Search results for: Suresh Prasad Sharma

Authors: Varsha Kheradiya, Ganga Prasad Pandey

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The use of wearable antennas is rising because wireless devices become small. The wearable antenna is part of clothes used in communication applications, including energy harvesting, medical application, navigation, and tracking. In current years, Antennas embroidered on clothes, conducting antennas based on fabric, polymer embedded antennas, and inkjet-printed antennas are all attractive ways. Also shows the analysis required for wearable antennas, such as wearable antennae interacting with the human body. The primary requirements for the antenna are small size, low profile minimizing radiation absorption by the human body, high efficiency, structural integrity to survive worst situations, and good gain. Therefore, research in energy harvesting, biomedicine, and military application design is increasingly favoring flexible wearable antennas. Textile materials that are effectively used for designing and developing wearable antennas for body area networks. The wireless body area network is primarily concerned with creating effective antenna systems. The antenna should reduce their size, be lightweight, and be adaptable when integrated into clothes. When antennas integrate into clothes, it provides a convenient alternative to those fabricated using rigid substrates. This paper presents a study of U slot loaded wearable textile antenna. U slot patch antenna design is illustrated for wideband from 1GHz to 6 GHz using textile material jeans as substrate and pure copper polyester taffeta fabric as conducting material. This antenna design exhibits dual band results for WLAN at 2.4 GHz and 3.6 GHz frequencies. Also, study U slot position horizontal and vertical shifting. Shifting the horizontal positive X-axis position of the U slot produces the third band at 5.8 GHz.

Keywords: microstrip patch antenna, textile material, U slot wearable antenna, wireless body area network

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Authors: Jack S. Pullman, Daniel Wen, Avinash Sharma, Bert Van Der Werf, Richard Martin

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Background: New Zealand (NZ) melanoma incidence rates are amongst the highest in the world. Previous studies investigating the incidence of melanoma in NZ were performed for the periods 1995 – 1999 and 2000 – 2004 and suggested increasing melanoma incidence rates. Aim: The aim of the study is to provide an up-to-date review of trends in cutaneous melanoma in NZ from the New Zealand Cancer Registry (NZCR) 2010 – 2020. Methods: De-identified data were obtained from the NZCR, and relevant demographic and histopathologic information was extracted. Statistical analyses were conducted to calculate age-standardized incidence rates for invasive melanoma (IM) and melanoma in situ (MIS). Secondary results included Breslow thickness and melanoma subtype analysis. Results: There was a decline in the IM age-standardized incidence rate from 30.4 to 23.9 per 100,000 person-years between 2010 to 2020, alongside an increase in MIS incidence rate from 37.1 to 50.3 per 100,000 person-years. Men had a statistically significant higher IM incidence rate (p <0.001) and Breslow thickness (p <0.001) compared with women. Increased age was associated with a higher incidence of IM, presentation with melanoma of greater Breslow thickness and more advanced T stage. Conclusion: The incidence of IM in NZ has decreased in the last decade and was associated with an increase in MIS incidence over the same period. This can be explained due to earlier detection, dermoscopy, the maturity of prevention campaigns and/or a change in skin protection behavior.

Keywords: melanoma, incidence, epidemiology, New Zealand

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Authors: Ambika Prasad Gupta, Harshit Sosan Lakra

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Food security is an important issue that has been widely discussed in literature. However, there is a lack of research on the specific food security challenges faced by tribal communities. Tribal food security refers to the ability of indigenous or tribal communities to consistently access and afford an adequate and nutritious supply of food. These communities often have unique cultural, social, and economic contexts that can impact their food security. The study aims to assess the food security status of all thirty-two major tribes, including Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) people living in various blocks of Jharkhand State. The methodology of this study focuses on measuring the food security index of indigenous people by developing and redefining a new Tribal Food Security Index (TFSI) as per the indigenous community-level indicators identified by the Global Food Security Index and other indicators relevant to food security. Affordability, availability, quality and safety, and natural resources were the dimensions used to calculate the overall Tribal Food Security Index. A survey was conducted for primary data collection of tribes and PVTGs at the household level in various districts of Jharkhand with a considerable tribal population. The result shows that due to the transition from rural to urban areas, there is a considerable change in TFSI and a decrease in forest dependency of tribal communities. Socioeconomic factors like occupation and household size had a significant correlation with TFSI. Tribal households living in forests have a higher food security index than tribal households residing in urban transition areas. The study also shows that alternative methodology adopted to measure specific community-level food security creates high significant impact than using commonly used indices.

Keywords: indigenous people, tribal food security, particularly vulnerable tribal groups, Jharkhand

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Authors: Kanika Sharma, Shaila Bahl, Birendra Singh, Pratik Kumar, S. P. Lochab, A. Pandey

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In the present investigation, initially nano-particles of CaF2 were prepared by the chemical co-precipitation method and later the prepared salt was activated by thulium (0.1 mol%) using the combustion technique. The final product was characterized and confirmed by X-Ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Further, the thermoluminescence (TL) properties of the nanophosphor were studied by irradiating it with 1.25 MeV of gamma radiation and 65 MeV of carbon (C6+) ion beam. For gamma rays, two prominent TL peaks were observed with a low temperature peak at around 1070C and a high temperature peak at around 1570C. Furthermore, the nanophosphor maintained a linear TL response for the entire range of studied doses i.e. 10 Gy to 2000 Gy for both the temperature peaks. Moreover, when the nanophosphor was irradiated with 65 MeV of C6+ ion beam the shape and structure of the glow curves remained spectacularly similar and the nanophosphor displayed a linear TL response for the full range of studied fluences i.e. 5*1010 ions/cm2 to 1 *1012 ions/ cm2. Finally, various tests like reproducibility test and batch homogeneity were also carried out to define the final product. Thus, co-precipitation method followed by combustion technique was successful in effectively producing dosimetric grade CaF2:Tm for dosimetry of gamma as well as carbon (C6+) beam.

Keywords: gamma radiation, ion beam, nanocrystalline, radiation dosimetry

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Authors: U. Achutha Kini, S. S. Sharma, K. Jagannath, P. R. Prabhu, M. C. Gowri Shankar

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Aluminium matrix composites with alumina reinforcements give superior mechanical & physical properties. Their applications in several fields like automobile, aerospace, defense, sports, electronics, bio-medical and other industrial purposes are becoming essential for the last several decades. In the present work, fabrication of hybrid composite was done by Stir casting technique using Al 6061 as a matrix with alumina and silicon carbide (SiC) as reinforcement materials. The weight percentage of alumina is varied from 2 to 4% and the silicon carbide weight percentage is maintained constant at 2%. Hardness and wear tests are performed in the as cast and heat treated conditions. Age hardening treatment was performed on the specimen with solutionizing at 550°C, aging at two temperatures (150 and 200°C) for different time durations. Hardness distribution curves are drawn and peak hardness values are recorded. Hardness increase was very sensitive with respect to the decrease in aging temperature. There was an improvement in wear resistance of the peak aged material when aged at lower temperature. Also increase in weight percent of alumina, increases wear resistance at lower temperature but opposite behavior was seen when aged at higher temperature.

Keywords: hybrid composite, hardness test, wear test, heat treatment, pin on disc wear testing machine

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Authors: Asim Majeed, Rehan Bhana, Mak Sharma, Rebecca Goode, Nizam Bolia, Mike Lloyd-Williams

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This study aims to investigate and explore the underlying causes of security concerns of customers emerged when WHSmith transformed its physical system to virtualized business model through NetSuite. NetSuite is essentially fully integrated software which helps transforming the physical system to virtualized business model. Modern organisations are moving away from traditional business models to cloud based models and consequently it is expected to have a better, secure and innovative environment for customers. The vital issue of the modern age race is the security when transforming virtualized through cloud based models and designers of interactive systems often misunderstand privacy and even often ignore it, thus causing concerns for users. The content analysis approach is being used to collect the qualitative data from 120 online bloggers including TRUSTPILOT. The results and finding provide useful new insights into the nature and form of security concerns of online users after they have used the WHSmith services offered online through their website. Findings have theoretical as well as practical implications for the successful adoption of cloud computing Business-to-Business model and similar systems.

Keywords: innovation, virtualization, cloud computing, organizational flexibility

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Authors: Pinki Sharma, Himanshu Joshi

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Distillery spentwash contains high chemical oxygen demand (COD), biological oxygen demand (BOD), color, total dissolved solids (TDS) and other contaminants even after biological treatment. The effluent can’t be discharged as such in the surface water bodies or land without further treatment. Reverse osmosis (RO) treatment plants have been installed in many of the distilleries at tertiary level. But at most of the places these plants are not properly working due to high concentration of organic matter and other contaminants in biologically treated spentwash. To make the membrane treatment proven and reliable technology, proper pre-treatment is mandatory. In the present study, ultra-filtration (UF) as pre-treatment of RO at tertiary stage was performed. Operating parameters namely initial pH (pHo: 2–10), trans-membrane pressure (TMP: 4-20 bars) and temperature (T: 15- 43°C) used for conducting experiments with UF system. Experiments were optimized at different operating parameters in terms of COD, color, TDS and TOC removal by using response surface methodology (RSM) with central composite design. The results showed that removal of COD, color and TDS by 62%, 93.5% and 75.5%, with UF, respectively at optimized conditions with increased permeate flux from 17.5 l/m2/h (RO) to 38 l/m2/h (UF-RO). The performance of the RO system was greatly improved both in term of pollutant removal as well as water recovery.

Keywords: bio-digested distillery spentwash, reverse osmosis, response surface methodology, ultra-filtration

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Authors: Changzhi Jiang, Chunyu Ding, Yan Su, Jiawei Li, Ravi Sharma, Yuanzhou Liu, Jiangwan Xu

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Early Mars is believed to have had extensive liquid water activity, which has now predominantly transitioned to a frozen state, with the majority of water stored in polar ice caps. It has long been deemed that the shallow subsurface of Mars' mid-to-low latitudes is devoid of liquid water. However, geological features observed at the Tianwen-1 landing site hint potential subsurface water. Our research indicates that the shallow subsurface at the Tianwen-1 landing site consists primarily of diluvium deposits containing liquid brine and brine ice, which exhibits diurnal thermal convection processes. Here we report the relationship between the loss tangent and temperature of materials within 5 meters depth of the subsurface at the Tianwen-1 landing site, as in-situ detected by high-frequency radar and climate station onboard the Zhurong rover. When the strata temperature exceeds ~ 240 K, the mixed brine ice transitions to liquid brine, significantly increasing the loss tangent from an average of ~ 0.0167 to a maximum of ~ 0.0448. This finding indicates the presence of substantial subsurface water in Mars' mid-to-low latitudes, influencing the shallow subsurface heat distribution and contributing to the current Martian hydrological cycle.

Keywords: water on mars, mars exploration, in-situ radar detection, tianwen-1 mission

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Authors: Shashank. S. Bagane, H. N. Rajendra Prasad

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Building Information Modeling (BIM) has currently developed into a potent solution. The consistent development of BIM technology in the sphere of Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry has enhanced the effectiveness of construction and decision making. However, aggrandized global warming and energy crisis has impacted on building energy analysis. It is now becoming an important factor to be considered in the AEC industry. Amalgamating energy analysis in the planning and design phase of a structure has become a necessity. In the current construction industry, estimating energy usage and reducing its footprint is of high priority. The construction industry is giving more prominence to sustainability alongside energy efficiency. This demand is compelling the designers, planners, and engineers to inspect the sustainable performance throughout the building's life cycle. The current study primarily focuses on energy consumption, space arrangement, and spatial geometry of a residential building. Most commonly residential structures in India are constructed considering Vastu Shastra. Vastu designs are intended to integrate architecture with nature and utilizing geometric patterns, symmetry, and directional alignments. In the current study, a residential brick masonry structure is considered for BIM analysis, Architectural model of the structure will be created using Revit software, later the orientation and spatial arrangement will be finalized based on Vastu principles. Furthermore, the structure will be investigated for the impact of building orientation and spatial arrangements on energy using Green Building Studio software. Based on the BIM analysis of the structure, energy consumption of subsequent building orientations will be understood. A well-orientated building having good spatial arrangement can save a considerable amount of energy throughout its life cycle and reduces the need for heating and lighting which will prove to diminish energy usage and improve the energy efficiency of the residential building.

Keywords: building information modeling, energy impact, spatial geometry, vastu

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Authors: Saleh Alkarri, Melinda Frame, Dimple Sharma, John Cairney, Lee Maddan, Jin H. Kim, Jonathan O. Rayner, Teresa M. Bergholz, Muhammad Rabnawaz

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Reported herein is an investigation of anti-bacterial and anti-virus properties, mode of action of Mg(OH)₂ and copper-infused Mg(OH)₂ nanoplatelets (NPs) on melt-compounded and thermally embossed polypropylene (PP) surfaces. The anti-viral activity for the NPs was studied in aqueous liquid suspensions against SARS-CoV-2, and the mode of action was investigated on neat NPs and PP samples that were thermally embossed with NPs. Anti-bacterial studies for melt-compounded NPs in PP confirmed approximately 1 log reduction of E. coli populations in 24 h, while for thermally embossed NPs, an 8 log reduction of E. coli populations was observed. In addition, the NPs exhibit anti-viral activity against SARS-CoV-2. Fluorescence microscopy revealed that reactive oxygen species (ROS) is the main mode of action through which Mg(OH)₂ and Cu-Infused Mg(OH)₂act against microbes. Plastics with anti-microbial surfaces from where biocides are non-leachable are highly desirable. This work provides a general fabrication strategy for developing anti-microbial plastic surfaces.

Keywords: anti-microbial activity, E. coli K-12 MG1655, anti-viral activity, SARS-CoV-2, copper-infused magnesium hydroxide, non-leachable, ROS, compounding, surface embossing, dyes

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Authors: Jagannath Prasad Tegar, Zeeshan Ahmad

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The Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) is a major constituent of concrete, which is being used extensively since last half century. The production of cement is impacting not only environment alone, but depleting natural materials. During the past 3 decades, the scholars have carried out studies and researches to explore the supplementary cementatious materials such as Ground granulated Blast furnace slag (GGBFS), silica fumes (SF), metakaolin or fly ash (FA). This has contributed towards improved cementatious materials which are being used in construction, but not the way it is supposed to be. The alkali activated slag concrete is another innovation which has constituents of cementatious materials like Ground Granuled Blast Furnace Slag (GGBFS), Fly Ash (FA), Silica Fumes (SF) or Metakaolin. Alkaline activators like Sodium Silicate (Na₂SiO₃) and Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) is utilized. In view of evaluating properties of alkali activated slag concrete blended with polypropylene shredding and accelerator, research study is being carried out. This research study is proposed to evaluate the effect of polypropylene shredding and accelerating admixture on mechanical properties of alkali-activated slag concrete. The mechanical properties include the compressive strength, splitting tensile strength and workability. The outcomes of this research are matched with the hypothesis and it is found that 27% of cement can be replaced with the ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) and for split tensile strength 20% replacement is achieved. Overall it is found that 20% of cement can be replaced with ground granulated blast furnace slag. The tests conducted in the laboratory for evaluating properties such as compressive strength test, split tensile strength test, and slump cone test. On the aspect of cost, it is substantially benefitted.

Keywords: ordinary Portland cement, activated slag concrete, ground granule blast furnace slag, fly ash, silica fumes

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Authors: Sophia Hayes, Kenny L. Liang, Sahil Sharma, Austin Shema, Mahmoud Bader, Mohamed Elbarkouky

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Despite being one of the most significant economic contributors of the country, Canada’s construction industry is lagging behind other sectors when it comes to labor productivity improvements. The construction industry is very collaborative as a general contractor, will hire trade contractors to perform most of a project’s work; meaning low productivity from one contractor can have a domino effect on the shared success of a project. To address this issue and encourage trade contractors to improve their productivity tracking methods, an investigative study was done on the productivity views and tracking methods of various trade contractors. Additionally, an in-depth review was done on four standard tracking methods used in the construction industry: cost codes, benchmarking, the job productivity measurement (JPM) standard, and WorkFace Planning (WFP). The four tracking methods were used as a baseline in comparing the trade contractors’ responses, determining gaps within their current tracking methods, and for making improvement recommendations. 15 interviews were conducted with different trades to analyze how contractors value productivity. The results of these analyses indicated that there seem to be gaps within the construction industry when it comes to an understanding of the purpose and value in productivity tracking. The trade contractors also shared their current productivity tracking systems; which were then compared to the four standard tracking methods used in the construction industry. Gaps were identified in their various tracking methods and using a framework; recommendations were made based on the type of trade on how to improve how they track productivity.

Keywords: labor productivity, productivity tracking methods, trade contractors, construction

Procedia PDF Downloads 194

Authors: Awadhesh Kishore, Tushar Sharma

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The goal of this study was to compare the free radical-scavenging (FRS) characteristics of four Indian moringa (Moringa oleifera) plant components: flowers, tender and mature leaves, and seeds that were collected from three Indian districts: Jaipur, Dehra Dun, and Gwalior; in every month of 2021–2022. The samples were collected from three randomly selected agroforest locations from each district. The samples were extracted, and antioxidant properties were determined following the DPPH method with minor modifications. The FRS properties were calculated as the non-absorbance values of the sample in percentage. The factorial ANOVA statistical analysis technique was implemented for comparing FRS properties, and an MS Office Excel 2016 analysis pack was used to compare data. The flowers from Dehra Dun had superior FRS properties (27.06±1.03%), while the seeds from the same location were inferior (8.64±0.17%). The FRS properties of flowers (26.27±0.61%) were not statistically different (P > 0.05) compared to those of tender (27.30±0.63%) and mature leaves (28.37±0.59%), but significantly higher (P < 0.05) than those of seeds (9.31±0.16%). However, the FRS properties in Indian moringa were significantly higher during the winter (Jan 28.67±1.48%) compared to that in the summer (Jun 14.03±0.79%) season, but collected from three locations, viz. Gwalior (22.35±0.70%), Jaipur (23.06±0.73%), and Dehra Dun (23.10±0.76%), were not significantly different (P > 0.05). Based on this study, it can be concluded that the FRS value of flowers during the winter season is superior.

Keywords: flowers, free radical-scavenging, leaves, moringa oleifera, seeds

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Authors: Nitin Sharma, Rahbar Ali, Dharmendra Singh, R. P. Singh, S. Muralithar, M. Afzal Ansari

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Heavy ion-induced reactions have gained significant attention in nuclear physics due to their potential to elucidate reaction mechanisms and explore practical applications. Hence, the present simulation work has been done with a projectile of ¹²C on ¹⁴²,¹⁴⁶Nd target at beam energy ranging from 4-7 MeV/nucleon. In the present work, measurement of excitation functions of evaporation residues produced via CF and/or ICF in the system ¹²C + ¹⁴²,¹⁴⁶Nd has been done. The evaporation residues ¹⁵⁰Dy (4n), ¹⁴⁹Dy (5n), and ¹⁴⁹Tb (p4n) are populated via xn/pxn emission channels and 147,146Gd (α3n/ α4n) via αxn emission channels in ¹²C + ¹⁴²,¹⁴⁶Nd system, confirmed by statistical model codes of PACE-4 and EMPIRE 3.2.2. And the evaporation residues ¹⁵⁴Dy (4n), ¹⁵³Dy (5n), and ¹⁵³Tb (p4n) are populated via xn/pxn emission channels and 150Gd (α4n) via αxn emission channels in ¹²C + ¹⁴⁶Nd system. The cross-sections of the above residues have been taken from PACE-4 and EMPIRE 3.2.2 and compared. Present work also suggests the production route for ¹⁴⁹Tb radioisotope via heavy-ion reactions. In the reaction ¹²C + ¹⁴²Nd, ¹⁴⁹Tb radioisotope has been produced, which is the only α-emitting radioisotope of Tb and is promising for targeted alpha therapy. Moreover, these reactions are important to understand the role of target deformation in fusion reactions above the Coulomb barrier as target ¹⁴²Nd is spherical and ¹⁴⁶Nd is deformed.

Keywords: heavy-ion reactions, radioisotopes, nuclear physics, target deformation

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Authors: Harish Kumar Sharma, Garima Sengar

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Rice bran oil is considered comparatively nutritionally superior than different fats/oils. Therefore, model blends prepared from pure rice bran oil (RBO) and sunflower oil (SFO) were explored for changes in the different physicochemical parameters. Repeated deep fat frying process was carried out by using dried potato in order to study the thermal behaviour of pure rice bran oil, sunflower oil and their model blends. Pure rice bran oil and sunflower oil had shown good thermal stability during the repeated deep fat frying cycles. Although, the model blends constituting 60% RBO + 40% SFO showed better suitability during repeated deep fat frying than the remaining blended oils. The quantification of pure rice bran oil in the blended oils, physically refined rice bran oil (PRBO): SnF (sunflower oil) was carried by different methods. The study revealed that regression equations based on the oryzanol content, palmitic acid composition and iodine value can be used for the quantification. The rice bran oil can easily be quantified in the blended oils based on the oryzanol content by HPLC even at 1% level. The palmitic acid content in blended oils can also be used as an indicator to quantify rice bran oil at or above 20% level in blended oils whereas the method based on ultrasonic velocity, acoustic impedance and relative association showed initial promise in the quantification.

Keywords: rice bran oil, sunflower oil, frying, quantification

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Authors: K. Jagannath, Akhilesh Kotian, S. S. Sharma, Achutha Kini U., P. R. Prabhu

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Boiling process is characterized by the rapid formation of vapour bubbles at the solid–liquid interface (nucleate boiling) with pre-existing vapour or gas pockets. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is an important tool to study bubble dynamics. In the present study, CFD simulation has been carried out to determine the bubble detachment diameter and its terminal velocity. Volume of fluid method is used to model the bubble and the surrounding by solving single set of momentum equations and tracking the volume fraction of each of the fluids throughout the domain. In the simulation, bubble is generated by allowing water-vapour to enter a cylinder filled with liquid water through an inlet at the bottom. After the bubble is fully formed, the bubble detaches from the surface and rises up during which the bubble accelerates due to the net balance between buoyancy force and viscous drag. Finally when these forces exactly balance each other, it attains a constant terminal velocity. The bubble detachment diameter and the terminal velocity of the bubble are captured by the monitor function provided in FLUENT. The detachment diameter and the terminal velocity obtained is compared with the established results based on the shape of the bubble. A good agreement is obtained between the results obtained from simulation and the equations in comparison with the established results.

Keywords: bubble growth, computational fluid dynamics, detachment diameter, terminal velocity

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Authors: Ruchika Sharma

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In the past decade, there has been an explosion of research that has examined children’s understanding of TV advertisements and its persuasive intent, socialization of child consumer and child psychology. However, it is evident from the literature review that no studies in this area have covered advertising messages and its impact on children’s brand recall and ad recognition. Copywriters use various creative devices to lure the consumers and very impressionable consumers such as children face far more drastic effects of these creative ways of persuasion. On the basis of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development as a theoretical basis for predicting/understanding children’s response and understanding, a quasi-experiment was carried out for the study, that manipulated measurement timing and advertising messages (familiar vs. unfamiliar) keeping gender and age group as two prominent factors. This study also examines children’s understanding of Advertisements and its elements, predominantly - Language, keeping in view Fishbein’s model. Study revealed significant associations between above mentioned factors and children’s brand recall and ad identification. Further, to test the reliability of the findings on larger sample, bootstrap simulation technique was used. The simulation results are in accordance with the findings of experiment, suggesting that the conclusions obtained from the study can be generalized for entire children’s (as consumers) market in India.

Keywords: advertising, brand recall, cognitive development, preferences

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Authors: Juan A. G. Carrio, Prasad Talluri, Sergio G. Echeverrigaray, Antonio H. Castro Neto

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Hydrogen as a fuel and environmentally pleasant energy carrier is part of this transition towards low-carbon systems. The extensive deployment of hydrogen production, purification and transport infrastructures still represents significant challenges. Independent of the production process, the hydrogen generally is mixed with light hydrocarbons and other undesirable gases that need to be removed to obtain H₂ with the required purity for end applications. In this context, membranes are one of the simplest, most attractive, sustainable, and performant technologies enabling hydrogen separation and purification. They demonstrate high separation efficiencies and low energy consumption levels in operation, which is a significant leap compared to current energy-intensive options technologies. The unique characteristics of 2D laminates have given rise to a diversity of research on their potential applications in separation systems. Specifically, it is already known in the scientific literature that graphene oxide-based membranes present the highest reported selectivity of H₂ over other gases. This work explores the potential of a new type of 2D materials-based membranes in separating H₂ from CO₂ and CH₄. We have developed nanostructured composites based on 2D materials that have been applied in the fabrication of membranes to maximise H₂ selectivity and permeability, for different gas mixtures, by adjusting the membranes' characteristics. Our proprietary technology does not depend on specific porous substrates, which allows its integration in diverse separation modules with different geometries and configurations, looking to address the technical performance required for industrial applications and economic viability. The tuning and precise control of the processing parameters allowed us to control the thicknesses of the membranes below 100 nanometres to provide high permeabilities. Our results for the selectivity of new nanostructured 2D materials-based membranes are in the range of the performance reported in the available literature around 2D materials (such as graphene oxide) applied to hydrogen purification, which validates their use as one of the most promising next-generation hydrogen separation and purification solutions.

Keywords: membranes, 2D materials, hydrogen purification, nanocomposites

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Authors: Santiranjan Shannigrahi, Mohit Sharma, Ivan Tan Chee Kiang, Yong Anna Marie

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Polymer-ceramics composites are gaining importance due to their high specific strength, corrosion resistance, and high mechanical properties, as well as low cost. As a result, polymer composites are suitable for various industrial applications, like automobiles, aerospace, and biomedical areas. The present work comprises the development of polymer-ceramic composite films and is tested for the harsh environment including weatherability and UV barrier property. The polymer composite films are kept in weather chamber for a fixed period of time followed by tested for their physical, mechanical and chemical properties. The composite films are fabricated using compounding followed by hot pressing. UV-visible spectroscopy results reveal that the pure polymer polyethylene (PE) films are transparent in the visible range and do not absorb UV. However, polymer ceramic composite films start absorbing UV completely even at very low filler loading amount of 5 wt.%. The changes in tensile properties of the various composite films before and after UV illuminations for 40 hrs at 60 degC are analyzed. The tensile strength of neat PE film has been observed 8% reduction, whereas the remarkable increase in tensile strength has been observed (18% improvement for 10 wt. % filled composites films). The UV exposure leads to strengthen the crosslinking among PE polymer chains in the filled composite films, which contributes towards the incremented tensile strength properties.

Keywords: polymer ceramic composite, processing, harsh environment, mechanical properties

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Authors: Satender Saraswat, Dharmendra Prasad Singh, Rajesh Kumar Verma, Swati Sarswat

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Background and Purpose: The predominant cause of candidiasis was Candida albicans which has shifted towards non-Candida albicans Candida (NCAC) (Candida species other than the C. albicans). NCAC, earlier considered non-pathogenic or minimally virulent, are now considered a primary cause of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised. With the NCAC spp. gaining weightage in the clinical cases, this study was conducted to determine the prevalence of NCAC spp. in different clinical specimens and to assess a few of their virulence factors. Material and Methods: Routine samples for bacterial culture and sensitivity, showing colony characteristics like Candida on Blood Agar and microscopic features resembling Candida spp. were processed further. Candida isolates were tested for chlamydospore formation, biochemical tests including sugar fermentation and sugar assimilation tests, and growth at 42oC, colony colour on HiCrome™ Candida Differential Agar, HiCandida Identification Kit and VITEK-2 Compact. Virulence factors like adherence to buccal epithelial cells (ABEC), biofilm formation, hemolytic activity, and production of coagulase enzyme were also tested. Results: Mean age of the patients was 38.46 with a male-female ratio of 1.36:1. 137 Candida isolates were recovered. 45.3% isolates were isolated from urine, 19.7% from vaginal swabs and 13.9% from oropharyngeal swabs. 55 (40.1%) isolates of C. albicans and 82 (59.9%) of NCAC spp. were identified, with C. tropicalis (23.4%) in NCAC. C. albicans (3; 50%) was the commonest species in cases of candidemia. Haemolysin production (85.5%) and ABEC (78.2%) were the major virulence factors in C. albicans. C. tropicalis (59.4%) and C. dubliniensis (50%) showed maximum ABEC. Biofilm forming capacity was higher in C. tropicalis (78.1%) than C. albicans (67%). Conclusion: This study suggests varied prevalence and virulence based on geographical locations, even within a subcontinent. It clearly demarcates the emergence of NCAC and their predominance in different body fluids. Identification of Candida to species level should become a routine in all the laboratories.

Keywords: ABEC, NCAC, non-Candida albicans Candida, Vitek-2TM compact

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Authors: P. K. Raheemudheen, Vibha Sharma, C. B. Tripathi

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Background and Aim: Intimate relationships are one of the major sources of unhappiness for emerging adults(18-25 years) and the extent of worry from it is higher for them as compared to older adults. This increases their vulnerability to develop anxiety and depression. Current academic literature have highlighted adult attachment have a crucial role in determining the psycho social adjustment and psychopathology in Emerging Adulthood. In this context, present study is an attempt to explore patterns of adult attachment styles, availability of attachment figures and dimensions of intimate relationship among emerging adults. Method: The participants(n=30) were emerging adults diagnosed with anxiety or/and depression seeking treatment from IHBAS, Delhi. Relationship Style Questionnaire was used to assess the adult attachment styles and Multidimensional Relationship Questionnaire was used to assess dimensions of intimate relationship. Results& Discussion: Results showed that majority of the participants have insecure attachment styles. They perceived their attachment figure as insensitive and unavailable. Further, it was found that participants experience multiple difficulties to establish and maintain healthy intimate relationships. These findings highlight Adult attachment insecurities seem to contribute to anxiety and depression among emerging adults. It proved a conceptual foundation for planning interventions to deal with these attachment based correlate of anxiety and depression which may be more amenable to therapeutic change.

Keywords: emerging adult, adult attachment, intimate relationship, anxiety

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Authors: Ashish Kumar Pathak, Ritika Sharma, Vishal Nath, Sudhir Pratap Singh, Rakesh Tuli

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Litchi is a sub-tropical fruit crop with genotypes bearing delicious juicy fruits with variable seed size (bold to rudimentary size). Small seed size is a desirable trait in litchi, as it increases consumer acceptance and fruit processing. The biochemical activities in mid- stage ovules (e.g. 16, 20, 24 and 28 days after anthesis) determine the fate of seed and fruit development in litchi. Comprehensive ovule-specific transcriptome analysis was performed in two litchi genotypes with contrasting seed size to gain molecular insight on determinants of seed fates in litchi fruits. The transcriptomic data was de-novo assembled in 1,39,608 trinity transcripts, out of which 6,325 trinity transcripts were differentially expressed between the two contrasting genotypes. Differential transcriptional pattern was found among ovule development stages in contrasting litchi genotypes. The putative genes for salicylic acid, jasmonic acid and brassinosteroid pathway were down-regulated in ovules of small-seeded litchi. Embryogenesis, cell expansion, seed size and stress related trinity transcripts exhibited altered expression in small-seeded genotype. The putative regulators of seed maturation and seed storage were down-regulated in small-seed genotype.

Keywords: Litchi, seed, transcriptome, defence

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Authors: Gautam, Arjun, V. R. Sharma

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In the civil construction steel and concrete plays a different role but the same purposes dealing with the design of structures that support or resist loads. Concrete has been used in construction since long time from now. Being brittle and weak in tension, concrete is always reinforced with steel bars for the purposes in beams and columns etc. The paper deals with idea of special designed 3D materials which we named as “BUM629” to be placed/anchored in the structural member and mixed with concrete later on, so as to resist the developments of cracks due to shear failure , buckling,tension and compressive load in concrete. It had cutting edge technology through Draft, Analysis and Design the “BUM629”. The results show that “BUM629” has the great results in Mechanical application. Its material properties are design according to the need of structure; we apply the material such as Mild Steel and Magnesium Alloy. “BUM629” are divided into two parts one is applied at the middle section of concrete member where bending movements are maximum and the second part is laying parallel to vertical bars near clear cover, so we design this material and apply in Reinforcement of Civil Structures. “BUM629” is analysis and design for use in the mega structures like skyscrapers, dams and bridges.

Keywords: BUM629, magnesium alloy, cutting edge technology, mechanical application, draft, analysis and design, mega structures

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Authors: Manoj K. Sharma, Neha Grover

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Dynamical cluster decay model (DCM) is applied to study the decay mechanism of 118Xe* nucleus in reference to recent data on 28Si + 90Zr → 118Xe* reaction, as an extension of our previous work on the dynamics of 112Xe* nucleus. It is relevant to mention here that DCM is based on collective clusterization approach, where emission probability of different decay paths such as evaporation residue (ER), intermediate mass fragments (IMF) and fission etc. is worked out on parallel scale. Calculations have been done over a wide range of center of mass energies with Ec.m. = 65 - 92 MeV. The evaporation residue (ER) cross-sections of 118Xe* compound nucleus are fitted in reference to available data, using spherical and quadrupole (β2) deformed choice of decaying fragments within the optimum orientations approach. It may be noted that our calculated cross-sections find decent agreement with experimental data and hence provide an opportunity to analyze the exclusive role of deformations in view of fragmentation behavior of 118Xe* nucleus. The possible contribution of IMF fragments is worked out and an extensive effort is being made to analyze the role of excitation energy, angular momentum, diffuseness parameter and level density parameter to have better understanding of the decay patterns governed in the dynamics of 28Si + 90Zr → 118Xe* reaction.

Keywords: cross-sections, deformations, fragmentation, angular momentum

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Authors: Vikas Sharma, V. K. Dixit

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Anacyclus pyrethrum (A. pyrethrum) has been used as Vajikaran Rasayana (aphrodisiac) in traditional Indian ayurvedic medicine to treat male sexual dysfunction, including infertility. Aphrodisiac activity may be due to an increase in the production or effect of androgens, so this study sought to evaluate the androgenic and spermatogenic potential of the alkylamide-rich ethanol solution extract. Male Wistar strain rats weighing between 150 and 180 g were completely randomized divided into five groups. The ethanol solution extract of A. pyrethrum was administered to groups of rats in 50, 100, and 150 mg/kg doses for a period of 28 days, and the action was compared with control and testosterone-treated rats. Thirteen N-alkylamides were detected in the extract by using HPLC/UV/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry method. Extract administration at all the doses produced significant increase in body weight, sperm count, motility, and viability along with serum testosterone, luteinizing hormone, and follicle-stimulating hormone concentrations. Histoarchitecture of testis revealed increased spermatogenic activities. Seminal fructose content was also significantly increased after 28 days of treatment. Our results suggest that the ethanol solution extract of the roots of A. pyrethrum has androgenic potential and may improve male fertility by enhancing spermatogenesis.

Keywords: N-alkylamides, testosterone, Anacyclus pyrethrum, androgen

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Authors: Rudra Prasad Khanal

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Introduction: Non-communicable disease, such as cancer, has spread all over the world for some last decades. However, every nation has experienced a burden from the development of technology. In the context of Nepal, 10 to 15 thousand new cancer incidences are being registered in different hospitals for treatment. Since the date of starting nuclear medicine at Bir Hospital in 1998, cancer patients have been getting treatment regularly. According to the data of the population-based cancer registry, approximately 60% of the population having a middle-class income is being affected by cancer in Nepal. Methods and Materials: The study is aimed to find out the particular place where the population density of new cancer incidence is highest in Nepal and to inform the concerned regulatory body that is working on cancer screening and early detection for the proper treatment from the beginning. In order to identify the areas with the highest population density of new cancer incidence, all the data of cancer patients were collected from five different renowned hospitals and also from the population-based cancer registry center and then analyzed the data. The history of cancer patients was studied from 2003 to 2020, but here the data are analyzed from 2015 to 2020 only to find the latest trend in cancer incidence. Results: In the five major hospitals in Nepal, the total new cancer incidence was 61783 from 2015 to 2020. Out of those, 34617 were female, and 27176 were male. This research shows that female cancer patients were more every year. In the male, lung cancer patients more than cancer of other organs, but in females, the number of breast cancer patients was greatest. The age-adjusted mortality rate for males in Kathmandu valley was 36.3, and for females was 27.0 per 100,000 population. The cancer incidence and mortality rate were slightly lesser in other districts of Nepal. This rate increased with the increase in the age of people. Over 60 years, cancer incidence and mortality rates have been found to increase rapidly. Conclusion: This research supports conducting the program of cancer screening and early detection at Kathmandu valley with high priority and then Morang, Rukum, SSDM, etc., to control cancer.

Keywords: cancer incidence, research scholar, Tribhuvan University, Bhaktapur Cancer Hospital, Nepal

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Authors: Mallikarjun Vaddenkeri, Suresh Jange

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This research study reports results of information behaviour by members of faculty and research scholars of various departments of social sciences working at universities with a sample of 300 and Members of Legislative Assembly and Council with 216 samples in Karnataka State, India. The results reveal that 29.3% and 20.3% of Social Scientists indicated medium and high level of awareness of primary sources - Primary Journals are found to be at scale level 5 and 9. The usage of primary journals by social scientists is found to be 28% at level 4, 24% of the respondent’s opined use of primary Conference Proceedings at level 5 as medium level of use. Similarly, the use of Secondary Information Sources at scale 8 and 9 particularly in case of Dictionaries (31.0% and 5.0%), Encyclopaedias (22.3% and 6.3%), Indexing Periodicals (7.0% and 15.3%) and Abstracting Periodicals (5.7% and 20.7%). For searching information from Journals Literature available in CD-ROM version, Keywords (43.7%) followed by Keywords with logical operators (39.7%) have been used for finding the required information. Statistical inference reveals rejection of null hypothesis `there is no association between designation of the respondents and awareness of primary information resources’. On the other hand, educational qualification possessed by Legislative members, more than half of them possess graduate degree as their academic qualification (57.4%) and just 16.7% of the respondents possess graduate degree while only 26.8% of the respondents possess degree in law and just 1.8% possess post-graduate degree in law. About 42.6% indicated the importance of information required to discharge their duties and responsibilities as a Policy Maker in the scale 8, as a Scholar (27.8%) on a scale 6, as a politician (64.8%) on a scale 10 and as a Councillor (51.9%) on a scale 8. The most preferred information agencies/sources very often contacted for obtaining useful information are by means of contacting the people of Karnataka State Legislative Library, listening Radio programmes, viewing Television programmes and reading the newspapers. The methods adopted for obtaining needed information quite often by means of sending their assistants to libraries to gather information (35.2%) and personally visiting the information source (64.8%). The null hypotheses `There is no association between Members of Legislature and Opinion on the usefulness of the resources of the Karnataka State Legislature Library’ is accepted using F ANOVA test. The studies conclude with a note revamp the existing library system in its structure and adopt latest technologies and educate and train social scientists and Legislators in using these resources in the interest of academic, government policies and decision making of the country.

Keywords: information use behaviour, government information, searching behaviour, policy makers

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Authors: Gargi Prasad, Ashiho A. Mao, Deepu Vijayan, S. Mandal

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The main objective of the present study was to optimize and develop an efficient protocol for in vitro propagation of a medicinally important orchid Cephalantheropsis obcordata (Lindl.) Ormerod along with genetic stability analysis of regenerated plants. This plant has been traditionally used in Chinese folk medicine and the decoction of whole plant is known to possess anticancer activity. Nodal segments used as explants were inoculated on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with various concentrations of isopentenyl adenine (2iP). The rooted plants were successfully acclimatized in the greenhouse with 100% survival rate. Inter-simple sequence repeats (ISSR) markers were used to assess the genetic fidelity of in vitro raised plants and the mother plant. It was revealed that monomorphic bands showing the absence of polymorphism in all in vitro raised plantlets analyzed, confirming the genetic uniformity among the regenerants. Phytochemical analysis was done to compare the antioxidant activities and HPLC fingerprinting assay of 80% aqueous ethanol extract of the leaves and stem of in vitro and in vivo grown C. obcordata. The extracts of the plants were examined for their antioxidant activities by using free radical 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging method, 2,2’-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging ability, reducing power capacity, estimation of total phenolic content, flavonoid content and flavonol content. A simplified method for the detection of ascorbic acid, phenolic acids and flavonoids content was also developed by using reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). This is the first report on the micropropagation, genetic integrity study and quantitative phytochemical analysis of in vitro regenerated plants of C. obcordata.

Keywords: Cephalantheropsis obcordata, genetic fidelity, ISSR markers, HPLC

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Authors: Rachit Marwaha, Rahul Dev Gupta, Vivek Jain, Krishan Kant Sharma

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Metal matrix hybrid composites (MMHCs) are now gaining their usage in aerospace, automotive and other industries because of their inherent properties like high strength to weight ratio, hardness and wear resistance, good creep behaviour, light weight, design flexibility and low wear rate etc. Al alloy base matrix reinforced with silicon carbide (10%) and graphite (5%) particles was fabricated by stir casting process. The wear and frictional properties of metal matrix hybrid composites were studied by performing dry sliding wear test using pin on disc wear test apparatus. Experiments were conducted based on the plan of experiments generated through Taguchi’s technique. A L9 Orthogonal array was selected for analysis of data. Investigation to find the influence of applied load, sliding speed and track diameter on wear rate as well as coefficient of friction during wearing process was carried out using ANOVA. Objective of the model was chosen as smaller the better characteristics to analyse the dry sliding wear resistance. Results show that track diameter has highest influence followed by load and sliding speed.

Keywords: Taguchi method, orthogonal array, ANOVA, metal matrix hybrid composites

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Authors: Rajapaksha Gedara Prasad Tharanga Jayasooriya, Matharage Gayani Dilshara, Yung Hyun Choi, Gi-Young Kim

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Camptothecin (CPT) is a quinolone alkaloid which inhibits DNA topoisomerase I that induces cytotoxicity in a variety of cancer cell lines. We previously showed that CPT effectively inhibited invasion of prostate cancer cells and also combined treatment with subtoxic doses of CPT and TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) potentially enhanced apoptosis in a caspase-dependent manner in hepatoma cancer cells. Here, we found that treatment with CPT caused an irreversible cell cycle arrest in the G2/M phase. CPT-induced cell cycle arrest was associated with a decrease in protein levels of cell division cycle 25C (Cdc25C) and increased the level of cyclin B and p21. The CPT-induced decrease in Cdc25C was blocked in the presence of proteasome inhibitor MG132, thus reversed the cell cycle arrest. In addition to that treatment of CPT-increased phosphorylation of Cdc25C was the resulted of activation of checkpoint kinase 2 (Chk2), which was associated with phosphorylation of ataxia telangiectasia-mutated. Interestingly CPT induced G2/M phase of the cell cycle arrest is reactive oxygen species (ROS) dependent where ROS inhibitors NAC and GSH reversed the CPT-induced cell cycle arrest. These results further confirm by using transient knockdown of nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) since it regulates the production of ROS. Our data reveal that treatment of siNrf2 increased the ROS level as well as further increased the CPT induce G2/M phase cell cycle arrest. Our data also indicate CPT-enhanced cell cycle arrest through the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) pathway. Inhibitors of ERK and JNK more decreased the Cdc25C expression and protein expression of p21 and cyclin B. These findings indicate that Chk2-mediated phosphorylation of Cdc25C plays a major role in G2/M arrest by CPT.

Keywords: camptothecin, cell cycle, checkpoint kinase 2, nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2, reactive oxygen species

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