On the role of dust storms in triggering atmospheric gravity waves observed in the middle atmosphere

Lower atmospheric perturbations often produce measurable effects in the middle and upper atmosphere. The present study demonstrates the response of the middle atmospheric thermal structure to the significant enhancement of the lower atmospheric heating effect caused by dust storms observed over the Thar Desert, India. Our study from multi-satellite observations of two dust storm events that occurred on 3 and 8 May 2007 suggests that dust storm events produce substantial changes in the lower atmospheric temperatures as hot spots which can become sources for gravity waves observed in the middle atmosphere

Designing of Customized Devices in Orthodontics by Digital Imaging and CAD/FEM Modeling

In current decade, patient’s demand of minimal orthodontic treatment have encouraged the introduction of appliance that will be lighter, improved profile and better esthetics with regard to conventional orthodontic treatment. Considering aesthetic treatment options, removable clear aligner treatment got popular among patients since it allows clinician to deliver comprehensive orthodontic treatment while maintaining comfort of patient. The aligners should exert an adequate force in order to shift the tooth to a desirable position. But, in recent times, the relation of applied force and aligner property (eg. thickness) is inadequately witnessed. This article focuses on a patient-focused framework has been formulated which depicts orthodontic movement of teeth with the help of aligners. Particularly, a finite element model is being formulated which optimizes the thickness of these aligners with respect to amount of force and moment system applied to a lower central incisor while tipping it bucco-lingually

Evaluation of the IS6110 PCR assay for the rapid diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licens

Inferred galaxy properties during Cosmic Dawn from early JWST photometry results

Early photometric results from JWST have revealed a number of galaxy candidates above redshift 10. The initial estimates of inferred stellar masses and the associated cosmic star formation rates are above most theoretical model predictions up to a factor of 20 in the most extreme cases, while this has been moderated after the recalibration of NIRCam and subsequent spectroscopic detections. Using these recent JWST observations, we use galaxy scaling relations from cosmological simulations to model the star formation history to very high redshifts, back to a starting halo mass of 10^7 solar masses, to infer the intrinsic properties of the JWST galaxies. Here we explore the contribution of supermassive black holes, stellar binaries, and an excess of massive stars to the overall luminosity of high-redshift galaxies. Despite the addition of alternative components to the spectral energy distribution, we find stellar masses equal to or slightly higher than previous stellar mass estimates. Most galaxy spectra are dominated by the stellar component, and the exact choice for the stellar population model does not appear to make a major difference. We find that four of the 12 high-redshift galaxy candidates are best fit with a non-negligible active galactic nuclei component, but the evidence from the continuum alone is insufficient to confirm their existence. Upcoming spectroscopic observations of z > 10 galaxies will confirm the presence and nature of high-energy sources in the early universe and will constrain their exact redshifts.Comment: 20 pages, 13 figures, 5 tables. Accepted by MNRAS. 12 figures, 13 tables in appendice

Detection of 65 kD heat shock protein in cerebrospinal fluid of tuberculous meningitis patients

BACKGROUND: Diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis (TBM) is difficult. Rapid confirmatory diagnosis is essential to initiate required therapy. There are very few published reports about the diagnostic significance of 65 kD heat shock protein (hsp) in TBM patients, which is present in a wide range of Mycobacterium tuberculosis species and elicits a cellular and humoral immune response. In the present study we have conducted a prospective evaluation for the demonstration of 65 kD hsp antigen in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of TBM patients, by indirect ELISA method using monoclonal antibodies (mAb) against the 65 kD hsp antigen, for the diagnosis of TBM. METHODS: A total of 160 CSF samples of different groups of patients (confirmed TBM {n = 18}, clinically suspected TBM {n = 62}, non TBM infectious meningitis {n = 35} and non-infectious neurological diseases {n = 45}) were analyzed by indirect ELISA method using mAb to 65 kD hsp antigen. The Kruskal Wallis test (Non-Parametric ANOVA) with the Dunnett post test was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The indirect ELISA method yielded 84% sensitivity and 90% specificity for the diagnosis of TBM using mAb to 65 kD hsp antigen. The mean absorbance value of 65 kD hsp antigen in TBM patients was [0.70 ± 0.23 (0.23–1.29)], significantly higher than the non-TBM infectious meningitis group [0.32 ± 0.14 (0.12–0.78), P < 0.001] and also higher than the non-infectious neurological disorders group [0.32 ± 0.13 (0.20–0.78), P < 0.001]. A significant difference in the mean absorbance of 65 kD hsp antigen was noted in the CSF of culture-positive TBM patients [0.94 ± 0.18 (0.54–1.29)] when compared with clinically suspected TBM patients [0.64 ± 0.20 (0.23–0.98), P < 0.05]. CONCLUSION: The presence of 65 kD hsp antigen in the CSF of confirmed and suspected cases of TBM would indicate that the selected protein is specific to M. tuberculosis and could be considered as a diagnostic marker for TBM

Development of an in vitro model to study clot lysis activity of thrombolytic drugs

BACKGROUND: Thrombolytic drugs are widely used for the management of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis patients. Several in vitro models have been developed to study clot lytic activity of thrombolytic drugs, but all of these have certain limitations. There is need of an appropriate model to check the clot lytic efficacy of thrombolytic drugs. In the present study, an attempt has been made to design and develop a new model system to study clot lysis in a simplified and easy way using a thrombolytic drug, streptokinase. METHODS: Whole blood from healthy individuals (n = 20) was allowed to form clots in a pre-weighed sterile microcentrifuge tubes; serum was removed and clot was weighed. After lysis by streptokinase fluid was removed and remnants of clot were again weighed along with the tube. Percentage of Clot lysis was calculated on the basis of the weight difference of microcentrifuge tubes obtained before and after clot lysis. RESULTS: There was a significant percentage of clot lysis observed when streptokinase was used. On the other hand with water (negative control), minimal (2.5%) clot lysis was observed. There was a significant difference between clot lysis done by streptokinase and water. CONCLUSION: Our study could be a rapid and effective methodology to study clot-lytic effect of newly developed drugs as well as known drugs

Detection of viral antigen, IgM and IgG antibodies in cerebrospinal fluid of Chikungunya patients with neurological complications

BACKGROUND: During Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) epidemic in Nagpur, India, we identified some suspected Chikungunya patients with neurological complications. Early and cost-effective diagnosis of these patients remains problematic despite many new advanced diagnostic methods. A reliable diagnostic test, which could be performed in any standard pathology laboratory, would help to obtain definitive early diagnosis of CHIKV patients with neurological complications. In our laboratory, in-house ELISA protocol for viral antigen, immunoglobulin M (IgM) and IgG detection has been developed and assessed for the diagnosis of CHIKV patients with neurological complications. METHOD: Cerebrospinal fluid samples of forty-six patients who developed neurological symptoms within two months of CHIKV infections along with control subjects were included in the study and were analyzed for the presence of antigens and of IgM and IgG using an ELISA protocol. RESULTS: The ELISA method for antigen detection yielded 80% sensitivity and 87% specificity for the diagnosis of CHIKV patients with neurological complications. The sensitivity for detection of IgM 48% or IgG 63% was significantly lower than the antigen assay (80%). CONCLUSION: The detection of viral antigen in CSF of CHIKV patients with neurological complications by ELISA method gave a more reliable diagnosis than antibodies detection that can be used to develop an immunodiagnostic assay with increased sensitivity and specificity