Economics of drip irrigated cotton: a synthesis of four case studies

Drip irrigationCottonCrop productionEconomic aspectsCultivationCase studiesElectricity suppliesWater use efficiencyProductivityCost benefit analysis

Advanced Supporting Materials for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells

Among the various kinds of fuel cell, polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is the most prominent energy conversion device for portable applications. The catalyst-supporting materials provide active triple phase boundary for electrochemical reactions where the reactant molecules can easily interact with the catalyst surface. Catalysts play a vital role for improving the overall efficiency of the fuel cells through the advancement in the catalyst and their supporting materials for cathodic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in PEMFCs. The supporting materials mainly contribute to increase the electrocatalytic activity of the catalysts by providing more active surface area and extended life-time. The major roles of supporting materials are (i) they act as electron source with improved conductivity; (ii) they hold the metal nanoparticles; (iii) they possess higher surface area and (iv) they should have better stability under operating conditions. In this chapter, the various supporting materials were reviewed carefully based on their nature and performance toward the electrochemical reduction of oxygen for PEMFCs. They are classified into three major categories as (i) carbon supports; (ii) carbon-free supports, and (iii) polymer nanocomposites. In summary, the overall view on support materials and their role on electrocatalysis for fuel cell reactions is provided

Digital Resistance to Asian-American Hate during COVID-19: Study of Photography and Art on Instagram

 In this research, I study the digital resistance to Asian-American hate, isolation, alienation, and ‘othering’ visibilized during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-21 in the Global North. Specifically, I draw attention to the role of personal and artistic representations of Asian female bodies that perform both a resistance to hate, in the context of the pandemic, and an affirmation of ethnic and racial heritage and belonging of the self in North America. Through the engagement with #stopasianhate and #haterisavirus hashtags on Instagram, I uncover the rejection of historic and contemporary racial and gendered violence, harassment, xenophobia, and othering that emerges through visual activism and personal and artistic performativity online. I focus on the interplay between body politics and anti-racist feminist digital activism in order to understand how performativity of the self through photography and art can empower Asian-American female bodies. Dans cette recherche, j'étudie la résistance numérique à la haine, à l'isolement, à l'aliénation et à « l'altérité » des Asiatiques-Américains, visible pendant la pandémie de Covid-19 en 2020.21 dans le l’hémisphère nord. Plus précisément, j'attire l'attention sur le rôle des représentations personnelles et artistiques des corps féminins asiatiques qui constituent à la fois une résistance à la haine, dans le contexte de la pandémie, et une affirmation de l'héritage ethnique et racial et de l'appartenance de soi en Amérique du Nord. À travers l'engagement des hashtags #stopasianhate et #haterisavirus sur Instagram, je découvre le rejet de la violence raciale et sexiste qui est historiques et contemporaines, le harcèlement, la xénophobie et l'altérité qui émergent à travers l'activisme visuel et la performativité personnelle et artistique en ligne. Je me concentre sur l'interaction entre la politique du corps et l'activisme numérique féministe antiraciste afin de comprendre comment la performativité du soi à travers la photographie et l'art peut donner plus de pouvoir aux corps des femmes asiatiques-américaines

COMPREHENSIVE DISTANCE-BASED RANKING METHOD FOR EVALUATING HYDRAULIC CONVERTERS IN TIDAL STREAM TURBINES UTILIZING PICTURE FERMATEAN FUZZY SET

In recent years, advancements in hydrokinetic technology and the growing demand for renewable energy have heightened interest in water-based energy extraction. This study proposes a new fuzzy information representation technique, Probabilistic Picture Fermatean Fuzzy Sets (PPFFSs), to investigate the selection of hydrokinetic energy harnessing technologies (HEHT) for various marine and river-based applications. To address the complexity of multiple criteria and alternatives, we developed a new integrated multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) model that incorporates logarithmic percentage change-driven objective weighting (LOPCOW) and comprehensive distance-based ranking (COBRA) approaches. We define PPFFS as the definition of basic functions and the provision of information scoring and accurate operational processes. According to the results, the efficiency factor is the most important criterion, and the Seagen tidal stream turbine outperforms all other tidal turbines. The findings are supported by experimental data from the HEHT and a comparison of how two hydrokinetic energy converters can improve efficiency. As a result, hydrokinetic systems are one of the greatest sustainable energy solutions for distant communities and small-scale applications

Evaluation of sexual dysfunction in LUTS/BPH patients.

INTRODUCTION : Sexual dysfunction affects a couple’s relationship and the quality of life of the patient a nd the partner irrespective of age. Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms suggestive of BPH is highly prevalent among the elderly. So too are the symptoms of sexual dysfunction in old age. But the symptoms of sexual dysfunction are not concentrated upon, both by the patient and the physician at least in our country. Sexual dysfunction manifests mainly as erectile dysfunction (ED), ejaculatory disorders, or decreased libido/hypoactive sexual desire (HSD). Men with moderate-to-severe LUTS are at increased risk for sexual dysfunction. Though reduced rigidity and reduced ejaculate volume are the highly prevalent symptoms in ageing men, reduced rigidity and pain on ejaculation are considered to be most bothersome, affecting the quality of life. Sexual dysfunction is much more prevalent in patients with LUTS/BPH than in men without them, even after controlling for confounding variables such as age and co morbid illnesses. Hence LUTS/BPH is considered to be an independent risk factor for sexual dysfunction. 3 The reason for the association being a common underlying pathology or the psychological effect of LUTS / BPH on sexual function needs to be confirmed. Despite a decline in the frequency of sexual intercourse, as well as in overall sexual functioning, most elderly men report regular sexual activity and consider their sex life as an important dimension of their quality of life (QoL). However, most patients with LUTS/BPH experience a negative effect of LUTS on their sex life. AIM & OBJECTIVES : To evaluate the prevalence of sexual dysfunction in LUTS/BPH patients. To assess the effect of LUTS/BPH effect on sexual function. To assess the treatment effect of LUTS/BPH on sexual function. MATERIALS & METHODS : Between June 2007 and November 2007, all patients admitted into our ward with LUTS/BPH were included for evaluation. These patients were admitted for either evaluation or intervention for LUST/ BPH. Informed consent obtained from all eligible patients. All patients after admission were given the linguistic version of IPSS & MSHQ. Pts who are literate were asked to fill up the questionnaire. (Self administered questionnaire) . Pts who were not able to fill up (for various reasons like illiterate, poor eye sight, not able to understand the contents) were interviewed personally. To avoid interviewer bias, the same interviewer interviewed all pts. All details regarding the pts demographics, scoring, results will be entered into a proforma Post treatment effect evaluation was done at the end of 3 months following treatment. CONCLUSION : The prevalence of sexual dysfunction in patients with LUTS is 70%. The severity of sexual dysfunction correlates with severity of LUTS. Ejaculatory function deteriorates after treatment of LUTS/BPH

Rural Employment Scheme and Agricultural Wage Rate Nexus: An Analysis across States

This paper on Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) has covered two objectives; one, whether the introduction of MGNREGS has increased the wage rates for agricultural labourers across the states and two, if so what are the factors that determine the growth rate of wages for farm labourers. The study is based on the secondary data on farm wages published by the Labour Bureau of India by gender and farm operation across the states and has covered the period 2000–01 to 2010–11. To present a comparative picture, the study period has been divided into two sub-periods, viz. pre-MGNREGS (2000–01 to 2005–06) and post-MGNREGS (2005–06 to 2010–11). The study has shown that the real wage rates have increased substantially during post-MGNREGS period as compared to pre-MGNREGS period for both male and female agricultural labourers in all the major farming operations. The rate of increase in wage rates has been found to be higher across the female agricultural labourers as compared to their male counterparts. The regression analysis has suggested that the average days of employment per household by MGNREGS, productivity of foodgrains, and road density have positively fuelled the growth rate of wages for both male and female farm labourers