Aging of distribution cables in service and its simulation in the laboratory

This study focuses on efforts to characterize aging occurring in 15 kV distribution cables in a dry climate. It has been shown that similar changes can be produced by a suitably planned accelerated thermal aging testing in the laboratory. The Arrhenius equation is used for establishing the accelerated aging test parameters. Different modes of statistical analysis namely analysis of variance (ANOVA), Andersen-Darling test for normality, F-test, t-test are performed to validate results from accelerated aging tests with field aging     

The combinatorial design approach to automatic test generation

The combinatorial design method substantially reduces testing costs. The authors describe an application in which the method reduced test plan development from one month to less than a week. In several experiments, the method demonstrated good code coverage and fault detection ability     

Cerebral vasculitis associated with chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis

Proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) was used to study the in vivo metabolism of Trypanosoma cruzi, the pathogen causing American trypanosomiasis (Chagas' disease). Three clones were isolated from a strain of T. cruzi (Bolivia strain), The clones I, II and III and the original strain were characterized according to the spectra of their metabolic pathways to test the hypothesis that clonal evolution of T. cruzi has a major impact on biologically relevant properties of this parasite. T. cruzi (Bolivia strain) excreted acetate, alanine, glycerol, and succinate as major end products, in the proportion 6:4:2:2. Comparing the spectra of T. cruzi clones with the original Bolivia strain revealed both quantitative, as well as qualitative differences in the metabolites excreted: the clones I and II, as opposed to the Bolivia strain and clone III, excreted significant quantities of ethanol.     

Who helps and harms whom? Relational antecedents of interpersonal helping and harming in organizations.

Antecedents of interpersonally directed forms of citizenship and counterproductive behaviors (i.e., interpersonal helping and harming, respectively) have been studied most often under the broad categories of individual differences and job attitudes. Although these behaviors often are exhibited within the confines of interpersonal relationships, the impact of relationship quality and context on such behaviors has been understudied. The present study uses a social networks framework to examine the relational antecedents of interpersonal helping and harming in a sample of 62 members of a college sorority house. Results indicate that relational variables--direct, third-party, and structural or positional characteristics of positive and negative affective networks, and the frequency of voluntary interaction--explain substantial incremental variance (beyond traditional predictors) in helping and harming. Moreover, helping and harming were themselves weakly positively interrelated. Implications for theory and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stochastic analysis and maintenance planning of the ash handling system in the thermal power plant

This paper discusses stochastic analysis of the ash handling system in a thermal power plant. The system consists of four subsystems A_i, B_j, C and D_k in series, with three possible states: good, reduced and failed. Failure and repair rates for each subsystem are taken to be constants. Using a probabilistic approach, the differential equations are generated and the expression for steady state availability is computed. Taking data from the thermal power plant, situated in North India, the behaviour of each working unit is analysed. Problems and remedies with appropriate maintenance schedules have been discussed. The results are discussed with the plant personnel and are helpful to the management in predicting the behaviour of each operating unit, so that timely decisions can be taken for maintaining the system in upstate for a long duration.     

Catalytic activity of polymer-bound Ru(III)-EDTA complex

Chloromethylated styrene-divinylbenzene copolymer was chemically modified with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid ligand. Catalytically active polymer containing Ru(III) moieties were synthesized from this polymeric ligand. They were characterized using FTIR, UV-vis, SEM, ESR and TGA. Other physico-chemical properties such as bulk density, surface area, moisture content and swelling behaviour in different solvents were also studied. The polymer bound complex was used to study hydrogenation of 1-hexene ton-hexane under mild conditions. Influence of [1-hexene], [catalyst], temperature and nature of the solvent on the rate of the reaction was investigated. A rate expression is proposed based on the observed initial rate data. Recycling efficiency of the catalyst has also been studied.     

A practical approach towards mathematical modeling of deposition rate during twin-wire submerged arc welding

The present paper deals with a shop floor applicable mathematical model for deposition rate during twin-wire submerged arc welding. The salient features of this model are (1) instead of melting rate, as modeled during past investigations, it quantifies the deposition rate, which is the actual outcome of the process and always remains smaller than the melting rate because of evaporation or spatters losses and (2) it estimates electrode extension in order to predict the deposition rate which makes the proposed model more practical than the models constituted with the help of experimental measurement of electrode extension. The model is more scientific than the simplified models where contact tube to work-piece distance has been considered as the electrode extension. A critical review of the relevant past investigation is given and a mathematical model is developed for deposition rate during the twin-wire welding with both the polarities, i.e., direct current electrode positive and direct current electrode negative. The model is calibrated using the results of 200 experimental runs and it is found to be very accurate with very high coefficient of regression and admissible standard error. The developed model is further validated with extra experimental runs. The practicality of the considered approach for prediction of deposition rate can further be used in future research for other consumable arc welding processes.     

Material selection for electrostatic microactuators using Ashby approach

Due to variety of materials available to any designer for a particular application, there is a need for a proper technique to select. This paper focuses on the optimum selection of materials for electrostatic microactuators using Ashby approach. In this work, performance indices and material indices have been developed for electrostatic actuators and thereafter material selection chart is plotted. The selection chart shows that for high actuation voltage and high actuation force, diamond is the best possible candidate followed by silicon carbide and silicon nitride. On the other hand, if high speed electrostatic actuator is desired, then aluminum is the best possible candidate followed by nickel and copper.     

Chemopreventive Effect of Different Ratios of Fish Oil and Corn Oil in Experimental Colon Carcinogenesis

n-3 Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) have a chemopreventive effect while n-6 PUFA promote carcinogenesis. The effect of these essential fatty acids may be related to oxidative stress. Therefore, the study was designed to evaluate the effect of different ratios of fish oil (FO) and corn oil (CO) in the prevention of colon cancer. Male Wistar rats were divided into control, dimethylhydrazine dihydrochloride (DMH) treated, FO + CO (1:1) and FO + CO (2.5:1). All the groups, except the control received a weekly injection of DMH for 4 weeks. The animals were sacrificed either 48 h later (initiation phase) or kept for 16 weeks (post initiation phase). DMH treatment in the initiation phase animals showed mild to moderate inflammation, decreased ROS and TrxR activity, increased antioxidants, apoptosis and ACF multiplicity. The post initiation study showed severe inflammation with hyperplasia, increased ACF multiplicity and ROS levels, a decrease in antioxidants and apoptosis. The FO + CO (1:1) treated animals showed severe inflammation, a decrease in ROS, an increase in antioxidants and apoptosis in the initiation phase. FO + CO (1:1) in the post initiation phase and FO + CO (2.5:1) in the initiation showed mild inflammation, increased ROS, apoptosis and decreased antioxidants. There was a decrease in ACF multiplicity and ROS levels, increased antioxidants and apoptosis in the post initiation phase study. The present study suggests that FO has a dose- and time-dependent chemopreventive effect in colon cancer mediated through oxidative stress and apoptosis.