DEVELOPMENT OF SCADA LIKE APPLICATION USING ARDUINO WITH .NET INTERFACE

Nowadays SCADA systems are used for Home automation, Greenhouse automation, E-agriculture etc. Basically these SCADA applications include Level Monitoring, Light & Climate Control, Security & Surveillance, control and manage spatially separated utility sites and Control of Shutters & Doors and so on. With the arrival of new hardware and software technologies here a system is proposed which can perform the similar SCADA applications at lower cost and lower maintenances. This paper proposes a viable solution for SCADA like applications which include Water level monitoring, Oil level monitoring & Displacement control by using a microcontroller board and .NET interfacing. This system can not only perform these industrial applications but also proposes fine web based solution to access all these acquired data and equipments. Here a remote based application is used which will allow the user to access the data/equipments in industries via internet, it also overcome the problem of weak encryption used by the SCADA. In future this system using .NET platform may replace these SCADA solutions

Risk factors associated with development of senile cataract

Background: Cataract is the most common cause of reversible blindness worldwide, which has been associated with various causative risk factors. Hence, we aim to study the factors that might play a role in cataractogenesis. Material and methods: A total of 240 eyes of 240 subjects were included for the study, which consisted of 120 cases with age-related cataract and 120 age-matched controls, and in them various factors like blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), smoking, sun exposure, and serum cholesterol were studied. Results: A statistically significant difference between the two groups was found with respect to smoking profile (p = 0.007), sun exposure (p = 0.001), and serum cholesterol (p < 0.001). Subjects who were smokers, had a longer exposure to sun, and had higher serum cholesterol level were found to be positively associated with development of cataract. No significant association between BMI (p = 0.384) and blood pressure (p > 0.05) was observed. Conclusion: Higher cholesterol levels, increased sun exposure, and smoking habit play a role in the development of senile cataract, and these are modifiable risk factors. Hence, control of these might help in delaying formation and progression of cataract

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

State-of-the-Art Review on IoT Threats and Attacks: Taxonomy, Challenges and Solutions

The Internet of Things (IoT) plays a vital role in interconnecting physical and virtual objects that are embedded with sensors, software, and other technologies intending to connect and exchange data with devices and systems around the globe over the Internet. With a multitude of features to offer, IoT is a boon to mankind, but just as two sides of a coin, the technology, with its lack of securing information, may result in a big bane. It is estimated that by the year 2030, there will be nearly 25.44 billion IoT devices connected worldwide. Due to the unprecedented growth, IoT is endangered by numerous attacks, impairments, and misuses due to challenges such as resource limitations, heterogeneity, lack of standardization, architecture, etc. It is known that almost 98% of IoT traffic is not encrypted, exposing confidential and personal information on the network. To implement such a technology in the near future, a comprehensive implementation of security, privacy, authentication, and recovery is required. Therefore, in this paper, the comprehensive taxonomy of security and threats within the IoT paradigm is discussed. We also provide insightful findings, presumptions, and outcomes of the challenges to assist IoT developers to address risks and security flaws for better protection. A five-layer and a seven-layer IoT architecture are presented in addition to the existing three-layer architecture. The communication standards and the protocols, along with the threats and attacks corresponding to these three architectures, are discussed. In addition, the impact of different threats and attacks along with their detection, mitigation, and prevention are comprehensively presented. The state-of-the-art solutions to enhance security features in IoT devices are proposed based on Blockchain (BC) technology, Fog Computing (FC), Edge Computing (EC), and Machine Learning (ML), along with some open research problems

Homoeopathy for the management of Asthma - A review of Council′s Clinical Research

Objective: To conduct a review of the Clinical Research work of the Council in the field of asthma. Methods: A comprehensive manual search of Council′s publications pertaining to asthma was conducted to identify publications on the research work undertaken by the Council including CCRH Quarterly Bulletins (1982 to 2005), Clinical Research studies series and Indian Journal of Research in Homoeopathy (IJRH). Relevant research was categorized by study type and appraised according to study design with their clinical outcomes. Results: Only 20 publications pertaining to Asthma were found and 10 were selected consisting of observational studies and drug oriented studies. Conclusion: The positive outcome in controlling acute episodes of asthma, reducing the frequency and intensity of subsequent episodes and weaning of bronchodilators and other allopathic drugs have been reported. As only observational studies have been conducted, further pragmatic trials including randomized control studies are desirable

Pharmaceutico-Analytical and Antimicrobial Study of Amritank Rasa

Amritank Rasa is a herbomineral formulation mentioned in the classical text of Basavrajiyam mainly used in the treatment of Pancha Kasa. This study aims to prepare the Amritank Rasa as per the classical text and conduct analytical and antimicrobial study of the prepared sample. The ingredients of Amritank Rasa are Kajjali, Trikatu, Pippalimoola, Chavya, Chitraka, Vatsanabha and Saindhava lavana all in equal parts and bhavana of Bhringaraj swarasa. The pharmaceutical procedure involves the preparation of Amritank Rasa vati in the 125mg dosage form. The pharmaceutical, analytical and antimicrobial parameters were compiled and data was recorded. The organoleptic parameters were, dark greyish in colour with pungent odour and taste, appearance was round and uncoated, and smooth in touch. The physiochemical parameters and quantitative parameters were, total ash was 5.5%, acid insoluble ash was 0.5% and loss on drying was 11.8%, average weight was 121mg, uniformity of weight test showed that all the tablets were not within the range of deviation from average weight, friability test was 0.51%, hardness was 5.3kg/cm2 and disintegration time test showed that any tablet did not dissolve in 60 minutes. The sample was then subjected to advanced analytical parameters i.e., FTIR, PSD, XRF and XRD. The antimicrobial study of Amritank rasa showed that it is effective against S.aureus, E.coli, P.aeruginosa and C. albicans. The development of the present study will serve as reference standards for Amritank Rasa formulation, quality control and clinical researc

Comparative evaluation of intraoperative aberrometry and Barrett's toric calculator in toric intraocular lens implantation

Purpose: Barrett toric calculator (BTC) is known for its accuracy in toric IOL (tIOL) calculation over standard calculators; however, there is no study in literature to compare it with real-time intraoperative aberrometry (IA). The aim was to compare the accuracy of BTC and IA in predicting refractive outcomes in tIOL implantation. Methods: This was an institution-based prospective, observational study. Patients undergoing routine phacoemulsification with tIOL implantation were enrolled. Biometry was obtained from Lenstar-LS 900 and IOL power calculated using online BTC; however, IOL was implanted as per IA (Optiwave Refractive Analysis, ORA, Alcon) recommendation. Postoperative refractive astigmatism (RA) and spherical equivalent (SE) were recorded at one month, and respective prediction errors (PEs) were calculated using predicted refractive outcomes for both methods. The primary outcome measure was a comparison between mean PE with IA and BTC, and secondary outcome measures were uncorrected distance visual acuity (UCDVA), postoperative RA, and SE at one month. SPSS Version-21 was used; P < 0.05 considered significant. Results: Thirty eyes of 29 patients were included. Mean arithmetic and mean absolute PEs for RA were comparable between BTC (−0.70 ± 0.35D; 0.70 ± 0.34D) and IA (0.77 ± 0.32D; 0.80 ± 0.39D) (P = 0.09 and 0.09, respectively). Mean arithmetic PE for residual SE was significantly lower for BTC (-0.14 ± 0.32D) than IA (0.001 ± 0.33D) (−0.14 ± 0.32D; P = 0.002); however, there was no difference between respective mean absolute PEs (0.27 ± 0.21 D; 0.27 ± 0.18; P = 0.80). At one-month, mean UCDVA, RA, and SE were 0.09 ± 0.10D, -0.57 ± 0.26D, and -0.18 ± 0.27D, respectively. Conclusion: Both IA and BTC give reliable and comparable refractive results for tIOL implantation

Machine Learning Techniques for Differential Diagnosis of Vertigo and Dizziness: A Review

Vertigo is a sensation of movement that results from disorders of the inner ear balance organs and their central connections, with aetiologies that are often benign and sometimes serious. An individual who develops vertigo can be effectively treated only after a correct diagnosis of the underlying vestibular disorder is reached. Recent advances in artificial intelligence promise novel strategies for the diagnosis and treatment of patients with this common symptom. Human analysts may experience difficulties manually extracting patterns from large clinical datasets. Machine learning techniques can be used to visualize, understand, and classify clinical data to create a computerized, faster, and more accurate evaluation of vertiginous disorders. Practitioners can also use them as a teaching tool to gain knowledge and valuable insights from medical data. This paper provides a review of the literatures from 1999 to 2021 using various feature extraction and machine learning techniques to diagnose vertigo disorders. This paper aims to provide a better understanding of the work done thus far and to provide future directions for research into the use of machine learning in vertigo diagnosis