Study of feedback queueing system with unreliable waiting server under Multiple Differentiated Vacation Policy

This manuscript analyses a queueing system with Bernoulli schedule feedback of customers, unreliable waiting server under differentiated vacations. The unsatisfied customer may again join the queue with probability α, following Bernoulli schedule. The stationary solution is obtained for the model with aid of Probability Generating function technique. Some important system performance measures are derived and graphical behaviour of these measures with some parameters is analyzed. Finally to obtain the optimal value of service rate for the model, cost optimization is performed through quadratic fit approach

(R1881) Impatient Customers in Queueing System with Optional Vacation Policies and Power Saving Mode

In this manuscript, a queueing system with two optional vacation policies, power-saving mode under reneging and retention of reneged customers in both vacations is analyzed. If the server is free, it chooses either of the vacations, classical vacation or working vacation. During vacations, the customers may get impatient due to delays and may leave the system, but they are retained in the system with some convincing mechanisms. On vacation completion, if the system is empty, the server is turned off to facilitate better utilization of the resources. Some of the operating system characteristics are derived using the probability generating functions technique. The numerical results are graphically represented by using MATLAB software

Biological clock vs Social clock conflict in Adolescents

Alteration of day and night is one of the essential circadian rhythms that build the phenomenon of sleep/wake in humans and other animals. Daily rhythms impact different individuals differently. Light exposure and an individual's circadian response are two aspects that create diversity in phenotype. These diverse phenotypes are called chronotypes. Chronotype varies over the life history stages. Chronotype is seen as morning type in children, evening type in adolescents, and again reverts back to the morning type in adults and old-aged individuals. It is observed that adolescents being evening types have bedtime later in comparison to children and adults. Adolescent physiology/ body clock does not allow them to sleep early and school routine/social clock does not let them sleep till late. Thus, their night phase is shrunk and sleep hours are reduced, which hinders their day-time functioning, including mental tasks such as cognition, learning and memory-based exercises, and physical tasks such as physical presence during field and athletic events.  These days sleep debt is a critical health concern in the adolescent population. The current review focuses on the adolescent sleep-needs and various factors affecting their healthy sleep. This also encompasses the understanding of biological clocks, their misalignment, disrupters, causes and impact. The present study would be helpful in finding out the difference between the biological clock and social clock of the adolescent population, elaborates the need for sleep education and suggests a solution to this alarming problem of sleep debt in teens

Botulinum toxin: a boon or bane in dentistry

Botulinum toxin is a neurotoxin which is produced by the Clostridium botulinum bacteria. It is an anaerobic, gram-positive, spore-forming rod-shaped bacteria which is commonly found in soil, on plants, in water and in the intestinal tracts of animals. All the serotypes of botulinum toxin interfere with neural transmission by blocking the release of acetylcholine. The use of botulinum toxins has revolutionised the treatment of various ophthalmic spastic disorders, Orofacial pain conditions, facial dystonia and periocular wrinkles. A precise knowledge and understanding of the functional anatomy of the mimetic muscles is absolutely necessary to correctly use botulinum toxins in clinical practice. This article is an effort to understand Botulinum toxin and its applications in head and neck

Review: recent trends in management of oral lichen planus

Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic mucocutaneous inflammatory disease, associated with altered cell‐mediated immunological function. It has been characterised by long‐term evolution, repeated exacerbations, sometimes painful and resistant to treatment, or even all of these. OLP significantly affects quality of patient's life. There is a higher risk of malignant transformation accompanied with OLP and similar appearing oral lichenoid lesions. Current OLP therapy aims at eliminating all mucosal‐related lesions reduce symptomatology and decrease the risk of oral cancer. This review summarizes recent treatment modalities used in the management of OLP which includes corticosteroids, immunomodulatory agents, retinoids, ultraviolet irradiation and/or laser therapy, herbal remedies. In addition, focus is also given upon adopting holistic approach in such patients by emphasizing on stress management

Measurement of the Orbital Angular Momentum Spectrum of Partially Coherent Fields using Double Angular Slit Interference

We implement an interferometric method using two angular slits to measure the orbital angular momentum (OAM) mode spectrum of a partially coherent field. As the angular separation of the slits changes, an interference pattern for a particular OAM mode is obtained. The visibility of this interference pattern as a function of angular separation is equivalent to the angular correlation function of the field. By Fourier transforming the angular correlation function obtained from the double angular slit interference, we are able to calculate the OAM spectrum of the partially coherent field. This method has potential application for characterizing the OAM spectrum in high-dimensional quantum information protocols.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Comparative evaluation of autologous platelet rich plasma and triamcinolone acetonide injection in the management of erosive lichen planus and oral submucous fibrosis: a clinical study

Background: It is need of an hour to establish an effective and efficient treatment modality for OLP and OSMF with lesser or no adverse effects. Platelet rich plasma can be used in mucosal lesions as it has a high concentration of various growth factors and anti-inflammatory properties. It could be a better novel substitute to the corticosteroid without any side effects. The present study is an effort to evaluate the therapeutic effects of intralesional injection of PRP in oral erosive lichen planus and OSMF compared to intralesional corticosteroids in the same patient. Methods: It was a randomized controlled clinical study consisting of 40 patients between the age groups of 18-60 years visiting dental OPD diagnosed clinically with either erosive lichen planus or OSMF. Triamcinolone 40 mg(1mg/ml) mixed with 2% (1:80,000) lignocaine hydrochloride was injected into the lesion on one side in case of erosive lichen planus and into the submucosal plane and fibrous bands in case of OSMF patients. Autologous PRP was prepared and injected on the other side in same patients. At every visit, all the patients were evaluated for pain and burning sensations, size, and severity of the lesion, and interincisal mouth opening (mm). The parameters were measured and recorded during the patient’s every visit. All the results were obtained and statically analyzed. Results: Intralesional injections of triamcinolone acetonide and PRP are effective in reducing pain and burning sensation in OSMF, but PRP is less effective in improving cheek flexibility as compared to triamcinolone acetonide. In OLP, both triamcinolone acetonide and PRP are almost equally effective in reducing the size of the lesion. However, PRP shows slightly better results in reducing the severity of the lesion and in pain and burning sensation in the patients of OLP as compared to intralesional triamcinolone acetonide. Conclusions: Thus, PRP is an effective modality in treating both OSMF and oral erosive lichen planus with no adverse effects

Intermittent Food Absence Motivates Reallocation of Locomotion and Feeding in Spotted Munia (Lonchura punctulata)

Background: Daily feeding and locomotion are interrelated behaviours. The time spent in feeding and rate of food intake depends on food availability. In low food condition, the birds would show intense movement (locomotion) for a longer time throughout the day however during abundant food supply they may chose higher activity and food intake in the morning and evening only. In the present study we hypothesized that in Spotted Munia (Lonchura punctulata), intermittent food availability during day would reallocate their interrelated behaviors, the feeding (food intake) and locomotor activity patterns.  Methods: Two groups of birds (N = 6 each) were kept individually in activity cages under 12L:12D. Group 1 (Control; C) had ad libitum food but group 2 (Treatment; T) had food for 6 hours only (2 h presence followed by 2 h absence; 2P:2A) during 12 hour light period. In the first week, group 2 received food with ‘lights on’ (TI; ZT 0–2, 4–6 and 8–10; where ZT 0= zeitgeber time 0, time of lights ON). In the following week, the food was given 2 hours after ‘lights on’ (TII; ZT 2–4, 6–8, 10–12). The food intake and locomotor activity under each condition were observed.  Results: The results showed that locomotor activity was induced during food deprivation and suppressed during food availability. Also the food deprivation led to increased food intake. Conclusion: Our results suggest that intermittent food availability/ deprivation reallocates the locomotor activity and food intake in Spotted Munia

Circulating serum fatty acid synthase is elevated in patients with diabetes and carotid artery stenosis and is LDL-associated

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Diabetes is an independent risk factor for carotid artery stenosis (CAS). Fatty acid synthase (FAS), an essential de novo lipogenesis enzyme, has increased activity in the setting of diabetes that leads to altered lipid metabolism. Circulating FAS (cFAS) was recently observed in the blood of patients with hyperinsulinemia and cancer. We thought to evaluate the origin of cFAS and its role in diabetes-associated CAS. METHODS: Patients with diabetes and no diabetes, undergoing carotid endarterectomy (CEA) for CAS, were prospectively enrolled for collection of plaque and fasting serum. FPLC was used to purify lipoprotein fractions, and ELISA was used to quantify cFAS content and activity. Immunoprecipitation (IP) was used to evaluate the affinity of cFAS to LDL-ApoB. RESULTS: Patients with CAS had higher cFAS activity (p \u3c 0.01), and patients with diabetes had higher cFAS activity than patients with no diabetes (p \u3c 0.05). cFAS activity correlated with serum glucose (p = 0.03, r CONCLUSIONS: Serum cFAS is higher in patients with diabetes and CAS, appears to originate from the liver, and is LDL cholesterol associated. We postulate that LDL may be serving as a carrier for cFAS that contributes to atheroprogression in carotid arteries of patients with diabetes

Radiotherapy to the prostate for men with metastatic prostate cancer in the UK and Switzerland: Long-term results from the STAMPEDE randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND: STAMPEDE has previously reported that radiotherapy (RT) to the prostate improved overall survival (OS) for patients with newly diagnosed prostate cancer with low metastatic burden, but not those with high-burden disease. In this final analysis, we report long-term findings on the primary outcome measure of OS and on the secondary outcome measures of symptomatic local events, RT toxicity events, and quality of life (QoL). METHODS AND FINDINGS: Patients were randomised at secondary care sites in the United Kingdom and Switzerland between January 2013 and September 2016, with 1:1 stratified allocation: 1,029 to standard of care (SOC) and 1,032 to SOC+RT. No masking of the treatment allocation was employed. A total of 1,939 had metastatic burden classifiable, with 42% low burden and 58% high burden, balanced by treatment allocation. Intention-to-treat (ITT) analyses used Cox regression and flexible parametric models (FPMs), adjusted for stratification factors age, nodal involvement, the World Health Organization (WHO) performance status, regular aspirin or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use, and planned docetaxel use. QoL in the first 2 years on trial was assessed using prospectively collected patient responses to QLQ-30 questionnaire. Patients were followed for a median of 61.3 months. Prostate RT improved OS in patients with low, but not high, metastatic burden (respectively: 202 deaths in SOC versus 156 in SOC+RT, hazard ratio (HR) = 0·64, 95% CI 0.52, 0.79, p < 0.001; 375 SOC versus 386 SOC+RT, HR = 1.11, 95% CI 0.96, 1.28, p = 0·164; interaction p < 0.001). No evidence of difference in time to symptomatic local events was found. There was no evidence of difference in Global QoL or QLQ-30 Summary Score. Long-term urinary toxicity of grade 3 or worse was reported for 10 SOC and 10 SOC+RT; long-term bowel toxicity of grade 3 or worse was reported for 15 and 11, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Prostate RT improves OS, without detriment in QoL, in men with low-burden, newly diagnosed, metastatic prostate cancer, indicating that it should be recommended as a SOC. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00268476, ISRCTN.com ISRCTN78818544