248 research outputs found
Approaches to Improving the Circular Economy Paradigm in E-waste Management in India through Informal–Formal Sector Integration
No full textIndia has witnessed a rapid increase in e-waste generation in recent years and is now the fifth largest generator in the world. The concept of “urban mining” implies recovery and utilisation of secondary material from urban waste streams. In India, e-waste recycling has historically been dominated by the informal sector, which, in addition to creating hazardous conditions, is able to recycle only a fraction of the recoverable material due to technology and other limitations. The e-waste Management Rules 2016 introduced the principle of Extended Producer Responsibility that imposed a mandate on manufacturers for ensuring collection and channelisation of e-waste. This was a significant step in the right direction and has improved formal recycling of e-waste. However, the system continues to suffer from unnecessary and damaging competition between the formal and informal sectors. In 2019, the NITI Aayog and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) released the Strategy on Resource Efficiency in the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Sector in collaboration with the EU Resource Efficiency Initiative for India. This chapter, based broadly on the NITI/MeitY Strategy, analyses the obstacles facing improved recycling and outlines an alternative approach that relies on an effective integration between the informal and formal sectors
Markowitz's portfolio selection model and related problems
No full textMarkowitz's portfolio selection theory is one of the pillars of theoretical finance. This formulation has an inherent instability once the mean and variance are replaced by their sample counterparts. The problem is amplified when the number of assets is large and the sample covariance is singular or nearly singular. This poses a fundamental problem, because solutions that are not stable under sample fluctuations may look optimal for a given sample, but are, in effect, very far from optimal with respect to the average risk. The paper starts with a general introduction to Markowitz’s portfolio theory and then discusses further developments and a few notable works in the area and later moves on to discuss the need for regularization and points out a few existing methods for regularization. After which a formulation of the optimal portfolio selection is presented and ends with a few numerical examples.M.S.Includes bibliographical referencesby Abhijit Ravipat
Signal analysis of the electromyogram
No full textThe author has postulated that the relevant information of the human neuromuscular system during voluntary muscle contractions is contained in the surface electromyogram, or EMG. This information is important in diagnosis, modelling and rehabilitation, and consists of two parts. The first is the action potential waveform of motor units, and the second the random firing pattern of several such units. This hypothesis is borne out by the existing state of art in electrophysiological analysis and modelling. Rigorous statistical analysis of the EMG of three muscles of volunteers showed gross similarities in variance, statistical bandwidth and spectral moments, which suggested that a common physical phenomenon was involved. A biphasic waveform model of the action potential was formulated, and its estimated parameters obtained from spectral-moment functions showed strong similarities for different subjects, as well as for all three muscle groups. On the basis of these preliminary analyses, and using digital filtering techniques, the EMG spectra were decomposed, with the expectation of obtaining the action-potential waveform and the firing-patterns. This was indeed found to be so, the spectrum off the model closely agreeing with that obtained from spectral decomposition of the real signal. Moreover, a realistic average waveform of the action-potential was obtained, in addition to estimates of the number of such waves in each data segment. A set of analytical results and statistics of similarity-parameters are presented, considered to be the first of their kind anywhere to be basedon the decoded surface electromyogram alone.</p
Exploiting Yahoo: Pipes to Teach Computing Concepts
No full textEducators always encounter challenges to teach computing concepts to students with different educational backgrounds and computing experience. In this paper the author attempts to explore methods to improve the teaching of computing concepts using Yahoo! Pipes to students with no prior programming experience. The author uses Yahoo! Pipes to teach various computing concepts and makes use of familiar applications that are easy to develop, fun to use and strengthen the student's motivation to learn
A clinical study on the efficacy of hydroxyapatite - Bioactive glass composite granules in the management of periodontal bony defects
No full textBackground: In periodontal regeneration, several alloplastic materials are being used with a goal to reconstruct new osseous tissue in the infrabony defect sites. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of hydroxyapatite-bioactive glass (HA:BG) composite granules in the management of periodontal bony defects. Materials and Methods: A randomized control study was conducted. Subjects with infrabony defects were divided into three groups. Test Group 1 (n = 10): Defect site was treated with HA:BG, with a biodegradable membrane. Test Group 2 (n = 10): Defect site was treated with HAP, with a biodegradable membrane. Control group (n = 10): Defect site was treated with open flap debridement with a biodegradable membrane Results: The healing of defects was uneventful and free of any biological complications. The gain in clinical attachment level, reduction of probing pocket depth, and defect fill were statistically significant in all three groups. TG1 sites showed significant defect fill than TG2 and CG sites. Conclusion: The performance of HA:BG was better compared to HAP and open flap debridement for the reconstruction of infrabony defects
Nobel Laureate Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee: A Scientometric Portrait, 1987-2019
No full textNobel Memorial Prize in economics is selected by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and first awarded in the domain in 1969; the latest in 2019 was awarded to the Indian-born American economist Prof. Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee along with Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer. The present study attempted to measure and analyse the research publications of Prof. Banerjee during 1987 to 2019 based on the data available in Google Scholar database. A total of 333 documents published during this period in which 35.74 percent were published as journal articles. Till 2004 the mean relative growth rate of his publications was 0.237 and doubling time was 3.29 whereas from 2005 to 2019 the relative growth rate decreased to 0.077 and the time for doubling increased to 10.20. Esther Duflo was the most prolific co-author of the publications of Prof. Banerjee with 120 documents shared out of 333 by them. The collaboration rate of all publications was 0.89 identifies most of his publications written in collaboration. The journal he used for most of his research to publish was mainly USA based. He has produced numbers of publications which received huge citations, and during May, 2020 the h-index counted 87 according to Goggle Scholar citation counts
Absence of xenotropic murine leukaemia virus-related virus in UK patients with chronic fatigue syndrome
No full textBackground: Detection of a retrovirus, xenotropic murine leukaemia virus-related virus (XMRV), has recently been reported in 67% of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome. We have studied a total of 170 samples from chronic fatigue syndrome patients from two UK cohorts and 395 controls for evidence of XMRV infection by looking either for the presence of viral nucleic acids using quantitative PCR (limit of detection <16 viral copies) or for the presence of serological responses using a virus neutralisation assay.
Results: We have not identified XMRV DNA in any samples by PCR (0/299). Some serum samples showed XMRV neutralising activity (26/565) but only one of these positive sera came from a CFS patient. Most of the positive sera were also able to neutralise MLV particles pseudotyped with envelope proteins from other viruses, including vesicular stomatitis virus, indicating significant cross-reactivity in serological responses. Four positive samples were specific for XMRV.
Conclusions: No association between XMRV infection and CFS was observed in the samples tested, either by PCR or serological methodologies. The non-specific neutralisation observed in multiple serum samples suggests that it is unlikely that these responses were elicited by XMRV and highlights the danger of over-estimating XMRV frequency based on serological assays. In spite of this, we believe that the detection of neutralising activity that did not inhibit VSV-G pseudotyped MLV in at least four human serum samples indicates that XMRV infection may occur in the general population, although with currently uncertain outcomes
Transported PDF Modeling of Jet-in-Hot-Coflow Flames
No full textA probability density function (PDF)-based combustion modeling approach for RANS simulation of a jet issuing into a hot and diluted coflow is performed. A tabulated chemistry-based model, i.e., flamelet-generated manifold (FGM), is adopted in the PDF method. The manifolds are constructed using igniting counterflow diffusion flamelets with different coflow compositions. To handle the inhomogeneity of the coflow and the entrainment of the ambient air, a second mixture fraction is defined to quantify the mixing of a representative coflow composition with the ambient air. The chemistry is then parameterized as a function of two mixture fractions and a reaction progress variable. To assess the modeling approach, Adelaide JHC flames, namely HM1, HM2, and HM3, having different oxygen concentrations in the hot coflow, 3%, 6%, and 9% O2, respectively, have been simulated for Reynolds number (Re) = 10,000. Profiles of mean mixture fraction and major species are accurately captured by the model along with the mean temperature. The mean temperature profiles are also captured nicely, while the sensitivity of progress variable (PV) on the predictions is highlighted.Accepted Author ManuscriptFluid Mechanic
Telecom customer churn prediction
No full textCustomer churn is often referred to as customer attrition, or customer defection which is the rate at which the customers are lost. Telecom companies often use customer churn as a key business metrics to predict the number of customers that will leave a telecom service provider. Churn is significant in the telecommunication industry because it directly affects the competitiveness of the service provider. In this work, Logistic Regression and Random Forest performed better than Decision Tree for customer churn analysi
Evaluating the Factors Influencing Consumers’ Green Purchase Intention
No full textThe rising awareness of environmental issues has led to a significant shift in consumer behaviour, with an increasing number of individuals opting for green products and brands, which in turn have encouraged the marketers to rethink their marketing strategies towards green marketing or sustainable marketing. This empirical study thus, aims to examine the factors that influences consumers’ intentions towards purchasing the green or eco-friendly products, particularly in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry. The research being descriptive and explanatory in nature, utilised primary data that was collected from a sample of 386 consumers through convenience sampling method in the Kamrup Metropolitan district of Assam. The consumers were surveyed through the store or mall intercept method, using a structured questionnaire, to measure the factors’ effect on consumers’ purchase intention. Hence, the research focuses on four major factors namely, environmental concern, green product experience, health consciousness, and green promotional activities, to fulfil the purpose of the study. The data gathered were statistically analysed using factor analysis and regression analysis to assess the significance of the variables and impact of these factors on the green products’ purchase intention of consumers. The findings reveal that collectively all these four factors positively and significantly influence consumers’ intention to purchase green FMCG or non-durable products, with environmental concern and health consciousness emerging as the most significant predictors
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