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In recent years (n,xp) cross sections of some long-lived radionuclei which are of importance in the upcoming fusion reactor technologies have been constrained using the surrogate ratio method. But the (n,xp) cross sections for the stable nuclei for which a great wealth of data is available from the direct measurements have not been constrained using surrogate ratio method yet, so that the consistency of the surrogate ratio method can be checked. In this study we have investigated the validity of surrogate ratio method by constraining 56Fe(n,xp) cross sections and then the results are compared with the available experimental data, evaluated data and the statistical model predictions. In this study 52Cr(n,xp) reaction has been used as the reference reaction in the surrogate ratio method. It is found in this study that (n,xp) cross sections constrained using surrogate ratio method are sensitive to the spin distribution of the compound nuclei populated in the surrogate reactions. It is also presented in this study that the proton emission probabilities for 57Fe and 53Cr are highly spin dependent. It is concluded that the surrogate ratio method is not suitable for constraining the (n,xp) cross sections.

The collective enhancement of nuclear level density and its fade out with excitation in the deformed 171Yb nucleus has been inferred through an exclusive measurement of neutron spectra. The statistical model analysis of neutron spectra demonstrated a large collective enhancement factor of 40±3, a value consistent with recent microscopic model predictions but is an anomalous result compared with the measurements in the nearby deformed nuclei. The complete picture of the energy dependent collective enhancement has been obtained by combining the present results with those obtained with the Oslo method below neutron binding energy. The signature of a large collective enhancement in radiative neutron capture cross section of astrophysical interest is highlighted.

This article presents findings from a community-based cross-sectional study conducted in Attappadi, Kerala, India, aimed at assessing the prevalence of the triple burden of malnutrition among indigenous children aged 0–19 years. Historically, the indigenous population in Attappadi has faced significant developmental challenges, including high rates of malnutrition, infant mortality, and neonatal mortality. This study revealed alarming rates of undernutrition among children aged 0–59 months, with 40.9% experiencing stunting, 27.4% wasting, and 48.3% being underweight. Adolescent girls also suffered from undernutrition, with 21% classified as underweight and 43.3% experiencing stunting. Surprisingly, overweight or obesity was identified as a nutritional problem, affecting 1.4% of children aged 0–59 months, 4.2% of children aged 5–9 years, and 10.5% of adolescent girls. Additionally, a distressing proportion of young children aged 12–59 months (91.2%) were anaemic, with 50% diagnosed specifically with iron deficiency anaemia (IDA). Nearly all adolescent girls (96.6%) were reportedly suffering from anaemia. Deficiencies in vitamin B12, vitamin D, folate, and vitamin-A were prevalent among 35%, 20%, 16%, and 12% of children aged 12–59 months, respectively. The study underscores the urgent need for comprehensive interventions to address this triple burden of malnutrition. Recommendations include promoting culturally appropriate local food-based solutions, establishing participatory and community-led systems for health and nutrition information dissemination, and strengthening the nutrition surveillance system through village-level health and nutrition workers. By adopting a holistic approach, these interventions can help improve the nutritional status and well-being of the indigenous tribal children in Attappadi.

The role of ethics becomes even more significant given the huge advent and increase of cyber-criminal activities in cyberspace. It has become an urgent necessity to curb the menace of unethical practices in cyberspace and contribute ethical guidelines to a safe and secure digital environment. To minimize the growth of cybercrimes and unethical issues online, users must understand how existing societal norms and ethics can be extended according to the challenges posed by ethical dilemmas in cyberspace. Hence, understanding the importance of cyber ethics in daily life has become essential than ever before. Cyber ethics implies the rules of social engagement and responsibility in cyberspace; it is really about social responsibility in cyberspace and it is aimed at inculcating knowledge of responsible behavior in man when using the online environment. This paper is an attempt to provide an overview of the relevance of cyber ethics education in fostering responsible behavior online.

We report irreversible thermochromic behaviour of BaWO4 (BWO) films for the first time. BWO films have been deposited at different substrate temperatures (RT, 200, 400, 600 and 800 °C) using RF magnetron sputtering in pure argon plasma. BWO films deposited at 800 °C exhibit crystalline nature. Also, BWO films deposited in the temperature range of 400 - 600 °C exhibit WO3 as a secondary phase and its weight percentage decreases with an increase in deposition temperature, whereas the films deposited at 800 °C exhibited pure tetragonal phase. FESEM images revealed that as the average particle sizes of the films are higher as compared with the thickness of the films and is explained based on Avrami type nucleation and growth. The transmittance of the films decreases with an increase in deposition temperature up to 600 °C and increases thereafter. Films deposited at 600 °C show ≤ 20% transmittance, looking at the films deposited at room temperature and 800 °C exhibits 90 and 70%, respectively. The refractive index and extinction coefficient of the films show profound dependence on crystallinity and packing density. The optical bandgap of BWO films increases significantly with an increase in O2% during the deposition. The optical bandgap of the BWO films deposited at different temperatures in pure argon plasma, are in the range of 3.7 to 3.94 eV whereas the films deposited at 600 °C under different O2 plasma are in the range of 3.6 - 4.5 eV. The formations of colour centres are associated with the oxygen vacancies, which are clearly seen from the optical bandgap studies. The observed irreversible thermochromic behaviour in BWO films is attributed to the presence of oxygen vacancies that arises due to the electrons trapped at oxygen vacancies causing an inter valence charge transfer of W5+ to W6+ and is confirmed through the change in the optical density (ΔOD). Further, the Raman spectra are being used to quantify the presence of oxygen vacancies and the formation of pure BWO phase. The obtained optical responses of BWO films are promising for solar cell and smart window applications.

We report the structural, dielectric and leakage current properties of Co doped MgTiO3 thin films deposited on platinized silicon (Pt/TiO2/SiO2/Si) substrates by RF magnetron sputtering. The role of oxygen mixing percentage (OMP) on the growth, morphology, electrical and dielectric properties of the thin films has been investigated. A preferred orientation of grains along (110) direction has been observed with increasing the OMP. Such evolution of the textured growth is explained on the basis of the orientation factor analysis followed the Lotgering model. (Mg1-xCox)TiO3 (x = 0.05) thin films exhibits a maximum relative dielectric permittivity of ɛr = 12.20 and low loss (tan δ ∼ 1.2 × 10−3) over a wide range of frequencies for 75% OMP. The role of electric field frequency (f) and OMP on the ac-conductivity of (Mg0.95Co0.05)TiO3 have been studied. A progressive increase in the activation energy (Ea) and relative permittivity ɛr values have been noticed up to 75% of OMP, beyond which the properties starts deteriorate. The I-V characteristics reveals that the leakage current density decreases from 9.93 × 10−9 to 1.14 × 10−9 A/cm2 for OMP 0% to 75%, respectively for an electric field strength of 250 kV/cm. Our experimental results reveal up to that OMP ≥ 50% the leakage current mechanism is driven by the ohmic conduction, below which it is dominated by the schottky emission.

Cyberspace-related risks have increased massively due to the absence of awareness and self-resistance among Internet users to safeguard themselves. One of the vital measures to cultivate knowledge and understanding is the holistic intervention of cyber safety and security programs. Creating awareness through cyber safety and security initiatives is such a great way to address the issue in detail. It ultimately strengthens the discourse about online safety. There are a large number of awareness initiatives available worldwide that meet the requirements of the online community. This paper tries to highlight such initiatives in India to promote awareness about cyber safety and security.

In the bloodstream, erythrocytes stand as vital carriers of oxygen and carbon dioxide, facilitated by the presence of hemoglobin within their structures. However, deviations in erythrocyte size can lead to the formation of Poikilocyte cells, a characteristic feature of conditions like Iron Deficiency Anemia. Variants of Poikilocytoses, such as Degmacyte, Dacrocyte, Schistocyte, and Elliptocyte, denote distinct alterations in erythrocyte morphology, often associated with diminished iron levels crucial for haemoglobin synthesis. In a recent study, the differentiation between normal RBCs and Poikilocyte cells has been addressed through the application of Artificial Neural Network (ANN) algorithms, leveraging extracted features from digital images of blood smears. This approach offers a more precise means of identifying blood disorders compared to traditional visual inspection, utilizing image analysis techniques to detect deviations in color, size, and statistical parameters. The methodology involves a series of computational steps including preprocessing, segmentation, morphological operations, feature extraction, and classification, all executed within the Matlab environment. Furthermore, to enhance diagnostic capabilities, the system integrates glucose level measurement alongside erythrocyte analysis, transmitting data to a controller which relays results via GSM signal as SMS and LCD display. This comprehensive approach not only automates cell identification and classification but also ensures efficient and accurate analysis, including the automated separation of overlapped cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has long been recognized and documented that insects are the most diverse group of organisms on earth, including more than a million described species and representing more than half of all known living organisms.During the course of evolution, insects have developed several features such as the capability of flight, their small size that allows for survival in various habitats, their ability to store sperm for delayed fertilization, and their general adaptive abilities for the environment. Such versatile structural adaptations and further study, can enable us to solve many problems in the modern world through the science of biomimicry. Principles of insect structures, materials, sensors, actuators, locomotion and control systems could provide valuable solutions to the scientific community and give inspirations to create biomimetic models out of it (Bar-Cohen, 2006). The rich sensory equipment of insects including complex eyes, various chemoreceptors, mechanoreceptors, etc. taken together with a compact brain, reveals interesting motioncontrol patterns and remarkable behavioural features.Hence insects formwonderful source of inspiration to find solutions for a large variety of challenges faced by the mankind.Biomimetics have helped scientists in coping with challenges faced in building light weight building materials, nano technology, equipment in medical fields, implements for agricultural operations, disaster management operations, packaging industries and even in paint industries with further vast scope of development of ideas in many sectors useful for mankind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Project management aims to evaluate a project's cost, schedule, and technical performance to deliver the best product or service at the lowest cost and within the shortest timeframe by enhancing a balance between cost, time, and quality of the work objective. Earned Duration Management (EDM) in project time monitoring and forecasting focuses solely on timerelated factors to achieve the objectives. However, many studies state that for projects with multiple parallel activities of varying durations, the earned duration factors/indicators could not provide significant forecasts about the critical-path job details of the project. The Critical Path focused Earned Duration Management (CP-EDM) technique has been introduced to enhance this. This study compares EDM and CP-EDM techniques on 69 real-life construction sector project data to evaluate the efficiency and accuracy of project duration forecasting. The results have showed that 69.56% of cases had better results by applying CP-EDM, demonstrating that focusing on the critical path instead of the entire project enhances the accuracy of project duration forecasting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Earned Value Management (EVM) is the conventional method for controlling and monitoring construction projects. Schedule monitoring with EVM has a lower impact since it measures in budgetary terms. Earned Duration Method (EDM) was presented, which decouples schedule and cost aspects. The parameters in EDM monitors the health of the project schedule and gives the estimated completion date. EDM results are indeterministic, so the estimators require expertise in order to comprehend them. For this purpose, the present study proposes a new methodology entitled "Grey Earned Duration Management (GEDM)" by associating EDM and grey theory. From GEDM, estimators can get a clear idea about the degree of control measures to consider based on the project progress at a particular point in time. GEDM can precisely forecast the upper bound and lower bound of the estimated duration at completion for every tracking point. GEDM significantly enhances the results of EDM by providing a range of the estimated parameter. This paper also presents a case study to distinguish the EDM and GEDM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to analyze the growth of research output in gravity literature by analyzing various scientometric indicators viz; the annual ratio of growth, relative growth rate, compound annual growth rate, etc. To identify these indicators, bibliographic details on the field of gravity indexed in the Web of Science database from 200 to 2019 are used. The study found that there is a constant fluctuation in the annual ratio of growth throughout the study period. The relative growth rate of world productivity has decreased from 0.73 to 0.08 in twenty years (2000-2019). Accordingly, the doubling time increased from 0.95 to 8.32 during the study period. The highest compound annual growth rate value 5.27 is recorded in the year and the minimum -0.04 compound annual growth rate is recorded in the year 2010. In terms of block year-wise calculations, there seems to be an increasing number of publications in each of the block years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]