Noon Hours Research Articles

Study of Demographic and Clinical Profile of Injuries Related to “Kite Flying” Celebration in Urban India

Introduction: Kites were first introduced by the Chinese more than three thousand years ago, but in places like India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, Kite flying is celebrated in unique way. People enjoy cutting down others kites and there is an instinct to catch the threads of the “Cut-Kite” and rejoice the gain. In this study conducted at a tertiary care emergency medicine department to understand demographic profile and injuries related in such a festive celebration, occurring in one urban area, to spread awareness and reduce such incidence.
 Methodology: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted using preformatted form in consecutive two year.
 Results: Among 83 cases we studied, 81% were male. 65% were in the age group of 11-40. 70% incidences took place in noon and evening hours. 68.67 % presented in 108 ambulance services, 43% presented with fall from height (terraces), 34 % had road traffic accidents because of strings and festival related excitement. Maximum had fall from 1 storey buildings. 56% received Out Patient based treatment. Among the admitted patients 15% had head injury, 2 cut throat, 9.7% had fractures and 1 had to undergo laparotomy, 2 died eventually during the hospital stay because of grievous injuries.
 Conclusion: This study re-emphasizes the importance of spreading awareness and increasing the care, particularly of children during such an enjoyable festival.

Development of Reduction Scenarios Based on Urban Emission Estimation and Dispersion of Exhaust Pollutants from Light Duty Public Transport: Case of Tabriz, Iran

The transportation sector is one of the major air pollution sources in cities and accounts for about 72% of total air pollution in Tabriz, Iran. The economic burden of air pollution on Iran’s economy was estimated to be 8 and 10 billion dollars in 2005 and 2010, respectively. Using air pollution models, including emission and dispersion models, has been proposed as a logical solution to overcome problems such as expensive measurement methods and in some cases, difficulty and impossibility of direct measurements. In this paper, IVE emission model was used for estimating emission amounts and emission factors of taxi fleet of Imam Khomeini Street, one of main and busiest streets in Tabriz, as a representative street and for studying effects of different scenarios. AERMOD dispersion model was used for investigating the dispersion pattern of emitted pollutants from this fleet and to estimate the effect of using local base emission factors and replacement of present taxi fleet by environmental friendly vehicles in this city. CO, CH4, and NOx pollutants with quantities of 108, 20.7, and 5.4 g/km have the highest emission factor among all pollutants. Amount of hourly emissions per each pollutant, daily emission amount by technology types, and daily emission amount of each technology by pollutant types were also examined. CO emission has the highest amount at 7–8 in the morning, and at noon hours, emission of NOx and VOC increases. Technologies with old fuel injection and emission control systems and higher mileage have higher level of pollution emission. Investigating dispersion of pollutants from this fleet in the atmosphere shows pollutants movement in the northwest direction. Performance statistics of AERMOD model, such as FB, NMSE, MG, VG, FAC2, and R by use of pollution level of two adjacent air pollution monitoring stations were determined to continue. Three air pollution scenarios are used to assay effects of using site-specific base emission factors; replacement of worn-out portion of fleet with two distinct technology types (gasoline fuel and CNG fuel) were investigated. As a result under the first and second scenarios, 6.4% and 3.9% decrease of GWP would be estimated respectively and under the third scenario, 7.8% increase of GWP relative to the present study was observed.

Assessment of tropospheric ozone at an industrial site of Chennai megacity

ABSTRACTThis paper presents the temporal variation in surface-level ozone (O3) measured at Gummidipoondi near Chennai, Tamilnadu. The site chosen for the present study has high potential for ozone generation sources, such as vehicular traffic and industrial activities. The site is also located near a hazardous waste management facility. The key sources of nitrogen oxides (NOx), which are considered to be an important precursor of O3, include hazardous waste incineration, trucks bringing the hazardous wastes, and vehicles plying on the nearby National Highway 16 (NH 16). The measurements clearly showed diurnal variation, with maximum values observed during the noon hours and minimum values observed when solar radiation was less. The data showed a marked seasonal variation in O3, with the highest hourly average O3 concentration (497.2 µg/m3) in the summer season. Consequently, in order to identify the long-range transport sources adding to the increased O3 levels, backward trajectories were computed using the Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model. It was found that the polluted air mass originated from the Southeast Asian region and the Indo-Gangetic Plain. The polluted air mass, which advected large amounts of carbon monoxide (CO) plumes, was analyzed using the Measurement of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT) retrievals. The correlations of O3 with temperature (r = 0.746; P < 0.01) and solar radiation (r = 0.751; P < 0.01) were strongly positive, and that with NOx was found to be negative. Stronger correlation of O3 with NOx was observed during pre-monsoon months (r = 0.627; P < 0.01) and following hours of photochemical reactions. There were substantial differences in concentrations between weekdays and weekends, with higher nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), but lower O3, concentrations on weekdays. A substantial weekday-weekend difference in O3, which was higher on weekends, appears to be attributable to lower daytime traffic activity and hence reduced emissions of NOx to a “NOx-saturated” atmosphere.Implications: The assessment of ground-level ozone in an industrial area with hazardous waste management facility is very important, as there is high possibility for more generation of tropospheric ozone. Since the location of the study area is coastal, wind plays a major role in O3 transportation; hence, the effects of wind speed and wind direction have been studied in different seasons. When compared with the other studies carried out in different places across India, the present study area has recorded much greater O3 mixing ratio. This study can be useful for setting up control strategies in such industrial areas.

Marmots

Walter Arnold introduces the biology of marmots.

Temporal variations of the conduction current density during fair weather days in Israel

Ground-based measurements of the atmospheric conduction current density were conducted on Mount Hermon in northern Israel (33°18′N 35°47.2′E, 2050 m a.s.l). The aim was to measure the conduction current diurnal behavior during days that are defined meteorologically as fair weather days. Results from 86 selected fair weather days show an average value of 0.9 pA/m2 downward, and a double oscillation behavior of the conduction current density with two maxima – a morning peak due to local effect and an evening peak due to global effect, with lower values in between. Fourier transform analysis applied to the continuous data shows the two maxima peaks under the daily background level. The conduction current density, together with the fair weather vertical electric field was used to calculate the fair weather mean conductivity behavior (based on Ohm's law). The conductivity shows minimum values during local noon hours when the station is assumed to be within the boundary layer and high conductivity values during the night hours when the station is above the boundary layer. This is likely due to the respective diurnal changes in concentrations of aerosol particles. A WRF simulation of a single fair weather day was conducted in order to determine the meteorological regime and the boundary layer height and is presented to support the hypothesis that conductivity values depend, at least in part, on the height of the boundary layer relative to the station.

Assessment study of ionosphere correction model using single- and multi-shell algorithms approach over sub-Saharan African region

It is a known fact that ionosphere is the largest and the least predictable among the sources of error limiting the reliability and accuracy of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and its regional augmentation systems like Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS) in a safety-of-life application. The situation becomes worse in the Equatorial Ionization Anomaly (EIA) region, where the daytime ionization distribution is modified by the fountain effect that develops a crest of electron density at around ±15° to ±20° of the magnetic equator and a trough at the magnetic equator during the local noon hours. Related to this phenomenon is the appearance of ionosphere irregularities and plasma bubbles after local sunset. These may degrade further the quality of service obtained from the GNSS/SBAS system of the said periods. Considering the present operational augmentation systems, the accuracy and integrity of the ionosphere corrections estimate decreases as the level of disturbances increases. In order to provide a correct ionosphere correction to the user of GNSS operating in African EIA region and meet the integrity requirements, a certified ionosphere correction model that accurately characterizes EIA gradient with the full capacity to over-bound the residual error will be needed. An irregularities detector and a decorrelation adaptor are essential in an algorithm usable for African sub-Saharan SBAS operation. The algorithm should be able to cater to the equatorial plasma vertical drifts, diurnal and seasonal variability of the ionosphere electron density and also should take into account the large spatial and temporal gradients in the region. This study presents the assessment of the ionosphere threat model with single and multi-layer algorithm, using modified planar fit and Kriging approaches.

Role of insect visits on cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) yield

The foraging activities of insect visitors on cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) were studied. The insect visitors in decreasing order of abundance were: Formica sp.&gt;Apis mellifera&gt;Apis cerana&gt;syrphids≥Apis dorstata. The activity of insects was peaked at 08.00-09.00 am. The foraging behaviour of A. mellifera was also studied. The bees spent significantly more time per flower during morning hours (sec/flower) and foraged significantly fewer flowers (7.9 flowers/min) compared to evening hours. There were significantly more nectar foragers (6.03/m²/10 min) than pollen foragers (5.16/m²/10 min). Most pollen foragers were observed during morning hours (6.59/m²/10 min) whereas nectar foragers were most active during noon hours (6.63/m²/10 min). Highest fruit set was observed in hand pollination (70.68%). Percentage of misshapen fruits was maximum in without honey bee pollination (24.35%). Without honey bee pollination resulted in significantly lowest percentage of healthy fruits (75.25%). Hand pollination ranked highest among the three forms of pollination in respective of fruits (985.13 g), number of seeds per fruit (425.22), fruit diameter (27.1 cm), fruit length (26.7 cm) and weight of 1000-seeds (28.64 g).&#x0D; J. Biodivers. Conserv. Bioresour. Manag. 2018, 4(2): 81-88

Critical Evaluation of the Impact of Disturbance Dynamo on Equatorial Ionosphere During Daytime

AbstractBased on careful analysis of 16 years of hourly variations of the strength of equatorial electrojet (EEJ) derived using the ground‐based magnetometers over the Indian sector, the role played by disturbance dynamo electric field disturbances on equatorial ionosphere is identified. It is found that most prominent cases of the effects of disturbance dynamo occurred during equinoctial months in high solar activity period. In three extreme cases, the reduction in EEJ strength from quiet time average values of the respective month is more than twice the standard deviations for at least 3 hr. Based on the methodology described in Pandey et al. (2017, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jastp.2017.03.012), it is found that the westward electric field perturbations are as large as 0.7 ± 0.2 to 1.2 ± 0.3 mV/m around noon hours for these three cases. In contrast to the expectation of disturbance dynamo electric field perturbations over equatorial latitudes from the earlier models, these values during daytime are significantly larger and even caused reversals of EEJ on two occasions. A possible additional source to augment the reduction in the electric field is indicated.

AN ASSESSMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL NOISE POLLUTION OF JODHPUR, RAJASTHAN, INDIA

Jodhpur is the second largest city of Rajasthan, India. In recent years Jodhpur have expanded exponentially with increase in population, industries, vehicles etc. and this growth has created the problems like noise, air and waste pollution to name a few. Noise pollution is one of the problems which are not being addressed seriously and hence the present study was undertaken. The noise levels Leq dB (A) were monitored at three sites namely Shastri Nagar (Lachoo memorial College of Science and Technology-LMC), Basni Phase I, and AIIMS main gate road site, grouped as Residential, Industrial and silence zone area respectively. The monthly observations were recorded during morning hour (8-10AM), noon hours (12-2PM), and evening hour (5-7 PM) using sound level meter (Envirotech Instruments) model SLM 100, taking the readings at an interval of 1min, from December 2017 to April 2018. The maximum noise level recorded at Shastri Nagar,(LMC) site was 87.0dB in January 2018 (12-2PM), at Basni Phase I site was 97.2dB in December 2017 (8-10 AM), and was recorded 91.6dB in April 2018 (5-7 PM) at AIIMS main gate road site. The average noise level were found to be more than prescribed limits set by Central Pollution control Board (CPCB 2000) at all the three sites for all the five months and all the three recording hours (8-10AM, 12-2PM, and 5-7 PM), except at Basni Phase I site when it was observed to be slightly below (CPCB limit 75 dB - observed level 71.66 dB &73.67 dB ) in January 2018(8-10 AM) and February 2018 (12-2 PM) respectively. The present study can be fruitful in devising effective methods to curb this problem. Article DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.20319/mijst.2018.42.207219 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-commercial 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, PO Box 1866, Mountain View, CA 94042, USA.

Study the behavior of the ionospheric frequencies at Karachi during three consecutive solar minima of cycle 21, 22 & 23 and their comparison with IRI-2016

The behavior of critical frequencies of ionospheric E and F2 layers (foE & foF2) along with minimum ionospheric frequency (fmin) is studied for solar minima of cycle 21 (1986), 22 (1996) and 23 (2008) over Karachi (24.95°N, 67.13°E), Pakistan. The station is located at the crest of equatorial ionization anomaly region. Beside seasonal differences, pronounced change in the values of frequencies is noted from one solar minimum to another solar minimum. A strong and direct correlation of foF2 with Smoothed Sunspot Number (SSN) and F10.7 cm solar flux is observed. In the minimum of cycle 23, reduction in foF2 is noted due to reduction of solar EUV as compared to other minima. Also disappearance of semi-annual variations in foF2 is noted in cycle 23 minimum. Unexpectedly higher values of foE and fmin are observed in minimum of cycle 23 as compared to other minima. It is difficult to explain this unusual behavior of fmin and foE along with disappearance of semi-annual variation in foF2. It is possible that during very low solar activity, thermospheric conditions are changed which in turn altered the ionosphere. Further investigation of atmosphere-ionosphere coupling is required to understand this complex behavior. On comparison of observed values with IRI-2016, higher deviations are observed in foE before noon hours while in case of foF2, large deviations are noted during daytime. The absence of foF2 semi-annual variation in cycle 23 is not reproduced by IRI-2016. It is suggested that IRI-2016 need some modification for extremely low solar activity condition.

Elektrik alan seviyeleri ve halk sağlığı açısından değerlendirilmesi: Samsun şehir merkezi örneği

Objective: In parallel with technological developments, radio/TV transmitters, base stations, power lines, transformers, electrical household appliances and medical equipments have begun to take up more space in our daily lives, causing an increase in the electromagnetic fields (EMF) in our environments. Increasing demand for wireless systems has further led to more exposure to EMFs. Therefore, a more comprehensive understanding of the potential health consequences of electromagnetic field exposure has become ever more crucial. Method: In this study, short term electric field strength (E) measurements were taken in the Ilkadim, Canik and Atakum districts of Samsun province, at 152 different locations in the months of April, May and September in 2017. The measurements were taken using a PMM 8053 EMF meter. In order to determine the change in E levels within a day, a 24 hour long measurement was conducted at the location where the highest average electric field strength (Eavg) was recorded. Results: The evaluation of E measurement results showed that the highest maximum electric field strength (Emax) was 4.75 V/m, and Eavg was 3.35 V/m. The differences between all Emax and Eavg values recorded in the three districts were statistically significant at a 95% confidence level. Emaxs recorded in Ilkadim district showed larger variability than the other districts. It was determined that at only 2% of the 152 measurement locations, Eavg levels were between 2V/m and 4V/m. The assessment of the 24 hour E measurements demonstrated that the highest E value was recorded between 12:00 and 17:59; when the base station was the most active. Furthermore, the mean E value measured during noon hours was 58% higher than the value measured during night hours. Conclusions: Although the recorded E levels were below the limits determined by the ICNIRP and ICTA; it can be considered as high for countries like Switzerland and Italy where lower limits are enforced. Therefore, regular monitoring of E level exposure and keeping E levels within safe limits is recommended in order to protect public health.

Extreme levels of Canadian wildfire smoke in the stratosphere over central Europe on 21–22 August 2017

Abstract. Light extinction coefficients of 500 Mm−1, about 20 times higher than after the Pinatubo volcanic eruptions in 1991, were observed by European Aerosol Research Lidar Network (EARLINET) lidars in the stratosphere over central Europe on 21–22 August 2017. Pronounced smoke layers with a 1–2 km vertical extent were found 2–5 km above the local tropopause. Optically dense layers of Canadian wildfire smoke reached central Europe 10 days after their injection into the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere which was caused by rather strong pyrocumulonimbus activity over western Canada. The smoke-related aerosol optical thickness (AOT) identified by lidar was close to 1.0 at 532 nm over Leipzig during the noon hours on 22 August 2017. Smoke particles were found throughout the free troposphere (AOT of 0.3) and in the pronounced 2 km thick stratospheric smoke layer at an altitude of 14–16 km (AOT of 0.6). The lidar observations indicated peak mass concentrations of 70–100 µg m−3 in the stratosphere. In addition to the lidar profiles, we analyzed Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) fire radiative power (FRP) over Canada, and the distribution of MODIS AOT and Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) aerosol index across the North Atlantic. These instruments showed a similar pattern and a clear link between the western Canadian fires and the aerosol load over Europe. In this paper, we also present Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) sun photometer observations, compare photometer and lidar-derived AOT, and discuss an obvious bias (the smoke AOT is too low) in the photometer observations. Finally, we compare the strength of this record-breaking smoke event (in terms of the particle extinction coefficient and AOT) with major and moderate volcanic events observed over the northern midlatitudes.

Characterizing the level, photochemical reactivity, emission, and source contribution of the volatile organic compounds based on PTR-TOF-MS during winter haze period in Beijing, China

The atmospheric volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are the key participators in the formation of secondary organic aerosol and other atmospheric photochemical processes. However, it is still far from clear understanding of the VOCs in Northern China. In this study, VOCs were measured using a proton transfer reaction-time of flight-mass spectrometer (PTR-TOF-MS) in the downtown area of Beijing during a winter haze period in December 2016. The average mixing ratios of VOCs on the haze days were (ppb): methanol (51.75), formaldehyde (41.65), acetaldehyde (15.81), acetone (7.92), C8-aromatics (7.35), toluene (6.11), benzene (4.30), MEK (2.53), acetonitrile (2.05), C9-aromatics (1.54), benzaldehyde (1.12), isoprene (1.00), styrene (0.62). These concentrations represented the largest values among the cities around the world. VOC concentrations varied dramatically, with the largest value mainly appeared on days having the weakest diffusion condition. Due to the different solar radiation in this period, the photochemical reactivity of the VOCs showed the minimum and maximum values on haze and clear days, respectively. The primary anthropogenic emissions contributed more than half of the mixing ratios of most VOCs. However, formaldehyde received 56.6% contribution from the secondary or biogenic sources, and this contribution mainly increased at the noon hours when sunlight was stronger.

Modeling travel time of car with varying demand on an urban midblock section

ABSTRACTThe present study analyzes the stochastic nature of travel time distribution under the uncertainty of traffic volume and the proportion of cars in the traffic stream. Stochastic response surface method (SRSM) is adopted for modeling the travel time variation under the influence of traffic composition and traffic volume. This model is applied to an uninterrupted urban arterial corridor of 1.7 km length in New Delhi. Video graphic data were collected for 2 days during morning hours between 8 AM and 12 noon and evening hours of 3–7 PM. License plate matching technique was used for measuring the travel time in the study area. This study focused on travel time variation of cars with varying traffic volume and proportion of car in the traffic stream. Linear regression analysis was carried out initially to know the functional relation and significance relation between the input and output variables, and then SRSM analysis was performed. Artificial neural network (ANN) is also considered to map the relation among travel time, traffic volume and composition of traffic stream. A comparative evaluation is made among ANN, SRSM and regression analysis. Results indicate that apart from traffic volume, the influence of car population is more on travel time variation than motorized two-wheelers. It is attributed to the smaller size and comparability better operating condition of motorized two-wheelers. Also, the ANN and SRSM models are more efficient for analyzing the stochastic relation between the response and uncertain explanatory variable than the regression model.

Interhemispheric Asymmetry of the Sunward Plasma Flows for Strongly Dominant IMF BZ &gt; 0

AbstractSuper Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) convection maps obtained simultaneously in both hemispheres are averaged to infer polar cap ionospheric flow patterns under strongly dominant positive interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) Bz component. The data set consisted of winter observations in the Northern Hemisphere simultaneously with summer observations in the Southern Hemisphere. Long‐lasting high‐latitude dayside reverse convection cells are shown to have faster sunward flows at near‐magnetic noon hours in the summer/Southern Hemisphere. Sunward flows typically deviate from the midnight‐noon meridian toward 10–11 h of magnetic local time in the summer/Southern Hemisphere and are more aligned with the midnight‐noon meridian in the winter/Northern Hemisphere. Flow deviations in the winter/Northern Hemisphere can be both toward prenoon and postnoon hours, and there is no clear relationship between flow deviation and the IMF By component. No strong preference for the sunward flow occurrence depending on the IMF Bx polarity was found. In addition, the rate of the sunward flow speed increase in response to an increase in driving conditions was found to be comparable for the IMF Bx &gt; 0 and Bx &lt; 0.

Features of the impact of the solar wind diamagnetic structure on Earth’s magnetosphere

In Earth’s orbit on June 28, 1999, there was a diamagnetic structure (DS) representing a filament with a uniquely high speed (about 900 km/s). We show that the filament is a part of the specific sporadic solar wind (SW) stream, which is characterized as a small interplanetary transient. We report the results of studies on the interaction between such a fast filament (DS) and Earth’s magnetosphere. Around noon hours at daytime cusp latitudes, we recorded a powerful aurora in the UV band (shock aurora), which rapidly spread to the west and east. Ground-based observations of geo-magnetic field variations, auroral absorption, and auro-ras on the midnight meridian have shown the develop-ment of a powerful substorm-like disturbance (SLD) (AE~1000 nT), whose origin is associated with the im-pact of the SW diamagnetic structure on the magneto-sphere. The geostationary satellite GOES-8, which was in the midnight sector of the outer quasi-capture region during SLD, recorded variations of the Bz and Bx geo-magnetic components corresponding to the dipolization process.

Особенности воздействия диамагнитной структуры солнечного ветра на магнитосферу Земли

In Earth’s orbit on June 28, 1999, there was a diamagnetic structure (DS) representing a filament with a uniquely high speed (about 900 km/s). We show that the filament is a part of the specific sporadic solar wind (SW) stream, which is characterized as a small interplanetary transient. We report the results of studies on the interaction between such a fast filament (DS) and Earth’s magnetosphere. Around noon hours at daytime cusp latitudes, we recorded a powerful aurora in the UV band (shockaurora), which rapidly spread to the west and east. Ground-based observations of geomagnetic field variations, auroral absorption, and auroras on the midnight meridian have shown the development of a powerful substorm-like disturbance (SLD) (AE~1000 nT), whose origin is associated with the impact of the SW diamagnetic structure on the magnetosphere. The geostationary satellite GOES-8, which was in the midnight sector of the outer quasi-capture region during SLD, recorded variations of the Bz and Bx geomagnetic field components corresponding to the dipolarization process.

CIGS Photovoltaics For The Urban Tropics

A study was done to compare the energy yield performance of CIGS versus MC-Si solar panels. Our studies show that the yield of both the panels are comparable, with a difference of only 0.7% with the MC-Si a bit higher. However that is within the limits of power tolerance for the panels and is not conclusive. A sunny day output power profile shows the CIGS panels have a significant advantage during the noon hours with a lower voltage drop and higher hourly specific yield. Our cost analysis of CIGS solar panels show that they are potentially cheaper than aluminum composite panel cladding (including system) and only slightly more expensive than ceramic tiles (panels only). Our analysis of the solar insolation (PSH) on east and west facing sidewalls shows they are about half the insolation on the roof. Although this increases the payback period, one would need to subtract the original potential cost of the façade that it has replaced. The use of PV panels also effectively creates a double skin façade structure and provides additional insulation to the building. This suggests that one could install BIPV solar as an alternative to the traditional building materials such as ceramics and aluminum composite panels at comparable costs.

Home ranges, activity patterns and habitat preferences of leopards in Luambe National Park and adjacent Game Management Area in the Luangwa Valley, Zambia

Leopard (Panthera pardus) populations are declining worldwide. There are limited data on leopard ecology, especially activity patterns and habitat use, but these are vital to facilitate their conservation. In Zambia we radio tracked two female and three male leopards to study home range sizes, activity patterns and habitat preferences in Luambe National Park (LNP), and an adjacent Game Management Area used for trophy hunting. Home range sizes (MCP 95%) comprised 28.3–55.7 km2 for males and 3.1–42.3 km2 for females; Kernel densities (50%; 95%) were 32.5–80.6 km2 for males and 3.0–23.0 km2 for females. The home range for one female shrank during motherhood. Analysis of habitat use and activity patterns of leopards revealed sex-specific differences. Males showed a higher mobility than females. During 24-h observations all individuals showed a minimum mobility during noon hours and maximum mobility before sunrise and sunset. Analyses of habitat preferences using the Jacob-Index and R package adehabitatHS showed that leopards prefer denser vegetation types and rather avoid grassland. These findings should be taken into account in conservation decisions, for example in the granting of trophy hunting activities.

Passive Thermal Management of Photovoltaic Modules—Mathematical Modeling and Simulation of Photovoltaic Modules

Operation of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems under high temperatures and high humidity represents one of the major challenges to guarantee higher system’s performance and reliability. The PV conversion efficiency degrades considerably at higher temperatures, while dust accumulation on PV module together with atmospheric water vapor condensation may cause a thick layer of mud that is difficult to be removed. Therefore, thermal management in hot climates is crucial for reliable application of PV systems to prevent the efficiency to drop due to temperature rise. This research focuses on the utilization of phase-change materials (PCM) for passive thermal management of solar systems. The main focus is to explore the effect of utilization of PCM-based cooling elements on the thermal behavior of solar PV modules. This paper presents the mathematical modeling and validation of PV modules. Both simulation and experimental data showed that the significant increase in PV peak temperature in summer affects the module’s efficiency, and consequently produced power, by 3% compared to standard testing condition (STC) as an average over the entire day, while it goes up to 8% and 10% during peak noon hours in winter and summer, respectively.