Buckling analysis of swcnt reinforced composite plate

This work presents the buckling analysis of functionally graded single walled carbon nanotubes reinforced composite plates under in-plane mechanical loads. The effective material properties of uniformly distributed carbon nanotubes are obtained using Mori–Tanaka approach and extended rule of mixtures. The buckling load has been obtained numerically with the help of commercial finite element package ANSYS using ANSYS parametric design language code. The convergence behaviour of the developed model has been checked and validated by comparing the responses with those available literature. Effect of different geometrical parameters such as aspect ratio and side to thickness ratio have been studies and discussed in detail

Application of Group Hunting Search Optimized Cascade PD-Fractional Order PID Controller in Interconnected Thermal Power System

This paper is an endeavor to enhance the performance of the Automatic Generation Control (AGC) by adopting cascade PD-FOPID (Proportional Derivative - Fractional Order PID) controller in a two-area mutually connected thermal power plant with Generation Rate Constraint (GRC). The performance of the cascade PD-FOPID controller is validated by contrasting PID and FOPID controllers implemented in each area as AGC. The basic goal of the design of these controllers is to lessen the area control error (ACE) of corresponding area by conceding the frequency and tie-line power deviation. Group Hunting Search (GHS) algorithm is adopted to explore the gain parameters of the controllers to lessen the objective function (ITAE). A small step load transition of 0.01 p.u. is enforced in area-1 to investigate the controller performance. Cascade PD-FOPID controller optimized by GHS algorithm performs precisely better than PID and FOPID controller in the proposed system. Citation: Nayak, J. R., and Shaw, B. (2018). Application of Group Hunting Search Optimized Cascade PD-Fractional Order PID Controller in Interconnected Thermal Power System. Trends in Renewable Energy, 4, 22-33. DOI: 10.17737/tre.2018.4.3.004

Preparation and Characterization of Bioactive Silica-Based Ceramics Derived from Rice Husk Ash

This thesis deals with the preparation and characterization of amorphous silica based bioactive ceramics using rice husk ash (RHA) as silica source. Three types of silica precursors were prepared depending on impurity and forms. Ceramics were fabricated through conventional powder compaction, polymeric sponge replication and gelcasting methods. Bioglass-ceramics and mesoporous silica aerogel were also prepared using silica precursor. Mechanical, in vitro bioactivity and biodegradability properties of above ceramics were investigated.Brown ash (BA), obtained by burning husk at 700 oC, contains about 96 wt.% amorphous SiO2 and the rest 4% impurities like CaO, Fe2O3, K2O, ZnO, and Mn2O3.White ash (WA), prepared by burning acid-leached husk, and contains almost pure silica(99.86%). Silica gel (SG) powder was prepared from BA through the alkaline extraction of silica from ash followed by acid neutralization. SG contains about 99.79% silica.During sintering, amorphous silica transformed into cristobalite phase at 1000, 1200, and 1300 oC, respectively for BA, SG, and WA ceramics. The earlier phase transformation in BA was due to its highest impurity content. There was a fall in compressive strength of all three (BA, SG and WA) sintered silica ceramics as and when amorphous silica transformed to cristobalite. This was due to the crack formation by the high-low displacive phase transformation of cristobalite. Amorphous silica based scaffolds were fabricated by slurry impregnation processusing polymeric sponge as the replica. The aqueous slurry with 40 wt.% solid loading showed good thixotropic behaviour in presence of polyvinyl alcohol(PVA) binder. The strength of scaffold decreased above a sintering temperature where the amorphous silica transformed into cristobalite. In vitro bioactivity test showed the formation of apatite layer on silica scaffold surface

Study of maternal mortality in a tertiary care hospital in a tribal KBK area of Odisha, India

Background: Pregnancy, although being considered a physiological state, carries risk of serious maternal morbidity and at times death. This is due to various complications that may occur during pregnancy, labor, or thereafter. The major causes of maternal mortality are mostly preventable through regular antenatal check-up, proper diagnosis, and management of labor complications. Therefore, the factors at different levels affecting the use of these services need to be clearly understood. The aim is to study the incidence of MMR, assess the epidemiological aspects, causes of maternal mortality and avoidable factors that can prevent maternal deaths.Methods: A retrospective hospital-based study was conducted in obstetrics and gynecology department, SLN MCH, a tertiary care referral hospital in a tribal area of southern Odisha over a period of 2 years from April 2017 to March 2019.Results: A total of 108 deaths were analyzed over 2 years period and MMR was calculated to be 1124/1 lakh live births. Most of the maternal deaths occurred in the age group of 20-24 years (35.1%), majority of maternal deaths were observed in multipara (46.3%), 70.3% deaths occurred within 24 hours of admission. Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy (37%) were the leading direct cause followed by hemorrhage (14.8%) and sepsis (11.1%). Among the indirect causes jaundice (7.4%) and anaemia (3.7%) were the leading cause.Conclusions: MMR in our study was very high as compared to national average of 167/1,00,000 live births, being a tertiary care hospital as most of the patients were referred from peripheral centers. Most maternal deaths are preventable by intensive health education, basic obstetric care for all, strengthening referral and communication system and emphasizing on overall safe motherhood

Formulation and evaluation of herbal tablets containing Agaricus bisporus powder

Agaricus bisporus is an edible mushroom known for its nutritional and bio-medicinal properties. The methanolic extract of Agaricus bisporus for phytochemical screening performed and Alkaloids, Carbohydrate, Glycosides, Protein, Flavonoids, Saponins, Phenolic, Steroids. Some of them are responsible for anti-diabetic activities. In the present study oral administrable dosage form of herbal tablet and evaluated. The result of all test were found to be satisfactory

Prevalence and Pattern of Substance Abuse among 18 to 60 years Male in a Rural Area of District Etawah, Uttar Pradesh

Abstract: Adolescent and young people’s behavior is of major concern due to Substance abuse. According to WHO, Substance abuse is consistently or sporadic drug use inconsistent with or unrelated to acceptable medical practice. Globally, alcohol and tobacco as a risk factors cause 4.0% and 4.1% of the overall burden of disability respectively. Objective: To determine the prevalence of substance abuse among 18 to 60 years’ male in rural Etawah and to identify type and pattern of substance abuse. Material and Methods: It was a community based cross sectional study carried out in five block of district Etawah for a period of one and half year. 1500 participants were interviewed using pre designed pre-tested questionnaire and data regarding socio demographic profile and pattern of abuse were collected. Data was entered in Microsoft excel sheet and analyzed by SPSS version 24 using appropriate statistical test. Result: Among 1500 participants, majority were below 30 years of age (i.e. 42.8%). In this study prevalence of Substance use among was 47% [707/1500]. Among all the other substance use, smokeless tobacco showed highest prevalence. Conclusion: Substance use is common in both urban as well as in rural area. So there is a need to educate and aware people regarding bad effects of drug abuse

Incidence and Determinants of Low birth weight babies at rural tertiary care hospital in central Uttar Pradesh

Background: An infant’s birth weight is a reliable index of intrauterine growth and a sensitive predictor of newborn chances of survival, growth and long-term physical and psychosocial development. Low birth weight has been defined as birth weight <2.5 kg regardless of gestational age. The incidence of low birth weight (LBW) in India varies between 25–30% and of which 60–65% are because of intrauterine growth retardation. Aim & Objective: To determine the incidence and various determinants of low birth weight among babies delivered at rural tertiary care hospitals in central Uttar Pradesh. Methods and Material: The study was conducted at UPUMS, Saifai, Etawah, among pregnant women who delivered babies from 1st January 2018 to 31st December 2018. Details regarding age of the mother, gravida, parity, gestation period, presence of complications, the procedure for delivery and birth weight of the newborn were recorded and analyzed using SPSS software (version 23)   Results: A total of 7615 deliveries were conducted (53.2% were males, 46.8% were females). The mean birth weight of babies was 2.65 Kg with S.D ± 0.52. Preterm babies were 32% while 67% were term babies and 23% of babies were low birth weight. There was a statistically significant association between birth weight of babies and factors like age of mother, parity of mother, gestation period, and presence of complications during the antenatal period. Conclusions: Prompt identification of high-risk factors, prevention of premature delivery, increasing the use of health services during pregnancy and management of the risk factors would reduce the incidence of low birth weight

ANATOMICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL ASPECTS OF THEVETIA PERUVIANA L. A COMMONLY PLANTED ROADSIDE TROPICAL SHRUB OF BHUBANESWAR, ODISHA

Objective: Air pollution is one of the most severe environmental problems of developing cities which adversely affects both plant and human life. However, roadside plants in the urban locations help in reducing the pollution level from the air through foliar surface and act as pollution sink. In this work, an attempt was made to understand the impact of air pollution on urban roadside plants which act as bio indicator.Methods: A study was conducted to check the impact of urbanization on air pollution by analyzing anatomical and biochemical aspects of Thevetia peruviana L. For anatomical analysis, the transverse sections of leaves were observed under a microscope; whereas for biochemical analysis, the estimation of chlorophyll, carotenoid and protein were determined by spectrophotometric methods. On the other hand, antioxidant enzyme assays, as well as specific activity staining, were performed to study the antioxidant potential. To investigate the antioxidant activity of the leaf extracts, an assay for catalase (CAT), guaiacol peroxidase (GPX) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were performed. Isoforms of CAT, GPX and SOD were separated using native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) and their activities were analyzed.Results: Analysis of data revealed that the anatomical disturbances significantly occurred in exposed plants of various sites. Among biochemical parameters, photosynthetic pigments such as chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll and carotenoid content were found to be decreased. A maximum (7.65±0.51, 3.78±0.56,11.43±0.91, 5.63±0.55 mg/g, respectively) decrement was noticed in leaves of the Pokhariput plant in comparison to Khorda NH5 (19.44±1.08, 10.12±1.03, 29.56±2.32, 10.22±1.21 mg/g, respectively) which is taken as control one. To determine the effect of air pollution on proteins, leaf extracts were analyzed by the Lowry method and sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The substantial decrement of total protein and alteration in polypeptides were noticed in polluted sites. Meanwhile, the enhancement of antioxidant enzyme activities such as CAT, GPX and SOD were also detected.Conclusion: The increment of antioxidant enzymes and alteration of proteins, suggesting the activation of defensive mechanisms in selected plants under air pollution stress and also the plants made physiological and biochemical adjustments to overcome the oxidative damage

Association between unhygienic menstrual management practices and prevalence of lower reproductive tract infections: a hospital-based cross-sectional study in Odisha, India.

BACKGROUND: The extent to which reproductive tract infections (RTIs) are associated with poor menstrual hygiene management (MHM) practices has not been extensively studied. We aimed to determine whether poor menstrual hygiene practices were associated with three common infections of the lower reproductive tract; Bacterial vaginosis (BV), Candida, and Trichomonas vaginalis (TV). METHODS: Non-pregnant women of reproductive age (18-45 years) and attending one of two hospitals in Odisha, India, between April 2015 and February 2016 were recruited for the study. A standardized questionnaire was used to collect information on: MHM practices, clinical symptoms for the three infections, and socio-economic and demographic information. Specimens from posterior vaginal fornix were collected using swabs for diagnosis of BV, Candida and TV infection. RESULTS: A total of 558 women were recruited for the study of whom 62.4% were diagnosed with at least one of the three tested infections and 52% presented with one or more RTI symptoms. BV was the most prevalent infection (41%), followed by Candida infection (34%) and TV infection (5.6%). After adjustment for potentially confounding factors, women diagnosed with Candida infection were more likely to use reusable absorbent material (aPRR = 1.54, 95%CI 1.2-2.0) and practice lower frequency of personal washing (aPRR = 1.34, 95%CI 1.07-1.7). Women with BV were more likely to practice personal washing less frequently (aPRR = 1.25, 95%CI 1.0-1.5), change absorbent material outside a toilet facility (aPRR = 1.21, 95%CI 1.0-1.48) whilst a higher frequency of absorbent material changing was protective (aPRR = 0.56, 95%CI 0.4-0.75). No studied factors were found to be associated with TV infection. In addition, among women reusing absorbent material, Candida but not BV or TV - infection was more frequent who dried their pads inside their houses and who stored the cloth hidden in the toilet compartment. CONCLUSION: The results of our study add to growing number of studies which demonstrate a strong and consistent association between poor menstrual hygiene practices and higher prevalence of lower RTIs