On the Issue of the Relationship Between Basic and Applied Knowledge. Methodological Aspect

The article discusses the current methodological problems of the relationship between theoretical and applied knowledge in the context of the development of new industrial revolution technologies. In the course of the study, it was argued that the basic linear-chain model of the relation of applied knowledge has been replaced by the model of emergent-exponential relation, which is important not only from the epistemological point of view, but also in the context of the development of science in terms of substantiating the need for implementation.

LIGHT ENVIRONMENT AND LAI MONITORING IN RICE COMMUNITY BY GROUND- AND UAV-BASED REMOTE SENSING

Cultivation management adapted to various environmental changes has been required under changing climate, hence it is necessary to monitor the growth status efficiently. Photosynthesis in crop production is the essential process in crop growth model for forecasting the yield. In this study, we focused on light environment and LAI as important factors in photosynthesis, and conducted the observations to obtain time-series RGB images taken by digital cameras fixed on tower and mounted on UAV in the paddy field and to measure PPFDs at the top (I0) and the bottom (I) of rice canopy during planted period. Three kinds of vegetation color indices (CIs), vegetation coverage (VC) and plant height (PH) derived by processing RGB images were compared with relative PPFD (I/I0) and LAI calculated from relative PPFD. As the results, CIs and VC were basically expressed linear relations with relative PPFD and PH showed the exponential relation with relative PPFD and the linear relation with LAI respectively. Through this study, we clarified that VC and PH would be effective parameters for spatio-temporal monitoring of light environment and LAI.

Mapping the Spread of COVID-19 Outbreak in India

Background & Objectives: The global pandemic caused by novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has claimed several lives worldwide. With the virus gathering rapid spread, the world has witnessed increasing number of confirmed cases and mortality rate, India is not far behind with approximately 37,000 affected individuals as on May 2, 2020. The ongoing pandemic has raised several questions which need to be answered by analysis of transmission of the infection. The data has been collected on daily basis from WHO and other sites. We have represented the data collated graphically using statistical packages, R and other online softwares. The present study provides a holistic overview of the spread of COVID-19 infection in India. Methods: Real-time data query was done based on daily observations using publicly available data from reference websites for COVID-19 and other government official reports for the period (15th February, 2020 to April 28th, 2020). Statistical analysis was performed to draw important inferences regarding COVID-19 trend in India. Results: A decrease in growth rate of cases due to COVID-19 in India post lockdown and improvement in recovery rate during the month of April was identified. The case fatality rate was estimated to be 3.22% of the total reported cases. State-wise analysis revealed a deteriorating situation in states of Maharashtra and Gujarat among others as cases continued to increase rapidly there. A positive linear correlation between the number of deaths and total cases and exponential relation between population density and number of cases reported per square km was established. Interpretation & Conclusions: Despite early preventive measures taken up by the Government of India, the increasing number of cases in India is a concern. This study compiles state-wise and district-wise data to report the daily confirmed cases, case fatalities and strategies adopted in the form of case studies. Understanding the transmission spread of SARS-CoV-2 in a diverse and populated country like India will be crucial in assessing the effectiveness of control policies towards the spread of COVID-19 infection.

Spatial distribution of specific runoff in Serbia based on rainfall-runoff relationship

One of the indicators of water potential and water resources is specific runoff. Specific runoff for the whole territory of Serbia was obtained using the exponential relation between depth of runoff Y (mm) and precipitation P (mm). This relation is obtained on the basis of the mean annual amount of precipitation and annual water discharge, namely the depth of the runoff for 69 basins for the period 1961-2010. Coefficient of determination (R?) of relation between the depth of runoff and precipitation is 0.72. The differences between measured and modeled values of specific runoff vary from basin to basin, but at the level of the whole Serbia it is 3.5%. More precisely, the measured specific runoff amounts 5.6 l/s/km2, and the modeled specific runoff is 5.7 l/s/km2. The verification was done by applying the model to 11 large river basins in Serbia. Spatial distribution of the modeled specific runoff is presented by a digital map of specific runoff with pixel resolution 100 ? 100 m which enables the estimation of mean annual water discharge in any ungauged basin in Serbia.

Empirical Formula to Predict the NOx Emissions from Coal Power Plant using Lab-Scale and Real-Scale Operating Data

The use of fossil fuels has drastically increased throughout the world as the demand for energy increases. Accordingly, it has become critical that we reduce the oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and oxides of sulfur pollutants. Therefore, studies related to these activities have increased. This study was aimed at helping take pre-emptive action on NOx emissions by developing a formula that would predict NOx generation using factors related to the combustion characteristics and basic material properties of coal. In this study, the experiments were conducted using a drop tube furnace, and the correlation between coal’s major characteristics and NOx generation was analyzed and measured. Our results showed that the major factors affecting NOx generation are moisture, fixed carbon, and fuel ratio. Moisture tended to decrease NOx generation by delaying the ignition of coal and fixed carbon exhibited a tendency to be directly proportional to NOx generation. The R2 value for NOx of moisture and fixed carbon were derived as 0.7659 and 0.7063, respectively. Our results also showed that the fuel ratio had an exponential relation with the conversion of fuel-N to NOx. Based on the results of our analyses, we used moisture, fixed carbon, and fuel ratio as the major factors for creating an experimental formula. Through these results, we confirmed that the prediction formula reflects the actual amount of NOx emitted from the powerplants.

Experiment on the Breakup of Liquid Jets in Different Cross-Airflows

The experiment is conducted with a high-speed camera to investigate the breakup processes of liquid jets in uniform, shear-laden, and swirling cross-airflows. The liquid used in the test is water, the nozzle diameter is 2 mm, and the liquid-to-air momentum flux ratio q ranges from 5 to 3408.5. The results indicate that liquid jets break up to form small droplets in the uniform cross-airflow. There is an exponential relation between the broken position and q. In the shear-laden cross-airflow, the penetration depth of the jet is similar to that of the uniform case, both of which increase with the increase of q. When q and the mean Weber number are the same as the uniform case, the penetration depth of the jet increases by 25% when the velocity ratio of the upper and lower inlets is UR=5; the jet penetration depth decreases by 47.2% when the ratio of UR=0.2 and the jet breaks up quickly and the atomization effect will be better. In the swirling cross-airflow, the jet trajectory is similar to the uniform case and also satisfies the exponential property. When the swirl is weak (swirling number SN=0.49), the jet penetration depth increases compared to the uniform case; when the swirl is strong (SN=0.82), the cross-swirling airflow restrains the jet penetration depth.

Cavity Catalysis by Co-operative Vibrational Strong Coupling of Reactant and Solvent Molecules

<i>para</i>-nitrophenyl acetate hydrolysis is studied under vibrational strong coupling in a Fabry-Perot cavity. By tuning the cavity resonance to the C=O vibrational stretching mode of both the reactant and solvent molecules, it is found that the reaction is accelerated by an order of magnitude. It is shown that this cavity catalysis involves a co-operative strong coupling effect between the solvent and reactant molecules. The reaction rate follows an exponential relation with respect to the solvent coupling strength. The combination of co-operative effects and cavity catalysis confirms the potential of VSC as a new frontier in chemistry. <br>

Cavity Catalysis by Co-operative Vibrational Strong Coupling of Reactant and Solvent Molecules

<i>para</i>-nitrophenyl acetate hydrolysis is studied under vibrational strong coupling in a Fabry-Perot cavity. By tuning the cavity resonance to the C=O vibrational stretching mode of both the reactant and solvent molecules, it is found that the reaction is accelerated by an order of magnitude. It is shown that this cavity catalysis involves a co-operative strong coupling effect between the solvent and reactant molecules. The reaction rate follows an exponential relation with respect to the solvent coupling strength. The combination of co-operative effects and cavity catalysis confirms the potential of VSC as a new frontier in chemistry. <br>

Sensitivity of particle loss to the Kelvin effect in LES of young contrails

Different treatments of the Kelvin effect in LES modeling of early contrails are shown to cause variations in the survival rate of ice particles by up to a factor of 4 and in optical depth and mean particle size by up to 50 %. The Kelvin effect which varies exponentially with particle size, can reduce or even suppress the impact of other important ambient parameters, such as ice supersaturation, on particle survival rate. Lowering or neglecting the Kelvin effect is shown to substantially alter the evolution of the ice particle size distribution and delay the onset of particle loss. A strongly Kelvin effect dependent exponential relation between particle survival rate and particle size is shown for high EIsoot (O(1015)).

Research on the Rockburst Tendency and AE Characteristics of Inhomogeneous Coal-Rock Combination Bodies

In order to research the influence of homogeneity on the rockburst tendency and on AE characteristics of coal-rock combination body, uniaxial compressive tests of inhomogeneous coal-rock combination bodies obeyed by the Weibull distribution were simulated using particle flow code (PFC2D). Macromechanical properties, energy evolution law, and AE characteristics were analyzed. The results show that (1) the elastic modulus homogeneitymEhas an exponential relation with macroscopic modulusE, and the bonding strength homogeneitymσhas an exponential relation with uniaxial compressive strengthσc; (2) the rockburst tendency of the coal-rock combination body will increase with the increase ofmEormσ, andmσis the leading factor influencing this tendency; and (3) both the change law of AE hits and lasting time in different periods of AE characteristics are influenced bymσ, butmEjust influences the lasting time. The more inhomogeneous the coal-rock combination body is, the shorter the lasting time in booming period of AE characteristics will be. This phenomenon can be used to predict the rockburst tendency of the coal-rock combination body.