Observations of the Optical Afterglow of GRB 050319 : Wind to ISM transition in view

The collapse of a massive star is believed to be the most probable progenitor of a long GRB. Such a star is expected to modify its environment by stellar wind. The effect of such a circum-stellar wind medium is expected to be seen in the evolution of a GRB afterglow, but has so far not been conclusively found. We claim that a signature of wind to constant density medium transition of circum-burst medium is visible in the afterglow of GRB 050319. Along with the optical observations of the afterglow of GRB 050319 we present a model for the multiband afterglow of GRB 050319. We show that the break seen in optical light curve at $\sim$ 0.02 day could be explained as being due to wind to constant density medium transition of circum-burst medium, in which case, to our knowledge, this could be the first ever detection of such a transition at any given frequency band. Detection of such a transition could also serve as a confirmation of massive star collapse scenario for GRB progenitors, independent of supernova signatures.Comment: 11 pages, 3 tables, 1 figure

Cotton Cultivating Marginalised Farmers’ Climate Change Perceptions, Impacts and Adaptation Strategies in Vidarbha Region, Central India

This study aimed to assess cotton cultivating marginalised farmers' climate change perceptions, impacts, and adaptation strategies in the Vidarbha region of Central India. Purposive sampling was carried out to identify 70 marginalised farmers from the study area in the year 2020. A specially designed and developed questionnaire was used as a tool to elicit information from the respondent. From the identified sample population, 14.28% are illiterate and 34.28% with primary education and 42.85% don't use a cell phone. Climate change perceptions of these farmers are well understood and clear and reported rain pattern change (100%), wind profile change (81.42%) and high atmospheric temperature (75.71%). Of the different causes responsible for climate change crop residue burning is considered as a major (97.14%). Impacts of climate change on agriculture in general is reported as crop production reduced (95.71%) > crop growth reduction (85.71%) > reduction in soil fertility (81.42%) > irrigation water scarcity (65.71%). Impacts on cotton cultivation in particular include increase in insect/pest attack (90%) > production reduced (62.85%) > crop quality deteriorated (32.85%). The cost of insecticide/pesticide use is increased by 21-40% whereas profit received is decreased (71.42%). Heatstroke is identified as a major (66.66%) impact on livestock and death due to it (23.33%). Farmers willingness for adaptation to new methods is in the order of irrigation (82.85%) > harvest (72.85%) > during sowing (67.14%) > crop growth (51.42%). Future climate change adaptation strategies include high yielding crop varieties (100%) > early maturing crop varieties (60%) > use of organic manure (52.85%) > irrigated crops (48.57%) > drought-resistant crop varieties (45.71%) > crop diversification (37.14%) > water use change (30%). The climate change-induced problems faced by these marginalised farmers are well defined and different from other farmer categories and needs a holistic approach to overcome them. Sustainable adaptation strategies emphasize on climate-smart agriculture is the need of the hour to pave the way for sustainable agriculture and sustainable livelihood. This may be perhaps the first study with this aim from the region. Keywords: Central India, Chandrapur, climate change, climate smart agriculture, cotton, marginalised farmers, Vidarbh

A Hierarchical Framework for Video-Based Human Activity Recognition Using Body Part Interactions

Human Activity Recognition (HAR) is an important field with diverse applications. However, video-based HAR is challenging because of various factors, such as noise, multiple people, and obscured body parts. Moreover, it is difficult to identify similar activities within and across classes. This study presents a novel approach that utilizes body region relationships as features and a two-level hierarchical model for classification to address these challenges. The proposed system uses a Hidden Markov Model (HMM) at the first level to model human activity, and similar activities are then grouped and classified using a Support Vector Machine (SVM) at the second level. The performance of the proposed system was evaluated on four datasets, with superior results observed for the KTH and Basic Kitchen Activity (BKA) datasets. Promising results were obtained for the HMDB-51 and UCF101 datasets. Improvements of 25%, 25%, 4%, 22%, 24%, and 30% in accuracy, recall, specificity, Precision, F1-score, and MCC, respectively, are achieved for the KTH dataset. On the BKA dataset, the second level of the system shows improvements of 8.6%, 8.6%, 0.85%, 8.2%, 8.4%, and 9.5% for the same metrics compared to the first level. These findings demonstrate the potential of the proposed two-level hierarchical system for human activity recognition applications

"Evaluation of The Public's Recognition, Approval, And Perspectives On Renewable Energy In Panvel"

This study addresses the critical role of public sentiment in shaping energy portfolios and policies, with a focus on the often-neglected grassroots perspectives in developing nations. Conducted in Panvel, the research surveyed 1000 respondents from urban and rural areas, revealing strong approval (73%) for renewable energy technologies and a widespread belief (91%) in their potential to reduce electricity costs. Emphasizing the need for a more inclusive energy policy approach, the study highlights a high level of awareness (69.5%) among Panvel residents. The findings underscore the importance of understanding public attitudes to inform effective and democratic energy policy formulation, shedding light on the significance of a holistic approach that considers both urban and rural perspectives. &nbsp

On a whale shark, Rhincodon typus Smith, landed at Dakti Dahanu and Gungwada, Thane, Maharashtra

On 21st December 1999, a whale shark Rhincodon typus Smith (Male) got entangled in a nylon gill net (locally called wagrajal) at about 0400 hrs., at a depth of 40M. was landed at Dakti Dahanu & Gangwada

Navigating the Evolution: A Comprehensive Analysis of Awareness in Contemporary TV Display Technologies

A display serves as a projecting mechanism that presents video content to the user through technologies such as cathode ray tube (CRT), liquid crystal display (LCD), light-emitting diode (LED), Organic light-emitting diode (OLED), or other projection methods. The global demand for intelligent displays has witnessed a substantial rise, primarily fueled by the increasing popularity of OLED-based devices and technology. Concurrently, the worldwide digital TV subscriptions surpassed one billion in 2017. In our investigation, we aimed to assess the awareness levels among individuals in both rural and urban areas regarding TV display technology. The findings reveal that approximately 79% of urban residents and 44% of rural inhabitants utilize a TV display compatible with their TV subscription. &nbsp

Design and Implementation of Fake Currency Detection System

In recent years, a lot of illegal counterfeiting rings manufacture and sell fake coins and at the same time fake note currency is printed as well, which have caused great loss and damage to the society. Thus it is imperative to be able to detect fake currency. We propose a new approach to detect fake Indian notes using their images. A currency image is represented in the dissimilarity space, which is a vector space constructed by comparing the image with a set of prototypes. Each dimension measures the dissimilarity between the image under consideration and a prototype. In order to obtain the dissimilarity between two images, the local key points on each image are detected and described. Based on the characteristics of the currency, the matched key points between the two images can be identified in an efficient manner. A post processing procedure is further proposed to remove mismatched key points. Due to the limited number of fake currency in real life, SVM is conducted for fake currency detection, so only genuine currency are needed to train the classifier

Tiger shark, Galeocerdo cuvieri landed at Sassoon Dock,Mumbai

Paper is reporting the morphometric measurements of a female tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvieri),pregnant, carrying 28 embryos was landed at Sassoon Dock –old fish landing center by gill net, operated at 35-45 kms of north –west of Mumbai coast at the depth of 30 to 35 meters