Modern Day Research Articles

Cloud-Assisted IoT-Based Monitoring and Evaluation In Agriculture

Agriculture is the primary economic activity in many rural areas and emerging nations, and it serves as the economic backbone for many nations. The agricultural industry has come a long way since its humble beginnings, and it is now significantly more complicated and multi-faceted. The problem that challenges agriculture in the modern day is how to provide food for the entire world’s population in a fair and equitable manner while also preventing irreversible damage to the natural environment. Farmers’ traditional techniques are insufficient to meet the rising demand of food. The agriculture sector faces various challenges such as producing more and better products while enhancing the sustainability through the smart use of natural resources, minimizing environmental harm, and adapting to the climate change. The purpose of introducing information technology into agriculture is to save production costs, improve production efficiency, and accelerate the development of productivity. Geographic information system technology is widely used in agriculture, such as precision agriculture, land resource management, crop yield estimation and monitoring, and soil and water conservation. The characteristic of expert decision-making system is the logical reasoning of knowledge, and the advantage of network is the acquisition of knowledge. In this paper, the agricultural data obtained from the expert database are displayed in the form of a tree list and are used in the process of system design. The geospatial data can be uploaded through the map loading function, find the map path, and easily uploaded by modifying the expert database. Efficient agricultural policies are essential to meeting increasing demand for safe and nutritious food in a sustainable way. While growing demand for food, feed, fuel and fibre presents significant opportunities for agriculture, government policies must address challenges such as increasing productivity growth, enhancing environmental sustainability, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and improving adaptation and resilience in the face of climate change and other unforeseen shocks.

Identification and Characterization of Mercury Contamination in Vegetables and Herbs Cultivated on a Commercial Vertical Indoor Farming System with Light-Emitting Diode Lighting: Unveiling an Unusual Food Safety Risk of Some Improperly Manufactured High-Density Agricultural Production Systems.

Artificial grow lights, such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and fluorescent grow lights, are commonly used in modern day indoor farming, citing advantages in energy efficiency and a higher controlled environment. However, the use of LEDs poses a risk in mercury contaminations as a result of its production process, specifically LEDs with polyurethane encapsulates that were traditionally produced using mercury resins as a catalyst. A total of 10.0 ppm of mercury was detected in a curly kale sample harvested from an indoor hydroponic vegetable farm, exceeding Singapore Food Regulation's limit of 0.05 ppm. Vegetables, farming inputs, and surface swabs from the affected farm were analyzed using wet acid digestion followed by cold vapor atomic absorption spectroscopy analysis. The investigation found high concentrations of mercury in the LED encapsulant, and the encapsulant material was identified to be polyurethane by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis, indicating the source of mercury contamination to be the LED polyurethane encapsulant.

A Critical Analysis of the State of Modern Slave in the 21st Century

The study critical examines slavery in the modern day with focus on examination of contemporary slavery in Africa. The phenomenon of slavery can be traced from the dawn of time and it banned in the 19th century. However, millions of people are still suffering under what called modern day slavery. The results of this study is basically based on secondary data sources. It is revealed that forced labor, sex slavery, practice of debt bondage and trafficking in human beings, all these are types of modern slavery. This human tragedy has become most effective business in the 21st century, although it is illegal around the world as well recognized as a violation of one’s human being. The impacts of this is tremendous as well contrary to the modern civilized community. The study reveals that modern day slavery in the 21st century compose a complete breaches of fundamental human rights together with a global blackmail to democracy, peace as well sustainable development.

Roots, Leaves, and Flowers: A Narrative Review of Herbs and Botanicals Used for Self-Managed Abortion in Asia and the Pacific.

Abortion has existed throughout history, often outside of formal health care systems. This type of care, now called self-managed abortion, has historically been achieved in part through botanicals and traditional medicines. Their use continues into the modern day, especially in Asia, Hawai'i, and other Pacific Islands, where indigenous medicine traditions practice alongside allopathic medicine. Many of these botanicals, such as papaya leaves, hibiscus flowers, and young kī, and traditional medicines, such as tianhuafen, yuanhua, and Shenghua Decoction, have undergone scientific and clinical investigation of their potential abortifacient and antifertility action. The incidence of self-managed abortion with such abortifacients in countries with severe abortion restrictions are only estimates, leading to the possibility that legal rulings and societal pressures may cause underreporting. The Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities in the United States also suffer from a lack of abortion access in addition to unique health disparities and barriers to reproductive health care. As difficulties in abortion access increases due to the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, some may seek or even prefer self-managed abortion through traditional methods that have been passed down in their communities. Midwives and other health care providers may then be contacted during this process. This narrative review provides an overview of the literature on the use of botanicals, herbs, and traditional medicines used for self-managed abortion, specifically in Asia, Hawai‧i, and other Pacific Islands. Their implications for practice for providers in the United States and further opportunities for research are also presented.

DeepFake Deception: A Comprehensive Analysis of DeepFake Technology and its Effects on Ethics, Politics and Society

Abstract: Our research examines the tremendous effects of deepfake technology on politics, culture, and ethics in the modern day. This investigation is comparable to the spread of false information. Our research aims to thoroughly evaluate the impact of deepfake technology. We explore its moral ramifications, the possibility that it may sway political debate, and its larger societal repercussions. We undertake data analysis using open-source tools like Python and Power BI, producing a range of visual representations including charts and Word Clouds. We create and carry out a unique survey to track the penetration of viral deepfake material in various countries. We carefully consider variables like the kinds of deepfake disinformation, the reasons for their fabrication, and the channels through which they are disseminated. In addition to circumstances analogous to the setting of deepfake deception, our study offers useful insights that can guide the development of mitigation solutions for disinformation issues across a variety of areas. Keywords—Deepfake Technology, Disinformation, survey analytics, Fake Content, Misinformation, Deception

Training and skills development in the wake of the Fourth Industrial Revolution: Evidence from Botswana borehole drilling companies

Orientation: Organisations are hesitant to implement new technologies that are beneficial to the organisation to achieve their goals more effectively and efficiently.Research purpose: The study’s major aim was to investigate the best practices of training and skills development in the wake of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) using a case study of Botswana borehole drilling companies.Motivation for the study: Training and skills development in the wake of the 4IR has received little investigation in Botswana and hence this study looked for the best practices in training and skills development in the aftermath of the 4IR and its impact on Botswana’s borehole drilling companies.Research approach/design and method: A quantitative descriptive research design was adopted for this study. A probability sample consisting of 100 participants from a population of 300 workers of Botswana borehole drilling companies was studied. Data were gathered using questionnaires and analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).Main findings: The study findings showed that training and skills development play an important role in equipping employees with new skills, especially in this modern day of technological advancement for an organisation to have a competitive advantage.Practical/managerial implications: There is a need in organisations to unlearn old technologies and practices and relearn new ones to successfully adapt to the realities of disruptions from technological advancement.Contribution/value-add: The study recommended that businesses in the borehole drilling sector should embark on training and skills development if their workers are to keep abreast with the relevant technology in the industry.

Synergistic Dual Photoredox and Chiral Hydrogen Bonding Catalysis: Recent Advances

AbstractIn the last two decades, chiral hydrogen bonding catalysis has been enormously utilized to trigger several valuable synthetic transformations. Similarly, modern day radical chemistry has witnessed the potency of visible light photoredox catalysis to generate radicals via single electron transfer pathway. Recently, their cooperative effect has proved to be a key strategy to access many elegant transformations that are only feasible under the synergistic action of these two catalytic systems. This dual catalytic system demonstrates high efficiency for introducing molecular complexity in an enantioselective fashion. In this mini review, we have compiled the most recent development of this dual catalytic system that surfaced in the last three years with particular attention paid to the mechanistic details and its substrate scope. We hope that this mini review will provide readers with a brief overview of the advancement and application of photoredox catalysts and chiral hydrogen bond donors for synergistic dual catalytic reactions.

How Fear Training and Other Unique Training Methods Help South Korea Maintain Dominance in Archery?

In the modern day, South Korea is the most successful country in archery at the Olympics. The South Korean Women’s team is particularly known for their legendary record of gold at every Olympic Games since 1988. This success is not mere luck, however, as the South Korean archery team goes through much more rigorous and unique training compared to other countries. For one, archery is more widespread in Korea, allowing more people to try out the sport. The school system set in place in South Korea encourages the development of archers at a young age, which ultimately leads to more and more South Koreans pursuing archery as a career. In addition, the South Korean archery team goes through unique forms of training, such as mindfulness training, exposure therapy, heart rate analysis, equipment optimization through shooting robots, and general sports psychology techniques like positive self-talk and imagery. All of these training methods provide South Korean archers with benefits such as increased confidence, reduction of fear, higher concentration and focus levels, as well as superior insight into how their shot goes through. South Korea’s long success in archery is backed up by South Korea’s intense dedication to their training, through their long hours, as well as their commitment to go through various forms of unique training to improve.

Review of a selective Ayurvedic formula in the management of Ashmari (Urinary stones)

One of the most prevalent illnesses in Mutravaha Srōtasa (The bodily channel responsible for urine) is Mutrāshmari. Mutrāshmari is difficult to treat and requires extra care. Āchārya Sushruta listed it as one of the Ashta Mahāgada (eight dreadful disorders). It is related to urolithiasis, or urinary calculi in modern medical science. The prevalence of Mutrāshmari is rising in the modern day for a number of reasons, including altered eating habits, altered lifestyles, stress as well as strain, and environmental pollution. Cucumis melo and Leea indica are the chosen herbs in a traditional formula, and this review's goal is to investigate how well those selected herbs manage to treat Ashmari. Information about Ashmari was acquired from Ayurvedic scriptures, contemporary texts, and earlier research studies (from primary and secondary sources). It was thought that two herbs could help with Ashmari and afterwards a survey of the literature was done on those two herbs. Also these selected herbs were examined for their Pancha Padārtha (5 elements of the herb) and pharmacological qualities. Selected paste shows anti-urolithiatic and anti-hypercalciuric action. According to a literature review and Pancha Padārtha analysis, those selected herbs are useful in the treatment of Ashmari..

Service learning in teacher education programmes: A literature review on the rationale, benefits, and challenges

Service-learning is a teaching approach that gives students opportunities to participate in a service that meets community needs as well as being relevant to the curriculum content and to reflect on the service-learning activity/activities and experience. While the discipline specific content is determined by the National Approved Curriculum for the respective Degree, Diploma or Certificate programme, activities which contribute towards concretising concepts and thus, marry theory with real-life challenges are jointly designed and agreed upon by the subject lecturer and the specific community partner. As pre-service teachers engage in service-learning activities, they experience personal and professional growth through: (i) taking leadership roles in service-learning activities; (ii) exposure to- and awareness of the real-life environment in which the 21st Century teaching profession has to operate; (iii) engaging in and participating in authentic real-life centred teaching practices; (iv) acquisition of new dispositions necessary for a 21st Century teacher; and (v) exposure to- and the relevance of service-learning as a teaching/learning pedagogy. Therefore, this study is a literature review of a range of some of the existing work on service-learning and it collates and brings together key components of service-learning, its benefits, and challenges. The implications of service-learning in Teacher education programmes are that curriculum content should be questioned regarding its relevance in modern day society, how well it prepares pre-service teachers for teaching skills and needs of a rapidly changing economy and society, and that education should take place in an authentic learning environment where community service activities are integrated with the academic curriculum.

Nigeria and the nature of its political system in a civilized world

The concept of civilization is not new as many scholars have thought, however, it has assumed new dimensions in the face of recent socio-political, economic and communication developments. As the world is gradually bridging the gap between the developed and underdeveloped, through the removal of all forms of barriers that hinder effective human interaction in the globe, Nigeria cannot live in isolation. This becomes even more necessary when one quickly considers the effort of United Nations and other international institutions to curb inadequate and corrupt political systems and make the world a peaceful place for human interaction. This paper discusses the nature of political system in a heterogeneous country as Nigeria. It pays close attention to the benefits, and modalities adopted by leaders and political elites in delivering political services to the people since inception of democracy in the modern day Nigeria. According to David Easton, “A political system is an interaction through which value are authoritatively allocated for a society. It is refers broadly as a process by which laws are made and public resources allocated in a society, and to the relationships among those involved in making these decisions. The question is: Is this true of Nigeria democracy? This is therefore the problem with Nigeria democracy and the political system it operates. Finally, this paper will conclude by offering measures to enhance the process, practices and the application of Nigeria political system for the purpose of achieving a better democracy.

Analisis Kemampuan Guru Mata Pelajaran Pendidikan Agama Islam (PAI) dalam Pengembangan Media Pembelajaran Berbasis Information and Communication Technology (ICT) di SMA Unggul Al-Azhar Medan

Anything that may be utilized to communicate ideas or information throughout the teaching and learning process in order to pique students' interest in learning is considered learning media. The purpose of this essay is to examine how Islamic Religious Education (PAI) subject instructors at Unggul Al-Azhar High School in Medan employ ICT-based learning resources. This writing's creation makes use of analytical techniques based on quantitative research and relies on relevant reference materials to delve further into research projects. Based on this study, it was determined that the usage of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is a factor that effects students' learning accomplishment when it comes to comprehending Islamic religious education in schools in the modern day.
 Keywords: Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Teacher Ability, instructional Media

Entrenching Legendary and Mythic Resources in Modern African Literature

The study is premised upon the enormity and relevance of African myths and legends as congenial substance for the continuity of African culture and writing tradition. Existing literary engagements have focused on the usage of myths and legends in African literature, their consistent usage in fictional writings is aesthetically commendable, however, the modern days African writers appear to be delusive in this literary endeavor. This is the lacuna this paper seeks to fill by advocating for the reinventing and entrenching of mythical and legendary characters in contemporary and future African writings. The paper investigates the extent of import, inculcation and exploration of myths and legends in some extant African writings, it pontificates their literary aestheticism, cultural beautification and prognostic values in African society. Significantly, the paper elucidates the pedagogical didactics that are intrinsically inherent in the myths and legends in spite of the seemingly archaic existence attributed to them. African writers that have creatively used mythical and legendary sources are highly commended and appreciated and passionate appeals have been made through this paper to the contemporary and future African writers to effectuate the representation and entrenchment of the continental cultural myths and legends in subsequent creative writing for the purpose of cultural integration and propagation, rejuvenation of cultural material and dispersal of moral values.

Study on clinical profile of ventilated children in a pediatric intensive care unit of tertiary care centre

Background: Mechanical ventilation constitutes a major therapeutic modality in intensive care, so care of patients requiring ventilatory support is an integral part of the critical care unit. Very less data is available from developing countries regarding use of Mechanical Ventilation, its complication and outcomes which is a challenge for modern day intensivists. Objectives were to study clinical profile of ventilated children in a PICU of tertiary care centre. Methods: Present prospective cross-sectional study was conducted on ventilated children admitted at PICU of Dr. VMGMC hospital, Solapur. The study included demographics, clinical profile, indication for ventilation, length of hospital stays, outcome. Results: Out of 300 children, 170 were males. Most the children were from age group <5 years. Difficulty in breathing was seen in 188 cases, fever in 55%, 100 patients had acute CNS infections, 82 cases had bronchopneumonia, 85 cases respiratory failure was the indication for intubation. The duration of the mechanical ventilation was more in CNS cases, RS cases, sepsis cases. 165 cases got recovered successfully. Conclusions: Mechanical ventilation is one of the major supportive modalities used in critical care all over the world and is also used in many of the sick children in government tertiary care centre. Despite of its life saving advantages, mechanical ventilation is associated with complication. Early use of HHFNC, CPAP/BiPAP and other non-invasive modes of ventilation decrease the need for invasive mechanical ventilation.

Role and Importance of Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) in Modern Day Agriculture by Improving Soil Rizosphere: Review

The expanding human population necessitates more food production, but this must be done in the face of worsening climate change and a limiting supply of farmland. Today's challenge is to increase agricultural production demand while lowering the use of synthetic chemical fertilisers and pesticides. Growing need for agricultural production while reducing the usage of synthetic chemical fertilisers and pesticides has become a major problem in recent years. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) plays a vital part in the agriculture industry's sustainability. PGPR has been shown to be an ecologically friendly method of improving agricultural yields by stimulating plant development via a direct or indirect process. PGPR regulates hormonal and nutritional balance, induces resistance against plant diseases, and solubilizes nutrients for easier absorption by plants, among other things. Furthermore, PGPR exhibits both synergistic and antagonistic interactions with microorganisms in the rhizosphere and in bulk soil, which improves plant growth rate indirectly. PGPR regularly establish mutualistic interactions with host plants related to nutrient absorption (N fixation, P and K solubilization, and siderophore production), enhanced stress resistance (abiotic and biotic), and regulation of plant development and physiology through signal compound production, including phytohormones and specific inter-organism signal compounds, could be used as a more sustainable agricultural approach. Root exudates, which are released into the rhizosphere by host plants as a reduced carbon supply for phytomicrobiome members, also aid in providing a stable environment for microbe development. Given the benefits of PGPR in terms of biofertilization, biocontrol, and bioremediation, all of which have a favourable impact on crop yield and ecosystem functioning, its use in agriculture should be encouraged. With the advancement of technology in the establishment of effective research and development, PGPR utilisation will undoubtedly become a reality and will be helpful in critical processes that assure the stability and productivity of agro-ecosystems, bringing us to a perfect agricultural system.

Understanding the Role of HR in a Modern Day GIG Economy

WHY AND HOW GIG ECOMOMY GROWING AND THE INCREASED RESPOSIBILITY OF HR MANAGERS

Do effective microorganisms and supermagro fertilizers improve Gladiolus quality?

In this study, we evaluated the response of different gladiolus cultivars (Traderhorn, Joyeuse Entrée, and Purple Flora) to Effective Microorganisms (EM) and Supermagro fertilizers under the hypothesis that a combined EM+Supermagro fertilizer raises gladiolus floral stem and corm production to commercial standards of quality. The field experiment had a randomized block design in a 3 × 3 factorial arrangement totaling to 9 treatments in 3 replications. Of the 10 plants per plot, 6 each were evaluated for this study. Gladiolus stem and corm quality was assessed via analysis of variance and the means compared using Tukey's test at 5% error probability. The plants that received EM+Supermagro had a 15% higher final corm number compared to plants that received the chemical fertilizer with NPK+Urea. For final corm fresh mass (g), plants with NPK+Urea exhibited higher post-harvest values, with the Joyeuse Entrée cultivar producing the most and newer corms. Commercial floral stem quality parameters such as stem and tassel length and stem perimeter were met with both EM+Supermagro/NPK+Urea use and without fertilization, though EM+Supermagro especially improved floral stems and gladiolus corms. These parameters indicated that EM+Supermagro biofertilizer use assures national (stem) and international (corm) gladiolus quality standards, making it compatible with sustainable gladiolus production. EM+Supermagro fertilizer further serves as a social technology that favors small and medium producers due to its reduced input costs; it is also useful in the development of organic agriculture, one of the main agricultural demands in the modern day.

Comparative transcriptome profiling to unravel the key molecular signalling pathways and drought adaptive plasticity in shoot borne root system of sugarcane

Sugarcane root system comprises of superficial sett roots as well as deeply-penetrating shoot borne roots (SBR) with latter being the permanent root system. In sugarcane, the healthy SBR contributes to a better crop yield and it also helps to produce multiple ratoon crops after the harvest. There is a dearth of in-depth knowledge on SBR system architecture and its functional role in modern day commercial hybrids. A comprehensive phenotypic, anatomical and whole transcriptome profiling, conducted between the commercial sugarcane hybrids and a wild germplasm Erianthus, found a developmental delay in both initiation and establishment of the SBR in commercial hybrid compared to Erianthus. The SBR system in Erianthus proved to be an extensive drought-adaptive root system architecture that significantly contributes to drought tolerance. On the other hand, SBRs in the commercial hybrids showed an irreversible collapse and damage of the root cells under drought stress. The outcomes from the comparative analysis of the transcriptome data showed a significant upregulation of the genes that regulate important stress signalling pathways viz., sugar, calcium, hormone signalling and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis in the SBRs of Erianthus. It was found that through these key signalling pathways, Erianthus SBRs triggered the downstream signalling cascade to impart physiological responses like osmoprotection, modification of the cell walls, detoxification of reactive oxygen species, expression of drought responsive transcription factors, maintenance of cell stability and lateral root development. The current study forms a basis for further exploration of the Shoot Borne Root system as a valuable breeding target to develop drought tolerant sugarcane genotypes.

Saddles as rotational locks within shape-assisted self-assembled nanosheets

Two-dimensional (2D) materials are a key target for many applications in the modern day. Self-assembly is one approach that can bring us closer to this goal, which usually relies upon strong, directional interactions instead of covalent bonds. Control over less directional forces is more challenging and usually does not result in as well-defined materials. Explicitly incorporating topography into the design as a guiding effect to enhance the interacting forces can help to form highly ordered structures. Herein, we show the process of shape-assisted self-assembly to be consistent across a range of derivatives that highlights the restriction of rotational motion and is verified using a diverse combination of solid state analyses. A molecular curvature governed angle distribution nurtures monomers into loose columns that then arrange to form 2D structures with long-range order observed in both crystalline and soft materials. These features strengthen the idea that shape becomes an important design principle leading towards precise molecular self-assembly and the inception of new materials.

TECHNOLOGY IN DIGITAL MARKETING

This paper focuses on understanding new developments that have impacted modern day marketing. This paper also discusses technological concepts that changed the concept of marketing. When we talk about marketing and the role of technology in it, we understand that new marketing ideas have transformed the face of 21st century marketing strategies. Now marketing is heavily dependent on technology, the emergence of a new marketing sector also known as digital marketing. Digital marketing is the use of electronic media by advertisers to advertise products or services in the market. The main purpose of digital marketing is to attract customers and allow them to interact with the product through digital media devices such as smartphones and computers