An Improved Fatigue Detection System Based on Behavioral Characteristics of Driver

In recent years, road accidents have increased significantly. One of the major reasons for these accidents, as reported is driver fatigue. Due to continuous and longtime driving, the driver gets exhausted and drowsy which may lead to an accident. Therefore, there is a need for a system to measure the fatigue level of driver and alert him when he/she feels drowsy to avoid accidents. Thus, we propose a system which comprises of a camera installed on the car dashboard. The camera detect the driver's face and observe the alteration in its facial features and uses these features to observe the fatigue level. Facial features include eyes and mouth. Principle Component Analysis is thus implemented to reduce the features while minimizing the amount of information lost. The parameters thus obtained are processed through Support Vector Classifier for classifying the fatigue level. After that classifier output is sent to the alert unit.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, edited version of published paper in IEEE ICITE 201

Firm growth and its determinants

Enterprise growth has been studied by researchers for many years. Different terms have been used by different authors to define the stages of an enterprise growth, but the events through which each enterprise passes remain more or less the same. Most of the researchers suggest that each enterprise has to start, then grow while facing various challenges and crises, and finally mature and decline. There are many factors which will contribute to an enterprise's success. There are many precursors also, which will allow an enterprise to move from one stage to another. There are two sets of thought prevailing among researchers; some suggest that the growth path followed by the enterprise is linear or predictable, and others suggest that the growth is fairly opportunistic or unpredictable. The understanding of the growth of an enterprise depends on the definition of what the firm is, how much has it grown, and what it offers to the market? What assets it controls and what is its legal form. It is critical to study how an enterprise manages its growth transitions and what pattern they follow. In this paper, a framework has been designed to study the path followed by small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This framework considered the influence of internal and external environmental factor on the growth patterns of SMEs. The paper encompasses literature review on various theories of enterprise growth. It highlights that though there are many studies on the stages of enterprise development, there is a dearth of literature on finding patterns of growth followed by the small and medium enterprises. Also, there is lack of literature on the effect of environmental factors in determining growth path. There is a need of a framework which can help the industry to empirically test enterprise growth patterns under different conditions

Electrochemical properties of MOF-derived nickel compounds for high performance supercapacitor and electrocatalysts

There are many different ways that energy is used in daily life. From applications that require a high energy density to long-term storage in a stable manner, the requirements for energy usage are diverse. Therefore, the greater the number of uses a designed material exhibit, the more practical it may be for wide-scale manufacture. An emerging class of functional porous materials referred to as metal-organic framework (MOF) has received considerable attention over the past two decades, partially because of their potential use in a wide variety of applications, including gas storage, molecular separations, water splitting, and supercapacitor devices. In addition, an electrode material with high performance as an essential part is highly desirable for supercapacitors. Herein, we synthesize the nickel-MOF (Ni-MIL-77) via an in-situ synthesis route using glutaric acid in a hydrothermal process at different temperatures @ 140, 160, and 180 °C. As an electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), Ni-MIL-77@140 displayed the lowest overpotential of 126 mV. On the other hand, Ni-MIL-77@160 showed the lowest overpotential of 330 mV among all samples for oxygen evolution reactions (OER). In terms of energy storage, the Ni-MIL-77@160 had the highest specific capacitance of 603 F/g at a current density of 1 A/g with an energy density of 25 W-h/kg and power density of 272 W/kg. This works offers the facile way to rationally design and synthesize the MOF-based electrodes for powerful and stable supercapacitor and also the efficient way for water splitting

The Value of Chess Squares

Valuing chess squares and determining the placement of pieces on the board are the main objectives of our study. With the emergence of chess AI, it has become possible to accurately assess the worth of positions in a game of chess. The conventional approach assigns fixed values to pieces (\symking=\infty, \symqueen=9, \symrook=5, \symbishop=3, \symknight=3, \sympawn=1). We enhance this analysis by introducing marginal valuations for both pieces and squares. We demonstrate our method by examining the positioning of Knights and Bishops, and also provide valuable insights into the valuation of pawns. Notably, Nimzowitsch was among the pioneers in advocating for the significance of Pawn structure and valuation. Finally, we conclude by suggesting potential avenues for future research

Characterization and Normal Measurements of the Left Ventricular Outflow Tract by ECG-gated Cardiac CT: Implications for Disorders of the Outflow Tract and Aortic Valve.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: Studies suggest that electrocardiographically gated coronary computed tomographic angiography provides a clear definition of the left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT), and normal LVOT morphology may not be round, as assumed when the continuity equation is applied during echocardiography. The aims of this study were to demonstrate the morphology of the LVOT on coronary computed tomographic angiography and to establish normal values for LVOT measurements. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two independent readers retrospectively measured anterior-posterior (AP) and transverse diameters of the LVOT and performed LVOT planimetry on coronary computed tomographic angiographic studies of 106 consecutive patients with normal aortic valves. RESULTS: Excellent interobserver agreement was observed for all measurements (r = 0.78-0.94). The LVOT was ovoid, with a larger transverse diameter than AP diameter during diastole and systole (P \u3c .001). However, the ratio of AP diameter to transverse diameter was closer to 1.0 during systole (P \u3c .001). Mean indexed LVOT area was minimally larger in systole than in diastole (P = .01-.04) and was larger in men than in women during diastole (P ≤ .001) and systole (P ≤ .01). Mean LVOT area indexed to body surface area was 2.3 ± 0.5 cm(2)/m(2) in women and 2.6 ± 0.7 cm(2)/m(2) in men. LVOT area demonstrated significant correlation with aortic root diameter. CONCLUSIONS: The normal LVOT is ovoid in shape. LVOT is more circular during systole, but the AP diameter remains smaller than the transverse diameter throughout the cardiac cycle. The oval shape of the LVOT has important implications when LVOT area is calculated from LVOT diameters. Normal LVOT area values established in this study should facilitate diagnosis of the fixed component of LVOT obstruction

Validation on selected breast cancer drugs of physicochemical features by using machine learning models

Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of death among females today. The elbow approach determines the ideal number of clusters after determining that the Dataset is highly cluster able with the Hopkins statistic. Three distinct groups with distinct differences were produced using the dataset's proposed expectation maximization fuzzy k-means clustering algorithm (PEMFKM). Different fuzzy clustering techniques, such as fuzzy k-means (FKM), fuzzy k-means with entropy (FKM.ENT), fuzzy k-means with entropy and noise (FKM.ENT.NOISE), Gustafson and Kessel - like fuzzy k-means (FKM.GK), Gustafson and Kessel - like fuzzy k-means with entropy regularization (FKM.GK.ENT), Gustafson and Kessel - like fuzzy kmeans with entropy regularization and noise (FKM.GK.ENT.NOISE), and PEMFKM, are evaluated. The partition coefficient (PC), partition entropy (PE), and Modified partition coefficient index (MPC) index values are better for FKM.GK than the suggested PEMFKM method. When compared to the FKM.GK method, the index values for the proposed PEMFKM algorithm have superior results for the parameters Silhouette (SIL), Xie and Beni index (XB), and fuzzy silhouette index (SIL.F). The results shows that the PEMFKM algorithm will provide better clusters and that the drugs in a given cluster may be combined for use in combination therapy for breast cancer treatment

Room temperature magnetic entropy change and magnetoresistance in La_{0.70}(Ca_{0.30-x}Sr_x)MnO_3:Ag 10% (x = 0.0-0.10)

The magnetic and magnetocaloric properties of polycrystalline La0.70(Ca0.30-xSrx)MnO3:Ag 10% manganite have been investigated. All the compositions are crystallized in single phase orthorhombic Pbnm space group. Both, the Insulator-Metal transition temperature (TIM) and Curie temperature (Tc) are observed at 298 K for x = 0.10 composition. Though both TIM and Tc are nearly unchanged with Ag addition, the MR is slightly improved. The MR at 300 K is found to be as large as 31% with magnetic field change of 1Tesla, whereas it reaches up to 49% at magnetic field of 3Tesla for La0.70Ca0.20Sr0.10MnO3:Ag0.10 sample. The maximum entropy change (\DeltaSMmax) is 7.6 J.Kg-1.K-1 upon the magnetic field change of 5Tesla, near its Tc (300.5 K). The La0.70Ca0.20Sr0.10MnO3:Ag0.10 sample having good MR (31%1Tesla, 49%3Tesla) and reasonable change in magnetic entropy (7.6 J.Kg-1.K-1, 5 Tesla) at 300 K can be a potential magnetic refrigerant material at ambient temperatures.Comment: 11 pages text + Figs comments/suggestions ([email protected]

Extracellular Vesicles in Triple–Negative Breast Cancer: Immune Regulation, Biomarkers, and Immunotherapeutic Potential

Triple–negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive subtype accounting for ~10–20% of all human BC and is characterized by the absence of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) amplification. Owing to its unique molecular profile and limited targeted therapies, TNBC treatment poses significant challenges. Unlike other BC subtypes, TNBC lacks specific molecular targets, rendering endocrine therapies and HER2–targeted treatments ineffective. The chemotherapeutic regimen is the predominant systemic treatment modality for TNBC in current clinical practice. However, the efficacy of chemotherapy in TNBC is variable, with response rates varying between a wide range of patients, and the emerging resistance further adds to the difficulties. Furthermore, TNBC exhibits a higher mutational burden and is acknowledged as the most immunogenic of all BC subtypes. Consequently, the application of immune checkpoint inhibition has been investigated in TNBC, yielding promising outcomes. Recent evidence identified extracellular vesicles (EVs) as an important contributor in the context of TNBC immunotherapy. In view of the extraordinary ability of EVs to transfer bioactive molecules, such as proteins, lipids, DNA, mRNAs, and small miRNAs, between the cells, EVs are considered a promising diagnostic biomarker and novel drug delivery system among the prospects for immunotherapy. The present review provides an in–depth understanding of how EVs influence TNBC progression, its immune regulation, and their contribution as a predictive biomarker for TNBC. The final part of the review focuses on the recent key advances in immunotherapeutic strategies for better understanding the complex interplay between EVs and the immune system in TNBC and further developing EV–based targeted immunotherapies

Characterization and Testing of KF/CaO Heterogeneous Catalyst for Biodiesel Production

The application of heterogeneous catalyst in the production of biodiesel cannot only decline the costs of the separation process but also reduce the cost of biodiesel. The present study has emphasized on the performance evaluation of KF/CaO catalyst for biodiesel synthesis from nonedible Jatropha curcas oil (JCO). The synthesized catalyst was characterized through various analytical methods such as powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), CO2-temparature program desorption (CO2-TPD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, BET surface area (SA) and thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA). The novelty of this heterogeneous catalyst (KF/CaO) is its reuse without leaching of Ca2+. It was observed from experimental study that prepared catalyst reflects high efficiency towards catalytic transesterification activity. Furthermore, the catalyst has admirable stability, making it suitable for use as a solid base catalyst in the manufacture of biodiesel from Jatropha curcas oil with 5.5 percent free fatty acid (FFA). Reusability tests of the prepared catalyst validated that it could be reused up to four times without sacrificing ample activity, thereby giving rise to a potentially relevant biodiesel production possibility

Combinational effect of angiotensin receptor blocker and folic acid therapy on uric acid and creatinine level in hyperhomocysteinemia-associated hypertension

© 2019 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc. Homocysteine [HSCH2CH2CH(NH2)COOH] (Hcy) is a sulfur-containing amino acid of 135.18 Da of molecular weight, generated during conversion of methionine to cysteine. If there is a higher accumulation of Hcy in the blood, that is usually above 15 µmol/L, it leads to a condition referred to as hyperhomocysteinemia. A meta-analysis of observational study suggested an elevated concentration of Hcy in blood, which is termed as the risk factors leading to ischemic heart disease and stroke. Further experimental studies stated that Hcy can lead to an increase in the proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells and functional impairment of endothelial cells. The analyses confirmed some of the predictors for Hcy presence, such as serum uric acid (UA), systolic blood pressure, and hematocrit. However, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) alone are inadequate for controlling UA and creatinine level, although the addition of folic acid may be beneficial in hypertensive patients who are known to have a high prevalence of elevated Hcy. We hypothesized that combination therapy with an ARB (olmesartan) and folic acid is a promising treatment for lowering the UA and creatinine level in hyperhomocysteinemia-associated hypertension