An Efficient Multifeature Model for Improving the Performance of Critical Energy Infrastructure

Energy infrastructure is well thought-out to be one of the complex infrastructures due to its convoluted configuration and automatic control among all of the systems. With such systems, various connections are made for the purpose of configurations. The energy system infrastructure aims to analytically evaluate each element of the system based on fundamental energy branches according to the customer demand. Developing a novel critical evaluation approach for complex energy infrastructure is pertinent to the evaluation of mixed energy system infrastructure. Considering the functional relationships between elements and their infrastructures, a system is needed to overcome the limitations of the current systems. By doing the efficient modeling of enhancing the performance infrastructure of critical energy infrastructure enable better quantitative evaluation of system. The purpose of the proposed study is to develop an evaluation approach for enhancing the performance of critical energy infrastructure. With the help of the proposed approach, efficient multifeature model for enhancing the performance of critical energy infrastructure was experimentally calculated. The experimental setup of the proposed study was done in the Super Decision tool for an efficient multifeature model for enhancing the performance. Results of the experiments reveal the effectiveness of the proposed research.National Natural Science Foundation of Shanxi Province (201801D121147)

Health-Related Quality-of-Life Impacts Associated with Transfusion-Dependent β-Thalassemia in the USA and UK:A Qualitative Assessment

Background: Individuals living with transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia (TDT) experience reduced health-related quality of life (HRQoL) due to fatigue and chronic pain, which cause disruptions to daily life. Currently, limited qualitative data exist that describe these impacts. Objective: This study aimed to examine the ways in which symptoms and current treatments of TDT impact HRQoL, to holistically describe the humanistic burden of TDT, and to identify the unmet needs of individuals living with TDT. Methods: Adults (aged ≥18 years) with TDT and caregivers of adolescents (aged 12‒17 years) with TDT participated in semi-structured one-on-one virtual interviews and focus group discussions. Interviews were conducted in the United States and United Kingdom and lasted approximately 60 minutes. After transcription, the interviews were analyzed thematically using a framework approach. Results: A total of 10 interviews/focus group discussions (six interviews and four focus group discussions) were conducted with 14 adults with TDT and two caregivers of adolescents with TDT. Framework analysis revealed five themes describing HRQoL (negative impacts on daily activities, social life, family life, work and education, and psychological wellbeing) and three themes describing the lived experience of TDT (impact of red blood cell transfusions and iron chelation therapy, treatment, and stigma). Physical, psychological, and treatment-related factors contributed to negative impacts on daily activities, social and family life, and work and education. Concerns about reduced lifespan, relationships and family planning, and financial independence were detrimental to participants’ mental wellbeing. Participants reported having high resilience to the many physical and psychological challenges of living with TDT. A lack of TDT-specific knowledge among healthcare professionals, particularly regarding chronic pain associated with the disease, left some participants feeling ignored or undermined. Additionally, many participants experienced stigma and were reluctant to disclose their disease to others. Conclusions: Individuals living with TDT experience substantial negative impacts on HRQoL that disrupt their daily lives, disruptions which are intensified by inadequate healthcare interactions, demanding treatment schedules, and stigma. Our study highlights the unmet needs of individuals living with TDT, especially for alternative treatments that reduce or eliminate the need for red blood cell transfusions and iron chelation therapy.<br/

Birthmark based identification of software piracy using Haar wavelet

Piracy of software is an increasing problem of modern day software industry. Piracy of software is the unlawful use of software or part of it without proper permission as described in license agreement. Software piracy is a serious crime but not taken seriously by most people. Preventing software piracy is very important for the growing software industry. Efforts are being made to prevent and detect software piracy. Several techniques have been developed most important of which is software birthmark. The birthmark of a software is the intrinsic properties of software. A recent research shows that a features based software birthmark can be used as a strong mechanism to detect piracy of a software and how much piracy performed has been performed on it. An objective measure is needed to overcome this problem and to compare features based birthmark of a software which efficiently and precisely detect piracy in reproduction of software. The proposed study presents Haar wavelet collocation method for software features (birthmark) to detect piracy. The proposed method gives an exclusive solution for the features based birthmark of software and is then further used for comparisons of birthmark. The results of the proposed study show the effectiveness in terms of accuracy and efficiency to compare the features based software

Delignification of oil palm empty fruit bunch using chemical and microbial pretreatment methods

In this study, Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch (OPEFB) were subjected to chemical and microbial pretreatment for bioconversion of lignocellulosic biomass to fermentable sugars. For chemical pretreatment, 2% (w/v) sodium hydroxide (NaOH) was been used for delignification while for microbial pretreatment, Phanerochaete chrysosporium ATCC 32629 was used as model microorganism by liquid and solid state culture techniques. Microbial pretreatment showed significant lignin removal with longer delignification time as compared to chemical pretreatment. For the same value of Klason lignin, delignification by chemical pretreatment need only 3 h as compared to 7 days for microbial pretreatment. The optimum value of Klason lignin for microbial pretreatment and chemical pretreatment were 5.89 and 5.93, respectively. In conclusion, delignification of OPEFB can be achieved via chemical and microbial pretreatment

The Seroepidemiology of Haemophilus influenzae Type B Prior to Introduction of an Immunization Programme in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) is now recognized as an important pathogen in Asia. To evaluate disease susceptibility, and as a marker of Hib transmission before routine immunization was introduced in Kathmandu, 71 participants aged 7 months-77 years were recruited and 15 cord blood samples were collected for analysis of anti-polyribosylribitol phosphate antibody levels by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Only 20% of children under 5 years old had levels considered protective (>0.15 µg/ml), rising to 83% of 15-54 year-olds. Prior to introduction of Hib vaccine in Kathmandu, the majority of young children were susceptible to disease

New genetic loci implicated in fasting glucose homeostasis and their impact on type 2 diabetes risk.

Levels of circulating glucose are tightly regulated. To identify new loci influencing glycemic traits, we performed meta-analyses of 21 genome-wide association studies informative for fasting glucose, fasting insulin and indices of beta-cell function (HOMA-B) and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) in up to 46,186 nondiabetic participants. Follow-up of 25 loci in up to 76,558 additional subjects identified 16 loci associated with fasting glucose and HOMA-B and two loci associated with fasting insulin and HOMA-IR. These include nine loci newly associated with fasting glucose (in or near ADCY5, MADD, ADRA2A, CRY2, FADS1, GLIS3, SLC2A2, PROX1 and C2CD4B) and one influencing fasting insulin and HOMA-IR (near IGF1). We also demonstrated association of ADCY5, PROX1, GCK, GCKR and DGKB-TMEM195 with type 2 diabetes. Within these loci, likely biological candidate genes influence signal transduction, cell proliferation, development, glucose-sensing and circadian regulation. Our results demonstrate that genetic studies of glycemic traits can identify type 2 diabetes risk loci, as well as loci containing gene variants that are associated with a modest elevation in glucose levels but are not associated with overt diabetes

Multicentre randomised controlled trial of a group psychological intervention for postnatal depression in British mothers of South Asian origin (ROSHNI-2): study protocol

Background: In the UK, postnatal depression is more common in British SouthAsian women than White Caucasion women. Cognitive–behavioural therapy (CBT) is recommended as a first-line treatment, but there is little evidence for the adaptation of CBT for postnatal depression to ensure its applicability to different ethnic groups.Aims: To evaluate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of a CBT-based positive health programme group intervention in British South Asian women with postnatal depression.Method: We have designed a multicentre, two-arm, partially nested, randomised controlled trial with 4- and 12-month follow-up, comparing a 12-session group CBT-based intervention (positive health programme) plus treatment as usual with treatment as usual alone, for British South Asian women with postnatal depression. Participants will be recruited from primary care and appropriate community venues in areas of high South Asian density across the UK. It has been estimated that randomising 720 participants (360 into each group) will be sufficient to detect a clinically important difference between a 55% recovery rate in the intervention group and a 40% recovery rate in the treatmentas-usual group. An economic analysis will estimate the costeffectiveness of the positive health programme. A qualitative process evaluation will explore barriers and enablers to study participation and examine the acceptability and impact of the programme from the perspective of British South Asian women and other key stakeholders