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Let there be Light, but not too much: The Need to Legally Address Light Pollution in India
Electricity and artificial lights were synonymous with economic growth and development. Unfortunately, over usage of artificial lights has proven adverse effects. Research shows that excessive light impacts human health and endangers ecological balance, disturbs wildlife, causes decline in insect, moth, reptile pollution and depletes energy resources. Countries around the world have gradually started recognising light pollution as an emerging challenge and have brought in regulations to curb it. However, India is yet to recognise the threat of light pollution. Against this backdrop, the authors have established the need to recognise light pollution as a matter requiring dedicated and concerted focus. This was achieved through the analysis of recent and credible journal articles category with a cite score of over ten. Reliance was also placed on the light pollution map to understand the intensity of the problem, especially in India. The authors next conducted a study of legal regimes governing light pollution and artificial light, in different jurisdictions around the globe. The paper draws upon the best practices from these jurisdictions and suggests that India adopt techno-legal legislation, at the earliest, to combat light pollution. 2023- Kalpana Corporation. -
Decolonising Caste in the Indian Context: The Psyche of the Oppressor
Caste is a social construct as well as a psychological phenomenon. So far, it has been predominantly viewed, understood and researched through the lens of anthropology, sociology, economics and political science. However, very little understanding has been gained in the domain of psychological science with respect to caste in the Indian context. The population of the Global South (includes the regions of Asia, Africa, Latin America and Oceania) cannot be understood with the frameworks and research undertaken by the Global North (Europe and North America, known as the West, the industrialised world) because the knowledge production centres of psychology have predominantly been Euro-American centric, as many critics have pointed out. Although research has been scarce in relation to caste and psychology, it has mostly revolved around the oppressed. Therefore, this article aims to shift the focus from the oppressed to the oppressor. To understand Indian human behaviour and thought, it is essential to view it through the lens of the colonial past, the caste system and religion, which are intertwined with each other. This article aims to look at the psychology of the oppressor in the Indian context through the psychological frameworks of purity and pollution. It also stems from the premise that casteism is inculcated through modelling and intergenerational learning. Hence, the above-mentioned factors help to understand unequal power relations and discrimination, which facilitate the decolonisation of the Indian psyche. It also highlights the influence of colonisation on the mind and behaviour with respect to caste. 2023 Department of Psychology, University of Allahabad. -
GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE GOVERNANCE: A RETHINKING
The decades of increased Green House Gas (GHG) emissions have increased global average temperature to 1.1 degrees over pre-industrial levels. In order to hold the global average temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius and, if possible, 1.5 degree Celsius, the governments signed various treaties. However, countries? collective agreements to reduce their emissions were never kept. This study outlines why the method of mitigating global climate change has failed. The main problem was the inability to enforce goals and timelines. Ideas for even tighter emission limits will be ineffective unless they solve the enforcement gap. Trade restrictions are one method, but they introduce significant complications, particularly when used to enforce economy-wide carbon reduction agreements. The applied methodology is qualitative. This study proposes a novel strategy to unpack the climate challenge, targeting various gasses and industries with various instruments. It also illustrates how failing to address the climate problem fundamentally would generate incentives for various solutions, offering new problems for climate change governance. 2023, Institute for Research and European Studies. All rights reserved. -
N-rGO/NiCo2O4 nanocomposite for high performance supercapacitor applications
Spinel structured transition metals oxide GO/NiCo2O4 nanocomposites and nitrogen doped N-rGO/NiCo2O4 nanocomposites were developed. Powder X-ray diffraction investigations confirmed the structure. The bonding vibrations of the produced nanocomposites were confirmed using infrared and Raman spectroscopy. EDX analysis was used to determine the composition and element weights of the nanocomposites. The electrochemical properties of the nanomaterials were measured using 1M KOH electrolyte. At 5mVs?1 scan rates, cyclic voltammetry revealed a specific capacitance (Csp) of 1078.2 Fg?1 for N-rGO/NiCo2O4. The bare and nanocomposites of NiCo2O4, GO/NiCo2O4, and N-rGO/NiCo2O4 specific capacitance, charge-discharge capability, and cyclic stability were investigated. Energy density and power density of the N-rGO/NiCo2O4 nanocomposite were estimated to be 20.4 Wh kg?1 and 1300W kg?1, respectively. N-rGO//N-rGO/NiCo2O4 asymmetric supercapacitor device with Ed of 14.9 Wh kg?1 and Pd of 3500W kg?1 was fabricated. 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. -
A site-isolated Lewis acidic aluminium and Brsted basic amine sites in the dimeric silsesquioxane cage as a reusable homogeneous bifunctional catalyst for one-pot tandem deacetalization/deketalization-Knoevenagel condensation reactions
The development of multifunctional catalysts for one-pot tandem reactions is significantly required to attain multiple sequential transformations in a single reactor, which would considerably decrease the number of manipulations demanded for chemical manufacturing in industries. Herein, dimeric silsesquioxane Al-POSS-NH2 (2), a homogenous bifunctional acid-base catalyst containing environmentally friendly robust silica and high chemical and thermal stabilities, permanent catalytic activity, and reusability, was synthesized by the reaction of trisilanol aminopropyl hexaisobutyl-POSS (1) with trimethylaluminium. Al-POSS-NH2 was successfully used as a bifunctional catalyst for one-pot tandem reactions because of the synergism and effective compartmentalization between Lewis acidic aluminium and Brsted basic amine sites (>10.0 in the dimeric silsesquioxane cage, which was confirmed by DFT and QTAIM studies. Subsequently, different acetals were tested to obtain their corresponding benzylidene malononitrile derivatives using Al-POSS-NH2 for the one-pot tandem deacetalization-Knoevenagel condensation reactions and showed high efficiency (>90%) under optimized conditions (DMF, 0.3 mol% catalyst loading and 80 C) with different reaction times. Furthermore, the bifunctional Al-POSS-NH2 catalyst was separated from the reaction mixture via the precipitation method by adding acetonitrile into the reaction mixture and reusing it for five consecutive cycles without losing activity considerably, thus providing the inherent advantage over traditional homogeneous catalysts. In a one-pot tandem deketalization-Knoevenagel condensation reaction for various ketals, the reaction condition was slightly modified by increasing the catalyst loading (0.6 mol%) and reaction time (16 to 24 hours) to acquire better conversion and yield of their desired products. Finally, the present study suggests that the bifunctional POSS might facilitate the rapid development of environmentally friendly and economically feasible catalysts for multistep reactions. 2023 The Royal Society of Chemistry. -
An Automated Path-Focused Test Case Generation with Dynamic Parameterization Using Adaptive Genetic Algorithm (AGA) for Structural Program Testing
Various software engineering paradigms and real-time projects have proved that software testing is the most critical and highly important phase in the SDLC. In general, software testing takes approximately 4060% of the total effort and time involved in project development. Generating test cases is the most important process in software testing. There are many techniques involved in the automatic generation of these test cases which aim to find a smaller group of cases that could allow for an adequacy level to be achieved which will hence reduce the effort and cost involved in software testing. In the structural testing of a product, the auto-generation of test cases that are path focused in an efficient manner is a challenging process. These are often considered optimization problems and hence search-based methods such as genetic algorithm (GA) and swarm optimizations have been proposed to handle this issue. The significance of the study is to address the optimization problem of automatic test case generation in search-based software engineering. The proposed methodology aims to close the gap of genetic algorithms acquiring local minimum due to poor diversity. Here, dynamic adjustment of cross-over and mutation rate is achieved by calculating the individual measure of similarity and fitness and searching for the more global optimum. The proposed method is applied and experimented on a benchmark of five industrial projects. The results of the experiments have confirmed the efficiency of generating test cases that have optimum path coverage. 2023 by the authors. -
The economic impact of floods on the plantation sector: a study of selected districts in Kerala
The people of Kerala have suffered the worst natural calamity in the form of heavy flood in 2018 and this continued for a week. The flood and the landslide had created a havoc in the agricultural sector of Kerala. The worst affected sector in the vagary of nature was the plantation sector. The industry lost around Rs. 3.382 crore due to heavy floods (CDS). The floods and the landslide had a major impact on the major planation crops including rubber, tea, coffee and cardamom. Among the different districts, Wayanad was the worst affected district along with Kottayam and Pathanamthitta. In the given context, this study is an attempt to analyse the economic impact of floods in the plantation sector in Kerala. The study found that the farmers are facing the worst financial crisis due to low price and high cost of production. The major problems faced by farmers are the inadequacy of assistance, reduction in yield and lack of pure water, delay in getting support, repayment of the loan and so on. 2023, World Research Association. All rights reserved. -
Effect of Short Glass Fiber Addition on Flexural and Impact Behavior of 3D Printed Polymer Composites
Fused deposition modeling (FDM), one of the most widely used additive manufacturing (AM) processes, is used for fabrication of 3D models from computer-aided design data using various materials for a wide scope of applications. The principle of FDM or, in general, AM plays an important role in minimizing the ill effects of manufacturing on the environment. Among the various available reinforcements, short glass fiber (SGF), one of the strong reinforcement materials available, is used as a reinforcement in the acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) matrix. At the outset, very limited research has been carried out till date in the analysis of the impact and flexural strength of the SGF-reinforced ABS polymer composite developed by the FDM process. In this regard, the present research investigates the impact and flexural strength of SGF-ABS polymer composites by the addition of 15 and 30 wt % SGF to ABS. The tests were conducted as per ASTM standards. Increments in flexural and impact properties were observed with the addition of SGF to ABS. The increment of 42% in impact strength was noted for the addition of 15 wt % SGF and 54% increase with the addition of 30 wt % SGF. On similar lines, flexural properties also showed improved values of 44 and 59% for the addition of 15 and 30 wt % SGF to ABS. SGF addition greatly enhanced the properties of flexural and impact strength and has paved the path for the exploration of varied values of reinforcement into the matrix. 2023 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society -
Cryptocurrency Market Anomaly: The Day-of-the-Week-Effect
Cryptocurrency has emerged as a fad amongst investors, academicians and policy-makers as a financial asset, making it important to empirically test the price behaviour of this emerging market. This paper is designed to investigate the presence of a well-known day-of-the-week effect in the young and emerging cryptocurrency market returns from August 2015 to March 2019. Using varied statistical techniques, this anomaly is examined for six cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin, Stellar and Tether). The study applies both parametric and non-parametric statistical tests, i.e.,Bar Graph, Heat map, Students t-test, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA),regression analysis with dummy variables and the Kruskal Wallis Test. The studys findings show that no sample cryptocurrency returns exhibit the day-of-the-week effect phenomenon.The statistically insignificant result of the day-of-the-week effect in thecryptocurrency returns showcases the evidence of market efficiency in the cryptocurrency market. Indian Institute of Finance. -
Evaluating the Pertinence of Pose Estimation model for Sign Language Translation
Sign Language is the natural language used by a community that is hearing impaired. It is necessary to convert this language to a commonly understandable form as it is used by a comparatively small part of society. The automatic Sign Language interpreters can convert the signs into text or audio by interpreting the hand movements and the corresponding facial expression. These two modalities work in tandem to give complete meaning to each word. In verbal communication, emotions can be conveyed by changing the tone and pitch of the voice, but in sign language, emotions are expressed using nonmanual movements that include body posture and facial muscle movements. Each such subtle moment should be considered as a feature and extracted using different models. This paper proposes three different models that can be used for varying levels of sign language. The first test was carried out using the Convex Hull-based Sign Language Recognition (SLR) finger spelling sign language, next using a Convolution Neural Network-based Sign Language Recognition (CNN-SLR) for fingerspelling sign language, and finally pose-based SLR for word-level sign language. The experiments show that the pose-based SLR model that captures features using landmark or key points has better SLR accuracy than Convex Hull and CNN-based SLR models. 2023 World Scientific Publishing Europe Ltd. -
Heat and Mass Transport in Casson Nanofluid Flow over a 3-D Riga Plate with Cattaneo-Christov Double Flux: A Computational Modeling through Analytical Method
This work examines the non-Newtonian Cassonnanofluids three-dimensional flow and heat and mass transmission properties over a Riga plate. The Buongiorno nanofluid model, which is included in the present model, includes thermo-migration and random movement of nanoparticles. It also took into account the CattaneoChristov double flux processes in the mass and heat equations. The non-Newtonian Casson fluid model and the boundary layer approximation are included in the modeling of nonlinear partial differential systems. The homotopy technique was used to analytically solve the systems governing equations. To examine the impact of dimensionless parameters on velocities, concentrations, temperatures, local Nusselt number, skin friction, and local Sherwood number, a parametric analysis was carried out. The velocity profile is augmented in this study as the size of the modified Hartmann number increases. The greater thermal radiative enhances the heat transport rate. When the mass relaxation parameter is used, the mass flux values start to decrease. 2023 by the authors. -
Decision-making using regression analysis: a case study on Top Tier Holidays LLP
Research methodology: This study aims to investigate the factors that contribute to the overall tour experience and services provided by Top Tier Holidays. The study is mixed in nature, and the researchers have used analytical tools to analyse the data factually. Multiple regression using MS Excel is used in the study. Case overview/synopsis: This case is based on the experiences of a real-life travel and tour company located in New Delhi, India. The case helps understand regression analysis to identify independent variables significantly impacting the tour experience. The CEO of the company is focused on improving the overall customer experience. The CEO has identified six principal determinants (variables) applicable to tour companies success. These variables are hotel experience, transportation, cab driver, on-tour support, itinerary planning and pricing. Multiple regression analysis using Microsoft Excel is conducted on the above determinants (the independent variables) and the overall tour experience (the dependent variable). This analysis would help identify the relationship between the independent and dependent variables and find the variables that significantly impact the dependent variable. This case also helps us appreciate the importance of various parameters that affect the overall customer tour experience and the challenges a tour operator company faces in the current competitive business environment. Complexity academic level: This case is designed for discussion with the undergraduate courses in business management, commerce and tourism management programmes. The case will build up readers understanding of linear regression with multiple variables. It shows how multiple linear regression can help companies identify the significant variables affecting business outcomes. 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited. -
Optimal Switching Operations of Soft Open Points in Active Distribution Network for Handling Variable Penetration of Photovoltaic and Electric Vehicles Using Artificial Rabbits Optimization
Global warming, rising fuel prices, and limited conventional fuel supplies are driving the use of renewable energy, battery energy storage, and electric vehicles, transforming traditional electrical distribution networks into active distribution networks. Stochastic technologies can present operational and control challenges, especially for radially configured active distribution networks. In this scenario, strengthening the existing active distribution networks is necessary. This study optimally integrates soft open points for dynamic network reconfiguration to handle uncertainty in active distribution networks. The location, size, and reconfiguration of the soft open points were obtained for the hourly load profile, which included electric vehicle fleet load penetration and PV distributed generation. The proposed multi-objective function uses active power loss, voltage profile, and reliability indices. The proposed multivariable optimization problem was solved using artificial rabbits optimization. The simulations were performed on a modified IEEE 33-bus radial distribution system. The computational efficiency of artificial rabbits optimization is competitive with other prominent algorithms. The proposed approach of optimal soft open points and dynamic network reconfiguration is utilized to cope with uncertainty and run the present active distribution networks with better technical and reliability characteristics. 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. -
Differential Laccase Production among Diverse Fungal Endophytes in Aquatic Plants of Hulimavu Lake in Bangalore, India
The ability of plants to acclimatise and thrive in stressed environments can be attributed, in part, to the reserve of endophytic fungi that they harbour, that help enhance physiological and immunological defence and tolerance to various biotic and abiotic stressors. The present work has focussed on screening laccase producing endophytic fungi residing in different aquatic plants isolated from Hulimavu Lake, Bengaluru. This lake is well known for its water pollution contributed by anthropogenic factors. Survival of plants in this lake can hence be associated with their rich repertoire of endophytic fungi that enhance host plant defence towards stressors. Upon isolation and culturing of endophytic fungi, qualitative laccase detection using laccase specific growth media and quantitative laccase estimation using ABTS (2,2-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)) substrate were performed. Differential production rates were observed for the laccase enzyme by different endophytic fungi; production rates also varied between fungi isolated from different parts like node, stem, root and leaf of the same plant species too. Phylogenetic analysis of fungal isolates with highest laccase production was performed and the species was found to be Cladosporium tenuissimum. Even the crude extract of this strain displayed laccase production of 42.16U/L, as revealed by ABTS assay. Hence this strain is a promising candidate for optimization studies for utilisation in the domain of bioremediation and industrial applications. The Author(s) 2023. -
PATENTABILITY OF BIOTECHNOLOGY INVENTIONS: Indian Ethical Guidelines
Advances in technology have made patenting of biotechnology inventions mandatory. The patent law system contains general clauses prohibiting the patenting of inventions contrary to public order or morality. Recent years have brought numerous debates on limiting the possibility of patent protection for biotechnology inventions for ethical reasons. The existing literature examines bioethical justification in terms of the principles of respect for autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence and justice. The primary purpose of this study is to explore the uncertainty of ethics guidelines provided by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and section 3(b) of the Indian Patents Act 1970 and the applicability of the bioethics principles. 2023 Journal of Dharma: Dharmaram Journal of Religions and Philosophies (DVK, Bangalore), ISSN: 0253-7222. -
Optical Spectroscopy of Classical Be Stars in Old Open Clusters
We performed the optical spectroscopy of 16 classical Be stars in 11 open clusters older than 100 Myr. Ours is the first spectroscopic study of classical Be stars in open clusters older than 100 Myr. We found that the H? emission strength of most of the stars is less than 40 in agreement with previous studies. Our analysis further suggests that one of the stars, [KW97] 35-12, might be a weak H? emitter in nature, showing H? equivalent width of ?0.5 Interestingly, we also found that the newly detected classical Be star LS III +47 37b might be a component of the possible visual binary system LS III +47 37, where the other companion is also a classical Be star. Hence, the present study indicates the possible detection of a binary Be system. Moreover, it is observed that all 16 stars exhibit a lesser number of emission lines compared to classical Be stars younger than 100 Myr. Furthermore, the spectral type distribution analysis of B-type and classical Be stars for the selected clusters points out that the existence of CBe stars can depend on the spectral type distribution of B-type stars present in these clusters. 2023. National Astronomical Observatories, CAS and IOP Publishing Ltd. -
On an extension of the two-parameter Lindley distribution
AIM: Lindley distribution has been widely studied in statistical literature because it accommodates several interesting properties. In lifetime data analysis contexts, Lindley distribution gives a good description over exponential distribution. It has been used for analysing copious real data sets, specifically in applications of modeling stress-strength reliability. This paper proposes a new generalized two-parameter Lindley distribution and provides a comprehensive description of its statistical properties such as order statistics, limiting distributions of order statistics, Information theory measures, etc. METHODS: We study shapes of the probability density and hazard rate functions, quantiles, moments, moment generating function, order statistic, limiting distributions of order statistics, information theory measures, and autoregressive models are among the key characteristics and properties discussed. The two-parameter Lindley distribution is then subjected to statistical analysis. The paper uses methods of maximum likelihood to estimate the parameters of the proposed distribution. The usefulness of the proposed distribution for modeling data is illustrated using a real data set by comparison with other generalizations of the exponential and Lindley distributions and is depicted graphically. RESULTS/FINDINGS: This paper presents relevant characteristics of the proposed distribution and applications. Based on this study, we found that the proposed model can be used quite effectively to analyzing lifetime data. CONCLUSIONS: In this article, we proffered a new customized Lindley distribution. The proposed distribution enfolds exponential and Lindley distributions as sub-models. Some properties of this distribution such as quantile function, moments, moment generating function, distributions of order statistics, limiting distributions of order statistics, entropy, and autoregressive time series models are studied. This distribution is found to be the most appropriate model to fit the carbon fibers data compared to other models. Consequently, we propose the MOTL distribution for sketching inscrutable lifetime data sets. 2023 DSR Publishers/The University of Jordan. -
Towards Automated and Optimized Security Orchestration in Cloud SLA
In cloud computing, providers pool their resources and make them available to customers. Next-generation computer scientists are flocking to the cutting-edge field of cloud computing for their research and exploration of uncharted territory. There are still several barriers that cloud service providers must overcome in order to provide cloud services in accordance with service level agreements. Each cloud service provider aspires to achieve maximum performance as per Service Level Agreements (SLAs), and this is especially true when it comes to the delivery of services. A cloud service level agreement (SLA) guarantees that cloud service providers will satisfy the needs of large businesses and offer their clients with a specified list of services. The authors offer a web service level agreementinspired approach for cloud service agreements. We adopt patterns and antipatterns to symbolize the best and worst practices of OCCI (Open Cloud Computing Interface Standard), REST (Representational State Transfer), and TOSCA (Topology and Orchestration Specification for Cloud Applications) with DevOps solutions, all of which API developers should bear in mind when designing APIs. When using this method, everything pertaining to the cloud service, from creation to deployment to measurement to evaluation to management to termination, may be handled mechanically. When distributing resources to cloud apps, our system takes into account the likelihood of SLA breaches and responds by providing more resources if necessary. We say that for optimal performance, our suggested solution should be used in a private cloud computing setting. As more and more people rely on cloud computing for their day-to-day workloads, there has been a corresponding rise in the need for efficient orchestration and management strategies that foster interoperability. 2023 International Journal on Recent and Innovation Trends in Computing and Communication. All rights reserved. -
Lead-free inorganic metal perovskites beyond photovoltaics: Photon, charged particles and neutron shielding applications
Over the last few years, lead-free inorganic metal perovskites have gained impressive ground in empowering satellites in space exploration owing to their material stability and performance evolution under extreme space environments. The present work has examined the versatility of eight such perovskites as space radiation shielding materials by computing their photon, charged particles and neutron interaction parameters. Photon interaction parameters were calculated for a wide energy range using PAGEX software. The ranges of heavy charged particles (H, He, C, N, O, Ne, Mg, Si and Fe ions) in these perovskites were estimated using SRIM software in the energy range 1 keV10 GeV, and that of electrons was computed using ESTAR NIST software in the energy range 0.01 MeV1 GeV. Further, the macroscopic fast neutron removal cross-sections were also calculated to estimate the neutron shielding efficiencies. The examined shielding parameters of the perovskites varied depending on the radiation type and energy. Among the selected perovskites, Cs2TiI6 and Ba2AgIO6 displayed superior photon attenuation properties. A 3.5 cm thick Ba2AgIO6-based shield could reduce the incident radiation intensity to half its initial value, a thickness even lesser than that of Pb-glass. Besides, CsSnBr3 and La0.8Ca0.2Ni0.5Ti0.5O3 displayed the highest and lowest range values, respectively, for all heavy charged particles. Ba2AgIO6 showed electron stopping power (on par with Kovar) better than that of other examined materials. Interestingly, La0.8Ca0.2Ni0.5Ti0.5O3 demonstrated neutron removal cross-section values greater than that of standard neutron shielding materials - aluminium and polyethylene. On the whole, the present study not only demonstrates the employment prospects of eco-friendly perovskites for shielding space radiations but also suggests future prospects for research in this direction. 2022 Korean Nuclear Society