Colorization of Multispectral Image Fusion using Convolutional Neural Network approach

The proposed technique  offers a significant advantage in enhancing multiband nighttime imagery for surveillance and navigation purposes., The multi-band image data set comprises visual  and infrared  motion sequences with various military and civilian surveillance scenarios which include people that are stationary, walking or running, Vehicles and buildings or other man-made structures. Colorization method led to provide superior discrimination, identification of objects (Lesions), faster reaction times and an increased scene understanding than monochrome fused image. The guided filtering approach is used to decompose the source images hence they are divided into two parts: approximation part and detail content part further the weighted-averaging method is used to fuse the approximation part. The multi-layer features are extracted from the detail content part using the VGG-19 network. Finally, the approximation part and detail content part will be combined to reconstruct the fused image. The proposed approach has offers better outcomes equated to prevailing state-of-the-art techniques in terms of quantitative and qualitative parameters. In future, propose technique will help Battlefield monitoring, Defence for situation awareness, Surveillance, Target tracking and Person authentication

Screening for retinopathy of prematurity in neonates

Background: Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a vaso-proliferative disorder of the retina among preterm infants. Neonates born at less than 32 weeks of gestation are at risk of developing ROP. However preterm infants born at 32 weeks or later can also develop severe ROP if they had turbulent NICU course or required prolonged oxygen therapy. Aims of the study were to determine incidence, risk factors of ROP in neonates and to determine the association of birth weight, gestational age and incidence of ROP.Methods: Prospective analytic study done in indoor patients in neonatal intensive care unit at a tertiary care center from June 2015 to May 2016.Results: Overall incidence of retinopathy of prematurity in preterm neonates is 18.4%. Incidence increases with decreasing gestational age. In preterm <28 weeks of gestational age, incidence of ROP is 35%. Incidence also increases with decreasing birth weight. Incidence of ROP in neonates with birth weight less than 1.25kg is 50%. Risk factors include prematurity, oxygen therapy, septicemia, intraventricular hemorrhage, anemia needing blood transfusion. Most patients of ROP have stage-1 disease (76%). The twenty one cases having ROP underwent laser ablative therapy. Earlier detection by screening leads to early intervention and prevention of blindness.Conclusions: The timely retinal screening of high-risk preterm infants is important to prevent the development of advanced ROP. Since ROP may produce serious sequel up to complete blindness, all efforts must be made to prevent the development of advanced ROP through elimination of preterm births, changes in the neonatal care and improvement in detection of threatening ROP markers

SCREENING AND CHARACTERIZATION OF BIOCATALYSTS FOR SYNTHESIS OF WIELAND MIESCHER KETONE: A VERSATILE SYNTHETIC INTERMEDIATE

Biocatalysts derived from biological molecules such as proteins, RNA, and DNA have long been exploited for applications in synthetic chemistry. Lipases, a versatile class of biocatalysts, are known to exhibit significant promiscuity for non-native substrates in non-aqueous and mixed organic/aqueous solvents. While lipases are known to possess catalytic activity for a wide range of organic transformations, predicting which lipases will catalyze specific carbon-carbon bond forming reactions remains a significant challenge. In this study, the catalytic potential of a library of commercially available lipases was investigated by screening them for catalysis of the Robinson Annulation, a synthetically important carbon-carbon bond forming reaction. Specifically, the lipase library was screened for synthesis of the Wieland-Miescher Ketone, an important intermediate in the synthesis of biologically active compounds such as steroids and terpenoids, from methyl vinyl ketone and 2-methyl-1,3-cyclohexanedione. An optimized procedure is presented for Wieland-Miescher Ketone synthesis using a crude preparation of porcine pancreatic lipase (PPL), reporting on both yield and enantiomeric excess. Finally, commercially available lipases are often sold as crude preparations, containing many different proteins, and are often used by many researchers without further purification, potentially obscuring the identity of the catalytic species. Therefore, a methodology to isolate and characterize the active component(s) of these lipase formulations is described in this study

Elevated Baseline Serum Fibrinogen: Effect on 2-Year Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events Following Percutaneous Coronary Intervention.

BackgroundElevated fibrinogen is associated with short-term major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) after percutaneous coronary intervention, but the relation with late MACE is unknown.Methods and resultsBaseline demographics and 2-year MACE were recorded among subjects undergoing nonemergent percutaneous coronary intervention. A total of 332 subjects (66.6±19.5&nbsp;years, 69.9% male, 25.3% acute coronary syndrome) were enrolled. Two-year MACE (periprocedural myocardial infarction 9.0%, rehospitalization 6.3%, revascularization 12.7%, non-periprocedural myocardial infarction 4.5%, stent thrombosis 0.9%, stroke 1.8%, and death 0.6%) were associated with higher fibrinogen (352.8±123.4&nbsp;mg/dL versus 301.6±110.8&nbsp;mg/dL; P&lt;0.001), longer total stent length (40.1±25.3&nbsp;mm versus 32.1±19.3&nbsp;mm; P=0.004), acute coronary syndrome indication (38.7% versus 17.8%; P&lt;0.001), number of bare-metal stents (0.5±1.1 versus 0.2±0.5; P=0.002), and stent diameter ≤2.5&nbsp;mm (55.8% versus 38.4%, P=0.003). No relation between platelet reactivity and 2-year MACE was observed. Fibrinogen ≥280&nbsp;mg/dL (odds ratio [OR] 3.0, confidence interval [CI], 1.6-5.4, P&lt;0.001), total stent length ≥32&nbsp;mm (OR 2.2, CI, 1.3-3.8, P&lt;0.001), acute coronary syndrome indication (OR 4.1, CI, 2.3-7.5, P&lt;0.001), any bare-metal stents (OR 3.2, CI, 1.6-6.1, P&lt;0.001), and stent diameter ≤2.5&nbsp;mm (OR 2.0, CI, 1.2-3.5, P=0.010) were independently associated with 2-year MACE. Following a landmark analysis excluding periprocedural myocardial infarction, fibrinogen ≥280&nbsp;mg/dL remained strongly associated with 2-year MACE (37.0% versus 17.4%, log-rank P&lt;0.001).ConclusionsElevated baseline fibrinogen level is associated with 2-year MACE after percutaneous coronary intervention. Acute coronary syndrome indication for percutaneous coronary intervention, total stent length implanted, and use of bare-metal stents or smaller-diameter stents are also independently associated with 2-year MACE, while measures of on-thienopyridine platelet reactivity are not

NON-DESTRUCTIVE RAMAN SPECTROSCOPIC METHOD FOR ESTIMATION OF MONTELUKAST FROM TABLET DOSAGES FORM

Objective: A rapid, non-destructive and non-solvent raman spectroscopic method for estimation of Montelukast from tablet dosages form Methods: Quantification was carried out by measuring the intensity of analyte peak at 1440 cm-1. Each Raman spectrum corresponded to an accumulation of 4 scans with an exposure time of 5 sec for each scan with a total integration time of 20 sec.Results: The method exhibited linearity between 2 mg-24 mg show well resolve quantification From MON. The linearity equation was calculated as y = 13.036x+70.819 and the correlation coefficient was found to be 0.997 for MON. LOD (limit of detection) and LOQ(limit of quantification) values were calculated using the calibration curve slope and standard deviation of the response. The LOD (limit of detection) and LOQ (limit of quantification) values were found to be 1.71 mg and 5.13 mg respectively.Conclusion: The developed method was successfully applied for assay of montelukast in the intact formulation. The method was validated according to an international conference on harmonisation guidelines. A recent study, montelukast sodium had been analysed by the raman method, but, looking into the tremendous potential of raman spectroscopic method; it can be extended as a process analysis and technology tool in various quality checks during manufacturing of pharmaceutical products

A Method for Identifying Cost-Efficient Practices in the Treatment of Thoracic Empyema

Background/Aims There is a need to identify cost-efficient practices in delivering healthcare. This study illustrates how cost-efficient practices can be identified and disseminated in treating thoracic empyema. Methods Data envelopment analysis was used to identify the scope for reducing length of stay, and therefore costs, at inpatient spell level for thoracic empyema. Results The potential for length of stay reduction was identified, representing about 50% of the recorded length of stay. Significant differences in potential for length of stay reduction were also found between consultant teams and between sources of patient admission. Conclusions Data envelopment analysis enables multiple conditioning factors affecting costs at inpatient spell level to be taken into account simultaneously. It enables management to identify and disseminate best practice within its own hospital. The approach can be transferred to other inpatient settings beyond thoracic empyema

Orientation of polylactic acid–chitin nanocomposite films via combined calendering and uniaxial drawing: Effect on structure, mechanical, and thermal properties

The orientation of polymer composites is one way to increase the mechanical properties of the material in a desired direction. In this study, the aim was to orient chitin nanocrystal (ChNC)-reinforced poly(lactic acid) (PLA) nanocomposites by combining two techniques: calendering and solid-state drawing. The effect of orientation on thermal properties, crystallinity, degree of orientation, mechanical properties and microstructure was studied. The orientation affected the thermal and structural behavior of the nanocomposites. The degree of crystallinity increased from 8% for the isotropic compression-molded films to 53% for the nanocomposites drawn with the highest draw ratio. The wide-angle X-ray scattering results confirmed an orientation factor of 0.9 for the solid-state drawn nanocomposites. The mechanical properties of the oriented nanocomposite films were significantly improved by the orientation, and the pre-orientation achieved by film calendering showed very positive effects on solid-state drawn nanocomposites: The highest mechanical properties were achieved for pre-oriented nanocomposites. The stiffness increased from 2.3 to 4 GPa, the strength from 37 to 170 MPa, the elongation at break from 3 to 75%, and the work of fracture from 1 to 96 MJ/m3. This study demonstrates that the pre-orientation has positive effect on the orientation of the nanocomposites structure and that it is an extremely efficient means to produce films with high strength and toughness.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version