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India is a tropical country with diverse climates, and thermal adaption plays a significant role in sustaining thermal comfort in non-conditioned buildings. Indoor air temperature is taken as the main parameter for thermal comfort in buildings, which is very high in western India and creates uncomfortable for occupant. Thermal comfort is a primary need inside the buildings from a human health perspective. Roof structure and the color of the exterior surface affect the thermal comfort of the buildings in a hot-dry climate. Roof contributes maximum heat gain towards the outdoor temperature wave amplitude and time lag in non-conditioned buildings during summer. Three commercially available reflective paints or coatings were selected and used in the simulation to assess the performance of a non-conditioned building. In this paper, we present the evaluation of the discomfort index (DI) and Tropical Summer Index (TSI) for the summer season (April and May).The comfort hours achieved using cool roof coatings were 12–17 hours more than the base case or conventional roof used in a hot-dry climate. The tropical summer index (TSI) was found adequate within its comfort range (27.5 °C) for roofs with surface coatings than a base case roof slab.

Zr–2.5Nb alloy, with its high yield strength and low hydrogen absorption, is used in Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) as pressure tube. Hydrogen in solid solution form and in hydride precipitate form may alter the mechanical properties of the Zr–2.5Nb pressure tube. In the present study, the effect of hydrogen on thermal creep behaviour of Zr–2.5Nb alloy pressure tube material is characterised in the temperature range of 350–450 °C and a stress ranging from 0.7 to 0.9 times of yield strength. The variation in rupture time, minimum creep rate, stress exponent and activation energy is determined for as-received, 150 and 200 wppm hydrogen charged samples. An attempt has been made to understand the role of hydrogen in solid solution form and as hydride precipitate form on thermal creep behaviour of Zr–2.5Nb pressure tube alloy.

Energy-dependent partial differential ionization cross sections at constant incident electron energies and their integral cross sections for n-butane (n-C4H10) by electron impact corresponding to the formation of various major cations are calculated using a revisited Jain-Khare semiempirical formulation. Averaged energies of the secondary electrons are also derived from the differential cross sections. The ionization rate coefficients as a function of the temperature are evaluated from integral partial ionization cross sections and Maxwell-Boltzmann energy distributions. Calculations of cross sections include the Bethe analytical extrapolation at higher energies up to 6 keV. A satisfactory agreement of the calculated partial and total ionization cross sections with the available experimental and theoretical results is noted.

Background: Students vary in their preference of learning styles. CBME has provided opportunity to introduce new learning techniques. Students are also exposed to basics of adult education. Assessment of learning styles using VARK has been widely adopted. Aims: The present study was conducted to recognize the learning styles of first year medical students attending anatomy classes as per CBME curriculum in a medical college of Bihar. Materials and Methods: The present study was cross-sectional in nature conducted upon 118 first year medical students attending anatomy classes as per CBME curriculum. Self administered VARK questionnaire was given to the students. Data was analyzed and inferences were drawn. Results: Mean age of the students was 17.9 years. Multimodal style of learning was universally preferred. 89% preferred quadrimodal, 9% trimodal and 2% bimodal styles. Visual style was preferred by 89%, Auditory as well as Read/ write style each by 95.8% and Kinesthetic style by 93.2%. Conclusion: Students must be aware of their preferences of learning styles. Teachers must also be oriented towards the same to provide choices of learning methods to the students to increase learning outcomes. Keywords:Cross sectional study, Learning style, Medical students.

The majority of data reported in open literature on hydride embrittlement of Zr alloys is based on hydrogen not deuterium which evolves during aqueous corrosion of in-core components in pressurized heavy water reactor operations. It is assumed that hydrogen and deuterium have similar effects on tensile properties and fracture toughness of Zr alloys. The thermal and physical properties as well as stress free transformation strain of hydrides and deuterides are different. Because of these differences, hydrogen and deuterium may affect tensile and fracture properties of Zr alloys to a different extent. The hydrogen isotope effects on tensile and fracture properties were investigated using samples machined from Zr–2.5Nb pressure tube (PT) material charged with hydrogen between 30 and 200 wppm and tests were carried out between 25 and 300 °C. The tensile properties and fracture toughness of the hydrogen charged Zr–2.5Nb PT material were compared to the Zr–2.5Nb PT material charged with deuterium. The observed effect of hydrogen isotopes on tensile and fracture toughness was rationalized in terms of stress free transformation strain and the temperature dependence of the fracture toughness of the hydrided material was correlated with the presence of axial splits on fracture surfaces. The effect of hydrogen isotope on tensile and fracture properties was investigated for the Zr–2.5Nb pressure tube (PT) material charged with hydrogen between 30 and 200 wppm and in the temperature range of 25 and 300 °C and compared with the corresponding values determined for the Zr–2.5Nb PT material charged with deuterium. It was observed that for a given concentration up to 200 wppm, hydrogen and deuterium charged Zr–2.5Nb PT material have practically same tensile and fracture properties at all test temperatures between 25 and 300 °C indicating no effect of nature of hydrogen isotope on tensile and fracture properties of Zr–2.5Nb PT material.

The process of assembling astutely designed well-defined metal–organic cubes (MOCs) is attracting considerable attention due to their rare networks and topologies. A novel 3D self-assembly directed by MOC (1), [Zn3(Tz)2(tpa)2(DMSO)4], has been synthesized, which, from crystallography and ToposPro, is defined as a binodal (3,4)-connected moc network with the [4.82] Schlafli symbol, and a net that contains alternate 3-connected Tz nodes and 4-connected Zn nodes. The cluster representation reveals an interwoven pcu 6/4/c1 sqc1 topological type. The present metal–organic framework (MOF) exhibits excellent water stability and therefore has been exploited for the adsorption and separation of selected toxic cationic dyes, namely methylene blue (MB) and rhodamine B (RB), and the anionic dye methyl orange (MO). The adsorption efficiency of the designed Zn(II) MOF (adsorbent) was determined at equilibrium, neutral pH, and room temperature to be 82.43% for MB, which is amongst the highest values calculated for MOF systems. For RB, the removal percentage recorded was 71.35%. The anionic dye (MO) showed negligible adsorption. The adsorption capacities (qe) of MOC 1 towards MB and RB were calculated to be 112.11 mg and 90.90 mg per gram of 1, respectively. The governing factors are cation⋯π and π⋯π contacts which consolidate the interactions between the dye molecules and the adsorbent material. Strong electrostatic interactions are observed between the cationic dye MB(+)/RB(+) and the negatively charged ring of the linker, which lead to the adsorption of dye molecules onto the surface of the adsorbent. On the other hand, the anionic dye (MO) faces strong electrostatic repulsion due to its anionic nature and the negatively charged ring of the linker, which explains its lack of adsorption on the adsorbent. Moreover, the MOF shows good recyclability, i.e., it can be reused up to five times without loss of efficiency. A pseudo-second order kinetics model shows a favourable fit for the adsorption of the dyes. Hence, the designed Zn(II) framework with MOC building blocks opens up new opportunities for utilizing the little-exploited chemistry of MOCs towards dye adsorption, and it establishes a structure–activity relationship that can be tuned to enhance the separation of organic pollutants from mixtures in waste water.

Background: Many researchers have studied the morphology of coronoid process and have found varying shapes but such a study is lacking in this area. Aims: The present study was conducted to identify different morphological variations in shape of coronoid process of adult human mandible. Materials and Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted in the department of Anatomy at a Medical College of Bihar upon 46 dry adult human mandibles i.e. 92 coronoid processes. The morphological forms of coronoid process were noted. Results: 57.6% of coronoid processes were triangular in shape, 28.3% were rounded and 14.1% were hook shaped. The difference between male and female mandibles was found to be statistically significant (p=0.004). The proper knowledge on the morphological shapes of coronoid process is useful for maxillofacial surgeons as well as to be used as an anthropological marker to assess different populations and races. Keywords : Coronoid process, Cross-sectional study, Mandible.

In the present work, a modified 9Cr-1Mo steel is subjected to normalizing and tempering treatment with or without an intermediate rolling, which was carried out at 1050 °C in austenitic phase and 550 °C in metastable austenitic phase. The tempering was carried out at 700 °C and 750 °C to improve the strength by precipitation hardening and refining the microstructure. The ductile to brittle-transition temperature (DBTT) and tensile properties have been evaluated at 20 °C, 550 °C and 650 °C for the material subjected to various thermomechanical treatments. Rolling performed in austenitic phase showed improvement in the upper shelf energy and reduction in the DBTT compared with the material rolled in metastable austenitic phase. Rolling in metastable austenitic phase improved the yield strength at elevated temperature (39 pct at 20 °C, 31 pct at 550 °C and 91 pct at 650 °C) and was accompanied by a reduction in ductility (21 pct at 20 °C, 32 pct at 550 °C and 35 pct at 650 °C) compared with the as-received condition. The influence of grain size, low angle boundaries and precipitates on DBTT and high temperature strength has been studied using EBSD and TEM analyses. An increase in high temperature strength is found to increase with the area fraction of fine M23C6/MX precipitates, whereas low angle boundaries and effective grain size influenced the DBTT behavior. The combined effect of precipitation strengthening and strain hardening leads to improvement in the high temperature mechanical strength while maintaining adequate toughness. The effect of aging (for 72 hours at 650 °C) on heat-treated and -rolled samples showed a small decrease in yield strength at 20 °C. A decreasing trend of fracture toughness is observed with the increase in yield strength.

Mixed molybdates of cobaltand nickel with compositional formulae Co1-xNixMoO4 (where x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0) have been synthesized by microwave-assisted co-precipitation method and examined aselectrocatalysts for oxidation of methanol and water and as supercapacitors in 1.0 M KOH.Cyclic (CV) andlinear sweep (LSV) voltammetriesand chronoamperometry techniques were used in the investigation. Structural and surface characterizations of materials were performed by XRD,Raman, SEM, HRTEM andXPS.The study has shown that introduction of Ni for Co in the CoMoO4 matrix increases the catalytic activity towards methanol (164.5 mAcm−2) and water (90 mAcm−2) oxidations, the activity, however, being the greatest with 0.5 mol Ni. Also, the capacitance of this active electrode material (611 Fg-1) was found to be much superior to pure CoMoO4(140.6 Fg-1)or NiMoO4 (89.79 Fg-1).

The rich and renewable source of energy that currently present on the earth in large amount is the biomass. The biomass can store the solar energy that can be further converted into gaseous fuel called “Producer Gas” by the rm-chemical techniques. Major composition of this gas is hydrogen, carbon monoxide and methane. This gas can be used for heat generation and in the internal combustion engine and in other power generation unit, but gas comes out from gasifier having impurities such as tar, particulate matters and poisonous gases including ammonia, hydrochloric acid and sulfur gases, so we need to clean producer gas before using being utilized. In this review the points of interest and hindrances of various gas cooling and cleaning strategies are fundamentally talked about.

Highly dispersed Pd-nanoparticles (NPs) are obtained on CoMoO4-doped graphene nano-sheets (GNS) by microwave-assisted polyol reduction method for use as electrocatalysts for methanol oxidation (MOR) and oxygen reduction (ORR) reactions. The activity of Pd/10 wt%CoMoO4-GNS towards MOR and ORR has been examined by cyclic (CV) and linear sweep (LSV) voltammetries and chronoamperometry measurements in 1 M KOH at 25 °C . The structural characterization of the hybrid catalyst was performed by X-ray diffraction, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Results have shown that the novel Pd/10 wt%CoMoO4-GNS electrode has the MOR and ORR activities superior to Pd/GNS.

We have synthesized 2,5-diformyl-1H-pyrrole bis(methan-1-yl-1-ylidene)dimalonohydrazone (DPBMD) and characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR, UV–Vis, Mass, 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy. Theoretical calculations were performed by ab initio RHF and density functional theory (DFT)/B3LYP method, 6-31G(d,p) and 6-311++G(d,p) basis sets. The calculated scaled vibrational frequency values have been compared with experimental FT-IR spectrum. The calculated result shows excellent agreement between experimental and calculated frequencies at B3LYP method and 6-311++G(d,p) basis set. The thermodynamics properties, NBO, nonlinear optical properties and mulliken charges of DPBMD have also been analyzed. Involvement of nitrogen [N8/N18] and [N14/N24] lone pairs of electron with [π∗(C9–O10), π∗(C6–N7)/π∗(C16–N17), π∗(C19–O20)] and [(π∗(C12–O13)/π∗(C22–O23)] leads to an enormous stabilization of 84.6/84.6 and 64.1/64.1 kcal/mol of the molecule. A combined experimental and theoretical stretching wavenumber symmetric (3003, 3332 cm−1) and asymmetric (3276, 3398 cm−1) analysis confirms free NH2 groups in DPBMD. The calculated first hyperpolarizability (β0 = 5.80 × 10−30 esu) at B3LYP method and 6-311++G(d,p) basis sets indicates that DPBMD can be used as an attractive material for non-linear optical. The electronic descriptor analysis indicates that DPBMD is a good precursor for heterocyclic synthesis and as ligand for metal complex formation. The preliminary bioassay suggested that the DPBMD compound exhibits relatively good antibacterial and fungicidal activity against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Candida albicans, and Aspergillus niger. Keywords: NMR spectroscopy, IR spectroscopy, DFT, NBO

Introduction: Abnormal uterine bleeding is common presentation in gynaecological OPD. Endometrial biopsy is helpful in proper diagnosis and ruling out malignancy. Methods: The present study was cross-sectional in nature conducted upon 164 endometrial specimens of patients suffering from abnormal uterine bleeding to assess the histopathological profile. Profile of patients, symptoms and histopathological findings were noted. Results: 41-50 years was the most common age group (32.9 %). Most common bleeding pattern observed was menorrhagia (26.8%) followed by metrorrhagia (25%). The most common histopathological finding was proliferative phase (25.6%) followed by secretory phase (22.6%). Polyp was present in 7.3% cases and endometrial carcinoma was observed in 2.4% cases. Conclusion: Histopathological assessment of endometrial specimen is helpful in diagnosis in these cases.

In this study, indentations were made on Zr-2.5%Nb pressure tube material to induce multi-axial stress field. An I-shaped punch mark was indented on the Pressure tube material with predefined punch load. Later material was charged with 50 wppm of hydrogen. The samples near the punch mark were metallographically examined for hydrides orientation. It was observed that hydrides exhibited preferentially circumferential orientation far away from the indent to mixed orientation containing both circumferential and radial hydrides near the indent. This is probably as a result of stress field generated by indentation. Extent of radial hydride formation was observed to be varying with indentation load.

Steels for ship building applications has to possess adequate resistance to propagation of fatigue cracks, as majority of the failures in service are due to metal fatigue. In this work, the fatigue crack growth rate (FCGR) behaviour within the Paris regime of two high strength low alloy (HSLA) steels were studied. In particular the experiments were directed to reveal the effect of load ratio(R) (Tension-Tension) on the Paris law constants for the two grades of HSLA steels. Results indicated that there is an increase in Paris slope ‘m’ and decrease in Y intercept ‘C’ with increase in load ratio for both the steels. Fractography study was carried out using SEM at locations corresponding to various values of stress intensity factor in order to reveal possible reasons for acceleration of crack growth with change in R ratio from 0.1 to 0.5. It was found that secondary cracks are predominant in Steel A at a load ratio of R=0.1 as compared to R=0.5. However for Steel B, secondary cracks were found at both the load ratios. From the plot of crack growth ‘a’ vs no. of cycles ‘N’, it became evident, the number of cycles for the same range of crack length is lesser for R=0.1 than that for R=0.5 for both Steel A and Steel B. Limiting values of ‘∆K’ and ‘K’ max has been obtained for various crack growth rates ‘da/dN’ at different load ratio for steel A and steel B.

In the present work, effect of normalizing (950–1050 °C) and tempering (650–700 °C) has been investigated to study the microstructure and mechanical properties of modified 9Cr-1Mo steel (G91) at room temperature (RT) and 650 °C. To improve the high temperature mechanical properties, hot rolling has been done at optimized normalizing and tempering conditions. Microstructural observations show that an increase in tempering temperature leads to decrease in mechanical strength both at RT and 650 °C due to the growth of M23C6 particles, formation of sub-grain boundaries and recovery. G91 steel rolled at 550 °C and tempered at 650 °C is found to have best combination of strength and fracture toughness at RT, which may be attributed to large number of small size of precipitates and increase in dislocation density. However, specimen normalized at 1050 °C and tempered at 650 °C shows more than 70% improvement in tensile strength at 650 °C as compared to as-received condition, which shows that G91 steel is more amenable to precipitation hardening. A typical type of tensile fracture with radial cracks and axial splitting is noticed at RT and − 196 °C. The tendency and severity of such radial cracks and axial splitting are found to be affected by stress triaxiality and test temperature.

Stable carbon isotope analysis is increasingly used in archaeology as an indicator of crop water status and/or water management regime. While the technique shows promise, robust modern baseline studies are required to inform and validate archaeological interpretations. Here, we test stable carbon isotope values as a crop water status proxy in a monsoonal climatic context for the first time. Specifically, we test the relationship between grain stable carbon isotope values (δ13Cgrain), water availability, irrigation and soil type in barley ( Hordeum vulgare L. (Zohary and Hopf.)) in north-west India, with the aim of deriving a locally-appropriate model for isotopic interpretation. We test this relationship across a substantial rainfall gradient (200–1000 mm/year) and find a negative logarithmic relationship between climatic water availability and δ13C. However, there is significant noise in the relationship, and we report δ13Cgrain variation of over 3‰ amongst samples drawn from similar climatic contexts. Soil type, irrigation type and irrigation frequency have no clear modifying effects. We conclude that: (1) barley stable carbon isotope values can act as an archaeological water status proxy in monsoonal areas, but will be most sensitive in areas receiving

This paper presents novel insights into the archaeology of food in ancient South Asia by using lipid residue analysis to investigate what kinds of foodstuffs were used in ceramic vessels by populations of the Indus Civilisation in northwest India. It examines how vessels were used in urban and rural Indus settlements during the Mature Harappan period (c.2600/2500–1900 BC), the relationship between vessels and the products within them, and identifies whether changes in vessel use occurred from the Mature Harappan to Late Harappan periods, particularly during climatic instability after 4.2 ka BP (c.2100 BC). Despite low lipid concentrations, which highlight challenges with conducting residue analysis in arid, seasonally-wet and alkaline environments, 71% of the vessels yielded appreciable quantities of lipid. Lipid profiles revealed the use of animal fats in vessels, and contradictory to faunal evidence, a dominance of non-ruminant fats, with limited evidence of dairy processing. The absence of local modern reference fats makes this dataset challenging to interpret, and it is possible that plant products or mixtures of plant and animal products have led to ambiguous fatty acid-specific isotopic values. At the same time, it appears that urban and rural populations processed similar types of products in vessels, with limited evidence for change in vessel use from the urban to the post-urban period. This study is a systematic investigation into pot lipid residues from multiple sites, demonstrating the potential of the method for examining ancient Indus foodways and the need for the development of further research in ancient organic residues in South Asia., Highlights • Systematic study on ceramic lipid residues from rural and urban sites of the Indus Civilisation in northwest India. • Lipid residue analysis provides chemical evidence for milk, meat, and possible mixtures of products and/or plant consumption. • Similarities in vessel use across settlements suggest common regional culinary practices. • Evidence for continuity in vessel usage practices after the decline of urbanism.

The invention of rotational devices contributed to a range of developments in craft production technology, perhaps most visibly in the various forms of potter's wheels. These technological innovations, and the adoption or non-adoption of those innovations, carry economic and social implications, which are significant for understanding past human behaviour. There has been debate around the introduction and use of the potter’s wheel in South Asia's Indus Civilisation for almost a century, and opinions remain divided. This paper considers the emerging ceramic traditions identified at two Indus settlements in modern Haryana, northwest India. It presents evidence demonstrating that Indus Civilisation potters utilised multiple forming techniques for producing ceramic vessels and explores the evidence for the use of rotational gestures and rotational devices in regional ceramic production industries. Two dominant technological traditions are outlined, along with the implications of this discovery and future research opportunities.

© 2019 IEEE. The ancient Indus was, along with Mesopotamia and Egypt, one of the three so-called cradles of Old World civilisation. Many Indus sites, some of them large urban nuclei such as Harappa and Mohenjo Daro, lie along major river systems that stretch across modern Pakistan and northwest India. The extremely flat physiography of the Indus River floodplain in conjunction with its proximity to the Himalayas and the distribution of winter westerly rain and rain from the Indian Summer Monsoon combine to produce a distinctive environmental zone where water availability is extremely seasonal, has significant variability, and can produce very active fluvial processes. This variability had enormous consequences for early human habitation of the Indus zone. The relict Ghaggar-Hakra and its tributaries, for example, once extended much of the eastern part of the Indus River basin and appear to have supported concentrations of settlements across greater Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan in India and Punjab in Pakistan. This area was a locus for clusters of settlements related to the Indus Civilisation ( fig. 1 ). The Ghaggar-Hakra's middle and lower courses are both flanked and obscured by the advancing dune systems of the Thar Desert of Cholistan.

This article presents a geomorphological and micromorphological study of the locational context of four Indus civilisation archaeological sites—Alamgirpur, Masudpur I and VII, and Burj—all situated on the Sutlej-Yamuna interfluve in northwest India. The analysis indicates a strong correlation between settlement foundation and particular landscape positions on an extensive alluvial floodplain. Each of the analysed sites was located on sandy levees and/or riverbank deposits associated with former channels. These landscape positions would have situated settlements above the level of seasonal floodwater resulting from the Indian summer monsoon. In addition, the sandy soils on the margins of these elevated landscape positions would have been seasonally replenished with water, silt, clay, and fine organic matter, considerably enhancing their capacity for water retention and fertility and making them particularly suitable for agriculture. These former landscapes are obscured by recent modification and extensive agricultural practices. These geoarchaeological evaluations indicate that there is a hidden landscape context for each Indus settlement. This specific type of interaction between humans and their local context is an important aspect of Indus cultural adaptations to diverse, variable, and changing environments.

The precipitation of hydrides normal to the transverse direction in Zr-2.5%Nb pressure tube alloy when cooled under stress above a threshold value, is known as stress reorientation of hydrides. The ex-situ threshold stress values reported in the literature were determined using pre-charged samples heated to a peak temperature to dissolve all the hydrides, cooled to reorientation temperature followed by cooling under stress from reorientation temperature. Leger and Donner performed in-situ reorientation experiments using samples having hydride deposited on its surface. In both cases, hydride reorientation occurred during cooling. In the present investigation, for the first time, experiments were done to study the reorientation phenomenon using in-situ gaseous charging of samples under stress at a constant temperature using a specially designed set up. It is expected that the threshold stress determined by in-situ method used in the present investigation will more closely resemble the formation of radial hydrides under reactor operating conditions. In this work, the threshold stress values for reorientation of hydrides in Zr-2.5%Nb pressure tube material were determined using both in-situ and ex-situ methods.

In the present work, fatigue crack growth (FCG) behavior of modified 9Cr-1Mo steel has been investigated near fatigue threshold and Paris regime at room temperature (RT) and 650 °C. The modified 9Cr-1Mo steel was subjected to normalizing at 1050 °C followed by tempering (650-750 °C) and warm rolling at 550 °C followed by tempering in order to improve its precipitation state and refine microstructure. The microstructural parameters such as grain size, block size, lath width and precipitate size were examined and correlated with FCG and tensile properties of investigated samples. The results showed that decreasing tempering temperature significantly reduces the fatigue threshold at RT while increases the yield strength at elevated temperature (i.e., 650 °C). Increase in fatigue threshold is found to increase with the increase in block size, whereas high density of fine precipitates contributed the high temperature strength. The FCG rate in Paris regime was less affected by heat treatment and rolling process at RT. However, rolled sample tested at 650 °C shows a decrease in FCG rate as compared to heat-treated samples. In terms of higher FCG resistance and yield strength, warm rolling followed by tempering at low temperature (i.e., 700 °C) can be considered optimum. For the numerical simulation of FCG behavior, extended finite element method (XFEM) along with Paris law has been implemented in ABAQUS using python script. The simulated FCG behavior is found in good agreement with the experimental results.