Optimization by nonhierarchical asynchronous decomposition

Large scale optimization problems are tractable only if they are somehow decomposed. Hierarchical decompositions are inappropriate for some types of problems and do not parallelize well. Sobieszczanski-Sobieski has proposed a nonhierarchical decomposition strategy for nonlinear constrained optimization that is naturally parallel. Despite some successes on engineering problems, the algorithm as originally proposed fails on simple two dimensional quadratic programs. The algorithm is carefully analyzed for quadratic programs, and a number of modifications are suggested to improve its robustness

Study on The Ecological Consequences of Food Wastage

The present study focusses on evaluating the ecological impacts due to food wastage which has been either food loss or due to food wastage. Food production and consumption are resource oriented that consumes nearly 70% of available fresh water and 30% of energy, that is impacted by population growth, urbanization, growing demand, climate change and resource degradation. Globally, average water and food availability indicates sufficiency to meet demands of 7.7 billion population (UN, 2018). Still, nearly 1.2 billion people face acute water scarcity and 870 billion people go hungry every day, of which majority are from India (~194.6 million) which is much low in global hunger index. India produces about 270 million tons of food a year against the demand of 225-230 million. Paradoxically, despite adequacy, food security is not ensured and nearly 40% food is wasted at all levels from harvesting till consumption as all the produce fail to reach the consumer. Such wastage adversely affects the economy, environment, and society. Even with several attempts to reduce food waste by individuals, organizations and authorities, India trails in reducing food crisis and needs innovative technological and entrepreneurial solutions and some policy changes. In order to lay out a road map for achieving sustainable development goals (SDG) 2,6 and 12 (which stipulates “zero hunger”, “clean water and sanitation” and responsible consumption and production respectively), it is important to explicate the resources utilization as well as their reparations to the environment. The concept of footprints especially the water and the carbon footprints, that are good proxies to measure the pressure of human actions on the environment have been utilized in this study to estimate the impacts of food wastage. Available estimation of water and carbon footprints for various food products have been recorded from the literature and interpreted in terms of resource utilization as well as damages caused to the environment when wasted. Outcome of the study would be helpful in deriving strategies for sustainable resources management as well as for preparing agenda that could scale down the vulnerable impacts on environment. Food, water and energy underpin are inextricably linked to environment sustainability contributing to a variety of ecological disasters culminating in food and resource in security

A rare case of aggressive angiomyxoma of vulva since childhood

Aggressive angiomyxoma is a locally invasive benign mesenchymal tumour usually occurring in women of reproductive age and is rare in children. It carries a high risk of recurrence and hence needs to be differentiated from other masses. The diagnosis is difficult clinically and is almost always histological. Here is a rare case of aggressive angiomyxoma of vulva in a 15 year old female presented with presented with mass in vulva on left side since birth and increased to the present size since 3 years. The swelling was painless, no local rise of temperature, no visible veins. Attained menarche 2 years ago and cycles are regular with normal flow

Analysis of a Nonhierarchical Decomposition Algorithm

Large scale optimization problems are tractable only if they are somehow decomposed. Hierarchical decompositions are inappropriate for some types of problems and do not parallelize well. Sobieszczanski-Sobieski has proposed a nonhierarchical decomposition strategy for nonlinear constrained optimization that is naturally parallel. Despite some successes on engineering problems, the algorithm as originally proposed fails on simple two dimensional quadratic programs. This paper carefully analyzes the algorithm for quadratic programs, and suggests a number of modifications to improve its robustness

Enhanced antibacterial activity of streptomycin against some human pathogens using green synthesized silver nanoparticles

AbstractThe development of eco-friendly technologies in nanoparticle synthesis is of utmost importance in order to expand their biological horizons. In the present study, bioreduction of AgNO3 into AgNPs using various leaf extracts of Ficus virens is explained. The resulting AgNPs were characterized by UV–vis spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Synthesis of AgNPs was confirmed by color change from transparent to brown with maximum absorption at 420 nm due to surface plasmon resonance of AgNPs. X-ray diffraction studies showed that the biosynthesized AgNPs were crystalline in nature, and TEM analysis showed spherical shape of the nanoparticles with size ranging from 4.98 to 29 nm. FTIR study indicates that mainly –C = O, -OH and N-H groups in leaf extracts are involved in the reduction of Ag+ ions to Ag atoms, and proteins are responsible for stabilizing the silver nanoparticles. The synthesized AgNPs showed significant antibacterial activity against Gram positive and gram negative human bacterial pathogens. The results showed that AgNPs also synergistically enhance (2.02–57.98%) the antibacterial activity of streptomycin, a common antibiotic. With this approach, AgNPs can be used as a new generation of antimicrobial agents for successful development of drug delivery

Consensus recommendations for a standardized Brain Tumor Imaging Protocol in clinical trials

A recent joint meeting was held on January 30, 2014, with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), National Cancer Institute (NCI), clinical scientists, imaging experts, pharmaceutical and biotech companies, clinical trials cooperative groups, and patient advocate groups to discuss imaging endpoints for clinical trials in glioblastoma. This workshop developed a set of priorities and action items including the creation of a standardized MRI protocol for multicenter studies. The current document outlines consensus recommendations for a standardized Brain Tumor Imaging Protocol (BTIP), along with the scientific and practical justifications for these recommendations, resulting from a series of discussions between various experts involved in aspects of neuro-oncology neuroimaging for clinical trials. The minimum recommended sequences include: (i) parameter-matched precontrast and postcontrast inversion recovery-prepared, isotropic 3D T1-weighted gradient-recalled echo; (ii) axial 2D T2-weighted turbo spin-echo acquired after contrast injection and before postcontrast 3D T1-weighted images to control timing of images after contrast administration; (iii) precontrast, axial 2D T2-weighted fluid-attenuated inversion recovery; and (iv) precontrast, axial 2D, 3-directional diffusion-weighted images. Recommended ranges of sequence parameters are provided for both 1.5 T and 3 T MR system

The Hardness Behaviour of TIG Welded AL6061 Alloy Using Statistical Tool

CoHErrelation between weldability and improvement in properties is a key issue in materials science research. The objective of this work is to optimize the process parameters viz., aging temperature, aging time, solutionizing time, to enhance the hardness of Al6061 alloy. Hence, the present paper deals with hardness study of Tungsten Inert Gas welded 6061 aluminium alloy after age hardening under three different aging temperatures, aging time and solutionizing time using Taguchi’s L9 Orthogonal array. Finally, a second order model has been generated for hardness using Response Surface Methodology with 20 runs for full design. The predicted and experimental results are in good agreement