Effect of Processing Time on Recovery and Quality of Essential Oil from Patchouli (Pogostemon cablin Benth.)

Patchouli (Pogostemon cablin) is fragrant herb produce essential oil, known as patchouli oil having high economic importance. Patchouli oil is widely used in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Global demand is very high for Patchouli oil as compare to its production. Patchouli oil extraction is still new but has large market demand due to therapeutic and healing properties of oil. In this study an effort to increase the recovery of patchouli oil by standardizing the extraction process was performed. Drying of herbage before extraction was done in oven at 50 oC. Recovery of patchouli oil at different intervals of processing time viz., 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 hours at 15% moisture was analyzed. It was observed that the oil recovery increased from 1.8 to 2.43% (w/w) as processing time increased from 4 to 8 hours. The patchouli oil samples extracted during the study were also analyzed for its physico-chemical quality. All the extracted oil samples have shown the values of physico-chemical parametre in the satndard permissible range of patchouli oil except long extraction time (after 7 hours), due to which acid value of oil exceds the permissible limit. Hence, from the above work it may be concluded that the extraction of essential oil should be carried out at combination of 15% moisture (db) and 7 hours of processing time intervals for better recovery and quality of oil.

Data-driven Thermal Model Inference with ARMAX, in Smart Environments, based on Normalized Mutual Information

Understanding the models that characterize the thermal dynamics in a smart building is important for the comfort of its occupants and for its energy optimization. A significant amount of research has attempted to utilize thermodynamics (physical) models for smart building control, but these approaches remain challenging due to the stochastic nature of the intermittent environmental disturbances. This paper presents a novel data-driven approach for indoor thermal model inference, which combines an Autoregressive Moving Average with eXogenous inputs model (ARMAX) with a Normalized Mutual Information scheme (NMI). Based on this information-theoretic method, NMI, causal dependencies between the indoor temperature and exogenous inputs are explicitly obtained as a guideline for the ARMAX model to find the dominating inputs. For validation, we use three datasets based on building energy systems-against which we compare our method to an autoregressive model with exogenous inputs (ARX), a regularized ARMAX model, and state-space models.

EvoCut: A new Generalization of Albert-Barabási Model for Evolution of Complex Networks

With the evolution of social networks, the network structure shows dynamic nature in which nodes and edges appear as well as disappear for various reasons. The role of a node in the network is presented as the number of interactions it has with the other nodes. For this purpose a network is modeled as a graph where nodes represent network members and edges represent a relationship among them. Several models for evolution of social networks has been proposed till date, most widely accepted being the Barabasi-Albert [1] model that is based on preferential attachment of nodes according to the degree distribution. This model leads to generation of graphs that are called Scale Free and the degree distribution of such graphs follow the power law. Several generalizations of this model has also been proposed. In this paper we present a new generalization of the model and attempt to bring out its implications in real life.

Hydro Geomorphological Characteristics and Delineation of Ground Water Potential Zone - A Case Study of Rushikulya and Bahuda Basin, Ganjam Odisha

Performance Comparison of MANET, VANET and FANET

Corporate Governance Practices in the Banking and Finance Sector: Perspectives from Bangladesh

Corporate Governance has become one of the most important strategic tools for enterprises and organizations to increase both stakeholders’ value and a firm’s performance. It ensures the accountability and responsibility of the directors, managers and others who hold key positions of responsibility. It is based on a set of rules and principles, processes and mechanisms by which the affairs of the corporations and firms are directed, managed and controlled. Over the past thirty years the concept of corporate governance has received substantial attention from regulatory bodies, scholars and practitioners worldwide as it has been viewed as one of the most important tools for the progress and prosperity of corporations. However, the concept is still in its infancy in Bangladesh and thus is not as well established and commonplace as it might be elsewhere. The main purpose of this study is to understand the nature of corporate governance, its importance, need and its practices in Bangladesh within the Banking and Finance sector. The study is mainly based on secondary sources of data and information that includes scholarly journal articles, books, the Corporate Governance Act of Bangladesh 2004, and other relevant sources pertaining to the subject. A wide range of factors, including codes of corporate governance, legal and regulatory frameworks, development of the capacity of boards of directors, introduction of good governance and institutional capacity building have been recommended to institutionalize and improve corporate governance in Bangladesh. Issues such as whistleblowing and the efficacy of Bangladesh’s Legal system are germane to discussions within the ambit of this research. Corresponding author: Raju Mohammad Kamrul Alam Email address for corresponding author: [email protected] First submission received: 8th January 2018 Revised submission received: 6th August 2018 Accepted: 17th September 2018 Introduction Corporate Governance can be understood as a set of processes, rules and regulations, principles and guidelines by which all activities of a corporation or a firm are governed, directed, managed, and controlled. An effective corporate governance structure can enhance organizational performance by increasing stakeholders’ value as it can increase the responsibility, accountability and transparency throughout the organization. It is not only increasingly becoming the required condition for corporations for their sustainable growth and prosperity, but also the most valuable strategic concept for the shareholders and other stakeholders to maintain organizational impartiality, fairness, accountability and transparency. For the past three decades we have witnessed different types of uncertainty, volatility in the global business environment. Since 1990 there have been several high-profile corporate scandals and collapses in North America, Europe and some Asian countries. The ramifications of scandals and mismanagement in entities such as Enron, Lehmann Brothers and WorldCom in the USA, Glitnir, Kaupthing and Landsbanki banks in Iceland, Royal Ahold (Koninklijke Ahold NV) in the Netherlands, Journal of Business and Retail Management Research (JBRMR), Vol. 13 Issue 1 October 2018 www.jbrmr.com A Journal of the Academy of Business and Retail Management (ABRM) 270 Barings Bank in the UK and the Satyam scandal and Ketan Parekh scam in India has been considerable. Inadequate corporate structures and governing policies were the main causes of these corporate failures (Mallin, 2003). Since then, the concept of corporate governance has received considerable attention from scholars, policy makers, government and regulatory bodies (Khan, 2011; Sarker 2014). The need for this transparent corporate structure in Bangladesh has become a necessity, particularly following a series of high-profile corporate scams within the banking and finance sector. Scams and corporate governance failures such as that of the Hallmark-Sonali Bank Loan Scam involving Sonali Bank, the largest State-Owned Commercial Bank in Bangladesh, scandals concerning Oriental Bank and Farmers Bank and issues over corporate impropriety involving the Stock Market and Foreign Exchange Reserve have generated trenchant criticism both inside Bangladesh and further afield. Therefore, corporate governance is not only about the ways in which a corporation is managed and administered but also the ways it monitors the policies and practices, decisions and actions of the corporation, their agents and stakeholders. Such an approach can lead to greater transparency, efficiency and effecting the functioning of a corporation. The core objective of the corporate governance is to increase long-term shareholders value and at the same time protecting the other stakeholder’s interest (Malling, 2003) whilst ensuring corporate probity. Despite its value to organizations and the nation too, the concept and its practices are not well developed in Bangladesh, essentially it remains in its infancy. However, since the introduction of the Corporate Governance Act 2004, it has been gradually introduced in many large organisations (Haque and Arun 2016) and furthermore organizations have started to see the positive impact of corporate governance on the performance and optimization of organizational values (Shobod, Saiful, and Anup 2015); Rouf (2012); Rashid., Zoysa., Lodhh and Rudkin (2010). The main purpose of this study is to understand the nature of corporate governance and its practices in Bangladesh, with reference to financial institutions. Also, the study highlights the need for, and importance of corporate governance in Bangladesh. Literature Review Corporate governance is a multi-faceted subject and is a strategic concept for enhancing organizational value and performance. There is no single and universal definition of corporate governance (Khan, 2011; Thapar and Sharma, 2017), rather it is viewed from different perspectives. According to Garvey and Swan (1994) corporate governance determines the ways management direct, manage, administer and control the activities of an organization. Shleifer and Vishny (1997) asserted that the concept should be understood by the ways in which suppliers of finance to organizations assure themselves of an increased probability of a return on their investment. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development defines Corporate Governance as a “system by which organisations are managed, governed and controlled (OECD, 1999). However, the OECD definition is narrow in scope as it does not consider the societal elements such as stakeholders’ interest. Shliefer and Wolfenzon (2002) observed that a good corporate governance structure protects outside investors (shareholders) from inside investors (managers). According to Cadbury (2000), corporate governance is the mechanism used to discipline organizations. In 2000, Cadbury stated at the “Global Corporate Governance Forum” that corporate governance is primarily about maintaining the balance between economic and social goals. The purpose is to align the interests of individuals, organisations and society at large as much as possible. Likewise, Morin and Jarrell (2001), argued that corporate governance is a framework that controls and safeguards the interest of the relevant actors in the markets. The best corporate governance practices improve overall accountability and performance throughout organizations. According to Beiner, S., Drobetz, W., Schmid, M., and Zimmermann, H (2004) a good corporate governance mechanism has a positive impact on the performance of the listed companies and increases the value of firms. The distribution of managerial rights and responsibilities among different actors in the organization such as boards of directors, managers at different levels, shareholders, auditors and other stakeholders are defined by the corporate governance structure. However, one of the most important definitions of Corporate Governance is given by the Ministry of Finance, Singapore which helps define the true notion of the concept as follows: “a set of processes and structure by which all affairs of an organization are managed, directed and controlled for enhancing long-term shareholders value and stakeholders’ interests Journal of Business and Retail Management Research (JBRMR), Vol. 13 Issue 1 October 2018 www.jbrmr.com A Journal of the Academy of Business and Retail Management (ABRM) 271 through enhancing corporate accountability and performance”. The corporate governance principles should be based on four important and interrelated elements: Accountability, responsibility, transparency and fairness (Moudud-ul-Huq, 2014). The OECD (1999) identified the following key principles: (a) It should protect the shareholders’ rights, (b) All shareholders should be treated equally (equitable treatment), (c) Recognition of the rights of stakeholders and that should be protected by law, (d) Disclosure and transparency, (e) The responsibility of the board. Corporate governance & Agency Theory Jensen and Meckling (1976) defined the agency relationships as “a type of contact in which the main actor (principal) allows the agent to perform the organizational services on behalf of the principal”. As there is a concept of delegation by principal to the agent, problems arise due to the differing interests and the conflict between these parties (principal and agent). However, these problems are not the same across the firms and sectors or industries (Himmelberg, C.P., R.G. Hubbard and D. Palia, 1999). Jensen and Meckling (1976) asserted that the value maximizing decisions are reduced by this type of delegation of authority by managers in an organization. By extending the original theory of Jensen and Meckling (1976), McColgan (2001) asserted that an effective corporate governance structure can help to reduce such agency problems. Agency Theory recommends the involvement of independent non-executive directors t

Scientific Poster Abstracts

Design and Analysis of IR based Upper Dipper Light Control for Vehicles

The number of vehicles on our roads increases day by day, technology has evolved, but the safety factor must always be taken into account. Now, the vehicles are one day equipped with many security features. One of the main safety features that must be installed is the automatic control of the top bucket of the projector. This function can be used mainly during the night. The eyes of the human being are very sensitive to light, and when the eyes suddenly come into contact with the light after sunset, the cornea in the eye contracts, i. The view is empty and takes some time to restore sight. Many times, when suddenly the vehicle comes forward with the headlight in top mode, the situation blinds the driver's eyes. During this period, the vehicle covers a certain distance, in which case accidents may occur. It is lucky if the person walks quietly in this situation. To overcome this manual immersion problem, an automatic mechanism has automatically immersed the headlight when a situation occurs. This can reduce the number of accidents during the night and allow a comfortable ride. The operating principle, the mode of operation and the design of the PCB are briefly discussed in this paper.

Iterative methods for system of variational inclusions involving accretive operators and applications

The purpose of this paper is to study existence and approximation of solutions of system of variational inclusions involving multi-valued H−accretive and single-valued accretive operators over two different closed convex subsets of a Banach space. The convergence analysis of two proposed iteration processes for approximating solutions will be conducted within the conceptual framework of the “altering point technique” without uniform convexity of underlying spaces. This technique should make existing or new results in solving system of variational inequalities and variational inclusions.

Intelligent Navigation of a Self-Fabricated Biped Robot using a Regression Controller

With increasing demand towards use of biped robots in industrial automation and other related applications, navigation and path planning has emerged as one of the most challenging research topic over the last few decades. In this paper, a novel navigational controller is designed and implemented in a self-fabricated biped robot. After fabricating the biped equipped with a large set of sensors, a regression controller is implemented in it for obstacle avoidance and path optimization purpose. The obstacle distances detected by the sensory network of the biped are fed as input parameters to the regression controller and the output obtained from the controller is the necessary heading angle required to avoid the obstacles present randomly in the environment. The biped is tested in a simulation environment for obstacle avoidance and target following behaviour. Along with that, to validate the simulation results, a real-time experimental set up is designed under laboratory conditions. The results obtained from both the environments are compared in terms of navigational parameters and a good agreement between them is observed. Being a relatively new area of research, the navigation of bipeds can serve as a pioneer act towards industrial automation.