OPTICAL BAND GAP ANALYSIS OF NANO-CRYSTALLINE CERAMIC PbSrCaCuO

ABSTRACTNano-crystalline Ceramic PbSrCaCuO have been prepared by a high-energy ball milling process through mechanically assisted synthesis. The prepared sample was then subjected to calcinations to acquire the desired homogeneity and phase formation. UV-VIS analysis of the sample was carried to study the optical properties of the sample. The band gap energy of the sample shows a marked variation in their value with the increase in temperature. The refractive index n was calculated and  the results obtained is plotted  with the wavelength. The refractive-index curves also show a systematic variation with temperature

Valuation of risk and complexity attributes causing delays in Australian Transport infrastructure projects for optimal contingency Estimation

The transportation projects have historically experienced significant delays and cost overruns from the time decision to build has been taken by the owner. This thesis addresses the problem of why this delay occurs by looking at the drivers from a risk management perspective. It identifies and analyses the owner risk attributes that contribute to significant delays related to transportation projects from an Australian context. After a literature review of current risks causing delays in transportation projects from across the globe, risk and complexity related to transport projects in Australia are identified from an Australian context using a questionnaire survey completed by participants with relevant experience in the transport industry. The risks are ranked using the Relative Importance Index (RII) based on likelihood and impact score. The results obtained include many attributes which are condensed to factors based on correlations using factor analysis. This gives us a big picture of the main risk and complexity factors affecting delays on transportation projects. Once done, a predictive model is obtained between the overall delay as the dependent variable and risk attributes as the independent variable. This is obtained using the statistical technique of Ordinal Multivariate regression. Lastly, a working framework that allows the methodology used in the thesis to be applied to all projects to understand the risk and complexity factors. This result can be useful for owners in obtaining a realistic design to build estimate in transport infrastructure projects by allocation of suitable contingency on risk and complexity drivers causing delays in transport infrastructure project

THERMOGRAVIMETRIC ANALYSIS OF NANO CRYSTALLINE CERAMIC PbSrCaCuO

Nano crystalline ceramic PbSrCaCuO was prepared by the solid state technique via a high-energy ball milling process through mechanically assisted synthesis.The prepared sample was then subjected to calcinations to acquire the desired homogeneity and phase formation. To establish the elemental composition EDX analysis was done.TGA and DTA were used to study the behaviour of the sample upon heating to a high temperature

A PROSPECTIVE OBSERVATIONAL STUDY ON HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE IN CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE PATIENTS BASED ON SEVERITY

  Objective: The objective of the study was to determine health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and to measure differences in HRQOL according to gender and severity of COPD.Methods: An observational study was conducted over a period of 9 months. A total of 100 COPD patient's data were collected regarding patients age, gender, smoking status, and clinical characteristics using an SF-12 health survey questionnaire.Results: The total study population of 100 patients, 78% were men and 22% of women with a mean age of 65.4±13.2 years. The spirometry measurements, the mean forced expiratory volume 1 (FEV1) value was 57.2±10.4. HRQOL correlated significantly with FEV1 values (p=0.9760, p<0.0001). The severity of the disease was mild in 22%, moderate in 41%, severe in 24%, and very severe in 13% of patients. HRQOL was compared between men and women; the mean mental component summary scores were significantly higher in women (65.6±10.7) than in men (59.2±11.6). An inverse significant correlation between HRQOL and degree of dyspnea was observed (p=−0.9218, p<0.0001).Conclusion: The mental health status is essentially higher in women when contrasted with men. HRQOL is impaired, and moreover, it progressively worsens with increasing severity of the disease. This study shows that patients with higher smoking index are having more likelihood of developing the COPD disease and dyspnea has a great impact on HRQOL of patients. Evaluation of COPD patients should not be based only on pulmonary function tests but also by considering and estimating the patient's HRQOL.Â

Dynamic mechanical analysis and thermal degradation of jute fiber reinforced BSFT(Ba0.6Sr0.4FexTi(1-x) O3-δ), (x=0.1)- polypropylene composite

Recent research shows that the natural fibers from renewable natural resources have greater potential than other man-made fibers. Attempts have been carried out to study the effect of fiber loading and temperature on jute fiber reinforced BSFT (Ba0.6Sr0.4FexTi(1-x) O3-δ), (x=0.1)-polypropylene composites using DMA and thermal techniques. The intrinsic design and morphology of the components of the system define the dynamic mechanical properties of the composite. For lower temperatures, the storage modulus (E') values are maximum for the neat PP whereas at temperatures above Tg, the E' values have been found to be maximum for composites with higher fiber loading, proving that the incorporation of jute fiber in BSFT-polypropylene matrix induces reinforcing effects at elevated temperatures. The loss modulus and damping peaks have been found to be lowered by the incorporation of fiber. Cole–Cole analysis throws light on the phase behavior of the composite samples. Thermo gravimetric analysis result on the enhanced thermal stability by the incorporation of fibers. The whole study reveals the enhancement in the dynamic, mechanical and thermal properties of the BSFT-PP composite on incorporation of jute fiber

High Prevalence of Low Serum Paraoxonase-1 in Subjects with Coronary Artery Disease

Paraoxonase-1 (PON-1), an HDL-associated enzyme has been shown to possess antioxidant/anti-inflammatory properties and protect against atherogenesis. The aim of the study was to explore the association of PON-1, with lipids, antioxidant-vitamins and lifestyle in male subjects with and without angiographically documented coronary artery disease (CAD) and in healthy volunteers. PON-1 activity was measured spectrophotometrically using phenyl acetate as substrate. PON-1 and HDL-Cholesterol were significantly lower and lipid peroxides and triglycerides were higher in CAD patients than in normal coronary and control subjects. PON-1 activity showed positive association with HDL-C and inverse relation with lipid peroxides and no association with antioxidant vitamins in healthy subjects. Smoking habit, alcohol intake and diabetes mellitus did not seem to influence PON-1 activity. Serum levels of PON-1 and HDL-C showed inverse association with the presence of CAD but are not related to the severity of disease in terms of number of diseased vessels. Interventional means by diet/drugs to enhance PON-1 activity may contribute to attenuation of atherosclerosis

IN VITRO PHARMACOLOGICAL SCREENING METHODS FOR ANTI-INFLAMMATORY AGENTS

Context: The development of in vitro methods is important in drug discovery process due to the restriction of animal use in the pharmacological screening process.Objective: The objective of the review was to understand the in vitro pharmacological screening methods for anti-inflammatory agents.Methods: The present review details various in vitro methods available for the screening of activity of therapeutic agents against inflammation.Results: Inhibition and measurement of nitric oxide production, mast cell degranulation, leukocyte adhesion assay, platelet-neutrophil adhesion assay, lipopolysaccharide-induced response assay, N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine-induced O2 generation by polymorphonuclear cells, and cyclooxygenase assays are discussed in this review.Conclusions: These methods help to understand the real mechanism of inflammation and mediators involved in this process and help toidentify new compounds possessing the anti-inflammatory activity

PRESCRIPTION PATTERN ANALYSIS OF ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DRUGS IN GENERAL MEDICINE AND SURGERY DEPARTMENT AT A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Objective: The objective of this research was to evaluate and analyze the prescription pattern of anti-inflammatory drugs given in the general medicine and surgery department at a tertiary care hospital.Methods: The entire study was planned to be carried out for a period of six months. Total 84 patients were included in this study and was carried out in a 300 bedded tertiary care hospital. The patients admitted to the general medicine and surgery department were included in this study, of which patients given with anti-inflammatory drugs were recorded and analyzed for prescribing practice and rational use.Results: The majority of the patients were admitted to general medicine ward rather than surgery ward, and the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) were highly prescribed to the age group of 41-60 y. And about 88.89 % of non-NSAID injection, 11.11% of NSAID injection were prescribed. The prescribed drugs were mostly given by generic names (81.52 %) and least by brand name (18.48 %).Conclusion: This results obtained in this research work will be helpful to increase awareness of the limitations and difficulties on the translation of these recommendations into clinical practice, but also to stimulate the creation of strategies or tools to increase the appropriate therapy.Keywords: Prescription pattern, NSAIDs, Tertiary care hospital, Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, Rational use of drug

A Novel Approach for Mining Big Data Using Multi-Model Fusion Mechanism (MMFM)

Big data processing and analytics require sophisticated systems and cutting-edge methodologies to extract useful data from the available data. Extracted data visualization is challenging because of the processing models' dependence on semantics and classification. To categorize and improve information-based semantics that have accumulated over time, this paper introduces the Multi-model fusion mechanism for data mining (MMFM) approach. Information dependencies are organized based on the links between the data model based on attribute values. This method divides the attributes under consideration based on processing time to handle complicated data in controlled amount of time. The proposed MMFM’s performance is assessed with real-time weather prediction dataset where the data is acquired from sensor (observed) and image data. MMFM is used to conduct semantic analytics and similarity-based classification on this collection. The processing time based on records and samples are investigated for the various data sizes, instances, and entries. It is found that the proposed MMFM gets 70 seconds of processing time for 2GB data and 0.99 seconds while handling 5000 records for various classification instances

QUANTIFICATION OF ANTICOAGULANTS DABIGATRAN, RIVAROXABAN, AND PRASUGREL BY CHROMATOGRAPHIC AND SPECTROMETRIC TECHNIQUES – REVIEW

A review is presented on different analytical techniques used for quantitative analysis of selected anticoagulants dabigatran, rivaroxaban, and prasugrel. Efforts have been made to collate all the relevant references to the extent possible. The review discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the cited analytical techniques, which will help to give insights into the methods used for estimation of selected anticoagulants such as dabigatran, rivaroxaban, and prasugrel, from clinical isolates, and its dosage forms. The review highlights the basic as well as advanced techniques performed for estimating dabigatran, rivaroxaban, and prasugrel. The techniques illustrated here have been demonstrated to be useful for quantitative determination of selected anticoagulants and may find application in analyzing other related properties