Aerometric monitoring system for pollution control

Air quality monitoring and analysis is needed in order to provide decision makers with reliable information about the pollution situation so that they can take appropriate measures to mitigate or prevent negative impacts whenever there is need. World Health Organization (WHO) has recently announced that air pollution is carcinogenic to humans. The results from the reviewed studies point in the same direction: the risk of developing lung cancer hss significantly increased in people exposed to air pollution. This finding elevates the urgency to create awareness among common people about the air, both outdoors and indoors. In our project "Aerometric Monitoring System for Pollution Control”, we use a device that consists of a cluster of sensors that are used to sense atmospheric characteristics continuously. Atmospheric characteristics include Temperature, Humidity, Gas index indicating presence of poisonous gases etc. Several such devices can be deployed in places where we need to estimate air pollution. This covers public domains like bus stands, railway stations, junctions etc. and private domains like households, small scale industries and so on. The aggregated data collected by these devices are uploaded to the Internet using IoT platform by establishing a connection. The data is then displayed on the IoT platform along with various graphical representations. This enables the public to access the data anywhere, any time

Multimodal Imaging in a Case of Localized Suprachoroidal Hemorrhage

Purpose: To report a case of localized suprachoroidal hemorrhage presenting as a choroidal mass. Case Report: A 66-year-old lady presented with sudden onset pain in the right eye, one week following uneventful cataract surgery. The best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was 20/160 and fundus examination showed a brown elevated choroidal mass temporal to the fovea in the right eye with normal retina and retinal vessels over it. The differential diagnoses considered were choroidal granuloma, melanoma, choroidal hemangioma, posterior scleritis, and localized suprachoroidal haemorrhage (SCH). Fluorescein angiography (FA) and indocyanine green (ICG) angiography were unremarkable except for mild disc leakage; B-scan showed a choroidal mass with high surface reflectivity and low internal reflectivity, and OCT showed an elevation of retinochoroidal complex with hyporeflective mass in the outer choroid with choroidal folds suggestive of SCH. Her systemic evaluation showed raised ESR and consolidation in the upper lobe of the right lung. The patient did not take any additional treatment for her eye and the lesion regressed and visual acuity improved to 20/30 in one month. Conclusion: Delayed spontaneous suprachoroidal hemorrhage can present as a choroidal mass. Multimodal imaging helps to differentiate it from other sight-threatening and life-threatening ocular diseases

Miniaturised control of acidity in multiplexed microreactors

The control of acidity influences the structural assembly of biopolymers that are essential for a wide range of applications. Its miniaturization can increase the speed and the possibilities of combinatorial throughput for their manipulation, similarly to the way that the miniaturization of transistors allows the high throughput of logical operations in microelectronics. Here we present a device containing multiplexed micro-reactors, each one enabling independent electrochemical control of the acidity in ~ 2.5 nL volumes, with a large acidity range in aqueous solutions from pH 3 to 7 and an accuracy of at least 0.4 pH units. The attained pH within each microreactor (with footprints of ~ 0.3 mm2 for each spot) was kept constant for long retention times (~10 minutes) and over repeated cycles >100. The acidity is driven by redox proton exchange reactions, which can be driven at different rates that influence the efficiency of the device in order to achieve more charge exchange (larger acidity range) or better reversibility. By the performance in the acidity control the miniaturisation and the possibility to multiplex paves the way for the control of combinatorial chemistry through pH and acidity controlled reactions

Capacitor-Less VAR Compensator Based on a Matrix Converter

Reactive power, denoted as volt-ampere reactive (VARs), is fundamental to ac power systems and is due to the complex impedance of the loads and transmission lines. It has several undesirable consequences which include increased transmission loss, reduction of power transfer capability, and the potential for the onset of system-wide voltage instability, if not properly compensated and controlled. Reactive power compensation is a technique used to manage and control reactive power in the ac network by supplying or consuming VARs from points near the loads or along the transmission lines. Load compensation is aimed at applying power factor correction techniques directly at the loads by locally supplying VARs. Typical loads such as motors and other inductive devices operate with lagging power factor and consume VARs; compensation techniques have traditionally employed capacitor banks to supply the required VARs. However, capacitors are known to have reliability problems with both catastrophic failure modes and wear-out mechanisms. Thus, they require constant monitoring and periodic replacement, which greatly increases the cost of traditional load compensation techniques. This thesis proposes a reactive power load compensator that uses inductors (chokes) instead of capacitors to supply reactive power to support the load. Chokes are regarded as robust and rugged elements; but, they operate with lagging power factor and thus consume VARs instead of generating VARs like capacitors. A matrix converter interfaces the chokes to the ac network. The matrix converter is controlled using the Venturini modulation method which can enable the converter to exhibit a current phase reversal property. So, although the inductors draw lagging currents from the output of the converter, the converter actually draws leading currents from the ac network. Thus, with the proposed compensation technique, lagging power factor loads can be compensated without using capacitor banks. The detailed operation of the matrix converter and the Venturini modulation method are examined in the thesis. The application of the converter to the proposed load compensation technique is analyzed. Simulations of the system in the MATLAB and PSIM environments are presented that support the analysis. A digital implementation of control signals for the converter is developed which demonstrates the practical feasibility of the proposed technique. The simulation and hardware results have shown the proposed compensator to be a promising and effective solution to the reliability issues of capacitor-based load-side VAR compensation techniques

Abnormal Complement Activation and Inflammation in the Pathogenesis of Retinopathy of Prematurity

Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a neurovascular complication in preterm babies, leading to severe visual impairment, but the underlying mechanisms are yet unclear. The present study aimed at unraveling the molecular mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of ROP. A comprehensive screening of candidate genes in preterms with ROP (n = 189) and no-ROP (n = 167) was undertaken to identify variants conferring disease susceptibility. Allele and genotype frequencies, linkage disequilibrium and haplotypes were analyzed to identify the ROP-associated variants. Variants in CFH (p = 2.94 x 10(-7)), CFB (p = 1.71 x 10(-5)), FBLN5 (p = 9.2 x 10(-4)), CETP (p = 2.99 x 10(-5)), and CXCR4 (p = 1.32 x 10(-8)) genes exhibited significant associations with ROP. Further, a quantitative assessment of 27 candidate proteins and cytokines in the vitreous and tear samples of babies with severe ROP (n = 30) and congenital cataract (n = 30) was undertaken by multiplex bead arrays and further validated by western blotting and zymography. Significant elevation and activation of MMP9 (p = 0.038), CFH (p = 2.24 x 10(-5)), C3 (p = 0.05), C4 (p = 0.001), IL-1ra (p = 0.0019), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) (p = 0.0027), and G-CSF (p = 0.0099) proteins were observed in the vitreous of ROP babies suggesting an increased inflammation under hypoxic condition. Along with inflammatory markers, activated macrophage/microglia were also detected in the vitreous of ROP babies that secreted complement component C3, VEGF, IL-1ra, and MMP-9 under hypoxic stress in a cell culture model. Increased expression of the inflammatory markers like the IL-1ra (p = 0.014), MMP2 (p = 0.0085), and MMP-9 (p = 0.03) in the tears of babies at different stages of ROP further demonstrated their potential role in disease progression. Based on these findings, we conclude that increased complement activation in the retina/vitreous in turn activated microglia leading to increased inflammation. A quantitative assessment of inflammatory markers in tears could help in early prediction of ROP progression and facilitate effective management of the disease, thereby preventing visual impairment