Smart Metro - Rail System

Railway transport system has proved to be a very sturdy and convenient mode of transport over the centuries. It still serves as the economic and most efficient means of mass transport in many countries. It is a widespread practice even today that most operations are manually carried out, leading to several dangerous accidents and mismanagement of the system. When it comes to the matter of scores of lives, error margin is of utmost importance to ensure an efficient and safe mode of travel. There is an utter need for a system that provides automation of the critical systems that play a pivotal role in the smooth functioning. The focus remains on certain key functions including locomotion, data logging for position, speed and health of he locomotive. This can increase the safety levels, while also reducing the time for relief in-case of unfortunate emergencies

A study to estimate prevalence and risk factors of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Syndrome in a semi-urban Indian population

Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS) has been recognised as a major cause of morbidity and mortality in developing countries like India. There is still a paucity of Indian studies regarding the prevalence of OSAS. The current single centre prospective cross-sectional study was undertaken to know prevalence estimates for key symptoms and features that can indicate the presence of OSAS in an Indian population. A survey was conducted on subjects with age groups ≥ 25 years at King George's Medical University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India from August 2009 to July 2011. Data was recorded during the interview on the basis of Berlin Questionnaire (BQ). Risk factors for OSAS were also evaluated. Risk group categorization for OSAS was done with the help of a questionnaire and overnight polysomnography was performed in each group to measure apnea and hypopnea index (AHI). Out of 1816 subjects, 1512 (response rate 83.3%) finally participated in the survey with mean age 42.6±11.2 years, males 67.9% and females 32.1%. Of them 6.2% were found to be at high-risk OSAS; 12.2% were obese (Body Mass Index ≥30 kg/m2) and 33.5% of the obese population were at high-risk OSAS. Among high-risk patients with OSAS, 62.4% had hypertension. Statistically significant and independent risk factors found for OSAS were obesity, large neck size, alcoholism and use of sedatives/tranquillizers. High-risk category predicted an AHI ≥5 with a sensitivity of 86.3% (95% CI 73.1-93.8), specificity of 93.1% (95% CI 89.1-95.7), positive and negative predictive values of 70.9% (95% CI 57.9-81.4) and 97.2% (95% CI 94.1-98.8) respectively. It can be concluded that BQ questionnaire can still be used as a pre-assessment tool for predicting persons at risk for OSAS in clinical practice. Further studies on estimation of prevalence of OSAS by applying BQ are warranted in near future from other regions of India

Synthesis and characterization of Fe10BO3/Fe3O4/SiO2 and GdFeO3/Fe3O4/SiO2: nanocomposites of biofunctional materials

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide; with many different types, it kills thousands of people every day. Various types of treatments have been developed to treat cancer, and new approaches that are currently under investigation include boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT)[1] and gadolinium neutron capture therapy (GdNCT).[2] Neutron capture therapy is primarily used to treat brain tumors, such as glioblastoma, a particularly aggressive type of brain tumor that is difficult to treat by conventional means such as radiation therapy. BNCT and GdNCT involve a bimodal approach to treatment, utilizing a cancer-specific drug and a neutron source (neutron beam). The approach is based on the ability of a boron isotope (10B) to absorb neutrons and emit localized cell-killing particles. The main mechanism that takes place in BNCT is the absorption of a neutron to convert 10B to 11B, with the release of 4He2+, 7Li3+, and energy.[3] The energy that is released can then destroy the tumor cell. Gadolinium also attracted interest for its potential use in neutron capture therapy because it is the element with the highest cross-sectional value for thermal neutrons—2.55 105 b and 6.10 104 b for 157Gd and 155Gd, respectively.[4] In fact, the thermal neutron value of 157Gd (2.55 105 b) is 65 times that of 10B, and it releases Auger electrons, internal conversion electrons, g-ray and X-ray after the capture of a single thermal neutron.[1, 5–7