Web Support System for Business Intelligence in Small and Medium Enterprises

Last decade belongs to business intelligence (BI) because it is one of the few concepts that have actually lived to the expectations. Not only the businesses have adopted it but also have reaped the fruits out of it. But the cost of BI solutions is very high and has restricted small and medium enterprises to use BI solutions. The human resource is also limited and resultantly expensive in this field. This research proposes a web support system for business intelligence which provides automated data mapping and loading from user application to BI framework and also validates it. The system also assists users in getting the outputs in terms of reports and dashboards. The implementation of the proposed framework demonstrates convenience of use and effective cost saving as it does not require any technical expertise. The beauty of this web support system is that all the steps are menu driven and any non-technical user can get hold of it easily.     

Simulation of heat transfer on the peristaltic flow of a Jeffrey-six constant fluid in a diverging tube

Peristaltic flow of a Jeffrey-six constant fluid in a nonuniform tube is investigated under the assumption of long wavelength and low Reynolds number approximations. The dimensionless quantities are used to simplify momentum and energy equations assuming that fluid physical/rheological properties remain constant. Regular perturbation method is invoked to find an analytical solution for the velocity and temperature field. The variation of pressure rise and frictional forces with the different parameters is also examined numerically. Results are also presented graphically at the end of the article.     

Developing monitoring indicators for urban micro contracts in South Asia

The growing emphasis in many low-income countries on community-based infrastructure means that more programmes are being implemented through micro contracts. The advantages of this approach are that it encourages:

participative negotiation of activities and speedier implementation;

the use of local resources, skills and appropriate technology; and

entrepreneurship in communities.

For client organisations, however, large numbers of very small contracts are much harder to monitor, supervise and evaluate. This paper draws upon recent research in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka to develop a ‘benchmarking framework' to study the time and cost performance of 162 small-scale contracts for urban infrastructure. The study found that costs were normally very close to target, but project duration generally far exceeded the target. There is only a weak association between the cost and time growth.     

Process modeling and optimization of industrial ethylene oxide reactor by integrating support vector regression and genetic algorithm

This article presents an artificial intelligence‐based process modeling and optimization strategies, namely support vector regression–genetic algorithm (SVR‐GA) for modeling and optimization of catalytic industrial ethylene oxide (EO) reactor. In the SVR‐GA approach, an SVR model is constructed for correlating process data comprising values of operating and performance variables. Next, model inputs describing process operating variables are optimized using Genetic Algorithm (GAs) with a view to maximize the process performance. The GA possesses certain unique advantages over the commonly used gradient‐based deterministic optimization algorithms The SVR‐GA is a new strategy for chemical process modeling and optimization. The major advantage of the strategies is that modeling and optimization can be conducted exclusively from the historic process data wherein the detailed knowledge of process phenomenology (reaction mechanism, kinetics, etc.) is not required. Using SVR‐GA strategy, a number of sets of optimized operating conditions leading to maximized EO production and catalyst selectivity were obtained. The optimized solutions when verified in actual plant resulted in a significant improvement in the EO production rate and catalyst selectivity.     

Automatic quantification of changes in bone in serial MR images of joints

Recent innovations in drug therapies have made it highly desirable to obtain sensitive biomarkers of disease progression that can be used to quantify the performance of candidate disease modifying drugs. In order to measure potential image-based biomarkers of disease progression in an experimental model of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), we present two different methods to automatically quantify changes in a bone in in-vivo serial magnetic resonance (MR) images from the model. Both methods are based on rigid and nonrigid image registration to perform the analysis. The first method uses segmentation propagation to delineate a bone from the serial MR images giving a global measure of temporal changes in bone volume. The second method uses rigid body registration to determine intensity change within a bone, and then maps these into a reference coordinate system using nonrigid registration. This gives a local measure of temporal changes in bone lesion volume. We detected significant temporal changes in local bone lesion volume in five out of eight identified candidate bone lesion regions, and significant difference in local bone lesion volume between male and female subjects in three out of eight candidate bone lesion regions. But the global bone volume was found to be fluctuating over time. Finally, we compare our findings with histology of the subjects and the manual segmentation of bone lesions.     

Application of linearized power system model to selection of PST controller input signal

This paper presents a selection method for phase shift transformer PST controller input signal. Simple conditions of input signal selection are obtained using frequency response analysis. The proposed method requires a suitable modeling of power system including PST device. The two types of power system models described in this paper are the nonlinear equations system model and the linearized model. The linearized model is represented as a block diagram transfer function model and as a state space representation model. The block diagram model presented in this paper has been used for the PST feedback input signal selection. Five locally available measurements at the switching node of the PST are considered. The results of frequency domain tests have confirmed that the block diagram transfer function model is a useful tool for power system analysis. The LQR method is used to achieve the final verification and the choice of input control signal.     

A critical review on self-lubricating ceramic-composite cutting tools

Self-lubricating ceramic cutting tools have recently gained considerable attention as the tool wear in cutting hard-to-cut materials greatly affects the production cost, integrity of the machined surface, and productivity. In an attempt to compile the progress made in this important research area, a critical review has been performed covering a range of aspects. These include the current research trends and the need for self-lubricating ceramic tools, identification of prospective high-temperature solid lubricants and their limitations followed by a presentation of recent experimental and numerical work conducted related to self-lubricant ceramic cutting tools. Various lubrication mechanisms involved in the cutting process are also examined to identify general tribological response under various tribo-systems, which is expected to provide useful directions for the researchers and cutting industry. The current and emerging synthesis techniques are discussed in detail and compared with respect to ceramic cutting tools. Finally, some research gaps and future directions are suggested that could lead to optimum design and development of innovative self-lubricating ceramic tools.     

Stagnation flow of hybrid nanoparticles with MHD and slip effects

The flow of hybrid nanoparticles with significant physical parameters with different base fluids in the presence of Biot number, velocity slip, and MHD effects has not been explored so far, particularly for a circular cylinder. Therefore, the current report is presented to offer a numerical solution for hybrid nanoparticles with base fluids (water and ethylene glycerol) via a circular cylinder. The physical situation is interpreted in terms of partial differential equations and is converted into ordinary differential equations after applying the similarity transformation. The results are presented in both tabular and graphical forms. The impact of physical parameters on velocity distribution is examined through graphs. The comparative results of hybrid nanoparticles for distinct base fluids as ethylene glycol and water are proposed and the hybrid nanoparticles with base fluid water seems to be greater than that of the hybrid nanoparticles with base fluid EG. The temperature profile of hybrid nanoparticles is found to be a decreasing function with growth in velocity slip parameter but an opposite trend is noted in case of nanoparticles . The skin friction and Nusselt number augmented for the increase in magnetic field, velocity slip, and nanoparticle while it shows a decreasing trend toward thermal slip parameter. For the both cases, improvement in Biot number helps enhance the heat transfer constantly.     

E7766, a Macrocycle-Bridged Stimulator of Interferon Genes (STING) Agonist with Potent Pan-Genotypic Activity

A strategy for creating potent and pan-genotypic stimulator of interferon genes (STING) agonists is described. Locking a bioactive U-shaped conformation of cyclic dinucleotides by introducing a transannular macrocyclic bridge between the nucleic acid bases leads to a topologically novel macrocycle-bridged STING agonist (MBSA). In addition to substantially enhanced potency, the newly designed MBSAs, exemplified by clinical candidate E7766 , exhibit broad pan-genotypic activity in all major human STING variants. E7766 is shown to have potent antitumor activity with long lasting immune memory response in a mouse liver metastatic tumor model. Two complementary stereoselective synthetic routes to E7766 are also described.     

Surface-assembled Fe-Oxide colloidal nanoparticles for high performance electrocatalytic water oxidation

Nanoscale electrocatalytic materials having enhanced electroactive sites has been considered trendier and can drive kinetically uphill OER at much lower energy cost with high efficiency. However, very complex synthetic strategies, extensive functionalization processes, and less stability have stimulated quest for economically viable, straightforward and facile preparative methods for designing stable, robust and active nanoscale electrocatalysts engaging geologically abundant materials to ensure their industrial implications. Here we present surface-assembled Fe(OH)_x/FeO_x type colloidal catalytic thin-films, with or without post annealing, derived from Fe-colloidal NPs in simple carbonate system for efficient water oxidation. Comprehensive electrochemical studies including cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry, chronopotentiometry, impedance spectroscopy, Tafel slope analysis, mass activity, electrochemically active surface area measurements are conducted to comparatively evaluate the performance of simple (FeO_x/HCO₃^?@FTO and annealed (FeO_x/HCO₃^?@FTO₂₅₀, FeO_x/HCO₃^?@FTO₅₀₀) catalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) under employed conditions. The FeO_x/HCO₃^?@FTO₂₅₀ annealed at 250 °C initiates water oxidation at much lower overpotential of 1.52 V vs. RHE with remarkable stability during long-term electrochemical experimentations. In addition to enhanced OER activity as evidence by better onset potential (<1.55 V vs. RHE), lower Tafel slope value (36 mV dec^1?) and negligible charge transfer resistance, the Fe(OH)_x/HCO₃^?@FTO type catalyst presented excellent electroactive nature during long term controlled potential electrolysis experiments where more and more electroactive sites were getting exposed during continuous hours of electrolysis. The catalysts behave as a potential enduring, inexpensive and competent candidate for catalyzing water oxidation reaction when tested under begin conditions.