Assessment and Modification of the Creams Hydrologic Model for Small Grassland Watersheds

Agricultural Engineering Minor Field: Civil Engineerin

Superior vena cava syndrome due to pacemaker leads: an Indian report with a review of management practices

Superior vena cava [SVC] syndrome due to pacemaker leads is a distinct diagnostic rarity. It is diagnosed clinically based on constellation of signs and symptoms supported by imaging evidence of SVC obstruction. A 70-year-old male, an ex-smoker, presented with facial and upper limb swelling along with exertional dyspnea. He had undergone transvenous dual chamber rate modulated [DDDR] pacemaker implantation four years back for symptomatic sinus node dysfunction. Imaging demonstrated a hypodense-filling defect in the SVC causing 70-80% luminal narrowing along with presence of collaterals. Patient was managed on anticoagulants and planned for SVC stenting with epicardial pacing which failed. Patient refused to undergo further any further treatment and was subsequently lost to follow-up. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first detailed description of SVC syndrome due to pacemaker leads from India, which was managed medically

A Novel Tractor Operated Grass Seed Harvester Developed in India

The demand of green and dry fodder in India is estimated to increase to 1170 and 650 m tonne whereas availability is expected to be at 411.3 and 488 m tonne in 2025, respectively, depicting deficit of about 64.9% green fodder and 24.9% dry fodder (Vision 2030, ICAR - IGFRI, Jhansi, 2011). In forages, availability of quality seed is only 25-30% in cultivated fodder and less than 10 % in range grasses and legumes (Vision 2050, IGFRI). Prices paid for grass seeds of native species vary from Rs.5,000 to 6,500 per kg for clean, un-haired seeds due to excessive use of manual labour in seed collection and removing hairy portion. In order to increase the capacity of collection of grass seeds from standing crop, A tractor operated grass seed harvester was developed under a collaborative research project of Indian Council of Agricultural Research two Institutes viz. Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute and Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering, keeping in view the requirements of common grasses used as feed material in Indian context. This grass seed harvester was made using nylon brushes arranged in specific fashion on a rotating cylinder and a winding reel in front of rotating cylinder to collect grass seed from the grasses standing in the fields, where tractor can operate. The specific features of this machine were variable speed of rotating cylinder brush, helical arrangement of brushes on the cylinder to carry the detached seed in to the seed box, variable height of operation and front mounting of the machine on tractor. This machine was tested for seed collection in Pennisetum pedicellatum (Dinanath grass), Cenchrus cilliaris (Anjan grass ) and Megathyrsus maximum (Guinea grass). Seed collection capacity of the machine was 4.24 to 7.12 kg/h in Dinanath grass during 2nd operation, 2.10 to 3.56 kg/h in Anjan grass and 1.61 to 3.56 kg/h in Guinea grass at the full maturity of the grass seeds in two passes of the machine in to and fro direction. The field capacity of seed collection operation ranged from 0.21 to 0.47 ha/h for the grasses in which it was operated

Experience of laparoscopic cholecystectomy in patients presenting with acute cholecystitis at different duration

Background: Acute inflammation of a gall bladder that contains stones is acute calculous cholecystitis, laparoscopic cholecystectomy is now the gold standard treatment for patients with gall stone disease. laparoscopic cholecystectomy for acute cholecystitis was initially considered technically challenging and potentially risky for the patient. Aim was to evaluate results of laparoscopic cholecystectomy in patients presenting with acute cholecystitis at different duration in a tertiary centre in eastern India.Methods: Comparative study of 71 cases of acute cholecystitis who presented at different days and were treated by laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Outcome was compared.Results: The incidence of conversion to open was 12.6%. Day of presentation 5 to 7 had the maximum 21% risk of conversion. Major intraoperative complications included 4 cases of common bile duct injury, 4 cases of vascular injury and 3 cases of bowel injury out of which vascular injury and one case of bowel injury was managed laparoscopically. 9 cases converted to open surgery. patient with DOP 1, 2 and 3 had an average hospital stays of 3 days. It was 5 for those with DOP 4 and 7 days for patients with DOP 5 to 7.Conclusions: The study supports laparoscopic cholecystectomy in acute cholecystitis specially in patients presenting within 72 hours of onset of pain. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy can be attempted in patients who present at DOP 4 and DOP 5 to7 after explaining them the risk and benefit of the procedure to the patient. Conversion to open surgery should not be stigmatized

Semi-Mechanized Harvesting Solutions for Cultivated Fodder Crops

In case of harvesting and threshing, the level of mechanization in India is 60-70 per cent for wheat and rice and less than five per cent for other crops (Mehta et al., 2014) that include fodder also. Herrmann et al.(2011) established that overall area capacities of machine decreased the by 4-24 per cent on taking finer chopping length of 4-6 mm compared to common chopping length of 8-10 mm in the ensiling chain of maize - establishing that finer work in ensiling commands less capacities and higher input costs. Since there is a strong correlation between effective field capacity and both crop yield and field area (Amiama et al., 2008), it is advisable to go for appropriate machine for fodder harvesting depending on the requirement of crop and field. Semi-automatic machines provide comparatively low cost workable solution in such conditions. In semi-mechanized harvesting of fodder, cutting of crop is done by machine and subsequent operations of collection, gathering, feeding to chaffing machines and feeding to animals are done manually. Such machines are discussed here

Multiscale 3D hybrid carbon microelectrodes with candle soot and reduced GO nanoparticles as binder-free anode: An approach beyond 3D for high rate & high performance Li-ion batteries

The full potential of electrodes for superior electrochemical performance in lithium-ion batteries (LIB) is beyond the limits of conventional planar electrodes with higher mass loadings. In this article, we report a unique way to fabricate a hierarchical hybrid 3D microelectrodes architecture with low mass loading (~1.3 mg/cm2) for more effective and efficient lithium charge transport in LIB. To fabricate such hierarchical 3D microelectrodes, first, 3D carbon microelectrodes are prepared on stainless steel (SS) wafer via the carbon-MEMS approach followed by drop-casting reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanoflakes and candle soot carbon nanoparticles solution on these 3D microelectrodes. As-fabricated hierarchical 3D microelectrodes are then tested as an anode in LIB that enabled high current density operations with enhanced specific capacities. 3D carbon hierarchical microelectrodes based on rGO and candle soot carbon nanoparticles with SS substrate deliver high specific capacities of 560 and 462 mAhg−1 at 250 mAg−1 current density after 100 cycles, respectively. Post cycling analysis after 100 cycles confirms the structural integrity of the electrodes. Further, the finite element method is used to investigate and predict the time-dependent Li-ion gradient within the 3D microelectrodes that confirms much improved Li-ion diffusion kinetics over conventional flat electrodes. © 2020 Elsevier B.V

COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and attitude toward booster doses among US healthcare workers

Vaccine reluctance among healthcare workers (HCW) can have widespread negative ramifications, including modeling behavior for the general population and challenges with maintaining a healthy workforce so we can respond to a resurgence of the pandemic. We previously reported that only one-third of HCW were willing to take the vaccine as soon as it became available prior to its Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). Here, we re-examine the attitude toward COVID-19 vaccines among HCW several months after the vaccines have been made widely available. In this study, only 7.9% (n = 107) of respondents were hesitant to take the first or second dose of the vaccine. Younger age (18-40 years) and lower level of education attainment (GED or less) were associated with higher vaccine hesitancy, whereas self-identified Asian racial identity was associated with greater acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination. Among the vaccine-hesitant group, more respondents noted mistrust of regulatory authorities (45.3%), government (48.6%), and pharmaceutical companies (50%) than mistrust of doctors (25.4%). Nearly two-thirds of respondents were concerned that vaccination may be ineffective against new strains and booster doses may be required; however, vaccine-hesitant respondents\u27 acceptance of a hypothetical booster dose was only 14.3%. Overall, vaccine hesitancy was observed to have demographic predictors similar to those previously reported; the hesitancy of some US HCW to receive booster doses may reflect a general hesitancy to receive other forms of vaccination

Pyrolyzed pencil graphite coated cellulose paper as an interlayer: An effective approach for high-performance lithium-sulfur battery

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery is next generation battery technology but it's commercialization is obstructed primarily due to the shuttling effect of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs). Herein, we report an effective approach using pencil coated pyrolyzed cellulose filter paper as an interlayer to suppress the LiPSs dissolution into the electrolyte and thus allowing effective utilization of active sulfur cathode. Here, the binder clay particles (mainly SiO2) of pencil graphite facilitate the adsorption of LiPSs, whereas graphite increases the electrical conductivity and acts as a physical barrier to LiPSs. To investigate further, we utilize three different grades of pencil (4B, HB, 5H) which vary in terms of clay (SiO2) composition. It is observed that the HB pencil coated interlayer has the right balance of silica and graphite, which results in an impressive initial capacity of 1352 and 995 mAh g−1 at the current density of 0.1 and 0.5 A g−1, respectively. The cell exhibit high cycling stability of 900 mAh g−1 at 1 A g−1 (3.0 C) for 350 cycles with a slow capacity decay of 0.07% per cycle. The phenomenon of LiPSs adsorption is further understood using post-cycling analysis, H-cell adsorption testing, and shuttle factor calculation for the development of commercial Li-S batteries. © 2020 Elsevier B.V