An endogenous growth approach on the role of energy, human capital, finance and technology in explaining manufacturing value-added: A multi-country analysis.

The multi-dimensional benefits offered by the manufacturing sector in economic growth and development make academicians and policymakers to consider this sector still as an engine of growth. The unique qualities of this sector occupy a predominant place in the development policies around the world. Against these insights gained from economic literature, the study empirically investigates the role of energy, human capital, finance and technology in influencing manufacturing value-added in an endogenous growth framework by assessing short-run and long-run relation through ARDL bounds test approach followed by VECM causality test. The results testify the existence of energy-led, finance-led (supply leading), technology-led, and human capital-led growth hypotheses. These results give important insights and directions to have long term well-framed policy perspectives to develop financial institutions, the uninterrupted energy flow to the manufacturing sector, a blend of education and skill intensive programs and, an import strategy specially designed to obtain the spillover benefit of foreign technology.

Estimating the causal relationship between electricity consumption and industrial output: ARDL bounds and Toda-Yamamoto approaches for ten late industrialized countries.

This research investigates the effects of electricity consumption (major independent variable), per capita income, real exchange rate, import and export on manufacturing output by using yearly time series data for the period of 1980-2016 with regard to 10 late industrialized nations. The ARDL bound testing approach, the way to deal with cointegration is applied to estimate the long-run connection between the variables. While, error correction method (ECM) is used to find the short-run dynamics. To test the causality among the variables, Toda-Yamamoto test is performed. The results demonstrate the existence of short-run and long-run relationship among the variables and Toda-Yamamoto causality results support the existence of growth, conservation, feedback and neutrality hypotheses for different nations. The difference in the results can be attributed to structural and macroeconomic parameters. In general, this research brings out a fresh lead of knowledge for late industrialized nations to strengthen their economic development through proficient utilization of energy consumption.

On the high-pressure phase stability and elastic properties of ß-titanium alloys.

We have studied the compressibility and stability of different ß-titanium alloys at high pressure, including binary Ti-Mo, Ti-24Nb-4Zr-8Sn (Ti2448) and Ti-36Nb-2Ta-0.3O (gum metal). We observed stability of the ß phase in these alloys to 40 GPa, well into the ω phase region in the P-T diagram of pure titanium. Gum metal was pressurised above 70 GPa and forms a phase with a crystal structure similar to the η phase of pure Ti. The bulk moduli determined for the different alloys range from 97 ± 3 GPa (Ti2448) to 124 ± 6 GPa (Ti-16.8Mo-0.13O).

Evidence of Faradaic Reactions in Electrostatic Atomizers.

Any rational theory of electrostatic atomizers (EAs) would require a detailed understanding of the nature of the polarized layer near the electrode, since this is the source of the electric charge carried by the jets issued from the EAs. The polarized layer either is driven out as the electrically-driven Smoluchowski flow and/or entrained by the viscous shear imposed by the bulk flow. The standard Gouy-Chapman theory of polarized diffuse layers implies zero electric current passing across the layer, which is impossible to reconcile with the fact that there are leak currents in the EAs. Here, we show that the electric current through the EA is controlled by faradaic reactions at the electrodes. The experiments were conducted with stainless steel or brass pin-like cathodes and three different anode (the conical nozzle) materials, which were copper, stainless steel, and brass. The different electrode materials resulted in different spray, leakage, and total currents in all the cases. Accordingly, it is shown that the total electric current generated by EAs can be controlled by the cathode and anode materials, i.e., by faradaic reactions on them. This lays the foundation for a more detailed understanding and description of the operation of EAs.

An objective functional evaluation of the flexor carpi ulnaris set of triple tendon transfer in radial nerve palsy.

This study reports an objective assessment of postoperative function of 11 triple transfers for high radial palsies, using pronator teres for wrist extension, flexor carpi ulnaris for finger extension and palmaris longus for thumb extension. The mean follow-up was 3.3 years. Assessment was done by recording the active ranges of wrist motion, grip strength, wrist and finger strength and work simulation. The mean strength and range of wrist extension were 42% and 86%, respectively, of the contralateral wrist. Other measured movements were within the functional range and work simulation confirmed good restoration of function. The mean DASH score was 3.45, with no patient reporting any specific functional complaints. This study shows that even though the range of wrist motion and the strength of the wrist and fingers are less than normal, hand function remains good. We conclude that the flexor carpi ulnaris set of tendon transfer works well. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 3.

Pocket-size solid-state iPOD and flash drives for gigabyte storage, display and transfer of digital medical images: Review and work initiated.

A locally assembled image viewer system with pocket-size iPOD (80 GB) and flash (2 GB) drives for gigabyte storage, display and transfer of digital medical images, oriented towards training purposes, is described. Both the iPOD and flash drive enable storage of thousands of images from diverse medical-imaging equipments. The iPOD, in addition, can display with sufficient resolution any of these images and serves as a transportable preview device. Through the use of a computer, these devices can access/ store/ display the images/ photos from a CD, digital camera or the internet. A TV image viewing unit is also provided. The operational features and the advantages of these devices are discussed in detail. The quality assurance (QA) of the displays has been successfully carried out with standard test patterns. The image quality has been tested with dynamic and static medical images. The system will be highly useful for storage and remote display of multitude of images from several modalities in the hospital, as well as other images, from the point of view of education and training. It has good potential for use in clinical diagnosis as well. Other recent advancements using iPHONE and improved but expensive computers, integrated with picture archiving and communication system (PACS) as well as radiology and hospital information system (RHIS) for versatile applications in modern radiology, are also highlighted.This system, assembled with indigenous equipments, is much less expensive and specially suited for teaching radiologists, physicists and technologists, particularly in developing countries.

Minimally invasive coronary bypass for protected left main coronary stenosis angioplasty.

A case is presented of left main coronary artery stenosis in a patient with significant comorbidities who was successfully managed with minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass as protection before percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty. This "hybrid" approach for the management of a high-risk patient led to a favorable outcome.

Noise content analysis in clinical digital images.

Most digital modalities in radiology use 12 bits precision to store the digital images. To determine whether all these bits contain useful information, a statistical method called the Moran test was used to measure the noise level in computed tomographic, magnetic resonance, and digital radiographic images. The test was performed on the bit planes of each pixel. After the noise level was estimated, the pixel data were separated into signal bits and noise bits, and image enhancement techniques were applied on the noise-bits-removed images to demonstrate that the removal of noise bits did not affect image quality. Preliminary results showed no noticeable difference between the original images and the noise-bits-removed images.

A novel X-ray transmission ionization chamber dosemeter for patient dose measurements in diagnostic radiology.

This paper describes an X-ray transmission ionization chamber diagnostic dosemeter for patient dose measurements and control. The chamber uses a commercially available radiofrequency screen as the wall material in a parallel-plate configuration. A digital varactor bridge electrometer serves to measure air kerma times area of fluoroscopic and radiographic beams. Detailed investigations on the characteristics of the chamber such as saturation, sensitivity, energy dependence (50-150 kV), response versus radiation field area, uniformity of response of the chamber, effects of distance and long-term stability have been carried out. The results demonstrate that the chamber meets all the requirements and can measure the incident patient dose with an overall uncertainty of +/- 11%. The chamber can be either mounted on the housing of the light beam diaphragm of the X-ray unit or used as a stand-alone system along with an image-intensifier TV monitor. It is inexpensive to build and is recommended particularly for hospitals in developing countries.

A case of ST-segment and T-wave alternans.

A 45-year-old man was admitted to the Government General Hospital, Madras, India, for Prinzmetal's angina. His condition was not responding to the combined treatment of isosorbide dinitrate and propranolol hydrochloride he had been taking one week before admission to the hospital. During his stay in the intensive care unit, 23 episodes of ST-segment elevation occurred. Three episodes showed ST-segment and T-wave alternans, a phenomenon, which, to our knowledge, have not been described. The patient was treated with verapamil hydrochloride and phenoxybenzamine hydrochloride, and he responded well. His condition continued to be stable during a two-year follow-up. A review of the literature and a discussion of this ECG phenomenon is presented.

Portable transfer digital dosemeter for beam output measurements with X and gamma rays, electrons and neutrons.

This instrument was developed in response to a requirement for an accurate, stable and portable transfer dosemeter for calibration, at therapy dose levels, of equipment used for generating X and gamma rays, electrons and neutrons. The detector is a 0.5 cm3 ionization chamber capable of fitting various wall materials reproducibly at the end of the chamber stem. The measuring system uniquely combines the features of a MOSFET electrometer and an automatic Townsend balance. When used for X, gamma and neutron radiations, the instrument measures the tissue kerma in free air on two ranges: 0.001 - 1.999 Gy (0.1 - 199.9 rad) and 0.01 - 19.99 Gy (1 - 1999 rad) or their exposure equivalents, with autoranging feature when the first range is exceeded. The polarizing voltage (180 V) can be reversed for electron and neutron dosimetry. The dosemeter has a measuring accuracy of +/- 0.2% FS +/- 1 digit and operates on four 1.5 V torchlight cells or on AC mains (200-250 V, 50 - 60 Hz). It utilizes solid state devices, CMOS integrated circuits and displays, and is not affected by RF fields. The instrument is enclosed in a brief-case for portability and is easy to operate and maintain in a hospital.

A portable versatile x- and gamma-ray dosemeter with ditigal display for medical use.

A multipurpose dosemeter based on analogue-to-digita (A-d) conversion has been developed using solid state devices, micropower integrated circuits and displays. The A-D converter combines the features of a MOSFET electrometer, a voltage-to-frequency converter, the automatic Townsend balance, LED(LCD) display for exposure, analogue output and has a voltage-measuring accuracy of +/- 0.1% FS +/- 1 digit. The dosemeter, which is designed to measure a wide range of x- and gamma-ray exposure rates (1 mR h-1 to 1000 R min-1) and exposures (1 mR to 1000 R) with a variety of air-equivalent ionisation chambers, is compact, rugged and battery or AC mains powered. It is designed to provide trouble-free performance, easy operation and maintenance and to be independent of climatic conditions. Combining the features of a survey meter, dosemeter and a radioisotope calibrator, it can be fabricated using the facilities locally available in hospitals or universities.

TLD reader with photon counting and dc techniques for wide range radiation dose measurement.

A TLD reader incorporating the techniques of photon counting and dc methods has been developed for radiation dose measurements in the range of 10(-6) Gy (10(-2) Gy = 1 rad) to 100 Gy for varied applications in radiation protection and for dosimetry in medical physics. It utilizes state-of-the-art technology and is provided with reproducible heating programmer, glow curve output, digital dose display, check light source and data processing facilities. The reader has been designed for easy operation and maintenance. The precision of the reader is about +/- 6% (1 sigma) for 10(-5) Gy and better than +/- 2% (1 sigma) for doses greater than or equal to 0.5 cGy. Further improvements are being effected to measure doses down to 10(-7) Gy.