Harish Kumar

A highly efficient and magnetically retrievable functionalized nano-adsorbent for ultrasonication assisted rapid and selective extraction of Pd2+ ions from water samples

A novel magnetically retrievable core–shell structured nano-adsorbent (DAPTS@NH2@SiO2@Fe3O4) was fabricated for selective extraction of Pd2+ ions from water samples. The nano-adsorbent was well characterized by XRD, TEM, FE-SEM, FTIR, EDS, ED-XRF and VSM. The influence of various factors on adsorption and desorption such as the amount of nano-adsorbent, pH variation, adsorption time, eluting agent type and its volume were investigated. The maximum adsorption capacity was found to be 64.8 (mg g−1) which perfectly fitted with a Langmuir isotherm model of adsorption. Also, the adsorption time of 5 minutes suggested faster adsorption kinetics which was in agreement with a pseudo second order kinetic model. Besides, the presence of a rich magnetic core facilitated the ease of separation of the nanoadsorbent. The overall results suggested the potential use of the nano-adsorbent for the faster, selective and quantitative extraction of Pd2+ ions from aqueous and catalytic converter samples.

Interference of sonic communication and mating in leafhopperAmrasca devastans (distant) by certain volatiles.

Mating between the two sexes in the leafhopperAmrasca devastans was inhibited by cineole vapors surrounding host plant leaves bearing the insects. There was a decline in the percentage of pairs mating and mated females fertilized. The vapors were not toxic and did not prevent the insects arrival on the leaves. The cineole vapors inhibited the mating chiefly by interfering with the surface-mediated sonic communication between the sexes. The inhibition of mating was chemical specific since other volatiles, e.g., citral, were not as effective as cineole. Exposure to cineole vapors resulted in a decline in the sexual response of the females to the sonic signals of the male

Revealed Comparative Advantage: An Analysis of Exports of Rwanda

The paper undertakes a detailed analysis of Revealed Comparative Advantage of the exports of Rwanda. The objective of the research is to understand the Rwanda’s pattern of trade; to identify a change in this pattern over the period of study; in support of the policies and strategies, to identify areas for improvement. Rwanda is primarily an agrarian economy where people have been dependent on country’s natural endowments for subsistence. A large population is still employed in the agricultural sector. The revealed comparative advantage lies in primary products. There has been little change in the composition of exports. The Standard Balassa Revealed Comparative Advantage Index (BRCAI) has been used for analysis. Rwanda RCAI in its otherwise primary exports product lines has been declining owing to increasing pressure from the supply side. Intense competition from other exporting economies has made Rwandan exports uncompetitive. The country needs to invest in research and development, technological advancements and Education in order to boost output and exports. The government needs to push reforms in industrial sector and open up the economy for private players in more industries, especially agro-processing and leather-goods.

Growth of e-Commerce in India: An Analytical Review of Literature

E-commerce is one of the fastest growing segments in the Indian Economy. Though marked by high growth rate, the Indian e-commerce industry has been behind its counterparts in many developed and emerging economies, primarily due to a relatively low internet user base. In a study conducted by global management consultancy firm AT Kearney in 2015, there were only 39 million online buyers in India; a tiny fraction of the 1.2 billion who live in the country. However, increased technological proliferation combined with internet and mobile penetration, presents a favorable ecosystem for the development of e-commerce in India. The country is currently at the cusp of a digital revolution. Launch of 4G services and decline in the tariffs of data plans and prices of data cards/USB dongles have reduced the cost of ownership of an effective internet connection. Availability of low cost smart phones and the extension of internet and broadband to the remotest corners will boost the augmentation of the internet user base, effectively bridging the gap between potential online buyers and actual buyers. The demographic dividend of the country also seems to encourage and favor the growth of E-commerce. The survival of the e-commerce firms in a highly dynamic environment becomes a challenging task when coupled with the cutthroat competition prevailing in the sector. The onus then lies on the firms to constantly adapt and innovate while providing an information rich and seamless experience to ensure customer loyalty. This study attempts to explore the evolution of e-commerce in India and identifies various challenges to as well the factors responsible for the future growth and development of e commerce.

Applications and Relevance of Activity Based Costing

As students of commerce, we have been dealing with the costing systems and their application in India. The domain knowledge of Costing Systems will help us gain insight into practices of Indian corporate sector for measuring and reporting performance of cost accounting. Despite of advancement in information technology and decision support systems, Indian firms predominantly use traditional costing systems like Absorption Costing and Standard Costing for performance management. This has resulted into inaccurate reporting of costs to management and thereby has resulted in lacunas in managerial control especially with respect to financial aspects. As an alternative, modern costing techniques such as ‘Activity Based Costing (ABC)’ provide a definite solution to this problem of inaccurate cost management. ABC has been successfully adopted by many multinational companies across the world. Unfortunately in last 20 years there has been a very slow progress in adoption of ABC in India. The rationale of this study is to identify financial performance and justification to adoption of ABC. This research will explore areas of concerns for Indian firms in their approach towards ABC as an organizational performance management tool. The significance of the study can be stated as it will bring out prospects, issues, performance and problems of adopting ABC in Indian context. This should help us in gaining knowledge about key factors that decide success of new costing system and the contributions it can make to the value of the company.

ESTABLISHMENT OF TRACEABILITY OF REFERENCE GRADE HYDROMETERS AT NATIONAL PHYSICAL LABORATORY, INDIA (NPLI)

The present paper discusses the establishment of traceability of reference grade hydrometers at National Physical Laboratory, India (NPLI). The reference grade hydrometers are calibrated and traceable to the primary solid density standard. The calibration has been done according to standard procedure based on Cuckows Method and the reference grade hydrometers calibrated covers a wide range. The uncertainty of the reference grade hydrometers has been computed and corrections are also calculated for the scale readings, at which observations are taken.

Investigations on Measurement Uncertainty and Stability of Dial Gauged Force Proving Instruments

Abstract: The present paper discusses the issues related to measurement uncertainty and stability of dial gauged force proving instruments of capacities 100 kN and 1 000 kN calibrated over many years. The force proving instruments have been calibrated using force calibrating machines based on the written standard calibration procedure. As the measurement uncertainty of the force proving instruments depends on the factors like repeatability error, zero error, resolution error, etc., a systematic study has been carried out. The study reveals that the uncertainty of measurement of force proving instruments has been varying appreciably and it is more for lower range. Besides this effect, the deviation from their average calibration values has also been studied and found to be varying through the years. Hence, it may be suggested that the dial gauged force proving instruments may not have consistent behavior as force transfer standard over the years and their stability studies results are not encouraging.