ENHANCING CIRCULAR MICROSTRIP PATCH ANTENNA PERFORMANCE USING MACHINE LEARNING MODELS

Machine learning (ML) will be heavily used in the future generation of wireless communication networks. The development of diverse communication-based applications is expected to boost coverage and spectrum efficiency in relation to conventional systems. ML may be employed to develop solutions in a wide range of domains, such as antennas. This article describes the design and optimization of a circular patch antenna. The optimization is done through ML algorithms. Six ML models, Decision Tree, Random Forest, XG-Boost Regression, K-Nearest Neighbour (KNN), Gradient Boosting Regression (GBR), and Light Gradient Boosting Regression (LGBR), were employed in this work to predict the antenna's return loss (S11). The findings show that all of these models work well, with KNN having the highest accuracy in predicting return loss of 98.5%. The antenna design & optimization process can be accelerated with the support of ML. These developments allow designers to push beyond the limits of antenna technology, optimize performance, and offer novel solutions for emerging applications such as 5G, 6G, IoT, and flexible wireless communication systems)

A Study of Comparison of Post-Operative Analgesia after Single-Shot Caudal Epidural Block Using Bupivacaine with or without Clonidine in Children

Introduction: Lower abdominal surgeries are one of the most frequently performed surgeries in the pediatric age group. A large number of these operations are done as day-care procedures.Caudal block is one of the most common regional anesthetic techniques in children being used to supplement general anesthesia for a wide variety of sacral-segment surgery. The local anesthetics currently in use are safe and their pharmacological effects have been well evaluated. There is no fear of neurological sequelaeas in the past.Several studies have demonstrated that Clonidine added to the local anesthetic in caudal block both enhances and prolongs the analgesia produced by the block without the unpleasant or hazardous sideeffects associated with the use of other adjuvant drugs like opioids, epinephrine and some newer adjuvants like neostigmine and dexmedetomidine. Our study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of single-dose caudal epidural Clonidine in prolonging the post-operative analgesia when mixed with Bupivacaine in children.Materials and MethodsSixty children of ASA I and ASA II physical status, between 1 and 12 years of age, who underwent elective lower abdominal surgeries, were randomly divided into two groups B (N=30) and C (N=30). All the children were administered general anesthesia. After induction, a single-shot caudal block was administered using 0.25% Bupivacaine (group B) and 1.5 mg/kg of Clonidine hydrochloride (group C). Vital monitoring was done intraoperatively as per institutional protocol. Post-operative monitoring was done in the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) for 2–3 hours and in the ward for next 24 hours. Data with respect to duration of surgery, duration of pain-free period, time to void and any other complications was compiled. The final results of the study were tabulated and analyzed for significance using standard statistical techniques (unpaired t-test).ResultsThis study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of Clonidine in prolonging post-operative analgesia of Bupivacaine when given caudally in 60 children undergoing lower abdominal surgeries. The duration of pain-free period with caudal Bupivacaine with Clonidine (group C) is significantly longer than caudalBupivacaine (group B). The duration of pain relief was 20.4 hours in group C as compared to 14.2 hours in group B. This is statistically significant (p<0.05).ConclusionWe conclude that adding Clonidine 1.5 mg/kg to Bupivacaine 0.25% for caudal anesthesia in children undergoing lower abdominal surgeries enhances and prolongs postoperative analgesia compared to caudal Bupivacaine 0.25% alone. Clonidine may be the drug of choice to prolong the duration of caudal anesthesiaprovided by a single injection in children

A retrospective study of maternal and perinatal outcome in patients of postpartum haemorrhage in a tertiary care hospital

Background: Postpartum hemorrhage is one of the most important causes of maternal mortality and morbidity. Maternal Hemorrhage is the commonest cause of maternal mortality in India. Identification of risk factors, early diagnosis and timely intervention can help in reducing significant maternal morbidity and mortality due to post-partum hemorrhage. The aim and objectives of the study was to study socio-demographic profile of patients admitted with the diagnosis of post-partum Haemorrhage, to study the various risk factors and causes of post-partum Haemorrhage, to study maternal and perinatal outcome in patients suffering from post-partum haemorrhage.Methods: It was a record based retrospective study. Files of the patients admitted with diagnosis of postpartum haemorrhage from September 2014 to February 2015 were retrieved and detailed analysis was done regarding patients’ socio demographic characteristics, various risk factors, causes and maternal and perinatal outcome.Results: It was a record based retrospective study. It was found that majority (88%) of the patients belonged to age group of 21-30 years. Majority of them (59%) were from rural background. It was found that the commonest (26%) risk factor associated with postpartum hemorrhage in our study was prolonged labour, followed by ante partum hemorrhage (20%). It was found that the commonest (68%) underlying cause of postpartum hemorrhage was atonicity of uterus, followed by genital tract trauma (24%).Conclusions: Postpartum hemorrhage is one of the biggest menace in today’s times. It adds to significant maternal morbidity and mortality

Activin Receptor Type 2A (ACVR2A) Functions Directly in Osteoblasts as a Negative Regulator of Bone Mass

Bone and skeletal muscle mass are highly correlated in mammals, suggesting the existence of common anabolic signaling networks that coordinate the development of these two anatomically adjacent tissues. The activin signaling pathway is an attractive candidate to fulfill such a role. Here, we generated mice with conditional deletion of activin receptor (ACVR) type 2A, ACVR2B, or both, in osteoblasts, to determine the contribution of activin receptor signaling in regulating bone mass. Immunohistochemistry localized ACVR2A and ACVR2B to osteoblasts and osteocytes. Primary osteoblasts expressed activin signaling components, including ACVR2A, ACVR2B, and ACVR1B (ALK4) and demonstrated increased levels of phosphorylated Smad2/3 upon exposure to activin ligands. Osteoblasts lacking ACVR2B did not show significant changes in vitro. However, osteoblasts deficient in ACVR2A exhibited enhanced differentiation indicated by alkaline phosphatase activity, mineral deposition, and transcriptional expression of osterix, osteocalcin, and dentin matrix acidic phosphoprotein 1. To investigate activin signaling in osteoblasts in vivo, we analyzed the skeletal phenotypes of mice lacking these receptors in osteoblasts and osteocytes (osteocalcin-Cre). Similar to the lack of effect in vitro, ACVR2B-deficient mice demonstrated no significant change in any bone parameter. By contrast, mice lacking ACVR2A had significantly increased femoral trabecular bone volume at 6 weeks of age. Moreover, mutant mice lacking both ACVR2A and ACVR2B demonstrated sustained increases in trabecular bone volume, similar to those in ACVR2A single mutants, at 6 and 12 weeks of age. Taken together, these results indicate that activin receptor signaling, predominantly through ACVR2A, directly and negatively regulates bone mass in osteoblasts

Ciprofloxacin-Resistant Neisseria meningitidis, Delhi, India

Decreased susceptibility of Neisseria meningitidis isolates to ciprofloxacin emerged from an outbreak in Delhi, India. Results of antimicrobial susceptibility testing of the meningococcal isolates to ciprofloxacin and further sequencing of DNA gyrase A quinolone-resistance–determining region confirmed the emergence of ciprofloxacin resistance in the outbreak

Electrical science

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Consumer Segmentation in the Fashion Industry Using Social Media: An Empirical Analysis

Social media has developed into a symbolic channel that affects consumer behavior due to the remarkable marketing and ecommerce opportunities that the internet has provided. This study is based on segmentation of consumers into different categories in the world of fashion using social media. This paper proposes two conceptual models (the FC-CBR model of consumer brand relationship and the FC-CBP model of consumer brand perception) for exploring further into these constructs and developing a more coherent theoretical framework. The study identifies factors of Consumer Brand Relationship (CBR) and Consumer Brand Perception (CBP) using social media in the fashion world. Subsequently, the manuscript groups fashion consumers into clusters using K-means cluster analysis based on consumer brand relationship and consumer brand perception. The manuscript demonstrates how the clusters can be used in the development of efficient targeting and positioning strategies by practitioners

A retrospective study of maternal and perinatal outcome in patients of postpartum haemorrhage in a tertiary care hospital

Background: Postpartum hemorrhage is one of the most important causes of maternal mortality and morbidity. Maternal Hemorrhage is the commonest cause of maternal mortality in India. Identification of risk factors, early diagnosis and timely intervention can help in reducing significant maternal morbidity and mortality due to post-partum hemorrhage. The aim and objectives of the study was to study socio-demographic profile of patients admitted with the diagnosis of post-partum Haemorrhage, to study the various risk factors and causes of post-partum Haemorrhage, to study maternal and perinatal outcome in patients suffering from post-partum haemorrhage. Methods: It was a record based retrospective study. Files of the patients admitted with diagnosis of postpartum haemorrhage from September 2014 to February 2015 were retrieved and detailed analysis was done regarding patients' socio demographic characteristics, various risk factors, causes and maternal and perinatal outcome. Results: It was a record based retrospective study. It was found that majority (88%) of the patients belonged to age group of 21-30 years. Majority of them (59%) were from rural background. It was found that the commonest (26%) risk factor associated with postpartum hemorrhage in our study was prolonged labour, followed by ante partum hemorrhage (20%). It was found that the commonest (68%) underlying cause of postpartum hemorrhage was atonicity of uterus, followed by genital tract trauma (24%). Conclusions: Postpartum hemorrhage is one of the biggest menace in today's times. It adds to significant maternal morbidity and mortality. [Int J Reprod Contracept Obstet Gynecol 2016; 5(6.000): 1897-1901

Isoliquiritigenin inhibits IκB kinase activity and ROS generation to block TNF-α induced expression of cell adhesion molecules on human endothelial cells

Isoliquiritigenin (ILTG) is a flavonoid with chalcone structure (4,2',4'-trihydroxychalcone), an active component present in plants like Glycyrrhiza and Dalbergia which showed various biological activities including anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogenic and antihistamic. As very little is known in regard to the underlying mechanism involved in explaining the various activities of the compound, we carried out a detailed study on the effect of ILTG on the expression of cell adhesion molecules on human primary endothelial cells. We demonstrate here that ILTG inhibits TNF-α induced adhesion of neutrophils to endothelial monolayer by blocking the expression of ICAM-1, VCAM-1 and E-selectin. Since NF-κB is a major transcription factor involved in the transcriptional regulation of cell adhesion molecules, thus we studied the status of NF-κB activation in ILTG treated endothelial cells. We demonstrate that ILTG inhibits the translocation and activation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) by blocking the phosphorylation and subsequent degradation of IκBα. As oxidative stress is also known to regulate the activation of NF-κB to modulate TNF-α signaling cascade, we tested the effect of ILTG on reactive oxygen species (ROS). We found that it inhibits TNF-α induced ROS production in endothelial cells. These results have important implications for using ILTG or its derivatives towards the development of effective anti-inflammatory molecules

Antimalarial preclinical drug development: A single oral dose of a 5-carbon-linked trioxane dimer plus mefloquine cures malaria-infected mice

Three new 5-carbon-linked trioxane dimer carboxylate esters have been prepared from the natural trioxane, artemisinin, in only three steps and 40-50% overall yields. Each one of these new chemical entities is at least as efficacious as the clinically used trioxane antimalarial drug artemether when combined with mefloquine hydrochloride in a low single oral dose cure. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc