Analysis of water absorbency into knitted spacer structures

The absorbency properties of knitted structures are very important in designing garments that both remove liquid sweat from the skin and provide tactile and sensorial comfort to the wearer. Water absorbency by knitted spacer structures was experimentally investigated using a gravimetric absorbency tester to record absorbency rate, total absorbency, and time taken to saturate the structure. The geometry of spacer structures was analyzed and a model created to define the capillary characteristic in the spacer yarn. Absorbency into the spacer structures was modeled using the fabric parameters, the capillary radius, and the properties of water. Experimental and theoretical results were compared to validate the models

Response of Sesbania Green Manuring and Mungbean Residue Incorporation on Microbial Activities for Sustainability of a Rice-Wheat Cropping System

The microbial population and its biomass and nitrogenase activity in plant roots under sandy-clay-loam soil conditions where the plant residues of Sesbania rostrata and mungbean (Vigna radiata) were incorporated were significantly higher than that obtained from summer fallow. The increases in yield of rice and wheat and the total nitrogen content in shoot and grain was also perceptible by the application of green manuring. The results highlight the importance of green manuring in rice-wheat cropping systems under tropical sandy-clay-loam soil conditions of India

Health care expenditure in rural India

Using the NCAER survey data on Human Development in rural India (HDI) (1994), supplemented by other sources, the paper examines the extent of household expenditure on education by different groups of population, the elasticity of household expenditure on education to changes in household income on the one hand and government expenditure on education on the other and the determinants of family expenditures on education. It has been found that there is nothing like 'free' education in India. Household expenditures on education are sizeable; households from even lower socio-economic background—Scheduled Castes/Tribes, low income groups—all spend considerable amounts on acquiring education, including specifically elementary education, which is expected to be provided free to all by the State. Important items of household expenditures consist of books, uniforms and fees. Even in the case of government primary and upper primary schools, students seem to be paying huge amounts of fees—examination and other fees. It is also found that households do not discriminate much against spending on girls' education; substantial differences exist in household expenditures between expenditure on children attending government schools, government-aided schools and private schools. Among the determinants of household expenditures, household characteristics—particularly household income and the educational level of the head of the household—are found to be important. Other important eterminants include demographic burden of the household (size of the household), caste and religion. Generally, gender is believed to be a very significant determinant of household expenditures on ducation. This is not necessarily true in all cases. School related variables chosen—the incentives such as mid-day meals, uniforms, textbooks and stationery, etc., and the availability of school within the habitation—are also quite important. Coefficients of elasticity clearly show that government expenditures and household expenditures do not substitute each other, instead they complement each other. So if the government wishes to mobilise household finances for education, it is important that the government increases its own allocation to education considerably. conversely, and more clearly, if government budgets on education are reduced, household expenditures may also decline resulting in severe under investment in education.EducationRural EducationHousehold Expenditure

A case of hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathy type 4 presenting with chronic trophic ulcers

Hereditary Sensory and Autonomic Neuropathy (HSAN) is a rare group of diseases involving varying degrees of peripheral nervous system. It is classified into five main types. HSAN type 4 is associated with insensitivity to pain and temperature and anihidrosis. The method of this study was to authors present a case report of a 3 year-old boy with Hereditary Sensory and Autonomic Neuropathy Type 4 presenting with chronic ulcers. Conclusions of this study was to HSAN type IV is a rare condition. There is no definitive treatment available presently for this condition

Instruments of RT-2 Experiment onboard CORONAS-PHOTON and their test and evaluation IV: Background Simulations using GEANT-4 Toolkit

Hard X-ray detectors in space are prone to background signals due to the ubiquitous cosmic rays and cosmic diffuse background radiation that continuously bombards the satellites which carry the detectors. In general, the background intensity depends on the space environment as well as the material surrounding the detectors. Understanding the behavior of the background noise in the detector is very important to extract the precise source information from the detector data. In this paper, we carry out Monte Carlo simulations using the GEANT-4 toolkit to estimate the prompt background noise measured with the detectors of the RT-2 Experiment onboard the CORONAS-PHOTON satellite.Comment: 21 pages, 10 figures, Accepted for publication in Experimental Astronomy (in press

Engineering Properties of Bentonite-Lime-Phosphogypsum Composite Reinforced with Treated Sisal Fibers

The present work primarily investigates the unconfined compressive strength, the tensile load-diametral strain, the toughness characteristics and the shear strengths of bentonite-lime-phosphogypsum-treated sisal fibre composite. The unconfined compressive strengths and tensile strengths were obtained using the unconfined compressive test and indirect tensile test respectively. The results revealed that the unconfined compressive stress, the deviator stress and the tensile load at failure of bentonite-lime-phosphogypsum composite with untreated sisal fibres could be improved by the successive chemical treatment with sodium periodate, p-aminophenol and sodium hydroxide. The brittleness index and deformability index indicated a change from the brittle to ductile behavior of the bentonite-lime-phosphogypsum-untreated sisal fiber composite, with the chemical treatment

Engineering Properties of Bentonite Modified with Lime and Gypsum

This paper presents the engineering properties such as compaction, unconfined compressive strength, consistency limits, free swell index, California bearing ratio and consolidation of bentonite stabilized with lime and modified with gypsum. The content of lime and gypsum was varied from 0 to 10% and from 0.5 to 8%, respectively, to check the improvement in the engineering properties. The results of this study revealed that the dry unit weight and optimum moisture content of bentonite + 8% lime increased with the addition of 4% gypsum. The unconfined compressive strength of bentonite did not change with the increase in curing period. The unconfined compressive strength of bentonite + 8% lime increased with the addition of 4% gypsum. Beyond 4%, the unconfined compressive strength decreased. The unconfined compressive strength of bentonite-lime-gypsum mix increased with the increase in curing period. The liquid limit, plastic limit and free swell index of bentonite + 8% lime decreased; whereas the plasticity index increased with the addition of 4% gypsum. The California bearing ratio and modulus of subgrade reaction increased for bentonite stabilized with 8% lime and modified with 4% gypsum leading to reduction in earth work and required thickness of subgrade bentonite. The coefficient of consolidation of bentonite increased with the addition of 8% lime and did not change with the addition of 4% gypsum. The swell potential of bentonite + 8% lime increased with the addition of 4% gypsum. The improved behaviour of the bentonite-lime-gypsum mixture will boost the construction of road pavements on such problematic soils