The Effect of Coatings on Cutting Force in Turning of C45 Steel

This article focuses on the development of a mathematical model of a cutting force that is applicable for coated and uncoated cutting tool inserts and aims to enable more accurate calculation of the cutting force. Two common PVD coatings, AlTiN and TiAlCrN, were used. Firstly, a mathematical model of the cutting force based on the specific cutting force and cutting area is proposed. This mathematical model considers the cutting speed and coating correction factor as well as the real cutting edge geometry, i.e., it includes both the straight and rounded parts of the cutting edge. For this proposed model, material constants for C45 steel, which was machined with uncoated inserts, were obtained. Before determining an equation for a coating correction factor and implementing it into the model, experimental cutting force data for coated and uncoated inserts were compared using a paired t-test. The result was that the difference between them was statistically significant. Their percentage difference was found to be up to 4%. The correction factor equation that was obtained and implemented into the mathematical model was applied to compare the calculated and experimental data of the coated inserts, also using a paired t-test. The result was that the difference between them was insignificant. Moreover, their percentage difference was found to be up to 0.6%.

Impact of COVID-19 outbreak on the blood donation and utilization and strategies adopted to combat it in a tertiary care center of Jammu province

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has major implications for blood transfusion. There are uncertain patterns of demand, and transfusion institutions need to plan for reductions in donations and loss of crucial staff because of sickness and public health restrictions. A range of strategies need to be planned to maintain ongoing equitable access to blood for transfusion during the pandemic, in addition to providing new therapies such as convalescent plasma. The main role of transfusion institutions during this period, is the monitoring of supply and demand so that sufficient blood stocks are maintained to support ongoing critical needs. The main aim of our study was to study the impact of COVID-19 outbreak on blood transfusion services (BTS) and to identify the challenges faced by our blood center and mitigation strategies adopted to combat it.Methods: Total number of donations and total number of blood and its components issued were noted from the donor and issue registers respectively, both during the pre-COVID and COVID-19 pandemic and the results were compared thereafter. Various strategies were adopted during the COVID pandemic in order to maintain balance between demand and supply of blood and its products.Results: There has been sudden decrease in the number of blood donations in the month of April 2020 (35%) in the COVID pandemic as compared to pre-COVID time with percentage difference of 65%. This was followed by gradual decrease in the no. of donations in COVID pandemic when compared with donations in the pre-COVID time. The percentage difference in blood donation gradually improved over a period of time from 65% in April 2020 to 7% in April 2021. Similarly, no. of blood units issued also decreased from 1147 in April 2019 to 553 units in April 2020.Conclusions: The BTS need to provide an uninterrupted blood supply, and this stays true even in the face of a pandemic. The plan of action has to be started early so that the supply can be maintained and monitored effectively. Health-care workers being one of the main pillars in the fight against COVID-19 have to be supported and protected.

Clinical and patient-centered implementation outcomes of mHealth interventions for type 2 diabetes in low-and-middle income countries: a systematic review

Background The prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes is rising in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), affecting all age categories and resulting in huge socioeconomic implications. Mobile health (mHealth) is a potential high-impact approach to improve clinical and patient-centered outcomes despite the barriers of cost, language, literacy, and internet connectivity. Therefore, it is valuable to examine the clinical and implementation outcomes of mHealth interventions for Type 2 Diabetes in LMICs. Methods The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines were applied in framing and reporting the review criteria. A systematic search of Cochrane Library, Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, and Ovid databases was performed through a combination of search terms. Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) and cohort studies published in English between January 2010 and August 2021 were included. Risk of bias for missing results in the included studies was assessed using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomized trials (RoB 2). Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to synthesize the results. Results The search identified a total of 1161 articles. Thirty studies from 14 LMICs met the eligibility criteria. On clinical outcomes, 12 and 9 studies reported on glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c )and fasting blood glucose (FBG) respectively. Text messages was the most commonly applied mHealth approach, used in 19 out of the 30 studies. Ten out of the 12 studies (83.3%) that reported on HbA1c had a percentage difference of <0.3% between the mHealth intervention and the comparison group. Additionally, studies with longer intervention periods had higher effect size and percentage difference on HbA1c (1.52 to 2.92%). Patient-centred implementation outcomes were reported variedly, where feasibility was reported in all studies. Acceptability was reported in nine studies, appropriateness in six studies and cost in four studies. mHealth evidence reporting and assessment (mERA) guidelines were not applied in all the studies in this review. Conclusion mHealth interventions in LMICs are associated with clinically significant effectiveness on HbA1 but have low effectiveness on FBG. The application of mERA guidelines may standardize reporting of patient-centered implementation outcomes in LMICs. Trial registration PROSPERO: Registration ID 154209.

A Large Area Pixelated Silicon Array Detector for Independent Transit In Vivo Dosimetry

A large area pixelated silicon array detector named “MP987” has been developed for in vivo dosimetry. The detector was developed to overcome the non-water equivalent response of EPID (Electronic Portal Imaging Device) dosimetry systems, due to the shortfalls of the extensive corrections required. The detector, readout system and software have all been custom designed to be operated independently from the linac with the array secured directly above the EPID, to be used in combination with the 6 MV imaging system. Dosimetry characterisation measurements of percentage depth dose (PDD), dose rate dependence, radiation damage, output factors (OF), profile measurements, linearity and uniformity were performed. Additionally, the first pre-clinical tests with this novel detector of a transit dosimetry characterization and a collapsed IMRT (intensity-modulated radiation therapy) study are presented. Both PDD and OF measurements had a percentage difference of less than 2.5% to the reference detector. A maximum change in sensitivity of 4.3 ± 0.3% was observed after 30 kGy of gamma accumulated dose. Transit dosimetry measurements through a homogeneous Solid Water phantom had a measured dose within error of the TPS calculations, for field sizes between 3 × 3 cm2 and 10 × 10 cm2. A four-fraction collapsed IMRT plan on a lung phantom had absolute dose pass fractions between the MP987 and TPS (treatment planning system) from 94.2% to 97.4%, with a 5%/5 mm criteria. The ability to accurately measure dose at a transit level, without the need for correction factors derived from extensive commissioning data collection procedures, makes the MP987 a viable alternative to the EPID for in vivo dosimetry. This MP987 is this first of its kind to be successfully developed specifically for a dual detector application.

Comparing Fatal Encounters, Mapping Police Violence, and Washington Post Fatal Police Shooting Data from 2015–2019: A Research Note

This research note empirically assessed similarities and differences among three open-source data sets from 2015-2019. Fatal police shooting incidents were compared across Washington Post, Mapping Police Violence, and Fatal Encounters data over a five-year period. One-way ANOVAs, bivariate correlations, and proportional percentage differences were used to examine mean differences, correlational strength, and yearly percentage difference trends. No significant mean differences were observed between Fatal Encounters, Mapping Police Violence, and Washington Post. With one exception, bivariate correlations between all three data source dyads were consistently strong. Percentage difference comparisons among data source dyads, however, revealed that the sources are becoming more dissimilar in their reporting of fatal shootings over time. Our results complement existing literature that has compared open-source police shooting data to government sources and suggest that the three data sources were strongly associated with one another from 2015-2019. Increasing differences between sources, however, necessitate continued inspection of the data across the various open-source platforms over time.

Simulation of solar PV surface temperature with dimpled fin cooling

A significant number of cooling technologies have been developed to maintain the PV module temperature within subscribed limits. This paper represents the simulation study of active cooling forced air convection with fins attached to the back of the solar panel using CFD SimScale software. It has been first carefully validated against experimental and numerical results available in the literature. The number of fins and the shape of perforated and dimpled in each fin were varied to compare cooling performance. Three types of fins were adapted into this simulation: traditional fins, circular, and triangle perforated/dimpled fins. The effect of solar irradiation and velocity inlet was also reviewed by applying the nominal operating condition from the experimental works. Results indicated that fin channels are a very effective cooling technique, which significantly reduces the average temperature of the PV cell, especially when increasing the number of fins from 20 to 26 fins. Also, the results show that the dimpled triangle fin had the highest average temperature drop with a percentage difference of 6% compared with the solar panel cooling with traditional fins.

Typical performance behavior of a Diesel cycle agricultural tractor engine with electronic injection management and turbocharger

ABSTRACT: Over the past few years, changes have been observed in the behavior of typical performance curves, after higher technology has been incorporated into the agricultural tractor engines, either to satisfy the ceiling of the new pollutant gas emission limits or to achieve better efficiency. The aim of this study was to assess the typical performance behavior of an agricultural tractor engine, possessing electronic injection management, turbocharger, aftercooler and EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) treatment system. An analysis was done of the information the manufacturers provided, in terms of nominal power, maximum power and maximum power with Booster, maximum torque and maximum torque with Booster. From the results, the percentage difference between the nominal power and maximum power were found to hover anywhere from 1.49 to 11.97%, for the same manufacturer, 0% in another manufacturer and 9% in a third manufacturer, for all the models. Similar results were noted for the data reported on the maximum torque and maximum torque with Booster, giving 0.62% as the minimum value, 7.44% as the average value and 12.65% as the maximum value for the entire series.

Evaluation of the functional capacity and quality of life of children and adolescents during and after cancer treatment

ABSTRACT Objective: To evaluate the functional capacity and quality of life of children and adolescents during cancer treatment and post-treatment. Methods: Cross-sectional study of patients during cancer treatment and post-treatment, assessed by the 6-minute walk test (6MWT) and the Pediatric Quality of Life ™ questionnaire (cancer module). Results: Sixty-five patients, aged 11.2±3.5 years, mostly males (50.8%) and white (90.8%), with high incidence of hematological cancers (81.5%) participated in the study. The performance in the 6MWT was 23.1% inferior comparing the mean predicted and achieved (584.3±5 and 447.7±78.6 m, respectively). The percentage difference between the predicted and achieved 6MWT, and the different phases of cancer treatment were significantly different between patients in treatment (73.7±12.8) and post-treatment (84.5±9.1). When grouped by the different diagnoses, it was possible to observe that the distance covered by the patients with leukemia showed results closer to that predicted (80.7±11.7). Regarding the health-related quality of life questionnaire (HRQL), the child’s perception (78.0±14.56) was better than that reported by their parents (72.4±17.74). However, when we compared HRQL with the 6MWT, there was no association between them (p=0.597). Conclusions: Children and adolescents undergoing cancer treatment or post-treatment showed a 23% deficit in functional capacity. In relation to HRQL results, children’s perception was higher than that of their parents.

A Multivariate Regression Model for Predicting the 28days Flexural Strength of Lime-Cement Concrete Beam

In this study, a multivariate regression model for predicting the 28days flexural strength of lime-cement concrete prototype beam was developed. The response function is a multivariate function of the proportions of the component materials of concrete. A total of twenty mix ratios, consisting of water, Portland cement, hydrated lime, river sand and granite chipping were used in the prediction process. The first ten mix ratios were used for model development while the remaining ten mix ratios were used as check points for model validation. The model developed was tested for adequacy at 95% level of confidence using the t-statistic. Calculated t-value was -1.3342 and this was less than the critical t-value of 2.2622. Thus, the model was found to be adequate. An average percentage difference of 14.303% was observed between the model prediction and the experimental values. A visual basic program using the Visual studio 2015 software was developed based on the regression model. It was invoked to quicken the process of selecting the mix ratios of the component materials corresponding to any desired flexural strength value that falls within the region of experimentation and vice versa Keywords— Concrete , flexural strength, multivariate regression model, response function.

Price Variation of Injectable Antibiotics Commonly used in Bharatpur, Chitwan

Introduction: High dispersion in price of injectable antibiotics makes choice of drugs difficult for the patients and increase economic burden. Thus, objective of this study is to find outrange of price variation of injectable antibiotics commonly used in Bharatpur, Chitwan. Methods: Descriptive observational study of 30 commonly used injectable antibiotics available in medical stores of Bharatpur, Chitwan was done. Range in price variation of the study items of different pharmaceutical companies was calculated in terms of price percentage difference and price ratio by selecting the highest and lowest price. The effect of rise in number of companies for the same drugs over the prices was also studied subjectively based upon graph. Results: We found that the price percentage difference was greatest (204.82%) for Ceftriaxone 500 mg. The maximum retail price (MRP) of the most expensive brand for Ceftriaxone 500 mg was almost three-fold higher than the MRP of the least expensive brand. The growing number of companies also increased dispersion in the price of drugs. Conclusions: There is wide range of price variation of injectable antibiotic commonly used in the Bharatpur, Chitwan. Increasing number of companies in the market has further widened the range. Policy to regulate the price of injectable antibiotic is needed.