Plain Terrain Research Articles

Development of yield prediction model of rice crop for hilly and plain terrains of Uttarakhand

Development of yield prediction model of rice crop for hilly and plain terrains of Uttarakhand

Design, dynamic analysis, and experiments of MRF dampers for lunar landers

With the further exploration of the Moon, lunar landers need to land in complex and unexplored areas. However, current lunar landers are confined to basic landing conditions (low landing velocity and plain terrains). This research proposes a novel lunar lander with magnetorheological fluid (MRF) dampers that can adapt its damping forces to various complex landing conditions. The design process and coupled electromagnetic hydrodynamic model analysis of the lunar lander were systematically elucidated. According to the derived theory model of the damping force, a fuzzy control law is proposed. The controllable damping forces under different control currents are simulated according to the proposed fuzzy control law. Additionally, landing dynamic simulations of landers with different dampers are carried in MSC. Adams to compare with their landing performances. MRF dampers under fuzzy control can decrease the largest acceleration of the lander cabin by 63.6%. Finally, prototype drop simulations and experiments are performed, which results match each other well. By increasing the control current from 1 A to 2 A, the damping forces of the MRF damper increase approximately 20% in both the simulations and experiments. Simulations and experiments prove that MRF dampers can be used for energy impact absorption as variable dampers.

Mitigation Of Black-Spot’s on Highways by The Application of Safe System Approach

With increase in traffic volume across the globe traffic safety has come into highlight and become a major concern. Apparently, with due increase in traffic volume resulting in higher road accidents which considerably causes negative impact on economic growth, public health and general welfare of wellbeing. In the present scenario challenges are faced to mitigate the traffic volume and by making road users aware with road safety parameters which may results in less road fatalities. The root cause of an accidents intends to perception, intellection emotion and violation. The approach towards this research is to get minimal setback/casualties of the road. In order to gain the best possible course of action, the stretch of 8 KM of National highway (NH-66) situated in a plain terrain in the district of Alapphuza, Kerala India. To begin with, accident data has been collected from NHAI office and Police station of above location with proper analysis by Accident Severity Index (ASI) method has been carried out. Adding to an idea, location of Black Spot has been identified by ASI method. Based on Severity of accident short term and long-term measures has been adopted. Eventually, after analyzing short term measures 10 black spot location along with the estimate has been worked out.

Monitoring of horizontal displacements and changes of the riverine area of the Dniester River

The article discusses the monitoring of horizontal displacements of the channel of Dniester, the second largest river in Ukraine, based on topographic maps, satellite images, as well as geological, soil and quaternary sediment maps. Data pro-cessing has been carried out using the geographic information system ArcGIS. The monitoring over a 140-year period (1874–2015) has been performed at the river’s transition from a mountainous to plain terrain on the 67 km section of the river. During this period, maximum displacements in the study area were 590–620 m. The research examines water protection zones needed for channel displacements. The article describes the monitoring methodology and analyses changes over a pe-riod of 18 years (2000–2018). The analysis includes the anthropogenic influence on the channel in the monitoring area. Results of the research may be useful for construction and cadastral works related to the channel in the area concerned, as well as for water management.

Rinnenkarren systems and the development of their main channels

In this study, the development of rinnenkarren systems is analyzed. During the field studies, 36 rinnenkarren systems were investigated. The width and depth were measured at every 10 cm on the main channels and then shape was calculated to these places (the quotient of channel width and depth). Water flow was performed on artificial rinnenkarren system. A relation was looked for between the density of tributary channels and the average shape of the main channel, between the distance of tributary channels from each other and the shape of a given place of the main channel. The density and total length of the tributary channels on the lower and upper sections of the main channels being narrow at their lower end (11 pieces) and being wide at their lower end (10 pieces) of the rinnenkarren systems were calculated as well as their average proportional distance from the lower end of the main channel. The number of channel hollows was determined on the lower and upper sections of these main channels. It can be stated that the average shape of the main channel calculated to its total length depends on the density of the tributary channels and on the distance of tributary channels from each other. The main channel shape is smaller if less water flows on the floor for a long time because of the small density of the tributary channels and the great distance between the tributary channels. In this case, the channel deepens, but it does not widen. The width of the main channel depends on the number and location of the rivulets developing on channel-free relief. The main channel becomes narrow towards its lower end if the tributary rivulets are denser and longer on the upper part of the main rivulet developing on the channel-free, plain terrain and their distance is larger compared to the lower end. The channel hollows develop mainly at those places where the later developing tributary channels are hanging above the floor of the main channel. Thus, the former ones are younger than the latter ones. It can be stated that the morphology of the main channels (shape, channel hollows, and width changes of the main channel) is determined by the tributary channels (their number, location and age).

ASSESSMENT OF CLINICAL EFFICACY OF COOLING GEL PATCH

Objective: To determine the efficacy of cooling gel patch in various clinical indications and comparison of cooling gel patch with water spray and cold sponging in fever and heat exhaustion.
 Study Design: Comparative cross sectional study.
 Place and Duration of Study: Garrison Medical Centre Okara Cantt, from Sep to Dec 2018.
 Methodology: A total of 48 male patients, age ranges from 20-40 years were assessed with different clinical indications of cooling gel patch. Patients with fever, heat exhaustion, headache, muscle cramps and toothache were included in this study and patients with acute illness other than fever were excluded. A control group of 20individuals was also analyzed against fever and heat exhaustion in which water spray and cold sponging wasused. Frequency and percentages of each indication were calculated and chi square test was applied.
 Results: Total of 48 individuals living in plain terrain with various clinical indications of cooling gel patch wereassessed. Cooling Gel Patch was tested on 16 sportsmen with heat exhaustion out of which 2 (12.5%) individualhad minimal effect whereas control group of 10 showed good response in 8 (80%) sportsmen with water sprayand cold sponging with p-value .000578. Six patients with headache and 4 individuals with toothache reportedno reduction in symptoms. Two out of 6 patients with muscle cramps reported mild relief in symptoms. Sixteenpatients reported with high grade fever and out of these, 12 (75%) individuals showed no reduction in temperature after 4 hours of application......

Comprehensive Evaluation of the ICESat-2 ATL08 Terrain Product

Current spaceborne lidar Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat)-2 provides ATL08 product for global terrain height, whose quality properties are yet to be fully understood. This article performs a comprehensive evaluation on its quality by using 3-D elevation program (3DEP) digital elevation model (DEM) and hundreds of survey marks of two counties in the USA. The evaluation is carried out in terms of data specification, survey marks, land cover, season and time (day or night) of acquisition, incidence angle, and terrain slope. The ATL08 height errors are further modeled as a function of laser incidence angle and canopy coverage. It is found out the height from ATL08 product lies between the 3DEP DEM and true ground surface. The uncertainty of ATL08 height is 0.2 m for plain terrain, and 2 m for mountainous terrain where the majority of ATL08 segments are not useful for terrain extraction. The terrain height gets more underestimated by ATL08 products in regions with large terrain slope or incidence angle and more overestimated where the terrain is covered by dense canopy. Furthermore, seasonal variation of terrain height error can be as high as 0.8 m, while the impact of acquisition time is less than 0.3 m. We expect these findings to be informative for the utilization of ATL08 terrain product by worldwide users, and for the improvement of future ATL08 product.

Estimation of Passenger Car Unit for Undivided Two-Lane Roads in the Mountainous Region

Indian traffic conditions consist of diverse vehicle categories of different static and dynamic properties, making it a heterogeneous flow. The vehicles' complex and dynamic behaviour can be dealt with by converting them into an equivalent passenger car unit (PCU). This study estimates the dynamic PCU values of vehicles in mixed flow conditions for undivided two-lane mountainous roads in India using the speed-area method. The vehicular dimensions and their operating speeds were considered as the prime factors for PCU estimation. The data collected from the sites located in the mountainous region of Himachal Pradesh was used to calculate the PCU value for different vehicles. When compared to the values provided in the Indian Highway Capacity Manual 2017, the PCU value of some vehicle categories was found to be different from the suggested range in the HCM. A variation in the PCU value was observed at different traffic flow, vehicular composition, and V/C ratio. This dependency of PCU values with these three parameters was analysed, and based on that, a set of mathematical models were developed. These models were further validated by statistical analysis with data collected at another study site with similar characteristics. As Indo-HCM 2017 suggests PCU values for plain terrain; these models can help forecast the vehicles' PCU values in the mountainous regions.

ВІДАПЕЛЯТИВНІ ОРОНІМИ ІСТОРИЧНОЇ УМАНЩИНИ АНТРОПОГЕННОГО ПОХОДЖЕННЯ

The aim of the article is to find out the motives for the nomination of some oronyms of the historical Uman region that covers certain districts of Cherkasy, Kirovohrad and Vinnytsia regions and tends to belong to Uman. It is important to analyze the names in the diachronic aspect (their usage from the first mentions in written texts to the present day). The study of onym material involves the use of scientific cognition methods, including descriptive one for sorting out oronyms taken from written texts of the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries and documents from Ukrainian archival institutions, comparative-historical – to establish the reasons for the nomination of land forms recorded in Uman region in the seventeenth century, diachronic – as a means of studying names in historical development. For the first time the oronymic factual material of Uman region of the 17th–19th centuries was introduced into scientific circulation and its structural word-forming and lexical-semantic features in the diachronic aspect are investigated. Given that such objects were renamed, oronyms usually had several variants, and even within the same document, different models of the name of a particular object were recorded. The names associated with the relief elements reflect the landscape diversity of the historical Uman region. The location in Central Ukraine contributed to the creation of an original natural complex of the study area. In proper names, this is expressed primarily in the use of geographical terminology. For the historical Uman region, the terms that have become proper names are beam, valley, grotto, levada, grave, and ravine. The transformation and transition of geographical nouns into microtoponyms take place on the basis of fixing the singularity and individuality of reality itself. But along with the onymization of the toponymic appellation in the microtoponymformation complex constructions have been involved, in the attributive part of which there are lexemes expressed in landscape terminology: Deep Valley; Thunder, or Lion's Grotto; Bloody ravine; The field of the industrious Yurentokh Kushnir. Most names for landforms contain a description of the physical and geographical properties of natural realities. Microtoponyms characterize the objects by their size, shape, and length. The appellative derived names of the historical Uman region which reflect the relief and landscape features of the area are divided into two groups: 1. Microtoponyms of naturogenic origin (reflect lowland terrain, elevated terrain, plain terrain, physical and geographical properties of the object (shape, size and other features of the denotation), indicate the metaphor, flora and fauna of the region); 2. Microtoponyms of anthropogenic origin (related to human activity). It was found that the studied names associated with the elements of relief, reflect not only the diversity of the landscape of the historical Uman region, but also indicate the occupation of the population, ethnic composition; related to the names of structures, buildings, facilities, roads and certain events and occasions. Most of them exist today only in scientific works, having disappeared from the speech of the locals, and some onyms have undergone partial linguistic and component changes during the history of their usage.

黄土高原地区森林生态系统地下生物量影响因素

根系将土壤和大气相连与植物体共同影响生态系统的碳循环，同时根系也是森林生态系统土壤碳库的重要来源。研究表明森林地下生物量受生物因素和非生物因素影响，因此研究各因素对根系生物量的影响对精确估算土壤碳库至关重要。基于我国相关部门的观测及调查数据，通过标准化计算和统计分析来量化各因素对黄土高原地区地下生物量的影响。结果表明：黄土高原森林生态系统地下生物量主要分布在11.99-27.46 Mg/hm²之间；非生物因素对地下生物量起主导作用，其中降雨量和地形影响最为显著；不同土壤类型地下生物量表现出：棕壤 > 褐土 > 岩性土；不同森林类型地下生物量大小为：针叶林 > 针阔叶混交林 > 落叶阔叶林；不同地形地下生物量由大到小为：丘陵、山地 > 高原、平原；地下生物量在坡位上的分布大小为：坡麓 > 上、中、下三个坡位 > 平地；人类活动和动物活动干扰对地下生物量的影响没有显著差异。另外，在分析中发现若影响因素中含经纬度，非生物和生物因素对地下生物量的影响程度分别为68.9%和31.1%；若影响因素中不含经纬度，非生物和生物因素对地下生物量的影响程度分别为81.1%和18.9%，说明经纬度与其他因素存在很强的相关性，并严重影响着生物因素和非生物因素对森林生态系统地下生物量的比重。研究结果对地下生物量的估测有一定的意义，可以为森林植被如何通过根系适应环境的研究提供参考，为植被恢复、森林经营管理及地下部分碳循环的研究提供依据。;Root which connects soil and atmosphere and plant have a combined effect on the carbon cycle in the ecosystem. Meanwhile, root is also an important source of soil carbon pool in forest ecosystem. Previous studies showed that the forest underground biomass was affected by biological factors and abiotic factors, thus it is of great importance to determine the effect of various factors on root biomass for accurate estimation of soil carbon pool. Based on the observation and survey data of relevant departments in China, standardized calculation and statistical analysis methods were used to quantify the effect of various factors on the underground biomass in the Loess Plateau. There are 15 factors in this study, among which the abiotic factors are longitude, latitude, annual rainfall, annual mean temperature, altitude, topography, slope direction, slope position, slope angle and soil type. The other five factors are biotic factors, which are forest type, forest origin, forest age, animal activities and human activities. The results showed that the underground biomass in forest ecosystem in the Loess Plateau ranged from 11.99 Mg/hm² to 27.46 Mg/hm². Abiotic factors had dominant influence in the underground biomass, particularly for the rainfall and topography. The order for underground biomass was brown > cinnamon > lithologic soil in different soil types, coniferous > coniferous broad-leaved mixed > deciduous broad-leaved forest in different forest types, hillly and mountainous > plateau and plain terrain in different topography respectively. The distribution of underground biomass on the slope was:the foot of mountain slopes > upper, middle and lower slope > flat land. There was no significant difference between human activities and animal activities. We found that the proportion of biotic and abiotic factors on the underground biomass was severely affected by longitude and latitude. It was 68.9% and 31.1% with longitude and latitude factors, otherwise it was 81.1% and 18.9%, respectively. The results indicated that latitude and longitude had a strong correlation with other factors. In addition, controlling a single factor explained the influence of the other factors on the underground biomass. For example, the main factors determining the underground biomass in humid area were annual temperature (19%) and slope position (19%). Our study could have implications for the estimation of underground biomass, which could provide a reference for plantation root adaptation to the environment, and put forward the theoretical basis for the study of vegetation restoration, forest management and underground carbon cycle.

A Three Decades Urban Growth Monitoring in Hadejia, Nigeria Using Remote Sensing and Geospatial Techniques

Overpopulation growth and urban center crowd became a global phenomenon which mainly cause urban growth in both developed and developing countries cities including Nigeria. Understanding the extent and pattern of such growth required spatial information as well as earth observation data that will be analyse on a temporal dimension. Remote sensing data and geospatial approach together with other auxiliary’s data were used to detect and monitor the spatio-temporal growth pattern and extent in the three decades of Hadejia town. The aim of this research is to understand how Hadejia town are spatial expand in terms of size and population between the years 1984-2019. Nevertheless, the spatio-temporal analysis over the three decades of 1984, 1999 and 2019 have been made. The research was carried out via remote sensing and geospatial method, satellite data were acquired across the region; atmospheric corrected using QUAC in Envi software; and also produced landuse landcover map. However, the research utilized object based image analysis (OBIA) for image classification and then built-up area were extracted in order to evaluate the urban expansion. The results indicate that the overall urban expansion occurred in between 1999 – 2019 with expansion of 566 hectares. Most of the changes happens along town major highway especial along interstate routes. The city has experienced an extreme growth geographically at East- Northern part due to plain terrain than Southern part because of present of river Hadejia.

Probabilistic seismic analysis of base isolated buildings considering near and far field earthquake ground motions

The present study aims at constructing an assembly of fragility curves which is a tool for probabilistic investigation of seismic responses for a six storey reinforced concrete base-isolated building, excited by near field (NF) and far field (FF) real ground motions, situated in plain terrain. For the sake of comparison, a similar fixed base building has been chosen. The base isolator adopted is a lead rubber bearing and the design parameters are in accordance to UBC-97. Fragility curves are derived using incremental dynamic analysis method. From the probabilistic demand model, maximum inter-storey drift ratio, maximum base shear and maximum top floor acceleration are computed as the damage parameters whose probability of exceedance (Pf) under predefined damage states for different intensities of earthquakes are recorded. The threshold values of intensity measure are estimated by performing linear regression. Fragility function results illustrated that fixed base buildings have a very high probability of failure in case of both NF and FF earthquakes, which is however, reduced by base isolator. Though the vulnerability of the base-isolated building was quite high for NF earthquakes, Pf for FF earthquakes was nearly negligible.

Analysis of shielding failure flash-over rate of collection lines of wind farms in mountainous areas

Aiming at the current situation of serious economic losses caused by lightning shielding on the collection lines of wind farms in mountainous areas. First, this paper uses the horizontal section location map of the collection line to extract the terrain parameters, Then use the catenary equation to determine the spatial position of the conductor and ground of any section of the collector line along the pitch direction, and obtain the height of the conductor and the ground to the ground. Finally, complete the modeling calculation analysis of the three-dimensional electrical geometry model (EGM) of the entire collection line. The calculation results show that, when the thunderstorm day, the arrangement of the collection line and the structure of the tower are the same, the SFFOR of the collection line of the wind farm in mountainous terrain is 0.487 times/100 km/year, and the plain terrain is 0.167 times/100 km/year, that is, mountainous area is 2.9 times of plain terrain; It is recommended to use double lightning protection poles with small protection angles on the collection lines of wind farms in mountainous areas, or install lightning arresters for poles that are prone to flashover to meet the design requirements of line lightning protection.

What is the best technique to estimate topographic thresholds of gully erosion? Insights from a case study on the permanent gullies of Rarh plain, India

The Rarh plain in the Lower Ganga Basin in India, best known for its lateritic landscape and gullied tracts, faces grave problems brought about by all types of soil erosion, of which gully erosion is the most conspicuous. The present study uses data collected through field measurements at 110 gully heads in ten sites of the Rarh plain, to first assess the applicability of various methods used to construct critical topographic threshold lines, and secondly, to characterise topographic threshold conditions of the permanent gullies in the Rarh plain as well as to identify main factors that promoted gully initiation in this region. It is concluded that thresholds defined though orthogonal regression are more appropriate than manual fitting of threshold line or employing quantile or nonlinear regression techniques for the same. The critical topographic threshold conditions of gullying in the Rarh plain, expressed by the relationship S = 0.118A−0.111 between the gully head slope gradient (S) and upslope catchment area (A) can be used to map areas under risk of gully head development in the lateritic terrain, mainly in the deforestation fronts. The value of the exponent (0.111) suggests that subsurface processes and mass failures are the main processes of gully growth at present, and it is suspected that gully erosion in this region is not a recent phenomenon, judging by rather small gully head catchment areas as well as the low AS2 range of 2–170 m2. Although statistical evidence in favour of distinct site-specific thresholds is not found, results of this study indicate that gullies under eucalyptus stands have a significantly lower threshold than those in other land cover types. Gully erosion in this region was most likely triggered by massive changes in land cover and land use that commenced from the middle of 19th century and continued into the first few decades of 20th century. However, gullies observed under eucalyptus stands are much younger, judging by their larger upslope catchment areas compared to gullies found in other land covers. Albeit it is observed that the lateritic terrain of Rarh plain offers more resistance to gully initiation than croplands or Mediterranean badlands, the threshold of gully head development is much lower than that of the primary laterites of the adjacent Chhotanagpur plateau fringe as well as other comparable soil types from around the world.

Spatial Distribution of Pollinating Butterflies in Yunnan Province, Southwest China with Resource Conservation Implications.

Simple SummaryPollinators are important to the sustainability of human society, but butterflies are among the less studied pollinators. Yunnan Province in Southwest China is a region with high diversity of butterflies, but the pollinating species remain poorly understood. Understanding the species assemblage and spatial distribution pattern is the first step in forming a better resource utilisation and conservation. Using literature and museum records, our study identified 554 species of pollinating butterflies in Yunnan. Families Papilionidae, Pieridae, Lycaenidae, and Hesperiidae are pollinator rich, while family Nymphalidae contains a relatively low ratio of pollinators. The zoning analysis revealed high species richness in tropical regions in South Yunnan as well as the topologically complex regions in Northwest Yunnan. Utilisation and conservation of pollinating butterflies in Yunnan should be emphasized with butterfly-friendly agriculture based on local traditions. Keeping butterfly attracting plants and unmanaged hedges with a diverse range of native grasses is also encouraged to achieve this goal.Pollinating butterflies are an important asset to agriculture, which still depends on wild resources. Yunnan Province in Southwest China is a region with typical montane agriculture, but this resource is poorly investigated. From literature reference and specimen examination, the present study identified 554 species of pollinating butterflies (50.8% of the total butterflies) from Yunnan, with family Nymphalidae possessing the least number of pollinators (80 species, 16.0%), while the remaining four families are pollinator-rich (>73%). Tropical lowlands and mountain-valley areas possess higher species richness than those with plain terrains. The species richness of pollinating butterflies in Yunnan does not simply decline with the increase of latitude, nor is significantly different between West and East Yunnan. Zonation of pollinating butterflies using the parsimony analysis of endemicity (PAE) identified nine distribution zones and ten subzones. Most areas of endemism (AOE) are found in lowlands or mountain-valley areas, complexity of terrains, climates, and vegetation types are believed to be the main causes of such endemicity. The potential pollinating service of these butterflies could be great to montane agriculture with expanding areas of cash crops and fruit horticulture. Conservation strategies for pollinating butterflies may consist of preserving habitats and establishing butterfly-friendly agriculture based on local traditions.

Rinnenkarren systems and the development of their main channels

In this study, the development of rinnenkarren systems is analyzed. During the field studies, 36 rinnenkarren systems were investigated. The width and depth were measured at every 10 cm on the main channels and then shape was calculated to these places (the quotient of channel width and depth). Water flow was performed on artificial rinnenkarren system. A relation was looked for between the density of tributary channels and the average shape of the main channel, between the distance of tributary channels from each other and the shape of a given place of the main channel. The density and total length of the tributary channels on the lower and upper sections of the main channels being narrow at their lower end (11 pieces) and being wide at their lower end (10 pieces) of the rinnenkarren systems were calculated as well as their average proportional distance from the lower end of the main channel. The number of channel hollows was determined on the lower and upper sections of these main channels. It can be stated that the average shape of the main channel calculated to its total length depends on the density of the tributary channels and on the distance of tributary channels from each other. The main channel shape is smaller if less water flows on the floor for a long time because of the small density of the tributary channels and the great distance between the tributary channels. In this case, the channel deepens, but it does not widen. The width of the main channel depends on the number and location of the rivulets developing on channel-free relief. The main channel becomes narrow towards its lower end if the tributary rivulets are denser and longer on the upper part of the main rivulet developing on the channel-free, plain terrain and their distance is larger compared to the lower end. The channel hollows develop mainly at those places where the later developing tributary channels are hanging above the floor of the main channel. Thus, the former ones are younger than the latter ones. It can be stated that the morphology of the main channels (shape, channel hollows, and width changes of the main channel) is determined by the tributary channels (their number, location and age).

Проект благоустрою та озеленення присадибної ділянки в місті Умань

У містобудуванні озеленення є складовою частиною загального комплексу заходів щодо планування, забудови і впорядкування населених місць. Зелені насадження є основними елементами художнього оздоблення населених пунктів, естетичне та емоційне значення яких зумовлене можливістю з їхньою допомогою чергувати враження від навколишнього простору, вводити в урбанізоване середовище природні елементи. У процесі передпроєктних досліджень встановлено, що ділянка має прямокутну форму та рівнинний рельєф, прокладену дорожньо-стежкову мережу, бесідку, водойму, будинок, гараж і санвузол. Площа об'єкта озеленення становить 2725,8 м2. Газонне покриття єднає загальну композицію, а мульчувальні матеріали, зокрема кора (289,9 м2) та гравій (161,6 м2), підкреслюють і виділяють рослинні композиції. Житлова зона – житловий будинок площею 180,9 м2 з доріжками, що з'єднують та забезпечують доступний прохід. Цю зону поділено на дві частини: передню, що веде до партерної частини та задню – для з'єднання із зоною відпочинку. До будинку та навколо нього розміщується плиткова дорожньо-cтежкова мережа, загальною площею 798,3 м2, прокладена до кожної із наведених зон. Зону відпочинку відповідно поділено нa: прогулянкову зону, садову зону, з водяних рослин, зону барбекю, садову зону. Дорожньо-стежкова мережа й архітектурне рішення спрямовані на проектування ділянки у регулярному стилі. Створення садово-паркового об'єкта із врахуванням особливостей природно-кліматичних умов, побажань замовника та функціонального зонування надасть території завершеного вигляду та слугуватиме місцем для відпочинку усієї родини. На ділянці не проглядається загальний задум, тому пропонуємо розмістити наведені рослини відповідно до їх функціональних зон. Таким способом вдасться раціонально використати загальну площу з уже прокладеною дорожньо-стежковою мережею та створити зручне зонування для експлуатації всієї території. Рослини підібрані так, щоб додати унікальності цьому об'єкту, підкреслити кожну запропоновану зону, але водночас зберегти цілісність загальної задумки та композиції всього об'єкта. Декоративність кожної рослини підкреслюється сезонно, тому мешканці цієї ділянки зможуть милуватися композиціями в будь-яку пору року. Вся територія з композиціями гарно освітлюється, чим підкреслюється фактура рослин та їх форми.

Evaluation of bio-efficacy and durability of long-lasting insecticidal nets distributed by malaria elimination programme in Eastern India

BackgroundLong-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) are the most favoured vector control tools worldwide. Timely monitoring and evaluation of LLINs is important to sustain the impact of this promising vector control method and for replacement of worn-out and those rendered ineffective. During the mid-2017, LLINs were distributed by the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) in high malaria endemic districts of the eastern coastal state of Odisha. The study was carried out to assess the field performance of the LLINs post 30 months of distribution in Koraput district of Odisha state.MethodsA total of 130 households were randomly selected from three villages of Laxmipur CHC in Koraput district, Odisha, India; one each from hilltop, foothill and plain terrain. The net users were interviewed to elicit information on usage, washing practices, physical integrity, bio-efficacy and survivorship of LLINs to confirm the claimed three-year life of the LLINs.Results74.8% of the LLINs were physically present after 30 months of distribution. The numbers (%) of LLINs used previous night varied from 30 to 61% between study villages. 74% respondents were using the LLINs throughout the year and 26% only seasonally. Of the total, 85% of the nets were reported to be washed and 95% nets were dried under shade as recommended. Altogether, 58% of the surveyed nets were found torn with holes. Of these, 74 (57%) nets were in good condition, 10 (8%) nets were in serviceable and 45 (35%) nets were badly torn and needed replacement. A total of 45 (93.75%), 68 (80%) and 71 (63.8%) LLINs were physically present in hilltop, foothill and plain villages, respectively. The LLINs did meet the efficacy criteria, given the 100% mortality to the exposed Anopheles jeyporiensis mosquitoes post 30 months distribution.ConclusionsThe findings of this study were communicated to the programme officials of the state and LLINs were replenished soon after 31st month post-distribution of LLINs.

Performance Analysis of Braced Reinforced Concrete Building in Sloped Terrain

The Buildings on the hills differs from other buildings constructed in plain terrain. Each floor of building steps back towards the hill slope and at the same time buildings may have designed with setbacks configuration also. Buildings constructed in hilly areas are more vulnerable to seismic environment. This study is on generating a 3D analytical model of multi-storey buildings analyzed using structural analysis tool ‘ETABS” to study the effect of varying height of columns due to sloping ground and the effect of bracing at different positions in a different configuration of the building during an earthquake. Seismic analysis has been done using the response spectrum method. The performance of the buildings on the sloping ground is highly vulnerable to earthquake on each storey level. Buildings resting on sloping ground with step back configuration are compared to buildings resting on the plain ground with same type load applied to each of the structure. From this study entire modelling the behaviour of normal ten storey building, step back, set-step back ten storey building is studied, it is found that the displacement and base shear value shows the performance of step back building and set-step back building. This is research also focus on effective placement of bracing with different types and in different positions. The displacement values show better performance by providing X bracing in the lateral direction.

Density Estimates and Habitat Preferences of the European Hare (Lepus europaeus) on Mountainous Areas in Italy

The European hare (Lepus europaeus) populations are declining throughout Europe due to intensive agriculture and hunting pressure. In Italy, information on this species is biased and focused on plain terrains, while data over mountains are scant. The study aimed to fill such a research gap, providing estimates on the population density and habitat preferences on a suboptimal mountainous environment in Italy, using the standardised pellet-count method. One protected area and two hunting areas were surveyed between June and August 2017, with 117 plots randomly checked for faecal pellets. The estimated density on mountainous territories ranged from 16 to 23 individuals/km2, which resulted high for a non-favourable environment. Land cover was the most important predictor in the model, with arable lands and areas with sparse vegetation as the preferred land use. Habitat selection drove the altitudinal distribution of the hare, with high elevations preferred over lower altitude. Steepest slope and NE, SW, and West-faced plots were displaying less probability to find pellets. The density in the protected and hunting areas was similar, with the hunting ban being the least significant predictor. Despite the climate and altitude, the environmental heterogeneity of the Italian Apennine might offer a good-quality habitat for the European hare.