The categories L-\mathbf{Top}_{0} and L-\mathbf{Sob} as epireflective hulls

We show that the category \(L\) - \(\mathbf{Top}_{0}\) of \(T_{0}\) - \(L\) -topological spaces is the epireflective hull of Sierpinski \(L\) -topological space in the category \(L\) - \(\mathbf{Top}\) of \(L\) -topological spaces and the category \(L\) - \(\mathbf{Sob}\) of sober \(L\) -topological spaces is the epireflective hull of Sierpinski \(L\) -topological space in the category \(L\) - \(\mathbf{Top}_{0}\) .     

Deep features-based speech emotion recognition for smart affective services

Emotion recognition from speech signals is an interesting research with several applications like smart healthcare, autonomous voice response systems, assessing situational seriousness by caller affective state analysis in emergency centers, and other smart affective services. In this paper, we present a study of speech emotion recognition based on the features extracted from spectrograms using a deep convolutional neural network (CNN) with rectangular kernels. Typically, CNNs have square shaped kernels and pooling operators at various layers, which are suited for 2D image data. However, in case of spectrograms, the information is encoded in a slightly different manner. Time is represented along the x-axis and y-axis shows frequency of the speech signal, whereas, the amplitude is indicated by the intensity value in the spectrogram at a particular position. To analyze speech through spectrograms, we propose rectangular kernels of varying shapes and sizes, along with max pooling in rectangular neighborhoods, to extract discriminative features. The proposed scheme effectively learns discriminative features from speech spectrograms and performs better than many state-of-the-art techniques when evaluated its performance on Emo-DB and Korean speech dataset.

     

Micromorphology,pharmacognosy, and bio‐elemental analysis of an important medicinal herb: Verbascum thapsus L.

The present study was conducted on characterization of morpho‐anatomical, phytochemical, and bio‐elemental analysis of root, stem, and leaf of Verbascum thapsus. Morphologically Verbascum is a biennial plant that flowers for a month and a half in mid‐ to late summer. Various organoleptic features of root, leaf, and stem were recorded. Anatomically the T. S of the root, stem, and leaf showed a typical dicot histological differentiation. Leaf possessed anomocytic stomata, crescent shape vascular bundles, and covered with long and stellate type trichomes while, stem contained collateral type of vascular bundles and a well‐developed pith to store phytochemicals responsible for various pharmacological activities. The powder drug study through scanning electron microscopy revealed the presence of various types of tissues. Branched, tree like and stellate trichomes in root and leaf help in absorption and reduce loss of water. These anatomical features are responsible for the survival of the plant as biennial. Four macro elements (Na, K, Ca, and Mg) and seven microelements (Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Zn, and Cd) and their concentrations in ppm were also studied using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy. Phytochemical screening of methanolic extract showed existence of various secondary metabolites, while mucilage and anthraquinones was not detected. The present study helps to understand the taxonomic identification of the plant based on morpho‐anatomical features and throws the attention of the researchers to carry out the work for developing its various formulations, which can ultimately be beneficial for the human beings as well as animals.     

Evaluating the lucrative role of probiotics in the aquaculture using microscopic and biochemical techniques

The present study focused to elucidate the promising role of probiotics in the fish culture, by employing microscopic and biochemical parameters to rationalize the possible outcomes. After preliminary feeding trial histopathological analysis revealed clear and visible changes in the intestinal and liver cells of CTRL (control group) compared to probiotics supplemented group, the bacterial inoculations resulted in shorten and swelled villi, while liver kupffer cells increased many folds in the CTRL. Moreover, there was clear hypertrophy and lamellar fusion in the gills tissues examined under microscope. Furthermore, intriguing results were obtained, such as a substantial increase in the weight gain, specific growth rate (%BW/day), FCE%, survival%, and improved secretions of amylase, cellulase, and protease activities. Likewise, high crude protein, fats content, while low moisture and total Ash was noticed in EXP I (Probiotics supplemented) compared to CTRL. The microscopic and biochemical analysis disclosed the positive role of probiotics on the fish health, thus we suggest its supplementations in the fish diet.     

Analysis of fading statistics in cellular mobile communication systems

Spatial channel models are often proposed for modeling the angular aspects of mobile radio channel in picocell, microcell, and macrocellular environments. These models are validated through comparison with available measurement results. The comparisons are usually based on the fitness of their pdfs of angle of arrival to the histogram of occurrences of the signals over an angular span, given in the measurement data. This paper presents a comparison of the notable scattering models with various spatial channel measurements. The paper suggests criteria for the comparative analysis of the previously proposed spatial channel models and measurements on the basis of their fading statistics. Quantitative analysis of the considered models and the field measurements is also presented using multipath shape factors i.e. angle spread, the angular constriction and direction of maximum fading. Based on the obtained shape factors, fading statistics like level crossing rates, average fade duration, auto-covariance and coherence distance are evaluated. Effect of increasing Doppler spread on the level crossing rates and average fade duration is also elaborated in detail.     

Hierarchical steganography using novel optimum quantization technique

Security and imperceptibility are fundamental issues for steganography. This paper presents a multi-level steganography system based on concealing and deception. Basically, the secret image is embedded in a cover image, which in turn is embedded in another higher-level cover image. Each steganography level provides additional security, with lower levels implemented using stronger steganography methods. Furthermore, in the event that the higher level steganography is compromised, it would include misleading information to deceive the attacker that he/she is successfully eavesdropping. One challenge of hierarchical system is retaining hidden data in lower level in a higher level stenographic technique. To mitigate this issue, we designed a novel technique which combines discrete cosine transform and least significant bit (LSB). The technique objective is to maximize the capacity and invisibility of the secret image with minimal modification to the cover image (at most k-bits per block). The performance (capacity and peak signal-to-noise ratio) of the proposed method has superior performance compared with LSB since it combines the benefits of 1-bit and 3-bit LSBs. Furthermore, the paper demonstrates that the secret message is successfully embedded and extracted in two-level steganography system with peak signal-to-nose ratio greater than 20 dB.     

Optimum mechanical behavior of calcium phosphate cement/hydroxyl group functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes/bovine serum albumin composite using metaheuristic algorithms

Injectable calcium phosphate cements have been introduced as adjuncts to internal fixation for treating selected fractures. These cements harden without producing much heat, develop compressive strength, and are remodeled slowly in vivo. The main purpose of the cement is to fill voids in metaphyseal bone, thereby reducing the need for bone graft. However, such cements may also improve the holding strength around metal devices in osteoporotic bone. This paper presents the optimum mechanical behavior of calcium phosphate cement/hydroxyl group functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes/bovine serum albumin (CPC/MWCNT-OH/BSA) composites in terms of compressive strength using well-known metaheuristic optimizers. The process parameters studied were wt% of MWCNT-OH (0.2–0.5 wt%) and wt% of BSA (5–15 wt%). The obtained results from metaheuristic algorithms were compared with the results from the response surface methodology (RSM) in the literature. The results obtained from metaheuristic algorithms outperformed the results given by the RSM in terms of less error percentage and high compressive strength.     

Design of Nonlinear Servo Systems by the Fuzzy Method

This paper presents the design of nonlinear servo systems using the fuzzy method. The idea behind this control method is to divide the operating region of a nonlinear system into a collection of local linear servo control systems and apply the fuzzy method for calculation of the control input. The control input of each local linear servo system is calculated using the Davison–Smith method and the Hikita pole assignment method. We can prove that all states of the fuzzy servo system are bounded and that the output errors converge to zero by the Lyapunov method. Simulations on a nonlinear mass‐spring‐damper system illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.     

Effects of peroxide crosslinking on the mechanical and morphological properties of poly(ethylene‐co‐vinyl acetate)/zeolite composites

Uncrosslinked and chemically crosslinked ethylene‐vinyl acetate copolymers (EVAs) with 5–25 volume percentages of zeolite were prepared in a melt‐mixing process and then compression‐molded on a hot‐press machine according to standard test specifications. The mechanical properties measured by tensile test showed a reduction in tensile strength and elongation at break with increasing zeolite content. However, an increasing trend was observed for tensile modulus with addition of zeolite. Experimental results for ultimate stress were compared with those from Pukanszky equation. The experimental data showed a good fit to the Pukanszky model. The improvement in the interfacial interaction for crosslinked composites was also confirmed by this model. Morphological changes of EVA/zeolite composites were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The fractured surface of the composites indicated more complex morphology at higher zeolite loading. The influence of crosslinking induced by 2 wt% of dicumyl peroxide on the properties of EVA/zeolite composites was also investigated. The crosslinked composites showed better tensile properties than the uncrosslinked ones, a result which might be an indication of enhanced interaction between the EVA and zeolite. Density measurements, gel content determinations, and Fourier transform infrared analyses were also performed to evaluate the crosslink content of the composites. The changes in the properties of chemically crosslinked EVA/zeolite composites were observed. Meanwhile, SEM micrographs of the crosslinked EVA/zeolite composites showed better interfacial strength between zeolite and the EVA matrix as compared to that of the uncrosslinked composites. J. VINYL ADDIT. TECHNOL., 2012. © 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Phase Transformations of α-Alumina Made from Waste Aluminum via a Precipitation Technique

We report on a recycling project in which α-Al₂O₃ was produced from aluminum cans because no such work has been reported in literature. Heated aluminum cans were mixed with 8.0 M of H₂SO₄ solution to form an Al₂(SO₄)₃ solution. The Al₂(SO₄)₃ salt was contained in a white semi-liquid solution with excess H₂SO₄; some unreacted aluminum pieces were also present. The solution was filtered and mixed with ethanol in a ratio of 2:3, to form a white solid of Al₂(SO₄)₃·18H₂O. The Al₂(SO₄)₃·18H₂O was calcined in an electrical furnace for 3 h at temperatures of 400–1400 °C. The heating and cooling rates were 10 °C/min. XRD was used to investigate the phase changes at different temperatures and XRF was used to determine the elemental composition in the alumina produced. A series of different alumina compositions, made by repeated dehydration and desulfonation of the Al₂(SO₄)₃·18H₂O, is reported. All transitional alumina phases produced at low temperatures were converted to α-Al₂O₃ at high temperatures. The X-ray diffraction results indicated that the α-Al₂O₃ phase was realized when the calcination temperature was at 1200 °C or higher.