Artificial Intelligence & Its Applications

Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative technology with profound implications for various industries and human endeavors. This abstract explores the diverse applications of AI across different domains, highlighting its potential to revolutionize traditional practices, drive innovation, and enhance human capabilities. The abstract begins by providing an overview of artificial intelligence, including its underlying principles, techniques, and capabilities. It then delves into specific applications of AI across industries such as healthcare, finance, manufacturing, transportation, and education. In healthcare, AI-powered diagnostic tools, predictive analytics, and personalized treatment recommendations are improving patient outcomes, reducing costs, and advancing medical research. In finance, AI algorithms are optimizing investment strategies, detecting fraud, and automating customer service, leading to greater efficiency and security in financial transactions. Moreover, in manufacturing, AI-enabled automation, predictive maintenance, and quality control systems are optimizing production processes, reducing waste, and increasing productivity. In transportation, AI-driven autonomous vehicles, traffic management systems, and predictive maintenance solutions are revolutionizing mobility, improving safety, and reducing congestion. Furthermore, AI is transforming education through personalized learning platforms, adaptive tutoring systems, and intelligent educational content creation tools, enhancing student engagement, and facilitating lifelong learning. The abstract also discusses the ethical, social, and economic implications of AI adoption, including concerns about data privacy, algorithmic bias, and job displacement. It emphasizes the importance of responsible AI development and deployment to ensure equitable access, transparency, and accountability in AI-driven systems

Thermal conductivity enhancement of graphene polymer composites through edge functionalization and expansion of graphite

In this work, we report an ultra-high enhancement of 4030% in thermal conductivity of polyetherimide/graphene nanocomposite (k = 9.5 Wm-1K-1) prepared through the use of expanded graphite (EG) with hydrogen peroxide as an intercalating agent at 10 weights% composition (k of pure polyetherimide ~ 0.23 Wm-1K-1). This value represents the highest thermal conductivity ever measured in a polymer composite at this low filler loading and is more than a factor of 2 higher relative to earlier reported results. This ultra-high thermal conductivity value is found to be due to an expanded graphite mediated interconnected graphene network throughout the composite, establishing a percolative environment that enables highly efficient thermal transport in the composite. Comparative studies were also performed using sodium chlorate as an intercalating agent. At 10 wt% composition, sodium chlorate intercalated expanded graphite was found to lead to a smaller enhancement of 2190% in k of composite. These results highlight the distinct advantage of hydrogen peroxide as an intercalating agent in enhancing thermal conductivity. Detailed characterization performed to elucidate this advantage, revealed that hydrogen peroxide led to primarily edge oxidation of graphene sheets within expanded graphite, leaving the basal plane intact, thus preserving the ultra-high in-plane thermal conductivity of ~ 2000 Wm-1K-1. Sodium chlorate, on the other hand, led to a higher degree of oxidation, with a large number of oxygen groups on basal plane of graphene, dramatically lowering its in-plane thermal conductivity. To directly shed light on the effect of intercalating agents on thermal conductivity of graphene itself, we prepared expanded graphite paper by compressing expanded graphite particles together. Thermal diffusivity of hydrogen-peroxide prepared expanded graphite paper was measured to be 9.5 mm2/s while that of sodium chlorate case measured to be 6.7 mm2/s, thus directly confirming the beneficial impact of hydrogen peroxide on k of graphene itself. This study is the first to address the role of intercalating agents on k of expanded graphite/polymer composites and has led to the discovery of hydrogen peroxide as an effective intercalating agent for achieving ultra-high thermal conductivity values. The work is also the first to address the comparison between edge and basal plane functionalization of graphene for enhancement of k of graphene-nanoplatelet /polyetherimide (GnP/PEI) composites. Graphene nanoplatelets (GnPs) comprise of multiple layers of graphene stacked parallel to each other. Edge functionalization enables the advantage of coupling the edges of all sheets of GnP with the embedding polymer, thus enabling the entire nanoplatelet to efficiently conduct heat through the composite. Basal-plane functionalization only couples the outermost layers of GnP with the polymer, thus causing only part of the nanoplatelet to be effective in conducting heat. Another very important advantage of edge-functionalization lies in leaving the basal plane of graphene intact. This preserves the ultra-high in-plane k of graphene (k~ 2000 Wm-1K-1). Basal plane functionalization, on the other hand, introduces a large number of defects in the basal plane of graphene dramatically lowering its intrinsic k value. Molecular dynamics simulations have revealed that even 5% functionalization of the basal plane can lower graphene thermal conductivity by as much as 90%. In this work, we experimentally realized the outlined advantages of edge-functionalization on the enhancement of k. Edge functionalization was achieved by oxidizing graphene with an excess of carboxyl groups through use of sulfuric acid, sodium chlorate and hydrogen peroxide. Carboxyl groups are known to preferentially attach to edges of graphene leading to edge oxidation. Basal plane oxidation was achieved through Hummer’s method by using sulfuric acid and potassium permanganate. Measurements reveal edge-oxidized graphene to enhance composite k by 18%, while basal-plane oxidized graphene reduced composite k by 57% at 10 wt% composition, clearly outlining the advantage of edge-functionalization on enhancement of thermal conductivity. Detailed characterization was performed to confirm edge versus basal plane oxidation. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed greater fraction of carboxyl groups in edge-oxidized graphene, while basal plane oxidized graphene had larger fraction of hydroxyl/epoxy oxygen groups. 2D Raman mapping was used to obtain ID/IG ratios separately on edge and basal plane of GnPs. Edge oxidized graphene demonstrated higher ID/IG ratio on edge, while basal plane oxidized graphene demonstrated higher ID/IG ratio on basal plane. These studies for the first time, comprehensively demonstrate that edge functionalization can lead to superior thermal conductivity enhancement. Unique breakthroughs outlined in this thesis will lead to promising new avenues to achieve next-generation ultra-high thermal conductivity polymer-graphene nanocomposites

Effectiveness of social media in promoting tourism in Bangladesh

Thesis(Master) -- KDI School: Master of Development Policy, 2020In this paper, we will be scrutinizing the efficacy of web-based social networking sites in the tourism industry of Bangladesh. Alongside that, we will be exploring the fact if social media usage can effectively change the condition in the current tourism sector of the country. The paper will be putting a relation among the variables of the tourism industry to navigate the scopes for the application of the social media platforms. Consequently, the importance of brand image formation and using it as an essential tool for marketing will be emphasized in the paper. The goal is to explore the tourists’ perception, attitude, satisfaction, loyalty, and intention to visit Bangladesh using social networking sites as a promotional channel. In order to implement the plans regarding the sectors it is very necessary to form a partnership among the native start-ups that have grown centering the tourism sites and the digital marketing firms. The transparent regional and central governmental relation is essential as well. There needs to be certain establishments in the tourist regions where the businessmen are going to consult for any necessities and consequently reaching up to the central department for tourism. This paper will study all these implications after exploring the mentioned perceptions of the tourists.I. Introduction II. Concept of Tourism III. Literature Review IV. Research Objective V. Research Methodology VI. Cognitive, Effective and Symbolic Perception VII. Hypothesis Development VIII. Theoretical Background IX. Data Analysis and Interpretations X. ConclusionmasterpublishedTasnim TARANNU

Error-Floors of the 802.3an LDPC Code for Noise Assisted Decoding

In digital communication, information is sent as bits, which is corrupted by the noise present in wired/wireless medium known as the channel. The Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) codes are a family of error correction codes used in communication systems to detect and correct erroneous data at the receiver. Data is encoded with error correction coding at the transmitter and decoded at the receiver. The Noisy Gradient Descent BitFlip (NGDBF) decoding algorithm is a new algorithm with excellent decoding performance with relatively low implementation requirements. This dissertation aims to characterize the performance of the NGDBF algorithm. A simple improvement over NGDBF called the Re-decoded NGDBF (R-NGDBF) is proposed to enhance the performance of NGDBF decoding algorithm. A general method to estimate the decoding parameters of NGDBF is presented. The estimated parameters are then verified in a hardware implementation of the decoder to validate the accuracy of the estimation technique

DURABILITY PROPERTIES OF CONCRETE WITH 100 PERCENT COARSE RECYCLED CONCRETE AGGREGATES

The supplies of concrete aggregates from natural sources are rapidly reducing. Recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) are produced by crushing the concrete obtained from demolished concrete structures. The purpose of this study is to determine the durability properties of concrete with 100% recycled concrete coarse aggregates and relate the durability of such concrete to the physical, mechanical, and durability properties of RCA and the RCA parent concrete. The correlations of several properties are determined by developing model equations to predict RCA properties. The parent concrete is crushed and graded at two nominal maximum sizes, 1 and 0.75 , to determine the RCA production effects on new concrete. Six varieties of RCA were manufactured for the study. Concrete mixtures with RCA coarse aggregate have water-to-cement ratios of 0.38 and 0.48. Physical properties of aggregates tested in the lab include bulk density, specific gravity, absorption, and residual mortar. The concrete durability is obtained by measurement of resistance to degradation, resistivity test, density, absorption, and voids in the hardened concrete. A regression model for the surface resistivity of RCA showed that the surface resistivity increases when the absorption of RCA, w/c of concrete, and the volume of mortar decrease. The research results contribute to increasing RCA use through an improved understanding of its influence on concrete durability

Natural Language Based Object-Oriented Software Modelling

Deriving useful information from natural language has been a task of much relevance for fields ranging from machine translation, software modelling, and artificial intelligence and so on. Sufficient literature is available on utilisation of grammatical inference in object oriented software modelling. The major advancements in this field along with the challenges faced by researchers as well as practitioners have been outlined. An amalgamation of ideas taken from existing theories and models along with proposed methodology has been worked out so as to utilise natural language text in the field of object oriented analysis and design. The very first step of Natural Language (NL) text processing is Parts-of-Speech (POS) tagging. Grammatical rules, some already existing and some deduced through careful observation of NL structures has been extensively discussed and implemented. After appropriate tagging the words to their respective parts of speech the objective is to recognise the classes among them. The classes along with their attributes and methods were listed out. These classes essentially are identified as part of the major functionalities in an information system. The information system consists of requirement specification given by clients for their target software. Comprehending client specification is a time consuming process. Therefore analysing classes from the specification provided becomes mandatory. Several ambiguities and redundancy in class identification were faced and were effectively resolved. Final classes from the given requirement specification were found out. Subsequently the knowledge acquired from the same is put to use while analysing these functionalities through various UML (Unified Modelling Language) diagrams. There are several UML tools that serve the purpose of drawing these diagrams. But the motive is to make the entire process of deriving the UML diagrams in a logical and automated manner

Utility of paperless partogram in labor management

Background: Partograph use in labor has revolutionized the obstetric care. WHO recommends universal use of WHO modified partograph, which in clinical setup is less often used. Debdas (2006) proposed the paperless partogram which is designed for use by clinician/nurses/midwives as it is very simple and low skill method. The present study is proposed to evaluate the effectiveness of paperless partogram as a bedside tool and its comparison with WHO modified partograph.Methods: It was a prospective analytical study done in department of obstetrics and gynecology, JNMCH, AMU, Aligarh from September 2017 to July 2019 and included 400 pregnant women at term, divided into 2 groups of 100 each Group A (paperless partogram) and Group B (WHO modified partograph) and their labor events were followed.Results: Out of 200 women that were included in each group, maximum women were multigravida, 58.5% in group A and 61.5% women in Group B. Mean age in Group A was 24.68±3.8years and Group B was 24.93±3.75 years. The mean duration of labor in Group A was 3.57±2.20 hours and Group B was 3.40±2.03 hours. There were 87.5% of women who delivered before alert ETD, likewise in Group B; women who delivered before alert line are 88.5%. These differences were statically not significant. Perinatal outcome was also similar in both groups.Conclusions: In our study, the paperless study was found to be as efficient as WHO modified partograph for management of labor. The mean delivery time was 3.57 hours similar to WHO partograph of difference between alert and action line. Thus, for resource poor setting like India with overburdened population paperless partogram can be used as an alternative to WHO modified partograph which is complex and time consuming

Hyperreactio leuteinalis: benign tumour associated with pregnancy mimicking ovarian malignancy

Hyperreactio leuteinalis refers to pregnancy related enlargement of B/L ovaries rarely unilateral ovary, moderate to marked size due to multiple theca leutein cysts. It is a rare finding associated with pregnancy seen commonly in multiple gestation, GTDs and fetal abnormalities: viz hydrops. It is caused by elevated B-hcg level. We report a case of 28 years old female, primi with 13 spontaneously conceived weeks pregnancy who presented to ANC OPD for regular check-up and vague abdominal discomfort. USG revealed a large right sided ovarian mass, solid cystic in appearance pushing the uterus to left side and upwards. Staging laparotomy was done at 14 weeks viewing it to be a malignant mass. Unilateral right sided oophorectomy was done along with biopsy taken from left ovary. On microscopic histological examination diagnosis of hyperreactio leuteinalis unilateral ovary was made. Hyperreactio leuteinalis mimicking ovarian malignancy on USG results in unnecessary surgical intervention