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Pattern of acquisition of theory of mind in pre-schoolers: A cross-sectional study from South India
Background: Theory of Mind (ToM) is an important part of children's social cognitive development. The pattern of ToM acquisition depends on many factors including culture, the number of family members, and siblings. This study aimed to examine the pattern of ToM acquisition in Indian culture. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study among preschool children (three to six years) (N = 118) from rural and urban backgrounds. ToM development was assessed using the Wellman and Liu Theory of Mind Scale and the Children's Social Understanding Scale (parent report). Results: The order of acquisition of ToM in Indian children was as follows: diverse desire> diverse belief> knowledge access> explicit false belief> content false belief> hidden emotion. The number of siblings positively correlated with the total ToM task score, and the number of adults in the family did not show any positive correlation. Conclusions: Although India is a collectivistic country, the acquisition pattern of ToM in our population was like that of individualistic countries such as the United States. 2023 Elsevier B.V. -
Kannada translation and validation of Wellman and Liu's theory of mind scale and children's social understanding scale in preschoolers
Background: Assessing theory of mind (ToM) in children is crucial for understanding social cognition. Wellman and Liu's ToM scale and the Children's Social Understanding Scale (CSUS) have been used to study ToM in children but are not available in the local language. Aim: This study aims to translate both scales into Kannada and validate them in preschool children. Methods: Following the rigorous WHO protocol, we meticulously translated and back-translated Wellman and Liu's ToM and CSUS into Kannada with the help of bilingual experts. Validation involved administering both scales to 118 preschool children aged 3 to 6 years from diverse urban and rural backgrounds in a cross-sectional study, ensuring the scales' applicability across different settings. Results: The Cronbach's alpha values for Wellman and Liu's ToM and the CSUS were 0.769 (95% CI 0.698 to 0.828) and 0.983 (95% CI 0.978 to 0.987), respectively, indicating high internal consistency. The test-retest reliability for Wellman and Liu's ToM scale domains ranged from 0.74 to 0.95, and for the CSUS, it was 0.99, demonstrating good reliability. Pearson's correlation between the domains of two scales ranged from 0.32 to 0.69, suggesting a moderate relationship. Conclusion: Our study findings demonstrate that Kannada translations of Wellman and Liu's ToM and CSUS have good internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and construct validity. These tools will be valuable for understanding social cognition in preschool children. 2024 Indian Journal of Psychiatry. -
A Statistical Search for Star-Planet Interaction in the Ultraviolet Using GALEX
Most (?82%) of the over 4000 confirmed exoplanets known today orbit very close to their host stars, within 0.5 au. Planets at such small orbital distances can result in significant interactions with their host stars, which can induce increased activity levels in them. In this work, we have searched for statistical evidence for star-planet interactions in the ultraviolet (UV) using the largest sample of 1355 Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) detected host stars with confirmed exoplanets and making use of the improved host-star parameters from Gaia DR2. From our analysis, we do not find any significant correlation between the UV activity of the host stars and their planetary properties. We further compared the UV properties of planet host stars to that of chromospherically active stars from the RAdial Velocity Experiment (RAVE) survey. Our results indicate that the enhancement in chromospheric activity of host stars due to star-planet interactions may not be significant enough to reflect in their near- and far-UV broadband flux. 2020. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.. -
Are Narrow-line Seyfert 1 Galaxies Powered by Low-mass Black Holes?
Narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxies (NLS1s) are believed to be powered by the accretion of matter onto low-mass black holes (BHs) in spiral host galaxies with BH masses M BH ? 106-108 M o. However, the broadband spectral energy distribution of the ?-ray-emitting NLS1s are found to be similar to flat-spectrum radio quasars. This challenges our current notion of NLS1s having low M BH. To resolve this tension of low M BH values in NLS1s, we fitted the observed optical spectrum of a sample of radio-loud NLS1s (RL-NLS1s), radio-quiet NLS1s (RQ-NLS1s), and radio-quiet broad-line Seyfert 1 galaxies (RQ-BLS1s) of ?500 each with the standard Shakura-Sunyaev accretion disk (AD) model. For RL-NLS1s we found a mean log() of 7.98 0.54. For RQ-NLS1s and RQ-BLS1s we found mean log() of 8.00 0.43 and 7.90 0.57, respectively. While the derived values of RQ-BLS1s are similar to their virial masses, for NLS1s the derived values are about an order of magnitude larger than their virial estimates. Our analysis thus indicates that NLS1s have M BH similar to RQ-BLS1s and their available virial M BH values are underestimated, influenced by their observed relatively small emission line widths. Considering Eddington ratio as an estimation of the accretion rate and using , we found the mean accretion rate of our RQ-NLS1s, RL-NLS1s, and RQ-BLS1s as , and , respectively. Our results therefore suggest that NLS1s have BH masses and accretion rates that are similar to BLS1s. 2019. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. -
Social entrepreneurial opportunity recognition among higher education students: scale development and validation
Purpose: This study aims to develop and validate a multidimensional scale to measure the motivating factors that lead to opportunity recognition in social entrepreneurship among higher education institute (HEI) students. Design/methodology/approach: The scale was developed through two phases; in phase 1, semi-structured interviews with social entrepreneurs and aspiring students were conducted to explore themes for item generation. Phase 2 included developing and validating the scale using exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The sample included HEI students (n = 300 for EFA, n = 300 for CFA) with either academic background or volunteering experiences in social entrepreneurship. Findings: A 24-item scale is developed in the study, with six factors measuring the motivating factors influencing opportunity recognition in social entrepreneurship: life experiences, social awareness, social inclination, community development, institutional voids and natural option for a meaningful career. Research limitations/implications: The scale facilitates the development of theories and models in social entrepreneurship. The scale also enables policymakers and social entrepreneurship educators to understand the motivating factors that lead to opportunity recognition among students. It would help them to provide target-specific support to students. Originality/value: To the best of the authors knowledge, this study is the first attempt to develop a scale that measures opportunity recognition in social entrepreneurship based on specific motivating factors. The study used the model by Yitshaki and Kropp (2016) as the conceptual framework. This study is the first attempt to triangulate the models findings using a quantitative methodology and through the development of a measurement scale. Besides, the scale adds value to social entrepreneurship research, which lacks empirical research on HEI students. 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited. -
The Role of Cognitive Appraisal in Informed Decision-Making among Social Entrepreneurs: A Thematic Analysis
Social entrepreneurship (SE) is gaining momentum by providing innovative solutions to economic, social, and environmental problems by generating jobs and social inclusion. However, it involves different challenges that may lead to a negative appraisal. This study aimed to explore cognitive appraisal processes social entrepreneurs use to make informed decisions in their entrepreneurial journey. Interviews were conducted with 13 Indian social entrepreneurs, and the data were subjected to thematic analysis. The main themes were; appropriateness, implications, coping potential, and normative significance. The study proposes a cognitive model for the appraisal of SE. The study is important for aspiring social entrepreneurs to understand the evaluation components of appraisal to decide how appropriate SE is as a career for them. 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. -
Exploring the motivating factors for opportunity recognition among social entrepreneurs: aqualitative study
Purpose: This paper explores the motivating factors that lead to opportunity recognition among social entrepreneurs in India. Design/methodology/approach: The study followed an exploratory, qualitative design based on thematic analysis of the interview data collected from 13 Indian social entrepreneurs. Findings: The study identifies two aggregate factors that motivate social entrepreneurs: personal and contextual. Personal factors include life experiences, social awareness, social inclination since childhood, spiritual motives, the need for a meaningful career and entrepreneurial intention. Contextual factors included institutional voids, community development, the presence of a role model and volunteer experiences. Research limitations/implications: This study contributes to the social entrepreneurship literature by providing a model for motivating factors that lead to opportunity recognition. This study enables policymakers and social entrepreneurship educators to identify aspiring social entrepreneurs and provide target-specific support to them. Practical implications: This study enables policymakers and social entrepreneurship educators to identify aspiring social entrepreneurs and provide target-specific support to them. Originality/value: The study uniquely contributes to the social entrepreneurship field by offering deep qualitative insights into the motivational and opportunity recognition patterns of social entrepreneurship. 2024, Parvathy Viswanath and A. Sadananda Reddy. -
SCN1A Genetic Alterations and Oxidative Stress in Idiopathic Generalized Epilepsy Patients: A Causative Analysis in Refractory Cases
Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) have found it be associated with drug resistance in epilepsy. The purpose of this study was to determine the role of SCN1A gene polymorphism in developing drug resistance in idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE) patients, along with increased oxidative stress. The study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital in Delhi, India. We recruited 100 patients diagnosed with IGE patients, grouped as drug-resistant and drug-responsive, and then further compared the SCN1A SNP rs10167228 A*/T analysis between the two groups. We utilized the PCR-RFLP technique to investigate the association between polymorphisms and refractory epilepsy. Serum HMGB1 levels were estimated using the ELISA technique to analyze oxidative stress in both groups. rs10167228 A*/T polymorphism genotypes AT and AA genotypes are significantly associated with an increased risk of developing drug resistance. Serum HMGB1, IL-1?, and IL-6 levels were significantly higher in drug-resistant cases, compared to the drug-responsive group. The association of SCN1A gene polymorphisms, in conjunction with raised oxidative stress, may be predictive of the development of drug-resistant epilepsy. The AT and AA genotypes of rs10167228 may pose a risk factor for developing drug-resistant epilepsy. 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Association of Clinical Biochemists of India. -
Design space exploration of optimized hybrid SVPWM techniques based on spatial region for three level VSI
The performance of a multilevel inverter depends upon design and selection of an appropriate modulation technique. Space vector pulse width modulation (SVPWM) technique offers more flexibility than other pulse width modulation (PWM) techniques. However, conventional SVPWM technique becomes more complex for multilevel inverter because of increased number of space vectors and redundant switching states. This paper presents a design space exploration method of hybrid SVPWM techniques for three level voltage source inverter (VSI) to reduce total harmonic distortion (THD) and switching loss over wide linear modulation range. A new parameter Harmonic Loss (product of weighted total harmonic distortion factor of the line voltage (Vwthd) and normalized switching loss) is introduced as an objective function, and a spatial region identification algorithm is proposed to determine the optimized switching sequences for hybrid SVPWM technique. Two optimized hybrid SVPWM techniques are proposed based on the optimized switching sequences for three level VSI. The proposed hybrid SVPWM techniques are implemented on a low cost PIC microcontroller (PIC 18F452) and applied on an experimental prototype of three phase three level VSI with an induction motor as load. The experimental results are demonstrated to validate the performance of the proposed hybrid SVPWM techniques. 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH, DE part of Springer Nature. -
Advanced hybrid SVPWM techniques for two level VSI
This paper brings an advanced class of hybrid SVPWM techniques for medium voltage drive applications with two-level inverter which employs multiple division of active vector time (MDAVT) switching sequences to reduce total harmonic distortion (THD) and switching loss. The proposed hybrid SVPWM techniques are categorised based on the principle of bus-clamping strategies. Multiple division active vector time (MDAVT) switching sequences are used in the proposed strategies. The newly developed MDAVT switching strategies produce PWM waveform for all odd and even pulse number and maintain the symmetry of the voltage waveform. This work compares different MDAVT switching sequences based on modulation index and location of the clamping position (zero vector changing angle) of a phase in a line cycle. The proposed techniques lead to the reduction in weighted total harmonic distortion of line voltage (Vwthd) as well as switching loss. The results point to the superior order of performance of the developed MDAVT sequences in the various ranges of operation of modulation index and power factor values. The superior harmonic performance and switching loss characteristics of the MDAVT PWM techniques over the conventional SVPWM is experimentally verifiedona415 V, 2 hp induction motor drive. 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. -
Spatio-temporal Crime Analysis and Forecasting on Twitter Data Using Machine LearningAlgorithms
The concept of social media began to gain popularity in the late 1990s and has played a significant role in connecting people across the globe. The constant addition of features to old social media platforms and the creation of new ones have helped amass and retain an extensive user base. Users could now share their views and provide detailed accounts of events from worldwide to reach like-minded people. This led to the popularization of blogging and brought into focus the posts of the commoner. These posts began to be verified and included in mainstream news articles bringing about a revolution in journalism. This research aims to use a social media platform, Twitter, to classify, visualize, and forecast Indian crime tweet data and provide a spatio-temporal view of crime in the country using statistical and machine learning models. The Tweepy Python module's search function and '#crime' query have been used to scrape relevant tweets under geographical constraints, followed by substring-keyword classification using 318 unique crime keywords. The Bokeh and gmaps Python modules create analytical and geospatial visualizations, respectively. Time series forecasting of crime tweet count is performed by comparing the accuracy of Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA), and Seasonal Auto-Regressivee Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA) models to determine the best model. 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. -
Performance Analysis of Novel Compact Octagonal Shaped Fractal Antenna for Broadband Wireless Applications
Antenna plays an important role in any part of the communication system. It has to be designed very cautiously to provide improved system performance to meet the developments in wireless technologies with various design constraints such as small size, low cost, high data, low power consumption and wideband capabilities. Several efforts have been made by various investigators around the globe to amalgamate benefits of fractal structures with electromagnetic concepts and applications to reduce the size of the antenna without obstructing the performance of the antennas. This paper proposes a novel compact octagonal shaped broadband fractal antenna. The proposed antenna was designed on an inexpensive FR4-epoxy substrate and simulated using the High Frequency Structure Simulator. The antenna resonates in dual bands in 3.8 and 1GHz with lowest return loss of ?32.80dB and gain of 10.22dB while maintaining the VSWR in the 2:1 level. Attempts have been made to reduce the size and improve the bandwidth using fractal concept and truncation of ground plane. The fabricated antenna was verified experimentally and the results are agreeing with the simulations. The point of attraction of this antenna is the use of single patch for broadband coverage with easy fabrication. 2018, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. -
An organocatalytic C-C bond cleavage approach: A metal-free and peroxide-free facile method for the synthesis of amide derivatives
A facile organocatalytic approach has been devised towards the synthesis of amide derivatives using 1,3-dicarbonyls as easily available acyl-sources under peroxide-free reaction conditions. This transformation was accomplished by the cleavage of the C-C bond in the presence of TEMPO as an organocatalyst and excludes the use of transition-metals and harsh reaction conditions. A broad range of substrates with diverse functional groups were well tolerated and delivered the products in high yields. The Royal Society of Chemistry and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. -
An exploration of attitudes toward dogs among college students in Bangalore, India
Conversations in the field of anthrozoology include treatment and distinction of food animals, animals as workers versus pests, and most recently, emerging pet trends including the practice of pet parenting. This paper explores attitudes toward pet dogs in the shared social space of urban India. The data include 375 pen-and-paper surveys from students at CHRIST (Deemed to be University) in Bangalore, India. Reflecting upon Serpells biaxial concept of dogs as a relationship of affect and utility, the paper considers the growing trend of pet dog keeping in urban spaces and the increased use of affiliative words to describe these relationships. The paper also explores potential sex differences in attitudes towards pet and stray dogs. Ultimately, these findings suggest that the presence of and affiliation with pet dogs, with reduced utility and increased affect, is symptomatic of cultural changes typical of societies encountering the second demographic transition. Despite this, sex differences as expected based upon evolutionary principles, remain present, with women more likely to emphasize health and welfare and men more likely to emphasize bravery and risk taking. 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. -
The Difference is in the Details: Attachment and Cross-Species Parenting in the United States and India
The purpose of the current research was to explore changes in Indian attitudes and practices with pet dogs and cats and compare them with responses from the United States. Pet parenting, defined as the investment of money, emotion, and time in companion animals, is a form of alloparental care (care given by someone other than the offsprings biological parents). Pet parenting appears to emerge in cultures that (1) demonstrate high rates of urbanization, (2) have declining total fertility rates (average births per woman), and (3) support life orientations beyond reproduction (collectively called the second demographic transition). A total of 1,417 respondents (US, n = 991; India, n = 426) completed online surveys (one in each country) to compare demographic profiles, attachment (as measured by the Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale [LAPS]), and companion animal caretaking behaviors in each culture. Mann-Whitney U tests were used to compare Indian and United States populations on the LAPS and caretaking behaviors (titled CARES in our study). Our findings document the emergence of pet parenting in India with many similarities to the United States. However, cultural variations in how these societies engage with nonhuman animals result in nuanced differences. For example, when reporting terms used to refer to themselves (e.g., Mom/Dad, friend, owner) and their companion animals (e.g., kids, pet, animal), United States respondents were more likely to code switch to less familial terms when speaking to coworkers and strangers. Additionally, Indian respondents reported higher agreement with all three LAPS scales, and they also reported higher frequency of behaviors related to Affective Responsiveness and General Care. Both cultures reported a moderately high frequency of Training and Play, with the United States respondents reporting slightly more training than Indians. These differences suggest that philosophical disparities exist between the United States and India, shaping the practice of pet parenting. We suggest continued, cross-cultural investigation of changing norms surrounding companion animals and the emergence of pet parenting. 2021 International Society for Anthrozoology (ISAZ). -
Effect of Computer Learning on performance in early Architecture Education
A mixed cohort of students with different experience backgrounds join the architecture degree. While some are well familiar with the user interface of computer and 3-D digital tools, others are not. The effect of such prior knowledge and their corresponding digital and analog performance in a designed experiment was evaluated with a sample of 38 first-year students. This was done to understand the performance effects of previous computer learning in students. Computer learning of the sample was studied in terms of years of computer exposure, the number of software known, and knowledge of 3D software or SketchUp. The results suggest that none of the factors contributed to the digital performance of students. This provided suggestions regarding the computer teaching emphasis which should be placed on students having less computer learning. 2022, Rajarambapu Institute Of Technology. All rights reserved. -
Dynamic task distribution model for on-chip reconfigurable high speed computing system
Modern embedded systems are being modeled as Reconfigurable High Speed Computing System (RHSCS) where Reconfigurable Hardware, that is, Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), and softcore processors configured on FPGA act as computing elements. As system complexity increases, efficient task distribution methodologies are essential to obtain high performance. A dynamic task distribution methodology based on Minimum Laxity First (MLF) policy (DTD-MLF) distributes the tasks of an application dynamically onto RHSCS and utilizes available RHSCS resources effectively. The DTD-MLF methodology takes the advantage of runtime design parameters of an application represented as DAG and considers the attributes of tasks in DAG and computing resources to distribute the tasks of an application onto RHSCS. In this paper, we have described the DTD-MLF model and verified its effectiveness by distributing some of real life benchmark applications onto RHSCS configured on Virtex-5 FPGA device. Some benchmark applications are represented as DAG and are distributed to the resources of RHSCS based on DTD-MLF model. The performance of the MLF based dynamic task distribution methodology is compared with static task distribution methodology. The comparison shows that the dynamic task distribution model with MLF criteria outperforms the static task distribution techniques in terms of schedule length and effective utilization of available RHSCS resources. 2015 Mahendra Vucha and Arvind Rajawat. -
Chitosan stabilized platinum nanoparticles: Synthesis, characterization and cytotoxic impacts on human breast cancer cells
Platinum nanoparticles are widely studied as a nanomedicine against many of the solid tumours. Due to their promising physicochemical properties, chitosan-stabilized platinum nanoparticles may exhibit exceptional cytotoxic effects on cancer cells. This article describes the synthesis and characterization of chitosan-stabilized platinum nanoparticles (Ch-Pt NPs) through a wet chemical method and in vitro studies of their anticancer effect on human breast cancer cells (MCF-7 cell line). Different analytical methods confirmed the formation of chitosan-stabilized platinum nanoparticles. The structural and surface morphological analyses were done using XRD, FTIR, TEM, FESEM, etc. Elemental analysis was done using XPS and EDX. The hydrodynamic diameter and zeta potential were determined using DLS and zeta analyzer. These platinum nanoparticles have a spherical shape and FCC structure with an average particle size of 3.4 nm and an average hydrodynamic diameter of 248 nm. The characteristic FTIR peaks of chitosan in the sample confirmed the capping of chitosan on the surface of the Pt NPs. The surface charge estimation using a zeta potential analyzer showed ?23.8 mV, elucidating the stability and dispersity of the as-synthesized Pt NPs. The in vitro cytotoxicity study using MTT assay revealed a non-toxic behaviour on normal L929 cell lines and a severe anti-proliferative activity on a human breast cancer (MCF-7) cell line with an IC50 value of 35.60 ?g/ml after 24 h of incubation. This result indicates a better anticancer therapeutic application against human breast cancer cells for the as-synthesized chitosan-stabilized platinum nanoparticles. 2024 Elsevier B.V. -
An empirical analysis of ICT tools with gamification for the Indian school education system
Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are used as a part of different fields, for example, training, business, and healthcare. The main objective of this paper is to introduce ICT as a better method to teach and test student's performance so it can become a part of the school curriculum and enhance learner's experience. To accomplish this objective, multiple kinds of literature were studied to get insights into the factors associated with ICT and gamification. Based on the findings, a survey was conducted on teachers to know the favourability of ICT in modern schools. Based on the response, two application prototypes are developed for students to get their performance and results that support the study. Most importantly, similar concepts were taught to students using both, traditional and ICT based approaches. A test was conducted via both methods. It was discovered that the performance of the students increased by 13% when the modern approach was followed to conduct the test. Copyright 2021 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. -
Bombay High Court (re)assures that copyright registration is not required to remedy infringement
Sanjay Soya Private Limited v. Narayani Trading Company, Interim Application (L) No. 5011 of 2020 and Commercial IP Suit No. 2 of 2021, High Court of Bombay, Maharashtra, judgment of 9 March 2021, by Mr. Justice G.S. Patel The Bombay High Court, in the case of Sanjay Soya Private Limited v. Narayani Trading Company, held that copyright registration is not a prerequisite to claiming relief in copyright infringement cases. The judgment clarifies the dubiety created previously by a contrary judicial opinion and aligns the Indian position with international copyright principles. 2021 The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.