Architecture and Design of Medical Processor Units for Medical Networks

This paper introduces analogical and deductive methodologies for the design medical processor units (MPUs). From the study of evolution of numerous earlier processors, we derive the basis for the architecture of MPUs. These specialized processors perform unique medical functions encoded as medical operational codes (mopcs). From a pragmatic perspective, MPUs function very close to CPUs. Both processors have unique operation codes that command the hardware to perform a distinct chain of subprocesses upon operands and generate a specific result unique to the opcode and the operand(s). In medical environments, MPU decodes the mopcs and executes a series of medical sub-processes and sends out secondary commands to the medical machine. Whereas operands in a typical computer system are numerical and logical entities, the operands in medical machine are objects such as such as patients, blood samples, tissues, operating rooms, medical staff, medical bills, patient payments, etc. We follow the functional overlap between the two processes and evolve the design of medical computer systems and networks.Comment: 17 page

Observation of chaotic beats in a driven memristive Chua's circuit

In this paper, a time varying resistive circuit realising the action of an active three segment piecewise linear flux controlled memristor is proposed. Using this as the nonlinearity, a driven Chua's circuit is implemented. The phenomenon of chaotic beats in this circuit is observed for a suitable choice of parameters. The memristor acts as a chaotically time varying resistor (CTVR), switching between a less conductive OFF state and a more conductive ON state. This chaotic switching is governed by the dynamics of the driven Chua's circuit of which the memristor is an integral part. The occurrence of beats is essentially due to the interaction of the memristor aided self oscillations of the circuit and the external driving sinusoidal forcing. Upon slight tuning/detuning of the frequencies of the memristor switching and that of the external force, constructive and destructive interferences occur leading to revivals and collapses in amplitudes of the circuit variables, which we refer as chaotic beats. Numerical simulations and Multisim modelling as well as statistical analyses have been carried out to observe as well as to understand and verify the mechanism leading to chaotic beats.Comment: 30 pages, 16 figures; Submitted to IJB

Is financial inclusion good for bank stability? International evidence

Financial inclusion has become an important public policy priority following the recent global financial crisis. Yet, we know very little of how it impacts soundness of the providers of financial services. Using an international sample of 2600 banks in 86 countries over the period 2004–12, we find that higher level of financial inclusion contributes to greater bank stability. The positive association is particularly pronounced with those banks that have higher customer deposit funding share and lower marginal costs of providing banking services; and also with those that operate in countries with stronger institutional quality. The results are robust to instrumental variables analysis, controlling for bank fixed effects, alternative measures of financial inclusion, among several other robustness tests. Our results highlight that the importance of ensuring inclusive financial system is not only a development goal but also an issue that should be prioritised by banks, as such a policy drive is good for their stability

Crystal structure of 3-(morpholin-4-yl)-1-phenyl-3-(pyridin-2-yl)propan-1-one

Acknowledgements FMMA acknowledges the PG and Research Department of Chemistry and the Management of Jamal Mohamed College (Autonomous) for their kind support.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

SmartHeLP: Smartphone-based Hemoglobin Level Prediction Using an Artificial Neural Network

Blood hemoglobin level (Hgb) measurement has a vital role in the diagnosis, evaluation, and management of numerous diseases. We describe the use of smartphone video imaging and an artificial neural network (ANN) system to estimate Hgb levels non-invasively. We recorded 10 second-300 frame fingertip videos using a smartphone in 75 adults. Red, green, and blue pixel intensities were estimated for each of 100 area blocks in each frame and the patterns across the 300 frames were described. ANN was then used to develop a model using the extracted video features to predict hemoglobin levels. In our study sample, with patients 20-56 years of age, and gold standard hemoglobin levels of 7.6 to 13.5 g/dL., we observed a 0.93 rank order of correlation between model and gold standard hemoglobin levels. Moreover, we identified specific regions of interest in the video images which reduced the required feature space

Smartphone-Based Prenatal Education for Parents with Preterm Birth Risk Factors

Objective To develop an educational mobile application (app) for expectant parents diagnosed with risk factors for premature birth. Methods Parent and medical advisory panels delineated the vision for the app. The app helps prepare for preterm birth. For pilot testing, obstetricians offered the app between 18–22 weeks gestational age to English speaking parents with risk factors for preterm birth. After 4 weeks of use, each participant completed a questionnaire. The software tracked topics accessed and duration of use. Results For pilot testing, 31 participants were recruited and 28 completed the questionnaire. After app utilization, participants reported heightened awareness of preterm birth (93%), more discussion of pregnancy or prematurity issues with partner (86%), increased questions at clinic visits (43%), and increased anxiety (21%). Participants reported receiving more prematurity information from the app than from their healthcare providers. The 15 participants for whom tracking data was available accessed the app for an average of 8 h. Conclusion Parents with increased risk for preterm birth may benefit from this mobile app educational program. Practice implications If the pregnancy results in preterm birth hospitalization, parents would have built a foundation of knowledge to make informed medical care choices