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Natech guide words: A new approach to assess and manage natech risk to ensure business continuity
The risk posed by natural hazards to the technological systems is known as Natech risk. It is different from the more widely known and studied risk posed by such sites to the environment and society. Though currently, available risk assessment techniques recognize Natech, the specific qualitative technique for Natech risk assessment and reduction has not yet been developed. After analyzing past data of Natech accidents, relevant guide words have been suggested in this study. These guide words will help anticipate Natech risk and visualize the Natech scenario. Once the Natech risk is identified, corresponding risk reduction measures can be taken to avoid possible Natech accidents and consequences. 2021 Elsevier Ltd -
Straightforward synthesis of mn3o4/zno/eu2o3-based ternary heterostructure nano-photocatalyst and its application for the photodegradation of methyl orange and methylene blue dyes
Zinc oxide-ternary heterostructure Mn3O4/ZnO/Eu2O3 nanocomposites were successfully prepared via waste curd as fuel by a facile one-pot combustion procedure. The fabricated heterostructures were characterized utilizing XRD, UVVisible, FT-IR, FE-SEM, HRTEM and EDX analysis. The photocatalytic degradation efficacy of the synthesized ternary nanocomposite was evaluated utilizing model organic pollutants of methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO) in water as examples of cationic dyes and anionic dyes, respectively, under natural solar irradiation. The effect of various experimental factors, viz. the effect of a light source, catalyst dosage, irradiation time, pH of dye solution and dye concentration on the photodegradation activity, was systematically studied. The ternary Mn3O4/ZnO/Eu2O3 photocatalyst exhibited excellent MB and MO degradation activity of 98% and 96%, respectively, at 150 min under natural sunlight irradiation. Experiments further conclude that the fabricated nanocomposite exhibits pH-dependent photocatalytic efficacy, and for best results, concentrations of dye and catalysts have to be maintained in a specific range. The prepared photocatalysts are exemplary and could be employed for wastewater handling and several ecological applications. 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. -
Eggshells biowaste for hydroxyapatite green synthesis using extract piper betel leaf - Evaluation of antibacterial and antibiofilm activity
The present research work reports the biosynthesis of hydroxyapatite (HAp) from eggshells and green synthesis of HAp from eggshells with incorporation of Piper betel leaf extract (PBL-HAp) using microwave conversion method. Although there are several works on synthesis of HAp from eggshells and other calcium and phosphorus rich substrates, the incorporation of herbal extract with HAp to promote antimicrobial and antibiofilm activity is less explored and reported. This research work highlights a simple and cost-effective method for development of antimicrobial biomaterials by combining the concepts of waste management, biomaterial science, and herbal medicine. In the present study, characterization of synthesized HAp was applied by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy, and morphological analysis using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The characterization results indicated that the prepared HAp and PBL-HAp were pure b-type carbonated HAp. The PBL-HAp was checked for its antibacterial activity using the well diffusion method and biofilm inhibitory activity by crystal violet assay against some common pathogens. The antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus aureus and biofilm inhibitory activities against Escherichia coli, Vibrio harveyi, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus of Piper betel leaf extract coated HAp (PBL-HAp) were showed to be significant and offered a promising role for the development of potent dental biomaterials. 2021 Elsevier Inc. -
Variations in the l-dopa content, phytochemical constituents and antioxidant activity of different germlines of mucuna pruriens (l.) dc.
In this study a 'wonder plant' Mucuna pruriens (L.) DC., which is commercially important medicinal plant of the Fabaceae family known for its treatment in Central Nervous System disorders like Dementia, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, etc. have been selected. Different germplasms have been collected to analyze the phytochemical variations between them and quantify the L-DOPA in root, stem, leaves and seeds of all the five germlines using HPLC. Along with the biochemical assays, antioxidant activity by DPPH, phosphomolybdneum method, the metal chelating and reductive potential activity of all the germplasms were studied. All parts of the plant have shown the presence of L-DOPA but, seeds have the highest quantity followed by the roots, stem and leaves. Arka Shubra seeds showed high L-DOPA content (51.9 mg/g) while the other germplasms showed L-DOPA ranging from 43-45 mg/g. Highest content of carbohydrates (258.8 mg/g) and phenolics (157.0 mg/g) was seen in the seeds of Arka Aswini. While the seeds and leaves of Arka Charaka showed high protein (332.2 mg/g) and flavonoid (10.2 mg/g) content, respectively. High proline (1.74 mg/g) was observed in the seeds of Arka Shubra. Antioxidant studies revealed that Arka Charaka and Arka Daksha to be having high reductive power and free radical scavenging activity by phosphomolybdate method while high metal chelating activity was observed in Arka Aswini (88.7%) and high antioxidant activity by DPPH method was seen in Arka Shubra (86.5%). 2021 Chemical Publishing Co.. All rights reserved. -
Numerical and sensitivity analysis of MHD bioconvective slip flow of nanomaterial with binary chemical reaction and Newtonian heating
The impact of Stefan blowing on the MHD bioconvective slip flow of a nanofluid towards a sheet is explored using numerical and statistical tools. The governing partial differential equations are nondimensionalized and converted to similarity equations using apposite transformations. These transformed equations are solved using the RungeKuttaFehlberg method with the shooting technique. Graphical visualizations are used to scrutinize the effect of the controlling parameters on the flow profiles, skin friction coefficient, local Nusselt, and Sherwood number. Moreover, the sensitivities of the reduced Sherwood and Nusselt number to the input variables of interest are explored by adopting the response surface methodology. The outcomes of the limiting cases are emphatically in corroboration with the outcomes from preceding research. It is found that the heat transfer rate has a positive sensitivity towardsthe haphazard motion of the nanoparticles and a negative sensitivity towardsthe thermomigration. The thermal field is enhanced by the Stefan blowing aspect. Moreover, the fluid velocity can be controlled by the applied magnetic field. 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC -
Dynamics of Sutterby fluid flow due to a spinning stretching disk with non-Fourier/Fick heat and mass flux models
The magnetohydrodynamic Sutterby fluid flow instigated by a spinning stretchable disk is modeled in this study. The Stefan blowing and heat and mass flux aspects are incorporated in the thermal phenomenon. The conventional models for heat and mass flux, i.e., Fourier and Fick models, are modified using the Cattaneo-Christov (CC) model for the more accurate modeling of the process. The boundary layer equations that govern this problem are solved using the apt similarity variables. The subsequent system of equations is tackled by the Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg (RKF) scheme. The graphical visualizations of the results are discussed with the physical significance. The rates of mass and heat transmission are evaluated for the augmentation in the pertinent parameters. The Stefan blowing leads to more species diffusion which in turn increases the concentration field of the fluid. The external magnetism is observed to decrease the velocity field. Also, more thermal relaxation leads to a lower thermal field which is due to the increased time required to transfer the heat among fluid particles. The heat transport is enhanced by the stretching of the rotating disk. 2021, Shanghai University. -
Extricating the Association Between the Prognostic Factors of Colorectal Cancer
Purpose: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the recurring and lethal gastrointestinal tract disease rankings as the primary cause of worldwide morbidity and mortality. In general, the tumour node metastasis (TNM) and Dukes classification assist in diagnosis, prognosis and treatments of CRC along with haematological examinations and tumour demographic characterisations in patients. Methods: The present investigation is carried out on clinically acknowledged sixty-five CRC patients based on haematological findings and are sorted into stages using TNM and Dukes. The present study is to find the association between haematological findings, demographic characters, differentiation position, lymph node invasion and tumour node metastasis in CRC patients in accordance with their age. Results: We observed significant (p < 0.05) nexus between lymph node metastasis and tumour node metastasis on the basis of tumours differentiation demographic positioning and age of the individuals. Conclusion: Earlier location tracing and medicinal treatment or surgery lessen the chance of CRC morbidity and mortality along with prolonging survival rate via prognostic factors and disease position determination. 2020, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. -
Evolution of primordial dark matter planets in the early Universe
In a recent paper we had discussed possibility of DM at high redshifts forming primordial planets composed entirely of DM to be one of the reasons for not detecting DM (as the flux of ambient DM particles would be consequently reduced). In this paper we discuss the evolution of these DM objects as the Universe expands. As Universe expands there will be accretion of DM, helium and hydrogen layers (discussed in detail) on these objects. As they accumulate more and more mass, the layers get heated up leading to nuclear reactions which burn H and He when a critical thickness is reached. In the case of heavier masses of these DM objects, matter can be ejected explosively. It is found that the time scale of ejection is smaller than those from other compact objects like neutron stars (that lead to x-ray bursts). These flashes of energy could be a possible observational signature for these dense DM objects. 2021 COSPAR -
Quantum inspired meta-heuristic approaches for automatic clustering of colour images
In this article, quantum inspired incarnations of two swarm based meta-heuristic algorithms, namely, Crow Search Optimization Algorithm and Intelligent Crow Search Optimization Algorithm have been proposed for automatic clustering of colour images. The performance and effectiveness of the proposed algorithms have been judged by experimenting on 15 Berkeley images and five publicly available real life images of different sizes. The validity of the proposed algorithms has been justified with the help of four different cluster validity indices, namely, Pakhira Bandyopadhyay Maulik, I-index, Silhouette and CS-measure. Moreover, Sobol's sensitivity analysis has been performed to tune the parameters of the proposed algorithms. The experimental results prove the superiority of proposed algorithms with respect to optimal fitness, computational time, convergence rate, accuracy, robustness, (Formula presented.) -test and Friedman test. Finally, the efficacy of the proposed algorithms has been proved with the help of quantitative evaluation of segmentation evaluation metrics. 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC -
Coyote optimization algorithm for optimal allocation of interline Photovoltaic battery storage system in islanded electrical distribution network considering EV load penetration
In current times, there is a need to do power system planning to endure situations of any kind. An islanding operation is one such unavoidable situation that may be required in many cases for both technical and economic reasons. First and foremost, this paper focuses on the determination of the best allotment of Interline-Photovoltaic (I-PV) system as per Electric Vehicle (EV) load penetration in the network. With different operational constraints, a multi-objective optimization using real power loss and voltage deviation index is formulated and solved using the Coyote Optimization Algorithm (COA).The paper highlights the computational efficiency of COA with Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Grey Wolf Optimizer (GWO), in addition to various literary works, and the results suggest the superiority of COA by its global optima. The required battery energy storage system (BESS) capacity for supplying an islanded network's entire load demand for a day is determined in the second stage. The simulations were carried out on the IEEE 33-bus electrical distribution network (EDN) contemplating different levels of EV load penetration. The proposed methodology results have proved that the required energy is provided by optimal I-PV-BESS backup for a daylong islanding operation and its adaptability for practical situations. 2021 Elsevier Ltd -
Why learning space matters: a script approach to the phenomena of learning in the emergency remote learning scenario
The study focuses on how the notion of learning space is perceived and experienced by learners in the Emergency Remote Learning (ERL) scenario. In doing so, the lived experiences of remote learners who were abruptly shifted to a completely online learning space due to the pandemic COVID-19 in the Indian higher education system are documented. Online interviews were conducted with eight undergraduate and four postgraduate students of English and Cultural Studies, enrolled at a Southern Indian university, and their responses were explicated using the Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach. The interviews revealed that the phenomenon of ERL is shaped by dissonance informed by the absence of a familiar learning space. Often the patterns of this dissonance were marked by (1) the perception of learning and learning space, (2) the lack of intimacy in learning and learning space, (3) the negotiations made for learning and the space of learning in ERL, and (4) the challenges to cope with the responsibilities of the ERL scenario. Further, the script approach was applied to analyse the data and the analysis revealed an expansion of the existing internal scripts that were based on previous learning experiences of the learners. The study thus establishes the centrality of space in the process of learning and points out how the lack of a familiar learning space is linked to the absence of internal scripts that considerably impact learning. The study concludes by discussing the possibilities of application of script approach to effectively incorporate the aspect of learning space in new pedagogies and learning models as Blended Learning (BL) and Online Learning (OL) become the new normal worldwide. 2021, Beijing Normal University. -
Investigations on Slurry Erosive on Wear Performance of HVOF-Sprayed Cr2O3 Coatings on Aluminum Alloy
The slurry erosion behavior of thermally sprayed Cr2O3 coatings on Aluminium alloy is evaluated in the current research. By employing a high-velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) spraying process, Cr2O3 coatings were deposited on the Aluminium 6061 alloy. Microhardness, as well as microstructure of the coatings, were explored to analyze the developed coatings. Slurry erosive wear experiments have been conducted by varying the conditions of the slurry erosion process, such as test duration, slurry concentration, slurry speed, and size of impinging particles, on the erosion test rig. The outcome has shown that with an increase in slurry concentration, slurry speed, and impinging particle size, the slurry erosive wear loss increases. By utilizing 3D confocal microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, the wear mechanisms of uncoated and Cr2O3-coated samples have been examined. 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG. -
Causal relationship among various development indices: A panel study
The concept of development has been regarded as a broader phenomenon encompassing various interrelated factors leading to improvement in the overall human wellbeing. So, it is important to understand the interlinkages between various dimensions of development. The present study was an attempt to analyze the causal relationship between the four aspects of development measured by the indices, namely the Economic Development Index (EDI), Social Development Index (SDI), Environment Development Index (ENDI), and Institutional Development Index (IDI) for a panel of 102 counties from 1996 to 2015. The long?run relationship between these indices through the panel ARDL model were also examined. The results indicated that there existed a bidirectional causal relationship between EDI and SDI, IDI and SDI, ENDI and SDI, and between IDI and ENDI. The one-way causality runs from IDI to EDI and ENDI to EDI. Further, given the nature of the variables considered here, panel autoregressive distributed lag models were used to examine the long?run relationship between the indices of development. The results showed that the impact of development indices with one another was statistically significant in the long run. 2021 The Society of Economics and Development, except certain content provided by third parties. -
Polypyrrole- silver nanocomposite for enhanced photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue under sunlight irradiation
Polypyrrole (Ppy) -Silver nanocomposite samples have been synthesised by chemical oxidative polymerisation. The characteristic peaks of face centered cubic (fcc) structure of silver in XRD confirmed its presence in Ppy. Shift in NH stretching frequency observed in FTIR spectroscopy revealed the coordination of silver into Ppy. The photocatalytic activity of the samples was studied by photocatalytic degradation of the aqueous solution of methylene blue (MB) under sunlight. The presence of Ag in polypyrrole (Ppy) enhanced its photocatalytic activity with respect to the reported values which further increased on increasing the silver concentration. 2021 Elsevier B.V. -
IoT-based traffic prediction and traffic signal control system for smart city
Because of the population increasing so high, and traffic density remaining the same, traffic prediction has become a great challenge today. Creating a higher degree of communication in automobiles results in the time wastage, fuel wastage, environmental damage, and even death caused by citizens being trapped in the middle of traffic. Only a few researchers work in traffic congestion prediction and control systems, but it may provide less accuracy. So, this paper proposed an efficient IoT-based traffic prediction using OWENN algorithm and traffic signal control system using Intel 80,286 microprocessor for a smart city. The proposed system consists of 5 phases, namely IoT data collection, feature extraction, classification, optimized traffic IoT values, and traffic signal control system. Initially, the IoT traffic data are collected from the dataset. After that, traffic, weather, and direction information are extracted, and these extracted features are given as input to the OWENN classifier, which classifies which place has more traffic. Suppose one direction of the place has more traffic, it optimizes the IoT values by using IBSO, and finally, the traffic is controlled by using Intel 80,286 microprocessor. An efficient OWENN algorithm for traffic prediction and traffic signal control using a Intel 80,286 microprocessor for a smart city. After extracting the features, the classification is performed in this step. Hereabout, the classification is done by using the optimized weight Elman neural network (OWENN) algorithm that classifies which places have more traffic. OWENN attains 98.23% accuracy than existing model also its achieved 96.69% F-score than existing model. The experimental results show that the proposed system outperforms state-of-the-art methods. 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature. -
Pollution forecast of united states using holt-winter exponential method
The United States is the world's most developed country and one of the top ten most air polluted countries in the world. Though the population is not very dense as in India or China, people face immense health problems. The US government is taking a lot of initiatives than any other government globally. However, it still faces issues. This paper mainly focuses on developing a forecasting model of the top four pollutants like SO2, NO2, CO, O3 that will help the country take necessary actions for the near future. This paper involves the secondary data of the daily pollution collected and merged for all states from 2007 to 2017. The forecast will throw the better output at the pollutants for the next four years, until 2021. The findings revealed that despite the increased GDP, the country had controlled the pollution level. NO2 has decreased to a better level. O3 and CO2 are also decreasing but has slight fluctuations. It will take some time to stabilize. SO2 had an increased level till 2017 and has started reducing afterwards. 2021 Ecological Society of India. All rights reserved. -
Sustainable intensification of water guzzling crops: Identifying suitable cropping districts of India
With food sufficiency being achieved, emphasis of policy makers is now on to sustainable intensification in line with the objectives of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).Widening discrepancy between the water-resource supply and demand necessitates relook into the cropping pattern of the country.Based on district-level secondary data of area, productivity and level of groundwater extraction, this study aims to identify critical and potential area for cultivation of three major water-intensive crops, i.e.rice, wheat and sugarcane.Study found that 1.93 million ha of area under rice, mainly in north-western and western India, need a gradual shift.Nearly 43% of the rice cultivated area in eastern and north-eastern states of West Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Assam has potential for further intensification of rice cultivation.In case of wheat, around 0.65 million ha of area, mostly in Rajasthan, is critical in terms of sustainability.Livestock is an integral part of agriculture in this region and hence diversification of wheat would require mixed strategy of shifting to alternative dual-purpose crops and wheat cultivation with water conservation technologies.Study ftirther found that around 13543 ha of sugarcane in mainly in western Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu is deterring the groundwater resources.Recommendations emanating from the study include differentiates agricultural price policy, payment for ecosystem services and greater focus on productivity enhancement in eastern India. 2021 Indian Council of Agricultural Research. All rights reserved. -
Stakeholders' pedagogical preferences for teaching 'marketing' in management education
This study has been realized that there is a dire need for re-thinking, particularly obvious for matters of assessment and its relation to the current focus on teaching marketing. A descriptive design of the research was used where convenient sampling has been followed for data collection. In order to achieve the purpose, it was decided to collect independent opinions of students, teachers, and professionals. Analysis has been done through descriptive statistics and Spearman's rank correlation. As a result, a significant difference between the stakeholders' perceptions about the pedagogy for teaching marketing in management education was identified. 2021 Ecological Society of India. All rights reserved. -
Litchi inflicted child mortality in Bihar-a whistle blower to the pathetic public health system and other contributory factors
Introduction: Seasonal outbreak of a neurological illness called encephalopathy causing death among children has been reported since 1995 from the state of Bihar in India where in the year 2019 fifty-four children reportedly died due to this cause. Though this illness and its deadly consequences have been reportedly associated to consumption of a locally harvested fruit in the state called Litchi, still, it would not be appropriate to blame the fruit alone which is widely consumed by millions of people in India and all around the world without causing them any health hazards. Objectives: The study aims at exploring and reporting the prime contributory causes of encephalopathy among children due to consumption of the Litchi fruit in the state of Bihar. Methods: The article is based on review and analysis of secondary data gathered through scientific research papers, reports and statistics published by various ministries and departments of the Government of India, data published by recognised medical bodies, news journals and relevant research articles. Results: The findings of the report confirm that Litchi victimizes only those who are malnourished and feed in a considerable quantity to quench their hunger. The real causes of litchi inflicted child mortality is therefore poverty, malnutrition, lack of proper and equipped public health system leading to lack of timely and quality access to medical facilities, absence or lack of nutritious evening meal and high exposure to litchi orchards and large amount of time spent by children in these orchards without supervision and control. Conclusion: Strict monitoring and supervision should be executed in the health units of the state of Bihar and the same should be equipped with necessary equipment and manpower. The people in the state especially the uneducated should be made aware of the deadly outcomes of consuming large amount of litchi on an empty stomach. 2021 Elsevier Masson SAS -
Novel dioxidomolybdenum complexes containing ONO chelators: Synthesis, physicochemical properties, crystal structures, Hirshfeld surface analysis, DNA binding/cleavage studies, docking, and in vitro cytotoxicity
A series of dioxidomolybdenum (VI) complexes, [MoO2(ESB)H2O]DMF (1), [MoO2(ESB)MeOH] (2), and [MoO2(ESB)H2O]EtOH (3), containing 3-ethoxysalicylaldehyde benzoylhydrazone have been synthesized and analysed using various spectral and analytical techniques such as elemental analyses, IR spectra, UVVis absorption spectra, X-ray crystallography, and Hirshfeld surface analysis. Based on the elemental and spectral analysis, six-coordinate geometry was assigned for these complexes wherein the hydrazone ligand binds to the metal centre in its dianionic enolate form through ONO donor set. Distorted octahedral geometry of complexes 1 and 2 was evidenced from their crystal structures, which is typical for many cis-dioxido complexes of MoVI. The proligand and the new complexes were examined for their DNA binding, DNA cleavage, and cytotoxic properties. The DNA binding efficiency of the compounds in terms of their binding constants (Kb) of the metal complexes was observed to be 1.3727 105 M?1, 3.0194 104 M?1, and 1.13206 104 M?1 for [MoO2(ESB)H2O]DMF (1), [MoO2(ESB)MeOH] (2), and [MoO2(ESB)H2O]EtOH (3), respectively, indicating that these complexes strongly bind to DNA. To determine the binding interactions of the complexes with DNA and protein (BSA), molecular docking studies were carried out. Gel electrophoresis study reveals the fact that the complexes cleaved supercoiled pUC-18 DNA to nicked form (Form II) in the presence and absence of H2O2. The complexes showed significantly high cytotoxicity against MCF-7 (breast cancer cells). 2021 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.