Socio-cultural protection of endemic trees in humanised landscape

Culturally protected forest patches or sacred groves have been the integral part of many traditional societies. This age old tradition is a classic instance of community driven nature conservation sheltering native biodiversity and supporting various ecosystem functions particularly hydrology. The current work in Central Western Ghats of Karnataka, India, highlights that even small sacred groves amidst humanised landscapes serve as tiny islands of biodiversity, especially of rare and endemic species. Temporal analysis of landuse dynamics reveals the changing pattern of the studied landscape. There is fast reduction of forest cover (15.14-11.02 %) in last 20 years to meet up the demand of agricultural land and plantation programs. A thorough survey and assessment of woody endemic species distribution in the 25 km(2) study area documented presence of 19 endemic species. The distribution of these species is highly skewed towards the culturally protected patches in comparison to other land use elements. It is found that, among the 19 woody endemic species, those with greater ecological amplitude are widely distributed in the studied landscape in groves as well as other land use forms whereas, natural population of the sensitive endemics are very much restricted in the sacred grove fragments. The recent degradation in the sacred grove system is perhaps, due to weakening of traditional belief systems and associated laxity in grove protection leading to biotic disturbances. Revitalisation of traditional practices related to conservation of sacred groves can go a long way in strengthening natural ecological systems of fragile humid tropical landscape.

State Transition Based Embedding in Cepstrum Domain for Audio Copyright Protection

In this paper, we propose a new state transition based embedding (STBE) technique for audio watermarking with high fidelity. Furthermore, we propose a new correlation based encoding (CBE) scheme for binary logo image in order to enhance the payload capacity. The result of CBE is also compared with standard run-length encoding (RLE) compression and Huffman schemes. Most of the watermarking algorithms are based on modulating selected transform domain feature of an audio segment in order to embed given watermark bit. In the proposed STBE method instead of modulating feature of each and every segment to embed data, our aim is to retain the default value of this feature for most of the segments. Thus, a high quality of watermarked audio is maintained. Here, the difference between the mean values (Mdiff) of insignificant complex cepstrum transform (CCT) coefficients of down-sampled subsets is selected as a robust feature for embedding. Mdiff values of the frames are changed only when certain conditions are met. Hence, almost 50% of the times, segments are not changed and still STBE can convey watermark information at receiver side. STBE also exhibits a partial restoration feature by which the watermarked audio can be restored partially after extraction of the watermark at detector side. The psychoacoustic model analysis showed that the noise-masking ratio (NMR) of our system is less than -10dB. As amplitude scaling in time domain does not affect selected insignificant CCT coefficients, strong invariance towards amplitude scaling attacks is also proved theoretically. Experimental results reveal that the proposed watermarking scheme maintains high audio quality and are simultaneously robust to general attacks like MP3 compression, amplitude scaling, additive noise, re-quantization, etc.

Experimental and numerical studies on protection of buried pipelines and underground utilities using geocells

This paper presents the results of the laboratory model tests and the numerical studies conducted on small diameter PVC pipes, buried in geocell reinforced sand beds. The aim of the study was to evaluate the suitability of the geocell reinforcement in protecting the underground utilities and buried pipelines. In addition to geocells, the efficacy of only geogrid and geocell with additional basal geogrid cases were also studied. A PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride) pipe with external diameter 75 mm and thickness 1.4 mm was used in the experiments. The vehicle tire contact pressure was simulated by applying the pressure on the top of the bed with the help of a steel plate. Results suggest that the use of geocells with additional basal geogrid considerably reduces the deformation of the pipe as compared to other types of reinforcements. Further, the depth of placement of pipe was also varied between 1B to 2B (B is the width of loading plate) below the plate in the presence of geocell with additional basal geogrid. More than 50% reduction in the pressure and more than 40% reduction in the strain values were observed in the presence of reinforcements at different depths as compared to the unreinforced beds. Conversely, the performance of the subgrade soil was also found to be marginally influenced by the position of the pipe, even in the presence of the relatively stiff reinforcement system. Further, experimental results were validated with 3-dimensional numerical studies using FLAC(3D) (Fast Lagrangian Analysis of Continua in 3D). A good agreement in the measured pipe stain values were observed between the experimental and numerical studies. Numerical studies revealed that the geocells distribute the stresses in the lateral direction and thus reduce the pressure on the pipe. In addition, the results of the 1-g model tests were scaled up to the prototype case of the shallow buried pipeline below the pavement using the appropriate scaling laws. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

System reliability analysis of granular filter for protection against piping in dams

Granular filters are provided for the safety of water retaining structure for protection against piping failure. The phenomenon of piping triggers when the base soil to be protected starts migrating in the direction of seepage flow under the influence of seepage force. To protect base soil from migration, the voids in the filter media should be small enough but it should not also be too small to block smooth passage of seeping water. Fulfilling these two contradictory design requirements at the same time is a major concern for the successful performance of granular filter media. Since Terzaghi era, conventionally, particle size distribution (PSD) of granular filters is designed based on particle size distribution characteristics of the base soil to be protected. The design approach provides a range of D15f value in which the PSD of granular filter media should fall and there exist infinite possibilities. Further, safety against the two critical design requirements cannot be ensured. Although used successfully for many decades, the existing filter design guidelines are purely empirical in nature accompanied with experience and good engineering judgment. In the present study, analytical solutions for obtaining the factor of safety with respect to base soil particle migration and soil permeability consideration as proposed by the authors are first discussed. The solution takes into consideration the basic geotechnical properties of base soil and filter media as well as existing hydraulic conditions and provides a comprehensive solution to the granular filter design with ability to assess the stability in terms of factor of safety. Considering the fact that geotechnical properties are variable in nature, probabilistic analysis is further suggested to evaluate the system reliability of the filter media that may help in risk assessment and risk management for decision making.

Protection of Digital Telecom Exchanges Against Lightning Surges and Earth Faults

Low-power electronic devices used in digital telecom exchanges are vulnerable to surge voltages and currents primarily originating from natural lightning or due to the direct interactions between electric power and telecommunication lines, etc., causing the earth/ground potential rise, neutral potential rise, and faults in the system. The fault currents may flow directly to telecom lines or through the equipment to the customer's premises, causing adequate damage to the equipment and personnel safety. In wireline applications, analog or digital, central office, exchanges, and subscriber sides have to be protected. Decisive protection and protective methods have to be employed for proper functioning of the equipment under overvoltage/overcurrent conditions. Current investigation reports some interesting results obtained on the recently developed high-voltage high-current protection cards used in digital telecom exchanges. The performances of protection cards both for the ring wave and hybrid wave surges are evaluated and presented. The surge generators required for the investigation are developed and fabricated in house as per the relevant telecom standards.

A comparison of the fine-scale structure of the diurnal cycle of tropical rain and lightning

In this study, the fine-scale structure of the diurnal variability of ground-based lightning is systematically compared with satellite-based rain. At the outset, it is shown that tropical variability of lightning exhibits a prominent diurnal mode, much like rain. A comparison of the geographical distribution of the timing of the diurnal maximum shows that there is very good agreement between the two observables over continental and coastal regions throughout the tropics. Following this global tropical comparison, we focus on two regions, Borneo and equatorial South America, both of which show the interplay between oceanward and landward propagations of the phase of the diurnal maximum. Over Borneo, both rain and lightning clearly show a climatological cycle of ``breathing in'' (afternoon to early morning) and ``breathing out'' (morning to early afternoon). Over the equatorial east coast of South America, landward propagation is noticed in rain and lightning from early afternoon to early morning. Along the Pacific coast of South America, both rain and lightning show oceanward propagation. Though qualitatively consistent, over both regions the propagation is seen to extend further in rainfall. Additionally, given that lightning highlights vigorous convection, the timing of its diurnal maximum often precedes that of rainfall in the convective life cycle. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Surface modification of mild steel by a self-assembled cetyl-trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) monolayer: Evaluation of its corrosion protection property

The surface of mild steel was modified by generating cetyl-trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) self-assembled monolayer (SAM) to enhance the corrosion resistance property. The experimental parameters (pH and time) for SAM generation were optimized. The modified surface was characterized by infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRRAS) and contact angle measurements. The SAM generated in 1 mM solution of CTAB at pH 2.5 for 2 h showed a regimented monolayer. Polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopic (EIS) studies demonstrated a significant enhancement in the corrosion resistance property of the SAM protected steel in both 1 M HCl and 3.5% NaCl solution. The CTAB SAM surface substantially reduced the corrosion rate by approximately 4 times in 1 M HCl and 1.5 times in 3.5% NaCl media as compared to bare steel. Scanning electron microscopy images confirmed the formation of lesser amounts of corrosion products on the SAM protected surface. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Coatings and surface treatments for protection against low-velocity erosion-corrosion in fluidized beds

Surface coatings and treatments have been used to reduce material loss of components in bubbling fluidized bed combustors (FBCs). The performance of protective coatings in FBC boilers and laboratory simulations is reviewed. Important coating properties to minimize wastage appear to be high hardness, low oxidation rate, low porosity, high adhesion and sufficient thickness to maintain protection for a long period. Economic considerations and criteria for choosing a suitable coating or treatment are discussed for the different types of bubbling FBC. © 1995.

Humildad, respeto y servicio ante la dignidad personal del embrión humano

Resumen: Ciertamente, ningún dato biológico es por sí mismo suficiente para describir el milagro de la vida. Sin embargo, cuando la ciencia es entendida como un servicio a la humanidad, los científicos son capaces de brindarnos los conocimientos necesarios y suficientes para percibir una presencia personal desde el primer instante de la vida de cada embrión humano.

The “Centre for Child Protection” of the Gregorian University/Rome. First experiences, results and reflections in setting up a global e-learning-program for the prevention of sexual abuse of minors

Resumen: El Centro para la Protección Infantil ha sido fundado en cooperación con el Instituto de Psicología de la Universidad Gregoriana (Roma, Italia), el Departamento para la Psiquiatría/Psicoterapia Infantil y Adolescente del Hospital de la Universidad de Ulm (Alemania) y la Arquidiócesis de Múnich (Alemania). Su tarea principal es la creación de un centro global de entrenamiento e-learning para profesiones de pastoral que respondan al abuso sexual de los menores, tomando en consideración asuntos multilingüísticos e interculturales. Dentro de tres años el Centro desarrollado e implementado un programa e-learning en cuatro lenguas. Ocho socios del proyecto internacional asumen un papel en el reclutamiento de participantes y en la evaluación en curso del programa. En esta fase, personas-test son incluidas en el desarrollo y la evaluación del programa, como parte de la formación (en curso) de sacerdotes y de otros coagentes de pastoral

Research Progress On Thermal Protection Materials And Structures Of Hypersonic Vehicles

Hypersonic vehicles represent future trends of military equipments and play an important role in future war. Thermal protection materials and structures, which relate to the safety of hypersonic vehicles, are one of the most key techniques in design and manufacture of hypersonic vehicles. Among these materials and structures, such as metallic temperature protection structure, the temperature ceramics and carbon/carbon composites are usually adopted in design. The recent progresses of research and application of ultra-high temperature materials in preparation, oxidation resistance, mechanical and physical characterization are summarized.

Mídia, parlamento e violência : uma análise da CPI dos grupos de extermínio no Nordeste

Analisa a relação entre parlamento, mídia e sociedade na construção de uma democracia forte. Há dois elementos fundamentais para que uma sociedade estabeleça um Estado Democrático: a confiança e a participação cidadã. Parece paradoxal que em uma estrutura em que o voto é direto, haja problemas de confiança entre o Legislativo e os cidadãos. Focando a atuação da CPI dos Grupos de Extermínio no Nordeste, que tratou de um tema federal - a proteção dos direitos humanos em um cenário regional: o nordeste brasileiro, o estudo propõe uma reflexão sobre o papel do deputado no fortalecimento do elo entre a instituição Câmara Federal e o cidadão. A partir da análise feita nos jornais impressos de Pernambuco, indaga o papel da mídia no fechamento da conexão eleitoral, contribuindo ainda para a prestação de contas entre deputados e cidadãos. Pretende, ainda, verificar como se dá o relacionamento da mídia com os representantes populares.