Constituent States Research Articles

Development of a Model for Quantifying Erodibility of Soils in Eastern Nigeria

Erodibility is the most variable factor influencing water-induced gully erosion in soil, as it governs the soil's susceptibility to detachment by opposing the driving force of rainfall erosivity in the gully erosion process. Previous studies on erodibility in Eastern Nigeria have been conducted segmented, lacking a unified model for its quantification. Therefore, this study investigated erodibility and developed a model to quantify it in the region. The nine areas most at risk for gully erosion, one in each of the region’s nine constituent states, were purposively sampled, with one gully from each area then selected through convenient sampling. Data collection instruments included observation, satellite imagery, and experimentation. A total of 81 soil samples—9 from each gully—were collected at depths of 0–30 cm, 30–60 cm, and 60–90 cm to determine the percentages of sand, silt, and clay used to quantify erodibility via Bouyoucos’ Model. Multiple Linear Regression was employed for data analysis. Results indicated that the independent variables (%sand, %silt, and %clay) made significant contributions to the dependent variable (clay ratio/erodibility) across the gullies. Ten models were developed, one for each gully and one general model for the region, as the independent variables made a significant combined contribution (R = .47, R² = .22, p = 0.00 < 0.05 significance level) to the dependent variable. The regression equation produced a model for quantifying erodibility in Eastern Nigeria as follows: erodibility (clay ratio) = 129.04 – 179 sand – 2.237 silt – 9.189 clay. The study recommends: (i) prioritizing the quantification of erodibility in all gully erosion studies to enable the application of appropriate gully remediation strategies, and (ii) the use of the developed erodibility model by built environment professionals in approving development initiatives, among other applications.

Clustering-independent estimation of cell abundances in bulk tissues using single-cell RNA-seq data

Single-cell RNA sequencing has transformed the study of biological tissues by enabling transcriptomic characterizations of their constituent cell states. Computational methods for gene expression deconvolution use this information to infer the cell composition of related tissues profiled at the bulk level. However, current deconvolution methods are restricted to discrete cell types and have limited power to make inferences aboutcontinuous cellular processes such as cell differentiation or immune cell activation. We present ConDecon, a clustering-independent method for inferring the likelihood for each cell in a single-cell dataset to be present in a bulk tissue. ConDecon represents an improvement in phenotypic resolution and functionality with respect to regression-based methods. Using ConDecon, we discover the implication of neurodegenerative microglia inflammatory pathways in the mesenchymal transformation of pediatric ependymoma and characterize their spatial trajectories of activation. The generality of this approach enables the deconvolution of other data modalities, such as bulk ATAC-seq data.

Clustering-independent estimation of cell abundances in bulk tissues using single-cell RNA-seq data.

Single-cell RNA-sequencing has transformed the study of biological tissues by enabling transcriptomic characterizations of their constituent cell states. Computational methods for gene expression deconvolution use this information to infer the cell composition of related tissues profiled at the bulk level. However, current deconvolution methods are restricted to discrete cell types and have limited power to make inferences about continuous cellular processes like cell differentiation or immune cell activation. We present ConDecon, a clustering-independent method for inferring the likelihood for each cell in a single-cell dataset to be present in a bulk tissue. ConDecon represents an improvement in phenotypic resolution and functionality with respect to regression-based methods. Using ConDecon, we discover the implication of neurodegenerative microglia inflammatory pathways in the mesenchymal transformation of pediatric ependymoma and characterize their spatial trajectories of activation. The generality of this approach enables the deconvolution of other data modalities such as bulk ATAC-seq data.

Federal fractals: review of Stephen Tierney, The Federal Contract

Stephen Tierney’s new book presents an exciting new theory of federal constitutionalism. His core argument is that each federal constitution is founded on a ‘federal contract’, which is an agreement among a plurality of territorial communities to form a federal political community while retaining their distinct constitutional identity as constituent states. This offers an alternative to the ‘social contact’ of liberal political theory in which the isolated individual is the sole basic unit of the constitutional order. The explanatory power of Tierney’s thesis is impressive. He shows how the idea of the federal contract can be manifested in many varied forms but in a manner that recognises the constitutional status and autonomy of the constituent states, formed into an association under which they agree to act cooperatively with each other and with the federation as a whole, under a mutual commitment of reciprocity that underwrites inter-governmental cooperation and solidarity, while also maintaining inter-governmental distinctiveness and autonomy. Under the auspices of this simple and elegant idea, Tierney offers an account of federal constitutionalism that resembles the fractal patterns of mathematical geometry insofar as each federal system reflects a particular federating logic that drives its initial creation and ongoing evolution. This opens up a promising area of further research involving an ever-closer examination of federal systems to see whether the fractal-like patterns he has identified continue to be apparent at progressively higher levels of resolution.

Tailoring the electrochemical performance of novel BaS and their N-rGO composites for developing next-generation pseudocapacitor electrodes

The exploration of prospective versatile materials with desired morphology for energy storage applications has been reckoned to be a foremost challenge for researchers of the era. In this study, the metal sulfides and their composite with N-rGO are synthesized by facile hydrothermal approach. X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern of the sample having cubic phase confirms its high crystallinity and purity. Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) depicts utterly the constituent elements and states. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Transmission electron microscope (TEM) portray porous-type morphology with a high surface area.I-V measurements ensure the high conductivity of these composites whereas Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) displays the presence of the vibrational bonds. Zeta potential of BaS is determined to be moderately negative, suggesting the existence of negatively charged entities on its surface. Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) corroborates that N-rGO based composite contains a mesoporous structure with an average pore size (2.01 nm) elongated the large surface area (82.21 m2/g). The thermal stability of the composite is envisioned via Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). So far as the electrochemical analysis, CV results are much enough to affirm the pseudocapacitive nature of all the fabricated electrodes. An impressive cyclic stability, retaining 98.1 % of its initial capacitance over 10000th cycles is determined through N-rGO based electrode. GCD test unveils exceptional Cs of 913.34 F/g at 1 A/g with Energy density (Ed) 62.106 Wh/kg and Power density (Pd) 2896.47 W/kg and EIS provides valuable insights, showing a small semi-circle in the Nyquist plot, which indicates low charge transfer resistance. The results from the two-electrode experiment indicate that BaS/N-rGO has a specific capacitance (Cs) of 533.96 F/g at 1 A/g. Finally, our symmetrical solid-state supercapacitors exhibit exceptional capacitive performance to power LED. These results confidently indicate that the incorporation of N-rGO with metal sulfides presents promising prospects for the next-generation supercapacitor electrodes to excel the energy storage technological applications.

How parties impact the trajectories of federalism: India

ABSTRACT The article examines the interface between the party system and the trajectories of center-state interactions in independent India. It argues that the Constituent Assembly put in place a strong-center model of federalism, giving the center much greater leverage than the states. The structural features envisaged in the constitution implicitly give us the image of a rigid framework and do not account for the dynamic nature of federalism. The discussion in the article, however, shows that there have been periods when the central state has been able to achieve a greater level of vertical integration, overriding the existing institutional frameworks. This has occurred whenever a party, owing to a lack of federal political culture and being under a person-centered leadership, managed to achieve polity-wide legislative dominance. Whenever it happens, the constituent states are reduced to more like administrative units, accepting directives from the center, as the existing federal safeguard mechanism loses its efficacy. However, here again the degree of integration has varied depending on the ruling strategy of the party leader, the party’s internal structure, and the level of resistance put up by the state units, and the opposition parties. In sharp contrast, when, due to political and economic transitions, the state-based parties gained prominence at the national level, then they invariably pushed for greater decentralization, strengthening the existing federal institutional safeguards, and striving to make the constituent states more autonomous political and economic units.

International Legal Regulation of Activities of States in the Great Mediterranean Region

INTRODUCTION. In modern international and domestic maritime law, regional fragmentation of legal regulation is becoming more and more noticeable, which, in turn, objectifies and actualizes the formation of complex arrays of legal norms, united by the consistency of the political and legal positions of the contracting states that have national interests in the relevant water area, primarily-coastal states extending their state sovereignty to certain areas of maritime space. In this context, the Greater Mediterranean region should be considered as one of the most important in the world merchant shipping and naval support of international peace and security, as a basin that optimally connects the Atlantic and Indian Oceans from the point of view of logistics, which requires the formation of an appropriate scientific and methodological basis for full implementation of the fundamental principle of international cooperation in the maritime policy of the states of the region.MATERIALS AND METHODS. To substantiate the expediency of singling out the Greater Mediterranean as an independent object of legal regulation, general and special international legal treaties, the domestic legislation of the Mediterranean states, as well as political and legal documents indicating the existence of certain disputes and situations around certain zones of the Mediterranean water area, primarily – in the Eastern Mediterranean region. To obtain reliable and substantiated results of the study, methods of scientific knowledge were used: formal-legal, logical, historical-legal, system-structural analysis. Thus, the formal legal method made it possible to clarify the content and meaning of international legal treaties concluded at different times and aimed at regulating public relations in the maritime sphere. The logical method made it possible to substantiate the need for comprehensive international cooperation of the coastal states of the Greater Mediterranean. With the help of the historical and legal method, an overview was made of both the world, Soviet and Russian practice of applying the norms of domestic and international law on issues related to ensuring international law and order in the Greater Mediterranean region. The logical method made it possible to build the necessary connections and patterns of development of international legal regulation in the Greater Mediterranean region in the general context of ongoing universal and regional political and legal processes and transformations. Using the method of system-structural analysis, it was possible to display a holistic picture of law-making and law enforcement of the Mediterranean states, aimed at the formation of unified principles and norms for the exercise of the sovereign rights of coastal states.RESEARCH RESULTS. International maritime merchant shipping seems to be a very complex area of public relations with a large number of entities that have different legal status and, accordingly, are related to each other in a very different way.DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS. This work is devoted to the study of the main trends in the development of the Greater Mediterranean region in terms of formulating key international legal guidelines and rules of conduct for its constituent states. The object of the study is the legal relations carried out in the maritime spaces of the Greater Mediterranean as one of the key regions, which, along with its economic and political significance, is an integral zone for the implementation of the national interests of the Russian Federation, extending to the entire World Ocean.

Exact Truthmaker Semantics for Modal Logics

The present paper attempts to provide an exact truthmaker semantical analysis of modalized propositions. According to the present proposal, an exact truthmaker for “Necessarily P” is a state that bans every exact truthmaker for “Not P”, and an exact truthmaker for “Possibly P” is a state that allows an exact truthmaker for P. Based on this proposal, a formal semantics will be developed; and the soundness and completeness results for a well-known family of the systems of normal modal propositional logic will be established. It shall be seen that the present analysis offers an exactification of the standard Kripke semantics in the sense that it analyzes the accessibility relation between possible worlds in terms of the banning and allowing relations between the constituent states, and thereby gives an account of “truth at a possible world” in terms of exact truthmaking.

Manipur's Journey Towards the Health SDGS: What's Achieved and what more is Needed?

India and its constituent states are committed to achieving universal health coverage (UHC) as a part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030 by strengthening primary healthcare (PHC). The National Health Mission (NHM) has been a landmark effort at health systems strengthening, aiming to reboot both the architecture and service delivery. Manipur ranks fourth out of the eight states in the North East Region in the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog's ranking for SDGs. The available evidence, drawing upon secondary datasets and available primary data, aims to unpack the progress made in health systems strengthening to interpret the journey toward achieving UHCs and SDGs. The progress made and the gaps in terms of human resources, infrastructure, service utilization, and reduction of out-of-pocket expenditure are interpreted in terms of critical social determinants such as geographic and ethnic divides. Newer policies, such as the Act East Policy and medical tourism, are examined in the context of current disparities and the potential to accelerate the journey towards achieving SDGs.

Нетипичные формы государственного устройства: на примере империи

In the science of the theory of state and law, a problem related to the classification of forms of state structure has arisen. The traditional approach to the form of state structure, within which it is customary to distinguish unified (unitary) and constituent (federal) states, does not reflect contemporary life realities. There are no clear criteria in legal science for dividing states into unified and constituent ones. The paper considers various approaches to the problem of classifying forms of state structure in contemporary legal theory. The author concludes that the traditional three-element approach to the form of state (form of government, form of organization and political regime) has methodologically exhausted itself and does not reflect the current state of affairs. All elements of the state form are closely interrelated and are in an unbreakable dialectical unity. The form of government largely determines the form of the territorial structure, as well as the methods of interaction between the authorities and the population (political regime). The nature of the relationship between the center and the regions (constituent entities) based on the centralization or decentralization principle, largely depends on the form of government. As a rule, the republican form of government determines the federal (decentralized) form of state-territorial structure and the democratic political regime. At the same time, the real possibility of functioning of republican institutions (election and alternation of government authorities) and the implementation of the federalism principles (the actual independence of the constituent parts of the state) largely depend on the political regime. In the context of an authoritarian (totalitarian) political regime, the republican form of government and the federal form of government enshrined in legislation are conditional in nature – in fact, they cannot be implemented. The purpose of the work is to analyze the forms of state structure in contemporary legal theory and identify the essential features of empire as a special form of state structure.

Environmental pollution, variegated violence: the fizzling bond of Delta State diaspora from their homeland

Since crude oil was discovered in Oloibiri, present-day Bayelsa State in Nigeria’s Niger Delta, its exploration by the multinational oil companies has continued unfettered. With this exploration resulting in wanton environmental destruction, the consequences are manifested in several ways. For instance, in Delta State, one of the constituent states of the Niger Delta, people’s socio-economic lives have plummeted owing to the discontinuance of their traditional farming and fishing trades. Indigenes have continued to migrate in the search for greener pastures, as a way of mitigating their socio-economic challenges. While it is expected that those who move out of the state would express empathy towards the homeland and justify the developmental agency arrogated to them, these migrants (who also fit the bill of diaspora) end up displaying ethnic ambivalence. Following a qualitative research design, data collected from semi-structured interviews conducted with 20 Delta State diaspora living in London, and five victims of environmental pollution in the state, were subjected to descriptive analysis. In addition to the established causes, this study identifies environmental pollution as causal factor of ethnic ambivalence, and concludes that the consequences go beyond the obvious to destroy the relationships that give meaning and essence to human existence.

Evolution of Malaysia’s Plans Policies, Initiativesand Strategies on Green Procurement Implementation: A Review

Malaysia’s plans have evolved over the years, highlighting several goals to sustain economic growth and development in all constituent states of Malaysia. The five-year development plan comprises a comprehensive and integrated plan, policies, and strategies to lead the government in achieving the desired economic and socioeconomic goals. The first Malaysia plan was introduced in 1966-1970, and the development of Malaysia’splans has continued since then. In the Tenth Malaysia Plan, the government emphasised sustainable management, responding to global climate change, and focusing on strategies and mitigation adaptation to ensure sustainable growth. Keeping environmental sustainability is a global commitment, especially in the construction industry, which contributes the most to environmental issues. Green procurement has been introduced to the construction industry as a way forward and a strategy towardssustainability. The primary objective of this paper is to analyse the evolution of the five-year development plans policies, initiatives, and strategies that have been proposed by the government on green procurement practices in Malaysia’splans. The study employs integrative literature reviewto analyse the contents and features of Malaysia’splans and its related government policy documents on green procurement. The findings of this study will assist stakeholders in better understanding the significance of green policies, initiatives, and strategies on green procurement implementation in Malaysia’s plans towards achieving inclusive, sustainable development in the construction industry.

Mechanical, Magnetic, and Optical Characteristics of Tm‐Based Chalcogenides for Energy‐Harvesting Applications

Herein, a comprehensive theoretical analysis of Tm‐based chalcogenides MgTm2Y4 (Y = S, Se) is performed to understand magnetic, optical, mechanical, and transport characteristics. And, Perdew–Burke–Ernzerhof generalized gradient approximation (PBEsol‐GGA) functional and modified Becke–Johnson (mBJ) potentials are employed while computing the mechanical and spin‐polarized electronic properties, respectively. The structural stability of both spinels is confirmed using formation energy and Born stability criteria. Both spinels are found exhibiting ductile nature according to the computed Pugh's and Poisson's ratios. For observing the room‐temperature ferromagnetism, Curie temperature is calculated. Furthermore, spin‐polarized electronic properties reveal that both spinels exhibit ferromagnetic nature, which is induced due to coupling among Tm‐ and S/Se‐related constituent states. The potential optoelectronic applications are suggested by computing and discussing dielectric constant, refractive index, and absorption coefficient. BoltzTraP code is used to investigate the thermoelectric features of MgTm2Y4 (Y = S, Se) in the 200–800 K temperature range.

Law in the East Slavic legal-cultural space

The purpose of the study is to determine the main features, institutions and patterns of the development of law in the era of pre-state formations on the example of East Slavic state formations, as well as those state formations and states (the Grand Duchyof Lithuania, Ulus of Jochi, the Kingdoms of Poland and Hungary, Wallachian, and Slavic-Wallachian principalities, etc.), under the influence or power of which the aforementioned Eastern Slavic state formations fell in the studied period of the 9th–15th centuries. The term East Slavic legal-cultural space is used to denote this territorial and political massif. On the basis of a comprehensive analysis of historiography, the main theoretical approaches to the characterization of law at the pre-state and early state stages of the political development of society are determined. The main attention in the work is paid to the characteristics of specifically historical features of law and state power in the East Slavic legal-cultural space of the 9th–15th centuries. It is concluded that the law of Ancient Rus’ state formations is clearly distinguished from both the law of modern states and the traditional/primitive/archaic law, which arose and was formed in a naturally historical way. At the same time, this law is fundamentally different from the law of constituent states, which does not allow it to be classified as corporate law. At this stage, it seems logical to use one of the definitions of the Anglo-American Concepts of early law for this stage of the development of law:primitive or ancient law. Key words: Legal history, East Slavic, Kyivan Rus, Old Rus, state formations, Barbarian state, Medieval Law, Ancient Rus’ Law, Source of Law, oral law, written law, Legal Treaty.

The Neonatal Rescue Scheme (NRS) concept reduces mortality by over 85% in Niger State Nigeria – A lesson for Nigeria and other LMICs

Nigeria is well-known for its extremely high neonatal mortality rate, putting the country at the top of the list of most needy LMICs. Daily, over 846 babies die from preventable reasons across the constituent States in Nigeria. The Niger State, located at the northwest of the middle belt, had one of the highest neonatal mortality rates prior to 2017. All Nigerian States habitually rely on federal government health centres for the special care of their growing population of needy neonates. Only one such centre is in the State of Niger, yet there has been no significant progress in the entire State. This resulted in the State government taking on an extraordinary step of independently trialing the new concept of a Neonatal Rescue Scheme (NRS), powered by LMIC-compatible frugal neonatal devices and procedures.The Amina-centre, so-commissioned in 2017, has sustainably used indigenous basic medical officers and nurses who received prior short-term training on the applications of the NRS to deliver impactful services to neonates. This 6-year impact and comparative assessment study explored how the services of the Amina-centre have radically transformed the Niger State's desperate situation by reducing the facility mortality from 90/100 neonates to 4/100 neonates. This innovative program also attracted and increased the average neonatal traffic from 20 neonates/month to an astronomical 264 neonates/month. The Amina-centre represents a typical transformation that could alleviate many precarious neonatal healthcare problems in every LMIC setting.

Децентрализация и интернационализация на докторантското обучение в Германия по примера на Свободния университет в Берлин

Abstract: Germany is an attractive research destination for PhD students and young scientists from Europe and around the world. With its innovative research achievements, the country ranks among the top in the European Union. The country's higher education institutions offer a wide range of courses for young researchers, some of which can be studied in a foreign language. The main questions concern the regulations on doctoral studies in Germany at the level of the federal state and the constituent states on the basis of decentralised self-government, the procedure for admission to and completion of doctoral studies at the Free University of Berlin, and the principle of internationalisation at the same university, which are also the subject of the article. А study of the legal framework, strategic documents on doctoral degree and education is made in the article. The methods used are content analysis and secondary data analysis. Conclusions and generalizations are made and presented in summary form in tables. The article has a practical-applied character as it presents practices from Germany that may be useful in other countries and universities. Keywords: Germany, Free University Berlin, PhD study, young researchers, regulatory framework, research achievements, decentralization, internationalization

How Indian foreign policy negotiates federalism: a case study of the role of the constituent states

India’s centre-heavy federalism suffered dual downturns in the 1990s, with the tides of globalization and economic liberalization challenging the sanctity of borders and the incidence of coalition politics increasing the salience of regional equations and demands. But Indian foreign policy in the 1990s remained the almost exclusive preserve of the Centre, ruled by several coalitions of political parties like the National Front (1989-1996), United Front (1996-1998). As Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popular yet controversial regime is poised at the middle of its second term in 2022 (beginning in 2019), the continued showcasing of the Centre’s leadership in foreign policy decisions, high-profile bilateral and multilateral engagements, bold collisions with uneasy neighbours, are only matched with the unilateralism exhibited within the borders. Given the oft-reported instances of acute voices of assertions by the states on various issues ranging from illegal and forced migration, resource-sharing, or economic development involving neighbouring countries, a stock-taking is needed, to explore how genuinely federal is India’s foreign policy. In other words, the role of the constituent states in leveraging influence and bargaining for their due share of active involvement as stakeholders, merits critical academic intervention. When tested against real cases, two observations can be made. The dynamics shaping federalism and foreign policy may not just involve the Centre and the states but involve local/regional factors and influences from across international borders as well. Second, there is no causal link between the nature of the government in power at the Centre, Union-state political equations, and the imperatives across the borders between provinces and neighbouring countries. This study examines three case studies; West Bengal, Assam, and the Northeast, to reveal that foreign policy operates within the constitutionally designed structures of federalism in India by negotiating recurrent complexities of politics and deceives regional stakeholders or states with narratives of inclusiveness.

Profiling Cellular Ecosystems at Single-Cell Resolution and at Scale with EcoTyper.

Tissues are composed of diverse cell types and cellular states that organize into distinct ecosystems with specialized functions. EcoTyper is a collection of machine learning tools for the large-scale delineation of cellular ecosystems and their constituent cell states from bulk, single-cell, and spatially resolved gene expression data. In this chapter, we provide a primer on EcoTyper and demonstrate its use for the discovery and recovery of cell states and ecosystems from healthy and diseased tissue specimens.

Analysis of performance of Covid-19 vaccine supply chain in India

PurposeThis study aims to analyse the structure of the Indian vaccine supply chain (SC) during the Covid-19 crisis and explore the underlying challenges at each stage in the network. It also brings out the difference in performance of various constituent states.Design/methodology/approachThis study relied on both primary and secondary data for the analyses. For the primary data, the study gathered experts’ opinions to validate the authors’ inferences. For the secondary data, it relies on government data provided in websites.FindingsBased on the quartile analysis and cluster analysis of the secondary data, the authors find that the constituent states responded differently during the first and second waves. This was due to the differences in SC characteristics attributed to varied demographics and administrative efficiency.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper’s analyses is primarily limited to secondary information and inferences are based on them. The study has important implications for implementing the large-scale vaccination drives by government and constituent states for better coordination and last-mile delivery.Originality/valueThe contribution is unique in studying the performance of constituent states using statistical techniques, with secondary data from authentic sources. It is also unique in combining this observation with validation from experts.

The prevalence of vision impairment and blindness among older adults in India: findings from the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India.

Vision impairment and blindness are strongly associated with aging and late-life disability. While home to about 17% of the world's population, an estimated 25% of visually impaired people globally live in India. This proportion is expected to increase as India's population rapidly ages and continues to grow. There is a need for up-to-date epidemiologic data on the prevalence of vision impairment and blindness in India and on the socioeconomic determinants of poor vision, especially among older adults, to promote visual and overall health and well-being in later life. This paper uses newly available data from Wave 1 (2017-2019) of the population-based Longitudinal Ageing Study in India to estimate the overall and sex-specific prevalence of presenting visual acuity impairment and blindness among individuals aged 45 and older at the national level and for all constituent states and union territories. Overall, 33.8% (95% confidence interval: 33.31%, 34.26%) of the Indian population aged 45 and older had distance visual acuity impairment or was blind (visual acuity in the better-seeing eye < 20/40). The age-standardized prevalence varied considerably among states (22.3-54.6%), and women were more likely than men to be visually impaired or blind in all states. Near visual acuity impairment was also highly prevalent (43.0%, 95% confidence interval: 42.45%, 43.46%). Vision impairment and blindness were more common among marginalized groups and were associated with lower socioeconomic status. Findings from this study are relevant for surveillance of vision health, design of targeted eye care policies and programs and efforts to promote human and economic development.