Developing capacity for agricultural water management: Current practice and future directions

YesThis paper defines concepts of capacity and capacity development for agricultural water management, and particularly the contributions made by ICID in this area in the recent past. Working from a theoretical framework of overlapping domains of capacity development ¿ the enabling environment, the organisational and the individual domains, with knowledge management as a cross-cutting theme ¿ the paper reviews previous work in the field and then summarises a range of case studies from the sector which illuminate key aspects of these different domains. The paper notes the need to accommodate a rapidly-changing context for agricultural water management to take account of the increasing demand for water resources in all sectors, and the consequent requirement for support of new approaches to capacity development. These new approaches emphasise the growing importance of authentic knowledge, internally-generated learning and self-development, whether at the level of the organisation or the individual. The paper also recognises the need for continuing and long-term support of capacity development, particularly in processes of organisational and institutional change, where there is no single set of guidelines or practices which will fit every situation. Specific directions for future work are suggested, including increased attention to monitoring and evaluation of capacity development, and closer links to emerging work on water governance.Non

A prospective randomised clinical trial of one bis-GMA-based and two ormocer-based composite restorative systems in class II cavities: three-year results

AbstractObjectives: Ormocer composites, consisting of a silicon-based polymer, have been developed recently as a tooth-coloured restorative material. The purpose of this prospective randomised clinical trial was to evaluate the performance of two small-particle hybrid ormocer-based restorative systems (AD, Admira/Admira Bond, VOCO; DE, Definite/Etch & Prime 3.0, Dentsply) and one small-particle hybrid bis-GMA-based composite restorative system (TC, Tetric-Ceram/Syntac, Ivoclar-Vivadent) in occlusal stress-bearing restorations.Methods: One hundred and twenty-eight occlusal-proximal restorations (44 AD, 43 DE and 41 TC) were placed according to the manufacturer's instructions in thirty-two adult patients. Their clinical performance was scored according to the USPHS criteria and evaluation of bite-wing radiographs.Results: After 3 years, four AD, five DE and four TC restorations had failed due to fracture or marginal gap formation. Surface roughness improved significantly when compared to the baseline in AD and TC (Friedman test, p or = 3 surfaces) showed significantly more degradation than smaller ones.Conclusions: In a group of class II restorations, there was no significant difference in failures after 3 years between ormocer-based and bis-GMA-based restorative systems.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Editorial: How Do Motivational States Influence Motor Resonance?

status: publishe

Analysis of Multi-Directional Recycled Jute Fiber Composite Behavior Using Experimental, Numerical, and Analytical Methods

Composite materials are increasing in popularity as a material of choice in many engineering applications. Major industries using composites include automotive, construction, and sports equipment. Most of the knowledge, research, and technology that will help decrease the cost of composite materials have been aimed at developing synthetic fibers as the reinforcing constituent. This thesis characterizes jute fibers obtained as a byproduct from the coffee industry to determine if they can be viable in composite manufacturing. Experimental analysis, finite element analysis, and analytical modeling are used to characterize jute fiber based composites. Experimental analysis consists of jute fiber bundle tensile testing as well as tensile testing of multiple laminates. Finite element and analytical models were developed to simulate different composite characteristics and their influence on jute composites. Finite element models investigated the influences of fiber undulation, fiber damage, and matrix porosity. Results show that certain manufacturing precautions should be taken to minimize imperfections which have negative influences on the composite. Fiber damage has the largest influence when introduced near the top of the fiber wave and can cause normal stresses to increase 56%. Fiber undulation and matrix porosity also have noticeable influences on the composite

Insights on the adsorption behavior of aromatics in MIL-47 and MIL-53 from a theoretical perspective

Recently, the spectrum of nanoporous materials like zeolites and zeotype structures has been further expanded through the discovery of a new class of hybrid porous solids [1, 2]. Those materials, nowadays also known as metal organic frameworks or MOFs, consist of both inorganic and organic moieties. Certain MOFs exhibit a very interesting adsorption and even catalytic behavior. Within this contribution, we will mainly focus on adsorption and separation of aromatic species in MIL-47 and MIL-53 [3, 4, 5]. Some of the presenting authors reported for first time on the successful use of MOFs as selective adsorbents for the extremely difficult and industrially relevant separations of para-xylene versus meta-xylene and para-xylene versus ethylbenzene [3]. Their study focuses on the MIL-47, which was first synthesized by Barthelet [4]. This separation behavior of MIL-47 could be better understood with adsorption studies [3, 5]. The packing of each C8-pair will be discussed on the basis of the interactions between those two aromatic compounds and MIL-47 [3]. In order to unravel the interaction between the guest molecules and the lattice, periodic Density Functional Theory calculations have been conducted. The DFT calculations were corrected for dispersion interaction [6] to include the long-range attractive forces. It seems that pi-pi stacking energies between pairs of aromatics but also with the walls of the MOF are crucial for the packing behavior in the pores

Using an inverse modelling approach to evaluate the water retention in a simple water harvesting technique

In arid and semi-arid zones, runoff harvesting techniques are often applied to increase the water retention and infiltration on steep slopes. Additionally, they act as an erosion control measure to reduce land degradation hazards. Nevertheless, few efforts were observed to quantify the water harvesting processes of these techniques and to evaluate their efficiency. In this study, a combination of detailed field measurements and modelling with the HYDRUS-2D software package was used to visualize the effect of an infiltration trench on the soil water content of a bare slope in northern Chile. Rainfall simulations were combined with high spatial and temporal resolution water content monitoring in order to construct a useful dataset for inverse modelling purposes. Initial estimates of model parameters were provided by detailed infiltration and soil water retention measurements. Four different measurement techniques were used to determine the saturated hydraulic conductivity (<I>K</I><sub>sat</sub>) independently. The tension infiltrometer measurements proved a good estimator of the <I>K</I><sub>sat</sub> value and a proxy for those measured under simulated rainfall, whereas the pressure and constant head well infiltrometer measurements showed larger variability. Six different parameter optimization functions were tested as a combination of soil-water content, water retention and cumulative infiltration data. Infiltration data alone proved insufficient to obtain high model accuracy, due to large scatter on the data set, and water content data were needed to obtain optimized effective parameter sets with small confidence intervals. Correlation between the observed soil water content and the simulated values was as high as <I>R</I><sup>2</sup>=0.93 for ten selected observation points used in the model calibration phase, with overall correlation for the 22 observation points equal to 0.85. The model results indicate that the infiltration trench has a significant effect on soil-water storage, especially at the base of the trench

Closing the knowing-applying gap in water utilities: experience from Uganda's NWSC

In recent decades, there has been a steady rise of knowledge and capacity development (KCD) interventions targeting water utilities in developing countries. However, field experiences show that very often little change occurs in what water utilities' professionals and managers do as a result of capacity development efforts. Notwithstanding that, there are also some cases of success. In this paper, the authors argue that very often the main challenge facing utilities is not the development of utility competences per se, but their actual use. Drawing on the case of Uganda's National Water and Sewerage Corporation, we identify and discuss five interrelated factors that have allowed the corporation to progressively turn its knowledge base into improved performance, by means of its change management programmes. The paper concludes that water utilities can bridge the knowing-applying gap by carefully introducing a corporate culture, and management systems and structures that motivate staff to apply their knowledge

The adsorption behavior of xylene isomers in MIL-47 from a theoretical perspective

Recently, the spectrum of nanoporous materials like zeolites and zeotype structures was further expanded through the occurrence of a new class of hybrid porous porous solids [1, 2]. Those materials are nowadays also known as metal organic frameworks or MOFs and consist of inorganic and organic moieties. Certain MOFs exhibit a very interesting adsorption and even catalytic behavior. Our study focuses on one of them: MIL-47. MIL-47 was first synthesized by Barthelet [3], later on Alaerts [4] studied the ability of MIL-47 to separate several xylene isomers. This separation behavior of MIL-47 could be better understood with adsorption studies [4, 5]. The adsorbates were located inside the MIL-47 host by Rietveld refinements of the XRD patterns of MIL-47 samples saturated with each of the C8-isomers. The packing of each C8-pair was then discussed on the basis of the interactions between those two aromatic compounds and MIL-47 [4]. In this case, theoretical modeling could predict the relative energy difference between several possible geometries. The stability of a unit cell of MIL-47 fully loaded with four adsorbates was investigated with periodic calculations. Starting form crystallographic information (supp. info of [4]), two possible geometries were cut out for different C8-isomers: para-xylene, meta-xylene, ortho-xylene and ethylbenzene. The optimized structures are displayed in the figure below. The relative energy differences are shown relative to meta-xylene (II), the most unstable structure. [1] Ferey, G., Chemical Society Reviews 37 (2008) 191. [2] Tranchemontagne, D.J.L. , M. O'Keeffe, Z. Ni and Yaghi O.M., Angewandte Chemie-International Edition 47 (2008) 5136. [3] Barthelet, K., Marrot, J., Riou, D. and Ferey G. Angewandte Chemie-International Edition 41 (2002) 281. [4] Alaerts, L., Kirschhock, C.E.A., Maes, M., van der Veen, M.A., Finsy, V., Depla, A., Martens, J.A., Baron, G.V., Jacobs, P.A., Denayer, J.E.M. and De Vos, D.E. Angewandte Chemie-International Edition 46 (2007) 4293. [5] Finsy,V., Verelst, H., Alaerts, L., De Vos, D., Jacobs, P.A., Baron, G.V. and Denayer J.F.M. Journal of the American Chemical Society 130 (2008) 7110

EEG alpha–theta dynamics during mind wandering in the context of breath focus meditation: An experience sampling approach with novice meditation practitioners

Peer Review: The peer review history for this article is available at https://publons.com/publon/10.1111/ejn.15073.Supporting Information is avaiable online at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ejn.15073?saml_referrer#support-information-section .Meditation practice entails moments of distraction dominated by self‐generated thoughts (i.e. mind wandering). Initial studies assessing the neural correlates of mind wandering in the context of meditation practice have identified an important role of theta (4–8 Hz) and alpha (8–14 Hz) neural oscillations. In this study, we use a probe‐caught experience sampling paradigm to assess spectral changes in the theta‐alpha frequency range during mind wandering in the context of breath focus meditation. Electroencephalography (EEG) was measured in 25 novice meditation practitioners during a breath focus task in which they were repeatedly probed to report whether they were focusing on their breath or thinking about something else. Mind wandering episodes were associated with an increase in the amplitude and a decrease in the frequency of theta (4–8 Hz) oscillations. Conversely, alpha oscillations (8–14 Hz) were shown to decrease in amplitude and increase in frequency during mind wandering relative to breath focus. In addition, mind wandering episodes were shown to be accompanied by increased harmonicity and phase synchrony between alpha and theta rhythms. Because similar spectral changes in the theta‐alpha frequency range have been reported during controlled cognitive processes involving memory and executive control, we speculate that mind wandering and controlled processes could share some neurocognitive mechanisms. From a translational perspective, this study indicates that oscillatory activity in the theta‐alpha frequency range could form adequate parameters for developing EEG‐neurofeedback protocols aimed at facilitating the detection of mind wandering during meditation practice.Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek. Grant Numbers: 1506716N, G079017N; Mind & Life Europe; The Branco Weiss Fellowship - Society in Science