Geotechnical Assessment and Evaluation of the Impact of Kachchh (Bhuj) India 2001 Earthquake

Intraplate earthquakes are ongoing activity in the Kachchh region. The area is seismically active and falls in Zone V of the seismic Zoning Map of India. The devastating Bhuj (Kachchh) Earthquake of MS 7.6 occurred in this zone on 26th January, 2001 causing severe damage to civil engineering structures and loss of human life. The surface manifestations of deformation of this earthquake include fractures/ fissures, lateral spread, slump, subsidence, upheaval, sand blows and craters. Bhuj Earthquake has caused considerable damage to earth dams lying in isoseist VIII and above in Kachchh. Damages to dams are in the form of longitudinal and transverse cracks, differential settlement, slumps/ slide, displacements and in some cases leakage. A review of the available geological, seismological and geotechnical data have been done to asses the impact of Bhuj Earthquake and subsequent seismic events in the area on ground deformation and engineering structures. Main cause of the ground deformation and damage is liquefaction of the soil under seismic shaking. Tectonic influence on the development of fissures/ cracks on the ground as well as on the earth dams has been observed

Design of an intelligent spinal artificial disk prosthesis for the investigation of in-vivo loading on the spine

The knowledge of the in-vivo loading on the spinal disk is of paramount importance in the understanding of low back pain. In this study an artificial spinal disk is used as a base for making an in-body intelligent implantable load-cell which can measure the in-vivo loading on the spinal disk. A commercially available spinal disc was utilized and was loaded with eight strain gauges and two piezoresistive sensors placed at different locations on the disc in order to enable the complete local mapping on the disk. With the aid of a cadaveric animal spine the artificial disc with all sensor was loaded in a laboratory environment. The in-vitro loading produced reliable and repeatable results and therefore suggesting that such approach might aid in the development of an artificial intelligent disc which will aid in the better understanding of the in-vivo loading of the human spine

Towards an Intelligent Intervertebral Disc Prosthesis for the Assessment of Spinal Loading

Low back pain is an economic and social burden to society. Low back pain is considered to be a chronic problem when the causes are due degenerative disc diseases and damaged vertebrae. The main causes for degenerative disc are extremely complex and still not well understood, although in their majority are strongly related to the acute and frequent mechanical loading on the spine. Knowledge that might shed more light on such pathologies is the availability of in vivo human spinal disc loading data, which at the moment does not exist. Many efforts had been made by researchers to investigate and understand the in vivo loading of the human spinal disc. All such techniques were not true in vivo techniques and hence, their findings are questionable. Not only a full understanding of the in vivo loading of the human spine, but also the distribution of the loading on the spinal disc are of prime importance in order to comprehensively understand the biomechanics of the human spine. Such new knowledge will also be helpful in the treatment of vertebrae compression fractures and also aid in the further improvement of current implantable spinal technologies. The aim of this work was to engage in such investigation by developing a prototype intelligent artificial spinal disc with the capability of mapping the loads applied to the disc when it's loaded in an in vitro and ex vivo environment. In this research, for the first time a commercial artificial intervertebral disc prosthesis was used as a base for a load-cell. Following a critical review of possible suitable sensors to be embedded within the artificial spinal disc, it was concluded that strain gauges and piezoresistive thin layer sensors were the most appropriate for incorporation within the body of the artificial spinal disc. The loading cell has been successfully designed and developed comprising of eight strain gauges and two piezoresistive sensors encapsulated inside the body of the artificial spinal disc. Further instrumentation and software were developed in order to interface the loading cell with a data acquisition system. A universal testing machine was used for all loading experiments. In vitro and ex vivo (using an animal spine) experiments were conducted in order to evaluate the developed technology and also to rigorously investigate the loading behaviour of the new loading cell. Following the in vitro and ex vivo experiments, it can be concluded that all the sensors' outputs are almost identical in characteristics. All results are very much predictable with moderate level of tolerances, uncertainty, accuracy and repeatability. Such results suggest that this new intelligent artificial intervertebral disc prosthesis could allow the in vivo investigation of loading on the human spine in the lumbar region and therefore enable the continuous postoperative assessment of patients that had a spinal disc surgical intervention

Geo-Engineering Problems in the Spillway Foundations and Their Treatment at Guhai Reservoir Project in Gujurat, India

During the initial stage of construction of a 23 m high composite dam across the Guhai river, the downstream dipping sedimentary rock sequence of conglomerate, sandstone and shale resting unconformably over quartzite and schist was encountered as a surprise during the excavation of the foundation. Besides, an 8 to 8.5 m wide major fault zone along with three minor faults running across the dam axis were also noticed. Extensive subsurface investigations to study the nature and characteristics of sedimentary rocks, fault zones, etc. met with in the foundations were undertaken concurrently with the construction activity. As a result, the construction schedule was greatly affected. The paper discusses the detailed evaluation of the geological flaws by thorough investigation and foundation treatment evolved to safeguard the structure

Antimicrobial and antioxidant potentials of callus cultures of Convolvulus microphyllus Sieb. ex Spreng.

Background & Aim: Convolvulus microphyllus Sieb. ex Spreng. (Family: Convolvulaceae) known as “Shankhpushpi” is reported to be brain tonic and useful in CNS disorder, hypertension, thyrotoxicosis and ulcer. Tissue culture technique has been optimized for the large scale production of medicinally important plant independent from climatic and geographic conditions. Antioxidant and antimicrobial activities were performed and compared with in vivo. Active compounds with biological activities were isolated, identified from the callus extracts. These biological constituents can be propagated in large amount with low cost use tissue culture techniques. Experimental: Cell cultures of C. microphyllus have been established using Murashige and Skoog’s (MS) medium supplemented with different concentrations of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2, 4-D). Callus was harvested at different time intervals of 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks and their antimicrobial and antioxidant potentials along with the isolation of active compounds isolation were carried out using established protocols. Results: Ethanolic extracts of 2 weeks-old callus demonstrated appreciable antifungal activity against Penicillium chrysogenum and Tricophyton rubrum (inhibition zone of 14.66 ± 0.66 and 14.00 ± 0.57 mm respectively) while maximum antibacterial activity was recorded in 6 and 4 weeks-old callus against Klebsiella pneumoniae (Inhibition zone of 14.66 ± 0.61 mm and 14.33 ± 0.59 mm respectively). Antioxidant potentials were more in plant extract (IC50 0.055 mg/ml and 510 ± 20.02 ascorbic acid equivalents) as compared to callus. Phenolic acids viz., caffeic-, p- coumaric-, ferulic-, gallic-, vanillic- and syringic acids were isolated and screened for antimicrobial efficacy. Recommended applications/industries: The callus extract shows similar results as that of In vivo plant. Two week old callus exhibit most profound antifungal and 4 to 6 week for antimicrobial activities. Callus extract shows similar bio-potentials and secondary metabolites level, so it can be used for large scale production of biologically active phytochemicals with antimicrobial properties

Long Days Enhance Recognition Memory and Increase Insulin-like Growth Factor 2 in the Hippocampus

Light improves cognitive function in humans; however, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying positive effects of light remain unclear. One obstacle is that most rodent models have employed lighting conditions that cause cognitive deficits rather than improvements. Here we have developed a mouse model where light improves cognitive function, which provides insight into mechanisms underlying positive effects of light. To increase light exposure without eliminating daily rhythms, we exposed mice to either a standard photoperiod or a long day photoperiod. Long days enhanced long-term recognition memory, and this effect was abolished by loss of the photopigment melanopsin. Further, long days markedly altered hippocampal clock function and elevated transcription of Insulin-like Growth Factor2 (Igf2). Up-regulation of Igf2 occurred in tandem with suppression of its transcriptional repressor Wilm’s tumor1. Consistent with molecular de-repression of Igf2, IGF2 expression was increased in the hippocampus before and after memory training. Lastly, long days occluded IGF2-induced improvements in recognition memory. Collectively, these results suggest that light changes hippocampal clock function to alter memory, highlighting novel mechanisms that may contribute to the positive effects of light. Furthermore, this study provides insight into how the circadian clock can regulate hippocampus-dependent learning by controlling molecular processes required for memory consolidation