Impact On Small Farmers and Fishermen Through Use Of Mobiles in India

Telecommunication and more specially mobile phones have the potential to provide solution to the existing information asymmetry in various lagging sectors like Agriculture. India’s agricultural sector suffers from low growth rates and low productivity. Issues in access to information is a week point at every stage of the agrisupply chain. For small farmers base economy like India, access to information can possible enable better incomes and productivity to the farmers. This paper through focus group discussions and in-depth interview with farmers in villages of India, has tried to find answers to the use and impact of mobile and mobile enabled services on agricultural productivity. The answers to these questions are of relevance to develop better policy environment conducive for the small and medium farmers and has implications for mobile operators, for information service providers, and for policy-makers. The results show that although, mobiles can act as catalyst to improving productivity and rural incomes, the quality of the information, the timeliness of the information and trustworthiness of the information are the three important aspects that has to be delivered to the farmers, to meet there needs and expectations. There exist critical binding constraints that restricts the ability of the farming community to realise gains at full potential and this is more for the small than to large farmers.Mobile and Agriculture, India, Productivity, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Marketing, Production Economics, Q13, Q16, Q18,

Determination of phase characteristics for PVDF membrane hydrophones in the frequency range 1-100 MHz using nonlinear acoustics approach

The purpose of this study was to verify and refine a phase calibration technique reported last year, based on the nonlinear acoustic wave propagation in water. The nonlinearity of the medium leads to the generation of harmonics and the relative phasing of the harmonics causes a distinct asymmetry between the positive and negative pressure levels affecting the rise and fall time of the examined waveforms. Knowledge of the relative phase shift measured in terms of radians versus frequency when referenced to the uniform simulated phase can help deconvolve the pressure-time signal, and hence produce its faithful reconstruction, including the rise times and peak amplitudes. The modified scheme discussed in this dissertation, uses an advanced semi-empirical computer model which predicts the near and the far field distributions using the hyperbolic propagation operator, in contrast to the parabolic approximations used elsewhere. Two PVDF membrane hydrophones were first calibrated in terms of their amplitude sensitivity in Volts/Pascals or dB re 1V/μPa. The sensitivities were needed to calculate the pressure levels generated by the HIFU (High Intensity Focused Ultrasound) sources. The sources operated at the frequencies of 5 MHz and 10 MHz to enable studies up to 100 MHz. The phase responses of these two hydrophones - a Marconi 50μm thick, 500μm diameter bilaminar PVDF film membrane hydrophone and a custom made Precision Acoustics, 9μm thick, 400μm diameter hydrophone - were determined with respect to the relative phase extracted from the complex frequency response of the nonlinear field simulated by the advanced semi-empirical hyperbolic operator model. The results indicate that the nonlinear technique is primarily suited for membrane hydrophones having a flat frequency response with variation in the range of ±10 %. Another PVDF hydrophone probe design, namely the needle one, does not exhibit uniform frequency response due to intrinsic (radial mode) resonances. These resonances introduce electrical distortions in the measured signals, which complicate the separation of the medium generated harmonics and those produced at the hydrophone output. Therefore, in order to calibrate the needle probes, a fiber optic hydrophone with a flat frequency response and zero phase-shift in the frequency range considered would be preferable. The main limitation of the nonlinear approach to determine phase response of membrane hydrophones is caused by the fact the technique can only provide phase information at discrete frequencies which are multiples of the fundamental of the acoustic source. Another limitation is associated with the use of preamplifier. No preamplifier and hence no electrical impedance matching was used to measure high pressure levels above 4 MPa (corresponding to the HIFU sources excitation levels of about 100Vpp), because of the observed saturation (clipping) of the electrical signal. This clipping reduced the number of harmonics which could be measured, and effectively limited the calibration bandwidth. The uncertainties of the measurements were analyzed and are presented at 95% confidence levels.In conclusion, we have demonstrated that the nonlinear acoustic wave propagation can be used as an effective tool to determine complex frequency response of the ultrasound PVDF membrane hydrophones in frequency range of 1-100 MHz.M.S., Biomedical Engineering -- Drexel University, 200

Third Eye-Office Automation using Image Processing

With the continuous growth of technological devices in its popularity and functionality, the demand for advanced applications in people’s daily lives is continuously increasing. People are becoming more dependent on technology to carry out basic activities. With the increased awareness of conservation of electricity and various other energy sources,many industrial firms are willing to take steps to conserve it. An attractive market can be developed for office automation which is represented by busy individuals and those with physical limitations. This project introduces the intelligent office automation system which is developed using Intel Galileo (development board) with MATLAB. The office automation system is used to control lights and electrical appliances in an office using gestures and human recognition. DOI: 10.17762/ijritcc2321-8169.150311

Figure of eight suturing technique with fiber wire for patella fracture: a novel approach

Modified tension band wiring (TBW) is the most commonly used technique for the management of patella fractures. However, all patella fractures are not-amenable to TBW. Tension band wiring, inter-fragmentary screw fixation, and the combination of cerclage wiring and screw fixation are used for internal fixation of these fractures. Surgical treatment is recommended for fractures that either disrupt the extensor mechanism or have greater than 2 to 3 mm of step-off and greater than 1 to 4 mm of displacement. In this series, we present ten cases managed with open reduction and internal fixation with figure of eight suturing technique using fiber wire. This series included ten patients with fractured patella and managed with open reduction and internal fixation with Tension band wiring with fiber wire. Patient demographics, fracture type, time to union, functional outcome, and complications were recorded. Patients were followed up for minimum of 6 months. All fractures went on to unite with average fracture healing time of 13.8 weeks. Mean Lysholm score and Bostman score were 85 and 27 respectively. Nine patients had excellent to good outcomes. One patient had poor outcome because of knee stiffness. Open reduction and internal fixation with figure of eight suturing technique using fiber wire are an efficient method for the management of severely comminuted and multi-fragmentary patella fractures with minimum complications

Network analysis of human protein location

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Understanding cellular systems requires the knowledge of a protein's subcellular localization (SCL). Although experimental and predicted data for protein SCL are archived in various databases, SCL prediction remains a non-trivial problem in genome annotation. Current SCL prediction tools use amino-acid sequence features and text mining approaches. A comprehensive analysis of protein SCL in human PPI and metabolic networks for various subcellular compartments is necessary for developing a robust SCL prediction methodology.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Based on protein-protein interaction (PPI) and metabolite-linked protein interaction (MLPI) networks of proteins, we have compared, contrasted and analysed the statistical properties across different subcellular compartments. We integrated PPI and metabolic datasets with SCL information of human proteins from LOCATE and GOA (Gene Ontology Annotation) and estimated three statistical properties: Chi-square (χ²) test, Paired Localisation Correlation Profile (PLCP) and network topological measures. For the PPI network, Pearson's chi-square test shows that for the same SCL category, twice as many interacting protein pairs are observed than estimated when compared to non-interacting protein pairs (χ²= 1270.19, <it>P-value </it>< 2.2 × 10^-16), whereas for MLPI, metabolite-linked protein pairs having the same SCL are observed 20% more than expected, compared to non-metabolite linked proteins (χ²= 110.02, <it>P-value </it>< 2.2 x10^-16). To address the issue of proteins with multiple SCLs, we have specifically used the PLCP (Pair Localization Correlation Profile) measure. PLCP analysis revealed that protein interactions are majorly restricted to the same SCL, though significant cross-compartment interactions are seen for nuclear proteins. Metabolite-linked protein pairs are restricted to specific compartments such as the mitochondrion (<it>P-value </it>< 6.0e-07), the lysosome (<it>P-value </it>< 4.7e-05) and the Golgi apparatus (<it>P-value </it>< 1.0e-15). These findings indicate that the metabolic network adds value to the information in the PPI network for the localisation process of proteins in human subcellular compartments.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The MLPI network differs significantly from the PPI network in its SCL distribution. The PPI network shows passive protein interaction, possibly due to its high false positive rate, across different subcellular compartments, which seem to be absent in the MLPI network, as the MLPI network has evolved to maintain high substrate specificity for proteins.</p

Efficacy and safety of minimally invasive surgery with thrombolysis in intracerebral haemorrhage evacuation (MISTIE III): a randomised, controlled, open-label, blinded endpoint phase 3 trial

Acute stroke due to supratentorial intracerebral haemorrhage is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Open craniotomy haematoma evacuation has not been found to have any benefit in large randomised trials. We assessed whether minimally invasive catheter evacuation followed by thrombolysis (MISTIE), with the aim of decreasing clot size to 15 mL or less, would improve functional outcome in patients with intracerebral haemorrhage. MISTIE III was an open-label, blinded endpoint, phase 3 trial done at 78 hospitals in the USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, and Asia. We enrolled patients aged 18 years or older with spontaneous, non-traumatic, supratentorial intracerebral haemorrhage of 30 mL or more. We used a computer-generated number sequence with a block size of four or six to centrally randomise patients to image-guided MISTIE treatment (1·0 mg alteplase every 8 h for up to nine doses) or standard medical care. Primary outcome was good functional outcome, defined as the proportion of patients who achieved a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of 0-3 at 365 days, adjusted for group differences in prespecified baseline covariates (stability intracerebral haemorrhage size, age, Glasgow Coma Scale, stability intraventricular haemorrhage size, and clot location). Analysis of the primary efficacy outcome was done in the modified intention-to-treat (mITT) population, which included all eligible, randomly assigned patients who were exposed to treatment. All randomly assigned patients were included in the safety analysis. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01827046. Between Dec 30, 2013, and Aug 15, 2017, 506 patients were randomly allocated: 255 (50%) to the MISTIE group and 251 (50%) to standard medical care. 499 patients (n=250 in the MISTIE group; n=249 in the standard medical care group) received treatment and were included in the mITT analysis set. The mITT primary adjusted efficacy analysis estimated that 45% of patients in the MISTIE group and 41% patients in the standard medical care group had achieved an mRS score of 0-3 at 365 days (adjusted risk difference 4% [95% CI -4 to 12]; p=0·33). Sensitivity analyses of 365-day mRS using generalised ordered logistic regression models adjusted for baseline variables showed that the estimated odds ratios comparing MISTIE with standard medical care for mRS scores higher than 5 versus 5 or less, higher than 4 versus 4 or less, higher than 3 versus 3 or less, and higher than 2 versus 2 or less were 0·60 (p=0·03), 0·84 (p=0·42), 0·87 (p=0·49), and 0·82 (p=0·44), respectively. At 7 days, two (1%) of 255 patients in the MISTIE group and ten (4%) of 251 patients in the standard medical care group had died (p=0·02) and at 30 days, 24 (9%) patients in the MISTIE group and 37 (15%) patients in the standard medical care group had died (p=0·07). The number of patients with symptomatic bleeding and brain bacterial infections was similar between the MISTIE and standard medical care groups (six [2%] of 255 patients vs three [1%] of 251 patients; p=0·33 for symptomatic bleeding; two [1%] of 255 patients vs 0 [0%] of 251 patients; p=0·16 for brain bacterial infections). At 30 days, 76 (30%) of 255 patients in the MISTIE group and 84 (33%) of 251 patients in the standard medical care group had one or more serious adverse event, and the difference in number of serious adverse events between the groups was statistically significant (p=0·012). For moderate to large intracerebral haemorrhage, MISTIE did not improve the proportion of patients who achieved a good response 365 days after intracerebral haemorrhage. The procedure was safely adopted by our sample of surgeons. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and Genentech. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Interaction of Variable Bacterial Outer Membrane Lipoproteins with Brain Endothelium

Previously we reported that the variable outer membrane lipoprotein Vsp1 from the relapsing fever spirochete Borrelia turicatae disseminates from blood to brain better than the closely related Vsp2 [1]. Here we studied the interaction between Vsp1 and Vsp2 with brain endothelium in more detail.We compared Vsp1 to Vsp2 using human brain microvascular endothelial cell (HBMEC) association assays with aminoacid radiolabeled Vsp-expressing clones of recombinant Borrelia burgdorferi and lanthanide-labeled purified lipidated Vsp1 (LVsp1) and Vsp2 (LVsp2) and inoculations of the lanthanide-labeled proteins into mice. The results showed that heterologous expression of LVsp1 or LVsp2 in B. burgdorferi increased its association with HBMEC to a similar degree. Purified lanthanide-labeled lipidated Vsp1 (LVsp1) and LVsp2 by themselves were capable of associating with HBMEC. The association of LVsp1 with brain endothelium was time-dependent, saturable, and required the lipidation. The association of Vsp1 with HBMEC was inhibited by incubation at lower temperature or with excess unlabeled LVsp1 or LVsp2 but not with excess rVsp1 or mouse albumin or an anti Vsp1 monoclonal antibody. The association of LVsp2 with HBMEC and its movement from blood to brain parenchyma significantly increased in the presence of LVsp1.Variable bacterial outer membrane lipoproteins interact with brain endothelium differently; the lipidation and variable features at the protein dome region are key modulators of this interaction