Maintenance of Neighbourhood Parks.: Perspective from Resident Welfare Association Presidents in East Delhi, India.

Urban green spaces such as neighbourhood parks and playgrounds hold significance because they offer services and benefits related to human health and wellbeing. Despite recognition of these services by scientists, conservationists, and policy makers, these spaces in many urban areas face pressure and threat to their presence. Especially in developing countries where urban green spaces are inadequately managed, and often encroached upon, thus resulting in loss of quality. While local authorities have historically been responsible for managing urban green spaces, lately there is an increased involvement of citizens in green space management. It is therefore relevant to study how citizens contribute to managing these spaces and ensure their continuity and quality. The study here follows the Open Space Strategic Management approach, described as a complex process comprising of three different levels: strategic–formulation of policy, objectives, and targets; tactical– formulation of time bound plans; and operational–actual actions on these plans to maintain and upkeep the space. The conceptual approach has been operationalised to the area of East Delhi, citing Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) as a working example of the citizen organisation responsible for green space management. The research specifically focuses on the operational level and tries to explore their contribution towards the maintenance of these spaces. For this purpose, interviews were conducted with the presidents of these organizations (N=34), and information was collected about the actions undertaken by RWAs that constitute as green space maintenance, and their subsequent perceived influence on the green space quality. The findings suggest that for East Delhi, action such as arrangement of financial support in taking care of the local space is a major contribution by the RWAs that have higher influence on the perceived quality of space in terms of being visually appealing. Other actions such as providing guidance, raising up park related issues, and manual help have selective effect on the space being perceived as of good quality in terms of aspects such as user safety, cleanliness in the park space, and in creation of recreational opportunity in the green space for all users. The results from this study will contribute towards the body of literature on role of local citizens and citizen organizations taking part in management of smaller green spaces. The outcomes of this study can be utilized for recommending a comprehensive participatory strategy and design guidelines for green space management in the study area, especially for smaller spaces such as neighborhood parks. This should also contribute towards creation of knowledge to work towards achieving safe, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable green spaces as mentioned in UN Sustainable Goal 11, and the New Urban Agenda.:1. Introduction 3 1.1. Background 3 1.2. Problem 5 1.3. Structure of the thesis 8 1.4. Intended audience 9 2. Literature Review 11 2.1. Urban Green Spaces 12 2.1.1. Multi-functionality of Green Spaces: Ecosystem Services 24 2.2. Green Spaces and the New Urban Agenda 26 2.3. Green Spaces in Delhi- planning and design 29 2.3.1. Planning: Master Plan of Delhi 30 2.3.2. Design: CPWD landscape guidelines 40 2.3.3. The Delhi Preservation of Trees Act, 1994. 41 2.3.4. Gaps in provision 41 2.4. Urban Green Space Management 42 2.4.1. Global Management approaches 42 2.4.2. Green Space Management in Delhi 49 2.5. Theoretical framework 52 2.5.1. Maintenance of green spaces 53 2.6. Summary of the chapter 57 3. Research Hypothesis 59 3.1. Working hypotheses 61 4. Study Area 65 4.1. East Delhi District 68 4.1.1. Civic Boundaries 68 4.1.2. Colony Structure 70 4.1.3. Land Use Pattern 73 4.2. Target group 75 4.3. Summary of the chapter 78 5. Methodological Approach 79 5.1. Survey Interviews 79 5.2. Sampling 80 5.3. Questionnaire Design 82 5.4. Data collection 83 5.4.1. Field work preparation 83 5.4.2. In the Field 84 5.5. Data Analysis 85 5.6. Validity, Reliability and Objectivity of results 86 5.7. Limitations 87 5.8. Summary of the chapter 89 6. Results 91 6.1. Descriptive results 91 6.1.1. Age Category 91 6.1.2. Work Situation 92 6.1.3. Highest level of education received 93 6.1.4. RWA functioning 93 6.1.5. Preferred way of contribution to the maintenance process 97 6.1.6. Preferred reason for involvement in the maintenance process 100 6.1.7. Perceived condition of the local green space 102 6.1.8. Perceived condition of their local green space in terms of safety 106 6.1.9. Desired Improvements to the local park 109 6.2. Hypothesis Testing and Measure of Association 112 6.2.1. Functionality of the equipment for creation of recreational opportunity 112 6.2.2. Cleanliness 115 6.2.3. Upkeep of vegetation 118 6.2.4. Safety 120 6.2.5. Perceived quality 123 6.3. Summary of the results 125 7. Discussion 129 7.2. Resident Welfare Association an example of active citizenship 129 7.3. RWA as a care taker of the local green spaces 131 7.4. Influence of RWA actions on the local green space 135 8. Conclusion 137 8.1. RWA perspective to maintenance 137 8.2. Implications for Green Space Development 139 8.3. Future Research 143 8.4. Theoretical Implications 144 8.5. Contribution of this thesis 146 8.5.1. Contribution to gap in literature 146 8.5.2. Contribution to Landscape Architecture 147 8.5.3. Contribution to Policy Development 147 9. Bibliography 149 Appendix A: Questionnaire 175 Section A: Description of Resident Welfare Association 175 Section B: Involvement in maintenance of local green spaces 177 Section C: Outcomes of RWA actions and activity on the quality of local green space 180 Appendix B 185 Invite 185 Support Letter 186 Appendix C 187 Table depicting administrative structure in territory if Delhi 187 Civil Society in Delhi: Bhagidari 188 Appendix D: Maps of sub areas under East district 189 Appendix E: Examples of Citizen Participation in other cities in India. 191 Appendix F: Statistical Test Values 193 Appendix G 19

Chemically cross-linked poly(acrylic-co-vinylsulfonic) acid hydrogel for the delivery of isosorbide mononitrate.

We report synthesis, characterization, and drug release attributes of a series of novel pH-sensitive poly(acrylic-co-vinylsulfonic) acid hydrogels. These hydrogels were prepared by employing free radical polymerization using ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) and benzyl peroxide (BPO) as cross-linker and initiator, respectively. Effect of acrylic acid (AA), polyvinylsulfonic acid (PVSA), and EGDMA on prepared hydrogels was investigated. All formulations showed higher swelling at high pHs and vice versa. Formulations containing higher content of AA and EGDMA show reduced swelling, but one with higher content of PVSA showed increased swelling. Hydrogel network was characterized by determining structural parameters and loaded with isosorbide mononitrate. FTIR confirmed absence of drug polymer interaction while DSC and TGA demonstrated molecular dispersion of drug in a thermally stable polymeric network. All the hydrogel formulations exhibited a pH dependent release of isosorbide mononitrate which was found to be directly proportional to pH of the medium and PVSA content and inversely proportional to the AA contents. Drug release data were fitted to various kinetics models. Results indicated that release of isosorbide mononitrate from poly(AA-co-VSA) hydrogels was non-Fickian and that the mechanism was diffusion-controlled

Chitosan/Poly (vinyl alcohol) Based Hydrogels for Biomedical Applications: A Review

The present review aims to give a closer look of hydrogels based on chitosan and poly (vinyl alcohol) and to discuss their potential biomedical applications in drug delivery system. Various investigations based on chitosan/poly (vinyl alcohol) carried out recently by researchers have been reported in this review. Moreover different chemical and physical crosslinking methods used for hydrogels formulations have been summarized and discussed in this overview. Different characterization tools including Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and rheological analysis used by researchers have also been reported in this review. Keywords: Hydrogels, Chitosan, Poly (vinyl alcohol), Physical crosslinking, Chemical crosslinkin

Cloud-Connected Wireless Holter Monitor Machine with Neural Networks Based ECG Analysis for Remote Health Monitoring

This study describes the creation of a wireless, transportable Holter monitor to improve the accuracy of cardiac disease diagnosis. The main goal of this study is to develop a low-cost cardiac screening system suited explicitly for underprivileged areas, addressing the rising rates of cardiovascular death. The suggested system includes a wireless Electrocardiogram (ECG) module for real-time cardiac signal gathering using attached electrodes, with data transfer made possible by WiFi to a cloud server for archival and analysis. The system uses a neural network model for automated ECG classification, concentrating on the identification of cardiac anomalies. The diagnostic performance of cardiologist-level ECG analysis is surpassed by our upgraded deep neural network architecture, which underwent thorough evaluation and showed a stunning accuracy rate of more than 88\%. A quick, accurate, and reasonably priced option for cardiac screening is provided by this ground-breaking technology, which smoothly merges wireless data transfer with AI-assisted diagnostics. In addition to providing a thorough overview of the development process, this paper also highlights methods used to improve model accuracy, such as data preparation, class imbalance correction using oversampling, and model fine-tuning. The work shows the viability of a comprehensive remote cardiac screening system powered by AI and maximising the use of wearable and cloud computing resources. Such cutting-edge remote health monitoring technologies have great promise for improved health outcomes and early identification, especially in resource-constrained countries

Best Management Practices to Minimize Nitrate Leaching for Irrigated Potatoes

Nitrate nitrogen (N03-N) leaching is becoming an alarming threat to ground water in many areas in the U.S. In one study in North Carolina, over 9000 domestic wells were sampled for nitrate. Over 3 percent (288 wells) contained N03-N at levels exceeding the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) safe drinking water standard of 10 mgIL (Jennings, et aI., 1991). Ground water quality concerns in central Nebraska surfaced in the mid 1950s when scientists observed increasing N03-N concentrations in the ground water of some river valleys (Olson et aI., 1962). In Utah also, excessive N03-N contamination has been found in private wells. This is a concern because ground water is the major rural source of domestic water in Utah

Dengue outbreak in Bhilai, Chhattisgarh: Entomological investigation and community awareness

Dengue is the most common arboviral infection worldwide. This study aimed to determine the entomological and community-related factors involved in dengue spread during the outbreak in Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, 2018. This was a cross-sectional study. The household survey was done to find out the vector responsible for disease transmission and favourable breeding containers. Susceptibility of larvae towards the larvicide being used was carried out. A questionnaire-based survey was undertaken to find out the awareness of residents in the area towards dengue. House index, Container index, and Breteau index were 92.31, 33.14 and 123.34, respectively. Larvae were susceptible to the larvicide being used by the local health department. A high number of wet containers available were contributing to high vector breeding. Community awareness was low in the affected area. Water storage practices and conducive climatic conditions lead to increased vector breeding

Hydrogel Drug Delivery System (HDDS): Contribution by Pakistani Researchers

Hydrogels are hydrophilic polymeric networks that are able to swell and retain large amounts of water or biological fluids. Hydrogels work well in the body because they mimic the natural structure of the body’s cellular makeup. As a result of this, the area of hydrogel research has expanded dramatically in the recent years, primarily because they perform well for biomedical applications (Kunzler et al., 2003). Recent advances in the use of hydrogels have led to the potential to design artificial organs, deliver drugs to specific sites in the body in a controlled fashion and fabricate the extended wear contact lenses (Lin and Metters, 2006); Hoare and Kohane, 2008). Hydrogels can absorb water nearly 10-20 times its molecular weight and hence become swollen. Their affinity to absorb water is attributed to the presence of hydrophilic groups such as –OH, –CONH–, –CONH2–, and –SO3H in polymers forming hydrogel structures (Peppas et al., 2000). Hydrogel technologies may be broadly applied to wound dressings (Azad et al., 2004), superabsorbent, barrier materials to regulate biological adhesions, biosensor devices, tissue engineering and regenerative medicines, diagnostics and separation of biomolecules or cells and pharmaceuticals (Kumar et al., 2008). Hydrogels may be classified as natural or synthetic depending on the nature of their origin

Impact of Liquidity Management and Macroeconomic Determinants on Bank's Profitability in the Jordanian Commercial Banks

The aim of this research is to check the impact of the liquidity management and macroeconomic determinants on profitability of commercial banks in the Jordan. Liquidity management and macroeconomic determinants are independent variables and profitability is dependent variable. The secondary data has been  used for this study and has been taken from published annual reports of six Jordanian commercial banks during the time period 2009–2016.The data has been analyzed by using correlation, descriptive statistics and regression techniques through E-views. Six banks have been choosen to express on the whole Jordanian commercial banks. Liquidity management is measured through capital ratio, liquid ratio, investment ratio, assets quality ratio and current ratio. Macroeconomic determinants include real gross domestic product and inflation and data for these variables is obtained from CIA world fact book. Profitability is measured through return on assets and return on equity. The results of this study found that the capital ratio has significant relationship with banks profitability. While, liquid ratio, investment ratio, current ratio and assets quality ratio has insignificant relationship with banks profitability. With regard to macroeconomic determinants real gross domestic product has significant relationship and inflation has positive and insignificant relationship with profitability of Jordanian commercial banks. Overall our research findings will help the bank managers and investment managers in devising their liquidity management strategies. Keywords: Liquidity management, Macroeconomic determinants and Banks profitability

Methods of synthesis of hydrogels … A review

AbstractHydrogels are being investigated recently for the bioactive molecules (in particular pharmaceutical proteins) controlled release, such as matrices, and for the living cells encapsulation. Biodegradable nature of hydrogels has created much interest for drug delivery systems. The original three-dimensional structure disintegrates into nontoxic substances to ascertain an excellent biocompatibility of the gel. Chemical cross-linking is the highly resourceful method for the formation of hydrogels having an excellent mechanical strength. Cross-linkers used in hydrogel preparation should be extracted from the hydrogels before use due to their reported toxicity. Physically cross-linked methods for preparation of hydrogel are the alternate solution of cross-linker toxicity

Sumoylation regulates the stability and nuclease activity of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Dna2

Dna2 is an essential nuclease-helicase that acts in several distinct DNA metabolic pathways including DNA replication and recombination. To balance these functions and prevent unscheduled DNA degradation, Dna2 activities must be regulated. Here we show that Saccharomyces cerevisiae Dna2 function is controlled by sumoylation. We map the sumoylation sites to the N-terminal regulatory domain of Dna2 and show that in vitro sumoylation of recombinant Dna2 impairs its nuclease but not helicase activity. In cells, the total levels of the non-sumoylatable Dna2 variant are elevated. However, non-sumoylatable Dna2 shows impaired nuclear localization and reduced recruitment to foci upon DNA damage. Non-sumoylatable Dna2 reduces the rate of DNA end resection, as well as impedes cell growth and cell cycle progression through S phase. Taken together, these findings show that in addition to Dna2 phosphorylation described previously, Dna2 sumoylation is required for the homeostasis of the Dna2 protein function to promote genome stability