An Automated Algorithm for Approximation of Temporal Video Data Using Linear B'EZIER Fitting

This paper presents an efficient method for approximation of temporal video data using linear Bezier fitting. For a given sequence of frames, the proposed method estimates the intensity variations of each pixel in temporal dimension using linear Bezier fitting in Euclidean space. Fitting of each segment ensures upper bound of specified mean squared error. Break and fit criteria is employed to minimize the number of segments required to fit the data. The proposed method is well suitable for lossy compression of temporal video data and automates the fitting process of each pixel. Experimental results show that the proposed method yields good results both in terms of objective and subjective quality measurement parameters without causing any blocking artifacts.Comment: 14 Pages, IJMA 201

Wheat growth and phytoavailability of copper and zinc as affected by soil texture in saline-sodic conditions

Nutrient disorders in saline-sodic soils can adversely affect crop growth. In order to evaluate the growth response of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) to Cu and Zn and the phytoavailability of these essential elements, a pot experiment was conducted in three different textured saline-sodic soils [sandy loam (SL), sandy clay loam (SCL) and clay (C)] having an ECe 8.63, 8.80, 8.98 dS m–1 and SAR 21.66, 23.48, 24.84 (mmol L–1)1/2 respectively. Seven treatments including levels of Cu (4, 6 and 8 mg kg–1) and levels of Zn (4, 6 and 8 mg kg–1) were separately applied together with a single control treatment. Dry matter yield (straw + grain) of wheat increased up to 35.2% with Cu and up to 31.2 % with Zn application relative to the control. As soil clay content increased, dry matter yield decreased up to 39.2% in SCL and up to 62.7% in C soil when compared to SL soil. Application of Cu increased the concentration in both wheat straw and grains up to 2.46 and 2.20 mg kg–1 DW respectively relative to the control. Zinc concentration in wheat straw and grains was also increased up to 29.97 and 29.40 mg kg–1 DW respectively relative to the controls. Copper application significantly increased Zn concentrations in wheat plants

Bandgap engineering of Cd1-xSrxO

Structural, electronic and optical properties of Cd1-xSrxO (0 \leq x \leq 1) are calculated for the first time using density functional theory. Our results show that these properties are strongly dependent on x. The bond between Cd and O is partially covalent and the covalent nature of the bond decreases as the concentration of Sr increases from 0 to 100%. It is found that Cd1-xSrxO is an indirect bandgap compound for the entire range of x and the bandgap of the alloy increases from 0.85 to 6.00 eV with the increase in Sr concentration. Frequency dependent dielectric functions {\epsilon}1({\omega}), {\epsilon}2({\omega}), refractive index n({\omega}) and absorption coefficient {\alpha}({\omega}) are also calculated and discussed in details. The peak value of refractive indices shifts to higher energy regions with the increase in Sr. The striking feature of these alloys is that Cd0.5Sr0.5O is an anisotropic material. The larger value of the extraordinary refractive index confirms that the material is positive birefringence crystal. The present comprehensive theoretical study of the optoelectronic properties of the material predicts that it can be effectively used in optoelectronic applications in the wide range of spectrum; IR, visible and UV

Gender difference in age at onset of schizophrenia: a cross sectional study from Pakistan

OBJECTIVE: To validate the effect of gender on age at onset of schizophrenia in a developing country METHODS: Medical records of 252 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia according to DSM-IV criteria at a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan between 2002 and 2008 were reviewed using a structured questionnaire. Age at onset was defined as age at onset of psychotic symptoms, age at first contact with a health care provider and age at first hospitalization. Socio-demographic variables were reported using descriptive statistics and all measures of age at onset were compared across gender using t-test. RESULTS: There were 119 women and 133 men with mean age of 37.6 +/- 12.8 years. All three measures of age at onset of illness showed no difference between women and men. The mean age when first psychotic symptoms appeared in men was 24.86 +/- 8.83 years (n = 128) while that in women was 26.57 +/- 9.96 years (n = 111), p = 0.160. The mean age at index hospitalization for treatment of psychosis in men was 29.50 +/- 10.64 years (n = 123) and in women was 31.61 +/- 12.07 years (n = 103), p = 0.164. The mean age at first contact with any caregiver in men was 29.73 +/- 37.58 years (n = 119) and in women was 29.38 +/- 11.99 years (n = 108), p = 0.926. CONCLUSION: There is no significant difference in age at onset of schizophrenia across gender in our population. This validates a difference in epidemiology of schizophrenia in the South Asian population

A novel hybrid MPPT technique for solar PV applications using perturb & observe and fractional open circuit voltage techniques

Solar photovoltaic (PV) systems have been an area of active research for the last few decades to improve the efficiency of solar PV module. The non-linear nature of IV curve of solar PV module demands some technique to track the maximum voltage and maximum current point on IV curve corresponding to Maximum Power Point(MPP). Thus, Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) techniques are widely deployed for this purpose. Lot of MPPT techniques have been developed in recent past but still most commercial systems utilizes the perturb & observe (P&O) MPPT technique because of its simple algorithm, low cost and ease of implementation. However, this technique is slow in tracking MPP under rapidly changing irradiance conditions and it also oscillates around the MPP. This paper addresses this problematic behavior of P&O technique and hence presents a novel MPPT hybrid technique that is combination of two basic techniques i.e. P&O and Fractional Open Circuit Voltage (FOCV) technique in order to overcome the inherited deficiencies found in P&O technique. The proposed MPPT technique is much more robust in tracking the MPP even under the frequent changing irradiance conditions and is less oscillatory around the MPP as compared to P&O. The technique is verified using MATLAB/SIMULNK and simulation results show a clear improvement in achieving the MPP when subjected to change in irradianc

Randomized controlled trials covering pharmaceutical care and medicines management: A systematic literature review

Objective To review the effects of pharmaceutical care on hospitalizations, mortality and clinical outcomes in patients. Methods Systematic searches were conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts (IPA) databases to identify studies that were published between 2004 and January 2017. Studies included in this review were randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that spanned across both community and hospital settings. Using strict inclusion/exclusion criteria studies were included if they reported level 1 or 2 outcomes in the hierarchy of outcome measure i.e. clinical and surrogate outcomes (e.g. blood pressure (BP) control, blood glucose level, cholesterol BMI). Each study was assessed for quality using the Jadad scoring system. Results Fifty-four RCTs were included in the present review. Forty-six of these studies ranked high quality according to the Jadad scoring system. Studies were categorized into their general condition groups. Interventions in patients with diabetes, depression, respiratory disorders, cardiovascular disorders, epilepsy, osteoporosis, and interventions in older adults were identified. In the majority of studies pharmaceutical care was found to lead to significant improvements in clinical outcomes and/or hospitalizations when compared to the non-intervention group. Some conditions had a large number of RCTs, for example for cardiovascular conditions and in diabetes. Statistically significant improvements were seen in the majority of the studies included for both of these conditions, with studies indicating positive clinical outcomes and/or hospitalizations rates. Within the cardiovascular condition, a subset of studies, focusing on cardiac heart failure and coronary heart disease, had more mixed results. In other conditions the number of RCTs conducted was small and the evidence did not show improvements after pharmaceutical care, i.e. in depression, osteoporosis, and epilepsy. The majority of interventions were face to face interactions with patients, whilst a smaller number were conducted via the telephone and one via a web-based system. Patient education was a key component of most interventions, either verbal and/or written. Longitudinal data, post intervention cessation, was not collected in the majority of cases. Conclusions RCTs conducted to evaluate pharmaceutical care appear to be effective in improving patient short-term outcomes for a number of conditions including diabetes and cardiovascular conditions, however, other conditions such as depression are less well researched. Future research should attempt to evaluate the conditions where there is a lack of data, whether the positive effects of pharmaceutical care persist in patient populations after the interventions cease and what the long-term clinical outcomes would be of continued pharmaceutical care

Pumping dynamics of cold-atom experiments in a single vacuum chamber

A nonlinear analytical model for the pressure dynamics in a vacuum chamber, pumped with a sputter ion pump (SIP), is proposed, discussed and experimentally evaluated. The model describes the physics of the pumping mechanism of SIPs in the context of a cold-atom experiment. By using this model, we fit pump-down curves of our vacuum system to extract the relevant physical parameters characterizing its pressure dynamics. The aim of this investigation is the optimization of cold-atom experiments in terms of reducing the dead time for quantum sensing using atom interferometry. We develop a calibration method to improve the precision in pressure measurements via the ion current in SIPs. Our method is based on a careful analysis of the gas conductance and pumping in order to reliably link the pressure readings at the SIP with the actual pressure in the vacuum (science) chamber. Our results are in agreement with the existence of essentially two pumping regimes determined by the pressure level in the system. In particular, we find our results in agreement with the well-known fact that for a given applied voltage, at low pressures, the discharge current efficiently sputters pumping material from the pump’s electrodes. This process sets the leading pumping mechanism in this limit. At high pressures, the discharge current drops and the pumping is mainly performed by the already sputtered material

Utility of intraoperative neurophysiological monitering (ionm) in various surgeries at a tertery care hospital in karachi, pakistan.

Utility of real time multimodal intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring in different intracranial, spinal and peripheral nerve at a tertiary care hospital in Karachi Pakistan.Study design: A retrospective observational study Place and duration of study: Patients admitted in neurology and neurosurgery services as well as out-patients presenting to the clinical neurophysiology lab at the Aga Khan University Hospital Karachi between January 2012 to December 2013.Methodology: The study consisted of 14 patients undergoing different intracranial, spinal and peripheral nerve surgeries including correction of spinal scoliosis, spinal cord lesion ,acoustic neuroma resection and plexus and peripheral nerve repaired. Among the electrophysiological methods patients were monitored using including SSEP, BAEP and EMG (free-running and triggered). EMG was done on Nihon Kohden Viking Quest from Nicolet Co. For SSEPs GillioNT from EB Neuro Co, and for NIOM carefusion from Nicolet Co was used.Results: Mean age of patients was 39 years (4-70 years). SSEP, BAEP and EMG (free-running and triggered) were recorded, during various surgeries. Of total 14 patients, no patient expressed a significant alert to prompt reversal of ongoing intervention. No patients awoke with a new neurological deficit and none had significant intraoperative SSEP /EMG alerts. Conclusion: Neurophysiologic intraoperative monitoring appears to be the modern standard of care for monitoring functional integrity and minimizing the risk of iatrogenic damage to the central and peripheral nervous system