Equal Area Research Articles

A Meta Analytic Review on causes for discontinuing Education of Girls in Rural Secondary Schools

Education is the only tool with which a girl or a woman can empower herself and eventually her family. Girls' education is both an intrinsic right and a critical lever to reaching other development objectives. Education is one of the most critical areas of empowerment for women. Among children not attending school there are twice as many girls as boys, and among illiterate adults there are twice as many women as men. It includes areas of gender equality and access to education. This meta-analytic review intends to critical study of the research work carried out in India in last 15 years on educational problems of girls living in various parts in India available on open database sources. Some of the studies have major focus on girls living in tribal areas. Researcher herself experienced that girls living in rural areas have fewer opportunities for education than boys. No study has been found to know the basic reason for the said problem. The researcher could not find any research done in Gujarat state based on the said topic. After analysing the findings, it was found that the attitude of parents is biased towards the education of girls. Few of the researchers found that social norms and behaviour such as child marriage, poverty, child labour were the reasons for low literacy in girls. Studies on tribal girls revealed that unfriendly treatment, feeling of insecurity and lack of awareness among parents, belief that education will create problem for them at the time of marriage were the major berriers for the girls education.

SURVEY OF HISTORICAL GARDENS: MULTI-CAMERA PHOTOGRAMMETRY VS MOBILE LASER SCANNING

Abstract. This paper presents an investigation into the characterization of historical gardens by comparing two 3D survey methodologies. In this context, approaches employing terrestrial laser scanning are considered the most accurate, while Mobile Mapping Systems (MMSs) are considered promising due to their extreme productivity. Less common is the use of close-range photogrammetry. This paper compares two approaches based on the use of a wearable MMS and the use of an in-house built photogrammetric multi-camera prototype. The comparison aims to assess the applicability of the two techniques in this field, evaluating their advantages and disadvantages in surveying a historical garden and extracting information for tree inventory, such as the DBH (Diameter at Breast Height) and canopy footprint. We compared the practicality of surveying and processing operations; and the quality and characteristics of the point clouds obtained. Both systems produced a dense representation of the terrain. The multi-camera survey resulted to be more defined due to the lower noise of the point cloud but incomplete in the definition of tree canopies. DBH of tree trunks can be extracted with both systems, except for thinner and finer diameter trunks detected by the MMS approach but not always by the multi-camera. The MMS approach proved more effective thanks to a shorter survey time required to cover an equal area and the fact that the MMS survey alone is sufficient for the geometric description of trees. In contrast, the multi-camera approach cannot avoid integration with an aerial survey for canopy reconstruction.

Experimental and numerical evaluation of heat transfer enhancement by internal flow excitation

Many researchers have studied active and passive methods to improve thermal performance and increase heat transfer in internal flows. Various geometries and configurations of turbulators have been proposed to achieve optimal performance in heat exchangers, and these analyses are ongoing. However, limited studies have been conducted on turbulators with equal obstruction inside the tube and turbulator with aerodynamic geometry. In this study, the effect of stimulating the boundary layer of the internal flow is investigated experimentally and numerically on the heat transfer and flow characteristics. For this purpose, a pipe with ring-shaped turbulators and an equal blocking area is used. Air in a range of Reynolds numbers from 6000 to 26,000 is used as the working fluid for the evaluations. According to the results of the study, the ring insert has the most influence in stimulating the flow inside the tube. The highest increase of Nu with the ring, disk, and o-ring is 2.92, 1.8, and 2.19, respectively. The overall performance increases as much as 16.2% at Re = 24,000 by flow excitation.

Thyroid malignancy in children: where does it locate?

As far as we know, in English literature, a limited number of studies has examined the relationship between the location of the nodule and malignancy risk. The studies were performed with adults and their results were mainly inconsistent. We aim to evaluate the potential association between the location of the thyroid nodules and risk for malignancy in the pediatric population. Patients younger than 18 years old with a pathological diagnosis were included. Nodules were divided into 5 categories according to the Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System (TI-RADS) algorithm. The location of the nodules was recorded: Right lobe, left lobe, isthmus, upper pole, lower pole, and middle. Thyroid glands were divided into 3 equal longitudinal areas to define upper, lower, and middle portions. Ninety-seven nodules of 103 children were included. The mean age of the population was 14.9 ± 2.51 years (7-18 years). Eighty-one participants were female (83.5%) and 16 male (16.5%). Fifty nodules were benign (51.5%) and 47 nodules were malignant (48.5%). We did not detect a significant correlation between the risk of malignancy and location of the nodule as right or left lobes or isthmus (P = 0.38). Rate of malignant nodules were significantly higher in middle lobe (23%, P = 0.002). Being located at middle part of thyroid gland increases the possibility of malignancy 11.3 times (OR = 11.3, P = 0.006). Nodule location can be used as a predictor for thyroid malignancy in pediatric patients, similar to adults. Middle lobe location increases the risk of malignancy. Using nodule location along with TI-RADS categorization can increase the efficacy of malignancy prediction.

CellRemorph: A Toolkit for Transforming, Selecting, and Slicing 3D Cell Structures on the Road to Morphologically Detailed Astrocyte Simulations

Understanding functions of astrocytes can be greatly enhanced by building and simulating computational models that capture their morphological details. Novel computational tools enable utilization of existing morphological data of astrocytes and building models that have appropriate level of details for specific simulation purposes. In addition to analyzing existing computational tools for constructing, transforming, and assessing astrocyte morphologies, we present here the CellRemorph toolkit implemented as an add-on for Blender, a 3D modeling platform increasingly recognized for its utility for manipulating 3D biological data. To our knowledge, CellRemorph is the first toolkit for transforming astrocyte morphologies from polygonal surface meshes into adjustable surface point clouds and vice versa, precisely selecting nanoprocesses, and slicing morphologies into segments with equal surface areas or volumes. CellRemorph is an open-source toolkit under the GNU General Public License and easily accessible via an intuitive graphical user interface. CellRemorph will be a valuable addition to other Blender add-ons, providing novel functionality that facilitates the creation of realistic astrocyte morphologies for different types of morphologically detailed simulations elucidating the role of astrocytes both in health and disease.

К использованию нового метода пикселизации сферы SREAG

A new method SREAG (Spherical Rectangular Equal-Area Grid) was proposed in Malkin (2019) to divide a spherical surface into rectangular cells of equal area. SREAG grid consists of a set of rings parallel to the equator, and each ring is divided into several cells, the number of which depends on the mean latitude of the ring. This paper presents some SREAG features in more details. The minimum number of rings is four. The maximum number of SREAG rings that can be achieved when using a 32-bit integer is 41068, which corresponds to the full range of resolution from $\sim$45$^{\circ}$ to $\sim$16$''$ The computational accuracy of SREAG is also estimated. Simple expressions were derived to calculate the basic SREAG parameter, number of rings, for the desired number of cells or for the required grid resolution.

Kepler’s Second Law Using Integration by Weighing

Kepler’s second law, also known as the law of equal areas, can be difficult for introductory students to explore using actual data given the complexity of the formula for finding the area of a sector of an ellipse. It is also possible to demonstrate Kepler’s second law with simplified math using video analysis of objects in a gravitation funnel if students have access to the necessary materials. In this activity, students discover Kepler’s second law using minimal equipment and mathematics using the technique of integration by weighing, where students cut out sections of an ellipse and use the mass of the sections to compare their areas.

Hook crane shape design improvement for reducing the maximum stress

The stress analysis of a hook crane submitted to some vertical static force is a simple FEM problem, approached here using SolidWorks Simulation software. Our purpose was to simulate different possibilities to slightly modify the shape of the hook crane, without adding too much material, in order to reduce the maximum stress induced in the hook. The shape design concerned here both the shape of the (transversal) cross-section and the shape of the hook longitudinal profile. The stress distribution is strongly depending on the shape of the hook crane, but it is almost independent on the hook material, since the bending mechanical stress, which is dominant in this combined bending and elongation case study, is not depending on the elastic modulus of the hook material. Obviously, the material choice is crucial from the point of view of the yield strength, usually hardened steels with increased yield strength are preferred. In what concerns the shape design improvement from the point of view of the cross-section (of equal area), our study confirmed that the trapezoidal section proposed generally in the literature corresponds to a reduced maximum induced stress. As a new result, a T-shape hook crane cross-section seems to prove better results that the trapezoidal section. To avoid stress concentrators, a combination between the trapezoidal and T-shape cross-sections has been also considered. The idea is to avoid as much as possible the discontinuity points on the outer contour of hook cross-section, since these discontinuity points are usually mechanical stress concentrators. A shape design improvement has been performed also in what concerns the longitudinal section/profile of the hook crane.

Reduction of wave load on monopile-supported offshore wind turbine by a gear-type plate

This study investigates the wave diffraction problem of a vertical cylinder with a gear-type plate by using the linear wave theory and the method of eigenfunction expansion. The present model is demonstrated to be accurate, through a comparison with the numerical results of the boundary element method. The horizontal wave force acting on the cylinder can be reduced considerably by the gear-type plate. Meanwhile, the variation in bending moment at the bottom of the cylinder depends on the wave conditions and geometry parameters. A low value of the ratio between water depth and cylinder radius (d/r0) can result in an increase in the bending moment on the cylinder, rather than a decrease, due to the additional loads exerted by the gear-type plate. The bending moment on the cylinder can be reduced significantly by the gear-type plate as d/r0 increases. Within d/r0∈[4,10] of the present monopile-supported wind turbines, the wave loads on the monopile foundation can be reduced significantly by the proposed gear-type plate. Compared with a ring-type plate, a gear-type plate exhibits superior reduction effects over an equal plate area. The loads on the structures are insensitive to the wave exposure angle when the teeth number increases beyond three.

Effectiveness of lobulated pedicled rectus abdominis myocutaneous flap for repairing huge chest wall defect

To explore the effectiveness of lobulated pedicled rectus abdominis myocutaneous flap to repair huge chest wall defect. Between June 2021 and June 2022, 14 patients with huge chest wall defects were treated with radical resection of the lesion and lobulated pedicled rectus abdominis myocutaneous flap transplantation for reconstruction of chest wall defects. The patients included 5 males and 9 females with an average age of 44.2 years (range, 32-57 years). The size of skin and soft tissue defect ranged from 20 cm×16 cm to 22 cm×22 cm. The bilateral pedicled rectus abdominis myocutaneous flaps in size of 26 cm×8 cm to 35 cm×14 cm were prepaired and cut into two skin paddles with basically equal area according to the actual defect size of the chest wall. After the lobulated pedicled rectus abdominis myocutaneous flap was transferred to the defect, there were two reshaping methods. The first method was that the skin paddle at the lower position and opposite side was unchanged, and the skin paddle at the effected side was rotated by 90° (7 cases). The second method was that the two skin paddles were rotated 90° respectively (7 cases). The donor site was sutured directly. All 14 flaps survived successfully and the wound healed by first intention. The incisions at donor site healed by first intention. All patients were followed up 6-12 months (mean, 8.7 months). The appearance and texture of the flaps were satisfactory. Only linear scar was left at the donor site, and the appearance and activity of the abdominal wall were not affected. No local recurrence was found in all tumor patients, and distant metastasis occurred in 2 breast cancer patients (1 liver metastasis and 1 lung metastasis). The lobulated pedicled rectus abdominis myocutaneous flap in repair of huge chest wall defect can ensure the safety of blood supply of the flap to the greatest extent, ensure the effective and full use of the flap tissue, and reduce postoperative complications.

Wheat yields in Kazakhstan can successfully be forecasted using a statistical crop model

Wheat production in Kazakhstan is fundamentally contributing to food security in Central Asia and beyond. It gained even more importance after recent spikes in global food prices in 2022. Therefore, timely and reliable estimates of Kazakh wheat production are important for food security planning and management. In this study, we developed a statistical weather-driven crop model that can successfully hindcast wheat yields at the oblast level up to two months before the harvest. The hindcast of wheat yields for 1993–2021 produces a median R2 of 0.69 for the full model run and R2 values of 0.60 and 0.37 for two levels of out-of-sample validations, respectively. Based on these yield estimates we provide a robust hindcast of the total wheat production for Kazakhstan with R2 values between 0.86 and 0.73. We forecast total wheat production in Kazakhstan for 2022 to be 12.4 million tonnes and the average yield to be 0.96 tonnes per hectare, which is 5 % above the production and yield of 2021 (assuming equal areas). The statistical model is run with publicly available weather and yield data and requires low computational power, making it easily replicable. The forecast model can be used as a replenishment to currently applied forecasting methods supporting countries in Central Asia to meet their food demand.

Protected area planning to conserve biodiversity in an uncertain future.

Protected areas are a key instrument for conservation. Despite this, they are vulnerable to risks associated with weak governance, land-use intensification, and climate change. We used a novel hierarchical optimization approach to identify priority areas for expanding the global protected area system that explicitly accounted for such risks while maximizing protection of all known terrestrial vertebrate species. To incorporate risk categories, we built on the minimum set problem, where the objective is to reach species distribution protection targets while accounting for 1 constraint, such as land cost or area. We expanded this approach to include multiple objectives accounting for risk in the problem formulation by treating each risk layer as a separate objective in the problem formulation. Reducing exposure to these risks required expanding the area of the global protected area system by 1.6% while still meeting conservation targets. Incorporating risks from weak governance drove the greatest changes in spatial priorities for protection, and incorporating risks from climate change required the largest increase (2.52%) in global protected area. Conserving wide-ranging species required countries with relatively strong governance to protect more land when they bordered nations with comparatively weak governance. Our results underscore the need for cross-jurisdictional coordination and demonstrate how risk can be efficiently incorporated into conservation planning. Planeación de las áreas protegidas para conservar la biodiversidad en un futuro incierto.

Predicting Water Flux in Forward Osmosis with Unknown Feed Solution Composition: An Empirical Approach Based on Thermodynamical Properties

This study investigated the predictability of forward osmosis (FO) performance with an unknown feed solution composition, which is important in industrial applications where process solutions are concentrated but their composition is unknown. A fit function of the unknown solution's osmotic pressure was created, correlating it with the recovery rate, limited by solubility. The osmotic concentration was derived and used in the subsequent simulation of the permeate flux in the considered FO membrane. For comparison, magnesium chloride and magnesium sulfate solutions were used since these show a particularly strong deviation from the ideal osmotic pressure according to Van't Hoff and are, thus, characterized by an osmotic coefficient unequal to 1. The simulation is based on the solution-diffusion model with consideration of external and internal concentration polarization phenomena. Here, a membrane module was subdivided into 25 segments of equal membrane area, and the module performance was solved by a numerical differential. Experiments in a laboratory scale for validation confirmed that the simulation gave satisfactory results. The recovery rate in the experimental run could be described for both solutions with a relative error of less than 5%, while the calculated water flux as a mathematical derivative of the recovery rate showed a bigger deviation.

Features of Nonlinear Calculation of Bending Rods Partially Supported on Elastic Foundation

The paper investigates the results of solving spatial contact problems on the free support of bending rods (hereinafter referred to as beams) on elastic quarter-space and octant of space. The objectives of the study include determining the stress state of contact pads, obtaining a picture of the distribution of contact stresses over them, and studying the features that arise when solving these contact problems. The main solution method is the method of B. N. Zhemochkin, based on the discretization of contact areas by replacing a continuous contact with a point one. This approach allows us to reduce the contact problem to the calculation of a statically indeterminate system using well-developed methods of structural mechanics. The mathematical model of the contact problems to be solved is built on the assumption of linear elastic (geometric and physical linearity) work of both the bending element and the elastic foundation. Since in the process of deformation the end sections of the beam element can break away from the support areas, the contact problems to be solved belong to the group of contact problems with a previously unknown contact area. The design schemes of such problems are constructively nonlinear, and their calculation is carried out by iterative methods. Based on the results of solving the considered contact problems, it has been found that with a geometrically symmetrical support of the beam element on the left and right on elastic quarter-spaces (space octants) with equal support areas, but different mechanical characteristics, as well as symmetrical loading, the values of support reactions, considering them as resultants of contact stresses on the left and right contact pads, and the coordinates of the points of their application are not equal to each other. The solution of the contact problem leads to a similar result in the case of a bending beam element resting on the elastic quarter-space on one side, and on the edge of the space octant on the other. In addition, a constant torque appears along the entire length of the beam element, indicating that the beam element is in a torsional transverse bending condition.

On heat properties of charged AdS black holes in Gauss-Bonnet gravity coupled with nonlinear electrodynamics

We investigate the heat properties of charged AdS black holes in the Gauss-Bonnet gravity coupled with nonlinear electrodynamics. We consider the thermodynamics of black holes from the perspective of heat capacity and show that the nonlinear electrodynamics can be helpful to improve the thermodynamic stability of black holes. We perform a two-dimensional description in order to reproduce the Hawking temperature, which confirms that the Hawking temperature has an intrinsic topological nature and holds for a higher dimensional spherically symmetric spacetime. We also analyze the Maxwell equal area law and coexistence curve, and find the existence of van der Waals-like phase transitions based on critical exponents. Moreover, we deal with a charged AdS black hole in the Gauss-Bonnet gravity coupled with nonlinear electrodynamics as a working material to study holographic heat engines and obtain an exact expression for the efficiency of a rectangular engine cycle. We then discuss the effects of nonlinear electrodynamics and Gauss-Bonnet couplings on the rectangular engine cycle and compare the efficiency of this cycle with that of the Carnot cycle.

Soil monitoring and land cover/land use assessment on the Blue Nile River Watershed, Blue Nile State – Sudan/ using remote sensing and other techniques

The study was carried out along the course of the Blue Nile from the Ethiopian-Sudanese border in the south to the borders of the Blue Nile state with Sennar state in the north. The study area was determined by establishing a buffer around the course of the Blue Nile, with a width of 20 km (10 km at each side of the river), Blue Nile state. The study attempted to update some information in the study area regarding land use/ land cover, soil properties and contour map. To facilitate forest inventory and field work. The study area was divided into equal area to four zones (A, B, C and D), 783 sites and soil sample samples were taken and classified using the land cover classification system (LCCS). The fieldwork and survey began with four practical groups, a group for each zone within the period 1 December 2015 to 5 March, 2016 in a total area of approximately 346483.42 ha. Remote sensing and fieldwork data analysis showed that there are significant changes in land use/ land cover and soil properties are in the study area (1990 to 2015). Zones A and B (South of Rosieris Dam) are mainly composed of clay soil, while the soil of Zones C and D (North of Rosieris dam) is mainly loamy soil. the study indicate that 13%, 11%, 22% and 19% from zone A, B, C and D respectively lies within the slightly acidity (pH 5.5 to 6.5), while 87%, 87%, 78% and 81% of the same zone respectably was natural soil and 2% of zone B classified as Slightly alkaline soil (pH 8) and more than 50% of the total area classified as neutral to slightly acidity, which is suitable for most crops and natural vegetation covers. SP% analysis showed that more than 80% of soils samples in the study area have SP% values greater than 40% which characterized combination of silt, loam and clay. The study indicate that the change in the patterns of land cover/ land use systems is found to be mainly due to civil war and economic crises with no clear signs of climatic change.

The gerrymander sequence, or A348456

The gerrymander sequence, gL, given as A348456 in the OEIS, counts the number of ways to bisect a 2L×2L chessboard into two polyominoes of equal area. Recently Kauers, Koutschan and Spahn announced a significant increase in the length of this sequence from 3 to 7 terms. We give a further extension to 11 terms, but more significantly prove that the coefficients grow as λ4L2, where λ≈1.7445498, and is equal to the corresponding quantity for self-avoiding walks crossing a square (WCAS), or self-avoiding polygons crossing a square (PCAS). These are, respectively, OEIS sequences A007764 and A333323. Thus we have established a close connection between these previously separate problems.We have also related the sub-dominant behaviour to that of WCAS and PCAS, allowing us to conjecture that the coefficients of the gerrymander sequence grow as gL∼λ4L2+2dL+e⋅(2L)h, where d=−4.04354±0.0001, e≈8 and h=0.75±0.01, with h almost certainly 3/4 exactly.We have also generated 26 terms of the related OEIS sequence A068416, which counts the number of ways to partition a L×L square into two connected components (not necessarily of equal area). We have thus been able to predict the asymptotic behaviour of this sequence with a satisfying degree of precision. Indeed, it behaves exactly as L times the corresponding coefficient of the generalised gerrymander sequence (defined below).The improved algorithm we give for counting these sequences is a variation of that which we recently developed for extending a number of sequences for SAWs and SAPs crossing a domain of the square or hexagonal lattices. It makes use of a minimal perfect hash function and in-place memory updating of the arrays for the counts of the number of paths.

Research and Construction of a Global Hexagonal Marine Gravity Gradient Reference Map for Navigation

A high-precision marine gravity gradient reference map is key to enabling underwater gravity gradient matching navigation. At present, the construction of the reference maps is based on quadrilateral geographic grids. However, quadrilateral grids lead to detriangulation at high latitudes, which limits the global applicability of such maps to underwater gravity navigation. To circumvent the limitations of quadrilateral grids, a hexagonal grid is introduced for constructing the reference map. This paper analyzes the characteristics of the icosahedral Snyder equal area aperture 4 hexagon (ISEA4H) and H3 grid systems and selects an appropriate grid system. In addition, we calculate and analyze the grid model errors and matching positioning errors of hexagonal and quadrilateral grids at the same resolution. The experimental results show that the grid model and matching positioning errors of a hexagonal grid system are more than 14% and 15% less than those of a quadrilateral grid system, respectively, indicating the feasibility and effectiveness of applying hexagonal grids to gravity gradient matching navigation. Given the low construction efficiency of a marine hexagonal grid gravity gradient reference map, we propose an efficient CPU+GPU hybrid parallel scheme. A global total tensor marine hexagonal grid gravity gradient reference map model is then constructed.

The Influence of Fibre Cross Section Shape and Fibre Surface Roughness on Composite Micromechanics

Many of the carbon and natural fibres used in composite reinforcement have a non-circular cross section. Recently non-circular, or flat, cross section glass fibre products have become commercially available. This paper explores the potential effects that such non-circular fibre cross section shapes may have on the micromechanics of stress transfer at the composite fibre–matrix interface and the resulting changes in composite strength performance. Analytical modelling is used to show how the critical fibre length in composites with non-circular fibres is always less when compared to circular fibres with an equal cross-sectional area. This can result in significant changes to the strength performance of discontinuous fibre reinforced composites. Additionally, it is shown that the surface roughness found on natural and carbon fibres, many of which are also non-circular in cross section, can decrease the critical fibre length still further. These effects have important consequences for the use of single fibre micromechanical tests used for the characterisation of interfacial strength.

Influence of constant total hydraulic head on pore pressure and water inflow of grouted tunnel calculated by complex variable method

Understanding the distribution of pore pressure and predicting water inflow are critical in tunnel engineering. In this study, the numerical solutions obtained by ABAQUS are compared with the theoretical solutions derived using the complex variable method (CVM). This comparison clarifies the influence of assuming a constant total hydraulic head along the interface between the grouted zone and soil on the theoretical solutions of pore pressure and water inflow calculated by the CVM. Results show that assuming a constant total hydraulic head can cause the negative and positive deviations with approximately equal areas in the total hydraulic head regardless of the permeability of the grouted zone and soil. Consequently, the theoretical solution invariably approaches the numerical solution for water inflow even when the deviation of the total hydraulic head is considerable. Relative permeability, kr/kg (where kg and kr represent the permeability coefficient of the grouted zone and soil, respectively), has a significant influence on the deviation of pore pressure. When the relative permeability is large, the pore pressure deviation is acceptable. As the relative permeability increases or the water depth (hw) decreases, the total hydraulic head and pore pressure deviations decrease gradually.