Frame duplication and shuffling forgery detection technique in surveillance videos based on temporal average and gray level co-occurrence matrix

Multimedia Tools and Applications - Nowadays, due to the increasing crime and theft around the world, surveillance security systems play an important role. On the other hand, the availability of...     

Metal-Bound Methisazone; Novel Drugs Targeting Prophylaxis and Treatment of SARS-CoV-2, a Molecular Docking Study

SARS-CoV-2 currently lacks effective first-line drug treatment. We present promising data from in silico docking studies of new Methisazone compounds (modified with calcium, Ca; iron, Fe; magnesium, Mg; manganese, Mn; or zinc, Zn) designed to bind more strongly to key proteins involved in replication of SARS-CoV-2. In this in silico molecular docking study, we investigated the inhibiting role of Methisazone and the modified drugs against SARS-CoV-2 proteins: ribonucleic acid (RNA)-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), spike protein, papain-like protease (PlPr), and main protease (MPro). We found that the highest binding interactions were found with the spike protein (6VYB), with the highest overall binding being observed with Mn-bound Methisazone at −8.3 kcal/mol, followed by Zn and Ca at −8.0 kcal/mol, and Fe and Mg at −7.9 kcal/mol. We also found that the metal-modified Methisazone had higher affinity for PlPr and MPro. In addition, we identified multiple binding pockets that could be singly or multiply occupied on all proteins tested. The best binding energy was with Mn–Methisazone versus spike protein, and the largest cumulative increases in binding energies were found with PlPr. We suggest that further studies are warranted to identify whether these compounds may be effective for treatment and/or prophylaxis.     

Situational awareness of construction equipment using GPS, wireless and web technologies

Situational awareness refers to the ability by equipment operators to sense their environment with the objective of increasing safety and improving productivity on construction sites. This paper reports on research related to situational awareness of construction equipment using differential Global Positioning System (DGPS), wireless and web-based technologies. In this investigation, the researchers developed and implemented technologies for vehicle tracking, and collision detection. The paper concludes with a summary of these applications, along with a discussion of the limitations of current implementations, and the required augmentation by other technologies.     

Active-pull-down nonthreshold logic BiCMOS circuits for high-speedlow-power applications

A new active-pull-down nonthreshold logic (APD-NTL) BiCMOS circuit is presented and its performance has been evaluated and compared to that of standard NTL gate. The circuit utilizes an NMOS active-pull-down emitter-follower stage. A first-order analysis has been conducted to demonstrate the NMOS-APD concept. Simulation results based on 0.6 μm BiCMOS technology indicate that at a power consumption of 1 mW/gate, the APD-NTL circuit offers 4× improvement in the load driving capability and 3.4× improvement in the speed compared to conventional NTL circuits for a load of 1 pF/gate and a logic swing of 800 mV     

Use of methanol and oxygen in promoting the destruction of deca-chlorobiphenyl in supercritical water

The destruction of the well-known PCB, deca-chlorobiphenyl (10-CB), by oxidation and methanolysis in supercritical water (SCW), has been studied in a micro-reactor hydrothermal diamond-anvil cell (DAC, 50 nL) and in larger batch reactors (6 mL). The DAC was coupled to optical and infrared microscopes. In the DAC experiments, 10-CB proved to be stable under pyrolytic conditions, whereas in water, it was hydrolyzed and actually dissolved at temperatures above 475 °C. When partial oxygen was added to the 10-CB/water system, the solubility of 10-CB increased slightly as compared to the pure water experiments, and 10-CB was further decomposed by oxidation. The addition of methanol resulted in further decomposition by methanolysis, as confirmed by FT-IR spectroscopy, and lowered the dissolution temperature to 419 °C. Both oxygen and methanol (25 vol.%) were then used to destroy 10-CB in batch reactors, in which the supercritical water experiments permitted a detailed study of the reaction products of the 10-CB destruction. In the absence of methanol, more than 12 intermediate products were detected by GC-MS, and 99.2% of the 10-CB was destroyed in the presence of 225% excess oxygen at 450 °C within 20 min. When methanol was used in the absence of any excess oxygen, a destruction rate of 100% was achieved at 450 °C within 10 min and only three intermediate products were detected. The enhanced destruction of 10-CB in the presence of methanol is attributed to the homogenous reaction conditions employed and the generation of free radicals.     

Reliability analysis of photovoltaic systems

Reliability is an important parameter for the user of photovoltaic (PV) power systems. A methodology for the analytical treatment of the reliability of PV systems is proposed in this paper. The method depends upon the logic of the fault-tree technique. The reliabilities of the different components of a PV system are used to predict the reliability of the overall system. Today's most commonly known systems are considered and a reliability formula is developed for each system. The methodology presented is appropriate for a wide range of applications and system types.     

An accurate analytical propagation delay model for high-speed CMLbipolar circuits

A new analytical delay model for high-speed CML circuits is presented. It is applicable to high-speed/low-voltage-swing silicon and HBT CML circuits operating at medium or high current densities. The model is based on bipolar SPICE parameters file, and can be used to estimate the propagation delay time of CML circuits under different operating conditions. The detailed transient analysis accounts for delay components due to each element in the complete SPICE bipolar transistor model. The comparison to SPICE circuit simulation results show excellent agreement for a wide range of state-of-the-art technologies and circuit parameters. The new model predicts the delay time with less than 5% error in most cases. The influence of the finite slopes (slewing rate) of the input signal and the device dimensions is also investigated. The delay model determined the optimum current i₀ (or load resistor R_L) for a transistor of a certain emitter area when driven by a source of a voltage swing (ΔV) and slew time (t_r ). At a specified power dissipation, the delay model is used to optimally size the transistor emitter area for maximum switching speed. The model provides circuit and device guidelines to minimize the propagation delay time and improve the performance of high-speed CML circuits     

A new model for bipolar transistors at high current

A model for current gain and cutoff frequency falloff at high currents for bipolar transistors is proposed. The model is based on considering that the vertical and lateral base widening occur simultaneously for a typical bipolar transistor. The results of this model successfully fit Pisces-2B simulation results