Expert Finding Using Social Networking

In today’s world, knowledge transfer is considered an important and essential activity for the success of an enterprise. Large corporations have realized the need to reuse existing knowledge rather than spend time and effort on solving the same problems again. For these reasons, most corporations now have knowledge repositories. These repositories are visited for possible solutions whenever there is a problem that cannot be easily resolved by using the expertise of the existing team. Apart from this, the problems faced by the people in the company can also be resolved by asking for help from expert in that problem domain. This approach proves to be more efficient in terms of time and manual efforts, while also saving resources. This report proposes a strategy of finding an expert in a required domain by analyzing a company’s social network i.e. communication amongst its employees. Efficiently finding an expert is one of the most important tasks currently faced by the information industry and this problem has not been sufficiently addressed in the past. Conducting further research in this field can improve the time required to solve critical time-sensitive problems in an enterprise environment, thereby improving the overall efficiency of the enterpris

Exercise in heart failure

IntroductionIn ambulatory patients with chronic stable heart failure, the cardinal symptom of exercise intolerance is not fully resolved despite optimal medical treatment. Identifying other treatments to improve exercise intolerance may improve quality of life.MethodsI investigated 2 treatments that may improve exercise intolerance in patients with heart failure. First, I conducted a review of oxygen supplementation in cardiovascular disease and then investigated the exercise capacity of 46 patients (mean age 75 years, 63% male and median N-terminal pro-B type natriuretic peptide 1432 (interquartile range: 543-2378 ng/l)) with heart failure and normal ejection fraction (HeFNEF), using different oxygen supplementation (21%, 28% and 40%). Second, I conducted a literature review on the acute effects of water immersion (WI) and swimming in patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction (HeFREF) and then investigated the haemodynamic and echocardiographic changes during warm WI in 17 patients with HeFREF (NYHA I and II; mean age 67 years, 88% male and mean left ventricular ejection fraction 33%) and 10 normal subjects.ResultsIn patients with HeFREF, high doses of oxygen have negative haemodynamics effects however low doses may improve exercise tolerance. In patients with HeFNEF, increasing oxygen supplementation during exertion leads to a small increase in exercise time. In patients with HeFREF, although exercise in water appears to be safe, the studies conducted have been small, very heterogeneous and inconclusive. In patients with HeFREF, warm WI causes an acute increase in cardiac output and a fall in systemic vascular resistance.ConclusionWarm WI is well tolerated; however, whether swimming can be recommended as alternative to other forms of exercise or rehabilitation in patients with HeFREF needs further studies. In patients with HeFNEF, a disproportionate increase in left atrial pressure on exercise contributes to symptoms. However extra-cardiac mechanisms may also contribute to impaired exercise tolerance. Studies should also focus on treatment of co morbidities

Colorectal cancer: a comparative study of models of health care delivery in two adjacent trusts in South Wales

Introduction Survival in colorectal cancer patients is dependant on the stage of the cancer at diagnosis. Referral via an appropriate pathway to a specialist service is vital to the early detection of colorectal cancer but there is neither a standard referral system nor a nationally agreed referral pathway in the UK. Though studies have compared individual components of different models of health care in colorectal cancer, this is the first study comparing two models in their entirety. Hypothesis The distinct model of service delivery in Trust A picks up a higher percentage of early colorectal cancers than the model of service delivery in Trust B. Method The study compares colorectal cancers diagnosed from two adjacent Trusts in Wales during a three year period. The samples obtained after rigid exclusions correlate the two models of health care with the stage of cancer at diagnosis. Results Trust A has a higher emergency and urgent workload. The overall pick up of early cancers is similar in both Trusts. However, there is a higher pick up rate of early colorectal cancer in Trust A, when GPs accessed the specialist service using an urgent referral through the elective route. Trust A had lower overall waiting times for the first clinic appointment but there was no difference for urgent cases between the two Trusts. Specialists in Trust B had a higher rate of re-prioritisation of urgent GP referrals to the non urgent category. Conclusion There appears to be no significant difference in the overall pick-up rate of modified Dukes’ A colorectal cancers between the two models of health care delivery. The higher pick up rate of early colorectal cancer in Trust A was achieved only where GPs sent patients into the specialist service using an urgent referral through the elective route

Face Detection from Images Using Support Vector Machine

Detection of patterns in images using classifiers is one of the most promising topics of research in the field of computer vision. A large number of practical applications for face detection exist and contemporary work even suggests that any specialized detectors can be approximated by using fast detection classifiers. In this project, I have developed an algorithm which will detect face from the input image with less false detection rate using combined effects of computer vision concepts. This algorithm utilizes the concept of recognizing skin color, detecting edges and extracting different features from face. The result is supported by the statistics obtained from calculating the parameters defining the parts of the face. The project also implements the highly powerful concept of Support Vector Machine that is used for the classification of images into face and non-face class. This classification is based on the training data set and indicators of luminance value, chrominance value, saturation value, elliptical value and nose, eye & mouth map values

Economic Subterfuge and the NBA Lockout

Thesis advisor: Richard, S.J. McGowanAt the very core of the National Basketball Association’s labor negotiations between the owners and the players during the 2011 lockout was the league’s argument that its economic structure was broken. Owners contended that the NBA’s soft salary cap system, and the resulting payroll disparity, has put small-market franchises at a talent disadvantage and produced a league of haves and have-nots. To remedy this purported competitive balance problem, the owners demanded severe policy measures to decrease the pay dispersion among teams. However, the players union cautioned that these hardline provisions were merely an attempt to transfer wealth from players to owners. This charge warranted further analysis. Existing literature on this topic is either outdated or insufficient in scope. As such, using regression analysis, this thesis evaluated the league’s argument and determined to what extent the league’s soft salary cap system has contributed to its competitive imbalance.The empirical analysis of this thesis produced several meaningful conclusions. While the NBA has relative imbalance, it does not affect consumer demand for the regular season product. Moreover, while pay dispersion exists, additional salary expenditures only marginally add to a team’s winning percentage. There is no significant relationship between payroll disparity and competitive balance. Finally, with the escalating importance of media rights contracts and the historical appreciation of franchise valuation, the league overstated the financial distress of most of its small-market owners. Overall, the NBA and its owners used deceptive rhetoric and misleading economic policies to decrease player salaries, not to increase competitive balance, in a collusive effort to maximize profits and reassert its diminishing monopsony power in an increasingly star-driven league.Thesis (BS) — Boston College, 2012.Submitted to: Boston College. Carroll School of Management.Discipline: Carroll School of Management Honors Program.Discipline: Economics

Pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment for decompensated heart failure: what is new?

Purpose of the Review: Acute heart failure (AHF) is a life-threatening clinical condition that requires prompt medical attention. The aim of the current review is to summarise the results of recent clinical trials conducted in patients with AHF. Recent Findings: Several novel compounds have apparently beneficial acute effects on cardiovascular haemodynamics and patients’ symptoms, but their administration has not yet translated into improved survival and has been deleterious in some cases. Summary: The management of patients with AHF is challenging and reflects the heterogeneity of patient’s presentation, the complexity and severity of a multi-organ syndrome, and the limited therapeutic options, usually restricted to a combination of diuretics and vasodilators. Ongoing trials of novel treatments may provide evidence of an effect on outcomes

An unexpected supraclavicular swelling

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Colorectal cancer is the third commonest cause of cancer death in UK. It commonly metastasises to the liver but rarely to small bones.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We describe a case of a patient with adenocarcinoma of the descending colon who presented preoperatively with a right supraclavicular swelling. Subsequent imaging and cytology of the lesion revealed this to be a metastasis to the right clavicle resulting in a pathological fracture.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This report describes the rare occurrence of a colorectal metastasis to the clavicle. It emphasises that although bone metastases from primary colorectal tumours are rare events, they tend to metastasise to small, non-weight bearing bones. It also discusses the utility of isotope bone scanning and that on certain occasions this imaging method may prove to be equivocal. In such circumstances, biopsy or magnetic resonance imaging is more sensitive for the detection of bone metastases.</p

Phytase production by Aspergillus niger NCIM 563 for a novel application to degrade organophosphorus pesticides

Additional file 2. Additional data

Effect of increased inspired oxygen on exercise performance in patients with heart failure and normal ejection fraction

Introduction: We investigated whether increased concentrations of inspired oxygen (FiO2) affects exercise tolerance in patients with heart failure and normal ejection fraction (HeFNEF). Methods: 46 patients (mean age 75 years (63% male) and median NTproBNP 1432 (interquartile range: 543–2378 ng/l)) with HeFNEF (defined as signs or symptoms of heart failure requiring treatment with diuretics, with a left ventricular ejection fraction of >45% by echocardiography and amino terminal pro brain natriuretic peptide (NTproBNP) >220 ng/l) completed three maximal incremental exercise tests with different FiO2 (21%, 28% and 40%) in random order. FiO2 was controlled by investigator but blinded to patients. The primary outcome was exercise time (ET). Results: Increasing FiO2 significantly increased exercise time (522 ± 180 seconds for 21% to 543 ± 176 seconds, and 542 ± 177 seconds, for 28% and 40%, respectively, P = 0.04) with no difference in peak workload (57 ± 25 W, 58 ± 25 W and 57 ± 25 W, for 21%, 28% and 40%, respectively, P = 0.50). There was an increase in oxygen saturation but no change in peak heart rate with increasing FiO2. Compared to patients with LVEF ≥50%, patients with LVEF between 45 and 49% had a significantly greater exercise time and peak workload. There was a correlation between the difference in exercise time between FiO2 21% and 40% and age; but not with BMI, haemoglobin, creatinine or NTproBNP. Conclusion: Increasing FiO2 during exertion leads to a small increase in exercise time in patients with HeFNEF