Fog Computing for Big Data Analytics in IoT Aided Smart Grid Networks

Wireless Personal Communications - The recent integration of Internet of Things and Cloud Computing (CC) technologies into a Smart Grid (SG) revolutionizes its operation. The scalable and unlimited...     

Incidence of Helicobacter pylori infection in Ghanaian patients with dyspeptic symptoms referred for upper gastrointestinal endoscopy

There is a lack of information in the United Kingdom on the prevalence of third molars in older patients. The aim of this study was therefore to define the pattern of lower third molar retention in UK dental practice attenders aged 35 years and over. A random sample of 599 eligible patients from a rural dental practice were included in the study. Information was obtained from clinical notes and panoramic radiographs. Data collected included age, gender, presence or absence of lower third molars, number of teeth present in the lower arch and eruption status. Two hundred and sixty-four (44.1 per cent) had at least one lower third molar present (mean age = 57.1 years) while 335 (55.9 per cent) had no lower third molars (mean age = 50.2 years). The data suggest that a greater proportion of men than women retain at least one lower third molar although this finding was not statistically significant. Seventy per cent of retained lower third molars reported in the study were fully erupted. Sixty per cent were vertically placed. There was an association between age and number of teeth present (chi 2 = 38.85, 4DF, P < 0.05), older patients having fewer lower teeth. These data suggest that a large number of patients can expect to keep their lower third molars beyond the age of 35 years and that in many cases a conservative "wait and see' policy for lower third molars in the early twenties is appropriate.     

An extended COPRAS method for multiattribute group decision making based on dual hesitant fuzzy Maclaurin symmetric mean

The well-known Maclaurin symmetric mean (MSM) and the dual MSM (DMSM) are introduced as important operators to handle multiattribute group decision making (MAGDM) information. The MSM and the DMSM operators have the prominent characteristic of accurately describing the interdependence of multi-input arguments. Due to their advantage, we extend the MSM and the DMSM into the dual hesitant fuzzy environment to aggregate uncertain information. Particularly, we propose some novel aggregation operators, namely dual hesitant fuzzy MSM, weighted dual hesitant fuzzy MSM, dual hesitant fuzzy dual MSM, and weighted dual hesitant fuzzy dual MSM operators. Moreover, we study some properties and special remarks regarding different values of the parameter. With an extension of the complex proportional assessment method, we formulate a new approach for the dual hesitant fuzzy MAGDM. Finally, we test the applicability and feasibility of our proposed method by solving a mobile payment platform selection problem in Ghana.     

An overview of Web search evaluation methods

Web search evaluation is the process of measuring the effectiveness of a Web search system. Such an evaluation helps in identifying the most effective one and helps the users to find the required information with less effort. Web search systems have been evaluated in many different ways in the last 15 years. In this paper, we review some of the efforts made for the evaluation of Web search systems. We discuss these evaluation studies by classifying them into eight different categories. As the size and content of Web is changing rapidly, and hence, the Web search techniques, we mention the necessity of an automatic evaluation methodology. But, at the same time, we emphasize that the significance of user based evaluation can not be neglected. Finally, we conclude that an automatic evaluation method that models users’ feedback based evaluation is required for the effective and realistic evaluation of Web search systems.     

A collinear self-emission and laser-backlighting imaging diagnostic

In this work we demonstrate a design for obtaining laser backlighting (e.g., interferometry) and time-resolved extreme ultraviolet self-emission images along the same line-of-sight. This is achieved by modifying a single optical component in the laser collection optics with apertures and pinhole arrangements suitable for single or multiple frame imaging onto a gated detector, such as a microchannel plate. Test results for exploding wire experiments show that machining of the optic does not affect the overall quality of the recovered laser images, and that, even with a multiple frame system, the area sacrificed to achieve collinear imaging is relatively small. The diagnostics can therefore allow direct correlation of laser and self-emission images and their derived quantities, such as electron density in the case of interferometry. Simple methods of image correlation are also demonstrated.     

On pedagogy of nanometric circuit reliability

Fast-shrinking dimensions of semiconductor devices are expected to reach sub-10 nm scale in a few years. Although smaller in size and lower in power consumption than today’s CMOS devices, the nanoscaled devices are much less reliable due to manufacturing imperfections (hard errors), and noise and radiation-induced faults (soft errors). Consequently, in addition to timing, area, and power, the reliability has to become a new design criterion. This also means that the topic of reliability has to be incorporated into the circuit design curriculum. In this paper, we propose a course on circuit reliability. We also present in detail, an automated tool for calculation of reliability which could be incorporated into the course as a means for active learning.     

Wind characteristics and wind energy potential in western Nevada

The wind potential in western Nevada was assessed by using wind, temperature, and pressure data over a period of four and half years from four 50 m tall towers. The seasonal wind patterns for all towers show a maximum during the spring season. Diurnal wind speed patterns for all seasons and months showed a minimum during the late morning and a maximum during the late afternoon. The highest values are during the spring season with multi-annual hourly wind speeds at or above 8 m/s and relative frequency of the wind speed in the optimum turbine range (5–25 m/s) of 70% or higher for the Tonopah tower, with lower values for the other three towers. The monthly power law index values are lower than the standard value 0.147 (in general 0.13 or lower). The hourly turbulence intensities were higher at lower elevations, with values of about 0.35 or higher at the 10 m level and at lower wind speed range (5.0 m/s or less). Higher turbulence intensities were found for all towers and heights during the spring and summer seasons and lower values during the rest of the year. The daily gust factor for the 2003–2007 composite data sets shows low probabilities (2% or less) of the wind gusts exceeding 25 m/s.     

Colour semantics in residential interior architecture on different interior types

Colour meaning is a challenging decision in interior architecture during the design process; however, specific meanings within different interior types have not yet been investigated. This study explored colour meaning in the context of residential interior types (eg, bedroom) under controlled conditions using 42 Munsell colours varying in hues, value, and chroma levels, with 14 adjectives (eg, comfortable, pleasant). The results demonstrate that some colours convey the same meanings (eg, vulgar) regardless of type of room; however, others (eg, beautiful) tend to require more complicated and sophisticated colour applications in different residential interiors. The study findings proved that colour meaning in RITs can be affected by all colour attributes. All colours that are named orange and red are selected for both negative and positive meanings. Colours that are named purple are selected less and only for negative connotations. The findings present an overall colour meaning guide for these residential interior types, which will be beneficial for decision makers (interior architects, designers, users) and colour researchers.     

Short communication: Comparison of the fecal bacterial communities in diarrheic and nondiarrheic dairy calves from multiple farms in southeastern Pennsylvania

Diarrhea is a major cause of illness and death in preweaned calves and causes significant economic losses to producers. A better understanding of the fecal microbiota in diarrheic and nondiarrheic calves could lead to improved treatment and prevention strategies. The purpose of this study was to compare the fecal microbiota of diarrheic and nondiarrheic calves to improve our understanding of what constitutes a healthy fecal microbiota in preweaned calves. At each of 7 farms, fecal samples were obtained from 1 to 3 diarrheic Holstein dairy calves (2 to 17 d old at sampling time) and age-matched (within 5 d) nondiarrheic controls for a total of 20 samples. Calves were fed either acidified bulk milk, pasteurized or unpasteurized waste milk, or milk replacer depending on farm. Fecal samples were extracted for genomic DNA, PCR-amplified for the V1–V2 region of the 16S rRNA bacterial gene, sequenced on the Illumina MiSeq (Illumina Inc., San Diego, CA) platform, and analyzed using QIIME2. Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes were the most abundant phyla in both groups; Fusobacteria was numerically more abundant in the diarrheic group, whereas Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria were numerically more abundant in the nondiarrheic group. At the genus level, Bacteroides was the most abundant genus in both groups and was numerically more abundant in the nondiarrheic group. Results from the mixed-effects regression model showed that Faecalibacterium and Butyricimonas were more abundant in the nondiarrheic calves, whereas Clostridium and Peptostreptococcus were more abundant in the diarrheic calves. Our results indicate that commensal bacteria acquired in the neonatal period may have been replaced with potential pathogens in diarrheic calves, which may have contributed to the incidence of diarrhea either directly or indirectly.