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Personalized and fascinating music recommendations are becoming increasingly in demand as the advent of technology continues to change the way that people consume music. Traditional music recommendation systems primarily rely on user listening history and preferences, often neglecting the emotional and experiential dimensions that make music a deeply personal and entertaining endeavour. This research introduces a music recommendation system after classifying the tracks using a novel Gravitational Search Optimized Recursive Neural Networks (GS-RNN) approach. GS-RNN addressed this gap by integrating the Gravitational Search Algorithm (GSA) with Recursive Neural Networks (RNN) to create a content-based recommendation system that assesses audio signal similarity. Evaluation metrics, including accuracy (80%), logarithmic loss (0.85), precision (84%), recall (83%), and F1-score (88%), demonstrate GS-RNN's superiority over existing techniques. Genre-specific accuracy analysis further underscores the model's capability to suggest songs within the same genre. Overall, GS-RNN presents a novel and effective paradigm for music recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

: Intra hospital transfer of sick newborns is known to cause adverse events with potential morbidity. Interventions at the bedside in a sick neonate can reduce the need for transport and in turn, potential hazards of transfer. Our single institute experience of performing bedside laparotomies in unstable newborns is reported here. : Seven-year data was collected from electronic medical records. This was a retrospective comparative study with level III evidence. Twenty-eight neonates operated at bedside for intraabdominal sepsis due to Necrotising Enterocolitis (NEC), Spontaneous Intestinal Perforation (SIP), complicated meconium ileus and perforation secondary to atresias were included Group A. Group B had 60 neonates operated for similar indications in the conventional operation theatres. : The average corrected gestational age at surgery, associated co-morbidities, average volume of blood loss and duration of surgery were compared between the groups. Group A had lower weight at surgery (1098 vs 1872 gs), greater percentage of neonates on inotropic support (78% vs 20%) with requirement of High Frequency Ventilation (HFO) (50% vs none). A quarter of neonates (7 of 28) in Group A had NEC Totalis as against only one case in group B. There was 25% survival in group A and 76.67% in group B. The lower survival in group A can be attributed to lower weight at surgery, higher inotrope requirement and need for unconventional modes of ventilation. : Bedside laparotomy is a feasible option in unstable neonates deemed unsuitable for transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hypoxic brain injury is inevitable in half of the out of hospital cardiac arrest patients. This has created an increased burden on the cardiac critical care unit to deliver high quality services with limited resources. The ESC/ESICM 2021 guidelines are implemented to neuro-prognosticate comatose patients as an appropriate timely decision-making endeavor. This quality improvement project aims to assess the predictability of a quadruped integrative tools for neuro-prognostication. An electronic record for 176 of total 193 out of hospital cardiac arrest patients was evaluated retrospectively. 16 patients were excluded due to missing or incomplete data and death on arrival. A neuro-prognostication score was calculated based on clinical examination, neurophysiology (Electroencephalogram and Somatosensory Evoked Potentials), Neuron-specific enolase biomarker and CT/MRI Head imaging. A Minitab statistical software was used for data analysis. The outcome was interpreted as Deaths due to primary hypoxic brain injury or withdrawal of life support treatment. Chi-square testing was used to evaluate the correlation between different diagnostic tests and outcome. Data collection has been ongoing since June 2021. Amongst 176 patients, 41.5% deaths with male predominance were observed. We confirmed the best predictors mentioned in guidelines had significant statistical influence for predicting poor outcome compatible with hypoxic neurological impairment. They are namely higher age, Miracle score >6, Initial rhythm as asystole or PEA, NPI less than 3, absent corneal or tracheal reflexes, myoclonus, abnormal EEG with burst suppression, highly malignant waves, status epilepticus, bilaterally absent SSEP N20 waves, loss of grey-white matter on CT head. Although gender and MRI had statistical insignificant correlation. This QI project also highlighted higher specificity (70-90%) in all eight prognostic tests but lower sensitivity (50-60%). The positive predictive value was highest for NPI, absence of corneal reflexes and abnormal CT head (85-100%). Only 13% of hypoxic brain injury patients had MRI as a second radiological test to conclude findings from the CT head in selected cases. 80% patients discharged from ICU had positive neurological outcomes with Cerebral performance category scale CPC 1-2. 92% of them were discharged home with an average LOS in hospital of 14 days. 10% of CPC 5 died for multifactorial reasons, 10% had CPC of 3 or 4 with average LOS of 52 days and 7% required repatriation to neurorehabilitation. Being able to make the right decision for all patient at the right time enhances best practice, allows for appropriate clinical decision and avoids prolonged ITU stay. So a robust, structured and multimodal neuroprognostication approach is necessary alongwith multidisciplinary meeting including intensivist, cardiologist, neurologist and radiologist. In each case, after 72 hours a neuroprognostication score was calculated based on the guidelines. Overall, all patients with more >2 markers of poor prognosis went for withdrawal of life sustaining therapy in their best interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Undoped and palladium-doped perovskite bismuth ferrite nitrogen dioxide (NO 2) gas sensors (BiFeO 3 i.e. BFO and Pd-BiFeO 3 i.e. Pd-BFO) are successfully synthesized via an easy and low-cost sol–gel process. The Pd-doping in BFO is confirmed through an X-ray diffraction data, field emission scanning electron microscopy images, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis, and its influence on the structure, morphology, surface area, and the NO 2 gas sensor performance of the BFO sensor has been examined and explored. Moreover, the plausible gas sensing response mechanism of Pd-BFO film sensor has also been proposed. The nanocubes embedded into a uniformly distributed upright standing nanoplates facilitate better gas adsorption and diffusion behavior on providing an excellent NO 2 -sensing performance with good sensitivity, excellent selectivity, better response (90 s)/recovery (110 s), and noticeable repeatability under a fixed 100 ppm NO 2 gas concentration level at an optimized low operating temperature i.e. 150 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trade of fresh, healthy, easy to cook and ready to use food products have been increased due to change in consumer trends. It is crucial to retain the freshness of produce. Aim of this study was to optimize effective dose of irradiation and/or chemical preservatives on shelf-life extension of green onions and to check its efficacy on physiochemical, phytochemical, sensorial and microbial quality. Freshly-cut green onions were washed with 0.001 mol sodium hypochlorite, irradiated at 0.5 kGy, 1.0 kGy, and 1.5 kGy and/or 0.1% sodium benzoate treated. The treated samples were stored at 5 °C for 16 days. Physicochemical analysis like weight loss, pH, moisture content, phytochemical analysis like chlorophyll and beta-carotenoid content, trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity, total phenolic content, color and texture analysis, sensory evaluation and microbial studies were done. Irradiation 0.5 kGy when compared to other treatments didn't show better results in terms of appearance, nutrient content and storage life. In addition, irradiation 1.5 kGy showed more beta-carotenoid content but it also caused electrolytic leakage due to cellular membrane damage. The combined treatment of irradiation 1.0 kGy and sodium benzoate was found to be most effective in terms of texture, color, radical scavenging activity, polyphenols, chlorophyll content and microbial safety during the storage of 16 days. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural fibers have been in researchers' attention these days for their low cost, availability, ease of manufacturing and potential environment friendliness for studying their feasibility as reinforcing agents in composites. Numerous research works are being carried out across the globe to increase the thermal, tribological as well as mechanical properties of these engineered biocomposites and they have proved their potential in wide range of applications including bio-medical and bio-technological fields. This review aims to discuss the mechanical properties attained by the composite after natural fiber reinforcement and the various factors affecting the mechanical properties of the natural fiber composites (NFCs). It also focuses on the applicability of natural fibers as a substitute for synthetic fibers in large domain of application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Sugar and milk richer waste tea residue utilised for carbon nanodot synthesis. • Required materials available worldwide, easily, economical, and sustainable. • Simple carbonization route used for fluorescent carbon nanodot synthesis. • Environmental scavenger for free chorine over twenty-one (21) common ion tested. • Explored for water quality monitoring in various water bodies. Abstract A world wide easily available, economical, and sustainable carbonaceous source based on kitchen derived waste tea residue (containing sugar and milk) was used for the synthesis of carbon dots (CDs). Pyrolysis of waste tea residue in controlled condition was employed to synthesis water soluble carbon dots (WTR-CDs). The as-synthesised WTR-CDs exhibited emission at 415 nm, excitation dependent behavior, stability towards the pH and ionic strength. The emission intensity of WTR-CDs dwindled with an addition of hypochlorite ion (ClO−) and designed sensor achieved sensitive detection of free chlorine rapidly with higher selectivity over twenty-one (21) common interfering ion tested. WTR-CDs showed good response over a range of 0.02–2.0 µg mL−1 of ClO−. Furthermore, the Stern-Volmer equation was used to obtain calibration curve displayed a very good linear response for the analyte within the range 0.02–0.30 µg/mL with the lowest limit of detection (LOD) is 0.038 µg/mL. Moreover, potential applications of this developed method were explored in various water bodies by standard addition method which finds a new avenue for the quantification of free chlorine and water quality monitoring. Graphical abstract Image, graphical abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Algae is an emerging source of vegetable oil. In this study, a comparative assessment of algal oil for deep frying with sunflower and palm oil was performed. Potato sticks were fried for four consecutive days in each of the individual oils under study. These oils were analyzed for density, refractive index, viscosity, oil uptake, acid value, percentage free fatty acid, acidity, peroxide value, total polar compounds, color, radical scavenging activity and fatty acid profile. Fried potato sticks were evaluated for texture and sensorial properties, the latter was performed using a fuzzy logic method. Principle component analysis was done for a variety of physicochemical parameters. This study revealed that the algal oil had the highest physical and chemical stability during the frying process compared to sunflower and palm oils. Potato sticks fried in algal oil had a superior texture and improved sensorial properties. Based on these results it can be concluded that algal oil has a great potential to be used for deep frying foods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Medication synchronization (med-sync) aligns patients' monthly or quarterly chronic medications to a predetermined single pickup date at a community pharmacy. The study objective was to examine med-sync enrollment disparities based on Medicare beneficiaries' predisposing, enabling, and need characteristics.Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study using a Medicare dataset of beneficiaries receiving medications from pharmacies that self-identified as providing med-sync. Medicare beneficiaries who were continuously enrolled in fee-for-service medical and pharmacy benefits during the study period (2014-2016) were included. Study cohorts (med-sync and non-med-sync patients) were defined, and bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed. Andersen's Health Services Utilization Model guided our inclusion of predisposing, enabling, and need characteristics to examine for association with med-sync enrollment.Results: A total of 170,180 beneficiaries were included, of which 13,193 comprised the med-sync cohort and 156,987 comprised the non-med-sync cohort. Bivariate logistic regression analysis revealed statistically significant differences (P < 0.05) in cohorts based on age, geographic region, type of residence, number of unique chronic medications, comorbidities, outpatient visits, and inpatient hospitalizations. Beneficiaries had higher odds of being enrolled in med-sync with increasing age (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 1.003 [95% CI 1.001-1.005]) and if they resided in the Northeast (AOR 1.094 [95% CI 1.018-1.175]), South (AOR 1.109 [95% CI 1.035-1.188]), and West (AOR 1.113 [95% CI 1.020-1.215]) than those in the Midwest. Beneficiaries residing in nonmetro areas had lower odds of enrollment (AOR 0.914 [95% CI 0.863-0.969]) than those in metro areas. Beneficiaries with previous fewer inpatient hospitalizations (AOR 0.945 [95% CI 0.914-0.977]) were more likely to be enrolled, and those with more outpatient visits (AOR 1.003 [95% CI 1.001-1.004]) were more likely to be enrolled. Those taking a higher number of oral chronic medications (AOR 1.005 [95% CI 1.002-1.008]) had greater odds of enrollment in med-sync.Conclusions: Med-sync program expansion opportunities exist to address potential enrollment disparities based on age, geographic region, metropolitan area, and prior health utilization. Further studies are needed to develop and examine strategies among pharmacies to improve med-sync enrollment outreach to these subgroups of patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a control scheme for variable speed wind energy conversion system (WECS) using permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG). The control scheme extracts maximum power from wind using maximum power point tracking (MPPT) technique. In this paper, the proposed control scheme is achieved using two back-to-back voltage source converters (VSC) with the DC-link whose voltage is to be maintained. The control scheme discussed in this paper is zero direct-axis current (ZDC) control where the d-axis stator current is kept zero. Performance evaluation of the system is carried out and detail simulation results are demonstrated using MATLAB/SIMULINK environment. The simulation results proves the effectiveness of application of the ZDC control for variable speed WECS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the multilevel inverter (MLI) based Electric spring (ES) for smart grid applications. Due to the superior performance of Diode-clamped MLI (DCMLI) over other MLI topologies, in this paper ES is realized using 5-level DCMLI. Further the performance of two-level and five-level DCMLI based ES is investigated in terms of Total Harmonic Distortion (THD). It is ascertained that five- level DCMLI achieves voltage regulation with lesser THD in compensated voltage. Moreover, the use of DCMLI based ES as a distributed source is also elaborated. To extract the digitally simulated results and to validate system performance of MLI based ES, detailed simulation studies are carried out using MATLAB environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a novel approach for content based image retrieval (CBIR) in diabetic retinopathy (DR) is proposed. The concept of salient point selection and inter-plane relationship technique is used. Salient points are selected from edgy image and later using inter-planer relationship, Local Binary Patterns (LBPs) are calculated using the salient point as a center pixel. Our approach enhanced the results as we used color features in combination with LBP features. Experimentation is carried out on MESSIDOR database of 1200 retinal images, proposed approach has average precision of 57.82% as compared to the earlier approach whose average precision is 53.70%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proteases are widely used in chemical, medical and food industries. Microbial proteases play an important role in the cellular metabolic processes and have gained considerable attention by industrial communities. Hence, in the present work we have identified and investigated role of novel Bacillus safensis strain CK to produce an extracellular protease. The isolated protease was purified by Diethyl amino ethane (DEAE) cellulose column chromatography with 7 fold purity and 8.2% yield. Molecular weight of the protease estimated to be around 40 kDa and showed activity over a wide range of pH, from neutral to alkaline. The purified protease showed 100% and 92% stability in presence of 1% Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate (SDS) and commercial detergent respectively. Thus, B. safensis strain CK has potential to produce an extracellular protease, active at neutral and alkaline pH. This protease may be useful in various industrial processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simple and efficient protocol is developed for the synthesis of dihydropyrano[2,3- c ]pyrazole derivatives by a one pot, four component reaction of ethylacetoacetate, hydrazine hydrate, malanonitrile and various aldehydes in the presence of a catalytic amount of DABCO in aqueous medium. This method provides several advantages such as high yield, shorter reaction time, mild reaction condition, operational simplicity, easy work-up procedure with environment friendly nature and purification of products by non-chromatographic methods has been developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are diverse group of soil bacteria that live in the rhizosphere of plants. The current research focuses on the plant growth promoting potential of two strains, Serratia nematodiphila RGK and Pseudomonas plecoglossicida RGK isolated from the rhizospheric soil of the turmeric plant. Both of these bacterial strains found to have the capacity to solubilize phosphate, zinc and potassium as well as potential to produce indole acetic acid, siderophores, nitrogen fixation, ammonia, hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and exopolysaccharide synthesis. Further, they showed the salinity tolerance up to the 6–7% NaCl and antibiotic sensitivity to Gentamycin, Kanamycin, Streptomycin, Tobramycin, and Amikacin. The isolate Pseudomonas plecoglossicida RGK also has shown antifungal activity against fungal pathogen of turmeric Pythium aphanidermatum. Treatment of turmeric rhizomes with separate and by combination of both strains demonstrated remarkable increase growth parameters of turmeric as compared to control. They improved the growth metrics of the plant such as the number of leaves, shoot height, rhizome biomass as well as phenolic, flavonoid content, and free-radical (DPPH) scavenging ability. As compared to the untreated plants, PGPR treated rhizomes showed higher amounts of secondary metabolites, primarily curcumin and additional compounds such 4-Hydroxy-2-methylacetophenone, 2,4-Di-tertbutyl phenol, aR-Turmerone, and (Z) -gamma-Atlantone. The detection of a phenolic compound, 4-Hydroxy-2-methylacetophenone, in a consortium-treated turmeric plant, which has significant biological activity is reported for first time. The use of different microbial strains in a single formulation is a new and developing trend for sustainable agriculture. [Display omitted] • Increase in curcumin content after treatment of bacterial consortium. • Enhancement of other secondary metabolites especially 4-Hydroxy-2-methylacetophenone after treatment of bacterial consortium. • Bacterial consortium has more potential than the individual culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a robust nonlinear proportional–integral–derivative (PID)-like fuzzy control scheme is presented and applied to complex trajectory tracking control of a 2PRP-PPR (P-prismatic, R-revolute) planar parallel manipulator (motion platform) with three degrees-of-freedom (DOF) in the presence of parameter uncertainties and external disturbances. The proposed control law consists of mainly two parts: first part uses a feed forward term to enhance the control activity and estimated perturbed term to compensate for the unknown effects namely external disturbances and unmodeled dynamics, and the second part uses a PID-like fuzzy logic control as a feedback portion to enhance the overall closed-loop stability of the system. Experimental results are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social Networking sites nowadays use passwords to authenticate users. But there are certain problems with this; the user may forget his password or the account may be hacked by the attacker. The web services nowadays provide users’ with an alternative email address or security question to recover password. Unfortunately, this authentication mechanism is insecure or unreliable. To overcome the drawbacks of this mechanism, a backup mechanism for account recovery is considered. Backup authentication mechanism helps the users’ to regain accounts with the help of trusted friends. In this mechanism user depends on multiple trustees and recover their account via verification mails. A trust model which is implemented in social networking sites is associated with an authentication protocol. Trust evaluation models are really needed in smart environments is that they create a secure yet more flexible environments because security policies cannot do that. Trust systems are very adaptive to the user needs, actions and behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays computer as well as information security is the most significant challenge. Authorized users should access the system or information. Authorization can’t occur without authentication. For this authentication various techniques are available. Among them the most popular and easy is the password technique. Password ensures that computer or information can be accessed by those who have been granted right to view or access them. Traditional password technique is a textual password which is also called alphanumeric password. But these textual passwords are easy to crack through various types of attack. So to overcome these vulnerabilities, a graphical password technique is introduced. As name suggests in this technique images (pictures) are used as a password instead of text. Also psychological study says that human can easily remember images than text. So according to this fact, graphical passwords are easy to remember and difficult to guess. But because of graphic nature, nearly all the graphical password techniques are vulnerable to shoulder surfing attack. So here, a new graphical password authentication technique is proposed which is resistant to shoulder surfing and also other types of possible attacks to some extent. It is a combination of recognition and recall based approach. It can be useful for smart held devices like smart phones, PDA, iPod, iPhone etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays computer as well as information security is the most significant challenge. Authorized users should access the system or information. Authorization can’t occur without authentication. For this authentication various techniques are available. Among them the most popular and easy is the password technique. Password ensures that computer or information can be accessed by those who have been granted right to view or access them. Traditional password technique is a textual password which is also called alphanumeric password. But these textual passwords are easy to crack through various types of attack. So to overcome these vulnerabilities, a graphical password technique is introduced. As name suggests in this technique images (pictures) are used as a password instead of text. Also psychological study says that human can easily remember images than text. So according to this fact, graphical passwords are easy to remember and difficult to guess. But because of graphic nature, nearly all the graphical password techniques are vulnerable to shoulder surfing attack. So here, a new graphical password authentication technique is proposed which is resistant to shoulder surfing and also other types of possible attacks to some extent. It is a combination of recognition and recall based approach. It can be useful for smart held devices like smart phones, PDA, iPod, iPhone etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cloud computing provides an individual user unlimited storage space, availability and accessibility of data anytime at anywhere. Cloud service provider is able to maximize data storage space by integrating data deduplication into cloud storage, although data deduplication removes redundant data and replicated data occurs in cloud environment. In a cloud environment, data privacy preserving is also an important topic to be considered and to achieve this data confidentiality in order to support deduplication, new type of convergent encryption technique is used for encrypting the data before outsourcing. This paper propose how cloud service and storage providers employ data deduplication technique without giving access to either user's plaintext or user's decrypted data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtual lesions in the mirror neuron network using inhibitory low-frequency (1 Hz) transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) have been employed to understand its spatio-functional properties. However, no studies have examined the influence of neuro-enhancement by using excitatory high-frequency (20 Hz) repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (HF-rTMS) on these networks. We used three forms of TMS stimulation (HF-rTMS, single and paired pulse) to investigate whether the mirror neuron system facilitates the motor system during goal-directed action observation relative to inanimate motion (motor resonance), a marker of putative mirror neuron activity. 31 healthy individuals were randomized to receive single-sessions of true or sham HF-rTMS delivered to the left inferior frontal gyrus – a component of the human mirror system. Motor resonance was assessed before and after HF-rTMS using three TMS cortical reactivity paradigms: (a) 120% of resting motor threshold (RMT), (b) stimulus intensity set to evoke motor evoked potential of 1-millivolt amplitude (SI 1mV ) and (c) a short latency paired pulse paradigm. Two-way RMANOVA showed a significant group (true versus sham) X occasion (pre- and post-HF-rTMS motor resonance) interaction effect for SI 1mV [ F (df) = 6.26 (1, 29), p = 0.018] and 120% RMT stimuli [ F (df) = 7.01 (1, 29), p = 0.013] indicating greater enhancement of motor resonance in the true HF-rTMS group than the sham-group. This suggests that HF-rTMS could adaptively modulate properties of the mirror neuron system. This neuro-enhancement effect is a preliminary step that can open translational avenues for novel brain stimulation therapeutics targeting social-cognition deficits in schizophrenia and autism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Latent Heat Storage is used to balance temporary temperature alternations and storage of energy in several practical application areas. Numerical modelling and analysis of Latent Heat Storage is essential step in designing it for particular application. The present study explores numerically and experimentally the process of melting and solidification of a Phase Change Material in vertical concentric cylindrical unit. Two different cases are considered for analysis; first is without considering gravity and buoyancy effect and second is with considering its effect on PCM. In this analysis melting and solidification time, variation of mushy zone, solid- liquid interface have been studied for both the cases. Commercially available paraffin wax is used as a phase change material. Numerical results have a good agreement with the experimental results. The obtained results can be helpful to study the heat transfer process and designing of Latent Heat base Thermal Energy Storages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper a regression model based for tuning proportional integral derivative (PID) controller with fractional order time delay system is proposed. The novelty of this paper is that tuning parameters of the fractional order time delay system are optimally predicted using the regression model. In the proposed method, the output parameters of the fractional order system are used to derive the regression function. Here, the regression model depends on the weights of the exponential function. By using the iterative algorithm, the best weight of the regression model is evaluated. Using the regression technique, fractional order time delay systems are tuned and the stability parameters of the system are maintained. The effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed technique is demonstrated through the MATLAB/Simulink platform, as well as testing and comparison using the classical PID controller, Ziegler–Nichols tuning method, Wang tuning method and curve fitting technique base tuning method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi-objective optimization is the process of simultaneously optimizing two or more conflicting objectives subject to certain constraints. Real-life engineering designs often contain more than one conflicting objective function, which requires a multi-objective approach. In a single-objective optimization problem, the optimal solution is clearly defined, while a set of trade-offs that gives rise to numerous solutions exists in multi-objective optimization problems. Each solution represents a particular performance trade-off between the objectives and can be considered optimal. In this paper, the performance of a recently developed teaching–learning-based optimization (TLBO) algorithm is evaluated against the other optimization algorithms over a set of multi-objective unconstrained and constrained test functions and the results are compared. The TLBO algorithm was observed to outperform the other optimization algorithms for the multi-objective unconstrained and constrained benchmark problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bamboo enterprises are continuously sustaining national economy through providing employment opportunities for rural people including raw material collection, processing and marketing. Bamboo has many industrial uses, through this work tried to make the maximum operations feasible so that the machine can prove employment in rural areas at very low manual efforts. This paper reports on design and development of machine with specialty of multiple operations of bamboo processing incorporated in a single machine. It also includes designing of measuring devices for measurement of current drawn, processing torque, Energy, and time required for each processing operations using specially designed electronic kit. The present work reports the design of experimental work to be executed for establishing approximate generalized empirical model for Bamboo(machining properties) processing operations such as cross cutting, external knot removal(two side planning),splitting, internal knot removal, sliver(slats) and stick making, on the basis of experimentation data chosen, using methodology of engineering experimentation. Out of all processing operations, formulation and analysis only for sliver cutting operation is completely mentioned in this paper. The evolution of bamboo machining properties using processing cutters is a complex phenomenon. There are many factors (like geometric variables of machine and bamboo, variation in angular speed, processing torque and variation in current) affecting the performance of bamboo processing machine. This paper presents an experimental investigations and Sequential classical experimentation technique has been used to perform experiments for various sizes of bamboo at different varying speed. An attempt of mini-max principle has been made to optimize the range bound process parameters for minimizing processing torque, Energy, and time required for bamboo Sliver Cutting operation. The test results proved that processing torque, Energy, and time values were significantly influenced by changing important seven dimensionless π terms. The process parameters grouped in π terms were suggested the effective guidelines to the manufacturer for improving productivity by changing any one or all from the available process parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A theoretical study of elastic-plastic contact of rough surfaces is considered based on n-point asperity model and accurate finite element analysis (FEA) of elastic-plastic deformation of single asperity contact. Kogut and Etsion (2003) formulations for intermediate elastic-plastic regimes of deformation are integrated with pure elastic model of Greenwood and Williamson (1966) and pure plastic model of Abbott and Firestone (1933) to obtain contact load and area in rough surface contact. Using practical values of material properties and surface roughness parameters, the load–separation and area-separation behaviour of surfaces are studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brazing of ceramic and metal components is an emerging manufacturing technology in which a furnace or a heat source is used to join the substrates using a brazing filler material. Brazing of ceramic and metal has received considerable attention in the field of nuclear reactor, aerospace, automobile, medical and electrical engineering. A brazing alloy can either be a conventional brazing alloy which requires the ceramic surface to be metalized or an active brazing alloy which does not require metallization. A sound interfacial adhesive bond is formed during the process. Vacuum brazing of alumina and steel (SS304) with Cusil active brazing alloy has been carried out for the analysis of behavior of joint in different loading condition. Uniformity and presence of defects of the joints is confirmed by observing the Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images. The elements and phases present in the joint interface are observed by energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses. Average shear stress was found to be 88 ±8 MPa. The micro- Vickers hardness test showed that the micro hardness of the interface was lower than the substrates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Piper longum L. fruits have been traditionally used against snakebites in north-eastern and southern region of India. The aim of the study was to assess the production of antibody response against Russell's viper venom in mice after prophylactic immunization with ethanolic extract of fruits of Piper longum L. and piperine. The mice sera were tested for the presence of antibodies against Russell's viper venom by in vitro lethality neutralization assay and in vivo lethality neutralization assay. Polyvalent anti-snake venom serum (antivenom) manufactured by Haffkine Bio-Pharmaceutical Corporation Ltd. was used as standard. Further confirmation of presence of antibodies against the venom in sera of mice immunized with PLE and piperine was done using indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and double immunodiffusion test. Treatment with PLE-treated mice serum and piperine-treated mice serum was found to inhibit the lethal action of venom both in the in vitro lethality neutralization assay and in vivo lethality neutralization assay. ELISA testing indicated that there were significantly high (p <0.01) levels of cross reactions between the PLE and piperine treated mice serum and the venom antigens. In double immunodiffusion test, a white band was observed between the two wells of antigen and antibodies for both the PLE-treated and piperine-treated mice serum. Thus it can be concluded that immunization with ethanolic extract of fruits of Piper longum and piperine produced a high titre antibody response against Russell's viper venom in mice. The antibodies against PLE and piperine could be useful in antivenom therapy of Russell's viper bites. PLE and piperine may also have a potential interest in view of the development of antivenom formulations used as antidote against snake bites. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In underwater passive surveillance systems, narrowband displays help in classifying tonal sounds but transient sounds are largely classified through audition. Over the years, the intensity of tonal has been reduced by ship/submarine constructors, and so their use for classifying underwater targets has become diminished. Transient sounds are harder to disguise and are becoming more useful for detecting targets. In the naval scenario, quick and accurate detection of transient signals offers an advantage of longer response time to thwart an enemy attack. Underwater transients from manmade objects and biologics are very rich in structure and detail, very diverse in terms of duration, highly non-stationary, and often mixed with multipath. The need is for automatic detection and classification of underwater transients, in order to assist the overburdened sonar operator. Recently, the work on wavelet transform for transient signal detection is carried out but the problem with these detectors is that these are computationally very expensive. We are presenting a new kind of detector which works on energy of the segments and the corresponding mean of the zero crossings of the signal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper, model based design of PID controllers is proposed for higher-order oscillatory systems. The proposed method has no limitations regarding systems order, time delays and oscillatory behavior. The reduced model is achieved based on third-order modeling and selection of coefficients through the use of frequency responses. The tuning of the PID parameters are obtained from a reduced third-order model; the procedure seems to be simple and effective, and improved performance of the overall system can be achieved. Three simulation examples and one real-time experiment are included to demonstrate the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed method to systems with oscillatory behavior. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

INTRODUCTION Ileosigmoid knotting (ISK) is a rare entity which needs prompt recognition and immediate surgical intervention to avoid catastrophic complications caused by gangrenous bowel and subsequent peritonitis. Preoperative investigations are only diagnostic of obstruction and CT findings are helpful but are not always available. PRESENTATION OF CASE This case report describes a 22 year old male presenting with acute abdomen managed with emergency exploration in view of findings of peritonitis. Intra-operatively an ileal segment was wrapped around the base of sigmoid colon with gangrenous ileal segment suggesting ISK. Resection of gangrenous ileal segment with double barrel ileostomy was done. Patient tolerated procedure well. DISCUSSION Patients with ileosigmoid knotting present with frank obstruction and require immediate medical and surgical treatment. This condition rapidly progresses to gangrenous bowel, generalized peritonitis and sepsis with very high mortality. CONCLUSION Early diagnosis, prompt fluid resuscitation, preoperative antibiotics and immediate surgical exploration are keys for optimal management of this condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To describe medical staff attitudes and perceived behaviors toward medication-assisted treatment (MAT) in a federally qualified health center (FQHC). The secondary objective was to identify the staff's perceptions of using pharmacists during MAT.Design: A cross-sectional, descriptive study using a 26-item Web-based survey was developed using the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and consisted of Likert scale and multiple-select options.Setting and Participants: Medical staff located at an FQHC in northwest Indiana were eligible to participate if they were 18 years or older. Corporate and administrative staff were not eligible to participate.Outcome Measures: Perceptions were measured using the 4 constructs of the TPB: attitude, perceived behavioral control, subjective norm, and intent. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.Results: Of the 240 eligible respondents, 104 employees completed the survey, yielding a 43.3% response rate. The providers generally believed they had the knowledge (83.9% agree or strongly agree) to diagnose patients with opioid use disorder (OUD). From the perceived behavioral control construct, staff were confident of their ability to identify patients for MAT (65.2%); however, most believed they needed additional training on MAT (75%) from the attitude construct. From the subjective norm construct, more than half of the respondents believed that their employer wanted them to be involved in the treatment of a patient with OUD (60.7%). Commonly, from the intent construct, the staff favored adding pharmacists to the care team when managing patients with MAT (57.7%).Conclusion: The staff expressed the need for additional training to provide MAT services and believed this would enable them to become an important part of the MAT team. Adding a trained pharmacist to the care team when managing patients with MAT was favored by the staff. The study showed that health professionals would be more comfortable if a pharmacist were available for MAT consultation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microalgae are likely to emerge as a sustainable source of biomass which can be utilized as food, feed, and fuel. Most of the valuable products in the microalgae are present intracellular. Microalgae cell wall is rigid and mainly composed of cellulose. Hence, it is essential to disrupt cells to extract intracellular products. Probe ultrasonication (US) and hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) were optimized for their operating parameters and various pre-treatments to obtain maximum cell disruption efficacy. Optimum conditions for maximum cell disruption using US were: solid load (1% w/v), duty cycle (80%), power input (54 W) and the US time 90 min. After pre-treatment with 0.5% w/v sodium hydroxide; the time required for the maximum cell disruption using US was reduced to 50 min. Optimum conditions for the maximum cell disruption using HC were cavitation device orifice over venturi, time (180 min), pressure (5 bar) and solid load (0.45% w/v). After pre-treatment with 0.5% w/v sodium hydroxide time required for maximum cell disruption using HC was reduced to 105 min. Further, the energy required for cell disruption using US and HC was calculated and, it was found that HC was significantly more energy efficient and scalable treatment for microalgae cell disruption. • Hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) is novel, energy efficient and scalable process of cell disruption. • Optimum treatment conditions for microalgae cell disruption were found for probe ultrasonication (US) and HC method. • HC is 6.3 times more energy efficient compared to US. • Approximately, 40% reduction in the HC treatment time when combined with alkali pre-treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]