Real-Time Fatigue Analysis of Driver through Iris Recognition

In recent days, the driver’s fault accounted for about 77.5% of the total road accidents that are happening every day. There are several methods for the driver’s fatigue detection. These are based on the movement of the eye ball using eye blinking sensor, heart beat measurement using Electro Cardio Gram, mental status analysis using ElectroEncephaloGram, muscle cramping detection, etc. However the above said methods are more complicated and create inconvenience for the driver to drive the vehicle. Also, these methods are less accurate. In this work, an accurate method is adopted to detect the driver’s fatigue based on status of the eyes using Iris recognition and the results shows that the proposed method is more accurate (about 80%) compared to the existing methods such as Eye blink Sensor method

Hydrography of the Cochin harbour

The hydrography of the Cochin harbour is studied with reference to air temperature, dissolved oxygen, salinity and pH. The analysis of the data shows unique hydrographical characteristics which are influenced by the monsoon rains. The uniqueness lies mainly in the fluctuations of salinity which registers as low as 0.6‰ during monsoon period to near sea conditions (29.4‰) during the summer period. The dissolved oxygen, temperature and pH also showed fluctuations corresponding to seasons

On the development of a mercury-free ternary aluminium anode for cathodic protection

The development of a new mercury-free ternary aluminum anode (CIFTAL) for cathodic protection of marine structures is described. The new anode demonstrated a current efficiency of 83.5% to 85.4% in a current density range of 5.6 to 166.7 mAdmˉ². The current efficiency remained practically stable at 1.4 mAdmˉ² over a test period of 300 days. The service trials of the anode on steel trawlers and aluminum (Indal M 57 S) sheathed wooden boats have shown satisfactory performance in terms of uniform dissolution, current efficiency and driving voltage. In the wake of legislations restricting the use of anodes containing mercury in an endeavor to control the mercury pollution of the near shore aquatic environment, the new anode (CIFTAL) with its stable current output and high current efficiency merits significance in marine cathodic protection

Selection of materials for marine instruments

The paper describes the selection of materials for the reliable operation of oceanographic instruments. For selecting the material, raft immersion tests were carried out for one year. Results of the tests are presented. Comparisons between metals were discussed

Performance studies of aerobic FBBR for the treatment of dairy wastewater

As the dairy wastewater produces lot of pollution problems, treatment of wastes before disposal becomes important. The endeavor to have a continuously operating, non clogging biofilm reactor with no need for backwashing, and high specific biofilm surface area culminated in the most advanced technology of Aerobic Fluidized Bed treatment where the biomass grows on small elements that move along with the water in the reactor. By the study, the FBB has been proved as highly efficient for strong dairy wastewater treatment. For an organic loading in the range 2.2 to 10.2 kg COD/m3d the efficiency variation was from 94.58 to 82.11%. The reactor combines all the advantages and best features of conventional treatment systems while eliminating the drawbacks of those

TWO NEW SPECIES OF POACEAE FROM INDIA

Two new species of Poaceae namely, Erayrostis santapaui K. G. Bhat & C. R. Nagendran and Chrysopogon pseitdozeylanicus K. G. Bhat & C. R. Nagendran have been described from materials collected by the senior author from Coorg- and South Kanara Districts of Karnataka State, India

Coagulation using ecofriendly natural coagulants

Coagulation using ecofriendly natural coagulant

Circulating antigen tests and urine reagent strips for diagnosis of active schistosomiasis in endemic areas

Background: Point-of-care (POC) tests for diagnosing schistosomiasis include tests based on circulating antigen detection and urine reagent strip tests. If they had sufficient diagnostic accuracy they could replace conventional microscopy as they provide a quicker answer and are easier to use. Objectives: To summarise the diagnostic accuracy of: a) urine reagent strip tests in detecting activeSchistosoma haematobium infection, with microscopy as the reference standard; and b) circulating antigen tests for detecting active Schistosoma infection in geographical regions endemic for Schistosoma mansoni or S. haematobium or both, with microscopy as the reference standard. Search methods: We searched the electronic databases MEDLINE, EMBASE, BIOSIS, MEDION, and Health Technology Assessment (HTA) without language restriction up to 30 June 2014. Selection criteria We included studies that used microscopy as the reference standard: for S. haematobium, microscopy of urine prepared by filtration, centrifugation, or sedimentation methods; and for S. mansoni, microscopy of stool by Kato-Katz thick smear. We included studies on participants residing in endemic areas only. Data collection and analysis: Two review authors independently extracted data, assessed quality of the data using QUADAS-2, and performed meta-analysis where appropriate. Using the variability of test thresholds, we used the hierarchical summary receiver operating characteristic (HSROC) model for all eligible tests (except the circulating cathodic antigen (CCA) POC for S. mansoni, where the bivariate random-effects model was more appropriate). We investigated heterogeneity, and carried out indirect comparisons where data were sufficient. Results for sensitivity and specificity are presented as percentages with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Main results; We included 90 studies; 88 from field settings in Africa. The median S. haematobiuminfection prevalence was 41% (range 1% to 89%) and 36% for S. mansoni (range 8% to 95%). Study design and conduct were poorly reported against current standards. Tests for S. haematobium Urine reagent test strips versus microscopy Compared to microscopy, the detection of microhaematuria on test strips had the highest sensitivity and specificity (sensitivity 75%, 95% CI 71% to 79%; specificity 87%, 95% CI 84% to 90%; 74 studies, 102,447 participants). For proteinuria, sensitivity was 61% and specificity was 82% (82,113 participants); and for leukocyturia, sensitivity was 58% and specificity 61% (1532 participants). However, the difference in overall test accuracy between the urine reagent strips for microhaematuria and proteinuria was not found to be different when we compared separate populations (P = 0.25), or when direct comparisons within the same individuals were performed (paired studies; P = 0.21). When tests were evaluated against the higher quality reference standard (when multiple samples were analysed), sensitivity was marginally lower for microhaematuria (71% vs 75%) and for proteinuria (49% vs 61%). The specificity of these tests was comparable. Antigen assay Compared to microscopy, the CCA test showed considerable heterogeneity; meta-analytic sensitivity estimate was 39%, 95% CI 6% to 73%; specificity 78%, 95% CI 55% to 100% (four studies, 901 participants). Tests for S. mansoni Compared to microscopy, the CCA test meta-analytic estimates for detecting S. mansoni at a single threshold of trace positive were: sensitivity 89% (95% CI 86% to 92%); and specificity 55% (95% CI 46% to 65%; 15 studies, 6091 participants) Against a higher quality reference standard, the sensitivity results were comparable (89% vs 88%) but specificity was higher (66% vs 55%). For the CAA test, sensitivity ranged from 47% to 94%, and specificity from 8% to 100% (four studies, 1583 participants). Authors' conclusions: Among the evaluated tests for S. haematobium infection, microhaematuria correctly detected the largest proportions of infections and non-infections identified by microscopy. The CCA POC test for S. mansoni detects a very large proportion of infections identified by microscopy, but it misclassifies a large proportion of microscopy negatives as positives in endemic areas with a moderate to high prevalence of infection, possibly because the test is potentially more sensitive than microscopy

Analysis by polymerase chain reaction of the physical state of human papillomavirus type 16 DNA in cervical preneoplastic and neoplastic lesions

Integration of human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA into the host cell genome is believed to be essential for malignant progression. However unambiguous detection of the physical state of HPV is a difficult and time-consuming procedure. To resolve this issue a simple, rapid and highly sensitive technique of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has been utilized for detecting the physical state of HPV-16 DNA. Investigations were carried out in 122 cervical specimens comprising the whole spectrum of cervical lesions starting from cervical dysplasia to invasive carcinoma including HPV-16-positive normal controls. A pair of oligonucleotide primers specific to the E2 open reading frame, which is often deleted or disrupted following HPV integration, was used for the study. Distinction between episomal and integrated forms of viral DNA was accomplished by detecting amplification of the E2-specific fragment (1139 bp) in the PCR product. The PCR results were compared with those obtained by the conventional methods of Southern blotting, two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and chromosomal in situ hybridization; a high degree of agreement was observed between the methods. The findings indicate that although integrated forms of HPV-16 DNA were detected in more than 70% of cervical cancer specimens, integration was less frequent (23%) in severe dysplasia and carcinoma in situ. Only 2.5% of cases showed both episomal and integrated forms of HPV-16 DNA. The difference between episomal and integrated forms was statistically significant (P < 0.01). The absence of integration in about 30% of cancer cases suggests that integration of HPV may not be necessary for malignant progression and alternative mechanism(s) of malignant transformation may occur without HPV integration. The PCR test thus provides an effective complement to Southern blotting and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis for accurate detection of the integration of HPV DNA