Effect of Spectacle Centration on Stereoacuity

To determine the percentage of decentered spectacles ,the possible relationship of decentration of spectacles on stereoacuity,the difference between interpupillary distance (IPD) and optical centration distance (OCD), the relationship between decentration of spectacles and asthenopic symptoms, magnitude of prismatic effect and the direction of base of prism in decentered spectacles. Methods:A hospital based cross-sectional study conducted on the 100 students, with the age range of 18 to 26 years.Horizontal decentartion of spectacles was assessed by taking the difference between the interpupillary distance and the optical centration distance. Vertical decentration was assessed by difference between the optical centre of the spectacles and the centre of the pupils. Direction of decentration determines the prism base direction and stereoacuity was assessed by titmus fly test.Results: All individuals were using decentered spectacles in both horizontal and vertical direction. Decentration was highest (33%) in the range of 0 – 1.49 (mm) horizontally in both eyes. Vertical decentration in the range of 3 – 5 (mm) was highest, 39% in right eye and 48% in the left eye of the individuals. 56% of the individuals have horizontal prismatic effect in their spectacles in right and left eye within the range of 0 – 0.49 prism diopters. Vertical prismatic effect was within range of 0 – 0.99 prism diopters in maximum number of individuals. Majority (76%) had base-in prisms induced in their spectacles in both right and left eyes. Vertically induced prism was in the base-up direction in 87% and 90% of the individuals in their right and left eyes respectively and 8% and 7% base-down prisms in their right and left eyes respectively. Difference between IPD (inter-pupillary distance) and OCD (optical centration distance) of individuals was quite significant with p-value 0.000. The mean difference between IPD and OCD was -3.57000. Mean IPD was less than the mean OCD. Horizontal prismatic effect in right eye caused decline in the stereo-acuity with p-value 0.019. Highest number of individuals (42) had reduction of stereo-acuity within the range of 20 – 100 minutes of arc having horizontal prismatic effect in the range of 0 – 1.49 in their right eyes.Conclusions: Due to improper dispensing of the spectacles, prismatic effect is induced in the spectacles that shifts the image position formed on the retina and results in the reduction of the stereoacuity of the individuals

Neuromorphic Circuits for Short-Term Plasticity with Recovery Control

Ramachandran H, Weber S, Aamir SA, Chicca E. Neuromorphic Circuits for Short-Term Plasticity with Recovery Control. In: 2014 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (ISCAS). Piscataway, NJ: IEEE; 2014: 858-861.We present real-time neuromorphic VLSI circuits that implement the synaptic dynamics of Short Term Plasticity (STP). STP supports useful signal processing computational primitives such as change detection and gain control. Compact circuits implementing these mechanisms play a key role in providing neuromorphic VLSI systems with autonomous adaptation capabilities. We propose two different, flexible, short-term adaptation CMOS circuits for controlling the efficacy of synapses in response to incoming spikes. These circuits can be configured to either implement short-term depression or facilitation, with independent control over the adaptation and recovery rates. Our results demonstrate the dynamic properties of th

Real time vision-based implementation of plant disease identification system on FPGA

Plant diseases have turned into a dilemma as it can cause significant reduction in both quality and quantity of agricultural products. To overcome that loss, we implemented a computer vision based real time system that can identify the type of plant diseases. Computer vision-based applications are computationally intensive and time consuming, so FPGA-based implementation is proposed to have a real time identification of plant diseases. In this paper an image processing algorithm is proposed for identifying two types of disease in Potato leaves. The proposed algorithm works well on images taken under different luminance conditions. The hardware/software-based implementation of the proposed algorithm is done on Xilinx ZYNQ SoC FPGA. Results show that our proposed algorithm achieves an accuracy of up to 90%, whereas the hardware implementation takes 0.095 seconds achieving a performance gain of 76.8 times as compared to the software implementation

Assessing the Role of Digital Finance on Shadow Economy and Financial Instability: An Empirical Analysis of Selected South Asian Countries

The advancement in fintech technological development in emerging countries has accelerated the role of digital finance in economic development. Digital finance assists in financial inclusion; however, it may also increase the chances of financial instability due to systematic risks. Emerging countries are also in the clutches of shadow economic growth, which reduces taxable income revenue and creates pressure on financial inclusion prospects. The current study attempts to measure the impact of digital finance on the shadow economic growth and financial stability among the selected South Asian emerging countries. We have used the CUP-FM and CUP-BC estimation methods to measure the above relationship on two model frameworks from 2004 to 2018, with the former measuring the influence of digital finance on the shadow economy and the latter examining the relationship between digital finance and financial stability. In addition, the second-generation unit root test, and the Westerlund cointegration analysis are also employed to confirm the stationarity and cointegration among the variables. The result of the Westerlund’s cointegration confirms a long cointegration between the explanatory and outcome variables. Furthermore, the long-run estimation results conclude that an increase in digital finance helps in reducing the growth of the shadow economy among the selected sample countries. However, it also increases the likelihood of systematic risks and increases financial instability. The study also reveals that the control variables like unemployment and industrial productivity also have a significant influence on financial stability and the shadow economy. The findings will assist readers in comprehending how digital finance influences the shadow economy and promotes financial inclusion and stability in emerging nations

Is There an Asymmetric Relationship between Economic Policy Uncertainty, Cryptocurrencies, and Global Green Bonds? Evidence from the United States of America

The environmental degradation and the concern for sustainable development have garnered extensive attention from researchers to evaluate the prospects of green bonds over other traditional assets. Against this backdrop, the current study measures the asymmetric relationship between green bonds, U.S. economic policy uncertainty (EPU), and bitcoins by employing the Nonlinear Autoregressive Distribution Lag (NARDL) estimation technique recently developed by Shin et al. The outcome of the empirical analysis confirms an asymmetric cointegration between EPU, bitcoins, the clean energy index, oil prices, and green bonds. The NARDL estimation substantiates that positive shock in EPU exerts a negative impact on green bonds, whereas a negative shock in EPU increases the performance of green bonds. It implies, in the long run, a 1 percent increase (decrease) in EPU decreases (increases) the performance of green bonds by 0.22 percent and 0.11 percent, respectively. Likewise, the study also confirms a bidirectional relationship between bitcoins and green bonds. A positive shock in bitcoin increases the performance of green bonds and vice versa. In addition, our study also reveals a direct co-movement between clean energy, oil prices, and green bonds. This outcome implies that green bonds are not a different asset class, and they mirror the performance of other asset classes, such as clean energy, oil prices, and bitcoins. The findings offer several implications to understand the hedging and diversification properties of bitcoins, and assist in understanding the role of U.S. economic policy uncertainty on green bonds

Differences in angiographic profile and immediate outcome of primary percutaneous coronary intervention in otherwise risk-free young male smokers

Introduction: Cigarette smoking is a well-established risk factor for the development and progression of coronary artery disease (CAD) and it is strongly related to cardiac morbidity and mortality. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the angiographic profile and immediate clinical outcomes in young male smokers and non-smokers without any other cardiac risk factors presented with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).Methods: This study includes young (≤40 years) male patients presented without cardiac risk factors other than smoking. Angiographic profile and immediate outcome of primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were collected from the hospital database.Results: A total of 580 young male patients were included in this study, 51.2% (297) were smokers. Baseline characteristics and presentation were similar for smoker and non-smoker groups. Angiographic profile was not significantly different for smokers in terms of pre-procedure thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) flow (p = 0.373), the number of vessels involved (p = 0.813), infarct-related artery (p = 0.834), and left ventricular dysfunction (p = 0.311). Similarly, in-hospital outcomes of primary PCI were not significantly different in smokers. Post-procedure no-reflow was in 3.4% vs. 2.8%; p = 0.708, acute stent thrombosis in 1.7% vs. 0.4%; p = 0.114 and in-hospital mortality in 1.0% vs. 1.4%; p = 0.657 of the smoker and non-smoker group, respectively.Conclusion: Our study concludes smoking has no significant impact on the angiographic profile and immediate clinical outcomes of primary PCI after STEMI in young males, without any other conventional cardiac risk factors. With these findings, further multicenter prospective studies are needed to identify other potential causes in such patients

Sequential damage study induced in fiber reinforced composites by shear and tensile stress using a newly developed Arcan fixture

This work presents the application of both uniaxial and bi-axial in-plane loads to unidirectional carbon fiber reinforced polymer laminates using a newly developed Arcan fixture, which is a reliable experimental set-up to obtain a uniform shear stress field in a butterfly specimen. The set-up can be used for both damage model validation and parameters identification at various fiber orientations while using the same specimens. A sequential damage study was completed to highlight the influence of diffused damage induced in pure shear on the fiber direction tensile behavior of the laminate. This was accomplished by applying load on the specimens in two steps: (i) the pure shear step and then unloading at approximately 70% of the shear failure strength, (ii) in the tensile step until final failure. A clear drop in the tensile behavior of the laminate was observed by the diffused damage induced in the first loading step of pure shear. The experimental study is also supplemented with numerical simulations using a nonlinear elasto-plastic coupled damage constitutive law by employing Puck’s failure theory for mesodamage activation. In addition to the damage pattern, the non-linear mechanical behavior in shear is predicted and found in good correspondence with the experimental results

Demonstrating Advantages of Neuromorphic Computation: A Pilot Study

Neuromorphic devices represent an attempt to mimic aspects of the brain's architecture and dynamics with the aim of replicating its hallmark functional capabilities in terms of computational power, robust learning and energy efficiency. We employ a single-chip prototype of the BrainScaleS 2 neuromorphic system to implement a proof-of-concept demonstration of reward-modulated spike-timing-dependent plasticity in a spiking network that learns to play the Pong video game by smooth pursuit. This system combines an electronic mixed-signal substrate for emulating neuron and synapse dynamics with an embedded digital processor for on-chip learning, which in this work also serves to simulate the virtual environment and learning agent. The analog emulation of neuronal membrane dynamics enables a 1000-fold acceleration with respect to biological real-time, with the entire chip operating on a power budget of 57mW. Compared to an equivalent simulation using state-of-the-art software, the on-chip emulation is at least one order of magnitude faster and three orders of magnitude more energy-efficient. We demonstrate how on-chip learning can mitigate the effects of fixed-pattern noise, which is unavoidable in analog substrates, while making use of temporal variability for action exploration. Learning compensates imperfections of the physical substrate, as manifested in neuronal parameter variability, by adapting synaptic weights to match respective excitability of individual neurons.Comment: Added measurements with noise in NEST simulation, add notice about journal publication. Frontiers in Neuromorphic Engineering (2019