101 research outputs found
Two new additions to the flora of Telangana, India.
No full textIpomoea triloba L. and Merremia dissecta (Jacq.) Hallier f. are reported here as an addition to the flora of Telangana. Detailed descriptions and photo plates are provided to facilitate its easy identification.</jats:p
A new species of Tripogon (Poaceae: Chloridoideae: Tripogoninae) from Nallamala forests, Telangana, India
No full textA new species Tripogon nallamalayanus is described from Nagarjunasagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve of Nallamala forests, Telangana, India. This new species most closely resembles Tripogon trifidus, but differs in spikelets and lower glumes lengths and lemma and palea shapes.</jats:p
The impact of modified pedagogical practices based on the research skill development framework on the acquisition of higher order thinking skills: A comparative study
No full textSubmission original under an indefinite embargo labeled 'Open Access'. The submission was exported from vireo on 2025-02-04 without embargo termsThe student, Swamy Gurumurthi, accepted the attached license on 2024-07-09 at 10:44.The student, Swamy Gurumurthi, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2024-07-09 at 10:58.This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2024-07-12 at 06:59.DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #21003 on 2025-02-04 at 21:04:44Education, the backbone of the future, should be consistently innovative in addition to holding on to already proven existing standards. This study examines the impact of the pedagogical practices revised based on an innovative educational framework, the Research Skill Development framework, developed in 2021 by the author. Bloom’s taxonomy action words, India’s National Education Policy 2020, and various 21st-century skills frameworks are integrated to devise the Research Skill Development framework, which intends to teach higher order thinking skills to students in the Bloom’s way—old wine in a new bottle. A mixed methods comparison study was conducted in two K-12 schools in India, one experimental and one comparison school. The study involved the analysis of test performances in Science among fifth-grade students and interviews with teachers and students from both schools regarding their perspectives on pedagogical practices and opinions about classroom activities, respectively. The findings of this study reveal the significant mean difference and the effect sizes ranging from moderate to strong in the test performance between both the groups, indicating the impact of revised pedagogical practices in the experimental school on the attainment of higher order thinking skills in the experimental group. The qualitative analysis of teachers and students of both schools using interviews provides critical views on revising pedagogical practices reflected through their opinions on professional training, pedagogical practices, lesson-planning time, and methods to incorporate higher order thinking skills (teachers’ perspectives) and classroom activities, such as group presentation, peer questioning, and debates; interest toward a subject; collaborating with friends; and enjoying learning (students’ opinions)
Validation of the name Amorphophallus candidissimus (Araceae)
No full textWhile identifying a species of Amorphophallus Blume ex Decaisne (1834: 366), nom. cons. collected from the Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh, India, the authors came across the protologue of Amorphophallus candidissimus X.Gong & H.Li (2012: 201) described from Vietnam, but it was not validly published, as two different collections (leaf and inflorescence) collected in two different dates were indicated as “holotype” in contrary to Art. 8.1 and 40.2 (see Ex. 1) of the Melbourne Code (McNeill et al. 2012). Hence, the name A. candidissimus is validated here by designating a single collection (flowering material) as a holotype. The other collection (leaf material) is considered as a paratype, as it also depicts one of the diagnostic characters (lamina lacking bulbils) of the species.</jats:p
Crotalaria nallamalayana (Fabaceae: Crotalarieae): a new species from Telangana, India
No full textA new species of Crotalaria is described from the Amrabad Tiger Reserve in the Nallamala forest, Telangana, India. It is allied to Crotalaria orixensis Rottl. ex Willd. and Crotalaria senegalensis (Pers.) DC., but differs from both species in leaf, stipule, bract and floral characters.</jats:p
On the dangers of decentralization
No full textThe author highlights some of the dangers of decentralizations. The benefits of decentralization in allocative efficiency are not as obvious as suggested by the standard theory of fiscal federalism. The assumptions of this theory are fragile. These doubtful benefits might carry a cost in production efficiency, but more empirical research is needed on this point. What is not doubtful is that decentralization runs counter to redistribution and stabilization. Decentralization makes redistributive policies, whether interpersonal or interjurisdictional, more difficult, if not impossible. Decentralization also makes macroeconomic stabilization programs more difficult to implement because subnational government fiscal policies can run counter to national policies. Serious drawbacks or potential drawbacks should be considered in designing any decentralization program. The arguments that the author develops make it easier to understand some of the real choices. These choices are not so much whether to decentralize in general but rather what functions to decentralize - in which sectors, and in which regions. Guidelines can be provided on this. Often, the problem is not so much whether a certain service should be provided by a central, regional, or local government, since the service often has to be provided with the intervention of all three levels of government. The real challenge is how to organize the joint production of the service. Decentralization refers simultaneously to a state and to a process. The virtues and dangers of decentralization are often discussed simultaneously for both concepts. This is a dangerous confusion because decentralization is path-dependent. What is desirable in a given country at a certain point in time depends on the present state of decentralization and the speed at which it has been reached. Much more work, particularly empirical work, is needed -- in review of decentralization (or centralization) experiences in general, as well as those encouraged or supported by the World Bank.National Governance,Banks&Banking Reform,Municipal Financial Management,Economic Theory&Research,Pharmaceuticals&Pharmacoeconomics
Breach detection using diffuse reflectance spectroscopy during spinal screw placement
No full textThe intraoperative guidance and placement of spinal screws is a complex procedure. High technical expertise is required fromthe surgeons in order to achieve adequate fixation and ensure patient safety by preventing vascular and neurological injuries. The conventional screw placement techniques face several challenges. Surgeons heavily rely on experience-based judgement, tactile feedback and X-ray guidance. The consequences of which are reflected in clinical literature via high risks associated with complications, screw placement accuracy variability and radiation exposure. Moreover, cost savings in terms of improved patient outcomes such as patient recovery times and fewer revision surgeries are major incentives towards development and clinical adoption of better intraoperative guidance technologies. The aim of this PhD work was to investigate the applicability of spectral sensing based technique namely Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy (DRS) for intraoperative instrument guidance and breach detection during pedicle screw placement procedures.Medical Instruments & Bio-Inspired Technolog
Characterising delamination growth in composites under dynamic loading using infrared thermography: An experimental approach to use an infrared camera to monitor delamination growth in composite test samples
No full textWith an ever increasing demand for energy, the renewable energy sector is gaining a lot of importance. Among the various renewable energy sources, wind energy is becoming more attractive compared to its counterparts (solar, biomass, etc.). Some of the main advantages of wind energy are faster payback time and that power generation is possible both during the day and night. The wind energy industry is constantly aiming at larger size rotors for increased power generation and these larger rotor blades demand stronger and more durable materials. Currently, composite materials are extensively used for wind turbine blades. With a large heterogeneity in composite materials and complications in manufacturing processes, defects in composites are inevitable. A variety of defects and damages can be seen in wind turbine blades. Composites with such defects and damage undergo a significant loss in their mechanical properties. For the use of composites as a structural material, a good knowledge of possible defects and their behaviour should be understood. To do so, the behaviour of defects under different load conditions should be assessed. Many techniques such as ultrasound scans, X-ray radiography, etc. are available to detect the defects in composites, whereas studying the damage growth in a composite is still a challenging process. In this research, a method has been developed to use thermography for characterising the delamination under dynamic loading. To demonstrate this method, a test sample with double shear configuration (DSC) and an initial delamination consisting of a Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) insert was developed. The test sample was tested under fatigue loading and an infrared (IR) camera was used to monitor its thermal response and the delamination growth during loading. The data from the thermal camera was processed in two steps, firstly, fast Fourier transform (FFT) was used to transform the raw data from time domain to frequency domain. In the second step, FFT thermographs were further processed using an image segmentation algorithm. Here, the thermal plots are segmented to separate the delaminated and un-delaminated areas. By computing the number of pixels in the delaminated region, the area of delamination was obtained at each cycle and was plotted against the cycles to failure. The strain energy was computed with the help of force and displacement data from the test machine. Such signals allowed computing of the fatigue propagation curves and an understanding of the fatigue behaviour of the test samples. The results from this research were promising as the delamination behaviour reported using this method was in good accordance with a reference visual inspection method. The quantifiable output from this method can be a good starting point to study delamination experimentally and computationally. In future, this technique could be extended to different test types that cannot be quantitatively analysed using the conventional testing methods. The research was also presented at the European Conference on Composite Materials ECCM17, Munich, Germany.Aerospace EngineeringAerospace Structures & MaterialsStructural Integrity & Composite
Principles of regulatory policy design
No full textThe author contrasts command-and-control regulation (tight control of water purification, for example) with more flexible forms, including incentive regulation (such as price cap regulation), potential regulation (providing for closer scrutiny if enough customers complain), and reactive rather than proactive policies (the firm proposing actions, the regulatory saying yes or no). He contrasts informing regulation (for example, requiring that consumers be informed about ingredients in a product) and enforcing regulation (for example, prohibiting the use of certain chemicals in foods). A country's institutional structure can limit the regulators'potential for commitment, he says -- especially if regulators are limited in their ability to deliver rewards or penalties. The scope and function of regulation may also be fairly limited when technological conditions allow competition to discipline producers. Sophisticated buyers with economic power may reduce the need for regulatory control, and rapid technological change can render comprehensive command-and-control regulation ineffective or debilitating. Many forces operate simultaneously, making regulatory design a complex undertaking. Inertia is one such influence. Regulatory policies that once served an important purpose sometimes persist even though they no longer serve that purpose -- sometimes because they favor a constituency that convinces the regulator to keep the control in place. Subsidies and tariff protection often continue long past the time needed to promote the development of an infant industry, for example. When there is limited public outcry against continuing the special treatment, and the affected firms strongly urge its continuance, the regulator may be convinced to continue special treatment that no longer serves the public interest. Regulation may also be affected by the regulators'personal ambition. When regulators are"captured"by regulated firms -- diverted from the goal of protecting consumers through the promise of personal rewards for favorable treatment of the firms -- regulation may not serve society's best interest. Even if regulators are not motivated by self-interest, their ideas of what is best for society may differ from those of other government officials or of society at large. When that happens, which goals are pursued depends largely on the autonomy regulators that are granted and on the balance of power among government bodies.Regulation should be viewed in this large context to be understood fully.Administrative&Regulatory Law,Environmental Economics&Policies,National Governance,Economic Theory&Research,Insurance&Risk Mitigation
Mechanical characterization of Al-2024 reinforced with fly ash and E-glass by stir casting method
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