Formulation of India State Hunger Index and Assessment of Associated Factors

There are many faces of hunger such as loss of energy, lack of interest, increased vulnerability to disease, shortfalls in nutritional status and premature death. Hunger is usually linked with lack of food. India State Hunger Index was formulated by assigning weights to the components of the index using principal component analysis. Association between hunger index and factors affecting it was assessed. Kerala has the minimum index score indicating less hunger, whereas, Jharkhand has the maximum index score depicting serious hunger situation. Literacy (men-women), households with improved drinking water facility and households with sanitation facility are highly associated with the India State Hunger Index. The factors like literacy (men-women), household with improved drinking water and sanitation facility and child’s adequate diet are required to be considered while framing the policies to mitigate the problem of hunger.

On k-Distance Degree Index of Trees

Let G be a connected graph then ܰ௞-index (݇-distance degree index) defined in [14] as ܰ௞(ܩ)=∑ௗ௜௔௠(ீ)௞ୀଵቀ∑௫ఢ௏(ீ)݀௞(ݔ)ቁ݇, where ݀௞(ݔ)=|ܰ௞(ݔ)|=|{ݕܸ߳(ܩ):݀(ݔ,ݕ)=݇}|, where ݀(ݔ,ݕ)is the distance between vertex ݔand ݕin graph ܩand ݉ܽ݅݀(ܩ)is the diameter of graph ܩ. We define some transformations and their impact on ܰ௞-index of graphs with respect to pendant path and pendant vertices. For fixed number of pendant vertices of a tree, we define a tree with minimum ܰ௞-index. Also for different fixed parameters we characterize the tress with minimum ܰ௞-index.

Existence of simple BIBDs from a prime power difference family with minimum index

We show that under certain technical conditions that simple [Formula: see text] balanced incomplete block designs (BIBDs) exist for all allowable values of [Formula: see text], where [Formula: see text] is an odd prime power. Our primary technique is to argue for the existence of difference families in finite fields, in the flavor of Wilson [J. Number Theory 4 (1972) 17–47]. We provide an extensive analysis in the cases, where [Formula: see text] and also for [Formula: see text].

Validation of an instrument regarding nursing intervention in patients in vasoactive therapy

ABSTRACT Objective: to validate the content of a Standard Operational Procedure, regarding nursing interventions in emergency patients treated with vasoactive drugs. Method: methodological study, carried out from December 2015 to January 2016. Content validity was determined by 16 experts (13 nurses, 2 pharmacists and one biomedical scientist), who judged it through a four-point Likert scale. The items were evaluated in terms of: feasibility, objectivity, simplicity, clearness, pertinence and accuracy. The Content Validity Index was applied, accepting the value ≥ 0.90. Results: two rounds of evaluation were required to achieve the minimum index. The items were reviewed regarding writing, dilution, indication and replacement interval. The instrument was validated with 33 items and with total Content Validity Index of 0.99. Conclusion: the instrument was considered appropriate, fractionally and globally, for nursing care for the patient treated with vasoactive drugs in emergency, in a safe and reliable way.

Short-Term Traffic Flow Forecasting of Intersection Based on Approximate Dynamic Programming

In this paper, we propose a model for short-term traffic flow forecasting based on approximate dynamic programming when considering the influence of related roads. First, construct the system performance index using the error function as the objective function, adjust the action network online according to the minimum index to generate the approximate optimal control vector and the control matrix, then we can get the traffic flow data at the specific road and time to forecast. To illustrate how this method works, we use intersection traffic flow of Hongli road and Shangbu road in Futian Shenzhen as experimental data, which can be demonstrated that this method can increase the forecasting accuracy and meet the real-time forecasting requirements.

Extreme pointer years in tree-ring records of Central Spain as evidence of climatic events and the eruption of the Huaynaputina Volcano (Peru, 1600 AD)

The study of pointer years of numerous tree-ring chronologies of the central Iberian Peninsula (Sierra de Guadarrama) could provide complementary information about climate variability over the last 405 yr. In total, 64 pointer years have been identified: 30 negative (representing minimum growths) and 34 positive (representing maximum growths), the most significant of these being 1601, 1963 and 1996 for the negative ones, and 1734 and 1737 for the positive ones. Given that summer precipitation was found to be the most limiting factor for the growth of Pinus in the Sierra de Guadarrama in the second half of the 20th century, it is also an explanatory factor in almost 50% of the extreme growths. Furthermore, these pointer years and intervals are not evenly distributed throughout time. Both in the first half of the 17th and in the second half of 20th, they were more frequent and more extreme and these periods are the most notable for the frequency of negative pointer years in Central Spain. The interval 1600–1602 is of special significance, being one of the most unfavourable for tree growth in the centre of Spain, with 1601 representing the minimum index in the regional chronology. We infer that this special minimum annual increase was the effect of the eruption of Huaynaputina, which occurred in Peru at the beginning of 1600 AD. This is the first time that the effects of this eruption in the tree-ring records of Southern Europe have been demonstrated.