To study the relation between spontaneous bacterial peritonitis and serum ascitis albumin gradient in chronic liver disease patients

Background: About half the patients with cirrhosis develop ascites during 10 years of observation. The present study was designed to study the relation between spontaneous bacterial peritonitis and serum ascites albumin gradient in chronic liver disease patients.Methods: This prospective observational study was done in 55 patients with chronic liver disease attending IPD of tertiary hospital. Based on investigation findings, patients were divided into two groups: Group A-Patients with sterile cirrhotic ascites, Group B- Patients with spontaneous bacterial peritonitis. Detailed history, examination and relevant investigation were done. Data was collected, recorded and statistical calculation was done using in Microsoft excel 2007.Results: Most common presenting symptoms of SBP patients were increasing ascites refractory to treatment (90%), followed by peripheral edema (80%). Jaundice and hepatic encephalopathy was found in 75% and 65% respectively. Serum and ascites albumin levels were lower in Group B (2.54±0.33 and 0.43±0.23 g/dl respectively) as compared to Group A (2.85±0.36 and 0.91±0.31 g/dl respectively) and it was statistically significant. The Mean±SD of SAAG for group A and group B was (1.94±0.36) and (2.09±0.47 g/dl) respectively. This difference was statistically not significant.Conclusions:Study conclude that the development of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis in chronic liver disease patients with sterile ascites is directly proportional to ascitic fluid albumin and serum albumin concentration whereas occurrence of SBP is not affected by variation in SAAG ratio if it is already higher than 1.1 g/dl.

Induced Size Effects Of Gd3+ ions Doping On Structural And Magnetic Properties Of Ni-Zn Ferrite Nanoparticles

Gd3+ ions substituted in Ni0.5Zn0.5GdxFe2-xO4 (where x = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3) ferrite nanoparticles in the size range from 15 to 25 nm were prepared by chemical method. The effect of Gd3+ ions in spinel structure in correlation to structural and magnetic properties have been studied in detail using XRD, HRTEM and EPR techniques. The spin resonance confirms the ferromagnetic behaviour of these nanoparticles and higher order of dipolar-dipolar interaction. On increasing Gd3+ ions concentrations, the super exchange interaction i.e. increase in movement of electron among Gd3+ - O - Fe3+ in the core group and the spin biasing in the glass layer has been interpreted. The decrease in ‘g’ value and increase in relaxation time is well correlated with the change of particle size on different concentrations of Gd3+ ions in Ni-Zn ferrite

A Simultaneous Model for Innovative Product Category Sales Diffusion and Competitive Dynamics

Diffusion of innovation has been the focus of an entire stream of research in marketing, and firm entry and exit decisions have been investigated by marketers, strategists, and economists. However, little attention has been paid to the relationship between changing demand and the entry and exit behaviors of competitors in the marketplace. Understanding this relationship is essential in making resource commitments, as profitability of options depends not only on the size and growth of the market, but also on the number of competitors likely to be encountered. This is particularly important in innovative markets, where changes occur rapidly and one cannot assume that either customer needs or competitors faced tomorrow will be the same as today. We simultaneously model demand and number of competitors, including the interactive relationship between these dynamics in the marketplace, and empirically investigate three technology-intensive markets-video cassette recorders, personal computers, and workstations. Our results suggest that competition and demand impact entry and exit, but that the nature of this impact may depend on whether or not a `shakeout' has occurred in the marketplace. Further, an increasing number of competitors may lead to improved marketplace offerings, resulting in demand expansion. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved

Reference Evapotranspiration Retrievals from a Mesoscale Model Based Weather Variables for Soil Moisture Deficit Estimation

Reference Evapotranspiration (ETo) and soil moisture deficit (SMD) are vital for understanding the hydrological processes, particularly in the context of sustainable water use efficiency in the globe. Precise estimation of ETo and SMD are required for developing appropriate forecasting systems, in hydrological modeling and also in precision agriculture. In this study, the surface temperature downscaled from Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model is used to estimate ETo using the boundary conditions that are provided by the European Center for Medium Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF). In order to understand the performance, the Hamon’s method is employed to estimate the ETo using the temperature from meteorological station and WRF derived variables. After estimating the ETo, a range of linear and non-linear models is utilized to retrieve SMD. The performance statistics such as RMSE, %Bias, and Nash Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) indicates that the exponential model (RMSE = 0.226; %Bias = −0.077; NSE = 0.616) is efficient for SMD estimation by using the Observed ETo in comparison to the other linear and non-linear models (RMSE range = 0.019–0.667; %Bias range = 2.821–6.894; NSE = 0.013–0.419) used in this study. On the other hand, in the scenario where SMD is estimated using WRF downscaled meteorological variables based ETo, the linear model is found promising (RMSE = 0.017; %Bias = 5.280; NSE = 0.448) as compared to the non-linear models (RMSE range = 0.022–0.707; %Bias range = −0.207–−6.088; NSE range = 0.013–0.149). Our findings also suggest that all the models are performing better during the growing season (RMSE range = 0.024–0.025; %Bias range = −4.982–−3.431; r = 0.245–0.281) than the non−growing season (RMSE range = 0.011–0.12; %Bias range = 33.073–32.701; r = 0.161–0.244) for SMD estimation

Marketing Strategy and Wall Street: Nailing Down Marketing's Impact

marketing¿finance interface, firm financial value, brand value, efficient markets, brand equit