An Analytical Approach for Design of Microstrip Patch (MsP)

A reliable configuration of electromagnetic interactions for antenna design can yield an effective Microstrip patch (MsP) antenna. During its design, the antenna arrays involve issues with parameters (i.e., space, dimension, shape) adjustment. This problem can be tackled with an analytical approach which can help to bring better idea to design the antenna aaray. However, the realistic designs of antenna array are quite expensive while extracting computational accuracy. Thus, to have low cost computational accuracy various meta-heuristic (generic algorithm, partical swarm optimizarion) approaches are used and are considered as effective one in handling the pattern synthesis problems. Howeever, the use of meta-heuristic approaches demands thousands of functions to analyze the antenna design. This manuscript introduces an analytical approach for MsP antenna desing using MATLAB that brings optimization in handling the side lobes and optimizing the reflection as well as radiation responses. The outcomes of the design were analyzed with respect to reflection, radiation coefficients, side lobes and found effective at 10GHz as per computational cost is concern

Whole Health Options and Pain Education (wHOPE): A pragmatic trial comparing Whole Health Team vs Primary Care Group Education to promote nonpharmacological strategies to improve pain, functioning, and quality of life in veterans-Rationale, methods, and implementation

BACKGROUND: The Whole Health model of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) emphasizes holistic self-care and multimodal approaches to improve pain, functioning, and quality of life. wHOPE (Whole Health Options and Pain Education) seeks to be the first multisite pragmatic trial to establish evidence for the VA Whole Health model for chronic pain care. DESIGN: wHOPE is a pragmatic randomized controlled trial comparing a Whole Health Team (WHT) approach to Primary Care Group Education (PC-GE); both will be compared to Usual VA Primary Care (UPC). The WHT consists of a medical provider, a complementary and integrative health (CIH) provider, and a Whole Health coach, who collaborate with VA patients to create a Personalized Health Plan emphasizing CIH approaches to chronic pain management. The active comparator, PC-GE, is adapted group cognitive behavioral therapy for chronic pain. The first aim is to test whether the WHT approach is superior to PC-GE and whether both are superior to UPC in decreasing pain interference in functioning in 750 veterans with moderate to severe chronic pain (primary outcome). Secondary outcomes include changes in pain severity, quality of life, mental health symptoms, and use of nonpharmacological and pharmacological therapies for pain. Outcomes will be collected from the VA electronic health record and patient-reported data over 12 months of follow-up. Aim 2 consists of an implementation-focused process evaluation and budget impact analysis. SUMMARY: This trial is part of the Pain Management Collaboratory, which seeks to create national-level infrastructure to support evidence-based nonpharmacological pain management approaches for veterans and military service personnel

SEAD Virtual Archive: Building a Federation of Institutional Repositories for Long Term Data Preservation

Major research universities are grappling with their response to the deluge of scientific data emerging through research by their faculty. Many are looking to their libraries and the institutional repository as a solution. Scientific data introduces substantial challenges that the document-based institutional repository may not be suited to deal with. The Sustainable Environment - Actionable Data (SEAD) Virtual Archive specifically addresses the challenges of “long tail” scientific data. In this paper, we propose requirements, policy and architecture to support not only the preservation of scientific data today using institutional repositories, but also its rich access and use into the future

Correlation of severity of autism with risk factors and EEG abnormalities in children aged 3-12 years attending child guidance clinic at Institute of child health and hospital for children.

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by significant impairment in the social interaction, communication and behaviour. The exact etiology still remains unknown. Genetic, environmental factors, prenatal, perinatal, postnatal risk factors said to play a role in the pathogenesis of autism. Subclinical epileptiform discharges said to be present in approximately 30% of children with autism which are causally associated with the deficits and severity. METHODS Children aged 3 – 12 years diagnosed as autism using DSM – V criteria in child guidance clinic at Institute of child health and hospital for children were enrolled in this study. Prenatal, perinatal and postnatal risk factors of autism data are collected. Severity of autism is assessed by childhood autism rating scale (CARS). Electroencephalogram (EEG) was done to all children in the study. RESULTS In the study, out of 72 autistic children 73.6 % ( n-53) were in the age group of 3-6 years,19.4% (n-14) were in the age group of 6-9 years and 7 % (n-5)were in 9-12 years. Out of 72 children, 83.3% (n-60) were males and 16.7% (n-12) were females. 41.7% (n-30) had abnormal EEG in the absence of clinical seizures and 58.3% (n-42) children had normal EEG. EEG was correlated with CARS using spearman’s rho correlation test and found to be significant, P value – 0.005. Among the risk factors advanced maternal age at conception, positive family history of psychiatric illness, birth order and multiple birth were significantly correlating to CARS P value- < 0.05. Rest of the risk factors were not significantly correlated with CARS. CONCLUSION In the study 40.7% children had EEG abnormality, most common pattern of EEG abnormality noted is bilateral epileptiform activity with sharp waves.EEG significantly correlates with CARS , abnormal EEG highly correlates with the severity of autism. Advanced Maternal age at conception ,positive family history of psychiatric illness, birth order and multiple births are the risk factors correlated with the severity of autism. Epileptiform discharges being highly correlated to severity of autism could serve as prognostic tool for these children

Landings of juvenile Uroteuthis (Photololigo) singhalensis in Tuticorin Fishing Harbour

In Tuticorin Fishing Harbour about 200 trawlers operate daily from 5 am to 11 pm for single day fishing. Wooden and steel trawlers in three sizes, namely small boats (OAL 35-40 feet), medium boats (OAL 40-50 feet) and large boats (OAL up to 80 feet) operate from this harbour

Dysflective cones: Visual function and cone reflectivity in long-term follow-up of acute bilateral foveolitis.

PURPOSE:Confocal adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscope (AOSLO) images provide a sensitive measure of cone structure. However, the relationship between structural findings of diminished cone reflectivity and visual function is unclear. We used fundus-referenced testing to evaluate visual function in regions of apparent cone loss identified using confocal AOSLO images. METHODS:A patient diagnosed with acute bilateral foveolitis had spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) (Spectralis HRA + OCT system [Heidelberg Engineering, Vista, CA, USA]) images indicating focal loss of the inner segment-outer segment junction band with an intact, but hyper-reflective, external limiting membrane. Five years after symptom onset, visual acuity had improved from 20/80 to 20/25, but the retinal appearance remained unchanged compared to 3 months after symptoms began. We performed structural assessments using SD-OCT, directional OCT (non-standard use of a prototype on loan from Carl Zeiss Meditec) and AOSLO (custom-built system). We also administered fundus-referenced functional tests in the region of apparent cone loss, including analysis of preferred retinal locus (PRL), AOSLO acuity, and microperimetry with tracking SLO (TSLO) (prototype system). To determine AOSLO-corrected visual acuity, the scanning laser was modulated with a tumbling E consistent with 20/30 visual acuity. Visual sensitivity was assessed in and around the lesion using TSLO microperimetry. Complete eye examination, including standard measures of best-corrected visual acuity, visual field tests, color fundus photos, and fundus auto-fluorescence were also performed. RESULTS:Despite a lack of visible cone profiles in the foveal lesion, fundus-referenced vision testing demonstrated visual function within the lesion consistent with cone function. The PRL was within the lesion of apparent cone loss at the fovea. AOSLO visual acuity tests were abnormal, but measurable: for trials in which the stimulus remained completely within the lesion, the subject got 48% correct, compared to 78% correct when the stimulus was outside the lesion. TSLO microperimetry revealed reduced, but detectible, sensitivity thresholds within the lesion. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPORTANCE:Fundus-referenced visual testing proved useful to identify functional cones despite apparent photoreceptor loss identified using AOSLO and SD-OCT. While AOSLO and SD-OCT appear to be sensitive for the detection of abnormal or absent photoreceptors, changes in photoreceptors that are identified with these imaging tools do not correlate completely with visual function in every patient. Fundus-referenced vision testing is a useful tool to indicate the presence of cones that may be amenable to recovery or response to experimental therapies despite not being visible on confocal AOSLO or SD-OCT images

Predictors of coronary artery disease in patients with left bundle branch block who undergo myocardial perfusion imaging

Background: Due to difficulties in diagnosing coronary ischemia in patients with left bundle branch block (LBBB), identifying clinical characteristics that might help to predict coronary artery disease (CAD) is important. Our study aimed to identify clinical predictors of CAD among patients with and without LBBB who undergo myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI). Methods: All patients with LBBB who underwent MPI (LBBB group) from June 2005 to February 2007 were compared with patients with normal baseline electrocardiography who underwent treadmill MPI (non-LBBB group) during the same period. Results: LBBB patients with CAD were younger and had lower ejection fraction (EF) compared to LBBB patients without CAD. Similarly non-LBBB patients with CAD had lower EF, but did not differ significantly in age compared to non-LBBB patients without CAD. Regression analysis among patients with LBBB showed that EF < 55% was the most significant predictor of CAD, after controlling for other factors. A regression analysis in non-LBBB patients showed that male gender and EF &#163; 55% were significant predictors of CAD. A regression analysis conducted in the combined data of both LBBB and non-LBBB groups showed male gender, EF &#163; 55% and LBBB to be the most significant predictors of CAD. Conclusions: Patients with LBBB have a high probability of CAD based on MPI findings. Patients with LBBB and reduced EF have a much higher likelihood of CAD compared to patients without LBBB and normal EF. Further studies on early invasive approach in patients with LBBB and reduced EF seem warranted

Skin Cancer Prediction Model Based on Multi-Layer Perceptron Network

Melanoma is acknowledged by the World Health Organization as the most severe type of skin cancer, significantly contributing to skin cancer-related deaths worldwide. This type of cancer manifests through noticeable changes in moles, including their size, shape, colour, or texture. In this study, we introduce an innovative and robust method for detecting and classifying melanoma in various image types, including both basic and clinical dermatological images. Our approach employs the HSV (Hue, Saturation, and Value) colour model, along with mathematical morphology and Gaussian filtering techniques. These methods are used to pinpoint the area of interest in an image and compute four key descriptors crucial for melanoma analysis: symmetry, border irregularity, colour variation, and dimension. Despite the prior usage of these descriptors over an extended period, the manner in which they are calculated in this proposal is a key factor contributing to the improvement of the outcomes. Following this, a multilayer perceptron is utilized for the purpose of categorizing malignant and benign melanoma. The study included three datasets consisting of basic and dermatological photographs that are frequently referenced in academic literature. These datasets were applied to both train and assess the effectiveness of the proposed technique. Based on the results obtained from k-fold cross-validation, it is evident that the proposed model surpasses three existing state-of-the-art approaches. In particular, the model demonstrates remarkable precision, with an accuracy rate of 98.5% for basic images and 98.6% for clinical dermatological images. It exhibits a high level of sensitivity, measuring 96.68% for simple images and 98.05% for dermatological images. Additionally, its specificity stands at 98.15% when analyzing basic images and 98.01% for dermatological images, indicating its effectiveness in both types of image analysis. The findings have demonstrated that the utilization of this gadget as an assistive tool for melanoma diagnosis would enhance levels of reliability in comparison to traditional methods

Transfer Learning based Automated Essay Summarization

The human evaluation of essays has become a very time-consuming process as the number of schools and universities has grown. The available software entities are unable to assess the sentiment associated with essays. Thus, we propose a model using Natural Language Processing to assess the essay based on both grammar and sentiment associated with the essay by using linear regression and ULMFiT (Universal Language Model Fine-tuning for Text Classification) models.&nbsp; Evaluation of essay is done in two parts. Part one is on essay grading with respect to grammar with maximum 12 and minimum 0 grade points and in part two score of 0/1 for sentiment analysis with 0 being negative and 1 being positive. The model can be used to score the essay and discard any essay with a score less than a specified value or specified sentiment score