Aadhaar Based Authentication for Accessing Vehicle Ignition System

The aim of this paper is to propose a low cost and efficient system to authenticate a vehicle driver by using biometric parameters stored at aadhaar database. This eventually reduces the work load of license authentication by traffic police. The system comprises of a microcontroller, GSM/GPRS module and fingerprint sensor. To implement this system Authentication Service Agency (UIDAI) contract is required. Driving license is a necessary entity to drive a vehicle in India. Because of increasing number of vehicles, it is not possible for RTO officials to check everybody�s license. By implementing this kind of systems in vehicles, only licensed persons can turn on vehicle engine. Also it will help to avoid misuse of vehicle

Adaptive economic and ecological forest management under risk

Background Forest managers must deal with inherently stochastic ecological and economic processes. The future growth of trees is uncertain, and so is their value. The randomness of low-impact, high frequency or rare catastrophic shocks in forest growth has significant implications in shaping the mix of tree species and the forest landscape. In addition, the fluctuations of wood prices influence greatly forest revenues. Methods Markov decision process models (MDPs) offer a rigorous and practical way of developing optimum management strategies, given these multiple sources of risk. Results Examples illustrate how such management guidelines are obtained with MDPs for combined ecological and economic objectives, including diversity of tree species and size, landscape diversity, old growth preservation, and carbon sequestration. Conclusions The findings illustrate the power of the MDP approach to deal with risk in forest resource management. They recognize that the future is best viewed in terms of probabilities. Given these probabilities, MDPs tie optimum adaptive actions strictly to the state of the forest and timber prices at decision time. The methods are theoretically rigorous, numerically efficient, and practical for field implementation

Gravitational collapse with tachyon field and barotropic fluid

A particular class of space-time, with a tachyon field, \phi, and a barotropic fluid constituting the matter content, is considered herein as a model for gravitational collapse. For simplicity, the tachyon potential is assumed to be of inverse square form i.e., V(\phi) \sim \phi^{-2}. Our purpose, by making use of the specific kinematical features of the tachyon, which are rather different from a standard scalar field, is to establish the several types of asymptotic behavior that our matter content induces. Employing a dynamical system analysis, complemented by a thorough numerical study, we find classical solutions corresponding to a naked singularity or a black hole formation. In particular, there is a subset where the fluid and tachyon participate in an interesting tracking behaviour, depending sensitively on the initial conditions for the energy densities of the tachyon field and barotropic fluid. Two other classes of solutions are present, corresponding respectively, to either a tachyon or a barotropic fluid regime. Which of these emerges as dominant, will depend on the choice of the barotropic parameter, \gamma. Furthermore, these collapsing scenarios both have as final state the formation of a black hole.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figures. v3: minor changes. Final version to appear in GR

Effect of Combination Antiretroviral Therapy on HIV-1-specific Antibody-Dependent Cellular Cytotoxicity Responses in Subtype B- and Subtype C-Infected Cohorts

Background: There is growing interest in immune therapies to clear the latent HIV-1 after combination antiretroviral therapy (cART). There is limited information on the effect of cART on antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC), and no studies have directly compared ADCC in HIV-1 subtype B- and subtype C-infected subjects. The effect of improving immunocompetence on ADCC to influenza also remains unexplored. Methods: The effect of cART on HIV-1- and influenza-specific ADCC was analyzed in 2 cohorts (39 subtype B- and 47 subtype C-infected subjects) before and after 2 years of cART. ADCC analyses included an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay-based dimeric recombinant soluble (rs) FcγRIIIa-binding assay, antibody-dependent natural killer cell activation assay, and ADCC-mediated killing assays. Results: HIV-1 subtype B and C Env-specific antibody binding to dimeric rsFcγRIIIa were reduced in subtypes B- and C-infected cohorts after 2 years of cART (both P 300 cells/L (P < 0.05). The resolving immunodeficiency after 96 weeks of cART resulted in improved HA-specific ADCC to 6 strains of influenza (all P < 0.01). Conclusions: cART results in HIV-1 antigen loss and reductions in HIV-1 Env-specific antibodies with Fc functionality in both subtype B- and C-infected subjects, particularly in immunocompetent subjects. Simultaneously, cART improves ADCC to diverse strains of influenza, suggesting reduction in influenza disease after cART

Protecting children through supporting parents

All parents need social and emotional support to ensure optimal outcomes for children. For the majority of families, this support comes through family and social networks and the institutions of education and health. The challenge for society is to protect and assist parents and children when things are going wrong. Although there are known indicators for risk, it can be hard to be sure of when and how to intervene in family life to protect children and support parents. Such interventions may have to be made in relation to episodic events, for example a recurrence of a depression in one of the parents, and in the face of continuing difficulties, for example poverty or social exclusion.This paper examines two, quite different, challenges for professionals trying to support parents. First, it makes some suggestions about how it is that professionals can fail to recognise signs of child maltreatment. The identification of child maltreatment is critical in taking appropriate steps to protect children. Second, it considers the complexity of the task of supporting parents, including whether support should be based on the parents views about services that they would like, or on professional and policy‐makers judgements about how to meet the parents' needs