269 research outputs found
Implementing Geographical Information System to Provide Evident Support for Crime Analysis
AbstractGeographical Information System (GIS) is one of the aiding domains of technology where a number of applications are being deployed to assist people in understanding and visualizing data rather than having it in other complex forms. Implementing one of such kinds of technology for crime analysis will help people in knowing the crime rate of their place in comparison to other places and will also provide hand-in-hand support to the police for providing additional focus on those regions. Crimes are the concerning factors of every country for its political, economical and social development. Yet, the number of technologies available in detecting and reporting crimes are limited. A Geographical Information System(GIS) based application can be implemented that can be used and accessed by everyone to file the crimes happening in their locality and to know about other crimes. This paper deals about the GIS based tools and their functions in developing such an application. This application will provide evident support for the officials to monitor and to concentrate more on those localities reported as crime
Metabolic Complications and Increased Cardiovascular Risks as a Result of Androgen Deprivation Therapy in Men with Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is one of the most common malignancies in men. Charles Huggins and Clarence V. Hodges reported the androgen dependence of prostate cancer in 1941. That led to the utilization of androgen deprivation therapy as an important therapeutic modality to treat prostate cancer. Androgen deprivation therapy has additional systemic effects that include sexual dysfunction, psychological changes and more important are the metabolic changes. Metabolic changes in particular include insulin resistance, increase fat mass and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and induce type 2 diabetes. In this review we will focus on the cardiovascular risk associated with androgen deprivation therapy that includes the mechanisms involved
Hydrodynamics of a Cluster Descending at the Wall of a CFB Riser - Numerical Study
The incompressible hydrodynamics of a single parabolic cluster descending at the wall of a CFB riser was numerically simulated using a 2-D Eulerian-Granular model and a segregated time-dependent unsteady solver. Numerical predictions of the velocity of descent and the evolution of cluster shape are in reasonable agreement with experimental results available in the literature
Optimized Parameter of Wavelet Neural Network (WNN) using INGA
Genetic algorithm has been one of the most popular methods for many challenging optimization problems. It is a critical problem in which the evacuation time is an important issues. The continuous air traffic growth and limits of resources, there is a need for reducing the congestion of the airspace system. The main objective of this work is to automatically adapt the airspace configurations, according to the evolution of traffic Niche genetic algorithm(INGA) was used in reliability optimization of software system. And also the searching performance of the genetic algorithm was improved by the stochastic tournament model. The multi-module complex software system reliability allocation effectively. Genetic algorithm (GA) and FGA are compared though seven benchmark function. It can be applied to a wider range of problem including multi-level problem. The uniform schema crossover operator and the non-uniform mutation in the genetic algorithm
A Study to Evaluate the Association of Biomarkers with Pulmonary Capillary Wedge Pressure and Plasma Concentration of the Inotrope Dobutamine in Patients Undergoing On-Pump CABG Surgery in a Superspeciality Hospital at Coimbatore: A Prospective Observational study
BACKGROUND: On-Pump Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG) is considered the gold standard surgical revascularization procedure. On-Pump CABG surgery uses a Cardio-Pulmonary Bypass machine that enables the entire cardiac output to circumvent the patient's heart and lungs. The intra-operative Pulmonary Capillary Wedge Pressure (PCWP) reflects Left ventricular End Diastolic Volume, which is increased in case of left ventricular systolic dysfunction. Such a dysfunction demands judicious use of inotropes to improve myocardial contractility. The cardiac biomarker NT-Pro BNP is an acknowledged marker of Left Ventricular Systolic dysfunction that results in Low Cardiac Output Syndrome (LCOS). The inotrope that is commonly used to tackle a LCOS is Dobutamine. Cardio Pulmonary Bypass machine employed during an On-Pump CABG surgery elicits a Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (SIRS) with the production of various inflammatory cytokines which are known to influence the pharmacokinetics of various drugs administered during the course of the procedure.
AIM OF THE STUDY:
To investigate the role of a cardiac biomarker NT-Pro BNP and an inflammatory marker TNF-α on the Pulmonary Capillary Wedge Pressure (PCWP) and the plasma concentration of the inotrope dobutamine in patients undergoing On-Pump CABG surgery.
OBJECTIVES:
1. To evaluate if the preoperative level of the cardiac biomarker NT-Pro BNP, correlates with intraoperatively measured Pulmonary Capillary Wedge Pressure (PCWP) in patients undergoing On-Pump CABG surgery.
2. To evaluate the role of the inflammatory mediator TNF alpha on the intraoperative plasma concentration of Dobutamine.
3. To evaluate the association of NT-pro BNP and TNF-α with existing comorbidities.
MATERIALS AND METHOD:
Between July 2018 and June 2019, 44 patients who underwent On-Pump CABG surgery in the department of CTVS at PSG hospitals were included in the study. About 4ml of venous blood sample was collected in the preoperative period and centrifuged to separate plasma, in which Plasma NT-Pro BNP and Plasma TNF alpha was estimated using respective ELISA kits. During surgery hemodynamic parameters including PCWP was collected from the anaesthetist. Fourth hour from incision, 4ml of venous blood sample was collected and centrifuged to separate plasma, in which Plasma TNF alpha was measured using ELISA kit and Plasma concentration of Dobutamine at steady state was estimated using HPLC.
RESULTS:
Results revealed that a strong positive linear relationship existed between pre-operative NT-Pro BNP and PCWP (r= 0.821**;p 0.05 and there was no significant difference in the level of NT Pro BNP and TNFα among participants with and without the co-morbidities (P>0.05).
CONCLUSION:
The present study highlights the importance of estimating Preoperative NT-pro BNP that could serve as a valuable marker in predicting intraoperative risk of developing LCOS with elevated PCWP in patients undergoing on-pump CABG surgery and aid anaesthetists and surgeons in decision making prior to surgery. The influence of TNF-alpha on dobutamine concertation at steady state requires further investigation in large scale prospective studies
Effect of Upper Body Resistance Training on Respiratory Function in Sedantary Male Smokers
BACK GROUND OF THE STUDY:
Improvement in diaphragmatic excursion and peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) in sedentary male smokers using upper body resistance training along with conventional breathing exercises.
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: To evaluate the effect of upper body resistance training on diaphragmatic excursion and Peak expiratory flow rate in sedentary male smokers.
STUDY DESIGN:
The Research approach for the study was an randomized quasi experimental study. METHODOLOGY: The study included 40 male volunteers with sedentary life style.40 were randomly allocated by lot system to control group and experimental group.
Control group - receives conventional breathing exercise.
Experimental group - receives conventional breathing exercise with upper body resistance training. The Experimental group were assigned to exercise for 4 weeks, 3 times weekly on non-consecutive days using Upper body resistance training program and breathing exercise. In the Control group only breathing exercise was given for 10 min.
Intervention effect was tested using inch tape and PEFR (peak expiratory flow rate) .
CONCLUSIONS:
Four weeks of UBRT program brought about significant changes in the pulmonary function in male sedentary smokers promoting an increase in, diaphragmatic excursion and peak expiratory flow rate in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Comparison of safety and efficacy of intravenous magnesium sulphate and oral nifedipine in treatment of preterm labour
INTRODUCTION:
Preterm birth, defined as birth at less than 37 + 0 weeks of gestation, is the most important determinant of adverse infant outcome in terms of both survival and quality of life. It contributes to significant neonatal morbidity and mortality. Children who are born prematurely have a higher risk of cerebral palsy, sensory deficits, learning disabilities and respiratory illness compared to those born at term. The social and emotional cost of the above consequences is immeasurable (Wang, 2004). However, preterm labour must ideally be prevented. Pharmacological therapy with a variety of drugs of different categories has been the primary method of treating acute preterm labour and delaying preterm delivery. Our challenge remains to identify interventions that prevent preterm birth and reduce the morbidity and mortality and expense associated with prematurity.
AIM OF THE STUDY:
1. To administer corticosteroid therapy to improve fetal lung maturity.
2. To compare the safety and efficacy of intravenous MgSO4 and oral nifedipine in acute tocolysis.
3. To record the effects of the above two drugs on the mother and the fetus.
MATERIALS AND METHODS:
STUDY DESIGN:
This is a prospective randomised controlled trial, conducted in the labour ward of Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital, Trichy between July 2011 and June 2012.
The study population comprised of 100 patients, randomly assigned to intravenous magnesium sulphate and another 100 patients assigned to oral nifedipine. Both the groups had bed rest and received intramuscular corticosteroids. All the patients were counselled and informed consent was obtained.
INCLUSION CRITERIA:
1. Gestational age between 28 and 34 weeks as determined by last menstrual period, clinical examination and USG.
2. Uterine contractions - 4 contractions in 20 minute period, each contraction lasting for 40 seconds.
3. Progressive cervical effacement ≤ 75%.
4. Cervical dilatation ≤ 3cm.
5. Intact membranes.
EXCLUSION CRITERIA:
Maternal Factors:
1. Ruptured membranes,
2. Infection / chorioamnionitis,
3. Cervical dilatation > 3cm,
4. Antepartum haemorrhage,
5. Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy,
6. Disorders of amniotic fluid volume,
7. Previous caesarean section,
8. Cardiac disease,
9. Renal disease,
10. Pulmonary disorders – Asthma, ARDS,
11. Uncontrolled diabetes mellitus,
12. Hyperthyroidism,
13. Any contraindication for use of nifedipine or magnesium,
14. Presence of cerclage,
15. Tocolytic use within the last 12 hours,
16. Hypotension (defined as average BP of < 90/60 mm Hg unresponsive to 1000cc of fluid bolus).
RESULTS:
1. Preterm labour was common in the age group of 20-24 years in both the groups.
2. Preterm labour occurred with a higher frequency in primigravida, belonging to class V socioeconomic status with inappropriate antenatal care.
3. Between 31-32 weeks of pregnancy there were 35% of patients in group A and 29% of patients in group B. Between 33-34 weeks there were 39% of patients in group A and 42% in group B.
4. Previous history of preterm delivery was present in 9% of patients in group A and 8% in group B. History of second trimester abortion was present in 6% of patients in group A and 4% in group B.
5. In group A, the commonest side effect was flushing which occurred in 21% of patients.
In group B, the commonest side effect was headache which was
observed in 14% of patients.
On an average, patients with side effects were 52% in group A
and 35% in group B. In both the study groups there was no maternal mortality.
6. Cephalic presentation was found in 85% of patients in group A and 87% in group B. Others had breech presentation with a small percentage of patients in transverse lie.
7. When the cervix was 25% effaced, prolongation of pregnancy beyond 48 hours was observed in 86.2% of patients in group A and 100% in group B. With 50% cervical effacement, successful tocolysis was observed in 60.7% of patients in group A and 85.7% in group B. With 75% cervical effacement, successful tocolytic effect was seen in 20% of patients in group A and 52.2% in group B.
8. When the cervix was 1cm dilated, successful tocolysis was observed in 79.5% of patients in group A and 97.3% in group B. With 2cm cervical dilatation, prolongation of pregnancy beyond 48hours was observed in 52% and 76% of patients in group A and B respectively. When the cervix was 3cm dilated, none of the patients in group A had prolongation of pregnancy beyond 48 hours and 66.7% of patients in group B had successful tocolysis.
9. Success of acute tocolysis defined as delay of delivery for more than 48hours was observed in 62% of patients in group A compared with 83% in group B.
CONCLUSION:
Tocolytics do appear to delay delivery long enough for successful administration of corticosteroids one of the few interventions of clear benefit. The perfect tocolytic, which is uniformly effective and has no fetomaternal side effects doesn’t exist. Currently available data suggest that magnesium sulphate administration doesn’t increase the risk of fetal and neonatal mortality. Though MgSo4 is effective in preventing preterm labour, nifedipine is safe, well tolerated, with few fetomaternal side effects, non invasive and more effective with low purchase price (RCOG, 2011). However, close monitoring is still recommended to avoid and reduce any associated morbidity when these tocolytic agents are used. In our study, nifedipine was more effective and rather safe tocolytic agent associated with more rapid arrest of contractions, more frequent
successful prolongation of pregnancy, better side effect profile, no serious maternal adverse reactions, resulting in good neonatal outcome and significantly fewer admissions of newborn to the NICU, when compared to magnesium sulphate. Using nifedipine simplifies tocolytic administration and decreases hospital stay without increasing the risk of prematurity. Preterm labour and delivery is the major cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality especially in developing countries like India. Preventable and treatable cause of preterm labour should be identified and dealt with for better maternal and neonatal outcome. To conclude, the use of nifedipine as the first line tocolytic is safe when compared to MgSo4. But severe maternal hypotension can occur and close monitoring of vitals is warranted
Development of a Novel Equaliser for Communication Channels using Tabu search Technique in Neural Network Paradigm
In recent years, a growing field of research in “Adaptive Systems” has resulted in a variety of adaptive automatons whose characteristics in limited ways resemble certain behaviors of living systems and biological adaptive processes. The essential and principal property of the adaptive systems is its time-varying, self-adjusting performance by using a process called “learning” from its environment. A channel equalizer is a very good example of an adaptive system, which has been considered in this work to assess its performance with reference to various novel learning algorithms developed.
The two main threats for the digital communication systems are Inter-symbol Interference (ISI) and the presence of noise in the channels which are both time varying. So, for rapidly varying channel characteristics, the equalizer too need to be adaptive. In order to combat with such problems various adaptive equalizers have been proposed. Particularly, when the decision boundary is highly nonlinear, the classical equalizers (so called linear ones) do not perform satisfactorily.
The use of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) provides the required nonlinear decision boundary. The Back Propagation (BP) algorithm revolutionized the use of ANNs in diverse fields of science and engineering. The main problem with this algorithm is its slow rate of convergence. But the high speed digital communication systems, in the presence of rapidly fading channels, demand for faster training. To overcome this problem a faster method of training the neural network using RLS algorithm is proposed in this thesis work.
But both the BP and RLS based BP algorithms belong to the family of Gradient-based algorithms, which have the inherent problem of getting trapped in local minima. Since obtaining a global solution is the main criterion for any adaptive system, an efficient search technique is highly desirable. Tabu Search serves this purpose.
The popularity of Tabu Search (TS) has grown significantly in the past few years as a global search technique. In this dissertation, it is proposed to find the so-called optimal values of the ANN parameters (slopes and weights) for channel equalization. Results show that the use of TS for adapting the weights and slopes for an ANN not only improves the performance of the equalizer but also reduces the structural complexity of the ANN
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