Research Work Research Articles

Enhanced Thermoelectric Performance of Cu2Se Alloys by Simultaneous Engineering of Thermal and Electrical Transport Properties through S and Te Co‐Doping

Cu2Se‐based binary compounds have recently fetched the attention of researchers due to their remarkable electrical and extremely low thermal properties. In addition, Cu2Se‐based quaternary chalcogenides are expected to present exceptional thermoelectric performance. Cu2Se1−x−ySxTey‐like compounds are synthesized via microwave‐assisted hydrothermal method and their respective thermal and electrical transport properties are studied in this research work. The phase purity and homogeneity are examined by X‐ray diffraction and energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectrometry analysis. The introduction of S and Te elements into Cu2Se matrix enhances Seebeck coefficient resulting in improved electrical performance illustrating a maximum power factor of 989.4 μWK−2 m−1 at 673 K. Furthermore, S‐ and Te‐co‐doped samples exhibit reduced total thermal conductivity values with lowest value of 0.808 WK−1 m−1 for Cu2Se0.96S0.02Te0.02 sample in comparison to 1.18 WK−1 m−1 for the pristine sample. The simultaneous improvement in electrical and thermal properties results in enhanced figure of merit of 0.82 for Cu2Se0.96S0.02Te0.02 sample at 673 K.

A Thin Line between Education and Certification: A Battle of PhD Supervision in South African Universities

This study sought to critically review and demystify the postgraduate research supervision in South African universities. There is unnecessary discrimination among scholars concerning the certification of lecturers in South African universities. Some lecturers are not recognized as academically fit to supervise doctoral students even when there is evidence that they have the capacity to supervise doctoral research. While there is a lack of recognition of some lecturers with regard to doctoral research supervision, others support this lack of recognition with the argument that it is not fair for doctoral research to be supervised by a lecturer who is still a doctoral candidate. However, this paper argued that it is irrational to think that all lecturers with no PhD completely lack knowledge about academic research. This becomes more irrational if the lecturer in question has some published research works and has shown the skill through conference presentations. Against this backdrop using analytic theory, this study sought to challenge the status quo of how doctoral research is perceived in universities. This study utilized a conceptual desktop form of qualitative research and all sources used are adequately acknowledged. At the core of this paper, the researcher sought to appeal for co-supervision as recognition of those lecturers who are still pursuing their PhDs but already show the capacity to contribute to doctoral research supervision. In its entirety, this desktop conceptual research study found that the lack of recognition in South African universities is a neglect of upcoming researchers and it is recommended that lecturers who are upcoming researchers be involved in postgraduate/ doctoral research supervision. This study’s contribution is to motivate collaboration in doctoral supervision and mentorship for lecturers who are upcoming scholars in South African universities. Keywords: Doctoral Research, Lack of Lecturer’s Recognition, Universities Irrationality, Academic Experience

Entrepreneurial culture in small businesses in Sinaloa

This research work aimed to analyse the conditions of entrepreneurial activity and culture in the environment of small businesses in Sinaloa, considering the relevance and correlation between success stories and their processes. The importance of this topic is that there is a requirement for administrative orientation since the functions of the partners are related to the administrative role, and they have been updating themselves in the processes and management of local and international transactions that mark the new orientations. In this way, innovative techniques and strategies are required to deal with conflicts in relation to the above. Likewise, this will enable them to develop and implement strategies and actions aligned with the technological and sustainable (social, economic, and environmental) advances that are demanded today in the rules of world trade. Hypothesis. Adequate management is considered a pillar for the long-term success of small businesses, motivating the innovative spirit of an organisation's partners, and creating competitive advantages for the organisation over its competitors.

An empirical study on the factors influencing the new product development process in Indian automobile industries

Automobile manufacturing industries are looking at innovative ways to improve their company processes globally to maintain profitability in an increasingly complicated and competitive global market. There is fierce competition in the automotive business, which is evolving quickly. A crucial constituent of an organization’s success, survival, and vitality in such industries is the process of new product development. Several studies have been conducted to investigate the success factors of the new product development process in the Automobile industry. This research work tested the hypothesis that factors influence the process of new product development in the Automobile manufacturing industries of Maharashtra. The evidence was collected from higher officials of respective industries. The findings show that market orientation, market competition, and organizational culture have a significant impact on the New Product Development Process in the Automobile Manufacturing industry. The result of this study also shows that the role of governance and organization competence and resources do not impact the New Product Development Process. This suggests that management in the Automobile manufacturing industry strategy should focus on all the possible influential factors during the process of product development.

Potentials for Optimizing Roadside Greenery to Improve the Quality of Life in Cities

Trees and plants at the roadside or on median strips are called roadside greenery. These are not only beautiful in our environment but are also an important component of the biological system of a city. In addition, roadside greenery provides a variety of design, structural, traffic and ecological functions. These include shading and aesthetics, but also the sense of security and as a measure against the consequences of climate change. Worldwide, more and more people are living in cities and urbanization is steadily increasing. As a result, inner-city development is becoming increasingly dense, and the air is getting worse. In order to make people’s living environments as pleasant and healthy as possible, more greenery is needed in cities. In this research work, the relationship between quality of life and street greenery is investigated. The aim is to analyze the different needs and wishes of citizens and to identify and compile positive consequential effects of street greenery on people and the environment, as well as possible deficits in urban areas. A guideline for action with recommendations will support municipalities in upgrading and expanding street greenery in cities. The empirical study shows that street greenery is enormously important for the general and subjective quality of life for every age group. The perception of the population shows different assessments and ideals regarding street greenery. Overall, there is a desire among the population to maintain and optimize street greenery in the city.

Municipal Defensive Walls in Western Poland: The Example of Żagań

ABSTRACT Many relics of municipal fortifications are preserved in multiple cities in the Silesian — Lusatian region. Research works are mainly focused on area such a history, architecture or technical state, without correlation between these areas. The correct approach is to identify walls, or sections of them, as part of parallel, interdisciplinary research that covers the history and chronology of transformations, expansion phases, and their state of preservation which was also the primary and main goal of the research in case of Żagań municipal defensive walls. Thanks to architectural and archaeological analysis, it was possible to determine the chronology of the transformations and layers of the walls. Combining the results of the chronological analyses (C-14, dendrochronology) of wood samples from putlog holes with the results of architectural research allows hypotheses regarding the chronology of constructing objects to be confirmed or excluded. During the study it was found, that it is recommended to correlate the results of archaeological research conducted within the area of excavations next to the foundations of city walls with the results of the structural analyses of soil and water conditions. It is then possible to conduct a comparative analysis of the identified soil and anthropogenic layers. The correlation of architectural research in the field of the chronology of the construction of city walls with the results of the analyses of the cross-sectional deformation of their structure (based on 3D laser scanning) enables answers about the causes of the walls’ inclination to be obtained. The proposed algorithm for interdisciplinary cooperation in research of historical municipal walls is presented.

Genetic Improvement of Drought Tolerance in a Mega-Rice Variety Improved White Ponni through Marker-Assisted Backcross Breeding

In the ever-changing climatic conditions, it has become important to enhance rice productivity to ensure global food security. Drought is one of the major limiting factors in rice pro- duction. Drought during the reproductive stage results in maximum or complete yield loss. Efforts have been taken to develop drought-tolerant rice lines by introgressing three major drought-effect QTLs, viz. qDTY1.1, qDTY2.1, and qDTY3.1, from Apo into a susceptible popular rice variety, Improved White Ponni (IWP). Backcross inbred lines of IWP × Apo were developed through the marker-assisted backcross breeding approach. Foreground analysis using linked markers resulted in the identification of 17 progenies carrying two or more QTLs, and the recurrent parent genome recoveries of these lines were >95.6% using 72 genome-wide SSR markers distributed throughout all chromosomes. Upon phenotypic evaluation of 17 IWP BILs, the water limited condition resulted in the identification of improved lines by recording the yield and the yield-related parameters. The promising performance of IWP BILs in terms of spikelet fertility (63.3%) and grain yield per plant (>10 g) under drought stress indicated the positive effects of introgressed qDTYs, while IWP recorded complete yield loss (94.2%). Out of the cultivars considered, the best-performing lines which truly exhibited drought tolerance, with more increased yield than the recurrent parent under water-limited conditions, and the effects of these QTLs and their interactions were examined in this research work.

An Unexplored Drug Mamajjaka (Enicostemma Littorale Blume)-A Drug Review

Traditional medicinal system of India consist variety of natural herbs which are playing significant role in human health. Among them Enicostemma littorale Blume is one the herbaceous plant of the Gentianaceae family. The biter nature plant help in curing fever, act as a laxative, useful in skin disorders, rheumatism, snake bite, abdominal disorders, diabetes, obesity and in many more diseases. The plant used in folklore since long time in many diseases. The plant constituents having antimicrobial, antioxidant, antiulcer, anti-inflammatory, hypolipidemic, hypoglycaemic, hepatoprotective and antitumor activity. This review consists of detail description along with its literature review, ethnobotanical uses, phytochemical, pharmacological properties, and toxicological study of Enicostemma littorale Blume. The methodology adopted in this review is using Ayurvedic literature and modern scientific research-based publications including journal and periodicals. This review provide base for future research work in different aspect in the field of drug research.

Distinctiveness, Uniformity and Stability (DUS) Characterization in Twenty Five Landraces of Rice (Oryza sativa L.)

For the establishment of Distinctiveness, Uniformity and Stability (DUS) characterization, Twenty five landraces of rice (Oryza sativa L.), collected from different parts of Tamil Nadu, were characterized according to the DUS guidelines of the Plant Varieties Protection and Farmers’ Rights Authority, using thirty agro-morphological traits. Rice accessions were planted with three replications using the randomized block design (RBD) in 2021 at the Plant Breeding Farm, Department of Genetics and plant Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture, Annamalai University. Observations were recorded on various agro-morphological traits such as Leaf sheath, flag leaf, leaf blade, awns, panicle, ligure and clum characteristics. The results obtained revealed a wide range of variability for twenty five landraces, essential characters of the thirty DUS characters studied. The results of this study will be useful for restoration and conservation of beneficial genes. Contemporary research work will be advantageous for breeders to choose the right parent for crop improvement and the researchers for genetic diversity among landraces.

Green Synthesis of Bimetallic Nanoparticles and its Catalytic Activity of Multicomponent Reactions and Antibacterial Activity

AbstractThis present research work focuses on synthesizing Ag−Cu bimetallic nanoparticles utilizing an aqueous extract leaf of Excoecaria agallocha, employing a green synthesis route. The incorporation of silver (Ag) with copper (Cu) induces synergistic effects that enhance reaction kinetics and reduce the multicomponent reaction time. The catalysts synthesized through this environmentally friendly approach were thoroughly characterized using various analytical techniques, including HR‐TEM, XRD, SEM‐EDX, UV‐Vis Spectrophotometry, and FT‐IR. The UV‐visible spectrum displayed a peak at 257 nm, while the FT‐IR spectrum exhibited peaks at 574 cm−1, indicative of bimetallic peak reductions attributed to the influence of plant metabolites. HR‐TEM and XRD revealed the crystalline with (111), (200), (111), (200), and (220) plane values and shapes of BMNPs. Furthermore, the Ag−Cu bimetallic nanoparticles demonstrated outstanding catalytic performance with high product yield, along with notable reusability and recyclability and excellent antimicrobial activity when compared with commercial antibacterial chloramphenicol.

Historical Landmarks of Congresses of All-Ukrainian Public Organization “Scientific Society of Anatomists, Histologists, Embryologists and Topographic Anatomists of Ukraine”

The Scientific Society of Anatomists, Histologists, Embryologists and Topographic Anatomists of Ukraine - is a public organization whose activity is aimed at the formation of conditions for revealing the scientific and creative potential of morphologists in Ukraine; at the development of the research work; at the development of innovative activity; and at the creation of a society website. This article aims to highlight the historical aspects of the formation and development of the society since Ukraine gained independence and up to nowadays, to focus attention on the famous Ukrainian scientists having managed the society and made significant efforts to develop morphology in Ukraine and in the whole world.

Optimization of Urea Super Granule Boost up for the Efficiency of N and Improved the Potato Quality, Growth and Yield

Potato is the third most important food crop after wheat and rice in Bangladesh. To determine the suitable nitrogen source by observing the growth performance with a view to increasing the yield of potato, a research work was carried out at the Research Farm, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka during the period from November 2018 to March, 2019. The experiment consisted of eight treatments. The experiment was laid out with Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. Experimental results showed that nitrogen sources had significant effect on plant height, number of effective stem hill-1, wt. of tuber (g hill-1), yield of tubers (kg plot-1), yield of tubers (t ha-1), tuber fleshy dry matter content, specific gravity, grading of tubers (% by number). Potato production increased significantly due to the application of Urea Super Granule (USG). The highest production was observed in T3 treatment. The application of T3 treatment showed the highest wt. of tuber hill-1 (57.53g hill-1), highest tuber yield (25.77 kg plot-1), highest tuber yield (29.45 t ha-1) than any other sources of nitrogen treatments. The mean apparent recovery of Nitrogen by tested variety BARI Alu 7 (Diamant) was obtained with the application of USG in other treatment (except control) but the nitrogen use efficiency was highest in T3 treatment. Findings revealed that application of USG showed the superiority over other sources of nitrogen to produce highest tuber yield of potato and for all cases lowest results were found in T1 treatment receiving no fertilizer (control).

Fishing antioxidant 4-hydroxycoumarin derivatives: synthesis, characterization, and in vitro assessments.

Coumarins represent a diverse class of natural compounds whose importance in pharmaceutical and agri-food sectors has motivated multiple novel synthetic derivatives with broad applicability. The phenolic moiety in 4-hydroxycoumarins underscores their potential to modulate the equilibrium between free radicals and antioxidant species within biological systems. The aim of this work was to assess the antioxidant activity of 18 4-hydroxycoumarin coumarin derivatives, six of which are commercially available and the other 12 were synthesized and chemically characterized and described herein. The 4-hydroxycoumarins were prepared by a two steps synthetic strategy with satisfactory yields. Their antioxidant potential was evaluated through three in vitro methods, two free radical-scavenging assays (DPPH• and ABTS•+) and a metal chelating activity assay. Six synthetic coumarins (4a, 4g, 4h, 4i, 4k, 4l) had a scavenging capacity of DPPH• higher than butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) (IC50=0.58mmol/L) and compound 4a (4-hydroxy-6-methoxy-2H-chromen-2-one) with an IC50=0.05mmol/L outperformed both BHT and ascorbic acid (IC50=0.06mmol/L). Nine hydroxycoumarins had a scavenging capacity against ABTS•+ greater (C3, 4a, 4c) or comparable (C1, C2, C4, C6, 4g, 4l) to Trolox (IC50=34.34µmol/L). Meanwhile, the set had a modest ferrous chelation capacity, but most of them (C2, C5, C6, 4a, 4b, 4h, 4i, 4j, 4k, 4l) reached up to more than 20% chelating ability percentage. Collectively, this research work provides valuable structural insights that may determine the scavenging and metal chelating activity of 4-hydroxycoumarins. Notably, substitutions at the C6 position appeared to enhance scavenging potential, while the introduction of electron-withdrawing groups showed promise in augmenting chelation efficiency.

Numerical Simulation of Sandwiched Perovskite-Based Solar Cell Using Solar Cell Capacitance Simulator (SCAPS-1D)

Due to the superb characteristics of its light-harvesting, the Perovskite sensitizer ABX3 (A = CH3NH3, B = Pb, Sn, and X = Cl, Br, I) has recently attracted great attention. Perovskite is composed of inexpensive and earth abundant materials. It is processable at low temperature preferably via the printing techniques. In addition, the charges in the bulk material after light absorption that enhances low loss in energy charge generation and collection were generated freely. In this research work, Solar cell capacitance simulator (SCAPS-1D) was used to harnessing the real device hybrid Perovskite (PSC) solar cell with material parameters obtained from literatures and experiment used in the definition panel and the arrangement of an hybrid (FTO/ZnO/CZTS/PSCS/CZTS/HTM) model in the SCAPS-1D simulator. From the simulated results obtained the Band gap diagram and other curves were constructed. The efficiency greater than twenty percent (>20%) was achieved, which shows that having a combination of two different absorbers were achievable and calling for great attention from the researchers.

Biocomposite Materials Derived from Andropogon halepensis: Eco-Design and Biophysical Evaluation.

This research work presents a "green" strategy of weed valorization for developing silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) with promising interesting applications. Two types of AgNPs were phyto-synthesized using an aqueous leaf extract of the weed Andropogon halepensis L. Phyto-manufacturing of AgNPs was achieved by two bio-reactions, in which the volume ratio of (phyto-extract)/(silver salt solution) was varied. The size and physical stability of Andropogon-AgNPs were evaluated by means of DLS and zeta potential measurements, respectively. The phyto-developed nanoparticles presented good free radicals-scavenging properties (investigated via a chemiluminescence technique) and also urease inhibitory activity (evaluated using the conductometric method). Andropogon-AgNPs could be promising candidates for various bio-applications, such as acting as an antioxidant coating for the development of multifunctional materials. Thus, the Andropogon-derived samples were used to treat spider silk from the spider Pholcus phalangioides, and then, the obtained "green" materials were characterized by spectral (UV-Vis absorption, FTIR ATR, and EDX) and morphological (SEM) analyses. These results could be exploited to design novel bioactive materials with applications in the biomedical field.

A study of some research work on soil radon concentration and ionospheric total electron content as earthquake precursors

A study of some research work on soil radon concentration and ionospheric total electron content as earthquake precursors

A new method for analysis of marine sustainable energy systems

This paper proposes to utilise a new adaptive kernel density estimation (KDE) methodology based on linear diffusion processes for predicting the probability distribution tails of sea-state parameters. A key conclusion was reached that the proposed new methodology can lead to more accurate prediction results than traditional methods based on fittings to a measured significant wave height data set at National Data Buoy Center station 46014. This proposed methodology was subsequently utilised for deriving an accurate 50-year environmental contour line that was used in the dynamic analysis of a two-body point absorber wave energy converter. After systematically analysing the calculation results, another key conclusion was drawn that it is advantageous to use a more reliable contour line derived using the proposed new methodology for long-term dynamic analysis of wave energy converters. In summary, the proposed new adaptive KDE methodology is recommended to be utilised and to be refined continuously in future research work in the field of long-term reliability analysis of marine sustainable energy systems.

Analysis and Design of a High Gain Multiband Antenna Based on Metamaterials for RFID Applications

In this research work, the design of a dipole antenna based on metamaterials is proposed, which can be used as a high gain multiband communication device for RFID applications. This antenna is printed on two sides of an Arlon substrate, which has an overall electrical dimension of 0.39 λ0×0.11 λ0×0.0014 λ0. The metamaterials are used to obtain a multiband antenna, and their integration technique into the antenna results in a high gain compared to a conventional antenna without any magnification or additional layer. The simulated and measured results show that the proposed antenna can operate at 0.88-0.97 GHz, 2.41-2.48 GHz, and 5.77-5.91 GHz with a reflection coefficient of less than −10 dB, which make it well suited for RFID at 860-960 MHz and 2.4 GHz/5.8 GHz. All these resonant frequencies show better impedance matching with high gain. The proposed antenna has the advantages of simple design, low profile, easy feeding, low manufacturing cost, and easy integration into the electronic circuit.

Soil base Crop Prediction using Machine Learning

In general, agriculture is the backbone [Grab your reader’s attention with a great quote from the document or use this space to emphasize a key point. To place this text box anywhere on the page, just drag it.]of India and also plays an important role in Indian economy by providing a certain percentage of domestic product to ensure the food security. But now-a-days, food production and prediction is getting depleted due to unnatural climatic changes, which will adversely affect the economy of farmers by getting a poor yield and also help the farmers to remain less familiar in forecasting the future crops. This research work helps the beginner farmer in such a way to guide them for sowing the reasonable crops by deploying machine learning, one of the advanced technologies in crop prediction. Naive Bayes, a supervised learning algorithm puts forth in the way to achieve it. The seed data of the crops are collected here, with the appropriate parameters like temperature, humidity and moisture content, which helps the crops to achieve a successful growth. In addition as the software, a mobile application for Android is being developed. The users are encouraged to enter parameters like temperature and their location will be taken automatically in this application in order to start the prediction process

Recent developments in synthetic strategies and pharmacological outcomes of synthetic xanthine oxidase inhibitors: A comprehensive review

AbstractXanthine oxidase is an important enzyme in purine metabolism that converts hypoxanthine to xanthine and subsequently xanthine to uric acid. Its elevated levels result in an abnormal accumulation of uric acid that results in gout and other pathological conditions, which makes it a prime target for the management of gout. Considering this, numerous reports have been published by the various research groups across the globe focusing on the development of effective xanthine oxidase inhibitors. On that ground, numerous review articles are also available describing the pharmacological outputs of these reports, but a composition highlighting the synthetic strategies used in these research works is still missing. This review will focus on various synthetic strategies adopted by different research groups in developing xanthine oxidase inhibitors with their pharmacological outcomes, along with structure activity relationships. This review will help researchers and pharmaceutical chemists in the design and development of new xanthine oxidase inhibitor leads that are highly efficient and have fewer side effects than existing ones.