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Detection of Forest Fire Using Modified LSTM Based Feature Extraction with Waterwheel Plant Optimisation Algorithm Based VAE-GAN Model
A crucial natural resource that directly affects the ecology is forests. Forest fires have become a noteworthy problem recently as a result of both natural and man-made climatic changes. A smart city application that uses a forest fire discovery technology based on artificial intelligence is provided in order to prevent significant catastrophes. A major danger to the environment, animals, and human lives is posed by forest fires. The early detection and suppression of these fires is crucial. This work offers a thorough method for detecting forest fires using advanced deep learning (DL) algorithms. Preprocessing the forest fire dataset is the initial step in order to improve its relevance and quality. Then, to enable the model to capture the dynamic character of forest fire data, long short-term memory (LSTM) networks are used to extract useful feature from the dataset. In this work, weight optimisation in LSTM is performed using a Modified Firefly Algorithm (MFFA), which enhances the model's performance and convergence. The Variational Autoencoder Generative Adversarial Networks (VAEGAN) model is used to classify the retrieved features. Furthermore, every DL model's success depends heavily on hyperparameter optimisation. The hyperparameters of an VAEGAN model are tuned in this research using the Waterwheel Plant Optimisation Algorithm (WWPA), an optimisation technique inspired by nature. WPPA uses the idea of plant growth to properly tune the VAEGAN's parameters, assuring the network's peak fire detection performance. The outstanding accuracy (ACC) of 97.8%, precision (PR) of 97.7%, recall (RC) of 96.26%, F1-score (F1) of 97.3%, and specificity (SPEC) of 97.5% of the suggested model beats all other existing models, which is probably owing to its improved architecture and training techniques. Copyright: 2024 The authors. This piece is published by IIETA and is approved under the CC BY 4.0 license. -
Analyzing blockchain-based supply chain resilience strategies: resource-based perspective
Purpose: This research tries to find the blockchain-based resilience strategies that can help the supply chains of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to recover from the disruptions and work effectively in a resource-based view perspective. Design/methodology/approach: Eight broad strategies and 32 sub-strategies are identified from the literature review. Delphi study was carried out, and detailed discussion with 16 experts helped in finalizing these strategies. Further, the best-worst method (BWM) prioritized these strategies. Findings: The findings suggests that building social capital, improving coordination capabilities, sensitivity towards market, flexibility in process and production, reduction in process and lead time,and having a resource efficiency and redundancy are the top strategies on which the top management should focus to overcome the situations of disruptions and enhance performance of MSMEs. Practical implications: The blockchain-based strategies will enable the companies in tracing the products from the company to customers. Further, the customers will be able to identify their manufacturers, the raw materials used in manufacturing, and the life and quality of raw used materials. Altogether the textile industry will become more sensitive toward environmental practices. Originality/value: The previous research has not identified and evaluated the blockchain-based resilience strategies, and therefore this study tries to fill this gap. This study used a smaller sample from the experts, so the results may vary if the larger data set is used and hypothesis testing can be done. 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited. -
Study of hybrid nanofluid flow in a stationary cone-disk system with temperature-dependent fluid properties
Cone-disk systems find frequent use such as conical diffusers, medical devices, various rheometric, and viscosimetry applications. In this study, we investigate the three-dimensional flow of a water-based Ag-MgO hybrid nanofluid in a static cone-disk system while considering temperature-dependent fluid properties. How the variable fluid properties affect the dynamics and heat transfer features is studied by Reynoldss linearized model for variable viscosity and Chiams model for variable thermal conductivity. The single-phase nanofluid model is utilized to describe convective heat transfer in hybrid nanofluids, incorporating the experimental data. This model is developed as a coupled system of convective-diffusion equations, encompassing the conservation of momentum and the conservation of thermal energy, in conjunction with an incompressibility condition. A self-similar model is developed by the Lie-group scaling transformations, and the subsequent self-similar equations are then solved numerically. The influence of variable fluid parameters on both swirling and non-swirling flow cases is analyzed. Additionally, the Nusselt number for the disk surface is calculated. It is found that an increase in the temperature-dependent viscosity parameter enhances heat transfer characteristics in the static cone-disk system, while the thermal conductivity parameter has the opposite effect. The Author(s) 2024. -
Multiwavelength spectral modelling of the candidate neutrino blazar PKS 0735+178
The BL Lac object PKS 0735+178 was in its historic ?-ray brightness state during 2021 December. This period also coincides with the detection of a neutrino event IC 211208A, which was localized close to the vicinity of PKS 0735+178. We carried out detailed ?-ray timing and spectral analysis of the source in three epochs: (a) quiescent state (E1), (b) moderate-activity state (E2), and (c) high-activity state (E3) coincident with the epoch of neutrino detection. During the epoch of neutrino detection (E3), we found the largest variability amplitude of 95 per cent. The ?-ray spectra corresponding to these three epochs are well fit by the power-law model and the source is found to show spectral variations with a softer when brighter trend. In epoch E3, we found the shortest flux doubling/halving time of 5.75 h. Even though the spectral energy distribution in the moderate-activity state and in the high-activity state could be modelled by the one-zone leptonic emission model, the spectral energy distribution in the quiescent state required an additional component of radiation over and above the leptonic component. Here, we show that a photomeson process was needed to explain the excess ?-ray emission in the hundreds of GeV that could not be accounted for by the synchrotron self-Compton process. 2024 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Astronomical Society. -
Flexible Nanogenerators Based on Enhanced Flexoelectricity in Mn3O4 Membranes
Atomically thin, few-layered membranes of oxides show unique physical and chemical properties compared to their bulk forms. Manganese oxide (Mn3O4) membranes are exfoliated from the naturally occurring mineral Hausmannite and used to make flexible, high-performance nanogenerators (NGs). An enhanced power density in the membrane NG is observed with the best-performing device showing a power density of 7.99mWm?2 compared to 1.04Wm?2 in bulk Mn3O4. A sensitivity of 108mVkPa?1 for applied forces <10N in the membrane NG is observed. The improved performance of these NGs is attributed to enhanced flexoelectric response in a few layers of Mn3O4. Using first-principles calculations, the flexoelectric coefficients of monolayer and bilayer Mn3O4 are found to be 50100 times larger than other 2D transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs). Using a model based on classical beam theory, an increasing activation of the bending mode with decreasing thickness of the oxide membranes is observed, which in turn leads to a large flexoelectric response. As a proof-of-concept, flexible NGs using exfoliated Mn3O4 membranes are made and used in self-powered paper-based devices. This research paves the way for the exploration of few-layered membranes of other centrosymmetric oxides for application as energy harvesters. 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH. -
Promoting photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rates in layered graphitic carbon nitride through integrated non-noble CoB co-catalyst
Despite being one of the most widely studied metal-free semiconductors, graphitic carbon-nitride (gC3N4) shows meaningful photocatalytic activities only when loaded with noble-metal co-catalysts. The present work reports an alternative to noble metals in the form of cobalt boride (CoB) co-catalyst that can be easily integrated within the gC3N4 framework with facile fabrication strategies. The optimized CoB-gC3N4 composite showed ?60 times higher hydrogen generation rate compared to bare gC3N4 nanosheets, with good stability. Detailed morphological, structural, chemical, electrochemical and spectroscopic investigations revealed the key aspects of CoB-gC3N4 composite that unanimously led to higher photocatalytic activity. Computational investigations not only corroborated the experimental results but also established that the surface Co and B sites in CoB provided the most energetically favoured sites for hydrogen evolution reaction. Based on the experimental and computational investigations, a generic reaction mechanism was formulated that will prove as a guiding light for future studies on similar photocatalytic systems. 2024 The Authors -
Adoption and Usage of Digital Financial Services in Karnataka, India: Spatial, Gender and Age Disparities
Financial services are digitized to widen access to finance and ensure transparency in financial transactions using technologies such as "Artificial Intelligence" (AI), "Machine Learning" (ML), "Big Data Analytics" (BDA), and "Blockchain Technology" (BT). Digital Financial Services (DFS) have increasingly been adopted by customers as the DFS are safe and secure, affordable, faster, convenient, and accessed anytime. The government and the RBI have taken many initiatives to promote DFS. Further, Digital Financial Services Providers (DFSP)-FinTech companies and formal financial institutions-come up with innovative DFS to suit the needs of the customers. As a result, DFS adoption and usage have grown multifold. The pandemic indirectly enhanced the adoption and usage of DFS. India has been the number one country in the world in real-time payments with 20.5 billion transactions in the year 2020 and DFS has not penetrated uniformly across gender, ages, and regions. Indian Institute of Finance. -
Unveiling the Potential of Bacillus paramycoides, a Halotolerant Endophytic Bacterium with Heavy Metal Tolerance and Plant Growth Promotion Properties
The use of heavy metal resistant plant growth promoting endophytes is an effective method for improving crop yield and cleaning up contaminated sites. In our study, we have isolated thirteen bacterial endophytes from the shoots of Alternanthera philoxeroides, an aquatic plant from Bellandur lake, Bangalore, India. Among the isolates, Bacillus paramycoides showed significant plant growth promotion properties including an extortionate amount of indole acetic acid (IAA) production (144.69 1.01 g/mL) along with other plant growth promoting attributes like ammonia production, nitrogen fixation, phosphate, potassium solubilization, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) deaminase and siderophore production. The isolate also demonstrated the ability to resist pathogen attacks by producing extracellular enzymes, which could have potential industrial uses. Furthermore, it displayed resistance to multiple heavy metals like chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn) and cadmium (Cd) as well as the ability to tolerate high salt concentrations (up to 7% NaCl). These characteristics make it an ideal candidate for promoting plant growth in stressful environments and as an effective bioremediation agent. 2024 World Researchers Associations. All rights reserved. -
Discrimination between scheduled and non-scheduled groups in access to basic services in urban India
Access to basic services such as water, sanitation, and electricity is a key determinant of an individuals well-being. Nevertheless, access to these services is unequally distributed among different social groups in many countries. India is no exception, with the scheduled castes (SC) and scheduled tribes (ST) being one of the countrys most marginalised and disadvantaged groups. This paper analyses the disparities in access to basic services between scheduled and non-scheduled households, investigates the factors contributing to the unequal access, and suggests policy recommendations. Using data from the National Sample Survey 76th Round, we analyse the access to basic services such as durable housing, improved water and sanitation, and access to electricity. The papers objectives are (a) to investigate the factors impacting the quality of basic service delivery in urban India separately for scheduled and non-scheduled households and (b) to quantify the discrimination between scheduled and non-scheduled households in urban India concerning access to quality of basic services through computing a comprehensive index and by using the Fairlie decomposition approach. The analysis corroborates the finding that systemic discrimination exists between scheduled and non-scheduled households in urban India regarding access to good quality basic services up to an extent of 24%. 2024 The Authors. -
Investigation of PWM Methods for a 9 Level Boost Inverter Using CD-type Carriers
The article introduces an innovative boost inverter topology that utilizes two switching capacitors and a single Direct Current (DC) source to generate a nine-level output voltage waveform. This design eliminates the need for sensors or additional electronics since the capacitor voltages automatically balance themselves. Unlike traditional inverters, an input DC boost converter isnt necessary, as the output voltage is often twice the input voltage, particularly when the inverter is powered by a natural source. Furthermore, novel modulation techniques proposed for CD-type carrier waves exhibit enhanced efficiency, higher RMS voltage, and reduced harmonic distortion (THD). The effectiveness of the suggested carriers has been verified through investigations employing phase disposition (PD), alternate phase opposition disposition (APOD), and phase opposition disposition (POD). Each technique described under 9LBI has been assessed using a MATLAB/Simulink configuration. The operational and dynamic performance of the proposed architecture has been modeled using MATLAB/Simulink. 2024, TUBITAK. All rights reserved. -
Symmetric supercapacitor based on Co3O4 nanoparticles with an improved specific capacitance and energy density
Metal oxides have garnered significant research interest as highly effective electrode materials for supercapacitors. In this study, we synthesized Co3O4, an electrode material for supercapacitors, utilizing an in-situ hydrothermal method with varying pH levels in the precursor solution. The obtained samples underwent through structural, optical, surface morphological, electrical, and electrochemical analyses, affirming their exceptional suitability for supercapacitor applications. The influence of pH fluctuations in the synthesis process, on the specific capacitance values were analyzed. The X-ray diffraction pattern and Raman spectrum confirmed the normal cubic spinel structure of Co3O4 nanoparticles. The X-ray photoelectron spectrum revealed the chemical bond states of Co3O4. The optical bandgap have been investigated from the Tauc plot. The surface area and morphology were determined through Brunauer Emmett and Teller method and field emission scanning electron microscope images. A high specific capacitance of 1195.05 Fg?1 at a current density of 1.5 Ag?1 was obtained in the three-electrode study for the sample synthesized at a pH of 10. A symmetric supercapacitor (SSC) device was fabricated to facilitate practical analysis. The symmetric supercapacitor device demonstrated a notably elevated specific capacitance of 870.6 Fg?1 at an operational current density of 5 Ag?1, concurrently achieving an enhanced energy density of 77.3 W h/kg and superior power density of 1997.7 W/kg. These performance metrics surpassed those of prior studies in the field. Furthermore, the SSC device exhibited an excellent cyclic stability of 88 % after undergoing 970 charge/discharge cycles. As a result, Co3O4 emerges as a promising and efficient electrode material for applications in supercapacitors. 2024 Elsevier Ltd -
Microlearning and Learning Performance in Higher Education: A Post-Test Control Group Study
This study aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of microlearning in higher education. The sample consisted of first-year MBA students, and a post-test control group design was used to assess the effectiveness of a microlearning module. The results indicated that the use of microlearning was significantly related to learning performance and participants' reactions to the module. Moreover, the microlearning group scored significantly higher than the control group. The findings suggest that microlearning has the potential to improve learning outcomes and enhance participant engagement. However, the study has certain limitations, and future research is needed to gain a comprehensive understanding of the optimal design and delivery of microlearning modules. The study supports the use of microlearning in higher education as an effective instructional strategy. 2024, Commonwealth of Learning. All rights reserved. -
Narrative Therapy with Dalit Female Survivors of Violence
Narrative therapy is an evidence-based therapeutic intervention that can help address trauma experienced by women who have experienced violence. Narrative therapists open up new perspectives for their clients by examining moments of strength, vitality, and autonomy, which are often hidden in stories about oppression, suffering, and marginalization. Dalit women who participated in the research revealed how the stories opened up new possibilities for constructing unique narratives. A multiple case study design was used to elicit the responses of female survivors with severe mental illness to physical, sexual, and psychological abuse perpetrated by Dalit and higher caste men. 2024 Mary Ann Liebert Inc.. All rights reserved. -
Isolation and characterization of polyhydroxyalkanoate producing halotolerant Bacillus subtilis SG1 using marine water samples collected from Calicut coast, Kerala
Halotolerant bacterial strain isolated from the Calicut coast, Kerala, India, was screened for its potential ability to synthesize polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) using Sudan black B and Nile blue staining. The quantitative analysis for PHA production was done in modified M9 media and a PHA yield of about 1.52 g/L was observed with the most potential isolate SG1. Further, the biochemical and molecular characterization of the PHA-producing halotolerant bacteria was done using standard biochemical tests and 16 s ribosomal RNA sequencing respectively and the isolate was identified to be Bacillus subtilis SG1. Further, the PHA recovery was done using solvent extraction method employing acetone and diethyl ether followed by precipitation using chloroform with a maximum PHA yield of 1.52 g/L. Further, the material properties of the extracted polymer were studied using Fourier transform infrared, X-ray diffraction, nuclear magnetic resonance, thermo gravimetric analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry analysis. Further investigations are necessary to optimize PHA production and to carry out its application study in various fields. 2024 Sneha Grigary, et al. -
Control of chaos in Darcy-Bard axisymmetric convection in a cylindrical enclosure using a uniform vertical cross-flow
The linear and weakly nonlinear stability analyses of Darcy-Bard convection of a Newtonian fluid experiencing a uniform vertical cross-flow is investigated in the paper for various aspect ratios. Making use of the Maclaurin series representation, an expression for axial eigenfunctions is obtained with the radial eigenfunction being a Bessel function of first kind. These eigenfunctions are influenced by the Peclet number, Pe, the non-dimensional number that signifies the rate of vertical cross-flow. The modified-Vadasz-Lorenz model obtained in this paper has newly defined non-dimensional parameters that capture the influence of vertical cross-flow. From the linear stability analysis, it is found that the effect of introducing vertical cross-flow is to stabilize the system. Using a weakly nonlinear stability analysis, the closed-form expression of the Hopf-Rayleigh number as a function of Pe is obtained. Furthermore, the behavior of the modified-Vadasz-Lorenz model is analyzed using the largest Lyapunov exponent and the bifurcation diagram. This gives information about the intensity of chaos and occurrence of the periodic motion. We observe that the influence of vertical cross-flow is to increase the value of the Hopf-Rayleigh number and thereby to delay the onset of chaos. Furthermore, the appearance of the first periodic point is preponed due to the vertical cross-flow. As the rate of vertical cross-flow increases, the intensity of chaos decreases, thereby indicating that the effect of introducing vertical cross-flow is to suppress chaos. 2024 Author(s). -
Gender of the Firm Owner and Export Determinants of the Firms in India: an Empirical Analysis
This study aims to analyse the factors that influence the export decision of firms in India. These factors are unorthodox to the macroeconomic variables, for example, specific firm characteristics and resource stock variables that an enterprise in India may or may not have command over. The most significant of the firm characteristic variables is the gender of the firm owner. Given the binary identity of the explained variable (Export Status of a Firm), the paper uses Binary Logistic Regression. It reports the odds ratio for the individual variable interpretation. The study has also examined descriptive findings and model fit using the Hosmer. The study ceases a statistically significant relationship between the gender of the firm owner and the export decision of a firm. The odds of the firm being an exporter increases when the firm owner is a female. Further, the study also interprets several firm characteristics and resource stock variables that had an impact on the export decision of a firm in India. 2024 AESSRA. All rights reserved. -
Decoding Retail Realities: Traditional Retailers' Outlook on Sales Erosion to Modern Retail Economy
The traditional retail landscape in Indian metropolises has changed significantly in the last several decades, mostly due to the modern retail economy's growth, including corporate chain stores and e-commerce sites. Small merchants have been gradually displaced as a result of this paradigm shift, which has been exacerbated by changed Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) laws that have brought significant money into the Indian market, as well as a rise in consumer disposable income and the wave of digitalization. This study explores small merchants' consequences as they contend with the growing power of organized retail and e-commerce behemoths. Despite earlier research studies mostly focusing on the organized trade's exponential rise due to changing customer behavior, this paper fills this gap by illuminating the traditional retailers perspective towards the contemporary retail landscape and highlighting the threats to small businesses with a traditional focus. The study uses empirical analysis using tools like SPSS and SEM models to examine the initial troubles faced by small retailers of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), highlighting the difficulties they face in competing with the powerful forces of deep discounting, massive sales events, and evolving consumer tastes. This exploratory research analyzed the undermining factors like utilitarian and hedonic, purchasing patterns, menaces, hindrances, pecuniary and location as reasons for the retail paradigm from traditional to modern trade. The outcome emphasized that utilitarian factors like ambience, experience, status, variety, payment modes, single-store distribution and assortment are the drivers behind the explosion of traditional trade by the modern trade in retail economy. 2024 The Author(s). -
Search for brown dwarfs in IC 1396 with Subaru HSC: interpreting the impact of environmental factors on substellar population
Young stellar clusters are predominantly the hub of star formation and hence, ideal to perform comprehensive studies over the least explored substellar regime. Various unanswered questions like the mass distribution in brown dwarf regime and the effect of diverse cluster environment on brown dwarf formation efficiency still plague the scientific community. The nearby young cluster, IC 1396 with its feedback-driven environment, is ideal to conduct such study. In this paper, we adopt a multiwavelength approach, using deep Subaru HSC along with other data sets and machine learning techniques to identify the cluster members complete down to ? 0.03 M? in the central 22 arcmin area of IC 1396. We identify 458 cluster members including 62 brown dwarfs which are used to determine mass distribution in the region. We obtain a star-to-brown dwarf ratio of ? 6 for a stellar mass range 0.03-1 M? in the studied cluster. The brown dwarf fraction is observed to increase across the cluster as radial distance from the central OB-stars increases. This study also compiles 15 young stellar clusters to check the variation of star-to-brown dwarf ratio relative to stellar density and ultraviolet (UV) flux ranging within 4-2500 stars pc?2 and 0.7-7.3 G0, respectively. The brown dwarf fraction is observed to increase with stellar density but the results about the influence of incident UV flux are inconclusive within this range. This is the deepest study of IC 1396 as of yet and it will pave the way to understand various aspects of brown dwarfs using spectroscopic observations in future. 2024 The Author(s). -
Mechanical Properties and Analysis of Two-body Abrasive Wear Behaviour of Graphene Modified Carbon/Epoxy Composites Using Taguchis Technique
The present work emphasizes the effect of graphene nanoplatelets (G) filler loading on mechanical and abrasive wear behavior of carbon fibre reinforced epoxy (C/E) composites. Graphene nanoplatelets were mixed with epoxy framework using a temperature-controlled magnetic stirrer and then ultrasonically treated. The parameters considered for the abrasive wear study are the applied load in N (5, 10 and 15), abrading distance in m (75, 150, and 225) and weight percentage of reinforcement (0, 1, and 1.5). The incorporation of 1 wt. % G into C/E composites increases hardness by 14 % and interlaminar laminar strength by 19 % when compared to C/E composites. According to the Taguchi design of tests, a filler loading of 1 wt. % G, an abrading distance of 225 m, and an applied load of 15 N are ideal. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was done to establish the dominant parameter, and the filler loading with abrading distance was shown to be significant. With 36.4 %, the filler loading had the biggest influence on the composite specific wear rate. The combination of filler loading with 1 wt. %, load of 15 N, and abrading distance of 225 m yields the lowest specific wear rate. The involved wear mechanisms during the abrasive wear process have also been explained with scanning electron micrographs. 2024 Published by Faculty of Engineering. -
Escitalopram treatment ameliorates chronic immobilization stress-induced depressive behavior and cognitive deficits by modulating BDNF expression in the hippocampus
Major depressive disorder (MDD) affects 21% of the global population. Chronic exposure to stressful situations may affect the onset, progression, and biochemical alterations underlying MDD and associated cognitive impairments. Patients exhibiting MDD are mainly treated with several antidepressants; one is escitalopram, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. However, whether or not it mitigates chronic stress-induced cognitive deficits is unknown. The present study exposed rats to chronic immobilization stress (CIS) 2 hours/day for 10 days. Then, escitalopram (5 mg and 10 mg/kg i.p.) was administered for 14 days and subjected to the elevated plus maze, open field test, forced swim test, sucrose preference test, and radial arm maze task. A different set of animals were used to assess the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels in the hippocampus, frontal cortex, and amygdale. Our data suggest that escitalopram significantly protected CIS-induced spatial learning and memory deficits, behavioral depression, and anxiety. Furthermore, escitalopram (10 mg/kg) shows a remarkable recovery of dentate gyrus and hippocampal atrophy. In addition, the restoration of molecular markers BDNF, VEGF, and GFAP expression is also implicated in the neuroprotective mechanisms of escitalopram. Our results suggested that esciatlorpam restores cognitive impairments in stressed rats by regulating neurotrophic factors and astrocytic markers. 2024 Shilpa Borehalli Mayegowda et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). All Rights Reserved.