Optimization Of Hydrocarbon Ejector Using Computational Fluid Dynamics

Ejector is a powerful emerging thermo-compressor, which is more effective when used with hydrocarbon refrigerants because of its unique thermophysical properties. Therefore, in the present work, a steam ejector model is designed and validated with experimental results to evaluate its accuracy, followed by a detailed comparative study of hydrocarbons and synthetic refrigerants namely pentane, propane, butane, iso-butane, R1234-ze and R1234-yf by computational fluid dynamics and literature Review. The effectiveness of both classes of refrigerants is measured through entrainment ratio, critical backpressure, and thermophysical properties (Literature Review). Pentane was selected as a working fluid since it has comparatively high combination of entrainment ratio and critical back pressure with refrigeration compatible properties. Lastly, the optimized geometry was simulated by varying diameter of constant area zone, nozzle exit position and nozzle expansion angle through Computational Fluid dynamics. The simulation results provide insight into shockwaves, boundary layer separation, vortex formation of ejector flow

Cotton microbiome profiling and Cotton Leaf Curl Disease (CLCuD) suppression through microbial consortia associated

The failure of breeding strategies has caused scientists to shift to other means where the new approach involves exploring the microbiome to modulate plant defense mechanisms against Cotton Leaf Curl Disease (CLCuD). The cotton microbiome of CLCuD-resistant varieties may harbor a multitude of bacterial genera that significantly contribute to disease resistance and provide information on metabolic pathways that differ between the susceptible and resistant varieties. The current study explores the microbiome of CLCuD-susceptible Gossypium hirsutum and CLCuD-resistant Gossypium arboreum using 16 S rRNA gene amplification for the leaf endophyte, leaf epiphyte, rhizosphere, and root endophyte of the two cotton species. This revealed that Pseudomonas inhabited the rhizosphere while Bacillus was predominantly found in the phyllosphere of CLCuV-resistant G. arboreum. Using salicylic acid-producing Serratia spp. and Fictibacillus spp. isolated from CLCuD-resistant G. arboreum, and guided by our analyses, we have successfully suppressed CLCuD in the susceptible G. hirsutum through pot assays. The applied strains exhibited less than 10% CLCuD incidence as compared to control group where it was 40% at 40 days post viral inoculation. Through detailed analytics, we have successfully demonstrated that the applied microbes serve as a biocontrol agent to suppress viral disease in Cotton

Umbilical Cord Tissue Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Can Differentiate into Skin Cells

Autologous skin grafts are used to treat severe burn wounds, however, the availability of adequate donor sites makes this option less practical. Recently, stem cells have been used successfully in tissue engineering and in regenerative medicine. The current study aims to differentiate umbilical cord tissue derived mesenchymal stem cells (CT-MSCs) into skin cells (fibroblasts and keratinocytes) for use to treat severe burn wounds. After isolation, MSCs were characterized and their growth characteristics were determined. The cells were induced to differentiate into fibroblasts and keratinocytes using respective induction medium. Results indicated that CT-MSCs were spindle shaped, plastic adherent and positive for CD29, CD44, CD73, CD90 markers. CT-MSCs also showed high proliferative potential as indicated by cumulative population doubling, doubling time and plating efficiency. The MSCs were successfully differentiated into fibroblast and keratinocytes as indicated by morphological changes and expression of lineage specific genes. We propose that these differentiated skin cells which are derived from CT-MSCs can thus be used for the development of bioengineered skin; however, further studies are required to evaluate the utility of these substitutes

Dietary supplementation of methionine, lysine, and tryptophan as possible modulators of growth, immune response, and disease resistance in striped catfish (Pangasius hypophthalmus).

The present study investigated the potential role of different essential amino acids (AA) in striped catfish (Pangasius hypophthalmus). Fish (initial weight = 17.91±0.27 g, n = 260) were fed with eight isonitrogenous (30%), and isolipidic diets (6%) formulated to include different combinations of tryptophan (Trp), methionine (Met), and lysine (Lys) (T0: Zero AA, T1: Trp, T2: Lys, T3: Met, T4: Trp+Met, T5: Lys+Trp, T6: Met+Lys, T7: Lys+Trp+Met) for eight weeks. The dose of amino acid supplementation, whether individually or in combination, was 5g of each amino acid per kg of diet. The trial comprised eight treatments, with each treatment consisted of three replicates (n = 10/replicate). At the end of the growth experiment, the highest total body weight, crude protein, digestive enzymatic activity, immune response, and amino acids level were observed in treatments supplemented with amino acids compared to T0. After the growth experiment, fish in all treatments were exposed to Staphylococcus aureus (5×105 CFU/ml). For bacterial challenge trial, the T0 treatment was designated as positive (+ve T0) and negative control (-ve T0). Following the S. aureus challenge, fish fed with amino acids showed a better response to reactive oxygen species and lipid peroxidation, as indicated by the increased levels of catalase and superoxide dismutase. Conversely, the concentration of malondialdehyde gradually decreased in all treatments compared to the +ve T0 treatment. It is concluded that supplementation of amino acids improved the growth, protein content, and immunocompetency against S. aureus in striped catfish. The most favorable outcomes in striped catfish were shown by fish supplemented with T7 diet. These essential amino acids hold potential as efficient supplements for use in the intensive aquaculture for striped catfish

Corrosion behavior of LENS deposited CoCrMo alloy using Bayesian regularization-based artificial neural network (BRANN)

The well-known fact of metallurgy is that the lifetime of a metal structure depends on the material's corrosion rate. Therefore, applying an appropriate prediction of corrosion process for the manufactured metals or alloys trigger an extended life of the product. At present, the current prediction models for additive manufactured alloys are either complicated or built on a restricted basis towards corrosion depletion. This paper presents a novel approach to estimate the corrosion rate and corrosion potential prediction by considering significant major parameters such as solution time, aging time, aging temperature, and corrosion test time. The Laser Engineered Net Shaping (LENS), which is an additive manufacturing process used in the manufacturing of health care equipment, was investigated in the present research. All the accumulated information used to manufacture the LENS-based Cobalt-Chromium-Molybdenum (CoCrMo) alloy was considered from previous literature. They enabled to create a robust Bayesian Regularization (BR)-based Artificial Neural Network (ANN) in order to predict with accuracy the material best corrosion properties. The achieved data were validated by investigating its experimental behavior. It was found a very good agreement between the predicted values generated with the BRANN model and experimental values. The robustness of the proposed approach allows to implement the manufactured materials successfully in the biomedical implants

Simultaneous molecular detection of Anaplasma marginale and Theileria annulata in cattle blood samples collected from Pakistan-Afghanistan boarder region.

Theileria annulata (T. annulata) and Anaplasma marginale (A. marginale) are among the most extensively reported tick borne pathogens and are associated with huge economic losses worldwide. A total of 298 cattle blood samples were screened to report the presence of these two pathogens. The samples were collected from apparently healthy cattle (Achai, n = 155, Jersy, n = 88 and crossbred, n = 55) in Bajaur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) during June and July of 2022. A total of 31 out of 298 cattle (10.4%) were found infected with T. annulata as PCR amplified a 156 base pair fragment from Tams-1 gene of T. annulata from their blood. While 16/298 animals (5.4%) were found infected with A. marginale as they amplified a 382 base pair fragment specific for msp5 gene of this bacterium. Three animals (1%) were found co infected. Cattle susceptibility to T. annulata infection was significantly higher than A. marginale infection (P 0.05) among enrolled cattle. In conclusion, our study has revealed a relatively higher prevalence of T. annulata than A. marginale in cattle from the Bajaur district in KPK. This information is important for improving the productivity of the livestock sector, which is one of the main sources of income in the country. It is recommended that this data be taken into account for the development and implementation of effective tick control programs, as well as for the improvement of livestock management practices to prevent and manage TBDs in Pakistan

Analysis of Flood Damage Assessment through WorldView-2, Quick Bird and Multispectral Satellite Imagery in Southern Punjab, Pakistan

Pakistan has faced numerous natural disasters like floods, earthquakes, landslides and environmental degradation which severely affects the Pakistan’s economy and results in various problems like causalities, diseases, water stress and severe damages (e.g., houses, public infrastructure and agricultural land erosion). There is a lack of systematic approaches to analyze pre and post damage assessment for estimation of exact loses and the total cost for rehabilitation of damaged infrastructure in an efficient way. There exist a variety of mechanisms but GIS based flood mapping is considered the most efficient to manage the flood situation. This study is focused on evaluation of flood affected areas especially in Punjab using WorldView-2, 8-band multi-spectral imagery by applying Remote Sensing (RS) and GIS techniques. The research area is comprised of Kot Addu and Muzaffargarh Districts in Punjab province of Pakistan that faced a catastrophic super flood of 2010. The WorldView-2, Quick Bird and multispectral satellite imagery are capable of making better decisions and assessment of flood effected area accurately. RS and GIS techniques can achieve the objectives and significant analyses through visual interpretations. These techniques are also used to identify the flood affected regions. The study site was examined by applying supervised classification on the basis of the training areas which were obtained during the field surveys in the study site. Supervised classification determines that 16900.96 Hectors of agriculture land was damaged while Sparse Riverine Forest had the area 44.52 hectors. The damaged built-up area was 1805.78 Hectors. RS and GIS techniques are efficient for flood mapping. Full Tex

MEGA-X program utilizing maximum likelihood tree based on kimura-2 parameter model was used for the multiple alignments of partial <i>msp5</i> sequences from <i>Anaplasma marginale</i> isolated in this study and those available in GenBank from other countries around the world.

Anaplasma ovis (CP015994 and HM195102) and Anaplasma centrale (AY054384) msp5 gene were used as an out group. The three new sequences of Anaplasma marginale obtained are highlighted in green box. Scale bar represents 0.20 substitutions per nucleotide position. Bootstrap value is shown as number on each node.</p