Development of Environment Friendly Bio Cross-Linker Finishing of Silk Fabric

Silk fabric easy care performance was assessed by using carboxylic acids. Cross-linker used in this study was citric acid, while sodium hypophosphite (SHP) was incorporated as a catalyst for cross-linking with silk. Enhancement in the easy care performance and shrinkage was obtained after treatment with citric acid. In addition, formic acid was used as swelling agent and treated fabric exhibited superior performance when it was incorporated in the recipe of citric acid. Antimicrobial performance of the silk fabric was also enhanced by using the above mentioned formulation.     

Geometrical model to calculate the consumption of sewing thread for 301 lockstitch

Sewing thread is one of the most basic yet important components of a garment. Thread consumption for the lockstitch (Class 301) can be calculated by using its geometrical shape. This paper aims to develop a geometrical model to calculate the thread consumption for lockstitch (Class 301). Based on the basic geometry of lockstitch, a model has been proposed. The model is derived mathematically taking into account different variables: stitch length, stitch density, material thickness, and interlacing. Finally, the model was verified for 19 samples by comparing actual thread consumption with predicted thread consumption. The proposed model predicts the thread consumption with 97% accuracy. Sensitivity analysis is also performed to determine the significant influencing factor affecting the thread consumption. The proposed model can predict the thread consumption precisely for 301 lockstitch. Therefore, this model is useful for the apparel industry.     

Remote Sensing and Hydrological Measurements for Irrigation Performance Assessments in a Water User Association in the Lower Amu Darya River Basin

Irrigation water management in Central Asia is notorious for its inefficiency. We assessed the operational performance of the irrigation scheme in one Water Users Association (WUA), Shomakhulum, in Khorezm district, Uzbekistan, in 2007 to provide recommendations for strategic water management planning. Relative evapotranspiration (RET), delivery performance ratio (DPR), drainage ratio (DR), depleted fraction (DF), overall consumed ratio (OCR), field application ratio (FAR) and conveyance ratio (CR) were used as performance indicators. The components of the water balance were obtained through remote sensing techniques and hydrological field measurements. The surface energy balance algorithm for land (SEBAL) was applied to MODIS satellite data to derive actual and potential evapotranspiration. Inflows and outflows were quantified with field measurements in the irrigation and drainage network using discharge rating curves. Ponding experiments allowed determining canal seepage losses. Water balances at field level were established for application efficiency estimations. The indicator values were then compared to efficiency target values taken from the literature in order to assess the operational capabilities of the irrigation scheme. The general performance of the irrigation scheme is very poor. DPRs exceeding 1.0 indicate that more water is delivered to the system than is demanded. The seasonal DF of 0.4 is lower than the target value of 0.6. Losses during the field application averaged at 57%, which is 24% above target values. Seasonal DR, OCR, CR and RET are 0.55, 0.51, 0.76 and 0.82 against the target values of 0.1, 0.54, 0.84 and 0.75, respectively. We conclude that the distribution mechanism can be considerably improved. Besides improving water distribution (timing and equity) in the network, another recommended intervention would be to increase the DF, particularly by interventions at field level that raise the FAR, which in turn will improve DR and OCR. This can be achieved by introducing modern water management approaches such as laser leveling, double-sided irrigation, and control of inflow through flow-measuring devices installed at farm gates, and adequate water pricing.     

Creating GUIs for Web services

Next-generation Web browsers Will have form navigation, variable-size lists, and dynamic enumeration built in to increase user friendliness.     

Micellar Effect of Ammonium Based Cationic Surfactants on Kinetics of Methylene Blue‐Assisted Ru (III) and Cu (II) Catalyzed Cysteine/Cystine Transformation in Acidic Aqueous Media

Kinetic investigations of cysteine–cystine transformation assisted by model electron acceptor methylene blue (MB) and catalyzed synergistically by Ru (III) and Cu (II) in aqueous media of varying pH, temperature and micellar solutions of two ammonium based cationic surfactants viz. octadecylammonium chloride (OAC) and octadecylpyridine‐2‐ylmethylammonium chloride (OPMAC) were carried out. The homogeneous electron transfer between cysteine and MB was observed to exhibit pH sensitive kinetics that is affected by the presence of ammonium based cationic surfactants. While the postmicellar concentrations of OAC decrease the rate of the cysteine oxidation, the presence of OPMAC micelles was observed to accelerate the said reaction. The observed micellar kinetic effects modeled through quantum mechanical calculations are explained in light of the reactant‐micelle interactions. To the best of our knowledge the synthesis, micellization and micellar catalytic activity of OPMAC are yet to be reported in the literature.     

Efficient sketch‐based creation of detailed character models through data‐driven mesh deformations

Creation of detailed character models is a very challenging task in animation production. Sketch‐based character model creation from a 3D template provides a promising solution. However, how to quickly find correct correspondences between user's drawn sketches and the 3D template model, how to efficiently deform the 3D template model to exactly match user's drawn sketches, and realize real‐time interactive modeling is still an open topic. In this paper, we propose a new approach and develop a user interface to effectively tackle this problem. Our proposed approach includes using user's drawn sketches to retrieve a most similar 3D template model from our dataset and marrying human's perception and interactions with computer's highly efficient computing to extract occluding and silhouette contours of the 3D template model and find correct correspondences quickly. We then combine skeleton‐based deformation and mesh editing to deform the 3D template model to fit user's drawn sketches and create new and detailed 3D character models. The results presented in this paper demonstrate the effectiveness and advantages of our proposed approach and usefulness of our developed user interface. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Energy and water tradeoffs in enhancing food security: A selective international assessment

Rice is the major staple food in most Asian countries. However, with rapidly growing populations, sustained high productivity and yields through improving water productivity is critically important. Increasingly complex energy–agriculture relationships require an in-depth understanding of water and energy tradeoffs. This study contributes to energy and food policies by analysing the complex energy, water and economics dynamics across a selection of major rice growing countries.The results show that tradeoffs exist between yield and energy inputs with high yield attributed to higher levels of energy input. The selected developed countries show higher energy productivity, relative to all other energy inputs, compared to the selected developing counties, owing to enhanced mechanisation, on-farm technology and improved farm management. Among all countries, China has the highest water productivity due to water-saving irrigation practices. These practices offer opportunities for developed and developing countries to increase water productivity at the same time taking advantage of economic and energy benefits of reduced pumping.Sustained production from agriculture is vital to food security. Improved irrigation practices can offset environmental footprints in the short run but their large-scale implementation remains an issue. In the long run, investments are needed to buffer the negative impacts of food production on the environment. Investments to boost water productivity and improved energy use efficiency in crop production are two pathways to reduce energy dependency, enhanced natural resource sustainability and ensuring future food security.     

High-Pressure Liquid Chromatographic Determination of Indomethacin in Capsules

A high-pressure liquid chromatography method was developed for the quantitative determination of indomethacin, a nonsteroidal antiinflammatory agent, in capsules. The method was based on the utilization of 1-(p-fluorobenzoyl)-5-methoxy-2-methylindol acetic acid as the internal standard of the acetonitrile - 0.1M acetic acid (55:45 vv/v) as the mobile phase. Indomethacin and the internal standard were well resolved and eluted with retention times of 7.5 and 6.5 min. respectively. The applicability of the method is demonstrated.     

High-Pressure Liquid Chromatographic Determination of Indomethacin in Plasma, After Ointment Application and Oral Administration

A sensitive, simple and rapid method for the quantitation of indomethacin in plasma using 1-(p-fluorobenzoyl)-5-methoxy-2-methylindole acetic acid as the internal standard was developed. The method is based on reversed phase high-pressure liquid chromatography using a mobile phase continuing acetonitrile - 0.1M acetic acid (55/45 v/v). Indomethacin quantities as low as 0.1 mcg/ml can be assayed with a relative standard deviation of ± 0.07. Sensitivity can be increased by using lower sensitivity settings.     

On the dynamics of plates using a beam-analog

The paper describes a beam-analog element which simulates both the static and dynamic behaviour of plates, with or without in-plane forces, using the same routine program. Typical examples of plate dynamics are used to demonstrate the accuracy and convergency of the anolog.