Sustainable Urban Development of Smart Cities in India-A Systematic Literature Review

The current accelerated urbanization in India will result in a growth of another 140 million over the current status of 450 million people living in the urban area. This signifies that around 40 percent of India’s population will reside in urban areas of the country. Among the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs)one important goal is to have Sustainable cities and communities in agenda 2030, hence cities have immense potential to contribute to fulfilling sustainable development goals. In India responsible institutes at the state and national level have applied the concept of sustainability with sustainable urban development. The present study aims to analyze works of literature available on both environmental sustainability and smart city concepts and also to understand the relationship between these two. The research methodology used for the objective stated would be qualitative, through a systematic review of the literature using R as a statistical tool. The study intends to provide detailed information on the most recent articles focusing on smart cities and how they would lead to sustainable development. Further, the scope of the current study would give important input to policymakers and researchers seeking information for further investigation and implementation of policies. Keywords: Smart Cities, Urban Development, Sustainable developmen

THE POSITIVE EFFECTS OF PRATIMARSHA NASYA W.S.R. TO SLEEP PHYSIOLOGY

Study was planned to preventively deal with sleep disturbances which are waiting to become public health problem. As much as 30% individuals among apparently healthy individuals in India suffer from occasional insomnia. Ayurveda classics offered a solution by use of Pratimarsha Nasya as daily regimen to improve sleep quality. Anu taila is best used for Nasya Karma, so was chosen as medicine for this clinical observational study. Material and methods- 28 subjects were selected randomly and every evening two drops Anu taila in each nostril was administered for 3 months. Result- Significant improvement was found on PSQI, ESS sleepiness scale as well as self developed Sukhnidra Sukhprabodham scale. For self developed sleep quality assessment scale, null scores were present in the enrolled subjects with Baseline mean + SD 0.00 + 0.00 and gradual increase across subsequent intervals. Mean + SD after Trial is 14.54 +1.97. So subjects showed significant response to Pratimarsha nasya with p value <0.0001 and Z value 4.647. Conclusion- Overall sleep quality is more improved after administration of pratimarsha nasya, different components of sleep quality considered viz. getting to sleep, quality of sleep, awake following sleep, behaviour following wakening all are positively changed. Pratimarsha nasya has such a vast positive effect on physiology of sleep that it deserves to be incorporated in daily regimen and can be called as “two drops for well-being of Urdhvajatru”

QI initiative to improve utilization of centchroman: a non-steroidal contraceptive

Background: The nonsteroidal contraceptive centchroman is manufactured in India. It was included in family welfare programme in April 2016 by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. However, national statistics indicated its low utilization at all levels of healthcare. Objective was to identify the reasons for underutilization of centchroman in the family planning clinic, and in the postpartum period, and to implement corrective measures to improve its utilization at a tertiary hospital.Methods: The study was conducted in the department of obstetrics and gynecology at a tertiary care hospital from September 2019 to January 2022. A quality improvement action team was constituted to undertake root cause analysis. Important corrective factors were insufficient focused counselling for centchroman as contraceptive, insufficient sensitization of doctors and nurses, inconsistent supply of tablets, lack of clarity about side effects of centchroman among healthcare workers. Tablets were not readily available to postpartum women at home, which was also a contributing factor. There were the following changes implemented: sensitization of the healthcare workers, daily focused FP counselling of women in outpatient clinics and postnatal wards, and measures to ensure a continuous supply of tablets. At discharge, eligible postpartum women were given a three-month supply of tablets for ready access. ASHA (accredited social health activist) workers who are engaged in other governmental health initiatives were included in the loop to maintain contact and supply tablets to women initiated on centchroman.Results: Contraceptive utilization increased from 0.5-0.7% at beginning of the study to 29% by incorporating the solutions. Failure of contraception occurred in one user. Pearl index for centchroman in our study was 0.22%.Conclusions: Simple, practical solutions identified through quality improvement initiatives resulted in improved coverage and utilization of contraceptive. This study can be an important example for problem solving of challenges in low resource settings

Design and Implementation of Virtual Client Honeypot

Abstract-Computers security has become a major issue in many organization. There are different solutions to response to this needs but they remain insufficient to truly secure network. Honeypot is used in the area of computer and Internet Security. It is resource which is intended to be attacked and comprised to gain more information about the attacker and their attack techniques. Compared to an intrusion detection system, Honeypots have the big advantage that they do not generate false alerts as all traffic is suspicious, because no productive components are running on the system. Client Honeypot is a honeypot actively searches for malicious sites on the web. In this paper, we design and implement virtual Client Honeypot to collect the internet malwares

Ionic Liquid-Based Gel Polymer Electrolytes for Application in Rechargeable Lithium Batteries

Depleting fossil fuels has put pressing need for the search of alternative energy resources. Solar and wind energy resources are being considered one of the viable solutions. However, these intermittent sources require efficient energy storage systems in terms of rechargeable Li batteries. In Li batteries, electrolyte is one of the most important components to determine the performance, as it conducts the ions between the electrodes. In battery, mostly liquid electrolyte is used as it shows high ionic conductivity and electrode/electrolyte contact which help to reduce the internal resistance. But these are not electrochemically very stable and raised some major problems such as reactivity with electrode, dissolution of electrode ions, leakage, volatility, fast Li dendrite growth, etc. Therefore, in order to improve its electrochemical performance, selection of electrolyte is an important issue. In the present study, ionic liquid (IL)-based polymer electrolyte is used over liquid electrolyte in which IL acts as a plasticizer and improves ionic conductivity and amorphicity. These electrolytes have high thermal and electrochemical stability, therefore, can be used in high voltage Li battery. Also, their mechanical stability helps to suppress Li dendrites growth. Therefore, polymer electrolytes can open a new way in the progression of battery application

M sub-shell X-ray fluorescence cross-section measurements in high Z elements with X-ray tube photon source

X-ray tube has been used for selective M sub-shell excitations in a single reflection set-up for Pt, Au, Pb, Th and U required for M sub-shell fluorescence cross-sections measurements. Weighted photon energy and total intensity of the incident flux between EM5 edge and tube anode voltage were evaluated following a specific procedure. Comparison of measured cross-sections with the calculated ones from existing DHS/DF model based theoretical data on atomic parameters lend support to the present findings

Becoming College-Ready: Early Findings From a CUNY Start Evaluation

CUNY Start, a pre-matriculation program developed by the City University of New York, seeks to help the lowest placed developmental education students become college ready in just one semester. The program targets incoming students who are assessed as needing remediation in math, reading, and writing by providing intensive instruction for one semester while students delay enrollment in college. It uses a conceptual student-centered curriculum and instructional delivery method and provides a robust approach to staffing and training that allows instructors to learn to implement these strategies while under the tutelage of experienced teachers. It also provides advising, tutoring, and a weekly seminar that teaches students skills they need to succeed in college. Students pay only $75 for the program and do not use financial aid. This report describes the early findings of a random assignment evaluation and implementation study of CUNY Start by CCRC, MDRC, and CUNY. After following CUNY Start and control group students for three semesters, the researchers found: CUNY Start was implemented as it was designed, and the contrast between the program and the colleges’ standard developmental courses and services was substantial. During the first semester in the study, program group students made substantially more progress through developmental education than control group students. Control group students earned more college credits than program group students, as predicted by CUNY Start’s designers. During the second semester, program group students enrolled at CUNY colleges either in CUNY Start or in non-CUNY Start courses at a higher rate than control group students. A final report will look at CUNY Start students’ persistence in college, college credit accumulation, and graduation rates. Another paper will detail CUNY Start’s math curriculum and pedagogy, and a brief will focus on CUNY Start’s staff recruitment, induction, and professional development. CUNY will also create a CUNY Start “Practice Guide.

Outcomes of Aortic Surgery for Abdominal Aortic Graft Infections

Background: Literature on postoperative outcomes following aortic surgery for aortic graft infection (AGI) is limited by relatively small sample sizes, resulting in lack of national benchmarks for quality of care. We report in-hospital outcomes following abdominal aortic surgery for AGI and identify factors associated with postoperative complications using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) database. Methods: Patients who underwent aortic graft resection for AGI were identified from the 2002 to 2008 NIS database, a multicenter database capturing 20% of all US admissions. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed. Results: Among 394 patients (men: 73.4%) who underwent abdominal aortic surgery for AGI, 53% of the admissions were emergent/urgent. A significant trend for decreasing number of abdominal aortic surgery for AGIs per year was observed (Pearson r correlation: -.96; P = .0006). Over the same time span, a significant correlation was also seen with decrease in open and increase in endovascular aortic aneurysm repairs in the NIS database. In-hospital rates of overall postoperative morbidity and mortality were 68.3% and 19.8%, respectively. In-hospital rates of postoperative respiratory failure, renal failure, and cardiac arrest were 35.5%, 14.2%, and 8.9%, respectively. Median length of stay was 26 days, with median hospital charges being US$184 162. On multivariable analysis, increase in age per year (odds ratio [OR] 1.07; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03-1.12) was independently associated with postoperative morbidity, while higher hospital volume for this procedure was protective (OR: 0.71; 95% CI: 0.56-0.89). No preoperative factors were independently associated with postoperative mortality. Conclusion: Incidence of abdominal aortic surgery for AGI has progressively declined over the span of our study in association with decreased open and increased endovascular aortic aneurysm repairs. Aortic surgery for AGI is associated with very high morbidity and mortality rates along with prolonged lengths of stay and elevated hospital charges. The outcomes of operations for AGI are better in younger patients and higher volume hospitals

Spillover Dynamics in DeFi, G7 Banks, and Equity Markets During Global Crises: A TVP-VAR Analysis

Decentralized finance (DeFi) has become of significant interest for investors in both the financial and digital sectors. We use a time-varying parameter vector autoregression (TVP-VAR) approach to estimate the static and dynamic connections between and within DeFi, G7 banking, and equity markets. We focus on critical events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the cryptocurrency bubble, and the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The results highlight interconnectedness and significant spillovers within and between the markets, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, there were significant spillover effects from the G7 banking and equity markets to Japan and DeFi assets. The findings demonstrate a robust connection between DeFi platforms, G7 banking, and stock markets throughout these tumultuous periods. Policymakers, investors, and entrepreneurs are recommended to keep a close eye on changes in traditional banking and equity markets to adjust the risk of DeFi assets