Structural and Optical Properties of Pulse Laser Deposited Ag_2O Thin Films

We deposited Ag_2O films in PLD system on glass substrate for a fixed partial oxygen gas pressure (70 mili Torr) with the variation of laser energy from 75 to 215 mJ/Pulse. The XRD patterns confirm that the films have well crystallinity and deposited as hexagonal lattice and the crystalline size increases from 26.38 nm to 27.27 nm. The FESEM images show that the particle size of the films increases from 34.84 nm to 65.83 nm. The composition of the films is analyzed from EDX spectra which show that the percentage of oxygen increases from 41.03% to 48.38% with the increment of laser energy. From the optical characterization, it is observed that the optical band gap appears in the visible optical range in an increasing order from 0.87 to 0.98 eV with the increment of laser energy. Our analysis concludes that the Ag_2O thin films, deposited with these parameters, can be considered as a good absorbent layer for solar photovoltaic application.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, 2 table

A Simple Flood Forecasting Scheme Using Wireless Sensor Networks

This paper presents a forecasting model designed using WSNs (Wireless Sensor Networks) to predict flood in rivers using simple and fast calculations to provide real-time results and save the lives of people who may be affected by the flood. Our prediction model uses multiple variable robust linear regression which is easy to understand and simple and cost effective in implementation, is speed efficient, but has low resource utilization and yet provides real time predictions with reliable accuracy, thus having features which are desirable in any real world algorithm. Our prediction model is independent of the number of parameters, i.e. any number of parameters may be added or removed based on the on-site requirements. When the water level rises, we represent it using a polynomial whose nature is used to determine if the water level may exceed the flood line in the near future. We compare our work with a contemporary algorithm to demonstrate our improvements over it. Then we present our simulation results for the predicted water level compared to the actual water level.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures, published in International Journal Of Ad-Hoc, Sensor And Ubiquitous Computing, February 2012; V. seal et al, 'A Simple Flood Forecasting Scheme Using Wireless Sensor Networks', IJASUC, Feb.201

Leverage and corporate investment – a cross country analysis

The paper examines the impact of a firm’s financial leverage on its investment decisions in the period 2011–2019, which occurred between two financial crises (2008–2010 and 2020–2022) and was globally marked by low interest rates and high leverage. The study focuses on non-financial listed firms in world’s top 13 largest economies consisting of 11 OECD+ countries and two emerging nations. The analysis explores the relationship between firm leverage and investment decisions, considering the growth opportunities and corporate risks of the firms, as well as the type of economy they operate in. The findings indicate that, overall, there is a negative relationship between leverage and investment. In developed nations, such as the OECD+ countries, this negative effect is more pronounced for firms with limited growth opportunities. Contrary to the existing literature, emerging economies exhibit a positive relationship between firm leverage and investment. Specifically, in China and India, firms with low growth opportunities display a stronger positive correlation between leverage and investment. These results suggest that in developed countries, debt continues to have a disciplining effect on firm investment, even in a high liquidity environment. However, in high-growth emerging economies, both firm management and lending institutions show less concern regarding leverage. Lastly, the study finds that firm risk has an adverse impact on investment decisions. These empirical findings highlight the non-uniform nature of the relationship between firm leverage and investment, which depends on the type of economy and the growth opportunities of the firms. AcknowledgmentsThe infrastructural support provided by Management Development Institute, Murshidabad, India and FORE School of Management, New Delhi, India in completing this paper is gratefully acknowledged

Barrow Holographic Dark Energy in Brane World Cosmology

Cosmological features of Barrow Holographic Dark Energy (BHDE), a recent generalization of original Holographic dark energy with a richer structure, are studied in the context of DGP brane, RS II brane-world, and the cyclic universe. It is found that a flat FRW scenario with pressure less dust and a dark energy component described as BHDE can produce late time acceleration with Hubble horizon considered as infrared cut off even in absence of any interaction between the dark sectors. BHDE parameter is found to have a significant impact on the evolution of the universe and a classically stable model can not always be obtained.Comment: uses article class, 20 pages, 12 figures, (v2) typo corrected, reference adde

Geospatial Modelling for Estimation of PM2.5 Concentrations in Two Megacities in Peninsular India

Airborne particles finer than 2.5 microns (PM2.5) constitute a major public health risk in India. Therefore, extensive scientific studies must be conducted to assess the PM2.5 exposures of Indians and determine the “exposure-response function” specific to India. While Peninsular India includes three megacities with populations exceeding 10 million each, there are very few studies on air quality modelling in this region compared to North India. In this paper, the authors describe a Linear Mixed Effects (LME) model to estimate monthly-average PM2.5 concentrations at a spatial resolution of 1 km2 between 2016 and 2019 in the megacities of Bengaluru and Hyderabad with a total population of 23 million. This model is based on covariates such as aerosol optical depth (AOD), meteorological parameters, and Land-use-Land-cover (LULC) variables and is validated with extensive datasets from continuous and manual air quality monitoring stations through a 10-fold cross-validation process. The final LME model can explain more than 60 percent of the variation in the PM2.5 concentrations in Bengaluru and Hyderabad. This model is then used to predict the monthly-average grid-wise PM2.5 concentrations in more than 800 grids in each of these two cities to study the spatial and temporal patterns in PM2.5 concentrations between 2016 and 2019. These spatiotemporal maps of PM2.5 concentration are critical to overcoming the misclassification of exposure and will form a crucial input to much-needed PM exposure-response studies in these two megacities. This paper can serve as a useful framework for similar studies by showing the way to bridge the gaps in the current air quality monitoring network in Peninsular India

Hospital based surveillance and genetic characterization of rotavirus strains in children (<5 years) with acute gastroenteritis in Kolkata, India, revealed resurgence of G9 and G2 genotypes during 2011–2013

AbstractIntroductionIndia accounts for an estimated 457,000–884,000 hospitalizations and 2 million outpatient visits for diarrhea. In spite of the huge burden of rotavirus (RV) disease, RV vaccines have not been introduced in national immunization programme of India. Therefore, continuous surveillance for prevalence and monitoring of the circulating genotypes is needed to assess the disease burden prior to introduction of vaccines in this region.MethodsDuring January 2011 through December 2013, 830 and 1000 stool samples were collected from hospitalized and out-patient department (OPD) patients, respectively, in two hospitals in Kolkata, Eastern India. After primary screening, the G-P typing was done by multiplex semi-nested PCR using type specific primers followed by sequencing. Phylogenetic analysis for the VP7 gene of 25 representative strains was done.ResultsAmong hospitalized and OPD patients, 53.4% and 47.5% cases were positive for rotaviruses, respectively. Unlike previous studies where G1 was predominant, in hospitalized cases G9 rotavirus strains were most prevalent (40%), followed by G2 (39.6%) whereas G1 and G12 occurred at 16.4% and 5.6% frequency. In OPD cases, the most prevalent strain was G2 (40.3%), followed by G1, G9 and G12 at 25.5%, 22.8%, 9.3%, respectively. Phylogenetically the G1, G2 and G9 strains from Kolkata did not cluster with corresponding genotypes of Rotarix, RotaTeq and Rotavac (116E) vaccine strains.ConclusionThe study highlights the high prevalence of RV in children with gastroenteritis in Kolkata. The circulating genotypes have changed over the time with predominance of G9 and G2 strains during 2011-2013. The current G2, G9 and G1 Kolkata strains shared low amino acid homologies with current vaccine strains. Although there is substantial evidence for cross protection of vaccines against a variety of strains, still the strain variation should be monitored post vaccine introduction to determine if it has any impact on vaccine effectiveness

Relative effectiveness and safety of pharmacotherapeutic agents for patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) in preterm infants: A protocol for a multicentre comparative effectiveness study (CANRxPDA)

Introduction Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is the most common cardiovascular problem that develops in preterm infants and evidence regarding the best treatment approach is lacking. Currently available medical options to treat a PDA include indomethacin, ibuprofen or acetaminophen. Wide variation exists in PDA treatment practices across Canada. In view of this large practice variation across Canadian neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), we plan to conduct a comparative effectiveness study of the different pharmacotherapeutic agents used to treat the PDA in preterm infants. Methods and analysis A multicentre prospective observational comparative-effectiveness research study of extremely preterm infants born 29 weeks gestational age with an echocardiography confirmed PDA will be conducted. All participating sites will self-select and adhere to one of the following primary pharmacotherapy protocols for all preterm babies who are deemed to require treatment. Standard dose ibuprofen (10 mg/kg followed by two doses of 5 mg/kg at 24 hours intervals) irrespective of postnatal age (oral/intravenous). Adjustable dose ibuprofen (oral/intravenous) (10 mg/kg followed by two doses of 5 mg/kg at 24 hours intervals if treated within the first 7 days after birth. Higher doses of ibuprofen up to 20 mg/kg followed by two doses of 10 mg/kg at 24 hours intervals if treated after the postnatal age cut-off for lower dose as per the local centre policy). Acetaminophen (oral/intravenous) (15 mg/kg every 6 hours) for 3-7 days. Intravenous indomethacin (0.1-0.3 mg/kg intravenous every 12-24 hours for a total of three doses). Outcomes The primary outcome is failure of primary pharmacotherapy (defined as need for further medical and/or surgical/interventional treatment following an initial course of pharmacotherapy). The secondary outcomes include components of the primary outcome as well as clinical outcomes related to response to treatment or adverse effects of treatment. Sites and sample size The study will be conducted in 22 NICUs across Canada with an anticipated enrollment of 1350 extremely preterm infants over 3 years. Analysis To examine the relative effectiveness of the four treatment strategies, the primary outcome will be compared pairwise between the treatment groups using χ 2 test. Secondary outcomes will be compared pairwise between the treatment groups using χ 2 test, Student\u27s t-test or Wilcoxon rank sum test as appropriate. To further examine differences in the primary and secondary outcomes between the four groups, multiple logistic or linear regression models will be applied for each outcome on the treatment groups, adjusted for potential confounders using generalised estimating equations to account for within-unit-clustering. As a sensitivity analysis, the difference in the primary and secondary outcomes between the treatment groups will also be examined using propensity score method with inverse probability weighting approach. Ethics and dissemination The study has been approved by the IWK Research Ethics Board (#1025627) as well as the respective institutional review boards of the participating centres. © 2021 Author(s). Published by BMJ

Optimasi Portofolio Resiko Menggunakan Model Markowitz MVO Dikaitkan dengan Keterbatasan Manusia dalam Memprediksi Masa Depan dalam Perspektif Al-Qur`an

Risk portfolio on modern finance has become increasingly technical, requiring the use of sophisticated mathematical tools in both research and practice. Since companies cannot insure themselves completely against risk, as human incompetence in predicting the future precisely that written in Al-Quran surah Luqman verse 34, they have to manage it to yield an optimal portfolio. The objective here is to minimize the variance among all portfolios, or alternatively, to maximize expected return among all portfolios that has at least a certain expected return. Furthermore, this study focuses on optimizing risk portfolio so called Markowitz MVO (Mean-Variance Optimization). Some theoretical frameworks for analysis are arithmetic mean, geometric mean, variance, covariance, linear programming, and quadratic programming. Moreover, finding a minimum variance portfolio produces a convex quadratic programming, that is minimizing the objective function ðð¥with constraintsð ð 𥠥 ðandð´ð¥ = ð. The outcome of this research is the solution of optimal risk portofolio in some investments that could be finished smoothly using MATLAB R2007b software together with its graphic analysis

Search for heavy resonances decaying to two Higgs bosons in final states containing four b quarks

A search is presented for narrow heavy resonances X decaying into pairs of Higgs bosons (H) in proton-proton collisions collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC at root s = 8 TeV. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 fb(-1). The search considers HH resonances with masses between 1 and 3 TeV, having final states of two b quark pairs. Each Higgs boson is produced with large momentum, and the hadronization products of the pair of b quarks can usually be reconstructed as single large jets. The background from multijet and t (t) over bar events is significantly reduced by applying requirements related to the flavor of the jet, its mass, and its substructure. The signal would be identified as a peak on top of the dijet invariant mass spectrum of the remaining background events. No evidence is observed for such a signal. Upper limits obtained at 95 confidence level for the product of the production cross section and branching fraction sigma(gg -> X) B(X -> HH -> b (b) over barb (b) over bar) range from 10 to 1.5 fb for the mass of X from 1.15 to 2.0 TeV, significantly extending previous searches. For a warped extra dimension theory with amass scale Lambda(R) = 1 TeV, the data exclude radion scalar masses between 1.15 and 1.55 TeV