Characterization and dielectric properties of almandine-pyrope garnet

Some garnets collected from the Kothagudem area of Khammam district in Andhra Pradesh were characterized by chemical analysis. The results show the garnets to be of almandine (Fe⁺² ₃ Al₂Si₃O₁₂) pyrope (Mg₃Al₂Si₃O₁₂) group. Dielectric constant (ɛ) and dielectric loss (tanδ) were measured as a function of frequency and temperature in the frequency range of 100 Hz to 100 KHz and from room temperature to 400°C. The room temperature measurement was extended to 10 MHz, AC conductivity was calculated from the data on ε and tan δ. DC conductivity was also measured.     

Structural properties of swift heavy ion beam irradiated Fe/Si bilayers

The Fe/Si multilayers were prepared by electron beam evaporation in a cryo-pumped vacuum deposition system. Ag⁺ and Au⁺ ions of 100 MeV at two different fluencies such as 1 × 10¹² ions/cm² and 1 × 10¹³ ions/cm² at a pressure of 10^− 7 torr were used to irradiate the Fe/Si samples. The irradiated samples were analyzed by High-Resolution XRD and it reveals that the irradiated films are having polycrystalline nature and it confirms the formation of the β-FeSi₂. The structural parameters such as crystallite size (D), strain (ε) and dislocation density (δ) have been evaluated from the XRD spectrum. The role of the substrates and the influence of swift heavy ions on the formation of β-FeSi₂ have been discussed in this paper.     

Secondary sternal Aspergillus osteomyelitis in a diabetic hemodialysis patient with previous allograft rejection

A 29-year-old diabetic woman who had a previously failed renal allograft on maintenance hemodialysis developed sternal aspergillosis with Aspergillus terreus following a pericardiectomy. She was successfully treated with surgical debridement and a combination of antifungal agents including amphotericin B, caspofungin, and voriconizole. The diagnostic difficulties and management are discussed.     

Quality of monosex tilapia under ice storage: Gutting effects on the formation of biogenic amines,biochemical, and microbiological characteristics

Effects of gutting on biogenic amine (putrescine, cadaverine, histamine, agmatine, tyramine, spermidine, and spermine) formation, biochemical (pH, TVBN, K value), microbial (APC, H₂S producing, Coliform bacteria), and sensory quality of farmed monosex tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) was studied during ice stored at 4 ± 2ºC. Spermine and spermidine levels were high with cadaverine reached 4.66 ppm in gutted sample. The other amines were detected at relatively low level. K value of both samples crossed 60% on 15th and 18th day, respectively. The total phenolic content exceeded 7 log cfu/g after sensory rejection. The shelf life of whole and gutted samples was estimated to be 24 and 21 days, respectively.     

Growth and toxin production by Clostridium botulinum in fish (Mugil cephalus) and shrimp (Penaeus indicus) tissue homogenates stored under vacuum

Toxin production by Clostridium botulinum types A–E in mullet and shrimp tissue homogenates stored between 4 and 30°C under vacuum for 6 weeks was evaluated. Mullet and shrimp tissue homogenates were inoculated with C. botulinum spores, then packaged under vacuum and held at 4, 10, 15 and 30°C. At 30 and 15°C storage, growth and toxin production by types A–E resulted in both mullet and shrimp tissue homogenates. Only type E toxin was observed in the homogenates held at 4 and 10°C. The storage temperature and the growth substrate markedly influenced the toxin titres.     

Effect of reduced oxygen atmosphere and sodium acetate treatment on the microbial quality changes of seer fish (Scomberomorus commerson) steaks stored in ice

The effect of reduced oxygen atmosphere and sodium acetate treatment on the microbial quality of seer fish (Scomberomorus commerson) steaks was determined during chilled storage (1–2 °C). The O₂ absorber reduced the oxygen content in the pack to less than 0.01% corresponding to 99.96% reduction within 24 h. The use of O₂ absorber with sodium acetate dip treatment (2% w/v) extended the sensory shelf life up to 25 days compared to only 12 days for control air packs and 20 days for untreated samples with O₂ absorber. A prominent lag phase was observed for many bacterium studied, particularly for the sodium acetate treated samples with O₂ absorber. On the day of sensory rejection, both the total mesophilic and psychrotrophic counts reached 7.7–8.1 and 7.1–7.9 log cfu/g, respectively. The sodium acetate treatment and reduced O₂ atmosphere affected the type of major spoilers. In air packed samples, H₂S-producers predominated followed by Brochothrix thermosphacta, Pseudomonas spp., where as in the untreated samples with O₂ absorber, H₂S-producers predominated the microbial flora followed by Lactobacillus spp. For treated samples with O₂ absorber, B. thermosphacta formed the major micro-flora followed by Lactobacillus spp. The use of O₂ absorber inhibited the growth of Pseudomonas spp., and total Enterobacteriaceae.     

AODV_RR: A Maximum Transmission Range Based Ad Hoc on-Demand Distance Vector Routing in MANET

Nodes in a mobile ad hoc network are battery constrained devices and energy efficiency becomes an important consideration. In a multi-hop mobile ad hoc network the most common method to achieve energy efficiency is the transmission power control scheme in which a node transmits the data packets to its nearest neighbor which is at minimum required power level. However this scheme minimizes only the transmission power within the node’s neighborhood and energy efficiency at the link level is possible. With this scheme it is not possible to minimize the overall energy consumption of the network and the communication overhead of the network is not minimized. An analysis has been performed and our results have proved that instead of using low transmission power, the routing strategy needs to be controlled and only certain nodes are to be allowed to receive and process this routing request based on the received signal strength, then the overall energy consumption of the network can be minimized and the communication overhead is also minimized. The modified routing strategy is applied to the basic ad hoc on-demand distance vector (AODV) routing protocol and a maximum transmission range based ad hoc on-demand distance vector routing protocol named AODV range routing (AODV_RR) is proposed and studied under different network sizes. Measurable difference in performance is realized and the proposed AODV_RR perform better than normal AODV with respect to all the selected metrics.     

Occurrence of Clostridium botulinum in fresh and cured fish in retail trade in Cochin (India)

The occurrence of Clostridium botulinum in fresh (67) and cured fish (278) samples in retail trade in Cochin was studied. An overall prevalence of 19% (13/67) was found in fresh retail fish and types A to D were detected in the positive samples. In pelagic fish, incidence of C. botulinum was 18% (7/39) whereas in demersal fish, 21% (5/24) of the samples harboured C. botulinum. Incidence of C. botulinum in shrimp was 25% (1/4) and type D was found in the positive sample. Of 257 cured fish in retail trade tested for the presence of C. botulinum, the overall contamination level was 10% (25/257). Among the C. botulinum types A to D prevalent in fresh fish, types C and D were the predominant types found in cured products. In salt-dried shrimp, of the 21 samples analysed, 10 samples (48%) harboured C. botulinum.     

Analytical Solution for an Orthotropic Elastic Plate Containing Cracks

The problem of estimating the bending stress distribution in the neighborhood of a crack located on a single line in an orthotropic elastic plate of constant thickness subjected to bending moment or twisting moment is examined. Using classical plate theory and integral transform techniques, the general formulae for the bending moment and twisting moment in an elastic plate containing cracks located on a single line are derived. The solution is obtained in a closed form for the case in which there is a single crack in an infinite plate and the results are compared with those obtained from the literature.