Demographic characteristics influencing financial wellbeing: a multigroup analysis

Purpose The study attempts to understand the factors impacting the financial wellbeing of IT employees in India using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). It utilizes well-established survey instruments to assess the impact of financial literacy, financial behaviour and financial stress on financial wellbeing. The study also attempts to understand the role of demographic factors (age, gender, monthly income, job category and work experience) in determining financial wellbeing through multigroup analysis. Design/methodology/approach Structured equation modelling (SEM) is used to study the link between the determinants. The study also attempts to understand the role of demographic factors (age, gender, monthly income, job category and work experience) in determining financial wellbeing through multigroup analysis. Data used for the analysis covers 237 employees working in the IT sector. Findings While financial literacy and financial behaviour have a significant positive impact on financial wellbeing, financial stress has a significant negative impact. Financial behaviour and financial stress were found to have a mediating role in the relationship between financial literacy and financial wellbeing. The demographic variables significantly moderate the relationship between the factors leading to financial wellbeing. Originality/value The results show the need for financial wellbeing programs to focus on enhancing financial knowledge and improving financial planning. Further, it suggests offering customized financial wellbeing programs based on the employee's demographic characteristics rather than following a “one program, fits all” approach

Ciliary flocking and emergent instabilities enable collective agility in a non-neuromuscular animal

Effective organismal behavior responds appropriately to changes in the surrounding environment. Attaining this delicate balance of sensitivity and stability is a hallmark of the animal kingdom. By studying the locomotory behavior of a simple animal (\textit{Trichoplax adhaerens}) without muscles or neurons, here, we demonstrate how monociliated epithelial cells work collectively to give rise to an agile non-neuromuscular organism. Via direct visualization of large ciliary arrays, we report the discovery of sub-second ciliary reorientations under a rotational torque that is mediated by collective tissue mechanics and the adhesion of cilia to the underlying substrate. In a toy model, we show a mapping of this system onto an "active-elastic resonator". This framework explains how perturbations propagate information in this array as linear speed traveling waves in response to mechanical stimulus. Next, we explore the implications of parametric driving in this active-elastic resonator and show that such driving can excite mechanical 'spikes'. These spikes in collective mode amplitudes are consistent with a system driven by parametric amplification and a saturating nonlinearity. We conduct extensive numerical experiments to corroborate these findings within a polarized active-elastic sheet. These results indicate that periodic and stochastic forcing are valuable for increasing the sensitivity of collective ciliary flocking. We support these theoretical predictions via direct experimental observation of linear speed traveling waves which arise from the hybridization of spin and overdamped density waves. We map how these ciliary flocking dynamics result in agile motility via coupling between an amplified resonator and a tuning (Goldstone-like) mode of the system. This sets the stage for how activity and elasticity can self-organize into behavior which benefits the organism as a whole

Fireside Corrosion in Boilers

Corrosion is a significant problem facing all industries including the electric power industry. Besides being costly, corrosion can have other important consequences on power plant operations. Corrosion damage can result in costly replacements to equipment. Severe corrosion problems can cause forced shut downs and these forced shut downs cannot be tolerated.(') Corrosion would also cause overall loss in power plant efficiency which depends upon smooth and uninterrupted functioning of the boiler unit along with other units. The frequent tube failure in boilers is a threat to power generation and is to be combated and overcome

QUALITY ASSESSMENT FOR THE PRESENCE OF HEAVY METALS IN HERBAL MATERIALS FROM THE MARKETS OF CHENNAI, INDIA

Objective: To assess the quality of herbal materials for the presence of heavy metals. Methods: Herbal materials of around 49 samples from Chennai markets were procured and analysed for the presence of metals like Copper (Cu), Calcium (Ca), Cobalt (Co), Sodium (Na), Nickel (Ni), Magnesium (Mg), Manganese (Mn), Iron (Fe), Chromium (Cr) and Lead (Pb) using AAS, Shimadzu, AA 7000, Japan. Results: The raw materials of the commercial herbal products were found to contain Manganese, Calcium and Magnesium at greater concentrations, when compared with the other elements analyzed. Conclusion: The presence of the metals analyzed were found to be within permissible limits in accordance to the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) and WHO standards. Although the study implies consumption of herbal materials are safe, periodical monitoring of the quality of the herbal materials is recommended

STUDIES ON ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITIES OF SIX CULTIVARS OF PIPER BETLE LINN

Objective: To study the existence of difference or similarity on total phenolic content, flavonoid content and antioxidant properties among different cultivars of Piper betle L. Methods: The methanolic extracts of six different cultivars, i. e. Banarasi, Bangla, Calcutta, Kammar, Kumbakonam and Vellai were evaluated for total phenolic content (Folin-Ciocalteu method), total flavonoid content (Aluminium chloride method), total antioxidants (Phospho-molybdenum method) and other antioxidant properties (TBA assay, Ferric thiocyanate assay, FRAP assay and ABTS assay). Results: Total phenolic content of the cultivars ranges from 12.5 to 13.9 mg TAE/g DW. Higher flavonoid content was observed in Kumbakonam (24.14 µg QE/g DW) while Bangla possessed the lowest (8.25 µg QE/g DW). The total antioxidants of Vellai accounted to 58.82 mg TAE/g DW while the lowest was recorded in Kumbakonam (39.34 mg TAE/g DW). Maximum % inhibition was observed in the cultivar Vellai for Ferric thiocyanate (FTC), Kumbakonam for Thiobarbituric acid (TBA) and Banarasi for Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP). However, no significant difference was exhibited among the cultivars for ABTS assay. Conclusion: The study amply demonstrates the existence of difference in total phenolic content, total flavonoids and antioxidant property. Thus, proper selection of cultivar of Piper betle for specific use in the pharmaceutical industry is recommended

Optimal corrosive behaviour on the weldment of AA6063 aluminum alloy by tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding process with backing plates

Pertaining on the present work on improving the corrosion resistance of AA 6063 aluminum alloy is found to weld with many backing plate materials like stainless steel, copper, marble and brass in accordance to the welding process that inherits itself with TIG. Utilizing the Orthogonal array L16, experiments were carried out. The corrosion resistance was improved by optimizing the pulsed TIG welding process parameters like current (A), gas flow rate (B), backing material (C) and backing thickness (D) using Genetic Algorithm (GA). Results proved that the GA shows a better corrosion resistance rate that was obtained to about 0,0408 mm/year with the backing material as copper

Measurement of marine productivity using 15N and 13C tracers: Some methodological aspects

Various experiments involving the measurement of new, regenerated and total productivity using 15N and 13C tracers were carried out in the Bay of Bengal (BOB) and in the Arabian Sea. Results from 15N tracer experiments indicate that nitrate uptake can be underestimated by experiments with incubation time <4 hours. Indirect evidence suggests pico- and nano-phytoplankton, on their dominance over microphytoplankton, can also influence the f-ratios. Difference in energy requirement for assimilation of different nitrogen compounds decides the preferred nitrogen source during the early hours of incubation. Variation in light intensity during incubation also plays a significant role in the assimilation of nitrogen. Results from time course experiments with both 15N and 13C tracers suggest that photoinhibition appears significant in BOB and the Arabian Sea during noon. A significant correlation has been found in the productivity values obtained using 15N and 13C tracers

PI-tuned UPFC damping controllers design for multi-machine power system

This paper presents an adaptive multi-objective algorithm based Unified Power Flow Controller (UPFC) tuned for damping oscillations in two-area multi-machine system formulated as multi- objective optimization problem. The algorithms such as, Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm-II (NSGA-II) and Modified Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm-II (MNSGA-II) are proposed for tuning the damping controller with speed deviation and control input as conflicting objectives. The proposed algorithm is implemented in the two area multi-machine system using MATLAB Simulink model, and the simulation results were obtained with respect to the characteristics of damping oscillations and the dynamic stability of power systems. The performance measures such as Integral Time Squared Error (ITSE) and Integral Squared Error (ISE) are considered as the objective functions. The results of the two proposed algorithm has been compared and the outcome shows that the MNSGA-II algorithm performs better compared to the NSGA-II algorithm