Morphological characterization and genetic diversity in lentil (Lens culinaris medikus ssp. Culinaris) germplasm

Genetic divergence of 110 lentil germplasm with checks was assessed based on morphological traits using multivariate analysis. Mahalanobis generalized distance (D2) analysis was used to group the lentil genotypes. Significant variations among lentil genotypes were observed in respect of days to 1st flowering, days to 50% flowering, days to maturity, plant height, and number of pods per peduncle, number of pods per plant, number of seeds per plant, 100 seed weight and yield per plant. Considering the mean values, the germplasm were grouped into ten clusters. The highest number of genotypes (17) was in cluster X and lowest (5) both in cluster II and IV. Cluster IV had the highest cluster mean for number of pods per plant (297.08), number of seeds per plant (594.16), 100 seed weight (1.44 g) and yield per plant (8.53 g). Among them, the highest inter-cluster distance was obtained between the cluster IV and I (24.61) followed by IV and III (22.33), while the lowest was between IX and II (1.63). The maximum value of inter-cluster distance indicated that genotypes belonging to cluster IV were far diverged from those of cluster I. The first female flower initiation was earlier in BD-3812 (49 days) in cluster I and cluster IV had highest grain yield per plant (8.53). BD-3807 produced significant maximum number of pods per plant (298.40) in cluster IV. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/ijarit.v4i1.21095 Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. & Tech. 4 (1): 70-76, June, 201

Influences of Non-economic Responsibilities on Economic Responsibilities: A study on Consumers of Banking Industry in Sylhet

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) comprises of economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic responsibilities. However, these aspects of CSR may have significant influence over each other. The rest of the aspects of CSR may influence specifically the most critical aspect of CSR, economic responsibilities. Therefore, the aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of philanthropic, ethical, and legal responsibilities on economic responsibilities of banks. In total 250 customers of different banks in sylhet district were surveyed for the study. Multiple linear regression method in SPSS was used to analyze the data. Among the non-economic dimensions of CSR, the ethical and philanthropic responsibilities found to be significant influencer of economic responsibilities of CSR. On the other hand, the legal responsibilities was concluded as an insignificant influencer of economic responsibilities. More precisely, one percent increase in ethical responsibility will increase the economic responsibility by 50 percent and alike one percent development in philanthropic responsibility will increase the economic responsibility by 20 percent

Impact of digital financial inclusion on ASEAN banking stability: implications for the post-Covid-19 era

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate how digital financial inclusion (DFI) can be a potential factor to maintain banking stability in Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries and whether the relationship could bring a possible implication for the post-Covid-19 pandemic era. Design/methodology/approach: Using an unbalanced panel data of 213 banks of 4 ASEAN countries, the study has deployed principal component analysis, ordinary least square, two-step dynamic system generalised method of moments and panel corrected standard errors techniques. Findings: The empirical study finds that the full-fledged application of DFI accelerates the ASEAN banking stability which not only decreases the default risk of the banks but also upturns the financial mobility in the region. The results also suggest that ASEAN banks are, with the implementation of DFI, likely to uphold the banking sector stability by reducing liquidity crisis and non-performing loans during and in the post-Covid-19 era. Therefore, accelerating digital finance in ASEAN countries is considered as one of the significant means for the banking sector stability that subsequently leads to economic and financial resilience even in the face of any crises. Originality/value: Prevailing studies have mostly investigated the association between financial inclusion and banking stability in different contexts. However, this study is unique to empirically investigate the association between DFI and the ASEAN banking stability

Taking Artificial Intelligence into the Media Studies Classroom

As artificial intelligence (AI) alters social life, the journalists of the present and the journalists of the future — our students – must comprehend its potential and threat. How can journalism instructors, who often lack knowledge in computer science, equip students not just to report on the impending change of artificial intelligence, but also to help shape this transition for society and journalism? The described approach is not obvious. It entails incorporating AI into a potentially improbable venue: the introductory media and society course for freshmen. The aims are to determine how AI may be included into the journalism curriculum early on and the advantages and disadvantages of such education

The Legal Ramifications of AI-Powered News Systems and Copyright on Media Practices

Since 2010, automated news, or artificial intelligence system (AIS)-assisted generation of news articles, has been created. It encompasses a number of approaches that require varying degrees of data, software, and human engagement. This may have several effects on the implementation of intellectual property and copyright law. Using comparative legal methodologies, we investigate their consequences for certain legal categories, such as authorship (and, by extension, needed originality) and kinds of works, including collaborative, derivative, and, most notably, communal works. Sui generis and adjacent rights are also examined for their applicability to AIS-aided news productions. Our primary conclusion is that the economics intellectual property rights are protected by collaborative works in any situation. We suggest a shorter period before a work enters the public domain. There is still a space for greater authoritarian and personal rights. However, it demonstrates more difficulties when it comes to moral rights, particularly in Common Law nations

New Challenges and Emerging Prospects in the Era of Artificial Intelligence and Robotic Reporting

Today, artificial intelligence (AI) is a crucial component of the modern media ecosystem. As a result, this study aims to (1) describe the status quo of technology and its role in renewing and modernizing journalism, (2) provide insights about the impact of artificial intelligence in changing journalism practice, (3) identify potential implications of artificial intelligence on the future of journalists, and (4) extrapolate ethical and professional challenges that may disrupt the practices of journalism professionals. The conclusion of the study is that artificial intelligence technologies are regarded as the added value of journalism in the digital age, particularly in terms of their capacity to overcome the fundamental challenges of contemporary journalism, such as combating fake news, news editing in accordance with editorial policy, and content personalization. The research also discovered that the use of artificial intelligence in journalism raises professional and ethical concerns, including the following: stifling innovation, the absence of supervision, prejudice, lack of transparency, unfairness, data use, and data quality. It also found that artificial intelligence technology would improve journalists' job rather than replace them. Therefore, artificial intelligence poses no danger to the profession of journalism

Activity Recognition and Prediction in Real Homes

In this paper, we present work in progress on activity recognition and prediction in real homes using either binary sensor data or depth video data. We present our field trial and set-up for collecting and storing the data, our methods, and our current results. We compare the accuracy of predicting the next binary sensor event using probabilistic methods and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks, include the time information to improve prediction accuracy, as well as predict both the next sensor event and its mean time of occurrence using one LSTM model. We investigate transfer learning between apartments and show that it is possible to pre-train the model with data from other apartments and achieve good accuracy in a new apartment straight away. In addition, we present preliminary results from activity recognition using low-resolution depth video data from seven apartments, and classify four activities - no movement, standing up, sitting down, and TV interaction - by using a relatively simple processing method where we apply an Infinite Impulse Response (IIR) filter to extract movements from the frames prior to feeding them to a convolutional LSTM network for the classification.Comment: 12 pages, Symposium of the Norwegian AI Society NAIS 201

Islamic banking stability amidst the COVID-19 pandemic: the role of digital financial inclusion

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the role of digital financial inclusion (DFI) in stabilizing the Islamic banking sector amidst the current COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: This study has used the Panel-Corrected Standard Errors (PCSE), Two-Stage Panel Least Squares-Instrumental Variables (2SLS-IV) and Two-Step System Generalized Method of Moments (2SGMM) dynamic panel estimation method to investigate the DFI-Islamic banking stability nexus using an unbalanced panel data of 65 Islamic banks from six countries over the period 2011–2020. Findings: The result suggests that greater implementation of DFI promotes Islamic banking stability, which reduces the default risk of the banks in the studied region. Consequently, incorporating DFI into the Islamic banking sector encourages inclusive economic growth that can keep the financial sector sustainable even in a crisis period like the current COVID-19 pandemic. Originality/value: Unlike previous studies, the authors have focused mainly on DFI and the Islamic banking sector. This is one of the first to explore how DFI contribute to the stability and productivity of the Islamic banking sector during the pandemic. Also, this study provides fresh evidence on how the supply and demand side of DFI impact Islamic banking stability

In vitro regeneration of popular tobacco varieties of Bangladesh from leaf disc

Regeneration ability of five Nicotiana varieties viz., Virginia, Jati, Motihari, CC Bengal and Sumatra were investigated via callus induction using leaf discs. Explants were cultured on MS medium supplemented with different concentrations and combinations of plant growth regulators. Callus formation frequency was 67.20%. Among the varieties used, Motihari induced the highest percentage (97.50%) of callus followed by Jati (92.50%) in 2.0 rng/L Kinetin and 2.0 mg/L IAA. Shoots were induced from calli cultured on the same medium. Maximum shoot formation from leaf discs was 82.50% on medium supplemented with 2.0 mg/L Kinetin and 2.0 mg/L IAA. It was also revealed from this study that Motihari was the best variety for callus formation and subsequent plantlet regeneration which is a pre-requisite for vector mediated transformation for varietal improvement of Nicotiana species. The rooting response of regenerated shoots was observed by using 1 /2 MS medium with IBA (0.0, 0.5, and 1.0 mg/L). The highest root formation was found in Motihari (90%) with ½ MS medium supplemented with 0.5 mg/L IBA. After that regenerated plantlets with plenty of roots were transferred successfully to pots and subsequently to the field