ESTABLISHING EMPIRICAL RELATION TO PREDICT TEMPERATURE DIFFERENCE OF VORTEX TUBE USING RESPONSE SURFACE METHODOLOGY

Vortex tube is a device that produces cold and hot air simultaneously from the source of compressed air. In this work an attempt has been made to investigate the effect of three controllable input variables namely diameter of the orifices, diameter of the nozzles and inlet pressure over the temperature difference in the cold side as output using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). Experiments are conducted using central composite design with three factors at three levels. The influence of vital parameters and interaction among these are investigated using analysis of variance (ANOVA). The proposed mathematical model in this study has proven to fit and in line with experimental values with a 95% confidence interval. It is found that the inlet pressure and diameter of nozzle are significant factors that affect the performance of vortex tube

On some toxinological aspects of the starfish Stellaster equestris (Retzius, 1805)

Whole-body extracts in methanol were obtained from the starfish Stellaster equestris. The crude toxin was fractionated stepwise using diethylaminoethyl (DEAE) cellulose column chromatography. The crude toxin was lethal to male albino mice at a dose of 1.00 mL (containing 531.0 µg/mL protein) when injected intraperitoneally (IP) but the toxicity was abolished in all cases except one upon fractionation. The crude toxin and all the adsorbed fractions exhibited potent hemolytic activity on chicken, goat and human blood. However, group B human erythrocytes were resistant to lysis by all fractions and group O by most of the fractions. Paw edema in mice was caused by the crude toxin and all fractions. Pheniramine maleate and piroxicam blocked the toxicity when administered earlier than, or along with, the crude or fractionated toxins but not when administered after the envenomation. Pretreatment with either of these drugs also blocked edema formation

A General Study on Langevin Equations of Arbitrary Order

In this paper, the broad study depends on Langevin differential equations (LDE) of arbitrary order.The fractional order is in terms of ψ-Hilfer fractional operator. This work reveals the dynamicalbehaviour such as existence, uniqueness and stability solutions for LDE involving ψ-Hilfer fractionalerivative (HFD). Thus the fractional LDE with boundary condition, impulsive effect and nonlocalconditions are taken in account to prove the result

Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System control of active suspension system with actuator dynamics

A hybrid intelligent control technique based on combination of neural network and fuzzy logic will be proposed for hydraulic actuated active suspension system. A half car model will be used for design of Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) controller for hydraulic actuated active suspension. The nonlinear behavior of hydraulic system and uncertain parameters in active suspension has increased the difficulty of creating mathematical model for active suspension system. The performance of most of the classical controller depends on nature of mathematical model of system. Hence it is very difficult to create classical controller without mathematical model of a system. Fuzzy logic controller has ability to predict the behavior of system without the need of mathematical model of a system. In this paper, ANFIS controller proposed for active suspension due to its ability to handle actuator dynamics and parameter uncertainty in hydraulic actuator. The simulation carried out for sinusoidal road profile in order to measure the performance of proposed controller. The result of simulation indicates performance of the ANFIS controller for active suspension with actuator dynamics

Rice insect pests and their natural enemies complex in direct seeded and transplanted rice (Oryza sativa) of Chidambaram areas of Cuddalore, India

Rice is the cereal grain that feeds half the planet. Rice fields are economically important as well as ecologically valuable. Rice fields are one of the biggest ecosystems that can be found in the tropics, including diverse insect pests and their natural enemies. In this view, rice varieties were sown in experimental plots of Faculty of Agriculture, Annamalai University, Chidambaram. The values are found significant at 5% level. To monitor the pest and natural enemies by using net sweeping and yellow pan trap method was used. The results showed that the maximum number of yellow stem borer was observed in the direct-seeded rice variety of CR Dhan 209 (7.33) and the leaf folder population was maximum in the direct-seeded rice variety of CR Dhan 204 (7.33). The peak population of grasshopper and green leafhopper was recorded in the transplanted rice variety of CR Dhan200 (11.33), CR Dhan 209 (8.00). The values were found significant at 5% level. The maximum number of Braconidae was observed in direct-seeded rice variety of CR Dhan 205 (3.66), and Ichneumonidae was recorded the highest number of direct-seeded and transplanted rice in the variety of CR Dhan 202 (3.00). The peak population of Trichogrammatidae was recorded in direct-seeded rice of CR Dhan 207 (3.66). The presence of Platygastridae was high in the transplanted rice variety of CR Dhan 201 (8.66), respectively. Among the rice ecosystems, more insect pests and crop damage were noticed in direct-seeded rice more than the transplanted rice

Fecal Incontinence: Prevalence, Severity, and Quality of Life Data from an Outpatient Gastroenterology Practice

Background. The prevalence of fecal incontinence varies tremendously as a result of inadequate data collection methods. Few office-based studies have assessed the prevalence of fecal incontinence and none have looked at modifiable risk factors or effect on quality of life. Design, Settings, Patients, and Main Outcome Measures. Five hundred patients who visited our inner city, university-based gastroenterology practice, were asked about symptoms of fecal incontinence. We also retrospectively reviewed 500 charts to identify the frequency of patient-physician reporting of fecal incontinence. Results. Of the 500 patients that were directly questioned, 58 (12%, 43 women, 15 men) admitted to fecal incontinence compared to 12 (2.4%) in the retrospective arm. Patients with fecal incontinence and loose/watery stool reported the lowest quality of life scores. While the average severity score was similar between men and women, women had a significantly lower average quality of life score (3.04 versus 2.51; P < 0.03). Conclusions. The identification of fecal incontinence increases when patients are directly questioned. Identifying and treating patients with loose stool is a potential strategy to improve quality of life in this patient population. In men and women with similar severity of fecal incontinence, women have a significantly lower quality of life

Fecal Incontinence: Prevalence, Severity, and Quality of Life Data from an Outpatient Gastroenterology Practice

Background. The prevalence of fecal incontinence varies tremendously as a result of inadequate data collection methods. Few officebased studies have assessed the prevalence of fecal incontinence and none have looked at modifiable risk factors or effect on quality of life. Design, Settings, Patients, and Main Outcome Measures. Five hundred patients who visited our inner city, university-based gastroenterology practice, were asked about symptoms of fecal incontinence. We also retrospectively reviewed 500 charts to identify the frequency of patient-physician reporting of fecal incontinence. Results. Of the 500 patients that were directly questioned, 58 (12%, 43 women, 15 men) admitted to fecal incontinence compared to 12 (2.4%) in the retrospective arm. Patients with fecal incontinence and loose/watery stool reported the lowest quality of life scores. While the average severity score was similar between men and women, women had a significantly lower average quality of life score (3.04 versus 2.51; P &lt; 0.03). Conclusions. The identification of fecal incontinence increases when patients are directly questioned. Identifying and treating patients with loose stool is a potential strategy to improve quality of life in this patient population. In men and women with similar severity of fecal incontinence, women have a significantly lower quality of life

Rewiring carotenoid biosynthesis in plants using a viral vector

[EN] Plants can be engineered to sustainably produce compounds of nutritional, industrial or pharmaceutical relevance. This is, however, a challenging task as extensive regulation of biosynthetic pathways often hampers major metabolic changes. Here we describe the use of a viral vector derived from Tobacco etch virus to express a whole heterologous metabolic pathway that produces the health-promoting carotenoid lycopene in tobacco tissues. The pathway consisted in three enzymes from the soil bacteria Pantoea ananatis. Lycopene is present at undetectable levels in chloroplasts of non-infected leaves. In tissues infected with the viral vector, however, lycopene comprised approximately 10% of the total carotenoid content. Our research further showed that plant viruses that express P. ananatis phytoene synthase (crtB), one of the three enzymes of the heterologous pathway, trigger an accumulation of endogenous carotenoids, which together with a reduction in chlorophylls eventually result in a bright yellow pigmentation of infected tissues in various host-virus combinations. So, besides illustrating the potential of viral vectors for engineering complex metabolic pathways, we also show a yellow carotenoid-based reporter that can be used to visually track infection dynamics of plant viruses either alone or in combination with other visual markers.We thank Veronica Aragones and M. Rosa Rodriguez-Goberna for excellent technical assistance. This research was supported by Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (MINECO) grants BIO2014-54269-R to J.-A.D., and BIO2014-59092-P and BIO2015-71703-REDT to M. R.-C. 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