Senslide: a distributed landslide prediction system

We describe the design, implementation, and current status of Senslide, a distributed sensor system aimed at predicting landslides in the hilly regions of western India. Landslides in this region occur during the monsoon rains and cause significant damage to property and lives. Unlike existing solutions that detect landslides in this region, our goal is to predict them before they occur. Also, unlike previous efforts that use a few but expensive sensors to measure slope stability, our solution uses a large number of inexpensive sensor nodes inter-connected by a wireless network. Our system software is designed to tolerate the increased failures such inexpensive components may entail. We have implemented our design in the small on a laboratory testbed of 65 sensor nodes, and present results from that testbed as well as simulation results for larger systems up to 400 sensor nodes. Our results are sufficiently encouraging that we intend to do a field test of the system during the monsoon season in India

Room temperature erosion behaviour of 304, 316 and 410 stainless steels

The main purpose of this investigation is to compare the room temperature erosion behaviour of three stainless steels, namely 304, 316 and 410 SS. Towards this purpose, the erosion rates of all three stainless steels have been determined at three impact angles (30°, 60° and 90°) and at two impact velocities (98 and 129 m s<SUP>−1</SUP>) for each angle. The results indicate that while the erosion rates of 304 and 316 SS are comparable, that of 410 SS is lower by 15%-20%. The improved erosion resistance of 410 SS, in spite of its lower ductility and strain-hardening capacity as compared with 304 and 316 SS, appears to be related to the fact that the depth to which plastic deformation extends beneath the eroded surface (L) is significantly lower in 410 SS and also to the presence of a "soft zone" beneath the eroded surface

Effect of vitamin D supplementation of low birth weight term Indian infants from birth on cytokine production at 6 months.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with impaired resistance to infection, which may be mediated by alterations in cytokine responses. We investigated the effect of vitamin D supplementation to infants on whole blood in-vitro cytokine production and on the inflammatory marker, plasma C-reactive protein (CRP). SUBJECTS/METHODS: Blood samples were taken at 6 months of age from infants participating in the DIVIDS (Delhi Infant Vitamin D Supplementation) randomized controlled trial of weekly vitamin D supplements (1400 IU = recommended intake) from birth to 6 months with the aim of decreasing mortality and severe morbidity. We measured plasma CRP and whole blood in-vitro production of tumour necrosis factor-α (TNFα), interferon-γ (INFγ), interleukin (IL)-10 and IL-13 following no stimulation or stimulation with lipopolysaccharide or phytohemagglutinin. RESULTS: Although the intervention improved vitamin D status in a severely deficient population, there were no differences between treatment groups in plasma CRP or in the production of any of the cytokines in either unstimulated or stimulated cultures. Recent illness had limited association with immunological markers. Plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were not associated with CRP or production of any cytokines. CONCLUSIONS: Vitamin D supplementation did not affect plasma CRP or whole blood cytokine production of vitamin D-deficient low birth weight infants. This is consistent with the lack of effect of vitamin D on mortality and severe morbidity among infants in the DIVIDS trial