246 research outputs found
First-principles study of electromechanical and polar properties in perovskite oxides and half-Heusler semiconductors
No full textThis thesis discusses electromechanical and polar properties in two well-known classes of materials, perovskite oxides and half-Heusler compounds, using first-principles calculations. Certain features of the ab initio codes, such as the capability to calculate polarization based on the modern theory of polarization, or to apply a finite electric field, are central to the problems presented in this thesis. Hence these formalisms are discussed, following a brief opening section on the basic methodology of density-functional theory. The first problem presented in this thesis concerns the nonlinear piezoelectric response of ferroelectric PbTiO₃ for the case of a polarization-enhancing electric field applied along the tetragonal axis. The dependence of the c/a ratio on electric field is found to be almost linear in the range up to 500 MV/m, contrary to what expected from Landau-Devonshire theory, but in qualitative agreement with a recent experiment. In the second problem we study the energy landscape and ferroelectric states of double perovskites of the form AA'BB'O₆ in which the atoms on both the A and B sites are arranged in rock-salt order. If a ferroelectric instability occurs, the energy landscape will tend to have minima with the polarization along tetrahedral directions, leading to a rhombohedral phase, or along Cartesian directions, leading to an orthorhombic phase. We are not aware of compounds naturally occurring in this structure, although they might be synthesized experimentally. In the final problem, we use a first-principles rational-design approach to search a large materials family, half-Heusler compounds to identify semiconductors, and then compute their piezoelectric properties. This previously-unrecognized class of piezoelectrics may benefit greatly from calculations such as those presented here. Our work may provide guidance for experimental verification of existing compounds and for the experimental realization of other potential candidates.Ph. D.Includes bibliographical referencesIncludes vitaby Anindya Ro
Clinical trends and outcomes of male breast cancer: Experience of a tertiary oncology centre in India
Get PDFPurpose: Because of its rarity in any oncology centre, the clinical trends of male breast cancer specific to its geographical distribution have remained relatively unexplored. This study was done to analyze the clinico-pathological data, treatment given and survival patterns of male breast cancer patients visiting our tertiary medical centre and compare our results with available literature. Methods: All male breast cancer patients registered at our clinic from 2003 to 2009 were included. Frequency distribution analysis of the demographic and clinico-pathological data and treatment variables was done. Treatment outcome was examined from Kaplan-Meir survival estimates. Results: Thirty-three male breast cancer patients were encountered. The median age of presentation was sixty years. Mostly (87.9%) they presented with lump in breast or axilla and were clinically staged to be ‘3’ (57.6%).Obesity and alcohol were the commonest risk factors identified. Modified radical mastectomy was the commonest (69.6%) definitive therapy rendered with (only for clinically staged 3 patients) or without neo-adjuvant chemotherapy. Infiltrating ductal carcinoma was identified in most cases. Twenty-two patients received adjuvant chemotherapy and twenty-four received adjuvant radiotherapy. Eighteen (54.5%) patients were hormone-receptor positive and received tamoxifen. The median Overall survival (OS) and Progression-free survival (PFS) came out to be 14.3 months (standard error, SE of 1.185; 95% confidence interval, CI 12-16.6) and 15.7 (SE 5.35, 95% CI 5.2-26.19) months respectively.Conclusion: Male breast cancers usually carry a poor prognosis due to presentation at later stages. Most of our results correlate with previous literature. Multi-centric prospective studies are required to validate the etiological factors and prognostic determinants of survival.-----------------------------Cite this article as: Mukherjee A, Saha A, Chattopadhyay S, Sur P. Clinical trends and outcomes of Male Breast Cancer: experience of a tertiary oncology centre in India. Int J Cancer Ther Oncol 2014; 2(3):02035. DOI: 10.14319/ijcto.0203.
Essays in Earnings, Academic Productivity, and School Competition
Get PDFThis thesis consists of three self-contained essays evaluating current issues in earnings, academic productivity, and school competition.
The first chapter, coauthored with Anindya Sen, looks at returns to post-secondary education and the gender gap in Ontario. We construct a unique individual level panel dataset consisting of earnings of public sector employees of the Government of Ontario, facilitated by the Ontario Salary Disclosure Act which reveals earnings of $100,000 or more. Individual earnings from 2005-2013 were merged with publicly available profiles on www.linkedin.com, which contains details on educational attainment, field of study, job experience, and specific occupation. There are significant field specific differences in returns to post-secondary education. In terms of graduate education, on average, while Ph.D.'s earn a premium relative to undergraduates, there is a modest gender gap in earnings of doctoral degree holders, which is not present among undergraduates. The sample period also experienced significant salary increases for female undergraduates. However, there are significant gender differences in the proportion of individuals who are managers and also in earnings of senior managers belonging to early cohorts.
By creating and utilizing a unique panel data from several different sources including the Ontario Ministry of Finance, EconLit, Web of Science, Online CVs, and so forth on all tenured and tenure track professors in 16 Ontario economic departments over 1996 to 2012, the second chapter intends to analyze the pay and position of those professors to see how co-authorship affect an economist's research productivity and how research productivity impacts pay and promotion. The study demonstrates that there is a significant return to co-authored publications relative to solo-authored publications in Ontario universities. The investigation of the relationship between co-authorship and productivity reveals that co-authored publications are associated with higher citation counts. Our research has also demonstrated that higher quality publications have a greater effect on salary, and the likelihood of promotion is positively associated with past performance. The estimates also suggest that some gender differences exist concerning the impact of co-authored publications on the likelihood of promotion. Finally, we find that in Ontario, economists are more likely to co-author with their colleagues,who have the similar ability, experience, and research interest. We found no gender-sorting effect among Ontario economists.
In the last chapter, I use a data set obtained from the Ontario Ministry of Education and the Educational Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) to estimate whether average school performance is affected by competition from other nearby schools. The availability of data on a panel of schools allows me to control for the potentially confounding effects of unobserved school specific attributes. I employ fixed effects, random trend and Instrumental Variables estimation to eliminate the potential simultaneity bias associated with competition between schools. Following Gibbons, Machin and Silva (2008), I use proximity
to school board boundaries as an instrumental variable for local school competition. IV estimates suggest a statistically insignificant association between school competition and school performance. Another important finding is that the estimated coefficient is stronger when the sample is restricted to the Toronto District School Board, which may suggest that
competition may improve school performance where students are given more freedom to choose their school. This finding may lend support to the current policy which is designed to improve public school performance in Ontario
Tobacco abuse among school going adolescents in a rural area of West Bengal, India
No full textAdolescents are vulnerable targets of tobacco industry with all consequences of usage. Studies reveal that tobacco abuse is rising in this age group in India. A cross sectional survey was carried out in two coeducational high schools of Anandanagar village of Singur block, Hooghly district, West Bengal among 276 students of VIII-IX standard to study the knowledge and abuse of tobacco and to find out influencing socio-demographic factors. Knowledge score was higher in females, students from nuclear families, and those with literate parents. Low prevalence of tobacco intake was obtained among the students, with 9.8% reported having ever used smokeless tobacco and 4.3% ever smoked. Tobacco intake was higher among those with a history of parental tobacco intake. Continued information education and communication (IEC) activities should be conducted by the school authorities, with involvement of nongovernment organizations (NGOs) and parents for primary prevention
OPTIMALISASI PROSES PENAMBATAN MT.PEGADEN DI SBM (SINGLE BUOY MOORING) BALONGAN
Get PDFAnindya Rahmatika Azmi, 49124436 N, “The Optimization Of Berthing Process
Of MT.Pegaden in SBM (Single Buoy Mooring) Balongan”. Diploma IV
Program Nautical Department Semarang Merchant Marine Polytechnic
Material supervisor (I): Capt. Arika Palapa, M.Si, M.Mar, Methodology
supervisor (II): Nita Setiyaningsih, S.Pd, M.Hum.
The berthing process of a vessel depends on many factors, such as vessel
engine, winch power, weather and must pay attention for setting tross rope to make
sure that vessel can berth in good condition, because problems can cause damage for
vessel and environment. The things to be concerned so that berthing process can
progress optimally is by avoiding and minimizing factors that caused berthing
process cannot be optimal.
Based on the author’s experience during sea project on the MT.Pegaden, there
are a lot of problems that happen during berthing process in Single Buoy Mooring
Balongan, so the author was interested in observing and analyzing factors that caused
berthing process cannot be optimal using two methods, there are fishbone analysis to
map the problems and Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat (SWOT) method as
a problem solving strategies.
The use of fishbone analysis is to map the cause factors of berthing process
not to be optimal, it is divided into 6 parts there are machine, method, material, man,
milieu and measure. After divided into 6 part based on the cause from internal factor
and external factor used IFAS and EFAS, it is followed by implementation of
Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat (SWOT) method to combine the results in
order to get the most effective strategy so that the berthing process can be optimal.
Key word : Optimization, berthing, Single Buoy Mooring, Balonga
Pradipta Mukherjee and Sajalkumar Bhattacharya, eds. The Diasporic Dilemma: Exile, Alienation and Belonging
Get PDFLIVEsense: A Continuous and Collaborative Goal Setting System using Sensor Data for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) Patients
No full textThis report is the result of a master thesis project that finalizes 2 years of Strategic Product Design master program at the Industrial Design Engineering faculty. The project is about designing a data-informed clinical care process for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) patient. Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) is a treatment that aims to reduce symptoms of Aortic Valve Stenosis (AOS). Most TAVI patients are in the above-75 population. The project brief is to improve TAVI patient's experience using sensor data.To understand the context of TAVI care pathway, a literature review and stakeholders interviews were done, resulting in a comprehensive understanding of the care pathway. The opportunity to improve the period after TAVI was addressed. To understand the underlying problem among patients in the post-TAVI period, text analysis from the literature was done, followed by coding, categorizing and framework creation. The framework was iterated in a series of 5 co-reflection sessions with the stakeholders. The result is that TAVI patients are managing confrontations throughout the care pathway, which prevent/ limit them from doing enough physical activity. The proposed vision is a continuous and collaborative goal setting system using sensor data. A concept ideation was done, followed by concept testing sessions that resulted in the list of concept requirements. The final proposed product-service system concept is called LIVEsense, a continuous and collaborative goal setting system using sensor data and voice-based conversational agent. LIVEsense consists of three main steps: baseline collection, collaborative goal setting and monitored goal pursuit. Patient wears the sensor and interacting with the voice assistant during the monitored goal pursuit. The sensor collects and compares patient's heart rate and activity data. The proposed product-service system was validated in a co-reflection session with stakeholders. LIVEsense satisfied all elements of the Quadruple Aim (Bodenheimer & Sinksky, 2014) and it brings most value for the period right after TAVI. Other elements that needs to be further explored are the implementation of LIVEsense in the care pathway that consists of multiple organizations.Strategic Product Design | Medisig
Evaluation of Magnesium as an adjuvant in Ropivacaine-induced supraclavicular brachial plexus block: A prospective, double-blinded randomized controlled study
No full textObjective: Different additives have been used to prolong brachial plexus block. We evaluated the effect of adding magnesium sulfate to ropivacaine for supraclavicular brachial plexus blockade. The primary endpoints were the onset and duration of sensory and motor block and duration of analgesia.
Methods: One hundred patients (25-55 years) posted for elective forearm and hand surgeries under supraclavicular brachial plexus block were divided into two equal groups (Groups RM and RN) in a randomized, double-blind fashion. In group RM (n = 50), 30 ml 0.5% ropivacaine plus 150 mg (in 1 ml 0.9% saline) magnesium sulfate and in group RN (n = 50), 30 ml 0.5% ropivacaine plus 1 ml normal saline were administered in supraclavicular block. Sensory and motor block onset times and block durations, time to first analgesic use, total analgesic need, postoperative visual analog scale (VAS), hemodynamic variables, and side effects were recorded for each patient.
Findings: Though with similar demographic profile and block (sensory and motor) onset time, the sensory and motor block duration and time to first analgesic use were significantly longer and the total need for rescue analgesics was lower in group RM (P = 0.026) than group RN. Postoperative VAS values at 24 h were significantly lower in group RM (P = 0.045). Intraoperative hemodynamics was comparable among two groups and no appreciable side effect was noted throughout the study period.
Conclusion: It can be concluded from this study that adding magnesium sulfate to supraclavicular brachial plexus block may increase the sensory and motor block duration and time to first analgesic use, and decrease total analgesic needs, with no side effects
A cyto-epidemiological study on married women in reproductive age group (15-49 years) regarding reproductive tract infection in a rural community of West Bengal
No full textBackground: Reproductive tract infection (RTI) represents a major public health problem in India. Women are either not aware of the symptoms of RTI or refuse to seek health care due to economic and time constrains unless suffering from alarming symptoms. Objectives: To find out the prevalence of women with suggestive symptoms of RTI; to identify clinical and cytological abnormalities among the symptomatic women and to find out association between socio-demographic profile and risk factors with RTI symptomatic and cytology positive patients. Materials and Methods: A total of 385 married women in reproductive age group residing in Baligori sub-center area in Tarakeswar block of Hooghly district, West Bengal, India, were screened for symptom suggestive of RTI; symptomatic women went through gynecological examination and cancer cervix screening by Pap smear. Analysis of results was done by Odds ratio and multivariate logistic regression. Results: Overall, 23.6% of the study population had symptoms suggestive of RTI. Most of them (68.1%) had abnormal vaginal discharge. Among the symptomatic women, cytology proved that 24.4% were suffering from acute cervicitis, 4.7% from A Squamous Cell of Undetermined Significance (ASCUS) and 2.3% from Low Grade Intra epithelial Lesion (LSIL) Squamous. Statistically significant association was observed for age, number of children, contact history of husband, pond bathing, menstrual hygiene, intra uterine device insertion, non-usage of barrier method, and history of abortion among women symptomatic for RTI and asymptomatic women. Conclusions: Prevalence of suggestive symptoms of RTI in women was found to be high (23.6%), and among them 7% had cervical dysplasia. Therefore, enhancing awareness and organizing screening camps are absolute necessity and must be held at frequent intervals to curb the menace due to cervical cancer
- …
