A Ratio-cum-Dual to Ratio Estimator of Population Variance Using Qualitative Auxiliary Information Under Simple Random Sampling

In this paper we have proposed a class of ratio-cum-dual to ratio estimators for estimating population variance of the variable under study, using known values of some population parameters of auxiliary variable, which is available in the form of an attribute. The expressions for the bias and mean squared error of the proposed estimators have been derived up to the first order of approximation. A comparison has been made with some well-known estimators of population variance available in the literature when auxiliary information is in qualitative form. It has been shown that the proposed estimator is better than the existing estimators under the optimum condition. For illustration, an empirical study has been carried out

GPU Parallel Computation of Morse-Smale Complexes

The Morse-Smale complex is a well studied topological structure that represents the gradient flow behavior of a scalar function. It supports multi-scale topological analysis and visualization of large scientific data. Its computation poses significant algorithmic challenges when considering large scale data and increased feature complexity. Several parallel algorithms have been proposed towards the fast computation of the 3D Morse-Smale complex. The non-trivial structure of the saddle-saddle connections are not amenable to parallel computation. This paper describes a fine grained parallel method for computing the Morse-Smale complex that is implemented on a GPU. The saddle-saddle reachability is first determined via a transformation into a sequence of vector operations followed by the path traversal, which is achieved via a sequence of matrix operations. Computational experiments show that the method achieves up to 7x speedup over current shared memory implementations

Health Communication in Media: An Analytical Study of Coverage of World Blood Donor Day in Leading National Dailies from Jaipur

As we know Print media is known for its credibility. It is believed that whatever is published in newspapers is true and authentic. Newspapers have a wide reach and huge readership and it can be said that campaigning with mass media like newspapers are associated with many benefits. Firstly it can reach a large number of people.  Secondly, it is considered to be a credible source of information. Thirdly through the newspapers the readers can be reminded about the issues at hand their beliefs reinforced on regular basis. Newspapers have a large readership throughout the world. They can contribute maximally to health education awareness of people by publishing articles on health related issues. Global daily circulation of newspaper was 5.19 million having a readership of 2.3 billion in 2010. This was 20% more than the internet users worldwide. In the age of internet still newspapers are relevant and represent 8% of total media consumption time (https://www.journalism.org/fact-sheet/newspapers/). In India Registered newspapers are 82,237 and Hindi language newspapers are leading the race followed by English and other regional languages. Thus, we can say that Newspapers are very important tool to disseminate health education among people and it can bring change in society. (http://rni.nic.in/

Diffusion of coronavirus and awareness among the people of western India: Analyses the role of print media

Introduction: Media is considered the most powerful platform to create awareness in human society. It plays an important role in spreading public awareness and disseminating information about pandemic diseases such as coronavirus. A survey through a questionnaire was used and the descriptive analysis of questions as asked to the people on COVID 19 published by the leading newspapers of Rajasthan, western India was done to analyze the role print media played in spreading awareness about Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19). Materials and Methods: The objectives used both quantitative and qualitative methodology. In the quantitative method, a self-structured questionnaire was circulated among the various professionals. A descriptive method of secondary sources was also used to measure the effect of articles and advisements on the people published in the newspapers. Results: A total of 106 various professionals participated in the study. The research reveals that 56 percent of males and 43 percent of females are part of this research; more than 80 percent of respondents belong to the age group of fewer than 40 years. Among the active respondents, 91 percent are said to read the newspaper regularly. The study also shows that 96 percent of respondents are read articles, news, columns related to COVID-19 and particular about Coronavirus. Nearly 91 percent of respondents are in favor that media coverage of COVID-19 has improved their knowledge of Coronavirus. Around 93 percent of respondents agree that media spreading awareness among the people on Coronavirus through newspaper published articles, news, and advisements. The study exhibits that 95 percent of respondents expressed their views that print media has played an active role in disseminating the government directives on Coronavirus and almost 97 percent of the respondents are opined that print media will play a more effective role in spreading awareness on coronavirus. Conclusion: The respondents expressed that print media has played a vital role in spreading awareness on the pandemic of coronavirus disease. The newspaper spread awareness among the people on coronavirus through newspaper published articles, news and advisements. The newspaper also published a variety of queries and doubts as asked by the people to Doctors on coronvirus

Water Quality and Pollution Status of Lararpur Reservoir with Special Reference to Bacterial Contamination

Laharpur dam was constructed in the southwest of Bhopal city, M.P., India with an objective to store water for irrigational purpose. At the time of planning and construction of the reservoir it was in the outskirts of township but now, with the expansion of the city the reservoir has come well within the settlement. The developmental activities and occupancy in the area is exerting pressure on the water body. Surface water in urban water bodies almost always contains some degree of contamination. This is due to exposure to animals, humans, aquatic life, etc. In addition to this, variety of other human activities resulted in increasing the bacterial concentration of reservoir. Many of these bacteria are pathogenic and spread diseases like typhoid, paratyphoid, gastroenteritis etc. Inflow of sewage in the surface water may play an important role in the transmission of pathogenic agents discharged through feces. Some pathogenic bacteria like Actinomyces sp., Aerobacter aerogenes, A. cloacae, Micrococcus sp., Salmonella sp., Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillussp, and Shigella species indicate the higher level of fecal contamination of water. This untreated water poses a serious threat to the health of consumers and therefore, calls for urgent intervention by government.
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Duxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity

The survival rate of cancer patients has greatly increased over the last 20 years. However, to achieve this result, a considerable price has been paid in terms of the side-effects associated with the intensive anticancer treatment. Cardiotoxicity of anticancer drugs is a serious problem. It is defined, by the National Cancer Institute, as the “toxicity that affects the heart.” This definition not only includes a direct effect of the drug on the heart, but also an indirect effect due to enhancement of hemodynamic flow alterations or due to thrombotic events. Cardiotoxicity can develop in a subacute, acute, or chronic manner. The risk for such effects depends upon: cumulative dose, rate of drug administration, mediastinal radiation, advanced age, younger age, female gender, pre-existing heart disease and hypertension. Anthracyclines, such as doxorubicin (DOX), cause serious cardiac side-effects. Acute tachyarrhythmias and acute heart failure (HF) may occur after high doses, but these reactions are now rare due to changed dosage schemes (e.g. slower infusion) with the aim to prevent this. However, the sub-acute or chronic cardiac effects of anthracyclines remain a clinical problem. Clinically, anthracycline induced cardiotoxicity manifests itself as left ventricular failure, which develops insidiously over months to years after completion of the anthracycline based chemotherapy and may result in congestive HF. The mechanism of anthracyclin induced cardiotoxicity is not totally unraveled. It is likely that the decline in myocardial function is related to apoptosis of cardiac myocytes that occurs apparently at random in the myocardium. Anthracyclin induced formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the presence of intracellular iron, impaired homeostasis of intracellular iron and calcium (that may facilitate the apoptosis induced by the ROS) have been put forward as mechanisms. Cardiac protection can be achieved by limitation of the cumulative dose. Further, addition of the antioxidant and iron chelator dexrazoxane to anthracycline therapy has shown to be effective in lowering the incidence of anthracycline induced cardiotoxicity

EFFICACY AND TOLERABILITY OF A NOVEL FORMULATION FOR WEIGHT MANAGEMENT IN OBESE SUBJECTS: A RANDOMIZED, DOUBLE BLIND, PLACEBO CONTROLLED, CLINICAL STUDY

Obesity is a complex interplay between environmental and genetic factors, is also associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The primary objective of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Calebin A (standardized extract of Curcuma caesia) in the management of weight in obese or overweight individuals. A randomized, mono-centric, double-blind, placebo-controlled, clinical study was conducted by administering Calebin A (standardized extract of Curcuma caesia) capsules (25 mg, one capsule twice a day) and indistinguishable placebo capsules as daily supplements to 40 overweight and obese subjects for 90 days. The study participants were divided in 1:1 ratio to receive either Calebin A (standardized extract of Curcuma caesia) (n = 20) or placebo (n = 20).Efficacy was assessed by measuring body weight, body mass index, leptin, adiponectin levels, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides and Hs-CRP. Safety was assessed by evaluating safety parameters (vital signs and laboratory investigations) and monitoring adverse events.After 90 days, significant reduction in body weight (P< 0.0001) and body mass index (P < 0.0001) were observed in the Calebin A (standardized extract of Curcuma caesia) group compared with placebo. Additionally, significant change in serum biomarkers was observed between Calebin A (standardized extract of Curcuma caesia) and placebo groups from baseline to final visits. Adverse events were mild and were unrelated to the investigational products. Supplementation with Calebin A (standardized extract of Curcuma caesia) resulted in significant decrease in weight loss than placebo over 90 days. It was safe and well tolerated by all subjects

Pulmonary Issues in Chronic Liver Disease

Pulmonary complications are important cause for high incidence of mortality in chronic liver disease patients admitted to the intensive care unit. Up to 50–70% of patients report shortness of breath, reflecting the high prevalence of respiratory failure, defined as an arterial pressure of oxygen (PaO2) of less than 60 mm Hg. The causes of respiratory failure are multifactorial in chronic liver disease. Although much attention is given to the pathologies of pulmonary microcirculation (i.e., portopulmonary hypertension and hepatopulmonary syndrome), these specific conditions are found in <20% of cirrhotic patients. The impact of liver disease on respiratory function extends far beyond these two specific conditions and include micro-aspirations associated with hepatic encephalopathy, fluid overload, hepatic hydrothorax, and basal atelectasis and restriction due to large ascites. The impact of altered bile-acid composition induces a shift in the gut microbiome and this may shed a new light on the molecular basis for the ‘gut–liver–lung axis’ as the driver for multiple organ failure. This chapter focuses on current evidence surrounding the prevalence, management, and complications from various etiologies of respiratory insufficiency in end-stage liver disease patients

A role for histone acetylation mechanisms in adolescent alcohol exposure-induced deficits in hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor expression and neurogenesis markers in adulthood

Binge drinking during adolescence is a risk factor for neuropsychiatric disorders that can develop later in life. Histone acetylation is an important epigenetic mechanism that contributes to neurodevelopment. We investigated the effects of adolescent intermittent ethanol (AIE) exposure, as opposed to normal saline (AIS) exposure, on histone acetylation-mediated regulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression and developmental stages of neurogenesis (proliferating and immature neurons) in the hippocampus in adulthood. AIE exposure increased whole hippocampal histone deacetylase (HDAC) activity and decreased binding protein of cyclic adenosine monophosphate response element binding protein (CBP) and histone H3-K9 acetylation levels in the CA1, CA2, and CA3 regions of the hippocampus. BDNF protein and exon IV mRNA levels in the CA1 and CA3 regions of the hippocampus of AIE exposed adult rats were decreased as compared to AIS exposed adult rats. AIE induced anxiety-like behaviors and deficits in histone H3 acetylation at BDNF exon IV promoter in the hippocampus during adulthood, which were reversed by treatment with the HDAC inhibitor, trichostatin A (TSA). Similarly, neurogenesis was inhibited by AIE in adulthood as demonstrated by the decrease in Ki-67 and doublecortin (DCX)-positive cells in the dentate gyrus, which was normalized by TSA treatment. These results indicate that AIE exposure increases HDACs and decreases CBP levels that may be associated with a decrease in histone H3 acetylation in the hippocampus. These epigenetic changes potentially decrease BDNF expression and inhibit neurogenesis in the hippocampus that may be involved in AIE-induced behavioral abnormalities, including anxiety, in adulthood