Characterization of the complex ion dynamics in lithium silicate glasses via computer simulations

We present results of molecular dynamics simulations on lithium metasilicate over a broad range of temperatures for which the silicate network is frozen in but the lithium ions can still be equilibrated. The lithium dynamics is studied via the analysis of different correlation functions. The activation energy for the lithium mobility agrees very well with experimental data. The correlation of the dynamics of adjacent ions is weak. At low temperatures the dynamics can be separated into local vibrational dynamics and hopping events between adjacent lithium sites. The derivative of the mean square displacement displays several characteristic time regimes. They can be directly mapped onto respective frequency regimes for the conductivity. In particular it is possible to identify time regimes dominated by localized dynamics and long-range dynamics, respectively. The question of time-temperature superposition is discussed for the mean square displacement and the incoherent scattering function.Comment: to be published in Phys. Chem. Chem. Phy

The Role of Earthworms in Tropics with Emphasis on Indian Ecosystems

The paper highlights the research carried out by different scientists in India on aspects of earthworm population dynamics and species diversity, associated with other soil fauna and microflora. It also deals with the importance of earthworm activity on physicochemical properties of soil with reference to India and other tropical countries. Stress is laid on the earthworm plant association and importance of the secretions of earthworms as plant growth stimulators. Moreover, the earthworm species reported and being utilized for vermicomposting in India are discussed, since vermicomposting is the ultimate technology which renders for the improvement of soil fertility status and plant growth. Earthworms serve as indicators of soil status such as the level of contamination of pollutants: agrochemicals, heavy metals, toxic substances, and industrial effluents; human-induced activities: land-management practices and forest degradation. In all these fields there is lacuna with respect to contributions from India when compared to the available information from other tropical countries. There is lot of scope in the field of research on earthworms to unravel the importance of these major soil macrofauna from holistic ecological studies to the molecular level

Dynamic and Public Evaluation Using Accurate Cloud Data in Imbalance

Customers of cloud services lose control over their data, making it more difficult to ensure its safety. New methods such as "provable data ownership" and "proofs of irretrievability" have been created as a solution to this problem; however, they are designed to audit static archive material and hence do not take data dynamics into consideration. As an added complication, the threat models used by these schemes often assume the data owner to be trustworthy and focus on identifying a hostile cloud service provider, even if the latter might be the source of any harmful action. Thus, there should be a public auditing mechanism that takes data dynamics into account and uses fair means to settle disputes. Specifically, we develop an index switcher to effectively handle data dynamics by doing away with the limitation of index use in tag computation imposed by conventional methods. We create new extensions to existing threat models and use the signature exchange idea to design fair arbitration mechanisms for resolving future disputes, all with the goal of ensuring that no one may participate in unfair activity without being discovered. Our approach seems secure, according to the security analysis, and the performance evaluation indicates that the extra work required for data dynamics and conflict resolution is not insurmountable

A Study to Assess the Effectiveness of Mustard Plaster Application on Osteoarthritic Index among Elderly in Selected Community Area at Tiruvannamalai

INTRODUCTION: Elderly are a transitional period between adulthood to old age. In Indian society, Old age people period begins from 60 years onwards. Old age also called senescence, in human beings, the final stage of the normal life span. Osteoarthritis (OA) is degenerative joint disease or degenerative arthritis; it is the most common chronic condition of the joints. OA can affect any joint, but it occurs most often in knees, hip, lower back and neck, small joints of the fingers and the bases of the thumb and big toe. The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) is a widely used, proprietary set of standardized questionnaires used by health professionals to evaluate the condition of patients with osteoarthritis of the knee and hip, including pain, stiffness, and physical functioning of the joints. Non-pharmacological treatment for osteoarthritis includes bed rest, exercise, application of heat packs, mustard plaster, mud therapy and alternative treatments like yoga and acupressure which had no side effects. Mustard Plaster, a mixture of powdered black mustard seeds and an adhesive agent applied to the skin for its relaxing, stimulating or counter irritant effects. It reduces the pain, stiffness, increases the physical functions and strengthens to the bones and cartilages. OBJECTIVE: To assess the Effectiveness of Mustard Plaster Application on Osteoarthritic Index among Elderly in Selected Community area at Tiruvannamalai. DESIGN: Pretest - posttest design of basic experimental design which comes under true experimental design. SETTING: The study was conducted in 12 villages situated at Thiruvannamalai District. SAMPLING TECHNIQUE AND SAMPLE SIZE: Simple random sampling technique (random table method) was used to select the elderly, 30 were assigned in experimental group & 30 in control group. INTERVENTION: Mustard plaster application 15- 20 minutes for a period of 14 days. MEASUREMENT AND TOOL: The score of osteoarthritic index was assessed by using modified WOMAC index scale. RESULTS: The comparison of the pre test and post test score of osteoarthritic index among elderly within experimental group, revealed that the calculated paired value t=23.09 was found to be statistically significant at p<0.001. This clearly shows that the implementation of mustard plasters application had shown a significant reduction in osteoarthritic index among elderly in experimental group than the control group. The comparison of the pre test and post test score of osteoarthritic index among elderly women between experimental group and control group revealed that the calculated unpaired value t=19.76 was found to be statistically significant at p<0.001 which indicates that there was difference in the post test score of osteoarthritic index between the groups, this clearly shows that the practice of mustard plaster application had reduction in osteoarthritic index among elderly. CONCLUSION: The study findings concluded that there was a statistically significant difference in the score of osteoarthritic index after implementation of mustard plaster application and this proved to be an effective alternative therapy and non pharmacological therapy to reduction of osteoarthritic index. IMPLICATIONS FOR CLINICAL PRACTICE: The significant reduction of osteoarthritic index among elderly women after the mustard plaster application suggests that the investigator play an important role in creating awareness on mustard plaster application which reduction of osteoarthritic index and also educate, reinforce the public about the health benefits of mustard plaster application. Further, researches have suggested evaluating the effectiveness of mustard plaster application among elderly in different settings

High sensitivity C-Reactive Protein as a determinant in the Outcome of Acute Ischemic Stroke

INTRODUCTION: In recent years, there has been increasing evidence which shows strong links between inflammation and the pathogenesis of atherothrombotic stroke. Acute phase proteins have been implicated to play roles both during acute and chronic inflammatory processes in different diseases including ischemic stroke. Even low grade infections may cause elevation of various acute phase reactants which may partly be responsible for the inflammatory process observed in atherosclerotic lesions, which may inturn relate to occurrence of ischemic symptoms. Inflammation plays a major role in atherothrombosis and measurement of inflammatory markers such as C–Reactive Protein, an acute phase reactant that reflects low-grade systemic inflammation has been studied in a variety of cardiovascular diseases. There is growing evidence of the prognostic importance of CRP in ischemic stroke. Also CRP has been found to be a strong but relatively non-specific risk factor of fatal stroke in elderly persons. CRP, a sensitive meter of inflammation, induces vascular thrombosis by stimulating monocytes to express tissue factor, the initiator of the extrinsic pathway of coagulation. Elevated levels of CRP are found to be related with higher risk of first-ever cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and peripheral vascular diseases. The WHO has recently set international reference standard for the use of highly sensitive CRP assays. This has enhanced the usefulness of CRP as a reliable predictor of cardiovascular events. AIM: 1. To evaluate the predictive value of hs-CRP in relation to the ultimate functional outcome in first ever ischemic stroke after 4 weeks. 2. To correlate the hs-CRP levels with various cardiovascular risk factors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Setting: Medical ward, Govt. Kilpauk Medical College, Chennai. Study design: Prospective hospital based study. Period of study: January 2008 to June 2008. Inclusion criteria: 1. All patients who presented within 48 hours of onset of stroke and who gave informed consent to participate in the study were included. Exclusion criteria: 1. Subarachnoid haemorrhage, subdural haemorrhage and intracerebral haemorrhage were excluded with the aid of CT scan. 2. Patients above 70 years of age were excluded. 3. Patients with evidence of active infection and neoplastic conditions at the time of study were excluded. 4. Patients with rheumatic heart disease and collagen vascular disease were excluded. 5. Patients who were actively smoking at the time of study were excluded. 6. Patients with previous history of transient ischemic attack or reversible ischemic neurological deficit were excluded. Study Method: A total of 50 patients who presented with acute ischemic stroke were enrolled into the study. That the stroke was an ischemic one was confirmed by CT scan. As soon as the patients were admitted within 48 hours of onset of stroke, serum samples were taken for hs-CRP estimation. Serum hs-CRP levels were also estimated in fifty normal patients (without any evidence of acute infection, neoplasm, rheumatic heart disease, collagen vascular disease, hypertension, DM, IHD) and was found to be within normal limits. Standard guidelines for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke were followed. None of the patients received any thrombolytic treatment. They were treated only with antiedema measures and antiplatelets such as aspirin alone and with good nursing care and physiotherapy. SUMMARY: This study was done to evaluate the predictive value of hs - CRP in relation to the ultimate functional outcome in first ever ischemic stroke after 4 weeks and also to correlate the hs - CRP levels with various cardiovasclar risk factors. It was found that patients with elevated hs - CRP levels had a poorer outcome when compared to patients lower levels of hs - CRP, 4 weeks after the onset of ischemic stroke. This study also showed that hs - CRP levels were elevated in patients with high B.P. Thus routine screening of susceptible populations like chronic smokers, alcoholics and first degree relatives of patients with IHD, stroke and DM may prove a valuable indicator for predicting future cardiovascular and neurovascular events. Thus hs - CRP measurements may be helpful in grading the patients into high risk and low risk category, for predicting future adverse atherothrombotic events and outcome. CONCLUSION: Patients with elevated hs-CRP had a poorer outcome when compared to patients with lower levels of CRP, four weeks after the onset of ischemic stroke. • hs-CRP levels showed statistically significant elevation in patients with high blood pressure. • hs-CRP levels had no significant correlation with age or gender. • hs-CRP did not show a statistically significant correlation with smoking or cholesterol intake. • There was no statistically significant correlation between hs-CRP levels and those with diabetes or IHD

Exploring Factors of Acceptance of Chip Implants in the Human Body

The technology and telecommunication industries have made significant progress in the past few decades leading to several inventions and designs that have significantly improved efficiency in all aspects of human life. These innovations in science and technology improve our quality of life. Modern technology enables us to access vast amounts of information and services through a network of interconnected computers and machines. Recently, various technologies have been proposed to incorporate the human body into this incorporated network. One of these proposed technologies are chip implants meant to be inserted into the human body at various suitable body parts, such as the human brain or wrist. As they are a relatively recent technological innovation, chip implants are neither popular nor common yet (Caldera, 2020; Michael et al., 2017). Previous research on chip implants has produced limited information regarding the motivation aspects of using this technology. So, this study uses a self-determination theory to see which motivational factors lead to the use and trust of chip implants. This thesis discusses how implantable technology works, to explore which factors affect an individual\u27s willingness to get a chip implant, personality traits associated with implant adoption, motivational factors affecting adoptions, and other user-centered perspectives of the technology