On the origin of the artesian groundwater and escaping gas at Narveri after the 2001 Bhuj earthquake

At Narveri, north of Khavada in the Great Rann of Kachchh, an outflow of groundwater continued even more than four months after the Bhuj earthquake of 26 January 2001, although at a considerably reduced rate compared to that immediately following the earthquake. Air or gas bubbling through the freshly oozing water has also been observed. We had collected a large number of samples from different parts of Gujarat, where post-earthquake groundwater outpourings were reported. Narveri, however, was the only site where the samples showed dissolved helium concentrations, significantly above the air equilibration value. Based on measurements of helium, radon, chloride, sulphate and sodium concentrations and temperature, we suggest that the flowing water and escaping gases at Narveri have a deep confined source with a reservoir age in excess of ~ 104 years

Seismic Behaviour of Bridges Considering Soil-Structure Interaction

The soil-structure interaction has significant effect on seismic response of bridges in many situations. The choice of soil springs for response determination is an important consideration. This paper presents a comparative assessment of the seismic response of bridge substructure by four different types of frequency independent soil springs namely, Beredugo-Novak, Wolf, Bycroft-Parmelee and Terzaghi. The variation of equivalent weighted damping and equivalent seismic coefficient is also studied. The Terzaghi\u27s soil springs obtained by modulus of subgrade reaction approach are most flexible as compared to others. The responses are seen to be comparable with springs other than Terzaghi. The equivalent damping in higher modes is increased due to energy dissipation in soil. The codal provisions of equivalent seismic coefficient variation below scour level are generally unconservative

Disseminated tuberculosis presenting as chronic pancreatitis, a rare case report

Disseminated tuberculosis (TB) refers to concurrent involvement of at least two non-contiguous organ sites of the body, or involvement of the blood or bone marrow by tuberculosis process. Pancreatic TB is a rare manifestation of such a common disease possibly due to protective pancreatic enzymes. We described a case report of a patient who presented with chronic pancreatitis with pancreatic pseudocyst with empyema of left lung which intraoperatively was a psoas abscess which was managed by drainage of the abscess and Intercostal tube placement and thoracoscopic drainage of empyema and its adhesiolysis. Histopathology revealed tuberculous granulation tissue of psoas muscle biopsy and in thoracoscopic scrapings. Patient became symptomless since the surgery and initiation of anti-tubercular therapy

Transcriptome analyses reveal genotype- and developmental stage-specific molecular responses to drought and salinity stresses in chickpea

Drought and salinity are the major factors that limit chickpea production worldwide. We performed whole transcriptome analyses of chickpea genotypes to investigate the molecular basis of drought and salinity stress response/adaptation. Phenotypic analyses confirmed the contrasting responses of the chickpea genotypes to drought or salinity stress. RNA-seq of the roots of drought and salinity related genotypes was carried out under control and stress conditions at vegetative and/or reproductive stages. Comparative analysis of the transcriptomes revealed divergent gene expression in the chickpea genotypes at different developmental stages. We identified a total of 4954 and 5545 genes exclusively regulated in drought-tolerant and salinity-tolerant genotypes, respectively. A significant fraction (~47%) of the transcription factor encoding genes showed differential expression under stress. The key enzymes involved in metabolic pathways, such as carbohydrate metabolism, photosynthesis, lipid metabolism, generation of precursor metabolites/energy, protein modification, redox homeostasis and cell wall component biogenesis, were affected by drought and/or salinity stresses. Interestingly, transcript isoforms showed expression specificity across the chickpea genotypes and/or developmental stages as illustrated by the AP2-EREBP family members. Our findings provide insights into the transcriptome dynamics and components of regulatory network associated with drought and salinity stress responses in chickpea

The First Caltech-Jodrell Bank VLBI Survey. II. λ = 18 Centimeter Observations of 25 Sources

We report λ-18 cm VLBI observations made in 1991 September of a further 25 objects from the first Caltech-Jodrell Bank VLBI Survey (the CJ1 survey). The CJ1 sample is a complete, flux-density limited sample of 135 radio sources with total flux density at λ-6 cm between 0.7 and 1.3 Jy. These observations complete the λ-18 cm part of the survey. Together with the results of Paper I (Polatidis et al.), we have now observed 81 CJ1 sources at λ-18 cm. later papers in the series will present λ-6 cm observations and the analysis and interpretation of the results

Volumetric laser endomicroscopy and its application to Barrett's esophagus: results from a 1,000 patient registry.

Volumetric laser endomicroscopy (VLE) uses optical coherence tomography (OCT) for real-time, microscopic cross-sectional imaging. A US-based multi-center registry was constructed to prospectively collect data on patients undergoing upper endoscopy during which a VLE scan was performed. The objective of this registry was to determine usage patterns of VLE in clinical practice and to estimate quantitative and qualitative performance metrics as they are applied to Barrett's esophagus (BE) management. All procedures utilized the NvisionVLE Imaging System (NinePoint Medical, Bedford, MA) which was used by investigators to identify the tissue types present, along with focal areas of concern. Following the VLE procedure, investigators were asked to answer six key questions regarding how VLE impacted each case. Statistical analyses including neoplasia diagnostic yield improvement using VLE was performed. One thousand patients were enrolled across 18 US trial sites from August 2014 through April 2016. In patients with previously diagnosed or suspected BE (894/1000), investigators used VLE and identified areas of concern not seen on white light endoscopy (WLE) in 59% of the procedures. VLE imaging also guided tissue acquisition and treatment in 71% and 54% of procedures, respectively. VLE as an adjunct modality improved the neoplasia diagnostic yield by 55% beyond the standard of care practice. In patients with no prior history of therapy, and without visual findings from other technologies, VLE-guided tissue acquisition increased neoplasia detection over random biopsies by 700%. Registry investigators reported that VLE improved the BE management process when used as an adjunct tissue acquisition and treatment guidance tool. The ability of VLE to image large segments of the esophagus with microscopic cross-sectional detail may provide additional benefits including higher yield biopsies and more efficient tissue acquisition. Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02215291

Caltech-Jodrell Bank VLBI Surveys

The Caltech-Jodrell Bank VLBI surveys of bright extragalactic radio sources north of declination 35° were carried out between 1990 and 1995 using the Mark-II system, achieving images with a resolution of about 1 mas at 5 GHz. The CJl survey (together with the older “PR” survey) includes 200 objects with 5 GHz flux density greater than 0.7 Jy; the CJ2 survey includes 193 flat-spectrum sources with 5 GHz flux density greater than 0.35 Jy; and we have defined a complete flux-density limited sample, CJF, of 293 flat-spectrum sources stronger than 0.35 Jy. We summarize the definition of the samples and the VLBI, VLA, MERLIN, and optical observations, and present some highlights of the astrophysical results. These include: (1) superluminal motion and cosmology; (2) morphology and evolution of the “compact symmetric objects” (CSOs); (3) two-sided motion in some CSOs; (4) the angular-size-redshift diagram; (5) misalignment of parsec-scale and kiloparsec-scale jets