Generation of all-pole 2-D digital filters from the combination of all-pass filters

Two-dimensional digital filters are applied in signal processing and pro-imaging process, as well as communication systems where the frequency domain characteristics of digital filters are required to be adjustable. The main objective of this thesis is to propose a new technique for designing all-pole 2-D digital filters with variable magnitude characteristics. In this thesis, 2-D digital filters starting from the identical analog 1-D second-order Butterworth lowpass filter are generated through the combination of all-pass filters in Category A and Category B. A new type of all-pole 2-D analog lowpass filter is designed through the combination of all-pass filters. The transfer functions of these filters are verified for stability. The 2-D analog lowpass filter has been transformed to the digital domain by applying generalized bilinear transformation. The design of the 2-D digital lowpass filter gives rise to 2-D digital highpass, bandpass and bandstop filters in Category A and Category B. The 2-D digital highpass and bandstop filters have been designed from the 2-D lowpass filter using appropriate generalized bilinear transformation in both the categories. The 2-D digital bandpass filter has been obtained by a combination of the 2-D digital lowpass and highpass filters in both the categories. The effect of the coefficients of the generalized bilinear transformation on the 2-D digital filter's transfer function is studied in detail for Category A and Category B. In the end, an application of the proposed 2-D lowpass filter in Category A and Category B is illustrated in image processing. The designed 2-D low-pass filter has been used to reduce the effect of additive white Gaussian noise on digital images in both the categorie

Traditional wisdom of conserving biodiversity through sacred groves: Ethnobotanical treasure in Garhwal Himalayas

The present study was conducted to record the ethnomedicinal plants and their uses in sacred groves of Rudraprayag district in Garhwal Himalaya, Uttarakhand. Field surveys were conducted to identify sacred groves and information was collected from local folks using structured questionnaires. Three sacred groves, namely 1) Banjyani, 2) Jakh devta, and 3) Satoli were identified in the region. The survey revealed 31 medicinal plant species representing 26 families and 29 genera. These plant species belong to diverse families and most dominant families in the groves were Lamiaceae, Moraceae, Ranunculaceae and Rosaceae. The medicinal plants used for different ailment in the sacred groves were dominated by herbs, followed by shrubs and trees. To treat different ailments, leaves were used in maximum number of ailments (33.33%), followed by bark (16.67%), root (12.50%), fruit (12.50%), whole plant (10.42%), flowers (6.25%), rhizome (4.17%) and bulb (2.09%). In identified sacred groves plants were used for different medicinal purposes i.e., cough, diarrhea, leprosy, leucorrhoea, jaundice, bronchitis, digestive issues and to improve appetite. The study confirms the dependence of local people on sacred groves for their health care. However, presence of threatened plants highlights the importance of sustainable utilization of medicinal plant resources available in the groves.

A CONTRIBUTION TO THE MEDICINAL PLANTS OF SAHASTRADHARA, DISTRICT DEHRADUN, UTTARAKHAND (WITH ETHENOBOTANICAL NOTES)

The Himalaya with gushing rivers, alpine meadows, majestic snow claded peaks, enhancing lakes and a rich diverse flora and fauna is rightly described as the " abode of God'. Garhwal Himalaya provides enormous benefits to the human being in the form of shelter, food, water, medicine, fuel and industrial products and fodder. Further it has the potential for providing many more benefits still unknown. The plants protect topsoil, ensure the quality of the water and provide food etc, for all other living beings of the biosphere. Biological extinction has been a natural phenomenon in the geological past however man's interference has speeded extinction at a faster rate. Human beings are involved in destroying the vegetation at an alarming rate resulting in the loss of biodiversity of the biosphere. Himalayan resources are being depleted and converted in to ash each day through biotic pressure coupled with undisciplined exploitation, damage and destructio

A prospective study of USG guided pigtail catheter drainage in management of liver abscess

Background: Treatment of the liver abscess of any etiology has evolved in the recent years. Percutaneous drainage of liver abscess has been an important advancement in the treatment of pyogenic liver abscesses. Aim: to evaluate and assess response, morbidity and complication rates of percutaneous pig tail catheter drainage in treatment of liver abscess.  Methods: During a period of 27 months, 25 patients with liquefied liver abscess ≥5x5 cm underwent percutaneous drainage under sonographic guidance.Results: 18 had solitary abscess, while 7 had multiple abscesses. Pigtail catheters of various sizes (10 F or 12 F) were introduced in these patients using the Seldinger technique. The volume of pus drained ranged from 150 to 400 ml, while the period of catheter drainage ranged from 6 to 17 days. Complications were minor and included catheter blockage in 2 patients and tract pain in 8 patients. There was no mortality associated with this procedure. This study shows a success rate of 96% (successful treatment in 24 out of 25 patients).Conclusion: Percutaneous catheter drainage of liver abscesses is successful with a low morbidity and mortality and should be the first line of management in liquefied moderate to large sized liver abscesses.

OPTIMIZATION OF ISOTHERMAL TRANSFORMATION PERIOD FOR AUSTEMPERED DUCTILE IRON

The present paper examines and compares the influence of austempering parameters such as temperature and time on the isothermal transformation and microstructural changes of ductile iron. To identify the compositional and structural changes during an isothermal transformation, a very wide austempering period is chosen at a transformation temperature for the precise determination of the process window. XRD, optical, and scanning electron microscopic techniques are exploited to identify and analyze the changes in the austempered structure, at austempering temperatures of 250°C and 400°C. The various structural parameters like austenite volume fraction (Vg, its carbon content (Cg), lattice parameter, and the average cell size of the ferrite are ascertained. Electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) analysis is used to identify the carbide precipitation obtained due to the austempering Stage-II reaction. It is noticed that, at the end of the austempering Stage-II reaction, there is a significant reduction in the volume fraction of stabilized austenite and it’s carbon content, as the microstructure at this stage not only contains ausferrite but also additional precipitated iron carbides. With an increase in austempering time, the austenite and ferrite volume fraction increase until the austenite becomes stabilized with sufficient carbon. The increase in the lattice parameter of the austenite during austempering corresponds to the rise in carbon content within the austenite. A rise in the austempering temperature leads to a reduction in the volume fraction of the ferrite and an increase in the stabilized austenite volume fraction. The optimum isothermal transformation period for austempered ductile iron is established, based on the period during which the maximum content of the austenite volume fraction, its carbon, the lattice parameter, and the average cell size of the ferrite are maintained

Exploring Determinants of Adherence to Medical Regimens in Patients with Chronic Conditions Beyond Hypertension and Diabetes

Chronic diseases are significantly increasing globally and increasing premature deaths among population. CDC has defined chronic diseases are the conditions that last 1 year or more and require ongoing medical support or limit the daily activities or both. Diabetes and hypertension are popular chronic diseases. But there are many others are also now increasing. The current study was conducted to find out the prevalence of noncompliance among chronic diseases like thyroid diseases, Asthma, COPD, Orthopedic problems and epilepsy. Also to understand the determinants factors among them. It was a hospital based cross sectional study. The sample size was calculated and it was 36 for each disease. Total 40 study participants of each disease were included. It was randomly selected the individuals diagnosed with the mentioned chronic diseases who have been diagnosed and on treatment for more than 3 years from hospital. Result: A total of 200 patients participated in the study. The study included 40 patients from each chronic disease that is thyroid disorders, COPD, Orthopedic problems, Asthma and Epilepsy. The rural population comprised 69% of the total study group. The prevalence of medical noncompliance was found in 56.5% of all the patients. People having the disease for longer period of time were more non-compliant. The study revealed that family support and regular follow up with doctor are two important determinate factors which has positive impact on compliance. Conclusion: Noncompliance to medication regimen among chronic disease patients is an important issue for public health consideration. This current study recorded an overall noncompliance level of 57.5%. The factors identified as contributing to medication noncompliance in this study were regular follow-ups, family support, adequate knowledge regarding their disease and importance of taking medication with or without symptoms

CRT-100.12 Risk of Bleeding Among Cangrelor-Treated Patients Administered Upstream P2Y12 Inhibitor Therapy

Introduction: Little is known about the use of cangrelor in patients with MI who are treated with an oral P2Y12 inhibitor upstream prior to cardiac catheterization. Methods: CAMEO (Cangrelor in Acute MI: Effectiveness and Outcomes) is a 12-hospital observational registry studying platelet inhibition for MI patients undergoing cardiac cath. Upstream oral P2Y12 inhibition was defined as receipt of an oral P2Y12 inhibitor within 24 hours prior to hospitalization or in-hospital prior to cath. Among cangrelor-treated patients, we compared bleeding after cangrelor use through 7 days post-discharge between patients with and w/o upstream oral P2Y12 inhibitor exposure using logistic regression. We examined rates of bleeding among patients with a shorter (\u3c1 hour) vs. longer (1-3 hours or \u3e3 hours) duration between the last oral dose and cangrelor start. Results: Among 1,775 cangrelor-treated MI patients, 433 (24.4%) had upstream oral P2Y12 inhibitor treatment prior to cath. Of these, 165 patients (38%) started cangrelor within 1 hour, 109 (25%) between 1-3 hours, and 134 (31%) \u3e 3 hours after the in-hospital oral P2Y12 inhibitor dose. Cangrelor-treated patients who received upstream treatment were more likely to have a history of prior PCI, MI, PAD, and diabetes and to be clopidogrel-treated (all p\u3c0.01) compared w/o upstream treatment. There was no significant difference in risk of bleeding among cangrelor-treated patients with and w/o upstream oral P2Y12 inhibitor exposure (Table). While bleeding events were higher in patients with longer delays to cangrelor initiation, bleeding risk was not significant after adjustment (Table). Conclusions: Bleeding risk was not observed to be higher in cangrelor-treated patients after upstream oral P2Y12 inhibitor exposure compared with patients treated with cangrelor w/o upstream oral P2Y12 inhibitor exposure

A low-cost machine learning-based cardiovascular/stroke risk assessment system: integration of conventional factors with image phenotypes

Background: Most cardiovascular (CV)/stroke risk calculators using the integration of carotid ultrasound image-based phenotypes (CUSIP) with conventional risk factors (CRF) have shown improved risk stratification compared with either method. However such approaches have not yet leveraged the potential of machine learning (ML). Most intelligent ML strategies use follow-ups for the endpoints but are costly and time-intensive. We introduce an integrated ML system using stenosis as an endpoint for training and determine whether such a system can lead to superior performance compared with the conventional ML system.Methods: The ML-based algorithm consists of an offline and online system. The offline system extracts 47 features which comprised of 13 CRF and 34 CUSIP. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to select the most significant features. These offline features were then trained using the event-equivalent gold standard (consisting of percentage stenosis) using a random forest (RF) classifier framework to generate training coefficients. The online system then transforms the PCA-based test features using offline trained coefficients to predict the risk labels on test subjects. The above ML system determines the area under the curve (AUC) using a 10-fold cross-validation paradigm. The above system so-called "AtheroRisk-Integrated" was compared against "AtheroRisk-Conventional", where only 13 CRF were considered in a feature set.Results: Left and right common carotid arteries of 202 Japanese patients (Toho University, Japan) were retrospectively examined to obtain 395 ultrasound scans. AtheroRisk-Integrated system [AUC=0.80, P<0.0001, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.77 to 0.84] showed an improvement of similar to 18% against AtheroRisk-Conventional ML (AUC=0.68, P<0.0001, 95% CI: 0.64 to 0.72).Conclusions: ML-based integrated model with the event-equivalent gold standard as percentage stenosis is powerful and offers low cost and high performance CV/stroke risk assessment

The ASCEND-NHQ trial found positive effects of daprodustat on hemoglobin and quality of life in patients with non-dialysis-dependent chronic kidney disease

The ASCEND-NHQ trial evaluated the effects of daprodustat on hemoglobin and the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short Form Survey (SF-36) Vitality score (fatigue) in a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD) Stages 3-5, hemoglobin 8.5-10.0 g/dl, transferrin saturation 15% or more, and ferritin 50 ng/ml or more without recent erythropoiesis-stimulating agent use were randomized (1:1) to oral daprodustat or placebo to achieve and maintain target hemoglobin of 11-12 g/dl over 28 weeks. The primary endpoint was the mean change in hemoglobin between baseline and the evaluation period (Weeks 24-28). Principal secondary endpoints were proportion of participants with a 1 g/dl or more increase in hemoglobin and mean change in the vitality score between baseline and Week 28. Outcome superiority was tested (one-sided alpha level of 0.025) among 614 randomized participants. The adjusted mean change in hemoglobin from baseline to the evaluation period was greater with daprodustat (1.58 vs 0.19 g/dl). The adjusted mean treatment difference (AMD) was significant at 1.40 g/dl (95% confidence interval 1.23, 1.56). A greater proportion of participants receiving daprodustat showed a significant 1 g/dl or more increase in hemoglobin from baseline (77% vs 18%). The mean SF-36 Vitality score increased by 7.3 and 1.9 points with daprodustat and placebo, respectively; a significant 5.4 point Week 28 ADM increase. Adverse event rates were similar (69% vs 71%); relative risk 0.98, (95% confidence interval 0.88, 1.09). Thus, in participants with CKD Stages 3-5, daprodustat resulted in a significant increase in hemoglobin and improvement in fatigue without an increase in the overall frequency of adverse events