BER Performance of Alamouti with VBLAST Detection Schemes over MIMO System

Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) systems as a means to combat fading in wireless channels. MIMO allows higher throughput, diversity gain and interference reduction. In this paper, we analyze the Bit Error Rate (BER) performance of the Alamouti Space Time Block Code with V-BLAST (Vertical Bell Laboratories Layered Space-Time) over MIMO system. Basic idea in this scheme is to improve the BER performance of systems. V-BLAST algorithm offers highly better error performance than conventional linear receivers and still has low complexity. The simulated results are based on different modulations, such as BPSK, 4-QAM and 16-QAM over Rayleigh fading channels. DOI: 10.17762/ijritcc2321-8169.150511

Broiler Production in Punjab — An Economic Analysis

The cost and return analysis of different sizes of broiler farms in the Punjab state has been carried out based on the primary data collected from 140 broiler farmers for the period March 2008 to February 2009 in three districts, viz. Ludhiana, Hoshiarpur and Muktsar. The study has shown that the total fixed investments per bird have been highest on small farms, followed by medium and large farms. The total variable cost per bird has been reported highest on small farms, followed by medium and large farms. The total cost of meat production per bird has been found highest on small broiler farms, followed by medium and large farms. The net returns per bird over the variable costs have been recorded highest on large farms and economies of scale prevail on these farms. The meat-feed price ratio and benefit-cost ratio have been found to increase with increase in farm-size of broiler farms, which indicates better utilization of inputs on large farms. On the basis of net present value, benefit-cost ratio and internal rate of return, investment in broiler farming has been found profitable in all farm-sizes, it being most profitable on large farms, followed by medium and small farms. The small broiler farms have been observed highly sensitive to increase in costs and decrease in net returns. The study has observed that broiler farming is a profitable venture and has a bright future in the Punjab agriculture for improving economic status of the farming communityAgricultural and Food Policy,

Measurement of Adhesion of Sternal Wires to a Novel Bioactive Glass-Based Adhesive

Stainless steel wires are the standard method for sternal closure because of their strength and rigidity, the simplicity of the process, and the short healing time that results from their application. Despite this, problems still exist with sternal stability due to micromotion between the two halves of the dissected and wired sternum. Recently, a novel glass-based adhesive was developed which, in cadaveric trials and in conjunction with wiring, was shown to restrict this micromotion. However, in order to avoid complications during resternotomy, the adhesive should adhere only to the bone and not the sternal wire. In this study, sternal wires were embedded in 8 mm discs manufactured from the novel glass-based adhesive and the constructs were then incubated at 37 ◦C for one, seven, and 30 days. The discs were manufactured in two different thicknesses: 2 and 3 mm. Wire pull-out tests were then performed on the constructs at three different strain rates (1, 0.1, and 0.01 mm/min). No statistically significant difference in pull-out force was found regardless of incubation time, loading rate, or construct thickness. The pull-out forces recorded were consistent with static friction between the wire and adhesive, rather than the adhesion between them. Scanning electron micrographs provided further proof of this. These results indicate that the novel adhesive may be suitable for sternal fixation without complicating a potential resternotomy

Household symptomatic contact screening of sputum smear positive tuberculosis patients at the DOTS clinic of SGT hospital, Gurugram

Background:  Contact screening was conducted under ICMR (REFERENCE ID: 2019-07811) programme in villages near SGT hospital, Gurugram.  Objective:  To evaluate risk factors, extent of spread of tuberculosis among household contacts of tuberculosis cases and to create awareness. Methods and Material: Address of TB cases were taken from RNTCP register at DOTS clinic, SGT medical college. Then all household contacts of positive cases were screened, counselled and advised to approach ASHA Workers if such symptoms appear. Data was analysed using appropriate statistical methods. Results:21 Index cases along with 94 household contacts were screened. 61.90% families still use chullahs for cooking. 76.1% families have overcrowding. 3) 61.90% families had inadequate ventilation 4) 19.05%families were aware about the spread of this disease. 5)Only 23.80% families practised adequate sanitation methods and precautions6) 42.8% Index cases had a history of smoking. 7) 44.4% 4 continue to smoke with infection. The association of adequate sanitation with presence of awareness was found to be statistically significant. (p-value<0.05). Other factors were not significantly associated with level of awareness regarding prevention of tuberculosis spread among study participants. Conclusions: Contact screening is an effective tool and it gives the real-time picture of TB in India

Characteristics and Programme-Defined Treatment Outcomes among Childhood Tuberculosis (TB) Patients under the National TB Programme in Delhi

Childhood tuberculosis (TB) patients under India's Revised National TB Control Programme (RNTCP) are managed using diagnostic algorithms and directly observed treatment with intermittent thrice-weekly short-course treatment regimens for 6–8 months. The assignment into pre-treatment weight bands leads to drug doses (milligram per kilogram) that are lower than current World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for some patients.The main aim of our study was to describe the baseline characteristics and treatment outcomes reported under RNTCP for registered childhood (age <15 years) TB patients in Delhi. Additionally, we compared the reported programmatic treatment completion rates between children treated as per WHO recommended anti-TB drug doses with those children treated with anti-TB drug doses below that recommended in WHO guidelines.For this cross-sectional retrospective study, we reviewed programme records of all 1089 TB patients aged <15 years registered for TB treatment from January to June, 2008 in 6 randomly selected districts of Delhi. WHO disease classification and treatment outcome definitions are used by RNTCP, and these were extracted as reported in programme records.Among 1074 patients with records available, 651 (61%) were females, 122 (11%) were <5 years of age, 1000 (93%) were new cases, and 680 (63%) had extra-pulmonary TB (EP-TB)—most commonly peripheral lymph node disease [310 (46%)]. Among 394 pulmonary TB (PTB) cases, 165 (42%) were sputum smear-positive. The overall reported treatment completion rate was 95%. Similar reported treatment completion rates were found in all subgroups assessed, including those patients whose drug dosages were lower than that currently recommended by WHO. Further studies are needed to assess the reasons for the low proportion of under-5 years of age TB case notifications, address challenges in reaching all childhood TB patients by RNTCP, the accuracy of diagnosis, and the clinical validity of reported programme defined treatment completion

Analysis of Power Line Communication Channel Model using Communication Techniques

With the advent of technology, human dependency on power (electricity) and communication has grown beyond leaps and bounds. Many efforts have been made to continuously improve and increase the efficiency in both areas. Power Line Communication (PLC) is a technology where power lines or transmission lines are being used for communication purposes along with transmitting electrical energy. Because the power grid is already in place, the PLC has the obvious advantage of reducing communication infrastructure cost. However, the power grid is designed optimally for power delivery (not the data). The power transmission line generally appears as a harsh environment for the low-power high-frequency communication signals. In order to evaluate the performance of PLC, this paper simulates a practical multipath power line communication channel model and provides the Bit Error Rate (BER) vs signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) curves for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing

Improving overall moisture content of friction yarn for its use in foundation garments – part 2

As per the global scenario, physiological comfort is very basic and necessary property of the fabric. The fabrics with higher level of comfort values have a tremendous scope from the point of view of comfort in the garment industry. The comfort has been an inherent feature of the knitted textiles. To further increase the softness in knitted fabric, twistless yarns are used. As compared with that of conventional spun yarns, their strength largely depends on the amount of twist but it has the disadvantage of imparting a harsh feel to the fabric. Once the twistless yarn has been assembled in a fabric structure, the compacting forces created by the fabric structure itself hold the systems together. Hence, it is quite possible to produce a twistless knitted fabric with improved parameters of physiological comfort, which can be beneficial for apparels. An attempt has been made to develop DREF III friction spun yarn after structural modifications with an objective to analyze its feasibility for foundation garment end use by diagnosing its quantified reduction in harshness to develop foundation garments and enhancing its breathability.1 In ‘Overall Moisture Management Content’ of foundation garments; one-way transport index% is considered as the sub-function with maximum importance; as sweat or moisture is supposed to be transported from body to climate keeping its minimum conditions for desirability of comfort and handle as constant and prohibition of outer moisture to travel insid

Effect Of Liquid Environment On Adhesion Strength Of Bioactive Glass-based Adhesives To Bone

Glass Polyalkenoate Cements (GPCs) are composed of ionomeric glass having setting reaction with aqueous poly(acrylic) acid (PAA). The mechanical properties of GPCs are normally affected by various factors such as the concentration of the acid solution, the molar mass of the polyacid, and the powder:liquid ratio. A previous study using fracture testing of double cantilever beam specimens made with a GPC (GPC A) adhered to bovine bone showed that the mode I energy release rate decreased significantly when the specimens were prepared in a flooded liquid environment, simulating a worst-case surgical sternal closure application. The present study used pull-out and butt strength tests to determine the extent to which the adhesion to bovine bone could be improved in wet environments by using a more viscous adhesive (GPC B). The pull-out samples were prepared in both dry and flooded liquid environments and incubated in both humid and flooded liquid environments at 37 °C for two time periods: one and seven days. Overall, the pull-out strength of GPC B was found to be between 56% and 808% higher than GPC A, indicating that the more viscous formulation could mitigate the effects of the wet environment. The GPC B samples prepared and incubated in a flooded liquid environment (L-LI) had a significantly lower pull-out strength than all three other conditions: (1) when prepared in a dry environment and incubated in either a liquid (D-LI) or (2) humid environment (D-H), and (3) when prepared in a liquid environment and incubated in a humid one (L-H), which were all of similar strength. No significant difference in pull-out strength between the samples tested after 1 and 7 days of incubation was found indicating that robust adhesion strength was obtained rapidly. To further assess the adhesive strength for augmenting sternal closure, GPC B and bovine bone were used to create butt joints which were tested at strain rates typical of breathing and coughing. The tests revealed that GPC B\u27s viscoelastic properties resulted in a higher butt joint strength for coughing loads compared to breathing. Overall, the results of the present study show that when the adhesives are expected to be subjected to a flooded liquid environment while they set, significant gains in adhesive strength can be obtained by using more viscous GPC adhesives

Broiler Production in Punjab — An Economic Analysis

The cost and return analysis of different sizes of broiler farms in the Punjab state has been carried out based on the primary data collected from 140 broiler farmers for the period March 2008 to February 2009 in three districts, viz. Ludhiana, Hoshiarpur and Muktsar. The study has shown that the total fixed investments per bird have been highest on small farms, followed by medium and large farms. The total variable cost per bird has been reported highest on small farms, followed by medium and large farms. The total cost of meat production per bird has been found highest on small broiler farms, followed by medium and large farms. The net returns per bird over the variable costs have been recorded highest on large farms and economies of scale prevail on these farms. The meat-feed price ratio and benefit-cost ratio have been found to increase with increase in farm-size of broiler farms, which indicates better utilization of inputs on large farms. On the basis of net present value, benefit-cost ratio and internal rate of return, investment in broiler farming has been found profitable in all farm-sizes, it being most profitable on large farms, followed by medium and small farms. The small broiler farms have been observed highly sensitive to increase in costs and decrease in net returns. The study has observed that broiler farming is a profitable venture and has a bright future in the Punjab agriculture for improving economic status of the farming communit

Adhesion of Bioactive Glass-Based Adhesive to Bone

Understanding the failure modes and the fracture resistance is critical in evaluating the performance of an adhesive for sternal fixation. In this paper, a fracture mechanics testing methodology was used to assess the adhesion of a bioactive glass-based adhesive to bovine bone in terms of a measured mode I critical strain energy release rate (GIC). Reinforced double cantilever beam (DCB) samples were observed to produce repeatable values of GIC. The measured GIC was found to increase significantly from 5.41 to 12.60 J/m2 with an increase in adhesive thickness from 390 to 990 μm because of the constraint from the two adherends regulating the plastic zone size ahead of the crack. The specimens failed cohesively in all cases demonstrating that there was good adhesion to bone, a condition necessary to restrict micromotion and thus provide rigid sternal fixation when used along with sternal wires. It was also found that when the bone was flooded with liquid during adhesive application a much lower GIC of between 0.69 and 1.15 J/m2 was measured. Overall, the results demonstrate that the fracture mechanics approach can be used to provide a quantitative measure of the adhesion of the bioactive glass-based adhesive to the bone and that the adhesive should only be applied to clean bone in a dry environment