Balint′s Syndrome As a Manifestation of Solitary Right Occipital Lobe Metastasis

Balint′s syndrome is a rare clinical condition characterized by a triad of occulomotor apraxia (psychic paralysis of gaze), optic ataxia and visual inattention and usually follows bilateral parieto-occipital lesions. We report this syndrome occurring in a patient with a solitary metastasis in right occipital lobe. To the best of our knowledge it has not been previously described in English literature. Pressure over the opposite occipital lobe due to mass effect, diaschisis and extension of edema along the corpus callosum involvement may contribute to this exceptional phenomenon

Evaluation of physical properties and hydration kinetics of red lentil (Lens culinaris) at different processed levels and soaking temperatures

Hydration kinetics of red lentil seeds were carried out for whole, dehusked and splits at different temperatures (15 to 45 °C). Several physical properties were evaluated as function of soaking temperatures. Henderson and Pabis, Page, two term exponential and Peleg models were fitted to the obtained hydration kinetics data. To assess the adequacy of models three statistical parameters, coefficient of multiple determinations (R2), root mean square error (RMSE) and chi-square (χ2) were employed. Peleg model (R2 > 0.990; RMSE < 0.018; χ2 < 0.001) was found to be adequate in describing the hydration behavior of red lentil seeds. Effective diffusivity of water over a temperature range of (15–45 °C) for whole, dehusked and splits varied from 6.890 × 10−11 to 1.142 × 10−10, 1.030 × 10−10 to 1.584 × 10−10 and 1.231 × 10−10 to 1.927 × 10−10 with the activation energy of 12.239, 11.145 and 10.741, respectively. Soaking temperatures pose significant effect on water absorption capacities and all the evaluated physical properties of red lentil seeds. Keywords: Physical properties, Hydration, Red lentil, Soaking temperature, Mathematical modelin

Modification of the vertically generalized production model for the turbid waters of Ariake Bay, Southwestern Japan

The vertically generalized production model (VGPM), which was designed for open ocean waters (Behrenfeld and Falkowski, 1997a; henceforth BF), was evaluated using in situ measurements of primary productivity (PP) in the characteristically turbid coastal waters of Ariake Bay, southwestern Japan, to develop a regionally modified version of the model. The euphotic depth (Zeu)-integrated PP (IPP) calculated from the VGPM using in situ chlorophyll a (Chl a) and sea surface temperature (SST) was significantly overestimated (by factors of 2–3), but 52% of the observed variability was explained. The weak correlation could have partially resulted from overestimations by the sub-models embedded in the original VGPM model for estimation of Zeu (Morel and Berthon, 1989; henceforth MB) and the optimal Chl a-normalized PP (). The sub-model estimates of and Zeu with in situ and Zeu showed significant improvement, accounting for 84% of the variability and causing less overestimation. Zeu was the most important parameter influencing the modeled IPP variation in Ariake Bay. Previous research suggested that the Zeu model, which was based on surface Chl a, overestimated in situ Zeu by a factor of 2–3, resulting in weak correlation between the modeled and in situ IPP. The Zeu sub-model was not accurate in the present study area because it was basically developed for clear (case 1) waters. A better estimation of Zeu could be obtained from the in situ remote sensing reflectance (Rrs) using a quasi-analytical algorithm (QAA) in this turbid water ecosystem. Among the parameters of PP models, is conventionally considered the most important. However, in this study was of secondary importance because the contribution of to the variation in modeled IPP was less than the contribution of Zeu. The modeled and in situ were weakly correlated with 50% of the data points that overestimated the in situ values. The estimation of Chl a was improved by optimizing the Chl a algorithm with in situ Rrs data. Incorporating the QAA-based Zeu and the optimized Chl a and constant (median) value led to improved performance of the VGPM for the study area. Thus, even though the VGPM is a global open ocean model, when coupled with turbid water algorithms for Zeu and Chl a and constant (median) , it provided realistic estimates of IPP in the turbid water ecosystem of Ariake Bay

Growth and biochemical characteristics of an indigenous freshwater microalga, Scenedesmus obtusus, cultivated in an airlift photobioreactor: effect of reactor hydrodynamics, light intensity, and photoperiod

The freshwater green algae, Scenedesmus obtusus, was cultivated in a 3.4 L airlift photobioreactor. The hydrodynamic parameters were estimated at different inlet gas flow rates (1, 2, 3, and 4 LPM) and their subsequent impact on the growth and biochemical characteristics of microalgae was studied. The biomass concentration and productivity increased with an increase in flow rates from 1 to 4 LPM. A maximum of 0.07 g L-1 day(-1) productivity of biomass was attained at 3 LPM. An increase of total carbohydrate content from 19.6 to 26.4% was noticed with increment in the inlet flow rate of gas from 1 to 4 LPM. Major variations in total fatty acid content were not observed. The impact of light irradiance on growth and biochemical characteristics of S. obtusus was also evaluated. A maximum biomass productivity of 0.103 g L-1 day(-1) was attained at an illumination of 150 mu mol m(-2) s(-1) under continuous light. The major fatty acids reported were palmitic acid (C16:0), alpha-linolenic acid (C18:3), linoleic acid (C18:2), and oleic acid (C18:1). Biodiesel properties of the microalgae were estimated under various culture conditions. The light profile inside the airlift reactor was experimentally measured and the predictive modelling of light profile was also attempted