CRIM’s content-based audio copy detection system for TRECVID 2009

We report results on audio copy detection for TRECVID 2009 copy detection task. This task involves searching for transformed audio queries in over 385?h of test audio. The queries were transformed in seven different ways, three of them involved mixing unrelated speech to the original query, making it a much more difficult task. We give results with two different audio fingerprints and show that mapping each test frame to the nearest query frame (nearest-neighbor fingerprint) results in robust audio copy detection. The most difficult task in TRECVID 2009 was to detect audio copies using predetermined thresholds computed from 2008 data. We show that the nearest-neighbor fingerprints were robust to even this task and gave actual minimal normalized detection cost rate (NDCR) of around 0.06 for all the transformations. These results are close to those obtained by using the optimal threshold for each transform. This result shows the robustness of the nearest-neighbor fingerprints. These nearest-neighbor fingerprints can be efficiently computed on a graphics processing unit, leading to a very fast search.     

Hydrogen evolution reaction: The role of arsenene nanosheet and dopant

The state-of-the-art density functional theory (DFT) is employed to study the catalytic activity of arsenene for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). We have included dispersion correction to get accurate adsorption energy on the individual catalytic surface (top site). Using binding energy calculation, arsenene is shown to be a potential candidate for HER. Here we investigate the stability and electronic properties of the honeycomb structure of the arsenene system using first-principles calculation to find the effect of different dopants on the fundamental band gap, which is one of the primary parameters in the photocatalytic water splitting. Further, we sieved the dopant for better HER catalytic activity by substituting one of the arsenene (As) atoms by B, N, O, Ge, Ga and Se atoms to make arsenene a better candidate for HER. Our studies depict that HER activity is increased by 82% for O-doped arsenene and OER activity by 87% for B-doped arsenene as compared to pristine arsenene.     

Coal dust alters β-naphthoflavone-induced aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocation in alveolar type II cells

Background  

Many polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) can cause DNA adducts and initiate carcinogenesis. Mixed exposures to coal dust (CD) and PAHs are common in occupational settings. In the CD and PAH-exposed lung, CD increases apoptosis and causes alveolar type II (AT-II) cell hyperplasia but reduces CYP1A1 induction. Inflammation, but not apoptosis, appears etiologically associated with reduced CYP1A1 induction in this mixed exposure model. Many AT-II cells in the CD-exposed lungs have no detectable CYP1A1 induction after PAH exposure. Although AT-II cells are a small subfraction of lung cells, they are believed to be a potential progenitor cell for some lung cancers. Because CYP1A1 is induced via ligand-mediated nuclear translocation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), we investigated the effect of CD on PAH-induced nuclear translocation of AhR in AT-II cells isolated from in vivo-exposed rats. Rats received CD or vehicle (saline) by intratracheal (IT) instillation. Three days before sacrifice, half of the rats in each group started daily intraperitoneal injections of the PAH, β-naphthoflavone (BNF).     

Energy-efficient cooking methods

Energy-efficient new cooking techniques have been developed in this research. Using a stove with 649?±?20 W of power, the minimum heat, specific heat of transformation, and on-stove time required to completely cook 1 kg of dry beans (with water and other ingredients) and 1 kg of raw potato are found to be: 710 (±24)?kJ, 613 (±20)?kJ, and 1,144?±?10 s, respectively, for beans and 287?±?12 kJ, 200?±?9 kJ, and 466?±?10 s for Irish potato. Extensive researches show that these figures are, to date, the lowest amount of heat ever used to cook beans and potato and less than half the energy used in conventional cooking with a pressure cooker. The efficiency of the stove was estimated to be 52.5?±?2 %. Discussion is made to further improve the efficiency in cooking with normal stove and solar cooker and to save food nutrients further. Our method of cooking when applied globally is expected to contribute to the clean development management (CDM) potential. The approximate values of the minimum and maximum CDM potentials are estimated to be 7.5?×?10¹¹ and 2.2?×?10¹³?kg of carbon credit annually. The precise estimation CDM potential of our cooking method will be reported later.     

Monoolein–Water Liquid Crystalline Gels of Gentamicin as Bioresorbable Implants for the Local Treatment of Chronic Osteomyelitis: In Vitro Characterization

To maximize the efficacy of chronic osteomyelitis antibiotherapy while reducing antibiotic systemic toxicity, as well as time and costs of hospitalizations, it has been thought that monoolein–water gels incorporating gentamicin sulfate could be used as local, bioresorbable, and sustained-release implants. For this purpose, four formulations were examined with regard to their physicochemical and in vitro drug release characteristics. Hot stage microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and X-ray diffraction showed cubic liquid crystalline and eutectic structures. The more suitable formulation consisting of 80–15–5% wt/wt monoolein–water–gentamicin sulfate progressively released the antibiotic for a period of 3 weeks without burst effect. Moreover, the content and the release profile of gentamicin sulfate were not significantly changed after storage at 2–6°C for a period of 10 months.     

Robust and minimum norm partial quadratic eigenvalue assignment in vibrating systems: A new optimization approach

The partial quadratic eigenvalue assignment problem (PQEVAP) concerns reassigning a few undesired eigenvalues of a quadratic matrix pencil to suitably chosen locations and keeping the other large number of eigenvalues and eigenvectors unchanged (no spill-over). The problem naturally arises in controlling dangerous vibrations in structures by means of active feedback control design. For practical viability, the design must be robust, which requires that the norms of the feedback matrices and the condition number of the closed-loop eigenvectors are as small as possible. The problem of computing feedback matrices that satisfy the above two practical requirements is known as the Robust Partial Quadratic Eigenvalue Assignment Problem (RPQEVAP). In this paper, we formulate the RPQEVAP as an unconstrained minimization problem with the cost function involving the condition number of the closed-loop eigenvector matrix and two feedback norms. Since only a small number of eigenvalues of the open-loop quadratic pencil are computable using the state-of-the-art matrix computational techniques and/or measurable in a vibration laboratory, it is imperative that the problem is solved using these small number of eigenvalues and the corresponding eigenvectors. To this end, a class of the feedback matrices are obtained in parametric form, parameterized by a single parametric matrix, and the cost function and the required gradient formulas for the optimization problem are developed in terms of the small number of eigenvalues that are reassigned and their corresponding eigenvectors. The problem is solved directly in quadratic setting without transforming it to a standard first-order control problem and most importantly, the significant “no spill-over property” of the closed-loop eigenvalues and eigenvectors is established by means of a mathematical result. These features make the proposed method practically applicable even for very large structures. Results on numerical experiments show that the proposed method considerably reduces both feedback norms and the sensitivity of the closed-loop eigenvalues. A study on robustness of the system responses of the method under small perturbations show that the responses of the perturbed closed-loop system are compatible with perturbations.     

Mechanical fatigue analysis of gold microbeams for RF-MEMS applications by pull-in voltage monitoring

This work is focused on the reliability of gold microcantilevers under the effect of mechanical fatigue. A dedicated device for testing the material is designed and built; the material degradation is monitored during the tests by means of a novel technique based on the control of the pull-in voltage of the device, which was demonstrated to be related to the loss of mechanical strength. The fatigue effect is produced through the excitation of the device at a frequency near the resonance; the excitation frequency and the time of actuation are used as a counter for the number of cycles. The lifetime of the device is measured under variable levels of vibration amplitudes; the number of cycles to failure is estimated within a specific range of actuation voltages by means of the W?hler diagram obtained by experiments. The fatigue limit is also estimated following the stair-case method.     

Nutritional status of rural women in relation to their participation in mixed farming in the Tafresh area of Iran

This study was conducted in the Tafresh area of Iran to assess the dietary patterns, time allocation, and nutritional status of rural women in relation to their participation in mixed farming activities. We selected 75 women from 40 villages by applying a stratified random-sampling technique. Cereals and grains were the major source of energy intake. According to the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) tables of India, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the respondents seemed to have no micronutrient and energy deficiencies during the spring season. They spent most of their time and energy on household, animal husbandry, and crop farming activities. According to measurements of body mass index (BMI), the respondents were well nourished. However, despite the high level of BMI, analysis suggested a negative energy balance. Nevertheless, analysis indicated that rural women with negative energy balance spent more time and energy in mixed farming and had a higher level of participation in related activities. Hence, it is evident from the results that the physical contribution of rural women in mixed farming activities has a detrimental effect on their nutritional status, at least during some parts of the year (e.g., spring or summer). Therefore, there is a need to adjust nutritional interventions to improve the sustainability of their food intake and to develop appropriate technologies in mixed farming to alleviate their work burdens.