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Occupational Exposure to Cooking Oil Fumes : Biochemical, Cytogenetic and Molecular Signatures
Occupational exposure to Cooking Oil Fumes (COFs) is a widespread concern in the newlineculinary industry, and it has raised significant health apprehensions due to its potential adverse effects on individuals working in kitchens. This current research presents a comprehensive analysis of the biochemical, cytogenetic, and molecular analysis observed in individuals exposed to COFs in their workplace. The study employed a cross-sectional approach, involving a cohort of kitchen personnel working in diverse culinary settings. Biochemical assessments focused on analyzing blood parameters, such as lipid profiles, liver enzymes, and markers of oxidative stress, to gauge the impact of COFs on the participants systemic health. Cytogenetic investigations encompassed the assessment of chromosomal aberrations and micronuclei frequency in peripheral blood lymphocytes, shedding light on potential genotoxicity associated with COF exposure. Moreover, molecular analyses involved the examination of ApoE and BMAL1 gene expression patterns related to inflammation, oxidative stress response, and detoxification pathways also this aspect aimed to uncover the newlineunderlying molecular mechanisms influenced by COFs. Preliminary results suggest a significant association between COF exposure and alterations in biochemical parameters, newlineparticularly an increase in oxidative stress markers and changes in lipid profiles, indicative of potential cardiovascular risks. Cytogenetic assessments revealed an elevated frequency of chromosomal aberrations and micronuclei formation, highlighting genotoxic effects linked to COF exposure. Molecular investigations demonstrated differential expression patterns of ApoE and BMAL1 genes involved in inflammation and oxidative stress responses, further corroborating the adverse effects of COFs on cellular processes. The findings of this research underscore the importance of addressing occupational exposure to COFs and implementing appropriate safety measures in cooking area. -
Volatility Spillover Effects in Cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrencies' growing use has increased investors and decision- makers interest. Cryptocurrencies' volatility and how it impacts others is most intriguing. Arguments include speculative pressures, valuation uncertainty, and lack of regulation. These traits cannot fully explain cryptocurrency volatility and volatility spillovers, suggesting other relevant factors. In this study, currency volatility and spillovers, as well as their relationship with the sentiment of global investors, were investigated. The study analysed 22 cryptocurrencies from 01/01/2018 to 31/12/2022. The study used FIGARCH and FIEGARCH, a GARCH family model to analyse the long-memory and leverage effects on cryptocurrency volatility, the ADCC-GARCH framework, and the Diebold-Yilmaz spillover index to analyse cryptocurrency volatility spillovers. The long-memory and leverage impacts on bitcoin volatility were analysed using the FIGARCH and FIEGARCH models from the GARCH family. Both the Chow-test and the Pai-Berron Test found structural breaks in the cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrencies such as Adacordono, Aertinity, ARK, BAT, BCH, BNT, BTC, Dogecoin, Ethereum, Funtoken, ICON, KMD, KNC, NEO, PIVX, QTUM, SNT, TRX, ZCASH, have positive (difference) FIGARCH coefficient values. It indicates a long memory in currencies, and volatility shocks affect future volatility. On the other hand, the FIGARCH coefficient of BTG cryptocurrency (difference) is negative (-0.035), which suggests that the individual has a short memory. In this scenario, the effects of volatility shocks are only temporary. When extreme volatility is promptly followed by low volatility or vice versa, this indicates anti- persistence. The study also found that both positive and negative news has a significant impact on the volatility of specific cryptocurrencies such as BCH (0.015), BNT (0.0016), BTG (0.01972), DOGE (0.2296), EOS (0.0112), KNC (0.0366), PIVX (0.0021), TRX (0.0013), Adacordono (- 0.027), Aertinity (-0.0393), ARK (-0.0377), BAT (-0.028058), and BTC (-0.0665). Ethereum has the largest spillover (4.09), followed by QTUM (4.06), EOS (4.05), Adacordono (4.05), and Dogecoin (2.4). All cryptocurrencies show fundamental instabilities (P-values less than 0.05). Hence the alternative hypothesis is accepted, and the null hypothesis is rejected. The hill estimator tail index value is ? > 0, fat tail or heavy tail; high chance of catastrophic event which is observed in all the 22 cryptocurrencies. Both investors and speculators can use sentiment analysis to forecast market volatility and generate gains. Policymakers can also utilize this information to establish laws that reduce market volatility. As a result, the study contributes to the ongoing discussion on the factors that cause bitcoin's volatility.3 -
Implications of Goods and Services Tax on Indian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
This research explores the impact and provides implications of Goods and newlineServices Tax , a comprehensive indirect tax reform on the growth of Indian newlineMSMEs, the fundamental drivers of economic progress and employment in India. newlineThe purpose is to assess the relationships and impact of the knowledge of GST, newlineInput tax credit (ITC), Revenue neutral rate (RNR), and GST compliance on the newlinegrowth of Indian MSMEs. Also, the research focuses on the interceding role of GST newlinecompliance in the relationship between GST knowledge, ITC, RNR and MSMEs newlinegrowth, as well as to discover facets that impede the implementation of effective newlinetax policies, particularly in the context of MSMEs. This study is based on a Crosssectional Survey with 531 MSME participants who are registered under Regular newlinescheme. Structural Equation Modelling - Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS) in newlineSmart PLS4 was utilized to examine the relationships amongst the variables, assess newlinethe impact of each variable on the outcome variable, either directly or indirectly and newlineto test the research hypotheses. The results show, GST knowledge, ITC, and RNR newlinehave significant positive effects on GST compliance and on perceived growth of newlineMSMEs. Also, the study found, GST compliance has a complementary partial newlinemediating role in the relation between these factors and perceived growth of newlineMSMEs. Furthermore, GST knowledge, ITC, and RNR have positive effect on newlineperceived MSMEs satisfaction with the GST system. But, the effect of GST newlineknowledge and ITC on perceived satisfaction of MSMEs through GST Compliance newlinewas not significant. This hints that, while knowledge of GST and ITC are important, newlinecomplications in claiming ITC and burdensome compliance requisites can newlineunpleasantly impact compliance and satisfaction with GST. The study also newlineobserved significant variations in perceptions of GST knowledge, ITC, RNR, GST newlineCompliance, MSMEs satisfaction, and MSMEs growth across different newlinedemographic variables. -
Modification of Carbon Based Electrodes as Robust Scaffolds for Electrochemical Sensing of Vitamins and Hormones
Electrochemical sensors are for vitamins and hormones are constructed on employing various newlinemodifications (molecular imprinting technology, coating of 2D sheet like materials and also modifying using supramolecular complexing material) on the transducer host, carbon fiber paper electrode (CFP). From our observation, the electrochemical oxidation/reduction current newlineof the analytes studied, intensified significantly on the surface modifications employed over the CFP substrate. Surface morphology was characterized using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), Electron Diffraction X-ray (EDX), X-Ray Photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Optical Profilometry and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Nyquist plots revealed the least charge transfer resistance at the finally modified working electrodes compared to other control electrodes. Optimization of experimental conditions such as effect of pH, investigating the reaction mechanism via effect of scan rate, number of cycles for the electrodeposition of the film in order to achieve maximum current response and potential window were studied in detail by using cyclic voltammetry (CV). Quantification of the analytes was performed using Differential Pulse Voltammetry (DPV). newlineAnalytical corroboration for real samples were carried out using the finally modified newlineelectrode. Therefore, all the works carried out have established simplicity and selectivity in the principle of the novel approach in the development of an ultrasensitive voltammetric sensor for vitamins and hormones studied. -
Explanations for anomalies in semi strong from of efficient market hypithesis
The tradition notion of efficient market described in the academic literature is quite strong and probably is unrealistic because of following factors: short selling, short covering, fresh buying and profit booking. After all, science is just a human idea about phenomena which can change over time. In real markets, traders can cause markets to be inefficient. According to verifiability newlinetheory of meaning, most of statements are meaningless such as prices reflect earning .in order to make a statement meaningful that statements have to be tested with all ideas related to it. Researcher is testing EMH under various conditions to make meaningful. In this study, researcher is testing so called semi strong under market condition and firm size which is based upon market capitalization. National stock exchange provides classification of companies based newlineupon market capitalization. This is an event study to study stock return to earning newlineannouncements in recession and post recession periods. In other words, testing so called semi strong under market conditions and firm size of market capitalization such as large cap, mid cap and small cap. Researcher uses AARs, CAARS and T-test to study the impact of earning announcements on stock returns. Result of this study shows its onerous to accept semi strong so Fama received the Nobel prize in economics for what? -
Rights based approaches to poverty reduction and development reality versus rhetoric
Over the past two decades erudite understanding of poverty has generated an overlapping consensus on what poverty entails. It is now almost universally accepted that poverty is multi-dimensional, and is a human rights violation that arises mainly from structural inequalities. The search for a holy grail of its reduction has seen widespread deployment of Rights-based newlineapproaches (RBAs), fronted by NGOs, since the turn of the century. In spite of this, coupled with a marked increase in development resources, poverty is proving to be robustly sustainable. The study determined the appropriateness and effectiveness of RBAs newlineas a guiding framework for sustainable poverty reduction and development. This entailed an assessment of the practical impact of RBAs and implementation of RBA strategies as well as identification of key variables necessary for successful rights-based development. As a descriptive survey, the study was underpinned by the pragmatism research philosophy, and employed a mixed methods approach with a concurrent embedded strategy that was largely qualitative but embedding a quantitative strand. Data were collected through interviews, observations and focus group discussions. In all 98 newlineparticipants from 25 villages and 9 organisations were directly studied newline(excluding observations) and were selected using probability and nonprobability sampling methods. Data were analysed using the thematic approach and SPSS. The results of the study highlighted that poverty which had increased during the period covered by the study, is still largely defined from the basic needs and income perspectives, and attributed to individual deficiencies. newlineUnderstanding of RBAs is weak and orientation on RBAs to staff and partners was inadequate. While the quality of development programs improved under RBAs, the quantity and distribution of development outputs and outcomes did not improve. -
A Comprehensive Model for Forecasting the Nifty50 Index Using MAchine and Deep Learning Methodologgy with Reference to National Stock Exchange
The volatility and uncertainty make stock and stock price index predictions challenging. Many financial professionals and academics are interested in stock price/index prediction studies. This study presents computational ML and DL intelligence techniques for estimating the NIFTY50 index closing value on the Indian NSE using Fundamental Analysis and Technical Analysis. To forecast the NIFTY50 index, we first employed Fundamental Analysis and max voting, bagging, boosting, and stacking ensemble learning techniques. An embedded feature selection algorithm is utilized to determine the model's best fundamental indicators, and a grid search is performed to tweak hyperparameters for each base regressor. Our results demonstrate that the bagging and stacking regressor model 2 beat all other models, with the lowest RMSE of 0.0084 and 0.0085, respectively, indicating an improved fit of ensemble regressors. Subsequently, TA research was done to exhibit the influence of deep learning on the NIFTY50. This method employs a data augmentation mechanism and three GRU model variations. It is examined using two datasets, TA1 and TA2, which include technical indicators from the NIFTY50 index. The GRU model enhanced the NIFTY50 index prediction using the TA1 technical indicator dataset. Finally, the study examines a hybrid model to estimate equity market trends, combining PCA with ML methods such as ANN, SVM, NB, and RF. The proposed approach uses the trend deterministic data preparation layer to convert the continuous data to a discrete form denoted by +1 or -1. The empirical findings of this hybrid model demonstrate that the RF model with the first three principal components obtains precision of 0.9969, F1-score 0.9968 and AUC score of 1. Overall, the suggested research design outperforms baseline models in our experiments and shows promising results using fundamental and technical analysis indicators. Thus, this study provides an ideal tool for stock market prediction and financial decision-makers. -
A Study on Nutritional, Biochemical and Pharmacological Property of Punica grantum L.
Biologically active components present in different medicinal plants which protects the human from diseases and allow health benefits. In the present study, the nutritional, biochemical and newlinepharmacological analysis of the different parts of Punica granatum var Bhagwa was done. In the nutritional profiling, dry moisture content was found high in the flower (9.63%) followed by leaf, peel, root, stem and fruit. Ash content was recorded higher in the stem (30%/gm) followed by root, leaf, flower, fruit and peel. Also, the macro and microelements present in different parts of newlineP. granatum var Bhagwa were analyzed. The fruit recorded the highest amount of nitrogen and phosphorus whereas the peel was recorded with more potassium. The phytochemical newlinequantification showed the major content of carbohydrates in the flower (317.96 mg/g) and leaf (315.62 mg/g). The protein in fruit (69 mg/g) and proline in root (19.54 mg/g) were recorded. P. granatum peel was recorded with maximum phenolic and flavonoid content. It showed a high antioxidative response in comparison to other plant parts. This study also aims to explore the use of P. granatum seed oil as a reducing agent for the synthesis of cobalt nanoparticles. These cobalt particles showed a and#955;max at 279.88 nm for UV-visible spectrometry analysis. Furthermore, X-ray Diffraction, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope and Dynamic Light Scattering were performed to confirm the nature of these nanoparticles. The pharmacological potential of these cobalt oxide nanoparticles was tested against microbial pathogens. The results suggest that these nanoparticles exhibited significant newlineactivity against various human bacterial and fungal pathogens. Additionally, in vitro cytotoxicity analysis of CoONPs had targeted MCF-7 cancer cells with a significant IC50 value compared to non-cancerous cells (L929). This study concluded that Bhagwa variety of P. -
Antecedents of Psychological Capital and Its Consequences on Affective Commitment and Psychological Wellbeing
Jharkhand Education Board stakeholders face the problem of dealing with the educational environment, thereby escalating a teacher's morale. To address this situation, a positive mindset in education, particularly among teachers, is desirable. Hence, based on positive psychology discipline resource theory conservation, and broaden and build theory, the study was carried out using a sequential explanatory mixed-method study design. The research questions addressed in the study were as follows: To what extent can the categories of proactive personality, emotional intelligence, servant leadership, and perceived organizational support predict PsyCap of teachers? To what extent will PsyCap predict the categories of affective commitment and psychological wellbeing? We considered both quantitative and qualitative methods; hence, this study had two phases. In the first phase, the data was gathered from 900 teachers using the survey instruments. The statistical analyses performed were Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Modeling with the software SPSS 20.0 and AMOS 20.0. For teachers of rural Jharkhand, the study found that psychological capital has three dimensions. Besides proactive personality, emotional intelligence, and servant leadership also impact psychological capital. Further, psychological capital affects affective commitment and psychological wellbeing. In the second phase, this study examined the way and the reason behind the functioning of the antecedents of psychological capital using qualitative content analysis. The results offered a comprehensive understanding and identification of the antecedents that form rural teachers' psychological capital. Implications of the research include recommendations for recruiting teachers with higher levels of psychological capital and professional development through in-service teachers' training with a specific focus on psychological capital. -
Antecedents of psychological capital and its consequences on affective commitment and psychological wellbeing
Jharkhand Education Board stakeholders face the problem of dealing with the educational environment, thereby escalating a teacher's morale. To address this situation, a positive mindset in education, particularly among teachers, is desirable. Hence, based on positive psychology discipline, conservation of resource theory, and broaden and build theory, the study was carried out using a sequential explanatory mixed-method study design. The research questions addressed in the study were as follows: To what extent can the categories of proactive personality, emotional intelligence, servant leadership, and perceived organizational support predict PsyCap of teachers? To what extent will PsyCap predict the categories of affective commitment and psychological wellbeing? I considered both quantitative and qualitative methods; hence, this study had two phases. In the first phase, the data was gathered from 722 teachers using the survey instruments. The statistical analyses performed were Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Modeling with the software SPSS 20.0 and AMOS 20.0. For teachers of rural Jharkhand, the study found that psychological capital has three dimensions. Besides proactive personality, emotional intelligence, and servant leadership also impact psychological capital. Further, psychological capital affects affective commitment and psychological wellbeing. In the second phase, this study examined the way and the reason behind the functioning of the antecedents of psychological capital using qualitative content analysis. The results offered a comprehensive understanding and identification of the antecedents that form rural teachers' psychological capital. Implications of the research include recommendations for recruiting teachers with higher levels of psychological capital and professional development through in-service teachers' training with a specific focus on psychological capital. -
Strategies to manage power outages and optimize energy cost for developing countries through supply and demand side management
Developing Countries like India, face huge amounts of power cuts starting from a few hours to few days. Some of the main reasons are transmission and distribution losses, theft, lack of smart infrastructure, poor newlinemaintenance of the existing systems, lack of smart algorithms etc., Due to this reason consumers have moved to back up systems to feed their loads. Tonnes of diesel has been consumed through generators, due to power cuts, because to this consumers are suffering to pay extra cost for electricity as their energy bills are an addition of grid cost as well as the back up cost.The load dispatch centers will implement load shedding leading to a compete outage in a few areas. As a result the consumers in these areas newlineimmediately turn on their back up sources leading to an increase in energy cost. There are no smart algorithms used either to distribute the power at the utility end or to manage the loads during an outage, especially when the loads are running on back-up supply. This report suggests some smart algorithms to provide partial power to consumers rather than a complete outage, load shifting techniques to the consumers at the time of an outage so that they can optimize their back up cost, last but not the least smart newlineintegration of solar power to the consumers to optimize the over all energy costs. newlineThe partial outage algorithm results, in supplying partial power to consumers rather than a complete outage condition this is achieved by implementing a simple unitary method based on the power consumption of the newlineconsumers. By supplying partial power, the consumers can save a certain amount of expenditure on back up cost especially from diesel generators and also utilize the on grid solar generation if the consumer is having a solar roof top installation. -
Investigations on the Design, Performance and Effect of Feed Mechanisms, Defected Ground Structures and Materials for Optimized Microstrip Antenna Array
Microstrip antenna exhibiting low-profle features such as and#64258;exible, lightweight and newlinelow production cost attracts majority of communication industries working the lower newlinepart of the microwave spectrum ranging from 1 GHz to 6 GHz. Also, the microwave integrated circuit technology enables the integration of feed systems and other microwave integrated circuits on the same substrate where the antenna is printed. However, single antenna topologies feature a number of drawbacks, including low gain, poor directivity, narrow bandwidth and limited coverage being low in profle. In the perspective of miniaturization, developments in wireless communication have had a signifcant impact on antenna or array design based on the gain, bandwidth and directivity requirements for specifc wireless applications. As a result, usage of single antenna is not considered appropriate for diversity reception, long-distance communication, signal-to-interference as well as signal-to-noise ratio maximization, and direction of arrival determination, interference rejection, and high power applications. A high-gain broadband antenna or array may be the good choice for outdoor line-of-sight access points to increase signal strength and coverage range. To meet these requirements the antenna designers either can use conventional antennas or rely on miniaturized antennas. When antenna arrays are built using such small antennas to enhance the above said parameters, suitable and compact feed networks are required to ft within the given space of the overall transmitter-receiver geometry. This research work addresses the challenges faced by antenna researchers in newlineminiaturization, maintenance of gain-bandwidth and high-directivity narrow-beam newlineradiation of microstrip antenna arrays, through an investigation made on the design, new mathematical modelling of feed mechanisms for arrays, their inand#64258;uence on 1D and 2D uniform and non-uniform arrays, and the performance enhancement by amalgamating proposed arrays with defected ground structures and metasurfaces. -
Exploring Meaningfullness of Life among Survivors of Sex Trafficking in India
Sex trafficking is a form of human trafficking which is considered a contemporary form of slavery. It is made up of victims (supply), buyers (demand), and traffickers (distributors). Sex trafficking is a billion dollars industry. It generates more profit than any other industry in the world, illicit or otherwise. It is estimated that one woman or child is commercialized to be a sex slave every hour. The present study aimed to explore the meaningfulness of life among survivors of sex trafficking in India. It is a two-phase research design where the researcher has collected quantitative data first, and qualitative data was collected during the second phase. The qualitative phase comprises data from 126 subjects They were divided into two groups. Group 1, survivors rescued within two years (N=63), and group 2, survivors post two years after the rescue (N=63). Group 1 (M=15.58) scored lower on the meaningfulness of life compared to group 2 (M=23.15). Group 1 (M=16.80) is less satisfied with life compared to group 2 (M=22.65). Group 1 (M=61.09) has a lower quality of life compared to group (M=77.49). Group 1 tends to have lesser positive emotions and more negative emotions compared to group 2. There was a moderate positive correlation between the current meaning in life and satisfaction with life, r=.42, n=126, p<.001. There was a negative moderate correlation between the current meaning in life and negative emotions r=-49, n=126, p<.001, and there was a strong, positive vii correlation between current meaning in life and positive emotions, r=.53, n=126, p<.001. Results from the qualitative phase, which comprises data from 20 participants show that survivors' life in slavery was meaningless and marked by torture and rape. The meaningfulness of life for participants in the current study depends on a new identity, acceptance, education, spirituality, and respect. Those who have children found the meaningfulness of life in motherhood. Participants reported not being fully satisfied with their life and they described what they need to increase their life satisfaction. First is livelihood, that is food and shelter over their heads, good health, and dreams/goals fulfillment that for most of them is to get an education and/or professional training. Survivors reported having more negative emotions than positive emotions. Physical health problems found among participants were headache, gastritis, cough, and fever. Psychological health symptoms found among them were depression, anxiety, isolation, crying spells, and fatigue. Survivors have a limited social life because they distrust almost all people. The environment was found to be unsafe for girls and women and they ask for protection for themselves and for all females in the country. -
Study of Low-Mass Stars and Brown Dwarfs In Star Forming Regions of Diverse Environments
The formation and evolution of low-mass stars and brown dwarfs is an intricate process orchestrated by the environmental conditions in which they form. As a natural byproduct of this process, circumstellar disks are formed, whose dynamic relationship with the environment plays a pivotal role in determining the fate of the star and the timescale for planet formation. While low-mass stars are a dominant product of the star formation process, brown dwarfs occupy a unique position, bridging the gap between newlinelow-mass stars and planets. In this thesis, we have examined the low-mass stars and brown dwarfs in young clusters located at different distances with diverse UV radiation felds and stellar densities to decode the role of environment in shaping the IMF, its inand#64258;uence on disk evolution and to understand the formation of brown dwarfs. We have targeted three young star forming regions for the newlinestudy namely and#963; Orionis, twin clusters IC 1848-East and West, and IC 1396 using deep multi-wavelength photometry as well as near-IR spectroscopy with 4m and 10m class facilities. For the and#963; Orionis cluster we used deep CFHT-WIRCAM near-IR data and the novel water-band photometry technique along with Gaia DR3 to identify the candidate low-mass members. Spectroscopic follow-up observations conducted with IRTF-SpeX validated the selection of the candidates by this technique with a 100% effcacy. We then compiled a comprehensive membership catalog for a mass range and#8764;19-0.004 Mand#8857;. The form of the stellar-substellar IMF was found to be consistent with other nearby star forming regions suggesting a lack of signifcant environmental inand#64258;uence. Further, we analysed the evolutionary class of the members based on the mid-IR slope of the SED to study their disk properties. We estimated the disk fraction of the low-mass sources to be consistent with other star form ing regions considering the age of the cluster. This showed that in this region, external photoevaporation does not play a major role in the inner disk evolution. -
Planetarism and eco humanism in the buddhist beat bards allen ginsberg and gary snyder an interdisciplinary thematic study on their literature philosophy and ecological perspectives
The Beat Generation, also known as the Beat movement, were a group of American writers who emerged in 1950s. Among its most influential members were Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder, Jack Kerouac, William Burrough, William Carlos Williams and Lawrence Ferlenghetti. What could be loosely described as the underlying philosophy was visionary enlightenment, Zen Buddhism, environmentalism and Amerindian culture. The Beat Generation invented a literary collage movement as a counter-brain wash method for reversing effect of Mass media-Military-Industrial-Communist-Capitalist-CIA-KGB disinformation reality image bank. A common theme that linked them together was a rejection of the newlineprevailing American middle class values, deterioration of the Planet s health, the newlinepurposelessness of modern society and the need for withdrawal and protest. The Beats have tried to break the restraints imposed on the western man s mind by the official ways of thinking. They find the official morality unacceptable and tried to arrive at metaphysical and ethical enlightenment through the methods adopted by the oriental thinkers like Gauthama Buddha, and Zen ascetics. They begin with the problems the western civilization is encountering, like the one of war and ecological degradation and use the concepts of oriental civilizations to find causes and remedies of the miseries people and the planet have been ecountering. The mechanistic paradigm underlying the industrial society gives way to the newlineviirealization that we belong to a living, self-organizing cosmos. General systems newlinetheory, emerging from the life sciences, brings fresh evidence to confirm ancient newlineindigenous teachings; the earth is live, mind is pervasive, all beings are our relations. newlineThe Beats rediscovered this perennial truth which changed our views about the planet newlineand its life systems. The beats were a product of the Second World War and of the cold war. -
A Feminist study of food in select culinary narratives
This research studies Indian immigrant women s relationship with food in the twenty-first century globalised, capitalist, multicultural, American society. It adds to the limited scholarship on the genre of diasporic culinary narratives by looking at the works of Shoba Narayan s Monsoon Diary: A Memoir with Recipes (2003),Amulya Malladi s Serving Crazy with Curry (2007), Bharti Kirchner s Pastries: A Novel of Desserts and Discoveries (2009) and Sandeepa Mukherjee Datta s Bong Mom s Cookbook (2013). The research thus views food as a means for immigrant women to articulate their sense of self and critique the standardization of women s relationship with food by the capitalist food industry. Moreover, critiques of capitalist notions of women s relationship with food further enables the select texts to re-envision women s relationship with the kitchen and domestic work. Finally, the study analyses select culinary narratives as paradoxical texts for its simultaneous critique of the commodification of ethnic culture and performance of cultural self-commodification -
Determinants of profitability of private sector banks in india
Indian banking sector has undergone a sea change after the advent of Liberalisation,Privatization and Globalization polices of Government of India, newlineduring the beginning of nineties. This has resulted inthe implementation of banking sector reforms which rationalized banking system by opening of new generation commercial banks,entry of foreign banks,prudential norms for quality of asset,deregulation of interest rates and launching of banking tribunals. During newlinethe last two decades private sector banks in India have played a significant role in newlinebanking sector in terms of business, profit, network, channels and digital banking. newlineInorder to make use of technology and improve customer service banks have implemented CBS. Banking reforms, competition, growing NPA due to economic slowdown, high investments in technology, Basel Risk Management have affected the profitability of all banks in India. But private sector continues to perform well. Present study analyses the determinants of profitability of private sector banks in India and Impact of profitability after implementation of CBS. Since private sector new and old banks are the two groups in private sector banks in India their profitability and determinants are analyzed. The study focuses on select four banks each from private sector new and old banks in India for fourteen years, 2000-2001 to 2014-2015.The Global banking benchmarkon profitability of commercial newlineBanks,ROA is considered as dependent variable and Bank specific, Industry level and Macro level Independent variables are analyzed in the data analysis to find out variations, relationships andfundamental variables influencing profitability of private commercial banks in India during the period under study. -
A Model for Churn Prediction Based on Qualitative Support Interaction Features for Hotel Technology Provider
Customer retention is a significant driver of a company s growth. Machine learning has gained immense popularity as a means to predict customers at risk of churn. Churn prediction models are capable of highlighting customers who are at high risk of churn well in advance. A popular approach to improve the performance of churn prediction models is by using input variables that are mainly quantitative and structured in nature. There are limited works in literature that newlineinvestigate smart means to effectively utilize and integrate unstructured data into churn prediction models, and study the impact on model efficacy. One of the roadblocks to effectively utilize unstructured data is the associated cost of annotation which is both time consuming and requires intensive manual effort. To overcome this obstacle, researchers often adopt a semi-supervised newlineapproach called active learning that aims to achieve state-of-the-art performance using minimal number of samples. Although active learning boosts classifier performance, the underlying query strategies are unable to eliminate redundancy in selected samples for manual annotation. Redundant samples lead to increased cost and sub-optimal performance of learner. Inspired by this challenge, the study proposes a new representation-based query strategy that selects highly newlineinformative and representative subsets of samples for manual annotation. Data comprises newlinemessages of a set of customers sent to a service provider. Series of experiments are conducted to analyse the effectiveness of the proposed query strategy, called Entropy-based Min Max Similarity (E-MMSIM), in the context of topic classification for churn prediction. The foundation of E-MMSIM is an algorithm that is popularly used to sequence proteins in protein databases. The algorithm is modified and utilized to select the most representative and informative samples. The performance is evaluated using F1-score, AUC and accuracy. -
Green synthesis of modified ceria nanoparticles and their catalytic activity studies
Catalysis is a phenomenon where a reaction is taken through an alternative pathway involving lesser energy. Thus, it has an energy saving dimension implicit in its definition. This thesis involves the study of catalysts, synthesized by the solution combustion method. The fuel required for the newlinecombustion is aqueous extract obtained from the leaves of selected plants which gives added credence to the ecofriendly aspirations that dominated our work. A series of ceria based nano sized catalyst materials, pure and modified using rare earth metal oxides, transition metal oxides and a non-metallic substance have been synthesized by the above method. The catalysts have then been newlinecharacterized for their composition, crystallinity, morphology, surface properties, thermal stability etc. The prepared catalysts were subsequently evaluated for their catalytic and photocatalytic efficacy. The photocatalytic potential of the catalysts was evaluated on the degradation studies of two dyes Malachite Green (MG) and Congo Red (CR) under visible light and one antibiotic drug ciprofloxacin (CIP) under UV light. The catalysts were found to show good photocatalytic efficiency newlineon all the three substances mentioned above. The catalytic efficiency was evaluated on two chemical reactions. One, the reduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol and the other, the synthesis of compounds of Biginelli reaction. To achieve maximum reduction the experimental conditions for the catalyst were newlineoptimized. Biginelli reaction involves the condensation of ethyl acetoacetate, newlinebenzaldehyde and urea in presence of modified ceria catalysts to form dihydropyrimidines. The reaction was performed with different catalysts and the one which gave the best yield was selected for further optimization of other reaction conditions. Employing the optimized conditions, a set of different newlinedihydropyrimidinone derivatives were synthesized by varying the precursor newlinealdehydes and ketones. Reusability studies for the catalysts were conducted for all the reactions mentioned above.