• Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
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• 제2권3호
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• pp.303-328
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• 2015

A design methodology is presented to develop the hingeless control surfaces for MAV using adhesively bonded Macro Fiber Composite (MFC) actuators. These actuators have got the capability to deflect the trailing edge surfaces of the wing to attain the required maneuverability, besides achieving the set aerodynamic trim condition. A scheme involving design, analysis, fabrication and testing procedure has been adopted to realize the trailing edge morphing mechanism. The stiffness distribution of the composite MAV wing is tailored such that the induced deflection by piezoelectric actuation is approximately optimized. Through ground testing, the proposed concept has been demonstrated on a typical MAV structure. Electromechanical analysis is performed to evaluate the actuator performance and subsequently aeroelastic and 2D CFD analyses are carried out to see the functional requirements of wing trailing edge surfaces to behave as elevons. Efforts have been made to obtain the performance comparison of conventional control surfaces (elevons) with morphing wing trailing edge surfaces. A significant improvement in lift to drag ratio is noticed with morphed wing configuration in comparison to conventional wing. Further, it has been shown that the morphed wing trailing edge surfaces can be deployed as elevons for aerodynamic trim applications.

• Natural Product Sciences
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• 제16권2호
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• pp.107-110
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• 2010

Curcuma caesia Roxb. (Zingiberaceae) is commonly known as 'Black turmeric'. In India it grows in West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar, North-East and Uttar Pradesh and is widely used by ethnic communities for various ailments. Rhizomes of the plant are used for sprains and bruises and are also employed in cosmetics. In West Bengal it is an important place in traditional system of medicine and is also used as a substitute for turmeric in fresh stage. Present communication deals with the detailed pharmacognostical evaluation of the rhizome sample. Inner part of the rhizome is bluish-black in colour and emits a characteristic sweet smell, due to the presence of essential oil. On steam distillation the rhizome yields an essential oil rich in camphor. A detailed HPTLC studies has been carried out for quantitative evaluation of active marker component. HPTLC, physico-chemical, morphological and histological parameters presented in this paper may be proposed as parameters to establish the authenticity of C. caesia rhizome and may possibly help to differentiate the drug from its other allied species.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제72권1호
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• pp.31-41
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• 2019

Structural integrity assessment of piping components is of paramount important for remaining life prediction, residual strength evaluation and for in-service inspection planning. For accurate prediction of these, a reliable fracture parameter is essential. One of the fracture parameters is stress intensity factor (SIF), which is generally preferred for high strength materials, can be evaluated by using linear elastic fracture mechanics principles. To employ available analytical and numerical procedures for fracture analysis of piping components, it takes considerable amount of time and effort. In view of this, an alternative approach to analytical and finite element analysis, a model based on relevance vector machine (RVM) is developed to predict SIF of part through crack of a piping component under fatigue loading. RVM is based on probabilistic approach and regression and it is established based on Bayesian formulation of a linear model with an appropriate prior that results in a sparse representation. Model for SIF prediction is developed by using MATLAB software wherein 70% of the data has been used for the development of RVM model and rest of the data is used for validation. The predicted SIF is found to be in good agreement with the corresponding analytical solution, and can be used for damage tolerant analysis of structural components.

• International Journal of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering
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• 제7권6호
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• pp.939-950
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• 2015

Wave-induced Longshore Sediment Transport (LST) play an important role in the dynamics of the Dhanushkodi sandspit located southeast of Rameshwaram. The LST along the Dhanushkodi coast is studied based on data collected simultaneously in Gulf of Mannar (GoM) and Palk Bay (PB) using directional waverider buoys. The numerical model REF/DIF1 was used to calculate the nearshore waves and the LST rate was estimated using three different formulae. The model validation was done based on the measured nearshore waves using InterOcean S4DW. Numerical model LITPACK was also used for simulating non-cohesive sediment transport and the LITLINE module was used to study the shoreline evolution over 5 years. Low net annual LST along PB (${\sim}0.01{\times}10^6m^3$) compared to the GoM region ($0.3{\times}10^6m^3$) were due to the weak waves. Accretion in the region led to growth of the Dhanushkodi sandspit by 65 m during the period 2010-2015.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제69권4호
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• pp.467-477
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• 2019

Digital image correlation (DIC) is now a popular and extensively used full-field metrology technique. In general, DIC is performed by using a turnkey solution offered by various manufacturers of DIC. In this paper, a simple and economical set-up for DIC is proposed which uses easily accessible digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera rather than industrial couple-charged device (CCD) cameras. The paper gives a description of aspects of carrying a DIC experiment which includes experimental set-up, specimen preparation, image acquisition and analysis. The details provided here will be helpful to carry DIC experiments without specialized DIC testing rig. To validate the responses obtained from proposed DIC set-up, tension and fatigue tests on specimens made of IS 2062 Gr. E300 steel are determined. Tensile parameters for a flat specimen and stress intensity factor for an eccentrically-loaded single edge notch tension specimen are evaluated from results of DIC experiment. Results obtained from proposed DIC experiments are compared with those obtained from conventional methods and are found to be in close agreement. It is also noted that the high resolution of DSLR allows the use of proposed approach for fracture characterization which could not be carried out with a typical turnkey DIC solution employing a camera of 2MP resolution.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제82권4호
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• pp.517-542
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• 2022

The effect of mean angle of wind attack on the flutter critical wind speed of two generic bridge deck cross-sections, viz, one closed box type streamlined section (deck-1) and closed box trapezoidal bluff type section with extended flanges/overhangs (deck-2) type of section have been studied using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) based forced vibration simulation method. Owing to the importance of the effect of the amplitude of forcing oscillation on the flutter onset, its effect on the flutter derivatives and flutter onset have been studied, especially at non-zero mean angles of wind attack. The flutter derivatives obtained have been used to evaluate flutter critical wind speeds and flutter index of the deck sections at non-zero mean angles of wind attack studied and the same have been validated with those based on experimental results reported in literature. The value of amplitude of forcing oscillation in torsional degree of freedom for CFD based simulations is suggested to be in the range of 0.5° to 2°, especially for bluff bridge deck sections. Early onset of flutter from numerical simulations, thereby conservative estimate of occurrence of instability has been observed from numerical simulations in case of bluff bridge deck section. The study aids in gaining confidence and the extent of applicability of CFD during early stages of bridge design, especially towards carrying out studies on mean incident wind effects.

• ALGAE
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• 제25권4호
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• pp.205-216
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• 2010

The marine red alga Kappaphycus alvarezii is a major source of $\kappa$-carrageenan. It has been introduced in 20 countries including India. Recently, several reports have expressed concerns about Kappaphycus invasion on Acropora corals at Kurusadai Island in the Gulf of Mannar, India, which is part of a marine bioreserve. To understand the extent of the Kappaphycus invasion, 27 randomly selected locations around Kurusadai Island and the mainland coast were surveyed during May-August 2008 and July 2009. Our rigorous sampling revealed that K. alvarezii was confined to two different patches of 105 m $\times$ 55 m and 8 m $\times$ 9 m located at the southeastern part of Kurusadai Island. The actual extent of the K. alvarezii canopy coverage was 76.7 $m^2$, accounting for less than 0.0035% of the total coral reef area. The daily growth rate of the K. alvarezii at Kurusadai was 0.7%. K. alvarezii was not observed in the coral reef area of the adjoining Pullivasal and Poomarichan Islands or the Palk Bay area cultivation sites. The lack of functional reproductive cycle, low spore viability, and the absence of microscopic phases in the life cycle of this alga coupled with the abundance presence of herbivores may restrict the further spread of this alga, so its invasive potential at Kurusadai Island is considered remote.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제26권4호
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• pp.409-416
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• 2018

Vasicinone, a quinazoline alkaloid from Adhatoda vasica Nees. is well known for its bronchodilator activity. However its anti-proliferative activities is yet to be elucidated. Here-in we investigated the anti-proliferative effect of vasicinone and its underlying mechanism against A549 lung carcinoma cells. The A549 cells upon treatment with various doses of vasicinone (10, 30, 50, $70{\mu}M$) for 72 h showed significant decrease in cell viability. Vasicinone treatment also showed DNA fragmentation, LDH leakage, and disruption of mitochondrial potential, and lower wound healing ability in A549 cells. The Annexin V/PI staining showed disrupted plasma membrane integrity and permeability of PI in treated cells. Moreover vasicinone treatment also lead to down regulation of Bcl-2, Fas death receptor and up regulation of PARP, BAD and cytochrome c, suggesting the anti-proliferative nature of vasicinone which mediated apoptosis through both Fas death receptors as well as Bcl-2 regulated signaling. Furthermore, our preliminary studies with vasicinone treatment also showed to lower the ROS levels in A549 cells and have potential free radical scavenging (DPPH, Hydroxyl) activity and ferric reducing power in cell free systems. Thus combining all, vasicinone may be used to develop a new therapeutic agent against oxidative stress induced lung cancer.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제23권9호
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• pp.1260-1268
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• 2013

A series of experiments were carried out with three native strains of microalgae to measure growth rates, biomass, and lipid productivities. Scenedesmus sp. IMMTCC-6 had better biomass growth rate and higher lipid production. The growth, lipid accumulation, and carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) consumption rate of Scenedesmus sp. IMMTCC-6 were tested under different NaOH concentrations in modified BBM. The algal strain showed the maximum specific growth rate (0.474/day), biomass productivity (110.9 mg $l^{-1}d^{-1}$), and $CO_2$ consumption rate (208.4 mg $l^{-1}d^{-1}$) with an NaOH concentration of 0.005 M on the $8^{th}$ day of cultivation. These values were 2.03-, 6.89-, and 6.88-fold more than the algal cultures grown in control conditions (having no NaOH and $CO_2$). The $CO_2$ fixing efficiency of the microalga with other alternative carbon sources like $Na_2CO_3$ and $NaHCO_3$ was also investigated and compared. The optimized experimental parameters at shake-flask scale were implemented for scaling up the process in a self-engineered photobioreactor. A significant increase in lipid accumulation (14.23% to 31.74%) by the algal strain from the logarithmic to stationary phases was obtained. The algal lipids were mainly composed of $C_{16}/C_{18}$ fatty acids, and are desirable for biodiesel production. The study suggests that microalga Scenedesmus sp. IMMTCC-6 is an efficient strain for biodiesel production and $CO_2$ biofixation using stripping solution of NaOH in a cyclic process.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• 제7권6호
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• pp.955-967
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• 2014

Storage racks are used worldwide in industries and commercial outlets due to the advantage of lighter, faster erection and easy alteration of pallet level as required. The studies to understand the behaviour of cold formed steel pallet racks, under seismic action is one of the emerging area of research. The rack consists of perforated uprights and beams with hook-in end connector, which enables the floor height adjustments. The dynamic characteristics of these racks are not well established. This paper presents the dynamic characteristics of 3-D single bay two storey pallet rack system with hook-in end connectors, which is tested on shake table. The sweep sine test and El Centro earthquake acceleration is used to evaluate the seismic performance of the cold formed steel pallet racks. Also an attempt is made to evaluate the realistic dynamic characteristics by using STAAD Pro software. Modal analysis is performed by incorporating the effective moment of inertia of the upright, which considers the effect of presence of perforations and rotational stiffness of the beam-to-upright connection to determine the realistic fundamental frequency of pallet racks, which is required for carrying out the seismic design. Finite element model of the perforated upright section has been developed as a cantilever beam through which effective moment of inertia is evaluated. The stiffness of the hook-in connector is taken from the previous study by Prabha et al. (2010). The results from modal analysis are in good agreement with the respective experimental results.