An experimental study to analyse the effects of lower extremity functional exercise on the physical capacity in moderate COPD patients

INTRODUCTION: COPD is the 5th cause of mortality and morbidity in the world and represent in economic and social burden. COPD is the chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder affecting 10 – 15 individuals over age of 45. WHO estimates, COPD is a simple cause of death, mainly affecting the middle aged and elderly people. Some of the risk factors for COPD include smoking, occupational postures, air pollution, hyper-responsiveness of airways and certain genetic variations. The prevalence of death rate due to COPD are increasing proportionately in accordance with increase in smoking cessation, disease education, early detection and treatment will provide benefit against the cause of mortality and morbidity. COPD occur among 4 % to 10 % of adult male population in INDIA and in other countries. The regional COPD working group for 12 Asia pacific countries used a COPD prevalence model and estimated an overall prevalence rate of 35 % - 67 %. By 2020 COPD is expected to rise to third position, as a cause of death and fifth position as a cause of Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYS) as per the baseline prosecutions made in global burden or disease study. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effects of lower extremity functional exercise on the physical capacity in moderate COPD patients. METHODOLOGY: Study Design: An experimental pre-test, post study design. Study Setting: Pulmonology Outpatient Department, K.G. Hospital, Coimbatore. Study Duration: The total study duration was conducted for a period of 6 months. Intervention period was for 8 weeks Study Sampling: A total of 30 patients (18 male and 12 female) with clinical diagnosis of COPD were allocated to a control and experimental group. The samples were selected using convenient sampling method. Selection Criteria: Inclusion Criteria: • Male and female COPD patients.(18 male and 12 female), • Moderate obstruction (GOLD Classification – FEV1, FVC < 70% and FEV1 < 80% predicted), • Age group range from 45 to 60 years. Exclusion Criteria: Subjects with, • Neurological problems, • Symptomatic heart disease, • Uncontrolled hypertension, • Diabetic mellitus, • Musculo-skeletal problems, • On perdnisolone more than 10mg/day, • Psychological unstable players. CONCLUSION: This study was focused on analyzing the effects of functional exercise, for the lower limbs in moderate COPD patients.30 subjects were randomized into experimental and control groups i.e. Group A and Group B. After 8 weeks of intervention which consisted of functional exercise, the functional capacity of these individuals was assessed using the 6 minute walk distance test. The data was collected at the end of 6 minute walk distance test which was subjected to data analysis. The post test values of the 6 minute walk distance test for both the groups were subjected to independent ‘t’ testing. The calculated ‘t’ value of 1.708 at a confidence level of 95%. Therefore it was determined that there is a significant difference in the functional capacity of moderate COPD individuals after being subjected to functional exercises of the lower limbs. Thereby the null hypothesis was rejected and the alternate hypothesis was accepted

Oxidation Behavior of Nb-Coated Zirconium Diboride

Metallic Nb-Coatings Were Deposited on Top of ZrB2 by Means of Magnetron Sputtering to Improve its Oxidation Resistance. High Temperature Oxidation Tests Have Revealed that the Metallic Nb-Coatings Lead to the Formation of a Dense Solid and Protective Reaction Zone in Addition to a More Stable B2O3 Liquid Solution at the Surface. Compared to Baseline ZrB2, a Reduction in the Oxidation Kinetics, as Well as the Thickness of the Porous Zirconia Layer by 71%, Has Been Achieved with the Help of Nb-Coatings. a Liquid Phase Sintering by Molten Nb2O5 Mechanism Was Responsible for the Formation of the Dense Reaction Zone under the Boria Layer, Resulting in the Improved Oxidation Resistance. Furthermore, the Experiments Revealed the Need for an Annealing Process of Nb-Coated Specimens, in Vacuum, to Improve the Adhesion of the Coatings with ZrB2 and to Avoid Spallation during Oxidation

Influence of Nb coating on the oxidation behavior of ZrB2

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Intelligent Financial Fraud Detection Practices: An Investigation

Financial fraud is an issue with far reaching consequences in the finance industry, government, corporate sectors, and for ordinary consumers. Increasing dependence on new technologies such as cloud and mobile computing in recent years has compounded the problem. Traditional methods of detection involve extensive use of auditing, where a trained individual manually observes reports or transactions in an attempt to discover fraudulent behaviour. This method is not only time consuming, expensive and inaccurate, but in the age of big data it is also impractical. Not surprisingly, financial institutions have turned to automated processes using statistical and computational methods. This paper presents a comprehensive investigation on financial fraud detection practices using such data mining methods, with a particular focus on computational intelligence-based techniques. Classification of the practices based on key aspects such as detection algorithm used, fraud type investigated, and success rate have been covered. Issues and challenges associated with the current practices and potential future direction of research have also been identified.Comment: Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Security and Privacy in Communication Networks (SecureComm 2014

Identification of financial statement fraud in Greece by using computational intelligence techniques

The consequences of financial fraud are an issue with far-reaching for investors, lenders, regulators, corporate sectors and consumers. The range of development of new technologies such as cloud and mobile computing in recent years has compounded the problem. Manual detection which is a traditional method is not only inaccurate, expensive and time-consuming but also they are impractical for the management of big data. Auditors, financial institutions and regulators have tried to automated processes using statistical and computational methods. This paper presents comprehensive research in financial statement fraud detection by using machine learning techniques with a particular focus on computational intelligence (CI) techniques. We have collected a sample of 2469 observations since 2002 to 2015. Research gap was identified as none of the existing researchers address the association between financial statement fraud and CI-based detection algorithms and their performance, as reported in the literature. Also, the innovation of this research is that the selection of data sample is aimed to create models which will be capable of detecting the falsification in financial statements

A multi-spectroscopic study for the characterization and definition of production techniques of German ceramic sherds

The aim of this archaeometric study is to recover information regarding technological processes and raw materials used for the production of ceramic sherds coming from five central and Eastern German sites, between Lower Saxony and Saxony states. The ceramic fragments have been investigated by a multi-spectroscopic approach: Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), micro-Raman spectroscopy and X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) were employed to characterize both ceramic bodies and glazes. Moreover the innovative application of Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF) on ceramic findings has been proposed and evaluated. Chemical and mineralogical composition, as well as microstructure, of ceramic mixture and glaze are correlated to native material composition and firing temperature, which have become a fundamental features in archaeometric research and play a key role in understanding the provenance of the pottery and its production techniques.The multi-spectroscopic approach applied in this work has enabled the ability to characterize the ceramic sherds and to investigate through non-destructive techniques both ceramic glaze and matrix giving information regarding the raw materials and pigments/colourants used, and regarding firing temperature and technology. The present study carried on using complementary methods suggests different raw material sources and temperature kilns. These data are in agreement with the location of ceramic sites and with data in literature. Furthermore, the interesting results suggest that non-destructive techniques, such as LIF and Raman spectroscopy, are promising methods for ceramic and glaze characterization. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved