On procedures for measuring deprivation and living standards of societies in a multi-attribute framework

When a society's overall deprivation or living standard is assessed in a multi-attribute framework, the following procedure is often used. First, for each attribute, a summary index is constructed to reflect a society's performance in relation to this attribute. Then, an indicator of the overall performance of the society in terms of all the attributes together is constructed. This paper discusses a difficulty associated with this procedure. We show that the difficulty lies in its inability to reconcile two highly attractive ethical principles - the first reflecting a requirement of treating individuals symmetrically and the second reflecting a requirement for equity-sensitivity. This problem implies that this widely-used procedure must lead to possibly untenable conclusions, and that it is necessary to adopt alternative procedures. The alternative procedure must permit describing a society's overall deprivation or living standard as an aggregate of the comprehensive deprivations or living standards experienced by the individuals in the society. Working Paper 08-0

Electron paramagnetic resonance, optical absorption and Raman spectral studies on a pyrite/chalcopyrite mineral

Pyrite and chalcopyrite mineral samples from Mangampet barite mine, Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh, India are used in the present study. XRD data indicate that the pyrite mineral has a face centered cubic lattice structure with lattice constant 5.4179 Å. Also it possesses an average particle size of 91.9 nm. An EPR study on the powdered samples confirms the presence of iron in pyrite and iron and Mn(II) in chalcopyrite. The optical absorption spectrum of chalcopyrite indicates presence of copper which is in a distorted octahedral environment. NIR results confirm the presence of water fundamentals and Raman spectrum reveals the presence of water and sulfate ions

Five Level Flying-Capacitor Multilevel Converter Using Dynamic Voltage Restorer (DVR)

This paper deals with dynamic voltage restorer (DVR) controlled by a five-level flying-capacitor multi level converter. To decrease the power-quality disturbances in distribution system, such as voltage imbalances, harmonic voltages, and voltage sags. The organisation of this paper has been divided into three parts; the first one eliminates the modulation high-frequency harmonics using filter increase the transient response. The second one deal with the load voltage; and the third is flying capacitors charged with balanced voltages. The MATLAB simulation results effectively for five level flying capacitor multilevel converters charged with balanced voltage regulation

The Arabidopsis JAGGED gene encodes a zinc finger protein that promotes leaf tissue development

Important goals in understanding leaf development are to identify genes involved in pattern specification, and also genes that translate this information into cell types and tissue structure. Loss-of-function mutations at the JAGGED (JAG) locus result in Arabidopsis plants with abnormally shaped lateral organs including serrated leaves, narrow floral organs, and petals that contain fewer but more elongate cells. jag mutations also suppress bract formation in leafy, apetala1 and apetala2 mutant backgrounds. The JAG gene was identified by map-based cloning to be a member of the zinc finger family of plant transcription factors and encodes a protein similar in structure to SUPERMAN with a single C2H2-type zinc finger, a proline-rich motif and a short leucine-rich repressor motif. JAG mRNA is localized to lateral organ primordia throughout the plant but is not found in the shoot apical meristem. Misexpression of JAG results in leaf fusion and the development of ectopic leaf-like outgrowth from both vegetative and floral tissues. Thus, JAG is necessary for proper lateral organ shape and is sufficient to induce the proliferation of lateral organ tissue

Modeling and Characterization of MEMS Electrostatic Energy Harvester

In low-power wireless electronic devices, Energy harvesting generators have received increasing research interest in recent years. This paper describes the design and analysis of electrostatic transduction based MEMS energy harvester. Due to the benefit of a folded beam configuration that can be displace large dimensions and compliant in desired direction and stiffer in orthogonal direction. Since, large displacement of proof mass of energy harvester renders the enhance performance. Hence, the folded beam configuration of harvest has been modeled and designed and optimized the dimension of geometry. FEM simulations using COMSOL were conducted to evaluate the natural frequency and mode shape of the system and compared results with that of analytically calculated values. Spice circuit of harvester has been modeled and performed simulation to evaluate the output power of the harvester in LTSPICE. Parameter analysis was conducted to determine the optimal load and optimal output power

Ethnobotanical Survey on Respiratory Disorders in Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh, India

An Ethnopharmacological survey of the Eastern Ghats region of Andhra Pradesh, comprising Chittoor, Cuddapah, East Godavari, Guntur, Khammam, Krishna, Kurnool, Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam, Vijayanagaram and the West Godavari districts, was conducted during 2000-2005. Eighty-four species of folk drug plants belonging to 72 genera and 41 families were found to be used as a remedy for respiratory disorders by the rural people and forest ethnic people (Chenchus, Erukulas, Lambadas, Koyas, Kondareddies, Nukadoras, Yanadis). The scientific, vernacular and family names of these medicinal plants, along with the parts used and the mode of their administration are enumerated

Fortification Of Trim Lacking Rc T Shape Beams By Outwardly Bonded Fiber Reinforced Polymer Sheets

Concrete-reinforced epoxy resin bonded to GFRP sheets was tested for failure using two-dimensional tools for a static cut. Columns have been modified for this test. The purpose of these panels is to assess the behaviour of the stiffened stem with the addition of externally bound FRP. The trunk is attached to one type of fiber glass reinforced horse polymer (GFRP) 4 3.50mm thick. A total of five square feet of 3 meters was thrown. Maintenance, repair and restoration of individual structural structures are perhaps one of the major problems in a civil engineering application. Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer Program (GFRP) is an effective way to restore and improve the system. The column was used as a support column and the adjacent trees were plastered with GFRP plaster on the stone. The width variant is the GFRP type laminate. A look at the details of this research protects the base load, the load, the final load, the first fracture rotation, the product rotation, the final rotation, the slit width, the maintenance it is energy reduction, power maintenance, temperature rise ratio and power line maintenance ratio. The effectiveness of the FRP response environment was compared to a non-response environment. Test results confirmed that GFRP-reinforced solid wood showed higher performance

Water-saving Rice Production Technologies in Krishna Western Delta Command of Andhra Pradesh – An Economic Analysis

The economic analysis of water-saving rice production technologies, viz. system of rice intensification (SRI), semi-dry and rotational irrigation vis-à-vis farmers’ practice has been carried out based on the study executed in Modukuru pilot area of Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh. Among the three water-saving rice production technologies analyzed, the total cost of cultivation has been recorded highest in SRI (Rs 58645/ha), followed by rotational (Rs 47140/ha) and semi-dry (Rs 39321/ha). But, the per hectare yield has been found highest in SRI (6.85 t), followed by semi-dry (6.66 t) and rotational (6.2 t), inferring that all the three technologies have recorded higher yields over farmers’ practice of 5.5 t/ha. However, the net returns and B-C ratio are maximum in semi-dry (Rs 43,484/ha; 1.11), followed by rotational (Rs 30,085; 0.64) and SRI (Rs 26,466/ha; 0.45) methods. Similarly, the water-use efficiency has been found highest in SRI (8.53 kg/ ha-mm), followed by semi-dry (8.02 kg/ha-mm) and rotational (7.33 kg/ ha-mm) methods, while the water-use efficiency benefit (Rs/ha-mm) has been recorded maximum in semi-dry (52.39), followed by SRI (42.08) and rotational (35.56) methods. With the initiation of Andhra Pradesh Water Management Project, Bapatla, the area under semi-dry rice cultivation has been found increasing over a period of four years, from 0.6 ha in 2004-2005 to 22 ha in 2007 -2008.Agricultural and Food Policy,