A Unified Approach towards Describing Rapidity and Transverse Momentum Distributions in Thermal Freeze-Out Model

We have attempted to describe the rapidity and transverse momentum spectra, simultaneously, of the hadrons produced in the Ultra-relativistic Nuclear Collisions. This we have tried to achieve in a single statistical thermal freeze-out model using single set of parameters. We assume the formation of a hadronic gas in thermo-chemical equilibrium at the freeze-out. The model incorporates a longitudinal as well as a transverse hydrodynamic flow. We have also found that the role of heavier hadronic resonance decay is important in explaining the particle spectra.Comment: 22 pages, 11 figure

Activation cross sections of α\alpha-particle induced nuclear reactions on hafnium and deuteron induced nuclear reaction on tantalum: production of 178^{178}W/178m^{178m}Ta generator

In the frame of a systematic study of charged particle production routes of medically relevant radionuclei, the excitation function for indirect production of $^{178m}$Ta through $^{nat}$Hf($\alpha$,xn)$^{178}$W-$^{178m}$Ta nuclear reaction was measured for the first time up to 40 MeV. In parallel, the side reactions $^{nat}$Hf($\alpha$,x)$^{179,177,176,175}$W, $^{183,182,178g,177,176,175}$Ta, $^{179m,177m,175}$Hf were also assessed. Stacked foil irradiation technique and $\gamma$-ray spectrometry were used. New experimental cross section data for the $^{nat}$Ta(d,xn)$^{178}$W reaction are also reported up to 40 MeV. The measured excitation functions are compared with the results of the ALICE-IPPE, and EMPIRE nuclear reaction model codes and with the TALYS 1.4 based data in the TENDL-2013 library. The thick target yields were deduced and compared with yields of other charged particle ((p,4n), (d,5n) and ($^3$He,x)) production routes for $^{178}$W

Inclusive leadership: Toward reshaping corporate purpose for sustainable development

This paper delves into the complex relationship between business leadership, sustainability, and inclusivity, representing a step towards developing a more inclusive leadership approach to sustainable development that fosters shared power relations between business leaders and marginalized members of society. With environmental and social conditions worsening, it is urgent that corporations move away from the neoliberal profit-maximization models advocated by Milton Friedman and instead prioritize humanity and the environment. This requires a fundamental restructuring of businesses to move beyond profit maximization and address societal power imbalances by including all stakeholders. Our inclusive leadership for sustainable development framework, rooted in symbolic interactionism, offers a holistic lens for including marginalized groups. At the microlevel, it focuses on business leaders' personas, characterized by pro-demographic diversity and biodiversity, cognitive complexity for sustainable development, and social empathy, that can potentially create macro-level impact. These characteristics accompanied by macro perspectives that focus on repurposing corporations away from neoliberalism towards sustainability, would be a step forward in cultivating shared power dynamics between business leaders and marginalized communities for the betterment of society

ROLE OF WOMEN FOR FOOD SECURITY AND ENVIRONMENT IN BANGLADESH

Empowering women has multiple benefits for women themselves and for their families and communities. In Bangladesh, rural women are involved in different income generating activities. As a result, their empowerments are increasing beside the food security, environment and nutrition. The main focus of the study was to determine the women empowerment status through the participation for organic agriculture, food security, environment and nutrition, and to examine the selected characteristics of the rural women. Data were collected January to March, 2013 through pre-tested interview schedule from randomly selected 105 respondent from three villages of Pabna Sadar Upazilla. The selected ten characteristics of the rural women were considered as the independent variable while their empowerment status through participation in IGAs was the dependent variable. Majority (67.62 percent) of the women were medium empowered while 12.38 and 20.00 percent were highly and lowly empowered respectively. Among the six indicators or aspects of empowerment the mean participation in decision making of the respondents was the highest (19.46) and access to service providers was the lowest (10.11). The findings also revealed that the mean of contribution to household agriculture activity was 18.25, access to resources was 15.48 and access to information was 14.32. In the study area, majority of the respondent women were middle aged category, illiterate, medium family size, small farm size, medium family income, medium agricultural knowledge, short training experience, medium socio-economic status, medium attitude and very slight fatalistic category

Seismic Evaluation and Remediation of Embankment Dam

The seismic stability of the Croton Dam left embankment, was evaluated for potential earthquake ground motions. Field and laboratory test results were used to characterize the static and dynamic properties of the embankment and foundation materials. Results showed liquefaction and strength loss in certain zones of the embankment resulting in large deformation of the slope. Remediation of these areas of the dam was necessary. Various techniques were evaluated including drainage, construction of a berm at toe, vibro-grouted stone columns and compaction grouting. Compaction grouting was selected

On Achieving Diversity in the Presence of Outliers in Participatory Camera Sensor Networks

This paper addresses the problem of collection and delivery of a representative subset of pictures, in participatory camera networks, to maximize coverage when a significant portion of the pictures may be redundant or irrelevant. Consider, for example, a rescue mission where volunteers and survivors of a large-scale disaster scout a wide area to capture pictures of damage in distressed neighborhoods, using handheld cameras, and report them to a rescue station. In this participatory camera network, a significant amount of pictures may be redundant (i.e., similar pictures may be reported by many) or irrelevant (i.e., may not document an event of interest). Given this pool of pictures, we aim to build a protocol to store and deliver a smaller subset of pictures, among all those taken, that minimizes redundancy and eliminates irrelevant objects and outliers. While previous work addressed removal of redundancy alone, doing so in the presence of outliers is tricky, because outliers, by their very nature, are different from other objects, causing redundancy minimizing algorithms to favor their inclusion, which is at odds with the goal of finding a representative subset. To eliminate both outliers and redundancy at the same time, two seemingly opposite objectives must be met together. The contribution of this paper lies in a new prioritization technique (and its in-network implementation) that minimizes redundancy among delivered pictures, while also reducing outliers.unpublishedis peer reviewe

Geografía de la banca y las instituciones financieras de microcréditos alrededor de las empresas rurales en Bangladesh

En aquest article es pretén explicar les dificultats de les empreses i explotacions agràries en àrees remotes de Bangla Desh per accedir als crèdits que necessiten per dur a terme la seva activitat econòmica. La localització dels bancs en àrees rurals remotes de Bangla Desh mostra la mateixa distribució dels centres administratius. A la dècada dels anys setanta del segle xx va començar a aparèixer la figura de la «institució financera de microfinances» (MFI), basada en les organitzacions no governamentals (ONG) i amb intenció d’establir-se a prop dels centres administratius i dels mercats rurals. Els bancs van evitar majoritàriament les empreses rurals a causa de les limitacions que tenien en el disseny dels seus productes (crèdit i estalvi). En aquest mercat sense explotar, les MFI van créixer per la seva actitud més accessible i pel disseny de productes financers més adequats per aprovisionar les empreses i les famílies amb ingressos baixos. Tanmateix, les MFI han hagut de fer front a problemes legals per poder participar en els dipòsits públics d’estalvi. L’increment del crèdit concedit per les MFI no ha estat gaire satisfactori a causa tant de la política de concessió de crèdits de les institucions com de la incapacitat de l’actual grup de clients de microcrèdits per tornar els préstecs. Per tant, és important explorar quina entitat (banc o MFI) mostra una distribució espacial i unes bones pràctiques que afavoreixi les necessitats de l’empresa rural.In remote areas of Bangladesh, it can be difficult for entrepreneurs, businesses and farmers to obtain needed bank loans, as banks are typically located in and around administrative centres. In addition, the banks have limitations in their product design (credit and savings) and have mostly avoided the challenges of rural enterprises. During the 1970s, the concept of the Microfinance Institution (MFI) emerged, based on the non-governmental organization model and favouring locations in rural areas not far from the administrative centres and rural markets. In this untapped market, MFIs grew by taking an institutional good practices approach and offering products designed to cater to low-income households and enterprises, although they still face legal constraints in holding public savings deposits. In addition, although the MFI reaches less accessible areas because of its organization pattern, its attempts to upscale MFI credit are not widely successful due to both the unwillingness and inability of the existing microfinance client pool to repay loans. Therefore, it is important to explore which entity (bank or MFI) has an advantageous geographic distribution and institutional good practices to meet the needs of rural enterprise.En este artículo se pretende explicar las dificultades de las empresas y explotaciones agrarias en áreas remotas de Bangladesh para acceder a los créditos que precisan para llevar a cabo su actividad económica. La localización de los bancos en áreas rurales remotas de Bangladesh sigue básicamente la misma distribución de los centros administrativos. Durante la década de los años setenta del siglo xx empezó a incidir la figura de la «institución financiera de microfinanzas» (MFI), basada en organizaciones no gubernamentales (ONG) y con intención de establecerse en las áreas rurales no muy lejos de los centros administrativos y de los mercados rurales. Los bancos evitaron en su mayor parte las empresas rurales, ya que tenían limitaciones en el diseño de sus productos (crédito y ahorros). En este mercado sin explotar, las MFI crecieron a través de su situación más accesible y con el diseño de productos financieros más adecuados para abastecer a las empresas y las familias de bajos ingresos. Sin embargo, las MFI han tenido que enfrentarse a problemas legales para poder participar en los depósitos públicos de ahorros. El incremento del crédito concedido por las MFI no ha sido muy satisfactorio debido tanto a la política de concesión de créditos de las instituciones financieras como a la incapacidad del actual grupo de clientes de microcréditos para devolver los préstamos. Por lo tanto, es importante explorar qué entidad (banco o MFI) tiene una distribución espacial y unas buenas prácticas que favorezcan las necesidades de la empresa rural

Seipin oligomers can interact directly with AGPAT2 and lipin 1, physically scaffolding critical regulators of adipogenesis

This work was supported by a Merit Scholarship from the Islamic Development Bank (to M.M.U.T.), The Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore (A*STAR) (M.F.M.S), the Medical Research Council (MRC) [NIRG GO800203 and Research Grant MR/L002620/1 (to J.J.R.), Program GrantG09000554 (to S.O.R)], The Wellcome Trust [078986/Z/06/Z (to S.O.R.)], the MRC Centre for Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders (MRC-CORD) [GO600717] and the NIHR Comprehensive Biomedical Research Centre [CG50826].Peer reviewedPublisher PD