Non-Destructive Evaluation—A Pivotal Technology for Qualification of Composite Aircraft Structures

Tremendous advances in composite materials and a deeper understanding of their behavior have been responsible for the increased use of composites in the development of advanced, new generation civil and military aircraft. Composites play an important role in any aircraft development programme and are strong contenders to their metal counterparts due to their significant contributions towards improving strength, stiffness, fatigue properties & weight reduction. As materials, structural design & processing have evolved, strong emphasis is placed on effective & reliable damage detection, durability and damage tolerance. As a consequence, Non-destructive Evaluation (NDE) has also undergone significant advances towards meeting the growing demands of quality assurance. Advanced Composites Division (ACD) of National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), has been involved in the development of composite structures for both civil and military aircraft for over a decade and a half. Innovative composite processing methods like co-curing/co-bonding have been successfully employed to realize airworthy structures. The role of NDE in the development of these structures has been critical and not limited to damage detection alone. On several occasions, NDE has provided valuable inputs towards improving design and process parameters. In-spite of the complexity of the structures, stringent quality requirements and tight delivery schedules, NDE has been successful in certifying these composite structures for airworthiness. This paper discusses the implementation of key NDE techniques like ultrasonics, radiography, acoustic emission and thermography for reliable flaw detection, characterization and quality assurance of composite aircraft structures

Nucleic acid composition in the developing buds and petioles of grapes

The nucleic acids content in grape buds showed a definite pattern of fluctuations. DNA multiplication was found to be high during the initiation and early differentiation period while the RNA was high during pre-initiation period, fell considerably during initiation and rose again during differentiation. DNA multiplication in petioles did not show any definite pattern, but RNA decreased progressively from bud burst onwards

EVALUATION OF CARDIO PROTECTIVE ACTIVITY OF GALANGIN AGAINST DOXORUBICIN INDUCED CARDIOMYOPATHY

Objective: The present study was designed to investigate the cardioprotective potential of Galangin on Doxorubicin induced cardiotoxicity in rats. Methods: Albino rats used in this experiment were pretreated with vehicle, Galangin (100 & 200µg/kg) and Vit-C (20 mg/kg) for 28 days. On 25th day, a single dose of Doxorubicin (10 mg/kg, i. p) was administered to groups. After 72 h of Doxorubicin administration, ECG, serum and tissues biomarkers were evaluated. Histopathological examination of the heart was performed. Results: Doxorubicin treated rats exhibited abnormal ECG pattern followed by significant increase in CK-MB, LDH, SGOT, SGPT and LPO level and decrease in GSH, CAT, TT when compared to control rats. Pretreatment with different doses of Galangin and Vit-C significantly reduced the serum biomarkers and increased the tissue antioxidant level when compared to Doxorubicin alone treated groups. Moreover, pretreatment also improved Doxorubicin induced changes in ECG pattern and histopathology of heart. Conclusion: We conclude that the present study provides experimental evidence that Galangin has strong antioxidant activity, and it can maintain cell membrane integrity, and ameliorate oxidative stress induced by high-dose of Doxorubicin administration. These findings might be helpful to understand the beneficial effects of Galangin against myocardial injury although further study is needed to confirm its mechanism

Studies on pruning of grape III. Fruit bud formation in Pusa Seedless grapes (Vitis vinifera L.) under Delhi conditions

Experiments conducted in 1965 and-1967 on the effect of pruning severity and certain fertilizer treatments on fruit bud initiation in Pusa Seedless under Delhi conditions showed that:Fruit bud initiation commenced between the first and second week of April, and the time taken from pruning was 66 to 74 days, and from bud burst it was 45 to 53 days. At the time of fruit bud initiation, the shoots were carrying fully developed inflorescences, many of which were in full bloom. Thus both the development of the current season's crop as well as the inflorescence primordia for the next year occur simultaneously. The primordia showed full development by October though the differentiation of floral parts did not occur until after bud burst.The severity of pruning past season's canes to 3 or 9 buds or 'no pruning' did not exert any influence on the time of fruit bud initiation. No difference was noticed between the basal and apical buds in the rate of development of primordia.Dissection of buds prior to pruning and forecasting the fruiting potential was found to agree closely with the actual yields, the difference between the predicted and actual values being 11-19 percent.Fruiting shoots of the current season were found capable of initiating fruit buds for the succeeding season also to the extent of 10 to 100 per cent. There were also instances of the fruitfulness in such shoots being reduced from zero to 10 percent. Non-bearing shoots of the current season were not necessarily fruitful in the following season.Among 8 fertilizer treatments with two levels each of N, P and K, three combinations, viz., N1P0K1  N1P1K0 and N1P1K1 showed significantly higher fruitfulness than N0P0K0. Indications of earlier fruitfulness were also obtained in the treatment N1P1K1

Effect of ring size in R-(+)-pulegone-mediated hepatotoxicity: studies on the metabolism of R-(+)-4-methyl-2-(1-methylethylidene)-cyclopentanone anddl-camphorone in rats

R-(+)-Pulegone, a monoterpene ketone, is a potent hepatotoxin. The present study was designed to evaluate whether the reduction of the ring size in R-(+)-pulegone would affect its mode of metabolism and its hepatotoxic potential. Metabolic fate ofR-(+)-4-methyl-2-(1-methylethylidene)-cyclopentanone (I) and 5-methyl-2-(1-methylethylidene)-cyclopentanone (dl-camphorone; II) were examined in rats. Compounds I and II were administered orally (250 mg/kg of b.wt./day) to rats for 5 to 7 days. The following metabolites were isolated and identified from the urine of rats dosed with I: 3-methyl-5-(1-methylethylidene)-cyclopent-2-enone (Ie), Z-4-methyl-2-(1-hydroxymethylethylidene)-cyclopentanone (Ib), E-4-methyl-2-(1-hydroxymethylethylidene)-cyclopentanone (Ia), 3-hydroxy-4-methyl-2-(1-methylethylidene)-cyclopentanone (If), 4-hydroxy-4-methyl-2-(1-methylethylidene)-cyclopentanone (Ic), and E-4-methyl-2-(1-carboxyethylidene)-cyclopentanone (Id). Phenobarbital (PB)-induced rat liver microsomes in the presence of NADPH transformed compound I into metabolites, which were identified as Ia, Ib, Ic, Ie, and If. The following urinary metabolites were isolated and identified from compound II: 5-hydroxy-5-methyl-2-(1-methylethylidene)-cyclopentanone (IIc), 5-hydroxy-5-methyl-2-(1-methylethyl)-cyclopentanone (IIg), Z-5-methyl-2-(1-hydroxymethylethylidene)-cyclopentanone (IIb), 5-methyl-2-(1-hydroxymethylethyl)-cyclopentanone (IIf), E-5-methyl-2-(1-hydroxymethylethylidene)-cyclopentanone (IIa), E-5-methyl-2-(1-carboxyethylidene)-cyclopentanone (IId), and 5-methyl-2-(1-carboxyethyl)-cyclopentanone (IIe). PB-induced rat liver microsomes in the presence of NADPH were shown to transform compound II to IIa, IIb, and IIc. Studies carried out in vitro demonstrated that hydroxylation at the tertiary carbon atom or oxidation of the isopropylidene methyl groups in II can be specifically blocked through structural modifications as seen in compounds 2,2-dimethyl-5-(1-methylethylidene)-cyclopentanone (III) and 5-methyl-2-(1-ethyl-1-propylidene)-cyclopentanone (IV). Similar observation was also made when isopropylidene methyl groups inR-(+)-pulegone were replaced by ethyl groups. Intraperitoneal administration of a single dose (250 mg/kg) of I and II to rats did not elicit hepatotoxicity as judged by serum alanine aminotransaminase levels and liver microsomal drug metabolizing enzyme activities

Uptake and movement of phosphorus (32P) in grapes

Phosphorus applied into the soil, appeared in the vine shoots within 24 hours of application, and the 6th bud of the shoot, which is generally the most fruitful region of shoots in the Anab-e-Shahi variety of grape, accumulated a high concentration of fertilizer P