Session initiation protocol for wireless channels

The Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) was designed for wire line networks. It was developed to initiate, modify and terminate sessions between two hosts on a network. When the Internet expanded to include wireless hosts, SIP did not scale well for these wireless hosts because of the nature of the wireless channel. Also, there were issues with mobility and real time communication. This thesis proposes improvements to some of the extensions to SIP, for better performance over wireless channels. We investigate the call setup time for various transport mechanisms viz. TCP and UDP, and study the performance of a dynamic Session Timers compared to the current standard of a periodic refresh mechanism, where the frequency of UPDATEs vary with the condition of the wireless channel. We also propose a handoff algorithm that reduces the handover time with decreased packet losses

Real-time Event Detection on Social Data Streams

Social networks are quickly becoming the primary medium for discussing what is happening around real-world events. The information that is generated on social platforms like Twitter can produce rich data streams for immediate insights into ongoing matters and the conversations around them. To tackle the problem of event detection, we model events as a list of clusters of trending entities over time. We describe a real-time system for discovering events that is modular in design and novel in scale and speed: it applies clustering on a large stream with millions of entities per minute and produces a dynamically updated set of events. In order to assess clustering methodologies, we build an evaluation dataset derived from a snapshot of the full Twitter Firehose and propose novel metrics for measuring clustering quality. Through experiments and system profiling, we highlight key results from the offline and online pipelines. Finally, we visualize a high profile event on Twitter to show the importance of modeling the evolution of events, especially those detected from social data streams.Comment: Accepted as a full paper at KDD 2019 on April 29, 201

Formulation design, development and characterization of dexibuprofen emulgel for topical delivery: In-vitro and In-vivo evaluation

Emulgels have emerged as a promising drug delivery system for the delivery of hydrophobic drugs. The objective of the study was to prepare emulgel of Dexibuprofen, a NSAID, using Carbapol 940 as a gelling agent. Clove oil and Mentha oil were used as penetration enhancers. The emulsion was prepared and it was added in gel base. The formulations were evaluated for rheological studies, spreading coefficient studies, bioadhesion strength, skin irritation studies, in vitro release, ex vivo release studies, anti-inflammatory activity and analgesic activity. Formulation showed comparable analgesic and anti-inflammatory activity when they compared with marketed diclofenac sodium gel. So, it can be concluded that topical emulgel of Dexibuprofen possess an effective anti-inflammatory and analgesic activity. Keywords: Emulgel, Dexibuprofen, Topical Drug Delivery, bioavailability, NSAID

Use of neuro-psychiatry medicines in patients with sexual dysfunction: a retrospective study

Background: The objective of the study was to understand the usage of neuro-psychiatry medicines in patients presenting with symptoms of sexual dysfunction.Methods: Medical records of adult patients consulting in the clinic out patients with symptoms of sexual dysfunction were screened for prescriptions of neuropsychiatry medicines. Common neuropsychiatric co-morbidities and prevalence of usage of medicines used for treating neuro-psychiatric disorders was calculated.Results: A total of 628 patients with sexual disorders were included of which 57 (9.1%) had received at least one neuro-psychiatry medicine at the time of presentation. Three most common sexual problems were unconsummated marriage 16 (28.1%), psychogenic ED 14 (24.6%) and organic erectile dysfunction 8 (14.0%). A total of erectile dysfunction 46 (7.3%) patients had psychiatric comorbidity. Five most common neuropsychiatric co-morbidities were anxiety 14 (30.4%), schizhophrenia 10 (21.7%), stress 7 (15.2%), depression 6 (13.0%) and epilepsy 2 (4.3%). The most commonly used neuro-psychiatry medicines were fluoxetine 15 (19.7%), risperidone 11 (14.5%), clonazepam 10 (13.2%), escitalopram 9 (11.8%), alprazolam 5 (6.6%), olanzapine 5 (6.6%) and gabapentin 4 (5.3%). Amisulpride was used in 3 (3.9%) patients whereas valproate, fluoxamine, diazepam and paroxetine were used in 2 (2.6%) patients each. Phenytoin, imipramine, carbamazepine, venlafaxine, haloperidol and sertarline were used in one patient each.Conclusions: Anxiety, schizophrenia and depression are the most common neuropsychiatric disorders in patients with sexual dysfunction. Many patients presenting with sexual dysfunction are already on neuropsychiatry medicines. Further studies are required to evaluate the association between neuropsychiatry medicines and sexual dysfunction in Indian patients. 

Global injury morbidity and mortality from 1990 to 2017 : results from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017

Correction:Background Past research in population health trends has shown that injuries form a substantial burden of population health loss. Regular updates to injury burden assessments are critical. We report Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2017 Study estimates on morbidity and mortality for all injuries. Methods We reviewed results for injuries from the GBD 2017 study. GBD 2017 measured injury-specific mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) using the Cause of Death Ensemble model. To measure non-fatal injuries, GBD 2017 modelled injury-specific incidence and converted this to prevalence and years lived with disability (YLDs). YLLs and YLDs were summed to calculate disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). Findings In 1990, there were 4 260 493 (4 085 700 to 4 396 138) injury deaths, which increased to 4 484 722 (4 332 010 to 4 585 554) deaths in 2017, while age-standardised mortality decreased from 1079 (1073 to 1086) to 738 (730 to 745) per 100 000. In 1990, there were 354 064 302 (95% uncertainty interval: 338 174 876 to 371 610 802) new cases of injury globally, which increased to 520 710 288 (493 430 247 to 547 988 635) new cases in 2017. During this time, age-standardised incidence decreased non-significantly from 6824 (6534 to 7147) to 6763 (6412 to 7118) per 100 000. Between 1990 and 2017, age-standardised DALYs decreased from 4947 (4655 to 5233) per 100 000 to 3267 (3058 to 3505). Interpretation Injuries are an important cause of health loss globally, though mortality has declined between 1990 and 2017. Future research in injury burden should focus on prevention in high-burden populations, improving data collection and ensuring access to medical care.Peer reviewe

Estimating global injuries morbidity and mortality : methods and data used in the Global Burden of Disease 2017 study

Background While there is a long history of measuring death and disability from injuries, modern research methods must account for the wide spectrum of disability that can occur in an injury, and must provide estimates with sufficient demographic, geographical and temporal detail to be useful for policy makers. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2017 study used methods to provide highly detailed estimates of global injury burden that meet these criteria. Methods In this study, we report and discuss the methods used in GBD 2017 for injury morbidity and mortality burden estimation. In summary, these methods included estimating cause-specific mortality for every cause of injury, and then estimating incidence for every cause of injury. Non-fatal disability for each cause is then calculated based on the probabilities of suffering from different types of bodily injury experienced. Results GBD 2017 produced morbidity and mortality estimates for 38 causes of injury. Estimates were produced in terms of incidence, prevalence, years lived with disability, cause-specific mortality, years of life lost and disability-adjusted life-years for a 28-year period for 22 age groups, 195 countries and both sexes. Conclusions GBD 2017 demonstrated a complex and sophisticated series of analytical steps using the largest known database of morbidity and mortality data on injuries. GBD 2017 results should be used to help inform injury prevention policy making and resource allocation. We also identify important avenues for improving injury burden estimation in the future.Peer reviewe

Global, regional, and national cancer incidence, mortality, years of life lost, years lived with disability, and disability-Adjusted life-years for 29 cancer groups, 1990 to 2017 : A systematic analysis for the global burden of disease study

Importance: Cancer and other noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are now widely recognized as a threat to global development. The latest United Nations high-level meeting on NCDs reaffirmed this observation and also highlighted the slow progress in meeting the 2011 Political Declaration on the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases and the third Sustainable Development Goal. Lack of situational analyses, priority setting, and budgeting have been identified as major obstacles in achieving these goals. All of these have in common that they require information on the local cancer epidemiology. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study is uniquely poised to provide these crucial data. Objective: To describe cancer burden for 29 cancer groups in 195 countries from 1990 through 2017 to provide data needed for cancer control planning. Evidence Review: We used the GBD study estimation methods to describe cancer incidence, mortality, years lived with disability, years of life lost, and disability-Adjusted life-years (DALYs). Results are presented at the national level as well as by Socio-demographic Index (SDI), a composite indicator of income, educational attainment, and total fertility rate. We also analyzed the influence of the epidemiological vs the demographic transition on cancer incidence. Findings: In 2017, there were 24.5 million incident cancer cases worldwide (16.8 million without nonmelanoma skin cancer [NMSC]) and 9.6 million cancer deaths. The majority of cancer DALYs came from years of life lost (97%), and only 3% came from years lived with disability. The odds of developing cancer were the lowest in the low SDI quintile (1 in 7) and the highest in the high SDI quintile (1 in 2) for both sexes. In 2017, the most common incident cancers in men were NMSC (4.3 million incident cases); tracheal, bronchus, and lung (TBL) cancer (1.5 million incident cases); and prostate cancer (1.3 million incident cases). The most common causes of cancer deaths and DALYs for men were TBL cancer (1.3 million deaths and 28.4 million DALYs), liver cancer (572000 deaths and 15.2 million DALYs), and stomach cancer (542000 deaths and 12.2 million DALYs). For women in 2017, the most common incident cancers were NMSC (3.3 million incident cases), breast cancer (1.9 million incident cases), and colorectal cancer (819000 incident cases). The leading causes of cancer deaths and DALYs for women were breast cancer (601000 deaths and 17.4 million DALYs), TBL cancer (596000 deaths and 12.6 million DALYs), and colorectal cancer (414000 deaths and 8.3 million DALYs). Conclusions and Relevance: The national epidemiological profiles of cancer burden in the GBD study show large heterogeneities, which are a reflection of different exposures to risk factors, economic settings, lifestyles, and access to care and screening. The GBD study can be used by policy makers and other stakeholders to develop and improve national and local cancer control in order to achieve the global targets and improve equity in cancer care. © 2019 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe