Potential of AA7075 as a Tribological Material for Industrial Applications -A Review

Lightweight materials in general and alumunium alloys in particular are increasingly becoming important engineering materials in order to improve the sustainability aspects of engineering products. Amongst the alumunium alloys, AA7075, due to its strength to weight ratio along with other technical benefits has become a prominent material. The literature suggests that AA7075 is structurally good, however its poor tribological properties can be enhanced by introducing different reinforcements. Further, the mechanical and tribological behaviour of AA7075 relies on variety of factors such as fabrication route, quality and quantity of reinforcement, etc. In this work we summarize the work carried out in studying the various mechanical and tribological properties of AA7075. The paper will focus on the ceramic and solid lubricant reinforced AA7075 hybrid composites. A section also summarizes the applications of the alumunium alloys and composites in various engineering applications

Development of a NIOSH based software tool for musculoskeletal disorders

Musculoskeletal disorders amongst workers performing manual lifting tasks have become a major challenge now a days. Such problems hamper productivity of any concern to a greater extent. Industrial experts and researchers have been devising ways and means to reduce such disorders and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) agency lifting equation is one amongst such tools. NIOSH lifting equation has significantly enhanced the safety of the workers involved in manual lifting tasks. With this equation, a prior indication of musculoskeletal disorders can be obtained from the workers anthropometric details. However, till date there is no such tool available with which we can have recommendations to eliminate/reduce such disorders. In this paper an expert system on the basis of NIOSH equation has been developed to deal with the musculoskeletal problems amongst the workers involved in manual lifting tasks. The expert system is basically a computer programme developed to facilitate the use of NIOSH lifting equation. On the basis of lifting parameters, this equation computes recommended weight limit (RWL) and lifting index (LI). These outputs have been further analyzed by the programe to check existing working conditions against occupational hazards, and suggest recommendations for the safe working conditions

Potential of AA7075 as a Tribological Material for Industrial Applications -A Review

197-201Lightweight materials in general and alumunium alloys in particular are increasingly becoming important engineering materials in order to improve the sustainability aspects of engineering products. Amongst the alumunium alloys, AA7075, due to its strength to weight ratio along with other technical benefits has become a prominent material. The literature suggests that AA7075 is structurally good, however its poor tribological properties can be enhanced by introducing different reinforcements. Further, the mechanical and tribological behaviour of AA7075 relies on variety of factors such as fabrication route, quality and quantity of reinforcement, etc.  In this work we summarize the work carried out in studying the various mechanical and tribological properties of AA7075. The paper will focus on the ceramic and solid lubricant reinforced AA7075 hybrid composites. A section also summarizes the applications of the alumunium alloys and composites in various engineering applications

Development of a NIOSH based software tool for musculoskeletal disorders

860-865Musculoskeletal disorders amongst workers performing manual lifting tasks have become a major challenge now a days. Such problems hamper productivity of any concern to a greater extent. Industrial experts and researchers have been devising ways and means to reduce such disorders and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) agency lifting equation is one amongst such tools. NIOSH lifting equation has significantly enhanced the safety of the workers involved in manual lifting tasks. With this equation, a prior indication of musculoskeletal disorders can be obtained from the workers anthropometric details. However, till date there is no such tool available with which we can have recommendations to eliminate/reduce such disorders. In this paper an expert system on the basis of NIOSH equation has been developed to deal with the musculoskeletal problems amongst the workers involved in manual lifting tasks. The expert system is basically a computer programme developed to facilitate the use of NIOSH lifting equation. On the basis of lifting parameters, this equation computes recommended weight limit (RWL) and lifting index (LI). These outputs have been further analyzed by the programe to check existing working conditions against occupational hazards, and suggest recommendations for the safe working conditions

FABRIC AS STORAGE TO AVOID DOWNLOAD FAILURE ON MULTIPLE DEVICES AT BRANCH/DATA CENTERS

Presented herein are techniques to transmit virtual machine (VM) images from a controller to a switch fabric, based on capacity, and to distribute the VM images to a virtual network infrastructure, as needed

Investigation on the status of Johne's disease based on agar gel immunodiffusion, ziehl-neelsen staining and nested PCR approach in two cattle farm

Background and Methods: Paratuberculosis is a chronic disease of ruminant, caused by Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (Map), clinically infected animals produce high level of antibodies in blood and shed detectable amount of Map organisms in feces. Several serological and molecular tests are utilized for detection of antibodies or DNA of the organism in clinical samples. Present study indicates the status of paratuberculosis in two distinct cattle farms with different organizational set-ups viz. organized and unorganized. We used agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) assay for the detection of antibodies in blood. Ziehl-Neelsen (ZN) staining of fecal smears was done to observe acid-fast bacilli and Nested PCR targeted to IS900 and f57 sequences, was performed to confirm the pathogen.Results: Sera samples of cattle, from organized farm, did not show any visible precipitating band with AGID assay. However, fecal smears of few cattle (3.57%) were positive for acid-fast bacilli. When confirmed with nested PCR, only one fecal sample (0.71%) was found positive for Map. In case of unorganized farm, a large number of cattle (38.75%) showed precipitating antibodies with AGID assay and the percentage of fecal smears that showed acid-fast bacilli was 26.62%. Nevertheless, fecal samples containing Map DNA was confirmed in 14.37% of fecal sample by nested PCR.Conclusions: An organized farm, with better hygiene and management practices, showed lesser occurrence of paratuberculosis in cattle in comparison to unorganized farm. Not all AGID assays positive cattle might be an efficient shedder of Map and mare detection of acid-fast bacilli in fecal smears did not always indicate the presence of Map organism. Cattle infected with JD were mostly in the age group of six years and above

Isolation and characterization of a novel mycobacteriophage Kashi-VT1 infecting Mycobacterium species

Mycobacteriophages are viruses that infect members of genus Mycobacterium. Because of the rise in antibiotic resistance in mycobacterial diseases such as tuberculosis, mycobacteriophages have received renewed attention as alternative therapeutic agents. Mycobacteriophages are highly diverse, and, on the basis of their genome sequences, they are grouped into 30 clusters and 10 singletons. In this article, we have described the isolation and characterization of a novel mycobacteriophage Kashi-VT1 (KVT1) infecting Mycobacterium >smegmatis mc2 155 (M. smegmatis) and Mycobacterium fortuitum isolated from Varanasi, India. KVT1 is a cluster K1 temperate phage that belongs to Siphoviridae family as visualized in transmission electron microscopy. The phage genome is 61,010 base pairs with 66.5% Guanine/Cytosine (GC) content, encoding 101 putative open reading frames. The KVT1 genome encodes an immunity repressor, a tyrosine integrase, and an excise protein, which are the characteristics of temperate phages. It also contains genes encoding holin, lysin A, and lysin B involved in host cell lysis. The one-step growth curve demonstrated that KVT1 has a latency time of 90 min and an average burst size of 101 phage particles per infected cell. It can withstand a temperature of up to 45°C and has a maximum viability between pH 8 and 9. Some mycobacteriophages from cluster K are known to infect the pathogenic Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis); hence, KVT1 holds potential for the phage therapy against tuberculosis, and it can also be engineered to convert into an exclusively lytic phage

Dry Sliding-Friction and Wear Behavior of Hot-Extruded Al6061/Si3N4/Cf Hybrid Metal Matrix Composite.

The effects of reinforcement addition and hot extrusion on the microstructures, micro hardness, friction, and wear behavior of aluminium (Al) hybrid composite were investigated. Al6061 dispersed with electroless nickel-coated Si3N4 (6wt.%) and copper-coated carbon fiber (Cf) (1wt.%) hybrid composites was developed through stir casting followed by hot extrusion. Optical micro structural studies confirmed that the size of reinforcements decreased, and their orientations were in the extrusion direction. The decrease in the grain size (29%) of hybrid composites was larger than that in the grain size of matrix alloys under hot-extruded conditions. The synthesized hot-extruded Al6061 hybrid composite exhibited a lower coefficient of friction (51%) and high wear resistance (39%) compared with the hotextruded Al6061base alloy

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries