Hydraulic System Onboard Monitoring and Fault Diagnostic in Agricultural Machine

Abstract Agricultural Machinery as an off-road vehicle is the backbone of the World agricultural industry. Its main function is to operate as a prime mover and support the power requirements to function the various type of draft implements. In this regards, the hydraulic system is an important part and is controlled by the propagated oil which is cleaned by impurities and debris using a filter system. Once it blocks, the bypass opens to avoid any pressure burst of the system, and the particles find their way into the hydraulic system and get lodged in the gears, pumps, valves, and drive train to hinder the performance of the Agricultural Machinery. This research presents an onboard Multiple Signal Classification Algorithm (MUSIC) and pseudo-spectrum analysis as a computational tool used by cellphones to analyze the particle pollution level of the hydraulic filter. This analysis is carried out on the soundtracks recorded from different cell phones in different incremental stages of fluid contamination to the particles until it being choked, based on the standard of ISO4406.

Can A Single 10 Minutes’ Session Of Meditation Be Useful For Reducing Blood Pressure.

Introduction: There is substantial evidence on the usefulness of meditation for the reduction of blood pressure and stress. Regular practice of meditation improves cardiovascular and mental health. There are lots of documented evidences that meditation is effective in coronary artery diseases. Aims: The study was done to ascertain immediate effect of meditation on blood pressure profile in young healthy students. Methodology: Our study was done in 84 healthy students of 17-20 years of age group of Pramukhswami Medical College, Karamsad. In study group (n=42), students were asked to sit in quiet room and meditation was done for 10 minutes. In this group, blood pressure and heart rate were taken before the meditation and after the meditation. In control group (n=42), blood pressure and heart rate were taken initially then they were allowed to sit comfortably in quiet room for 10 minutes, after that again blood pressure and heart rate were taken. Results: In comparison to control group, in study group SBP, PP and MAP were significantly reduced after meditation from 116.38±14.10 to 109.88±10.55 (P <0.05), 43.2±4.8 to 37.04±3.56 (P <0.05) and 67.6±7.96 to 61.32±5.88 (P < 0.05) respectively. But there is no significant reduction in DBP and HR in study group. In control group, there was no significant change in cardiovascular parameters. Conclusion: Meditation is useful for reduction of blood pressure and best way of life for healthy heart.

Clinical correlation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from clinical settings at Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad.

Introduction: Pseudomonas aeruginosa species can be dangerous opportunistic pathogen because of its tolerance to physical, chemical, antibacterial compounds. In hospitals, P. aeruginosa is a formidable opportunistic pathogen, and therefore, the medical concern with infection of immunologically compromised patients in burns and neonatal units, is well justified. Material and methods: Total 1583 samples like swab, urine, sputum, pus, pleural fluid, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), ascitic fluid and blood samples from different clinical departments were tested at Clinical Microbiology Department of B. J. Medical College and Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad, Gujarat during April 2009 to April 2010. Results: Out of 1583 samples, 807 samples turned culture positive. Out of 807 culture positive samples, 100 were culture positive for P. aeruginosa. The maximum number (68%) of P. aeruginosa isolates were obtained from swab samples. The highest number of such isolates (48%) belonged to surgical ward. P. aeruginosa showed highest sensitivity against Cefepime - Tazobactam (97%). Conclusion: This study showed that P. aeruginosa is acquiring resistance to commonly used antibiotics as well as newer antibiotics. The antimicrobial agents are losing their efficacy because of spread of the resistant organism, indiscriminate use of antibiotics, and unhygienic condition. It is the need of the time that antibiotic policies should be formulated and implemented to resist and overcome this serious problem.

In-vitro antibiotic sensitivity pattern of Salmonella typhi.

Introduction: Salmonella typhi is widely prevalent in India and it causes endemic and epidemic typhoid fever. Early and proper antibiotic administration is necessary to reduce morbidity, complication and mortality of typhoid. Material and methods: A total of 1006 febrile patients, receiving treatment at Guru Govindsingh Hospital, Jamnagar, were included in this study. 1006 blood culture samples for S.typhi Were collected from these patients. Blood cultures were tested for clinical bacteriology, as per standard protocol. Results: 30 blood cultures grew positive for S. typhi with the isolation rate of 2.98%. 60% S. typhi isolates were resitant to chlorampheenical, amppicillin, and co-trimoxazole and hence, were multidrug resistent S. typhi ciprofloxacin was the most effective drug with 93.33% senstivity. Conclusion: Ciprofloxacin remains the drug of choice for treatment of typhoid fever. Unchecked use of ciprofloxacin antibiotic should be rationalized, since selection pressure has now emerged as ciprofloxacin resistant in S. typhi.

Factors affecting post-operative laparotomy wound complications.

Despite the advances made in asepsis, antimicrobial drugs, sterilization and operative technique, post-operative wound problems continue to be a major threat. Clean sound healing of laparotomy wound after any intra-abdominal procedure is a cardinal index of good surgical repair. Post- operative wound problems delays recovery and often increase stay and may produce lasting sequel and require extra resources for investigations, management and nursing care, therefore its prevention is relevant to quality patient care, therefore its prevention is relevant to quality patient care.Post-operative wound problems seldom causes death, yet it does prove to be an economic burden on patient and on health system and induce psychological trauma to the surgeon as it robs his hours of dedicated work on operating table and good carrier. Considering wound problems is quite common in developing countries like India the present study was taken up to find out the incidence of Post-operative wound problems and factors that influence its occurrence. Present study aimed to discover the sound, ideal method for the abdominal wound closure with regard to the problems associated with laparotomy wound.

Study of pre-operative and post-operative variables for incisional hernia repair by open and laparoscopic technique.

Background: Incisional hernia is protrusion of part or whole of abdominal viscus through the weakness in layers of anterior wall in the scar of previous operation. The major predisposing factors being post operative wound infection or hematoma. This incidence increases in the presence of adverse factors (local and systemic) such as wound infection, obesity, hypoproteinemia. In all suture repair techniques the tissues are under tension and this increase the risk of ischemia, suture cut out and repair failure. The studies showed that the complication seen in open incisional hernia repair is seroma, hematoma, wound infection, stitch sinus, and recurrence. To overcome this complications and recurrent rates of open incisional hernia repair the Laparoscopic repair of incisional hernia was introduced in the 1990s, which reports (Olmi study) have showed more improvement in recovery time, hospital stay and complication rate. Objective: The purpose of this study was a prospective study which had been carried out, during the period of July 2010 to September 2012 at a tertiary care centre. A total number of 50 cases were studied and were followed up for a period of 6 months. All patients were operated on by the same surgical team, adapting the type of surgical technique depending on the type of hernia. In the selection process of the technique patients were ranndomly allowed to opt for any of the two modalities after analyzing the biological status of the patient but also the associated his/her comorbidities. Patient selection criteria were as below. Inclusion criteria: Wall defect: >3 cm to <8 cm, Post-surgical and gynecological procedure, BMI < 30 kg/m2, Patient willing for surgery. Exclusion criteria: Complicated hernia, BMI >30 kg/m2, Conversion of laparoscopic repair to open repair. Results: Incidence of incisional hernia was maximum in the age group of 31-50 years (66%) with female preponderance (74%). 25 patients had risk factors like chronic cough (5), hypertension (13), diabetes mellitus (5) and difficulty in micturition (2). 27 had previous emergency surgery while 23 had undergone planned surgery. 60% of patients had undergone gynecological procedures, among complications in previous surgical procedure. Mean operative time for laparoscopic incisional hernia repair was 2 hour 45 minutes and for open hernia it was 2 hour 05 minutes. 46% of patients had duration of return to work (6-10 days) in laparoscopic surgery, 40% of patients had duration of return to work (11-15 days) in open surgery (mean 16 ),4% in laparoscopic surgery (mean 10.24days), 10% of patients had duration of Return to work (16-20 days) in open surgery. Conclusion: An optimal technique for mesh placement has not yet been determined and is still a subject of debate among surgeons. Laparoscopic techniques seem to have many benefits, including decreased length of hospital stay, decreased postoperative pain, and reduce the time to return to work and normal activities, but require long learning curve and are still not very accessible to all surgeons, especially in our country.

Arterial Blood Pressure is Inversely Associated with Vascular Sympathetic Reactivity l(sometric Handgrip Exercise) in Gujarati Indian Adolescents.

Studies conducted earlier have found that vascular sympathetic reactivity to isometric handgrip exercise is either low or high in adolescents with higher blood pressure (Hypertensives) as compared to adolescents with relatively lower blood pressure (Normotensive). The current study was conducted to determine the correlation of vascular sympathetic reactivity to isometric handgrip exercise with blood pressure in Gujarati Indian adolescents so as to understand the pathogenesis and/consequences of Hypertension in this population. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 651 Gujarati Indian adolescents (285 girls, 366 boys) of age group 13-19 years. Blood pressure was measured by oscillometry and vascular sympathetic reactivity (Percentage rise in Diastolic Blood Pressure, %RDBP) was assessed using isometric handgrip test. Pearson’s correlation coefficient was determined to study the correlation between %RDBP and blood pressure. In both girls and boys, %RDBP showed significant negative correlation with resting SBP, DBP and MAP. The study thus indicates that an inverse association exist between arterial blood pressure and vascular sympathetic reactivity to isometric handgrip exercise in Gujarati Indian adolescents.

Scale-up of tuberculosis laboratory services in Gujarat, India.

M. tuberculosis has been classified as risk group 3 pathogen and has to be handled at appropriate containment level. The IRL, Ahmedabad got WHO accreditation in March 08 for Lowenstein-Jensen solid culture and first line anti-tuberculosis drug sensitivity. Immediately after WHO endorsement of line probe assay (LPA) for rapid MDR-TB testing in 2008, Gujarat state leaped forwarded and started research on “Genotype MTB DR Plus assay” in collaboration with WHO. In 2009 this effort gained momentum when the IRL, Ahmedabad was radically upgraded to BSL 3 facility. BSL 3 facility like this can balance risk of air-borne infection. As a minimum, countries embarking on drug-resistant tuberculosis programmes should establish laboratory capacity to diagnose MDR-TB and monitor culture conversion of patients on Category IV treatment. Gujarat has set the example of a truly dynamic tuberculosis management, demonstrating that rapid scale-up of laboratory services for MDR-TB diagnosis is feasible even at regional level, in resource-constrained settings.

Impact of the RNTCPIRL-EQA-OSE visits on quality of sputum smear microscopy services of Gujarat, India.

Objecu've: On-site evaluation of laboratories with standard checklist is a first step to promote effective and consistent supervision. The present study was carried out to evaluate the impact of the RNTCP- Intermediate Reference Laboratory External Quality Assessment- On-Site Evaluation visits on quality of sputum smear microscopy services of Gujarat, India. Data of three IRL-EQA-OSE visit rounds, carried out between January 2005 and December 2010 are presented here. Materiaf and Methods: Within the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme EQA framework, the IRL, Ahmedabad visited all Gujarat District Tuberculosis Centres, and evaluated their sputum smear microscopy services. The study covered a cohort of 29 DTCs during each of the three IRL-EQA-OSE visits. The authors focused on section III of Annexure A to study and analyse the said impact. In order to convert qualitative data into quantitative one, the authors denoted a score of 1 to "Acceptable" (No Error) remark and 0 to "Not-Acceptable" (Error) one. Results.' Alarger degree of improvement was noted in Standard Operating Procedure practices, Disinfection practices, and Internal Quality Control practices. Many DTCs did not retrain their laboratory staff in EQA methodology. The Gujarat DTCs achieved an overall score of (8201957) 86% during the initial OSE visits which consistently improved to (842/957) 88% and (885/957) 92% during the two follow-up OSE visits along with sustenance and improvement in many important laboratory parameters. Conclusion' The co-sponsoring organisation (IRL) recognises the challenges and therefore, is committed to supporting state-level implementation of EQA through additional training, technical assistance to districts, and improving this technical guidance. By periodic IRL. EQA-OSE visits, sputum smear microscopy services can be sustained and improved at field level.

Proficiency panel testing - A reliable tool in external quality assessment of sputum smear microscopy services in Gujarat, India.

Objective: To assess the proficiency of Senior TB Laboratory Supervisors (STLSs) and district level Laboratory Technicians (LTs) in sputum smear microscopy. Method: Intermediate Reference Laboratory (IRL), Ahmedabad had manufactured and validated Proficiency Panel Testing slides from sputum samples, made On Site Evaluation (OSE) visits of District TB Centres (DTCs) in two rounds, and conducted Proficiency Panel Testing of STLSs & DTC-LTs from January 2005 to June 2009. Results: High level of concordance in Z-N smear grading was found between Microbiologist and district laboratory staff. DTC readers reported overall consistency level of more than 98% in Z-N grade agreement during both the IRL, EQA, OSE visits. The tendency to over-grade the panel slides was much higher (more than 22%) as compared to under-grade (less than 2%) them in “correct slides”. High False Positive (HFP) error was not observed in the present study. Conclusion: Laboratory supervisor’s proficiency can be quickly assessed by Proficiency Panel Testing, under multi-level quality assurance network system of sputum smear microscopy in public health programmes like the RNTCP. Proficiency Panel Testing is highly replicable and reproducible tool for quick and reliable assessment of proficiency of the staff and it can be made more effective by raising the proportion of lower grade positive slides in panel set of each reader. DTC readers’ overall agreement level of more than 98% in Z-N grade suggests high level of precision and excellent consistency during both the IRL, EQA, OSE rounds. It is concluded that even for a large network of sputum smear microscopy centres under public health programmes like the RNTCP in order to take corrective action, Proficiency Panel Testing can be effectively used for quick identification of suboptimal- technical performance of the supervisory staff.