A Typical Afternoon in the Hustling Streets of Mumbai

This soundscape activity is going to give you an experience of a typical afternoon in the hustling streets of Mumbai. I live on the 18th floor of an apartment building in a suburb called Versova. One may think that staying at a higher floor would mean that there would be less sound, but in reality sound travels up through the building and you can hear everything. Since I could not go out of the house I walked around in my balcony which faces the ocean and right under is the main street, this is what I could hear. As soon as stepped out from the sound proof widows and into the balcony, the first thing I could hear is the constant sounds of the waves crashing against the beach and then it pulling itself back into the ocean. I noticed that the wave had an metrical rhythm as there was a constant repetition in the pattern of the sounds. The pitch of the waves was a medium pitch but leaning towards the lower side. As soon as the waves hit the beach the timbre is something like a roar of the surf, and when it pulls back in it sounds fuzzy

Survey and evaluation of hypertension machine learning research

Background: Machine learning (ML) is pervasive in all fields of research, from automating tasks to complex decision‐making. However, applications in different specialities are variable and generally limited. Like other conditions, the number of studies employing ML in hypertension research is growing rapidly. In this study, we aimed to survey hypertension research using ML, evaluate the reporting quality, and identify barriers to ML's potential to transform hypertension care. Methods and Results: The Harmonious Understanding of Machine Learning Analytics Network survey questionnaire was applied to 63 hypertension‐related ML research articles published between January 2019 and September 2021. The most common research topics were blood pressure prediction (38%), hypertension (22%), cardiovascular outcomes (6%), blood pressure variability (5%), treatment response (5%), and real‐time blood pressure estimation (5%). The reporting quality of the articles was variable. Only 46% of articles described the study population or derivation cohort. Most articles (81%) reported at least 1 performance measure, but only 40% presented any measures of calibration. Compliance with ethics, patient privacy, and data security regulations were mentioned in 30 (48%) of the articles. Only 14% used geographically or temporally distinct validation data sets. Algorithmic bias was not addressed in any of the articles, with only 6 of them acknowledging risk of bias. Conclusions: Recent ML research on hypertension is limited to exploratory research and has significant shortcomings in reporting quality, model validation, and algorithmic bias. Our analysis identifies areas for improvement that will help pave the way for the realization of the potential of ML in hypertension and facilitate its adoption

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements

Evaluating the impact of zero-rating services: An in-depth look at Facebook's free basics in emerging economies

Facebook has partnered with mobile carriers in multiple countries to launch its zero-rated service - Free Basics. Free Basics is a platform which hosts not only Facebook, but other select websites which are zero-rated as well.This Master's thesis evaluates the impact of the Free Basics platform in the countries it has launched. In the process of this research, it has been found that there is a lack of evidence-based research on zero-rated services and Free Basics in particular. This Thesis hopes to fill some of that gaps in the literature, by studying the program in seven countries - Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Ghana, South Africa, Mozambique and Tanzania.M.S

ENHANCEMENT OF ADVANCED SCALABLE METHOD FOR DECOMPOSITION AND ADAPTIVE SOLUTION FOR PARALLEL AND DISTRIBUTED ENVIRONMENT

Abstract -MPI (Message Passing Interfac

Development of Bioadhesive Chitosan Superporous Hydrogel Composite Particles Based Intestinal Drug Delivery System

Bioadhesive superporous hydrogel composite (SPHC) particles were developed for an intestinal delivery of metoprolol succinate and characterized for density, porosity, swelling, morphology, and bioadhesion studies. Chitosan and HPMC were used as bioadhesive and release retardant polymers, respectively. A 32 full factorial design was applied to optimize the concentration of chitosan and HPMC. The drug loaded bioadhesive SPHC particles were filled in capsule, and the capsule was coated with cellulose acetate phthalate and evaluated for drug content, in vitro drug release, and stability studies. To ascertain the drug release kinetics, the drug release profiles were fitted for mathematical models. The prepared system remains bioadhesive up to eight hours in intestine and showed Hixson-Crowell release with anomalous nonfickian type of drug transport. The application of SPHC polymer particles as a biomaterial carrier opens a new insight into bioadhesive drug delivery system and could be a future platform for other molecules for intestinal delivery

The incidence of myocarditis and pericarditis in post COVID-19 unvaccinated patients

Background and Aim: Viral infections have also been associated with the presence of autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and diabetes mellitus. SARS-CoV-2 gains entry into human cells by binding its spike protein to the membrane protein angiotensinconverting enzyme 2 (ACE2). It has recently been reported that the incidence of myocarditis and pericarditis is increased in COVID-19 patients during the acute illness. However; whether or not myocarditis and pericarditis after the recovery period are a part of the long COVID-19 syndrome is yet unknown. Hence, we studied the incidence of myocarditis and pericarditis in COVID-19 patients after recovering from the acute infection. Material and Methods: We retrieved records of all adult patients (age ≥ 18 years) who had a documented positive COVID-19 PCR test (n = 500) for the period of 1 year. A control group was created from a cohort of adult patients with at least one negative COVID-19 From this pool of patients, the control cohort was created by 3:1 matching of age (±2 years) and gender. Total 1000 patients in control group were selected.&nbsp

Prevalence and Short-Term Clinical Outcome of Mobile Thrombi Detected on Transvenous Leads in Patients Undergoing Lead Extraction.

This study sought to prospectively evaluate the prevalence, risk factors, and short-term major clinical outcomes of mobile thrombus detected on transvenous leads in patients undergoing lead extraction.The prevalence and clinical significance of thrombus on transvenous leads in patients undergoing lead extraction is not well characterized.Consecutive patients undergoing transvenous lead extraction for noninfectious indications were enrolled. Preoperative transesophageal echocardiograms were performed prospectively for all patients to examine for mobile thrombus. Anticoagulation was not started for thrombus unless other indications were present. Clinical endpoints of mortality and cardiovascular morbidity (symptomatic pulmonary embolism, myocardial infarction, or cerebrovascular accident) were assessed at a minimum of 2-month follow-up.A total of 108 patients underwent lead extraction for noninfectious indications. Lead thrombi were detected in 20 (18.5%) patients and all were <2 cm. Clinical and lead characteristics were not associated with formation of lead thrombi, except for younger patient age. In patients with detected thrombi, there were no short-term deaths, symptomatic pulmonary embolisms, or myocardial infarctions, except 1 patient with a stroke 3 months after lead extraction (7% vs. 5%; p = 1.00). Median follow-up was 9 months.Mobile thrombi on transvenous leads are commonly found in patients referred for transvenous lead extraction and are rarely associated with acute major adverse outcomes. Careful extraction of leads with small incidentally detected thrombi can likely be performed without major acute clinical sequelae. Larger studies with longer follow-up are needed to further assess the long-term clinical significance of lead thrombi