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Coal is the cheapest source of energy. It is much cheaper than nuclear and petroleum. However, spontaneous combustion is inherent in coal seams that lead to fires at their place of storage. Therefore, early detection is required to ensure safety. This article aims to develop an intelligent system for the classification of coal seams based on their spontaneous heating on the Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm. It utilizes an artificial intelligence (AI) approach by utilizing a two-stage neural network architecture to render an accurate and robust categorization of coal samples. Three commonly available proximate analysis parameters of the coal samples have been used as input to this system. These inherent parameters are found to be sufficient to classify coal samples into different categories according to their combustion susceptibility. Three publicly available datasets are involved in the assessment purpose. Our proposed method has outperformed previous approaches. The coal seams classification results agree with the real field experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dengue which is an arboviral disease transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquito, drastically affected communities worldwide. It has been showing consistently a rising trend in developing country like India. Study Objectives: To assess the knowledge, attitude and practices (KAPs) related to the prevention and control of dengue fever (DF) among frontline staff members at a medical teaching institution in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand. Materials and Methods: A community‑based cross‑sectional study was conducted at a medical teaching institution in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand. Out of 830 frontline workers only 208 workers were recruited in a study by the simple random selection method. A semi‑structured interview questionnaire was applied to assess the KAPs of participants. Attitude was assessed by four‑point Likert scaling. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 23 for Windows. Results: A total of 208 participants were interviewed. Majority were male (70.2%) with the age group of 31 to 45 years (71.2%). Majority (50.5%) of participants were educated up to higher secondary and working as a security guard (78.8%). Most (72.6%) of the respondents said the rainy season was the most common outbreak season for dengue. Most (63.6%) of the participants were aware that dengue is transmitted by mosquitoes. The majority (49%) of participants strongly agreed that dengue is a fatal disease. Conclusion: There is an urgent need to prevent and control the epidemics of dengue by adoption of seven plus one model which contributes in reducing the overall burden in healthcare delivery system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ionic radius of R3+ ion plays a significant role in enhancing the structural, electrical, and dielectric properties of rare-earth chromites RCrO3; In this present study, RCrO3 (R = La, Y, Gd) was synthesized using the solid-state route reaction method. The XRD pattern confirmed the formation of a single phase. Refined XRD data revealed an orthorhombic crystal structure with the space group Pbnm at room temperature, along with the corresponding lattice parameters. Further analysis using diffuse reflectance UV-visible spectroscopy showed absorption peaks and a dual direct band gap, suggesting a semiconducting nature for the samples. To investigate the electrical properties of RCrO3, dielectric and impedance spectroscopy measurements were conducted at room temperature. Notably, the variation of ionic radii R3+ plays a significant role in the structural, optical, and dielectric properties of the material. Furthermore, AC conductivity measurement conducted in the higher frequency range provides insights into the conduction mechanism of the sample, and M- H curve indicates ferromagnetic behavior, and this variation is attributed to the effect of ionic radii. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction:Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) is a form of venous thromboembolism which has varied clinical presentation. Ocular clinical features are quite common in CVT and may be the sole presenting feature and often tend to get misdiagnosed. This study was conducted to analyse clinical features especially neuro ophthalmological manifestations in CVT patients. Materials and Methods: In this prospective study 60 patients were enrolled in a study period of 3 years at tertiary care hospital. Follow up visits were performed at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 12 months after the initial diagnosis. We analysed the clinical features as well as aetiology of CVT, special focus was on the ocular symptoms and signs. Results: Headache was the most common clinical symptom with 93.33% patients. Among ocular symptoms 43.33 % patients presented with complaint of blurring of vision. Among ophthalmological signs papilledema was reported in 40.0 % patients, cranial nerve involvement in 10.0 % patients, diplopia was seen in 6.66 % patients. In patients with papilledema the intensity reduced as time progressed. Vision loss was seen in 2 patients who had secondary optic atrophy. Conclusion: To avoid misdiagnosis and for the prevention of vision deterioration the ophthalmologist must pay attention to CVT symptoms and signs when patients present with ocular symptoms as the initial manifestation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parkinson's disease (PD) genes identification plays an important role in improving the diagnosis and treatment of the disease. A number of machine learning methods have been proposed to identify disease-related genes, but only few of these methods are adopted for PD. This work puts forth a novel neural network-based ensemble (n-semble) method to identify Parkinson's disease genes. The artificial neural network is trained in a unique way to ensemble the multiple model predictions. The proposed n-semble method is composed of four parts: (1) protein sequences are used to construct feature vectors using physicochemical properties of amino acid; (2) dimensionality reduction is achieved using the t-Distributed Stochastic Neighbor Embedding (t-SNE) method, (3) the Jaccard method is applied to find likely negative samples from unknown (candidate) genes, and (4) gene prediction is performed with n-semble method. The proposed n-semble method has been compared with Smalter's, ProDiGe, PUDI and EPU methods using various evaluation metrics. It has been concluded that the proposed n-semble method outperforms the existing gene identification methods over the other methods and achieves significantly higher precision, recall and F Score of 88.9%, 90.9% and 89.8%, respectively. The obtained results confirm the effectiveness and validity of the proposed framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The lateral intercostal artery perforator flap (LICAP) has emerged as one of the safest and less morbid flaps for lateral and central breast defects. We hereby describe a reproducible no Doppler single position (NDSP) technique to harvest it in single position without handheld Doppler, making it a versatile flap for lateral breast defects in resource-limited setting also. Materials and Methods: With this technique, we performed a total of 22 LICAP turnover flaps over a period of 18 months from January 2020 to June 2021. In all 22 cases, the indication of flap was to fill the post-breast conservation surgery (BCS) defects in outer quadrant of breast. All LICAP flaps were harvested by surface marking of anatomical landmarks and without handheld Doppler. Results: Out of 22 LICAP turnover flaps, thirteen were harvested for left breast and nine for right breast. The median width and length of the flap were 12.2 cm and 19.6 cm, respectively. The additional mean operative time was 41 min. All LICAP flaps survived well, and grade 1 Clavien-Dindo morbidity was documented in four cases. Mean hospital stay was 2.6 days. All patients received radiotherapy on their stipulated schedule. Early cosmetic outcome was good, and long-term outcomes are awaited. Conclusion: NDSP-LICAP flap is a workhorse for lateral breast defects. Precise knowledge of perforators and anatomical landmarks can be used for harvesting these flaps, thus avoiding ultrasound Doppler and dedicated training for perforator localization. This technique has short learning curve without the need for any plastic surgery training. The early cosmetic outcomes are good. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present manuscript, we reported the first visible‐light‐enabled direct C3−H alkylation/arylation of quinoxalin‐2(1H)‐ones with unactivated alkyl/aryl chlorides under metal‐free conditions. A wide range of unactivated alkyl and aryl chlorides containing different functionalities are coupled with a variety of quinoxalin‐2(1H)‐one derivatives under mild reaction conditions to afford the C3‐alkyl/aryl substituted quinoxalin‐2(1H)‐ones in moderate to good yields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Groundwater quality monitoring and geochemical characterization in the phreatic aquifer are critical for ensuring universal and equitable access to clean, reliable, and inexpensive drinking water for all. This research was intended to investigate the hydrogeochemical attributes and mechanisms regulating the chemistry of groundwater as well as to assess spatial variation in groundwater quality in Satna district, India. To accomplish this, the groundwater data comprising 13 physio-chemical parameters from thirty-eight phreatic aquifer locations were analysed for May 2020 by combining entropy-weighted water quality index (EWQI), multivariate statistics, geochemical modelling, and geographical information system. The findings revealed that the groundwater is fresh and slightly alkaline. Hardness was a significant concern as 57.89% of samples were beyond the permissible limit of the World Health Organisation. The dominance of ions were in the order of Ca2+ > Na+ > Mg2+ > K+ and HCO3− > SO42− > Cl− > NO3− > F−. Higher concentration of these ions is mainly concentrated in the northeast and eastern regions. Pearson correlation analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) demonstrated that both natural and human factors regulate groundwater chemistry in the region. The analysis of Q-mode agglomerative hierarchical clustering highlighted three significant water clusters. Ca–HCO3 was the most prevalent hydro-chemical facies in all three clusters. Geochemical modelling through various conventional plots indicated that groundwater chemistry in the research region is influenced by the dissolution of calcite/dolomite, reverse ion exchange, and by silicate and halite weathering. EWQI data of the study area disclosed that 73.69% of the samples were appropriate for drinking. Due to high salinity, Magnesium (Mg2+), Nitrate (NO3−), and Bicarbonate (HCO3−) concentrations, the north-central and north-eastern regions are particularly susceptible. The findings of the study may be accomplished by policymakers and groundwater managers to achieve sustainable groundwater development at the regional scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) require multiple tasks in their seamless maneuverings. Some essential tasks that require simultaneous management and actions are motion planning, traffic prediction, traffic intersection management, etc. A few of them are complex in nature. Multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL) can solve complex problems involving simultaneous controls. Recently, many researchers applied MARL in such applications. However, there is a lack of extensive surveys on the ongoing research to identify the current problems, proposed methods, and future research directions in MARL for CAVs. This paper provides a comprehensive survey on MARL for CAVs. A classification-based paper analysis is performed to identify the current developments and highlight the various existing research directions. Finally, the challenges in current works are discussed, and some potential areas are given for exploration to overcome those challenges. Future readers will benefit from this survey and can apply the ideas and findings in their research to solve complex problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: India shares a huge burden of the total number of global neonatal deaths. The neonatal mortality rate in Uttarakhand is higher in comparison to the national rate. Understanding the causes and contextual factors that contribute to neonatal deaths is critical for developing a health programme and policy. Therefore, this study was aimed to ascertain causes of neonatal deaths using verbal autopsy in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand. Material and Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand from July 2018 to June 2019. The study participants were mothers or primary caregivers of deceased neonates. The verbal autopsy tool of the National Health Mission, Government of India was used to collect data. All neonatal deaths from July 2018 to June 2019 were included in this study. The cause of neonatal death was ascertained by two independent doctors. Results: A total of 23 neonatal deaths could be traced during July 2018 through June 2019 in Rishikesh. One death was excluded from the study. Sixty-eight percent (15/22) of neonatal deaths occurred in the first week of life. Major causes of neonatal deaths were perinatal asphyxia (7/22), congenital malformation (6/22), and prematurity (4/22). Most (9/22) of the delays were in making a decision to seek medical care for neonates. Conclusion: The major causes of neonatal deaths were perinatal asphyxia, congenital malformation, and prematurity. Most of the deaths occurred during the early neonatal period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clinical Trial Monitoring is the fundamental necessity to direct high-quality clinical research to guarantee research quality and subject protection according to regulatory standards. It is a sophisticated, innovation-based approach to utilizing a company's data, allowing for better-informed decisions regarding where and how to allocate resources. However, the monitoring plan is grouped into two kinds i.e., on-site and centralized monitoring. But recently, regulators have been urged to take on a risk-based monitoring system, as such sponsors are preferring centralized monitoring from the beginning of the trial. Risk-based monitoring assures the quality of trials by managing risks. Furthermore, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicine Agency (EMA) have embraced the risk-based approach and released a guideline paper on the subject. The FDA's proposed advice from 2013 discusses how to oversee clinical trials using a risk-based approach. Still, on-site monitoring, which is carried out by site visits, and centralized monitoring, which is carried out remotely or offsite, have their self-worth and advantages. Because of the greater complexity of grasping those monitoring procedures, in this review article, we will discuss both monitoring plans with an emphasis on centralized monitoring, which will aid in a better understanding of the entire in a nutshell. Also, we will emphasize the benefits, future, and implementation of Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning in the risk-based monitoring strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The effect of heat treatment on the fatigue life of 3D printed SS 316 L is investigated. • Increased fatigue life of heat treated specimens is observed. • Heat treatment reduced the Young's modulus of the considered specimen. • Microhardness is increased after cycling while it decreases after heat treatment. • Peak stress vs cycle behavior is suitably predicted using Non-linear Chaboche model. The success of 3D printing relies on developing components with desired strength that heat treatment processes can further improve. While SS 316L is a widely used structural material for several industrial applications, the fatigue behaviour of its 3D-printed version is investigated herein. The low cycle fatigue (LCF) behaviour of heat-treated (HT) 3D-printed SS 316L specimens was carried out and compared with the without heat-treated (WHT) specimens thereof. The heat treatment considerably affected its LCF behaviour, which can be attributed to the microstructural changes post heat treatment. The cyclic softening is observed in both HT and WHT specimens. However, the degree of softening is lower (12.35 %) for HT compared to WHT specimens (25.30 %) and 62 % higher fatigue life for HT compared to WHT specimens. Further, the hardness values obtained are 176 and 169 HV for WHT and HT, respectively, while it is 238 and 223 HV for the same, before and after fatigue tests. Fractography revealed fewer pores and reduced fatigue striations in the HT specimens. Considering the Chaboche non-linear model, finite element modelling was employed to capture the specimens' fatigue behaviour. The proposed model is found to be suitable for predicting the cyclic behaviour of 3D-printed austenitic steels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sentinel lymph node can be identified in almost 97% patients by using dual dye technique. Radiocolloid with blue dye is the gold standard technique. However, indocyanine green (ICG) with blue dye has reported good results in recent studies. Therefore, we aimed to estimate the sentinel lymph node (SLN) identification rates with dual dye technique using ICG and methylene blue among node-negative early breast cancer (EBC) patients undergoing surgery. In EBC patients undergoing sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB), the combination of ICG with methylene blue was used. The SLN outcome data using dual dye technique was studied. Sixty-four patients underwent SLNB in between April 2019 and July 2020. The sentinel lymph node identification rate using dual dye was 95.3%. This was higher than blue dye alone (87.5%) and ICG alone (92.2%) techniques. In post neoadjuvant therapy (NACT) subset, SLN identification rate using dual dye was 91%. Median SLN harvest using ICG was three. The SLN identification rates with ICG and blue dye are comparable to the gold standard radiocolloid and blue dye technique. In comparison to radiocolloid, ICG can be considered superior in terms of its safety, easy availability, and low cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein we report solid state analysis of the silver‐flavin complexes grown under different chemical environments‐neutral (complex 1), acidic (complex 2) and basic (complex 3) mediums. While preferred and frequently reported primary coordination is observed in all three cases; involvement of rare secondary coordination in 2 and deprotonated carboxyl functionality of the modified flavin in 3 for silver ion coordination results in discrete, zig‐zag and ribbon‐like architecture. Crystallographically unique silver ions, anion‐pi/lone pair‐pi interactions and the argentophilic interactions are some of the unique features observed for silver‐flavin complexes. Notably, such extended geometry involving flavin moiety is scarcely reported and these results expand the unexplored coordination horizon of the flavin entities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The colon targeted drug delivery system is mainly useful for the topical treatment of colon diseases such as ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease OR colorectal cancers where we attain high local concentration and minimum side effects. In the present study we have synthesized some colon targeted Ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid (EDTA)-antimicrobial drug conjugates. Objectives: The goal of synthesizing EDTA-antimicrobial drug conjugates are that they reach intact in the colon and not be absorbed in the upper GIT, this is because of high molecular weight (>500) of the conjugates (Lipinski's rule of 5). Materials and Methods: A series of EDTA-antimicrobial drug conjugates (E1-E5) were synthesized by stirring tetra sodium EDTA with antimicrobial drugs viz. Metronidazole (MTZ), Ornidazole (OZ), Ciprofloxacin (CF), Norfloxacin (NF) and Sulfamethoxazole (SM) in presence of EDAC ((1-ethyl-3(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide). All the synthesized conjugates were characterized by FTIR, NMR (1H and 13C), Mass spectrometry and elemental analysis to identify structural components. The synthesized conjugates were screened for antimicrobial (antibacterial) and colon release studies. Results and Discussion: On the basis of chemical and spectral analysis EDTA-antimicrobial drug conjugates were synthesized and synthesized conjugates showed good antimicrobial (antibacterial) activity against tested stains. In-vitro release studies of the synthesized conjugates of the series have shown good release results which indicates that synthesized conjugates release the parent drug (antimicrobial drugs) to the colon. Conclusion: Synthesized conjugates improve drug delivery to the intestinal region. Release studies result suggest that the drugs begin to release from the conjugates in the distal intestinal region and appreciable release in the colon has been observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work presents an accurate, scalable, and efficient hybrid machine learning (ML) and neural network (NN) model based, cross‐platform application to analyze and estimate crucial device parameters like scattering (S‐) parameter, gain, power, device‐width and traps of GaN high electron mobility devices. A hybrid multilayer perceptron random forest (RF) model with 13 input parameters was trained on Technology Computer‐Aided Design generated data. An inclusive view of device physics using various device parameters has been presented, which helps to develop insights into structural architecture, DC, and RF performance of the device, and its trade‐off as a function of frequency and biases, all in one go. Moreover, a cross‐platform graphical user interface application is developed to ease the complete process, which further makes the platform scalable to other devices as well. The extremely fast prediction time of 3–7 s and 35–40 ms in regression and classification, respectively, depict the excellent time efficiency of the proposed approach. The results show superior performance with the global mean absolute error (MAE) ranging from 8e−5 to 0.010 and mean squared error (MSE) ranging from 5e−7 to 0.072 accounts for the overall accuracy of 99% and above for the S‐parameter and current gain predictions. A maximum 0.06% variation in the prediction of device width over 140 iterations depicts the excellent generalization capability of the model. The evaluated results thus direct the usefulness of the cross‐platform applications in accelerating accurate device parameter estimations and efficient optimization in device design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is increasingly recognized that networks of brain areas work together to accomplish computational goals. However, functional connectivity networks are not often compared between different behavioral states and across different frequencies of electrical oscillatory signals. In addition, connectivity is always defined as the strength of signal relatedness between two atlas-based anatomical locations. Here, we performed an exploratory analysis using data collected from high-density arrays in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), striatum (STR), and ventral tegmental area (VTA) of male rats. These areas have all been implicated in a wide range of different tasks and computations including various types of memory as well as reward valuation, habit formation and execution, and skill learning. Novel intraregional clustering analyses identified patterns of spatially restricted, temporally coherent, and frequency-specific signals that were reproducible across days and were modulated by behavioral states. Multiple clusters were identified within each anatomical region, indicating a mesoscopic scale of organization. Generalized eigendecomposition (GED) was used to dimension-reduce each cluster to a single component time series. Dense intercluster connectivity was modulated by behavioral state, with connectivity becoming reduced when the animals were exposed to a novel object, compared with a baseline condition. Behavior-modulated connectivity changes were seen across the spectrum, with δ, θ, and γ all being modulated. These results demonstrate the brain's ability to reorganize functionally at both the intra- and inter-regional levels during different behavioral states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we have demonstrated a robust in-cabin monitoring system (IMS) for safety, security, surveillance, and monitoring, including privacy concerns for personal and shared autonomous vehicles (AVs). It consists of a set of monitoring cameras and an onboard device (OBD) equipped with artificial intelligence (AI). Hereafter, this combination of a camera and an OBD is referred to as the AI camera. We have investigated the issues for mobility services in higher levels of autonomous driving, what needs to be monitored, how to monitor, etc. Our proposed IMS is an on-device AI system that indigenously has improved the privacy of the users. Furthermore, we have enlisted the essential actions to be considered in an IMS and developed an appropriate database (DB). Our DB consists of multifaced scenarios important for monitoring the in-cabin of the higher-level AVs. Moreover, we have compared popular AI models applied for object and occupant recognition. In addition, our DB is available on request to support the research on the development of seamless monitoring of the in-cabin higher levels of autonomous driving for the assurance of safety and security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here, we have demonstrated an easy and efficient synthetic route for the synthesis of the flavo-peptide conjugates as model for the naturally occurring covalently linked flavoenzymes. A judicially functionalized flavin analogue was used for the coupling reaction with the pre-synthesized peptidic motifs using solution-phase chemistry. Representative examples using mono-, di- and tripeptides were reported to couple with the C7-position of the flavin moiety to showcase the generic nature of the synthetic strategy. Further photophysical investigation including quantum yield measurements, concentration-dependent studies and fluorescence quenching experiments reveal the intramolecular nature of the charge transport process in cases where tyrosine is present, similar to that found in the natural counterpart. This manuscript discusses a simple/efficient approach for the synthesis of flavopeptide conjugates as a true model for covalently-liked-flavoenzymes. Coupling reaction between the suitably functionalized flavin moiety and the pre-synthesized peptide entities was envisaged and undertaken to prove the generality of the approach. Further photophysical investigation including quantum yield measurements, concentration-dependent studies and fluorescence quenching experiments reveal the intramolecular nature of the charge transport process in cases where tyrosine is present, similar to that found in the natural counterpart. Such a synthetic flavopeptide model may provide a further investigation to provide an insight into the corresponding biological phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

XOR is a special nonlinear problem in artificial intelligence (AI) that resembles multiple real-world nonlinear data distributions. A multiplicative neuron model can solve these problems. However, the multiplicative model has the indigenous problem of backpropagation for densely distributed XOR problems and higher dimensional parity problems. To overcome this issue, we have proposed an enhanced translated multiplicative single neuron model. It can provide desired tessellation surface. We have considered an adaptable scaling factor associated with each input in our proposed model. It helps in achieving optimal scaling factor value for higher dimensional input. The efficacy of the proposed model has been tested by randomly increasing input dimensions for XOR-type data distribution. The proposed model has crisply classified even higher dimensional input in their respective class. Also, the computational complexity is the same as that of the previous multiplicative neuron model. It has shown more than an 80% reduction in absolute loss as compared to the previous neuron model in similar experimental conditions. Therefore, it can be considered as a generalized artificial model (single neuron) with the capability of solving XOR-like real problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the way, developers perform different software development and management tasks with objective measures can support improving potency and performance. Exploring the cognitive skills of programmers in software engineering has been the focus of immense and ongoing research for beyond 30 years. This work aims to combine and analyze different cognitive aspects such as psychology, understanding of program comprehension, and emotions of developers in the software engineering field, by conducting a Systematic Literature Review (SLR). We collected more than 300 articles from 7 major digital libraries and narrowed them down by selecting the 80 most relevant articles. Moreover, we framed six research questions and justified each question with the help of tables and graphs. Furthermore, we generated a classification scheme for each article, based on the justification of 10 quality assessment queries. Our analysis based on research questions shows that most of the research articles (12/80) published in the field of cognitive aspects are after the year 2017. In our SLR 39/80 articles are published in reputed journals. To measure developers' cognitive abilities, 48/80 studies used particular bio measures. Most of the articles (19/80) employed student datasets in their experiments. In the case of the research methodology used, 23/80 of the articles are validation studies and 22/80 are experimental lab studies. In exploring the sensors, 37 % of the studies in which sensors were used to analyze cognitive features have applied multimodal sensors, while the rest of the studies used individual sensors according to their requirement such as Eye trackers, fMRI, fNIRS, etc. Exploring the range of the participants engaged in the experiments in various studies, 18 % of the total studies involved participants in the range of 11–20 and 27 % of studies did not mention the number of participants. The research implications of this review work will be the assessment of the understanding level of a programmer while developing or comprehending a program. This combined analysis will be helpful for the professionals or field experts to perform a better analysis of different cognitive features of developers in the software engineering field and for that analysis, they will be able to select more optimal bio measures, sensors, and methodologies over different conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

XOR is a special nonlinear problem in artificial intelligence (AI) that resembles multiple real-world nonlinear data distributions. A multiplicative neuron model can solve these problems. However, the multiplicative model has the indigenous problem of backpropagation for densely distributed XOR problems and higher dimensional parity problems. To overcome this issue, we have proposed an enhanced translated multiplicative single neuron model. It can provide desired tessellation surface. We have considered an adaptable scaling factor associated with each input in our proposed model. It helps in achieving optimal scaling factor value for higher dimensional input. The efficacy of the proposed model has been tested by randomly increasing input dimensions for XOR-type data distribution. The proposed model has crisply classified even higher dimensional input in their respective class. Also, the computational complexity is the same as that of the previous multiplicative neuron model. It has shown more than an 80% reduction in absolute loss as compared to the previous neuron model in similar experimental conditions. Therefore, it can be considered as a generalized artificial model (single neuron) with the capability of solving XOR-like real problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fully autonomous vehicles (FAVs) lack monitoring inside the cabin. Therefore, an in-cabin monitoring system (IMS) is required for surveilling people causing irregular or abnormal situations. However, monitoring in the public domain allows disclosure of an individual's face, which goes against privacy preservation. Furthermore, there is a contrary demand for privacy in the IMS of AVs. Therefore, an intelligent IMS must simultaneously satisfy the contrary requirements of personal privacy protection and person identification during abnormal situations. In this study, we proposed a privacy-preserved IMS, which can reidentify anonymized virtual individual faces in an abnormal situation. This IMS includes a step for extracting facial features, which is accomplished by the edge device (onboard unit) of the AV. This device anonymizes an individual's facial identity before transmitting the video frames to a data server. We created different abnormal scenarios in the vehicle cabin. Further, we reidentified the involved person by using the anonymized virtual face and the reserved feature vectors extracted from the suspected individual. Overall, the proposed approach preserves personal privacy while maintaining security in surveillance systems, such as for in-cabin monitoring of FAVs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This communication describes the formation of 1D-coordination polymeric motifs involving a modified flavin analog connected together through intervening silver ions. A rare bidentate coordination mode for model flavin was achieved with silver complexation and investigated using a solid-state X-ray diffraction technique. Facile transfer of the polymeric motif onto the surfaces was also achieved using a simple drop cast method. Corroborative results were obtained with optical, AFM and TEM studies, which reveals the deposition of long fibres with tens of micrometres in length onto the surfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tiny sensor nodes are the demand of smart and intelligent systems. These sensor nodes require on-board self-powered generating systems. Also, such generators should have lesser size. MEMS energy harvesters are profoundly used as the on-board self-powered generators. However, the size constrain imposes an important design trade-off on such devices. This trade-off is in-between areal dimension and the resonant frequency. In this paper, we have proposed an efficient bimorph energy harvester design which produces higher power density at very low resonance frequency. We have considered the poisonous behavior of lead-based devices as well and proposed lead-free designs in our work. The proposed design consists of a bimorph square plate of 2.25 mm2 with two Zinc Oxide (ZnO) layers of 0.5 µm each sandwiched a copper electrode layer of 1 µm. A spiral cut of 5 µm thickness is made over the plate in order to form a fixed free beam structure. Furthermore, without the inclusion of tip mass, the resonant frequency of the beam is controlled by varying the number of spiral turns. Our proposed design outperformed the previous designs by producing maximum output power of 15 nW at 110 Hz with seven spiral turns with very lower active volume. Also, it has a normalized volumetric power density of 3 × 10−2 µW/mm3 g2 Hz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neural activity at the large-scale population level has been suggested to be consistent with a sequence of brief, quasistable spatial patterns. These "microstates" and their temporal dynamics have been linked to myriad cognitive functions and brain diseases. Most of this research has been performed using EEG, leaving many questions, such as the existence, dynamics, and behavioral relevance of microstates at the level of local field potentials (LFPs), unaddressed. Here, we adapted the standard EEG microstate analysis to triple-area LFP recordings from 192 electrodes in rats to investigate the mesoscopic dynamics of neural microstates within and across brain regions during novelty exploration. We performed simultaneous recordings from the prefrontal cortex, striatum, and ventral tegmental area in male rats during awake behavior (object novelty and exploration). We found that the LFP data can be accounted for by multiple, recurring microstates that were stable for ;60-100 ms. The simultaneous microstate activity across brain regions revealed rhythmic patterns of coactivations, which we interpret as a novel indicator of inter-regional, mesoscale synchronization. Furthermore, these rhythmic coactivation patterns across microstates were modulated by behavioral states such as movement and exploration of a novel object. These results support the existence of a functional mesoscopic organization across multiple brain areas and present a possible link of the origin of macroscopic EEG microstates to zero-lag neuronal synchronization within and between brain areas, which is of particular interest to the human research community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pristine and barium (Ba2+) doped YMnO3 (Y1−xBaxMnO3; x = 0.00 and 0.05) ceramic samples were synthesized through the solid-state reaction method. The X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy were performed for the structural and morphological studies. The electrical transport properties were investigated using dielectric and modulus spectroscopy. The XRD patterns of the titled ceramics have shown the monophasic hexagonal structure having P63cm space group symmetry. The average crystallite size is found to decrease on partial substitution of Ba2+ cation. Raman spectroscopy was performed to observe the local disorder and variation in the modes with the introduction of dopant in the pristine ceramic. The surface morphology displays the formation of non-uniform grains in the ceramics. The dielectric spectroscopy reveals a decreasing trend in both the dielectric constant and dissipation factor with increasing frequency. It indicates the significant role played by the space charge polarization. The electrical modulus study of the ceramics was also performed to explore the electrical transport phenomenon. The present study reports the enhanced dielectric nature of doped materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scleral necrosis is a rare but well documented ocular manifestation of Porphyria Cutanea Tarda (PCT). The PCT is caused by a deficiency of Uroporphyrinogen Decarboxylase (Uro-D). The typical clinical manifestations of PCT in the form of cutaneous photosensitivity are due to the accumulation of fluorescent polycarboxylated porphyrins. Here, a case of 30-year-old male patient who was referred to the cornea services department for scleral thinning in right eye has been presented. Slit lamp biomicroscopy revealed focal area (5×5 mm2) of punched out scleral thinning (>80%) with uveal show in the interpalpebral area, 2 mm temporal to the limbus in right eye and a partial thickness scleral melt in nasal area. The left eye was phthisical. Patient had multiple blisters and pigmented, slightly depressed scars on the skin, especially in the sun-exposed parts such as face, hands and legs. Digital shortening, atrophy and contractures were seen in hands and legs. Based on the clinical, biochemical and dermatological evaluation, the diagnosis of PCT was made. A rare case of scleral necrosis with uveal show in a patient with PCT which was successfully treated with allogenic scleral patch graft has been reported. On follow-up visits scleral patch graft was well taken up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study is an attempt to investigate the impact of intensive agriculture and horticulture activities on the hydrogeological and hydrochemical regime in a watershed in Central India. The study area covers 137 km2 and the land use land cover (LULC) study shows that 39.72% area is agrihorticulture land, and 29.78% of the land is covered with other vegetation. Groundwater budgeting is aimed to estimate stage of groundwater development and to examine the contribution of different competing users (domestic, agriculture and industries) on groundwater usage. The groundwater budgeting results show that the stage of groundwater development is 100.26%, thus the study area falls under the over-exploited category as per GEC 2015 norms. The groundwater quality indicates the elevated concentration of nitrate (>45 mg/L) in 41% samples of pre-monsoon season and 80% samples in the post-monsoon season. The elevated concentration of nitrate in groundwater samples of the post-monsoon season indicates the contamination due to the non-point sources like excessive use of fertilizers in horti-agriculture. The sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) values indicate that groundwater is suitable for irrigation. However, physico-chemical water quality results show that 74% samples of pre-monsoon and 85% samples of the post-monsoon season are found unsuitable for drinking as compared to acceptable limits of drinking water specification BIS 10500:2012. The study area needs intervention measures both on the supply side and demand side to bring the development stage and water quality to safer limits. Long term mitigation strategies for the revival of the natural streams should also be adopted to increase water availability in the study area. Precision agriculture, promotion of organic farming, minimization of water use, soil amendments for soil moisture retention and prevention of the runoff must be included in the management practices to improve the health of the watershed and for the long term sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon fiber reinforced-polylactic acid (CF-PLA) composites nowadays are widely researched alternative structural materials for their potential application in prosthetic and orthotic implants. The present work firstly consolidates the findings on the application of 3D printing in biomedical and allied fields. Fatigue life and impact strength of 3D printed CF-PLA test specimens were determined. The test specimens were fabricated through the fused deposition modeling (FDM) approach at two printing temperatures. The pronounced effect of printing temperature is characterized by the significant change in fatigue life and impact strength of the FDM specimen. The fatigue life at the printing temperature of 240°C was 2.7 times greater than that at 225°C, whereas the impact strength was greater by 5.93%. The microscopy findings revealed increased diffusion and a reduced number of ridges and pores at higher printing temperature testifying that printing temperature prominently controls the durability and impact response of FDM printed parts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Resistivity variations near and above metal-to-insulator transition is exhibited. • Co-existence of ferromagnetic clusters and polarons manifests in the Cusp region. • Mathematical models fit in low and high temperature Insulating regions. • Lattice site disorder causes deviation in fitted curves in Insulating regions. In the present study, efforts are made to study the temperature dependent resistivity (ρ-T) variations of manganites (La 0.7 Sr 0.3 MnO 3 (LSMO) single layer) and manganites-based systems ((LSMO/γ-Fe 2 O 3 /LSMO) trilayer heterostructures) in two distinct regions (Cusp region and Insulating region). Cusp region is an intermediate region between Metallic region and Insulating region. The resistivity-temperature curves are studied and analysed by various resistive models and fitting equations. The co-existence of ferromagnetic clusters and polarons manifests in the Cusp region. The Insulating region is explored and fitted under two regimes: Low Temperature Insulating region and High Temperature Insulating region. Various mathematical models viz. Thermal Activation model, Small Polaron Hopping model and Variable Range Hopping model were employed to study the ρ-T variations under various temperature ranges for LSMO (60 nm) single layer system and LSMO/γ-Fe 2 O 3 /LSMO (150 nm) trilayer heterostructures. In Insulating region, the deviations in the fitted curves from the experimental data is due to intrinsic disorder at the R/A site in case of LSMO single layer system while in case of trilayer system disorder exists at both R/A and B sites. The study is crucial to understand the microscopic picture of electrical transport behavior in both the systems near and above Metal-Insulator Transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein we report stabilization of rare secondary coordination for modified flavin analogues leading to the extended coordination geometry. Judicially positioned pendent within the flavin molecular framework were synthesized and structural elucidation of four silver complexes were performed. A preliminary photophysical behavior and morphological features onto the surface were also explored. Notably, flavin unit prefer to form discrete entity via primary coordination alone, extending the coordination architecture of redox active flavin entity might provide an interesting material for molecular electronic applications. [Display omitted] • Two novel N10 functionalized isoalloxazine analogues were synthesized. • Silver complexes of Allylic-flavin (Ag-AF) and picolyl flavin (Ag-PiF) was studies using single crystal XRD techniques. • Rare bidentate coordination mode for the flavin ring, resulting in formation of interconnected polymeric arrangement. • Morphological studies was performed to investigate the facile transfer of the polymeric structure onto the glass surface. The present manuscript discusses our effort in stabilizing the rare bidentate coordinate mode for the flavin entity, via pendent supported secondary coordination; thereby resulting in a polymeric structure. Subtle chemical modification around the flavin core structure incorporating allyl and picolyl functionality in proximity to the secondary coordinate site was envisaged and two novel flavin analogues allylflavin (AF) and picolylflavin (PiF) was synthesized and solid-state X-ray diffraction studies was performed to elucidate the structural features of their silver complexes. Interestingly, two crystallographically unique silver ions was found to be characteristic feature, with different geometry around silver ion is observed depending on its involvement in coordination at primary or secondary site of the flavin unit. Furthermore, complexation behavior has been probed via photophysical techniques and morphological studies were undertaken to ascertain the facile transfer of the coordination polymeric motif onto the surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gene markers are crucial for cancer prognosis and treatment. Previous studies have placed greater emphasis on individual diagnostic genes, thereby ignoring systemic-level attributes across diseases. Female-specific cells namely, breast, endometrium, cervical, ovarian and vulvar cells are highly susceptible to cancer. To date, a limited number of molecular studies have been performed that evaluate common biological processes across gynecological types of cancer. Differentially expressed genes in breast, cervical, endometrial, vulvar and ovarian cancer were utilized to construct protein-protein interaction networks, and to identify a common module across the five cancer types. A single common module with 8 nodes and 26 edges was mined among the five cancer systems. In total, four hub genes were present across the five cancer gene sets. Genes in the common module were enriched for the common pathways and associated diseases. The aurora kinase pathway was revealed to be conserved across the five cancer types surveyed. The present study, therefore, revealed that the aurora kinase pathway has a crucial function in the pathogenesis of the five aforementioned gynecological types of cancer through cross-tumor conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Textile industries are among the most polluting and demand urgent management measures to mitigate their negative environmental impact. Thus, it is imperative to incorporate the textile industry into the circular economy and to foster sustainable practices. This study aims to establish a comprehensive, compliant decision framework to analyse risk mitigation strategies for circular supply chain (CSC) adoption in India’s textile industries. The Situations Actors Processes and Learnings Actions Performances (SAP–LAP) technique analyses the problem. However, interpreting the interacting associations between the SAP–LAP model-based variables is somewhat lacking in this procedure, which might skew the decision-making process. As a result, in this study, the SAP–LAP method is accompanied by a novel ranking technique, namely, the Interpretive Ranking Process (IRP), which reduces decision-making issues in the SAP–LAP method and aids in evaluating the model by determining the ranks of variables; furthermore, the study also offers causal relationships among the various risks and risk factors and various identified risk-mitigation actions by constructing Bayesian Networks (BN) based on conditional probabilities. The study’s originality represents the findings using an instinctive and interpretative choice approach to address significant concerns in risk perception and mitigation techniques for CSC adoption in the Indian textile industries. The suggested SAP–LAP and the IRP-based model would assist firms in addressing risk mitigation techniques for CSC adoption concerns by providing a hierarchy of the various risks and mitigation strategies to cope with. The simultaneously proposed BN model will help visualise the conditional dependency of risks and factors with proposed mitigating actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The self-assembly behavior of DNA conjugates possessing a perylenediimide (PDI) head group and an N-oligonucleotide tail has been investigated using a combination of optical spectroscopy and cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) imaging. To obtain insight into the interplay between PDI hydrophobic interactions and DNA base-pairing we employed systematic variation in the length and composition of the oligo tails. Conjugates with short (TA) n or (CG) n oligo tails ( n≤3) form helical or nonhelical fibers constructed from π-stacked PDI head groups with pendent oligo tails in aqueous solution. Conjugates with longer (TA) n oligo tails also form stacks of PDI head groups, which are further aggregated by base-pairing between their oligo tails, leading to fiber bundling and formation of bilayers. The longer (CG) n conjugates form PDI end-capped duplexes, which further assemble into PDI-stacked arrays of duplexes leading to large scale ordered assemblies. Cryo-TEM imaging reveals that (CG)3 gives rise to both fibers and large assemblies, whereas (CG)5 assembles preferentially into large ordered structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

teady state spectroscopy, femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy (fsTA), and femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy (FSRS) of DNA mini-hairpins possessing a diphenylacetylenedicarboxamide (DPA) linker and 1–3 adenine–thymine (A-T) or guanine–cytosine (G-C) base pairs have been investigated. Ultraviolet and circular dichroism (UV and CD) spectra are consistent with ground state conformations that are predominantly base-paired and π-stacked for conjugates possessing two or three base pairs; however, they offer no information concerning the conformation of conjugates possessing a single base pair. fsTA spectra are indicative of π-stacked structures excepted in the case of the conjugate possessing a single G-C base pair. All of the conjugates display transient absorption bands characteristic of the DPA–. anion radical. Conjugates possessing two or three G-C base pairs display a transient absorption band characteristic of the short-lived G+• cation radical. The mini-hairpins with 1–3 A-T base pairs do not display the transient absorption band characteristic of the (An+•) polaron. This implies that an A-tract with three base pairs is too short to support polaron formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study was undertaken to analyses the correlation co-efficient for twenty seven characters in twelve genotypes of gladiolus (Gladiolus hybridus Hort.) grown atthe Instructional Farm, Department of Floriculture & Landscaping, College of Horticulture & Forestry, Jhalarapatan, Jhalawar. Spike length had highly positive association with rachis length (rg:0.92, rp:0.88), floret diameter (rg:0.94, rp:0.0.74), spike diameter (rg:0.66, rp:0.50), duration of flowering (rg:0.71, rp:0.42), number of florets per spike (rg:0.89, rp:0.84), number of cormels per plant (rg:0.69, rp:0.65), diameter of corm (rg:0.48, rp:0.41), weight of corm (rg:0.44, rp:0.40), weight of cormels per plant (rg:0.20, rp:0.19), size index of corms (rg:0.41, rp:0.38), florets remaining open at a time in vase (rg:0.56, rp:0.33). At both genotypic and phenotypic levels it had negative correlation with number of spikes per plot (rg:-0.56, rp:-0.48), number of corms per plant (rg:-0.72, rp:-0.50), number of corms per plot (rg:-0.60, rp:-0.54) and florets remaining unopened (rg:-0.39, rp:-0.37). It was observed that for most of the characters genotypic correlation coefficients were higher than phenotypic correlation coefficients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel flavin-dipicolylamine conjugate was designed for highly selective and sequential recognition of zinc and phosphate ions based on OFF-ON-OFF mode of detection. While lower detection limits were obtained toward zinc ion recognition in the two solvents studied here, different stoichiometric requirement and hence different mode of coordination was also observed and evaluated. Furthermore, the DPF-zinc complex was found to be highly selective for phosphate anion over other anions studied. Variation in the detection limit for phosphate over pyrophosphate was observed making it a model capable of differentiating between AMP from ADP or ATP. [Display omitted] • Flavin appended dipicolylamine moiety (DPF) was synthesized. • DPF exhibited intensiometric fluorescence change upon sequential addition of Zn2+ and PO 4 3−. • Binding behavior towards Zn2+ was investigated in two solvents DMSO and Methanol. • It showed 4.02 nM and 236.8 nM detection limit in Methanol and DMSO. • The Zn2+ complex of the probe was applied to discriminate AMP from ADP and ATP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Santosam Param Sukham" Mediation is one of the modes for attainment of peace ."The benefit of such process as mediation are further fortified from the fact that imminent legal personalities such as Mahatma Gandhi,Abraham Lincon and Nani Palkiwala have taken pleasure and pride in continuasly settling the cases out of the court in uniting the parties driven as under by conflict and discouraging litigation." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The excited state behavior of DNA hairpins possessing a diphenylacetylenedicarboxamide (DPA) linker separated from a single guanine-cytosine (G-C) base pair by zero-to-six adenine-thymine (A-T) base pairs has been investigated. In the case of hairpins with zero or one A-T separating DPA and G, formation of both DPA anion radical (DPA-•) and G cation radical (G+•) are directly observed and characterized by their transient absorption and stimulated Raman spectra. For hairpins with two or more intervening A-T, the transient absorption spectra of DPA-• and the adenine polaron (An+•) are observed. In addition to characterization of the hole carriers, the dynamics of each step in the charge separation and charge recombination process as well as the overall efficiency of charge separation have been determined, thus providing a complete account of the mechanism and dynamics of photoinduced charge transport in these DNA hairpins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Signals recorded from the brain often show rhythmic patterns at different frequencies, which are tightly coupled to the external stimuli as well as the internal state of the subject. In addition, these signals have very transient structures related to spiking or sudden onset of a stimulus, which have durations not exceeding tens of milliseconds. Further, brain signals are highly nonstationary because both behavioral state and external stimuli can change on a short time scale. It is therefore essential to study brain signals using techniques that can represent both rhythmic and transient components of the signal, something not always possible using standard signal processing techniques such as short time fourier transform, multitaper method, wavelet transform, or Hilbert transform. In this review, we describe a multiscale decomposition technique based on an over-complete dictionary called matching pursuit (MP), and show that it is able to capture both a sharp stimulus-onset transient and a sustained gamma rhythm in local field potential recorded from the primary visual cortex. We compare the performance of MP with other techniques and discuss its advantages and limitations. Data and codes for generating all time-frequency power spectra are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study Hydrilla verticillata dried biomass was modified by Fenton reagent and its technical feasibility for removal of Cr 6+ and Ni 2+ ions from wastewater were investigated. Fenton modification process was optimized by varying pH, biosorbent dose, contact time, and Fe 2+ /H 2 O 2 ratio. For Fenton modification process the optimum values of pH, biosorbent dose, contact time, and Fe 2+ /H 2 O 2 ratio were 4, 70 g L −1 , 70 min and 0.04 w/w, respectively. The modified biosorbent was characterized by using SEM-EDX, FT-IR and Malvern particle size analyzer. SEM-EDX analysis revealed the enhancement in weight percent of Cr 6+ (47.38%) and Ni 2+ (41.26%) ions on the surface of Fenton modified dried biomass of Hydrilla verticillata (FMB) after biosorption. Maximum biosorption of Cr 6+ and Ni 2+ ions were observed to be 29.43 and 48.72 mg g −1 for raw biomass and 107.64 and 106.12 mg g −1 for Fenton modified biomass respectively. Experimental data were modeled using single and multi-component isotherm models. For single-metal component, the Freundlich isotherm model fits the data better than the Langmuir isotherm model. In case of binary-metal solution the experimental data show good agreement with multi-component Freundlich isotherm model. The enhancement in the overall biosorption capacity after the Fenton modification was observed which follows the sequence: Cr 6+ > Ni 2+ . The biosorption process followed the pseudo-second order kinetics. The equilibrium data suggest the involvement of chemisorption mechanism. Positive values of enthalpy and negative values of Gibbs free energy obtained during thermodynamic study revealed that the biosorption process was endothermic and spontaneous in nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamics of charge separation and charge recombination have been determined for lipid complexes of DNA capped hairpins possessing stilbene electron-acceptor and -donor chromophores separated by base-pair domains that vary in length and base sequence in chloroform solution by means of femtosecond time-resolved transient absorption spectroscopy. The results obtained for the DNA-lipid complexes are compared with those previously obtained in our laboratories for the same hairpins in aqueous buffer. The charge separation and charge recombination times for the lipid complexes are consistently much shorter than those determined in aqueous solution and are only weakly dependent on the number of base pairs separating the acceptor and donor. The enhanced rate constants for forward and return charge transport in DNA-lipid complexes support proposals that solvent gating is responsible, to a significant extent, for the relatively low rates of charge transport for DNA in water. Moreover, they suggest that DNA-lipid complexes may prove useful in the development of DNA-based molecular electronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]