Occurrence of Salmonella enterica, subspecies enterica serovar Berta (Salmonella Berta) in bovine calves, in Himachal Pradesh, India

Salmonellosis is an important zoonotic disease of economic significance. It infects both man and animals alike around the globe. Salmonella enterica, subspecies enterica serovar Berta (9,12: f, g, t:-) was isolated from three out of five blood samples of 3-6-month-old ailing calves. The isolates were sensitive to ciprofloxacin, enrofloxacin, ofloxacin and moderately sensitive to gentamicin, lomefloxacin, oxytetracyclines, tetracyclines, but refractory to ampicillin and penicillin. Treatment with enrofloxacin resulted in cent per cent recovery. The infection might have been picked up by calves from poultry birds reared in the same premises. Key words: enrofloxacin, Jersey cross-bred calves, Salmonella Bert

Real And Reactive Power Saving In Three Phase Induction Machine Using Star-Delta Switching Schemes

ABSTRACT: Induction machines are the most commonly used industrial drives for variety of applications. It has been estimated that induction motors consumes approximately 50 % of all the electric energy generated. Further, in the area of renewable energy sources, such as wind or bio-mass energy, induction machines have been found suitable for functioning as generators. In this context, it may be mentioned that a star-delta switching is common for the starting of three-phase induction motor. Now, it is proposed to use this star-delta switching for energy conservation of induction machines, i.e., at times of reduced loads, the machine switched back to star connection. Using a three-phase, 400 V, 50 Hz, 4-pole induction machine, it has been demonstrated that the star-delta switching of stator winding of three-phase induction machine (motor / generator operations) reconnected in star at suitable reduced loads with a switching arrangement, can result in improved efficiency and power factor, as compared to a fixed delta or star connection. The predetermined values along with the experimental results have also been presented in this report. A simulation program has been developed for the predetermination of performance of the three-phase induction machine using exact equivalent circuit. A case study on a 250 kW, 400 V, 4-pole, threephase induction machine, operated with different load cycles, reveals the significant real and reactive power savings that could be obtained in the present proposal

Identification of a virus naturally infecting sorghum in India as Sugarcane streak mosaic virus

The virus associated with mosaic disease of sorghum growing around the sugarcane fields in Andhra Pradesh state, India was found to be serologically related to the Sugarcane streak mosaic virus (SStMV) and Sorghum mosaic Parbhani virus (SMPV). The reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of the total RNA from the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay positive sorghum samples with the potyvirus specific degenerate primers yielded an amplicon of ∼500 bp. This amplicon sequence had a 95% identity to the SStMV-Andhra Pradesh (SStMV-AP) and SStMV-Coimbatore isolates reported to naturally infect sugarcane in India. Further confirmation was made by RT-PCR of these samples with the SStMV-AP sequence specific primers that yielded ∼1,000 bp amplicon comprising the entire coat protein and 3′ UTR of the viral genome. This amplicon sequence also had a identity of 95% at nucleotide level with the SStMV-AP sugarcane isolate, but at the CP amino acid level it had 97.8% identity. This partial sequence data confirmed the association of SStMV with the mosaic disease of sorghum in Andhra Pradesh state, India. To our knowledge, this is the first report on association of SStMV with mosaic disease of sorghum and designated as SStMV-sorghum isolat

Development of Wood Apple Shell ( Feronia acidissima

A biosorbent was prepared by using wood apple shell (WAS) powder and studied its application for the removal of Cd(II) from aqueous solution by a batch method. The biosorbent was characterized by infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and elemental analysis. WAS is principally made up of lignin and cellulose, containing functional groups such as alcoholic, ketonic, and carboxylic groups which can be involved in complexation reactions with Cd(II). The effect of experimental parameters like initial pH, contact time, metal ion concentration, and sorbent dose on adsorption was investigated. The optimum pH for biosorption of Cd(II) onto WAS was found to be pH 5.0 and the quantitative removal of Cd(II) ions was achieved in 30 min. The kinetic study showed that the biosorption process followed the pseudo-second-order rate. Experimental data were analyzed by Langmuir, Freundlich, and Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherm models. Desorption studies were carried out using HCl solution

Of cattle, sand flies and men : a systematic review of risk factor analyses for South Asian visceral leishmaniasis and implications for elimination

Background: Studies performed over the past decade have identified fairly consistent epidemiological patterns of risk factors for visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in the Indian subcontinent. Methods and Principal Findings: To inform the current regional VL elimination effort and identify key gaps in knowledge, we performed a systematic review of the literature, with a special emphasis on data regarding the role of cattle because primary risk factor studies have yielded apparently contradictory results. Because humans form the sole infection reservoir, clustering of kala-azar cases is a prominent epidemiological feature, both at the household level and on a larger scale. Subclinical infection also tends to show clustering around kala-azar cases. Within villages, areas become saturated over a period of several years; kala-azar incidence then decreases while neighboring areas see increases. More recently, post kalaazar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) cases have followed kala-azar peaks. Mud walls, palpable dampness in houses, and peridomestic vegetation may increase infection risk through enhanced density and prolonged survival of the sand fly vector. Bed net use, sleeping on a cot and indoor residual spraying are generally associated with decreased risk. Poor micronutrient status increases the risk of progression to kala-azar. The presence of cattle is associated with increased risk in some studies and decreased risk in others, reflecting the complexity of the effect of bovines on sand fly abundance, aggregation, feeding behavior and leishmanial infection rates. Poverty is an overarching theme, interacting with individual risk factors on multiple levels. Conclusions: Carefully designed demonstration projects, taking into account the complex web of interconnected risk factors, are needed to provide direct proof of principle for elimination and to identify the most effective maintenance activities to prevent a rapid resurgence when interventions are scaled back. More effective, short-course treatment regimens for PKDL are urgently needed to enable the elimination initiative to succeed

Alteration of the serum levels of the epidermal growth factor receptor and its ligands in patients with non-small cell lung cancer and head and neck carcinoma

Serum levels of the soluble epidermal growth factor receptor (sEGFR) and its ligands epidermal growth factor (EGF), transforming growth factor-α (TGF-α) and amphiregulin (AR) were measured in healthy donors and patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and head and neck carcinoma (HNC). In NSCLC, we found sEGFR and EGF levels significantly lowered in patients with respect to healthy donors. In HNC patients, significantly diminished levels were found in the case of sEGFR, EGF and also AR. In both malignancies, no significant association was found between the serum levels of the molecules and the patients' gender, age or smoking habit. Only a significant association was found between the decrease of sEGFR and the absence of distant metastasis in NSCLC and the tumour stage in HNC. The most interesting result was that combining sEGFR and EGF, sensitivities of 88% in NSCLC and 100% in HNC were reached without losing specificity (97.8% in both cases). The use of discriminant analysis and logistic regression improved the sensitivity for NSCLC and the specificity for HNC. These data demonstrate a potentially interesting value of the serum levels of sEGFR and EGF, especially when combined, as markers for NSCLC and HNC

Review of thermo-physical properties, wetting and heat transfer characteristics of nanofluids and their applicability in industrial quench heat treatment

The success of quenching process during industrial heat treatment mainly depends on the heat transfer characteristics of the quenching medium. In the case of quenching, the scope for redesigning the system or operational parameters for enhancing the heat transfer is very much limited and the emphasis should be on designing quench media with enhanced heat transfer characteristics. Recent studies on nanofluids have shown that these fluids offer improved wetting and heat transfer characteristics. Further water-based nanofluids are environment friendly as compared to mineral oil quench media. These potential advantages have led to the development of nanofluid-based quench media for heat treatment practices. In this article, thermo-physical properties, wetting and boiling heat transfer characteristics of nanofluids are reviewed and discussed. The unique thermal and heat transfer characteristics of nanofluids would be extremely useful for exploiting them as quench media for industrial heat treatment