Evaluation of reference evapotranspiration methods for the northeastern region of India

AbstractThe study planed to identify a suitable alternative to the FAO-56 Penman-Monteith (FAO56PM) equation for calculating reference evapotranspiration (ET0) from chosen temperature and radiation based models utilizing monthly meteorological data from 30 destinations in diverse agro-ecological regions of the Northeast (NE) India i.e., Assam Bengal Plain (ABP), eastern Himalaya (EH), and the northeastern hilly (NEH) region. Radiation-based IRMAK3 most appropriate in the ABP (weighted root mean square deviation, WRMSD=0.17mmd−1, r2=0.98, for Nagrakata), and TURC model being in the first three rank of most of the sites, with the lowest error and highest correlation in NEH (WRMSD=0.10mmd−1, r2=0.92, for Shillong), and EH (WRMSD=0.23mmd−1, r2=0.95, for Gangtok). Findings reveal that IRMAK3 and TURC models performed equally well and were observed to be the best among selected models for the majority of stations followed by FAO24 Blaney-Criddle (FAO24BC), and 1957MAKK. Pair-wise regression equations were developed for preferred FAO56PM ET0 estimates to ET0 estimates by alternative methods. Cross-correlation of eighteen chose methods demonstrated that the five equations (i.e. four radiation- and one temperature-based) performed exceptionally well when contrasted with the FAO56PM model, thus being advised for assessing ET0 under limiting data conditions as have yielded a better estimate of ET0 with a small error

Use of mifepristone for termination of intrauterine fetal demise (IUFD) in previously scarred uterus in later half of pregnancy (>20 weeks)

Background: Mifepristone has the potential to be used as an agent for induction of labour by increasing the uterine contractility and increasing the sensitivity of uterus to prostaglandins. The present study is an endeavor to study the effect of mifepristone alone to induce labour in scarred uterus and its risk benefit ratio.Methods: Total 39 patients with IUFD and previous uterine surgery were included in the study after their informed consent. All women in the study were given Tablet Mifepristone 200 mg orally, thrice a day, maximum 6 doses (Max -1200 mg) over a duration of 48 hours. Patients were monitored for vitals, the uterine contractions and any bleeding per vaginum. Next dose of drug was omitted if sufficient uterine contractions or cervical dilatation ≥2.5 cm achieved. Patients were shifted to the labour room after onset of active labour. Labour was augmented with oxytocin wherever required.Results: spontaneous labour occurred in 74.3% (29/39) women while operative (cesarean/ hysterotomy) delivery occurred in 17.9% (07/39). Mean induction (first dose of mifepristone) to delivery interval was 51.5 hrs in second trimester while 59.8 hrs in third trimester women. Oxytocin augmentation was done in 8 (20.5 %) women.Conclusions: The potential advantage of mifepristone over prostaglandins and oxytocin, is mainly in situations where they are contraindicated (i.e., scarred uterus). In this study authors found that with mifepristone only regimen is quite safe and effective, inducing spontaneous labour in 74.3% (29/39) women with IUFD and in reducing the operative (cesarean/ hysterotomy) delivery (17.9%)

Diagnostic accuracy of neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio in comparison with liver function tests for the diagnosis of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy

Background: In this study, we aimed to find diagnostic accuracy of neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio in comparison with liver function tests for the diagnosis of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy and adverse fetal-maternal outcomes.Methods: NLR and aminotransferase (AST/ALT) levels in the blood samples of pregnant women with complaint of pruritus. 90 women with elevated transaminase were taken as cases and same number of women with normal aminotransferase levels taken as control. All were examined in this prospective case-control study.Results: Not only was the mean NLR elevated in the pregnant women with cholestasis when compared to the controls, but it also predicted the severity of the cholestasis. The correlation between transaminase levels and NLR was significant.Conclusions: Although TBA is still the diagnostic standard, NLR can be used as an initial screening tool due to its high specificity

Psycho-Social Behavioural Problems In Urban Primary School Children

Research Problem: What is the magnitude and correlates of psychosocial behavioural problems in primary school children of an urban area. Objectives:     i)    To  know  the  prevalence of psychosocial behavioural problems in primary school children of Agra Corporation.  ii) To see the impact of various biosocial factors on the prevalence of above problems. Design: Cross sectional study by questionnaire method and observation. Setting: Primary schools run by Agra Corporation. Participants: All the children studying in 7 primary schools selected from 108 schools run by Agra Corporation. Sample Size: 520 primary school children. Study Variables: Age, sex, socio-economic class and family size. Statistical Analysis: By percentage, Z - test and Chi-square test. Result: A majority of the study children (63.7%) were having some psychosocial behavioural problem or the other, the most common problem being educational difficulties (59.8%), The average number of problems per child was 2.9. The prevalence was highest in children from middle-sized families of low socio­economic class and in age group above 13 years

State of the Art in Dense Monocular Non-Rigid 3D Reconstruction

3D reconstruction of deformable (or non-rigid) scenes from a set of monocular2D image observations is a long-standing and actively researched area ofcomputer vision and graphics. It is an ill-posed inverse problem,since--without additional prior assumptions--it permits infinitely manysolutions leading to accurate projection to the input 2D images. Non-rigidreconstruction is a foundational building block for downstream applicationslike robotics, AR/VR, or visual content creation. The key advantage of usingmonocular cameras is their omnipresence and availability to the end users aswell as their ease of use compared to more sophisticated camera set-ups such asstereo or multi-view systems. This survey focuses on state-of-the-art methodsfor dense non-rigid 3D reconstruction of various deformable objects andcomposite scenes from monocular videos or sets of monocular views. It reviewsthe fundamentals of 3D reconstruction and deformation modeling from 2D imageobservations. We then start from general methods--that handle arbitrary scenesand make only a few prior assumptions--and proceed towards techniques makingstronger assumptions about the observed objects and types of deformations (e.g.human faces, bodies, hands, and animals). A significant part of this STAR isalso devoted to classification and a high-level comparison of the methods, aswell as an overview of the datasets for training and evaluation of thediscussed techniques. We conclude by discussing open challenges in the fieldand the social aspects associated with the usage of the reviewed methods.<br

Heterogeneously catalyzed lignin depolymerization

Biomass offers a unique resource for the sustainable production of bio-derived chemical and fuels as drop-in replacements for the current fossil fuel products. Lignin represents a major component of lignocellulosic biomass, but is particularly recalcitrant for valorization by existing chemical technologies due to its complex cross-linking polymeric network. Here, we highlight a range of catalytic approaches to lignin depolymerisation for the production of aromatic bio-oil and monomeric oxygenates

Atomic Layer Deposition of 2D Metal Dichalcogenides for Electronics, Catalysis, Energy Storage, and Beyond

2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) are among the most exciting materials of today. Their layered crystal structures result in unique and useful electronic, optical, catalytic, and quantum properties. To realize the technological potential of TMDCs, methods depositing uniform films of controlled thickness at low temperatures in a highly controllable, scalable, and repeatable manner are needed. Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a chemical gas-phase thin film deposition method capable of meeting these challenges. In this review, the applications evaluated for ALD TMDCs are systematically examined, including electronics and optoelectonics, electrocatalysis and photocatalysis, energy storage, lubrication, plasmonics, solar cells, and photonics. This review focuses on understanding the interplay between ALD precursors and deposition conditions, the resulting film characteristics such as thickness, crystallinity, and morphology, and ultimately device performance. Through rational choice of precursors and conditions, ALD is observed to exhibit potential to meet the varying requirements of widely different applications. Beyond the current state of ALD TMDCs, the future prospects, opportunities, and challenges in different applications are discussed. The authors hope that the review aids in bringing together experts in the fields of ALD, TMDCs, and various applications to eventually realize industrial applications of ALD TMDCs.Peer reviewe

Meals in Malls: Antecedents of Shoppers’ Choice and Behavioural Intentions While Dining at Food Courts

A summary of measure of central tendency, skewness, kurtosis, reliability, validity, and model fit of the study titled &quot;Meals in Malls: Antecedents of Shoppers’ Choice and Behavioural Intentions While Dining at Food Courts&quot;THIS DATASET IS ARCHIVED AT DANS/EASY, BUT NOT ACCESSIBLE HERE. TO VIEW A LIST OF FILES AND ACCESS THE FILES IN THIS DATASET CLICK ON THE DOI-LINK ABOV

Thermodynamic studies of ion-exchange equilibria of some bivalent metal ions with H+ on stannic arsenate cation exchanger

1090-1092Ion-exchange equilibria of Ba2+, Sr2+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Mn2+ and Zn+ with H+ have been studied at 288, 298, 313 and 333 K on stannic arsenate cation exchanger at constant ionic strength. The ion-exchange isotherms have been plotted for both forward and backward reactions by batch technique. The selectivity coefficient and various thermodynamic parameters, i.e., standard free energy change, Gᵒ, enthalpy change, Hᵒ, and entropy change, Sᵒ, of the systems have been calculated