In line for semiconducting electronic properties, we systematically scrutinize the likely to be grown half-Heusler compounds XTaZ (X = Pd, Pt and Z = Al, Ga, In) for their stability and ...thermoelectric properties. The energetically favored F-43m configuration of XTaZ alloys at equilibrium lattice constant is a promising non-magnetic semiconductor reflected from its total valence electron count (N
= 18) and electronic structure calculations. Alongside mechanical stability, the dynamic stability is guaranteed from lattice vibrations and the phonon studies. The energy gaps of these stable Ta-based materials with Z = Ga are estimated to reach as high as 0.46 eV when X = Pd and 0.95 eV when X = Pt; however, this feature is reduced when Z = Al/In and X = Pd/Pt, respectively. Lattice thermal conductivity calculations are achieved to predict the smallest room temperature value of K
= 33.6 W/K (PdTaGa) and 38.0 W/mK (for PtAlGa) among the proposed group of Heusler structures. In the end, we investigated the plausible thermoelectric performance of XTaZ alloys, which announces a comparable difference for the n-type and p-type doping regions. Among the six alloys, PtTaAl, PtTaGa and PtTaIn are predicted to be the most efficient materials where the power factor (PF) elevates up to ~ 90.5, 106.7, 106.5 mW/(K
m), respectively at 900 K; however the lower values are recorded for PdTaAl (~ 66.5), PdTaGa (~ 76.5) and PdTaIn (~ 73.4) alloys. While this reading unlocks avenues for additional assessment of this new class of Half Heuslers, the project approach used here is largely appropriate for possible collection of understandings to realize novel stable materials with potential high temperature applications.
The quality of groundwater is very important in Agra because groundwater is the main source of water for drinking, domestic, agricultural and industrial uses. A groundwater geochemistry study was ...conducted in Agra where 28 samples were collected from shallow aquifers in May 2016 from different sites. The aim of this research was to assess the quality of groundwater for drinking purposes in the study area. Arc-GIS has been used to prepare geographic information system-based spatial distribution maps of different major elements. The groundwater quality was analyzed for various physico-chemical parameters, major cations and anions and some trace metals. The observed values were compared with BIS and WHO standards. Statistical parameters such as the mean, median, standard deviation, skewness and kurtosis were used to analyze the hydrogeochemical characteristics of the groundwater. Correlation coefficient analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) were performed to identify the sources of the water constituents. Our results showed that most of the samples exceeded the acceptable limit for drinking water standards. The sequence of abundance of the main cations was generally Na
+
> Ca
2+
> Mg
2+
> K
+
, while the anions in order of abundance were HCO
3
−
> Cl
−
> SO
4
2−
and NO
3
−
> F
−
. All of the trace metals were within the permissible limit except for iron and manganese. The hazard index value of 5.7 × 10
−2
indicated that there was no potential health risk in the study area. Ca
2+
, Mg
2+
, Cl
−
and SO
4
2−
were the dominant hydrogeochemical facies in the majority of the groundwater samples. Most of the parameters such as TDS, Cl
−
, HCO
3
−
, SO
4
2−
, NO
3
−
, Ca
2+
, Mg
2+
, Na
+
, K
+
and TH showed strong correlations with each other, which were due to natural processes such as weathering, exchangeable ions and reduction/oxidation, as well as anthropogenic activity around the study area. The water quality index indicated that the water quality was poor at 46.43% of the sampling sites, very poor at 28.57% of the sites and unsuitable for drinking purposes at 25% of the sampling sites. Gibbs diagrams suggested rock weathering as a major driving force for controlling the groundwater chemistry in the study area, along with evaporation as a minor influence.
A groundwater geochemistry study was conducted in Agra where 28 samples were collected from shallow aquifers in May 2016 from different sites. The aim of this research was to assess the quality of groundwater for drinking purposes in the study area.
Abstract
The present manuscript aims at the synthesis of cesium based halide perovskite nanostructures and the effect of cobalt doping on the structural, optical, lumnisent, charge storage and ...photocatalytic properties. In a very first attempt, we report the solvothermal synthesis of Co doped CsPbCl
3
nanostructures under subcritical conditions. The structural features were demonstrated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) Surface morphology determined cubic shape of the synthesized particles. Doping is an excellent way to modify the properties of host material in particular to the electronic structure or optical properties. Incorporation of Co
2+
ions in the perovskite structure tunes the optical properties of the nanostructures making this perovskite a visible light active material (Eg = 1.6 eV). This modification in the optical behaviour is the result of size effect, the crystallite size of the doped nanostructures increases with cobalt doping concentration. Photolumniscance (PL) study indicated that CsPbCl
3
exhibited Blue emission. Thermogravametric analysis (TGA) revealed that the nanostructures are quite stable at elavated temperatures. The electrochemical performance depicts the pseudocapacative nature of the synthesized nanostructures and can used for charge storage devices. The charge storage capability showed direct proportionality with cobalt ion concentration. And Finally the photocatalytic performance of synthesized material shows superior catalytic ability degrading 90% of methylene blue (MB) dye in 180 min under visible light conditions.
Rice cultivation in lead (Pb) polluted soils often leads to high Pb contents in rice grains. The present study investigated the dynamics of Pb uptake under different water regimes in two fragrant ...rice cultivars i.e., Guixiangzhan and Nongxiang-18. Results revealed that water dynamics regulated the antioxidant activities in both rice cultivars under Pb toxicity. Compared to continuous ponding (CP), taken as control, alternate wetting and drying (AWD) reduced the Pb contents in roots, stems, leaves, and grains up to 17%, 41%, 22%, and 52% in Guixiangzhan and 23%, 19%, 17%, and 37% in Nongxiang-18, respectively. Furthermore, AWD-treatments reduced paddy yield from 11% to 21% in Guixiangzhan and 11–33% in Nongxiang-18 under Pb toxicity. In conclusion, Pb loadings in fragrant rice can be regulated by effective water management and/or by controlling irrigation water at different growth stages. Special control measures or management is required to cultivate the rice in metal(loid)s polluted soils.
•Pb contents in rice plant can be regulated by irrigation water.•Flooding in rice led to increased Pb uptake than AWD under Pb toxicity.•Guixiangzhan proved better than Nongxiang-18 under Pb toxic conditions.•Irrigation management is needed to cultivate rice under metal toxic soils.
PurposeMajor objective of the instant study was to investigate the factors affecting the adoption of integrated semantic digital libraries (SDLs). It attempted to find out the challenges faced in ...implementing semantic technologies in digital libraries. This study also aimed to develop a framework to provide practical solutions to efficiently adopt semantic digital library systems to offer richer data and services.Design/methodology/approachTo meet the formulated objectives of the study, a systematic literature review was conducted. The authors adhered to the “Preferred Reporting Items for the Systematic Review and Meta-analysis” (PRISMA) guidelines as a research method. The data were retrieved from different tools and databases. In total, 35 key studies were included for systematic review after having applied standard procedures.FindingsThe findings of the study indicated that SDLs are highly significant as they offered context-based information resources. Interoperability of the systems, advancement in bilateral transfer modules, machine-controlled indexing, and folksonomy were key factors in developing semantic digital libraries. The study identified five different types of challenges to build an integrated semantic digital library system. These challenges included ontologies and interoperability, development of a suitable model, diversity in language, lack of skilled human resources, and other technical issues.Originality/valueThis paper provided a framework that is based on practical solutions as a benchmark for policymakers to devise formal standards for the initiation to develop integrated semantic digital libraries.
Self‐consistent ab‐initio calculations with highly precise spin‐polarized, density functional theory have been performed for the first time, to investigate the electronic structure, magnetism, ...transport, elasto‐mechanical, and thermophysical properties of newly tailored Mn‐based full‐Heuslers. The cohesive and ground‐state energy calculations in ferromagnetic, nonmagnetic, and antiferromagnetic states confirm the stability of materials in face‐centered ferromagnetic configuration. The spin‐based band structure analysis is well defined by modified Becke‐Johnson potential with the occurrence of half‐metallic character along the Fermi level. Estimation of elastic parameters is used to check the mechanical stability and nature of forces occurring in materials, where we see the alloys display ductile nature along with a Debye temperature of 398.75 K for Mn2NbAl, 337.53 K for Mn2NbGa, and 360.52 K for Mn2NbIn. Furthermore, within the solution of Boltzmann theory, thermoelectric efficient parameters address its applications in energy harvesting and solid‐state device applications. Thermodynamic potentials have been keenly predicted by implementing quasi harmonic Debye model to descript its stability at high temperature and pressure varying conditions. The prediction of ground state and thermodynamic properties from extensive first‐principles calculations could be beneficial for its future experimental insights with intriguing applications. Hence, the overall theme from the current study creates an application stand in spintronics, power generation, as well as green energy sources for future technologies.
In this present report we have extensively forecasted elasto‐mechanical, thermo‐physical, electro‐magnetic and structural properties of new Mn‐based full‐Heuslers with the help of density functional theory. The elastic properties are determined to demonstrate their mechanical stability and the nature of bonding. The efficient thermoelectric parameter of Mn2NbX Heuslers addresses its applications in new energy harvesting device applications. Thermodynamic potentials have been intended by exploiting quasi harmonic Debye model to descript the stability at high pressure and temperature varying conditions.
Due to their versatile applications, gold (Au) and silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NPs) have been synthesized by many approaches, including green processes using plant extracts for reducing metal ions. In ...this work, we propose to use plant extract with active biomedical components for NPs synthesis, aiming to obtain NPs inheriting the biomedical functions of the plants. By using leaves extract of
(
) as both a reducing agent and a capping agent, we have synthesized gold (CI-Au) and silver (CI-Ag) NPs covered with biomedically active functional groups from
. The synthesized NPs were evaluated for different biological activities such as antibacterial and antimycotic against different pathogenic microbes (
,
,
, and
) and (
,
, and
), respectively, using agar well diffusion assays. The antimicrobial propensity of NPs further assessed by reactive oxygen species (ROS) glutathione (GSH) and FTIR analysis. Biofilm inhibition activity was also carried out using colorimetric assays. The antioxidant and cytotoxic potential of CI-Au and CI-Ag NPs was determined using DPPH free radical scavenging and MTT assay, respectively. The CI-Au and CI-Ag NPs were demonstrated to have much better antioxidant in terms of %DPPH scavenging (75.85% ± 0.67% and 78.87% ± 0.19%), respectively. They exhibited excellent antibacterial, antimycotic, biofilm inhibition and cytotoxic performance against pathogenic microbes and MCF-7 cells compared to commercial Au and Ag NPs functionalized with dodecanethiol and PVP, respectively. The biocompatibility test further corroborated that CI-Ag and CI-Au NPs are more biocompatible at the concentration level of 1-50 µM. Hence, this work opens a new environmentally-friendly path for synthesizing nanomaterials inherited with enhanced and/or additional biomedical functionalities inherited from their herbal sources.
Purpose
For the provision of smart library services to end users, tools of the Internet of Things (IoT) play a significant role. The study aims to discover the factors influencing the adoption of IoT ...in university libraries, investigate the impact of IoT on university library services and identify challenges to adopt IoT applications in university libraries.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic literature review was carried out to address the objectives of the study. The 40 most relevant research papers published in the world’s leading digital databases were selected to conduct the study.
Findings
The findings illustrated that rapid growth in technology, perceived benefits, the networked world and the changing landscape of librarianship positively influenced the adoption of IoT in university libraries. The study also displayed that IoT supported library professionals to initiate smart library services, assisted in service efficiency, offered context-based library services, provided tracking facilities and delivered effective management of library systems. Results also revealed that a lack of technical infrastructure, security and privacy concerns, a lack of technological skills and unavailability of policy and strategic planning caused barriers to the successful adoption of IoT applications in university libraries.
Originality/value
The study has provided theoretical implications through a valuable addition to the current literature. It has also offered managerial implications for policymakers to construct productive policies for the implementation of IoT applications in university libraries for the attainment of fruitful outcomes. Finally, the study provides a baseline for understanding the adoption of IoT in academic libraries.
With the rapid increase in social networks and blogs, the social media services are increasingly being used by online communities to share their views and experiences about a particular product, ...policy and event. Due to economic importance of these reviews, there is growing trend of writing user reviews to promote a product. Nowadays, users prefer online blogs and review sites to purchase products. Therefore, user reviews are considered as an important source of information in Sentiment Analysis (SA) applications for decision making. In this work, we exploit the wealth of user reviews, available through the online forums, to analyze the semantic orientation of words by categorizing them into +ive and -ive classes to identify and classify emoticons, modifiers, general-purpose and domain-specific words expressed in the public's feedback about the products. However, the un-supervised learning approach employed in previous studies is becoming less efficient due to data sparseness, low accuracy due to non-consideration of emoticons, modifiers, and presence of domain specific words, as they may result in inaccurate classification of users' reviews. Lexicon-enhanced sentiment analysis based on Rule-based classification scheme is an alternative approach for improving sentiment classification of users' reviews in online communities. In addition to the sentiment terms used in general purpose sentiment analysis, we integrate emoticons, modifiers and domain specific terms to analyze the reviews posted in online communities. To test the effectiveness of the proposed method, we considered users reviews in three domains. The results obtained from different experiments demonstrate that the proposed method overcomes limitations of previous methods and the performance of the sentiment analysis is improved after considering emoticons, modifiers, negations, and domain specific terms when compared to baseline methods.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of emerging technologies in e-learning on university librarians and libraries. The study also intended to identify emerging technologies ...in e-learning and challenges being faced to implement e-learning technologies.
Design/methodology/approach
The preferred reporting items for the systematic review and meta-analysis method was applied as the research methodology for conducting the study. A total of 25 core studies published in peer-reviewed journals were selected to conduct a systematic literature review. The data were analysed through a thematic approach.
Findings
The results of the study revealed that e-learning technologies assist library professionals to strengthen their expertise and support them in initiating smart library services to deliver customer-focused services. A shortage of skilled manpower, the unavailability of adequate IT infrastructure, a lack of technical support, copyright issues, poor planning and ineffective library leadership are major challenges to implementing emerging technologies in e-learning.
Originality/value
The study offers theoretical implications by adding valuable literature to the existing body of knowledge. It has a societal impact as it has offered recommendations and practical solutions for the successful adoption of emerging technologies in e-learning. The study also offers managerial implications to develop fruitful policies for implementing e-learning technologies for the innovative sustainable competence development of library manpower and implementation of smart library services.
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