A current development trend in wind energy is characterized by the installation of wind turbines (WT) with increasing rated power output. Higher towers and larger rotor diameters increase rated power leading to an intensification of the load situation on the drive train and the main gearbox. However, current main gearbox condition monitoring systems (CMS) do not record the 6‑degree of freedom (6-DOF) input loads to the transmission as it is too expensive. Therefore, this investigation aims to present an approach to develop and validate a low-cost virtual sensor for measuring the input loads of a WT main gearbox. A prototype of the virtual sensor system was developed in a virtual environment using a multi-body simulation (MBS) model of a WT drivetrain and artificial neural network (ANN) models. Simulated wind fields according to IEC 61400‑1 covering a variety of wind speeds were generated and applied to a MBS model of a Vestas V52 wind turbine. The turbine contains a high-speed drivetrain with 4‑points bearing suspension, a common drivetrain configuration. The simulation was used to generate time-series data of the target and input parameters for the virtual sensor algorithm, an ANN model. After the ANN was trained using the time-series data collected from the MBS, the developed virtual sensor algorithm was tested by comparing the estimated 6‑DOF transmission input loads from the ANN to the simulated 6‑DOF transmission input loads from the MBS. The results show high potential for virtual sensing 6‑DOF wind turbine transmission input loads using the presented method.

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Cancer has reached a wide dimension in the current era. There is a need to develop advanced therapeutic methods that can effectively inhibit the proliferation of precancer and malignant tumors....

Background. Chemotherapeutic drugs cause severe toxicities if administered unprotected, without proper targeting, and controlled release. In this study, we developed topotecan- (TPT-) loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) for their chemotherapeutic effect against colorectal cancer. The TPT-SLNs were further incorporated into a thermoresponsive hydrogel system (TRHS) (TPT-SLNs-TRHS) to ensure control release and reduce toxicity of the drug. Microemulsion technique and cold method were, respectively, used to develop TPT-SLNs and TPT-SLNs-TRHS. Particle size, polydispersive index (PDI), and incorporation efficiency (IE) of the TPT-SLNs were determined. Similarly, gelation time, gel strength, and bioadhesive force studies of the TPT-SLNs-TRHS were performed. Additionally, in vitro release and pharmacokinetic and antitumour evaluations of the formulation were done. Results. TPT-SLNs have uniformly distributed particles with mean size in nanorange (174 nm) and IE of ~90%. TPT-SLNs-TRHS demonstrated suitable gelation properties upon administration into the rat’s rectum. Moreover, drug release was exhibited in a control manner over an extended period of time for the incorporated TPT. Pharmacokinetic studies showed enhanced bioavailability of the TPT with improved plasma concentration and AUC. Further, it showed significantly enhanced antitumour effect in tumour-bearing mice as compared to the test formulations. Conclusion. It can be concluded that SLNs incorporated in TRHS could be a potential source of the antitumour drug delivery with better control of the drug release and no toxicity.

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For nanotechnology enabled delivery of hydrophilic protein‐based drugs, several polymer‐based carrier systems have been used in the past to protect the sensitive load and to facilitate cellular uptake and crossing of biological barriers. This study uses gelatin, a natural and biodegradable macromolecule, as carrier material which is approved for several applications. Nanoprecipitation is used to form nanoparticles and to maintain the physicochemical integrity of gelatin, hydrophilic crosslinkers, e.g., paraformaldehyde, glutaraldehyde, carbodiimide, and transglutaminase are employed. However, these crosslinkers diffuse homogenously into the carrier matrix also crosslinking the polymeric matrix with the entrapped protein‐based molecules thus rendering it inactive. Hence a hydrophobic zero‐length crosslinker, diisopropylcarbodiimide, is applied to avoid diffusion into the particles. This will provide an opportunity to encapsulate protein‐based drugs in the non‐crosslinked matrix. The hypothesis of surface crosslinking is proven by the extent of crosslinking and more importantly by encapsulation and the release of lysozyme as a model hydrophilic protein. Furthermore, essential process parameters are evaluated such as crosslinker concentration, crosslinking time and crosslinking reaction temperature with regard to the effect on particle size, size distribution and zeta‐potential of gelatin nanoparticles. The optimum formulation results in the production of gelatin nanoparticles with 200‐300 nm and a polydispersity index < 0.2.

Purpose: To identify malnourished cases and determine their relationship with weaning time and socioeconomic factors in under-5 children inSwat, Pakistan. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Pediatric Ward and Outpatients Department (OPD), Saidu Teaching Hospital, Swat, Pakistan using case files from October to December 2011. Results: A total of 186 children were studied to identify malnutrition, out of which 101 (37.7 %) were male and 85 (32.0 %) female. Moreover, 95 (35.7 %) of the mothers were < 30 years of age and 91 (34.0 %) > 30 years. About 33.7 % of the children were weaned before the age of 4 months. The maternal age of 28.6 % of the malnourished children was < 20 years, and about 2l % of the malnourished children were not immunized against eight EPI (Expanded Program on Immunization) target diseases, viz, poliomyelitis, neonatal tetanus, measles, diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), hepatitis-B, Hib pneumonia & meningitis, and childhood tuberculosis. Respondents from urban location 98 (36.7 %), while 88 (33.0 %). Based on Gomez's classification, out of 186 children, 19 (7.1 %) were victims of malnutrition; mothers of 35.6 % of the children were uneducated and 25.5 % had primary level (5 years) education. The number of siblings per mother was ≥ 5 in the case of 64.8 % of the malnourished children. More than half of the children were at risk of malnutrition. Conclusion: The incidence of malnutrition is about the same for both male and female children. Risk factors for malnutrition in the children include lack of education, teenage pregnancy, lack of immunization, and large family size.