The dissimilar metal joint of titanium (Ti) to 304L stainless steel (SS) is essential in the nuclear industry for the dissolution of spent fuel that is carried out in boiling nitric acid in the ...dissolver vessel (made of Ti) and the dissolved solution is transported through the 304L SS pipes to the other plant components made of 304L SS. Because of the radioactive environment, leak tightness and corrosion resistance of this dissimilar joint are important. In this work, friction welding process was attempted to join Ti to 304L SS. Direct friction welding of Ti to 304L SS results in a stronger weld in which failure occurs in the Ti base metal during tensile testing. However, the joints have almost zero bend ductility that has been attributed to the formation of intermetallics due to mechanical alloying, strain hardening of Ti near the joint interface and residual stresses. Post-weld heat treatment marginally increases the bend ductility to 5° because of relieving of the effects of strain hardening and of residual stresses at the joint interface. Corrosion test in boiling nitric acid as per ASTM A-262 Practice C shows that the average corrosion rate is 10
mpy with the joints remaining intact after the corrosion test. The details of mechanical tests, microstructure analysis using optical and scanning electron microscopy, are discussed.
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•Different crop establishment methods were compared with traditional conventional tillage (CT) in rice-wheat cropping system.•Net returns and benefit cost ratio were increased by 11 ...and 28 % under conservation agriculture (CA) -based systems than CT.•System productivity was at par while earthworm population was two times higher under CA-based production system than CT.•CA-based systems had 15 % less energy input and 14–36 % higher energy productivity than CT.•Direct seeded rice consumed 6.8 % less water and had 56.2 % less methane emission than puddled transplanted rice.
In the eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains (EIGP), conventional rice-wheat system has led to a decline in productivity, input-use efficiency, and profitability. To address these, a four-year field study was conducted to evaluate the performance of tillage and crop establishment (TCE) methods in rice-wheat-greengram rotation. The treatments included: 1) random puddled transplanted rice (RPTR) - conventional-till broadcast wheat (BCW) - zero-till greengram (ZTG); 2) line PTR (LPTR) - conventional-till drill sown wheat (CTW) - ZTG; 3) machine transplanted rice in puddled soil (CTMTR) - zero tillage wheat (ZTW) - ZTG; 4) machine transplanted rice in zero-till wet soil (ZTMTR) - ZTW - ZTG; 5) system of rice intensification (SRI) - system of wheat intensification (SWI) - ZTG; 6) direct-seeded rice (DSR) - ZTW - ZTG; and 7) zero-till DSR - ZTW - ZTG. During the initial two years, conventional rice system (PTR) recorded a 16.2 % higher rice grain yield than DSR system. Whereas in the fourth year, the rice yields under DSR and PTR were comparable. As compared to SRI/SWI, the average wheat yield in ZT system was significantly high, whereas in rice, SRI/SWI system was comparable with CT system. ZTW after non-puddled rice was at par to CTW after PTR. The ZT wheat produced 4.6 % more yield than CT system. DSR production system consumed 6.8 % less water compared to transplanted system. On the system basis, 10.8 % higher net returns were recorded with CA-based system compared to conventional system. The system energy productivity under CA-based production system was 14–36 % higher than PTR-based systems. CA-based system also led to 8–10 % lower global warming potential (GWP) than conventional methods. The current study indicated that as compared to conventional system, a significant gain in productivity, profitability and energy-use efficiency, and reduction in the environmental mitigation are possible with emerging alternative TCE methods. Long-term expansion and further refinement of these technologies in local areas need to be explored for the second green revolution.
The health of the ocular surface is vital for clear vision and comfort. Various factors can adversely influence the ocular surface and tear film homeostasis, and these include procedures like ...cataract and corneal refractive surgery. It is, therefore, important to assess the integrity of the ocular surface in a rapid, predictable, and consistent manner in the clinic. Various tests and devices have been described, and while these are useful, this article highlights the importance of using fluorescein staining of the ocular surface in detecting changes. This is a simple, inexpensive, rapidly performed test that is available in most eye clinics. However, a proper technique of dye instillation and assessment is important to recognize the changes that can occur. Once detected, these changes can be quantified, and the location and patterns can be used to diagnose the diseases that are present; these changes can also be used to monitor treatment outcomes and disease progression. The article discusses the technique, assessment, and interpretation of fluorescein staining of the ocular surface, along with the role of the two other vital dyes - rose bengal and lissamine green.
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•Synthesized Ag and ZnO Nanoparticles via leaf extract of henna plant.•Acute oral toxicity and histopathology studies were done.•Showed non toxicity on tested mice for the period of ...14days.•Histopathlogical changes have been studied.
The Ag and ZnO nanoparticles are synthesized by a green method using Lawsonia inermis plant extract. The phytochemical constituent (2-hydroxy-1, 4-napthoquionone) found in the leaf extract of Lawsonia inermis plays an important role in the reduction and formation of Ag and ZnO nanoparticles. The biosynthesis of Ag and ZnO NPs was observed by the color change from colorless to dark brown and light brown. The FE SEM, TEM DLS analysis confirmed the average particle size of Ag and ZnO NPs as 100nm, 20nm, 28.5nm and 100nm, 20nm, 38.4nm respectively. Crystalline nature and presence of Ag and ZnO NPs were confirmed by XRD. The FT-IR spectra of the Ag and ZnO authorized the presence of phyto constituents as capping agent. From results of acute oral toxicity studies, it was found that Ag and ZnO NPs at 2000mg/kgb.w have shown no mortality during the treatment period. The present study revealed the safer use of eco-friendly green synthesized Ag and ZnO NPs in the field of nano-biomedicine.
Doppler sodar measurements were made at the tropical Indian station, i.e., Gadanki (13.5° N, 79. 2° E). According to wind climatologies, the wind pattern changes from month to month. In July and ...August, the predominant wind direction during the monsoon season was the southwest. In September, it was the northwest and south. While the winds in November came from the northeast, they came from the northwest and southwest in October. The winds in December were out of the southeast. The diurnal cycle of winds at 60-m above the ground was visible, with disturbed wind directions in September and October. This may be connected to the Indian subcontinent’s southeastern monsoon recession. To better understand the monsoon circulation on a monthly basis, the present work is innovative in that it uses high-resolution winds measured using the Doppler sodar at the atmospheric boundary layer. The convergence of a sea breeze and the background wind might result in a sudden change in wind direction, and forecasting such a chaotic atmospheric event is crucial in the aviation sector. As a result, the wind shear that is produced may pose a serious threat to airplanes that are landing. In the current study, we present a few cases of sea breeze intrusions. The physics underlying these intrusions may help modelers better understand these chaotic wind structures and use them as inputs in their models. Based on surface-based atmospheric characteristics, there have been two reports of deep sea breeze intrusions that we report in this research. The sea breeze days were marked by substantial (moderate) drops in temperature (dewpoint temperatures) and increased wind speed and relative humidity. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) rainfall data showed a rise in precipitation over this location on 23 July (4.8 mm) and 24 July (9.5 mm) when sea breeze intrusions over Gadanki were noticed. Sea breeze intrusions could have brought precipitation (intrusion-laden precipitation) to this area due to conducive meteorological conditions. A simple schematic model is proposed through a diagrammatic illustration that explains how a sea breeze triggers precipitation over adjacent locations to the seacoast. The skew-T log-P diagrams have been drawn using the balloon-borne radiosonde measured atmospheric data over Chennai (a nearby location to Gadanki) to examine the thermodynamic parameters to gain insights into the underlying mechanisms and meteorological conditions during sea breeze intrusion events. It is found that the convective available potential energy (CAPE), which is presented as a thermos diagram, was associated with large values on 23 July and 24 July (898 J/kg and 1250 J/kg), which could have triggered thunderstorms over Chennai.
Cerebral proliferative angiopathies (CPAs) are distinct vascular malformations with varied clinical presentations and radiological findings from arteriovenous malformations (AVM) (Lasjaunias et al. ...in Stroke 39(3):878–85,
2008
). They usually manifest with seizures if present supratentorial, headache, and progressive neurological deficits due to steal phenomenon or rarely with hemorrhage (Lasjaunias et al. in Stroke 39(3):878–85,
2008
). Most of the patients are usually young females. Pediatric cases are extremely rare, with few cases reported till now. Here we report a child who presented with cerebellar bleed and diagnosed as CPA. The child was managed medically, and there was no change in caliber of the vessels after 18 months of follow-up. A short review of cases of CPA in pediatric age group presentations and management was undertaken in this case report.
Background
Aneurysmal rebleed is the most dreaded complication following subarachnoid hemorrhage. Being a cause of devastating outcome, the stratification of risk factors can be used to prioritize ...patients, especially at high volume centers.
Method
A total of 99 patients with aneurysmal rebleed were analyzed in this study both prospectively and retrospectively from August 2010 to July 2014. In the control group, 100 patients were selected randomly from the patient registry. A total of 25 variables from the demographic, historical, clinical and radiological data were compared and analyzed by univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis.
Results
Significant independent predictors of aneurysm rebleed were the presence of known hypertension (p = 0.023), diastolic blood pressure of >90 mmHg on admission (p = 0.008); presence of loss of consciousness (p = 0.013) or seizures (p = 0.002) at first ictus; history of warning headaches (p = 0.005); higher Fisher grade (p < 0.001); presence of multiple aneurysms (p = 0.021); irregular aneurysm surface (0.002).
Conclusions
Identification of high risk factors can help in stratifying patients in the high risk group. The risk stratification strategy with early intervention can prevent rebleeds. This in turn may translate into better outcomes of patients with intracranial aneurysms.
Cerebral ischemia is a life-threatening health concern that leads to severe neurological complications and fatalities worldwide. Although timely intervention with clot-removing agents curtails ...serious post-stroke neurological dysfunctions, no effective neuroprotective intervention is available for addressing post-recanalization neuroinflammation. Herein, for the first time we studied the effect of oxyberberine (OBB), a derivative of berberine, on transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO)-generated neurological consequences in Sprague-Dawley rats. The MCAO-operated rats exhibited significant somatosensory and sensorimotor dysfunctions in adhesive removal, foot fault, paw whisker, and rotarod assays at 1 and 3 days post-surgery. These MCAO-generated neurological deficits were prevented in OBB-treated (50 and 100 mg/kg) rats, and also coincided with a smaller infarct area (in 2,3,5-triphenyl tetrazolium chloride staining) and decreased neuronal death (in cresyl violet staining) in the ipsilateral hemisphere of these animals. The immunostaining of neuronal nuclear protein (NeuN) and glial-fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) also echoes the neuroprotective nature of OBB. The increased expression of neuroinflammatory and blood-brain barrier tight junction proteins like toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), TRAF-6, nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), pNF-κB, nNOS, ASC, and IKBα in the ipsilateral part of MCAO-operated rats were restored to normal following OBB treatment. We also observed the decline in plasma levels/mRNA transcription of TNF-α, IL-1β, NLRP3, IL-6, and matrix metalloproteinase-9 and increased expression of occludin and claudin in OBB-treated rats. These outcomes imply that OBB may prevent the MCAO-induced neurological consequences and neuroinflammation by interfering with TLR4 and NLRP3 signaling in rats.
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•OBB reverses MCAO-generated neurological deficits and neuronal insults in rats.•OBB ameliorates increased neuroinflammatory and blood-brain barrier markers.•OBB restores GFAP, NeuN, IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, MMP9, NLRP3, TLR4, TRAF-6, and NF-κB.•OBB may act by inhibiting TLR4 and MMP9 which further curtails neuroinflammation.
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