Using Barkhausen Noise to Measure Coating Depth of Coated High-Speed Steel

Coated high-speed steel tools are widely used in machining processes as they offer an excellent tool life to cost ratio, but they quickly need replacing once the coated layer is worn away. It would be therefore useful to be able to measure the tool life remaining non-destructively and cheaply. To achieve this, the work presented here aims to measure the thickness of the coated layer of high-speed cutting tools by using Barkhausen noise (BHN) techniques. Coated high-speed steel specimens coated with two different materials (chromium nitride (CrN), titanium nitride (TiN)) were tested using a cost-effective measuring system developed for this study. Sensory features were extracted from the signal received from a pick-up coil and the signal features, Root mean square, peak count, and signal energy, were successfully correlated with the thickness of the coating layer on high-speed steel (HSS) specimens. The results suggest that the Barkhausen noise measuring system developed in this study can successfully indicate the different thickness of the coating layer on CrN/TiN coated HSS specimens

Conscious monitoring and control (reinvestment) in surgical performance under pressure.

Research on intraoperative stressors has focused on external factors without considering individual differences in the ability to cope with stress. One individual difference that is implicated in adverse effects of stress on performance is "reinvestment," the propensity for conscious monitoring and control of movements. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of reinvestment on laparoscopic performance under time pressure

LACO-Wiki: A New Online Land Cover Validation Tool Demonstrated Using GlobeLand30 for Kenya

Accuracy assessment, also referred to as validation, is a key process in the workflow of developing a land cover map. To make this process open and transparent, we have developed a new online tool called LACO-Wiki, which encapsulates this process into a set of four simple steps including uploading a land cover map, creating a sample from the map, interpreting the sample with very high resolution satellite imagery and generating a report with accuracy measures. The aim of this paper is to present the main features of this new tool followed by an example of how it can be used for accuracy assessment of a land cover map. For the purpose of illustration, we have chosen GlobeLand30 for Kenya. Two different samples were interpreted by three individuals: one sample was provided by the GlobeLand30 team as part of their international efforts in validating GlobeLand30 with GEO (Group on Earth Observation) member states while a second sample was generated using LACO-Wiki. Using satellite imagery from Google Maps, Bing and Google Earth, the results show overall accuracies between 53% to 61%, which is lower than the global accuracy assessment of GlobeLand30 but may be reasonable given the complex landscapes found in Kenya. Statistical models were then fit to the data to determine what factors affect the agreement between the three interpreters such as the land cover class, the presence of very high resolution satellite imagery and the age of the image in relation to the baseline year for GlobeLand30 (2010). The results showed that all factors had a significant effect on the agreement

Experience and Challenges from Clinical Trials with Malaria Vaccines in Africa.

Malaria vaccines are considered amongst the most important modalities for potential elimination of malaria disease and transmission. Research and development in this field has been an area of intense effort by many groups over the last few decades. Despite this, there is currently no licensed malaria vaccine. Researchers, clinical trialists and vaccine developers have been working on many approached to make malaria vaccine available.African research institutions have developed and demonstrated a great capacity to undertake clinical trials in accordance to the International Conference on Harmonization-Good Clinical Practice (ICH-GCP) standards in the last decade; particularly in the field of malaria vaccines and anti-malarial drugs. This capacity is a result of networking among African scientists in collaboration with other partners; this has traversed both clinical trials and malaria control programmes as part of the Global Malaria Action Plan (GMAP). GMAP outlined and support global strategies toward the elimination and eradication of malaria in many areas, translating in reduction in public health burden, especially for African children. In the sub-Saharan region the capacity to undertake more clinical trials remains small in comparison to the actual need.However, sustainability of the already developed capacity is essential and crucial for the evaluation of different interventions and diagnostic tools/strategies for other diseases like TB, HIV, neglected tropical diseases and non-communicable diseases. There is urgent need for innovative mechanisms for the sustainability and expansion of the capacity in clinical trials in sub-Saharan Africa as the catalyst for health improvement and maintained

Maternal immunization against Group B streptococcus: World Health Organization research and development technological roadmap and preferred product characteristics.

Group B streptococcus, found in the vagina or lower gastrointestinal tract of about 10-40% of women of reproductive age, is a leading cause of early life invasive bacterial disease, potentially amenable to prevention through maternal immunization during pregnancy. Following a consultation process with global stakeholders, the World Health Organization is herein proposing priority research and development pathways and preferred product characteristics for GBS vaccines, with the aim to facilitate and accelerate vaccine licensure, policy recommendation for wide scale use and implementation

Online access to DRDO periodicals using open source software

Defence Scientific Information and Documentation Centre (DESIDOC) is a nodal centre for information communication and dissemination in the Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO). As the publication wing of DRDO, DESIDOC brings out regular publications including Defence Science Journal, DESIDOC Bulletin of Information Technology, DRDO Newsletter, DRDO Samachar and Technology Focus. These periodicals cover a wide variety of topics in various subject areas targeting different user communities situated all over India. A pilot project was undertaken with an aim to provide online desktop access to the full text of these periodicals to the users including R&D scientists of more than 50 laboratories and establishments. The project also aimed at facilitating the Publications Division to directly upload the contents to the system. The open source software EPrints is used and customized according to the user requirements particularly on Intranet. Upon successful testing and evaluation, these periodicals will be hosted on Internet allowing subscription, access and downloading by users across the globe. This paper discusses the experience in using EPrints and customization at various levels for DRDO publications and explains various features of the model

Information technologies for libraries and information centres

For the past few years, the tremendous strides taken in the fields of information technologies have changed the society into an information conscious society. There is little doubt that the impact of these technologies on the day-to-day functions of information centres is an everlasting one. The innumerable advances in different fields such as computers, communi- cations, electronic mail, voice mail, teletext, videotext, telefax, videodisc, CD-ROM, electronic publishing, etc have left no area in the library, and information field immune for their application. And many areas still remain undiscovered. This paper, first in a series, makes an attempt to overview the impact of the information technologies on the library and information services. A brief discussion of electronic message and documentdelivery systems,and electronic mail are also presented

Modes of Parasitism between the Necrotrophic Fungus Botrytis cinerea and Trichoderma spp

This study aims to understand the differential antagonistic activity of the Trichoderma spp. against Botrytis cinerea (grey mould) on tomato plants. The antagonistic efficiency between Botrytis cinerea and Trichoderma spp. viz., Trichoderma reesei, Trichoderma viride, Trichoderma harzianum, Trichoderma hamatum, Trichoderma longibractum were studied in vitro using dual plate technique. The results revealed that all of the Trichoderma isolates had the ability to inhibit the mycelial growth of grey mould. The percentage reduction in the growth of B. cinerea after seven days of incubation at 23 ± 2ºC varied between 35-84%. The Trichoderma spp. such as T. reesei (A1) and T.harzianum (E1) showed the highest antagonistic activity (T. reesei (A1) – 84%; T. harzianum (E1) – 72.8%). SEM studies at cellular level have shown the collapse of hyphal wall of B. cinerea at an early stage. Clear evidence on direct parasitism was recorded on most of the Trichoderma spp. tested in this experiment. In bioassay experiments, B. cinerea applied alone was found throughout the leaf tissues in high densities after an incubation period of five days at 18°C in a moist chamber rather than when pathogen and antagonists were applied together. Based on previous records of Trichoderma spp., biocontrol potential and observations of its colonizing properties, it appears that          T. reesei can compete and reduce the growth of B. cinerea in tomato plants at an early stage and enhance the growth of the plants. Keywords: Biological control, antagonistic potential, cell damage, grey mould, Trichoderma spp

Stellar populations of bulges at low redshift

This chapter summarizes our current understanding of the stellar population properties of bulges and outlines important future research directions.Comment: Review article to appear in "Galactic Bulges", Editors: Laurikainen E., Peletier R., Gadotti D., Springer Publishing. 34 pages, 12 figure