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Evaluating Learners' Response in an e-Learning environment has been the topic of current research in areas of Human Computer Interaction, e-Learning, Education Technology and even Natural Language Processing. The current paper presents a twofold strategy to evaluate single word response of a learner in an e-Learning environment. The response of the learner to be evaluated would consist of errors committed due to lack of knowledge and also out of inadvertent mistakes committed while typing the answers. The proposed system benevolently considers such errors and still marks the learner partially. The feature incorporated in this work adds the human element to the mechanised system of evaluation and assessment in an e-Learning environment.

Introduction: Atrial Fibrillation is the most commonly encountered quivering or irregular heart beat (arrhythmia) in our population, and it is the disordered supraventricular (atria) event characterized by irregular heart rhythm, there by altered atrial electrical and mechanical function will occur, it will lead to significant economic burden to the society by causing morbidity and mortality. Aims: To find out the varied presenting symptoms of Atrial fibrillation, to find out possible underlying predisposing factors for Atrial fibrillation, both cardiac and non-cardiac in our population and to perform Transthoracic Echocardiography and analysis of its parameters in Atrial fibrillation patients. Materials and Methods: This study was a Cross-sectional study. This study was conducted in the Cardiology Department of NRS medical college, during the year January 2022 to December 2022. 100 patients were included in this study. Result: In the study group, 41.6% (N=32) of patients with RHD presented with failure, 39.1% (n=9) of patients with Non RHD presented with failure. The difference was statistically insignificant („P-value >.05). In our study 88% of the people had normal EF,6% of the people had mildly abnormal,4% of the people had moderately abnormal, and the remaining 2% of them presented with severely abnormal EF, Presence of abnormal EF(LV systolic dysfunction) independently predicts the risk of stroke shown by Atrial fibrillation investigators study. Conclusion: Patients with RHD etiology presented with AF in middle age, patients with Non RHD etiology presented in older age and patient presented with AF of rheumatic origin were mostly female patients, whereas non rheumatic origin were male patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last 50 years, many researchers have contributed significantly towards understanding the Masing/non‐Masing behavior of materials. However, there has been no review article or scientific report published to date that highlights the progress made in this domain. This article presents a state‐of‐the‐art comprehensive review and analysis of the Masing/non‐Masing behavior of materials under low cycle fatigue loading. Understanding of Masing/non‐Masing behavior is important for the development of fatigue‐resistant materials, prediction of fatigue life, and constitutive modeling and simulation. The influence of various factors such as stacking fault energy, temperature, strain amplitude, and loading conditions on Masing/non‐Masing behavior has been summarized in this article. The literature pertaining to the internal microstructural changes observed in different materials by various researchers has been collected and compiled. The different methods of analyzing Masing/non‐Masing behavior reported in the open literature are assessed and presented. The importance/significance of Masing/non‐Masing behavior in constitutive modeling and fatigue life prediction has also been highlighted. Finally, conclusions based on the review and the potential problems required to be resolved in the future are also pointed out. Highlights: A comprehensive review of Masing/non‐Masing behavior of materials is presented.Various factors that influence the Masing/non‐Masing behavior have been summarized.Different assessment methods of Masing/non‐Masing behavior are discussed in detail.Masing/non‐Masing is important for new material development and constitutive modeling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In India, 67,500 infants acquire HIV infection yearly due to mother to child transmission. Objective: The objective was to assess the operational aspect of the Prevention of Parent to Child Transmission (PPTCT) program in a tertiary care hospital and explore its bottleneck. Materials and Methods: A 5-year (2004-2008) prospective evaluation study was conducted among the pregnant women attending Obstetrics Department of a rural tertiary care hospital, since the year of implementation. Indicators were used according to UNAIDS/WHO guideline. Results: Out of 40,140 registered pregnant women, 23,812 were counseled of which 19,794 were agreed to undergo HIV testing and 111 were found HIV positive with a prevalence of 0.56%. Overall HIV counseling and testing rates were 59.32% and 83.13%, respectively. The nevirapine (NVP) dispensing rate of the mother and newborn were 29.72% and 85.4%, respectively. At 18 months of age, 85% babies were found HIV negative in the mother baby pair who received NVP with absolutely formula feeding but it was 42.8% without such intervention. Conclusion: Majority of the pregnant women who came to the labor room directly were deprived of the program (PPTCT) coverage. Although the HIV testing rate reached the WHO target which was excellent, but the NVP dispensing rate lagged far behind.

Objective: The factors affecting cardiac output in normal pregnancy remain controversial. This study prospectively evaluates maternal hemodynamic and cardiac structure and function by echocardiography in healthy primi mother. Methods: It's a prospective study, 143 primi gravida women were evaluated, Echocardiography had been done at 12 -14 wks gestation, 30-32 wk gestation and 6 -8 wks postpartum in which 6 -- 8 weeks postpartum values were considered as baseline. The data was subjected to statistical analysis to observe the changes at different gestational periods by using ANOVA Results: Cardiac output increased significantly at the early to mid third trimester and was maintained until term. It increased predominantly in the latter half of pregnancy 53% occurred from baseline a 20.3% increase in heart rate and 29% increase in stroke volume. Left ventricular systolic function in terms of ejection fraction and fractional shortening was preserved until term. Total peripheral resistance also decreased in 29 % 1st trimester and 37% in later half of pregnancy. Conclusion: The TFR and MAP decreases in the early pregnancy, cardiac output increase in the early gestation and peak in mid third trimester and is maintained until term. Left ventricular systolic functions were maintained during pregnancy [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerical prediction of mass loss due to cavitation erosion requires the knowledge of the hydrodynamic impact loads generated by cavitation bubble collapses. Experimental measurements of such impact loads using conventional pressure sensors are not reliable (if not impossible) due to the micron size and the very small duration of the loading. In this paper, a new method to estimate these loading conditions is proposed based on cavitation pitting tests and an iterative inverse finite element modeling. The principle of the method is as follows. First, numerous pits corresponding to localized plastically deformed regions are identified from a cavitation test performed in a dedicated tunnel. Then each pit is numerically reproduced by finite element simulations of the material response to a representative Gaussian pressure field supposed to mimic a single bubble collapse. This gives the size and pressure distribution of the bubble impacts. The prime objective of this study is to find out if the target material itself could be used as a pressure sensor or not, i.e., if the cavitation pits left on the surface of the tested specimen could provide the characteristics of the cavitating flow in terms of pressure fields independently of the target material. Pitting tests were done on three materials, namely, 7075 Aluminum alloy (Al-7075), 2205 duplex stainless steel (A-2205), and Nickel-Aluminum Bronze (NAB) at three different flow conditions and the impact loads have been estimated for each identified pit. Very interestingly, a statistical analysis shows that the estimated impact loads are material independent at all flow conditions, provided the material properties are characterized properly. It is also shown that for some materials, the constitutive parameters obtained from compression tests are not satisfactory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background In plants, proteases execute an important role in the overall process of protein turnover during seed development, germination and senescence. The limited knowledge on the proteolytic machinery that operates during seed development in coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) prompted us to search for proteases in the coconut endosperm. Findings We have identified and purified a coconut endosperm protease (CESP) to apparent homogeneity. CESP is a single polypeptide enzyme of approximate molecular mass of 68 kDa and possesses pH optimum of 8.5 for the hydrolysis of BAPNA. Studies relating to substrate specificity and pattern of inhibition by various protease inhibitors indicated that CESP is a serine protease with cleavage specificity to peptide bonds after arginine. Purified CESP was often autolysed to two polypeptides of 41.6 kDa (CESP1) and 26.7 kDa (CESP2) and is confirmed by immunochemistry. We have shown the expression of CESP in all varieties of coconut and in all stages of coconut endosperm development with maximum amount in fully matured coconut. Conclusion Since the involvement of proteases in the processing of pre-proteins and maintenance of intracellular protein levels in seeds are well known, we suspect this CESP might play an important role in the coconut endosperm development. However this need to be confirmed using further studies.

Health sector reforms were introduced in several states of India in 1991. The rationale was to increase choice and competition, to improve quality and access to health care Such demand-led incentives were integral to macro-economic stabilization programs world-wide during the 1990s. For a majority of the population of India, health care costs linked to commercialisation of health services were forcing households into serious debt. Using primary data on patterns of utilisation of health services (2002), this paper reports from a systematically collected empirical evidence base, to explore the preliminary impact of changes to the health sector from 1991 to 2000 in West Bengal (WB), Tamil Nadu (TN), and the hospital sector of Andhra Pradesh (AP). The overall aim is to provide historical context to the experience of reforms for poor and vulnerable groups and to understand current discourses on the health system in India, focused on "managed care" through a universal health insurance programme. We explore linkages between the past and present on disinvestment in public provision and its long-term consequences for equity of access to health care in the three states, and elsewhere in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an intelligent recognizer of the cognitive state of an e-learner as an integral part of confidence-based e-learning (CBeL) system. It addresses the problem of providing technology-driven pedagogical support to an e-Learner to achieve the desired cognitive state of mastery which is endowed by high levels of both knowledge and confidence. As per best of our knowledge concerned, no prior work has been done in the area of CBeL. The issue is crucial in the present scenario of teaching-learning in the twenty-first century where lifelong learning is gaining increasing importance vis-à-vis traditional classroom teaching-learning. However, self-learning is an indispensable mode of lifelong learning. It is felt that e-learning systems should have the capacity to simulate the behavior a human expert to identify the gap between the learners' cognitive state and the learning objective with the intension of guiding the self-learner take initiative to bridge the gap with appropriate action and eventually achieve his learning objective. An artificial neural network-based intelligent recognizer has been designed to identify the CBeL state of the learner on the basis of his performance in a CBeL test. This recognizer is the major agent that facilitates the implementation of the proposed CBeL system. Extensive experimentation has been carried out to ensure the performance of the recognizer. Results show ample evidence that the ANN-based intelligent recognizer is able to faithfully simulate the behavior of a human evaluator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantitative models built as tools for evaluating human language performance, can prove useful for both theoretical and applied areas of discourse comprehension, assessment, and education. The current paper offers a test case focused on mathematical articulation of a model and a test of that model with existing corpora. The model presented has been developed to evaluate free text answers of students based on the fuzzy indiscernibility between the semantic spaces created by the model answer and the learners' response. The model semantic space represented as a knowledge matrix can be constructed out of one or more model answers prepared by human experts and closely resemble the knowledge of the human evaluator. The proposed model finds out the indiscernibility between the types of word usage and scores the answer based on the fuzzy indiscernibility measures stored in a graded thesaurus prepared specifically for this purpose. The results returned on experimental data correlates well with human evaluators. This simulated learner-friendly atmosphere, inspired by a teacher's intelligent benevolence, ensures effective attainment of learning objective in e-learning environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The region encompassing residues 13-23 of the amyloid beta peptide (Aβ(13-23)) of Alzheimer's disease is the self-recognition site that initiates toxic oligomerization and fibrillization, and also is the site of interaction of Aβ with many other proteins. Peptidic compounds intended to act as β-sheet inhibitors targeted to Aβ(13-23) have been shown to inhibit fibrillization of Aβ and also to reduce its neurotoxicity. We describe herein a study by molecular dynamics (MD) of the complexes between Aβ(13-23) and three (pseudo)peptidic β-sheet inhibitors, as well as its homodimer. The monomers of all systems exist predominantly as extended β-strands, with Aβ(13-23) having the greatest flexibility to adopt other conformations. The dimers of all systems exist almost exclusively as stable antiparallel β-sheets anchored at the C-terminus of Aβ(13-23) by salt bridges to the C-terminal residues, Glu22 and Asp23. We also employ an MD technique called "atomic force microscopy" (AFM) to examine the dynamics of dissociation of the complexes in water. Each ligand attached to Aβ(13-23) begins dissociation by peeling back from its C-terminus, breaking interstrand H-bonds, and losing the β-sheet character. The salt bridges are the last to release, and presumably are the first to form in the reverse process of aggregation. The free energy profiles of the dissociation as a function of the separation of the centers-of-mass of all systems show plateau regions in which separation takes place with relatively little or no rise in free energy. For each system the dissociation profile does not have a maximum and reaches a flat plateau. By implication, the reverse process of assembly does not have a barrier. This and the plateau regions in the dissociation profile are examples of entropy-enthalpy compensation that arise naturally during the AFM-MD simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Deficiencies of the complement-regulatory proteins on RBC (RBCMal) of patients with Plasmodium falciparum were reported. Here, we sought to determine the role of affinity-purified C-reactive protein from patients (CRPMal), in modulating the complement-regulatory proteins and downstream effect on complement-cascade. Methods: CRPMal was characterized by analytical ultracentrifuge and electrophoretic analysis. Surface plasmon resonance, Western blotting, co-immuno-precipitation, flow-cytometry and ELISA determined the binding of CRPMal with RBCMal. Modifications of membranes for RBCMal-CRPMal binding were explored by scanning electron microscopy, osmotic and turbulence fragility, hydrophobicity and oxyhemoglobin release. Flow-cytometry, ELISA, Western blotting and Scatchard analysis monitored the status of complement-regulatory proteins on RBCMal. Complement-activation via CRPMal was quantified by C3-deposition and hemolysis. Results: CRPMal binds specifically to RBCMal through distinct molecules. Such binding altered the normal discoid-shape of RBCMal with increased membrane fluidity and hydrophobicity. In the presence of CRP, RBCMal showed reduced complement-regulatory proteins (CR1 or CD35, CD55 and CD59) with decreased affinity. These changes caused enhanced C3-deposition and complement-mediated hemolysis. Conclusion: Taken together, we have established the contributory effect of CRPMal causing decreased complement-regulatory proteins, possibly providing a new mechanism of complement-fueled RBCMal destruction refractory to erythrophagocytosis and may account for pathogenesis of anemia. Copyright © 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In plants, proteases execute an important role in the overall process of protein turnover during seed development, germination and senescence. The limited knowledge on the proteolytic machinery that operates during seed development in coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) prompted us to search for proteases in the coconut endosperm. Findings: We have identified and purified a coconut endosperm protease (CESP) to apparent homogeneity. CESP is a single polypeptide enzyme of approximate molecular mass of 68 kDa and possesses pH optimum of 8.5 for the hydrolysis of BAPNA. Studies relating to substrate specificity and pattern of inhibition by various protease inhibitors indicated that CESP is a serine protease with cleavage specificity to peptide bonds after arginine. Purified CESP was often autolysed to two polypeptides of 41.6 kDa (CESP1) and 26.7 kDa (CESP2) and is confirmed by immunochemistry. We have shown the expression of CESP in all varieties of coconut and in all stages of coconut endosperm development with maximum amount in fully matured coconut. Conclusion: Since the involvement of proteases in the processing of pre-proteins and maintenance of intracellular protein levels in seeds are well known, we suspect this CESP might play an important role in the coconut endosperm development. However this need to be confirmed using further studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A comprehensive study is done to model flow of heat through heat insulators based on materials with high gas content such as solidified foams (e.g., eXtruded PolyStyrene foams, Expanded PolyStyrene foam), cellular glass, etc. The actual internal cell-like structure of such an insulator is replicated by regularly shaped gas pockets, which are separated from each other by thin rims of solid materials. The first model focuses on heat flow across the insulator caused by conduction and convection. Subsequently, the effect of radiation is also studied. Several numerical results are presented and computational results are compared with experimentally measured data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this paper, we describe the mathematical modeling of heat flow across a glass fiber medium. Using different mathematical models we try to explain the porosity dependence of the heat flow which is observed in experiments. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: Alzheimer’s disease [AD] is the most common cause of dementia among people age 65 and older. One of the biggest stumbling blocks in developing effective drug therapy for Alzheimer’s disease has been the lack of a comprehensive hypothesis that explains the mechanism behind all of the histopathological changes seen in patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. An overview of the currently popular ‘amyloid’ and ‘vascular’ hypotheses for AD demonstrates that neither hypothesis by itself can explain all the known histopathological and biochemical lesions seen in Alzheimer’s disease. The paper presents a hypothesis that tries to explain the mechanism behind almost all the histopathological changes, and varying clinical manifestations seen in both diagnosed AD and Vascular Dementia [VaD]. The new hypothesis is based on the known dual toxicity of β amyloid to both vascular and neuronal tissues, their synergy and the resultant net effect on the onset and progression of AD. The new hypothesis therefore will be known as the Amyloid Beta Synergistic Endothelial and Neuronal Toxicity [ABSENT] hypothesis. The ABSENT hypothesis will try to show the common chemical mechanism behind almost all of the pathological changes seen in AD. According to the ABSENT hypothesis, β amyloid itself generates all the free radicals that cause both vascular dysfunction and the neuronal damage seen in AD. The chemical mechanism proposed is based on evidence from physical chemistry experiments, calculations as well as in vitro/in vivo experiments. The ABSENT hypothesis does not favor one mode of β amyloid-induced brain damage over the other, rather it considers the net effects of the neuronal stress/damage caused by both the cerebrovascular dysfunction and direct neurotoxicity caused by β amyloid. The hypothesis states that each patient has a different balance of predisposing factors that modulate the extent of neurotoxicity and cerebrovascular dysfunction caused by β amyloid and thereby explains the wide range and mixed nature of damage and dysfunction seen in the studies done on patients diagnosed with AD, VaD or ‘mixed dementias’. According to the hypothesis, β amyloid peptides are necessary if not sufficient to cause AD, VaD and mixed senile dementias. The hypothesis, therefore, proposes the term Beta Amyloid Dementias [BAD] to describe the conditions currently covered by the diagnoses of ‘AD’, ‘VaD’ and ‘Mixed [senile] Dementias’. Finally, the ABSENT hypothesis tries to put forth a direct chemical mechanism behind the apparent synergy and increased association between old age, pre- and coexisting vascular disease, diabetes and AD. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]