High origin of left testicular artery associated with accessory renal artery and renal cyst; a cadaveric observation

The variation in origin of the testicular artery is not uncommon, few reports about a high origin from the abdominal aorta exist in the literature. The renal artery is known to exhibit variations in its number and position. The knowledge of this variation will help the radiologists and surgeons in avoiding clinical complication during interventions. During routine dissection teaching to first year MBBS students at Sapthagiri Medical College, Bangalore we found variation in vascular pattern of testicular and renal artery associated with renal cyst. Photographs of the variations were taken. There was high origin of left testicular artery and accessory left renal artery associated with bilateral simple renal cyst in adult Male cadaver aged around 60years.There was also prehilar division of right renal artery associated with renal cyst. Anomalies in the origin, course and number of testicular artery were observed in 4.7 percent of cases. Additional renal vessels are known as the accessory renal artery and their incidence varies between 9-76%. In the present case there was high origin of left testicular artery associated with accessory renal artery and renal cyst. This anatomical knowledge of the presence of accessory renal artery and high origin of testicular artery in this case is important for radiologists, surgeons and urologist in their clinical practice

Traitement d'effluents de tannerie-mégisserie par microfiltration tangentielle

Dans ce travail un procédé de traitement des effluents issus de l'unité de préparation des peaux des animaux au tannage (travail en rivière) en tannerie-mégisserie a été étudié en utilisant la technique de microfiltration tangentielle sur membrane minérale en céramique. Les performances de ce procédé en terme de flux de filtration et de rendement épuratoire dépendent aussi bien des paramètres hydrodynamiques de filtration que de la qualité des effluents (collectés en été et en printemps) issus des différents bains de traitement et de rinçage des peaux dans l'atelier de rivière. Le flux de filtration varie entre 15 l/h.m2 pour l'effluent de printemps et 90 l/h.m2 pour l'effluent d'été. Les paramètres hydrodynamiques optimaux ont également été déterminés: la vitesse de circulation U=3 m/s, la pression transmembranaire Ptm=2 bar et la température T=43°C. L'étude de la microfiltration à concentration variable conduit à des facteurs de concentration volumique (FCV) de 6,5 pour l'effluent de l'été et de 2,4 pour l'effluent de printemps.The leather industry is responsible for the transformation of raw animal skin to a final form as shoes, bags, dresses, etc. This industry was known for centuries as a craft activity, and today with industrial development, environmental regulations and new emerging technologies, it has become necessary to include elaborate processes for its wastewater treatment. These industries consume a great amount of water. In Tunisia, more than 15000 tons of skin are treated per year, and about 600000 m3 per year of effluents are discharged. The waste water contains chemicals, fats, hair and protein, varying in composition depending on the season. Figure 1 represents the preparation of raw skin for the tanning operation and the amount of waste water produced. The amount of water used for the preparation of raw skin is about 70% of the total quantity of water used. This waste water has a significant polluting load (chemicals and organic matter), with 5000 - 7500 mg/l of COD and 100 to 150 mg/l of sulfur. Tunisian legislation and regulations concerning the standards for wastewater disposal are 1000 mg/l for COD, 3 mg/l for sulfur and a pH between 6.5-9. Different techniques for wastewater treatment such as: physico-chemical treatment, treatment by electrochemical oxidation and membrane technology were proposed. Wastewater treatment by microfiltration and ultrafiltration with mineral membranes is advantageous because no chemicals are used and it can be combined easily with other physico-chemical or biological pre-treatments. In this study, we have treated two types of effluents from the leather pre-treatment industry collected in the summer (effluent 1), and the spring (effluent 2) seasons. The physico-chemical characteristics of the two types effluents are given in Table 2. The filtration experiments were made on a test bench (Figure 2) equipped with a feed reservoir, a volumetric pump, a filtration module, flow meter, pressure transducers, a heat exchanger and control valves. Ceramic membranes of tubular geometry (7 channels), 0.08 m2 membrane surface area and of 0.1 µm (mean diameter) pores were used. During the microfiltration experiments, the following physico-chemical parameters were analysed in the permeate and retentate: turbidity, specific conductivity, pH, viscosity, chemical oxygen demand (COD), sulfur (volumetric method), fats (Standard JIS 0102.24.2), protein (using Kjeldahl nitrogen), and organic nitrogen. Hydrodynamic parameters such as temperature (25 < T < 50 °C), transmembrane pressure (1 < Ptm < 2.2 bar) and feed velocity (1 < U < 3 m/s) were fixed for experimentation. The COD concentration in the effluent was adjusted and kept constant at 5000 mg/l. The raw effluent was pre-filtered on a screen filter (150 µm pore size). For experiments with variable concentration, we regularly removed the filtrate and the concentration factor was represented by FCV=Vi / Vr, where Vi was the initial volume and Vr was the volume of the retentate. The performance of the microfiltration (J) was expressed in l/h×m2. The retention rate (TR) was defined by: TR=1 - (Cpermeate) / (Cfeed). The total hydraulic resistance (RT) was defined by Darcy's law: Jf=Ptm / µ RT. After each experiment, the membrane was regenerated following a standard protocol and it was verified by measuring water flux. Figure 3a represents the variation of the filtration flux with time for 4 different temperatures: 25 °C, 43 °C, 45 °C and 50 °C with effluent 1. The flux increased from 90 to 118 l/h×m2 when the temperature increased from 25 °C to 43 °C. After 90 min at 50 °C, the filtration flux was 123 l/h×m2. Table 3 shows that the viscosity of the effluent decreased with temperature, while the turbidity of the filtrate increased from 0.63 NTU at T=25 °C to 1.6 NTU for T=50 °C. The retention rate of COD was always superior to 50 %. On the basis of these results, we chose the optimum temperature of 43 °C for other experiments. Figure 4 summarises the variation of flux with transmembrane pressure at flow velocities of 1 m/s, 2 m/s and 3 m/s. The stabilized fluxes were practically the same for the flow velocities of 1 and 2 m/s (of the order of 80 l/h×m2), but were higher at 3 m/s (110 - 115 l/h×m2 at 2 bar). The physico-chemical characteristics of the raw effluent and the permeate obtained after 90 minutes of filtration are summarised in Table 4. Figure 7a shows the variation of filtration flux for 2 types of effluents. The filtration flux for the same conditions of experimentation and at stabilized conditions (at 90 min) was 118 l/h×m2 for effluent 1 and 20 l/h×m2 for effluent 2. The lower filtration flux for effluent 2 can be explained by high deposits of rejected matter on the membrane and in the pores. Table 5 gives a comparison of the characteristics of effluents 1 and 2 before and after microfiltration. At variable feed concentrations, FCV=6.5 for effluent 1 and FCV=2.4 for the effluent 2 and the stabilized flux was about 90 l/h×m2 for the effluent 1 and 15 l/h×m2 for the effluent 2. The time needed for treatment of effluent 1 was about 6 hours, while more that 16 hours was necessary for effluent 2. Table 6 provides physico-chemical characteristics for the two types of effluents. The contents of fat, protein, nitrogen and sulfur in the effluent were important factors for variation. These results indicate that microfiltration is very sensitive to the quantity of polluting matter present in the effluents, particularly sulfur and fat. Increased polluting matter in effluent 2 could be responsible for the membrane polarization and blocking of pores. The resistance model was used to verify this hypothesis. The irreversible resistance values for effluent 2 were greater, thus confirming the hypothesis that the increased adsorption on the membrane surface and passage of pores by the presence of sulfur and organic polluting matter. These experimental results confirm that the best performance can be obtained at the hydrodynamic conditions of: a temperature of 43 °C; a transmembrane pressure of 2 bar; and a flow velocity of 3 m/s. Seasonal variation changed the quality of effluents, which considerably affects the performances of the microfiltration. Effluent 2, which was obtained from the treatment of sheep skin during the spring season, led to more membrane pore blocking than effluent 1 for the same initial concentration in COD. The interactions of fats and sulfur with the membrane layer appear to play an important role in the formation of a cake layer

Observation of the Inverse Cotton-Mouton Effect

We report the observation of the Inverse Cotton-Mouton Effect (ICME) i.e. a magnetization induced in a medium by non resonant linearly polarized light propagating in the presence of a transverse magnetic field. We present a detailed study of the ICME in a TGG crystal showing the dependence of the measured effect on the light intensity, the optical polarization, and on the external magnetic field. We derive a relation between the Cotton-Mouton and Inverse Cotton-Mouton effects that is roughly in agreement with existing experimental data. Our results open the way to applications of the ICME in optical devices

Isolation and identification of candida species from various clinical samples in a tertiary care hospital

Background: Candida spp is a member of the normal flora of the skin, mucous membrane and gastrointestinal tract. They are endogenous opportunists which cause secondary infection in individuals with underlying immunocompromised conditions. Candidiasis is a common fungal disease in humans. An increase in the prevalence of non-albicans species has been noted during the last decades because of increasing use of azoles. This study aims to Spectate Candida using chromogenic medium.Methods: A total of 50 Candida isolates from various clinical samples were included in the study. These isolates were subjected to gram's stain, germ tube test and inoculation on commercially available CHROM agar (HiMedia India).Results: In current study majority of isolates were from high vaginal swab (34%) followed by sputum (28%), urine (18%), pus from surgical sites and others constituted to 20%. Candida albicans (51%) was the most common candida species, followed by C. tropicalis (25%), C. krusei (16%), C. glabrata (6%) and C. dubliniensis (1%).Conclusions: Along with Candida albicans, non-albicans candida spp like C. tropicalis, C. krusei, C. glabrata, and C. dubliniensis are increasingly being isolated from clinical samples. CHROM agar is a simple, rapid and inexpensive method for identification of such species. Characterization to species level helps to identify species which might be intrinsically resistant to commonly used antifungal agents

Tasks for multivariate network analysis

In Chap. 1, a multivariate network was defined as having two important characteristics. First, nodes are connected to each other via links; there is topological structure. Second, being multivariate, nodes and links have attributes associated with them, with these attributes having a value. In this chapter, we describe tasks associated with multivariate networks. We consider a task to be an activity that a user wishes to accomplish by interacting with a visual representation of a multivariate network. This implies that there is user intent [13], and that the network has been presented visually. At the highest level, this intent is usually described as the goal of obtaining insight about the data being studied [6]

Roughness of moving elastic lines - crack and wetting fronts

We investigate propagating fronts in disordered media that belong to the universality class of wetting contact lines and planar tensile crack fronts. We derive from first principles their nonlinear equations of motion, using the generalized Griffith criterion for crack fronts and three standard mobility laws for contact lines. Then we study their roughness using the self-consistent expansion. When neglecting the irreversibility of fracture and wetting processes, we find a possible dynamic rough phase with a roughness exponent of $\zeta=1/2$ and a dynamic exponent of z=2. When including the irreversibility, we conclude that the front propagation can become history dependent, and thus we consider the value $\zeta=1/2$ as a lower bound for the roughness exponent. Interestingly, for propagating contact line in wetting, where irreversibility is weaker than in fracture, the experimental results are close to 0.5, while for fracture the reported values of 0.55--0.65 are higher.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figure

Fuzzy model based multivariable predictive control design for rapid and efficient speed-sensorless maximum power extraction of renewable wind generators

Introduction. A wind energy conversion system needs a maximum power point tracking algorithm. In the literature, several works have interested in the search for a maximum power point wind energy conversion system. Generally, their goals are to optimize the mechanical rotation or the generator torque and the direct current or the duty cycle switchers. The power output of a wind energy conversion system depends on the accuracy of the maximum power tracking controller, as wind speed changes constantly throughout the day. Maximum power point tracking systems that do not require mechanical sensors to measure the wind speed offer several advantages over systems using mechanical sensors. The novelty. The proposed work introduces an intelligent maximum power point tracking technique based on a fuzzy model and multivariable predictive controller to extract the maximum energy for a small-scale wind energy conversion system coupled to the electrical network. The suggested algorithm does not need the measurement of the wind velocity or the knowledge of turbine parameters. Purpose. Building an intelligent maximum power point tracking algorithm that does not use mechanical sensors to measure the wind speed and extracts the maximum possible power from the wind generator, and is simple and easy to implement. Methods. In this control approach, a fuzzy system is mainly utilized to generate the reference DC-current corresponding to the maximum power point based on the changes in the DC-power and the rectified DC-voltage. In contrast, the fuzzy model-based multivariable predictive regulator follows the resultant reference current with minimum steady-state error. The significant issues of the suggested maximum power point tracking method, such as the detailed design process and implementation of the two controllers, have been thoroughly investigated and presented. The considered maximum power point tracking approach has been applied to a wind system driving a 5 kW permanent magnet synchronous generator in variable speed mode through the simulation tests. Practical value. A practical implementation has been executed on a 5 kW test bench consisting of a dSPACEds1104 controller board, permanent magnet synchronous generator, and DC-motor drives to confirm the simulation results. Comparative experimental results under varying wind speed have confirmed the achievable significant performance enhancements on the maximum wind energy generation and overall system response by using the suggested control method compared with a traditional proportional integral maximum power point tracking controller.Вступ. Система перетворення енергії вітру потребує алгоритму відстеження точки максимальної потужності. У літературі є кілька робіт, присвячених пошуку системи перетворення енергії вітру із точкою максимальної потужності. Як правило, їх метою є оптимізація механічного обертання або моменту, що крутить, генератора і перемикачів постійного струму або робочого циклу. Вихідна потужність системи перетворення енергії вітру залежить від точності контролера стеження за максимальною потужністю, оскільки швидкість вітру постійно змінюється протягом дня. Системи стеження за точками з максимальною потужністю, яким не потрібні механічні датчики для вимірювання швидкості вітру, мають ряд переваг у порівнянні з системами, що використовують механічні датчики. Новизна. Пропонована робота представляє інтелектуальний метод відстеження точки максимальної потужності, заснований на нечіткій моделі та багатопараметричному прогнозуючому контролері, для отримання максимальної енергії для маломасштабної системи перетворення енергії вітру, підключеної до електричної мережі. Пропонований алгоритм не вимагає вимірювання швидкості вітру або знання параметрів турбіни. Мета. Побудова інтелектуального алгоритму відстеження точки максимальної потужності, який не використовує механічні датчики для вимірювання швидкості вітру та витягує максимально можливу потужність з вітрогенератора, а також простий та зручний у реалізації. Методи. У цьому підході до управління нечітка система в основному використовується для генерування еталонного постійного струму, що відповідає точці максимальної потужності, на основі змін потужності постійного струму та постійної випрямленої напруги. Навпаки, багатопараметричний прогнозуючий регулятор на основі нечіткої моделі слідує за результуючим еталонним струмом з мінімальною помилкою, що встановилася. Істотні проблеми запропонованого методу відстеження точки максимальної потужності, такі як процес детального проектування та реалізація двох контролерів, були ретельно досліджені та представлені. Розглянутий підхід до відстеження точки максимальної потужності був застосований до вітрової системи, що приводить у дію синхронний генератор з постійними магнітами потужністю 5 кВт у режимі змінної швидкості за допомогою моделювання. Практична цінність. Для підтвердження результатів моделювання було виконано практичну реалізацію на випробувальному стенді потужністю 5 кВт, що складається з плати контролера dSPACEds1104, синхронного генератора з постійними магнітами та електроприводів з двигунами постійного струму. Порівняльні експериментальні результати при різній швидкості вітру підтвердили значні поліпшення продуктивності з максимального вироблення енергії вітру і загального відгуку системи при використанні запропонованого методу управління в порівнянні з традиційним пропорційно-інтегральним контролером спостереження за точкою максимальної потужності

Fission of a multiphase membrane tube

A common mechanism for intracellular transport is the use of controlled deformations of the membrane to create spherical or tubular buds. While the basic physical properties of homogeneous membranes are relatively well-known, the effects of inhomogeneities within membranes are very much an active field of study. Membrane domains enriched in certain lipids in particular are attracting much attention, and in this Letter we investigate the effect of such domains on the shape and fate of membrane tubes. Recent experiments have demonstrated that forced lipid phase separation can trigger tube fission, and we demonstrate how this can be understood purely from the difference in elastic constants between the domains. Moreover, the proposed model predicts timescales for fission that agree well with experimental findings

Exact Results for a Three-Body Reaction-Diffusion System

A system of particles hopping on a line, singly or as merged pairs, and annihilating in groups of three on encounters, is solved exactly for certain symmetrical initial conditions. The functional form of the density is nearly identical to that found in two-body annihilation, and both systems show non-mean-field, ~1/t**(1/2) instead of ~1/t, decrease of particle density for large times.Comment: 10 page