Search

Helicobacter species(H. sp.) is a gram-negative spiral-shaped motile bacteria that causes gastritis in pigs and also colonizes the human stomach. The current study seeks to assess the prevalence of variousH. sp. in the gastric mucosa of slaughtered and dead pigs, as well as the prevalence ofHelicobacterinfection among pig farmers. A total of 403 stomach samples from various pig slaughter points, 74 necropsy samples from various pig farms and 97 stool samples from pig farmers were collected from Assam, India. Among 477 pig stomach samples tested, 214 samples with gastritis (20.09%) showed Gram negative, spiral-shaped organisms in brush cytology from the mucosal surface, and the rest of the 263 stomach samples without any gastric lesion showed only 3.04% Gram negative, spiral-shaped organisms. In ultrastructure investigation, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) of the four urease positive stomach samples revealed a tightly coiledHelicobacter bacterium(spiral-shaped) found in the mucous lining of the stomach. In histopathological examination of pars esophagia, cardiac and fundic mucosa showed chronic gastritis associated with hemorrhagic necrosis, leucocytic infiltration with neutrophils and macrophages, and lymphoid aggregates (lymphoid follicles) etc. PCR confirmed 16S rRNA genes ofHelicobacter suis(H. suis) where a total of 42 (19.63%) out of 214 pig stomach samples and 2 (2.08%) out of 96 stool samples of pig farmers were found positive forH. suis. of these 96 stool samples of pig farmers 3 (3.12%) were confirmed positive forHelicobacter pylori(H. pylori) Phosphoglucosamine mutase gene in PCR. Phylogenic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene ofH. suisshowed distinct clusters with otherH. sp. In conclusion, this study provides evidence for the prevalence ofHelicobacterboth in pig gastric mucosa and human stool. The findings highlight the need for improved sanitation and hygiene practices among pig farmers to minimize the risk ofHelicobacterinfection in humans.

In the past, most of the Population Balance Model-based ball mill scale-up studies were carried out using a mono-size ball charge and a single size fraction of the particulate material as the starting feed. It was reported that the breakage distribution parameters were independent of the mill diameter, specific breakage rate parameters varied with mill diameter as Dγ, and the mill diameter exponent γ was independent of particle size. However, in the industrial grinding operations, we have significantly broad size distributions for both the grinding media and the particulate contents of the mill. Therefore, experimental data generated under these conditions were taken from the literature and analyzed. These data pertain to the dry and wet batch grinding of limestone, quartz, and ores of vanadium and pyrochlore. Our analysis of the data showed that in contrast to the findings of the earlier researchers, the breakage distribution parameters were not independent of the mill diameter, and the value of γ for the specific breakage rate parameters varied with particle size in the case of multicomponent ores. Because of these complications, a single parameter, the specific rate of production of material that is finer than a specified size, was used as the basis for scale-up. It was found that the value of the mill diameter scale-up factor varied quite significantly with the breakage properties of the material, the size distribution of the particulate contents of the mill, the size of the desired product, and the mode of grinding (dry/wet). Therefore, ball mill scale-up models presently available need to be modified in light of these new findings.

The knock intensity (KI) evaluation is critical during fuel and engine development. In the current study, the effect on combustion knock was investigated in CI engine fueled with methanol-diesel-n-pentanol blends. MnP5, MnP10, MnP15, MnP20, and MnP25 fuel blends were used in the present investigation. The cylinder pressure data was used to evaluate in the knock intensity (KI). Further, combustion parameters like heat release rate, ignition delay and combustion duration were also presented in this study. As per the results, the KI values for MnP5 were found to be higher than diesel at all loads, whereas these values for MnP15 were observed to be lower than diesel at 25% and 50 % load.

The study is carried out to develop a mathematical model to analyze creep response of a varying thickness rotating disc made of anisotropic functionally graded 6061Al-SiCw.composite. The thickness and content of reinforcement (SiCw) in the disc are assumed to decrease radially according to power law. The yielding of disc material is according to Hill’s criterion and creeping as per threshold stress based law. The developed model is used to obtain the creep stresses and strain rates in the disc for various types of materials’ anisotropy. The stresses and strain rates are noticed to depend on the materials’ anisotropy. The study reveals that the presence of kind of anisotropy wherein the disc material exhibits lower yield strength toward the radial and tangential directions than the axial direction is beneficial in reducing the creep stresses and creep rates in the disc, in comparison to isotropic FGM disc. An anisotropic FG disc, which has highest and the lowest yield strengths, respectively, along the axial and radial directions shows superior creep response.

Effect of reinforcing amino functionalized MWCNTs (A-MWCNTs) and graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) in epoxy has been investigated on the electrical conductivity. Incorporation of 0.25 wt% of A-MWCNTs and GNPs in epoxy improves the electrical conductivity by 5 and 6 orders of magnitude, respectively. Reinforcement of A-MWCNTs on the electrical conductivity is noted to be superior to GNPs. Though, the conductivity reduces with the increase in nanofillers from 0.25 to 0.50%. Amongst hybrid epoxy nanocomposites, epoxy reinforced with 0.25% of each A-MWCNTs and GNPs exhibits the highest conductivity (1.01E-05 S/m), attributed to the presence of 3-D interconnected network between nanofillers and epoxy.

Co-infection of multiple pathogens complicates diagnosis, treatment and preventive measures based on clinical signs. Therefore, reliable diagnostic tool for timely reporting of suspected diseases is very much essential. A novel one-step triplex PCR assay was developed and evaluated for simultaneous detection of three important viruses namely porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2), porcine parvovirus (PPV) and classical swine fever virus (CSFV) involved in reproductive problems in pigs. Each of the three pairs of oligonucleotide primers exclusively amplified the targeted fragment of the specific viruses. The multiplex PCR assay was found to be sensitive in detecting at least 300 pg of viral genomic DNA or RNA from a mixture of three viruses in a reaction. No amplification was obtained from other common viruses or pathogens, such as porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), porcine group A rotavirus (PoRVA), Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus thereby indicating that the developed multiplex PCR has high specificity. Because of the sensitivity and specificity, the developed multiplex PCR assay will be a useful tool for clinical diagnosis of mixed infections of DNA and RNA viruses in pigs.

This paper presents the results of the experiments on the effect of particle size distribution and the volume ratio of components of the binary mixtures of calcite, hematite, and quartz on the grinding kinetics in ball mills. A total of forty-six grinding tests were carried out. These included forty-two dry grinding tests and four wet grinding tests. For each test, only one short-duration batch grinding experiment was carried out. The feed charge was prepared by pre-grinding the particulate material in the test ball mill. The results of these experiments have led to several important findings. Three of these findings are: (i) the size distribution of the ground product of the mixture of two minerals was practically the same as the mass-weighted sum of the size distributions of the ground product of these minerals when they were ground alone for the same duration, (ii) fine particles broke faster in the coarser environment, and (iii) while quartz fines were found to be most effective in increasing the specific breakage rate of coarse particles of quartz and hematite, in the case of calcite, hematite fines were found to be most effective. It shows that besides the hardness and density of the components, there are some other presently unknown properties that determine the fraction of the net energy input to the mill that is absorbed by the mixture.

Background Traditionally, microbial genome sequencing has been restrained to the species grown in pure culture. The development of culture-independent techniques over the last decade allows scientists to sequence microbial communities directly from environmental samples. Metagenomics is the study of complex genome by the isolation of DNA of the whole community. Next generation sequencing (NGS) of metagenomic DNA gives information about the microbial and taxonomical characterization of a particular niche. The objective of the present research is to study the microbial and taxonomical characterization of the metagenomic DNA, isolated from the frozen soil sample of a glacier in the north western Himalayas through NGS. Results The glacier community comprised of 16 phyla with the representation of members belonging to Proteobacteria and Acidobacteria. The number of genes annotated through the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), GO, Pfam, Clusters of Orthologous Groups of proteins (COGs), and FIG databases were generated by COGNIZER. The annotation of genes assigned in each group from the metagenomics data through COG database and the number of genes annotated in different pathways through KEGG database were reported. Conclusion Results indicate that the glacier soil taken in the present study, harbors taxonomically and metabolically diverse communities. The major bacterial group present in the niche is Proteobacteria followed by Acidobacteria, and Actinobacteria, etc. Different genes were annotated through COG and KEGG databases that integrate genomic, chemical, and systemic functional information. How to cite: Gupta V, Singh I, Rasool S, et al. Next Generation sequencing and microbiome’s taxonomical characterization of frozen soil of North Western Himalayas of Jammu and Kashmir, India. Electron J Biotechnol 2020;45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejbt.2020.03.003 .

The study compares the steady state creep response of rotating Al-SiC discs having constant, linear, hyperbolic and exponential thickness with different thickness profiles. All the discs are assumed to have equal volume with the same average thickness. The creep behaviour of the disc material is described by threshold stress based law while the yielding is assumed to follow Tresca criterion. The variable thickness disc is observed to have superior creep response, expressed in terms of stresses and strain rates, to a constant thickness disc. Amongst variable thickness discs, the creep response is observed to be superior for linear thickness disc, when the inner thickness of all the discs is kept the same. However, for the same outer thickness, the disc having hyperbolic thickness profile exhibits the best creep response.

A detailed analysis of the specific breakage rate and mill power data on dry ball milling of three individual minerals and their binary mixtures has been carried out. The energy split model of Kapur and Fuerstenau has been examined and shown to be incorrect. A new model has been proposed. The basic postulates are: (i) only a small fraction λ of the net energy input to the mill is absorbed by the particulate material (ii) value of λ is mainly determined by the hardness and specific gravity of the material(s) being ground, volume proportion of the components of the mixture, particle size, and mill operating conditions, and (iii) in the mixture, same size particles of different components receive the same amount of energy per unit volume. An important feature of the model is the use of volume-specific mill power. It has been shown that the effect of the operating variables such as the mill speed, particle load, and mill diameter on energy absorption is significantly different for different materials. These findings have been discussed in light of our current state of understanding of the mechanics of the ball milling operation. It has been concluded that the concept of energy absorption factor can be quite useful in the analysis of grinding systems, and mill scale-up design work.

Analysis has been carried out to model second stage creep in a composite (Al-SiCp) disc rotating at high speed under elevated temperature. The model has been developed for various kinds of disc thickness profiles, viz. exponential, hyperbolic and constant, with the same total volume. The impact of varying the disc geometry has been assessed through the stresses and rates of creep induced strains in different discs. The results indicate that the stresses and strain rates in composite disc with exponential thickness variation are the lowest for similar operating conditions. The creep response of exponential disc is observed to further improve when its thickness gradient is increased, achieved by increasing the thickness near the inner and decreasing towards the outer disc radius, without altering the average disc thickness. The use of steeper thickness profile could help in reducing the possibility of creep induced deformations in the rotating disc.

Scapular notching is a common problem following reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RSA). This is due to impingement between the humeral polyethylene cup and scapular neck in adduction and external rotation. Various glenoid component strategies have been described to combat scapular notching and enhance impingement-free range of motion (ROM). There is limited data available detailing optimal glenosphere position in RSA with an onlay configuration. The purpose of this study was to determine which glenosphere configurations would maximise impingement free ROM using an onlay RSA prosthesis.A three-dimensional (3D) computed tomography (CT) scan of a shoulder with Walch A1, Favard E0 glenoid morphology was segmented using validated software. An onlay RSA prosthesis was implanted and a computer model simulated external rotation and adduction motion of the virtual RSA prosthesis. Four glenosphere parameters were tested; diameter (36mm, 41mm), lateralization (0mm, 3mm, 6mm), inferior tilt (neutral, 5 degrees, 10 degrees), and inferior eccentric positioning (0.5mm, 1.5mm. 2.5mm, 3.5mm, 4.5mm). Eighty-four combinations were simulated. For each simulation, the humeral neck-shaft angle was 147 degrees and retroversion was 30 degrees.The largest increase in impingement-free range of motion resulted from increasing inferior eccentric positioning, gaining 15.0 degrees for external rotation and 18.8 degrees for adduction. Glenosphere lateralization increased external rotation motion by 13. 6 degrees and adduction by 4.3 degrees. Implanting larger diameter glenospheres increased external rotation and adduction by 9.4 and 10.1 degrees respectively. Glenosphere tilt had a negligible effect on impingement-free ROM.Maximizing inferior glenosphere eccentricity, lateralizing the glenosphere, and implanting larger glenosphere diameters improves impingement-free range of motion, in particular external rotation, of an onlay RSA prosthesis. Surgeons’ awareness of these trends can help optimize glenoid component position to maximise impingement-free ROM for RSA. Further studies are required to validate these findings in the context of scapulothoracic motion and soft tissue constraints.

Surgical site infections (SSIs) after spinal fusion surgery increase healthcare costs, morbidity and mortality. Routine measures of obesity fail to consider site specific fat distribution. We aimed to assess the association between the spine adipose index and deep surgical site infection and determine a threshold value for spine adipose index that can assist in preoperative risk stratification in patients undergoing posterior instrumented lumbar fusion (PILF).A multicentre retrospective case-control study was completed. We reviewed patients who underwent PILF from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2018. All patients developing a deep primary incisional or organ-space SSI within 90 days of surgery as per US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention criteria were identified. We gathered potential pre-operative and intra-operative deep infection risk factors for each patient. Spine adipose index was measured on pre-operative mid-sagittal cuts of T2 weighted MRI scans. Each measurement was repeated twice by three authors in a blinded fashion, with each series of measurement separated by a period of at least six weeks.Forty-two patients were included in final analysis, with twenty-one cases and twenty-one matched controls. The spine adipose index was significantly greater in patients developing deep SSI (p =0.029), and this relationship was maintained after adjusting for confounders (p=0.046). Risk of developing deep SSI following PILF surgery was increased 2.0-fold when the spine adipose index was ≥0.51. The spine adipose index had excellent (ICC >0.9; p The spine adipose index is a novel radiographic measure and an independent risk factor for developing deep SSI, with 0.51 being the ideal threshold value for pre-operative risk stratification in patients undergoing PILF surgery.

The study investigates the mechanical behaviour of hemp fibers reinforced HDPE composites. In order to enhance the interfacial adhesion between fibers and HDPE, the chemical treatment of fibers is carried out with the help of NaOH and Maleic Anhydride. On increasing hemp content in the HDPE matrix, a reduction in the tensile strength is reported, with maximum strength noticed at 20% content. However, with the augmentation in the content of hemp fibers from 10% to 30%, flexural strength of the fabricated composite is observed to get reduced. SEM examinations of the fracture surfaces reveal fiber pull-out and fiber delamination as primary failure mechanisms.

In this paper, several well-known energy-size reduction relationships have been analyzed using Kapur’s similarity solution to the integro-differential equation of batch grinding. It has been shown that: (i) relationships proposed in terms of the energy actually utilized for breakage of particles, E, cannot be used to develop a practical energy-size reduction relationship as E is neither measurable nor it is found to be proportional to the measurable net energy input, En, (ii) the exponent of the characteristic particle size, x ¯ , in the relationship between En and x ¯ is same as the exponent of particle size in the expression for the specific breakage rate function, α, which is not a function of x ¯ in the case of ball mills, (iii) α values of 0, 0.5 and 1 cannot be associated with the laws of Kick, Bond and Rittinger, respectively. Based on the results of this analysis, the empirical scale-up models proposed by Bond and Morrell have been modified by replacing the exponents of 80% passing sizes by α. Further investigations have been recommended for resolution of large differences in the energy estimates obtained from these models for materials characterized by grindabilty values less than 1.0 and greater than 3.0 g/rev.

Analysis is carried out to estimate creep response of a rotating Al-SiCp disc with exponential SiCp gradient. The results estimated for exponential FGM disc are compared with hyperbolic FGM and non-FGM discs, having the same amount of reinforcement. The imposition of reinforcement gradient increases the radial stress throughout and tangential stress near the inside radius and but decreases the tangential stress towards the outside radius, with maximum variation observed for exponential FGM disc. By imposing reinforcement gradient, the creep rates in the disc are observed to reduce largely, with minimum and more uniform distribution noticed for exponential gradient.

This study deals with estimation of steady state creep stresses and strain rates in composite spherical vessels subjected to internal and external pressures. The creep behaviour of the material was described by threshold stress based creep law used for composite materials. The well established von-Mises yield criterion has been also used in this analysis. The effect of reinforcement size and reinforcement volume content on the stresses and creep rates in the spherical vessels was studied. The creep stresses in the spherical pressure vessels do not have significant variation except of effective stress. On the other hand, the tangential, radial as well as effective strain rates in the spherical vessel reduced to significant extent by using lesser diameter particles and increasing the quantity of silicon carbide particles.

The tensile and flexural behavior of laminated Jute/Linen/Polypropylene(PP) hybrid composites are investigated for varying layering patterns of fibers, viz. Linen-Jute-Linen, Linen-Jute-Jute, Jute-Linen-Jute and Jute-Linen-Linen. Prior to fabrication of composites by compression molding, the jute and linen fibers were treated with sodium hydroxide. Tensile and flexural strengths are noticed to vary significantly with varying layering pattern. The maximum tensile and flexural strengths are noticed, respectively, for Jute-Linen-Jute/PP and Linen-Jute-Linen/PP composites. The hybrid Jute-Linen-Linen/PP composite shows the lowest tensile and flexural strengths. SEM images of the fractured surfaces of the composite samples reveal delamination and fiber fracture as the primary failure mechanisms.

This pre-specified analysis of DAPA-CKD assessed the impact of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibition on abrupt declines in kidney function in high-risk patients based on having chronic kidney disease (CKD) and substantial albuminuria. DAPA-CKD was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial that had a median follow-up of 2.4 years. Adults with CKD (urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio 200-5000 mg/g and estimated glomerular filtration rate 25-75 mL/min/1.73m2) were randomized to dapagliflozin 10 mg/day matched to placebo (2152 individuals each). An abrupt decline in kidney function was defined as a pre-specified endpoint of doubling of serum creatinine between two subsequent study visits. We also assessed a post-hoc analysis of investigator-reported acute kidney injury-related serious adverse events. Doubling of serum creatinine between two subsequent visits (median time-interval 100 days) occurred in 63 (2.9%) and 91 (4.2%) participants in the dapagliflozin and placebo groups, respectively (hazard ratio 0.68 [95% confidence interval 0.49, 0.94]). Accounting for the competing risk of mortality did not alter our findings. There was no heterogeneity in the effect of dapagliflozin on abrupt declines in kidney function based on baseline subgroups. Acute kidney injury-related serious adverse events were not significantly different and occurred in 52 (2.5%) and 69 (3.2%) participants in the dapagliflozin and placebo groups, respectively (0.77 [0.54, 1.10]). Thus, in patients with CKD and substantial albuminuria, dapagliflozin reduced the risk of abrupt declines in kidney function. HJLH and DC are co-primary authors. The DAPA-CKD Trial Committees and Investigators are listed in the Appendix.

The study investigates the tensile, flexural and thermal properties of epoxy resin matrix reinforced with pristine as well as amino-functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs, 0, 0.25 and 0.50 wt%). The combination of ultrasonication and magnetic stirring has been used for the fabrication of MWCNTs/epoxy composite samples. The epoxy composite reinforced with 0.50 wt% amino-functionalized MWCNTs exhibits superior mechanical and thermal properties. The tensile and flexural strengths of this composite are noticed to be higher by about 13.5 and 17%, respectively, as compared with the neat epoxy specimen. The improvement in properties offered by amino-functionalized MWCNTs/epoxy composites is attributed to uniform distribution of MWCNTs in epoxy matrix as well as better interfacial adhesion between MWCNTs reinforcement and epoxy matrix, when compared with those noticed for epoxy composite reinforced with pristine MWCNTs.

The steady-state creep in Al–SiCp composite sphere subjected to internal pressure was investigated. The effect of parameter like operating temperature on the stresses and strain rates in the composite sphere was investigated, and it was found that the stresses in the sphere did not have significant variation with varying temperature. But, the tangential strain rates, radial strain rates as well as effective strain rates in the sphere could be reduced to a significant extent by decreasing the operating temperature. The secondary stage creep deformations and creep stress in thick-walled spherical vessels made of functionally graded composites have been obtained in the present study. The spherical pressure vessel chosen for the investigation is subjected to internal and external pressure under the constant temperature field. The material of the vessel is incompressible. The creep behavior of material is governed by threshold stress-based creep law. The study reveals that for linear variation of reinforcement and assumed pressure ratio, the compressive value of radial stress reduces with an increase in pressure ratio from 2 to 5 over the entire radial distance. However, the longitudinal stress remains compressive at the inner radius, and the value becomes tensile for pressure ratio 3, 4 and 5.

The rate of production of fine material in the batch mode of grinding operation forms the basis for determination of the grindability parameter of the Bond approach and the breakage distribution function of the population balance model (PBM) approach to the mill scale-up design. For a given set of mill operating conditions, the rate of production of fines is determined by the breakage characteristics and production history of the material being ground. Another important aspect is the variation in the rate of production of fines with grinding time. With a view to developing a clear understanding of these aspects, a detailed analysis of variations in the rate of production of fines was carried out using the PBM framework and two well-known functional forms for the specific breakage rate and breakage distribution parameters. In this paper, it has been shown how the results of this analysis can be used for: (i) obtaining more accurate estimates of the breakage distribution parameters by performing just one short-duration batch grinding experiment, and (ii) explaining variation in the Bond Work index with the product size in terms of the exponent of particle size in the expression for the specific breakage rate function: k j = A ∗ x j α .

This study scrutinizes the influence of fiber treatment on tensile properties of sisal fibers reinforced in polyethylene (high density) composite. Alkalization is performed on sisal fibers and followed by maleic anhydride (MA) as coupling agent treatment. Treated sisal fibers are reinforced into 50-50% mixture of fresh and recycled high density polyethylene (HDPE) matrix. The tensile properties of composites are compared with 50-50% mixture of HDPE samples. Tensile strength of sisal fiber/HDPE composite containing 7.5, 15, 22.5 and 30 wt.% treated sisal fibers is respectively lower by 20%, 25%, 24.5% and 50% when compared to sample with 50-50 mixture of fresh and recycled HDPE. Among from the all samples 50-50 mixture of HDPE gives highest tensile strength. SEM images showed that in all composites the main failure mechanisms responsible for tensile failure is fiber pull-out apart from some other secondary mechanisms like fiber breakage and fiber delamination.

In this study, simplex-centroid design was used to maximize both tensile strength (TS) and flexural strength (FS) of sisal–hemp fiber reinforced high density polyethylene (HDPE) composite mixture. The fibers were treated with NaOH followed by maleic anhydride, to improve their adhesion with matrix, and characterized by FTIR. The TS and FS of the prepared specimens were modeled using ANOVA regression modeling. The quadratic model was best fitted and optimized process conditions are 80% HDPE, 10% sisal and 10% hemp for TS and 70% HDPE, 15% sisal and 15% hemp for FS. Multiple response optimization yields that a mixture of 80% HDPE, 10% sisal and 10% hemp exhibits maximum TS and FS of 20.3 MPa and 18.5 MPa, respectively. The TS and FS are observed to be more sensitive to the content of sisal fibers in the composite, as indicated through Trace plot. SEM examinations of the fractured surfaces reveal primary failure mechanisms as fiber pull-out, fiber delamination and fiber breakage.

In the dry ball milling operation, the specific breakage rate of particles has been found to vary significantly with the size distribution of the particulate material. However, due to the lack of suitable experimental data and a clear understanding of the role of inter-particle interactions in determining the specific breakage rate of particles, it has not been possible to develop a general mathematical model that can be used to describe the variation of the specific breakage rate of particles. These limitations were overcome in our investigation by using feed charges for batch grinding experiments that were prepared according to specially designed continuous and discontinuous particle size distributions. A detailed analysis of the experimental results led to several new findings about the nature of the non-linear grinding kinetics. In particular, it was found: (i) for a given size fraction of particles, while the effect of the coarser and immediately finer sizes on its specific breakage rate was negative, the effect of the other finer sizes was positive and it increased as the particle size decreased, (ii) the overall effect varied with the material type and particle size, being more pronounced in the case of the softer material and coarse particles, (iii) the breakage distribution parameters were also significantly affected by the particle size distribution, and (iv) a simple linear relationship in terms of the mass fractions of different sizes described the variation of the specific breakage rate parameters with particle size distribution quite satisfactorily.