Flavour Enhanced Food Recommendation

We propose a mechanism to use the features of flavour to enhance the quality of food recommendations. An empirical method to determine the flavour of food is incorporated into a recommendation engine based on major gustatory nerves. Such a system has advantages of suggesting food items that the user is more likely to enjoy based upon matching with their flavour profile through use of the taste biological domain knowledge. This preliminary intends to spark more robust mechanisms by which flavour of food is taken into consideration as a major feature set into food recommendation systems. Our long term vision is to integrate this with health factors to recommend healthy and tasty food to users to enhance quality of life.Comment: In Proceedings of 5th International Workshop on Multimedia Assisted Dietary Management, Nice, France, October 21, 2019, MADiMa 2019, 6 page

Rare Manifestation of Diabetes Mellitus in COVID-19 Patient: A Case Report

Background: Diabetes is an endocrinopathy and rare in the case of SARS-CoV-2, the virus primarily involves the lungs by its affinity to Angiotensin Converting enzyme(ACE-2) receptors, associated symptoms include Nausea, Vomiting, and Breathlessness. Case Presentation: We present the case of a 41-year-old male with pneumonia-like symptoms and a positive nasal swab RT-PCR test with Imaging studies highly suggestive of CO RADS-5 Progressive stage, the patient was immediately admitted to the Intensive care unit (ICU), and the treatment was started with Medical Oxygen, Intravenous Normal Saline Tablet Doxycycline, and Tablet Ivermectin as per the guidelines, he was admitted for 21 days. After 3 weeks the patient comes for a routine checkup and was found to have an elevated Fasting glucose level of 121 mg/dl (normal reference range 80-100mg/dl) further workup for diabetes revealed that he was a non-diabetic on the previous visit 2 months ago, he also had an increase in weight during this time. With the Body Mass Index(BMI) now being 30.2 from the previous 28.4 (Reference range >30 is obese), the pro-inflammatory cytokines like C-reactive protein were 111.6 (normal 0-6), and elevation in D-Dimer which is a fibrin degradation product was elevated to 1048ng/dl ( normal range 0-500 ng/dl) other measures for the increase in blood sugar also showed elevation as seen in table 1. Discussion: There have been many hypotheses to find a causal relationship between both Diabetes and Covid-19 like the use of Dexamethasone or that the virus produces proinflammatory cytokines like Interleukin-6(IL-6) that lead to impaired signaling and decreased lipolysis or that there is a direct action on the ACE 2 found in the pancreas by the virus and maybe the least looked upon factor being lockdown leading to sedentary life, no exercises and increase in consumption of fatty foods, whichever may be the case it could very well be a multifactorial cause with many of these ideas involved.  Conclusion: In this case, the association may be with decreased physical activity and an increase in Lipolysis or the proinflammatory states as seen by the increase in the C-reactive protein and Interleukin-6 levels. Table:  Parameter Values before COVID Values after Covid Reference range Total WBC 4900 11,400 4000-10000/cu.mm Platelet count 200000 450000 140000-440000/cu.mm C-reactive protein 1.55 111.6 0-6 D-Dimer 0.4 1048 0-500 ng/dl Interleukin (IL-6) - 97.42 <10 Serum Cholesterol 127 220 130-200mg/dl Alanine transaminase - 54 6-45 Serum Creatinine - 1.04 0.50-1.50 Random blood sugar 89 143 70-140mg/dl HbA1C - 7.40 4.3-6.2 Mean blood glucose - 174.30 70-100mg/dl Fasting Blood sugar 92 121 <100mg/dl Post Prandial Blood sugar 120 159 <140mg/dl Table 1 : Laboratory values before and after COVID-19

A cohort study of 4,190 patients treated with low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS): findings in the elderly versus all patients

BACKGROUND: Patient age is one of many potential risk factors for fracture nonunion. Our hypothesis is that older patients (≥ 60) with fracture risk factors treated with low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) have similar heal rate (HR) to the population as a whole. We evaluate the impact of age in conjunction with other risk factors on HR in LIPUS-treated patients with fresh fracture (≤ 90 days old). METHODS: The Exogen Bone Healing System is a LIPUS device approved in 1994 to accelerate healing of fresh fracture. After approval, the FDA required a Post-Market Registry to assess performance. Patient data collected from October 1994 until October 1998 were individually reviewed and validated by a registered nurse. Four distinct data elements were required to report a patient: date fracture occurred; date treatment began; date treatment ended; and a dichotomous outcome of healed v. failed, by clinical and radiological criteria. Data were used to calculate two derived variables; days to treatment (DTT) and days on treatment (DOT). Every validated fresh fracture patient with DTT, DOT, and outcome is reported. RESULTS: The validated registry had 5,765 patients with fresh fracture; 73% (N = 4,190) are reported, while 13% of patients were lost to follow-up, 11% withdrew or were non-compliant, and 3% died or are missing outcome. Among treatment-compliant patients, HR was 96.2%. Logistic estimates of the odds ratio for healing are equivalent for patients age 30 to 79 years and all age cohorts had a HR > 94%. Open fracture, current smoking, diabetes, vascular insufficiency, osteoporosis, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, and prescription NSAIDs all reduced HR, but older patients (≥ 60) had similar HRs to the population as a whole. DTT was significantly shorter for patients who healed (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Comorbid conditions in conjunction with aging can reduce fracture HR. Patients with fracture who used LIPUS had a 96% HR, whereas the expected HR averages 93%. Time to treatment was significantly shorter among patients who healed (p < 0.0001), suggesting that it is beneficial to begin LIPUS treatment early. Older patients (≥ 60) with fracture risk factors treated with LIPUS exhibit similar heal rates to the population as a whole

Artificial Emotional Intelligence in Conversational Agents: A Pathway to User Satisfaction through Anthropomorphism and Trust

Artificial Emotional Intelligence (AEI) enables conversational agents (CAs) to recognize and respond to human emotions, improving user interaction. This study examines how AEI influences satisfaction through trust and anthropomorphism in a customer service chatbot setting. We propose that AEI not only builds trust directly but also increases perceived human-likeness, which further impacts satisfaction. Using a between-subjects experiment, participants will engage with High vs. Low AEI CAs. Trust, satisfaction, and anthropomorphism will be measured using validated scales. Findings will offer insights into the design of emotionally intelligent, user-centric AI systems and inform future work across multiple CA modalities

The universal thermodynamic properties of Extremely Compact Objects

An extremely compact object (ECO) is defined as a quantum object without horizon, whose radius is just a small distance $s$ outside its Schwarzschild radius. We show that any ECO of mass $M$ in $d+1$ dimensions with $s\ll (M/m_p)^{2/(d-2)(d+1)}l_p$ must have (at leading order) the same thermodynamic properties -- temperature, entropy and radiation rates -- as the corresponding semiclassical black hole of mass $M$. An essential aspect of the argument involves showing that the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff equation has no consistent solution in the region just outside the ECO surface, unless this region is filled with radiation at the (appropriately blueshifted) Hawking temperature. In string theory it has been found that black hole microstates are fuzzballs -- objects with no horizon -- which are expected to have a radius that is only a little larger than the horizon radius. Thus the arguments of this paper provide a nice closure to the fuzzball paradigm: the absence of a horizon removes the information paradox, and the thermodynamic properties of the semiclassical hole are nonetheless recovered to an excellent approximation.Comment: 51 pages, 4 figures v4: more references adde

The universality of black hole thermodynamics

The thermodynamic properties of black holes -- temperature, entropy and radiation rates -- are usually associated with the presence of a horizon. We argue that any Extremely Compact Object (ECO) must have the {\it same} thermodynamic properties. Quantum fields just outside the surface of an ECO have a large negative Casimir energy similar to the Boulware vacuum of black holes. If the thermal radiation emanating from the ECO does not fill the near-surface region at the local Unruh temperature, then we find that no solution of gravity equations is possible. In string theory, black holes microstates are horizonless quantum objects called fuzzballs that are expected to have a surface $\sim l_p$ outside $r=2GM$; thus the information puzzle is resolved while preserving the semiclassical thermodynamics of black holes.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, (Essay awarded third prize in the 2023 Gravity Research Foundation essay competition); Some typos correcte

A vulval leiomyoma: a rare camouflaging tumor

Uterine leiomyomas are a benign tumor of human uterus and common problem in gynecology. Despite this, leiomyomas of the vulva are rare, masquerading, and usually misdiagnosed as Bartholin cyst preoperatively. These benign smooth muscle tumors are typically painless, solitary, and well circumscribed and can affect female of any age group. We hereby present a case of a 39-year-old female that presented in OPD at ESIC model hospital, Bapunagar, Ahmedabad with left labial mass and was misdiagnosed as Bartholin cyst initially and later on histopathology final diagnosis of vulvar leiomyoma was made

Lifting of two-mode states in the D1-D5 CFT

We consider D1-D5-P states in the untwisted sector of the D1-D5 orbifold CFT where one copy of the seed CFT has been excited by a pair of oscillators, each being either bosonic or fermionic. While such states are BPS at the orbifold point, they will in general `lift' as the theory is deformed towards general values of the couplings. We compute the expectation value of this lift at second order in the deformation parameter for the above mentioned states. We write this lift in terms of a fixed number of nested contour integrals on a given integrand; this integrand depends on the mode numbers of the oscillators in the state. We evaluate these integrals to obtain the explicit value of the lift for various subfamilies of states. At large mode numbers one observes a smooth increase of the lift with the dimension of the state $h$; this increase appears to follow a $\sim \sqrt{h}$ behavior similar to that found analytically in earlier computations for other classes of states.Comment: 40 pages, 9 figures; v2 minor typos fixe

Cystatin C vs Creatinine eGFR in Advanced CKD:an analysis of the STOP-ACEi Trial

AbstractBackground and hypothesisIn this secondary analysis of the STOP-ACEi trial, we explored the impact of discontinuing or continuing renin angiotensin system inhibitor therapy in people with advanced chronic kidney disease on cystatin C estimated glomerular filtration rate.MethodsCystatin C eGFR were calculated at baseline, 12-, 24- and 36-months using CKD-EPI Cystatin 2012, EKFC and CKD-EPI Combined 2021 equations. We excluded samples obtained after the initiation of kidney-replacement therapy. Primary analysis used complete case analysis and mixed-effects linear regression model, adjusting for minimization variables, baseline value, time-point, and treatment by time interaction.Sensitivity analysis was conducted using a pattern mixture model to account for missing data that was not at random. To model the longitudinal cystatin C data with time-to-event data, a joint model was utilized which incorporated the cystatin C measurements at various time points and accounted for the occurrence of kidney replacement therapy.ResultsThe mean cystatin C eGFR (CKD-EPI 2012) at baseline were 17.8 mg/L [SD: 6.3] and 17.9 ml/min/1.73m2 [SD: 6.3] in the STOP and CONTINUE arms respectively. The estimated least squares mean difference at 12 months between STOP and CONTINUE arm was -1.46 (95% CI: -2.39 to -0.52, p=0.002). The estimated least squares mean difference at 24 months was -2.27 (95% CI: -3.48 to -1.06, p&lt;0.001). The estimated least squares mean difference at 36 months was -1.72 (95% CI: -3.48 to 0.03, p=0.05).ConclusionOur results are consistent with the primary study's analysis and sensitivity analyses support these findings and provide additional insights. Our findings demonstrate the similarity of creatinine and cystatin eGFR results and therefore support the use of cystatin C as an alternative marker of eGFR in advanced CKD, particularly in those whom creatinine is likely to be less accurate