Development and use of a multiplex real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay for detection and differentiation of Porcine circovirus-2 genotypes 2a and 2b in an epidemiological survey.

By the end of 2004, the Canadian swine population had experienced a severe 2 increase in the incidence of Porcine circovirus-associated disease (PCVAD), a problem that was 3 associated with the emergence of a new Porcine circovirus-2 genotype (PCV-2b), previously 4 unrecovered in North America. Thus it became important to develop a diagnostic tool that could 5 differentiate between the old and new circulating genotypes (PCV-2a and -2b, respectively). 6 Consequently, a multiplex real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (mrtqPCR) assay that 7 could sensitively and specifically identify and differentiate PCV-2 genotypes was developed. A 8 retrospective epidemiological survey that used the mrtqPCR assay was performed to determine if 9 cofactors could affect the risk of PCVAD. From 121 PCV-2–positive cases gathered for this 10 study, 4.13%, 92.56% and 3.31% were positive for PCV-2a, PCV-2b, and both genotypes, 11 respectively. In a data analysis using univariate logistic regressions, PCVAD compatible 12 (PCVAD/c) score was significantly associated with the presence of Porcine reproductive and 13 respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), PRRSV viral load, PCV-2 viral load, and PCV-2 14 immunohistochemistry (IHC) results. Polytomous logistic regression analysis revealed that 15 PCVAD/c score was affected by PCV-2 viral load (P = 0.0161) and IHC (P = 0.0128), but not by 16 the PRRSV variables (P > 0.9); suggesting that mrtqPCR in tissue is a reliable alternative to IHC. 17 Logistic regression analyses revealed that PCV-2 increased the odds ratio of isolating 2 major 18 swine pathogens of the respiratory tract, Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae and Streptococcus 19 suis serotypes 1/2, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 7, which are serotypes commonly associated with clinical 20 diseases.

Patterns of discrepancy in perceptions of workgroup and organizational cultures and their relationships to well-being, commitment and organizational citizenship behavior

La culture organisationnelle influence la manière dont les organismes relèvent les défis externes auxquels elle fait face et façonnent les comportements normatifs de leurs membres. Des études portant sur le degré d’acceptation et d’adoption d’une culture organisationnelle indiquent une grande variance en fonction de multiples facteurs (p. ex. : l’âge, l’occupation, la hiérarchie, etc.) et leurs liens aux résultats subséquents. Différentes évaluations culturelles considèrent les sondages d’auto-évalulation comme étant des moyens acceptables de créer des liens entre les perceptions et les résultats. En effet, ces instruments mesurent les croyances, les suppositions et les valeurs d’une personne, mais l’un des facteurs pouvant compromettre les réponses est le manque de cadre de référence. Un des objectifs de l’étude est de déterminer la manière dont la mesure des perceptions culturelles est reliée à la contextualisation des questions du sondage. À l’aide de deux orientations, nous tentons de déterminer si les perceptions de la culture en lien avec l’organisation entière sont différentes de celles en lien avec le groupe de travail immédiat. De plus, l’étude explore la manière dont les différences algébriques entre les perceptions des deux référents sont simultanément reliées au bien-être psychologique au travail, à l’engagement et aux comportements de citoyenneté organisationnelle. Comme objectif final, nous déterminons lequel des deux référents prédit le mieux ces résultats. Les cent quatre-vingt-neuf participants de l’étude faisaient partie d’un établissement d’enseignement postsecondaire de langue anglaise du Québec. En premier lieu, les participants recevaient, de façon aléatoire, l’un des deux questionnaires - soit celui orienté sur l’organisation entière, soit celui orienté sur le groupe de travail immédiat -, puis, en deuxième lieu, son référent opposé correspondant. Les résultats indiquent que les perceptions de culture en lien avec l’organisation entière sont significativement différentes de celle en lien avec le groupe de travail immédiat. L’étude démontre que les similitudes entre les perceptions sont directement proportionnelles au bien-être ainsi qu’aux engagements organisationnels et de groupe de travail. De plus grandes différences perceptuelles sont associées à des niveaux plus élevés de bien-être et d’engagement organisationnel normatif. Ces associations sont plus fortes lorsque les perceptions de la culture organisationnelle sont plus positives que les perceptions de la culture du groupe de travail. Les différences algébriques opposées sont liées à des niveaux plus élevés de comportements de citoyenneté organisationnelle ainsi que d’engagements affectifs et de continuité envers le groupe de travail. Les résultats de l’étude suggèrent aussi que les perceptions de la culture du groupe de travail sont plus liées aux résultats pertinents que les perceptions de la culture organisationnelle. Les implications théoriques et pratiques des mesures de perceptions de culture sont examinées.

Studies on the Development and Control of Desiccation cracks in compacted clay liner soils

The present study aimed at critically looking at the current practice of the installation of compacted clay liner using bentonite enhanced sand (BES). The application of bentonite is currently the most accepted practice for lining purposes. The ideal bentonite sand combination, which satisfies the liner requirements is 20% bentonite and 80% sand, was selected as one of the liner materials for the investigation of development of desiccation cracks. Locally available sundried marine clay and its combination with bentonite were also included in the study. The desiccation tests on liner materials were conducted for wet/dry cycles to simulate the seasonal variations. Digital image processing techniques were used to measure the crack intensity factor (CIF), a useful and effective parameter for quantification of desiccation cracking. The repeatability of the tests could be well established, as the variation in CIF values of identical samples had a very narrow range of 0 to 2%. The studies on the development of desiccation cracks showed that the CIF of bentonite enhanced sand mixture (BES) was 18.09%, 39.75% and 21.22% for the first, second and third cycles respectively, while it was only 9.83%, 7.52% and 4.58% respectively for sun dried marine clay (SMC). Thus the locally available, alternate liner material suggested, viz SMC, is far superior to BES, when subjected to alternate wet/dry cycles. Further, the improvement of these liner materials when amended with randomly distributed fibre reinforcements was also investigated. Three types of fibres ,namely nylon fibre, polypropylene monofilament and polypropylene fibre mesh were used for the study of fibre amended BES and SMC.The influence of these amendments on the properties of the above liner materials is also studied. The results showed that there is definite improvement in the properties of the liner materials when it is reinforced with discrete random fibres. The study also proved that the desiccation cracks could be controlled with the help of fibre reinforcement.

Development And Analysis Of A Compact Coplanar Antenna With Flared Monopole For Dual Band Applications

Department of Electronics, Cochin University of Science and Technology

DEVELOPMENT AND ANLAYSIS OF BROADBAND L·STRIP FED MICROSTRIP ANTENNAS

The thesis is the outcome of the experimental and theoretical Investigations on novel feeding techniques for bandwidth enhancement of microstrip patches. The new feeding techniques provide bandwidth enhancement without deteriorating the radiation characteristics of the antenna. The antenna is analysed using finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) method. The predicated results are compared with the experimental results and excellent agreement is observed. The results are also verified using IE3D simulation software. The antenna is suitable for personal and broadband communications.

DEVELOPMENT AND ANALYSIS OF DUAL FREQUENCY MICROSTRIP ANTENNAS

Department of Elecctronics, Cochin University of Science and Technology

Development and Analysis of a Drum-Shaped Compact Microstrip Antenna

The thesis is the outcome of the experimental and theoretical investigations on a new compact drum-shaped microstrip antenna. A new compact antenna suitable for personal communication system(PCS), Global position System(GPS) and array applications is developed and analysed. The generalised cavity model and spatial fourier transform technique are suitably modified for the analysis of the antenna. The predicted results are compared with experimental results and excellent agreement is observed. The experimental work done by the author in related fields are incorporated as three appendices in this thesis. A single feed dual frequency microstrip antenne is presented in appendix A.Appendix B describes a new broadband dual frequeny microstrip antenna. The bandwidth enhancement effect of microstrip antennas through dielectric resonator loading is demonstarted in Appendix C.

Development and Analysis of Microstrip Antennas For Dual Band Microwave Communication

The thesis explores the outcome of the exhaustive theoretical and experimental investigations performed on Octagonal Microstrip Antenna configurations. Development of the MATLAB TM backed 3D-Conformal Finite Difference Time Domain (CFDTD)Modeller for the numerical computation of the radiation characteristics of the antenna is the theme of the work. The predicted results are verified experimentally and by IE3D TM simulation. The influence of the patch dimensions,feed configurations,feed dimensions and feed positions upon the radiation performance of the antenna is studied in detail. Octagonal Microstrip Antenna configurations suitable for Mobile-Bluetooth application is dealt in detail. A simple design formula for the regular Octagonal geometry is also presented. A compact planar multi band antenna for GPS/DCS/2.4/5.8GHz WLAN application is included as appendix A. Planar near field measurement technique is explained in appendix B.

Impact of Information Communication Technology (ICT) on Professional Development and Educational Needs of Library Professionals in the Universities of Kerala

The shift from print to digital information has a high impact on all components of the academic library system in India especially the users, services and the staff. Though information is considered as an important resource, the use of ICT tools to collect and disseminate information has been in a slow pace in majority of the University libraries This may be due to various factors like insufficient funds, inadequate staff trained in handling computers and software packages, administrative concerns etc. In Kerala, automation has been initiated in almost all University libraries using library automation software and is under different stages of completion. There are not much studies conducted about the effects of information communication technologies on the professional activities of library professionals in the universities in Kerala. It is important to evaluate whether progress in ICT has had any impact on the library profession in these highest educational institutions. The aim of the study is to assess whether the developments in information communication technologies have any influence on the library professionals’ professional development, and the need for further education and training in the profession and evaluate their skills in handling developments in ICT. The total population of the study is 252 including the permanently employed professional library staff in central libraries and departmental libraries in the main campuses of the universities under study. This is almost a census study of the defined population of users. The questionnaire method was adopted for collection of data for this study, supplemented by interviews of Librarians to gather additional information. Library Professionals have a positive approach towards ICT applications and services in Libraries, but majority do not have the opportunities to develop their skills and competencies in their work environment. To develop competitive personnel in a technologically advanced world, high priority must be given to develop competence in ICT applications, library management and soft skills in library professionals, by the University administrators and Library associations. Library science schools and teaching departments across the country have to take significant steps to revise library science curriculum, and incorporate significant changes to achieve the demands and challenges of library science profession.

Cell Culture Systems from Penaeus monodon: Development and Application

National Centre for Aquatic Animal Health, Cochin University of Science and Technology

Development and Analysis of a Compact Dual-Band Coplanar Antenna

The coplanar wave guide is an attractive device in microwave integrated circuits due to its uniplanar nature, ease of fabrication and low production cost. Several attempts are already done to explore the radiating modes in coplanar wave guide transmission lines. Usually coplanar wave guides are excited by an SMA connector with its centre conductor connected to the exact middle of the centre strip and the outer ground conductor to the two ground strips. The mode excited on it is purely a bound mode. The E-field distribution in the two slots are out of phase and there for cancels at the far field. This thesis addresses an attempt to excite an in phase E-field distribution in the two slots of the co planar wave guide by employing a feed asymmetry, in order to get radiation from the two large slot discontinuities of the coplanar waveguide. The omni directional distribution of the radiating energy can be achieved by widening the centre strip.The first part of the thesis deals with the investigations on the resonance phenomena of conventional coplanar waveguides at higher frequency bands. Then an offset fed open circuited coplanar waveguide supporting resonance/radiation phenomena is analyzed. Finally, a novel compact co planar antenna geometry with dual band characteristics, suitable for mobile terminal applications is designed and characterized using the inferences from the above study.

Development and Analysis of a Novel Isosceles Trapezoidal Dielectric Resonator Antenna For Wireless Communication

This thesis describes the development and analysis of an Isosceles Trapezoidal Dielectric Resonator Antenna (ITDRA) by realizing different DR orientations with suitable feed configurations enabling it to be used as multiband, dual band dual polarized and wideband applications. The motivation for this work has been inspired by the need for compact, high efficient, low cost antenna suitable for multi band application, dual band dual polarized operation and broadband operation with the possibility of using with MICs, and to ensure less expensive, more efficient and quality wireless communication systems. To satisfy these challenging demands a novel shaped Dielectric Resonator (DR) is fabricated and investigated for the possibility of above required properties by trying out different orientations of the DR on a simple microstrip feed and with slotted ground plane as well. The thesis initially discusses and evaluates recent and past developments taken place within the microwave industry on this topic through a concise review of literature. Then the theoretical aspects of DRA and different feeding techniques are described. Following this, fabrication and characterization of DRA is explained. To achieve the desired requirements as above both simulations and experimental measurements were undertaken. A 3-D finite element method (FEM) electromagnetic simulation tool, HFSSTM by Agilent, is used to determine the optimum geometry of the dielectric resonator. It was found to be useful in producing approximate results although it had some limitations. A numerical analysis technique, finite difference time domain (FDTD) is used for validating the results of wide band design at the end. MATLAB is used for modeling the ITDR and implementing FDTD analysis. In conclusion this work offers a new, efficient and relatively simple alternative for antennas to be used for multiple requirements in the wireless communication system.

Development and Analysis of Compact AMicrostrip Antennas

The practical applications of microstrip antennas for mobile systems are in portable or pocket-size equipment and in vehicles. Antennas for VHFIUHF handheld portable equipment, such as pagers, portable telephones and transceivers, must naturally be small in size, light in weight and compact in structure. There is a growing tendency for portable equipment to be made smaller and smaller as the demand for personal communication rapidly increases, and the development of very compact hand-held units has become urgent.In this thesis work, main aim is to develop a more and more reduced sized microstrip patch antenna. It is well known that the smaller the antenna size, the lower the antenna efficiency. During the period of work, three different compact circular sided microstrip patches are developed and analysed, which have a significant size reduction compared to standard circular disk antenna (the most compact one of the basic microstrip patch configurations), without much deterioration of its properties like gain, bandwidth and efficiency. In addition to this the interesting results, dual port operation and circular polarization are also observed for some typical designs of these patches. These make the patches suitable for satellite and mobile communication systems.The theoretical investigations are carried out on these compact patches. The empirical relations are developed by modifying the standard equations of rectangular and circular disk microstrip patches, which helps to predict the resonant frequencies easily.

Development and Evaluation of Blind Identification Techniques for Nonlinear Systems

Identification and Control of Non‐linear dynamical systems are challenging problems to the control engineers.The topic is equally relevant in communication,weather prediction ,bio medical systems and even in social systems,where nonlinearity is an integral part of the system behavior.Most of the real world systems are nonlinear in nature and wide applications are there for nonlinear system identification/modeling.The basic approach in analyzing the nonlinear systems is to build a model from known behavior manifest in the form of system output.The problem of modeling boils down to computing a suitably parameterized model,representing the process.The parameters of the model are adjusted to optimize a performanace function,based on error between the given process output and identified process/model output.While the linear system identification is well established with many classical approaches,most of those methods cannot be directly applied for nonlinear system identification.The problem becomes more complex if the system is completely unknown but only the output time series is available.Blind recognition problem is the direct consequence of such a situation.The thesis concentrates on such problems.Capability of Artificial Neural Networks to approximate many nonlinear input-output maps makes it predominantly suitable for building a function for the identification of nonlinear systems,where only the time series is available.The literature is rich with a variety of algorithms to train the Neural Network model.A comprehensive study of the computation of the model parameters,using the different algorithms and the comparison among them to choose the best technique is still a demanding requirement from practical system designers,which is not available in a concise form in the literature.The thesis is thus an attempt to develop and evaluate some of the well known algorithms and propose some new techniques,in the context of Blind recognition of nonlinear systems.It also attempts to establish the relative merits and demerits of the different approaches.comprehensiveness is achieved in utilizing the benefits of well known evaluation techniques from statistics. The study concludes by providing the results of implementation of the currently available and modified versions and newly introduced techniques for nonlinear blind system modeling followed by a comparison of their performance.It is expected that,such comprehensive study and the comparison process can be of great relevance in many fields including chemical,electrical,biological,financial and weather data analysis.Further the results reported would be of immense help for practical system designers and analysts in selecting the most appropriate method based on the goodness of the model for the particular context.