Factors associated with anxiety and depression in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Background: COPD is a progressive condition with significant co morbidities and extra pulmonary manifestations. It is well known that anxiety and depression are the major psychiatric comorbidities associated with COPD. However, little is known about the factors associated with these conditions.  Methods: A cross sectional observational study was performed, including 320 patients who satisfied the inclusion criteria. They were interviewed as part of the study. Anxiety and depression were screened using hospital anxiety depression rating scale (HADS). All patients were subjected for clinical examination, pulmonary function tests and routine blood examination.Results: We found that 59.4% of COPD patients had either anxiety or depression as co morbidity and 32.2% had both the psychiatric symptoms. 166 patients (51.9%) had anxiety and 127 patients (39.7%) had depression. The factors associated with anxiety and depression in COPD patients were hospitalization (in-patients), duration of disease, number of hospitalizations in the previous year, hypertension, MMRC grade, BMI, oxygen saturation, six minute walk distance, FEV1, FVC and BODE score.  Linear regression analysis showed that the number of hospital admissions in the previous year was the most significant factor associated with both anxiety (p=0.008) and depression (p=0.020).Conclusions: The number of hospital admissions in the previous year was the most significant factor associated with anxiety and depression in COPD.

Southern African Crustal Evolution and Composition: Constraints from Receiver Function Studies

Stacking of approximately 1500 radial receiver functions recorded at about 80 broadband seismic stations deployed in southern Africa reveals systematic spatial variations in the ratio of crustal P and S wave velocities (Φ), crustal thickness (H), and the amplitude of the converted Moho phases (R). The eastern Zimbabwe and the southern Kaapvaal cratons are characterized by small H (~38 km), small Φ (~1.73), and large R (~0.15) values, suggesting that the relatively undisturbed Archean crust beneath southern Africa is separated from the mantle by a sharp Moho and is felsic in composition. The Limpopo belt, which was created by a collisional event at 2.7 Ga, displays large H (~43 km) but similar Φ and R values relative to the cratonic areas. The Bushveld Mafic Intrusion Complex and its surrounding areas show large Φ (~1.78), large H (~43 km), and small R (~0.11) values, reflecting the intrusion of mafic material into the original crust as a result of the Bushveld event at 2.05 Ga. Excluding the Bushveld, the spatially consistent and age-independent low Φ accentuate the difference between felsic crustal composition and more mafic island arcs that are thought to be the likely source of continental material. Within such an island arc model, our data, combined with xenolith data excluding mantle delamination in cratonic environments, suggest that the modification to a felsic composition (e.g., by the partial melting of basalt and removal of residue by delamination) is restricted to have occurred during the collision between the arcs and the continent

An approach of clinical pharmacist pertaining to solve drug related problems in pediatric patients

Background: The objectives of the study were to assess the outcomes of clinical pharmacist intervention in solving drug related problems in pediatric patients and to identify the drug related problems in accordance with the causes observed.Methods: It was a prospective observational study done over a period of six months (October 2019 to March 2020) at Apollo children’s hospital in Chennai.Results: Total of 480 subjects were enrolled into the study, out of which 248 were male children and 232 were female children. The patients were divided into 4 age groups. In this study 60.41% pediatric patients were prescribed with less than 5 drugs 290 (60.41%). Drug related problems which were identified during the study was classified according to Pharmaceutical Care Network Europe (PCNE) and drug-related problem (DRP) classification (v9.00). The most frequent DRP was drug choice problem 37 (33.33%). The total number of caused drug related problems was 73 and same number of interventions was given by clinical pharmacist. The most frequent cause of drug related problems was identified as dose selection 31 (42.46%). Outcomes of interventions revealed that 70 (95.89%) problems were solved overall.Conclusions: In this study, clinical pharmacist’s level of involvement has shown interesting results. Moreover, they play an essential role in improving patient safety and outcome, reducing cost and providing quality of care for ill patients

Qubit metrology and decoherence

Quantum properties of the probes used to estimate a classical parameter can be used to attain accuracies that beat the standard quantum limit. When qubits are used to construct a quantum probe, it is known that initializing $n$ qubits in an entangled "cat state," rather than in a separable state, can improve the measurement uncertainty by a factor of $1/\sqrt{n}$. We investigate how the measurement uncertainty is affected when the individual qubits in a probe are subjected to decoherence. In the face of such decoherence, we regard the rate $R$ at which qubits can be generated and the total duration $\tau$ of a measurement as fixed resources, and we determine the optimal use of entanglement among the qubits and the resulting optimal measurement uncertainty as functions of $R$ and $\tau$.Comment: 24 Pages, 3 Figure

Constrained bounds on measures of entanglement

Entanglement measures constructed from two positive, but not completely positive maps on density operators are used as constraints in placing bounds on the entanglement of formation, the tangle, and the concurrence of 4 x N mixed states. The maps are the partial transpose map and the $\Phi$-map introduced by Breuer [H.-P. Breuer, Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 080501 (2006)]. The norm-based entanglement measures constructed from these two maps, called negativity and $\Phi$-negativity, respectively, lead to two sets of bounds on the entanglement of formation, the tangle, and the concurrence. We compare these bounds and identify the sets of 4 x N density operators for which the bounds from one constraint are better than the bounds from the other. In the process, we present a new derivation of the already known bound on the concurrence based on the negativity. We compute new bounds on the three measures of entanglement using both the constraints simultaneously. We demonstrate how such doubly constrained bounds can be constructed. We discuss extensions of our results to bipartite states of higher dimensions and with more than two constraints.Comment: 28 pages, 12 figures. v2 simplified and generalized derivation of main results; errors correcte

Maps for Lorentz transformations of spin

Lorentz transformations of spin density matrices for a particle with positive mass and spin 1/2 are described by maps of the kind used in open quantum dynamics. They show how the Lorentz transformations of the spin depend on the momentum. Since the spin and momentum generally are entangled, the maps generally are not completely positive and act in limited domains. States with two momentum values are considered, so the maps are for the spin qubit entangled with the qubit made from the two momentum values, and results from the open quantum dynamics of two coupled qubits can be applied. Inverse maps are used to show that every Lorentz transformation completely removes the spin polarization, and so completely removes the information, from a number of spin density matrices. The size of the spin polarization that is removed is calculated for particular cases.Comment: 7 Pages, 3 Figure

समुद्री जलजीवशाला में पालन करने योग्‍य सामान्य अलंकारी मछलिया

भारत में समुद्री जलजीवशाला का व्यापार तेज़ी से बढ़ रहा है और इसका मुख्य हितधारक तटीय जनता है। अलंकारी मछलियों का व्यापार पूरी तरह व्यवस्थित नही है और मछुआरे इंटरनाशनल यूनियन फोर कन्सेर्वेशन ऑफ नेचर (आइ यु सी एन) सूची मेें वर्गीकृ त प्रजातियोों के बारे मेें अनजान हैैं। इस लेख मेें समुद्री जलजीवशाला मेें पालन की जाने वाली मछलियो की विशेषताओं को शामिल किया है