Energy Efficient Cluster Based Scheduling Scheme for Wireless Sensor Networks.

The energy utilization of sensor nodes in large scale wireless sensor network points out the crucial need for scalable and energy efficient clustering protocols. Since sensor nodes usually operate on batteries, the maximum utility of network is greatly dependent on ideal usage of energy leftover in these sensor nodes. In this paper, we propose an Energy Efficient Cluster Based Scheduling Scheme for wireless sensor networks that balances the sensor network lifetime and energy efficiency. In the first phase of our proposed scheme, cluster topology is discovered and cluster head is chosen based on remaining energy level. The cluster head monitors the network energy threshold value to identify the energy drain rate of all its cluster members. In the second phase, scheduling algorithm is presented to allocate time slots to cluster member data packets. Here congestion occurrence is totally avoided. In the third phase, energy consumption model is proposed to maintain maximum residual energy level across the network. Moreover, we also propose a new packet format which is given to all cluster member nodes. The simulation results prove that the proposed scheme greatly contributes to maximum network lifetime, high energy, reduced overhead, and maximum delivery ratio.

A novel attention-based cross-modal transfer learning framework for predicting cardiovascular disease.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains a leading cause of death globally, presenting significant challenges in early detection and treatment. The complexity of CVD arises from its multifaceted nature, influenced by a combination of genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors. Traditional diagnostic approaches often struggle to effectively integrate and interpret the heterogeneous data associated with CVD. Addressing this challenge, we introduce a novel Attention-Based Cross-Modal (ABCM) transfer learning framework. This framework innovatively merges diverse data types, including clinical records, medical imagery, and genetic information, through an attention-driven mechanism. This mechanism adeptly identifies and focuses on the most pertinent attributes from each data source, thereby enhancing the model's ability to discern intricate interrelationships among various data types. Our extensive testing and validation demonstrate that the ABCM framework significantly surpasses traditional single-source models and other advanced multi-source methods in predicting CVD. Specifically, our approach achieves an accuracy of 93.5%, precision of 92.0%, recall of 94.5%, and an impressive area under the curve (AUC) of 97.2%. These results not only underscore the superior predictive capability of our model but also highlight its potential in offering more accurate and early detection of CVD. The integration of cross-modal data through attention-based mechanisms provides a deeper understanding of the disease, paving the way for more informed clinical decision-making and personalized patient care.

Status of disinfection byproducts research in India.

India faces high incidents of waterborne disease outbreaks owing to their limited access to safe drinking water. In many ways, the effort to improve the quality of drinking water is performed, and it has been keenly monitored. Among those, the disinfection of drinking water is considered a necessary and important step as it controls the microbial population. Chlorination is the most practiced (greater than 80%) disinfection process in India, and it is known to generate various disinfection byproducts (DBPs). Although the toxicity and trend of DBPs are regularly monitored and investigated in most countries, still in India, the research is at the toddler level. This review summarizes i) the status of drinking water disinfection in India, ii) types of disinfection processes in centralized water treatment plants, iii) concentrations and occurrence patterns of DBPs in a different region of India, iv) a literature survey on the toxicity of DBPs, and v) removal methodologies or alternative technologies to mitigate the DBPs formation. Overall, this review may act as a roadmap to understand the trend of disinfection practices in India and their impacts on securing the goal of safe drinking water for all.

Association of ABO blood groups with the severity of coronary artery disease in southern India population: A prospective cross-sectional study.

This study aimed to find an association between ABO blood groups with presence and severity of Coronary artery disease (CAD) among Indian population. 1500 patients undergoing elective coronary angiogram (CAG) at a tertiary care hospital in Karnataka were enrolled in the study. Baseline demographic data and the presence of cardiac comorbidities were documented. Data from baseline echocardiography and angiographic studies were compiled. The incidence of CAD was higher among patients with blood group A. Blood group A also showed a higher incidence of acute coronary syndrome (ACS), left ventricular dysfunction, triple vessel disease, and severe CAD among the patients who underwent CAG.

National noncommunicable disease monitoring survey (NNMS) in India: Estimating risk factor prevalence in adult population.

BACKGROUND: The primary objective of National NCD monitoring survey (NNMS) was to generate national-level estimates of key NCD indicators identified in the national NCD monitoring framework. This paper describes survey study protocol and prevalence of risk factors among adults (18-69 years). MATERIALS AND METHODS: NNMS was a national level cross-sectional survey conducted during 2017-18. The estimated sample size was 12,000 households from 600 primary sampling units. One adult (18-69 years) per household was selected using the World Health Organization-KISH grid. The study tools were adapted from WHO-STEPwise approach to NCD risk factor surveillance, IDSP-NCD risk factor survey and WHO-Global adult tobacco survey. Total of 8/10 indicators of adult NCD risk factors according to national NCD disease monitoring framework was studied. This survey for the first time estimated dietary intake of salt intake of population at a national level from spot urine samples. RESULTS: Total of 11139 households and 10659 adults completed the survey. Prevalence of tobacco and alcohol use was 32.8% (95% CI: 30.8-35.0) and 15.9% (95% CI: 14.2-17.7) respectively. More than one-third adults were physically inactive [41.3% (95% CI: 39.4-43.3)], majority [98.4% (95% CI: 97.8-98.8)] consumed less than 5 servings of fruits and / or vegetables per day and mean salt intake was 8 g/day (95% CI: 7.8-8.2). Proportion with raised blood pressure and raised blood glucose were 28.5% (95% CI: 27.0-30.1) and 9.3% (95% CI: 8.3-10.5) respectively. 12.8% (95% CI: 11.2-14.5) of adults (40-69 years) had ten-year CVD risk of ≥30% or with existing CVD. CONCLUSION: NNMS was the first comprehensive national survey providing relevant data to assess India's progress towards targets in National NCD monitoring framework and NCD Action Plan. Established methodology and findings from survey would contribute to plan future state-based surveys and also frame policies for prevention and control of NCDs.

Synchronous presentation of tuberculosis and hepatocellular carcinoma in a cirrhotic patient: a case report.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a common opportunistic infection which may be reactivated in immunocompromised patients. The incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is on the rise with healthcare resulting in increased longevity of people. Reactivation of TB has been reported with liver-directed therapies for HCC like transarterial chemoembolisation (TACE) and transarterial radio-embolisation (TARE). However, the co-occurrence of both TB and HCC in the same patient without any such history is rarely found. Only three isolated case reports have been published previously. We report the case of an elderly hepatitis C virus-related chronic liver disease patient who developed two different nodular liver lesions with multiple intra-abdominal lymphadenopathy, one such nodule being confirmed as HCC and another as TB along with nodal TB.

A "Handy" tool for hypertension prediction: Dermatoglyphics.

BACKGROUND: Fingerprints studied by dermatoglyphics are unique for a given individual. It depends on the genetic makeup of an individual. Hypertension, a harbinger of many complications, is determined by genetic and environmental factors. In this observational study, we tried to find an association of palmar dermatoglyphic parameters and hypertension. METHOD: Two hundred fifty known hypertensives as cases and 250 normotensives as controls were enrolled after considering inclusion and exclusion criteria. Dermatoglyphic patterns on tips of fingers obtained by digital imaging were noted in both the groups, and "atd" angle was calculated using "screen protractor" software. Collected data were statistically analyzed to find any association between dermatoglyphic qualitative and dermatoglyphic quantitative patterns and hypertension. RESULT: Mean "atd" angle was higher in cases than in controls. Comparison of dermatoglyphic patterns in both the groups in various ways-both hands together, the right hand and left hand separately, similar fingers on right and left hand together, and similar fingers separately-was performed which revealed that at every level, whorls were more frequent in cases than in controls and that distribution of dermatoglyphic patterns were statistically significant in cases than in controls. CONCLUSION: Fingerprint patterns can be reliably used to identify individuals likely at risk for hypertension, and accordingly, preventive measures can be targeted. This subject area demands a need for further research and analysis with large sample size to allow dermatoglyphics to evolve into a cost-effective and handy tool for identifying individuals at risk of hypertension.

Association of reflux with otitis media in children.

OBJECTIVES: To confirm the finding of pepsin/pepsinogen in middle ear fluid of children with chronic or recurrent otitis media (OME or ROM), and to ask parents about symptoms associated with gastroesophageal reflux (GER). METHODS: Middle ear fluid was collected from children undergoing tympanostomy tube placement. We tested this fluid for pepsin/pepsinogen using a proteolytic enzyme assay and an ELISA. Parents completed questionnaires about symptoms of GER in their children. RESULTS: We collected 36 samples from 22 children; 16 of 22 children (73%) were positive with the proteolytic assay; 17 (77%) were positive with ELISA. Questionnaires did not show increased GER symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: We replicated the finding of pepsin/pepsinogen in middle ear fluid of children with OME or ROM, but did not find any increase in GER symptoms. Further research is needed to establish a causative link between GER and OM.

Community medicine teaching and evaluation: scope of betterment.

There have been rapid and extensive changes in the way assessment is conducted in medical education. Assessment brings about standardization of the manner in which the syllabus is to be implemented and also gives guidelines regarding the teaching pattern, especially when the student is going to rotate through various departments in a medical college. Community Medicine is an important branch of medicine concerned with the health of populations. Existing forms of assessment of community medicine education mainly consists of internal [formative] assessment and final (summative) examination. Advantages of the present system is the similarity of the methods used for internal assessments and final examinations and is relatively easily done since only the knowledge application and recall ability of the student in theory and practical are assessed. Disadvantages in the current evaluation system are neglecting the assessment of psychomotor, affective and communication skills. Evaluation systems can be improved by implementing techniques to assess psychomotor skills, presentation and communication skills, organizational skills and the student's ability to work in a team. Regular feedback from students should be taken periodically for the betterment of Community Medicine education. This article is meant to sensitise the academic experts in medical education to plan better need based methods of assessment in the subject of Community Medicine, in relation to the new MCI 2012 Regulations, in order to make it a better learning experience for the students.

Fuzzy-rough-neural-based f-information for gene selection and sample classification.

The greatest restriction in estimating the information measure for microarray data is the continuous nature of gene expression values. The traditional criterion function of f-information discretises the continuous gene expression value for calculating the probability function during gene selection. This leads to loss of biological meaning of microarray data and results in poor classification accuracy. To overcome this difficulty, the concepts of fuzzy and rough set are combined to redefine the criterion functions of f-information and are used to form candidate genes from which informative genes are selected using neural network. The performance of the proposed Fuzzy-Rough-Neural-based f-Information (FRNf-I) is evaluated using ten gene expression datasets. Simulation results show that the proposed approach compute f-information measure easily without discretisation. Statistical analysis of the test result shows that the proposed FRNf-I selects comparatively less number of genes and more classification accuracy than the other approaches reported in the literature.

Effect of intensity of cigarette smoking on haematological and lipid parameters.

BACKGROUND: Smoking is the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death and major tobacco related diseases like cancer costs India more than Rs.308.33 billion per year. Cigarette smoking increases the total peripheral blood leukocyte count but its effect on other haematological parameters is largely unexplored.. OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of smoking and its intensity on hematological and lipid parameters. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross sectional study included 40 cigarette smokers and 40 non-smokers in the age range of 25 and 40 years at SRM Medical College, Kattangulathur, Tamilnadu, India. In this study the volunteers were otherwise healthy and the smokers were enquired about their intensity of smoking using smoking index. Common hematological and lipid parameters were measured in all subjects. Comparison of smoking status and its intensity among the study subjects were analysed using t-test and ANOVA.. RESULTS: There is a significant increase in levels of haemoglobin, hematocrit, total leukocyte count, total cholesterol, triglycerides, low density lipoprotein (LDL), very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) and reduced levels of high density lipoprotein (HDL) among the smokers. Heavy smokers showed significant dyslipidemia,increase in red blood cell count, total leukocyte count and neutrophil count. CONCLUSION: Increase in hemoglobin, hematocrit, total leucocyte count and dyslipidemia were found significant among smokers and in heavy smokers there is dyslipidemia with increased RBC count, total leukocyte count with specific increase in neutrophils. As per the existing literature, these changes may lead to future fatal cardiac diseases among the smokers.

Congenital bilobed gallbladder with phrygian cap presenting as calculus cholecystitis.

The incidence of congenital bilobed gall bladder is 1 in 3000 to 4000. A Phrygian cap is a congenital abnormality of the gallbladder with an incidence of 4%. Preferred mode of diagnosis for Phrygian cap is cholescintigraphy and multi phase MRI, as Ultrasonography and CT are not always conclusive. The estimated prevalence of gallstone disease in India has been reported as 2% to 29%. A case of bilobed gall bladder with Phrygian cap in both the lobes and pigment gallstone in one of the lobes presenting as calculus cholecystitis is reported for its rarity and difficulty in arriving at correct preoperaive diagnosis.