Temperature Measurement And Calibration Setup (TH1)

The work investigated the responses of measuring and calibrating the temperature in the range of 30 to 60°C using a setup of TH1. The setup was configured with an ice flask, sensor installing unit, an electrical console, and a regulating bath which can withstand temperatures in the range of 0°C to 100°C. Various sensors such as industrial platinum resistance thermometer PT100IND, type K thermocouple, and a thermistor were installed. The setup was configured with highly accurate reference sensors of platinum resistance device PT100, with NAMAS calibration certificate, and temperature with linearized output. Extra reference sensors were installed such as bi-metallic and liquid-in-glass thermometers to ensure high accuracy in measuring and calibrating data. The experimental data revealed that the PT100IND resistance changed linearly with temperature. The calibration error of PT100IND, according to the temperature data, reached a maximum value of less than 1.60%. According to the temperature scale of ITS-90, the standard parameters of calibration equation of Callendar-van Dusen for PT100IND provided errors of less than 5.5% and 3.2% respectively. The type K thermocouple delivered a linear change in output with highly stable temperature response. According to NIST data, the calibration error for the thermocouple reached a maximum value of less than 0.98%. The thermistor resistance revealed weak and late response at low temperature, but its sensitivity improved with increasing temperature. The calibration error according to experimental data and the Steinhart-Hart equation for the thermistor sensor was less than 0.30%

EXPLORATION OF THE CONCEPT OF SADYOVAMANA

Ayurveda is a comprehensive natural health care system. This ancient science explains the Shodhana Chikitsa for complete elimination of root cause of the disease. Vamana is the first among Panchakarmas which is used as Shodhana Chikitsa in which Kapha pradhana Utklishta Doshas are expelled out through oral route. Ayurvedic classics have described the details about scientific approach of Vamana Karma. The only drawback of this therapy can be mentioned as it is a very time consuming procedure which is quite difficult every time for every Rugna. Some conditions also arise where implementation of Vamana in scientific manner is not possible as the situation demands for quick elimination of Doshas. At this time, Sadyovamana helps in quick and instant relief of complaints of patient. This concept of Sadyovamana can be used as an emergency management of Atyayika Avasthas depending upon the Utklishta Doshas. This article aims to review the concept of Sadyovamana, its variance from classical Vamana and its indications in order to explore the emergency management of diseases from Ayurvedic Samhitas

Efficacy of Ayurvedic multidimentional therapy in Darunaka - A Case Study

Ancient Acharyas have stated that ‘Shira’ is one among the ‘Dashapranayatana’ and it is very much important to protect the ‘Shira’ from any external and internal trauma as all sensory organs or Indriyas are located here. Darunaka is a condition affecting the Shirotwaka and hair and it is commonly encountered in a clinical practice. It affects almost everyone mostly in the adult life. Dryness, itching, scaling of the scalp along with hair-fall are the cardinal symptoms of this disease involving mainly vitiated Vata and Kapha Doshas. In modern dermatological practice, there is no any satisfactory remedy for this irritating disorder. Hence, many patients are looking with a hope towards Ayurveda. In the present case study, a 22 years old female patient having symptoms of Darunaka was treated with Ayurvedic Chikitsa. The combine effect of Shodhana Chikitsa and Shamana Aushadhis along with Sthanika Chikitsa in the form of Lepa and Dhavana were advocated and at the same time, Nidana Parivarjana was strictly followed. The assessment of symptoms of the disease was done with the help of gradation index of symptoms of Darunaka. There was significant relief in all the complaints of patient within a period of two months

Cost-effectiveness analysis of surgical proximal femur fracture prevention in elderly: a Markov cohort simulation model

BACKGROUND Hip fractures are a common and costly health problem, resulting in significant morbidity and mortality, as well as high costs for healthcare systems, especially for the elderly. Implementing surgical preventive strategies has the potential to improve the quality of life and reduce the burden on healthcare resources, particularly in the long term. However, there are currently limited guidelines for standardizing hip fracture prophylaxis practices. METHODS This study used a cost-effectiveness analysis with a finite-state Markov model and cohort simulation to evaluate the primary and secondary surgical prevention of hip fractures in the elderly. Patients aged 60 to 90 years were simulated in two different models (A and B) to assess prevention at different levels. Model A assumed prophylaxis was performed during the fracture operation on the contralateral side, while Model B included individuals with high fracture risk factors. Costs were obtained from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and transition probabilities and health state utilities were derived from available literature. The baseline assumption was a 10% reduction in fracture risk after prophylaxis. A sensitivity analysis was also conducted to assess the reliability and variability of the results. RESULTS With a 10% fracture risk reduction, model A costs between $8,850 and$46,940 per quality-adjusted life-year ($/QALY). Additionally, it proved most cost-effective in the age range between 61 and 81 years. The sensitivity analysis established that a reduction of ≥ 2.8$11,000/QALY and $74,000/QALY, which is below the defined willingness to pay threshold. CONCLUSION Due to the high cost of hip fracture treatment and its increased morbidity, surgical prophylaxis strategies have demonstrated that they can significantly relieve the healthcare system. Various key assumptions facilitated the modeling, allowing for adequate room for uncertainty. Further research is needed to evaluate health-state-associated risks

Demographics and the Cost of Pharmaceuticals in a Private Third-Party Prescription Program

Objective: To compare variance in the cost of pharmaceuticals attributable to demographic variables with variance explained by plan characteristics, using prescription claims data within various therapeutic categories, and to examine differences in average cost of pharmaceuticals among demographic variables after controlling for covariates. Design: Retrospective, cross-sectional study. Data Collection: Data for this study were obtained from 1996 prescription claims information for the commercial population administered by a Rhode Island-based pharmacy benefit management (PBM) company. Six therapeutic categories with the highest expenditures were analyzed. Information on claims for six drug categories was extracted using database management software. Statistical analyses using multiple regression and analysis of covariance were carried out. Results: Plan characteristics outperformed demographic variables sixteenfold for all drug categories combined in explaining variance in cost of pharmaceuticals among plan enrollees. Average cost of pharmaceuticals differed among demographic variables such as age, gender, location, and place of employment after controlling for average wholesale price and days supply. Conclusions: The results obtained in this study have practical significance in the determination of capitation rates when utilization history of prospective members is not available. In this situation, managed care organizations (MCOs) or PBMs may have to set capitation rates based solely on eligibility data. Significant differences in average drug costs among the members based on place of employment suggest that benefit managers should consider differentiating capitation rates according to their clients\u27 businesses. Finally, the data from this study indicated that commercial members residing in Tennessee had the lowest average cost of pharmaceuticals among all states evaluated. The fact that one PBM manages more than 80% of the TennCare prescription program along with a significant commercial client base suggests that a spillover effect may exist

The Role of Self Concepts on Achieving Motivation in RSBI Students and Regular Students

Not quarantee RSBI students have good achievement in academic and be success people if they do not have motivation in it. Achievement motivation is one factor to hold academic achievement that can be influenced by student self concept. The purpose of this study was to examine the relation between self concept and achievement motivation. How percentage self concept role emerge achievement motivation. The result of this study is founded significant correlation between self concept and achievement motivation. 13,3% self concept play role in RSBI students\u27 achievement motivation and 35,4% in Regular students\u27 achievement motivation. In other, there is differences between RSBI students\u27 self concept and Regular students\u27 self concept. Despite there is no differences achievement motivation between RSBI and regular students

Paternal identity impacts embryonic development for two species of freshwater fish

Paternal, compared to maternal, contributions were believed to have only a limited influence on embryonic development and larval fitness traits in fishes. Therefore, the perspective of male influence on early life history traits has come under scrutiny. This study was conducted to determine parental effects on the rate of eyed embryos of Ide Leuciscus idus and Northern pike Esox lucius. Five sires and five dams from each species were crossed using a quantitative genetic breeding design and the resulting 25 sib groups of each species were reared to the embryonic eyed stage. We then partition variation in embryonic phenotypic performance to maternal, paternal, and parental interactions using the Restricted Maximum Likelihood (REML) model. Results showed that paternal, maternal, and the paternal × maternal interaction terms were highly significant for both species; clearly demonstrating that certain family combinations were more compatible than others. Paternal effects explained 20.24% of the total variance, which was 2-fold higher than the maternal effects (10.73%) in Ide, while paternal effects explained 18.9% of the total variance, which was 15-fold higher than the maternal effects (1.3%) in Northern pike. Together, these results indicate that male effects are of major importance during embryonic development for these species. Furthermore, this study demonstrates that genetic compatibility between sires and dams plays an important role and needs to be taken into consideration for reproduction of these and likely other economically important fish species

Trabecular Bone in the Bird Knee Responds with High Sensitivity to Changes in Load Orientation

Wolff’s law of trajectorial orientation proposes that trabecular struts align with the orientation of dominant compressive loads within a joint. Although widely considered in skeletal biology, Wolff’s law has never been experimentally tested while controlling for ontogenetic stage, activity level, and species differences, all factors that may affect trabecular bone growth. Here we report an experimental test of Wolff’s law using a within-species design in age-matched subjects experiencing physiologically normal levels of bone strain. Two age-matched groups of juvenile guinea fowl Numida meleagris ran on a treadmill set at either 0° (Level group) or 20° (Incline group), for 10·min per day over a 45-day treatment period. Birds running on the 20° inclined treadmill used more-flexed knees than those in the Level group at midstance (the point of peak ground reaction force). This difference in joint posture enabled us to test the sensitivity of trabecular alignment to altered load orientation in the knee. Using a new radon transform-based method for measuring trabecular orientation, our analysis shows that the fine trabecular bone in the distal femur has a high degree of correspondence between changes in joint angle and trabecular orientation. The sensitivity of this response supports the prediction that trabecular bone adapts dynamically to the orientation of peak compressive forces.Anthropolog

Thermodynamic properties and structural stability of thorium dioxide

Using density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we have systematically investigated the thermodynamic properties and structural stabilities of thorium dioxide (ThO$_2$). Based on the calculated phonon dispersion curves, we calculate the thermal expansion coefficient, bulk modulus, and heat capacities at different temperatures for ThO$_2$ under the quasi-harmonic approximation. All the results are in good agreement with corresponding experiments proving the validity of our methods. Our theoretical studies can help people more clearly understand the thermodynamic behaviors of ThO$_2$ at different temperatures. In addition, we have also studied possible defect formations and diffusion behaviors of helium in ThO$_2$, to discuss its structural stability. It is found that in intrinsic ThO$_2$ without any Fermi energy shifts, the interstitial Th$_i^{4+}$ defect other than oxygen or thorium vacancies, interstitial oxygen, and any kinds of Frenkel pairs, is most probable to form with an energy release of 1.74 eV. However, after upshifting the Fermi energy, the formation of the other defects also becomes possible. For helium diffusion, we find that only through the thorium vacancy can it happen with the small energy barrier of 0.52 eV. Otherwise, helium atoms can hardly incorporate or diffuse in ThO$_2$. Our results indicate that people should prevent upshifts of the Fermi energy of ThO$_2$ to avoid the formation of thorium vacancies and so as to prevent helium caused damages.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figure

Impact of maternal respiratory infections on low birth weight - a community based longitudinal study in an urban setting in Pakistan

Background: The health of mothers and their newborns is intricately related. The weight of the infant at birth is a powerful predictor of infant growth and survival, and is considered to be partly dependent on maternal health and nutrition during pregnancy. We conducted a longitudinal study in an urban community within Karachi to determine maternal predictors of newborn birth weight.Methods: Four hundred pregnant women were enrolled in the study during the period 2011-2013. Data related to symptoms of acute respiratory illness (fever, cough, difficulty breathing, runny nose, sore throat, headache, chills, and myalgia/lethargy) in the pregnant women were collected weekly until delivery. Birth weight of the newborn was recorded within 14days of delivery and the weight of \u3c 2.5kg was classified as low birth weight (LBW).Results: A total of 9,853 symptom episodes were recorded of fever, cough, difficulty breathing, runny nose, sore throat, headache, chills, myalgias/lethargy in the enrolled pregnant women during the study. Out of 243 pregnant women whose newborns were weighed within 14days of birth, LBW proportion was 21% (n=53). On multivariate analysis, independent significant risk factors noted for delivering LBW babies were early pregnancy weight of \u3c 57.5kg [odds ratio adjusted (ORadj)=5.1, 95% CI: (1.3, 19.9)] and gestational age [ORadj=0.3, 95% CI (0.2, 0.7) for every one week increase in gestational age]. Among mothers with high socioeconomic status (SES), every 50-unit increase in the number of episodes of respiratory illness/100weeks of pregnancy had a trend of association with an increased risk of delivering LBW infants [ORadj=1.7, 95% CI: (1.0, 3.1)]. However, among mothers belonging to low SES, there was no association of the number of episodes of maternal respiratory illness during pregnancy with infants having LBW [ORadj=0.9, 95% CI: (0.5, 3.5)].CONCLUSIONS: While overall respiratory illnesses during pregnancy did not impact newborn weight in our study, we found this trend in the sub-group of mothers belonging to the higher SES. Whether this is because in mothers belonging to lower SES, the effects of respiratory illnesses were overshadowed by other risk factors associated with poverty need to be further studied