Energy-Efficient Communication over the Unsynchronized Gaussian Diamond Network

Communication networks are often designed and analyzed assuming tight synchronization among nodes. However, in applications that require communication in the energy-efficient regime of low signal-to-noise ratios, establishing tight synchronization among nodes in the network can result in a significant energy overhead. Motivated by a recent result showing that near-optimal energy efficiency can be achieved over the AWGN channel without requiring tight synchronization, we consider the question of whether the potential gains of cooperative communication can be achieved in the absence of synchronization. We focus on the symmetric Gaussian diamond network and establish that cooperative-communication gains are indeed feasible even with unsynchronized nodes. More precisely, we show that the capacity per unit energy of the unsynchronized symmetric Gaussian diamond network is within a constant factor of the capacity per unit energy of the corresponding synchronized network. To this end, we propose a distributed relaying scheme that does not require tight synchronization but nevertheless achieves most of the energy gains of coherent combining.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figures, submitted to IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, presented at IEEE ISIT 201

Mathematical Modeling for Demurrage Reduction in Coal Transportation for an Indian Thermal Power Plant

Competitive pressures on power plants have seen them attempting to reduce their operating expenses for profitable operations. In India, the plants use wagons of the Indian Railways to transport coal from the mines (in case of domestic coal) or from the ports (in case of imported coal). Once these loaded railway wagons have reached the power plant, they need to be unloaded and released within a stipulated time frame. If there is any delay beyond the stipulated time, the power plant has to pay penalty cost to the Indian Railways. In this paper, we describe an analysis of the underlying causes behind these delays. We use correlation analysis, queuing theory and simulation to mathematically model the coal arrival process in the company. The recommendation suggested by the study is currently under implementation.

Severe sepsis due to severe falciparum malaria and leptospirosis co-infection treated with activated protein C

Co-infection with falciparum malaria and leptospirosis is uncommon. The aim of this study is to report a case of severe sepsis secondary to dual infection with falciparum malaria and leptospirosis. The literature is also reviewed on the clinical course of such co-infections, and the possible mechanisms and treatment of patients with life-threatening malaria and leptospirosis with activated protein C. The patient was a 25-year old male admitted in the Respiratory Intensive Care Unit (RICU) with fever, haemolysis, acute renal failure, hepatitis, acute lung injury (ALI) and altered sensorium. A syndromic evaluation was done and investigations revealed falciparum parasitaemia. He was treated with parenteral artesunate, ceftriaxone and doxycycline, and adjunctive therapies as for severe sepsis. Infusion of activated protein C was started 20 hours after onset of organ dysfunction, and intensive haemodialysis was instituted. Over the next four days the patient became afebrile with progressive resolution of ALI, renal failure and hepatitis. His Leptospira serology (requested as part of the evaluation) was reported positive on day 5. Dual infections are common and under-recognized in the tropics. Failure to treat potential co-infections may lead to poor outcomes. Acute lung injury in falciparum malaria has high mortality rates and therapy as for severe sepsis may improve survival. Adjunctive therapies, including activated protein C, cannot replace source eradication

38P. MAMS - A Unified Approach for Assessing E-readiness of SMEs

ICT adoption to facilitate business processes is a growing trend in today’s global environment. As SMEs play an important role in a country’s economy, they cannot lag behind in ICT adoption. In order to join the e-business bandwagon, SMEs need to understand the barriers in the path and the benefits offered by e-business adoption. This paper has reviewed the extant literature of barriers, benefits of e-business adoption before proposing some key enablers that facilitate the adoption. Six existing e-readiness tools that are used globally to measure e-readiness are also reviewed. The review of different aspects of e-business readiness has motivated their unification and the definition of an holistic framework (Motivation Application Measurement Support e-readiness framework). The MAMS framework can be utilized as a reference to assess, design and implement a supplementary strategic approach for e-business readiness of SMEs

Hydrodynamic and Advection-Dispersion Simulation of Cool Seawater Discharges from an LNG Facility

7-14The impact of cool seawater discharge in the coastal waters from a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plant has been simulated using MIKE21. In this work, hydrodynamics conditions of the coastal waters were calibrated and corroborated to predict the cool seawater discharge under two plant design scenarios by selecting flow rate 15 m3/s and 10 m3/s with a temperature drop of 5 °C and 7 °C, respectively. The simulations were carried out under different scenarios, to arrive at the best possible case to minimize the potential impact on the coastal environment. Both the simulated scenarios complied with the available World Bank guidelines for LNG facilities. However, the designed scenario of flow rate 10 m3/s with a temperature drop of 7 °C between inlet and outlet presents a better choice as it reduces the pumping power of seawater intake. As there are no Indian guidelines for cool seawater discharges from LNG plant, the present work can support the policymakers and regulators to formulate coherent discharge standards

Noninvasive positive pressure ventilation in acute respiratory failure due to COPD vs other causes: Effectiveness and predictors of failure in a respiratory ICU in North India

Ritesh Agarwal, Rajesh Gupta, Ashutosh N Aggarwal, Dheeraj GuptaDepartment of Pulmonary Medicine, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, IndiaObjectives: To determine the effectiveness of noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV), and the factors predicting failure of NIPPV in acute respiratory failure (ARF) due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) versus other causes of ARF.Patients and methods: This was a prospective observational study and all patients with ARF requiring NIPPV over a one-and-a-half year period were enrolled in the study. We recorded the etiology of ARF and prospectively collected the data for heart rate, respiratory rate, arterial blood gases (pH, partial pressure of oxygen in the arterial blood [PaO2], partial pressure of carbon dioxide in arterial blood [PaCO2]) at baseline, one and four hours. The patients were further classified into two groups based on the etiology of ARF as COPD–ARF and ARF due to other causes. The primary outcome was the need for endotracheal intubation during the intensive care unit (ICU) stay.Results: During the study period, 248 patients were admitted in the ICU and of these 63 (25.4%; 24, COPD–ARF, 39, ARF due to other causes; 40 male and 23 female patients; mean [standard deviation] age of 45.7 [16.6] years) patients were initiated on NIPPV. Patients with ARF secondary to COPD were older, had higher APACHE II scores, lower respiratory rates, lower pH and higher PaCO2 levels compared to other causes of ARF. After one hour there was a significant decrease in respiratory rate and heart rate and decline in PaCO2 levels with increase in pH and PaO2 levels in patients successfully managed with NIPPV. However, there was no difference in improvement of clinical and blood gas parameters between the two groups except the rate of decline of pH at one and four hours and PaCO2 at one hour which was significantly faster in the COPD group. NIPPV failures were significantly higher in ARF due to other causes (15/39) than in ARF–COPD (3/24) (p = 0.03). The mean ICU and hospital stay and the hospital mortality were similar in the two groups. In the multivariate logistic regression model (after adjusting for gender, APACHE II scores and improvement in respiratory rate, pH, PaO2 and PaCO2 at one hour) only the etiology of ARF, ie, ARF–COPD, was associated with a decreased risk of NIPPV failure (odds ratio 0.23; 95% confidence interval, 0.58–0.9).Conclusions: NIPPV is more effective in preventing endotracheal intubation in ARF due to COPD than other causes, and the etiology of ARF is an important predictor of NIPPV failure.Keywords: noninvasive ventilation, noninvasive positive pressure ventilation, acute respiratory failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, CPAP, bilevel positive airway pressure, pneumonia, ALI, ARD

Performance Enhancement of Solar Air Heater by Increase Air Travel Distance in Solar Air Heater

With the increased attention the efficiency of solar heating facilities and the performance of additional equipment are becoming increasingly important. In the present study, thinking is giving on the heat transfer characteristics of solar air heater with some modifications in design to increase air travel length. Performance of solar air dryer would be checked with and without air heater. Effect of climate conditions would also be studied on its performance. Keywords:Solar Air Heater, Air Heater, Heat transfer, Solar Collector, Solar Energy

A Review on Different Methods Used for Performance Enhancement of Solar Air Heater

With the increased attention the efficiency of solar heating facilities and the performance of additional equipment are becoming increasingly important. In the present study, thinking is giving on the heat transfer characteristics of solar air heater with some modifications in design to increase air travel length. Performance of solar air dryer would be checked with and without air heater. Effect of climate conditions would also be studied on its performance. Keywords: Solar Air Heater, Air Heater, Heat transfer, Solar Collector, Solar Energy

DESIGN AND EVALUATION OF BUCCOADHESIVE CONTROLLED RELEASE FORMULATIONS OF PROCHLORPERAZINE MALEATE

Objective: The Purpose of this work was to design mucoadhesive tablets of prochlorperazine maleate to release the drug in buccal cavity for an extended period of time in order to avoid the first-pass metabolism.Methods: Six formulations were prepared using different polymer like Xanthan gum, Locust bean gum, Carbopol 974P NF, HPMC K100MCR, Polyox-WSR301 and Gantrez AN139 as a mucoadhesive and controlled release agents. The formulations were tested for content uniformity, thickness, weight variation, friability, in vitro drug release, in-vitro bio-adhesion, swelling index and residence time.Results: Drug excipient compatibility studies performed using DSC. The DSC studies revealed endothermic peak at 200o–205oC for Prochlorperazine maleate. Similarly endothermic peaks were obtained for separate excipient when heated in the range of 50-300 °C indicating their melting points. There was no separate peak observed when the drug was mixed with the different polymers like Xanthan gum, locust bean gum, Carbopol 974 P, HPMC K100 MCR, Gantrez AN139 and Polyox-WSR301 in ratio (1:1) indicating that no interaction took place between drug and polymers used in the study. Dissolution studies of the tablets of the optimized batch (BDS-6) containing Carbopol 974P (CP) and HPMC K100 MCR showed extended release 90.65% up to 24 hr. The bioadhesive force of optimized formulation is 12.18±.011 gm and the maximum swelling index was observed in 3.87±.0057 h.Conclusion: From the study it can be concluded that formulation BDS-6 containing Carbopol and HPMC K100 MCR give a promising result for sustained release action of PrM. Â