Adaptive Group Teaching Based Clustering and Data Aggregation with Routing in Wireless Sensor Network

Wireless Personal Communications - Nowadays, Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) is enhancing for different applications. Simultaneously, energy consumption for processing the tasks in most of the...     

Development of an Innovative Bituminized Jute Paving Fabric (BJPF) Along with its Commercial Field Trials for Potential Application in the Field of Geotechnical Construction with an Eye Towards Global Concern

In the last quarter of the twentieth century, a new class of materials, Geosynthetics, emerged prospectively leading significant innovation in the design of geotechnical and geoenvironmental systems. Geotextiles have proven to be among the most versatile and techno-economically viable ground modification materials playing a significant role in modern pavement design and maintenance techniques. With the growing environmental concern across the globe, technologists, researchers have inclined towards the natural geotextile where Jute Geotextile (JGT) is one of the potential candidates. But, JGT has been restricted mainly as underlay in road construction. Hence, there is an urgent need to design and develop a precise innovative fabric as overlay on existing pavements and other emerging civil works to stay technically and economically competitive in the global market. Such a fabric will not only prove techno-economically viable but will also reduce the carbon foot-print generation to a large extent. This paper delineates the development of Grey Jute Paving Fabric (GJPF) followed by its bituminization with suitable type and grade of bitumen to develop Bituminized Jute Paving Fabric (BJPF). The BJPF will enhance the life of the overlay thereby reducing the cost of maintenance as well as serving as a partial substitute of bitumen mastic.     

Microstructure and dielectric properties of compositionally graded Ba1-xSrxTiO3 multilayer tunable capacitors

Li₂O/B₂O₃-added Ba_1-xSr_xTiO₃ (B_1-xS_xT) ceramics, where 0.2 ≤ x ≤ 0.35, were well densified at 920 °C with pure perovskite structure. The dielectric constant, tunability, and figure of merit (FOM) of B_1-xS_xT ceramics increased with x because of the decreasing Curie temperature (T_C). The specimen with x = 0.35, whose T_C was close to room temperature, exhibited a large tunability of 27.4 % and FOM of 110 at 10 kV/cm. A compositionally graded multilayer (CGML), which was sintered at 920 °C, was fabricated using B_1-xS_xT thick films to produce a temperature-stable tunable capacitor, and it evinced a dense microstructure and a continuous interface between the B_1-xS_xT thick film and the Ag electrode. This CGML capacitor showed a large tunability (51 %) and FOM (150) at 20 kV/cm. It also exhibited stable tunability (17–28 % at 10 kV/cm) at temperatures between 30–90 °C. Therefore, the B_1-xS_xT CGML capacitor is a suitable candidate for temperature-stable tunable capacitors.     

Catalytic properties of dispersed iron oxides Fe2O3/MO2 (M = Zr,Ce, Ti and Si) for sulfuric acid decomposition reaction: Role of support

Supported iron oxides have been established as an important class of catalyst for high temperature sulfuric acid decomposition. With an objective to elucidate the role of support in modifying the overall catalytic properties of dispersed iron oxide catalysts, a series of supported iron oxide based catalysts, Fe₂O₃ (15 wt%)/MO₂ (M = Zr, Ce, Ti and Si), synthesized by adsorption-equilibrium method, is investigated for sulfuric acid decomposition reaction. The structure of dispersed iron oxide phases largely depended on the nature of the support oxide as revealed by the XRD and Mössbauer studies. α-Fe₂O₃ is found to be present as a major phase on ZrO₂ and CeO₂ support while ε-Fe₂O₃ was the major phase on silica supported iron oxide. On the other hand, presence of mixed oxide Fe₂TiO₅ was revealed over TiO₂ support. Strong dispersed metal oxide-support interactions inhibited the total reduction of the dispersed phase on SiO₂ and TiO₂ as compared to complete reduction of dispersed iron oxide on CeO₂ and ZrO₂ supports during temperature programmed reduction upto 1000 °C. The order of catalytic activity at a temperature of ～750 °C is observed as Fe₂O₃/SiO₂ > Fe₂TiO₅/TiO₂ > Fe₂O₃/ZrO₂ > Fe₂O₃/CeO₂, while at higher temperatures of ～900 °C the SO₂ yield is found to be comparable for all catalysts. A relationship between the rate of sulfate decomposition and catalytic activity is established through detailed TG-DTA investigations of sulfated catalyst and support. Considerable influence of the support oxide on the composition, structure, redox properties, morphology and catalytic activities of the active iron oxide dispersed phase has been observed. Thus, the support oxides operate as a critical component in the complex supported metal oxide catalysts and these findings might influence the design and development of future high temperature sulfuric acid decomposition catalysts.     

Bio-accumulation of metals on reef associated organisms of Lakshadweep Archipelago

Tissue samples of marine organisms from the coastal waters of Agatti Island were subjected to analysis of metals (cadmium, cobalt, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, nickel, lead and zinc), using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometer (ICP-OES) for the assessment of the present condition of the Island ecosystem and compiling the baseline data for future monitoring, with respect of metal accumulation of marine organisms. Tissue samples of fish, shellfish and seaweed revealed that the metals have different levels of accumulation viz. Cd = 0.08-0.14, Co = 0.01-0.02, Cu = 0.16-0.98, Fe = 3.19-5.3, Mg = 86.73-152.45, Mn = 0.17-0.55, Ni = 0.06-0.26, Pb = 0.11-0.46 and Zn = 3.26-14.2 μg g⁻¹ dry wt. Metal concentrations were more in shellfish and less in finfish. Concentrations of toxic metals such as Cd, Co, Ni and Pb were well below the permissible limits proposed by the World Health Organization.     

Chryseobacterium meningosepticum in a parapneumonic effusion in a chronic kidney disease patient on hemodialysis

Chryseobacterium meningosepticum is an uncommon human pathogen, which is an inhabitant of soil and water. It should be included in the list of suspected nosocomial infections, especially in patients with immunocompromised status. C. meningosepticum infections are not common but are clinically important because the organism is naturally resistant to multiple antibiotics. We report a case where the bacterium was isolated from the pleural fluid from a chronic kidney disease patient on hemodialysis, who developed pneumonia with complicated parapneumonic effusion. To the best of our knowedge, this is the first case where C. meningosepticum is isolated from the pleural effusion, from India.     

Molecular Characterization of α- and β-Thalassaemia among Malay Patients

Both α- and β-thalassaemia syndromes are public health problems in the multi-ethnic population of Malaysia. To molecularly characterise the α- and β-thalassaemia deletions and mutations among Malays from Penang, Gap-PCR and multiplexed amplification refractory mutation systems were used to study 13 α-thalassaemia determinants and 20 β-thalassaemia mutations in 28 and 40 unrelated Malays, respectively. Four α-thalassaemia deletions and mutations were demonstrated. −−^SEA deletion and α^CSα accounted for more than 70% of the α-thalassaemia alleles. Out of the 20 β-thalassaemia alleles studied, nine different β-thalassaemia mutations were identified of which β^E accounted for more than 40%. We concluded that the highest prevalence of (α- and β-thalassaemia alleles in the Malays from Penang are −−^SEA deletion and β^E mutation, respectively.