Influence of dietary fats on plasma cholesterol and body weight in Indian desert gerbils (Meriones hurrianae Jerdon)

Two groups of Indian deseit gerbils (Mertones hurrianae; Jordon) were fed diets containing different fats of plant origin for a period of 10 weeks. The control gerbils had 5 % peanut oil (PNO) whereas the experimental groups were fed with 5% Rice bran 011 (R30). After feeding for 10 weeks, the growth of the female gerbils fed RBO was significantly lower (p < 0.01) than that of RNO fed female gerbils. The growth difference between the male and female gerbils with respect to PNO was not however significant. There was no significant difference between the male and female groups with respect to liver weight. The RRO fed gerbils seemed to have low cholesterol level in the serum with significantly different levels between the males and females (1) < 0.01). T hus, the present studies suggest that Indian desert gerbils are sensitive to a cholesterol lowering effect ofvegetable oils and that these animals could be used as an experimental animal model instead of rats for evaluating the effect ofvarious dietary fats

Zinc status and its association with the health of adolescents: a review of studies in India

Background: Zinc is important in adolescence because of its role in growth and sexual maturation. Adolescents from developing countries such as India may be at high risk of zinc deficiency because of unwholesome food habits and poor bioavailability of zinc from plant-based diets. Objectives: (1) to study zinc status and its association with profile of other micronutrients, (2) to construct a simple tool in the form of Adolescent Micronutrient Quality Index (AMQI) to assess quality of diets of the girls and (3) to examine the effect of zinc supplement on health of adolescent girls. Methods: Girls (10–16 years) from two secondary schools of Pune, Maharashtra state, in Western India were enrolled in a cross-sectional study (n = 630). Data were collected on dietary intake, cognitive performance, taste acuity, haemoglobin, erythrocyte zinc and plasma levels of zinc, vitamin C, β-carotene and retinol. AMQI was developed using age–sex-specific Indian dietary guidelines and healthy foods and habits described in the recent US dietary guidelines. Zinc-rich recipes were developed considering habitual diets of the girls and vegetarian sources of zinc. An intervention trial (n = 180) was conducted to assess the effect of zinc-rich dietary supplements and ayurvedic zinc (Jasad) supplementation. Results: Prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies was high in these girls. Poor cognitive performance was seen in half of the girls, and salt taste perception was affected in 45%. AMQI was correlated with nutrient intakes and blood micronutrient levels (p < 0.01), indicating the potential of AMQI to measure micronutrient quality of diets of adolescent girls. Results of the intervention trial indicated that supplementation of zinc-rich recipes vis-a-vis ayurvedic Jasad zinc has the potential to improve plasma zinc status, cognitive performance and taste acuity in adolescent girls. Conclusion: Review of the studies on Indian adolescent girls demonstrates the necessity of adopting zinc and micronutrient-rich diets for positive health building in adolescents

Dissimilar joining of zircaloy-4 to type 304L stainless steel by friction welding process

Zirconium- and titanium-based dissolver vessels containing highly radioactive and concentrated corrosive nitric acid solution needs to be joined to the rest of fuel reprocessing plant made of AISI type 304L stainless steel (SS), which demands high integrity and corrosion resistant dissimilar joints. Solid-state joining process of friction welding was proposed in the present work to join zircaloy-4 and type 304L SS since fusion welding processes produce brittle intermetallic precipitates at the interface which reduce the mechanical strength as well as the corrosion resistance of the joint. The present study attempts to optimize joining parameters, without and with thin Ta and Ni interlayers that can prevent brittle intermetallic formation. Tensile test, three-point bend test, and microhardness measurements were performed on the joints. Characterization techniques such as optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were employed. A good friction weld joint of zircaloy-4 to 304L SS was achieved with the joint strength (~540 MPa) greater than that of the base of zircaloy-4, without using any interlayer. A bend ductility of 5° was only obtained without using any interlayer. However, XRD patterns indicated the presence of intermetallics in the friction-welded joints without interlayers. Corrosion test carried out on zircaloy-4 to 304L SS friction joint in boiling 11.5 M nitric acid exhibited corrosion rate of 225 μm/year after 240 h. SEM examination of the corroded joint indicated severe intergranular corrosion attack over stainless steel and preferential dissolution at the interface

A SEMIAUTOMATIC APPROACH FOR GENERATION OF SITE MODELS FROM CARTOSAT-2 MULTIVIEW IMAGES

In the last decade there has been a paradigm shift in creating, viewing and utilizing geospatial data for planning, navigation and traffic management of urban areas. Realistic, three-dimensional information is preferred over conventional two dimensional maps. The paper describes objectives, methodology and results of an operational system being developed for generation of site model from Cartosat-2 multiview images. The system is designed to work in operational mode with varying level of manual interactivity. A rigorous physical sensor model based on collinearity condition models the "step n stare" mode of image acquisition of the satellite. The relative orientation of the overlapping images is achieved using coplanarity condition and conjugate points. A procedure is developed to perform digitization in mono and stereo modes. A technique for refining manually digitized boundaries is developed. The conjugate points are generated by establishing a correspondence between the points obtained on refined edges to analogous points on the images obtained with view angles ±26 deg. It is achieved through geometrically constrained image matching method. The results are shown for a portion of multi-view images of Washington City obtained from Cartosat-2. The scheme is generic to accept very high resolution stereo images from other satellites as input

<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language: EN-IN;mso-fareast-language:EN-IN;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA" lang="EN-IN">Glucopyranosyl derivatives of 4-aminoquinoline and 2-methylimidazo[1,2-<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">α</i>]-pyridine as potent reversible proton pump inhibitors^†</span>

635-638Amongst a number of 4-aminoquinoline and 2-methylimidazo[1,2,-a]-pyridine derivatives examined 2-[3-butyryl-4-(2-methylphenylamino)quinoline-8-yloxy]ethyl  2,3,4,6-tetra-<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">O-acetyl<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family: " times="" new="" roman";mso-fareast-font-family:hiddenhorzocr;mso-ansi-language:en-in;="" mso-fareast-language:en-in;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa"="" lang="EN-IN">-β-D-glucopyranoside and 3-ethoxycarbonyl-2-methylimidazo[1,2-α]pyridine-8-yl 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-β-D-glucopyranoside have been found to be good reversible proton pump inhibitors.</span