bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Rare Abnormality of the Posterior Fossa: Unilateral İsolated Cerebellar Hypoplasia
Authors: Keçeli Merter
Published: June 2020

The cerebellum abnormalities may be hypoplastic, dysplastic, or hypoplastic. It is very rare that the cerebellar hemisphere is affected unilaterally in the posterior fossa abnormalities. The reason for this effect is mostly sequela. This pathology presents with neuromotor developmental abnormalities. In this presentation, isolated left cerebellar hypoplasia is described radiologically in a 21-month-old male patient with neuromotor development defects. Dysplastic appearance was noticeable in the observable part of the left cerebellar hemisphere and folia. The cerebellar vermis could not be shaped. The right cerebellar hemisphere, other posterior fossa formations, and supratentorial area were natural. In patients with neuromuscular abnormalities, the posterior fossa is applied with care. It should be remembered that cerebellar hypoplasia and dysplasia can be unilateral.
Prevalence of Intracranial Aneurysms in Patients with Infrarenal Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms: A Multicenter Experience
Authors: Erben Young , Da Rocha-Franco Joao A. , Ball Colleen T. , Barrett Kevin M. , Freeman William D. , Lin Michelle , Tawk Rabih , Huang Josephine F. , Vibhute Prasana , Oderich Gustavo , Miller David A. , Farres Houssam , Davila Victor , Money Samuel R. , Meltzer Andrew J. , Hakaim Albert G. , Brott T.G. , Meschia James F.
Published: June 2020

Prior studies suggest high prevalence of intracranial aneurysms (IA) in patients with infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA). We reviewed our multicenter experience in clinical detection/treatment of IAs in AAA patients and estimated the risk of IA in patients with AAA relative to patients without AAA. We reviewed cases of vascular surgery infrarenal AAA repairs at three Mayo Clinic sites from January 1998 to December 2018. Concurrent controls were randomly matched in a 1:1 ratio by age, sex, smoking history, and head imaging characteristics. Conditional logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios. We reviewed 2,300 infrarenal AAA repairs. Mean size of AAA at repair was 56.9 ± 11.4 mm; mean age at repair, 75.8 ± 8.0 years. 87.5% of the cases (n = 2014) were men. Head imaging was available in 421 patients. Thirty-seven patients were found to have 45 IAs for a prevalence of 8.8%. Mean size of IA was 4.6 ± 3.5 mm; mean age at IA detection, 72.0 ± 10.8 years. Thirty (81%) out of 37 patients were men. Six patients underwent treatment for IA: four for ruptured IAs and two for unruptured IAs. All were diagnosed before AAA repair. Treatment included five clippings and one coil-assisted stenting. Time from IA diagnosis to AAA repair was 16.4 ± 11.0 years. Two of these patients presented with ruptured AAA, one with successful repair and a second one that resulted in death. Odds of IA were higher for patients with AAA versus those without AAA (8.8% [37/421] vs. 3.1% [13/421]; OR 3.18; 95% confidence interval, 1.62–6.27, p < 0.001). Co-prevalence of IA among patients with AAA was 8.8% and is more than three times the rate seen in patients without AAA. All IAs were diagnosed prior to AAA repair. Surveillance for AAA after IA treatment could have prevented two AAA ruptures and one death.
Can Early Clinical Status Predict Outcomes in Extremely Low Birth Weight Neonates?
Authors: Kumar MK Alok , Pournami Femitha , Venkata Sujith Kumar Reddy Gurram , Nandakumar Anand , Prabhakar Jyothi , Jain Naveen
Published: June 2020

Background Extremely low birth weight (ELBW) neonates are the sickest patrons of neonatal intensive care. Authors have attempted to predict outcomes based on perinatal factors very soon after birth. Allowing a longer duration for clinical assessment may permit meaningful assessments. Postponing these predictions to several weeks does not offer succour.

Methods We retrospectively studied association of predefined perinatal factors and clinical status of 53 ELBW infants in the first 72 hours of life; with death or continued need for respiratory support at 4 weeks of life separately (RS4).

Results Mean and standard deviations of birth weight and gestational age were 781.8 (±130.7) g (range: 510–990 g) and 26.4 (±1.5) weeks (range: 24–30 weeks), respectively; 32.9% were < 750 g at birth. Of the 53 neonates, 20.7% babies expired and 47.1% required RS4 (66% neonates suffered composite outcome of death/RS4). Need for > 0.3 fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2) beyond 72 hours of life demonstrated strong association with death/RS4 (odds ratio [OR] 14.3; 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.2–63.0). Need for chest compression (OR 15.3; 95% CI 1.4–167.2) and shock (OR 14.2; 95% CI 2.7–72.8) were significantly associated with mortality.

Conclusion FiO2 requirement of > 0.3 at 72 hours reasonably predicts death or dependence on respiratory supports at 4 weeks of life.
Navigating the Myriad of von Willebrand Factor Assays
Authors: Favaloro Emmanuel J.
Published: June 2020

von Willebrand factor (VWF) represents a large and complex adhesive plasma protein whose main function is to provide a bridge between blood platelets and damaged endothelium, and thus facilitate primary hemostasis. VWF also binds to FVIII, preventing early proteolysis, and delivers this cargo to sites of vascular injury, thereby promoting clot formation and secondary hemostasis. An absence, deficiency, or defect in VWF can lead to a bleeding diathesis called von Willebrand disease (VWD), considered the most common inherited bleeding disorder. Contemporary laboratory assays used in VWD diagnosis/exclusion comprise a myriad of assays that identify the quantity (level) of VWF, as well as the multitude of VWF activities. These may use the following test abbreviations: VWF:Ag, VWF:RCo, VWF:CB, VWF:GPIbR, VWF:GPIbM, VWF:FVIIB, VWF:Ab. The current review explains what these assays are, as well as their place in VWD diagnostics.
A method for approximate computation of waveguide scattering matrices
Authors: Plamenevskii B. A. , Poretskii A. S. , Sarafanov O. V.
Published: June 2020

A waveguide occupies a domain in an

-dimensional Euclidean space which has several cylindrical outlets to infinity. Three classes of waveguides are considered: those of quantum theory, of electromagnetic theory, and of elasticity theory, described respectively by the Helmholtz operator, the Maxwell system, and the system of equations for an elastic medium. It is assumed that the coefficients of all problems stabilize exponentially at infinity, to functions that are independent of the axial variable in the corresponding cylindrical outlet. Each row of the scattering matrix is given approximately by minimizing a quadratic functional. This functional is constructed by use of an elliptic boundary value problem in a bounded domain obtained by cutting the cylindrical outlets of the waveguide at some distance

. The existence and uniqueness of a solution is proved for each of the three types of waveguides. The minimizers converge exponentially fast as functions of

, as

, to rows of the scattering matrix.

Bibliography: 47 titles.
Non-uniform Kozlov–Treschev averagings in the ergodic theorem
Authors: Bogachev V. I.
Published: June 2020

Generalizations and refinements are given for results of Kozlov and Treschev on non-uniform averagings in the ergodic theorem in the case of operator semigroups on spaces of integrable functions and semigroups of measure-preserving transformations. Conditions on the averaging measures are studied under which the averages converge for broad classes of integrable functions.

Bibliography: 96 items.
Quadratic conservation laws for equations of mathematical physics
Authors: Kozlov V. V.
Published: June 2020

Linear systems of differential equations in a Hilbert space are considered that admit a positive-definite quadratic form as a first integral. The following three closely related questions are the focus of interest in this paper: the existence of other quadratic integrals, the Hamiltonian property of a linear system, and the complete integrability of such a system. For non-degenerate linear systems in a finite-dimensional space essentially exhaustive answers to all these questions are known. Results of a general nature are applied to linear evolution equations of mathematical physics: the wave equation, the Liouville equation, and the Maxwell and Schrödinger equations.

Bibliography: 60 titles.
A long birth
Authors: Nesset Tore
Published: June 2020

This article investigates the diachronic development of Russian numeral constructions consisting of a paucal numeral (dva“two”,tri“three”,četyre“four”) followed by an adjective and a noun. Based on statistical analysis of more than 6,000 corpus examples, it is shown that a split took place in the second half of the twentieth century when feminine nouns developed a different agreement pattern from that of masculine and neuter nouns. This split is argued to represent the final step in a long “birth process” of gender-specific paucal constructions that started with the loss of the dual in the Middle Ages. It is suggested that we are witnessing a cascading effect, whereby the feminine pattern develops when the pattern for masculine and neuter nouns is approaching stabilization. The article furthermore includes a discussion of the hypothesis that “S-curves” represent a template for language change. While the documented changes resemble S-curves, the proposed analysis also addresses some general problems with testing the S-curve hypothesis empirically.
Universal bounds for imaging in scattering media*
Authors: Byrnes Niall , Foreman Matthew R
Published: June 2020

In this work we establish universal ensemble independent bounds on the mean and variance of the mutual information and channel capacity for imaging through a complex medium. Both upper and lower bounds are derived and are solely dependent on the mean transmittance of the medium and the number of degrees of freedom N. In the asymptotic limit of large N, upper bounds on the channel capacity are shown to be well approximated by that of a bimodal channel with independent identically Bernoulli distributed transmission eigenvalues. Reflection based imaging modalities are also considered and permitted regions in the transmission-reflection information plane defined. Numerical examples drawn from the circular and DMPK random matrix ensembles are used to illustrate the validity of the derived bounds. Finally, although the mutual information and channel capacity are shown to be non-linear statistics of the transmission eigenvalues, the existence of central limit theorems is demonstrated and discussed.
Digital picture watermarking technique for security applications
Authors: Swapna B , Kamalahasan M , Srinidhi S , Sowmiya S , Vasanth S , Divyabharathi P Sri
Published: June 2020

Digital picture watermarking is employed to stay secret the proprietary info as a watermark within a digital image, to spot the possession. This method has relevancy to any or all pictures. Separate trigonometric function transform (DCT) is employed before inserting the watermark within the host image. The host picture is isolated into 8×8 non-covering hinders preceding DCT application, and therefore the watermark bit is inserted by dynamic distinction between DCT coefficients of contiguous squares. Arnold transform is employed even so disorderly encoding to feature 2-fold block safeguard to the watermark. 3 distinctive variations of the planned calculation are tried and stone-broke down. The reenactment results demonstrate that the planned set up is powerful to the overwhelming majority of the image making ready tasks like JPEG pressure, honing, trimming, middle separating, and so on. To approve the proficiency of the planned technique, the recreation results are contrasted and sure condition of-workmanship systems. The examination results represent that the planned set up performs higher as so much as power, security and imperceptivity. Given the advantages of the planned set up, it alright could also be used in applications like e-social insurance and telemedicine to smartly hide out electronic eudemonia records in therapeutic footage.
Magnitude estimation of the 1900 earthquake in Venezuela based on its coseismic effects
Authors: Vásquez R , Guzmán A L , Rodríguez J A , Colón S , Audemard F , Cabas Mauricio
Published: June 2020

The 29 October, 1900, earthquake occurred in Venezuela triggered six landslides and six liquefactions located in the center-north region of Venezuela and La Tortuga island. Due to the location of the coseismic effects, the barycenter and the focal depth related to this earthquake, it was possible to calculate the magnitude by using several statistical methods. The results show a magnitude in the range 7.4-7.7 Mw, with an average value equal to 7.6 Mw, which is consistent with the instrumental magnitude of 7.6 Mwobtained by Fiedler (1988) and the macrosismic magnitude by Vásquezet al.(2018) equal to 7.5 ± 0.3 Mw estimated by using the Bakun and Wentworth (1997) method.
Finite element analysis of square ring shape force transducer
Authors: Pratap Singh Ajay , Pradhan Dhananjay
Published: June 2020

Force transducer is an important component used for force measurement in many industrial applications. A unique material PC - ABS by 3-D printing is used for numerical investigation for square ring force transduce. This study elaborated the procedure of FEA for a force transducer of 3-D printed material with 1750 N nominal capacity.
Characteristics of ZrB2-ZrO2-MoSi2-Al coating on carbon/carbon composite obtained by a new multi-chamber detonation accelerator
Authors: Kovaleva M G , Goncharov I Yu , Novikov V Yu , Yapryntsev M N , Vagina O N , Pavlenko I N , Sirota V V , Tyurin Yu N , Kolisnichenko O V
Published: June 2020

The ZrB2-ZrO2-MoSi2-Al coating was prepared by a new multi-chamber detonation accelerator on carbon/carbon (C/C) composites without adhesion sublayer. The microstructure of the coating showed the laying characteristics of completely molten and partially molten areas had as lamellar-like structure. The coating was dense, homogeneous, and well connected with C/C composite substrate without sublayer. Void content in coating is 0.5±0.05% as determined by image analysis.
Data on the corrosion resistance as-received, annealed and quenched 1060 aluminum alloy in dilute H2SO4 and HCl acid concentrations
Authors: Loto Roland T , Loto Cleophas , Ayeoritsenogun Igbogbo Emilia
Published: June 2020

The effect of annealing and quenching heat treatment processes on the corrosion resistance of 1060 aluminum alloy was studied by weight loss method in 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2M H2SO4 and HCl acid media. Alteration of the microstructural constituents of the alloy significantly influenced its corrosion resistance. Data obtained confirmed that quenched aluminum depicted the highest corrosion resistance with highest corrosion rate value of 0.00149 mm/y and 0.02151 mm/y from 2 M H2SO4 and HCl solution. Annealed aluminum exhibited the lowest corrosion resistance with optimal corrosion rates of 0.00768 mm/y and 0.02792 mm/y. Corrosion resistance of as-received aluminum was observed to be intermediate between the values obtained for quenched and annealed aluminum alloy. Annealed AL1060 exhibited the highest standard deviation value in H2SO4 while quenched AL1060 exhibited the highest values in HCl solution. Mean values generally increased with increase in acid solution for the as-received, annealed and quenched AL1060. Statistical data from analysis of variance (ANOVA) shows acid concentration is the statistically relevance sources of variation influence the the corrosion behaviour of as-received, annealed and quenched AL1060 in H2SO4 and HCl solution. The statistical relevance values for acid concentration obtained in H2SO4 solution 83.40%, 97.04% and 89.29% while the corresponding values in HCl solution are 97.94%, 99.29% and 96.07%. The values for exposure time were calculated to be statistically irrelevant in both acids.
Green composite materials for green technology in the automotive industry
Authors: Kurien Rittin Abraham , Selvaraj D Philip , Sekar M , Koshy Chacko Preno
Published: June 2020

The utilization of inexhaustible assets is a significant achievement towards viable individual versatility. Using natural fibers is a worthwhile input towards the ecological mindful of individual transportation. There were numerous advantages related with green initiative which includes better acoustic properties, weight and cost saving potential along with better working conditions. This research contributes a review in the expansive field of green composites searching out for materials with possibilities to be applied on vehicle body parts. The usefulness of the regular fiber composites for car industry was outlined. In addition, this work distinguishes a different method for assessing natural fiber composites compared with general desired criteria. This leads to a situation that natural fiber is no longer an environmental waste by its large scale industrial application which is being discussed here. Here different criteria levels were given to the categorize natural fibers. This criteria serves as a basic tool for the engineers while selecting the natural fiber composites based on its practical application. The automobile business is in the driving seat of green composites since it is here that the need is most prominent. Today we’re not offering materials that will change the landscape in the way that metal replacement did, but we are beginning to offer natural fiber composites that will present improvements, particularly in areas such as impact resistance, chemical resistance and, in some cases, process cost.
Machine vision based interferometry for measurement of flatness error in micro and nano manufacturing
Authors: Dabreo Prince W , Joshi Ketaki N , Patil Bhushan T , Kokate Meera B
Published: June 2020

Interferometer and machine vision both are very trending technologies in the manufacturing industry for quality inspection purpose. Interferometers are commonly used to measure surface contour, flatness, surface finish. Machine vision also plays a vital role in the evaluation of the surface quality and surface profile of components under inspection. In this paper, a combination of interferometer and machine vision principles is used to count the number of fringes to determine taper angle and parallelism error in micro and nanometer range. An interferogram is captured by a camera and image acquisition algorithm. Image processing algorithms are used to count the number of fringes and calculating taper angle as well as flatness (parallelism) error for slip gauge surface.
Design of a 1-3 smart viscoelastic composite layer for augmented constrained layer damping treatment of plates
Authors: Gupta Abhay , Rajidi Shashidhar Reddy , Panda Satyajit
Published: June 2020

In the present work, damping performance of plate with constrained 1-3 smart viscoelastic composite (SVC) layer is studied. The 1-3 SVC is formed through the inclusion of piezoelectric patches within pure viscoelastic material (VEM) phase. The overall structural plate is modelled using finite element method. First, the characteristics of in-plane normal strain and transverse shear strain of overall structural plate are examined. Then, in order to study the dynamic performance, the optimal dimensions of present 1-3 SVC strips are determined using direct search method. There is significant improvement in damping with respect to pure VEM. Both extensional and shear counterparts of modal loss factor increase. These results express that 1-3 SVC may be a useful damping layer in the constrained layer damping treatment of overall structural plates..
Dynamic quality prediction and control in rotary sponge iron kilns
Authors: Meher Shibu , Choudhary Puneet , Vempati Vijay Surya , Deo Brahma , Chattopadhyay Partho
Published: June 2020

The quality of sponge iron produced in the coal-fired rotary kilns at TATA Steel Long Products Limited (TSLPL) is permitted to vary in a small window of 80-83% Fe. In order to adhere to this window, the expected quality in the next hour is predicted, and appropriate actions are taken if changes or rates of change that take place are not in the right direction. Airflow rate through the primary air blower is controlled constantly. For quality prediction and control purposes, the One Step Ahead Adaptive Control and Prediction Algorithm (OSAA) and Grey (1,1) prediction algorithm have been tailored and tuned. The working principle of OSAA and Grey(1,1) are described, and their accuracy is compared. The results show that OSAA performs better than the Grey(1,1). The OSAA is therefore used to predict the changes required in volume of air blown through the primary air blower and also the amount of injection coal. An expert control system has been developed based on allowable windows of control variables.
Investigations on the effect of nozzle angle and air flow rate during nanofluid Minimum Quantity Lubrication milling of Aerospace alloy Al7075-T6
Authors: Kulkarni Harshit B , Khandare Pratik P , Parvatikar Pranesh G , Pawar Pranil G , Tiwari Rajanikant , Nadakatti Mahantesh M , Deshpande Anand S , Kulkarni Raviraj M
Published: June 2020

Present day industries are focusing upon finding various methods and techniques to implement sustainable manufacturing, which is ‘the need of the hour’. With increase in global competition, industries are striving hard to reduce the machining costs, which is a major contributor for ‘manufacturing cost per part’, in an industry. Conventional method of using large quantity of coolant/cutting fluids in several liters per hour, to cool machining zone is causing enormous concern. Strict Government regulations are necessitating industries to replace flood-coolant assisted machining by new techniques like ‘Minimum Quantity lubrication’ (MQL) coolant supply technique. The present work deals with investigating the effect of varying nozzle angle and air-flow rate during MQL assisted surface milling of aerospace aluminum Al7075-T6 alloy, using uncoated carbide tool. Three methods of coolant supply namely Dry, MQL and nanofluid MQL (nano particles us pended oil with MQL) are experimented. Cutting speed [150m/min, 208m/min, 264 m/min], feed rate [95 mm/min, 110 mm/min, 125 mm/min] and depth of cut [0.5 mm, 1.3 mm, 2 mm] are chosen as process variables. Two nozzle angles 25°C and 500, with 1.5 kg/cm2 and 3 kg/cm2 air flow rates were investigated. Best results were obtained for air flow rate of 1.5kg/cm2. Optimumnozzleangle was found to be 25°C. To obtain lowest temperature and reduced heat generation, nanofluid MQL machining is a feasible option. With regards to MQL technique, for obtaining better surface finish with reduced surface roughness of the work piece (Al7075-T6), nanofluid MQL technique is best.
Hot corrosion behaviour of plasma and d-gun sprayed coatings on t91 steel used in boiler applications
Authors: Sundaresan C , Rajasekaran B , Sivakumar G , Rao D S
Published: June 2020

Material degradation by salt induced hot corrosion is a serious threat to Coal fired Boiler components. Corrosion resistant thermal spray coatings is a proven solution for this problem. Thiswork compares the hot corrosion behaviour of a NiCoCrAlY coating on T91 boiler steel deposited using two different thermal spray methods namely Atmospheric Plasma Spray (APS) and Detonation Gun (D-Gun) spray. The coated samples were exposed to 650°C for 100 cycles (1 cycle being 1 hour holding plus 20 minutes cooling in air) in a thermal cycling furnace under a mixed deposit containing Na2SO4, K2SO4 and Fe2O3 to simulate the real time coal ash environment. The exposed coatings were examined using FESEM/EDS and XRD to analyze the extent and nature of corrosion attack. The results indicate that the D-Gun sprayed coatings provided superior corrosion resistance over their APS sprayed counterparts. NiO and Spinel oxide NiCr2O4 which offers corrosion resistance were formed in both the coatingswith the APS sprayed coatingbeing rich in the fast growing NiO which affected its corrosion performance. The enhanced corrosion resistance of the D-Gun sprayed coatings was attributed to its dense microstructure with minimal porosity and good intersplat bonding which minimized corrosion ingress.
Effect of mixing proportion and mixing time on primary slurry retention and surface roughness of investment casting shells
Authors: Vyas A V , Pandya M P , Sutaria M P
Published: June 2020

Surface quality of investment cast parts are mainly depends upon primary slurry condition which is used to make face coat. Zircon flour (ZrSiO4) is widely used to make primary slurry. In this work different composition (75% - 25%, 70% - 30% and 65% - 35%) of zircon flour and colloidal silica is analyzed at different mixing time (at 24hrs, 48hrs and 72hrs). Viscosity, wettability, slurry retention, and surface roughness are measured and analysed. From the experimental work conclusion derived that composition with 75% zircon and 25% colloidal silica at mixing time of 72 hour gives best result in surface finish.
Strength and durability performance of Light Weight Self-Compacting Concrete (LWSCC) with Light Expanded Clay Aggregate (LECA)
Authors: Vinoth R , Vinod Kumar M
Published: June 2020

Lightweight concrete(LWC) have been successfully implemented in the construction of structures for decades mainly due to its favourable material properties, especially their low specific weight in connection with a high capacity of thermal insulation, strength and durability. Development of Light Weight Self-Compacting Concrete (LWSCC) is an innovative step in the recent years in the construction sectors. LWSCC provides the combined favourable benefits of LWC with those of a Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC). Research work is aimed on development of (LWSCC) with the use of light aggregates namely “Light expand clay aggregate (LECA)”. In this present investigation, five different mixes of (LWSCC) were casted and tested to find the workability and to calculate the mechanical properties at the age of 28 days. Water penetration test was conducted to examine the durability of LWSCC. Based on the results obtained, the best mix design was identified and selected for further investigation.
Numerical modelling of ultrathin CdTe solar cell with back surface field layer
Authors: Shukla Virang , Panda Gopal
Published: June 2020

In CdTe solar cell, CdTe absorber layer needs ohmic contact having work function greater than 5.7eV. No metals can have such large work function to match properly with CdTe absorber layer. Low resistance is required between CdTe layer and back contact for good performance and long stability of CdTe based solar cell. So there is a need of inserting back surface field layer to reduce the resistance between CdTe layer and back contact. This study highlights the effect of ZnTe BSF layer on the performance of solar cell. In this study two cell were simulated by SCAPS-1D simulator. From analysis it can be seen that with the help of BSF layer high efficiency as well as high stability can be achieved
Investigating the effect of chitosan’s degree of deacetylation on size of the nanoparticle
Authors: Rodrigues Fiona C , Devi N G , Koteshwara K B , Thakur Goutam
Published: June 2020

Chitosan (CS) is a naturalcationic polysaccharide obtained by deacetylation of chitin, a biopolymer found mainly in the exoskeleton of crab, shrimp shells, etc. The chitosan degree of deacetylation (DD) is an important factor which determines some of the physiochemical and biological properties of chitosan. The present study focuses on evaluating the effect of chitosan DD on nanoparticle size by using three different DD of chitosan, i.e., 85%, 90% and 93%. Chitosan nanoparticles were prepared by ionic gelation method using sodium tripolyphosphate (TPP) as crosslinker. The particle size and polydispersity index (PDI) was studied using Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) and was further characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to confirm the interactions between the ammonium groups of CS and tripolyphosphoric groups of TPP in the prepared nanoparticles. The results demonstrated that nanoparticles prepared using 85% DD chitosan had an average particle size of 100.2 ± 0.5 nm.
Experimental investigation of bottom ash as a capable Soil Stabilizer
Authors: Gaur Arun , Mathur Nikhil , Somani Prakash
Published: June 2020

The development of infrastructure in India is rapidly growing. These structure demands adequate soil as foundation/subgrade but in India where expansive soil cover 51.8 hectare land surface nearly. Stabilization of these expansive is the priority of engineers. Where on the other hand bottom ash from a thermal power plant is directly dumped which contaminatesthe environment. In soil stabilization, a stabilizer is added to soil in optimum quantity to achieve maximum dry density and have minimum penetration. In this study bottom ash’s potential is examined as a soil stabilizer and compared with non-conventional stabilizer. Soil is modified with bottom ash at dosages of 10%, 20%, 30% and 40% to inspect the various engineering properties. Atterberg limits (LL, PL, and PI), Compaction characteristics (OMC &MDD) and California bearing ratio test are performed and compared with nano-polymer modified soil samples. Results show that bottom ash can be utilized as a stabilizer for road construction.
Effect of pH on the optical and structural properties of SnS prepared by chemical bath deposition method
Authors: John Smiya , Geetha V , Francis Melda
Published: June 2020

In this work we study the influence of pH on the optical and structural properties of SnS thin films. The films were grown on the glass substrate using chemical bath deposition method. Hydrous tin chloride and thioacetamide were used as cationic and anionic precursors respectively. The pH of the solution was changed using Ammonia. The film was prepared at five different pH values 9.2, 9.3, 9.4, 9.5 and 9.6. The optical and structural properties were studied using UV Visible spectrophotometer and XRD. From optical characterisation it was found that the band gap decreases as the pH increases from 9.2 to 9.5. The crystallanity of the film increased as the pH value increased.
Experimental study on steel fibre reinforced concrete with a partial replacement of cement by rice husk ash
Authors: Mukilan K , Irene A D K B , Shenbagavalli S , Muthuprakash P
Published: June 2020

This present work is an attempt to made and investigate the split tensile strength, flexural strength and compressive strength of concrete by using crimped end steel fibre as an additive material and rice husk ash as a fractional replacement of cement due to its Pozzolanic reactivity. In this work we have kept the rice husk ash as constant and varied the steel fibre content as 0.5%, 1% & 1.5%. Mix design using IS code method is done and cubes, cylinders and beams are cast for M20 grade concrete. The concreting is done with and without addition of steel fibre and rice husk ash. Slump cone test is performed on fresh concrete. Cylinder test, Beam test are performed on concrete to study their usefulness and behaviour of additives and partial replacements. On comparing the test outcomes with the standard specimen test values where there is an appreciable improvement in tensile strength of concrete.
Effect of selenisation on the properties of antimony selenide thin films
Authors: Kuruvilla Anu , Francis Melda , Lakshmi M
Published: June 2020

Antimony Selenide (Sb2Se3) is an important photoconductive semiconductor and it has a band gap of 1.3 eV. It finds applications in solar selective and decorative coating, optical devices and thermoelectric cooling devices. In the present work, Sb2Se3 thin film is prepared by Chemical Bath Deposition (CBD) technique. This method is most suitable for large area samples and it is very simple. Antimony chloride and sodium selenosulfate are used as precursors for the preparation of antimony selenide thin films. It was observed from XPS analysis that antimony oxide was also present as an impurity phase along with antimony selenide. In this work, selenisation is carried out in order to increase the selenium content in the pristine antimony selenide thin films. Selenisation was also done by the method of CBD. These samples were annealed at various temperatures and characterized structurally, morphologically and optically. It was observed that the inclusion of Se has lead to exclusion of oxygen from the surface layers of Antimony Selenide films. Se inclusion has also changed the morphology of Antimony selenide films drastically.
Influence of nano-silica in beam-column joint flextural properties
Authors: Shyamala G , Kumarasamy Karthikeyan , Ramesh S , Kalaivani M , Pillalamarri Sai Priya
Published: June 2020

The performance of reinforced concrete moment resisting frame structures in present-day earthquakes across world has highlighted the outcome of poor performance of beam-column junction, usually important in the reinforced concrete frame design. In reinforced concrete moment resisting frame the beam column joints are crucial zones for load transfer productively between the linking elements (i.e. beams & columns) in the structural design. So this is especially necessary to reduce the vulnerability of Beam-Column joint in connection with the Seismic loading. In this investigational examination, Fly ash, a throw away product, generated in thermal power stations is roughly around 105 million tons every year (in India) whose percentage usage is less than 13%, was added. This reduction in strength was tried to compensate by adding 0 to 2.5% of Nano Silica (nS) as it reacts with calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) mini crystals, and are array in the Interfacial Transition Zone (ITZ) linking hardened cement paste and aggregates, evenly produce C–S–H gel. Nano-SiO2 can also behave as nucleus to tightly bonded elements with cement hydrates. Fly ash concrete with respect to nano-SiO2 maintains higher density and strength. High-strength concrete with respect to nS owns higher flexural strength. On an average 7 exterior Reinforced Concrete beam-column joint specimens (control) were casted, cured for complete 28 days and tested to failure. Only three contained Fly ash (20%, 40% and 60%) and the other three specimens with nS (2.5%) and Fly ash (20%, 40% and 60%). Evenly, on the column an axial load was applied. Then seismic load (i.e. Push and pull load) was applied at the free end of the cantilever beam till failure occurs. The reinforced Nano concrete Beam-Column joints and the Fly ash mixed RC Beam-Column joints were compared each other and the test results are obtained.
Characterization of mechanical behavior of pineapple leaf fiber composite
Authors: Hamritha S , Hemanth M , Rajesh B
Published: June 2020

In the current era, the need for an alternate material from the alloy has shown an abundant growth. For various reasons, the alloys are being replaced with composites. On this hand, natural fibers have discovered a speedy growth in the industry due to eco-friendly nature and availability. The current growth in natural compositeare fibers obtained from the fruit. In this study, the pineapple fruit is considered, and the fibers are obtained from the leaf. It is commonly called as PineApple Leaf Fiber (PALF). As the length of the leaf varies, length of the fiber obtained are not uniform and scope of the fiber is observed to be short. The fibers are extracted from the leaf andis chemically treated. The obtained fibers are reinforced with epoxy resin and composites are prepared by hand lay-up method. The fiber content is varied from 10% to 30% by weight. The study is carried out to understand the basic properties of pineapple leaf fiber. As natural fibers are hydrophilic, it is highly sensitivity to moisture and heat, this behavior is understood with the moisture test. Furthermore, this study reviews about the extraction, fabrication and mechanical properties of the reinforced natural composite with its potential applications.
Effect of microbial solution on compressive strength, water absorption and sorptivity of cement mortar incorporated with metakaolin
Authors: Poornima V , Venkatasubramani R , Sreevidya V , Pavan C , Nourin Anjala
Published: June 2020

Recent researches in literature have established that the overall life of mortar used in plastering works can be improved by the self-healing processes. Cracking of mortar plasters is a common hurdle due to the intrinsic brittleness of the material. This will result in severe loss of durability and water tightness. There are various methods to prevent this problem, such as adding glass fibers to the mortar mix which prevents shrinkage cracks is one among them and another way to do it is with the help of microorganisms that precipitates calcium carbonate which fills the cracks. But not all kinds of bacteria will precipitate calcium carbonate. Even if it does it should survive under extreme conditions present in mortar. The species called bacillus is a kind which fulfills those conditions is used in this project. The two bacteria namely “Bacillus Subtilis” and “Bacillus Megaterium” were isolated by taking 10g rhizosphere soil and they are cultured. The objective of this project is to compare the productivity of two bacteria. Along with this, a material called metakaolin is also used in combination with bacteria and its efficiency is also checked. The use of metakaolin (kaolinite) in this project increases compressive strength, decreases the heat of hydration which in turn increases the efficiency of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) precipitation along with bacteria. Mortar cubes are cast in different combinations to observe the compressive strength by Compression Test, healing capacity of mortar through Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity (UPV) Test and the precipitated amount of calcium carbonate via X-ray Diffraction Test. Also, the durability of mortar cubes has been identified using Water Absorption Test and Sorptivity Test.
Developing an Efficient Waste Management System: An Approach by Using Some Methods of Mathematical Modelling
Authors: Reji Kumar K , Satheesh E N
Published: June 2020

Human community has outgrown breaking the laws of the nature. This has caused serious threat to the nature and hence to the human community itself. Day to day activities of the man creates different kind of waste materials. These materials are thrown in the surroundings, which creates unpredictable damage to the environment. The matter of management of waste has prime priority in sustainable development. In this paper we mainly discuss various characteristics of waste management systems such as efficiency, sufficiency and consistency. A waste management system is developmental if it generates employment and income to the country. We develop some mathematical models which to ensure the efficiency and developmental characteristics of the waste management systems.
Removal of organics in crepe cotton wastewater using aerobic biodegradation
Authors: Shivani M , Vanitha S
Published: June 2020

Industrial wastewater contains various types of organic and inorganic compounds. Textile wastewater is one of the major holders of organic pollutants, discharging them without any prior treatment affects aquatic, surface organisms as well as human beings. In this study, the Crepe Cotton processing wastewater is collected from the cotton mills of Rajapalayam city and checked for its pH, Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and Total Suspended Solids (TSS) by treating them using Activated Sludge aerobically. Two batch studies were made by varying concentration of wastewater and removal efficiency was checked. It is found that the COD value decreases over time and achieved 100% removal on the 7thday while the TSS increases because of the growth of microbes. This shows that activated sludge microbes readily accept the organics present in Crepe cotton wastewater and can be effectively used for its treatment, though further studies are required to conform the removal of nutrients and other organic pollutants.
Macro algae based adsorption for treatment of cotton processing wastewater
Authors: Prakash A Chandra , Sharma Naresh K , Vanitha S
Published: June 2020

In the recent advances in treatment of different industrial wastewater, an attempt is made to treat the wastewater produced in demand of dyes and is used to make bandages and surgical cotton using freshwater macro algae. In the treatment method adopted here is focused on reducing the organic and inorganic pollutants present in the wastewater in the form of COD, BOD, Nitrate, Ammonia, Phosphate and Sulphate. Cotton processing wastewater contains high level of tCOD and sCOD in the order of 15000. Initially, Fresh water Green Macro algae is grown in freshwater Bolds Basal Medium (BBM). Tests were conducted with different dilution of Medium, Wastewater and Macro algae. The concentration of COD, NO3, NH4, PO4, and SO4in the real wastewater found to be 4800mg/l, 60.236mg/l, 4.110mg/l, 19.132mg/l, and 2.239mg/l respectively. Finally, after 10 days of continuous treatment of cotton wastewater using macro algae was found to be 1600mg/l, 7.30mg/l, 1.970mg/l, 4.800mg/l, and 1.009mg/l respectively. COD concentration of 1600 mg/l was still not a safe value to be finalized for a safe disposal, it has been observed that due to the high toxicity of the wastewater, macro algae are unable to treat the wastewater further. Solids like Total Suspended Solids (TSS), Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Fixed Solids (FS) and Total solids (TS) are also noted and studied during the treatment.
On the effect of thickness of Te Interlayer on output characteristics of CdTe thin-film solar cell
Authors: Venkatesh R , Banapurmath N R , Palrecha Abhay , Ramesh K
Published: June 2020

Charge carrier dynamics which governs the output characteristics and performance of solar cells, often depends on the fabrication protocol of these cells. In this study, we have fabricated the FTO/CdS/CdTe/Te/Al thin-film photovoltaic devices using thermal evaporation. We have deposited tellurium as an interlayer between the absorber layer (CdTe) and top-electrode (Al) for a better charge carrier collection. The thickness of this interlayer was varied (10 nm and 30 nm) to observe its effect on the final device output characteristics, and for the same purpose, the fabrication procedure, the thickness of the absorber layer and window layers (CdS) were kept constant of 500 nm and 100 nm respectively. The XRD analysis revealed that the CdS-window layer had a cubic structure while the CdTe existed in both hexagonal and cubic phases. The deposited CdS and CdTe thin-films showed a bandgap of 2.35 eV and 1.5 eV respectively. The device with interlayer thickness of 30 nm device showed a maximum open-circuit voltage (Voc) of 0.40 V and a maximum current of 25 μA whereas for the device with 10 nm thick interlayer shows a Voc of 0.45V and an output current of 6 μA This suggests that introduction of an interlayer enables efficient charge collection and the ability of the charge collection enhances when the thickness of interlayer is increased however, the Voc is marginally different probably due to presence of defects in the 30 nm-thick interlayer cells.
Effect of pozzolanic materials in geopolymer mortar using industrial waste material
Authors: Karthikesan A K , Mohana R
Published: June 2020

Geopolymer is one of the new binder technology in the construction where cement is replaced fully by pozzolanic materials such as fly ash, GGBS and alkaline solution. This control the emission of CO2 produced from the cement manufacturing industries. The industrial waste requires disposal is the major problem by utilization of such materials in geopolymer for the benefits of the environmental and eco-friendly process. In this paper, the effect of pozzolanic material in geopolymer mortar using industrial waste material based on oven heating. The optimum percentages of low calcium class F fly ash and GGBS is taken. From the optimum percentage, fine aggregate is partially replaced by iron slag (0%,25%,35%,45%). For enhancing the workability of geopolymer mortar by using poly-carboxylic ether as superplasticizer. The optimum geopolymer mortar mix using industrial waste was concluded based on the compressive test to be studied with conventional.
Variable gaseous ion beams from plasmas driven by electromagnetic waves for nano-micro structuring: a tutorial and an overview of recent works and future prospects
Authors: Maurya Sanjeev Kumar , Bhattacharjee Sudeep
Published: June 2020

A compact microwave plasma has been employed as an ion source for focused ion beam applications, that can provide non-toxic ions and facilitate rapid processing of materials without introducing any metallic contamination. A variety of microstructures with high aspect ratio (line width/depth) (∼100–1000) relevant to the energy and current regimes, are created on copper thin films using 26 keV Ne, Ar and Kr ion beams. A mathematical formulation is developed to calculate the impact of the ion beams, which act as energetic projectiles falling onto the target sample, by defining a new parameter called ‘current normalized force’ which is the total momentum transferred per unit time, normalized with the beam current. Capillary guiding of the plasma ion beams has demonstrated beam self-focusing which can be employed to further reduce the beam source size (plasma electrode aperture) for demagnification. Particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations are performed to interpret the experimental results of self-focusing. Hysteresis in beam current with extraction voltage (ion energy) is observed and the hysteresis area is used to calculate the dissipated charge from the beam during capillary transmission. The effect of plasma and beam parameters on focal dimensions has been investigated, and a unique feature of enhanced nonlinear demagnification is observed when the aperture size of the plasma electrode is reduced to below the Debye length. Submicron focusing of plasma ion beams is observed by minimizing the space charge effects and reducing the plasma electrode aperture (source size).
Conditional Cash Transfer Program and Leprosy Incidence: Analysis of 12.9 Million Families From the 100 Million Brazilian Cohort
Authors: Pescarini Julia M , Williamson Elizabeth , Ichihara Maria Y , Fiaccone Rosemeire L , Forastiere Laura , Ramond Anna , Nery Joilda Silva , Penna Maria Lucia F , Strina Agostino , Reis Sandra , Smeeth Liam , Rodrigues Laura C , Brickley Elizabeth B , Penna Gerson O , Barreto Mauricio L
Published: June 2020

Leprosy is a neglected tropical disease predominately affecting poor and marginalized populations. To test the hypothesis that poverty-alleviating policies might be associated with reduced leprosy incidence, we evaluated the association between the Brazilian Bolsa Familia (BFP) conditional cash transfer program and new leprosy case detection using linked records from 12,949,730 families in the 100 Million Brazilian Cohort (2007–2014). After propensity score matching BFP beneficiary to nonbeneficiary families, we used Mantel-Haenszel tests and Poisson regressions to estimate incidence rate ratios for new leprosy case detection and secondary endpoints related to operational classification and leprosy-associated disabilities at diagnosis. Overall, cumulative leprosy incidence was 17.4/100,000 person-years at risk (95% CI: 17.1, 17.7) and markedly higher in “priority” (high-burden) versus “nonpriority” (low-burden) municipalities (22.8/100,000 person-years at risk, 95% confidence interval (CI): 22.2, 23.3, compared with 14.3/100,000 person-years at risk, 95% CI: 14.0, 14.7). After matching, BFP participation was not associated with leprosy incidence overall (incidence rate ratio (IRR)Poisson = 0.97, 95% CI: 0.90, 1.04) but was associated with lower leprosy incidence when restricted to families living in high-burden municipalities (IRRPoisson = 0.86, 95% CI: 0.77, 0.96). In high-burden municipalities, the association was particularly pronounced for paucibacillary cases (IRRPoisson = 0.82, 95% CI: 0.68, 0.98) and cases with leprosy-associated disabilities (IRRPoisson = 0.79, 95% CI: 0.65, 0.97). These findings provide policy-relevant evidence that social policies might contribute to ongoing leprosy control efforts in high-burden communities.