Crushed rock sand – An economical and ecological alternative to natural sand to optimize concrete mix

The study investigates the use of crushed rock sand as viable alternative to Natural River sand that is being conventionally used as fine aggregate in cement concrete. Various mix designs were developed for different grades of concrete based on IS, ACI and British codes using Natural River sand and crushed rock sand. In each case, the cube compressive strength test, and beam flexure tests were conducted. The results of the study show that, the strength properties of concrete using crushed rock sand are nearly similar to the conventional concrete. The study has shown that crushed stone sand can be used as economic and readily available alternative to river sand and can therefore help to arrest the detrimental effects on the environment caused due to excessive mining of river sand

Artificial neural networks aided conceptual stage design of water harvesting structures

The paper presents artificial neural networks (ANNs) based methodology for ascertaining the structural parameters of water harvesting structures (WHS) at the conceptual stage of design. The ANN is trained using exemplar patterns generated using an in-house MSExcel based design program, to draw a functional relationship between the five inputs design parameters namely, peak flood discharge, safe bearing capacity of strata, length of structure, height of structure and silt factor and four outputs namely, top width, bottom width, foundation depth and flood lift representing the structural parameters of WHS. The results of the study show that, the structural parameters of the WHS predicted using ANN model are in close agreement with the actual field parameters. The versatility of ANN to map complex or complex unknown relationships has been proven in the study. A parametric sensitivity study is also performed to assess the most significant design parameter. The study holistically presents a neural network based decision support tool that can be used to accurately estimate the major design parameters of the WHS at the conceptual stage of design in quick time, aiding the engineer-in-charge to conveniently forecast the budget requirements and minimize the labor involved during the subsequent phases of analysis and design

Sustainable Integrated Approach for Management of Fusarium Wilt of Tomato Caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici (Sacc.) Synder and Hansen

Integration of different methods for sustainable management of Fusarium wilt of tomato revealed that all the treatments were able to significantly reduce the disease severity over control. Among the treatments, the minimum disease severity was recorded in the T3 treatment where treatment was given as seed treatment with T. harzianum + soil application of neem cake powder + foliar spray of carbendazim, representing the value 4.82, 8.23, 12.37 and 16.37 per cent against 10.75, 14.84, 20.00 and 25.75 per cent in case of control at 30, 45, 60 and 75 days age of plant, respectively. Integrated approach has also been able to increase shoot length as 27.00, 42.15, 54.98, and 65.07 cm at 30, 45, 60 and 75 days age of plant, respectively whereas in case of control it was 18.60, 25.70, 34.63 and 44.29. Similarly, fresh and dry shoot and root weight have also been found increased in case of integrated approaches. Biochemical analysis of the treated plants revealed that highest soluble protein and total phenol content is observed in T3 treatment (Seed treatment with T. harzianum + soil treatment with neem cake powder and foliar spray with carbendazim), showing 37.85, 36.78 and 35.76 mg/gm of fresh leave of protein and 2.40, 2.14 and 2.04 mg/gm of fresh leave of phenol at 30, 45 and 60 days age of plant. As per yield is concerned, it has found that the maximum yield was obtained per plant from the treatment given as seed treatment with T. harzianum + soil treatment with neem cake powder + foliar spray with carbendazim, showing the value of 500 g per plant which was followed by thetreatment given as seed treatment with T. harzianum + soil treatment with neem cake powder + foliar spray with neem leaf extract showing 470 g per plant

Study of Sleep Disorders and Polysomnographic Evaluation among Primary Chronic Daily Headache Patients

Objective: Studies related to sleep disorders and polysomnography (PSG) among chronic daily headache patients are rare. We studied this and compared chronic migraine (CM) with chronic tension-type headache. Methods: Eighty-three patients were recruited. They were evaluated by semi-structured interview, headache, and sleep diaries along with Epworth Sleepiness Scale score and insomnia symptom score. Overnight PSG was performed and data compared. Results: Chronic tension-type headache was more common than CM, both having female preponderance. Insomnia followed by excessive daytime sleepiness was prevalent sleep disorder. Sleep efficiency and Stage 3 sleep were lower in CM compared to chronic tension-type. ESSS was significantly increased among chronic tension-type patients. No significant correlation was found among PSG parameters in patients with or without sleep disorders. Conclusion: Insomnia being most common sleep disorder among chronic headache population. Chronic tension-type headache had slightly better slow-wave sleep than CM and significantly increased daytime sleepiness