Obstacle avoidance and distance measurement for unmanned aerial vehicles using monocular vision

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or commonly known as drones are better suited for "dull, dirty, or dangerous" missions than manned aircraft. The drone can be either remotely controlled or it can travel as per predefined path using complex automation algorithm built during its development. In general, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is the combination of Drone in the air and control system on the ground. Design of an UAV means integrating hardware, software, sensors, actuators, communication systems and payloads into a single unit for the application involved. To make it completely autonomous, the most challenging problem faced by UAVs is obstacle avoidance. In this paper, a novel method to detect frontal obstacles using monocular camera is proposed. Computer Vision algorithms like Scale Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT) and Speeded Up Robust Feature (SURF) are used to detect frontal obstacles and then distance of the obstacle from camera is calculated. To meet the defined objectives, designed system is tested with self-developed videos which are captured by DJI Phantom 4 pro

A STUDY ON ANTIMICROBIAL SENSITIVITY AND COST ANALYSIS OF ANTIBIOTICS IN PEDIATRIC UNIT AT A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL.

 Objectives: (1) To determine the antimicrobial susceptibility pattern in pediatrics, (2) to identify the pattern of empirical antibiotic usage, (3) to determine the cost analysis of generic antibiotic usage pattern, (4) to assess the different dosage forms of antibiotics.Methods: A retrospective observational study was carried out. The study population included the medical records of children aged day 1–15 years with bacterial infection who got admitted in the pediatric department of the hospital. The average cost for each generic dosage form of antibiotic was calculated.Result: Among the 176 cases taken for the study, sepsis (35.8%) was found to be the most common disease. Bacterial infection showed gender predominance in males (62.5%) and occurrence of sepsis was highly found in age groups of 0–1 years (55.68%). Among the 14 causative organisms, methicillin-resistant coagulase negative staphylococci (61.93%) was predominant in Gram-positive and Escherichia coli (38.06%) for Gram-negative. Highly prescribed drug for empirical therapy was considered to be amikacin (39.20%). Widely prescribed antibiotics were amikacin (21%), ceftriaxone (15.1%), ampicillin (12.34%) and meropenem (9.57%), among which meropenem was found to be of high cost.Conclusion: It should be taken care that the drug should be given not only based on the sensitivity pattern but can also consider the economic affordability of the patient, with reference to existing brands from the formulary. This would help in reducing the burden of health-care cost for the patients

First record of a Leucosid crab<em> Paranursia abbreviata</em> Bell, 1855 from Devi estuary, Odisha Coast, India

117-119A leucosid crab Paranursia abbreviata Bell, 1855 is recorded for the first time from Odisha albeit from coastal waters of the Indian peninsula after half a century. Present study is an effort towards documentation of the species from Odisha, indicative of a range extension between the Coromandal coast and Gulf of Martaban, Myanmar

An Introduction to Mobile Computing: A Growth for Security

As too many people fancy the disparate services brought by mobile computing, it is conformist a worldwide verge in today’s world. At an equivalent time, securing mobile computing has been paid continuous increasing attention. During this article, the safety problems in mobile computing setting square measure mentioned. This paper helps to research the safety risks confronted by mobile computing and gift the present security mechanisms

The F0F1-ATP Synthase Complex Contains Novel Subunits and Is Essential for Procyclic Trypanosoma brucei

The mitochondrial F0F1 ATP synthase is an essential multi-subunit protein complex in the vast majority of eukaryotes but little is known about its composition and role in Trypanosoma brucei, an early diverged eukaryotic pathogen. We purified the F0F1 ATP synthase by a combination of affinity purification, immunoprecipitation and blue-native gel electrophoresis and characterized its composition and function. We identified 22 proteins of which five are related to F1 subunits, three to F0 subunits, and 14 which have no obvious homology to proteins outside the kinetoplastids. RNAi silencing of expression of the F1 α subunit or either of the two novel proteins showed that they are each essential for the viability of procyclic (insect stage) cells and are important for the structural integrity of the F0F1-ATP synthase complex. We also observed a dramatic decrease in ATP production by oxidative phosphorylation after silencing expression of each of these proteins while substrate phosphorylation was not severely affected. Our procyclic T. brucei cells were sensitive to the ATP synthase inhibitor oligomycin even in the presence of glucose contrary to earlier reports. Hence, the two novel proteins appear essential for the structural organization of the functional complex and regulation of mitochondrial energy generation in these organisms is more complicated than previously thought

Global, regional, and national burden of disorders affecting the nervous system, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BackgroundDisorders affecting the nervous system are diverse and include neurodevelopmental disorders, late-life neurodegeneration, and newly emergent conditions, such as cognitive impairment following COVID-19. Previous publications from the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor Study estimated the burden of 15 neurological conditions in 2015 and 2016, but these analyses did not include neurodevelopmental disorders, as defined by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-11, or a subset of cases of congenital, neonatal, and infectious conditions that cause neurological damage. Here, we estimate nervous system health loss caused by 37 unique conditions and their associated risk factors globally, regionally, and nationally from 1990 to 2021.MethodsWe estimated mortality, prevalence, years lived with disability (YLDs), years of life lost (YLLs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), with corresponding 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs), by age and sex in 204 countries and territories, from 1990 to 2021. We included morbidity and deaths due to neurological conditions, for which health loss is directly due to damage to the CNS or peripheral nervous system. We also isolated neurological health loss from conditions for which nervous system morbidity is a consequence, but not the primary feature, including a subset of congenital conditions (ie, chromosomal anomalies and congenital birth defects), neonatal conditions (ie, jaundice, preterm birth, and sepsis), infectious diseases (ie, COVID-19, cystic echinococcosis, malaria, syphilis, and Zika virus disease), and diabetic neuropathy. By conducting a sequela-level analysis of the health outcomes for these conditions, only cases where nervous system damage occurred were included, and YLDs were recalculated to isolate the non-fatal burden directly attributable to nervous system health loss. A comorbidity correction was used to calculate total prevalence of all conditions that affect the nervous system combined.FindingsGlobally, the 37 conditions affecting the nervous system were collectively ranked as the leading group cause of DALYs in 2021 (443 million, 95% UI 378–521), affecting 3·40 billion (3·20–3·62) individuals (43·1%, 40·5–45·9 of the global population); global DALY counts attributed to these conditions increased by 18·2% (8·7–26·7) between 1990 and 2021. Age-standardised rates of deaths per 100 000 people attributed to these conditions decreased from 1990 to 2021 by 33·6% (27·6–38·8), and age-standardised rates of DALYs attributed to these conditions decreased by 27·0% (21·5–32·4). Age-standardised prevalence was almost stable, with a change of 1·5% (0·7–2·4). The ten conditions with the highest age-standardised DALYs in 2021 were stroke, neonatal encephalopathy, migraine, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, diabetic neuropathy, meningitis, epilepsy, neurological complications due to preterm birth, autism spectrum disorder, and nervous system cancer.InterpretationAs the leading cause of overall disease burden in the world, with increasing global DALY counts, effective prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation strategies for disorders affecting the nervous system are needed

Global burden of 288 causes of death and life expectancy decomposition in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BACKGROUND Regular, detailed reporting on population health by underlying cause of death is fundamental for public health decision making. Cause-specific estimates of mortality and the subsequent effects on life expectancy worldwide are valuable metrics to gauge progress in reducing mortality rates. These estimates are particularly important following large-scale mortality spikes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When systematically analysed, mortality rates and life expectancy allow comparisons of the consequences of causes of death globally and over time, providing a nuanced understanding of the effect of these causes on global populations. METHODS The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 cause-of-death analysis estimated mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) from 288 causes of death by age-sex-location-year in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations for each year from 1990 until 2021. The analysis used 56 604 data sources, including data from vital registration and verbal autopsy as well as surveys, censuses, surveillance systems, and cancer registries, among others. As with previous GBD rounds, cause-specific death rates for most causes were estimated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model-a modelling tool developed for GBD to assess the out-of-sample predictive validity of different statistical models and covariate permutations and combine those results to produce cause-specific mortality estimates-with alternative strategies adapted to model causes with insufficient data, substantial changes in reporting over the study period, or unusual epidemiology. YLLs were computed as the product of the number of deaths for each cause-age-sex-location-year and the standard life expectancy at each age. As part of the modelling process, uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated using the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles from a 1000-draw distribution for each metric. We decomposed life expectancy by cause of death, location, and year to show cause-specific effects on life expectancy from 1990 to 2021. We also used the coefficient of variation and the fraction of population affected by 90% of deaths to highlight concentrations of mortality. Findings are reported in counts and age-standardised rates. Methodological improvements for cause-of-death estimates in GBD 2021 include the expansion of under-5-years age group to include four new age groups, enhanced methods to account for stochastic variation of sparse data, and the inclusion of COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality-which includes excess mortality associated with the pandemic, excluding COVID-19, lower respiratory infections, measles, malaria, and pertussis. For this analysis, 199 new country-years of vital registration cause-of-death data, 5 country-years of surveillance data, 21 country-years of verbal autopsy data, and 94 country-years of other data types were added to those used in previous GBD rounds. FINDINGS The leading causes of age-standardised deaths globally were the same in 2019 as they were in 1990; in descending order, these were, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections. In 2021, however, COVID-19 replaced stroke as the second-leading age-standardised cause of death, with 94·0 deaths (95% UI 89·2-100·0) per 100 000 population. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the rankings of the leading five causes, lowering stroke to the third-leading and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to the fourth-leading position. In 2021, the highest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa (271·0 deaths [250·1-290·7] per 100 000 population) and Latin America and the Caribbean (195·4 deaths [182·1-211·4] per 100 000 population). The lowest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 were in the high-income super-region (48·1 deaths [47·4-48·8] per 100 000 population) and southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania (23·2 deaths [16·3-37·2] per 100 000 population). Globally, life expectancy steadily improved between 1990 and 2019 for 18 of the 22 investigated causes. Decomposition of global and regional life expectancy showed the positive effect that reductions in deaths from enteric infections, lower respiratory infections, stroke, and neonatal deaths, among others have contributed to improved survival over the study period. However, a net reduction of 1·6 years occurred in global life expectancy between 2019 and 2021, primarily due to increased death rates from COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality. Life expectancy was highly variable between super-regions over the study period, with southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania gaining 8·3 years (6·7-9·9) overall, while having the smallest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 (0·4 years). The largest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean (3·6 years). Additionally, 53 of the 288 causes of death were highly concentrated in locations with less than 50% of the global population as of 2021, and these causes of death became progressively more concentrated since 1990, when only 44 causes showed this pattern. The concentration phenomenon is discussed heuristically with respect to enteric and lower respiratory infections, malaria, HIV/AIDS, neonatal disorders, tuberculosis, and measles. INTERPRETATION Long-standing gains in life expectancy and reductions in many of the leading causes of death have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the adverse effects of which were spread unevenly among populations. Despite the pandemic, there has been continued progress in combatting several notable causes of death, leading to improved global life expectancy over the study period. Each of the seven GBD super-regions showed an overall improvement from 1990 and 2021, obscuring the negative effect in the years of the pandemic. Additionally, our findings regarding regional variation in causes of death driving increases in life expectancy hold clear policy utility. Analyses of shifting mortality trends reveal that several causes, once widespread globally, are now increasingly concentrated geographically. These changes in mortality concentration, alongside further investigation of changing risks, interventions, and relevant policy, present an important opportunity to deepen our understanding of mortality-reduction strategies. Examining patterns in mortality concentration might reveal areas where successful public health interventions have been implemented. Translating these successes to locations where certain causes of death remain entrenched can inform policies that work to improve life expectancy for people everywhere. FUNDING Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Analysis of reducing common mode noise of conducted emission in a switching power converter considering parasitic effects

Most automotive electronic components can cause electromagnetic interference, that can cause power electronic circuits to become unstable. As per electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) standards, these electronic circuits should meet the specifications which are not achieved under some conditions. In this paper, the conducted emissions (CEs) are generated due to the switching of a buck converter, which often occurs in automotive electronics. The noise source was found to be due to the presence of common mode currents which largely affects the performance of EMC. Two types of filtering techniques were analysed and designed, and the results were compared to find an effective filtering solution to mitigate the effects of CE due to a common mode noise for the frequency range from 150 kHz to 108 MHz according to the International Special Committee on Radio Interference (CISPR25) standard. The capacitive and parasitic impedance were calculated and then used in the simulation. Finally, the simulated and measured results are presented. The noise level can be minimized by as much as 50 dB, which is an efficient noise reduction value

A STUDY ON THE EFFECT OF METHANOLIC EXTRACTS OF Maranta arundinacea LEAVES AGAINST URINARY TRACT INFECTION CAUSING PATHOGENS

Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) has become a major socio-economic burden because of the multi-drug resistance and the high frequency of repeated use. The goal of the research paper is to describe the use of natural therapies in the treatment and management of UTIs. Even if conventional medicine is less effective than herbal remedies, further research is needed to understand the phytoconstituents and their mechanisms of action that are responsible for the treatment and management of UTI. Many therapeutic benefits, including antibacterial activity, are attributed to Maranta arundinacea. Therefore, commonly known UTI pathogens like Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus sublitis, Enterococcus sp., Salmonella paratyphi, Pseudomonas aeroginosa, Proteus mirabilis, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, Salmonella typhi, and Enterobacter sps. were evaluated by phytochemical analysis and in vitro antimicrobial activity of this plant The antibacterial activity was studied by dilution and diffusion assays. The results of this study conclude that arrowroot methanolic extract can inhibit the growth of pathogens causing UTI with the most effective concentration is 80 µg/ml