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Delineation of vegetation and water body regions on the earth's surface plays a vital role in the development and planning of an area. For delineation, traditional algorithms and classifiers require more training datasets and interpretation time. For accurate delineation, geometric distortion and mixed pixels in satellite images need to be removed. Geometric distortion is due to various factors such as relief displacement, variations in the satellite altitude and attitude, and curvature of the earth's surface. Mixed pixels arise due to different types of land cover in an area. In this study, the Bayesian optimized transverse dyadic wavelet transform (BO-TDyWT) algorithm enhances the edges and curvatures of a region in an image. BO-TDyWT classifies the vegetation and water bodies in LANDSAT image, which consists of different terrains such as hilly, land and coastal regions. BO-TDyWT removes the geometric distortion and mixed pixels in the hill area water body. Performance of proposed BO-TDyWT algorithm is compared with dyadic wavelet transform and TDyWT. From the results, BO-TDyWT accurately delineates hill areas, vegetation and water body areas than dyadic wavelet transforms and TDyWT. BO-TDyWT results are ground truth verified. The BO-TDyWT algorithm accurately delineates vegetation and water bodies for precise measurement with an accuracy of 96%, which is higher than TDyWT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Livestock death and disease are considered to be one of the main factors contributing to poverty in India which can be minimized by insuring the animals. An attempt is made to study livestock insurance schemes and their constraints. From each district of Tamil Nadu, 30 insured farmers who insured their animals were selected by a simple random sampling procedure, i.e. a total of 930 beneficiaries. The majority of them had covered only 1–2 of their dairy cows under the National Livestock Mission (NLM), whereas only 9.90% of the sample respondents' had applied for compensation. In the year 2014–2015, a total number of 29,539 cattle were insured for which an amount of Rs. 13,009,231 was spent under NLM. A similar pattern existed during the period 2016–2017 and 2017–2018. The claim ratio was less than 3%. The claim amount settlement data indicated that in 2014–2015 Rs. 13,612,405 amount was settled which had increased to Rs. 20,093,002 in 2015–2016 and to Rs. 18,695,765 in 2016–2017 and Rs. 15,656421 in the year 2017–2018. The study indicated that the majority of animals (57.62%) have died of metabolic diseases followed by infectious diseases (17.05) and 22.23% of the claims were due to various other diseases. Nonavailability of veterinarians was considered the first and foremost technical constraint and the high premium amount was considered the first and foremost financial constraint. The factors like the number of adult animals, the age of the farmer and the system of rearing were found to be significantly influencing the constraint score given by the farmer. The study concluded that for the scheme to be successful, the first thing to do is to make prompt settlements within a stipulated time period say 60–90 days which would create a positive impact, and the implementation mechanism has to be simpler, hassle-free and prompt to make it successful. Also, steps to make the livestock insurance services available at the doorsteps of the farmers would bring more and more farmers under the ambit of the scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leaf disease is considered a serious threat which affects agricultural productivity and ultimately reduces the GDP of the Indian economy. The precise detection and timely analysis of foliar diseases can mitigate the spread of the disease to other parties. However, certain complications such as low precision, high calculation cost, and low recognition speed are raised when detecting leaf diseases. Therefore, to overcome these limitations, we proposed a novel technique called Boosted support vector machine-based Arithmetic optimization algorithm (BSVM-AOA) for accurate detection of plant leaf disease. In this case, image segmentation is done using the vector value active contour model, and feature extraction is done using the greyscale co-occurrence matrix. Furthermore, the performance of the proposed approach is determined by performance parameters such as accuracy, accuracy, recall, specificity, and f-rating. Finally, the comparative analysis is conducted between the different existing techniques and the proposed technique. The comparative results showed that the proposed BSVM-AOA approach is about 98.6% more accurate than other existing techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mango leaf diseases have a negative impact on mango quality and yield. It is difficult to make an accurate diagnosis of mango leaf disease diagnosis with the naked eye. A lot of computer-aided and machine learning techniques have recently been used by researchers for the classification of mango leaf diseases. However, it has been reported that these approaches have some limitations to their performance which can be attributed to problems due to higher feature dimensionality, overfitting, computational complexity, and lack of feature qualities. To overcome these issues, we proposed a novel framework for mango leaves disease classification. The images were taken from Andhra Pradesh, the largest mango cultivating land in India. The proposed framework is categorized into four stages: data preparation stage, feature selection stage, learning and classification stage, and the performance evaluation stage. We selected 380 images from the categories of healthy and diseased (Mango Anthracnose, Bacterial black spot, and Sooty mold). Different data augmentation techniques are applied to prevent overfitting and improve generalization. Next, a convolutional neural network with crossover-based levy flight distribution is applied for better feature selection. Further, the pre-trained MobileNetV2 model is used for the learning stage and leaves diseases classification is done via support vector machine at the final stage of the MobileNetV2 model. The experimental results demonstrate superior classification performances over other state-of-art methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In remote sensing, land cover classification of vegetation and water area from satellite image play a vital role for rural and urban planning and development. Existing algorithms of land cover classification require more sample image datasets for training. For existing algorithms, land cover classification of vegetation and water area is a challenging task because of mixed pixel and geometric distortion over boundary and curvature region. Mixed pixel affects the precise classification and measurement of land cover. Geometric distortion arises due to frame of isotropic and angular selectivity during image acquisition and affects the contour of land cover. In this paper, the proposed transverse dyadic wavelet transform (TDyWT) enhances and classifies vegetation and water area in land cover from LANDSAT image without training datasets. The proposed TDyWT uses Haar wavelet for decomposition and Burt 5 × 7 wavelet for reconstruction. The TDyWT enhances the contour, curvature, and boundary of vegetation and water area in LANDSAT image due to reversible and lifting properties of wavelet. TDyWT removes geometric distortion and spatial scale error of mixed pixel. In traditional land surveying spatial scale error reduction eliminates through total station and error modeling techniques. From the results, the proposed TDyWT algorithm classifies the area of subclass of vegetation and water with the 95% of accuracy with respect to ground truth survey methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to assess the awareness of different methods of haemorrhage management among undergraduate dental students. The occurrence of blood loss is very common in a dental practice, commonly associated with post extraction bleeding. If post extraction bleeding is not managed it can lead to soft tissue Haematomas and eventually severe blood loss. Severe blood loss and major haemorrhage is associated with significant mortality and morbidity. The diagnosis of the type of haemorrhage, helps in the management of haemorrhage. This was a questionnaire based study, conducted among the undergraduate third, fourth years and house surgeons. The responses were collected using google forms and tabulated in the excel sheets and was transferred to the SPSS software for statistical analysis. The 20.33% house surgeons had good awareness, while 7.33% of the final years had good awareness, onky 5.67% of the third years had good awareness on methods of haemorrhage management. and practice of the haemorrhage management methods than the third and final years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work deals with analyzing the effect of silicon dioxide on mechanical and thermal stability of hybrid polymer composite. Compression molding is adopted to develop the hybrid composite with constant 0.5 wt.% of graphene and varying wt.% of silicon dioxide (2, 4 & 6 wt.%). Modified hummers method is used to synthesis graphene by chemical exfoliation of graphene from graphite flakes. Mechanical properties of developed composite is investigated using tensile, flexural, impact and interlaminar shear testing follow by fracture surface analysis of tested samples. Thermal stability is examined by thermogravimetric analysis and functional group confirmation is carried out using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Investigation over mechanical properties of fabricated composite reveals that addition of silicon dioxide up to 4 wt.% depicted higher flexural and tensile strength. Increment in silicon dioxide percentage improves the toughness of composite. FTIR results confirms the presence of asymmetric stretching vibrations due the after effect of hybrid fillers. Thermogravimetric analysis results depict that incorporation silicon dioxide increases the activation of energy of matrix from ~ 24.2 to 31.5 kJ/mol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High performance ferroelectric materials have attracted more attention due to its superior dielectric, piezoelectric, and electrostrictive properties. A sol-gel synthesis technique was used to prepare the perovskite Pb(Nb x (Zr 0.52 Ti 0.48) (1−x))O 3 (where x = 0, 0.02) nanoceramics. X-ray powder diffraction studies confirm the successful formation of perovskite (ABO 3) structure of the ceramics without presence of pyrochlore (A 3 B 4 O 13) phase which is unwanted for PZT system. Also, the thermogravimetric studies were conducted to confirm the structure formation at elevated temperature. The relative permittivity increases with doping of niobium and curie temperature decreases for the same. The dielectric study of the undoped PZT at the temperature of 500 °C and Nb doped PZT at the temperature of 350 °C for the same frequency of 100 Hz give relative permittivity, ε r ≈ 11000 and ε r ≈ 1850 respectively. An Arrhenius plot was used to calculate the activation energy and it was found to be 0.210, and 0.161 eV for the undoped and Nb-doped PZT ceramics respectively. The maximum remnant polarization is 1.21 μC/cm2 for niobium doped PZT and 0.16 μC/cm2 for undoped PZT for the applied voltage of 1500 V. The primary goal of this research is to determine how doping with niobium affects the dielectric and ferroelectric properties of PZT (52/48). • Prepared the niobium doped PZT nanoceramics by sol-gel route. • Structure confirmed by XRD pattern. • Dielectric and Impedance studies carried out using complex impedance spectroscopy. • Relative permittivity and curie temperature are found from dielectric studies. • Activation energy calculated from Arrhenius plot. • Remnant polarization and coercive field are found from ferroelectric hysteresis loop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Vitamin D deficiency is prevalent worldwide and its association with stress has become an emerging problem. A collection of linked physiological, biochemical, clinical, and metabolic risk factors is known as the Metabolic Syndrome (MS). High stress level is found associated with vitamin D deficiency and features of metabolic syndrome symptoms. Aim: To estimate the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency, perceived stress, metabolic syndrome and hepatic steatosis among health science Undergraduate (UG) students and also to evaluate the association of vitamin D with percieved stress score, calcium, phosphorus, components of metabolic syndrome and indicators of liver steatosis. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in SRM Medical College, Hospital and Research Centre, Chennai, India, from February 2022 to August 2022. A total of 80 health science UG students in the age group of 19-25 years were included. The parameters included Fasting plasma glucose, Triglycerides (TGL), High Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (HDLC), Gamma-glutamyl Transferase (GGT), phosphorus, calcium, and a Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) score scale. Data were statistically analysed using Pearson's correlation test and Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve was used to assess the relationship of vitamin D with stress, metabolic syndrome and liver steatosis. Results: In the present study, majority 56 (70%) had vitamin D deficiency, 23 (28.75%) had insufficiency and 1 (1.25%) had sufficiency. An estimated 6 (7.5%) of students experienced low stress, 63 (78.75%) experienced moderate stress and 11 (13.75%) experienced high perceived stress. Indicators of metabolic syndrome occurred in 13 (16.25%) of the population. Nearly 6 (7.5%) of the participants displayed manifestation of fatty liver. A negative association was found between vitamin D with stress score, Body Mass Index (BMI), waist circumference, Blood Pressure (BP), phosphorus, fasting plasma glucose, TGL, HDLC, GGT, Fatty Liver Index (FLI) score. Conclusion: In the present study, vitamin D deficiency was most prevalent (70%), followed by metabolic syndrome, high stress and hepatic steatosis. Vitamin D showed a negative correlation with stress score, BMI, waist circumference, BP, phosphorous, fasting plasma glucose, TGL, HDLC, GGT and FLI score. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The perovskite (ABO3) Pb1− x La x (Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 (where, x =0, 0.05, 0.10) were prepared by a sol–gel route. The X-ray powder diffraction studies of the prepared powders suggest the formation of single-phase PLZT compounds of tetragonal structure. The electrical properties of the prepared ceramics were investigated as a function of both temperature (range 25°C–500°C) and the frequency (range 100Hz–1MHz) using complex impedance spectroscopy (CIS). The values of activation energy of the samples were calculated from the slopes of the Arrhenius plots. The remnant polarization (Pr) and coercive electric field (Ec) were calculated from the ferroelectric loop. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: (Li, Al)-co-doped manganese oxide spinel compounds, Li(Li0.1Al0.1Mn1.8)O4 are prepared at temperatures (T), 600, 650 and 750°C by polymer precursor method using polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP). The structure and morphology of the porous and sub-micron size particles of the compounds are characterized by the Rietveld refined X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared and Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) and Brunauer, Emmett and Teller (BET) surface area techniques. Galvanostatic charge–discharge cycling in the voltage range of 3.5–4.3V vs. Li at various current (C) rates, 0.5–3C at 24°C up to 60 cycles and at 0.5C and at 55°C up to 50 cycles is carried out. The influence of the Li-excess, the type of Al3+ dopant cation and the amount of fuel (polyvinyl pyrrolidone) used in the synthesis on the electrochemical behavior of the spinel in a Li-cell at room (24°C) and at elevated temperature (55°C) has been studied. Results show that at 24°C and at 0.5C, the phases prepared at 600°C (I) and 650°C (II) showed reversible capacities of 79 and 105mAhg−1 and retained 99 (±1)% of the capacity after 50 cycles. At 1C, 2C and 3C rates, II showed stable capacities of 97, 83 and 57mAhg−1, respectively. At 55°C and at 0.5C, II showed a reversible capacity of 114mAhg−1 and retains 92% of it at the end of 50 cycles, signifying the best cathodic performance for a doped-LiMn2O4. Complementary cyclic voltammetry, impedance spectra and ex situ XRD data are described and discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Tavorite-structured LiFePO4F is synthesized by solid-state reaction and characterized by Rietveld refined X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, BET surface area, IR and Raman spectroscopy techniques. The ionic conductivity (σ ionic) of LiFePO4F estimated using impedance analysis at 27°C and at 50°C are 0.6(±0.1)×10−7 and 5.4(±0.1)×10−7 Scm−1, respectively, with an energy of activation (E a)=0.75eV. Its electrochemical behavior were examined by galvanostatic charge–discharge cycling up to 100 cycles, cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy using Li-metal as the counter and reference electrode, at 0.1C rate in the voltage range, 1.5–4V. LiFePO4F delivers an initial discharge capacity of 115(±3)mAhg−1 which increases to 119(±3)mAhg−1 at the 20th cycle. The capacity degrades slowly thereafter over 100 cycles, with a capacity loss of 19%. CV data show a clear indication of the Fe3+/2+ redox couple at 3.3–2.6V that involves a two-phase reaction. Electrochemical impedance spectra measured at various voltages at selected cycles were fitted to an equivalent circuit and the variation of impedance parameters interpreted. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A study was carried out in Tiruvannamalai district of Tamil Nadu to assess the constraints faced by women SHG members and non-members in rearing livestock and to identify and analyze the factors influencing the constraint intensity. A detailed questionnaire concerning various aspects of livestock rearing and the commonly occurring constraints in livestock rearing were enlisted under five different categories viz., production, marketing, social, economical and political. The women livestock farmers from SHG members and non-members in the study area were asked to give the scores for each constraint which affected their performance in rearing livestock and the cumulative constraint score was arrived out. Multiple linear regression analysis was carried out on this cumulative score to identify the factors influencing the perception of constraint intensity. The results showed that age and livestock income were positively associated with the perception of constraint intensity whereas, the level of education and total income were negatively associated. The result portrays the responsibility of education in livestock farming. Hence, programmes focused towards education should be implemented at its highest point so that the farmer is in a position to successfully absorb and make use of the information he received through training programmes. The result also clearly dwells upon the fact that membership in self help group did not make the farmers insulated from perceiving the severity of constraints in livestock rearing. Decision makers at the policy level should realise this reality and reach practical conclusions thereby the sustainability of the Self Help Group Programme is may be well ensured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Olivine-structured LiNiPO4 has been prepared by a Pechini-type polymerizable precursor method. The structure and the morphology of the compounds are studied by the Rietveld refined X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Raman Spectroscopy techniques, respectively. Brunauer, Emmett and Teller surface area (BET) of the compound also studied. LiNiPO4 has orthorhombic structure whose dielectric and modulus properties are studied over the frequency range of 1MHz to 10Hz at different temperatures (150–300°C) using impedance spectroscopy. The frequency and temperature dependence of dielectric permittivity, dielectric loss and electric modulus of LiNiPO4 are studied. The frequency dependent plot of modulus show that the conductivity relaxation is of non-Debye type. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Olivine-structured LiCoPO is synthesized by a Pechini-type polymer precursor method. The structure and the morphology of the compounds are studied by the Rietveld-refined X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller surface area technique, infrared spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy techniques, respectively. The ionic conductivity ( σ ionic), dielectric, and electric modulus properties of LiCoPO are investigated on sintered pellets by impedance spectroscopy in the temperature range, 27-50 °C. The σ (ionic) values at 27 and 50 °C are 8.8 × 10 and 49 × 10 S cm, respectively with an energy of activation ( E) = 0.43 eV. The electric modulus studies suggest the presence of non-Debye type of relaxation. Preliminary charge-discharge cycling data are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: LiCoPO4 has been prepared by the Pechini-type polymerizable precursor method. The formation of the compound is confirmed by XRD analysis. Ion transport mechanism has been analyzed using the AC impedance technique. The conductivity parameters such as ion hopping frequency (ω p) and the charge carrier concentration term (K) have been calculated using Almond and West formalisms. The conductivity relaxation time (τ c) is calculated from the peak frequency of the modulus spectra. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A study was undertaken to analyse the profitability of goat farming by collecting data from 150 goat farmers in Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu. The data were analysed through conventional analytical tools like percentages and averages. The flock size of goat was found to be the highest in landless farmers (26.43) and the lowest in small farmers (20.76) with the overall average flock size of 23.85. The total gross income obtained per farm per annum from goat enterprise was the highest in large farmers followed by landless farmers with the overall gross return of about Rs.45,553.93. The net returns with imputed value of family labour per goat was the highest in marginal farmers (Rs.1123.19) and the lowest in small farmers (Rs.540.14) with the overall value of Rs.816.49. However, the net returns without imputed value of family labour was found to be highest in marginal farmers (Rs.1,501.31) followed by landless farmers (Rs.1,353.83) with the overall value of Rs.1,216.76. The results revealed that the goat enterprise was observed to be a profitable income generating avenue in the dry land areas of Tamil Nadu. Hence, any improvement in their production level has direct bearing on the socio-economic status of landless, marginal and small farmers and thereby the overall economic development of the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study was carried out to estimate the cost of production of milk in crossbred cows farms of Tamil Nadu. The data was collected from 150 dairy farmers of Salem district. Conventional analysis in the form of percentages and averages were used to analyse the data. The results revealed that among the different categories of farmers the cost of production per litre of milk was the lowest in small farmers' category (Rs.8.73) and was the highest in large farmers' category (Rs.9.86). Among the components of total return from rearing crossbred cows, sale of milk was the significant factor with its contribution ranging from 95 to 98 per cent with the overall figure of 97.69 per cent. The return from sale of calves formed 1.12 cent of the total returns. The return from sale of manure and gunny bags contributed less significantly to the total returns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study was carried out to analyze the consumption pattern of milk and other livestock products in both rural and urban areas of Tamil Nadu. The monthly consumption of milk was 1.89 litres in low income group, followed by middle (3.48 litres) and high (3.79 litres) income groups. Among high income groups, the monthly average meat consumption was 1.17 kg in rural households, 1.75 kg in urban households and 1.45 kg in overall households. The results also showed that, monthly egg consumption per consumption unit was very low among the rural households (2.18 numbers), as compared to urban households (8.36 numbers). As a whole, chicken (49.59 per cent) enjoyed the first rank among different meat items and second rank was equally shared by mutton/chevon and fish (21.49 per cent). Similar to meat, egg consumption also increased with increase in level of income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this research is to analyze the mechanical such as porosity; hardness and high temperature wear behavior of Magnesium (MgZE41A) hybrid composites reinforced with Silver (Ag) and Lithium Aluminate (LiAlO2). The various wt. % such as Ag (1.0 & 1.5) and LiAlO2 (1.0 & 1.5) was reinforced in MgZE41A using Powder Metallurgy (P/M) technique. The sintered composites were characterized using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) coupled with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) line mapping Technique. The porosity and Vicker's hardness of the samples were assessed. Further, the high temperature wear behavior of the composites was evaluated using tribometer with heater setup by varying the heat inputs such as 30°C, 50°C, 100°C, 150°C and 200°C. The results revealed that increasing the wt. % of Ag and LiAlO2 led to decrease the porosity from 0.11 % to 0.09 % due to high compacting pressure and sintering temperature. High temperature Wear rate of the composites was reduced from 2.15 * 10-4 to 0.83 * 10-4 because of wt. % of reinforcement, high compacting pressure and better sintering temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study was carried out in Tiruvannamalai district of Tamil Nadu to evaluate the social, economic and political constraints in livestock rearing as perceived by women SHG members and non-members. A detailed questionnaire among various aspects of socio-economic and political constraints involved in livestock rearing were enlisted and women livestock farmers from SHG members and non-members in the study area were asked to rank each constraint which was then analyzed using Garrets ranking technique. The results showed that SHG member's perceived lack of gender based academic institutions causing illiteracy and lack of agro based industries in rural atmosphere as their vital constraints whereas non-members perceived these constraints trivially. Both SHG members and hon-members identified unhealthy traditions and customs existing in the social atmosphere insignificantly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Materials that integrate more than one useful property in single- and multi-phase structures are known as multifunctional materials. Most of them fall in the category of ABO3 perovskite type and in recent times, these materials have attracted considerable attention from engineers and scientists around the globe for electronic devices of the future. Among the perovskites, barium titanate-based structures have emerged at the top for modern research in advanced materials. In this study, polycrystalline Ba0.85Ca0.15Ti(1–x)HfxO3, x = 0.00, 0.05, 0.10, 0.15, materials were synthesized by sol–gel combustion technique and their optical properties were studied. X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed that, Ba0.85Ca0.15Ti(1–x)HfxO3 crystallized at 1000°C with tetragonal symmetry having P4mm space group. In addition to XRD, the presence of the tetragonal phase was confirmed using Raman spectroscopy. The crystallite sizes computed using Scherrer equation were found to range from 15 to 18 nm. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis showed a significant peak at 565 cm−1, confirming the formation of the metal oxide-based ceramics. Ultraviolet-Visible-near-IR spectroscopy of Ba0.85Ca0.15Ti(1–x)HfxO3 showed a slight increase in bandgap energy with the increase of Hf4+. Photoluminescence spectra confirmed the composition of three colours (blue, green and red) with the intensity of emission increasing with Hf4+ doping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ⊗ h -product that is referred in the title was introduced in 2008 as a generalization of the Kronecker product of digraphs. Many relations among labelings have been obtained since then, always using as a second factor a family of super edge-magic graphs with equal order and size. In this paper, we introduce a new labeling construction by changing the role of the factors. Using this new construction the range of applications grows up considerably. In particular, we can increase the information about magic sums of cycles and crowns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lithium nickel manganese oxide (LiNi 0.5 Mn 0.5 O 2 ) cathode material was prepared using the triblock polymer Pluronic (P123) as a capping agent by hydrothermal method. The XRD analysis shows the importance of preparation conditions to prepare phase pure LiNi 0.5 Mn 0.5 O 2 compound. FTIR and Raman analysis confirmed the layered hexagonal structure. SEM and particle size analysis show the presence of submicron sized particles and few percentages of nanosized particles as secondary distribution. The electrical conductivity of the compound LiNi 0.5 Mn 0.5 O 2 was measured by AC impedance and four-probe DC measurements and compared. The total electrical conductivity of the compound was found to be 2.4 × 10 − 6 S/cm. A mixed ionic and electronic conduction was observed from the transference number measurement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study was under taken to analyse the productivity of resources in milk production in the state of Tamil Nadu. From the four sample districts (Kanchipuram, Erode, Nagappattinam and Thoothukudi), 120 dairy farmers from 12 villages (10 farmers from each village) were selected by simple random sampling technique. In all, a total sample size of 480 dairy farmers was selected for the study. Information relating to various aspects of dairy farming was collected from the selected farmers by survey method with a well-designed and pre-tested interview schedule. The data collected were tabulated and analysed with a view to achieve the objectives of the study. The results of the Cobb- Douglas milk production functions showed that the co-efficients of all the resources viz.,concentrate, green fodder, dry fodder and veterinary charges except labour were positive for all the function, while the labour variable had a negative sign for all the functions.The efficiency of allocation of the resources involved in milk production was studied by comparing the MVP (Marginal value product) with the MFC (Marginal Factor Cost) of each factor of production. The MVP-MFC ratio was more than unity for concentrate (1.59), dry fodder (1.96) and veterinary care (37.24), indicating that these resources were under utilized, and there was scope for enhancing the use of these resources in the study area. The results also showed that the ratio was less than unity for green fodder (0.93). The resource wise results indicated that the resource concentrate was more than unity and this resource was under utilized in all the four districts. The variable veterinary care showed a higher MVP-MFC ratio for all the four district which means that this resource was under utilized in the study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study was under taken to analyse the technical efficiency of milk production in the state of Tamil Nadu. By applying multidimensional scaling method, the state of Tamilnadu was segmented into four homogenous milk zones based on the resource endowment of the districts, favourable for dairy development. From the four zones, four districts viz., Kanchipuram, Erode, Nagappattinam and Thoothukudi were selected to represent each zone based on the factor scores obtained by these districts in each zone. A total sample size of 480 dairy farmers were selected for the present study. To estimate the level of efficiency in milk production, stochastic frontier production function was used. The farm specific technical efficiencies revealed that the distribution of most efficient elite group (Technical efficiency more than 90 per cent) of dairy farmers was the highest in Erode district (42.5 per cent) followed by Kanchipuram district (39.17 per cent) and Nagapattinam district. The mean technical efficiency was 85.5 per cent, 85.8 per cent, 82.7 per cent and 77.4 per cent respectively for Kanchipuram, Erode, Nagapattinam and Thoothukudi district indicating that on an average the sample farmers tended to realise 77.4 to 85.8 per cent of their technical abilities and the remaining per cent of their technical abilities were not realized [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study was carried out to analyse the trend, seasonal and spatial variations in wholesale and retail egg prices in major market centres of South India. The data on monthly average wholesale NECC prices of egg from major market centres of South India viz., Namakkal, Hyderabad, Nellore, Vijayawada and Mysore and monthly average retail NECC prices of egg from major consumption centres of South India viz., Bangalore, Chennai and Mumbai for the period from August 2000 to July 2009 were collected from various secondary sources. The slope of linear trend equations revealed that the wholesale egg price hiked at rate of four-fifth of a paise per month. The retail egg price trend equation fitted for major consumption centres of South India revealed that the egg price had increased by 0.79 to 0.81 paise per egg. The intercept of trend equations was more (Rs. 99.84 to 107.05) for retail price when compared to the wholesale price (Rs. 92.33 to 96.79). The monthly price indices of egg price in various market centres of South India inferred that the price indices of all the observed centres coincides with each other over various months. The monthly egg price index was observed to be the minimum during the months of March and April and started increasing to reach peak during the month of June. Further, it started decreasing and reached lower value during the months of August and September. The monthly price index was found to increase to reach higher index values during the months of November to January. The seasonal wholesale/ retail egg price index was found to be the highest during the month of November and December and the lowest during the month of April. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study was conducted to identify the bottlenecks in tribal livestock rearing in six hilly areas of Tamil Nadu namely Kolli hill in Namakkal district, Yercaud hill in Salem district, Ooty hill in The Nilgiris district, Kodaikanal in Dindigul district, Yelagiri hill in Vellore district and Sitheri hill in Dharmapuri district. The data were collected from 900 tribal farmers which included landless, marginal, small and large categories based on landholdings. The data were analysed by Garett's ranking technique. The study revealed that the major bottlenecks in livestock farming among different categories of tribal farmers were lack of sufficient pasture land, lack of marketing facilities, lack of adequate credit facilities, exploitation by middlemen, non-remunerative price for the livestock products and lack of scientific knowledge. Based on the results of the study, policies related to the pasture land development, organized livestock products marketing, extensive credit facilities and improvement of animal and human resources were suggested for effective development of different categories of tribal livestock farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study was designed to prioritise the constraints in milk production in Tamil Nadu and to analyse the socio-economic factors associated with the intensity of these constraints. The results revealed that lower price for milk was the fore most constraint in milk production. Farmers rearing cross-bred cow perceived that higher feed cost was the second important constraint followed by high investment requirement as their third constraint. Farmers rearing local and buffalo farmers perceived low productivity as their second and fourth important constraint respectively. The results of the study to analyse the factors associated with constraint intensity showed that out of the eleven variables taken for analysis, only six variables age of the farmer, level of extension agency contact, family size, ways of marketing through MPCS, private dairies and cross-bred cattle rearing were found to be associated negatively at a significant level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The main concern in the present study is the surface roughness variations on the drilled surface and extension of surface and sub-surface deformation due to drilling. The influence of different tools and cutting conditions on Al2219/15%SiCp and Al2219/15%SiCp-3%Graphite (hybrid) composites is investigated experimentally. The composites are fabricated by liquid metallurgy method. The drilling tests are conducted with carbide and coated carbide tools. The surface roughness decreases with the increase in cutting speed and increases with the increase in feed rate. The surface is analyzed using scanning electron microscope (SEM). Microhardness profiles indicate that the subsurface deformation extends up to a maximum of 120μm below the machined surface for Al2219/15SiCp-3Gr composite when compared to 150μm in Al2219/15SiCp composite. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Purpose: Despite several reports on risk factors for septic arthritis (SA) in adults, the outcomes on quality of life and joint function are sparsely reported. This study aimed to investigate the quality of life and joint function in adult patients treated for SA. Methods: This prospective observational study enrolled clinically diagnosed adult SA patients and estimated Euroqol 5-dimension 5 levels (EQ-5D-5L) questionnaire, Euroqol Visual Analog Scale (EQ-VAS) and a validated tool for joint function at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months after debridement. Results: Twenty seven patients (20 males/7 females) with 21 knees, four shoulders, and two elbows were evaluated. The mean age of the cases was 51(± 13.00) years. Three cases sustained mortality. EQ-5D-5L (P < 0.01) and EQ-VAS (P < 0.01) scores improved significantly between all time frames. Mean Knee society (P < 0.01), Shoulder QuickDASH, and Mayo elbow scores improved at all time frames. There was no difference in primary outcomes between early (< 14 days) and late (14 days or more) presentation. There was no difference in primary outcome measures between confirmed and suspected SA. Fifteen patients could ambulate without support, while 6 needed some support for walking at 1 year. Conclusion: Improved outcomes can be expected in quality of life and joint function in adults' septic arthritis at the end of 1 year after surgical treatment; however, the effects of delay in presentation need to be investigated further. Isolation of the microorganism from an infected joint has no bearing on the outcome measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. The treatment of Neer's type II distal clavicle fractures is challenging because of the high risk of non-union with non-operative management on one hand and complications associated with the operation on other. Methods. Autologous semitendinosus tendon mediated anatomical coracoclavicular (CC) ligament reconstruction was done in 9 Neer's type II acute distal clavicle fractures. The functional and radiological outcomes were assessed after 12 months of operation. Results. There were 8 men and 1 woman in the patients assessed at 12 months of operation. At final evaluation of 12 months 7 Neer's type IIA, and 2 IIB fractures were assessed. The mean age of the patients included in the study was 39 years. The mean operating time was 87 minutes. All except one patient achieved radiological union. All patients had excellent functional outcome scores. The mean Constant and Murley (CMS) score at 12 months of follow up was 90.55 ± 57.80. The CMS score for the case with non-union was 85 at 12 months. The mean CC distance before and after the operation was 19.56 ± 2.80 mm and 11.56 ± 6.7 mm. The difference in the mean CC distance between normal and operated side was less than 5 mm after 12 months of operation in all the cases. Conclusions. The application of autograft mediated anatomical acromioclavicular joint reconstruction technique to CC stabilization in Neer's II distal clavicle fracture achieves union and excellent functional outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study was undertaken to identify the linkage between crop and livestock farming in tribal areas of Tamil Nadu by collecting data from 900 tribal farmers of six hilly areas of Tamil Nadu. The data were analysed and linkage coefficient was calculated for forward and backward linkages between crop and livestock farming. The results revealed that the backward linkage between livestock and crop farming was observed to be high when compared to the forward linkage between the crop and livestock farming. The factors like vegetable cropping, reduced supply of by products and crop residues, animal ploughing due to uneven shape and surface of land, less market value for dung, etc. favoured the crop-livestock linkages in the hilly areas of Tamil Nadu. It is the need for the hour to take necessary steps for improving the forward linkage i.e. increasing the supply of animal feed and fodder in order to increase the co-efficient of forward linkage atleast at the level of backward linkage for improving the strength and longevity of linkage between the crop and livestock farming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inconel 718 alloy machining by conventional machining methods with regards to its high hardness is not possible, so using non-conventional machining method makes machining very easy. An experimental investigation was carried out with the help of electrical discharge machine (EDM) on Inconel 718 using the copper electrode to study the vibration behaviour in the titanium carbide (TiC) nano particles mixed dielectric fluid. Three process variables are applied as current, pulse on-time, and pulse off-time to an experiment the proposed second-order polynomial model for using the central composite experimental design to estimate the model coefficients of the three factors, which are the consideration to influence the material removal rate (MRR) and surface roughness (Ra) in EDM process. The developed mathematical models are used to analyze the machining characteristics of TiC nano particles mixed EDM. From this experiment, the better surface finish can be obtained by setting the EDM machine parameters at low current and short pulse on-time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Li(NiCoMn)O (LNCMO) cathode material is prepared by poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP)-assisted sol-gel/hydrothermal and poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(propylene glycol)-block-poly (ethylene glycol) (Pluronic-P123)-assisted hydrothermal methods. The compound prepared by PVP-assisted hydrothermal method shows a comparatively higher electrical conductivity of ~2 × 10 S cm and exhibits a discharge capacity of 152 mAh g in the voltage range of 2.5 to 4.4 V, for a C-rate of 0.2 C, whereas the compounds prepared by P123-assisted hydrothermal method and PVP-assisted sol-gel method show a total electrical conductivity in the order of 10 S cm and result in poor electrochemical performance. The structural and electrical properties of LNCMO (active material) and its electrochemical performance are correlated. The difference in percentage of ionic and electronic conductivity contribution to the total electrical conductivity is compared by transference number studies. The cation disorder is found to be the limiting factor for the lithium ion diffusion as determined from ionic conductivity values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Several methods such as copolymerization, plasticization and blending etc., have been used to modulate the conductivity of polymer electrolytes. Polymer blending is one of the most important contemporary ways for the development of new polymeric materials and it is a useful technique for designing materials with a wide variety of properties. Polymer blend electrolyte has been prepared with different concentrations of PVA and PVP by solution casting technique using DMSO as solvent. The prepared films have been investigated by different techniques. The increase in amorphous nature of the polymer electrolytes has been confirmed by XRD analysis. The FTIR analysis reveals that the interchain hydrogen bonding within a PVA–PVP blends. The dielectric permittivity (ε*) and modulus (M*) have been calculated from the ac impedance spectroscopy in the frequency range 42Hz–1MHz and the temperature range 308–373K. The maximum conductivity has been found to be 1.58×10−6 Scm−1 at room temperature for 70PVA:30PVP concentration. The conductivity has been increased to 5.49×10−5 Scm−1 when the temperature is increased to 373K. The activation energy of all samples was calculated using the Arrhenius plot and it has been found to be 0.53eV to 0.78eV. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper presents the influence of cutting parameters on thrust force, surface finish, and burr formation in drilling Al2219/15SiCp and Al2219/15SiCp-3Gr composites. The composites were fabricated using the liquid metallurgy method. The tools used were commercially available carbide and coated carbide drills. The results revealed that feed rate had a major influence on thrust force, surface roughness, and exit burr formation. Graphitic composites exhibit lesser thrust force, burr height, and higher surface roughness when compared to the other material. The reduced thrust force and burr height is attributed to the solid lubricating property of the graphite particles. The higher surface roughness value for Al2219/15SiCp-3Gr composite is due to the pullout of graphite from the surface. The chips formed when machining graphitic composites are more discontinuous when compared to SiCp reinforced composites and hence advantageous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]