Identification of Artificial Recharge Sites for Nand Samand Catchment

Security of groundwater is widely regarded as a serious impediment to India's economic and social progress. According to the Central Ground Water Board's (CGWB) assessment, India's groundwater tables are plummeting at an alarming rate, with reserves in some regions reaching critical levels. Unregulated groundwater use in southern peninsular India has also resulted in excessive extraction, lowering the 'critical' threshold. With over 30 million groundwater structures in use, India is on the verge of a disaster of over-extraction that will leave 60% of all aquifers in critical condition within the next two decades. To resolve the issue, a variety of renewable groundwater solutions must be implemented. Artificial recharge is a procedure that augments groundwater at a pace that is significantly greater than the rate of replenishment under natural conditions, which may give a solution. The current study is for the Nand Samand catchment in the district of Rajasthan. The investigation of artificial groundwater recharge sites is being conducted using an integrated Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System (GIS) approach. Thematic maps such as topographic elevation, post-mosoon groundwater level, recharge, slope, transmissivity and soils map are created, and weighted overlay analysis is used to identify areas suitable for artificial recharge. Keywords: Nand Samand catchment, artificial recharge zone, thematic map, remote sensing, GIS

Routine cancer treatments and their impact on physical function, symptoms of cancer-related fatigue, anxiety, and depression

Background and purpose Breast cancer can be a major challenge for affected women. Knowledge of the physical function, symptoms of cancer-related fatigue, anxiety, and depression based on the cancer treatment may help to guide adequate support. Methods For this prospective observational study, we collected data from seventy-nine women with a mean age 54.6 ± 9.5 years prior to the onset of breast cancer treatment (T0) and after (T1/T2). Handgrip strength test (HGS), six-minute walk test (6MWT), the phase angle (PhA), the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS), and functional assessment of chronic illness therapy-fatigue (FACIT-F) were used to collect data from four treatment subgroups SC, surgery + chemotherapy; SCR, surgery + chemotherapy + radiation therapy; SR, surgery + radiation therapy; and S, surgery. Results A mixed ANOVA revealed a significant interaction between time and group for PhA, F = 8.55, p < 0.01; HGS, F = 3.59, p < 0.01; 6MWT, F = 4.47, p < 0.01; and FACIT-F, F = 2.77, p < 0.05 with most pronounced deterioration seen in group SCR (PhA 4.8°; HGS 27.5 kg, 6MWT 453.4 m, FACIT-F 33.8 points). HADS data displayed moderate anxiety and depression predominantly after treatment. Conclusion Our study showed that the extent of change in physical function, symptoms of fatigue, anxiety, and depression depends on the treatment conditions. The potentially higher risk of impaired function due to the prevalence of values below a critical threshold requires early initiated multidisciplinary support.

Tumor Hypoxia Heterogeneity Affects Radiotherapy: Inverse-Percolation Shell-Model Monte Carlo Simulations

Tumor hypoxia was discovered a century ago, and the interference of hypoxia with all radiotherapies is well known. Here, we demonstrate the potentially extreme effects of hypoxia heterogeneity on radiotherapy and combination radiochemotherapy. We observe that there is a decrease in hypoxia from tumor periphery to tumor center, due to oxygen diffusion, resulting in a gradient of radiative cell-kill probability, mathematically expressed as a probability gradient of occupied space removal. The radiotherapy-induced break-up of the tumor/TME network is modeled by the physics model of inverse percolation in a shell-like medium, using Monte Carlo simulations. The different shells now have different probabilities of space removal, spanning from higher probability in the periphery to lower probability in the center of the tumor. Mathematical results regarding the variability of the critical percolation concentration show an increase in the critical threshold with the applied increase in the probability of space removal. Such an observation will have an important medical implication: a much larger than expected radiation dose is needed for a tumor breakup enabling successful follow-up chemotherapy. Information on the TME’s hypoxia heterogeneity, as shown here with the numerical percolation model, may enable personalized precision radiation oncology therapy.

Management beyond a critical threshold of employees: evidence-based HR solutions for SMEs

PurposeThis research identifies human resource (HR) management challenges and associated solutions of a medium-sized organization that reached a critical threshold of employees and required formalized HR systems. HR solutions focused on using labour efficiently, linking pay to performance and motivating or rewarding desired employee behaviour are identified.Design/methodology/approachThis case study involved HR data analysis and 50 semi-structured interviews (SSIs) over 4 successive phases: HR audit, problem identification and job description validation, solutions analysis and feedback on outcomes. Additionally, HR files and schedules were reviewed to determine labour usage, organizational structure and compensation.FindingsHR problems and solutions associated with job analysis (e.g. role identity, role conflict), HR planning (e.g. scheduling, motivation), employee performance management (e.g. validity, employee empowerment) and compensation (e.g. inequity, turnover intentions) issues are clearly identified.Research limitations/implicationsTraditionally, HR theory or concepts are presented in a limited or isolated manner. However, this research provides an integrative assessment of numerous interrelated, complex, core HR concepts including role conflict, equity, employee empowerment, motivation, consensus building, accountability, change champions, communication and coaching.Practical implicationsThis multi-phased, multi-stakeholder approach to small and medium enterprise (SME) management informs organizational leaders about HR problems and solutions they may encounter as they grow and require formalized HR systems. The proposed solutions can help safeguard organizational survival.Originality/valueThis research bridges HR theory with HR practices focusing specifically on SMEs. In addition, SMEs can benefit from the HR process information presented to conduct similar evidence-based HR problem and solution assessments.

The microdynamics shaping the relationship between democracy and corruption

Physics has a long tradition of laying rigorous quantitative foundations for social phenomena. Here, we up the ante for physics' forays into the territory of social sciences by (i) empirically documenting a tipping point in the relationship between democratic norms and corruption suppression, and then (ii) demonstrating how such a tipping point emerges from a micro-scale mechanistic model of spin dynamics in a complex network. Specifically, the tipping point in the relationship between democratic norms and corruption suppression is such that democratization has little effect on suppressing corruption below a critical threshold, but a large effect above the threshold. The micro-scale model of spin dynamics underpins this phenomenon by reinterpreting spins in terms of unbiased (i.e. altruistic) and biased (i.e. parochial) other-regarding behaviour, as well as the corresponding voting preferences. Under weak democratic norms, dense social connections of parochialists enable coercing enough opportunist voters to vote in favour of perpetuating parochial in-group bias. Society may, however, strengthen democratic norms in a rapid turn of events during which opportunists adopt altruism and vote to subdue bias. The emerging model outcome at the societal scale thus mirrors the data, implying that democracy either perpetuates or suppresses corruption depending on the prevailing democratic norms.

THRESHOLD EFFECT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE ON TOURISM SECTOR DEVELOPMENT: EVIDENCE FROM TOP 10 AFRICAN DESTINATIONS

Tourism has become an information-intensive business that heavily relies on ICT to provide information and conduct transactions for consumers of touristic products and services. Thus, ICT infrastructure would play a major role in the development of the tourism sector. This paper aims to investigate the threshold effect of ICT infrastructure on tourism sector development in top10 African tourism destinations including ; Botswana, Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda. To do so, a double panel threshold regression model utilized over the period 2004 to 2017. The empirical results revealed a new perspective that there is a double-threshold effect of ICT infrastructure on the development of tourism sector, indicating a non-linear effect of ICT infrastructure on the development of tourism sector in top 10 African tourism destinations. More specifically, the empirical results reveal that ICT infrastructure weakly and positively derives the number of intentional tourism arrivals and international tourist receipts when the level of ICT infrastructure is less or equal to the first threshold, while it strongly and positively derives the number of intentional tourism arrivals and international tourist when the level of ICT infrastructure is less or equal to the first and second thresholds. Thus, this paper provides important implications for policy makers, in that maximizing the benefits from information technology in developing tourism sector can be achieved when its level between certain critical threshold values.

Relative Importance of Various Inflammatory Markers and Their Critical Thresholds for COVID-19 Mortality

Background: Various inflammatory markers are commonly assessed in many patients to help in the management of COVID-19 patients. It is not clear, though, how much risk of mortality their different levels of elevations entail, and which marker signifies more risk than others and how much. This study was undertaken to describe their levels and to answer these questions regarding eight inflammatory markers, namely, CRP, D-dimer, ferritin, IL-6, LDH, CPK, troponin-I. Methods: The data were retrieved from the electronic records of 19852 CoViD-19 patients admitted to a chain of hospitals in north India from March 2020 to July 2021. Levels for most markers were available for more than 10,000 patients. In view of widely different ranges of values of different markers, we divided their values into quintiles (Qs) and studied the pattern of mortality and for running the logistic regression. In addition, logarithm transformation was also tried. The statistical distribution of the values was compared by Mann-Whitney test. Relative importance was judged by the mortality rates, area under the ROC curves (AUROCs), and the odds ratios. Results: Although the mortality increased with decreasing ALC and increasing level of all the other markers, more than 70% survived even with levels in the extreme quintile. The adjusted odds ratio was the highest (7.62) for the Q5 levels of IL-6, closely followed by D-dimer (OR = 6.04). The AUROC was the highest (0.817) for LDH and the least (0.612) for CPK. However, the optimal cut-off for any marker could correctly classify not more than 80% deaths and the multivariable logistic regression could correctly classify patients with mortality in less than 24% cases. Conclusion: Although elevated levels of all the markers and low values of ALC were significant risk factor but no firm evidence was available for any of the eight markers to be a major indicator of the mortality in COVID-19 unless they reach to a critical threshold. Among those studied, D-Dimer (>192 ng/mL) followed by IL-6 (>4.5 pg/mL) had stronger association with mortality even with moderate and higher end of the normal levels and LDH (>433 U/L) and troponin-I (>0.002ng/mL) with only steeply increased levels. Ferritin had modest association, and CPK, CRP and ALC were a relatively poor risk of mortality.

Distraction Potential of Vehicle-Based On-Road Projection

With regard to autonomous driving, on-road projections cannot only be used for communication with the driver but also with other road users. Our study aims to investigate the distraction potential for other road users when on-road projections (e.g., for driver assistance) are used to communicate with the driver of the projecting vehicle. We perform this investigation in a blind study with 38 test persons who are overtaken six times on a constant motorway section by the projection vehicle. The distraction potential is examined with an eye-tracking system, which detects the direction of the subjects’ gaze. In addition, the subjects’ physiological perception of the headlight projection is recorded with a questionnaire afterward. Several test subjects looked at the projection for less than one second, which is well below the critical threshold for the distraction of 1.6 s. In the interviews, on the other hand, only one of the 38 test persons stated that a projection on the road was recognized. For the examined scenario, it is therefore deduced that on-road projections with the selected symbol shape and brightness do not lead to critical distraction.

Nonlinear transient amplification in recurrent neural networks with short-term plasticity

To rapidly process information, neural circuits have to amplify specific activity patterns transiently. How the brain performs this nonlinear operation remains elusive. Hebbian assemblies are one possibility whereby strong recurrent excitatory connections boost neuronal activity. However, such Hebbian amplification is often associated with dynamical slowing of network dynamics, non-transient attractor states, and pathological run-away activity. Feedback inhibition can alleviate these effects but typically linearizes responses and reduces amplification gain. Here we study nonlinear transient amplification (NTA), a plausible alternative mechanism that reconciles strong recurrent excitation with rapid amplification while avoiding the above issues. NTA has two distinct temporal phases. Initially, positive feedback excitation selectively amplifies inputs that exceed a critical threshold. Subsequently, short-term plasticity quenches the run-away dynamics into an inhibition-stabilized network state. By characterizing NTA in supralinear network models, we establish that the resulting onset transients are stimulus selective and well-suited for speedy information processing. Further, we find that excitatory-inhibitory co-tuning widens the parameter regime in which NTA is possible in the absence of persistent activity. In summary, NTA provides a parsimonious explanation for how excitatory-inhibitory co-tuning and short-term plasticity collaborate in recurrent networks to achieve transient amplification.

Tipping Points in the Earth System

There is mounting evidence that some parts of the Earth system may be at risk of abrupt and potentially irreversible changes, driven by the cumulative impact of incremental global warming. Such a non-linear transition could be triggered if a critical threshold in global temperature – a “tipping point” – is crossed, when a small change could push a system into a completely new state, with potentially catastrophic impacts. In this technical briefing, we will first define tipping points and tipping elements, then explore several tipping elements in more detail and discuss the questions of abruptness, irreversibility, timescales and uncertainties for each of them. We also investigate the possibility of developing early warning systems for tipping points, and the risk of cascades of interacting tipping points, where one tipping point could trigger another.