Escaping from StraightLine in Ubiquitous Computing

This paper discuss about the working of upcoming technology known as Calm Technology defined as a paradigm shift where a technology become virtually invisible in our life, also known as Ubiquitous Computing. By using this technology if different devices of different operating systems interact, then consideration and requirement that will have to be taken in account are the subject of discussion in this paper.This paper is about the relation of devices having heterogeneous operating systems that are communicating with environment. The applications we use have no manualor direct interaction with the real environment. Keywords- Ubiquitous Computing; Calm Technology; Heterogeneous Devices; Securit

Low Dose Perioperative Lidocaine Infusion for Post-Operative Pain in Open Cholecystectomy

compare low dose peri-operative lidocaine infusion and placebo for post-operative mean pain score and mean analgesic requirement in open cholecystectomy.Methods: In this prospective randomized comparative study 120 patients, undergoing open cholecystectomy in general anaesthesia, were included. Patients were randomly allocated to either lidocaine infusion (L) or saline group (S) using systematic randomized sampling with 60 patients in each group. Patients in the lidocaine infusion group were given bolus injection of lidocaine 30 minutes before the skin incision followed by a continuous intraveonous via infusion pump whereas the patients in the saline group received 0.9% normal saline in equal volume and in the same manner. The infusion was continued throughout the surgery and was terminated 60 min after the skin closure.Results: Out of the 120 patients 34 (28.3%) were male while 86 (71.7%) were female. Mean age was 41.32±11.512 years. Both mean VAS pain score and mean analgesic requirement were found to be significantly lower in the lidocaine Group (p-values 0.04 and 0.29 respectively), as compared to controls.Conclusion: Peri-operative low dose systemic lidocaine appears to reduce pain in the immediate post-operative period

A survey of statistical approaches for query expansion

A major issue in effective information retrieval is the problem of vocabulary mismatches. The method called query expansion addresses this issue by reformulating each search query with additional terms that better define the information needs of the user. Many researchers have contributed to improving the accuracy of information retrieval systems, through different approaches to query expansion. In this article, we primarily discuss statistical query expansion approaches that include document analysis, search and browse log analyses, and web knowledge analyses. In addition to proposing a comprehensive classification for these approaches, we also briefly analyse the pros and cons of each technique. Finally, we evaluate these techniques using five functional features and experimental settings such as TREC collection and results of performance metrics. An in-depth survey of different statistical query expansion approaches suggests that the selection of the best approach depends on the type of search query, the nature and availability of data resources, and performance efficiency requirements

Unsolved Tricky Issues on COTS Selection and Evaluation

Component Based Software Engineering (CBSE) approach is based on the idea to develop software systems by selecting appropriate components and then to assemble them with a well-defined software architecture. (CBSE) offers developers the twin benefits of reduced software life cycles, shorter development times , saving cost and less effort as compare to build own component. However the success of the component based paradigm depends on the quality of the commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components purchased and integrated into the existing software systems. It is need of the time to present a quality model that can be used by software programmer to evaluate the quality of software components before integrating them into legacy systems. The evaluation and selection of the COTS components are the most critical process. These evaluation and selection method cannot be resolved by the IT professionals itself. In this study the author tried to compare the twenty three available systematic methods for best evaluation and selection of COTS components

Modeling Approaches to Assess Soil Erosion by Water at the Field Scale with Special Emphasis on Heterogeneity of Soils and Crops

Information on soil erosion and related sedimentation processes are very important for natural resource management and sustainable farming. Plenty of models are available for studying soil erosion but only a few are suitable for dynamic soil erosion assessments at the field-scale. To date, there are no field-scale dynamic models available considering complex agricultural systems for the simulation of soil erosion. We conducted a review of 51 different models evaluated based on their representation of the processes of soil erosion by water. Secondly, we consider their suitability for assessing soil erosion for more complex field designs, such as patch cropping, strip cropping and agroforestry (alley-cropping systems) and other land management practices. Several models allow daily soil erosion assessments at the sub-field scale, such as EPIC, PERFECT, GUEST, EPM, TCRP, SLEMSA, APSIM, RillGrow, WaNuLCAS, SCUAF, and CREAMS. However, further model development is needed with respect to the interaction of components, i.e., rainfall intensity, overland flow, crop cover, and their scaling limitations. A particular shortcoming of most of the existing field scale models is their one-dimensional nature. We further suggest that platforms with modular structure, such as SIMPLACE and APSIM, offer the possibility to integrate soil erosion as a separate module/component and link to GIS capabilities, and are more flexible to simulate fluxes of matter in the 2D/3D dimensions. Since models operating at daily scales often do not consider a horizontal transfer of matter, such modeling platforms can link erosion components with other environmental components to provide robust estimations of the three-dimensional fluxes and sedimentation processes occurring during soil erosion events.Peer reviewe

Analysis of K-Mean and X-Mean Clustering Algorithms Using Ontology-Based Dataset Filtering

In the field of computer science, data mining facilitates the extraction of useful knowledge and patterns from a huge amount of data. Various techniques exist in the data mining domain to explore the links, associations, and patterns from data in data warehouses. Among these techniques, clustering is more prominent in analyzing raw and unlabeled data from a large volume of datasets. The clustering mechanism identifies similar features between data objects and arranges them into clusters. In this paper, we have compared the performance of K-Mean and XMean clustering algorithms using two datasets of student enrollment in higher education institutions. Our methodology incorporated ontology to filter the datasets and exploited Rapidminer environment to evaluate the performance of clustering algorithms. The results showed that X-Mean is more suitable for large datasets in terms of discovery and accuracy of clusters

Impact of in-field soil heterogeneity on biomass and yield of winter triticale in an intensively cropped hummocky landscape under temperate climate conditions

Crop cultivation provides ecosystem services on increasingly large fields. However, the effects of in-field spatial heterogeneity on crop yields, in particular triticale, have rarely been considered. The study assess the effects of in-field soil heterogeneity and elevation on triticale grown in an intensively cropped hummocky landscape. The field was classified into three soil classes: C1, C2, and C3, based on soil texture and available water capacity (AWC), which had high, moderate, and low yield potential, respectively. Three elevations (downslope (DS), midslope (MS), and upslope (US)) were considered as the second study factor. An unbalanced experimental design was adopted with a factorial analysis of variance for data analysis. Temporal growth analysis showed that soil classes and elevation had significant effects. Generally, better growth was observed in C1 compared to that of C3. DS had a lower yield potential than that of MS and US. In addition, the interactive effect was confirmed, as triticale had poor growth and yield in C3 on the DS, but not on US. Crop physiological parameters also confirmed the differences between soil classes and elevation. Similarly, soil moisture (SM) content in the plow layer measured at different points in time and AWC over the soil profile had a positive association with growth and yield. The results confirmed that spatial differences in AWC and SM can explain spatial variability in growth and yield. The mapping approach combining soil auguring techniques with a digital elevation model could be used to subdivide fields in hummocky landscapes for determining sub-field input intensities to guide precision farming.Peer reviewe

Mentoring and its Effects on Turnover Intensions in Perspective of Pakistan’s Telecom Sector

In today’s era of towering competition the retention of workforce is highly desirable for long term success of any organization. The employees serve as backbone for any organization and are responsible for attaining the laid down objectives of the organization. The ongoing study investigates the effects of mentoring on turnover intensions of employees working in telecom sector of Pakistan. Researchers retrieved data with the help of questionnaires based on five point likert scale from almost 300 employees working in telecom organizations of Pakistan. Multiple regressions were used to analyze the collected data. Result shows that mentoring mostly is negatively associated with turnover intension because employee was not satisfied with mentoring and commitment in employees is only due to experienced learning which helps to develop additional skills in employee