On Export Intermodal Transportation Problem

This thesis investigates a logistics problem facing companies that export their products to other countries. The problem is called export intermodal transportation problem. In the export intermodal transportation problem, goods ordered by overseas customers need to be transported from production plants or warehouses of an export company to the customers destinations overseas. The transportation involves using multiple transportation modes such as trucks and rails for the inland portion and ocean liners for the overseas portion, and its objective is to have the goods moved and the cost minimized subject to various constraints. Cost can be minimized by combining orders from different customers to reduce the number of trucks, rails, or ocean containers used, and by selecting the appropriate transportation modes, routes and carriers. This study provides a formulation of the export intermodal transport problem and proposes two approaches to solve a relaxed version of the problem, where the time constraints are ignored. The first approach divides the problem into three sub-problems: order consolidation on ocean container, ocean port and carrier selection, and inland transportation mode and carrier selection. Order consolidation on ocean container is formulated as the bin packing problem and is solved by the first-fit decreasing algorithm. Ocean port and carrier selection is formulated as minimum cost maximum flow and prototyped with the cycle cancelling algorithm. And finally inland transportation mode and carrier selection is formulated as variable sized bin packing with costs and is solved by a proposed heuristics algorithm. The second approach is a backtracking approach aimed at getting the optimal solution for smaller problem instances and establishing a baseline to compare solutions obtained by the first approach. Both approaches are implemented as prototypes and evaluated with historical real world data provided by a large food export company. For all data sets, both prototypes produce solutions with transportation cost less than that obtained by the company manually. On average the prototypes reduce the cost by 3% and save $30,000 for each data set. The three stage solution approach prototype runs much faster than the backtracking approach prototype. For almost all larger data sets, it takes too long for the backtracking prototype to complete. If we let the backtracking prototype run for 30 minutes and keep the best solution, the solutions obtained by both prototypes are comparable in terms of their cost. As for time, the three stage solution approach prototype takes about 2 seconds to obtain each solution

DEVELOPMENT AND CHARACTERIZATION OF TRANSDERMAL DELIVERY SYSTEM OF DOXAZOSIN MESYLATE

Objective: The study involved development of transdermal delivery system (TDDS) of doxazosinmesylate (doxa) to achieve effective systemic delivery of the drug.Methods: TDDS of doxa was prepared using hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC) K100LV and polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) K30 in 3:1 ratio solvent casting method. The formulation was evaluated for folding endurance, moisture uptake, pH, drug content and in vitro permeation. Various permeation enhancers were incorporated at 5% w/w concentration into the patch formulationto study their impact on the drug permeation. The TDDS made with Transcutol® as an enhancer was subjected to accelerated stability studies and in vivo skin irritation studies.Results: The developed TDDS showed folding endurance of 170, moisture uptakeof 15.7%, pH of 6.3, and drug content of 99±1.1% and 66% in vitro permeation of doxa over 24h. The effect of various enhancers expressed in terms of average flux can be summarized as Transcutol® (10.6±2.1 µg/cm2h)>dimethyl sulfoxide(10.17±1.2 µg/cm2h)>benzyl alcohol (9.55±1.3 µg/cm2h)>no enhancer (8.86±1.1 µg/cm2h)>dimethyl isosorbide (8.21±1.5 µg/cm2h)>Isostearic acid (7.82±1.4 µg/cm2h)>propylene carbonate (7.67±1.4 µg/cm2h)>oleic acid (7.12 µg±0.8/cm2h). The formulation was found to be stable during the accelerated stability studies. In vivo studies indicated absence of skin irritation effect the TDDS containing Transcutol®.Conclusion: TDDS of doxa comprising HPMC K100LV and PVPK30 in the ratio of 3:1 and 5% Transcutol® could serve as a potential TDDS in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and hypertension

IN SILICO IDENTIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF MUTUAL EPITOPE-BASED SUBUNIT VACCINE AGAINST EBOLA VIRUS AND MARBURG VIRUS

Objective: The objective of the study was to analyze the mutual epitope-based vaccine that can evoke immune response against hemorrhagic fever caused by Ebola virus (EBOV) and Marburg virus (MARV). Methodology: VP40, VP24, VP35, VP30, and NP proteins of Ebola and MARV were recovered from the protein database and subjected to many bioinformatics tools to predict the best B- and T-cell epitopes. And finally, the selected proteins were subjected to molecular docking human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DR (major histocompatibility complex [MHC] Class I and II) to confirm their antigenicity in silico. Results: The epitopes from EBOV were stable while were unstable from MARV. Further, molecular docking simulation using most significant MHC Class II and Class I molecules demonstrated that their epitopes may bind within HLA-binding affinity to evoke an immune response. Conclusions: In this study, the data revealed the epitopes from VP40 protein could be the specific target for peptide-based vaccine design against Ebola and MARV

Comparison of postoperative recovery from desflurane and sevoflurane anaesthesia using laryngeal mask airway: a prospective randomized comparative study

Background: Ambulatory surgeries necessitate safe anaesthesia and faster recovery. Sevoflurane and desflurane are proved as such effective inhalational anaesthetic agents. The aim of this study was to compare early postoperative recovery profile in patient undergoing elective ambulatory surgical operations and receiving anaesthesia with sevoflurane or desflurane using supreme LMA.Methods: This prospective study was conducted at Jaslok Hospital and Research Centre, Dr. G. Deshmukh Marg, Mumbai, from August 2014 to April 2015. Patients were randomized into two groups receiving desflurane (Group D- n=40) and sevoflurane (Group S- n=40) for maintenance of anaesthesia. Patients were monitored for recovery by using fast track criteria (FTC) score at different time intervals.Results: The demographic characteristics, hemodynamic parameters were comparable in both the groups and no statistical significance was seen among them (p>0.05). The mean time taken for postoperative recovery characteristics were significantly lower in in Group D than Group S (p=0.00). The FTC score was significantly higher in group D as compared to group S at all times (p<0.05) for thirty minutes. The prevalence of consuming additional analgesic was 12.5% in group D and 15% in group S (p=1.000). The additional antiemetic requirement was seen in 10% patients in both the groups (p=1.000).The incidence of coughing was seen in among 5% of Group D patients and in none among Group S (p=0.152).Conclusion: The study concludes that desflurane is superior to sevoflurane with respect to time of eye opening, response to verbal commands, orientation, ability to sit, early recovery profile and duration of stay in recovery room

Biometric Fusion and Recognition

Biometric is the science and technology of measuring and analyzing biological data of human body, extracting a feature set from the acquired data and comparing this set against the template set in the database. In this paper, Recognition through fusion of face and iris biometric images based on wavelet features and Kernel Fisher Discriminant Analysis (KFDA) is developed. Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) of face and iris image is used to reduce the dimensions which help to prevent from requirement of storage space of database. Nearest Neighbour classifier is selected to assign class to its nearest neighbour. Then, nonlinear original input space can be converted through a nonlinear map function into a linear high-dimensional feature space with the use of KFDA

Occupational Health in the Digital Age: Implications for Remote Work Environments

In this digital age, where working from home is becoming more common, the patterns of workplace health are changing in ways that require a thorough analysis of the effects on employee health. This study looks into the many parts of job health in places where people work from home, looking at how technology, human behavior, and company rules interact.The digital age has made work plans more flexible than ever before, letting workers do their jobs from anywhere. This paradigm shift has some benefits, like making things more flexible and easy to access, but it also brings a lot of problems that need to be carefully thought through. Long-term use of digital devices can be bad for your body, and being alone at work can be bad for your mental health. Remote work situations have their own health issues that need a unique approach.This study brings together different pieces of research on workplace health to highlight the new health risks that come with the digitalization of work. There is a close look at how technology can help or hurt employee health and a study of how companies can lower health risks in remote work settings.Additionally, the study looks into the possible long-term effects of long-term remote work on mental and physical health, as well as how well present workplace health systems can adapt to the changing nature of work. By critically evaluating the intersection of technology and health, this study provides valuable insights for policymakers, organizations, and individuals seeking to optimize the well-being of remote workers in the digital age

Azimuthal anisotropy of charged jet production in root s(NN)=2.76 TeV Pb-Pb collisions

We present measurements of the azimuthal dependence of charged jet production in central and semi-central root s(NN) = 2.76 TeV Pb-Pb collisions with respect to the second harmonic event plane, quantified as nu(ch)(2) (jet). Jet finding is performed employing the anti-k(T) algorithm with a resolution parameter R = 0.2 using charged tracks from the ALICE tracking system. The contribution of the azimuthal anisotropy of the underlying event is taken into account event-by-event. The remaining (statistical) region-to-region fluctuations are removed on an ensemble basis by unfolding the jet spectra for different event plane orientations independently. Significant non-zero nu(ch)(2) (jet) is observed in semi-central collisions (30-50% centrality) for 20 <p(T)(ch) (jet) <90 GeV/c. The azimuthal dependence of the charged jet production is similar to the dependence observed for jets comprising both charged and neutral fragments, and compatible with measurements of the nu(2) of single charged particles at high p(T). Good agreement between the data and predictions from JEWEL, an event generator simulating parton shower evolution in the presence of a dense QCD medium, is found in semi-central collisions. (C) 2015 CERN for the benefit of the ALICE Collaboration. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Peer reviewe

Production of He-4 and (4) in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S=2.76 TeV at the LHC

Results on the production of He-4 and (4) nuclei in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S = 2.76 TeV in the rapidity range vertical bar y vertical bar <1, using the ALICE detector, are presented in this paper. The rapidity densities corresponding to 0-10% central events are found to be dN/dy4(He) = (0.8 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.3 (syst)) x 10(-6) and dN/dy4 = (1.1 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.2 (syst)) x 10(-6), respectively. This is in agreement with the statistical thermal model expectation assuming the same chemical freeze-out temperature (T-chem = 156 MeV) as for light hadrons. The measured ratio of (4)/He-4 is 1.4 +/- 0.8 (stat) +/- 0.5 (syst). (C) 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe

Randomized Clinical Trial of High-Dose Rifampicin With or Without Levofloxacin Versus Standard of Care for Pediatric Tuberculous Meningitis: The TBM-KIDS Trial

Background. Pediatric tuberculous meningitis (TBM) commonly causes death or disability. In adults, high-dose rifampicin may reduce mortality. The role of fluoroquinolones remains unclear. There have been no antimicrobial treatment trials for pediatric TBM. Methods. TBM-KIDS was a phase 2 open-label randomized trial among children with TBM in India and Malawi. Participants received isoniazid and pyrazinamide plus: (i) high-dose rifampicin (30 mg/kg) and ethambutol (R30HZE, arm 1); (ii) high-dose rifampicin and levofloxacin (R30HZL, arm 2); or (iii) standard-dose rifampicin and ethambutol (R15HZE, arm 3) for 8 weeks, followed by 10 months of standard treatment. Functional and neurocognitive outcomes were measured longitudinally using Modified Rankin Scale (MRS) and Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL). Results. Of 2487 children prescreened, 79 were screened and 37 enrolled. Median age was 72 months; 49%, 43%, and 8% had stage I, II, and III disease, respectively. Grade 3 or higher adverse events occurred in 58%, 55%, and 36% of children in arms 1, 2, and 3, with 1 death (arm 1) and 6 early treatment discontinuations (4 in arm 1, 1 each in arms 2 and 3). By week 8, all children recovered to MRS score of 0 or 1. Average MSEL scores were significantly better in arm 1 than arm 3 in fine motor, receptive language, and expressive language domains (P < .01). Conclusions. In a pediatric TBM trial, functional outcomes were excellent overall. The trend toward higher frequency of adverse events but better neurocognitive outcomes in children receiving high-dose rifampicin requires confirmation in a larger trial. Clinical Trials Registration. NCT02958709

Pseudorapidity and transverse-momentum distributions of charged particles in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

The pseudorapidity (eta) and transverse-momentum (p(T)) distributions of charged particles produced in proton-proton collisions are measured at the centre-of-mass energy root s = 13 TeV. The pseudorapidity distribution in vertical bar eta vertical bar <1.8 is reported for inelastic events and for events with at least one charged particle in vertical bar eta vertical bar <1. The pseudorapidity density of charged particles produced in the pseudorapidity region vertical bar eta vertical bar <0.5 is 5.31 +/- 0.18 and 6.46 +/- 0.19 for the two event classes, respectively. The transverse-momentum distribution of charged particles is measured in the range 0.15 <p(T) <20 GeV/c and vertical bar eta vertical bar <0.8 for events with at least one charged particle in vertical bar eta vertical bar <1. The evolution of the transverse momentum spectra of charged particles is also investigated as a function of event multiplicity. The results are compared with calculations from PYTHIA and EPOS Monte Carlo generators. (C) 2015 CERN for the benefit of the ALICE Collaboration. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Peer reviewe