The effect of Opisthorchis on the manifestations of herpesvirus type 2 in an experiment and their possible participation in the mechanism of the occurrence of primary liver cancer

In a 4 month study, a group of 16 patients with stable renal graft function receiving triple immunosuppressive therapy including cyclosporin A (Cy A) were investigated for the levels of calcium, magnesium and zinc in erythrocytes. The patients were randomized to be converted to the new microemulsion formulation (Sandimmun Neoral) in a 1:1 fashion (n = 8) or to continue with the classical formulation (Sandimmun) (n = 8). The concentrations of creatinine, phosphate, alkaline phosphatase activity, calcium, magnesium and zinc were measured twice a month in blood plasma. The concentration of calcium, magnesium and zinc in erythrocytes was also measured. The concentration of magnesium in blood plasma and erythrocytes during the study showed no deviation from normal values. The level of zinc in erythrocytes was almost twice as high as in normal healthy controls and was not dependent on Cy A formulation. Calcium content in erythrocytes of patients receiving Sandimmun was 27.6% higher than in healthy persons. Conversion of the patients to Sandimmun Neoral normalized the calcium concentration in erythrocytes and caused a transient increase of calcium levels in blood plasma.     

Proposed Design of a CFRP Flange-to-Flange Connection for Precast Prestressed Double Tee Systems

The current methods of connecting the flanges of precast double tee members, and their respective short comings in specific situations, are described. A new carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) flange-to-flange connection is proposed to eliminate the problems associated with repair requirements for the current connections. Design expressions for the currently used mechanical anchorage and the proposed CFRP connection are presented. A comparative calculation for the two systems is given.     

On the infiltration behavior of Al, Al-Li, and Mg meltas through SiC p bed

Aluminum, Al-Li(8090), and Mg matrix composites with uniform distributions of SiC _p reinforcement have been prepared by the vacuum infiltration technique. The infiltration kinetics have been found to increase in the order of Al, Al-Li, and Mg. The Al-Li alloy and Mg as matrix materials have shown improved wettability with SiC _p in comparison to Al, leading to enhanced infiltration kinetics and reduced reinforcement degradation in the former cases. The infiltration kinetics are insensitive to preheat temperature beyond a critical temperature, which is close to the melting point of the matrix. A marginal improvement in infiltration kinetics could be obtained with Cu and Ni coating on SiC and on its dynamic oxidation. The improvement is significant at a higher preheat temperature of SiC. The Vickers hardness, measured on the SiC particles, has been shown to be an index of the strength of the interface between the matrix and reinforcement in the composite.     

Seasonal variation of sea surface temperature in the Bay of Bengal during 1992 as derived from NOAA-AVHRR SST data

Monthly maps of sea surface temperature (SST) derived from NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)-AVHRR (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer) data during 1992 for the Bay of Bengal are analysed and compared with the available/compiled monthly seatruth (bucket thermometer) data of this region. It was noticed that the computed SST bias (AVHRR SST minus Seatruth SST), in general, varied between 2.0 and 2.5 C with smaller bias values (1.5 to 1.5 C) during January-June and December. Larger bias values were noticed in the south-eastern Bay in July and in the Andaman Sea in October. The large SST biases suggested the necessity for improvement of SST algorithms by properly removing the clouds. The spatial variation of Standard Deviation of SST bias was particularly high (0.7) in the western Bay when compared to other parts of the Bay of Bengal. The monthly maps of AVHRR SST clearly depicted the seasonal cycle of SST showing the well known bi-modal SST distribution of the study region with winter cooling, summer heating, monsoonal cooling and post-monsoon warming phases. The seasonal cycle of SST further revealed the persistence of Warm Pool (SST 28 C) in the Bay of Bengal from March through October.     

Etch pit shapes on {110} surfaces of CaF2 crystals

{110} surfaces of CaF₂ crystals are etched with different concentrations of HCl. It is found that concentrated HCl produces characteristic rectangular pyramidal etch pits and 2 volume percent HCl produces boat shaped etch pits. Such variations in the etch pit shapes on {110} surfaces of CaF₂ crystals with different concentrations of HCl have been explained. Concentrated H₂SO₄ is found to be a suitable chemical polisher for these surfaces, the polishing rate is about 0·1μ/min.     

Physical properties of tin oxide films deposited by oxidation of SnCl2

Highly transparent and conducting SnO₂ films, as required in thin film heterojunction solar cells, were deposited onto Pyrex glass substrates by oxidation of SnCl₂ in the temperature range 350–500°C. Oxygen with a flow rate of between 1 and 3.251 min^-1 was used as both the carrier gas and the oxidizing agent. For films deposited in these conditions the resistivity varies from 10^-2 to 10^-3 Ω cm with transmission in the range 87%–71%. It was observed that both the resistivity and the transmission decrease with increasing deposition temperature. The resistivity of films deposited at a fixed deposition temperature passes through a minimum as the oxygen flow rate is increased. Hence, SnO₂ films with low resistivity and high transmission can be produced by the oxidation of SnCl₂ at relatively low temperatures using the oxygen flow rate corresponding to the minimum resistivity. For example, in the present work, low resistivity (4.4 × 10^-3 Ω cm) and high transmission (87%) were observed for films deposited at 400°C with an oxygen flow rate of 1.81 min^-1. The effects of the deposition temperature, oxygen flow rate and deposition time on the thickness, deposition rate, resistivity and absorption coefficient are discussed in detail.     

Extinction of light in Brewster polarizers: a shadowlike phenomenon

A Brewster polarizer in this study is any dielectric plane reflecting surface reflecting light at or near the Brewster angle of incidence. In this paper, we consider an interesting phenomenon observed when we use an extended source of light or a cone of light with its axis incident on the plane surface at the Brewster angle. The resulting reflected light is viewed (a) through an ordinary sheet polarizer and (b) after reflection from another Brewster polarizer. The extinction pattern of light by such a system is in the form of an elongated black shadow in (a) and a nearly circular shadow in (b), respectively. These shadows are explained on the basis and use of the familiar Fresnel equations at a plane interface between two dielectric media. Photographs of the shadows are also presented.     

Evaluation of microstructural instability during the differential strain rate test of a superplastic alloy

Stress (σ)-strain rate ( \(\dot \varepsilon \) ) data of banded and elongated grain microstructures of the Pb-Sn eutectic alloy were analysed over 298 to 443 K to evaluate microstructural instability during differential strain rate tests in the superplastic region. With reference to a stable equiaxed microstructure exhibiting uniqueσ- \(\dot \varepsilon \) relation, banded structure is more susceptible to strain hardening while the elongated grain microstructure exhibits either strain softening or strain hardening depending on the test temperature. This flow behaviour is considered in terms of a change in grain size, represented by the cube root of the grain volume. Activation energy for grain growth calculated from the differential strain rate test data indicates that the activation energy depends on strain rate and type of microstructure.