The global groundwater situation: overview of opportunities and challenges

Groundwater offers us few but precious opportunities for alleviating the misery of the poor; but it poses manyԡnd dauntingԣhallenges of preserving the resource itself. A big part of the answer is massive initiatives to augment groundwater recharge in regions suffering depletion; but, in the ultimate analysis, these cannot work without appropriate demand-side interventions. The water vision of a world that future generations will inherit will have to be the one in which groundwater plays its full developmental, productive and environmental role but in a sustainable manner; and the framework of action to realize this vision will mean eschewing the current free-for-all in groundwater appropriation and use, and promoting a more responsible management of this precious resource that is easy to deplete or ruinԴhrough depletion, salinization and pollutionGroundwater resources, Groundwater depletion, Water scarcity, Water shortage, Poverty, Rural development, River basins, Sustainability, Waterlogging, Salinity, Aquifers, Water pollution, Pumps, Recharge, Water harvesting, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Environmental Economics and Policy, Food Security and Poverty,

Unsafe abortion: A cruel way of birth control

Background: Unsafe abortion refers to a procedure for terminating an unintended pregnancy performed either by persons lacking the necessary skills or in an environment that does not conform to minimal medical standards, or both.Objectives: The objectives of the study are to assess the factors  attributing to practice of unsafe abortion and to suggest feasible and cost-effective measures to counter the same.Methods: An extensive search of all materials related to the topic was made using library sources including Pubmed, Medline and World Health Organization. Keywords used in the search include unsafe abortion and unintended pregnancy.Results: Multiple socio-demographic determinants and barriers such as illiterate women, poor socio-economic status, poor awareness about  abortion services, associated stigma, and untrained health professionals have been identified resulting in restricted utilization/access of women to safe abortion services. Consequences of unsafe abortion have been  alarming, seriously questioning the quality of health care delivery system.Conclusion: Concerted and dedicated efforts of government in collaboration with the private sector, community members and non-governmental  organizations are needed to ensure that women have a better access to contraceptives, abortion services, and post-abortion care that are safe, affordable, and free from stigma.Keywords: Unsafe abortion, unintended pregnancy, Millennium development goals, Public healt

Process Analysis and Selection for The Production of P-Cumidine

P-cumidine is very important intermediate for many chemical and agrochemical industries. The product, Para cumidine is versatile chemical intermediate that has applications in dyes, pharmaceuticals, and herbicides. The major use of para cumidine as an intermediate in the manufacturing of isoproterenol which is a selective herbicide belonging to the family of substituted ureas and acts principally after root absorption, either pre-emergence or post-emergence. There are many different processes from which p-cumidine can be manufactured. But industrially used process is nitration of cumene followed by hydrogenation. The processes for manufacturing of p-cumidine are alkylation of aniline, nitration of cumene followed by hydrogenation, nitration of cumene followed by reduction using caustic lye and Sulphur. But industrially used process is nitration of cumene followed by hydrogenation

Geologic entropy with economic constraints predicts mineral prices

We propose a geologic entropy for describing the price of an element from its abundance. Maximizing a geologic entropy function under economic constraints using the Lagrange multiplier method yields specific predictions verifiable by data. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

Utility of kangaroo mother care in preterm and low birthweight infants

Preterm birth (< 37 completed weeks of gestation) is the largest direct cause of neonatal mortality, accounting for an estimated 27% of the 4-million neonatal deaths every year. Kangaroo mother care (KMC) is a type of care for preterm and premature infants whereby the infant is placed in an upright position against the parent’s chest, with early  skin-to-skin contact between the parent and infant. Mothers who practise KMC exhibit less maternal stress and fewer symptoms of depression, and have a better sense of the parenting role and more confidence in meeting their babies’ needs than those who don’t. Despite the apparent feasibility of KMC, currently, only a few preterm babies in low-income countries haveaccess to this intervention. Knowledge of the effectiveness and safety of KMC in the community and home setting, and its effects on growth, is still incomplete. Only one study has examined KMC initiation at home. There is an immense need for the promotion of research to improve the delivery of existing cost-effective interventions in low-resource settings and to address key gaps in knowledge. KMC improves growth in low birthweight and preterm infants, and has a significant role to play in protecting them from hypothermia and sepsis, as well as promoting exclusive breastfeeding. KMC helps to reduce neonatal mortality, and inculcates confidence and a better sense of parenting in mothers with regard to their babies’ needs

Aperiodicity Correction for Rotor Tip Vortex Measurements

The initial roll-up of a tip vortex trailing from a model-scale, hovering rotor was measured using particle image velocimetry. The unique feature of the measurements was that a microscope was attached to the camera to allow much higher spatial resolution than hitherto possible. This also posed some unique challenges. In particular, the existing methodologies to correct for aperiodicity in the tip vortex locations could not be easily extended to the present measurements. The difficulty stemmed from the inability to accurately determine the vortex center, which is a prerequisite for the correction procedure. A new method is proposed for determining the vortex center, as well as the vortex core properties, using a least-squares fit approach. This approach has the obvious advantage that the properties are derived from not just a few points near the vortex core, but from a much larger area of flow measurements. Results clearly demonstrate the advantage in the form of reduced variation in the estimated core properties, and also the self-consistent results obtained using three different aperiodicity correction methods

Mathematical Analysis of Tumor-Immune Interactions based on Michaelis-Menten Kinetics with CAR-T Immunotherapy

In this paper, we study the dynamics of tumor growth under immune system surveillance with a mathematical model based on Michaelis-Menten kinetics. In our three-component differential equation system, we accounted for the factor of immunotherapy, its effect on tumor population, and synergy with immune cells. CAR-T, or Chimeric Antigen Receptor T cell, therapy is chosen to be incorporated into the model as a form of immunotherapy due to its promising clinical applications. The stability of the steady-state equilibria of the system is analyzed with parameters from referred sources, and the various patterns of dynamics are demonstrated through numerical simulations. The analysis shows different outcomes of the tumor population given different parameters and initial values, which provides insights into the clinical practicability of CAR-T treatment. Earlier stages of tumor progression at which therapy begins, a critical time frame of therapeutic injection to prevent tumor relapse, and improvement of antigen affinity of the receptors are found to be factors that can enhance CAR-T efficiency and cancer patients' life span. For further analysis, we also propose an expanded system to investigate the potential off-target toxic effects of CAR-T cells on normal host cells. Our instability results and oscillating numerical patterns  suggest non-cooperation between the cell types, posing potential clinical challenges to the therapy

Geochemistry of Neoproterozoic limestones of the Shahabad Formation, Bhima Basin, Karnataka, Southern India

Major, trace and rare earth element (REE) geochemistry of carbonate rocks of the Neoproterozoic Shahabad Formation, Southern India were studied in order to investigate the depositional environment and source for the REEs. The PAAS (Post Archaean Australian Shale) normalized REE + Y pattern of Shahabad limestones have consistent seawater-like pattern i.e., i) LREE depletion (average (Nd/Yb)SN = 0.64 ± 0.08), ii) negative Ce anomaly, iii) positive Gd anomaly (average GdSN/Gd* = 1.05 ± 0.16), iv) superchondritic Y/Ho ratio (average Y/Ho = 38.13 ± 21.35). The depletion of LREE and enrichment of HREE are clearly indicated by the (La/Yb)SN, (Dy/Yb)SN and (Nd/Yb)SN ratios, which suggest the retention of seawater characteristics in these limestones. The negative Ce anomaly reflects the incorporation of REE directly from seawater or from the pore water under oxic condition, and also reveals the mixing of two-component systems with terrigenous clay (detrital) in the marine sediments. The terrigenous input in these limestones is confirmed by positive correlation of ΣREE with Al2O3, negative correlation of ΣREE with CaO and differences in Y/Ho ratios. V, Cr, and Sc, are positively correlated with Ti, and strong positive correlation of ΣREE with Fe2O3, Ni, Cr, Sc, and Y also indicate the presence of terrigenous materials in the Shahabad limestones

A laser obstacle detection and avoidance system for manned and unmanned aircraft applications

This paper presents the key design features, the numerical simulations and the experimental ground/flight test activities performed to verify the functionalities of an obstacle detection and avoidance system suitable for various classes of manned and unmanned aircraft. The Laser Obstacle Avoidance and Monitoring (LOAM) system is proposed as one of the key non-cooperative sensors adopted for avoiding obstacles/intruders in the context of a future Sense-and-Avoid (SAA) capability. After a brief description of the system architecture and of the main data processing algorithms, avoidance trajectory generation and performance estimation models are described. A simulation of the avoidance trajectory generation algorithm is performed in a realistic scenario. Additionally, a brief overview of ground and flight test activities performed on various platforms and their main results is also presented. Some of the key aspects of the LOAM Human Machine Interface and Interaction (HMI2) design are also outlined. The demonstrated detection and avoidance performances and the robust trajectory generation algorithm ensure a safe avoidance of all classes of obstacles (i.e. ground and aerial) in all weather conditions and flight phases

Low-cost sensors based multi-sensor data fusion techniques for RPAS navigation and guidance

In order for Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) to coexist seamlessly with manned aircraft in non-segregated airspace, enhanced navigational capabilities are essential to meet the Required Navigational Performance (RNP) levels in all flight phases. A Multi-Sensor Data Fusion (MSDF) framework is adopted to improve the navigation capabilities of an integrated Navigation and Guidance System (NGS) designed for small-sized RPAS. The MSDF architecture includes low-cost and low weight/volume navigation sensors suitable for various classes of RPAS. The selected sensors include Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) based Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) and Vision Based Sensors (VBS). A loosely integrated navigation architecture is presented where an Unscented Kalman Filter (UKF) is used to combine the navigation sensor measurements. The presented UKF based VBS-INS-GNSS-ADM (U-VIGA) architecture is an evolution of previous research performed on Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) based VBS-INS-GNSS (E-VIGA) systems. An Aircraft Dynamics Model (ADM) is adopted as a virtual sensor and acts as a knowledge-based module providing additional position and attitude information, which is pre-processed by an additional/local UKF. The E-VIGA and U-VIGA performances are evaluated in a small RPAS integration scheme (i.e., AEROSONDE RPAS platform) by exploring a representative cross-section of this RPAS operational flight envelope. The position and attitude accuracy comparison shows that the E-VIGA and U-VIGA systems fulfill the relevant RNP criteria, including precision approach in CAT-II. A novel Human Machine Interface (HMI) architecture is also presented, whose design takes into consideration the coordination tasks of multiple human operators. In addition, the interface scheme incorporates the human operator as an integral part of the control loop providing a higher level of situational awareness