DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF AUTOMATEDCLEANING OF CEILING FAN

The main objective of the project is to reduce the human effort and sluggishness of human when the operation is in large scale and to avoid the risk in case of any accidents. The proposed system that is portable and ensure regular cleaning of the ceiling fan using some mechanical setup such as scissor lift, lead screw whose movements are controlled by microcontroller which controls a pneumatic control and some cleaning mechanisms

Analysis of Superconducting Fault Current Limiterin DC System with Renewable Energy Sources

Superconducting fault-current limiters (SFCLs) have been the subject of research and development for many years and offer an attractive solution to the problem of rising fault levels in electrical distribution systems.  SFCLs can greatly reduce fault currents and the damage at the point of fault, and help improve the stability of a power system. Superconducting fault-current limiters (SFCL) provide a  new efficient approach to the reliable handling of such  faults.(SCFLs) can be used for various nominal voltages and currents, and can  be  adapted  to  particular  limiting  characteristics  in  case  of  short  circuits. In this project, dc resistive type superconducting fault current limiter (SFCL) is presented. This SFCL is designed for the HVDC system. Uniform current and voltage sharing among the SFCL modules can be observed through contact resistance tests, dc flow-through tests, and ac flow-through tests. Results of tests show that each limiting module has good uniformity in higher current system. The proposed concept can be implemented using renewable energy sources.The results are presented by using Matlab/Simulink platform

Simulation of a dipeptide Boc-Ile-Ile-NHMe as a drug carrier

Reverse micelles are discrete nanoscale particles composed of a water core surrounded by surfactant. In this current study the the self assembling properties of the dipeptide Boc-Ile-Ile-NHMe in chloroform to form a stable micelle at various temperatures ranging from 200 to 350 Kelvin has been analysed using insilico methods. The computational analysis was carried out using the steepest descent algorithm, a minimization tool used to study the protein energy level in insilco and it was compared with the thermodynamic parameters determined experimentally. Such reverse micelles finds a vast area of application one of which is drug delivery in nanotechnology. The present dipeptide is shown to carry drugs by insilico methods.   Key words: Reverse micelles, tetra peptide, minimization, drug delivery, nanotechnology

Mortality profile and incidence of deaths due to neonatal sepsis in an urban tertiary care center in South India: A retrospective study

Background: The neonatal mortality rate is a key outcome indicator for newborn care and directly reflects prenatal, intrapartum, and neonatal care. Objective: Primary objective was to assess the neonatal mortality profile, incidence of neonatal sepsis among total neonatal deaths and pattern of antimicrobial resistance. Methodology: This was a retrospective descriptive study done at a tertiary care center. All neonatal deaths from January 2014 to December 2014 were reviewed, and primary causes of mortality, incidence of sepsis among neonatal deaths and pattern of antimicrobial resistance were analyzed. Results: Common causes of neonatal mortality were sepsis, respiratory distress syndrome, congenital malformations, asphyxia, extreme preterm, meconium aspiration syndrome. Case fatality rate was high in extreme preterm neonates (82%), followed by respiratory distress syndrome (29%), congenital malformations (29%), sepsis (25%), asphyxia (25%). In our study incidence of neonatal sepsis among total neonatal deaths was about 20.5%. Staphylococcus aureus (60%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (23%) were predominant organisms. Highest case fatality rate was associated with K. pneumoniae sepsis about 60%, followed by Escherichia coli sepsis (54%) and Acinetobacter sepsis (50%). Multidrug resistance is an emerging problem, especially in Acinetobacter sepsis. Conclusion: Sepsis still remains the leading cause of death in developing countries. S. aureus was the most common predominant organism; of this, two-thirds were methicillin-resistant S. aureus. About 90% of K. pneumoniae were resistant to extended-spectrum cephalosporins. Multidrug resistance is an emerging problem, especially in Acinetobacter sepsis

Fabrication of Tissue Engineering Scaffolds Using Marine Bioactive Materials for Diverse Applications

Scaffolds are polymeric matrices employed in delivering cells and drugs into human body. The scaffold matrices can be fabricated using natural or chemical polymers. In the present study, natural polymers and biomineralized materials extracted from marine sources have been used in the fabrication of the scaffolds. Marine biomaterials are highly biocompatible and they have been used for medicinal purposes. Hence the study focuses on fabricating a novel molluscan nacre incorporated scaffold, using biomaterials lik

Frequency of polymorphic variants in corticotropin releasing hormone receptor 1, glucocorticoid induced 1 and Fc fragment of IgE receptor II genes in healthy and asthmatic Tamilian population

Background: Asthma is a chronic airway inflammatory disease characterized by increased hyper-responsiveness and recurrent episodes of reversible obstructions. Asthma pharmacogenomic studies report significant association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes corticotropin releasing hormone receptor 1 (CRHR1), Fc fragment of IgE receptor II (FCER2) and glucocorticoid induced 1 (GLCCI1) with inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) response. The present study was aimed to establish the allelic and genotypic frequencies of polymorphisms rs242941, rs28364072 & rs37972 in CRHR1, FCER2 and GLCCI1 genes, respectively in Tamilian healthy population and asthma patients and to compare with established frequencies of global populations.Methods: The study groups consisted of healthy volunteers and persistent asthma patients who were drug naïve or without ICS treatment in the last ≥2 months, attending JIPMER hospital (n=111 and 78, respectively). SNP genotyping was done using PCR-RFLP (polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism) and real time-PCR methods.Results: Allelic and genotypic frequencies for all the studied variants found to be in hardy-weinberg equilibrium with minor allele frequencies (MAF) of rs 242941, rs 28364072 and rs 37972 at 0.51, 0.33 and 0.38, respectively, in healthy population. No significant difference in gene frequencies was obtained between healthy control and asthma patient groups. Significant difference in allele frequencies was observed between Tamilian healthy and specific global populations. West African frequency was found to be significantly different for all 3 SNPs (p<0.0001).Conclusions: MAF of rs 242941, rs 28364072 and rs 37972 were 0.51, 0.33 and 0.38, respectively in Tamilian population which were significantly different from various global populations. The frequency distribution found helps to further with ICS response association studies in larger cohorts of asthma patients

Simulation of a dipeptide Boc-Ile-Ile-NHMe as a drug carrier

Reverse micelles are discrete nanoscale particles composed of a water core surrounded by surfactant. In this current study the the self assembling properties of the dipeptide Boc-Ile-Ile-NHMe in chloroform to form a stable micelle at various temperatures ranging from 200 to 350 Kelvin has been analysed using insilico methods. The computational analysis was carried out using the steepest descent algorithm, a minimization tool used to study the protein energy level in insilco and it was compared with the thermodynamic parameters determined experimentally. Such reverse micelles finds a vast area of application one of which is drug delivery in nanotechnology. The present dipeptide is shown to carry drugs by insilico methods.   Key words: Reverse micelles, tetra peptide, minimization, drug delivery, nanotechnology

Improved control strategy of DFIG-based wind turbines using direct torque and direct power control techniques

This paper presents different control strategies for a variable-speed wind energy conversion system (WECS), based on a doubly fed induction generator. Direct Torque Control (DTC) with Space-Vector Modulation is used on the rotor side converter. This control method is known to reduce the fluctuations of the torque and flux at low speeds in contrast to the classical DTC, where the frequency of switching is uncontrollable. The reference for torque is obtained from the maximum power point tracking technique of the wind turbine. For the grid-side converter, a fuzzy direct power control is proposed for the control of the instantaneous active and reactive power. Simulation results of the WECS are presented to compare the performance of the proposed and classical control approaches.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

First and second eye cataract surgery and driver self-regulation among older drivers with bilateral cataract: A prospective cohort study

Background: Driving a car is the most common form of transport among the older population. Common medical conditions such as cataract, increase with age and impact on the ability to drive. To compensate for visual decline, some cataract patients may self-regulate their driving while waiting for cataract surgery. However, little is known about the self-regulation practices of older drivers throughout the cataract surgery process. The aim of this study is to assess the impact of first and second eye cataract surgery on driver self-regulation practices, and to determine which objective measures of vision are associated with driver self-regulation. Methods: Fifty-five older drivers with bilateral cataract aged 55+ years were assessed using the self-reported Driving Habits Questionnaire, the Mini-Mental State Examination and three objective visual measures in the month before cataract surgery, at least one to three months after first eye cataract surgery and at least one month after second eye cataract surgery. Participants' natural driving behaviour in four driving situations was also examined for one week using an in-vehicle monitoring device. Two separate Generalised Estimating Equation logistic models were undertaken to assess the impact of first and second eye cataract surgery on driver-self-regulation status and which changes in visual measures were associated with driver self-regulation status. Results: The odds of being a self-regulator in at least one driving situation significantly decreased by 70% after first eye cataract surgery (OR: 0.3, 95% CI: 0.1-0.7) and by 90% after second eye surgery (OR: 0.1, 95% CI: 0.1-0.4), compared to before first eye surgery. Improvement in contrast sensitivity after cataract surgery was significantly associated with decreased odds of self-regulation (OR: 0.02, 95% CI: 0.01-0.4). Conclusions: The findings provide a strong rationale for providing timely first and second eye cataract surgery for older drivers with bilateral cataract, in order to improve their mobility and independence