Introduction to Plasma Based Propulsion System: Hall Thrusters

Technically, there are two types of propulsion systems namely chemical and electric depending on the sources of the fuel. Electrostatic thrusters are used for launching small satellites in low earth orbit which are capable to provide thrust for long time intervals. These thrusters consume less fuel compared to chemical propulsion systems. Therefore for the cost reduction interests, space scientists are interested to develop thrusters based on electric propulsion technology. This chapter is intended to serve as a general overview of the technology of electric propulsion (EP) and its applications. Plasma based electric propulsion technology used for space missions with regard to the spacecraft station keeping, rephrasing and orbit topping applications. Typical thrusters have a lifespan of 10,000 h and produce thrust of 0.1–1 N. These devices have E→×B→ configurations which is used to confine electrons, increasing the electron residence time and allowing more ionization in the channel. Almost 2500 satellites have been launched into orbit till 2020. For example, the ESA SMART-1 mission (Small Mission for Advanced Research in Technology) used a Hall thruster to escape Earth orbit and reach the moon with a small satellite that weighed 367 kg. These satellites carrying small Hall thrusters for orbital corrections in space as thrust is needed to compensate for various ambient forces including atmospheric drag and radiation pressure. The chapter outlines the electric propulsion thruster systems and technologies and their shortcomings. Moreover, the current status of potential research to improve the electric propulsion systems for small satellite has been discussed

Studies of Terahertz Sources and Their Applications

The contributed chapter discuss the applications of terahertz radiations and its generation mechanism through laser plasma interactions. The methods of generation of terahertz radiations from plasma wake field acceleration, higher harmonic generation and the laser beat wave plasma frequency are reviewed. The nonlinear current density oscillate the plasma at beat wave frequency under the effect of ponderomotive force and excite the terahertz radiation at beat wave frequency. The current state of the arts of the methods of generation has been incorporated. The mathematical expression of ponderomotive force has been derived under the influence of gradient of laser fields. In additions, the future challenge and their overcomes are also been discussed

Sensing and Detection Capabilities of One-Dimensional Defective Photonic Crystal Suitable for Malaria Infection Diagnosis from Preliminary to Advanced Stage: Theoretical Study

In the present research work we have examined the biosensing capabilities of one-dimensional photonic crystals with defects for the detection and sensing of malaria infection in humans by investigating blood samples containing red blood cells. This theoretical scheme utilizes a transfer matrix formulation in addition to MATLAB software under normal incidence conditions. The purpose of considering normal incidence is to rule out the difficulties associated with oblique incidence. We have examined the performance of various structures of cavity layer thicknesses 1000 nm, 2200 nm, 3000 nm and 5000 nm. The comparison between the performances of various structures of different cavity thickness helps us to select the structure of particular cavity thicknesses giving optimum biosensing performance. Thus, the proper selection of cavity thickness is one of the most necessary requirements because it also decides how much volume of the blood sample has to be poured into the cavity to produce results of high accuracy. Moreover, the sensing and detection capabilities of the proposed design have been evaluated by examining the sensitivity, figure of merit and quality factor values of the design, corresponding to optimum cavity thickness

Targeted delivery of ursolic acid and oleanolic acid to lungs in the form of an inhaler for the management of tuberculosis: Pharmacokinetic and toxicity assessment

Introduction Ursolic acid (UA) and oleanolic acid (OA) are triterpenoids. They are used to treat numerous diseases, including tuberculosis. Combinations of these drugs provide new insight into the management of tuberculosis. The major obstacle is the effective delivery of these drugs to the lungs, which are mainly affected due to M. tuberculosis. A metered-dose inhaler (MDI) was developed to address this issue containing UA and OA, followed by in-vitro and in-vivo evaluation. Methods In the present study, MDI formulation was prepared by incorporating UA and OA at the dose level of 120 μg/ml in each actuation. In-vitro evaluation of this MDI formulation was performed to ensure its suitability to deliver UA and OA preciously. With prior approval of IAEC, a pharmacokinetic and acute inhalation toxicity study was conducted using MDI on Wistar rats. Results The pharmacokinetic study showed an increased biological half-life of UA (9.23±0.104 h) and OA (8.93±0.166 h) in combination therapy. In-vivo toxicity study demonstrated no adverse effects on body weight and vital organs in the treatment group compared with the control group. Histopathology examination of these essential organs showed no abnormalities. Mild alternation in the biochemical and hematological parameters was observed. However, these alterations did not affect the overall health of the animals. Conclusion The present study documents a detailed study for the safety and pharmacokinetics of UA and OA in-vivo for their advanced application in tuberculosis disease

A Catalogue of Indian Hydraenidae (Insecta: Coleoptera)

Ghosh, Joyjit, Saini, Jagdish, Gupta, Devanshu, Ghosh, Sujit Kumar, Chandra, Kailash (2022): A Catalogue of Indian Hydraenidae (Insecta: Coleoptera). Zootaxa 5087 (4): 558-570, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5087.4.

International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium report, data summary of 50 countries for 2010-2015: Device-associated module

•We report INICC device-associated module data of 50 countries from 2010-2015.•We collected prospective data from 861,284 patients in 703 ICUs for 3,506,562 days.•DA-HAI rates and bacterial resistance were higher in the INICC ICUs than in CDC-NHSN's.•Device utilization ratio in the INICC ICUs was similar to CDC-NHSN's. Background: We report the results of International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC) surveillance study from January 2010-December 2015 in 703 intensive care units (ICUs) in Latin America, Europe, Eastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asia, and Western Pacific. Methods: During the 6-year study period, using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Healthcare Safety Network (CDC-NHSN) definitions for device-associated health care-associated infection (DA-HAI), we collected prospective data from 861,284 patients hospitalized in INICC hospital ICUs for an aggregate of 3,506,562 days. Results: Although device use in INICC ICUs was similar to that reported from CDC-NHSN ICUs, DA-HAI rates were higher in the INICC ICUs: in the INICC medical-surgical ICUs, the pooled rate of central line-associated bloodstream infection, 4.1 per 1,000 central line-days, was nearly 5-fold higher than the 0.8 per 1,000 central line-days reported from comparable US ICUs, the overall rate of ventilator-associated pneumonia was also higher, 13.1 versus 0.9 per 1,000 ventilator-days, as was the rate of catheter-associated urinary tract infection, 5.07 versus 1.7 per 1,000 catheter-days. From blood cultures samples, frequencies of resistance of Pseudomonas isolates to amikacin (29.87% vs 10%) and to imipenem (44.3% vs 26.1%), and of Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates to ceftazidime (73.2% vs 28.8%) and to imipenem (43.27% vs 12.8%) were also higher in the INICC ICUs compared with CDC-NHSN ICUs. Conclusions: Although DA-HAIs in INICC ICU patients continue to be higher than the rates reported in CDC-NSHN ICUs representing the developed world, we have observed a significant trend toward the reduction of DA-HAI rates in INICC ICUs as shown in each international report. It is INICC's main goal to continue facilitating education, training, and basic and cost-effective tools and resources, such as standardized forms and an online platform, to tackle this problem effectively and systematically