Assessment of Postural Control, Dizziness and Musculoskeletal Impairments in Post-Concussion Children and Adolescents

This three-paper, five-chapter dissertation aimed to examine the three commonly seen impairment categories post-concussion i.e. postural control, musculoskeletal impairments and dizziness to provide clinicians with clinically useful information regarding these impairment categories. This dissertation also provides the details on psychometric properties of a recently developed patient reported measure to evaluate perceived disability due to post-concussion dizziness in children and adolescents. There were three independent studies that were associated with this dissertation. The first study provides details on the relative and absolute reliability postural control measures in typically developing children and adolescents. The second study describes the various impairment categories that were observed in children and adolescents post-concussion. This study will aid towards formulation of a population specific structured tool for the cervical spine impairments following concussion. The final study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Dizziness Handicap Inventory- children and adolescents (DHI-CA) in post-concussion children and adolescents. This study will aid clinicians in making informed clinical decisions while evaluating perceived disability due to dizziness following a concussion in children and adolescents. Chapter I of this dissertation provides background information for each of the three studies and chapter V describes the integrated discussion and a broad conclusion.Ph.D.Physical TherapyUniversity of Michigan-Flinthttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146737/1/Tiwari2018.pdfDescription of Tiwari2018.pdf : Thesi

Marketing Cost, Producer's Share, and Marketing Efficiency in Different Marketing Channels of Persimmon Crop in Kullu District of Himachal Pradesh

This study examines the marketing channels and associated costs in the persimmon industry, focusing on the producer's share in consumer rupees and marketing efficiency. The research analyzes different marketing channels involving wholesalers, retailers, and pre-harvest contractors. The findings reveal the marketing costs incurred by various stakeholders, with variations observed across channels. The producer's marketing cost ranged from ₹187.40 to ₹245.86 per quintal, while wholesalers, pre-harvest contractors, and retailers incurred significant costs in terms of commissions, transportation, taxes, and other expenses. The analysis of price spread among channels highlights the net price received by the producer, consumer's price, and marketing margins. Moreover, the study evaluates the marketing efficiency of each channel, indicating their effectiveness in terms of cost management and value delivery. The marketing efficiency values obtained for Channel-1, Channel-2, and Channel-3 are 5.48, 3.10, and 2.44, respectively. These results provide insights into the distribution of profits and costs among different stakeholders in the persimmon industry, aiding in understanding the overall performance of marketing channels

Photovoltaic fed multilevel inverter using reverse voltage topology for standalone systems

Multilevel Inverters are generally utilized for medium voltage and high power applications. Invented in 1975, MLIs have brought huge change in the field of Electrical and Electronics. It contains distinctive topologies. This paper proposes a photovoltaic aided multilevel inverter with Reverse Voltage topology with diminished number of switches. In comparison to other existing topologies this topology utilizes minimum number of switches and less number of carrier signals which in turns diminishes the complexity of the system as well as cost. The proposed framework contains five MOSFETs, five diodes to create eleven levels. In this topology the SPWM strategy has been utilized. This topology utilizes one sine wave and five triangular waves, which is half in comparison to the existing topologies. As sustainable power sources can be utilized for multilevel inverter, photovoltaic cell has been utilized. The MATLAB recreation for both solar powered module and Multilevel inverter has been appeared alongside the equipment approach

Does the Dizziness Handicap Inventory—Children and Adolescents (DHI-CA) Demonstrate Properties to Support Clinical Application in the Post-Concussion Population: A Rasch Analysis

The purpose of this cross-sectional validation study was to evaluate the clinical utility of the DHI-CA by (1) examining its dimensionality using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and (2) calibrating DHI-CA items (using the multidimensional Rasch model) to obtain item difficulty levels. A retrospective chart review was conducted for 132 patients between the ages of 8 and 18 years (mean age = 15.3 ± 2.1 years) from a multidisciplinary post-concussion management tertiary center. Data were extracted on age, sex, and DHI-CA. EFA revealed that 12 out of 25 items did not fit in the subscale that they were originally described under, indicating poor dimensionality. Calibration of items on the Wright Maps revealed that 50% of the items pooled in the lower difficulty level, indicating a potential ceiling effect. Corrected item–rest correlations for the physical, emotional, walking/mobility, and community participation ranged from 0.44–0.66, 0.27–0.61, 0.54–0.57, and 0.32–0.69 (p < 0.001), respectively. The clinical utility of the DHI-CA was found to be questionable due to the presence of double-barreled items and the ceiling effect. Clinicians must supplement data from the DHI-CA with other measures and patient interviews to make informed clinical decisions specific to the post-concussion population until new, robust, and valid measures are developed

An algorithm portfolio approach to reconfigurable set-up planning

This article discusses an algorithm portfolio approach to find optimal set-up plans in a dynamic shop floor environment where flexibility and promptness of the decision process is critical along with best possible utilisation of the available resources. An evolutionary algorithm based reconfigurable set-up planning approach is presented where the final set-up plan is determined in two steps: primitive set-up planning through feature grouping and reconfigurable set-up merging based on real time information from the scheduling system. The tendency of single algorithm approach to converge to sub-optimal solutions was countered by using portfolios of genetic algorithm and its three variants: Genetic Algorithm with Chromosome Differentiation, Sexual Genetic Algorithm and a modified version of Age Genetic Algorithm. Best performing portfolios selected after exhaustive experimentation showed dramatic computational improvements in achieving the optimal solution validating the appropriateness and effectiveness of algorithm portfolio approach.</p

Strength of association between the Five-Times-Sit-to-Stand Test and balance, knee extensor strength and lower limb power in community-dwelling older adults

Background/Aims Although strength, power and balance are associated with the Five-Times-Sit-to-Stand Test in older adults, the relative contribution of each to sit-to-stand performance is unclear. This study compared the strength of association between the Five-Times-Sit-to-Stand Test and measures of balance, knee extensor strength, and lower limb power in older adults. Methods A total of 41 community-dwelling older adults completed the Five-Times-Sit-to-Stand Test and tests of balance, knee extensor strength, and lower limb power. Results The strongest association observed was between the Five-Times-Sit-to-Stand Test and dynamic balance (rs= −0.61, P&lt;0.001), with a moderate association observed between the Five-Times-Sit-to-Stand Test and power (rs= −0.52, P=0.001). Conclusions Dynamic balance and lower limb power are determinants of, and play roles in the Five-Times-Sit-to-Stand Test performance in community-dwelling older adults. Dynamic balance was the strongest determinant of Five-Times-Sit-to-Stand Test performance, suggesting that the Five-Times-Sit-to-Stand Test should not be viewed solely as a proxy measure of knee extensor strength in community-dwelling older adults. </jats:sec