Implementation of ontology for intelligent hospital ward

We have developed and implemented an ontology for an intelligent hospital ward. Our aim is to address the pervasiveness of computing applications in healthcare environments, which require: sharing of data across the hospital, including data generated by sensors and embedded in such environments, and dealing with semantic heterogeneity that exists across the hospital's data repositories. Our conceptual ontological model that supports such an environment has been implemented using semantic web tools and tested through the application developed with the J2EE technology

High temperature condensate clouds in super-hot Jupiter atmospheres

Deciphering the role of clouds is central to our understanding of exoplanet atmospheres, as they have a direct impact on the temperature and pressure structure, and observational properties of the planet. Super-hot Jupiters occupy a temperature regime similar to low mass M-dwarfs, where minimal cloud condensation is expected. However, observations of exoplanets such as WASP-12b (Teq ~ 2500 K) result in a transmission spectrum indicative of a cloudy atmosphere. We re-examine the temperature and pressure space occupied by these super-hot Jupiter atmospheres, to explore the role of the initial Al- and Ti-bearing condensates as the main source of cloud material. Due to the high temperatures a majority of the more common refractory material is not depleted into deeper layers and would remain in the vapor phase. The lack of depletion into deeper layers means that these materials with relatively low cloud masses can become significant absorbers in the upper atmosphere. We provide condensation curves for the initial Al- and Ti-bearing condensates that may be used to provide quantitative estimates of the effect of metallicity on cloud masses, as planets with metal-rich hosts potentially form more opaque clouds because more mass is available for condensation. Increased metallicity also pushes the point of condensation to hotter, deeper layers in the planetary atmosphere further increasing the density of the cloud. We suggest that planets around metal-rich hosts are more likely to have thick refractory clouds, and discuss the implication on the observed spectra of WASP-12b.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 10 pages, 1 table, 5 figure

Characterization of Magnetorheological Finishing Fluid for Continuous Flow Finishing Process

Magnetorheological (MR) fluid finishing process is an application of MR technology in which controllability of the MR fluid is used advantageously to finish the workpiece surface. MR finishing fluid changes its stiffness in accordance with the applied magnetic field and hence it behaves like a flexible finishing tool. A relative motion between this tool and workpiece removes the material from the machining surface. The quality of the final finished surface depends on the constituents of the finishing fluid and the applied magnetic field strength as these parameters affect the rheological properties of the fluid. A study on the rheological properties of the fluid at high shear rates is carried out through Taguchi Design of Experiments to characterize its flow behaviour to be used in continuous flow finishing process. Constitutive modeling of the fluid sample is done using Bingham Plastic, Casson Fluid and Herschel Bulkley fluid models to characterize their rheological behavior. The Hershel–Bulkley model is found to be the best suited model for the finishing fluid. Analysis of Variance has revealed that volume percentage of iron particles is the most significant parameter with a contribution of 91.68% on the yield stress and viscosity on the finishing fluid. The highest yield stress of the fluid is observed between magnetic flux density ranges from 0.3 to 0.5 Tesla. An optimised combination is then synthesized to confirm the theoretical results. The effect of temperature is also studied on the optimised fluid which has shown that temperature shares an inverse relation with the yield stress of the finishing fluid

Comparative Analysis of Molecular Structure, Function and Expression of Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) Toll-Like Receptor 9

Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) has been characterized as a receptor that recognizes unmethylated CpG motif and triggers a pro-inflammatory cytokine response that influences both innate and adaptive immunity. Buffalo is an economically important livestock species in many Asian and Mediterranean countries, but there is little information available on its TLR9 structure and response to stimulation with its agonist CpG-ODNs. Hence in this study, we report the analysis of newly sequenced buffalo TLR9 gene fragment. In this study, buffalo TLR9 amino acid sequence revealed close association of TLR9 proteins within other bovines and small ruminants; but high divergence from other species. Multiple alignment of deduced amino acid sequence of Bubalus bubalis TLR9 with other species showed that 156/201 (74.28%) amino acids were conserved in all species. Leucine rich repeat (LRR) motifs in the ectodomain of TLR9 are responsible for molecular recognition of its agonist. The LRR pattern of Bubalus bubalis TLR9 protein was predicted towards N-terminal sequence and was found to be conserved among all species except Rattus norvegicus and Equus caballus. Blast analysis of buffalo TLR9 sequence with single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) database revealed 13 SNPs out of which 7 were cds-synonymous and 6 were of the functional significance. Furthermore, kinetics of TLR9 and proinflammatory IL-beta and TNF-alpha cytokine expression by buffalo PBMCs influenced by CpG-ODN is also discussed

Effect of resources and capabilities for integrating Industry 4.0 and sustainable production to unlock circular economy : a South African experience

Abstract: The study aspires to develop a theoretical model linking Industry 4.0 and cleaner production to unlock circular economy in an emerging economy of South Africa. Drawing upon Resource based view theory; the study aims to explore the firm resources and capabilities that are necessary to integrate Industry 4.0 technologies and sustainable production to further enhance circular economy performance and secondly, to investigate the impact of each research and capabilities on circular economy performance and finally, to outline agenda for ethical business development. The review of literature led to identification of thirty-five resources and capabilities that are essential for the integration of Industry 4.0 and sustainable production that will aid in unlocking circular economy. Further, exploratory factor analysis is used to group the variables under relevant factors and thereafter path modelling is performed using PLS-SEM technique. Research findings indicate that Project resources, Green team resources, Technological resources, Production and operations capabilities, Human resources capabilities, Management capabilities, Circularity capabilities, Information technology capabilities and Relationship capabilities are required for integration of I4.0 and sustainable production and further enhance CE performance. However, the Technological resources, Production and Operations capabilities and Circularity capabilities are found to have a stronger relationship with CE performance compared to rest of the resources and capabilities. The study concludes with theoretical and practical implications and agenda for ethical business developments

Drug lag for antineoplastic and immunomodulating agent approvals in India compared with the US and EU approvals

Background: There is a tremendous amount of research being conducted on development of new drugs for cancer therapies. The drug development of cancer therapies has dramatically increased over the past few decades. The present study was undertaken to assess the drug lag for new antineoplastic and immunomodulating agents in India compared with that in the United States (US) or European Union (EU).Methods: The new drugs approved in the US, EU and India between 2011 and 2015 were identified and information was gathered primarily from the websites of regulatory agencies of the three regions. For the drug products identified, the drugs were classified into fourteen main Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) groups, review classification and approval date. We assessed the absolute and relative drug lag for new antineoplastic and immunomodulating agents approved in the three regions (with the ATC code L).Results: Of the 67 new antineoplastic and immunomodulating agents, 63 (94.02%) were approved in the United States, 58 (86.56%) in the European Union and 18 (26.86%) in India. The US was the first to approve 59 (88.05%) out of the 67 new antineoplastic and immunomodulating agents, the EU was the first to approve 7 (10.44%) and India was the first to approve 1 (1.49%). The median approval lag for India (18.36 months) was higher as compared to the United States (0 month) and European Union (6.02 months).Conclusions: This study confirms that India lag behind the US and EU regions in terms of total number of new drug approvals for antineoplastic and immunomodulating agents. There is a substantial approval delay in India compared to the US and EU regions. Further detailed analyses are necessary to find the reasons and impacts of drug lag for new antineoplastic and immunomodulating agents in India

Comparison of new drug approval by regulatory agencies of US, EU and India

Background: As per World Trade Organisation (WTO), from the year 2005, India granted product patent recognition to all new chemical entities (NCEs). This may affect the new drug approvals in India. The purpose of this study was to compare the new drug approvals in India with the United States (US) and the European Union (EU) regions.Methods: We obtained information about regulatory approval of new drugs in the US, EU, or India of last 5 years (from 2011 through 2015) from the publicly accessible databases of three regulatory agencies. For the drug products identified, the drugs were classified into fourteen main Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) groups, review classification and approval date.Results: There were 509 new drugs approved from 2011 through 2015 by one or more of the three regulatory agencies. Total 182 new drugs were approved in US during the period of 2011 to 2015, with an average of 36.4 new drugs approved per year. For the same period a total of 257 new drugs were approved in the EU, with an average of 51.4 new drugs approved per year and in India a total of 70 new drugs were approved, with an average of 14 new drugs approved per year. There were more number of new drug approvals in antineoplastic and immunomodulating agents (L) ATC group in all the three regions (US= 66; EU= 61 and India= 17).Conclusions: For new drugs approved between 2011 and 2015, India has lagged behind the US and the EU in approval of new drugs. There was no difference in the patterns of new drug approvals with respect to the therapeutic areas