Visual object tracking—classical and contemporary approaches

Visual object tracking (VOT) is an important subfield of computer vision. It has widespread application domains, and has been considered as an important part of surveillance and security system. VOA facilitates finding the position of target in image coordinates of video frames.While doing this, VOA also faces many challenges such as noise, clutter, occlusion, rapid change in object appearances, highly maneuvered (complex) object motion, illumination changes. In recent years, VOT has made significant progress due to availability of low-cost high-quality video cameras as well as fast computational resources, and many modern techniques have been proposed to handle the challenges faced by VOT. This article introduces the readers to 1) VOT and its applications in other domains, 2) different issues which arise in it, 3) various classical as well as contemporary approaches for object tracking, 4) evaluation methodologies for VOT, and 5) online resources, i.e., annotated datasets and source code available for various tracking techniques.     

Indoor radon concentration in the rural dwellings of Chhattisgarh state (India)

Inhalation of radon and its daughter products is the major contributor to the total exposure of the population to natural radiation. An indoor radon survey has been carried out in the state of Chhattisgarh (80.26 degrees N to 84.41 degrees N and 17.8 degrees E to 24.1 degrees E), India under the national coordinated radon project of the Department of Atomic Energy. In the frame of this project indoor radon concentration has been measured in 105 dwellings situated in different villages of Chhattisgarh state. Houses were selected for measurements to cover the most common type of houses generally existing in the rural areas. Measurements have been done on quarterly integrating cycle for one full year in each dwelling using radon cup dosemeter employing LR-115, type-II (pelliculable), solid-state nuclear track detectors. The gamma radiation level was also checked in each dwelling using a gamma survey meter. It was found that the annual average indoor radon concentration in these dwellings varies from 9.91 to 87.84 Bq m(-3) with overall mean value of 26.48 Bq m(-3). Gamma level in these rural dwellings varies from 14.84 to 26.56 microR h(-1) with mean value of 18.68 microR h(-1). We observed that the radon concentration is relatively higher in the houses where the floor is bare but relatively lower in those houses where the floor is tiled or cemented.     

Novel mixed solar cooker: Experimental,energy, exergy,and economic analysis

This work focuses on the structure, working, and testing of a new mixed solar cooker using a linear Fresnel collector, evacuated tube and box-type cooker. The low-cost components used in the construction of this cooker can help it satisfy the needs of both urban and rural inhabitants who need steady cooking temperatures above 140°C. A family of five can prepare four meals using this modified solar cooker, which costs about $250. The designed solar cooker was tested by conducting no-load and full-load tests. For the no-load test, the maximum temperature of the absorber plate and oil for the new mixed cooker was recorded as 160.26°C and 172.72°C, respectively. The absorber plate of the new mixed cooker and its oil both reached their highest temperatures during the full-load test at 141.14°C and 157°C, respectively. The energy efficiency of the new cooker is 58.776%, while its exergy efficiency is 13%. The heat transfer coefficient increased to 100.16 W/m² °C. This cooker provides an additional time savings of 60 min. An improvement of 27.5% in the highest temperature reached was seen when the developed cooker's performance was compared with those reported in the literature. Additionally, the new cooker's heat-storing capability enables up to 3 h of autonomy. The Levelized Cost of Cooking a Meal for the innovative mixed solar cooker is $0.034 per meal.     

Tillage and mulching effects on water use,root growth and yield of rainfed mustard and chickpea grown after lowland rice

Crops grown under rainfed conditions are prone to water stress, owing to rapid loss of soil moisture and development of mechanical impedance to root growth. The stress can be alleviated by enlarging rooting volume in the soil and/or by regulating the supply of soil moisture. This study reports the effects of zero, minimum and conventional tillage with and without rice straw mulch on conservation of soil moisture, root growth and yield of chickpea and mustard grown under rainfed conditions for three years (1990–91 to 1992–93) in a deep clayey soil (Typical Chromusterts). Minimum tillage, with or without straw, enhanced soil moisture conservation and moisture availability during crop growth. As a consequence, the root mass, yield components (plant stand, number of pods per plant and plant height) and grain yield increased. Availability of soil moisture during the crops growth period, maintained better plant water status. Zero tillage was superior to the other tillage practices for mustard. On the other hand, chickpea grain yield was statistically similar for zero tillage and minimum tillage. Straw mulch conserved more water in the soil profile during the early growth period compared to no mulch. Subsequent release of conserved soil water regulated proper plant water status, soil temperature, and lowered soil mechanical resistance, leading to better root growth and higher grain yield of both chick-pea and mustard in straw mulch than in no mulch plots. © 1998 Society of Chemical Industry     

Synthesis of biodiesel from edible and non-edible oils in supercritical alcohols and enzymatic synthesis in supercritical carbon dioxide

Biodiesel is an attractive alternative fuel because it is environmentally friendly and can be synthesized from edible and non-edible oils. The synthesis of biodiesel from edible oils like palm oil and groundnut oil and from crude non-edible oils like Pongamia pinnata and Jatropha curcas was investigated in supercritical methanol and ethanol without using any catalyst from 200 to 400 °C at 200 bar. The variables affecting the conversion during transesterification, such as molar ratio of alcohol to oil, temperature and time were investigated in supercritical methanol and ethanol. Biodiesel was also synthesized enzymatically with Novozym-435 lipase in presence of supercritical carbon dioxide. The effect of reaction variables such as temperature, molar ratio, enzyme loading and kinetics of the reaction was investigated for enzymatic synthesis in supercritical carbon dioxide. Very high conversions (>80%) were obtained within 10 min and nearly complete conversions were obtained at within 40 min for the synthesis of biodiesel in supercritical alcohols. However, conversions of only 60–70% were obtained in the enzymatic synthesis even after 8 h.     

Geochemical,stable isotopic,palynological characterization of surface dry soils and atmospheric particles over Jodhpur city (Thar Desert,Rajasthan) during peak summer of 2013

MAPAN - Atmospheric dust originating from the Thar Desert (India) acts as the local source of mineral dust in South Asia, spreading over an area of 0.32?×?106 km2....     

A chemical engineer's take of COVID-19 epidemiology

SARS-CoV-2, a novel coronavirus spreading worldwide, was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization 3 months after the outbreak. Termed as COVID-19, airborne or surface transmission occurs as droplets/aerosols and seems to be reduced by social distancing and wearing mask. Demographic and geo-temporal factors like population density, temperature, healthcare system efficiency index and lockdown stringency index also influence the COVID-19 epidemiological curve. In the present study, an attempt is made to relate these factors with curve characteristics (mean and variance) using the classical residence time distribution analysis. An analogy is drawn between the continuous stirred tank reactor and infection in a given country. The 435 days dataset for 15 countries, where the first wave of epidemic is almost ending, have been considered in this study. Using method of moments technique, dispersion coefficient has been calculated. Regression analysis has been conducted to relate parameters with the curve characteristics.