An Experimental Investigation of Wind Effect on Pentagonal and Hexagonal Staggered Cylinders

AbstractIn this research work, an experimental investigation of wind effect on pentagonal and hexagonal staggered cylinders was carried out. The study was performed on the group consisting of three cylinders, arranged in staggered form, one pentagonal cylinder in the upstream and another two hexagonal cylinder in the downstream side. The test was conducted in an open circuit wind tunnel at a Reynolds number of 4.22 x 104 based on the face width of the cylinder across the flow direction in a uniform flow velocity of 13.5 m/s. The group of three cylinders was taken into consideration for the study and the surface static pressures were measured for various transverse spacing of 2D, 3D, 5D and longitudinal spacing of 1D, 2D, 4D, 6D, 8D, where D is the width of the cylinder across the flow direction. The surface static pressures at the different locations of the cylinder were measured with the help of inclined multi-manometers. The pressure coefficients were calculated from the measured values of the surface static pressure distribution on the cylinder. Later the drag and lift coefficients were obtained from the pressure coefficients by the numerical integration method. The results will enable the engineers and architects to design buildings more efficiently. Since the results will be expressed in the non-dimensional form they may be applied for the prototype building

People's initiative for total sanitation

VERC was established in 1977 as a project of Save the Children-USA. In 1981, it was indigenized as a private voluntary development organization. Its vision is "A self­reliant society based on justice, equity and sustainability where every human being has the equal opportunity to maximize theirpotentialities ". VERC has had a WATSAN program since inception and WaterAid has been funding this since 1986. Despite a lot of effort made by different stakeholders in the country, the rural WATSAN context of Bangladesh still estimates safe drinking water coverage as 97.5% while actual coverage comes down to 74% because of arsenic contamination in the ground water source. Sanitation coverage for rural areas is only 41.3 %, which in some cases goes down to 15%. Considering the situation, VERC thought of looking for a more effective approach to address the situation. Accordingly, the NGO has innovated the approach of 100% sanitation in the country during the implementation of it's Phase III project activities which started in 1999. Under the new approach, VERC has enabled 50 communities to achieve 100% sanitation cov­erage in seven sub-districts with increased access to safe water supply

PHARMACEUTICAL QUALITY ASSESSMENT OF GLIMEPIRIDE TABLETS – COMPARISON OF BRANDS AND NEWLY FORMULATED TABLETS WITH INNOVATOR

Objective: The main objective of the study was to assess the quality attribute of generic brands and newly formulated tablet of glimepiride and compare their drug release profile with innovator brand. Methods: Different brands were purchased from different markets of UAE. The validated high-performance liquid chromatography method was used to assess the quantitative analysis of glimepiride. The linearity of curve (r² = 0.9999) indicated the accuracy and precision of the analytical method. Comparative dissolution of newly formulated and generic tablets was carried out using USP dissolution apparatus II. Study was accomplished in phosphate buffer (pH = 7.8), the paddle speed was adjusted at 75 rpm. F1 and F2 factor among the brands and kinetic assessment were done to obtain the order of release. Results: Dissolution profiles of formulated tablets were almost same as that of innovator, 91.53 and 94.9, respectively, in 15 min. The statistical value between the different brands (F = 3.698) indicated that there were some differences among the few groups of tablets and p-value (0.002154) indicated that it supported H1 hypothesis. First-order and Weibull models described the drug release with r2 value of 0.9981–0.927210 and 0.9992– 0.9835, respectively. Stability of optimized formulated batch was also examined. Conclusion: It was concluded that the formulated tablets are stable and pharmaceutically as good as the innovators; however, all the selected brands could not be used interchangeably in the clinical practice. It was also concluded that the scrutiny and screening of the drug products, available in the markets, can help to build a better health-care setup

Inclusion Complexation in Sulfobutyl Ether Beta Cyclodextrin and Dispersion in Gelucire for Sustained Release of Nifedipine Employing Almond Gum

In the present research investigation, the utility of employing high dissolving forms of nifedipine for sustained release from matrix tablets with almond gum as major release retardant is explored. A poorly soluble BCS class II drug nifedipine is chosen as a model drug. Efforts were made to alter the dissolution characteristics of the drug before it is entrapped in the polymer matrix of almond gum. Inclusion complexation in sulfobutyl ether beta cyclodextrin or solid dispersion in gelucire (50/13) resulted in enhanced dissolution of nifedipine. The high dissolving forms are characterized by x-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry and infra-red spectroscopy. The matrix tablets prepared employing the high dissolving forms exhibited satisfactory characteristics such as hardness, friability, swelling index. The drug release is found to be slow and spread over a period of 12 hours and the release could be modified with changes in nature of high dissolving form and the proportion of almond gum as the major release retardant. Employing high dissolving forms in matrix tablets of almond gum is found to be a novel approach in obtaining slow and complete release of poorly soluble drug such as nifedipine. Keywords:  sulfobutyl ether beta cyclodextrin, solid dispersion, nifedipin

Performance measures and relationship development in a bilateral governance structure

New organisational forms, including strategic partnerships and networks, are replacing simple market-based transactions and traditional, bureaucratic, hierarchical organisations (Webster, 1992). The shift in the way marketing is being organised is accompanied by both environmental and structural changes (Morgan and Hunt, 1994; Palmer, 2000; Investor Digest, 2001 ). This new emerging paradigm of thought argues that it is more important to focus on the development and management of relationships than on discrete transactions (Ford, 1980; IMP Group, 1982; Webster, 1992; Gronroos, 1994a, 1994b, 1995, 1997a, 1997b; Berry, 1995). These business-to-business buyer-seller trading interactions have been revealed to take place under a variety of governance structures (Bradach and Eccles, 1989; Heide, 1994 ), with each one undergoing different stages of development (Dwyer et al., 1987). Despite this overall agreement, existing relationship marketing literature appears silent regarding the deciding factors that determine whether or not a business relationship is continued. More specifically the literature appears to lack any information and normative guidelines as to the relative importance of criteria when assessing the performance of a business relationship (i.e., the relative importance of performance criteria within and between relationship development stages). Consequently, this study examined the bilateral governance structure, business relationship development stages and performance measures in relationship marketing. A conceptual matrix framework was developed with the most representative performance measures in the framework being operationalised. The framework was tested with the aid of self-completion questionnaires in the UK manufacturing sector, the study setting, which has been achieved through a positivist empirical situational study in the form of scenarios. The findings provided an original contribution to academia through an evaluation of the relative importance of performance measures as deciding factors in furthering the development of a business relationship within a bilateral governance structure. For example, there was differential importance of evaluation criteria within and between stages. Within all the stages trust was significant, whilst only commitment and transaction-specific asset investments were significant within the initiation stage; opportunistic behaviour was significant within the monitoring and termination stages; and distance within the initiation and monitoring stages. When moving from the initiation to monitoring stage, commitment and distance were significant. In addition, distance was also significant when moving from the monitoring to termination stages, and when moving from the initiation to termination stages, commitment and opportunistic behaviour were significant. In addition, a contribution has been made to business practice, through the development of normative managerial guidelines to aid decision-making when moving forward or not along the relational continuum under a bilateral governance structure. For example, trust was found to be a significant determinant for all stages of the business relationship and remains constant across all these stages. This implies that suppliers, whether potential or existing, should attempt to demonstrate high levels of trust at all stages of a business relationship. This can be achieved by different actions in different stages of the business relationship

Mass spectral studies on quadruply bonded molybdenum complexes, Mo₂(S₂PF₂)₄ and Mo₂(S₂PMe₂)₄

797-798The electron impact mass spectrum of Mo2(S2PF2)4 shows the molecular ion which releases a PF2 group to produce the most abundant ion, Mo2S8P3F. This ion fragments by releasing a series of groups such as PF2, PFS and PF2S, For Mo2(S2PMe2)4 Desorption Chemical Ionization (DCI) technique is required to see the molecular ion. The parent ion fragments by the loss of Me2S, PMe2S and PMe3 groups. Loss of PMe3 from molecular ion suggests rearrangement before fragmentation-a process not observed for Mo2(S2PF2)4. The difference in mass spectral fragmentation patterns is in agreement with the different structures of the two compounds

A gene for the suppression of anchorage independence is located in rat chromosome 5 bands q22-23, and the rat alpha-interferon locus maps at the same region.

Cell hybrids between malignant mouse hepatoma cells and normal rat fibroblasts with approximately one set of chromosomes from each parent exhibited remarkable karyotypic stability. Most chromosomes of both parents were retained even after prolonged culture in vitro. Normally, such hybrids showed suppression of the transformed phenotype and formed no colonies in soft agar. However, two hybrids, BS140 and BS181, formed a few colonies in soft agar when many cells were seeded, and also occasional foci of cells were detected piling up in monolayer cell cultures. We isolated soft agar colonies (a-subclones) and sub-clones from foci (h-subclones) of both hybrids, and, as a control, subclones of cells from random areas without foci of one hybrid (BS181 p-subclones). When tested for soft agar growth, cells from the a- and h-subclones of both BS140 and BS181 formed colonies at frequencies comparable to the malignant mouse hepatoma parent, whereas the control cells of the BS181 p-subclones (like the normal rat parental cells) yielded no soft agar colonies. All the cell lines were subjected to detailed karyotype analysis in G-banding, which resulted in the finding that cells from the original BS140 hybrid contained at least one copy of each rat chromosome, whereas BS140 a- and h-subclones had lost both copies of rat chromosome 5. Similarly, the original BS181 hybrid contained at least one copy of each rat chromosome, whereas BS181 a- and h-subclones displayed a deletion of the segment q22-23 of rat chromosome 5. In contrast, the control BS181 p-subclones contained one or two copies of non-deleted rat chromosome 5. The conclusion is that a gene for the suppression of anchorage independence is located in the segment 5q22-23. We propose to call this gene SAI1 (for suppression of anchorage independence). Using Southern blotting, we tested whether any of several gene probes, known to correspond to DNA sequences in rat chromosome 5, were homologous to sequences in the deletion. Only one probe, corresponding to the active alpha1-interferon gene, was shown to be located within the deletion. Hence, the SAI1 gene is closely linked to the alpha 1-interferon gene, and might be identical to this locus.Journal ArticleResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Numerical Study on Aerodynamic Drag Reduction of Racing Cars

AbstractAerodynamic drag is one of the main obstacles to accelerate a solid body when it moves in the air. When a racing car or road vehicle burns fuel to accelerate, drag force pulls it from back to reduce the speed and hence the fuel efficiency is adversely affected. About 50 to 60% of total fuel energy is lost only to overcome this adverse aerodynamic force. To win a race, which may be decided by fraction of second, the racing cars need a faster acceleration, which is possible by reducing the drag force by optimizing its shape to ensure stream-lining or reducing the separation. Reduction of aerodynamic drag has become one of the prime concerns in vehicle aerodynamics. This article is concentrated on different aspects analysis of aerodynamic drag of racing cars and different drag reduction techniques such as rear under body modification and exhaust gas redirection towards the rear separation zones. Through a numerical process (Finite Volume Method) of solving the Favre-averaged Navier-Stokes equations backed by k–epsilon turbulence model, the drag coefficient of the car under analysis is found to be 0.3233 and it is evident that the drag can be reduced up to 22.13% by different rear under-body modifications and up to 9.5% by exhaust gas redirection towards the separated region at the rear of the car. It is also evident that if somehow the negative pressure area and its intensity at the rear of the car can be minimized, the separation pressure drag is subsequently reduced