Solar radiation data plays an important role in solar energy research. These data are not available for location of interest due to absence of a meteorological station. Therefore, the solar radiation ...has to be predicted accurately for these locations using various solar radiation estimation models. The main objective of this study is to review Artificial Neural Network (ANN) based techniques in order to identify suitable methods available in the literature for solar radiation prediction and to identify research gaps. The study shows that Artificial Neural Network techniques predict solar radiation more accurately in comparison to conventional methods. The prediction accuracy of ANN models is found to be dependent on input parameter combinations, training algorithm and architecture configurations. Further research areas in ANN technique based methodologies are also identified in the present study.
The world faces continuous environmental degradation because of extreme industrialization, construction, and overexploitation of natural resources. This degradation has started to create ...consciousness and attitude towards pro-environmental buying and consumption. Green consumer behavior has gained significant research attention world-wide attributed to its ability to reduce environmental damage. Thus, this research explores the extended model based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and the value-attitude-behavior hierarchy in Indian demography. Environmental and health awareness is used as a human value (internal indirect variable) in the extended TPB model. This study administered a cross-sectional survey on the corporate executive, executive MBA students, and regular MBA students of Indian top business schools and firms. Models are validated, and hypotheses tested using variance-based structured equation modeling on the 350+ clean collected sample. The studies’ outcome reflected the non-linear relationship between the independent variables and dependent variables (green buying behavior) of the modified theory of planned behavior (TPB) model. Perceived behavioral control is found as an important independent factor compelling Indian consumers towards green buying behavior. The modified TPB model also gave considerable outcomes in the Indian demography. Government organizations and corporate shall use the results to inculcate more buying behavior among Indian consumers.
The work is focused on examining the effect of the weld groove geometry on microstructure, mechanical behaviour, residual stresses and distortion of Alloy 617/P92 steel dissimilar metal weld (DMW) ...joints. Manual multi-pass tungsten inert gas welding with ERNiCrCoMo-1 filler was employed to fabricate the DMW for two different groove designs: Narrow V groove (NVG) and Double V groove (NVG). The microstructural examination suggested a heterogeneous microstructure evolution at the interface of the P92 steel and ERNiCrCoMo-1 weld, including the macrosegregation and element diffusion near the interface. The interface structure included the beach parallel to the fusion boundary at the P92 steel side, the peninsula connected to the fusion boundary and the island within the weld metal and partially melted zone along Alloy 617 fusion boundary. An uneven distribution of beach, peninsula and island structures along the fusion boundary of P92 steel was confirmed from optical and SEM images of interfaces. The major diffusion of the Fe from P92 steel to ERNiCrCoMo-1 weld and Cr, Co, Mo, and Ni from ERNiCrCoMo-1 weld to P92 steel were witnessed from SEM/EDS and EMPA map. The Mo-rich M
C and Cr-rich M
C
phases were detected in inter-dendritic areas of the weld metal using the weld's SEM/EDS, XRD and EPMA study, which formed due to the rejection of Mo from the core to inter-dendritic locations during solidification. The other phases detected in the ERNiCrCoMo-1 weld were Ni
(Al, Ti), Ti(C, N), Cr
C
and Mo
C. A variation in the microstructure of weld metal from top to root and also along the transverse direction in terms of composition and dendritic structure and also due to the composition gradient between dendrite core and inter-dendritic areas, a significant variation in hardness of weld metal was observed from both top to root and also in the transverse direction. The peak hardness was measured in CGHAZ of P92 while the minimum was in ICHAZ of P92 steel. Tensile test studies of both NVG and DVG welds joint demonstrated that failure occurred at P92 steel in both, room-temperature and high-temperature tensile tests and ensured the welded joint's applicability for advanced ultra-supercritical applications. However, the strength of the welded joint for both types of joints was measured as lower than the strength of the base metals. In Charpy impact testing of NVG and DVG welded joints, specimens failed in two parts with a small amount of plastic deformation and impact energy of 99 ± 4 J for the NVG welds joint and 91 ± 3 J for the DVG welded joint. The welded joint met the criteria for boiler applications in terms of impact energy (minimum 42 J as per European Standard EN ISO15614-1:2017 and 80 J as per fast breeder reactor application). In terms of microstructural and mechanical properties, both welded joints are acceptable. However, the DVG welded joint showed minimum distortion and residual stresses compared to the NVG welded joint.
•Successfully generated aptamers against E. coli bacterial cells through Cell-SELEX.•Aptamer-nanoprobe based sensitive and selective visual detection assay for E. coli was developed.•Graphene oxide ...enhances the loading capacity of aptamer on nanoprobe making it more sensitive.•Limit of detection using this nanoprobe was 102 cells/mL in Mili Q water and spiked coconut water.•The proposed detection assay was performed in glass capillary to mimic microfluidic channel.
E. coli is the most common foodborne bacteria causing illnesses including diarrhea, fever, and death if left undiagnosed and untreated, which makes its detection most important. Traditional detection methods such as culture methods, PCR, or ELISA are time-consuming and require skilled manpower. To overcome the disadvantages of traditional detection methods, a fast, easy, and cost-effective platform is required. ssDNA aptamer is a stable, sensitive, and selective biomolecule used extensively for detection. To provide naked eye visible detection, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were used, and to increase the aptamer conjugation, AuNPs were covered with Graphene Oxide. Thus, the overall sensitivity of the designed nanoprobe was also augmented. Therefore, exploiting the properties of gold nanoparticles and graphene oxide, a detection platform with aptamer conjugation has been developed in this study. In the manifestation of E. coli cells, the visible color change was observed from red to blue within an hour incubation. The limit of detection observed visually was 102 cells/mL with GO coating and 103 cells/mL without GO. The detection limit in real time coconut water samples was also 102 cells/mL. This platform was found to be applicable in glass capillary which provides opportunities for making a point of care detection device.
This paper presents a novel method of power quality enrichment in a grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) system using a distribution static compensator (DSTATCOM). The paper consists of two-step control ...processes. In the primary step, a fuzzy logic controller (FLC) is employed in the DC-DC converter to extract the peak power point from the PV panel, where the FLC produces a switching signal for the DC-DC converter. In the secondary step, a unit vector template (UVT)/adaptive linear neuron (ADALINE)-based least mean square (LMS) controller is adopted in the DC-AC converter, i.e., voltage source converter (VSC). The input to this VSC is the boosted DC voltage, which originates from the PV panel as a result of DC-DC conversion. The VSC shunted with the power grid is known as a DSTATCOM, which can maintain the power quality in the distribution system. The UVT controller generates reference source currents from the grid voltages and DC-link voltages. The ADALINE-based LMS controller calculates the online weight according to the previous weights by the sensed load current. The UVT/ADALINE-based LMS controller of a DSTAT-COM performs several tasks such as maintaining the sinusoidal source current, achieving a unity power factor, and performing reactive power compensation. The reference current extracted from the UVT/ADALINE-based LMS controller is fed to the hysteresis current controller to obtain the desired switching signal for the VSC. A 100 kW solar PV system integrated into a three-phase four-wire distribution system through a four-leg VSC is designed in MATLAB/Simulink. The performances of the FLC and UVT/ADALINE-based LMS controllers are demonstrated under various irradiances as well as constant temperature and nonlinear loading conditions.
This survey presents a brief discussion of different aspects of digital image watermarking. Included in the present discussion are these general concepts: major characteristics of digital watermark, ...novel and recent applications of watermarking, different kinds of watermarking techniques and common watermark embedding and extraction process. In addition, recent state-of-art watermarking techniques, potential issues and available solutions are discussed in brief. Further, the performance summary of the various state-of-art watermarking techniques is presented in tabular format. This survey contribution will be useful for the researchers to implement efficient watermarking techniques for secure e-governance applications.
This study mainly aims to investigate carbon status according to the Pollution Haven Hypothesis (PHH) in developing countries such as India and China based on annual time series data from 1980 to ...2016. The recently developed bootstrap autoregressive distributed lag procedure is applied to observe the long-run effect of FDI, hydropower, and coal-based fossil fuel consumption on three repressive measures of carbon emissions. The empirical results of the analysis show that hydropower and coal consumption lead to an upsurge in carbon emissions and the size of the carbon footprint in China. Similarly, Chinese FDI increases the carbon footprint. Moreover, Indian FDI and coal consumption accelerate carbon emissions while hydropower has no impact on environmental degradation. These results suggest that the PHH exists in China and India and that the validity of the PHH varies according to differing carbon indicators. Based on the empirical results, effective policy practices can be implemented by replacing coal and hydropower with more effective renewable energy sources and allowing foreign investors to pursue environmental concerns in the fight against environmental degradation.
Phenolic acids are now receiving a great deal of interest as pervasive human dietary constituents that have various therapeutic applications against chronic and age-related diseases. One such ...phenolic acid that is being utilized in traditional medicine is chlorogenic acid (CGA). It is one of the most readily available phytochemicals that can be isolated from the leaves and fruits of plants, such as coffee beans (Coffea arabica L.), apples (Malus spp. ), artichoke (Cynara cardunculus L.), carrots (Daucus carota L.), betel (Piper betle L.), burdock (Arctium spp. ), etc. Despite its low oral bioavailability (about 33%), CGA has drawn considerable attention due to its wide range of biological activities and numerous molecular targets. Several studies have reported that the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potentials of CGA mainly account for its broad-spectrum pharmacological attributes. CGA has been implicated in exerting a beneficial role against dysbiosis by encouraging the growth of beneficial GUT microbes. At the biochemical level, its therapeutic action is mediated by free radical scavenging efficacy, modulation of glucose and lipid metabolism, down-regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-1β, and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), upregulation of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf-2), and inhibition of the activity of nuclear factor- κβ (NF-κβ), thus helping in the management of diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative disorders, cancer, hypertension etc. This review highlights the natural sources of CGA, its bioavailability, metabolism, pharmacotherapeutic potential, and underlying mechanisms of action for the clinical usefulness of CGA in the management of health disorders.
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•Synthesis of stable and environmental friendly Ag–Se NPs.•Characterization on Ag–Se NPs by various techniques.•Determination of total flavonoids and phenolics contents of ...NPs.•Synthesized Ag–Se NPs act as antioxidant, anticancer and antimicrobial agents.
In this study a synthetic approach for the stable, mono-dispersed high yielding bimetallic (Ag–Se) nanoparticles by quercetin and gallic acid is described. The bimetallic nanoparticles were synthesized at room temperature. Different reaction parameters (concentration of quercetin, gallic acid and Ag/Se salt, pH, temperature and reaction time) were optimized to control the properties of nanoparticles. The nanoparticles were characterized by various analytical techniques and their size was determined to be 30–35nm. Our findings suggest that both the reduction as well as stabilization of nanoparticles were achieved by the flavonoids and phenolics. This study describes the efficacy of quercetin and gallic acid mediated synthesis of bimetallic (Ag–Se) nanoparticles and their in vitro antioxidant, antimicrobial (Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria) and antitumor potentials. The synthesized Ag–Se nanoparticles were used as anticancer agents for Dalton lymphoma (DL) cells and in in vitro 80% of its viability was reduced at 50μg/mL.
A simple and convenient approach for the synthesis of unsymmetrical diaryl chalcogenides (Te, Se, and S) has been developed by copper-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction of organoboronic acid with ...diaryl dichalcogenide in ethanol using NaBH4 in air or oxygen. The present methodology is highly practical for the synthesis of unsymmetrical diaryl tellurides with various functionalities such as –NO2, –F, –Br, and –COOH that have been obtained in good to excellent yields. Methodology is also effective for the synthesis of unsymmetrical diaryl selenides and sulfides. Moreover, symmetrical diaryl selenides have also been obtained from arylboronic acids using elemental selenium powder under optimized reaction conditions. The use of NaBH4 is the key for the development of milder reaction conditions, which enable the construction of unsymmetrical diaryl chalcogenides from boronic acid substrates in ethanol at room temperature.
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