In present investigation, the selective removal of Al from the quasi-lattice sites of quasicrystalline alloy surface was examined in order to produce the nano-particles of metal/metal oxides within ...the micro-porous network. Al was selectively etched from both the as-cast as well as annealed Al63Cu25Fe12 quasicrystalline alloys through the treatment with 10 mol NaOH solution at different time interval. In the as-cast sample, higher density of porosity was observed compared to that of annealed alloy. However, dealloying specifically for 4 and 8 h yielded nano-size particles on quasicrystalline surface (of both the alloys) in which very fine particles were detected at 8 h. The increase in density and decrease in size of the nano-particles was found with dealloying duration. X-ray diffraction analysis was performed to characterize the samples. Scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis were carried out to investigate the surface microstructure, internal morphology and chemical composition. The chemical dealloying treatments yielded nano-particles of Cu and Fe along with their oxides on the quasicrystalline surface. Furthermore, the catalytic activity of leached quasicrystalline materials was evaluated towards degradation of non-biodegradable and hazardous methylene blue (organic dye).
•The Evolution of porous structure on poly-grain Al63Cu25Fe12 quasicrystalline alloy surface.•The chemical dealloying yielded nano-particles of Cu and Fe on the quasicrystalline surface.•Excellent catalytic activity of leached quasicrystals on the degradation of methylene blue.
Stress perception and signal transduction leading to tolerance involve a complex interplay of different gene products. We describe here the isolation and characterization of an intronless gene ...(OSISAP1) from rice encoding a zinc-finger protein that is induced after different types of stresses, namely cold, desiccation, salt, submergence, and heavy metals as well as injury. The gene is also induced by stress hormone abscisic acid. Overexpression of the gene in transgenic tobacco conferred tolerance to cold, dehydration, and salt stress at the seed-germination/seedling stage as reflected by the percentage of germination/green seedlings, the fresh weight of seedlings, and their developmental pattern. Thus, OSISAP1 seems to be an important determinant of stress response in plants.
Nowadays, industries are emphasizing the implementation of a smart shop floor management method because of different types of problems faced in controlling the production activities in Industry 4.0. ...Several shop floor management methods are currently implemented in the present Industry 4.0 scenario, including lean manufacturing, logistics, Internet of things, smart manufacturing, cyber-physical system, and artificial intelligence. The present research work is focused on the development and Taguchi validation methodology of a data-driven decision-making system using L9 orthogonal array for smart shop floor management based on the relationship between production sustainability and constraints. The proposed system has been validated by a comprehensive investigation of a case of mining machinery manufacturing unit. The result of the investigation revealed that productivity has been enhanced by effective controlling of production activities on the shop floor. Taguchi L9 orthogonal array method of design of experiments is implemented to enhance flexibility for shop floor control and meanwhile minimize the production time due to inefficient operating conditions on the shop floor. Taguchi method was implemented for critical conditions affecting production lead time and resource utilization. The authors have detailed discussion on developing present novel hybrid integration of lean and smart manufacturing approaches to enhance operational excellence in production activities and other complicated manufacturing environment on the shop floor within available resources. The present finding demonstrates that the adopted digital technologies under smart manufacturing with lean manufacturing are found to be cost-effective approach under different environmental conditions. The proposed system has significantly improved the efficiency of production management and operational performance by using smart systems and has proved effective in improving the financial position by making a safer shop floor management approach. In this article, a robust problem-solving system is provided. The present work aims to introduce revolutionary methods for Industry 4.0 that would result in productivity enhancement and beneficial impact on industry persons by improving the smart shop floor management. The study also provides valuable perspective and sustainable guidelines to facilitate industry individuals to implement lean and smart manufacturing for productivity enhancement in the production environment of Industry 4.0.
This study aimed to evaluate pedo-morphological properties to quantify the soil quality of alluvial soils in Indo-Gangetic Plains, India. In total, 241 geo-referenced soil profiles were collected ...representing four major landforms. The optimal scaling method was used to transform the categorical variables into numerical variables and the minimum datasets (MDS) were identified by categorical principal component analysis (CATPCA). Structure type and grade, texture class was highly loaded in PC 1 and explained about 36% of the variability. Four variables e.g. texture class, root quantity, structure size and hue were selected as MDS with 44%, 23%, 18% and 15% contribution to morphological soil quality index (MSQI), respectively. The MSQI of the study area varied 0.437-0.986 for surface and 0.110-0.989 for the sub-surface soils. The MSQI of alluvial landforms followed the sequence of old alluvial plain > young alluvial plain > meander plain > flood plain, respectively. The correlations of the selected pedo-morphological indicators were conducted and they were validated with laboratory data. In conclusion, landform-specific soil quality indicators were appropriate for the evaluation and monitoring of alluvial soils and MDS identified in this study could be effectively used to evaluate soil quality in a similar landscape with limited data.
Radiation imaging is extensively applied in nuclear industry for various purposes including fuel characterization. Accurate quantitative evaluation of these radiographic images is difficult by the ...existing manual process and therefore image analytical methods have been attempted. The method of wavelet transform analysis has been applied on Gamma autoradiography (GAR) images of experimental (U, Pu)O2 mixed oxide (MOX) fuel pins with the objective to investigate the effectiveness of the method for fuel homogeneity characterization. The method was found effective to carry out quantified estimations of size and relative plutonium concentration of the heterogeneous portions in the fuel. The results were validated with theoretically simulated results as practical standards and calibrations are not possible in these samples. The results of wavelet transformation analysis were found to be more accurate with reference to the theoretically simulated values in comparison with conventional pixel analysis applied on the original GAR images.
•Novel technique developed for quantitative estimation of plutonium heterogeneity in mixed nuclear fuels using analysis of auto-radiation images.•Wavelet transformation applied for bringing out detailed information from the image.•Theoretical simulations used to validate the results in the absence of appropriate calibration standards for heterogeneity which are practically not possible to synthesize.•Results of this method carry high reliability due to 100% coverage of the actual product.•The technique provides a better alternative to the existing methods in nuclear fuel fabrication facilities with high throughput demand.
Purpose: The multidrug resistance Enterobacteriaceae cause many serious infections resulting in prolonged hospitalization, increased treatment charges and mortality rate. In this study, we ...characterized bla.sub.NDM-5-positive multidrug resistance commensal Escherichia coli (CE) isolated from diarrheal patients in Kolkata, India. Methods: Three CE strains were isolated from diarrheal stools, which were negative for different pathogroups of diarrheagenic E. coli (DEC). The presence of carbapenemases encoding genes and other antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) was detected using PCR. The genetic arrangement adjoining bla.sub.NDM-5 was investigated by plasmid genome sequencing. The genetic relatedness of the strains was determined by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) methods. Results: In addition to colistin, the bla.sub.NDM-5-positive CE strains showed resistance to most of the antibiotics. Higher MICs were detected for ciprofloxacin (>32 mg/L) and imipenem (8 mg/L). Molecular typing revealed that three CE strains belonged to two different STs (ST 101 and ST 648) but they were 95% similar in the PFGE analysis. Screening for ARGs revealed that CE strains harbored Int-1, bla.sub.TEM, bla.sub.CTX-M3, bla.sub.OXA-1, bla.sub.OXA-7, bla.sub.OXA-9, tetA, strA, aadA1, aadB, sul2, floR, mph(A), and aac(6')-Ib-cr. In conjugation experiment, transfer frequencies ranged from 2.5 x 10.sup.-3 to 8.4 x 10.sup.-5. The bla.sub.NDM-5 gene was located on a 94-kb pNDMTC-CE-89 type plasmid, which is highly similar to the IncFII plasmid harboring an IS26-IS30-bla.sub.NDM-5-ble.sub.MBL-trpF- dsbd-IS91-dhps structure. Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on carbapenem resistance involving the bla.sub.NDM- 5 gene in CE from diarrheal patients. The circulation of bla.sub.NDM-5 gene in CE is worrisome, since it has the potential to transfer bla.sub.NDM-5 gene to other enteric pathogens. Keywords: antimicrobial resistance, carbapenem-resistance, commensal E. coli, plasmid; bla.sub.NDM-5
This open access book documents myriads of ways community-based climate change adaptation and resilience programs are being implemented in South Asian countries. The narrative style of writing in ...this volume makes it accessible to a diverse audience from academics and researchers to practitioners in various governmental, non-governmental and international agencies. At a time when climate change presents humanity with a gloomy future, the stories of innovation, creativity, grassroots engagement and locally applicable solutions highlighted in this book provides insights into hopeful ways of approaching climate solutions. South Asian countries have been dealing with the impact of climate change for decades and thus offer valuable learning opportunities for developing countries within and beyond the region as well as many western countries that are confronting the wrath of climate induced natural disasters more recently. SANDEE has been a pioneer in the development of research and training in environmental economics and related issues in South Asia and Prof Maler has been throughout SANDEE's history, its mentor, and its strongest supporter. Many young economists in South Asia have significantly benefited from Prof Maler's guidance and inputs. The present volume on “Climate Change and Community Resilience: Insights from South Asia” is a fitting tribute and an excellent reflection of Prof Maler's contributions to the SANDEE programme throughout his association. - Mahesh Banskota, Ph.D. Professor, Development Studies School of Arts, Kathmandu University This comprehensive volume aptly identifies grassroots initiatives as the core of the problem of adaptation to climate change. The analysis of the different experiments is lucid, inclusive, and full of interesting detail. The methodologies used and the subjects covered span a range of frameworks and narratives. Put together, the studies are a fitting tribute to Karl-Goran Maler, who spent years putting his impeccable expertise to use for the cause of enhancing research in South Asia. - Kanchan Chopra, Ph.D. Former Director and Professor, Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi, and Fellow, SANDEE The slow international policy response to climate change elevates the importance of understanding how communities can respond to climate change’s many threats. This unusually accessible volume provides that understanding for South Asia while being relevant to the rest of the world. Its emphasis on research by scholars from the region makes it a wonderful tribute to Prof. Karl-Göran Mäler, who contributed so much to the growth of environmental economics research capacity in South Asia. - Jeffrey R. Vincent, Ph.D. Clarence F. Korstian Professor of Forest Economics & Management Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, USA
Acoustic emission technique (AET) has been used for characterization of fatigue crack growth (FCG) of a reduced activation ferritic-martensitic (RAFM) steel, a candidate structural material for the ...first wall and blanket applications in fusion reactors. The rate of AE activity generated as counts per cycle and energy per cycle has shown discontinuities corresponding to change in cyclic plasticity, crack closure and intergranular cracking in the transition regime. Peak amplitudes (PAs) of AE hits (events) could be used to distinguish crack growth in different regions of the FCG. The intergranular cracking in the transition regime is characterized by higher number of hits with peak amplitude up to 88dB along with the appearance of emissions with PA from 66 to 88dB. The variation of event duration with peak amplitude have shown that the FCG process is characterized by signals of two groups at higher values of ΔK whereas the closure and transition regimes are characterized by single group of signals.
•Acoustic emission (AE) study during fatigue crack growth test of RAFM steel•Variation in AE rate vs ΔK shows discontinuities at different points.•The discontinuities are attributed to change in cyclic plasticity, crack closure and intergranular cracking in the transition regime.•Peak amplitudes of AE could be used to distinguish crack growth in different regimes of the FCG.•The variation of event duration with peak amplitude also enable to distinguish crack growth in different regimes.
Key message
BjuWRR1
, a CNL-type R gene, was identified from an east European gene pool line of
Brassica juncea
and validated for conferring resistance to white rust by genetic transformation.
White ...rust caused by the oomycete pathogen
Albugo candida
is a significant disease of crucifer crops including
Brassica juncea
(mustard), a major oilseed crop of the Indian subcontinent. Earlier, a resistance-conferring locus named AcB1-A5.1 was mapped in an east European gene pool line of
B. juncea
—Donskaja-IV. This line was tested along with some other lines of
B. juncea
(AABB),
B. rapa
(AA) and
B. nigra
(BB) for resistance to six isolates of
A. candida
collected from different mustard growing regions of India. Donskaja-IV was found to be completely resistant to all the tested isolates. Sequencing of a BAC spanning the locus AcB1-A5.1 showed the presence of a single CC-NB-LRR protein encoding R gene. The genomic sequence of the putative R gene with its native promoter and terminator was used for the genetic transformation of a susceptible Indian gene pool line Varuna and was found to confer complete resistance to all the isolates. This is the first white rust resistance-conferring gene described from
Brassica
species and has been named
BjuWRR1
. Allelic variants of the gene in
B. juncea
germplasm and orthologues in the Brassicaceae genomes were studied to understand the evolutionary dynamics of the
BjuWRR1
gene.
Summary
Background
Severe alcoholic hepatitis patients have high mortality and limited response to corticosteroids. Microvesicles reflect cellular stress and disease conditions.
Aims
To investigate ...whether microvesicles are associated with severity, response to steroid therapy and inflammation in severe alcoholic hepatitis.
Methods
Microvesicles originating from different cells were studied pre‐therapy in 101 patients; (71 responder to corticosteroid therapy and 30 nonresponders) and 20 healthy controls. Microvesicles and cells were determined in peripheral and hepatic vein samples using flow cytometry and correlated with outcomes. Inflammatory signalling pathways and functional alterations of immune cells after stimulation with microvesicles were also investigated.
Results
Microvesicles mean levels were higher in nonresponders for T cells (CD3+ CD4+; 10.1 MV/μL vs 5.4; P = 0.06), macrophages (CD68+ CD11b+; 136.5 vs 121.9 MV/μL; P = 0.01), haematopoietic stem‐cells (CD45+ CD34+; 116.8 vs 13.4 MV/μL; P = 0.0001) and hepatocytes (ASGPR+; 470 vs 361 MV/μL; P = 0.01); the latter two predicting steroid nonresponse in 94% patients at baseline in peripheral plasma. Microvesicle levels correlated with histological and liver disease severity indices. Whereas, in non‐responders hepatic vein CD34+ cells were lower (P = 0.02), the CD34+ microvesicles there from were higher (P = 0.04), thus suggesting impaired regeneration. Also, microvesicles of 0.2‐0.4 μm size were higher in nonresponders (P < 0.03) at baseline. Microvesicles from patients trigger more (P = 0.04) ROS generation, TNF‐α production (P = 0.04) and up‐regulate pro‐inflammatory cytokine related genes in neutrophils in vitro.
Conclusions
Pre‐therapy peripheral plasma levels of CD34+ and ASGPR+ microvesicles are reliable non‐invasive markers of steroid nonresponse and mortality in patients with severe alcoholic hepatitis.
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