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Energy efficiency improvement is one of the measures undertaken by government of Thailand to achieve its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) by 2030 and contribute towards carbon neutrality 2050. The objective of this study is to compare the economy of Thailand before and after the implementation of energy efficiency improvement. This study also assessed the rebound effects of energy efficiency improvement and further analyzed the role of carbon tax in minimizing the rebound effects. In addition, the effects of GHG emissions with energy efficiency improvement and carbon tax were also assessed. The study was analyzed by developing a static computable general equilibrium (CGE) model of Thailand. The CGE model consists of 27 non-energy sectors and 5 energy sectors. This study finds that the energy efficiency improvement in the production sectors would lower the energy consumption in the overall production sectors but increase the consumption in the household sector and its associated GHG emissions from the energy use. However, energy efficiency improvement in both households and production sectors would cause a decline in the overall energy consumption and GHG emissions. Results show the rebound effects in the aforementioned energy efficiency improvement cases. It is found that the implementation of carbon tax of $5/tCO2e would not be enough to neutralize the rebound effects, however, carbon tax of $10/tCO2e would be sufficient to neutralize the rebound effects with GDP gain.

Software-Defined Networks ( SDNs ), with their segregated data and control planes, has proved to be capable of managing massive amounts of data by leveraging distributed information available across the network for informed decision-making at the network controller. However, with the proliferation of next-generation, real-time Internet of Things ( IoT ) applications that vary greatly in terms of data frequency and volumes, data traffic classification can substantially assist SDN controllers toward efficient routing and traffic engineering decisions. Existing works on network classification are limited by their application-centric nature, thus overlooking the key criterion for real-time IoT applications, namely, Quality of Service ( QoS ). In this article, we focus on augmenting SDN controllers’ decision-making capacity and Underwater Sensor Networks with machine learning algorithms to achieve real-time, QoS-aware, network traffic classification. Three classifiers, namely, Feed-forward Neural Network, Naïve Bayes, and Logistics Regression have been employed with a novel Artificial Neural Network and Particle Swarm Optimization hybridization scheme by carrying first- and second-order stability analysis for performance improvement of these classifiers. In short, the proposed framework exploits optimization algorithms and semi-supervised machine learning ( ML ) for precise traffic classification while keeping communication overhead between controller and switches minimal. Results obtained from real-life datasets demonstrate the efficacy of our proposed scheme.

Introduction: Impression materials are used to record the anatomical topography of oral tissues. Irreversible hydrocolloid is an impression material routinely used in dentistry. However, it retains bacteria, 2 to 3 times higher than other impression material. Spraying and immersion technique has been employed for disinfection of irreversible hydrocolloid with varying degree of success. Thus the need of impression material that has self-disinfecting capacity seems to be very important to have infection control in dentistry. Materials and Methods: This invitro study was done in two parts. Assessment of self-disinfecting capacity of irreversible hydrocolloid impression material mixed with different concentrations of chlorhexidine solution and dimensional stability of irreversible hydrocolloid impression material mixed with different concentrations of chlorhexidine solution. For assessment of self-disinfecting capacity, irreversible hydrocolloid was mixed with various concentrations of chlorhexidine (0.05%, 0.1%, 0.2%) and distilled water. Total 64 culture plates were prepared, n=16 for each group of microorganisms (E. coli, S. aureus, Pseudomonas, Klebsiella). Inhibition zones were measured for each microorganism. For dimensional stability, the specimens were divided into four groups similar to specimen for self-disinfecting ability. Total 56 samples were prepared, n=14 for each group. Interpretation (IP), Mesiodistal (MD), Buccolingual (BL), Occlusogingival (OG) dimensions were measured by digital Vernier caliper. One-way analysis of variance was done for assessment of self-disinfecting capacity and for dimensional stability. Dunnett comparison test was performed to test the significance between test and control. P value was calculated under the predetermined level of significance (0.05). Results: Zones of inhibition were observed around test specimens (groups 0.05, 0.1, 0.2), but not around control specimen (Group d/w). There was a significant difference in the mean diameters of the inhibition zones between test groups and control which was statistically highly significant (p < 0.001). In the test for dimensional stability, no significant differences were detected among groups for all the measured dimensions (p> 0.05). Conclusion: Irreversible hydrocolloid impression material mixed with chlorhexidine exhibits varying degrees of self-disinfecting activity without influencing the dimensional stability of set material.

Background Septoplasty techniques have evolved over the years with endoscopic septoplasty gaining popularity in the recent times. Objective To compare the outcomes of conventional septoplasty with endoscopic septoplasty using Freer's incision in symptomatic deviated nasal septum. Method It was a prospective, randomized and comparative study done at Department of ENTHead and Neck Surgery, Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal from July 2018 to August 2019. A total of 70 patients with symptomatic deviated nasal septum were allocated randomly into two groups. Group A underwent conventional septoplasty whilst Group B underwent endoscopic septoplasty using Freer's incision. Sino-nasal outcome test (SNOT-10) score was recorded pre-operatively and post -operatively between four to six weeks of surgery. Paired and independent 't' test for mean was used as a statistical tool. Result Out of 70 patients, 57(81.43%) were males and 13(18.57%) females. The age group mostly affected was in the third and fourth decades with total 47 patients (67.14%). In the conventional group, the pre-op mean SNOT-10 score was 11.46 (SD±3.6) while post-op mean SNOT-10 score was 2.60 (SD±1.9), the difference being statistically significant (p value 0.00001). Similarly, in the endoscopic group, pre-op mean SNOT10 score was 12.06 (SD±4.88) and post-op mean SNOT- 10 score was 3.37 (SD±2.71) with the difference being statistically significant (p value 0.00001). Comparison of post-operative mean SNOT-10 score between two techniques was not statistically significant (p value 0.17). Conclusion Both conventional and endoscopic septoplasty techniques using Freer's incision were equally effective in improving symptoms due to deviated nasal septum.

Background Septoplasty techniques have evolved over the years with endoscopic septoplasty gaining popularity in the recent times. Objective To compare the outcomes of conventional septoplasty with endoscopic septoplasty using Freer’s incision in symptomatic deviated nasal septum. Method It was a prospective, randomized and comparative study done at Department of ENT Head and Neck Surgery, Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal from July 2018 to August 2019. A total of 70 patients with symptomatic deviated nasal septum were allocated randomly into two groups. Group A underwent conventional septoplasty whilst Group B underwent endoscopic septoplasty using Freer’s incision. Sino-nasal outcome test (SNOT-10) score was recorded pre-operatively and post -operatively between four to six weeks of surgery. Paired and independent ‘t’ test for mean was used as a statistical tool. Result Out of 70 patients, 57(81.43%) were males and 13(18.57%) females. The age group mostly affected was in the third and fourth decades with total 47 patients (67.14%). In the conventional group, the pre-op mean SNOT-10 score was 11.46 (SD±3.6) while post-op mean SNOT-10 score was 2.60 (SD±1.9), the difference being statistically significant (p value 0.00001). Similarly, in the endoscopic group, pre-op mean SNOT-10 score was 12.06 (SD±4.88) and post-op mean SNOT-10 score was 3.37 (SD±2.71) with the difference being statistically significant (p value 0.00001). Comparison of post-operative mean SNOT-10 score between two techniques was not statistically significant (p value 0.17). Conclusion Both conventional and endoscopic septoplasty techniques using Freer’s incision were equally effective in improving symptoms due to deviated nasal septum.

Antiferromagnetism and d-wave superconductivity are the most important competing ground-state phases of cuprate superconductors. In this regard, we have proposed a model Hamiltonian describing the interlayer tunnelling in d-wave bilayer cuprate superconductors in the coexistence of superconductivity and antiferromagnetism. The Hamiltonian model is solved for the quasiparticle energy bands, the superconducting and the antiferromagnetic gap parameters by using Zubarev’s technique of double time electron Green’s functions. The effects of interlayer tunnelling are studied for superconducting and antiferromagnetic gap parameters.

Background: In the modern society, technology has contributed to create physical comfort in the life and simultaneously, there is alteration in dietary habits of youngsters. This has affected adolescent’s health significantly, leading to hypertension in both urban and rural adolescent population. Objectives: Present study aimed to access and compares the prevalence of hypertension among urban and rural adolescent. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional comparative study conducted on 300 healthy age matched adolescents, 10- 19 years of age from each of rural and urban school of Jaipur (Rajasthan). After Institutional Ethical Committee and school administration approval, a predesigned proforma was filled having socio-demographic details, personal and family history. An average blood pressure was calculated by measuring 3 recordings with 5 minutes break through sphygmomanometer. The blood pressure was classified on percentile bases into prehypertension and hypertension. The data inferred by chisquare and ‘p-value’ less than 0.05 considered as significant. Result: The prevalence of hypertension among urban and rural adolescent of Jaipur was 7.6% and 7%, while prehypertension was 32% and 28%, respectively. The prevalence of hypertension was high for systolic than diastolic blood pressure and more in late adolescent than early adolescent age group which was found significant only for systolic hypertension (p=0.003). Conclusion: High prevalence of adolescent’s hypertension is an important risk factor for future consequences of cardiovascular disease suggesting that there should be change in lifestyle. The early detection and management of it can prevent any future disability and mortality.

Propagation of small-amplitude quantum ion-acoustic waves and its fractal representations is investigated in an electron-ion quantum plasma with separated spin electrons in the framework of the KdV and EKdV equations derived using reductive perturbation technique. These two equations are transformed into planar dynamical systems by using suitable traveling wave transformation. Qualitatively different phase portraits of these two systems are drawn with their respective Sagdeev’s pseudopotential curves and surface plots. Distinct orbits in the phase portraits give rise to distinct wave solutions. Periodic and superperiodic wave solutions are investigated numerically and solitary wave solutions are derived analytically. The effect of parameters such as Mach number, direction cosine, spin polarization and frequency ratio on these wave solutions are presented. For instance, it is seen that the spin density polarization ratio has an impressive effect on the amplitude of the wave solution, while the frequency ratio has no effect on its amplitude. Also, we have provided a physical explanation for our finding. Further, the dynamical features of the original system and reconstructed system using fractal interpolation function are investigated under the external forcing term. Chaotic and quasiperiodic phenomena are observed for different initial conditions. The results may help to better understand the degenerate electron gas that exists in dense astrophysical bodies.

An affordable health scheme has been always required by the Indian people. Even after passing74 years of Indian independence, quality healthcare has not been accessible to the Indian people. The data have shown out of the vast population of India only 25 percent of people are insured under the private and government insurance scheme. To overcome this problem Indian government has launched the Ayushman Bharat scheme on 25 December 2018 on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya. The Ayushman Bharat is the Hindi translation of “India blessed with long life”. This scheme is the biggest health care scheme in the world which covers the huge population of India and the covered population under this scheme is more than 100 million. The scheme has categories into the primary, secondary, and tertiary care domain to address the health-related problems of the people and the most important and fascinating feature of the scheme is that a beneficiary avails the facilities in government hospital along with private hospitals. The present study reviews different aspects of the scheme in relevance to the helath sector to provide better perpective towards Indian health care systems.

Laser has been widely used for fabricating micro-features and micromachining of several engineering materials. The present research work is based on the experimental investigation of laser surface ...

We discuss here a few possibilities of gap structure and pairing mechanism for iron-based superconductors with more than one orbital symmetry contributing to the pairing. We have proposed a two-orbital tight-binding model for the coexistence of superconductivity and Jahn-Teller distortion in s±-wave pairing symmetry of the form coskx × cosky in the mean-field approximation. The self-consistent gap equations are calculated by Zubarev’s double-time Green’s function technique which are solved numerically and self-consistently. The specific heat, density of states and band energies are also studied for the proposed model.

Parthenium hysterophorus Linn. is one of the most aggressive, invasive weeds threatening natural and agricultural ecosystems in Nepal. Leaf feeding beetle, Zygogramma bicolorata Pallister (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), is regarded as a potential candidate for biological control of Parthenium weed. Considering the fact effectiveness of Z. bicolorata against P. hysterophorus was evaluted in Nepal. Z. bicolorata caused 98.25 % defoliation of P. hysterophorus reducing 38.88 % plant height, 27.29 % plant width, 26.25 % root length, 12.33 % leaves, 40.58 % shoot biomass and 36.59 % root biomass in the period of 90 days. The flower production and soil seed bank were reduced by 50.22 % and 40.29 %, respectively. Z. bicolorata was an efficient bio-control agent with a significant negative effect on the vegetative and reproductive performance of the noxious weed P. hysterophorus.

Introduction: Taking into consideration the wide spectrum of complications that follow MSICS and their influence on visual outcome, a sincere effort has been made in this study to critically analyze the incidence and the nature of various intraoperative, early and late post-operative complications among the total number of cataract extraction carried out. Materials and Methods: A Prospective observational study of 500 cases that had undergone MSICS after a thorough preoperative ocular evaluation including detailed history and clinical examination and these cases were studied for a period of 2 years and all the intraoperative, early and late post-operative complications were noted. Results: The commonest intraoperative complications were premature entry with iris prolapse (5%) followed by zonular dialysis (3%), commonest early post operative complications were SK (20%) and corneal edema (17%) and the commonest late post operative complications were PCO(18%) followed by astigmatism in 9% of the cases. Conclusion: SICS gives best corrected postoperative visual acuity of 6/6 or 6/9 in a greater proportion of patients and it has all the inherent advantages of the sutureless cataract surgery in terms of universal applicability, greater wound stability, lesser complications and early visual rehabilitation. Keywords: Cataract surgery, Complications of MSICS, MSICS, Phacoemulsification.

In iron based superconductors the superconducting phase occurs near the onset of antiferromagnetism order. Unconventional superconductivity has led to extensive experimental and theoretical studies on the effect of electron correlations and on the nature of magnetism in iron based superconductors. For the study of antiferromagnetism in these superconductors we have proposed a tight-binding two-orbital model Hamiltonian. We have proposed here a s±-wave pairing symmetry of the form coskx × cosky in the model in mean-field approximation. The model is solved by Zubarev’s double-time Green’s function technique to find the self-consistent gap equation and is solved self-consistently numerically. The antiferromagnetism gap, specific heat, conduction electron density of states and energy band structure for the system are calculated.

A field experiment was conducted at the instructional farm of Krishi Vigyan Kendra Jajpur, Odisha during 2016 to study the effect of integrated nutrient management on disease and pest incidence and yield of okra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench) variety Pusa A-4.From the experiment it was observed that treatment T7 [RDF(75%)+ (25%) neem oil cake] has significant effect on disease incidence and pest population by reducing incidence of YVMV from 32.42% to 19.56%, jassid population from 11.57 to 6.53 per three leaves,mite population from 11.98 to 8.11 per three leaves, white fly population from 13.61 to 6.64 per three leaves and fruit borer from 17.94 % to 7.94 %. Maximum number of fruits per plant 15.02 was recorded in T7. Fruit yield per hectare varied significantly and was maximum with T7 (10.49 ton) and was minimum with T11 (7.30 ton). T7 (10.49 ton) and T5 (9.85 ton) and T10 (9.65 ton) were at par with each other. Combined use of 75 % RDF as inorganic fertilizer with 25 % RDF through neem oil cake (T7) recorded highest gross income of Rs.1,45,770/-, net income Rs.85,458 /- per hectare and maximum benefit cost ratio 2.42.

The 2015 Paris Agreement aims to limit global temperature rise in this century to well below 2°C above the pre-industrial level, and pursue efforts to limit further the temperature rise below 1.5°C...

Multicellularity is associated with higher eukaryotes having an organized division of labour and a coordinated action of different organs composed of multiple cell types. This division of different cell types and organizations to form a multicellular structure by developmental programming is a key to the multitasking of complex traits that enable higher eukaryotes to cope with fluctuating environmental conditions. Microbes such as bacteria, on the other hand, are unicellular and have flourished in diverse environmental conditions for a much longer time than eukaryotes in evolutionary history. In this review, we will focus on different strategies and functions exhibited by microbes that enable them to adapt to changes in lifestyle associated with transitioning from a unicellular solitary state to a complex community architecture known as a biofilm. We will also discuss various environmental stimuli and signaling processes which bacteria utilize to coordinate their social traits and enable themselves to form complex multicellular-like biofilm structures, and the division of labour operative within such communities driving their diverse social traits. We will also discuss here recent studies from our laboratory using a plant-associated bacterial pathogen as a model organism to elucidate the mechanism of bacterial cell-cell communication and the transition of a bacterial community to a multicellular-like structure driven by the complex regulation of traits influenced by cell density, as well as environmental sensing such as chemotaxis and nutrient availability. These studies are shedding important insights into bacterial developmental transitions and will help us to understand community cooperation and conflict using bacterial cell-cell communication as a model system.

Incorporating C

Thailand’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) aims to reduce 20 to 25% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with respect to the projected reference level of NDC in 2030, respectively, in its unconditional and conditional scenarios. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C would require net zero carbon dioxide emissions globally by around 2050. Thailand’s current energy system is highly fossil fuel dependent and requires enormous transformations to achieve more stringent GHG emission reduction targets beyond its NDC. This paper seeks to estimate the level and the intensities of Thailand’s energy system and their economy-wide effects post-2030 under the business as usual and 16 GHG emission reduction scenarios ranging from 30 to 100% by 2050. A computable general equilibrium analysis using the AIM/Hub model is employed to estimate the macroeconomic impacts of meeting the unconditional and conditional emission reductions of Thailand’s NDC in 2030 along with varying GHG emission reductions in 2050. Results show that renewables – constituting solar, wind, biomass and hydro and carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies account for more than 95% in the power generation mix by 2050, if 100% GHG emission reduction from the 2010 level is to be achieved. Electricity generation based on biomass both with and without CCS will occupy a major share in the investments by 2050 in all the conditional and unconditional NDC scenarios. A rapid increase in carbon sequestration occurs from 2040 onwards through the deployment of CCS and bioenergy with CCS (BECCS) technologies in all the conditional and unconditional NDC scenarios. Carbon prices lie in the range of 3.4–266.2 US$/tCO2eq during 2025–2050 to achieve 100% GHG emission reductions in 2050. Imposition of early stringent mitigation target lowers the carbon prices in the conditional scenarios towards 2050 when compared to the unconditional scenarios. The rapid uptake of CCS, energy efficiency improvements and electrification of the end-use technologies are identified to be the key measures to transform the energy system of Thailand. Key policy insightsBy 2050, the Thai economy would face a higher fall in both the GDP and household consumption in the unconditional scenarios than those in the conditional scenarios at all levels of GHG emission reduction.Results indicate that early mitigation efforts can be less costly than the delayed ones in the long-term.The cumulative investment needed to achieve decarbonization in Thailand is estimated to exceed 355 billion US$2005 over the period 2010–2050 in the 100% GHG reduction scenarios.The transmission and distribution investments in the power sector need to increase by 30–35% to attain 100% GHG emission reductions during 2010–2050.The trade deficit improves by up to 23–29% in the various GHG mitigation scenarios in 2050. By 2050, the Thai economy would face a higher fall in both the GDP and household consumption in the unconditional scenarios than those in the conditional scenarios at all levels of GHG emission reduction. Results indicate that early mitigation efforts can be less costly than the delayed ones in the long-term. The cumulative investment needed to achieve decarbonization in Thailand is estimated to exceed 355 billion US$2005 over the period 2010–2050 in the 100% GHG reduction scenarios. The transmission and distribution investments in the power sector need to increase by 30–35% to attain 100% GHG emission reductions during 2010–2050. The trade deficit improves by up to 23–29% in the various GHG mitigation scenarios in 2050.

International Journal of Advanced Research (IJAR)