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Application of response surface methodology to optimize lead(Ii) ion adsorption by activated carbon fabricated from de oiled soya
Lead(II) ion a heavy metal is known for its toxicity. An initiative has been taken in this study, to adsorb toxic lead(II) ion using activated carbon made of de oiled soya, by an aqueous solution through batch adsorption methodology. Adsorption process variables such as adsorbent dose, contact time, solution pH, and lead(II) ion concentration were optimized by central composite design (CCD). To find the interaction between process variables, response surface plots were utilized using response surface methodology. Design-Expert software version 7 was resorted to in this experiment. It was observed that the components from the analysis of variance of the CCD revealed that the selective process independent variables had significant control over adsorption capacity. Desirability function was used to appraise the factors and response in adsorption experiments to find an optimum point where the preferred adsorption could be obtained. Adsorption process with the application of activated carbon developed from de-oiled soya meritoriously removed lead(II) ion with an optimum adsorption capacity of 26.279 mg/g for an initial concentration of lead(II) at 60 mg/L. 2021 Desalination Publications. All rights reserved. -
Application of the Taguchi method and RSM for process parameter optimization in AWSJ machining of CFRP composite-based orthopedic implants
Abrasive water suspension jet (AWSJ) machining on carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite-based orthopedic implants yielded insightful results based on experimental data and subsequent statistical validations. Underwater AWSJ cutting consistently outperformed free air cutting, with numerical findings demonstrating its superiority. For instance, at #100 abrasive size and 5 mm standoff distance (SOD), the material removal rate (MRR) peaked at 2.44 g/min with a kerf width of 0.89 mm and a surface roughness (SR) of 9.25 ?m. Notably, the increase in abrasive size correlated with higher MRR values, such as achieving 2.15 g/min at #120 grit and 3 mm SOD. Furthermore, optimization techniques like the Taguchi method and response surface methodology (RSM) were applied to refine machining parameters. These methodologies enhanced MRR, exemplified by achieving 2.10 g/min with #120 abrasive size and 5 mm SOD in underwater cutting conditions. The research explored the impact of key process parameters, namely, the speed, feed, and SOD on the MRR, kerf width, and SR in both free air cutting and underwater cutting conditions, which is one of the novel research endeavors in the domain of abrasive jet machining of composites. 2024 the author(s) -
Applications of bioconvection for tiny particles due to two concentric cylinders when role of Lorentz force is significant
The bioconvection flow of tiny fluid conveying the nanoparticles has been investigated between two concentric cylinders. The contribution of Lorenz force is also focused to inspect the bioconvection thermal transport of tiny particles. The tiny particles are assumed to flow between two concentric cylinders of different radii. The first cylinder remains at rest while flow is induced due to second cylinder which rotates with uniform velocity. Furthermore, the movement of tiny particles follows the principle of thermophoresis and Brownian motion as a part of thermal and mass gradient. Similarly, the gyro-tactic microorganisms swim in the nanofluid as a response to the density gradient and constitute bio-convection. The problem is modeled by using the certain laws. The numerical outcomes are computed by using RKF-45 method. The graphical simulations are performed for flow parameters with specific range like 1?Re?5, 1?Ha?5, 0.5?Nt?2.5, 1?Nb?3, 0.2?Sc?1.8, 0.2?Pe?1.0 and 0.2???1.0. It is observed that the flow velocity decreases with the increase in the Hartmann number that signifies the magnetic field. This outcome indicates that the flow velocity can be controlled externally through the magnetic field. Also, the increase in the Schmidt numbers increases the nanoparticle concentration and the motile density. 2022 Zhang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. -
Applying talent acquisition to the test: Assessing productivity in facilities organization /
Pramana Research Journal, Vol.9, Issue 2, pp.197-207, ISSN No: 2249-2976. -
Appraisal of prolyl 4-hydroxylase alpha subunit gene polymorphisms in Spondyloepimetaphyseal dysplasia of Handigodu type (SEMDHG)
Background: The Handigodu variant of Spondyloepimetaphyseal Dysplasia (SEMDHG) is a severe, progressive osteoarthritic disorder characterized by chronic pain and joint degeneration. Clinically, the disorder presents in three distinct phenotypic forms, each exhibiting varying degrees of stature reduction and disease severity. Urine analysis of affected individuals reveals an elevated peptide-bound proline to 4-hydroxyproline ratio relative to controls, suggesting disruptions in collagen metabolism. Given the critical role of prolyl 4-hydroxylase enzymes in stabilizing collagen structure, this study undertook a comprehensive sequence analysis of all three isoforms of prolyl 4-hydroxylase in both affected and unaffected individuals to elucidate potential molecular underpinnings of the disorder. Method: The entire exonic regions and 2000 base pairs upstream of the translation start sites of the P4HA1, P4HA2, and P4HA3 genes were sequenced in a cohort of 300 individuals, comprising 166 affected and 134 unaffected individuals. Results: Sequence analysis of the ? (I), ? (II), and ? (III) subunit genes identified three novel SNPs and a 39-bp deletion variant, in addition to ten previously reported SNPs catalogued in dbSNP. The SNP rs28384495 in P4HA1, the 39-bp deletion variant, and a novel mutation (SNP3) in P4HA3 exhibited significantly different allele frequencies between patients and controls. Genotype association analysis revealed that SNPs in P4HA1 and P4HA3 were associated with Type 2 and Type 3 HD under various genetic models. Notably, all Type 2 HD patients were heterozygous for the 39-bp deletion, whereas all Type 3 HD patients were homozygous for the variant. Haplotype analysis corroborated the findings of the genotype association analysis. Conclusion: This study is the first to account an association between the P4H gene and disease. Further research is needed to evaluate the functional implications of the identified mutations. 2024 -
Appraisal of the potential of endophytic bacterium Bacillus amyloliquefaciens from Alternanthera philoxeroides: A triple approach to heavy metal bioremediation, diesel biodegradation, and biosurfactant production
Endophytic microbes have been associated with many positive traits due to their endurance mechanisms. The current study was designed at exploring the potential of the endophytic bacterium Bacillus amyloliquefaciens MEBAphL4 isolated from Alternanthera philoxeroides for biosurfactant production and bioremediation efficiency. This endophyte, isolated from the polluted Madiwala lake in Bangalore, displayed elevated resistance to Cr and Pb till 2000 mg/L. The metal removal efficiency was found to be higher for Cr (25.7 %) at pH 6 and for Pb (92.3 %) at pH 9. Further, the present study also describes biosurfactant production with good emulsification ability (E24-52 %) and stability over a range of pH (8?12), temperature (2040C) and salinity (515 %). Biosurfactant production was enhanced 1.18-fold using the Response Surface Methodology approach and characterised by Fourier Transformation Infra-red Spectroscopy and Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography- Mass Spectrometry showing the presence of lipopeptides, fengycin, iturin and surfactin of molecular weights 1463.65, 1043.44 and 1012.56 Da respectively. The potential application of the biosurfactant in degrading various hydrocarbons was evaluated, demonstrating its effectiveness in bioremediation of oil-contaminated sites. Specifically, diesel biodegradation was measured at 56.460.95 %. These findings underscore the potential of B. amyloliquefaciens in environmental applications such as heavy metal biosorption and the bioremediation of contaminated sites, particularly those affected by oil spills and correlates to UN SDG6 of clean water and sanitation. 2024 Elsevier Ltd -
Approach for Collision Minimization and Enhancement of Power Allocation in WSNs
Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have attracted much more attention in recent years. Hence, nowadays, WSN is considered one of the most popular technologies in the networking field. The reason behind its increasing rate is only for its adaptability as it works through batteries which are energy efficient, and for these characteristics, it has covered a wide market worldwide. Transmission collision is one of the key reasons for the decrease in performance in WSNs which results in excessive delay and packet loss. The collision range should be minimized in order to mitigate the risk of these packet collisions. The WSNs that contribute to minimize the collision area and the statistics show that the collision area which exceeds equivalents transmission power has been significantly reduced by this technique. This proposed paper optimally reduced the power consumption and data loss through proper routing of packets and the method of congestion detection. WSNs typically require high data reliability to preserve identification and responsiveness capacity while also improving data reliability, transmission, and redundancy. Retransmission is determined by the probability of packet arrival as well as the average energy consumption. 2021 Debabrata Singh et al. -
Aquila Optimizer Based Optimal Allocation of Soft Open Points for Multi-Objective Operation in Electric Vehicles Integrated Active Distribution Networks
The appropriate position and sizing of soft open points (SOPs) for reducing the detrimental impact of electric vehicle (EV) load penetration and renewable energy (RE) variation on active distribution networks (ADNs) are provided in this study. Soft open points (SOPs) have been used to create a multi-objective framework that considers loss minimization and voltage profile enhancement. The non-linear multi-variable complicated SOP allocation problem is solved for the first time using a modern meta-heuristic Aquila optimizer (AO). The modified IEEE 33-bus benchmark and IEEE 69-bus ADNs are used in the simulations. Before SOPs, the average real power loss in IEEE 33-bus AND was 370.329 kW, but after SOPs, it was reduced to 259.356 kW (i.e., 29.96 percent reduction). Similarly, effective SOPs integration in the IEEE 69-bus resulted in a loss reduction of 81.07 percent. AO's computational efficiency is also compared to that of multiobjective particle swarm optimization (MOPSO), particle swarm optimization (PSO), and cuckoo search algorithm (CSA). The AO has produced better results in terms of lower losses, improved voltage profile despite variations in EV load penetration, and RE and load volatility in ADNs, according to the results 2022. International Journal of Intelligent Engineering and Systems.All Rights Reserved -
Ar-HGSO: Autoregressive-Henry Gas Sailfish Optimization enabled deep learning model for diabetic retinopathy detection and severity level classification
Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) is one the most important problems of diabetics and it directs to the main cause of blindness. When proper treatment is afforded for DR patients, almost 90% of patients are protected from visual damage. DR does not produce any symptoms at the initial phase of the disease, thus various physical assessments, namely pupil dilation, visual acuity test, and so on are needed for DR disease detection. It is more complex to detect the DR during manual testing, because of the variations and complications of DR. The early detection and appropriate treatment assist to prevent vision loss for DR patients. Thus, it is very indispensable to categorize the levels and severity of DR for recommendation of essential treatment. In this paper, Autoregressive-Henry Gas Sailfish Optimization (Ar-HGSO)-based deep learning technique is proposed for DR detection and severity level classification of DR and Macular Edema (ME) based on color fundus images. The segmentation process is more essential for proper detection and classification process, which segments the image into various subgroups. The Deep Learning approach is utilized for effective identification of DR and severity classification of DR and ME. Moreover, the deep learning technique is trained by the designed Ar-HGSO scheme for obtaining better performance. The performance of the devised technique is evaluated using the IDRID dataset and DDR dataset. The introduced Ar-HGSO-based deep learning approach obtained better performance than other existing DR detection and classification techniques with regards to testing accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of 0.9142, 0.9254, and 0.9142 using the IDRID dataset. 2022 Elsevier Ltd -
Architecture of FTO/n-CdS/p-SnSe1-xOx/Au Heterojunction Thin Film Diodes by Thermal Evaporation
In this report, FTO/n-CdS/p-SnSe1-xOx/Au heterojunction diodes were fabricated using a homemade precursor followed by dry milling with a facile thermal evaporation method under oxygen atmosphere (10? 2mbar) for the first time. The chemical purity (45.35:45.07:9.58 at.%) and microstructure of the deposited films and device were characterized by energy dispersive x-ray analysis, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. The crystallographic parameters, a = 11.512 b = 4.163and c = 4.452 with orthorhombic crystal structure and monophase nature were analyzed by powder x-ray diffraction. Raman spectroscopy revealed the vibrational modes, and UVVis-NIR spectroscopy was used to study the direct nature of optical absorption with a band gap of 1.14eV. The currentvoltage (I-V) characteristics of the semiconductor diode were measured in room temperature (25C) and revealed rectifying properties and the cut-off voltage for the device, 0.57V. The obtained results highlight that the use of a p-SnSe1-xOx (SSO) layer as an interface between n-CdS/Au diodes exhibits excellent rectifying behavior and enhanced diode performance. Therefore, the p-SSO layer is a suitable material for heterojuction diodes and optoelectronic switches. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]. 2022, The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society. -
Architecture of monophase InSe thin film structures for solar cell applications
Control of microstructural evolution during the crystallization of InSe thin films is an inevitable strategy to mold their fundamental properties and potential for the fabrication of solar cells. Impact of annealing as well as substrate temperature on the crystallization progress and physical characteristics of thermally evaporated InSe was examined systematically, which eventually dictates the overall performance of resulting device. Structural and compositional characterizations have been thoroughly investigated by X-ray diffraction and energy dispersive X-ray analyses. InSe films form hexagonal structure with a preferred orientation of crystallites along the (004) direction upon crystallization. The layer of InSe is formed by two concomitant processes, deposition and recrystallization. Application of heat treatment resulted in topographical modification, which was probed by an atomic force microscope. Surface roughness was enhanced due to the influence of temperature and thereby the growth of grains. Investigations of electrical and optical properties, thus provided ample evidence for the use of crystallized monophase InSe as an absorber layer in photovoltaic conversion devices. Carrier concentration and mobility of charge carriers estimated from the Hall measurements were found to be 19.43020cm?3 and 2.01cm2V?1s?1 respectively. Moreover, this research work explores power conversion efficiency of p-InSe/n-CdS heterojunction solar cells. 2017 Elsevier B.V. -
Architecture of visible-light induced Z-scheme MoS2/g-C3N4/ZnO ternary photocatalysts for malachite green dye degradation
The synthesis of bilayer heterojunctions has received considerable attention recently. Fabrication of novel bilayer composites is of significant interest to improve their photocatalytic efficiency. In this study, molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), a layered dichalcogenide material exhibiting unique properties, in combination with graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4), a carbon-based layered material, was fabricated with small amounts of zinc oxide (ZnO). Three composites, MoS2/g-C3N4, MoS2/ZnO, and MoS2/g-C3N4/ZnO were prepared via a simple exfoliation method and characterized by various physicochemical methods. The Z-scheme charge transfer mechanism in the prepared ternary composite improves efficiency by inhibiting the recombination rate of electron-hole pairs. It has shown excellent performance in degrading a major water contaminant, malachite green (MG) dye, under visible light irradiation. 2022 Elsevier Inc. -
Arduino based IOT platform for remote monitoring of heart attacks and patients falls
Internet of things (IoT) is a networking concept that allows connection of various smart devices. This concept plays a huge role in the healthcare industry. The developed system is a working prototype for realtime monitoring of patient falls and heart attacks. The process of developing this system included an architecture, which was built using Arduino UNO and Arduino NANO along with pulse sensors and accelerometer sensors. The main idea is to collect health-related data from time to time and the collected data is made available using a real-time interface called Thingspeak. With the help of this process, the person can be monitored from time to time without any hassle. The proposed system also makes use of delivering notifications at the time of emergency using the GSM technology, which is embedded with the Arduino architecture. This system will be of greater help to elderly people, people suffering from Frankenstein disease or people who are in a history of getting heart attacks due to genetic disorders. 2018 Manikandan Shanmugam and Monisha Singh. -
Are expensive decisions impulsive? Young adults impulsive housing and real estate buying behavior in India
Purpose: The purpose of the study is to determine website quality, materialism, psychological factors, hedonic value and social media as factors that influence the young adults impulsive housing and real estate buying behavior in India. In addition, this study also measures the mediating effects of social media influence between psychological factors and hedonic value and young adults impulsive housing and real estate buying behavior. Design/methodology/approach: Related literature, quantifiable variables with a five-point Likert Scale, hypothesis testing and mediators are used to study the model. A systematic questionnaire that was divided into six sections was used. A total of 385 valid responses were collected and analyzed through a structural equation model. Findings: The results suggest that materialism, psychological factors and social media have a considerable impact on young adults impulsive housing and real estate buying behavior. The findings also ascertained that website quality and hedonic value do not have a considerable impact on young adults impulsive housing and real estate buying behavior. Research limitations/implications: This study is limited to the responses of young consumers from a limited number of brokers and regions in India. Future studies could be more widespread across the globe. Originality/value: As per the review of existing literature, this research is the first, to the best of the authors knowledge, to determine the factors affecting the impulse buying decision mainly in the housing and real estate sector with the target consumers being young. 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited. -
Are management graduates market ready? Exploring the relationship between the demographic factors and the perceived level job preparedness /
International Bulletin of Management And Economics, Vol.10, pp.165-175, ISSN No: 2349-7165. -
Are muslims incurring higher out-of-pocket expenditures than hindus in reproductive healthcare at sub-district levels in Karnataka?
Background and Objective: This study was undertaken to evaluate level of differences found in Out-of-pocket expenditures (OOPE) among Hindus and Muslims, OOPE being a sub-component while constructing reproductive health account (RHA) matrices for Ramanagara district, Karnataka. Method: Adopting multistage stratified sampling method, individual level data was collected using survey tools, catering to six dimensions of RH functions, taken from WHO Guide to produce RH Sub-Account. 517 Hindu and Muslim men and women meeting inclusion criteria of reproductive age (15-49) incurring RH expenditures in last one year were included followed later by only 382 uninsured individuals for hypothesis testing. Results: Muslims showing almost double OOPE in RH necessitated hypothesis testing of significant difference in OOPE, equating groups, post exclusion of insured individuals. Statistically significant difference was revealed in RH expenditures using Mann-Whitney U test. Interpretations and conclusions: Vicious cycle of disparity in education levels, lower income levels, negligible health coverage, strenuous work conditions, poor living standards, repeated RH contingencies leading to massive borrowing financed OOPE in RH continues. 2019, Indian Journal of Public Health Research and Development. 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. -
Are the determinants of foreign direct investment the same within the service sector? Evidence from bootstrap based bias corrected fixed effects model
Using sectoral as well as subsectoral foreign direct investments (FDI) data, we explore the determinants of FDI in services at both sectoral and sub-sector levels of 25 emerging economies for the period 19992016. We employ a bootstrap-based bias-corrected fixed effects model to analyze whether FDI's determinants vary within the service sector. Our results show that market size, market potential, natural resources endowments, and agglomeration effects are positively associated with the FDI in services and its subsectoral levels. The sectoral disaggregated analysis shows that the variables that attract FDI in services do not vary much from financial to nonfinancial services. This study suggests that there is no need for a separate theory for explaining FDI determinants in financial and nonfinancial services though some modifications are to be made. Before making modifications, we have to consider the salient features of service sector FDI, such as intangibility, inseparability, perishability, heterogeneity, and commercial presence. 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. -
Are there bubbles in sectoral indices? Evidence from national stock exchange
Trading at prices above their fundamental values has been referred to as stock market Bubbles. These Bubbles, when Busted, can lead to a market Crash. From experience, it is a well-known fact that Bubbles initially occur in one particular sector and later spread to the aggregate markets, leading to the collapse of the entire market. This paper attempts to test the existence of bubbles in Indian Sectoral Indices. Previous studies have proven that sectoral indices do not mimic the market behaviour and the reaction of the sectors tends to be different compared to the markets response. In that context, the paper aims to explore the existence of bubbles sector-wise rather than aggregate market-wise. The presence of bubbles is confirmed through the Superior and flawless method called the GSADF test is more flexible and reliable than RADF (Rolling Augmented Dickey-Fuller) and Supremum Augmented DickeyFuller (SADF) methods. Findings reveal that not all sectors experience bubbles at the same time. During the study period, the Automobile, financial services, Media and Private sector banking sectors experienced bubbles. Detected bubbles were also found at different times in these sectors. The study helps investors who focus investments in a specific sector to capitalise on price movements once they can time-stamp the occurrence of bubbles. The study provides essential input for investors in taking timely investment decisions. Further results of our study could enable policymakers to instil corrective actions to put the markets back on track when the index falsely deviates from intrinsic values. 2022 The Author(s). This open access article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license. -
Art Therapy for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder in India
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of art therapy for 9 children with autism spectrum disorder in India using a prepost experimental design with a control group. The Childhood Autism Rating Scale was used to measure symptoms before and after 8 individual art therapy sessions, and changes in the childrens art development was also examined. Analysis of covariance results showed that art therapy was effective and content analysis of the drawings indicated progress seen in the developmental art stages, based on Lowenfeld theory. The positive changes were notable in the participants cognitive, social, and motor skills. 2019, AATA, Inc. 2019.