Effect of Different Dates of Dry Seeding and Staggered Nursery Sowing on Growth and Yield of Kharif Rice

A field experiment was conducted to study the effect of different dates of dry seeding and staggered nursery sowing on growth and yield of Kharif rice. The experiment was based on the difficulties faced by the farmers in the coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh and those who depend on canal irrigation and are located at the tail end areas. The experimental results have showed no difference among the methods of stand establishment in terms of yield. However, among the dates of sowing the delay in sowing beyond 30th July significantly reduced the grain yield and returns per rupee invested. It has been concluded that the rice crop may be established either by direct seeding or by transplanting nurseries but the sowing of the respective cultures should be done by the end of July for obtaining maximum yield and profits

Effect of Different Dates of Dry Seeding and Staggered Nursery Sowing on Growth and Yield of Kharif Rice

A field experiment was conducted to study the effect of different dates of dry seeding and staggered nursery sowing on growth and yield of Kharif rice. The experiment was based on the difficulties faced by the farmers in the coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh and those who depend on canal irrigation and are located at the tail end areas. The experimental results have showed no difference among the methods of stand establishment in terms of yield. However, among the dates of sowing the delay in sowing beyond 30th July significantly reduced the grain yield and returns per rupee invested. It has been concluded that the rice crop may be established either by direct seeding or by transplanting nurseries but the sowing of the respective cultures should be done by the end of July for obtaining maximum yield and profits

Investigation of HDDE exhaust flow mixing devices to enhance SCR performance

The 2010 regulations implemented by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) require significant reduction in Oxides of Nitrogen (NO x) and Particulate Matter (PM). These regulations have driven a significant amount of research and development into more advanced engine combustion strategies and after-treatment systems. This study focuses on NOx reduction in Heavy Duty Diesel Engines (HDDE) equipped with Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) and Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) catalyst by optimizing the mixing of DPF out exhaust gas with urea injected upstream of the SCR. Proprietary wired mesh substrates were installed between the DPF and SCR system at three locations and showed further NOx reduction from the previous emissions results. Different wired mesh catalytic substrates of varying lengths were used in this study. Experiments were conducted on four of the 13 modes of the European Stationary Cycle (ESC), modes in which the engine yielded high NOx emissions. Results from these experiments show that the wired mesh substrates enhanced the mixing of the exhaust stream and urea, which improved the performance of the SCR catalyst. When the wired mesh was tested on ESC and Federal Transient Procedure (FTP), NOx emissions were reduced 20-25% by introducing the wired mesh substrates in the exhaust flow for the ESC cycles. This study demonstrated that the wired mesh substrates enhanced the mixing of the exhaust gas and the injected urea. The mixing effect caused by the wired mesh improved the thermolysys of urea into ammonia (NH 3). This study draws a conclusion that using a wired mesh catalytic substrate in the exhaust upstream of the SCR catalyst improves the mixing of the exhaust with urea and gives additional NOx reduction for certain steady state modes, but showed no change for the NO x emissions for the FTP cycle

Understanding the variability in clinical and biological response to B-cell depletion therapy in rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus

Factors including pharmacokinetics, B-cell internalisation of anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and disease-associated defects in complement system, NK cells and macrophages may influence the efficiency of rituximab, a Type I anti-CD20 mAb disposed to internalisation by B cells, and contribute to variable clinical and biological response in patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE). The work presented in this thesis investigated the potential of Obinutuzumab, a commercially available, mechanistically different Type II anti-CD20 mAb with an afucosylated Fc portion not disposed to internalisation, as an alternative B-cell depleting agent in RA and SLE. In patients with SLE, the duration of B-cell depletion was shorter and serum rituximab levels were significantly lower compared to RA. Hypogammaglobulinemia in the SLE cohort was mostly limited to the IgM isotype and was associated with lower baseline IgM levels, sequential therapy with mycophenolate mofetil and lower frequency of IgD+CD27+ unswitched memory B cells. Anti-dsDNA antibodies in those with high pretreatment levels remained elevated in the long-term, a potential mechanism of poor response to rituximab. Obinutuzumab was at least two-fold more efficient than rituximab at inducing cytotoxicity in B cells from patients with RA and SLE in whole blood assays. B cells from patients with RA and SLE internalised obinutuzumab to a significantly lower extent than rituximab, which was significantly more efficient than obinutuzumab at evoking complement-dependent cellular cytotoxicity of isolated B cells. In contrast, obinutuzumab was significantly more efficient at inducing NK cell activation, an indirect measure of antibody-dependent cell cytotoxicity, in RA and SLE; and also activated neutrophils, an indirect measure of antibody-dependent cell phagocytosis, more efficiently than rituximab in SLE. Obinutuzumab was also more efficient at inducing direct cell death in CD19+ B-cells and switched (IgD-CD27+) memory B cells specifically, a higher frequency of which is associated with poor clinical response to rituximab. Thus, increased clearance and/or internalisation of rituximab may impair its efficiency in RA and SLE. Regardless, obinutuzumab was more efficient than rituximab at inducing B-cell cytotoxicity in vitro in both RA and SLE samples mediated by superior FcγR-dependent and -independent effector mechanisms with greater ability to remain at the cell surface following CD20 engagement despite inferior ability to evoke complement-dependent cellular cytotoxicity. These data provide compelling mechanistic reasons for expecting better outcomes with obinutuzumab as an alternative B-cell depleting agent in RA and SLE