Utilizing Big Data Analytics to Improve Education

Analytics can be defined as the process of determining, assessing, and interpreting meaning from volumes of data. It has been categorized in three different categories - descriptive, predictive and prescriptive. Predictive analysis can serve many segments of society as it can reveal hidden relationship which may not be apparent with descriptive modeling. Analytics advancement plays an important role in higher education planning. It answers several questions such as -which students will enroll in particular course, what courses are on trending or obsolete, what is the level of student satisfaction in the current education system, effectiveness of online study environment, how to design a better curriculum, likelihood of students transfer, drop out or failure to complete the course. Not only, data analytics helps in analyzing above points but also can be helpful in predictive modeling for faculty, administrative and students groups who are looking out for genuine results about the university rankings, based on which they make their decisions. Using the dataset “Academic Ranking of World Universities, 2003-2014”, we studied and analyzed to forecast how university’s management and faculty could adapt to changes to improve their education and thereby the ranking of their universities in the upcoming years. Microsoft SQL Server Data Mining Add-ins Excel 2008 was employed as a software mining tool for predicting the trending university ranking. This research paper concentrates upon predictive analysis of university ranking using forecasting based on data mining technique

A New Technology of Smart Shopping Cart using RFID and ZIGBEE

Now a days it is common to see people getting enthusiast in online shopping through e-commerce websites but still the shopping centers are popular. We come across many types of carts used for shopping in malls and shopping centers. We are proposing smart shopping cart which uses the RFID and ZIGBEE technology to identify the products details and sends the data wirelessly to the receiver. We propose to have facility to browse the available products list on-screen in the display connected to the microcontroller which is situated in smart cart. The cart is interacting with the Main Server and it will have the facility to generate the bill for all the products added into the cart. The proposed system will be helpful for avoiding queues in shopping malls for billing. With the proposed design conventional queue system for billing generation and hence the shopping becomes easy and enjoyable

Association of Anthropometric Parameters and Severity of SARS-COV-2 Infection among Hospitalized Patients in a Tertiary care Center in Western Maharashtra – an Analytical Cross-Sectional Study

Background: On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed COVID-19 as a pandemic. COVID-19 has infected more than 5.5 million people worldwide, resulting in more than 3,47,000 fatalities. Obese individuals may be more susceptible to infection with SARSCoV-2. This study was conducted to assess the association between anthropometric parameters and the severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methodology: This analytical cross-sectional study was undertaken on COVID-19-positive patients admitted to COVID-dedicated wards at a tertiary care center in Pune. The data was collected using a convenient sampling method from 185 COVID-19-positive patients. Result: Among those Positive for SARS-COV-2, 128 (69.19%) patients had mild COVID-19, and 57 (30.81%) patients were having severe COVID-19 disease. 36 patients (28.13%) with mild COVID-19 disease were average weight, 48 patients (37.50%) were overweight, and 42 patients (32.81%) were obese. Three (5.26%) of the 57 patients with severe COVID-19 disease were overweight, and 54 (94.74%) were obese. 19 (10.2%) patients had previously been diagnosed with hypertension, and 22 (11.8%) patients had both hypertension and diabetes. Conclusion: Obesity in patients with COVID-19 was associated with severe diseases, particularly pneumonia. Patients having underlying medical illnesses like hypertension and diabetes were found to be at higher risk of severe COVID-19

Enhancing drought tolerance in Indian mustard (Brassica juncea) through microbial inoculants under varying irrigation regimes

A field experiment was conducted during the winter (rabi) seasons of 2020–21, 2021–22 and 2022–23 at College of Agriculture, Sri Karan Narendra Agriculture University, Jobner, Rajasthan to identify the appropriate bacterial strains and irrigation levels to enhance drought tolerance and productivity in Indian mustard [Brassica juncea (L.) Czern.]. The experiment was laid out in a split plot design assigning irrigation treatments (no irrigation, 50% deficit irrigation and normal level of irrigation) in main plots and microbes (MRD-17, MKS-6, Biophos and Biophos+, CRIDAMI-I, CRIDA MI-II and control) in sub plots. Results demonstrated that normal level of irrigation (2 irrigations) yielded superior outcomes in terms of plant height, dry matter accumulation, yield attributes, viz. seed yield (1542 kg/ha), stover yield (3677 kg/ha), relative water content (70.72%), protein content (18.1%), oil content (38.7%), water use efficiency (7.50 kg/ha-mm), net returns (₹52529/ha) and B:C ratio (2.07). This was significantly higher compared to 50% deficit irrigation and no irrigation treatments. Among microbial inoculants, CRIDA MI-II exhibited the highest impact on growth and yield attributes, viz. seed yield (1312 kg/ha), stover yield (3262 kg/ha), protein content (17.2%), water use efficiency (5.88 kg/ha-mm), net returns (₹42294/ha) and B:C ratio (1.72). Notably, it was statistically comparable to the effects of CRIDA MI-I and Biophos and Biophos+ across most parameters. The comprehensive results of this study advocated the strategic implementation of both optimal irrigation practices and microbial inoculants as a sustainable approach to enhance productivity and drought tolerance in Indian mustard, particularly in the arid and semi-arid regions of Rajasthan

A Cross-Sectional Study of Knowledge Assessment Regarding HIV/ AIDS of Attendees of Integrated Counseling and Testing Centre at SMS Medical College, Jaipur

Introduction: In this study we focused on the knowledge about HIV/AIDS among the attendees of ICTC associated with SMS medical college, Jaipur which included multiple types of high risk behavior people and also general population which will help for measures to be taken for primary prevention of HIV infection. In this study, 177 attendees were included for knowledge assessment from April 2015 to September 2015.Aim and Objectives: To determine the knowledge of ICTC attendees about HIV/AIDS and to correlate with socio-demographic profile of attendees.Observations: All participants have heard about HIV/AIDS (100%). Television was most common source of information (77.97%). Regarding modes of transmission, 80.23% had knowledge about transmission by blood transfusion, sexual route (77.4%), contaminated surgical needles (73.45%) and from pregnant mother to newborn (71%). Use of condom, avoidance of sharing of injection needles, restricting sexual activity to a faithful partner, abstinence from any sexual intercourse and avoidance of visits to female sex workers were known preventive methods in 81.36%, 67.23%, 61.02%, 58.19% and 45.76% respondents respectively. Transmission of HIV by kissing, mosquito bite, drinking contaminated water, hugging/ shaking hands, sharing toilet and sharing meal were common myths among 33.9%, 32.2%, 31.64%, 18.64%, 15.82%, and 13.56% respondents respectively. 53.15% males, 53.73% singles, 55.21% Hindus, 58.46% OBC, 55.84% urban residents, 64.1% 20-29 year age group respondents, 59.32% respondents of joint family, 63.64% socio-economic class 1 participants , 58.82% voluntary attendees and 83.33% post graduates were having good knowledge about HIV/ AIDS. Socio-economic classification (p<0.05) and literacy (p<0.05) was found significantly associated with knowledge. Literacy was found significant independent predictor of knowledge score by stepwise multivariate regression analysis-Knowledge score = 17.4329 + 1.5452 (Literacy).Conclusion: Knowledge in general population about HIV/ AIDS is still poor and myths are prevailing yet. Literacy and socio-economic status are most efficient weapons to break this barrier and to mitigate future HIV/AIDS burden

Photocatalytic Degradation of Organic Dyes and Antimicrobial Activities by Polyaniline–Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Dot Nanocomposite

Nitrogen-doped carbon nanodots (N@CDs) were prepared by hydrothermal processing of bovine serum albumin (Mw: 69,324 with 607 amino acids). A polyaniline (PANI-N@CDs) nanocomposite was then synthesized by ultrasonication and used to degrade Congo red (CR), methylene blue (MB), Rhodamine B (RhB), and crystal violet (CV) four common organic dyes. The PANI-N@CD nanocomposite simultaneously adsorbed and concentrated the dye from the bulk solution and degraded the adsorbed dye, resulting in a high rate of dye degradation. The combination of holes (h+), hydroxyl (OH•), and O2•− was involved in the N@CD-mediated photocatalytic degradation of the dyes. Under visible light illumination at neutral pH, the PANI-N@CDs were proven as an efficient adsorbent and photocatalyst for the complete degradation of CR within 20 min. MB and RhB were also degraded but required longer treatment times. These findings supported the design of remediation processes for such dyes and predicted their fate in the environment. The nanocomposite also exhibited antimicrobial activities against Gram-negative bacterium E. coli and Gram-positive bacterium S. aureus

Correction: Prevalence of damaged and missing teeth among women in the southern plains of Nepal: Findings of a simplified assessment tool.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0225192.]

Prevalence of damaged and missing teeth among women in the southern plains of Nepal: Findings of a simplified assessment tool.

ObjectiveTo assess the prevalence of missing and damaged teeth among women in the rural southern plains of Nepal using an interviewer-administered tooth assessment module.Setting21wards in seven Village Development Committees across the Tarai of Nepal in 2015.ParticipantsResident, married women of children less than 5 years of age or those married in the 2 years prior to the survey, 14 to 49 years of age participating in a mid-year nutrition and health survey in the Tarai region of Nepal.Outcome measuresPrevalence of missing and damaged teeth, history of dental problems, oral hygiene practices, access to dental treatment and risk factors for missing and damaged teeth.ResultsOf 3007 assessed women, aged 14 to 49 years of age, 22.8% (95% CI: 21.4-24.4) reported ≥ 1 missing or damaged teeth; 81.5% (95% CI 80.1-82.9) reported regularly practicing oral hygiene, typically with standard local dentifrices. Pain or discomfort in the oral cavity in the previous 6 months affected 17.6% of women. Among these, 43.8% had sought treatment from a dental facility, pharmacy or village doctor. Home remedies were commonly applied to relieve pain.ConclusionBroken and missing teeth are common, affecting nearly one-quarter of adult women of reproductive age in rural Southern Nepal, as assessed by an interviewer-administered questionnaire