Effect of Vehicle Composition and Delay on Roundabout Capacity under Mixed Traffic Conditions

Roundabouts are replacing conventional unsignalized intersections in many parts of the world (Polus and Shmueli, 1997). Capacity estimation is necessary for designing a new roundabout, to analyze and improve the existing roundabout facilities. There are several methods to estimate the capacity of the roundabout, but most of them are for homogeneous lane based traffic conditions and not applicable for mixed traffic conditions. This study tries to find out the applicability of the existing methods to mixed traffic conditions, identify the effect of vehicle composition, travel time and delay on capacity. In this study, data was collected from two roundabouts located in Mysore, Karnataka and Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh in India. Capacities for both the roundabouts are calculated using the existing methods and compared. VISSIM simulation model has been developed and analyzed for different vehicle compositions scenarios. It was observed that vehicle composition of the traffic influences the roundabout capacity. Since the entry capacity of a roundabout varies significantly with the vehicle composition of the traffic at the roundabout, it is necessary to incorporate this factor into the existing capacity estimation models

Association of the antidepressants and the periodontal status: An original research

Antidepressants have anti-inflammatory effects and boost immunity, and dentists should be aware. This case-control study included only those patients who consented to take part and had a ham-d score of at least 16 and a diagnosis of moderate-to-severe depression. Inclusion criteria included adults, those experiencing moderate to severe depression, taking fluoxetine or venlafaxine, and those with twenty or more teeth. Exclusion criteria included tobacco chewers, smokers, women expecting or nursing, periodontal treatment, antibiotics, anti-inflammatory medication, or vitamin/nutritional supplements. Patients who had had surgery or other therapy were excluded from the study. Three groups of patients were created: Control, venlafaxine, and fluoxetine. A periodontist assisted in the dental examination, and indices were observed. The analysis was done using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24.0. Number, percentage, mean, and standard deviation were used to present the values. Results showed that antidepressants may be a risk factor for periodontal health, with increased periodontal parameters, and concluded that It is crucial to frequently check the periodontal health of depressed people using fluoxetine or venlafaxine since these drugs put good periodontal tissues at risk

Isolation and purification of microbial community DNA from soil naturally enriched for chitin

We made an attempt to isolate and purify metagenomic DNA from chitin enriched soil. In this communication we report a modified direct lysis method for soil DNA extraction including initial pre-lysis washing of sample, followed by a rapid polyvinylpyrrolidone-agarose-based purification and electroelution of DNA using Gene-capsule^TM assembly. Rapidity was achieved using low molarity conducting media (sodium-borate buffer) for electrophoresis by reducing run time for both the gel electrophoresis and electroelution. Extracted DNA was sufficiently pure and of high quality, evidenced by amplification of 16S rDNA and chitinase genes by PCR. Metagenomic nature of the DNA was confirmed by running V₃ (16S rDNA) region amplicons using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. This method requires 30 min for purification, and less than 2 h for complete execution of protocol and becomes the first report on the isolation of metagenomic DNA from soil naturally enriched for chitin

Plant growth-promoting chitinolytic paenibacillus elgii responds positively to tobacco root exudates

Bacterial strains from chitin/chitosan-rich soils, from two industries, were screened for their chitinolytic, antifungal, and mineral phosphate solubilization abilities. The isolate SMA-1-SDCH02, positive for all three properties, was selected and identified as Paenibacillus elgii based on morphological and biochemical characters and supported by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. P. elgii enhanced the growth of groundnut in terms of shoot height, root length, total chlorophyll, and fresh and dry weight when applied alone or in combination with chitosan. The plant growth-promoting activity of P. elgii was seen in tobacco in a specially designed gnotobiotic setup indicating its capability to promote growth of at least groundnut and tobacco. Metabolite changes in the bacteria, studied using attenuated total reflectance-infrared (ATR-IR) spectroscopy, revealed split bands of amide I at the 1659- and 1636-cm−1 regions when grown in minimal media amended with tobacco root exudates. The difference in ATR-IR bands in the presence of tobacco root exudates indicated production of compounds with differences in functional groups