Optimization by nonhierarchical asynchronous decomposition

Large scale optimization problems are tractable only if they are somehow decomposed. Hierarchical decompositions are inappropriate for some types of problems and do not parallelize well. Sobieszczanski-Sobieski has proposed a nonhierarchical decomposition strategy for nonlinear constrained optimization that is naturally parallel. Despite some successes on engineering problems, the algorithm as originally proposed fails on simple two dimensional quadratic programs. The algorithm is carefully analyzed for quadratic programs, and a number of modifications are suggested to improve its robustness

A case of serpentine coronaries and acute myocardial infarction

Microvascular disease is a prominent feature of systemic sclerosis (SSc) and leads to Raynaud’s phenomenon, pulmonary arterial hypertension, and scleroderma renal crisis. The presence of macrovascular disease is less well established, and, in particular, it is not known whether the prevalence of coronary heart disease in SSc is increased. We report a case of SSc who presented with evolved myocardial infarction whose angiogram revealed tortuous coronaries and peripheral arteries. Regional wall motion abnormality was not demonstrated on echocardiography. The microvascular dysfunction and vasospasm of coronaries were responsible for the myocardial infarction

X-ray studies on crystalline complexes involving amino acids and peptides. XVII. Chirality and molecular aggregation: the crystal structures of DL-arginine DL-glutamate monohydrate and DL-arginine DL-aspartate

DL-Arginine DL-glutamate monohydrate and DL-arginine DL-aspartate, the first DL-DL amino acid-amino acid complexes to be prepared and x-ray analyzed, crystallize in the space group P1 with a = 5.139(2), b = 10.620(1), c = 14.473(2) Å, α = 101.34(1)°, β = 94.08(2)°, γ = 91.38(2)° and a = 5.402(3), b = 9.933(3), c = 13.881(2) Å, α = 99.24(2)°, β = 99.73(3)°, γ = 97.28(3)° , respectively. The structures were solved using counter data and refined to R values of 0.050 and 0.077 for 1827 and 1739 observed reflections, respectively. The basic element of aggregation in both structures is an infinite chain made up of pairs of molecules. Each pair, consisting of a L- and a D-isomer, is stabilized by two centrosymmetrically or nearly centrosymmetrically related hydrogen bonds involving the α-amino and the α-carboxylate groups. Adjacent pairs in the chain are then connected by specific guanidyl-carboxylate interactions. The infinite chains are interconnected through hydrogen bonds to form molecular sheets. The sheets are then stacked along the shortest cell translation. The interactions between sheets involve two head-to-tail sequences in the glutamate complex and one such sequence in the aspartate complex. However, unlike in the corresponding LL and DL complexes, head-to-tail sequences are not the central feature of molecular aggregation in the DL-DL complexes. Indeed, fundamental differences exist among the aggregation patterns in the LL, the LD, and the DL-DL complexes

MODIFIED WATERSHED TRANSFORM FOR LUNG CANCER DETECTION

The major cause of cancer death is lung cancer. Detection of cancer in the early phase can provide more treatment options, less invasive surgery and increases the survival rate. For lung cancer, if the disease is detected in time, the survival rate of patient increases from 14 to 49% in recent 5 years. It is the most dangerous and widespread disease in the world. The cancer cells present in lung causes lung cancer disease. This cells detection is very important issue for medical researchers. The chances of an effective treatment will significantly increases with early detection.Computed Tomography (CT) is an imaging procedure that uses special x-ray equipment to create detailed pictures, or scans, of areas inside the body. It is also called Computerized Tomography and Computerized Axial Tomography (CAT).The CT images are used which are more efficient than X-ray. MATLAB is widely used software for the study of lung cancer detection from CT scan images. The process includes image pre-processing, image segmentation, feature extraction and classification technique. This present work proposes a method to detect the cancerous cells effectively from the lung CT scan images. It will minimize the detection error made by the physician’s naked eye

Qualitative Changes during Storage of Different Ginger-Based Spice Sauces

Ready-to-eat sauces have become a trend in all kinds of meals. Five ginger-based sauces viz., ginger, ginger-black pepper, ginger-nutmeg, ginger-kokum and ginger-nutmeg-kokum were prepared as per standard procedures. Physical, biochemical, microbiological and rheological properties of the sauces were recorded at regular intervals for 135 days. There was no significant variation in physical properties (total soluble solids) during storage but colour value varied significantly. Variation in chemical parameters like pH, content of moisture, proteins, carbohydrates and total sugars was non-significant, but variation in titratable acidity and reducing sugars was significant. Storage period did not affect total plate count, consistency index and flow behavior index of the sauces, which remained constant during the entire storage period. Sensory score of the sauces showed that acceptability was high for ginger sauce, followed by ginger-black pepper and ginger-nutmeg sauce

Prevention of cervical cancer: early detection of precancerous lesions of cervix in women from a marginalized environment

Background: The objective of the present study was to find out the efficacy of low-cost methods, available for screening for cervical cancer and early detection of precancerous lesions, of cervix.Methods: The study with power above 80%, was conducted over a period of almost three years. Women aged below fifty years were included in the study. A total of 100 women were diagnosed with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and 244 women with chronic cervicitis by histopathological examination reports. Ten women were HIV positive.   Results: Low cost screening tests of visual inspection of cervix after application of 5% acetic acid (VIA) and visual inspection of cervix after application of Lugol’s iodine (VILI) were positive in 75% of women with CIN and in combination with colposcopy, positive in 93%. The diagnostic accuracy of colposcopy was highest at 86%. (Odds ratio-.48.79).Conclusions: Initial screening for younger women with fewer years of exposure, the low cost tests, VIA / VILI  could be used under low magnification. Colposcopy should be done for all women with positive tests. The costlier human papilloma virus (HPV) tests should be done at cost effective purpose for high risk groups and when indicated, for early detection of precancerous lesions of cervix and prevention of cervical cancer

A rare case of aggressive angiomyxoma of vulva since childhood

Aggressive angiomyxoma is a locally invasive benign mesenchymal tumour usually occurring in women of reproductive age and is rare in children. It carries a high risk of recurrence and hence needs to be differentiated from other masses. The diagnosis is difficult clinically and is almost always histological. Here is a rare case of aggressive angiomyxoma of vulva in a 15 year old female presented with presented with mass in vulva on left side since birth and increased to the present size since 3 years. The swelling was painless, no local rise of temperature, no visible veins. Attained menarche 2 years ago and cycles are regular with normal flow

Development and mapping of Simple Sequence Repeat markers for pearl millet from data mining of Expressed Sequence Tags

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Pearl millet [<it>Pennisetum glaucum </it>(L.) R. Br.] is a staple food and fodder crop of marginal agricultural lands of sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian subcontinent. It is also a summer forage crop in the southern USA, Australia and Latin America, and is the preferred mulch in Brazilian no-till soybean production systems. Use of molecular marker technology for pearl millet genetic improvement has been limited. Progress is hampered by insufficient numbers of PCR-compatible co-dominant markers that can be used readily in applied breeding programmes. Therefore, we sought to develop additional SSR markers for the pearl millet research community.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A set of new pearl millet SSR markers were developed using available sequence information from 3520 expressed sequence tags (ESTs). After clustering, unigene sequences (2175 singlets and 317 contigs) were searched for the presence of SSRs. We detected 164 sequences containing SSRs (at least 14 bases in length), with a density of one per 1.75 kb of EST sequence. Di-nucleotide repeats were the most abundant followed by tri-nucleotide repeats. Ninety primer pairs were designed and tested for their ability to detect polymorphism across a panel of 11 pairs of pearl millet mapping population parental lines. Clear amplification products were obtained for 58 primer pairs. Of these, 15 were monomorphic across the panel. A subset of 21 polymorphic EST-SSRs and 6 recently developed genomic SSR markers were mapped using existing mapping populations. Linkage map positions of these EST-SSR were compared by homology search with mapped rice genomic sequences on the basis of pearl millet-rice synteny. Most new EST-SSR markers mapped to distal regions of linkage groups, often to previous gaps in these linkage maps. These new EST-SSRs are now are used by ICRISAT in pearl millet diversity assessment and marker-aided breeding programs.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study has demonstrated the potential of EST-derived SSR primer pairs in pearl millet. As reported for other crops, EST-derived SSRs provide a cost-saving marker development option in pearl millet. Resources developed in this study have added a sizeable number of useful SSRs to the existing repertoire of circa 100 genomic SSRs that were previously available to pearl millet researchers.</p

Comparison of quality of dry turmeric (Curcuma longa) produced by slicing and other curing methods

The study determines the effect of slicing and curing turmeric (var. Alleppey Supreme) on the quality of dry turmeric rhizomes produced. The turmeric rhizomes were sliced to 5 mm and the curing methods followed were steam curing in TNAU model turmeric boiler for 60 min and traditional water boiling for 60 min. The drying characteristics curves obtained indicated that the time required for drying was significantly reduced by slicing to 127 h (5 days) and the maximum time of 288 h (12 days) was required for complete drying of steam cured turmeric in TNAU boiler. Quality analysis of the dried turmeric samples indicated that the maximum retention of primary metabolites i.e. carbohydrates, proteins, fat and starch was found in turmeric samples cured by water boiling method for 60 min corresponding to 53.15, 3.16, 2.72 and 49.14%, respectively and the maximum retention of secondary metabolites i.e. essential oil, oleoresin and curcumin content were observed in sliced samples and the values corresponded to 6.23, 10.51 and 3.74%, respectively

Effect of modified atmosphere storage on the shelf life and quality of black pepper and turmeric

Modified atmosphere packaging and storage of black pepper (var. Panniyur I) and turmeric (var. Prathiba) were studied for a period of 16 months under ambient storage conditions. Whole dry samples of black pepper and turmeric were packaged in three layered metalized polyester covers (12 μ polyester + 12 μ metalized polyester + 80 μ LDPE) under three modified storage atmospheres viz. 100% vacuum, 100% N2, 90% N2 + 10% CO2 and the control samples were stored in small size jute gunny bags. Results indicated that maximum retention of quality in terms of its essential oil and oleoresin contents of black pepper and turmeric was obtained when stored under nitrogen packaging (100% N2), followed by vacuum packaged (100% vacuum) and modified atmosphere storage of 90% N2 + 10% CO2. The essential oil content of stored black pepper reduced from 2.42% to 2.22% (dry weight basis, dwb) in all the three modified atmosphere storage with a loss of 8.26% while control recorded a loss of 16.53% during storage. The oleoresin content decreased from 7.79% to 7.44%, 7.38% and 7.32% in case of black pepper stored in 100% N2 packaged, 100% vacuum packaged and 90% N2 + 10% CO2 packaged storage atmospheres. The quality loss for turmeric in terms of essential oil, oleoresin and curcumin content at the end of storage, when packaged in 100% N2 atmosphere were 36.60%, 16.12% and 9.48%, respectively while the corresponding reduction in control samples were 40.49%, 20.27% and 19.39%