"I Can Hear Her Breathing…": Second-Generation Sri Lankan Tamil Womyn Reflect on the 2009 Toronto Tamil Protests

Public activism in the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora was demonstrated by the mass protests held in Toronto in 2009, in the months leading to the end of civil war Sri Lanka. Following the protests, research focusing on increased transnational participation, public performance of Tamil identities, and personal post-war feelings has emerged. Still, very little attention has been given to self-identified womyn’s narratives and reflections. This paper and film focus on the experiences of second-generation Sri Lankan Tamil womyn , speaking specifically to gendered diasporic imaginations, subjectivities, and possible transformations produced through participation or non-participation in the 2009 protests. It argues how both protest and silence, in a transnational context, work to disrupt narratives of nationhood suggested by Canada, Sri Lanka, and the former de-facto state of Tamil Eelam

A finite element solver for 3-D compressible viscous flows

Computation of the flow field inside a space shuttle main engine (SSME) requires the application of state of the art computational fluid dynamic (CFD) technology. Several computer codes are under development to solve 3-D flow through the hot gas manifold. Some algorithms were designed to solve the unsteady compressible Navier-Stokes equations, either by implicit or explicit factorization methods, using several hundred or thousands of time steps to reach a steady state solution. A new iterative algorithm is being developed for the solution of the implicit finite element equations without assembling global matrices. It is an efficient iteration scheme based on a modified nonlinear Gauss-Seidel iteration with symmetric sweeps. The algorithm is analyzed for a model equation and is shown to be unconditionally stable. Results from a series of test problems are presented. The finite element code was tested for couette flow, which is flow under a pressure gradient between two parallel plates in relative motion. Another problem that was solved is viscous laminar flow over a flat plate. The general 3-D finite element code was used to compute the flow in an axisymmetric turnaround duct at low Mach numbers

Open Source Technology : Design Principles, Methodology and Applications - A Literature Review

Closed source has a great significance in monopoly of software industries. Software users have been witnessing this monopoly of various software companies for the past many years. As an alternative to these closed sources, the concept of Open Source is originated. The term �Open Source�, literally means a consortium of like-minded individuals or corporations who try to come up with products/services that conforms to standards to one specific vertical sector of software industry. In this paper, the major focus is given on various open source technology concepts, development methodology and its significance along with various categories of open source applications

Stewardship in health policy and its relevance to Pakistan

Since the concept of stewardship in health care first appeared in World Health Report 2000 there has been very limited discussion in the academia about its implications. In the present paper we revisit this concept and review the literature that has been written about it. We have particularly focused on the role of stewardship in health policy of Pakistan. We also highlight the improvement that stewardship can bring about in the health policy of Pakistan and the possible constraints that might be faced during its implementation phase. The literature available is on the concept of stewardship in health policy. The search was done through the database of PubMed with key words including; stewardship, health policy, governance, and role of state. A total of 22 articles were shortlisted and included in the review. The concept of stewardship has a lot of potential to reinterpret and reinvigorate the role of the state in Public Health of nations across the globe, including Pakistan

EVALUATION OF PELTOPHORUM ROXBURGHII FOR ITS HEMATOLOGICAL PARAMETERS AND ERYTHROCYTE SEDIMENATION RATE

Objective: The aim of this experimental study was to investigate the effect of Peltophorum roxburghii on hematological activities and Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate. This study was carried out in the department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Karachi, Karachi.Method: Study sample was of 20 albino rabbits (10 treated and 10 control ). For 30 days both group (control and treated) were maintained on distilled water and other on 100mg/kg Peltophorum roxburghii respectively. All analysis were conducted using standard techniques of hematological parameter and ESR as observation was carried out on last day (Day 30th).Results: The results showed increased in hemoglobin and erythrocyte sedimentation rate.Conclusion: It has been concluded that Peltophorum roxburghii increases hemoglobin and ESR.Key Words: Erythrocyte Sedimentation rate, Hemoglobin, Peltophorum roxburghi

Complexity and Dynamics of Semi-Arid Vegetation Structure, Function and Diversity Across Spatial Scales from Full Waveform Lidar

Semi-arid ecosystems cover approximately 40% of the earth’s terrestrial landscape and show high dynamicity in ecosystem structure and function. These ecosystems play a critical role in global carbon dynamics, productivity, and habitat quality. Semi-arid ecosystems experience a high degree of disturbance that can severely alter ecosystem services and processes. Understanding the structure-function relationships across spatial extents are critical in order to assess their demography, response to disturbance, and for conservation management. In this research, using state-of-the-art full waveform lidar (airborne and spaceborne) and field observations, I developed a framework to assess the complexity and dynamics of vegetation structure, function and diversity across spatial scales in a semi-arid ecosystem. Difficulty in differentiating low stature vegetation from bare ground is the key remote sensing challenge in semi-arid ecosystems. In this study, I developed a workflow to differentiate key plant functional types (PFTs) using both structural and biophysical variables derived from the full waveform lidar and an ensemble random forest technique. The results revealed that waveform lidar pulse width can clearly distinguish shrubs from bare ground. The models showed PFT classification accuracy of 0.81–0.86% and 0.60–0.70% at 10 m and 1 m spatial resolutions, respectively. I found that structural variables were more important than the biophysical variables to differentiate the PFTs in this study area. The study further revealed an overlap between the structural features of different PFTs (e.g. shrubs from trees). Using structural features, I derived three main functional traits (canopy height, plant area index and foliage height diversity) of shrubs and trees that describe canopy architecture and light use efficiency of the ecosystem. I evaluated the trends and patterns of functional diversity and their relationship with non-climatic abiotic factors and fire disturbance. In addition to the fine resolution airborne lidar, I used simulated large footprint spaceborne lidar representing the newly launched Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation system (GEDI, a lidar sensor on the International Space Station) to evaluate the potential of capturing functional diversity trends of semi-arid ecosystems at global scales. The consistency of diversity trends between the airborne lidar and GEDI confirmed GEDI’s potential to capture functional diversity. I found that the functional diversity in this ecosystem is mainly governed by the local elevation gradient, soil type, and slope. All three functional diversity indices (functional richness, functional evenness and functional divergence) showed a diversity breakpoint near elevations of 1500 m – 1700 m. Functional diversity of fire-disturbed areas revealed that the fires in our study area resulted in a more even and less divergent ecosystem state. Finally, I quantified aboveground biomass using the structural features derived from both the airborne lidar and GEDI data. Regional estimates of biomass can indicate whether an ecosystem is a net carbon sink or source as well as the ecosystem’s health (e.g. biodiversity). Further, the potential of large footprint lidar data to estimate biomass in semi-arid ecosystems are not yet fully explored due to the inherent overlapping vegetation responses in the ground signals that can be affected by the ground slope. With a correction to the slope effect, I found that large footprint lidar can explain 42% of variance of biomass with a RMSE of 351 kg/ha (16% RMSE). The model estimated 82% of the study area with less than 50% uncertainty in biomass estimates. The cultivated areas and the areas with high functional richness showed the highest uncertainties. Overall, this dissertation establishes a novel framework to assess the complexity and dynamics of vegetation structure and function of a semi-arid ecosystem from space. This work enhances our understanding of the present state of an ecosystem and provides a foundation for using full waveform lidar to understand the impact of these changes to ecosystem productivity, biodiversity and habitat quality in the coming decades. The methods and algorithms in this dissertation can be directly applied to similar ecosystems with relevant corrections for the appropriate sensor. In addition, this study provides insights to related NASA missions such as ICESat-2 and future NASA missions such as NISAR for deriving vegetation structure and dynamics related to disturbance

Role of surface-like elastic constants in the phenomenology of confined nematics

Confined nematics are a natural setting to study aspects relating to phenomenology of symmetry breaking, evolution and dynamics of topological defects. In this study we highlight the interplay of the surface-like elastic constants with the phenomenology mentioned above. We exploit nematics confined to cylinders to study a spontaneous reflection symmetry breaking phase transition. The role of saddle-splay elasticity in driving this transition is described in detail. We also confine nematics to rectangular geometries which reveal novel director and defect configurations. We uncover surprising aspects regarding the scaling of surface-like elastic constants by studying morphological transitions of spherical nematic droplets. We exploit a monodomain- like configuration and the director arrangement in tactoids to shed light on the physics governing the nematic- biphasic transition of lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals. We also confine nematics to toroidal geometries with radial anchoring to delineate the coupling of geometry with the director configuration. Finally, the role of differential polarizability is demonstrated in the accurate determination of order parameters of liquid crystals.Ph.D

Experimental Performance Evaluation of Small Solid Rocket Motor with Composite Case for Environmental Conditions

Polymeric composites are widely used in aerospace. One such important use of polymeric composites is the filament-wound composite case for the Solid Rocket Motor (SRM). Environmental conditions expected during flight and other phases of the SRM’s life cycle affect its performance. The performance of SRM, in turn, depends primarily on the composite case and propellant grain. In this study, the performance evaluation of SRM with the composite case is carried out for different environmental conditions. These cases are designed to sustain very high pressure and temperature environments generated due to the combustion of propellant grains and are intended to perform adequately at any time during their service life. The performance evaluation test matrix is formulated considering various expected dynamic and thermal conditions. The small SRM with a composite case is subjected to planned tests as per the matrix, followed by static tests. The pressure versus time data is plotted for all test conditions. The ballistic parameters result of the virgin (without subjecting it to any test) small SRM is considered as a reference for comparative studies with the rest of all other test conditions results. All the ballistic performance test results are also analysed with respect to the pressure-time curve for mission bounds. The analysis of experimental test results reveals that various environmental dynamic conditions like random vibration, acceleration and shock, do not affect the composite case and the ballistic performance of a small SRM. The effect of grain temperature on ballistic performance is also found as expected

An Approach For Grid Based Authentication Mechanism To Counter Cyber Frauds With Reference To Credit Card Payments

In the era of internet world, the most prominent flashing string is credit cards when we referring to online payments. They enable the feature called "buy now and pay later" which increases the usage of credit cards day by day. Increasing fashion of credit cards is prone to cyber fraud nowadays. All the methods so far we have are based on the purchased patterns to detect the frauds. Prevention is better than cure. In this paper proposed an approach which helps in detecting the frauds at the early stage itself before a fraudulent transaction is being made by the unauthorized person