NOVEL DIGITAL LOCK SYSTEM

In this paper we have proposed a new digital lock model which is primarily designed for low cost intermediate security purpose. Even though there are digital locks available this one is designed keeping the common man in mind. It will be the first digital locking system that would be available at a price less than 700 rupees. The recent increase in burglary levels proves the fact that the lever locking system is no more reliable and effective, but on the other hand the present digital locks are around 3000 rupees making it over priced. So this clearly shows the need for an intermediate effective digital locking system. Our novel digital locking system is aimed exactly to solve the above stated problem. Our model is an outcome of embedded system and can works using an 8051 microcontroller interfaced with a 16*2 lcd to perform logical operations. The input is given by the user using 3*3 matrixes key padded system. The locking system consist of a power lock which is widely used in automobiles, it primarily consist of an dc motor which on rotating moves the lever back and forth depending on the direction of rotation. The interrupt pins are used to clear the buzzer which is connected to port 3 pins which thereby notifies the user immediately in case of theft or burglary

Heterostructured Metaloxide Photocatalytic (Copper Oxide and Titanium Oxide) for Degradation and Removal of Water Organic Pollutants

Metal oxides with favourable light absorption properties and charge transport characteristics play wide application as a photocatalyst. Titanium oxide and Copper oxide are the two major earth abundant metal oxides, and this dissertation is aimed to synthesize the heterostructured copper oxide and titanium oxide for the application of water treatment by enhancing their photocatalytic activity. Metal oxides are treated with atmospheric pressure plasma or by altering the structural level in nano size region to enhance the photocatalytic activity. Cupric oxide (CuO) thin film has found widespread application as a low-cost material for photo catalytic applications. High surface wettability is a key factor to achieve enhanced efficiency in these catalytic applications. Here, we report a fast and environment friendly route to fabricate super hydrophilic CuO thin films using a low power (5–10 W) atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ). With APPJ treatment for 5 min, the CuO surface transforms from hydrophobic to super-hydrophilic with increase in catalytic activity. APPJ introduces anisotropy in the crystal structure and creates unique three-dimensional surface morphology with distinct surface chemical and electronic features. The treated films exhibited a higher rate of photo degradation of Methylene Blue and phenol indicating efficient charge separation. An environment friendly alternative to epitaxially grown process of copper oxide nanowires (NWs) on copper substrates using single step atmospheric pressure plasma jet assisted oxidation is used. NWs of average length 300 nm are grown rapidly in 5 minutes along with transforming the surface to superhydrophilic. This method introduces defects in the nanowire structure which is otherwise difficult to achieve due to the highly isotropic nature of nanowire growth. High resolution transmission electron microscopy reveals vacancies and structural defects such as lattice twinning and kinks. Copper oxide NWs have an excellent degradation activity towards organic pollutants Methylene Blue. Two-dimensional (2D) Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) has become one of the most exciting areas of research for adsorbents due to its high surface area and abundant active sites. Mainly, 2D MoS2 show promising removal of textile dye pollutants by adsorption process, but it shows high affinity for anionic type of dyes, that limits its performance in mixed dye pollutants treatment. Herein, we demonstrate an integrated approach to remove mixed dye pollutants (anionic and cationic) concurrently by combining adsorption and photocatalysis process. We synthesize MoS2/TiO2 nanocomposites for different weight percentages 2.5, 5, 10, 20, 30 and 50 wt% of pre-synthesized flower-like MoS2 nanoparticle by a two-step hydrothermal method. We demonstrate a new process of two-stage adsorption / photocatalysis using high wt% of MoS2 (Stage-I) and low wt% of MoS2 (Stage-II) nanocomposites. The proposed two-stage integrated adsorption and photocatalysis process using 50% and 2.5% of MoS2 coated TiO2, respectively showed complete removal of methylene blue dye ~5 times faster than conventional single-stage (adsorption or photocatalysis) water treatment process. Furthermore, the feasibility of the proposed two stage method in mixed dye pollutants removal (anionic and cationic) showed excellent performance even in doubling the dye pollutant concentration. This work brings a deeper insight into understanding the morphology and concentration of 2-D MoS2 in MoS2/TiO2 nanocomposite in tackling mixed dye pollutants and the possibilities of applying in textile dyeing industries wastewater treatment plants

WHO AWaRe strategy and antimicrobial stewardship to combat antimicrobial resistance: An Indian perspective

Antimicrobial resistance is a serious problem to solve especially in developing countries like India. Antibiotic use in India increased several times since 2005. Many studies in India have reported inappropriate and overuse of antibiotics which could be one of the possible reasons for increased antibiotic resistance in the country. This is an important and urgent issue that mandates strict regulations regarding the rational use of antibiotics. World Health Organization (WHO) has done a major revision to the essential medicines list which classifies antibiotics into three categories (access, watch, and reserve) to ensure the availability and correct use of antibiotics. Several countries started antimicrobial stewardship programs to promote appropriate use of antibiotics, reduce antibiotic resistance as well a financial burden. Indian government started a national action plan on antibiotic resistance in 2017 to promote the rational use of antibiotics but it is still in its formative stage as all stewardship components are yet to be implemented. This review emphasizes the importance and the need for implementing WHO’s AWaRe strategy and antimicrobial stewardship to promote rational antibiotic use in the country

Clock Network Design for 2.5D Heterogeneous Systems

The CMOS process technology scaling may have reached its pinnacle, yet not all ele- ments of computing can be manufactured at lower technological nodes. This has led to the development of a new branch of chip designing that allows chiplets on different technolog- ical nodes to be integrated on to a single package using interposers, the passive intercon- nection mediums. However, establishing a high-frequency communication over an entirely passive layer is one of the significant design challenges of 2.5D systems. My research will focus on building a robust clocking architecture for 2.5D systems, using a 64 core processor benchmark. The clocking scheme of any 2.5D design consists of two major components, viz., Interposer Clocking, and On-Chiplet Clocking. The interposer clocking consists of clocks used to achieve global synchronicity and clocks for inter-chiplet communication es- tablished using AIB protocol. These clocking components will be built using commercial EDA tools and analyzed using standard tools, and package/interconnect models. I will also be comparing these results against a 2D design of the same benchmark and against a differ- ent 2.5D clocking architecture to study if the 2.5D clock network can be designed to offer better power performance than the 2D counterpart.M.S

Incidence of Seizures in Stroke Patients

INTRODUCTION: Stroke is one of the most common causes of seizures in elderly. The relation between seizures and stroke was recognized more than a century ago by John Hughling Jackson. The reported incidence of seizures after stroke varies from 4.1% - 12.5%. This is related to different study population and follow up times. The incidence of post stroke seizures in India is 13%. Despite the relatively low incidence of seizures after cerebral stroke, Post stroke seizures is one of the most common causes of seizures due to the high incidence of stroke. A seizure may occur before, at the onset of, or weeks to months after a stroke. Hence the onset of seizures in adult or elderly population may be a warning sign for further stroke and warrants a study of patients cerebral circulation. An important risk factor for development of seizures after stroke is the involvement of cerebral cortex. Hemorrhagic strokes result in seizures more frequently than do Ischemic strokes. The presence of precipitating factors like hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia, hypernatremia, hypocalcaemia, hypomagnesaemia, renal failure and infections – increase the chance of seizures. Atrial fibrillation and diabetes are found to be associated with increased risk of early seizures. There is a strong link between stroke severity and risk of seizures after stroke. The risk is very low in mild strokes. AIM: Both early and late onset post stroke seizures left sided cortical infarcts, increased stroke severity and recurrent strokes are the risk factors for post stroke late epilepsy. The present study was conducted prospectively to define the clinical features, CT findings and EEG correlation of stroke patients with seizures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was carried out in the Department of General medicine and the Department of Neuromedicine at the Govt. Stanley Hospital, Chennai, India from August 2005 to Jan 2006. The patients in the age group of 30 to 88 yrs with the following criteria were included in the study. Inclusion Criteria: 1. Diagnosis of stroke, 2. With or without seizures. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Previous seizures, 2. Previous brain surgery, 3. Head trauma, 4. Sub arachnoid hemorrhage, 5. Aneurysm, tumor, 6. AVM related bleed, 7. Significant metabolic abnormality, 8. Septicemia. All patients were interviewed using a structured proforma. This includes a detailed history regarding stroke, type of stroke, time and nature of onset, associated with seizures, level of consciousness etc. A detailed past history regarding SHT, DM, RHD were recorded. A detailed clinical examination was performed. The biochemical investigations done in these patients include blood sugar, urea, creatinine, serum electrolytes and LFT. Chest X ray and ECG were taken for all patients. Computerized tomography scan of brain was done to all patients with special emphasize to look for infarct, hemorrhage and the site of lesion. EEG was taken for nearly 50% of patients who presented without seizures and eight out of nine patients who presented with seizures. RESULTS: A total of eighty-one patients who satisfied the inclusion criteria between the ages of 30 and 88 years were included in the study. 17 (21%) of the eighty-one patients were females and 64 (79%) were males. The patients were grouped based on the CT scan findings. There were sixty patients (74%) in group I, seven (8.6%) in group II and fourteen (17.3%) patients in group III. Analysis of Stroke Patients with Seizures: Nine patients (6 males and 3 females) in age range of 47 yrs to 75 yrs (mean age 61 yrs) from 81 patients of stroke who fulfilled the selection criteria had seizures. The incidence of seizures is 11.1%. 5 (55.6%) of the 9 patients who had seizures had infarct in brain, 3(33.3%) patients had hemorrhage in the brain and 1(11.1%) patient showed normal study in CT scan. None of the 5 patients who showed infarct in CT scan brain had an evidence for embolic stroke (vascular disease, atrial fibrillation and myocardial infarction). Of the nine patients who had seizures 5 patients showed left sided cortical involvement 3 pts showed right-sided cortical involvement one showed bilateral cortical involvement. All the 5 patients who had an infarct in the brain showed involvement of cortical areas with or without sub cortical region involvement, but no patient showed pure sub cortical lesion on cranial CT. 2 of the hematoma were in the cerebral cortex and 1 was primarly in the capsulo ganglionic region. None of the hematoma showed an evidence of intraventricular extension. 6 patients (67%) had early immediate seizures (i.e. within 24 hrs of onset of stroke and 3 (33%) had late onset seizures. In patients with early immediate seizures 2(33%) of them presented with focal seizures, 2(33%) presented with GTCS, 1 with focal becoming secondary generalized (17%) and one (17%) patient presented with status epilepticus. Of the 3 patients who presented with late onset seizures 2(67%) had GTCS and 1(33%) had focal seizure, none of 3 patients had history of recurrent seizures. EEG recordings were normal in 6 of them, 2 of them showed diffuse slowing, and in one patient EEG cannot be recorded. None of the patients showed focal slowing or epileptiform discharges. No specific EEG pattern was seen with early versus late seizures. CONCLUSION: 1. Post stroke early onset seizures occur within two weeks of stroke onset, while late onset seizures occur after two weeks. 2. The incidence of seizures in this study is 11.1% 3. The incidence of early onset seizures is 7.4% 4. The incidence of late onset seizures is 3.7% 5. The incidence of focal seizures in early onset post stroke seizures is 33%. 6. The incidence of GTCS (including status epilepticus) in early onset post stroke seizures is 50%. 7. EEG recordings were normal in 78% of patients while 22% showed diffuse slowing. 8. The involvement of cerebral cortex has been emphasized in the pathogenesis of epilepsy caused by stroke. In the present study 100% of infarctions leading to seizure involved cerebral cortex with or without involvement of subcortical region. 9. 67% of hematomas were localized exclusively to the cortical region. 10. 55% of patients showed left side cortical involvement while 33.3% showed right side cortical involvement, and 11.1% showed bilateral involvement