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Forbidden Cravings: Exploring socio-cultural ramifications of food practices in Aamis
Food choices represent conscious affirmation and expression of personal, group, ethnic or national identity. Due to its multidimensional role, food that we rely on sustenance is often politicised and used as a tool to create conflict amongst and within diverse social groups. Assamese cuisine includes a rich platter of authentic food varieties, often limited to the north-eastern region. Although food consumption is a subjective experience, cultural taboos within a community might be acceptable practices in another culture, creating conflicting notions of food practices. The balance between the twin axis of culture and politics regarding food is disrupted when heterogeneous cultural patterns and opposing political notions are in discord. Similarly, the solidarity within a cultural group becomes hostile when the authority of the individual concerning food choices is not aligned with the authority of the social structure. This discord from a political and cultural standpoint is evident in the Assamese socio-cultural scenario. Taking Bhaskar Hazarika's Ravening/Aamis (2019) as a case study, this paper proposes to analyse the representational troupe of food, through a structuralist anthropological lens, with respect to food politics to understand socio-cultural ramifications of Assamese food patterns. 2022 Aesthetics Media Services. All rights reserved. -
Framing and control for sustainability of industries
Purpose: The paper attempts to frame the challenge of managing the transition to a sustainable economy by way of a conceptual model consisting of a zero-footprint regulatory regime and a sustainability fund. Design/methodology/approach: A conceptual model of the sustainable industrial revolution has been developed based on the learnings from industries such as originators (mining), farming, pharmaceuticals, pesticides and chemicals and long-lasting artefacts against an overall perspective. Findings: It is suggested to have an institutional structural mechanism in place to ensure that footprint is minimized through recycling including refurbishing, resale or transformation. This includes management of recycling businesses through execution of a zero-waste regulatory regime that will build and use a sustainability fund. Research limitations/implications: The limitations of the paper are arising out of the topic being an issue of gigantic proportions with immense complexity. An attempt has been made to bring out the inescapability and the imperative of a sustainable industrial revolution. Practical implications: This paper presents practical aspects such as collusion between trash and recycling businesses, land use and social aspects of criticality of public support. If implemented, the suggested model can make a paradigm shift in the way firms, industry and governments can handle the challenge of sustainability. Originality/value: The value of this conceptual paper lies in an attempt to extend the learning organization framework to the concept of a regulatory model for sustainability that is not limited to the definition of a firm but stands extended to industries and to the economics, land use and demographics of the planet. 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited. -
The Content of Heavy Metals in Cigarettes and the Impact of Their Leachates on the Aquatic Ecosystem
Smoked cigarettes and butts are the most common kind of litter around the world. The buildup of these litters has badly polluted local water bodies and their compartments, and the cumulative effect of many cigarette butts scattered in a centralized location may pose a serious hazard to living species. To understand how heavy metals are leached out into the aquatic ecosystem, researchers must analyse the behavior of the materials that make up cigarettes. Using atomic absorption spectrometry, this study evaluated the content of several metals (such as Cd, Cu, Fe, Pb, Sn, Zn, and Hg) leached from various brands of unsmoked and smoked cigarettes and cigarette butts. The findings revealed that heavy metal is more prevalent in butte. These findings indicate that cigarette litter is a major source of metal contamination in the aquatic ecosystem and that apparent leaching may increase the risk of toxicity to aquatic organisms. 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. -
Three-Component Convection in a Vertically Oscillating Oldroyd-B Fluid With Cross Effects
This paper sheds light on the impact of vertical oscillations (or gravity modulation) on triple-diffusive convection in a viscoelastic fluid using the Oldroyd-B model, in the presence of cross effects. Cross effects can significantly impact three-component convective systems, despite having small magnitudes. When the cross terms, indicating coupled molecular cross-diffusion of the mixture components, are included in the equations governing heat and species transport, then a deviation from the usual three-component convection process is observed. An analytical solution has been found using linear and nonlinear analysis. The conditions for the onset of convection have been obtained using the linear analysis, which is based on the perturbation technique and the Venezian method. In nonlinear analysis, the expressions for Nusselt and Sherwood numbers, which quantify the rate of heat and mass transport respectively, are obtained by deriving the Lorenz model. It has been found that the onset of convection and heat and mass transport can be controlled by choosing the appropriate values of the parameters. 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. -
Enzyme based bioelectrocatalysis over laccase immobilized poly-thiophene supported carbon fiber paper for the oxidation of D-ribofuranose to D-ribonolactone
A modified electrode based on laccase immobilized poly-thiophene-3-carboxylic acid supported on carbon fiber paper was developed for the electrocatalytic oxidation of D-ribofuranose to otherwise difficult-to-access D-ribonolactone, a precursor for C-nucleoside based drug like Remdesivir. The electrochemical oxidation of D-ribofuranose was achieved by the TEMPO-mediated electrochemical process. The experimental parameters were optimized and validated using Design of Experiment (DoE) statistical tool indicating the concentration of TEMPO and stirring as important parameters in bulk electrolysis. The mechanism for the electrochemical oxidation of D-ribofuronose followed single electron anodic oxidation of TEMPO mediated by laccase to the corresponding oxoammonium nitrosonium species which was vital for the mediated electrochemical oxidation. The mechanism for the electrochemical oxidation was established using cyclic voltammetry and computational studies. The plausible interactions of laccase enzyme with TEMPO mediator were studied using molecular docking experiments. This facile method was successfully applied for the oxidation of D-ribofuranose to D-ribonolactone. 2022 -
Psychological capital and innovative work behaviour: The role of mastery orientation and creative self-efficacy
Continuous innovation is what helps companies survive the highly discontinuous competition. Securing innovative work behaviour from employees has drawn the attention of businesses and researchers alike. The current work draws on broaden-and-build theory and goal orientation theory to propose how an individual's psychological capital, which is malleable, helps in achieving innovative work behaviour from employees. The study has been conducted in the context of three-star hotels located in and around New Delhi, the capital of India. The data was collected using standard scales from a dyad of 229 employees and their managers. The present study enriches the innovative work behavior literature by combining different perspectives in a coherent framework and demonstrates the partially mediated positive relationship of psychological capital and innovative work behavior via mastery orientation. Also, the study reveals that the partially mediated indirect effect varies among employees based on their level of CSE. 2022 Elsevier Ltd -
On ?(k)-coloring of powers of helm and closed helm graphs
If the availability of colors to color a graph G is less than that of the chromatic number ?(G) of the graph, then coloring the graph with available colors, say k colors, where 1 ? k ? ?(G)-1, will cause the end vertices of at least one edge to be colored with same color. Such an edge whose end vertices receive a same color is called as a bad edge. A coloring that restricts few color classes to have adjacency between the elements in it so as to minimize the number of bad edges obtained from it in a graph G is called as a near proper coloring and a near proper coloring that uses k colors where 1 ? k ? ?(G)-1 to color a graph G by permitting only one color class to have adjacency among the elements in it and thereby minimize the number of bad edges resulting from the permitted color class is called as a ?(k)-coloring of the graph G. In this paper, we determine the number of bad edges of powers of helm graphs H1,nr and powers of closed helm graphs CH1,nr. 2022 World Scientific Publishing Company. -
Natural convection of a binary liquid in cylindrical porous annuli/rectangular porous enclosures with cross-diffusion effects under local thermal non-equilibrium state
The present article reports an analytical study of the double diffusive natural convection (DDNC) in cylindrical porous annuli (CPA) and rectangular porous enclosures (RPE), which are handled in a unified way using the curvature parameter, saturated by a binary liquid under the assumption of local thermal non-equilibrium (LTNE) state. The buoyancy forces (thermal and solutal) driving the flow are assumed to be induced by the maintenance of constant and uniform heat and mass fluxes applied along the vertical (radial) walls and insulation of both horizontal walls of the annuli/rectangular enclosures. The Darcy-Boussinesq equations with LTNE assumption between the fluid and solid phases are employed to model the problem of DDNC in a binary liquid-saturated porous medium with cross-diffusion effects. The analytical results are obtained by employing the Oseen-linearization transformation technique in the study. The influence of various dimensionless parameters on heat and mass transports of the system are depicted using the Nusselt and Sherwood numbers and isotherms plots, and the obtained results are analysed with the physical explanation. Special attention is given to understand the effect of LTNE parameter and cross-diffusion parameters on heat and mass transports of the system. Different aspect ratio values are chosen to obtain the results of three types of CPA/RPE (shallow, square and tall). Among these CPA/RPE, maximum and minimum heat and mass transports are achieved in the cases of shallow and tall CPA/RPE, respectively. The results of the pure thermal convection problem is obtained at the zero value of buoyancy ratio and solute Rayleigh number. The increasing value of N magnifies the heat and mass transports in the system due to the augmented buoyancy effect resulted from the thermal and solutal gradients. The increase of solid inner cylinder radius, by fixing its volume, makes the annulus slender which yields to decrease the heat and mass transports in the system. The effects of LTNE parameter and cross-diffusion parameters on heat and mass transports of the system are clearly brought out. The results of LTE model are obtained at the infinite value of ratio of porosity modified thermal conductivities, ?, as a particular case of the present model. From the study, we conclude that the shallow porous annulus and tall rectangular enclosure are best suited in the design of heat removal and heat storage systems, respectively. 2021 -
Theory and Applicability of the Weighted Modified Lindley Distribution
As a bridge between the exponential and Lindley distributions, the modified Lind-ley distribution was created. It has been used successfully in a variety of fields related to survival analysis. In this study, we present a novel distribution that extends the modified Lindley distribution using the traditional weighted (or length/size-biased) approach. It is named as weighted modified Lindley distribution. This idea is mainly used to flexibilize the former modified Lindley distribution through the use of a one-parameter polynomial weight. This weight is intended to modulate the functionalities of the new distribution, well beyond those of the former modified Lindley distribution. The related probability density function, cumulative density function, hazard rate function, moments, moment generating function and characteristic function are analysed from a theoretical and practical point of view. Estimation of the parameters is done by the classical method of maximum likelihood and a simulation study is carried out to check the consistency of the maximum likelihood estimates. A data set is used to illustrate the application of the proposed distribution. 2022, Society of Statistics, Computer and Applications. All rights reserved. -
Sputter deposited tungsten oxide thin films and nanopillars: Electrochromic perspective
Tungsten oxide (WO3) thin films and nano pillars were grown on FTO and corning substrates by using DC magnetron sputtering. Structural properties, surface morphology, optical properties, and electrochromic properties were systematically characterized by using SEM, XRD, UVVis Spectrometer, and Electrochemical Analyser respectively. Increased oxygen partial pressure resulted a rise in the optical transmittance from 72% to 89% at a wavelength of 600 nm. Moreover, coloration efficiency was also found to vary with partial pressures for both planar and glad from 30.48 cm2C-1 to 78.36 cm2C-1. We observe that glad deposited nano pillars showing higher coloration efficiency as compared to the planar thin film. The coloration efficiency found for the planar thin film and nano pillars at optimized partial pressure are 37.04 cm2C-1 and 78.36 cm2C-1 respectively. A strong influence of oxygen partial pressure and surface to volume ratio has been observed on the coloration efficiency, which can play a major role in the electrochromic application. 2022 Elsevier B.V. -
Aggression Behaviour and Physical Fitness of National Handball Girls Players
Aggression is one of the significant types of feeling and emotion, which is exceptionally fundamental for sports execution. It is ordinarily propelled conduct at any rate for that specific purpose of time in the genuine play, which drives a player brimming with his energies towards his point. 150 School National Handball female players aged 14-17 years who were concentrated in higher optional schools of Andhra Pradesh Rural and Urban were haphazardly chosen as subjects. An aggression scale is used to contemplate the degree of aggression in any age gathering (over 14 years). The scale comprises 55 articulations. It is a Likert type 5-guide scale toward locating the aggressive conduct among Handball players. The premise of the discoveries is that the shooters have phenomenal aggression conduct than the all-rounders and defenders and shooters have more physical fitness than the all-rounders and defenders. In the examination, the Shooter would have a more aggressive inclination and physical fitness when contrasted with all-rounders and defenders. It is very different on the grounds that the Shooter alone for example independently will confront the adversary gathering of players because of body contact and the battle for greatness will lead the shooter to more aggressive than others. 2022 by authors, all rights reserved. -
Experimental Investigation and Numerical Simulation of Air Circulation in a Non-AC Bus Coach System
Air circulation plays a vital role in the comfort of passengers in a bus, being a non-AC bus without any aid from the air conditioning system. The circulation of air is utterly dependent on the design of the bus and the natural flow of air. However, optimize the flow of air inside the bus, a study on the design of the bus is needed. In this regard, experimental work was carried out to achieve uniform airflow by redesigning the coach into an aerodynamic shape. The openings are provided at the leading edge of the bus to evaluate the best possibility for air to circulate in the bus. Three openings were provided at the leading edge of the bus, the first and second openings were mere openings, and the third opening was fitted with a roof vent providing three different geometric patterns to airflow. The initial boundary conditions were developed by considering that all windows and doors of the bus are closed. The scaling ratio of 1:20 was considered for modeling the bus. The experiments were conducted in the wind tunnel test rig. It was observed from the experimentation that the velocity of the air was considered to be the most influential parameter for the optimal air circulation. The velocities of 21.96 m/s and 22.68 m/s were obtained inside bus. The obtained experimental velocities were validated with results obtained by the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). It was observed that a deviation of 5% for the given velocity of 20 m/s. 2022 Materials and Energy Research Center. All rights reserved. -
A Pilot Feasibility Study of Reconnecting to Internal Sensations and Experiences (RISE), a Mindfulness-Informed Intervention to Reduce Interoceptive Dysfunction and Suicidal Ideation, among University Students in India
Although 20% of the worlds suicides occur in India, suicide prevention efforts in India are lagging (Vijayakumar et al., 2021). Identification of risk factors for suicide in India, as well as the development of accessible interventions to treat these risk factors, could help reduce suicide in India. Interoceptive dysfunctionor an inability to recognize internal sensations in the body has emerged as a robust correlate of suicidality among studies conducted in the United States. Additionally, a mindfulness-informed intervention designed to reduce interoceptive dysfunction, and thereby suicidality, has yielded promising initial effects in pilot testing (Smith et al., 2021). The current studies sought to replicate these findings in an Indian context. Study 1 (n = 276) found that specific aspects of interoceptive dysfunction were related to current, past, and future likelihood of suicidal ideation. Study 2 (n = 40) was a small, uncontrolled pre-post online pilot of the intervention, Reconnecting to Internal Sensations and Experiences (RISE). The intervention was rated as highly acceptable and demonstrated good retention. Additionally, the intervention was associated with improvements in certain aspects of interoceptive dysfunction and reductions in suicidal ideation and eating pathology. These preliminary results suggest further testing of the intervention among Indian samples is warranted. 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. -
Quality of work life, emotional and physical well-being of police personnel in India
The job profile of police officers places exceptional demands on them leading to risks to life, personal discomfort and stress. This article aims to examine how the physical and emotional well-being of police personnel is affected by their perceived quality of work life (QWL). The study looked at the questionnaire responses of 234 police personnel. Emotional well-being is measured as the absence of depression, emotional hyperactivity, difficulty relaxing, irritability and anxiety, whereas physical well-being is measured as the presence of diabetes, thyroid problems, insomnia and obesity. The study assessed police perceptions of QWL as provided by the government. The study findings are segregated for QWL on the basis of dominant ill-being and dominant well-being. Factors such as career and development, working environment, safety, work load, compensation and fear of punishment should be carefully analysed and improved. Some 71.8% of the respondents suffered from two or more emotional ailments; 70% suffered from two or more physical ailments. Findings suggest that QWL dimensions that fall within dominant ill-being need to be addressed immediately by policy makers and management to improve police well-being. The Author(s) 2021. -
The Hubble tension: Change in dark energy or a case for modified gravity?
Recently, much controversy has been raised about the cosmological conundrum involving the discrepancy in the value of the Hubble constant as implied by Planck satellite observations of the CMBR in the early Universe and that deduced from other distance indicators (for instance using standard candles like supernovae, tip of the red giant branch, etc.) in the present epoch. The Planck estimate is about 67km-1Mpc-1, while that deduced from distance indicators at the present epoch is around 73-74km-1Mpc-1. Also the independent determination of the local value of the Hubble constant based on a calibration of the tip of the red giant branch and applied to Type Ia supernovae found a value of 69.8km-1Mpc-1. Here we propose a modification of the gravitational field on large scales as an alternate explanation for this discrepancy in the value of the Hubble constant as implied in the above-mentioned method, i.e., by Planck observations of the CMBR in the early Universe, and that deduced from other distance indicators in the present epoch. 2021, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science. -
Spectral Properties of the Soft X-Ray Transient MAXI J0637-430 Using AstroSat
Soft X-ray transients are systems that are detected when they go into an outburst, wherein their X-ray luminosity increases by several orders of magnitude. These outbursts are markers of the poorly understood change in the spectral state of these systems from the low/hard state to the high/soft state. We report the spectral properties of one such soft X-ray transient: MAXI J0637-430, with data from the SXT and LAXPC instruments on board the AstroSat mission. The source was observed for a total of ?60 ks in two observations on 2019 November 8 and 21 soon after its discovery. Flux-resolved spectral analysis of the source indicates the presence of a multicolor blackbody component arising from the accretion disk and a thermal Comptonization component. The stable low temperature (?0.55 keV) of the blackbody component points to a cool accretion disk with an inner disk radius of the order of a few hundred kilometers. In addition, we report the presence of a relativistically broadened Gaussian line at 6.4 keV. The disk-dominated flux and photon power-law index of ?2 and a constant inner disk radius indicate the source to be in the soft state. From the study we conclude that MAXI J0637-430 is a strong candidate for a black hole X-ray binary. 2022. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society. -
REGARDING NEW NUMERICAL RESULTS for the DYNAMICAL MODEL of ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS with FRACTIONAL DERIVATIVE
The main purpose of the present investigation is to find the solution of fractional coupled equations describing the romantic relationships using q-homotopy analysis transform method (q-HATM). The considered scheme is a unification of q-homotopy analysis technique with Laplace transform (LT). More preciously, we scrutinized the behavior of the obtained solution for the considered model with fractional-order, in order to elucidate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. Further, for the different fractional-order and parameters offered by the considered method, the physical natures have been apprehended. The obtained consequences evidence that the proposed method is very effective and highly methodical to study and examine the nature and its corresponding consequences of the system of fractional order differential equations describing the real word problems. 2022 The Author(s). -
Convective heat and mass transports and chaos in two-component systems: comparison of results of physically realistic boundary conditions with those of artificial ones
Linear and weakly nonlinear stability analyses of double-diffusive convection in two-component liquids with either potassium chloride (KCl) or sodium chloride (NaCl) aqueous solution, and heat being present is investigated in the paper for free, and rigid, isothermal, iso-solutal boundaries. Using the thermophysical values of the aqueous solutions, we have shown that the stationary convection is the preferred mode at onset and that sub-critical motion is possible. We found that the critical thermal Rayleigh number for water+NaCl+heat is higher compared to that of water+KCl+heat. The study shows that for water+KCl+heat, the transition from convective motion to chaotic motion occurs at rH= 27.2 for free boundaries and at 48.5 for rigid boundaries. Here, rH denotes the Hopf thermal Rayleigh number. Further, the existence of windows of mildly chaotic points and fully periodic intervals are reported using Lyapunov exponents and bifurcation diagrams. Chaotic motions in both the aqueous solutions are nearly identical. The percentage increase in heat transport in the double-diffusive system involving NaCl is nearly 1% more than that of KCl in the case of free boundaries, whereas in the case of realistic boundaries it is nearly 1.6%. The comparison of the Nusselt and the Sherwood numbers between water+KCl and water+NaCl leads us to the conclusion that the aqueous solution with lower Lewis number transports maximum heat in the case of free boundaries and opposite is seen in the case of rigid boundaries due to the boundary effect. The many qualitative similarities between the results of artificial and realistic boundaries are highlighted. 2021, Akadiai Kiad Budapest, Hungary. -
Toxicological Profiling of Onion-Peel-Derived Mesoporous Carbon Nanospheres Using In Vivo Drosophila melanogaster Model
Toxicological profiling of the novel carbon materials has become imperative, owing to their wide applicability and potential health risks on exposure. In the current study, the toxicity of mesoporous carbon nanospheres synthesized from waste onion peel was investigated using the genetic animal model Drosophila melanogaster. The survival assays at different doses of carbon nanoparticles suggested their non-toxic effect for exposure for 25 days. Developmental and behavioral defects were not observed. The biochemical and metabolic parameters, such as total antioxidant capacity (TAC), protein level, triglyceride level, and glucose, were not significantly altered. The neurological toxicity as analyzed using acetylcholinesterase activity was also not altered significantly. Survival, behavior, and biochemical assays suggested that oral feeding of mesoporous carbon nanoparticles for 25 days did not elicit any significant toxicity effect in Drosophila melanogaster. Thus, mesoporous carbon nanoparticles synthesized from waste onion peel can be used as beneficial drug carriers in different disease models. 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. -
Heat transport in the flow of magnetized nanofluid over a stretchable surface with heat sources: A mathematical model with realistic conditions
Analyzing the heat transport of nanofluids is of prime importance to various industrial and engineering sectors which involves modeling the physical phenomena via highly nonlinear partial differential equations. In this study, the flow and heat transport of a nanoliquid on a bi-directionally elongating surface subject to two different heat modulations (linear temperature-related heat source and space-related exponential heat source) is investigated using the two-component Buongiorno nanoliquid model. The dynamics of the nanoliquid are altered by an external magnetic field applied perpendicular to the sheet. The impact of Brownian motion, Lorentz forces, and thermophoresis are analyzed under the realistic passive control of the nanoparticles. A comparative analysis of the flow over the linear and nonlinear drawn surface is presented. Numeric solutions for the governing partial differential system are obtained through the finite difference method (FDM). Among two types of heat source modulations, the maximum heat transport is observed in the presence of the exponential space-based heat source modulation. The flow and thermal fields are found to advance in the linear elongated surface flow than the nonlinear elongated flow. Furthermore, the random movement of the nanoparticles and the greater magnitude of the Lorentz force have a positive effect on the thermal enhancement in the nanoliquid system. The results of the study have applications in heating/cooling processes, nanoliquid-dependent structures, and thermal systems with stretchable materials. 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH