Evapotranspiration Modeling Using Different Tree Based Ensembled Machine Learning Algorithm

Water Resources Management - The present study investigates and evaluate the scope and potential of modern computing tools and techniques such as ensembled machine learning methods in estimating...     

{X,Y}-Cyclacene Graphs with Next Nearest Neighbor Interactions

Eigensolutions of {X( = C,B,N),Y( = C,B,N)}-cyclacene graphs with next nearest neighbor (nnn) interactions have been obtained in analytical forms by adapting n-fold rotational symmetry followed by two-fold rotational symmetry (or a plane of symmetry). Expressions of eigensolution indicate the subspectral relationship among such cyclacenes with an even number of hexagonal rings e.g., eigenvalues of {X,Y}-di-cyclacene are found in the eigenspectra of all such even cyclacenes. Total π-electron energies and highest occupied molecular orbital and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (HOMO–LUMO) gaps are calculated using the analytical expressions obtained and are found to vary negligibly with the variation of nnn interactions in such cyclacenes. Total π-electron energy is found to increase due to increase in restriction intensity of nnn interactions, whereas the HOMO–LUMO gap of polyacenecs having the even number of hexagonal rings and with one electron at each site (atom) decreases with increase in the restriction intensity since such systems contain degenerate half-filled HOMO (bonding or nonbonding) that are much more vulnerable for perturbations imposed through nnn interactions.     

A parametric study of strength reduction factors for elasto-plastic oscillators

Strength reduction factors (SRFs) continue to play a key role in obtaining design forces from elastic design spectra (via response modification factors) in ductility-based earthquake-resistant design. Despite several years of sustained research efforts, it has not been conclusively shown how SRF for a given singledegree-of-freedom structural system depends on various source and site parameters. A parametric study is carried out here for the explicit dependence of SRF spectrum (describing variation of SRF with system period for a given ductility demand) on strong motion duration, earthquake magnitude, geological site conditions, and epicentral distance in case of (non-degrading) elasto-plastic oscillators. For this, scaled response spectra are considered for different combinations of earthquake magnitude, site conditions and epicentral distance, and SRF spectra are generated from 1274 accelerograms recorded in western USA after making those compatible with each of these spectra. It is shown that there is no clear and significant dependence of SRF spectrum on strong motion duration. Further, the parametric dependence on earthquake magnitude, site conditions, and epicentral distance broadly conforms to the trends reported by earlier investigations. In particular, this study confirms that the dependence of SRF spectra on earthquake magnitude should not be ignored. This paper has been contributed in honour of Professor R N Iyengar, Indian Institute of Science, on the occasion of his formal retirement.     

Placebo-controlled immunotherapy with Cocos nucifera pollen extract

The effectiveness of Cocos nucifera pollen extract immunotherapy (CPE-IT) was studied in 96 patients allergic to C. nucifera pollen. A placebo-controlled study was performed at random for a period of 6-12 months. The clinical status of the patients measured by the symptom-medication scores demonstrated that C. nucifera pollen-allergic patients had significant (p < 0.005) clinical improvement after CPE-IT in comparison to placebo treatment. Serological study resulted a significant reduction (p < 0.001) of specific IgE and significant elevation (p < 0.01) of specific IgG in post-therapeutic patients' sera which were correlated significantly (r = 0.45, p < 0.001); the changes of the above immunoglobulin levels in the placebo-treated patients were nonsignificant. However, there was no correlation between symptom-medication scores and changes in specific serum IgE or IgG levels.     

Miniaturization and bandwidth enhancement of a cavity backed circular microstrip patch antenna

The resonant frequency of a circular patch antenna with and without circular cavity is measured. The patch miniaturization in the presence of the cavity is proved. Different methods of reducing resonant frequencies and broadening bandwidth without significantly reducing antenna gain are presented. Capacitively loaded patch and slits on the patch stimulate the patch at lower frequencies and multiple resonances, thus help miniaturization. Finally ferrite loading on the feed probe further increases the bandwidth without significantly reducing the antenna gain. The method is much more improved than that for a resistive loaded patch and a deformed patch. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE, 2007.     

Artificial intelligence techniques and their application in oil and gas industry

Artificial Intelligence Review - Data are being continuously generated from various operational steps in the oil and gas industry. The recordings of these data and their proper utilization have...     

Planning for the Subernarekha river system in eastern India

The study describes the systems studies carried out to plan a river basin in order to determine the nature and size of water storage facilities and releases for irrigation and industrial uses, and the associated cropping pattern. The model has been formulated in the framework of a linear programming model for a specific target year. This model is developed in the context of planning the Subernarekha river basin. The results are discussed and these provide information and insight suggesting the need for more disaggregated analysis of interaction between irrigation and related agroeconomic parameters.     

Preparation of iodine containing quaternary amine methacrylate copolymers and their contact killing antimicrobial properties

A novel quaternary amine methacrylate monomer (QAMA) was synthesized by amination of dimethacrylate with piperazine followed by its quaternization using an alkyl iodide. Copolymerization of QAMA with 2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate was carried out by free radical bulk polymerization technique at room temperature using ammonium persulfate and N,N,N′,N′‐tetramethyl ethylenediamine as a redox initiator. The monomer as well as copolymers was characterized by FTIR and ¹H NMR spectral studies. Thermal and physical characteristics of copolymers of varying compositions of QAMA were evaluated by thermogravimetric analysis, differential calorimetry, contact angle and scanning electron microscopy. The antibacterial activity of the synthesized quaternary amine dimethacrylate copolymers against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus was studied by zone of inhibition and colony count method. QAMA copolymers showed broad‐spectrum contact killing antibacterial properties without releasing any active agent as checked by iodide‐selective ion meter. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102: 1038–1044, 2006     

One pot synthesis of nano Ag in calcium alginate beads and its catalytic application in p‐Nitrophenol reduction with kinetic parameter estimation and model fitting

In this work, one step process of synthesis of silver nanoparticles (Agnp) embedded in insitu formed calcium alginate (CA) beads is stated. CA, formed from the reaction between sodium alginate and calcium hydroxide, acts as reducing and stabilizing agent as well as support for nanoparticles. The reaction mechanism for the formation and stabilization of Agnp is proposed where the vicinal dihydroxy groups of alginate are assumed to act as the reducing agent for Ag⁺ to Ag°. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), x‐ray diffraction (XRD), UV‐vis spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) were used to characterize the Agnp. The formation of spherical nanoparticles with average size range of 4‐5 nm was confirmed by TEM. Catalytic activity of this nano silver‐calcium alginate (Agnp‐CA) composite was evaluated in the reduction of p‐nitrophenol. Concentrations of sodium alginate, calcium hydroxide, and AgNO₃ are found to be the parameters that critically affect the synthesis of Agnp. The efficacy of the catalyst is expressed on the basis of suitable reaction parameters. Both pseudo‐homogeneous and heterogeneous kinetic models are proposed for the reaction to find the best model and the Eley‐Riedel model is found to fit well with the experimental data. The novelty of this work is that the tandem process of CA bead formation, Agnp formation, and Agnp entrapment in CA have been transformed into a single‐step process. Moreover, elaborations of each step of the ionic mechanisms of Agnp formation and p‐NP reduction with Agnp and the establishment of a heterogeneous kinetic model for the reaction are reported for the first time here.     

Evolutionary optimization of Haferman carpet fractal patterned antenna array

This article investigates radiation characteristics of a new type of fractal shaped antenna array based on Haferman carpet geometry. An iterative feed matrix eases the complexity of array factor calculation that makes the array factor suitable for the application of any evolutionary optimization techniques. It is seen that Haferman carpet array produces peak side lobe level (PSLL) better than Sierpinski carpet that produces ?10 dB PSLL at every stage of growth. Optimization techniques have been applied for array element reduction and PSLL minimization at different stages of growth. Here, PSLL is minimized by turning off array elements and also by varying inter element spacing between the array elements. The optimized version of Haferman carpet array produces better characteristics (49.38% thinning with ?20.5 dB PSLL for stage‐2, 46.3% thinning with ?22 dB PSLL for stage‐3 and 42.3% thinning with ?21dB PSLL for stage‐4) than its original counterpart in terms of reduced element count and PSLL. Numerical results for obtaining optimized array performance exploit both DE as well as PSO. A comparative study on the performance is also presented. As a whole, Haferman carpet is seen to be more effective approach than Sierpinski carpet in fractal antenna paradigm. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE 25:719–729, 2015.