Optimal harvesting policy of a prey–predator model with Crowley–Martin-type functional response and stage structure in the predator

In this paper, a three-dimensional dynamical model consisting of a prey, a mature predator, and an immature predator is proposed and analysed. The interaction between prey and mature predator is assumed to be of the Crowley–Martin type, and both the prey and mature predator are harvested according to catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) hypothesis. Steady state of the system is obtained, stability analysis (local and global both) are discussed to explore the long-time behaviour of the system. The optimal harvesting policy is also discussed with the help of Pontryagin's maximum principle. The harvesting effort is taken as an effective control instrument to preserve prey and predator and to maintain them at an optimal level

Assessing the Adoption of a Home Health Provisioning System in India: an analysis of doctors’ knowledge, attitudes and perceptions

Background: Unlike developed countries, home healthcare provision systems (HHPS) are not widely prevalent in developing countries like India. Our objective was to study the knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of doctors in India about the adoption of HHPS. Methods: Our survey included 180 doctors across India, working in local hospitals. Using online and paperbased questionnaires, we used bar charts and pie charts to represent the frequency distributions. We also conducted multivariate logistic regression analysis to understand the importance of the selected factors upon the dependent variables of interest such as willingness to work during non-office hours, desire for increased remuneration, and willingness to enrol in HHPS. Results: The desire for an increase in remuneration made doctors more willing to enrol in HHPS. Possible reasons for doctors to enrol included the ability to answer follow-up queries through email or video chat and HHPS being integrated with the local healthcare system in the hospital. Young male doctors were most likely willing to provide services through HHPS during nonoffice hours as compared to females. A large majority of doctors indicated hospital visits to be important for follow-up queries, but several doctors indicated that simple patient queries could be addressed by nonpersonal interactions like video chat or email. Conclusions: The desire for extra remuneration could be the primary reason for the willingness of doctors to work during non-office hours and thus enrol in HHPS. The majority of doctors considered hospital visits to be important, but several doctors also indicated that nonpersonal interactions using text messages, telephone, email and video chat might serve as important methods to respond to simple follow-up queries from patients. Abbreviations: EMR – Electronic Medical Record; HHPS – Home Help Provisioning Systems; ICT – Information and Communication Technology; ISO – International Organisation for Standardisation

An Investigation into Neuromorphic ICs using Memristor-CMOS Hybrid Circuits

The memristance of a memristor depends on the amount of charge flowing through it and when current stops flowing through it, it remembers the state. Thus, memristors are extremely suited for implementation of memory units. Memristors find great application in neuromorphic circuits as it is possible to couple memory and processing, compared to traditional Von-Neumann digital architectures where memory and processing are separate. Neural networks have a layered structure where information passes from one layer to another and each of these layers have the possibility of a high degree of parallelism. CMOS-Memristor based neural network accelerators provide a method of speeding up neural networks by making use of this parallelism and analog computation. In this project we have conducted an initial investigation into the current state of the art implementation of memristor based programming circuits. Various memristor programming circuits and basic neuromorphic circuits have been simulated. The next phase of our project revolved around designing basic building blocks which can be used to design neural networks. A memristor bridge based synaptic weighting block, a operational transconductor based summing block were initially designed. We then designed activation function blocks which are used to introduce controlled non-linearity. Blocks for a basic rectified linear unit and a novel implementation for tan-hyperbolic function have been proposed. An artificial neural network has been designed using these blocks to validate and test their performance. We have also used these fundamental blocks to design basic layers of Convolutional Neural Networks. Convolutional Neural Networks are heavily used in image processing applications. The core convolutional block has been designed and it has been used as an image processing kernel to test its performance.Comment: Bachelor's thesi

Percutaneous nephrolithotripsy for renal pelvis stone in a crossed fused ectopic kidney: a case report

Crossed renal ectopia is the second most common fusion anomaly of the kidney after horseshoe kidney. The incidence of both fused and unfused cases is 1 in 7000 in autopsies. Percutaneous nephrolithotripsy (PCNL) is a well-established technique in the surgical management of nephrolithiasis. The conventional fluoroscopic guidance of PCNL will be of limited value in ectopic anomalous kidneys due to the abnormal anatomical landmarks with consequent compromise of the procedure’s safety.  A 30-year old male patient, previously healthy, presented to our urology outpatient clinic complaining of dull flank pain of six month duration with tenderness in the right renal area and an enlarged right kidney and 1 episode of gross haematuria. Radiological investigations showed left side crossed ectopia with nephrolithiasis. Patient was managed successfully by fluoroscopic guided percutaneous nephrolithotripsy. The position of the stone-containing ectopic kidney can make it easy to reach the pelvis of the target kidney without injuring any adjoining structure. The superimposition of the different soft tissue densities in the radiologic view may limit the ability of the operator to distinguish between different tissue identities. Laparoscopic guidance can represent as a practical solution to this technical problem

Red cell distribution width, inflammatory markers and cardiorespiratory fitness: Results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Aims: Cardiorespiratory fitness is an important predictor of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Both red cell distribution width (RDW) and inflammatory markers like C-reactive protein (CRP) have been shown to predict adverse outcomes in patients with heart disease. Methods: We utilized pooled data from NHANES 1999–2004 to assess cardiorespiratory fitness in healthy adults 12–49 years old using submaximal exercise. The primary outcome was the estimated maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max). Low fitness was defined as VO2max < 20th percentile of age- and gender-based reference category. Results: In our study, we estimated 21.2% of individuals had low fitness. Elevated RDW (>13%) was encountered in 20.4% subjects with low fitness as compared to 14.0% subjects in the control group (p 0.5 mg/dL) was found among 17.4% subjects with low fitness as compared to 12.4% subjects in the control group (p < 0.001). Adjusted analysis demonstrated a dose–response relationship between low cardiorespiratory fitness and increasing RDW or CRP. Conclusion: In a large representative database of general US population, we observed a significant association between elevated RDW and elevated CRP with low cardiorespiratory fitness