Mixed convective boundary layer flow over a vertical wedge embedded in a porous medium saturated with a nanofluid: Natural Convection Dominated Regime

A boundary layer analysis is presented for the mixed convection past a vertical wedge in a porous medium saturated with a nano fluid. The governing partial differential equations are transformed into a set of non-similar equations and solved numerically by an efficient, implicit, iterative, finite-difference method. A parametric study illustrating the influence of various physical parameters is performed. Numerical results for the velocity, temperature, and nanoparticles volume fraction profiles, as well as the friction factor, surface heat and mass transfer rates have been presented for parametric variations of the buoyancy ratio parameter Nr, Brownian motion parameter Nb, thermophoresis parameter Nt, and Lewis number Le. The dependency of the friction factor, surface heat transfer rate (Nusselt number), and mass transfer rate (Sherwood number) on these parameters has been discussed

Ex vivo testing of intact eye globes under inflation conditions to determine regional variation of mechanical stiffness

BACKGROUND: The eye globe exhibits significant regional variation of mechanical behaviour. The aim of this present study is to develop a new experimental technique for testing intact eye globes in a form that is representative of in vivo conditions, and therefore suitable for determining the material properties of the complete outer ocular tunic. METHODS: A test rig has been developed to provide closed-loop control of either applied intra-ocular pressure or resulting apical displacement; measurement of displacements across the external surface of the eye globe using high-resolution digital cameras and digital image correlation software; prevention of rigid-body motion and protection of the ocular surface from environmental drying. The method has been demonstrated on one human and one porcine eye globe, which were cyclically loaded. Finite element models based on specimen specific tomography, free from rotational symmetry, were used along with experimental pressure-displacement data in an inverse analysis process to derive the mechanical properties of tissue in different regions of the eye’s outer tunic. RESULTS: The test method enabled monitoring of mechanical response to intraocular pressure variation across the surface of the eye globe. For the two eyes tested, the method showed a gradual change in the sclera’s stiffness from a maximum at the limbus to a minimum at the posterior pole, while in the cornea the stiffness was highest at the centre and lowest in the peripheral zone. Further, for both the sclera and cornea, the load–displacement behaviour did not vary significantly between loading cycles. CONCLUSIONS: The first methodology capable of mechanically testing intact eye globes, with applied loads and boundary conditions that closely represent in vivo conditions is introduced. The method enables determination of the regional variation in mechanical behaviour across the ocular surface

Nutritional status of under-five children in rural Bangladesh

A cross-sectional study was carried out in Dumki Upazila of Patuakhali district in Bangladesh to assess the prevalence of stunting, wasting and underweight among the under-five children. Anthropometric measurements were taken from all children, aged 0-59 months in the studied area using wooden height board and digital weight machine. We used WHO Anthro software for analyzing the z scores of the children. A total of 4409 (2296 boys and 2113 girls) under five children were counted for anthropometric analysis.  Regarding the Height-for-age Z-score (HAZ), the study revealed that the prevalence of stunting was 27.10% (95% CI: 25.8-28.5) of the children while 7.80% (95% CI: 7-8.6) were severe stunting. By assessing the Weight-for-height Z-score (WHZ), the study showed that 11.20% (95% CI: 10.3-12.1) were wasting whereas 3% (95% CI 2.5-3.5) were severe wasting. According to Weight-for-age Z-score (WAZ), about 18.20% (95% CI: 17-19.3) were underweight and 4.1% (95% CI: 3.5-4.7) were underweight. The findings of the study show that prevalence of stunting is very high. Focusing on childhood stunting is a high priority, and there should be comprehensive efforts to increase the overall nutritional status of the under-five children in this area

Chalcone-imidazolone conjugates induce apoptosis through DNA damage pathway by affecting telomeres

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers in the world and more than one million women are diagnosed leading to 410,000 deaths every year. In our previous studies new chalcone-imidazolone conjugates were prepared and evaluated for their anticancer activity in a panel of 53 human tumor cell lines and the lead compounds identified were 6 and 8. This prompted us to investigate the mechanism of apoptotic event.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Involvement of pro-apoptotic protein (Bax), active caspase-9 and cleavage of retinoblastoma protein was studied. Interestingly, the compounds caused upregulation of p21, check point proteins (Chk1, Chk2) and as well as their phosphorylated forms which are known to regulate the DNA damage pathway. Increased p53BP1 foci by immunolocalisation studies and TRF1 suggested the possible involvement of telomere and associated proteins in the apoptotic event. The telomeric protein such as TRF2 which is an important target for anticancer therapy against human breast cancer was extensively studied along with proteins involved in proper functioning of telomeres.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The apoptotic proteins such as Bax, active caspase-9 and cleaved RB are up-regulated in the compound treated cells revealing the apoptotic nature of the compounds. Down regulation of TRF2 and upregulation of the TRF1 as well as telomerase assay indicated the decrease in telomeric length revealing telomeric dysfunction and thereby controlling the rapid rate of cell proliferation. In summary, chalcone-imidazolone conjugates displayed significant DNA damage activity particularly at telomeres and caused both apoptosis and senescence-like growth arrest which suggested that these compounds have potential activity against breast carcinoma.</p

Optimal modeling of spindle-tool system with design variables using Taguchi based approach

A generalized finite element (FE) model of the spindle machine based totally on Timoshenko’s beam idea is hired to discretize the meeting with joint interfaces idealized with the aid of contact spring models and the model is confirmed with experimental modal analysis at the spindle-tool system. The effects of five important variables namely tool overhang, bearing span,tool diameter, contact stiffness,and axial preload are simultaneously studied on the dynamic response of the spindle-tool unit.Using method ofdesign of experiments(DOE),the dynamic stiffness data along with fundemental natural frequencies are recorded for different combinations of design variables. Initially after studying the parametric effects using analysis of variance(ANOVA)

Widely Distributed Radar Imaging: Unmediated ADMM Based Approach

This paper presents a novel approach to reconstruct a unique image of an observed scene via synthetic apertures (SA) generated by employing widely distributed radar sensors. The problem is posed as a constrained optimization problem in which the global image which represents the aggregate view of the sensors is a decision variable. While the problem is designed to promote a sparse solution for the global image, it is constrained such that a relationship with local images that can be reconstructed using the measurements at each sensor is respected. Two problem formulations are introduced by stipulating two different establishments of that relationship. The proposed formulations are designed according to consensus ADMM (CADMM) and sharing ADMM (SADMM), and their solutions are provided accordingly as iterative algorithms. We drive the explicit variable updates for each algorithm in addition to the recommended scheme for hybrid parallel implementation on the distributed sensors and a central processing unit. Our algorithms are validated and their performance is evaluated by exploiting the Civilian Vehicles Dome dataset to realize different scenarios of practical relevance. Experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms, especially in cases with limited measurements

Optimizing the Pole Properties in Pole Vaulting by Using Genetic Algorithm Based on Frequency Analysis

Abstract. The pole vaulting is a sport with a long history involving complex dynamic motion. The aim of pole vaulting for the athlete is to achieve maximum height. The dynamic behavior of the pole-athlete system is identical to an inverted pendulum system with the buckling pole acting as a spring. The purpose of this paper is to study the influence of factors on the pole vaulting performance such as the initial velocity of the athlete, pole stiffness and length. The best results are obtained when all the stored potential energy in the pole is released with the pole reaching the 90 degrees condition for success. The natural frequency of the poleathlete system is obtained by Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). The storing and releasing time of potential energy should be equal to half the natural period. Based on this condition the pole length and stiffness are determined by using Genetic Algorithm (GA) so as to achieve maximum height. This paper presents an optimization procedure to design a flexible pole based on the frequency analysis. The result of this research can be utilized in sport industries to design optimum poles