Multi-directional gated recurrent unit and convolutional neural network for load and energy forecasting: A novel hybridization

Energy operations and schedules are significantly impacted by load and energy forecasting systems. An effective system is a requirement for a sustainable and equitable environment. Additionally, a trustworthy forecasting management system enhances the resilience of power systems by cutting power and load-forecast flaws. However, due to the numerous inherent nonlinear properties of huge and diverse data, the classical statistical methodology cannot appropriately learn this non-linearity in data. Energy systems can appropriately evaluate data and regulate energy consumption because of advanced techniques. In comparison to machine learning, deep learning techniques have lately been used to predict energy consumption as well as to learn long-term dependencies. In this work, a fusion of novel multi-directional gated recurrent unit (MD-GRU) with convolutional neural network (CNN) using global average pooling (GAP) as hybridization is being proposed for load and energy forecasting. The spatial and temporal aspects, along with the high dimensionality of the data, are addressed by employing the capabilities of MD-GRU and CNN integration. The obtained results are compared to baseline algorithms including CNN, Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory (Bi-LSTM), Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU), and Bidirectional Gated Recurrent Unit (Bi-GRU). The experimental findings indicate that the proposed approach surpasses conventional approaches in terms of accuracy, Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE), and Root Mean Square Error (RSME).</p> </abstract&gt

Unpacking the 'Black Box' of Patient-Centred Care in Neurological Rehabilitation: Exploring the Process of Setting Goals

Aims: The aim of the study was to explore and examine the processes and experiences of goal setting at an inpatient rehabilitation unit by video recording and rating goal setting sessions. Another aim of the study was to explore staff, patient and carer perspectives in encouraging patient centred goal setting behaviour by using a newly introduced tool for the purpose of facilitating these behaviours. Methods: Data was collected using three different methods. Goal setting sessions were video recorded and the interactions were coded using a checklist of behaviours. The checklist was compiled from structured observation tools in patient centred care. Simple rating scales were used to record the experience of the sessions. Results from the rating scales were reported using simple descriptive statistics. Focus groups were used to explore staff, patient and carer perspectives in use of a tool that enabled patient centred behaviour. Data from the focus groups was analysed using thematic analysis. Results: The behaviour checklist coded four categories of behaviour – goal setting, goal setting related patient-centredness, generic patient centred behaviours and documentation. A fifth category of behaviours observed from the recorded sessions were also noted. Patients, carers and staff also reported experiencing the sessions as satisfactory with sufficient support and involvement in treatment planning. Focus group results identified three main themes of benefits, barriers and suggestions for using the tool. Conclusions: Exploratory research into the processes involved in setting collaborative goals is crucial in identifying factors that contribute to successful outcomes. The checklist of behaviours could be further developed and used to train and monitor staff. The goal setting tool may be useful as a teaching aid to develop and encourage these behaviours

Case studies of six CBFM-2 water bodies

The case studies report on how CBFM-2 interventions have affected aquatic productivity, income, employment and livelihoods in six case study sites, Beelbhora beel cluster (Kishoreganj), Sholuar beel (Narail), Chapundaha beel (Rangpur), Hamil beel (Tangail), Kutir beel (Kishoreganj) and Dikshi beel (Pabna).

Genotoxic damage in cultured human peripheral blood lymphocytes of oral contraceptive users

Synthetic progestins and estrogens have been reported to be toxic in various experimental models. Their prolonged use has been reported to induce cancer in humans. In the present study the effects of oral contraceptives were studied among users using chromosomal aberrations, sister chromatid exchanges and DNA damage as a parameter, in cultured human peripheral blood lymphocytes. The study was performed on 25 women (users) and 25 age match controls. No significant difference was observed in chromosomal aberrations and DNA damage. A significant increase was observed in sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) Cell among users. The results obtained and the risk of oral contraceptives (OCs) genotoxicity have been discussed.Keywords: Oral contraceptives; Chromosomal aberrations; DNA damage; Sister chromatid exchanges; Human lymphocyte

Earth Pipe Cooling Strategy in Buildings: A Sustainable Approach

Abundant energy supply is one of the preconditions of economic growth, however, the economic growth in turn leads to higher energy consumption to support higher living standard. The energy demand is increasing at an alarming rate throughout the world, which may lead to scarcity of energy in near future. Most of this energy is used in buildings for heating and cooling. Therefore, it is important to adopt a system to save energy in buildings without using any habitual mechanical devices. Passive air cooling is such a system assists us to save energy in passive process. Earth pipe cooling strategy is one of them, which can cool a space with minimal energy. In this strategy, air comes through a pipe inlet and passes underground via buried pipes, transfers heat to the earth (soil), gets cooler and goes to the room through pipe outlet. This paper reviews the earth pipe cooling performance in different climates by an intensive literature survey. The performance was also compared with other common passive air cooling strategies used in buildings. The findings of the study recommend an optimum passive air cooling guidelines, and passive air cooling products to the occupants of the buildings. Keywords: Cooling Performance; Passive Air Cooling; Energy Consumption

Clinical spectrum of systemic lupus erythematosus at the Aga Khan University Hospital.

BACKGROUND: Systemic lupus erythematosus is a disease of unknown etiology, which at onest may involve only one organ system or be multisystemic. The aim of our study is to determine the clinical presentation of SLE patients presenting to AKUH to establish whether guidelines laid down about this disease are in agreement with our experience. METHODS: A retrospective log review was carried out at AKUH, based on data obtained from 165 files of individuals admitted to the hospital over a period of 12 years with a confirmed diagnosis of SLE. RESULTS: From the sample size of 165, 143 (86.7%) were females and 22 (13.3%) males. The mean age of diagnosis was 30.9 years. Frequency of symptomatology was observed to be in the following order: systemic 78.8%, musculoskeletal 63% and hematological 60.6%. Oninvestigation ANA levels were positive in 112 patients. CONCLUSION: Our result lead us to conclude that the classification set forth by the American Rheumatological Association is applicable to patients presenting with SLE in our setting

Improved extractability of carotenoids from tomato peels as side benefits of PEF treatment of tomato fruit for more energy-efficient steam-assisted peeling

Abstract The combination of steam blanching (SB) with Pulsed Electric Fields (PEF) treatments of whole tomatoes, in addition to reducing the energy required for tomato peeling, can significantly contribute to the recovery of carotenoids from the peels. In this work, PEF (0.25-0-75 kV/cm, 1 kJ/kg) and SB (1 min at 50–70 °C), as pre-treatment prior to hand peeling, were investigated to assess their ability, separately and in combination, to induce the cell permeabilization of tomato peels, and hence to improve the carotenoids extraction in acetone (4 h at 25 °C). PEF and SB, by inducing significant damages at the cuticular level, caused the increase of the yield in total carotenoids (up to 188% for PEF and 189% for SB) and antioxidant power (up to 372% for PEF and 305% for SB) with respect to the peels from untreated tomatoes. The application of a combined treatment (PEF + SB) significantly increased the carotenoid content and the antioxidant power of the extracts, with a synergistic effect observed already at 60 °C (37.9 mg/100 g fresh weight tomato peels). HPLC analyses revealed that lycopene was the main carotenoid extracted and that neither PEF nor SB caused any selective release or degradation of lycopene. Results obtained from this study demonstrate that the integration of PEF in the processing line of tomato fruits prior to SB contributes to the valorization of tomato processing by-products

Prevalence of hepatitis B in the blood donors of NW. F.P and FATA regions and the current scenario of HBV infection in Pakistan

Hepatitis B is a fatal liver disease caused by the hepatitis B virus. In this study, blood donors from various districts of the North-western frontier province and the federally administered tribal area (FATA) of Pakistan were tested for HBsAg and HBV DNA by ICT (Immuno-chromatographic test), ELISA and RTPCR. Out of the 7148 blood donors, 244 (3.41%) were positive for HBsAg by ICT, 147 (2.05%) by ELISA while 132 (1.85%) were positive by PCR. Our data indicates that the incidence of hepatitis B has decreased in these regions in recent times.Key words: HBV, HBsAg, Pakistan

Genomic characterization of antibiotic resistant Escherichia coli isolated from domestic chickens in Pakistan

Poultry husbandry is important for the economic health of Pakistan, but the Pakistani poultry industry is negatively impacted by infections fro

A Novel Approach to Railway Track Faults Detection Using Acoustic Analysis.

Regular inspection of railway track health is crucial for maintaining safe and reliable train operations. Factors, such as cracks, ballast issues, rail discontinuity, loose nuts and bolts, burnt wheels, superelevation, and misalignment developed on the rails due to non-maintenance, pre-emptive investigations and delayed detection, pose a grave danger and threats to the safe operation of rail transport. The traditional procedure of manually inspecting the rail track using a railway cart is both inefficient and prone to human error and biases. In a country like Pakistan where train accidents have taken many lives, it is not unusual to automate such approaches to avoid such accidents and save countless lives. This study aims at enhancing the traditional railway cart system to address these issues by introducing an automatic railway track fault detection system using acoustic analysis. In this regard, this study makes two important contributions: data collection on Pakistan railway tracks using acoustic signals and the application of various classification techniques to the collected data. Initially, three types of tracks are considered, including normal track, wheel burnt and superelevation, due to their common occurrence. Several well-known machine learning algorithms are applied such as support vector machines, logistic regression, random forest and decision tree classifier, in addition to deep learning models like multilayer perceptron and convolutional neural networks. Results suggest that acoustic data can help determine the track faults successfully. Results indicate that the best results are obtained by RF and DT with an accuracy of 97%