Radiation and mass transfer effects on two-dimensional flow past an impulsively started infinite vertical plate

The interaction of free convection with thermal radiation of a viscous incompressible unsteady flow past an impulsively started vertical plate with heat and mass transfer is analyzed. The fluid is gray, absorbing-emitting but non-scattering medium and the Rosseland approximation is used to describe the radiative flux in the energy equation. The dimensionless governing equations are solved using an implicit finite-difference method of Crank–Nicolson type. Numerical results for the velocity, the temperature, the concentration, the local and average skin-friction, the Nusselt number and Sherwood number are shown graphically. It is observed that, when the radiation parameter increases, the velocity and temperature decrease in the boundary layer. The local and average skin-friction increases with the increase in radiation parameter. For increasing values of radiation parameter the local as well as average Nusselt number increases.     

Structure and physical properties of undoped ZnO and vanadium doped ZnO films deposited by pulsed laser deposition

Undoped ZnO films were deposited using pulsed laser deposition technique on Si and glass substrates in different O2 partial pressures (ranging from 10(-5) mbar to 3 mbar) and substrate temperatures. When the substrate temperature is 500 degrees C and O2 partial pressure (pp) approximately 3 mbar, randomly oriented ZnO hexagons were observed on glass substrate, whereas, dense ZnO hexagonal rod like structures (diameter ranging from 200-500 nm) were observed on Si substrate. The photoluminescence (PL) characterization of ZnO film grown on Si exhibited an intense defect free narrow excitonic emission in the UV region (Full width half maximum (FWHM) approximately 11.26 nm) as compared to broad emission (FWHM approximately 57.06 nm) from that grown on glass. The parent film emission was found to shift from UV to blue region on doping ZnO with Vanadium.     

Appropriate sample for determination of protein in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) raised in agricultural trials

Sampling of cereal foods from bulk samples for analyses of nutrients is a well-known procedure, but a satisfactory sampling scheme for such analyses from breeding and agronomic trials has not been defined. However, selection of five plants from each experimental plot is a common procedure among agricultural scientists. The validity of using grains from such a sample for analysis of protein was tested in the present investigation. Values obtained by analysis of pooled samples of five randomly selected ear-heads or the average values of five such ear-heads were not significantly different from those obtained by analyses of sampled aliquots from net plot.     

Atomic-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy through 50-nm-thick silicon nitride membranes

Silicon nitride membranes can be used for windows of environmental chambers for in situ electron microscopy. We report that aberration corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) achieved atomic resolution on gold nanoparticles placed on both sides of a 50-nm-thick silicon nitride membrane at 200 keV electron beam energy. Spatial frequencies of 1∕1.2 ? were visible for a beam semi-angle of 26.5 mrad. Imaging though a 100-nm-thick membrane was also tested. The achieved imaging contrast was evaluated using Monte Carlo simulations of the STEM imaging of a sample of with a representative geometry and composition.     

Postbuckling analysis of cross-ply laminated cylindrical shell panels under parabolic mechanical edge loading

Postbuckling equilibrium paths of simply supported cross-ply laminated cylindrical shell panels subjected to non-uniform (parabolic) inplane loads are traced in this paper. Love's shell theory with higher order shear deformation theory and von Kármán nonlinear strain–displacement relations are used in the mathematical formulation of the problem. In the first step, the plate membrane problem is solved to evaluate the stress distribution within the prebuckling range as the applied inplane edge load is non-uniform. The governing shell panel postbuckling equations are derived from the principle of minimum total potential energy using the above stress distributions. Adopting multi-term Galerkin's approximation, the governing equations are reduced into a set of non-linear algebraic equations. Newton–Raphson method in conjunction with Riks approach is employed to plot the postbuckling paths through limit points. Numerical results are presented for symmetric (0/90/0) crossply laminated cylindrical shell panels under parabolic inplane load, lateral distributed load and initial imperfections. Limit loads and snap-through behavior of shell panels are studied.     

Raman spectroscopy-based sensitive and specific detection of glycated hemoglobin

In recent years, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) has been increasingly accepted as a functional metric of mean blood glucose in the treatment of diabetic patients. Importantly, HbA1c provides an alternate measure of total glycemic exposure due to the representation of blood glucose throughout the day, including post-prandially. In this article, we propose and demonstrate the potential of Raman spectroscopy as a novel analytical method for quantitative detection of HbA1c, without using external dyes or reagents. Using the drop coating deposition Raman (DCDR) technique, we observe that the nonenzymatic glycosylation (glycation) of the hemoglobin molecule results in subtle but discernible and highly reproducible changes in the acquired spectra, which enable the accurate determination of glycated and nonglycated hemoglobin using standard chemometric methods. The acquired Raman spectra display excellent reproducibility of spectral characteristics at different locations in the drop and show a linear dependence of the spectral intensity on the analyte concentration. Furthermore, in hemolysate models, the developed multivariate calibration models for HbA1c show a high degree of prediction accuracy and precision--with a limit of detection that is a factor of ~15 smaller than the lowest physiological concentrations encountered in clinical practice. The excellent accuracy and reproducibility achieved in this proof-of-concept study opens substantive avenues for characterization and quantification of the glycosylation status of (therapeutic) proteins, which are widely used for biopharmaceutical development. We also envision that the proposed approach can provide a powerful tool for high-throughput HbA1c sensing in multicomponent mixtures and potentially in hemolysate and whole blood lysate samples.     

Evaluation of castor (Ricinus communis) seed cake in the total mixed ration for sheep

BACKGROUND: Castor (Ricinus communis) seed cake (CSC), a byproduct of the vegetable‐oil industry, contains fairly good amounts of protein (crude protein, 290–390 g kg^?1) which could be a suitable substitute of conventional oil cakes like soybean meal (SBM) in livestock diets but for the presence of a toxic glycoprotein, ricin. Efforts were, therefore, made to determine the feasibility of feeding CSC as such or after detoxification with lime (4%, wt/wt) by incorporating it into a total mixed ration (TMR) containing 65 and 35 parts ragi (Eleucine coracana) straw and concentrate mixture, respectively, with 11 g kg^?1 CP and 50 g kg^?1 TDN in which the SBM of a control diet was isonitrogenously replaced with either raw or lime‐treated CSC in test diets. The control and two test TMRs were fed to 24 sheep, respectively, divided at random into three dietary groups having equal number of animals for 150 days. RESULTS: Although lime treatment had a positive effect in reducing ricin by 58%, no adverse effect could be noticed by feeding raw or lime‐treated CSC in terms of body weight changes, macro‐ and micro‐nutrient utilisation, blood biochemical and mineral profile, rumen fermentation pattern, carcass traits, except the level of plasma immunoglobulins which was significantly (P < 0.05) higher in sheep fed CSC diets. No pathological lesions could be noticed in the tissues of visceral organs due to feeding the raw or treated CSC. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest no adverse effect in the nutritional performance of adult sheep due to feeding the raw or treated CSC when incorporated into TMRs, probably due to a dilution of the ricin concentration or the development of immunity to the glycoprotein ricin, warranting long‐term growth‐cum‐production studies. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry     

Physiological optimality,allocation trade‐offs and antioxidant protection linked to better leaf yield performance in drought exposed mulberry

BACKGROUND: Mulberry (Morus spp. L.), usually linked to silkworm rearing, is now considered as a potential forage for livestock feeding and has great potential in world agriculture. Trait‐based investigations for leaf yield stability in mulberry under water stress have not been studied extensively. The present study aims to identify candidate traits conferring leaf yield stability in mulberry under drought. RESULTS: Four popular, indigenous mulberry cultivars (Morus indica L. cvs AR‐12, K‐2, M. Local and V‐1) were investigated. Low leaf temperature (T_l), higher internal/ambient CO₂ ratios (C_i/C_a), greater stomatal conductance to CO₂ (g_s) and stability in photosystem II efficiency were associated with better net photosynthetic rates (P_n) in V‐1, generating maximum leaf yield when compared to other drought‐exposed cultivars. Increased accumulation of foliar α‐tocopherol and ascorbic acid–glutathione pool, associated with higher carotenoids, proline and glycine betaine, facilitated lower lipid peroxidation and better leaf yield in V‐1 under drought. CONCLUSION: Minimal plasticity in photosynthetic gas exchange traits and better quantitative growth characteristics were attributed to leaf yield stability under drought. Lower photoinhibition, stabilized photochemistry, effective osmoregulation and enhanced activity of foliar antioxidants extensively contributed to drought tolerance and higher leaf yield in mulberry. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry     

Influence of process parameters on cutting force and torque during drilling of glass–fiber polyester reinforced composites

This research outlines the Taguchi optimization methodology, which is applied to optimize cutting parameters in drilling of glass fiber reinforced composite (GFRC) material. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) is used to study the effect of process parameters on machining process. This procedure eliminates the need for repeated experiments, time and conserves the material by the conventional procedure. The drilling parameters and specimen parameters evaluated are speed, feed rate, drill size and specimen thickness. A series of experiments are conducted using TRIAC VMC CNC machining center to relate the cutting parameters and material parameters on the cutting thrust and torque. The measured results were collected and analyzed with the help of the commercial software package MINITAB14. An orthogonal array, signal-to-noise ratio are employed to analyze the influence of these parameters on cutting force and torque during drilling. The method could be useful in predicting thrust and torque parameters as a function of cutting parameters and specimen parameters. The main objective is to find the important factors and combination of factors influence the machining process to achieve low cutting low cutting thrust and torque. From the analysis of the Taguchi method indicates that among the all-significant parameters, speed and drill size are more significant influence on cutting thrust than the specimen thickness and the feed rate. Study of response table indicates that the specimen thickness, and drill size are the significant parameters of torque. From the interaction among process parameters, thickness and drill size together is more dominant factor than any other combination for the torque characteristic.     

Phase-referenced probe interferometer for biological surface profiling and displacement measurements

We present a probe-based, phase-referenced low coherence interferometer in which the reference field is provided by a fiber end reflection. A gradient-index microlens focuses light onto a sample and collects reflected light. We use the probe interferometer to measure surface profiles of the compound eye of a housefly (Musca domestica) and measure nanometer-scale vibrations in a test sample.