Stress-strain properties of ferritic steels using automated ball-indentation testing - pile-up effects included

The automated Ball-Indentation (Bl) testing is based cm repeated indentation of a spherical indenter at a single location on a metallic sample. The indentation loads and the corresponding depths in an indentation are used to extract the key mechanical flow properties using well established mathematical relationships. The technique is almost nondestructive and an excellent substitute for the conventional tensile test especially when there is very little volume of specimen available for testing. The distortion at the original plane of surface caused by the material displaced by the indentation is referred to as the pile-up or sink-in effect. The pile-up behaviour alters the actual contact area and hence the indentation diameter which is used for calculating tire stress-strain parameters. It is well established that the extent of pile-up is related to the strain hardening coefficient of the material. This paper describes the methodology for deriving the plastic stress-strain properties by automated ball-indentation technique taking into account the usually ignored pile-up effects. Flow properties derived from ball-indentation tests using die proposed methodology were found to be in good agreement with those of tensile test results for various ferritic steels like AISI 1025 carbon steel, 2.25C:r-lMo steel, Mod 9Cr-lMo steel with different work hardening characteristics

A Scale to Measure Time Use Efficiency of Agricultural Scientists

ABSTRAC

MOLECULAR CHARACTERISATION AND PHYLOGENETIC ANALYSIS OF PORCINE CIRCOVIRUS-2 ISOLATED FROM INFECTED PIGS IN THE SOUTHERN REGION OF INDIA

ABSTRACT: Porcine circovirus-associated diseases (PCVAD) caused by Porcine Circo Virus-2 (PCV-2) is an emerging viral disease with serious effects on animal health, food security, and the swine industry. In this study, samples were collected from the PCV-2 suspected swine carcasses presented to the Department of Veterinary Pathology, CVAS, Mannuthy, for necropsy. Out of 39 suspected samples, seven were positive for PCV-2 by polymerase chain reaction targeting the ORF-2 gene, which yielded an amplicon size of 481 bp. The blast analysis sequences of the present isolates showed more than 98 percent homology with other parts of India and foreign isolates. The genotypic analysis revealed different PCV-2 genotypes, viz., PCV2d (57 percent), PCV-2b (29 percent), and PCV-2h (14 percent), and clusters 13, 11, and 18, respectively, for the first time in Kerala. The microscopic examination revealed lymphoid depletion in the spleen, soft palate tonsils, various lymph nodes, ileal Peyer's patches (IPP), and jejunal Peyer's patches (JPP). There were occasional botryoid inclusion bodies in mucosa-associated lymphoid tissues (MALT) with congestion in various lymph nodes. Based on history and clinical signs, gross, histopathological, and PCR results, and sequence data, the presence of PCV-2-associated systemic disease was confirmed in this study. Altogether, these findings are helpful in further understanding the pathogenesis of PCV-2, which would help to evolve better strategies for improved disease control and prevention in pigs. Future investigations on the pathogenesis of these new genetic variants of isolates obtained in the present study are required for a better understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease

Wnt4 Enhances Murine Hematopoietic Progenitor Cell Expansion Through a Planar Cell Polarity-Like Pathway

Background: While the role of canonical (b-catenin-mediated) Wnt signaling in hematolymphopoiesis has been studied extensively, little is known of the potential importance of non-canonical Wnt signals in hematopoietic cells. Wnt4 is one of the Wnt proteins that can elicit non-canonical pathways. We have previously shown that retroviral overexpression of Wnt4 by hematopoietic cells increased thymic cellularity as well as the frequency of early thymic progenitors and bone marrow hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs). However, the molecular pathways responsible for its effect in HPCs are not known. Methodology/Principal Findings: Here we report that Wnt4 stimulation resulted in the activation of the small GTPase Rac1 as well as Jnk kinases in an HPC cell line. Jnk activity was necessary, while b-catenin was dispensable, for the Wnt4-mediated expansion of primary fetal liver HPCs in culture. Furthermore, Jnk2-deficient and Wnt4 hemizygous mice presented lower numbers of HPCs in their bone marrow, and Jnk2-deficient HPCs showed increased rates of apoptosis. Wnt4 also improved HPC activity in a competitive reconstitution model in a cell-autonomous, Jnk2-dependent manner. Lastly, we identified Fz6 as a receptor for Wnt4 in immature HPCs and showed that the absence of Wnt4 led to a decreased expression of four polarity complex genes. Conclusions/Significance: Our results establish a functional role for non-canonical Wnt signaling in hematopoiesis throug

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Not Available

Not AvailableA study was conducted in the Idukki and Ernakulam districts of Kerala with the general objective to find out the changes in livelihood pattern of the rural women, in context of increasing rate of urbanization. Two villages were selected randomly from each district respectively by random sampling method. Eighty respondents were selected at random from each village, which was again divided into two categories, viz., old age group (>40 years) and young age group (20-40 years). Thus the total sample size constitutes 160 respondents. The results of the study revealed that 36.25 per cent of rural women were pursuing occupation in agriculture service sector, 13.25 per cent in industrial sector and 30.25 per cent in the service sector.Not Availabl

Hyper Zagreb Indices and its Coindices of Graphs

For a (molecular) graph, the hyper Zagreb index is dened asHM(G) = Σuv2E(G) (dG(u) + dG(v))2 and the hyper Zagreb coindex is dened as HM(G) = Σuv=2 E(G) (dG(u)+dG(v))2: In this paper, the hyper Zagreb indices and its coindices of edge corona product graph, double graph and Mycielskian graph are obtained