Native cathepsin-L cysteine proteinase (28kDa) was purified from the excretory secretory products of Fasciola gigantica and was used for sero-diagnosis of F. gigantica infection in buffaloes by ...Dot-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (Dot-ELISA). The test detected F. gigantica field infection in these animals with a sensitivity of ∼90%. No specific IgG antibody binding was displayed by sera obtained from 76 buffaloes considered to be Fasciola and other parasite-free by microscopic examination of faeces and necropsy examination of liver, rumen and intestine. Additionally, sera from 156 Fasciola-free buffaloes, yet infected with Gigantocotyle explanatum, Paramphistomum epiclitum, Gastrothylax spp., Strongyloides papillosus and hydatid cyst were all negative, indicating that F. gigantica cathepsin-L cysteine proteinase does not cross-react with these helminth parasites in natural infection of the host. The data indicated that cathepsin-L cysteine proteinase based Dot-ELISA reached ∼90% sensitivity and 100% specificity with relation to above parasites in the detection of bubaline fasciolosis. The present Dot-ELISA diagnostic assay is relevant to the field diagnosis of F. gigantica infection in buffaloes.
An unglazed transpired solar collector is a system that can leverage the abundant solar energy for various purposes. The solar collector is available in flat or corrugated form and is seen to be ...installed as an exterior layer of building facades. The cladding thus made absorbs radiation from the sun and heats up air being sucked by fan and flowing through perforations. In this research the focus has been to understand the correlation of plate temperature, exit temperature, the velocity distribution in the chamber and perforation location when air flows past an unglazed transpired solar collector (UTC). The establishment of correlations was carried out in the dataset of flow variables obtained after solving the problem using Navier-Stokes (NS) equations along with standard two-equation (k-ε) turbulence models and Shear Stress Transport (SST ) k-ω models for turbulent flow. The same problem was also solved using NS equation using laminar model. An attempt has also been made to compute Pearson’s correlation coefficient of any two variables to understand their strong and weak correlations. A linear regression analysis was done through an open source software Rstudio for a dataset produced during the computational modeling using a commercial CFD solver, Ansys® Fluent. At the end a Monte Carlo simulation has been done to predict the likelihood of using the flat UTC for drying as well as to understand the dependency of system efficiency on plate exit temperature, suction velocity and freestream temperature.
We measure the lifetime of the $D_s^+$ meson using a data sample of 207 fb$^{-1}$ collected by the Belle II experiment running at the SuperKEKB asymmetric-energy $e^+ e^-$ collider. The lifetime is ...determined by fitting the decay-time distribution of a sample of $116\times 10^3$ $D_s^+\rightarrow\phi\pi^+$ decays. Our result is $\tau^{}_{D^+_s} = (498.7\pm 1.7\,^{+1.1}_{-0.8})$ fs, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. This result is significantly more precise than previous measurements.
The Indus River is one of the largest transboundary rivers in Asia originating from Tibet autonomous region of China. This supplies water to the great plains of Punjab, significantly influencing ...agricultural productivity and shaping the socioeconomic conditions of the region's inhabitants. The present study investigates the potential impact of climate change on the water resources of the Indus River Basin (IRB). The study utilized the output from a regional climate model, REMO, to examine the projected change in energy and hydrological budget at 1.5, 2 specific warming levels and at the end of the century over IRB under three different representative concentration pathways (RCPs). The projected rise in the temperature from the historical period to the end of the century (both summer and winter) can be attributed to the increase in net downward energy flux compared to net upward energy flux. In the mid-century, the downward longwave radiation flux (sensible and latent heat flux) plays a dominant role in determining the surface energy balance during winter (summer). While, the combined impact of the energy components becomes more dominant at the end of the century for both seasons. Rainfall is projected to increase in the mountains of the upper Indus basin and gradually decline on the plains of the lower Indus basin till the end of the century. The projected decline in water storage over the plains of IRB can be attributed to the combination of declining rainfall and increasing evaporation. This will exert significant pressure on agriculture, industry and more importantly on the potable water supply. The IRB is found to be highly susceptible to climate extremes such as floods and drought. Climate change information is crucial for policy planners, governance, decision-makers, management authorities, etc. as it enables the implementation of better management practices, Additionally, it provides both short-term and long-term goals for a mitigation-based approach to reduce the impact of climate change.
•The NDF is the dominant factor which decides the regional energy balance of IRB•Plains are more vulnerable to drying both during winter and monsoon in future•Short-term and long-term adaptation strategies are required for water management
The current communication deals with elaboration of electrodeposited graphene oxide (GO)-reinforced copper composite coating with tribomechanical and electrical properties. Graphene oxide, chemically ...reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and thermally reduced graphene oxide (TRGO) with different concentrations (0.1, 0.5 and 1 g/L) were incorporated in the copper matrix. The surface-mechanical and electrical properties of the developed coatings were investigated for possible electrical contacts applications. The deposition process was carried out at a pH value of 1 ± 0.02, which was sufficiently below the isoelectric point of RGO and TRGO to avoid possible agglomeration during deposition. A structural change of the synthesized specimens and the presence of GO in the composite coating were demonstrated from Raman spectra characterization. X-ray photo electron spectroscopy of some specific specimens (RGO, TRGO and Cu-0.5 g/L TRGO) was carried out to study the elemental composition, chemical state and electronic state of the elements present. Improvement of mechanical and electrical properties was clearly evident due to dispersion hardening caused by uniform dispersion of second-phase GOs. Cu–TRGO composite coating shows excellent electrical conductivity as compared to GO- and RGO-reinforced composite coatings due to removal of oxygen-containing groups after thermal reduction process.
The temperature and moisture distribution over the Indian subcontinent are changing in recent decades with the accelerated global temperature rise. These changes in distribution result in shifting ...wet/dry and warm/cold zones within India. The differential warming rate over land and surrounding ocean determine intricate dynamics of the Indian summer monsoon (ISM) and make the Indian region a more susceptible towards drought and flood events. In recent time, the frequent flooding over northwest India viz., over Gujrat and southern Rajasthan is attributed to the weakening of prevailing heat-trough circulation (northerly wind) and gradual increase in the convective activity (enhanced moist static energy). The recent weakening of the southwesterly reduced transport of moisture leading to reduced rainfall over Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) and northeast India; while the strengthening of the same enhanced the moisture transport and hence the rainfall over northwest India. In addition, northward shift of the sinking airmass over equatorial region, in recent time, leads to the decrease of the rainfall over the southern Indian region. The recent changes in rainfall pattern have shifted the climate of IGP and northeast India towards the relatively arid regime and that of western India towards a relatively moist regime, which supports the possible greening of the Thar region. The recent change in rainfall distribution in the form of wet and dry zones across the country will impact the water resource, food security as well as the fragile local ecosystems.
Abstract
We use results of our 3 yr polarimetric monitoring programme to investigate the previously suggested connection between rotations of the polarization plane in the optical emission of blazars ...and their gamma-ray flares in the GeV band. The homogeneous set of 40 rotation events in 24 sources detected by RoboPol is analysed together with the gamma-ray data provided by Fermi-LAT. We confirm that polarization plane rotations are indeed related to the closest gamma-ray flares in blazars and the time lags between these events are consistent with zero. Amplitudes of the rotations are anticorrelated with amplitudes of the gamma-ray flares. This is presumably caused by higher relativistic boosting (higher Doppler factors) in blazars that exhibit smaller amplitude polarization plane rotations. Moreover, the time-scales of rotations and flares are marginally correlated.
A model experiment with a regional climate model (RegCM4.6) coupled with an updated land–surface scheme (Community Land Model; CLM4.5) is integrated for 34 years to study the Indian summer monsoon ...(ISM). An eastward shift (towards Bay of Bengal; BoB) in simulated monsoon features due to the secular shift of the moist convective systems is observed. Further diagnostics show lower temperature over India as compared to BoB; while the Findlater jet is significantly weakened over the Arabian Sea. The low-pressure drags the southwesterly towards BoB through India. The Bowen ratio and evaporation reflect less soil moisture availability over the land. The analysis of simulated omega, moist static energy and Hadley circulation illustrates that an atmospheric condition dominates over land which further suppresses the convection and hence the rainfall. However, favorable atmospheric condition supporting convection and moisture availability leads to heavy precipitation over BoB and hence causes the eastward shift in simulated ISM rainfall. The convective fraction contributes the major share to the total precipitation. An evaluation of appropriate land surface spin-up period in order to investigate the optimum stabilization period for CLM4.5, indicates a possible weak coupling between land and atmosphere components in model simulation. This led to the improper energy and moisture exchanges between land and atmosphere in the simulation. The present work also suggests that, the simulated mean rainfall is not predominantly influenced by the length of different spin-up periods (up to 25 years) in case of weak coupling of land and atmosphere.
ABSTRACT
We present the design and performance of RoboPol, a four-channel optical polarimeter operating at the Skinakas Observatory in Crete, Greece. RoboPol is capable of measuring both relative ...linear Stokes parameters q and u (and the total intensity I) in one sky exposure. Though primarily used to measure the polarization of point sources in the R band, the instrument features additional filters (B, V, and I), enabling multiwavelength imaging polarimetry over a large field of view (13.6′ × 13.6′). We demonstrate the accuracy and stability of the instrument throughout its 5 yr of operation. Best performance is achieved within the central region of the field of view and in the R band. For such measurements the systematic uncertainty is below 0.1 per cent in fractional linear polarization, p (0.05 per cent maximum likelihood). Throughout all observing seasons the instrumental polarization varies within 0.1 per cent in p and within ∼1° in polarization angle.
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