STUDY OF THE EFFECTS OF ETHANOL AS AN ADDITIVE WITH A BLEND OF POULTRY LITTER BIODIESEL AND ALUMINA NANOPARTICLES ON A DIESEL ENGINE

With the increasing population and rise in industrialization, the demand for petroleum reserves is increasing almost daily. This is causing depletion of the non‐renewable energy resources. This work aims to find an alternative fuel for diesel engines. The use of poultry litter oil biodiesel obtained from poultry industry waste, which is a non‐edible source for biodiesel, is very encouraging as an alternative fuel for diesel engines. The aim of this study is to observe and maximize the performance of poultry litter oil biodiesel by adding alumina nanoparticles and ethanol. The biodiesel is prepared with acid and the base catalysed transesterification of poultry litter oil with methanol using concentrated sulphuric acid and potassium hydroxide as catalysts. The experimentation is carried out on a CI engine with three different blends – B20 biodiesel blend, B20 biodiesel blend with 30 mg/L alumina nanoparticles, and B20 biodiesel blend with 30 mg/L alumina nanoparticles and 15 ml/L ethanol. The performance, combustion and emission characteristics of all three blends are compared with neat diesel. The results of the experiment show that ethanol as an additive improves the combustion and performance characteristics. It increases the brake thermal efficiency and peak cylinder pressure. It also reduces CO and UBHC emissions and there is a marginal increase in NOx emissions as compared to neat diesel. S rostoucím počtem obyvatel a nárůstem industrializace se den za dnem zvyšuje poptávka po ropných rezervách. To způsobuje vyčerpávání neobnovitelných zdrojů energie. Tato práce si klade za cíl nalézt alternativní palivo pro dieselové motory. Použití bionafty získané z oleje z použité podestýlky z chovů drůbeže, která představuje nekonzumovatelný zdroj pro výrobu bionafty jako alternativní palivo pro dieselové motory, je velmi slibné. Cílem této studie je pozorovat a maximalizovat výkon bionafty z oleje z použité drůbeží podestýlky přidáním nanočástic oxidu hlinitého a etanolu. Bionafta je připravována kyselinou a zásadou katalyzovanou transesterifikací oleje z použité drůbeží podestýlky a metanolem, kde jsou jako katalyzátory použity koncentrovaná kyselina sírová resp. draselný louh. Experimentace se provádí na vznětovém motoru s třemi různými druhy směsi – směs bionafty B20, směs bionafty B20 s 30 mg/L nanočástic oxidu hlinitého a směs bionafty B20 s 30 mg/L nanočástic oxidu hlinitého a 15 ml/L etanolu. Parametry výkonu, spalování a emisí všech tří směsí jsou srovnávány dieselovým palivem (naftou) bez přísad. Výsledky experimentu ukazují, že etanol jako aditivum zlepšuje parametry spalování a výkonu. Zvyšuje brzdnou tepelnou účinnost a maximální tlak ve válci. Dále snižuje emise CO a nespálených uhlovodíků, přičemž je zde marginální zvýšení emisí NOx oproti naftě bez přísad

Functional outcome following open reduction and internal fixation of proximal humerus fractures with locking compression plate

Background: Proximal humerus fractures (PHFs) are common upper extremity fractures representing break in humerus bone. Incidences of PHFs increased in last few years due to life style changes and increased road accidents. Appropriate management strategy for PHFs is still uncertain. The aim of current study is to assess the functional outcome following open reduction and internal fixation of proximal humerus fractures using locking compression plates.Methods: Current study is a descriptive investigation conducted on 31 PHFs patients admitted to baby memorial hospital, calicut, between January 2013 to June 2014. Surgical management of PHFs was done by open reduction and internal fixation using locking compression plates and functional outcomes and complications of the employed treatment modality were investigated.Results: PHFs were observed to be common in 41-60 years age group, with 65% males being affected. Road accidents and domestic falls were observed to be the most common causes of PHFs in younger and elderly populations respectively. Three parts PHFs were observed to be more prevalent, followed by two and four parts fractures. Results of current study revealed that majority of PHFs united by 8-10 weeks duration with 22.58% cases with excellent and 41.93%, 16.12% and 19.35% cases with good, moderate and poor constant and Murley score respectively. Two patients reported post-operative complication of shoulder stiffness, while one patient each reported plate impingement, varus maluion, infection and varus malunion with intraarticular screw cut-out.  Conclusions: Locking compression plates (PHILOS/PHLP) is an efficient treatment modality for proximal humerus fractures allowing early mobilization and good functional outcome

POLYCYSTIC OVARY SYNDROME (PCOS)–AN OVERVIEW

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of most common female endocrine disorder that affects 6-15% of the female population. Women with PCOS have a hormonal imbalance and metabolism problems that may affect their overall health and appearance. Androgen excess and insulin resistance are currently recognized to be responsible for much of the phenotypic presentation, though insulin resistance is far from universally present. It is characterized by irregular menstrual cycle, acne and also associated with type-2 diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease. Efficient management of PCOS provides a prospective window of opportunity to avoid the risk of associated complications. Treatment is broadly aimed at tackling (IR), effects of hyperandrogenism, irregular menstruation, and infertility. This review article mainly deals with the etiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis and management of Polycystic ovary syndrome

Analysis of Punch-Through Breakdown Voltages in 3C-Sic Schottky Barrier Diode Using Gaussian Profile for 200µm Thick Wafer

ABSTRACT: The punch through breakdown voltage of 3C-SiC Schottky Barrier Diode has been analysed in this paper using Gaussian profile. It is observed that 3C-SiC Schottky barrier diode yield high punch through breakdown voltage with higher values of peak doping concentration and lower values of constant m with increasing depletion region width. So, thinner wafers of 3C-SiC can be used to fabricate Schottky barrier diode to provide higher breakdown voltage using Gaussian profile

Antibiotic regimens utilization in treating community acquired pneumonia of a government practice setting: a prospective observational study in medical inpatients

Background: Pneumonia is a lower respiratory tract infection characterized by inflammation of lung tissue accompanied by infiltration of alveoli and bronchioles. Most common type is community acquired pneumonia (CAP). Initial therapy is usually empirical that is designed to treat various pathogens. In CAP cases, antibiotic therapy should begin at the earliest. The objectives of the study include to identify most common causative micro-organisms, to assess risk of developing CAP in patients having co-morbidities, to identify most commonly prescribed antibiotic regimen.Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted for period of 6 months at RIMS, Kadapa. 120 patients were recruited based on inclusion criteria. Treatment was given according to Infectious Diseases Society of America and American Thoracic Society guidelines.Results: In a total of 120 patients, 77 were males and 43 were females. 69 patients belong to 46-55 & above age groups. 84 patients had social habits and 36 patients are without social habits. Patients with single lobe infiltrations are 105 and patients with multiple lobe infiltrations are 15. In our study, streptococcus pneumoniae and pseudomonas aeruginosa were the most common isolated organisms. Monotherapy was given for 7 patients, dual therapy for 97 patients and triple therapy for 16 patients. 33 patients received ceftriaxone (CEF) and augmentin (AUG), 29 patients received CEF and azithromycin (AZI), 7 patients received levofloxacin (LEV), 25 patients received CEF and LEV, 10 patients received CEF and ciprofloxacin (CIP) and 16 patients received CEF, AUG and AZI. 100 patients had less than 8 days of hospital stay.Conclusions: Research study concluded that β lactum antibiotics were the most commonly prescribed class. CEF and AUG was highly recommended drug regimen

A case report on Kawasaki disease

Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute vasculitis of children that leads to coronary artery aneurysms in ≈ 25 of untreated cases. It has been reported worldwide and is the leading cause of acquired heart disorder in children in developed countries. The diagnosis of KD is made on basis on the clinical findings. Atypical KD includes patients who don't meet all the criteria for opinion. The main complication of Kawasaki complaint is coronary aneurysm, and the treatment is intravenous immunoglobulin and aspirin. Another dose of immunoglobulin is given if the patient doesn't ameliorate, and several other treatment options have been proposed over the last many years as alternate and third line options. The AHA criteria, which incorporate suggestions for laboratory tests and early echocardiography, are helpful for diagnosing incomplete KD. Diagnosis is based on the presence of fever lasting longer than 5 days and four of five specific clinical criteria. In Japan, at least five of six criteria (fever and five other clinical criteria) should be fulfilled for the determination of KD. From the Japanese circulation society joint working groups criteria (JCS 2008, Guidelines for diagnosis and management of cardiovascular sequela in KD), KD can be diagnosed indeed when fever lasts lesser than 5 days. Though, according to the American heart association (AHA) criteria, fever lasting more than 5 days is essential for KD diagnosis. The use of intravenous immunoglobulin is well established in KD. Aspirin has been used in KD for anti-inflammatory effect, and low-dose aspirin is recommended to reduce the risk of thrombosis

Differential Effects of Linkers on the Activity of Amphiphilic Tobramycin Antifungals

As the threat associated with fungal infections continues to rise and the availability of antifungal drugs remains a concern, it becomes obvious that the need to bolster the antifungal armamentarium is urgent. Building from our previous findings of tobramycin (TOB) derivatives with antifungal activity, we further investigate the effects of various linkers on the biological activity of these aminoglycosides. Herein, we analyze how thioether, sulfone, triazole, amide, and ether functionalities affect the antifungal activity of alkylated TOB derivatives against 22 Candida, Cryptococcus, and Aspergillus species. We also evaluate their impact on the hemolysis of murine erythrocytes and the cytotoxicity against mammalian cell lines. While the triazole linker appears to confer optimal activity overall, all of the linkers incorporated into the TOB derivatives resulted in compounds that are very effective against the Cryptococcus neoformans species, with MIC values ranging from 0.48 to 3.9 μg/mL

Novel Fluconazole Derivatives with Promising Antifungal Activity

The fungistatic nature and toxicity concern associated with the azole drugs currently on the market have resulted in an increased demand for new azole antifungal agents for which these problematic characteristics do not exist. The extensive use of azoles has resulted in fungal strains capable of resisting the action of these drugs. Herein, we report the synthesis and antifungal activities of novel fluconazole (FLC) analogues with alkyl-, aryl-, cycloalkyl-, and dialkyl-amino substituents. We evaluated their antifungal activity by MIC determination and time-kill assay as well as their safety profile by hemolytic activity against murine erythrocytes as well as cytotoxicity against mammalian cells. The best compounds from our study exhibited broad-spectrum activity against most of the fungal strains tested, with excellent MIC values against a number of clinical isolates. The most promising compounds were found to be less hemolytic than the least hemolytic FDA-approved azole antifungal agent voriconazole (VOR). Finally, we demonstrated that the synthetic alkyl-amino FLC analogues displayed chain-dependent fungal membrane disruption as well as inhibition of ergosterol biosynthesis as possible mechanisms of action

3D Neural Embedding Likelihood for Robust Probabilistic Inverse Graphics

The ability to perceive and understand 3D scenes is crucial for many applications in computer vision and robotics. Inverse graphics is an appealing approach to 3D scene understanding that aims to infer the 3D scene structure from 2D images. In this paper, we introduce probabilistic modeling to the inverse graphics framework to quantify uncertainty and achieve robustness in 6D pose estimation tasks. Specifically, we propose 3D Neural Embedding Likelihood (3DNEL) as a unified probabilistic model over RGB-D images, and develop efficient inference procedures on 3D scene descriptions. 3DNEL effectively combines learned neural embeddings from RGB with depth information to improve robustness in sim-to-real 6D object pose estimation from RGB-D images. Performance on the YCB-Video dataset is on par with state-of-the-art yet is much more robust in challenging regimes. In contrast to discriminative approaches, 3DNEL's probabilistic generative formulation jointly models multi-object scenes, quantifies uncertainty in a principled way, and handles object pose tracking under heavy occlusion. Finally, 3DNEL provides a principled framework for incorporating prior knowledge about the scene and objects, which allows natural extension to additional tasks like camera pose tracking from video