Interval Nonlinear Eigenvalue Problems

Nonlinear eigenvalue Problems are currently receiving much attention because of its extensive applications in areas such as the dynamic analysis of mechanical systems, acoustics and fluid mechanics etc. These eigenvalue problems arise in various other applications too. Open literatures reveal that nonlinear eigenvalue problems are solved by various methods when the matrices involved are having crisp or exact elements. But in actual practice the elements of the matrices may not be crisp. Those may be uncertain due to error in the experiments or observations etc. As such, in this study we have considered the uncertainty in term of intervals. Accordingly this thesis investigates a new form of interval nonlinear eigenvalue problem using interval computation. Here the degree of above mentioned nonlinear eigenvalue problem is reduced to standard linear eigenvalue problem and the procedure is applied to various example problems including an application problem of structural mechanics. Also data from Harwell-Boeing collection matrix market have been used for investigation of dynamic analysis of structural engineering. Corresponding plots and Tables are given to understand the problem showing the efficacy and powerfulness of the method

Role of endosomal toll-like receptors in epilepsy

Epilepsy is a common disorder affecting about 60 million people worldwide. The population of epilepsy patients who cannot achieve seizure freedom has remained stubbornly fixed at around 30% despite the introduction of new therapies in recent years. The only way to stop the development of epilepsy is to prevent an injury.  Epilepsy is caused by myriad factors and is characterized by recurrent and spontaneous seizures, increased mortality rate, and decreased social interaction and quality of life (Henshall et al. 2016). The harmful effects include disruption of the developmental process and neuronal degeneration (Yehezkel Ben-Ari and Holmes 2006). The most affected region due to epilepsy is the hippocampus, a part of the limbic system. There are no treatments that can prevent epilepsy; hence, there is a clear need for better anti-epileptic remedies. The Innate immune system acts as the first line of defense against foreign intruders (Akira 2003). Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are a part of the immune system and were first discovered in Drosophila melanogaster. TLRs are involved in early host defense against pathogens, and they recognize a pathogen- or damage-associated molecular pattern (PAMPs/DAMPs). TLRs can also identify phagocytes such as neutrophils, macrophages, and dendritic cells (Akira 2003). They play a role in innate immunity, and TLR signaling leads to inflammatory gene expression changes. The first report of TLRs in epilepsy was by Turrin and Rivest (Turrin and Rivest 2004). All studies related to TLRs in epilepsy have been confined to the cell surface TLRs, e.g., TLRs 2 and 4 (Maroso et al. 2010). TLRs 3, 7, and 9 are expressed intracellularly, whereas TLRs 1, 2, 4 are expressed on the cell surface. TLR3 recognizes double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) and is associated with viral infection. TLR7 recognizes single-stranded RNA virus. TLR9 recognizes unmethylated CpG DNA motifs, characteristics of DNA viruses, and prokaryotic genomes. TLR4 is most well-known for recognizing lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a component present in many bacteria. Only TLRs 2 and 4 have been implicated in both experimental and human epilepsy, and the endosomal TLRs (eTLRs) are yet to be studied. Our research group recently discovered, serendipitously, that mice lacking certain TLRs have spontaneous seizures. This information led us to hypothesize that TLR deficiency causes epilepsy.  This hypothesis was tested by determining: 1) which of these TLRs is/are responsible for epilepsy, and 2) whether TLR activation can prevent epilepsy.  In the thesis, I used two different animal models of epilepsy: a) perforant path stimulation (PPS), and b) systemic injection of kainate and lorazepam (KaL). I found that TLRs are upregulated in the hippocampus during epileptogenesis and chronic epilepsy phases, as validated in both animal models using qPCR. I found upregulation of mRNA in associated cytokines and chemokines. I also showed that the TLR proteins are upregulated during chronic epilepsy. Lastly, I knocked down the expression of TLRs 3 and 7, and found that TLR3/7 knockdown did not have any effect on seizure reduction. To summarize, this project revealed that the TLR mRNA and protein expression are upregulated during epileptogenesis and chronic epilepsy. Knocking down the TLRs using siRNA did not have any effect on the development of epilepsy or inactivation of spontaneous seizures. The originality of the work lies in the fact that we are, to the best of our knowledge, the first to use a phenotype-driven approach to elucidate the role of (as yet unexplored) TLRs in epilepsy

Application of microwave energy to consolidate titanium powder

Titanium (Ti) has many attractive attributes for military, industrial, and aerospace applications including high specific strength, no magnetic signature, and excellent corrosion resistance. However, its use has been limited by high processing costs. Powder metallurgy is a cost effective way to fabricate high-quality, near-net-shape products. Consolidation of titanium powder compacts is performed in vacuum furnace and the overall processing cycle times can vary from hours to days. Microwave sintering of titanium is a recent development in powder metallurgy of titanium. Microwave sintering is energy efficient compared to conventional sintering methods due to direct microwave heating of the titanium powder compacts via in-depth energy deposition augmented by hybrid heating in a ceramic casket. The in-depth heating enables very rapid processing (cycle times of potentially less than 10 minutes) and ensures that starting fine grain structure is retained in the final product. Microwave sintered titanium alloys display improved mechanical properties and opens up the possibility of superplastic forming. The process can be also used for fabrication of composites, laminates, direct alloying, and functionally graded materials. Evaluations to optimize different parameters for controlling the final density, microstructure, and properties of these materials will be discussed

Non Linear Blind Source Separation Using Different Optimization Techniques

The Independent Component Analysis technique has been used in Blind Source separation of non linear mixtures. The project involves the blind source separation of a non linear mixture of signals based on their mutual independence as the evaluation criteria. The linear mixer is modeled by the Fast ICA algorithm while the Non linear mixer is modeled by an odd polynomial function whose parameters are updated by four separate optimization techniques which are Particle Swarm Optimization, Real coded Genetic Algorithm, Binary Genetic Algorithm and Bacterial Foraging Optimization. The separated mixture outputs of each case was studied and the mean square error in each case was compared giving an idea of the effectiveness of each optimization technique

A rare case of chronic ectopic pregnancy: a diagnostic enigma

Clinical presentation of chronic ectopic pregnancy is often vague and confusing. Because of this diagnosis becomes delayed and difficult. Here we present one such case, reporting to our hospital. The low resource set up led to limitations in our approach and here we point out the factors which led to the diagnostic dilemma. We are reporting this case because similar challenges can be faced by other clinician in our field

Variation in morphometric characters, germination and oil content of Terminalia bellirica (Gaertn.) Roxb. seeds collected from various provenances of Odisha, India

The wide distribution of Terminalia bellirica in natural forests of Odisha has a good opportunity to identify better genotypes with higher oil yielding potential.  The study related to variation in oil content, morphometric characters and germination of Terminalia bellirica (Gaertn.) Roxb. seeds was carried out in nine provenances viz. Deogan, Bolangir Kasturi Bahal, Narada, Kantamal, Jeypore, Gunupur, Kuchinda and  Ghatikia of Odisha (India) keeping in the importance of the seed oil for biodiesel production, soap industry and medicinal values. T. bellirica is widely distributed in Odisha with gregarious fruiting of which most of the fruits remain unused except used as myrobalan for medicinal purposes. It revealed that Kantamal provenance expressed highest fruits length (3.87cm) and 100 fruit weight (1340.17gm), 100 seed weight(649.05gm) and 100 kernel weight(99.43gm) with maximum oil yield which can be taken up for further improvement study. However, the progeny testing at nursey level was also found to have the same provenance performing best for germination and seedling characters. &nbsp

A study on clinical evaluation of chronic dacryocystitis

Background: Chronic dacryocystitis is an unpleasant disease. It is a common condition presenting with watering from the eye. Usually there is a block at the nasolacrimal duct where it opens into the inferior meatus. The study was done to do a clinical analysis of the cases of chronic dacryocystitis.Methods: 51 cases of clinically diagnosed chronic dacryocystitis were taken and, clinical analysis of the cases regarding age, sex, presenting symptom, nature of discharge was done. LPI was done in all the cases. DCR or DCY was done as treatment.Results: Common age of presentation was third decade or fourth decade. Female were worse sufferer. Discharge from eye was present in all the cases.Conclusions: A female in third or fourth decade having discharge from eye since years, chronic daryocystitis is to be ruled out. DCR is an effective method of treatment

A study on clinicopathological evaluation of rhinosporidiosis

Background: Rhinosporidiosis is a chronic granulomatous disease. Aim of the study was to do a clinicopathological evaluation of the cases of rhinosporidiosis. Study design was longitudinal.Methods: The study was undertaken in MKCG medical college. 151 cases of rhinosporidiosis were taken. Pedunculated or sessile, fleshy, polypoidal, reddish looking mass with spores on the surface were clinically diagnosed as rhinosporidiosis. Age, sex distribution, site of presentation and socioeconomic status was studied. The swellings of lacrimal sac were doughy in consistency. The conjunctival mass was excised and thermocautery applied. For the cases of lacrimal sac dacryocystectomy was done.Results: The cases were more common in male children of low socioeconomic status. Palpebral conjunctiva is the common site of involvement. History of pond bath was present in almost all the cases. History of bleeding from nose and eye was present in many cases.Conclusions: Rhinosporidiosis is a common condition of our locality. Treatment is simple by excising the growth and cauterising the site. Taking bath in pond water is supposed to be the cause of the disease. The disease can be prevented by avoiding pond bath

Social interaction reward decreases p38 activation in the nucleus accumbens shell of rats

AbstractWe have previously shown that animals acquired robust conditioned place preference (CPP) to either social interaction alone or cocaine alone. Recently it has been reported that drugs of abuse abnormally activated p38, a member of mitogen-activated protein kinase family, in the nucleus accumbens. In this study, we aimed to investigate the expression of the activated form of p38 (pp38) in the nucleus accumbens shell and core of rats expressing either cocaine CPP or social interaction CPP 1 h, 2 h and 24 h after the CPP test. We hypothesized that cocaine CPP will increase pp38 in the nucleus accumbens shell/core as compared to social interaction CPP. Surprisingly, we found that 24 h after social interaction CPP, pp38 neuronal levels were decreased in the nucleus accumbens shell to the level of naïve rats. Control saline rats that received saline in both compartments of the CPP apparatus and cocaine CPP rats showed similar enhanced p38 activation as compared to naïve and social interaction CPP rats. We also found that the percentage of neurons expressing dopaminergic receptor D2R and pp38 was also decreased in the shell of the nucleus accumbens of social interaction CPP rats as compared to controls. Given the emerging role of p38 in stress/anxiety behaviors, these results suggest that (1) social interaction reward has anti-stress effects; (2) cocaine conditioning per se does not affect p38 activation and that (3) marginal stress is sufficient to induce p38 activation in the shell of the nucleus accumbens