3,527 research outputs found
Automated Classification of 2000 Bright IRAS Sources
An Artificial Neural Network (ANN) has been employed using a supervised
back-propagation scheme to classify 2000 bright sources from the Calgary
database of IRAS (Infrared Astronomy Satellite) spectra in the wavelength
region of 8-23 microns. The data base has been classified into 17
pre-determined classes based on spectral morphology. We have been able to
classify more than 80 percent of the 2000 sources correctly at the first
instance. The speed and robustness of the scheme will allow us to classify the
whole of LRS database, containing more than 50,000 sources in the future.Comment: 26 pages, To appear in ApJS after July 200
Vertical coordination in high-value commodities
"Rising per capita income, urbanization and globalization are changing the consumption basket in the developing countries towards high-value commodities (like fruits & vegetables, milk, meat, poultry, fish, etc.). This paper explores how smallholders can benefit from the emerging opportunities from a silent demand-driven changes in high-value agriculture in India. The study examines the institutional mechanisms adopted by different firms to integrate small producers of milk, broilers and vegetables in supply chain and their effects on producers' transaction costs and farm profitability. The study finds that the innovative institutional arrangements in the form of contract farming have considerably reduced transaction costs and improved market efficiency to benefit the smallholders. The study does not find any bias against smallholders in contract farming. Also, the study does not find that the relevant firms have exploited their monopsonistic position by paying lower prices to farmers. On the contrary, contract producers were found enjoying benefits of assured procurement of their produce and higher prices. The study lists policy hurdles in scaling up the innovative models of vertical coordination in high-value food commodities" Authors' AbstractHigh value commodities ,Urbanization ,High value agriculture ,Scaling up ,
Gossip Codes for Fingerprinting: Construction, Erasure Analysis and Pirate Tracing
This work presents two new construction techniques for q-ary Gossip codes
from tdesigns and Traceability schemes. These Gossip codes achieve the shortest
code length specified in terms of code parameters and can withstand erasures in
digital fingerprinting applications. This work presents the construction of
embedded Gossip codes for extending an existing Gossip code into a bigger code.
It discusses the construction of concatenated codes and realisation of erasure
model through concatenated codes.Comment: 28 page
High resolution CT (HRCT) in miliary tuberculosis (MTB) of the lung: correlation with pulmonary function tests & gas exchange parameters in North Indian patients
Background & Objective: High resolution computed tomography (HRCT) scans are known to be helpful in early diagnosis and management of patients with miliary tuberculosis (MTB). We made an attempt in this study to identify patterns of pulmonary MTB on HRCT and to correlate the HRCT disease extent with pulmonary function tests (PFT) and gas exchange analysis (GEA). Methods: A total of 16 non-HIV patients with MTB underwent HRCT of the chest, PFT and GEA. All the investigations in these patients were completed within 20 days of presentation. Evidence of TB was diagnosed by biopsy from lymph nodes (3/16), organ biopsy [skin, liver, bone marrow and lung (transbronchial) (6/16)]. In one patient fundoscopy revealed choroid tubercles. In 6 patients, diagnosis was confirmed by clinical/radiological improvement following anti-tuberculosis therapy. Radiological patterns of involvement on HRCT of the lungs were studied and disease extent was estimated in each case by consensus between two radiologists using specially devised visual scoring system. Disease extent was correlated with PFT and GEA. Spearman rank correlation was used for statistical analysis. Results: Findings on HRCT in MTB included miliary nodularity (16/16), alveolar lesions such as ground glass attenuation and/or consolidation (5/16), lymphadenopathy (8/16), peribronchovascular interstitial thickening (1/16), emphysema (1/16), pleural pathology (2/16), and pericardial effusion (2/16). A significant correlation was noted between disease extent score and forced vital capacity (FVC) (r = −0.76; P=0.003), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1)(r = −0.74; P = 0.005), total lung capacity (TLC) (r = −0.66; P = 0.037), oxygen saturation in arterial blood (SaO2) (r = −0.69, P = 0.01), diffusion capacity of the lung (DLco) (r = −0.8; P = 0.02). Interpretation & Conclusion: Our findings showed that HRCT reliably diagnosed MTB, and thus could help in predicting derangement of pulmonary function tests and GEA in these patients
Correlations of record events as a test for heavy-tailed distributions
A record is an entry in a time series that is larger or smaller than all
previous entries. If the time series consists of independent, identically
distributed random variables with a superimposed linear trend, record events
are positively (negatively) correlated when the tail of the distribution is
heavier (lighter) than exponential. Here we use these correlations to detect
heavy-tailed behavior in small sets of independent random variables. The method
consists of converting random subsets of the data into time series with a
tunable linear drift and computing the resulting record correlations.Comment: Revised version, to appear in Physical Review Letter
Nitrification inhibitors II. Studies with furano compounds
The effects of furano compounds, furfural (furfuraldehyde) and furfuryl alcohol (5, 10, 20 and 30% of N applied) on nitrification of ammonium sulfate and urea N were studied in a sandy clay loam in laboratory. Both furfural and furfuryl alcohol significantly retarded the nitrification rates of both the fertilizers by inhibiting the conversion of NH4 + to NO2 - without affecting the oxidation of NO2 - to NO3 --N. 10, 20 and 30% concentrations of the compounds were effective up to 75 days with ammonium sulfate but more or less up to 45 days with urea
Pattern & correlates of neurocognitive dysfunction in Asian Indian adults with severe obstructive sleep apnoea
Background & Objectives: No published data are available on neurocognitive dysfunction in Asian Indians with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). We therefore, studied the pattern and correlates of neurocognitive dysfunction in Indian adults with severe OSA. Methods: Fifty patients aged 25-65 yr with severe OSA (apnoea-hypopnoea index>30) and 25 age, sex, and education level-matched normal controls were studied. Both groups were administered a standardized battery of neurocognitive tests. Results: Patients with severe OSA had significantly impaired performance on tests of alertness, working memory, response inhibition, problem solving, and executive function. However, the difference in executive function between the groups disappeared after adjusting for delayed information processing. The test scores did not correlate with apnoea-hypopnoea index, arousal index, or Epworth sleepiness score. However, the percentage of time spent at <90 per cent oxygen saturation had a weak correlation with the number of stroop errors (Spearman's rho=0.64; P=0.033), number of trials required (rho=0.05; P=0.02), and perseverative errors on Wisconsin card sorting test (rho=0.36; P=0.02). Interpretation & Conclusions: Our results suggested that delayed information processing rather than impaired abstract thinking was probably the cause of impaired performance on composite tests of neurocognitive function in patients with severe OSA
Automated Determination of Stellar Parameters from Simulated Dispersed Images for DIVA
We have assessed how well stellar parameters (T_eff, logg and [Fe/H]) can be
retrieved from low-resolution dispersed images to be obtained by the DIVA
satellite. Although DIVA is primarily an all-sky astrometric mission, it will
also obtain spectrophotometric information for about 13 million stars
(operational limiting magnitude V ~ 13.5 mag). Constructional studies foresee a
grating system yielding a dispersion of ~200nm/mm on the focal plane (first
spectral order). For astrometric reasons there will be no cross dispersion
which results in the overlapping of the first to third diffraction orders. The
one-dimensional, position related intensity function is called a DISPI
(DISPersed Intensity). We simulated DISPIS from synthetic spectra (...) for a
limited range of metallicites i.e. our results are for [Fe/H] in the range -0.3
to 1 dex. We show that there is no need to deconvolve these low resolution
signals in order to obtain basic stellar parameters. Using neural network
methods and by including simulated data of DIVA's UV telescope, we can
determine T_eff to an average accuracy of about 2% for DISPIS from stars with
2000 K < T_eff < 20000 K and visual magnitudes of V=13 mag (end of mission
data). logg can be determined for all temperatures with an accuracy better than
0.25 dex for magnitudes brighter than V=12 mag. For low temperature stars with
2000 K < T_eff < 5000 K and for metallicities in the range -0.3 to +1 dex a
determination of [Fe/H] is possible (to better than 0.2 dex) for these
magnitudes. Additionally we examined the effects of extinction E(B-V) on DISPIS
and found that it can be determined to better than 0.07 mag for magnitudes
brighter than V=14 mag if the UV information is included.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, Accepted for publication in A&
- …