Adequacy of multinomial logit model with nominal responses over binary logit model.

The aim of this study was to fit a multinomial logit model and check whether any gain achieved by this complicated model over binary logit model. It is quite common in practice, the categorical response have more than two levels. Multinomial logit model is a straightforward extension of binary logit model. When response variable is nominal with more than two levels and the explanatory variables are mixed of interval and nominal scale, multinomial logit analysis is appropriate than binary logit model. The maximum likelihood method of estimation is employed to obtain the estimates and consequently Wald test and likelihood ratio test have been used. The findings suggest that parameter estimates under two logits were similar since neither Wald statistic was significant. Thus, it can be concluded that complicated multinomial logit model was no better than the simpler binary logit model. In case of response variable having more than two levels in categorical data analysis, it is strongly recommended that the adequacy of the multinomial logit model over binary logit model should be justified in its fitting process

Serological Investigation of Bovine Brucellosis, Johne’s Disease and Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis in Two States of India

In the present study, serological diagnosis of brucellosis, Johne’s Disease (JD) and infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR) was carried out in the states of Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh of India. Apparent prevalence of brucellosis was 7.57 % (true prevalence, 5.66%) in Gujarat and 12.27 % (true prevalence, 10.60%) in Andhra Pradesh. For JD apparent prevalence in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh was 13.39% (true prevalence, 15.68%) and 16.26% (true prevalence, 19.31%) respectively. Apparent prevalence of IBR was found to be 23.94% (true prevalence, 18.20%) and 26.49% (true prevalence, 21.03%) in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh respectively. The results of the study revealed that these diseases are highly prevalent in both the states; hence, there is an urgent need for adopting suitable control measures

Assessment of environmental sustainability using ecological footprint in urban ecosystems of North Western Himalayas

Rapid urbanization in cities is crafting major environmental problems, leading to degradation of urban ecosystems and is responsible for creating an imbalance between demand and supply of resources. Ecological Footprint Analysis (EFA) is a tool that can be used to assess this imbalance scientifically and determine the sustainability of a particular area. Our study aims to determine the urban sustainability of Kangra district in Himachal Pradesh, a hilly state in North Western Himalayas, India situated in North western Himalayas by using one of the Ecological Footprint Analysis (EFA) components, the built-up land footprint, as a pragmatic tool for analysis and planning of the urban region. The total built-up land footprint, total biocapacity and total ecological deficit are 18146.095 g ha,15968.564 g ha and 2177.531 g ha respectively whereas built-up land footprint per capita, built-up land biocapacity per capita and ecological deficit per capita are 1.371 g ha, 1.206 g ha, and 0.164 g ha respectively in different urban areas. Consequently, it is concluded that the built-up land results in an ecological deficit, and the system is considered unsustainable because its ecological footprint exceeds its bio capacity. It is suggested that urban sustainability should move and work on ecological principles so that the vision encompassing global goals and agenda 2030 for sustainable development can be achieved

Effect of irrigation scheduling and NK fertigation on productivity of garden peas (Pisum sativum var. hortense L.)

Not AvailableA field experiment was conducted for three consecutive rabi seasons (2011-12 to 2013-14) to evaluate the effect of irrigation depth (0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0 CPE) and NK fertigation (50 and 100% of adjusted recommended dose) along with a control (basal application of soil test based adjusted recommended NPK fertilizer and surface irrigation of 5 cm) on the productivity of garden pea at Palampur. Result revealed that irrigation and fertigation with micro-sprinkler led to 60.9% less use of water and 10.0% higher green pod yield. Consequently, water use efficiency was increased by 3.12 times over the recommended practices. Every fifth day irrigation with 80% CPE (CPE 0.8) resulted in significantly higher green pod yield than every fifth day irrigation with either 60% CPE (13.74%) or 40% CPE (19.96%). Irrigation with minimum depth of water (0.4 CPE) resulted in maximum water use efficiency of 6.51 kg green pods m-3 of irrigation water used for crop production. Fertigation of sprinkler irrigated crop either with 50 or 100% of recommended soil-test based NK had no effect on green pod yield, gross return and water use efficiency.Not Availabl

Rabies Virus Infection in Domestic Buffaloes and Wild Animals in India

Rabies is one of the most significant diseases in India with severe health implication to humans, domestic and wild animals. In the present study, four concomitant incidents of rabies related deaths were recorded in the western province of India, Gujarat during 2012 - 2014. Brain samples were collected from two buffaloes, nilgai, and mongoose during these incidents and rabies virus was identified from these samples. Further genetic relationship of these isolates was determined and the rabies virus transmission among the wild and domestic mammals was established. Molecular epidemiology based on the glycoprotein ecto-domain and complete nucleoprotein gene showed that all the four isolates belonged to Arctic-like 1 lineage which is predominant in India. Phylogenetic analysis and time scaled evolutionary tree analysis indicated that the wild animals are playing an important role in the maintenance and also transmission of the rabies virus in India

Mobile applications in government services (mG-App) from user's perspectives: A predictive modelling approach

YesMobile applications are becoming a preferred delivery method for the government sector and contributing to more convenient and timely services to citizens. This study examines the intention to use mobile applications for the government services (mG-App) in Oman. This study extended the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model by including two constructs namely trust and information quality. Data were collected from 513 mobile application users across Oman. The research model was analysed in two stages. First, structural equation modelling (SEM) was employed to determine significant determinants affecting users’ acceptance of mG-App. In the second stage, a neural network model was used to validate SEM results and determine the relative importance of determinants of acceptance of mG-App. The findings revealed that trust and performance expectancy are the strongest determinants influencing the acceptance of mG-App. The findings of this research have provided theoretical contributions to the existing research on mG-App and practical implications to decision-makers involved in the development and implementation of mG-App in in Oman

Predicting changing pattern: building model for consumer decision making in digital market

YesConsumers have the multiple options to choose their products and services, which have a significant impact on the pattern of consumer decision making in digital market and further increases the challenges for the service providers to predict their buying pattern. In this sense, the purpose of this paper is to propose a structural hierarchy model for analyzing the changing pattern of consumer decision making in digital market by taking an Indian context. Design/methodology/approach: To accomplish the objectives, the research is conducted in two phases. An extensive literature review is performed in the first phase to list the factors related to the changing pattern of consumer decision making in digital market and then fuzzy Delphi method is applied to finalize the factors. In the second phase, fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is employed to find the priority weights of finalized factors. The fuzzy set theory allows capturing the vagueness in the data. Findings: The findings obtained in this study shows that consumers are much conscious about innovative and trendy products as well as brand and quality; therefore, the service providers must think about these two most important factors so that they can able to retain their consumer in their online portal. Practical implications: The analysis shows that “innovative and trendy” is the first priority factor for the consumers followed by “brand and quality” and “fulfilment and time energy.” The proposed model can help the marketers and service providers in predicting customers’ preferences and their changing pattern efficiently under vague surroundings. The outcomes of this research work not only help the service provider to update their products and services according to consumers’ needs but can also help them to increase profit and minimize their risk. Originality/value: This work contributes to consumer research literature focusing on problem evaluation in the context of changing pattern of consumer decision making in digital era

Insight into the structural and optoelectronic properties Of e-beam evaporated nanostructured tio2 thin films Annealed in air

About 480 nm thick titanium oxide (TiO2) thin films have been deposited by electron beam evaporation followed by annealing in air at 300—600oC with a step of 100oC for a period of two hours. Optical, electrical and structural properties are studied as a function of annealing temperature. All the films are crystalline (having tetragonal anatase structure) with small amount of amorphous phase. Crystallinity of the films improves with annealing at elevated temperatures. XRD and FESEM results suggest that the films are composed of nanoparticles of 25-35 nm. Raman analysis and optical measurements suggest quantum confinement effects since Raman peaks of the as-deposited films are blue-shifted as compared to those for bulk TiO2. Optical band gap energy of the asdeposited TiO2 film is 3.21 eV, which decreases to about 3.06 eV after annealing at 600 oC. Refractive index of the as-deposited TiO2 film is 2.26, which increases to about 2.32 after annealing at 600 oC. However the films annealed at 500 oC represent peculiar behavior as its band gap increases to highest value of 3.24 eV whereas refractive index, RMS roughness and dc-resistance illustrate a drop as compared to all other films. Illumination to sunlight decreases the dc-resistance of the as-deposited and annealed films as compared to dark measurements possibly due to charge carrier enhancement by photon absorption

Exclusive light particle measurements for the system 19^{19}F + 12^{12}C at 96 MeV

Decay sequence of hot {31}^P nucleus has been investigated through exclusive light charged particle measurements in coincidence with individual evaporation residues using the reaction {19}^F (96 MeV) + {12}^C. Information on the sequential decay chain have been extracted by confronting the data with the predictions of the statistical model. It is observed from the present analysis that such exclusive light charged particle data may be used as a powerful tool to probe the decay sequence of the hot light compound systems.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, Physical Review C (in press