Rural buyers' perception about mosquito repellants

Mosquito repellants prevent mosquito bites and prevention of "man-mosquito contact" is a critical factor in transmission and spread of any disease through mosquitoes particularly in rural area. There has been a long standing 'bias' towards rural buyers. The rural markets are considered rigid in the nature but it is not the case in real sense. Marketing to rural buyers is not only a challenge to the marketers but to the manufacturers, communicators, national planners and economists as well. That is why it has been necessary to understand the various aspects of selected rural areas and consumption pattern for such a fast growing market i.e. mosquito repellants and rural buyers’ perception towards such urban products. The present paper aims to find out the factors influencing the purchase decisions of rural buyers for mosquito repellants and to study the perceptions of present and potential rural buyers' of selected mosquito repellant brands.mosquito, repellent, malaria, rural market, buyers

Characterization of color cross-talk of CCD detectors and its influence in multispectral quantitative phase imaging

Multi-spectral quantitative phase imaging (QPI) is an emerging imaging modality for wavelength dependent studies of several biological and industrial specimens. Simultaneous multi-spectral QPI is generally performed with color CCD cameras. However, color CCD cameras are suffered from the color crosstalk issue, which needed to be explored. Here, we present a new approach for accurately measuring the color crosstalk of 2D area detectors, without needing prior information about camera specifications. Color crosstalk of two different cameras commonly used in QPI, single chip CCD (1-CCD) and three chip CCD (3-CCD), is systematically studied and compared using compact interference microscopy. The influence of color crosstalk on the fringe width and the visibility of the monochromatic constituents corresponding to three color channels of white light interferogram are studied both through simulations and experiments. It is observed that presence of color crosstalk changes the fringe width and visibility over the imaging field of view. This leads to an unwanted non-uniform background error in the multi-spectral phase imaging of the specimens. It is demonstrated that the color crosstalk of the detector is the key limiting factor for phase measurement accuracy of simultaneous multi-spectral QPI systems.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figure

Aleuria Aurantia Lectin (AAL)-Reactive Immunoglobulin G Rapidly Appears in Sera of Animals following Antigen Exposure.

We have discovered an Aleuria Aurantia Lectin (AAL)-reactive immunoglobulin G (IgG) that naturally occurs in the circulation of rabbits and mice, following immune responses induced by various foreign antigens. AAL can specifically bind to fucose moieties on glycoproteins. However, most serum IgGs are poorly bound by AAL unless they are denatured or treated with glycosidase. In this study, using an immunogen-independent AAL-antibody microarray assay that we developed, we detected AAL-reactive IgG in the sera of all animals that had been immunized 1-2 weeks previously with various immunogens with and without adjuvants and developed immunogen-specific responses. All of these animals subsequently developed immunogen-specific immune responses. The kinetics of the production of AAL-reactive IgG in mice and rabbits were distinct from those of the immunogen-specific IgGs elicited in the same animals: they rose and fell within one to two weeks, and peaked between four to seven days after exposure, while immunogen-specific IgGs continued to rise during the same period. Mass spectrometric profiling of the Fc glycoforms of purified AAL-reactive IgGs indicates that these are mainly comprised of IgGs with core-fucosylated and either mono-or non-galactosylated Fc N-glycan structures. Our results suggest that AAL-reactive IgG could be a previously unrecognized IgG subset that is selectively produced at the onset of a humoral response

A quality improvement project to assess the feasibility and practicability of training women and their relatives about home blood pressure monitoring

Background: Women with hypertensive pregnancies have a higher chance of developing subsequent hypertension, chronic renal disease and stroke. Lack of blood pressure (BP) monitoring in the postpartum period, only augments this risk. Keeping this is mind, this study was formulated, to enable women to timely detect any such complication later on in their life.Methods: In a tertiary healthcare hospital, postpartum women with hypertension in pregnancy and their relatives were sought consent from, enrolled into the study and trained on self-BP monitoring using an electronic BP measuring device. The feasibility outcome measures were “ease of use” of device by the participant, and the ability to correctly measure blood pressure with appropriate reporting of the value.Results: A total 47 pairs of women and their relatives participated in this study, at the end of which, 89.4% of the patients and 78.7% of the relatives were able to handle the device properly and take their own BP, with appropriate interpretation of the value. Participants who had a higher level of education were more likely to have understood the significance of the practice and comply with it. Moreover, about 70% of patients’ and 72% of relatives were willing for home blood pressure monitoring (HBPM).Conclusions: Feasibility and practicability of training women/relatives about home blood pressure monitoring were demonstrated in this study. Thus, a postpartum remote hypertension monitoring programme, which involves educating the patient and their family members to enable them to monitor their BP at home or a nearby primary centre, is the need of the hour

Generative AI Unleashed: The Intersection of Latent Spaces and Creative Outcomes

This paper explores the intersection of generative artificial intelligence (AI), latent spaces, and creative outcomes, emphasizing how AI models such as GANs (Generative Adversarial Networks), VAEs (Variational Autoencoders), and transformers have revolutionized creative industries. By leveraging latent spaces — high- dimensional spaces that capture the essential features of data — AI systems can generate novel artistic creations, from visual art to music, text, and even design. We examine how these systems work, how they are trained, and their potential to enhance human creativity in various domains. The paper also explores ethical considerations and challenges surrounding the use of generative AI, including issues related to authorship, copyright, and the impact on traditional creative processes. By analyzing the latest advancements in AI models and their creative outputs, this paper seeks to present a comprehensive overview of how AI is reshaping creativity and pushing the boundaries of human imagination

The role of vortices in the formation of the solar system

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Physics, 1998.Includes bibliographical references (p. 117-119).An important part of explaining planet formation is understanding how small particles accumulate into larger bodies. Gas vortices are suggested as a mechanism to enhance the coagulation of dust particles in the solar nebula. An inviscid, barotropic, two-dimensional form of the vorticity equation is derived to study the gas flow. A pseudospectral numerical model uses this equation to calculate the evolution of the vorticity field. The calculations show that locally prograde elliptical vortices with the major axis parallel to the angular axis can persist for at least 103 years with less than 1% change in peak vorticity. The shape of the vortex depends on the strength, similar to analytical expressions for elliptical vortices in a linear shear. Stronger vortices are rounder while weaker vortices are elongated; With ratios of the peak vorticity to the background vorticity of 1.0 and 0.2, the aspect ratios are approximately 0.5 and 0.25. The vortex area is mostly constant, and the linear dimensions change as the shape changes. Two negative vortices within the same radial band tend to merge, forming a larger, stronger vortex in a few orbit periods. A random viscosity field tends to have a few strong vortices form, although not as efficiently as with merging vortices. Dust particles interact with the gas through the Stokes drag force, with the relaxation time specifying how quickly the particle velocity approaches the gas velocity. The particles tend to converge in high pressure vortices and drift out of low pressure systems. The convergence time is dependent on the vortex strength and the particle relaxation time. If the relaxation time is short compared to the period, the particles do not have an appreciable differential velocity compared to the gas, and the Stokes drag force is small. If the relaxation time is long, then the Stokes drag force is not large enough to have a significant effect. If, however, the relaxation time is of the same order as the period, so the dynamical and frictional timescales are similar, then the particles will have the shortest convergence times. This result can be seen analytically in the simple case of an axisymmetric pressure band and numerically in calculations involving the robust vortex. With a robust vortex, the convergence times are approximately 3-4 yr for relaxation times of 0.1-0.2 yr. For typical values of properties of the solar nebula, this relaxation time applies for particles with diameters of around 20 cm. Other particles, both smaller and larger, converge more slowly, but the different times result in more collisions, enhancing the coagulation of larger bodies.by Anand Vivek Mehta.Ph.D

Microbial dissolution of a low grade Indian chalcopyrite ore using mixed culture of Mesophiles

An enriched culture of mesophiles namely, Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans and Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans derived from mine water of Malanjhkhand Copper Project (MCP), India in the ratio of 4:1, and adapted on 5%(w/v) ore at 35oC was used for the bioleaching of a low grade chalcopyrite ore (0.27% Cu). Optimum copper recovery of 91% was achieved at 1.5pH and 10% (w/v) pulp density in 30days using <50μm particles. Copper recovery decreased to 82% when pH was raised to 2.5 under similar conditions. Higher copper recovery at pH 1.5 may be attributed to the improved bacterial activity (7.0x108 cells/mL), higher redox potential (666mV) and formation of minimum amount of hydronium jarosite, which was prominent at higher pH. Copper recovery was 41.2% in sterile control leaching conditions at 1.5pH. However, unadapted bacterial consortium yielded copper recovery of 69.4% only in 30 days at pH 1.5 under the above conditions. Higher metal recovery with adapted mixed culture may be attributed to increased rate of iron bio-oxidation. The biorecovery of copper from the MCP lean grade ore appeared to follow direct as well as indirect mechanism

Can iron treatments aggravate epistaxis in some patients with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia?

Objectives/Hypothesis To examine whether there is a rationale for iron treatments precipitating nosebleeds (epistaxis) in a subgroup of patients with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT). Study Design Survey evaluation of HHT patients, and a randomized control trial in healthy volunteers. Methods Nosebleed severity in response to iron treatments and standard investigations were evaluated by unbiased surveys in patients with HHT. Serial blood samples from a randomized controlled trial of 18 healthy volunteers were used to examine responses to a single iron tablet (ferrous sulfate, 200 mg). Results Iron tablet users were more likely to have daily nosebleeds than non–iron-users as adults, but there was no difference in the proportions reporting childhood or trauma-induced nosebleeds. Although iron and blood transfusions were commonly reported to improve nosebleeds, 35 of 732 (4.8%) iron tablet users, in addition to 17 of 261 (6.5%) iron infusion users, reported that their nosebleeds were exacerbated by the respective treatments. These rates were significantly higher than those reported for control investigations. Serum iron rose sharply in four of the volunteers ingesting ferrous sulfate (by 19.3–33.1 μmol/L in 2 hours), but not in 12 dietary controls (2-hour iron increment ranged from −2.2 to +5.0 μmol/L). High iron absorbers demonstrated greater increments in serum ferritin at 48 hours, but transient rises in circulating endothelial cells, an accepted marker of endothelial damage. Conclusions Iron supplementation is essential to treat or prevent iron deficiency, particularly in patients with pathological hemorrhagic iron losses. However, in a small subgroup of individuals, rapid changes in serum iron may provoke endothelial changes and hemorrhage