PATHOS: Pervasive at Home Sleep Monitoring

Sleeping disorders affect a large percentage of the population, and many of them go undiagnosed each year because the method of diagnosis is to stay overnight at a sleep center. Because pervasive technologies have become so prevalent and affordable, sleep monitoring is no longer confined to a permanent installation, and can therefore be brought directly into the user home. We present a unique solution to the problem of home sleep monitoring that has the possibility to take the place of and expand on the data from a sleep center. PATHOS focuses not only on analyzing patterns during the night, but also on collecting data about the subject lifestyle that is relevant and important to the diagnosis of his/her sleep. PATHOS means “evoking emotion.” Here, we mean Pathos will help us to keep healthy: both mentally and physically. Our solution uses existing technology to keep down cost and is completely wireless in order to provide portability and be easily to customize. The daytime collection also utilizes existing technology and offers a wide range of input methods to suit any type of person. We also include an in-depth look at the hardware we used to implement and the software providing user interaction. Our system is not only a viable alternative to a sleep center, it also provides functions that a static, short-term solution cannot provide, allowing for a more accurate diagnosis and treatment

Design of a framework for the aggregator using demand reduction bid (DRB)

Demand side management (DSM) in smart grid paradigm is an energy management strategy of the grid using advanced data communication and networking. The aggregator, a third party entity, is appearing as a key player in managing the demand during the peak hours between the utility and the consumer. In this work, a general framework is discussed and focuses on the interactional issues between the utility, the aggregator and the consumers. The paper also discusses the role of communication in the context of interaction among the three players. In addition, it also presents the model of the framework which can enable the consumer to effectively participate in the DSM. The proposed model considers the direct load control (DLC) program which uses the concept of demand reduction bid (DRB) in aggregated demand response

The conception of the aggregator in demand side management for domestic consumers

In the demand side management (DSM) the aggregator is appearing as a key player in managing the demand during the peak hours by acting as an energy manager between the utility and the consumer. In this work, an emerging concept of the energy service provider as a business entity for domestic consumers is discussed and focuses on the interactional issues between the utility, the aggregator and the consumers. The paper also discusses the role of communication in the interaction among the three players

Incidence of neurosensory deficits following surgical removal of mandibular third molars: a prospective clinical study

Background: The aim of this prospective study was to determine the incidences of inferior alveolar nerve and lingual nerve deficit following surgical removal of impacted mandibular third molars and to evaluate the risk factors responsible for these postoperative neurosensory deficits.Methods: A total of 80 patients who reported to department of oral and maxillofacial surgery, Meenakshi Ammal Dental College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India requiring surgical removal of impacted mandibular third molar were included in this cross-sectional study. Standard surgical procedure was performed. All patients were reassessed one week post-surgery. Subjectively reported altered sensations were recorded and objective assessments were performed with light touch test, two-point discrimination threshold and pin-pick pain threshold. The collected data was analyzed using the chi square test to find out any clinical relevance.Results: There was no inferior alveolar nerve related neurosensory deficits and 6 (7.5%) resulted in lingual nerve related neurosensory deficits. The incidence of LN deficit for mesioangular, horizontal, distoangular was 1.3%, 3.8% and 2.5% respectively. Type of impaction assumed a mild statistical significance (p = 0.050).Conclusions: This study highlights the importance of careful preoperative clinical and radiographic assessment of patients where third molar surgery is planned. The surgical technique of third molar removal is also likely to have great impact on the outcome

Adaptive importance sampling technique for markov chains using stochastic approximation

For a discrete-time finite-state Markov chain, we develop an adaptive importance sampling scheme to estimate the expected total cost before hitting a set of terminal states. This scheme updates the change of measure at every transition using constant or decreasing step-size stochastic approximation. The updates are shown to concentrate asymptotically in a neighborhood of the desired zero-variance estimator. Through simulation experiments on simple Markovian queues, we observe that the proposed technique performs very well in estimating performance measures related to rare events associated with queue lengths exceeding prescribed thresholds. We include performance comparisons of the proposed algorithm with existing adaptive importance sampling algorithms on some examples. We also discuss the extension of the technique to estimate the infinite horizon expected discounted cost and the expected average cost

Synthesis and Characterization of New 2-Quinolone Sulfonamide Derivatives

A series of new 2-quinolone derivatives linked to benzene sulphonyl moieties were performed by many steps: the first step involved preparation of different coumarins (A1,A2) by condensation of different substituted phenols with ethyl acetoacetate. The compound A1 was treated with nitric acid to afford two isomers of nitrocoumarin derivatives (A3) and (A4). The prepared compounds (A2, A3) were treated with hydrazine hydrate to synthesize different 2-quinolone compounds (A5,A6) while the coumarin treated with different amines gave compounds (A7,A8). Then the synthesized 2-quinolone compounds (A5-A8) treated with benzene sulphonyl chloride to afford new sulfonamide derivatives (A9-A12). The synthesized compounds were characterized by FT-IR, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR spectra and by measurement some of their physical properties

The Effect of Irrigation Frequency and Farm Yard Manure on Salt Leaching Under Saline – Sodic Soil

Abstract: Northern state, Sudan is extremely affected by desertification and Salinization processes, there for this study aimed to investigate an effective method to improve the salt affected soil. Two field experiments were carried out in two successive seasons ( July 2005 – June 2006 ) at Dongola University farm, in the North State to investigate the effect of irrigation frequency ( 7 and 14 days ) and farm yard manure (M0 , M1 , M2 , andM3 ) on salt leaching undersaline – sodic soil . The experiment was designed in spilt – plot design , where irrigation frequency was assigned in the main plots ( 6x28m) and farm yard manure were the sub – plots ( 6x7m) .The total cultivated area was 1342m2 for each experiment. The quantity of water applied was estimated according to Jensen andHaise (1963 ) . The total water quantity was the same by the end of the season. In general , the result indicated that irrigation frequency of 7 days enhanced salt leaching from the root zone. Generally , the reduction in electrical conductivity ( ECe ) and sodium adsorption ratio ( SAR ) due to irrigation frequency was more effective in 7 day irrigation interval as compared with 14 – day irrigation interval . the data obtained indicated that the addition of FYM 10 ton/feddan, significantly degreased the (ECe) and the (SAR) and leached them below the root zone. So, we can conclude that the efficiency of salt leaching is markedly affected by irrigation frequency and yard manure

Development of Electromyography Signal Signature for Forearm Muscle

AbstractElectromyography (EMG) measures muscle response or electrical activity in response to a nerve's stimulation of the muscle. EMG is generally acquired through surface and needle or wire electrodes. The needle or wire electrodes are usually used by clinicians in a clinical setting. This paper concentrates on surface electromyography (sEMG) signal that is acquired in a research laboratory since sEMG is increasingly being recognized as the gold standard for the analysis of muscle activation. The sEMG can utilized for establishing signal signature for forearm muscles that becomes an important input in development of rehabilitative devices. This paper discusses the establishment of sEMG signal signature of female and male subjects for forearm muscles such as extensor carpi radialis, flexor carpi radialis, palmaris longus and pronator teres based on movements such as wrist extension and flexion, hand open and close, and forearm supination and pronation. This was achieved through the use of Butterworth Bessel, Elliptic and Chebyshev filters. The sEMG signal signature could be useful in the development of rehabilitation device of upper extremities

Studies on the protein requirement of postlarvae Of the penaeid prawn Penaeus indicus H. Milne Edwards Using purified diets

Six purified diets were formulated and prepared using casein, starch, flshand- groundnut oil mixture ( 1 : 1 ratio), vitamins, minerals and other additives, with the protein content varying from 20 to 70%, to study the protein requirement of the postlarvae fPL 1 to PL 42) of the prawn Penaeus indicus. The results of the feeding experiments conducted separately on group I (PLl to PLIO), group II (PLll to PL25) and group III (PL27 to PL42) for a duration of 10, 15 and 15 days, respectively, showed that the growth of group I postlarvae increased with the increasing protein content of the diet up to 40% and declined thereafter. The growth obtained by the diet with 40% protein was highly significant (P <C 0.01). In group II postlarvae, the protein requirement was between 30 and 50%. In group HI postlarvae, maximum growth was obtained with the diet with 30% protein and it was significantly different (P <C 0.05) from the performances of the other diets. It is concluded that the dietary protein requirement of postlarvae decreases from 40%in the initial stages to 30% as they grow to advanced stages. Similarly, the rate of growth was found to be relatively faster in the young postlarvae