B-meson signatures of a Supersymmetric U(2) flavor model

We discuss B-meson signatures of a Supersymmetric U(2) flavor model, with relatively light (electroweak scale masses) third generation right-handed scalars. We impose current B and K meson experimental constraints on such a theory, and obtain expectations for B->X_s gamma, B->X_s glue, B->X_s l+ l-, B->phi K_s, B_s-B_sbar mixing, and the dilepton asymmetry in B_s. We show that such a theory is compatible with all current data, and furthermore, could reconcile the apparent deviations from Standard Model predictions that have been found in some experiments.Comment: 37 pages, 21 figures, RevTeX4; v.2 - minor modifications to improve readability. Published versio

Performance studies of aerobic FBBR for the treatment of dairy wastewater

As the dairy wastewater produces lot of pollution problems, treatment of wastes before disposal becomes important. The endeavor to have a continuously operating, non clogging biofilm reactor with no need for backwashing, and high specific biofilm surface area culminated in the most advanced technology of Aerobic Fluidized Bed treatment where the biomass grows on small elements that move along with the water in the reactor. By the study, the FBB has been proved as highly efficient for strong dairy wastewater treatment. For an organic loading in the range 2.2 to 10.2 kg COD/m3d the efficiency variation was from 94.58 to 82.11%. The reactor combines all the advantages and best features of conventional treatment systems while eliminating the drawbacks of those

Evidence and Scope of Statistics in Ayurveda

Statistics is a form of applied mathematics, in general sense statistics refers to the information we get from data. Data or numbers are all around us and if we make the data mean something it becomes more useful to us. Statistical methods and analysis are often used to communicate research findings and to support hypotheses and give credibility to research methodology and conclusions. Ayurveda, a medical science developed in India as other various ancient sciences based on the simple concept of hetu, linga and oushadha. Various methods like observing the nature, behaviour of animal and similarities in feature where observed, data was collected and conformation of their health benefits are the evidence where statistics was part as a tool to develop this science competent to compete with the modern world challenges. Statistics can be applied and this has a wide scope in many Ayurvedic research works such as in literary research, clinical research, pharmacological research, observational study, survey study etc. Standardization of the variables or charts for assessing concepts like Dosha, Dhatu, Prakruti, Agni, Ama, Bala etc. will help Ayurvedic scholars to get accurate results and hence global acceptance of Ayurveda as an authentic science. Use of modern statistical tools and theories will revalidate the earlier observations

Throughflow and Quadratic Drag Effects on Thermal Convection in a Rotating Porous Layer

A linear stability analysis is implemented to study thermal convective instability in a horizontal fluid-saturated rotating porous layer with throughflow in the vertical direction. The modified Forchheimer-extended Darcy equation that includes the time-derivative and Coriolis terms is employed as a momentum equation. The criterion for the occurrence of direct and Hopf bifurcations is obtained using the Galerkin method. It is shown that if a Hopf bifurcation is possible it always occurs at a lower value of the Darcy–Rayleigh number than the direct bifurcation. Increase in the throughflow strength and inertia parameter is to decrease the domain of Prandtl number up to which Hopf bifurcation is limited but opposite is the trend with increasing Taylor number. The effect of rotation is found to be stabilizing the system, in general. However, in the presence of both rotation and Forchheimer drag a small amount of vertical throughflow as well as inertia parameter show some destabilizing effect on the onset of direct bifurcation; a result of contrast noticed when they are acting in isolation. The existing results in the literature are obtained as limiting cases from the present study

Circulating antigen tests and urine reagent strips for diagnosis of active schistosomiasis in endemic areas

Background: Point-of-care (POC) tests for diagnosing schistosomiasis include tests based on circulating antigen detection and urine reagent strip tests. If they had sufficient diagnostic accuracy they could replace conventional microscopy as they provide a quicker answer and are easier to use. Objectives: To summarise the diagnostic accuracy of: a) urine reagent strip tests in detecting activeSchistosoma haematobium infection, with microscopy as the reference standard; and b) circulating antigen tests for detecting active Schistosoma infection in geographical regions endemic for Schistosoma mansoni or S. haematobium or both, with microscopy as the reference standard. Search methods: We searched the electronic databases MEDLINE, EMBASE, BIOSIS, MEDION, and Health Technology Assessment (HTA) without language restriction up to 30 June 2014. Selection criteria We included studies that used microscopy as the reference standard: for S. haematobium, microscopy of urine prepared by filtration, centrifugation, or sedimentation methods; and for S. mansoni, microscopy of stool by Kato-Katz thick smear. We included studies on participants residing in endemic areas only. Data collection and analysis: Two review authors independently extracted data, assessed quality of the data using QUADAS-2, and performed meta-analysis where appropriate. Using the variability of test thresholds, we used the hierarchical summary receiver operating characteristic (HSROC) model for all eligible tests (except the circulating cathodic antigen (CCA) POC for S. mansoni, where the bivariate random-effects model was more appropriate). We investigated heterogeneity, and carried out indirect comparisons where data were sufficient. Results for sensitivity and specificity are presented as percentages with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Main results; We included 90 studies; 88 from field settings in Africa. The median S. haematobiuminfection prevalence was 41% (range 1% to 89%) and 36% for S. mansoni (range 8% to 95%). Study design and conduct were poorly reported against current standards. Tests for S. haematobium Urine reagent test strips versus microscopy Compared to microscopy, the detection of microhaematuria on test strips had the highest sensitivity and specificity (sensitivity 75%, 95% CI 71% to 79%; specificity 87%, 95% CI 84% to 90%; 74 studies, 102,447 participants). For proteinuria, sensitivity was 61% and specificity was 82% (82,113 participants); and for leukocyturia, sensitivity was 58% and specificity 61% (1532 participants). However, the difference in overall test accuracy between the urine reagent strips for microhaematuria and proteinuria was not found to be different when we compared separate populations (P = 0.25), or when direct comparisons within the same individuals were performed (paired studies; P = 0.21). When tests were evaluated against the higher quality reference standard (when multiple samples were analysed), sensitivity was marginally lower for microhaematuria (71% vs 75%) and for proteinuria (49% vs 61%). The specificity of these tests was comparable. Antigen assay Compared to microscopy, the CCA test showed considerable heterogeneity; meta-analytic sensitivity estimate was 39%, 95% CI 6% to 73%; specificity 78%, 95% CI 55% to 100% (four studies, 901 participants). Tests for S. mansoni Compared to microscopy, the CCA test meta-analytic estimates for detecting S. mansoni at a single threshold of trace positive were: sensitivity 89% (95% CI 86% to 92%); and specificity 55% (95% CI 46% to 65%; 15 studies, 6091 participants) Against a higher quality reference standard, the sensitivity results were comparable (89% vs 88%) but specificity was higher (66% vs 55%). For the CAA test, sensitivity ranged from 47% to 94%, and specificity from 8% to 100% (four studies, 1583 participants). Authors' conclusions: Among the evaluated tests for S. haematobium infection, microhaematuria correctly detected the largest proportions of infections and non-infections identified by microscopy. The CCA POC test for S. mansoni detects a very large proportion of infections identified by microscopy, but it misclassifies a large proportion of microscopy negatives as positives in endemic areas with a moderate to high prevalence of infection, possibly because the test is potentially more sensitive than microscopy

A randomized clinical study to evaluate the effect of Saptachakra in management of Madhumeha w.s.r. to type 2 diabetes mellitus

Background: Non-communicable diseases are posing major health and development threats. The Worldwide, approximately 200 million people currently have type 2 DM, a prevalence that has been predicted to increase to 366 million by 2030. Diabetes Mellitus comprises a group of common metabolic disorders that share the phenotype of hyperglycemia, with an increase incidence worldwide. The Indian subcontinent has a higher prevalence of DM than any other region in the world, and two to three times the reported prevalence in western countries. Recent surveys say that diabetes is affecting 10-16% of urban population. The disease Madhumeha described in Ayurveda bears close resemblance to Diabetes Mellitus. Objectives: To evaluate the effect of Saptachakra Choorna in the management of Madhumeha w.s.r. to type 2 DM and to compare it with drug taken in the control group. Materials and Method: In the present study, two groups were taken each comprising of 20 patients who fulfilled the diagnostic and inclusion criteria. Subjects of group A were administered Saptachakra Choorna 6gms twice daily and subjects of group B were administered tablet Metformin 500 mg one tablet twice daily, both before food and for a period of 45 days. Observation and Results: In the present study, majority of the symptoms showed clinically significant improvement by Saptachakra Choorna and metformin 500 mg, however it was not statistically significant. In the glycemic parameters like FBS, PPBS, FUS and PPUS within the group administered Saptachakra Choorna 6 gms only FBS and PPBS showed significant improvement where as parameters like FUS and PPUS there was no much improvement and within the group administered tablet Metformin 500 mg significant improvement in all the parameters were observed. On comparing the results between the two groups, the group administered tablet Metformin 500 mg showed a better result than the group administered Saptachakra Choorna. Conclusion: By seeing overall improvement and applying Chi Square Test, tablet Metformin 500 mg showed a better result than Saptachakra Choorna

Selective lactase deficiency is common in pediatric patients undergoing upper endoscopy

Lactase deficiency can lead to significant symptoms in the pediatric population. To date, few studies have examined the prevalence of enzyme testing-based lactase and other disaccharidase deficiencies (DDs) in pediatric patients undergoing upper endoscopic evaluation. The primary objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of selective lactase and other DDs amongst a large cohort of pediatric patients with and without inflammatory bowel disease (IBD: Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis) via a chart review of 739 patients who underwent esophago-gastro-dudenoscopy EGD between April 2010 and August 2016. We identified 560 pediatric patients (ages 1-18 years) who underwent mucosal enzyme testing at the time of their EGD. The overall rate of lactase deficiency (LD) was 39%. LD positively correlated with age (p=0.00017), but there was no significant difference between age matched IBD and non-IBD patients (45% vs. 42% p=0.68). Four patients (0.17%) were found to have selective maltase deficiency. No selective sucrase or palatinase deficiency was identified. Statistically significant differences occurred in lactase deficiency amongst patients of different races. In conclusion, lactase deficiency is a relatively common finding in children undergoing EGD though at no increased rate amongst the IBD patient population. Disaccharidase testing should be considered in pediatric patients undergoing EGD

Determination of dynamic heights in the Bay of Bengal from XBT profiles and climatological salinities

Dynamic height (DH) computations are necessary for the estimation of geostrophic currents, heat transport studies, identification of eddies and to validate the altimeter sea surface height (SSH) observations. To compute DHs we need the temperature and salinity profiles to a reasonable deeper level. But, temperature profiles alone, such as from XBT (expendable bathy thermograph), are more numerous than combined temperature and salinity measurements from CTD (conductivity, temperature and depth). To use these voluminous temperature measurements from XBT observations in the computation of DHs, temperature/salinity relations were developed in many oceanic regions. Since such an exercise cannot be carried out in the Bay of Bengal due to the absence of adequate CTD measurements, we have proposed a method of utilizing XBT measurements and climatological (Levitus and Boyer, 1994) salinities to compute the DHs. The approach is demonstrated by replacing the CTD salinities with the climatological salinities. The relative errors compared to the DH signals are 3.8%, 2.7% and 2.6% for 200, 700 and 1000 dbar levels, respectively. The DHs relative to 700 dbar computed using the XBT temperature and climatological salinity profiles are compared with the SSH observations from TOPEX altimeter. The standard deviation of the difference between the DHs computed after converting to geometrical units and SSH is 7.3 cm

Performance of Nickel-Cadmium Batteries on the GOES-1 Series of Weather Satellites

This is an errata from an original paper published in the 1997 NASA Aerospace Battery workshop proceedings. A minor change was made to the second equation on page 98 and table 4 was revised during the final preparation of the paper. These changes were inadvertently left out of the final proceedings. These pages are reproduced in their entirety

Performance of Nickel-Cadmium Batteries on the GOES I-K Series of Weather Satellites

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) operates the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) spacecraft (among others) to support weather forecasting, severe storm tracking, and meteorological research by the National Weather Service (NWS). The latest in the GOES series consists of 5 spacecraft (originally named GOES I-M), three of which are in orbit and two more in development. Each of five spacecraft carry two Nickel-Cadmium batteries, with batteries designed and manufactured by Space Systems Loral (SS/L) and cells manufactured by Gates Aerospace Batteries (sold to SAFT in 1993). The battery, which consists of 28 cells with a 12 Ah capacity, provides the spacecraft power needs during the ascent phase and during the semi-annual eclipse seasons lasting for approximately 45 days each. The maximum duration eclipses are 72 minutes long which result in a 60 percent depth of discharge (DOD) of the batteries. This paper provides a description of the batteries, reconditioning setup, DOD profile during a typical eclipse season, and flight performance from the 3 launched spacecraft (now GOES 8, 9, and 10) in orbit