Rotation invariant texture descriptors based on Gaussian Markov random fields for classification

Local Parameter Histograms (LPH) based on Gaussian–Markov random fields (GMRFs) have been successfully used in effective texture discrimination. LPH features represent the normalized histograms of locally estimated GMRF parameters via local linear regression. However, these features are not rotation invariant. In this paper two techniques to design rotation invariant LPH texture descriptors are discussed namely, Rotation Invariant LPH (RI-LPH) and the Isotropic LPH (I-LPH) descriptors. Extensive texture classification experiments using traditional GMRF features, LPH features, RI-LPH and I-LPH features are performed. Furthermore comparisons to the current state-of-the-art texture features are made. Classification results demonstrate that LPH, RI-LPH and I-LPH features achieve significantly better accuracies compared to the traditional GMRF features. RI-LPH descriptors give the highest classification rates and offer the best texture discriminative competency. RI-LPH and I-LPH features maintain higher accuracies in rotation invariant texture classification providing successful rotational invariance

Ferroelectric Dead Layer Driven by a Polar Interface

Based on first-principles and model calculations we investigate the effect of polar interfaces on the ferroelectric stability of thin-film ferroelectrics. As a representative model, we consider a TiO2-terminated BaTiO3 film with LaO monolayers at the two interfaces that serve as doping layers. We find that the polar interfaces create an intrinsic electric field that is screened by the electron charge leaking into the BaTiO3 layer. The amount of the leaking charge is controlled by the boundary conditions which are different for three heterostructures considered, namely Vacuum/LaO/BaTiO3/LaO, LaO/BaTiO3, and SrRuO3/LaO/BaTiO3/LaO. The intrinsic electric field forces ionic displacements in BaTiO3 to produce the electric polarization directed into the interior of the BaTiO3 layer. This creates a ferroelectric dead layer near the interfaces that is non-switchable and thus detrimental to ferroelectricity. Our first-principles and model calculations demonstrate that the effect is stronger for a larger effective ionic charge at the interface and longer screening length due to a stronger intrinsic electric field that penetrates deeper into the ferroelectric. The predicted mechanism for a ferroelectric dead layer at the interface controls the critical thickness for ferroelectricity in systems with polar interfaces.Comment: 33 Pages, 5 figure

An interesting case of right ovarian cyst torsion: case report

Ovarian torsion is a comparatively rare gynecological emergency. It commonly presents with complaints of acute abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. It occurs due to twisting of the ovarian pedicle leading to ischemic changes in the ovary. It can even result in complete loss of blood supply, eventually necrosis of the ovary. It is diagnosed clinically and can be confirmed on ultrasound color doppler. The management of ovarian torsion depends on the age of the patient, size of the mass, ovary condition, and USG findings. Early diagnosis and treatment of torsion are necessary to preserve the viability of the ovary. We are reporting a case of a 30-year-old female with right ovarian cyst torsion of size 6.3×6.8×6 cm. Once torsion is diagnosed surgery is the mainstay of treatment, either detorsion and ovariopexy or oophorectomy if the ovary cannot be salvaged.

A National Survey of Resources to Address Sepsis in Children in Tertiary Care Centers in Nigeria.

Background: Infections leading to sepsis are major contributors to mortality and morbidity in children world-wide. Determining the capacity of pediatric hospitals in Nigeria to manage sepsis establishes an important baseline for quality-improvement interventions and resource allocations. Objectives: To assess the availability and functionality of resources and manpower for early detection and prompt management of sepsis in children at tertiary pediatric centers in Nigeria. Methods: This was an online survey of tertiary pediatric hospitals in Nigeria using a modified survey tool designed by the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies (WFPICCS). The survey addressed all aspects of pediatric sepsis identification, management, barriers and readiness. Results: While majority of the hospitals 97% (28/29) reported having adequate triage systems, only 60% (16/27) follow some form of guideline for sepsis management. There was no consensus national guideline for management of pediatric sepsis. Over 50% of the respondents identified deficit in parental education, poor access to healthcare services, failure to diagnose sepsis at referring institutions, lack of medical equipment and lack of a definitive protocol for managing pediatric sepsis, as significant barriers. Conclusions: Certain sepsis-related interventions were reportedly widespread, however, there is no standardized sepsis protocol, and majority of the hospitals do not have pediatric intensive care units (PICU). These findings could guide quality improvement measures at institutional level, and healthcare policy/spending at the national level

The combined effects of electrojet strength and the geomagnetic activity (<I>K_p</I>-index) on the post sunset height rise of the F-layer and its role in the generation of ESF during high and low solar activity periods

International audienceSeveral investigations have been carried out to identify the factors that are responsible for the day-to-day variability in the occurrence of equatorial spread-F (ESF). But the precise forecasting of ESF on a day-to-day basis is still far from reality. The nonlinear development and the sustenance of ESF/plasma bubbles is decided by the background ionospheric conditions, such as the base height of the F-layer (h'F), the electron density gradient (dN/dz), maximum ionization density (Nmax), geomagnetic activity and the neutral dynamics. There is increasing evidence in the literature during the recent past that shows a well developed Equatorial Ionization Anomaly (EIA) during the afternoon hours contributes significantly to the initiation of ESF during the post-sunset hours. Also, there exists a good correlation between the Equatorial Ionization Anomaly (EIA) and the Integrated Equatorial ElectroJet (IEEJ) strength, as the driving force for both is the same, namely, the zonal electric field at the equator. In this paper, we present a linear relationship that exists between the daytime integrated equatorial electrojet (IEEJ) strength and the maximum elevated height of the F-layer during post-sunset hours (denoted as peak h'F). An inverse relationship that exists between the 6-h average Kp-index prior to the local sunset and the peak h'F of the F-layer is also presented. A systematic study on the combined effects of the IEEJ and the average Kp-index on the post-sunset, peak height of the F-layer (peak h'F), which controls the development of ESF/plasma bubbles, is carried out using the ionosonde data from an equatorial station, Trivandrum (8.47° N, 76.91° E, dip.lat. 0.5° N), an off-equatorial station, SHAR (13.6° N, 79.8° E, dip.lat. 10.8° N) and VHF scintillations (244 MHz) observed over a nearby low-latitude station, Waltair (17.7° N, 83.3° E, dip.lat. 20° N). From this study, it has been found that the threshold base height of the F-layer at the equator for the development of plasma bubbles is reduced from 405 km to 317 km as the solar activity decreases from March 2001 (mean Rz=113.5) to March 2005 (mean Rz=24.5). This decrease in threshold height with the decreasing solar activity is explained on the basis of changes in the local linear growth rate of the collisional Rayleigh-Taylor instability, due to the variability of various terms such as inverse density gradient scale length (L?1), ion-neutral collision frequency (?in) and recombination rate (R) with the changes in the solar activity

A comprehensive exploration on different machine learning techniques for state of charge estimation of EV battery

The State of Charge (SoC) is a measurement of the amount of energy available in a battery at a specific interval of time, mostly expressed as percentage. Proportional relationships between the electromotive force of a battery, current, terminal voltage and temperature determine the SoC. There can be a considerable error in the calculations due to a sharp drop of the terminal voltage at the end of discharge. This research has explored how important SoC is, as a factor in Battery Management Systems. The work focuses on using machine learning techniques to obtain an accurate and reliable status of battery charge, this includes Random Forest, Decision Tree, Gradient Boosting, Support Vector Regression, Polynomial Regression and Multilayer Perceptron. In this paper, these techniques are tested and compared with two real world captured datasets of Lithium-ion batteries which includes LG Battery and Unibo Powertools Battery. For supporting this study, statistical methods like K-fold cross validation and Grid Search cross validation techniques are used to estimate the skill of machine learning models. After implementing these techniques, it is found that Random Forest model returns the best Accuracy and Decision Tree returns the least Mean Absolute Error.</p

Mainstreaming Grassroots Adaptation and Building Climate Resilient Agriculture in Sri Lanka

Climate change in recent decades has become a major concern of the global community. The Inter- Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) established in 1988 by the United Nations has highlighted alarming trends in changes in global temperatures, shifts in rainfall patterns, rising sea levels and the impact of these changes on the livelihoods of people, especially the poor. The changes will affect sub-Saharan Africa the greatest and also Asia with its very large population, most of whom are dependent on agriculture

Rickettsial neglected zoonoses: prevalence of scrub typhus at central Karnataka

Background: Fever of unknown Origin (FUO) has many multiple causes such as enteric fever, malaria, dengue, tuberculosis, brucellosis. But scrub typhus is less known cause in Indian scenario. The present study reports the prevalence of scrub typhus at central Karnataka and compares the sensitivity and specificity of Weil-Felix test and the IgM ELISA in the detection of infection.Methods: 368 serum samples of FUO cases were collected. Weil-Felix test was performed and also analyzed for IgM antibodies to Orienta tsutsugamushi by IgM ELISA test along with haematological and biochemical investigations.Results: Out of 368 patients of fever of unknown origin, 94 cases were positive by OXK antigens by Weil Felix test and 61 were positive by ELISA test for ST IgM antibodies. Fever was the most common clinical presentation occurring in ST IgM ELISA positive cases, followed by myalgia in 90.1% cases, headache in 77%, hepatomegaly in 65.5%, splenomegaly in 62.2% and rashes were seen in 29.5% patients. Eschar was seen in 13.1% patients, pneumonia in 3.2% and meningo-encephalitis in 1.6%. Sensitivity and specificity of WFT in relation to IgM ELISA at a titre of 160 was 81.97% and 85.67% respectively.Conclusions: With the growing number of cases detected in India, scrub typhus is fast emerging as a public health threat and also due to limited diagnostics leading to underreporting, Weil Felix test could be used in adjunct with Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and blood parameters in the diagnosis of rickettsial diseases

Evaluation of Physiological Parameters in Response to Endurance Exercise of Zanskar Ponies Adapted to High Altitude of Ladakh Region

Zanskar pony, a native horse breed of Ladakh mainly used for transportation in Trans-Himalayan region of India, is well adapted to high altitude hypobaric hypoxia environment. Due to extreme conditions of the Ladakh region, better endurance of these ponies under hypoxic and extreme cold conditions is of utmost concern for their recruitment in Indian Army. In the present study, 12 young trained Zanskar ponies were evaluated during endurance exercise at an altitude of 3292 meter above mean sea level. The animals were subjected to carriage transport with 65-70Kg load or riding on a track of 5-6 Km. Physiological parameters viz., pulse rate (PR), heart rate (HR), rectal temperature (RT), respiratory rate (RR) and oxygen saturation (SaO2) were recorded in Zanskar ponies during pre-exercise (T0), post- exercise (T1) and post recovery (T2, 2 hours post resting) stages. Results showed marked increase in PR, HR, RR and RT post exercise time points. The mean values of PR increased from 49.83±4.62 to 73.67±21.54 per minute, HR from 48±13.60 to 75±15.82 beats/min, RR from 37.83±9.70 to 57.67±13.48 per min and RT from 99.62±0.34 101.04±0.53 °F from pre stress to post endurance stress. The mean SaO2 level reduced significantly (88.58±6.75 at T0 versus 64.00±18.70 at T1 and 54.42±14.79 at T2) post exercise. This indicated limited availability of arterial oxygen for tissues which could be vital factor for adverse change in some of physio-biochemical parameters. Though the trend of physiological response was similar for all the 12 animals, still variation at individual animal level was observed during endurance stress. In future, some of these physiological parameters along with biochemical and molecular parameters could be evaluated as potential biomarkers in selecting ponies with superior endurance trait specifically under hypoxic conditions

Vulnerability to Climate Change: Adaptation Strategies and Layers of Resilience : Climatic trends in Sri Lanka Agro-climatic Analysis, Research Report No. 15

The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and Sri Lanka Council for Agricultural Research Policy (SLCARP), recognized the complimentarity of their objectives and the need to facilitate the implementation of the research project on natural resources management, entitled ‘’Vulnerability to Climate Change: Adaptation Strategies and Layers of Resilience’’ in seven Asian countries, including India, China, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Vietnam and Thailand. Accordingly, they have been working together to implement the project in Sri Lanka. Farmers in the Asian countries need to adjust to climate that is changing and accordingly adapt with layers of resilience in their farming practices and investment decisions. Climate change is the most important global environmental challenge facing humanity today..