Indian Institute of Technology Palakkad&nbsp;(IIT Palakkad or IIT PKD) is a public autonomous&nbsp;engineering&nbsp;and&nbsp;research&nbsp;institute located in&nbsp;Palakkad,&nbsp;Kerala. It was&nbsp;one of the five new&nbsp;IITs&nbsp;proposed in the&nbsp;2014 Union budget of India. The campus was inaugurated on 3 August 2015. The institute has 94 faculty, 978 students, and 63 non-teaching staffs.

IT Palakkad currently offers four-year Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) and two years MS programmes in 8 different engineering disciplines including&nbsp;Computer Science, Electrical, Mechanical, Civil among others.

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IIT Palakkad

Natural polyreactive IgM autoantibodies, encoded by unmutated germline Ig V genes, represent a major fraction of the normal circulating IgM repertoire. We have previously shown that therapeutic preparation of pooled IgM exerts immunomodulatory effects as assessed by in vitro and in vivo studies. Here, we show that the IgM preparation induces cell death in lymphoblastoid cell lines and in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. The IgM-induced cell death involved classical features of apoptosis such as nuclear fragmentation and activation of caspases. Treatment of leukemic cells with IgM resulted in the cleavage of poly-(A)DP ribose polymerase, a substrate of caspase, and in a reduction in mitochondrial transmembrane potential during the early period of apoptosis induction. Natural IgM-induced apoptosis was inhibited by soluble Fas molecules and affinity-purified Fas antibodies from pooled IgM preparation induced apoptosis in lymphoblastoid cells, suggesting the involvement of the Fas receptor. Our results suggest a role for normal IgM in controlling cell death and proliferation, and imply a possible therapeutic role for IgM in autoimmune and lymphoproliferative disorders. © 2004 The Japanese Society for Immunology.

World University root node

Biological Sciences and Engineering

International Immunology

Natural human polyreactive IgM induce apoptosis of lymphoid cell lines and human peripheral blood mononuclear cells

The differentiation and maturation of dendritic cells (DCs) is governed by various signals in the microenvironment. Monocytes and DCs circulate in peripheral blood, which contains high levels of natural antibodies (NAbs). NAbs are germ-line-encoded and occur in the absence of deliberate immunization or microbial aggression. To assess the importance of NAbs in the milieu on DC development, we examined the status of DCs in patients with X-linked agammaglobulinemia, a disease characterized by paucity of B cells and circulating antibodies. We demonstrate that the in vitro differentiation of DCs is severely impaired in these patients, at least in part because of low levels of circulating NAbs. We identified NAbs reactive with the CD40 molecule as an important component that participates in the development of DCs. CD40-reactive NAbs restored normal phenotypes of DCs in patients. The maturation process induced by CD40-reactive NAbs was accompanied by an increased IL-10 and decreased IL-12 production. The transcription factor analysis revealed distinct signaling pathways operated by CD40-reactive NAbs compared to those by CD40 ligand. These results suggest that B cells promote bystander DC development through NAbs and the interaction between NAbs and DCs may play a role in steady-state migration of DCs.

Fulltext

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

Natural antibodies sustain differentiation and maturation of human dendritic cells

The dramatic increase in both the number of novel infectious agents and resistance to antimicrobial drugs has incited the need for adjunct therapies in the war against infectious diseases. Exciting recent studies have demonstrated the use of antibodies in the form of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) against infections. By virtue of the diverse repertoire of immunoglobulins that possess a wide spectrum of antibacterial and antiviral specificities, IVIg provides antimicrobial efficacy independently of pathogen resistance and represents a promising alternative strategy for the treatment of diseases for which a specific therapy is not yet available.

Trends in Pharmacological Sciences

Intravenous immunoglobulin for infectious diseases: Back to the pre-antibiotic and passive prophylaxis era?

A numerical solution for the stiffness and damping characteristics of an isothermal, elastohydrodynamically lubricated point contact is presented considering the surface roughness effect and variation in viscosity with pressure. An attempt has been made to derive empirical formulae for the calculation of stiffness and damping coefficients of lubricated point contacts with a non-linear least-squares curve-fitting technique using different numerically evaluated data, thereby avoiding time-consuming numerical calculations. From this the overall stiffness and damping matrices of the ball bearing are obtained with a proper load distribution. A comparative study on the dynamics of a rotor-bearing system is carried out for a dry contact ball bearing, a lubricated contact ball bearing and a plain journal bearing. © IMechE 2004.

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part J: Journal of Engineering Tribology

Stiffness and damping characteristics of lubricated ball bearings considering the surface roughness effect. Part 2. Numerical results and application

Department of Mathematics

American Mathematical Monthly

A Very Simple and Elementary Proof of a Theorem of Ingelstam

The characteristics and functions of CD4+CD25+ regulatory cells have been well defined in murine and human systems. However, the interaction between CD4+CD25+ T cells and dendritic cells (DC) remains unclear. In this study, we examined the effect of human CD4+CD25+ T cells on maturation and function of monocyte-derived DC. We show that regulatory T cells render the DC inefficient as APCs despite prestimulation with CD40 ligand. This effect was marginally reverted by neutralizing Abs to TGF-β. There was an increased IL-10 secretion and reduced expression of costimulatory molecules in DC. Thus, in addition to direct suppressor effect on CD4+ T cells, regulatory T cells may modulate the immune response through DC.

Journal of Immunology

Cutting Edge: Human CD4+CD25+ T Cells Restrain the Maturation and Antigen-Presenting Function of Dendritic Cells

This paper is motivated by the computer-generated nonadditive code described in Rains et al[1]. We describe a theory of non-stabilizer codes of which the nonadditive code of Rains et al is an example. Furthermore, we give a general strategy of constructing good nonstabilizer codes from good stabilizer codes and give some explicit constructions and asymptotically good nonstabilizer codes. Like in the case of stabilizer codes, we can design fairly efficient encoding and decoding procedures. © Rinton Press.

Department of Computer Science and Engineering

Quantum Information and Computation

Non-stabilizer quantum codes from abelian subggroups of the error group

The stiffness and damping characteristics of isothermal, elastohydrodynamically lubricated point contact problems are evaluated numerically considering the surface roughness effect and variation in viscosity with pressure. A set of equations under steady-state and dynamic conditions is derived from the classical Reynolds equation using the linear perturbation method. The elasticity equation and steady-state Reynolds equation are solved simultaneously using the finite difference method with the successive over-relaxation scheme, whereas the dynamic pressures are found after solving the set of perturbed equations using the previously obtained steady-state pressures. The load capacity is obtained from the steady-state pressure distribution. The stiffness and damping coefficients of the contact are determined using the dynamic pressures. Then the overall stiffness and damping matrices of the ball bearing are obtained from the load distribution, coordinate transformation, and compatibility relations. © IMechE 2004.

Stiffness and damping characteristics of lubricated ball bearings considering the surface roughness effect. Part 1: Theoretical formulation

A Jeffcott rotor with a transverse crack has been considered in the present study. Equations of motion for transient response have been developed and dynamic analysis has been carried out to consider the effects of fluid film bearings. The coast-down phenomenon was analysed by considering the dissipation through the journal film and by evaluating the deceleration for each speed. Characteristic sub-critical response peaks have been found when the cracked rotor decelerates through its critical speed. The continuous wavelet transform (CWT) has been used as a tool to extract the above sub-harmonics from the time domain signals. The use of CWT has been suggested for crack detection and monitoring in a rotor system coasting down through its critical speed. © 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Tribology International

Detection and monitoring of crack in a coast-down rotor supported on fluid film bearings

The dynamics and diagnostics of rotor with vaults have been gaining importance in recent years. In the present study a model-based method is proposed for the on-line identification of faults In a rotor. The fault-induced change of the rotor system is taken into account by equivalent loads in the mathematical model. The equivalent loads are virtual forces and moments acting on the linear undamaged system to generate a dynamic behaviour identical to the measured one of the damaged system. The rotor has been modelled using FEM. Each fault has been identified for its size and location on the shaft for transient and steady rotors. The nature and symptoms of the fault are ascertained using FFT or Wavelet transforms. For on-line rotor fault identification a combined (hybrid) model and signal-based approach is suggested.