Role of ICT in Community-Oriented Policing in South Asia: Challenges and Opportunities

Community-oriented policing (COP) as a model has found widespread acceptance throughout the world both in developed and developing countries. Similarly, Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have been embraced by many developed countries to augment COP initiatives. However, very little is known about the application of ICTs in COP in developing countries, particularly South Asia. In this article, we review the current ICT-based COP initiatives by focusing on some of the selected projects from developed countries and South Asia. The paper has used COP in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province of Pakistan as a case. While meaningful insights can be derived through learning from the experiences of developed countries, we highlight some major issues and challenges that are likely to be faced while implementing ICT based COP in South Asia. Moreover, we provide an overview of some exciting opportunities that arise as a result of embracing ICTs to enhance COP efforts for building trusting community-police relations and hence improving human security in the region

Snakes and snake bite in Nepal

At Nepal's northern border with Tibet is the great Himalaya Range. capped by Mount Everest itself (8848 ni) and including four of the other eight highest mountains in the world. South of the Kathmandu Valley at the centre of the country are the lesser mountains of the Mahabharat Range and Churia Ghati Hills. below 3000 m, and in the far south, stretching to India. are the fertile alluvial Terai Plains with scattered swamps and hardwood and bamboo forests. The distribution of the 14 species of venomous snakes known to inhabit Nepal is determined by geography and climate. The range of only one species. the Himalayan pit viper (Agkistrotlori hir~itilri~tiiiu.s), extends into the higher elevations.Published versio

In Vitro Three‐Dimensional Liver Models for Nanomaterial DNA Damage Assessment

Whilst the liver possesses the ability to repair and restore sections of damaged tissue following acute injury, prolonged exposure to engineered nanomaterials (ENM) may induce repetitive injury leading to chronic liver disease. Screening ENM cytotoxicity using 3D liver models has recently been performed, but a significant challenge has been the application of such in vitro models for evaluating ENM associated genotoxicity; a vital component of regulatory human health risk assessment. This review considers the benefits, limitations, and adaptations of specific in vitro approaches to assess DNA damage in the liver, whilst identifying critical advancements required to support a multitude of biochemical endpoints, focusing on nano(geno)toxicology (e.g., secondary genotoxicity, DNA damage, and repair following prolonged or repeated exposures)

Acetone sensor based on solvothermally prepared ZnO doped with Co3O4 nanorods

This paper describes a reliable and sensitive method for sensing dissolved acetone using doped nanomaterials. Large-scale synthesis of ZnO nanorods (NRs) doped with Co(3)O(4) was accomplished by a solvothermal method at low temperature. The doped NRs were characterized in terms of their morphological, structural, and optical properties by using field-emission scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive system, UV-Vis., Fourier transform IR, X-ray diffraction, and Xray photoelectron spectroscopy. The calcinated (at 400 °C) doped NRs are shown to be an attractive semiconductor nanomaterial for detecting acetone in aqueous solution using silver electrodes. The sensor exhibits excellent sensitivity, stability and reproducibility. The calibration plot is linear over a large concentration range (66.8 μM to 0.133 mM), displays high sensitivity (~3.58 μA cm(−2) mM(−1)) and a low detection limit (~14.7 ± 0.2 μM; at SNR of 3). [Figure: see text

A new approach of weighted gradient filter for denoising of medical images in the presence of Poisson noise

Predlažemo ponderirani stupnjevani filtar za otklanjanje Poissonova šuma na rendgenskim slikama. U unaprijed definiranom prozoru izračunat je gradijent središnjeg piksela. Za izračunavanje vrijednosti gradijenta primijenjen je Gaussov ponderirani filtar. Predložena metoda je primijenjena na biomedicinske rendgenske slike, a zatim na različite uobičajene slike LENE i paprika. Rezultati pokazuju učinkovitost i bolju jasnoću slika uz primjenu ponderiranog stupnjevanog filtra. Uz to, predložena metoda je računalno vrlo učinkovita i brža od Non Local Mean (NLM) filtra koji predstavlja unaprijeđenu metodu za otklanjanje Poissonova šuma. Rezultati predložene metode su također bolji u odnosu na parametre za mjerenje performanse t.j. korelacije, Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR), Maximum Structural Similarity Index Measure (MSSIM) i Mean Square Error (MSE) nego uobičajeni Median, Wiener i NLM filter.We propose a Weighted Gradient Filter for denoising of Poisson noise in medical images. In a predefined window, gradient of the centre pixel is averaged out. Gaussian Weighted filter is used on all calculated gradient values. Proposed method is applied on biomedical images X-Rays and then on different general images of LENA and Peppers. Recovery results show that the proposed weighted gradient filter is efficient and has better visual appearance. Moreover, proposed method is computationally very efficient and faster than Non Local Mean (NLM) filter which is an advanced technique for Poisson noise removal. Proposed method results are also better in terms of performance measures parameters i.e. correlation, Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR), Maximum Structural Similarity Index Measure (MSSIM) and Mean Square Error (MSE) than the conventional Median, Wiener and NLM filter

Synergistic Antibacterial Effects of Metallic Nanoparticle Combinations

© The Author(s) 2019.Metallic nanoparticles have unique antimicrobial properties that make them suitable for use within medical and pharmaceutical devices to prevent the spread of infection in healthcare. The use of nanoparticles in healthcare is on the increase with silver being used in many devices. However, not all metallic nanoparticles can target and kill all disease-causing bacteria. To overcome this, a combination of several different metallic nanoparticles were used in this study to compare effects of multiple metallic nanoparticles when in combination than when used singly, as single elemental nanoparticles (SENPs), against two common hospital acquired pathogens (Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas. aeruginosa). Flow cytometry LIVE/DEAD assay was used to determine rates of cell death within a bacterial population when exposed to the nanoparticles. Results were analysed using linear models to compare effectiveness of three different metallic nanoparticles, tungsten carbide (WC), silver (Ag) and copper (Cu), in combination and separately. Results show that when the nanoparticles are placed in combination (NPCs), antimicrobial effects significantly increase than when compared with SENPs (P < 0.01). This study demonstrates that certain metallic nanoparticles can be used in combination to improve the antimicrobial efficiency in destroying morphologically distinct pathogens within the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry.Peer reviewe

Mechanisms for Tuning Engineered Nanomaterials to Enhance Radiation Therapy of Cancer.

Engineered nanomaterials that produce reactive oxygen species on exposure to X- and gamma-rays used in radiation therapy offer promise of novel cancer treatment strategies. Similar to photodynamic therapy but suitable for large and deep tumors, this new approach where nanomaterials acting as sensitizing agents are combined with clinical radiation can be effective at well-tolerated low radiation doses. Suitably engineered nanomaterials can enhance cancer radiotherapy by increasing the tumor selectivity and decreasing side effects. Additionally, the nanomaterial platform offers therapeutically valuable functionalities, including molecular targeting, drug/gene delivery, and adaptive responses to trigger drug release. The potential of such nanomaterials to be combined with radiotherapy is widely recognized. In order for further breakthroughs to be made, and to facilitate clinical translation, the applicable principles and fundamentals should be articulated. This review focuses on mechanisms underpinning rational nanomaterial design to enhance radiation therapy, the understanding of which will enable novel ways to optimize its therapeutic efficacy. A roadmap for designing nanomaterials with optimized anticancer performance is also shown and the potential clinical significance and future translation are discussed

Anaerobic digestion and gasification of seaweed

The potential of algal biomass as a source of liquid and gaseous biofuels is a highly topical theme, with over 70 years of sometimes intensive research and considerable financial investment. A wide range of unit operations can be combined to produce algal biofuel, but as yet there is no successful commercial system producing such biofuel. This suggests that there are major technical and engineering difficulties to be resolved before economically viable algal biofuel production can be achieved. Both gasification and anaerobic digestion have been suggested as promising methods for exploiting bioenergy from biomass, and two major projects have been funded in the UK on the gasification and anaerobic digestion of seaweed, MacroBioCrude and SeaGas. This chapter discusses the use of gasification and anaerobic digestion of seaweed for the production of biofuel