Browse Items (16481 total)
Sort by:
-
Balancing commercialization and sustainability in outer space: Addressing new challenges
One notable aspect of NewSpace is the growing influence of private non-state actors. Nation-states have also implemented policies that facilitate the involvement of private non-state players in space activities. The lack of progress in international space law since the Moon Agreement of 1979 highlights the need to reconsider and update the existing legal system. Therefore, it is necessary to create a different framework based on the concept of commercial reality. The article emphasises the impact of NewSpace on the technological and commercial aspects of the outer space industry. An analysis is conducted on the crucial requirement for regulatory reform in the field of outer space law and policy, which arises from these advancements in the future. The persistent obstacle in addressing the commercial development of NewSpace is the lack of clarity surrounding property rights in outer space, particularly concerning the ownership and utilisation of space resources. This article examines the issue presented by the national space laws, which have conflicting and inconsistent views on property rights in outer space. The article also aims to investigate the practicality of establishing an international framework for space cooperation. The importance of the New Age institutional mechanism for international collaboration and the agenda for the proposed mechanism are emphasized. The proposed institutional framework aims to achieve a balance between commercialization and profit-driven market pressures, considering their potential negative effects on the sustainable usage of outer space. In conclusion, the article discusses India's appropriate course of action in response to the emerging problems in the field of space exploration. 2025 IAA -
Unveiling the realm of AI governance in outer space and its importance in national space policy
This article explores the notable legal concerns that may arise from the growing utilisation of artificial intelligence and machine learning in outer space. Whether it is conducting space exploration, clearing orbital debris, or extracting resources from specific areas in space, these activities are becoming more popular. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a regulatory framework to ensure consistency and objective standards. In order for national space legislation to effectively address the challenges presented by activities involving robots with different levels of autonomy and numerous objectives, it is essential to appraise the nature of these challenges. The article aims to investigate the relationship between the Montreal Declaration for a Responsible Development of Artificial Intelligence, 2017, and outer space laws and principles. It also examines the legal status of autonomous space objects, such as planetary rovers that are currently in operation or will be in the near future. Ultimately, the article highlights the importance of national space policy in addressing the appropriate regulation of artificial intelligence in outer space. In conclusion, this article has also discussed the potential effectiveness of utilising artificial intelligence-based methodologies and strategies to enhance current space policy. 2024 IAA -
Iron pulsing, a cost effective and affordable seed invigoration technique for iron bio-fortification and nutritional enrichment of rice grains
Rice being a major staple food for millions of people, it has been one of the major targets for bio-fortification and iron bio-fortification in rice has been in prime focus to address global micronutrient malnutrition. Commonly practiced methods for obtaining Fe biofortified rice includes soil amendments and foliar spray with iron salts, breeding and development of transgenic rice varieties with Fe-enriched grain are associated with impediments like high cost, labor intensiveness, sub-optimal outcome and approval for commercialization respectively. Iron pulsing technique has reportedly enhanced the carbon and nitrogen assimilation in rice seedlings, which has been translated in yield. Based on the previous findings, in the present study, we have undermined the efficacy of iron pulsing, in improving the iron content and nutritional status of rice kernel obtained from pulsed plants. The present study documents that kernel of seeds obtained from iron pulsed plants have a higher amounts of iron, carbohydrate, protein, lipid, vitamins, nutrient and anti-oxidants than that of non-treated ones. The iron localization studies revealed that iron was mostly present in the endosperm and embryo. Besides, the ferritin expression levels also validated the fact that, the treated grains have accumulated more iron. Thus, iron-pulsing can serve as a novel and propitious sustainable agricultural innovation for iron bio-fortification and improvisation of the overall nutritional value of the rice grains that is affordable, user and consumer friendly in years to come. 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. -
Iron-pulsing, a novel seed invigoration technique to enhance crop yield in rice: A journey from lab to field aiming towards sustainable agriculture
Bulk fertilizer application is one of the easiest means of improving yield of crops however it comes with several environmental impediments and consumer health menace. In the wake of this situation, sustainable agricultural practices stand as pertinent agronomic tool to increase yield and ensure sufficient food supply from farm to fork. In the present study, efficacy of iron-pulsing in improving the rice yield has been elucidated. This technique involves seed treatment with different concentrations (2.5, 5 and 10 mM) of iron salts (FeCl3 and FeSO4) during germination. FeCl3 or FeSO4 was used to treat the sets and depending on the concentration of the salts, the sets were named as C2.5, C5, C10 and S2.5, S5, S10 (where C and S stands for FeCl3 and FeSO4 respectively and the numbers succeeding them denotes the concentration of salt in mM). Our investigation identified 72 h of treatment as ideal duration for iron-pulsing. At this time point, the seedling emergence attributes and activities of ?-amylase and protease increased. The relative water uptake of the seeds also increased through upregulation of aquaporin expression. The treatment efficiently maintained the ROS balance with the aid of antioxidant enzymes and increased the iron content within the treated seeds. After transplantation in field, photosynthetic rate and chlorophyll content enhanced in the treated plants. Finally, the post-harvest agro-morphological traits (represented through panicle morphology, 1000 seed weight, harvest index) and yield showed significant improvement with treatment. Sets C5 and S5 showed optimum efficiency in terms of yield improvement. To our best knowledge, this study is the first report deciphering the efficacy of iron-pulsing as a safe, cost effective and promising technique to escalate the yield of rice crops without incurring an environmental cost. Thus, iron-pulsing is expected to serve as a potential tool to address global food security in years to come. 2021 Elsevier B.V. -
Enhancement of nitrogen assimilation and photosynthetic efficiency by novel iron pulsing technique in Oryza sativa L. var Pankaj
Rice is a major food crop. Due to urbanization and climate change, rice production is declining, posing a threat to the increasing food demand. For this, a modified technique of priming is used to enhance plant vigor. In the present study an endogenous rice cultivar was treated with two different iron salts for 72 h and grown for 14 days in nutrient solution. This increased the iron content of the samples which further escalated the photosynthetic efficiency and carbon assimilation in the treated plants. Photosynthesis being correlated to nitrogen assimilation, nitrogen assimilation intermediates and protein content were also elevated in treated plants. Plants showed no symptoms of stress as evident from low malondialdehyde content and increased antioxidant enzymes activity. From this study it can be inferred that, treatment with iron during germination, helps to trigger growth by facilitating photosynthesis and nitrogen assimilation. 2019 Elsevier Masson SAS -
Conclusion and future research directions
[No abstract available] -
An introductory illustration of medical image analysis
The medical imaging field has evolved into an enormous scientific discipline since the last decade of the 19th century. The analysis of medical data obtained by current image modalities such as positron emission tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, and ultrasound comes to the aid of the fruitful diagnosis, appropriate planning, and assessment of therapy for patients treatment and much more. Medical image analysis is crucial to grip this huge amount of data and to investigate and present the appropriate information for any particular medical task. In this chapter, different aspects with regard to medical image analysis are exhaustively explored. In particular, issues and challenges in connection with this task are investigated and described. In addition, a brief summary of the contributory chapters is presented to trace the challenges and findings of each. 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. -
Introduction to quantum machine learning
Quantum Machine Learning (QML) is popularly known to be an integrative approach to learning of the Quantum Physics (QP) and Machine Learning (ML). In this chapter, an outline of the fundamental ideas and features related to quantum machine learning is laid out. The different facets of quantum algorithms are discussed in this chapter. In addition to this, the basic features of quantum reinforcement learning and quantum annealing are also provided in this chapter. Finally, the chapter deliberates about the advancement of quantum neural networks to through light in the direction of QML. 2020 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston. All rights reserved. -
Approach for Preprocessing in offline Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
offline optical character recognition (offline OCR) is one of the important applications of pattern recognition. To achieve a better recognition result, the input character images must have good quality. That is why the preprocessing step be-comes essential for any image identification task. Lots of research has been performed in numerous jobs towards this preprocessing in the literature. Here, an attempt has been made to summarize different procedures and aspects of preprocessing adopted in implementing these preprocessing techniques. This is done in the hope that this may help the research community towards the gaining of knowledge of different preprocessing techniques used in offline OCR. offline OCR has several applications, such as old manuscript digitization, signature authentication, bank cheque automatic clearance and postal letter sorting, etc. Finally, an overall summary in a concise way has been presented based on different preprocessing techniques used in offline OCR. 2022 IEEE. -
Decoding boomerang hiring: A suggestive framework to improve organizational efficiency
In an ever changing, volatile and dynamic business environment, efforts put by the human resources reflect the organizational efficiency. Organizations should always focus on maintaining smooth relations with the Alumni and Boomerangs as they play a crucial role in the expanding horizons of business. A positive word of mouth also helps in improving the goodwill and image of the company. It will encourage the prospective employees to view the organization in a positive light. Rehiring former employees is one of the mechanisms for recruitment used by a large number of corporations primarily because of the inherent advantage of added experience as well as savings in terms of cost of recruitment and training. The present study attempts to give an overview of Boomerang Hiring, the possible value additions being made in terms of Human Capital and Social Capital on basis of the type of respective organizations they are returning from. Additionally, the perspective of the rehired employee is also presented. The study is further enriched by quoting a few instances from the corporate world. The Rehiring Strategies tailored as per organizational requirements will lead towards holistic growth and development of the entity. 2020 SERSC. -
Physical framework for a counselling environment in India: Thematic analysis of counsellors' perceptions
The influence of the physical environment on the counselling process is an inevitable part of a counselling session. However, there is little insight in Indian research into the desirable elements of the physical environment of the counselling room that helps facilitate a counselling session. Interviews were conducted with 10 professional counsellors in India. Thematic analysis of the databrought out various Basic and Organising themes under the following three Global themes: (a) Elements of the physical framework; (b) Counsellor's perspectives about the physical framework in counselling; and (c) Motivation to build a framework. The findings show how counsellors can systematise the physical framework to help construct the counselling session effectively. 2020 British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy -
Study on Space Debris Mitigation Under the National Space Laws
The international community is beginning to focus on the issue of space debris. Space debris has increased in the low Earth orbit due to accidental collisions between various space objects such as operational satellites. In China, the destruction of the FengYun - 1C weather satellite by an anti-satellite device caused an exponential increase in space debris. During the Ukraine war in 2022, Russia destroyed a defunct satellite which created space debris. This act put astronauts on the International Space Station at risk. Collisions have also happened between American satellites that are widely used for research or to provide communication facilities. Two unmanned European Space Agency (E.S.A.) satellites - the European Remote Sensing satellite (E.R.S.) and the Environmental Satellite (Envisat) - are currently in orbit reviving the debate over whether or not to engage in active debris removal. Despite gaining the interest of the international space community, efforts to reduce space debris have received scant legal recognition. Recent years have seen a dramatic decrease in launch costs, making space travel more affordable and feasible for the general public. As a result, smaller satellites can now be placed in low Earth orbit. Mega-constellations like SpaceX, OneWeb, Starlink, and Amazon Kuiper have also been launched or will be launched into space. It is predicted that about five per cent of all satellites will fail to be disposed of at the end of their lives, either because of technical difficulties or a lack of proper planning for the disposal phase. As a result, there is a greater possibility of collision with other celestial bodies. The problem of orbital pollution is made much worse by the fact that each collision can produce a large number of new pieces of debris. The inoperable satellites can only be retrieved from orbit with the active participation of the international community. The space sector is in the midst of a period of profound change. As a result of recent developments in microelectronics, materials, and battery technology, multiple constellations are now able to function in low Earth orbit, at altitudes of less than 1,000 kilometres. When it comes to domestic space regulation, the International Law Association (I.L.A.) Model marked a significant shift. As a result, many nations with space programmes have adopted national space laws that include provisions for dealing with space debris. Guidelines included in soft-law instruments have provided impetus in the absence of a mandatory international regime on space debris. 2024 University of Bologna. All rights reserved. -
A common law in space for public health
Beyond the gravitational pull of Earth, space travel poses substantial public health hazards pertaining to the physical and mental well-being of astronauts and passengers, in addition to a possible threat to the populace of Earth upon re-entry. Exposure to cosmic radiation, cranial pressure from microgravity, weakened immunity to contagion, and the potential for depression and psychosis are all risks. Public health crises of this nature are to be expected as the duration of missions extends, as is the case with Mars settlement. In contrast to national space programmes, which have regarded these obstacles as human factors effecting the mission, public health law in common law British nations approaches them from the perspective of social justice and the preservation of human life and societal welfare. Countries including Australia, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom continue to apply traditional common law principles of public health law, which provide a sensible and enduring method for reconciling competing public and private interests. Common law permits the violation of civil liberties through the use of force in public health restraint, forced medication, and quarantine, but only if necessary, reasonable, and equitable. While the understanding of the health challenges associated with long-duration spaceflight may be in its infancy for national space programmes and civilian space ventures, the application of common law public health principles could aid in the establishment of health and safety protocols in which human reactions to crises in space resemble those observed on Earth. This may, nevertheless, necessitate the enactment of a more comprehensive federal public health statute. Embedded in both public health common law and international space law, the pre-eminence of preserving and respecting human life and well-being continues to be a cornerstone of humane justice despite the perilous conditions of space. 2024 IAA -
Unveiling the realm of AI governance in outer space and its importance in national space policy
This article explores the notable legal concerns that may arise from the growing utilisation of artificial intelligence and machine learning in outer space. Whether it is conducting space exploration, clearing orbital debris, or extracting resources from specific areas in space, these activities are becoming more popular. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a regulatory framework to ensure consistency and objective standards. In order for national space legislation to effectively address the challenges presented by activities involving robots with different levels of autonomy and numerous objectives, it is essential to appraise the nature of these challenges. The article aims to investigate the relationship between the Montreal Declaration for a Responsible Development of Artificial Intelligence, 2017, and outer space laws and principles. It also examines the legal status of autonomous space objects, such as planetary rovers that are currently in operation or will be in the near future. Ultimately, the article highlights the importance of national space policy in addressing the appropriate regulation of artificial intelligence in outer space. In conclusion, this article has also discussed the potential effectiveness of utilising artificial intelligence-based methodologies and strategies to enhance current space policy. 2024 IAA -
Quantum inspired automatic clustering algorithms: A comparative study of genetic algorithm and bat algorithm
This article is intendant to present two automatic clustering techniques of image datasets, based on quantum inspired framework with two different metaheuristic algorithms, viz., Genetic Algorithm (GA) and Bat Algorithm (BA). This work provides two novel techniques to automatically find out the optimum clusters present in images and also provides a comparative study between the Quantum Inspired Genetic Algorithm (QIGA) and Quantum Inspired Bat Algorithm (QIBA). A comparison is also presented between these quantum inspired algorithms with their analogous classical counterparts. During the experiment, it was perceived that the quantum inspired techniques beat their classical techniques. The comparison was prepared based on the mean values of the fitness, standard deviation, standard error of the computed fitness of the cluster validity index and the optimal computational time. Finally, the supremacy of the algorithms was verified in terms of the p-value which was computed by t-test (statistical superiority test) and ranking of the proposed procedures was produced by the Friedman test. During the computation, the betterment of the fitness was judge by a well-known cluster validity index, named, DB index. The experiments were carried out on four Berkeley image and two real life grey scale images. 2020 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston. All rights reserved. -
Novel quantum inspired approaches for automatic clustering of gray level images using Particle Swarm Optimization, Spider Monkey Optimization and Ageist Spider Monkey Optimization algorithms
This paper is intended to identify the optimal number of clusters automatically from an image dataset using some quantum behaved nature inspired meta-heuristic algorithms. Due to the lack of sufficient information, it is difficult to identify the appropriate number of clusters from a dataset, which has enthused the researchers to solve the problem of automatic clustering and to open up a new era of cluster analysis with the help of several natures inspired meta-heuristic algorithms. In this paper, three quantum inspired meta-heuristic techniques, viz., Quantum Inspired Particle Swarm Optimization (QIPSO), Quantum Inspired Spider Monkey Optimization (QISMO) and Quantum Inspired Ageist Spider Monkey Optimization (QIASMO), have been proposed. A comparison has been outlined between the quantum inspired algorithms with their corresponding classical counterparts. The efficiency of the quantum inspired algorithms has been established over their corresponding classical counterparts with regards to fitness, mean, standard deviation, standard errors of fitness, convergence curves (for benchmarked mathematical functions) and computational time. Finally, the results of two statistical superiority tests, viz., t- test and Friedman test have been provided to prove the superiority of the proposed methods. The superiority of the proposed methods has been established on five publicly available real life image datasets, five Berkeley image datasets of different dimensions and four benchmark mathematical functions both visually and quantitatively. 2019 Elsevier B.V. -
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 -
The novel inhibitive action of the N-(p-ethylphenyl)thiobenzohydroxamic acid for mild steel in 1M HCl medium: electrochemical, thermodynamic, DFT, and MD simulation study
In this study, a reasonably priced inhibitor of N-(p-ethylphenyl)thiobenzohydroxamic acid (NTHA) is presented to stop steel from corroding in HCl solution. NTHA is investigated as a potential corrosion inhibitor, and the corrosion protectionactivityofmildsteelis evaluated in 1M HCl asacorrosionmedium.Manycharacterization techniques, including weight loss (WL)measurement,scanningelectronmicroscopy(SEM), electrochemical measurements, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations study, and density functional theory (DFT), have been applied to prove the inhibition performance of NTHA against the corrosion of mild steel. Langmuir adsorption isotherm confirms the prevention of mild steel from the attack of corrosive chloride ions (Cl?) by adsorbing on the metal surface. EIS investigation favors that the NTHA works as a mixed inhibitor. The morphological changes on the mild steel surface have been investigated using surface characterization techniques, i.e., scanning electron microscopy and electron dispersion spectroscopy (EDS). The weight loss study indicates a high inhibition efficiency of NTHA of 93.69% in its optimal concentration of 0.2g/L at 298K. DFT analyses show good electron donor property of NTHA, followed by the formation of the chelating complex with metal cations. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to SocietItaliana di Fisica and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2025. -
New Insights in the Bubble Wall of NGC 3324: Intertwined Substructures and a Bipolar Morphology Uncovered by JWST
We report the discovery of intertwined/entangled substructures toward the bubble wall of NGC 3324 below a physical scale of 4500 au, which is the sharp edge/ionization front/elongated structure traced at the interface between the H ii region and the molecular cloud. The sharp edge appears wavy in the Spitzer 3.6-8.0 ?m images (resolution ?2?). Star formation signatures have mostly been traced on one side of the ionization front, which lies on the molecular clouds boundary. The James Webb Space Telescopes (JWST) near- and mid-infrared images (resolution ?0.?070.?7) are employed to resolve the sharp edge, which has a curvature facing the exciting O-type stars. The elongated structures are associated with the 3.3 ?m polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emission, the 4.05 ?m ionized emission, and the 4.693 ?m H2 emission. However, the PAH-emitting structures are depicted between the other two. The H2 emission reveals numerous intertwined substructures that are not prominently traced in the 3.3 ?m PAH emission. The separation between two substructures in the H2 emission is ?1.?1 or 2420 au. The intertwined substructures are traced in the spatial areas associated with the neutral to H2 transition zone, suggesting the origin of these structures by thin-shell instability. Furthermore, an arc-like feature traced in the Spitzer 3.6-8.0 ?m images is investigated as a bipolar H ii region (extent ?0.35 pc) at T d ?25-28 K using the JWST images. A massive-star candidate VPHAS-OB1 #03518 seems to be responsible for the bipolar H ii region. 2023. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society. -
Analysis of Mothers Willingness for Age 1 First Dental Visit of Their Child using Andersens Behavioral Model of Health Service Utilization
Background: Early childhood caries (ECC) is a preventable disease among children under 6 years of age.The first dental visit (FDV) is a preventive model endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and the American Academy of Pediatrics. It is designed to improve oral health outcomes, yet the FDV attendance rate before the age of 1 is low globally, especially in India. Aims: To investigate maternal willingness to attend the FDV within 1 year of age and explore associations with predisposing, enabling, and need factors using Andersens behavioral model for health services utilization. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among mothers of children aged 915 months. A validated questionnaire was administered to 640 mothers visiting vaccination centers in two hospitals. Statistical analysis involved descriptive statistics and logistic regression to evaluate factors influencing FDV willingness. Results: Willingness to attend FDV within 1 year of age was significantly influenced by predisposing factors, such as oral health knowledge, perceived barriers, and susceptibility to caries. Enabling factors, such as socioeconomic status and family support, showed minimal influence, while need factors, including the perceived oral health of the child, strongly correlated with FDV willingness. Findings revealed low awareness and attendance rates for FDV in the study population. Conclusion: First dental visit attendance among infants in the study population is critically low, highlighting the need for targeted awareness campaigns. Pediatric healthcare professionals should actively promote oral health and FDV as preventive measures during well-baby visits to enhance acceptance and utilization. Clinical significance: This studys focus on analyzing mothers willingness to pursue the FDV at age 1, using Andersens behavioral model of health service utilization, which provides actionable insights into the multifactorial drivers behind health-seeking behavior. Understanding how predisposing, enabling, and need-based factors influence maternal decision-making not only aids in identifying barriers to early dental care but also hi hli hts o ortunities to tailor ublic health interventions The Author(s).