SINGLE STAGE LOW FREQUENCY ELECTRONIC BALLAST FOR HID LAMPS

The paper presents a single-stage high-power-factor electronic ballast for metal halide lamps. The proposed ballast integrates a buck-boost converter, a buck converter and a full-bridge inverter into a single power conversion circuit. The buck-boost converter served as a power factor corrector (PFC) is designed to operate at discontinuous conduction mode (DCM) to achieve nearly a unity power factor at the input line. By adjusting the duty-ratio of the active switches of the PFC, the lamp power is remained at rated value for universal input voltage ranged from 90 Vrms to 264 Vrms. The four active switches of the full-bridge inverter, an inductor and a capacitor form a bidirectional buck converter which supplies a low frequency square-wave currentfor the lamp at to avoid the lamp from happing acoustic resonance. The circuit operation is analyzed in detail to derive the design equations. A prototype electronic ballast for a 70 W metal halide lamp is built and tested

Community structure and functional diversity of soil nematodes from Udupi district, Karnataka, India

Nematodes constitute the most significant, most numerous, and diversified set of multicellular organisms on the earth. They live in various environments and exhibit a wide range of behavioural patterns. In the soil food web, they can be found at various trophic levels as herbivores (plant parasitic nematodes), bacterivores, fungivores, omnivores, and predators. As there were fewer studies on nematode ecology in the Udupi region, the present study aims to study the community structure and functional diversity of soil nematodes. Soil samples were collected following opportunistic random sampling employing a soil auger and were stored at 40C until transported to the laboratory. Nematodes were isolated from soil, killed, fixed, dehydrated, and displayed on a glass slide after isolation. The standard keys were used to identify the individual to genera level. 62 genera of soil nematodes belonging to 26 families and 7 orders were identified. Predator were the most prevalent communities. Various statistical indices for assessing nematode population ecology and nematodes specific indices were also calculated and it indicated a significant abundance of large plant parasitic nematodes. The region exhibits low levels of labile organic carbon and nutrient enrichment (Enrichment Index (EI):14.06 to 21.22). Despite this, the soil food web in the region is well-structured, indicated by Structure Index (SI) (85.51 to 89.74). Prevalence of fungal decomposition dominance and the soil appears to be minimally disturbed, as indicated by high channel index values and low Basal Index (BI) values, respectively

Enhancing Fruit Yield in 'Ney Poovan' Banana (Musa paradisiaca L.) by De-Navelling and Feeding N, K and S through Distal Stalk-End of the Bunch

De-navelling and feeding ammonium sulphate (AS) (5-25 g/plant) with or without potassium sulphate (2.5-12.5 g/ plant) blended in 500 g of fresh cow-dung and applied to the distal stalk-end of the bunch of 'Ney Poovan' banana (Musa sp. L., AB) showed that the nutrients moved from the blend into the bunch and significantly enhanced weight of the fruits and of the bunch, compared to retention of flower, de-navelling (removal of male inflorescence) and application of 500 g cow-dung only to the excised distal stalk- end of the bunch. De-navelling caused 7.1% (5623 g) higher bunch yield, which increased to 13.9% (5980 g) when cow dung alone was applied after de-navelling. When cow dung was blended with 5 g of AS and 2.5 g of Sulphate of Potash, the response was 66.5% (9362 g) over de-navelling and application of cow dung alone and 78.3% (9362 g) over retention of male bud throughout (5250 g). A significantly higher N content, N uptake, Ndff (nitrogen derived from fertilizer), fertilizer N uptake, utilization of fertilizer and K and S content were observed when cow-dung enriched with AS and SOP was applied. Nitrogen content and all the parameters of N use were distinctly higher in the basal portion of the bunch indicating the flow of the applied nutrients upward from the de-navelled end. Results showed that application of 5 g ammonium sulphate and 2.5 g sulphate of potash blended in 500 g of fresh cow dung to the distal stalk-end of the bunch of 'Ney Poovan' banana was the most promising in boosting the yield, improving the nutritional composition in respect of N, K and S without adversely affecting the fruit quality

Influence of De-Navelling and Stalk-End Nutrient Application on Nutrient Composition of 'Robusta' Banana Fruits

The contents of N, P, Mg, S, Fe and Mn in banana fruit increased significantly due to denavelling from 0.32%, 0.086%, 0.12%, 0.024%, 52 ppm and 4.8 ppm, under 'control' to 0.37%, 0.085%, 0.13%, 0.027%, 59 ppm and 6.7 ppm, respectively. Dipping stalk end of the bunch in fresh cow dung enhanced these above nutrients to 0.40%, 0.086%, 0.14%. 0.028%, 63 ppm and 7.6 ppm, respectively. When cow dung was enriched with ammonium sulphate, the fruits showed 0.50-0.51% of N, 0.081-0.090% of P, 0.16-0.23% of Mg, 0.032-0.040% of S, 59-111 ppm of Fe and 8.1-17.8 ppm of Mn. Addition of potassium sulphate further enhanced this effect in respect of K (2.11-2.44%) and Fe (74-115 ppm) in fruit. Increasing level of ammonium sulphate in the blend significantly decreased Ca content of the fruit from 0.24% at 5 g to 0.10% at 25 g. When potassium sulphate was included in the blend, Ca content showed further reduction (0.19% at 5 g to 0.10% at 25g). At 15 g of ammonium sulphate and 7.5 g of potassium sulphate the maximum bunch weight of 27.993 kg was obtained (as against 16.724kg under retention of male bud throughout) corresponding to the enhanced nutrient composition of 2.44% of K, 0.12% of Ca, 0.18% of Mg, 0.033% of S, 115ppm of Fe and 14.9ppm of Mn that may have nutraceutical implications

Nutrient Dynamics of Annual Growth-Flush in Mango (Mangifera indica L.)

Internal nutrient dynamics in mango (cv. Alphonso) were studied during its annual growth flush (January - June, 2002). The study consisted of sampling mature leaves and growth belonging to the previous thirteen seasons at least (representing the seasonal growth of the previous six years) at fruit-set and post-harvest stages of plant growth. The samples were analyzed for N, P, K, Ca and Mg. The study indicated that phosphorus moved from 2nd, 3rd and 4th internodes to current season's growth and accumulated at other internodes, potassium moved from mature leaves to the new growth and accumulated in all the other internodes. Calcium and magnesium moved from 9th and older internodes to current season's growth, whereas, N was mostly remobilized from much older parts and by absorption from soil. The results imply that fertilizer application in productive mango trees should aim at keeping nutrient reserves of the permanent framework well-supplied to achieve sustained fruit production

Status and Infrastructure of the Health Sector in Karnataka

Karnataka is closer to the average of India in case of health status and health facilities, but compared to the states like Kerala, it stands too low. The most striking problem, related to the health infrastructure and health status arises out of the regional imbalance. The study shows that the Gulbarga and Belgaum divisions of Karnataka show a poor status in health infrastructure and health status. Among these, the Gulbarga division (means Hyderabad Karnataka) lies in the lower position. It is well known that Hyderabad Karnataka is underdeveloped in most of the sectors compared to the rest of the regions. Lesser health infrastructure facilities in this region clearly indicate the neglect of the government intervention/ interest to develop basic infrastructure facilities in this region. For better health, health facilities should be improved. For better health facilities, public health expenditure is very important. At present, the Karnataka government is spending very less amount of money on health, which is about 2 per cent of the NSDP. This amount has to be increased. Increasing the public expenditure alone, cannot serve the purpose, unless it is properly used for delivering quality infrastructure and good service mechanization

DNA marker-assisted evaluation of cultivated and local mulberry genotypes of southern India

Germplasm evaluation is essential in any crop improvement program and genetic characterization atmorphological and molecular level is very vital for breeding programs to be successful. Twenty six cultivated and localgenotypes of mulberry were subjected to diversity analysis with RAPD markers. Among the total 31 RAPD primers studied, 24were polymorphic and 7 were monomorphic. Of the total 197 loci obtained from 24 polymorphic primers, 110 loci (55.83%)were polymorphic and 87 (44.16%) were monomorphic. A clear grouping was seen among the cultivated genotypes based onyield with varieties like S36, V1, S54 and M5 showing proximity to each other and sharing a close similarity. Local genotypesare rich reservoirs of resistant gene sources and are well acclimatized to the prevailing environmental conditions.Utilizationof these along with other high yielding varieties will produce various combinations of resistance sources which can beincorporated into high yielding varieties

Volar plating of isolated ulna shaft fractures

Background: Dorsal plating for ulna shaft fracture is a common practice. But this is associated with hardware prominence on the dorsal subcutaneous border of ulna necessitating implant removal on later days. Volar surface of ulna is flat similar to radius volar surface with good muscle cover reducing the problem of hardware prominence. So, we wanted to study the outcome of volar plating of ulnar shaft fractures.  Methods: Ten patients satisfying our inclusion criteria underwent volar plating using volar approach between FCU and ECU and 3.5 DCP was placed on flat volar surface of ulnar shaft under thick muscle cover of FCU and FDP. Results: Out of 10 patients, 7 were acute fractures, 2 were neglected non unions and 1was non-union with implant insitu. Bone graft was used in non-union cases. All fractures united at 6-9 month post op without any complications. Conclusions: Isolated ulnar shaft fractures are common orthopaedic injuries. Displaced fractures require stabilization with dynamic compression plate (DCP). Application of implant on its volar aspect in distal 2/3rd fractures is easy due to flat surface and avoids complications related to hard ware prominence and subsequent need for implant removal

A Novel Skin Disease Detection Technique Using Machine Learning

Skin sicknesses present critical medical care difficulties around the world, requiring precise and opportune location for successful therapy. AI became promising stuff for computerizing the discovery and characterization of skin illnesses. This study presents a clever methodology that uses the choice tree strategy for skin sickness location. In computerized location, we utilize an exhaustive dataset containing different skin sickness pictures, including melanoma, psoriasis, dermatitis, and contagious diseases. Dermatologists skillfully mark the dataset, guaranteeing solid ground truth for precise grouping. Preprocessing strategies like resizing, standardization, and quality improvement are applied to set up the symbolism for the choice tree calculation. Then, we remove applicable elements from the preprocessed pictures, enveloping surface, variety, and shape descriptors to catch infection explicit examples successfully. The choice tree model is prepared utilizing these removed elements and the named dataset. Utilizing the choice tree's capacity to learn progressive designs and choice principles, our methodology accomplishes an elevated degree of exactness in grouping skin sicknesses. Extensive experiments and evaluations on a dedicated validation set demonstrate the effectiveness of our decision tree-based method, achieving a classification accuracy of 96%. Our proposed method provides a reliable and automated solution for skin disease detection, with potential applications in clinical settings. By enabling early and accurate diagnoses, our approach has the capacity to improve patient outcomes, trim down healthcare overheads, and alleviate the burden on dermatologists