Results from the intercalibration of optical low light calibration sources 2011

Following the 38th Annual European Meeting on Atmospheric Studies by Optical Methods in Siuntio in Finland, an intercalibration workshop for optical low light calibration sources was held in Sodankylä, Finland. The main purpose of this workshop was to provide a comparable scale for absolute measurements of aurora and airglow. All sources brought to the intercalibration workshop were compared to the Fritz Peak reference source using the Lindau Calibration Photometer built by Wilhelm Barke and Hans Lauche in 1984. The results were compared to several earlier intercalibration workshops. It was found that most sources were fairly stable over time, with errors in the range of 5–25%. To further validate the results, two sources were also intercalibrated at UNIS, Longyearbyen, Svalbard. Preliminary analysis indicates agreement with the intercalibration in Sodankylä within about 15–25%

Advanced R744 solution for supermarkets, hotel chillers and maritime applications in India

R744 integrated systems can meet oscillating heating and cooling demands efficiently and become a game changer in countries such as India. The present work aims to develop and present R744 system designs and disseminate the knowledge under the framework of the INDEE+ project in India, with the focus on three vital sectors: supermarkets, hotels, and seafood industries. Ejector-supported R744 systems are observed to be an ideal solution to increase the R744 system efficiency at high ambient temperature operations as in tropical regions. The strategy is also to evaluate the system operations to deal with an individually proposed R744 system performances to fulfil the thermal load handling demand on both heating and cooling side. Furthermore, students, vendors and end-users are planned to train by utilizing the upcoming demonstration sites with R744 technology. Support is being provided to communicate and finalize the R744 system design specification for the various system configurations. Each development aspect will be evaluated critically to make the proposed R744 technology demo units a success and to become flagship developments supporting India to transfer towards clean cooling and heating technologies.Advanced R744 solution for supermarkets, hotel chillers and maritime applications in IndiaacceptedVersio

Study on retaining natural refrigerant in seafood processing industries in India

In the seafood processing sector in India, natural refrigerant such as NH3 is currently replaced by Freon refrigerants such as HFC-404A, because these systems are comparably more compact, operate above atmospheric pressure and are less toxic. However, these synthetic refrigerants are one of the major sources of global warming. This paper focuses on a standalone-CO2 system with a multi-ejector for transcritical operation and an NH3-CO2 cascade system considering the climatic conditions of important coastlines covering the majority of catch in India. The annual coefficient of performance is compared, and the results show that the COP of NH3-CO2 cascade system exceeds the HFC-404A system by 35 %. Cascade system performs better for -40 oC deep freezers, and the standalone-CO2 system with heat recovery can be efficiently used for -18 oC cold storage. This study will aid in the retention of natural refrigerants in many seafood cities of India. Keywords: ammonia, carbon dioxide, natural refrigerant, cascade, seafood processingacceptedVersio

Performance testing of CO2-NH3 cascade freezer for seafood processing

Most of India’s seafood sector relies on ammonia refrigerant for fish processing. However, due to safety concerns these natural refrigerants are being replaced by synthetic refrigerants in some regions. Carbon dioxide is becoming an alternative refrigerant for deep-freezing applications. For high ambient temperature climate, ammonia cannot be excluded, but low-charge ammonia which is confined to the condenser side can be used in a CO2-NH3 cascade refrigeration system. There is a lack of experimental studies in the fish processing sector, therefore in this study, a 350 kW CO2-NH3 cascade freezer installed in a fish processing factory in Kochi, India is investigated. The NH3 circuit condenses CO2 at -10 °C in gravity flooded plate heat exchanger and the throttled -42 °C CO2 is pumped to five flooded evaporators at a feed rate of 2.5. Higher COP was achieved for -40 °C and below evaporating temperature compared to the previously installed two-stage ammonia refrigeration systems.acceptedVersio

Induction of p38- and gC1qR-dependent IL-8 expression in pulmonary fibroblasts by soluble hepatitis C core protein

BACKGROUND: Recent studies suggest that HCV infection is associated with progressive declines in pulmonary function in patients with underlying pulmonary diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Few molecular studies have addressed the inflammatory aspects of HCV-associated pulmonary disease. Because IL-8 plays a fundamental role in reactive airway diseases, we examined IL-8 signaling in normal human lung fibroblasts (NHLF) in response to the HCV nucleocapsid core protein, a viral antigen shown to modulate intracellular signaling pathways involved in cell proliferation, apoptosis and inflammation. METHODS: NHLF were treated with HCV core protein and assayed for IL-8 expression, phosphorylation of the p38 MAPK pathway, and for the effect of p38 inhibition. RESULTS: Our studies demonstrate that soluble HCV core protein induces significant increases in both IL-8 mRNA and protein expression in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Treatment with HCV core led to phosphorylation of p38 MAPK, and expression of IL-8 was dependent upon p38 activation. Using TNFα as a co-stimulant, we observed additive increases in IL-8 expression. HCV core-mediated expression of IL-8 was inhibited by blocking gC1qR, a known receptor for soluble HCV core linked to MAPK signaling. CONCLUSION: These studies suggest that HCV core protein can lead to enhanced p38- and gC1qR-dependent IL-8 expression. Such a pro-inflammatory role may contribute to the progressive deterioration in pulmonary function recently recognized in individuals chronically infected with HCV

Mumps meningoencephalitis: an epidemiological approach

The aim of this study was to analyse distribution of meningoencefalitis caused by mumps viras in children related to sex, age and seasonal influences. Thirty seven children were evaluated, ages ranging from 2 to 14 years. They were seen at Emergency Unit of Faculdade de Medicina do Triângulo Mineiro and at Hospital da Criança, in Uberaba-MG, Brazil, from March 1st 1991 to February 1st 1993 and they were hospitalized for about 5 days. Through a protocol findings were studied during hospitalization and clinical course stressing epidemiology, symptomatology, cerebrospinal fluid studies, electroencephalogram and cortical function analysis. Only epidemiological data were considered in the present study. Data analysis revealed male predominance, at a range from 5 to 9 years and great number of occurrences at the last quarter of the year.O presente trabalho tem por objetivo, estudar a distribuição quanto ao sexo, idade e sazonalidade, em crianças com meningencefalite pelo vírus da caxumba. Foram avaliadas 37 crianças, com idades variando de 2 a 14 anos, atendidas no Pronto-Socorro do Hospital Escola da FMTM e do Hospital da Criança, MG, no período de 1-março-1991 a 1-fevereiro-1993 e hospitalizadas por período médio de 5 dias. Através de protocolo pré-elaborado foram estudados os achados obtidos por ocasião da internação e evolução, enfatizando-se a epidemiologia, sintomatologia, líquido cefalorraqueano, eletrencefalograma e função cortical. São considerados apenas os dados epidemiológicos, no presente estudo. A análise das informações pertinentes revela predomínio no sexo masculino, na faixa etária dos 5 aos 9 anos e maior número de casos no último trimestre do ano, correspondente à estação da primavera

Proteínas totais do liquido cefalorraqueano obtido por punção da cisterna magna: valores normais. Variações ligadas ao sexo

Aplicando o método de Lowry, determinamos as proteínas totais do LCR considerado normal de 98 pessoas: 58 do sexo masculino e 40 do feminino. Todas as amostras de LCR foram obtidas por punção da cisterna magna (LCR-SO). Mediante tratamento estatístico dos valores obtidos, estabelecemos as taxas normais de proteinorraquia cisternal para a população mista: limite superior de 40,36 mg/100 ml, valor médio de 26,78 mg/100 e limite inferior de 13,20 mg/100 ml. Estes valores são superiores àqueles referidos na literatura. Foi verificado que a proteinorraquia total é, em média, significantemente maior nos indivíduos do sexo masculino, que nos de feminino. Consequentemente estabelecemos em separado os níveis normais de proteínas totais do LCR-SO para pessoas do sexo masculino e feminino. As taxas médias de proteínas totais do LCR-SO de pessoas do sexo masculino e feminino são de 28,76 e 23,91 mg/100 ml, respectivamente; os limites normais vão de 16,96 a 47,13 mg/100 ml para o sexo masculino e de 14,76 a 42,76 mg/100 ml para o sexo feminino

Correlation between serum HCV RNA and aminotransferase levels in patients with chronic HCV infection

Cross-sectional studies on the correlation between serum hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels in patients with chronic hepatitis C have yielded conflicting results. We conducted a longitudinal study to examine the correlation between HCV viremia and serum ALT levels in individual patients over time. Serial samples (mean 9) from 25 patients with chronic HCV infection, including interferon-treated and untreated immunocompetent and immunosuppressed patients, collected over a period of 1–4.8 years (mean 2.6 years) were tested for HCV RNA and ALT levels using a highly reproducible quantitative (bDNA) assay. A significant correlation was found between serum HCV RNA and ALT levels in the patients who received IFN therapy, but no correlation was observed in the untreated patients. Among the untreated patients, the immunosuppressed patients had significantly higher HCV RNA levels (39±4 vs 3.6±8 Meq/ml, P <0.0001) but significantly lower ALT (56±11 vs 97±12 units/liter, P =0.03) levels when compared to the immunocompetent ones. In summary, we found no correlation between serum HCV RNA and ALT levels in chronic hepatitis C patients who are not receiving interferon therapy. Immunosuppression results in higher HCV RNA but lower ALT levels.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/44425/1/10620_2005_Article_BF02071402.pd