HHT Based Analysis of Non Stationary Signals and Metal Structures

Hilbert-Huang Transform (HHT) is an innovative data-processing technique for analyzing non stationary and nonlinear signals. The analysis of these signals is to transform the time-domain data to frequency versus time data instead of the amplitude versus frequency.This paper investigates techniques to apply HHT for locating the instantaneous frequency in a signal. This signal processing technique helps in identifying several frequency components which are the indicators of the problems present in the system under test. This can be applied for analyzing aircrafts’ body structure, biomedical signals and seismic signals. Monitoring of civil structures such as bridges and buildings is critical for long-term operational cost and safety of aging structures. Applying HHT to these signals obtained from the various sensors placed in the vicinity of event or entity, it is possible to identify the problems

Drug utilization study of antihypertensive drugs and prevalence of blood pressure control in adult hypertensive patients based on JNC VIII guidelines in a tertiary care hospital: a cross sectional study

Background: Hypertension is a major independent risk factor for coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, stroke, chronic kidney disease and peripheral vascular diseases if left untreated. Drug utilization study of antihypertensive drugs and the study on prevalence of blood pressure control would help in reducing the burden of the disease and health expenditure.Methods: The study was conducted in the Outpatient Department of Medicine in Government Medical College, Thrissur. Patients aged 18yrs or above diagnosed with hypertension, on antihypertensive drugs were enrolled in the study. Patients suffering from secondary hypertension and acutely ill were excluded. Patients were enrolled after taking an informed consent. Demographic data, present treatment for hypertension, associated co- morbid conditions if any, and treatment of the same were recorded. BP was recorded, and cost of treatment was calculated using CIMS.Results: A total of 250 patients were included in the study. Mono therapy was used in 64.8% patients and combination therapy in 35.2%. Overall drug utilization pattern showed that CCBs (42.8%) were most commonly prescribed, followed by ACEIs (32.4%) and ARBs (29.2%). Most commonly prescribed combination therapy was ACE I + BB (29.3%), followed by ARB + CCB (21.3%). Mean cost of antihypertensive drug therapy was 3057.8 Rs / yr. Recommended target BP was achieved in 49.6% of patients.Conclusions: The prescription pattern of antihypertensive drug was in accordance to the JNC-VIII guidelines. The blood pressure target was achieved only in less than 50% of patients

Evaluation of Bag of Visual Words for Category Level Object Recognition

Object recognition in a large scale collection of images has become an important application in machine vision. The recent advances in the object or image recognition for classification of objects shows that Bag-of-visual words approach is a better method for image classification problems. In this work, the effect of different possible parameters and performance evaluation of Bag of visual words approach in terms of their recognition performance such as Accuracy rate, Precision and F1 measure using 8 different classes of real world datasets that are commonly used in restaurant applications is explored. The system presented here is based on visual vocabulary. Features are extracted, clustered, trained and evaluated on an image database of 1600 images of different categories. To validate the obtained results,a performance evaluation on vehicle datasetsunder SURF and SIFT descriptors with Kmeans and K-medoid clustering and KNN classifier has been made. Among these SURF K-means performs better

Maternal pregnancy associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) and uterine artery Doppler changes as predictors of pre-eclampsia: a prospective observational study from a teaching hospital in Mysore, Karnataka, India

Background: Hypertensive disorder affects 10-12% of pregnancies. Identifying women, who are at risk is conducive to prompt gestational management. PAPP-A is a protein complex produced by the developing trophoblasts. Low levels of PAPP-A at 10–14 weeks is a marker of impaired placentation and a smaller placental mass. Doppler imaging permits non-invasive evaluation of the uteroplacental circulation and is invaluable in the management of high-risk pregnancies. The uterine artery Doppler screening identifies patients at risk for developing preeclampsia. To study the association of PAPP-A and the uterine artery Doppler changes as predictor of pre-eclampsia in pregnant women at 11-14 weeks of gestation.Methods: This was a prospective study of 150 pregnant women presenting at 11-14 weeks of gestation for a prenatal check-up. After considering the inclusion and exclusion criteria, serum samples for PAPP-A were assayed. Ultrasound Doppler was used to obtain uterine artery flow velocity waveforms and mean pulsatility index and resistance index of uterine arteries were calculated. Cases were followed up till term and observed for development of pre-eclampsia.Results: 48.6% had low serum PAPP-A levels, in which 77% developed PE. The Mean PI and RI is 2.34±1.16 and 0.58±0.1 respectively. 30% women with abnormal PI values and 24% of women with abnormal RI values developed PE.Conclusions: The combination of maternal history with low serum PAPP-A levels and abnormal uterine artery Doppler at 11-14 weeks can be used as predictor of pre-eclampsia

Newer drugs for the treatment of hepatitis B viral infection

One of the main disadvantages of hepatitis B virus treatment is the persistence of the virus even after treatment. The main causes of this viral persistence can be an inadequacy of the immune function as well as some viral factors. The currently available drugs for hepatitis B are five oral nucleoside/nucleotide analogs (lamivudine, adefovir dipivoxil, tenofovir, entecavir, telbivudine) and two interferon drugs (interferon alfa-2b, pegylated interferon alfa-2a). However, these therapies do not lead to sustained remission, requiring indefinite treatment as viral load frequently rebounds once suppressive therapy is stopped

Magnetic and Low Temperature Conductivity Studies in Oxidized Nano Ni Films

A set of single layered nanostructured Ni films of thickness, t = 25 nm, 50 nm, 75 nm and 100 nm have been deposited using electron beam gun evaporation technique at 473 K under high vacuum condition. From the grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD) studies, NiO phase formation has been noted. Grain sizes of the films were determined. The microstructure was examined by scanning electron microscope (SEM) studies. Average surface roughness was determined by atomic force microscope (AFM). The room temperature magnetization has been measured using the vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The coercive field was observed to be increasing with increasing t and became maximum for t = 75 nm and decreases for further increase in t. The behavior of coercive field with t indicated softness of the films. Low temperature electrical conductivity in the range from 5 K to 300 K has been measured. Temperature dependence of electrical conductivity showed semiconducting behavior. At temperatures above θD/2 (θD is the Debye temperature), the conductivity behavior has been understood in the light of Mott’s small polaron hopping model and activation energies were determined. An attempt has been made to understand conductivity variation below θD/2 using variable range hopping models due to Mott and Greaves. When you are citing the document, use the following link http://essuir.sumdu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/2371

A -Comprehensive Review of Integrating Medicinal Plant Constituents into Neurological Disorder Therapeutics

Neurological diseases are disorders of the nervous system that gradually destroy the structure and function of the central or peripheral nervous system, affecting various parts of the brain. It affects a great number of individuals globally and is one of the main causes of death. Many disorders, particularly neurological diseases that have resisted conventional medical treatment have been treated with plant-based medications. Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD) are two of the most common neurological disorders (NDDs) and have a significant socioeconomic impact. Over many ages, people have looked to natural herbal remedies for a solution for non-divertic disorders. Numerous therapeutic plants and their secondary metabolites have been shown to be able to reduce the symptoms of NDDs. The main mechanisms that have been found to underpin phytochemicals' neuroprotective effects and potential to maintain neurological health as we age include inhibition of acetylcholinesterase and monoamine oxidase, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antithrombotic, and antiapoptotic properties, as well as neurotrophic activities. This article examines the molecular targets of some of the main herbal products that have the potential to cure non-communicable diseases (NDDs). Numerous investigations proved that plant extracts or their bioactive components were effective against non-disease-causing bacteria. Millions of individuals worldwide suffer from age-related NDDs, and herbal products may provide new avenues for therapy

Variable host-pathogen compatibility in Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Studies have reported human pathogens to have geographically structured population genetics, some of which have been linked to ancient human migrations. However, no study has addressed the potential evolutionary consequences of such longstanding human–pathogen associations. Here, we demonstrate that the global population structure of M. tuberculosis is defined by six phylogeographical lineages, each associated with specific, sympatric human populations. In an urban cosmopolitan environment, mycobacterial lineages were much more likely to spread in sympatric than in allopatric patient populations. Tuberculosis cases that did occur in allopatric hosts disproportionately involved high-risk individuals with impaired host resistance. These observations suggest that mycobacterial lineages are adapted to particular human populations. If confirmed, our findings have important implications for tuberculosis control and vaccine development

Studies on soil fertility status of coffee growing regions in Wayanad district

Top soil in Wayanad region is prone to disturbance and erosion, as the coffee growers’ practice scraping, scuffling and cover digging. It isnecessary to conserve the inherent fertility of top soil by minimum disturbance during farming operations. Otherwise soil deterioration can become one of the major constraints for crop production in the present day exploitative cultivation of plantation crops. It is well known that nutrient availability is influenced by their distribution in the soil as well as other soil characteristics. Soil fertility is the key to meet the nutrient requirement of the crops. Soil test based nutrient management will increase the crop productivity there by helping to save the fertility. The study, carried out to understand the fertility status of the coffee soils, revealed a higher acidity (98%) with deficiencies of calcium (32%), magnesium (96%) and boron (31%) limiting the coffee productivity in the district. The coffee area in the district is strongly acidic (69%) due to lack of liming and continuous use of acid producing fertilizers. Fifty per cent of soil sampleswere high in phosphorus which in turn impair the nutrient balance and affects micronutrient absorption by plants. Deficiency of calcium and magnesium affects uptake of other nutrients which upsets cellular functions. In coffee, boron deficiency will reduce the productivity by affecting flowering and fruit set. Amelioration of soil acidity and optimal use of major, secondary and micronutrients are must to enhance coffee productivity in the district. Application of manures and fertilizers based on soil test values will save the fertilizers and also sustain the soil health. Integrated management of plant nutrients is essential to achieve sustainable coffee crop production