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A rapid investigation of near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent switch-on probes for detection and in cellulo tracking of G-quadruplex and double-stranded DNA
This review provides a comprehensive overview of the recent advancements in Near Infrared (NIR) fluorescence switch-on probes designed for the detection and in cellulo tracking of G-quadruplex and double-stranded DNA (dsDNA). G-quadruplexes, non-canonical DNA structures, play pivotal roles in regulating various biological processes, making them critical targets for therapeutic and diagnostic applications. The unique properties of NIR fluorescence probes, such as deep tissue penetration, minimal photodamage, and low autofluorescence background, offer significant advantages for bioimaging. We critically analyze the design strategies, photophysical properties, and binding mechanisms of various NIR fluorescence switch-on probes. Additionally, we discuss their efficacy and specificity in identifying G-quadruplexes and dsDNA within cellular environments. Key challenges and future directions for improving the sensitivity, selectivity, and biocompatibility of these probes are also highlighted. This review aims to underscore the potential of NIR fluorescence probes in advancing our understanding of DNA dynamics and their applications in biomedical research. 2024 The Royal Society of Chemistry. -
Bimodal sensor employing a novel approach for simultaneous selective detection of Ni2+ and biomolecules via turn-on fluorescence supported by DFT and molecular docking
A bimodal sensor, (E)-2-(4-(diphenylamino)styryl)-1-methylquinolin-1-ium (DSM), was designed and synthesized for the simultaneous fluorescence turn-on detection of Ni2+ ion and biomolecules such as ct-DNA, BSA, and ovalbumin. Due to its distinct size and steric properties, DSM exhibits different binding modes when interacting with Ni2+ and DNA/proteins. The probe DSM possesses dual functionalities, allowing it to selectively detect Ni2+ at one binding site while interacting with ct-DNA, BSA, and ovalbumin at another. Thus, interactions of DSM with Ni2+ result in fluorescence enhancement at 377 nm and 400 nm, with a detection limit of 1.53 ?M and binding constant of 1.2 106 M?1. Moreover, the binding of DSM with Ni2+ has been demonstrated via UV-vis, mass spectra, Jobs plots and DFT analysis. Conversely, binding of DSM with ct-DNA, ovalbumin and BSA led to an increase in the fluorescence at 425 nm and 435 nm, respectively, with the detection limit at micromolar (ct-DNA) and nanomolar (BSA and ovalbumin) levels. These interactions have been validated through UV-vis spectroscopy, fluorescence studies, and molecular docking analysis. Thus, this study underscores the potential of DSM as a versatile tool for simultaneous detection of both metal ions and biomolecules with a unique bimodal approach. 2025 RSC. -
Integrated 3D-Printed Detector for Rapid Near-IR Turn-On Colorimetric and Fluorescent Detection of Phosgene
Phosgene is a widely used yet highly hazardous compound that poses serious risks to human health and public safety due to its potential for misuse and accidental release. Therefore, developing an accurate and highly sensitive detection method is of critical importance. In this work, we have synthesized a sulfo-cyanine-based dye (CyNH) for the selective rapid detection (<1 min) of phosgene by Near-IR turn-on colorimetric and fluorescence responses. Notably, CyNH exhibited a 3-fold fluorescence enhancement at 756 nm accompanied by a distinct color change from light blue to dark blue by the appearance of strong absorption signal at 600 nm, with a detection limit of 1.17 ?M. To enable on-site detection, a 3D-printed sensor of the CyNH-coated 3D-printed substrate was developed, which shows visible color changes upon exposure to phosgene. Furthermore, integration of this sensor with a smartphone camera and its processing capabilities allows for real-time quantification of phosgene concentrations by eliminating the need for costly analytical instruments. To the best of our knowledge, the development of an NIR probe enabling dual colorimetric and fluorescent NIR detection of phosgene using a 3D-printed sensor is scarcely reported. This innovative 3D-printed, smartphone-assisted sensing platform offers a practical and sustainable approach for future phosgene detection applications in various fields. 2026 American Chemical Society -
Is Hedonism present in the purchase of academic books? an empirical analysis in online and traditional purchase methods.
Vol. 1 Issue V, December, ISSN: 2321-9653 -
Riding the waves of culture: An empirical study on acclimatization of expatriates in IT industry
The forces of globalization and subsequent trade across the borders have necessitated the firms to have their presence across the globe to meet the needs of their customers. The employees or expatriates will be sent on assignment to different countries for a period of time ranging from few weeks, months to years. This sudden exposure to the different environment not only makes these expatriates vulnerable to cultural shocks, but also may significantly affect their job performance. Their failure to acclimatize to the foreign conditions will not only hurt the confidence, career and life of the expatriate, but it will also cost a lot to the company. The present paper aims to understand of the process of expatriate adjustment in the Indian Information Technology (IT) industry by examining demographic variables and few organizational variables of expatriate's adjustment process. A structured questionnaire was distributed to the expatriate employees working in 50 IT companies in the Silicon city, Bengaluru. The study uses Chi-square test and linear regression for testing the hypotheses and found that there is a significant influence of demographic variables like gender, work experience and length of assignment on acclimatization of expatriates to their host country culture. The findings of the study proved that there is a significant relationship between demographic variables and the cultural acceptance of the expatriates. Hence, it is suggested that multinational companies should create an enabling environment within the organizations to make international assignees compatible and comfortable with different cultural values and inculcate cultural acceptance to make them successful in their international assignments. Raghavendra A. N., A. Shivakanth Shetty, 2018. -
Brand activism and millennials: an empirical investigation into the perception of millennials towards brand activism /
Problems And Prespectives In Management, Vol.17, Issue 4, pp.163-175, ISSN No: 1727-7051.
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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. -
From Beans to Business: A Rise of Coffee Preneurs in Kodagu, Karnataka
Coffee is the world's third most consumed beverage after water and tea. India stands at the 7th position as the largest coffee exporter globally, with a significant contribution of 72.5% from Karnataka and 33% from Kodagu alone. This region plays a crucial role in the country's coffee industry, making it a vital component of India's economy, and 80% of the residents of Kodagu rely on coffee cultivation for their livelihood. Coffee farming is considered an annual crop that requires the generated income to be cycled to the subsequent year's coffee cultivation. Planters face numerous challenges during their production, which forces them to sell or convert their agricultural lands into concrete lands (buildings) or convert them into resorts, thereby changing their occupation, which makes coffee sustainability questionable. Therefore, coffee farmers have recently adopted an entrepreneurial approach to augment their income sources and support their livelihoods and occupations. This study aims to assess the key drivers of coffee farmers opting for entrepreneurial activities to assist coffee farming in Kodagu, Karnataka. This study has revealed that additional income, passion for farming, business skills, available resources, opportunity, satisfaction, innovation, creativity, unfair market prices, education, and socialising platforms are the key determining factors for coffee farmers to choose entrepreneurship. The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025. -
From Beans to Business: A Rise of Coffee Preneurs in Kodagu, Karnataka
Coffee is the world's third most consumed beverage after water and tea. India stands at the 7th position as the largest coffee exporter globally, with a significant contribution of 72.5% from Karnataka and 33% from Kodagu alone. This region plays a crucial role in the country's coffee industry, making it a vital component of India's economy, and 80% of the residents of Kodagu rely on coffee cultivation for their livelihood. Coffee farming is considered an annual crop that requires the generated income to be cycled to the subsequent year's coffee cultivation. Planters face numerous challenges during their production, which forces them to sell or convert their agricultural lands into concrete lands (buildings) or convert them into resorts, thereby changing their occupation, which makes coffee sustainability questionable. Therefore, coffee farmers have recently adopted an entrepreneurial approach to augment their income sources and support their livelihoods and occupations. This study aims to assess the key drivers of coffee farmers opting for entrepreneurial activities to assist coffee farming in Kodagu, Karnataka. This study has revealed that additional income, passion for farming, business skills, available resources, opportunity, satisfaction, innovation, creativity, unfair market prices, education, and socialising platforms are the key determining factors for coffee farmers to choose entrepreneurship. The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025. -
EXPLORING THE POTENTIAL OF VELVET BEAN, MUCUNA PRURIENS (L) SEED ON GROWTH AND GONADAL DEVELOPMENT OF MONO-SEX COMMON MOLY POECILIA SPHENOPS (VALENCIENNES, 1846)
Mucuna pruriens, a rich source of L-dihydroxyphenylalanine, commonly known as L-DOPA and a precursor to dopamine, holds potential as a natural nutritional supplement. This study aimed to delve into the impact of incorporating M. pruriens seed powder (MpSP) into the feed on growth parameters and gonadal development of mono-sex common molly (Poecilia sphenops). The fish population was divided into three experimental groups, such as G1, G2, and G3, and a control group (C), each comprising 20 individuals. Over 45 days, the experimental groups were nourished with a commercial diet bolstered by MpSP in different concentrations (5, 7 and 10g/kg of feed, respectively). In contrast, the control group was provided with a regular diet devoid of the supplement. At the end of the experiment, MpSP demonstrated significant modulation (p<0.05) of growth performance metrics, including specific growth rate (SGR), length gain rate (LGR), body mass gain (BMG), and feed conversion ratio (FCR). Impressively, even the lower concentration of MpSP (5g/kg diet) yielded substantial increments in sperm count (p<0.05) and gonadosomatic index (GSI). These findings were corroborated by histological changes that reflected enhanced testicular development, consistently outperforming the control group. These outcomes collectively suggest the potential of velvet bean seed powder as a feasible, natural, and costeffective dietary supplement for enhancing growth and testicular development in mono-sex P. sphenops. (2024) West Bengal Veterinary Alumni Association. All rights reserved. -
Deployable Solution for Real-Time Children Face Emotion Prediction System
Nowadays, many parents struggle to comprehend their children's emotions, which can hinder the creation of a nurturing environment. While numerous models focus on predicting adult emotions, there is a lack of standardised datasets for studying children's emotions. To address this gap, our work attempts to establish a comprehensive children's emotion dataset that can facilitate the study of emotions across various pose orientations. Furthermore, we propose an efficient and deployable system for real-time children's emotion prediction. An effective face detector with deep architecture is designed to handle all pose orientations from key image frames. Optimal features are then selected by re-ranking the features using a hybrid feature selection mechanism. The emotion category is declared by carefully analysing sequences of emotion identification from these features. This system holds promise for educational institutions and healthcare facilities, offering insights into children's behaviour through emotional analysis. Through experimental comparisons with three state-of-the-art emotion prediction models, we observed that our proposed system consistently outperforms existing models. Hence, we strongly recommend the adoption of our proposed system. With its achievement of state-of-the-art results in children's facial emotion recognition, it offers a practical solution for real-time deployment across diverse settings. The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025. -
A Novel Approach towards Key-point based Real-time Children Emotion Prediction
Emotion prediction is crucial in mental healthcare. It is vital in children as it aids in managing behavioral issues and early identification of emotional distress that can lead to helpful mental health support. The research uniquely centres on children's emotional expressions, addressing a gap in existing emotion detection studies, which often focus on adults. By specifically tailoring the model to recognize subtle expressions unique to children, the study contributes valuable insights into child psychology and emotion recognition. To address this gap, this work attempts to establish a comprehensive children's emotion dataset that can facilitate the study of emotions across various pose orientation. The approach introduces advanced key-point detection techniques that capture a higher density of facial landmarks, allowing for more nuanced analysis of emotional expressions. This fine-grained detection enables the identification of subtle changes that are critical in interpreting children's emotions. An effective face detector with deep architecture is designed to handle all pose orientations from key image frames. Optimal features are then chosen by re-ranking the features using a hybrid feature selection mechanism. The emotion category is revealed by careful analysis of sequences of emotion identification from these features and is not based on a single frame. This framework holds promise for educational institutions and healthcare facilities, offering insights into children's behavior through emotion analysis. Through experimental analysis and comparisons with three existing SOTA emotion prediction models, it is observed that the proposed system consistently outperforms existing models by exhibiting an accuracy of 77.7 on average. Overall, this study recommended that the proposed model is suitable for children's emotion prediction. 2025 The Author(s). -
Influence of Pandemic-Induced Risk Awareness on Life Insurance Preferences
The COVID-19 Pandemic has created significant challenges and adjustments in several areas, including life and health insurance policies. By reviewing investors' views on life insurance as a possible investment route and studying the development of health and life insurance policies after COVID-19, this study aims to investigate the complicated elements of these changes. By means of a thorough examination of current patterns, beliefs, and obstacles within the life insurance domain, this study aims to explain the intricate relationship among outside factors, industry modifications, and personal perspectives. The study starts with a thorough analysis of the literature, which offers a theoretical framework for comprehending the ideas of life insurance, and how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the insurance market. The latest developments in the life insurance industry since the pandemic's start are then examined using empirical research techniques, such as surveys and data analysis. This section tries to clarify the major changes in policies and practices through an examination of industry reports, changes in regulations, and market dynamics. The research looks at perceptions and trends as well as the difficulties investors have when choosing life insurance policies. It looks for typical obstacles, worries, and myths that prevent people from using life insurance products through a mix of qualitative and quantitative analysis. By comprehending these difficulties, the study hopes to shed light on possible approaches for getting over obstacles and boosting investor confidence in life insurance as a sound financial choice. Overall, by providing a thorough examination of the development of health and life insurance policies following COVID-19 and the perspectives on life insurance as an investment source, this study adds to the body of knowledge subsequently in existence. It offers insightful information to policymakers, industry players, and individual investors alike by addressing the goals of examining current trends, looking into investor views, and comprehending the difficulties experienced by investors. 2026 selection and editorial matter, Dr. Harold Andrew Patrick and Dr. Ravichandran Krishnamoorthy; individual chapters, the contributors. -
Effects of Variable Viscosity and Internal Heat Generation on RayleighBard Convection in Newtonian Dielectric Liquid
The onset of RayleighBard convection of variable-viscosity Newtonian dielectric liquid confined between two parallel plates is subject to free-free isothermal boundary condition. The combined and individual effects of temperature-dependent and electric-field-dependent variable-viscosity along with the internal heat generation are studied using the higher order Galerkin technique. This theoretical study shows that even a mild temperature-dependent variable-viscosity destabilizes the system and the electric-field-dependent variable-viscosity stabilizes the system both in the absence/presence of heat source/sink. 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature India Private Limited. -
Building an International Entrepreneurship Index using the PSR framework
This paper builds an International Index for Entrepreneurship (IIE) for the year 2018, by using a conceptual framework named PSR (Pressures-State-Response) to encapsulate the contextual aspect of entrepreneurship globally. In the past, the indices have used a methodological framework of composite indices. This paper uses the PSR framework to show how these indicators fall into the categories of pressure, state, and response, and concentrates on how these subsystems are interrelated. The study considers 41 countries for the construction of the index. We also check the correlation between the IIE and other growth indicators such as the corruption perception index, the economic freedom summary index, GDP per capita, and trade openness using suitable statistical tools.The correlation analysis demonstrates that the IIE and the Economic Freedom Summary Index have a positive association. 2022 IEEE. -
Solid state, rapid mechanochemical route for TiO2 coated Schiff-base polymer as adsorbent for the exclusion of hexavalent Cr from water
The removal of hexavalent Cr from water is vital considering its harmful and carcinogenic effects on human health as well as the environment. Effective exclusion of Cr(VI) provides reliable water to consume, impedes bioaccumulation, and mitigates environmental pollution. The present work details the rapid, ecofriendly, solvent-free mechanochemical route for the development of a polymeric Schiff-Base-wrapped TiO2 (SBP@TiO2) nano-adsorbent for the effective removal of Cr(VI) from water. The comprehensive understanding of the structural and chemical characteristics of the newly synthesized materials were examined through Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy. To assess the adsorption capacity, kinetics, and equilibrium of Cr(VI) adsorbate on adsorbent material (TiO2 and SBP@TiO2) and to understand the interplay between the critical parameters and their impact on adsorption, a series of batch adsorption studies were carried out. The adsorption equilibrium data for the Cr(VI) adsorption process fitted well with the Freundlich isotherm model of adsorption and adsorption kinetics disclosed that the data are in excellent agreement with R2 values of 0.98721 for the pseudo-second-order, indicating that the sorption process is by chemisorption. Thermodynamic measurements revealed that the adsorption of Cr(VI) on SBP@TiO2 was spontaneous and endothermic, as corroborated by the ?ve value of ?Go and the +ve value of ?Ho, respectively. It was discovered that the sorption of 10 and 50 ppm of Cr(VI) on SBP@TiO2 was 96% and 75.4% under optimal conditions, respectively. In contrast, the sorption study of Cr(VI) on TiO2 under identical conditions was found to be 49%. The study found that surface functionalization of TiO2 by SBP admirably improved the adsorption capacity, signifying SBP@TiO2 as an efficient Cr(VI) adsorbent. 2024 The Authors -
Solid state, rapid mechanochemical route for TiO2 coated Schiff-base polymer as adsorbent for the exclusion of hexavalent Cr from water
The removal of hexavalent Cr from water is vital considering its harmful and carcinogenic effects on human health as well as the environment. Effective exclusion of Cr(VI) provides reliable water to consume, impedes bioaccumulation, and mitigates environmental pollution. The present work details the rapid, ecofriendly, solvent-free mechanochemical route for the development of a polymeric Schiff-Base-wrapped TiO2 (SBP@TiO2) nano-adsorbent for the effective removal of Cr(VI) from water. The comprehensive understanding of the structural and chemical characteristics of the newly synthesized materials were examined through Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy. To assess the adsorption capacity, kinetics, and equilibrium of Cr(VI) adsorbate on adsorbent material (TiO2 and SBP@TiO2) and to understand the interplay between the critical parameters and their impact on adsorption, a series of batch adsorption studies were carried out. The adsorption equilibrium data for the Cr(VI) adsorption process fitted well with the Freundlich isotherm model of adsorption and adsorption kinetics disclosed that the data are in excellent agreement with R2 values of 0.98721 for the pseudo-second-order, indicating that the sorption process is by chemisorption. Thermodynamic measurements revealed that the adsorption of Cr(VI) on SBP@TiO2 was spontaneous and endothermic, as corroborated by the ?ve value of ?Go and the +ve value of ?Ho, respectively. It was discovered that the sorption of 10 and 50 ppm of Cr(VI) on SBP@TiO2 was 96% and 75.4% under optimal conditions, respectively. In contrast, the sorption study of Cr(VI) on TiO2 under identical conditions was found to be 49%. The study found that surface functionalization of TiO2 by SBP admirably improved the adsorption capacity, signifying SBP@TiO2 as an efficient Cr(VI) adsorbent. 2024 The Authors -
Efficacy of Psychosocial Care Training Programme for the Staff Working in Old Age Homes
Background: Training the old-age home staff is essential in raising geriatric mental health care standards in India. Inadequate knowledge on ageing and psychosocial interventions is a significant issue in old-age homes. Old-age home staff must know how to provide individualized psychosocial care and support for older adults. Hence this study aimed to test the feasibility of the psychosocial care training program for the staff working in old-age homes. Methods: A quasi-experimental research design (pre-post without a control group) was used. Forty-two staff members participated. Mary Starke Harper Aging Knowledge Exam (MSHAKE) and structured checklist to measure the staffs knowledge on ageing, psychosocial interventions, welfare legislations, schemes, and support services were administered before, immediately after, and two months after the program and the self-efficacy checklist was administered immediately and two months after the program, to examine the efficacy of the program. Results: Significant improvement was found in the ageing knowledge and the knowledge of psychosocial intervention and psychosocial care. These improvements continued for two months (p <.001). Similarly, their self-efficacy in managing such problems was also sustained across two post-measurements (p =.045). Conclusions: Face-to-face training programs would enhance the knowledge of the old age home staff. This Psychosocial Care Training module can be used for training old age home staff to address various psychosocial needs, concerns and other psychosocial problems of the residents. 2023 The Author(s). -
Increasing underutilised data in India: Opportunities and challenges
India, a country with a population of 1.33 billion has observed a substantial increase in the number of smart phones and internet users. This increase in internet users has not only changed the way Indian spend their time but has also led to generation of huge chunks of structured and unstructured data in India. In todays world where data of consumers is significant, this rise of internet users in India can change the game. This study focuses on how this increase in underutilised data in India, especially unstructured data can provide various opportunities and challenges to businesses, government and healthcare sectors in India. 2019 SERSC. -
The Jigsaw of Capital Structure
European Journal of Business and Management Vol. 5, No.13, pp. 192-197, ISSN No. 2222-288X