Measurement of thermal and electrical conductivities of graphene nanofluids

This paper was presented at the 3rd Micro and Nano Flows Conference (MNF2011), which was held at the Makedonia Palace Hotel, Thessaloniki in Greece. The conference was organised by Brunel University and supported by the Italian Union of Thermofluiddynamics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, University of Thessaly, IPEM, the Process Intensification Network, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the Heat Transfer Society, HEXAG - the Heat Exchange Action Group, and the Energy Institute.The current work experimentally investigates the thermal and electrical conductivities of nanofluids containing graphene sheets that have very high thermal conductivity. Here, the graphene is prepared from natural graphite by oxidation-reduction process through a single step method. The graphene nanofluid thus obtained exhibited greater stability even after six months of preparation without addition of any surfactants. The detailed characterization process involving TEM, UV absorption and DLS measurements revealed the well dispersed nature of nanofluid with sheets appropriately interconnected and entangled. The DLS measurement indicates a trimodal size distribution of graphene sheet ranging from 5nm to 1500nm. It was also found that the absorption peak of the sample was 269 nm. This reveals the complete reduction of graphene oxide to graphene and the value is in good agreement with the literature. The thermal conductivity is measured using the traditional Transient Hot Wire (THW) method and enhancements are substantial even at lower concentrations while such behaviour is not predicted by the classical Maxwell theory. The thermal conductivity of graphene nanofluids are measured for different concentrations of 0.01 - 0.2 volume % at different temperatures. It is observed that the thermal conductivity increases with increase in concentration of grapheme, which is as expected. The maximum enhancement obtained is 27% at 0.2% concentration. The enhancement also shows a strong temperature dependence which is unlike that of its carbon predecessors like CNT and graphene oxide nanofluids. Electrical conductivity is measured using a 4 cell conductivity meter with inbuilt automatic temperature compensation. Electrical conductivity enhancement is found to be linear with increase in graphene volume fraction

PARTICIPATORY FOREST MANAGEMENT IN ANDHRA PRADESH : A Review

This paper traces the recent emergence of the new participatory forest management regime in AP Joint Forest Management (JFM) and Community Forest Management (CFM). This paper is based on the existing literature on forest policies, the historical context (pre-colonial, colonial and post independent India), and impact studies. The paper considers the contemporary developments in India in shaping the forest policies in AP. At the same time it considers the significant role played by donors and civil society. The process and quality of implementation, and the impact of the programme on local communities and resources are also examined. AP ranks fifth in India in terms of geographical area (275,068 sq km), and third in terms of forestland (63,813 sq km or 6.38 mha (Million Hectares), which constitutes 23% of APs total land area. Some 65% of APs forest area is spread over 8 predominantly tribal districts in the northern part of the state. These tribal populations are particularly dependent on the forest for their livelihoods for forest product collection and cultivation on forestland. Historically the relationship between these tribals and the government agencies, particularly the Forest Department (FD), has been very poor, with numerous uprisings, including the Naxalite movement. Many of these lands are disputed due to inadequacies in the legal processes by which largely tribal lands were declared state forests. Legally podu has de jure status prior to 1980 Act. Post 1980 podu cultivation is illegal and considered as encroachment. De facto podu is considered as encroachment (prior to 1980) as there is no proper settlement, conceptually typical podu practice is seen only in a few pockets in the state, especially in Vishakhapatnam. In 1956, on the formation of AP from Telangana and parts of the Madras Presidency, the pre-existing forest management regimes from the two distinct areas were harmonised by the Law Commission, leading to the AP Forest Act, 1967. Initially the states FD continued with a policy of commercialisation and revenue generation. However, with a growing crisis of forest degradation participatory approaches were introduced. The Government Order (GO) for JFM in AP was issued in 1992, although implementation didnt start until 1994. JFM has built on the roles played by both local forest *Centre for Economic and Social Studies, Hyderabad, India. +Overseas Development Group, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK. users and the FD staff. Funding to the FD to promote JFM has come from both the World Bank (WB) and from centrally funded schemes, such as the Employment Assurance Scheme (EAS). Formation of Vana Samrakshana Samithies (VSS) began slowly after the GO, although by 2004 the official number stands at 7,245 VSS, managing 1,886,764 ha, (or over 29% of state forest land) and involving 611,095 families. The largest numbers of VSS are concentrated in the tribal areas of Adilabad, Visakhapatnam, and Khammam. The pattern of implementation and the outcomes is extremely complex, partly because of the wide variety of local conditions, ethnic and caste composition and local livelihood uses of forestland. The limited devolution of power which has occurred through VSS formation have however certainly been popular in many areas, because they have given local people endorsement to protect their local forest resources, upon which they depend for their livelihoods. Some employment opportunities have also been provided and some shares of revenues from forest product marketing are promised. Evidence suggests that the VSS have been successful in many areas in terms of regenerating degraded forests between 1993 and 1999. However there have been many criticisms of the JFM programme so far, most fundamentally focussing on the issues of power and land tenure. Because the FD has held almost complete discretionary power over the scheme and its implementation, the JFM process has inevitably reflected their objectives. Whilst many foresters have espoused very progressive ideas and concepts, in practice the implementation of the scheme has often furthered forest management strategy according to silvicultural norms, rather than local livelihood-oriented practices. In the context of a fundamental power asymmetry between the FD and the VSS., there has been little empowerment of local communities to take their own decisions with respect to forest management. This is most obviously seen in forest management plans. Whilst local people would like to see livelihood oriented forest management regime (ie. regular product flows, shorter term rotations, multiple product mixes) the FD has tended to prioritise its conventional forest management practices, often involving long rotation timber stands. The micro-plans commonly fit within wider divisional working plans. Livelihoods security could be increased if the forest resource were under a management plan, which actually prioritised local needs and opportunities. Institutional sustainability is a major problem in AP with many VSS becoming defunct due to conflict, lack of interest, or lack of funds. Where participation has been based on substantial funding flows, when the funds stop the motivation to participate reduces drastically. The institutional linkage between the VSS and the panchayat raj institutions has not been developed, which could ensure not only long-term sustainability, but also empowerment and legal independence of the local institutions. Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) have been largely excluded from the implementation of JFM, despite the fact they have played a major role in formulating the PFM policies at the state level.Forest Management, Andhra Pradesh

Edge Computing and Blockchain in Smart Agriculture Systems

The advancement of Internet-based technologies has made huge progress toward improving the accessibility of "smart agriculture." With the advent of unmanned and automatic management, smart agriculture is now able to accomplish monitoring, supervision, and real-time picture monitoring. It is not possible to know for sure that the data in a smart agriculture system is complete and secure from intrusion. This article investigates and assesses the potential of edge computing and blockchain for use in smart agriculture. We combine the advantages of blockchain technology and the edge computing framework to create a smart agriculture framework system that is based on a very straightforward analysis of the evolution of smart agriculture. The study proposes a thorough method for emphasizing the significance of agriculture and edge computing, as well as the advantages of incorporating blockchain technology in this context. This paper also proposes an intelligent agricultural product traceability system design: edge computing with blockchain for smart agriculture. The study concludes with a discussion of outstanding problems and difficulties that can arise during the creation of a blockchain-based edge computing system for smart agriculture systems

Nutritional properties of fillets from tra catfish (Pangasius Hypophthalmus)imported into EU

Pangasius (Pangasius hypophthalmus) is a catfish farmed in the Mekong delta region and commercialized in more than 70 countries as frozen or thawed fillet. The EU is the main market for pangasius from Vietnam, with about one third of imports in quantity and 40 per cent in value terms (225.000 tons in 2008). Within the EU, Spain is the biggest market. Pangasius has good marketing value also in Italy and it is rather appreciated by consumers due to its low price and low lipid content. Beside these benefits, few information about the real conditions of farming and the nutritional properties of its meat is available. The aim of the present work was to investigate the chemical and nutritional properties of pangasius fillets in order to provide a better information to the consumer. For this aim 83 samples of fillets were collected from the international fish market of Milan and from local retailers and were analyzed for their proximate composition, fatty acid profile, total phosphorus and additives content. Results showed that fillets were characterized by a high moisture (84.5\ub12.2%) and a low protein (12.6\ub12.2%) and lipid (1.4\ub10.7%) content. Moreover, the intramuscular lipids were characterized by a high percentage of saturated (43.0\ub12.1%) and monounsaturated (38.8\ub13.4%) fatty acids, and by a low percentage of polyunsaturated (18.2\ub14.5%) fatty acids. Among polyunsaturated, linoleic acid (18:2n-6) was the most representative fatty acid with a percentage of 8.9\ub11.6%. The chemical and nutritional properties of pangasius fillets differed from those of other farmed fish species, especially for their low content in n-3 fatty acids (4.0\ub11.8%)

p-Methoxy Azobenzene Terpolymer as a Promising Energy-Storage Liquid Crystal System

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS OKAZ, JH, and ARI would like to acknowledge the Sultan Qaboos University for its support through His Majesty’s Trust Fund for Strategic Research (SR/SCI/CHEM/18/01) and Internal Grant (IG/SCI/CHEM/21/03). SMA and NFKA would like to acknowledge Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education for the grant number 600-IRMI/FRGS 5/3 (374/2019). AMF would like to acknowledge the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland, for the Research Incentive Grant RIG008586, the Royal Society and Specac Ltd., for the Research Grant GS\R1\201397, the Royal Society of Chemistry for the award of a mobility grant (M19-0000), and the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Scottish Government, for the award of a SAPHIRE project.Peer reviewedPostprin

Cardiomyocyte-restricted overexpression of extracellular superoxide dismutase increases nitric oxide bioavailability and reduces infarct size after ischemia/reperfusion

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