A novel multiplex PCR system for the detection of virulence associated genes of E. coli O157:H7 from food system

In view of the importance E. coli serotype 0157:H7 in human diseases, an easy and quick system is desirable to detect toxin producing strains. In this report, we describe standardization of a novel multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction (mPCR) assay for simultaneous detection of four important genes associated with the organism E. coli 0157:H7 viz., stx 1, stx 2, eae A, hly A along with an internal amplification control (IAC). The mPCR method developed in the present study is sensitive enough to detect cells as low as 103 CFU ml-1 or g-1 of the food samples. The E. coli 0157:H7 strains having been identified to contain the gene in the mPCR were unequivocally detected positive for the serological and conventional culture method.  As E. coli 0157:H7 is qualified as biowarfare agent; this mPCR system is of immense help in detecting them during emergencies of biological war and suspected outbreaks.&nbsp

Study of average seasonal variations of surface radio refractivity across some selected cities in Nigeria

The average seasonal variations of surface radio refractivity based on measurement of atmospheric pressure, temperature and relative humidity made across Yola (9o11' N, 12o30' E), Anyigba (7o 45' N, 6o45' E), Lagos (6o 27' N, 5o12' E), and Port-Harcourt (4o 48'N, 7oE) Nigeria, is reported. The measurement was made using wireless automatic weather station installed at the surface of each station under study. The study utilized three years of meteorological data measured from January 2010 to December 2013 to calculate the surface radio refractivity using empirical formula recommended by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU-R 453, 2012). The result shows that the average value of surface radio refractivity showed seasonal variations with high values during the rainy season and low values during the dry season with an increase in the value of surface radio refractivity of 242N units at Anyigba station to a maximum value of 384-N units at Lagos station. The result also shows that climatic condition is the force behind the seasonal variations of surface radio refractivity in all study stations.Keywords: Refractivity, Temperature, Atmospheric pressure, Relative Humidit

T-tube placement as a method for treating penetrating oesophageal injuries

Introduction: Penetrating oesophageal injuries are extremely rare. Their timely recognition can be difficult and optimal treatment remains controversial. Early recognition of injury is possible with the help of a high index of suspicion and early radiological and endoscopic examinations. Prompt surgical intervention with primary repair of injury, should be the goal. Presentation of cases: We describe two cases of penetrating oesophageal trauma where T-Tube placement through the oesophageal defect, was successfully employed. Both cases proved to be challenging due to time lapse after injury and anatomical location. Discussion: Penetrating injuries to the Oesophagus are rare with a reported incidence of 11–17%, most are due to gunshot injuries or stabbings, cervical followed by the thoracic Oesophagus are most at risk. In delayed presentations and sepsis related multi-organ instability, diversion and drainage are considered appropriate. T-tube placement through defects in difficult situations of delayed presentation is well described in setting of iatrogenic perforations. Their use has been described in penetrating injuries but much less frequently. Conclusion: T-tube placement though oesophageal defects can prove to be an effective treatment option to repair both iatrogenic and penetrating injuries of the Oesophagus, whether early or delayed

Design data for ablators. Part III - Mathematical model for decomposition of phenol-formaldehyde ablators Final report

Mathematical model for pyrolytic mechanics of phenol formaldehyde ablator

CP violation in associated charged Higgs boson production with a single top at the LHC

We explore the CP violation in the charged Higgs production associated with a top quark at the LHC in the MSSM. The supersymmetric phases of gaugino masses and trilinear $A$ terms lead to a CP violating asymmetry of the cross section in the $p p \to g b \to t H^\pm$ process through loop corrections to the $tbH^\pm$ vertex. We find that a CP violation more than 10 % is possible if the charged Higgs boson is heavy enough.Comment: 8 pages including 5 eps figures, JHEP, corrections mad

Top quark pair production via polarized and unpolarized photons in Supersymmetric QCD

QCD corrections to top quark pair production via fusion of both polarized and unpolarized photons are calculated in Supersymmetric Model. The corrections are found to be sizable. The dependence of the corrections on the masses of the supersymmetric particles is also investigated. Furthermore, we studied CP asymmetry effects arising from the complex couplings in the MSSM. The CP violating parameter can reach $10^{-2}$ for favorable parameter values.Comment: 26 pages, LaTex, including 12 figures in 12 eps files. submitted to Phys. Rev.

Resolved Photon Processes

We review the present level of knowledge of the hadronic structure of the photon, as revealed in interactions involving quarks and gluons ``in" the photon. The concept of photon structure functions is introduced in the description of deep--inelastic $e \gamma$ scattering, and existing parametrizations of the parton densities in the photon are reviewed. We then turn to hard \gamp\ and \gaga\ collisions, where we treat the production of jets, heavy quarks, hard (direct) photons, \jpsi\ mesons, and lepton pairs. We also comment on issues that go beyond perturbation theory, including recent attempts at a comprehensive description of both hard and soft \gamp\ and \gaga\ interactions. We conclude with a list of open problems.Comment: LaTeX with equation.sty, 85 pages, 29 figures (not included). A complete PS file of the paper, including figures, can be obtained via anonymous ftp from ftp://phenom.physics.wisc.edu/pub/preprints/1995/madph-95-898.ps.

In-Network Outlier Detection in Wireless Sensor Networks

To address the problem of unsupervised outlier detection in wireless sensor networks, we develop an approach that (1) is flexible with respect to the outlier definition, (2) computes the result in-network to reduce both bandwidth and energy usage,(3) only uses single hop communication thus permitting very simple node failure detection and message reliability assurance mechanisms (e.g., carrier-sense), and (4) seamlessly accommodates dynamic updates to data. We examine performance using simulation with real sensor data streams. Our results demonstrate that our approach is accurate and imposes a reasonable communication load and level of power consumption.Comment: Extended version of a paper appearing in the Int'l Conference on Distributed Computing Systems 200

Virtual Photon Strucutre Functions and the Parton Content of the Electron

We point out that in processes involving the parton content of the photon the usual effective photon approximation should be modified. The reason is that the parton content of virtual photons is logarithmically suppressed compared to real photons. We describe this suppression using several simple, physically motivated ans\"atze. Although the parton content of the electron in general no longer factorizes into an electron flux function and a photon structure function, it can still be expressed as a single integral. Numerical examples are given for the \eplem\ collider TRISTAN as well as the $ep$ collider HERA.Comment: 16 pages and 3 figures (available from DREES@WSICPHEN as topdraw or PS files); LaTeX with equation.sty; MAD/PH/819, BU 94-0