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Friction and wear behaviour of HVOF sprayed Cr2O3-TiO2 coatings on aluminium alloy
This study investigates the tribological behaviour of Cr2O3-TiO2 composite coatings deposited on aluminium 6061 alloy. Cr2O3-TiO2 composite coatings were deposited by high velocity oxyfuel (HVOF) technique. Developed coatings were subjected to microstructure studies, microhardness test (ASTM E92), friction and wear test (ASTM G99). Pin-on-disc machine was used to evaluate friction and wear characteristics of Cr2O3-TiO2 coatings. Effect of sliding velocity (0.314 m/s-1.26 m/s) and load (20 N-100 N) on friction and wear characteristics of Cr2O3-TiO2 coatings were studied and compared with uncoated aluminium alloy. Results showed 54% improvement in hardness of Cr2O3-TiO2 coatings in comparison with aluminium alloy. Coefficient of friction and wear rate decreases by 12% and 48% respectively when evaluated with uncoated aluminium alloy. Coefficient of friction (COF) and wear rate increases with increase in load and sliding velocity for both coatings and substrate. However, Cr2O3-TiO2 coatings showed lower wear rate and COF at all the loads and sliding velocities studied when compared with uncoated aluminium alloy. Worn out surfaces of uncoated and Cr2O3-TiO2 coated surfaces were subjected to SEM analysis to understand the wear mechanisms in composite coatings. 2021 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.. All rights reserved. -
Origin and diversification of Indian Ceropegieae (Apocynaceae) and its possible relation to the Indian monsoon
The Indian subcontinent has experienced a major shift in climatic regime from a wet tropical regime to increased seasonal rainfall, since the late Miocene. This shift has been attributed to the intensification of monsoons, which led to opening up of dry habitats in humid forests and formation of deciduous forests. We explored the role of this climatic shift in the origin and diversification of dry-adapted plant genera Ceropegia and Brachystelma (Ceropegiae, Asclepiadoideae, Apocynaceae). We sampled Ceropegia and Brachystelma from across India and used five markers (two nuclear and three plastid regions) to reconstruct a global phylogeny of this group. Indian members of the tribe Ceropegiae were derived from Africa through at least four independent dispersal events. All dispersal events occurred in late Miocene after establishment of a monsoon climate. One of these early dispersing lineages underwent rapid radiation in peninsular India, giving rise to around 50 species. Thus, both dispersal and diversification events coincided with the intensification of monsoons and concomitant aridification. The role of environment in the evolution of floral characteristics and root type in the Indian radiation is also discussed. This is one of the first reports on a dry-adapted endemic radiation of plants in India. 2020 Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences -
Properties of alkali-activated concrete (AAC) incorporating demolished building waste (DBW) as aggregates
This study was undertaken to evaluate the potential of demolished building waste (DBW) as aggregates in alkali-activated concrete (AAC). A recent road-widening activity led to the demolition of commercial buildings along National Highway 275, Bangalore-Bantwal, India. DBW was collected from these sites and processed manually at the laboratory facility of CHRIST (Deemed to be University). Processing of DBW was done to obtain both waste coarse and fine aggregates from demolished concrete and brick waste units, respectively. AAC was synthesized by fly ash, ground granulated blast furnace slag, sodium hydroxide, sodium silicate, along with waste aggregate replacement rates of 0, 25, 50, and 75% by weight of natural aggregates. Fresh and hardened properties of developed concrete mixtures were experimentally determined. Results of the study indicate that 28-day compressive strength of 30.4 and 21 MPa was obtained for AAC with 25 and 50% DBW aggregates, which was 8.6 and 36.9% lower than control mix, respectively. Further, there was an increase in the water absorption and a reduction to acid resistance for all the AAC mixes with DBW aggregates. Based on the results obtained, it was observed that AAC with 25 and 50% DBW aggregates find great potential in civil engineering applications. 2021 The Author(s). This open access article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license. -
Carrying capacity assessment for religious crowd management - An application to sabarimala mass gathering pilgrimage, India
Crowd Management is always a challenging task when people gather in large numbers. Crowd disasters in India, including recurring incidents at religious venues, demands a crowd management system developed on the characteristics of the place, event, and participants. Assessment of carrying capacity is the prime process to design crowd management protocols and regulations. Carrying capacity assessment of religious gathering venues in India is often an overlooked process. The present study assessed the crowd carrying capacity of Sabarimala pilgrimage, Kerala, India. Physical carrying capacity assessment methods used for tourism venues have been applied and contextualised for crowd carrying capacity assessment. Characteristics of the venue, pilgrimage and pilgrims were studied to map the active crowd area and space utilisation zones. The physical carrying capacity was estimated based on the comfortable crowd density and threshold crowd density assessments. The study identified two factors influencing pilgrim movement within the venue viz. service level at the holy step and capacity of the darshan facility. Service level at the holy step is the prime factor that regulates the flow of the pilgrim within the venue including the pilgrim movement for deity darshan and hence the comfortable capacity of the holy step was distinguished as the effective carrying capacity of the venue. Physical carrying capacity at the comfortable crowd density has to be maintained throughout the event to avoid the triggering of crowd crushes. The crowd carrying capacity assessment (CCCA) method applied in this study is a simple process. Considering the crowd density and crowd regulation factors, the CCCA method can be applied to design crowd management protocols of other religious pilgrimage destinations in India. International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage -
Parle Products: The Journey of Budget Brand Toward Premiumization
Parle Products has been one of the foremost pioneers of the biscuit and confectionery industry in India. Since its inception in 1929, Parle has been synonymous with quality, nutrition, taste, and affordability in India. Having more than 40 brands across different product categories in its portfolio, Parle Products has come a long way. Due to the enormous success of brand Parle-G, the mother brand Parle has been associated with values of affordability and quality. Parle has always been a strong player in the value segment and thus customers associate all brands of the company as being the affordable brand with quality. While the industry peers such as Britannia and Indian Tobacco Company (ITC) have positioned themselves as a champion of premium segments, Parle Products is still known as an affordable or budget brand among Indian masses. Considering the increasing demand for premium biscuits among the new generation of consumers, Parle Products has introduced the new division Parle Platina in 2017. But the transformation of value or budget brand into the luxury and premium brands is not easy, as the legacy of value brand among the masses is not easy to shake off. This becomes more difficult and challenging in a highly fragmented, competitive, and price-sensitive biscuit market like India. Another problem for the Parle Products is to hit the sweet spot between the mass market and the premium demographic which the brand is currently missing out in a highly fragmented and competitive Indian biscuit market. 2020 K. J. Somaiya Institute of Management. -
Powerlessness in the moral self: a social cognitive perspective on drug users
Powerlessness resides in devalued self-images of drug users. This study, drawing on social and moral psychology, examined the moral functioning of drug users compared to non-drug users. Self-reported data concerning moral identity and moral judgment on drug use were assessed and compared between groups. Drug users appeared to have significantly weaker moral identity centrality and pro-drug moral judgment than non-drug users. They also showed dissociation in the relationship between moral identity and moral judgment. As a result, the study proposed a moral identity model of drug use to better approach social cognitive powerlessness in drug users moral self. 2021 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. -
Bt cotton and the voices of the widows in the face of farmer-suicides
This article deploys the culture-centered approach to foreground the everyday constructions of farmer-suicides amid the agrarian epidemic among the farmer-widows to attend to the everyday structures that constitute the meanings of the suicides. The depictions of the patriarchal structures of decision-making in agriculture are intertwined with the broader erasure of the interplays of inequality in farmers experiences from the discursive sites of neoliberal agriculture. Furthermore, the voices of the widows disrupt the monolithic construction of agricultural technologies as tools of modernization and progress dominant in the development communication scholarship, instead, depicting the ways in which new technologies (such as Bt cotton) are constituted within, and reproduce, the overarching inequalities. 2020 National Communication Association. -
Mediating Effect of Brand Relationship Quality on Relational Bonds and Online Grocery Retailer Loyalty
The current study aims to identify how brand relationship quality mediates the relationship between different online relational bonds, and attitudinal and behavioral loyalty. A total of 316 valid questionnaires from respondents aged 2035 were collected using quota sampling from five different clusters in Bangalore, India. Hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. This study finds that convenience bonds and structural bond have no impact on brand trust and attitudinal and behavioral loyalty. All five relational bonds namely, convenience, structural, financial, empathy, and social bonds are seen to influence their sense of community and attitudinal attachment. Sense of community is the primary influencer of brand loyalty. This study reveals that brand dimensions of brand quality relationship mediate the effect of financial, empathy, and social bonds on attitudinal and behavioral loyalty. It also illustrates the role of different relational bonds as a stimulus, and relationship quality dimensions as an organism that lead to improved customer loyalty in online grocery retailing. Managers of online grocery stores can consider these new relational bonds, along with the traditional bonds, to develop positive emotions and achieve competitive advantage. 2021 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. -
Palliative care in duchenne muscular dystrophy: A study on parents' understanding
Introduction: Duchene muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a neuromuscular disease of childhood, which has clear progression. The international standardized care guidelines for DMD suggest that palliative care is essential for the affected children. Objective: To explore the parent's understanding of palliative care services available for children with DMD and the challenges faced by them in utilizing the same. Methods: A cross-sectional qualitative exploratory study was conducted among six families of boys diagnosed with DMD. A semi-structured interview guide with prompts was used to conduct in-depth interviews which lasted for an average of 1 h. Thematic analysis was done to identify the pattern or themes. Results: The major themes identified were 'palliative care, living with DMD, awareness about palliative care services and challenges.' Awareness about palliative care services is the dominant theme identified as influencing rest of the experiences narrated by the parents of children with DMD. Discussion: Integration of palliative care services from an early stage of the illness can help the child to make transition from one stage to another stage of the illness. To ensure the utilization of the available palliative care services, there is a need to create awareness about it among the general public. Conclusion: Introducing the concept of palliation of symptoms and ensuring quality of life of the child with DMD by accessing the available services can aid the parents to reach out for help for their child. 2021 Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications. All rights reserved. -
Probiotic properties of enterococcus faecium isolated from gallus gallus domesticus and its antimicrobial, antibiofilm and growth enhancing potential in danio rerio
This study focused on isolation and characterisation of potential probiotic bacteria from a non aquatic source (Gallus gallus domesticus). Enterococcus sp. was isolated from the midgut of G. gallus domesticus and was characterised for its ability to survive in artificial gastric juice, trypsin, varying pH and temperature, different concentrations of organic solvents, and was evaluated for its ammonia reduction potential. Notable inhibition of biofilm against Vibrio harveyi (41.03.2 %), Escherichia coli (33.04.0 %), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (37.84.0 %) and Staphylococcus aureus (41.72.0 %) was observed. The study showed that the isolate improved the survival rate of Danio rerio against V. harveyi and E. coli in challenge studies using survival analysis. The weight and length gains observed were 4.90.1 % and 0.30.2 % (p>0.05), respectively. The use of probiotics from nonaquatic sources can increase the diversity of available probiotics for aquaculture practices. 2021, Faculty of Fisheries, Kasetsart University. All rights reserved. -
How well the log periodic power law works in an emerging stock market?
A growing body of research work on Log Periodic Power Law (LPPL) tries to predict market bubbles and crashes. Mostly, the fitment parameters remain con?ned within certain specific ranges. This paper examines these claims and the robustness of the reformulated LPPL model of Filimonov & Sornette (2013) for capturing large falls in the S&P BSE Sensex, an Indian heavyweight index over the period 20002019. Thirty-five mid to large-sized crashes are identified during this period, forming a clear LPPL signature. This confirms the possibility to predict the embedded risk of future uncertain events in the Indian stock market with the LPPL approach. 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. -
Sustainable tourism development in the backwaters of South Kerala, India: The local government perspective
Improper waste management continues to be a major challenge in the backwater destinations of South Kerala, India and the local government has been identified as a key player having a strong influence on sustainable tourism development initiatives in the destination. The study examines the major obstacles encountered while implementing sustainable tourism development practices in the backwater destinations of South Kerala, India. Qualitative data collected with the support of semi-structured interviews with top government officials of the Tourism Industry is used for the study. The findings from the study show that improper waste management affects sustainable tourism development in the backwater destinations, and that community involvement and community support are pre-requisites for implementing solid waste management practices in the backwater destinations of the state. The study also enlightens the roles of various stakeholders in waste management so as to develop a strong perspective of sustainable tourism development in the region. 2020 Editura Universitatii din Oradea. All rights reserved. -
Factors Influencing Association of Intermediaries in the Supply Chain of Consumer Healthcare Brands
Purpose: The rural market in India provides tremendous scope for FMCG consumer healthcare companies to market their products because of a significant increase of rural purchasing power. Many empirical studies in this area highlight the challenges and opportunities for marketers in the FMCG space. Research articles are not in abundance to understand intermediaries' expectations in the supply chain specific to consumer healthcare products. The existing literature did not significantly address the challenges of channel partners in the rural market. The present study aims to determine the retailer expectations from manufacturers and channel members' mutual expectations in the FMCG distribution channel. Research design and Methodology: The present study adopted a qualitative research methodology. Fifty respondents from each level of distribution channel such as super-stockist, distributors and retailers in central India were identified and an interview method was adopted to collect the data. Results: Nineteen factors were identified to influence the intermediaries for involvement in the business with any FMCG brand. Factors like Profit margin, reverse logistics, credit terms, return on investment, timely payments were crucial for managing the expectations of all intermediaries. This study provides academic as well as practical implications in terms of enabling the industry to align its channel management strategies accordingly 2021 The Author(s) A. S. Suresh. All Rights Reserved. -
Structure-based virtual screening, pharmacokinetic prediction, molecular dynamics studies for the identification of novel EGFR inhibitors in breast cancer
Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent malignancy cancer types especially affecting women globally. EGFR is a proto onco gene as well as the first identified tyrosine kinase receptor. It plays a dynamic role in many biological tasks such as apoptosis, cell cycle progression, differentiation, development and transcription. Somatic mutation in the EGFR kinase domain derails the normal kinase activity and over expression leads to the progression of cancer especially breast cancer. EGFR is one of the well-known therapeutic targets for breast cancer. In this scenario, we attempt to identify novel potent inhibitors of EGFR. Initially, we performed structure-based virtual screening and identified four potential compounds effective against EGFR. Further, the compounds were subjected to ADME prediction as part of evaluation of the druggability and all the four compounds found to fall under satisfactory range with predicted pharmacokinetic properties. Eventually, the conformational stability of proteinligand complex was analyzed at different time scale by using Gromacs software. Molecular dynamics simulation run of 20 ns is carried out and results were analyzed using root mean square deviation (RMSD), root mean square fluctuation (RMSF) to signify the stability of proteinigand complex. The stability of the proteinligand complex is more stable throughout entire simulation. From the results obtained from in silico studies, we propose that these compounds are exceptionally useful for further lead optimization and drug development. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma. 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. -
Total domination coloring of graphs
A total domination coloring of a graph G is a proper coloring of G in which open neighbourhood of each vertex contains at least one color class and each color class is dominated by at least one vertex. The minimum number of colors required for a total domination coloring of G is called the total domination chromatic number of G and is denoted by ctd(G). In this paper, we study the total domination chromatic number of some graph classes. The bounds of total domination chromatic number with respect to the graph parameters such as the domination number, chromatic number, total dominator chromatic number and total domination number are also studied. 2021 the author(s). -
IoT-based smart alert system for drowsy driver detection
In current years, drowsy driver detection is the most necessary procedure to prevent any road accidents, probably worldwide. The aim of this study was to construct a smart alert technique for building intelligent vehicles that can automatically avoid drowsy driver impairment. But drowsiness is a natural phenomenon in the human body that happens due to different factors. Hence, it is required to design a robust alert system to avoid the cause of the mishap. In this proposed paper, we address a drowsy driver alert system that has been developed using such a technique in which the Video Stream Processing (VSP) is analyzed by eye blink concept through an Eye Aspect Ratio (EAR) and Euclidean distance of the eye. Face landmark algorithm is also used as a proper way to eye detection. When the drivers fatigue is detected, the IoT module issues a warning message along with impact of collision and location information, thereby alerting with the help of a voice speaking through the Raspberry Pi monitoring system. Copyright 2021 Anil Kumar Biswal et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. -
Grey Wolf optimization-Elman neural network model for stock price prediction
Over the past two decades, assessing future price of stock market has been a very active area of research in financial world. Stock price always fluctuates due to many variables. Thus, an accurate prediction of stock price can be considered as a tough task. This study intends to design an efficient model for predicting future price of stock market using technical indicators derived from historical data and natural inspired algorithm. The model adopts Elman neural network (ENN) because of its ability to memorize the past information, which is suitable for solving stock problems. Trial and error-based method is widely used to determine the parameters of ENN. It is a time-consuming task. To address such an issue, this study employs Grey Wolf optimization (GWO) algorithm to optimize the parameters of ENN. Optimized ENN is utilized to predict the future price of stock data in 1day advance. To evaluate the prediction efficiency, proposed model is tested on NYSE and NASDAQ stock data. The efficacy of the proposed model is compared with other benchmark models such as FPA-ELM, PSO-MLP, PSOElman,CSO-ARMA and GA-LSTM to prove its superiority. Results demonstrated that the GWO-ENN model provides accurate prediction for 1day ahead prediction and outperforms the benchmark models taken for comparison. 2020, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature. -
Highly luminescent ZnS:Mn quantum dots capped with aloe vera extract
This study demonstrates the optical properties of ZnS:Mn2+ qquantum dots synthesized by simple and eco-friendly chemical precipitation method using aloe vera (AV) extract as the stabilizing agent. The nanoparticles have been characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), photoluminescence (PL) and time-resolved PL spectroscopy. Increase in band gap energy with decrease in particle size was observed from DRS studies due to quantum confinement effect. Dominant yellow emission was observed from characteristic 4T1?6A1 transitions of the Mn2+ions in the ZnS:Mn/AV nanoparticles. The results provide insight to the quantum confinement effect that occur and how it affect decay life time of the ZnS:Mn2+/AV nanoparticles. 2020 Elsevier Ltd -
Design and Evaluation of Wi-Fi Offloading Mechanism in Heterogeneous Networks
In recent years, WiFi offloading provides a potential solution for improving ad hoc network performance along with cellular network. This paper reviews the different offloading techniques that are implemented in various applications. In disaster management applications, the cellular network is not optimal for existing case studies because the lack of infrastructure. MANET Wi-Fi offloading (MWO) is one of the potential solutions for offloading cellular traffic. This word combines the cellular network with mobile ad hoc network by implementing the technique of Wi-Fi offloading. Based on the applications requirements the offloading techniques implemented into mobile-to-mobile (M-M), mobile-to-cellular (M-C), mobile-to-AP (M-AP). It serves more reliability, congestion eliminated, increasing data rate, and high network performance. The authors also identified the issue while implementing the offloading techniques in network. Finally, this paper achieved the better performance results compared to existing approaches implemented in disaster management. Copyright 2021, IGI Global. -
Overt dependence of health insurance industry on healthcare system
A vast majority of the population in the developing economies remains uninsured. Moreover, the informal sector that employs a larger section of the society is untouched by any of the government scheme. In this study, we use health belief model to examine the factors that induce willingness to buy health insurance among the illness and the non-illness group. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 1,339 participants above 20 years of age of which 351 had contracted illness in the past and 988 had not. Data was collected using questionnaire from four highly populated districts in India. The questionnaire was developed based on the constructs of health belief model. The data was statistically analysed. Kendalls Tau-b correlation technique was used to explore the relationship between perceived vulnerability and product aversion. Logistic regression was used to find out the odds at which each independent variable, categorised based on the health belief model, contributes to willingness to buy. The model was able to predict 15% of the variance for willingness-to-buy among the illness and 27% among the non-illness groups. Findings suggest that the perceived vulnerability reduced product aversion among the illness group. Mere presence of primary and super-specialty hospitals was not sufficient for the illness group to subscribe for health insurance. Income perceptions emerged as a significant predictor among the illness group. Presence of well-established hospital, income perceptions, and subjective norms were significant predictors among the non-illness group. The growth of the health insurance industry largely depends upon the presence of well-established hospitals. In the absence of adequate healthcare facilities, attempts by the insurers to promote insurance covers will become futile. Insurers should also consider alternate segmentation patterns albeit the present socio-demographic pattern, as the health risk experience differs among individuals. Asian Academy of Management and Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia, 2021.