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The manuscript reports the synthesis of Dy3+incorporated lithium magnesium borate glass by melt quenching technique. FTIR study revealed the presence of both BO3as well as tetrahedral BO4units through their characteristic frequencies. Photoluminescence (PL) study of unirradiated samples confirmed the presence of Dy dopant in the ‘+3’ oxidation states from the characteristic emissions at 482, 578, 666 and 716 nm corresponding to 4F9/2→ 6H15/2, 4F9/2→ 6H13/2and 4F9/2→ 6H11/2, 4F9/2→ 6H9/2transitions, respectively. Thermal neutron and gamma irradiated PL emission and lifetime characteristics were discussed in details based on the different defect centers. Thermal neutron irradiated TL study showed that the material has a broad and single dosimetry glow peak at about 450 K which showed high fading due to low temperature peak. TL based neutron sensitivity of LMB: Dy3+was found to be about 37.4 times less than that of standard TLD-100 (LiF: Mg, Ti) powder. The net TL response from about 3 to 83 mSv of neutron dose was found to be linear (Adj. R2= 0.9994) which is one of the most desirable properties for dosimetry applications. In addition, the TL trap parameters were evaluated using both deconvolution of TL glow curve and peak shape method as suggested by Chen which were found to be matching with each other.

A study was conducted to design, develop and evaluate a low-cost willow wicker peeling machine for farmers and wicker craft industry of Jammu and Kashmir. The relevant physical characteristics of willow wicker were measured in terms of length, diameter and peel thickness to finalize the design values of individual working components of willow wicker machine. The machine comprised of hopper, peeling rollers, electric motor and discharging unit with overall dimension of 736 × 406 × 609 mm. The evaluation was carried out at three moisture content (13, 18 and 23% w.b), roller speeds (350, 700 and 1050 rpm) and wicker varieties (Salix triandra, Salix purpureaand Salix viminalis). The optimization of the data through design expert 10.0.1 revealed that operating the machine at 700 rpm with S. purpureavariety containing 13% (w.b) moisture content resulted in throughput capacity of 15 twigs/min, 83.85% peeling efficiency, 0.74% damage percentage, 0.064 man-min/twig labour requirement and 1.4 kJ/twig specific mechanical energy consumption. The cost economics showed that operating the machine requires 64.3 Rs h−1with benefit–cost ratio of 2.35:1, breakeven point of 109,800 twigs and payback period of 640.44 hours. The comparative analysis showed the cost difference of Rs. 45 per hour between manual and mechanical peeling of willow wicker twigs. The weight of the machine was recorded as 53 kilograms. The study can be useful for wicker craft (keani keam) industry with huge employment and entrepreneurship generation potential.

A study was conducted to utilize the engineering properties of walnut shells and kernels at 14% and 5% moisture content (wb) to design, develop and evaluate walnut cracker and separator machine. The average bulk density of shells (228–242.7 kg m−3) and kernels (401.7–414.2 kg m−3) along with mathematical calculations and review of literature was used to conceptualize working components of universal walnut cracker and separator machine. The machine comprised of feeding hopper, cracking rollers, separation tray, main frame, power transmission system and collection tray. The functional performance of the developed prototype was tested in terms of rotational speed of the cracker (75, 85 and 95 rpm) and amplitude of vibration (55, 65 and 75 mm). The economic parameters of operational cost, breakeven point, benefit-cost ratio and pay back period were also calculated. The optimum conditions were obtained with the help of design expert 10.0.1 and response surface methodology. A cracker speed of 85 rpm and vibrational amplitude of 65 mm resulted in throughput capacity of 15.98 kg h−1, 86.0% cracking efficiency, 74.0% separation efficiency, 81.34% kernel recovery, 18.6% kernel damage, 62.74 man-hours ton−1labour requirement and 1136.7 MJ ton−1energy consumption. The operating cost of the machine was 67.73 Rs h−1, benefit cost ratio 1.35, breakeven point at 5001.8 kg and payback period of 1129.8 h, respectively. This machine can be beneficial for income augmentation of walnut growers and rural employment through custom hiring centres.

We have studied by means of angle-dispersive powder synchrotron X-ray diffraction the structural behavior of KCaPO4, SrKPO4, and K2Ce(PO4)2under high pressure up to 26, 25, and 22 GPa, respectively. For KCaPO4, we have also accurately determined the crystal structure under ambient conditions, which differs from the structure previously reported. Arguments supporting our structural determination will be discussed. We have found that KCaPO4undergoes a reversible phase transition. The onset of the transition is at 5.6 GPa. It involves a symmetry decrease. The low-pressure phase is described by space group P3̅m1 and the high-pressure phase by space group Pnma. For KSrPO4and K2Ce(PO4)2, no evidence of phase transitions has been found up to the highest pressure covered by the experiments. For the three compounds, the linear compressibility for the different crystallographic axes and the pressure–volume equation of states are reported and compared with those of other phosphates. The three studied compounds are among the most compressible phosphates. The results of the study improve the knowledge about the high-pressure behavior of complex phosphates.

The present study computationally investigate the respiratory wall behaviour and airflow characteristics inside trachea and first generation bronchi considering fluid structure interaction (FSI) between air flow and the human respiratory wall. The deformation in the respiratory tract is found to be insignificant for the elasticity modulus above 40 kPa. A considerable amount of deformation is observed when the elasticity modulus is below 30 kPa. The flexibility considered in the respiratory tract wall decreases the maximum flow velocity by 24%. It is observed that the wall shear stress in compliant respiratory model is reduced to one-third of that in rigid respiratory model. The comparison of results of rigid and compliant models show that FSI technique offers more realistic results as compared to conventional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis of rigid tract. The results will help medical practitioners to correlate the clinical findings with the more accurate computational results.

Understanding the radiation tolerance of ceramics against low energy heavy ions is important for evaluating their stability against alpha recoils, which are a significant source of damage for their application as nuclear fuels and/or waste immobilization matrices. Radiation response of ceramics is significantly affected by the particle size and microstructure in addition to their crystalline structure. With this motivation, three different particle-sized CeO2samples were subjected to irradiation by 400 keV Kr ion at various fluences. The smaller particle-sized samples are found to be more radiation tolerant, which is attributed to the higher prevalence of grain boundaries that act as sinks for the (irradiation-induced) defects. The predominant defects generated in these systems are observed to be Ce3+and vacancy-related isolated clusters as investigated by Raman spectroscopy and corroborated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and photoluminescence studies. However, in the micron-sized sample, a secondary fluorite-type defective phase appears upon irradiation, as seen from X-ray diffraction, which continually expands with an increase in fluence, unlike the smaller-sized samples. Interestingly, the relative content of reduced Ce (Ce3+/Ce4+ratio) is observed to be much higher in the smaller-sized samples post-irradiation, making it an important manifestation of irradiation effects in nanoceria. More importantly, the radiation tolerance as a function of particle size in the low energy regime is observed to have an opposite trend to that under high energy heavy ion irradiation, and this comparison has been discussed. CeO2is also widely employed as the surrogate for PuO2, and the present study thus has significance to self-irradiation of PuO2as well.

There has been tremendous growth in the use of renewable energy sources (RESs) in power networks in recent years. However, integrating these intermittent energy sources has introduced challenges, such as changes in system inertia and fluctuations in frequency. This paper proposes employing electric vehicle (EV) as energy storage options in isolated hybrid microgrid (HMG) to address these concerns. This paper also introduces a fractional order proportional-integral-derivative (FOPID) controller to control the HMG frequency. In addition, the study proposes a modified virtual rotor (MVR) concept to enhance the system's inertia further. This paper investigates the application of particle swarm optimization (PSO) for controller gain tuning. It compares its effectiveness with several established control strategies, including proportional-integral-derivative (PID), proportional-integral with proportional-derivative (PI-PD), and proportional-integral-derivative with filter (PIDF) controllers. Additionally, the study assesses the performance of electric vehicles (EVs) integrated with various energy storage systems, such as superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES), capacitive energy storage (CES), and redox flow batteries (RFB), under both fixed and variable load profiles. This study also investigates the performance of the proposed FOPID controller compared to established control techniques (PID, PI-PD, PDF) regarding settling time, peak undershoot, and performance indices. The proposed approach achieved significant improvements in settling time (63.70 %, 29.97 %, 14.83 % compared to PID, PI-PD, PIDF respectively), peak undershoot (71.21 %, 70.63 %, 63.95 % compared to PID, PI-PD, PIDF respectively), and performance indices (22.4 %, 21.10 %, 14.58 % compared to PID, PI-PD, PIDF respectively).

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The synthesis of intrinsically radiolabeled nanoparticles has shown tremendous prospective in offering an easier, faster, stable, and more specific radiolabeling technique for the development of advanced radionanomedicine agents for cancer treatment. In this study, a facile one-pot synthesis protocol for the preparation of cyclic arginine–glycine–aspartate (RGD) conjugated and intrinsically radiolabeled 199Au (t1/2= 3.14 d; β1= 462 keV, 6.0%; β2= 296 keV, 71.6%; β3= 250 keV, 22.4%; γ = 159 keV, 37%) nanoparticles has been developed for targeting integrin αvβ3receptors for potential use in neoadjuvant brachytherapy. The nanoparticles synthesized by this method were characterized by numerous analytical methods to determine the identity, particle size, in vitrostability, biocompatibility, and amenability for clinical use. Large-scale synthesis of intrinsically radiolabeled 199Au nanoparticles could be achieved with excellent yield, and they met all the requirements for clinical use. The biological efficacy of the intrinsically radiolabeled 199Au nanoparticles was confirmed by biodistribution studies in C57BL/6 mice having melanoma tumors after intratumoral injection. The results of the biodistribution studies demonstrated high tumor radioactivity concentration of integrin αvβ3targeted 199Au nanoparticles which reduced only marginally over the period of 1 week. Intratumoral administration of 5 MBq and 10 MBq doses of radiolabeled nanoparticles resulted in significant regression of tumor growth in melanoma tumor bearing mice. Apparent body weight loss was not observed in all the treated mice. On the basis of the encouraging results acquired in this study, it is envisaged that this approach would be useful toward clinical translation of this innovative class of radionanomedicine agents for neoadjuvant brachytherapy of selected cancer patients.

AbstractAndrographis paniculata,commonly known as Kalmegh, is an important medicinal plant which exhibits a range of pharmacological characteristics. The present study revealed that under natural and experimental field conditions, the debris soil of the ground-nesting ant (Pheidole latinoda) colonies increased soil fertility and yield of this plant. The growth of Kalmegh planted in the debris amended soil was significantly enhanced in a dose-dependent manner. The yield, in terms of number of branches, number of leaves, plant biomass and number of pods plant−1was consistently higher for plants grown in debris amended treatments as compared with plants grown in control soil. Concentrations of total C, P, available N (NH4-N, NO3-N) and microbial biomass C and P were significantly higher in the various debris amended soil treatments as compared with the control soil. Significant positive correlations were found between the ecophysiological traits of Kalmegh plants, i.e. leaf area, total biomass and number of fruits plant−1, and the soil chemical properties of the soil. Under natural field conditions also the biomass of Kalmegh plants growing within 5 m distance of P. latinodanests was significantly higher as compared with plants located at a distance >10 m. Overall, the results suggested that the ecosystem engineering activities of P. latinodacolonies have the potential to contribute to soil fertility and thereby promote enhanced growth and yield of this medicinally important plant. Since colonies of ground-nesting ant species, such as P. latinoda,are abundant in annual cropping systems, they can contribute to agricultural sustainability.

The effects of high pressure on the crystal structure of orthorhombic (Pnma) perovskite-type cerium scandate were studied in situ under high pressure by means of synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction, using a diamond-anvil cell. We found that the perovskite-type crystal structure remains stable up to 40 GPa, the highest pressure reached in the experiments. The evolution of unit-cell parameters with pressure indicated an anisotropic compression. The room-temperature pressure–volume equation of state (EOS) obtained from the experiments indicated the EOS parameters V0= 262.5(3) Å3, B0= 165(7) GPa, and B0′ = 6.3(5). From the evolution of microscopic structural parameters like bond distances and coordination polyhedra of cerium and scandium, the macroscopic behavior of CeScO3under compression was explained and reasoned for its large pressure stability. The reported results are discussed in comparison with high-pressure results from other perovskites.

Challenges of implementing successful research collaborations between industry and academia in software engineering are varied and many. Differing timelines, metrics, expectations, and perceptions of these two communities are some common obstacles, which need be analyzed and discussed, to discover synergies and strengthen collaborations between researchers and practitioners. In this report, we present insights from the 6th International Workshop on Software Engineering Research and Industrial Practice held at the International Conference on Software Engineering 2019. Specifically, one particular topic dominated the discussion - the resurgence of artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms in software engineering research and industry practice, and its implications for the collaboration between these two communities. We present takeaways from keynote talks on this subject, insights from paper presentations, and findings from the discussion session.

Sustained and safe delivery of dopamine across the blood brain barrier (BBB) is a major hurdle for successful therapy in Parkinson’s disease (PD), a neurodegenerative disorder. Therefore, in the present study we designed neurotransmitter dopamine-loaded PLGA nanoparticles (DA NPs) to deliver dopamine to the brain. These nanoparticles slowly and constantly released dopamine, showed reduced clearance of dopamine in plasma, reduced quinone adduct formation, and decreased dopamine autoxidation. DA NPs were internalized in dopaminergic SH-SY5Y cells and dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra and striatum, regions affected in PD. Treatment with DA NPs did not cause reduction in cell viability and morphological deterioration in SH-SY5Y, as compared to bulk dopamine-treated cells, which showed reduced viability. Herein, we report that these NPs were able to cross the BBB and capillary endothelium in the striatum and substantia nigra in a 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-induced rat model of PD. Systemic intravenous administration of DA NPs caused significantly increased levels of dopamine and its metabolites and reduced dopamine-D2 receptor supersensitivity in the striatum of parkinsonian rats. Further, DA NPs significantly recovered neurobehavioral abnormalities in 6-OHDA-induced parkinsonian rats. Dopamine delivered through NPs did not cause additional generation of ROS, dopaminergic neuron degeneration, and ultrastructural changes in the striatum and substantia nigra as compared to 6-OHDA-lesioned rats. Interestingly, dopamine delivery through nanoformulation neither caused alterations in the heart rate and blood pressure nor showed any abrupt pathological change in the brain and other peripheral organs. These results suggest that NPs delivered dopamine into the brain, reduced dopamine autoxidation-mediated toxicity, and ultimately reversed neurochemical and neurobehavioral deficits in parkinsonian rats.

Software engineering researchers and their industrial counterparts have emphasized that research is essential for innovation. In practice, rather than ending up in a win-win situation, most of the times both the parties lose because of differences in expectations between the two sides. In this report, we briefly summarize the key insights from 1st International Workshop on Software Engineering Research and Industrial Practices (SER&IPs 2014) co-located with 36th International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE 2014). The core lesson that stems out of this workshop is a definite need to have multiple approaches to deal with software engineering research-industrial practices partnership. Specifically, the workshop presented two keynotes: one from an industrial researcher explaining the need for academic expertise and an academic researcher on how their research added value to industry. An invited seminar unveiled short-term and long-term funding opportunities followed by a list of presentations from peerreviewed submissions from both software engineering research and industry partners. Finally, the workshop ended with group discussions, brainstorming of potential topics that can lead to fruitful collaboration between software engineering researchers and industrial practitioners. A major lesson from the workshop is the choice of a topic that fosters a win-win situation for both parties in short-term and long-term collaborations.

Because of mutation and natural selection, development of drug resistance to the existing antimalarial is the major problem in malaria treatment. This problem has created an urgent need of novel antimalarial drug targets as well as lead compounds. The important characteristic of malaria is that it shows the phenomenon of balanced polymorphisms. Several traits have been selected in response to disease pressure. Therefore such factors must be explored to understand the pathogenesis of malaria infection in human host. Apicoplast, hub of metabolism is present in Plasmodium falciparum (causative agent of falciparum malaria) having similarities with plant plastid. Among several pathways in apicoplast, Dolichol metabolic pathway is one of the most important pathway and has been known to play role in parasite survival in the human host. In P.falciparum, a phosphorylated derivative of Dolichol participates in biosynthesis of glycoproteins. Several proteins of this pathway play role in post translational modifications of proteins involved in the signal transduction pathways, regulation of DNA replication and cell cycle. This pathway can be used as antimalarial drug target. This report has explored progress towards the study of proteins and inhibitors of Dolichol metabolic pathway. For more comprehensive analysis, the host genetic factors and drug-protein interaction have been covered.

Preferential leaching of Sr from irradiated thorium may play an important role to facilitate the management of high level waste as well as provide a new route to recover valuable fission product 90Sr which has potential applications as (a) compact heat source and (b) as parent radionuclide for 90Y, used in therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals. In the present work, leaching of Sr from (Th,Sr)O2in nitric acid and perchloric acid medium has been investigated as a function of acidity as well as refluxation time. It was interesting to observe that quantitative leaching of Sr(II) is possible even at 0.01M HClO4where leaching of Th is negligible (∼0.01%). Leaching behavior of other metal ions, like Pd(II), Y(III), and Zr(IV), representing few major fission products was also investigated.

AbstractPreferential leaching of Sr from irradiated thorium may play an important role to facilitate the management of high level waste as well as provide a new route to recover valuable fission product 90Sr which has potential applications as (a) compact heat source and (b) as parent radionuclide for 90Y, used in therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals. In the present work, leaching of Sr from (Th,Sr)O2in nitric acid and perchloric acid medium has been investigated as a function of acidity as well as refluxation time. It was interesting to observe that quantitative leaching of Sr(II) is possible even at 0.01 M HClO4where leaching of Th is negligible (∼0.01%). Leaching behavior of other metal ions, like Pd(II), Y(III), and Zr(IV), representing few major fission products was also investigated.

AbstractThis paper describes an electrochemical method for the preparation of 55Fe sources, utilized in the calibration of low energy X-ray detectors. In this process, electrodeposition of 55Fe containing 185 MBq (~5 mCi) of activity on a small circular cross sectional flat surface area (~0.07 cm2) within a cylindrical Cu metal rod was carried out at a current density of 20 mA/cm2at 18 ºC for 4 h using sulphate bath maintained at pH ~ 2. The electrolytic cell, the experimental set up used and the process of 55Fe deposition were described. The effect of various experimental parameters influencing the electrodeposition of 55Fe were identified and optimized. The texture and morphology of the electrodeposited samples were examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), SEM and EDS techniques. The quantity of deposited 55Fe activity was assayed in a calibrated ion chamber. Quality control tests were carried out to ensure nonleachability, uniform distribution of activity and stability of the sources.

Ligation and division of the saphenofemoral junction (L/D SFJ) can protect against the danger of venous thromboembolism (VTE) associated with greater saphenous vein (GSV) radiofrequency ablation (RFA). Although this procedure is regarded as clean from an infection standpoint, surgical site infection (SSI) can offset its thromboembolic benefit. We questioned whether SSI associated with L/D SFJ could be minimized by a single preoperative dose of antibiotic.

Excess sudden death due to ventricular tachyarrhythmias remains a major mode of mortality in patients with systolic heart failure. The aim of this study was to determine the association of nocturnal ventricular arrhythmias in patients with low ejection fraction heart failure. We incorporated a large number of known pathophysiologic triggers to identify potential targets for therapy to reduce the persistently high incidence of sudden death in this population despite contemporary treatment.

In this report, we present a summary and a few reflections of a one day workshop on Software Engineering Education held on February 22, 2012 at Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India collocated with the 5th India Software Engineering Conference. We identify a gap and believe there is a need for creating an annual discussion forum that serves the need of having a regular workshop for software engineering education in India and also benefit the global software engineering education community by sharing the workshop insights and results by a publication process. The workshop consists of two keynotes, one from academia and one from industry, two subgroups discussions and presentations by the subgroups on their discussions. Three systematic techniques, invitation of position statements, set up of a Google group and an online survey, were employed before the workshop to estimate number of participants, subgroups and size of each subgroup for effective discussions. Twenty participants attended the workshop. The keynotes were on Using Collaborative Learning and Divergent Thinking to Teach Software Engineering and on Software Engineering Competency Development Model. Three topics were selected for subgroups discussions by the participants: use of various methods, such as learning while playing and project-based software engineering, over Power Point lecture, requirements and needs of undergraduate software engineering degree program from the perspective of Indian software industry and curriculum content, coverage, and impact of software engineering courses. The workshop was a successful endeavor and the response in terms of the contributions by participants is a clear indicator and confirmation of the need of having a focused discussion forum for brainstorming on software engineering education in India