Analysis of Verb Expressions in the Conversational Speech of Kannada-English Speaking Bilingual Persons with Mild Dementia

Dementia is characterized by the breakdown of intellectual and communicative functioning accompanied by personality change (DSM IV, American Psychiatric Association, 1994). Persons with dementia often experience difficulty in naming skills which can be attributed to semantic memory deficits. This can further influence various linguistic expressions such as lexical and morphological structures. The present study aimed to quantitatively and qualitatively analyze the presence of different types of verb inflections in bilingual (Kannada-English) persons with mild dementia. Considered for the study were 10 healthy elderly and 10 persons with mild dementia who were Kannada-English bilinguals. Spontaneous, conversational speech in all the participants was transcribed from which different types of verb inflexions in Kannada were extracted and analyzed. They included infinite verb, imperative verbs, negative imperatives, optative, and participle verbs. These were quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed for mean number of verbs and their nature including code mixing and switching identifying the significant differences between the two groups of participants. Results suggest that these measures offer a sensitive method for differentiating persons with mild dementia from healthy elderly. The study further helps in delineating prognostic indicator and planning rehabilitative measures which can be helpful tool for management

Electrochromic device response controlled by an in situ polymerized ionic liquid based gel electrolyte

Polymer electrolytes were synthesized by two different approaches and applied to electrochromic devices based on electrodeposited tungsten oxide (WO3) or poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) films as the cathode, and a Prussian blue (PB) film as the anode. The first method involved the entrapping of an ionic liquid in a polymer host (poly(methylmethacrylate) or PMMA) and the second approach relied on the in situ thermal polymerization of methylmethacrylate (MMA) in the hydrophobic ionic liquid, yielding a solidified transparent gel. The effect of in situ solid polymer electrolyte formation on device performance characteristics was realized in terms of a larger coloration efficiency of 119 cm2 C21 (l = 550 nm) achieved for the WO3–PB (MMA) device, as compared to a value of 54 cm2 C21 obtained for the WO3–PB (PMMA) device. Similar enhancements in electrochromic coloring efficiency, reflectance contrast, and faster switching kinetics were obtained for the PEDOT–PB (MMA) device. The strategy of introducing an electrolyte to the electrochromic device in a liquid state and then subjecting the same to gradual polymerization allows greater accessibility of the electrolyte ions to the active sites on the electrochromic electrodes and superior interfacial contact. As a consequence, larger optical contrast and faster kinetics are achieved in the MMA based devices. While PEDOT films were amorphous, PB films were semi-crystalline but only in the case of WO3; the hexagonal structure of WO3, equipped with three/four/six-coordinated voids was found to affect bleaching kinetics favorably. The performance of PMMA based electrolyte is limited by high resistance at the electrode–electrolyte interface, and a smaller number of ions available for oxidation and reduction. Large area (y10 cm 6 4 cm) devices were also fabricated using this simple wet chemistry method and their ability to color uniformly without any pinholes was demonstrated

Vertical propagation characteristics and seasonal variability of tidal wind oscillations in the MLT region over Trivandrum (8.5° N, 77° E): first results from SKiYMET Meteor Radar

Tidal activity in the Mesospheric Lower Thermosphere (MLT) region over Trivandrum (8.5° N, 77° E) is investigated using the observations from newly installed SKiYMET Meteor Radar. The seasonal variability and vertical propagation characteristics of atmospheric tides in the MLT region are addressed in the present communication. The observations revealed that the diurnal tide is more prominent than the semi/terdiurnal components over this latitude. It is also observed that the amplitudes of meridional components are stronger than that of zonal ones. The amplitude and phase structure shows the vertical propagation of diurnal tides with vertical wavelength of ~25 km. However, the vertical wavelength of the semidiurnal tide showed considerable variations. The vertical propagation characteristics of the terdiurnal tide showed some indications of their generating mechanisms. The observed features of tidal components are compared with Global Scale Wave Model (GSWM02) values and they showed a similar amplitude and phase structure for diurnal tides. Month-to-month variations in the tidal amplitudes have shown significant seasonal variation. The observed seasonal variation is discussed in light of the variation in tidal forcing and dissipation

EVALUATION OF THE ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF CALCIUM ALGINATE BEADS MODIFIED WITH ETHANOLIC EXTRACT OF ADHATODA VASICA LEAF EXTRACT ON STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS AND ESCHERICHIA COLI

 Objective: The objective of the present study was to investigate the antibacterial activity of calcium alginate (Ca-ALG) loaded with ethanolic extract of Adhatoda vasica (A. vasica) leaves against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli).Methods: Ca-ALG beads containing ethanolic extract of A. vasica leaves were developed by ionic gelation technique. The prepared Ca-ALG beads were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The antibacterial effect of A. vasica leaf extract loaded Ca-ALG beads was examined against S. aureus and E. coli. Results: FT-IR studies revealed the cross-linking of ALG and calcium ions. The spherical morphology of the beads was designated by SEM. The prepared beads were found to display distinctive growth inhibition against S. aureus and E. coli.Conclusion: The antibacterial activity analysis indicated that the prepared beads have good activity against S. aureus and E. coli. The present study proposes a strategy to enhance antibacterial properties of ALG which are widely used in biomedical applications

Forecasting Stock Time-Series using Data Approximation and Pattern Sequence Similarity

Time series analysis is the process of building a model using statistical techniques to represent characteristics of time series data. Processing and forecasting huge time series data is a challenging task. This paper presents Approximation and Prediction of Stock Time-series data (APST), which is a two step approach to predict the direction of change of stock price indices. First, performs data approximation by using the technique called Multilevel Segment Mean (MSM). In second phase, prediction is performed for the approximated data using Euclidian distance and Nearest-Neighbour technique. The computational cost of data approximation is O(n ni) and computational cost of prediction task is O(m |NN|). Thus, the accuracy and the time required for prediction in the proposed method is comparatively efficient than the existing Label Based Forecasting (LBF) method [1].Comment: 11 page

The effect of baseline serum luteinizing hormone levels on follicular development, ovulation, conception and pregnancy outcome in infertile patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome

Background: Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder in infertile women. Raised tonic levels of luteinizing hormone (LH) is one of the main endocrinological disturbances in PCOS patients. Objective of present study was to evaluate the effect of baseline serum luteinizing hormone levels on follicular development, ovulation and conception and pregnancy outcome in infertile patients with PCOS.Methods: This is a prospective study conducted on 50 consecutive infertile patients with PCOS. Baseline Day 2 serum luteinizing hormone concentration was done in selected patients. Ovulation induction was done with clomiphene citrate 100 mg from Day 3 to Day 7 of the cycle. Then patients were monitored for follicular development, ovulation, conception and early pregnancy loss.Results: The mean age of the patients is 25±3.6 yrs. The average duration of infertility is 5.4 yrs (2-10). The mean basal serum LH concentration in patients who ovulated was significantly low (5.6 IU) in comparison with patients who did not ovulate (10.1 IU).  The mean basal serum LH concentration in patients who conceived was 3.9 IU in comparison with patients who did not conceive (5.9 IU) which was statistically significant (p=0.04).  Out of 15 patients who conceived, 3 patients (20%) had early pregnancy loss.Conclusions: Tonic hyper secretion of LH results in premature oocyte maturation, causing the problems with fertilization and miscarriage. Inappropriately raised LH appears to have deleterious effects on the pregnancy outcome

Pregnancy outcomes in pre-gestational and gestational diabetic women in comparison to non-diabetic women - a prospective study in Asian Indian mothers (CURES-35)

Background and objective: Diabetes can complicate pregnancy but it is not the major complication of pregnancy. Though prevalence of diabetes is alarmingly high among Indians there have been very few studies assessing the effect of diabetes on pregnancy outcomes, particularly comparing pre-gestational diabetes mellitus [PGDM] and gestational diabetes [GDM] with non-diabetic mothers. Methods: Pregnant women attending the Dr. Mohan's Diabetes Specialities Centre, a tertiary care centre for diabetes in Chennai in southern India were selected for the study. PGDM and GDM were defined using standard criteria. Out of the 245 pregnant women with diabetes registered at the centre, follow up data was available for 225, which included 79 PGDM and 146 GDM subjects. Non-diabetic controls (n=30) were recruited from the ongoing population based study the Chennai Urban Rural Epidemiology Study (CURES). Details of outcome variables including abortions, mode of delivery, congenital anomalies and neonate's birth weight were documented. Results: Women with PGDM had significantly higher fasting plasma glucose [p<0.001] and fructosamine [p<0.001] levels compared to GDM. Proportion of women who underwent abortions was 0% in non-diabetic controls, 10.1% in PGDM and 2.7% in GDM and the difference between PGDM and GDM was statistically significant [p = 0.04]. Prevalence of 'low birth weight' babies in the study groups were, 14.3% in non-diabetic mothers, 12.3% in PGDM and 8.2% in GDM. The prevalence of 'large babies' was higher in GDM [27.6%] and PGDM [19.2%] groups compared to non-diabetic controls [7.1%] but the differences reached statistical significance only in the GDM group [p = 0.04]. Prevalence of congenital anomalies was 0% among nondiabetic controls, 3.8% in PGDM and 1.4% in GDM but the differences did not reach statistical significance. A significant increase in frequency of abortions [trend chi square = 5.67, p = 0.017] and 'low birth weight' babies [trend chi square = 4.761,p = 0.029] was observed with increasing fructosamine levels in the diabetic mothers. Conclusion: Women with diabetes have worse pregnancy outcomes compared to non-diabetic mothers with and those with pre-gestational diabetes fare worse than those with gestational diabetes. The study emphasizes the fact that strict glycemic control is extremely important during pregnancy

Fault tolerant BeeHive routing in mobile ad-hoc multi-radio network

In this paper, fault tolerance in a multi-radio network is discussed. Fault tolerance is achieved using the BeeHive routing algorithm. The paper discusses faults added to the system as random fluctuations in hardware radio operation. The multi-radio nodes are designed using WiMAX and WiFi Radios that work in conjunction using traffic splitting to transfer data across a multi-hop network. During the operation of this network random faults are introduced by turning off certain radios in nodes. The paper discusses fault tolerance as applied to multi radio nodes that use traffic splitting in the transmission of data. We also propose a method to handle random faults in hardware radios by using traffic splitting and combining it with the BeeHive routing algorithm

Association of Leukocyte Count and hsCRP with Metabolic Abnormalities in Subjects with Normal Glucose Tolerance (CURES – 64)

Objective : The aim of the present study was to assess the association of leukocyte count and high sensitivity C-Reactive protein (hsCRP) with metabolic abnormalities in subjects with normal glucose tolerance. Methods : Subjects with Normal Glucose Tolerance (NGT) (n = 865) were recruited from the Chennai Urban Rural Epidemiology Study [CURES]. Standard methods were used for assessing hsCRP [Nephelometry, in a subset] and leukocytes [Flowcytometry, Sysmex SF-3000]. Insulin resistance was calculated using the Homeostasis Assessment model (HOMA-IR). Results : Body mass index, waist circumference, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose, HbA1c, serum cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HOMA IR and hsCRP increased significantly with increasing tertiles of leukocyte count [p for trend < 0.001]. Both leukocyte count and hsCRP showed a positive correlation with cardiovascular risk factors. Leukocyte count showed a positive correlation with hsCRP [p=0.008]. Both mean leukocyte count [p<0.001] and hsCRP [p=0.04] were higher in subjects with Metabolic Syndrome (MS), which increased with increase in number of metabolic abnormalities [p for trend <0.001]. Regression models showed leukocyte count [p<0.001] and hsCRP [p=0.03] to be associated with MS, even after adjusting for age and gender. Conclusion : A significant association exists between systemic inflammation [leukocyte count and hsCRP] and MS/ cardiovascular risk factors in Asian Indians even among non-diabetic subjects