High temperature dielectric properties of Apical, Kapton, Peek, Teflon AF, and Upilex polymers

Reliable lightweight systems capable of providing electrical power at the magawatt level are a requirement for future manned space exploration missions. This can be achieved by the development of high temperature insulating materials which are not only capable of surviving the hostile space environment but can contribute to reducing the mass and weight of the heat rejection system. In this work, Apical, Upilex, Kapton, Teflon AF, and Peek polymers are characterized for AC and DC dielectric breakdown in air and in silicone oil at temperatures up to 250 C. The materials are also tested in terms of their dielectric constant and dissipation factor at high temperatures with an electrical stress of 60 Hz, 200 V/mil present. The effects of thermal aging on the properties of the films are determined after 15 hours of exposure to 200 and 250 C, each. The results obtained are discussed and conclusions are made concerning the suitability of these dielectrics for use in capacitors and cable insulations in high temperature environments

Reliability optimization of electrical distribution systems considering expenditures on maintenance and customer interruptions

In this paper, a methodology is proposed which shows enhancement of reliability by optimizing total reliability cost of electrical distribution systems. The total reliability cost consists of cost incurred by utility and customers both. An objective function in terms of failure rates and repair times i.e. primary reliability indices has been formulated which  depicts both these costs . Hence, optimization of the objective function will give a balance between these costs with optimized values of primary reliability indices. This optimization has been done considering the constraints of achieving customer and energy based reliability indices below threshold/target values. The methodology has been applied on Roy Billinton Test System- Bus 2 (RBTS-2).  The problem has been solved by applying Flower Pollination (FP) algorithm. A comparison has been made with the results obtained by Differential evolution (DE) algorithm also for  the system considered

Cosmogenic records in the recently fallen Devgaon (H4) chondrite

A stony meteorite fell in the village Devgaon, Bastar district, Chattisgarh, Central India on 2001 February 12. The meteorite was fully covered with fusion crust and weighed about 12 kg. Chemical composition, cosmogenic nuclear tracks, radionuclides and noble gases have been studied to determine its classification, the preatmospheric size and the irradiation history

Sunstein, Statutes, and the Common Law – Reconciling Markets, the Communal Impulse, and the Mammoth State

Professor Cass Sunstein\u27s new book, After the Rights Revolution: Reconceiving the Regulatory State, builds upon, and in important ways seeks to integrate, much of Professor Sunstein\u27s work over the past several years. He has been one of our most prolific and influential writers on issues of governmental structure, approaching the subject both from more or less conventional administrative law perspectives and from the constitutional perspectives of separation of powers. His work has dealt with a tension often addressed in the literature, that between the eighteenth-century Madisonian constitutional engine of limited, internally checked government and the realities of our sprawling contemporary structures. A particular contribution of Sunstein\u27s has been to insist on bringing forward the Madisonian visions, on their accommodation, not their abandonment. This contribution entails rather vigorous disagreement with the economics-driven theorists of public choice, on the right, and those of deconstructionism, on the left. Sunstein wants to build a conceptual framework for contemporary government that embraces the Madisonian ideal of government structured to serve genuinely public ends in face of the risk of faction; that vision entails both reaching agreement on appropriate distinctions between public and private ends, and finding effective contemporary expression of such ideas as checks and balances

Acquired HIV drug resistance among adults living with HIV receiving first-line antiretroviral therapy in Rwanda: a cross-sectional nationally representative survey

BACKGROUND: We assessed the prevalence of acquired HIV drug resistance (HIVDR) and associated factors among patients receiving first-line antiretroviral therapy (ART) in Rwanda. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 702 patients receiving first-line ART for at least 6 months with last viral load (VL) results >/=1000 copies/mL. Blood plasma samples were subjected to VL testing; specimens with unsuppressed VL were genotyped to identify HIVDR-associated mutations. Data were analysed using STATA/SE. RESULTS: Median time on ART was 86.4 months (interquartile range [IQR], 44.8-130.2 months), and median CD4 count at ART initiation was 311 cells/mm(3) (IQR, 197-484 cells/mm(3)). Of 414 (68.2%) samples with unsuppressed VL, 378 (88.3%) were genotyped. HIVDR included 347 (90.4%) non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor- (NNRTI), 291 (75.5%) nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor- (NRTI) and 13 (3.5%) protease inhibitor (PI) resistance-associated mutations. The most common HIVDR mutations were K65R (22.7%), M184V (15.4%) and D67N (9.8%) for NRTIs and K103N (34.4%) and Y181C/I/V/YC (7%) for NNRTIs. Independent predictors of acquired HIVDR included current ART regimen of zidovudine + lamivudine + nevirapine (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 3.333 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.022-10.870]; p = 0.046) for NRTI resistance and current ART regimen of tenofovir + emtricitabine + nevirapine (aOR, 0.148 [95% CI: 0.028-0.779]; p = 0.025), zidovudine + lamivudine + efavirenz (aOR, 0.105 [95% CI: 0.016-0.693]; p = 0.020) and zidovudine + lamivudine + nevirapine (aOR, 0.259 [95% CI: 0.084-0.793]; p = 0.019) for NNRTI resistance. History of ever switching ART regimen was associated with NRTI resistance (aOR, 2.53 [95% CI: 1.198-5.356]; p = 0.016) and NNRTI resistance (aOR, 3.23 [95% CI: 1.435-7.278], p = 0.005). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of acquired HIV drug resistance (HIVDR) was high among patient failing to re-suppress VL and was associated with current ART regimen and ever switching ART regimen. The findings of this study support the current WHO guidelines recommending that patients on an NNRTI-based regimen should be switched based on a single viral load test and suggests that national HIV VL monitoring of patients receiving ART has prevented long-term treatment failure that would result in the accumulation of TAMs and potential loss of efficacy of all NRTI used in second-line ART as the backbone in combination with either dolutegravir or boosted PIs

The Vissannapeta eucrite

A wholly encrusted single stone that fell in Vissannapeta, Andhra Pradesh, India has been identified as a cumulate eucrite based on its primary texture and mineral composition: anorthite (An92.4-94.6), orthopyroxene (En49.1-51.8Fs44.2-49.7Wo1.2-4.0), and clinopyroxene (En38.8-46.8Fs14.8-33.6Wo19.6-46.4). The stone is pyramidal in shape, and the crust shows rib-like flow features indicating that it had an oriented passage through the atmosphere towards the terminal stage of its flight. Conditions of its fall, mineralogical characteristics, and results of measurements of cosmogenic radioactivity (26Al, 22Na, and 54Mn) and track density are described. Aluminum-26 and 22Na in Vissannapeta are ∼ 75% of the expected values and also lower by a similar factor compared to the activities measured in Piplia Kalan, another eucrite, which fell ∼ 18 months before Vissannapeta. Because higher activity of 22Na and 54Mn would be expected from solar cycle modulation of galactic cosmic rays, these results, as well as the track density gradient, indicate that Vissannapeta was a small body (≤ 120 kg) in the interplanetary space wherein the nuclear cascade due to galactic cosmic rays did not develop fully. Tracks, surface morphology, and crustal features indicate at least two fragmentation events in the atmosphere

Assessment of the physical and mechanical properties of plaster of Paris bandage cast used as a splinting and casting materials

Abstract Aim: To assess the physical and mechanical properties of plaster of Paris (POP) bandage cast used as a splinting and casting materials. Materials and Methods: POP casts were divided into three Groups A, B and C with 2, 3 and 8 layer for POP bandage, respectively (n=6 in each group). Handling characters, technical easiness or difficulties, setting time, weight, diameter and thickness of the casts were recorded for different groups. The casts were mounted on universal testing machine and axial load was applied @ 10 mm/min until failure. The load deflection graphs were plotted. The maximum force at which failure of the casts occurred was recorded. Stress, strain, modulus of elasticity (MOE) and stiffness of casts were calculated. Result: Construction of POP bandage cast was messy and required 45-60 min for hardening. 8 layer POP cast was comparatively heavier in weight and thicker in cross section than 3 layer cast followed by 2 layer cast. Under axial compression, the load bearing capacity of 8 layer POP casts was more than 2 and 3 layer cast. Conclusion: The values of load bearing capacity, stress, stiffness and MOE of cast were the highest for 8 layer POP cast followed by 2 and 3 layer cast. Use if splints with POP cast is recommended due to its poor mechanical properties

Solar and galactic cosmic-ray records of the Fermo (H) chondrite regolith breccia

We demonstrate the presence of solar flare as well as neutron capture effects in the isotopic composition of rare gases in the Fermo regolith breccia acquired on its parent body based on the measurements of tracks, rare gases and radionuclides. The track density along a 3.2 cm long core decreases by a factor of about 6 and by more than a factor of 13 within the meteorite, indicating small (2-9 cm) and asymmetrical ablation. Rare gases show a large trapped component; the isotopic ratios, particularly 20Ne/22Ne ≅ 11 and 20Ne/36Ar = 10 are indicative of a solar component. The galactic cosmic-ray exposure age is determined to be 8.8 Ma. Activities of a dozen radionuclides ranging in half-life from 16 day 48V to 0.73 Ma 26Al are consistent with their expected production rates. Track, rare gas and radionuclide data show that the meteoroid was a small body (≤ 120 kg) and had a simple, one-stage exposure history to cosmic rays in the interplanetary space. However, 82Kr and 128Xe show an excess due to neutron irradiation on the parent body of the meteorite. The presence of solar gases and the neutron capture effects indicate several stages of irradiation on the parent asteroid. The chemical composition of Fermo confirms that it belongs to the H group of ordinary chondrites with lithic clasts having varying compositions. δ 15N is found to be 8.3 ± 1.2%0, close to the typical values observed in H chondrites

Relevance of species-specific procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) as clinical biomarkers in goat pneumonia

Pneumonia is a leading cause of economic losses in the ruminant industry throughout the world. This study aimed to determine the relevance of species-specific procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) as clinical biomarkers in goat pneumonia. Forty-six confirmed cases of goat pneumonia and 10 apparently healthy goats were included in this investigation. Detailed clinical examination involved recording of vital parameters in diseased as well as in apparently healthy goats. The level of PCT and CRP was analyzed in serum samples collected on day 0 and day 5 from all the 46 diseased goats and on day 0 from 10 healthy goats. A significantly higher pre-treatment concentrations of PCT (229.88±38.79 pg/mL) and CRP (44.13±2.72 µg/mL) in diseased goats was observed when compared with the control group. Significant positive correlation was found between PCT and CRP. Both PCT and CRP revealed a high level of discrimination between diseased goats and healthy ones (AUC= 1.0). Significant inhibition was observed in the values of PCT and CRP 5 days post-treatment in goats treated with two different antimicrobial drugs. Moreover, the obtained data showed a high degree of accuracy for both PCT and CRP in predicting the therapeutic response of infected goats at the selected thresholds (AUC = 1.0 and 1.0, respectively). Positive correlation between PCT and CRP with body temperature and heart rate was recorded. Measurement of PCT and CRP with clinical examination might be useful in assessing severity of goat pneumonia

Relational approaches to poverty in rural India: social, ecological and technical dynamics

Poverty is now widely recognised as multidimensional, with indicators including healthcare, housing and sanitation. Yet, relational approaches that foreground political-cultural processes remain marginalised in policy discourses. Focusing on India, we review a wide range of relational approaches to rural poverty. Beginning with early approaches that focus on structural reproduction of class, caste and to a lesser extent gender inequality, we examine new relational approaches developed in the last two decades. The new approaches examine diverse ways in which poverty is experienced and shapes mobilisations against deprivation. They draw attention to poor people’s own articulations of deprivation and alternate conceptions of well-being. They also show how intersecting inequalities of class, caste and gender shape governance practices and political movements. Despite these important contributions, the new relational approaches pay limited attention to technologies and ecologies in shaping the experience of poverty. Reviewing studies on the Green Revolution and wider agrarian transformations in India, we then sketch the outlines of a hybrid relational approach to poverty that combines socio-technical and -ecological dynamics. We argue that such an approach is crucial to challenge narrow economising discourses on poverty and to bridge the policy silos of poverty alleviation and (environmentally) sustainable development