Improvement in flowability of thermo-chemical storage material by using nanostructured additives

Thermal energy storage is an advancing technology for storing energy that encourages clean energy systems without adversely affecting the environment. This technology allows us to use energy at different times by storing it temporarily. For example in a non-conventional energy source like solar thermal power plant, all its energy is produced during broad day light. The excess energy produced during a sunny day is usually stored in the thermal storage materials, which can later be used in the night to generate electricity. One such advantageous way of storing energy is through thermo-chemical storage. In a space craving society, high storage capability makes it an efficient way to store energy. However at present thermo-chemical storage is in its elementary stage, where in its limited to only one pilot scale system. Considering the thermodynamics and kinetics it has been shown that CaO/Ca(OH)2 reaction system is a potential gas/solid thermochemical heat storage system. However the behavior in a lab sized non-moving bed reactor was mainly dominated by heat and mass transfer limitations arising due to small particle size and changes in bulk properties. This was overcome to a certain level using a moving bed reactor but due to the change in the reactor type the flowability factor dominated adversely. Nevertheless during the recent studies at DLR it was found out that small amount of industrial grade SiO2 (Aerosil®) nanoparticles would enhance the flowability of Ca(OH)2 in a considerable way. But in contrast it effects the heat development leading to low thermal efficiency due to the formation of inert side products. In this study it is found out that small amount of nanostructured Al2O3 (Aeroxide®) not only plays a significant role in stabilizing cyclability and bulk properties but also contributes to the overall heat development

Comparative Analysis of Quagi and Yagi-Uda Antenna using 4NEC2 Tool

A Yagi-Uda antenna is one of the most widely used antenna in communication. Quagi antenna is a variation on vulnerable Yagi-Uda. Both the antennas are designed using 4NEC2 tool. Comparative analysis is being done on both 8-element Yagi-Uda antenna and 8-element Quagi antenna at 432 MHz frequency. A Quagi antenna is merely one of the most interesting amateur antenna designs to come down the pike in recent years. The need for low cost, high gain antenna for Moon bounce Communication, where moon is used as Passive communication satellite, inspired the development of Quagi antenna. Since Quagi is easy and non critical construction, cheap as well as simple, matching of feed line to the driven element, makes Quagi an attractive alternate to both Quad and Yagi-Uda antennas. At 432 MHz both Quagi and Yagi-Uda give almost same efficiency and gain, but Quad loop make an excellent driven element and reflectors, rods seem to be superior directors. So doing comparative analysis on both these antennas at 432 MHz would make sense and this made me to take up this topic

Role of Epidermal growth factor receptor in odontogenic epithelium and development of odontogenic lesions

Growth is a highly coordinated process which is sustained by several growth factors and apoptotic factors. Any disturbance in this delicate balance leads to pathologies and genes that have such potential to produce tumors when mutated are known as oncogenes. EGFR an important growth factor that is involved in several physiological processes is presently one of the most common genes in targeted cancer therapies. Though, its potential as an oncogene target in head and neck epithelial tumors like squamous cell carcinoma is gaining importance and opening doors to revolutionizing cancer treatment modalities, its role in other head and neck epithelia like odontogenic epithelia remains vague and needs attention. The present article highlights some of the key findings in our research evaluating the role of EGFR in physiologic odontogenic epithelium that is comprised within pericoronal follicles. The research involved study of immunohistochemical examination of 35 pericoronal follicles removed from patients with asymptomatic impacted tooth extractions. The follicles were assessed for intensity, percentage of staining and location of the EGFR stain. The follicles predominantly showed intense staining pattern and location of EGFR positivity in most epithelium and rests were combined both cytoplasmic and membrane positivity. These findings reemphasize the inherent proliferative potential present in follicles and their role in formation of odontogenic tumors like ameloblastomas in long term impacted teeth. The potential of EGFR as a treatment target in odontogenic tumors also remains plausible

Automated background subtraction technique for electron energy-loss spectroscopy and application to semiconductor heterostructures

Electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) has become a stan-dard tool for identification and sometimes also quantificationof elements in materials science. This is important for un-derstanding the chemical and/or structural composition ofprocessed materials. In EELS, the background is often mod-elled using an inverse power-law function. Core-loss ioniza-tion edges are superimposed on top of the dominating back-ground, making it difficult to quantify their intensities. Theinverse power-law has to be modelled for each pre-edge regionof the ionization edges in the spectrum individually ratherthan for the entire spectrum. To achieve this, the prerequisiteis that one knows all core losses possibly present. The aim ofthis study is to automatically detect core-loss edges, model thebackground and extract quantitative elemental maps and pro-files of EELS, based on several EELS spectrum images (EELS SI)without any prior knowledge of the material. The algorithmprovides elemental maps and concentration profiles by makingsmart decisions in selecting pre-edge regions and integrationranges. The results of the quantification for a semiconduc-tor thin film heterostructure show high chemical sensitivity,reasonable group III/V intensity ratios but also quantificationissues when narrow integration windows are used withoutdeconvolution

A Study on Socio-Economic Factors Affecting Utilization of Maternal Health Care Services in Urban Community

Background: Even though the MMR dropped from 212 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2007-09 to 178 in 2010-12, India is behind the target of 103 deaths per live births to be achieved by 2015 under the United Nations-mandated Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).As per WHO, Three crucial factors understanding maternal deaths. Firstly lack of access and utilization of essential obstetric care. Secondly low social status of women in developing countries. Thirdly too much physical work together with poor diet also contributes to poor maternal outcomes. Out of these three factors, access and utilization of health care is the most crucial factor which is capable of reducing maternal morbidity and mortality. The present study was carried out to evaluate socio demographic correlates and barriers of maternal health care utilization in the urban community.    Objective:   To know the factors influencing the utilization of maternal health care services. METERIAL &METHODS; Study design: Cross sectional study. Area of study:   UHTC Kalal galli. Bijapur   (Urban field practice area)Participants: All married woman in the age group of 15-45 years who were either pregnant at the time of interview or delivered within last one year were included in the study.  Study period: January to March 2015Sample size: 134 mother Methods: Interview technique using pre tested   Proforma.   Statistical analysis: Percentage and chi-square test. Result: Utilization of maternal health services was found more among literate (70%) mothers compared to illiterate mothers. Utilization of maternal health services increased with increase in economic status. Major reasons for non-utilization of maternal service were not having a delivery complication in the past. (57%) Conclusion: The result reveals that educational level of women, exposure to mass media, birth order and wealth index are significant predictors in explaining the use of maternal health care services. There is a need of motivation and enhancing IEC activities for bringing desirable changes in the health care practice of the mother

Structural and Magnetic Properties of Manganese Zinc Ferrite Nanoparticles Prepared by Solution Combustion Method Using Mixture of Fuels

The structural analysis and magnetic investigation Mn1−xZnxFe2O4 with stoichiometry (x=0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 0.9 and 1.0) were synthesized by solution combustion method using mixture of fuel this is first of its kind. As synthesized Mn–Zn nanoferrites were characterized by X-ray Diffractometer (XRD), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) at room temperature. The magnetic domain relaxation was investigated by inductance spectroscopy (IS) and the observed magnetic domain relaxation frequency (fr) was increased with the increase in grain size. The Room temperature magnetic properties were studied using vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). It was observed that the real and imaginary part of permeability (µ' and µ?), saturation magnetization (Ms), remanance magnetization (Mr) and magneton number (Mr/Ms) were decreases gradually with increasing Zn2+ concentration. The decrease in the saturation magnetization may be explained as, the Zn2+ concentration increases the relative number of ferric ions on the A sites diminishes and this reduces the A–B interaction. Hence synthesized materials are good for high frequency applications

The effect of fuel and fuel-oxidizer combinations on ZnO nanoparticles synthesized by solution combustion technique

We report on the synthesis of nanocrystalline ZnO particles by solution combustion technique using new organic fuels such as l-Glutamine, Leucine and l-Valine. The thermal decomposition and combustion of nitrate-organic fuels (precursors) were investigated through TG-DTA and XRD techniques. The results show that, the nitrate-organic fuel (precursor) gels exhibit self-propagating behavior at 400 °C after ignition in air. The effect of fuel and fuel to oxidizer ratio on structural properties of as-synthesized ZnO powder was investigated. It was observed that, the particle size of as-synthesized ZnO powder depends on F/O ratio, which influences the combustion process. The detailed analysis on the structure of as-synthesized ZnO powder was carried out by Rietveld refinement on XRD data and through TEM studies. Further, adiabatic temperature (Tad) was calculated through thermodynamic theoretical calculations for different fuel to oxidizer ratios. The results were discussed on the basis of the correlations established between the Tad, nature of the combustion and structural properties of the resulting powders

Sarcomatoid carcinoma of the colon: a rare diagnosis

Report of a rare colon tumor treated successfully using conventional chemotherapy regimen.

Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome in cancer patients: experience from a tertiary cancer center, South India

Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome (PRES) is characterized by seizures, headaches, altered mental status, cortical blindness and typical transient lesions on MRI. PRES may be associated with chemotherapy, molecular targeted drugs and immunosuppressive agents used in patients with cancer. PRES is a very rare condition in cancer patients. PRES is usually reversible with appropriate supportive care and most patients can be restarted with treatment

Retrospective analysis of clinical manifestations and treatment outcomes of patients diagnosed with langerhans cell histiocytosis from a tertiary cancer hospital in South India

Background: Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) comprises a diverse group of disorders where pathologic Langerhans cells accumulate in a variety of organs. Aims and objectives of the study is to analyse the clinical manifestations and treatment outcomes of patients diagnosed with LCH in a tertiary cancer hospital in South India.Methods: Retrospective analysis of the case records of patients presenting with histological proven case of LCH over a period of 7 years from 2011 to 2018, being treated at Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre.Results: 10 patients with biopsy proven LCH were included. The median age of diagnosis was 8 years (range 1 to 73 years) and 3 patients aged 18 years or older at the time of diagnosis. The male: female ratio was 3:2. Multisystem involvement was found in 4 patients (40%) and Single system Involvement in remaining 6 patients. Isolated bone lesions were found in 4 patients (40%), 1 patient had isolated Lymph node involvement; 1 patient had oral cavity lesion. None of the 4 patients with multisystem diseases had skin/mucosal involvement; 3 had bony involvement, 2 patients had lung involvement. One patients with multisystem disease expired while 5 patients were lost to follow-up. 4 out of the 10 patients are on regular follow-up and are in remission.Conclusions: Despite limitation by the retrospective nature, this descriptive study was done to provide further disease information regarding Indian population. Data from this study clearly confirms the known fact that most of the patients with Single System LCH have a very good response rate. Patients with multisystem disease have the highest risk of disease related mortality and morbidity as one among the 4 patients with multisystem disease died just after initiating treatment