A study on measuring surface deformation of the L’Aquila region using the StaMPS technique

This research compares two time-series interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) methods, namely persistent scatterer SAR interferometry (PS-InSAR) and small baseline subset (SBAS) to retrieve the deformation signal from pixels with different scattering characteristics. These approaches are used to estimate the surface deformation in the L’Aquila region in Central Italy where an earthquake of magnitude Mw 6.3 occurred on 6 April 2009. Fourteen Environmental Satellite (ENVISAT) C-band Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) images, covering the pre-seismic, co-seismic, and post-seismic period, are used for the study. Both the approaches effectively extract measurement pixels and show a similar deformation pattern in which the north-west and south-east regions with respect to the earthquake epicentre show movement in opposite directions. The analysis has revealed that the PS-InSAR method extracted more number of measurement points (21,103 pixels) as compared to the SBAS method (4886 pixels). A comparison of velocity estimates shows that out of 833 common pixels in both the methods, about 62% (517 pixels) have the mean velocity difference below 3 mm year^?1 and nearly 66% pixels have difference below 5 mm year^?1. It is concluded that StaMPS-based PS-InSAR method performs better in terms of extracting more number of measurement pixels and in the estimation of mean line of sight (LOS) velocity as compared to SBAS method.     

Identification of pole-like structures from mobile lidar data of complex road environment

Pole-like structures (PLSs) located in road environment are important roadway assets. They play a vital role in road safety inspection and road planning. The use of light detection and ranging (lidar) based mobile mapping technology for mapping of PLSs is an important area of research as it holds the potential for automation. Point cloud data of rural, peri-urban, and urban road environment are used in this study, which pose special challenge in view of the complexity of terrain, unlike well-planned roads, which have been the subject of interest in existing literature for identification of PLSs. A new five-step method is proposed in this article. The first two steps, i.e. ground filtering and voxelization of filtered non-ground points, are used for data size reduction. Next three steps are used to extract PLSs from reduced data. The proposed method was tested on point cloud data of three test sites having different levels of complexities. PLSs including partially occluded pole, tilted pole, pole situated very close to other objects, and vertical pole attached to tilted pole were accurately identified. Average correctness and completeness, respectively of 92.6% and 94.9%, were achieved in three different complex test sites, i.e. urban, peri-urban, and rural sites, respectively. Computation complexity shows that our proposed method delivers fast and computationally efficient solution for identifying the PLSs from volumetric mobile lidar point cloud. Impact of PLSs on road safety and road planning is also addressed for these selected test sites.     

Modelling of hybrid energy system—Part II: Combined dispatch strategies and solution algorithm

Computer simulation is an increasingly popular tool for determining the most suitable hybrid energy system type, design and control for an isolated community or a cluster of villages. This paper presents the development of the optimum control algorithm based on combined dispatch strategies, to achieve the optimal cost of battery incorporated hybrid energy system for electricity generation, during a period of time by solving the mathematical model, which was developed in Part I of this tri-series paper.The main purpose of the control system proposed here is to reduce, as much as possible, the participation of the diesel generator in the electricity generation process, taking the maximum advantage of the renewable energy resources available.The overall load dispatch scenario is controlled by the availability of renewable power, total system load demand, diesel generator operational constraints and the proper management of the battery bank. The incorporation of a battery bank makes the control operation more practical and relatively easier.     

Environmental crisis in Bhilai,an industrial complex of Madhya Pradesh,India

The emergence of Bhilai on the industrial scene of India and its growth and development as an industrial complex are a significant landmark in the history of industrialization of the country. In our paper an attempt is made to identify the emerging environmental problems associated with the infra‐structural facilities of the study area, a backward and neglected poverty stricken part of the country. In the area, air, water and noise pollution arise from the emissions of the iron and steel plants. There is no provision for sewage and water disposal. Industrial waste is another serious problem for the complex, e.g. slags from the steel furnaces. Bhilai also suffers from slums and overcrowding. Bearing these facts in view, some suitable suggestions for the proper environmental planning of the area are made.     

Dispersal and sink pathways of suspended particulate matter from the orographically enhanced SWM regime of the SE Arabian Sea

The magnitude of precipitation plays an important role in the yield and supply of terrigenous matter into the sea through fluvial supply. The influence of climate on the influx of total suspended matter (TSM) into the continental margin of the SE Arabian Sea has been evaluated from subweekly synoptic variations in TSM and its advection rates, currents and winds during the southwest monsoon (SWM) and postmonsoon season. Our study endorses the high influx of TSM during the SWM (>82 mg l^?1; advection 26–110 mg m^?2 s^?1), albeit that most of it is sequestered into the shallow coastal region. Over the mid-outer shelf, there is uniformly low TSM (12–24 mg l^?1) and a weak TSM advection (9–4 mg m^?2 s^?1) throughout the year. This trend is persistent also in areas having upwelling-induced high marine productivity. We therefore surmise that higher fluvial influx and primary production during the SWM do not necessarily enhance the supply of particulate matter into the deeper offshore regions of the SE Arabian Sea. We ascribe a vital role to the prevailing morphodynamic processes.     

Distribution of trivalent rare-earth additives between A and B sites in the ABO3 PZT system

Lead zirconate titanate ceramics having composition at the morphotropic phase boundary have been modified with 2 mol % rare-earth oxides of Er, Gd, Eu, Nd and La. The samples have been prepared using the standard solid state reaction route. The ionic radius of the additives investigated vary from 0.088 to 0.106 nm. A theoretical model has been used which allows the additive cation distribution between A and B sites to be established from its ionic radius. It has been concluded that the additive goes increasingly to the A site with increasing ionic radius. The amounts of lead monoxide liberated during sintering due to incorporation of the additives have been studied. Using this PbO loss data the distribution of the additive between A and B sites has been calculated. It has been observed that the experimental results agree well with theoretical calculations.     

Modelling of hybrid energy system—Part III: Case study with simulation results

This paper presents the results of the application of model (developed in part I) and simulation algorithm (developed in part II) for determining the techno-economics of battery storage type hybrid energy system intended to supply the load of a rural remote area having a cluster of nine villages (grid isolated). The hour-by-hour simulation model is intended to simulate a typical one month period of system operation. For simulation purpose, hourly solar insolation data and load data have been generated and used as an input data. Demand side management (DSM) is used in this study to smooth out the daily peaks and fill valleys in the load curve to make the most efficient use of energy sources. The economic analysis has resulted in the calculation of optimized hourly, daily, and monthly system unit cost of proposed hybrid energy system. The obtained results represent also a helpful reference for energy planners in Uttarakhand state and justify the consideration of hybrid energy systems more seriously.     

Analysis of dispatching rules in a stochastic dynamic job shop manufacturing system with sequence-dependent setup times

Stochastic dynamic job shop scheduling problem with consideration of sequence-dependent setup times are among the most difficult classes of scheduling problems. This paper assesses the performance of nine dispatching rules in such shop from makespan, mean flow time, maximum flow time, mean tardiness, maximum tardiness, number of tardy jobs, total setups and mean setup time performance measures viewpoint. A discrete event simulation model of a stochastic dynamic job shop manufacturing system is developed for investigation purpose. Nine dispatching rules identified from literature are incorporated in the simulation model. The simulation experiments are conducted under due date tightness factor of 3, shop utilization percentage of 90 % and setup times less than processing times. Results indicate that shortest setup time (SIMSET) rule provides the best performance for mean flow time and number of tardy jobs measures. The job with similar setup and modified earliest due date (JMEDD) rule provides the best performance for makespan, maximum flow time, mean tardiness, maximum tardiness, total setups and mean setup time measures.     

Effects of Osmotic Agents on Colour,Textural, Structural,Thermal, and Sensory Properties of Apple Slices

Effects of various osmotic agents (i.e., glucose, fructose, sucrose, maltose, sorbitol, and honey) were evaluated in terms of moisture loss and solid gain besides objective measurements of colour, texture, glass transition temperature; subjective sensory profile; and scanning electron microscopic cellular structure of osmotically dehydrated apple slices. Significantly (p < 0.05) higher solid gains were observed in the samples dipped in glucose and fructose solutions, whereas maltose-treated samples showed higher water loss. The glass transition temperatures varied from ?68.4 to ?45.6°C, minimum in the case of glucose and maximum in maltose-treated ones. The sucrose- and maltose-treated samples had significantly (p < 0.05) higher L* showing restricted browning. The a* value was maximum and minimum in the case of sucrose- and fructose-treated samples, respectively. Hardness was found to be significantly (p < 0.05) higher (20.104 N) in sucrose-treated samples, while it was at a minimum (4.441 N) in sorbitol-treated ones. The scanning electron microscope studies revealed that cellular structure was retained in sucrose-treated samples, while the damage was observed to be more in the glucose- and fructose-treated ones. The sensory attributes of the osmo-dehydrated samples were found to be better in the case of sucrose-treated samples. The type of humectant, in terms of molecular size, significantly influences the mass transfer process that could be optimized to make the process versatile to meet the requirements of processors and consumers.     

Response of serum minerals (calcium,phosphate, and magnesium) and endocrine glands (calcitonin cells and parathyroid gland) of wistar rat after chlorpyrifos administration

Wistar rats (male) were daily administered chlorpyrifos at a dose of 5 mg/kg b wt. and 10 mg/kg b wt. and sacrificed on 1st, 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 8th week. In chlorpyrifos exposed rats hypocalcemia, hypophosphatemia and hypomagnesemia were recorded. At later intervals an increased levels of serum calcium and phosphate were observed. The parathyroid glands and calcitonin cells exhibited increased activity which is evident by increased nuclear volume of these cells. Microsc. Res. Tech. 76:673–678, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.