A novel algorithm for integrated control model using swarm robots for intruder detection and rescue schedules

Due to the development of computer controlled tools and expansion of integrated computing applications, more and more controller functions are turning to software implementations. A novel controlling algorithm is designed for continuous optimization tasks. However, they are used to thoroughly optimize and apply different areas. The most intelligent swarm algorithms have been designed for continuous optimization problems. However, they have been applied to discreet optimization and applications in different areas. This article gives experimental results on the control of swarm robots with the help of integrated control model (ICM), around its own axis. Such methodology is quite impressive in development of applications for surveillance, path planning, intruder and obstacle detection, model errors in communication to remove uncertainty. The ICM control design performance is based on comprehensive swarm robot model for the identification of actuators from testing data. The same ICM controllers are designed to be compared with the PID controllers in a variety of tests and collected feedback found 12.37%, 8.69% and 12.09% improved on the basis of thrust produced in the propellers for surveillance

The outcomes of dapagliflozin use in real-life clinical settings in endocrinology clinics of Islamabad, Pakistan

Introduction: Dapagliflozin is a member of a novel class of drugs (sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors) used to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus and licensed in Pakistan in 2017. This retrospective observational study evaluated the effects of dapagliflozin on glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) concentrations in patients treated at endocrinology clinics in Islamabad, Pakistan. The secondary objectives included assessing the effects of dapagliflozin on weight reduction and blood pressure control and to determining its safety.Methodology: Patients with type 2 diabetes who were treated with dapagliflozin were identified by screening the electronic medical records at tertiary care hospitals in Islamabad. Data were collected at the first visit and at follow-up. Categorical variables were recorded as frequencies and percentages and compared by McNemar’s tests, and continuous variables were recorded as means and standard deviations and compared by paired sample t-tests.Results: Mean HbA1C concentration was significantly lower at follow-up than at the first visit (7.57%±0.98% vs. 9.07%±2.07%, respectively; p\u3c0.001). Bodyweight (85.09±15.92 kg vs. 87.07±16.11 kg, respectively; p\u3c0.001) and diastolic blood pressure (80.34±7.12 mmHg vs. 82.34±9.61 mmHg, respectively; p\u3c0.001) were also significantly lower at follow-up than at the first visit, whereas systolic pressure showed a marginally significant reduction (123.5±16.57 mmHg vs. 126.83±19.97 mmHg, p=0.048).Conclusion: This first observational study of patients in Pakistan treated with dapagliflozin found that HbA1c concentration, weight, and blood pressure were reduced after initiation of dapagliflozin treatment

Breeding performance of sustainable fish Ctenopharyngodon idella through single intramuscular injection of Ovaprim-C at Bahawalpur, Pakistan

Effect of intramuscular injection of Ovaprim–C on the number of eggs/kg,  fertilization rate and hatching percentage were studied at a private Fish Hatchery at Bahawalpur, Pakistan, during April to June 2008, on Ctenopharyngodon idella (Grass carp). Studied fish specimens were spawned successfully following a single dose of injection of Ovaprim-C (LH-RH analogue) with 0.6 ml kg-1 for female and 0.2 ml kg-1 for male brooders. Ova and milt were stripped simultaneously and mixture was stirred for 15 to 30 s during which fertilization occurred. Hatching occurred within 18 to 30 h after fertilization. The experiment was conducted in circular spawning tank with 2 m diameter. It was observed that body weight has positive influence on absolute fecundity (r = 0.967), while relative fecundity remained constant with increasing body weight. If it is impossible to determine the absolute and relative fecundity then these parameters can be determined from the body weight.Key words: Induced spawning, Ovaprim-C, fecundity, Ctenopharyngodon idella

VANSec Attack Resistant VANETs Security Algorithm in terms of Trust Computation Error and Normalized Routing Overhead

open access articleVANET is an application and subclass of MANETs, a quickly maturing, promising, and emerging technology these days. VANETs establish communication among vehicles (V2V) and roadside infrastructure (V2I). As vehicles move with high speed, hence environment and topology change with time. There is no optimum routing protocol which ensures full-pledge on-time delivery of data to destination nodes, and an absolutely optimum scheme design for flawless packet exchange is still a challenging task. In VANETs, accurate and on-time delivery of fundamental safety alert messages (FSAMs) is highly important to withstand against maliciously inserted security threats affectively. In this paper, we have presented a new security-aware routing technique called VANSec. The presented scheme is more immune and resistive against different kinds of attacks and thwarts malicious node penetration attempts to the entire network. It is basically based on trust management approach. The aim of the scheme is to identify malicious data and false nodes. The simulation results of VANSec are compared with already existing techniques called trust and LT in terms of trust computation error (TCE), end-to-end delay (EED), average link duration (ALD), and normalized routing overhead (NRO). In terms of TCE, VANSec is 11.6% and 7.3% efficient than LT and trust, respectively, while from EED comparison we found VANSec to be 57.6% more efficient than trust and 5.2% more efficient than LT. Similarly, in terms of ALD, VANSec provides 29.7% and 7.8% more stable link duration than trust and LT do, respectively, and in terms of NRO, VANSec protocol has 27.5% and 14% lesser load than that of trust and LT, respectively

Comparing and Optimizing Nitrate Adsorption from Aqueous Solution Using Fe/Pt Bimetallic Nanoparticles and Anion Exchange Resins

This research work was carried out for the removal of nitrate from raw water for a drinking water supply. Nitrate is a widespread ground water contaminant. Methodology employed in this study included adsorption on metal based nanoparticles and ion exchange using anionic resins. Fe/Pt bimetallic nanoparticles were prepared in the laboratory, by the reduction of their respective salts using sodium borohydride. Scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive spectrometry, and X-ray florescence techniques were utilized for characterization of bimetallic Fe/Pt nanoparticles. Optimum dose, pH, temperature, and contact time were determined for NO3- removal through batch tests, both for metal based nanoparticles and anionic exchange resin. Adsorption data fitted well the Langmuir isotherm and conformed to the pseudofirst-order kinetic model. Results indicated 97% reduction in nitrate by 0.25 mg/L of Fe/Pt nanoparticles at pH 7 and 83% reduction in nitrate was observed using 0.50 mg/L anionic exchange resins at pH 4 and contact time of one hour. Overall, Fe/Pt bimetallic nanoparticles demonstrated greater NO3- removal efficiency due to the small particle size, extremely large surface area (627 m2/g), and high adsorption capacity

Terminal Galactose as Cancer Recognition Marker: Computing Analysis With Implications of Vicinal Sugars, Linkage and Anomery

Abstract.-Carbohydrate structures on proteins play vital role as recognition markers in several diseases including cancer. The carbohydrate chains are dramatically altered in cancer cells compared to normal cells, both in structure and quantity. The mucin O-glycans show several cancer associated structures like T-(Gal-GalNAc-Ser/Thr) and Tn-antigen (GalNAc-Ser/Thr). Terminal galactose (Gal) in mucin type O-glycan oligosaccharide structures is known to act as a recognition marker for several cancer-associated lectins like galectin and mistletoe lectins. This study describes the role of terminal Gal, inclusive of its anomery, linkage and that of sugar residues vicinal to terminal Gal in oligosaccharide structures of glycoproteins, as an epitope or as a recognition marker in cancer

Seismic risk assessment for developing countries : Pakistan as a case study

Modern Earthquake Risk Assessment (ERA) methods usually require seismo-tectonic information for Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Assessment (PSHA) that may not be readily available in developing countries. To bypass this drawback, this paper presents a practical event-based PSHA method that uses instrumental seismicity, available historical seismicity, as well as limited information on geology and tectonic setting. Historical seismicity is integrated with instrumental seismicity to determine the long-term hazard. The tectonic setting is included by assigning seismic source zones associated with known major faults. Monte Carlo simulations are used to generate earthquake catalogues with randomized key hazard parameters. A case study region in Pakistan is selected to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method. The results indicate that the proposed method produces seismic hazard maps consistent with previous studies, thus being suitable for generating such maps in regions where limited data are available. The PSHA procedure is developed as an integral part of an ERA framework named EQRAM. The framework is also used to determine seismic risk in terms of annual losses for the study region

Phase 1 dose-finding and pharmacokinetic study of eribulin-liposomal formulation in patients with solid tumours

Background: This phase 1 study examined the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and preliminary efficacy of eribulin-liposomal formulation (eribulin-LF) in patients with advanced solid tumours. Methods:\ud Eligible patients with ECOG PS 0–1 were treated with eribulin-LF either on day 1 every 21 days (Schedule 1), or on days 1 and 15 every 28 days (Schedule 2). Doses ranged from 1.0 to 3.5 mg/m2, with dose escalation in a 3 + 3 design. The dose-expansion phase evaluated eribulin-LF in select tumour types. Primary objectives: maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and the recommended dose/schedule of eribulin-LF. Results: Totally, 58 patients were enroled (median age = 62 years). The MTD was 1.4 mg/m2 (Schedule 1) or 1.5 mg/m2 (Schedule 2), the latter dose selected for the dose-expansion phase. Dose-limiting toxicity (DLTs) in Schedule 1: hypophosphatemia and increased transaminase levels. DLTs in Schedule 2: stomatitis, increased alanine aminotransferase, neutropenia and febrile neutropenia. The pharmacokinetic profile of eribulin-LF showed a similar half-life to that of eribulin (~30 h), but with a 5-fold greater maximum serum concentration and a 40-fold greater area-under-the-curve. Eribulin-LF demonstrated clinical activity with approximately 10% of patients in both schedules achieving partial responses. Conclusions: Eribulin-LF was well tolerated with a favourable pharmacokinetic profile. Preliminary evidence of clinical activity in solid tumours was observed

Factors affecting recruitment and retention of community health workers in a newborn care intervention in Bangladesh

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Well-trained and highly motivated community health workers (CHWs) are critical for delivery of many community-based newborn care interventions. High rates of CHW attrition undermine programme effectiveness and potential for implementation at scale. We investigated reasons for high rates of CHW attrition in Sylhet District in north-eastern Bangladesh.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Sixty-nine semi-structured questionnaires were administered to CHWs currently working with the project, as well as to those who had left. Process documentation was also carried out to identify project strengths and weaknesses, which included in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, review of project records (i.e. recruitment and resignation), and informal discussion with key project personnel.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Motivation for becoming a CHW appeared to stem primarily from the desire for self-development, to improve community health, and for utilization of free time. The most common factors cited for continuing as a CHW were financial incentive, feeling needed by the community, and the value of the CHW position in securing future career advancement. Factors contributing to attrition included heavy workload, night visits, working outside of one's home area, familial opposition and dissatisfaction with pay.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The framework presented illustrates the decision making process women go through when deciding to become, or continue as, a CHW. Factors such as job satisfaction, community valuation of CHW work, and fulfilment of pre-hire expectations all need to be addressed systematically by programs to reduce rates of CHW attrition.</p