JMASM 51: Bayesian Reliability Analysis of Binomial Model – Application to Success/Failure Data

Reliability data are generated in the form of success/failure. An attempt was made to model such type of data using binomial distribution in the Bayesian paradigm. For fitting the Bayesian model both analytic and simulation techniques are used. Laplace approximation was implemented for approximating posterior densities of the model parameters. Parallel simulation tools were implemented with an extensive use of R and JAGS. R and JAGS code are developed and provided. Real data sets are used for the purpose of illustration

Distance and Similarity Measures for Soft Sets

In [P. Majumdar, S. K. Samanta, Similarity measure of soft sets, New Mathematics and Natural Computation 4(1)(2008) 1-12], the authors use matrix representation based distances of soft sets to introduce matching function and distance based similarity measures. We first give counterexamples to show that their Definition 2.7 and Lemma 3.5(3) contain errors, then improve their Lemma 4.4 making it a corllary of our result. The fundamental assumption of Majumdar et al has been shown to be flawed. This motivates us to introduce set operations based measures. We present a case (Example 28) where Majumdar-Samanta similarity measure produces an erroneous result but the measure proposed herein decides correctly. Several properties of the new measures have been presented and finally the new similarity measures have been applied to the problem of financial diagnosis of firms.Comment: 14 pages, accepted manuscript, to appear in New Mathematics and Natural Computatio

Contamination of Kallar Kahar Lake by Inorganic Elements and Heavy Metals and their Temporal Variations

The present study was conducted to find out the contamination of Kallar Kahar Lake by inorganic elements and heavy metals and the temporal variation of these chemicals in the lake water. Water samples were collected on monthly basis during December 2001 to November 2002. Concentration of 10 inorganic elements and heavy metals (sodium, potassium, magnesium, iron, nickel, cobalt, copper, cadmium, lead and zinc) was analyzed in the lake water by atomic absorption spectroscopy. Mean monthly concentration of the inorganic elements and heavy metals in the lake water was: nickel 0.117 mg. L-1, iron 1.456 mg. L-1, cobalt 0.061 mg. L-1, copper 0.258 mg. L-1 , cadmium 0.024 mg. L-1, lead 0.118 mg. L-1 sodium 397.970 mg. L-1, magnesium 115.710 mg. L-1, potassium 28.290 mg. L-1 and zinc 1.412 mg. L-1. Analysis of variance showed temporal variations (P < 0.001) in concentration of inorganic elements and heavy metals in Kallar Kahar Lake water. The present study indicates that the concentrations of inorganic elements and heavy metals were not within the safe limit at the sampling site throughout the period of study and water of Kallar Kahar Lake is not suitablefor drinking, farming and aquaculture. @JASE

Effect of feed cycling on specific growth rate, condition factor and RNA/DNA ratio of Labeo rohita

A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of feed cycling on specific growth rate, condition factor and RNA/DNA ratio of Labeo rohita. Fingerling L. rohita were randomly collected from Qadria Fish Farm and Hatchery, Multan, Pakistan and divided into control, 5 days and 10 days feed cycling groups. Specific growth rate (% g day-1), body composition, condition factor, and RNA/DNA ratio of individual fish and of each group were calculated. There was a highly significant (

Chronic insertional achilles tendon ruptures treated by suture anchor repair and augmentation with flexor hallucis longus tendon transfer

Background: Different surgical procedures have been used for treatment of chronic ruptures of the Achilles tendon with varying results. This study assesses the functional outcomes and complications of chronic insertional tears of Achilles tendon.Methods: 10 patients with chronic ruptures of the Achilles tendon were followed for a mean period of 10.3 months. Only ruptures at or near (within 1 cm) insertion were included. They were treated by direct repair of tendon to calcaneum by suture anchor. Flexor hallucis longus (FHL) tendon transfer fixed to calcaneal tunnel with an interference screw was used to augment the repair.Results: Outcome was assessed by AOFAS Ankle-Hindfoot (AHS) score. The mean preoperative score of 41.2 improved to 85.4 at final follow-up out of a total 100 points. We achieved excellent results in 80% and good outcome in 20% cases. No re-ruptures were noted. Conclusions: In insertional chronic ruptures of Achilles tendon, FHL transfer to calcaneum with interference screw fixation and repair of Achilles tendon with suture anchor is a reliable technique with good outcome and is recommended

Physical Activity Levels And Junk Food Intake Among School Going Adolescents In A North Indian City

Introduction: Physical activity and diet go hand in hand for the maintenance of good health. This becomes even more important in school-going adolescent students as they are readily exposed to a wide variety of junk food items inside or around their school premises and lead increasingly sedentary lifestyles as they progress through their academics. Aim and Objective: Toassess the junk food intake and physical activity level among school-going adolescents. Material and Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 800 school-based adolescents aged 12 to 14 years at AMU High Schools, Aligarh. Students were asked about their physical activity and dietary habits by disseminating a self-reported questionnaire. The data were analyzed in SPSS version 20.0. Results: The majority of the adolescents had a moderate level of physical activity (53%), while 23% of the students had high and 24% had low physical activity levels. On the analysis of the students’ dietary habits, it was found that a staggering 70.75% of students had more than the recommended intake of junk food items. The association between physical activity and junk food intake was found to be significant. Conclusion: More emphasis should be given to limiting junk food intake, increasing healthy food intake, and motivating the students to be more physically active. This can be done by encouraging the family as well as teachers at the school level and creating more spaces for children to be physically active at the community level

Multivariate sensor data analysis for oil refineries and multi-mode identification of system behavior in real-time

Large-scale oil refineries are equipped with mission-critical heavy machinery (boilers, engines, turbines, and so on) and are continuously monitored by thousands of sensors for process efficiency, environmental safety, and predictive maintenance purposes. However, sensors themselves are also prone to errors and failure. The quality of data received from these sensors should be verified before being used in system modeling. There is a need for reliable methods and systems that can provide data validation and reconciliation in real-time with high accuracy. In this paper, we develop a novel method for real-time data validation, gross error detection and classification over multivariate sensor data streams. The validated and high-quality data obtained from these processes is used for pattern analysis and modeling of industrial plants. We obtain sensor data from the power and petrochemical plants of an oil refinery and analyze them using various time-series modeling and data mining techniques that we integrate into a complex event processing engine. Next, we study the computational performance implications of the proposed methods and uncover regimes where they are sustainable over fast streams of sensor data. Finally, we detect shifts among steady-states of data, which represent systems' multiple operating modes and identify the time when a model reconstruction is required using DBSCAN clustering algorithm.Turkish Petroleum Refineries Inc. (TUPRAS) RD CenterPublisher versio

Osmoregulators proline and glycine betaine counteract salinity stress in canola

Salt inundation leads to increased salinization of arable land in many arid and semi-arid regions. Until genetic solutions are found farmers and growers must either abandon salt-affected fields or use agronomic treatments that alleviate salt stress symptoms. Here, field experiments were carried out to study the effect of the osmoregulators proline at 200 mg L-1 and glycine betaine at 400 mg L-1 in counteracting the harmful effect of soil salinity stress on canola plants grown in Egypt. We assessed growth characteristics, yield and biochemical constituents. Results show first that all growth characters decreased with increasing salinity stress but applied osmoregulators alleviated these negative effects. Second, salinity stress decreased photosynthetic pigments, K and P contents, whilst increasing proline, soluble sugars, ascorbic acid, Na and Cl contents. Third, application of osmoregulators without salt stress increased photosynthetic pigments, proline, soluble sugars, N, K and P contents whilst decreasing Na and Cl contents. It is concluded that the exogenously applied osmoregulators glycine betaine and proline can fully or partially counteract the harmful effect of salinity stress on growth and yield of canola.© INRA and Springer-Verlag, France 2012