The Counting function for Elkies primes

Let $E$ be an elliptic curve over a finite field $\mathbb{F}_q$ where $q$ is a prime power. The Schoof--Elkies--Atkin (SEA) algorithm is a standard method for counting the number of $\mathbb{F}_q$-points on $E$. The asymptotic complexity of the SEA algorithm depends on the distribution of the so-called Elkies primes. Assuming GRH, we prove that the least Elkies prime is bounded by $(2\log 4q+4)^2$ when $q\geq 10^9$. This is the first such explicit bound in the literature. Previously, Satoh and Galbraith established an upper bound of $O((\log q)^{2+\varepsilon})$. Let $N_E(X)$ denote the number of Elkies primes less than $X$. Assuming GRH, we also show $$ N_E(X)=\frac{\pi(X)}{2}+O\left(\frac{\sqrt{X}(\log qX)^2}{\log X}\right)\,. $

Impact of process parameters (temperature & pH) and salts on kinetics and rheological properties of Hibiscus sabdariffa L. leave puree

250-255Thermal kinetics of Hibiscus sabdariffa L. leaves puree (HSLP) were measured to determine the energy of kinetic degradation of chlorophyll a (Chl a) & chlorophyll b (Chl b) of puree at pH (1.4 to 5.8) and temperature (343 K to 363 K). Degradation curves were fitted using first-order reaction kinetic models & the activation energy (Ea) for Chl a & Chl b was found to be 44.623±0.18, 39.158±0.25 & 35.775±0.11 kJ mol-1 and 6.086±0.14, 5.174±0.24 & 4.328±0.20 kJ mol-1 at pH 1.43, 3.8 & 5.8, respectively. Every single rheological estimation was done at different shear rates, temperatures, pH, & in the presence of various salts for the product development, quality control, and engineering applications. Rheological data fitted with the Herschel-Buckley model revealed that puree exhibit non-Newtonian, shear-thinning behavior at all tested concentrations and temperatures. The viscosity reached a maximum value at pH 5.8 and it decreased at lower pH values. Salts caused a reduction in viscosity. Comparatively, NaCl had a more pronounced effect than CaCl2 at a similar concentration

A questionnaire based study to assess feedback on teaching methodology and evaluation methods in pharmacology

Background: The reviewing of teaching and evaluation methods by feedback from students and modification is very important for further development and restructuring of medical education in future. The curriculum that we follow needs to be assessed periodically as it highlights the strengths as well as points out the fallacies, which are required to improve the medical teaching.Methods: The present study was carried out at Sri Venkateshwaraa Medical College Hospital and Research Centre in a total of 100 third year MBBS students. Pre-validated questionnaire was used. Suggestions were also enquired regarding the modifications needed in pharmacology teaching methods.Results: Out of the topic of interest in pharmacology, CNS ranks first with 28%, followed by CVS with 20%. Regarding the topic to be added in regular Pharmacology teaching, 37% preferred on case study and treatment discussion, while 32% preferred group discussion and 16% for quiz. Among the students 54% preferred text books only for studying pharmacology. Regarding the special topics to be discussed in pharmacology, 31% opted for paediatric pharmacology. The students have also suggested for clinical based teaching.Conclusions: The results of present study can serve as positive feedback to make the teaching programme more interesting. A well designed and systematic prospective research needs to be carried out, so that students get updated every year. It can also pave way for a rational prescribing practice after acquiring a proper and updated knowledge about Pharmacology as part of the undergraduate teaching programme

Case Studies In Turbomachinery Operation And Maintenance Using Condition Monitoring.

LecturePg. 101-112With exceedingly high downtime costs and the need for efficient operation of turbo machinery, integrated condition monitoring, wherein a number of health parameters are analyzed, is becoming increasingly popular in process plants and in utilities. Most operational problems can be diagnosed by developing a correlation among several key operating parameters. A wide range of condition monitoring approaches are available and this paper shows how several approaches can be used in conjunction with one another to solve operational problems. Several case studies pertaining to gas and steam turbines and compressors are presented. A matrix of condition monitoring techniques is provided and case studies are presented. Finally, future trends in the area of condition monitoring are presented

Effect of educational intervention on the knowledge and attitude on prescribing amongst interns of a tertiary care hospital: a questionnaire based study

Background: Prescribing correct therapy is the essential part of physicians and therefore, adequate knowledge and confidence on drugs efficacy, safety, cost, and convenience is important. Understanding the knowledge and perceptions of medical students will help to identify the problems in clinical pharmacology teaching. Prescribing performance and competence can be significantly improved by training and giving feedback to the prescriber. The objective of the study was to evaluate and compare the effect of educational intervention in enhancing the knowledge of medical interns on prescribing practice.Methods: A Cross sectional, Educational Interventional observational study was conducted using two copies of a pretested validated questionnaire (Pre & Post CME) with 15 questions among 110 MBBS interns. They were subjected to a continuous medical education on rational prescription writing followed by a hand’s on training on prescription writing in which they were divided into 9 batches and asked to prescribe for the case scenario given to them and the same was audited and feedback was given.Results: Out of 110 internees’, 105 (95.50%) and 95 (96.90%) had completely filled the pre & post educational intervention questionnaire. The overall knowledge and attitude of interns has improved after the intervention. Significant increase (P value < 0.0001) in the Mean + Standard deviation value from 5.81 + 2.1 to 7.35 + 3.18 is noted on applying Paired t Test. All the prescriptions were rational. The formats of their prescriptions were scrutinized and the precise way of writing the same was explained to the interns.Conclusions: This study clearly shows that early sensitization of Physicians about rational prescription writing during Internship phase by means of educational intervention/training program can reduce the number of prescription errors

Gas Turbine Performance and Maintenance

TutorialProper maintenance and operating practices can significantly affect the level of performance degradation and thus, time between repairs or overhauls of a gas turbine. Understanding of performance characteristics of gas turbines helps proper applications, as well as driven and process equipment sizing. Proactive condition monitoring will allow the gas turbine operator to make intelligent service decisions based on the actual condition of the gas turbine rather than on fixed and calendar based maintenance intervals. Maintaining inlet air, fuel, and lube oil quality will further reduce gas turbine degradation and deterioration. This tutorial provides a discussion on performance characteristics and how performance degradation can be minimized. Recommendations are provided on how the operator can limit degradation and deterioration of the gas turbines through proper maintenance practices. The effects of water-washing and best washing practices are discussed. Emphasis is on the monitoring of gas turbine performance parameters to establish condition based maintenance practices

Impact of process parameters (temperature &amp; pH) and salts on kinetics and rheological properties of Hibiscus sabdariffa L. leave puree

Thermal kinetics of Hibiscus sabdariffa L. leaves puree (HSLP) were measured to determine the energy of kinetic degradation of chlorophyll a (Chl a) &amp; chlorophyll b (Chl b) of puree at pH (1.4 to 5.8) and temperature (343 K to 363 K). Degradation curves were fitted using first-order reaction kinetic models &amp; the activation energy (Ea) for Chl a &amp; Chl b was found to be 44.623±0.18, 39.158±0.25 &amp; 35.775±0.11 kJ mol-1 and 6.086±0.14, 5.174±0.24 &amp; 4.328±0.20 kJ mol-1 at pH 1.43, 3.8 &amp; 5.8, respectively. Every single rheological estimation was done at different shear rates, temperatures, pH, &amp; in the presence of various salts for the product development, quality control, and engineering applications. Rheological data fitted with the Herschel-Buckley model revealed that puree exhibit non-Newtonian, shear-thinning behavior at all tested concentrations and temperatures. The viscosity reached a maximum value at pH 5.8 and it decreased at lower pH values. Salts caused a reduction in viscosity. Comparatively, NaCl had a more pronounced effect than CaCl2 at a similar concentration

Methods of prediction and prevention of pre-eclampsia: Systematic reviews of accuracy and effectiveness literature with economic modelling

© Queen's Printer and Controller of HMSO 2008. This monograph may be freely reproduced for the purposes of private research and study and may be included in professional journals provided that suitable acknowledgement is made and the reproduction is not associated with any form of advertising.Objectives: To investigate the accuracy of predictive tests for pre-eclampsia and the effectiveness of preventative interventions for pre-eclampsia. Also to assess the cost-effectiveness of strategies (test-intervention combinations) to predict and prevent pre-eclampsia. Data sources: Major electronic databases were searched to January 2005 at least. Review methods: Systematic reviews were carried out for test accuracy and effectiveness. Quality assessment was carried out using standard tools. For test accuracy, meta-analyses used a bivariate approach. Effectiveness reviews were conducted under the auspices of the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group and used standard Cochrane review methods. The economic evaluation was from an NHS perspective and used a decision tree model. Results: For the 27 tests reviewed, the quality of included studies was generally poor. Some tests appeared to have high specificity, but at the expense of compromised sensitivity. Tests that reached specificities above 90% were body mass index > 34, α-foetoprotein and uterine artery Doppler (bilateral notching). The only Doppler test with a sensitivity of over 60% was resistance index and combinations of indices. A few tests not commonly found in routine practice, such as kallikreinuria and SDS-PAGE proteinuria, seemed to offer the promise of high sensitivity, without compromising specificity, but these would require further investigation. For the 16 effectiveness reviews, the quality of included studies was variable. The largest review was of antiplatelet agents, primarily low-dose aspirin, and included 51 trials (36,500 women). This was the only review where the intervention was shown to prevent both preeclampsia and its consequences for the baby. Calcium supplementation also reduced the risk of preeclampsia, but with some uncertainty about the impact on outcomes for the baby. The only other intervention associated with a reduction in RR of pre-eclampsia was rest at home, with or without a nutritional supplement, for women with normal blood pressure. However, this review included just two small trials and its results should be interpreted with caution. The cost of most of the tests was modest, ranging from £5 for blood tests such as serum uric acid to approximately £20 for Doppler tests. Similarly, the cost of most interventions was also modest. In contrast, the best estimate of additional average cost associated with an average case of pre-eclampsia was high at approximately £9000. The results of the modelling revealed that prior testing with the test accuracy sensitivities and specificities identified appeared to offer little as a way of improving cost-effectiveness. Based on the evidence reviewed, none of the tests appeared sufficiently accurate to be clinically useful and the results of the model favoured no-test/treat-all strategies. Rest at home without any initial testing appeared to be the most cost-effective 'test-treatment' combination. Calcium supplementation to all women, without any initial testing, appeared to be the second most cost-effective. The economic model provided little support that any form of Doppler test has sufficiently high sensitivity and specificity to be cost-effective for the early identification of pre-eclampsia. It also suggested that the pattern of cost-effectiveness was no different in high-risk mothers than the low-risk mothers considered in the base case. Conclusions: The tests evaluated are not sufficiently accurate, in our opinion, to suggest their routine use in clinical practice. Calcium and antiplatelet agents, primarily low-dose aspirin, were the interventions shown to prevent pre-eclampsia. The most cost-effective approach to reducing pre-eclampsia is likely to be the provision of an effective, affordable and safe intervention applied to all mothers without prior testing to assess levels of risk. It is probably premature to suggest the implementation of a treat-all intervention strategy at present, however the feasibility and acceptability of this to women could be explored. Rigorous evaluation is needed of tests with modest cost whose initial assessments suggest that they may have high levels of both sensitivity and specificity. Similarly, there is a need for high-quality, adequately powered randomised controlled trials to investigate whether interventions such as advice to rest are indeed effective in reducing pre-eclampsia. In future, an economic model should be developed that considers not just pre-eclampsia, but other related outcomes, particularly those relevant to the infant such as perinatal death, preterm birth and small for gestational age. Such a modelling project should make provision for primary data collection on the safety of interventions and their associated costs.National Institute for Health Researc

libSBOLj 2.0: A Java Library to Support SBOL 2.0

The Synthetic Biology Open Language (SBOL) is an emerging data standard for representing synthetic biology designs. The goal of SBOL is to improve the reproducibility of these designs and their electronic exchange between researchers and/or genetic desig