Best of Both Worlds: Merging 360˚ Image Capture with 3D Reconstructed Environments for Improved Immersion in Virtual Reality

With the recent proliferation of high-quality 360° photos and video, consumers of virtual reality (VR) media have come to expect photorealistic immersive content. Most 360° VR content, however, is captured with monoscopic camera rigs and inherently fails to provide users with a sense of 3D depth and 6 degree-of-freedom (DOF) mobility. As a result, the medium is significantly limited in its immersive quality. This thesis aims to demonstrate how content creators can further bridge the gap between 360° content and fully immersive real-world VR simulations. We attempt to design a method that combines monoscopic 360° image capture with 3D reconstruction -- taking advantage of the best qualities of both technologies while only using consumer-grade equipment. By mapping the texture from panoramic 360° images to the 3D geometry of a scene, this system significantly improves the photo-realism of 3D reconstructed spaces at specific points of interest in a virtual environment. The technical hurdles faced during the course of this research work, and areas of further work needed to perfect the system, are discussed in detail. Once perfected, a user of the system should be able to simultaneously appreciate visual detail in 360-degrees while experiencing full mobility, i.e., to move around within the immersed scene.Bachelor of Art

Comparision of efficacy of visual inspection of cervix with acetic acid, Pap smear and colposcopy for prevention of cervical cancer

Background: Cervical cancer is second most common cancer in women globally. Overall 80% cases occurs in developing countries.  An important reason for the high incidence of cervical cancer in developing countries is the lack of effective screening programs to detect precancerous conditions and treat before it progresses to invasive cancer due to severe restrictions on the availability of infrastructure, resources and funding. Aim of this study was to compare the sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of VIA, Pap smear and colposcopy with colposcopic directed biopsy (as a gold standard). Methods: This prospective analytical study was conducted on 200 women’s (age>19 years) with abnormal cervix in the Department Of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Government Medical College Kota from 1 august 2020 to 31 July 2022 who fulfil the Inclusion criteria. All the Symptomatic patients with symptoms like vaginal discharge postcoital bleeding, itching, and other gynaecological problems along with asymptomatic patients with accidental finding of bad cervix (cervical erosion). Results: Maximum cases had common complaint of discharge per vaginum (60.55%), followed by post coital bleeding (11.5%). VIA when compared with HPR, had sensitivity 94.85% and specificity 74.76% and corresponding PPV 78% and NPV 94%. Paps smear when compared with HPR, the sensitivity was 62.89% and specificity was 89.32% and corresponding PPV 84.72% and NPV 71.88%. Colposcopy when compared with Histopathological report, the sensitivity was 70% and specificity was 91.26% and corresponding PPV 88.3% and NPV 76.4%. Conclusions: Best result for early detection of pre-invasive lesions could be with combined use of Pap smear, VIA, colposcopy and colposcopy guided biopsy rather than any individual diagnostic procedure. It will immensely reduce the morbidity and mortality

Greenhouse cultivation of fruit crops with special reference to India: An overview

India is facing various challenges in fruit cultivation viz., climate change, increasing pressure on natural resources, decreasing land tenure with the ever-increasing population. Besides this, the demand for quality fruit is also on the rise as people are now more aware of a nutritious and healthy diet. The quality with higher production is difficult with the traditional system of cultivation and requires a more scientific approach in cultivation. Greenhouse cultivation technology can enhance quality and quantity both. This technology is required to convert some portion of the present 6.5 million ha of the fruit-growing area to increase national productivity and product quality. The purpose of greenhouse cultivation is to grow crops by altering the micro-environment surrounding the crop so that the plant performs maximum to its genetic potential. It also increases the yield, improves the quality and stability of production and makes commodities available when there is no outdoor production. China is the world leader in greenhouse fruit production with the largest area under this technology. In India, greenhouse fruit cultivation is in its infancy as the only strawberry is commercially being grown under greenhouses. However, in fluctuating environmental conditions and losses in fruit crops due to various biotic and abiotic stresses, protecting the fruit crops for the off-season, quality and higher production will be a necessity in future. Keeping in view the low productivity of fruit crops in India and future needs of round the year quality production, an overview of work and cultivation scenario on this aspect is discussed in this paper

Association between primary hypothyroidism and metabolic syndrome and the role of C reactive protein: a cross–sectional study from South India

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Hypothyroidism (sub-clinical and overt) and metabolic syndrome are recognized risk factors for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. This study is an effort to identify the proposed association between these two disease entities and the risk factors involved in this association.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross – sectional study from a tertiary care teaching hospital in Chennai city, South India. 420 patients with metabolic syndrome (NCEP – ATP III criteria) were included in the study group. 406 appropriately age and sex matched controls having no features of metabolic syndrome (0 out of the 5 criteria) were compared with the study group. The study extended over a 5 year period. TSH, FT4 were measured for both the groups using electrochemiluminescence immuno assay. HsCRP was measured for all the patients in the study group. The baseline characteristics between the groups were compared with Student's't' test. Chi-square test was used to analyze the association between metabolic syndrome and hypothyroidism (overt and sub-clinical). Logistic regression analysis was applied to identify the association between hypothyroidism and the patient characteristics in the study group.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the 420 patients in the study group, 240 were females (57.1%), 180 were males (42.9%) with mean age 51 ± 9.4 years. Of the 406 patients in the control group, 216 were females (53.2%), 190 males (46.8%) with mean age 49 ± 11.2 years. In the study group, 92 had sub-clinical hypothyroidism (SCH) (21.9%), 31 were overtly hypothyroid (7.4%) and 297 were euthyroid (70.7%). In the control group 27 patients had sub-clinical hypothyroidism (6.6%), 9 patients had overt hypothyroidism (2.2%) and 370 patients were euthyroid (91.2%). On comparison SCH (P < 0.001) and overt hypothyroidism (P < 0.001) were significantly associated with the study group as compared to the control group. Logistic regression analysis recognized the association between female gender (P = 0.021) and HsCRP (P = 0.014) with sub-clinical hypothyroidism and female gender (P = 0.01) with overt hypothyroidism in the study group.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Hypothyroidism is associated with metabolic syndrome and females are more at risk. Metabolic syndrome patients with a raised HsCRP are at significant risk of having sub-clinical hypothyroidism.</p

Multidrug resistant tuberculosis co-existing with aspergilloma and invasive aspergillosis in a 50 year old diabetic woman: a case report

Aspergilloma and invasive aspergillosis coexisting with multidrug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in the same patient is a rare entity. We report a 50 year old South Indian woman, a diabetic, who presented to us with complaints of productive cough and hemoptysis for the past 2 months. She was diagnosed to have pulmonary tuberculosis 2 years ago for which she took irregular treatment. Lung imaging showed features of a thick walled cavity in the right upper lobe with an indwelling aspergilloma. She underwent a right lung upper lobe resection. Biopsy and culture of the resected specimen showed the coexistence of Aspergillus fumigatus and multi-drug resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis. 2 blood cultures grew Aspergillus fumigatus. She was successfully treated with Voriconazole and anti tuberculous therapy against MDR-TB

Effect of participatory women's groups facilitated by Accredited Social Health Activists on birth outcomes in rural eastern India: A cluster-randomised controlled trial

Background: A quarter of the world's neonatal deaths and 15% of maternal deaths happen in India. Few community-based strategies to improve maternal and newborn health have been tested through the country's government-approved Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs). We aimed to test the effect of participatory women's groups facilitated by ASHAs on birth outcomes, including neonatal mortality. Methods: In this cluster-randomised controlled trial of a community interve

Extent of knowledge and attitudes on plagiarism among undergraduate medical students in South India - a multicentre, cross-sectional study to determine the need for incorporating research ethics in medical undergraduate curriculum

BACKGROUND: Undergraduate medical students in India participate in various research activities However, plagiarism is rampant, and we hypothesize that it is the lack of knowledge on how to avoid plagiarism. This study’s objective was to measure the extent of knowledge and attitudes towards plagiarism among undergraduate medical students in India. METHODS: It was a multicentre, cross-sectional study conducted over a two-year period (January 2018 – December 2019). Undergraduate medical students were given a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire which contained: (a) Demographic details; (b) A quiz developed by Indiana University, USA to assess knowledge; and (c) Attitudes towards Plagiarism (ATP) questionnaire. RESULTS: Eleven medical colleges (n = 4 government medical colleges [GMCs] and n = 7 private medical colleges [PMCs]) participated. A total of N = 4183 students consented. The mean (SD) knowledge score was 4.54 (1.78) out of 10. The factors (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]; 95% Confidence interval [CI]; p value) that emerged as significant predictors of poor knowledge score were early years of medical education (0.110; 0.063, 0.156; < 0.001) and being enrolled in a GMC (0.348; 0.233, 0.463; < 0.001).The overall mean (SD) scores of the three attitude components namely permissive, critical and submissive norms were 37.56 (5.25), 20.35 (4.20) and 31.20 (4.28) respectively, corresponding to the moderate category. CONCLUSION: The overall knowledge score was poor. A vast majority of study participants fell in the moderate category of attitude score. These findings warrant the need for incorporating formal training in the medical education curriculum

NeuroBench: Advancing Neuromorphic Computing through Collaborative, Fair and Representative Benchmarking

The field of neuromorphic computing holds great promise in terms of advancing computing efficiency and capabilities by following brain-inspired principles. However, the rich diversity of techniques employed in neuromorphic research has resulted in a lack of clear standards for benchmarking, hindering effective evaluation of the advantages and strengths of neuromorphic methods compared to traditional deep-learning-based methods. This paper presents a collaborative effort, bringing together members from academia and the industry, to define benchmarks for neuromorphic computing: NeuroBench. The goals of NeuroBench are to be a collaborative, fair, and representative benchmark suite developed by the community, for the community. In this paper, we discuss the challenges associated with benchmarking neuromorphic solutions, and outline the key features of NeuroBench. We believe that NeuroBench will be a significant step towards defining standards that can unify the goals of neuromorphic computing and drive its technological progress. Please visit neurobench.ai for the latest updates on the benchmark tasks and metrics

NeuroBench:Advancing Neuromorphic Computing through Collaborative, Fair and Representative Benchmarking

The field of neuromorphic computing holds great promise in terms of advancing computing efficiency and capabilities by following brain-inspired principles. However, the rich diversity of techniques employed in neuromorphic research has resulted in a lack of clear standards for benchmarking, hindering effective evaluation of the advantages and strengths of neuromorphic methods compared to traditional deep-learning-based methods. This paper presents a collaborative effort, bringing together members from academia and the industry, to define benchmarks for neuromorphic computing: NeuroBench. The goals of NeuroBench are to be a collaborative, fair, and representative benchmark suite developed by the community, for the community. In this paper, we discuss the challenges associated with benchmarking neuromorphic solutions, and outline the key features of NeuroBench. We believe that NeuroBench will be a significant step towards defining standards that can unify the goals of neuromorphic computing and drive its technological progress. Please visit neurobench.ai for the latest updates on the benchmark tasks and metrics