are very efficient by comparison. In particular, the solution obtained from the improved mixing cell model has been found to agree very well with the results of a numerical Crank-Nicolson solution while being much more efficient. Thus, an improved mixing cell model has been used hereto estimate model parameters for a variety of transport models. The code, MCMFIT, makes use of nonlinear least-squares fitting to find optimal parameter values by matching improved mixing cell model predictions with measured experimental data. The experimental data can be either in the form of a breakthrough curve or concentrations within a soil profile. The program can handle linear, Freundlich, Langmuir, and S- curve adsorption isotherms in conjunction with the transport equation. Both equilibrium and non- equilibrium (fully kinetic and two site adsorption) cases can be dealt with along with first- and third-type surface boundary conditions. Use of the program is demonstrated with a number of examples. Both synthetic data as well as data from yield and laboratory experiments have been used in the illustrative examples

Nepal needs midwifery

This paper is published as a Commentary. It has no abstract, but the paper links the Millennium Development Goals to the maternity workforce in Nepal and highlights to need for recognition of the midwifery profession in that country

Analysis of one-dimensional multispecies transport experiments in laboratory soil columns

A numerical scheme based on the mixing cell concept is used to analyse multispecies solute transport under the condition of steady flow. Explicit examples are presented for the case of two chemical species that are reacting during transport. Also, unlike the standard mixing cell approach, the improved method used here maintains second- order accuracy. The mixing cell scheme is applied to various data sets from multispecies transport experiments. First, the scheme is used to analyse the snow-plow effect as observed in a laboratory experiment. This phenomenon results from large concentration differences in the solution and solid phases within the soil profile. The analysis revealed that the solute exchange process is time dependent, rather than being in equilibrium. In another case, the scheme was used to analyse the observed snow- plow peaks of Ca resulting from ion exchange reactions between Ca and Mg in a soil profile. The analysis revealed that the selectivity coefficient changes with total cation concentration in the system. The results demonstrate that nonlinear reactions in multispecies transport can be analysed efficiently, accurately, and quickly using the improved mixing cell model

SUSTAINABLE DIVERSIFIED AGRICULTURE AND LAND MANAGEMENT IN THE HIMALAYA: IMPLICATIONS FOR CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION AND MITIGATION

The soil and land resources play a vital role in sustaining the local livelihoods of rural communities in the Himalaya. Most of the arable land has already been brought under cultivation, hence the ever-increasing demand for food and fiber has left farmers with no choice but to intensify agriculture. However, producing more crops and greater quantities of food, fiber and other materials on the same parcel of land can to soil fertility and productivity decline with overall degradation of land quality. Therefore, ways and means to intensify agriculture to enhance productivity without degrading the soil and land resource base have become imperative. Agro-forestry, agro-slivi-pastoral systems, and the adoption of a variety of crop, soil and water management and conservation practices offer potential to deliver multiple benefits without sacrificing the very resource upon which the human population depends. Presented herein are findings on approaches to sustainable intensification of agriculture and land management related to soil OM management and C sequestration for multiple benefits, and, agro-forestry as a crop diversification strategy with both livelihood, and climate change adaptation/mitigation benefits. The results indicate that sustainable soil management practices could lead to significant SOC accumulations (4-8 t/ha over 6 yrs). SOC and soil C stocks tend to increase with elevation due to cooler climate and slow decomposition rates. Carbon stocks for the 3 LU types was in the order CF>AF/LH>AG, suggesting that diversified cropping practices including agro-forestry have good potential sequester C while providing livelihood opportunities and climate adaptive capacity for local farming communities. Biochar amendment increased growth of both coffee plants and radish with mixed grass/weed biochar being most effective. Biochar application also significantly decreased emission of GHGs, especially N2O