Effects of annealing and strain on La_{1-x}Ca_{x}MnO_{3} thin films: a new phase diagram in the ferromagnetic region

Oriented, single phase thin films of La_{1-x}Ca_{x}MnO_{3} have been deposited onto (100)-oriented LaAlO_{3} (0.1<x<0.5) substrates using the Pulsed Laser Deposition technique. While for some compositions the physical properties (transport and magnetization) of the as-grown films are higher than the bulk values, for other calcium contents the optimized properties are obtained only after annealing under oxygen. These data can be partly explained by changes in oxygen content, resulting in cationic vacancies and thus self-doping effects - accompanying structural changes, may be the cause of properties beyond the phase diagram. We propose a new phase diagram for (La_{1-x}Ca_{x})_{1-y}\square_{y}MnO_{3} (0.1<x<0.5) thin films.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures submitted to Applied Physics Letter

FRICTION STIR PROCESSING OF ALUMINUM ALLOYS

Friction stir processing (FSP) is one of the new and promising thermomechanical processing techniques that alters the microstructural and mechanical properties of the material in single pass to achieve maximum performance with low production cost in less time using a simple and inexpensive tool. Preliminary studies of different FS processed alloys report the processed zone to contain fine grained, homogeneous and equiaxed microstructure. Several studies have been conducted to optimize the process and relate various process parameters like rotational and translational speeds to resulting microstructure. But there is only a little data reported on the effect of the process parameters on the forces generated during processing, and the resulting microstructure of aluminum alloys especially AA5052 which is a potential superplastic alloy. In the present work, sheets of aluminum alloys were friction stir processed under various combinations of rotational and translational speeds. The processing forces were measured during the process and the resulting microstructure was analyzed using TEM. The results indicate that the processing forces and the microstructure evolved during FSP are sensitive to the rotational and translational speed. It is observed that the forces generated increase with the increasing rotational speed. The grain refinement was observed to vary directly with rotational speed and inversely with the translational speed. Also these forces generated were proportional to the grain refinement i.e., greater refinement of grains occurred at lower forces. Thus the choice of process parameters especially the rotational speed has a significant effect on the control and optimization of the process

Some Graph Parameters of Clique graph of Cyclic Subgroup graph on certain Non-Abelian Groups

The aim of this paper is to examine various graph parameters of clique graph of cyclic subgroup graph on certain non-abelian groups and also we obtain some theorems and results in detai

STUDY OF IN VITRO GLUCOSE UPTAKE ACTIVITY OF ISOLATED COMPOUNDS FROM HYDRO ALCOHOLIC LEAF EXTRACT OF CARDIOSPERMUM HALICACABUM LINN

Objective: Herbal medicines have long been used effectively in the treatment of Diabetes Mellitus. Cardiospermum halicacabum(C. halicacabum) has been used for several centuries for the treatment of various ailments. The present work was undertaken to study the effect of isolated bioactive compounds from leaf of C. halicacabum on glucose uptake in L-6 cell lines. Methods: The hydro alcoholic leaf extract of C. halicacabum was subjected to preliminary phytochemical screening and isolated eleven compounds were tested for cytotoxicity by MTT assay. Compound 1 and 8 were selected for further glucose uptake assay based on cytotoxicity concentration CTC50 value. Structure of compound 1 and 8 was identified by NMR technique. Results: Phytochemical analysis showed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins and terpenoids. Compound 1 showed moderate cytotoxic activity to L6 cell line when compared to compound 8. Compounds 1 and 8 were identified as Kaempferol-3-o-α-l-rhamnoside and Apigenin-7-o-β-d-glucuronide. In in vitro glucose uptake assay Kaempferol-3-o-α-l-rhamnoside showed increase in glucose uptake by 11.38 ± 2.04% and Apigenin-7-o-β-d-glucuronide by 15.97 ± 2.16% over control. Conclusion: Kaempferol-3-o-α-l-rhamnoside and Apigenin-7-o-β-d-glucuronide isolated from C. halicacabum leaf extract enhance the glucose uptake significantly. They exhibit hypoglycemic activity and stimulate glucose uptake in L-6 skeletal muscle cells. This study can bring a promising role for this plant in the management of Diabetes mellitus

A Modified Frame Difference Method Using Correlation Coefficient for Background Subtraction

AbstractBackground subtraction is one of the most important step in video surveillance which is used in a number of real life applications such as surveillance, human machine interaction, optical motion capture and intelligent visual observation of animals, insects. Background subtraction is one of the preliminary stages which are used to differentiate the foreground objects from the relatively stationary background. Normally a pixel is considered as foreground if its value is greater than its value in the reference image. Hence, every pixel has to be compared to find the foreground and background pixel. This paper presents a technique which improves the frame difference method by first classifying the blocks in the frame as background and others using correlation coefficient. Further refinement is performed by performing pixel-level classification on blocks which are not considered as background. Experiments are conducted on standard data-sets and the performance measures shows good results in some critical conditions

Combinatorial efficacy of Trichoderma spp. and Pseudomonas fluorescens to enhance suppression of cell wall degrading enzymes produced by Fusarium wilt of Arachis hypogaea.L

Fusarium oxysporum, the soil borne pathogen causes vascular wilt, on majority of crop plants. It has been demonstrated that two different species of Trichoderma and Pseudomonas fluorescens suppress disease by different mechanisms. Therefore, application of a mixture of these biocontrol agents, and thus of several suppressive mechanisms, may represent a viable control strategy. A necessity for biocontrol by combinations of biocontrol agents can be the compatibility of the co-inoculated micro-organisms. Hence, compatibility between Trichoderma spp. and Pseudomonas fluorescens that have the ability to suppress Fusarium oxysporum in vitro on the activity of pectinolytic enzymes of Fusarium oxysporum. The activity of pectinolytic enzymes, i.e. pectin methyl esterase, endo and exo polymethylgalacturonases and exo and endo pectin trans eliminases produced by Fusarium oxysporum (Control) was higher. Maximum inhibition of pectin methylesterase, exo and endo polymethylgalacturonase and exo and endopectin trans eliminase was shown by culture filtrate of Trichoderma viride + Pseudomonas fluorescens (Tv+Pf) (1+2%), followed by Trichoderma harzianum + Pseudomonas fluorescens, (Th +Pf) (1.5+2%) and Trichoderma viride + Trichoderma harzianum (Tv+Th) (1+1.5%). However, pathogenecity suppression of Fusarium oxysporum, a causative of Arachis hypogaea. L by the compatible combination of Trichodema viride + Pseudomonas fluorescens (1+2%) was significantly better as compared to the single bio-agent. This indicates that specific interactions between biocontrol agents influence suppression of pathogenicity factors directly by combinations of these compatible bio-agents.Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. &amp; Tech. 7 (2): 36-42, December, 201

Estimating provider cost for treating patients with tuberculosis under Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP)

Background: The Indian tuberculosis control programme is the second largest health programme in the world. Sustaining this programme in India will require continued financial support, particularly for drugs and contractual personnel. In addition, the costs for diagnosis, supervision and salaries for regular programme personnel need to be sustained. Objective: To measure unit provider cost for treating patients with tuberculosis. Methods: All government health facilities situated in one tuberculosis unit (TU) of Tiruvallur district were visited in order to evaluate daily practice of TB diagnosis and treatment. We interviewed administrators in these health facilities to gather data on modalities for diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of tuberculosis patients. In addition, relevant financial records from all health facilities were scrutinised for data collection. The cost analysis was done for diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of TB patients treated under DOTS programme in the year 2002 For this study only the recurrent cost (not the capital cost) is considered, even though the programme puts in a lot of investment at the preparatory stage of the programme e.g. upgrading of labs and drugs stores, microscopes, motorcycles etc. Cost incurred on smear microscopy, chest X-ray and drugs were classified as direct cost. Indirect cost is calculated based on proportion of staff time for TB care delivery and for supervision of TB services. The exchange rate at the time study was 1$=Rs 46. Results: Unit cost for smear microscopy was estimated to be Rs 10/-; for radiography Rs 25/-; and drug cost for Category I Rs 392/-; Category I with extension Rs 495/-; Category II Rs 729/-; Category II with extension Rs 832/- and Category III Rs 277/-. Including other recurrent expenditures like salary, materials, and maintenance, the overall unit provider cost to treat a TB patient was Rs 1587/- for Category I, Rs 1924/- for Category II and Rs 1417/- Category III. Conclusion: TB inflicts considerable economic burden on the overall health system. This information is vital for policy makers and planners to allocate adequate budget to the programme

EVALUATION OF IN VITRO THROMBOLYTIC AND ANTIPROTEINASE ACTIVITIES OF WEDELIA TRILOBATA (LINN.)

ABSTRACTObjective: To determine the phytoconsistutents and in vitro thrombolytic and antiproteinase activities of aqueous extracts of leaf, stem and root of Wedelia trilobata.Methods: In vitro thrombolytic activity of aqueous extracts of different parts of W. trilobata against thrombolysis. In vitro antiproteinase activity of aqueous extracts of different parts of W. trilobata. Results: Phytochemical screening of aqueous extracts of leaf, stem and flower of W. trilobata showed various bioactive constituents such as carbohydrates, protein, phenols, tannins, saponins, alkaloids, terpenoids and quinines in all three parts of aqueous extracts. The maximum dissolution of blood clot (thrombolysis or fibrinolysis) was observed in leaf extracts, when compared to stem and extracts of flower W. trilobata. The highest degree of proteinase activity was showed in stem of W. trilobata. Conclusions: Since the aqueous extracts of different part of W. trilobata possess pharmacological active phytocompounds may be responsible for thrombolytic and antiproteinase activities. In further, to isolate the phytocompounds from this plant may be substantiate an effective drug in pharmacologic aspect as thrombolytic and anti inflammatory therapy.Keywords: Wedelia trilobata, leaf, stem, flower, aqueous extracts. Â