Multi-Phase Manganese Mineralization in the Noamundi Synclinorium, East Indian Shield

Manganese mineralization associated with phyllites in and around Joda, Odisha belongs to the Iron Ore Group of Noamundi basin and is a part of Jamda-Koira belt of East Indian Shield. The present study area comprises low to medium grade tectonites containing economic resources of both iron and manganese. Present study is concentrated on Manganese mineralization. Field study and petro-mineralogical observations reveal syngenetic character of manganese ores comprising lowT higher oxides viz. pyrolusite, cryptomelane, manganite as major Mn-minerals along with highT lower oxides viz. jacobsite, bixbyite, braunite and hausmannite as minor Mn-minerals. The Mn-ore bodies and associated phyllites have undergone multiple phases of deformation and metamorphism followed by hydrothermal and supergene processes. Four deformational phases have been deciphered during field study. Geochemical analyses of ores and phyllitic host rocks show high values of Al2O3, TiO2, Ba, Co, Ni, Cr, Cu, Sc, V, As, Zn but depletion of Sr, Yb, Sm, Nb. Geochemical data infer ores to be a recycling product originally derived from a mafic crustal source of tholeiitic character. Age data obtained from Sm-Nd ratio of two rock samples are 3.46 Ga and 2.79 Ga. Present work provides a critical assessment on the multiphase mineralization of manganese ores

Natural Frequency of Vibrating Foundations on Layered Soil System-An Experimental Investigation

This paper presents model block vibration tests results on two and three layered soil system underlain by rigid layer. Using sand and sawdust in different positions (either at top or at middle or at bottom) and thickness (es) inside a tank, different layered soil bed are prepared and vibration tests are conducted on each prepared bed using Lazan Type oscillator. A large number of response curves (frequency vs. amplitude) are obtained on different layered system. Maximum amplitudes (resonant amplitude) and corresponding frequencies (resonant frequency) are tabulated to study the effect of layering on resonant frequencies. Effects of position and thickness (es) of the layer/layers on natural frequencies are found to be significant, Natural frequency increases significantly due to presence of thin stiff layer at top compared to natural frequency of bottom layer treating it to be half space whereas it decreases significantly due presence of thin soft layer at top. Several other significant observations are made and presented in the paper. Natural frequencies of the soil foundation on different layered soil systems used for the experimental investigations are predicted using static equivalent stiffness of the system and compared with experimental results. Predicted results are found to be in good agreement with the experimental results

Sound Radiated by a Supercritical Airfoil Operating in the Incompressible Regime

Measurements of far-field sound radiated by two and three-dimensional supercritical airfoils (ONERA OAT 15A) placed in a low Mach number flow were performed in an anechoic open-jet facility. The chord-based Reynolds numbers were between 156,000 and 468,000, while the Mach numbers ranged between 0.04 and 0.13. For the three-dimensional airfoil, two different aspect ratios (span-to-chord ratio) of 1.0 and 1.5 were considered. For comparison, the sound radiated by a symmetric NACA 0012 and cambered NACA 2412 airfoil was also measured under the same conditions. The noise from the two-dimensional airfoil was found to scale on the fifth power of Mach number. The noise generated by the cross-flow across the tip was the dominant noise source for the three-dimensional airfoils, particularly under high-lift conditions where it exceeds the noise from the mid-span portion across the considered frequency range. The tip noise spectra for the supercritical airfoils exhibit a prominent peak that scales with the free-stream velocity, but its frequency is a weak function of the lift on the airfoil and the aspect ratio. No such peak was observed for the NACA profiles even for higher lift conditions. The beamformed source maps for NACA profiles reveal an intense high-frequency noise source near the tip leading-edge which is much weaker for the supercritical airfoil due to differences in the curvature of the profiles. The tip noise spectra for the supercritical airfoil can be scaled on the fourth power of Mach number and the length-scale associated with the spectral peak. The tip noise peak magnitude and frequencies were found to be nearly independent of the airfoil aspect ratio; however, a reduction in AR was found to shift the tip noise source region further inboard. Stereo particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements performed in a cross-plane behind the three-dimensional airfoils show that this is because a reduction in AR also shifts vortex core towards the mid-span. The PIV results were also used to quantify the meander of the tip vortex and it is shown that the amplitude of vortex meandering is independent of the angle of attack and the aspect ratio with a value between 0.5 – 0.6% of the chord-length for all cases considered

Management of Root Knot Nematode on Tomato Through Grafting Root Stock of Solanum Sisymbriifolium

The root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp) are difficult to manage once established in the field because of their wide host range, and soil-borne nature. Thus, the aim of the present study was to examine the use of resistant root stock of wild brinjal (Solanum sisymbriifolium) to reduce the loss caused by the nematodes on tomato. For the management of root-knot nematodes, grafted plant with resistant root stock of the wild brinjal was tested under farmers\u27 field conditions at Hemza of Kaski district. Grafted and non-grafted plants were produced in root-knot nematode-free soil. Around three week-old grafted and non-grafted tomato plants were transplanted in four different plastic tunnels where root-knot nematodes had been reported previously. The plants were planted in diagonal position to each other as a pair plot in 80 × 60 cm2 spacing in an average of 20 × 7 m2 plastic tunnels. Galling Index (GI) was recorded three times in five randomly selected plants in each plot at 60 days intervals. The first observation was recorded two months after transplanting. Total fruit yield was recorded from same plants. In the grafted plants, the root system was totally free from gall whereas in an average of 7.5 GI in 0-10 scale was recorded in the non-grafted plants. Fruits were harvested from time to time and cumulated after final harvest to calculate the total fruit yield. It was estimated that on an average tomato fruit yield was significantly (P>0.05) increased by 37 percent in the grafted plants compared with the non-grafted plants. Grafting technology could be used effectively for cultivation of commonly grown varieties, which are susceptible to root-knot nematodes in disease prone areas. This can be used as an alternative technology for reducing the use of hazardous pesticides for enhancing commercial organic tomato production.Journal of Nepal Agricultural Research Council Vol.3 2017: 27-3

Erosion of Trust in the Medical Profession in India : Time for Doctors to Act

In India, over the last decade, a series of stewardship failures in the health system, particularly in the medical profession, have led to a massive erosion of trust in these institutions. In many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), the situation is similar and has reached crisis proportions; this crisis requires urgent attention. This paper draws on the insights from the recent developments in India, to argue that a purely control-based regulatory response to this crisis in the medical profession, as is being currently envisaged by the Parliament and the Supreme Court of India, runs the risk of undermining the trusting interpersonal relations between doctors and their patients. A more balanced approach which takes into account the differences between system and interpersonal forms of trust and distrust is warranted. Such an approach should on one hand strongly regulate the institutions mandated with the stewardship and qualities of care functions, and simultaneously on the other hand, initiate measures to nurture the trusting interpersonal relations between doctors and patients. The paper concludes by calling for doctors, and those mandated with the stewardship of the profession, to individually and collectively, critically self-reflect upon the state of their profession, its priorities and its future direction

Genetically encoded intrabody sensors report the interaction and trafficking of β-arrestin 1 upon activation of G protein-coupled receptors

Agonist stimulation of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) typically leads to phosphorylation of GPCRs and binding to multifunctional proteins called β-arrestins (βarrs). The GPCR-βarr interaction critically contributes to GPCR desensitization, endocytosis, and downstream signaling, and GPCR-βarr complex formation can be used as a generic readout of GPCR and βarr activation. Although several methods are currently available to monitor GPCR-βarr interactions, additional sensors to visualize them may expand the toolbox and complement existing methods. We have previously described antibody fragments (FABs) that recognize activated βarr1 upon its interaction with the vasopressin V2 receptor C-terminal phosphopeptide (V2Rpp). Here, we demonstrate that these FABs efficiently report the formation of a GPCR-βarr1 complex for a broad set of chimeric GPCRs harboring the V2R C terminus. We adapted these FABs to an intrabody format by converting them to single-chain variable fragments (ScFvs) and used them to monitor the localization and trafficking of βarr1 in live cells. We observed that upon agonist simulation of cells expressing chimeric GPCRs, these intrabodies first translocate to the cell surface, followed by trafficking into intracellular vesicles. The translocation pattern of intrabodies mirrored that of βarr1, and the intrabodies co-localized with βarr1 at the cell surface and in intracellular vesicles. Interestingly, we discovered that intrabody sensors can also report βarr1 recruitment and trafficking for several unmodified GPCRs. Our characterization of intrabody sensors for βarr1 recruitment and trafficking expands currently available approaches to visualize GPCR-βarr1 binding, which may help decipher additional aspects of GPCR signaling and regulation

TOLL-LIKE RECEPTOR-4 (TLR4) GENE POLYMORPHISM IN HARINGHATA BLACK CHICKEN BREED

The experiment was conducted on Haringhata Black Chicken breed to investigate the polymorphism of exon-2 of Toll-Like Receptor-4 gene. Genomic DNA extracted from 82 birds was used for Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Amplified polymerase chain reaction (PCR) product (248bp) of exon-2 of TLR4 gene revealed two types of SSCP banding pattern arbitrarily assigned as EF and FF genotypes on 10 percent polyacrylamide gel. The genotype frequencies were found to be 0.634 for EF and 0.366 for FF genotype with respect to exon-2 of TLR4 gene. The frequencies of E and F alleles were estimated as 0.317 and 0.683, respectively. The calculated Chi square value revealed that the population was not in Hardy Weinberg Equilibrium with respect to TLR4 gene in Haringhata Black Chicken

Into Thick(er) Air? Oxygen Availability at Humans’ Physiological Frontier on Mount Everest

Global audiences are captivated by climbers pushing themselves to the limits in the hypoxic environment of Mount Everest. However, air pressure sets oxygen abundance, meaning it varies with the weather and climate warming. This presents safety issues for mountaineers, but also an opportunity for public engagement around climate change. Here we blend new observations from Everest with ERA5 reanalysis (1979- 2019) and climate model results to address both perspectives. We find that plausible warming could generate subtle but physiologically relevant changes in summit oxygen availability, including an almost 5% increase in annual minimum VO 2 max for 2°C warming since pre-industrial. In the current climate we find evidence of swings in pressure sufficient to change Everest’s apparent elevation by almost 750 m. Winter pressures can also plunge lower than previously reported, highlighting the importance of air pressure forecasts for the safety of those trying to push the physiological frontier on Mt. Everest

Global Intraurban Intake Fractions for Primary Air Pollutants from Vehicles and Other Distributed Sources

We model intraurban intake fraction (iF) values for distributed ground-level emissions in all 3646 global cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants, encompassing a total population of 2.0 billion. For conserved primary pollutants, population-weighted median, mean, and interquartile range iF values are 26, 39, and 14-52 ppm, respectively, where 1 ppm signifies 1 g inhaled/t emitted. The global mean urban iF reported here is roughly twice as large as previous estimates for cities in the United States and Europe. Intake fractions vary among cities owing to differences in population size, population density, and meteorology. Sorting by size, population-weighted mean iF values are 65, 35, and 15 ppm, respectively, for cities with populations larger than 3, 0.6-3, and 0.1-0.6 million. The 20 worldwide megacities (each >10 million people) have a population-weighted mean iF of 83 ppm. Mean intraurban iF values are greatest in Asia and lowest in land-rich high-income regions. Country-average iF values vary by a factor of 3 among the 10 nations with the largest urban populations