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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. -
Machine intelligence security : A methodological blend of fuzzy logic in industry 4.0 algorithms
The way things are made has changed a lot because of Industry 4.0. It has also led to a time with great technology and relationships. The paper discusses way to improve security in Machine Intelligence in the setting of Industry 4.0. The study uses a mix of methods to combine Fuzzy Logic with cutting-edge Industry 4.0 algorithms in order to deal with new hacking problems. Because fuzzy logic can deal with doubt and imprecision, it can be used to make current methods more reliable. This creates a complex and flexible security structure. The merger was carefully planned to make the methods for finding anomalies, reducing threats, and responding to incidents work better. The suggested method aims to make machine intelligence systems more resistant to complex cyber dangers by combining the best parts of Fuzzy Logic with Industry 4.0 algorithms. This study adds to the growing conversation about how to keep smart factory settings safe by focusing on a proactive and dynamic security model. The effects of this mix of methods could be felt in many different industries, making it possible to use advanced technologies in a safer and more reliable way in the age of Industry 4.0. 2024, Taru Publications. All rights reserved. -
The fractional-order marriagedivorce mathematical model: numerical investigations and dynamical analysis
In this research, we present a fractional-order mathematical model that simulates the ongoing phenomenon of marriage and divorce, which significantly impacts human lives. The model is defined within the LiouvilleCaputo framework and incorporates different states and parameter values. Specifically, the model consists of four state variables that describe the statuses of married, divorced, or troubled couples, as well as the interactions between these states. We conduct a stability analysis for the proposed model and calculate the equilibrium points, revealing the conditions for a stable solution. Moreover, we establish the existence, uniqueness, and boundedness of the models solution using the Banach fixed point theorem. The global stability of the obtained equilibrium points is investigated using the Lyapunov function, revealing a globally stable solution with specific conditions. To obtain the results, we employ a multi-domain collocation technique that utilizes orthogonal generalized Romanovski polynomials. These polynomials offer the advantage of achieving higher-order accuracy without requiring a large number of basis functions. We assess the accuracy of the proposed technique by calculating the residual error. Furthermore, we conduct simulations with various parameter values and fractional orders to demonstrate the techniques effectiveness under different scenarios. The results confirm the techniques ability to provide accurate outcomes across multiple scenarios. To enhance result validation, a comparison with real data from the USA is introduced for both married and divorced individuals. This elucidates the significance of the proposed fractional model in providing a deeper understanding of the dynamics and behavior of the solution and its impact on the populations lives. By introducing and analyzing this model, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of the dynamics and implications of marriage and divorce phenomena. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to SocietItaliana di Fisica and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2024. -
Clinical Study Macular Oedema
Prior to the development of the ophthalmoscope, macular oedema remained mostly unknown. Macular oedema is caused by fluid buildup in the retinal layers around the fovea. It causes vision loss by changing the functional cell connection in the retina and stimulating an inflammatory reparative response. The clinical profile, aetiology, and varied types of Macular Oedema are hence the focus of research, and also to investigate the aetiology of macular oedema as well as the various forms of macular oedema in patients attending Krishna Hospital in Karad. The male to female ratio among the 60 participants was 2.53:1. Macular oedema is the major cause for loss in vision which is common vitreo retinal diseases, with diabetes being the most prevalent cause (35% of cases) in our study. Its early detection and treatment are critical for preventing blindness. It is consequently critical to understand the aetiology, pattern, and chronicity of macular oedema in order to customize treatment and monitor response to it. RJPT All right reserved. -
Musculoskeletal Disorders and Psychological Well-being among Indian Nurses: A Narrative Review of Impacts and Interventions (2024)
Background: A prevalent occupational health issue that may have a detrimental effect on nurses' mental health and general well-being is musculoskeletal problems. This narrative review aimed to explore the social, economic, and personal implications of Musculoskeletal Disorder on nurses in India, and examine support, and intervention strategies available for them. Material & Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted in electronic databases, including PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar, using relevant keywords related to Musculoskeletal Disorder, mental health, nurses, social, personal, support, and intervention. The inclusion criteria were articles published in English and focused the nursing workforce in India. Results: A total of 15 articles were selected for review synthesis. According to the summary, nurses in India who suffer from musculoskeletal disorders deal with serious social and personal repercussions that impact their everyday life and general well-being. Musculoskeletal Disorder can lead to decreased social connections, reduced job satisfaction, and physical and emotional distress. However, limited interventions are available that address Musculoskeletal Disorder and the mental health of nurses in India. Conclusion: There is a significant effect of Musculoskeletal Disorder on the mental health, quality of life, and economic well-being of nurses in India. However, limited scientific research exists exploring the prevalence and psychosocial implications of Musculoskeletal Disorder in the Indian nursing population. Consequently, additional research is essential to comprehend the scope and ramifications of this occupational health concern. To create interventions and support systems that are effective in the unique cultural and occupational context of nursing in India, it is imperative to engage in interdisciplinary collaboration. 2024 The Author(s); Published by Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences. -
Need for an Evolved Groundwater Justice in Rural Areas of Uttar Pradesh, India
As groundwater is the primary element of life, countries all over the world are experimenting with legal reforms. The degree to which law reforms combine justice and sustainability is a crucial question. In response to this question, the present article focuses on a case study of Uttar Pradesh, India. Our response is based on a content analysis of the Uttar Pradesh Groundwater (Management and Regulation) Act, 2019, and the Uttar Pradesh Groundwater (Management and Regulation) Rules, 2020. Three conclusions emerged from our investigation. First, the 2019 Groundwater Act and the 2020 Draft Groundwater Rules are primarily motivated by concerns about resource sustainability, particularly in areas where the water table is steadily declining. Still, neither the 2019 Groundwater Act nor the 2020 Draft Groundwater Rules propose any proactive groundwater justice measures. Second, we suggest that some locally defined basic elements are critical in supporting sustainability and to a lesser extent groundwater justice. These characteristics include a communitys ability to (1) recognize a crisis and show a willingness to address it; (2) establish a rule-bound community groundwater resource; (3) demonstrate leadership and a sense of community; and (4) make use of awareness, information, and knowledge. Our third conclusion is that there is a need for community practices and state-led groundwater law to co-evolve; this co-evolution has the potential to create groundwater arrangements that support both groundwater justice and sustainability. 2024 Technoscience Publications. All rights reserved. -
Security Analysis for a Revocable Multi-Authority ABE-Attribute-Based Mechanism
Due to the tremendous increase in data, groups or even organizations are storing data with third-party providers to solve storage problems. Ciphertext policy attribute based encryption helps to outsource data, which means encrypt the data at the data owners end and uploading it to third-party storage with some access policy. In normal Identity-based encryption, if a data owner wants to send information to a data user, it will be sent with some identity of the data user, such as mail id, so that only that particular user can read the message. The main problem is that the data owner should know each users identity. For instance, in some organizations where a data owner wants to send a message to a group of people with an identical designation, it can be sent with the help of the users attribute using attribute-based encryption. Here, the data owner does not need to know the specific details of each user; instead, with the help of attributes and the provided access policy, they can access this message. This research mainly focuses on three aspects of CP-ABE: access policy, number of attribute authorities, and revocation. When it comes to access policy, the currently existing access policies are not secure due to their linearity in nature because shares are always calculated using the same linear equation. So, for this problem, this work has developed a non-linear SS-secret-sharing model that increases the confidentiality of the model. 2024 Seventh Sense Research Group. -
Synthesis of SnO2-Sodium alginate-polyethylene glycol-crocin nanocomposite for enhanced antimicrobial and anticancer activity
Bacteria and fungi contribute to antibiotic resistance, posing a growing threat to human health, while cervical cancer remains a significant health concern, impacting women's well-being and mortality rates worldwide. In the present work, the efficiency of formulated tin oxide-sodium alginate-polyethylene glycol-crocin nanocomposites (SnO2-SAPEG-Cro-NCs) on antimicrobial as well as growth inhibition and apoptosis induction in cervical cancer cells was evaluated. The developed nanostructure was exposed to several spectroscopic investigations, including UV, FTIR, XRD, PL, EDAX, DLS studies, and FESEM structural observation. The results of the antimicrobial study revealed increased inhibition zones from 8.5 to 16 mm around the SnO2-SAPEG-Cro-NCs treatment over different pathogens, which proves its antimicrobial efficacy. The findings of the MTT study demonstrated that SnO2-SAPEG-Cro-NCs (0.510 ?g/mL) treatment remarkably inhibited the HeLa cell viability with IC50 concentration of 5 ?g/mL. The SnO2-SAPEG-Cro-NCs-treated HeLa cells also revealed increased intracellular ROS generation at 5 and 7.5 ?g/mL, which may facilitate oxidative stress-mediated cell death. Further, the dual staining and DAPI staining results demonstrated that the SnO2-SAPEG-Cro-NCs treatment effectively increased the apoptosis in the cervical cancer HeLa cells. Overall, the outcomes authorized that SnO2-SAPEG-Cro-NCs is an excellent antimicrobial and anticancer agent for future use. 2024 Elsevier B.V. -
Need of integrated care model for positive childbirth experience in Indian maternity care services
BACKGROUND: Integrated care (IC) models are an emerging trend in healthcare reforms worldwide, especially in the maternal healthcare system. This research focuses on the scope of an integrated model for intrapartum care of women and explores the experience of birth under two intrapartum care modelsbiomedical and midwifery models, respectively. The term positive childbirth experience (PCE) is a concept defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) in the recommendations on intrapartum care for a PCE. MATERIALS AND METHOD: This study is convinced to employ a qualitative approach to explore how birth is experienced by women under maternity healthcare services in Kerala. A semi?structured interview was conducted to tap into the lived reality of birthing of sixteen first?time mothers (primipara) aged between 20 and 30 years under these two models. Furthermore, five participants have been specifically interviewed after their vaginal birth after a C?section (VBAC) experience. To achieve a systematic cross?case thematic analysis, systematic text condensation (STC) has been employed as a data analysis method. RESULTS: Four main categories were identified through the analysis as follows: (1) information and knowledge, (2) confidence, (3) quality of care, and (4) health?promoting perspective. These central themes evolved from 11 subthemes. CONCLUSION: The data analysis reveals both negative and positive experiences under two care models. It emphasizes the urgent need to reframe the biomedical?focused care model and adopt an integrated approach that aligns with the global intrapartum care model proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2018 and the definition of IC mentioned in the paper. 2024 Journal of Education and Health Promotion. -
Development and Validation of the UV-Spectrophotometric Method for the Determination of Cordycepin, a Nucleoside
The primary, bioactive component of Cordyceps militaris, known as cordycepin (3'-deoxyadenosine), has been utilized extensively as a traditional medicinal ingredient and a nutritious diet in Asian nations. To determine the amount of cordycepin in the C. militaris, high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is shown to be an effective, sensitive, and straightforward analytical technique. Other methods for estimating cordycepin include near infrared spectroscopy and capillary electrophoresismass spectrometry. The UV-Vis spectroscopy approach was used to quantify cordycepin, and the results were statistically confirmed and compared with an HPLC method. For linearity, repeatability, precision, reproducibility, limit of detection and limit of quantification, the method was verified. The established approach can be utilized for routine, quality control analysis of cordycepin, as it is easy to use, sensitive, accurate, precise, repeatable, and most importantly, cost-effective. Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2024. -
Heat transfer in a dissipative nanofluid passing by a convective stretching/shrinking cylinder near the stagnation point
This contemporary article examines the transfer of heat properties and the flow behavior of water-based nanofluid suspended with silver nanoparticles. These silver nanoparticles have a very huge thermal conductivity and hence it is presumed that the resulting nanofluid shall have enhanced thermal conductance. This article is more focused on the study of (Formula presented.) nanofluid flowing past a cylinder that is modeled mathematically using the cylindrical coordinate system. The initial modeling is designed using a system of partial derivatives while at a later stage, this system is transformed into a nonlinear group of ordinary differential equations (ODEs). The equations in this system are solved to obtain the dual solutions by implementing the RKF-45 method which has a greater rate of convergence and additionally, it is computationally very effective. The findings of the study are dealt by plotting graphs and the discussions are based on the appearance of graphs. It is further noticed that the critical point (Formula presented.) remains constant at (Formula presented.) for any changes made in the values of heat generation/absorption coefficient. Similarly, the critical value remains constant at (Formula presented.) for any change made in the values of the Eckert number. Meanwhile, it is also observed that the increase in the Eckert number increases the temperature absorbed by the nanofluid whereas it decreases the Nusselt number. Furthermore, the higher values of the velocity slip reduce the skin friction coefficient. 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH. -
USER EXPERIENCES OF CHATGPT AMONG ENGINEERING STUDENTS, TEACHERS, AND WORKING PROFESSIONALS IN INDIA
The introduction of Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer (ChatGPT) in November 2022 brought about rapid changes in the workplace and academia. Its usage ranged from student assignments to workplace targets in the engineering field. Although it has brought novel ideas to its application in various fields and task efficiency in the workplace, its perceived application varies among students, teachers, and professionals. This study employed the snowball sampling technique and interviews with eight students, eight faculty members, and eight working professionals from computer science engineering who used ChatGPT regularly. The study adopted a qualitative research design and employed the narrative data analysis technique. Researchers conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews to elicit user experiences from the recruited samples. The findings brought out six main and twelve subordinate themes regarding ChatGPT user experiences: adapt, adopt, embrace, ease, speed, engage, and automate. The inclusion criteria involved ChatGPT users from the computer science engineering domain only. Future research may focus on developing ChatGPT user policies for various fields of their applications. 2024, Grand Canyon University. All rights reserved.