Design and analysis of text document clustering using salp swarm algorithm

The Journal of Supercomputing - In the technological era, exponential increase of unorganized text documents offers increased difficulties retrieving the most relevant data. The document clustering...     

Design and analysis of RF MEMS shunt switch for V-band applications

Microsystem Technologies - In this paper, we have designed and simulations of RF MEMS shunt switch. The electro-mechanical and electromagnetic analysis of the switch have been done using COMSOL...     

A new method using feature extraction for identifying paddy rice species for quality seed selection

The purpose of this work was to explore a new feature extraction method for classifying paddy seeds using a feature extraction algorithm to achieve the area ratio, horizontal–slant and front–rear angles and find whether the proposed features have high discriminating power. Another objective was to find the smallest feature set that can ensure highly accurate recognition of seeds. A total of a 100 image features were extracted, and features having significant discriminating power were identified based on the analysis of variance (ANOVA). From the 100 features, 14 features were found to have high discriminating power and from these features, six were selected as the proposed features. Experimental results show that the proposed features and removal of redundant features enhanced the discriminating power of the feature set, and that the proposed features have an excellent discriminating property for seeds. The presented features resulted in the highest classification accuracy (98.8%) when compared to other methods.     

Utility of 18 F‐FDG PET/CT scan to diagnose the etiology of fever of unknown origin in patients on dialysis

Introduction: Studies on fever of unknown origin (FUO) in patients of chronic kidney disease and end stage renal disease patients on dialysis were not many. In this study, we used 18 F‐FDG PET/CT scan whole body survey for detection of hidden infection, in patients on dialysis, labelled as FUO. Methods: In this retrospective study, 20 patients of end stage renal disease on dialysis were investigated for the cause of FUO using 18F‐FDG PET/CT scan. All these patients satisfied the definition of FUO as defined by Petersdorf and Beeson. Any focal abnormal site of increased FDG concentration detected by PET/CT, either a solitary or multiple lesions was documented and at least one of the detected abnormal sites of radio tracer concentration was further examined for histopathology. Findings: All patients were on renal replacement therapy. Of these, 18 were on hemodialysis and two were on peritoneal dialysis. 18F‐FDG PET/CT scan showed metabolically active lesions in 15 patients and metabolically quiescent in five patients. After 18F‐FDG PET/CT scan all, but one patient had a change in treatment for fever. Anti‐tuberculous treatment was given in 15 patients, antibiotics in four patients and anti‐malaria treatment in one patient. Discussion: The present study is first study of 18F‐FDG PET/CT scan in patients of end stage renal disease on dialysis with FUO. The study showed that the 18 F FDG PET/CT scan may present an opportunity to attain the diagnosis in end stage renal disease patients on dialysis with FUO.     

Mixed-Mode Stress Intensity Factor Determination of Riveted Lap Joints Used in Aircraft Fuselage Structures

Journal of Failure Analysis and Prevention - In the present work, mixed-mode stress intensity factor (SIF) of multiple cracks in a riveted lap joint has been determined, with and without the...     

Myopic vs. far-sighted behaviours in a revenue-sharing supply chain with reference quality effects

In this paper, we consider a dynamic supply chain where a manufacturer produces and distributes a featured product through an exclusive retailer to end consumers. The manufacturer decides the product quality and wholesale price, while the retailer sets the retail price in the presence of a revenue-sharing contract and consumers’ reference quality effects. The objective of this study is to investigate the impacts of myopic behaviour regarding the reference quality on the product quality and pricing strategies and profits of both members. Our results suggest that the manufacturer’s myopia leads to a higher quality, higher price strategy and a higher quality–price ratio which benefits consumers. Meanwhile, relative to the far-sighted behaviour, myopia results in a more quality-sensitive but less price-sensitive market demand. What’s more, we find that the manufacturer is apt to act in a far-sighted way, but the retailer isn’t always willing to cooperate with a far-sighted manufacturer. Taking myopic strategies for both members is likely to gain a high profit of the whole supply chain for a relatively high marginal contribution of product quality on demand and a relatively low revenue-sharing proportion.     

Plating on acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene (ABS) plastic: a review

ABS is an engineering plastic that has butadiene part uniformly distributed over the acrylonitrile-styrene matrix. It possesses excellent toughness, good dimensional stability, easy processing ability, chemical resistance, and cheapness. However, it suffers from inherent shortcomings in terms of mechanical strength and vulnerability to environmental conditions. Furthermore, it is non-conducting and easily fretted. Plating on ABS can serve to enhance the strength and structural integrity as well as to improve durability and thermal resistance resulting in metallic properties on the ABS material. ABS is described as the most suitable candidate for plating because it is possible to deposit an adherent metal coating on it by only the use of chemical pretreatment process and without the use of any mechanical abrasion. This article aims to review the history of ABS plastics, properties of ABS, processes and mechanisms of plating, and studies of plating on ABS involving mainly eco-friendly methods of plating by discussing the literature published in recent years. The details of electroplating of ABS carried out in the authors’ laboratory are also presented.     

ACO–EEOLSR: enhanced energy model based link stability routing protocol in mobile ad hoc networks

A mobile ad hoc network (MANET) has abundant mobile nodes that are free to communicate independently in many locations. Many existing energy models address the inadequacy of resources based on Ad hoc On-demand Multipath Distance Vector and Optimized Link State Protocol (OLSP) routing protocols for MANET along with various parameters. The architecture of energy-efficient routing mechanisms is a challenging problem in a MANET. In this work, a novel energy-aware routing model is introduced for MANET comprising an ant colony optimization (ACO) enhanced approach to energy-efficient-optimized link state routing (named ACO–EEOLSR). Initially, the route discovery is progressed by means of neighbor estimation and also with the authentication of link stability. Parameters such as energy, distance, and hop count are employed as willingness nodes, where both the energy and distance are entrenched through the OLSP. Consequently, the hop count is applied via the ACO system that is beneficial for link stability. After the acceptance of an acknowledgement, the hop count is authorized for further performance analysis. This approach increases the Quality of Service and also uses less energy compared to other energy models. The accomplished simulation upshot depicts that the ACO–EEOLSR outperforms the EEOLSR scheme with respect to the performance metrics of energy consumption, packet delivery ratio, total remaining time, average network lifetime, and a variance of energy.     

Evaluation of the tamper-resistant properties of biphasic immediate-release/extended-release oxycodone/acetaminophen tablets

Context: Abuse potential of extended-release (ER) opioid tablets increases if tampering causes rapid opioid release.

Objective: To evaluate the susceptibility to tampering of biphasic immediate-release (IR)/ER oxycodone (OC)/acetaminophen (APAP) tablets compared with IR OC/APAP tablets.

Materials and methods: IR/ER OC/APAP and IR OC/APAP tablets were tested at room temperature and after heating, freezing and microwaving. Resistance to crushing was tested using manual and powered tools (e.g. spoons, mortar and pestle, blender, coffee grinder). Tampered tablets were tested for suitability for snorting, OC extraction in solvents and ease of drawing into a syringe. Dissolution of IR/ER OC/APAP in gastric fluid with and without ethanol was tested to determine the potential for facilitating precipitous release of opioid from the tablet.

Results: IR/ER OC/APAP tablets were more crush resistant than IR OC/APAP tablets. Heating, freezing and microwaving had no effect on crush resistance of IR/ER OC/APAP tablets. Although a mortar and pestle pulverized IR/ER OC/APAP tablets, upon contact with solvent, the powder formed a thick gel judged unsuitable for absorption through the nasal mucosa and could not be drawn into a syringe. In contrast, powder from crushed IR OC/APAP tablets dissolved readily, was judged suitable for snorting, and was easily drawn into a syringe. Dissolution of IR/ER OC/APAP tablets in gastric fluid was slowed by the addition of ethanol.

Discussion: IR/ER OC/APAP tablets are resistant to crushing and dissolution compared with IR OC/APAP tablets.

Conclusion: IR/ER OC/APAP tablets may have less potential for abuse involving tampering compared with IR OC/APAP tablets.