Concentrator cell methodology in the regeneration and recycle of chromium etching solutions using membrane technology

The regeneration of chromium (VI) and the recovery of etched copper from chromium etching solutions by electrodialysis is improved by the addition of a concentrator cell, using ion exchange resins or activated carbon cloth as concentrator media, in the catholyte chamber. The maximum percentages for the regeneration of chromium and recovery of copper in these systems is however less than 80 and 90% respectively because of the competition between the processes of oxidation of Cr(III) and electrodeposition of copper. A novel combination of electrolysis with electrodialysis and concentrator cell technology is developed that achieves 92.1% chromium regeneration and 90.4% copper recovery.EPSRC/DTI through the Link WMR03 programme and to Fluid Dynamics International Ltd. for financial support

Peak effect in CeRu2_2:history dependence and supercooling

We present experimental results on single crystal CeRu$_2$ showing that the extent of history dependence of peak-effect depends on the path followed in the space of field (H) and temperature (T). The (H,T) regime over which history effect is observed is larger if the vortex lattice is prepared by lowering T from above T$_C$ in constant H i.e. by field cooling. We compare this history effect with the very recently reported history dependence of peak-effect in detwinned single crystals of YBaCuO, highlighting the similarities and differences. We discuss the possibility of a first order vortex solid-solid transition in CeRu$_2$ within the realm of recent theoretical developments in the field of vortex matter.Comment: 21 pages, 5 figures; submitted to Phys. Rev. B on 9th Feb. 200

Gandhian Way of Education: M.K. Gandhi’s Educational Philosophy in R.K. Narayan’s Swami and Friends

M.K. Gandhi is a unique paradox. He has been sanctified and idolised for his beliefs and teachings and at the same time has been assumed as an impractical idealist. On the contrary his educational philosophy has been highly practical and in the ever-changing times and challenges of the 21st century, it becomes pertinent to explore it.Education is the facilitator of humanity. It is precisely this understanding of education that Gandhi propounds in his philosophical understanding of the same. The roots of all evils lie in ignorance of education and the roots of all virtuousness lies in adherence to it.R.K. Narayan (1906-2001) and M.K. Gandhi (1869-1948) were two major figures of the 20th century India, owing to the former’s literary and the latter’s political and philosophical sensibilities. Gandhi's ideas and ideals regarding education are multi-faceted. For him education has multiple aims and objectives. For him education is not only a means to serve an individual or a national cause but goes on to serve the still larger cause of humanity. It is this aspect of his teachings which will remain the focal point of this paper. The novel Swami and Friends (1935) is written in the characteristic Narayanian vein which refuses to evolve and incorporate serious issues on the surface. Though primarily it appears to be apolitical and plain in style, the novel nonetheless exhibits some serious issues related to education. Efforts would be made in the paper to show how the educational system portrayed in the novel is in stark contrast to the educational philosophy and the ideals for which Gandhi pined throughout his life. The paper would hence attempt to delineate the Gandhian educational philosophy by placing it in and around the critique of education that R.K. Narayan offers in his debut novel Swami and Friends (1935)

Participatory Ranking of Fodders in the Western Hills of Nepal

Fodder is an important source of feed of the ruminants in Nepal. In the mid hills of Nepal, farmers generally practice integrated farming system that combines crop cultivation with livestock husbandry and agroforestry. Tree fodders are good sources of protein during the forage and green grass scarcity periods especially in dry season. Local communities possess indigenous knowledge for the selection of grasses and tree fodders at different seasons in mid hills of western Nepal. A study was conducted on the perception of farmers with respect to selection of fodder species in eight clusters in Kaski and Lumjung districts that range 900-2000 meter above sea level and receive average precipitation of 2000- 4500mm per annum. During the fodder preference ranking, farmers prepared the inventory of fodders found around the villages and nearby forests and selected top ten most important fodders in terms of their availability, palatability, fodder yield, milk yield and milk fat yield. In total, 23 top ranking fodders species were selected from the eight clusters. These fodder species were also ranked using pairwise ranking and weighted scoring methods and ranking was done on the basis of merit numbers obtained from weighted scores. The analysis revealed Artocarpus lakoocha as best tree fodder followed by Ficus semicordata, Thysanolena maxima and Ficus calvata. Similarly, the calendar of fodders trees for lopping season and the best feeding time was prepared on the basis of farmers\u27 local knowledge. This study suggests strategies for promotion of locally preferred tree fodder species and supplementing tree fodder with feed in different seasons depending on their availability and local preferences

Agro-morphological Diversity of High Altitude Bean Landraces in the Kailash Sacred Landscape of Nepal

Many varieties of bean are widely grown across diverse agro-ecological zones in Nepal. And opportunities exist for improving the crops and enhancing their resilience to various biotic and abiotic stressors. In this context, an experiment was conducted from June to October 2016 in Khar VDC of Darchula district to study the phenotypic traits of nine landraces of bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). The bean landraces were planted using randomized complete block design in three sites (Dhamidera, Dallekh and Sundamunda villages), with three replications in each site for their comparative analysis. The study considered the following phenotypic traits: days to emergence, days to 50% flowering, days to 90% pod maturity, number of nodes, pod length, pod width, number of pods, number of seeds per pod and weight and grain yield for 100 seeds. Kruskal-Wallis test showed significant differences in the landraces both within and among locations. KA-17-08-FB and KA-17-04-FB were late  flowering (63 and 65 days respectively) compared to other landraces whereas KA-17-07-FB flowered earliest (within 42 days). In all three sites, three landraces namely KA-17-07-FB, KA-17-04-FB and KA-17-06-FB were found to be relatively more resistant to pest and diseases than other landraces. Eight out of nine landraces in Dhamidera and Dallekh villages and seven out of nine in Sundamunda village produced seeds greater than 1.0 t/ha. Among the nine varieties KA-17-02-FB was the highest yielding variety, with an average yield of 3.8 t/ha. This study is useful for identifying suitable landraces for future promotion based on their maturity, grain yield, diseases resistance and other qualitative and quantitative characteristics

Privacy-Preserving Eye Videos using Rubber Sheet Model

Video-based eye trackers estimate gaze based on eye images/videos. As security and privacy concerns loom over technological advancements, tackling such challenges is crucial. We present a new approach to handle privacy issues in eye videos by replacing the current identifiable iris texture with a different iris template in the video capture pipeline based on the Rubber Sheet Model. We extend to image blending and median-value representations to demonstrate that videos can be manipulated without significantly degrading segmentation and pupil detection accuracy.Comment: Will be published in ETRA 20 Short Papers, June 2-5, 2020, Stuttgart, Germany Copyright 2020 Association for Computing Machiner