A Tight Lower Bound on the Sub-Packetization Level of Optimal-Access MSR and MDS Codes

The first focus of the present paper, is on lower bounds on the sub-packetization level $\alpha$ of an MSR code that is capable of carrying out repair in help-by-transfer fashion (also called optimal-access property). We prove here a lower bound on $\alpha$ which is shown to be tight for the case $d=(n-1)$ by comparing with recent code constructions in the literature. We also extend our results to an $[n,k]$ MDS code over the vector alphabet. Our objective even here, is on lower bounds on the sub-packetization level $\alpha$ of an MDS code that can carry out repair of any node in a subset of $w$ nodes, $1 \leq w \leq (n-1)$ where each node is repaired (linear repair) by help-by-transfer with minimum repair bandwidth. We prove a lower bound on $\alpha$ for the case of $d=(n-1)$. This bound holds for any $w (\leq n-1)$ and is shown to be tight, again by comparing with recent code constructions in the literature. Also provided, are bounds for the case $d<(n-1)$. We study the form of a vector MDS code having the property that we can repair failed nodes belonging to a fixed set of $Q$ nodes with minimum repair bandwidth and in optimal-access fashion, and which achieve our lower bound on sub-packetization level $\alpha$. It turns out interestingly, that such a code must necessarily have a coupled-layer structure, similar to that of the Ye-Barg code.Comment: Revised for ISIT 2018 submissio

Prospective Comparitive study between Laparoscopic Hernioplasty and Open Hernioplasty

SUMMARY: 1. The mean age group of patients operated was 41 ± 3.5 in the Laparoscopic group and 42 ± 3.3 in the Open group. 2. The operating time of most of the open cases was within 45 - 90 minutes while in the Laparoscopic group it was 75 -120 minutes. Operating time was found higher in the Laparoscopic group than in the Open group. 3. Learning curve was 42 patients in the Laparoscopic group and 5 patients in the Open group. 4. Post operative pain was found lesser in the Laparoscopic group in comparison to the Open group. The pain was less in the Laparoscopic group but gradually decreased by the second week in the Open group. Patients in both groups became equal to all pain assessments during the 3rd month follow-up. Laparoscopic repair produced less tissue trauma than open repair and therefore there was less acute phase inflammatory response leading onto less pain and earlier recovery in the Lap group in comparison to the Open group. 4. The average hospital stay was about 1.5 - 2 days in the Laparoscopic group and 2-4 days in the Open group. 5. Ability to perform day to day activities was found to be earlier in Laparoscopic repair than in Open repair 2 -3 days in Lap repair and 5-8 days in Open repair. 6. Returning to work was earlier with patients in the Laparoscopic group than those in the Open group. Patients in the Laparoscopic group resumed work on the 12th day whereas patients in the Open group resumed work on the 16th day. 7. Intra operative complications like injury to the cord structures, injury to inferior epigastric vessel and breach of peritoneum were observed in the Laparoscopic group more than in the Open group. 8. Chronic pain was found to be more in the Open group than in Laparoscopic group. 9. Light weight meshes produced better patient compliance and improved functional outcome than normal weight meshes. 10. Recurrence was found to be slightly higher in the Open group than in the Laparoscopic group. 11. The cost difference between Laparoscopic repair and Open repair was only 2400/- rupees in this study. CONCLUSION: The final word on hernia will probably never be written. In collecting, assimilating and distilling the wisdom of today we must provide a base from which further advances may be made. -- Sir John Bruce -- The optimal surgical approach to inguinal hernia remains controversial despite 200 years of experience and the search for the gold standard of repair continues. - Surgical clinics of North America, Oct 2008. Two revolutions have taken place in hernia surgery in the previous 2 decades, the first one being tension free hernia repair and the second being Laparoscopic hernia repair. Dulucq 2009. The study clearly favours Laparoscpic Totally Extraperitoneal Repair over Open Repair with regards to post operative pain, resumption of routine physical activities and return to work. The frequency of chronic pain was found to be slightly lower in the Laparoscopic Totally Extraperitoneal Repair in comparison to Lichtenstein Repair in this study. The incidence of recurrent hernia was slightly lower in the Laparoscopic Totally Extraperitoneal Repair in comparison to Lichtenstein Repair in this study. Laparoscopic equipment was already existent in the department and use of reusable instruments brought done the cost factor in Laparoscopic repair considerably. Laparoscopic Totally Extraperitoneal Repair was found to be only 7% to 9% costlier than Lichtenstein Repair in this study. Open repair can be performed by all surgeons under any anaesthesia, as day care procedure. There is no steep learning curve and working cost is less. Increased post operative pain and more time to return to routine activities are the disadvantages. Laparoscopic repair of inguinal hernia is a safe, feasible and effective technique with less post operative pain, early return to routine activities, low recurrence rates, low post operative morbidity and low rates of wound and mesh infection in experienced hands. Steep learning curve and slightly increased working cost are the disadvantages which have been ove rcome today by using re-usable equipment and mastering endo-pelvic anatomy. Laparoscopic repair of inguinal hernia is nearly 20 years old and has come to stay. All conceivable groin hernias –Direct, Indirect & Femoral hernias can be treated simultaneously in laparoscopic repair. It is an effective alternative to open repair based on this study. Our mindset has to be tuned to accept Laparoscopic Totally Extra Peritoneal repair of inguinal hernia which is sure to become the gold-standard in the days to come

Training Big Random Forests with Little Resources

Without access to large compute clusters, building random forests on large datasets is still a challenging problem. This is, in particular, the case if fully-grown trees are desired. We propose a simple yet effective framework that allows to efficiently construct ensembles of huge trees for hundreds of millions or even billions of training instances using a cheap desktop computer with commodity hardware. The basic idea is to consider a multi-level construction scheme, which builds top trees for small random subsets of the available data and which subsequently distributes all training instances to the top trees' leaves for further processing. While being conceptually simple, the overall efficiency crucially depends on the particular implementation of the different phases. The practical merits of our approach are demonstrated using dense datasets with hundreds of millions of training instances.Comment: 9 pages, 9 Figure

Radiative stability of neutrino-mass textures

Neutrino-mass textures proposed at high-scales are known to be unstable against radiative corrections especially for nearly degenerate eigen values. Within the renormalization group constraints we find a mechanism in a class of gauge theories which guarantees reproduction of any high-scale texture at low energies with radiative stability. We also show how the mechanism explains solar and atmospheric neutrino anomalies through the bimaximal texture at high scale.Comment: 4 pages REVTEX, 1 Postscript fi

Study on non-verbal communication knowledge among doctors of non-clinical and para clinical departments of Government Vellore medical college hospital, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India

Background: Many Studies and Research Articles in our medical field focuses on Verbal Communication component. The Non-Verbal Component has been neglected in many circumstances. But Medical science endorses that Non-Verbal component plays a major role in the communication process in all set ups whether it is in the classrooms, Examination Hall, Outpatient Room or Wards or Intensive Care Units. The objective of this study is to access the knowledge and Awareness of NVC Component among Doctors of Non-Clinical and Para Clinical Departments of GVMCH - Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.Methods: This Cross-Sectional Study was conducted among 45 Doctors across 7 Departments of Government Medical College Vellore. Mean, Median, Mode and Standard Deviation were used for quantitative Data and Pearson Chi Square Test and Logistic regression was used for qualitative Data using Trial Version of SPSS 22.Results: The mean Score was 7.2±2.8 with Mean scoring percentile of 28.8 ±11.5. There was Pearson’s Chi Square significance for Variables like External Resources related to NVC, Books related to NVC, UG and PG pursued at, Exposure to Workshops or CME s related to NVC, and age Group 35 years.Conclusions: Variables like External resources, UG studied at same state, Age Group >35 years Showed Statistical significance in knowledge on Non-Verbal communication in this Study set up

L-GLUTAMINE ERADICATES HELICOBACTER PYLORI GASTRITIS: A NOVEL CASE REPORT

  Helicobacter pylori is the most common infection causing gastrointestinal diseases in the developing countries. It causes oxidative damage to gastric mucosal cells thereby altering the epithelial proliferation of these cells. With proton pump inhibitors and antibiotics being the mainstay in the management of symptoms, preclinical and clinical research is making inroads with novel therapeutic innovations to target the bacterium with the help of antioxidants. Hence, we report the first case of the treatment and eradication of H. pylori using L-glutamine, a sports medicine supplement with high antioxidant potential