Fatigue crack propagation in rocker and roller-rocker bearings of railway steel bridges

In this work, a method is proposed for rolling contact fatigue crack propagation analysis using contact and fracture theories in conjunction with fatigue laws. The proposed method is used in the fatigue analysis of rocker and roller-rocker bearings of a railway open web girder bridge which is instrumented with strain gages. Using a contact algorithm based on the minimum energy principle for bodies in rolling contact with dry friction, the normal and tangential pressure distribution are computed. It is seen that the most critical location of a crack in bearings is at a point very close to the contact region, as expected. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A new method of producing local enhancement of buoyancy in liquid flows

We describe here a novel method of generating large volumetric heating in a liquid. The method uses the principle of ohmic heating of the liquid, rendered electrically conducting by suitable additives if necessary. Electrolysis is prevented by the use of high frequency alternating voltage and chemically treated electrodes. The technique is demonstrated by producing substantial heating in an initially neutral jet of water. Simple flow visualisation studies, made by adding dye to the jet, show marked changes in the growth and development of the jet with heat addition.

Thin Film Strain Gauges--an Overview

This review gives a brief description of the historical development followed by the origin and the principle of operation of strain gauges. The features of an ideal strain gauge for measurement purposes and the general classes of strain gauges are given. The remaning part is devoted to an important development in strain gauge technology, namely thin film strain gauges. After highlighting the advantages of thin film strain gauges, a review of current data is given. Detailed description of metallic thin film strain gauges is provided and avaliable information on alloy semiconductor and cermet films for their possible use as strain gauge elements has also been included. The importance of ion implantation in tailoring the properties of strain gauges is highlighted. 33 ref.--AA

Type I seesaw mechanism for quasi-degenerate neutrinos

We discuss symmetries and scenarios leading to quasi-degenerate neutrinos in type I seesaw models. The existence of degeneracy in the present approach is not linked to any specific structure for the Dirac neutrino Yukawa coupling matrix y(D) and holds in general. Basic input is the application of the minimal flavour violation principle to the leptonic sector. Generalizing this principle, we assume that the structure of the right-handed neutrino mass matrix is determined by y(D) and the charged lepton Yukawa coupling matrix y(l) in an effective theory invariant under specific groups G(F) contained in the full symmetry group of the kinetic energy terms. G(F) invariance also leads to specific structure for the departure from degeneracy. The neutrino mass matrix (with degenerate mass m(0)) resulting after seesaw mechanism has a simple form Mv approximate to m(0)(I - py(l)y(l)(T)) in one particular scenario based on supersymmetry. This form is shown tolead to correct description of neutrino masses and mixing angles. The thermal leptogenesis after inclusion of flavour effects can account for the observed baryon asymmetry of the universe within the present scenario. Rates for lepton flavour violating processes can occur at observable levels in the supersymmetric version of the scenario. (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A new ELISA plate based microtiter well assay for mycobacterial topoisomerase I for the direct screening of enzyme inhibitory monoclonal antibody supernatants

Antigen specific monoclonal antibodies present in crude hybridoma supernatants are normally screened by ELISA on plates coated with the relevant antigen. Screening for inhibitory monoclonals to enzymes would require the evaluation of purified antibodies or antibody containing supernatants for their inhibition of enzyme activity in a separate assay. However, screening for inhibitory antibodies against DNA transacting enzymes such as topoisomerase I (topo I) cannot be done using hybridoma supernatants due to the presence of nucleases in tissue culture media containing foetal calf serum which degrade the DNA substrates upon addition. We have developed a simple and rapid screening procedure for the identification of clones that secrete inhibitory antibodies against mycobacterial topo I using 96 well ELISA microtiter plates. The principle of the method is the selective capture of monoclonal antibodies from crude hybridoma supernatants by topo I that is tethered to the plate through the use of plate-bound polyclonal anti-topo I antibodies. This step allows the nucleases present in the medium to be washed off leaving the inhibitor bound to the tethered enzyme. The inhibitory activity of the captured antibody is assessed by performing an in situ DNA relaxation assay by the addition of supercoiled DNA substrate directly to the microtiter well followed by the analysis of the reaction products by agarose gel electrophoresis. The validity of this method was confirmed by purification of the identified inhibitory antibody and its evaluation in a DNA relaxation assay. Elimination of all enzyme-inhibitory constituents of the culture medium from the well in which the inhibitory antibody is bound to the tethered enzyme may make this method broadly applicable to enzymes such as DNA gyrases, restriction enzymes and other DNA transaction enzymes. Further, the method is simple and avoids the need of prior antibody purification for testing its inhibitory activity. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effective treatment of infectious diseases: A nonlinear adaptive control theoretic approach

A nonlinear adaptive system theoretic approach is presented in this paper for effective treatment of infectious diseases that affect various organs of the human body. The generic model used does not represent any specific disease. However, it mimics the generic immunological dynamics of the human body under pathological attack, including the response to external drugs. From a system theoretic point of view, drugs can be interpreted as control inputs. Assuming a set of nominal parameters in the mathematical model, first a nonlinear controller is designed based on the principle of dynamic inversion. This treatment strategy was found to be effective in completely curing "nominal patients". However, in some cases it is ineffective in curing "realistic patients". This leads to serious (sometimes fatal) damage to the affected organ. To make the drug dosage design more effective, a model-following neuro-adaptive control design is carried out using neural networks, which are trained (adapted) online. From simulation studies, this adaptive controller is found to be effective in killing the invading microbes and healing the damaged organ even in the presence of parameter uncertainties and continuing pathogen attack.

Protein sequence design on the basis of topology optimization techniques -Using continuous modeling of discrete amino acid types

The notion of optimization is inherent in protein design. A long linear chain of twenty types of amino acid residues are known to fold to a 3-D conformation that minimizes the combined inter-residue energy interactions. There are two distinct protein design problems, viz. predicting the folded structure from a given sequence of amino acid monomers (folding problem) and determining a sequence for a given folded structure (inverse folding problem). These two problems have much similarity to engineering structural analysis and structural optimization problems respectively. In the folding problem, a protein chain with a given sequence folds to a conformation, called a native state, which has a unique global minimum energy value when compared to all other unfolded conformations. This involves a search in the conformation space. This is somewhat akin to the principle of minimum potential energy that determines the deformed static equilibrium configuration of an elastic structure of given topology, shape, and size that is subjected to certain boundary conditions. In the inverse-folding problem, one has to design a sequence with some objectives (having a specific feature of the folded structure, docking with another protein, etc.) and constraints (sequence being fixed in some portion, a particular composition of amino acid types, etc.) while obtaining a sequence that would fold to the desired conformation satisfying the criteria of folding. This requires a search in the sequence space. This is similar to structural optimization in the design-variable space wherein a certain feature of structural response is optimized subject to some constraints while satisfying the governing static or dynamic equilibrium equations. Based on this similarity, in this work we apply the topology optimization methods to protein design, discuss modeling issues and present some initial results.

A neuro-adaptive augmented optimal dynamic inversion approach for effective and efficient treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia

Combining the advanced techniques of optimal dynamic inversion and model-following neuro-adaptive control design, an efficient technique is presented for effective treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). A recently developed nonlinear mathematical model for cell dynamics is used for the control (medication) synthesis. First, taking a set of nominal parameters, a nominal controller is designed based on the principle of optimal dynamic inversion. This controller can treat nominal patients (patients having same nominal parameters as used for the control design) effectively. However, since the parameters of an actual patient can be different from that of the ideal patient, to make the treatment strategy more effective and efficient, a model-following neuro-adaptive controller is augmented to the nominal controller. In this approach, a neural network trained online (based on Lyapunov stability theory) facilitates a new adaptive controller, computed online. From the simulation studies, this adaptive control design approach (treatment strategy) is found to be very effective to treat the CML disease for actual patients. Sufficient generality is retained in the theoretical developments in this paper, so that the techniques presented can be applied to other similar problem as well. Note that the technique presented is computationally non-intensive and all computations can be carried out online.

Voltage delay during constant-current or constant-resistance discharge of Mg-MnO2 dry cells: A comparative study

A theoretical approach has been developed to relate the voltage delay transients of the Mg-MnO2 dry cell observed during discharge by two commonly employed modes, viz., (1) at constant current, and (2) across a constant resistance. The approach has been verified by comparison of experimentally obtained transients with those generated from theory. The method may be used to predict the delay parameters of the Mg-MnO2 dry cell under the two modes of discharge and can, in principle, be extended to lithium batteries.

New computational approaches for wrinkled and slack membranes

The static response of thin, wrinkled membranes is studied using both a tension field approximation based on plane stress conditions and a 3D nonlinear elasticityformulation, discretized through 8-noded Cosserat point elements. While the tension field approach only obtains the wrinkled/slack regions and at best a measure of the extent of wrinkliness, the 3D elasticity solution provides, in principle, the deformed shape of a wrinkled/slack membrane. However, since membranes barely resist compression, the discretized and linearized system equations via both the approaches are ill-conditioned and solutions could thus be sensitive to discretizations errors as well as other sources of noises/imperfections. We propose a regularized, pseudo-dynamical recursion scheme that provides a sequence of updates, which are almost insensitive to theregularizing term as well as the time step size used for integrating the pseudo-dynamical form. This is borne out through several numerical examples wherein the relative performance of the proposed recursion scheme vis-a-vis a regularized Newton strategy is compared. The pseudo-time marching strategy, when implemented using 3D Cosserat point elements, also provides a computationally cheaper, numerically accurate and simpler alternative to that using geometrically exact shell theories for computing large deformations of membranes in the presence of wrinkles. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Quantitation of serological cross-reactivity between two geographical isolates of Oryctes baculovirus by a modified ELISA

An assay was developed for quantitation of the antigenic relationship between viruses, by modification of the indirect ELISA. The principle of this method is to estimate the epitopes not shared between the related viruses, after titration of the antibodies specific to the common epitopes as in a blocking ELISA. In practice, varying concentrations of purified virus are preincubated with a fixed dilution of heterologous or homologous antiserum and the unbound antibodies present in the mixture are back titrated with virus particles bound to microtitre plates. The antigenic relationship is described in terms of differentiation index (DI) and total antigenic reactivity (TAR). This method has been used to quantitate cross-reactivity between two geographically different isolates of Oryctes baculovirus.

Studies on follicular atresia: role of gonadotropins and gonadal steroids in regulating cathepsin-D activity of preovulatory follicles in the rat

Preovulatory follicular atresia was studied using pregnant mare serum gonadotropin (PMSG)-primed rats (15 IU/rat) which were deprived of hormonal support either by allowing the metabolic clearance of the PMSG or by injecting a specific PMSG antiserum (PMSG a/s). Atresia was monitored by an increase in lysosomal cathepsin-D activity and a decrease in the receptor activity of the granulosa cells (GC) isolated from the preovulatory follicles. It was shown that the increase in lysosomal activity and the decrease in receptor activity seen at 96 h after PMSG (or PMSG plus PMSG a/s) could be arrested both by follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). Injection of cyanoketone or clomiphene citrate together with FSH/LH prevented this 'rescue' suggesting a role for estrogens in the regulation of atresia. Although the administration of estradiol-17 beta (20 micrograms/rat) together with PMSG a/s could show a 'rescue effect' in terms of reduction in cathepsin-D activity the gonadotropin receptor activities of these granulosa cells were not restored. The injection of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) to 48 h PMSG-primed rats induced atresia as noted by an increase in cathepsin-D activity. However, the exogenous administration of FSH along with DHT prevented this atretic effect suggesting that DHT is not having a direct effect on atresia. Determination of androgen: estrogen content of the granulosa cells and an analysis of the individual profile of androgen and estrogen revealed that the increase in cathepsin-D activity could be correlated only with the decrease in GC estrogen content. This along with the observation that GC showed a loss of estrogen synthesis well before the increase in cathepsin-D activity strongly points out that the lack of estrogen rather than an increase in androgen is the principle factor responsible for the atresia of preovulatory follicles in the rat.

Direction dependence in supernova data: constraining isotropy

We revise and extend the extreme value statistic, introduced in Gupta et al., to study direction dependence in the high-redshift supernova data, arising either from departures, from the cosmological principle or due to direction-dependent statistical systematics in the data. We introduce a likelihood function that analytically marginalizes over the,Hubble constant and use it to extend our previous statistic. We also introduce a new statistic that is sensitive to direction dependence arising from living off-centre inside a large void as well as from previously mentioned reasons for anisotropy. We show that for large data sets, this statistic has a limiting form that can be computed analytically. We apply our statistics to the gold data sets from Riess et al., as in our previous work. Our revision and extension of the previous statistic show that the effect of marginalizing over the Hubble constant instead of using its best-fitting value on our results is only marginal. However, correction of errors in our previous work reduces the level of non-Gaussianity in the 2004 gold data that were found in our earlier work. The revised results for the 2007 gold data show that the data are consistent with isotropy and Gaussianity. Our second statistic confirms these results.

High temperature deformation processing maps for boron modified Ti-6Al-4V alloys

The alloy, Ti-6Al-4V is an alpha + beta Ti alloy that has large prior beta grain size (similar to 2 mm) in the as cast state. Minor addition of B (about 0.1 wt.%) to it refines the grain size significantly as well as produces in-situ TiB needles. The role played by these microstructural modifications on high temperature deformation processing maps of B-modified Ti64 alloys is examined in this paper.Power dissipation efficiency and instability maps have been generated within the temperature range of 750-1000 degrees C and strain rate range of 10(-3)-10(+1) s(-1). Various deformation mechanisms, which operate in different temperature-strain rate regimes, were identified with the aid of the maps and complementary microstructural analysis of the deformed specimens. Results indicate four distinct deformation domains within the range of experimental conditions examined, with the combination of 900-1000 degrees C and 10(-3)-10(-2) s(-1) being the optimum for hot working. In that zone, dynamic globularization of alpha laths is the principle deformation mechanism. The marked reduction in the prior beta grain size, achieved with the addition of B, does not appear to alter this domain markedly. The other domains, with negative values of instability parameter, show undesirable microstructural features such as extensive kinking/bending of alpha laths and breaking of beta laths for Ti64-0.0B as well as generation of voids and cracks in the matrix and TiB needles in the B-modified alloys. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Models of Dispersal and Diversification

Ecology and evolutionary biology is the study of life on this planet. One of the many methods applied to answering the great diversity of questions regarding the lives and characteristics of individual organisms, is the utilization of mathematical models. Such models are used in a wide variety of ways. Some help us to reason, functioning as aids to, or substitutes for, our own fallible logic, thus making argumentation and thinking clearer. Models which help our reasoning can lead to conceptual clarification; by expressing ideas in algebraic terms, the relationship between different concepts become clearer. Other mathematical models are used to better understand yet more complicated models, or to develop mathematical tools for their analysis. Though helping us to reason and being used as tools in the craftmanship of science, many models do not tell us much about the real biological phenomena we are, at least initially, interested in. The main reason for this is that any mathematical model is a simplification of the real world, reducing the complexity and variety of interactions and idiosynchracies of individual organisms. What such models can tell us, however, both is and has been very valuable throughout the history of ecology and evolution. Minimally, a model simplifying the complex world can tell us that in principle, the patterns produced in a model could also be produced in the real world. We can never know how different a simplified mathematical representation is from the real world, but the similarity models do strive for, gives us confidence that their results could apply. This thesis deals with a variety of different models, used for different purposes. One model deals with how one can measure and analyse invasions; the expanding phase of invasive species. Earlier analyses claims to have shown that such invasions can be a regulated phenomena, that higher invasion speeds at a given point in time will lead to a reduction in speed. Two simple mathematical models show that analysis on this particular measure of invasion speed need not be evidence of regulation. In the context of dispersal evolution, two models acting as proof-of-principle are presented. Parent-offspring conflict emerges when there are different evolutionary optima for adaptive behavior for parents and offspring. We show that the evolution of dispersal distances can entail such a conflict, and that under parental control of dispersal (as, for example, in higher plants) wider dispersal kernels are optimal. We also show that dispersal homeostasis can be optimal; in a setting where dispersal decisions (to leave or stay in a natal patch) are made, strategies that divide their seeds or eggs into fractions that disperse or not, as opposed to randomized for each seed, can prevail. We also present a model of the evolution of bet-hedging strategies; evolutionary adaptations that occur despite their fitness, on average, being lower than a competing strategy. Such strategies can win in the long run because they have a reduced variance in fitness coupled with a reduction in mean fitness, and fitness is of a multiplicative nature across generations, and therefore sensitive to variability. This model is used for conceptual clarification; by developing a population genetical model with uncertain fitness and expressing genotypic variance in fitness as a product between individual level variance and correlations between individuals of a genotype. We arrive at expressions that intuitively reflect two of the main categorizations of bet-hedging strategies; conservative vs diversifying and within- vs between-generation bet hedging. In addition, this model shows that these divisions in fact are false dichotomies.