New hand-cart for Old-Delhi whole sale market designed and engineered using generic product development process

The study aimed to design a hand cart for the cart puller in the old Delhi area. We used a Generic Product Development Process as a base to design and test our new cart design for the cart pullers. The process had been used in a sequential procedure to get the best design solution. It also saves time and money which would be wasted in the reiteration of the cart design. It starts with User Research where we find out the basic user needs, which can be conducted via interview. Then to convert the user needs into applicable design specifications, we used a Quality Function Deployment (QFD). The next stage was to design the concepts, to do so we used the Morphological chart which helped us to generate concepts logically. After the generation of concepts, we had to select one concept which is the most promising one, to do so we used Pugh’s Concept Selection method and we landed on one concept. To make the detailed design of the cart we used dimensions from the existing cart and used Indian anthropometric data to add ergonomics into the cart design. A 3D CAD Design was made using detailed dimensions. Finally, based on CAD design a low fidelity prototype was made, and then it was translated into a 1:1 scale prototype. The last stage of testing was done and results were compared with the existing cart design in terms of Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA), Hierarchical Task Analysis (HTA) and Verbal interview

New hand-cart for Old-Delhi whole sale market designed and engineered using generic product development process

698-705The study aimed to design a hand cart for the cart puller in the old Delhi area. We used a Generic Product Development Process as a base to design and test our new cart design for the cart pullers. The process had been used in a sequential procedure to get the best design solution. It also saves time and money which would be wasted in the reiteration of the cart design. It starts with User Research where we find out the basic user needs, which can be conducted via interview. Then to convert the user needs into applicable design specifications, we used a Quality Function Deployment (QFD). The next stage was to design the concepts, to do so we used the Morphological chart which helped us to generate concepts logically. After the generation of concepts, we had to select one concept which is the most promising one, to do so we used Pugh’s Concept Selection method and we landed on one concept. To make the detailed design of the cart we used dimensions from the existing cart and used Indian anthropometric data to add ergonomics into the cart design. A 3D CAD Design was made using detailed dimensions. Finally, based on CAD design a low fidelity prototype was made, and then it was translated into a 1:1 scale prototype. The last stage of testing was done and results were compared with the existing cart design in terms of Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA), Hierarchical Task Analysis (HTA) and Verbal interview

Monitoring Secchi disk transparency of Warasgaon reservoir of Pune by using LISS III sensor

ABSTRACT Secchi disk transparency (SDT) is the simplest and the most efficient measure to monitor water quality of the reservoir. The nutrients from the agriculture fields, sewage from human settlements and industries drain into reservoirs and lakes. It contributes to the increasing level of suspended particles, algal growth and coloring of water and reduces transparency of water. These changes can be detectable by remote sensors. In this study LISS III sensor of Resourcesat-2 used to model SDT of Warasgaon reservoir, Pune. The green (r = 0.75), red (r = 0.79) and NIR (r = 0.75) bands of LISS III showed good correlation with observed SDT, while band ratios Red/NIR (r = 0.81) and NIR/SWIR (r = 0.81) showed significant correlations. Several linear and multiple linear regression models developed from the in-situ measurements of SDT and the radiance value of LISS III image. The multiple linear regression model based on green, red, NIR and red/SWIR found to be the best fit (r = 0.88) to the in-situ data. The results showed that the Warasgaon reservoir was oligotrophic in condition during the December 2012

Unlocking the secrets of DNA - A study of Biochemical Techniques in Genetic Research

The unravelling of DNA's secrets has been a cornerstone of modern genetic research. This review delves into the multitude of biochemical techniques that have paved the way for a comprehensive understanding of DNA's structure, function, and interactions. From the pioneering days of X-ray crystallography to the contemporary era of high-throughput sequencing, these techniques have revolutionized the field and empowered researchers to decode the genetic information that underpins life. This review highlights key methodologies such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR), gel electrophoresis, DNA sequencing, recombinant DNA technology, and CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing. Furthermore, it explores how these techniques have enabled breakthroughs in areas like personalized medicine, biotechnology, and evolutionary biology. As genetic research continues to evolve, a deep appreciation of these biochemical techniques is essential for navigating the intricacies of DNA and unlocking its enduring mysterie

Experimental Evidence of Large Collective Enhancement of Nuclear Level Density and its Significance in Radiative Neutron Capture

The collective enhancement of nuclear level density and its fade out with excitation energy in deformed $^{171}$Yb nucleus has been inferred through an exclusive measurement of neutron spectra.The statistical model analysis of neutron spectra demonstrated a large collective enhancement factor of 40$\pm$3 for the first time, which corroborates with the recent microscopic model predictions but is an anomalous result compared with the measurements in the nearby deformed nuclei. The complete picture of the energy dependent collective enhancement has been obtained by combining with Oslo data below neutron binding energy. The significance of large collective enhancement in radiative neutron capture cross section of astrophysical interest is highlighted.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figure

Investigation of reaction and α\alpha production cross sections with 9^9Be projectile

In order to investigate the contribution of $\alpha$ production in the reaction cross sections, measurements of elastic scattering and inclusive $\alpha$ particle angular distributions have been carried out with the $^9$Be projectile on $^{89}$Y, $^{124}$Sn, $^{159}$Tb, $^{198}$Pt, and $^{209}$Bi targets over a wide angular range at energies near the Coulomb barrier. The measured elastic scattering angular distributions were fitted with optical model calculations, and reaction cross sections were extracted. The same data were also analysed using both global optical model potentials (Global OMP) and microscopic S$\tilde{a}$o Paulo potentials (SPP), to obtain the reaction cross sections. The data available in the literature for $^9$Be projectile includes the elastic scattering angular distributions, $\alpha$ production cross sections, and complete fusion cross sections on these and other targets at several energies are also utilised for comparative studies. The reaction cross section extracted from the three potentials (Best Fit, Global OMP and SPP) are in reasonable agreement for all the targets except for the energies below the barrier where the results from SPP deviate by 30-50 \%. Inclusive $\alpha$ particle production cross sections were also extracted by integrating the $\alpha$ particle angular distributions. The present data and data available from literature of reaction and $\alpha$-particle production cross sections were utilised to make systematic studies. Systematics of reaction and $\alpha$-particle production cross sections revealed their universal behaviour.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figure

Cytotoxic activity of NN-32 toxin from Indian spectacled cobra venom on human breast cancer cell lines

Abstract Background Breast cancer is the most common cancer which causes significant morbidity and mortality among women worldwide. Lack of medical facilities for early detection, therapeutic strategies for treatment and side effects due to pharmacological compounds have encompassed the need for new therapies mostly from natural sources. A lot of components have been identified from different snake venoms as therapeutic agents. A group of polypeptides (60–70 amino acid residues) called cytotoxins or cardiotoxins present in an elapid family of snakes have a wide variety of pharmaceutical actions and have the tendency to damage a wide variety of cells including cancerous cells. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the cytotoxic effect of NN-32 protein toxin purified from Indian Spectacled Cobra venom against human breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231). Methods The NN-32 toxin was purified by ion exchange chromatography and further by RP-HPLC. The potential anticancer effects of the NN-32 toxin on MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells were evaluated using MTT, anti-proliferation, neutral red (NR) uptake and Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH) release assay. Results The ion exchange chromatography showed various peaks among fraction no. 35 showing cytotoxic activity and this fraction showed a single peak with retention time 3.6 mins by HPLC using C18 column. The NN-32 toxin induced cytotoxicity in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells with the IC50 value of 2.5 and 6.7 μg/ml respectively. The NN-32 showed significant cytotoxicity to both the cell lines along with low cytotoxicity to MCF-10A (normal breast epithelial) cells. The cytotoxic effect was further confirmed by the anti-proliferative, NR uptake and LDH release assays. Conclusion The purified toxin NN-32 from Naja naja venom showed cytotoxic activity against MCF-7 (ER+) and MDA-MB-231(ER-) cells in both dose dependent and time dependent manner

Reasons for patient′s withdrawal from clinical trials of rheumatoid arthritis in India

Introduction: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) affects 0.5-1% of population all over the world. As the duration of treatment is more in RA, patient′s adherence to treatment is less. Controlling the number of patients lost to follow-up is essential for the successful completion of randomized clinical trials. Also, patient adherence is critical in clinical trial setting as it has impact on validity of clinical data and also it remains an issue of utmost importance to pharmaceutical manufacturers as well as scientific and regulatory community. The studies which show reasons for withdrawal from clinical trials are done for diseases like tuberculosis (TB). None of the study is available to find reasons for withdrawal from clinical trials in RA. Hence, this study is planned. Aims and Objectives: Find reasons and effect of age, sex, duration of therapy, and distance from home on withdrawal from clinical trial. Materials and Methods: This study is a retrospective observational data analysis. Primary outcome are to find reasons for withdrawal from trial. Results: Withdrawal from clinical trial in patients of RA is more in female. In this study, reasons for withdrawal from study are change in location, loss to follow-up, failure of therapy, concomitant illness, patient withdrew consent, and adverse effects is the common reason for withdrawal from clinical trial in both patient and investigator-related reason for withdrawal

Range extension of Lymnaea cf. biacuminata Annandale & Rao, 1925 (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Hygrophila: Lymnaeidae), with its first record from Maharashtra state, India

Lymnaea biacuminata Annandale & Rao, 1925, is a rare freshwater snail with less than 10 locality records in the states of Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttarakhand of India. This species is taxonomically problematic and its relationship to the morphologically similar L. acuminata Lamarck, 1822, unresolved. We identify L. biacuminata from Maharashtra for the first time and this species’ distributional range to Pune, about 500 km westwards from the type locality at Hosainsagar lake between Hyderabad and Secunderabad in Telangana. In Maharashtra, we found L. cf. biacuminata sympatric with L. acuminata. To aid in distinguishing between these two species, additional information on breeding behaviour and shell morphometry of both species are provided

Genotoxicity and oxidative stress as biomarkers in fresh water mussel,<i> Lamellidens marginalis</i> (Lam.) exposed to monocrotophos

822-828Monocrotophos (MCP) is an organophosphate pesticide widely used in India for controlling various pests. In this study, we evaluated the oxidative stress and genotoxic potential of MCP on the freshwater mussel Lamellidens marginalis (Lamarck) after 7 days exposure and repair of the damaged DNA after 4 days recovery. The bivalves were exposed to 5.25 mg/L of MCP for 7 days and then allowed to recover for 4 days in pesticide-free water. Increase in the levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances was recorded in the gill, muscle, foot and mantle tissues. Cellular antioxidant defences i.e. antioxidant enzyme activities like catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione reductase and glutathione-S-transferase were used as biomarkers of oxidative stress. Altered activities of antioxidant enzymes were observed after exposure. There was a significant recovery in the antioxidative enzymes in the tissues after the recovery period. To monitor genotoxicity of MCP, we used micronucleus and comet assay. Increase in Olive tail moment in the gill cells of exposed mussels as compared to that of control ones indicated significant DNA damage. Our findings suggest that the MCP-induced oxidative stress may be contributing partly to genotoxic damage of gill cells. Thus, these biomarkers are found to be useful in evaluating the toxicity of MCP in mussels