Optimal Pricing Policies For Deteriorating items With Preservation Technology And Price Sensitive Demand

This paper considers the problem of determining the price, cycle time and preservation technology cost strategies for deteriorating items. It is assumed that preservation technology investment and demand rate do follow the function of selling price. The objective is to maximize the total profit per unit time with determining the optimal selling price, length of replenishment cycle and preservation technology investment. We will be proving that the optimal cycle length and selling price are unique with respect to given preservation cost. Also, total profit per unit time will be a concave function as it will reach its optimum value for optimum value of selling price, cycle length and preservation technology cost. Numerical examples are also presented to demonstrate the solution process

A study on renal stone about factors influencing its formation clinical scenario and urinary findings among adults aged 21-60 years in Saurashtra region

Background: Saurashtra is claimed to be ‘stone belt’, even though there is paucity of epidemiological work on this issue; keeping in mind about this problem that ails most parts of the Saurashtra region, which is correctable and preventable, this study was undertaken.Methods: Radiologically diagnosed 100 patients with renal stone were enrolled and interviewed through a proforma approved by institutional ethical committee to study risk factors, clinical scenario, and urinary findings. Urine samples were collected from all the participants of the study and analyzed for the presence of crystals, red blood cells, pus cells as well as urine pH. Data was analyzed with help of EpiInfo™ 7 (CDC Atlanta).Results: Prevalence of renal stone was higher in males (72%); common in age group of 21-35 years. Common findings were recurrent flank pain (81%), gross hematuria (59 %) and renal colic (51%). Familial history (p<0.004), improper water drinking habit (p<0.002), lack of diet modification (p<0.001) according to stone type and stone analysis were found probable causes for the recurrence of stone. Calcium oxalate (75%) stone being the commonest followed by calcium phosphate (15%) and uric acid (7%).Conclusions: Results from this study can be applied in the clinical setting with the goal of reducing the likelihood of stone formation. Preventive measures such as change in diet, drinking behavior when properly addressed can ameliorate the situation in many patients with kidney stone. There is a great scope and role in finding crystals in urine with patients of kidney stone such as checking their compliance, guiding dietary therapy when stone analysis in not available, setting up an screening criteria and diagnosis of renal stone in remote settings where radio-logical investigations are not available

A Collaborative Approach of Frequent Item Set Mining

Summary Data mining defines hidden pattern in data sets and association between the patterns. In data mining, association rule mining is key techniques for discovering useful patterns from large collection of data. Frequent iemset mining is a step of association rule mining. Frequent itemset mining is used to gather itemsets after discovering association rules. In this paper, we have explained fundamentals of frequent itemset mining. We have defined present&apos;s techniques for frequent item set mining. From the large variety of capable algorithms that have been established we will compare the most important ones. We will organize the algorithms and investigate their run time performance

COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ROPIVACAINE VERSUS ROPIVACAINE WITH CLONIDINE FOR CAUDAL ANALGESIA IN PAEDIATRIC AGE GROUP AMONG LOWER ABDOMINAL AND LOWER LIMB SURGERY

Introduction: Clonidine, an a2 adrenergic agonist, prolongs analgesia without significant respiratory depression. The analgesic action of epidurally-administered clonidine is due to stimulation of descending noradrenergic medullospinal pathways inhibiting the release of nociceptive neurotransmitters in the dorsal horn of spinal cord. The present study was done with the objective of assessing advantages of use of clonidine with Ropivacaine for caudal analgesia in paediatric age group among lower abdominal and lower limb surgery. Methodology: A randomized controlled study consisted in two groups of thirty paediatric patients (1-10 years) each with lower abdominal and lower limb surgery was carried out at Department of Anaesthesia, SMIMER Hospital, Surat during Jan to Dec 2012.Total 60 patients were randomly allocated in two groups by chit method. In Group R patients Inj.Ropivacaine0.25% (0.5 ml/kg) was given and in Group RC patients Inj. Ropivacaine 0.25%(0.5 ml/kg)+ Inj. Clonidine 2mg/kg was given. Patients were assessed for pain Modified objective pain score and sedation assessed with Four Point sedation score. Results: Mean age of patient was 4.77 ± 2.487 years in Group R and 5.37 ± 2.723 yrs in Group RC. Total Male:Female ratio was 9:1. Majority of patients were operated for congenital herniotomy (68.3%) followed by Hypospadiasis repair (16.6%).Mean modified pain score was measured at each hour postoperatively. It was higher at each level in Group R and this difference was statistically significant. The mean duration of analgesia was 7.17 hrs in Group R and 12.93 hrs in Group RC. This difference was also statistically significant (p-Value < 0.001). Conclusion: From the study, it was concluded that the addition of clonidine 2µg/kg to single shot caudal block with Ropivacaine 0.25% prolongs the duration of postopertive analgesia while maintaining hemodynamic stability. Clonidine 2µg/kg is safe & effective adjuvant in caudal block for paediatric lower abdominal and lower limb surgery

Fall Prediction Based on Instrumented Measures of Gait and Turning in Daily Life in People with Multiple Sclerosis

This study investigates the potential of passive monitoring of gait and turning in daily life in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) to identify those at future risk of falls. Seven days of passive monitoring of gait and turning were carried out in a pilot study of 26 PwMS in home settings using wearable inertial sensors. The retrospective fall history was collected at the baseline. After gait and turning data collection in daily life, PwMS were followed biweekly for a year and were classified as fallers if they experienced \u3e1 fall. The ability of short-term passive monitoring of gait and turning, as well as retrospective fall history to predict future falls were compared using receiver operator curves and regression analysis. The history of retrospective falls was not identified as a significant predictor of future falls in this cohort (AUC = 0.62, p = 0.32). Among quantitative monitoring measures of gait and turning, the pitch at toe-off was the best predictor of falls (AUC = 0.86, p \u3c 0.01). Fallers had a smaller pitch of their feet at toe-off, reflecting less plantarflexion during the push-off phase of walking, which can impact forward propulsion and swing initiation and can result in poor foot clearance and an increased metabolic cost of walking. In conclusion, our cohort of PwMS showed that objective monitoring of gait and turning in daily life can identify those at future risk of falls, and the pitch at toe-off was the single most influential predictor of future falls. Therefore, interventions aimed at improving the strength of plantarflexion muscles, range of motion, and increased proprioceptive input may benefit PwMS at future fall risk

Differential processing of thalamic information via distinct striatal interneuron circuits

Recent discoveries of striatal GABAergic interneurons require a new conceptualization of the organization of intrastriatal circuitry and their cortical and thalamic inputs. We investigated thalamic inputs to the two populations of striatal neuropeptide Y (NPY) interneurons, plateau low threshold spike (PLTS) and NPY-neurogliaform (NGF) cells. Optogenetic activation of parafascicular inputs evokes suprathreshold monosynaptic glutamatergic excitation in NGF interneurons and a disynaptic, nicotinic excitation through cholinergic interneurons. In contrast, the predominant response of PLTS interneurons is a disynaptic inhibition dependent on thalamic activation of striatal tyrosine hydroxylase interneurons (THINs). In contrast, THINs do not innervate NGF or fast spiking interneurons, showing significant specificity in THINs outputs. Chemospecific ablation of THINs impairs prepulse inhibition of the acoustic startle response suggesting an important behavioural role of this disynaptic pathway. Our findings demonstrate that the impact of the parafascicular nucleus on striatal activity and some related behaviour critically depend on synaptic interactions within interneuronal circuits

Bronchiectasis in India:results from the European Multicentre Bronchiectasis Audit and Research Collaboration (EMBARC) and Respiratory Research Network of India Registry

BACKGROUND: Bronchiectasis is a common but neglected chronic lung disease. Most epidemiological data are limited to cohorts from Europe and the USA, with few data from low-income and middle-income countries. We therefore aimed to describe the characteristics, severity of disease, microbiology, and treatment of patients with bronchiectasis in India. METHODS: The Indian bronchiectasis registry is a multicentre, prospective, observational cohort study. Adult patients ( 6518 years) with CT-confirmed bronchiectasis were enrolled from 31 centres across India. Patients with bronchiectasis due to cystic fibrosis or traction bronchiectasis associated with another respiratory disorder were excluded. Data were collected at baseline (recruitment) with follow-up visits taking place once per year. Comprehensive clinical data were collected through the European Multicentre Bronchiectasis Audit and Research Collaboration registry platform. Underlying aetiology of bronchiectasis, as well as treatment and risk factors for bronchiectasis were analysed in the Indian bronchiectasis registry. Comparisons of demographics were made with published European and US registries, and quality of care was benchmarked against the 2017 European Respiratory Society guidelines. FINDINGS: From June 1, 2015, to Sept 1, 2017, 2195 patients were enrolled. Marked differences were observed between India, Europe, and the USA. Patients in India were younger (median age 56 years [IQR 41-66] vs the European and US registries; p&lt;0\ub70001]) and more likely to be men (1249 [56\ub79%] of 2195). Previous tuberculosis (780 [35\ub75%] of 2195) was the most frequent underlying cause of bronchiectasis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa was the most common organism in sputum culture (301 [13\ub77%]) in India. Risk factors for exacerbations included being of the male sex (adjusted incidence rate ratio 1\ub717, 95% CI 1\ub703-1\ub732; p=0\ub7015), P aeruginosa infection (1\ub729, 1\ub710-1\ub750; p=0\ub7001), a history of pulmonary tuberculosis (1\ub720, 1\ub707-1\ub734; p=0\ub7002), modified Medical Research Council Dyspnoea score (1\ub732, 1\ub725-1\ub739; p&lt;0\ub70001), daily sputum production (1\ub716, 1\ub703-1\ub730; p=0\ub7013), and radiological severity of disease (1\ub703, 1\ub701-1\ub704; p&lt;0\ub70001). Low adherence to guideline-recommended care was observed; only 388 patients were tested for allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis and 82 patients had been tested for immunoglobulins. INTERPRETATION: Patients with bronchiectasis in India have more severe disease and have distinct characteristics from those reported in other countries. This study provides a benchmark to improve quality of care for patients with bronchiectasis in India. FUNDING: EU/European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations Innovative Medicines Initiative inhaled Antibiotics in Bronchiectasis and Cystic Fibrosis Consortium, European Respiratory Society, and the British Lung Foundation

Climate Change and COP26: Are Digital Technologies and Information Management Part of the Problem or the Solution? An Editorial Reflection and Call to Action

The UN COP26 2021 conference on climate change offers the chance for world leaders to take action and make urgent and meaningful commitments to reducing emissions and limit global temperatures to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels by 2050. Whilst the political aspects and subsequent ramifications of these fundamental and critical decisions cannot be underestimated, there exists a technical perspective where digital and IS technology has a role to play in the monitoring of potential solutions, but also an integral element of climate change solutions. We explore these aspects in this editorial article, offering a comprehensive opinion based insight to a multitude of diverse viewpoints that look at the many challenges through a technology lens. It is widely recognized that technology in all its forms, is an important and integral element of the solution, but industry and wider society also view technology as being part of the problem. Increasingly, researchers are referencing the importance of responsible digitalization to eliminate the significant levels of e-waste. The reality is that technology is an integral component of the global efforts to get to net zero, however, its adoption requires pragmatic tradeoffs as we transition from current behaviors to a more climate friendly society

Climate change and COP26: Are digital technologies and information management part of the problem or the solution? An editorial reflection and call to action

The UN COP26 2021 conference on climate change offers the chance for world leaders to take action and make urgent and meaningful commitments to reducing emissions and limit global temperatures to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels by 2050. Whilst the political aspects and subsequent ramifications of these fundamental and critical decisions cannot be underestimated, there exists a technical perspective where digital and IS technology has a role to play in the monitoring of potential solutions, but also an integral element of climate change solutions. We explore these aspects in this editorial article, offering a comprehensive opinion based insight to a multitude of diverse viewpoints that look at the many challenges through a technology lens. It is widely recognized that technology in all its forms, is an important and integral element of the solution, but industry and wider society also view technology as being part of the problem. Increasingly, researchers are referencing the importance of responsible digitalization to eliminate the significant levels of e-waste. The reality is that technology is an integral component of the global efforts to get to net zero, however, its adoption requires pragmatic tradeoffs as we transition from current behaviors to a more climate friendly society.</p