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The persistence of residual infection is one of the major factors in failure of the Global Programme to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (GPELF). The present study aims to explore the status of sheath antibody and regulatory T cells (Tregs) known to play key roles in clearance of parasite and patent filarial infection, in individuals with residual infection after MDA. A total of 61 microfilaremic (Mf) individuals were followed up after at least 6 rounds of MDA. Infection status of subjects was assessed through the detection of Mf and circulating filarial antigen (CFA). Antibodies to Mf sheath were determined by immuno-peroxidase assay (IPA). The expression of Tregs was measured by a flow cytometer. IL-10 and IFN-γ were evaluated using the commercially available ELISA kit. The sheath antibody was present in subjects who have cleared both Mf and CFA and absent in individuals who were found to be Mf /CFA positive. Further individuals carrying infection have significantly high levels of Tregs and IL-10. A positive correlation was observed between Tregs, IL-10, and CFA in infected individuals. In contrast, a negative correlation was observed between IFN-γ and IL-10 in both infected and uninfected subjects. Our study reveals that the absence of a sheath antibody and a high level of Tregs and IL-10 are the hallmarks of the persistence of residual filarial infection.

The emerging field of geometric deep learning extends the application of convolutional neural networks to irregular domains such as graphs, meshes and surfaces. Several recent studies have explored the potential for using these techniques to analyse and segment the cortical surface. However, there has been no comprehensive comparison of these approaches to one another, nor to existing Euclidean methods, to date. This paper benchmarks a collection of geometric and traditional deep learning models on phenotype prediction and segmentation of sphericalised neonatal cortical surface data, from the publicly available Developing Human Connectome Project (dHCP). Tasks include prediction of postmenstrual age at scan, gestational age at birth and segmentation of the cortical surface into anatomical regions defined by the M-CRIB-S atlas. Performance was assessed not only in terms of model precision, but also in terms of network dependence on image registration, and model interpretation via occlusion. Networks were trained both on sphericalised and anatomical cortical meshes. Findings suggest that the utility of geometric deep learning over traditional deep learning is highly task-specific, which has implications for the design of future deep learning models on the cortical surface. The code, and instructions for data access, are available from https://github.com/Abdulah-Fawaz/Benchmarking-Surface-DL.

Damage Tolerance (DT) lifing methodology for aero-engines require the reliability of Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) techniques used. Probability of Detection (POD) for measuring NDT reliability yields the a90/95 (flaw detection with 90% probability and 95% confidence) value. This a90/95 or the largest crack size missed by an NDT technique is in general, incorporated into the DT calculations for estimating the remaining fatigue cycles the component can withstand before failure. Hence, it is essential to estimate the a90/95 value to the closest accuracy. However, the NDT inspection data at a site containing multiple cracks results in ambiguity of HIT/MISS approaches to be adopted for the estimation of POD or a90/95 values. Several approaches were attempted by the researchers to minimize the ambiguity but with limited success due to the restrictions in implementing them. Moreover, to the best of the author’s knowledge, the physical significance of the a90/95 value obtained from different HIT/MISS approaches on the remnant life calculations of aero-engine components was not available in the literature. Therefore, in the current study, physical manifestation of a90/95 in remnant life calculations obtained from the maximum flaw size and sum of flaw sizes approaches for inspection of natural fatigue cracks in a nickel based superalloy using fluorescent penetrant (FPI) and eddy current inspection (ECI) techniques was attempted. It was observed that ECI technique provides the higher number of remnant cycles than the FPI technique due to its higher sensitivity. In addition, it was also observed that regardless of the NDT techniques used, maximum flaw size approach results in higher number of fatigue cycles. However, the actual number of remnant cycles of the component can be exactly known provided the capability of the current NDT techniques in resolving a group of flaws in a particular location is enhanced.

Establishing probability of detection (POD) or reliability of various nondestructive testing (NDT) techniques is essential for implementing damage tolerant (DT) methodology for aero-engines. This POD is usually established with the help of a large number of service expired aero-engine components containing several fatigue cracks. In the absence of such components, artificial defects such as electrical discharge machining (EDM) notches or starter cracks were explored. However, such artificial defects would not meet the key features such as tightness of the fatigue cracks and the possible oxidation in the crack opening and thus, limiting their usage. Therefore, in the current study, an innovative approach of generating fatigue cracks at 650 °C (~ typical aero-engine service temperatures) with key high temperature service degradation aspects of oxidation and fatigue cracking is demonstrated for the first time using Gleeble® test system. Further, POD is estimated by inspecting these laboratory generated fatigue cracks using fluorescent liquid penetrant technique (FLPT) and eddy current technique (ECT) under HIT (defect detected) vs. MISS (defect not detected) and â (signal response) vs. a (crack size) methodologies. The current study also discusses a statistical approach of random generation of crack sizes for use in NDT reliability analysis. In addition, an attempt has been made to understand the effect of a90/95 values on remnant life calculations. It is concluded that the eddy current response of oxidized fatigue cracks results in better (high sensitive) a90/95 values compared to the eddy current response obtained from non-oxidized fatigue cracks.

Agriculture is one of the significant distinct and income creating segment in India. Various seasons and Organic Patterns impact the harvest creation, but since the change in these may bring about a phenomenal misfortune to ranchers. These elements can be limited by utilizing an appropriate methodology identified with the information on soil type, strength, reasonable climate, type of crop. Our aim of Soil Features should meet these fundamental prerequisites, i.e., it needs to discover whether a specific land is versatile for Agriculture, with the ideal conditions for farming, and to improve the precision of the calculations and contrast to locate the best among the three. This encourages us to arrange which land is for Farming and which one is Non Farming. This encourages us to develop crops and do horticulture. The framework is stacked with soil pieces of information like the region, locale it is available, surface of dirt, water system scaling, pivot, yield, soil disintegration, wind disintegration, slant, evacuation, and so forth. The chi-square element calculation is utilized for Feature Extraction, Selection, and Scaling. It diminishes the clamor highlights of the dataset and enhances the highlights for the framework to process. The precision will be created and expanded with the assistance of the calculations like DNN, Random Forest, and Linear Discriminant Analysis. The results show that the proposed conspire isn’t just doable yet additionally assists ranchers with understanding their ecological list of homesteads.

The domed thin steel disc can be designed to act as a sacrificial pressure relief element to burst open at a predefined pressure limit. The deformation, burst, failure pattern and burst time of this disc, under a pressure impulse generated from an air blast, is governed by its score geometry and pattern. This paper analyses the dependence of these failure parameters on the number of scores, i.e. score pattern. The effects are investigated through numerical simulations using a non-linear explicit finite element analysis based on Lagrangean method. The large strain and strain rate hardening are captured through a visco-plastic constitutive model and damage through a continuum damage mechanics based Johnson–Cook model. This study reveals that a number of scores either 2, 3 or 4 may be preferred as far as the low responses in burst parameters are concerned but the selection of a particular number of scores between 2 and 4 depends on the choice of a designer in consideration with other design requirements.

In industry, most of the productive time consumed in material handling and storage, it is necessary to optimize the material handling and storage system. Automated Vertical Storage System (AVSS) is one of the technologies used to store and retrieve the material, tools, and consumable products. This paper summarizes, design of the Automated Vertical Storage System, its advantages and disadvantages. Automated Vertical Storage System has many benefits, including savings in production time, labour costs, improved material flow, and inventory control, improved throughput, high floor-space utilization, safety for workers, and stock rotation. Trays used to store the materials inside the storage system and delivery the materials without any human resources. Automated technologies and vertical storage system will save time and optimizes picking operations. It Saves 90% of floor space; also, it increases accuracy, product security, and ergonomic functions. It uses warehouse management software associate with the system, which will allow easy control and manage material handling and storage trays with inventory management software and all the information of the materials stored in the software for easy usage at a convenient location.

Edible medicinal plants Curcuma longa, Kaempferia galanga and Zingiber officinale are considered to be suitable for pregnant mother and neonates. Their essential oils are claimed to have therapeutic effects, yet its immunomodulatory activities need to be investigated. To validate the immunomodulatory effect, cord blood monocyte cells (CBMCs) treated with different concentrations of essential oils ranging from 0 to 40 µg/ml. K. galanga oil at 40 µg/ml concentrations upregulated IFN-γ at 49.23 pg/ml, while C. longa oil downregulated the IL-10 at 10.45 pg/ml showing immunostimulant activity on CBMCs. However, Z. officinale oil showed no significant result at any concentration. K. galanga and C. longa oils also showed an increase in lymphocyte proliferation in a dose-dependent manner. The present study was aimed to evaluate the immunomodulatory potentialities of essential oils which will attract the interest of researchers and pharmaceutical industries for clinical studies and other applications in the therapy of diseases related to neonatal infections.

NO donor drugs showed a significant therapeutic effect in the treatment of many diseases, such as arteriopathies, various acute and chronic inflammatory conditions, and several degenerative diseases. NO-releasing anti-inflammatory drugs are the prototypes of a novel class of compounds, combining the pharmacological activities of anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive of drugs with those of NO, thus possessing potential therapeutic applications in a great variety of diseases. In this study, we designed and predicted biological activity by targeting cyclooxygenase type 2 (COX-2) and NF-κB subunits and pharmacological profiling along with toxicity predictions of various N-aryl piperamides linked via an ester bond to a spacer that is bound to a NO-releasing moiety (-ONO2). The result of absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion and Docking studies indicated that among 51 designed molecules PA-3'K showed the best binding potential in both the substrate and inhibitory binding pocket of the COX-2 enzyme with affinity values of -9.33 and -5.12 for PDB ID 1CVU and 3LN1, respectively, thereby having the potential to be developed as a therapeutic agent. The results of cell viabilities indicated that PA-3'k possesses the best cell viability property with respect to its dose (17.33 ng/ml), with 67.76% and 67.93% viable cells for CHME3 and SVG cell lines, respectively.

Metallic thermal protection systems are used to protect the airframe and pay load from aerodynamic and aerothermal heating in hypersonic cruise vehicles that are powered with advanced scramjet engines. Metallic thermal protection systems is a composite structure that contains honeycomb sandwich panels at the top and bottom and a variety of thermal insulating materials placed in between them. Several design factors influence the structural and thermal performance of the honeycomb sandwich panels. Panel bending stiffness is one important structural property that is generally estimated using a destructive 3-point or 4-point bending test. In this study, a numerical model based on the impulse excitation nondestructive evaluation technique has been developed to estimate the effect of various design parameters that affect the bending stiffness of the honeycomb sandwich panels. The results obtained are analyzed using standard statistical procedures. A major advantage of this method lies in evaluating the panel stiffness at the design stage without resorting to actual fabrication of the panels for destructive testing.

Early and precise diagnosis of diseases in turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) permits early treatment which can enhance yield and quality of Indian spices. In the present study, polyclonal antibody (pAb) raised against the protein extract from Pythium aphanidermatum was established for the detection of rhizome rot using serological assays. The fungal proteins were recognized by ELISA with high sensitivity (50 ng) and the proteins ranging from 15 to 95 kDa showed immuno-reactivity in Western blot using the developed pAb. Correlation coefficient between infected samples at various stages from different agroclimatic zones with antibody titres was taken as the primary endpoint for standardization of the protocol. Highest positive correlation (r = 0.999) was observed in stage I and II infected samples of North-western zone, whereas low negative correlation (r = −0.284) was found in stage III infected samples of Western zone with developed pAb. Linear positive correlations (R2) exist between antigenic proteins at all the stages of infection and the developed pAb titres. Hence, the developed pAbs could be used to detect the presence of the fungal pathogen at an early stage. These serological approaches allow us to develop a rapid, sensitive, specific and accurate diagnostic kit for early detection of rhizome rot in turmeric.

Epidermal cyst [10] and panniculitis are relatively uncommon conditions [2]. A combination of these arising in the breast is extremely rare. We report a case of epidermal cyst with panniculitis in the breast. A patient presented with a large breast lump of 5 cm in the right breast. Sonography showed a well-defined, central hyperechoic mass. A giant fibroadenoma was suspected clinically and based on imaging. Fine needle aspiration revealed a benign breast lump. The lump was excised, and the specimen revealed an epidermal cyst with panniculitis.

Field experiments were conducted during 2016-17 and 2017-18 crop seasons with twenty test clones viz., Co 0238, Co 0240, Co 06031, Co 09004, Co 11015, Co 13001, Co 13003, Co 13006, Co 13014, Co 13018, Co 13020, Co 13021, Co 14008, Co 14016, Co 14026, Co 15005, Co 15007, Co 15021, Co 16001 and Co 16002 along with three standards viz., Co 86032, Co 0212 and Co 06030 at Ponni Sugar Ltd, Odapalley. On the basis of pooled mean of two plant crop trials and a ratoon trial, clones such as Co 09004, Co 11015, Co 16002 and Co 13001 were identified as early high sucrose clones suitable for early crushing. These clones may be used as potential donors in the hybridization programme for transferring extra earliness and high sucrose trait in high yielding commercial varieties. Based on juice quality characteristics at 300 days and 360 days Co 15007 was identified as mid-late maturing clones. The ratoon performance of Co 14016 was excellent. Co 14016 which recorded significantly higher cane yield (184.72 t/ha) and sugar yield (23.17 t/ha) than the standard Co 86032 (134.02 and 17.73 t/ha respectively) may be used as a parental source for crossing with extra early maturing varieties to improve cane yield and ratoon performance. On the basis of the cane yield and sugar yield at harvest, Co 13014 and Co 15007 were found better than Co 86032. Based on the juice quality traits, Co 15005 and Co 15007 were identified as typical mid-late clones. The variety Co 11015 registered 6.79, 7.56 and 7.02 per cent improvement in sucrose % at 240, 300 and 360 DAP, respectively over Co 86032 which is a remarkable improvement in sugarcane. The mean CCS yield (19.27 t/ha) of Co 11015 was at par with that of the standard Co 86032 (20.54). Therefore, large scale cultivation of this extra early high sugar variety Co 11015 in the north-western region of Tamil Nadu is suggested for improving sugar recovery and profit of the farmers.

Background: Allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) is a disease characterised by an immune mediated response to a substance. The primary prevention remains avoidance of the implicated allergen. This is done with the help of patch test using the Indian Standard series (ISS).Methods: Out of the 246 cases of ACD that came to our Dermatology department, 92 patients were selected and subjected to patch testing using the ISS. Results were read after 48 and 96 hours, interpreted as per ICDRG criteria and were analysed.Results: From 92 patients 59.8% were males and 40.2% were females. Majority of the individuals with ACD who were patch tested belonged to the age range of 21-60 years accounting to 72.8%. The most affected site was the foot. 26.7% showed positivity to Black rubber mix, followed by potassium dichromate 20% and nickel 14.4%. 7.8% produced delayed reactions with positivity revealed at the final reading. One patient gave multiple positive reactions to paraben, PPD and chlorocresol.Conclusions: In the study middle aged males were mostly affected which may be influenced by the sample selected. Black rubber mix was identified as the most frequent sensitizer followed by potassium dichromate which was also implicated as the sensitizer most seen in the unskilled generally. Fragrance mix was responsible for all delayed responses yielding positivity in the second reading. When not considering the negligible left, patch tests’ results could be correlated with the clinical presentations. Patients were treated, educated on ACD and advised to refrain from exposure with suggestions of possible alternatives.

Rituximab is a newly approved biological wonder drug in pemphigus vulgaris -an autoimmune mucocutaneous blistering disease due to antibodies produced against the epidermal adhesion molecules dsg 1 and dsg 2. The conventional therapy included high dose steroids or immunosuppressants that though effective had significant adverse effects that necessitated an alternate path in treatment. We present a case series of five patients in different clinical scenarios diagnosed with pemphigus vulgaris and treated with Rituximab by RA protocol either sole or in combination with other treatment strategies. Our experience with this drug has paved way to immense possibilities and outcomes that are in favour of using Rituximab as first line option. We have encountered prolonged remission in cases that were treated with Rituximab by Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) protocol. The sustained response has helped in reducing the dose of steroids and other immunosuppressants substantially. These facts are reinforced through our observations. But there is need to standardize the dosage of Rituximab in pemphigus.

Background: Treatment of chronic nonhealing cutaneous ulcers is a challenge to clinicians. When wounds fail to achieve sufficient healing after 4 weeks of conventional therapy reassess the underlying pathology and consider advanced therapeutic options. Autologous platelet rich plasma is a novel treatment for nonhealing cutaneous ulcers, which can provide growth factors directly onto the wound.Methods: 34 patients with non-healing cutaneous ulcers satisfying inclusion and exclusion criteria were included in the study. All patients were treated with PRP therapy weekly for 6 weeks. Every week ulcer area and volume was measured and outcome expressed as improvement in area and volume of ulcers before and after PRP therapy.Results: In our study majority were males (64%) and the mean age of population was 51.0±10.4 years. Of 34 patients 18 had venous ulcers. All ulcers healed within 12 weeks and mean duration of healing was 7.51±2.9 weeks. 8 (24.24%) patients had their ulcer completely healed within 6 weeks. Larger ulcers took long duration to heal and smaller ones healed within short duration. The total improvement in area and volume of ulcers was 85.7% and 90.7% (median) respectively at the end of 6 weeks.Conclusions: PRP is an effective, safe, readily available and cheap outpatient procedure which can be widely used for the treatment of chronic recalcitrant ulcers which improves the quality of life and reduces the financial burden of patients. Further research and controlled, randomized prospective clinical trials on larger population are necessary to validate the results.

This study examined the second-language (L2) English abilities of musically trained and untrained primary school children. Participants were tested on the verbal subscales of the Malin’s Intelligence Scale for Indian Children (MISIC) and an English word-reading test. The musically trained participants performed significantly better on the tests of comprehension and vocabulary. This result is in line with the view that music and language share processing resources, as a result of which transfer of learning takes place. When the scores of participants with Indian Classical music training were compared with the scores of the untrained group, the comprehension and vocabulary advantage persisted, indicating that the L2 advantage was not simply an artefact of increased language familiarity that is likely to arise from Western music training.

Aim To report rare findings of oral and periodontal manifestations in a patient with Epidermal nevus syndrome (ENS). Background The ENS describes the rare association of an epidermal nevus with abnormalities of central nervous system, ocular and skeletal abnormalities. Reports of oral involvement have been few. Also, most of the intraoral lesions have been reported in patients with nevi that do not fulfill the criteria for the diagnosis of ENS. Case description This report describes a case of ENS that, in addition to cutaneous manifestations showed skeletal involvement and intraoral manifestations such as the extension of the nevi on the face intraorally involving the labial mucosa, hypoplasia, hypodontia of teeth and severe periodontal destruction. Conclusion Patients with extensive epidermal nevi and systemic abnormalities should be suspected of having the ENS. Evaluation and management of patients with ENS requires a multidisciplinary team approach involving the dermatologist, pediatrician, ophthalmologist, neurologist, genetist, plastic surgeon and orthopedic services. Although uncommonly described in association with ENS, significant intraoral lesions do occur. Periodontal manifestations as in our patient, which to our knowledge has not been described in association with ENS so far, may also be present. Clinical relevance Alteration of the response of periodontal tissues to dental plaque in the presence of certain systemic diseases has been reported, but not in association with ENS. Severe periodontal destruction due to exaggerated response to dental plaque was seen in the present case. Hence, emphasis on oral hygiene maintenance in such patients is essential. Patients with ENS must be evaluated periodically as they show a persistent predisposition for the development of tumors How to cite this article Baliga V, Gopinath VPK, Baliga S, Ramachandra SS, Jithendra KD, Shetty S. Intraoral Manifestations in a Patient with Epidermal Nevus Syndrome . J Contemp Dent Pract 2013;14(4):762-765.

Fungal diseases in commercially important plants results in a significant reduction in both quality and yield, often leading to the loss of an entire plant. In order to minimize the losses, it is essential to detect and identify the pathogens at an early stage. Early detection and accurate identification of pathogens can control the spread of infection. The present article provides a comprehensive overview of conventional methods, current trends and advances in fungal pathogen detection with an emphasis on biosensors. Traditional techniques are the "gold standard" in fungal detection which relies on symptoms, culture-based, morphological observation and biochemical identifications. In recent times, with the advancement of biotechnology, molecular and immunological approaches have revolutionized fungal disease detection. But the drawback lies in the fact that these methods require specific and expensive equipments. Thus, there is an urgent need for rapid, reliable, sensitive, cost effective and easy to use diagnostic methods for fungal pathogen detection. Biosensors would become a promising and attractive alternative, but they still have to be subjected to some modifications, improvements and proper validation for on-field use.

Bearing retainer instability is one of the major causes of failure in the ball bearings used in spacecraft systems. These bearing failures lead to mission failure or performance degradation of the spacecraft. The instability is characterized by intermittent torque fluctuations and severe audible noise in both low- and high-speed bearings. It also generates severe transient forces that result in high cage wear or fracture. A series of retainer designs was made and the possibility of instability under various operating conditions of a momentum/reaction wheel used in a spacecraft was studied. Various tests such as run-in test, temperature test, and overlubrication test were conducted to study the instability and select a design that is stable under all operating conditions. The study results showed that square pocket retainers are more stable compared to circular pocket retainers. � 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

Mass properties of aerospace vehicle viz Weight, Center of Gravity (Xcg, Ycg, Zcg) & Mass Moment of Inertia (Ixx, Iyy & Izz) are critical inertial parameters which are vital to meet the intended mission objectives. Accurate mass properties measurement is needed for fast maneuvering aerospace vehicles to meet the Control and Guidance requirements within the tolerable limits generated by the System Designer. Mass properties estimation is vital during the configuration design phase of an aerospace vehicle. Assumptions and Constraints during the configuration design, limits the accuracy of estimations making the mass properties measurement mandatory. The mass properties of the aerospace vehicle can be measured by numerous methods, but for achieving high accuracies within the tolerable limits, the measurement system should have advanced technologies and measurement methodologies. Based on the experience, mass properties measurement systems were designed using Load Cells and Cross-Flexural Pivots in two different systems (Weight and CG in System-1, MOI in System-2), which have limited accuracy and also involves tedious external measurements. Adopting Air-Bearing (T / H / Spherical shape) supported with accurate sensors using Inverted Torsion Pendulum method, Multiple Point Weighing method and a proper measurement methodology, enhances the accuracy of the measurement system. Usage of spherical bearing yields a better accurate system but has the difficulty in realization of the system indigenously, whereas use of T or H-shape bearing is a feasible solution for achieving the desired accurate mass properties specifications. This paper gives an insight into to the product design aspects to be considered for realization of accurate mass properties measurement system.

Mycetoma or Madura foot is a chronic localized granulomatous infection caused by varied species of fungi or actinomycetes clinically diagnosed by active discharging sinuses containing ‘grains’. In atypical presentations or patients unwilling for invasive investigations, imaging essentially plays a key role in diagnosis and helps to differentiate actinomycetoma from eumycetoma. Here we present such an atypical case of unilateral foot swelling without sinuses–cryptic mycetoma. This 69 year old male from Kerala had a swelling over the left foot following trauma initially painless. An x-ray taken showed normal underlying bones with mild soft tissue swelling. To evaluate further USG was taken which showed fine hyperechoiec foci settled at the bottom of cavities highly suggestive of mycetoma. For confirmation USG guided biopsy was taken but was inconclusive. As patient was not willing for repeat biopsy, we advised non invasive MRI that revealed classical ‘Dot In Circle’ sign specific for mycetoma. The distinction that makes the case stand out is its absence of classical picture of discharging sinuses and the fact that imaging rather than histopathology helped confirm the diagnosis in mycetoma.

Data mining is the way toward gathering information from various setting and condenses them into helpful data. Information mining can be utilized to decide the connection between inside elements and outside elements .It permits the clients to investigate, order and decides the connections deduced in them. Content mining as a rule alluded to as content information mining can be utilized be utilized to concentrate data from content. Content mining can be utilized as a part of data recovery, design acknowledgment and information mining systems. The presentation of online networking and interpersonal organizations has changed the open doors accessible for us as well as we should be careful about the dangers. Late explores demonstrate that the quantity of wrongdoings are expanding through online web-based social networking and they may bring about enormous misfortune to associations. Existing digital advancements are not viable to secure organizations. Existing mining techniques focus on dictionaries in which they can distinguish just a predetermined number of relations. Here a hereditary calculation approach is presented in which inert ideas can be removed. Hereditary Calculation is a straight pursuit which requires just little data from vast hunt zone.. At that point these ideas are subjected to separate the semantics which construes the comparing connections. Hereditary calculation gives a superior arrangement in which exactness and time effectiveness can be moved forward. The principle commitment of the paper demonstrates that they distinguish the relating cybercriminal systems.

To enhance the mobility of combat tracked vehicles, a high-powered compact power pack is crucial. To achieve this goal, it is planned to apply the concept of high-contact-ratio (HCR) gearing to an independent final-drive planetary gear assembly of the tracked vehicle transmission. Before applying the concept to the final-drive, the performances of both normal-contact-ratio (NCR) and HCR conventional parallel shaft spur gearing systems are evaluated and compared. The results show that, for the same torque, HCR gears are subjected to lower loads and endure almost double the life of NCR gears. This reveals that an HCR gear can transmit more power for the same size. Furthermore, the power loss, vibration, and noise level of the HCR gearing are significantly lower than those of the NCR gearing. The proven results of the case study have encouraged the replacement of the existing NCR gearing with the HCR gearing for the final-drive planetary assembly of the combat tracked vehicle for evaluation.

The navigation, guidance and control (NGC) system of Reusable Launch Vehicle – Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD) is the most complex system ever flown in ISRO’s launches. It includes a navigation system employing traditional inertial navigation system along with global positioning system aiding and radar altimeter, ceramic servo accelerometer package, angle of attack-based control, different control systems, including secondary injection thrust vector control, reaction control system and aero control surfaces. Closed loop simulations of integrated NGC system of RLV-TD are of utmost importance to ensure mission success by assessment of system performance in nominal and off-nominal flight conditions. Validation is achieved through progressive evaluations in different levels of integrated simulation, namely autonomous simulations, software in loop simulation, on-board processor in loop simulation, hardware in loop simulation and actuator in loop simulation using Iron Bird test facility. This article discusses the overall NGC system, challenges faced during the realization of the simulation test bed, including system design to validate the new on-board elements, commissioning of Iron Bird facility and validation through various phases of simulation. The outcome of these simulations played a crucial role in bringing about improvements and helping in the evolution of the on-board system to the final configuration, ensuring the success of the mission.

The success of a spacecraft mission depends to a great extent on the performance of the moving mechanical systems. The most common mode of failure in these systems is tribological. Tribological failures occur mainly due to non availability of lubricant at the working zone of the bearings as a result of degradation, evaporation and creep. The life of these moving mechanical systems could be extended, if lubricant is replenished by some means. This paper describes the development of a positive lubrication system named as command lubrication system (CLS). This is an active lubrication system which when actuated by external commands delivers lubricant to the bearings. It is actuated only when there is a demand for lubricant indicated by increase in frictional torque or bearing temperature. The outstanding feature of this system is that the lubricant is stored under ambient pressure and hence less chance of leakage. The CLS can solve the lubrication problem of spacecraft systems which require very long mission life of more than 20 years. It is also suitable to tribosystems in terrestrial devices.

The success of any satellite mission largely depends upon the performance of the attitude control systems such as gyroscopes and momentum/reaction wheels. The required life and performance quality of these rotating mechanisms are ensured by the selection of bearings and its lubrication. The design and development of lubrication system to meet the long-term uninterrupted performance is a challenging task before the tribologists. This article describes the developmental study of a lubrication system for long-term requirements of momentum/reaction wheels. The developed system is compact and can be placed inside the bearing unit assembly. It works on centrifugal force and able to supply lubricant continuously at a very low rate of few micrograms per hour for many years. Further, the system can be tuned for any flow rate depending on the requirement. � 2008 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

To determine the rolling contact fatigue (RCF) strength of cryogenic treated gear and bearing steels, an experimental test rig based on nut-cracker mechanism is designed and developed in the laboratory. The test rig is designed for variable load, speed and lubrication condition. The failure monitoring is done using signals acquired from vibration and sound of the contacting rollers. The online monitoring and post processing of the signals is done in LabView and MatLab software, respectively. In the experimental studies, the effectiveness of the vibration and sound signals as a condition monitoring tool in predicting RCF failure is analyzed.

Cervical cancer is the most common cancer in woman worldwide. Through proper screening this cancer can be prevented in its early stage. The study was conducted to assess the effect of video assisted teaching on knowledge and attitude regarding prevention and early detection of cervical cancer among housewives of selected area under CHC Palathara, Kollam. The objectives were to assess, correlate the pre and post interventional knowledge and attitude and find out association of the pre and post interventional knowledge and attitude on prevention and early detection of cervical cancer with selected demographic variables of housewives. The method used in the study is pre experimental one group pretest posttest design. Majority (66.67%) of the housewives had inadequate and 33.33% had moderately adequate pre interventional knowledge and none had adequate knowledge. Following the video assisted teaching the knowledge and attitude of the housewives were assessed after one week. Majority (97%) of the housewives gained adequate knowledge and 3% still had moderately adequate knowledge. Assessment of the pre interventional level of attitude revealed that majority of the housewives, 63.33% had unfavourable attitude and 36.67% had neutral attitude. After the intervention assessment revealed that majority 96.67% of the housewives gained favourable attitude and 3.33% gained moderate attitude. The difference between pre and post interventional scores of knowledge and attitude were significant. There was a positive correlation of knowledge with attitude. When associated with selected demographic variables, pre interventional knowledge had association with education and pre interventional attitude had association with family income and previous exposure to information. From the results, it was concluded that the intervention was effective. However, housewives need constant reinforcement for the uptake of screening measures. So, nurses have a key role to improve knowledge and attitude of the community towards the screening programme

Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) have become important in the discourse amongst nations as it may have substantial bearing on the wealth of nations in the future. Computer software is an important component of these new types of property. Since developing countries have some of the factors of production in software and certain developing countries have made significant investments in education, it has become critical to study the impact of IPR on developing countries. In this paper, we investigate IPR in computer software and their implications for developing countries (sometimes with specific reference to India), especially in the context of the GATT/TRIPs agreement that was recently concluded at Marrakesh.

Managing congestion in the ERCOT system has significantly progressed in the last several years. Using its breaker model as a backbone, the ERCOT ISO has implemented the use of its State Estimator and a Transmission Constraint Manager to mitigate congestion by analyzing contingencies and potential Remedial Action Plans. Defining contingencies requires close communication and coordination between ERCOT and the TSPs or resource owners. This provides an efficient means to balance reliability and economics and has improved the effectiveness of identifying, analyzing and managing contingencies for the Control Room Operator. Operations Support staff must also be vigilant in ensuring that the models and all input data into the ERCOT systems and network applications are accurate to ensure proper monitoring of the grid to prevent inefficiencies in the dispatch of generation to relieve post-contingency overloads. This paper discusses the implementation of Real-Time Contingency Analysis in ERCOT Control Center for Nodal Market.

Laser microdrilling is the process of material removal by ablation using focused laser pulses. With brief preamble on laser system, how a micro-orifice is created successfully on 50mu;m thick copper foil using modified Nd:YAG ophthalmic laser is elucidated. The micro-orifice is required to control the flow of lubricant from the centrifugal lubricator used in spacecraft moving mechanisms. The orifices are characterized using scanning electron microscope (SEM), and the process parameters are optimized. Orifices from 1.5mu;m to 2.7mu;m diameter are produced. The work is further extended to drill microholes in 60mu;m copper wire. It is observed that the bead formed at melt zone near the hole can be conveniently used for microjoining. Copyright � Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

The success of a spacecraft mission depends to a great extent on the performance of the moving mechanical systems. The most common mode of failure in these systems is tribological. Tribological failures occur mainly due to nonavailability of lubricant at the working zone of the bearings as a result of degradation, evaporation, and creep. The life of these moving mechanical systems could be extended if lubricant is replenished by some means. Therefore, to ensure long-term uninterrupted performance of these systems, an efficient lubricant replenishment system is essential. This article describes the development of a novel lubricant supply system that can supply lubricant for more than 30 years at a controlled rate of a few micrograms/hour. Experimental evaluation of the lubricator was carried out under different operating conditions experienced in a spacecraft. The results of the experiments are compared with the theoretical results obtained from the mathematical model and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation. The lowest flow rate obtained was 3.5 ug/h from a lubricator with a flow control orifice diameter of 2.3 um. The results of the study show that the lubricator can provide a long-term uninterrupted supply of lubricant to the moving mechanical systems for a period of more than 30 years. An outstanding and most promising feature of this lubricator is that the flow rate at various stages of the life can be theoretically predicted using the developed mathematical model and the prediction can be experimentally verified before the system is put into service. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Spacecraft, irrespective of their mission's purpose, contain a number of moving mechanical assemblies such as momentum/reaction wheels, control moment gyros, solar array drives, etc. Most problems encountered with these moving systems are related to tribology and, specifically, lubrication. Lubrication problems result from the loss of lubricant from the working zone by evaporation, surface migration, etc. Therefore, to ensure long-term uninterrupted performance of these systems, an efficient lubricant replenishment system is essential. This article describes the development of a novel lubricant supply system that can supply lubricant for more than 30 years at a controlled rate of few micrograms/hour. A mathematical model of a such lubrication system is developed to predict its useful life and performance. In addition, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation study of the lubricator is carried out and the results are used to verify and refine the theoretical model. Finally, the refined model is used to predict the performance of the lubricator for a period of 30 years. � Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers.

Momentum wheels are spacecraft actuators of large angular momentum used for the attitude control and stabilization of spacecrafts. The on-orbit performance of spacecrafts depends largely on the performance of the momentum wheels which in turn depends on its bearings and its lubrication. Currently, the life cycle of spacecrafts are aimed to be around 20-30 years. However, the increases in size, complexity and life expectancy of spacecrafts demand advanced technologies especially in tribology and in turn the development of more innovative lubrication systems for long-term operation. This article reviews the tribological requirements of momentum wheels and the various lubrication systems used in the past and raises a necessity to develop a new system to cope with the new requirements. � 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Denial-of-service (DoS) attacks form a very important category of security threats that are prevalent in MIPv6 (mobile internet protocol version 6) today. Many schemes have been proposed to alleviate such threats, including one of our own [9]. However, reasoning about the correctness of such protocols is not trivial. In addition, new solutions to mitigate attacks may need to be deployed in the network on a frequent basis as and when attacks are detected, as it is practically impossible to anticipate all attacks and provide solutions in advance. This makes it necessary to validate the solutions in a timely manner before deployment in the real network. However, threshold schemes needed in group protocols make analysis complex. Model checking threshold-based group protocols that employ cryptography have not been successful so far. Here, we propose a new simulation based approach for validation using a tool called FRAMOGR that supports executable specification of group protocols that use cryptography. FRAMOGR allows one to specify attackers and track probability distributions of values or paths. We believe that infrastructure such as FRAMOGR would be required in future for validating new group based threshold protocols that may be needed for making MIPv6 more robust.

Block multithreaded architectures tolerate large memory and synchronization latencies by switching contexts on every remote-memory-access or on a failed synchronization request. We study the performance of a waiting mechanism called switch-blocking where waiting threads are disabled (but not unloaded) and signalled at the completion of the wait in comparison with switch-spinning where waiting threads poll and execute in a round-robin fashion. We present an implementation of switch-blocking on a simulator for Alewife (a block multithreaded machine) for both remote memory accesses and synchronization operations and discuss results from the simulator. Our results indicate that switch-blocking has the same problems that switch-spinning has under heavy lock contention and that support for switch-blocking for remote memory accesses may not be judicious at current range of memory access times but may be so in the future due to its strong interactions with synchronization operations.