Bayesian Estimation of Augmented Exponential Strength Reliability Models Under Non-informative Priors

In this article, the augmented strength reliability models are derived by assuming that the Inverse Gaussian stress(Y) is subjected to equipment having exponential strength(X) and are independent to each other.In a real life situations many manufactured new equipments/ products are being failed completely or partially at very early stage of its use, due to lack of its strength. Hence, ASP is proposed to protect such types of failures. The maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayes estimation of augmented strength reliability are considered. In Bayesian paradigm the non-informative types (uniform and Jeffrey’s) priors are chosen under symmetric and asymmetric loss functions for better comprehension. A comparison between the ML and Bayes estimators of augmented strength reliability is carried out on the basis of their mean square errors (mse) by simulating Monte-Carlo samples from posterior distribution by using Metropolis-Hasting approximation

Using Reviewers' Expertise to Rank Product Reviews

E-commerce websites are increasingly using user-supplied reviews to make the decision making experience better for the users. However increasing online presence of users has resulted in numerous amount of reviews in these online portals. Reading all these reviews is not expected of users and online portals do provide ranking of reviews based on helpfulness as a solution. However these methodologies are not perfect and so new reviews even if they might be of good quality do get ignored. Also experience of user is not taken into account. Here we propose an approach to improve the ranking mechanism by including the experience of a user as a factor and also incorporating the concept of a domain expert. Further on, we examine the idea of related categories when finding domain experts. We use Amazon data set to implement our methodology and report our findings

Redesign and benchmarking of electric vehicle batteries for demanufacturing for secondary life applications in the circular economy

As per the latest records, the transportation sector is the second largest in energy consumption and plays a major role in air pollution and co2 emission. One solution to curb this pollution and release of hazardous gases is li-ion batteries by electrifying the vehicles. However, these batteries have one factor over here: once EV batteries reach 70-80% charge holding capacity, they are not good enough for traction in the vehicle. Therefore, replacing these batteries with a new ones is necessary. However, these discarded batteries have enough charge holding capacity, which can be used in secondary applications called second-life batteries. It is estimated that there will be 85 million electric vehicles on the road by 2030; given the high demand in the future, we cannot afford to discard these batteries as we cannot meet the demand with material alone. Therefore, we must think about more sustainable ways like reusing multiple applications. This master’s thesis investigates the design guideline for initial design, which will aid in demanufacturing to facilitate disassembly and use the component in the other application as a second life application. It is achieved by an in-depth study of battery’s parts, their function, feature, design requirements, and constraints, benchmarked existing high voltage batteries to create a foundation of design guidelines and examine potential future model implementation, analyzed the current level of demanufacturability in existing batteries, provided additional design guideline to meet the demanufacturability, prioritized the design requirements and proposed an EV battery model that will cooperate with the ability to do demanufactured

Tissue localization of collagenase and leucine aminopeptidase in the bovine filarial parasite Setaria cervi

BACKGROUND: Like other helminth proteases, filarial proteases have also been shown to require for parasite survival inside the host and mediate various physiologic processes such as tissue invasion, feeding, embryogenesis and host immune evasion. Many of these proteases have shown potential for vaccines and chemotherapeutic agents against active filarial infections. Setaria cervi is a bovine filarial parasite and serves as a good parasite model for the studies in lymphatic filariasis. Recently, a 175 kDa collagenase and leucine aminopeptidase (LAP) have been purified and characterized from the bovine filarial parasite S. cervi and shown to be potential vaccine candidate and diagnostic marker, respectively for human lymphatic filariasis. However, their tissue localizations and putative roles in the parasite biology have not yet been examined and thus remain unclear. Therefore, the current study attempts to localize and explore the putative roles of these two enzymes in S. cervi. METHODS: The tissue distributions of 175 kDa collagenase and leucine aminopeptidase in S. cervi were examined by immunohistochemical and histochemical methods, respectively. Immune sera obtained from the jirds immunized with collagenase served as primary antibody, rabbit anti-mouse IgG-HRP conjugate as secondary antibody and DAB as the substrate for the immunostaining of collagenase. Leu-βNA was used as the substrate for the histochemical staining of LAP. RESULTS: Both the collagenase and LAP were present in the body wall; however, they differ in their distribution pattern in different layers of body wall. Collagenase was mainly localized in epicuticle, cuticle, syncytial hypodermis and the nerve cord region whereas LAP was more concentrated in epicuticle, longitudinal muscle layers and almost absent or very faintly stained in syncytial hypodermis and nerve cord region. Both collagenase and LAP showed their common distributions in intestine, uterus and mature eggs, growing embryos and mf. Very strong immunostaining of collagenase in the outer body surface of the parasite indicates its major role in host-parasite relationship whereas the presence of LAP in muscular region suggests its role in tissue remodeling. The common presences of collagenase and LAP in the S. cervi intestine, ovary, uterus, eggs and mf suggest that they also have collaborative roles in molting, nutrition and embryogenesis. The data obtained on their immunological characterizations and their presence in important parasite organs give strong indication that they are critical for the survival of filarial parasite and thus can be good vaccine candidates and/or diagnostic markers for human lymphatic filariasis. CONCLUSION: The manuscript reports for the first time the tissue distribution of collagenase and LAP in the bovine filarial parasite S. cervi and discuss their putative roles in vivo. Our findings also open the avenue to examine the roles of these two proteases in vivo, which will require further experiments like using their natural substrates and/or specific inhibitors in each tissues

In silico studies on modified hydroxamic acid and valporic acid as potential inhibitors for HDAC2

Histone deacetylases2, Class 1 HDAC family are emerged as an important therapeutic target for the treatment of various cancers. HDAC2 inhibitors are potent anti-cancer agents. Two inhibitors of HDAC2 are hydroxamic acid and valporic acid which are potent inducers of growth arrest, differentiation, and/or apoptotic cell death. Total 34 ligands optimized using triazole group substitution for the target protein Histone deacetylase2 on the basis of SAHA and valporic acid. All the ligands are docked with the target protein and results are compared with test compound SAHA. Eight ligands showed better binding affinity towards HDAC2.The binding affinity, free energy and drug scan screening of the above eight ligands have shown that P2, P6 and V6 molecules are best suitable to inhibit HDAC2

Characterization, genetic diversity and distribution of Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris races causing black rot disease in cruciferous crops of India

Black rot, caused by Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris (Xcc) is a disease of crucifer crops. The objective of this study was to characterize races of Xcc, their distribution and genetic diversity in India. Two hundred and seventeen isolates of bacteria were obtained from 12 different black rot-infected crucifer crops from 19 states of India; these were identified as Xcc based on morphology, hrpF gene and 16S rRNA gene based molecular markers and pathogenicity tests. Characterization of races was performed by using a set of seven differential crucifer hosts, comprising two cultivars of turnip (Brassica rapa var. rapa) and cultivars of Indian mustard (B. juncea), Ethiopian mustard (B. carinata), rapeseed mustard (B. napus), cauliflower (B. oleracea) and Savoy cabbage (B. oleracea var. sabauda). Races 1, 4 and 6 of Xcc were identified and, among these races, race 1 followed by race 4 dominated most of the states of India. Genetic diversity of the Indian isolates of Xcc was analysed using repetitive sequence-based PCR (rep-PCR) including primers for REP (repetitive extragenic palindromic), ERIC (enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus) and BOX (amplifying with BOX A1 R primer) repetitive elements. This method of fingerprinting grouped the isolates into 56 different DNA types (clusters) with a 75% similarity coefficient. Among these clusters, DNA types 22 and 53 contained two different races 1 and 4, whereas DNA type 12 contained races 1, 4 and 6. However, no clear relationship was observed between fingerprints and races, hosts or geographical origin

Herbs and Spices Fortified Functional Dairy Products

Recently, an increased interest in exploiting the functional and medicinal health attributes of herbs and spices has been observed worldwide among the health conscious consumers to preserve and promote the health and nutrition and immunity particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic era. Fortification of dairy products with these herbs and spices so as to exploit the functional and medicinal attributes have also gained momentum. Herbs and spices are rich source of bioactive compounds such as anti-oxidants, vitamins, micro- and macro-minerals, phytochemicals like flavonoids, alkaloids, glycosides, tannins, essential oils, coumarin, organic acids, phenols and saponins. Milk and other dairy products have been popular compatible vehicles for delivering functional, nutritional and other health benefits of phytochemicals of herbs and spices among the consumers. This chapter explores the quality and functional attributes of herbs and spices fortified dairy products such as herbal spiked milk, curd and yoghurts, paneer, cheese and ice creams and other dairy products

Efficacy of mHealth aided 12-week meditation and breath intervention on change in burnout and professional quality of life among health care providers of a tertiary care hospital in north India: a randomized waitlist-controlled trial

IntroductionBurnout is “Chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.” Professional quality of life (PQL) includes work related experiences of compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue. Healthcare providers (HCPs) are highly susceptible to burnout and compassion fatigue due to their demanding work, which lowers PQL. Burnout leads to poor care, medical errors, and patient safety across healthcare disciplines. Yoga has been shown to improve resilience, reduce stress, and increase self-compassion and psycho-physiological coherence. This study compared HCPs in a mHealth-aided 12-week yoga-based meditation and breath intervention to waitlist controls for HCP burnout and PQL at a north Indian tertiary care hospital.MethodsThis was randomized waitlist-controlled trial. Total 98 HCPs (62 males and 36 females) with an average age of 28.26 ± 3.547 years were enrolled consecutively from March 2021 to November 2022. Randomization was done with opaque sealed envelopes numbered in a computer-generated sequence. The experimental group (n = 49) received 12 online weekly yoga sessions and performed daily home practice (6 days a week). The waitlisted control group (n = 49) continued their daily routine. Maslach’s burnout inventory (MBI), professional quality of life (PQL) and anthropometric measurements were assessed at baseline and after 12 weeks.ResultsAfter 12 weeks, the MBI outcomes of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment showed a highly significant difference between the two groups (p < 0.001). PQL outcomes of compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary trauma also differed significantly (p < 0.001). Within group analysis showed that MBI and PQL outcomes improved significantly (p < 0.001) for the experimental group after 12 weeks.ConclusionThe current study contributes to the existing evidence on the effectiveness of Yoga in managing stress and developing resilience among doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals. Integrating yoga into healthcare settings is crucial for addressing the detrimental impact of burnout on decision-making and promoting positive patient outcomes. mHealth technologies have the potential to enhance the user-friendliness of yoga-based interventions by personalizing the practice space and time. Yoga-based interventions and mHealth technologies can effectively address physician burnout, in a simple and implementable manner

Evaluation of Wuchereria bancrofti GST as a Vaccine Candidate for Lymphatic Filariasis

Lymphatic parasites survive for years in a complex immune environment by adopting various strategies of immune modulation, which includes counteracting the oxidative free radical damage caused by the host. We now know that the filarial parasites secrete antioxidant enzymes. Among these, the glutathione-S-transferases (GSTs) have the potent ability to effectively neutralize cytotoxic products arising from reactive oxygen species (ROS) that attack cell membranes. Thus, GSTs have the potential to protect the parasite against host oxidative stress. GSTs of several helminthes, including schistosomes, fasciola and the filarial parasite Seteria cervi, are also involved in inducing protective immunity in the host. The schistosome 28 kDa GST has been successfully developed into a vaccine and is currently in Phase II clinical trials. Thus, GST appears to be a potential target for vaccine development. Therefore, in the present study, we cloned W. bancrofti GST, and expressed and purified the recombinant protein. Immunization and challenge experiments showed that 61% of protection could be achieved against B. malayi infections in a jird model. In vitro studies confirm that the anti-WbGST antibodies participate in the killing of B. malayi L3 through an ADCC mechanism and enzymatic activity of WbGST appears to be critical for this larvicidal function