Characterization of Early and Late Adopters of ATM Card in Indian Banking Industry

The present study deals with affect of adoption pattern of the ATMs by banks on its characteristics. With the exploration of various characteristics of the banks like Size, Profi tability, Efficiency, Cost of Operations, Asset quality and Credit risk, Financing Pattern, Diversifi cation and Age etc.; the study has tried to differentiate between the early and late adopter category of the banks regarding ATM cards. The banks have been categorized into early and late adopters on the basis of their adoption period. For this purpose, 50 scheduled commercial banks consisting of 27 Public Sector Banks and 23 Private Sector Banks have been taken as sample to investigate the various aspects of and early adopter banks in comparison to late adopter banks. The time period of the study is 20 years i.e. from 1991 to 2010. It can be concluded that the initiators and fi rst movers take advantage over the late adopters and laggards. They have found to perform better in terms of various parameters. Overall, the early adopter banks are larger in size, more diversifi ed, having lesser branches, more market share and wide ATM network as compared to late adopter ones. Thus, the empirical results evidently reveal that the both the groups have their own different characteristics

Graded-index fibre-based absorption spectroscopy using microfluidic devices

Tese de mestrado integrado, Engenharia Física, Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências, 2021In recent years, increasing efforts of developing novel micro and nano technologies have been dedicated to improve human health. These advances in the field of nanotechnology have facilitated the development of miniaturized microfluidic lab-on-a-chip (LOC) devices, which are frequently described as miniature versions of their macro-scale counterparts. Microfluidic LOC devices present great benefits in terms of small sample volumes and fast analysis times. From an optical point of view, these devices still suffer a drastic reduction in the optical pathlength compared to macroscale experiments. Obviously the reduced optical pathlength complicates or reduces the effectiveness of the application of various optical techniques in lab-on-a-chip systems. Meanwhile these devices are gaining a broader acceptance in clinical medicine for disease diagnosis. This thesis describes the recent work performed in the field of optofluidics with the application of optical sensing systems for microfluidic devices. Optofluidics is a combination of optics/photonics and microfluidics field. In optofluidic devices the micro-photonic components are integrated on microfluidic devices, which are able to hold the fluids at the microlitre scale. Optofluidic devices are used to perform interactions between light and fluids at micro scale level for applications in physics, chemistry and biology. These chip-scale devices could be easily integrated into a LOC system that is a compact platform and does not require free-space optics to perform laser-based spectroscopy, such as absorption spectroscopy. Absorption spectroscopy (AS) is a powerful technique for studies of species (atoms and molecules) and detection of unknown concentrations. The spectroscopic analysis is not only applied in physics and chemistry but also in biology and medicine [1]. Although a large number of molecular species can successfully be detected with established AS techniques, there are some applications that require higher sensitivity, selectivity and accuracy, yet robust and compact instrumentation. In this work, a LOC device was developed based on the optofluidics concept. The relevance of integration of micro-optical components in an “on-chip” approach is compared with the “off-chip” approach which was coupled with macro-scale optical infrastructure. The design and characterization of miniaturized optofluidic devices for sensing based on integrating collimating optical fibers with custom microfluidic chips is presented. The usage of graded-index (GRIN) fiber tips or GIF tips is to develop a compact device which does not require free space optics and the collection efficiency of GRIN fiber tips is significantly higher compared to standard single-mode fiber. The absorption spectroscopy on-chip is performed with both GIF tips and SMF configurations. To compare the performance of both fibres, the beam divergence and the insertion losses were measured. The reduction in both beam divergence and insertion losses for the GIF configuration compared with SMF were found to be 4-fold, for a 10 mm channel. Absorption spectroscopy was demonstrated on chip for the measurement of red colour dye (Ponceau 4R) and the detection of thiocyanate (SCN) which is an indicator of oral health and a detoxification product of cancer treatments. The thiocyanate concentrations were detected in water and also in a complex biofluid i.e. artificial human saliva. The proposed optofluidic setup allows for absorption spectroscopy measurements to be performed with only 200 µL of solution which is an order of magnitude smaller than for standard cuvettes but provides comparable sensitivity. To assess the performance of the miniaturized device, the absorption measurements are also compared with a standard cuvette of the same pathlength (~10 mm). A quantitative comparison of both devices demonstrates the consistency of linearity of absorbance against the concentration of analyte, accordingly to the Beer-Lambert law. The demonstrated approach has the potential to be used for chemical and biochemical analysis of DNA, proteins or saliva where the use of small volumes is critical. In order to perform spectroscopic analysis of human body proteins, a new sensing device was developed using a compacted chip with micropillar arrays called “Pillar Cuvette (PC)”. The PCs are fabricated at ANFF-SA (Australian National Fabrication Facility - South Australia Node). The design and fabrication process of PCs is briefly presented in this thesis. The CLIC3-HIS tag protein (human body protein) and BSA protein (Bovine protein) spectroscopic analysis were performed in UV range of spectrum. We developed a new approach to optical manipulation of excitation fibre and collection fiber setup. The proposed design and setup are presented in which optical fibers and the PC are integrated directly on a compact platform that doesn’t require alignment. It is an integrated pre-aligned device which is wholly portable.Nos últimos anos, os esforços crescentes de desenvolvimento das novas tecnologias têm-se dedicado a melhorar a saúde humana. Esses avanços no campo da nanotecnologia facilitaram o desenvolvimento de dispositivos microfluídicos, designados lab-on-a-chip (LOC), que são frequentemente descritos como versões em miniatura de seus equivalentes em macro escala. A área dos microfluídicos trata dos fluidos em escala micrométrica para fins de controlo de fluxo ou deteção das espécies químicas. Os dispositivos microfluídicos apresentam grandes vantagens, incluindo consumo mínimo de volumes de amostra, tempos de análise rápidos e custo de fabricação reduzido [2]. Com o avanço nas tecnologias de fabricação, as áreas de ótica e da fotónica também se adaptaram para desenvolver componentes óticos na micro e nano escala. A pesquisa na escala micrométrica deu origem a outro tópico chamado opto-fluídos. A área de opto-fluídos é muito recente, surgiu apenas no início de ano 2000 e a pesquisa neste tópico está crescendo exponencialmente de um ano para o outro [3]. A área de opto-fluídos estuda a interação entre fluído e luz, aproveitando a tecnologia existente nas áreas de microfluídicos da ótica. Os dispositivos opto-fluídos são geralmente baseados na integração de tecnologias óticas/fotónicas no dispositivo microfluídico. Do ponto de vista ótico, os dispositivos opto-fluídos sofrem uma redução drástica no comprimento do caminho ótico, em comparação com os instrumentos em macro escala. Obviamente, o comprimento do caminho ótico reduzido complica ou traz problemas na utilização de técnicas de deteção e isso, por sua vez, reduz a eficácia das técnicas óticas em sistemas LOC. Enquanto isso, esses dispositivos estão a ganhar aceitação crescente no campo da medicina clínica para o diagnóstico de várias doenças. A presente tese descreve o trabalho recente realizado na área de opto-fluídos, utilizando um sistema de sensores óticos num dispositivo microfluídico. Os dispositivos opto-fluídicos são usados para realizar interações entre luz e fluídos em nível de microescala para aplicações em física, química e biologia. Os componentes óticos ao nível de escala de um micro-chip podem ser facilmente integrados em um sistema LOC que também é uma plataforma compacta. Deste modo, os sistemas opto-fluídos não requerem ótica de espaço livre para realizar espectroscopia baseada em laser, como a espectroscopia de absorção. A espectroscopia de absorção é uma técnica poderosa para estudos de espécies (átomos e moléculas) e deteção de concentrações desconhecidas. Embora um grande número de espécies moleculares possa ser detetado com sucesso através das várias técnicas estabelecidas de espectroscopia, existem algumas aplicações que requerem maior sensibilidade, precisão e instrumentação mais robusta e compacta. Neste trabalho pretendeu-se desenvolver um dispositivo LOC com base no conceito de opto-fluídos. A espectroscopia de absorção foi demonstrada no dispositivo compacto e miniaturizado (LOC) desenvolvido usando fibras que têm pontas de índice graduado (GRIN) que também são conhecidas por pontas GIF. Essas fibras permitem desenvolver um lab-on-a-chip altamente eficaz que é compacto, conectada por fibra e que não requer ótica de espaço livre para criar o caminho ótico. A espectroscopia de absorção no chip é realizada com duas configurações, ou seja, pontas GIF e SMF. Para comparar o desempenho de ambas as fibras, a divergência do feixe e as perdas de inserção foram medidas. A eficiência de coleção do feixe na ponta de fibra GRIN (125 µm) é significativamente maior em comparação com a fibra de modo único - SMF (125 µm). As pontas GIF têm o feixe colimado na saída da fibra que é transmitida longitudinalmente através de um microcanal e que é coletada por uma fibra multi-modo na outra extremidade do microcanal. Desta forma, fabricamos um dispositivo opto-fluídico que permite melhorias significativas no aumento do comprimento de interação, para espectroscopia de absorção de passagem única, usando pontas de fibra de índice graduado (GIF). A relevância da integração de componentes micro-óticos na abordagem on-chip é comparada com a abordagem off- chip, que foi acoplada à infraestrutura ótica em macro escala. A configuração opto-fluídica proposta permite que as medições de espectroscopia de absorção sejam realizadas com apenas 200 µL de solução, que é uma ordem de magnitude menor do que as efetuadas com uma cuvete padrão (3.5 mL), mas que fornece sensibilidade comparável. Para avaliar o desempenho do dispositivo miniaturizado, as medições de absorção também são comparadas com uma cuvete padrão do mesmo caminho ótico (~10 mm). A espectroscopia de absorção foi demonstrada em 3 configurações (cuvete padrão; dispositivo opto-fluídico com fibra SMF; dispositivo opto-fluídico com fibra GIF) para a medição do corante vermelho (Ponceau 4R). Para demonstrar ainda mais o uso do dispositivo opto-fluídico, mostramos que esse pode ser usado para a deteção de analitos biologicamente relevantes, como o thiocyanate (SCN). O SCN foi escolhido porque é um produto usado na desintoxicação de fármacos utilizados no tratamento do cancro e é um indicador de saúde bucal, incluindo a exposição ao fumo passivo que pode aumentar significativamente as concentrações de SCN para níveis potencialmente capazes de afetar a glândula tireoide. Numa comparação quantitativa, o dispositivo demonstrou a consistência da linearidade da absorbância em relação à concentração do analito, de acordo com a lei de Beer-Lambert Também exploramos a configuração opto fluídica com a ponta GIF para deteção de SCN em uma matriz de uma amostra mais complicada (que não é apenas água) a saliva humana artificial. Reforçando assim, o estudo do potencial deste dispositivo para diagnóstico de amostras complexas. A abordagem demonstrada mostrou ter potencial para ser usada para análises químicas e bioquímicas de ADN, proteínas ou saliva onde o uso de pequenos volumes é crítico. De modo a fazer comparação entre duas fibras, foram efetuados estudos de feixe de divergência ao longo de microcanal e as perdas de inserção entre a fibra de excitação (GIF) e a fibra de coleção (MMF). Foi obtida uma redução 4 vezes inferior na divergência do feixe e nas perdas de inserção para a configuração GIF em comparação com SMF, para um canal de 10 mm de comprimento. O trabalho foi complementado com a análise espectroscópica das proteínas do corpo humano. Para tal, foi utilizado um chip compactado com matrizes de micropilares denominado Pillar Cuvette ou PC. Os PC foram fabricados na ANFF- SA (Australian National Fabrication Facility - South Australia Node). O processo de desenho e fabricação do PC é brevemente apresentado neste trabalho. A análise espectroscópica da proteína CLIC3-HIS tag (proteína do corpo humano) e da proteína BSA (proteína bovina) foi realizada na faixa de espectro do ultravioleta (UV). Utilizando os métodos prévios não foi possível determinar o pico de absorvância esperado a λ=280 nm. Face a este resultado, foi desenvolvido um novo dispositivo opto fluídico que tem alta viabilidade de integração na plataforma lab-on-a-chip. Neste novo dispositivo as pontas GIF são configuradas num PC. Na nova configuração desenvolvida, o feixe é transmitido através da secção transversal do PC, permitindo aumentar o comprimento do caminho ótico mantendo 2 µL - 3 µL de volume de amostra. Para futuro trabalho, o desenho de uma plataforma foi desenvolvido para integração compacta dos PC e das ambas as fibras. Esta nova plataforma está em processo de fabricação e será testado nas futuras experiências. Um bom resultado nos testes permitirá alargar o universo de utilização destes dispositivos em análises químicas e bioquímicas com volume de amostra e tempo de análise reduzido. Deste modo, a crescente disponibilidade de ferramentas e técnicas na indústria de nanotecnologia vai fornecer um caminho para trazer essas inovações do laboratório para a vida cotidiana

Compilation of registered clinical trials for the treatment of COVID-19 infection

The Wuhan city, the capital of Hubei province in China became the focal point for origin of virulent disease which later named as COVID-19. This paper aims to analyze the on-going clinical trials for drugs/interventions used for treatment of COVID-19 infection in open domain. The data on ongoing clinical trials on COVID-19 was retrieved from database clinicaltrials.gov. The data extracted includes national clinical trial registry number, title of study, recruitment status, results availability, intervention, outcome measure, sponsorship, study types, study design, start and completion dates, and location. All the extracted data was analyzed. As on 10th August 2020, a total of 2935 trials were registered in different countries. Of which 1115 trials are being conducted in Europe and 640 in United States of America (USA). Majority of COVID-19 clinical trials (95%) were enrolling all age groups including children and older adults. Similarly, majority of trials were including both genders (97%). Among all these clinical trials ongoing on COVID-19, 1645 were interventional, 1266 were observational studies. In interventional study 876 trials used drug intervention. Among all these trials 390 different drug interventions are being tried. Among these hydroxychloroquine, antiretrovirals and angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors were top three drug groups. The conduct of clinical trials in time of pandemic have so many tenacious issues that need to be addressed. It is very important to utilize the resources efficiently such as following a standard protocol then one can easily pool the data of various trials conducted at various places. Given the smaller sample sizes, long completion period, high risk of bias and imprecise information, it will take quite a long time to obtain high quality clinical evidence for the treatment of COVID-19 infection

Self medicated Combiflam induced acute dermatological drug reaction

A 30 year old female  took a single tablet of Combiflam (ibuprofen 400mg + paracetamol 325mg) for backache following which she noticed maculopapular rashes with generalized facial and lip swelling with generalized itching. Subsequently patient was treated with antihistaminic and steroids and she responded well. The causality assessment according to Naranjo casualty assessment scale come under “Probable” category of adverse drug reaction. According to World Health Organization-Uppsala Monitoring Centre causality assessment scale it falls under “Probable/Likely” category. According to Hartweig and Siegel severity assessment scale it was level 3 and moderate adverse drug reaction.  This is a rare adverse effect of combiflam with the incidence less than 0.1%. The awareness of the health care personnel to this widely used drug on its rare adverse effect is necessary

Sustainable Agriculture: Impact of LEISA and HEIA

This paper observed the effect of low external input agricultural farming system on the efficiency of resource poor farmer. In India majority of farmers are small scale entrepreneurs whose farm actions are performed with low input agricultural technologies. Majority of the technologies contained the refined indigenous information system. Farm size, labour inputs, capital inputs, planting materials and organic manure are the most determinants of the gross income of LEISA farmers. High external input Agriculture (HEIA) are technologies that apply high external inputs such as inorganic or chemical fertilizers to extend nutrient reduction from the soil, pesticides to manage pests and diseases, herbicides to regulate weeds and irrigation facilities for water management within the farms. Farmers inclinations for low input system vary significantly provisional upon the phase of crop production which include technologies for land groundwork use of draught animals, natural/organic substitute for inorganic pesticides and fertilizers, seed growth technologies, simple irrigation and drainage method, low input processing. There is also a substantial interest among farmers for low input methods for most phases of production. There is therefore the need for farmers to adopt these cost active agricultural technologies since they are not only readily available, but also they do not require too much skills and also poses the capacity of making the process of rural development more sustainable. View Article DOI: 10.47856/ijaast.2022.v09i06.00

Classification and Applied Use of Self-Incompatibility in Outcrossing Grass Species

Self-incompatibility (SI) prevent self-fertilization in a few species of Poaceae, many of which are economically important foods, bioenergy energy and grasses. Your incompatibility ensures pollen diversity and genetic diversity but limits the ability to modify useful genetic diversity. In many domesticated plants it is possible to develop highly efficient homozygous parent lines, which facilitates the formation of more efficient F1 hybrids, a condition known as heterosis. The inability to fully exploit heterosis in transit grasses contributes to lower levels of development in breeding systems compared to breeding plants. However, SI can be overcome by eating grass to build harmonious communities. This generates interest in understanding the basics of self-adaptation (SC), its importance in reproductive techniques and its exploitation for plant development, especially in the context of F1 hybrid breeding. View Article DOI: 10.47856/ijaast.2022.v09i06.00

Image Compression Using Run Length Encoding (RLE)

The goal of image compression is to remove the redundancies by minimizing the number of bits required to represent an image. It is used for reducing the redundancy that is nothing but avoiding the duplicate data. It also reduces the storage memory to load an image. Image Compression algorithm can be Lossy or Lossless. In this paper, DCT and DWT based image compression algorithms have been implemented using MATLAB platform. Then, the improvement of image compression through Run Length Encoding (RLE) has been achieved. The three images namely Baboon, Lena and Pepper have been taken as test images for implementing the techniques. Various image objective metrics namely compression ratio, PSNR and MSE have been calculated. It has been observed from the results that RLE based image compression achieves higher compression ratio as compared with DCT and DWT based image compression algorithms

A survey on the knowledge and perception of computer assisted learning among undergraduate medical students in a tertiary care teaching institute of North India

Background: Computer assisted learning (CAL) in the classroom as well as laboratory in the medical profession has been rising in the present scenario worldwide. CAL can replace laboratory based animal experiments to a large extent and prevent the unnecessary harm or killing of animals. In India, only few studies have been conducted on CAL till date. Aims and objective of the study was to evaluate the knowledge and perception on CAL among undergraduate medical students.Methods: This cross sectional study was carried out on the medical students (MBBS-Second Professional) in the department of pharmacology at Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital, Faridkot, Punjab, India. Feedback was obtained from 105 students who had already performed animal experiments in CAL laboratory.Results: It was seen that Computer simulated models (CSMs) are useful for undergraduate teaching (by 98.1%), CAL enrich learning experience about drug effects (by 97.1%), CSMs in CAL is user friendly (by 97.1%) and use of CSMs in teaching is ethical (by 97.1%).Conclusions: CAL is an innovative teaching and learning technique for the medical students. This is an effective mode of teaching pharmacology to the students and it also helps the students to apply their theoretical knowledge of drugs to the practical aspects (without use of animal) on computer simulated models

Chip-level interconnections realized via the laser-induced forward transfer technique

In this paper, successful flip-chip bonding and DC characterization of single photodiode and VCSEL chips via Laser-Induced Forward Transfer (LIFT) printed micro-bumps of indium, silver nano-particle (AgNP) based inks and pastes, is reported