Photon redshift and the appearance of a naked singularity

In this paper we analyze the redshift as observed by an external observer receiving photons which terminate in the past at the naked singularity formed in a Tolman-Bondi dust collapse. Within the context of models considered here it is shown that photons emitted from a weak curvature naked singularity are always finitely redshifted to an external observer. Certain cases of strong curvature naked singularities, including the self-similar one, where the photons are infinitely redshifted are also pointed out.Comment: Latex file, 14 pages, no figures, one change in the reference. Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Formulation and Evaluation of Polyherbal Anthelmintic Preparation

The present study was done with the aim to formulate an anthelmintic preparation and to evaluate anthelmintic activity of formulation containing traditionally user herbs viz., Plumbago zeylanica (leaves), Hyoscyamus niger (roots) and Abultion indicum (leaves) using adult earthworm Pheritima posthuma. The aqueous and ethanolic extract of the crude drug of different concentration were tested which involve determination of paralysis time and time to kill the worms. Piperazine citrate was used as standard and it was found that the PHFEE activity is higher than PHFAE

Adsorption of Methylene Blue Dye from Industrial Effluents Using Coal Fly Ash

Industrial Wastewater contains several type of dye, causing serious environmental hazard. The discharge of highly colored effluents into natural water bodies not only is aesthetically displeasing, but also impedes light penetration, thus upsetting biological processes within stream and thus required treatment before discharge into a water body. In the present study, fly ash generated from coal based thermal powers station has been converted into a low-cost adsorbent for the removal of Methylene Blue from effluents of textile industry. Batch studies have been carried out to study the effect of pH, adsorbent doses, adsorbate concentration, temperature and contact time. The results of batch studies reveal that the adsorption of Methylene Blue is strongly pH dependent and maximum Methylene Blue removal is observed at equilibrium pH of 7.0. Optimum adsorbent dose and contact time are found to be 10 g/l and 360 minutes respectively. Kinetic studies have been performed to have an idea of the mechanistic aspects and to obtain the thermodynamic parameters of the process. The results also show that adsorption decreases with increase in temperature thereby showing the process exothermic in nature. Adsorption data have also been correlated with both Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models

Artificial intelligence in innovation research: A systematic review, conceptual framework, and future research directions

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly adopted by organizations to innovate, and this is ever more reflected in scholarly work. To illustrate, assess and map research at the intersection of AI and innovation, we performed a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) of published work indexed in the Clarivate Web of Science (WOS) and Elsevier Scopus databases (the final sample includes 1448 articles). A bibliometric analysis was deployed to map the focal field in terms of dominant topics and their evolution over time. By deploying keyword co-occurrences, and bibliographic coupling techniques, we generate insights on the literature at the intersection of AI and innovation research. We leverage the SLR findings to provide an updated synopsis of extant scientific work on the focal research area and to develop an interpretive framework which sheds light on the drivers and outcomes of AI adoption for innovation. We identify economic, technological, and social factors of AI adoption in firms willing to innovate. We also uncover firms' economic, competitive and organizational, and innovation factors as key outcomes of AI deployment. We conclude this paper by developing an agenda for future research

Small firm e-business adoption : a critical analysis of theory

Purpose &ndash; The paper critiques a range of theories and evaluates their ability to provide a lens for explaining the idiosyncratic nature of small firms and their e-business adoption decisions.Design/methodology/approach &ndash; This literature review firstly summarises the existing research evidence that shows that small firms are idiosyncratic when it comes to e-business adoption. It then critiques theories commonly used in the literature in this field to examine the extent to which they take this small firm idiosyncrasy into account when explaining e-business adoption decisions.Findings &ndash; The critical analysis shows that no commonly-used theory adequately explains small firm adoption of e-business because each omits important aspects of small firm idiosyncrasy. The analysis suggests that an integrated theoretical framework is needed. Preliminary ideas on this framework are provided.Originality/value &ndash; Existing research generally applies a small number of selected theories and formulates research models of adoption factors. However, there is no systematic analysis of theories in this field and no consensus about theoretical frameworks. This paper addresses this limitation of the literature by critically evaluating the commonly used theories in terms of their individual suitability as lenses for explaining small firm e-business adoption. <br /

Pro-poor policies and improvements in maternal health outcomes in India

BACKGROUND: Since 2005, India has experienced an impressive 77% reduction in maternal mortality compared to the global average of 43%. What explains this impressive performance in terms of reduction in maternal mortality and improvement in maternal health outcomes? This paper evaluates the effect of household wealth status on maternal mortality in India, and also separates out the performance of the Empowered Action Group (EAG) states and the Southern states of India. The results are discussed in the light of various pro-poor programmes and policies designed to reduce maternal mortality and the existing supply side gaps in the healthcare system of India. Using multiple sources of data, this study aims to understand the trends in maternal mortality (1997-2017) between EAG and non EAG states in India and explore various household, economic and policy factors that may explain reduction in maternal mortality and improvement in maternal health outcomes in India. METHODS: This study triangulates data from different rounds of Sample Registration Systems to assess the trend in maternal mortality in India. It further analysed the National Family Health Surveys (NFHS). NFHS-4, 2015-16 has gathered information on maternal mortality and pregnancy-related deaths from 601,509 households. Using logistic regression, we estimate the association of various socio-economic variables on maternal deaths in the various states of India. RESULTS: On an average, wealth status of the households did not have a statistically significant association with maternal mortality in India. However, our disaggregate analysis reveals, the gains in terms of maternal mortality have been unevenly distributed. Although the rich-poor gap in maternal mortality has reduced in EAG states such as Bihar, Odisha, Assam, Rajasthan, the maternal mortality has remained above the national average for many of these states. The EAG states also experience supply side shortfalls in terms of availability of PHC and PHC doctors; and availability of specialist doctors. CONCLUSIONS: The novel contribution of the present paper is that the association of household wealth status and place of residence with maternal mortality is statistically not significant implying financial barriers to access maternal health services have been minimised. This result, and India's impressive performance with respect to maternal health outcomes, can be attributed to the various pro-poor policies and cash incentive schemes successfully launched in recent years. Community-level involvement with pivotal role played by community health workers has been one of the major reasons for the success of many ongoing policies. Policy makers need to prioritise the underperforming states and socio-economic groups within the states by addressing both demand-side and supply-side measures simultaneously mediated by contextual factors