COMPARISON OF ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF HONEY AGAINST AEROBIC AND ANAEROBIC BACTERIA

Objective: To compare the antibacterial activity of honey against aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. Methods: Honey is extracted from the honey comb by trained persons. Antimicrobial activity of honey is performed by Agar Cup Diffusion technique for 3 bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli and Clostridium perfringens. Results: By performing the technique with proper guidance, it is observed that the Staphylococcus aureus specimen shows sensitivity to honey whereas the other two specimens Escherichia coli and clostridium perfringens doesn’t show any sensitivity to honey. Conclusion: Due to its vast antibacterial activity of honey, it can be used along with other antibiotics to increase its efficiency

Electron paramagnetic resonance evidence for Jahn-Teller glasses

Single crystal E.P.R. studies of copper as a dopant in lithium potassium sulphate, lithium ammonium sulphate and lithium sodium sulphate have been carried out from room temperature down to 77K. The three Jahn-Teller (JT) systems behave very similarly to one another. The room temperature dynamic JT spectra with giso = 2.19 ± 0.01 and Aiso = ±(33 ± 4)× 10-4 cm-1 transform around 247 K to spectra characterized by randomly frozen-in axial strains with g = 2.4307 ± 0.0005, g = 2.083 ± 0.001, A = ±(116 ± 2) × 10-4 cm-1 and A = ±(14 ± 4) ×10-4 cm-1. We proposed that the low temperature phase (below 247 K) of each of these systems provides an example of a Jahn-Teller glass

Growth and characterization of benzil single crystals using nanotranslation by the modified vertical Bridgman technique

Benzil single crystals have been grown by the modified vertical Bridgman technique using the double wall ampoule with nanotranslation for the first time. The characterization studies of benzil crystals grown by both single and double wall ampoules were analyzed. The grown benzil crystal was confirmed by single crystal and powder X-ray diffraction analyses. Fourier transform infrared analysis confirms the functional groups of the grown benzil. High resolution X-ray diffraction analysis indicates the crystalline perfection of the grown crystals. The UV-Vis-NIR studies show that the grown benzil crystals cutoff wavelength is around 434 nm. The green emission of the grown benzil was identified by photoluminescence studies. The thermal property of the grown benzil was studied by thermogravimetric and differential thermal analyses. The dielectric measurements of benzil crystals were carried out with different frequencies and temperatures and the results indicate an increase in dielectric and conductivity parameters with the increase of temperature at all frequencies. The second harmonic conversion efficiency of the grown benzil was determined

ANALYSIS OF SULPHUR CONTENT IN COPRA

Agriculture is the largest economic sector in India. Coconut is one of the most demanded fruit amongst all. The dried coconut, copra is the main source of coconut oil. Naturally it contains 70% of moisture content and it is dried to about 7% for production of coconut oil. The sulphur is added as preservative which acts as anti-microbial agent for preventing bacteria, fungus etc. Sulphur is a toxic food preservative which restricts lung performance and leads to direct allergenic reactions. The survey of World Health Organisation says that 65% of asthmatic children are sensitive to sulphur and 75% of children exposed to sulphur exhibits changes in their behaviour. The sulphur fumigation over coconut affects human both externally and internally. Fumigation leads to cancer and environmental pollution. In order to prevent this devastating effect, copra is examined using image processing. The proposed idea is to identify the presence and percentage of sulphur region present in copra. The region of interest is segmented by method of superimposition thereby segmenting white layers in copra. The RGB colour features are extracted to differentiate the sulphur added copra from normal copra. The coconut is dried under 60? in a tray drier and shapes of copra decreases at regular interval of time are extracted using image processing. The decreasing percentage of shape features are measured to identify the sulphur added in the copra. The k-means clustering technique is used to discriminate the copra at different levels. The segmented patch area is measured to determine the percentage of sulphur present in copra. The percentage of sulphur over copra is divided into three levels (low sulphur added region, medium sulphur added region and high sulphur added region). The K-Nearest Neighbour classification is also used to classify the sulphur added copra at different levels. The proposed algorithm classifies the sulphur added copra at three different levels with 86% accuracy

Radiation shielding for superconducting RF cavity test facility at A0

The results of Monte Carlo radiation shielding study performed with the MARS15 code for the vertical test facility at the A0 north cave enclosure at Fermilab are presented and discussed. The vertical test facility at the A0 north cave is planned to be used for testing 1.3 GHz single-cell superconducting RF cavities with accelerating length of 0.115 m. The operations will be focused on high accelerating gradients--up to 50 MV/m. In such a case the facility can be a strong radiation source [1]. When performing a radiation shielding design for the facility one has to take into account gammas generated due to interactions of accelerated electrons with cavity walls and surroundings (for example, range of 3.7-MeV electrons in niobium is approximately 3.1 mm while the thickness of the niobium walls of such RF cavities is about 2.8 mm). The electrons are usually the result of contamination in the cavity. The radiation shielding study was performed with the MARS15 Monte Carlo code [2]. A realistic model of the source term has been used that describes spatial, energy and angular distributions of the field-emitted electrons inside the RF cavities. The results of the calculations are normalized using the existing experimental data on measured dose rate in the vicinity of such RF cavities

X-ray Structure of Gelatinase A Catalytic Domain Complexed with a Hydroxamate Inhibitor

Gelatinase A is a key enzyme in the family of matrix metalloproteinases (matrixins) that are involved in the degradation of the extracellular matrix. As this process is an integral part of tumour cell metastasis and angiogenesis, gelatinase is an important target for therapeutic intervention. The X-ray crystal structure of the gelatinase A catalytic domain (GaCD) complexed with batimastat (BB94), a hydroxamate inhibitor, shows an active site with a large S1\u27 specificity pocket. The structure is similar to previously solved structures of stromelysin catalytic domain (SCD) but with differences in VR1 and VR2, two surface-exposed loops on either side of the entrance to the active site. Comparison of GaCD with other members of the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) family highlights the conservation of key secondary structural elements and the significant differences in the specificity pockets, knowledge of which should enhance our ability to design specific inhibitors for this important anticancer target

Tensile tests of niobium material for SRF cavities

Mechanical tests of cavity-grade niobium samples were conducted to provide engineering information for the certification of 3rd-harmonic superconducting radio-frequency cavities and cryomodules. Large changes of mechanical properties occur throughout the cavity fabrication process due to the cold work introduced by forming, the heating introduced by electron beam welding, and the recovery of cold work during the anneal used to degas hydrogen after chemical processing. Data is provided here to show the different properties at various stages of fabrication, including both weld regions and samples from the bulk niobium far away from the weld. Measurements of RRR were used to assure that any contamination during annealing was negligible

Trust, control and knowledge transfer in small business networks

The ability to transfer knowledge effectively in the networks of small and medium-sized firms (SMEs) is paramount for supporting firm competitiveness. Our research is the first one that explores the joint effect of trust and control mechanisms on knowledge transfer in the case of networks of SMEs. We use a multiple case study approach based on six Italian networks of SMEs. We analyse the joint impact of different ethical based trustworthiness factors—namely benevolence and integrity—and the levers of control (LOCs)—namely, belief, boundary, diagnostic and interactive LOCs—on knowledge transfer between SMEs in networks. We find that trust substitutes for the implementation of boundary, diagnostic, and belief tools, while it works jointly with interactive tools in order to support knowledge transfer. These insights not only provide a rich foundation for follow-up research, but also inform SME managers about how to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of knowledge transfer with their network partners