Dimensional Issues in Stereolithography

New stereolithography photopolymers have recently been introduced that provide a wider range of functional properties similar to those of high-density polyethylene. One of the important criteria for these materials is the dimensional accuracy and stability in end-use applications as mold masters or the actual functional parts. This work investigates the dimensional stability of one of these new materials with varying amounts of exposure during build. The effect of aging on the part dimensions is reported. The result of environmental humidity extremes at ambient temperature on part dimensions is investigated and compared for parts made from two different families of stereolithography resins, namely DuPont Somos® 7100 and Somos® 8100.Mechanical Engineerin

PHYTOCHEMICAL SCREENING AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF ECLIPTA ALBA L.

Objective: Earlier various studies on pharmacological and therapeutic properties of Eclipta alba L. have been reported. The present investigation is on phytochemical screening and antioxidant activity of E. alba L. using different solvent extracts. Method: The shade-dried and grounded E. alba L. plant materials were treated with petroleum ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate, ethanol, methanol, and water (aqueous) solvents. The extracted residue was then dissolved in dimethylsulfoxide and further used for phytochemical screening and antioxidant studies. Results: E. alba L. on different solvent extract, the extractive yield was higher in methanol (14.22±0.99% w/w). The phytochemical screening analysis showed high number of secondary metabolites in the aqueous extract compared to other solvent studied. The metabolite flavonoids, phenols, and tannins are likely to be antioxidant potential compound. Hence, further, the total flavonoid content determination showed high of 0.875±0.020 μg/g in methanol extract. Further antioxidant property of E. alba L. was studied by method such as1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity, nitric oxide scavenging activity, metal chelating activity, and superoxide dismutase activity which showed high antioxidant potency with IC50 values of 62.76±0.63 μg/ml, 96.24±0.34 μg/ml, 72.29±0.61 μg/ml, and 108.40±0.52 μg/ml, respectively, in the petroleum ether extract. Conclusion: From the present study, the substantiate result of antioxidant studies has been obtained from petroleum ether extract . Furthermore the extractive value and flavonoid content was observed to be high in methanol extract. The antioxidant potency of E. alba L. was found to be high in petroleum ether extract compared to other solvent studied

Reliability Analysis of Link Stability in Secured Routing Protocols for MANETs

The prime characteristics of Mobile Ad Hoc Network (MANET) are infrastructure free, absence of centralized authority and dynamic nature of nodes which are more vulnerable to security attacks. Reliability and security are prime issues to protect information and nodes in a network during communication which has received more research interest in designing a dynamic secured routing scheme. QoS is set of service requirement that needs to be satisfied by the network during the data transmission in the network. From the perception of QoS best effort protocols ensure optimum network operation in a unpredictable mobile environment. The multimedia applications are intolerable towards delay and reliability which are the features of mobile network, hence the potentials of MANET were not utilized in multimedia applications. These issues of delay and reliability of packet transmission in MANET are contributed by stability of the communication link even during the mobility of the nodes Its a necessity to analyze the performance of various secured routing protocols based on the stability of the communication link in case of mobility of nodes during data transfer. This paper is focused on a comparative study of various secured reactive routing protocols in MANET signifying the connectivity stability during the mobility of the nodes

Drug utilization research: a review

Data from drug utilization research is an invaluable resource for all stake holders involved in drug and health policies. Drug utilization is “marketing, distribution, prescription and use of drugs in a society, with special emphasis on the resulting medical, social and economic consequences”. Research on drug utilization includes factors related to prescribing, dispensing, administering and intake of medication and its associated events. The ultimate purpose of drug utilization research is to estimate the optimal quality of drug therapy by identifying, documenting, analysing problems in drug utilization and monitoring the consequences. It encourages the prescribers to prescribe correct drug at appropriate dose and affordable price. It contributes to the knowledge of rational use of drugs in the society; whether the drug is being prescribed appropriately, whether the drug is taken in correct dosage, whether the drug is available at affordable price or misused. It provides valuable feedback about the rationality of the prescription to the doctors. It also assesses whether an intervention affects the drug use in the population by examining the outcomes of different types of intervention given to improve rationality in drug use. Drug utilization research can be qualitative or quantitative and can be done by various methods. This review highlights the understanding of various aspects, different designs and WHO guidelines for conducting drug utilization research

Adaptive and Self Healing Routing for Mobile AdHoc Networks Using Cross Layer Design

The construction of reliable and stable routes in a mobile ad hoc network is one of the primary research issues in equipping each device to continuously maintain the information required to properly route traffic. Mobility of nodes often leads to link failures and hence requires route reconstruction to resume the communication between the nodes. The stability factor of a route can reduce the number of times the route is changed or reconstructed. This paper presents a novel idea for discovering a stable set of routes using the metrics from multiple layers rather than depending on network layer along with a finite set of parameters to qualify a link or connecting to a node. The link stability factor and link received signal strength are considered as the main metrics to qualify the stability of a route, derived from the physical and data link layer based on bit or packet error rate, retrieved from the soft output decoder. The simulation results based on the analysis of the proposed algorithm prove to be more efficient in terms of discovering stable routes, reducing frequent reconstruction of routes and hence improving the overall performance of the network

Correlation of serum biomarkers in prediction of gestational diabetes mellitus

Background: Adiponectin and Leptin are adipokines produced by adipocytes. TNF-alpha and IL-6 are inflammatory cytokines which increases insulin resistance. Decreased adiponectin, increased leptin, TNF-alpha and IL-6 is associated with risk of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus, characterised by glucose intolerance that begins or first recognised in pregnancy leading to maternal and foetal complications. India has a high prevalence of GDM upto 16.55% by (2hr plasma glucose of more than 140mg/dl). We aimed to evaluate whether ‘First trimester serum biomarkers predict gestational diabetes mellitus’. The objective of the study was to study the serum biomarkers levels in early pregnancy and predict the risk of developing gestational diabetes mellitus. To study the correlation of serum biomarkers levels in gestational diabetes mellitus.Methods: The study was conducted between October 2014 to March 2016 in healthy pregnant women aged 20-35 yrs attending the antenatal OPD in ESIC Hospital. Study design: Prospective observational study with three study groups 1. NGT, 2. GDM1, 3. GDM2 with two-time points one at first trimester and other second trimester. Sample size: 125 pregnant women. Work plan: Demographics, baseline characteristics and other clinical risk factors of pregnant women in 1st trimester who consented for the study, meeting the inclusion criteria are noted. 75 gm OGCT (oral glucose challenge test) done at two-time points first and second trimester in the study groups will be analysed using the DIPSI criteria with a cut-off value ≥140mg/dl and divided into 3 groups. Serum biomarkers were measured by DRG ELISA method at one-time point in first trimester in all the 3 groups.Results: The serum levels of adiponectin are comparatively reduced in first trimester GDM1 group. As the difference was not significant with p-value of 0.33 there was no correlation between adiponectin and GDM in our study. Serum leptin is increased in second trimester GDM group but the difference is insignificant with a p value of 0.11 showing no correlation.Conclusions: Among the cytokines IL-6 also shows an increasing tendency in both GDM1 (5.9±0.57) and GDM2 (6.04±1.04) groups compared to the NGT (5.82±0.38) group. Serum TNFα is increased in GDM1 (17.29±17.14) and NGT (17.03±24.03) compared to GDM2 (13.54±17.29) group.

Mutual Coupling Reduction Techniques between MIMO Antennas for UWB Applications

The recent research has proved that the Multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) systems can substantially increase the channel capacity by employing multiple antennas at both the transmitter and receiver, without increasing either transmitter power or bandwidth. Hence it is very much essential to know all the aspects of MIMO system. Usually, in any MIMO system the antenna design plays a major role in improving the system performance and channel capacity. The antenna bandwidth must support the wireless system for transmitting larger data rates. Also, the mutual coupling effect between the antennas must be taken into consideration, while designing an efficient MIMO system. The objective of this paper is to discuss various techniques to reduce mutual coupling of MIMO antennas for UWB application

Robust Heteroscedasticity Consistent Covariance Matrix Estimator based on Robust Mahalanobis Distance and Diagnostic Robust Generalized Potential Weighting Methods in Linear Regression

The violation of the assumption of homoscedasticity and the presence of high leverage points (HLPs) are common in the use of regression models. The weighted least squares can provide the solution to heteroscedastic regression model if the heteroscedastic error structures are known. Based on Furno (1996), two robust weighting methods are proposed based on HLP detection measures (robust Mahalanobis distance based on minimum volume ellipsoid and diagnostic robust generalized potential based on index set equality (DRGP(ISE)) on robust heteroscedasticity consistent covariance matrix estimators. Results obtained from a simulation study and real data sets indicated the DRGP(ISE) method is superior