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Objective: This study aimed to characterise the ipsilateral, contralateral and bilateral masseter vestibular-evoked myogenic potential using clicks and 500 Hz tone burst stimuli in healthy adults. Method: Masseter vestibular-evoked myogenic potential was recorded from 20 healthy participants aged 19–28 years (11 males and 9 females). Masseter vestibular-evoked myogenic potential was recorded using 500 Hz tone burst and click stimuli in ipsilateral, contralateral and bilateral modes. Results: A statistically significant difference was observed between ipsilateral and contralateral stimulation for p11 latency, n21 latency and p11-n21 amplitude for both click and 500 Hz tone burst stimuli. The amplitude of the p11-n21 complex was higher for ipsilateral, contralateral and bilateral stimulations for 500 Hz tone burst than for click stimulus. Conclusion: This study showed a significant difference for p11-n21 amplitude between click and 500 Hz tone burst evoked masseter vestibular-evoked myogenic potential. In addition, bilateral stimulation elicited a larger response than ipsilateral and contralateral stimulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nicotine is one of the major constituents of different types of smoking and is the more toxic part also. Thirty metals including chromium and some chromium compounds have been detected in tobacco smoke are causally associated with cancer in humans. In the present investigation, we evaluate the individual and combined effect of nicotine and chromium (VI) on the toxicity of liver in animal. In this study, a group of male albino rats (80-100 g) were induced by intraperitonial injection of vehicle (0.9% NaCl), nicotine tartrate (0.2 mg / 100 g body weight / day), K2Cr2O7 (0.8 mg / 100 g body weight / day), and combined exposure of K2Cr2O7 and nicotine tartrate at an interval of six hours for a period of 28 days. After the treatment the liver tissues were collected to measure the hepatotoxicity. It was showed that individual and combined exposure of chromium (VI) and nicotine marked decreased the activities of GOT, GPT, ALP and LDH in liver tissue. It was also noted that the level of MDA, CD and NO production increased significantly in response to individual and combined exposure of nicotine and chromium. On the other hand, it was observed that individual and combined exposure of nicotine and chromium (VI) marked decreased the GSH and GSSG content, and also the antioxidant enzymes (SOD, CAT, GPx, GR and GST) in tested organ. The present study suggests that nicotine and chromium exhibited significant changes during individual exposure whereas co-exposure showed a marked alteration of the toxicity of liver in male albino rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY Although there are numerous studies on outcomes and comparison of open and closed reduction but there is no clarity on relationship between outcomes and complications with type of surgical intervention done for Type 3 Gartland supracondylar humerus fracture. The aim of this study is to compare the outcomes and complications of closed vs open reduction in Type 3 Gartland supracondylar humerus fractures. MATERIAL AND METHODS Electronic literature searches of Embase, MEDLINE and the Cochrane Library was conducted in February 2022 using the terms “supracondylar”, “humerus”, “fracture”, “Gartland type 3” and synonymous. The data extracted included the study details, demographic data, procedure performed, final functional and cosmetic outcome according to Flynn criteria and complications of included studies. RESULTS Pooled data analysis revealed no significant difference in mean satisfactory outcome rate according to Flynn cosmetic criteria in open group (97%, 95% CI 95.5%–98.5%), as compared to closed group (97.5%, 95% CI 96.3%–98.7%), although a statistically significant difference in mean satisfactory rate according to Flynn functional criteria in open group (93.4%, 95% CI 90.8%– 96.1%) as compared to closed group (98.5%, 95% CI 97.5%–99.4%) was noted. On separate comparison of the two-arm studies, closed reduction favoured better functional outcomes (RR 0.92, 95% CI 0.86–0.99). CONCLUSIONS Closed reduction and percutaneous fixation have better functional outcome than open reduction with K-wire fixation. But there was no significant difference in cosmetic outcomes, overall complication rate and nerve injury with either open or closed reduction. The threshold of converting a closed reduction to an open reduction in supracondylar humerus fractures of children should be high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A compact pulsed eddy current testing probe is being developed for the online dilation measurement of test specimens, examined in the high-temperature environment of material testing reactors. The probe has to be canned with metallic clad to protect it from the corrosive sodium-potassium coolant medium present in the material testing reactor. Electromagnetic modelling of the probe was carried out to compute the distribution of time-dependent eddy current density in the vicinity of the probe. It is understood that the slope of the pulsed eddy current signals in the specific time zone where the lift-off point of intersection occurs show a good correlation to the distance between the face of the probe and the test specimen. This paper discusses the experimental study of employing different measurement methodologies at room temperature with the canned pulsed eddy current probe to evaluate its feasibility for dilation measurement. It is observed that a phenomenon of a divergence of signals, akin to the lift-off point of intersection, occurs just after the transient part of the pulsed eddy current signals. Slope analysis of these diverging pulsed eddy current signals was carried out for characterisation of the probe in the air medium as well as the metallic medium present in the gap between the probe face and the test specimen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper proposes optimal placement of dispatchable distributed generation units along with solar photovoltaic as distributed generator (DG) and subsequent optimal capacity operation of the dispatchable DG units in presence of solar photovoltaic (SPV) generation, i.e. when SPV generation is available. It is proposed here that these dispatchable DG units when operated at co-ordinated optimal capacity, in presence of SPV generation, result in further loss reduction without an additional DG unit installation The additional loss reduction so obtained results in more loss reduction and subsequent saving in loss cost. In this paper, a methodology is presented for optimal placement of solar photovoltaic distributed generation (SPVDG) in presence of other optimally placed dispatchable DG units with the assumption that the dispatchable DGs units were present in the distribution system before insertion of optimal SPVDG. An effective methodology is presented here for optimal operation of dispatchable DGs in presence of SPV generation. It is proposed and established that DG technologies (which are dispatchable in nature), must be operated at different optimal capacities than their respective installed optimal capacity, for further loss reduction when solar generation is available. This optimal operation defers the additional DG capacity addition for system loss reduction and at the same time provides a reduction in operational cost for certain dispatchable DG types. It is proposed that in presence of SPVDG, other distributed generators must be operated at somewhat reduced optimal capacity, but at their respective optimal location, for hours, when photovoltaic generation is available. This enables a reduction in their operational cost as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of new modes at x-ray free electron lasers has inspired novel methods for studying fluctuations at different energies and timescales. For closely spaced x-ray pulses that can be varied on ultrafast time scales, we have constructed a pair of advanced instruments to conduct studies targeting quantum materials. We first describe a prototype instrument built to test the proof-of-principle of resonant magnetic scattering using ultrafast pulse pairs. This is followed by a description of a new endstation, the so-called fluctuation–dissipation measurement instrument, which was used to carry out studies with a fast area detector. In addition, we describe various types of diagnostics for single-shot contrast measurements, which can be used to normalize data on a pulse-by-pulse basis and calibrate pulse amplitude ratios, both of which are important for the study of fluctuations in materials. Furthermore, we present some new results using the instrument that demonstrates access to higher momentum resolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary objective of this research work is to study the effect of surface treated coir geotextiles on the bearing behaviour of sand overlying clay model with geotextiles at the interface. Two woven and two non woven coir geotextiles were treated with bitumen emulsion and unsaturated polyester resin. The surface morphology and thermal stability were investigated by scanning electron micrograph and simultaneous thermal analyser respectively. The bearing ratio of sand overlying clay increased with treated woven/non woven coir geotextiles at the interface in soaked and unsoaked condition. The bearing ratio was higher for treated/untreated and woven/non woven coir geotextiles at the interface in unsoaked condition as compared to soaked condition. The chemical treatment improved the thermal stability of surface treated coir geotextiles through physical and chemical changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Miniature Impact test technique was used to investigate the plausible role of hydride platelet orientation relative to the crack plane on the fracture mechanism of the Zr–2.5%Nb alloy over a wide range of temperatures. Miniature impact samples were fabricated from spools of un-hydrided (UH), circumferential hydrided (CH) and radial hydrided (RH) materials with different combinations of crack plane normal and crack growth direction. The impact tests were carried out between − 50 to 300 °C. Both microstructural (microstructure, texture) and fractographic examinations were carried out. The extent of hydride embrittlement and temperature dependence of the impact toughness were explained in terms of the hydride platelet orientation with respect to the crack plane and solubility of hydrogen in the material at different test temperatures. Variation of impact energy with test temperature for un-hydrided, circumferential and radial hydrided samples for a CA (Radial hydride lying parallel to the crack plane) and b AC (Both circumferential and radial hydride oriented normal to crack plane) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study on the iconic exchange-bias bilayer Permalloy/CoO has been to identify those elements of the interfacial microstructure and accompanying magnetic properties that are responsible for the exchange-bias and hysteretic properties of this bilayer. Both epitaxial and polycrystalline samples were examined. X-ray and neutron reflectometry established that there existed an interfacial region, of width ∼1 nm, whose magnetic properties differed from those of Py or CoO. A model was developed for the interfacial microstructure that predicts all the relevant properties of this system; namely; the temperature and Permalloy thickness dependence of the exchangebias, HEX, and coercivity, HC; the much smaller measured values of HEX from what was nominally expected; the different behavior of HEX and HC in epitaxial and polycrystalline bilayers. A surprising result is that the exchange-bias does not involve direct exchange-coupling between Permalloy and CoO, but rather is mediated by CoFe2O4 nanoparticles in the interfacial region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clothing plays vital role to maintain heat balance between human body and environment. Heat balance must be maintained to keep a person comfortable. Several factors contribute to the thermal properties of textile material, including structure of yarn and fabric which are the key parameters in deciding fabric thermal behaviour. This paper deals with the study of thermal properties of herringbone weave produced with or without structurally modified wool/polyester yarns in the weft. Experimental results are then compared with results obtained through finite element analysis. In the fabric unit, air occupies more volume as compared to fibre volume. Therefore, air should be considered during finite element analysis to obtain good results. In this research, fabric unit cell used for analysis of thermal resistance consists of two domains i.e, air domain and yarn domain. In steady state thermal study, boundary condition was set as 22 °C at one face as it approaches to a comfortable indoor temperature and other face of fabric was set at 35 °C as it directly contacts human skin, and its temperature is nearly equal to skin temperature. The results obtained through finite element analysis show a good co-relation between experimental and predicted values of thermal resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early detection and discrimination of symmetrical fault from non-fault transients is the need of hour for reliable operation of power system. Incorrect Zone-3 decision may cause mal-operation of relay and subsequent cascading outages. To mitigate this, an artificial neural network (ANN) based Zone-3 supervision scheme is proposed in this paper. The proposed algorithm comprises of two stages. In Stage-1, ANN architecture is proposed to estimate the current samples. The reconstructed samples are compared with actual samples to detect for any transients in the line. In case of detection of transients, Stage-2 is employed to compare the phase angle of the positive sequence impedance with a threshold. The threshold is selected such a way to segregate fault from stressed conditions. Various stressed and fault conditions are simulated using PSCAD/EMTDC software. The proposed method is tested in MATLAB environment and significant results are achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bad visibility conditions which occur due to fog in winters or night time driving are the major causes of road accidents in India. The main reason for such accidents is the unintentional ignorance of speed breakers which may be due to the driver not being able to detect them or may be due to over speeding of vehicles. This paper brings an idea of an intelligent speed breaker system that helps in detecting speed breakers well in time so that such accidents can be avoided. This system makes use of a RF module that warns the person who is driving about the existence of a speed breaker in proximity, with this it also helps in automatically reducing the vehicle's speed if no action is taken by the driver in time. With the help of Internet of Things (IoT), GPS Location (latitude & longitude) of speed breaker can be sent to cloud using GPS and stored on cloud to use it for future to avoid mishaps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Binaural hearing is facilitated by neural interactions in the auditory pathway. Ageing results in impairment of localisation and listening in noisy situations without any significant hearing loss. The present study focused on comparing the binaural encoding of a speech stimulus at the subcortical level in middle-aged versus younger adults, based on speech-evoked auditory brainstem responses. Methods: Thirty participants (15 young adults and 15 middle-aged adults) with normal hearing sensitivity (less than 15 dB HL) participated in the study. The speech-evoked auditory brainstem response was recorded monaurally and binaurally with a 40-ms /da/ stimulus. Fast Fourier transform analysis was utilised. Results: An independent sample t-test revealed a significant difference between the two groups in fundamental frequency (F0) amplitude recorded with binaural stimulation. Conclusion: The present study suggested that ageing results in degradation of F0 encoding, which is essential for the perception of speech in noise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, phenotypic and genotypic correlations between tree growth traits (height, diameter and biomass) with some of the important wood quality parameters such as basic density, cellulose content, lignin content and fibre characteristics, viz. length, diameter, lumen diameter, double cell wall thickness and fibre content, were worked out using data from ten families of five-year-old Melia dubia raised by seed sources of ten superior candidate plus trees (CPTs). Result showed that medium to strong genetic and phenotypic correlations were recorded within and between growth traits and wood quality parameters studied. Direct positive strong association was observed between tree biomass with height and its diameter. Similarly, basic density of wood was phenotypically and genotypically associated with cellulose content, fibre length and fibre content; furthermore, all these parameters showed negative association with lignin content, fibre diameter, lumen diameter and double cell wall thickness. Genetic correlation showed that wood quality parameters, viz. basic density, cellulose content, fibre length and fibre content, were positively influenced by the height and diameter of trees. Thus, these parameters may be considered while selecting superior genotypes of M. dubia for better pulp and paper quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The photosynthesis governs productivity and health of the forests. Traditionally, remote sensing derived reflectance measures have been used to assess forest phenology, productivity and stress. The chlorophyll pigments absorb solar radiation, and emit fluorescence in far red region of electromagnetic spectrum. Chlorophyll fluorescence directly relates to the photosynthetic activity of the plants. Measurement of chlorophyll fluorescence from space has recently been achieved in the form of Sun-Induced Fluorescence (SIF). But SIF response have been found variable with respect to variation in vegetation type, hence, there is a need to study SIF response of tropical forests of India considering their wide extent, contribution to national carbon cycle and climate resilience. In this study, intra- and inter-annual GOME-2 and OCO-2 SIF responses of contrasting Indian tropical forest types viz., dry deciduous (Betul, Madhya Pradesh), moist deciduous (Kalahandi, Orissa) and wet evergreen forests (Uttara Kannada, Karnataka) has been investigated with respect to rainfall, NDVI and GPP trends. The results show that dry, moist and wet forests of India have differences in photosynthetic activity at intra- and inter-annual scale. GOME-2 SIF observations were more variables than OCO-2 SIF, particularly during green-up and senescence phase. SIF explained higher seasonality for dry deciduous followed by moist deciduous and wet evergreen. Annually integrated SIF (proxy of GPP) was in order: wet evergreen > moist deciduous > dry deciduous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A thin layer of silicon has been used to improve the adhesion between amorphous carbon coatings and different substrates. However, the mechanism responsible for this improved adhesion to ceramic substrates, especially the Al2O3-TiC (AlTiC) substrate of magnetic recording heads, has not been well studied. In this work, this mechanism was investigated by conducting simulation and experimental tests. A tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) overcoat was deposited on Si-coated ceramic substrates by using filtered cathodic vacuum arc (FCVA) at ion energy of 100 eV. The chemical structure of the ta-C overcoats and interlayers as well as the nanotribological properties of the ta-C coated AlTiC substrate were studied by means of XPS analysis, nanoscratch and ball-on-flat tests. The formation of a Si-C network between the Si interlayer and ta-C overcoat as well as the formation of Al-O-Si and Si-O-C bonds between the interlayer and the substrate were found to be the two main phenomena which strongly bond the ta-C film to its ceramic substrate. Prior to deposition of the ta-C overcoat, surface of the Si interlayer was bombarded (pretreated) by C+ ions with ion energy of 350 eV. Effect of this pretreatment on the structure and tribological properties of the coated surfaces was also studied. The results revealed that pretreatment of the Si interlayer by energetic C+ ions is an effective way to form a mixed interface and enhance the formation of a larger number of strong chemical bonds between the substrate and the overcoat which improves the adhesion of the overcoat to the substrate. In addition, this method increased the sp3 content of the ta-C film which further improves the wear resistance and durability of the coating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have performed simultaneous force and conductivity measurement of hexadecane liquid confined between a conducting atomic force microscope tip and a graphite surface. Both the current and the force data reveal discrete solvation layering of the hexadecane near the surface. We typically observe that the current does not vary with load in a simple way as the layer closest to the surface is compressed, but increases markedly prior to the expulsion of material from the tip-sample gap. We infer that even for a nanoscale asperity there is conformation change of the confined hexadecane under the tip apex prior to squeeze out of the molecules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses a study comparing the quality of liver biopsy specimens obtained from the right lobe and left lobe of the liver using endoscopic ultrasound-guided liver biopsy (EUS-LB). The study found that EUS-LB targeting the right lobe yielded better tissue quality, including longer specimen length and a higher number of complete portal tracts (CPTs), compared to targeting the left lobe. The diagnostic adequacy to achieve a final pathological diagnosis was similar between the two lobes, but in some cases, the right lobe provided additional information. Overall, the study suggests that targeting the right lobe for EUS-LB may be more beneficial. [Extracted from the article]

Recent x-ray and neutron scattering studies have revealed static diffuse scattering due to polarons in the paramagnetic phase of the colossal magnetoresistive manganites La[sub 2-2x]Sr[sub 1+2x]Mn[sub 2]O[sub 7], with x=0.40 and 0.44. We show that the polarons exhibit short-range incommensurate correlations that grow with decreasing temperature, but disappear abruptly at the combined ferromagnetic and metal-insulator transition in the x=0.40 system because of the sudden charge delocalization, while persisting at low temperature in the antiferromagnetic x=0.44 system. The "melting" of the polaron ordering as we cool through T[sub C] occurs with the collapse of the polaron scattering itself in the x=0.40 system. This short-range polaron order is characterized by an ordering wave vector q=(0.3,0,1) that is almost independent of x for x>=0.38, and is consistent with a model of disordered stripes. © 2001 American Institute of Physics. Recent x-ray and neutron scattering! studies have revealed static diffuse scattering due to polarons in the paramagnetic phase of the colossal magnetoresistive manganites La[sub 2-2x]Sr[sub 1+2x]Mn[sub 2]O[sub 7], with x=0.40 and 0.44. We show that the polarons exhibit short-range incommensurate correlations that grow with decreasing temperature, but disappear abruptly at the combined ferromagnetic and metal-insulator transition in the x=0.40 system because of the sudden charge delocalization, while persisting at low temperature in the antiferromagnetic x=0.44 system. The "melting" of the polaron ordering as we cool through T[sub C] occurs with the collapse of the polaron scattering itself in the x=0.40 system. This short-range polaron order is characterized by an ordering wave vector q=(0.3,0,1) that is almost independent of x for x>=0.38, and is consistent with a model of disordered stripes. © 2001 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mangroves are the highly productive and extensive ecosystem in the tropical coasts. Chlorophyll is the key foliar determinant of mangrove productivity. Optical characteristics of mangrove markedly differ from land vegetation; hence, defining narrowband spectral indices most sensitive to mangrove chlorophyll is crucial, in view of their importance to the coastal environment and mounting biotic pressures. We assessed the sensitivity of a set of satellite hyperspectral remote sensing indices to mangrove canopy chlorophyll in Middle Andaman Island, India, and propose most robust spectral indices for mangrove chlorophyll estimation. We generated simple, modified simple, normalized difference vegetation, and non-linear indices from all possible two band combinations of EO-1 Hyperion bands in the 500–900 nm spectral range. The strength of correlation between each pair of spectral indices to mangrove chlorophyll was analyzed in 2D correlograms and validated using k-fold cross-validation technique. Results show that 549 nm, 559 nm (green) and 702 nm, 722 nm, 742 nm, and 763 nm (red-edge) wavelengths are the most sensitive to mangrove chlorophyll. We report performance of traditional chlorophyll indices and new indices with higher predictive capability for mangrove chlorophyll prediction. Simple ratio (559 nm/885 nm) offered the strongest correlation with mangrove chlorophyll (R2—0.75, RMSE—0.60, p < 0.05). Study findings will help researchers in deciding suitable chlorophyll indices for mangrove productivity and stress assessment. The best calibrated index was used to prepare mangrove chlorophyll spatial variability map of the study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Incorporation of Te and Gd were done based on the stoicheometric formula PbTi 0. 8 − x Te 0. 2 GdxO3 (PTTeG). TG characterization of green powder revealed the completion of solid state reaction at temperature 450∘ C. XRD of modified PTTeG powders milled for 10 h was found most suitable as it gives pure single-phase tetragonal structure. Dielectric constant was found as 2543 at curie temperature of 480∘C in the case of 5 wt.% of Gd in PTTeG. Piezoelectric Coefficient was found as 241 × 10 − 1 2 C/N at 39 Kv/cm of poling field. The results obtained were comparable and even better than so far reported in similar kind of materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reveals the impact of an ultra-capacitor (UC) and thyristor control phase shifter (TCPS) on frequency stability of large hybrid interconnected power system. The impact of UC and TCPS has been studied for general purpose hybrid generated multi areas power system. Further to this, an adaptive neuro fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) is is proposed for automatic load frequency control (ALFC). Thermal and reheat thermal plants are connected in Area-1 and area-2, whereas area-3 has hydro plant and area-4, 5, 6 consists of nuclear power plant, diesel power and gas turbine plant, respectively. A micro grid based on Solar Photovoltaic (PV) system and fleet of electric vehicle (EV) system is developed and integrated with load side of area-1 for load management in interconnected grid. Effect of Small load change and large load change are discussed in separate cases. The controllers are tuned by adding sliding surface to enhance the performance. A comparison between ANFIS and PI-based control approaches with and without UC and TCPS exhibits the superiority of ANFIS controller by integrating UC and TCPS. The results of the proposed control technique are compared with already published results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]