Design and Development of an Airblast Atomiser for the KAVERI engine and the sectoral combustor tests

This report deals with the design and development of an airblast atomiser for application in the KAVERI engine. Five atomisers of the chosen design were fabricated and tested at ambient conditions to determine the fuel spray SMD, patternation, cone angle and atomiser flow number. The atomiser performance parameters specified were achieved and hot tests carried out in the 90° combustor sector. The combustor pressure loss, exit temperature distribution, ignition and stability limits were evaluate

Report of Acoustic Test on PSLV IS.1/2L Structure

The results of acoustic conducted on PSLV IS.1/2L at Acoustic Test Facility are briefly given. It contains test set up, Instrumentation details and tables of spectral response

Monsoon and cyclone induced wave climate over the near shore waters off Puduchery, south western Bay of Bengal

Seasonal and annual variations in wave characteristics are studied based on measurements during 2009-2011 using wave rider buoy. Presence of swells generated by the south Indian Ocean cyclones are found over the south western Bay of Bengal during pre-monsoon season. Maximum significant wave height is measured 6 m during Thane cyclone in December, 2011. Long period waves are observed mostly during the summer (SW) monsoon and are negligible in the winter (NE) monsoon period. Short period waves dominate (63) the wave climate during the NE monsoon. Wave spectra during the SW monsoon are multi peaked whereas during the post monsoon season single peaked spectra are found. Single peaked spectra observed during SW monsoon of 2011 coincides with the presence of positive Indian Ocean Dipole. Waves during the pre monsoon and SW monsoon season are influenced by sea breeze. Analysis indicates that directional width is minimum for waves from the NE since they are wind waves and maximum for waves from SE since they are swells. Study indicates that wave climate of the south western Bay of Bengal is in contrast to that in eastern Arabian Sea during the SW monsoon

Cyclone Phailin enhanced the productivity following its passage: Evidence from satellite data

Over the past decade (2002–2013) the Bay of Bengal has experienced 12 cyclones and 27 tropical storms. The recent one was the cyclone Phailin which was equivalent to a category-5 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale(SSHWS). The cyclonic storm developed over the north of Andaman and Nicobar Islands on 9 October 2013. Subsequen tly,it propagated towards north-northwest and made a landfall at the Gopalpur coast of south Odisha on 12 October

Antioxidant activity in some selected Indian medicinal plants

The study was carried out to determine the antioxidant activity of selected medicinal plants namely Albizia amara, Achyranthes aspera, Cassia fistula, Cassia auriculata and Datura stramonium by inhibition of lipid peroxidation technique. The highest inhibition of lipid peroxidation activity wasobserved in A. amara (96%) followed by C. fistula (89%) and C.auriculata (89%). The potency of  protective effect of A. amara was about 4 times greater than the synthetic antioxidant butylated hydroxy toluene (BHT). The total alkaloid content varied from 24.6 ± 0.18 to 72.6 ± 2 mg g-1 in the extracts. Flavanoid contents were between 23.15 ± 0.2 and 63.3 ± 0.6 mg g-1 in the methanolic extracts of these plants. Our study indicates that the antioxidant activity of A. amara could be harnessed as a drugformulation

Pedal power as the 21st century charkha:Building on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS)

The MGNREGS is a radical measure, based on the concept of entitlement of the most vulnerable sections of the nation’s citizenry, to (limited) fall-back employment legislated by the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act of 2005. By placing some minimal purchasing power in the hands of the rural populace, it offers them a basic safety net of sorts and a modicum of livelihood security. The long-term viability of this landmark step will depend, however, on the impact the MGNREGS is able to make on the productivity of the agrarian economy through broadening and beefing up of the quality of the durable asset base in the rural areas over time. Basic infra-structure works (roads, water conservation, flood protection, irrigation, drought proofing, soil improvement etc.) are being taken up to that end, albeit not in a very concerted manner perhaps

Observational evidence of summer shamal swells along the west coast of India

Wave data collected off Ratnagiri, which is on the west coast of India, in 2010 and 2011 are used to examinethe presence of the summer shamal swells. This study also aims to understand variations in wave characteristics and associated modifications in wind sea propagation at Ratnagiri. Wind data collected using an autonomous weather station (AWS), along with Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) and NCEP data, areused to identify the presence of summer shamal winds along the west coast f the Indian subcontinent and on the Arabian Peninsula. NCEP and ASCAT data indicate the presence of summer shamal winds over the Arabian Peninsula and northwesterly winds at Ratnagiri. This study identifies the presence of swells from the northwest that originate from the summer shamal winds in the Persian Gulf and that reach Ratnagiri during 30 of the summer shamal period. AWS data show the presence of northwest winds during May and southwest winds during the strong southwest monsoon period (June-August). Another important factor identified at Ratnagiri that is associated with the summer shamal events is the direction of wind sea waves.During the onset of the southwest monsoon (May), the sea direction is in the direction of swell propagation (northwest); however, during the southwest monsoon (June-August), a major part of the wind sea direction is from the southwest. The average occurrence of summer shamal swells is approximately 22 during the southwest monsoon period. An increase in wave height is observed during June and July at Ratnagiri due to the strong summer shamal event

Cellular phosphatases facilitate combinatorial processing of receptor-activated signals

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although reciprocal regulation of protein phosphorylation represents a key aspect of signal transduction, a larger perspective on how these various interactions integrate to contribute towards signal processing is presently unclear. For example, a key unanswered question is that of how phosphatase-mediated regulation of phosphorylation at the individual nodes of the signaling network translates into modulation of the net signal output and, thereby, the cellular phenotypic response.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>To address the above question we, in the present study, examined the dynamics of signaling from the B cell antigen receptor (BCR) under conditions where individual cellular phosphatases were selectively depleted by siRNA. Results from such experiments revealed a highly enmeshed structure for the signaling network where each signaling node was linked to multiple phosphatases on the one hand, and each phosphatase to several nodes on the other. This resulted in a configuration where individual signaling intermediates could be influenced by a spectrum of regulatory phosphatases, but with the composition of the spectrum differing from one intermediate to another. Consequently, each node differentially experienced perturbations in phosphatase activity, yielding a unique fingerprint of nodal signals characteristic to that perturbation. This heterogeneity in nodal experiences, to a given perturbation, led to combinatorial manipulation of the corresponding signaling axes for the downstream transcription factors.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our cumulative results reveal that it is the tight integration of phosphatases into the signaling network that provides the plasticity by which perturbation-specific information can be transmitted in the form of a multivariate output to the downstream transcription factor network. This output in turn specifies a context-defined response, when translated into the resulting gene expression profile.</p

Community-based rehabilitation for people with disabilities in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review

Review question: We reviewed the evidence about the impact of community-based rehabilitation on the lives of people with disabilities and their carers in low- and middle-income countries. Background: People with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments, which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. There are estimated to be over one billion people with disabilities globally and 80% of them live in low- and middle-income countries. They are often excluded from education, health, and employment and other aspects of society leading to an increased risk of poverty. Community-based rehabilitation interventions are the strategy endorsed by the World Health Organization and other international organisations (e.g. ILO, IDDC) for addressing the needs of this group of people in low- and middle-income countries. These interventions aim to enhance the quality of life of people with disabilities and their carers, by trying to meet their basic needs and ensuring inclusion and participation using predominantly local resources. These interventions are composed of up to five components: health, education, livelihood, social and empowerment. Currently only few people who need them benefit from these interventions, and so it is important to assess the available evidence to identify how to best implement these programmes. Study characteristics: The evidence in this review is current to July 2012. This review identified 15 studies that assessed the impact of community-based rehabilitation on the lives of people with disabilities and their carers in low- and middle-income countries. The studies included in the review used different types of community-based rehabilitation interventions and targeted different types of physical (stroke, arthritis, chronic 7 The Campbell Collaboration | www.campbellcollaboration.org obstructive pulmonary disease) and mental disabilities (schizophrenia, dementia, intellectual impairment). Key results: Overall, randomised controlled trials suggested a beneficial effect of community-based rehabilitation interventions in the lives of people with physical disabilities (stroke and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). Similar results were found for non-randomised studies for physical disabilities (stroke and arthritis) with the exception of one non-randomised study on stroke showing community-based rehabilitation was less favourable than hospital-based rehabilitation. Overall, randomised controlled trials suggested a modest beneficial effect of community-based rehabilitation interventions for people with mental disabilities (schizophrenia, dementia, intellectual impairment), and for their carers (dementia). Similar results were found for non-randomised studies for mental disabilities (schizophrenia). However, the methodological constraints of many of these studies limit the strength of our results. In order to build stronger evidence, future studies will need to adopt better study designs, will need to focus on broader clients group, and to include economic evaluations