Experimental Investigation of Surface Pressure on ‘+’ Plan Shape Tall Building

The variation in pressure distribution with change in wind orientation angle on different faces of a ‘+’ plan shape tall building is studied in this paper. Experiments have been carried out with a rigid model in a boundary layer wind tunnel for wind incidence angles of 0° and 45°. Peculiar pressure distributions on certain faces are observed. Moreover, drastic change in pressure distribution is observed for the two wind angles. Finally, the flow pattern around the model is computed using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) package ANSYS CFX in order to explain the variation in pressure on different faces

Stock assessment of oil sardine Sardinella longiceps Valenciennes 1847 (Clupeiformes: Clupeidae) in the northern Arabian Sea

613-621Length frequency data series of oil sardine Sardinella longiceps Val. from northern Arabian Sea along the west coast of India off Ratnagiri were used to model the growth, mortality rates and yield per recruit. Mean population parameters were; L∞ = 233 mm (total length), K = 0.92 year-1, to = -0.0023 year, Z = 5.23 year-1, M = 1.45 year-1, F = 3.78 year-1and E = 0.72. Using VBGF, the length attained at the end of 1, 2 and 3 years of life was estimated at 140, 196 and 218 mm, respectively. The phi-prime (ɸ) value or the growth performance index was obtained as 2.70. Yield per recruit analysis showed that excessive fishing effort was being exerted on the stocks and a substantial reduction in fishing effort will be required for sustainability of the fishery

Cholesterol-Lowering Probiotics as Potential Biotherapeutics for Metabolic Diseases

Cardiovascular diseases are one of the major causes of deaths in adults in the western world. Elevated levels of certain blood lipids have been reported to be the principal cause of cardiovascular disease and other disabilities in developed countries. Several animal and clinical trials have shown a positive association between cholesterol levels and the risks of coronary heart disease. Current dietary strategies for the prevention of cardiovascular disease advocate adherence to low-fat/low-saturated-fat diets. Although there is no doubt that, in experimental conditions, low-fat diets offer an effective means of reducing blood cholesterol concentrations on a population basis, these appear to be less effective, largely due to poor compliance, attributed to low palatability and acceptability of these diets to the consumers. Due to the low consumer compliance, attempts have been made to identify other dietary components that can reduce blood cholesterol levels. Supplementation of diet with fermented dairy products or lactic acid bacteria containing dairy products has shown the potential to reduce serum cholesterol levels. Various approaches have been used to alleviate this issue, including the use of probiotics, especially Bifidobacterium spp. and Lactobacillus spp.. Probiotics, the living microorganisms that confer health benefits on the host when administered in adequate amounts, have received much attention on their proclaimed health benefits which include improvement in lactose intolerance, increase in natural resistance to infectious disease in gastrointestinal tract, suppression of cancer, antidiabetic, reduction in serum cholesterol level, and improved digestion. In addition, there are numerous reports on cholesterol removal ability of probiotics and their hypocholesterolemic effects. Several possible mechanisms for cholesterol removal by probiotics are assimilation of cholesterol by growing cells, binding of cholesterol to cellular surface, incorporation of cholesterol into the cellular membrane, deconjugation of bile via bile salt hydrolase, coprecipitation of cholesterol with deconjugated bile, binding action of bile by fibre, and production of short-chain fatty acids by oligosaccharides. The present paper reviews the mechanisms of action of anti-cholesterolemic potential of probiotic microorganisms and probiotic food products, with the aim of lowering the risks of cardiovascular and coronary heart diseases

The NFκB signaling system in the generation of B-cell subsets: from germinal center B cells to memory B cells and plasma cells

Memory B cells and antibody-secreting cells are the two prime effector B cell populations that drive infection- and vaccine-induced long-term antibody-mediated immunity. The antibody-mediated immunity mostly relies on the formation of specialized structures within secondary lymphoid organs, called germinal centers (GCs), that facilitate the interactions between B cells, T cells, and antigen-presenting cells. Antigen-activated B cells may proliferate and differentiate into GC-independent plasmablasts and memory B cells or differentiate into GC B cells. The GC B cells undergo proliferation coupled to somatic hypermutation of their immunoglobulin genes for antibody affinity maturation. Subsequently, affinity mature GC B cells differentiate into GC-dependent plasma cells and memory B cells. Here, we review how the NFκB signaling system controls B cell proliferation and the generation of GC B cells, plasmablasts/plasma cells, and memory B cells. We also identify and discuss some important unanswered questions in this connection

Kinetics of Oxygen Reduction Reaction of Polymer-Coated MWCNT-Supported Pt-Based Electrocatalysts for High-Temperature PEM Fuel Cell

Sluggish oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) of electrodes is one of the main challenges in fuel cell systems. This study explored the kinetics of the ORR reaction mechanism, which enables us to understand clearly the electrochemical activity of the electrode. In this research, electrocatalysts were synthesized from platinum (Pt) catalyst with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) coated by three polymers (polybenzimidazole (PBI), sulfonated tetrafluoroethylene (Nafion), and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)) as the supporting materials by the polyol method while hexachloroplatinic acid (H2PtCl6) was used as a catalyst precursor. The oxygen reduction current of the synthesized electrocatalysts increased that endorsed by linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) curves while increasing the rotation rates of the disk electrode. Additionally, MWCNT-PBI-Pt was attributed to the maximum oxygen reduction current densities at −1.45 mA/cm2 while the minimum oxygen reduction current densities of MWCNT-Pt were obtained at −0.96 mAcm2. However, the ring current densities increased steadily from potential 0.6 V to 0.0 V due to their encounter with the hydrogen peroxide species generated by the oxygen reduction reactions. The kinetic limiting current densities (JK) increased gradually with the applied potential from 1.0 V to 0.0 V. It recommends that the ORR consists of a single step that refers to the first-order reaction. In addition, modified MWCNT-supported Pt electrocatalysts exhibited high electrochemically active surface areas (ECSA) at 24.31 m2/g of MWCNT-PBI-Pt, 22.48 m2/g of MWCNT-Nafion-Pt, and 20.85 m2/g of MWCNT-PTFE-Pt, compared to pristine MWCNT-Pt (17.66 m2/g). Therefore, it can be concluded that the additional ionomer phase conducting the ionic species to oxygen reduction in the catalyst layer could be favorable for the ORR reaction

Advances in Designing and Developing Vaccines, Drugs and Therapeutic Approaches to Counter Human Papilloma Virus

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a viral infection with skin-to-skin based transmission mode. HPV annually caused over 500,000 cancer cases including cervical, anogenital and oropharyngeal cancer among others. HPV vaccination has become a public-health concern, worldwide, to prevent the cases of HPV infections including precancerous lesions, cervical cancers, and genital warts especially in adolescent female and male population by launching national programs with international alliances. Currently, available prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines are expensive to be used in developing countries for vaccination programs. The recent progress in immunotherapy, biotechnology, recombinant DNA technology and molecular biology along with alternative and complementary medicinal systems have paved novel ways and valuable opportunities to design and develop effective prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines, drugs and treatment approach to counter HPV effectively. Exploration and more researches on such advances could result in the gradual reduction in the incidences of HPV cases across the world. The present review presents a current global scenario and futuristic prospects of the advanced prophylactic and therapeutic approaches against HPV along with recent patents coverage of the progress and advances in drugs, vaccines and therapeutic regimens to effectively combat HPV infections and its cancerous conditions

Potential long-term effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection on the pulmonary vasculature: Multilayered cross-talks in the setting of coinfections and comorbidities

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and its sublineages pose a new challenge to healthcare systems worldwide due to its ability to efficiently spread in immunized populations and its resistance to currently available therapies. COVID-19, although targeting primarily the respiratory system, is also now well established that later affects every organ in the body. Most importantly, despite the available therapy and vaccine-elicited protection, the long-term consequences of viral infection in breakthrough and asymptomatic individuals are areas of concern. In the past two years, investigators accumulated evidence on how the virus triggers our immune system and the molecular signals involved in the cross-talk between immune cells and structural cells in the pulmonary vasculature to drive pathological lung complications such as endothelial dysfunction and thrombosis. In the review, we emphasize recent updates on the pathophysiological inflammatory and immune responses associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection and their potential long-term consequences that may consequently lead to the development of pulmonary vascular diseases

High Resolution Methylome Map of Rat Indicates Role of Intragenic DNA Methylation in Identification of Coding Region

DNA methylation is crucial for gene regulation and maintenance of genomic stability. Rat has been a key model system in understanding mammalian systemic physiology, however detailed rat methylome remains uncharacterized till date. Here, we present the first high resolution methylome of rat liver generated using Methylated DNA immunoprecipitation and high throughput sequencing (MeDIP-Seq) approach. We observed that within the DNA/RNA repeat elements, simple repeats harbor the highest degree of methylation. Promoter hypomethylation and exon hypermethylation were common features in both RefSeq genes and expressed genes (as evaluated by proteomic approach). We also found that although CpG islands were generally hypomethylated, about 6% of them were methylated and a large proportion (37%) of methylated islands fell within the exons. Notably, we obeserved significant differences in methylation of terminal exons (UTRs); methylation being more pronounced in coding/partially coding exons compared to the non-coding exons. Further, events like alternate exon splicing (cassette exon) and intron retentions were marked by DNA methylation and these regions are retained in the final transcript. Thus, we suggest that DNA methylation could play a crucial role in marking coding regions thereby regulating alternative splicing. Apart from generating the first high resolution methylome map of rat liver tissue, the present study provides several critical insights into methylome organization and extends our understanding of interplay between epigenome, gene expression and genome stability

The resolution sensitivity of the South Asian monsoon and Indo-Pacific in a global 0.35◦ AGCM

The South Asian monsoon is one of the most significant manifestations of the seasonal cycle. It directly impacts nearly one third of the world’s population and also has substantial global influence. Using 27-year integrations of a high-resolution atmospheric general circulation model (Met Office Unified Model), we study changes in South Asian monsoon precipitation and circulation when horizontal resolution is increased from approximately 200 to 40 km at the equator (N96 to N512, 1.9 to 0.35◦). The high resolution, integration length and ensemble size of the dataset make this the most extensive dataset used to evaluate the resolution sensitivity of the South Asian monsoon to date. We find a consistent pattern of JJAS precipitation and circulation changes as resolution increases, which include a slight increase in precipitation over peninsular India, changes in Indian and Indochinese orographic rain bands, increasing wind speeds in the Somali Jet, increasing precipitation over the Maritime Continent islands and decreasing precipitation over the northern Maritime Continent seas. To diagnose which resolution related processes cause these changes we compare them to published sensitivity experiments that change regional orography and coastlines. Our analysis indicates that improved resolution of the East African Highlands results in the improved representation of the Somali Jet and further suggests that improved resolution of orography over Indochina and the Maritime Continent results in more precipitation over the Maritime Continent islands at the expense of reduced precipitation further north. We also evaluate the resolution sensitivity of monsoon depressions and lows, which contribute more precipitation over northeast India at higher resolution. We conclude that while increasing resolution at these scales does not solve the many monsoon biases that exist in GCMs, it has a number of small, beneficial impacts