FNNC: Achieving Fairness through Neural Networks

In classification models fairness can be ensured by solving a constrained optimization problem. We focus on fairness constraints like Disparate Impact, Demographic Parity, and Equalized Odds, which are non-decomposable and non-convex. Researchers define convex surrogates of the constraints and then apply convex optimization frameworks to obtain fair classifiers. Surrogates serve only as an upper bound to the actual constraints, and convexifying fairness constraints might be challenging. We propose a neural network-based framework, \emph{FNNC}, to achieve fairness while maintaining high accuracy in classification. The above fairness constraints are included in the loss using Lagrangian multipliers. We prove bounds on generalization errors for the constrained losses which asymptotically go to zero. The network is optimized using two-step mini-batch stochastic gradient descent. Our experiments show that FNNC performs as good as the state of the art, if not better. The experimental evidence supplements our theoretical guarantees. In summary, we have an automated solution to achieve fairness in classification, which is easily extendable to many fairness constraints

Mechanics of the mitral valve after surgical repair-an in vitro study

Mitral valve disease is widely prevalent among pediatric and adult population across the world, and it encompasses a spectrum of lesions which include congenital valve defects, degenerative valve lesions, and valve dysfunction due to secondary pathologies. Though replacement of the diseased mitral valves with artificial heart valves has been the standard of care until early 1990's, current trends have veered towards complete surgical repair. These trends are encouraging, but current repair techniques are plagued with lack of durability and high rates of failure within 10 years after repair. With increasing number of patients receiving mitral valve repair, there is now an immediate need to understand the mechanisms of repair failure, and assess the role of several clinical risk factors on valve repair. In this thesis, an in vitro pulsatile left heart simulator was developed to mimic the congenital and adult mitral valve pathological morphologies in normal porcine valves, and simulate the pathological valve hemodynamics and mechanics. Different surgical repair techniques were used to correct the valve lesions, and the post repair valve hemodynamics, mechanics and geometry were assessed using quantitative measurement techniques. The extent to which each repair restores physiological valve function and mechanics was assessed, and the impact of different pathological risk factors on repair failure mechanisms was investigated. It is expected that the knowledge from this thesis would play an important role in the evolution of mitral valve surgical repair, and guide the development of more effective and long-lasting heart valve repair technologies.Ph.D.Committee Chair: Yoganathan, Ajit; Committee Member: Adams, David; Committee Member: Del Nido, Pedro; Committee Member: Gleason, Rudolph; Committee Member: Oshinski, John; Committee Member: Thourani, Vino

Astrocytes modulate microglial phenotype and dendritic cell-like properties

Microglia are the resident immune cells of the CNS. In the healthy CNS, they express negligible levels of MHC II molecules as well as co-stimulatory molecules CD40, CD80 and CD86 necessary for antigen presentation to and activation of T cells. Co-stimulatory molecule expression can be induced in isolated microglia in vitro by sequential treatment with granulocyte monocyte colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) followed by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Upon such treatment, they become mature dendritic cells (DCs), capable of activating T cells. However, microglia are not isolated in life, but rather exist in an environment enriched by other cells, notably astrocytes. Therefore, to determine the effect of astrocytes on the assumption by microglia of the DC phenotype, microglia were treated with GM-CSF and LPS either in the presence or absence of astrocytes and assayed for the DC phenotypic marker CD11c and the co-stimulatory CD40, CD80, CD86 and MHC II by flow cytometry. When compared to isolated microglia, a significantly lower percentage of microglia co-cultured with astrocytes expressed these markers. Astrocytes also prevent the expression of these molecules in bone marrow-derived DCs. Neither interleukin-10, transforming growth factor-beta, nor prostaglandin E2 are responsible for the inhibition. Rather, contact with the astrocytic environment is responsible for the suppressive qualities. Microglia cultured in the presence of astrocytes are also functionally distinct from those cultured in isolation. Microglia in association with astrocytes promote T cell proliferation more robustly than do microglia in isolation. By contrast, a significantly higher percentage of CD4+ T cells stimulated with αCD3 in the presence of isolated microglia acquire an anti-inflammatory Foxp3+ T regulatory phenotype when compared to T cells cultured with microglia in the presence of astrocytes. This is not due to interactions between CD80/CD86 and CTLA4. The elevated presence of Foxp3+ T cells appears to be responsible for the lower level of T cell proliferation in the presence of isolated microglia. Finally, analysis of the supernatants from the T cell co-culture experiments reveal that astrocytic interaction(s) with microglia suppress T cell production of pro-inflammatory cytoki nes i nterferon-γ and interleukin-17. These data taken together suggest that astrocytes play a crucial role in modulating the microgl i al immune response in the CNS

A Quad-Band Ring shaped Wearable antenna for WBAN Applications

The article contemplates the proposal and analysis of ring-shaped quad-band antenna with a 1 by 3 power divider feeding network for wireless communication applications. The proposed antenna operates in four frequency bands 2.4 GHz, 2.93GHz, 3.3 GHz, and 4.4 GHz for Wi-Fi, WLAN, military navigation, and drone applications. The antenna is designed using a ring-shaped structure, which provides a compact size and easy integration with the wireless devices. The 1 by 2 power divider feeding network is used to excite the antenna, which helps to improve the antenna performance by providing a balanced feed. The simulated outcomes demonstrate that the suggested antenna with the Power splitter 1 by 2 serving network has the stable radiation pattern and a good gain performance across all the operating frequency bands. Therefore, the proposed ring-shaped quad-band antenna with a 1 by 3 power distributed serving network is the promising candidate for various wireless communication applications

A NEW REDUCED CLOCK POWER FLIP-FLOP FOR FUTURE SOC APPLICATIONS

In this paper a novel technique is proposed based on the comparison between Conventional Conditional Data Mapping Flip-flop and Clock Pair Shared D flip flop(CPSFF) here we are checking the working of CDMFF and the conventional D Flip-flop. Due to the immense growth in nanometer technology the SOC is became the future concept of the modern electronics the number of clock transistors are also considerably increased. In this paper we propose a new system which will considerably reduce the number of transistor which will lead to the reduction in clocking power which will improve the overall power consumption.Our proposed which is designed using Pass Transistor Logic (LCPTFF) Low Power Clocked Pass Transistor Flip-Flop system is showing much better output than all other designs as mentioned in the tabulation.The simulations are done using Microwind& DSCH analysis software tools and the result between all those types are listed below

A NEW LOW POWER TECHNOLOGY FOR POWER REDUCTION IN SRAM’S USING COLUMN DECOUPLING COMBINED WITH VIRTUAL GROUNDING

In this paper we are going to modify the column decoupled SRAM for the purpose of more reduced leakages than the existing type of designs as well as the new design which is combined of virtual grounding with column decoupling logic is compared with the existing technologies & the nanometer technology is also improved for the purpose of much improved reduction of area & power factors the simulations were done using microwind& DSCH result

ESTIMATION OF ETONOGESTREL IN HUMAN PLASMA BY USING LC–ESI–MS/MS METHOD

Objective: The aspiration of the present study was to develop simple, robust and reliable liquid chromatography/electro spray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) (Agilent Technologies) assay method for the quantification of etonogestrel in human serum by using etonogestrel d6 as internal standard (IS). Methods: An easy Liquid-Liquid Extraction (LLE) sample processing method was used to extract etonogestrel from plasma and chromatographic method was developed with run time 3.5min with linear calibration curve ranges from 50-3604 pg/mL for both etonogestrel and etonogestrel d6 and chromatographic method validated by determining carryover test, sensitivity, matrix effect, linearity, precision, accuracy, recovery, dilution integrity and stability. The developed method was used for pharmacokinetic study of 75mcg desogestrel tablet formulation under fasting condition in healthy females. Results: The validation showed the developed method was accurate with the results of validated parameters were met acceptance criteria as per Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines. The validated method successfully was used for pharmacokinetic study of 75mcg desogestrel tablet in healthy females and quantified the amount of etonogestrel and IS. Conclusion: The developed method for etonogestrel in human plasma has been validated and used in pharmacokinetic studies.Â&nbsp

NOVEL GROUND BOUNCE NOISE REDUCTION WITH ENHANCED POWER AND AREA EFFICIENCY FOR LOW POWER PORTABLE APPLICATION

As technology scales into the nanometer regime ground bounce noise and heat dissipation immunity are becoming important metric of comparable importance to leakage current, active power, delay and area for the analysis and design of complex arithmetic logic circuits. In this paper, low leakage 1bit PFAL full adder cells are proposed for mobile applications with low ground bounce noise and heat dissipation in the circuits using adiabatic logic. The simulations are done using DSCH &MicrowindSoftware

Fair Allocation of goods and chores -- Tutorial and Survey of Recent Results

Fair resource allocation is an important problem in many real-world scenarios, where resources such as goods and chores must be allocated among agents. In this survey, we delve into the intricacies of fair allocation, focusing specifically on the challenges associated with indivisible resources. We define fairness and efficiency within this context and thoroughly survey existential results, algorithms, and approximations that satisfy various fairness criteria, including envyfreeness, proportionality, MMS, and their relaxations. Additionally, we discuss algorithms that achieve fairness and efficiency, such as Pareto Optimality and Utilitarian Welfare. We also study the computational complexity of these algorithms, the likelihood of finding fair allocations, and the price of fairness for each fairness notion. We also cover mixed instances of indivisible and divisible items and investigate different valuation and allocation settings. By summarizing the state-of-the-art research, this survey provides valuable insights into fair resource allocation of indivisible goods and chores, highlighting computational complexities, fairness guarantees, and trade-offs between fairness and efficiency. It serves as a foundation for future advancements in this vital field