Ornamental Fish Fauna of Adda Hole: Kabbinale Forest Range, Southern Western Ghats, Karnataka, India

Adda-hole stream is a 14 km long perennial stream belonging to Kabbinale forest of Gundia region. It is free from pollution and has different habitats, each with diverse ornamental fish population. The ornamental fish of Adda-hole was studied between April 2011 and April 2012. This study revealed a total number of 17 different species of fish belonging to 9 different families, of which 7 species are endemic. According to the IUCN (2011), C. imitator and E. canarensis have been analysed as Data Deficient and Endangered respectively. These two species are restricted to Southern Western Ghats. So far, there is no record of any alien fish species which could be a threat to the ornamental fish fauna. This particular study indicates that this stream can be considered for conservation of some endemic ornamental fishes in Western Ghats

Study of Ornamental Fish Diversity and Water Quality of Adda Hole Stream, Kabbinale Forest Range, Western Ghats

Addahole stream belongs to Kabbinale forest of Gundia region. The water quality and ornamental fish diversity were examined. The stream water is fast and slow flowing with clear water and rocky, sandy, leafy substrate. This stream is about 14 kms long, perennial and has different habitats with diverse ornamental fish population. Results revealed the mean values of water quality of all samples collected from different sampling sites were pH 5.50, Water temperature 27.5°C, dissolved oxygen 6.32 mg/l and total dissolved solids 53.06 mg/l. The mean air temperature was 30.3°C. Fish diversity showed presence of twelve different species, belonging to six different families, of which the family Cyprinidae was dominant with Rasboradaniconius and Puntiussps being the most abundant in all seasons. Fish diversity is correlated with physicochemical parameters. The total number of taxa and individuals showed positive correlation with water and air temperature. But it showed negative correlation with dissolved oxygen and positive correlation with total dissolved solids. Shannon-Weaver diversity indices showed positive correlation with air temperature

Expert Relativity: Identify the Expert Just Ahead

Experts are often viewed as individuals with a vast storehouse of knowledge beyond the normal participants in a domain. In reality, the expert may have just enough additional knowledge beyond those they interface with to propel their team to success. This research explores the accumulation of knowledge and prior skill set necessary to successfully participate in a business simulation emulating the cash-to-cash cycle of a manufacturing/distribution company. Students participate in simulated organizations where the skill level of novice is designated by freshmen/sophomores/juniors with little to no business education. Experts are designated as seniors/graduate students with business educations that include aspects of the entire cash-to-cash cycle of an organization. Comparisons across simulation games indicate that minor background differences in specific participant ability can make significant differences in simulation standings

Operative Treatment of Isolated Bicondylar Hoffa Fracture With a Modified Swashbuckler Approach

Introduction: An isolated coronal fracture of either or both femoral condyles is a rare entity and is usually associated with high-energy injury trauma. Such fractures should be meticulously fixed for a good functional outcome as they involve the articular surface of a weight bearing joint. A modified swashbuckler approach provides adequate exposure for appropriate reduction and fixation of such fractures. Case Presentation: A 32-year-old male sustained a bicondylar Hoffa fracture of the right femur which was treated by open reduction and internal fixation using a modified swashbuckler approach. At two years of follow-up, the patient had excellent radiological and functional outcome. Conclusions: In our study, we treated this rare fracture successfully using a modified swashbuckler approach and found it to be a good approach for such fractures as compared to the conventional approach

Concept of Grip Assistive Braking on Four Wheelers

Braking systems in all the segments of vehicles seems to be one of the most crucial developing systems. Many research and developments are carried out in terms of braking of a vehicle in order to enhance the braking efficiency and reduction in stopping distance. This article depicts the concept of assistive braking on four wheelers where we elaborately describe the Braking distance, Thinking distance and Stopping distance after which our concept of braking is proposed with all the technical aspects along with the various components and its efficiency in our real time use. This research article mainly focuses on technical aspects that aim to reduce the reaction time and reflex actions of the driver which in turn is used as a factor to reduce the stopping distance of the vehicle. Various types of biological reactions by a human are observed and then a particular muscular reaction is chosen as a source of intimation for our braking system. When an object is spotted by the driver, the reflex action takes place via a receptor, sensory neurons, spinal cord and from where the muscular reaction takes place. A unique steering with an array of grip sensors is designed and incorporated also with various functions of the vehicle but for this instance, we mainly focus on braking assistance of the vehicle. Thus the unique steering wheel plays the role of connection between vehicle and the driver

Automated Defect Detection and Characterization on Pulse Thermography Images Using Computer Vision Techniques

Defect detection and characterization plays a vital role in predicting the life span of materials. Defect detection using appropriate inspection technologies at various phases has gained huge importance in metal production lines. It can be accomplished through wise application of non-destructive testing and evaluation (NDE). It is important to characterize defects at an early stage in order to be able to overcome them or take corrective measures. Pulse thermography is a modern NDE method that can be used for defect detection in metal objects. Only a limited amount of work has been done on automated detection and characterization of defects due to thermal diffusion. This paper proposes a system for automatic defect detection and characterization in metal objects using pulse thermography images as well as various image processing algorithms and mathematical tools. An experiment was carried out using a sequence of 250 pulse thermography images of an AISI 316 L stainless steel sheet with synthetic defects. The proposed system was able to detect and characterize defects sized 10 mm, 8 mm, 6 mm, 4 mm and 2 mm with an average accuracy of 96%, 95%, 84%, 77%, 54% respectively. The proposed technique helps in the effective and efficient characterization of defects in metal objects

Study of clinical features and laboratory investigations for effective management of hyponatremia

Background: Hyponatremia, a common electrolyte disorder is mostly observed in hospitalized elderly patients. It is a potential cause of morbidity, mortality and has significant economic impact on the patient and health care system. The aim of the present study was to investigate the risk factors, clinical features and management of hyponatremia in hospitalized patients to reduce its incidence and minimize the associated complications.Methods: Current study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital SSMC, Tumkur). Patients were evaluated for the underlying cause of hyponatremia through detailed history and physical examination followed by appropriate laboratory investigations based on urine sodium, serum and urine osmolality. Patients with hyponatremia were classified into categories based on clinical investigations and accordingly treated with suitable therapy.Results: Constitutional symptoms, confusion, fever, vomiting, respiratory symptoms, abdominal pain, loose stools, coma, convulsions and other miscellaneous symptoms were observed in history of hyponatremic patients. Most common etiology was found to be SIADH followed by extrarenal losses, renal failure, cirrhosis, CCF, drug in take and glucocorticoid deficiency. Management of hyponatremia was done using hypertonic saline, administration of diuretics, fluid restriction therapy, administration of vaptans and combination of hypertonic saline and vaptans as  treatment alternatives, no potential complications were observed during treatment of hyponatremia.Conclusions: The possible cause of hyponatremia should always be determined, asoutcomeinsevere hyponatremiais governed by etiology and not merely by serum sodium levels. The correction of hyponatremia helps to improve the prognosis of the underlying disease and to prevent further complications