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Rosai Dorfman disease (RDD) commonly presents as bilateral cervical lymphadenopathy in children and young adults. We herein report a young girl with unilateral inguinal lymphadenopathy as a rare presentation of RDD. Keywords: Child, Rosai Dorfman disease, Unilateral lymphadenopathy

Thermochemical energy storage based on dehydration-hydration of Ca(OH)2/CaO reversible gas solid reaction offers an important way of understanding energy storage/release rates of energy storage system. The aim of study is to achieve better understanding of kinetics of Ca(OH)2 decomposition under isothermal conditions and to enhance reaction rate by addition of inert agent. Thermogravimetric analyzer was used to perform kinetic analysis of pure Ca(OH)2 decomposition at various temperatures, yielding kinetic parameters - activation energy and Arrhenius constant with derived rate control equations for isothermal and non-isothermal conditions. CaTiO3 is added to Ca(OH)2 at different compositions to enhance kinetic parameters in form of composite pellets which showed significant increase in activation energy and Arrhenius constant values. Addition of CaTiO3 assisted in increasing reaction rate likely by increasing reaction surface area. Composite pellets showed promising results to get new advanced hydroxide-based material however further study on cyclic stability of the material is needed.

In the present investigation, hot deformation behaviour of Fe–21Cr-1.5Ni–5Mn alloy was studied by performing isothermal unidirectional hot compression tests. The tests were carried out at strain rates of 0.01, 0.1, 1, 5 and 10 s−1 and at temperatures of 675, 750, 825, 900, 975 and 1050 °C. The samples were deformed up to 50% height reduction (e = 0.7). The flow softening behaviour was modelled using Arrhenius hyperbolic sine law approach. The predicted flow stresses and the experimental flow stresses were found to be comparable indicating that the developed model can accurately portray flow behaviour of Fe–21Cr-1.5Ni–5Mn alloy. As-received and deformed specimens showed elongated grain structure. The correlation coefficient (R2) of the experimental and predicted results for Arrhenius hyperbolic sine law model was ~0.97, while the average absolute relative error (AARE) was found to be 7.31%. The hot deformation activation energy for peak stress was found to be 508.3 kJ mol−1. The maximum value of ‘m’ (0.227) was obtained in the temperature range 975 °C–1050 °C and strain rates between 0.1 s−1 to 1 s−1. ‘m’ value between 0.1 and 0.2 is considered to be optimum for hot working. Deformation at 975 °C also gave the best match between experimental and predicted flow stress with m values between 0.1 and 0.2 and hence was considered optimum.

Thermochemical energy storage (TCES) is based on the principle of employing a reversible chemical reaction for thermal energy storage. TCES is characterized by high energy density and low parasitic heat loss while also offering potential functionality as a chemical heat pump (CHP) to boost temperature. Results of experiments conducted on a Ca(OH)2/CaO TCES system based on reversible dehydration-hydration reactions are reported in this paper. Dehydration of Ca(OH)2 pellets conducted in a thermogravimetric-differential calorimetry analyzer (TGA-DSC) revealed that the optimum heating rate ranges from 10-15 K/min for the decomposition of Ca(OH)2. Repeated dehydration-hydration cycles were conducted in a bench scale reactor system under various reaction conditions. It was found that the temperature rise during hydration reaction was dependent on the extent of conversion during the dehydration process. The energy and exergy efficiencies of the dehydration-hydration cycles were found to range from 76% to 79% and 85% to 91%, respectively. Visual and scanning electron microscopic examinations of the product after each reaction revealed structural changes and formation of cracks in the pellets. These changes did not affect the thermal efficiency of the process. Results of this study provide a foundation for the development of Ca(OH)2/CaO CHPs for large-scale thermal energy storage systems.

Fungal sensitisation in adults is associated with severe asthma but prevalence and clinical significance of fungal sensitisation remains unclear in paediatric population. The aim of this study was to study the association of fungal sensitisation with disease severity in children with persistent asthma. One hundred children with persistent asthma in age group 7-15 years, symptom duration >2 years and forced expiratory volume in first second >50% of expected were enrolled. Skin prick test (SPT) to 8 fungal antigens and total serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) were done. Fungal sensitisation was described as positive SPT (wheel diameter more than 3 mm larger than the negative control) to any of the fungal antigens and total serum IgE >200 ng/mL. Seventeen patients showed evidence of fungal sensitisation, of which, 6 demonstrated sensitisation to multiple fungi. 17.6% patients with fungal sensitisation had severe asthma as compared to 2.4% patients without fungal sensitisation (P value .032). Significant increase in family history of allergic comorbidities was noted among patients with fungal sensitisation (47.1% vs 21.7%, P value .03). The most common implicated organism in fungal sensitised patients was Aspergillus flavus (47.1%). The results of this study, a first among Indian children with asthma, suggest that children with fungal sensitisation have more severe asthma as compared to children without fungal sensitisation.

Objectives Kawasaki disease (KD) is a multisystemic vasculitis with predominant mucocutaneous manifestations. Pulmonary involvement in KD is distinctly uncommon and is not commonly recognized. We describe our experience of managing children with KD wherein the initial presentation was predominantly pulmonary. Methods Six hundred and two children have been diagnosed with KD during the period January 1993 to May 2017 in the Allergy Immunology Unit, Advanced Pediatrics Centre, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh. Data were collected from inpatient records in Allergy Immunology Unit and follow-up files in the Pediatric Rheumatology Clinic. Results Of 602 children, 11 (1.83%) had a predominant pulmonary presentation of KD. Mean age at diagnosis of KD was 2.5 years. Fever, cough and respiratory distress were the presenting complaints in all patients. First sign of KD was noted at a mean duration of 14.5 days from the onset of symptoms. Periungual desquamation was the most common clinical sign (72.7%). Persistent fever in spite of antimicrobials, thrombocytosis, and elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein levels pointed toward a diagnosis of KD in our patients. Parenchymal consolidation was evident on chest X-ray in all patients, pleural effusion in six, empyema in three, and pneumothorax in two patients. Coronary artery abnormalities were evident in three patients. Intravenous immunoglobulin was given after a mean period of 22.4 days of onset of fever. Conclusions The diagnosis of KD is often delayed in children who have a predominantly pulmonary presentation. This can have adverse clinical consequences.

Background Cytomegalovirus (CMV) results in significant morbidity and mortality in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-infected individuals. There is paucity of literature on paediatric CMV disease, especially from developing countries. Methods A retrospective review of records of all HIV-infected children with evidence of CMV disease was done. Results A total of 15 children were found to have CMV disease (retinitis in all, pneumonia in two and invasive gastrointestinal disease in one). Median CD4+ T cell count and percentage at diagnosis of CMV disease was 64.5 cells/µl and 3.6%, respectively. Intravenous ganciclovir was used in patients with active CMV disease. Of the 15 children, three died while two were lost to follow-up. Symptomatic patients had poor visual outcome and almost all children who were diagnosed on active screening attained normal vision. Conclusion Retinitis is the most common CMV disease in HIV-infected children. Early detection by active screening and initiation of systemic ganciclovir reduces the morbidity.

Malignant large artery stroke is associated with high mortality of 70% to 80% with best medical management. Decompressive craniectomy (DC) is a highly effective tool in reducing mortality. Convincing evidence has accumulated from several randomized trials, in addition to multiple retrospective studies, that demonstrate not only survival benefit but also improved functional outcome with DC in appropriately selected patients. This article explores in detail the evidence for DC, nuances regarding patient selection, and applicability of DC for supratentorial intracerebral hemorrhage and posterior fossa ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke.

In the present work, dissimilar welding between UNS S32205 duplex stainless steel (DSS) and 316L austenitic stainless steel (ASS) was performed by using gas tungsten arc welding and ER2209 filler at two different heat inputs (0.52 and 0.98 kJ/mm). Microstructures were characterized using reflected light optical microscope and scanning electron microscope. Micro-hardness and tensile properties were measured across the weld for both the heat inputs. The microstructure of the welded region was primarily austenitic (for both heat inputs) with Widmanstatten morphology. The grain size of the heat affected zone on DSS side was very large (~200 µm) for the high heat input sample with the presence of partially transformed austenite and acicular austenite. The precipitation of intermetallic phases and carbides was not observed for both the heat inputs. The proportion of ferrite in the weld metal (as measured by feritscope) was higher for the high heat input sample than the low heat input sample. During the tensile test, fracture occurred in 316L ASS base metal (because of its lower strength) in ductile manner. For high heat input welds, the impact tested sample showed the presence of fine spherical precipitates rich in Cr, Mn and Fe in the fracture surface of weld metal.

Using Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) methodology this study explored the nonstatistical factors that might affect a cargo airline. ISM allows a better understanding of the mutual influence among different attributes and the consequences, which helps the decision maker make more informed decisions. The study used ISM methodology to summarize and identify the relationships among attributes that influences the competitive advantage of a cargo airline, operational factors that might influence the firm's processes, and characteristics that might affect the overall financial stability of the airline. Relationships among attributes were derived and structured into a hierarchy in order to identify subsystems of interdependent elements with corresponding driving power and dependency.

Amyloidosis is a heterogeneous group of disorders with amyloid material deposit in the extracellular compartment of the body as fibrillary protein which may be generalized or localized. Primary amyloidosis of urinary bladder is rare and large lesion measuring more than 8x8cm2 in size is not known. Majority, clinically presents with painless haematuria and irritative voiding symptoms which may confused with diagnosis of bladder carcinoma. Definitive diagnosis is made on histopathogical examination of tissue removed through cystoscopy or biopsy and after special staining. It diagnosis should alert physician to arrange for referral or appropriate investigations. Medical ttreatment using colchicine or dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) has been reported in the literature with good results. However, the majority of cases are still managed by transurethral resections of lesion. To our knowledge, this is first case of giant amyloidosis of urinary bladder managed by segmental cystectomy.

In recent times, deep neural networks are being used in a wide variety of applications such as autonomous vehicles, medical imaging and surveillance. While they are becoming increasingly powerful, it is possible to disrupt their task by crafting adversarial inputs. These inputs are essentially perturbations added to the original inputs so that the application using the network, such as an object recognizer, is unable to classify the object in the image. Crafting such inputs to disrupt such a recognition task is termed an adversarial attack. Here, we implement two disruption strategies, Fast Gradient Sign Method (FGSM) and generating perturbations using a generator network. While FGSM requires access to the gradient calculated by the classifier with respect to the input image, the generator trains simultaneously with the classifier network to learn how to craft perturbations. Once the generator network is trained with a particular classifier (say, VGG16), it can disrupt other classifier networks in a black-box fashion as well. Using the same dataset, in this case CIFAR-10, it is possible to adversarially train the classifier to make it more robust to perturbed images. This involves training the classifier on the CIFAR-10 images with both the original images and the ones perturbed by the generator. In experiments, the attack using the generator achieves higher disruption accuracies than FGSM on very deep networks.

Food Delivery Apps have broken into the conventional practices and have offered a convenient solution to the problem of busy work schedules not letting people go out for a delicious meal. The need and the rise of these apps have largely been driven by Millenials. While this transition from the conventional practices is largely based upon the customer satisfaction and the perception about these apps, there are several other factors that have to be taken into account for adoption of Food Delivery Apps. For this purpose, the paper attempts to assess multiple factors that affect the adoption of food delivery apps that have been analyzed individually solely on the basis of primary data collected by using a questionnaire survey. The paper examines the usage pattern of these apps on a weekly basis and helps us identify the most preferred app out of the many apps customers use for the same purpose. The study also talks about the amount a person generally spends on an average per week to order food at home. All the results have been expressed using different statistical tools using pie charts, bar diagrams etc. and hypothesis testing methods to extrapolate the results of the study.

Raspberry Pi, a credit card sized, low power consuming and cost-effective computer gained global recognition since its development in 2008. The capability to run GNU-based Linux distribution like Snappy Ubuntu, Kali, Raspbian and even Windows 10, has partly contributed to its popularity. However, these devices can also be exploited. In this chapter, we will discuss how a digital forensic investigator could investigate a case where a Raspberry Pi was used to conduct Man in the middle attack. Using an adversary model, we will demonstrate how one can perform a man-in-the-middle attack against users by creating a rogue wireless access point and capturing critical user information. We will try to analyze different operating system and application log files; files and data recovered using different digital forensic tools to deduce the timeline and what things have happened using recovered evidence. We will also see how different digital forensic analysis tools like Autopsy, FTK AccessData and Bulk Extractor could be helpful in this case by performing benchmarking them against some key factors like recovered web history and cookies files, carved files, etc.

Children with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection are reported to have various malignancies, most common being Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Despite higher risk of malignancies, brain tumors are infrequently described in these children. We report Primitive Neuroectodermal tumor (PNET) in a young boy with HIV infection. PNET has never been described in association with HIV infection. Though a causative association cannot be established, it does emphasize that with longer survivals on effective antiretroviral therapy, we may see a wide range of malignancies more frequently.

This paper expounds different topologies for achieving precise control of current through a solenoid coil. Various power electronic circuits with different control strategies have been implemented. These novel topologies are aimed at achieving current control in the magnetorquer coils in a Nanosatellite. COEPSAT-2 is a student satellite mission aimed at demonstrating propulsion using solar sails. The magnetorquers are required to damp the angular velocities. Three topologies have been implemented and compared based on their transient response, ripple percentage, resolution etc. Limited literature is available on control strategies to drive a constant current through magnetorquer coils in satellites and this paper aims at bridging this gap. The topologies presented can be further extended to various low power applications across several industries; the current control in the magnetorquer of a satellite just exemplifies an application of the same. The paper presents the power electronic topology, control strategy and the comparative analysis of two novel closed loop topologies of current control and a popular open loop topology.

Rationale: Impaired lung function is a potent independent predictor of coronary artery disease (CAD) in individuals without human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection; however, the relationship between lung function and CAD in HIV remains undefined. Objectives: To examine the relationship between lung function, CAD, mortality, and circulating biomarkers in HIV. Methods: Spirometry, diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (Dl(CO)), emphysema, coronary artery calcium, mortality, cause of death, and biomarkers were examined in HIV-infected and uninfected individuals enrolled in a cohort study at the University of Pittsburgh. Results were then validated in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS) cohort. Results: We examined data on 234 participants in the Pittsburgh cohort. The mean ± standard deviation age was 49.5 ± 10.2 years old, 82.1% were male, and 67.5% were ever smokers. Among the 177 of 234 individuals with HIV infection, lower Dl(CO) (not forced expiratory volume in 1 second or emphysema) was independently associated with greater coronary artery calcium (odds ratio, 1.43 per 10% lower Dl(CO); 95% confidence interval, 1.14–1.81). HIV-infected individuals with both reduced Dl(CO) and coronary artery calcium had a much higher mortality than those with either low Dl(CO) or coronary calcium alone or with neither condition. Endothelin-1, a circulating biomarker of endothelial dysfunction, was associated with both lower Dl(CO) and greater coronary artery calcium in those with HIV infection. Results were reproducible in 144 individuals enrolled in the MACS cohort; intercellular adhesion molecule 1 was the biomarker of endothelial dysfunction assessed in the MACS cohort. Conclusions: Impaired Dl(CO) and CAD were associated with each other and with higher mortality in individuals with HIV infection.

Background: Immunoglobulin G4 related disease (IgG4RD) is a mutisystemic diorder characterized by elevated serum IgG4 levels and infiltration of IgG4 positive plasma cells accompanied by fibrosis. It is mostly considered a disease of adults and elderly people. There is paucity of literature on pediatric IgGRD. A recent systematic review has found only 25 pediatric cases. Objectives: To report broad patterns of organ involvement in IgG4RD in children and also to create awareness among treating pediatricians about this new entity. Methods: The study is based on a review of the hospital records of children with IgG4RD at tertiary centre from North-West India. Diagnosis was based on clinical features, IgG4 levels and characteristic histopathology findings. Results: Six patients had IgG4RD. Pt-1; 10-year-old boy presented with fever for 3 months and significant hepatomegaly. Investigations showed anemia, thrombocytopenia, elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and C-reactive protein (CRP). Ultrasonography (USG) revealed a hepatic mass (10x5x6 cm) that was confirmed on computed tomography. Liver biopsy showed increased plasma cells (>50 IgG4 positive plasma cells/HPF) and storiform fibrosis suggestive of IgG4 related hepatic mass. Serum IgG4 level was 420 mg/dl (N: 6-28). Pt-2; 12-year-old girl presented with an abdominal lump. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy showed an intragastric mass with exophytic component. Histopathology of abdominal mass was consistent with IgG4RD. Serum IgG4 level was >170 mg/dl (N: 6-28). Pt-3; 21-year-old male symptomatic since age of 14 years with recurrent erythematous swellings over dorsum of the left hand, forearm and chest. Investigations showed anemia, elevated ESR, CRP, and hypergammaglobulinemia. IgG4 levels were 211 mg/dl (N: 7-57). Histopathology from left hand showed lymphoplasmacytic infiltrates, storiform fibrosis, obliterative phlebitis and increased IgG4 plasma cells (>50/HPF). Pt-4; 18-year-old girl presented with fever and weight loss. She had anemia, thrombocytosis, elevated ESR and CRP. USG abdomen showed omental thickening. Serum IgG4 level was 215 mg/dl (N: 7-57). Peritoneal and omental biopsy showed fibrosing stage of IgG4RD. Pt-5; 7-year-old girl presented with fever, oliguria, and anasarca. Investigations revealed anemia, elevated CRP, ESR, deranged renal functions and nephrotic proteinuria. Renal biopsy showed plasma cell infiltrate, storiform fibrosis, and 10-16 IgG4 plasma cells/HPF; consistent with IgG4 related tubulointerstitial nephritis. Serum IgG4 was 68 mg/dl (N: 7-26). Pt-6; 14-year-old, boy presented with painful protrusion of right eye for 8 months. MRI orbit showed bulky and enhancing extra-ocular muscles of the right eye with lacrimal gland involvement. Serum IgG4 was 119 mg/dl (N: 7-26). Histopathology of mass showed extensive fibrosis, obliterative phlebitis and lymphoplasmacytic cells infiltrate with IgG4 plasma cells >30/HPF, consistent with IgG4RD. All patients showed good clinical response to oral prednisolone (1-2 mg/kg/day and subsequently tapered). Four patients required maintenance therapy with azathioprine. Conclusion: We report 6 cases of pediatric IgG4RD with varied organ involvement and clinical manifestations. Some of the cases presented as space-occupying lesions that can sometimes be confused with neoplastic lesions. It is important to suspect these disorders early and start immunosuppressive therapy promptly to halt end-organ damage due to fibrosis. References [1] Karim F, Loeffen J, Bramer W, et al. IgG4-related disease: a systematic review of this unrecognized disease in pediatrics. Pediatr Rheumatol Online J. 2016;14(1):18 Acknowledgement: None Disclosure of Interests: None declared

As the day progresses, cognitive functions are subject to fluctuations. While the circadian process results in diurnal peaks and drops, the homeostatic process manifests itself in a steady decline of alertness across the day. Awareness of these changes allows the design of proactive recommender and warning systems, which encourage demanding tasks during periods of high alertness and flag accident-prone activities in low alertness states. In contrast to conventional alertness assessments, which are often limited to lab conditions, bulky hardware, or interruptive self-assessments, we base our approach on eye blink frequency data known to directly relate to fatigue levels. Using electrooculography sensors integrated into regular glasses' frames, we recorded the eye movements of 16 participants over the course of two weeks in-the-wild and built a robust model of diurnal alertness changes. Our proposed method allows for unobtrusive and continuous monitoring of alertness levels throughout the day.

We report the in-situ synthesis of (M$g_{0.5} Zn_{0.5}$)$Fe_{2}O_{4}$-graphene oxide (MZF-GO) ferrite nanoparticle hybrid nanocomposite by auto-combustion technique followed by fabrication of homogeneous, structurally stable thin layer (-100-120 $\mu$m) of nanocomposite-polyurethane coating on metallic substrate (A1) and its application on the properties of broadband microwave absorption over the gigahertz (GHz) frequency range. Microstructure studies of nanocomposites depicted that small sized ferrite nanoparticles $(-24 \pm 6 nm)$ are grafted on and through the graphene layers, which forms a homogeneous coating. The nanocomposite-polymer coating demonstrated excellent broadband absorption properties with absorptivity of greater than 85%. The nanocomposite-polymer coating showed good absorptivity over the frequency band of 4-15 GHz, which has numerous practical applications as radar absorbing materials (RAM), stealth technology, electromagnetic shielding, and many more.

IMPORTANCE: Severe aortic stenosis causes pressure overload of the left ventricle, resulting in progressive cardiac dysfunction that can extend beyond the left ventricle. A staging system for aortic stenosis has been recently proposed that quantifies the extent of structural and functional cardiac changes in aortic stenosis. OBJECTIVES: To confirm the reproducibility of a proposed staging system and expand the study findings by performing a survival analysis and to evaluate the association of aortic stenosis staging with both cardiac and noncardiac post–transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) readmissions. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A cohort analysis was conducted involving patients with severe aortic stenosis who underwent TAVR at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center between July 1, 2011, and January 31, 2017. Patients who had undergone TAVR for valve-in-valve procedures and had an incomplete or unavailable baseline echocardiogram study for review were excluded. Clinical, laboratorial, and procedural data were collected from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons database and augmented by electronic medical record review. EXPOSURES: The aortic stenosis staging system is based on echocardiographic markers of abnormal cardiac function. The stages are as follows: stage 1 (left ventricle changes − increased left ventricular mass index; early mitral inflow to early diastolic mitral annulus velocity (E/e′) >14; and left ventricular ejection fraction 34 mL/m(2); moderate to severe mitral regurgitation; and atrial fibrillation), stage 3 (pulmonary artery or tricuspid changes − pulmonary artery systolic pressure ≥60 mm Hg; moderate to severe tricuspid regurgitation), and stage 4 (right ventricle changes − moderate to severe right ventricle dysfunction). MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Primary outcome was post-TAVR all-cause mortality. Secondary outcomes were composite outcomes of all-cause mortality and post-TAVR all-cause and cardiac-cause readmissions. RESULTS: A total of 689 consecutive patients (351 [50.9%] were male, with a mean [SD] age of 82.4 [7.6] years) were included. The prevalence of stage 1 was 13%; stage 2, 62%; stage 3, 21%; and stage 4, 4%. Patients with higher staging had a greater burden of comorbidities as captured by the Society of Thoracic Surgeons Predicted Risk of Mortality (STS-PROM). Despite adjustment for STS-PROM, a graded association was found between aortic stenosis staging and all-cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR] stage 2 vs stage 1: 1.37 [95% CI, 0.81-2.31; P = .25]; stage 3 vs stage 1: 2.24 [95% CI, 1.28-3.92; P = .005]; and stage 4 vs stage 1: 2.83 [95% CI, 1.39-5.76; P = .004]). Stage 3 patients had higher post-TAVR readmission rates for both cardiac (HR, 1.84; 95% CI, 1.13-3.00; P = .01) and noncardiac causes. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Aortic stenosis staging appears to show a strong graded association between the extent of cardiac changes and post-TAVR all-cause mortality; such staging may improve patient care, risk stratification, assessment of prognosis, and shared decision making for patients undergoing TAVR.

A virtual reality headset device is developed to get the virtual environment of a real world with the help of VR convertor software. The virtual headset is used to assemble the 3D design of automobile engine part in virtual environment using Autodesk Fusion 360, VR headset, VR convertor (Trinus VR software), Arduino IDE software, ATMEGA 320P, hand gesture reader device, gyro sensors, magnetometer sensor, and 5.7-inch screen display. The programming language used in the present study is Arduino IDE software is C++. The computer read the gesture of gyro sensor with the help of selected codes. The assembly simulation of the costly products can be carried out before actual practice and the financial loss pertaining to accidents and monitory damages can be minimized.

Music is nowadays, a way to learn for kids, passion for youth, and a mode of meditation for adults. The urge to be able to use different varieties of sounds for a creative composition of music is the biggest challenge for musicians, which is quite complicated as well as time-consuming task. To resolve this issue, this paper presents an approach to generate sounds of various musical instruments corresponding to the particular notes of a guitar. The fundamental principle behind the proposed work is that, though all the musical instruments play the same notes but have different timbre characteristics. The electronic guitar is designed in such a way that it enables a guitarist to play all kinds of instruments without physically learning them. The guitar is connected to a computer through a microcontroller. It has multiple input ports, a part of which acts as frets and remaining as strings. The number of input pins is far less than the actual number of frets and strings. The technique called Charlieplexing achieves it. The instrument to be played can be selected from the instruments listed in the software. After selecting a particular instrument, a guitarist can play it just like a conventional guitar. Computer connectivity also allows the guitarist to practice music with earphones making it a soundless device for others.

A novel reconfigurable fractal ground loaded monopole antenna with p-i-n diode switching and metamaterial as superstrate for gain and bandwidth enhancement is reported. The proposed structure is a CPW-fed monopole antenna with a Minkowski fractal square ring loaded in the ground plane. The integration of p-i-n diode helps in achieving frequency reconfigurability. The antenna with diode OFF operates at 1.4 GHz, 2.1 GHz, 3.7 GHz, 7.6 GHz and 8.9 GHz. But, with diode switched ON, the resonating frequencies shift to 1.4 GHz, 3.4 GHz, 5.45 GHz, 7.86 GHz and 9.52 GHz respectively. When a metamaterial superstrate is placed on top of the monopole radiator, the respective −10 dB impedance bandwidth enhancement of 1.4%, 28%, 18%, 8.3% and 6.3% is obtained. Furthermore, the respective peak gain of 8.37 dB, 8.67 dB, 5.26 dB, 16.09 dB and 21.58 dB are obtained that justifies the shift of operating bands. The simulation results agree well over the experimental findings.

The present study investigates the effect of homogenization on microstructures and texture evolution in a TRC i.e. twin roll cast Al-Fe-Si aluminum alloy (AA8011). TRC AA8011 alloy with an initial thickness of 7 mm was cold rolled upto 50% thickness reduction and homogenized at 580 °C for different times (4h, 8h, and 12h). The initially elongated grains (due to TRC) were further deformed and transformed into a banded structure after cold rolling and the large Al-Fe-Si particles in the as-cast microstructure also reduced in size. After homogenization, the elongated banded grain structure changed to an equiaxed structure and the second phase particles Al-Fe-Si became finer (~2 μm) and more uniform. The near needle shaped second phase particles present in the deformed structure became rounded, which is beneficial for deformability. However, the centerline segregation (CLS) was not removed even after homogenization. Initial TRC AA8011 alloy had a very weak texture consisting of Brass ({110} ), Goss ({110} ), S ({123} ) and Cube ({100} ). After cold rolling, Brass, Goss, and S strengthened, while Cube ({100} ) decreased at mid-thickness of the samples. At the surface, the deformation texture was predominantly near Brass. At mid-thickness, homogenization at 580 °C improved Cube in general, and the maximum Cube texture was obtained for 8 h (~7.7%) along with weak Brass and Goss. The deformation texture components were absent at the surface with minor variation in Cube.

Thermochemical energy storage system based on Ca(OH)2/CaO reversible reaction can also be operated as a chemical heat pump to boost the temperature of the delivered energy stream. High energy density and potential to achieve a wide range of high delivery temperatures make this system attractive for application in many high temperature industrial processes. A refinement of the equilibrium relationship between pressure and temperature for the reaction is presented in this paper by incorporating temperature dependence of the thermodynamic properties and vapor phase non-ideality. The results show that incorporation of the temperature dependence of enthalpy leads to prediction of higher equilibrium pressures and the non-ideality in vapor phase can become significant at high pressures. Equilibrium relationships of greater accuracy that are based on sound theoretical foundation are highly desired, as they have significant impact on the design and operation of the chemical heat pump/thermochemical energy storage system.

In the present work, microstructure and texture evolution during multi-step cross rolling of a β-Ti alloy was investigated. The as-received samples were cross rolled in a laboratory rolling mill to 20%, 40%, 60% and 80% thickness reduction. Optical microscopy (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to observe the changes in microstructure, while the changes in bulk texture were evaluated using X-ray diffraction. The as-received sample consisted of equiaxed as well as elongated grains. Equivalent circle average grain size (AGS) and the average band thickness (ABT) along normal direction (ND) for as-received β-Ti sample was 50 ± 3 μm and 27 ± 1.8 μm respectively. The AGS and ABT decreased with increase in cold rolling reduction (for 80% cold rolled sample ABT was 7.5 ± 2.3 μm). Another important feature was the presence of strain localizations in the cold rolled samples, the frequency of which increased with increase in strain. The as-received sample showed the presence of α (rolling direction RD// ) and γ (ND// ) fibers. At highest strain (80% cold rolling), rotated cube ({100} ) component was found to be significantly stronger than the γ-fiber texture. Visco-Plastic Self Consistent (VPSC) model was used for the simulation of texture during cold cross rolling. Qualitatively, full constraint VPSC model was found to match reasonably well with the experimental data. α-Fiber, γ-fiber and rotated cube were over estimated in the VPSC texture predictions.

Lower FEV1 is associated with increased prevalence of atherosclerosis; however, causal mechanisms remain elusive.To determine if systemic endothelial dysfunction mediates the association between reduced FEV1 and increased atherosclerosis.Brachial artery endothelial function, pulmonary function, coronary artery calcium, and carotid plaque were assessed in 231 Pittsburgh SCCOR (Specialized Centers for Clinically Oriented Research) study participants; peripheral arterial endothelial function, pulmonary function, and coronary artery calcium were assessed in 328 HeartSCORE (Heart Strategies Concentrating on Risk Evaluation) study participants.Lower FEV1 was independently associated with increased atherosclerosis in both cohorts (per 25% lower % predicted FEV1: odds ratio [OR], 1.76; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.30-2.40; P 0.001 for carotid plaque in SCCOR participants) (per 25% lower % predicted FEV1: OR, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.02-1.77; P = 0.03 for coronary artery calcium in HeartSCORE participants). Similarly, reduced endothelial function was independently associated with increased atherosclerosis in both cohorts (per SD lower endothelial function: OR, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.01-1.67; P = 0.04 for carotid plaque in SCCOR participants) (per SD lower endothelial function: OR, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.09-1.76; P = 0.008 and OR, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.07-1.86; P = 0.01 for coronary artery calcium in SCCOR and HeartSCORE participants, respectively). However, there was no association between endothelial dysfunction and FEV1, FEV1/FVC, low-attenuation area/visual emphysema, and diffusing capacity in SCCOR participants, and between endothelial dysfunction and FEV1 or FEV1/FVC in HeartSCORE participants (all P 0.05). Adjusting the association between FEV1 and atherosclerosis for endothelial dysfunction had no impact.Endothelial dysfunction does not mediate the association between airflow limitation and atherosclerosis. Instead, airflow limitation and endothelial dysfunction seem to be unrelated and mutually independent predictors of atherosclerosis.

Kawasaki disease (KD) is a systemic vasculitis that mostly affects children below the age of 5. The vasculitis involves arteries of medium size, especially the coronaries. Various etiologies have been proposed including association with micro-organisms, bacterial superantigens, and genetic factors, however, the exact cause remains unknown. There is no specific laboratory test for KD. Diagnosis is clinical and depends upon the presence of fever for ≥5 days and 4 or more of five principal features, viz. polymorphous exanthem, extremity changes, mucosal changes involving the lips and oral cavity, bilateral bulbar conjunctival injection, and unilateral cervical lymphadenopathy. The term "incomplete KD" refers to the presence of fever and less than four principal clinical features. Recognition of this group of patients is important because it is usually seen in infants and risk of coronary abnormalities is increased probably because of delays in diagnosis. However, what appears to be "incomplete" at a given point of time may not actually be so because some of the features may have already subsided and others may evolve over time. Hence, a detailed dermatological examination is warranted in all cases, especially in incomplete KD, to ensure timely diagnosis. Although KD is a self-limiting disease in most patients, coronary artery abnormalities (CAAs) including coronary dilatations and aneurysms may develop in up to 25% of untreated patients. CAAs are the most common cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with KD. Treatment is aimed at reducing inflammation and consists of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) along with aspirin. Despite treatment, some patients may still develop CAAs, and hence, long-term follow up is of utmost importance.

For good deep drawability in aluminium and its alloys, a proper balance of deformation and recrystallization texture components is essestial in the final material. This balance of deformation and recrystallization texture can only be achieved by properly controlling the thermo-mechanical processing of the alloy. In the present study, microstructure and texture development during casting, hot rolling, cold rolling, and annealing of an aluminium alloy (AA3003) is investigated. The cast microstructure showed large grains with average grain size 111 μm and presence of Al-Fe-Si particles along the grain boundaries. After hot rolling (500 °C (±10 °C)) and cold rolling, these second phase particles which consisted primarily of Fe:Si in a ratio 10:1 in the as-cast microstructure fragmented into smaller particles and had higher percentage of Fe, Mn, and Si. After hot rolling and cold rolling, microstructure showing banded structure along the rolling direction i.e. elongated grains. Annealing at 450 °C for 16 h produced microstructure with uniform average grain size 22 μm and second phase particles with non-uniform size distribution. The initial as-cast AA3003 alloy had a very weak cube texture ({100} , 3.4 % volume fraction). After cold rolling, strong Brass ({110} ), Copper ({112} ) and S ({123} ) components formed. After cold rolling, cube decreased and did not improve significantly even after annealing at 450 °C. The developments in annealing texture is explained on the basis of particle stimulated nucleation.

A chemosensor 1-(2-(6-oxobenzo [4,5]imidazo [1,2-c]quinazolin-5(6H)-yl)ethyl)pyridin-1-ium bromide (BZQZPy) bearing benzimidazo-quinazolinone and pyridinium moieties has been developed for the nanomolar detection of 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP) in aqueous medium. BZQZPy exhibited excellent cyan blue fluorescence that is quenched on the addition of TNP via turn-off fluorescence response. The UV–visible, fluorescence and 1H NMR spectroscopy, lifetime measurements and theoretical calculations suggested that ground state charge transfer complex formation and energy transfer mechanisms are possible causes for this fluorescence quenching. BZQZPy is highly sensitive and selective towards TNP with high quenching constant (Ksv) of 1.53 × 104 M−1 and low detection limit of 20 nM. The proposed chemosensor is also applicable for the on-site determination of TNP on filter paper and in real water samples.

In the present work, the microstructure and texture evolution of interstitial free (IF) steel during cold rolling was studied experimentally and via simulations. Stored energy and geometrically necessary dislocation (GND) density maps were calculated from the electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) data. The evolution of crystallographic texture, stress and strain during deformation were simulated using a full field crystal plasticity Fast Fourier Transform (CPFFT) model implemented in DAMASK (the Dusseldorf Advanced Material Simulation Kit), an open source code. The simulations for cold rolling of 2D i.e. EBSD data were done considering activation of one slip system ({110} ) as well as two slip systems ({110} +{112} ), while for 3D data (statistical microstructure generated via DREAM.3D) two slip systems were used. The stored energy increased with the increase in cold rolling reduction in general, the increase being more in γ fiber (ND// ) grains than the grains with other orientations. In experiments as well as simulations, the volume fraction of γ fiber and α fiber (RD// ) increased with cold rolling. The simulations done using two slip systems matched reasonably well with the experiments. The stress and strain during deformation increased and showed similar trend for both 2D and 3D simulations.

Background Skin cancer is the most common cancer and is often ignored by people at an early stage. There are 5.4 million new cases of skin cancer worldwide every year. Deaths due to skin cancer could be prevented by early detection of the mole. Objective We propose a skin lesion classification system that has the ability to detect such moles at an early stage and is able to easily differentiate between a cancerous and noncancerous mole. Using this system, we would be able to save time and resources for both patients and practitioners. Methods We created a deep convolutional neural network using an Inceptionv3 and DenseNet-201 pretrained model. Results We found that using the concepts of fine-tuning and the ensemble learning model yielded superior results. Furthermore, fine-tuning the whole model helped models converge faster compared to fine-tuning only the top layers, giving better accuracy overall. Conclusions Based on our research, we conclude that deep learning algorithms are highly suitable for classifying skin cancer images.

Air cargo represents about one-third of the total value of global trade carried and is therefore an essential player in the world economy. Monitoring the financial stability of air cargo carriers is vital to the industry, governments, and stakeholders. To detect financial difficulties within the aviation industry numerous prediction models have been developed, but most focus on the passenger airlines. In addition, these prediction models typically do not take into account essential non-statistical factors. This paper identified qualitative factors that could influence the financial health of all-cargo airlines and attempted to understand the interaction among them. The factors were identified based on previous research and validated by expert opinions. Interpretive structural modelling (ISM) was used to determine any mutual influences among the factors. Further, the ISM methodology was able to establish the level of the factors and determine their driving power and dependence. The results are very useful for air cargo management in that they can use the findings of this study to overcome dominant factors.