Awareness and Use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) among Farmers in Kerala: A Study

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can be used as a potential tool to develop rural India, but the awareness and positive attitude towards the facilities offered by it is a necessity to use it to the full potential. The study tries to analyze the awareness of farmers about the various ICT tools in agriculture. Survey using questionnaire was resorted to collect data from user group. The user group under consideration consists of farmers registered to four KrishiBhavans in Nedumangad block, Thiruvananthapuram District of Kerala. Farmers with more than 1 acre of land registered in KrishiBhavans in the four selected blocks were 1040. From them, a sample size of fifteen percentages (156) of farmers is selected. Data obtained through questionnaire was tabulated, analyzed and interpreted using Microsoft Office Excel 2010 and SPSS 20. Chi-square test was applied for finding significant association between the categorical variable

R-CNN and YOLOV4 based Deep Learning Model for intelligent detection of weaponries in real time video

The security of civilians and high-profile officials is of the utmost importance and is often challenging during continuous surveillance carried out by security professionals. Humans have limitations like attention span, distraction, and memory of events which are vulnerabilities of any security system. An automated model that can perform intelligent real-time weapon detection is essential to ensure that such vulnerabilities are prevented from creeping into the system. This will continuously monitor the specified area and alert the security personnel in case of security breaches like the presence of unauthorized armed people. The objective of the proposed system is to detect the presence of a weapon, identify the type of weapon, and capture the image of the attackers which will be useful for further investigation. A custom weapons dataset has been constructed, consisting of five different weapons, such as an axe, knife, pistol, rifle, and sword. Using this dataset, the proposed system is employed and compared with the faster Region Based Convolution Neural Network (R-CNN) and YOLOv4. The YOLOv4 model provided a 96.04% mAP score and frames per second (FPS) of 19 on GPU (GEFORCE MX250) with an average accuracy of 73%. The R-CNN model provided an average accuracy of 71%. The result of the proposed system shows that the YOLOv4 model achieves a higher mAP score on GPU (GEFORCE MX250) for weapon detection in surveillance video cameras

α-intercalated cells defend the urinary system from bacterial infection

{alpha}–Intercalated cells (A-ICs) within the collecting duct of the kidney are critical for acid-base homeostasis. Here, we have shown that A-ICs also serve as both sentinels and effectors in the defense against urinary infections. In a murine urinary tract infection model, A-ICs bound uropathogenic E. coli and responded by acidifying the urine and secreting the bacteriostatic protein lipocalin 2 (LCN2; also known as NGAL). A-IC–dependent LCN2 secretion required TLR4, as mice expressing an LPS-insensitive form of TLR4 expressed reduced levels of LCN2. The presence of LCN2 in urine was both necessary and sufficient to control the urinary tract infection through iron sequestration, even in the harsh condition of urine acidification. In mice lacking A-ICs, both urinary LCN2 and urinary acidification were reduced, and consequently bacterial clearance was limited. Together these results indicate that A-ICs, which are known to regulate acid-base metabolism, are also critical for urinary defense against pathogenic bacteria. They respond to both cystitis and pyelonephritis by delivering bacteriostatic chemical agents to the lower urinary system

Photothermal imaging of He+ ion implanted CdS

CdS thinfilms implanted using He+ were studied using photothermal deflection spectroscopy (PTD) setup, using perpendicular pump-probe configuration. Samples were implanted with increasing ion energy so as to allow the ion to penetrate greater depths. An attempt for 2-dimensional imaging of implanted regions of different samples was carried out. Photothermal measurements were performed Samples were imaged for various modulation frequencies. Modulation frequency at 800 Hz revealed a maximum damaged layer, which corresponds approximately to the half the thickness

A deeply divergent lineage of Walkerana (Anura: Ranixalidae) from the Western Ghats of Peninsular India

Dinesh, K.P., Vijayakumar, S.P., Ramesh, Vijay, Jayarajan, Aditi, Chandramouli, S.R., Shanker, Kartik (2020): A deeply divergent lineage of Walkerana (Anura: Ranixalidae) from the Western Ghats of Peninsular India. Zootaxa 4729 (2): 266-276, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4729.2.

Characterisation of In2_2S3_3 and ZnO thin films for photovoltaic application using Photothermal deflection technique

ZnO and In$_2$S$_3$ thin films useful for photovoltaic application were studied using Photothermal deflection (PTD) spectroscopy. Mobility of carriers obtained from PTD was found to be in good agreement with reported values. Thickness measurements were also carried out. It was found to be in good agreement with stylus method

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Not AvailableThe aquaculture development has raised many environmental concerns worldwide due to its unregulated and unplanned expansion and outshined the advantages of increasing fish production by utilizing unused lands. The present study aimed to identify suitable sites for aquaculture by integrating land resources availability, source water bodies characteristics, unproductive lands soil quality, and infrastructure support into existing national aquaculture developmental laws using a spatial decision support system at Puducherry Union Territory, India. The seventeen influencing factors have been measured, mapped, quantified, and integrated through pairwise matrix based sensitive analysis and Geographical Information System (GIS). The spatial regulations of the Coastal Aquaculture Authority Act (2005) of India were applied to remove restricted regions such as mangroves, agricultural lands, lands used for other..Not Availabl