198 research outputs found

    Dynamics and control of distributed parameter systems with recycles

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    Master'sMASTER OF ENGINEERIN

    Thermal Degradation of Polypropylene Pine Sawdust Composite Filaments through Successive Heating and Reprocessing

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    Considering the use of the new molding thermoplastic technique, where viscous filaments can be artistically or technically manipulated to create three-dimensional pieces using an extruder, this paper discusses the optimal PP/wood fiber filament preparation conditions especially the thermal degradation. Not only is it essential to know the best processing conditions of the composites but also gain durability and/or advantageous color change when the final products made with viscous filaments are subjected to thermal treatments. Very few papers have been published on polypropylene-pine wood filament composites and the thermal degradation of such filaments. This paper presents the preparation and characterization of filament composites using 5, 10, and 20wt.% pine sawdust with a compatibilizer obtained by hot molding through the use of an extruder, and discusses the effect of both drying time and temperature on the prepared filament composites to understand thermal degradation when subjected to 60°C and/or 120°C. Prepared filament composites are characterized for physical (density, water absorption, and crystallinity), thermal and tensile properties besides their morphology along with fractography. X-ray diffraction results confirmed the data obtained in thermal studies indicating that increased fiber content decreased both the crystallinity and the thermal resistance while decreasing the melting temperature of the filament composites. Fractographic studies revealed low adhesion between the sawdust and the matrix, evidenced by the presence of loose and some unattached sawdust particles in some composites, thus, supporting the observed low strength in these composites, besides the influence of drying time and temperature on the mechanical properties of the composites

    Experimental evaluation of anticonvulsant effect of human placental extract in pentylenetetrazole induced convulsions in mice

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    Background: Human placental extract (HPE) is used in different clinical conditions. Human placental extract (HPE), a folklore medicine, prepared from fresh, healthy human placenta has been in use, as single dose therapy in the treatment of epilepsy in some parts of India. Hence, present study was carried out to explore anticonvulsant property of Human placental extract (HPE) in Pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) induced convulsions in albino mice.Methods: Effects of human placental extract (HPE) (1.0, 1.2 and 1.4 ml / 100 gm body weight) as test drug, sodium valproate (150 mg / kg body weight) as standard and distilled water as control were studied in pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) induced convulsions in albino mouse model. Failure to observe even a single episode of tonic spasm for 5 sec. duration for 1 hour was taken as index of anticonvulsant activity. Onset, duration, complete recovery from convulsion and percent protection was calculated and statistical analysis was carried out using student ‘t’ test.Results: Pretreatment with human placental extract (HPE) administered in the dose of 1.0 ml / 100 gm body weight provided 33.33% and in the doses of 1.2 and 1.4 ml / 100 gm body weight and sodium valproate provided 100% protection from convulsions induced by Pentylenetetrazole in albino mice.Conclusion: Human placental extract (HPE) has shown promising anticonvulsant effect on Pentylenetetrazole induced mouse model

    Exploration of the nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum) plasma immunoproteome using high-resolution LC-MS/MS

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    Funding Information: FKB was supported by a BBSRC-funded EASTBIO Doctoral Training Partnership studentship (grant number BB/M010996/1) awarded to HD. HM is supported by NIH-NIAID predoctoral fellowship F31AI147532. DM received institutional strategic funding from the BBSRC (grants: BBS/E/D/10002071 and BBS/E/D/20002174). For the purpose of open access, the author has applied a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence to any Author Accepted Manuscript version arising from this submission. Funding Information: We thank Professor Sam Martin (University of Aberdeen) for supporting the supervision of FKB during her PhD. Our thanks also to Luke Tallon and Lisa Sadzewicz at UMBs Institute for Genome Sciences for helpful advice and sharing their expertise during sequencing of the nurse shark transcriptome. Publisher Copyright: Copyright © 2022 Bakke, Gundappa, Matz, Stead, Macqueen and Dooley.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

    Zebrafish as a Model to Unveil the Pro-Osteogenic Effects of Boron-Vitamin D3 Synergism

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    The micronutrient boron (B) plays a key role during the ossification process as suggested by various in vitro and in vivo studies. To deepen our understanding of the molecular mechanism involved in the osteogenicity of B and its possible interaction with vitamin D3 (VD), wild-type AB zebrafish (Danio rerio) were used for morphometric analysis and transcriptomic analysis in addition to taking advantage of the availability of specific zebrafish osteoblast reporter lines. First, osteoactive concentrations of B, VD, and their combinations were established by morphometric analysis of the opercular bone in alizarin red-stained zebrafish larvae exposed to two selected concentrations of B (10 and 100 ng/ml), one concentration of VD (10 pg/ml), and their respective combinations. Bone formation, as measured by opercular bone growth, was significantly increased in the two combination treatments than VD alone. Subsequently, a transcriptomic approach was adopted to unveil the molecular key regulators involved in the synergy. Clustering of differentially expressed genes revealed enrichment toward bone and skeletal functions in the groups co-treated with B and VD. Downstream analysis confirmed mitogen-activated protein kinase as the most regulated pathway by the synergy groups in addition to transforming growth factor-beta signaling, focal adhesion, and calcium signaling. The best-performing synergistic treatment, B at 10 ng/ml and VD at 10 pg/ml, was applied to two zebrafish transgenic lines, Tg(sp7:mCherry) and Tg(bglap:EGFP), at multiple time points to further explore the results of the transcriptomic analysis. The synergistic treatment with B and VD induced enrichment of intermediate (sp7(+)) osteoblast at 6 and 9 days post fertilization (dpf) and of mature (bglap(+)) osteoblasts at 15 dpf. The results obtained validate the role of B in VD-dependent control over bone mineralization and can help to widen the spectrum of therapeutic approaches to alleviate pathological conditions caused by VD deficiency by using low concentrations of B as a nutritional additive.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

    Genomic epidemiology of salmonid alphavirus in Norwegian aquaculture reveals recent subtype-2 transmission dynamics and novel subtype-3 lineages

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    Viral disease poses a major barrier to sustainable aquaculture, with outbreaks causing large economic losses and growing concerns for fish welfare. Genomic epidemiology can support disease control by providing rapid inferences on viral evolution and disease transmission. In this study, genomic epidemiology was used to investigate salmonid alphavirus (SAV), the causative agent of pancreas disease (PD) in Atlantic salmon. Our aim was to reconstruct SAV subtype-2 (SAV2) diversity and transmission dynamics in recent Norwegian aquaculture, including the origin of SAV2 in regions where this subtype is not tolerated under current legislation. Using nanopore sequencing, we captured ~90% of the SAV2 genome for n = 68 field isolates from 10 aquaculture production regions sampled between 2018 and 2020. Using time-calibrated phylogenetics, we infer that, following its introduction to Norway around 2010, SAV2 split into two clades (SAV2a and 2b) around 2013. While co-present at the same sites near the boundary of Møre og Romsdal and Trøndelag, SAV2a and 2b were generally detected in non-overlapping locations at more Southern and Northern latitudes, respectively. We provide evidence for recent SAV2 transmission over large distances, revealing a strong connection between Møre og Romsdal and SAV2 detected in 2019/20 in Rogaland. We also demonstrate separate introductions of SAV2a and 2b outside the SAV2 zone in Sognefjorden (Vestland), connected to samples from Møre og Romsdal and Trøndelag, respectively, and a likely 100 km Northward transmission of SAV2b within Trøndelag. Finally, we recovered genomes of SAV2a and SAV3 co-infecting single fish in Rogaland, involving novel SAV3 lineages that diverged from previously characterized strains >25 years ago. Overall, this study demonstrates useful applications of genomic epidemiology for tracking viral disease spread in aquaculture

    Genome-wide reconstruction of rediploidization following autopolyploidization across one hundred million years of salmonid evolution

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    Acknowledgements: This work was supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council grant BBS/E/D/10002070 and the Frimedbio program of the Research Council of Norway (grant number 241016). MKG received studentship funding from a University of Aberdeen Elphinstone scholarship with additional support from the Government of Karnataka. We thank Dr Sebastian Beggel, Dr Bernhard C. Stoeckle, Jens-Eike Täuber and Ms Haiyu Ding at the Aquatic Systems Biology Unit, Technical University of Munich for their support in sampling huchen. We thank Dr Torfinn Nome for supporting bioinformatic analyses. We thank Madhusudhan Gundappa (Twitter: @fish_lines) for providing species illustrations in Figure 1. We also thanks Dr Gareth Gillard (Norwegian University of Life Sciences) for support with the RNA-Seq data. The Earlham Institute performed library preparation and sequencing used in the huchen genome assembly.Peer reviewedPublisher PD
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