Showing papers by "Christ University published in 2014"

The Peculiar Radio-loud Narrow Line Seyfert 1 Galaxy 1H 0323+342

Abstract: We present a multiwavelength study of the radio-loud narrow-line Seyfert 1 galaxy (NLSy1) 1H 0323+342, detected by the Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope. Multiband light curves show many orphan X-ray and optical flares having no corresponding γ-ray counterparts. Such anomalous variability behavior can be due to different locations of the emission region from the central source. During a large flare, a γ-ray flux doubling timescale as small as ~3 hr is noticed. We built spectral energy distributions (SEDs) during different activity states and modeled them using a one-zone leptonic model. The shape of the optical/UV component of the SEDs is dominated by accretion disk emission in all the activity states. In the X-ray band, significant thermal emission from the hot corona is inferred during quiescent and first flaring states; however, during subsequent flares, the nonthermal jet component dominates. The γ-ray emission in all the states can be well explained by inverse-Compton scattering of accretion disk photons reprocessed by the broad-line region. The source showed violent intra-night optical variability, coinciding with one of the high γ-ray activity states. An analysis of the overall X-ray spectrum fitted with an absorbed power-law plus relativistic reflection component hints at the presence of an Fe Kα line and returns a high black hole spin value of a = 0.96 ± 0.14. We argue that 1H 0323+342 possesses dual characteristics, akin to both flat-spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs) and radio-quiet NLSy1 galaxies, though at a low jet power regime compared to powerful FSRQs.

Detection of carbapenem resistance genes and cephalosporin, and quinolone resistance genes along with oqxAB gene in Escherichia coli in hospital wastewater: a matter of concern

Abstract: Aims This study was performed to detect the presence of Escherichia coli resistant to cephalosporins, carbapenems and quinolones in hospital wastewater. Methods and Results Wastewaters from a rural (H1) and an urban (H2) hospital were tested for E. coli resistant to cephalosporins, carbapenem and quinolones. Genes coding for chromosomal and plasmid-mediated resistance and phylogenetic grouping was detected by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and for genetic relatedness by rep-PCR. Of 190 (H1 = 94; H2 = 96) E. coli examined, 44% were resistant to both cephalosporins and quinolones and 3% to imipenem. ESBLs were detected phenotypically in 96% of the isolates, the gene blaCTX-M coding for 87% and blaTEM for 63%. Quinolone resistance was due to mutations in gyrA and parC genes in 97% and plasmid-coded aac-(6′)-Ib-cr in 89% of isolates. Only in one carbapenem-resistant E. coli, NDM-1 was detected. Nearly 67% of the isolates belonged to phylogenetic group B2. There was no genetic relatedness among the isolates. Conclusions Hospital wastewater contains genetically diverse multidrug-resistant E. coli. Significance and Impact of the Study This study stresses the need for efficient water treatment plants in healthcare settings as a public health measure to minimize spread of multidrug-resistant bacteria into the environment.

Role of Infrared Spectroscopy in Coal Analysis—An Investigation

Abstract: Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy is a widely used analytical technique for determining the different functional groups of a coal structure. This method, being able to reveal carbo-hydrogenated structures (aromatic and aliphatic) and heteroatomic functions (mainly oxygenated), as well as to detect the presence of minerals, is currently one of the most powerful techniques for coal characterization and thus is of paramount importance in the various utilization procedures of coal (industrial combustion, coke production processes, etc.). FT-IR study shows the presence of aliphatic -CH, -CH2 and -CH3 groups, aliphatic C-O-C stretching associated with -OH and -NH stretching vibrations and HCC rocking. It is conjectured that, the two-stage leaching using HNO3 followed by HF remarkably reduced the ash content as well as the minerals including Al, Si and Ca. The solubilization of samples with buffered EDTA could not eliminate the minerals in coal. The silicate and kaolinite bands showed a systematic lowering on EDTA and carboxylic acid treatment. The fungal leaching was most beneficial for aromatic molecules with different degrees of substitution. The intensity of bands due to carbonyl groups was increased, when treated with fungi, whereas that due to oxygen functional groups showed a reverse trend. The mineral bands due to silicates also decreased in intensity, on post treatment with fungal culture.

Comparative analysis of Histogram Equalization techniques

Abstract: Histogram Equalization (HE) is one of the techniques which is used for Image enhancement. This paper shows the comparative studies of Global Histogram Equalization, Local Histogram Equalization and Fast Quadratic Dynamic Histogram Equalization based on the execution time, mean squared error and Peak Signal to Noise Ratio (PSNR). This paper shows the experimental results for these three methods with graphical representation.

Folksonomy-based fuzzy user profiling for improved recommendations

Abstract: Genre is a major factor influencing user decisions to peruse an item in domains such as movies, books etc. Recommender systems, generally have, at their disposal, information regarding genres/categories that a movie/book belongs to. However, the degree of membership of the objects in these categories is typically unavailable. Such information, if available, would provide a better description of items and consequently lead to quality recommendations. In this paper, we propose an approach to infer the degree of genre presence in a movie by examining the various tags conferred on them by various users. Tags are user-defined metadata for items and embed abundant information about various facets of user likes, their opinion on the quality and the type of object tagged. Leveraging on tags to guide the genre degree determination exploits crowd sourcing to enrich item content description. Fuzzy logic naturally models human logic allowing for the nuanced representation of features of objects and thus is utilized to derive such gradual representation as well as for modeling user profiles. To the best of our knowledge ours is one of the first approaches to utilize such folksonomy information to infer genre degrees subsequently used for recommendations. The proposed method has the twin advantages of utilizing enriched content information for recommendation as well as squeezing the information from the user-item-tag and user-item ratings spaces and condensing them into fuzzy user profiles. The fuzzy user and object representations are leveraged both for the design of content-based as well as collaborative recommender systems. Experimental evaluations establish the effectiveness of the proposed approaches as compared to other baselines.

Application of Artificial Neural Networks in optimizing MPPT control for standalone solar PV system

Abstract: Increasing demand of power supply and the limited nature of fossil fuel has resulted for the world to focus on renewable energy resources Solar photovoltaic (PV) energy source being the most easily available, it is considered to have the potential to meet the ever increasing energy demand Developing an intelligent system with Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) to track the Maximum Power Point (MPP) of a PV Array is being proposed in this paper The system adopts Radial Basis Function Network (RBFN) architecture to optimize the control of Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) for PV Systems A PV array has non-linear output characteristics due to the insolation, temperature variations and the optimum operating point needs to be tracked in order to draw maximum power from the system The output of the intelligent MPPT controller can be used to control the DC/DC converters to achieve maximum efficiency

Investigation of nanocrystalline structure in selected carbonaceous materials

Abstract: The structural parameters of nine Indian coals were determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy. The study revealed that the coals contain crystalline carbon of turbostratic structure with amorphous carbon. The stacking height (L c) and interlayer spacing (d 002) of the crystallite structure of the coals ranged from 1.986 to 2.373 nm and from 0.334 to 0.340 nm, respectively. The degree of graphitization was calculated to range from 42% to 99%, thereby confirming the ordering of the carbon layers with the increase in coal rank. An exponential correlation was observed among the aromaticity (f a), the lateral size (L a), and the rank (I 20/I 26), suggesting that the coal crystallites are nanocrystalline in nature. A very strong correlation was observed between the structural parameters (f a, d 002, L c, the H/C ratio, and I 20/I 26), the volatile matter content, and the elemental carbon content, indicating the structures of coals are controlled by the degree of contact metamorphism. The Raman spectra exhibited two prominent bands: the graphitic band (G) and the first-order characteristic defect band (D). The deconvolution resulted in five peaks: G, D1, D2, D3, and D4. The intense D1 band, which appeared at ∼1350 cm−1, corresponds to a lattice vibration mode with A1g symmetry. The D2 mode, which appeared at ∼1610 cm−1, arises from the structural disorder as a shoulder on the G band.

Classification of supply chain knowledge: a morphological approach

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of the article is to create a knowledge classification model that can be used by knowledge management (KM) practitioners for establishing a knowledge management framework (KMF) in a supply chain (SC) network. Epistemological and ontological aspects of knowledge have been examined. SC networks provide a more generic setting for managing knowledge due to the additional issues concerning flow of knowledge across the boundaries of organizations. Design/methodology/approach – Morphological analysis has been used to build the knowledge classification model. Morphological approach is particularly useful in exploratory research on concepts/entities having multiple dimensions. Knowledge itself has been shown in literature to have many characteristics, and the methodology used has enabled a comprehensive classification scheme based on such characteristics. Findings – A single comprehensive classification model for knowledge that exists in SC networks has been proposed. Nine characteristics, ea...

Heat and Mass Transfer Effects on a Dissipative and Radiative Visco-Elastic MHD Flow over a Stretching Porous Sheet

Abstract: The objective of the present study is to consider a dissipative and radiative visco-elastic flow over a stretching porous sheet. The applicability of the present study is numerous in the polymer industry in stretching of sheets with dissipative environment. In view of its scope, the present study brings the work of Khan (Int J Heat Mass Transf 49, 1534–1542, 2005) and Singh (Int Comm Heat Mass Transf 35, 637–642, 2008) as particular cases. The solution of the momentum equation has been taken care of by similarity transformation and applying a particular solution satisfying boundary conditions. Further, the heat and mass transfer equations are solved by applying the confluent hypergeometric function (Kummer’s function). It is interesting to note that the presence of elastic element in the fluid, external magnetic field and suction at the plate reduce the skin friction favoring the stretching of sheets whereas heat loss has been minimized due to permeability of the medium, presence of heat source in case of low diffusive fluid.

DNA for information security: A Survey on DNA computing and a pseudo DNA method based on central dogma of molecular biology

Abstract: Biology is a life science which has high significance on the quality of life and information security is that aspect for social edification, which human beings will never compromise Both are subjects of high relevance and inevitable for mankind So, an amalgamation of these subjects definitely turns up as utility technology, either for security or data storage and is known as Bio computing The secure transfer of information was a major concern from ancient civilizations Various techniques have been proposed to maintain security of data so that only intended recipient should be able to receive the message other than the sender These practices became more significant with the introduction of the Internet Information varies from big data to a particular word, but every piece of information requires proper storage and protection which is a major concern Cryptography is an art or science of secrecy which protects information from unauthorized access Various techniques evolved through years for information protection, including Ciphers, Cryptography, Steganography, Biometrics and recent DNA for securityDNA cryptography was a major breakthrough in the field of security which uses Bio-molecular concepts and gives us a new hope of unbreakable algorithms This paper discusses various DNA based Cryptographic methods proposed till now It also proposes a DNA symmetric algorithm based on the Pseudo DNA Cryptography and Central dogma of molecular biology The suggested algorithm uses splicing and padding techniques along with complementary rules which make the algorithm more secure as it is an additional layer of security than conventional cryptographic techniques

Systematic investigations of graphene layers in sub-bituminous coal

Abstract: Coal is the plentiful and widely and universally used fuel. However, its structural characteristic makes a perception that it is only worthwhile for generating energy via combustion. Herein we report a simple method to synthesize nanometre-sized graphene sheets with amorphous carbon addends on the edges from sub-bituminous coal. The X-ray analysis reveals the presence of crystalline carbon in the amorphous background. The average number of carbon atoms and aromatic layers was estimated as ∼21 and 8. The interlayer spacing d 002 for the aromatic lamellae of samples leached using HF and acetic acid, are found to be 0.352 and 0.376 nm, respectively. The oxidation of coal structure resulted in nanometre sized graphene having lateral size of 4.19 nm and stacking height of 2.3 nm. The Raman spectrum analysis confirmed the formation of finite sized, less defective graphene nanolayers with leaching. The crystalline carbon within the coal matrix displaced with chemical leaching, resulting nano-meter sized graphene sheets. The results also established that with HF leaching, carbon in coal becomes more stacked and ordered compared to organic acid leached coal.

Exploring graph-based global similarity estimates for quality recommendations

Abstract: Data sparsity or the insufficiency of past user preferences in predicting future user needs continues to be a major challenge for RS engines. We propose a solution to the sparsity problem by exploring similarity measures that capture the global patterns of commonality between users or items by leveraging on indirect ways of connecting users items through a user item graph. Entities users or items sharing common features are connected to each other by edges weighted by their proximity or distance. Graph-based techniques, for estimating transitive similarity between entities not directly connected, are exploited to bring the entities closer thus facilitating collaboration. Furthermore, we also propose a combined user-item graph approach for exploiting the similarity between users preferring similar items and vice versa. In this work, we have suggested alternatives to the already existing global similarity assessment and we aim to investigate the appropriateness of the proposed techniques under differing data features.

An Approach for Document Pre-processing and K Means Algorithm Implementation

Abstract: The web mining is a cutting edge technology, which includes information gathering and classification of information over web. This paper puts forth the concepts of document pre-processing, which is achieved by extraction of keywords from the documents fetched from the web, processing it and generating a term-document matrix, TF-IDF and the different approaches of TF-IDF (term frequency Inverse document frequency) for each respective document. The last step is the clustering of these results through K Means algorithm, by comparing the performance of each approach used. The algorithm is realized on an X64 architecture and coded on Java and Matlab platform. The results are tabulated.

Improved Bully Election Algorithm for Distributed Systems.

Abstract: Electing a leader is a classical problem in distributed computing system. Synchronization between processes often requires one process acting as a coordinator. If an elected leader node fails, the other nodes of the system need to elect another leader without much wasting of time. The bully algorithm is a classical approach for electing a leader in a synchronous distributed computing system, which is used to determine the process with highest priority number as the coordinator. In this paper, we have discussed the limitations of Bully algorithm and proposed a simple and efficient method for the Bully algorithm which reduces the number of messages during the election. Our analytical simulation shows that, our proposed algorithm is more efficient than the Bully algorithm with fewer messages passing and fewer stages.

Synthesis, growth mechanism and physical properties of vapour-deposited GaTe platelets

Abstract: The physical vapour deposition (PVD) method has been employed to yield gallium telluride (GaTe) platelets. The morphology and growth mechanism of these platelets were investigated with the aid of scanning electron micrographs. The stoichiometry and homogeneity of the grown samples were confirmed by chemical analysis. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique has been used to explore the structure and phase of the compound. On the basis of the Archimedes principle, the density of crystals was estimated to be 5.442 kg mm−3. The resistivity and conductivity type were determined by the van der Pauw method. UV–vis–NIR studies revealed a direct transition with an energy gap of 1.69 eV. Mechanical properties such as microhardness, toughness, Young's modulus and elastic stiffness constant of GaTe crystals in response to the stress field due to an external load were studied to realize their suitability for radiation detector applications. The present observations provide an insight into the physical properties of the vapour-grown GaTe platelets, which are found to be superior over their melt counterparts.

K -shell X-ray intensity ratios and vacancy transfer probabilities of Pt, Au, and Pb by a simple method

Abstract: The K-shell X-ray intensity ratios, radiative and total vacancy transfer probablities of platinum, gold, and lead are measured by employing the 2π-geometrical configuration and a weak gamma source, a simple method proposed previously by our group. The targets of Pt, Au, and Pb were excited using γ-rays of weighted energy 123.6 keV from a weak 57Co source and the emitted K-shell X-rays were detected using an HPGe X-ray detector spectrometer coupled to a 16k multichannel analyzer. The measured values of these parameters are compared with the theoretical values and experimental data of other researchers, finding a good agreement. Thus, the 2π-geometrical configuration method with a weak gamma source can be alternative simple method to measure various atomic parameters in the field of X-ray spectroscopy.

On the Temporal Causal Relationship Between Macroeconomic Variables: Empirical Evidence From India

Abstract: The present study examines the dynamic interactions among macroeconomic variables such as real output, prices, money supply, interest rate (IR), and exchange rate (EXR) in India during the pre-econ...

Cancer Prognosis Prediction Using Balanced Stratified Sampling

Abstract: High accuracy in cancer prediction is important to improve the quality of the treatment and to improve the rate of survivability of patients. As the data volume is increasing rapidly in the healthcare research, the analytical challenge exists in double. The use of effective sampling technique in classification algorithms always yields good prediction accuracy. The SEER public use cancer database provides various prominent class labels for prognosis prediction. The main objective of this paper is to find the effect of sampling techniques in classifying the prognosis variable and propose an ideal sampling method based on the outcome of the experimentation. In the first phase of this work the traditional random sampling and stratified sampling techniques have been used. At the next level the balanced stratified sampling with variations as per the choice of the prognosis class labels have been tested. Much of the initial time has been focused on performing the pre_processing of the SEER data set. The classification model for experimentation has been built using the breast cancer, respiratory cancer and mixed cancer data sets with three traditional classifiers namely Decision Tree, Naive Bayes and K-Nearest Neighbor. The three prognosis factors survival, stage and metastasis have been used as class labels for experimental comparisons. The results shows a steady increase in the prediction accuracy of balanced stratified model as the sample size increases, but the traditional approach fluctuates before the optimum results.

Enhancement of thermoelectric efficiency in vapor deposited Sb2Te3 and Sb1.8In0.2Te3 crystals

Abstract: Pure and indium doped antimony telluride (Sb2Te3) crystals find applications in high performance room temperature thermoelectric devices. Owing to the meagre physical properties exhibited on the cleavage faces of melt grown samples, an attempt was made to explore the thermoelectric parameters of p-type crystals grown by the physical vapor deposition (PVD) method. The crystal structure of the grown platelets (9 mm× 8 mm× 2 mm) was identified as rhombohedral by x-ray powder diffraction method. The energy dispersive analysis confirmed the elemental composition of the crystals. The electron microscopic and scanning probe image studies revealed that the crystals were grown by layer growth mechanism with low surface roughness. At room temperature (300 K), the values of Seebeck coefficient S (⊥ c) and power factor were observed to be higher for Sb1.8In0.2Te3 crystals (155 μVK−1, 2.669 × 10−3 W/mK2) than those of pure ones. Upon doping, the thermal conductivity κ (⊥ c) was decreased by 37.14% and thus thermoelectric efficiency was improved. The increased figure of merit, Z = 1.23 × 10−3 K−1 for vapour grown Sb1.8In0.2Te3 platelets indicates that it could be used as a potential thermoelectric candidate.

Vertical Stratification of Spiders in Kuttanad Rice Agroecosystem, Kerala

Abstract: Investigations were carried out during the period from July 2010 to January 2011 on the vertical stratification of spiders in the rice agroecosystem of Kuttanad, Kerala. For the present study, five main functional groups were recognized based on the activity and foraging behaviour related to average height of the rice plant, namely 80cm. The final growth stage of each plant was thoroughly examined from top to bottom, on leaf blades, flowers, dry leaves and ground stratum. Spiders were then identified with the help of available literature. A total of 1632 individuals from 69 species, 49 genera and 17 families were collected during the study period. The most species rich family was Salticidae (15 species) followed by Tetragnathidae (12 species) and Araneidae (7 species). The spiders collected were classified into 7 ecological guilds based on the foraging mode of the spiders. Among the 69 species of spiders collected, 54% belongs to stalkers (28%) and orb weavers (26%) categories. The second dominant guilds are the ground runners (13%) and space web builders (11%). Ambushers (10%), foliage runners (7%), sheet web builders (5%) and sheet web builders are the other ecological guilds to which these spiders belong.

E-shopping: An Extended Technology Innovation

Abstract: Online shopping is a new way in the world of retailing and future of ecommerce world definitely. A report by Avendus Capital in “India goes Digital” Indian ecommerce market was estimated at 28,500 Crore in 2011. According to Forrester, ecommerce market in India will grow fastest within Asia-Pacific region at a CAGR of 57% between years 2012-2016. Both single branded and multi branded companies are selling their products and services online. This increasing growth has generated the idea to conduct this study. In this context, research paper explores three factors that influence consumer intentions to purchase products online: safety oriented, convenience oriented and price oriented. The study analyzes the perception of 150 online shoppers in Bangalore regarding convenience, safety and price and their intention and attitude towards online shopping. A structured close ended questionnaire was administered to online shoppers. The collected data were analyzed in two stages. In the first stage correlation was performed to analyze between online shopping features and consumer purchase intention. In the second stage factor analysis was carried out to find the critical factors responsible for making consumer purchase intentions towards online shopping. The findings of this research shows that ‘safety’ produces trust, ‘convenience’ originates user friendliness and ‘price’ provides economy, all three influenced directly the attitude towards purchase intentions of consumers to shop online. This paper provides useful insight for the researchers to understand the consumer’s attitude towards online shopping intention.

Secure multi-party computation protocol using asymmetric encryption

Abstract: Privacy preservation is very essential in various real life applications such as medical science and financial analysis. This paper focuses on implementation of an asymmetric secure multi-party computation protocol using anonymization and public-key encryption where all parties have access to trusted third party (TTP) who (1) doesn't add any contribution to computation (2) doesn't know who is the owner of the input received (3) has large number of resources (4) decryption key is known to trusted third party (TTP) to get the actual input for computation of final result. In this environment, concern is to design a protocol which deploys TTP for computation. It is proposed that the protocol is very proficient (in terms of secure computation and individual privacy) for the parties than the other available protocols. The solution incorporates protocol using asymmetric encryption scheme where any party can encrypt a message with the public key but decryption can be done by only the possessor of the decryption key (private key). As the protocol works on asymmetric encryption and packetization it ensures following: (1) Confidentiality (Anonymity) (2) Security (3) Privacy (Data).

Effect of Hall Current and Chemical Reaction on MHD Flow Along an Accelerated Porous Flat Plate with Internal Heat Absorption/Generation

Abstract: The effect of the Hall current on unsteady free convection of an electrically conducting incompressible viscous fluid past an accelerated vertical porous plate with internal heat absorption/generation in the presence of various species (H2, CO2, H2O, and NH3) undergoing a first-order chemical reaction in a uniform transverse magnetic field is studied. The role of pertinent parameters characterizing the flow field is discussed. The governing equations are solved using the Hhn(x) functions. It is revealed that heat generation coupled with injection results in a backflow rise. A linearly varying velocity of the plate causes a sudden rise or fall of the velocity in the vicinity of the plate, whereas an asymptotically varying velocity leads to a uniform fall. The presence of chemical reaction increases the secondary velocity by 40%.

Load balancing with availability checker and load reporters (LB-ACLRs) for improved performance in distributed systems

Abstract: Distributed system has quite a lot of servers to attain increased availability of service and for fault tolerance. Balancing the load among these servers is an important task to achieve better performance. There are various hardware and software based load balancing solutions available. However there is always an overhead on Servers and the Load Balancer while communicating with each other and sharing their availability and the current load status information. Load balancer is always busy in listening to clients' request and redirecting them. It also needs to collect the servers' availability status frequently, to keep itself up-to-date. Servers are busy in not only providing service to clients but also sharing their current load information with load balancing algorithms. In this paper we have proposed and discussed the concept and system model for software based load balancer along with Availability-Checker and Load Reporters (LB-ACLRs) which reduces the overhead on server and the load balancer. We have also described the architectural components with their roles and responsibilities. We have presented a detailed analysis to show how our proposed Availability Checker significantly increases the performance of the system.