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Value added tax and its impact on revenue generation in India /
Scholedge International Journal Of Multidisciplinary And Allied Studies, Vol.2, Issue 8, pp.43-50, ISSN No: 2394-336X. -
Evaluation of national rural health mission in Bangalore rural district /
Indian Journal Of Applied Research, Vol.5, Issue 6, pp.836-838, ISSN No: 2249-555X. -
The relationship of workplace flexibility to employee engagement among information technology employees in India
Historically, organizations have been provisioning flexible work arrangement (FWA) options in the workplace to help employees achieve a balance between work obligations and private obligations. We explore the utilization of FWA offerings in the Indian information technology (IT) industry and its relation to employee engagement (EE). Employees working in IT organizations in Bengaluru, India, were approached and data were obtained from 504 participants. The study found that availability of FWA options coincided with their utilization. Disconcertingly, only 7 per cent of the employees were highly engaged, 51 per cent were neither engaged nor disengaged and 41 per cent of the employees were disengaged with their current organization. FWAs were positively related to EE. We find congruence that FWA options lead to better EE warranting further exploration that can guide FWA policies. 2018 SAGE Publications India Private Limited. -
DECODING INTENTIONS TO PURCHASE ORGANIC FOOD PRODUCTS IN AN EMERGING ECONOMY VIA ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORKS
Purpose. This study investigates the factors influencing consumers intentions to purchase organic food products in an emerging economy. It addresses the knowledge gap regarding the slower growth of the organic food market in these regions despite the global trend toward environmental sustainability. Methodology / approach. A survey approach involving 350 participants was used. Structural equation modeling (SEM) with SmartPLS 4 and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) with IBM SPSS 28 were used to analyse the impact of awareness of need, personal norms, environmental concern, and health consciousness on the intention to purchase organic food products. Results. The study found significant positive influences of awareness of need, personal norms, environmental concern, and health consciousness on the intention to purchase organic food products, explaining 63.1 % of the variance. Both the analysis approaches (PLS-SEM & ANN) revealed that, health consciousness, followed by awareness of need, emerged as the most important factor related to the intention to purchase organic food products. The results highlight the importance of awareness and personal values in driving pro-environmental behaviour. Originality / scientific novelty. This research offers essential insights into the determinants of organic food purchase intentions in an emerging economy. It emphasises the significance of awareness and personal values in fostering sustainable consumption behaviour, addressing a less explored area in existing literature. Practical value / implications. The findings have important implications for policymakers and marketers. Strategies focused on consumer education about the benefits of organic food can enhance awareness and appeal. Understanding core psychological needs and beliefs that shape consumer motivations can guide the development of effective marketing strategies. The study highlights the strong environmental consciousness among consumers and their desire to protect the environment. 2024, Institute of Eastern European Research and Consulting. All rights reserved. -
Disentangling the association of PAH molecules with star formation
Context. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are ubiquitous complex molecules in the interstellar medium and are used as an indirect indicator of star formation. On the other hand, the ultraviolet (UV) emission from young massive stars directly traces the star formation activity in a galaxy. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), along with the UltraViolet Imaging Telescope (UVIT), opened up a new window of opportunity to better understand the properties of PAH molecules that are associated with star-forming regions. Aims. We investigate how the resolved scale properties of PAH molecules in nearby galaxies are affected by star formation. Methods. We analyzed the PAH features observed at 3.3, 7.7, and 11.3 m using F335M, F770W, and F1130W images obtained from the JWST. These images helped us identify and quantify the PAH molecules. Additionally, we used UVIT images to assess the star formation associated with these PAH-emitting regions. Our study focused on three galaxies, namely NGC 628, NGC 1365, and NGC 7496, which were selected based on the availability of both JWST and UVIT images. Bright PAH emission regions were identified in the JWST images, and their corresponding UV emission was estimated using the UVIT images. We quantified the star formation properties of these PAH emitting regions using the UVIT images. Furthermore, we investigated the relation between the star formation surface density (?SFR) and the PAH ratios to better understand the impact of star formation on the properties of PAH molecules. Results. Based on the resolved scale study of the PAH-bright regions using JWST images, we found that the fraction of ionized PAH molecules is high in the star-forming regions with high ?SFR. We observed that emission from smaller PAH molecules is higher in star-forming regions with higher ?SFR. Conclusions. Our study suggests that the PAH molecules excited by the photons from star-forming regions with higher ?SFR are dominantly smaller and ionized molecules. UV photons from the star-forming regions could be the reason for the higher fraction of the ionized PAHs. We suggest that the effect of the high temperature in the star-forming regions and the formation of smaller PAH molecules in the star-forming regions might also result in the higher emission in the F335MPAH band. The Authors 2024. -
Analysis of Membership Probability in Nearby Young Moving Groups with Gaia DR2
We analyze the membership probability of young stars belonging to nearby moving groups with Gaia DR2 data. The sample of 1429 stars was identified from "The Catalog of Suspected Nearby Young Moving Group Stars." Good-quality parallax and proper motion values were retrieved for 890 stars from the Gaia DR2 database. The analysis for membership probability is performed in the framework of the LACEwING algorithm. From the analysis it is confirmed that 279 stars do not belong to any of the known moving groups. We estimated the U, V, W space velocity values for 250 moving group members, which were found to be more accurate than previous values listed in the literature. The velocity ellipses of all the moving groups are well constrained within the "good box," a widely used criterion to identify moving group members. The age of moving group members are uniformly estimated from the analysis of the Gaia color-magnitude diagram with MIST isochrones. We found a spread in the age distribution of stars belonging to some moving groups, which needs to be understood from further studies. 2020. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.. -
Understanding the secular evolution of NGC 628 using UltraViolet Imaging Telescope
Secular and environmental effects play a significant role in regulating the star-formation rate and hence the evolution of the galaxies. Since ultraviolet (UV) flux is a direct tracer of the star formation in galaxies, the UltraViolet Imaging Telescope (UVIT) onboard AstroSat enables us to characterize the star-forming regions in a galaxy with its remarkable spatial resolution. In this study, we focus on the secular evolution of NGC 628, a spiral galaxy in the local Universe. We exploit the resolution of UVIT to resolve up to ?63 pc in NGC 628 for identification and characterization of the star-forming regions. We identify 300 star-forming regions in the UVIT far-UV image of NGC 628 using ProFound and the identified regions are characterized using Starburst99 models. The age and mass distribution of the star-forming regions across the galaxy supports the inside-out growth of the disc. We find that there is no significant difference in the star-formation properties between the two arms of NGC 628. We also quantify the azimuthal offset of the star-forming regions of different ages. Since we do not find an age gradient, we suggest that the spiral density waves might not be the possible formation scenario of the spiral arms of NGC 628. The headlight cloud present in the disc of the galaxy is found to be having the highest star-formation rate density (0.23 Myr-1 kpc-2) compared to other star-forming regions on spiral arms and the rest of the galaxy. 2022 The Author(s) Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Astronomical Society. -
A Review on Flood Prediction Algorithms and A Deep Neural Network Model for Estimation of Flood Occurrence
Flood occurs as often as possible happens due to many environmental changes in our planet in the present years. The occurrence and damages caused by flood is very high. Major cause of flood is due to heavy rainfall which in turn increases the water level of the rivers and other water bodies. The various factors that play a major role in the occurrence of rainfall are rise in temperature, humidity level, dew point, pressure in and around the area of concern, wind speed, etc. In order to reduce the number of victims due to flood it is necessary to have a system to predict flood occurrence. In this paper, we classify and analyzed the various prediction algorithms which show usage of Deep Neural Network produces better results. In addition, a design model has been proposed to predict the flood by training the Deep Neural Network with the above-mentioned factors. 2020, Asian Research Association. All rights reserved. -
Overt dependence of health insurance industry on healthcare system
A vast majority of the population in the developing economies remains uninsured. Moreover, the informal sector that employs a larger section of the society is untouched by any of the government scheme. In this study, we use health belief model to examine the factors that induce willingness to buy health insurance among the illness and the non-illness group. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 1,339 participants above 20 years of age of which 351 had contracted illness in the past and 988 had not. Data was collected using questionnaire from four highly populated districts in India. The questionnaire was developed based on the constructs of health belief model. The data was statistically analysed. Kendalls Tau-b correlation technique was used to explore the relationship between perceived vulnerability and product aversion. Logistic regression was used to find out the odds at which each independent variable, categorised based on the health belief model, contributes to willingness to buy. The model was able to predict 15% of the variance for willingness-to-buy among the illness and 27% among the non-illness groups. Findings suggest that the perceived vulnerability reduced product aversion among the illness group. Mere presence of primary and super-specialty hospitals was not sufficient for the illness group to subscribe for health insurance. Income perceptions emerged as a significant predictor among the illness group. Presence of well-established hospital, income perceptions, and subjective norms were significant predictors among the non-illness group. The growth of the health insurance industry largely depends upon the presence of well-established hospitals. In the absence of adequate healthcare facilities, attempts by the insurers to promote insurance covers will become futile. Insurers should also consider alternate segmentation patterns albeit the present socio-demographic pattern, as the health risk experience differs among individuals. Asian Academy of Management and Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia, 2021. -
Examining women's purchase pattern of casual footwear in accordance with their attitudes and interests
Purpose: The present study examines the association between the choices of casual footwear attributes of women in accordance with their behavioral pattern. Design/Methodology/Approach: Data was collected from 2365 women through a questionnaire that comprised of two sections. The first section comprised of 50 AIO statements based on which the respondents were profiled according to their behavioural patterns. The second section comprised of selected footwear and store attributes. The consumers were profiled into eleven clusters using factor analysis. The regression scores were used to assign the respondents to the respective components that were extracted through factor analysis. Reliability Test and KMO Test were conducted to check the reliability and adequacy of the sample size. Further, only those variables that qualified the collinearity test were alone subject to regression analysis. Through ANOVA test, it was observed that significant differences existed among the consumers within the clusters. Therefore, the AIO statements were considered as independent variables that were regressed against ten selected footwear attributes. Findings: The Results indicated that consumers with different behaviors had varied preferences towards footwear attributes. Practical Implications: The results of the study indicate that the manufacturers in the footwear sector should revisit their existing strategies and target the consumers on the basis of their behavior as the proliferation of the unorganized sector is very high in this sector. Original Value: There are innumerable literatures that focus on trade policies followed in the footwear market in international countries, treatment of workers in the footwear industry, therapeutic use of footwear, supply chain patterns etc., but hardly any significant study that explores the consumers' behaviour and their association towards their footwear preferences has been conducted. Behavioral segmentation has been used in many other products like apparels, insurance, real estate etc., but not in the footwear sector. The present study is an attempt to fill this gap. -
Study of multilayer flow of two immiscible nanofluids in a duct with viscous dissipation
Numerical simulations for the mixed convective multilayer flow of two different immiscible nanofluids in a duct with viscous heating effects were performed in this study. The left and right faces of the duct are maintained to be isothermal, while other side faces are insulated. The mathematical governing system for each layer consists of an incompressibility condition equation, the Navier-Stokes momentum equation, and the conservation of energy equation. At the interface of the immiscible layer, the continuity of velocity, shear stress, temperature, and heat flux are considered. The dimensionless equations governing each layer were numerically integrated using the finite difference method and the Southwell-over-relaxation method. A mesh independence test is conducted. Furthermore, a parametric study is performed to analyze how the different nanoparticle volume fractions and viscous heating affect the transport characteristics of engine oil-copper and mineral oil-silver nanofluids. The study also examined the effects of various types of nanoparticles and base fluids. The results demonstrated that heat transport could be efficiently controlled by considering the viscous heating aspect. Moreover, the effects of different nanoparticles on heat transport were found to be more significant than those of base fluids. Finally, a point-wise comparison of our numerical results demonstrates a good agreement with existing studies in the literature. 2023 Author(s). -
Unsteady squeezing flow of a magnetized nano-lubricant between parallel disks with Robin boundary conditions
The aim of the present work is to examine the impact of magnetized nanoparticles (NPs) in enhancement of heat transport in a tribological system subjected to convective type heating (Robin) boundary conditions. The regime examined comprises the squeezing transition of a magnetic (smart) Newtonian nano-lubricant between two analogous disks under an axial magnetism. The lower disk is permeable whereas the upper disk is solid. The mechanisms of haphazard motion of NPs and thermophoresis are simulated. The non-dimensional problem is solved numerically using a finite difference method in the MATLAB bvp4c solver based on Lobotto quadrature, to scrutinize the significance of thermophoresis parameter, squeezing number, Hartmann number, Prandtl number, and Brownian motion parameter on velocity, temperature, nanoparticle concentration, Nusselt number, factor of friction, and Sherwood number distributions. The obtained results for the friction factor are validated against previously published results. It is found that friction factor at the disk increases with intensity in applied magnetic field. The haphazard (Brownian) motion of nanoparticles causes an enhancement in thermal field. Suction and injection are found to induce different effects on transport characteristics depending on the specification of equal or unequal Biot numbers at the disks. The main quantitative outcome is that, unequal Biot numbers produce significant cooling of the regime for both cases of disk suction or injection, indicating that Robin boundary conditions yield substantial deviation from conventional thermal boundary conditions. Higher thermophoretic parameter also elevates temperatures in the regime. The nanoparticles concentration at the disk is boosted with higher values of Brownian motion parameter. The response of temperature is similar in both suction and injection cases; however, this tendency is quite opposite for nanoparticle concentrations. In the core zone, the resistive magnetic body force dominates and this manifests in a significant reduction in velocity, that is damping. The heat build-up in squeeze films (which can lead to corrosion and degradation of surfaces) can be successfully removed with magnetic nanoparticles leading to prolonged serviceability of lubrication systems and the need for less maintenance. IMechE 2021. -
Eggshells biowaste for hydroxyapatite green synthesis using extract piper betel leaf - Evaluation of antibacterial and antibiofilm activity
The present research work reports the biosynthesis of hydroxyapatite (HAp) from eggshells and green synthesis of HAp from eggshells with incorporation of Piper betel leaf extract (PBL-HAp) using microwave conversion method. Although there are several works on synthesis of HAp from eggshells and other calcium and phosphorus rich substrates, the incorporation of herbal extract with HAp to promote antimicrobial and antibiofilm activity is less explored and reported. This research work highlights a simple and cost-effective method for development of antimicrobial biomaterials by combining the concepts of waste management, biomaterial science, and herbal medicine. In the present study, characterization of synthesized HAp was applied by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy, and morphological analysis using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The characterization results indicated that the prepared HAp and PBL-HAp were pure b-type carbonated HAp. The PBL-HAp was checked for its antibacterial activity using the well diffusion method and biofilm inhibitory activity by crystal violet assay against some common pathogens. The antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus aureus and biofilm inhibitory activities against Escherichia coli, Vibrio harveyi, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus of Piper betel leaf extract coated HAp (PBL-HAp) were showed to be significant and offered a promising role for the development of potent dental biomaterials. 2021 Elsevier Inc. -
Extraction, characterization, and fabrication of cellulose biopolymer sheets from Pistia stratiotes as a biodegradative coating material: an unique strategy for the conversion of invasive weeds into value-added products
This study explores the possibility of using Water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes) as a cost-effective substrate for the commercial extraction of cellulose biopolymer using a wide variety of physicochemical treatment methods to compare their efficiency in cellulose extraction. The extraction of cellulose from water lettuce, although promising due to their high cellulose content, was less explored as per the available literature. In this study, functional properties like bulk density-packed density, hydrated density, water retention capacity, oil retention capacity, emulsifying activity and setting volume of the extracted cellulose were studied. The cellulose content from water lettuce was found to be 38.94 0.10% by anthrone method. Preliminary confirmation of cellulose biopolymer was done using the study of functional groups using Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) analysis. Further characterization studies like Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X- Ray Diffraction (XRD), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were conducted to understand the molecular architecture and purity of the cellulose extracted. Fabrication of cellulose sheets was carried out using starch as the plasticizer. Biodegradation studies were conducted in garden soil for four weeks and a high degradation rate of 78.22 0.71% was observed in the fourth week of soil burial. 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. -
Progress in bio-based biodegradable polymer as the effective replacement for the engineering applicators
The development of biopolymers has significantly touched each and every sphere of human life due to their eco friendliness and biodegradability. In recent decades, the production of biopolymers gained profound attention due to the serious environmental concerns and threat to the non-renewable resources. The increased use of synthetic plastic in biomedical and engineering applications stays as a major threat to environment when these xenobiotics enter the food chain and soil upon their careless discharge after use. The significant material properties of plastic has made it as an inevitable part in our day to day life, but the concern over the environment directs the research focus on searching and developing biopolymers and bio composites as sustainable alternatives for their synthetic counterparts. Biopolymers of commercial interest can be majorly produced intracellularly by microbes or can be extracted through chemical or biological methods from plant and animal based substrates. The potential candidates with high market value with specific reference to biomedical engineering and tissue engineering include as polyhydroxyalkanoates, cellulose, chitosan and chitin, hydroxyapatite, and pectin. Despite of having high degree of biocompatibility, the major hurdle that retracts their widespread use commercially is attributed to the cost of production. This can be tackled out by exploiting cheap raw materials like agro waste as substrate and by employing green approaches over solvent based conventional extraction methods. The reduction in the material properties of purified biopolymers restricts their widespread application especially in the fabrication of thermoplastic blends. This can be resolved by production of bio composites with improved properties than their parent biopolymers. The current review focuses on the recent developments in biopolymer science especially with regard to its application in engineering majorly biomedical and tissue engineering. This study throws light on the biosynthetic pathways, extraction methods and applications of commercially important biopolymers. Furthermore, the challenges, limitations, and future prospects in the production and commercialization of biopolymers is briefly discussed in this review. 2022 Elsevier Ltd -
Valorization of pineapple peel waste for fungal pigment production using Talaromyces albobiverticillius: Insights into antibacterial, antioxidant and textile dyeing properties
The present study explores natural pigments as sustainable alternatives to synthetic textile dyes. Due to their therapeutic applications and easy production, fungal pigments have gained attention. However, data on pigment production using solid-state fermentation and optimization is limited. Milk whey was used to grow Talaromyces sp., followed by an evaluation of pigment production in solid and liquid media. Pineapple peels were used as a cost-effective substrate for pigment production, and a one-factor-at-a-time approach was used to enhance pigment production. Pineapple peel-based media produced 0.523 0.231 mg/g of pigment after eight days of incubation. The crude pigment had promising antibacterial and significant antioxidant properties. The extraction fungal pigment's possible use as an eco-friendly textile dye was assessed through fabric dyeing experiments with different mordants. This work contributes to the valorization of agricultural waste and provides insight into using fungal pigments as sustainable alternatives to synthetic textile dyes. 2023 Elsevier Inc. -
A sustainable approach for fish waste valorization through polyhydroxyalkanoate production by Bacillus megaterium NCDC0679 and its optimization studies
Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are considered as the only class of truly biodegradable and biocompatible polymers. Although extensive research has been carried out in producing them from a wide variety of organisms, their commercialization still faces hurdles majorly associated with the cost of production media. This research work exploits the use of discarded fish scale waste as a major media component for biopolymer production. The major novelty of the research work is the utilization of a Bacillus megaterium NCDC0679 for PHA production using fish scale waste that is not reported previously. Furthermore, a sequential and systematic statistical optimization strategy employing response surface methodology was used to trace out the level of the most significant variables and their interaction effects on PHA production add to the significant novelty of this work. The significance of the model developed was determined from the p values of ANOVA. Under optimized levels of glucose (50g/L), NaCl (0.125g/L), and fish scale hydrolysate concentration (62.5% v/v), maximum PHA yield of 6.33g/L was achieved in the shake flask culture system. This was found to be 5.50-fold higher than the unoptimized medium. The ANOVA results established the significance of the model (p < 0.05). The extracted polymer was characterized through Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Thus, the present investigation suggests an innovative method for valorization of fish scale waste for commercial production of PHA. 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature. -
Biodegradation studies of polyhydroxyalkanoates extracted from Bacillus subtilis NCDC 0671
The major characteristic feature that distinguishes polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) from its synthetic counterparts is its biodegradability. PHAs are the only class of biopolymers reported to be 100% degradable under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions without production of any toxic residues. The biodegradability of PHAs is influenced by several factors like moisture, temperature, pH, surface area and molecular weight of the polymer. The rate of biodegradation varies greatly depending on the environment. Biodegradation studies were carried out using plating method and direct inoculation method using selected Bacillus strains. Fungal degradation of PHA sheets was assessed using Penicillium chrysogenum. Biodegradation of PHA sheets in different soil types like river valley, agricultural land and garden soil was investigated. The degree of PHA degradation in aqueous environment was studied by incubating the sheets in distilled water, sea water, fish tank water and pond water. The highest degradation rate was observed with agriculture land soil (35.47 0.13%) and fish tank soil (36.93 0.13%). The non-toxic nature of the soil incubated with PHA sheets was ensured using plant growth test. 2019, World Research Association. All rights reserved. -
Valorization of pineapple peels through single cell protein production using saccharomyces cerevisiae NCDC 364
Background and objective: Pineapple peels contain significant quantities of carbohydrates, which can be used as cheap raw materials for production of commercially important products through fermentation. The aim of this study was to use this feed stock for the cultivation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae NCDC 364 and its use as single cell protein. Material and methods: The single cell protein was produced using discarded pineapple peels and Saccharomyces cerevisiae NCDC 364. Optimization of bioprocess variables (temperature, pH, incubation period, carbon source and nitrogen source) affecting single cell protein production was carried out using classical "one factor at a time" approach. The harvested cells from optimized media were screened for amino acid content using high-performance thin-layer chromatography. Results and conclusion: The Saccharomyces cerevisiae NCDC 364 produced maximum single cell protein in pineapple peel based media, compared to non-optimized media. The "one factor at a time" approach showed that the maximum biomass production was achieved at optimized levels of temperature of 25C, pH of 5, incubation period of 120 h, carbon source of 1% sucrose and nitrogen source of 0.5% beef extract. The amino acid profiling of the harvested biomass using high-performance thin-layer chromatography analysis revealed that tryptophan included a comparatively higher concentration of 6.52%, followed by threonine (3.25%). Results of this study suggest that easily available raw materials such as fruit peels offer cost-effective substrates for production of commercially important microbial proteins for alarming global issues linked to protein malnutrition. Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest. 2019 National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute. -
Bridging Service Quality Gaps
Indian Streams Research Journal, Vol-2 (10), pp. 38-42. ISSN-2230-7850