49 research outputs found
DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF RISER FOR SAND CASTING
Casting is one of the earliest metals shaping method known to human beings. It is one of the cheapest methods for mass production of any part and can be effectively used to make complex shaped parts which are not easy to manufacture by other production process. Casting process is subjected to many defects and it is necessary to eliminate them. One of the main defects in castings is “Shrinkage Cavity”, which can be eliminated by attaching a Riser to the casting. This paper describes the parameters to be considered while designing a Riser of an optimum size to get higher Casting Yield. Theoretically designed model has been analyzed thermally in ANSYS 12.0 simulation software to ensure that shrinkage cavity is completely eliminated from casting
Impact of regional climate change and future emission scenarios on surface O3 and PM2.5 over India
Eleven of the world\u27s 20 most polluted cities are located in India and poor air quality is already a major public health issue. However, anthropogenic emissions are predicted to increase substantially in the short-term (2030) and medium-term (2050) futures in India, especially if no further policy efforts are made. In this study, the EMEP/MSC-W chemical transport model has been used to predict changes in surface ozone (O3) and fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) for India in a world of changing emissions and climate. The reference scenario (for present-day) is evaluated against surface-based measurements, mainly at urban stations. The evaluation has also been extended to other data sets which are publicly available on the web but without quality assurance. The evaluation shows high temporal correlation for O 3 (r = 0.9) and high spatial correlation for PM 2.5 (r = 0.5 and r = 0.8 depending on the data set) between the model results and observations. While the overall bias in PM 2.5 is small (lower than 6%), the model overestimates O 3 by 35%. The underestimation in NO x titration is probably the main reason for the O 3 overestimation in the model. However, the level of agreement can be considered satisfactory in this case of a regional model being evaluated against mainly urban measurements, and given the inevitable uncertainties in much of the input data. For the 2050s, the model predicts that climate change will have distinct effects in India in terms of O 3 pollution, with a region in the north characterized by a statistically significant increase by up to 4% (2 ppb) and one in the south by a decrease up to -3% (-1.4 ppb). This variation in O 3 is assumed to be partly related to changes in O 3 deposition velocity caused by changes in soil moisture and, over a few areas, partly also by changes in biogenic non-methane volatile organic compounds. Our calculations suggest that PM 2.5 will increase by up to 6.5% over the Indo-Gangetic Plain by the 2050s. The increase over India is driven by increases in dust, particulate organic matter (OM) and secondary inorganic aerosols (SIAs), which are mainly affected by the change in precipitation, biogenic emissions and wind speed. The large increase in anthropogenic emissions has a larger impact than climate change, causing O 3 and PM 2.5 levels to increase by 13 and 67% on average in the 2050s over the main part of India, respectively. By the 2030s, secondary inorganic aerosol is predicted to become the second largest contributor to PM 2.5 in India, and the largest in the 2050s, exceeding OM and dust
The stilbene biosynthetic pathway and its regulation in Scots pine
Conifers dominate the boreal forests of the Northern Hemisphere, and especially members of the family Pinaceae have great economic and ecological significance. Part of their success is thought to arise from the vast array of secondary metabolites they produce. The products of secondary metabolism are essential for plants to survive in the ever-changing environment. In Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), two groups of secondary metabolites, stilbenes and resin acids, are crucial for decay resistance of heartwood timber and for active defense responses against herbivores and fungal pathogens. Several studies have shown that stilbenes improve decay resistance of pine heartwood. Since there is wide variation in the concentration of stilbenes between individuals and the trait has high heritability, it may be possible to breed heartwood that is more decay-resistant. However, breeding for heartwood properties is slow, since the decay resistance characteristics can be estimated at the earliest from 30-year-old trees. Early selection methods utilizing genetic markers or chemical screening are needed, but we do not yet understand which genes control the biosynthesis of stilbenes and what the genetic differences are between individuals that explain the variation in the capacity to produce stilbenes. Importantly, there is genetic correlation between stress-induced stilbene biosynthesis in seedlings and the heartwood stilbene content in their adult mother trees.
Here, we examined the pine transcriptional responses under two conditions that were previously known to activate stilbene biosynthesis: heartwood formation in adult trees and ultraviolet (UV)-C treatment of needles in seedlings. We found that these two conditions had very little in common, except for the activation of stilbene pathway genes. For example, the regulators of the two responses seemed not to be shared. The activation of the stilbene pathway in response to UV-C treatment occurred a few hours after the onset of the treatment and was independent of translation. Stilbene biosynthesis seems to be an early defense response in Scots pine.
Heartwood formation, an important developmental process in the senescence of secondary xylem, is poorly understood. Based on transcriptomic analysis, stilbene biosynthesis occurs in situ in the transition zone between the sapwood and heartwood, but resin acids were synthesized primarily in the sapwood. Bifunctional nuclease, an enzyme involved in the process of developmentally programmed cell death (dPCD), is a useful marker for heartwood formation and aided us in defining the timing of the process, from spring to late autumn. Expression of this marker, which is strictly confined to dPCD conditions, further clarified that heartwood formation truly is a process that is initiated by intrinsic programming instead of environmental cues.
The transcriptomic data revealed that the expression of the previously characterized pinosylvin O-methyltransferase gene, PMT1, was not induced under stilbene-forming conditions. A new PMT-encoding gene, PMT2, was identified by coexpression analysis. The gene showed an inducible expression pattern very similar to that of the stilbene synthase gene under all conditions studied. PMT2 furthermore methylated pinosylvin with high specificity, in contrast to PMT1, which accepted several substrates.Pohjoisen pallonpuoliskon kasvillisuus on havumetsien hallitsemaa ja etenkin mäntykasvien (Pinaceae) heimoon kuuluu taloudellisesti ja ekologisesti merkittäviä lajeja. Yksi selitys havupuiden menestykselle saattaa olla niiden kyky tuottaa laaja kirjo erilaisia sekundaariyhdisteitä. Männyn (Pinus sylvestris L.) tärkeimpiin sekundaariyhdisteisiin kuuluvat stilbeenit ja terpeenit toimivat puolustuksessa tuholaisia ja patogeenejä vastaan. Aikaisemmat tutkimukset ovat osoittaneet, että aktiivisen puolustuksen lisäksi etenkin stilbeenit parantavat männyn sydänpuun lahonkestävyyttä. Sydänpuun stilbeenien määrä vaihtelee huomattavasti yksilöiden välillä ja ominaisuus on periytyvä, mikä mahdollistaa sydänpuun lahonkestävyyden parantamisen jalostuksen keinoin. Sydänpuun laatuominaisuuksien jalostus on kuitenkin hidasta ja varhaisvalintaan soveltuvien geenimerkkien tunnistaminen nopeuttaisi jalostusprosessia. Emme kuitenkaan vielä tiedä, mitkä geenit säätelevät stilbeenien biosynteesiä ja selittävät erot sydänpuun stilbeenien määrässä. Stilbeenien tuotanto käynnistyy erilaisten stressitekijöiden vaikutuksesta neulasissa ja mantopuussa. Indusoituva tuotanto korreloi sydänpuun stilbeenien määrän kanssa ja tätä voidaan mahdollisesti hyödyntää kemiallisessa seulonnassa taimien varhaisvalinnassa.
Tässä väitöskirjassa tutkittiin muutoksia männyn transkriptomissa sydänpuun muodostumisen aikana ja UV-C käsittelyn seurauksena. Stilbeenien biosynteesireitin entsyymejä koodavat geenit aktivoituivat kummassakin tapauksessa, mutta muuten transkriptomeilla oli hyvin vähän yhteistä. Esimerkiksi yhteisiä transkriptiota sääteleviä tekijöitä ei löydetty ja vaikuttaakin siltä, että eri transkriptiofaktorit säätelevät stilbeenien biosynteesireittiä sydänpuun kehityksen aikana ja stressitekijöiden vaikutuksesta.
Sydänpuun muodostumisen aikana puussa tapahtuvat kemialliset ja rakenteelliset muutokset tunnetaan joillakin lajeilla hyvin, mutta itse prosessin ajoittuminen sekä käynnistymiseen ja säätelyyn vaikuttavat tekijät ovat vielä suurelta osin tuntemattomia. Stilbeenin biosynteesistä vastaavat geenit ilmenivät vaihettumisvyöhykkeellä mantopuun ja sydänpuun välissä, jossa sydänpuun muodostuminen käynnistyy ja näin tukee aiempaa käsitystä stilbeenien in situ biosynteesistä. Hartsihappojen biosynteesistä vastaavat geenit taas ilmenivät lähinnä mantopuussa, jolloin ne todennäköisesti kuljetetaan vaihettumisvyöhykkeelle sen ulkopuolelta. Ohjelmoidulla solukuolemalla on suuri merkitys sekä kasvin kehityksessä, että stressivasteissa. Bifunktionaalinen nukleaasi (BFN) on entsyymi, joka on yhdistetty aiemmissa tutkimuksissa spesifisesti kasvien kehityksellisiin tapahtumiin. Entsyymiä koodaavan geenin havaittiin ilmenevän ainoastaan vaihettumisvyöhykkeellä. Tämä tukee hypoteesia, jonka mukaan sydänpuun muodostuminen on sisäisesti säädelty eikä ympäristötekijöiden laukaisema tapahtuma. Bifunktionaalinen nukleaasi toimi myös hyödyllisenä markkerina sydänpuun muodostumisen ajoittamisessa keväästä myöhäiseen syksyyn.
Transkriptiodata paljasti, että aiemmin tunnistettu stilbeenireitin viimeistä reaktiota katalysoiva metyylitransferaasientsyymiä (PMT1) koodaava geeni ei indusoitunut tutkituissa stilbeenejä tuottavissa olosuhteissa. Tunnistimme uuden metyylitransferaasia koodaavan geenin (PMT2), jonka ekspressioprofiili vastasi stilbeenireitin toisen entsyymin, stilbeenisyntaasin ekspressiota kaikissa tutkituissa olosuhteissa. PMT2 metyloi spesifisesti pinosylviiniä kun taas PMT1 metyloi stilbeenien lisäksi useita rakenteellisesti erilaisia substraatteja
Observations of iodine oxide in the Indian Ocean marine boundary layer : A transect from the tropics to the high latitudes
Observations of iodine oxide (IO) were made in the Indian Ocean and the Southern Ocean marine boundary layer (MBL) during the 8th Indian Southern Ocean Expedition. IO was observed almost ubiquitously in the open ocean with larger mixing ratios south of the Polar Front (PF). Contrary to previous reports, IO was not positively correlated to sea surface temperature (SST)/salinity, or negatively to chlorophyll a. Over the whole expedition, SST showed a weak negative correlation with respect to IO while chl a was positively correlated. North of the PF, chl a showed a strong positive correlation with IO. The computed HOI and I2 fluxes do not show any significant correlation with atmospheric IO. Simulations with the global CAM-Chem model show a reasonably good agreement with observations north of the PF but the model fails to reproduce the elevated IO south of the PF indicating that the current emission parametrizations are not sufficient to explain iodine chemistry in the Southern Indian Ocean
Observations of iodine oxide in the Indian Ocean marine boundary layer : A transect from the tropics to the high latitudes
Observations of iodine oxide (IO) were made in the Indian Ocean and the Southern Ocean marine boundary layer (MBL) during the 8th Indian Southern Ocean Expedition. IO was observed almost ubiquitously in the open ocean with larger mixing ratios south of the Polar Front (PF). Contrary to previous reports, IO was not positively correlated to sea surface temperature (SST)/salinity, or negatively to chlorophyll a. Over the whole expedition, SST showed a weak negative correlation with respect to IO while chl a was positively correlated. North of the PF, chl a showed a strong positive correlation with IO. The computed HOI and I2 fluxes do not show any significant correlation with atmospheric IO. Simulations with the global CAM-Chem model show a reasonably good agreement with observations north of the PF but the model fails to reproduce the elevated IO south of the PF indicating that the current emission parametrizations are not sufficient to explain iodine chemistry in the Southern Indian Ocean
Vertical transport of ozone and CO during super cyclones in the Bay of Bengal as detected by Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer
Vertical profiles of carbon monoxide (CO) and ozone retrieved from Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer have been analyzed during two super cyclone systems Mala and Sidr. Super cyclones Mala and Sidr traversed the Bay of Bengal (BOB) region on April 24-29, 2006 and November 12-16, 2007 respectively. The CO and ozone plume is observed as a strong enhancement of these pollutants in the upper troposphere over the BOB, indicating deep convective transport. Longitude-height cross-section of these pollutants shows vertical transport to the upper troposphere. CO mixing ratio ~90 ppb is observed near the 146-mb level during the cyclone Mala and near 316 mb during the cyclone Sidr. Ozone mixing ratio ~60-100 ppb is observed near the 316-mb level during both the cyclones. Analysis of National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) reanalysis vertical winds (omega) confirms vertical transport in the BOB
Trend Analysis of Total Column Ozone over New Delhi, India
Total Column Ozone measurements from Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) onboard satellite Nimbus 7, Meteor 3 and Earth Probe have been used to determine trends in column ozone over New Delhi. Long term trend obtained with ozone time series data and least square fitting without removing Seasonal cycle, QBO, Solar effect and ENSO, shows that ozone concentration is decreasing by 2.11 (+/- 1.04) % per decade over New Delhi. Therefore, to calculate the exact trend, multifunctional regression model have been used to remove the effect ofseasonal cycle, solar cycle, QBO and ENSO. The obtained long term trend with multifunctional regression model shows that column ozone over Delhi is actually decreasing by 1.83 (+/- 1.02) % per decade. The trend obtained from ozone time series data with least square fit overestimates multifunctional regression model by about 15%. The objective of this paper is to present the result of a long term trend analysis of the TOMS total ozone data over New Delh
Evidence of seasonal enhancement of CO in the upper troposphere over India
The vertical profiles of carbon monoxide (CO) mixing ratios retrieved from the Earth Observing System (EOS), Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) onboard the Aura satellite for the period 2005-2009 and the EOS Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) onboard Aura for the period 2006-2007 were used to examine the evolution of pollutant CO in the upper troposphere (UT) over India. The Model for OZone And Related chemical Tracers version 2 (MOZART-2) was used to examine the seasonal transport of CO in the UT. The satellite observations revealed vertical transport of CO (80-90 ppb) from the surface to the UT during the summer monsoon season. The regular feature of enhancement of CO in the UT over India is presented. The results obtained by the MOZART-2 simulations (for the years 2000-2005) agree with the observations and indicate transport of boundary layer CO to the tropopause during the monsoon season. The observed enhanced CO mixing ratios in the UT are explained by processes involving monsoon convection
Tropospheric ozone (TOR) trend over three major inland Indian cities: Delhi, Hyderabad and Bangalore
An analysis of tropospheric column ozone using the NASA Langley TOR data
during 1979–2005 has been done to investigate the trend over major Indian
cities Delhi, Hyderabad and Bangalore. India was under social
democratic-based policies before 1990s. Economic Liberalization began in
nineties which lead to a significant growth in industrial, energy
and transport sectors in major cities. Our analysis shows that there is a
systematic increase in the number of months with higher tropospheric ozone
values after 1990. A comparison of TOR climatology before and after 1990
over these cities shows evidence of increase in the tropospheric ozone after
1990. Trend obtained from the model shows significant change during monsoon
over Delhi and during pre-monsoon and post-monsoon over Hyderabad and
Bangalore. The present analysis using TOR technique demonstrates the TOR
potential to detect changes in tropospheric ozone over large cities which
are impacted by large anthropogenic pollution