CogCell: Cognitive Interplay between 60GHz Picocells and 2.4/5GHz Hotspots in the 5G Era

Rapid proliferation of wireless communication devices and the emergence of a variety of new applications have triggered investigations into next-generation mobile broadband systems, i.e., 5G. Legacy 2G--4G systems covering large areas were envisioned to serve both indoor and outdoor environments. However, in the 5G-era, 80\% of overall traffic is expected to be generated in indoors. Hence, the current approach of macro-cell mobile network, where there is no differentiation between indoors and outdoors, needs to be reconsidered. We envision 60\,GHz mmWave picocell architecture to support high-speed indoor and hotspot communications. We envisage the 5G indoor network as a combination of-, and interplay between, 2.4/5\,GHz having robust coverage and 60\,GHz links offering high datarate. This requires an intelligent coordination and cooperation. We propose 60\,GHz picocellular network architecture, called CogCell, leveraging the ubiquitous WiFi. We propose to use 60\,GHz for the data plane and 2.4/5GHz for the control plane. The hybrid network architecture considers an opportunistic fall-back to 2.4/5\,GHz in case of poor connectivity in the 60\,GHz domain. Further, to avoid the frequent re-beamforming in 60\,GHz directional links due to mobility, we propose a cognitive module -- a sensor-assisted intelligent beam switching procedure -- which reduces the communication overhead. We believe that the CogCell concept will help future indoor communications and possibly outdoor hotspots, where mobile stations and access points collaborate with each other to improve the user experience.Comment: 14 PAGES in IEEE Communications Magazine, Special issue on Emerging Applications, Services and Engineering for Cognitive Cellular Systems (EASE4CCS), July 201

Impact Analysis of Finger Millet Varieties on Yield and Income of the Farmers in Mandya District, Karnataka

The Finger Millet (Eleusine coracana L.) is a staple food in southern Karnataka popularly known and called as ‘Ragi’ in Indian vernacular language. To enhance its productivity the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru (UASB) is engaged in evolving location specific, farmer need based farm technologies through its Zonal Agricultural Research Stations (ZARS) spread over in Southern Karnataka since its inception 1965. To its credit, it has developed and released many farm technologies for the farmers to adopt. Among these, the improved high yielding Finger Millet variety KMR-204 was one. It has genetic advantages over the other local varieties, such as high yielding, blast tolerance, short duration and preferred for late sowing when rains are delayed. Such improved variety was released and recommended during 2011 for wider adoption for the growers in southern dry zone of Karnataka. Since then, many growers had adopted the variety. After lapse of 5 years of its release, the UASB was interested in to find out the performance of the technology on the farmers field and their perception in gaining economic returns when compared to other local varieties. From this backdrop the study was conducted during 2016 in Mandya district, Karnataka, where there is large area under the Finger Millet crop. The district has 7 taluks, from each taluk 2 Finger Millet growing villages were selected. From 14 villages, 210 respondents who have adopted both KMR-204 and Indaf -9 varieties (Before) were selected randomly and interviewed and information was collected. A research design ‘Before and After’ was adopted to compare the results. The findings of the study reveal that, the KMR-204 had given more grain and straw yield compared to that of Indaf-9 variety used before under both rainfed and irrigated conditions. However, the difference in obtaining grain and straw yields was non-significant. Similarly, in case of obtaining net income, though the respondents obtained relatively more income from KMR-204 compared to Indaf-9, the difference was non-significant. Thus the alternate hypothesis is rejected by accepting the null hypothesis. The respondents had favourable perception, with high attibutional quotient (0.92) towards KMR-204, implying speedier diffusion of technology in the social system for adoption. To conclude that the respondents obtained almost equal yields and income from the from the selected Finger millet varieties. The respondents had favourable perception (attributional index-0.92) towards KMR-204 variety, implying speedier diffusion of technology in to the social system in due course of time

Association of Chlamydia pneumoniae IgG and IgA antibody in coronary artery disease

Background:Cardiovascular disease, resulting from atherosclerosis, is a leading cause of global morbidity and mortality. Classical risk factors explain much of the attributable risk for cardiovascular events, but other risk factors for the development and progression of atherosclerosis, which can be identified, may be important therapeutic targets. Infectious agents, such as Chlamydia pneumoniae, have been proposed as contributory factors in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. The present study was conducted to determine the seroprevalence of C. pneumoniae antibodies and to study the association of chronic C. pneumoniae infection with Coronary Artery Disease (CAD).Methods:The study group included 90 angiographically proven CAD patients and age and sex matched 90 normal coronaries as control group. With total aseptic precaution 3 ml blood was collected. Enzyme linked immunosorbant assay was performed for all subjects to detect the presence of IgG and IgA antibodies to Chlamydia pneumoniae (Cp).  Results:IgG and IgA Cp antibodies were detected in 67.8% and 58.9% CAD patients compared to 45.6% and 11.1%   controls. IgG + IgA Cp antibodies were detected in 88.9% CAD patients when compared to 50.0% controls. Seroprevalence of IgG and IgA Cp antibodies were high among CAD patients compared to controls and was found statistically significant. A significant presence of Chlamydia pneumoniae antibodies was detected in smokers, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and dyslipidemia.  Conclusion:In the present study, the seroprevalence of IgG and IgA Cp antibodies was found to be higher in CAD patients compared to controls. The present study supports the   association between Chlamydia pneumoniae infection and Coronary artery disease.

Cosmic expansion beyond Λ\LambdaCDM: Investigating power-law and logarithmic corrections

The cosmic acceleration observed in the expansion of the Universe has sparked extensive research into the nature of dark energy, which is known to constitute approximately 70\% of the Universe's energy content. In this study, we explore two parametrizations of the Hubble parameter, namely power-law and logarithmic corrections, as alternatives to the standard $\Lambda$CDM model. Using observational data from Cosmic Chronometers (CC), Pantheon+, and the Baryonic Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) datasets, we investigate the dynamics of essential cosmological parameters, including the deceleration parameter, energy density, pressure, and equation of state (EoS) parameter. The $Om(z)$ diagnostic test is employed to classify different dark energy models. Our cosmological models, with the power-law and logarithmic corrections, are found to provide a good fit to the recent observational data and efficiently describe the cosmic expansion scenario.Comment: The European Physical Journal Plus accepted versio

Account of the Flatfishes of the Mangalore Coast and Notes on their Fishery

12 specimens were studied for morphological and meristic characters. Most characters agreed with earlier descriptions. Dorsal and anal fins were tipped white unlike black as reported by Fischer and Bianchi (1984). Maximum length recorded was 540 mm

Immunomodulation of Autoimmune Arthritis by Herbal CAM

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a debilitating autoimmune disease of global prevalence. The disease is characterized by synovial inflammation leading to cartilage and bone damage. Most of the conventional drugs used for the treatment of RA have severe adverse reactions and are quite expensive. Over the years, increasing proportion of patients with RA and other immune disorders are resorting to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for their health needs. Natural plant products comprise one of the most popular CAM for inflammatory and immune disorders. These herbal CAM belong to diverse traditional systems of medicine, including traditional Chinese medicine, Kampo, and Ayurvedic medicine. In this paper, we have outlined the major immunological pathways involved in the induction and regulation of autoimmune arthritis and described various herbal CAM that can effectively modulate these immune pathways. Most of the information about the mechanisms of action of herbal products in the experimental models of RA is relevant to arthritis patients as well. The study of immunological pathways coupled with the emerging application of genomics and proteomics in CAM research is likely to provide novel insights into the mechanisms of action of different CAM modalities

Evaluation of buprenorphine as an adjuvant to 2% lidocaine during intravenous regional anaesthesia

Background: Intravenous regional anaesthesia (IVRA) is a simple, effective method of anaesthesia for surgical procedures on the extremities. Major limitations are tourniquet pain, short duration of block and absence of post-operative analgesia. Buprenorphine is known to improve the quality of anaesthesia. Aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of buprenorphine as an adjuvant to lignocaine in IVRA. Methods: Sixty patients between 18-60 years age, belonging to the ASA grade 1, 2 undergoing upper limb surgeries were enrolled into the study. Patients belonging to group BL patients received 10 ml of preservative free lidocaine 2% diluted to 40 ml. Group BB-patients received 10 ml of preservative free lidocaine 2% mixed with 60 mcg of buprenorphine diluted to 40 ml. Onset of sensory and motor block; recovery time and postoperative analgesia were noted. Data were analyzed using chi-square test, independent ‘t’ test. Results: The onset time of both sensory and motor block were significantly shortened, the recovery of sensory and motor block was prolonged, the incidence of tourniquet pain was comparatively lesser and there was significantly increased duration of post-operative analgesia in the buprenorphine group. Haemo-dynamic parameters were similar in both groups Conclusions: Sixty mcg buprenorphine as an adjuvant to lidocaine in IVRA effectively enhances the anaesthesia and post-operative analgesia.