Side illumination fluorescence emission characteristics from a dye doped polymer optical fiber under two-photon excitation.

Two-photon excited (TPE) side illumination fluorescence studies in a Rh6G-RhB dye mixture doped polymer optical fiber (POF) and the effect of energy transfer on the attenuation coefficient is reported. The dye doped POF is pumped sideways using 800 nm, 70 fs laser pulses from a Ti:sapphire laser, and the TPE fluorescence emission is collected from the end of the fiber for different propagation distances. The fluorescence intensity of RhB doped POF is enhanced in the presence of Rh6G as a result of energy transfer from Rh6G to RhB. Because of the reabsorption and reemission process in dye molecules, an effective energy transfer is observed from the shorter wavelength part of the fluorescence spectrum to the longer wavelength part as the propagation distance is increased in dye doped POF. An energy transfer coefficient is found to be higher at shorter propagation distances compared to longer distances. A TPE fluorescence signal is used to characterize the optical attenuation coefficient in dye doped POF. The attenuation coefficient decreases at longer propagation distances due to the reabsorption and reemission process taking place within the dye doped fiber as the propagation distance is increased.

Coastal Upwelling of the South Eastern Arabian Sea - An Integrated Approach

Upwelling regions occupies only a small portion of the global ocean surface. However it accounts for a large fraction of the oceanic primary production as well as fishery. Therefore understanding and quantifying the upwelling is of great importance for the marine resources management. Most of the coastal upwelling zones in the Arabian Sea are wind driven uniform systems. Mesoscale studies along the southwest coast of India have shown high spatial and temporal variability in the forcing mechanism and intensity of upwelling. There exists an equatorward component of wind stress as similar to the most upwelling zones along the eastern oceanic boundaries. Therefore an offshore component of surface Ekman transport is expected throughout the year. But several studies supported with in situ evidences have revealed that the process is purely recurring on seasonal basis. The explanation merely based on local wind forcing alone is not sufficient to support the observations. So, it is assumed that upwelling along the South Eastern Arabian Sea is an effect of basin wide wind forcing rather than local wind forcing. In the present study an integrated approach has been made to understand the process of upwelling of the South Eastern Arabian Sea. The latitudinal and seasonal variations (based on Sea Surface Temperature, wind forcing, Chlorophyll a and primary production), forcing mechanisms (local wind and remote forcing) and the factors influencing the system (Arabian Sea High Saline Water, Bay of Bengal water, runoff, coastal geomorphology) are addressed herewith.

Remote Sensing the Signatures of Upwelling in South Eastern Arabian Sea

In this thesis, a variety of available satellite data products have been made use of to bring out a synergistic analysis on the upwelling phenomenon in SEAS. Basic concepts of remote sensing, upwelling and linked oceanography topics have been dealt in this work .Auxiliary data products utilized in this study are described in chapter 2. The climatological monthly variability of the upwelling signatures are detailed under chapter 3. Chapter 4 presents the forcing factors that trigger the upwelling process in SEAS. Chapter 5 describes the oceanic response to the forcing factors with respect to the SST cooling and CHLA blooms. Chapter 6 presents the heat budget of the region and the variability of heat budget terms with respect to upwelling. Chapter 7 describes the inter-annual variability of upwelling intensity in SEAS and the influence of climatic events on upwelling.

Response of Eastern Arabian Sea to Extreme climatic Events with Special Reference to Selected Pelagic Fishes

The thesis attempts to study the changes in oceanographic parameters associated with extreme climatic events,the influence of oceanographic as well as meteorological parameters on fishes.The characteristics of major pelagic fishes of southwest coast of India(Oil sardine and Indian mackerel) have been described here.A description on study area and period of study is also described .The impact of extreme climatic events on the oceanographic variability of Eastern Arabian Sea.The extreme climatic event,the Indian Ocean Dipole associated with EI Nino Southern Oscillation is taken into consideration.The variability in oil sardine and mackerel landings of southwest coast of India during the study period.The trend analysis of the landings has been done and also a prediction model is applied for the landings.The influence of environmental parameters on oil sardine as well as mackerel fishery has been explained .With regression analysis ,the significant relation between environmental parameters and fish landings are also been recognized.The prediction of landings is done with these environmental parameters.

Macrobenthosof the cotinental margin(200-1000 m) of South Eastern Arabian Sea with special reference to Polychaetes

This thesis Entitled macrobenthos of the continental margin (200-1000m) of south eastern arabian sea with special reference to polychaetes. The continental margins are geologically complex and hydrodynamically active regions of the ocean, where vital biogeochemical processes take place from a global perspective. The Eastern Arabian Sea is one of the most productive regions of the world, and as a result, vast amount of organic matter is supplied to the sub surface waters and sea bed of the Arabian Sea. In this study, data on faunal abundance, standing crop and faunal composition, together with sedimentary and environmental parameters were collected from three depths (200m, 500m & 1000m) in nine bathymetric transects along the South Eastern Arabian Sea (from Cape Comorin to Karwar) during three surveys. In the present study, five textural classes of sediments were identified from the SEAS margin, viz. sand, silty sand, sandy silt, clayey silt and admixture of sand, silt and clay. The composition of sand was higher in the southern region and decreased progressively towards the north. On the shelf edge and upper slope regions in the south (Cape to Kollam) in particular, sandy sediments dominated .

An integrated study on the hydrogeology of Bharathapuzha river basin, South West coast of India

The present work deals with the An integrated study on the hydrogeology of Bharathapuzha river basin ,south west coast of india. To study the spatial and temporal behaviour of the groundwater system of the Bharathapuzha river basin.To discover the sub-surface parameter by ground resistivity surveys.T o determine the groundwater quality of the Bharathapuzha river basin for the different seasons {pre monsoon and post monsoon with reference to the domestic and irrigational water quality standards.Present study will provide a good database on the hydrogeological aspects within the river basin.The study area covers l7 block Panchayats. Of these, Chitoor block is ‘over exploited’, Kollengode, Trithala, and Palakkad are ‘critical’ in category and Kuttippuram and Sreekrishnapuram blocks are ‘semi critical’ in terms of groundwater development.Comparison of Geomorphology map with drainage map shows that the geomorphology has a clear control on the drainage net work of the basin. The structural hill area shows a highest drainage network, where as pediment shows lowest drainage network.There are many discontinuous lineament in the Bharathapuzha river basin which can be connected by a straight line.Ground water flow directions are generally towards the western portions of the study area. From the northern region Water flows towards the central and also water from the eastern and southern side confluences at the centre and move towards western side of the basin.The positive correlation of transmissivity and storativity values show good aquifer conditions exists in the present study area .

Biogeochemistry of the shelf sediments of south eastern Arabian sea: Effect on benthic bacterial heterotrophs

The composition and variability of heterotrophic bacteria along the shelf sediments of south west coast of India and its relationship with the sediment biogeochemistry was investigated. The bacterial abundance ranged from 1.12 x 103 – 1.88 x 106 CFU g-1 dry wt. of sediment. The population showed significant positive correlation with silt (r = 0.529, p< 0.05), organic carbon (OC) (r = 0.679, p< 0.05), total nitrogen (TN) (r = 0.638, p< 0.05), total protein (TPRT) (r = 0.615, p< 0.05) and total carbohydrate (TCHO) (r = 0.675, p< 0.05) and significant negative correlation with sand (r = -0.488, p< 0.05). Community was mainly composed of Bacillus, Alteromonas, Vibrio, Coryneforms, Micrococcus, Planococcus, Staphylococcus, Moraxella, Alcaligenes, Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter, Flavobacterium and Aeromonas. BIOENV analysis explained the best possible environmental parameters i.e., carbohydrate, total nitrogen, temperature, pH and sand at 50m depth and organic matter, BPC, protein, lipid and temperature at 200m depth controlling the distribution pattern of heterotrophic bacterial population in shelf sediments. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of the environmental variables showed that the first and second principal component accounted for 65% and 30.6% of the data variance respectively. Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) revealed a strong correspondence between bacterial distribution and environmental variables in the study area. Moreover, non-metric MDS (Multidimensional Scaling) analysis demarcated the northern and southern latitudes of the study area based on the bioavailable organic matter

Spatio-temporal variation of microphytoplankton in the upwelling system of the south-eastern Arabian Sea during the summer monsoon of 2009

The phytoplankton standing crop was assessed in detail along the South Eastern Arabian Sea (SEAS) during the different phases of coastal upwelling in 2009.During phase 1 intense upwelling was observed along the southern transects (8◦N and 8.5◦N). The maximum chlorophyll a concentration (22.7 mg m −3) was observed in the coastal waters off Thiruvananthapuram (8.5◦N). Further north there was no signature of upwelling, with extensive Trichodesmium erythraeum blooms. Diatoms dominated in these upwelling regions with the centric diatom Chaetoceros curvisetus being the dominant species along the 8◦N transect. Along the 8.5◦N transect pennate diatoms like Nitzschia seriata and Pseudo-nitzschia sp. dominated. During phase 2, upwelling of varying intensity was observed throughout the study area with maximum chlorophyll a concentrations along the 9◦N transect (25 mg m−3) with Chaetoceros curvisetus as the dominant phytoplankton. Along the 8.5◦N transect pennate diatoms during phase 1 were replaced by centric diatoms like Chaetoceros sp. The presence of solitary pennate diatoms Amphora sp. and Navicula sp. were significant in the waters off Kochi. Upwelling was waning during phase 3 and was confined to the coastal waters of the southern transects with the highest chlorophyll a concentration of 11.2 mg m−3. Along with diatoms, dinoflagellate cell densities increased in phases 2 and 3. In the northern transects (9◦N and 10◦N) the proportion of dinoflagellates was comparatively higher and was represented mainly by Protoperidinium spp., Ceratium spp. and Dinophysis spp.

Microphytoplankton community structure in the North Eastern Arabian Sea during Winter Monsoon

The overall attempt of the study was aimed to understand the microphytoplankton community composition and its variations along a highly complex and dynamic marine ecosystem, the northern Arabian Sea. The data generated provides a first of its kind knowledge on the major primary producers of the region. There appears significant response among the microphytoplankton community structure towards the variations in the hydrographic conditions during the winter monsoon period. Interannually, variations were observed within the microphytoplankton community associated with the variability in temperature patterns and the intensity of convective mixing. Changing bloom pattern and dominating species among the phytoplankton community open new frontiers and vistas towards more intense study on the biological responses towards physical processes. The production of large amount of organic matter as a result of intense blooming of Noctiluca as well as diatoms aggregations augment the particulate organic substances in these ecosystem. This definitely influences the carbon dynamics of the northern Arabian Sea. Detailed investigations based on time series as well as trophodynamic studies are necessary to elucidate the carbon flux and associated impacts of winter-spring blooms in NEAS. Arabian sea is considered as one among the hotspot for carbon dynamics and the pioneering records on the major primary producers fuels carbon based export production studies and provides a platform for future research. Moreover upcoming researches based on satellite based remote sensing on productivity patterns utilizes these insitu observations and taxonomic data sets of phytoplankton for validation of bloom specific algorithm development and its implementation. Furthermore Saurashtra coast is considered as a major fishing zone of Indian EEZ. The studies on the phytoplankton in these regions provide valuable raw data for fishery prediction models and identifying fishing zones. With the Summary and Conclusion 177 baseline data obtained further trophodynamic studies can be initiated in the complex productive North Eastern Arabian Seas (NEAS) ecosystem that is still remaining unexplored.

The Corticiaceae (Basidiomycetes) in Taiwan

Geographically, Taiwan is an Island and situated in the northeast of Asia, on the western side of the Pacific Basin, at the southeast of main China, south of Japan, and north of the Philippines. The main topographic character is the longitudinally oriented mountainous area. More than 200 peaks rise above 3000 m. They departed Taiwan into two lowland areas, an eastern and western plain. Taiwan is departed into subtropical (north area) and tropical zone (south area), which have a warm and humid climate, due to the Tropic of Cancer passing through. The average annual temperature in the lowland amounts to 28°C (7~38°C). The temperate climate also presents in the mountainous areas. The tropical typhoons usually come in summer and bring heavy rain, while the monsoon seasons have an important effect on the regional rainfall distribution. The mean annual rainfall of Taiwan is about 2600 mm (1000~6700 mm); the mountainous areas receive more rain than the lowlands. In Taiwan, according to different temperature and vegetation, the ecological environments were given rise to vertical biotic zonations, and form five major types: highland snowfield, highland meadow, coniferous forest, deciduous forest, and tropical forest. Six National Parks in Taiwan are located in the mountainous areas, in the north, the south, and on Jinmen Island. The National Parks represent about 8.4% of the country area. In this study, the collection sites are situated in Yangmingshan, Shei-Pa, Yushan, and Kenting National Park. Due to the island isolation, the proportions of endemic species are great in Taiwan, which also presents a high biodiversity. There are 4255 species of vascular plants including 1133 endemic. 5936 species in 1276 genera of fungi are hitherto reported in Taiwan. Among them, 233 Corticiaceae species were recorded, over one third (79 species) of them are known only from Taiwan. The first fungal report in Taiwan is about Phytophthora cyperi, published by the Japanese researcher T. Kawakami in 1904. Therefore, the history of research about fungi in Taiwan is more than one hundred years old. An eminent Japanese mycologist K. Sawada made an intensive survey from 1919 to 1959, and reported 2464 fungi species in his eleven volumes of “Descriptive Catalogue of Formosan Fungi”. However, only a few species (21 species in 9 genera) of Corticiaceae were recorded. From 1973, Chen and Lin resumed the study on Corticiaceae, and also some other foreign mycologists contributed for this field after 1980. The German research group lead by Franz Oberwinkler from Tübingen University collected in Taiwan several times. They published a number of new species and new records. Since 1989, S. H. Wu, a Taiwanese mycologist, has published a great amount of reports on corticioid fungi from Taiwan. Corticioid fungi were made up by the large and heterogeneous unnatural family Corticiaceae and other resupinate fungi belonging to other natural families in the Agaricomycetes. Molecular studies have shown that corticioid genera are distributed across all major clades of Agaricomycetes indicating that the corticioid fungi represent a polyphyletic group. They have resupinate fruitbodies and similar habitats. Species are characterized by simple fruitbody, more or less effused, and present smooth, porioid, grandinioid to odontioid hymenial surface. The fruitbodies are differently colored and usually soft to tough. Most of the Corticiaceae species are wood-saprobic organisms and gain the energy from the decomposing of wood-substrate such as cellulose or lignin. Materials for this study were collected by the author and other mycologists in Taiwan during surveys in April and May 1996, and March 2007, using the spring season with its high humidity and warm climate which are optimal conditions for the development of fungi. For assembling, the convenience sampling method was used in this study. This approach was chosen because it enables to detect a high biodiversity in a short time, and also to find species with rare or patchy distribution. The collecting sites from the North to the South include four National Parks and some preserved forests. They cover many different habitats such as low lands and high mountains. Fresh specimens were dried and analysed with a light microscope. 265 specimens belonging to Corticiaceae were studied in this research. Among them, 50 species in 21 genera including 11 new records and 10 new species were described with text and drawing. Four new species are belonging to Hyphodontia (H. sp. nov. 1, H. sp. nov. 2, H. sp. nov. 3, and H. sp. nov. 4), four to Schizopora (Sch. sp. nov. 1, Sch. sp. nov. 2, Sch. sp. nov. 3, and Sch. sp. nov. 4), one in Trechispora (T. sp. nov. 1), and one in Tubulicrinis (T. sp. nov. 1). Species recorded as new are Aleurodiscus amorphus, Botryohypochnus isabellinus, Hyphodontia cineracea, Hyphodontia palmae, Hypochnicium vellereum, Merulius tremellosus, Metulodontia nivea, Paullicorticium ansatum, Phlebia radiata, Phlebiella ardosiaca, and Xylobolus frustulatus. Besides, Botryohypochnus, Merulius, Metulodontia, Paullicorticium, and Xylobolus are also newly recorded genera in Taiwan. The genus Hyphodontia presents the highest diversity with 20 out of 50 species recorded. The second important genus is Hyphoderma, however with only 5 species. This indicates that Hyphodontia and Hyphoderma have a higher ability to develop in variable environments and approximately shows the predominance of these two genera in Taiwanese Corticiaceae. There are 11 new records out of the 50 species recorded, representing 22%. Some species, e.g. Hypochnicium vellereum and Paullicorticium ansatum were in the past recorded only in Europe and North America with cold and temperate climate. The samples of them are for the first time found in the subtropical belt, and display some difference from those of temperate regions. These collections should be molecularly investigated to clarify if they represent the same species of temperate areas. Patchily distributed species, for example Phlebiella ardosiaca, previously known only in Europe, and Hyphodontia palmae collected only in Brazil, were first recorded in different continents. Two possibilities are indicated by these new records: they are worldwide species but very rare to be found, or the Taiwanese specimens are taxonomically different. More survey from other continents and molecular study for these collections should be done in the future to solve this question. The distribution of Corticiaceae in Taiwan presents the variations in the north, central, and south areas and shows the diversity in lowlands and high mountains. The results of this study provide the evidence that the temperate Corticiaceae species displays a wider distribution. Subtropical and tropical taxa probably have also high dispersal capacities, and could possibly be found in the future in neighboring areas such as China, Japan, Korea or South Asia, but this needs further researches. In the total of 50 species, 10 new taxa were described in this study, giving about 20%. Some new species (e.g. Hyphodontia sp. 1, Hyphodontia sp. 2, and Hyphodontia sp. 3) are very similar to known species (Hyphodontia sambuci and Hyphodontia formosana), and the distinctive characters of Schizopora sp. nov. 1 are intermediate between those of Schizopora paradoxa and Hyphodontia flavipora. Thus, these small differences between the new and known species, suggest that the speciation occurred when the fungi migrated into Taiwan, due to the high diversity of environment, and amounts of the endemic plants. Taiwan is an intermediate place for the south (tropical) fungal species to migrate and adapt to north (temperate) regions. The middle and high altitude environments in Taiwan offer good conditions for the fungal speciation and possibly the occurrence of physiological changes to adapt to the temperate climate. Thus Taiwan has an important position for the biogeography of Asia mycobiota. 5936 known species in Taiwan represent about only 20% of the estimated number (24000) of Taiwanese fungal taxa. In this study, the findings (22% new records and 20% new species) indicate that amounts of unknown fungi species are expected in Taiwan. The lack of knowledge indicates that many new species are awaiting description, and fungal survey in Taiwan remains in a Pioneer phase. The last three wide surveys of Corticiaceae researches took place 20 years before this study (Chen & Lin 1977, Lin & Chen 1989, Wu 1990). After previous important contributions, the present taxonomic study comprising 21 genera is the most extensive on Corticiaceae of Taiwan.

The role of NGO in informal seed production and dissemination: The case of eastern Ethiopia

Seed is the basic input to crop production. Farmer-based seed production as an alternative agricultural technology transfer is increasingly given especial attention in developing countries where food insecurity is critical. This paper aims to assess the seed production and dissemination strategy among smallholder farmers in eastern Ethiopia that has been introduced by Hararghe Catholic Secretariat (a Non-GovernmentalOrganization). A survey of 160 households in four administrative districts and focus group discussions were used to collect data. While narratives helped understand the process, logistic regressionwas used to identify determinants of land allocation to seed production. Results indicate the crucial role of informal networks and social capital as facilitators of access to production inputs, information and knowledge. The informal seed supply system initiated by the NGO has a huge potential to benefit smallholder farmers by improving their access to higher-yielding varieties of various crops, thereby contributing to an increase in their wellbeing. However, the traditional practice of seed exchange, influenced by social relations, will remain uneconomical to seed producers. Thus, the paper suggests that this potential can be further exploited if some preconditions such as establishment of seed banks, investment in human capital, removal of the underlying constraints and creation of reliable seed markets are given emphasis.

A Comparative Study on Internationalization and the Role of International Offices at Selected Middle Eastern and German Universities

Internationalization of higher education has become one of the most important policies for institutions of higher education worldwide. Though universities are international by nature, the need for intensified quality activities of international nature has promoted internationalization to be under spotlight of researchers, administrators and policy makers and to be an area for research. Each institution follows its certain way to govern its international affairs. Most Universities, especially in the 'Developed World' started to plan it strategically. This study explores the meanings and importance of internationalization especially that it means different things to different people. It also studies the rationales behind internationalizing higher education. It focuses on the four main prevailing rationales; political, cultural/social, economic/financial, and academic on both national and institutional levels. With the increasing need to strategically plan, the study explores internationalization strategies in terms of how to develop them, what are their approaches and types, and their components and dimensions. Damascus University has witnessed an overwhelming development of its international relations and activities. Therefore, it started to face a problem of how to deal with this increasing load especially that its International Office is the only unit that deals with the international issues. In order to study the internationalization phenomenon at Damascus University, the 2WH approach, which asks the what, why, and how questions, is used and in order to define the International Office's role in the internationalization process of the University, it studies it and the international offices of Kassel University, and Humboldt University in Germany, The University of Jordan, and Al Baath University in Syria using the 'SOCIAL' approach that studies and analyses the situation, organization, challenges, involvement, ambitions, and limitations of these offices. The internationalization process at the above-mentioned Universities is studied and compared in terms of its meaning, rationales for both the institution and its academic staff, challenges and strategic planning. Then a comparison is made among the international offices of the Universities to identify their approaches, what led to their success and what led to their failure in their practices. The aim is to provide Damascus University and its International Office with some good practices and, depending on the experiences of the professionals of the case-studies, a suggested guidance to the work of this Office and the University in general is given. The study uses the interviews with the different officials and stakeholders of the case-studies as the main method of collecting the information in addition to site visits, studying their official documents and their websites. The study belongs to qualitative research that has an action dimension in it since the recommendations will be applied in the International Office. The study concludes with few learned lessons for Damascus University and its International Office depending on the comparison that was done according to a set of dimensions. Finally a reflection on the relationship between internationalization of higher education and politics, the impact of politics on Middle Eastern Universities, and institutional internationalization strategies are presented.

Pesticide-handling practices of smallholder coffee farmers in Eastern Jamaica

Pesticide use among smallholder coffee producers in Jamaica has been associated with significant occupational health effects. Research on pesticide handling practices, however, has been scarce, especially in eastern Jamaica. This explorative study aims at filling this gap and provides a first basis to develop effective interventions to promote a safer pesticide use. A random sample of 81 coffee farmers was surveyed. The majority of farmers reported to suffer from at least one health symptom associated with pesticide handling, but safety practices were scarcely adopted. There was also the risk that other household members and the wider local community are exposed to pesticides. The lack of training on pesticide management, the role of health services and the cost for protective equipment seemed to be the most significant factors that influence current pesticide handling practices in eastern Jamaica. Further research is recommended to develop a systemic understanding of farmer’s behaviour to provide a more solid basis for the development of future intervention programmes.

Wild food trees in Eastern Nuba Mountains, Sudan: Use diversity and threatening factors

This study was conducted in 2010 in Eastern Nuba Mountains, Sudan to investigate ethnobotanical food and non-food uses of 16 wild edible fruit producing trees. Quantitative and qualitative information was collected from 105 individuals distributed in 7 villages using a semi-structured questionnaire. Also gathering of data was done using a number of rapid rural appraisal techniques, including key informant interviews, group discussion, secondary data sources and direct observations. Data was analysed using fidelity level and informant consensus factor methods to reveal the cultural importance of species and use category. Utilizations for timber products were found of most community importance than food usages, especially during cultivated food abundance. Balanites aegyptiaca, Ziziphus spina-christi and Tamarindus indica fruits were asserted as most preferable over the others and of high marketability in most of the study sites. Harvesting for timber-based utilizations in addition to agricultural expansion and overgrazing were the principal threats to wild edible food producing trees in the area. The on and off prevailing armed conflict in the area make it crucial to conserve wild food trees which usually play a more significant role in securing food supply during emergency times, especially in times of famine and wars. Increasing the awareness of population on importance of wild food trees and securing alternative income sources, other than wood products, is necessary in any rural development programme aiming at securing food and sustaining its resources in the area.