Developing a hybrid PSO–ANN model for estimating the ultimate bearing capacity of rock-socketed piles

Neural Computing and Applications - Rock-socketed piles are commonly used in foundations built in soft ground, and thus, their bearing capacity is a key issue of universal concern in research,...     

Ultimate bound and optimal measurement for estimation of coupling constant in Tavis–Cummings model

We seek to study the problem of estimating the atoms-field coupling constant in Tavis–Cummings model for interaction between two atoms and an electromagnetic field by means of local estimation theory. We calculate the quantum Fisher information (QFI) for the most general pure probe state that undergoes evolution generated by the Hamiltonian of the Tavis–Cummings model; then, proper probe states which maximize the QFI are determined. Furthermore, we consider subspaces separately and show that QFI for atomic subspace (contains both qubits) and cavity field subspace can reach the maximum value of QFI in the whole space by choosing proper initial state. Finally, the optimal measurement that saturates the Cramer–Rao bound, i.e., the measurement with Fisher information equal to QFI, for considered states are determined in the whole space and the subspaces, separately.     

Automatic melanoma detection and segmentation in dermoscopy images using deep RetinaNet and conditional random fields

Multimedia Tools and Applications - Melanoma is one of the major causes of death around the world and is also known as malignant skin cancer. Melanoma detection is possible at an early stage by...     

Comparative Simulation of GIS-Based Rainwater Management Solutions

Rain Water Harvesting (RWH) as a solution for sustainable rainwater management is the focus of this research. To locate the potential sites for RWH, multi-criteria analysis following analytical hierarchy process using land-use/landcover, slope, drainage density, and runoff depth has been performed. By introducing continuous soil moisture accounting procedure in the globally used SCS-CN method, discrepancies in computed runoff values have been assessed. To appraise the usefulness of revised Soil Moisture Accounting (SMA) -enhanced SCS-CN models, a number of modifications have been compared. The models’ performance has been evaluated using R², Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), Nash Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE), Percent BIAS (PBIAS) statistical indicators, and Rank Grading System (RGS) and the best has been selected to calculate the runoff depth for RWH potential zones. The resultant suitability map classifies Gurriala catchment into three suitability zones. 33.8% of the total area has been found as least suitable, comprised mainly of forest, residential land, and water bodies, while 46.8% and 19.4% of the area is recognized as moderately suitable and high suitable respectively. Selected suitable sites have been further classified into suitability zones for enhanced RWH structures and runoff volume contributed by each RWH structure has been computed. The total runoff potential of the area is 22.47 MCM that is enough to fulfill the water demands of suburban areas as a most inexpensive solution.

     

Combustion performance evaluation of air staging of palm oil blends

The problems of global warming and the unstable price of petroleum oils have led to a race to develop environmentally friendly biofuels, such as palm oil or ethanol derived from corn and sugar cane. Biofuels are a potential replacement for fossil fuel, since they are renewable and environmentally friendly. This paper evaluates the combustion performance and emission characteristics of Refined, Bleached, and Deodorized Palm Oil (RBDPO)/diesel blends B5, B10, B15, B20, and B25 by volume, using an industrial oil burner with and without secondary air. Wall temperature profiles along the combustion chamber axis were measured using a series of thermocouples fitted axially on the combustion chamber wall, and emissions released were measured using a gas analyzer. The results show that RBDPO blend B25 produced the maximum emission reduction of 56.9% of CO, 74.7% of NOx, 68.5% of SO(2), and 77.5% of UHC compared to petroleum diesel, while air staging (secondary air) in most cases reduces the emissions further. However, increasing concentrations of RBDPO in the blends also reduced the energy released from the combustion. The maximum wall temperature reduction was 62.7% for B25 at the exit of the combustion chamber.     

Assessment of possible protective roles of selenium, zinc, and cis-stilbene oxide against acute T-2 toxin poisoning: a preliminary report

The efficacy of two free radical scavengers, selenium and zinc, and a microsomal epoxide hydrolase-inducing agent, cis-stilbene oxide on the acute toxicity of T-2 toxin, a potent cytotoxic trichothecene, was investigated. Mice were pretreated daily for 3 consecutive days with either zinc sulfate (4.4 mg/kg, intraperitoneally [i.p.]), sodium selenite (1, 2, and 3 mg/kg i.p.) or cis-stilbene oxide (50 mg/kg i.p.). A full 24-hr after the final dosing with these agents, mice were given T-2 toxin (2, 2.5, or 3 mg/kg i.p.). The acute lethal toxicity of T-2 toxin (2.5 mg/kg) was reduced by administration of only sodium selenite (3 mg/kg) and cis-stilbene oxide (50 mg/kg). No significant effect on weight gain was observed.     

Microfluidic Synthesis of Ultrasmall Chitosan/Graphene Quantum Dots Particles for Intranasal Delivery in Alzheimer's Disease Treatment

Nanoparticles (NPs) based therapies for Alzheimer's disease (AD) attract interest due to their ability to pass across or bypass the blood-brain barrier. Chitosan (CS) NPs or graphene quantum dots (GQDs) are promising drug carriers with excellent physicochemical and electrical properties. The current study proposes the combination of CS and GQDs in ultrasmall NP form not as drug carriers but as theranostic agents for AD. The microfluidic-based synthesis of the CS/GQD NPs with optimized characteristics makes them ideal for transcellular transfer and brain targeting after intranasal (IN) delivery. The NPs have the ability to enter the cytoplasm of C6 glioma cells in vitro and show dose and time-dependent effects on the viability of the cells. IN administration of the NPs to streptozotocin (STZ) induced AD-like models lead to a significant number of entrances of the treated rats to the target arm in the radial arm water maze (RAWM) test. It shows the positive effect of the NPs on the memory recovery of the treated rats. The NPs are detectable in the brain via in vivo bioimaging due to GQDs as diagnostic markers. The noncytotoxic NPs localize in the myelinated axons of hippocampal neurons. They do not affect the clearance of amyloid β (Aβ) plaques at intercellular space. Moreover, they showed no positive impact on the enhancement of MAP2 and NeuN expression as markers of neural regeneration. The memory improvement in treated AD rats may be due to neuroprotection via the anti-inflammation effect and regulation of the brain tissue microenvironment that needs to be studied.     

Quantum discord protection of a two-qutrit V-type atomic system from decoherence by partially collapsing measurements

In this paper, by exploiting the weak measurement and quantum measurement reversal procedure, we propose a scheme to show how one can protect the geometric quantum discord (GQD) of a two-qutrit V-type atomic system each of which interacts with a dissipative reservoir independently. We examine the scheme for the GQD of the initial two-qutrit Werner and Horodecki states for different classes of weak measurement strengths. It is found out that the presented protocol enables us to suppress decoherence due to the amplitude damping channel and preserve the quantum discord of the two-qutrit system successfully.     

Requirement of system–reservoir bound states for entanglement protection

In this work, a genuine mechanism for entanglement protection of a two- qubit system interacting with a dissipative common reservoir is investigated. Based on generating a bound state for the system–reservoir, we show that stronger bound state in the energy spectrum can be created by adding another non-interacting qubits into the reservoir. It turns out that obtaining higher degrees of boundedness in the energy spectrum leads to a better protection of two-qubit entanglement against the dissipative noises. Also, it is figured out that the formation of bound state not only exclusively determines the long-time entanglement protection, irrespective to the Markovian and non-Markovian dynamics, but also performs the same task for reservoirs with different spectral densities.