Agent-based model of broadband adoption in unserved and underserved areas

In the last two decades, demand for broadband internet has far outpaced its availability. The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) 2020 Broadband Deployment report suggests that at least 22 million Americans living in rural areas lack access to broadband internet. With the COVID-19 pandemic affecting normal life, there is an overwhelming need to enable unserved and underserved communities to adapt to the “new normal”. To address this challenge, federal and state agencies are funding internet service providers (ISPs) to deploy infrastructure in rural communities. However, policymakers and ISPs need open-source tools to predict take-rates of broadband service and formulate effective strategies to increase the adoption of high-speed internet. We propose using an agent-based model grounded in “The Theory of Planned Behavior” -- a long-established behavioral theory that explains the consumer’s decision-making process. The model simulates residential broadband adoption by capturing the interaction of a broadband service’s attributes with consumer preferences. We demonstrate the model’s performance, present a case study of an unserved area, and perform a sensitivity analysis. The major findings support the appropriateness of using theoretically based agent-based models to predict take-rates of broadband service. We also find that the take-rates are highly influenced by presence of existing internet users in the area as well as affordable or subsidized prices. In the future, this model can be extended to study the impact of online education, telecommuting, telemedicine, and precision agriculture on a rural economy. This type of simulation can guide evidence-based decision-making for infrastructure investment based on demand as well as influence the design of market subsidies that aim to reduce the digital divide --Abstract, page iii

Novel amphiphilic block copolymers and their self-assembled injectable hydrogels for gene delivery

This work describes the development and investigation of a family of novel smart copolymers as non-viral gene delivery vectors. The copolymers have five blocks, and thus named pentablock, with a central block of a hydrophobic polymer, surrounded by two blocks of a hydrophilic polymer, and capped at each terminal end with cationic polymer blocks, arranged in an architecture to provide temperature and pH sensitivity to the copolymers. They are derived from commercially available triblock Pluronic copolymers. The cationic copolymers can efficiently condense negatively charged plasmid DNA in nanostructures with efficient cellular uptake. The amphiphilic nature of copolymers causes them to exist as micelles in aqueous solutions that help them traverse cellular membranes with minimal cell membrane damage. Intra-cellular trafficking of copolymer/DNA complexes revealed that they are up-taken by the cells predominately via endocytosis and are able to deliver the ferried gene into the nuclei. The copolymers efficiently protect the condensed DNA against degradation by nucleases while their protonation capability at low pH assists them in escape from endosomal vesicles into the cytoplasm. The efficiency of the copolymers to deliver condensed DNA into the cells in vitro was comparable to the commercially available polymeric transfection vectors, and they were also found to be significantly less cytotoxic. Adding non-ionic Pluronic copolymers to the formulation of pentablock copolymer/DNA complexes sterically shielded their surface charge and protected them against aggregation with serum proteins. These stabilized formulations were able to retain their ability to transfect cells even in complete growth media supplemented with serum proteins, warranting efficient transfection efficiency in an in vivo application. The amphiphilic nature of copolymers further permits copolymer/DNA complexes to form thermo-reversible hydrogels at physiological temperatures. At concentrations above 15 wt%, copolymer/DNA complexes existed as solutions at room temperature and formed elastic hydrogels at 37°C that dissolved over seven days in excess buffers to release colloidally stable polyplexes. The system thus permits an injectable aqueous pharmaceutical preparation at room temperature that can be injected subcutaneously in tissues/cavities to form a localized depot in situ, which provides a long-term sustained release of therapeutic genes well protected inside the copolymer/DNA complexes

Pulmonary function test in patients of type 2 diabetes mellitus

Background: We are today witnessing a pandemic of diabetes mellitus (DM), globally and nationally. DM and its complications have become the most important contemporary and challenging health problems. Diabetes is not associated with any specific pulmonary symptom and hence periodic screening for lung disease is not done in diabetic patients. However, an extensive microvascular circulation and an abundant connective tissue in the lung raise the possibility that the lung may also be a target organ in diabetic patients. The aim and objectives were to study the pulmonary function of individual with type 2 diabetes mellitus patients by performing spirometry.Methods: Study included non-smoker diabetic patients, who had no history of respiratory disease, were selected for this study and undergone pulmonary function test by spirometry. The study was conducted at department of General Medicine Shri Ram Murti Smarak Institute of Medical Sciences, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India.Results: Present study, author found that there was significant derangement in the spirometric readings in the diabetic patients. The FEV1/FVC values further declines as the duration of diabetes increased.Conclusions: Spirometric values (FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC) were consistently lower in subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The effect on FVC predicted % was found to be more pronounced in subjects whose duration of DM was more than 5 years

Adaptive Power Control Applying to Femtocell

Femtocells are expected to increase network capacity, extend macrocell coverage, and introduce new services. Because Femtocells share the same frequency band with macrocells in many cases, the femtocell base station (BS) must mitigate the interference with macrocells as well as ensure coverage in customer premises. However, conventional femtocell BS transmit power setting have not adequately accounted for the interference with neighbouring macrocell mobile stations (MSs), leading to small femtocell user throughout. In the paper, we describe an adaptive power level setting scheme i.e. Distributed Power Control algorithm to mitigate the interference of MSs in the basis of the received power levels. In DPC, each pair of transmitter (e.g., an MS) and receiver (e.g., the BS) does not need to know the transmit power or channel quality of any other pair. At each time slot, all it needs to know is the actual SIR it currently achieves at the receiver. Then, by taking the ratio between the fixed, target SIR and the variable, actual SIR value measured for this time slot and multiplying the current transmit power by that ratio, we get the transmit power for the next time slot. This update happens simultaneously at each pair of transmitter and receiver. This is how DPC provides adaptive nature to Femtocell

Optimal harvesting policy of a prey–predator model with Crowley–Martin-type functional response and stage structure in the predator

In this paper, a three-dimensional dynamical model consisting of a prey, a mature predator, and an immature predator is proposed and analysed. The interaction between prey and mature predator is assumed to be of the Crowley–Martin type, and both the prey and mature predator are harvested according to catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) hypothesis. Steady state of the system is obtained, stability analysis (local and global both) are discussed to explore the long-time behaviour of the system. The optimal harvesting policy is also discussed with the help of Pontryagin's maximum principle. The harvesting effort is taken as an effective control instrument to preserve prey and predator and to maintain them at an optimal level

Understanding the value of an MBA by exploring the perspectives MBA students and graduates have of their MBA: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

This thesis explores Master of Business Administration (MBA) candidates’ and Alumni perspectives of the value of an MBA degree, seeking a holistic understanding of the reasons why they chose to pursue their MBA, what they expected and gained from it. Business education has long been seen as a medium to facilitate strategic change within and across industries. Master of Business Administration (MBA) programs are often regarded as the most preferred programs for organisational leaders and managers. Although an MBA education offers the opportunity to study a functional area in depth, a cross-disciplinary literature review identified an over emphasis on teaching the Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, and Competencies (KSACs) and a lack of focus on the role of MBA candidates’ value systems that apparently influence their learning of the taught KSACs and likely impact their work behaviour and ethical decision-making ability. This study drew from Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), with fourteen individuals from one university’s MBA sharing their experiences in a series of semi-structured interviews. These were supported by participant observation of formal classes, providing further insights into the learning environment. This research design helped make sense of the ways MBA students interact with each other and their lecturers. Although following the idiographic ideal of IPA, the analysis also utilised imagined, integrated dialogues to analyse and present both their stories and researcher interpretations of those stories. These dialogues situate the research participants in a fictional setting to bring both individual and collective worlds to the surface. This seeks to connect readers to the worlds of these fourteen participants, the way they view them individually and researcher interpretations of their worlds, in line with IPA’s double hermeneutic. This helps explain why the participants chose to pursue an MBA, what they expected from it, what they experienced in this learning journey and how their ‘mindsets’ changed throughout their studies. Using this integrated dialogical method to present the research findings shows how qualitative research can be fictionalised and reflexively framed in a novel and illuminating manner. By situating different participants’ views together in a theme-based dialogue, this thesis discovers and discusses phenomena that the participants experienced and defined during their MBA journey. The application of additional interpretative techniques, such as the integrated dialogical method, contributes to a richer interpretation of phenomena in qualitative research, making a significant contribution to the methodology literature. The discussion of the findings suggests that the participants went through a significant change in their pre-MBA ‘mindset’ during their studies. The findings shed light on how and why some participants may seem to pursue an MBA at the wrong time in their career, how their study could make them feel too psychologically safe, potentially causing psychological unsafety at work, and how participants could identify their MBA as a means to an end or an end in itself. The findings also revealed how MBA courses are often taught in isolation, handicapping participants from the inter-course (or intra-program) application of theoretical concepts. This can serve as a block to participants making use of their learning in one course to understand the concepts taught in others. This further restricts participants from making connections between different facets of their work, falling short of making holistic use of their KSACs. Besides, the thesis suggests that networking, lectures’ teaching methodology and trust in practitioner-lecturers were the three most vital aspects contributing to the value of an MBA for the participants. The thesis concludes that the MBA - the notion that all MBAs are same and MBA programs that business schools offer, offers clear and consistent learning experiences and outcomes, is problematic and, to no small extent, incorrect. Arguably, every MBA candidate and their learning experience is unique. Thus, the thesis shifts the focus onto each participant’s value system and how it interacts with their work environment more than the KSACs they gain in their MBA. However, it cautions that if employers continue to share narrower, homogeneous, and stereotypical views of MBA programs and their occupational value, the disconnect in relative expectations of MBA outcomes is likely to continue.Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, Business School, 202

Understanding Powder Compaction with Single Particle Measurements

Powder compaction is the process of transforming granular media into a solid body with a high relative density (low porosity) and a unique anisotropic microstructure. It is critical to understand the physical mechanisms of the compaction process in order to identify powder properties and optimal process parameters for achieving desired properties of the final product. Tools that can simulate particle rearrangement and deformation during the compaction process are usually developed to guide such fundamental understanding. This study aims at understanding powder compaction using particle mechanics approach. Specifically, it employs the nonlocal contact formulation to predict the contact behavior of a single elastic particle within a confined granular system. As the result of the study, we present a new version of the nanoHUB Powder Compaction simulation tool. This version includes additional modeling features, such as a curvature correction, simulation of the contact radius evolution with particle deformation, and mechanical property extraction from an experimental dataset provided by the user

Cutaneous Hypopigmentation: A Study of 300 cases.

INTRODUCTION : Skin is the largest organ of the body and the only organ which is visible and is in direct contact with the environment It has been said that the greatest problems in this world are very tiny, the atom, the ovum and a touch of pigment. The largest organ of the body very commonly suffers from this touch of pigment. Numerous skin conditions cause alteration in the normal pigmentation resulting in significant psychological morbidity due to cosmetic disfigurement. Pigmentary disturbances may be congenital or acquired, circumscribed or generalised, hypomelanotic or hypermelanotic. This study strives to study the various skin conditions presenting as hypopigmentation. With attention to variability of extent of hypomelanosis, history of evolution, attention to hue and awareness of ancillary features, the differential diagnosis will be narrowed down and definite diagnosis will be arrived at with the help of relevant investigations. An attempt will also be made to find the relative incidence of each condition. AIM : 1. To study the relative incidence of the various disorders causing a hypopigmented lesion in a random sample of 300 cases from the OPD cases at the Department of Dermatology, Madras Medical College, Chennai 2. To study the site, distribution and characteristics of the hypopigmented lesion in each of the diseases 3. To study the age and sex distribution of the commonest diseases presenting with a hypopigmented lesion 4. To make an attempt to classify the various conditions on basis of whether the hypopigmented lesion is scaly or non scaly 5. To look for the other conditions or systemic abnormalities associated with the diseases 6. To correlate the clinical findings with histopathology in selected cases. Conclusion : 1. Tinea versicolor was the condition presenting most commonly with a hypopigmented lesion. Upper trunk was found to be the commonest site. 2. The other common diseases in descending order of frequency were postinflammatory hypopigmentation, early vitiligo and Hansen’s disease. 3. Polymorphous light eruption was the most common cause of postinflammatory hypopigmentation followed by psoriasis, pityriasis rosea and parapsoriasis 4. Polymorphous light eruption was seen more commonly in females with dorsa of forearms and nape of neck being the commonest sites. 5. Male predominance was noted in almost all groups of diseases except polymorphous light eruption and early vitiligo. 6. 20-30 was the commonest age of presentation in almost all groups 7. Nevus achromicus formed the commonest cause among nevoid disorders. 8. Classification on basis of surface of hypopigmented lesions (scaly/non scaly). Scaly lesions Tinea versicolor Resolving pityriasis rosea Pityriasis lichenoides chronica Resolving psoriasis Polymorphous light eruption Lichen striatus Epidermodysplasia verruciformis Non scaly lesions Hansen’s disease Early Vitiligo Hypomelanosis of Ito Nevus achromicus Idiopathic guttate hypomelanosis Tuberous sclerosis 9. Certain associations like seborrheic dermatitis, acne and dermatophytosis with tinea versicolor and diabetes with vitiligo were noted. 10. Histopathology was helpful in diagnosis of cases like psoriasis, parapsoriasis and Hansen’s disease while it was not contributory in cases of pityriasis rosea