Numerical Strip-Yield Calculation of CTOD and CTOA

A recently developed numerical method based on the strip yield analysis approach was used to calculate the Crack Tip Opening Displacement (CTOD) and Crack Tip Opening Angle (CTOA) for a number of complex crack configurations of practical interest. This method is an adaptation of the dislocation-density based boundary element method. In this Boundary Element approach, crack-face opening displacements are obtained at any point on a crack using a series of definite integrals evaluated exactly in closed form for a variety of crack geometries, including infinite or finite extent, with arbitrarily applied loading conditions

Computational Fluid Dynamic study on the effect of near gravity material on dense medium cyclone treating coal using Discrete Phase Model and Algebraic Slip mixture multiphase model

In this paper, the effect of near gravity material at desired separation density during the coal washing is studied. It is believed that the Dense Medium Separation of coal particles in the presence of high percentage of near gravity material, results in a significant misplacement of coal particles to wrong products. However the performance of dense medium cyclone does not merely depend on the total amount of near gravity materials but also on their distribution as well as on their quality. This paper deals with numerical simulation of magnetite medium segregation and coal partitioning handled in a 350 mm dense medium cyclone. Volume of Fluid coupled with Reynolds Stress Model is used to resolve the two-phase air-core and turbulence. Algebraic Slip mixture multiphase model with the granular options are considered to predict magnetite medium segregation. Medium segregation results are validated against Gamma Ray Tomography measurements. Further, Discrete Phase Model is used to track the coal particles. Residence Time Distribution of different size and density coal particles are also estimated using Discrete Phase Model. Additionally, Algebraic Slip mixture model is also utilised to simulate magnetite and coal particle segregation at different near gravity material proportions. Discrepancies in the coal particle behaviour at different near gravity material content are explained using locus of zero vertical velocities, mixture density, coal volume fractions

Location-aware hybrid microscopic routing scheme for mobile opportunistic network

Mobile opportunistic networks (MON) has been used for provisioning delay-tolerant applications. In MON the device communicates with each other with no assured end-to-end paths from source and destination because of frequent topology changes, node mobility, low density, and intermittent connectivity. In MON the device battery drains very fast for performing activities such as scanning, transceiver, and other computational processes, impacting the overall performance thus, designing energy-efficient routing is a challenging task. The routing employs a store-carry-and-forward mechanism for packet communication, where the packet is composed of time-to-live (TTL) and is kept in buffer till the opportunity arises. In improving delivery ratio message replication has been adopted; however, induces high network congestion. Here we present a location-aware hybrid microscopic routing (LAHMR) scheme for MON. The LAHMR provides an effective packet transmission scheme with location awareness and high reliability by limiting unnecessary packets being circulated in the network. Experiment outcome shows the LAHMR scheme achieves a much better delivery ratio with less delay, and also reduces the number of a forwarder for transmitting a packet, aiding in the reduction of network overhead concerning recent routing method namely the social-aware reliable forwarding (SCARF) technique

A study on the impact of social media on travellers’ attitudes towards purchase decisions in tourism industry with reference to Karnataka

The use of social media on traveller has become widespread. It has altered the ways in which we interact with one another use available information and make purchases. The travel and tourism industry has also undergone a significant transformation in the past decade due to the emergence of social media. These statistics illustrate the notable impact of social media on prospective travellers, its influential role in the travel industry, and its potential for promoting diverse destinations. This quantitative study employed the descriptive research design, to describe social media posts’ characteristics and impact on travel decisions and preferences. Purposive sampling under the non-probability sampling methods was also used. This study aimed to bridge this gap, and additionally aimed for its findings to contribute to tourism establishments’ and stakeholders’ knowledge of social media as a tool for promotion and reaching out to a wider range of tourists and an attempt to determine the role played by social media platforms in promoting sustainable tourism in the states of Karnataka

Social mobility and geo-context aware macroscopic routing scheme for mobile opportunistic network

Mobile opportunistic networks (MONs) are deliberated as important aspect to proliferate the wireless communications. These networks pose several challenges such as network lifetime, storage capacity, and forwarding capacity. End-to-End routing schemes are considered as promising technique solution to deal with these issues. In this domain, opportunistic routing has gained huge attention because it follows the broadcasting nature of wireless communication and focus on selection of relay node for packet transmission to ensure the better quality of service (QoS) and energy efficiency. This work focuses on optimizing the next hop selection process and introduced reinforcement learning approach which considers distance, energy and link connectivity to assign the reward for different actions to identify the suitable relay node. Moreover, geo-context and social behaviour based opportunistic routing models are used to increase the reliability of next hop selection. Similarly, social model considers social profiling, social connectivity, and social interaction model to identify the relay node. The outcome of proposed approach is compared with several existing approaches such as prophet, spray and wait, and epidemic routing in terms of packet delivery, and network overhead. The relative study shows that the proposed approach achieves the average packet delivery as 47.22% and minimizes the network overhead

Association and path coefficient analysis among yield attributes and berry yield in black pepper (Piper nigrum L.)

Eighty two germplasm accessions of black pepper aggregated from pepper cultivating tracts of Karnataka, Kerala, Goa and Maharashtra were characterized for 17 quantitative traits as per the IPGRI descriptors during 2018-19 at the field gene bank of ICAR-Indian Institute of Spices Research, Experimental Farm, Kozhikode. Wide range and high coefficient of variation (CV) were recorded for dry berry weight, fresh berry weight and number of spikes vine-1 whereas, lower CV was observed for berry size. Fresh berry weight showed significant positive correlation with dry berry weight followed by number of spikes vine-1 whereas, number of immature berries spike-1 and berry size showed significant negative association with setting percentage. High positive direct effect of fresh berry weight on dry berry weight was observed during path analysis. Both fresh rachis weight and number of spike vine-1 had indirect positive effects on dry berry weight through fresh berry weight. Residual effect was meagre suggesting that the 17 quantitative traits explained 99% variability. Traits like number of spikes vine-1 and fresh berry weight are the important traits that need to be augmented during improvement of black pepper for yield

Can follow-up examination of tuberculosis patients be simplified? A study in Chhattisgarh, India

Each follow-up during the course of tuberculosis treatment currently requires two sputum examinations. However, the incremental yield of the second sputum sample during follow-up of different types of tuberculosis patients has never been determined precisely

Extended Hauser-Feshbach Method for Statistical Binary-Decay of Light-Mass Systems

An Extended Hauser-Feshbach Method (EHFM) is developed for light heavy-ion fusion reactions in order to provide a detailed analysis of all the possible decay channels by including explicitly the fusion-fission phase-space in the description of the cascade chain. The mass-asymmetric fission component is considered as a complex-fragment binary-decay which can be treated in the same way as the light-particle evaporation from the compound nucleus in statistical-model calculations. The method of the phase-space integrations for the binary-decay is an extension of the usual Hauser-Feshbach formalism to be applied to the mass-symmetric fission part. The EHFM calculations include ground-state binding energies and discrete levels in the low excitation-energy regions which are essential for an accurate evaluation of the phase-space integrations of the complex-fragment emission (fission). In the present calculations, EHFM is applied to the first-chance binary-decay by assuming that the second-chance fission decay is negligible. In a similar manner to the description of the fusion-evaporation process, the usual cascade calculation of light-particle emission from the highly excited complex fragments is applied. This complete calculation is then defined as EHFM+CASCADE. Calculated quantities such as charge-, mass- and kinetic-energy distributions are compared with inclusive and/or exclusive data for the $^{32}$S+$^{24}$Mg and $^{35}$Cl+$^{12}$C reactions which have been selected as typical examples. Finally, the missing charge distributions extracted from exclusive measurements are also successfully compared with the EHFM+CASCADE predictions.Comment: 34 pages, 6 Figures available upon request, Phys. Rev. C (to be published

TRICHOFOLLICULOMA OF EXTERNAL AUDITORY MEATUS: A CASE REPORT

Trichofolliculoma is a benign hair follicle hamartoma. It represents differentiation of pluripotent skin cells towards hair follicles. Usually seen in the Head and Neck region; the face and scalp are the common sites. Presentation in the External Auditory Meatus is very rare. We present here a case of 19 year old female presenting with a swelling in External Auditory Meatus which turned out to be Trichofolliculoma. The case was treated with Surgical Excision. Patient has been followed up post-op. for the past 3 months with no recurrence

Investigational synthetic neuroactive steroid zuranolone in treatment of major depressive disorder with peripartum onset

Major depressive disorder with peripartum onset or peripartum depression is a common condition experienced by a large proportion of women and to some extent even in men. The current treatment strategies involve the use of conventional pharmacotherapeutic classes of drugs like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) and psychotherapy methods in the management of this condition. In this article, we try to review and evaluate the pathophysiology of the condition along with the safety and efficacy of the novel investigational therapeutic drug zuranolone, which is a synthetic neuroactive steroid (NAS) that has shown promise in clinical trials for the management of conditions like major depressive disorder, peripartum depression and bipolar disorder. The synthetic NAS zuranolone is an orally bioavailable positive allosteric modulator of the gamma amino butyric acid (GABAA) receptor, which can regulate the action of the GABAergic pathway implicated in many depressive episodes and also affect the normal functioning of the hypothalmo pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis which is the core pathophysiological cause behind major depressive disorder with peripartum onset