Fire Safety Analysis of a Railway Compartment using Computational Fluid Dynamics

Trains are considered to be the safest on-land transportation means for both passengers and cargo. Train accidents have been mainly disastrous, especially in case of fire, where the consequences are extensive loss of life and goods. The fire would generate smoke and heat which would spread quickly inside the railway compartments. Both heat and smoke are the primary reasons of casualties in a train. This study has been carried out to perform numerical analysis of fire characteristics in a railway compartment using commercial Computational Fluid Dynamics code ANSYS. Non-premixed combustion model has been used to simulate a fire scenario within a railway compartment, while Shear Stress Transport k-ω turbulence model has been used to accurately predict the hot air turbulence parameters within the compartment. The walls of the compartment have been modelled as no-slip stationary adiabatic walls, as is observed in real life conditions. Carbon dioxide concentration (CO2), temperature distribution and air flow velocity within the railway compartment has been monitored. It has been observed that the smoke above the fire source flows to both sides of the compartment. The highest temperature zone is located downstream the fire source, and gradually decreases with the increase in the distance from the fire source. It can be seen that CFD can be used as an effective tool in order to analyse the evolution of fire in railway compartments with reasonable accuracy. The paper also briefly discusses the topical reliability issues

An accelerated hybrid Euler’s method for numerical integration of ordinary differential equations

The theme of this study is to develop hybrid Euler’s method from the chain of Euler’s methods, to compute the numerical resolution of initial value problems (IVPs) of ordinary differential equations (ODEs). In this work number of (IVPs) are taken from literature to check absolute error and stability of method. It is observed that computed results from the proposed method are consistent and stabile under the circumstance of region. From the results it is concluded that the defined algorithm minimizes the error of computation for specified accuracy of solution.Keywords: Ordinary differential equations, IVP’s, Improved, Modified Euler’s

Comparison of the Efficacy of Multi Dural Stab Craniectomy with Open Dural Flap Craniectomy in Patients Having Acute Subdural Hematoma

Background/Objective:  We compared the efficacy of multi-dural stab craniectomy with open dural flap craniectomy in patients having acute subdural hematoma. Materials and Methods:  A randomized controlled trial was conducted in the Department of Neurosurgery, Allied hospital, Faisalabad. 70 patients having acute subdural hematoma were included. All of the patients were randomized in two groups: group A received a multi-dural stab craniectomy, while group B received an open dural flap craniectomy. Efficacy was assessed after 3 months of treatment in terms of a good recovery. Results:  Out of 70 patients, the mean age was 34.51 ± 8.712 years. Because of similar age and presenting GCS, the data show a non-significant difference in clinical outcomes between patients undergoing multi dual stab and open dural flap operations. However, a significant difference between the clinical results occurred at 3 months after the surgery (p-value 0.004). The efficacy of the multi-dural stab procedure was significantly higher from the open dural flap surgery (p-Value 0.006). The efficacy of the multi-dural stab surgery was significantly higher in the under 35 years age group of patients compared to open dural flap surgery. The results highlight those better results were seen in both surgeries when the presenting GCS of patients was higher (GCS= 6 – 8) compared to poor outcomes in patients with GCS of less than 5/15. Conclusion:  Multi-dural stabs are a safer alternative to the open dural flap for removing acute SDH with satisfactory recovery

Frequency of SCF Leakage in Post-operative Patients of Tethered Spinal Cord in A Tertiary Care Hospital

Objective:  The study aimed to report the incidence of CSF leakage in patients with a tethered spinal cord, post-operatively. Materials and Methods:  A total of 75 individuals aged more than 2 years and of either gender who were hospitalized for surgery for tethered cord syndrome were included. All patients had a preoperative MRI of the spine, and those above the age of 6 had urodynamic tests. Clinical evaluations were performed until hospital release, then again at 3, 6, and 12 months. Urodynamic tests and spine MRIs were redone one year following surgery. Under general anesthesia, all patients had microscopic untethering procedures to release tethering materials and heal the thecal sac. Results:  52% of patients fall under TCS type ‘simple’, whereas, 48% of patients found with complex TCS. The frequency of CSF leakage in post-operative patients with a tethered spinal cord was found in 17.33%. No CSF leak was reported in the majority of patients (49%) patients in the age group 2-30 years. 52% of patients with simple TCS reported no CSF leak, whereas, only 13(18%) patients with complex TCS reported CSF leaks. 40% of patients reported no CSF leak who was diagnosed with complex TCS. There existed a significant relationship between the types of TCS (simple/complex) for CSF leak distribution. Conclusion:  This study concluded that the frequency of CSF leakage in post-operative patients with tethered spinal cord was found in 17.33% of patients. Keywords:  Tethered Spinal Cord (TCS), CSF Leakage, Lipomyelomeningocele

Comparison of Frequency of Recurrence after Burr Hole Evacuation of Chronic Subdural Hematoma with or without Subdural Drain.

Chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) is known to have a significant recurrence rate. The rate of recurrence of chronic subdural hematoma after surgery ranges from roughly 5% to 30%.  Burr hole evacuation without drainage is performed as a first line of treatment for CSDH. As there is controversy in literature regarding the use of drainage after burr hole evacuation, the results of my study may be helpful for selecting a proper treatment modality as a first line of treatment for CSDH in terms of recurrence. The objective of this study was to compare the frequency of recurrence after burr hole evacuation of CSDH with and without subdural drain. It was a randomized controlled trial conducted in Department of Neurosurgery, Allied hospital, Faisalabad form Aug 2016 to Aug 2018 RESULTS:In our study, out of 130 cases(65 in each group). 84.62%(n=55) in Group-A and 76.92%(n=50) in Group-B were between above 40 years of age whereas 15.38%(n=10) in Group-A and 23.08%(n=15) were between 18-40 years of age, mean+sd was calculated as  64.03+7.61 years in Group-A and 62.28+7.83 years in Group-B, 78.46%(n=51) in Group-A and 72.31%(n=47) in Group-B were male while 21.54%(n=14) in Group-A and 27.69%(n=18) in Group-B were females, comparison of frequency of recurrence after burr hole evacuation of CSDH with and without subdural drain shows 10.77%(n=7) in Group-A and 27.69%(n=18) in Group-B, p value was 0.01 showing a significant difference. CONCLUSION: We concluded that the frequency of recurrence after burrhole evacuation of CSDH is significantly lower with drain when compared without subdural drain

Comparing Mean Post-Operative Back Pain Score between Hemilaminectomy and Conventional Laminectomy in Patients of Lumbar Stenosis

Objective:  To observe the comparative mean post-operative back-pain score between hemilaminectomy and conventional laminectomy in patients of lumbar stenosis. Material and Methods:  The randomized controlled study was carried out in Neurosurgery Unit, Allied Hospital, Faisalabad, Pakistan. A total of 60 patients were distributed equally in two groups. Group A underwent hemilaminectomy while group B underwent conventional laminectomy. A linear median fascial incision was made on the side with more pain or symptoms. Only in the hemilaminectomy group, ipsilateral decompression was performed. It involves partial resection of adjacent parts of the hemi laminae of the superior and inferior vertebrae using operative loupes or neurosurgical microscope. Mean ±SD was calculated for quantitative data including back pain score. Results:  Mean age was 46.2 ± 6.94 years in hemi group and 46.3 ± 6.74 years in the conventional group. We observed that in hemi group, the back pain score was 2.23 ± 0.73 and it was 2.7 ± 0.65 in the conventional group (p-value was 0.011). Significant differences (p value<0.050) existed in these age ranges with respect to the back pain score in both surgery groups. A significant difference (p value < 0.0001) observed only in male patients between two surgery groups for the back pain scores. Conclusion:  Mean post-operative back pain score is significantly reduced in hemilaminectomy cases when compared with conventional laminectomy in patients of lumbar stenosis

Cybersecurity for autonomous vehicles against malware attacks in smart-cities

Smart Autonomous Vehicles (AVSs) are networks of Cyber-Physical Systems (CPSs) in which they wirelessly communicate with other CPSs sub-systems (e.g., smart -vehicles and smart-devices) to efficiently and securely plan safe travel. Due to unreliable wireless communication among them, such vehicles are an easy target of malware attacks that may compromise vehicles’ autonomy, increase inter-vehicle communication latency, and drain vehicles’ power. Such compromises may result in traffic congestion, threaten the safety of passengers, and can result in financial loss. Therefore, real-time detection of such attacks is key to the safe smart transportation and Intelligent Transport Systems (ITSs). Current approaches either employ static analysis or dynamic analysis techniques to detect such attacks. However, these approaches may not detect malware in real-time because of zero-day attacks and huge computational resources. Therefore, we introduce a hybrid approach that combines the strength of both analyses to efficiently detect malware for the privacy of smart-cities

Penilaian Kinerja Keuangan Koperasi di Kabupaten Pelalawan

This paper describe development and financial performance of cooperative in District Pelalawan among 2007 - 2008. Studies on primary and secondary cooperative in 12 sub-districts. Method in this stady use performance measuring of productivity, efficiency, growth, liquidity, and solvability of cooperative. Productivity of cooperative in Pelalawan was highly but efficiency still low. Profit and income were highly, even liquidity of cooperative very high, and solvability was good

Juxtaposing BTE and ATE – on the role of the European insurance industry in funding civil litigation

One of the ways in which legal services are financed, and indeed shaped, is through private insurance arrangement. Two contrasting types of legal expenses insurance contracts (LEI) seem to dominate in Europe: before the event (BTE) and after the event (ATE) legal expenses insurance. Notwithstanding institutional differences between different legal systems, BTE and ATE insurance arrangements may be instrumental if government policy is geared towards strengthening a market-oriented system of financing access to justice for individuals and business. At the same time, emphasizing the role of a private industry as a keeper of the gates to justice raises issues of accountability and transparency, not readily reconcilable with demands of competition. Moreover, multiple actors (clients, lawyers, courts, insurers) are involved, causing behavioural dynamics which are not easily predicted or influenced. Against this background, this paper looks into BTE and ATE arrangements by analysing the particularities of BTE and ATE arrangements currently available in some European jurisdictions and by painting a picture of their respective markets and legal contexts. This allows for some reflection on the performance of BTE and ATE providers as both financiers and keepers. Two issues emerge from the analysis that are worthy of some further reflection. Firstly, there is the problematic long-term sustainability of some ATE products. Secondly, the challenges faced by policymakers that would like to nudge consumers into voluntarily taking out BTE LEI

Search for stop and higgsino production using diphoton Higgs boson decays

Results are presented of a search for a "natural" supersymmetry scenario with gauge mediated symmetry breaking. It is assumed that only the supersymmetric partners of the top-quark (stop) and the Higgs boson (higgsino) are accessible. Events are examined in which there are two photons forming a Higgs boson candidate, and at least two b-quark jets. In 19.7 inverse femtobarns of proton-proton collision data at sqrt(s) = 8 TeV, recorded in the CMS experiment, no evidence of a signal is found and lower limits at the 95% confidence level are set, excluding the stop mass below 360 to 410 GeV, depending on the higgsino mass