A Novel Approach for Compressing Surveillance System Videos

The surveillance systems are expected to record the videos in 24/7 and obviously it requires a huge storage space. Even though the hard disks are cheaper today, the number of CCTV cameras is also vertically increasing in order to boost up security. The video compression techniques is the only better option to reduce required the storage space; however, the existing video compression techniques are not adequate at all for the modern digital surveillance system monitoring as they require huge video streams. In this paper, a novel video compression technique is presented with a critical analysis of the experimental results

Nutritional rickets - A hospital-based study from Southern Kerala

Objective: The aim of this study is to find the characteristics of nutritional rickets and the proportion of cases diagnosed prospectively. Methods: Details of 54 cases of nutritional rickets in the age group of 1 month-12 years diagnosed during 2013-2015 in a tertiary care teaching hospital in Kerala were collected. The criteria taken for diagnosis were clinical features, biochemical parameters such as calcium, phosphorous, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), radiological features, and response to vitamin D treatment. Vitamin D level and serum parathyroid hormone levels were collected whenever it is available. The data were then analyzed statistically. Results: Among the 54 cases analyzed, 61.11% were male. A maximum number of cases were identified in the age group of 1-2 years (44.44%). Nearly 88.89% of patients were born term. About 83.3% of patients were intermediate or dark skinned. The most common clinical feature identified was bowlegs. Radiological features were identified in 70.4% of cases. The most common biochemical abnormality noted was elevated serum ALP (83.33%). Hypocalcemic seizures were a predominant manifestation in <6 months’ age group. Rickets was detected prospectively in 26 patients (48.15%) during evaluation for other illnesses. The mean ALP level was found to be significantly lower in patients with clinical or radiological features of rickets compared to those without clinical or radiological evidence. Conclusions: Rickets is very common in the age group of 1-2 years and among exclusively breastfed term babies. The significant number of cases of nutritional rickets was detected prospectively during evaluation for other illnesses. ALP level may be routinely checked in the vulnerable high-risk age group for identification of early rickets as it is significantly elevated even before clinical and radiological changes appear

Crumpled sheet like graphene based WO3-Fe2O3 nanocomposites for enhanced charge transfer and solar photocatalysts for environmental remediation

The combination of two or more metal oxides onto graphene sheets with even distribution is projected to enhanced charge transfer properties in photocatalytic applications. We report, tungsten oxide (WO3) with iron oxide (Fe2O3) nanoparticles grown on graphene sheets via a facile economical one pot hydrothermal method and consequently characterized by standard analytical techniques. Synthesized Fe2O3 with WO3 nanoparticles were well ornamented on surface of the graphene sheets which have a significant charge transfer properties. The resulting hybrid WO3-Fe2O3-rGO (WFG) nanocomposites showed enhanced photocatalytic, heavy metal removal and antibacterial activities. The superior photocatalytic removal efficiencies were observed for the removal of rhodamine B (∼94%) and methylene blue dyes (∼98%) under solar light irradiation. The antibacterial activity of WFG nanocomposites were performed against Escherichia coli (E.coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S.aureus) as models for Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. The outcome of the results have an intellectual effect on the use of WFG nanocomposites to address the upcoming energy and environment issues

Growth and Characterization of Ce- Substituted Nd2Fe14B Single Crystals

Single crystals of (Nd1-xCex)2Fe14B are grown out of Fe-(Nd,Ce) flux. Chemical and structural analysis of the crystals indicates that (Nd1-xCex)2Fe14B forms a solid solution until at least x = 0.38 with a Vegard-like variation of the lattice constants with x. Refinements of single crystal neutron diffraction data indicate that Ce has a slight site preference (7:3) for the 4g rare earth site over the 4f site. Magnetization measurements show that for x = 0.38 the saturation magnetization at 400 K, a temperature important to applications, falls from 29.8 for the parent Nd2Fe14B to 27.6 (mu)B/f.u., the anisotropy field decreases from 5.5 T to 4.7 T, and the Curie temperature decreases from 586 to 543 K. First principles calculations carried out within density functional theory are used to explain the decrease in magnetic properties due to Ce substitution. Though the presence of the lower-cost and more abundant Ce slightly affects these important magnetic characteristics, this decrease is not large enough to affect a multitude of applications. Ce-substituted Nd2Fe14B is therefore a potential high-performance permanent magnet material with substantially reduced Nd content.Comment: 11 Pages, 8 figures, 5 table

Outcome of Aggressive Posterior Retinopathy of Prematurity in a Tertiary Care Hospital in South India

ABSTRAC

Polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane/polyamide bio-nanocomposite membranes : structure-gas transport properties

A series of bio-nanocomposite membranes based on different loadings of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) and dimer fatty acid polyamide was prepared by a facile solution casting method and their gas-transport properties were evaluated using oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide. Intactness of POSS molecules in the polyamide was confirmed by 29Si CP/MAS NMR and FT-IR experiments. The formation of effective H-bonding interactions between POSS and polyamide was confirmed by FT-IR. The surface morphological features of the membranes prepared were analyzed using TEM, SEM and AFM techniques. TEM images revealed excellent dispersion of POSS into the membranes and it (POSS) was found to be in the range of 10 to 20 nanometers size. SEM images showed no agglomeration, even at a high content of POSS. AFM 3-D images of the membranes indicated a slight increase in surface roughness with increased POSS content. The hydrophilic/hydrophobic nature and the surface free energy of the nanocomposite membranes prepared were analysed by contact angle measurements using the Sessile drop method. Considerable influence of POSS on the glass transition temperature of the bio-nanocomposite membranes was observed. Increasing the POSS content decreased the free volume and increased the density of the membranes. These properties can be used to determine the permeability and selectivity of the membranes prepared.The Institutional Research Development Programme (IRDP) and the South Africa/Mozambique Collaboration Programme of the National Research Foundation (NRF).http://www.rsc.orgadvances2016-01-12hj201

Enhancement of Friction between Carbon Nanotubes: An Efficient Strategy to Strengthen Fibers

Interfacial friction plays a crucial role in the mechanical properties of carbon nanotube based fibers, composites, and devices. Here we use molecular dynamics simulation to investigate the pressure effect on the friction within carbon nanotube bundles. It reveals that the intertube frictional force can be increased by a factor of 1.5 ~ 4, depending on tube chirality and radius, when all tubes collapse above a critical pressure and when the bundle remains collapsed with unloading down to atmospheric pressure. Furthermore, the overall cross-sectional area also decreases significantly for the collapsed structure, making the bundle stronger. Our study suggests a new and efficient way to reinforce nanotube fibers, possibly stronger than carbon fibers, for usage at ambient conditions.Comment: revtex, 5 pages, accepted by ACS Nano 10 Dec 200

Blast phase myeloproliferative neoplasm: Mayo-AGIMM study of 410 patients from two separate cohorts

A total of 410 patients with blast phase myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN-BP) were retrospectively reviewed: 248 from the Mayo Clinic and 162 from Italy. Median survival was 3.6 months, with no improvement over the last 15 years. Multivariable analysis performed on the Mayo cohort identified high risk karyotype, platelet count < 100 × 109 /L, age > 65 years and transfusion need as independent risk factors for survival. Also in the Mayo cohort, intensive chemotherapy resulted in complete remission (CR) or CR with incomplete count recovery (CRi) rates of 35 and 24%, respectively; treatment-specified 3-year/5-year survival rates were 32/10% for patients receiving allogeneic stem cell transplant (AlloSCT) (n = 24), 19/13% for patients achieving CR/CRi but were not transplanted (n = 24), and 1/1% in the absence of both AlloSCT and CR/CRi (n = 200) (p < 0.01). The survival impact of AlloSCT (HR 0.2, 95% CI 0.1–0.3), CR/CRi without AlloSCT (HR 0.3, 95% CI 0.2–0.5), high risk karyotype (HR 1.6, 95% CI 1.1–2.2) and platelet count < 100 × 109 /L (HR 1.6, 95% CI 1.1–2.2) were confirmed to be interindependent. Similar observations were made in the Italian cohort. The current study identifies the setting for improved short-term survival in MPN-BP, but also highlights the limited value of current therapy, including AlloSCT, in securing long-term survival