Erosion Wear Behaviour of Bio-Waste Reinforced Polymer Composites

Composite material has been used in India for last three years. Indigenous production of unsaturated polyester resin has started in 1962 and of glass fibers in 1965, preparing the foundation for growth of composites in India. Polymer composites are gaining popularity in many industrial applications due to their higher specific strength and module. In recent years the natural or bio-fiber composites have attracted substantial importance as a potential structural material. The attractive features of natural fibers like Jute, Sisal, Coir and banana have been their low cost, light weight, high specific modulus, renewability and biodegradability. Natural composites reinforced with such natural fibers have thus been a subject of intense study for low strength, low cost application in contrast to the synthetic fiber reinforced composite. In the present work “Erosion wear behavior of bio-waste reinforced polymer composite” tests were performed to calculate the erosion rate of the composites with different reinforcements. The composites were fabricated using Epoxy and Polyester resin as polymer, chicken feather and coir dust as reinforcements. Composites without reinforcement and composite with 20% weight fraction reinforcements were made. They were then experimented in the erosion testing machine. The angle of impact was varied keeping other variables constant. Graphs were drawn showing the variation with the mass loss and the erosion rate. The addition of these reinforcements caused a decrease in the density which increases the strength to weight ratio. The erosion test results showed that mass loss and erosion rate increases with the angle of impact. The erosion rate and mass loss also increase with time but there is a trend of decreasing mass loss and erosion rate at higher time values in reinforced composites. Reinforcement addition decreases the erosion rate. Results showed a lesser erosion rate in coir dust reinforcement than in chicken feather. Also polyester matrix composites showed lesser erosion rate than epoxy matrix composites. Scanning electron microscopy analysis showed that at high angle of impact, high degree of cavitation and formation of cracks is observed in the composites

Gut Microbiota and Health: A Review With Focus on Metabolic and Immunological Disorders and Microbial Remediation

Understanding and defining health is an important yet fuzzy topic. Despite several attempts, health is not a well-defined concept, therefore we seek to understand health from the perspective of the microbiome. Gut microbiota are an essential component in the modern concept of human health. However, the precise patterns of composition and functional characteristics of a healthy gut microbiome remain ill-defined. Microbial colonization patterns associated with disease states have been documented with the advancement of sequencing technologies. Several prebiotics and probiotics have been reported to restore the normal gut flora after being disrupted by various factors. Fecal microbial transplantation from healthy individuals into recipients suffering from diseases related to gut dysbiosis has also been reported to be effective in restoring the normal makeup of gut microbiota, as shown by its efficacy in treating Clostridium difficile infection, colitis, constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, and neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis and Parkinson`s disease. In this review we attempt to define the parameters of healthy human gut flora and its disruption in diseased conditions, and restoration through administration of prebiotics, probiotics, and fecal microbial transplantation

Preterm Labor and Treatment Efficacy-Safety

With medical sciences on the verge of advancement, preterm labor still remains a bothersome issue in modern obstetrics. A few therapeutic agents that suppress uterine contractile activity have gained success up to some extent. Tocolytics are medications used to suppress premature labor. These drugs can decrease the strength and frequency of uterine contractions and help in delay the onset of labor but are not able to prolong pregnancy to full-term. Presently, the choice of a best tocolytic drug remains debatable. This review discusses efficacy and safety of various useful agents which have been used so far. Further clinical trials are required to select an effective, and most importantly, safe therapy for the threatened preterm labor

Some economic consequences of the transition from civil war to peace

Drawing on evidence from Africa - especially Ethiopia and Uganda - the authors of this volume draw conclusions about economic policy in the aftermath of civil war. A sample of conclusions follows. Civil wars differ from international wars. They are informal, often have no clear beginning and end, weaken rather than strengthen the authority of the state, and leave two unreconciled armies to be demobilized within one territory. Civil wars erode the institutions of civil society, leading to a decline in the stock of social capital, which takes some time to restore. Private investment and government revenue are slow to recover, and military expenditures are not easily reduced. As a result, there is little or no peace dividend in the short run. The period of transition to peace is a particularly suitable time for radical policy reform, despite the high degree of polarization typical in countries engaged in civil war. And speedy reform, far from increasing uncertainty, is likely to reduce it. After a civil war, private agents are fearful both of each other and of the government. This, perhaps even more than physical damage to infrastructure, hinders private-sector-led recovery, as irreversible investment is delayed despite being financeable. The transition to peace is primarily the transition from fear and the defensive responses that became ingrained in wartime. The peace dividend comes as a gradual recovery of confidence induces repatriation of financial and human capital. Such confidence can be boosted by the early sequencing of investment-sensitive policy reforms and by preserving low inflation through direct consumer price index targeting. Lack of confidence can be compensated for by temporary undervaluation of the exchange rate, or however, may prove more difficult to make credibly time-bound. Finally, aid can permit accelerated rehabilitation of the infrastructure (especially transport networks) needed to return to a market economy. Contrary to the studies hypothesis, the authors found that demobilization - at least in Uganda - did not lead to a significant upsurge in insecurity. In the short term, demobilization significantly reduced crime, unless the demobilized lacked access to land. If the demobilized returned to their home areas and were given some assistance, with identifiable exceptions they were able to find income-earning opportunities.Debt Markets,Emerging Markets,Economic Theory&Research,,Investment and Investment Climate

Extra-matrix Mg\u3csup\u3e2+\u3c/sup\u3e Limits Ca\u3csup\u3e2+\u3c/sup\u3e Uptake and Modulates Ca\u3csup\u3e2+\u3c/sup\u3e Uptake-independent Respiration and Redox State in Cardiac Isolated Mitochondria

Cardiac mitochondrial matrix (m) free Ca2+ ([Ca2+]m) increases primarily by Ca2+ uptake through the Ca2+ uniporter (CU). Ca2+ uptake via the CU is attenuated by extra-matrix (e) Mg2+ ([Mg2+]e). How [Ca2+]m is dynamically modulated by interacting physiological levels of [Ca2+]e and [Mg2+]e and how this interaction alters bioenergetics are not well understood. We postulated that as [Mg2+]e modulates Ca2+ uptake via the CU, it also alters bioenergetics in a matrix Ca2+–induced and matrix Ca2+–independent manner. To test this, we measured changes in [Ca2+]e, [Ca2+]m, [Mg2+]e and [Mg2+]m spectrofluorometrically in guinea pig cardiac mitochondria in response to added CaCl2 (0–0.6 mM; 1 mM EGTA buffer) with/without added MgCl2 (0–2 mM). In parallel, we assessed effects of added CaCl2 and MgCl2 on NADH, membrane potential (ΔΨm), and respiration. We found that \u3e0.125 mM MgCl2 significantly attenuated CU-mediated Ca2+ uptake and [Ca2+]m. Incremental [Mg2+]e did not reduce initial Ca2+uptake but attenuated the subsequent slower Ca2+ uptake, so that [Ca2+]m remained unaltered over time. Adding CaCl2 without MgCl2 to attain a [Ca2+]m from 46 to 221 nM enhanced state 3 NADH oxidation and increased respiration by 15 %; up to 868 nM [Ca2+]m did not additionally enhance NADH oxidation or respiration. Adding MgCl2 did not increase [Mg2+]m but it altered bioenergetics by its direct effect to decrease Ca2+ uptake. However, at a given [Ca2+]m, state 3 respiration was incrementally attenuated, and state 4 respiration enhanced, by higher [Mg2+]e. Thus, [Mg2+]e without a change in [Mg2+]m can modulate bioenergetics independently of CU-mediated Ca2+ transport

The effect of a postpartum IUD intervention on counseling and choice: Evidence from a cluster-randomized stepped-wedge trial in Sri Lanka

BACKGROUND: The International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (FIGO), in collaboration with the Sri Lankan College of Obstetrics and Gynaecologists (SLCOG), launched an initiative in 2014 to institutionalize immediate postpartum IUD (PPIUD) services as a routine part of antenatal counseling and delivery room services in Sri Lanka. In this study, we evaluate the effect of the FIGO-SLCOG PPIUD intervention in six hospitals by means of a cluster-randomized stepped-wedge trial. METHODS/DESIGN: Six hospitals were randomized into two groups of three using matched pairs. Following a 3-month baseline period, the intervention was administered to the first group, while the second group received the intervention after 9 months of baseline data collection. We collected data from 39,084 women who delivered in these hospitals between September 2015 and January 2017. We conduct an intent-to-treat (ITT) analysis to determine the impact of the intervention on PPIUD counseling and choice of PPIUD, as measured by consent to receive a PPIUD, as well as PPIUD uptake (insertion following delivery). We also investigate how factors related to counseling, such as counseling timing and quality, are linked to choice of PPIUD. RESULTS: We find that the intervention increased rates of counseling, from an average counseling rate of 12% in all hospitals prior to the intervention to an average rate of 51% in all hospitals after the rollout of the intervention (0.307; 95% CI 0.148-0.465). In contrast, we find the impact of the intervention on choice of PPIUD to be less robust and mixed, with 4.1% of women choosing PPIUD prior to the intervention compared to 9.8% of women choosing PPIUD after the rollout of the intervention (0.027; 95% CI 0.000-0.054). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that incorporating PPIUD services into postpartum care is feasible and potentially effective. Taking the evidence on both counseling and choice of PPIUD together, we find that the intervention had a generally positive impact on receipt of PPIUD counseling and, to a lesser degree, on choice of the PPIUD. Nevertheless, it is clear that the intervention's effectiveness can be improved to be able to meet the demand for postpartum family planning of women. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02718222 . Registered on 11 March 2016 (retrospectively registered).Published version and Accepted manuscript versions

Barriers of e-Tourism Adoption in Developing Countries: A Case Study of Nepal

Developing countries lack e-tourism competencies despite attractive destinations to offer. Nepal is one of the developing countries with its natural beauty and diverse cultural heritage that has great tourism potential. This research is aimed at identifying barriers of e-tourism adoption in developing countries, using Nepal as a case study. Based on the Technology, Organization and Environment (TOE) and e-readiness models, and our literature review, we propose ten factors that affect e-tourism adoption. We applied mixed methods to validate these factors using seven interviews with relevant stakeholders and a survey of 198 tourism organisations in Nepal. The results demonstrate that e-tourism adoption is affected by environmental factors such as lack of national infrastructure, market size, and country-specific contextual factors. Similarly, organizational factors include lack of e-tourism awareness, lack of resources, low value proposition and limited top management support. Finally, we discuss these factors and its implication to policy and practice

Probing hadron-quark phase transition in twin stars using ff-modes

Although it is conjectured that a phase transition from hadronic to deconfined quark matter is possible in the ultrahigh density environment in Neutron Stars, the nature of such a transition is still unknown. Depending on whether there is a sharp or slow phase transition, one may expect a third family of stable compact stars or ``twin stars" to appear, with the same mass but different radii compared to Neutron stars. The possibility of identifying twin stars using astrophysical observations has been a subject of interest, which has gained further momentum with the recent detection of gravitational waves from binary neutron stars. In this work, we investigate for the first time the prospect of probing the nature of hadron-quark phase transition with future detection of gravitational waves from unstable fundamental (f-) mode oscillations in Neutron Stars. By employing a recently developed model that parametrizes the nature of the hadron-quark phase transition via ``pasta phases", we calculate f-mode characteristics within a full general relativistic formalism. We then recover the stellar properties from the detected mode parameters using Universal Relations in GW asteroseismology. Our investigations suggest that the detection of gravitational waves emanating from the f-modes with the third-generation gravitational wave detectors offers a promising scenario for confirming the existence of the twin stars. We also estimate the various uncertainties associated with the determination of the mode parameters and conclude that these uncertainties make the situation more challenging to identify the nature of the hadron-quark phase transition.Comment: 15 pages, 13 figure