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A novel organic compound derivativeof Benzothiazole, BFCPA[N-Substitued-1,3-benzothiazol-2pheny-2-[4-(furan-2-carbonyl)piperazin-1-phenyl] acetamidehas beensynthesizied and used as inhibitor on mild steelcorrosion in 1N and 2N HCl acidic medium.Using this inhibitor the rate of orrosion and inhibitor efficiency was analysed by mass loss data and electrochemical analysis. Byincreasing concentration of the inhibitor BFCPA exhibits good corrosion inhibition effectiveness less corrosion rate shows the electron donating property.The structure of BFCPA has been confirmed using various spectral studies. Based on adsorption studies it reveals Langmuir adsorption isotherm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corrosion prevention studies show a predominant trend in the recent era. Especially mild steel material was used in many industrial sectors because it has specific properties like malleability and ductility. Corrosion inhibition action of a novel synthesized N-(1,3-benzothiazol-2-yl)-2-[4-furan-2-carbonyl)piperazin-2-yl]acetamide (1,3BFCPA) compound was performed on MS-mild steel material in 1 N HCl and 1 N H2SO4 medium. Using the mass loss data, the inhibitor efficiency has been evaluated on both the acidic and alkaline mediums. The inhibitor shows a maximum inhibitor efficiency on both acidic mediums, but when comparing 1N sulfuric acid, it shows a better efficiency of 90%. Based on surface coverage analysis (q) from mass loss data, adsorption isotherms were interpreted to fit the behavior of the inhibitor over the surface of MS material, which shows a Langmuir adsorption isotherm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Organ donation can be a life-saving opportunity for patients with severe organ failure. In India, the rate of organ donation of the deceased Indian population is exceptionally low. This necessitates enhancing awareness regarding organ donation among health care professionals and students, which can motivate the general population. Aim: To assess and analyze the awareness level of healthcare professionals and students on organ donation in order to suggest potential strategies regarding improvement of awareness and willingness towards organ donation. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional online and offline survey was conducted at the national level between July 2022 and September 2022. Indian healthcare professionals as well as students of various fraternities were included. The Snowball sampling technique was used for data collection. Statistical analysis was undertaken using the statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) software, version 25. Results: A total of 1303 respondents were enrolled in this study. The majority of the participants were students (66.5%) residing in southern India (89.6%) pursuing medical profession (88.9%). The predominant age group was 18-24 years (73.9%). The awareness level regarding organ donation among healthcare professionals and students was 69%. Healthcare professionals and respondents aged 40 years and above had better awareness levels regarding organ donation which was reported as statistically significant (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Healthcare professionals and students awareness about organ donation need to be improved. Strategies including but not limited to prioritizing employment and education to the first relatives of the deceased organ donor should be implemented by the government to legally improve organ donation willingness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this investigation, an attempt is made to study the tensile and microstructural impact of different gas tungsten arc (GTA) welding processes of pulsed current, constant current, and magnetic arc oscillation welded AZ31B magnesium metal joints. These techniques were chosen because they have the potential to produce welds with high tensile strength and excellent microstructural integrity. Five joints were produced using each approach, each one employing a unique combination of parameters. According to the findings of this experiment, the joints that were manufactured utilising a welding process called magnetic arc oscillation yielded superior tensile qualities when compared to the properties of other joints. The improved tensile characteristics of these joints can be ascribed in a large part to the creation of smaller grains and surface hardness in the transition region, as well as uniformly dispersed precipitates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate cellular network traffic prediction is a crucial task to access Internet services for various devices at any time. With the use of mobile devices, communication services generate numerous data for every moment. Given the increasing dense population of data, traffic learning and prediction are the main components to substantially enhance the effectiveness of demand-aware resource allocation. A novel deep learning technique called radial kernelized LSTM-based connectionist Tversky multilayer deep structure learning (RKLSTM-CTMDSL) model is introduced for traffic prediction with superior accuracy and minimal time consumption. The RKLSTM-CTMDSL model performs attribute selection and classification processes for cellular traffic prediction. In this model, the connectionist Tversky multilayer deep structure learning includes multiple layers for traffic prediction. A large volume of spatial-temporal data are considered as an input-to-input layer. Thereafter, input data are transmitted to hidden layer 1, where a radial kernelized long short-term memory architecture is designed for the relevant attribute selection using activation function results. After obtaining the relevant attributes, the selected attributes are given to the next layer. Tversky index function is used in this layer to compute similarities among the training and testing traffic patterns. Tversky similarity index outcomes are given to the output layer. Similarity value is used as basis to classify data as heavy network or normal traffic. Thus, cellular network traffic prediction is presented with minimal error rate using the RKLSTM-CTMDSL model. Comparative evaluation proved that the RKLSTM-CTMDSL model outperforms conventional methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Schiff base transition metal complexes, Zn(II) and V(IV) (1-2) were synthesized using pyridoxal based ligand by refluxing with corresponding metal salts. The synthesized ligand and metal complexes were characterized by using various spectral methods like IR, UV-Vis and mass spectrometry. The synthesized metal complexes were docked with human DNA (PDB I.D: 1BNA) and dengue protein virus (PDB ID: 2VBC) using auto dock software tools version 1.5.6 and pymol. The binding of the ligand and biomolecule in grid point value of x x y x z directions of 90 x 90 x 90 and a grid space group value of 0.380 Å. The binding energy values of the metal complexes were respectively -8.1 and -6.2 kcal mol-1 towards B-DNA, while the binding energy values of the metal complexes were found to be -8.8 and -8.9 kcalmol-1, respectively towards NS3 protease-helicase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A flowering plant seen widely in Southeast Asia and India is gloriosa superba. The poisoning most commonly caused by it is self-poisoning. All part of the plant is toxic. The toxic substance in the seeds and tubers of this plant is colchicine. Case report: In this report, a case of self-poisoning of gloriosa superba poisoning by ingestion of the tuber with an intention of deliberate self-harm is reported. A 29 year old female, had presented with features of Leukocytosis, Pancytopenia, Metabolic disturbance, Alopecia and Acute Toxic encephalopathy. Conclusion: The patient was managed with multi dose activated charcoal MDAC, N -acetyl cysteine (NAC), antiemetics, proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), IV Fluids, Inj. Potassium chloride and Magnesium sulphate, G-CSF (granulocyte colony stimulating factor) injection, plasmapheresis, 3%Nacl and antiepileptic medications, patient clinically improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In “this paper, first we define the notion direct product of neutrosophic sets in INK-algebras, neutrosophic set, neutrosophic INK-ideals, neutrosophic closed INK-ideals and direct product of neutrosophic INK-ideals in INK-algebras. We prove some theorems which show that there is some relation between these notions. Finally, we define the INK-subalgebra of INK-algebra and then we give related theorem about the relationship between their Images and direct product of neutrosophic INK-ideals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital watermarking techniques are valuable tools to embed digital signatures on multimedia content to establish the legal ownership and authenticity claims by the owners. Firstly this paper investigates the robustness of popular transform domain-based digital image watermarking schemes such as DCT, SVD, DWT, and their hybrid combinations against known image processing type attacks such as image blurring, compression, noise addition, rotation and cropping. Then, an enhanced hybrid scheme using DWT and SVD methods is proposed and its improved performance is demonstrated in terms of the quality of the extracted watermarks measured in terms of PSNR, SSIM and NCC values. This paper then proposes a novel adversarial attack based on a powerful Deep Convolutional Neural Network based Autoencoder(CAE) scheme. The CAE is specifically chosen to exploit its intrinsic capability to represent the image content (spatial and structural) through lower dimensional projections in the intermediate layers. The CAE is trained and tested on the entire image repository of the CIFAR10 data set. Once CAE is trained on a class of images and the parameters are frozen, it will serve as a system to produce a perceptually close image for any unseen input image belonging to the same class. The power of the proposed adversarial attack scheme is shown in terms of the quality of extracted watermarks against popular water mark embedding schemes. Finally the proposed enhanced hybrid strategy of DWT+SVD is shown to be robust against the new form of attack and outperforms all other techniques measured in terms of its high quality watermark extraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of variation in Ni/Mn ratio on structure, phase transformation, and magnetic properties was investigated in the Ni50-xMn37+xIn13 alloys. Small change in the Ni/Mn ratio drives the structure from martensite of tetragonal L10 to austenite of cubic L21 at room temperature. With decrease in Ni/Mn ratio or increase in Mn content the martensitic transformation temperature was found to decrease and the alloys do not undergo phase transformation below a critical value (7.86) of valence electron concentration (e/a). Temperature and field dependence of magnetization data reveals the complex magnetic nature arising from the coexistence of ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic interactions in the system. It was found that the effect of Ni/Mn and Mn/In ratios on phase transformation and magnetic properties in Ni–Mn–In alloys is similar if the e/a value of the alloy system remains unchanged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electron spin resonance study has been carried out on melt-spun ribbon of Ni55Mn19.6Ga25.4 exhibiting coupled magnetostructural transition. The correlation of electron spin resonance, thermal and magnetic results permitted a clear distinction of various phases and their transformations. Both structural and magnetic transitions coexist in the temperature range 300≤T≤310 leading to four different magnetic phases namely paramagnetic austenite, ferromagnetic austenite, paramagnetic martensite, and ferromagnetic martensite. The sample exhibits a single paramagnetic austenite phase above 310 K while it shows a ferromagnetic martensite phase below 260 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structural, magnetic, and transport properties have been investigated in off-stochiometric bulk Ni55.2Mn18.1Ga26.7 alloy. The alloy undergoes an austenite-martensite phase transition in ferromagnetic state at 264 K. The temperature and field dependence of electrical resistivity studies revealed that the electron-electron scattering is dominant in determining the resistivity below 80 K, while at higher temperatures (80–300 K), electron-magnon as well as electron-phonon scattering dominate. A negative magnetoresistance value of 7% maximum near TC (∼283 K) at 7 T field has been obtained in the alloy. Also a magnetocaloric value (ΔSM) of -1.3 J/kg K has been observed at around 264 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetostructural transformation and the associated magnetic entropy change were investigated in Ni-rich ferromagnetic Heusler alloys. A direct transformation from the ferromagnetic martensite phase to the paramagnetic austenite phase was observed in selected Ni54.8Mn20.3Ga24.9 and Ni55Mn18.9Ga26.1 two-alloy compositions. The magnetic and martensitic transformations were incurred at nearly the same temperature (351 K) in the Ni54.8Mn20.3Ga24.9 alloy. Such a typical composition involves a change of the magnetic entropy ΔSM as large as -7.0 J/kg K at 332 K in an applied magnetic field of 1.2 T. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study describes the relative effect on the permanent magnet characteristics viz. remanence (B,.), intrinsic coercivity (H[SUBci]), Curie temperature (T[SUBc]), and rectangularity of the intrinsic demagnetization curve, when A1, Cu, Ga, and Nb are added individually to NdFeB. Each elemental addition causes significant improvement in H[SUBci] but the level of improvement differs from one additive element to the other. The addition of Nb is favored over other elements for realizing maximum enhancement in H[SUBci] and rectangularity of the demagnetization curve. The microstructural features of the sintered samples of NdFeB with elemental addition show the formation of a new phase, in addition to the phases (φ η, and Nd-rich) generally found in the ternary sample. The factors influencing the permanent magnet characteristics of sintered samples are the distribution of the Nd-rich phase in the intergranular region, the size and distribution of the minor phases at the grain junctions, the formation and distribution of new phases due to alloying addition, and the solubility of the dopant element in various phases coexisting in the sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Board of Management of Ram textiles and Garments, Chennai based company decided on competitive efficiency in Textile business and suggested a new site in of SE Asian countries. There is need to orient towards socio economic and political aspects in such countries. The textile industry in India is competitive and big ones alone enter into superior quality and brand and also big firms prefer off shore production. Innovative supply chain is important in the industry. It has become a change in Indian textile and clothing and also need change in production method, marketing skills and productivity level to maintain competitiveness in international market. Indian textile and clothing sectors have scope for potential in export market as prices are drawn by international factors and compel exporters to go for strategy of (partial) exports and (partial) domestic sale. Various measures are used. They are cost reduction in raw materials, labour cost power and utility cost. There are opportunities in the industry. E-commerce and world class quality are also possible. The Management has to weigh the factors like plant location, international orientation, cost economy and culture for their strategy to go overseas (SE Asia). The company got technical report for the need of overseas production and Mr Ram, the entrepreneur is presently thinking on business development in the long-non as efficient ones alone in the industry grab the opportunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anisotropic strontium hexaferrite powders were prepared by solid-state method with subsequent magnetic field alignment and annealing. The microstructure of the powders was investigated using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy to understand the effect of the process on magnetic properties, magnetic texture, particle size, and morphology of the powders. The magnetic properties were measured using a vibrating sample magnetometer. A high coercivity ($H_{\mathrm {c}}$) of 502 kA/m, hysteresis squareness ($M_{\mathrm {r}}/M_{\mathrm {s}})$ of 96%, and maximum energy product [(BH)max] of 32.2 kJ/m3 were obtained in the powders prepared via magnetic field (800 kA/m) alignment and annealing. The high $M_{\mathrm {r}}/M_{\mathrm {s}}$ and $H_{\mathrm {c}}$ obtained in the powders were correlated with the magnetic texture, and defect free fine particles present in the powder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we define fuzzy vertex independent sets, fuzzy vertex covering, fuzzy arc independent set, fuzzy arc covering of a fuzzy graph. Some properties of maximum fuzzy independent set and minimum fuzzy covering are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Moisture management properties decide the comfort level of the fabric. The most important characteristics of a knitted structure to be used in next to-skin applications are concerned with two different fabric layers namely the separation and absorption layers. The present study attempts to study the moisture management properties of plated knitted fabrics developed from structurally modified Micro-Pore Ring-Spun Viscose Yarn (hydrophilic) as the outer layer and polypropylene (hydrophobic) yarn as the inner layer of fabric. The structurally modified Micro-Pore Ring Spun Viscose Yarn (MPRSVY) was produced by blending Viscose (V)/PVA (Poly-Vinyl Alcohol) fiber in short staple spinning system. PVA is removed by treating the fabric in hot water at a temperature of 900C for 20-30 minutes, followed by cold wash. The study reveals that the fabric plated with Polypropylene (PP)/ Micro-Pore Ring Spun Viscose Yarn (MPRSVY) and Polypropylene (PP)/Viscose (V) exhibits excellent moisture management properties with a higher bottom spreading speed, one way transport index, and overall moisture management capacity. Moisture management properties of PP/MPRSVY and PP/V plated knitted fabrics prove that they can be used to produce active wear fabrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new centrality of the nodes in the network is proposed called alternate centrality, which can isolate effective drug targets in the complex signalling network. Alternate centrality metric defined over the network substructure (four nodes - motifs). The nodes involving in alternative activation in the motifs gain in metric values. Targeting high alternative centrality nodes hypothesised to be destructive free to the network due to their alternative activation mechanism. Overlapping and crosstalk among the gene products in the conserved network of MAPK pathways selected for the study. In silico knock-out of high alternate centrality nodes causing rewiring in the network is investigated using MCF-7 breast cancer cell line-based data. Degree of top alternate centrality nodes lies between the degree of bridging and pagerank nodes. Node deletion of high alternate centrality on the centralities such as eccentricity, closeness, betweenness, stress, centroid and radiality causes low perturbation. The authors identified the following alternate centrality nodes ERK1, ERK2, MEKK2, MKK5, MKK4, MLK3, MLK2, MLK1, MEKK4, MEKK1, TAK1, P38alpha, ZAK, DLK, LZK, MLTKa/b and P38beta as efficient drug targets for breast cancer. Alternate centrality identifies effective drug targets and is free from intertwined biological processes and lethality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Isomerization and carbon chemistry in the gas phase are key processes in many scientific studies. Here we report on the isomerization process from linear C- 10 to its monocyclic isomer. C- 10 ions were trapped in an electrostatic ion beam trap and then excited with a laser pulse of precise energy. The neutral products formed upon photoexcitation were measured as a function of time after the laser pulse. It was found using a statistical model that, although the system is excited above its isomerization barrier energy, the actual isomerization from linear to monocyclic conformation takes place on a very long time scale of up to hundreds of microseconds. This finding may indicate a general phenomenon that can affect the interstellar medium chemistry of large molecule formation as well as other gas phase processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent California drought has highlighted the potential vulnerability of the state's water management infrastructure to multiyear dry intervals. Due to the high complexity of the network, dynamic storage changes in California reservoirs on a state-wide scale have previously been difficult to model using either traditional statistical or physical approaches. Indeed, although there is a significant line of research on exploring models for single (or a small number of) reservoirs, these approaches are not amenable to a system-wide modeling of the California reservoir network due to the spatial and hydrological heterogeneities of the system. In this work, we develop a state-wide statistical graphical model to characterize the dependencies among a collection of 55 major California reservoirs across the state; this model is defined with respect to a graph in which the nodes index reservoirs and the edges specify the relationships or dependencies between reservoirs. We obtain and validate this model in a data-driven manner based on reservoir volumes over the period 2003-2016. A key feature of our framework is a quantification of the effects of external phenomena that influence the entire reservoir network. We further characterize the degree to which physical factors (e.g., state-wide Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI), average temperature, snow pack) and economic factors (e.g., consumer price index, number of agricultural workers) explain these external influences. As a consequence of this analysis, we obtain a system-wide health diagnosis of the reservoir network as a function of PDSI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we give a characterization of the rough semiring $$(T,\Delta ,\nabla )$$ . The order of a rough semiring is also derived. We present the idea of rough homomorphism on the set of all rough sets for the given information system together with the operations Praba $$\Delta $$ and Praba $$\nabla $$ . We illustrate these concepts through examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Velocity Map Imaging (VMI) spectrometer has been designed and integrated with an electrostatic ion beam trap to study delayed electron emission from trapped polyatomic anions upon photodetachment. The VMI spectrometer is small in size and can record a wide range of photoelectron energies, with variable magnification. Delayed electron emission can be recorded in our experimental setup for any time duration after the photoexcitation of the polyatomic anions. Experiments were carried out with trapped O- and C5- ions to demonstrate the capability of the spectrometer. Delayed electron emissions from C5- as well as prompt photoelectrons from O- were detected by the VMI spectrometer upon photoexcitation. The design and performance of the spectrometer are presented in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we proved that for every subset X of U there is a corresponding ideal JX of the rough semiring (T, ∆, ∇) also we gave a characterization theorem for the ideals in the rough semiring (T, ∆, ∇) by proving every ideal in (T, ∆, ∇) will be of the form JX for some subset X of U and the properties of these ideals are discussed with suitable examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of the study was to compare plasma concentrations of rifampicin (RMP), isoniazid (INH) and pyrazinamide (PZA) between tuberculosis (TB) patients with and without diabetes mellitus (DM). Methods: Two-hour post-dosing concentrations of RMP, INH and PZA were determined in adult TB patients that were studied with ( n = 452) and without DM ( n = 1460), treated with a thrice-weekly regimen in India. Drug concentrations were estimated by HPLC. Results: The median (IQR) INH [6.6 (3.9-10.0) and 7.8 (4.6-11.3)] and PZA [31.0 (22.3-38.0) and 34.1 (24.6-42.7)] microgram per milliliter concentrations were significantly lower in diabetic than non-diabetic TB patients ( p < 0.001 for both drugs). Blood glucose was negatively correlated with plasma INH ( r = −0.09, p < 0.001) and PZA ( r = −0.092, p < 0.001). Multiple linear regression analysis showed RMP, INH and PZA concentrations were influenced by age and drug doses, INH and PZA by DM, RMP by alcohol use and PZA by gender and category of ATT. DM reduced INH and PZA concentrations by 0.8 and 3.0 μg/ml, respectively. Conclusions: TB patients with DM had lower INH and PZA concentrations. Negative correlation between blood glucose and drug concentrations suggests delayed absorption/faster elimination of INH and PZA in the presence of elevated glucose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Designing a robust image local descriptor for the purpose of image segmentation, analysis, recognition and classification has been an active area of research to date. In this paper, a robust and computationally efficient image local descriptor named 'COLOR CHILD' has been proposed. COLOR CHILD addresses the weaknesses of Weber Local Descriptor (WLD) by considering Laplacian of Gaussian (LoG) for its differential excitation component and Tiansi fractional derivative-based filter for its orientation component. For any given image, these two components are then used to construct a concatenated histogram and with the addition of color moments up to third order the capabilities of the proposed descriptor COLOR CHILD has been extended to handle textures in color space. COLOR CHILD is shown to outperform all of the known state-of-the-art image local descriptors of parametric and non-parametric types on a variety of benchmark texture databases such as KTH-TIPS2-a, KTH-TIPS2-b, and CUReT under varying degrees of noise while performing texture classification task. Further, the response profile of the COLOR CHILD in terms of Wasserstein distance measures (obtained by sliding a query patch across the image to be segmented) is found to be better suited as initial image for active contour-based image and texture segmentation algorithms. The efficacy of the COLOR CHILD for segmentation task is amply demonstrated on synthetic color images under varying degrees of noise and on real-world texture images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a new (Fe-P)-Si based alloy with relatively high induction (1.8-1.9 T), low coercivity (< 80 A/m), high resistivity (~38 μΩ cm) and low core loss (217 W/kg @ 1 T/1 kHz) comparable to the commercially available M530-50 A5 Si-steel. The attractive magnetic and electrical properties are attributed to i) the two phase microstructure of fine nano precipitates of Fe3P dispersed in α-Fe matrix achieved by a two-step heat-treatment process and ii) Si addition enhancing the resistivity of the α-Fe matrix phase. As the alloy processing is by conventional wrought metallurgy method, it has the potential for large scale production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of marine alga Valoniopsis pachynema extract on corrosion inhibition of brass in phosphoric acid was investigated by weight-loss method, potentiodynamic polarization, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy studies. The inhibition efficiency is found to increase with increasing concentration of extract and decreases with rise in temperature. The activation energy, thermodynamic parameters (free energy, enthalpy, and entropy change) and kinetic parameters (rate constant and half-life) for inhibition process were calculated. These thermodynamic and kinetic parameters indicate a strong interaction between the inhibitor and the brass surface. The inhibition is assumed to occur via adsorption of inhibitor molecules on brass surface, which obeys Temkin adsorption isotherm. The adsorption of inhibitor on the brass surface is exothermic, physical, and spontaneous, and follows first-order kinetics. The polarization measurements showed that the inhibitor behaves as a mixed type inhibitor and the higher inhibition surface coverage on the brass was predicted. Inhibition efficiency values were found to show good trend with weight-loss method, potentiodynamic polarization, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy studies. Surface study techniques (FT-IR and SEM) were carried out to ascertain the inhibitive nature of the algal extract on the brass surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we consider a batch arrival retrial queue with feedback under Bernoulli vacation schedule, where the busy server is subjected to breakdown due to the arrival of negative customers. Any arriving batch of positive customers finds the server free, one of the customers from the batch enters into the service area and the rest of them join into the orbit. Arriving positive customers may balk (or renege) the system at particular times. After completion of service the unsatisfied positive customer may rejoin into the orbit to get another regular service as feedback customer. The server takes Bernoulli vacation after service completion of positive customers. After completion of service (if the server is not taking vacation), repair or vacation the server searches for the customers in the orbit or remains idle. The steady state probability generating function for the system size is obtained by using the supplementary variable method. Some system performance measures, reliability measures and stochastic decomposition law are discussed. Finally, some numerical examples and cost optimization analysis are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yarn structure influences the configuration of the constituent fibers in the yarn and the comfort properties of the fabrics to a great extent. The fiber arrangement in the yarn has a major influence on the comfort-related properties such as thermal conductivity, air permeability, wickability, and moisture vapor permeability. This study dealt with the influence of process and material variables namely, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) proportion, twist multiplier (TM), and spindle speed on microporous viscose yarn properties. Three-variable three-factor Box and Behnken method was used to investigate the individual and interaction effects of selected variables on yarn properties. The selected variables have a significant influence on all the yarn properties. The increase in PVA%, spindle speed, and TM reduces the specific volume and wickability of yarns and increases the tenacity and packing factor of yarns before dissolving the PVA fibers. With increase in spindle speed and TM, same trend was noticed after dissolving the PVA also. But the trend reverses with increase in PVA percentage after dissolution of PVA fiber. The increase in PVA percentage increases the specific volume and wickability of yarns and decreases the tenacity and packing factor of yarns after dissolution of PVA fiber. The optimized process parameters were obtained, and yarn was spun with the optimized parameters to validate the model. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background Early detection and treatment of tuberculosis (TB) have been key principles of TB control. However, this can be a challenge with 'hard to reach' populations such as migrants. Brick kiln workers are one such group of migrants who are exposed to smoke, heat and dust from brick kilns which are one of the major causes of respiratory illnesses. Methodology Across-sectional community based study was carried out in Thiruvallur, Tamil Nadu, South India, from August 2011 to June 2012. A total of 4002 individuals from 55 brick kiln chambers were interviewed to determine the prevalence of chest symptoms and care seeking behaviour patterns. Results Three hundred and seventy-seven (9.4%) chest symptomatics were identified. The most significant variables associated with chest symptoms were illiteracy, alcohol abuse and heavy smoking. Of the chest symptomatics identified, 50.4% took action to get relief from their symptoms. The duration of over 6-month stay in the chamber was significantly associated with taking action (OR, 5.5, 95% CI: 2.3, 13.3). Conclusions TheTB control programme needs to further explore how to extend its services to such 'hard to reach' groups. Active case finding to ensure early diagnosis and treatment initiation amongst such groups needs consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we discuss the steady state analysis of a batch arrival feedback retrial queue with two types of service and negative customers. Any arriving batch of positive customers finds the server is free, one of the customers from the batch enters into the service area and the rest of them join into the orbit. The negative customer, arriving during the service time of a positive customer, will remove the positive customer in-service and the interrupted positive customer either enters into the orbit or leaves the system. If the orbit is empty at the service completion of each type of service, the server takes at most J vacations until at least one customer is received in the orbit when the server returns from a vacation. The busy server may breakdown at any instant and the service channel will fail for a short interval of time. The steady state probability generating function for the system size is obtained by using the supplementary variable method. Numerical illustrations are discussed to see the effect of system parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fine grained Cu substituted melt-spun Sm(Co0.9Cu0.1)4.8 ribbons prepared with a wheel speed of 50 m/s exhibit a high coercivity of 52.7 kOe. Detailed magnetic studies like I and II quadrant magnetization-demagnetization characteristics, minorloop measurement with increasing field and recoil behaviour have been carried out in combination with TEM studies. Fine spots of size ~3 nm having different crystallographic orientations within the grains have been observed, and the high coercivity of the sample is attributed to complex domain wall interactions with the fine grain (~55 nm) microstructure containing nanoscale heterogeneities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we discuss the steady state analysis of a batch arrival feedback retrial queue with two types of services and negative customers. Any arriving batch of positive customers finds the server is free, one of the customers from the batch enters into the service area and the rest of them get into the orbit. The negative customer, is arriving during the service time of a positive customer, will remove the positive customer in-service and the interrupted positive customer either enters the orbit or leaves the system. If the orbit is empty at the service completion of each type of service, the server takes at most J vacations until at least one customer is received in the orbit when the server returns from a vacation. While the busy server may breakdown at any instant and the service channel may fail for a short interval of time. The steady state probability generating function for the system size is obtained by using the supplementary variable method. Numerical illustrations are discussed to see the effect of the system parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Periodic drug resistance surveillance provides useful information on trends of drug resistance and effectiveness of tuberculosis (TB) control measures. The present study determines the prevalence of drug resistance among new sputum smear positive (NSP) and previously treated (PT) pulmonary TB patients, diagnosed at public sector designated microscopy centers (DMCs) in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. In this single-stage cluster-sampling prevalence survey, 70 of 700 DMCs were randomly selected using a probability-proportional to size method. A cluster size of 24 for NSP and a varying size of 0 to 99 for PT cases were fixed for each selected DMC. Culture and drug susceptibility testing was done on Lowenstein-Jensen medium using the economic variant of proportion sensitivity test for isoniazid (INH), rifampicin (RMP), ofloxacin (OFX) and kanamycin (KAN). Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) status was collected from patient records. From June 2011 to August 2012, 1524 NSP and 901 PT patients were enrolled. Any RMP resistance and any INH resistance were observed in 2.6% and 15.1%, and in 10.4% and 30% respectively in NSP and PT cases. Among PT patients, multi drug resistant TB (MDR-TB) was highest in the treatment failure (35%) group, followed by relapse (13%) and treatment after default (10%) groups. Extensively drug resistant TB (XDRTB) was seen in 4.3% of MDR-TB cases. Any OFX resistance was seen in 10.4% of NSP, 13.9% of PT and 29% of PT MDR-TB patients. The HIV status of the patient had no impact on drug resistance levels. RMP resistance was present in 2.6% of new and 15.1% of previously treated patients in Tamil Nadu. Rates of OFX resistance were high among NSP and PT patients, especially among those with MDR-TB, a matter of concern for development of new treatment regimens for TB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]