Studies on pyrolytic conversion of waste plastic carry bags into plastic crude oil

The utilization of plastic carry bags in our modern life is increasing every year and also increasing pressure on safe disposal of these bags. Worldwide the disposal of these kinds of plastic wastes is becoming serious issue due to their non-degradable nature. The main aim of this study is to exploit the potential of waste plastic carry bags for the production of plastic crude oil by using non-electric pyrolytic unit. The heat required for pyrolysis process supplied from biomass gas stove and coconut shell used as combustible fuel. To optimize the heating conditions for higher plastic crude oil recovery, different quantities of coconut shell were utilized and the maximum recovery of plastic crude oil was recorded. The yield of crude oil ranged from 34.5 to 40.7 per cent for the reaction temperature ranged from 457 to 517 °C. For 4 kg fuel supplied as heating source, the crude oil recovered was 40.7 per cent at a reaction temperature of 486 oC and residence time of 58 min. The calorific value of the waste plastic carry bags and plastic crude oil was found to be 34.4 and 38.6 MJ/kg, respectively

In vitro cytokine response to tuberculosis

The outcome of any infectious disease is mainly dependent upon the interplay of the cytokines. These cytokines are grouped into two: Type land Type 2 cytokines secreted by Th1 and Th2 cells that contribute to the pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory responses respectively

Physical Activity and Hippocampal Sub-Region Structure in Older Adults with Memory Complaints.

BackgroundPhysical activity (PA) plays a major role in maintaining cognition in older adults. PA has been shown to be correlated with total hippocampal volume, a memory-critical region within the medial temporal lobe (MTL). However, research on associations between PA and MTL sub-region integrity is limited.ObjectiveTo examine the relationship between PA, MTL thickness, and its sub-regions, and cognitive function in non-demented older adults with memory complaints.MethodsTwenty-nine subjects aged ≥60 years, with memory complaints were recruited for this cross-sectional study. PA was tracked for 7 days using accelerometers, and average number of steps/day determined. Subjects were categorized into two groups: those who walked ≤4000 steps/day (lower PA) and those with >4000 steps/day (higher PA). Subjects received neuropsychological testing and 3T MRI scans. Nonparametric ANCOVAs controlling for age examined differences between the two groups.ResultsTwenty-six subjects aged 72.7(8.1) years completed the study. The higher PA group (n = 13) had thicker fusiform gyrus (median difference = 0.11 mm, effect size (ES) = 1.43, p = 0.001) and parahippocampal cortex (median difference = 0.12 mm, ES = 0.93, p = 0.04) compared to the lower PA group. The higher PA group also exhibited superior performance in attention and information-processing speed (median difference = 0.90, ES = 1.61, p = 0.003) and executive functioning (median difference = 0.97, ES = 1.24, p = 0.05). Memory recall was not significantly different between the two groups.ConclusionOlder non-demented individuals complaining of memory loss who walked >4000 steps each day had thicker MTL sub-regions and better cognitive functioning than those who walked ≤4000 steps. Future studies should include longitudinal analyses and explore mechanisms mediating hippocampal related atrophy

Humoral Immune Response in Tuberculous Pleuritis

Tuberculous pleuritis is a good human model to understand the local and protective immune response against tuberculosis, due to the self-limitedness of the disease. Although the cellular immune response has been well characterised in tuberculous pleurisy, much less is known about the humoral immune response operating at the site of infection. To understand the humoral immune response, B cells were enumerated in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and pleural fluid mononuclear cells (PFMC) of tuberculous (TP) and non-tuberculous pleuritis patients (NTP). The levels of IgG, IgA and IgM antibodies for PPD, culture filtrate (CF) and sonicate antigens (Son Ag) were assessed in plasma (BL) and pleural fluid (PF) and a western blot was carried out with the CF antigen. The percentage of CD19+B-cells was similar in PBMC and PFMC of TP patients but was significantly lower in PFMCs of NTP patients. The IgG levels for PPD and CF antigens were higher in PF of TP than NTP patients. The antigen recognition patterns did not differ in plasma and pleural fluid of the same patient in both groups pointing out the passive diffusion of the plasma to the pleura. The antigens 25, 31, 33, 70, 110, 124 and 132 kDa were recognized exclusively by the TP patients. Thus our study showed that the local humoral response in TP did not differ from the systemic response. However, the humoral response differed in TP patients when compared to NTP patients

Ambient mass spectrometry technologies for the detection of falsified drugs

Increased globalization of the pharmaceutical market has facilitated the unobstructed and fast spread of poor-quality medicines. Poor-quality medicines include spurious/falsely-labeled/falsified/counterfeit drugs (those that are deliberately and fraudulently mislabeled with respect to content and/or origin), substandard drugs (legitimate drugs that do not meet their quality specifications), and degraded medicines (good quality pharmaceuticals that suffered from deterioration caused by improper storage or distribution). Consumption of poor-quality pharmaceuticals is likely to increase morbidity and mortality.Moreover, poor-quality drugs can also contribute to the development of resistance to anti-infective medicines and decrease the quality of health care received by patients. To assess the true prevalence of poor quality drugs, tiered technology approaches enabling the testing of drug samples collected at points of sale are required, thus ensuring public health standards. High throughput and high resolution ambient mass spectrometry techniques allow investigation of pharmaceuticals with minimal or no sample preparation, thus possessing capabilities to survey a large number of drug samples for their authenticity.Fil: Culzoni, Maria Julia. Georgia Institute Of Techology; Estados Unidos. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Santa Fe; ArgentinaFil: Dwivedi, Prabha. Georgia Institute Of Techology; Estados UnidosFil: Green, Michael D.. Centers For Disease Control And Prevention. National Center For Infectious Diseases. Division Of Parasitic Diseases; Estados UnidosFil: Newton, Paul. Mahosot Hospital; Laos. University of Oxford; Reino UnidoFil: Fernandez, Facundo. Georgia Institute Of Techology; Estados Unido

Aerosol and cloud feedbacks on surface energy balance over selected regions of the Indian subcontinent

We investigate aerosol and cloud forcing on the surface energy balance over selected regions in India. Four regions were selected with different surface characteristics and have considerable differences in the long-term trends and seasonal distribution of clouds and aerosols. These regions are described as (1) northern semiarid, (2) humid subtropical, (3) populated central peninsula, and (4) northeast monsoon impacted. Modern Era Retrospective-analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) data and Climate Forecast System Reanalysis version 2 (CFSR) data are used in this study. An intercomparison of cloud fractions from both data sets shows that CFSR systematically underestimates high-cloud fraction during premonsoon and monsoon seasons. However, there are fewer low-cloud fraction biases. The positive temporal trend over 31years (1979-2009) from MERRA in high clouds is greater than that of low clouds. This is due to positive anomalies in the cloud ice and supercooled liquid water content in MERRA. Biases in the radiative fluxes and surface fluxes show a strong relationship (correlations exceeding 0.8) with cloud fraction biases, more so for the high clouds. During the premonsoon season, aerosol forcing causes a change in surface shortwave radiation of -24.5, -25, -19, and -16Wm -2 over regions 1 -4, respectively. The corresponding longwave radiation decrease is -9.8, -6.8, -4.5, and -1.9Wm -2 over these same regions, respectively. The maximum surface shortwave reduction due to clouds, which is observed during the monsoon season, is -86, -113, -101, and -97Wm -2 for these same regions, respectively. A decreasing trend in the boundary layer height is noticed both in MERRA and CFSR. The variation in the Bowen ratio and its relation to aerosol and cloud effect anomalies are also discussed

Subregional Hippocampal Thickness Abnormalities in Older Adults with a History of Heavy Cannabis Use.

Background and Aims: Legalization of cannabis (CB) for both medicinal and, in some states, recreational use, has given rise to increasing usage rates across the country. Of particular concern are indications that frequent CB use may be selectively harmful to the developing adolescent brain compared with adult-onset usage. However, the long-term effects of heavy, adolescent CB use on brain structure and cognitive performance in late-life remain unknown. A critical brain region is the hippocampus (HC), where there is a striking intersection between high concentrations of cannabinoid 1 (CB1) receptors and age-related pathology. Design: We investigated whether older adults (average age=66.6+7.2 years old) with a history of early life CB use show morphological differences in hippocampal subregions compared with older, nonusers. Methods: We performed high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging combined with computational techniques to assess cortical thickness of the medial temporal lobe, neuropsychological testing, and extensive drug use histories on 50 subjects (24 formerly heavy cannabis users [CB+ group] abstinent for an average of 28.7 years, 26 nonusers [CB- group]). We investigated group differences in hippocampal subregions, controlling for age, sex, and intelligence (as measured by the Wechsler Test of Adult Reading), years of education, and cigarette use. Results: The CB+ subjects exhibited thinner cortices in subfields cornu ammonis 1 [CA1; F(1,42)=9.96, p=0.0003], and CA2, 3, and the dentate gyrus [CA23DG; F(1,42)=23.17, p<0.0001], and in the entire HC averaged over all subregions [F(1,42)=8.49, p=0.006]. Conclusions: Negative effects of chronic adolescent CB use on hippocampal structure are maintained well into late life. Because hippocampal cortical loss underlies and exacerbates age-related cognitive decline, these findings have profound implications for aging adults with a history of early life usage. Clinical Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov # NCT01874886

Role of TNF-a in host immune response in tuberculous pleuritis

Tumour Necrosis Factor (TNF)-a, a pro-inflammatory cytokine has a dual role in host immunity and immunopathology of tuberculosis and is considered to be pivotal for determining the clinical course of the disease, either beneficial or detrimental. The assessment of TNF-a in pleural tuberculosis will help us to understand its role in host defence mechanism against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) infection. In this study, TNF-a and IFN-g levels were measured in plasma and pleural fluid of both tuberculosis (TB) and non- TB patients and in the supernatants of blood and pleural fluid mononuclear cells (PBMCs and PFMCs) stimulated in vitro with PPD, culture filtrate and heatkilled (MTB). In addition, apoptosis induced by PPD and MTB was also studied. TNF-a and IFN-g were significantly elevated in pleural fluid than in plasma of pleural tuberculosis patients, suggesting the compartmentalization of Th1 cytokine-secreting cells at the site of disease. In vitro stimulation of PFMCs with PPD and MTB showed a significant increase in these cytokine levels and also enhanced apoptosis of these cells. This increase in TNF-a levels may contribute to the containment of infection by synergizing with IFN- g to activate infected macrophages or by the regulation of T-cell apoptosis

The Structure of Isolated Synechococcus Strain WH8102 Carboxysomes as Revealed by Electron Cryotomography

Carboxysomes are organelle-like polyhedral bodies found in cyanobacteria and many chemoautotrophic bacteria that are thought to facilitate carbon fixation. Carboxysomes are bounded by a proteinaceous outer shell and filled with ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCO), the first enzyme in the CO_2 fixation pathway, but exactly how they enhance carbon fixation is unclear. Here we report the three-dimensional structure of purified carboxysomes from Synechococcus species strain WH8102 as revealed by electron cryotomography. We found that while the sizes of individual carboxysomes in this organism varied from 114 nm to 137 nm, surprisingly, all were approximately icosahedral. There were on average ~250 RuBisCOs per carboxysome, organized into three to four concentric layers. Some models of carboxysome function depend on specific contacts between individual RuBisCOs and the shell, but no evidence of such contacts was found: no systematic patterns of connecting densities or RuBisCO positions against the shell's presumed hexagonal lattice could be discerned, and simulations showed that packing forces alone could account for the layered organization of RuBisCOs