Browse Items (5589 total)
Sort by:
-
Electrocatalytic oxidation and determination of morin at a poly(2,5-dimercapto-1,3,4-thiadiazole) modified carbon fiber paper electrode
Voltammetric determination of morin on carbon fiber paper (CFP) electrode modified by electropolymerization of 2,5-dimercapto- 1,3,4-thiadiazole (DMTD) in phosphate buffer solution (PB, pH 9.0) have been studied. This modified electrode showed strong electrocatalytic activity toward the oxidation of morin, a flavonoid at physiological pH (PB, pH 7.0). Morin gave a sensitive anodic peak at 0.245 V (vs. SCE). The parameters influencing the anodic peak of morin such as effect of pH, effect of scan rate and concentration have been optimized. The electrochemical process was found to be irreversible and adsorption-controlled. Under the optimum conditions, the anodic peak current was linear to concentration of morin in the range of 2.5 10-10-2.75 109 M and detection limit was found to be 8.3 10-11 M. The practical application of the modified electrode was successfully demonstrated for the determination of morin in mulberry leaves. 2016 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved. -
Sub-type discernment of attention deficit hyperactive disorder in children using a cluster partitioning algorithm
Background/Objectives: Attention deficit hyperactive disorder is one major neuropsychiatric disorder particularly found in children. This medical disorder is difficult to identify and quantify, even if done, it is very subjective as it is the discretion of the psychiatrists or parents. Methods/Statistical analysis: The most exigent task after identifying ADHD children is to find their exact deficiency of what is the category, is it a hyperactive disorder, an impulsive disorder or an attention deficit disorder. Each category insists a diverse form of treatment and training. With the MRI image data the Tr values are estimated and given for clustering, a k-means algorithm was deployed for clustering. Findings: With different distance measures k-means was able to cluster precisely the three categories from the data. The result obtained would be a very substantial data for the medical physicists and an inevitable philanthropic contribution for the children society combating against this disorder. Applications/Improvements: The method adopted is novel and concise approach to identify the type of ADHD prevalent children. The method can be further perfected and completely automated to identify the category of ADHD in children. -
Social performance and sustainability of Indian microfinance institutions: an interrogation
This paper has come forward from the research proposal to understand the effect of social performance on the sustainability of microfinance institutions. It has been revealed that the conventional method of assessment of financial institutions is not applicable to the microfinance sector. Performance measurement of microfinance institutions has to be different from that of other financial institutions because of the social aspects involved besides profitability. Social performance has now become part of microfinance business along with business sustainability. Our whole study course is entitled Effect of social performance on the sustainability of microfinance institutions. In this paper, we elucidate the topic, find the underrepresented research areas and formulate a research hypothesis for understanding the relationship between social performance and the sustainability of microfinance institutions. 2016, 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. -
Foreign exchange rate forecasting using Levenberg-Marquardt learning algorithm
Background/Objectives: Foreign currency Exchange (FOREX) plays a vital role for currency trading in the international market. Accurate prediction of foreign currency exchange rate is a challenging task. The paper investigates the FOREX prediction using feed forward neural network. Methods/Statistical analysis: This paper employs artificial neural network to forecast foreign currency exchange rate in India during 2010-2015.The exchange rates considered between Indian Rupee and four major currencies Euro, Japanese Yen, Pound Sterling and US Dollar. The network developed consists of an input layer, hidden layer and output layer. The neural network was trained with Levenberg-Marquardt (LM) learning algorithm. Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), Mean Absolute Error (MAE) and Forecasting Error (FE) are used as indicators for the performance of the networks. Findings: Simulation results are presented to show the performance of the proposed system. The paper also aims to suggest about network topology that must be chosen in order to fit time series kind of complicated data to a neural network model. The proposed technique gives the evidence that there is possibility of extracting information hidden in the foreign exchange rate and predicting into the future. Applications/Improvements: Finally, this paper presents the best network topology for FOREX prediction by comparing the effectiveness of various hidden layer performance algorithm using MATLAB neural network software as a tool. -
Prediction of stock market price using hybrid of wavelet transform and artificial neural network
Background/Objectives: Accurate prediction of stock market is highly challenging. This paper presents a forecasting model based on Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) for predicting financial time series. Methods/Statistical analysis: The idea of forecasting stock market prices with discrete wavelet transform is the central element of this paper. The proposed forecasting model uses the Discrete Wavelet Transform to decompose the financial time series data. The obtained approximation and detail coefficients after decomposition of the original time series data are used as input variables of back propagation neural network to forecast future stock prices. Approximation coefficients can characterize the coarse structure of the data and detail coefficients capture ruptures, discontinuities and singularities in the original data, to recognize the long-term trends in the original data. Findings: The proposed model was applied to five datasets. For all of the datasets, accuracy measures showed that the presented model outperforms a conventional model. It also proved that the hybrid forecasting technique has achieved better results compared with the approach which is not using the wavelet transform. Applications/Improvements: The accuracy of the proposed hybrid method can also be improved by developing a model using artificial neural network with Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Interference System. -
Sex determination using finger print ridge density among the medical students of NIMS medical college, Jaipur
To determine the sex of an individual plays an important role among forensic pathologists and scientists particularly when the fingerprints recovered from the crime scene does not match any of the criminal record so in that case fingerprint ridge density plays an important role in determining the sex of an individual. The present study was done among the 100 medical students of NIMS Medical college (50 males and 50 females) shobha nagar, Jaipur. Finger ridge density was counted on the radial border of each print. Result of the study shows that females have higher number of finger ridge density count as compared to males. Application of Bayes theorem suggests that finger print ridge density count <14ridges/25mm2 is more likely to be male while finger print ridge density count >14ridges/25mm2 is more likely to be female. 2016, World Informations Syndicate. All rights reserved. -
Can Leaders Transform Humiliation Into a Creative Force?
The intractable group conflicts, mass killings, and genocides around the world attest to the role of humiliation as a negative force causing violence and destruction. Based on the analysis of the speeches of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the most important leader of Dalits (ex-untouchables) in India, it is suggested that leaders possess the capacity for creative use of humiliation. The creative use of humiliation is made possible by the innovation in constructing social identities involved in humiliation. Creative leadership can be an important catalyst that can transform humiliation into a positive force for social change. 2015 University of Phoenix. -
Comparison of genetic algorithm with Particle Swarm Optimisation, ant colony optimisation and Tabu search based on university course scheduling system
Objectives: Planning and allocation of the various resources according to the constraints is a hilarious task. The paper aims to find a suitable method to solve the university course scheduling problem. Methods and Statistical Analysis: This paper compares the usage of Particle Swarm Optimisation (PSO), Ant Colony Optimisation (ACO), Tabu Search and Genetic Algorithm (GA) in the preparation of University Course Scheduling System. Certain hard constraints, which has to be satisfied and some soft constraints that can be satisfied are considered. Findings: The algorithm should check for the satisfaction of the hard constraints and the possibility of satisfying the soft constraints. Application/Improvements: The performance of the suitable method is found by comparing with the other methods based on various parameters. -
Microstructural evolution and wear characteristics of equal channel angular pressing processed semi-solid-cast hypoeutectic aluminum alloys
This work investigated the microstructural evolution of Al-7Si-Mg alloy cast semi-solid using a cooling slope as well as conventional casting followed by equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) in a 120 die. Feed materials were prepared for ECAP by cooling slope casting and by conventional casting. The microstructure of the processed alloys extruded was observed by optical microscope and by transmission electron microscope, and their hardness and wear resistance were evaluated. After ECAP processing, the primary ?-Al phase tended to be elongated while the Si particles became fragmented and more nearly globular in shape and uniform in size than in the as-cast sample. The microstructure of the cooling slope-cast ECAPed samples was more homogenous than that of the conventionally cast ECAPed sample. The ?-Al phase sub-grains were refined to sub-micrometer sizes for samples cast by both methods after ECAP. The hardness of the cooling slope-cast ECAPed sample was also higher than that of the conventionally cast ECAPed sample. The wear resistance of the alloy improved after cooling slope casting and ECAP processing. 2014 The Authors. -
Successful turnarounds: the role of appropriate entrepreneurial strategies
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to report on a research study aimed at comparing the causes of organisational decline and turnaround strategies involved in cases of successful and unsuccessful turnarounds, with a view to identifying the differences, if any, between the two groups, which in turn is expected to provide useful information to academics, practitioners and policy makers. Design/methodology/approach Since turnaround is a business phenomenon of general interest, their stories are often published in business periodicals, which are a rich source of data on them. In order to tap this data source, the present paper employed a method of content analysis for the proposed investigation on the cause of organisational decline and turnaround strategies used. In order to quantify the data, a three-point scale was developed, where the presence of a cause/strategy is rated as 3, its ambivalence as 2 and its absence as 1, whose validity was assessed through the inter-rater agreement indices. The data thus generated are amenable to statistical analyses, using which the more commonly prevalent causes of organisational decline and the strategies commonly employed for turnaround by the successful and unsuccessful companies are identified. Findings The findings of the present study have generated a few useful insights. First, the primary causes for organisational decline are the internal weaknesses of the organisation; in fact the external changes can adversely affect the organisation only if it is internally weak. Second, organisational decline caused by multiple factors (which is usually the case) can be managed effectively by adopting a variety of strategies; hence a single-pronged strategy is often found to be ineffective. Third, the more successful turnarounds had a diverse portfolio of strategies including those of institution-building, often employed in a phased manner, consistent with the stage theories of turnaround. Research limitations/implications The limitations of this research arise mainly from the generation of data from published sources and the consequent biases, which can be managed, to a large extent, by using multiple sources for the same case for reducing the publishers biases as well as by having multiple raters for identifying the researchers biases, if any. Originality/value The study has highlighted the need for addressing the internal causes of organisational decline on a priority-basis rather than blaming the external factors, besides pointing to the need for adopting a variety of strategies for dealing with the diversity of causes affecting the organisations health, particularly the need for institutionalising the changes. These findings can be of help especially to turnaround managers and policy-makers in dealing with organisational decline and thus contribute to the creation and enhancement of economic value. 2015, Emerald Group Publishing Limited. -
The social representations of academic achievement and failure
This study tried to explore the ways in which the construct of academic achievement and failure is conceptualized and represented among different social categories based on educational roles. It was indicated that social representations of academic achievement and failure function in broader social contexts. Findings also suggested that academic achievement and failure are not the antinomies and have multidimensional aspects which collaborate and have greater bearing on the future social outcomes. National Academy of Psychology (NAOP) India 2015. -
Estimation of ground state and excited state dipole moments of a novel Schiff base derivative containing 1, 2, 4-triazole nucleus by solvatochromic method
A novel schiff base derivative containing 1, 2, 4-triazole moiety (NBTMPA) has been synthesized from 4- [1, 2, 4] triazol-1-ylmethyl-phenylamine and 4-nitrobenzaldehyde in the presence of glacial acetic acid in an ethanolic medium. The absorbance and fluorescence spectra of (4-nitro-benzylidene)-(4- [1, 2, 4] triazol-1-ylmethyl-phenyl)-amine (NBTMPA) were recorded in various solvents to investigate their solvatochromic behaviour. Dipole moments of the two electronic states of NBTMPA were calculated from solvatochromic spectral shifts. These were correlated with the refractive index (n) and dielectric constant (?) of various solvents. Theoretical calculations were performed to estimate the excited state dipole moment on the basis of different solvent correlation methods, like the Bilot-Kawski, Bakhshiev, Lippert-Mataga, Kawski-Chamma-Viallet and Reichardt methods. The dipole moment in the excited state was found to be higher than that in the ground state due to a substantial redistribution of electron densities and charges. Using a multiple regression analysis, the solvent-solute interactions were determined by means of Kamlet Taft parameters (?, ?, ??). Computational studies were performed by Gaussian 09 W software using a time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) in order to calculate the atomic charges and frontier molecular orbital energies in the solvent phase. The calculations indicated that the dipole moment of the molecule in an excited state is much higher than that in a ground state. The chemical stability of NBTMPA was determined by means of chemical hardness (?) using HOMO-LUMO energies. The reactive centres in the molecule were also identified by molecular electrostatic potential (MESP) 3D plots as a result of a TDDFT computational analysis. 2015 Elsevier B.V. -
The Nainital-Cape Survey: IV. A search for pulsational variability in 108 chemically peculiar stars
The Nainital-Cape Survey is a dedicated ongoing survey program to search for and study pulsational variability in chemically peculiar (CP) stars to understand their internal structure and evolution. Aims. The main aims of this survey are to find new pulsating Ap and Am stars in the northern and southern hemisphere and to perform asteroseismic studies of these new pulsators. Methods. The survey is conducted using high-speed photometry. The candidate stars were selected on the basis of having Stromgren photometric indices similar to those of known pulsating CP stars. Results. Over the last decade a total of 337 candidate pulsating CP stars were observed for the Nainital-Cape Survey, making it one of the longest ground-based surveys for pulsation in CP stars in terms of time span and sample size. The previous papers of this series presented seven new pulsating variables and 229 null results. In this paper we present the light curves, frequency spectra and various astrophysical parameters of the 108 additional CP stars observed since the last reported results. We also tabulated the basic physical parameters of the known roAp stars. As a part of establishing the detection limits in the Nainital-Cape Survey, we investigated the scintillation noise level at the two observing sites used in this survey, Sutherland and Nainital, by comparing the combined frequency spectra stars observed from each location. Our analysis shows that both the sites permit the detection of variations of the order of 0.6 milli-magnitude (mmag) in the frequency range 1-4 mHz, Sutherland is on average marginally better. 2016 ESO. -
The behaviour of macro and micro economic variables and the impact on systematic risk of non-banking finance companies
The reforms initiated by the Indian Government during 1990 have brought in drastic changes in the financial sector functioning so as to make competitive with financial markets worldwide. The Indian financial Sector has expanded and acquired greater depth to get itself competitive with new participants in the market. The new liberal business policies introduced by the government due to financial reforms have brought in fundamental changes in the structure and functioning of Banking and Non Banking Institutions, their business models and the products and services offered by them. Global economic developments have altered the macro economic conditions of the respective nations and make the nations and their economies vulnerable to economic shocks in the form of systematic risk associated with their business activities. Macro economic factors at broader level and micro economic factors at the firm level have had effect on the risk level, assessing risk, measuring and managing risk has become paramount for banks and others Non Banking financial Institutions alike. Individual influence of factors on the systematic risk as there is weak relationship with Beta but combined effect of factors is very positive on the systematic risk of the companies. -
Impact of user-generated content on purchase intention for fashion products: A study on women consumers in Bangalore
The advent of online media has been instrumental in providing consumers with quick, relevant, and convenient information on products and services. The success of such media has been established for businesses such as tourism, automobile, and consumer electronics- wherein consumers tend to decide on final purchases based on user - generated content (UGC) such as customer reviews and feedback rather than on traditional advertising media. With short lead times, quick turnaround of products, and frequent changes in offerings, the fashion industry is also exploring the use of such user-generated content for marketing its products. This study sought to explore and understand the relevant factors that draw consumers towards the usage of user-generated content (UGC) in the online space for the fashion business, and its impact on the purchase intention for different categories of fashion products. The study focused on the cosmopolitan city of Bengaluru, known for its fashion centricity and brand awareness. It attempted to analyze the factors for reference to media content generated by co-consumers, especially amongst women, and inferred that content that provides them with gratifications relating to social acceptance are more liable to positively influence their intent to purchase. It also specifically identified product categories that are liable to benefit from such content. -
Search for low-mass objects in the globular cluster M4. I. Detection of variable stars
With every new discovery of an extrasolar planet, the absence of planets in globular clusters (GCs) becomes more and more conspicuous. Null detection of transiting hot Jupiters in GCs 47 Tuc, ? Cen, and NGC 6397 presents an important puzzle, raising questions about the role played by cluster metallicity and environment on formation and survival of planetary systems in densely populated stellar clusters. GCs were postulated to have many free-floating planets, for which microlensing (ML) is an established tool for detection. Dense environments, well-constrained distances and kinematics of lenses and sources, and photometry of thousands of stars simultaneously make GCs the ideal targets to search for ML. We present first results of a multisite, 69-night-long campaign to search for ML signatures of low-mass objects in the GC M4, which was chosen because of its proximity, location, and the actual existence of a planet. M4 was observed in R and I bands by two telescopes, 1 m T40 and 18-inch C18, of the Wise Observatory, Tel Aviv, Israel, from 2011 April to July. Observations on the 1 m telescope were carried out in service mode, gathering 12 to 48 20 s exposures per night for a total of 69 nights. C18 observations were done for about 4 hr a night for six nights in 2011 May. We employ a semiautomated pipeline to calibrate and reduce the images to the light curves that our group is developing for this purpose, which includes the differential photometry package DIAPL, written by Wozniak and modified by W. Pych. Several different diagnostics are employed for search of variability/transients. While no high-significance ML event was found in this observational run, we have detected more than 20 new variables and variable candidates in the M4 field, which we present here. 2016. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. -
Launch power determination algorithm for dynamic traffic provisioning in mixed-line-rate optical wavelength division multiplexed networks
In transparent mixed-line-rate (MLR) optical networks, different line rates, on different wavelengths, can coexist on the same fibre. However, along the path, signal experiences various physical layer impairments (PLIs), and its quality also degrades. A major factor that affects transmission quality is launch power of the optical signal. On one hand, power must be high enough to ensure less noise at receiver; on the other hand, it must be lower than the limit where PLIs start to distort the signal. Further, high launch power is disruptive to both, the actual lightpath and its neighbours. In this study, we investigate the problem of determining appropriate launch power for provisioning dynamic connection requests in transparent MLR networks. We propose a heuristic that determines the appropriate launch power of a lightpath. The PLI-average (PLI-A) approach is based on the optical reach of signals, is practical, and can adapt to the needs of network operators. Results show that performances of the proposed approach are better than the existing schemes. Copyright 2015 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. -
Mixed convection in the stagnation-point flow over a vertical stretching sheet in the presence of thermal radiation
An unsteady two-dimensional stagnation-point mixed convection flow of a viscous, incompressible dusty fluid towards a vertical stretching sheet has been examined. The stretching velocity and the free stream velocity are assumed to vary linearly with the distance from the stagnation point. The problem is analyzed using similarity solutions. The similarity ordinary differential equations were then solved numerical by using the RKF-45 method. The effects of various physical parameters on the velocity profile and skin-friction coefficient are also discussed in this paper. Some important findings reported in this work reveal that the effect of radiation has a significant impact on controlling the rate of heat transfer in the boundary layer region. -
Highly selective first order derivative spectrophotometric determination of osmium(VIII) using anthranilic acid as a chromogenic reagent
A simple, selective and sensitive spectrophotometric method has been developed for the determination of osmium(VIII) using anthranilic acid as a reagent in the presence of Triton X-100. The molar absorptivity and Sandells sensitivity of the violet coloured species are 3.03 104L mol-1cm-1 and 3.5 ng cm-2 respectively. Beers law is obeyed between 0.5-5.5 ?g mL-1 of Os(VIII) at 500 nm. The stoichiometry of the complex is found to be 1:2 (metal: ligand). Calibration graph for the first order derivative spectrophotometric determination of Os(VIII) is derived by measuring derivative amplitudes at 525 nm with a linear range 0.25-5.5 ?g mL-1. The detection limit and quantitation limit of first order derivative spectrophotometry are found to be 0.075 and 0.25 ?g mL-1, respectively.1 1The metal ions, which are normally associated with osmium in catalysts and alloy samples, do not interfere. The proposed method has been successfully applied for the trace level determination of osmium in various synthetic mixtures containing commonly associated metal ions and corresponding to the alloy composition. 2015, National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources (NISCAIR). All rights reserved. -
K? to K? X-ray intensity ratios and K to L shell vacancy transfer probabilities of Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn
The K to L shell total vacancy transfer probabilities of low Z elements Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn are estimated by measuring the K? to K? intensity ratio adopting the 2?-geometry. The target elements were excited by 32.86 keV barium K-shell X-rays from a weak 137Cs ?-ray source. The emitted K-shell X-rays were detected using a low energy HPGe X-ray detector coupled to a 16 k MCA. The measured intensity ratios and the total vacancy transfer probabilities are compared with theoretical results and others work, establishing a good agreement. 2015, Pleiades Publishing, Inc.