A High Efficient High Input Power Factor Interleaved Boost Converter

In this paper an improved ZVT interleaved boost PFC topology is introduced. The proposed ZVT interleaved boost converter is composed of two cell boost conversion units and an active auxiliary circuit. The proposed converter has two important advantages over the similar soft switching converters. The first one is that parallel to the main switches of the converter the auxiliary switch also operates under soft switching condition. Providing soft switching conditions for interleaved boost converters with more than one cells using only one auxiliary switch is another advantage of this topology. The prototype for the proposed converter was developed with an input of 110V-220V ac power supply feeding a resistive output load of 600 watts. In addition, the proposed converter has the advantages of fewer structure complications, lower cost and ease of control.DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.11591/ijece.v2i3.25

ICT INTEGRATION IN EDUCATION: THE CASE OF SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN KERALA

The quality of education in rural areas has not risen to the expected standard due to lack of access, inadequate infrastructure, poor connectivity of ICT, and insufficient number of teachers, etc. This empirical study aims at finding out the factors influencing successful ICT integration in rural schools with special focus on the availability of ICT infrastructure, extent of ICT utilization in classrooms and the barriers encountered in its effective usage. The findings indicate that ICT infrastructure is inadequate and its use in teaching and learning were found to be minimal and has not brought about much improvement. Underutilization of the technology has resulted in lowering the digital competency of the students. Frequent utilization of smart-classrooms along with a strong ICT infrastructure and their integration into teaching activities can play a significant role in facilitating digital education in rural schools

Device Free Localisation Techniques in Indoor Environments

The location estimation of a target for a long period was performed only by device based localisation technique which is difficult in applications where target especially human is non-cooperative. A target was detected by equipping a device using global positioning systems, radio frequency systems, ultrasonic frequency systems, etc. Device free localisation (DFL) is an upcoming technology in automated localisation in which target need not equip any device for identifying its position by the user. For achieving this objective, the wireless sensor network is a better choice due to its growing popularity. This paper describes the possible categorisation of recently developed DFL techniques using wireless sensor network. The scope of each category of techniques is analysed by comparing their potential benefits and drawbacks. Finally, future scope and research directions in this field are also summarised

Estimation and compensation of IQ imbalance in SWIPT system

Although there are many articulations of SWIPT architecture implementations, the hardware impairment aspect involved in the SWIPT architecture system is not given much attention. This paper evaluates the performance of SWIPT PS Reciever architecture in the presence of IQ imbalance hardware impairment with 16-QAM transmitter and AWGN channel. The parameters SNR, BER is evaluated in the presence of amplitude, phase imbalance, and PS factor at the SWIPT receiver side. Further, the IQ imbalance is estimated and compensated using a blind compensation algorithm. The system achieved a maximum BER of 10−7 in the presence of amplitude and phase imbalance of 0.2 and 1.6 respectivel

Overseas recruitment in India : structures, practices and remedies

This paper is drawn from an exploratory study aimed at assessing the efficiency of the existing institution for governing labour emigration in India with special reference to the overseas recruitment system. It traces the evolution of the current institution from the colonial times and foregrounds its discriminatory rationalities engendering enormous social cost. It tracks the difference between emigration through social network and recruiting agents and looks at the difference of cost and risk involved. By focusing on the unskilled and semi-skilled emigrations from India, the paper makes an endeavour to determine the discrepancy between the legal/policy structures and the prevailing practices of overseas recruitment, including strategies of circumventing legality. Drawing inputs from major stakeholders like intending emigrants, return emigrants, emigrant households, recruiting agents, Protectors of Emigrants, foreign employers, emigrant labourers and Indian Missions in select destination countries, it assesses the transaction costs of the present institution, identifies its major inadequacies and make recommendations for an alternative institutional framework that can effectively counter the many and varied illegitimate and dishonest activities which have sprung up in the field of emigration and ensure ethical practices in India’s overseas recruitment sector. Key words: emigration, recruitment, institution, social cost, transaction cost, social network, legality/illegality, protection, ECR/ ECNR JEL Classification : J21, J2

The effectiveness of antibiotics against a major uropathogen- Escherichia coli and its biofilm assay by phenotypic methods

Background: Urinary tract infection (UTI), an inflammatory disease occurs to a high multiplication of pathogenic microbes in the urinary system. Escherichia coli, a major uropathogen accounting for up to 80% UTI. Activity of antibiotics against E.coli is decreasing due to enzymatic, genetic and various other factors resulting in multidrug resistance. Biofilm is a great threat as it interferes antibiotic therapy, undergoes gene transformation, making the bacteria more virulent. Objectives of the study were to isolate the E. coli from the urine sample of symptomatic UTI patients, to study the effectiveness of antibiotics against E.coli by antibiotic susceptibility pattern, ESBL detection and to biofilm phenotype assay by four different methods.Methods: A total of 400 urine samples from symptomatic UTI patients, October 2015 to March 2016 and processed. E.coli was isolated and antibiotic susceptibility was done as per CLSI guidelines. Biofilm detection by a) Congo red agar (CRA), b) Modified Congo red agar (MCRA), c) Tube adherence assay, d) Microtitre plate method.Results: A total of 100 E. coli (69%) was obtained from 400 samples, 49% were ESBL producers and 84% shows multi drug resistant. Biofilm positive isolates shows 70% positivity by CRA, 91% by MCRA, 57% in tube adherence assay and 99% via microtitre plate method.Conclusions: Resistance to antibiotics ladder is increasing and it’s necessary to take actions to reduce its hindrance in the future. Advanced studies in biofilm will help to prevent the more virulence without any critical complications in therapy.