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Ayankulam is the trending one recently during the 2021 monsoon of India. The legendary well in the village failed to fill despite five days of strong water inflow from the Nambiar canal. District collector arrived and inspected with IIT team and surveyed the village stating that the wells nature was geographically termed to be Karst formation (as per e-news sited in The New Indian Express dated 03/12/2021). There might be some sinking stream that might link this well. Karst topography of calcarenite rocks is the reason for groundwater movement beneath the subsurface for not filling the well. Groundwater is a very important component of water resources in nature. Since the demand for groundwater increases with population growth, it is necessary to explore groundwater more intensively. To determine the existence of usable groundwater for irrigation purposes in the study area Geophysical (Azimuthal square array method and Magnetotelluric method) and Geochemical investigations were done. The Azimuthal Square array method covers 360º coverage of subsurface resulting in fracture orientation of rock to determine the weak/strong zones in different rock types. The Magnetotelluric method scans the subsurface rock and provides information about Geological formation, Weak zone where water oozes out, depth and movement of groundwater. Water samples were collected in and around the “Sinking Stream” origin well and its associated open and tube wells from the study area. The combination of Square Array, MT, Water quality, and quantity study focuses on the Trapped Aquifer system of sinking streams in all water bodies and wells. The movement of groundwater seems to be increasing in Seashore areas such as Uvari and Karikovil are identified relating its water samples from deep bore wells quality and sinking stream water quality. The heavy rainfall and hydrostatic pressure of predominant rock on eroded Calcarenite lime formation create water “Dry fall out” resulting in Sinking streams in the Ayankulam area.

In this study, an effort has been made to locate the subsurface basin for groundwater storage and to identify the suitable destination for the sustainable domestic, agricultural, and drinking needs to demarcate groundwater potential zones (GWPZ) for Srivaikundam region in Thoothukudi district, Tamil Nadu, India, using remote sensing and geographical information system (GIS) with analytical hierarchy process (AHP). According to their respective importance for groundwater occurrence, Saaty's scale was appropriately weighted to give the thematic layers and their attributes. The selected thematic maps were then merged using the weighted linear combination method to produce the final groundwater potential zone map after the layers' assigned weights and their features had been standardized using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and eigenvector approach. Based on Saaty's 9-point scale, each criterion or factor was given the proper weight, and the weights were then normalized using the analytic hierarchy approach (AHP). To create the groundwater potential prediction map for the research area, the method was incorporated into the GIS environment. They are eight thematic layers are integrated into the GIS platform using weighted index overlay analysis. Groundwater conditions have been used to define GIS analysis criteria, and each information layer has been assigned an appropriate rank and weightage. Finally, groundwater recharge zones have been selected and classified into low, medium, and high based on cumulative weighted value.

The role that climate and environmental history may have played in influencing human evolution has been the focus of considerable interest and controversy among paleoanthropologists for decades. Prior attempts to understand the environmental history side of this equation have centered around the study of outcrop sediments and fossils adjacent to where fossil hominins (ancestors or close relatives of modern humans) are found, or from the study of deep sea drill cores. However, outcrop sediments are often highly weathered and thus are unsuitable for some types of paleoclimatic records, and deep sea core records come from long distances away from the actual fossil and stone tool remains. The Hominin Sites and Paleolakes Drilling Project (HSPDP) was developed to address these issues. The project has focused its efforts on the eastern African Rift Valley, where much of the evidence for early hominins has been recovered. We have collected about 2 km of sediment drill core from six basins in Kenya and Ethiopia, in lake deposits immediately adjacent to important fossil hominin and archaeological sites. Collectively these cores cover in time many of the key transitions and critical intervals in human evolutionary history over the last 4 Ma, such as the earliest stone tools, the origin of our own genus Homo, and the earliest anatomically modern Homo sapiens. Here we document the initial field, physical property, and core description results of the 2012-2014 HSPDP coring campaign.

An increasing number of interplanetary missions are aiming at visiting asteroids and other small bodies, since these may provide clues to understand the formation and evolution of our Solar System. CubeSats allow a low-cost solution to land on these objects, as opposed to risking a much more expensive mothership. The weak gravitational field on these small bodies may also enable the possibility of simply dropping a CubeSat from afar (i.e. ballistic landing). However, ballistic landing of an unpowered spacecraft may be feasible solely within certain asteroid locations, and only if sufficient energy can be dissipated at touchdown. If such conditions are not met, the spacecraft will rebound off the surface. It is likely that the necessary energy dissipation may already occur naturally due to energy loss expected through the deformation of the regolith during touchdown. Indeed, previous low-velocity impact experiments in microgravity seem to indicate that this is exactly the case. However, data from past asteroid touchdowns, Hayabusa and Philae, indicate the contrary. This paper describes the development of an experiment which aims to bridge the aforementioned disagreement between mission data and microgravity experiment; to understand the behaviour of CubeSat landing on asteroids. The experiment will also test a novel damping system made by origami paper that should increase the dissipated energy at touchdown. The experiment will take place at the ZARM Drop Tower in Bremen in November 2018. With the constraint of 5 drops, the experiment will measure the coefficient of restitution during an available time window of 4.74 seconds of microgravity conditions. A 1UCubeSat mock-up will be used to represent a future asteroid lander. In order to mimic the landing of actual missions, the mock-up will have a mass of about 4 kg and it will be given a velocity of 15 cm/s with minimal rotation. This will be achieved by an automated spring-based release mechanism. An asteroid simulant, ESA03-A KM Bentonite Granules will be used to replicate an asteroid mechanical properties at the surface. This paper reviews the final design and the engineering challenges of the experiment.

Anthrax infection is primarily initiated by B. anthracis endospores that on entry into the host germinate to vegetative cells and cause severe bacteremia and toxaemia employing an array of host colonisation factors and the lethal tripartite toxin. The protective efficacy of conventional protective antigen (PA) based anthrax vaccines is improved by co-administration with inactivated spores or its components. In the present study, using structural vaccinology rationale we synthesized a bivalent protein r-PB encompassing toxin (PAIV) and spore components (BclACTD) and characterized its protective efficacy against B. anthracis infection. Active immunization of mice with r-PB generated high titer circulating antibodies which facilitated the phagocytic uptake of spores, inhibited their germination to vegetative cells and completely neutralized anthrax toxins in vivo resulting in 100 % survival against anthrax toxin challenge. Proliferation of CD4+ T cell subsets with up-regulation of Th1 (IFN-γ, IL-2, and IL-12), Th2 (IL-5, IL-10) cytokines and balanced expression of IgG1:IgG2a antibody isotypes indicated the stimulation of both Th1 and Th2 subsets. The immunized mice exhibited 100 % survival upon challenge with B. anthracis spores or toxin indicating the ability of r-PB to provide comprehensive protection against anthrax. Our results thus demonstrate r-PB an efficient vaccine candidate against anthrax infection.

The oil and gas production boom in the United States tends to assume a smooth-flowing infrastructure that in a few years will seamlessly deliver the country’s growing hydrocarbon wealth to world markets. However, the investment needed to deliver that infrastructure will be enormous. Craig Pirrong, a professor at the University of Houston who specialises in markets and who has taken particular interest in petroleum, spoke at a Platts conference in early 2012 and tried to estimate what the value of that investment would be.

The role that climate and environmental history may have played in influencing human evolution has been the focus of considerable interest and controversy among paleoanthropologists for decades. Prior attempts to understand the environmental history side of this equation have centered around the study of outcrop sediments and fossils adjacent to where fossil hominins (ancestors or close relatives of modern humans) are found, or from the study of deep sea drill cores. However, outcrop sediments are often highly weathered and thus are unsuitable for some types of paleoclimatic records, and deep sea core records come from long distances away from the actual fossil and stone tool remains. The Hominin Sites and Paleolakes Drilling Project (HSPDP) was developed to address these issues. The project has focused its efforts on the eastern African Rift Valley, where much of the evidence for early hominins has been recovered. We have collected about 2 km of sediment drill core from six basins in Kenya and Ethiopia, in lake deposits immediately adjacent to important fossil hominin and archaeological sites. Collectively these cores cover in time many of the key transitions and critical intervals in human evolutionary history over the last 4 Ma, such as the earliest stone tools, the origin of our own genus Homo, and the earliest anatomically modern Homo sapiens. Here we document the initial field, physical property, and core description results of the 2012-2014 HSPDP coring campaign., Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe, 611

Item does not contain fulltext The results of a study on perceptual learning are reported. Dutch subjects made lexical decisions on a list of words and nonwords. Embedded in the list were either [f]- or [s]-final words in which the final fricative had been replaced by an ambiguous sound, midway between [f] and [s]. One group of listeners heard ambiguous [f]-final Dutch words like [kara?] (based on karaf, carafe) and unambiguous [s]-final words (e.g., karkas, carcase). A second group heard the reverse (e.g., ambiguous [karka?] and unambiguous karaf). After this training phase, listeners labelled ambiguous fricatives on an [f]-[s] continuum. The subjects who had heard [?] in [f]-final words categorised these fricatives as [f] reliably more often than those who had heard [?] in [s]-final words. These results suggest that speech recognition is dynamic: the system adjusts to the constraints of each particular listening situation. The lexicon can provide this adjustment process with a training signal.

Chapter 4: Incident Investigation in SMS and FRMS The European Commission HILAS project (Human Integration into the Lifecycle of Aviation Systems - a project supported by the European Commission’s 6th Framework between 2005-2009) was focused on using human factors knowledge and methodology to address key challenges for aviation (current and future) including a performance based approach for safety and fatigue management in the aviation sector, mainly inflight operations and maintenance. The project Deliverables have been presented as a series of draft book chapters on Safety Management Systems with emphasis on Fatigue risk Management and organisational learning from operational experiences in aviation. The chapters also include conceptual frameworks underlying a thorough analysis of essential functions, contents and structures of a Safety Management System (SMS). This includes supporting functionalities such as investigation in just culture context, decision making processes, and safety promotion. This set of eight (8) draft chapters links theory with field implementation and regulation in airlines. The draft chapters are: Ch. 1: Organisational Learning and Organisational Memory for SMS and FRMS Ch. 2: Resilience Safety Culture in Aviation Organisations Ch. 3: Operational Risk Management System for SMS and FRMS Ch. 4: Incident Investigation in SMS and FRMS Ch. 5: Developing a Safety Management System for Fatigue Related Risks in easyJet Ch. 6: Safety Assurance Process for FRMS – easyJet case study Implementation Ch. 7: Developing a Resilient Just Culture in SMS and FRMS – easyJet case study Implementation Ch. 8: International Fatigue Risk Management Forum - Safety Promotion and Feedback in FRMS

The central issues in the study of speech recognition by human listeners (HSR) and of automatic speech recognition (ASR) are clearly comparable; nevertheless the research communities that concern themselves with ASR and HSR are largely distinct. This paper compares the research objectives of the two fields, and attempts to draw informative lessons from one to the other.

A retrospective analysis is presented of the results of external beam radiotherapy for retinoblastoma utilising an accurate lens sparing technique. Local tumour control has been assessed in a consecutive series of 67 eyes in 53 children all of whom received external beam radiotherapy as the primary treatment of retinoblastoma. Follow up ranged from 12 to 82 months (median 35 months) with 76% of the children followed for more than 2 years. Tumour control rates have been analysed with respect to the Reese-Ellsworth classification. The role of adjuvant and salvage focal therapy is emphasised. Following lens sparing radiotherapy with prior adjuvant treatment of anterior tumours, where appropriate, the overall ocular cure rate was 72%. With salvage therapy of persistent, recurrent, or new tumours, 93% of eyes could be preserved in this series which includes mainly eyes classified in Reese-Ellsworth groups I-III. These results compare favourably with those of whole eye external beam radiotherapy for comparable tumours, and with those of lens and anterior segment sparing using other techniques. They were achieved without the ocular morbidity associated with whole eye external beam radiotherapy.

The increased use of intelligent decision support systems has created a demand for efficient acquisition, implementation and maintenance of the knowledge required by such systems. The field of knowledge level modelling has developed as a means to this end. This has led to the construction of methodologies for KBS development that facilitate a generic approach toknowledge acquisition. Such generic approaches have achieved great success when applied to various domains, yet have thus far largely neglected the generic areas of planning, scheduling and resource allocation. In this paper we outline the development of such a generic approach within the domain of planning for Search and Rescue. Our generic approach makes a distinction between domain derived knowledge level models and those derived from systems. We describe how the combination of these two types of model can achieve definite benefits within the course of KBS development.

The beef industry in Vanuatu has significant potential to increase cattle numbers and meat production. The principal elements of the proposed strategy are : The immediate stimulation of the existing plantation sector to undertake renovation and development. The continuing support of the smallholder sector by an efficient extension process, and - improved co-ordination of all industry sectors by improving the institutional framwork. The main policy recommendations are : the definition of the role of the existing expatriate plantations, the steady increase in ni-Vanuatu participation in the industry, the resolution of land-related constraints presently encountered by ni-Vuanatu Farmers, the provision of sufficient resources to the appropriate GOV departments to ensure adequate support is provided to the beef industry. A clear definition of the smallholder farming system, and their decision-making process, the establishment of a live cattle market, the success of the South Santo Cattle Project, and the success of VLD, are seen as being essential

We present the progress on the benchmarking project for high school timetabling that was introduced at PATAT 2008. In particular, we announce the High School Timetabling Archive HSTT2010 with 15 instances from 7 countries and an evaluator capable of checking the syntax of instances and evaluating the solutions.

The 2020 Summer Olympics will be the hottest ever; due to a combination of climate change and scheduling them when Tokyo is at its most sweltering. Cities have been transformed, with the Games used by governments to unite citizens behind patriotic visions of national success and project a modernist image of a city and nation on the leading edge of global progress. This is the Olympic paradox- being uniquely symbolic of modernity while also complicit in modernity’s outcome, including the systematic depletion of the Earth’s resources, our destruction of its habitats, and pollution of the biosphere with emissions and effluents which together threaten the sustainability of life on Earth.

Item does not contain fulltext The central issues in the study of speech recognition by human listeners (HSR) and of automatic speech recognition (ASR) are clearly comparable; nevertheless the research communities that concern themselves with ASR and HSR are largely distinct. This paper compares the research objectives of the two fields, and attempts to draw informative lessons from one to the other.