Dynamics of inter-district developmental disparities in Haryana

The present study deals with the development disparities in districts of Haryana according to their level of development. The study utilized data over three points of time, viz. 1991-92, 2001-02, and 2011-12. Assessment of development in agricultural, industrial, infrastructural and socio-economic sectors has been studied using composite indices based on forty indicators. Out of the forty indicators, 19 were directly concerned with agricultural development, 4, 8 and 9 respectively reflected the progress of development in industrial, infrastructural, and socio-economic sectors. Sector-wise indices were combined to obtain weighted index for the overall development. The study indicated wide disparities in level of development among districts of Haryana in all the periods of study.The district of Mahendragarh lagged behind in almost all the sectors considered for this study. The districts of Faridabad and Gurgaon lagged behind in agriculture while the district of Karnal excelled in agriculture in all the three periods. The districts of Ambala, Faridabad and Gurgaon ranked first in overall development in 1991-92, 2001-02 and 2011-12, respectively, whereas Mahendragarh ranked last in 1991-92 and 2001-02 and the newly formed district Mewat in 2011-12. Spearman’s rank correlation was used to study relationships among sectoral developments. Kruskal Wallis test indicated significant changes in development level of industry and infrastructure sectors over the periods 1991-92, 2001-02 and 2011-12

ARIMA and State-Space models for sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) yield forecasting in Northern agro-climatic zone of Haryana

Advance estimates of significant cereal and commercial crops are given by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics and the central Ministry of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers’ Welfare. However, the final estimates are released a few months after the actual harvest of the crops. In this study, ARIMA and State-Space models have been developed for sugarcane yield forecasting in Ambala and Karnal districts of Haryana. The above-mentioned models have been developed using yield data of sugarcane crop for the time period 1966-67 to 2009-10 of Ambala and Karnal districts. The validity of fitted models has been tested over the years 2010-11 to 2016-17. The forecasting performance of the developed models has been studied using percent deviations of sugarcane yield forecasts in relation to the actual yield, and root means squared errors. It has been observed that state-space models outperform the popular ARIMA models for forecasting of sugarcane yield in Northern Agro-climatic Zone of Haryana

Potential effects of environmental change on mining wastes in a hyperarid climate

Three desert washes were sampled to evaluate the transport of contaminated sediments from abandoned mining sites to downwash environments. The area of concern is an extreme arid climate considered stable and not to pose pathways for contaminated sediments to impact downwash environments. Research of mine wastes in Nelson, Nevada has shown that residual geogenic and anthropogenic trace elements have been mobilized in surface sediments as a result of storm event. Cyanide and trace elements, especially mercury and lead, have transported to 6000 m downwash from source areas. Short term environmental impacts appear to be minimal because of present-day environmental conditions. However, climate shifts caused by the El Nino Southern Oscillations or even a dramatic climate shift might increase regional precipitation promoting a more rapid erosion of contaminated sediment. Currently, wash sediments do not contain levels of CN- or trace elements that pose threats to the environment; however, if erosion and transport of mining waste increased because of additional precipitation, then CN- and trace elements loading in storm water would increase, with their possibly delivery to Lake Mohave

The Large Scale X-ray Emission from M87

We describe asymmetrical features in a long exposure X-ray map of M87 made with the ROSAT High Resolution Imager (HRI). A bright triangular region is marked by a linear `spur' along one edge. The structure of this spur suggests an interpretation of a tangential view of a shock front 18 kpc long. None of the brighter features are spatially coincident with radio or optical structures so we concur with earlier investigators that most of the emission arises from thermal processes.Comment: 6 pages latex, including 3 postscript figures. Uses psfig and LAMUPHYS (Springer) macro. To be published in 'The M87 Ringberg Workshop', September 1997, Springer Lecture Notes in Physics Series, Roeser and Meisenheimer, ed

Exploring the Relationship between Postural Control and Brain Activity using Dual-Task Methodology

Understanding how attention is allocated during a balance task, when paired with competing cognitive tasks, can be used to develop therapeutic protocols for elderly individuals as well as those with particular disease conditions requiring a higher efficacy of balance control. Using dual-task methodology, a balance task was paired with a cognitive distractor task. Attention tradeoff between the two tasks was monitored using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), which measured oxygen utilization in various regions of the brain to determine how oxygen use patterns varied in single and dual-tasks. It was hypothesized that participants will prioritize balance/posture and cognitive task scores will drop, and that this performance pattern will be associated with particular patterns of frontal lobe oxygen utilization that can be detected with fNIRS. There were three test conditions, all while the subjects stood. The first condition was a cognitive task that required subjects to listen and identify the number of times they heard the ‘probe’ sound. The second condition was a balance control task that required the participant to sway about the ankles in response to light vibration applied to the abdomen and lower back. If the participant accurately responded to the vibration by swaying either forward or backward, they followed the programmed pattern. A sensor determined the subject’s error of movement. The third condition combined the two tasks. It was found that the dual-task condition resulted in extreme decline of cognitive task accuracy, suggesting that the balance task was prioritized in the non-threatening environment of the study.Health and Human Performance, Department ofHonors Colleg

Multivariate analysis of pearl millet data to delineate genetic variation

Loss of biodiversity not only disturbs the process of plant development aimed at genetic amelioration but also disrupts the fundamental services that ecosystems provided to humanity. Assessment of variability is a multidimensional problem. The multivariate statistics can help in a comparative assessment of genetic variability. A set of 66 lines of pearl millet was analyzed for cluster and principal component analysis (PCA). PCA identified six principal components which explained 77.7 per cent of total variability among the 66 genotypes. The PC1 characters –main ear weight, dry fodder weight, total ear weight, grain yield, growth rate and plant height, the major characters of plant biomass and the basis for grain yield contributed maximum 35.94 per cent variability among the lines. The remaining PCs accounted for progressively lesser and lesser amount of variability. The lowest contribution 5.27 per cent was recorded by PC 6, the characters grain starch, starch recovery and ear girth. Only grain starch contributed positively to all the six components. The genotypes 50 (77/371), 3 (IPC-115), 41 (204/2 MP), 12 (IPC-1462), 37 (TCH-37-1), 22 (TCH-10-1), 61 (1307), 14 (862-P2), 20 (TCH-3-2), 40 (204-2-3) were found to be better performers and diverse on the basis of principal factor scores with regard to grain yield and yield contributing characters. Hierarchical cluster analysis grouped 66 genotypes into six clusters, cluster 1 included maximum number of 21 genotypes and clusters 3 and 6 had the lowest number of 6 genotypes. The results on hierarchical cluster analysis almost mimicked the PCA. The grouping pattern of genotypes obtained by cluster analysis and PCA plots was almost similar. A wide range of diversity for most of the traits observed would enable to pick lines with suitable traits to be used in a breeding programme. Genetic diversity was not essentially associated with geographic diversity

Mechanistic details of the formation and growth of nanoscale voids in Ge under extreme conditions within an ion track

The formation of nanoscale voids in amorphous-germanium (a-Ge), and their size and shape evolution under ultra-fast thermal spikes within an ion track of swift heavy ion, is meticulously expatiated using experimental and theoretical approaches. Two step energetic ion irradiation processes were used to fabricate novel and distinct embedded nanovoids within bulk Ge. The 'bow-tie' shape of voids formed in a single ion track tends to attain a spherical shape as the ion tracks overlap at a fluence of about 1 x 10(12) ions cm(-2). The void assumes a prolate spheroid shape with major axis along the ion trajectory at sufficiently high ion fluences. Small angle x-ray scattering can provide complementary information about the primary stage of void formation hence this technique is applied for monitoring simultaneously their formation and growth dynamics. The results are supported by the investigation of cross-sectional transmission and scanning electron micrographs. The multi-time-scale theoretical approach corroborates the experimental findings and relates the bow-tie shape void formation to density variations as a result of melting and resolidification of Ge within the region of thermal spike generated along an ion track, plus non-isotropic stresses generated towards the end of the thermal spike.Peer reviewe

Sensors for Harsh Environment: Radiation Resistant FBG Sensor System

This paper presents radiation resistant characteristics of fibre Bragg grating (FBG) sensors written in a photosensitive fiber and connected to a silica core radiation resistant optical fibre, aiming to develop a sensor system suitable for both sensing and data transmission in harsh environment. The silica core fluorine-down-doped clad optical fibre has been specifically designed and fabricated for this study using the modified chemical vapor deposition technique. Key waveguide parameters, including the width of the fluorine doped inner cladding have been optimized to obtain a low loss (<;0.2 dB/km) at the operating wavelength region of 1550 nm. The fibre fabrication process, mainly the deposition condition, has also been optimized to achieve smooth deposition and sintering of silica core layers, to minimize radiation induced absorption. As a result, radiation induced absorption of ~2.2 dB/km at 1550 nm under accumulated dose of 25 MRad at dose rate of 0.39 MRad/hr has been successfully achieved. To create an effective sensor system for harsh environmental conditions, this specialty fibre is connected to a number of FBGs (sensors) fabricated in photosensitive fibres prior to their extensive evaluations by being exposed to different accumulated dose of gamma radiation. Their corresponding Bragg wavelength shifts (BWS) and peak amplitudes were continuously monitored. It was found that the radiation induced BWS can be greatly reduced by shielding the sensors using stainless steel tubing. The temperature sensitivity and peak amplitude were found to be largely unchanged before and after exposure to Gamma radiation of 25 MRad which shows their potential use for temperature measurements in radiation environments with an uncertainty of around 0.1 °C

Deposition of light-absorbing particles in glacier snow of the Sunderdhunga Valley, the southern forefront of the central Himalayas

Anthropogenic activities on the Indo-Gangetic Plain emit vast amounts of light-absorbing particles (LAPs) into the atmosphere, modifying the atmospheric radiation state. With transport to the nearby Himalayas and deposition to its surfaces the particles contribute to glacier melt and snowmelt via darkening of the highly reflective snow. The central Himalayas have been identified as a region where LAPs are especially pronounced in glacier snow but still remain a region where measurements of LAPs in the snow are scarce. Here we study the deposition of LAPs in five snow pits sampled in 2016 (and one from 2015) within 1 km from each other from two glaciers in the Sunderdhunga Valley, in the state of Uttarakhand, India, in the central Himalayas. The snow pits display a distinct enriched LAP layer interleaved by younger snow above and older snow below. The LAPs exhibit a distinct vertical distribution in these different snow layers. For the analyzed elemental carbon (EC), the younger snow layers in the different pits show similarities, which can be characterized by a deposition constant of about 50 mu g m(-2) mm(-1) snow water equivalent (SWE), while the old-snow layers also indicate similar values, described by a deposition constant of roughly 150 mu g m(-2) mm(-1) SWE. The enriched LAP layer, contrarily, displays no similar trends between the pits. Instead, it is characterized by very high amounts of LAPs and differ in orders of magnitude for concentration between the pits. The enriched LAP layer is likely a result of strong melting that took place during the summers of 2015 and 2016, as well as possible lateral transport of LAPs. The mineral dust fractional absorption is slightly below 50% for the young- and old-snow layers, whereas it is the dominating light-absorbing constituent in the enriched LAP layer, thus, highlighting the importance of dust in the region. Our results indicate the problems with complex topography in the Himalayas but, nonetheless, can be useful in large-scale assessments of LAPs in Himalayan snow.Peer reviewe

Trends in the recovery of phosphorus in bioavailable forms from wastewater

Addressing food security issues arising from phosphorus (P) scarcity is described as one of the greatest global challenges of the 21st Century. Dependence on inorganic phosphate fertilisers derived from limited geological sources of P creates an urgent need to recover P from wastes and treated waters, in safe forms that are also effective agriculturally – the established process of P removal by chemical precipitation using Fe or Al salts, is effective for P removal but leads to residues with limited bioavailability and contamination concerns. One of the greatest opportunities for P recovery is at wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) where the crystallisation of struvite and Ca-P from enhanced biological P removal (EBPR) sludge is well developed and already shown to be economically and operationally feasible in some WWTPs. However, recovery through this approach can be limited to &lt;25% efficiency unless chemical extraction is applied. Thermochemical treatment of sludge ash produces detoxified residues that are currently utilised by the fertiliser industry; wet chemical extraction can be economically feasible in recovering P and other by-products. The bioavailability of recovered P depends on soil pH as well as the P-rich material in question. Struvite is a superior recovered P product in terms of plant availability, while use of Ca-P and thermochemically treated sewage sludge ash is limited to acidic soils. These technologies, in addition to others less developed, will be commercially pushed forward by revised fertiliser legislation and foreseeable legislative limits for WWTPs to achieve discharges of &lt;1 mg P/L