Letter to the Editor Re “Fractional Modeling and SOC Estimation of Lithium-ion Battery”

Presents letters to the editor for this issue of the publication

Smartphone-based Calorie Estimation From Food Image Using Distance Information

Personal assistive systems for diet control can play a vital role to combat obesity. As smartphones have become inseparable companions for a large number of people around the world, designing smartphone-based system is perhaps the best choice at the moment. Using this system people can take an image of their food right before eating, know the calorie content based on the food items on the plate. In this paper, we propose a simple method that ensures both user flexibility and high accuracy at the same time. The proposed system employs capturing food images with a fixed posture and estimating the volume of the food using simple geometry. The real world experiments on different food items chosen arbitrarily show that the proposed system can work well for both regular and liquid food items

A Process for Utilizing Disposable Face Masks in Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) Pavement Construction

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a tremendous rise in plastic waste pollution globally. Pollution instigated by plastic has been one of the greatest threats to our world even before the Coronavirus outbreak. It is believed that plastic pollution has worsened due to the disposing of millions of personal protective equipment (PPE), such as surgical face masks. The use of plastic waste as a modifier has significantly lowered the temperature susceptibility of pavements, improved asphalt performance, and lowered construction costs, while the recycling of plastic waste has improved the environmental quality and preserved the non-renewable resources. To reduce pandemic-generated wastes and enhance the asphalt rutting resistance, disposable face mask is used as an as an efficient and non-costly modifier to hot mix asphalt (HMA) mixtures. The goal of the thesis is to bring an advancement to the field of transportation infrastructure by evaluating the performance of the flexible pavement using shredded face masks (SFM) as a modifier of HMA mixture and developing a cost estimating calculator to estimate the cost of asphalt pavement construction with mask. Modified HMA mixes with SFM content ranging from 0% to 1.5% were prepared and tested for rutting using Asphalt Pavement Analyzer (APA). It was found that by increasing the SFM content from 0% to 1.5%, the modified samples showed admirable resistance to permanent deformation as rutting depth values decreased from 3.0 mm to 0.93 mm. However, this study has resulted in the improvement of the rutting resistance of hot mix asphalt samples by using shredded face masks (SFM) as a modifier of HMA. Specific contributions include the evaluation of face masks in hot mix asphalt (HMA), and the development of a safe collection procedure for disposable face masks and a cost estimation calculator in Excel to estimate the cost of asphalt pavement construction based with and without face masks. Finally, this research opens a new avenue for the development of sustainable asphalt pavements by reducing pollution and energy consumption and increases knowledge in these areas. The findings of this study provide valuable insights into future efforts by industry and government agencies to develop sustainable approaches for the transportation, energy, and environmental industries. Furthermore, this research could provide a solution to reduce the plastic waste that is polluting the environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic and reveals the scope of a cost-benefit analysis of the process so that economists can assess the socioeconomic benefits of using face masks in pavement construction

Application of Swingler's Method for Analysis of Multicomponent Exponentials with Special Attention to Non-equispaced Data

Swingler enhanced the work of Gardner to provide an elegant deconvolution method by which multiple summed exponential components might be resolved within time-domain data. Nevertheless, the application of the method remains limited owing to subtle complications that discourage many users. We present a tutorial and extend the approach to handle nonequispaced data. Finally the method’s limits are identified in the case of closely-spaced exponential components with added input noise

Protective effect of Nigella sativa against paracetamol induced hepatic and renal damages

Background: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are very commonly used as an analgesic, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, and antiplatelet agent. They have significant adverse effect on liver and kidney besides damaging stomach. Their effect on liver and kidney are of serious concern. Hence, we have decided to study the preventive effect of Nigella sativa against paracetamol induced hepatic and renal damages.Methods: Ethanolic and aqueous extracts of N. sativa were prepared with the help of Soxhlet’s apparatus. Totally, 36 wistar albino rats (150-200 g) of either sex were divided into six groups of six each. Group I was administered with distilled water, Group II-VI were treated with paracetamol 750 mg/kg i.p. Group III-VI were test groups also treated with N. sativa aqueous extract (200 and 400 mg/kg p.o) and ethanolic extract (200 and 400 mg/kg p.o), respectively. The treatment was given daily for 7 days and on 8th all the rats were sacrificed and the blood was analyzed for hepatic and renal function tests and tissue was preserved for histopathological examination.Results: Paracetamol administration caused a marked hepatic and renal damage, which is evidenced by the increase in liver and renal function test parameters in the negative control group. N.sativa extracts prevented this damage. The protective was seen maximum in ethanolic extract followed by the aqueous extract in dose-dependent manner.Conclusion: Ethanolic extract showed significant protection against paracetamol-induced and renal damage

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Learning: Assessing Cognitive, Affective, and Psychomotor Skills

The acquisition of cognitive, affective, and psychomotor skills is highly important for successful learning outcomes. This article aims to evaluate the Three-Domain Model (TDM) of learning (cognitive, affective, and psychomotor) during the COVID-19 online classes for tertiary students in Bangladesh. This current study aims at the psychometric evaluation and validation of tertiary students' learning loss during the pandemic. A survey questionnaire is administered using the Likert scale. The components of the questionnaire are based on the Three-Domain Model reflecting the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor skills of the students. The article informs of the learning loss due to the pandemic while suggesting the benefits of online classes. The major finding of the article is that learners lost their skills mainly related to the cognitive domain during the pandemic due to online classes. However, at the same time, their skills related to affective and psychomotor domains increased. Therefore, recommendations for minimizing learning loss are also provided to guide future empirical work in the post-pandemic era