Minimum wage compliance and household welfare: An analysis of over 1500 minimum wages in India

In many developing countries there is a substantial difference between de jure and de facto regulation of minimum wages. We examine the consequences of this by looking at the heterogenous effects of minimum wages across compliance regimes in India. We show that minimum wages have a positive effect on wages, without a corresponding effect on employment. As a result, household consumption increases following increases in the minimum wage. However, the beneficial pass-through to wages and consumption is significantly reduced in low compliance regimes. Labour market reforms can improve workers’ living standards but only if accompanied by effective compliance

Goal model integration for tailoring product line development processes

Many companies rely on the promised benefits of product lines, targeting systems between fully custom made software and mass products. Such customized mass products account for a large number of applications automatically derived from a product line. This results in the special importance of product lines for companies with a large part of their product portfolio based on their product line. The success of product line development efforts is highly dependent on tailoring the development process. This paper presents an integrative model of influence factors to tailor product line development processes according to different project needs, organizational goals, individual goals of the developers or constraints of the environment. This model integrates goal models, SPEM models and requirements to tailor development processes

Exploring ionic liquids for formaldehyde separation via computational COSMO-RS screening

Formaldehyde is an emerging human carcinogen from gaseous spark ignition engines and in aqueous stream. In addition to causing leukaemia and nasal cancer, the emissions harm the environment. The present study examined ionic liquids (ILs) as greener alternatives for removing formaldehyde from different sources. Because of its reliability and excellent predicting ability a conductor-like screening model for real solvents (COSMO-RS) were employed as a simulation means to evaluate potential ILs for formaldehyde. Screened IL can be used as an extracting agent, an adsorbent, a carrier, or an absorbent in formaldehyde separation. 392 different cation-anion combinations were screened. To measure the efficacy of IL, the activity coefficient at infinite dilution, capacity, selectivity, and interaction energies were predicted for all 1600 ILs combinations. Short-chain quaternary ammonium cations were found to be potentially effective compared to long-chain and aromatic cations. Moreover, halogenated and food-grade anions such as fluoride, acetate, and lysinate showed higher capacity and selectivity. Whereas than weakly coordinating anions such as [AsF6] and [BCl4] were observed to be least effective for formaldehyde separation. ILs tetramethylammonium hydroxide [TMAmm][OH], tetramethylammonium fluoride [TMAmm][F], tetramethylammonium acetate [TMAmm] [Ac], and [TMAmm][Lys] were found to be the most effective separating agents for formaldehyde. This study will facilitate the selection and design of biobased ILs for the separation of formaldehyd

Inoculation With Azospirillum spp. Acts as the Liming Source for Improving Growth and Nitrogen Use Efficiency of Potato

Nitrogen (N) is one of the limiting factors for plant growth, and it is mainly supplied exogenously by fertilizer application. It is well documented that diazotrophic rhizobacteria improve plant growth by fixing atmospheric N in the soil. The present study investigates the nitrogen-fixing potential of two Azospirillum spp. strains using the 15N isotope-dilution method. The two diazotrophic strains (TN03 and TN09) native to the rhizosphere of potato belong to the genus Azospirillum (16S rRNA gene accession numbers LN833443 and LN833448, respectively). Both strains were able to grow on an N-free medium with N-fixation potential (138–143 nmol mg−1 protein h−1) and contained the nifH gene. Strain TN03 showed highest indole acetic acid (IAA) production (30.43 μg/mL), while TN09 showed highest phosphate solubilization activity (249.38 μg/mL) while both diazotrophs showed the production of organic acids. A 15N dilution experiment was conducted with different fertilizer inputs to evaluate the N-fixing potential of both diazotrophs in pots. The results showed that plant growth parameters and N contents increased significantly by the inoculations. Moreover, reduced 15N enrichment was found compared to uninoculated controls that received similar N fertilizer levels. This validates the occurrence of N-fixation through isotopic dilution. Strain TN09 showed higher N-fixing potential than TN03 and the uninoculated controls. Inoculation with either strain also showed a remarkable increase in plant growth under field conditions. Thus, there were remarkable increases in N use efficiency, N uptake and N utilization levels. Confocal laser scanning and transmission electron microscopy showed that TN03 is an ectophyte, i.e., present outside root cells or within the grooves of root hairs, while TN09 is an endophyte, i.e., present within root cells, forming a strong association withroot it. This study confirms that diazotrophic Azospirillum spp. added to potato systems can improve plant growth and N use efficiency, opening avenues for improvement of potato crop growth with reduced input of N fertilizer

Lead-Resistant Morganella morganii Rhizobacteria Reduced Lead Toxicity in Arabidopsis thaliana by Improving Growth, Physiology, and Antioxidant Activities

Biological remediation serves as a powerful technique for addressing heavy metals toxicity in metals-contaminated soils. The present study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of lead (Pb)-resistant rhizobacterial strains on growth, photosynthetic traits, and antioxidant activities of the Arabidopsis plant under lead toxicity in pot conditions. Two pre-isolated and pre-characterized Pb-resistant Morganella morganii (ABT3) and Morganella morganii (ABT9) strains were used for inoculating Arabidopsis plants grown under varying Pb concentrations (1.5 mM and 2.5 mM) using PbNO3 as the lead source. The treatments were set up in a completely randomized design with four replications. Data on growth parameters, physiological characteristics, lipid peroxidation, and antioxidant activities were recorded at harvesting. It was observed that Pb contamination caused a significant reduction in Arabidopsis growth, chlorophyll content and quantum yield at both lead concentrations. The Pb concentration of 2.5 mM, showed a substantial decrease in all parameters, including shoot fresh weight (58.72%), shoot dry weight (59.31%), root fresh weight (67.31%), root dry weight (67.28%), chlorophyll content (48.69%), quantum yield (62.36%), catalase activity (65.30%), superoxide dismutase (60.88%), and peroxidase activity (60.54%) while increasing lipid peroxidation (113.8%). However, the inoculation with Pb-resistant M. morganii strains (ABT3 and ABT9) improved plant growth, photosynthesis and antioxidant activities, while reduced the malondialdehyde content of Arabidopsis compared to control plants without inoculation. The M. morganii strain ABT9 showed a maximum increase in the shoot fresh weight (67.18%), shoot dry weight (67.96%), root fresh weight (94.04%), root dry weight (93.92%), shoot length (148.88%), root length (123.33%), chlorophyll content (52.53%), quantum yield (58.57%), catalase activity (39.46%), superoxide dismutase (21.84%), and peroxidase activity (22.34%) while decreasing lipid peroxidation (35.28%). PCA analysis further showed that all nine treatments scattered differently across the PC1 and PC2, having 81.4% and 17.0% data variance, respectively, indicating the efficiency of Pb-resistant strains. The heatmap further validated that the introduction of Pb-resistant strains positively correlated with the growth parameters, quantum yield, chlorophyll content and antioxidant activities of Arabidopsis seedlings. Both Pb-resistant strains improved Arabidopsis plant growth and photosynthetic efficiency under lead stress conditions. Thus, both Morganella morganii ABT3 and Morganella morganii ABT9 strains can be considered as bio-fertilizer for reducing lead toxicity thereby improving plant growth and physiology in metal-contaminated agricultural soils.11s

A novel method for life estimation of power transformers using fuzzy logic systems: An intelligent predictive maintenance approach

Power transformers are a fundamental component of the modern power distribution network. The fault-free operation of step-up and step-down transformers is of prime importance to the continuous supply of electrical energy to the consumers. To ensure such efficient operation, power distribution companies carry out routine maintenance of distribution transformers through preplanned schedules. The efficacy of such maintenance depends on a proper understanding of the transformer and its components and efficient prediction of faults in these components. There are several components whose condition can be studied to predict transformer failures and therefore the overall health of a transformer. These include transformer windings, insulations, transformer oil, core insulations, and ferromagnetic cores. This work develops a new, simplified fuzzy logic-based method to predict the health of a transformer by taking into account the state of several individual components. Case studies are used to demonstrate the efficacy of the developed method

Virtual Machine’s Network Security

Network virtualization has become progressively unmistakable lately. It enables the creation of organizational frameworks that are expressly tailored to the requirements of distinctive organizational applications and facilitates the introduction of favorable circumstances for the occurrence and evaluation of new designs and conventions. Despite the extensive materiality of organizational virtualization, the widespread use of communication channels and steering devices raises a number of safety-related issues. To enable their use in real, large-scale settings, virtual organization foundations must be given security. In this paper, we see the details of industry's top practices for virtual organization security. We discuss some of the major risks, the main challenges associated with this type of climate, as well as the arrangements suggested in the text that aim to handle various security vantage points. Virtualization is a notable thought having applications in different fields of registering. This strategy takes into consideration the production of numerous virtual stages on a solitary actual framework, taking into consideration the execution of heterogeneous models on a similar equipment. It might likewise be used to streamline the use of actual assets, on the grounds that a manager can progressively make and erase virtual hubs to satisfy fluctuated degrees of need. Virtual Machine’s Network Security is an important topic in today’s world, due to the rapid increase in the use of virtual machines. Virtual machines provide a more efficient, cost effective and secure way of running applications and services. However, there are some security risks associated with virtual machines which must be tackled to ensure the safety and security of the network. This paper presents security principal known as Nonrepudiation which authenticates the delivery of messages and transaction using Digital Signature method. Furthermore, an overview of the security threats and solutions associated with virtual machines and their networks, including the different types of threats, solutions and best practices to protect against them. Additionally, the paper discusses the importance of monitoring and logging in virtual machines. Finally, the paper concludes with a few recommendations for countermeasure the security of virtual machines and their networks

Dengue Presented with Pancytopenia- Call for Physicians to think in different perspective

Being endemic in over one hundred twenty-two countries, at least four billion people are at risk of being infected by the dengue virus (DENV). Dengue fever is caused by the bite of infected arthropods: mosquitoes and ticks [1]. It has four variants (DENV 1-4), and the infection is often presented with acute symptoms like fever, myalgia, arthralgia, eye pain, headache, rash, thrombocytopenia, and leukopenia. In literature, it has been mentioned that only five percentages of cases manifested with severe illness that was characterized by plasma leakage that leads to effusion, respiratory distress, shock, and haemorrhage [2]. Infection with DENV may also leads to a sequel of uncontrolled inflammatory responses and resulted in the development of haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH). Assertion with dengue was first documented in 10-month-old patient in Puerto Rico in 2010 [2]. Hyperinflammatory conditions cause HLH due to over activated immune response. Primary haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a familial disorder while secondary HLH is commonly associated with numerous infections, malignancy, and autoimmune diseases [3]. The diagnosis of HLH is mostly based on clinical and laboratory findings. The clinical features of HLH are prolonged fever and organomegaly; laboratory investigations shows high level of ferritin, triglycerides, low level of fibrinogen and bone marrow shows haemophagocytes [3]. Jha VK ET all presented a case of DENV with symptoms of persistent fever, pancytopenia, and multi-organ failure secondary to HLH, and early treatment with corticosteroid had shown promising results [4]. Complicated DENV has an atypical presentation with pancytopenia associated HLH which is challenging for a physician to look into this rare presentation. If prompt treatment is started such cases of complicated DENV can be saved. It is high time for physicians to think of different approaches when they are dealing with patients with unusual presentation of dengue with anti-dengue antibodies or non-structural protein 1(NS1) antigen positive. An immediate approach to such cases can save patients’ life. Along with treatment of such cases we also should focus on vector control that will be beneficial to break the cycle of DENV and related complication [5]