952 research outputs found
Generation and characterization of random and site-directed mutants of Shiga-like toxin 1A by Escherichia Coli O157:H7 in Saccharomyces Cerevisiae
No full textFood-borne illnesses are mainly associated with Shiga-like toxins (Stx1 and Stx2) produced by various serotypes of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC). These serotypes are collectively known as STEC (Stx-producing E. coli). One of these serotypes E. coli O157:H7 has been the major cause of food-borne illnesses recently in US, Canada and Japan. The clinical manifestations of EHEC infections range from watery diarrhea, severe bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramps and hemorrhagic colitis (HC), to the most severe outcome, life-threatening hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) resulting in kidney failure.
This study involved generation and characterization of random and site-directed mutants of Shiga-like toxin 1 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The mutants were characterized for protein expression, ribosome depurination and loss of cytotoxicity. The results from this study are crucial to understand the mechanism by which Shiga-like toxins exhibit their cytotoxicity to the cells. The results from this study can aid in development of treaments against the diseases caused by Shiga-like toxin 1.M.S.Includes bibliographical references (p. 33-35)by Varsha Shet
Dialogical Skirmishes
Get PDFTan was guest editor for 'And Now China?', a special print edition of the Ctrl+P journal, which critically responded to the celebratory rhetoric’s of ‘China Now’ and other celebratory markers of China's global ascent in 2008. As well as the introductory article 'Dialogical Skirmishes', Tan also interviewed Hans Ulrich Obrist
Predict behavior to retain customers. You can analyze all relevant customer data and develop focused customer retention programs.(Telecom Customers)
No full textProblem Statement and Background Analysis
Customer attrition, also known as customer churn, is the loss of clients or customers.
Telephone service companies, Internet service providers, pay TV companies, insurance firms, and alarm monitoring services, often use customer attrition analysis and customer attrition rates as one of their key business metrics because the cost of retaining an existing customer is far less than acquiring a new one. Companies from these sectors often have customer service branches which attempt to win back defecting clients, because recovered long-term customers can be worth much more to a company than newly recruited clients.
Predictive analytics use churn prediction models that predict customer churn by assessing their propensity of risk to churn. Since these models generate a small prioritized list of potential defectors, they are effective at focusing customer retention marketing programs on the subset of the customer base who are most vulnerable to churn.</p
Seasonal Variation in Immunity During Varsha Ritu: A Cross-Sectional Study
No full textIntroduction: Ritucharya (seasonal regimen) is an Ayurvedic preventive approach that aligns the body with climatic variations to maintain health. Varsha Ritu (rainy season), belonging to the Visarga Kala, is marked by diminished digestive strength (Mandagni), vitiation of Vata and Pitta Doshas, and reduced Bala (immunity), predisposing individuals to seasonal illnesses.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted from July to September 2024 among 200 apparently healthy individuals aged 20–60 years residing in various regions of India. Participants completed the Immune Status Questionnaire (ISQ), a WHO-validated self-assessment tool for evaluating perceived immune function, along with a structured self-assessment form to determine their digestive strength (Agni). Descriptive statistical analysis was performed to evaluate the distribution of seasonal health symptoms and digestive patterns during the study period.
Results: Most participants reported episodic health disturbances, with common symptoms being fever (65%), diarrhoea (60%), common cold (65%), and joint or muscle pain (65%), predominantly occurring “sometimes.” Skin problems were more frequent (10% regular, 7% often). Assessment of Agni revealed that 61% of participants had Mandagni, 31% had Vishamagni, and only 8% exhibited Samagni.
Conclusion: The predominance of intermittent symptoms and Mandagni indicates transient Doshic imbalance and reduced Bala, consistent with Ayurvedic descriptions of Varsha Ritu. The integration of ISQ-based immune assessment with Ayurvedic parameters offers a practical model for evaluating seasonal fluctuations in health. Adherence to Ritucharya can help maintain Agni and enhance immunity, thereby reducing susceptibility to monsoon-related disorders
Visualization considerations for IEEA
No full textThesis: M. Eng., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2015.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (pages 93-96).Epoch-Era Analysis (EEA) is a quantitative analysis approach that allows decision-makers to evaluate performance of design alternatives over a set of possible futures. To address the computational and cognitive burden arising from a potentially unlimited number of futures, the insertion of human-in-the-loop interaction into certain modules of EEA, or Interactive Epoch-Era Analysis (IEEA), was proposed. This thesis discusses user goals of these modules as well as principles of data visualization and user interface design, and evaluates the functionality and usability of selected visualizations and interfaces accordingly in the context of these IEEA modules.by Varsha J. Raghavan.M. Eng
GPU accelerated Hungarian algorithm for traveling salesman problem
Get PDFIn this thesis, we present a model of the Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) cast in a quadratic assignment problem framework with linearized objective function and constraints. This is referred to as Reformulation Linearization Technique at Level 2 (or RLT2). We apply dual ascent procedure for obtaining lower bounds that employs Linear Assignment Problem (LAP) solver recently developed by Date(2016). The solver is a parallelized Hungarian Algorithm that uses Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) enabled NVIDIA Graphics Processing Units (GPU) as the parallel programming architecture. The aim of this thesis is to make use of a modified version of the Dual Ascent-LAP solver to solve the TSP.
Though this procedure is computational expensive, the bounds obtained are tight and our experimental results confirm that the gap is within 2% for most problems. However, due to limitations in computational resources, we could only test problem sizes N < 30. Further work can be directed at theoretical and computational analysis to test the efficiency of our approach for larger problem instances.Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'U of I Access', the embargo will last until 2019-05-01The student, Varsha Ravi Prakash Kaushik, accepted the attached license on 2017-04-28 at 14:19.The student, Varsha Ravi Prakash Kaushik, submitted this Thesis for approval on 2017-04-28 at 14:27.This Thesis was approved for publication on 2017-04-28 at 14:50.DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #11137 on 2017-08-10 at 15:07:21Made available in DSpace on 2017-08-10T20:33:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2
KAUSHIK-THESIS-2017.pdf: 527459 bytes, checksum: 2b5a087d143fa9ffdfd2a6425f2e85cd (MD5)
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Previous issue date: 2017-04-28Embargo set by: Colleen Fallaw for item 102858
Lift date: 2019-08-10T21:27:21Z
Reason: Author requested U of Illinois access only (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD systemU of I Only Restriction Lifted for Item 102858 on 2019-08-11T09:15:32Z
Recipes for Accessibility in Library Instruction
Get PDFAs a Provost Fellow, I focused on expanding Information Literacy Instruction by creating accessibility guidelines for librarians. My goal was to design a set of guidelines that are useful to librarians of all subject backgrounds. Following multiple consultations, I delved into an iterative cycle of designing guidelines and receiving feedback from my mentor and other librarians. As a computer science researcher, It was important for me to create resources that can be accessed by everyone and enable librarians to think critically about access technologies and inclusive pedagogies.Accessibility should be a priority rather than an afterthought in librarianship and academic educational experiences. This will enable students of all abilities to access and utilize library resources. Therefore, librarians should enhance accessibility practices by using tools and education materials that are compatible with access technologies and by incorporating accessibility as a pedagogical practice.For more information on these materials, please contact Varsha Koushik (varsha.koushik@colorado) or Jordan Wrigley ([email protected]).</p
Recipes for Accessibility in Library Instruction
Get PDFAs a Provost Fellow, I focused on expanding Information Literacy Instruction by creating accessibility guidelines for librarians. My goal was to design a set of guidelines that are useful to librarians of all subject backgrounds. Following multiple consultations, I delved into an iterative cycle of designing guidelines and receiving feedback from my mentor and other librarians. As a computer science researcher, It was important for me to create resources that can be accessed by everyone and enable librarians to think critically about access technologies and inclusive pedagogies.Accessibility should be a priority rather than an afterthought in librarianship and academic educational experiences. This will enable students of all abilities to access and utilize library resources. Therefore, librarians should enhance accessibility practices by using tools and education materials that are compatible with access technologies and by incorporating accessibility as a pedagogical practice.For more information on these materials, please contact Varsha Koushik (varsha.koushik@colorado) or Jordan Wrigley ([email protected]).</p
pH sensitive liposomes for targeted delivery of antibiotics to localized internal bacterial infection sites
No full textMethicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) causes a myriad of infections ranging from mild skin-infection to more serious infections affecting internal organs. A glycopeptide, Vancomycin, remains the last line of defense against MRSA. The aim of this study is to investigate whether liposomal encapsulated Vancomycin had a better antimicrobial action than free Vancomycin in terms of infection-specific targeting and circulation time. For the same, encapsulation efficiency and release kinetics of the liposomes was evaluated along with Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations (MIC) of the liposomal preparations. The liposomes showcased a 12-15% encapsulation efficiency. Sustained release at pH 6.0 as compared to little to no release at pH 7.4 was demonstrated by the pH sensitive liposomes. Also, in acidic pH, an increase in efficacy was observed with a greater decrease in the MIC of the pH responsive liposomes as compared to the lower decrease in MIC of the non pH-responsive liposomes and increase in MIC of free Vancomycin. Thus, from the results it can be concluded that environmentally sensitive liposomes could be developed as a successful carrier of antimicrobial drugs demonstrating effective antimicrobial action.M.S.Includes bibliographical referencesby Varsha Ran
Changes in the Intention to Return and the Related Risk Perception Among Residents and Evacuees of Tomioka Town 11 Years After the Fukushima Nuclear Accident
No full textObjective: This study examined temporal trends in risk perception and intention to return to Tomioka among residents and evacuees with the aim of aiding community recovery. Methods: Responses to questionnaires distributed in 2017 and 2021 were compared regarding demographic information, intention to return to Tomioka, desire to consult radiation experts, and risk perception such as anxiety about food consumption, drinking tap water, self-health, and genetic effects. Questionnaires were distributed to all persons registered with the Tomioka town council, both current residents and evacuees. Results: In 2021, the proportion of responders who had already returned/ wanted to return and those who did not want to return increased by 3.2% and 6.8% respectively, and the proportion unsure about returning decreased by 10.1%. Anxiety for self-health decreased by 15.4%, for genetic effects decreased by 24.4%, for food consumption decreased by 30.9%, and the latter 2 remained significant factors among responders unsure of returning and among those who did not want to return in 2021. Conclusions: Risk perception for food and genetic effects was significantly associated with uncertainty about returning or not returning. There is a need for continual monitoring of risk perception trends and implementation of targeted risk communication strategies.長崎大学学位論文 学位記番号:共博(医歯薬)甲第40号 学位授与年月日:令和6年3月19日Author: Varsha Hande, Makiko Orita, Hitomi Matsunaga, Yuya Kashiwazaki, Yasuyuki Taira and Noboru TakamuraCitation: Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, 17, art. no. e386; 2023Nagasaki University (長崎大学), 博士(医学) (2024-03-19
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