Stability of the Gains of the STAR Endcap Calorimeter from 2009 to 2012

The Solenoid Tracker at RHIC (STAR) experiment, based at Brookhaven National Laboratory\u27s Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, uses polarized-proton collisions to investigate sea quark and gluon contributions to the known proton spin. The STAR detector\u27s Endcap Electromagnetic Calorimeter (EEMC) is of particular interest in this experiment because it covers a kinematic region, which is sensitive to gluons carrying a low fraction of the proton momentum, where the gluon spin is almost entirely unconstrained. The EEMC is located in the intermediate pseudorapidity range, 1 \u3c η \u3c 2, and measures the electromagnetic energy of particles produced by the collisions using a lead-scintillator sampling calorimeter. The calorimeter consists of several layers that include pre-shower, shower maximum, tower, and post-shower detectors. In these detectors, the energy gains, which convert a measured signal into an energy deposition, have been determined using data taken from the years 2009, 2011, and 2012. These gains will be analyzed and studied in order to understand the calibration of the detector

Better-practice Approaches for Culture-based Fisheries Development in Asia

Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Modernization using the structured system design of the Bhadra Reservoir Project, India: an intervention analysis

Performance evaluationIrrigation programsModernizationParticipatory managementFarmer participationFarmer-agency interactionsFarmers' attitudesRemote sensingRiceIrrigated farmingWater distributionWater supplyProductivity

Strategic Analyses of the National River Linking Project (NRLP) of India, Series 1. India’s water future: scenarios and issues

River basinsEnvironmental flowsDevelopment projectsWater requirementsIrrigated farmingWater demandFood demandGroundwater irrigationIrrigation efficiencyWater harvestingSupplemental irrigationWater productivityWater conservationDrip irrigationSprinkler irrigationRainfed farmingAgricultural policy

Benefit of irrigation water transfers in the National River Linking Project: a case study of the Ken-Betwa link

River basin managementRiver basin developmentDevelopment projectsWater transferIrrigation waterCrop productionCrop managementLivestock

Effect of residual detergents in specimen collection containers on routine serum biochemical analytes

The use of Teepol, Lysol and sodium hypochlorite are frequent in reusing of specimen collection tubes by the state hospitals in Sri Lanka. Detergent residue in collection tubes is   thought to be the reason for uncertain results in the recent past. This raised a concern to evaluate the effect of washing of the specimen collection tubes by various detergents on serum creatinine, aspartate transaminase (AST), Na+ and K+. Three sets of newly purchased glass Khan tubes were washed using Teepol, Lysol (concentration of 1%), and sodium hypochlorite (0.1 %) adhering to World Health Organization protocol. Blood from a single donor was aliquoted to a detergent washed tubes (test) and to a newly purchased plain glass Khan tube (control). Both were tested for serum creatinine, AST, Na+ and K+. A sample size of 20 was analyzed for each detergent-washed tube. There was no significant difference in serum creatinine, AST and K+ when Teepol, Lysol or sodium hypochlorite washed tubes were used in sequence (p>0.05). Na+ concentrations measured in serum was significantly different in specimens collected to Lysol-washed tubes (p<0.05). The Lysol-washed tubes were significantly contaminated with detergent residues. In conclusion, domestic detergents (Teepol, Lysol and sodium hypochlorite) don’t impart a significant effect on tested analytes if the cleansing is done according to guidelines by World Health Organization. However, newly purchased tubes are recommended in critical investigations such as serum electrolytes to improve the accuracy of laboratory reports.         KEYWORDS:  Teepol, Lysol, Sodium hypochlorite, creatinine, Na+ and K+ &nbsp

Climate Data Records: A MODIS Perspective

No abstract availabl

Observations on metal concentrations in commercial landings of two species of tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus and Oreochromis niloticus) from reservoirs in six river basins in Sri Lanka

Samples of the muscle of two species of tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus and O. niloticus; 17-20 cm length) were obtained from at least one reservoir in each of the six river basins (Aruvi Aru, Kala Oya, Kirindi Oya, Ma Oya, Mahaweli, and Walawe Ganga catchments) in Sri Lanka. The metals Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, and Zn were consistently detected in the muscle tissue. Overall, there were few differences in the concentration of metals between the two species of fish, although there were also some statistically significant differences (p &lt; 0.05) in the concentrations of some metals in fish obtained from some of the reservoirs. Aruvi Aru stands out as a river basin in which the two fish species have significantly lower concentration of metals when compared to other river basins. The concentration of the metals studied were below WHO and FSANZ guideline values for fish, suggesting that the consumption of the metals found in tilapia from these reservoirs poses little risk to human health. <br /

Low cost eco-friendly polyethylene film for packaging of wheat flour

At present polymer packaging industry is compelled to use PET based polymeric materials tomanufacture packaging materials for food packaging including wheat flour. Though these PET basedmaterials possess the required properties these materials are very expensive and non recyclable.Therefore many researchers are investigating the possibilities of manufacturing polyethylene basedpackaging materials, which are ceo-friendly to replace expensive PET based materials.In this study an effort was made to identity good quality low cost eco-friendly products for packagingof wheat flour. The trials were carried out using different blends ofLLDPE, LPDE and high molecularweight PE. In this study packaging materials were produced using the multi-layer co-extrusiontechnique. Both field trials and laboratory trials were used to analyze the samples. As the mostefficient packaging system for flour is form-fill seal machine system, prepared samples was sent topackaging plants to check whether the sample was able to reach the required runability at form-fillseal machine. The physical properties such as tensile strength tear strength and puncture resistancewere measured. Depend on observed values PE blends were gauging down to minimum tolerancelimit to contain up to Ikg relative dense products. The Water Vapor Transmission Rate (WVTR) ofthe fi lm also measured because the shelf life of wheat products very heavily depends on its wateractivity. Finally a low cost eco-friendly PE based packaging material for wheat flour was developed.

Ebola virus VP35 interaction with dynein LC8 regulates viral RNA synthesis

Ebola virus VP35 inhibits alpha/beta interferon production and functions as a viral polymerase cofactor. Previously, the 8-kDa cytoplasmic dynein light chain (LC8) was demonstrated to interact with VP35, but the functional consequences were unclear. Here we demonstrate that the interaction is direct and of high affinity and that binding stabilizes the VP35 N-terminal oligomerization domain and enhances viral RNA synthesis. Mutational analysis demonstrates that VP35 interaction is required for the functional effects of LC8