Comparative study of Exergetic and Economic analysis of Multi-evaporator NH3 and NH3-CO2 CRS for a Seafood Processing Plant

In a seafood processing plant, refrigeration is a vital and energy intensive process. In India, NH3 is predominately used to cater to such refrigeration demands. These industrial refrigeration systems have the multi-evaporator configuration with high pressure ratios necessitating adoption of multistage compression. In recent years, owing to excellent and favorable thermo-physical properties of CO2 in low temperature, adoption of NH3-CO2 cascade refrigeration system (CRS) with NH3 in high temperature cycle is gaining worldwide acceptance. In the present work, performance of a conventional NH3 multistage industrial refrigeration system is compared with a proposed NH3-CO2 CRS system in terms of energy, exergy and economic perspectives. Investigation is focused to thermodynamically evaluate and optimize the performance of the proposed cascade configuration with respect to operating parameters. A sensitivity analysis has been performed as well to study the effects of climatic conditions on system performance. The proposed NH3-CO2 CRS showed a maximum benefit of 13.3% in COP, 14% in exergy efficiency and 9% less TEWI compared to the baseline system. The estimated payback period is 25 months

A cross-sectional survey of orthopaedicians to understand the prescribing pattern of disease modifying osteoarthritis drugs in osteoarthritis

Background: Numerous dietary supplements with disease-modifying action are available in Indian market. However, doctor’s preferences for these disease modifying osteoarthritis drugs (DMOADs) to prevent progression of OA are not known. The objective of this study was to quantify doctor preferences for potential DMOADs.Methods: The survey instrument (online survey questionnaire at survey monkey) was developed by researchers upon review of existing literature and detailed discussion with practicing clinicians. Face and content validity and reliability (test-retest method) was assessed through a focused panel of clinicians to determine if content was adequate to obtain the necessary data. This was a cross-sectional digital survey of 207 orthopaedicians during Indian Orthopaedic Association Conference-2018 organized at Coimbatore.Results: NSAIDs + DMOAD combinations were the most preferred treatment option for newly diagnosed OA patients. 44% orthopaedicians prefer to start the treatment with combination of NSAID and DMOAD as compared to 10% with paracetamol monotherapy. Glucosamine/chondroitin combinations are the most commonly preferred DMOAD by the orthopaedicians; followed by undenatured type II collagen. 66% of the doctors surveyed opined that the efficacy of undenatured type-II collagen is better as compared to other DMOADs.Conclusions:The findings from the survey suggest that majority of orthopaedicians prefer to prescribe NSAID with DMOAD combinations for newly diagnosed osteoarthritis patients.

Assessment of benefits of employing natural refrigerants in seafood cold chain in India

In this paper we present a comprehensive assessment of benefits from adoption of suitable natural refrigerants at various stages of seafood cold chain in Indian scenario. This includes cooling demands during fish harvesting, transport of fresh catch, sorting and processing, and long-time storage. For each stage, the cooling demands are estimated and simple refrigeration cycle configurations are simulated to estimate the annual energy consumption and total equivalent warming impact for suitable natural refrigerants from among NH3, CO2, and hydrocarbons such as R170, R290, and R1270. The same is compared with synthetic refrigerants presently used for such application like R22, R134a and R404A etc. Field data from a surimi supply chain in west coastal region and shrimp supply chain in east coastal region of India are used for the study. The results highlight the potential benefits from use of natural refrigerants in seafood sector. Further, the various barriers in terms of technological, economic and policy related are highlighted.acceptedVersio

Virulence Factors Contributing to Pathogenicity of Candida tropicalis

The incidence of invasive candidiasis has increased over the past few decades. Although Candida albicans remains by far the most common species encountered, in recent years shift towards non-albicans Candida species like Candida tropicalis is noted. Here in this study we determined the virulence factors and antifungal susceptibility profile of 125 C. tropicalis isolated from various clinical specimens. Biofilm formation was seen in 53 (42.4%) isolates. Coagulase production was noted in 18 (14.4%) isolates. Phospholipase enzyme was the major virulent factor produced by C. tropicalis isolates. A total of 39 biofilm forming isolates showed phospholipase activity. Proteinase activity was demonstrated by 65 (52%) isolates. A total of 38 (30.4%) isolates showed haemolytic activity. Maximum isolates demonstrated resistance to fluconazole. Fluconazole resistance was more common in C. tropicalis isolated from blood cultures. Antifungal resistance was more in isolates possessing the ability to produce phospholipase and biofilm. C. tropicalis exhibit a great degree of variation not only in their pathogenicity but also in their antifungal susceptibility profile. The identification of virulence attributes specific for each species and their correlation with each other will aid in the understanding of the pathogenesis of infection

Non- albicans Candida

The very nature of infectious diseases has undergone profound changes in the past few decades. Fungi once considered as nonpathogenic or less virulent are now recognized as a primary cause of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised and severely ill patients. Candida spp. are among the most common fungal pathogens. Candida albicans was the predominant cause of candidiasis. However, a shift toward non-albicans Candida species has been recently observed. These non-albicans Candida species demonstrate reduced susceptibility to commonly used antifungal drugs. In the present study, we investigated the prevalence of non-albicans Candida spp. among Candida isolates from various clinical specimens and analysed their virulence factors and antifungal susceptibility profile. A total of 523 Candida spp. were isolated from various clinical specimens. Non-albicans Candida species were the predominant pathogens isolated. Non-albicans Candida species also demonstrated the production of virulence factors once attributed to Candida albicans. Non-albicans Candida demonstrated high resistance to azole group of antifungal agents. Therefore, it can be concluded that non-albicans Candida species have emerged as an important cause of infections. Their isolation from clinical specimen can no longer be ignored as a nonpathogenic isolate nor can it be dismissed as a contaminant

A study on relationship of facebook and game addictive behaviour with personality traits among medical students

Background: Use of social networking sites and playing internet games are more common web activities among adolescents. Students are more prone to internet abuse for several reasons- natural affinity towards internet, free and unlimited access, flexible schedules, and freedom from parental interference and psychological immaturity.  The aim was to study on relationship of facebook and game addictive behaviour with personality characteristics among medical students.Methods: This was a cross sectional observational study, carried out on 140 medical students. All the students were taken randomly. Assessment of sociodemographic details was done with the help of semi-structured performa, bergen facebook addiction scale, game addiction scale and big five inventory were used to see facebook and game addictive behavior and personality traits. Statistical analysis used for comparison of dichotomous variables chi-square test. Correlation and Linear regression was applied to see association. Data analysis was done with the help of statistical software SPSS 23. 0.Results: Mean score of facebook addiction scale among medical students was 39.94 (S.D. 13.133) and mean score of Game addiction scale was 11.19 (S.D. 04.966). It was found that agreeableness (β= -0.275, p=0.000) and extraversion (β = -0.368, p = 0.000) displayed significant associations with FB Total. While neuroticism (β=0.277, p=0.001) and agreeableness (β= -0.177, p=0.029) displayed significant associations with game addictive behavior.Conclusions: In our study we conclude that students with high agreeableness, high neuroticism and low extraversion were more related with Facebook and game addictive behavior. Extraversion was the most powerful predictor of Facebook addiction and neuroticism for gaming addiction.

Interleukin-10 Producing Regulatory B Cells Transformed CD4+CD25− Into Tregs and Enhanced Regulatory T Cells Function in Human Leprosy

Regulatory B cells (Bregs) are known to exhibit their regulatory functions through interleukin-10 (IL-10) cytokine which suppress inflammation. There are only a few studies explaining the phenotype and functioning of these cells in contribution to host immunity in leprosy. Here, we evaluated the role of IL-10 producing Bregs in the pathogenesis of leprosy and assessed their immunoregulatory effects on Tregs and effector T cells. We found an increased frequency of Bregs and increased expression of their immune modulatory molecules (IL-10, FoxP3, and PDL-1) in leprosy patients. The potential immunoregulatory mechanism of Bregs was also investigated using MACS sorted Teff (CD4+CD25−) and Treg (CD4+CD25+) cells were cocultured with Bregs to elucidate the effects of Bregs on effector T and regulatory T cells. Cell coculture results showed that purified Bregs cells from leprosy patients convert CD4+CD25− cells into CD4+CD25+ cells. Cell coculture experiments also demonstrated that leprosy derived IL-10 producing Bregs enhance FoxP3 and PD-1 expression in Tregs and enhanced Tregs activity. Blocking of IL-10 receptor confirmed that IL-10 producing Breg has immunomodulatory effect on Tregs and effector T cells as effector T cells are not converted into Tregs and enhanced expression of FoxP3 and PD-1 was not observed on Tregs. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that IL-10 producing Breg cells play an important mechanism in controlling the immunopathogenesis of leprosy and have an immunomodulatory effect on Tregs and effector T cells. Our findings may pave way for novel targets of IL-10 producing Bregs for immunotherapy in leprosy patients

Comprehensive insights into Mycobacterium tuberculosis DevR (DosR) regulon activation switch

DevR regulon function is believed to be crucial for the survival of Mycobacterium tuberculosis during dormancy. In this study, we undertook a comprehensive analysis of the DevR regulon. All the regulon promoters were assigned to four classes based on the number of DevR binding sites (Dev boxes). A minimum of two boxes are essential for complete interaction and their tandem arrangement is an architectural hallmark at all promoters. Initial interaction of DevR with the conserved box is essential for its cooperative binding to adjacent sites bearing low to very poor sequence conservation and is the universal mechanism underlying DevR-mediated transcriptional induction. The functional importance of tandem arrangement was established by analyzing promoter variants harboring Dev boxes with altered spacing. Conserved sequence logos were generated from 47 binding sequences which included 24 newly discovered Dev boxes. In each half site of an 18-bp binding motif, G5 and C7 are essential for DevR binding. Finally, we show that DevR regulon induction occurs in a temporal manner and genes that are induced early are also usually powerfully induced. The information theory-based approach along with binding and temporal expression studies provide us with comprehensive insights into the complex pattern of DevR regulon activation