Biological assessment of water pollution: A study of the river Kapila

An attempt has been made to assess the feasibility of application of biological data to evaluate and monitor water pollution of the river Kapila, near Nanjangud, Karnataka. Two pollution index factors, one at the generic level and another at species level of the Algae, have been computed. Significant correlation between biological and some physico-chemical factors has been established. The theme that algae serve as tools of pollution and that their index scores at the species level is a more reliable parameter for the evaluation of water quality has been established. © 1984, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved

Differential scanning calorimetry and wide-angle X-ray scattering studies of bread staling

Wide angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) was used to follow the development of crystal size and strain during the staling of bread containing different additives. In this it was observed that one can classify the good anti-staling additives as gelatin, propylene glycol, maltodextrin and anti-staling enzyme corresponding to the order of increasing crystal size for a particular Bragg reflection in all the samples and correlate using DSC (differential scanning calorimetry) studies of all the bread compositions containing different additives. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc

Generation of High Voltage DC using Diodes & Capacitors in Ladder Network

The project is designed& constructed to develop a high voltage DC of around 2KV from a input AC supply source of 230V using the capacitors and diodes that are constructed in the form of ladder network based on voltage multiplier concept. Generally transformers are used for stepping up of voltage in which the output of the secondary of the step up transformer increases the voltage and decreases the current. The other method for stepping up the voltage without the use of transformers is by using voltage multiplier circuit which converts AC to DC. These Voltage multipliers are primarily used to develop high voltages where low current is required. The concept of developing high voltage DC from single Phase AC is described in this project which can be enhanced up to 10KV. For safety purpose this project is restricted with a multiplication factor of 8 so that the output would be within 2KV.This concept of generation of high voltage using multiplier circuit is used in Electronic appliances such as CRT?s, oscilloscopes and in industrial applications. The principle of voltage multiplier circuit is that the voltage keeps on doubling at each stage. Thus, the output of an 8 stage voltage multiplier circuit is 2KV DC which cannot be measured by using a standard multimeter. Hence a potential divider of 10:1 is used at the output such that 200V reading means 2KV

SARAS 2: A Spectral Radiometer for probing Cosmic Dawn and the Epoch of Reionization through detection of the global 21 cm signal

The global 21 cm signal from Cosmic Dawn (CD) and the Epoch of Reionization (EoR), at redshifts $z \sim 6-30$, probes the nature of first sources of radiation as well as physics of the Inter-Galactic Medium (IGM). Given that the signal is predicted to be extremely weak, of wide fractional bandwidth, and lies in a frequency range that is dominated by Galactic and Extragalactic foregrounds as well as Radio Frequency Interference, detection of the signal is a daunting task. Critical to the experiment is the manner in which the sky signal is represented through the instrument. It is of utmost importance to design a system whose spectral bandpass and additive spurious can be well calibrated and any calibration residual does not mimic the signal. SARAS is an ongoing experiment that aims to detect the global 21 cm signal. Here we present the design philosophy of the SARAS 2 system and discuss its performance and limitations based on laboratory and field measurements. Laboratory tests with the antenna replaced with a variety of terminations, including a network model for the antenna impedance, show that the gain calibration and modeling of internal additives leave no residuals with Fourier amplitudes exceeding 2~mK, or residual Gaussians of 25 MHz width with amplitudes exceeding 2~mK. Thus, even accounting for reflection and radiation efficiency losses in the antenna, the SARAS~2 system is capable of detection of complex 21-cm profiles at the level predicted by currently favoured models for thermal baryon evolution.Comment: 44 pages, 17 figures; comments and suggestions are welcom

Efficacy and safety of 1% terbinafine hydrochloride versus 2% sertaconazole cream in the treatment of tinea corporis

Background: Tinea corporis is a common superficial dermatophytosis seen in tropical countries. This study was done to compare the efficacy and safety of topical antifungal agents, terbinafine versus sertaconazole in the treatment of tinea corporis.Methods: This study was conducted in Babuji Hospital and Chigateri Government Hospital, Davangere. A total of 60 (n=60) patients were included and divided into two groups of 30 patients each in the study. 1st group - received topical 1% terbinafine hydrochloride and 2nd group - received 2% sertaconazole cream. Patients were advised to apply cream twice daily for 4 weeks. Improvement in clinical parameters like erythema, scaling, itching, and potassium hydroxide (KOH) mount were taken for assessing the efficacy of drugs. They were followed-up at the end of 2, 4, and 6 weeks to assess the improvement of the condition. Complete cure rate was defined as mycological cure with a complete absence of clinical signs and symptoms. For safety data of both drugs presence of any local side effects (like stinging sensation, swelling and increased erythema) were analyzed in both groups. Statistical analysis was done using students paired t-test and unpaired t-test.Results: When two groups were compared at the end of 2 weeks, complete cure rate for terbinafine was 80% as compared to 63.3% for sertaconazole (p0.05) results were obtained. KOH mount was negative in both groups at the end of 2nd week. Local side effects like erythema, swelling, stinging sensation were not noticed during the study in both the groups.Conclusion: From this study, it was shown that 2% sertaconazole cream was as effective as 1% terbinafine cream, though 1% terbinafine had higher rates of complete cure at the end of 2 weeks as compared to sertaconazole

Prescribing pattern of antipsychotic medications in patients with schizophrenia in a tertiary care hospital

Background: The objective of thisstudy was to study the prescribing pattern of antipsychotic medications in patients with schizophrenia in a tertiary care hospital.Methods: An observational study was conducted in psychiatry outpatient department (OPD) of Bapuji and Chigateri hospital attached to Jagadguru Jayadeva Murugarajendra medical college, Davangere. The data collected, had information about age, gender, education, occupation, marital status and drug prescription that included trade name, generic name, dosage and frequency of administration of 100 outpatients who attended the psychiatry OPD.Results: A total of 100 prescriptions were analyzed of which 6% was monotherapy, where Asenapine was the only drug used and rest 94% was combination therapy. About 94% of the combination therapy included the use of single antipsychotic with anticholinergic drug and multiple antipsychotics with anticholinergic drug. A combination of multiple antipsychotics with anticholinergic was most commonly used, that is trifluoperazine and chlorpromazine  (36%), followed by trifluoperazine and risperidone (13%), trifluoperazine and quetiapine (8%), risperidone and quetiapine (7%), trifluoperazine, chlorpromazine along with quetiapine (3%). Among single antipsychotic with anticholinergic, risperidone (20%) was most commonly used, followed by Trifluoperazine (7%). Use of the anticholinergic drug, Trihexyphenidyl accounts to 94% of the total prescriptions.Conclusions: Schizophrenia is mostly seen in males, middle age group and unemployed people. The present study showed that combination therapy is preferred for the treatment of Schizophrenia. Despite several side-effects, typical antipsychotics, especially trifluoperazine was the most commonly used drug, followed by chlorpromazine either alone or in combination. Among atypical antipsychotics, risperidone was commonly used followed by quetiapine and asenapine. Most of the patients received trihexyphenidyl, an anticholinergic drug along with antipsychotics to reduce extra pyramidal side-effects