Takayasu arteritis associated with tuberculosis: a case report

Takayasu arteritis, also called pulseless disease, is the chronic inflammation of the vessels, mainly the aorta and large vessels. It mainly affects females more than males with the ratio of 2.15:1 and in the second and third decade of life. Mechanism may be transmural fibrous thickening of the arterial walls. Takayasu’s is characterized by granulomatous inflammation of the vessel wall, leading to occlusion of the vessel wall. It is represented with claudication, fever, arthralgia. Clinical features are chest pain, vascular bruits, Hypertension. Investigation is based on angiography and CT scan. Medical treatment prednisolone is the first line agent 1mg/kg/day maximum dose is 60mg/day with gradual tapering as per European league against rheumatism guidelines, methotrexate and azathioprine are for inducing remission of arterial lesions, tumour necrosis factor-a antagonists, anti-IL-6 receptor monoclonal antibody like tocilizumab. Surgical treatment is angioplasty and stenting renal artery stenosis but less invasive and safest method is percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA). Takayasu arteritis might be associated with Tuberculosis, yet, the relationship and mechanism are not clearly understood. Here we report a case of Takayasu arteritis associated with tuberculosis

Micro-inverter with Fuzzy logic based MPPT of Partially shaded PV modules and energy recovery scheme

When there is occurrence of partial shading on PV modules there are two to three bypass diodes connected in junction box for 200W rated PV module. Due to this configuration the power-voltage characteristics of the PV module will have many peaks. So to extract maximum power even during the partial shading condition this paper proposes the use of micro-inverter based on flyback configuration with Fuzzy logic based maximum power point tracking technique. This can be achieved by implementing an equalization circuit across the PV module. This equalization circuit consists of series connection of diode and secondary winding of the flyback transformer of the micro-inverter. This equalization circuit is capable of energy recovery from the leakage inductance of the converter when the main switch is turned off. This proposed topology have the following features: fuzzy logic based mppt to extract maximum available power, energy recovery capability and conversion of dc to ac. The proposed technology’s effectiveness is analyzed by comparing it with PV module having bypass diode configuration. The simulation results, control strategies and modes of operation and analysis of the proposed topology are presented in this paper

Gasotransmitters: a review

The gaseous molecules produced endogenously with several physiological functions are called gasotransmitters. Even though initially, they were predominantly thought to be of neuronal origin, recent research has clarified that they have roles far beyond that. Their primary function is maintaining the integrity of the cardiovascular system and many other parts. From the available knowledge, we have just started to learn about their roles in physiological systems that could be translated to pharmacological drug development and therapeutics. Most of the process that remains in the form of preclinical research has to go a long way toward utilizing them in therapeutics. This review addresses the various levels at which they could be potentially exploited as therapeutics and their recent entry into clinical trials

To determine the eficacy of DIPSI as a method to screen GDM

Background: Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) is considered as a transient abnormality of glucose intolerance during pregnancy. Women with GDM and their children are at increased risk of future diabetes. The diagnosis of GDM gives us a unique opportunity in identifying individuals who will be benefited by early therapeutic intervention with diet, exercise and normalizing the weight to delay or possibly even prevent the onset of the disease. The objective of the study was to detect efficacy of Diabetes In Pregnancy Study Group of India (DIPSI) recommended 75g oral glucose challenge test in screening and diagnosis of GDM.Methods: 200 pregnant women attending antenatal clinic during 24-28 weeks of pregnancy were subjected to Diabetes In Pregnancy Study Group of India (DIPSI) recommended 75g oral glucose challenge test (OGCT) as a method to screen and diagnose GDM. All patients were given 75grams of glucose irrespective of the meal and 2 hour venous blood sample was collected. Blood glucose was tested by GOD-POD (glucose oxidase peroxidise) method. Diagnosis of impaired glucose tolerance was made when plasma glucose of ≥120-140mg/dl and diagnosis of GDM was made when the plasma glucose of >140 mg/dl. All of them were followed up till delivery. Descriptive statistics was used to calculate the mean and standard deviation to draw the conclusion of this study.Results: Out of the 200 women subjected to DIPSI recommended 75grams of OGCT 38%, 40% and 22% had normal, impaired and abnormal OGTT results, respectively. Age ≥25yrs, family history of diabetes and BMI ≥25kg/m2 are the commonest risk factors for GDM in the study group.Conclusions: Our study supports the concept of universal screening and the use of DIPSI recommended 75g OGCT for screening and diagnosis of GDM

Combining depth and intensity images to produce enhanced object detection for use in a robotic colony

Robotic colonies that can communicate with each other and interact with their ambient environments can be utilized for a wide range of research and industrial applications. However amongst the problems that these colonies face is that of the isolating objects within an environment. Robotic colonies that can isolate objects within the environment can not only map that environment in de-tail, but interact with that ambient space. Many object recognition techniques ex-ist, however these are often complex and computationally expensive, leading to overly complex implementations. In this paper a simple model is proposed to isolate objects, these can then be recognize and tagged. The model will be using 2D and 3D perspectives of the perceptual data to produce a probability map of the outline of an object, therefore addressing the defects that exist with 2D and 3D image techniques. Some of the defects that will be addressed are; low level illumination and objects at similar depths. These issues may not be completely solved, however, the model provided will provide results confident enough for use in a robotic colony

Exposure to the field of renal transplantation during undergraduate medical education in the UK

BACKGROUND: There is a lack of surgeons in the field of renal transplantation, with a predicted shortage of over 20 consultants by the year 2005. Early positive exposure to the field, commencing at undergraduate level, has been identified as being vital to improving rates of recruitment. This study was performed to assess the exposure of undergraduates to the field of renal transplantation during medical education in the UK. METHODS: In October 2004 a questionnaire was sent to the clinical deans of all UK medical schools regarding undergraduate exposure to renal transplantation. RESULTS: Twenty-five replies were received, giving a response rate of 96%. All but one school had a centre for renal transplantation in their region. Three schools (12%) gave no formal lecture or tutorial on the subject during the entire course. Of the remainder, between one to four formal sessions were provided, ranging from 15 minutes to 3 hours duration. Six medical schools (24%) provided no compulsory clinical exposure to renal transplantation, with a further five (20%) saying that students may receive exposure by chance. The average length of attachment was three weeks. Twenty-one medical schools (84%) provided between 1–10% of students a choice to study renal transplantation, as part of electives and special study modules. CONCLUSION: This study reveals a variation between, and within, medical schools in the levels of formal teaching. If the trends in recruitment to renal transplantation are to be reversed, we have an obligation to improve upon the medical education that students currently receive

A Review on Smart Cart Shopping System Using IOT

The internet of things (IOT) is changing human lives by connecting everyday objects together. Nowadays shopping at big malls is a daily activity in metro cities. One can see a huge rush at malls on holidays and on special discount days. People purchase different items and put them in trolleys and go to billing counter for payments. In that time, they have to wait in a long queue to get their products scanned using RFID reader with help of barcode scanner and get their billed. To modify that customer has to purchase in smart way in shopping malls. Each and e very product is attached with a RFID tags, when placed into a smart shopping cart, can be automatically read by a cart equipped with a RFID reader, so that the billing can be conducted from the shopping cart itself. In this way, customer can avoid waiting in a long queue at the checkout points. For this system, additional smart shelving can be added and equipped with RFID reader and can monitor stock, also updating central server, server knows the status of the items in the store. The inventory management also becomes much easier, because all the items can be automatically read by a RFID reader instead of manually scanned by the laborer

An Approach for Loan Approval Prediction Using Machine Learning

Banking sector is one such field where the company needs more accurate results after analysis. There are many people applying for bank loans from banks or other finance companies each day. But the banks cannot provide loan to every individual who is applying for loan. There is a very complex task that the bank employees do to study an analyze if the applicant is genuine or not. To find this out, there are a lot of factors to be considered. Going through this huge amount of data can be a really difficult task and yet one cannot be sure if the applicant will be able to pay back the loan within the given time or not. Objective of the paper is to make thorough analysis of the test data and make predictions if the applicant is genuine or not. For this process, we are using Machine Learning where the trained data is used to make predictions

Public-Private Partnerships: much more than a contract.

Thesis (MBA)-University of Natal, 2003.This research examines the effectiveness presented by Public-Private Partnerships as a mechanism to promoting growth and building capacity in South Africa, at both the national and local level. It is concerned with exploring the broader benefits of publicprivate partnerships outside the range of technical and financial contributions and investigates the extent of capacity building that is necessary to bring about stronger more sustainable partnerships. Comparison is undertaken by means of analyses of primary and secondary data to determine international trends and best practice in the adoption of the public-private partnership approach. A series of key informant interviews will assist determine the effectiveness and benefits presented by public-private partnerships through the perceptions of key players and policy makers at policy level and implementation level. Different case experiences will also be used determine the existing experiences of publicprivate partnerships and to establish a way forward for future public-private partnerships. It can be concluded that despite the infrastructure and service delivery backlogs and the crisis faced by most governments in the developing world, most world local governments are looking to decentralization as an option to promote sustainable development. As part of this process local governments have been found to seek solutions in partnering with the private sector to effect more efficient service delivery solutions to the communities served. Public-Private partnerships present a very good policy tool which can create many positive benefits if managed and structured correctly. For Public-Private Partnerships to succeed there has to be high levels of commitment from all stakeholders, and the process must be effected in a participatory and consultative manner to ensure that such partnerships are sustainable and beneficial towards promoting growth