A method to design a fast chaotic oscillator using CCTA.

This article introduces a novel method for designing a fast chaotic oscillator using a CCTA (Current Conveyor Transconductance Amplifier) based on Chua's circuit. The proposed method uses innovative configurations and advanced simulation techniques to overcome challenges in high-speed operation, nonlinear dynamics, and Analog Building Block (ABB) selection. The design begins with nonlinear negative resistance, essential for Chua's diode characteristics, including two negative resistances, NR and NR.

Clinical and Microbiological Evaluation of the Chemomechanical Caries Removal Agents in Primary Molars.

Background: Chemomechanical caries removal (CMCR) is a noninvasive procedure that uses a chemical substance to remove the diseased dentin. The natural dental architecture is also preserved using this technique, preventing patient discomfort and pulp irritation. This method of eliminating caries is based on disintegration.

MODIS-Landsat fusion-based single-band algorithms for TSS and turbidity estimation in an urban-waste-dominated river reach.

Riverine ecosystem management along an urban stretch mostly depends on high-frequent (daily-scale) monitoring of water quality at finer spatial resolutions. However, with the decrease in the number of in-situ monitoring stations owing to their expensive maintenance cost, there is a need to develop the next-generation remote sensing (RS) tools as an alternate approach with better synoptic coverage of river water quality assessment. This study advocates three novel model variants to estimate the total suspended solids (TSS) concentration at daily-scale using the public-domain MODIS and Landsat satellite datasets.

Integrated remote sensing and machine learning tools for estimating ecological flow regimes in tropical river reaches.

With the gradual declining streamflow gauging stations in many world-rivers, emphasis is given nowadays to develop remote sensing (RS)-based approaches as the next-generation hydrometry for estimating riverine ecological flow regimes (EFR). For constructing EFR based on daily-streamflow data in scantily-gauged reaches, use of RS techniques in narrow flow-width tropical rain-fed rivers is constrained with the non-availability of finer spatial satellite data at daily scale. To address these limitations, this study proposes a novel framework that integrates the enhanced spatiotemporal adaptive reflectance fusion (FUS) of the 250 m × 1-day resolution Aqua-MODIS and 30 m × 1-day resolution Landsat satellite-based remote sensing images in the near-infrared region with the machine learning algorithms.

Robust sensor placement for sustainable leakage management in water distribution networks of developing economies: A hybrid decision support framework.

Urban water distribution networks (WDNs) in developing economies often refrain from investing in sensor-based leakage management technologies due to financial constraints and other techno-managerial issues. Thus, this study proposes a generalized decision support framework based on network sensitivity analysis (NSA) and multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) to assess the prospect of effective leakage control through robust sensor placement in existing deficient WDNs. Four sensitivity parameters are formulated for NSA to ascertain the pressure response of the potential sensor positions for diverse hydraulic and leak scenarios.

Scaling up the Digitalization of the Public Distribution System: A COVID-19 Pandemic Impetus.

Food grain is an essential commodity that requires proper procurement, transportation, storage, and distribution with easy access to needy people. Therefore, The Indian government has established a Public Distribution System (PDS) to distribute the food grain across the country. This study emphasizes the need for digitalization of PDS and how the COVID-19 accelerates the digitalization of PDS.

A review on environmental occurrence, toxicity and microbial degradation of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs).

In recent years, Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) have surfaced as a novel class of pollutants due to their incomplete degradation in wastewater treatment plants and their inherent ability to promote physiological predicaments in humans even at low doses. The occurrence of the most common NSAIDs (diclofenac, ibuprofen, naproxen, and ketoprofen) in river water, groundwater, finished water samples, WWTPs, and hospital wastewater effluents along with their toxicity effects were reviewed. The typical concentrations of NSAIDs in natural waters were mostly below 1 μg/L, the rivers receiving untreated wastewater discharge have often showed higher concentrations, highlighting the importance of effective wastewater treatment.

Hydraulic performance benchmarking for effective management of water distribution networks: An innovative composite index-based approach.

Hydraulic performance assessment and benchmarking of water distribution networks (WDNs) impose a major challenge to water utilities worldwide. Presently, benchmarking strategies for WDNs are not fully developed, especially for analyzing intermittent systems commonly encountered in non-developed nations. To overcome these limitations, this paper proposes an index-based benchmarking strategy for WDNs, comparing their actual hydraulic performance and expected serviceability.

Identifying Myocardial Infarction Using Hierarchical Template Matching-Based Myocardial Strain: Algorithm Development and Usability Study.

Background: Myocardial infarction (MI; location and extent of infarction) can be determined by late enhancement cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging, which requires the injection of a potentially harmful gadolinium-based contrast agent (GBCA). Alternatively, emerging research in the area of myocardial strain has shown potential to identify MI using strain values.

Objective: This study aims to identify the location of MI by developing an applied algorithmic method of circumferential strain (CS) values, which are derived through a novel hierarchical template matching (HTM) method.

Morphological and elemental mapping of gallstones using synchrotron microtomography and synchrotron X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy.

Background And Aim: Regional differences in gallstone (GS) composition are well documented in the Indian subcontinent. The reasons for the same are unknown. Etiopathogenesis of GS remains elusive despite advances in instrumentation.

Hierarchical Template Matching for 3D Myocardial Tracking and Cardiac Strain Estimation.

Myocardial tracking and strain estimation can non-invasively assess cardiac functioning using subject-specific MRI. As the left-ventricle does not have a uniform shape and functioning from base to apex, the development of 3D MRI has provided opportunities for simultaneous 3D tracking, and 3D strain estimation. We have extended a Local Weighted Mean (LWM) transformation function for 3D, and incorporated in a Hierarchical Template Matching model to solve 3D myocardial tracking and strain estimation problem.

Mine sludge waste recycling as bio-stimulant for applications in anaerobic wastewater treatment.

This study examined the applicability of two mine sludge wastes, mine tailing sludge (MTS) and acid mine drainage sludge (AMDS) as iron-rich bio-stimulant for enhancing organic matter degradation in anaerobic process. Batch treatment of domestic sewage having 343 ± 10 mg/L chemical oxygen demand (COD) using MTS and AMDS as additives mixed with septic tank sludge as anaerobic inoculum produced lower start-up time, higher efficiency of COD removal, enhanced biomass retention, and higher acidogenic and methanogenic activity after stabilization. Biostimulation induced by mine sludge waste additives in anaerobic system were observed to have correlation with percentage of iron content in the additives, as well as difference in surface charge between biomass and the additives.

Markov random field segmentation for industrial computed tomography with metal artefacts.

X-ray Computed Tomography (XCT) has become an important tool for industrial measurement and quality control through its ability to measure internal structures and volumetric defects. Segmentation of constituent materials in the volume acquired through XCT is one of the most critical factors that influence its robustness and repeatability. Highly attenuating materials such as steel can introduce artefacts in CT images that adversely affect the segmentation process, and results in large errors during quantification.

A Novel Hierarchical Template Matching Model for Cardiac Motion Estimation.

Cardiovascular disease diagnosis and prognosis can be improved by measuring patient-specific in-vivo local myocardial strain using Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Local myocardial strain can be determined by tracking the movement of sample muscles points during cardiac cycle using cardiac motion estimation model. The tracking accuracy of the benchmark Free Form Deformation (FFD) model is greatly affected due to its dependency on tunable parameters and regularisation function.

An IAEA multi-technique X-ray spectrometry endstation at Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste: benchmarking results and interdisciplinary applications.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) jointly with the Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste (EST) operates a multipurpose X-ray spectrometry endstation at the X-ray Fluorescence beamline (10.1L). The facility has been available to external users since the beginning of 2015 through the peer-review process of EST.

Urban air quality forecasting based on multi-dimensional collaborative Support Vector Regression (SVR): A case study of Beijing-Tianjin-Shijiazhuang.

Today, China is facing a very serious issue of Air Pollution due to its dreadful impact on the human health as well as the environment. The urban cities in China are the most affected due to their rapid industrial and economic growth. Therefore, it is of extreme importance to come up with new, better and more reliable forecasting models to accurately predict the air quality.

High pre-diagnosis attrition among patients with presumptive MDR-TB: an operational research from Bhopal district, India.

Background: Pre-diagnosis attrition needs to be addressed urgently if we are to make progress in improving MDR-TB case detection and achieve universal access to MDR-TB care. We report the pre-diagnosis attrition, along with factors associated, and turnaround times related to the diagnostic pathway among patient with presumptive MDR-TB in Bhopal district, central India (2014).

Methods: Study was conducted under the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme setting.

Multivariate optimization for electrochemical oxidation of methyl orange: Pathway identification and toxicity analysis.

Electrochemical oxidation of methyl orange (Sodium 4-[(4-dimethylamino) phenyldiazenyl] benzenesulfonate) with lead dioxide coated on mild steel was modelled using response surface methodology (RSM) to analyze the influence of pH, NaCl dose and current on color and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal. Higher current, acidic pH and 0.8-1.

Kinetics of biotransformation of chlorpyrifos in aqueous and soil slurry environments.

The attenuation of chlorpyrifos (CPF) by the enriched indigenous soil microorganism was studied in 15 d aerobic and 60 d anaerobic batch experiments in aqueous and soil slurry (1:3 w/w) media. At the end of the batch experiments, 2.78 ± 0.

Kinetics of the biodegradation pathway of endosulfan in the aerobic and anaerobic environments.

The enriched mixed culture aerobic and anaerobic bacteria from agricultural soils were used to study the degradation of endosulfan (ES) in aqueous and soil slurry environments. The extent of biodegradation was ∼95% in aqueous and ∼65% in soil slurry during 15 d in aerobic studies and, ∼80% in aqueous and ∼60% in soil slurry during 60 d in anaerobic studies. The pathways of aerobic and anaerobic degradation of ES were modeled using combination of Monod no growth model and first order kinetics.

Simultaneous analysis of endosulfan, chlorpyrifos, and their metabolites in natural soil and water samples using gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

Analysis of endosulfan, chlorpyrifos, and their nonpolar metabolites in extracts from environmental aqueous and soil samples was performed using a gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) technique. Full-scan GC-MS analysis showed poor sensitivity for some of the metabolites (endodiol and endosulfan ether). A multisegment MS/MS method was developed and MS/MS parameter isolation time, excitation time, excitation voltage, and maximum excitation energy were optimized for chosen precursor ions to enhance selectivity and sensitivity of the analysis.

Intracerebral infarcts following clipping of intracranial aneurysms: incidence, clinical correlation and outcome.

Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is a significant health care problem. One of the major determinants of outcome following surgery of intracranial aneurysms is development of intracranial infarcts. All patients underwent clipping for aneurysms in one year in the department of neurosurgery, PGIMER, Chandigarh were studied.

Serum homocysteine in Indian adolescents.

Objective: To assess serum homocysteine levels and its association with conventional risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in Indian adolescents.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in tertiary care hospital in northern India in apparently healthy adolescents aged 10-19 yr. A pre-designed questionnaire was used to assess conventional risk factors.

Atypical bacterial pathogens in community-acquired pneumonia in children: a hospital-based study.

A total of 243 children aged one month to five years with World Health Organization defined severe community acquired pneumonia were studied for the presence of atypical bacterial pathogens: 24 were found positive for mycoplasma infection. There was no significant association with any of the clinical, laboratory and radiological variables in children with pneumonia by the atypical pathogen.