Nanotechnology: A focus on Treatment of Tuberculosis

Despite the fact that we live in an era of advanced technology and innovation, infectious diseases, like Tuberculosis (TB), continue to be one of the greatest health challenges worldwide. The main drawbacks of conventional TB treatment are the development of multiple drug resistance, resulting in high dose requirements and subsequent intolerable toxicity. Therefore there is a need of a new system have been receiving special attention with the aim of minimizing the side effects of drug therapy, such as poor bioavailability and the selectivity of drugs. Nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems have considerable potential for treatment of TB. The important technological advantages of nanoparticles used as drug carriers are high stability, high carrier capacity, feasibility of incorporation of both hydrophilic and hydrophobic substances, and feasibility of variable routes of administration, including oral application and inhalation. Nanoparticles can also be designed to allow controlled (sustained) drug release from the matrix. These properties of nanoparticles enable improvement of drug bioavailability and reduction of the dosing frequency, and may resolve the problem of nonadherence to prescribed therapy, which is one of the major obstacles in the control of TB epidemics. In this review, we discuss the challenges with the current treatment of the disease and shed light on the remarkable potential of nanotechnology to provide more effective treatment and prevention for TB.Keywords: Tuberculosis; Nanotechnology; liposome; Polymeric nanoparticle; non-polymeric nanoparticle

New Approach for Protection of Distributed Generation using Islanding Technique

Power system's traditional view is characterized by the unidirectional flow of power from a centralized generation to consumers. But for modern view by introducing DGs (Distributed Generations) into distribution system, it results to bidirectional flow of power. Rapid progress in modern technology like wind turbine, fuel cell, photovoltaic and power electronics new innovation, also the demand of customers for better reliability and quality of power are forcing power industry to shift for DGs. Hence DG (distributed generation)has gained momentum in power industry because of de-regulation of market and environmental concerns. When DG continues its power supply even when portion of distributed system becomes isolated electrically from power system remainder, Islanding occurs. DG should have capacity to detect islanding detection for interconnecting DG to power distributed system. Recently industry practices to disconnect all DGs after islands occurrence. In order to achieve this goal, all DGs must equip with detection device for islanding. This is also called as anti-islanding device such as ROCOF relay and vector-surge relay. DOI: 10.17762/ijritcc2321-8169.150711

Zero-shot Microclimate Prediction with Deep Learning

Weather station data is a valuable resource for climate prediction, however, its reliability can be limited in remote locations. To compound the issue, making local predictions often relies on sensor data that may not be accessible for a new, previously unmonitored location. In response to these challenges, we propose a novel zero-shot learning approach designed to forecast various climate measurements at new and unmonitored locations. Our method surpasses conventional weather forecasting techniques in predicting microclimate variables by leveraging knowledge extracted from other geographic locations

Industry 4.0 (I4.0) Based Virtual Organization Model for the Coordination of Sustainable Textile Supply Chain

The lack of attention on the forward and backward supply chain issues, i.e., the transparency between supply chain agents, information sharing, resource deployment, workforce knowledge, waste reduction, cost efficiency, and resource management are the major problems of textile supply chain. The coordination of forward and backward supply chain becomes difficult due to the players\u27 self-interest and firmographics. It becomes much complicated when we consider the triple bottom line of sustainability (TBLS) in the supply chain. Therefore, in this paper, we propose an Industry 4.0 (I4.0) based virtual organization model for the coordination of the forward and backward supply chain. The results obtained through virtual organization model are also compared with the centralized supply chain and traditional cost-sharing contract. The results reveal that virtual organization model can perform better than the price only contract and it will be help firms in achieving greater sustainability with respect to traditional contract mechanisms

Studies on a Domestic Refrigerator Cabinet Temperature by Forced Convection Condensing Coil

This paper tells about an experimental investigation carried out to improve the performance of a domestic refrigerator by replacing its natural convection condenser by a forced convection condenser. The forced convection is achieved by blowing air on the condenser coil at various velocities. The surface temperature of the condensing coil, ambient temperature and the cabinet air temperatures are noted and compared with those available with natural convection condenser at constant loads. In this study R-134a has been selected as the suitable replacement for R-12. The experimental values of governing temperatures and pressures at different air velocities and cooling loads were recorded. Effect on the cooling of cabinet air is discussed on varying air velocity and cooling load. Effect on power consumption has also been discussed on varying air velocity and cooling load. It was found that the cabinet air temperature of the refrigerator goes down in comparison with that when it is operating with the natural convection condenser. This helps in longer preservation of food products in the refrigerator

Self-emulsifying drug delivery system: mucus permeation and innovative quantification technologies

Mucus is a dynamic barrier which covers and protects the underlying mucosal epithelial membrane against bacteria and foreign particles. This protection mechanism extends to include therapeutic macromolecules and nanoparticles (NPs) through trapping of these particles. Mucus is not only a physical barrier that limiting particles movements based on their sizes but it selectively binds with particles through both hydrophilic and lipophilic interactions. Therefore, nano-carriers for mucosal delivery should be designed to eliminate entrapment by the mucus barrier. For this reason, different strategies have been approached for both solid nano-carriers and liquid core nano-carriers to synthesise muco-diffusive nano-carrier. Among these nano-strategies, Self-Emulsifying Drug Delivery System (SEDDS) was recognised as very promising nano-carrier for mucus delivery. The system was introduced to enhance the dissolution and bioavailability of orally administered insoluble drugs. SEDDS has shown high stability against intestinal enzymatic activity and more importantly, relatively rapid permeation characteristics across mucus barrier. The high diffusivity of SEDDS has been tested using various in vitro measurement techniques including both bulk and individual measurement of droplets diffusion within mucus. The selection and processing of an optimum in vitro technique is of great importance to avoid misinterpretation of the diffusivity of SEDDS through mucus barrier. In conclusion, SEDDS is a system with high capacity to diffuse through intestinal mucus even though this system has not been studied to the same extent as solid nano-carriers