Evaluation of urban sprawl pattern in the tribal-dominated cities of Jharkhand state,India

The patterns of urban sprawl over a 20-year period presented in the study indicate unplanned development in the urban agglomerations of Ranchi, Jamshedpur and Dhanbad. The visual interpretation of Landsat (1986, 1991, 1996 and 2001) and IRS-P6 (2005) was used to map land use/land cover and analyse urban sprawl. The saturation of urban areas within municipal limits, along with pressure from the growing population, resulted in the densification of the core urban areas within Dhanbad and Jamshedpur. Comparatively, Ranchi exhibited a very high rate of built-up growth with a reducing population density, indicating a low density of built-up development. The development of built-up land at the expense of agricultural land in Ranchi Urban Agglomeration indicates poor land-transformation practices. An area of 103.6 km² (165.66% growth) was transformed to built-up land in these cities during 1986–2005. Any future built-up development of these agglomerations should involve the use of the government city development plan.     

Open source software: A community of altruists

To learn about what drives people to devote their time and expertise to creating and supporting free/open source software, a survey with Likert-scaled items measuring different types of motivations was sent to contributors of several open source projects. Open-ended comments were used to illustrate the Likert-scaled items and open-ended questions allowed respondents to express their reasons for participating in these open source communities. Results indicate that the open source contributors (n = 110, 38 paid to work on OSS projects and 72 volunteers) are motivated primarily by a sense of altruism as well as the desire to create and learn. Payment did not significantly impact the reasons for contributing to OSS projects. The comments and open-ended questions validated the findings and indicated that building a “Utopian” community – the desire to help for the greater good worldwide – is one of the most important motivators. Also, respondents revealed that they join and persist as members of open source communities because they enjoy the freedom to create and share free software, tools and knowledge with others inside and outside the community.     

Optical,Structural, Electrical Characterization of (Polyvinyl Alcohol–Carboxymethyl Cellulose-Manganese Dioxide) Nanocomposite Fabricated via Laser Ablation

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)/Manganese dioxide (PVA/CMC/MnO₂ NPs) nanocomposite were produced by one-pot laser ablation route. PVA/CMC/MnO₂ NPs nanocomposite were prepared with different content of manganese dioxide nanoparticles. The formation of MnO₂ is confirmed by appearing diffraction peaks at 2θ?=?26.4°, 28.4°, 37.2°, 42.5°, 56.4°, 72.2° according to JCPDS No. 24-0735 which agreed with previous literature. The increasing of laser ablation time causes a change of all bands intensities. All the above conclusions affirmed the formation of Mn–O and their complexation with PVA/CMC blend. The ultraviolet and visible (UV/Vis.) measurements showed enhanced in the optical properties as the ratio of Manganese dioxide nanoparticles enhanced. The absorption edge is changed towards lower photon energy sides when MnO₂ NPs are added to the PVA/CMC. The AC conductivity was enhanced after the addition of MnO₂ NPs. The values of the ε′ and ε? of the synthesized samples increased as the ratio of Manganese dioxide nanoparticles increased, which is attributed to an increase in the current films' ion conduction. The obtained results demonstrate the benefits of using MnO₂ NPs as a filler to improve polymeric systems and suggest it for optical and electrical applications.

     

In situ preparation of CdS/PVA nanocomposites using gamma radiation

Films of poly(vinyl alcohol)/cadmium sulphide (PVA/CdS) nanocomposite containing various concentrations of Cd²⁺ ions were prepared using gamma radiation at different doses from 50 up to 200 kGy. The UV/VIS spectra revealed that the CdS/PVA nanocomposites showed blue shift for the absorption peak as compared with bulk CdS. As the irradiation dose increased, a gradual red shift in the wavelength accompanying with broadening of the absorption peak was observed. The estimated optical band gap energies and the calculated CdS particle sizes of (PVA/CdS) showed correlation between their values and the variable parameters (irradiation dose and Cd⁺²:S^?2 molar ratio). Transmission electron microscopy images showed that the CdS/PVA nanocomposites were dispersed as spherical CdS nanoparticles with homogeneity at either lower concentration of CdCl₂ or irradiation dose. The nano‐rod structures of CdS was accompanied with small agglomeration at either higher CdCl₂ concentration or irradiation dose. A cubic phase and mixture of cubic and hexagonal phases of the prepared CdS nanoparticles were formed at lower and higher CdCl₂ concentrations, respectively. Fourier Transform Infrared spectra confirmed the coordination of CdS nanoparticles with the hydroxyl groups of PVA matrix. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 55:2583–2590, 2015. © 2015 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Grafting of bovine serum albumin proteins on plasma-modified polymers for potential application in tissue engineering

In this work, an influence of bovine serum albumin proteins grafting on the surface properties of plasma-treated polyethylene and poly-l-lactic acid was studied. The interaction of the vascular smooth muscle cells with the modified polymer surface was determined. The surface properties were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, nano-LC-ESI-Q-TOF mass spectrometry, electrokinetic analysis, and goniometry. One of the motivations for this work is the idea that by the interaction of the cell with substrate surface, the proteins will form an interlayer between the cell and the substrate. It was proven that when interacting with the plasma-treated high-density polyethylene and poly-l-lactic acid, the bovine serum albumin protein is grafted on the polymer surface. Since the proteins are bonded to the substrate surface, they can stimulate cell adhesion and proliferation.     

Tolerance-based localization algorithm: form tolerance verification application

Current localization techniques have been successfully used for aligning sculptured surfaces with CAD models in inspection applications. However, tolerance specifications are not considered as an integral part of the localization process. The tolerance verification and comparison with measured surfaces occur at a later step to accept or reject the manufactured part. This two-step process prolongs the inspection time. For the first time, this paper presents a novel localization algorithm for inspection that integrates the tolerance specifications as an optimality criterion. A closed-form solution algorithm that applies 3D rigid body transformation using quaternion and uses a minimum acceptable deviation zone approach was developed. The formulation is based on the mathematical definitions from ANSI Y14.5.1 standards (American National Standard Institute) for form tolerances. The new iterative minimum acceptable deviation zone localization algorithm is formulated using four types of form tolerances: straightness of a median line, straightness of a surface line, flatness and cylindricity. It is applied and compared to several benchmark examples for validation. The results demonstrated the ability of the new localization approach to achieve comparable results but with less computation effort due to using a constraint satisfaction problem and a closed-form solution algorithm in the formulation. The merit of the new approach stems from its ability to increase the efficiency of tolerance verification during the inspection process. The applicability of the proposed algorithm to various types of tolerance is highlighted.     

Kinetic and equilibrium studies on the removal of acid dyes from aqueous solutions by adsorption onto activated carbon cloth

Removal of acid dyes Acid Blue 45, Acid Blue 92, Acid Blue 120 and Acid Blue 129 from aqueous solutions by adsorption onto high area activated carbon cloth (ACC) was investigated. Kinetics of adsorption was followed by in situ UV-spectroscopy and the data were treated according to pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order and intraparticle diffusion models. It was found that the adsorption process of these dyes onto ACC follows the pseudo-second-order model. Adsorption isotherms were derived at 25 degrees C on the basis of batch analysis. Isotherm data were treated according to Langmuir and Freundlich models. The fits of experimental data to these equations were examined.     

Successful use of a bivalirudin treatment protocol to prevent extracorporeal thrombosis in ambulatory hemodialysis patients with heparin‐induced thrombocytopenia

Heparin‐induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is an uncommon problem in hemodialysis (HD) patients. There have been a few reports on the use of lepirudin, argatroban, or danaparoid in the management of extracorporeal thrombosis (ECT) during dialysis in these patients, because heparin is contraindicated. Here, we report the first long‐term use of bivalirudin to prevent ECT. Our study was conducted at Fahd Bin Jassim Kidney Center in Doha, Qatar. All patients diagnosed with HIT were included. A bivalirudin treatment protocol was developed with the initial dosage and dosage adjustments based on the value of activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), the risk of bleeding, and the recurrence of ECT. Eight patients were positive for HIT AB. Among them, three were excluded: two due to the use of warfarin for atrial fibrillation and one due to a negative repeat HIT AB test with no ECT. Five patients who were positive for HIT AB and experienced recurrent ECT events during dialysis were included. These patients were monitored while on bivalirudin protocol for a mean of 4.6 ± 2 months, during which they received a mean number of HD treatments of 66 ± 24. There were no bleeding events or adverse reactions related to bivalirudin during the study. Here, we report the first long‐term successful use of a bivalirudin protocol to prevent ECT in ambulatory HD patients with HIT. This protocol allowed for a simple dosing initiation with easy adjustment based on weight, aPTT, and recurrence of ECT events. The protocol provided excellent safety.     

Singularity Analysis of a 3DOF Parallel Manipulator Using Infinite Constraint Plane Method

In this article a novel geometrical method is presented to obtain singular points of a parallel manipulator. First, the constrained plain method (CPM) and some of its application in parallel mechanism is introduced. Given the definition of constraint plane (CP) and infinite constraint plane (ICP) the dependency conditions of constraints is achieved with the use of a new theorem based on the Ceva geometrical theorem. Another theorem is used to achieve the direction of angular velocity of a body having three ICPs. Finally, as an example, using these two theorems, singularities of the 3UPS_PU mechanism are obtained. This method is completely geometrical, involving no complex or massive calculations and yields the answer quickly. In the previous methods based on the Grassmann geometry, the mechanism needs to be statically analyzed at first, so that the Inverse Jacobian matrix is achieved, and then the Plucker-vector is derived. It usually needs exhaustive search of the workspace using an accurate analytical model of the mechanism kinematics and may lead to plenty of conditions remained to be pondered in order to obtain the singularity conditions.     

GoSCAN: Decentralized scalable data clustering

Identifying clusters is an important aspect of analyzing large datasets. Clustering algorithms classically require access to the complete dataset. However, as huge amounts of data are increasingly originating from multiple, dispersed sources in distributed systems, alternative solutions are required. Furthermore, data and network dynamicity in a distributed setting demand adaptable clustering solutions that offer accurate clustering models at a reasonable pace. In this paper, we propose GoScan, a fully decentralized density-based clustering algorithm which is capable of clustering dynamic and distributed datasets without requiring central control or message flooding. We identify two major tasks: finding the core data points, and forming the actual clusters, which we execute in parallel employing gossip-based communication. This approach is very efficient, as it offers each peer enough authority to discover the clusters it is interested in. Our algorithm poses no extra burden of overlay formation in the network, while providing high levels of scalability. We also offer several optimizations to the basic clustering algorithm for improving communication overhead and processing costs. Coping with dynamic data is made possible by introducing an age factor, which gradually detects data-set changes and enables clustering updates. In our experimental evaluation, we will show that GoSCAN can discover the clusters efficiently with scalable transmission cost.