Ensuring Logistics Integrity: An Ethereum Framework

In this study, we examine the potential benefits and difficulties of integrating blockchain technology based on Ethereum into logistics management systems. Our goal is to offer a thorough grasp of this technology's influence on the logistics sector by looking at its theoretical underpinnings and real-world implementations. Significant outcomes from our research include greater logistic transparency, real-time updates, increased security, and automation of contractual duties. These findings underscore the need to embrace innovation and create a legislative framework that facilitates the implementation of blockchain technology, with broad ramifications for logistics firms and legislators. Our study adds to the expanding corpus of information on the application of blockchain technology in logistics, offering insightful information to scholars, policymakers, and business professionals

Blockchain-Driven Logistics Using Ethereum: A Review

Everyday life depends heavily on the supply chain, and its traceability guarantees the quality and safety of the products. Thus, there is a pressing need for an effective and trustworthy solution to enhance logistic traceability. Traditional traceability systems suffer from low tracking efficiency and inconsistent data. However, the developing blockchain technology promises to improve these issues by being transparent, tamper-proof, and decentralised. This article analyses previous research, highlights problems, and investigates logistic traceability options based on blockchain. First, the conventional traceability approach and stakeholder demands are explained, along with the fundamentals of blockchain technology. Next, a thorough evaluation and analysis of the current publications and enterprise applications is conducted. Lastly, difficulties and potential lines of inquiry are explored. Subsequent studies may concentrate on developing focused consensus processes, creating suitable access controls, examining the function of regulators in the supply chain, etc. This analysis demonstrates that although there are still many obstacles to overcome, blockchain offers a lot of promise to solve traceability problems

Estimating the Travel Behavior Effects of Technological Innovations from Cross-Sectional Observed Data: Applications to Carsharing and Telecommuting

In this dissertation, the author estimates effects on travel behavior of two specific technological innovations – emerging shared mobility services and telecommuting – using publicly available travel surveys. These surveys are cross-sectional and observational in nature, which leads to the potential for (1) selection bias due to observed and unobserved differences in characteristics between program participants and non-participants; and (2) reverse causality bias arising because of potential influence of the travel behavior outcome of interest on the propensity to enroll in the program. The methodological framework combines established methods from both statistical and econometric literature to draw causal inferences. The key innovations in this dissertation are the combination of diverse methods to address the joint occurrence of various biases, and their specific empirical applications. The author also compares the results of alternative methods.In the first study (Parts II & III of the dissertation), the author estimates the effect of carsharing on travel behavior, using data on employed San Francisco Bay Area respondents from the 2011-12 California Household Travel Survey (CHTS). The investigator finds that 80% of the observed difference of 0.9 units in average vehicle holdings between carsharing non-members and members may be explained by self-selection and reverse causality biases. The remaining difference of 0.17 units reflects the estimated effect of carsharing, which is the equivalent of shedding one vehicle by about one out of every six households whose member(s) are enrolled in carsharing. The effect on transit usage and walking and biking frequency is positive, albeit small and statistically non-significant.In the second study, the researcher estimates the effect of the adoption of telecommuting on travel behavior for full-time employed respondents with a fixed work location outside home, using data from the annual United Kingdom National Travel Surveys for the years 2009 to 2013. On average, telecommuters are observed to travel more than non-telecommuters. However, after accounting for the observed differences in traits and tastes between the two groups using a linear regression model, the differences fade to (nearly-) insignificant levels. Further control of self-selection bias arising from unmeasured differences in “relevant” characteristics leads to the conclusion that telecommuting has a substitution effect on both commute and non-work travel.The results are broadly consistent with those of earlier studies, which, unlike this study, are based on purpose-built proprietary surveys explicitly designed to evaluate effects of either of the two programs. Although the data collected through those other means are still observational in nature, various biases identified in this dissertation may be addressed by questionnaire design, including retrospective reporting of travel behavior before and after enrollment in the program. By implicitly assuming that the unobserved influencers of both program adoption (either telecom-muting or carsharing as the case may be) as well as travel behavior do not change over the course of the evaluation (an assumption which may or may not be true), those prior studies estimate effect by measuring change in travel behavior before and after program enrollment relative to a control group. Unfortunately, such surveys are expensive, proprietary, and usually one-off studies.Large regional travel surveys, on the other hand, are publicly available, leading to the potential for replicability and involvement of multiple research teams. Further, these surveys collect information about broader travel behavior patterns and yield samples that are often larger and more representative of the general population. However, the cross-sectional and observational nature of these surveys creates the potential for joint occurrences of various biases identified in this study, which makes it necessary to adopt methodologies that correct and control for these biases when estimating causal effects. The author hopes that the methodological frameworks adopted in this study will provide an example that other researchers can use to analyze various programs in transportation using publicly available travel surveys, and that the causal inferences drawn will offer a sound basis for policymaking

Portrayal of immigration in Rohinton Mistry novel

Immigration is derived from the Latin word ‘immigrate’ which means to remove, to go in. (Longman’s Dictionary of contemporary English 2005).Oxford dictionary defines immigration as the “international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens”. It is the process of moving to a different country with an intention of living there. People choose to immigrate to escape a violent conflict, for educational purpose, for poor financial condition and to unite with family living abroad. In this way a citizen of a country becomes the permanent citizen in another country

A vital and disregarded anatomical landmark: Descending sigmoid colon flexure

Background: During the colonoscopy, colon tortuosity is a vital factor to complete the procedure successfully. Endoscopy can be difficult in cases with acute angle bending of adjacent colon segments.  Aim: To assess the relationship of descending sigmoid colon flexure to vital anatomical points on CT in adult subjects. Methods: 114 adult subjects with CT examination of the abdominopelvic region were retrospectively analyzed. In 114 subjects, the angle between proximal sigmoid and descending colon was evaluated in degrees along with descending-sigmoid flexure position concerning the anterior aspect of the 5th lumbar vertebra, the median plane, and left anterior superior iliac spine. Results: Descending sigmoid flexure was seen in all 114 subjects. the LV-DSF was significantly higher in male subjects, with a distance of 123.7±23.1mm compared to female subjects where it was 115.6±21.2. This was statistically significant with p<0.005. MP-DSF in male subjects was 97.8±15.6mm which was significantly higher than the female subjects having MP-DSF of 88.8±14.0mm. The minimum to maximum for males and females respectively were 52-149 and 44-116 which was a statistically significant difference with p<0.001. However, for ASIS-DSF, the distance did not differ significantly between males and females with p=0.54 Conclusions

Response of Organic, Inorganic and Bio-fertilizers on Qualitative, Yield and Economics of Bottle-gourd (Lagenaria siceraria (Molina) Standl) c.v. BB0G-3-1

The current study was carried out during the 2019 Kharif season at the Department of                 Vegetable Science, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT), Bhubaneswar, to determine the impact of organic manures and chemical fertilizers on the yield attributing characters, quality, and economics of Bottle gourd (Lagenaria Siceraria L.) cv. BBOG-3-1. The experiment consisted of Twelve treatments and three replications. Organic manures, inorganic fertilizers                    and Bio-fertilizers were used in twelve different treatments. viz.,T1(Control),T2(100% RDF)                (80:50:50 Kg NPK ha-1), T3 (FYM @15 t ha-1), T4 (Vermicompost @ 5 t ha-1], T5 (50% RDF + FYM @ 7.5 t ha-1 +Biofertilizer), T6 ( 50%RDF+ [email protected]+ Biofertilizer), T7 (FYM @ 7.5 t ha-1 +Biofertilizer),T8(50%RDF+Biofertilizer),T9([email protected]+Biofertilizer),T10(100%RDF+FYM @7.5tha1+Biofertilizer),T11(100%RDF+Vermicompost @ 2.5 t ha-1 + Biofertilizer) and T12(50% RDF + FYM @7.5 t ha-1+ Vermicompost @ 2.5t ha-1+ Biofertilizer), Out of these, an application of 50%[email protected] ha-1 + Vermicompost @ 2.5t ha-1+ Biofertilizer (T12) had a beneficial effect on minimum days to the first fruit harvest(59.00days), maximum days to last harvest(92.00days), Average Fruit weight(1231g), TSS(4.97ºBrix), Ascorbic acid(8.60 mg100gm-1), Reducing Sugar (3.78%), Non-Reducing Sugar(1.89%), Total Sugar(5.67%),Yield (44.82kg plot-1),Yield(280.13qha-1) and B:C ratio (2.92 )

Recent Trends in Water Use and Production for California Oil Production

Recent droughts and concerns about water use for petroleum extraction renew the need to inventory water use for oil production. We quantified water volumes used and produced by conventional oil production and hydraulic fracturing (HF) in California. Despite a 25% decrease in conventional oil production from 1999 to 2012, total water use increased by 30% though much of that increase was derived from reuse of produced water. Produced water volumes increased by 50%, with increasing amounts disposed in unlined evaporation ponds or released to surface water. Overall freshwater use (constituting 1.2% of the state’s nonagricultural water consumption) increased by 46% during this period due to increased freshwater-intensive tertiary oil production. HF has been practiced in California for more than 30 years, accounting for 1% of total oil production in 2012 from mostly directional and vertical wells. Water use intensity for HF wells in California averaged at 3.5 vol water/vol oil production in 2012 and 2.4 vol/vol in 2013, higher than the range from literature estimates and net water use intensity of conventional production (1.2 vol/vol in 2012). Increasing water use and disposal for oil production have important implications for water management and have potentially adverse health, environmental, and ecological impacts

Effect of Different Physical and Chemical Treatments on Germination and Seedling Establishment in Spine gourd (Momordica dioica Roxb.)

The experiment was conducted at Department of Vegetable Science, OUAT, Bhubaneswar from 2019-2021. Stored spine gourd seeds of six months old were used in this experiment. The seeds were first given various physical treatments (T1: control, T2: 48 hours soaking in  water, T3: hot water treatment for 20 minutes + 48 hours soaking in water, T4: scarification by sand paper + 48 hours soaking in water, T5: removal of seed coat + 48 hours soaking in water) followed by chemical treatments (C1: GA3 100 ppm, C2: GA3 200 ppm, C3: KNO3 1%, C4: KNO3 2%, C5: Thiourea 1%,  C6: Thiourea 2% & C7: control). The experiment was laid out in factorial CRD design with 35 treatment combinations replicated twice. The seeds were sown in plastic trays containing coco peat media. The effect of these treatments on number of days taken for initial germination, length of shoot, root, number of roots per seedling and percentage of seedling establishment in main field were recorded. From the data recorded, it was observed that among the physical treatments, T5 (removal of seed coat + 48 hours soaking in water), among the chemical treatments, C1 (GA3 100 ppm) and between the interactions, T5C1 (removal of seed coat + 48 hours soaking in water + GA3 100 ppm) took minimum number of days for initial germination with highest shoot and root length, maximum number of roots per seedling and highest establishment percentage in field. The lowest values were recorded in case of control. So, it can be concluded that removal of seed coat followed by 48 hour soaking in water and GA3 100 ppm treatment resulted early germination with desirable seedling traits and highest establishment percent in main field

Long-Term Shifts in Life-Cycle Energy Efficiency and Carbon Intensity

The quantity of primary energy needed to support global human activity is in large part determined by how efficiently that energy is converted to a useful form. We estimate the system-level life-cycle energy efficiency (EF) and carbon intensity (CI) across primary resources for 2005–2100. Our results underscore that although technological improvements at each energy conversion process will improve technology efficiency and lead to important reductions in primary energy use, market mediated effects and structural shifts toward less efficient pathways and pathways with multiple stages of conversion will dampen these efficiency gains. System-level life-cycle efficiency may decrease as mitigation efforts intensify, since low-efficiency renewable systems with high output have much lower GHG emissions than some high-efficiency fossil fuel systems. Climate policies accelerate both improvements in EF and the adoption of renewable technologies, resulting in considerably lower primary energy demand and GHG emissions. Life-cycle EF and CI of <i>useful</i> energy provide a useful metric for understanding dynamics of implementing climate policies. The approaches developed here reiterate the necessity of a combination of policies that target efficiency and decarbonized energy technologies. We also examine life-cycle exergy efficiency (ExF) and find that nearly all of the qualitative results hold regardless of whether we use ExF or EF