Adaptive Extended Kalman Filter for Ballistic Missile Tracking

In the current work, adaptive extended Kalman filter (AEKF) is presented for solution of ground radar based ballistic missile (BM) tracking problem in re-entry phase with unknown ballistic coefficient. The estimation of trajectory of any BM in re-entry phase is extremely difficult, because of highly non-linear motion of BM. The estimation accuracy of AEKF has been tested for a typical test target tracking problem adopted from literature. Further, the approach of AEKF is compared with extended Kalman filter (EKF). The simulation result indicates the superiority of the AEKF in solving joint parameter and state estimation problems

Evaluation of ethanolic and aqueous extract of Clitoria ternatea for antimicrobial activity

In the recent years, there has been an emerge and spread of infectious diseases and also developing resistance to the antibiotics, so there is a great concern to find potentially effective, safer natural alternative for the infectious diseases. The present study was focused on the antimicrobial activity of ethanol and aqueous extract of Clitoria ternatea root. The in-vitro antimicrobial study was carried out against bateriea viz. Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and fungus viz. Aspergilus niger, Candida albicans by the cup-plate method. The extracts of Clitoria ternatea roots were subjected to preliminary phytochemical screening for detection of chemical constituents present in them. Preliminary phytochemical screening study revealed the presence of alkaloids, glycosides, tannins, phenol and flavonoids. The highest potential was observed in the ethanol extract of Clitoria ternatea roots. This study suggested that solvent polarity determined the phenol and flavonoid content significantly, hence affecting the antimicrobial activity. This plant extract which proved to be potentially effective can be used as a natural alternative for preventives to control infectious diseases causing due to the tested microorganisms

Evaluation of ethanolic and aqueous extract of Clitoria ternatea for antimicrobial activity

194-198In the recent years, there has been an emerge and spread of infectious diseases and also developing resistance to the antibiotics, so there is a great concern to find potentially effective, safer natural alternative for the infectious diseases. The present study was focused on the antimicrobial activity of ethanol and aqueous extract of Clitoria ternatea root. The in-vitro antimicrobial study was carried out against bateriea viz. Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and fungus viz. Aspergilus niger, Candida albicans by the cup-plate method. The extracts of Clitoria ternatea roots were subjected to preliminary phytochemical screening for detection of chemical constituents present in them. Preliminary phytochemical screening study revealed the presence of alkaloids, glycosides, tannins, phenol and flavonoids. The highest potential was observed in the ethanol extract of Clitoria ternatea roots. This study suggested that solvent polarity determined the phenol and flavonoid content significantly, hence affecting the antimicrobial activity. This plant extract which proved to be potentially effective can be used as a natural alternative for preventives to control infectious diseases causing due to the tested microorganisms

Visceral Leishmaniasis in Muzaffarpur District, Bihar, India from 1990 to 2008

BACKGROUND: Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) is a vector-borne disease transmitted by Phlebotomus argentipes. To understand the VL seasonality, annual and monthly variations of VL incidence and its relationship to meteorological variables, the numbers of VL cases reported in Muzaffarpur district, Bihar, India from 1990 to 2008 were studied. METHODS: Annual VL incidence per 10,000 and the total number of annual VL cases reported at block Community Health Centres (CHC), Public Hospitals or Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) and the number of VL cases per month from 2000 to 2008 as well as the monthly average of cases for 2000-08, 2000-04 and 2005-08 periods along with the monthly averages of temperature, rainfall and relative humidity were plotted. VL Standardised Incidence Ratios per block were computed for the periods of 1990-1993, 1994-1998, 1999-2004 and 2005-2008 and month wise from 2002 to 2008. A negative binomial regression model was used to evaluate the association between meteorological variables and the number of VL cases per month from 2000 to 2008. RESULTS: A total of 68,358 VL cases were reported in Muzaffarpur district from 1990 to 2008, ranging from 1,2481 in 1992 to 1,161 in 2001. The blocks with the highest number of cases shifted from East (1990-98) to West (1999-2008). Monthly averages of cases ranged from 149 to 309, highest peak in March-April and another one in July. Monthly VL incidence was associated positively to rainfall and negatively to relative humidity and the numbers of VL cases in the previous month. INTERPRETATION: The number of cases reported to the public health sector allowed the describing of the spatial distribution and temporal variations in the Muzaffarpur from 1990 to 2008. However, to assess the actual VL burden, as well as the efficacy of the control measures applied in the district, reporting from private practices and NGOs should be encouraged

Kajian Potensi Energi Arus Laut Sebagai Energi Alternatif Untuk Pembangkit Listrik Di Perarian Selat Lembeh, Sulawesi Utara

Kebutuhan akan energi listrik terus mengalami peningkatan dan sumber energi utamanya adalah energi konvensional yang ketersediannya terbatas di alam, untuk itu diperlukan adanya pencarian sumber energi lain yang terbarukan. Selat Lembeh merupakan wilayah perairan sempit yang berada di antara Laut Maluku yang dipengaruhi oleh massa air dari Pasifik dan Laut Sulawesi yang dipengaruhi oleh massa air dari Hindia. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui karakteristik arus laut serta mengetahui potensi arus laut sebagai sumber energi alternatif pembangkit listrik. Pengolahan data terdiri dari analisa data arus dan pasang surut, pemodelan numerik, dan menghitung estimasi rapat daya. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kuantitatif dan penentuan lokasi dengan sampling area. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian, rapat daya terbesar yang dihasilkan yaitu pada musim barat, sebesar 120,02 kW/m2

Knockdown resistance mutations predict DDT resistance and pyrethroid tolerance in the visceral leishmaniasis vector Phlebotomus argentipes

BACKGROUND:Indoor residual spraying (IRS) with DDT has been the primary strategy for control of the visceral leishmaniasis (VL) vector Phlebotomus argentipes in India but efficacy may be compromised by resistance. Synthetic pyrethroids are now being introduced for IRS, but with a shared target site, the para voltage-gated sodium channel (VGSC), mutations affecting both insecticide classes could provide cross-resistance and represent a threat to sustainable IRS-based disease control. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:A region of the Vgsc gene was sequenced in P. argentipes from the VL hotspot of Bihar, India. Two knockdown resistance (kdr) mutations were detected at codon 1014 (L1014F and L1014S), each common in mosquitoes, but previously unknown in phlebotomines. Both kdr mutations appear largely recessive, but as homozygotes (especially 1014F/F) or as 1014F/S heterozygotes exert a strong effect on DDT resistance, and significantly predict survivorship to class II pyrethroids in short-duration bioassays. The mutations are present at high frequency in wild P. argentipes populations from Bihar, with 1014F significantly more common in higher VL areas. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:The Vgsc mutations detected appear to be a primary mechanism underlying DDT resistance in P. argentipes and a contributory factor in reduced pyrethroid susceptibility, suggesting a potential impact if P. argentipes are subjected to suboptimal levels of pyrethroid exposure, or additional resistance mechanisms evolve. The assays to detect kdr frequency changes provide a sensitive, high-throughput monitoring tool to detecting spatial and temporal variation in resistance in P. argentipes

DYNAMICS OF STRONGLY COUPLED FLUID-FILLED MICRO-CAVITIES AND PMUTS IN INTEGRATED MICROFLUIDIC DEVICES

In this work, we present a novel device developed by integration of an array of Piezoelectric Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducers (PMUTs) with a microfluidic chip that can be used for characterizing the acoustical properties of the liquid present in the back-cavity of the PMUT. PMUT membrane operates in flexural mode of vibration and it is directly coupled with the cylindrical back-cavity formed during the release of the PMUT membrane. This leads to very strong structural-acoustic coupling between the PMUT and the liquid present in the its back-cavity. Presence of fluid around the thin PMUT membrane causes a significant reduction in the resonant frequencies of the PMUT due to mass loading imposed by the surrounding fluid. It also leads to the excitation of the acoustic modes of the cylindrical back-cavity when the PMUT vibrates near the fundamental acoustic frequencies of the cavity. These acoustic reverberations appear in the vibration response of the PMUT in form of additional resonant peaks. Further we explore the feasibility of capturing the acoustic signature of microbubbles introduced in the back-cavity liquid. Microbubbles are generated on the microfluidic chip using flow focusing technique and introduced in the cylindrical back-cavity of the PMUT through a network of channels and wells made on PDMS and adhered to the PMUTfrom the backside. This approach can provide an alternative method for on-chip characterization of microbubbles