Selection of portable hard disk drive based upon weighted aggregated sum product assessment method: a case of Indian market

The multi criteria decision making (MCDM) methodology is utilized to assess different portable hard disk drive (HDD) alternatives, according to the purchaser/ retailer/wholesaler liking with respect to various attributes. The HDD comes under various types and have a number of attributes connected with it like storage capacity, size, data transfer speed, physical dimensions etc. The modern market caters for a wide variety of customer needs. So, it becomes the need of the hour to present a simple technique to select the best alternative for purchaser/retailer/wholesaler to satisfy their combined needs. Among the MCDM methods, the more simple and widely used technique Weighted Aggregated Sum Product Assessment (WASPAS) is utilized in the present work. The data of different HDDs were collected that were available in the Indian market and twenty four different models of five brands were considered in decision making. The Equal Weights Method (EWM) and objective weights method i.e. Standard Deviation Method (SDM) is utilized to allocate weights of significance to the criteria. The ranks obtained with SAW, WPM and WASPAS are presented and final ranks are considered with WASPAS method because it’s an amalgamation of the SAW and WPM. The result reveals that the Western Digital (WD) comes out to be the first choice as a brand because top three models belong to them with both the equal and objective weights. While utilizing these techniques, a consumer can purchase the best HDD and it is also very advantageous for merchant and sellers to aid users in procuring their gadgets whiles manufactures of HDD can produce their product with unique technological features aimed at particular users. Further, the subjective weights can be considered to select the best alternative

High-yielding 18F radiosynthesis of a novel oxytocin receptor tracer, a probe for nose-to-brain oxytocin uptake in vivo

A novel Al18F labelled peptide tracer for PET imaging of oxytocin receptor has been accessed through a high radiochemical yield approach. This tracer showed comparable affinity and higher selectivity and stability compared to oxytocin, and was used to demonstrate direct nose-to-brain uptake following intranasal administration, a common yet controversial delivery route for oxytocin-based therapeutics

Decolourisation of chemically different dyes by enzymes from spent compost of Pleurotus sajor-caju and their kinetics

A total of eight dyes from the triphenylmethane, azo and  polymeric/heterocyclic dye group were decolourized by enzyme cocktail extracted from five month old spent compost of Pleurotus sajor-cajuwith lignin peroxidase as the main enzyme. The percentage of decolourisation for tryphan blue, amido black, remazol brilliant blue R (RBBR) and bromophenol blue ranged between 80 - 90% after 4 hreaction. However, the percentage of decolourisation for crystal violet, methyl green and congo red was lower than the other dyes from the same dye group with only 60 - 65% after 12 h. Methylene blue exhibited the least decolourisation with only 43% after 24 h indicating that this dye is a poor substrate for the enzyme. The rate of decolourisation for crystal violet, tryphan blue, amido black, congo red and RBBR dyes by enzymes from spent mushroom compost (SMC) were also calculated. The rate ofdecolourisation for all the dyes was positively affected by the initial dye concentration, pH between 4.0 - 4.5 and temperature range of 30 - 35°C. The optimum concentration of veratryl alcohol as redox mediator was between 0 - 2 mM for all the dyes except for RBBR. The optimum veratryl alcohol concentration for RBBR was 4 mM. Based on the effect of hydrogen peroxide on the rate of decolourisation of each dye, the dyes could be divided into two groups. From the results of the present study, it could be concluded that the enzymes extracted from the spent compost of P. sajor-caju offers an economical advantage of obtaining industrially important enzymes, which have potential in the bioremediation of synthetic dyes. Furthermore, the utilization of spent compost for the extraction ofenzymes can also offer a possible solution for the problem posed due to the disposal of large amounts of spent mushroom compost

Daily activity during stability and exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

BACKGROUND: During most COPD exacerbations, patients continue to live in the community but there is little information on changes in activity during exacerbations due to the difficulties of obtaining recent, prospective baseline data. METHODS: Patients recorded on daily diary cards any worsening in respiratory symptoms, peak expiratory flow (PEF) and the number of steps taken per day measured with a Yamax Digi-walker pedometer. Exacerbations were defined by increased respiratory symptoms and the number of exacerbations experienced in the 12 months preceding the recording of daily step count used to divide patients into frequent (> = 2/year) or infrequent exacerbators. RESULTS: The 73 COPD patients (88% male) had a mean (+/-SD) age 71(+/-8) years and FEV1 53(+/-16)% predicted. They recorded pedometer data on a median 198 days (IQR 134-353). At exacerbation onset, symptom count rose by 1.9(+/-1.3) and PEF fell by 7(+/-13) l/min. Mean daily step count fell from 4154(+/-2586) steps/day during a preceding baseline week to 3673(+/-2258) step/day during the initial 7 days of exacerbation (p = 0.045). Patients with larger falls in activity at exacerbation took longer to recover to stable level (rho = -0.56; p < 0.001). Recovery in daily step count was faster (median 3.5 days) than for exacerbation symptoms (median 11 days; p < 0.001). Recovery in step count was also faster in untreated compared to treated exacerbation (p = 0.030).Daily step count fell faster over time in the 40 frequent exacerbators, by 708 steps/year, compared to 338 steps/year in 33 infrequent exacerbators (p = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: COPD exacerbations reduced physical activity and frequent exacerbations accelerate decline in activity over time

Basal Cell Adenoma‑Clinicopathological, Immunohistochemical Analysis and Surgical Considerations of a Rare Salivary Gland Tumor with Review of Literature

Introduction: Basal cell adenoma (BCA) of the salivary glands is a rare benign salivary gland tumour. Differentiation of BCA from varied entities involving maxillofacial area is mandatory. Aim: To analyze the clinicopathological, histopathologic features, immunohistochemcal analysis and surgical considerations of this rare entity. Materials and Methods: This study included 12 cases of BCA from archives of department reported over the period of 13 years. All the pertaining clinicopathologic features such as incidence, age, sex and site of lesions were assessed. Tissue sections were stained by using panel of immunohistochemical markers, i.e. Pan CK, CK 5/6 and S100, Calponin, p63, CD 117 and smooth muscle actin. Results: BCA was observed in 26-52 years age group (mean age, 38.75 years) with female propensity of 7:5 male to female ratio. It is seen more commonly in parotid gland, followed by upper lip, buccal mucosa and palate. Solid type is the most common histopathologic type followed by tubular, membranous and trabecular. Only one case of membranous type of BCA showed recurrence. Pan CK, CK 5/6 showed strong immunoreactivity, calponin showed moderate staining, p63 and Ki‑67 mild staining, whereas CD 117 and SMA showed negative immunostaining. Conclusion: Vigilant comprehensive analysis of all the pertaining clinicopathologic and histopathologic features and immunohistochemical analysis are required for differentiating from other lesions with basaloid differentiation having varying prognosis.Keywords: Basal cell adenoma, basal cell adenocarcinoma, monomorphic adenom

Oscillatory, Computational, and Behavioral Evidence for Impaired GABAergic Inhibition in Schizophrenia

The dysconnection hypothesis of schizophrenia (SZ) proposes that psychosis is best understood in terms of aberrant connectivity. Specifically, it suggests that dysconnectivity arises through aberrant synaptic modulation associated with deficits in GABAergic inhibition, excitation-inhibition balance and disturbances of high-frequency oscillations. Using a computational model combined with a graded-difficulty visual orientation discrimination paradigm, we demonstrate that, in SZ, perceptual performance is determined by the balance of excitation-inhibition in superficial cortical layers. Twenty-eight individuals with a DSM-IV diagnosis of SZ, and 30 age- and gender-matched healthy controls participated in a psychophysics orientation discrimination task, a visual grating magnetoencephalography (MEG) recording, and a magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) scan for GABA. Using a neurophysiologically informed model, we quantified group differences in GABA, gamma measures, and the predictive validity of model parameters for orientation discrimination in the SZ group. MEG visual gamma frequency was reduced in SZ, with lower peak frequency associated with more severe negative symptoms. Orientation discrimination performance was impaired in SZ. Dynamic causal modeling of the MEG data showed that local synaptic connections were reduced in SZ and local inhibition correlated negatively with the severity of negative symptoms. The effective connectivity between inhibitory interneurons and superficial pyramidal cells predicted orientation discrimination performance within the SZ group; consistent with graded, behaviorally relevant, disease-related changes in local GABAergic connections. Occipital GABA levels were significantly reduced in SZ but did not predict behavioral performance or oscillatory measures. These findings endorse the importance, and behavioral relevance, of GABAergic synaptic disconnection in schizophrenia that underwrites excitation-inhibition balance