Biology of citrus whitefly, Dialeurodes citri (Ashmead) on Citrus reticulate (Mandarin) var. Kinnow

Screen house studies on biology of citrus whitefly, Dialeurodes citri (Ashmead) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), were conducted during 2014-15 in screen house of Department of Entomology College of Agriculture, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar on citrus mandarin (var. Kinnow). Results on biological studies of D. citri revealed that female on an average laid 151±42.99 eggs with an incubation period of 13.3±1.89 days. The mean duration of first, second and third instar nymphs were 13.1±1.77, 11.1±2.05 and 15.4±2.41 days, respectively. The pupal duration was 108.3±4.33 days. Adult Male lived for 16.5±1.96 days whereas adult female lived for 18.6±2.06 days. The male whitefly completed its life cycle in 178.8±6.73 days whereas the corresponding period for female whitefly was 180±7.02 days. This study established that biology of the insect is rather a stable trait because no significant variation was observed when compared with decade old reports despite the fact that agro-ecology including weather phenomenon have undergone significant change in the last decade

Analyzing Privacy Protection in Personalized Web Search

Personalized Web Search (PWS) is very effective in improving the quality of search services on the internet. The information on internet has increased day by day and user demand for the accurate result, for the accurate result the user has option to PWS. PWS works on the basis of information that user provide to search provider, the current result based on that information. This paper model makes use of hierarchical user profiles, it simultaneously maintaining privacy protection required by the user. Greedy DP (Discriminating Power) & Greedy IL (Information Loss) are used for runtime generalization and it have online prediction that query requires personalization or not

Recognition of single-stage and multiple power quality events using Hilbert–Huang transform and probabilistic neural network

This article presents the Hilbert–Huang transform based algorithm for recognizing the single-stage and multiple power quality events comprising voltage sag, swell, notches, spikes, harmonics, transients, and flicker. The change of the state during the course of the single-stage power quality event is called a multiple power quality event. Hilbert–Huang transform is an adaptive signal processing technique that combines empirical mode decomposition and Hilbert spectral analysis and makes it an attractive tool for analysis of power quality events. A synthetic database of power quality events is generated in MATLAB (The MathWorks, Natick, Massachusetts, USA) as per Standard IEEE-1995. The significant features are extracted from the instantaneous amplitude, phase, and frequency contours of intrinsic mode functions of each disturbance, and the events are classified using the probabilistic neural network technique

Neural network controlled grid interfaced solar photovoltaic power generation

This study deals with a NN (neural-network)-based control algorithm of a grid interfaced SPV (solar photovoltaic) generating system. The proposed grid interfaced SPV generating system utilises a NN control algorithm-based on the LMS (least mean-square), known as Adaline (adaptive linear element) to estimate reference grid currents. A DC-DC boost converter is used for achieving the maximum power point tracking between SPV and DC bus of four-leg VSC (voltage source converter) interfaced to a three-phase, four-wire distribution system. The four-leg VSC of SPV generating system is also used for the compensation of the reactive power for zero voltage regulation or for power factor correction along with load balancing, elimination of load harmonics currents and mitigation of neutral current at PCC (point of common coupling) in three-phase four-wire distribution system. The DC bus of VSC is supported by a capacitor which is fed by SPV energy through a DC-DC boost converter. A laboratory prototype of proposed grid interfaced SPV generating system is developed to validate its developed model and the NN-based control algorithm

Higher defibrillation threshold in methamphetamine cardiomyopathy patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillator

Introduction: Identification of patients with an increased risk of high defibrillation thresholds (DFTs) is important in planning implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) procedures. Clinical observations have suggested that patients with methamphetamine cardiomyopathy (MACMP) have significantly elevated defibrillation thresholds. We hypothesized that MACMP patients would have higher DFT thresholds than controls and would require procedural changes during ICD implantation to accommodate higher thresholds. Methods: We identified consecutive patients with MACMP undergoing ICD implantation at the academic center from 2003 to 2007. We then compared DFTs against age-and sex-matched controls. Results: The MACMP (n = 10) group showed significantly increased DFT thresholds (23.7 ± 6.7 J) compared with age and sex-matched controls (14.5 ± 4.6 J, p < 0.005). Additionally, patients with MACMP had evidence of more severe congestive heart failure, with increased B-type natrieutic protein (BNP) levels (1173 ± 784 vs 260 ± 349, p = 0.02) and decreased left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (17.8 ± 9.4 vs 35.9 ± 15.2, p = 0.02). MACMP patients required high output devices than controls (50% versus 0%, p = 0.03). Differences between groups remained significant despite adjusting for LVEF. Conclusions: Planning for ICD implantation should take into consideration a history of methamphetamine abuse, mandating DFT testing and empiric consideration of high output devices for such patients. Keywords: Methamphetamine cardiomyopathy, Implantable cardioverter-defibrillatior, Defibrillation threshold testing, B-type natriuretic peptide, Ejection fractio

Whole-body 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) for staging locally advanced breast cancer: A prospective study from a tertiary cancer centre in south India

Background & objectives: Locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) is associated with substantial risk of occult metastases. The patients with LABC have high rate of systemic relapse, suggesting inadequacy of the current conventional staging in detecting the occult metastatic spread. 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET/CT) is a new modality in the staging of breast cancer patients. Hence, this study was conducted to evaluate the role of 18F-FDG PET/CT in initial staging of LABC and to compare it with conventional methods. Methods: This prospective study included biopsy-confirmed female patients diagnosed with LABC meeting the selection criteria and attending surgical, medical and radiation oncology departments of a tertiary care centre in south India, from April 2013 to December 2014. Conventional workup included serum chemistry, mammogram, bone scan, contrast-enhanced CT (CECT) chest and upper abdomen and ultrasound abdomen and pelvis. All patients following conventional workup underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT. Results: In this study, 61 women with LABC underwent both conventional workup and 18F-FGD PET/CT. The 18F-FDG PET/CT, in comparison to conventional workup, revealed unsuspected N3 nodal disease in 11 more patients, revealed distant metastasis in seven more patients and also detected extra sites of metastasis in five patients. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy of PET/CT to detect distant metastasis were 95, 98, 95, 98 and 97 per cent, respectively, whereas the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy of conventional imaging to detect distant metastasis were 65, 93, 81, 84 and 84 per cent, respectively. Interpretation & conclusions: The 18F-FDG PET/CT was found to be more accurate than conventional imaging for staging and modified stage and treatment in 30 and 38 per cent of patients, respectively. It was particularly useful in detecting occult distant metastasis and N3 nodal disease with an added advantage of examining whole body in single session. However, CECT chest was superior over 18F-FDG PET/CT for detecting pulmonary metastasis

Adaptive noise cancellation based harmonic elimination in grid integrated photovoltaic system

In this study, an adaptive noise cancellation technique is applied to eliminate harmonics in a grid integrated solar photovoltaic (PV) system under non-linear load. A neuron is used to extract a fundamental component from polluted load currents. The proposed system serves multiple functions, as improvement of power quality at point of common coupling including other connected non-linear loads, extraction of maximum power from a given PV array and feeding extracted solar power into the distribution system. The multiple functionality at a time helps in fast recovery of cost of power converters. The proposed control algorithm is based on adaptive detection of fundamental component. The proposed control algorithm presents an improved sensitivity for fast load changes. This proposed two-stage PV power generating system is designed, modelled and tested to provide the solutions of several power quality problems in three-phase four-wire distribution system