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An Empirical Evaluation of the Relationship Between Economic Growth, Population and Solid Waste Generation in India
Municipal solid waste (MSW) poses a hazard to the environment, human health and well-being and economic growth, if not managed correctly.It is essential to study the determinants of municipal solid waste generation for efficient waste management planning and achieving sustainable growth.The main objective of this paper is to establish a relationship between economic growth, population and MSW generation.Secondly, it aims to verify whether the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis is valid in the Indian context with MSW generation as the proxy variable for environmental degradation.Panel regression has been run using statewise data of MSW generation, state net domestic product (SNDP) per capita and population for the years 2000-2019.The results show a significant positive relationship between the selected variables.Least square regression was applied to verify the validity of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis in India using nationwide data for MSW generation and GDP per capita for the years mentioned above.The results depicted inverted U-shaped curve with MSW as the dependent variable and GDP per capita as the independent variable and confirmed the validity of the EKC hypothesis. 2022 Scientific Publishers. All rights reserved. -
Using Behavioural Economics to Analyse and Enhance Contraception Usage Decisions
Existent literature helped narrow down variables influencing modern contraceptive adoption (usage), a behaviour carrying enormous positive externality. Using finite population sample size formula and probability proportional to size method of sample selection, primary data was collected from participants using inclusion and exclusion criterions. Binary logistic regression model was used to predict probability of occurrence of dependent variable usage of modern method of contraception being treated at a dichotomous outcome level. Predictor variables after confirming association by cross tabulation were introduced stepwise to build model subject to elimination of those variables adding insignificantly to the overall predictability of the model. Variables such as gender, education level, spousal influence, extended family influence, financial well-being and contraceptive information were found to significantly predict the probability of occurrence of the dependent variable. Except for financial well-being with three sub-categories, other independent variables were treated at dichotomous level. Income level was found to be an important predictor although found statistically insignificant. Non-contributory factors such as age, occupation and years of marriage were dropped. Post-model construction, borrowing nudges from behavioural economics (BE) domain, strategies to nurture the significant context specific influencing variables, were articulated. BE was particularly preferred for its openness to the paradigm of non-rational behavioural choices. 2022 SAGE Publications. -
Hook-up culture among young Indian adults in Indian metropolitan cities
This study aimed to explore the existence of hook-up behaviour among emerging adults in the Indian metropolitan cities of Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. The study used a survey design. The sexual behaviour subsection of the Sexual Behaviour Questionnaire was used to assess the frequency of the various types of hook-up behaviour. The results indicated that the participants frequency of hook-up behaviour was 55.13%. Overall hook-up behaviour was higher for males, whereas females reported the highest incidence of hook-up behaviour for kissing. Hook-up behaviour was highest for emerging adults living independently in apartments, followed by those living in paying guests/hostels and living with family. The findings provide evidence for a hook-up culture in Indian metropolitan cities. 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. -
Structural Relationship between Cognitive Image, Destination Personality and Tourists Motivation
This research work was an extract from a major research on understanding personality and image of destination. This portion of research intended to identify a theoretical model consisting of cognitive destination image, destination personality traits and tourists motivation in destination branding context and to validate it hypothetically. This research was carried out in Coimbatore District an emerging destination in Tamil Nadu, India between 2018 and 2019. Flourishing erratic tourism industrys scenarios and the need for academic research blended as the motive for this for this model-based study. Evidence was found in the literature that tourists belief about the destination, touristsmotivation and perceived destination personality traits were found interrelated. Thus, the theoretical model was found. For validating the proposed model, a questionnaire confirmed through pilot study containing the required study variables was circulated to the tourists who visited the destination for tourism purposes. With the sample size as 448 after screening and eliminating the illegible responses, three stage process of analysis that include Exploratory Factor Analysis, Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Modeling had been performed. The conceptual model was validated and found that there existed the interrelationship between touristsperceived cognitive image, perceived personality traits of the destination and tourists motivation to tour. Marketers of destinations were suggested to use the model for formulating branding and marketing activities. The scope for further research was pointed out on expanding the research model with other destination perspectives considering the outcome as base. Copyright IJHTS. -
Securing grayscale image using improved Arnold transform and ElGamal encryption
The security of sensitive data is critical, and it opens up a wide area of research to find efficient and effective methods to prevent unauthorized access. Our study provides a secure framework for sending visual information over an untrusted channel, such as a social networking site. The proposed framework is a combination of scrambling and encryption techniques. Initially, a hybrid block-wise and pixel-wise scrambling approach is administered to the grayscale image, followed by the Arnold transform, which causes all pixel points to move within the image. Finally, to improve the efficiency of the diffusion process, the asymmetric encryption ElGamal algorithm has been mastered. Peak-signal-To-noise ratio (PSNR), structural similarity index metric (SSIM), number of pixels change rate (NPCR), and unified average changing intensity (UACI) are the metrics utilized to evaluate the efficiency of the proposed scheme. The efficiency of the suggested scheme validates the low-Average PSNR value of <9 dB and the SSIM average value of <0.01 for the encrypted images. The NPCR and UACI values achieved in our study are above the threshold values of 99.6% and 33.33%, respectively, exhibiting the strength of the proposed framework. 2022 SPIE and IS&T. -
Relationship between financial inclusion and financial development in India: Is there any link?
A dynamic chain of financial activities and services can be served from debtors to creditors in the international economy through an efficient and effective financial sector. The motivation behind this study is to investigate the linkages between financial inclusion and financial development in India during the period (19802017). For this, the study employ principal component analysis (PCA) to construct both financial inclusion index and financial development index which measures financial access and financial depth position respectively. Using a set of determinants related to financial inclusion and financial development, the present study estimates there is a unidirectional relationship between financial inclusion and financial development in India. So, it reveals that financial inclusion is an essential element for financial sector development especially in a developing country like India. 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. -
Exosome mediated cell signal toward breast cancer metastasis: A comprehensive review
Breast cancer (BC) is among the most frequent cancer and is, more challenging to treat due to its heterogeneity and metastatic ability. Among extracellular vesicles, exosomes are quite significant for diagnosis and prognosis, given their pleiotropy and drug-carrying abilities. Studying their functions, morphology, biogenesis, and involvement in important pathways can help us understand their role in BC proliferation. A detailed review of their roles in different stages of BC as metastatic disease, such as proliferation, intravasation, epithelial to mesenchymal transition, extravasation, immune evasion, and metastatic growth, can help us understand how to target therapy as well as diagnosis. In the metastatic process, exosome involvement can also be tied to the seed and soil hypothesis, allowing us to understand the direction of progression. From their isolation to the study of their contents in relevance to BC in the process of detection, we have therapeutic applications and can make a significant contribution to the field of oncology. Hence, the present review focuses on this exosome-mediated cell signaling molecule and its importance in BC progression and development. 2022 Anushka and Pappuswamy, et al. -
Correlated variability of the reflection fraction with the X-ray flux and spectral index for Mrk 478
The X-ray spectrum of Mrk 478 is known to be dominated by a strong soft excess that can be described using relativistic blurred reflection. Using observations from XMM-Newton, AstroSat, and Swift, we show that for the long-term (?years) and intermediate-term (days to months) variability, the reflection fraction is anticorrelated with the flux and spectral index, which implies that the variability is due to the hard X-ray producing corona moving closer to and further from the black hole. Using flux-resolved spectroscopy of the XMM-Newton data, we show that the reflection fraction has the same behaviour with flux and index on short time-scales of hours. The results indicate that both the long- and short-term variability of the source is determined by the same physical mechanism of strong gravitational light bending causing enhanced reflection and low flux as the corona moves closer to the black hole. 2022 The Author(s) Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Astronomical Society. -
Thermal analysis of a radiative nanofluid over a stretching/shrinking cylinder with viscous dissipation
This study explores the impact of thermal radiation and viscous dissipation on the stagnation point flow of a copperwater nanofluid across a convective stretching/shrinking cylinder. The copper suspension in the base fluid water enables the fluid to conduct more heat by increasing its thermal conductivity. The mathematical model that governs the flow of Cu-H2O nanofluid is formulated by the system of partial differential equations (PDEs) which are then subjected to transformation by introducing suitable similarity variables so the system is transformed to the Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs). These equations have been solved numerically via the bvp4c package in MATLAB. The outcomes have been signified graphically in the form of heat transfer rate, temperature, skin friction and velocity which are dependent on the concerning flow parameters. For each of these result, dual solutions have been produced which are conditional on the shrinking of cylinder. These results declare that the skin friction increases for the shrinking cylinder and decreases for the stretching cylinder whereas an opposite trend is seen for the rate of heat transfer. Similarly, heat transfer is found to be decreasing for the increase in both Biot and Eckert number. Meanwhile, the existence of greater values of curvature parameter causes to enhance both first and second solution of velocity as well as the temperature is augmenting with the increase in Eckert number and volume fraction of nano particles. 2022 Elsevier B.V. -
Impulse noise recuperation from grayscale and medical images using supervised curve fitting linear regression and mean filter
Acquisition of images from electronic devices or Transmission of the image through any medium will cause an additional commotion. This study aims to investigate a framework for eliminating impulse noise from grayscale and medical images by utilizing linear regression and a mean filter. Linear regression is a supervised machine learning algorithm that computes the value of a dependent variable based on an independent variable. The value of the recuperating pixel is measured using a curve-fitting, direction-based linear regression approach or applying a mean filter to the noise-free pixels. The efficiency of the proposed technique experiments with benchmark test images and the images of the USC-SIPI and TESTIMAGES data sets. Peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and structural similarity index metrics (SSIM) are determined to prove the performance of the proposed method. The results, when compared with the seven recent state-of-the-art techniques, show the superiority of the proposed method in terms of visual quality and accuracy. The proposed model achieves an average PSNR value of 65.21dB and an SSIM value of 0.999 for the reconstruction of medical images, proving its accuracy and efficiency. The impulse noise restoration process helps the radiologist get a clear visual clarity of the medical image for diagnosis purposes. 2022 Institute of Advanced Engineering and Science. All rights reserved. -
Color image segmentation based on improved sine cosine optimization algorithm
Segmentation refers to the process of dividing an image into multiple regions based on some criteria such as intensity and color. In recent years, color image segmentation has received considerable attention from the researchers. However, it is still a highly complicated task due to the presence of more attributes or components as compared to monochrome images. Numerous meta-heuristics algorithms are developed to determine the optimal threshold value for segmenting color images efficiently. This paper presents an enhanced sine cosine algorithm (ESCA) to seek threshold for segmenting color images. Sine cosine algorithm (SCA) is a population-based optimization algorithm which has the ability of preventing local minima problem. First an input image is transformed to CIE L*a*b* color reduced space. ESCA is applied to determine the optimal threshold values for segmentation. The performance of the proposed method is tested on color images from Berkeley database, and segmentation results are compared with two metaheuristic algorithms, namely particle swarm optimization (PSO) and standard SCA. Experimental results are validated by measuring peak signalnoise ratio (PSNR), structural similarity index and computation time for all the images investigated. Results revealed that the proposed method outperforms the other methods like PSO and SCA by achieving PSNR of 23dB and SSIM of 0.93 and also require less time for finding optimal threshold values than PSO and SCA. 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature. -
Study of X-Ray Intraday Variability of HBL Blazars Based on Observations Obtained with XMM-Newton
We present an extensive study on the X-ray intraday variability of 10 teraelectronvolt-emitting high synchrotron peaked blazars (HBLs): 1ES 0229+200, 1ES 0414+009, PKS 0548-322, 1ES 1101-232, 1H 1219+301, H 1426+428, Mrk 501, 1ES 1959+650, PKS 2005-489, and 1ES 2344+514 made with 25 XMM-Newton pointed observations during its operational period. Intraday variability has been estimated in three energy bands: soft (0.3-2 keV), hard (2-10 keV), and total (0.3-10 keV). Although seven out of 10 teraelectronvolt HBLs exhibited some intraday variability at 3? levels, no major variations exceeding 6% were detected. We explored the spectral properties of the sample by extracting the hardness ratio from the soft and hard bands; no significant variations in the hardness ratio were observed in any source. We performed power spectral density analyses on the variable light curves by fitting power laws, yielding slopes lying in the range of 1.11-2.93 for different HBLs. We briefly discuss possible emission mechanisms and carry out rough estimates for magnetic fields, electron Lorentz factors, and emission region sizes for seven of these HBLs. 2022. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society. -
Analysis and optimization of uplink spectral efficiency in massive multiple-input and multiple-output
Fifth Generation (5G) specifications aims for data rate of 1 Gbps in high mobility and 10 Gbps in low mobility conditions, 15-30 bps/Hz of spectral efficiency with less than 1 milli second (ms) latency reduction. Massive multiple-input and multiple-output (Massive MIMO) is one of the promising technologies in 5G standard which offers a high spectral efficiency improvement. This work focus on the uplink scenario spectral efficiency in a Massive MIMO simulation network based on third generation partnership project (3GPP) and long term evolution (LTE) document of 5G. This work analyzes the spectral efficiency metric by simulating the 5G Massive MIMO network. Then, the research identified major constraint parameters; number of user antennas, K, number of base station antennas, M, transmission power, P, channel bandwidth, B, and coherence time, Tau_C and pilot time Tau_P which plays a significant role in varying this metric. The authors focus on improving the spectral efficiency by passing these constraint parameters through different meta-heurestic optimization algorithms, such as, convex optimization solver, White shark optimization (WSO) and Particle swarm optimization (PSO). The results show an overall, 1-10 percent of improvement of the parameter wnen compared with other research articles. The maximum value achieved is 49.84 bps/Hz, which is three times higher as per to the 3GPP and International Telecommunication Unioin (ITU) release document. 2022 Institute of Advanced Engineering and Science. All rights reserved. -
Laccase mediated electrosynthesis of heliotropin on mango-kernel derived carbon nanosphere composite: A sustainable approach
Facile fabrication of enzyme immobilized carbon nanospheres (CNS) based catalysts with high electrical conductivity and catalytic efficiency are of decisive importance for their electrocatalysis. A novel, green and highly efficient synthesis route for the development of an electrode surface with enhanced electrical conductivity and better catalytic activity for the electrochemical synthesis of heliotropin. The obtained biowaste (mango seed kernels) was pyrolyzed and subjected to acid treatment to form functionalized CNS (f-CNS). The functionalized carbon fiber paper (CFP) electrode was employed as a template for laccase immobilization which was further treated with free laccase resulting in the formation of Lac-fCNS/CFP electrode. The developed electrode exhibited excellent electrooxidation of piperonyl alcohol in the presence of 2,2,6,6-Tetramethyl-1-piperidinyloxy (TEMPO), which served as the mediator. A high yield (78%) of heliotropin was achieved during the electrooxidation at 0.78 V via bulk electrolysis. The obtained product (heliotropin aka piperonal) was confirmed via 1H NMR and 13C NMR. Additionally, computational molecular docking analysis of f-CNS:laccase composite showed strong binding affinity (?6.2 kcal/mol) with TEMPO in comparison with free laccase (?5.1 kcal/mol). The excellent selectivity and efficiency of the developed electrocatalyst aim to surpass all other reported laccase-TEMPO mediated based electrocatalytic oxidation reactions. 2022 Vietnam National University, Hanoi -
A note on ?(k)-colouring of the Cartesian product of some graphs
The chromatic number, x(G) of a graph G is the minimum number of colours used in a proper colouring of G. In an improper colouring, an edge uv is bad if the colours assigned to the end vertices of the edge is the same. Now, if the available colours are less than that of the chromatic number of graph G, then colouring the graph with the available colours lead to bad edges in G. The number of bad edges resulting from a ? (k)-colouring of G is denoted by bk(G). In this paper, we use the concept of (k)-colouring and determine the number of bad edges in Cartesian product of some graphs. 2022 by the authors. -
Long-term Optical and ?-Ray Variability of the Blazar PKS 1222+216
The ?-ray emission from flat-spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs) is thought to be dominated by the inverse Compton scattering of the external sources of photon fields, e.g., accretion disk, broad-line region (BLR), and torus. FSRQs show strong optical emission lines and hence can be a useful probe of the variability in BLR output, which is the reprocessed disk emission. We study the connection between the optical continuum, H? line, and ?-ray emissions from the FSRQ PKS 1222+216, using long-term (?2011-2018) optical spectroscopic data from Steward Observatory and ?-ray observations from Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT). We measured the continuum (F C,opt) and H? (F H? ) fluxes by performing a systematic analysis of the 6029-6452 optical spectra. We observed stronger variability in F C,opt than F H? , an inverse correlation between the H? equivalent width and F C,opt, and a redder-when-brighter trend. Using discrete cross-correlation analysis, we found a positive correlation (DCF ? 0.5) between the F ??ray>100 MeV and F C,opt (6024-6092 light curves with a time lag consistent with zero at the 2? level. We found no correlation between the F ??ray>100 MeV and F H? light curves, probably dismissing the disk contribution to the optical and ?-ray variability. The observed strong variability in the Fermi-LAT flux and F ??ray>100 MeV ? F C,opt correlation could be due to the changes in the particle acceleration at various epochs. We derived the optical-to-?-ray spectral energy distributions during the ?-ray flaring and quiescent epochs that show a dominant disk component with no variability. Our study suggests that the ?-ray emission zone is likely located at the edge of the BLR or in the radiation field of the torus. 2022. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society. -
Structural and functional characterization of a hypothetical protein in the RD7 region in clinical isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis an in silico approach to candidate vaccines
Background: Mycobacterium tuberculosis has been ravaging humans by inflicting respiratory tuberculosis since centuries. Bacillus Calmette Guerine (BCG) is the only vaccine available for tuberculosis, and it is known to be poorly effective against adult tuberculosis. Proteins belonging to the ESAT-6 family and PE/PPE family show immune responses and are included in different vaccine trials. Herein, we study the functional and structural characterization of a 248 amino acid long putative protein novel hypothetical protein 1 (NHP1) present in the RD7 region of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (identified first by subtractive hybridization in the clinical isolate RGTB123) using bioinformatics tools. Results: Physicochemical properties were studied using Expasy ProtParam and SMS software. We predicted different B-cell and T-cell epitopes by using the immune epitope database (IEDB) and also tested antigenicity, immunogenicity, and allergenicity. Secondary structure of the protein predicted 30% alpha helices, 20% beta strands, and 48% random coils. Tertiary structure of the protein was predicted using the Robetta server using the Mycobacterium smegmatis protein as the putative protein with homology. Structural evaluations were done with Ramachandran plot analysis, ProSA-web, and VERIFY3D, and with GalaxyWEB server, a more stable structure was validated with good stereo chemical properties. Conclusion: The present study of a subtracted genomic locus using various bioinformatics tools indicated good immunological properties of the putative mycobacterial protein, NHP1. Evidence obtained from the analyses of NHP1 using structure prediction tools strongly point to the fact that NHP1 is an ancient protein having flavodoxin folding structure with ATP binding sites. Positive scores were obtained for antigenicity, immunogenicity, and virulence too, implying the possibility of NHP1 to be a potential vaccine candidate. Such computational studies might give clues for developing newer vaccines for tuberculosis, which is the need of the hour. 2022, The Author(s). -
Radio pulsar sub-populations (II): The mysterious RRATs
Several conjectures have been put forward to explain rotating radio transients (RRATs), the newest subclass of neutron stars, and their connections to other radio pulsars. This work discusses these conjectures in the context of the characteristic properties of the RRAT population. Contrary to expectations, it is seen that: (a) the RRAT population is statistically un-correlated with the nulling pulsars and (b) the RRAT phenomenon is unlikely to be related to old age or death-line proximity. It is perhaps more likely that the special emission property of RRATs is a signature of them being later evolutionary phases of other types of neutron stars which may have resulted in restructuring their magnetic fields. 2022, Indian Academy of Sciences. -
Evaluation of Wound Healing Effect of Curcumin Loaded OPL Carbon Nanospheres Embedded Chitosan Membranes
Biowaste-derived carbon biomaterial scaffolds are being used for wound healing and are the focus of interest. Carbon nanospheres derived from oil palm leaves without any catalysts via pyrolysis were loaded with a traditional drug curcumin. The wound healing scaffolds were fabricated on the PP non-woven fabric support using chitosan as the biopolymer matrix. Prepared carbon nanospheres and the scaffolds were characterized using ATR-IR and FESEM techniques. The wettability of scaffolds was examined to ensure the feasible moisture absorption ability, in vitro drug release profile and in vitro antibacterial activity against two strains of bacteria. The in vivo wound healing feature of scaffolds was studied by excision wound model for MRSA infected wound. Measured wound contraction percentage and the bacterial count on wounds at regular time intervals proved that, the scaffold dressed with chitosan and curcumin loaded carbon nanospheres showed an efficient reconstruction of skin through histopathological investigations. 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. -
Non-Recombinant Mutagenesis of Bacillus mojavensis CUIE1819 for Hyper Production of Lipase and Treatment of Polluted Lakes
Microorganisms that degrade oil contribute significantly to the bioremediation of polluted lakes. Many microorganisms synthesize lipases, which are commercially significant. In the present study microorganisms producing extracellular lipase were isolated from various polluted lakes in Bangalore by using tributyrin agar. A lipase assay was done to determine the most efficient lipase-producing organism, which was then named Bacillus mojavensis CUIE1819 based on 16srRNA sequencing. After UV irradiation, the selected immobilized organisms were used to treat the lake water samples. 2022, Association of Biotechnology and Pharmacy. All rights reserved.