Estimation of amino acids, urea and uric acid in tasar silkworm, Antheraea mylitta Drury

Abstract: The tasar silkworm, Antheraea mylitta Drury, Andhra local ecorace is an exclusive race of Andhra Pradesh. It is on the verge of extinction due to difficulty of acclimatisation at breeding and rearing stages. As an attempt to protect this race, a method of total indoor rearing has been done. In this context, the estimation of free amino acids, excretory products-urea and uric acid were compared during the fourth and fifth instars of tasar silkworm, reared under outdoor and indoor conditions. The study has revealed that amino acids decreased in the fat body in outdoor and indoor reared larvae in contrast to that in the haemolymph where it has gradually increased from first to third crops. This is an important finding as it reveals that indoor worms seem to adopt proteolytic activity in the haemolymph. Secondly, in the fifth instar the excretory products are more compared to fourth instar in the indoor reared worms. During fifth instar, formation of nitrogenous products lessens as silk synthesis enhances. The present study reveals that decrease in uric acid in fifth instar implies increase in growth rate and silk synthesis in both outdoor and indoor worms. The findings of the present investigation is helpful in the conservation and protection of the A. mylitta, Andhra local ecorace

Analytical and numerical simulation of surface pressure of an oscillating wedge at hypersonic Mach numbers and application of Taguchi's method

This paper aims to estimate the surface pressure of a wedge at hypersonic Mach numbers at a considerable angle of incidence. The Ghosh similitude, corresponding strip theory, and piston theory are used to determine the pressure distribution analytically, and the results are compared to those of the CFD analysis. The theory is valid when the shock wave is attached to the leading edge of the nose of the wedge. Pressure on the windward surface was considered in the analysis. The pressure on the Lee surface is neglected. The condition for the validity of the theory is that the Mach number M2 behind the shock wave is greater than 2.5. The parameters taken into account for the study are the wedge angle and Mach number. The range of wedge angle considered is from 5 to 25 degrees and the Mach number considered is from 5 to 15. The analytical and the CFD results are in good agreement. The findings indicate that the parameters like wedge angle and Mach number are influential parameters that influence the wedge surface static pressur

Improving ecosystem health in highly altered river basins: a generalized framework and its application to the Mississippi-Atchafalaya River Basin

Continued large-scale public investment in declining ecosystems depends on demonstrations of “success”. While the public conception of “success” often focuses on restoration to a pre-disturbance condition, the scientific community is more likely to measure success in terms of improved ecosystem health. Using a combination of literature review, workshops and expert solicitation we propose a generalized framework to improve ecosystem health in highly altered river basins by reducing ecosystem stressors, enhancing ecosystem processes and increasing ecosystem resilience. We illustrate the use of this framework in the Mississippi-Atchafalaya River Basin (MARB) of the central United States (U.S.), by (i) identifying key stressors related to human activities, and (ii) creating a conceptual ecosystem model relating those stressors to effects on ecosystem structure and processes. As a result of our analysis, we identify a set of landscape-level indicators of ecosystem health, emphasizing leading indicators of stressor removal (e.g., reduced anthropogenic nutrient inputs), increased ecosystem function (e.g., increased water storage in the landscape) and increased resilience (e.g., changes in the percentage of perennial vegetative cover). We suggest that by including these indicators, along with lagging indicators such as direct measurements of water quality, stakeholders will be better able to assess the effectiveness of management actions. For example, if both leading and lagging indicators show improvement over time, then management actions are on track to attain desired ecosystem condition. If, however, leading indicators are not improving or even declining, then fundamental challenges to ecosystem health remain to be addressed and failure to address these will ultimately lead to declines in lagging indicators such as water quality. Although our model and indicators are specific to the MARB, we believe that the generalized framework and the process of model and indicator development will be valuable in an array of altered river basins

Evaluation of derivative in damping in the Newtonian limit for non-planar wedge

The current work derives the analytical expression for the damping derivative of a non-planar wedge when gamma tends to one and Mach number tends to infinity. Ghosh’s developed strip theory is utilized to derive the expression of the damping derivative. With regard to a variety of geometrical and flow characteristics, the current theory can forecast the damping derivatives of a non-planar wedge. Prior to performing exhaustive calculations and trial research, it is vital to know about these damping derivatives in order to freeze and arrive at the geometrical and kinematic similarity parameters. The ongoing technique, which is exceptionally useful during the design stage, predicts the damping subordinates in pitch for a flat wedge effortlessly. In the Newtonian limit, the equations derived for stability derivatives become precise. The pivot position is found to influence the damping derivative directly. Additionally, it has been noted that at high angles of attack, the center of pressure shifts significantly from the leading edge to the trailing edge. Consequently, according to the viewpoint of stability, this behavior may be utilized to stabilize the aeronautical vehicle. Therefore, in this case, the expression for the damping derivative is non-linear, and the findings have been affected accordingly. However, the behavior is linear up to a fifteen-degree angle of attack before the pattern becomes non-linear

Corrosion Inhibition Property of Some 1, 3, 4- Thiadiazolines on Mild Steel in Acidic Medium

The present work deals with the corrosion behavior of mild steel in acidic medium. The inhibitive effect of substituted 1, 3, 4-Thiadiazol-2-amines on the corrosion of mild steel in 1 M H2SO4 has been studied by weight loss and electrochemical methods. The electrochemical parameters for mild steel in acidic solution with and without inhibitor were calculated. The effect of temperature on the corrosion rate, activation energy and free energy of adsorption were also calculated. The synergistic effect has been studied by weight loss and electrochemical methods. The electrochemical parameters for mild steel in acidic solution were also calculated

Estimation of stiffness derivative for ogives at constant specific heat ratio γ = 1.666 at hypersonic mach numbers

Specific heat ratios play an essential role in the design of an ogive of an aircraft, which in turn makes it a priority point in estimating the stiffness derivative, keeping in mind the stability of an airplane. One such attempt is made here where the study of stiffness derivative is done for specific heat ratio =1.666 for other than the air. In some cases, higher values of specific heat ratios become a priority to stimulate the flow. For δ angles from 50 to 300, results have been obtained. For pivot locations near the nose, the pitching moment assumes higher values as compared to the pivot position near the shoulder of the ogive. The stability derivatives attain negative values for h = 0.6, and its importance is maximum at h = 1

Computation of stability derivative for a wing for specific heat ratio= 1.66 for hypersonic flow

The flight performance of aircraft relies on aerodynamic non-dimensional parameters like the drag coefficient, lift coefficient, and the moment coefficient of the aerospace vehicles. The knowledge of these properties is supremely necessary for optimal design, and thus the aerodynamics and the performance of the aerospace vehicles are characterized so as to relate general airplane design and performance to a standard ballistic atmosphere as the reference for all the computations while evaluating the dynamics and control. Since re-entry includes movement through the atmosphere, the entry performance relies on the ambient atmospheric properties. Air under normal conditions behaves very much like a perfect gas. The specific heat ratio for the air as the perfect gas is 1.4. This study focuses attention on variations on γ while the stability derivatives are computed, one such endeavor is made to study the stability derivatives of the wing for γ=1.66. The results show a reduction in its numerical value with k, the level of inertia, and an increment when the angle of incidence increases, leading to a substantial change in the numerical value. At Lower Mach numbers, a considerable change in magnitude for stability derivatives has been observed, but for higher Mach numbers, the change is negligible, thus holding the Mach number Independence principle. As regards the change in the Damping derivative at various pitching locations, at first, its value decreases attain a minimum value, which is the location of the center of pressure, and after that shows a sudden increase. Further, when the value is varied from 1.4 to 1.66, a difference of 20% in magnitude is observed in the stability derivatives. Flow considered is non-viscous and quasi-steady

Self-Assembling Allergen Vaccine Platform Raises Therapeutic Allergen-Specific IgG Responses without Induction of Systemic Allergic Responses

Allergen immunotherapies are often successful at desensitizing allergic patients but can require life-long dosing and suffer from frequent adverse events including instances of systemic anaphylaxis, leading to poor patient compliance and high cost. Allergen vaccines, in turn, can generate more durable immunological allergen desensitization with far fewer doses. However, like immunotherapies, allergen vaccines are often highly reactogenic in allergic patients, hampering their use in therapeutic settings. In this work, we utilize a peptide-based self-assembling nanofiber platform to design allergen vaccines against allergen B-cell epitopes that do not elicit systemic anaphylaxis when administered subcutaneously to allergic mice. We show that, in contrast to protein vaccines, nanofiber vaccines prevent leakage of allergen material into the vascular compartment, a feature that likely underpins their reduced systemic reactogenicity. Further, we show that our allergen vaccine platform elicits therapeutic IgG antibody responses capable of desensitizing allergic mice to allergen-induced Type I hypersensitivity reactions. Finally, we have demonstrated a proof-of-concept for the therapeutic potential of nanofiber-based peanut allergen vaccines directed against peanut allergen-derived epitopes