874 research outputs found
Discussion: Remoulded shear strength at plastic and semi-solid states
No full textThe undrained shear strength of remoulded soils is of great concern in geotechnical engineering applications. This study aims to develop a reliable approach for determining the undrained shear strength of remoulded fine-grained soils, through the use of index test results, at both the plastic and semi-solid states of consistency. Experimental investigation and subsequent analysis involving a number of fine-grained soils of widely varying plasticity and geological origin have led to a two-parameter linear model of the relationship between logarithm of remoulded undrained shear strength and liquidity index. The numerical values of the parameters are found to be dependent to a lesser extent on the soil group and to a greater extent on the soil state. Based on the values of regression coefficient, ranking index and ranking distance, it seems that the relationship represents the experimental results well. It may be pointed out that the possibility of such a relationship in the semi-solid state of a soil has not been explored in the past. It is also shown that the shear strength at the plastic limit is about 32–34 times that at the liquid limit
Agroforestry Systems and Their Contribution to Supplying Forest Products to Communities in the Chure Range, Central Nepal
No full textAgroforestry (AF), an integration of agricultural and/or pastureland and trees, is a powerful tool for the maximization of profit from a small unit of land; however, it has been less well explored and recognized by existing policies. AF could be the best approach to conserving the fragile soils of Chure and to supplying subsistence needs to the local people. This study endeavored to understand how the adoption of various AF practices contributed to people’s livelihoods in the Bakaiya rural municipality of Makawanpur District. To achieve this, 5 focus group discussions, 10 key informant interviews and 100 household surveys were conducted. These were analyzed using various statistical analysis tools: Kruskal–Wallis test, Games–Howell post hoc comparison test and Wilcoxon test. Thematic analysis was employed to understand the status and growth process of AF in the study area. Of three different AF systems used in the area, agri-silviculture was found to be the dominant form. Local people derived forest products, especially fuelwood, fodder and leaf litter from AF, where agri-silvi-pasture was most common. The three AF systems studied here were in turn compared with community forestry (CF), which is a participatory forest management system overseen by the community. People derived almost 75% of fuelwood from CF, whereas in the case of fodder and leaf litter, contributions from CF and AF were almost equal. Despite the potentiality of AF in fulfilling the demands of local people, promotional and development activities were lacking. This study recommends a strong collaboration of local people and concerned stakeholders for the promotion and technical facilitation of AF systems
State of the Castle 2-24-22
No full textThis week, interviews Leslie Smith \u2703, Exec. Dir. of Alumni Engagement, and Dr. Deepa Prakash, who was interviewed about the war in Ukraine. Broadcast 2-24-22
Body on the Barricades is a book of hope amidst curtailment of rights and freedom
No full textK. Kalyani interviews Brahma Prakash, author and academician, on his new book, Body on the Barricades: Life, Art and Resistance in Contemporary Indi
Accuracy of probing attachment levels using a new computerized cemento-enamel junction probe
No full textBackground and Objectives: The assessment of clinical attachment level (CAL) represents the "gold standard" for diagnosing and monitoring periodontal disease. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the performance of the newly introduced cemento-enamel junction (CEJ) probe in detecting CAL, using CEJ as a fixed reference point, and to compare the CEJ probe with the Florida stent probe (FSP) as well as with a standard manual probe, University of North Carolina-15 (UNC-15). Materials and Methods: Three examiners recorded the probing attachment level in 384 sites in case group (chronic periodontitis), and in 176 sites, in control group (healthy periodontal status), using the three probes. Subjects included both the sexes and ranged from 35 to 45 years. The experimental design was structured to balance the intra- and inter-examiner consistency at the same site during the two visits. Results: CEJ probe showed higher intra-and inter-examiner consistency over both FSP and UNC-15 in both the case and control groups. Frequency distribution of differences of various magnitudes of repeated measurements ≤1 mm was in the higher range of 86.8% to 87.5% for CEJ probe. The FSP was more reproducible than UNC-15 in detecting relative attachment level (RAL). Interpretation and Conclusion: CEJ automated probe was found to have greatest potential for accuracy and consistency in detecting CAL than FSP and UNC-15. The automated probes appeared to be more reproducible than manual probes
Buoyancy considerations in a fluidized bed of ground particles:
No full textThe research conducted for this thesis determines and quantifies the forces acting on a large submerged object in a gas-solid fluidized bed of Geldart A ground particles at the onset of bubbling. In particular, the additional load from the previously reported de-fluidized region of particles found above submerged objects in fluidized beds is quantified. A force model was developed and comparisons between this and the experimental data yielded properties of the de-fluidized region, such as the shape and height of the hood, and the angle to which it rises. Drag is measured by comparing forces on objects of different geometries subject to the same conditions. Buoyancy was measured by summing the pressure force acting to push the submerged object out of the bed and the counteracting pressure force of the bed over the submerged object pushing it deeper into the bed. The de-fluidized region is found to have a significant impact on the buoyancy of the object by creating an additional weight force above the object thus increasing the pressure in this region. Explanations for the hood shape and size are made through phenomenological results obtained through visual observations. Particle transport through voidage collapses at the surface, i.e. “bubbling”, create a secondary particle circulation within the bed adding particles to the top of the hood. The size of the bubbles appears to determine the extent of the hood.M.S.Includes bibliographical references (p. 78-79)by Prakash R. Ra
Beyond Modernity : Narrative Strategies in Hindi Short Stories of Uday Prakash
No full textThis thesis explores different genres and modes of writing in short stories of the contemporary Indian author Uday Prakash, such as magical realism, the fantastic, regionalism, postcolonial and postmodern writing. It poses the question: “In which literary genre should Uday Prakash’s writings best be categorised?” The study is based on a reading of Prakash’s collection, 10 Pratinidhi kahāniyāṃ – Ten Representative Stories, consisting of ten stories of the author’s own choice. Critics have often understood Uday Prakash as a writer of magical realism. This thesis, however, argues that the author fits better in the category of the fantastic since his narratives often are characterised by the “hesitation” before the supernatural, a central feature of this literary mode. The thesis further suggests that regionalism is present in his writings in the portrayal of both the rural and urban landscapes of India. Above all, Prakash portrays a “public landscape,” in which India as a whole is reflected in the local—rural or urban—regions he depicts and in which any Indian can identify himself. The postmodern perspective is also prevalent in his writings, evident through literary tropes such as metafiction, historiographic metafiction, intertextuality, self-reflexivity and extended use of metaphor. Central to his writing is a social or postcolonial critique. Together his stories write an alternative national history of India, focusing on the subaltern and the downtrodden, depicting how the old colonial structure and oppression have now re-emerged among the elite and political leadership of independent India. I have, in this thesis, understood Uday Prakash as a postcolonial experimentalist (uttaropaniveśvādī prayogvādī), standing in the tradition of the prayogvād of the 20th-century Hindi literary field since the characteristics of his authorship are the concoction of multiple literary modes or genres, the breaking with traditional forms of narration and the formation of creative and original narratives, all in the service of social and civilisational criticism
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