Fielding’s Controversial Moralism versus Tom Jones’s Catharsis

Exhausted and fed up with hypocrisy along with material jealousy-which seems to be the root cause of the conflict between individuals, sects, races, colours and religions- humanity requires some blazing instances of integrity and magnanimity of heart for consolation.  Tom Jones is such a novel where the hero’s self-sacrifice for the sake of the emancipation of the anguished and aggrieved mankind has been focused evidently. This article has attempted a psycho-analysis of Tom Jones’s personality with a view to imparting a motivating sway upon readers as well as critics making a careful study of Tom Jones to reduce and alleviate affliction of the concerned human beings to a large extent for a serene society of reciprocal understanding and deference. It also attempts to present Tom Jones, the hero of Henry Fielding’s novel, Tom Jones, as a man having the greatness of heart in spite of tremendous criticism regarding the novelist’s incessant reluctance of his hero’s frequent moral progresses downhill. It observes and explores a hero's physical and psychological evolution and mellowness to a quite altered man from what he was during his parentless, immature and childhood lapses against conventional Christian ethical codes. In this article, Tom stands out from a natural human being to a schooled and learned one through different ordeals. This article also counts Tom's goodness of heart which is considered as the supreme human virtue and which- while existing in a man's heart- gradually and unquestionably undertakes the purification process. An attempt has also been made to highlight the opposite trait, hypocrisy that mars a human character. By comparison and contrast of Tom's portrayal with others, Fielding's philosophy of 'goodness of heart' is brought to light. Key Words: Goodness of heart, ethical laxity, catharsis, hypocrisy, awareness and penitence.

Intelligent Thermal Condition Monitoring Of Electrical Equipment Using Infrared Thermography

Infrared thermographic inspection system is widely being utilized for defect detection in electrical equipment. Conventional inspection based on the temperature data interpretation and evaluation the condition of the equipment is subjective and depends on the human experts. Implementation of an automatic diagnostic system based on artificial neural network reduces operating time, human efforts and also increases the reliability of system. In this thesis, an automatic features extraction system from thermal image of defects and the intelligent classification of thermal condition based on neural network are proposed. The proposed system extracts first order histogram based features and grey level co-occurrence matrix features from the segmented regions and evaluates the effectiveness of these features for defect characterization. Three feature selection techniques namely principal component analysis, the discriminant analysis and individual feature performance analysis are employed to find out the useful and important statistical features. In this study, multilayered perceptron network is proposed for classifying thermal condition into two classes namely normal and defective. The multilayered perceptron neural networks are trained using various training algorithms. Additionally, the present research introduces a computer aided defect diagnosis system where the defected region is found by manual thresholding and intensity features are extracted from each segmented region. The results prove that the statistical features are capable to classify thermal condition and the neural networks achieve the accuracy around 73~78

Role of High-Mobility Group Box-1 in Liver Pathogenesis

High-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) is a highly abundant DNA-binding protein that can relocate to the cytosol or undergo extracellular release during cellular stress or death. HMGB1 has a functional versatility depending on its cellular location. While intracellular HMGB1 is important for DNA structure maintenance, gene expression, and autophagy induction, extracellular HMGB1 acts as a damage-associated molecular pattern (DAMP) molecule to alert the host of damage by triggering immune responses. The biological function of HMGB1 is mediated by multiple receptors, including the receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) and Toll-like receptors (TLRs), which are expressed in different hepatic cells. Activation of HMGB1 and downstream signaling pathways are contributing factors in the pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), alcoholic liver disease (ALD), and drug-induced liver injury (DILI), each of which involves sterile inflammation, liver fibrosis, ductular reaction, and hepatic tumorigenesis. In this review, we will discuss the critical role of HMGB1 in these pathogenic contexts and propose HMGB1 as a bona fide and targetable DAMP in the setting of common liver diseases

Effect of Martensite-Austenite (MA) on Mechanical Properties of X80 Linepipe Steel

The aim of the present work is to dispel some of the controversy involving Martensite-Austenite (MA) in pipeline steel welds. The fraction, size, morphology and distribution of Martensite-Austenite can have considerable impact on the properties of the Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) of pipeline welds, where variations in welding parameters can lead to different peak temperatures and cooling rates, which determine the characteristic features of MA. Recently, MA microconstituents have been under scrutiny because of the significance of MA on mechanical properties is ambiguous, particularly in terms of tensile and toughness properties. The role of MA on mechanical properties has become a more active research subject due to a lack of knowledge combined with contradictory evidence. The first part of the current research focuses on evaluating the role of MA size, fraction, morphology and distribution effect on the strength and ductility of HAZ in API X80 steel Gas Metal Arc Welds (GMAW). Higher fraction of coarse MA leads to increased strength however result in a loss of ductility. A lower fraction of finer MA microconstituents lead to improvements in ductility. The ductility is found severely impaired due to formation of closely spaced voids around the MA, along with debonding of MA from the matrix, which occurs just above the yield stress. MA constituents initiate premature void nucleation during straining, which is explained by a difference in the nanoindentation hardness of the MA (dominant in martensite but small austenite) versus the ferrite matrix. Further study performed by thermal simulation using a Gleeble system that produces two different microstructures using two different cooling rates. Variation in cooling rate causes a difference in MA size, distribution, and morphology; while the fraction of MA remained comparable. A higher cooling rate exhibited higher tensile strength and ductility compared to a slower cooling rate. The MA microconstituents formed at slower cooling rate are coarser, which tends to initiate voids more readily under tensile strain. These coarser MA microconstituents were also surrounded by ferrite grains which exhibited higher local grain misorientations. This led to inhomogeneous deformation and enhanced dislocation activity during straining, accelerating void formation, and hampering ductility. In contrast, higher cooling rate results a more uniform local strain distribution with finer MA structures, and higher ductility. Numerical simulation confirmed vi the detrimental effect of coarser MA is associated with higher local stress concentrations compared to finer MA In third stage of this research, an optimum heat treating cycle or tempering cycle (300°C,10 min) is developed to decompose detrimental coarser MA (≥1μm) microconstituents in which the difference in hardness between MA and ferrite is reduced. In addition, a tempering cycle reduces the stress concentration around MA. Applying a tempering cycle to GMAW improves tensile strength and ductility by the shifting fracture location from the HAZ to base metal during transverse tensile testing. Finally, varying cooling rates are used to investigate the influence of MA microconstituent on the mechanical properties after intercritical reheating, in which a higher fraction of coarse MA grains will severely deteriorate toughness. It is shown that MA deteriorates toughness by facilitating debonding, cracking and crack initiation during impact testing

The impact of HIV/AIDS education through formal curriculum and texts in Bangladesh : a study on secondary and higher secondary students

Background: The education sector in Bangladesh provides students with information about HIV/ AIDS which may emerge as a major public health and socioeconomic problem affecting students. Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of HIV/AIDS education through Formal Curriculum and Texts (FCT) on secondary and higher secondary students in Bangladesh. Methods: Using multistage cluster sampling technique, a total of 384 students aged between 11- 19 years were chosen from four secondary and higher secondary institutions in Bangladesh and interviewed through a predesigned structured questionnaire. For triangulation of the quantitative findings, the study employed Key Informant Interview (KII) technique to collect qualitative data from the teachers. Results: The findings of the study show that a little more than half of the students (53.1 percent) reported that HIV/AIDS education prevented students from having unprotected intercourse while 52.60 percent of them stated that it helped to increase self-efficacy. Again, a significant proportion of the students (70.1 percent) said that HIV/AIDS education removed their misconceptions. It can be said that the textbooks of secondary and higher secondary students lack sufficient information about HIV/AIDS. Conclusion: Therefore, the Government of Bangladesh may take an initiative to include more information about HIV/AIDS in the textbooks of secondary and higher secondary students

Poverty Profiles of Sylhet City Corporation: An MPI Approach

Does income measure of poverty explain it meticulously? To seek this answer we claim poverty is not a unidimensional phenomenon rather it adheres multidimensionality. Sen (2000) views poverty as the deprivation of certain basic capabilities, which varies from elementary physical nourishment to the community life. However, targeting slum dwellers, this article sought to advance multidimensional poverty measures in SCC (Sylhet City Corporation). The study adopts a mixed method approach to examine so. Finding shows that, there are some variations in the percentage of poor households. In terms of income and expenditure 60% households are identified as poor but in MPI number increases to 75%. Data from in-depth interview exhibits that respondents feel themselves as income poor. Some of them consider deprivation of education is the consequence of that income poverty. In addition, few respondents dimple that health problems and physical disabilities mingle their poverty experiences

Tau in Tauopathies That Leads to Cognitive Disorders and in Cancer

Tau is a copious microtubule-associated protein mainly expressed in neurons; it is also expressed in non-neuronal cells. Tauopathies are neurodegenerative diseases occurring mostly within the neuronal and glial cells of the central nervous system with a conspicuous tau pathology. In tauopathies, soluble tau disconnects from microtubules and forms abnormal, aggregated filamentous assemblies of hyperphosphorylated tau. Genetic, pathological and biochemical analyses have also proved that tau protein plays a major role in the pathogenesis of several tauopathies. Cognitive disorders are a type of psychological disorders that mainly distress observation, learning, memory, and problem elucidating. Among different cognitive disorders like amnesia, dementia, and delirium tauopathies mainly involve in dementia. Though tau is a neuronal protein, it is also expressed in various non-neuronal cells, like those of the liver, kidney and muscle. The activity of non-neuronal tau, especially in cancer cells, still needs to be elucidated; tau might have significant functions in non-neuronal cells. This chapter describes the associations between tauopathies and cancer

Microrna expression profiling in tears of children with vernal keratoconjunctivitis

Vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) is a chronic conjunctival inflammatory condition usually affecting children. It is often present with severe manifestations leading to corneal scar and blindness. Tears contain diverse concentrations of microRNAs (miRNAs), which are small non-coding RNA molecules regulating various cellular processes in various eye diseases. In this study we aim to generate miRNA expression profile in tears of children with VKC in comparison to controls and evaluate these miRNAs as the potential diagnostic biomarkers of VKC (phase II). However, through a pilot study, we initially investigated the optimal miRNA quantity in tears among three sampling groups, namely, unfractionated whole tears, whole-tear-derived exosomes, and exosome-depleted (phase I). This was an experimental case-control study conducted at Ophthalmology Clinic, Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia, from January 2020 till December 2020. Phase I of the study involved normal subjects while phase II involved children with clinical diagnosis of VKC and control. RNA isolation was performed using the miRNeasy Micro Kit and quantification through Bioanalyzer RNA 6000 nano kit and Small RNA kit. VKC and control samples were screened for miRNAs expression using Agilent microarray technique. The unfractionated whole tears sampling group yielded better and optimal miRNA concentrations. Microarray results revealed a total of 51 miRNAs that were differentially expressed among children with VKC and controls. Out of these miRNAs, 48 were up-regulated and three were down-regulated. The hsa-miR-1229-5p, hsa-miR-6821-5p, and hsa-miR-6800-5p were the three top up-regulated miRNAs, while the miRNAs, hsa-miR-7975, hsa-miR-7977, and hsa-miR-1260a were the three down-regulated miRNAs. All the 48 up-regulated miRNAs can be used as the potential diagnostic miRNA biomarkers for VKC due to their higher discriminatory area under the curve (AUC) values. The miRNA target prediction analysis has determined multiple gene targets out of which 16 overlapping target genes (ARHGEF5, CCL22, CD276, LGALS9, MIF, PGF, PTGDS, PTGER, B3GAT1, SOCS3, ICOSLG, TGM2, MMP25, NGFR, FOXP3, and HRH1) were known to play role in causing conjunctival inflammation. The oxidative phosphorylation, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, and amino sugar and nucleotide sugar metabolism were the top three KEGG pathways involved. In conclusion, miRNAs from unfractionated whole tears were differentially expressed among children with VKC and controls. Once validated, these miRNAs could serve as potential diagnostic biomarkers for VKC and provides insights into the pathogenesis of VKC

Multilevel Monte Carlo approach for estimating reliability of electric distribution systems

Most of the power outages experienced by the customers are due to the failures in the electric distribution systems. However, the ultimate goal of a distribution system is to meet customer electricity demand by maintaining a satisfactory level of reliability with less interruption frequency and duration as well as less outage costs. Quantitative evaluation of reliability is, therefore, a significant aspect of the decision-making process in planning and designing for future expansion of network or reinforcement. Simulation approach of reliability evaluation is generally based on sequential Monte Carlo (MC) method which can consider the random nature of system components. Use of MC method for obtaining accurate estimates of the reliability can be computationally costly particularly when dealing with rare events (i.e. when high accuracy is required). This thesis proposes a simple and effective methodology for accelerating MC simulation in distribution systems reliability evaluation. The proposed method is based on a novel Multilevel Monte Carlo (MLMC) simulation approach. MLMC approach is a variance reduction technique for MC simulation which can reduce the computational burden of the MC method dramatically while both sampling and discretisation errors are considered for converging to a controllable accuracy level. The idea of MLMC is to consider a hierarchy of computational meshes (levels) instead of using single time discretisation level in MC method. Most of the computational effort in MLMC method is transferred from the finest level to the coarsest one, leading to substantial computational saving. As the simulations are conducted using multiple approximations, therefore the less accurate estimate on the preceding coarse level can be sequentially corrected by averages of the differences of the estimations of two consecutive levels in the hierarchy. In this dissertation, we will find the answers to the following questions: can MLMC method be used for reliability evaluation? If so, how MLMC estimators for reliability evaluation are constructed? Finally, how much computational savings can we expect through MLMC method over MC method? MLMC approach is implemented through solving the stochastic differential equations of random variables related to the reliability indices. The differential equations are solved using different discretisation schemes. In this work, the performance of two different discretisation schemes, Euler-Maruyama and Milstein are investigated for this purpose. We use the benchmark Roy Billinton Test System as the test system. Based on the proposed MLMC method, a number of reliability studies of distribution systems have been carried out in this thesis including customer interruption frequency and duration based reliability assessment, cost/benefits estimation, reliability evaluation incorporating different time-varying factors such as weather-dependent failure rate and restoration time of components, time-varying load and cost models of supply points. The numerical results that demonstrate the computational performances of the proposed method are presented. The performances of the MLMC and MC methods are compared. The results prove that MLMC method is computationally efficient compared to those derived from standard MC method and it can retain an acceptable level of accuracy. The novel computational tool including examples presented in this thesis will help system planners and utility managers to provide useful information of reliability of distribution networks. With the help of such tool they can take necessary steps to speed up the decision-making process of reliability improvement.Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, 201