Design, development and performance study of six-gap glass MRPC detectors

The Multigap Resistive Plate Chambers (MRPCs) are gas ionization detectors with multiple gas sub-gaps made of resistive electrodes. The high voltage (HV) is applied on the outer surfaces of outermost resistive plates only, while the interior plates are left electrically floating. The presence of multiple narrow sub--gaps with high electric field results in faster signals on the outer electrodes, thus improving the detector's time resolution. Due to their excellent performance and relatively low cost, the MRPC detector has found potential application in Time-of-Flight (TOF) systems. Here we present the design, fabrication, optimization of the operating parameters such as the HV, the gas mixture composition, and, performance of six--gap glass MRPC detectors of area 27cm $\times$ 27 cm, which are developed in order to find application as trigger detectors, in TOF measurement etc. The design has been optimized with unique spacers and blockers to ensure a proper gas flow through the narrow sub-gaps, which are 250 $\mu$m wide. The gas mixture consisting of R134A, Isobutane and SF$_{6}$, and the fraction of each constituting gases has been optimized after studying the MRPC performance for a set of different concentrations. The counting efficiency of the MRPC is about 95% at $17.9$ kV. At the same operating voltage, the time resolution, after correcting for the walk effect, is found to be about $219$ ps.Comment: Revised version with 15 pages, 14 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in the European Physical Journal

Sensitive and selective spectrophotometric determination of pantoprazole sodium in pharmaceuticals using permanganate

A simple visible spectrophotometric method is described for the determination of pantoprazole sodium sesquihydrate (PSS). The method is based on the formation of a brown colored product on treating PSS with permanganate in neutral medium, the absorbance being measured at 350 nm. The experimental conditions for the assay were optimized. The absorbance is found to increase linearly with the concentration of PSS and the calibration graph is linear in the range of 2.5-40.0 μg ml-1 with a linear regression coefficient of 0.998. The calculated molar absorptivity value is 1.27x104 l mol-1 cm-1 and the corresponding Sandel sensitivity is 0.0341 µg cm-2. The limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) are calculated to be 0.49 and 1.47 µg ml-1, respectively. Intra-day and inter-day accuracy expressed as relative error were better than 2.0% and the corresponding precision (RSD) was less than 2.5 %. The developed and validated method was applied to the determination of the active ingredient in a tablet dosage form and the results obtained agreed well with those of the reference method. The accuracy and reliability of the method were ascertained by performing recovery experiments via standard-addition procedure

Impact of Innovations in Value Chain on Sorghum Farmers

The paper has studied the implementation of millets value chain pilot project under the NAIP to create demand for sorghum through diversification in farm production, procurement, ultimately aiming at economical benefits to both farmers and other stakeholders. This 4.5 years novel initiative is still in the mid-way. The study has reported that technological backstopping of sorghum cultivation with end-product specific improved cultivars has realized 51 per cent rise in incremental net income of Rs 16098/ha for the participating farmers (58 per cent rise in kharif and 44 per cent in rabi farmers). The inconvenience in the preparation of sorghum foods which has been the important reason for the decrease in its consumption, has been eliminated through development of convenient and ready-to-eat/cook foods. The factorization of the investment expenditure made per farmer (one acre of sorghum per participating farmer) has been worked out to be Rs 356 (equivalent of Rs 890/ha) in a season resulting in 51 per cent rise in incremental net income over baseline which is slightly higher in kharif sorghum than in rabi sorghum. The output pricing in kharif has helped in attaining these benefits. However, the benefit-cost ratio has worked out in favour of rabi sorghum farmers, i.e. 1:7.5 vis-à-vis kharif farmers BC ratio of 1: 4.2. The study has observed that linking up of the entire stakeholders through value addition throughout the value chain system would renew and uplift the diminishing sorghum area and production and its ultimate economical benefits to farmers and other stakeholders in the value chain.Agricultural and Food Policy,

Qualitative and quantitative analysis of antibody response in childhood tuberculosis against antigens of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Purpose: Serodiagnosis of tuberculosis in children, using available crude antigens, has been difficult. The tests lack sufficient sensitivity and/or specificity. In this study, western blot analysis of M. tuberculosis H37Rv culture filtrate antigen (CFA) was carried out, to identify diagnostically useful antigens. In addition, the CFA was also used in enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), to measure antibodies of multiple isotypes. Methods: Specific IgG, IgA and IgM antibodies were estimated in the sera from 26 clinically/ bacteriologically diagnosed cases of childhood tuberculosis (CTB) and 61 normal children (CNHS), using culture filtrate antigen. Western blot analysis with culture filtrate antigen was carried out to qualitatively compare the antibody profile among the CTB, with childhood normal controls and adult TB. Results: IgG positivity was only 7.6% with culture filtrate antigen in the CTB group, while 3.2% among the controls were also positive. However, the results of IgA and IgM isotypes were better. By combination of all the three isotypes an increased sensitivity of 57.7% with a specificity of 93.5%, was obtained. Immunoblot analysis revealed marked difference among antibodies in the region of 16, 19, 38 and 45kDa between CTB and CNHS. Conclusions: Our findings point to a limited sensitivity of 57.7% in ELISA with culture filtrate antigen. However, antibodies around 16, 19,38 and 45kDa region may be useful in differentiating the CTB patients from CNHS by immunoblot assay

WeedFocusNet: A Revolutionary Approach using the Attention-Driven ResNet152V2 Transfer Learning

The advancement of modern agriculture is heavily dependent on accurate weed detection, which contributes to efficient resource utilization and increased crop yield. Traditional methods, however, often need more accuracy and efficiency. This paper presents WeedFocusNet, an innovative approach that leverages attention-driven ResNet152V2 transfer learning addresses these challenges. This approach enhances model generalization and focuses on critical features for weed identification, thereby overcoming the limitations of existing methods. The objective is to develop a model that enhances weed detection accuracy and optimizes computational efficiency. WeedFocusNet, a novel deep-learning model, performs weed detection better by employing attention-driven transfer learning based on the ResNet152V2 architecture. The model integrates an attention module, concentrating its predictions on the most significant image features. Evaluated on a dataset of weed and crop images, WeedFocusNet achieved an accuracy of 99.28%, significantly outperforming previous methods and models, such as MobileNetV2, ResNet50, and custom CNN models, in terms of accuracy, time complexity, and memory usage, despite its larger memory footprint. These results emphasize the transformative potential of WeedFocusNet as a powerful approach for automating weed detection in agricultural fields

Pergeseran Adat Perkawinan Suku Akit di Desa Berancah Kecamatan Bantan Kabupaten Bengkalis

Abstrack: Riau Province is the center of Malay culture and tradition. Thepresumption is supported by the fact that in Riau still exist among indigenous or betterknown as Remote Indigenous Communities (KAT), one tribe Akit. The research shiftstraditional wedding picture Akit tribe in the village Berancah District Bantan DistrictBengkalis. The method used in this research is qualitative. The survey results revealed apicture shift tribe marrige customs Akit through several stages. Stage before marriage:Election of a mate, merisik, applying, attached to the sign, inviting, hanging curtain,carefully. Phase wedding ceremony: berandam, marching, exchange slap, landing thehead of customs, worship, eat betel together, eat inheritance, divorce customs.Customary marriage shift Akit Tribe namely: electotal mate, hanging curtain,berandam, the direction of the head of customs, worship, worshiping, dancing events,customary marriage certificate

Peningkatan Kemandirian dan Hasil Belajar Tematik melalui PjBL

Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mendeskripsikan penerapan langkah-langkah model pembelajaran  project based learning dalam meningkatkan kemandirian dan hasil belajar siswa kelas IV SD 2 Blotongan. Penelitian ini menggunakan dua siklus, masing-masing siklus memiliki prosedur antara lain perencanaan, tindakan, observasi dan refleksi. Teknik analisis data kualitatif berupa analisis data kemandirian dan data kuantitatif berupa analisis data ketuntasan belajar. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan penerapan model pembelajaran project based learning dapat meningkatkan kemandirian dan hasil belajar tematik. Hal ini ditunjukkan dengan adanya peningkatan kemandirian belajar siswa pada pra siklus sebesar 50 %, siklus 1 sebesar 85%  dan siklus II sebesar 100%. Hal ini berdampak pada ketuntasan belajar yang meningkat menjadi 85%

Evaluation of Antiulcer Activity of Ethanol Extract of Leaves of Lactuca sativa

In this modern era, gastrointestinal disorders are the universal problem. Peptic ulcer is one of the major diseases affecting the human population. It develops due to the imbalance between aggressive factors like acid, pepsin, H. pylori and bile salts and defensive factors like mucous, bicarbonate, blood flow, epithelial cell restoration and prostaglandins. The anti-ulcer activity of Ethanol extract of leaves of Lactuca sativa (EELS) was estimated using the experimental models of acute gastric lesions induced by ethanol, pylorus ligation and cold restraint stress in Wistar albino rats. Animals pre-treated with doses of 250 mg/kg, 500 mg/kg of EELS were statistically analyzed and compared to the standard and control group with the parameters like volume of gastric secretion, total acidity and ulcer index. The results suggested that EELS significantly decreased volume of gastric acid secretion, total acidity and ulcer index in comparison with standard drug Omeprazole. EELS shown significant reduction in lesion index, total affected area and percentage of lesion in comparison with control group in Ethanol induced ulcer in experimental models. The gastric mucosal protective effect of EELS is brought by inhibiting the gastric secretion, which shows it may act like a proton pump inhibitor. Thus the present study indicates that EELS has anti-ulcerogenic potency in Ethanol induced, pylorus ligation and cold restraint stress induced ulcers in rats. Keywords: Antiulcer, ulcer index, cold stress, peptic ulcer, pylorus ligatio

Profile of cutaneous adverse drug reactions of carbamazepine

Background: Carbamazepine, a commonly used antiepileptic drug is known to produce adverse effects including dangerous reactions like cutaneous hypersensitivity reactions such as drug induced hypersensitivity syndrome (DHS), Stevens Johnson syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN). The FDA released a warning that serious and potentially fatal skin reactions may occur after carbamazepine in patients positive for the HLA-B*1502 allele which occurs almost exclusively in patients with ancestry across broad areas of Asia, including South Asian Indians. This study profiles the cutaneous adverse drug reactions reported in this institute over a period of 3 years.Methods: This retrospective study was conducted at Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital by analysing patient case records based on adverse drug reactions reported between August 2014 and July 2017 in the adverse drug reaction monitoring centre. The age, gender, diagnosis, type of cutaneous ADR, duration of treatment, seriousness of reaction and outcome were recorded and analysed.Results: Among the total 25 reactions 36% were benign and 64% were severe reactions. According to Pharmaco vigilance Program of India 80% of the reactions were serious and 20% non serious. The commonest benign skin reaction was maculopapular eruption. SJS and TEN were the two very serious reactions which affected 8 patients totally. Exfoliative dermatitis was reported in 7 patients and Drug Hypersensitivity Syndrome (DHS) in one patient.Conclusions: Severe cutaneous reactions occur after carbamazepine and prevention of ADR requires prediction of predisposition which requires special studies of HLA or genomic assessment. These are the issues of interest for future research