Creating effective focus cues in multi-plane 3D displays.

Focus cues are incorrect in conventional stereoscopic displays. This causes a dissociation of vergence and accommodation, which leads to visual fatigue and perceptual distortions. Multi-plane displays can minimize these problems by creating nearly correct focus cues. But to create the appearance of continuous depth in a multi-plane display, one needs to use depth-weighted blending: i.e., distribute light intensity between adjacent planes. Akeley et al. [ACM Trans. Graph. 23, 804 (2004)] and Liu and Hua [Opt. Express 18, 11562 (2009)] described rather different rules for depth-weighted blending. We examined the effectiveness of those and other rules using a model of a typical human eye and biologically plausible metrics for image quality. We find that the linear blending rule proposed by Akeley and colleagues [ACM Trans. Graph. 23, 804 (2004)] is the best solution for natural stimuli

Runoff Estimation and Morphometric Analysis for Hesaraghatta Watershed Using IRS–1D LISS III FCC Satellite Data

The study area, Hesaraghatta watershed is located between 77° 20′ to 77° 42′ E longitude and 13° 10′ to 13° 24′ N latitude with an area of 600.01 km2. Thematic layers such as Land Use/Land Cover, drainage, soil and hydrological soil group were generated from IRS–1D LISS III satellite data (FCC). An attempt was made to estimate runoff using Soil Conservation Service (SCS) curve number model and it was estimated to be 1960, 2066, 1870 and 1810 mm for sub-watersheds 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively. Quantitative morphometric analysis was carried out for the entire watershed and the four sub-watersheds independently by estimating their (a) linear aspects like stream order, stream length, stream length ratio, bifurcation ratio, length of overland flow, drainage pattern (b) aerial aspects like shape factor, circulatory ratio, elongation ratio and drainage density and (c) relief aspects like basin relief, relief ratio, relative relief and ruggedness number. Drainage density was estimated to be 1.23 km/km2 designating the study area as a very coarse textured watershed

Drug utilization study in the paediatric department of a tertiary care teaching hospital

Background: Rational drug use is one of the main concerns of the health care system in India. Paediatric population being more vulnerable require additional focus to achieve this goal. Objectives of the study were to evaluate the prescription patterns according to WHO guidelines and the diseases, for which they are being prescribed, to identify the common diseases and common medications used.Methods: A cross sectional study was done in the paediatrics department for a period of 2 months. All the paediatric prescriptions were evaluated using WHO core indicators like average number of medicines per encounter, percentage of medicines from the essential drug lists and also complimentary indicators like utilization of different dosage forms and diagnostic patterns. Statistical Analysis: Data was analyzed and represented as frequency (n) and percentage (%).Results: 89 out of 302 prescriptions had 2 medicines per encounter, 100% of medicines were included from the Essential Drug List (EDL), 59.4% of the medicines were in generic format of prescription.Conclusions: This study gives a positive outlook at the utilization pattern of drugs with all the indicators specifically Essential Drugs List. Regular auditing, continuous medical education and evidence-based medicine can help in improving the health care

Groundwater Recharge Estimation- A Case Study in Chennai City

As groundwater is most commonly used for domestic purposes in urban areas, it is being overused without any limit resulting in decline of groundwater levels. The groundwater levels can be improved by artificial recharge method such as Rainwater Harvesting (RWH). Rainwater harvesting is a procedure of group and storage of rainwater into ordinary reservoirs or it can be refreshed into sub surface aquifers. This study aims to assess the variation of groundwater levels during recent years (2011-2018) by using the data collected from “Chennai Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board”. Chennai city of Tamil Nadu is taken for study. The temporal and spatial distribution of water levels was studied. Change in storage and recharge for the study area is been calculated from the water level, specific yield and area of influence by using “Groundwater Estimation Committee (GEC) norms”

Phase changes induced by optical aberrations degrade letter and face acuity

Optical aberrations of the eye reduce image contrast and induce spatial phase shifts in the retinal image. The resulting degradation of retinal image quality hampers recognition of complex objects such as letters and faces. To study the effects of spatial phase shifts on object recognition, we simulated image blur computationally for 4 types of aberrations (defocus, astigmatism, coma, and spherical aberration) present individually or in combinations. Phase errors in the computed images were corrected (by setting phase to zero), or avoided, by removing the affected frequency components (by setting modulation to zero). The resulting images served as visual stimuli to determine the effects of phase errors on visual acuity for single letters, letter clusters, and faces. The results show that 180-phase reversals induced by optical aberrations reduce visual acuity, when there is sufficient contrast in the affected frequency components. In the presence of positive spherical aberration, acuity loss due to phase errors was more for hyperopic defocus than for myopic defocus, because the contrast of phase-reversed components was much higher for hyperopic defocus. Phase shifts introduced by coma are less than 180-and consequently have a smaller impact on acuity. Although visual acuity improved the most when all frequency components were phase-corrected, phase-reversed components were nevertheless found to aid visual acuity, demonstrating phase-reversed resolution

Teratoma arising from hepato duodenal ligament in the newborn with transection of portal vein, hepatic artery and common bile duct: A surgical challenge

A 7-day-old neonate presented with a large intra-abdominal mass adherent to the hilum of the liver encasing the portal triad. During excision, the portal vein, hepatic artery, and common bile duct were injured. The repair was done promptly and needed massive blood transfusion. Histopathology revealed immature teratoma Grade III. Survival in neonate following total transection of portal triad is rare and has not been reported

HUMAN_FOVEAL_CONES

This dataset contains high resolution images of the foveal region of 28 eyes of 16 subjects. The images are accompanied by text files listing all cone locations in pixels. There is a Matlab script that can be used to plot the cone locations on the corresponding image. There is a *.csv file listing the subject code, eye, retinal magnification factor (microns/degree) and image scale (pixels per degree)

Significance of thermal stress in a convective-radiative annular fin with magnetic field and heat generation: application of DTM and MRPSM

The present paper explains the temperature attribute of a convective-radiative rectangular profiled annular fin with the impact of magnetic field. The effect of thermal radiation, convection, and magnetic field on thermal stress distribution is also studied in this investigation. The governing energy equation representing the steady-state heat conduction, convection, and radiation process is transformed into its dimensionless nonlinear ordinary differential equation (ODE) with corresponding boundary conditions using non-dimensional terms. The obtained ODE is then solved analytically by employing the Pade approximant-differential transform method (DTM) and modified residual power series method (MRPSM). Moreover, the important characteristics of the temperature field, the thermal stress, and the impact of some non-dimensional parameters are inspected graphically, and a physical explanation is provided to aid in comprehension. The significant findings of the investigation reveal that temperature distribution enhances with an increase in the magnitude of the heat generation parameter and thermal conductivity parameter, but it gradually decreases with an increment of convective-conductive parameter, Hartmann number, and radiative-conductive parameter. The thermal stress distribution of the fin varies considerably in the applied magnetic field effect

A Single-Center, Open, Comparative Study of the Effect of Using Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose to Guide Therapy on Preclinical Atherosclerotic Markers in Type 2 Diabetic Subjects

Background: The aim of our study was to determine the effect of treatment based on preprandial and postprandial self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) on the progression of carotid intima-medial thickness (CIMT) in noninsulin-treated type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) subjects. Methods: In this 18-month prospective trial, we recruited subjects 18.70 years of age, treated with metformin and sulfonylurea, with a standardized hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level ≤9.0%. Subjects were randomized to use of fasting/preprandial (FP) SMBG results to adjust evening medication or use of postprandial (PP) SMBG results to adjust morning medication. The primary end point was change in CIMT; change in HbA1c was a secondary end point. Results: Of the 300 subjects randomized, 280 (140 in each group) completed all biochemical tests and CIMT analysis. Carotid intima-medial thickness was reduced significantly in PP subjects from 0.78 (±0.15) mm to 0.73 (±0.14) mm (p < 0.005), but no significant CIMT reduction was seen in FP subjects. A significant reduction in HbA1c was also seen in the PP group (p < 0.005) but not in the FP group 1 (p = 0.165). Significant improvements in body mass index (p = 0.038), waist circumference (p < 0.001), systolic blood pressure (p = 0.008), and serum cholesterol (p = 0.02) were also seen in PP subjects but not in FP subjects. Conclusion: Use of postprandial SMBG data to adjust therapy was associated with a significant regression of carotid intima-medial thickening and a reduction in HbA1c in T2DM, whereas no significant improvement in these parameters was seen in subjects who used fasting/preprandial SMBG data for therapy adjustment