Pipelined Ensemble Architecture for Mortality Prediction on MIMIC III

Automated healthcare decision support has seen a huge rise with the improved data collection models in hospitals and also improved machine learning based techniques that exhibit high possibilities for automation. Automating healthcare systems as an aide for clinical practitioners can ensure fast and more accurate results for the patients and can also aid in hospital administration. Mortality prediction has been one of the major and critical factors that determines the type of treatment and the level of resources that has to be allocated for a patient. This work presents a pipelined ensemble architecture that can be used for effective prediction of mortality levels of a patient. The pipeline model has been designed in multiple levels to ensure improvement of quality of the medical data and effective prediction. The pipelined architecture model has been compared with existing state-of-the-art model, and the results indicate high performance with 92% accuracy levels, ensuring the model is suitable for use in real time mortality prediction

A CORDIC based QR Decomposition Technique for MIMO Detection

CORDIC based improved real and complex QR Decomposition (QRD) for channel pre-processing operations in (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output) MIMO detectors are presented in this paper. The proposed design utilizes pipelining and parallel processing techniques and reduces the latency and hardware complexity of the module respectively. Computational complexity analysis report shows the superiority of our module by 16% compared to literature. The implementation results reveal that the proposed QRD takes shorter latency compared to literature. The power consumption of 2x2 real channel matrix and 2x2 complex channel matrix was found to be 12mW and 44mW respectively on the state-of-the-art Xilinx Virtex 5 FPGA

EFFICACY OF THE SOLVENTS ON THE PHYTOCHEMICAL LOAD AND POLYPHENOL CONTENT OF THE AQUATIC PLANT AZOLLAMICROPHYLLA

Objectives: Azolla microphylla which is an aquatic macrophyte is used to find out efficacy of the different solvents on phytochemical load and polyphenol content. The whole plant was extracted in the Soxhlet apparatus using different solvents such as aqueous, hydro-ethanol, hydro-methanol, and hydro-acetone. Methods: The four plant extracts were subjected to phytochemical screening by standard procedure. The polyphenol content was estimated in the four extracts using Folin-Ciocalteu method. Results: The phytochemicals such as flavonoids, phenols, saponins, diterpenes, and protein were present in all the four solvent extracts. The higher proportions of phytochemicals were seen in hydro-methanol extract. The polyphenol content was also higher in the hydro-methanol extract. Conclusion: The results showed that the extraction of the phytochemicals varied not only plant wise but also from solvent to solvent. The present study revealed the fact that the combination of water and organic solvents gave a better result than aqueous extract

Knowledge, practice and technique on hand hygiene among nurses while caring for patients

A study was conducted to assess the knowledge, practice and technique on hand hygiene among the nurses while caring for patients in selected areas of a selected hospital. The conceptual frame work was developed on the basis of Becker and Miman’s health belief model. In this study, quantitative research approach and descriptive research design were used to achieve the objectives of the study. The study subjects were nurses from Medical Intensive care unit, Coronary care unit, Trauma Intensive care unit and Post operative ward. The nurses were selected through convenience sampling technique. Pilot study was done and all the strengths and weaknesses were analyzed. Data collection was done for 6 weeks. Assessment of practice and technique on hand hygiene among nurses was done by concealed participatory observation method and questionnaire was provided on the last two days of data collection in each of the four settings to assess the knowledge on hand hygiene among the nurses. The collected data were tabulated and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The demographic revealed that majority of the participants were females (93.9%), below 25 years (84.8%), B.Sc nurses (57.6%). 45.5% of the nurses were having total work experience of 7-12 months and 48.5% of them were having 7-12 months work experience in the current area. Only 63.3% of the nurses had previous source of information on hand hygiene and among this group 48.5% of the nurses got the information only from textbooks. It was noted that only 39.4% of the nurses had adequate knowledge on hand hygiene. It was also noted that 21 nurses (63.6%) were having the average (51%-64%) score on hand hygiene technique, whereas one nurse (3%) was having the excellent (> 80%) and good score (65 – 75%) on hand hygiene technique. It was also revealed that the practice on hand hygiene before and after procedure was poor (<50 %) for all the nurses. None of the participants were having good & excellent hand hygiene practice before and after procedures. The study findings revealed that the age of the nurses had significant association with knowledge on hand hygiene at the level of P<0.05. The age, present experience of the nurses had significant association with technique on hand hygiene at the level of P<0.01. It was also revealed that the age of the nurses had significant association with practice before and after procedure on hand hygiene of nurses at the level of P<0.001. No other demographic variables had significant association with knowledge, practice and technique on hand hygiene. It also found that there was a negative correlation between knowledge with practice and technique. It was also revealed that there was a positive correlation between practice and technique. There was no significant relationship between knowledge, practice and technique. This could be interpreted that even though the nurses had adequate knowledge, continuous monitoring was needed to enhance adherence to practice and technique on hand hygiene. It was also revealed that through the results, the researcher found that an in service education should be conducted periodically to update knowledge on hand hygiene and to improve the practices and techniques among the nurses. The researcher conducted in -service education on hand hygiene among the nurses in all of the four setting

A comparative study of intravenous dexmedetomidine and midazolam on prolongation of spinal anesthesia

Background: The present study was conducted to compare the efficacy and safety of intravenous dexmedetomidine and midazolam on prolongation of spinal anesthesia.Methods: The study population included people who were undergoing for spinal anesthesia for various surgeries. A total of 90 subject were randomized equally to Dexmedetomidine, Midazolam and saline groups using a computer generated random number sequence. Three study groups were compared with respect to all the baseline variables. The key outcome parameters and hemodynamic parameters were compared among the three study groups.Results: No statistically significant differences were observed in baseline paramters across study groups. The median values of patient satisfaction score and anesthesiologist satisfaction score were almost equal among three study groups, but the association was statistically not significant. The median VAS and the median HSL were slightly lower in dexmedetomidine group than other two groups (VAS-1,2,3 respectively and HSL -4,6,6 respectively) with statistically significant association (P0.05) except with number of patients requiring analgesic for the first 24 hours (P value<0.05).Conclusions: Measurement of patient and anesthesiologist satisfaction scores are more or less similar in midazolam and dexmedetomidine groups compare to saline group

A Stochastic Model for Mean Time to Seroconversion of HIV Transmission with Change of Threshold Under Correlated Intercontact Times

This paper focuses on the study of a stochastic model for predicting seroconvesion time of HIV transmission with change of threshold under correlated intercontact times. The antigenic diversity threshold is an important aspect of consideration in the studies relating to HIV infection.  Successive sexual contacts are the mode of transmission of HIV would result in acquiring more of HIV which contribute to the antigenic diversity of the antigen. As and when the cumulative antigenic diversity contributed due to successive contacts crosses the antigenic diversity threshold, seroconversion takes place. In developing this model the result of Gurland (1955) has been used. The mean time to seroconversion and its variance are derived and the numerical illustrations are provided

Clinical correlation of Osseous changes in CT for patients with temporomandibular joint disorders: A Prospective study

BACKGROUND: Temporomandibular joint disorder, as suggested by Bell, which constitutes joint and masticatory system has heterogenous collection of signs and symptoms. Multiple imaging avenues are available to evaluate TMJ disorders. It is extremely useful for revealing the skeletal abnormalities of the TMJ and has excellent predictive value. AIM: The aim of this study is to correlate the clinical characteristics of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder with osseous changes in CT. Methodology: A Prospective analytical study was conducted among 15 patients with symptomatic temporomandibular joint disorders. Patients were clinically examined and parameters were recorded. CT images were taken and interpreted for articular eminence morphology, condylar changes and glenoid thickness. Clinical parameters were then correlated with CT findings. Data was analysed using SPSS software. RESULTS: Sigmoid was the most prevalent articular eminence morphology on both right (80.0%) and left (60.0%) TMJ. Normal condyle was predominantly found in both TMJ (80.0%) followed by flattened condyle (20.0%). The glenoid fossa thickness showed variation of 0.1 and 0.2 mm respectively in the right and left side between normal and flattened condyle. CONCLUSION: Though we have correlated numerous clinical and radiographic features we couldn’t staunchly correlate osseous changes in CT for patients with temporomandibular joint disorders which may be due to smaller sample size

Quality In E-Procurement Success

Nowadays, the quality of virtual service is diminishing, in which different aspects of E-business industry is signifying, especially in the business to business (B2B). E-procurement is part of the e-business, therefore, quality factors of E-procurement originates from e-business. Much research has focused on the critical success factors of E-procurement, however, when it comes to implementation, many E-procurements fail, which can be very costly. This article attempts to increase the success rate of E-procurement, and ensures that the success of E-procurement is more sustainable. This research estimates the structural equation model by collecting data from 208 managers to employ quantitative analysis to investigate the relationship between E-procurement quality factors. The result of this research shows that the quality of the organization culture has partial mediator relationship to the success of E-procurement. Meanwhile, the quality of IT infrastructure does not have a mediator relationship with the success of E-procurement. Lastly, quality of knowledge management has a full mediator relationship with the success of E-procurement and it does not affect the dynamic capability of organization directly

Effect of phosphorus activators on soil legacy phosphorus availability and its uptake by maize hybrid COH(M) 6 in calcareous soil

Continuous application of phosphatic fertilizers in association with its low recovery results in the insoluble legacy P buildup in agricultural soils. In this study, a field experiment was conducted with maize hybrid COH(M) 6 to know the effect of different P activators (Farmyard Manure, Humic acid, Phosphorus Solubilising Bacteria, and Phytase) on increasing the legacy phosphorus (P) availability. The P activators were combined and applied along with the different doses of P fertilizer (100%, 75%, and 50% soil test dose of P fertilizer). The results showed that the application of Farmyard manure (FYM) and Humic acid (HA) significantly (p &lt; 0.05) increased the soil available P (18.54 kg ha-1) and notably reduced the calcium P fraction (93.08 mg kg-1). The application of FYM and HA with 100% soil test dose of P showed a similar grain (9.98 kg ha-1) and stover P uptake (12.67 kg ha-1) response as that of FYM and HA with 75% soil test dose of P. The study suggested that FYM and HA application has activated the fixed calcium phosphorus in soil and increased its availability for crop utilization. The findings have illustrated that even the reduced dose of P fertilizer application can support the nutrient uptake if they are applied along with P- activators such as FYM and HA. This could promote soil health by reducing the P overload and further P loss in soil

An application of physical flexibility and software reconfigurability for the automation of battery module assembly

Batteries are a strategic technology to decarbonize conventional automotive powertrains and enable energy policy turnaround from fossil fuels to renewable energy. The demand for battery packs is rising, but they remain unable to compete with conventional technologies, primarily due to higher costs. Major sources of cost remain in manufacturing and assembly. These costs can be attributed to a need for high product quality, material handling complexity, uncertain and fluctuating production volumes, and an unpredictable breadth of product variants. This research paper applies the paradigms of flexibility from a mechanical engineering perspective, and reconfigurability from a software perspective to form a holistic, integrated manufacturing solution to better realize product variants. This allows manufacturers to de-risk investment as there is increased confidence that a facility can meet new requirements with reduced effort, and also shows how part of the vision of Industry 4.0 associated with the integration and exploitation of data can be fulfilled. A functional decomposition of battery packs is used to develop a foundational understanding of how changes in customer requirements can result in physical product changes. A Product, Process, and Resource (PPR) methodology is employed to link physical product characteristics to physical and logical characteristics of resources. This mapping is leveraged to enable the design of a gripper with focused flexibility by the Institute for Machine Tools and Industrial Management (iwb) at the Technical University of Munich, as it is acknowledged that mechanical changes are challenging to realize within industrial manufacturing facilities. Reconfigurability is realised through exploitation of data integration across the PPR domains, through the extension of the capabilities of a non-commercial virtual engineering toolset developed by the Automation Systems Group at the University of Warwick. The work shows an “end-to-end” approach that practically demonstrates the application of the flexibility and reconfigurability paradigms within an industrial engineering context