Common Bulkhead Tank Design for Cryogenic Stage of an Indian Launch Vehicle

Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has been advancing in space technology with its cost-effective techniques. Currently, ISRO, in its cryogenic stages, uses truss type intertank structure, which induces large concentrated loads at the truss interfaces. As a remedial measure, works on closed intertank are being carried out by them, but this configuration will considerably increase the launch vehicle mass compared to truss type. Therefore, after a thorough literature survey, a Common bulkhead (CBH) tank seemed to be the best solution to the aforementioned problem. Detailed research on sandwich-type CBH has been carried out in this paper with the motivation of saving mass and height in launch vehicles. Suitable core and facesheet material were selected. A novel foam-filled honeycomb core is suggested in this work. Several comparisons in various CBH dome designs were carried out to reach for the best possible configuration and composition that can be used. MATLAB®, SolidWorks®, and ANSYS® were used in parallel for all computations dealing with design and analysis. A mass saving of approximately upto 490 kgs and a height reduction of upto 1.755 m was obtained with the final selected configuration with respect to the current GSLV configuration. These savings can add extra payload capacity to ISRO launch vehicles in their future missions

The invertebrate lysozyme effector ILYS-3 is systemically activated in response to danger signals and confers antimicrobial protection in C. elegans

Little is known about the relative contributions and importance of antibacterial effectors in the nematode C. elegans, despite extensive work on the innate immune responses in this organism. We report an investigation of the expression, function and regulation of the six ilys (invertebrate-type lysozyme) genes of C. elegans. These genes exhibited a surprising variety of tissue-specific expression patterns and responses to starvation or bacterial infection. The most strongly expressed, ilys-3, was investigated in detail. ILYS-3 protein was expressed constitutively in the pharynx and coelomocytes, and dynamically in the intestine. Analysis of mutants showed that ILYS-3 was required for pharyngeal grinding (disruption of bacterial cells) during normal growth and consequently it contributes to longevity, as well as being protective against bacterial pathogens. Both starvation and challenge with Gram-positive pathogens resulted in ERK-MAPK-dependent up-regulation of ilys-3 in the intestine. The intestinal induction by pathogens, but not starvation, was found to be dependent on MPK-1 activity in the pharynx rather than in the intestine, demonstrating unexpected communication between these two tissues. The coelomocyte expression appeared to contribute little to normal growth or immunity. Recombinant ILYS-3 protein was found to exhibit appropriate lytic activity against Gram-positive cell wall material

Candida albicans Infection of Caenorhabditis elegans Induces Antifungal Immune Defenses

Candida albicans yeast cells are found in the intestine of most humans, yet this opportunist can invade host tissues and cause life-threatening infections in susceptible individuals. To better understand the host factors that underlie susceptibility to candidiasis, we developed a new model to study antifungal innate immunity. We demonstrate that the yeast form of C. albicans establishes an intestinal infection in Caenorhabditis elegans, whereas heat-killed yeast are avirulent. Genome-wide, transcription-profiling analysis of C. elegans infected with C. albicans yeast showed that exposure to C. albicans stimulated a rapid host response involving 313 genes (124 upregulated and 189 downregulated, ∼1.6% of the genome) many of which encode antimicrobial, secreted or detoxification proteins. Interestingly, the host genes affected by C. albicans exposure overlapped only to a small extent with the distinct transcriptional responses to the pathogenic bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa or Staphylococcus aureus, indicating that there is a high degree of immune specificity toward different bacterial species and C. albicans. Furthermore, genes induced by P. aeruginosa and S. aureus were strongly over-represented among the genes downregulated during C. albicans infection, suggesting that in response to fungal pathogens, nematodes selectively repress the transcription of antibacterial immune effectors. A similar phenomenon is well known in the plant immune response, but has not been described previously in metazoans. Finally, 56% of the genes induced by live C. albicans were also upregulated by heat-killed yeast. These data suggest that a large part of the transcriptional response to C. albicans is mediated through “pattern recognition,” an ancient immune surveillance mechanism able to detect conserved microbial molecules (so-called pathogen-associated molecular patterns or PAMPs). This study provides new information on the evolution and regulation of the innate immune response to divergent pathogens and demonstrates that nematodes selectively mount specific antifungal defenses at the expense of antibacterial responses

The disruption of proteostasis in neurodegenerative diseases

Cells count on surveillance systems to monitor and protect the cellular proteome which, besides being highly heterogeneous, is constantly being challenged by intrinsic and environmental factors. In this context, the proteostasis network (PN) is essential to achieve a stable and functional proteome. Disruption of the PN is associated with aging and can lead to and/or potentiate the occurrence of many neurodegenerative diseases (ND). This not only emphasizes the importance of the PN in health span and aging but also how its modulation can be a potential target for intervention and treatment of human diseases.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)1.

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field

Effect of Scavengers in Acidolytic Cleavage of Cys(acm)-containing Peptides from Solid Support: Isolation of an Ethanedithiol Disulfide Adduct

Acidolytic cleavage of C-terminal Cys(Acm)-containing tripeptides from the Wang (HMP) resin can lead to partial deprotection of the Acm group and subsequent disulfide formation. The presence of water and the type of scavenger used in the cocktail mixture were found to play a role in the extent of these impurities formed

A comparative study of x-ray chest and lung ultrasonography characteristics among community acquired pneumonia in children

Background: Pneumonia is the leading cause of childhood morbidity and mortality worldwide. Each year, approximately 1.6 million children die from pneumonia. According to the estimates of the World Health Organization (WHO), pneumonia accounts for almost one-fifth of overall childhood mortality Methods: The study was conducted in Department of Paediatric Medicine, SMS Medical College, Jaipur. Study Design: This study is aHospital based analytical type of observational study, Sample size:139 patients. Inclusion criteria: Children between 2 months to 18 years admitted with suspicion for pneumonia on the basis of sign and symptoms were enrolled. Results: Mean age of study subjects was 3.28 ± 0.62 years with median age was 1.5 years. Out of these, 48 (34.5%) were female and 91 (65.5%) were male. Majority 75(53.95%) of patients were below 5th centile of theirweight for age, almost all 138 (99.23%) patients had tachypnoea on clinical examination. According to Chest X-ray findings, 97 (69.78%) patients had consolidation, 12 (8.63%) had peribronchial thickening, 7 (5.03%) had pleural effusion while 2 (1.43%) had consolidation as well as peribronchial thickening and 8 (5.75%) had both pleural effusion and consolidation. On LUS findings on day-1,43 (30.93%) patients had sub pleural lung consolidation, 44 (31.65%)had confluent B-line with consolidation. 2 (1.43%) had confluent B- Lines with pleural line abnormalities. 22 (15.82%) had consolidation with pleural line abnormalities. 21 (15.01%) had pleural effusion with consolidation while 3 (2.15%) had focal or multiple confluent B-line and only 1 (0.72%) had confluent B-line with pleural effusion. 3 (2.15%) patients had no changes in their lung ultrasound. Consolidation was reported in 130 (93.52%) patients. LUS characteristic findings reported that 97 (71.3%) patients had involvement of right lung, 26 (19.1%) patients had involvement of left lung and 13 (9.6%) had involvement of bilateral lung fields. The two characteristic findings common in chest X-ray and LUS are consolidation and pleural effusion. Consolidation was reported in LUS findings of 130 (93.53%) patients and chest X-ray findings of 107 (76.97%) patients. this difference was statistically significant. Conclusion: Though chest radiograph (CXR) has been considered the 'gold standard for the diagnosis of pneumonia in children, Lung ultrasound (LUS) is a very easy and versatile application. It is rapid, portable, repeatable, and non-ionizing

Buried clay pot Irrigation for horticulture in arid zones: A case study

709-712This study presents technical, environmental and socio economic benefits under some case studies carried out by using buried clay pot irrigation for establishing small orchards in Rajasthan, India. Feasibility of treating saline water locally by multieffect distillation and using product water mixed with saline water for irrigation in clay pots has also been studied