A review on conventional and laser assisted machining of Aluminium based metal matrix composites

Aluminum based Metal Matrix Composites (Al-MMC) have been found in different industrial applications due its excellent properties compared to conventional materials. Machining of these composites is difficult due to the hard particle reinforcements. The wider usage of these composites is limited due high machining cost and excessive tool wear with conventional machining. Because of increasing demands in industries, any improvement of conventional machining process or any other deployment of additional technique is directly related to higher productivity. Laser Assisted Machining has become an effective alternative to the conventional machining of these difficult- to- cut materials. This paper provides an overview of conventional machining of MMCs and the potential of LAM. An attempt is made to give a better understanding of the operating conditions such as machining parameters and Laser parameters. Finally, the summary of the review is discussed and the scope for future research is presented

Benefit of addition of clopidogrel in addition to aspirin and fibrinolytic therapy in STEMI: an Indian data

Background: The study was designed to find out whether the addition of clopidogrel for patients with ST- elevation myocardial infarction [STEMI] who are receiving a standard fibrinolytic therapy, including aspirin, reduce the incidence of primary and secondary end points like recurrent ischemia, re-infarction, need for urgent Target Vessel Revascularisation [TVR], mortality & bleeding.Methods: The patients were randomly assigned to receive the study medication. The patients were divided into two groups. Those receiving fibrinolytic therapy & aspirin were included in Group A. Those receiving the study drug in addition to aspirin & fibrinolytic agent were included in Group B. The study drug was given daily upto 1 month. These patients were assessed during their hospital stay & followed up for a period of 30 days for end points like recurrent ischemia, re-infarction, need for urgent TVR, bleeding episodes & mortality.Results: There was reduction in primary endpoints in group B compared to group A of which only reduction of recurrent ischemia was statistically significant (26% vs 2%). The same pattern of benefit was seen with secondary end points with significant reduction in recurrent ischemia in group B (28% vs 2%). Safety end points showed some increased bleeding in group B patients which was statistically insignificant (4% vs 0).Conclusion: Addition of Clopidogrel to aspirin and fibrinolytic therapy in ST-elevation MI showed a significant reduction in recurrent ischemia during in hospital stay and during the first 30 days. The patients received clopidogrel had less mortality compared to aspirin group. There were only minor bleeding episodes reported with use of clopidogrel

Tocotrienols ameliorate neurodegeneration and motor deficits in the 6-ohda-induced rat model of parkinsonism: Behavioural and immunohistochemistry analysis

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a debilitating neurodegenerative disease, which progresses over time, causing pathological depigmentation of the substantia nigra (SN) in the midbrain due to loss of dopaminergic neurons. Emerging studies revealed the promising effects of some nutrient compounds in reducing the risk of PD. One such nutrient compound that possess neuroprotective effects and prevents neurodegeneration is tocotrienol (T3), a vitamin E family member. In the present study, a single dose intracisternal injection of 250 µg 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) was used to induce parkinsonism in male Sprague Dawley (SD) rats. Forty-eight hours post injection, the SD rats were orally supplemented with alpha (α)-and gamma (γ)-T3 for 28 days. The neuroprotective effects of α-and γ-T3 were evaluated using behavioural studies and immunohistochemistry (IHC). The findings from this study revealed that supplementation of α-and γ-T3 was able to ameliorate the motor deficits induced by 6-OHDA and improve the neuronal functions by reducing inflammation, reversing the neuronal degradation, and preventing further reduction of dopaminergic neurons in the SN and striatum (STR) fibre density

Algal Fuel Cell

Algal Fuel Cells (AFC) are bioelectric devices that use photosynthetic organisms to turn light and biochemical energy into electrical energy. The potential of a fully biotic AFC still remains an unexplored area of research and hence it has led to rethink the prospective use of plant-based bioelectricity. AFC consists of an anode and a cathode connected by an external electric circuit and separated internally by a membrane/no membrane in which the growth of algae is assessed. The key parameters for evaluating the performance of AFC are electrodes, separators, oxygen supplement, nutrients and its configurations. By controlling these parameters, the electric power production can be optimized. This chapter discusses the recent trends examined by a number of researchers and are interpreted to gain a better understanding. It is stressed that a greater focus must be given for a complete comprehension of the algal processes required for the development of AFC applications. Thus, it can be concluded that a further development of AFC technology with reduced costs and improved performance is required for sustainable development

Conceptual Design of Fuel Dumping System in Aircraft

Airlines release the unburned jet fuel into the atmosphere to reduce the weight of aircraft before landing. Sometimes, aircraft reach a weight more than takeoff weight while departing from the airport. Therefore, the pilot follows the ATC comment to dump fuel into the atmosphere to reduce the aircraft\u27s weight to avoid accidents. Due to fuel dumping, an airline faces fuel consumption, loss, and several diseases affect environmental pollutants, and living things. The total fuel consumption of commercial airlines worldwide in 2021 is 57 billion gallons. If jet fuel routinely hit the ground, it would pollute water and land and damage crops and biodiversity. With this, we have worked on the project to rescue fuel dumping into the atmosphere and save living things from various diseases

Induction of PPM1D following DNA-damaging treatments through a conserved p53 response element coincides with a shift in the use of transcription initiation sites

PPM1D (Wip1), a type PP2C phosphatase, is expressed at low levels in most normal tissues but is overexpressed in several types of cancers. In cells containing wild-type p53, the levels of PPM1D mRNA and protein increase following exposure to genotoxic stress, but the mechanism of regulation by p53 was unknown. PPM1D also has been identified as a CREB-regulated gene due to the presence of a cyclic AMP response element (CRE) in the promoter. Transient transfection and chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments in HCT116 cells were used to characterize a conserved p53 response element located in the 5′ untranslated region (UTR) of the PPM1D gene that is required for the p53-dependent induction of transcription from the human PPM1D promoter. CREB binding to the CRE contributes to the regulation of basal expression of PPM1D and directs transcription initiation at upstream sites. Following exposure to ultraviolet (UV) or ionizing radiation, the abundance of transcripts with short 5′ UTRs increased in cells containing wild-type p53, indicating increased utilization of downstream transcription initiation sites. In cells containing wild-type p53, exposure to UV resulted in increased PPM1D protein levels even when PPM1D mRNA levels remained constant, indicating post-transcriptional regulation of PPM1D protein levels

Completed suicides and self-harm in Malaysia: A systematic review

Objective: Most of the research into suicide and self-harm has been conducted in the United States and Europe, yet the volume of research does not reflect the distribution of suicide globally, with Asia accounting for up to 60% of all suicides. The present study systematically reviews the literature to assess the prevalence and correlates of suicidal acts in Malaysia in Southeast Asia. Methods: Five relevant databases were searched from inception up to February 2014, and a narrative synthesis of the results from the included studies was performed. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they were correlational survey research and archival/observational research describing self-harm and suicide. Outcomes included completed suicides and self-harm including suicide attempts and self-poisoning, suicide plans and suicidal ideation. Results: In total, 39 studies met the inclusion criteria. The principal findings were that the prevalence of suicide in Malaysia is approximately 6-8 per 100,000 population per year and that there is an excess of suicide among men, people younger than 40 years and the Indian minority group. The past-month prevalence rates of suicidal ideation, plans and attempts are 1.7, 0.9% and 0.5%, respectively, whereas the past-year prevalence rates of suicidal ideation range between 6% and 8%. Conclusions: The present research marks a first step towards understanding the prevalence and correlates of suicide and self-harm in Malaysia. However, the heterogeneity of the included studies was high. Further research into the antecedents, consequences and interventions for suicide and self-harm in the Malaysian context is required

Hyperoxemia and excess oxygen use in early acute respiratory distress syndrome : Insights from the LUNG SAFE study

Publisher Copyright: © 2020 The Author(s). Copyright: Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.Background: Concerns exist regarding the prevalence and impact of unnecessary oxygen use in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). We examined this issue in patients with ARDS enrolled in the Large observational study to UNderstand the Global impact of Severe Acute respiratory FailurE (LUNG SAFE) study. Methods: In this secondary analysis of the LUNG SAFE study, we wished to determine the prevalence and the outcomes associated with hyperoxemia on day 1, sustained hyperoxemia, and excessive oxygen use in patients with early ARDS. Patients who fulfilled criteria of ARDS on day 1 and day 2 of acute hypoxemic respiratory failure were categorized based on the presence of hyperoxemia (PaO2 > 100 mmHg) on day 1, sustained (i.e., present on day 1 and day 2) hyperoxemia, or excessive oxygen use (FIO2 ≥ 0.60 during hyperoxemia). Results: Of 2005 patients that met the inclusion criteria, 131 (6.5%) were hypoxemic (PaO2 < 55 mmHg), 607 (30%) had hyperoxemia on day 1, and 250 (12%) had sustained hyperoxemia. Excess FIO2 use occurred in 400 (66%) out of 607 patients with hyperoxemia. Excess FIO2 use decreased from day 1 to day 2 of ARDS, with most hyperoxemic patients on day 2 receiving relatively low FIO2. Multivariate analyses found no independent relationship between day 1 hyperoxemia, sustained hyperoxemia, or excess FIO2 use and adverse clinical outcomes. Mortality was 42% in patients with excess FIO2 use, compared to 39% in a propensity-matched sample of normoxemic (PaO2 55-100 mmHg) patients (P = 0.47). Conclusions: Hyperoxemia and excess oxygen use are both prevalent in early ARDS but are most often non-sustained. No relationship was found between hyperoxemia or excessive oxygen use and patient outcome in this cohort. Trial registration: LUNG-SAFE is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02010073publishersversionPeer reviewe