Non-segmented negative sense RNA viruses as vectors for vaccine development

This article intends to cover two aspects of non-segmented negative sense RNA viruses. In the initial section, the strategy employed by these viruses to replicate their genomes is discussed. This would help in understanding the later section in which the use of these viruses as vaccine vectors has been discussed. For the description of the replication strategy which encompasses virus genome transcription and genome replication carried out by the same RNA dependent RNA polymerase complex, a member of the prototype rhabdovirus family-Chandipura virus has been chosen as an example to illustrate the complex nature of the two processes and their regulation. In the discussion on these viruses serving as vectors for carrying vaccine antigen genes, emphasis has been laid on describing the progress made in using the attenuated viruses as vectors and a description of the systems in which the efficiency of immune responses has been tested

Effect of Diluents on the Extraction of Mercury(II) by n-Butyl Acetate

179-18

Supersymmetric Electromagnetic Waves on Giants and Dual-Giants

We set up the BPS equations for a D3-brane moving in AdS_5 \times S^5 which preserves two supercharges and with all bosonic fields turned on in the world-volume theory. By solving these, we find generalizations of Mikhailov giants and wobbling dual-giants that include electromagnetic waves propagating on their world-volume. For these giants (dual-giants) we show that the BPS field strength is the real part of the pull-back of a holomorphic 2-form in the ambient space C^3 (C^{1,2}) onto the world-volume.Comment: 18 page

Finite-element heat-transfer computations for parallel surfaces with uniform or non-uniform emitting.

Radiation heat transfer has very many applications in building physics. In such studies, one has to deal with radiant energy exchanges between surfaces of different orientation and aspects. Two principal cases that may be cited here are exchanges between (i) surfaces that share a common edge and are at an angle to each other, and (ii) surfaces that are parallel to each other. Examples that may be cited here are walls of buildings and also ceiling and floor areas. In a previous work, the authors presented a generalised, numerical-oriented solution for analysing radiant exchange that belongs to case (i) cited above. In the present article, a generalised treatment for case (ii) is presented. A software tool is also provided for analysing the radiant exchange for surfaces that are parallel to each other and have uniform or non-uniform reflectivity, incident irradiation and/or emission. As a demonstration of the applicability of the present work, calculation of incident reflected irradiation on the walls of urban street canyons with varied orientation and non-uniform reflectivity is presented. Finally, the application of the presently developed tools for enhancing building design has been highlighted

Fusion Nuclear Data activities at FNL, IPR

This paper briefly describes the current fusion nuclear data activities at Fusion Neutronics Laboratory, Institute for Plasma Research. It consist of infrastructure development for the cross-section measurements of structural materials with an accelerator based 14 MeV neutron generator and theoretical study of the cross-section using advanced nuclear reaction modular codes EMPIRE and TALYS. It will also cover the proposed surrogate experiment to measure 55Fe (n, p) 55Mn using BARC-TIFR Pelletron facility at Mumbai

Preliminary investigations on the pit curing of fish in India

Among the methods adopted for the curing of fish in India the practice of pit curing common in certain parts of the Madras State and the neighbouring region of Travancore is of considerable interest for several reasons. Broadly speaking the method consists in burying the fish after salting in mat lined pits for varying periods ranging from a few days to a fortnight or more before marketing in a partially dried condition without any further washing or drying. The products possess a distinct flavour and taste much appreciated by some sections of the public in the eastern parts of Madras State. However the process is mainly adopted by private curers outside the Government curing yards and the quality of the commercial samples leaves much to be desired due to their unwholesome appearance and commonly observed infestation with maggots (Krishna Pillai et ah, 1956). Since pit curing forms one of the main methods of curing around Mandapam, it was considered desirable to undertake a comprehensive investigation of the local practices relating to this cure and the keeping quality of the products. A knowledge of the biochemical changes occurring during maturation under semi-anaerobic conditions which constitute the basis of this cure is necessary for obtaining a better product by this method

Studies on the preservation of fish by pickling

Pickling with salt, vinegar, sugars and spices forms a traditional method of food preservation and is also widely employed for fish curing. A great variety of fishery products prepared with vinegar and spices enjoy wide popularity in Germany and other north European countries. Pickling is also practised in the East in countries like China, Japan and the Philippines (Jarvis, 1950). Although pickled products are of a semi-perishable nature since the concentrations of salt and vinegar employed are limited by considerations of palatability, they possess a greater appeal to consumers than salted and dried fish. Moreover these methods are better suited for curing fatty fish which are susceptible to rancidity in other salting methods. Apart from a few spiced and pickled products like PADDA and MOLLEI prepared on a domestic scale from Seer fish, Colombo Cure of the West Coast forms the chief commercial method in India which employs principles of pickling. Mackerels, Seer and non-fatty sardines are treated by this process and Malpe in South Kanara exports considerable quantities of Colombo cured fish to Ceylon (Nicholson, 1930). Malabar tamarind or ' Goruka Puli', the dried fleshy pod of Garcinia cambogea is used as an adjunct to salt in order to obtain the desired acidity. Though Goruka Puli is specially brought from Ceylon for this purpose, inferior varieties like ' Koda Puli' are also used on a smaller scale. The objectives of the present investigation were to study the chemical aspects of the pickling methods with a view to improve the existing practices and to explore the possibilities for a wider application of pickling methods to smaller varieties of fish like sardines which are mainly sundried at present. Studies on the preparation of high quality spiced and pickled products on the lines of foreign recipes like ' Marinated Herring ' and ' Russian Sardine' were also undertaken in an effort to develop new products for our fishing industry

Open-String Actions and Noncommutativity Beyond the Large-B Limit

In the limit of large, constant B-field (the ``Seiberg-Witten limit''), the derivative expansion for open-superstring effective actions is naturally expressed in terms of the symmetric products *n. Here, we investigate corrections around the large-B limit, for Chern-Simons couplings on the brane and to quadratic order in gauge fields. We perform a boundary-state computation in the commutative theory, and compare it with the corresponding computation on the noncommutative side. These results are then used to examine the possible role of Wilson lines beyond the Seiberg-Witten limit. To quadratic order in fields, the entire tree-level amplitude is described by a metric-dependent deformation of the *2 product, which can be interpreted in terms of a deformed (non-associative) version of the Moyal * product.Comment: 30 pages, harvma

Studies on Neutron, Photon (Bremsstrahlung) and Proton Induced Fission of Actinides and Pre-Actinides

We present the yields of various fission products determined in the reactor neutron, 3.7-18.1 MeV quasi-mono energetic neutron, 8-80 MeV bremsstrahlung and 20-45 MeV proton induced fission of 232Th and 238u using radiochemical and off-line beta or gamma ray counting. The yields of the fission products in the bremsstrahlung induced fission natPb and 209Bi with 50-70 MeV and 2.5 GeV based on off-line gamma ray spectrometric technique were also presented. From the yields of fission products, the mass chains yields were obtained using charge distribution correction. From the mass yield distribution, the peak-to-valley (P/V) ratio was obtained. The role of excitation energy on the peak-to-valley ratio and fine structure such as effect of shell closure proximity and even-odd effect of mass yield distribution were examined. The higher yields of the fission products around A=133-134, 138-140 and 143-144 and their complementary products explained from the nuclear structure effect and role of standard I and II mode of asymmetric fission. In the neutron, photon (bremsstrahlung) and proton induced fission, the asymmetric mass distribution for actinides (Th, u) and symmetric distribution for pre-actinides (Pb, Bi) were explained from different type of potential fission barrier