Smart Cum Digital Classroom

In the present scenario, smart technology is being applied to every field, and education is just another field which requires it. Smart cum Digital classroom introduces power consumption and time saving technology to the fold and also is ecofriendly as well. This project presents the design and implementation of an intelligent automated system for conserving electrical energy using image processing, which can be used in large organizations like a University or an office. The proposed system works on automation, so that the electrical appliances can be automatically controlled and monitored without any human intervention. It uses the available infrastructure in a classroom which includes surveillance camera and Ethernet connectivity so as to minimize the cost criteria. . The proposed outcome of the project aims at multiple benefits, including saving on electricity bills of the University or any other organization it is deployed in, eliminating human involvement and manpower which is often required to manually toggle the lights and electrical device on/off, and also most importantly, conserve precious natural resources by reducing electrical energy consumption. This project also works as a proxy eliminator and acknowledge the staff members as well as the students that which classroom is free

Performance characteristics of anti-thyroid peroxidase and anti-thyroglobulin assays on roche cobas E411 immunoassay system

Background: Thyroid autoantibodies are measured in the evaluation of patients with thyroid diseases. The clinically important thyroid autoantibodies are anti-thyroid peroxidase (anti-TPO) and anti-thyroglobulin (anti-TG). The aim of this study was to assess the analytical performance of anti-TPO and anti-TG assays on Roche Cobas e411, an automated electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA) system. Materials and Methods: The following parameters, imprecision, accuracy and stability were evaluated. Imprecision (within-run and between-run) and accuracy studies were performed using two levels of quality control materials. The stability of samples for anti-TPO and anti-TG measurements were evaluated by calculating the percentage recovery of serum samples stored at different temperatures (4°C, -20°C and -80°C) on day 3 and day 12 of storage. Result: The imprecisions for anti-TPO were between 2.5 to 11.3%. The percentage deviation from the true value was -4.9% and -3.6% for low and high QC, respectively. Anti-TPO showed variable recovery from 92.0% to 119.0% on day 3 and day 12 of storage. For anti-TG, the imprecisions were between 3.0 to 11.5%. The percentage deviation from the true value was 3.5% and 12.7% for low and high QC, respectively. Anti-TG showed variable recovery from 89.8% to 117.0% on day 3 and day 12 of storage. Conclusion: Roche Cobas e411 anti-TPO and anti-TG assays have demonstrated acceptable precision and accuracy. It is recommended that samples for anti-TPO and anti-TG are stored and analysed as per recommended to avoid the effects of storage

Limitations of variable number of tandem repeat typing identified through whole genome sequencing of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis on a national and herd level

Background: Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP), the causative bacterium of Johne’s disease in dairy cattle, is widespread in the Canadian dairy industry and has significant economic and animal welfare implications. An understanding of the population dynamics of MAP can be used to identify introduction events, improve control efforts and target transmission pathways, although this requires an adequate understanding of MAP diversity and distribution between herds and across the country. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) offers a detailed assessment of the SNP-level diversity and genetic relationship of isolates, whereas several molecular typing techniques used to investigate the molecular epidemiology of MAP, such as variable number of tandem repeat (VNTR) typing, target relatively unstable repetitive elements in the genome that may be too unpredictable to draw accurate conclusions. The objective of this study was to evaluate the diversity of bovine MAP isolates in Canadian dairy herds using WGS and then determine if VNTR typing can distinguish truly related and unrelated isolates.<p></p> Results: Phylogenetic analysis based on 3,039 SNPs identified through WGS of 124 MAP isolates identified eight genetically distinct subtypes in dairy herds from seven Canadian provinces, with the dominant type including over 80% of MAP isolates. VNTR typing of 527 MAP isolates identified 12 types, including “bison type” isolates, from seven different herds. At a national level, MAP isolates differed from each other by 1–2 to 239–240 SNPs, regardless of whether they belonged to the same or different VNTR types. A herd-level analysis of MAP isolates demonstrated that VNTR typing may both over-estimate and under-estimate the relatedness of MAP isolates found within a single herd.<p></p> Conclusions: The presence of multiple MAP subtypes in Canada suggests multiple introductions into the country including what has now become one dominant type, an important finding for Johne’s disease control. VNTR typing often failed to identify closely and distantly related isolates, limiting the applicability of using this typing scheme to study the molecular epidemiology of MAP at a national and herd-level.<p></p&gt

Parameter estimation on gravitational waves from neutron-star binaries with spinning components

Inspiraling binary neutron stars are expected to be one of the most significant sources of gravitational-wave signals for the new generation of advanced ground-based detectors. We investigate how well we could hope to measure properties of these binaries using the Advanced LIGO detectors, which began operation in September 2015. We study an astrophysically motivated population of sources (binary components with masses $1.2~\mathrm{M}_\odot$--$1.6~\mathrm{M}_\odot$ and spins of less than $0.05$) using the full LIGO analysis pipeline. While this simulated population covers the observed range of potential binary neutron-star sources, we do not exclude the possibility of sources with parameters outside these ranges; given the existing uncertainty in distributions of mass and spin, it is critical that analyses account for the full range of possible mass and spin configurations. We find that conservative prior assumptions on neutron-star mass and spin lead to average fractional uncertainties in component masses of $\sim 16\%$, with little constraint on spins (the median $90\%$ upper limit on the spin of the more massive component is $\sim 0.7$). Stronger prior constraints on neutron-star spins can further constrain mass estimates, but only marginally. However, we find that the sky position and luminosity distance for these sources are not influenced by the inclusion of spin; therefore, if LIGO detects a low-spin population of BNS sources, less computationally expensive results calculated neglecting spin will be sufficient for guiding electromagnetic follow-up.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figure

Story in health and social care

This paper offers a brief consideration of how narrative, in the form of people‟s own stories, potentially figures in health and social care provision as part of the impulse towards patient-centred care. The rise of the epistemological legitimacy of patients‟ stories is sketched here. The paper draws upon relevant literature and original writing to consider the ways in which stories can mislead as well as illuminate the process of making individual treatment care plans

Potential Residential Exposure to Toxics Release Inventory Chemicals during Pregnancy and Childhood Brain Cancer

BACKGROUND: Although the susceptibility of the developing fetus to various chemical exposures is well documented, the role of environmental chemicals in childhood brain cancer etiology is not well understood. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to evaluate whether mothers of childhood brain cancer cases had greater potential residential exposure to Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) chemicals than control mothers during pregnancy. METHODS: We included 382 brain cancer cases diagnosed at < 10 years of age from 1993 through 1997 who were identified from four statewide cancer registries. One-to-one matched controls were selected by random-digit dialing. Computer-assisted telephone interviews were conducted. Using residential history of mothers during pregnancy, we measured proximity to TRI facilities and exposure index, including mass and chemicals released. We calculated odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using conditional logistic regression to estimate brain cancer risk associated with TRI chemicals. RESULTS: Increased risk was observed for mothers living within 1 mi of a TRI facility (OR = 1.66; 95% CI, 1.11–2.48) and living within 1 mi of a facility releasing carcinogens (OR = 1.72; 95% CI, 1.05–2.82) for having children diagnosed with brain cancer before 5 years of age, compared to living > 1 mi from a facility. Taking into account the mass and toxicity of chemical releases, we found a nonsignificant increase in risk (OR = 1.25; 95% CI, 0.67–2.34) comparing those with the lowest versus highest exposure index. CONCLUSIONS: Risk of childhood brain cancers may be associated with living near a TRI facility; however, this is an exploratory study and further studies are needed

The Inverse Amplitude Method in ππ\pi\pi Scattering in Chiral Perturbation Theory to Two Loops

The inverse amplitude method is used to unitarize the two loop $\pi\pi$ scattering amplitudes of SU(2) Chiral Perturbation Theory in the $I=0,J=0$, $I=1,J=1$ and $I=2,J=0$ channels. An error analysis in terms of the low energy one-loop parameters $\bar l_{1,2,3,4,}$ and existing experimental data is undertaken. A comparison to standard resonance saturation values for the two loop coefficients $\bar b_{1,2,3,4,5,6}$ is also carried out. Crossing violations are quantified and the convergence of the expansion is discussed.Comment: (Latex, epsfig) 30 pages, 13 figures, 8 table

Defective Hand1 phosphoregulation uncovers essential roles for Hand1 in limb morphogenesis

The morphogenesis of the vertebrate limbs is a complex process in which cell signaling and transcriptional regulation coordinate diverse structural adaptations in diverse species. In this study, we examine the consequences of altering Hand1 dimer choice regulation within developing vertebrate limbs. Although Hand1 deletion via the limb-specific Prrx1-Cre reveals a non-essential role for Hand1 in mouse limb morphogenesis, altering Hand1 phosphoregulation, and consequently Hand1 dimerization affinities, results in a severe truncation of proximal-anterior limb elements. Molecular analysis reveals a non-cell-autonomous mechanism that causes widespread cell death within the embryonic limb bud. In addition, we observe changes in proximal-anterior gene regulation, including a reduction in the expression of Irx3, Irx5, Gli3 and Alx4, all of which are upregulated in Hand2 limb conditional knockouts. A reduction of Hand2 and Shh gene dosage improves the integrity of anterior limb structures, validating the importance of the Twist-family bHLH dimer pool in limb morphogenesis., Summary: Altering Hand1 phosphoregulation, and consequently Hand1 dimerization affinities, results in a severe truncation of anterior-proximal limb elements in mice

Exploring impulsive solar magnetic energy release and particle acceleration with focused hard X-ray imaging spectroscopy

How impulsive magnetic energy release leads to solar eruptions and how those eruptions are energized and evolve are vital unsolved problems in Heliophysics. The standard model for solar eruptions summarizes our current understanding of these events. Magnetic energy in the corona is released through drastic restructuring of the magnetic field via reconnection. Electrons and ions are then accelerated by poorly understood processes. Theories include contracting loops, merging magnetic islands, stochastic acceleration, and turbulence at shocks, among others. Although this basic model is well established, the fundamental physics is poorly understood. HXR observations using grazing-incidence focusing optics can now probe all of the key regions of the standard model. These include two above-the-looptop (ALT) sources which bookend the reconnection region and are likely the sites of particle acceleration and direct heating. The science achievable by a direct HXR imaging instrument can be summarized by the following science questions and objectives which are some of the most outstanding issues in solar physics (1) How are particles accelerated at the Sun? (1a) Where are electrons accelerated and on what time scales? (1b) What fraction of electrons is accelerated out of the ambient medium? (2) How does magnetic energy release on the Sun lead to flares and eruptions? A Focusing Optics X-ray Solar Imager (FOXSI) instrument, which can be built now using proven technology and at modest cost, would enable revolutionary advancements in our understanding of impulsive magnetic energy release and particle acceleration, a process which is known to occur at the Sun but also throughout the Universe