Studies on Beach Placers of Kerala Coast

In the present paper, studies carried out on beach placer samples of Kerala coast in general and contribut-ions of NML and its current activities in particular on beach sands of Kerala have been discussed. While earlier beneficiation study at NML was on purification of zircon, present study, under network project, consist of charac-terization of samples from different areas to identify prospective area that will be taken up for development of process technology. Characterisation studies involve size and chemical analyses, sink and float studies, optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Samples from four different areas (Valarpattanam Azhikod (VA), Chava-kkad Ponnani (CP), Neendakara Kayamkulam (NK) and Warkala coast) were studied. It has been found that while heavy mineral concentration at NK and Warkala coast is quite high, the same at CP is rather low in comparison and at VA it's not significant

Energy Landscape, Anti-Plasticization and Polydispersity Induced Crossover of Heterogeneity in Supercooled Polydisperse Liquids

Polydispersity is found to have a significant effect on the potential energy landscape; the the average inherent structure energy with temperature decreases with polydispersity. Increasing polydispersity at fixed volume fraction decreases the glass transition temperature and the fragility of glass formation analogous to the antiplasticization seen in some polymeric melts. An interesting temperature dependent crossover of heterogeneity with polydispersity is observed at low temperature due to the faster build-up of dynamic heterogeneity at lower polydispersity.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures (Submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett.

Testing Data Acquisition Systems for Use in Monitoring Building Energy Conservation Systems

Dedicated microprocessor-based data acquisition systems are beginning to be used to monitor the energy savings from building energy conservation retrofits. These systems capture data from important monitoring points and store the values for periodic transfer to a central location. While there are many data loggers available that appear suited to this task, choosing between them is complicated by a large number of manufacturers, a lack of standard communications protocols, and most significantly, no standardized tests for reporting their capabilities. This paper addresses the last point with a battery of tests that were developed and applied to data loggers from nine manufacturers

Bounds on R-Parity Violating Parameters from Fermion EDM's

We study one-loop contributions to the fermion electric dipole moments in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model with explicit R-parity violating interactions. We obtain new individual bounds on R-parity violating Yukawa couplings and put more stringent limits on certain parameters than those obtained previously.Comment: 16 pages, LaTe

A meta-analysis for echocardiographic assessment of right ventricular structure and function in ARVC.

INTRODUCTION: Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is an inherited pathology that can increase the risk of sudden death. Current Task Force Criteria for echocardiographic diagnosis do not include new, regional assessment tools which may be relevant in a phenotypically diverse disease. We adopted a systematic review and meta-analysis approach to highlight echocardiographic indices that differentiated ARVC patients and healthy controls. METHODS: Data was extracted and analysed from prospective trials that employed a case-control design meeting strict inclusion and exclusion as well as a-priori quality criteria. Structural indices included proximal RV outflow tract(RVOT1) and RV diastolic area(RVDarea). Functional indices included RV fractional area change (RVFAC), Tricuspid Annular Systolic Excursion(TAPSE), peak systolic and early diastolic myocardial velocities (S' and E' respectively) and myocardial strain. RESULTS: Patients with ARVC had larger RVOT1 (mean SD; 34 vs. 28 mm P<0.001) and RVDarea (23 vs. 18 cm2 P<0.001) compared to healthy controls. ARVC patients also had lower RVFAC (38 vs. 46 % P<0.001), TAPSE(17 vs. 23 mm P<0.001), S' (9 vs. 12 cm.s-1 P<0.001), E' (9 vs. 13 cm.s-1 P<0.001) and myocardial strain (-17 vs. -30% P<0.001). CONCLUSION: The data from this meta-analysis support current Task Force criteria for the diagnosis of ARVC. In addition, other RV measures that reflect the complex geometry and function in ARVC clearly differentiated between ARVC and healthy controls and may provide additional diagnostic and management value. We recommend that future working groups consider this data when proposing new / revised criteria for the echocardiographic diagnosis of ARVC

A meta-analysis for echocardiographic assessment of right ventricular structure and function in ARVC.

INTRODUCTION: Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is an inherited pathology that can increase the risk of sudden death. Current Task Force Criteria for echocardiographic diagnosis do not include new, regional assessment tools which may be relevant in a phenotypically diverse disease. We adopted a systematic review and meta-analysis approach to highlight echocardiographic indices that differentiated ARVC patients and healthy controls. METHODS: Data was extracted and analysed from prospective trials that employed a case-control design meeting strict inclusion and exclusion as well as a-priori quality criteria. Structural indices included proximal RV outflow tract(RVOT1) and RV diastolic area(RVDarea). Functional indices included RV fractional area change (RVFAC), Tricuspid Annular Systolic Excursion(TAPSE), peak systolic and early diastolic myocardial velocities (S' and E' respectively) and myocardial strain. RESULTS: Patients with ARVC had larger RVOT1 (mean ? SD; 34 vs. 28 mm P<0.001) and RVDarea (23 vs. 18 cm2 P<0.001) compared to healthy controls. ARVC patients also had lower RVFAC (38 vs. 46 % P<0.001), TAPSE(17 vs. 23 mm P<0.001), S' (9 vs. 12 cm.s-1 P<0.001), E' (9 vs. 13 cm.s-1 P<0.001) and myocardial strain (-17 vs. -30% P<0.001). CONCLUSION: The data from this meta-analysis support current Task Force criteria for the diagnosis of ARVC. In addition, other RV measures that reflect the complex geometry and function in ARVC clearly differentiated between ARVC and healthy controls and may provide additional diagnostic and management value. We recommend that future working groups consider this data when proposing new / revised criteria for the echocardiographic diagnosis of ARVC

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Not AvailableGlobal climate change is anticipated to have a tremendous influence on crop productivity and nutrient cycling in legume-based cropping systems. The effect of long-term application of manure and fertilizers on the dynamics of soil organic carbon (SOC) pools and soil physical properties was studied in a soybean (Glycine max Merr. L)–wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) system. The temperature sensitivity of C pools and the alterations in microbial composition were determined at 25, 35, and 45 ◦C. Higher levels of microbial biomass C (MBC) and nitrogen (MBN), water soluble carbon (WSC), acid hydrolysable carbohydrates (AHC), particulate organic matter carbon (POMC) and nitrogen (POMN) were observed in the NPK + FYM at a depth of 0–15 cm. Irrespective of the treatment, micro aggregates (53–250 m) were a major aggregate size class, comprising 45–57% of the total soil aggregates, followed by macro aggregates (250–2000 m at 37.8–45%). Microbial respiration rate increased by 13.9% in most recalcitrant pools (<53 m) at 45 ◦C than at 25 ◦C. Furthermore, data on labile C (A0) revealed a 4.9–55.4% increase in the substrate pools and a 10.5–32.5% increase in mineralization rate (k) with these treatments at 25–45 ◦C in 250–2000 m aggregates. AHC and POMC content decreased by 23–37% and 12–23% of SOC, respectively, when the temperature was raised from 25 to 45 ◦C. It is concluded the gradual depletion of nutrients, structural degradation and changes in microbial composition might have collectively contributed to the decline in crop yields. It was suggested that temperature has a strong effect on C mineralization, depending on the types and extents of substrate utilization. Seasonal rainfall, maximum and minimum temperature and SOC had jointly explained 12–41% of variation in soybean production in NP, NPK and NPK + FYM treatments. However, balanced use of NPK plus FYM is an important management option to arrest the decline of crop yield.Not Availabl