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Steady, laminar flow of an incompressible fluid with mixed convection over an isothermal circular cylinder is considered. The governing full nonlinear Navier–Stokes equations with energy equation are solved by using a high-accuracy finite difference scheme in cylindrical polar coordinates. The results are discussed in detail for 5 ≤ Re ≤ 40, 0.7 ≤ Pr ≤ 7, and 0 ≤ Ri ≤ 4 and the results are in agreement with the experimental and other computed data. An increase in the mixed convection parameter leads to reduction of the drag coefficient. The fluid with higher Pr generates vortices that destabilize the flow. The local Nu for the mixed convection cases are higher than the pure forced convection counterparts. The normalized mean Nusselt number (Nm) does not significantly change for flows with very small Richardson numbers. However, for larger Ri, it increases linearly with Ri.

The molecular structure and vibrational modes of 3-acetylcoumarin oxime carbonate (abbreviated as 3-ACOC) have been investigated by FT-IR, FT-Raman, NMR spectra and also by computational methods using HF and B3LYP with 6-311++G(d,p) basis set. The optimized geometric parameters (bond lengths, bond angles and dihedral angles) were in good agreement with the corresponding experimental values of 3-ACOC. The calculated vibrational frequencies of normal modes from DFT method matched well with the experimental values. The complete assignments were made on the basis of the total energy distribution (TED) of the vibrational modes. NMR ((1)H and (13)C) chemical shifts were calculated by GIAO method and the results were compared with the experimental values. The other parameters like dipole moment, polarizability, first order hyperpolarizability, zero-point vibrational energy, E(HOMO), E(LUMO), heat capacity and entropy have also been computed.

All the available historic surface marine meteorological data collected from Voluntary Observing Ships (VOS) in the tropical Indian Ocean during the period 1951–2010, archived by National Centre for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, USA are assembled, quality controlled, processed and analyzed. Data for all the meteorological parameters stratified into 4° latitude by 1° longitude boxes, over five day durations, for all the 60 years are quality controlled, averaged and analyzed to portray the observed spatio-temporal evolution of all these parameters as Hovmoller diagrams for the Gulf of Aden to Strait of Malacca shipping lane. Two dimensional machine contouring is carried out with appropriate colour shading intensities to highlight the maxima and minima in the analyzed fields. The observed intraseasonal and interannual variability of these parameters is characterized along this shipping lane. These analyzed distributions amply highlight the observed variability of the surface meteorological parameters both on intraseasonal and interannual time scales during 1951–2010. Composites of SST and other marine meteorological parameters for strong and weak ASWP regimes, for strong and weak monsoon years, for El Nino (+1Y) and La Nina (+1Y) years and for Positive and Negative IOD (+1Y) years are presented.

Mosquito control is facing a threat because of the emergence of resistance to synthetic insecticides. Insecticides of botanical origin may serve as suitable alternative biocontrol techniques in the future. The purpose of the present study was to assess the effects of leaf and seed hexane, ethyl acetate, benzene, chloroform and methanol extract of Delonix elata on repellent activity against the malaria vector mosquito Anopheles stephensi (Diptera: Culicidae). Evaluation was carried out in a net cage (45×30×45cm) containing 100 blood starved female mosquitoes of An. stephensi. Repellent activity was carried out in laboratory conditions. Plant crude extracts of D. elata were applied at 1.0, 2.5, and 5.0mg/cm2 separately in the exposed forearm of volunteers. Ethanol was used as the sole control. Applied leaf and seed crude extracts were observed to protect against mosquito bites. There were no allergic reactions experienced by the volunteer subjects. The repellent activity of the extract was dependent on the strength of the extract. Among the tested solvents, both the leaf and seed methanol extracts showed maximum efficacy. The highest concentration of 5.0mg/cm2 provided over 210 and 180min protection for the leaf and seed extracts, respectively. Crude extracts of D. elata (leaf and seed) exhibit the potential for controlling An. stephensi.

A simple, modified, cold spray process was developed in which hydroxyapatite powder was coated onto pure magnesium substrates preheated to 350 or 550°C and ground to either 240 or 2000 grit surface roughness, with stand-off distances of 20 or 40 mm. The procedure was repeated five and 10 times. The hydroxyapatite coatings did not show any phase changes. Atomic force microscopy revealed a uniform coating topography, and scanning electron microscopy revealed good bonding between the coated layers and the substrates. As the p values were

Community policing is a philosophically right strategy, but as yet its feasibility remains to be adequately established through scientific procedures. Impact assessment of community policing is much needed in contemporary literature. This paper comparatively examines the community policing movement between Mitra Police (Nagpur) and Friends of Police (Tirunelveli) (‘FOP’). The findings of this study will assist in identifying which of the two has a better strategy and the reason for this. The variables are divided into input, supervision and outcome categories. This comparative study examined 240 respondents taken through a purposive method to compare the outcome of Mitra Police and FOP using SPSS. Overall, the inputs made into FOP were comparatively better than those for Mitra Police, but it is still lacking on many fronts. Lack of proper supervision process is found to be a major downfall of Mitra Police in Nagpur. In both cities community policing fails to improve police image. This study indicates important variables that are having significant impact on community policing effectiveness, and policy makers should factor in these findings to further refine community policing strategy in their locality. Language: en

The present work describes different properties of manganese sulfide (MnS) thin films deposited on glass substrate at 300 °C by a simple and novel nebulized spray technique. The annealing temperature induced enhancement in polycrystalline nature of films was observed from the X-ray diffraction study. The maximum optical transmittance of 98 % was observed for the as-deposited thin film. The observed transmittance threshold shift towards higher wavelength region (red shift), indicated a systematic reduction in optical band gap (E g ; 3.95–3.33 eV) of the films with increasing annealing temperature. The increase in Urbach energy with annealing temperature is due to the presence of localized states, which is consistent with the E g data. The optical constants, dielectric parameters, porosity, dispersion energy parameters, relaxation time, and optical non-linear susceptibility of the films were also evaluated from the optical transmittance data. These results are discussed and correlated well in the light of possible mechanisms underlying the phenomena. The Raman spectra show two peaks at 355 and 637 cm−1 which correspond to the vibrations of Mn–S bonds. The strong band edge emission observed in the PL spectra indicates the high optical quality of deposited MnS thin films. The paramagnetic behavior of the film was confirmed from the M–H plot.

Nowadays semantic web languages play a vital role in representing ontologies. In order to deal with uncertainty in the semantic web languages, we need a concrete procedure to represent such information. We may tackle this problem by extending the current semantic web languages with uncertainty. In this article, we extend the current standard language OWL2 (version 2 of the Web Ontology Language), to deal with uncertainty features and also propose an appropriate methodology to represent type-2 fuzzy rough ontologies by the aid of OWL2 annotation properties. We also provide a plug-in, used to edit type-2 fuzzy rough ontologies using OWL2 annotation properties and parsers that translate the type-2 fuzzy rough ontologies into the languages supported by current description logic (DL) reasoners. Moreover, we conduct a large user group study to prove the effectiveness of the proposed work.

Fifteen novel biologically active piperidin-4-one oxime esters (8-22) have been synthesized with good yields. These compounds were prepared from in-situ activated carboxylic acids using POCl3 and pyridine with piperidin-4- one oximes. The structure of the title compounds were elucidated on the basis of FT-IR, NMR (1D and 2D) and mass spectral analyses. The single crystal XRD study of compounds 12 and 20 were the further evidence for the proposed structure unambiguously. All the synthesized compounds were tested for in vitro antibacterial and antifungal activities. Many of these derivatives exhibited good activity against Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Trigoderma veride and Aspergillus flavus.

The konjikuppam village lies on the state highway linking panruti (5 km south) and Neyveli (10 km north). The sacred grove of konjikuppam is also situated on the main read and is proximate to the village. A large bond of about 3 ha. Size lies behind the temple complex and cannel bringing strong water from the neighboring shallow ferralitic terrain runs into it. An extensive floristic survey of carried out in the sacred groves at monthly intervals between December 2011 and October 2012. Specimen flowering plants were collected and identified taxonomically with the help of different floras. Nine plots were established in three different disturbance areas within the sacred groves and it is divided into three site I. Disturbances, II. Moderately disturbance III. Undisturbance. Present study revealed that a total number of 110 plants belonging to 96 genera and 45 families were recorded from three sites (I. Disturbed, II. Moderately Disturbed, III. Undisturbed) of konjikuppam sacred groves Cuddalore district. The present study revealed that more number of species found in undisturbed site III and least number and density in disturbed site I. a total of 24 plants used in herbal preparations. The local health traditions provide immediate and cheaper remedy or relief to the poor and down trodden inhabiting the villages. The devastation of species diversity in the study area there is an urgent need for regeneration of the species for conservation of species and biodiversity.

This paper proposes an implementation of image enhancement in satellite images using weighted average analysis. In this proposal the image acquired from the satellite is processed by Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) and further it is processed by two different approaches. First approach is the image optimization with adaptive thresholding and performs Inverse DWT and the another approach is Contrast Limited Adaptive Histogram Equalization (CLAHE) and performs Inverse DWT. Finally the attributes from the two IDWT are compared with its weighted average to obtain enhanced output image.

Medical image fusion involves combining of multimodal sensor images to obtain both the spatial and spectral data to be used by radiologists for the purpose of disease diagnosis, monitoring research. This paper provides a comparative analysis of multiple fusion techniques that can be used to obtain accurate information from the multimodal images. The source images are initially decomposed using Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) into low frequency and high frequency components. This paper also provides a comparative study of the different types of DWT techniques available for decomposition. These low and high frequency components are fused using the different fusion rules. Final fused image is obtained by inverse transformation. Various performance parameters are evaluated to compare the fusion rules and rule which provides better result is analyzed. The comparison is done on the basis of which method provides the fused image with more mutual information more mutual information and high peak signal to noise ratio at minimum root mean square error. Conclusion of the comparison provides a better approach to be used for future research.

An earthquake is a natural phenomenon which is very frequent in Himalayan region in India. In southern peninsula India, the spatial occurrence of earthquake is irregular, whereas the northeastern, the north and the northwestern Himalayan parts of India are subjected to regular occurrences of earthquakes as they mark the boundary of the Eurasian and the Indian Plate. Hence, it is important to study and develop spatial model and information tool to understand the seismic phenomenon. The geoinformatic technique plays a significant role in the analysis of geodatabase to study the natural disaster and hazard assessment. The main aim of the present study is to develop geospatial model based on earthquake hazard assessment tool (EaHaAsTo) through integrated geological and geoinformatic techniques to better understand the earthquake occurrences zones. The spatial and non-spatial data were collected and integrated in a GIS to prepare geospatial databases. The thematic and quantitative databases were generated, and analysis was carried out to understand the seismic characteristics of the study area. The geospatial model was developed by integrating thematic databases and geospatial analyzed using weighted linear combination method. Finally, the GIS based on customized EaHaAsTo was developed to visualize the output of the model in qualitative and quantitative forms.

In the present study Silver nanoparticles were synthesized from aqueous seaweed extract of seaweeds such as of green Halimeda macroloba, brown Turbinaria conoides, and red Spyridia filamentosa and characterized by UV-Vis, FTIR, EDX, XRD and SEM. Characterization by the above said instrument analysis confirmed the presence,size and stability of silver nanoparticles.After characterization, the silver nanoparticles were tested at 25μg-ml,50μg-ml,75μg-ml and 100μg-ml concentrations to check the bactericidal activity against selected two poultry bacterial pathogens. We observed that, if the concentration of seaweed nanoparticle increases, the zone of inhibition also get increased in all the tested two bacterial pathogens against streptomycin as control and result suggested the potential use of seaweed synthesized silver nanoparticles against other pathogens.

Background: Physiotherapists were at high risk of getting work-related musculoskeletal disorders. However, studies prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders among clinical and teaching physiotherapists in India was limited. The objective of the study is to find the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders among clinical and teaching physiotherapists. Methods: Non-experimental design. 210 samples were taken applying both inclusion and exclusion criteria. The Nordic questionnaire was used to find the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders among clinical and teaching physiotherapists. Result: Neck region was affected more among both clinical and teaching physiotherapists at a rate of clinical- 62.4% and in teaching- 63.8%. Teaching physiotherapists were affected more than clinical physiotherapists. Followed by back region was affected.i.e. lower back was affected more than upper back at the prevalence of lower back- 61% and upper back - 51.8%.the prevalence of knee was next to back region at the percentage of 29.1% and in the sidewise left knee was affected more than right knee (left knee-12.1, right knee - 10.6% and both knees -6.4%). Conclusion: Therefore, the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders among both clinical and teaching physiotherapists were at a high rate.

In the present study Silver nanoparticles were synthesized from aqueous seaweed extract of Lobophora variegata. and characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X(EDX).Characterization by the above said instrument analysis confirmed the presence, size and stability of silver nanoparticles. After characterization, the silver nanoparticle was tested at 100μg-ml, 200μg-ml, 300μg-ml and 400μg-ml concentrations to check the bactericidal activity against clinical isolates of five bacterial pathogens. We observed that, if the concentration of seaweed nanoparticle increases, the zone of inhibition also get increased in all the test five clinical bacterial pathogens against streptomycin as control and result suggested the potential use of aqueous extract seaweed synthesized silver nanoparticles against other clinical pathogens.

In this paper, PEM (Proton exchange membrane) fuelcell can be used for suitable energy distribution system and desired output power was produced. The model is advanced in the Simulink/MATLAB platform by using Hammer-stein method, Polynomial state space method, non-linear method, Process model, Linear ARX method. The project target will be modeling of system identification toolbox provides accurate result with acceptable final prediction error, and loss function error will be considered. The attained simulation results are compared using the five modeling methods in Process model of second order system gives authentic result with lesser FPE and Loss fun error.

Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) is a curable retinal disorder which mainly affects premature infants. The early treatment of the disease starts with the diagnosis of Plus disease which is characterised by excessive tortuosity and dilation of the retinal blood vessels. The method used for the disease diagnosis involves a retinal specialist, to visually compare the fundus vasculature with a gold standard image. This technique often lead to errors due to inter expert variability in the final diagnostic decision. So there arises the need for a computer aided system for the early detection of the disease. In the presented work, the presence of ROP is investigated by evaluating the retinal blood vessel tortuosity in the fundus images using a curvature based method. The method includes vessel delineation using COSFIRE filters followed by quantification of its tortuosity. The developed system is tested on a private dataset consisting of 35 images. The result obtained shows that the reported system achieves a sensitivity and specificity of 0.88 and 0.94 respectively.

Tungsten oxide (WO3) thin films were prepared by RF sputtering technique at room temperature and 300°C as substrate temperatures keeping the sputtering powers as 100, 150, 200 and 250 W. Films were subjected various characterization like structural by XRD, surface morphology by SEM, composition analysis by EDX, and optical band gap by UV-Vis-NIR spectrometer. Optimized films were used for iono-optical studies using Li ion as intercalation and de-intercalation. Electrochromic parameters were evolved and reported.

Skin melanoma is one of the common and most important cancer among human beings. In recent years, a numerous procedures have been proposed to detect and analyze skin cancer. The initial screening of the skin cancer is carried out visually by a doctor. Later, the suspicious regions are recorded using a digital dermatoscope. In the proposed research work, extraction of the cancerous region from the dermoscopy image is performed using the Firefly Algorithm (FA) based Tsallis function and the Active Contour Segmentation (ACS) procedures existing in the literature. In this work, the well known skin cancer database, DERMQUEST is considered for the analysis. The efficiency of the proposed approach is confirmed using some well known image quality measures. The simulation result of this work confirms that, the proposed approach offers better values of precision, sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy.

Semi-refined carrageenan (SRC) product is considerably cheaper and easier to produce as a natural polysaccharide, which was utilized in food and other product application. However, the application in latex is limited. The aim of this work is to evaluate the SRC produced from low industrial grade seaweed (LIGS) in the latex foam application. The FTIR spectra showed the SRC produced as kappa type carrageenan with lower sulfur content compared to native LIGS. NR latex foam is produced by using the Dunlop method with some modifications. The effect of SRC loading as a secondary gelling agent in NR latex foam is investigated. The density and morphology of the NR latex foam with the addition of the SRC are analyzed. NR latex foam density increased with SRC loading and peaked at 1.8 phr SRC. The addition of SRC has induced the bigger cell size compared to the cell size of the control NR latex foam, as shown in the optical micrograph. It can be concluded that SRC LIGS could be acted as secondary gelling agent in NR latex foam.Semi-refined carrageenan (SRC) product is considerably cheaper and easier to produce as a natural polysaccharide, which was utilized in food and other product application. However, the application in latex is limited. The aim of this work is to evaluate the SRC produced from low industrial grade seaweed (LIGS) in the latex foam application. The FTIR spectra showed the SRC produced as kappa type carrageenan with lower sulfur content compared to native LIGS. NR latex foam is produced by using the Dunlop method with some modifications. The effect of SRC loading as a secondary gelling agent in NR latex foam is investigated. The density and morphology of the NR latex foam with the addition of the SRC are analyzed. NR latex foam density increased with SRC loading and peaked at 1.8 phr SRC. The addition of SRC has induced the bigger cell size compared to the cell size of the control NR latex foam, as shown in the optical micrograph. It can be concluded that SRC LIGS could be acted as secondary gelling agent in N...

Rock salt α-MnS, Wurzite γ-MnS and mixed metastable MnS films have been successfully synthesized by chemical bath deposition method at relatively low temperature. The formation of rock salt α-MnS, wurzite γ-MnS and metastable MnS were confirmed by X-ray diffraction. Raman analysis revealed a peak at 580 cm−1 for α-MnS, 612 cm−1 for γ-MnS and 650 cm−1 for metastable MnS. α-MnS and metastable MnS exhibit a strong blue emission, whereas, γ-MnS exhibit strong yellow emission as observed from PL study.

In this work, we present the substrate temperature induced change in the structural, optical, vibrational and luminescence properties of mixed NiO:WO3 (95:5) thin films deposited on glass substrates by rf magnetron sputtering technique. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed the onset of crystallization of the films occurred at 300 °C. The average optical transmittance of the films varied between 91 and 97 % in the visible region. The refractive index and extinction coefficient of films are found to decrease with increasing substrate temperature. It was observed that the dispersion data obeyed the single oscillator of the Wemple-DiDomenico model, from which the dielectric constants, ratio between free carrier density and free carrier effective mass, plasma frequency, oscillator energy, oscillator strength, and dispersion energy parameters of NiO:WO3 films were calculated and reported for the first time due to variation in substrate temperature during deposition by rf magnetron sputtering. The micro-Raman result shows two broad peaks corresponding to one-phonon LO mode at 570 cm−1 and two-phonon LO mode at 1,100 cm−1 due to the vibrations of Ni–O bonds and the peak found at 870 cm−1 belongs to the W–O mode. Room temperature photoluminescence (RTPL) study exhibits two characteristic emission peaks at 3.32 eV (374 nm) and 2.93 eV (423 nm), which corresponding to the transition of 3d8 Ni2+ ions. We have made an attempt to discuss and correlate these results with the light of possible mechanisms underlying the phenomena.

Objectives This study aims to assess the safety and efficacy of a biodegradable polymer-coated Rapamycin-Eluting Stent (Excel) used in conjunction with six-month dual antiplatelet therapy in daily practice. Background The polymeric material of cardiac stents has been reported to adversely affect the safety profile of the drug-eluting stents and is also suspected to cause serious long-term complications. It has been proposed that the biodegradable polymer coatings may reduce such late-stage adverse effects. Methods This is a prospective, multi-center registry of 654 patients from across 9 cardiology centers in India, who were enrolled and exclusively treated with Excel stents between February 2008 and May 2010. The recommended antiplatelet regimen included clopidogrel and aspirin for 6 months period, followed by lifelong aspirin therapy. Results The study population included 46.94% diabetics, 24.31% smokers, 48.93% hypertensives and 14.98% hyperlipidemics. The cumulative rates of major adverse cardiac events were 0.153% at discharge and 1.38% at 12 months. The mean percentage of stenosis was 88.24 ± 9.17% No events occurred between 6 and 12 months. Conclusions This multi-center registry study on “real world, all comers” has, thus, showed that EXCEL™ stent which is PLA-coated biodegradable Rapamycin-Eluting Stent exhibited high efficacy and safety profile in treatment of patients undergoing PCI as evidenced by significantly lower rates of MACE and no case of stent thrombosis. There was no event even after DAPT was discontinued after 6 months.

In the present work, nickel oxide thin film has been deposited on glass substrates at temperature 400 °C by simple and inexpensive nebulizer spray technique. The effect of the volume of sprayed solution on structural and optical properties of the films were investigated using X-ray diffractometer, UV–Vis–NIR spectrometer, photoluminescence, Raman spectrum and linear four probe resistivity measurement, respectively. It is found that increase in the sprayed volume of solution with 0.3 M leads to increase in the film thickness. XRD studies indicated cubic structure and the crystallites are preferentially oriented along the [1 1 1] direction. It is also found that as the sprayed volume of the solution increases the transmittance decreases, consequently the band edge shifted from lower wavelength to higher wavelength and the band-gap energy wanes from 3.64 eV to 3.13 eV. From PL spectra, the sample shows sharp and strong UV emission around 376 nm corresponding to the near bandedge emission of NiO under excitation of 275 nm.

Clustering is a process of grouping same objects into a specified number of clusters. K-means and K- medoids algorithms are the most popular partitional clustering techniques for large data sets. However, they are sensitive to random selection of initial centroids and are fall into local optimal solution. K-means++ algorithm has good convergence rate than other algorithms. Distance metric is used to find the dissimilarity between objects. Euclidean distance metric is commonly used by number of researchers in most algorithms. In recent years, Evolutionary algorithms are the global optimization techniques for solving clustering problems. In this study, we present hybrid K-means++ with PSO technique (K++_PSO) clustering algorithm based on different distance metrics like City Block and Chebyshev. The algorithms are tested on four popular benchmark data sets from UCI machine learning repository and an artificial data set. The clustering results are evaluated through the fitness function values. We have made a comparative study of proposed algorithm with other algorithms. It has been found that K++_PSO algorithm using Chebyshev distance metric produces good clustering results as compared to other approaches.

The concentration of naturally existing primordial radionuclides (238U, 232Th and 40K) in the soil at various locations in Coonoor, South India has been determined from the gamma spectrum of soil recorded using a low-background NaI(Tl) detector coupled to 8 K multichannel analyzer system. The average concentration of 238U, 232Th and 40K radionuclides in the soil has been found to be 41.5, 78.0 and 295.6 Bq kg−1, respectively. The mean concentration of 232Th and 238U estimated in the soil of the study area is found to be 2.6 and 1.2 times the corresponding value reported as the world average. The absorbed gamma dose rate in the air at 1 m above the soil due to these radionuclides has been calculated as 78.6 nGy h−1 and it is found to be 1.54 times the world average value. The radium equivalent activity (Raeq) of soil has been calculated and it is found to be 175.9 Bq kg−1. The external hazard index (Hex) and the internal hazard index (Hin) of soil are estimated as 0.47 and 0.59, respectively. Raeq, Hex and Hin of soil in the study area are found to be less than recommended level and it is safe to live in the study area. The variation in the activity concentration of primordial radionuclides with depth is also studied. It has been found that their concentration decreases with depth. The annual outdoor and indoor effective dose equivalent is found to be 96.45 and 385.79 μSv year−1, respectively.

Air intake is a crucial component for supersonic and hypersonic air breathing propulsion devices. The intake must provide the required mass flow rate of air with minimal loss of stagnation pressure. A major difficulty in the stable operation of an intake is associated with shock wave boundary layer interaction (SBLI). This causes boundary layer separation and adverse pressure gradients which lead to total pressure loss, flow unsteadiness and flow distortion in the intake system. Passive control devices such as micro-ramp, thick-vanes provide better boundary layer control and reduce parasitic drag. The proposed study aims to perform CFD analysis of micro-ramp for hypersonic flows and validate the results with the available experimental data. Two micro ramp models namely MR80 and MR40 are considered for this study. Results obtained show the presence of micro ramp successfully delayed the flow separation and helped to suppress SBLI.

To describe the clinical and histopathological features of post viper bite anterior segment ischemia.Seven patients with ocular complications following viper bite referred to uveitis clinic had slit-lamp examination, intraocular pressure (IOP) measurement, and fundus evaluation. Iris and fundus fluorescein angiography was performed on 2 patients. Histopathological examination was performed on iris tissues collected during cataract surgery.Strikingly similar clinical findings were noted, including circumpupillary superficial iris atrophy, mid dilated fixed pupil, marked pigment dispersion, low IOP, and cataract. All clinical signs were noted only in the anterior segment; the posterior segment was normal. Histopathology of iris revealed atrophy of iris stroma, necrotic iris pigment epithelium, and infiltration of T lymphocytes and fibrous membrane. Poor visual outcome was noted in patients with low IOP.Viper bite victims presented with clinical and histopathological signs of anterior segment ischemia and secondary inflammatory signs mimicking uveitis.

In the present investigation the catalyst-free and seed-mediated simple aqueous solution growth approach for the preparation of various ZnO nanostructures (nanoplates, cauliflower, hexagonal shaped hollow and solid nanorods) on amorphous glass substrate at 95 °C is reported for the first time in the literature. Wurtzite structure of grown nanostructures was confirmed by the XRD analysis. The strong UV peak (385 nm) corresponding to the band-edge-emission was observed in the photoluminescence spectra. The slight shift observed in PL bands with growth time is attributed to the quantum confinement effect owing to variation in nanostructure size and/or shape. The possible mechanism for the formation of different morphologies of ZnO nanostructures is elaborated.

The study was carried out to assess the traditional knowledge of herbal plants in a Kalvarayan Hills, Villupuram District, Tamil Nadu. It was carried out through face to face interview with respondent, collection and identification of herbal plants in the hills. A total number of 60 species of herbal plants were recorded during a series of folk botanical surveys at a hill at Villupuram District, Tamil Nadu. A majority of these species are herbaceous angiosperms, followed by trees and shrubs. The most common part of the plant used in preparing for herbal medicine is the bark, leaves, roots, stem, flowers, and fruits. Mostly the plants are used for general health, to treat dermatological complaints, reproductive system, abdominal problems and fever compared to other ailments. The most common method of herbal preparation is poultice, followed by decoction and infusion. Thus, more medicinal plants are used topically than orally.

Effect of drought stress on gas exchange, physiological parameters and yield of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) genotypes was investigated under pot culture conditions in rainout shelter. The drought condition was created at 15 days after transplanting based on field capacity of soil. Experiment was laid out with 18 genotypes by adopting CRD with three replications and two treatments viz, 100 and 50 % field capacity. As the stress increased from 100 % field capacity to 50 % field capacity, reductions in photosynthetic rate, leaf water potential, chlorophyll stability index (CSI), relative water content (RWC) and nitrate reductase activity (NRA) were noticed at all the growth stages. The genotypes LE 114, LE 57, LE 118 and LE 27 which showed significantly less reduction in the above parameters during drought were considered as drought tolerant. Genotypes LE 1, LE 3 and LE 20 which recorded the lowest photosynthetic rate, CSI, RWC, proline and NRA and ultimately poor yield were considered as drought susceptible.

Several diseases are associated to the mosquito–human interaction. Mosquitoes are the carriers of severe and well-known illnesses such as malaria, arboviral encephalitis, dengue fever, chikungunya fever, West Nile virus and yellow fever. These diseases produce significant morbidity and mortality in humans and livestock around the world. The present investigation was undertaken to study the ovicidal, larvicidal and adulticidal activities of crude hexane, ethyl acetate, benzene, chloroform and methanol extracts of root of Asparagus racemosus were assayed for their toxicity against three important vector mosquitoes, viz., Culex quinquefasciatus, Aedes aegypti and Anopheles stephensi (Diptera: Culicidae). The mean percent hatchability of the eggs was observed after 48 h post-treatment. The percent hatchability was inversely proportional to the concentration of extract and directly proportional to the eggs. All the five solvent extracts showed moderate ovicidal activity; however, the methanol extract showed the highest ovicidal activity. The methanol extract of Asparagus racemosus against Culex quinquefasciatus, Aedes aegypti and Anopheles stephensi exerted 100 % mortality (zero hatchability) at 375, 300 and 225 ppm, respectively. Control eggs showed 99–100 % hatchability. The larval mortality was observed after 24 h of exposure. All extracts showed moderate larvicidal effects; however, the highest larval mortality was found in methanol extract of root of Asparagus racemosus against the larvae of Culex quinquefasciatus, Aedes aegypti and Anopheles stephensi with the LC50 and LC90 values were 115.13, 97.71 and 90.97 ppm and 210.96, 179.92, and 168.82 ppm, respectively. The adult mortality was observed after 24 h recovery period. The plant crude extracts showed dose-dependent mortality. At higher concentrations, the adult showed restless movement for some times with abnormal wagging and then died. Among the extracts tested, the highest adulticidal activity was observed in methanol extract against Anopheles stephensi followed by Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus with the LD50 and LD90 values were 120.44, 135.60, and 157.71 ppm and 214.65, 248.35, and 290.95 ppm, respectively. No mortality was recorded in the control. The finding of the present investigation revealed that the root extract of Asparagus racemosus possess remarkable ovicidal, larvicidal and adulticidal activity against medically important vector mosquitoes and this is the low cost and ideal eco-friendly approach for the control of mosquitoes. This is the first report on the mosquito ovicidal, larvicidal and adulticidal activities of the reported Asparagus racemosus root.

The prevalence of Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) among preterm infants in the developing countries like India has increased many fold during the past decades. The main cause of this problem is lack of awareness among people, improper diagnostic methods, inter expert variability while screening etc. Treatment of ROP, one of the leading causes of childhood blindness is warranted based on the diagnosis of Plus disease. Comparison of tortuosity of blood vessels with a gold standard image was one of the common techniques used for its screening. Quantitative assessment of the disease includes evaluation of blood vessel tortuosity and vascular dilation in the retinal image. We present a semi-automated computer-based method for the assessment of Plus disease in ROP. This method involves initial preprocessing of the image followed by evaluation of tortuosity and width of retinal blood vessels. Based on the implemented work two image databases, EIARG2 and KIDROP were quantitatively classified as plus, pre-plus or normal case with high accuracy.

Non invasive imaging of retina offers easy evaluation and early diagnosis of various systemic diseases like diabetic retinopathy, arteriosclerosis, hypertension and retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). Treatment of ROP, one of the leading causes of childhood blindness is warranted based on the diagnosis of Plus disease which is characterized by high degree of tortuosity and large vessel width for blood vessels in the retina. Here we present a semi-automated computer based method for the screening of Plus disease. This method uses multiscale Gabor filters for the detection of retinal blood vessels and for obtaining their orientations at each pixel. Morphological image processing followed by Gabor filtering helps in obtaining the final vessel map of the images. A 50 image database obtained from KIDROP Bangalore, India were classified as either plus, pre-plus or normal case by quantitatively measuring the amount of tortuosity and width from the vessel map of each images. An overall sensitivity of 1.0 and specificity 0.92 obtained for these images.

We theoretically investigate the impact of modified form of saturable nonlinearity in the modulational instability (MI) spectra of an opposite directed two core coupler with a negative index material channel. Particularly, our emphasize is on the interplay between the nonlinear saturation and the higher order nonlinear effects in fibers such as self-steepening and intrapulse Raman scattering. Using the modified nonlinear Schrodinger equation we appropriately model the light propagation in the two core opposite coupler with saturation of nonlinearity. A standard approach like the linear stability analysis was used to derive the dispersion relation pertaining to the MI. For a comprehensive picture, we consider both the normal and the anomalous dispersion regimes and special attention is paid to understand the influence of system parameters such as the power, coupling coefficient, saturation parameter, and nonlinear coefficient on the MI. Effect of different combinations of self-steepening as well as the contribution of intrapulse Raman scattering are discussed and its role on the instability bands are highlighted. Thus we report new ways to generate and manipulate the MI in two core oppositely directed couplers with the effect of saturation of nonlinearity.

Recently, the preparation of TiO2 thin film with multifunctional properties has caused great interest among researchers for designing novel technological applications. In this aspect, an eco-friendly approach to spray deposition was employed to prepare TiO2 thin films for efficient electrochromic and room temperature gas sensing applications. The phase, morphology, topography, compositional and electrical properties of TiO2 thin films were studied by various characterization techniques. The electrochemical measurements showed that the film deposited at 350 °C exhibits excellent electrochromic properties with high coloration efficiency (240 cm2 C−1), faster response time (2.5 s) and a consistent stability up to 1000 cycles. In addition, the film deposited at 350 °C showed an efficient sensing of NH3 gas (as low as 5 ppm concentration) at room temperature operating condition. The interconnected pyramidal shaped nanoparticle network and the anatase-brookite biphasic nature enhances the electrochromic and gas sensing behavior of TiO2 films deposited at 350 °C.

Nanotechnology includes the study of tiny particles. They are mostly used in the pharmacy to advance the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic action. Development, evaluation, manufactures, and application of structures, devices and systems by controlling shape and size at the nanometer scale is called nanotechnology. They have many benefits when compared to that of the conventional dosage forms. Many nanoformulations such as liposomes, niosomes, dendrimers, nanoemulsions, nanosuspensions etc are used to target to the diseased sites particularly in the human body. By targeting, the dose of the API can be reduced, decrease the systemic side effects etc. That's why the nanotechnology emerged as the most superior in the field of medicine by maintaining therapeutic benefits. The major techniques used for the production of nanoparticles includes the dispersion of preformed polymers, solvent evaporation method, spontaneous emulsification or solvent, diffusion method, polymerization method, coacervation or ionic gelation method. Nanoprecipitation method has emerged as one of the easiest and economical methods for the preparation of nanoparticles, which is used by the majority of the researchers today. The modern evaluation methods used for the characterization of nanoparticles includes photon-correlation spectroscopy (pcs) or dynamic light scattering (DLS), scanning electron microscopy (sem), transmission electron microscope (TEM), atomic force microscopy, zeta potential, surface hydrophobicity. The main concept of the paper is to elevate the basic concepts used in the field of nanoparticles preparation and characterization.

The morpho histological studies of the gonads revealed that the existence of five maturity stages of O. mossambicus. Although, gonado somatic index (GSI) indicated that the breeding season extended from December to August the appearance of first sexual maturity was observed in female than in male. It was concluded that the 50% of male individual were mature than females which was assessed through histological analysis of the present species.

Orodispersible films are thin films, when in contact with saliva gets rapidly disintegrate and dissolve to release the medication for oral mucosal absorption. The film plays a major alternative approach to conventional oral dosage form like tablets, capsule, syrups. The thin films are considered to be convenient to swallow,self-administrable, rapid disintegration, dissolution and quick onset of effect which make it as a versatile platform for effective drug delivery. Oral disintegrating films have superiority over the tablet formulations because there is no risk of chocking and friability. Compared with the traditional dosage forms this dosage forms give greater advantage as it provides a new way for the pediatrics, geriatrics, bedridden patients etc. Several types of approaches are there for preparation of the films. Mostly solvent casting method is used for the development of orodispersible films. For the development of dosage forms polymers and plasticizers along with other excipients are used. Usually hydrophilic polymers are used for the preparation. The design of the film requires comprehensive knowledge of pharmaceutical and pharmacological properties of drug and polymers along with the manufacturing therefore the aim of the review provide an overview of preparation the film The present review focus on benefit, composition, approaches for formulation and evaluation of the Orally dispersible film.