Online signature verification using hybrid wavelet transform

Online signature verification is a prominent behavioral biometric trait. It offers many dynamic features along with static two dimensional signature image. In this paper, the Hybrid Wavelet Transform (HWT) was generated using Kronecker product of two orthogonal transform such as DCT, DHT, Haar, Hadamard and Kekre. HWT has the ability to analyze the signal at global as well as local level like wavelet transform. HWT-1 and -2 was applied on the first 128 samples of the pressure parameter and first 16 samples of the output were used as feature vector for signature verification. This feature vector is given to Left to Right HMM classifier to identify the genuine and forged signature. For HWT-1, DCT HAAR offers best FAR and FRR. . For HWT-2, KEKRE 128 offers best FAR and FRR. HWT-1 offers better performance than HWT- 2 in terms of FAR and FRR. As the number of states increase, the performance of the system improves. For HWT - 1, KEKRE 128 offers best performance at 275 symbols whereas for HWT - 2, best performance is at 475 symbols by KEKRE 128

Development of Bioassays Based on Nucleic Acid Amplification and Next-Generation Sequencing

Adulteration and mis-labeling of honey to mask its true origin have become a global concern. Pollen microscopy, the current gold standard for identifying the geographical origins of honey, is very laborious and requires extensive training. In addition, filtered honey cannot be identified by pollen examination and can be spiked with pollen from a more favorable plant to disguise its origins. We targeted the nuclear ribosomal ITS2 region of plant DNA, which is known to support genus-level discrimination. We purified pollen-free DNA from honey, filtered or centrifuged to remove all pollens, using three different methods: (i) anti-dsDNA antibodies coupled to magnetic particles; (ii) Q Sepharose anion exchanger; and (iii) ceramic hydroxyapatite, Type I. The ITS2 region of the captured pollen-free DNA was PCR-amplified and subjected to next-generation sequencing (NGS). Q Sepharose showed the greatest capacity to capture trace pollen-free DNA and was applied to DNA isolation from two additional honey samples. Additionally, using pollen DNA barcoding and NGS, we have developed a method to authenticate Manuka honey, a high-value product native to New Zealand. We targeted the nuclear ribosomal ITS2 region of plant DNA of twenty-one different manuka samples. Using our in-house developed bioinformatics pipeline, we have successfully developed an NGS-based quantitative technique for measuring manuka DNA out of total plant DNA. Enrichment of trace pollen-free DNA from filtered honey samples opens a new approach to identify the true origins of filtered honey samples. The methods developed may be useful in other applications of trace DNA analysis. In another study, we developed an immuno-PCR-based diagnostic platform which couples detection antibodies to self-assembled, ultra-detectable DNA-avidin nanoparticles stabilized with poly(ethylene glycol) to link DNA amplification to target protein concentration. Electrostatic neutralization and steric cloaking of the PCR-amplifiable DNA labels by avidin and PEG coating reduces non-specific “stickiness” and enhances assay sensitivity. We further optimized the detectability of the nanoparticles by incorporating four repeats of a unique synthetic DNA PCR target into each nanoparticle. Using human chorionic gonadotropin hormone (hCG) as a model analyte, this platform was able to quantitate the target hCG protein in femtomolar concentrations using only standard laboratory equipment

Walsh Hadamard Transform: A new approach for PAPR reduction in OFDM

OFDM and MC-CDMA are multicarriercommunication techniques which are used in bothwired and wireless communication. OFDM is thetime domain signal which is a sum of severalsinusoids and due to this sinusoids Peak to AveragePower Ratio (PAPR) of OFDM signal increases. Due to this transmission is not effective so PAPR is major drawback of OFDM. There are several PAPR reduction techniques but, pre-coding techniques shows better result. This paper represents anew pre-coding technique-Walsh Hadamard Transform (WHT). From the obtained results we can conclude that WHT is attractive solution to PAPR problems of OFDM signals as compared to other pre-coding techniques

The long term effects of firearm injuries on special senses

Introduction: Special senses are group of sensory organs that help us to connect with external environment by various modes of elements like sound, sight, touch and smell. Any damage to these organs though may not be physically handicapping but can affect the quality of life of any individual. Bullet injuries to the head and neck region are life-threatening and demand a detailed clinical examination and meticulous operative management due to the complexity of craniofacial anatomy. Head and neck region also house sense organs, but most of the time their functions are not properly assessed during the primary care provided in firearm injuries. The main aim of this study was –To study the long term effects of firearm injuries on special senses.To study the impact of these injuries on facial visage causing impairment on quality of life.To set a standard protocol that can be applied in such injuries for a bedside evaluation of sense organs of victims.Materials and Methods: The following study was conducted by the Department of Otorhinolaryngology &amp; Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Forensic Medicine and Department of Community Medicine, at Grant Government Medical College and Sir JJ Group of Hospitals. A retrospective study of 532 patients who were victims of various firearm injuries in isolated civil incidents and terrorist attacks in Mumbai between January 1990 to July 2018. Institutional ethical clearance was obtained prior to initiating the study. Data regarding the patients were obtained from hospital records.Results: The age group which was most affected was between 20- 40 years i.e.; the working population of the country. Most of the patients were of the male gender, nearly 70.3%. The sense organ to be affected the most in these incidents was ear(55.2%) ,followed by eyes(39.3%) . Facial scar caused a significant social impact on the quality of life among females.Conclusion: This study aims to set a standard protocol in the post-critical phase in firearm injuries; giving priority to functions of sense organs and facial visage to ensure a good quality of life in the post-trauma period.</p

2020 IEEE 8th Electronics System-Integration Technology Conference (ESTC), 15.-18. 9. 2020

Two in-situ failure detection methods by measuring acoustic emissions and transducer responses are presented to investigate the wire bond degradation failure during a highly accelerated mechanical fatigue test. This BAMFIT fatigue test is used to induce cyclic shear stresses in the bond interface until wire bond lift-off, operating at 60 kHz. The task was to incorporate non-invasive failure detection to identify the degree of degradation prior to end of life as an extension to the BAMFIT method and a possible quality control method. The acoustic emission investigations uses a Fabry Perot interferometer to detect high frequency emissions in the vicinity of the wire bond and detecting changes in the first three harmonics to identify a bond degradation. The transducer response approach observes systematic changes in the vibration and the damping behavior of the coupled resonance system by using the transducer as a piezo sensor. The results have shown that defective bond interconnect can be identified as early as ~50% of end of life, using high power but very short vibration pulses, and at ~80% for low power and completely non-invasive pulses. The obtained responses from the presented methods were correlated to the degree of degradation of the bond wire interface, by completing BAMFIT tests until end of life, cross section analysis as well as non-destructive X-ray computer tomography.Energie-Umweltmanagemen

Autologous platelet rich plasma - an adjunct to early tangential excision and grafting in burns

Aim: To affirm that autologous platelet rich plasma is a useful adjunct to early tangential excision and skin grafting to enhance wound epithelization rates and improve scar quality.Methods: The study was conducted in JIPMER Tertiary Burn Care Centerfrom November 2017 to February 2018. The study was purely descriptive in nature and no statistical analysis was performed. A total of 12 patients were included with burn wounds involving 10% to 25% total body surface area.Results: There was 100% epithelization noted at the end of 2 weeks for all the 12 participants. Skin graft take was faster with mean 85.4% take for all the 12 patients within 5 days.Conclusion: Since it is an autologous component, platelet rich plasma is extremely safe and free of antigenic components. It is relatively simple to prepare, less time taking, cost effective and highly efficacious in improving wound healing and improving the efficacy of the traditional techniques like tangential excision and skin grafting in burn patients

Innovative cervical splint: overcoming an obstacle

Cervical splints are used to maintain the neck position in burn patients with involvement of neck, which provides pain relief and prevent hypertrophic scarring and contracture. Due to the technical difficulty, cervical splinting often deferred in patients with tracheostomy. To overcome the difficulty the authors have described a simple modification of hard cervical collar, which provided adequate immobilization and adequate space for tracheostomy care. Innovative modification of hard cervical collar proposed in this case report can be a solution to overcome the difficulty posed by tracheostomy in patients sustained with neck burns

Low level laser as an adjunct therapy for second degree superficial burns

Aim: Second degree superficial burns are painful and heal over a period of two to three weeks time. Multimodality treatment approach is effective in reducing time of healing, pain, rate of complications and overall cost of treatment. Aim of this study is to observe effect of low level laser therapy (LLLT) as an adjunct to conventional therapy for second degree superficial burn.Methods: This article presents a case series of twenty patients in which LLLT was used as an adjunct therapy for target burn areas.Results: Average time taken for complete healing of areas with second degree superficial burns was 11.75 (SD 2.86) days. One patient was healed on day 6; ten patients were healed on day 10, six patients on day 13, and three on day 17.Conclusion: We could not found significant evidence of positive effect of LLLT over rate of wound healing. However its effects are promising and further large multicentric trials are needed to establish its role and standardize its dose parameters

Passivation of Surface States of AlGaN Nanowires Using H₃PO₄ Treatment To Enhance the Performance of UV-LEDs and Photoanodes

Surface states serve as additional charge-carrier-trapping centers and create an energy barrier at the semiconductor–electrolyte interface. This in turn may severely reduce the internal quantum efficiency of Al_<i>x</i>Ga_1–<i>x</i>N nanowire ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (UV-LEDs) and solar-to-hydrogen energy conversion efficiency of photoelectrodes used in photoelectrochemical water splitting applications. These states also cause Fermi-level pinning and band bending, leading to Shockley–Read–Hall nonradiative recombination. Hence, surface states need to be passivated. In the present study, we used phosphoric acid to passivate the surface states in AlGaN nanowires. The internal quantum efficiency of the near-band-edge emission peak of the chemically treated nanowires was 7%, whereas that of the as-grown nanowires was 3%. Suppression of the oxide layers was achieved, as indicated by the reduced intensity of the O 1s peak. The higher carrier lifetime of 3.2 ns of the treated nanowires compared to the lifetime of 2.6 ns of the as-grown nanowires’ directly evidenced passivation of the surface states. Crystallinity loss at the nanowire edges was caused by strain relaxation, resulting in broadening of the A₁(LO)_AlGaN phonon mode. The experiments and findings could be useful in the fabrication of UV-LEDs and photoelectrodes with improved performance for water splitting applications