The Anxiety of COVID-19 Outbreak and its Impact on Students’ Academic Activity: a Case Study of NIT Durgapur, India

Central Library National Institute of Technology (NIT) Durgapur, West Bengal, India conducted study after the announcement of nationwide lockdown in India to know the students’ awareness about COVID-19, anxiety caused, if any, due to the Pandemic and its impact over their academic activities. Central Library also tries to find out the user satisfaction and expectations during the lockdown. Authors opted Google form as a questionnaire which contains the questions of general perception and distributed via Institute email Ids. Responses were analysed using Microsoft Excel. Two hundred fifty research scholars and postgraduate students were selected randomly for the study and 135 (54%) responses received. 107 (77%) were male and 31 (23%) were female respondents. It was found that 133 (99%) of students were aware of the Coronavirus and its impact. 60 (44%) students have no impact over their normal routine at home whereas 22(16%) were afraid of the situation, 14 (10%) were worrying constantly. 47 (35%) were experiencing anxiety and stress. 89 (66%) students believed their lifestyle is changed, the majority of the students 46 (34%) were spending 2-4 hours in the study even more. 109 (81%) students were accessing e-resources through id/passwords and 96 (71%) students agreed that the library plays an inevitable role in their study.With the commencement of online teaching learning Central Library started extending its services beyond the campus and initiated to collect id/passwords so that e-resources can be made accessible off-campus. Simultaneously library started setting up remote access tool to integrate the subscribed e-resources at a single platform

The Anxiety of COVID-19 Outbreak and its Impact on Students’ Academic Activity: a Case Study of NIT Durgapur, India

Central Library National Institute of Technology (NIT) Durgapur, West Bengal, India conducted study after the announcement of nationwide lockdown in India to know the students’ awareness about COVID-19, anxiety caused, if any, due to the Pandemic and its impact over their academic activities. Central Library also tries to find out the user satisfaction and expectations during the lockdown. Authors opted Google form as a questionnaire which contains the questions of general perception and distributed via Institute email Ids. Responses were analysed using Microsoft Excel. Two hundred fifty research scholars and postgraduate students were selected randomly for the study and 135 (54%) responses received. 107 (77%) were male and 31 (23%) were female respondents. It was found that 133 (99%) of students were aware of the Coronavirus and its impact. 60 (44%) students have no impact over their normal routine at home whereas 22(16%) were afraid of the situation, 14 (10%) were worrying constantly. 47 (35%) were experiencing anxiety and stress. 89 (66%) students believed their lifestyle is changed, the majority of the students 46 (34%) were spending 2-4 hours in the study even more. 109 (81%) students were accessing e-resources through id/passwords and 96 (71%) students agreed that the library plays an inevitable role in their study.With the commencement of online teaching learning Central Library started extending its services beyond the campus and initiated to collect id/passwords so that e-resources can be made accessible off-campus. Simultaneously library started setting up remote access tool to integrate the subscribed e-resources at a single platform

Low Power Digital Filter Implementation in FPGA

Digital filters suitable for hearing aid application on low power perspective have been developed and implemented in FPGA in this dissertation. Hearing aids are primarily meant for improving hearing and speech comprehensions. Digital hearing aids score over their analog counterparts. This happens as digital hearing aids provide flexible gain besides facilitating feedback reduction and noise elimination. Recent advances in DSP and Microelectronics have led to the development of superior digital hearing aids. Many researchers have investigated several algorithms suitable for hearing aid application that demands low noise, feedback cancellation, echo cancellation, etc., however the toughest challenge is the implementation. Furthermore, the additional constraints are power and area. The device must consume as minimum power as possible to support extended battery life and should be as small as possible for increased portability. In this thesis we have made an attempt to investigate possible digital filter algorithms those are hardware configurable on low power view point. Suitability of decimation filter for hearing aid application is investigated. In this dissertation decimation filter is implemented using ‘Distributed Arithmetic’ approach.While designing this filter, it is observed that, comb-half band FIR-FIR filter design uses less hardware compared to the comb-FIR-FIR filter design. The power consumption is also less in case of comb-half band FIR-FIR filter design compared to the comb-FIR-FIR filter. This filter is implemented in Virtex-II pro board from Xilinx and the resource estimator from the system generator is used to estimate the resources. However ‘Distributed Arithmetic’ is highly serial in nature and its latency is high; power consumption found is not very low in this type of filter implementation. So we have proceeded for ‘Adaptive Hearing Aid’ using Booth-Wallace tree multiplier. This algorithm is also implemented in FPGA and power calculation of the whole system is done using Xilinx Xpower analyser. It is observed that power consumed by the hearing aid with Booth-Wallace tree multiplier is less than the hearing aid using Booth multiplier (about 25%). So we can conclude that the hearing aid using Booth-Wallace tree multiplier consumes less power comparatively. The above two approached are purely algorithmic approach. Next we proceed to combine circuit level VLSI design and with algorithmic approach for further possible reduction in power. A MAC based FDF-FIR filter (algorithm) that uses dual edge triggered latch (DET) (circuit) is used for hearing aid device. It is observed that DET based MAC FIR filter consumes less power than the traditional (single edge triggered, SET) one (about 41%). The proposed low power latch provides a power saving upto 65% in the FIR filter. This technique consumes less power compared to previous approaches that uses low power technique only at algorithmic abstraction level. The DET based MAC FIR filter is tested for real-time validation and it is observed that it works perfectly for various signals (speech, music, voice with music). The gain of the filter is tested and is found to be 27 dB (maximum) that matches with most of the hearing aid (manufacturer’s) specifications. Hence it can be concluded that FDF FIR digital filter in conjunction with low power latch is a strong candidate for hearing aid application

Changes in anterior segment parameters of normal subjects during accommodation using a Scheimpflug imaging system

Background: Accommodation changes ocular parameters, such as the anterior chamber volume (ACV), anterior chamber depth (ACD), anterior chamber angle (ACA), and pupil diameter (PD), which can reflect a risk of angle-closure glaucoma. Previous studies of changes in ocular anterior segment parameters, have used high diopters or maximum amplitude. Here, we focused on normal accommodation at a reading distance of 30‒40 cm. The aim of this study was to assess changes in anterior segment parameters during a normal accommodative state, using a Scheimpflug imaging system. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 40 emmetrope subjects (mean ± SD of age: 22 ± 4.0 years) who met the inclusion criteria and provided informed consent were enrolled. Clinical history, refraction, amplitude of accommodation, slit lamp examination, Goldman applanation tonometry, and Pentacam investigations were performed on all subjects. Accommodative and non-accommodative targets were induced via the Pentacam. Two seconds were allowed for accommodation or relaxation prior to measurements in each eye. Results: Eighty normal eyes were evaluated; a small but statistically significant change in ACV, ACA, and PD during accommodation (P < 0.01, < 0.01, and < 0.05, respectively) was observed. The ACD did not change substantially with accommodation (P = 0.29). The mean ± SD values of ACV, ACD, ACA, and PD before and after accommodation were 151.85 ± 24.04 mm3 and 145.38 ± 23.30 mm3, 2.87 ± 0.28 mm and 2.86 ± 0.27 mm, 35.06° ± 3.68° and 33.84° ± 3.72°, and 3.46 ± 0.57 mm and 3.41 ± 0.53 mm, respectively. Conclusions: Accommodation changes ocular parameters, such as ACV, ACA, and PD, in healthy young emmetropes. Interestingly, the ACD remains unaltered during accommodation. Nevertheless, although these changes were statistically significant, they were not clinically significant in our study

Planktonic Scenario of the River Ganga & Yamuna at Prayagraj in COVID-19 Lockdown: A Case Study

Ganga is the most prestigious river of India. The COVID-19 lockdown may have forced us to stay indoors, but it has been boon for pollution-ridden Ganga and Yamuna. Plankton is tiny organisms drifting with water current, influenced by river physical and chemical factors. During lockdown anthropogenic factors were reduced which affected water and plankton quality. Plankton samples were collected from the upstream of the river Ganga (Shankerghat, latitude 25030’28” N and longitude, 81052’10”E) and Yamuna (near boat club, latitude 25024’29”N and longitude 81054’50”E) at Prayagraj, during national lockdown. In the before lockdown period (2019), total 28 planktonic taxa were recorded from the river Ganga, among them 10 taxa from Bacillariophyceae, 15 from Chlorophyceae and 3 from Myxophyceae. While during LD period total 54 genera with 86 species was recorded (Bacillariophyceae 10 taxa, Chlorophyceae 23 taxa, Myxophyceae 9 taxa, Euglenophyceae 2 taxa, Dianophyceae, 1, Rotiferea 7 taxa, Protozoa 2 taxa). Various species of green algae were observed in this small period of lockdown, some species were not observed since a long, like Pediastrum tetras, Scenedesmus abundans, Ankistrodesmus fusiformis, and Brachionus angularis. Various species of phytoplankton and zooplankton were in reproductive phase because river was flowing silently, without any internal and external disturbance. Ganga was more affected by anthropogenic activity and factory discharge than Yamuna So lack of chemicals in the water and minimum human interference favoured auto rejuvenation of Ganga in terms of plankton quality, diversity and reproduction behaviour. Such type of environmental changes may stimulate for origin of new species and disappear or reappear of various aquatic species

Mortality pattern of Nili-Ravi buffaloes under organised herd in India

The objective of the study was to find out the mortality pattern of Nili-Ravi buffaloes under organised herd in tropical climate. An investigation was carried out on mortality records of 318 Nili-Ravi buffaloes maintained at Central Institute for Research on Buffaloes, Regional Station-Bir Dosanjh, Nabha, Patiala, Punjab over a period of 16 years (1994-95 to 2009-10). Each year was divided into three seasons i.e. hot-dry (March-June), hot- humid (July-October) and cold (November to February). Sex of animals was divided into male and female group. The age of animals were grouped into eight categories viz. up-to 30 days (d), 31-60 d, 61-90 d, 91-180 d, 181-365 d, 366-1095 d, 1096-3650 d and more than 3651 d. The causes of mortality based on post-mortem findings were classified into twelve classes e.g. major respiratory diseases (MARD), minor respiratory diseases (MIRD), major digestive disorders (MADD), minor digestive disorders (MIDD), cardiovascular diseases (CVD), parasitic diseases (PAD), infectious diseases (ID), musculoskeletal diseases (MSD), urogenital/reproductive diseases (UGD/RD), neurological disorders (ND), nutritional/metabolic/production diseases (NMD) and miscellaneous disorders (MD). Majority of the buffaloes died in the months of July to October. About two third of the buffalo deaths occurred before one year of their age. Major respiratory diseases followed by major digestive disorders and cardiovascular diseases were the predominant causes of buffalo death under organised herd. This information will be beneficial in reducing buffalo mortality through adopting proper herd health programme of organized buffalo herd

EXPLORATION TOWARDS ELECTROSTATIC INTEGRITY FOR SIGE ON INSULATOR (SG-OI) ON JUNCTIONLESS CHANNEL TRANSISTOR (JLCT)

In view of reduced electric field and avoiding source drain engineering, the work exploresstrain effect in junctionless channel transistor. To achieve scaled IOFF and maintain ION, here the device SG-OI JLCT is proposed. The study discusses higher switching action with mole fraction x = 0.25. The dependency of ϕM and the ND is responsible for maintaining constant current for overall analysis

IMPACT OF CHANNEL ENGINEERING (SI1-0.25GE0.25) TECHNIQUE ON GM (TRANSCONDUCTANCE) AND ITS HIGHER ORDER DERIVATIVES OF 3D CONVENTIONAL AND WAVY JUNCTIONLESS FINFETS (JLT)

The paper explores the analog analysis and higher order derivatives of drain current (ID) at gate source voltage (VGS), by introducing channel engineering technique of 3D conventional and Wavy Junctionless FinFETs (JLT) as silicon germanium  (Si1-0.25Ge0.25) device layer. In view of this, the performances are carried out for different gate length (LG) values (15-30 nm) and current characteristics determined by maintaining constant ON current (ION 10-5) (A/μm) for both devices. With respect to this, a comparison has been made between these MOS structures at molefraction x = 0.25 and it was found that the electric field is perpendicular to the current flow which induces volume inversion approach. Accordingly, for the simulation study better channel controllability over the gate is observed for Wavy structures and high ID induces as the LG scales down. With respect to this the constant ION determine ID, transconductance (gm), transconductance generation factor (TGF) and its higher order terms (g\m, and g\\m) of the devices are studied with relaxed SiGe approximation. The extensive simulation study on short channel (SC) parameters are also performed and it is observed that the Wavy JL FinFET shows less sensitivity towards short channel effects (SCEs) over conventional one, therefore the dependency of N-type doping concentration (ND = 1.7x1019 cm-3) and metal workfunction (ϕM = 4.6 eV) are responsible to achieving reduced SCEs. 

Strategies to control invasion of Sailfin Armoured Catfish, Pterygoplichthys spp. in wastewater-fed aquaculture bheries of East Kolkata Wetland, India with suggestion of a modified barrier based on the biological and behavioural characteristics

Sailfin armoured catfish (Pterygoplichthys spp.), an alien invasive species of family Loricariidae has invaded extensively in wastewater-fed large aquaculture ponds (locally called ‘bheries’) of East Kolkata Wetlands (EKW), West Bengal, India. As there is no viable controlling method at present, commonly these fishes are removed by different physical methods and discarded. In the present study, we investigated the effectiveness and suitability of different in-practice Pterygoplichthys spp. control methods, based on on-field sampling, biological and behavioural study of the fish and also response analysis of the stakeholder’s of EKW. The results indicate that in-practice eradication efforts, like ‘repeated seine netting’ with or without removal of Eichhornia sheath of the pond periphery and ‘dewatering of pond’ aiming to reduce or eradicate Pterygoplichthys spp., are not fully effective, because of the capture avoidance ability and burrowing habit of these fishes. We found deep and branching burrows of Pterygoplichthys spp. in aquaculture ponds of EKW, with maximum burrow depth of 58 cm, and water in that burrows even after 12 days of dewatering. Hence, it is suggested stakeholders to keep dewatered pond exposed to sunlight for at least four weeks or above to ensure complete water-out from the burrows in which Pterygoplichthys spp. take shelter or lay their eggs. ‘Multilayer bamboo fencing’ or ‘combination of bamboo fencing and net barrier’ use by the stakeholders of EKW to prevent intrusion or re-intrusion of Pterygoplichthys spp. were found only partially effective, because of the capability of these fishes to damage net-blocking through their hard dorsal and pectoral spines or entry through the holes dug across the barrier in beneath or banks of the sewage intake channel. Based on learning on the biological and behavioural characteristics of Pterygoplichthys spp., we then suggested a modified version of barrier to the stakeholder’s of EKW, incorporating a sewage feeder pipeline, a concrete collection chamber with size separation arrangement made of hard materials like wire mesh and a dam of specific dimensions across the channel, for effective prevention of intrusion of these fishes in their aquaculture bheries

Strategies for identifying stable lentil cultivars (Lens culinaris Medik) for combating hidden hunger, malnourishment, and climate variability

Iron and zinc malnutrition is a global humanitarian concern that mostly affects newborns, children, and women in low- and middle-income countries where plant-based diets are regularly consumed. This kind of malnutrition has the potential to result in a number of immediate and long-term implications, including stunted growth, an elevated risk of infectious diseases, and poor development, all of which may ultimately cause children to not develop to the fullest extent possible. A determination of the contributions from genotype, environment, and genotype by environment interactions is necessary for the production of nutrient-dense lentil varieties that offer greater availability of iron and zinc with a high level of trait stability. Understanding the genotype and environmental parameters that affect G x E (Genotype x Environment) interactions is essential for plant breeding. We used GGE(Genotype, Genotype x Environment interactions) and AMMI (Additive Main effects and Multiplicative Interaction) models to study genetic stability and GE(Genotype x Environment interactions) for grain Fe, Zn, Al, and anti-nutritional factors like phytic acid content in sixteen commercially produced lentil cultivars over several different six geographical locations across India. Significant genetic variability was evident in the Fe and Zn levels of different genotypes of lentils. The amounts of grain iron, zinc, and phytic acid varied from 114.10 to 49.90 mg/kg, 74.62 to 21.90 mg/kg, and 0.76 to 2.84 g/100g (dw) respectively. The environment and GE (Genotype x Environment interactions) had an impact on the concentration of grain Fe, Zn, and phytic acid (PA). Heritability estimations ranged from low to high (53.18% to 99.48%). The study indicated strong correlation between the contents of Fe and Zn, a strategy for simultaneously increasing Fe and Zn in lentils may be recommended. In addition, our research revealed that the stable and ideal lentil varieties L4076 (Pusa Shivalik) for Fe concentration and L4717 (Pusa Ageti) for Zn content, which have lower phytic acid contents, will not only play an essential role as stable donors in the lentil bio-fortification but will also enable the expansion of the growing area of bio-fortified crops for the security of health and nutrition