Restoration of Equalization and Aeration Tanks of Effluent Treatment Plant at the Mysugar Factory, Mandya, Karnataka, India

This paper deals with the restoration measures resorted to strengthen the structure and prevent the leakage of the equalization and aeration tanks of effluent treatment plant in a sugar factory. These tanks showed distress at the hydraulic test itself before commissioning due to the failure of the reinforced concrete floor and bund lining on account of loss of support due to excessive deformation of the substratum. Extensive sand piling was resorted to strengthen the substratum before recasting the reinforced concrete floor and bund lining to ensure structural stability and prevent leakage. These tanks are functioning satisfactorily since two years after restoration serving the intended functions of the eflluent treatment

Fragment based tracking for scale and orientation adaptation

In this work, we propose a simple yet highly effective algorithm for tracking a target through significant scale and orientation change. We divide the target into a number of fragments and tracking of the whole target is achieved by coordinated tracking of the individual fragments. We use the mean shift algorithm to move the individual fragments to the nearest minima, though any other method like integral histograms could also be used. In contrast to the other fragment based approaches, which fix the relative positions of fragments within the target, we permit the fragments to move freely within certain bounds. Furthermore, we use a constant velocity Kalman filter for two purposes. Firstly, Kalman filter achieves robust tracking because of usage of a motion model. Secondly, to maintain coherence amongst the fragments, we use a coupled state transition model for the Kalman filter. Using the proposed tracking algorithm, we have experimented on several videos consisting of several hundred frames length each and obtained excellent results

Identifying specific prefrontal neurons that contribute to autism-associated abnormalities in physiology and social behavior.

Functional imaging and gene expression studies both implicate the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), particularly deep-layer projection neurons, as a potential locus for autism pathology. Here, we explored how specific deep-layer prefrontal neurons contribute to abnormal physiology and behavior in mouse models of autism. First, we find that across three etiologically distinct models-in utero valproic acid (VPA) exposure, CNTNAP2 knockout and FMR1 knockout-layer 5 subcortically projecting (SC) neurons consistently exhibit reduced input resistance and action potential firing. To explore how altered SC neuron physiology might impact behavior, we took advantage of the fact that in deep layers of the mPFC, dopamine D2 receptors (D2Rs) are mainly expressed by SC neurons, and used D2-Cre mice to label D2R+ neurons for calcium imaging or optogenetics. We found that social exploration preferentially recruits mPFC D2R+ cells, but that this recruitment is attenuated in VPA-exposed mice. Stimulating mPFC D2R+ neurons disrupts normal social interaction. Conversely, inhibiting these cells enhances social behavior in VPA-exposed mice. Importantly, this effect was not reproduced by nonspecifically inhibiting mPFC neurons in VPA-exposed mice, or by inhibiting D2R+ neurons in wild-type mice. These findings suggest that multiple forms of autism may alter the physiology of specific deep-layer prefrontal neurons that project to subcortical targets. Furthermore, a highly overlapping population-prefrontal D2R+ neurons-plays an important role in both normal and abnormal social behavior, such that targeting these cells can elicit potentially therapeutic effects

Interface characterization of all-perovskite oxide field effect heterostructures

All-oxide devices consisting of Niobium-doped Strontium Titanate (Nb:STO)/Strontium Titanate (STO)/Lanthanum Strontium Cuprous Oxide (LSCO) heterostructures were fabricated and characterized electrically for their interface properties through capacitance-voltage (C-V) and current-voltage (I-V) techniques, in the context of electric field effect studies. The C-V studies establish the occurrence of charge modulation in the LSCO channel. Absence of hysteresis in the C-V characteristic when the voltage is retraced suggests the absence of mobile ions in the gate oxide and slow interface traps. This is further corroborated by the absence of drift in the C-V characteristic and shift in the flat band voltage (V FB) when the device is subjected to temperature-bias aging. The interface state density obtained from V FB is ~1012/cm2. The uncompensated hole concentration in the LSCO channel calculated from the measured room temperature C-V data is ~1020/cm3 and is in good agreement with the expected hole concentration in LSCO. Current-time and current-voltage plots are invariant with respect to the polarity of the applied voltage up to ~5 V. This, in a structure with asymmetric interfaces, indicates that the electrical contacts to STO are non-blocking and the conduction through STO is bulk-limited in this voltage regime. Thickness dependent current and capacitance studies also corroborate the bulk-limited nature of conduction through the device in this voltage regime. However, I-V characteristic shows a rectifying nature beyond ~8 V indicating that the mechanism in this voltage regime could be interface limited

Analgesic use and potential hearing loss: a pharmacovigilance study

Background: Hearing loss is the most common sensory deficit in humans today. In India, as per WHO there are approximately 63 million people, who are suffering from significant auditory impairment and estimated prevalence at 6.3% in Indian population. The objective of the study was to determine the potential hearing loss in patients on analgesics.Methods: Prospective, observational study examined the association between analgesic use and potential hearing loss in 30 patients receiving NSAIDS. Data was collected using specialized designed case record form. The clinical signs like onset of tinnitus, appearance of another sound that didn't exist before, sinus infection or a respiratory illness, development of vertigo or spinning sensation were looked for. Audiometry test was advised for all the patients receiving analgesics.Results: Total of 30 patients were included in the study. Male predominance was noted Maximum patients were in the age group between 35-45 years (33.33%). The socioeconomic status was analyzed using revised kuppuswamy scale. 30% (n=09) of patients were in lower class. Majority of the patients were reported with road traffic accidents (n=19; 63.33%) and received analgesics for more than 2 weeks. Patients received different combination of NSAIDs among which aceclofenac was most commonly prescribed. 11 (36.66%) patients had hearing loss received either diclofenac or aceclofenac for more than 25 days.Conclusions: Regular usage of NSAIDS may increase the risk of hearing loss and the impact could be larger on younger individuals. Hence, extra precaution to be taken while prescribing NSAIDS

Anatomical variations of sinonasal region: a CT scan study

Multislice CT is currently the imaging modality of choice for evaluating PNS & adjacent structures. Such a method has been increasingly utilized in the assessment of anatomical variations, allowing their accurate identification with high anatomical details. Some anatomical variations may predispose to sinonasal disease, constituting areas of high risk for injuries & complications during surgical procedures. Therefore, the recognition of such variations is critical in the preoperative evaluation for endoscopic surgery

Growth-rate induced epitaxial orientation of CeO2 on Al2O3(0001)

High-quality CeO2 films were grown on Al2O3(0001) substrates using oxygen plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The epitaxial orientation of the films is found to be CeO2(100) and CeO2(111) at low ( \u3c 8 A/min) and higher growth rates ( \u3e 12 A/min), respectively. CeO2(100) film grows as three-dimensional islands, while CeO2(111) film grows as two-dimensional layers. The CeO2(100) film exhibits better epitaxial quality compared to CeO2(111) film. However, the CeO2(100) film on Al2O3(0001) shows three in-plane domains at 30 degrees to each other. While the epitaxial quality is attributed to the close match between oxygen sublattices of CeO2(100) and Al2O3(0001), the three in-plane domains in CeO2(100) are attributed to the threefold symmetry of the substrate. The relative stability of different epitaxial orientations of CeO2 films on Al2O3(0001) obtained from molecular dynamics simulations strongly supports the experimental observations

Variations in lung fissures and lobes morphology in population of Andhra Pradesh of South India (a cadaveric study)

Knowledge of the position of lung fissures is necessary for the appreciation of lobar anatomy and thus locating the bronchopulmonary segments. The study aimed to investigate the patterns of fissures and lobes of the lungs and their variations in Andhra Pradesh, India and to find their clinical implications and compare them with the previous studies. Methods: The patterns of lobes, fissures, and hilar anatomy of lungs and its variations of 47 lungs by dissection method of embalmed cadavers was performed in the Department of Anatomy, Narayana Medical College (Nellore, India). The specimens were macroscopically observed for gross morphology of fissures and lobes. Results. The study showed oblique fissure in 33 % (grade 1), 26 % (grade 2), 24 % (grade 3) and 14 % (grade 4) of right lungs and 27 % (grade 1), 31 % (grade 2), 12 % (grade 3) and 12 % (grade 4) of left lungs. The incomplete horizontal fissure was seen in 38 % of right-sided lungs (grade 1). 19 % of right lungs and 10 % of left lungs had accessory lung fissures. Conclusions. Awareness of the variations in the lobes and fissures of the lungs is important for radiologists while interpreting magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scans. Also, we believe that the data from the present study certainly adds an important reference in the medical literature to thoracic surgeons in performing pneumonectomy and segmental resection

Laser-Induced Cavitation for Controlling Crystallization from Solution

We demonstrate that a cavitation bubble initiated by a Nd:YAG laser pulse below breakdown threshold induces crystallization from supersaturated aqueous solutions with supersaturation and laser-energy dependent nucleation kinetics. Combining high-speed video microscopy and simulations, we argue that a competition between the dissipation of absorbed laser energy as latent and sensible heat dictates the solvent evaporation rate and creates a momentary supersaturation peak at the vapor-liquid interface. The number and morphology of crystals correlate to the characteristics of the simulated supersaturation peak