Evaluation of an alternative dosing regimen of a J-5 mastitis vaccine against intramammary Escherichia coli challenge in nonlactating late-gestation dairy cows

The objective of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of an alternative vaccination regimen of a J-5 bacterin against intramammary Escherichia coli challenge in nonlactating late-gestation dairy cows. The parameters analyzed to assess the effect of vaccination were milk yield, milk conductivity, somatic cell count, J-5-specific serum IgG titers, and clinical signs. Twenty multiparous Holstein cows from the Cornell teaching and research dairy herd were paired by days in milk and were randomly selected to receive either the alternative off-label regimen of commercial J-5 bacterin or act as nonvaccinated controls. Cows received a first dose of bacterin 15 d before dry off, a second dose with the same product at the day of dry off, and the third dose 2 wk after dry off. The cows in both groups were challenged 10 d before the expected calving date. Serum IgG (total, IgG1 and IgG2) levels were higher in vaccinates compared with control cows. Eighty-five percent of challenged quarters became infected between both groups of animals. Eight of the 10 vaccinated and 9 of the 10 control cows showed signs of clinical mastitis postfreshening. A non-severe clinical mastitis was observed 24 to 48 h postparturition, characterized by flakes or clots in milk and mild swelling or pain. Off-label vaccination did reduce the clinical severity of clinical mastitis in the vaccinated group of cows as evidenced by reduced California mastitis test score, fewer flakes and lower overall clinical mastitis score. No significant differences between vaccinated and control groups were detected for rectal temperature. In conclusion, the alternative off-label vaccination scheme used in our study and evaluated in a novel E. coli challenge model did not prevent new intramammary infections but reduced clinical severity of experimentally induced E. coli mastitis.     

Reliability analysis of seam joints in square plain parachute canopy fabric

Performance of parachute continuously degrades due to opening shock and dynamic pressure acting on its various components after opening. During repeated use of parachute, degradation in tensile strength of canopy fabric plays an important role. Measurement of probability of successful operation of parachute in repeated use and under impact loading is possible through reliability analysis of its seam joints. Present study mainly concerned with the reliability analysis of the performance of square plain parachute canopy joined in parallel at different bias angle. The impact loading of the specimen degrades its tensile property and the extent of loss depends on its bias angle of stitching. However, the deterioration of performance in terms of tensile strength is more as compared to breaking elongation. Without subjecting any impact, specimen stitched at 0° and 45° have almost same breaking strength. However, impact loading degrades the tensile property of specimen with 45° bias angle to a greater extent as compare to specimen with 0° bias angle. As regards breaking elongation of specimen, the specimen stitched at 45° bias angles always exhibits highest value (even after impact loading) than the specimen stitched at other bias angles. The reliability analysis of seam joints shows that the specimen stitched at 0° bias angle is most reliable among other angles of stitching in terms of maintaining tensile strength for longer impact cycle.     

Rewetting of Vertical Hot Surface during Round Water Jet Impingement Cooling

A stainless steel vertical surface of 0.25 mm thickness at 800 ± 10° C initial temperature was quenched by jet impingement technique. The rewetting phenomenon of the surface was investigated for the jet of 2.5 – 4.8 mm diameter and jet Reynolds number of 5000–24000. The observations are made from the stagnation point to the 24 mm downstream spatial locations, for both upside and downside directions. The quenching performance of the test surface was evaluated on the basis of different rewetting parameters i.e. rewetting temperature, wetting delay, and rewetting velocity. It has been observed that with the rise in jet Reynolds number and jet diameter, the surface rewetting performance increases. A correlation has also been proposed to determine the dimensionless rewetting velocity that predicts the experimental data within an error band of ±20 percent.     

Limestone quarry production planning for consistent supply of raw materials to cement plant: A case study from Indian cement industry with a captive quarry

A long term production planning of limestone quarry is presented to supply consistent quantity and quality of limestone to a cement plant. A case study from Indian cement industry is presented where the cement plant has a captive limestone quarry. The objectives of this study are: (a) to investigate how long the limestone quarry can alone supply the desire quality and quantity materials to the cement plant; and (b) to investigated the possibility of extending the quarry life by utilizing some quantity of the limestone from the different source and blending that limestone with the limestone from the quarry to achieve the target quality and quantity of the cement plant. These objectives are achieved by generating the production sequencing of the mining blocks using a sequential branch-and-cut algorithm. The results revealed that up to 15 years, the existing quarry alone can serve the cement plant. If certain quantity of limestone can be brought from the other sources, the life of the study quarry is significantly improved. The life of the quarry increased from 15 years to 85 years. The study also helps to calculate the desire quality of the limestone that will be brought from other sources throughout the life of the quarry.     

Development and Validation of QuEChERS Method for Estimation of Chlorantraniliprole Residue in Vegetables

Abstract: An easy, simple and efficient analytical method was standardized and validated for the estimation of residues of chlorantraniliprole in different vegetables comprising brinjal, cabbage, capsicum, cauliflower, okra, and tomato. QuEChERS method was used for the extraction and cleanup of chlorantraniliprole residues on these vegetables. Final clear extracts of ethyl acetate were concentrated under vacuum and reconstituted into high performance liquid chromatograph (HPLC) grade acetonitrile, and residues were estimated using HPLC equipped with PDA detector system, C₁₈ column and confirmed by liquid chromatograph mass spectrometer (LC‐MS/MS), and high performance thin layer chromatograph (HPTLC). HPLC grade acetonitrile:water (80:20, v/v) was used as mobile phase @ 0.4 mL/min. Chlorantraniliprole presented distinct peak at retention time of 9.82 min. Consistent recoveries ranging from 85% to 96% for chlorantraniliprole were observed when samples were spiked at 0.10, 0.25, 0.50, and 1.00 mg/kg levels. The limit of quantification of this method was worked out to be 0.10 mg/kg. Practical Application: The QuEChERS sample preparation is suitable for determination of chlorantraniliprole in brinjal, cabbage, capsicum, cauliflower, okra and tomato and thus demonstrating the great versatility of this method. The proposed analytical method using liquid chromatography techniques for the determination of chlorantraniliprole in different vegetable matrices has been demonstrated to be sensitive, fast, precise, accurate, and robust and can be used to monitor chlorantraniliprole residues in different vegetables.     

Fabrication of solid oxide fuel cell anode electrode by spray pyrolysis

Large triple phase boundaries (TPBs) and high gas diffusion capability are critical in enhancing the performance of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). In this study, ultrasonic spray pyrolysis has been investigated to assess its capability in controlling the anode microstructure. Deposition of porous anode film of nickel and Ce_0.9Gd_0.1O_1.95 on a dense 8 mol.% yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) substrate was carried out. First, an ultrasonic atomization model was utilized to predict the deposited particle size. The model accurately estimated the deposited particle size based on the feed solution condition. Second, effects of various process parameters, which included the precursor solution feed rate, precursor solution concentration and deposition temperature, on the TPB formation and porosity were investigated. The deposition temperature and precursor solution concentration were the most critical parameters that influenced the morphology, porosity and particle size of the anode electrode. Ultrasonic spray pyrolysis achieved homogeneous distribution of constitutive elements within the deposited particles and demonstrated capability to control the particle size and porosity in the range of 2-17 μm and 21-52%, respectively.     

Influence of conjugate heat transfer on the minimization of entropy generation for forced convective flow through parallel plate channel filled with porous material

A fluid–solid conjugate heat transfer model is developed to analyze the characteristics of entropy generation for forced convective steady hydrodynamically fully developed laminar flow of a Newtonian fluid through a parallel plate channel filled with porous material by modulating the following parameters: substrate thickness, the ratio of thermal conductivity of wall to fluid, Biot number, the axial temperature gradient in the fluid, and Peclet number. The exteriors of both the walls are subjected to the thermal boundary conditions of the third kind. The mass and Brinkman momentum conservation equations in the fluidic domain and the coupled energy conservation in both the solid and fluidic domain are solved analytically using the local thermodynamic equilibrium model, so as to derive closed-form expressions for the velocity in the fluid and the temperature both in the fluid and solid walls in terms of relevant parameters. Suitable combinations of influencing factors, namely the geometric parameters of the system, fluid, flow, and substrate properties are identified for which global entropy generation rate is minimized. The findings may be helpful in the design of thermal systems frequently used in diverse engineering applications having heat transfer in the solid wall being a crucial parameter.     

Kinetics of colour change of bamboo shoot slices during microwave drying

The effect of microwave power on colour change kinetics of bamboo shoot slices was investigated during microwave drying. Colour changes were quantified by tri‐stimulus Hunter L (whiteness/darkness), a (redness/greenness), and b (yellowness/blueness) system. These values were also used for calculation of total colour change (ΔE), chroma, hue angle, and browning index (BI). Microwave drying as expected changed colour parameters because of browning. The values of L and b decreased, while values of a and ΔE increased during drying. Mathematical modelling of colour change kinetics indicated that L, b, chroma and BI could be defined using a first‐order kinetic model, while a, ΔE and hue angle could be defined using a zero‐order kinetic model. Considering together colour deterioration and quality of dried bamboo shoot slices at higher power reveals the need of process standardisation for getting good quality product.     

Electrical properties of high permittivity ZrO2 gate dielectrics on strained-Si

Deposition and electrical properties of high dielectric constant (high-k) ultrathin ZrO₂ films on tensilely strained silicon (strained-Si) substrate are reported. ZrO₂ thin films have been deposited using a microwave plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition technique at a low temperature (150 °C). Metal insulator semiconductor (MIS) structures are used for high frequency capacitance–voltage (C–V), current–voltage (I–V), and conductance–voltage (G–V) characterization. Using MIS capacitor structures, the reliability and the leakage current characteristics have been studied both at room and high temperature. Schottky conduction mechanism is found to dominate the current conduction at a high temperature. Observed good electrical and reliability properties suggest the suitability of deposited ZrO₂ thin films as an alternative as gate dielectrics. Compatibility of ZrO₂ as a gate dielectric on strained-Si is shown.