Studies on the Performance of Air Cyclone Separator for Removal of Particulate Matter

Emissions from industries and air pollution from these emissions adversely affects the environment and public health. For instance, India depends largely on coal for its power generation. The problem with Indian coal is that it carries a lot of dust with it. Hence, dust carried along with the flue gases has to be separated before sending the gases for further treatment. Cyclone separa-tor, bag filter and electrostatic precipitator have found applications in technological use. ESP demands high voltage (power requirements) whereas general bag filters cannot work beyond 120C. However, cyclone separators have less temperature and pressure limitations and requires low pressure drop. Hence, cyclone separators are usually selected to separate dust from fluid streams

Non-Timber Forest Products: Diversity, Utilization, and Dependency in Fringe Areas of Jaldapara National Park in Indian Sub-Himalayan Region

Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) greatly contribute to livelihood, development, and poverty alleviation across the tropics. We also assumed that the fringe communities inhabiting Jaldapara National Park (JNP) of Indian eastern sub-Himalayan region largely rely on the NTFPs for their livelihood due to its remote and isolated location with no physical infrastructure and facilities. Multistage sampling technique was used for the study. The sample size was 205 households selected randomly from a sample frame of 10 villages. Descriptive statistics was employed to analyze and summarize the data. A total of 146 NTFP species was documented. The communities relied on their NTFP collection/harvest for food, medicine, firewood, fodder, and other socio-cultural items for household use and cash income. The documented species were further categorized into plant, fish, fungus, and insect. The relative frequency of citation (RFC), value ranged from 0.2 to 0.96 for all categories of NTFPs with average 0.78. Income from NTFPs contributed on an average 45% of the total annual household income of the households. NTFPs provided a natural insurance to households especially during the periods of scarcity. Focused interventions with technical and financial support are recommended to uplift the livelihood of the communities in JNP

Kloniranje, ekspresija i karakterizacija paraflagelarnog gena Rod 2 bičaša Trypanosoma evansi

Paraflagellar rod is the major structural component of the trypanosomatid flagellum and is identified as a complex lattice of filaments which runs parallel to the axoneme throughout most of the flagellar length. The present study was carried out to investigate the existence of the paraflagellar rod (PFR 2) gene in Trypanosoma evansi infecting Indian cattle. Local isolates of T. evansi collected from naturally infected cow were multiplied in Wistar rats. Complementary DNA (cDNA) was synthesized from the RNA of host cell free T. evansi parasites by reverse transcription. The gel purified PCR product (PFR 2 gene of T. evansi) was cloned into the pTZ57R/T vector system. The nucleotide sequence of the PFR 2 gene of the T. evansi S.V.V.U. isolate (Accession No. KT277497) obtained in the present study revealed 100% homology with T. evansi China isolate and 99% homology with T. evansi Izatnagar and Bikaner isolates. The recombinant protein was sub-cloned into pET 32a and expressed in the BL21 (DE3) pLysS expression system. The PFR 2 gene of T. evansi S.V.V.U. isolate was further characterized by determination of its protein profile with SDS-PAGE and western blotting. Indirect ELISA was optimized for detection of the specific antibody titre against the recombinant protein of the PFR 2 gene of T. evansi. In the kinetoplastid species the PFR 2 gene is highly conserved. Therefore the PFR 2 gene was suggested as a vaccine candidate, as well as a diagnostic antigen.Paraflagelarni štapić glavna je strukturna komponenta tripanosomskog biča i dio je kompleksa filamenaza koji teku paralelno s aksonemom duž biča. Istraživanje je provedeno kako bi se ispitalo postojanje paraflagelarnog gena Rod 2 (PFR2) u bičaša Trypanosoma evansi koji invadira goveda u Indiji. Lokalni izolat T. evansi prikupljen od prirodno invadiranih krava umnožen je u Wistar štakora. Komplementarna DNA (cDNA) sintetizirana je iz RNA obrnutom transkripcijom iz stanica neinvadiranih nositelja T. evansi parazita. Pročišćeni PCR produkt (gen PFR2 bičaša T. evansi) kloniran je u vektorski sustav pTZ57R/T. Nukleotidna sekvencija gena PFR2 bičaša T. evansi, izolat S.V.V.U. (pristupni broj KT277497) dobivena u ovom istraživanju pokazala je 100 %-tnu sličnost s izolatom T. evansi China i 99 %-tnu s izolatom T. evansi Izatnagar i Bikaner. Rekombinantni protein ponovno je kloniran u sustavu pET 32a i prikazan u sustavu BL21 (DE3) pLysS. Gen PFR2 bičaša T. evansi, izolat S.V.V.U. dalje je karakteriziran određivanjem proteinskog profila metodama SDS-PAGE i Western blotting. Indirektni test ELISA optimiziran je za dokaz titra specifičnih protutijela za rekombinantni protein gena PFR2 bičaša T. evansi. U kinetoplastida gen PFR2 izrazito je očuvan. Stoga bi se gen PFR2 mogao upotrijebiti za cjepivo te kao dijagnostički antigen

Renormalized spin coefficients in the accumulated orbital phase for unequal mass black hole binaries

We analyze galactic black hole mergers and their emitted gravitational waves. Such mergers have typically unequal masses with mass ratio of the order 1/10. The emitted gravitational waves carry the inprint of spins and mass quadrupoles of the binary components. Among these contributions, we consider here the quasi-precessional evolution of the spins. A method of taking into account these third post-Newtonian (3PN) effects by renormalizing (redefining) the 1.5 PN and 2PN accurate spin contributions to the accumulated orbital phase is developed.Comment: 10 pages, to appear in Class. Quantum Grav. GWDAW13 Proceedings Special Issue, v2: no typos conjectur

Age and gender specific normal values of left ventricular mass, volume and function for gradient echo magnetic resonance imaging: a cross sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Knowledge about age-specific normal values for left ventricular mass (LVM), end-diastolic volume (EDV), end-systolic volume (ESV), stroke volume (SV) and ejection fraction (EF) by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) is of importance to differentiate between health and disease and to assess the severity of disease. The aims of the study were to determine age and gender specific normal reference values and to explore the normal physiological variation of these parameters from adolescence to late adulthood, in a cross sectional study.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Gradient echo CMR was performed at 1.5 T in 96 healthy volunteers (11–81 years, 50 male). Gender-specific analysis of parameters was undertaken in both absolute values and adjusted for body surface area (BSA).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Age and gender specific normal ranges for LV volumes, mass and function are presented from the second through the eighth decade of life. LVM, ESV and EDV rose during adolescence and declined in adulthood. SV and EF decreased with age. Compared to adult females, adult males had higher BSA-adjusted values of EDV (p = 0.006) and ESV (p < 0.001), similar SV (p = 0.51) and lower EF (p = 0.014). No gender differences were seen in the youngest, 11–15 year, age range.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>LV volumes, mass and function vary over a broad age range in healthy individuals. LV volumes and mass both rise in adolescence and decline with age. EF showed a rapid decline in adolescence compared to changes throughout adulthood. These findings demonstrate the need for age and gender specific normal ranges for clinical use.</p

Synthesis, Characterization, and Biological Evaluation of Benzimidazole Derivatives as Potential Anxiolytics

The synthesized benzimidazoles compounds were prepared from the condensation reaction between o-Phenylenediamine and various carbonyl compounds, in the presence of ammonium chloride as a catalyst. Ammonium chloride is a commercial and environmentally benign catalyst. The yield of all benzimidazole derivatives was found to be in the range of 75 – 94%. The purity of the compounds was ascertained by melting point and TLC. The synthesized compounds were characterized by using IR,1H NMR, and MASS spectral data together with elemental analysis. The synthesized benzimidazole compounds were screened for acute and chronic anti-anxiety activity in Wistar rats by using an elevated plus maze model with standard Diazepam. The synthesized compounds ZB, ZE, ZF, ZG, and ZH showed potent anti-anxiety activity when compared to the standard Diazepam. The compound ZH exhibited a higher anti-anxiety activity when compared to other prepared benzimidazoles. The results were subjected to statistical analysis by using one-way ANOVA followed by the Tukey-Kramer test, to calculate the significance

Ecosystem-Driven Design of In-Home Terminals Based on Open Platform for the

Abstract—In-home healthcare services based on the Internet-of-Things (IoT) have great business potentials. To turn it into reality, a business ecosystem should be established first. Technical solutions should therefore aim for a cooperative ecosystem by meeting the interoperability, security, and system integration requirements. In this paper, we propose an ecosystem-driven design strategy and apply it in the design of an open-platform-based in-home healthcare terminal. A cooperative business ecosystem is formulated by merging the traditiona

A Study of Time-Dependent CP-Violating Asymmetries and Flavor Oscillations in Neutral B Decays at the Upsilon(4S)

We present a measurement of time-dependent CP-violating asymmetries in neutral B meson decays collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy B Factory at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. The data sample consists of 29.7 ${\rm fb}^{-1}$ recorded at the $\Upsilon(4S)$ resonance and 3.9 ${\rm fb}^{-1}$ off-resonance. One of the neutral B mesons, which are produced in pairs at the $\Upsilon(4S)$, is fully reconstructed in the CP decay modes $J/\psi K^0_S$, $\psi(2S) K^0_S$, $\chi_{c1} K^0_S$, $J/\psi K^{*0}$ ($K^{*0}\to K^0_S\pi^0$) and $J/\psi K^0_L$, or in flavor-eigenstate modes involving $D^{(*)}\pi/\rho/a_1$ and $J/\psi K^{*0}$ ($K^{*0}\to K^+\pi^-$). The flavor of the other neutral B meson is tagged at the time of its decay, mainly with the charge of identified leptons and kaons. The proper time elapsed between the decays is determined by measuring the distance between the decay vertices. A maximum-likelihood fit to this flavor eigenstate sample finds $\Delta m_d = 0.516\pm 0.016 {\rm (stat)} \pm 0.010 {\rm (syst)} {\rm ps}^{-1}$. The value of the asymmetry amplitude $\sin2\beta$ is determined from a simultaneous maximum-likelihood fit to the time-difference distribution of the flavor-eigenstate sample and about 642 tagged $B^0$ decays in the CP-eigenstate modes. We find $\sin2\beta=0.59\pm 0.14 {\rm (stat)} \pm 0.05 {\rm (syst)}$, demonstrating that CP violation exists in the neutral B meson system. (abridged)Comment: 58 pages, 35 figures, submitted to Physical Review

Measurement of the Branching Fraction for B- --> D0 K*-

We present a measurement of the branching fraction for the decay B- --> D0 K*- using a sample of approximately 86 million BBbar pairs collected by the BaBar detector from e+e- collisions near the Y(4S) resonance. The D0 is detected through its decays to K- pi+, K- pi+ pi0 and K- pi+ pi- pi+, and the K*- through its decay to K0S pi-. We measure the branching fraction to be B.F.(B- --> D0 K*-)= (6.3 +/- 0.7(stat.) +/- 0.5(syst.)) x 10^{-4}.Comment: 7 pages, 1 postscript figure, submitted to Phys. Rev. D (Rapid Communications

Measurement of Branching Fraction and Dalitz Distribution for B0->D(*)+/- K0 pi-/+ Decays

We present measurements of the branching fractions for the three-body decays B0 -> D(*)-/+ K0 pi^+/-$and their resonant submodes$B0 -> D(*)-/+ K*+/- using a sample of approximately 88 million BBbar pairs collected by the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric energy storage ring. We measure: B(B0->D-/+ K0 pi+/-)=(4.9 +/- 0.7(stat) +/- 0.5 (syst)) 10^{-4} B(B0->D*-/+ K0 pi+/-)=(3.0 +/- 0.7(stat) +/- 0.3 (syst)) 10^{-4} B(B0->D-/+ K*+/-)=(4.6 +/- 0.6(stat) +/- 0.5 (syst)) 10^{-4} B(B0->D*-/+ K*+/-)=(3.2 +/- 0.6(stat) +/- 0.3 (syst)) 10^{-4} From these measurements we determine the fractions of resonant events to be : f(B0-> D-/+ K*+/-) = 0.63 +/- 0.08(stat) +/- 0.04(syst) f(B0-> D*-/+ K*+/-) = 0.72 +/- 0.14(stat) +/- 0.05(syst)Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures submitted to Phys. Rev. Let