Antixenosis resistance in okra accessions against shoot and fruit borer Earias vittella (Fab.)

The present study is to analyse the antixenosis mechanisms of resistance in ten okra accessions against Shoot and Fruit borer E. vittella. With regard to the free choice feeding preference, the accessions IC140880 and Trichi local were not preferred by any larvae even up to 8 h. The fruit damage of Coimbatore local by the larvae in 8 hours was recorded as lowest, in confined condition. The accession IC 282228 fruit was bored up to a length 9.1 cm by the larvae in 8 h. On studying the oviposition preference, the accessions IC140880 and Trichi local were least preferred by E. vittella adults. The length and breadth and number of trichomes of these accessions were recorded as maximum. It was observed that the fruit length of IC140880 were greater than other accessions whereas Trichi local recorded higher fruit width compared to other accessions. While assessing the Fruit angle to stem, Coimbatore local recorded a higher value followed by Trichi local, IC140880 and IC 218877. The incidence of shoot and fruit borer was high in IC282228.  In overall observation, weight and yield of the fruit is high in IC140880 followed by Trichi local

Prediction of sales using Big data analytics

Social media is a main source of collecting big-data. Data analysis converting their bigger data  to smart data. Smart data is acquired with the help of Apache Flume, Apache hive and Apache HDFS, smart data increase the sales of Marketing industry. It helps product owner to analyze people’s opinion about their product and consumer can analyze the reviews of  product before purchase. If tweets came along with Location, data analyzed based on the location

Modelling and control of crystallization process

Batch crystallizers are predominantly used in chemical industries like pharmaceuticals, food industries and specialty chemicals. The nonlinear nature of the batch process leads to difficulties when the objective is to obtain a uniform Crystal Size Distribution (CSD). In this study, a linear PI controller is designed using classical controller tuning methods for controlling the crystallizer outlet temperature by manipulating the inlet jacket temperature; however, the response is not satisfactory. A simple PID controller cannot guarantee a satisfactory response that is why an optimal controller is designed to keep the concentration and temperature in a range that suits our needs. Any typical process operation has constraints on states, inputs and outputs. So, a nonlinear process needs to be operated satisfying the constraints. Hence, a nonlinear controller like Generic Model Controller (GMC) which is similar in structure to the PI controller is implemented. It minimizes the derivative of the squared error, thus improving the output response of the process. Minimization of crystal size variation is considered as an objective function in this study. Model predictive control is also designed that uses advanced optimization algorithm to minimize the error while linearizing the process. Constraints are fed into the MPC toolbox in MATLAB and Prediction, Control horizons and Performance weights are tuned using Sridhar and Cooper Method. Performances of all the three controllers (PID, GMC and MPC) are compared and it is found that MPC is the most superior one in terms of settling time and percentage overshoot

Estimation of Gestational Age of Fetus in Third Trimester using Mean Fetal Kidney Length

BACKGROUND: Establishing the gestational age of fetus in the late trimester is a challenge to aptly treat the pregnant women. Ultrasound parameters like BPD, FL, HC, AC in the late second & third trimesters are not very reliable for dating the pregnancy. The objective of the study was to compare the GA estimated by mean fetal kidney length & multiple biometric parameters (BPD, FL, AC, HC) with the actual GA derived from the LMP. METHODS: A single third trimester ultrasound examination was done in a total of 100 patients. GA assessment was done by measuring multiple biometric parameters & mean FKL. RESULTS: Linear regression models for estimation of Gestational age were derived from the multiple biometric indices & the FKL. The best correlation coefficient was observed between LMP & FL. The next is between the LMP & Fetal kidney length. The FL has shown to have a better prediction rate with standard error being 8.38 days followed by FKL & HC with standard errors of prediction being 9.34 days & 9.48 days respectively. CONCLUSION: The present study has shown that there is a significant correlation between the fetal kidney length and the gestational age particularly in the third trimester &hence fetal kidney length can be used as an additional parameter for estimation of gestational age in third trimester, where other biometric indices may not be much reliable

PHYTOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION OF ANTIMICROBIAL POTENTIAL OF Senna alata LINN LEAVES EXTRACT

Objective:The objective of the present work is to evaluate the presence of phytochemical constituents and antimicrobial activity of different extracts from the leaves of Senna alata Linn.Methods: The serial exhaustive extraction was done with variousof solvents: Aqueous, Chloroforms, Ethanol, Methanol, Acetone, Benzene, Petroleum ether with increasing polarity using soxhlet apparatus. The phytochemical analysis was done by using the standard procedure. Antimicrobial activity was evaluated by disc diffusion method by using leaves extract against various human pathogens.Results: The results revealed that the leaves extracts contain Flavonoids, Terpenoids, Tannins, Phlobatannins, Saponins, Cardiac glycosides, Carbohydrate, Protein and Anthraquinones in major proportion. Aqueous extract was shown to be more effective against all the organisms followed by ethanol, chloroform, methanol, acetone, benzene, petroleum ether extracts. Salmonella typhi (28mm), Bacillus subtilis (28mm) was found to be most sensitive organism followed by Pseudomonas fluorescence (27mm), Escherichia coli (27mm). Conclusions: It can be concluded that the different extracts of Senna alata leaves extract contain a broad spectrum of secondary metabolites and also exhibit antimicrobial activity against all the tested microorganisms. Further phytochemical research is needed to identity the active product of S. alata may serve as leads in the development of new pharmaceuticals

Effectiveness of foot reflexology on physiological and psychological wellbeing among patients with cancer receiving radiation therapy

This study intended to assess the effectiveness of foot reflexology on physiological and psychological wellbeing among patients with cancer receiving radiation therapy, Madurai. Quantitative approach was used. Quasi experimental with pretest, posttest control group design was adopted. By simple random sampling technique 60 samples with cancer patients undergoing external radiation therapy were selected, among them 30 were in experimental group and 30 were in control group. The selected intervention of foot reflexology was given for 30 minutes for continuous 5 days in a week for 2 weeks in experimental group. No selected intervention of foot reflexology was given for control group. Modified memorial symptom assessment scales were used to assess the level of wellbeing. The data was analyzed according to the objectives of the study using descriptive and inferential statistics. The major findings of the study were the mean post test 1 and post test 2 scores of physiological wellbeing score in experimental group was significantly (t=6.36, P 0.001) better than physiological wellbeing of the control group, the mean post test level of 1 and 2 scores of psychological wellbeing in experimental group was significantly (t=11.92, P 0.001) better than the psychological wellbeing of the control group and the mean post test scores of 1 and 2 level of overall wellbeing in experimental group was significantly (t=8.04, P 0.001) better than the overall wellbeing in control group. There was a positive correlation between physiological and psychological wellbeing. Based on the findings it was recommended that the study of foot reflexology can be nurse initiated intervention that has the advantage of being therapeutic for the cancer patients. It can be recommended to reduce the physiological and psychological symptoms among patient with cancer receiving radiation therapy

The effectiveness of antibiotics against a major uropathogen- Escherichia coli and its biofilm assay by phenotypic methods

Background: Urinary tract infection (UTI), an inflammatory disease occurs to a high multiplication of pathogenic microbes in the urinary system. Escherichia coli, a major uropathogen accounting for up to 80% UTI. Activity of antibiotics against E.coli is decreasing due to enzymatic, genetic and various other factors resulting in multidrug resistance. Biofilm is a great threat as it interferes antibiotic therapy, undergoes gene transformation, making the bacteria more virulent. Objectives of the study were to isolate the E. coli from the urine sample of symptomatic UTI patients, to study the effectiveness of antibiotics against E.coli by antibiotic susceptibility pattern, ESBL detection and to biofilm phenotype assay by four different methods.Methods: A total of 400 urine samples from symptomatic UTI patients, October 2015 to March 2016 and processed. E.coli was isolated and antibiotic susceptibility was done as per CLSI guidelines. Biofilm detection by a) Congo red agar (CRA), b) Modified Congo red agar (MCRA), c) Tube adherence assay, d) Microtitre plate method.Results: A total of 100 E. coli (69%) was obtained from 400 samples, 49% were ESBL producers and 84% shows multi drug resistant. Biofilm positive isolates shows 70% positivity by CRA, 91% by MCRA, 57% in tube adherence assay and 99% via microtitre plate method.Conclusions: Resistance to antibiotics ladder is increasing and it’s necessary to take actions to reduce its hindrance in the future. Advanced studies in biofilm will help to prevent the more virulence without any critical complications in therapy.