Use of plastic bottles as an alternative container type for propagation of forest tree seedlings in restoration programs

Deforestation and forest degradation is a global issue, especially in poor and developing regions of the world. In order to combat deforestation it is critical to enhance the productivity of forest restoration operations, which often involve planting of nursery-grown forest tree seedlings. Production of low quality stock types with deformed and spiraled root systems is a significant issue hindering successful restoration programs. Polybags (i.e., small plastic bags) are a common container type for seedling propagation in developing countries. However, polybags produce seedlings with spiraled and deformed root systems that reduce outplanting survival and performance. Use of discarded plastic water bottles could be a feasible alternative as a container type for seedling propagation in restoration programs. The overall objective of this study was to develop technology for repurposing discarded plastic beverage bottles to grow quality native plants, trees and shrubs to benefit agroforestry, reforestation, restoration, and conservation programs. Specific objectives for this study were accomplished in two separate experiments (CHAPTER 2): 1) Container Comparison Experiment - to compare root and shoot development of seedlings grown in plastic bottles, modern nursery containers, and polybags; and 2) Bottle Modification Experiment - to examine the effects of root spiraling control techniques and container opacity on seedling morphological attributes. ^ In the Container Comparison experiment, seedlings of two species, Afghan pine (Pinus eldarica Medw.) and Arizona walnut ( Juglans major [Toor.] Heller), were grown in four container types; Coca-Cola® beverage bottle (Coke), modern container Deepot™ D27 (D27), Polyethylene polybag (polybag), and Sam\u27s Club® water bottle (Sams). At the first sampling period in August, Arizona walnut seedling shoot height, shoot dry biomass, and root dry biomass were all significantly greater in D27 containers compared to Coke bottles and polybags, while Sams bottles did not differ among treatments. Afghan pine seedling shoot height was significantly greater for seedlings grown in the Sams bottles compared to polybags, while Coke bottles and D27 did not differ among treatments. Root fibrosity was greater for seedlings grown in both Coke and Sams bottles compared to D27 and polybags. Similarly, the number of lateral roots was greater in Coke bottles compared to D27 and polybag containers. At the final measurement period (November), significant differences among treatments were found for all root morphological responses; for both species, seedlings grown in plastic bottles and modern containers had significantly less spiraled roots compared to the polybag. Seedling shoot and root development in plastic bottles at the end of the growing season was equal to or greater than that of the modern container. First year field height and diameter of Arizona walnut and Afghan pine were similar among containers. Similarly, first year field survival of both species was not affected by container type and was 100% for both species. ^ In the Bottle Modification experiment, Afghan pine seedlings were grown in Coca-Cola® beverage bottle with three opacity levels (green, black, and clear) and three spiraling control methods (side-slits, internal-ridges, and control). There were no significant interactions between spiral prevention and opacity treatments except for algae growth inside the container walls; black containers with either of the spiral control treatments produced lower algae fresh weight compared to clear and green containers. Spiral control treatments had significant impacts on Afghan pine RCD; Side-slit containers produced greater RCD compare to control and internal ridge containers. Side-slit and internal-ridge containers produced significantly lower numbers of spiraled roots compared to control (solid-wall) containers. At the beginning of the growing season, container opacity had significant impacts on seedling shoot height; green and clear containers produced significantly taller shoots compared to black. At the end of the growing season, black containers produced seedlings with significantly more fibrous roots compared to green containers, but no differences were detected in comparison to clear bottles. There were no significant interactions between spiral prevention and opacity treatments for first year field height and diameter growth. Individually, both spiral prevention and opacity treatments had no significant influences on Afghan pine field height and diameter excepting opacity for height growth. Green containers produced seedlings with significantly greater field diameter than black, while clear was not different among them. ^ Based on this research, plastic bottle containers may provide an effective alternative for production of high quality seedlings; use of side-slits represents a feasible way to prevent root spiraling. Future research should examine alternative media types from locally available resources and the growth of a variety of native species in these bottle container types

Review of performance indicators of smart cities in India – Ease of Living Index: a case of Lucknow smart City

The objective of the paper is to understand the measurement approach of ‘Ease of Living’ concept of Smart Cities in India under the Smart City Mission with sample case of city of Lucknow of Uttar Pradesh. The city Lucknow was chosen for study, as sample case, being a city selected in the Indian Smart Cities Mission, a surprise selection under the smart city mission and good rank in ‘Ease of Living’ index results, both of which require merits in multidisciplinary aspects in a city and fitness of its development strategy. In this study of Lucknow city, it was observed that Ease of Living Index has few gaps in measuring the situation, as there is little clarity on ‘on ground’ situation from the index especially from perspective of strength and weakness of city. The study is to explore impact in ground realities as observed in the index results in weakest and strongest sector of city services

Combustion characteristics of rice bran oil biodiesel in an oil burner

The concept of biodiesel as an alternative fuel is not an overnight thought, but the escalating prices, pungent emission gases and non-ecological behavior of fossil fuels has constrained the researchers to take the necessary steps. Biodiesels which are renewable in nature and having environmental friendly attribute have shown the potential to be the perfect replacement for the diesel fuels. Similarly, this study demonstrates the characteristics of Rice Bran Oil (RBO) which can be used as a latent substitute for diesel products. RBO is a vegetable oil, which is extracted from the rice bran (by-product of rice grain). Since rice is the staple diet for more than half of the world population, the quantity of RBO that can be extracted is enormous. In this study, the converted RBO into biodiesel (RBOBD) was blended with diesel to produce B5, B15 and B25 to determine physical properties and combustion performance. Owing to highly packed molecules of RBOBD, the properties such as density, kinematic viscosity and surface tension are higher in RBOBD and its blends than diesel. In contrast, the calorific value is lower. In the combustion test, the highest wall temperature is achieved at stoichiometric fuel mixture, while among the fuels, the wall temperature decreases as the biodiesel proportion increases in the blends. Moreover, in B25, emissions such as CO and SO2 are 68% and 50% lower than that of diesel respectively. However, due to the additional oxygen present in the biodiesel structure, NOx emission of B25 is 15.67% higher than diesel

Negative Impacts of Mass Media on Social and Psychological life of Human Beings

Evidence gathered via this research clearly demonstrates that violence has been displayed through mass media, such as television, the internet, video games, mobile phones, and other computer networks, from the second half of the 20th century (1960). The likelihood of violent behavior in viewers' mentalities and social lives is increased by programs like war serials, pornographic flicks, and dramas that all depict such programs that are against the moral and ethical ideals of culture. As the violence in the real environment increases, they increase the risk of abuse. In the current review, the evidence of these studies has been critically evaluated, based on the social and psychological factors that have been developed. These elucidations show how the dangers of violence might have negative short- or long-term impacts. The level of impact of media violence is compared to a few other known social issues in order to assess how serious these risks are, how urgently they need to be addressed, and how to eradicate them. The fundamental function of the mass media in our society in the 20th and 21st centuries has been to impose certain beliefs on our culture and way of life, despite the fact that information and media are now seen as the fourth pillar of democracy. These days, it's easy to access and use violent programs, which have taken over our daily lives. They also experience mental and social problems as a result of the disruption of our social and psychological order system. Even the mainstream media has a big influence on the morals, attitudes, and behaviors of our young people

Reaping Demographic Dividend in Bangladesh: Challenges and Prospects

Demographic change in Bangladesh is opening up new economic opportunities As in many countries declining infant and child mortality helped to spark lower fertility effectively resulting in a temporary baby boom As this cohort moves into working ages Bangladesh finds itself with a potentially higher share of workers as compared with dependents If working-age people can be productively employed Bangladesh s economic growth stands to accelerate Theoretical and empirical literature on the effect of demographics on labor supply savings and economic growth underpin this effort to understand and forecast economic growth in Bangladesh Policy choices can potentiate Bangladesh s realization of economic benefits stemming from demographic change Failure to take advantage of the opportunities inherent in demographic change can lead to economic stagnatio

Evaluation of Grid Level Impacts of Electric Vehicles

Currently, most countries are looking to reduce their dependency on imported oil. The added advantage of reducing green house gas emissions and other pollutants has been strong reasons for the growing support for Electric Vehicles. As electric vehicles would be using the power grid to charge their batteries, there are prevalent doubts as to whether the existing power grid will be able to support the increase in load. It is of great interest to the electric utilities to evaluate the capability of the existing grid to withstand high electric vehicle penetration. The fact that there will be higher concentration of electric vehicles in affluent neighborhoods is of great concern. In this thesis, the impact of electric vehicle concentration is studied and the effects evaluated. The electric vehicle flow in the system is first modeled and the corresponding behavior is studied. This model is integrated into an agent-based simulation to model the demand curve of residential customers. Finally, the demand curve is used in a loss-of-life calculation of the transformer to evaluate the impact on the grid

A CLINICAL STUDY ON ADVERSE DRUG REACTIONS OF COMBINATION THERAPY OF DAPAGLIFLOZIN AND METFORMIN IN THE TREATMENT OF TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS

ABSTRACTObjective: This study aimed at determination of safety and efficacy of combination therapy of dapagliflozin and metformin in the treatment of Type2 diabetes mellitus.Methods: A total of 50 patients were enrolled in the study depending on demographic parameters and clinical data of the patients. The primaryefficacy criterion was the change in glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) after a minimum of 12 weeks of treatment. Secondary efficacy parameters wereHbA1c value after 12 weeks, fasting and 1 hrs postprandial glucose, serum insulin and triglyceride levels, after a standardized meal, all after 12 weeksof treatment. Safety and tolerability were evaluated by the incidence of adverse events reported by patients. Patient visits to the clinical center werescheduled at screening, start of the run-in period.Results: Reductions in levels of postprandial plasma glucose were observed in all the active treatment groups. The reductions in patients receivingmetformin plus dapagliflozin combination therapy were significantly greater (p<0.0001). It was clear that lower postprandial plasma insulin levelsdespite higher postprandial plasma glucose levels suggest decreased β-cell function. Changes in fasting serum insulin observed from baseline to theend of treatment did not differ significantly between metformin plus dapagliflozin combination therapy and metformin monotherapy and showed noconsistent trend.Conclusion: The results from the study suggest that the combination of the drugs was effective in controlling glycemic levels and also were safe. Noserious adverse drug reactions were reported by the patients when used daily once for 6 months.Keywords: Dapagliflozin, Metformin, Postprandial and glycemic

Cash-rich Firms and Carbon Emissions

We investigate whether corporate cash holdings affect carbon dioxide emissions. Using a sample of 5,402 firm-years observations from 943 U.S. firms during 2007–2017, we find that carbon emissions are lower in firms with higher corporate cash holdings. The effect of cash holdings on carbon emissions is more pronounced in firms with low leverage and less financial constraints. Our channel analysis further unveils that renewable energy consumption and carbon abatement investment are higher in cash-rich firms, which transmit lower carbon emissions. Our findings are robust to different identification strategies and alternative measures of cash holdings and carbon emissions. Overall, our paper provides novel evidence on the role of corporate cash holdings in mitigating carbon emissions

Reaping Demographic Dividend in Bangladesh: Challenges and Prospects

Demographic change in Bangladesh is opening up new economic opportunities As in many countries declining infant and child mortality helped to spark lower fertility effectively resulting in a temporary baby boom As this cohort moves into working ages Bangladesh finds itself with a potentially higher share of workers as compared with dependents If working-age people can be productively employed Bangladesh s economic growth stands to accelerate Theoretical and empirical literature on the effect of demographics on labor supply savings and economic growth underpin this effort to understand and forecast economic growth in Bangladesh Policy choices can potentiate Bangladesh s realization of economic benefits stemming from demographic change Failure to take advantage of the opportunities inherent in demographic change can lead to economic stagnatio