Design and Implementation of a Wearable Health Device

Many situations arise every day where humans have to worry about their health and fitness. Further monitoring critical human body parameters in reliable and regular manner helps clinical practitioners and common person to take critical decisions and improve life quality. With advancements in microelectronics and sensor technology, it has become possible to design and develop small size wearable devices for clinical and home usage that give and record regular health related data.   The current work presents design and development of a small wearable device that measures pulse rate, oxygen saturation, skin and body temperature using high-accuracy pulse Oximeter sensor and temperature sensors. The Pulse/Oxygen saturation and skin/body temperature data from sensors is fed to Analog Front End (AFE) devices AFE 4490 and LMP 90100 by Texas Instruments respectively. The data is further processed at an ultra low-power Mixed Signal Micro-Controller, MSP430F5338 of Texas Instruments and fed to Bluetooth transceiver. The processed data giving the requisite health parameters is further displayed on the hand held device and can be periodically send to PDAs or to a central server through Bluetooth transceiver

Vitamin D Levels in Asymptomatic Adults-A Population Survey in Karachi, Pakistan

Background: It is well established that low levels of 25(OH) Vitamin D (/dL) are a common finding world over, affecting over a billion of the global population. Our primary objective was to determine the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency in the asymptomatic adult population of Karachi, Pakistan and the demographic, nutritional and co-morbidity characteristics associated with serum vitamin D levels. Methods: A cross-sectional population survey was conducted at two spaced out densely populated areas of the city. Serum levels of 25OH vitamin D were measured and GFR as renal function was assessed by using 4 variable MDRD formula. Results: Our sample of 300 had a median age of 48(interquartile range 38-55) years. The median level of serum vitamin D was 18.8 (IQ range 12.65-24.62) ng/dL. A total of 253 (84.3%) respondents had low levels (/dL) of 25OH vitamin D. Serum PTH and vitamin D were negatively correlated (r = -0.176, p = 0.001). The median PTH in the vitamin D sufficiency group was 38.4 (IQ range28.0-48.8)pg/mL compared with 44.4 (IQ range 34.3-56.8) pg/mL in the deficiency group (p = 0.011).The median serum calcium level in the sample was 9.46(IQ range 9.18-9.68) ng/dL. Low serum levels of vitamin D were not associated with hypertension (p = 0.771) or with an elevated spot blood pressure (p = 0.164).In our sample 75(26%) respondents had an eGFR corresponding to stage 2 and stage 3 CKD. There was no significant correlation between levels of vitamin D and eGFR (r = -0.127, p-value = 0.277). Respondents using daily vitamin D supplements had higher 25 OH vitamin D levels (p-value = 0.021). Conclusion: We observed a high proportion of the asymptomatic adult population having low levels of vitamin D and subclinical deterioration of eGFR. The specific cause(s) for this observed high prevalence of low 25OH vitamin D levels are not clear and need to be investigated further upon

Effects of a high-dose 24-h infusion of tranexamic acid on death and thromboembolic events in patients with acute gastrointestinal bleeding (HALT-IT): an international randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background: Tranexamic acid reduces surgical bleeding and reduces death due to bleeding in patients with trauma. Meta-analyses of small trials show that tranexamic acid might decrease deaths from gastrointestinal bleeding. We aimed to assess the effects of tranexamic acid in patients with gastrointestinal bleeding. Methods: We did an international, multicentre, randomised, placebo-controlled trial in 164 hospitals in 15 countries. Patients were enrolled if the responsible clinician was uncertain whether to use tranexamic acid, were aged above the minimum age considered an adult in their country (either aged 16 years and older or aged 18 years and older), and had significant (defined as at risk of bleeding to death) upper or lower gastrointestinal bleeding. Patients were randomly assigned by selection of a numbered treatment pack from a box containing eight packs that were identical apart from the pack number. Patients received either a loading dose of 1 g tranexamic acid, which was added to 100 mL infusion bag of 0·9% sodium chloride and infused by slow intravenous injection over 10 min, followed by a maintenance dose of 3 g tranexamic acid added to 1 L of any isotonic intravenous solution and infused at 125 mg/h for 24 h, or placebo (sodium chloride 0·9%). Patients, caregivers, and those assessing outcomes were masked to allocation. The primary outcome was death due to bleeding within 5 days of randomisation; analysis excluded patients who received neither dose of the allocated treatment and those for whom outcome data on death were unavailable. This trial was registered with Current Controlled Trials, ISRCTN11225767, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01658124. Findings: Between July 4, 2013, and June 21, 2019, we randomly allocated 12 009 patients to receive tranexamic acid (5994, 49·9%) or matching placebo (6015, 50·1%), of whom 11 952 (99·5%) received the first dose of the allocated treatment. Death due to bleeding within 5 days of randomisation occurred in 222 (4%) of 5956 patients in the tranexamic acid group and in 226 (4%) of 5981 patients in the placebo group (risk ratio [RR] 0·99, 95% CI 0·82–1·18). Arterial thromboembolic events (myocardial infarction or stroke) were similar in the tranexamic acid group and placebo group (42 [0·7%] of 5952 vs 46 [0·8%] of 5977; 0·92; 0·60 to 1·39). Venous thromboembolic events (deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism) were higher in tranexamic acid group than in the placebo group (48 [0·8%] of 5952 vs 26 [0·4%] of 5977; RR 1·85; 95% CI 1·15 to 2·98). Interpretation: We found that tranexamic acid did not reduce death from gastrointestinal bleeding. On the basis of our results, tranexamic acid should not be used for the treatment of gastrointestinal bleeding outside the context of a randomised trial

Stimulation of innovative behavior through the inclusive leaders and engaged workers

Based on social exchange theory, this research introduced a model to understand factors that contribute towards inclusive leadership (IL) and its effect on innovative work behavior (IWB) with employee engagement (EE) as a mediator. Although the connection between IL and IWB is previously established. However, few studies have tested the potential mediation effect of EE particularly in the IT sector. Therefore, this investigation provides new insights as to how IL stimulates the innovation through the meditating impact of EE. Data collected through questionnaire were then analyzed through structural equation modeling. 116 participants have provided the data for this study. We found a positive association of IL with IWB, while the mediating effect of EE was also empirically established. This study is novel because it explained how IL can persuade their subordinates to exhibit positive behavioral outcome (i.e. IWB). Furthermore, the current study also might help the policymakers to devise effective leadership training programs so that their managers may adopt IL style and make the employees more engaged and innovative

Optimization of conditions for improved solar energy harvesting application by hydrothermally grown TiO2 nanorods

In this study, using the optimum annealing temperature and time for hydrothermally grown TiO 2 nanorods, photooxidation of water at different pH values of the electrolyte solution is investigated. The composition, crystallinity and topographic studies of films, sintered at different temperatures of 200–500 °C for 2 h and annealed for 1–4 h at 400 °C, were evaluated by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy. The sintering at high temperature and for longer time demonstrates an increase in crystallinity, but at the same time agglomeration of nanorods for prolonged heating and at high temperature leads to cracking at the surface of the films. Further, UV–Vis spectroscopic studies revealed prolonged heating and high-temperature sintering resulted in a red shift in light absorption edge of the films. The chronoamperometric measurement results under regular interrupted chopping revealed that the sample annealed at 400 °C for 2 h gives the best photoelectrochemical response with photocurrent density of 522 µA cm − 2 using 0.5M NaOH. The chronoamperometric response under different pH values of 13.7, 7.2 and 2.5 proved that TiO 2 gives the best response under a basic pH of 13.7 and the least under acidic media. The electrochemical impedance studies provided an insight into the charge transfer mechanism under dark and illumination with R ct value of 1188.8 Ω under dark and 164.5 Ω under light conditions for the film annealed at 400 °C for 2 h. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]. © 2019, Iranian Chemical Society

Stimulation of Employees’ Green Creativity through Green Transformational Leadership and Management Initiatives

Drawing upon the componential theory of creativity and social information processing theory, this research elucidates how and why the synergy of green HR practices and green strategies stimulate green creativity. It also explores the possible mediation effect of green transformational leadership (TFL) on the relationship between organizational interventions and green creativity. Survey questionnaires were used to collect data from managers working in large manufacturing firms. The structural equation modeling technique was applied to test the hypothesized relationships. Findings of research revealed that green management initiatives and green TFL stimulate green creativity. Moreover, the intervening impact of green TFL on the relationship between the aforementioned relationships was also established. Policymakers should devise green strategies and provide support to green HR practices for the stimulation of green creativity, whereas HR managers must ensure the compatibility of HR functions with corresponding organizational green strategies. Employees involved in green creative behaviors should be rewarded and retained. Training must be provided in order to keep employees abreast of the latest practices for environment conservation. Furthermore, managers should exhibit a green TFL style to advance green management initiatives and fuel green creativity among employees. This study highlights the significance of the synergy between green HR practices and the firm’s green strategies to stimulate employees’ green creativity. Furthermore, green management initiatives were also found to be the contextual precursor of green TFL, which enhances our understanding of the green TFL style. Lastly, the mediation effect of green TFL implies that it can serve as a proximal HR outcome to implement the organizational green agenda

Block Compressive Sensing (BCS) Based Low Complexity, Energy Efficient Visual Sensor Platform with Joint Multi-Phase Decoder (JMD)

Devices in a visual sensor network (VSN) are mostly powered by batteries, and in such a network, energy consumption and bandwidth utilization are the most critical issues that need to be taken into consideration. The most suitable solution to such issues is to compress the captured visual data before transmission takes place. Compressive sensing (CS) has emerged as an efficient sampling mechanism for VSN. CS reduces the total amount of data to be processed such that it recreates the signal by using only fewer sampling values than that of the Nyquist rate. However, there are few open issues related to the reconstruction quality and practical implementation of CS. The current studies of CS are more concentrated on hypothetical characteristics with simulated results, rather than on the understanding the potential issues in the practical implementation of CS and its computational validation. In this paper, a low power, low cost, visual sensor platform is developed using an Arduino Due microcontroller board, XBee transmitter, and uCAM-II camera. Block compressive sensing (BCS) is implemented on the developed platform to validate the characteristics of compressive sensing in a real-world scenario. The reconstruction is performed by using the joint multi-phase decoding (JMD) framework. To the best of our knowledge, no such practical implementation using off the shelf components has yet been conducted for CS