Environmental regulation and development : a cross-country empirical analysis

The authors develop comparative indices of environmental policy and performance for 31 countries using a quantified analysis of reports prepared for the United Nations Conference on Environmental and Development. In cross-country regressions, they find a very strong, continuous association between their indicators and national income per capita, particularly when adjusted for purchasing power parity. Their results suggest a characteristic progression in development. Poor agrarian economies focus first on natural resource protection. With increased urbanization and industrialization, countries move from initial regulation of water pollution to air pollution control. The authors highlight the importance of institutional development. Environmental regulation is more advanced in developing countries with relatively secure property rights, effective legal and judicial systems, and efficient public administration.Public Health Promotion,Environmental Economics&Policies,Health Economics&Finance,Agricultural Research,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Health Economics&Finance,Agricultural Research,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Governance

Assessment of Urban Expansion and Associated Spatial Transformation of Chandannagar City, West Bengal

The Chandannagar city, as a former French colony and a historic trading centre, has witnessed a steady growth throughout the French colonial era, and the process is still in action even today. Such urban extension has altered the land use/cover (LULC) fabric both in the core and fringe areas by transforming the natural landscape. The prime goals of the study are to assess the magnitude of urban expansion of the city from 1991 to 2016 and its consequent spatial transformation by using geospatial techniques. Three indices, that is, Built-up Index (BUI), Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Modified Normalised Difference Water Index (MNDWI) are employed to perceive the spatio-temporal dynamics of LULC from the remotely sensed data. Annual Growth Rate (AGR) and Land Use Integrated Index (LDI) are used to evaluate the rate, magnitude, and nature of changes. The results reveal that the rapid increase in built-up area from 7.9 sq. Km. in 1991 to 14.45 sq. Km. in 2016 has transformed nearly 51.52% of the non-forest vegetation covers and 58.18% of the water bodies of the city during the observation period

Visualization of Exon Junction Complex (EJC) and related factors at transcription sites of Drosophila polytene chromosomes

It was long believed that cytoplasmic events like translation and mRNA degradation are not linked to nuclear events such as pre-mRNA splicing. However, current observation indicates that nucleus/cytoplasm communication is mediated by the exon junction complex (EJC), a multiprotein complex deposited during splicing in the nucleus. The consensus is that the EJC is deposited exclusively on spliced mRNA, 20-24 nucleotides upstream of the exon-exon junction. Splicing appears to deposit the EJC similarly in $Drosophila$ $melanogaster$, yet it has also been reported that, in contrast to mammalian cells, the EJC might be required for splicing, suggestive an earlier association with pre-mRNA. My PhD project aimed to visualize the assembly of the EJC on nascent RNA at polytene chromosome transcription sites. The main conclusion of these studies is that, contrary to current predictions, EJC components are recruited at transcription sites corresponding to both intron-containing and intron-less genes. A similar conclusion was reached in $Drosophila$ S2 cells, where chromatin immunoprecipitation coupled with high-throughput sequencing (ChIP-seq) data indicates, the core EJC protein Y14 associates to transcription sites independently of the gene having introns. Additionally, in a parallel projects my data also suggest that ribosomal proteins and UPF1 also associate with Pol II transcription sites

Unutarsezonska varijabilnost naoblake nad indijskim potkontinentom tijekom monsunske sezone na temelju mjerenja oborine radarom TRMM

The intra-seasonal variability of the Indian summer monsoon, which manifests in the form of “active” and “break” phases in rainfall, is investigated with respect to the variability of the convective and stratiform precipitating cloud pattern over the region. Long period data from TRMM PR satellite (2A23 and 3B42 datasets) for the monsoon season of 2002 to 2010 over the Indian subcontinent is used for this purpose. The study reveals that the most significant spatial variation in convective and stratiform cloud amount in relation to the active and break phase occurs over the monsoon trough region in central India. The active phase is characterized by positive convective (~5%) and stratiform (~20%) precipitating cloud anomalies over this region. However, the maximum of the former precedes the latter by 1–2 days leading up to the active phase, indicating that the stratiform build up, is due to the gradual organization of the convective cloud systems over the region. The days leading up to the break phase are marked by negative anomalies in the convective and stratiform fractions of cloudiness over this region, which are in phase with each other, unlike the lead-up to the active phase. Analysis of the pattern of atmospheric heat source and sinks over the region from the NCEP–NCAR re-analysis data indicates that the engine for the growth/decay of convection over the monsoon trough region lies primarily in the Bay of Bengal and adjacent east India. The active phase is preceded by a heating pattern that promotes large scale, organized convective cloud growth over the Bay of Bengal preceding the actual onset, while the heating pattern leading up to the break phase promotes the formation of isolated convective clouds and decay of cloud organization over the monsoon trough region.U radu je ispitana unutarsezonska varijabilnost indijskog ljetnog monsuna, koja se očituje izmjenom „aktivnih“ faza i faza „stanke“ u polju oborine, obzirom na varijabilnost konvektivne i stratiformne naoblake nad razmatranim područjem. U tu su svrhu analizirane monsunske sezone nad indijskim potkontinentom za razdoblje od 2002. do 2010. godine na temelju dugačkog niza podataka dobivenih pomoću satelita TRMM PR (podaci 2A23 i 3B42). Pokazano je da se najznačajnije prostorne promjene konvektivne i stratiformne naoblake povezane s aktivnom fazom i fazom stanke javljaju u području monsunske doline u polju tlaka zraka nad središnjom Indijom. Aktivnu fazu karakteriziraju pozitivne anomalije konvektivne (~5%) i stratiformne (~20%) naoblake. Međutim, maksimum konvektivne naoblake prethodi maksimumu stratiformne naoblake i javlja se 1–2 dana prije nastupa same aktivne faze, što ukazuje na to da do porasta stratiformne naoblake dolazi zbog postepenog organiziranja sustava konvektivne naoblake nad razmatranim područjem. Fazi stanke prethode dani s negativnim anomalijama konvektivne i stratiformne naoblake nad razmatranim područjem, a njihov je razvoj istovremen za razliku od aktivne faze, kojoj prethode pozitivne anomalije konvektivne naoblake. Analiza polja atmosferskih izvora i ponora topline na temelju podataka NCEP-NCAR reanalize ukazala je na Bengalski zaljev i istočnu Indiju kao područja s glavnim uzročnicima porasta/smanjenja konvekcije u području monsunske doline u polju tlaka zraka. Aktivnoj fazi prethodi raspodjela izvora i ponora topline, koja podržava razvoj sustava velike skale, te sustavni porast konvektivne naoblake nad Bengalskim zaljevom, koji prethodi njenom samom početku, dok fazi stanke prethodi takva raspodjela izvora i ponora topline koja podržava razvoj izoliranih konvektivnih oblaka i potiskuje organizirano formiranje sustava oblaka nad područjem monsunske doline u polju tlaka zraka

Quantum Nonlocality: Multi-copy Resource Inter-convertibility & Their Asymptotic Inequivalence

Quantum nonlocality, pioneered in Bell's seminal work and subsequently verified through a series of experiments, has drawn substantial attention due to its practical applications in various protocols. Evaluating and comparing the extent of nonlocality within distinct quantum correlations holds significant practical relevance. Within the resource theoretic framework this can be achieved by assessing the inter-conversion rate among different nonlocal correlations under free local operations and shared randomness. In this study we, however, present instances of quantum nonlocal correlations that are incomparable in the strongest sense. Specifically, when starting with an arbitrary many copies of one nonlocal correlation, it becomes impossible to obtain even a single copy of the other correlation, and this incomparability holds in both directions. Remarkably, these incomparable quantum correlations can be obtained even in the simplest Bell scenario, which involves two parties, each having two dichotomic measurements setups. Notably, there exist an uncountable number of such incomparable correlations. Our result challenges the notion of a 'unique gold coin', often referred to as the 'maximally resourceful state', within the framework of the resource theory of quantum nonlocality, which has nontrivial implications in the study of nonlocality distillation.Comment: 4+2 pages and 2 figures. Comments are welcom

Challenges and Prospects of Apple Cultivation in Himachal Pradesh

The present endeavour aims to ascertain the current status and recent challenges of apple cultivation in Kinnaur district, Himachal Pradesh and to explore the prospects by framing suitable strategies through quantitative SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) and QSPM (Quantitative Strategic Planning Matrix) analysis. A total of 32 factors encompassing 20 internal [10 Strengths (S) and 10 Weakness (W)] and 12 external [6 Opportunities (O) and 6 Threats (T)] factors have been identified through empiric investigation and interaction with the stakeholders. Internal Factor Evaluation (IFE) and External Factor Evaluation (EFE) matrices have revealed that favourable agro-climatic conditions (S1, 3.60) and prevalence of diseases of the plants (W5, 3.6) are the most prioritised internal strength and weaknesses. At the same time, the establishment of adequate cold storage facilities (O5, 3.6) and recent changes in the prevailing climate (T1, 2.25) comprise the most concerning external opportunities and threats in the area, respectively. The results further reveal that implementing a well-managed gardening system and developing of infrastructural facilities (WT1, 124.7) may become the qualified alternative action plan to cope with the negative determinants. The establishment and expansion of apple orchard-based food processing units and tourism activities (SO2, 95%) may be considered the most suitable positive (SO) strategy to ensure further prosperity of apple production, which has been supported by most of the respondents. Adapting such a strategy will enrich the horticulture economy and promote the sustainable development of apple farming in the district

A Grid Computing Based Power System Monitoring Tool Using Gridgain

With the advancement of civilization, Power Sector is undergoing drastic upheavals. With the ever increasing demand and dependence on electric power, protection of power system against failures remains a major challenge, particularly against cascading failures that lead to blackouts. There is a great demand for power systems protection that is scattered all around the globe. Effective monitoring of the power system parameters is a prerequisite in providing effective control and protection schemas. This paper advocates the use of grid computing in power system monitoring which discusses the suitability of grid computing to address the requirements of distinguished power system protection. Albeit, the Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) system is presently implied for monitoring power systems; yet it has its limitations. This paper proposes to use Grid Computing as an aid to the existing SCADA based power system monitoring & control framework and demonstrates is applicability by means of a grid based real-time power system monitoring system. The afore mentioned system has been deployed in desktop computers with GridGain 2.0 as middleware has been employed to set up the grid environment, all relevant details of the design framework has been shown

Standing Waves in a Non-linear 1D Lattice : Floquet Multipliers, Krein Signatures, and Stability

We construct a class of exact commensurate and incommensurate standing wave (SW) solutions in a piecewise smooth analogue of the discrete non-linear Schr\"{o}dinger (DNLS) model and present their linear stability analysis. In the case of the commensurate SW solutions the analysis reduces to the eigenvalue problem of a transfer matrix depending parametrically on the eigenfrequency. The spectrum of eigenfrequencies and the corresponding eigenmodes can thereby be determined exactly. The spatial periodicity of a commensurate SW implies that the eigenmodes are of the Bloch form, characterised by an even number of Floquet multipliers. The spectrum is made up of bands that, in general, include a number of transition points corresponding to changes in the disposition of the Floquet multipliers. The latter characterise the different band segments. An alternative characterisation of the segments is in terms of the Krein signatures associated with the eigenfrequencies. When one or more parameters characterising the SW solution is made to vary, one occasionally encounters collisions between the band-edges or the intra-band transition points and, depending on the the Krein signatures of the colliding bands or segments, the spectrum may stretch out in the complex plane, leading to the onset of instability. We elucidate the correlation between the disposition of Floquet multipliers and the Krein signatures, presenting two specific examples where the SW possesses a definite window of stability, as distinct from the SW's obtained close to the anticontinuous and linear limits of the DNLS model.Comment: 31 pages, 11 figure

Determination of charge spread, position resolution, energy resolution and gain uniformity of Gas Electron Multipliers (GEM)

Gas electron multipliers (GEM) detectors are gaseous detectors widely used for tracking and imaging applications due to their good position resolution, high efficiency at high irradiation rates, among other factors. In the present work, position resolution, charge spread, energy resolution and gain uniformity have been investigated experimentally for single and double GEM geometries using an Fe-55 source. The position resolution measurements have been performed by a novel method, using a high precision instrument for source movement and is found to be highly successful. The result shows that the double GEM can resolve positions with sigma values up to 36.8 micron and 54.6 micron in x and y directions, respectively. To validate the experimental results, a Garfield simulation work has been carried out on charge spread