Cloud optical thickness and effective particle radius derived from transmitted solar radiation measurements : Comparison with cloud radar observations

A method is presented for determining the optical thickness and effective particle radius of stratiform clouds containing liquid water drops in the absence of drizzle from transmitted solar radiation measurements. The procedure compares measurements of the cloud transmittance from the ground at water-absorbing and nonabsorbing wavelengths with lookup tables of the transmittance precomputed for plane-parallel, vertically homogeneous clouds. The optical thickness derived from the cloud transmittance may be used to retrieve vertical profiles of cloud microphysics in combination with the radar reflectivity factor. To do this, we also present an algorithm for solving the radar equation with a constraint of the optical thickness at the visible wavelength. Observations of clouds were made in August and September 2003 at Koganei, Tokyo, Japan, using a PREDE i-skyradiometer and a 95-GHz cloud radar Super Polarimetric Ice Crystal Detection and Explication Radar (SPIDER). The optical thickness and effective radius of water clouds were derived from the i-skyradiometer. Then, the vertical profile of the effective radius was retrieved from SPIDER, using the optical thickness determined from the i-skyradiometer. We found that the effective radii derived by using these two instruments were in good agreement

Statistical relationship between date of sowing and the sorghum shootfly (Atherigona Soccata, Rondani L)

The present study was based on the available data of eleven years for shoot fly from 2000-2010 for kharif season. Different models viz., linear and non linear were tried to fit, Amongst, the linear, quadratic and cubic models produced better coefficient of determination and the models viz., EGG(Shoot fly Egg) =3.760+0.196(DOS) (R2 =0.892) and EGG(Shoot fly Egg) =1.077+1.195(DOS)-0.087(DOS^2), which produced highest R2 (0.896 at p=0.05) with less standard error (0.419) and quadratic model was also the best fit model in determining the oviposition of shoot fly, which explained 89.6 per cent variation in the oviposition of shoot fly for the 7 days after emergence of the sorghum crop. For the dead heart development (14 DAE), the model %DH (% Dead Heart) =3.535+3.104(DOS) found best fit with highest coefficient of determination of 0. 856 and exhibited significant positive relationship with the date of sowing and during 21 DAE the cubic model %DH (% Dead Heart) =10.619+10.115(DOS)-3.466(DOS^2)+0 .321(DOS ^3) had significant coefficient of determination value of 0.988 with least standard error 0.885. The quadratic model during the 28 days after emergence of the crop %DH (% Dead Heart) =-6.234+22.858(DOS) -1.399 (DOS^2) found best fit and produced significant R2 (0.929 at 5 per cent level) and showed better relationship with the date of sowing. It was found that, both linear and non linear relationship exists between dates of sowing and shoot fly of sorghum during kharif season

Posterior interosseous nerve palsy secondary to pigmented villonodular synovitis of the elbow: Case report and review of literature

SummaryLocal tumor compression is the main mechanical cause of posterior interosseous nerve (PIN) palsy. The reported cases of these tumors do not include that of pigmented villonodular synovitis (PVNS). Here, we report a case of a 53-year-old male with a 9-year history of painless swelling in his left elbow and a few months of progressive weakness in his left hand. Imaging identified the mass, and histological examination of the biopsy specimens revealed PVNS. The mass was compressing the nerve at the arcade of Frohse, and we performed a complete resection of the mass. Following removal of the mass, the patient regained complete function in his left upper extremity, and no local recurrence has been detected after 2 postoperative years. The possibility of PVNS should be considered in the differential diagnosis of PIN palsy

Semaphorin 3A regulates alveolar bone remodeling on orthodontic tooth movement

Semaphorin 3A (Sema3A) promotes osteoblast differentiation and inhibits osteoclast differentiation. In the present study, we observed the regulation of alveolar bone remodeling by Sema3A during orthodontic tooth movement (OTM). Four inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, TNFα, and INF-γ) involved in OTM were applied to osteoblasts in vitro, and Sema3A expression was determined by reverse-transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). In vivo, springs were attached to the maxillary first molars of C56BL/6J mice (OTM model) and the localization of Sema3A was confirmed by immunofluorescent. Recombinant Sema3A (rSema3A) was locally injected into the OTM model. Inflammatory cytokine localization in the OTM model was confirmed by immunohistochemistry. In vivo, more Sema3A was observed on the tension side in the OTM group. Injection of rSema3A into the OTM model increased mineralization on the tension side and decreased the number of osteoclasts on the compression side. In vitro, IL-1β significantly increased Sema3A mRNA levels. Immunohistochemistry for IL-1β in vivo showed more concentrated staining in the periodontal ligament on the tension side than on the compression side. In summary, our findings revealed the distribution of Sema3A in the periodontal ligament and demonstrated that rSema3A administration promotes bone formation and inhibits bone resorption during OTM

Distillation of Liquid Xenon to Remove Krypton

A high performance distillation system to remove krypton from xenon was constructed, and a purity level of Kr/Xe = $\sim 3 \times 10^{-12}$ was achieved. This development is crucial in facilitating high sensitivity low background experiments such as the search for dark matter in the universe.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figure

TeV Gamma Ray Emission from Southern Sky Objects and CANGAROO Project

We report recent results of the CANGAROO Collaboration on very high energy gamma ray emission from pulsars, their nebulae, SNR and AGN in the southern sky. Observations are made in South Australia using the imaging technique of detecting atmospheric Cerenkov light from gamma rays higher than about 1 TeV. The detected gamma rays are most likely produced by the inverse Compton process by electrons which also radiate synchrotron X-rays. Together with information from longer wavelengths, our results can be used to infer the strength of magnetic field in the emission region of gamma rays as well as the energy of the progenitor electrons. A description of the CANGAROO project is also given, as well as details of the new telescope of 7 m diameter which is scheduled to be in operation within two years.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, LaTeX 2.09 with aipproc.sty & epsfig.sty, to appear in proceedings of the 4th Compton Symposium, Williamsburg, 199

Enhancing the lateral-flow immunoassay for viral detection using an aqueous two-phase micellar system

Availability of a rapid, accurate, and reliable point-of-care (POC) device for detection of infectious agents and pandemic pathogens, such as swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) virus, is crucial for effective patient management and outbreak prevention. Due to its ease of use, rapid processing, and minimal power and laboratory equipment requirements, the lateral-flow (immuno)assay (LFA) has gained much attention in recent years as a possible solution. However, since the sensitivity of LFA has been shown to be inferior to that of the gold standards of pathogen detection, namely cell culture and real-time PCR, LFA remains an ineffective POC assay for preventing pandemic outbreaks. A practical solution for increasing the sensitivity of LFA is to concentrate the target agent in a solution prior to the detection step. In this study, an aqueous two-phase micellar system comprised of the nonionic surfactant Triton X-114 was investigated for concentrating a model virus, namely bacteriophage M13 (M13), prior to LFA. The volume ratio of the two coexisting micellar phases was manipulated to concentrate M13 in the top, micelle-poor phase. The concentration step effectively improved the M13 detection limit of the assay by tenfold from 5 × 108 plaque forming units (pfu)/mL to 5 × 107 pfu/mL. In the future, the volume ratio can be further manipulated to yield a greater concentration of a target virus and further decrease the detection limits of the LFA. Figure A schematic representation of concentrating viruses with an aqueous two-phase micellar system containing Triton X-114 surfactant prior to the detection of the virus through the lateral-flow immunoassa