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In this article, we propose a robust algorithm for the fast recovery of human actions from corrupted 3-D motion capture (mocap) sequences. The proposed algorithm can deal with misrepresentations and incomplete representations in mocap data simultaneously. Fast convergence of the proposed algorithm is ensured by minimizing the overhead associated with time and resource utilization. To this end, we have used an approximate singular value decomposition (SVD) based on QR decomposition and $\ell _{2,1}$ norm minimization as a replacement for the conventional nuclear norm-based SVD. In addition, the proposed method is braced by incorporating the spatio-temporal properties of human action in the optimization problem. For this, we have introduced pair-wise hierarchical constraint and the trajectory movement constraint in the problem formulation. Finally, the proposed method is void of the requirement of a sizeable database for training the model. The algorithm can easily be adapted to work on any form of corrupted mocap sequences. The proposed algorithm is faster by 30% on average compared with the counterparts employing similar kinds of constraints with improved performance in recovery.

The production of thermoplastic pellets using underwater die-face pelletizers is a widespread process in the thermoplastics compounding industry. One major challenge in this process is pellet agglomeration, which occurs when the polymer is pliable or easily deformed under heat. To tackle this issue, the non-Newtonian flow of a polymer, along with the turbulent flow of heating oil and heat transfer through the die, are modeled using three-dimensional (3D) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) calculations in ANSYS Fluent. The computational model is validated by comparing its predictions of temperature and pressure using two models with and without a slip method, to experimental measurements from an industrial-scale pelletizer, resulting in a maximum error of <3 % for temperature and <16 % for pressure. The efficiency of the underwater die pelletizer is typically evaluated based on the rate at which it produces pellets. Minor variations in operational parameters, such as the inlet mass flow rate and temperature of the polymer, the temperature of the heating oil, and the water temperature, can greatly affect the quality of the final product. Firstly, contours of pressure, velocity and temperature are presented to understand their impact on pellet agglomeration. However, to more specifically link pellet quality, i.e. pellet agglomeration rate, to the input conditions, the study develops a non-dimensional parameter called the pellet agglomeration number (PAN), as a non-linear function of three other non-dimensional numbers: Reynolds number, Euler number, and a non-dimensional temperature. The values of PAN at the exit and inlet are shown to correlate well with the experimentally measured pellet agglomerations, thereby demonstrating the usefulness of PAN in not only differentiating between good and bad pellet quality but also determining apriorithe appropriate operating conditions leading to fewer pellet agglomerations in commercial pelletizers.

The electrochemical chlorine evolution reaction (CER) is accompanied with the parasitic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) during acidic brine electrolysis, thereby reducing the efficiency of chlorine production. The guiding principles of enhancing the selectivity of the CER are investigated experimentally and computationally in RuO2doped with first-row-transition elements. Computational studies suggest that low-valent dopants (e.g., Cu, Zn, Ni, Co, and Fe) tend to bulk segregate in adsorbate-rich conditions. Further, doping elements with higher d-electrons than Ru (e.g., Cu, Zn, Ni, and Co) in RuO2tends to lower the binding strength of OER intermediates (e.g., HO–, O–, and HOO–), thereby increasing OER overpotential and providing more active sites for the CER. Doping has less effect on the binding strength of CER intermediates (ClO−) than bivalent OER intermediates (O–), resulting in higher CER selectivity. Computational studies suggest that Cu (d9)-doped RuO2shows maximum CER selectivity, as corroborated by experiments with electrodeposited Cu-doped RuO2. Electrodeposited Cu-doped RuO2(2% dopant concentration) shows a maximum CER selectivity of 95% in an acidic medium. However, doping a low valency aliovalent dopant and d-enriched metals also lowers the bridge-oxygen vacancy formation energy, thereby activating lattice-oxygen vacancy-aided water dissociation pathway in doped RuO2and increasing the selectivity of the OER. This results in an optimum doping concentration for maximum CER selectivity, wherein the weakening of surface OER intermediates is achieved without affecting lattice oxygen bond strength. The present work offers insight into catalyst design considering CER and OER selectivity during electrochemical Cl2production.

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Targeting gut microbiota has shown promise to prevent experimental acute kidney injury (AKI). However, this has not been studied in relation to accelerating recovery and preventing fibrosis. Here, we found that modifying gut microbiota with an antibiotic administered after severe ischemic kidney injury in mice, particularly with amoxicillin, accelerated recovery. These indices of recovery included increased glomerular filtration rate, diminution of kidney fibrosis, and reduction of kidney profibrotic gene expression. Amoxicillin was found to increase stool Alistipes, Odoribacterand Stomatobaculumspecies while significantly depleting Holdemanellaand Anaeroplasma.Specifically, amoxicillin treatment reduced kidney CD4+T cells, interleukin (IL)-17 +CD4+T cells, and tumor necrosis factor-α double negative T cells while it increased CD8+T cells and PD1+CD8+T cells. Amoxicillin also increased gut lamina propria CD4+T cells while decreasing CD8+T and IL-17+CD4+T cells. Amoxicillin did not accelerate repair in germ-free or CD8-deficient mice, demonstrating microbiome and CD8+T lymphocytes dependence for amoxicillin protective effects. However, amoxicillin remained effective in CD4-deficient mice. Fecal microbiota transplantation from amoxicillin-treated to germ-free mice reduced kidney fibrosis and increased Foxp3+CD8+T cells. Amoxicillin pre-treatment protected mice against kidney bilateral ischemia reperfusion injury but not cisplatin-induced AKI. Thus, modification of gut bacteria with amoxicillin after severe ischemic AKI is a promising novel therapeutic approach to accelerate recovery of kidney function and mitigate the progression of AKI to chronic kidney disease.

The current study focuses on a polymer devolatilization process in a device called a contactor, which involves the use of superheated steam to eliminate volatile cyclohexane, through evaporation, from the polymer mixture, also known as cement. The primary objective is to analyze the cement particle distribution and how it relates to the cyclohexane content at the exit or the devolatilization efficiency. The study develops a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model that solves the turbulent steam flow as a continuous phase and the flow of cement droplets as a discrete phase. Following validation of the CFD model by comparing cement particle size distribution at the exit of the contactor to experimental data, a comprehensive analysis of the same is conducted through a series of 69 different CFD calculations to understand its influence on the evaporation of the volatile in the polymer mixture. Two metrics are developed here: a cluster distribution index (CDI) based on the actual particle pairwise distances and a new mass-CDI based on the radial distribution of masses. It is demonstrated that by relating the CDI and mass-CDI to the reduction in the cyclohexane content in the contactor, these metrics can be utilized to achieve the desirable input conditions in this polymer processing operation. Through a detailed examination of the particle dynamics in a steam contactor under various conditions, this study assists the polymer manufacturing industry in optimizing the devolatilization process for better steam savings and improved product quality.

Chronic inflammation is highly prevalent among patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis and is associated with morbidity and mortality. Inhibiting inflammation with anti-cytokine therapy has been proposed but not well studied in this population. Therefore, we conducted the ACTION trial, a pilot, multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of an IL-1 receptor antagonist, anakinra, to evaluate safety, tolerability, and feasibility, and explore efficacy. Eighty hemodialysis patients with plasma concentrations of high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) 2 mg/L and above were randomized 1:1 to placebo or anakinra 100 mg, three times per week via the hemodialysis circuit for 24 weeks, with an additional 24 weeks of post-treatment safety monitoring. Efficacy outcomes included changes in hsCRP (primary), cytokines, and patient-reported outcomes. Rates of serious adverse events and deaths were similar with anakinra and placebo (serious adverse events: 2.71 vs 2.74 events/patient-year; deaths: 0.12 vs 0.22 events/patient-year). The rate of adverse events of interest (including infections and cytopenias) was significantly lower with anakinra than placebo (0.48 vs 1.40 events/patient-year). Feasibility was demonstrated by attaining the enrollment target, a retention rate of 80%, and administration of 72% of doses. The median decrease in hsCRP from baseline to Week 24 was 41% in the anakinra group and 6% in the placebo group, a between-group difference that was not statistically significant. For IL-6, the median decreases were significant: 25% and 0% in the anakinra and placebo groups, respectively. An effect of anakinra on patient-reported outcomes was not evident. Thus, anakinra was well tolerated and did not increase infections or cytopenias. The promising safety data and potential efficacy on CRP and IL-6 provide support for conducting definitive trials of IL-1 inhibition to improve outcomes in hemodialysis patients.

Crystal facet engineering is one of the promising strategies to tune the band edge positions and surface electrochemistry of a material, which are essential to improve photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. Materials with low-crystal symmetry structures demonstrate facet-dependent properties due to asymmetric coordination, and facet engineering can modulate PEC properties. In this regard, different facets [e.g., (002), (121), and (040)] of the monoclinic–scheelite polymorph of BiVO4(low-crystal symmetry structure) have been grown by controlling the thickness (deposition time) of thin films [22 nm (10 s) to 265 nm (50 s)] by the electron beam deposition technique. X-ray diffraction and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy analysis suggest the presence of different exposed planes that display different EC and PEC activity. PEC water splitting measurements suggest that the 110 nm/30 s thin-film sample, that is, the (040) facet, has the highest current density, that is, 0.29 mA/cm2(under light) and 0.068 mA/cm2(under dark) at 1.8 V versus RHE. However, the applied bias photon to current efficiencies (ABPEs) of both the thin films, that is, (040)/30 s and (121)/40 s facets, are nearly equal, whereas (121)/40 s has enhanced electrical and solar power-to-hydrogen (ESPH) conversion efficiencies compared to the (040)/30 s facet sample. Band edge positions computed via density functional simulations of exposed surfaces suggest that different facets have different band edge positions, thereby offering different driving forces to perform oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The relation between efficiency (ABPE and ESPH) and driving force suggests that the enhanced PEC performance of the (040) facet of BiVO4is due to the increased driving force to perform OER, whereas the improved efficiency of (121)/40 s can be due to enhanced surface catalytic activity. The highest catalytic activity of the (040)/30 s sample is due to low electron–hole recombination in the bulk and maximum charge injection at the surface.

Early Childhood Caries and malnutrition have a bi-directional relationship and are significant public health concerns. Objective of the study was to assess the effectiveness of the Common Health/Risk Factor Approach based intervention in improving early childhood oral health and malnutrition in preschool and primary school tribal children.

The 72‐foot sailing yacht Eugen Seiboldis a new research platform for contamination‐free sampling of the water column and atmosphere for biological, chemical, and physical properties, and the exchange processes between the two realms. Ultimate goal of the project is a better understanding of the modern and past ocean and climate. Operations started in 2019 in the Northeast Atlantic, and will focus on the Tropical Eastern Pacific from 2023 until 2025. Laboratories for air and seawater analyses are equipped with down‐sized and automated state‐of‐the‐art technology for a comprehensive description of the marine carbon system including CO2concentration in the air and sea surface, pH, macro‐, and micro‐nutrient concentration (e.g., Fe, Cd), trace metals, and calcareous plankton. Air samples are obtained from ca. 13 m above sea surface and analyzed for particles (incl. black carbon and aerosols) and greenhouse gases. Plankton nets and seawater probes are deployed over the custom‐made A‐frame at the stern of the boat. Near Real‐Time Transfer of underway data via satellite connection allows dynamic expedition planning to maximize gain of information. Data and samples are analyzed in collaboration with the international expert research community. Quality controlled data are published for open access. The entire suite of data facilitates refined proxy calibration of paleoceanographic and paleoclimate archives at high temporal and spatial resolution in relation to seawater and atmospheric parameters. The new research sailing yacht Eugen Seibold(ES) enables clean, contamination‐free sampling of air and seawater to better understand the interactions between ocean and climate. For example, the oceans remove increasingly less carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere the more saturated they are with CO2(ocean acidification). However, a detailed systematic understanding of air‐sea exchange processes remains to be developed. We analyze air and seawater as well as the exchange of greenhouse gases and other substances such as aerosols and soot (black carbon) between air and seawater at high resolution using modern materials and technologies. Scaled‐down, energy‐efficient, and automated probes developed over the past decade are being used to measure around 50 different characteristics of the marine environment. The work deck at the stern of the boat allows the use of custom‐made water samplers and plankton nets to study the ocean to below 1,000 m depth. In addition, the new data enables a better understanding of past ocean archives, such as the marine plankton accumulated in seafloor sediments, to reconstruct past climate changes. From 2019 to 2022, the S/Y ESsailed in the eastern North Atlantic and will operate in the tropical eastern Pacific until 2025. New research platform for contamination‐free sampling of the water column and atmosphere of biological, chemical, and physical propertiesComprehensive marine geochemical analyzes including carbon (e.g., CO2) in air and sea surfaceProxy calibration of paleoclimate archives at high temporal and spatial resolution in relation to seawater and atmospheric parameters New research platform for contamination‐free sampling of the water column and atmosphere of biological, chemical, and physical properties Comprehensive marine geochemical analyzes including carbon (e.g., CO2) in air and sea surface Proxy calibration of paleoclimate archives at high temporal and spatial resolution in relation to seawater and atmospheric parameters

Reconstruction plays a valuable role in the management of lower extremity wounds for limb salvage. The goals of reconstruction are to improve function and quality of life, return to work, and pain reduction while providing a long-lasting durable reconstruction. The plastics and reconstructive surgical approach in conjunction with the orthopedic or trauma team, referred often as the “orthoplastic” approach, can yield the best outcomes for patients. The following sections discuss reconstruction principles and techniques that can be applied broadly for lower extremity wounds secondary to trauma, infection, and tumor resection.

Two acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) subphenotypes (hyperinflammatory and hypoinflammatory) with distinct clinical and biological features and differential treatment responses have been identified using latent class analysis (LCA) in seven individual cohorts. To facilitate bedside identification of subphenotypes, clinical classifier models using readily available clinical variables have been described in four randomised controlled trials. We aimed to assess the performance of these models in observational cohorts of ARDS.

Motion capture (mocap) data is often corrupted by the presence of erroneous entries. Corrupted mocap data tends to deteriorate the structure of the recorded human actions, causing hindrance while using it for different applications. In this paper, we propose a new four-way optimization model for recovering plausible human actions from the misrepresented mocap sequences without the requirement of any pre-trained model. The proposed model employs joint ℓ12regularized low rank and sparse priors for separating the clean mocap data and the erroneous entries effectively. The brilliance of this work is confined in the efficient formulation of the optimization model by integrating two additional constraints based on the movement of individual node trajectories and the hierarchy of the parent-child node pairs. The former ensures the smoothness of the action sequences, while the latter limits the spatial drifting of the skeletal nodes. Detailed analysis of the experimental results showcases the ability of the developed algorithm in achieving commendable human action recovery in minimal time compared to the recent counterparts, even from mocap data with 20–30% of misrepresented joints in 90% of the frames.

Reduction in the cost of renewable electricity has enhanced the viability of the electrochemical CO2reduction reaction (CO2RR) to chemicals. Ethylene is an economically desired product, and Cu is the only cathode that produces C2H4at reasonable faradaic efficiencies. Altering the binding strength of the key intermediate (CO2−) to favor the reaction pathway to ethylene offers an opportunity to enhance its selectivity further. We explore the influence of ionic liquid cations on ethylene/CO2RR and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activities on polycrystalline Cu. Alkylated imidazolium, pyrazolium, pyrrolidinium, and ammonium tetrafluoroborates were chosen because of their range of Bader charges on their N atom(s) and pKavalues. Among all cations, the tetraethylammonium cation with moderate Bader charge on N and high pKaof hydration showed the highest ethylene/CO2RR and lowest HER activities, respectively. From density functional theory calculations, it is concluded that the moderate stabilization of the critical intermediate (*COO−) and the decrease in hydrogen binding energy are the reasons for the enhancement of ethylene/CO2RR and suppression of HER activities, respectively.

The advancements in the education sector made e-learning more popular in recent years. The velocity of learning content creation and its availability is also growing exponentially day after day. It is challenging for a learner to find a learning path for a course with a vast content repository. So, recommending a learning path helps the learners streamline the learning materials systematically and achieve their goals. This article proposes a learning path recommendation approach focused on knowledge building and learning performance analysis. The model considers both static and dynamic learner parameters for learning path generation. The difficulty level of the learning resources is tuned based on the real-time performance analysis of the students. The learning resources are recommended based on learning preferences and the ability of a learner to learn the specific learning resource. The model also predicts the learning time and the expected score for each learner. Root Mean Square Deviation and Coefficient of Determination (R-Squared error) measures are used to find the correctness of the prediction. The model is also checked for its adaptivity to the learners’ changing behavior and diversity of the LOs recommended for different learners. Ninety-six undergraduate learners participated in the study. The experimentations are conducted with 530 LOs from selected courses. The comparison results with three existing models show a better performance from the proposed approach with an average accuracy rise of 30% in learning path prediction based on the expected duration of learning 27.8% in expected score prediction with the second-best performing model. It is observed that the real-time learning analytics using the implicit learner log data benefits the recommendation process. LO rating strongly indicated the enhancement of learner satisfaction and experience with a rise of 25.5% when comparing the rating share with the second-best model.

ObjectivesPatients undergoing oesophagectomy frequently experience malnutrition, which in combination with the catabolic effects of surgery can result in loss of muscle mass and function. Safe swallowing requires preservation of muscle mass. Swallowing dysfunction puts postoperative patients at risk for aspiration and pneumonia. Modified Barium Swallow Study (MBSS) enables assessment of postoperative swallowing impairments. The current study assessed incidence and risk factors associated with swallowing dysfunction and restricted diet at discharge in patients after oesophagectomy in a high-volume surgical centre.MethodsPatients with an MBSS after oesophagectomy were identified between March 2015 to April 2020 at a high-volume surgical centre. Swallowing was quantitatively evaluated on MBSS with the Rosenbek Penetration-Aspiration Scale (PAS). Muscle loss was evaluated clinically with preoperative hand grip strength (HGS). Univariable and multivariable logistic and linear regression analyses were performed.Results129 patients (87% male; median age 66 years) underwent oesophagectomy with postoperative MBSS. Univariate analysis revealed older age, preoperative feeding tube, lower preoperative HGS and discharge to non-home were associated with aspiration or penetration on MBSS. Age and preoperative feeding tube remained as independent predictors in the multivariable analysis. Both univariate and multivariable analyses revealed increased age and preoperative feeding tube were associated with diet restrictions at discharge.ConclusionsSwallowing dysfunction after oesophagectomy is correlated with increased age and need for preoperative enteral feeding tube placement. Further research is needed to understand the relationship between muscle loss and aspiration with the goal of enabling preoperative physiological optimisation and patient selection.

Incorporation of suitable lanthanide (Ln3+) ions into semiconducting WO3can be useful to produce host-sensitized luminescence for solid-state lighting applications. Codoping of another Ln3+ion can assist in transferring energy from the host to the activator Ln3+ion to produce bright luminescence depending upon the electronic structure of the doped system. As a case study, Eu3+and Tb3+ion–doped WO3phosphors (WO3:Tb3+xEu3+y, x= 0–0.05 and y= 0–0.20) have been prepared over a wide range of doping concentrations to investigate the role of the Tb3+ion as a sensitizer and realize host-sensitized emission from Eu3+ions. The steady-state and time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) data for WO3:Tb3+xEu3+y(x= 0–0.05 and y= 0–0.10) samples confirm that Tb3+ions assist in excitation of Eu3+ions via sequential energy transfers from the host to Tb3+ions followed by Tb3+to Eu3+ions. The energy transfer process is controlled by optimizing their doping concentrations, and a single-phase white-light-emitting phosphor with a composition WO3:Tb3+0.05Eu3+0.0005has been developed. The electronic band structures and projected density of state plots for the WO3:Tb3+0.03125Eu3+00.03125system obtained using density functional theory (DFT)-based simulations confirm the formation of impurity states due to Eu3+and Tb3+ions within the forbidden gap of WO3. Based on the TRPL and DFT data, it is confirmed that the Tb3+ions act as a bridge between the conduction band edge of WO3and excited states of Eu3+ions to transfer energy and facilitate characteristic emission from europium species.

The benefits or harm associated with moderate levels of alcohol consumption on cardiorespiratory fitness are unclear. We hypothesised that in moderate drinkers, four weeks of abstinence could improve cardiorespiratory fitness. This was a single centre, prospective, pre and post intervention, experimental cohort study. Participants were recruited from healthy volunteers among hospital staff, who were non-smokers, over 25 years of age and regularly consumed ≥3 units of alcohol a day, ≥4 times a week for > 1 month. Cardiopulmonary exercise test was used to provide objective, quantifiable and reproducible data. In all, 30 participated, and data were analysed for 22 participants. Mean (SD) peak oxygen consumption and oxygen consumption at anaerobic threshold were similar before and after alcohol abstinence: 37.55 (10.89) and 39.66 (11.48) (P = 0.21) and 18.52 (5.43) and 16.82 (5.19) ml/kg/min (P = 0.1), respectively. It is concluded that this preliminary study did not establish a correlation between four weeks alcohol abstinence and cardiopulmonary fitness as measured by cardiopulmonary exercise test, among healthy volunteers self-reporting moderate alcohol consumption.

The presence of Na in Ni-promoted MoS2provides an interesting case study as Na gets inadvertently incorporated during the reverse micelle synthesis of the nanocatalyst. The effect of Na in Ni-promoted MoS2during hydrodesulfurization (HDS) of dibenzothiophene (DBT) is investigated here through combined experiment and density functional theory (DFT) studies. Computations suggest that Na replaces otherwise more HDS active Ni sites, which are likely to be present as metal atoms on S edge or on metallic edge sites of MoS2(100). The presence of Na dopant instead of Ni results in the molecular hydrogen dissociation step becoming more endothermic, leading to the lowering of HDS catalytic activity. The HDS of DBT decreases with an increase of Na concentration in Ni-promoted MoS2. However, the concentration of Na has a nonmonotonic effect on the selectivity of different mechanistic pathways of HDS. The selectivity toward a cost-effective direct desulfurization (DDS) pathway increases up to an optimal Na concentration, after which the selectivity decreases as observed from experiments and corroborated by DFT studies. However, DDS selectivity always remains higher, which is the critical feature of Na incorporation in Ni-promoted MoS2.

Many cities in India experience severe deterioration of air quality in winter. Particulate matter is a key atmospheric pollutant that impacts millions of people. In particular, the high mass concentration of particulate matter reduces visibility, which has severely damaged the economy and endangered human lives. But the underlying chemical mechanisms and physical processes responsible for initiating haze and fog formation remain poorly understood. Here we present the measurement results of chemical composition of particulate matter in Delhi and Chennai. We find persistently high chloride in Delhi and episodically high chloride in Chennai. These measurements, combined with thermodynamic modelling, suggest that in the presence of excess ammonia in Delhi, high local emission of hydrochloric acid partitions into aerosol water. The highly water-absorbing and soluble chloride in the aqueous phase substantially enhances aerosol water uptake through co-condensation, which sustains particle growth, leading to haze and fog formation. We therefore suggest that the high local concentration of gas-phase hydrochloric acid, possibly emitted from plastic-contained waste burning and industry, causes some 50% of the reduced visibility. Our work implies that identifying and regulating gaseous hydrochloric acid emissions could be critical to improve visibility and human health in India.

ABSTRACTExperimental studies indicate that the maximum stress acted on the top portion of the piston and stress concentration is also the main cause of fatigue failure. This article discusses the improvement on the piston to endure high structural and thermal stresses and to moderate stress concentration the top portion of the piston. An aluminum alloy piston can be replaced by a carbon-carbon piston which has low thermal stress in same working condition. In this paper, thermal analysis of carbon-carbon composite material on commercial vehicle diesel engine piston was studied and the results were compared with aluminum alloy piston for maximum stress.

Crystal growth involves an increasein the average size of crystals even during Ostwald ripening, wherein larger crystals grow at the expense of smaller crystals. In contrast, we observed particle size reductiondue to rupture during the growthof polycrystalline LnF3(Ln = Lu, Y, La) nanoparticles. We rationalize this by the feature of the growing crystal to evolve toward the most stable native crystal form via several metastable intermediate non-native amorphous or crystalline structures with a significant change in density, resulting in high misfit strain and generation of stress within the single nanoparticle. The stress promotes the propagation of already existing flaws in the crystal, leading to the rupture of nanocrystals and a subsequent decrease in crystallite size. Results from finite element elastic simulations also support the propagation of flaws leading to nanocrystal rupture if the fracture toughness of the materials is low. The ligand plays an essential role in the observation of this phase of crystal growth by retarding the growth kinetics.

Electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO2RR) into chemicals can store renewable electricity and simultaneously control global warming. Albeit inexpensive copper electro-catalyzes CO2to hydrocarbons at reasonable rates, it suffers from low selectivity due to high hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity. Although an increase in bulk pH suppresses HER activity, this leads to a CO2reaction with hydroxide and the formation of bicarbonate and carbonate ions. In contrast, we demonstrate selective HER suppression by functionalizing Cu electrocatalysts with pyridine molecules without a commensurate reduction in CO2RR activity. Density functional theory (DFT) based computational results suggest that the decrement in the H binding energy and blockage of step edge atoms (which are the most active sites for the HER) by pyridine molecules are the reasons for selective suppression of the HER activity on the copper surface after pyridine functionalization. Further, an insignificant decrease in CO binding is the reason behind the lack of suppression of the CO2RR activity. This study provides pointers towards better electrocatalyst design for the CO2RR.

Polymer composites fabricated from natural fibres gained popularity since they possess numerous advantages in automotives. But natural fibres suffer from lower strength which can be overcome through hybridisation with stronger synthetic fibres like carbon or glass. This work explores the potential reinforcement of fibres from palm leaf stalks for fabricating polymer composites. The fibres were pre-treated with glass fibres to form as fibre mats and hybridised with glass fibres prior to reinforcement. These mats were reinforced in the polyester resin matrix as different layers to form a hybrid composite. Experiments were done by varying the length of fibre, fibre volume and with different treatments using response surface methodology. Tensile strength was measured as response. The tensile strength was spotted maximum in 8% potassium permanganate (KMnO4) treated palm fibres with optimum fibre length 40 mm and volume fraction of 20%. The surface study on these composites through scanning electron microscope (SEM) examination was satisfactory. Hence this specimen combination was best suited and recommended to manufacture components like car bonnets, bumpers, etc.

In personalized learning, each student gets a customized learning plan according to their pace of learning, instructional preferences, learning objects, etc. Hence the content recommender system in Personalized Learning Environment (PLE) should adapt to learner attributes and suggest appropriate learning resources to aid the learning process and improve the learning outcomes. This systematic literature review aims to analyze and summarize the studies on learning content recommenders in adaptive and personalized learning environments from 2015 to 2020. The publications were searched using proper keywords and filtered using the inclusion and exclusion criteria, which resulted in 52 publications. This paper summarizes the recent trends in research on different aspects of the recommender systems, such as learner attributes, recommendation methods, evaluation metrics, and the usability tests used by the researchers. It is observed that cognitive aspects of learners like learning style, preferences, knowledge level, etc., are used by most studies than non-cognitive aspects as social tags or trust. In most cases, recommendation engines are a hybrid of collaborative filtering, content-based filtering, ontological approaches, etc. All models were evaluated for the correctness of the prediction done, and a few studies have also done evaluations based on learner satisfaction or usability.

Hand tremor influences a huge number of individuals around the world. Tremor is characterised as unintended, cadenced muscle development. Albeit most tremors neither reason serious medical issues nor threaten life, most patients experience many troubles in performing everyday exercises. It is humiliating to numerous individuals, particularly more seasoned people. Tremor negatively affects personal satisfaction and decreases the ability to perform everyday life undertakings such as eating, drinking, writing, and changing clothing. Some patients with mild tremor do not visit doctors if tremor does not hinder their daily life activities. Their situations often worsen over time. There is currently very few to almost no external solution existing to cope with this medical condition. We have developed a glove that is able to dynamically conceive the motion of a user's hand and ascertain the difference between intentional movement and unintentional movement. Further, we have quantified, verified and attempted to provide a haptic response to the users' fingers with the help of coin motors to help counteract the unwanted vibration.

We demonstrate an approach towards modulating electrocatalysis in an ultrathin RuO2oxygen electrocatalytic overlayer viaoptimal charge transfer between the support and the electrocatalyst. The governing heuristics for the choice of support that would result in ‘climbing up’ the volcano curve for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts are delineated. Ultrathin Ru is deposited on metal coated over porous carbon supports, denoted by M/C, where M = Au, Cu, Pt, Ti and Ru, followed by the electrochemical oxidation of the Ru overlayer, which makes it possible for the support to retain its metallic character without getting oxidized to the less conductive metal oxide. An increase in the specific activity of thin RuO2is achieved with Au/C and Pt/C-supports against the Ru/C-support. The consolidated experimental and computational results suggest that the increase of the specific activity and subsequent ‘climbing up’ the volcano map for OER electrocatalysts is due to the interfacial charge transfer and support-induced electrocatalyst faceting. With the increase of the thickness, the support effect on the electrocatalyst activity gets reduced and only the conductivity of the support plays a dominant role in determining the OER activity.

ABSTRACTThe effects of fuel injection strategies on the characteristics of common rail diesel injection engine using mahua methyl ester (MME20) blend have been investigated. Fuel injection strategies such as fuel pressure and split injection have been implemented on a test engine. When MME20 was used as the fuel on mechanical injection at an injection pressure of 22 MPa, specific fuel consumption and NOxemission were found to be increased and brake thermal efficiency (BTE) decreased. In the first phase, in order to optimise the utilisation of the mahua methyl ester blend, fuel injection pressure was increased from 20 to 50 MPa with an increment of 10 MPa. The experimental observation reveals that high fuel injection pressure (50 MPa) exhibits higher BTE and better combustion characteristics when compared with decremented injection pressures. HC, CO and smoke level decreased with an increase in injection pressure due to better-atomised spray and mixture formation. In the second phase, implementation of spilt injection 5% MME20 as pilot injection at 5°, 10° and 15° CA before main injection was identified with the decrease of HC, CO, NOxand smoke emission with marginal sacrifice of BTE compared with diesel fuel.

IMPORTANCE: There are concerns with translating results from the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT) into clinical practice because the standardized protocol used to measure blood pressure (BP) may not be consistently applied in routine clinical practice. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the concordance between BPs obtained in routine clinical practice and those obtained using the SPRINT protocol and whether concordance varied by target trial BP. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This observational prognostic study linking outpatient vital sign information from electronic health records (EHRs) with data from 49 of the 102 SPRINT sites was conducted from November 8, 2010, to August 20, 2015, among 3074 adults 50 years or older with hypertension without diabetes or a history of stroke. Statistical analysis was performed from May 21, 2019, to March 20, 2020. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Blood pressures measured in routine clinical practice and SPRINT. RESULTS: Participant-level EHR data was obtained for 3074 participants (2482 men [80.7%]; mean [SD] age, 68.5 [9.1] years) with 3 or more outpatient and trial BP measurements. In the period from the 6-month study visit to the end of the study intervention, the mean systolic BP (SBP) in the intensive treatment group from outpatient BP recorded in the EHR was 7.3 mm Hg higher (95% CI, 7.0-7.6 mm Hg) than BP measured at trial visits; the mean difference between BP recorded in the outpatient EHR and trial SBP was smaller for participants in the standard treatment group (4.6 mm Hg [95% CI, 4.4-4.9 mm Hg]). Bland-Altman analyses demonstrated low agreement between outpatient BP recorded in the EHR and trial BP, with wide agreement intervals ranging from approximately −30 mm Hg to 45 mm Hg in both treatment groups. In addition, the difference between BP recorded in the EHR and trial BP varied widely by site. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Outpatient BPs measured in routine clinical practice were generally higher than BP measurements taken in SPRINT, with greater mean SBP differences apparent in the intensive treatment group. There was a consistent high degree of heterogeneity between the BPs recorded in the EHR and trial BPs, with significant variability over time, between and within the participants, and across clinic sites. These results highlight the importance of proper BP measurement technique and an inability to apply 1 common correction factor (ie, approximately 10 mm Hg) to approximate research-quality BP estimates when BP is not measured appropriately in routine clinical practice. TRIAL REGISTRATION: SPRINT ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01206062