Comparison Of Sparse Coding And Jpeg Coding Schemes For Blurred Retinal Images.

Overcomplete representations are currently one of the highly researched areas especially in the field of signal processing due to their strong potential to generate sparse representation of signals. Sparse representation implies that given signal can be represented with components that are only rarely significantly active. It has been strongly argued that the mammalian visual system is highly related towards sparse and overcomplete representations. The primary visual cortex has overcomplete responses in representing an input signal which leads to the use of sparse neuronal activity for further processing. This work investigates the sparse coding with an overcomplete basis set representation which is believed to be the strategy employed by the mammalian visual system for efficient coding of natural images. This work analyzes the Sparse Code Learning algorithm in which the given image is represented by means of linear superposition of sparse statistically independent events on a set of overcomplete basis functions. This algorithm trains and adapts the overcomplete basis functions such as to represent any given image in terms of sparse structures. The second part of the work analyzes an inhibition based sparse coding model in which the Gabor based overcomplete representations are used to represent the image. It then applies an iterative inhibition algorithm based on competition between neighboring transform coefficients to select subset of Gabor functions such as to represent the given image with sparse set of coefficients. This work applies the developed models for the image compression applications and tests the achievable levels of compression of it. The research towards these areas so far proves that sparse coding algorithms are inefficient in representing high frequency sharp image features. So this work analyzes the performance of these algorithms only on the natural images which does not have sharp features and compares the compression results with the current industrial standard coding schemes such as JPEG and JPEG 2000. It also models the characteristics of an image falling on the retina after the distortion effects of the eye and then applies the developed algorithms towards these images and tests compression results

Reference Price Effects: The Role of Multiple Internal Reference Prices and Semantic Cues.

The purpose of this dissertation is two fold. The first objective is to assess the effect of price promotion on consumers\u27 evaluation of the value of the deal independent of the specific IRP used by consumers. Towards this end, a subjective measure called perceived fairness of the offer price is introduced in a model hypothesizing relations among transaction utility, acquisition utility, and perceived value of the deal. The proposed model was compared to an existing model designed to predict and explain perceived value of the deal using a survey-based methodology, in the first study. Results indicate that the proposed model has a better fit and the proposed construct better predicts the value of the deal. The second objective of this dissertation is to study the effect of semantic cues on consumers\u27 perceptions about the value of the deal, search intention and shopping intention. These effects were determined using two 2 x 2 x 2 experimental designs in the second and third studies. In the second study the price level ($249 {\it vs\/}. \$399), nature of price comparison (between store vs. within store) and cue concreteness (concrete vs. abstract) were manipulated. Results indicate that semantic cues affect consumers perceptions of value and search intentions at moderate price levels. At exaggerated price levels there is no effect of cue concreteness. At moderate price levels, the concrete price cue is more effective than abstract cues in the case of between store price comparison. Also, the between store price comparison is more effective than the within store price comparison in the case of concrete cues. In the third study, the location where the ad is viewed (at home vs. in store), nature of price comparison (between store vs. within store), and cue concreteness (concrete vs. abstract) were manipulated. Results indicate that semantic cues affect consumers\u27 evaluation of the price promotion when the consumers view the ad at home. When the consumers view the price promotion in the store, the semantic cues do not seem to affect their evaluation

Time Delay and Cost Overrun of Road over Bridge (ROB) Construction Projects in India

This paper aims at studying the factors that contribute to time delay and cost overrun of Road over Bridge (ROB) projects in India. Data for the research study were collected from 62 respondents, including owners, contractors, and consultants of ROB projects. The literature survey and the questionnaire survey helped in identifying 29 factors. The topmost factors were ranked based on the frequency of occurrences. The correlation among owners, contractors, and consultants on ranking of factors was derived by Spearman rank correlation. Factor analysis was used to classify the factors into groups and identify the key groups responsible for time delay and cost overrun of projects. This study will help all stakeholders of ROB projects in India to understand the factors and thereby reduce time delay and cost overrun as well as expedite their completion

ADAPTIVE MODELS FOR NEXT GENERATION WIDE AREA NETWORKS

A software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) controller in a cloud service delivery architecture may encounter a number of challenges including, for example, timeouts, download or push failures, etc. To address challenges of these types techniques are presented herein that support a holistic solution. Aspects of the solution comprise, among other things, understanding a device’s ability to process configuration in a real-time network and staggering a configuration push based on, for example, a device’s ability to process and consume configurations. Aspects of the solution employ, for example, the use of bandwidth knowledge to force a centralized network management system control connection to come up on a specific wide area network (WAN) interface that has higher bandwidth availability, the collection of network characteristics to profile a device’s behavior for receiving different types of policies from a SD-WAN controller, the scheduling of SD-WAN customer premise equipment (CPE) devices for configuration delivery in an ordered fashion such that the devices that are chosen are the ones with the least WAN congestion, the profiling of device connectivity patterns to provide guaranteed service-level agreement (SLA) commitments for policy enforcement, the possible use of dummy templates for diagnostic purposes, etc

An Efficient Hierarchical Multi-Authority Attribute Based Encryption Scheme for Profile Matching using a Fast Ate Pairing in Cloud Environment

In cloud environment, profile matching is a key technique in applications such as health care and social networks. Ciphertext-Policy Attribute-Based Encryption (CP-ABE) is suitable technique for data sharing in such environments. In this paper, we propose an asymmetric pairing based Hierarchical Multi-Authority CP-ABE (HM-CP-ABE) construction for profile matching. We utilize the fast Ate pairing to make the proposed HM-CP-ABE scheme efficient. The performance analysis of the proposed scheme shows improved efficiency in terms of computational costs for initialization, key generation and encryption using ELiPS library when compared with existing works

Secure Data Communication using File Hierarchy Attribute Based Encryption in Wireless Body Area Networks

Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs) play an important role in healthcare system by enabling medical experts to guide patients without measuring face-to-face. The unauthorized access of medical data from WBAN controller as well as the unreliable data communication may leads to risk for patients life. Currently, Chunqiang Hu et al., [1] proposed a data communication protocol by using Ciphertext-Policy Attribute-Based Encryption (CP-ABE) for a single file. The major limitation of Chunqiang Hu et al., [1] is that as the number of files increases, CP-ABE will suffer from parameters such as message size, energy consumption and computation cost. This paper proposes a more secure and efficient data communication protocol for WBANs by using an efficient File Hierarchy CP-ABE (FH-CP-ABE). We propose a more efficient Secure and Efficient data communication protocol for WBANs by using an efficient File Hierarchy CP-ABE (FH-CP-ABE). We use the integrated access structure which is a combination of two or more access structures and with the hierarchical files are encrypted. We evaluate the performance analysis of the proposed data communication protocol in terms of message size, energy consumption, computation cost and compared with Chunqiang Hu et al., [1] while the number of files increases

Development of Electromyography Signal Signature for Forearm Muscle

AbstractElectromyography (EMG) measures muscle response or electrical activity in response to a nerve's stimulation of the muscle. EMG is generally acquired through surface and needle or wire electrodes. The needle or wire electrodes are usually used by clinicians in a clinical setting. This paper concentrates on surface electromyography (sEMG) signal that is acquired in a research laboratory since sEMG is increasingly being recognized as the gold standard for the analysis of muscle activation. The sEMG can utilized for establishing signal signature for forearm muscles that becomes an important input in development of rehabilitative devices. This paper discusses the establishment of sEMG signal signature of female and male subjects for forearm muscles such as extensor carpi radialis, flexor carpi radialis, palmaris longus and pronator teres based on movements such as wrist extension and flexion, hand open and close, and forearm supination and pronation. This was achieved through the use of Butterworth Bessel, Elliptic and Chebyshev filters. The sEMG signal signature could be useful in the development of rehabilitation device of upper extremities

Corrigendum: A small molecule inhibitor of Notch1 modulates stemness and suppresses breast cancer cell growth

Although breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs) are well characterized, molecularly targeting and eradicating this sub-population remains a challenge in the clinic. Recent studies have explored several signaling pathways that govern stem cell activation: We and others established that the Notch1 signaling plays a significant role in the proliferation, survival, and differentiation of BCSCs. Earlier, we reported that a newly developed small molecule, ASR490, binds to the negative regulatory region (NRR: The activation switch of the Notch receptor) of Notch1. In vitro results demonstrated that ASR490 significantly inhibited BCSCs (ALDH+ and CD44+/CD24–) and breast cancer (BC) growth at nM concentrations, and subsequently inhibited the colony- and mammosphere-forming abilities of BCSCs and BCs. ASR490 downregulated the expressions of Notch1 intracellular domain (NICD: The active form of Notch1) and its downstream effectors Hey1 and HES1. Inhibition of Notch1-NICD facilitated autophagy-mediated growth inhibition by triggering the fusion of autophagosome and autolysosome in BCSCs. ASR490 was found to be non-toxic to healthy cells as compared to existing Notch1 inhibitors. Moreover, oral administration of ASR490 abrogated BCSC and BC tumor growth in the in vivo xenograft models. Together our results indicate that ASR490 is a potential therapeutic agent that inhibits BC tumor growth by targeting and abolishing Notch1 signaling in BCSCs and BC cells.</p

Randomised trial to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of varying doses of linezolid with bedaquiline and pretomanid in adults with pre-extensively drug-resistant or treatment intolerant/non-responsive multidrug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis: study protocol.

INTRODUCTION Drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) is a global public health problem. Patients suffer for months if undiagnosed or treated inadequately, transmitting DR-TB in the community before succumbing to the disease. Early diagnosis, prompt treatment initiation and completion play a significant role in treatment success. However, extended regimens with injectable result in poor treatment adherence and outcomes. Our objective is to evaluate the effectiveness, safety and tolerability of various doses and duration of linezolid (LZD) in combination with bedaquiline (BDQ) and pretomanid (Pa) after 26 weeks of treatment in adults with pre-extensively drug-resistant or treatment intolerant/non-responsive multidrug-resistant pulmonary TB. METHODS AND ANALYSIS A multicentric, randomised pragmatic clinical trial in India will enrol participants in one of the three arms-control arm (arm 1): BDQ, Pa and LZD 600 mg daily for 26 weeks or intervention arms (arm 2): BDQ, Pa and LZD 600 mg for 9 weeks followed by 300 mg for 17 weeks or arm 3: BDQ, Pa and LZD 600 mg for 13 weeks followed by 300 mg for 13 weeks. The primary endpoint is the proportion of patients with favourable outcomes as sustained cure and treatment completion. The secondary endpoint is unfavourable outcomes, including deaths, treatment failure, toxicity/adverse events and lost to follow-up till 48 weeks post-treatment. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION The study has been approved by the ethics committees of participating institutes and the National Institute for Research in TB. The trial results will help establish evidence towards a safe and effective dose of LZD that can be used in a fully, all-oral short course regimen for highly DR-TB patients. The results of this study will be shared with the National TB Elimination Programme of the country and the WHO guidelines development group through publications and dissemination meetings. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER NCT05040126

Physical activity patterns and gestational diabetes outcomes – The wings project

AbstractObjectiveTo compare physical activity (PA) patterns in pregnant woman with and without gestational diabetes (GDM) and to assess the effects of an exercise intervention on change in PA patterns, blood glucose levels and pregnancy outcomes in GDM women.MethodsFor the first objective, PA patterns were studied in 795 pregnant women with and without GDM. For the second objective, the Women in India with Gestational Diabetes Strategy-Model of Care (WINGS-MOC) intervention were evaluated in 151 women out of 189 with GDM. PA was assessed using a validated questionnaire and a pedometer. Changes in PA patterns, glycemic parameters and neonatal outcomes were evaluated.ResultsOverall, only 10% of pregnant women performed recommended levels of PA. Women with GDM were significantly more sedentary compared to those without GDM (86.2 vs. 61.2%, p<0.001). After the MOC was implemented in women with GDM, there was a significant improvement in PA and a decrease in sedentary behaviour amongst women (before MOC, moderate activity: 15.2%, sedentary: 84.8% vs. after MOC-moderate: 26.5%, sedentary: 73.5%; p<0.001), and an increase in their daily step count from 2206/day to 2476/day (p<0.001). Fasting 1 and 2-h postprandial glucose values significantly decreased (p<0.001 for all). Sedentary behaviour was associated with a fourfold higher risk (p=0.02), and recreational walking with 70% decreased risk, of adverse neonatal outcomes (p=0.04) after adjusting for potential confounders.ConclusionsPA levels are inadequate amongst this group of pregnant women studied i.e. those with and without GDM. However, a low-cost, culturally appropriate MOC can bring about significant improvements in PA in women with GDM. These changes are associated with improved glycemic control and reduction in adverse neonatal outcomes