An investigation and analysis of Process Parameters for EDM Drilling machine using Taguchi method

Not availabl

Evaluating the Effect of Financial Knowledge on Investment Decisions of Investors from Gandhinagar District

In recent time, people don’t have enough money to invest because of high maintenance life style, still few people try to balance their life by investing their hard earned money. But while taking decision on investment, Investors consider different resources and information, mean while they forget to check their own knowledge on financial terms and wisdom on how to invest and where to invest. It is important to know the effect of financial knowledge on the choice of investment avenues in order to study the reliability of their investment decisions. The problem is to check whether the investment decisions are based upon simple investment tips and opinions of other investors or a rational analysis of risk and return associated with the various investment avenues. In this paper an attempt has been made to evaluate the effect of Financial Knowledge on investment decisions of 200 Investors from Gandhinagar District. The study is based upon primary data collected through a structured questionnaire administered to 100 rural and 100 urban investors, drawn through quota sampling according to their various occupation categories. It is hypothesized that investors take rational decisions based upon their financial knowledge

STANCY: Stance Classification Based on Consistency Cues

Controversial claims are abundant in online media and discussion forums. A better understanding of such claims requires analyzing them from different perspectives. Stance classification is a necessary step for inferring these perspectives in terms of supporting or opposing the claim. In this work, we present a neural network model for stance classification leveraging BERT representations and augmenting them with a novel consistency constraint. Experiments on the Perspectrum dataset, consisting of claims and users' perspectives from various debate websites, demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach over state-of-the-art baselines

Resolution of severe hyponatraemia is associated with improved survival in patients with cancer

© Balachandran et al.Background: Hyponatraemia is a common finding in patients with cancer, and has been shown to be associated with poor prognosis in different settings. We have analysed the impact of severe hyponatraemia in patients with cancer. Methods: A retrospective review of all patients admitted to a specialist cancer hospital with a plasma sodium of less than 115 mmol/l and a diagnosis of malignancy was undertaken. Patient and tumour characteristics were analysed as well as impact of hyponatraemia management on overall survival and number of lines of cancer treatment received. Results: 57 patients were identified. 84% had advanced Stage 3 or 4 cancer and approximately 85% with data available had symptoms attributable to hyponatraemia. Mean length of hospital stay was 12 days, and overall survival (OS) was 5.1 months. Plasma sodium level corrected in 56% of patients and here OS was 13.6 months compared to 16 days in those whose sodium did not correct (p < 0.001). Those whose sodium corrected were more likely to receive further lines of anti-cancer treatment. Conclusions: Severe hyponatraemia in cancer is associated with very poor survival, but correction of the sodium level leads to additional treatment and significantly greater overall survival (although it is not possible to determine if this is due to specific therapy of the hyponatraemia or the resolving hyponatraemia reflects an improvement in the clinical condition). Aggressive treatment of hyponatraemia may allow more anti-cancer treatment and improve survival

Three rare and accidental findings of hemoglobinopathies encountered in high-performance liquid chromatography: case series

Hemoglobinopathies are the leading cause of some major genetic and social health problem in India. Among all hemoglobinopathies, sickle cell disorder and thalassemia are commonly found in Gujarat state. Double heterozygous state of hemoglobin S and D, hemoglobin E trait, hemoglobin D disease are very uncommon. In present instance, one case of 25-year-old male was diagnosed with sickle cell hemoglobin D disease. The case was confirmed through slide-based sickle test and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The peripheral smear findings showed presence of microcytic hypochromic red blood cells (RBCs) and many sickled RBCs. Ultrasonography (USG) findings showed hepatomegaly. Second case of 30-year-old female was diagnosed with hemoglobin E trait. The case was confirmed by HPLC. The peripheral findings showed normocytic normochromic RBCs and occasional target cells. Presence of gross hepatomegaly on palpation. Third case of 20-year-old female was diagnosed with hemoglobin D trait. The case was confirmed by HPLC. The peripheral findings showed normocytic normochromic RBCs

Struggling to be Fit: Identity, Integrity, and the Law

This interdisciplinary co-authored Analysis piece introduces identity and integrity, which are argued to sit at the core of the person. It analyses approaches taken to these concepts by legal regimes, particularly in the context of individuals using artificial limbs or digital avatars. The piece concludes that law engages with identity and integrity to a limited and incomplete extent; and that law is thus inadequate in its engagement with the person, and its meaning making in this respect. This piece draws on two interdisciplinary funded projects, funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Arts and Humanities Research Council

Quorum-sensing and cheating in bacterial biofilms

The idea from human societies that self-interest can lead to a breakdown of cooperation at the group level is sometimes termed the public goods dilemma. We tested this idea in the opportunistic bacterial pathogen, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, by examining the influence of putative cheats that do not cooperate via cell-to-cell signalling (quorum-sensing, QS).We found that: (i) QS cheating occurs in biofilm populations owing to exploitation of QS-regulated public goods; (ii) the thickness and density of biofilms was reduced by the presence of non-cooperative cheats; (iii) population growth was reduced by the presence of cheats, and this reduction was greater in biofilms than in planktonic populations; (iv) the susceptibility of biofilms to antibiotics was increased by the presence of cheats; and (v) coercing cooperator cells to increase their level of cooperation decreases the extent to which the presence of cheats reduces population productivity. Our results provide clear support that conflict over public goods reduces population fitness in bacterial biofilms, and that this effect is greater than in planktonic populations. Finally, we discuss the clinical implications that arise from altering the susceptibility to antibiotics

Characterisation of two quorum sensing systems in the endophytic Serratia plymuthica strain G3: differential control of motility and biofilm formation according to life-style

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>N</it>-acylhomoserine lactone (AHL)-based quorum sensing (QS) systems have been described in many plant-associated Gram-negative bacteria to control certain beneficial phenotypic traits, such as production of biocontrol factors and plant growth promotion. However, the role of AHL-mediated signalling in the endophytic strains of plant-associated <it>Serratia </it>is still poorly understood. An endophytic <it>Serratia </it>sp. G3 with biocontrol potential and high levels of AHL signal production was isolated from the stems of wheat and the role of QS in this isolate was determined.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Strain G3 classified as <it>Serratia plymuthica </it>based on 16S rRNA was subjected to phylogenetic analysis. Using primers to conserved sequences of <it>luxIR </it>homologues from the <it>Serratia </it>genus, <it>splIR </it>and <it>spsIR </it>from the chromosome of strain G3 were cloned and sequenced. AHL profiles from strain G3 and <it>Escherichia coli </it>DH5α expressing <it>splI </it>or <it>spsI </it>from recombinant plasmids were identified by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. This revealed that the most abundant AHL signals produced by SplI in <it>E. coli </it>were <it>N</it>-3-oxo-hexanoylhomoserine lactone (3-oxo-C6-HSL), <it>N</it>-3-oxo-heptanoylhomoserine lactone (3-oxo-C7-HSL), <it>N</it>-3-hydroxy-hexanoylhomoserine lactone (3-hydroxy-C6-HSL), <it>N</it>-hexanoylhomoserine lactone (C6-HSL), and <it>N</it>-heptanoyl homoserine lactone (C7-HSL); whereas SpsI was primarily responsible for the synthesis of <it>N</it>-butyrylhomoserine lactone (C4-HSL) and <it>N</it>-pentanoylhomoserine lactone (C5-HSL). Furthermore, a quorum quenching analysis by heterologous expression of the <it>Bacillus </it>A24 AiiA lactonase in strain G3 enabled the identification of the AHL-regulated biocontrol-related traits. Depletion of AHLs with this lactonase resulted in altered adhesion and biofilm formation using a microtiter plate assay and flow cells coupled with confocal laser scanning microscopy respectively. This was different from the closely related <it>S. plymuthica </it>strains HRO-C48 and RVH1, where biofilm formation for both strains is AHL-independent. In addition, QS in G3 positively regulated antifungal activity, production of exoenzymes, but negatively regulated production of indol-3-acetic acid (IAA), which is in agreement with previous reports in strain HRO-C48. However, in contrast to HRO-C48, swimming motility was not controlled by AHL-mediated QS.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This is the first report of the characterisation of two AHL-based quorum sensing systems in the same isolate of the genus <it>Serratia</it>. Our results show that the QS network is involved in the global regulation of biocontrol-related traits in the endophytic strain G3. However, although free-living and endophytic <it>S. plymuthica </it>share some conservation on QS phenotypic regulation, the control of motility and biofilm formation seems to be strain-specific and possible linked to the life-style of this organism.</p