Search

For the exploration and validation of the integration of efficient propulsion concepts and new technologies for future large passenger aircraft, it is necessary to establish suitable design, evaluation and measurement tools. Therefore, as one major activity of the Large Passenger Aircraft (LPA) Platform 1 of the Clean Sky 2 initiative, the so-called Cross-Capability Demonstrator (XDC), has been set up to develop and demonstrate powerful numerical and experimental methods for aerodynamic, aeroacoustics, and aeroelastic simulation and measurement tasks. The paper will give an overview of the activities to be performed within the XDC and present some of the latest achievements related to this demonstrator.

Dear Editor, Fungemia is associated with high morbidity and mortality rates. Various techniques have been introduced to diagnose fungemia such as conventional broth culture medium, by blind or macroscopic subculture, [...]

Immunoactivation depends upon the antigen potential to modulate T-cell repertoires. The present study has enumerated the effect of 61 kDa recombinant Leishmania donovani co-factor-independent phosphoglycerate mutase (rLd-iPGAM) on mononuclear cells of healthy and treated visceral leishmaniasis subjects as well as on THP-1 cell line. rLd-iPGAM stimulation induced higher expression of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) in the phagocytic cell, its receptor and CD69 on T-cell subsets. These cellular activations resulted in upregulation of host-protective cytokines IL-2, IL-12, IL-17, tumour necrosis factor-α and interferon-γ, and downregulation of IL-4, IL-10 and tumour growth factor-β. This immune polarization was also evidenced by upregulation of nuclear factor-κ light-chain enhancer of activated B cells p50 and regulated expression of suppressor of mother against decapentaplegic protein-4. rLd-iPGAM stimulation also promoted lymphocyte proliferation and boosted the leishmaniacidal activity of macrophages by upregulating reactive oxygen species. It also induced 1·8-fold higher release of nitric oxide (NO) by promoting the transcription of inducible nitric oxide synthase gene. Besides, in silico analysis suggested the presence of major histocompatibility complex class I and II restricted epitopes, which can proficiently trigger CD8+ and CD4+ cells, respectively. This study reports rLd-iPGAM as an effective immunoprophylactic agent, which can be used in future vaccine design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mohar (Dhala) circular structure, Shivpuri district, Madhya Pradesh, is an established impact structure. Most work on this structure revolves around petrological, mineralogical, geochemical and geochronological aspects. The present work aims to decipher the subsurface nature of this structure by using accrued borehole data, in tandem with petrological identification of key marker horizon. The melt breccia unit is taken as the marker horizon and the various attributes of its contact with the underlying granite basement and overlying sediments of pre-Vindhyan Dhala Formation were utilised to ascertain the thickness of each unit. The study shows that there is no signature of weathered surface between Dhala sediments and melt breccia unit, thereby suggesting continuity between the two units, without any notable hiatus. Isopach maps and surface contours of contacts have also been attempted, which indicated the absence of a central uplift of the crater floor, since a central uplift should have elevated the basement granitic rocks at the centre of the structure leading to a basement high, which is not so in the present case. It is established by this study that the structure is that of a simple crater without a central uplift.

In the present paper a ground state anisotropic Heisenberg Hamiltonian is presented to study the magnetic properties of LnOFeAs (also called ‘1111’) compounds. In absence of any general consensus on the ground state Hamiltonian of iron pnictides, the present Hamiltonian emphasize the role of Fe–As interaction and its role on the magnetic properties of the iron pnictides. Based on the model an expression is obtained for sub lattice magnetization and Neel temperature (TN) using Green’s function technique within random phase approximation. In the present model first nearest neighbours (J1), second nearest neighbours (J2), third nearest neighbours (J3) exchange coupling along with out-of-plane Fe–As exchange coupling (J⊥) is considered. Using the expression for Neel temperature, variation of Neel temperature (TN) with J⊥has been studied. The effect of J⊥on the sublattice magnetization is also studied. For realistic values of exchange coupling constants, Neel temperature of LnOFeAs system (Ln = La, Pr, Ce) has been evaluated with and without out-of-plane exchange coupling. The theoretical results with out-of plane exchange couplings are found in good agreement with experimental results.

Under a multi-centre study conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research, 1511 samples of parboiled rice were collected from rural and urban areas of 11 states representing different geographical regions of India. These samples were analysed for contamination with aflatoxin B1.The presence of aflatoxin B1at levels ≥ 5 μg kg−1was found in 38.5% of the total number of samples of the parboiled rice. About 17% of the total samples showed the presence of aflatoxin B1above the Indian regulatory limit of 30 μg kg−1. No statistically significant difference in percentage of samples contaminated with >30 μg kg−1was observed between pooled rural (19.4%) and urban (14.5%) data. A median value of 15 μg kg−1of aflatoxin B1was observed in samples from Assam, Bihar and Tripura. In all other states surveyed the median value was <5 μg kg−1.

The crystallization of calcite in the form of spheroaggregates in aqueous foam stabilized by the surfactant sodium bis-2-ethylhexyl-sulfosuccinate (aerosol OT, AOT) by a method of ion entrapment is described. Reaction of Na2CO3 with Ca²⁺ ions electrostatically entrapped in the foam results in the formation of flat, platelike calcite crystals, possibly in the plateau border regions of the foam. Hydrodynamic flow patterns in the foam are believed to transport the calcite platelets from the plateau border regions into the larger plateau junctions where they assemble into spherical structures by hydrophobic association. The large interfacial area of the liquid lamellae in the foam provides an attractive and versatile template for the large-scale synthesis of not only minerals but also other nanoscale materials.

Tetanus toxin, a member of the family of Clostridial neurotoxins, is one of the most potent toxins known. The crystal structure of the complex of the COOH-terminal fragment of the heavy chain with an analogue of its ganglioside receptor, GT1b, provides the first direct identification and characterization of the ganglioside-binding sites. The ganglioside induces cross-linking by binding to two distinct sites on the Hc molecule. The structure sheds new light on the binding of Clostridial neurotoxins to receptors on neuronal cells and provides important information relevant to the design of anti-tetanus and anti-botulism therapeutic agents.

In this paper we consider some Anderson type models, with free parts having long range tails and with the random perturbations decaying at different rates in different directions and prove that there is a.c. spectrum in the model which is pure. In addition, we show that there is pure point spectrum outside some interval. Our models include potentials decaying in all directions in which case absence of singular continuous spectrum is also shown.

As a basic characteristic of traffic flow, vehicular travel speed is indispensable in many research and management tasks. In travel speed estimation, vehicular free-flow speed is a crucial determining factor, particularly when the traffic is light or moderate. The current state-of-the-art modeling of free-flow speeds is explored. The development of models of free-flow speed for Indiana arterial roads that may also be suitable for other states in the Midwest is described. Separate free-flowspeed models are presented for cars and trucks during daytime and nighttime hours. Aggregate models could easily be available if the methods provided are followed. The presentation includes the research background, the data-collection and data-processing procedures, a description of model development, and an analysis and a description of a means of refinement of the model.

Tetanus toxoid has been used widely as an adjuvant. The atoxic fragment C from tetanus toxin (TetC) is potently immunogenic when expressed in Salmonella vaccine strains and has been used as a fusion partner for antigens (Ag). However, there has been no formal comparison of the immunomodulatory impact of TetC on its fusion partners. In this study, we have addressed this important issue. The protective 28-kDa glutathione S-transferase (GST) from Schistosoma haematobium (Sh28GST) was expressed either as a fusion to TetC or as the full-length Sh28GST alone in a nonvirulent aroA-attenuated strain of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. The Sh28GST proteins were soluble and stably expressed in Salmonella, as evaluated by Western blotting with TetC and/or Sh28GST antisera. Mice were immunized orally with a single dose of the live recombinant Salmonella. The constructs were stable in mice but, dramatically, only the strain expressing the TetC-Sh28GST fusion elicited significant antibody (Ab) responses directed against Sh28GST as determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. An analysis of the isotype profiles showed that these mice also produced anti-Sh28GST immunoglobulin A and GST-neutralizing assays revealed high levels of neutralizing Abs in sera. These are important correlates of protection in schistosomiasis. In addition, stimulation of spleen cells from immunized mice with Sh28GST Ag showed that both strains, expressing Sh28GST alone or the TetC-Sh28GST fusion, were able to stimulate the secretion of Th1-related cytokines (gamma interferon and interleukin 2) to comparable levels. Thus, TetC has modulated the immune responses generated against its fusion partner, Sh28GST, by markedly enhancing the Ab responses elicited. These results have important implications in the rational development of live vaccines.

Human signal recognition particle (SRP) RNA is transcribed by RNA polymerase III and terminates with -GUCUCUUUUOH on its 3' end. Our previous studies showed that the three terminal uridylic acid residues of human SRP RNA are post-transcriptionally removed and a single adenylic acid residue is added, resulting in a 3' end sequence of -GUCUCUAOH (Sinha, K. M., Gu, J., Chen, Y., and Reddy, R. (1998) J. Biol. Chem. 273, 6853-6859). In this study we show that the Alu RNA, corresponding to the 5' and 3' ends of SRP RNA, is also accurately processed and adenylated in vitro. Alu RNAs containing 7 or 11 additional nucleotides on the 3' end were accurately processed and then adenylated. Deletion analysis showed that an 87-nucleotide-long motif comprising of the 5' and 3' ends, including stem IV of the Alu RNA, is sufficient and necessary for the 3' end processing and adenylation. A 73-nucleotide-long construct with deletion of stem IV, required for the binding of SRP 9/14-kDa proteins, was neither processed nor adenylated. The adenylated Alu RNA as well as adenylated SRP RNA were bound to the SRP 9/14-kDa heterodimer and were immunoprecipitated by specific antibodies. A significant fraction of SRP RNA in the nucleoli was found to be processed and adenylated. These data are consistent with nascent SRP and/or Alu RNAs first binding to SRP 9/14-kDa protein heterodimer, followed by the removal of extra sequence on the 3' end and then the addition of one adenylic acid residue in the nucleus, before transport into the cytoplasm.

A fraction of the signal recognition particle (SRP) RNA from human, rat, Xenopus, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells contains a single post-transcriptionally added adenylic acid residue on its 3'-end; in the case of human SRP RNA, over 60% of the SRP RNA molecules contain a nontemplated adenylic acid residue on their 3'-ends (Sinha, K. M., Gu, J., Chen, Y., and Reddy, R. (1998) J. Biol. Chem. 273, 6853-6859). In this study, we investigated the enzyme that is involved in this 3'-end adenylation of SRP RNA. A U1A protein peptide conjugated to albumin completely inhibited the polyadenylation of a SV40 mRNA by HeLa cell nuclear extract in vitro; however, the 3'-end adenylation of human SRP RNA or Alu RNA, which corresponds to 5' and 3'-ends of SRP RNA, was not affected by this U1A peptide conjugate. SRP RNA from mutant strains of S. cerevisiae with a temperature-sensitive mRNA poly(A) polymerase grown at a restrictive temperature of 37 degrees C also contained a post-transcriptionally added adenylic acid residue just like SRP RNA from wild-type cells and mutant cells grown at permissive temperature of 23 degrees C. In addition, binding of SRP 9/14-kDa protein heterodimer was required for adenylation of Alu RNA in vitro. These lines of evidence, along with other data, show that post-transcriptional adenylation of SRP and Alu RNAs is carried out by a novel enzyme that is distinct from the mRNA poly(A) polymerase, CCA-adding enzyme, and nonspecific terminal transferase.

Abstract: The behaviour of a conduction electron in the presence of two Bose fields, namely, phonons and magnons in ferromagnetic semiconductors is studied. The effects of both electron-magnon and electron-phonon interactions on the energy renormalization are calculated.

Abstract: The anomalous behaviour of the superconducting transition temperatureT c as a function ofx in MxWO3 (hexagonal tungsten bronzes), where M = K, Rb or Cs and 016 6 octahedral chains which are subject to Jahn-Teller (J-T) effect. Above a critical concentration (x c ∼ 0.24) there is cooperative J-T effect resulting in a structural transition. Below this, there will exist only local distortions. The effect of these is to modify the density of states and lead to shifting and splitting of the relevant peaks. It is shown that the density of states profile at the Fermi level controls the superconducting transition temperatures as a function ofx. The conduction electrons in these systems are J-T polarons subject to competition between symmetry-breaking distortion and the band delocalizing effects.

The effect of hypoxia on circulatory levels of insulin, its response to oral glucose administration (100 g) and changes in circadian rhythms of glucose as well as insulin were evaluated in euglycemic males at sea level (SL, 220 m) during their stay at high altitude (3500 m, SJ) and in high altitude natives (HAN).

Studies were conducted on 29 male healthy subjects having no previous experience of living at high altitude. These subjects were divided into three groups, i.e., subjects treated with placebo, acetazolamide and spironolactone. These subjects were first studied in Delhi. The drug schedule was started 24 hour prior to the airlift of these subjects to an altitude of 3,500 m and was continued for 48 hour after arrival at high altitude. Total body water, extra cellular water, plasma volume, blood electrolytes, pH, pO2, pCO2 and blood viscosity were determined on 3rd and 12th day of their stay at high altitude. Total body water, extra cellular water intracellular water and plasma volume decreased on high altitude exposure. There was a further slight decrease in these compartments with acetazolamide and spironolactone. It was also observed that spironolactone drives out more water from the extracellular compartment. Loss of plasma water was also confirmed by increased plasma osmolality. Increase in arterial blood pH was noticed on hypoxic exposure but the increase was found less in acetazolamide and spironolactone cases. This decrease in pH is expected to result in better oxygen delivery to the tissues at the low oxygen tension. It was also confirmed because blood pO2 increased in both the groups. No significant change in plasma electrolytes was observed in subjects of various groups. Blood viscosity slightly increased on exposure to high altitude. The degree of rise was found less in the group treated with spironolactone. This study suggests that both the drugs are likely to be beneficial in ameliorating/prevention of AMS syndrome.

Abstract: The theoretical estimates of the oscillator strengths by Kirby, Saxon and Liu (1979) for theA II2 — XΣ2 system of the MgH molecule are compared with the solar photospheric results. It is found that the two results are in reasonable agreement.

Zero and positive temperature fermion field operators in several dimensions are constructed as stochastic integrals of certain reflection valued processes with respect to the corresponding boson field operator processes.

Equivalent width calculations for some electronic and vibration-rotation transitions of the molecules PO, PH, MgH+f, and CN have been carried out for a few umbral, photospheric, and facular model atmospheres. It appears that a few weak lines of these molecules might show up in the umbral spectrum. Le Blanc bands of CN are too weak for detection in the solar spectrum.

A generalized Ginzburg-Landau approach is used to study the nonmonotonic temperature dependence of the upper critical field Hc2(T) in antiferromagnetic superconductors RE(Mo)6S8; RE = Dy, Tb, Gd. It is found that electrodynamic effects incorporated through screening and indirect coupling between the staggered magnetization MQ(T) and superconducting order parameter ? cannot explain the observed nonmonotonicity. This suggests that the direct coupling between the two order parameters should be considered to understand the experimental results, a finding which is consistent with recent microscopic calculations.

It is shown that the Eisenbud-Wigner relation for time-delay holds for potentials V(r) that are O(r-5/2-?) at 8. This improves previous results in which V was required to be O(r-4-?) and O(r-3-?), respectively.

Developing countries have unique problems and needs which must be considered when attempting to identify and evaluate the environmental impacts of land transport. This paper presents a review of the relevant literature that can be used to identify, evaluate and mitigate environmental impacts of land transport facilities (development and operation) in developing countries. After examining the relevant characteristics of land transport development in such countries, the paper discusses the environmental effects. Controls and countermeasures associated with each category of impacts are also reviewed under the broad categories of air, noise and water pollution as well as land use changes and social and ecological impacts. Issues concerning environmental impact assessment/analysis process and transport of hazardous materials are then addressed. The procedures established by the World Bank for the environmental assessment of Bank-financed projects are mentioned. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of the responsibilities of the developing countries in meeting the growing challenge of environmental degradation.

Developing countries have unique problems and needs which must be considered when attempting to identify and evaluate the environmental impacts of land transport. This paper presents a review of the relevant literature that can be used to identify, evaluate and mitigate environmental impacts of land transport facilities (development and operation) in developing countries. After examining the relevant characteristics of land transport development in such countries, the paper discusses the environmental effects. Controls and countermeasures associated with each category of impacts are also reviewed under the broad categories of air, noise and water pollution as well as land use changes and social and ecological impacts. Issues concerning environmental impact assessment/analysis process and transport of hazardous materials are then addressed. The procedures established by the World Bank for the environmental assessment of Bank-financed projects are mentioned. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of the responsibilities of the developing countries in meeting the growing challenge of environmental degradation.

The results of experiments testing the public use of automobiles in the United States are presented. The Purdue Mobility Enterprise system was a work‐based shared‐vehicle concept, where households used mini/micro‐class automobiles for normal daily travel, and full‐sized shared vehicles for less frequent but more demanding trips. Comparisons between a mobility enterprise system and more typical auto ownership schemes are presented with respect to transportation costs and vehicle utilization. An analysis of the key attributes for success of such a system and a review of a home‐based system (the STAR project) are also presented.

Abstract: Two types of fundamental gravitational charges are suggested by quantization of the angular momentum (i.e. J=nħ, wheren is an integer or half integer) occurring in the uncharged and charged Kerr metrics. These charges turn out to bee/√a ande/a, wheree is the unit electric charge anda the fine structure constant. The use of strong (f) gravity leads to corresponding fundamental massesM 1(f) ∼2.2×10−24 g andM 2(f)∼2.3×10−23 g. It is postulated that the hadrons are composed of these fundamental entities (christened oms here). Thus mesons arediomic particles and baryons aretriomic particles. This has a close resemblance to the quark model but here we deal with gravitational charges. The charges constituting hadrons are bound together by strong (f) gravity which is super strong compared to nuclear forces. Various hadron masses are obtained as the vibrational excitations of these composite units. The above model is capable of accounting for quantum numbers such as spin, baryon number, strangeness and isospin.

Abstract: Some cosmological consequences of the superfluid vacuum state developed previously by the authors are discussed, particularly with regard to the initial stages of the universe. The transition temperature of the hadronic superfluid (superfluid during the hadron era) is estimated to be 10 13 K, which is the same as the Hagedorn temperature, giving a physical basis of the thermodynamic bootstrap model.

Abstract: A new model for the aether is suggested according to which it is a superfluid state of fermion and antifermion pairs, describable by a macroscopic wave function. The vacuum state of this superfluid pervades the entire universe and may account for the missing matter. The visible matter in the universe appears as excitations from the underlying superfluid vacuum.

A macroscopic theory of switching transition in a liquid crystal mixture of two thermotropic nematic systems of opposite diamagnetic anisotropies is presented. This is based on Landau theory and shows that temperature being fixed, a transition occurs at a critical relative concentration of the two liquid crystals under consideration. The theoretical dependence of the relevant order parameters is in good agreement with recently observed experimental results on such mixtures.

We present experimental evidence that the resonance near 2.5 eV observed in the Raman excitation profile of C60 is induced by the interactions of the C60 molecule with the surrounding medium and is not to be expected in isolated molecules.

A series of N',N'-disulphonyl and N'-sulphonyl-N'-acetyl derivatives of N-amino-9,10-dihydroanthracene-9,10-endo-a-methyl-a,ß-succinimide and N-amino-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-1,4-etheno/ethano-naphthalene-2,3-exo/endo-dicarboximides with a benzo ring in the cage-moiety were prepared and their NMR spectra were studied. Shielding constants of the substituents provide evidence for the non-eclipsed conformations of the N'-substituents with the ring carbonyls. The preferred conformations of N'-sulphonyl-N'-acetyl derivatives are explained on steric grounds. In N'-tosyl-N'-acetyl derivatives the tosyl group takes up a fixed conformation about N'-SO2bond in which the aryl part of the tosyl group projects away from the cage-moiety.

Abstract: The superfluid state of fermion-antifermion fields developed in our previous papers is generalized to include higher orbital and spin states. In addition to single-particle excitations, the system is capable of having real and virtual bound or quasibound composite excitations which are akin to bosons of spinJ P equal to0 –, 1–, 2+, etc. These pseudoscalar, vector, and tensor bosons can be massive or massless and provide the vehicles for strong, electromagnetic, weak, and gravitational interactions. The concept that the basic (unmanifest) fermion-antifermion interaction can lead to a multiplicity of manifest interactions seems to provide a basis for a unified field theory.

A new anthraquinone had been isolated from the pods of Cassia grandis Linn. and was identified as 1, 3, 4 -trihydroxy - 6, 7, 8 - trimethoxy - 2-methyl anthraquinone. The structure of this pigment was elucidated by chemical and spectroscopic methods and finally confirmed by its synthesis.

The discovery of magnetic superconductors has posed the problem of the coexistence of two kinds of orders (magnetic and superconducting) in some temperature intervals in these systems. New microscopic mechanisms developed by us to explain the coexistence and reentrant behaviour are reported. The mechanism for antiferromagnetic superconductors which shows enhancement of superconductivity below the magnetic transition is found relevant for rare-earth systems having less than half-filled f-atomic shells. The theory will be compared with the experimental results of SmRh4B4system. A phenomenological treatment based on a generalized Ginzburg-Landau approach will also be presented to explain the anomalous behaviour of the second critical field in some antiferromagnetic superconductors.