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Farmers' Protests, Death by Suicides, and Mental Health Systems in India: Critical Questions
Ongoing farmers' protests have once again brought back the spotlight on the agrarian crisis in India. Even though upstream factors that perpetuate farmers' suffering, including the role of the state in promoting agrocapitalism, have been discussed extensively by scholars and activists across the spectrum, mental health discourses almost always frame it as a mental health problem to be addressed by increasing access to psychopharmaceuticals. Drawing on developments around farmers' protests and analysis of articles published in flagship journals of largest professional bodies of clinical psychologists and psychiatrists in India, I highlight the intimate relationship between neoliberal state and farmers' distress to which the mental health system shuts its ears and eyes obscuring and downplaying socio-structural determinants of farmers' mental health. Copyright 2021 Springer Publishing Company, LLC. -
Azole-Based Antibacterial Agents: A Review on Multistep Synthesis Strategies and Biology
This article reviews current multistep synthesis strategies of azole-based antibacterial agents. In recent years, extensive use of chemical agents in treating different diseases resulted in the development of drug resistance. The war on multidrug resistance has resulted in the most significant loss to the worlds economy. Thus, the expansion of development of novel and potential candidates such as azoles and its derivatives is an escalating area in the field of medicinal chemistry. Azole compounds are increasingly being considered necessary in drug discovery paradigms as a number of them serve as lead compounds for the discovery of potent therapeutic agents. They have been used to treat bacterial, fungal, malarial, viral, and other general infections. They have also been known for their anticancer and anti-inflammatory activities. Their efficacy has been attributed to their electron-rich property, resulting in the formation of non-covalent bonds to the receptor proteins. Current research has given us a significant collection of synthetic strategies in the progress of azole compounds. This review article describes the survey of literature regarding multistep synthetic methods in the preparation of azole-based compounds and their antibacterial properties in the last 5 years. 2021 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. -
ILeHCSA: an internet of things enabled smart home automation scheme with speech enabled controlling options using machine learning strategy
Nowadays, communication schemes and the related automation logics have improved drastically, and people are moving from classical to intelligent applications. This naturally raises the growth ratio of the automation industry and enables researchers to work accordingly. The field of automation is essential in specific unavoidable environments such as hospitals, industrial units, individual residences, disaster areas, etc. In this paper, a novel machine-learning enabled speech-based home automation system is designed, called Intelligent Learning-enabled Home Controlling with Speech Assistance (ILeHCSA). This scheme integrates several latest technologies to control the home intelligently, including machine learning, speech assistance technology, and Internet of Things (IoT) support. Based on these advanced technologies, the logic of smart home automation systems has been designed in this approach, and it provides intellectual home controlling options to people. The following are the devices and sensors which are essential to control the electronic devices embedded into the home environment: Node Microcontroller Unit (MCU) Wi-Fi enabled Microcontroller, Relay Unit, Voice Capture Module with Mic, Speech-to-Text (STT) Converter Module, and Global Positioning System (GPS) to identify the location of the device. The machine-learning logic is utilized to provide a statistical analysis of device usage and to provide a clear summary and traces to maintain the device accordingly. These smart technologies can innovatively change the living atmosphere with sufficient support and comfort. The main intention of this paper is to provide a robust home automation system to support people efficiently, especially the people who are physically suffering from illness and the aged ones. The proposed work provides a 96.5% accuracy ratio when compared with other methods. 2021 Nismon Rio Robert et al. -
Gut Homeostasis; Microbial Cross Talks In Health and Disease Management
The human gut is a densely populated region comprising a diverse collection of microorganisms. The number, type and function of the diverse gut microbiota vary at different sites along the entire gastrointestinal tract. Gut microbes regulate signaling and metabolic pathways through microbial cross talks. Host and microbial interactions mutually contribute for intestinal homeostasis. Rapid shift or imbalance in the microbial community disrupts the equilibrium or homeostatic state leading to dysbiosis and causes many gastrointestinal diseases viz., Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Obesity, Type 2 diabetes, Metabolic endotoxemia, Parkinsons disease and Fatty liver disease etc. Intestinal homeostasis has been confounded by factors that disturb the balance between eubiosis and dysbiosis. This review correlates the consequences of dysbiosis with the incidence of various diseases. Impact of microbiome and its metabolites on various organs such as liver, brain, kidney, large intestine, pancreas etc are discussed. Furthermore, the role of therapeutic approaches such as ingestion of nutraceuticals (probiotics, prebiotics and synbiotics), Fecal Microbial Treatment, Phage therapy and Bacterial consortium treatment in restoring the eubiotic state is elaborately reviewed. 2021 The Author(s). Published by Enviro Research Publishers. -
Role of Silk Fiber Loading on Physico-Mechanical Properties of Epoxy Composites
Researchers have suggested the usage of lightweight materials in the automotive and other engineering components which has proven to be one of the potential ways to meet demand for fuel efficiency and eliminate greenhouse gas emissions generated by the manufacturing industries. In this study, silk fiber (Bombyx-mori) reinforced epoxy biocomposites were fabricated by hand layup method with different loadings of fiber and their physico-mechanical properties were studied following acceptable ASTM standards. The properties of the epoxy matrix were significantly enhanced with the silk fiber loading, displaying optimum properties at 50wt. % silk fiber loading. The findings also led that morphology of silk fiber and surface adhesion with the epoxy matrix affects the properties of biocomposites. Such findings provide perspective into the benefits of fiber reinforcements to the physio-mechanical performance of the epoxy resin. The mechanism of failure and consequently the adhesion between fibers and matrix were analyzed by observing the photomicrographs of the damaged coupons. 2021 Taylor & Francis. -
Cost-effective route to nanodiamonds from low-rank coal and their fluorescent & dielectric characteristics
The synthesis of nanodiamonds from abundant and inexpensive precursors has recently piqued the curiosity of researchers. It has the potential to significantly reduce the cost of nanodiamonds and open up a plethora of new applications. In this work, fluorescent nanodiamonds with smaller particle sizes with rich surface functionality are synthesized from low-grade coal lignite by employing a facile acidic oxidation and ultrasonication approach. The extracted nanodiamond particles are hydrophilic and display high excitation-dependent fluorescence in the aqueous medium. The excitation-dependent fluorescence can be ascribed to the collaboration and competition of the OH and COOH functional groups. The as-synthesized nanodiamonds also show good dielectric permittivity and ac conductivity over a wide frequency range at room temperature. The present research opens up the possibility of mass production of nanodiamonds on the industrial scale from a low-cost precursor. 2021 -
Porous carbon nanoparticles dispersed nematic liquid crystal: influence of the particle size on electro-optical and dielectric parameters
Porous carbon nanoparticles (PCNPs) of four different sizes (~180nm, ~51nm, ~41 and ~25nm) were dispersed into a nematic liquid crystal (NLC) in 0.25wt% concentration. PCNPs were derived from biowaste materials and pyrolysed at elevated temperatures to get the porous structure. Polarising optical microscopic observations were carried out in dark and bright states on both the pure NLC as well as NLC-PCNPs composites. Homogeneous alignment was well maintained in all the composites except the one with the highest sized (~180nm) PCNPs. Birefringence, relative permittivity and dielectric anisotropy, increases as the size of the PCNPs is decreased in the composites. The threshold voltage was also found to decrease with the decrease in the size of the PCNPs. Such investigations may be useful for the fabrication of display devices such as flat panel displays (FPDs) and phase shifters. 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. -
Predictors of behavioral and emotional issues in children involved in custody disputes: A cross sectional study in urban Bengaluru
Background: The increasing rates of divorce in urban India has led to the subsequent parental battle for the child's custody. This paper discusses the behavioral and emotional issues of these children in relation to their psychosocial environmental factors and other relevant socio-demographic variables. Methods: We used samples from parent interviews concerning 52 children aged 717-years-old, involved in child custody cases in the Family court of urban Bengaluru. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire was used to measure response variables of behavioral and emotional issues in these children. Predictor models of quantile and multiple linear regression were used to assess the influence of psychosocial environmental factors and socio-demographic variables on the response variables. Results: The predictor models revealed that risk of child suffering emotional and behavioral issues increased with factors such as excessive parental control, change of academic environment, general unrest at school, frequency of child's court visit, child's visitation of non-custodian parent on occasions and vacations, and negatively altered family relationship. The model however intriguingly showed that residing in nuclear household rather than with their grandparents in a non-nuclear household, decreased the risk of mental health issues in these children. Conclusions: This study is a novel attempt to understand the influence of the psychosocial issues on the child's mental health in the context of custody cases in India. Despite the minimum sample size, the findings imply that family-based intervention is the need of the hour in these cases. The implications for clinical practice and research are discussed. 2021 Elsevier B.V. -
Employer branding on the creation of anticipatory psychological contract
The process of the psychological contract (PC) starts before the employee joins the organisation. The brand of the company remains in the mind of candidates who apply for the job. Considering this relation, this research work is carried out to offer a detailed analysis of the position of employer branding (EB) in the formation of anticipatory psychological contracts (APCs) among millennials. The empirical study was carried out with a sample size of 330 respondents who are studying post-graduation management studies; these students are about to join the corporates. The outcomes of this study show that EB significantly impacts the PC. EB has a strong influence on relational expectations as compared to transactional expectations and employee obligations among potential employees. This paper helps recruitment managers to understand the expectations of potential employees and their beliefs towards their employers during the pre-employment phase. Copyright 2022 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. -
The Difference is in the Details: Attachment and Cross-Species Parenting in the United States and India
The purpose of the current research was to explore changes in Indian attitudes and practices with pet dogs and cats and compare them with responses from the United States. Pet parenting, defined as the investment of money, emotion, and time in companion animals, is a form of alloparental care (care given by someone other than the offsprings biological parents). Pet parenting appears to emerge in cultures that (1) demonstrate high rates of urbanization, (2) have declining total fertility rates (average births per woman), and (3) support life orientations beyond reproduction (collectively called the second demographic transition). A total of 1,417 respondents (US, n = 991; India, n = 426) completed online surveys (one in each country) to compare demographic profiles, attachment (as measured by the Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale [LAPS]), and companion animal caretaking behaviors in each culture. Mann-Whitney U tests were used to compare Indian and United States populations on the LAPS and caretaking behaviors (titled CARES in our study). Our findings document the emergence of pet parenting in India with many similarities to the United States. However, cultural variations in how these societies engage with nonhuman animals result in nuanced differences. For example, when reporting terms used to refer to themselves (e.g., Mom/Dad, friend, owner) and their companion animals (e.g., kids, pet, animal), United States respondents were more likely to code switch to less familial terms when speaking to coworkers and strangers. Additionally, Indian respondents reported higher agreement with all three LAPS scales, and they also reported higher frequency of behaviors related to Affective Responsiveness and General Care. Both cultures reported a moderately high frequency of Training and Play, with the United States respondents reporting slightly more training than Indians. These differences suggest that philosophical disparities exist between the United States and India, shaping the practice of pet parenting. We suggest continued, cross-cultural investigation of changing norms surrounding companion animals and the emergence of pet parenting. 2021 International Society for Anthrozoology (ISAZ). -
Research article toxicological evaluation of ethanolic leaf and fruit extracts of phaseolus vulgaris l. Treated with wastewater in danio rerio hamilton (zebrafish)
Background and Objective: The cultivation of Vegetables in the world is facing a shortage of water so that the farmers are forced to use sewage wastewater for cultivation in underdeveloped countries. Therefore, the present study was an attempt to examine the toxicity level of accumulated heavy metals in the vegetables irrigated with sewage water and treated sewage water. The concentration-dependent changes in toxicity of ethanolic leaf and fruit extracts of Phaseolus vulgaris treated with wastewater in Zebrafish were analysed in this study. Materials and Methods: For the experiment, finely ground powders of leaves and fruits of Phaseolus vulgaris were extracted with ethanol. Using different concentrations of these extracts, a toxicity test was done with Danio rerio as per the OECD guidelines 203. Results: Using AAS, heavy metals like lead and manganese were found in higher concentrations in untreated wastewater than in distilled water and treated wastewater. The results indicated that ethanolic leaf extracts of treated wastewater irrigated Phaseolus vulgaris does not induce toxicity when used at a dose below 400 mg LG1. Leaf extracts of Phaseolus vulgaris grown with wastewater showed the lowest and highest mortality at 100 and 400 mg LG1, respectively, when compared to other plant extracts. Histopathological variations were also observed in the fishes exposed to the lethal concentrations of plant extracts. Statistical evaluation of the correlation between concentration and mortality percentage was carried out using SPSS. Conclusion: The present study revealed that the leaf and fruit extracts of Phaseolus vulgaris grown with untreated wastewater were more toxic to Danio rerio than other extracts used in the experiment. 2022 Aleesa Augustine and Jobi Xavier. -
Hybrid HOG-SVM encrypted face detection and recognition model
Security plays a major role in an individuals life to win this world with highly secure and authentic lifestyle with the digital equipments. The paper proposed an encryption based secure face detection and recognition model which can be implemented in daily life to generate a more robust and efficient security bubble around the world. The most crucial problem encountered during face recognition is due to the variation in face direction of an individual, the model solves the mentioned pose variation problem. The proposed model takes the help of face recognition library to recognize the face and use HOG (Histogram of Oriented Gradients) & SVM for checking the face authentication by performing an image match, the model also applies the concept of HOG to generate the encoded features from the image. The system is divided into two modules first is to detect a face and then match the detected face from the authentic persons dataset available. The system uses the concept of OpenCV library for giving a support system for the real time image. For data encryption, proposed model used the concept of DES3 and RSA algorithm. The proposed model gets 83.33% accuracy while tested for three different image types and states that the RSA algorithm performs encryption in less computational time. 2022 Taru Publications. -
Compressed unfired blocks made with iron ore tailings and slag
Growing demand for houses in urban India has increased the requirements for construction materials such as clay fired bricks and cement blocks. At the same time, conventional practice of brick manufacturing is not environment friendly due to high energy consumption and CO2 emissions during various stages of its production. Therefore, recent trend in research has been directed towards utilization of various industrial wastes and methods, which emerge as sustainable alternatives for environmental concerns arising in the construction industry. This study focused on utilizing mining waste, namely iron ore tailing (IOT) in development of stable blocks. It has reported various properties of compressed unfired blocks formed by IOT and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) in varying proportions and with a fixed amount of lime. The combination of GGBS and lime was found to be suitable in stabilizing IOT towards block production. Furthermore, a maximum compressive strength of 7.7 MPa was achieved for blocks after 28days of air curing. Also, the addition of GGBS has reduced the water absorption and apparent porosity of the IOT blocks, confirming the positive interaction between IOT, GGBS and lime. It also indicates the prospective of blended binders in improving the compactness of the blocks, which will have direct influence on the durability and service life of the blocks. Finally, the results show that most of the developed blocks satisfy the requirement of IS 1077 specification and can be used in various applications such as load and non-load bearing walls, framed structures, foundations and pedestrian walkways. 2022 The Author(s). This open access article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license. -
Effect of annealing and oxygen partial pressure on the RF sputtered WO3 thin films for electrochromic applications
the electrochromic thin layer of Tungsten trioxide (WO3) was RF sputtered on FTO (fluorine-doped tin oxide) slide. In a reactive Ar + O2 gas environment with varying oxygen partial pressures, the deposition continued. The samples were air annealed at 400 C for 2 h after being deposited at room temperature. SEM, XRD, UVVisible spectrometer, and electrochemical analyzer characterization methods were employed to analyze the surface, structural morphology, optical, and electrochromic behaviour of the deposited material after annealing. The Optical Bandgap and Transmittance were found to be of a higher value for air annealed samples than RT deposited samples because RT deposited samples are amorphous whereas air annealed samples exhibit crystalline nature with Oxidation, reduction peak currents variation with respect to the temperature. 2021 -
Modelling of Cointegration with Students T-errors
Two or more non-stationary time series are said to be co-integrated if a certain linear combination of them be-comes stationary. Identification of co-integrating relationships among the relevant time series helps the researchers to develop efficient forecasting methods. The classical approach of analyzing such series is to express the co-integrating time series in the form of error correction models with Gaussian errors. However, the modeling and analysis of cointegration in the presence of non-normal errors needs to be developed as most of the real time series in the field of finance and economics deviates from the assumption of normality. This paper focuses on modeling of a bivariate cointegration with a students-t distributed error. The co-integrating vector obtained from the error correction equation is estimated using the method of maximum likelihood. A unit root test of first order non stationary process with students t-errors is also defined. The resulting estimators are used to construct test procedures for testing the unit root and cointegration associated with two time series. The likelihood equations are all solved using numerical approaches because the estimating equations do not have an explicit solution. A simulation study is carried out to illustrate the finite sample properties of the model. The simulation experiments show that the estimates perform reasonably well. The applicability of the model is illustrated by analyzing the data on time series of Bombay stock exchange indices and crude oil prices and found that the proposed model is a good fit for the data sets. 2022 by authors, all rights reserved. -
Perspective of multiple slips on 3D flow of Al2O3TiO2CuO/H2O ternary nanofluid past an extending surface due to non-linear thermal radiation
A mathematical model is constructed under the slip flow of a Newtonian fluid based on certain assumptions. Such a mathematical model of ternary nanofluid flow is handled by invoking similarity solutions for governing equations. The obtained system of nonlinear equations is solved numerically by utilizing the fourth-fifth order RungeKutta-Fehlberg method. The consequences of distinguished parameters on fluid flow are analyzed in detail through the plotted graphic visuals. Physical quantities such as Nusselt number and skin-fraction coefficient are considered numerically by tables. The results indicated that the mixed convection parameter favors the flow whereas the x-direction velocity slip reduces the velocity. Furthermore, it is observed that the temperature of the nanofluid is increased for the higher values of radiation. The presence of a heat source enhances the temperature and that of a heat sink diminishes the temperature. It is found that the heat conduction capability is more in ternary nanofluid than the hybrid and monophase nanofluids. 2022 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. -
Steering through the pandemic: narrative analysis of school leader experiences in India
The COVID ?19 pandemic has disrupted the regular functioning of schools. Transitioning to online learning posed significant challenges to all stakeholders in the educational system. The continued changes and challenges due to the pandemic require school leaders to make intuitive decisions. School leaders vision and leadership styles can considerably impact successfully managing crises and challenges. The current study looks at the lived experiences of eight school leaders working in India. The data collected using an interview guide was subjected to narrative thematic analysis. The interviews were designed primarily in an open-ended manner to captivate the story of their experiences. The results yielded an understanding of how school leaders navigated through multiple challenges such as transitioning online, attending to student needs, financial challenges adopting crisis and collaborative leadership. The results highlight various personal feelings and experiences that helped the school leaders to hold up during the crisis. School leaders lack training in crisis management, and their mental health needs are neglected. The paper calls for professional support for school leaders in managing professional and personal challenges. The article gives direction for school professionals on focus areas and requirements in Indian schools. 2022 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. -
Determination of Discharge Distribution in Meandering Compound Channels Using Machine Learning Techniques
Accurate flow rate prediction is essential to analyze flood control, sediment transport, riverbank protection, and so forth. The flow rate distribution becomes even more complicated in compound channels due to the momentum transfer between different subsections across the width of the channel. Conventional channel division methods estimate flow distribution at the main channel and floodplains by assuming a division line with zero apparent shear stress. The article attempts to develop a model to calculate the percentage of discharge in the main channel (%Qmc) using techniques such as Group Method of Data Handling - Neural Network (GMDH-NN) and gene-expression programming (GEP) by incorporating the effects of various geometric and hydraulic parameters. The paper proposes a modified channel division method with a variable-inclined interface, with zero apparent shear force distribution at the channel subsections according to the statistical indices employed to assess these models' performance in predicting %Qmc. This variable-inclined interface changes its slope according to the channel parameters. The model's effectiveness is verified by validating with experimental observations by conventional analytical methods. 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers. -
Study on Mechanical Properties of Lime Stabilized Active Bauxite Residue (Red Mud) and Fly Ash to Use as a Subgrade Material in Road Construction
Bauxite residue (Red mud) is a waste product produced during the extraction of aluminium from Bauxite by Bayers process. The huge requirement of aluminium for the various needs of mankind resulted to the enormous production of bauxite residue which is a very fine substance with high alkalinity. The high alkaline nature of this waste material shows a high impact on environment if it not covered or used in an appropriate method. This paper focusses on the usage of bauxite residue with the support of lime and flyash as a stabilizing material to use as a subgrade in road constructions and understand the toxicity levels of it upon leaching. Bauxite residue was stabilized with various ratios of fly ash and lime powder to its dry weight and determined the mechanical properties like California bearing ratio and unconfined compressive strength of all the combinations. Any industrial waste material will pose a environmental threat if the chemical analysis was not made upon using it as a subgrade material. In this study more emphasis was given to study the various hazardous chemicals present in the leachate collected from bauxite residue with fly ash and lime mixture. Leachate was collected by using Total characteristics leaching procedure (TCLP Method) and chemical analysis was performed and compared the results with the various water standards to recommend this material as a chemically safe material in the nature. All the results proved that bauxite residue upon stabilizing with the fly ash and lime is very much suitable to use as a subgrade material and environmentally safe. Kalahari Journals. -
L(t, 1)-colouring of graphs
One of the most famous applications of Graph Theory is in the field of Channel Assignment Problems. There are varieties of graph colouring concepts that are used for different requirements of frequency assignments in communication channels. We introduce here L(t, 1)-colouring of graphs. This has its foundation in T-colouring and L(p, q)-colouring. For a given finite set T including zero, an L(t, 1)-colouring of a graph G is an assignment of non-negative integers to the vertices of G such that the difference between the colours of adjacent vertices must not belong to the set T and the colours of vertices that are at distance two must be distinct. The variable t in L(t, 1) denotes the elements of the set T. For a graph G, the L(t, 1)-span of G is the minimum of the highest colour used to colour the vertices of a graph out of all the possible L(t, 1)-colourings. It is denoted by ?t,1(G). We study some properties of L(t, 1)-colouring. We also find upper bounds of ?t,1(G) of stars and multipartite graphs. I??k University, Department of Mathematics, 2022; all rights reserved.