Flowfield-dependent variant method for moving-boundary problems

A novel numerical scheme using the combination of flowfield-dependent variation method and arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian method is developed. This method is a mixed explicit–implicit numerical scheme, and its implicitness is dependent on the physical properties of the flowfield. The scheme is discretized using the finite-volume method to give flexibility in dealing with complicated geometries. The formulation itself yields a sparse matrix, which can be solved by using any iterative algorithm. Several benchmark problems in two-dimensional inviscid and viscous flow have been selected to validate the method. Good agreement with available experimental and numerical data in the literature has been obtained, thus showing its promising application in complex fluid–structure interaction problems

Job Satisfaction of the Employees in the Mobile Phone Corporates in Bangladesh: A Case Study

Optimizing employee satisfaction is a key to the success of any business that relies on a variety of organizational and psycho-economic factors. This study was conducted to identify that sort of key factors, which are responsible to influence on the overall job satisfaction in the growing mobile phone corporate in Bangladesh. The phone corporates, which are included here in the study, are Grameen Phone (GP), Bangla Link and Aktel. The factors included in the investigation as independent variables are Compensation Package, Supervision, Career Growth, Training and Development, Working atmosphere, Company Loyalty and Performance Appraisal. The result indicates that training and performance appraisal, work atmosphere, compensation package, supervision, and company loyalty are the key factors that impact on employees’ job satisfaction in these corporations. The study also finds that the employees of these three corporations possessed above of the moderate level and positive attitude towards job satisfaction, which could be nudged up to excellent status of employee satisfaction if the management takes those identified factors with a little more rigorous weight into their considerations and acts further accordingly.

Response of salt stressed okra (Abelmoschus esculentus Moench) plants to foliar-applied glycine betaine and glycine betaine containing sugarbeet extract

AbstractThe present experiment was aimed at examining the ameliorative effect of foliar-applied glycine betaine (50mM GB) and glycine betaine containing sugarbeet extract (50mM GB) on various physiological and biochemical attributes of okra plants under salt stress. The experiment comprised of two okra cultivars (Arka-anamika and Sabaz-pari), two salt levels (0 and 150mM NaCl), and two GB sources (synthetic pure GB and sugarbeet extract) arranged in four replicates. Salt stress significantly suppressed the biomass production, yield, and different gas exchange attributes (A, E, Ci, and gs). Glycine betaine and proline contents in leaves, and Na+ and Cl− contents in both leaves and roots increased, while K+ and Ca2+ contents and K+/Na+ ratios decreased significantly. Foliar application of both pure GB and sugarbeet extract significantly reduced the adverse effects of salt stress on plant biomass production, plant yield, various gas exchange characteristics and leaf K+, Ca2+, Cl− and Na+ contents. However, GB and sugarbeet extract showed differential effects on A, gs, E, Ci, Ci/Ca ratio, leaf K+, Ca2+, and Cl− contents, and K+/Na+ ratio. Pure GB proved better than the sugarbeet extract in improving growth, while the reverse was true for plant yield under salt stress. However, with respect to different gas exchange attributes both GB and sugarbeet extract were found to be equally effective in reducing the adverse effects of salt stress on these photosynthetic attributes. Foliar-applied sugarbeet extract was found to be more effective as compared to pure GB in reducing the adverse effects of salt stress on K+ and Ca2+ uptake and K+/Na+ ratio in shoot and root of both okra cultivars. Thus, sugarbeet extract could be used to induce salt tolerance in economically important crop plants

C–O isotope geochemistry of the Florida phosphate of Four Corners and Hardee County mines, USA: Implication for genesis and diagenesis

© 2017 Elsevier B.V. The study area located in Florida, USA and emphasized on low-grade phosphorites in Hardee County (HC) and Four Corners (FC) mining areas. The main purpose of this study is to apply a standard geochemical technique to understand the diagenetic history and paleo-environmental aspects of phosphates within one of the major phosphate deposits in the USA. The effect of diagenesis on the phosphate minerals was studied by isotope analysis of the phosphate bone fragments and phosphatized mudclasts and rods. The environmental conditions that prevailed during the life of organisms were assessed by isotope analysis of the shark teeth. In this paper, variation in stable isotope (δ18O and δ13C) signatures of structural carbonate in rocks and shark teeth were studied in Florida phosphate. The studied samples show negative values for both δ13C and δ18O isotopes of structural carbonate. The light mudclast samples shows higher oxygen ratios (− 1.6) than the dark mudclasts (− 2.3) in Hardee County, whereas those values were lower, − 2.3 and − 3, respectively, in Four Corners samples. The shark teeth found in the deposits show narrow variations in values of δ13C (− 3.4 to − 4.9%o) and δ18O (− 1.4 to 2.1%o) isotope. The bone fragments in the deposits are more similar to the light mudclasts regarding the isotope ratios and carbonate content. The alteration is evident in the Florida phosphorites where δ18O values of bulk teeth are higher than those of bones and mudclast. This alteration could be because of increasing crystallinity and decreasing carbonate content with increasing depth of burial

Novel Biomarkers of Ciliary Extracellular Vesicles Interact with Ciliopathy and Alzheimer’s Associated Proteins

Ciliary extracellular vesicles (ciEVs), released from primary cilia, contain functional proteins that play an important role in cilia structure and functions. We have recently shown that ciEVs and cytosolic extracellular vesicles (cyEVs) have unique and distinct biomarkers. While ciEV biomarkers have shown some interactions with known ciliary proteins, little is known about the interaction of ciEV proteins with proteins involved in ciliopathy and neurodegenerative disorders. Here, we reveal for the first time the protein-protein interaction (PPI) between the top five ciEVs biomarkers with ciliopathy and Alzheimer disease (AD) proteins. These results support the growing evidence of the critical physiological roles of cilia in neurodegenerative disorders

Osmoregulators proline and glycine betaine counteract salinity stress in canola

Salt inundation leads to increased salinization of arable land in many arid and semi-arid regions. Until genetic solutions are found farmers and growers must either abandon salt-affected fields or use agronomic treatments that alleviate salt stress symptoms. Here, field experiments were carried out to study the effect of the osmoregulators proline at 200 mg L-1 and glycine betaine at 400 mg L-1 in counteracting the harmful effect of soil salinity stress on canola plants grown in Egypt. We assessed growth characteristics, yield and biochemical constituents. Results show first that all growth characters decreased with increasing salinity stress but applied osmoregulators alleviated these negative effects. Second, salinity stress decreased photosynthetic pigments, K and P contents, whilst increasing proline, soluble sugars, ascorbic acid, Na and Cl contents. Third, application of osmoregulators without salt stress increased photosynthetic pigments, proline, soluble sugars, N, K and P contents whilst decreasing Na and Cl contents. It is concluded that the exogenously applied osmoregulators glycine betaine and proline can fully or partially counteract the harmful effect of salinity stress on growth and yield of canola.© INRA and Springer-Verlag, France 2012

Changes in Grape Maturity Induced by Spraying Ethanol

Three different ethanol solutions were sprayed onto Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera L.) clusters during the ripening period: 2.5, 5 and 10% by volume in water. Controls were sprayed with water alone. Three different times of spraying were also tested: 8, 10 and 13 weeks post-flowering. One of the observed changes was a lower titratable acidity in grape samples at harvest, when the clusters were sprayed with ethanol at 10 weeks, in comparison with controls. The wines made with grapes treated with ethanol after mid-veraison, had higher ODs at 520 nm than did the controls. This may due to a combined effect of red pigment levels and acidity. In addition, following malolactic fermentation, the acidity levels of wines made with ethanoltreated grapes were slightly higher than those made with the control grapes. Spraying ethanol at 13 weeks post-flowering increased the berry weight by 10% at harvest without decreasing the °Brix value. The corresponding wines had similar degrees of alcohol. This observation was made for the first time in 2001