Search

The pattern of dependence between liquidity, durations (orders and trades) and bid-ask spreads in a limit order market are examined in high resolution invoking copulas and graph theory. Using intraday data from a sample of NASDAQ 100 stocks and an experimental design, we study the information pathways in markets in the presence of algorithmic traders. Our results confirm that multivariate analysis is more appropriate to investigate these information pathways. We observe that the strength and nature of the dependence between variables vary through the trading day. We confirm the existence of stylised aspects of algorithmic trading, such as tail dependence in trade durations, a balance between buy and sell side in order durations, liquidity and bid-ask spreads, and the bid-ask spread and liquidity trade-off in the dependence structure.

The goal of orthodontic treatment in a severely crowded malocclusion is to obtain a harmonious face with a well-balanced soft tissue profile, functional occlusion and a consonant smile. Etiology involving both genetic and non-genetic factors are associated with severe crowding. This case report is on correction of class I severely crowded malocclusion in a vertical grower treated with extraction of all first premolars. Intra oral, extra oral and radiographic examination revealed skeletal Class I with straight profile, hyper divergent growth pattern, increased overjet and severe crowding in maxillary and mandibular dentition, constricted arches, potentially competent lips with increased lip strain and a non-consonant smile arc, treated with extraction of all 1st premolars, significant improvement in patient's smile, profile and occlusion were obtained. The successful results were obtained due to correct case selection and proper treatment planning. The meticulous space analysis and management without anchorage loss is a result of proper anchorage planning prior to extractions.

The control of anchorage is essential in orthodontic treatment of adult patients. Complex tooth movements in lingual appliances and aligners require anchorage planning. Mini-screws enable the orthodontists to have good control over tooth movement in all three dimensions, while preserving the patient’s aesthetics. This article describes various clinical cases performed through aligners and lingual appliances by using mini-implants.

With the advent of Additive Manufacturing (AM) techniques, the design principle of `form follows function' no longer remains a utopian proposition. The unprecedented design freedom offered by AM is making it possible to conceptualize highly performant designs by efficiently leveraging geometrical complexity. The increase in design freedom requires novel design tools which are tailored to capitalize on the form freedom offered by AM. Topology optimization (TO) is such a computational design tool which can find the optimal geometric layout of a part to achieve a pre-defined objective, while satisfying certain constraints. However, AM processes have inherent manufacturing constraints which should be considered at the design stage to ensure manufacturability. The suitability of TO as an ideal design tool is already widely recognized and there have been significant research efforts to integrate AM constraints within TO. In this regard, most AM-oriented TO methods utilize geometry-based constraint where a geometric AM design guideline is integrated within TO. The maturity of research in this direction is evident by the fact that most commercial CAD packages are already equipped with TO plugins including these geometry-based AM constraints. Although beneficial, such geometry-based TO constraint do not guarantee defect-free fabrication since manufacturability is not only a function of geometry, but depends on a range of complex physical interactions during the process. Therefore, a TO method that accounts for more of the physics of the AM process would enhance the likelihood of achieving better quality parts with reduced defects.This thesis is focused on laser based powder bed fusion (L-PBF) since it is the most widely utilized AM technique for metal parts. However, L-PBF suffers from certain constraints which critically compromise the part quality and inhibit its adoption as a mainstream manufacturing method. Among the constraints, the issue of local overheating remains a critical barrier as it leads to poor surface quality, inferior mechanical properties and/or build failures. Moreover, uneven heating/cooling thermal cycles due to overheating could lead to development of undesirable residual stresses and distortions. Typically, overheating is associated with downfacing surfaces called overhangs which led to development of geometry-based design guidelines, for example, avoidance of geometric features with overhangs more acute than a certain threshold. This guideline has been the most common AM constraint to integrate within TO. However, it is evident by a number of numerical and experimental studies in the literature, that the avoidance of overhangs does not guarantee overheating free designs. Therefore, the two aims of this thesis are (1) to thoroughly investigate local overheating during L-PBF process using computational models and (2) to develop a novel TO for generating overheating free AM ready designs. In this regard, the extremely high computational cost of L-PBF models was identified as the biggest challenge for both the objectives i.e. quick assessment of overheating-prone features in AM parts and integration of a L-PBF thermal model with TO.The first half of this thesis deals with a systematic investigation of the simplifications commonly used in the thermal modelling of the heat transfer phenomena during the L-PBF process. The simplifications have been classified based on the spatio-temporal resolution they assume for modelling the process. With help of numerical experiments, the findings reveal the relationship between spatio-temporal simplifications and their ability to capture certain process attributes. For example, it is found that if peak process temperatures are to be predicted, then short laser exposure times should be specified in the computational domain. On the contrary, if temperatures far away from the topmost layer are analyzed, a simplified model assuming a longer exposure time can capture it. These findings serve as guidelines in making informed choices while setting up an L-PBF thermal model. In addition to this, numerical discretization requirements associated with different simplifications are also provided. Next, a deeper investigation of relevant simplifications for detecting local overheating is presented. Three novel simplifications based on the analytical solution of the heat equation are presented which drastically reduce the computational expense while retaining the ability to identify overheating prone features. The most simplified model in this regard utilizes a localized steady-state analysis which provides maximum computational gain of approximately 600 fold as compared to a high fidelity transient simulation.The second half of the thesis presents the integration of the aforementioned steady-state L-PBF thermal model with the density- based TO method. This is achieved by formulating a novel constraint which limits the peak temperature predicted by the simplified L-PBF model. This novel physics-based TO method is validated using in-situ optical tomography (OT) measurements. Comparing OT based overheating data across geometry-based and physics-based TO designs, it is revealed that the latter have a lower tendency of overheating. Finally, the usability of the new TO method is demonstrated on an industrial injection mould. Another application of the novel TO is demonstrated by designing support structures for optimal heat evacuation.Based on the findings presented in thesis, it can be concluded that a physics-based TO method offers significant advantages over a purely geometry-based approach. In particular, it is shown that overheating avoidance cannot be assured just by avoiding acute overhangs. While for overheating detection even a simplification to steady-state analysis was possible, it is expected that for other aspects the full thermal history must be evaluated, which presents a challenge for future work. Apart from development of the novel TO approach, the second major contribution of this thesis are the insights developed regarding modelling simplifications which assist in drastically reducing the computational expenses associated with L-PBF modelling. It is expected that outcomes from this thesis will positively contribute towards development of efficient modelling techniques which will also inherently benefit further advancement of physics-based TO methods.

Treatment of class II malocclusion requires accurate diagnosis and treatment planning. This case report outlines the successful management of a growing skeletal class II using Forsus fatigue resistant device for correction of skeletal parameters and premolar extractions for correction of dental parameters. The patient’s profile improved significantly with a 4° reduction in ANB angle. An ideal overjet, overbite and molar relation were also attained. Keywords: Class II malocclusion, Forsus FRD, Extraction.

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text., Background and Purpose: Chronic kidney disease with reduced estimated glomerular filtration rate or elevated albuminuria increases risk for ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke. This study assessed the effects of sodium glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) on stroke and atrial fibrillation/flutter (AF/AFL) from CREDENCE (Canagliflozin and Renal Events in Diabetes With Established Nephropathy Clinical Evaluation) and a meta-analysis of large cardiovascular outcome trials (CVOTs) of SGLT2i in type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methods: CREDENCE randomized 4401 participants with type 2 diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease to canagliflozin or placebo. Post hoc, we estimated effects on fatal or nonfatal stroke, stroke subtypes, and intermediate markers of stroke risk including AF/AFL. Stroke and AF/AFL data from 3 other completed large CVOTs and CREDENCE were pooled using random-effects meta-analysis. Results: In CREDENCE, 142 participants experienced a stroke during follow-up (10.9/1000 patient-years with canagliflozin, 14.2/1000 patient-years with placebo; hazard ratio [HR], 0.77 [95% CI, 0.55–1.08]). Effects by stroke subtypes were: ischemic (HR, 0.88 [95% CI, 0.61–1.28]; n=111), hemorrhagic (HR, 0.50 [95% CI, 0.19–1.32]; n=18), and undetermined (HR, 0.54 [95% CI, 0.20–1.46]; n=17). There was no clear effect on AF/AFL (HR, 0.76 [95% CI, 0.53–1.10]; n=115). The overall effects in the 4 CVOTs combined were: total stroke (HRpooled, 0.96 [95% CI, 0.82–1.12]), ischemic stroke (HRpooled, 1.01 [95% CI, 0.89–1.14]), hemorrhagic stroke (HRpooled, 0.50 [95% CI, 0.30–0.83]), undetermined stroke (HRpooled, 0.86 [95% CI, 0.49–1.51]), and AF/AFL (HRpooled, 0.81 [95% CI, 0.71–0.93]). There was evidence that SGLT2i effects on total stroke varied by baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate (P=0.01), with protection in the lowest estimated glomerular filtration rate (

Background: To compare the efficacy of saline, lignocaine 2% and Lignocaine 4% in the endotracheal tube cuff to decrease the incidence of post operative cough and sore throat. A unique, efficient and easy method designed to decrease cough and sore throat during emergence. Hence there was a need for the study. Methods: After approval from institutional Ethical Committee, Kasturba Medical college, Mangaluru and written informed consent from 120 patients of A.S.A class I & II, aged between 18-60 years posted for various surgeries were included. Randomization was done into three groups of 40 patients each. Group 1 – Normal saline, group 2 - 2% Lignocaine and group 3 - 4% Lignocaine. Postoperatively patients were assessed for incidence of cough and sore throat pain based on visual analogue scale (VAS) Results: 65% of patients in group 2 and 72% of patients in group 3 were extubated smoothly, whereas only 20% of patients in group 1 had smooth extubation, p

Introduction Newer adhesive systems are available eliminating the separate priming step during the bonding procedure thereby reducing the chances of introduction of error during bonding. The purpose of this study was to compare the shear bond strength of a primer-incorporated adhesive with that of a self-etching primer system and conventional bonding system. Materials and method Sixty-six extracted human premolars were cleaned, mounted, and randomly divided into three groups. In group A (control), 22 teeth were bonded with stainless steel orthodontic brackets using the conventional bonding system; in group B, 22 teeth were bonded using a self-etching primer system (Transbond Plus SEP, 3M Unitek, Monrovia, CA) and in group C, 22 teeth were bonded using the new primer-incorporated adhesive system (GC Ortho Connect, GC Orthodontics, Breckerfeld, Germany). After bonding, the teeth were stored in artificial saliva at 37

Background Orthodontic tooth movement relies on sliding mechanics usually achieved by sliding the archwire through brackets. Sliding causes friction which is a force resisting the relative motion of two contacting objects. Frictional resistance is undesirable in orthodontic tooth movement because the archwire might bind with the bracket and prevent tooth movement. In addition, friction causes bending of the archwire leading to unwanted tooth movement or space loss through anchorage interference, prolonging the treatment time and root resorption. This study was performed to compare the frictional resistance produced by different types of ceramic brackets and stainless steel brackets with Teflon-coated stainless steel and stainless steel archwires. The surface texture of the wire before and after friction test was also evaluated using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Methodology A total of 48 samples were tested. In total, 12 premolar brackets each of stainless steel (Ortho technology, Carlsbad, CA, USA), monocrystalline ceramic (Ortho technology, Carlsbad, CA, USA), polycrystalline ceramic (Ortho technology, Carlsbad, CA, USA), and ceramic bracket with a metal slot (Ortho technology, Carlsbad, CA, USA) having an 0.022-inch slot were coupled with 0.019 × 0.025-inch stainless steel and Teflon-coated stainless steel wires. Each bracket-wire assembly was vertically mounted and clamped to the jaws of the universal testing machine. The wire was pulled across the bracket with a cross head speed of 10 mm per minute. The readings obtained were recorded. To evaluate the surface roughness, wires were examined using an SEM (in four magnifications 250×, 500×, 1,000×, and 5,000×) before and after testing. Results Under the testing conditions, the stainless steel bracket-stainless steel wire combination produced the least frictional resistance, and the polycrystalline ceramic bracket-stainless steel wire combination produced the highest frictional resistance. Ceramic brackets with a metal slot generated lesser friction than other types of ceramic brackets but more friction than stainless steel brackets. Moreover, for all bracket-archwire combinations, Teflon-coated wires generated reduced frictional resistance compared to stainless steel wires. The surface examination of Teflon-coated stainless steel wire and conventional uncoated stainless steel wire revealed that Teflon-coated wire had a smoother surface compared to uncoated stainless steel wire. Conclusions Within the limitations of this study, it was concluded that the stainless steel bracket produced the lowest frictional resistance and the polycrystalline ceramic bracket produced the highest frictional resistance. Ceramic brackets with a metal slot showed a coefficient of friction that was more than but comparable to that of stainless steel brackets. Monocrystalline ceramic brackets generated lesser friction compared to polycrystalline ceramic brackets. Further, Teflon coating of stainless steel archwires can reduce frictional resistance compared to conventional uncoated stainless steel archwires. The surface of Teflon-coated stainless steel wires was found to be smoother than uncoated stainless steel wires.

COVID 19 was originated from Wuhan city of Hubei Province in China in December 2019. It is a viral disease spread due to severe acute respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus virus. The virus has been spread extensively worldwide leading to a worldwide emergency. The strain of the virus is new and not been studied earlier. However the transmission of the virus is quick and immoderate. Efforts to contain the spread of the disease have led to major disruptions forcing regional and in many cases national emergencies and lockdown, leaving only essential services to continue. Human transmission is predominantly through the respiratory track via droplets, respiratory secretions and or direct contact where the virus enters the mucous membrane of the mouth, nose and eyes. Although contact with symptomatic patients is the typical route of transmission, asymptomatic individuals or those within the viral incubation period may also be able to transmit COVID 2019. In many such efforts performing elective tasks including orthodontic treatment are required to be suspended on orders of the central, state and civic and public health regulatory bodies. Due to unpresented nature of this pandemic and the unknown length of time that mandatory suspension of elective treatment may be in effect in different regions, consolidated information and guidelines for the clinical orthodontic management of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic are lacking. Keywords: COVID19, SARSCoV2, Pandemic, Emergency protocol, Orthodontics, Dentistry, Patient management.

The examination of Gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) may be considered an acceptable way to depict the biochemical changes occurring during orthodontic tooth movement. Correlating the changes taking place in GCF with different types of orthodontic forces, the patient can be managed based on individual patients’ tissue response. Thus, this can be an effective way of improving treatment efficiency and results. There is little evidence regarding which GCF biomarkers are associated with the growing phase. Most of the earlier reports provide information about correlation of GCF biomarkers with inflammation, bone remodeling and tissue damage and other processes associated with orthodontic tooth movement. This method is not being clinically used to its full diagnostic potential and requires further studies to provide additional data. Keywords: Biomarkers, Gingival crevicular fluid (GCF).

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the potential benefit of catalase (CAT) on sperm functional parameters (motility, viability, membrane integrity and acrosomal integrity) during liquid storage of buck spermatozoa at 0 h, 24 h, 48 h, 72 h and 96 h. Semen samples from bucks were pooled to avoid individual effect and diluted with tris-egg yolk-fructose extender with catalase (0 U/ mL (control), 200 U/mL, 400 U/ mL, 600 U/ mL and 800 U/ mL) at a final concentration of 400 million/mL. No significant difference was observed between treatments at 24 h with respect to motility, viability and plasma membrane integrity. However, acrosome integrity of control was significantly higher as compared to other concentrations. Motility, viability, plasma membrane and acrosome integrity were observed significantly highest for CAT @ 600 U/mL in comparison to other concentrations at 48 h, 72 h and 96 h of liquid storage at refrigeration temperature. The seminal parameters declined with the progression of storage time and remained over 50% even after 72 h at refrigeration temperature in CAT @ 600 U/mL. It can be concluded that the addition of CAT @ 600 U/mL in semen diluent along with 20% egg yolk reduced the detrimental effects of cooling on motility, viability, plasma membrane and acrosome integrity.

Container clusters play an increasingly important role in cloud computing for processing dynamic computing tasks. The resource manager (i.e., orchestrater) of the cluster automates the scheduling of the dynamic requests, effectively manages the resources’ utilization across distributing infrastructure resources. For many applications, the requests to the cluster are often with restricted deadlines. The scheduling of container clusters is often tricky, especially when the cluster’s size is large and the load of the requests is dynamically changing. Machine learningbased approaches such as reinforcement learning have attracted lots of research attention during the past years; However, those approaches suffer from low robustness when the requests in an operational environment are changing and different from the training data sets. This paper investigates this problem by quantifying the robustness and proposing meta-gradient reinforcement learning to improve the robustness of classical reinforcement learning-based approaches. The proposed approach can lead to better deadline guarantees and faster adaptation for timecritical task scheduling under dynamic environments. We then empirically test the benefits of our method using both real-world and synthetic data sets. The evaluation results show that the proposed method outperforms the compared RL methods in scheduling performance and robustness.

Introduction: Patients with suspected cervical spine fracture or cervical pathology, utmost care has to be taken while intubating these patients to prevent further cervical cord injury. Protective measures include application of rigid collar, a forehead tape and manual inline stabilisation. Application of these manoeuvres reduces the cervical spine movement, making it more difficult to intubate. Aim: To compare the performance of McCoy blade with C-MAC D blade for endotracheal intubation in patients with simulated cervical spine injury. Materials and Methods: One hundred and twenty adult patients were randomly allocated into two groups to achieve tracheal intubation with McCoy (group M=sixty patients), or C-MAC D video laryngoscopes (group C=sixty patients). The ASA patients of grade I-II undergoing elective surgery for having immobilised cervical spine using manual inline axial cervical spine stabilisation technique were enrolled in the study. Patient’s Comparative data on the total time to intubate (Z-test), CormackLehane (CL) laryngoscopic view (Chi-Square test), number of optimising manoeuvres (Yate’s corrected Chi-Square test) and haemodynamic variables (Z-test) were recorded in both groups. Results: The time taken for tracheal tube insertion was significantly longer with C-MAC D blade group of thirty eight seconds compared with McCoy blade group which was thirty one seconds. There was an increase in heart rate at first and second minute in both the groups which returned back to normal after five minutes. Good grade glottic visualisation was obtained with both the laryngoscopic blades. Conclusion: C-MAC D blade as well as McCoy blade forms an effective tool for the airway management of suspected cervical spine injured patients with cervical immobilisation.

Background: Acute coronary syndromes (ACSs) are the primary cause of mortality worldwide. The aim of the study was to assess the as‑ sociations of serum fibrinogen and plasma D‑dimer levels with angiographic severity of atherosclerotic lesions as well as the presence of in‑hospital complications and complications at 30‑day follow‑up in patients with ACS. Methods: This was a prospective study including 107 patients with ACS. Severity of CAD was assessed by the Gensini score. Correlations of D‑dimer and fibrinogen levels with complica‑ tions such as heart failure, arrhythmia, recurrent angina, and cardiac death were assessed using the Pearson correlation coefficient and the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Results: The mean age of patients was 61±10.9 years. Mean serum fibrinogen levels were higher in individuals with severe left ventricular (LV) dysfunction than in those with moderate and mild LV dysfunction (444 mg/dl, 404 mg/dl, and 330 mg/dl, respectively). Similarly, the mean plasma D‑dimer level was higher in individuals with severe ACS (1.03 µg/ml) than in those with moderate (1.88 µg/ml) and mild ACS (3.5 µg/ml). Conclusion: Our study revealed that patients with higher serum fibrinogen levels tend to have more severe ACS, greater LV dysfunction, and a higher rate of complications. Therapies aimed at reducing fibrinogen levels might help reduce mortality and morbidity in patients with ACS. JRCD 2019; 4 (5): XX–XX

The additive manufacturing (AM) of injection molding inserts has gained popularity during recent years primarily due to the reduced design-to-production time and form freedom offered by AM. In this paper, topology optimization (TO) is performed on a metallic mold insert which is to be produced by the Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) technique. First, a commercially available TO software is used, to minimize the mass of the component while ensuring adequate mechanical response under a prescribed loading condition. The commercial TO tool adopts geometry-based AM constraints and achieves a mass reduction of ~50 %. Furthermore, an in-house TO method has been developed which integrates a simplified AM process model within the standard TO algorithm for addressing the issue of local overheating during manufacturing. The two topology optimized designs are briefly compared, and the advantages of implementing manufacturing constraints into the TO algorithm are discussed. ispartof: pages:1921-1931 ispartof: Proceedings of the 30th Annual International Solid Freeform Fabrication Symposium – An Additive Manufacturing Conference pages:1921-1931 ispartof: Solid Freeform Fabrication 2019 – An Additive Manufacturing Conference location:Austin (TX), US date:12 Aug - 14 Aug 2019 status: Published online

BACKGROUND: Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the leading cause of kidney failure worldwide, but few effective long-term treatments are available. In cardiovascular trials of inhibitors of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2), exploratory results have suggested that such drugs may improve renal outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS: In this double-blind, randomized trial, we assigned patients with type 2 diabetes and albuminuric chronic kidney disease to receive canagliflozin, an oral SGLT2 inhibitor, at a dose of 100 mg daily or placebo. All the patients had an estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of 30 to 300 to 5000) and were treated with renin-angiotensin system blockade. The primary outcome was a composite of end-stage kidney disease (dialysis, transplantation, or a sustained estimated GFR of

© 2018, Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria, part of Springer Nature. With the advent of OpenFlow, the concept of Software-Defined Networking (SDN) becomes much popular. In the past, SDN had often been used for network virtualization; however, with the rise of OpenFlow, which speeds up network performance by separating the control layer from the data layer, SDN can be further used to manage physical network facilities. Currently, some OpenFlow controller providers have already provided users with load balancer packages in their controllers for virtual networks, such as the Neutron package in OpenStack; nevertheless, the existing load balancer packages work in the old fashion that causes extra delay since they poll controllers for every new coming connection. In this paper, we use the wildcard mask to implement the load balance method directly on switches or routers and add a user prediction mechanism to change the range of the wildcard mask dynamically. In this way, the load balance mechanism can be applied conforming to real service situations. In our experiment, we test the accuracies of flow prediction for different predicted algorithms and compare the delay times and balance situations of the proposed method with other load balancers. With the popularity of cloud computing, the demand for cloud infrastructure also increases. As a result, we also apply our load balance mechanism on cloud services and prove that the proposed method can be implemented to varieties of service platforms.

Background: Postoperative sore throat (POST) is a known complication following general anesthesia requiring endotracheal intubation. Its incidence ranges from 21% to 65% and remains the eighth most undesirable postoperative event. Various measures have been tried to decrease the incidence of sore throat with various success rates. Aim: This study aimed at reducing the incidence of POST with ketamine and magnesium sulfate nebulization. Settings and Design: This study is a prospective randomized, double-blinded study. Materials and Methods: After Institutional Ethics Committee approval and written informed consent, 80 patients who fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria were randomly divided into two groups to receive magnesium sulfate 250 mg in 5 ml saline in Group A and ketamine 50 mg in 5 ml saline nebulization in Group B before the start of general anesthesia. All patients received standard anesthesia protocol. After extubation, all patients were enquired about the incidence and severity of sore throat at 0, 2, 4, 6, and 24 h. Statistical Analysis Used: Paired t-test and Wilcoxon signed-rank test were used to compare hemodynamic variables and Chi-square test to compare the incidence and severity of sore throat. Results: There were no differences in the demographic profile, duration of laryngoscopy, time taken to intubate, and duration of surgery between the two groups. The incidence and severity of sore throat were significantly decreased in ketamine group at 4 and 6 h when compared to magnesium sulfate group. Conclusion: Nebulization with ketamine 50 mg significantly decreases the incidence of POST when compared to magnesium sulfate 250 mg.

When should a capital markets regulator introduce competition and restrictions into business segments? This paper examines a possible basis to aid such decision making in the regulation of stock exchanges that deal with equities and linked derivatives. Market microstructure invariance hypotheses is extended to the ‘Invariance of Trades in stock exchanges’ continuing with the intuition that financial markets transfer risks in business time. The market quality of stock exchanges is examined using this hypothesis and measures such as per day Turnover-per-trade. Market quality is found to be broken in a few Asian exchanges (BSE, NSE, Korea Exchange, Shanghai and Shenzhen Exchange) that show high implied risk. Broken exchanges cannot meet their welfare role, which starts with formation of prices of underlying assets. High risk levels in these exchanges have potential to distort the welfare functions in the economy. Regulatory intervention in form of inducing competition, increased primary listing and restriction on derivative segment activity is recommended for the NSE.

Sound event detection and sound event localization requires different features from audio input signals. While sound event detection mainly relies on time-frequency patterns to distinguish different event classes, sound event localization uses magnitude or phase differences between microphones to estimate source directions. Therefore, we propose a two-step system to do sound event localization and detection. In the first step, we detect the sound events and estimate the directions-of-arrival separately. In the second step, we combine the results of the event detector and direction-of-arrival estimator together. The obtained results show a significant improvement over the baseline solution for sound event localization and detection in DCASE 2019 task 3 challenge. Using the evaluation dataset, the proposed system achieved an F1 score of 93.4% for sound event detection and an error of 5.4 degrees for direction-of-arrival estimation, while the winning solution achieved an F1 score of 94.7% and an angle error of 3.7 degrees respectively., Comment: 5 pages

© 2018 Employing cloud computing to acquire the benefit of cloud by optimizing various parameters that meet changing demands is a challenging task. The optimal mapping of tasks to virtual machines (VMs) and VMs to physical machines (PMs) (known as VM placement) problem are necessary for advancing energy consumption and resource utilization. High heterogeneity of tasks as well as resources, great dynamism and virtualization make the consolidation issue more complicated in the cloud computing system. In this paper, a complete mapping (i.e., task VM and VM to PM) algorithm is proposed. The tasks are classified according to their resource requirement and then searching for the appropriate VM and again searching for the appropriate PM where the selected VM can be deployed. The proposed algorithm reduces the energy consumption by depreciating the number of active PMs, while also minimizes the makespan and task rejection rate. We have evaluated our proposed approach in CloudSim simulator, and the results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm over some existing standard algorithms.

Hastelloy-X (Hast-X) preforms built using Laser Directed Energy Deposition (LDED) are investigated for hot workability using hot deformation tests (temperature: 1223–1373 K, strain rate: 0.01–10 s−1). Strain hardening is observed at lower strain due to dislocation pileup and flow softening is observed at higher strain. Cyclic strain rate jump test and jump temperature tests are performed to calculate strain sensitivity factor and activation energy (Q), respectively. The derived constitutive equations are found to be in good agreement with experimental results with maximum deviation of 20%. Average Q value is found to be 280 kJ·mol−1, which is lower than that for similar alloys in wrought condition. The lower ‘Q’ value confirms the suitability of hot working of LDED built Hast-X as a potential method to build high strength engineering components.

The complex pattern of the dependence that exists between liquidity, durations and spread in a limit order market is examined. These relationships evolve during the trading day and can change on an hourly basis. Using intraday data for a NASDAQ 100 stock we confirm that limit orders, placed in five levels on both bid and ask side, provide liquidity and are an important conduit of information flow along with the spread. The bid side and ask side liquidity can play different roles in different trading sessions. Informed traders resort to limit order placement in a controlled fashion by relating it with the trade durations and influencing the trades through the spread. Once information flow is complete, the market is driven by order and trade durations.

High resolution Ultra High Frequency (UHF) quotes and trades are examined to detect patterns which do not correspond to plausible market activity as in Brownlees and Gallo (2006). Non-microstructure noise is identified as a process. Methods of treatment are evaluated. A resultant paradigm of data handling is presented. Empirical evidence from a sample of NASDAQ stocks demonstrates that the removal of non-microstructure noise from the limit order book significantly improves estimation across techniques and all levels of market depth.

© 2016 Elsevier Inc. Big data streaming has become an important paradigm for real-time processing of massive continuous data flows in large scale sensing networks. While dealing with big sensing data streams, a Data Stream Manager (DSM) must always verify the security (i.e. authenticity, integrity, and confidentiality) to ensure end-to-end security and maintain data quality. Existing technologies are not suitable, because real time introduces delay in data stream. In this paper, we propose a Dynamic Prime Number Based Security Verification (DPBSV) scheme for big data streams. Our scheme is based on a common shared key that updated dynamically by generating synchronized prime numbers. The common shared key updates at both ends, i.e., source sensing devices and DSM, without further communication after handshaking. Theoretical analyses and experimental results of our DPBSV scheme show that it can significantly improve the efficiency of verification process by reducing the time and utilizing a smaller buffer size in DSM.

Cloud computing and big data analysis are gaining lots of interest across a range of applications including disaster management. These two technologies together provide the capability of real-time data analysis not only to detect emergencies in disaster areas, but also to rescue the affected people. This paper presents a framework that supports emergency event detection and alert generation by analyzing the data stream, which includes efficient data collection, data aggregation and alert dissemination. One of the goals for such a framework is to support an end-to-end security architecture to protect the data stream from unauthorized manipulation as well as leakage of sensitive information. The proposed system provides support for both data security punctuation and query security punctuation. This paper presents the proposed architecture with a specific focus on data stream security. It also briefly describes the implementation of security aspects of the architecture.

Changes on Transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasonography have been proposed as significant predictors of cerebrovascular complications in sickle cell disease (SCD). However, consensus with regards to the TCD criteria to recognize abnormalities in cerebral vasculature is lacking. We studied the TCD characteristics of cerebral arteries among Omani patients with SCD and correlated them with cerebrovascular events. TCD was performed through the temporal and suboccipital windows using a 2 MHz probe (DWL). Thirty-three of 59 patients (56%) with SCD had neurological symptoms including stroke--12 (20%) and epilepsy--7. Fifteen patients (25%) had significant TCD abnormalities including: markedly increased velocities--11 (3 with stroke); turbulent flow--2; and reversal of flow--2. No patient had a time averaged maximum mean velocity of >200 cm/s in anterior circulation. On applying a modified definition of "abnormal TCD" to anterior and posterior circulation studies, increased TCD velocities in posterior circulation correlated with history of stroke (P < 0.05). TCD velocities in the 18 adult patients ( older than 15 y) were significantly lower than in children. Logistic regression analysis revealed abnormal TCD in the left posterior cerebral artery to be an independent predictor of stroke in this cohort (P = 0.035).

Introduction: For any surgery in the upper extremity that does not involve the shoulder, a supraclavicular block is preferred, as it is a safe procedure associated with rapid onset and reliable anaesthesia. Although ropivacaine has been extensively studied for epidural anaesthesia, very few reports exist on its use in supraclavicular brachial plexus block. Aim: This study was conducted to investigate and compare the effectiveness of supraclavicular brachial plexus anaesthesia with two different concentrations of ropivacaine (0.5% and 0.75%) and to compare them with the standard 0.5% bupivacaine. Materials and Methods: Ninety patients of age 18 to 60 years belonging to American Society of Anaesthesiologists (ASA) status 1 or 2, admitted to Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences were chosen for the study and were divided into three groups. Group A received 30 ml of 0.5% bupivacaine, group B received 30 ml of 0.5% ropivacaine and group C received 30 ml of 0.75% ropivacaine into the supraclavicular region, by a nerve-stimulator technique. Onset time of each of the drug was recorded both for the sensory and motor block. Duration of sensory and motor block was recorded along with perioperative haemodynamic monitoring. Results: The onset of complete sensory and motor block observed with both ropivacaine groups and bupivacaine was similar (16.85±6.67 min in group A, 17.79±5.03 min in group B and 18.48±6.14 in group C, p>0.05); onset of motor block (21.45±4.45 min in group A, 22.23±4.05 min in group B and 22.33±5.17 in group C, p < 0.05). The duration of sensory block with 0.5% bupivacaine was 11.58 hours, with 0.5% ropivacaine was 9.02 hours with 0.75% ropivacaine was 8.87 hours (p0.05). No side effects were recorded in the study. Conclusion: The onset of sensory and motor block was similar in all the three groups. However, when compared to bupivacaine group, recovery of motor functions was faster in both the ropivacaine groups. Patients in all the 3 groups did not experience any adverse effects.

Indian exchanges have recently been permitted to offer currency futures on their platforms to the market participants. The paper outlines the contract, and charts the development and growth of currency futures in India since their inception in 2008. It emphasizes the existing close connectivity between commodity and currency markets. It highlights the increased exchange rate volatility of Indian exchange rate against US dollar (INRUSD) during conventional and non conventional trading hours and argues for the ability of the market to quickly adapt to extended trading hours. The paper recommends some new products and an alternative mechanism to settle the contracts.

Context: Both intubation and extubation are associated with pressor response. Aims: We aimed to evaluate if ropivacaine 0.25% nebulization would prevent hemodynamic and cough responses to intubation and extubation and compared it with lignocaine 2% and saline group. Settings and Design: This was a randomized double-blind clinical trial. Materials and Methods: A total of 75 patients classified as the American Society of Anaesthesiologists physical status Classes I and II belonging to 18–60 years were included in the randomized double-blind trial and divided into three groups; Group 1: received 5 ml of normal saline, Group 2: received 5 ml of 0.25% ropivacaine, Group 3: received 5 ml of 2% lignocaine through nebulization before the induction. Patients were then administered general anesthesia. Mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), and saturation were recorded at baseline (T1), at intubation (T2), upon anesthetic withdrawal (T3), upon eye opening (T4), upon extubation (T5), and 2 min after extubation (T6). Cough response was recorded at emergence and extubation. Statistical Analysis Used: Repeated measures analysis of variance were used to compare hemodynamic variables and Chi-square test to compare the grades of cough between the two groups. Results: The drug ropivacaine was found to be effective in reducing the hemodynamic responses to both intubation and extubation when compared to saline (P < 0.05). At extubation, though the mean values of HR and MAP were lower in ropivacaine compared to lignocaine group, the difference did not achieve statistical significance (P = 0.103 and 0.153 respectively). Only 40% of patients who received ropivacaine had cough at extubation (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Ropivacaine when used through nebulization preinduction effectively reduced both intubation and extubation responses when compared to saline. However, there was no significant difference between the ropivacaine and lignocaine on extubation response.

Purpose To present five cases of orbital infarction in sickle cell disease and review relevant literature. Method We reviewed the hospital records of 5 patients with sickle cell disease who developed a periorbital swelling during a vaso-occlusive crisis and were managed at our hospital between April 1992 and June 2000. Results The 5 patients (4 with homozygous sickle cell disease and 1 with sickle cell-β-thalassaemia disease) were aged 6-15 years with a history of multiple admissions for vaso-occlusive crises. The periorbital swelling spread to the orbit in 4 cases and resulted in proptosis (2 cases), restriction of ocular motility and visual impairment. In all 4 cases, computed tomography and/or magnetic resonance imaging of the orbits showed a mass adjacent to the orbital wall. In 2 cases the mass was identified as a haematoma. Orbital wall infarction was demonstrated in 3 cases by bone/bone marrow scintigraphy. Epidural haematomas were detected by computed tomography in one case. All patients received intravenous fluids, analgesics, broad spectrum antibiotics and steroids, as well as simple or exchange transfusion, and responded well to medical management. Conclusions Infarction of orbital bones during vaso-occlusive crises in sickle cell disease presents acutely with a rapidly progressive periorbital swelling. Haematomas frequently complicate the condition and, along with the inflammatory swelling, may lead to orbital compression syndrome. The condition is therefore sight-threatening, and necessitates prompt diagnosis and appropriate management for resolution without adverse sequelae. Imaging techniques are invaluable in the evaluation of patients. The majority of cases resolve with conservative treatment that includes steps to combat the vaso-occlusive crisis and use of systemic steroids under antibiotic cover.

As the new-generation distributed computing platform, cloud computing environments offer high efficiency and low cost for data-intensive computation in big data applications. Cloud resources and services are available in pay-as-you-go mode, which brings extraordinary flexibility and cost-effectiveness as well as zero investment in their own computing infrastructure. However, these advantages come at a price-people no longer have direct control over their own data. Based on this view, data security becomes a major concern in the adoption of cloud computing. Authenticated Key Exchange (AKE) is essential to a security system that is based on high efficiency symmetric-key encryption. With virtualization technology being applied, existing key exchange schemes such as Internet Key Exchange (IKE) becomes time-consuming when directly deployed into cloud computing environment. In this paper we propose a novel hierarchical key exchange scheme, namely Cloud Background Hierarchical Key Exchange (CBHKE). Based on our previous work, CBHKE aims at providing secure and efficient scheduling for cloud computing environment. In our new scheme, we design a two-phase layer-by-layer iterative key exchange strategy to achieve more efficient AKE without sacrificing the level of data security. Both theoretical analysis and experimental results demonstrate that when deployed in cloud computing environment, efficiency of the proposed scheme is dramatically superior to its predecessors CCBKE and IKE schemes. © 2013 IEEE.

Both clinical and laboratory reports indicate that ethanol addicts are prone to recurrent infections. We hypothesize that ethanol promotes macrophage apoptosis, thus compromising the efficiency of the mononuclear phagocyte system in dealing with infection. We studied the effect of ethanol on macrophage apoptosis. Human monocytes isolated from healthy subjects after an alcohol drinking binge showed enhanced apoptosis (before, 1.2 ± 0.3% vs after, 28.4 ± 3.7% apoptotic cells/field). Peritoneal macrophages harvested from ethanol-treated rats also showed increased (p < 0.0001) apoptosis. DNA isolated from peritoneal macrophages of ethanol-treated rats displayed integer multiples of 200 base pairs (ladder pattern). Furthermore, macrophages harvested from ethanol-treated rats had an enhanced expression as well as accumulation of TGF-β. In in vitro studies, ethanol promoted apoptosis of human monocytes as well as rat peritoneal macrophages. In addition, ethanol enhanced apoptosis of murine macrophages (J774) in a time-dependent manner. The ethanol-induced apoptosis was amplified by LPS and partly attenuated (p < 0.001) by anti-TGF-β Ab. TGF-β also promoted macrophage apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, ethanol enhanced TGF-β protein production by macrophages. These results indicate that ethanol promotes macrophage apoptosis. This effect of ethanol seems to be partly mediated through the generation of TGF-β by macrophages.

Microstructure research has recently forged two theoretical frameworks characterizing stock specialist behavior: a Walrasian inventory-theoretic individual optimization model sometimes with asymmetric information, and a queue-theoretic disequilibrium market model of the continuous auction process. To test the Brock and Kleidon (Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, 16 (1992) 451–489) continuous auction process, two simultaneous autoregressive equations for ask prices and for bid prices are estimated using transactions data for IBM for calendar year 1988. The results support Brock and Kleidon's distinguishing implications — namely, increased trading volume raises the ask and lowers the bid, and a Hausman-type specification test fails to reject the exogeneity of order flows at the bid and the ask. Also, greater price volatility within a fifteen minute interval leads to both lower bids and lower asks as buyers are accorded a risk premium, consistent with Brown, Harlow and Tinic's (Journal of Financial Economics, 22 (1988) 355–385) uncertain information hypothesis for efficient markets.

Passive phase-change thermal spreaders, such as vapor chambers have been widely employed to spread the heat from small-scale high-flux heat sources to larger areas. In this paper, a numerical model for ultrathin vapor chambers has been developed, which is suitable for reliable prediction of the operation at high heat fluxes and small scales. The effects of boiling in the wick structure on the thermal performance are modeled, and the model predictions are compared with experiments on custom-fabricated vapor chamber devices. The working fluid for the vapor chamber is water and a condenser side temperature range of 293 K–333 K is considered. The model predictions agree reasonably well with experimental measurements and reveal the input parameters to which thermal resistance and vapor chamber capillary limit are most sensitive. The vapor space in the ultrathin devices offers significant thermal and flow resistances when the vapor core thickness is in the range of 0.2 mm–0.4 mm. The performance of a 1-mm-thick vapor chamber is optimized by studying the variation of thermal resistance and total flow pressure drop as functions of the wick and vapor core thicknesses. The wick thickness is varied from 0.05 to 0.25 mm. Based on the minimization of a performance cost function comprising the device thermal resistance and flow pressure drop, it is concluded that the thinnest wick structures (0.05 mm) are optimal for applications with heat fluxes below 50 W/cm2, while a moderate wick thickness of 0.1 mm performs best at higher heat flux inputs (>50 W/cm2).

Traumatic rupture of the diaphragm (TRD) poses a challenge to both radiologists and surgeons. They are uncommon and occur following blunt abdominal or lower thoracic trauma. The right side involvement is less common than the left side and is easily missed. Spiral computed tomography (Spiral CT) with image reformation is very useful in the diagnosis of TRD and in identifying associated injuries. Early diagnosis and repair reduces mortality and morbidity. We present the case of a 16 year old boy who was involved in a high speed traffic accident with blunt injury to his thorax and abdomen. He was referred from a peripheral hospital in Oman for further management at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital. A spiral CT scan of thorax and abdomen with image reformation helped in the early diagnosis and management of the traumatic rupture of his right hemidiaphragm.

Transcranial Doppler ultrasonography (TCD) is being increasingly used for its ability to provide cerebral hemodynamic information in stroke. Few studies have explored its association with cerebral arteriographic changes and stroke subtype. This study explored the relation of TCD changes in acute stroke with stroke subtypes, MR cerebral arteriography and clinical outcome in Omani population.Adult patients presenting with acute ischemic stroke within 4 days of stroke onset were subjected to TCD through the temporal and suboccipital windows using a 2 MHz probe; flow velocities, pulsatility and direction of flow were recorded from arteries at the skull base. MR arteriographic (MRA) changes on corresponding arteries were graded on a scale of 1-4. ANOVA, student's t test and ROC analysis were used to evaluate TCD in relation to stroke type, outcome and stenosis on MRA.Of 60 patients recruited, 52 (M:F::36:16; mean age: 60 + 13 years) had adequate bone window for TCD study. Large artery stroke occurred in 30 (58%) patients; lacunar stroke-11 (21%); cardioembolic and mixed groups 9 (17%), other specificed causes-2 (4%). 86.5% had evidence of intracranial disease. 10/52 patients (19%) died while 33 (63%) had good outcome (modified Rankin Score 0-3). Of the 186 arteries studied by the two methods, 52 had TCD evidence of stenosis while 42 were abnormal on MRA, giving a sensitivity of 60%, specificity: 81.25%; positive likelihood ratio: 3.18 and negative likelihood ratio: 0.5. 29/52 (56%) of patients had TCD changes in the arteries corresponding to stroke location. Abnormal TCD was associated with large artery strokes (p = 0.007), poor outcome (p = 0.038) and mortality (p = 0.01).This study of TCD in acute stroke in Omani population demonstrates a relatively higher burden of intracranial arterial disease. TCD changes are associated with type of stroke and outcome in this population. TCD is a simple and fairly useful method of evaluation in patients with acute stroke. Adopting TCD in evaluation of stroke patients may provide useful information regarding the pathophysiology which could enhance patient management.

The major factors limiting the thermal performance of passive two-phase heat-spreading devices are the ability of the wick structures to transport liquid by means of capillary forces and the thermal resistance posed by the wicks. Nanoscale geometric enhancements to the wick structure, through the use of carbon nanotubes and metallic nanowires, promise to enhance the capillary transport while at the same time decreasing the thermal resistance due to their high intrinsic thermal conductivity. We analyze the performance of nanostructured wicks in heat-spreading applications. We report that the flow resistance of nanostructures constitutes a major barrier to their use as passive flow-conveying media and identify geo- metrical parameters that yield high rates of thin-film evaporation while minimizing the flow resistance. The analysis shows that the use of nanostructures as the sole wicking element in a two-phase thermal spreader restricts its footprint area to a size of 4 cm2 for heat flux inputs as low as 1 W/cm2 due to the large flow resistance in the nanowick. To overcome nanowick flow resistance, we propose a nanostructure-enhanced sintered particle wick microstructure that leads to a decrease in the wick thermal resistance by 14% relative to the corresponding wick with the same flow resistance and without nanostructures.

To record the pattern of different neuronal migrational disorders (NMD) and their associated neurological conditions.The data were collected at the Child Neurology Services of Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Oman, from January 1993 to September 2006 from all children with psychomotor delay and epilepsy, who underwent brain imaging (mostly MRI). The MR imaging was used for the diagnosis of a neuronal migration anomaly.There were 86 cases of NMD. Corpus callosum agenesis and lissencephaly/pachygyria formed the major group. There were 48 cases of corpus callosum agenesis, and 16 cases of lissencephaly/pachygyria. Other disorders were 10 cases of heterotopias, 5 schizencephaly, 3 holoprosencephaly, 2 polymicrogyria, and one each of hemimegalencephaly, and hydranencephaly. Developmental delay was the most common associated finding noted in 80 (93%) cases. Sixty-seven (77.9%) cases had motor deficit. Forty out of 86 (46.5%) cases had epilepsy. Partial/partial complex seizures were the most common at 13 out of 40 (32.5%). Syndromic seizures were seen in 11 out of 40 (27.5%) cases. The seizures were controlled in only 3/40 (7.5%) cases.The NMD constitute a significant number of child neurology patients with psychomotor delay and intractable epilepsy. Exogenic and genetic factors affecting the early embryonic and fetal development from sixth to twenty-sixth weeks of gestation result in NMD. Recent genetic studies are defining the underlying mechanism and these studies will help in early diagnosis and possible prevention of NMD.

A 70 year old diabetic male presented with a three weeks history of left temporal pain radiating to the left eye and left side of the neck without any symptoms relating to the ear or nose. Two days later, the patient developed difficulty in swallowing and speaking with nasal regurgitation of fluids. Clinical examination revealed bilateral palatal weakness (more marked on the left side), bilateral weakness of sternocleidomastoids and bilateral weakness of tongue muscles (more marked on the right side). The gag reflex was diminished. There were no pyramidal or cerebellar signs and there was no neck stiffness. MRI of the brain showed bilateral otitis media with involvement of the petrous temporal bone. In addition, the patient had osteomyelitis of the clivus with increased uptake upon gallium scanning. He was treated with intravenous ceftriaxone 4 grams daily for three weeks, moxifloxacin 400 mgm daily and voriconazole 400 mgm daily for three months. The symptoms improved, but the patient was left with tongue weakness, more marked on the right side.