Rolling of Al-SiC_p Composites

Aluminum based metal matrix composites are offering o utstanding properties in a number of automotive and aircraft components and body structures. The major advantages of these composite materials are their high st rength to weight ratio, high stiffness, high hardness, wear resistance, low coef ficient of thermal expansion, superior dimensional stability and versatility to designer. In addition to these their isotropic properties, good forming characte ristics, easy availability of cheaper reinforcements...     

Excretion of acid hydrolases during molting inPhilosamia ricini

Summary The level of the acid hydrolases -glucuronidase (EC 3.2.3.11), acid phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.2) and acid protease (EC 3.4.4) was studied during larval growth and molting inP. ricini. The level of activity of these enzymes remained low during larval growth; however, the level increased sharply at the time of molting and declined sharply thereafter in the newly ecdysed insect. Interestingly, the diminished activity of these enzymes was almost quantitatively recovered in the cast-off cuticle. The excretion of acid hydrolases through the cast-off cuticle has hitherto not been reported in insects during molting.     

Adelfa： a futuristic biodiesel fuel for DI diesel engines： a comparative experimental investigation

Biodiesel fuel is found to be a promising alter- native for the petroleum diesel based on the results published by the researchers for a decade. Biodiesel fuel is renewable and non degradable fuel. Many countries use biodiesel fuel for automotives to meet the crisis due to the depletion of the petroleum fuel and to meet the stringent emission norms. Various researches have been carried out with different bio- diesel fuels with vegetable oil as the source and appreciable results were reported. Few biodiesel fuels which have been already tested are Jatropha, Pongamia, Mahua, neem, cotton seed, etc. In this experimental work, Adelfa biodiesel blend is used as the test fuel. The emission and performance charac- teristics were compared with three other different biodiesel fuel blends. Appreciable results imply that Adelfa biodiesel （Nerium oil methyl ester） can be a futuristic biodiesel fuel, which has a good compatibility with the direct injection （DI） diesel engine without any major modification. Moreover, Adelfa can be cultivated in a non agricultural land with fewer sources of water. It is widely spread over all major countries of Asia. Experimental investigations have been carried out on a single cylinder DI diesel engine with standard engine speci- fications. In this experimental work, various Adelfa biodiesel blends is compared with reference fuel （diesel） to choose the best blend which gives a closer performance to diesel. The comparative analysis with other biodiesel fuels has also been done and results have been discussed.     

等离子喷涂铁基非晶/晶体复合涂层的工艺–结构–性能关系

本研究试图通过优化等离子喷涂参数来开发一种Fe基非晶/晶体涂层,该涂层主要成分来自一种贫乏的铁基合金（Fe_92.6C_3.5P_1.4Si₂Mn_0.5）。这种合金是钢铁厂高炉产出的生铁剩余废料。为了经济有效地重新利用这种残留物,这种合金在合成时对成分进行了最少的修改。同时,本研究还探讨了涂层的结构、机械、腐蚀和磨损性能对喷涂参数（等离子功率、主气体流速、送粉速度和间隔距离）的依赖性。X射线衍射表明,在最优的喷涂参数下沉积的涂层存在无定形/晶体相。在较低等离子功率和最高气体流速下沉积的涂层表现出更好的密度、硬度和耐磨性。所有涂层都表现出良好的耐腐蚀性（腐蚀环境:3.5wt% NaCl 溶液）。机械、磨损和摩擦学研究表明,单一的工艺参数优化无法提供良好的涂层性能;相反,所有工艺参数在优化涂层性能都具有独一无二的作用,它们主要通过控制飞行中的颗粒温度和速度分布,以及熔滴撞击基材之前的冷却模式来控制涂层性能。     

A genome-wide association study for celiac disease identifies risk variants in the region harboring IL2 and IL21

We tested 310,605 SNPs for association in 778 individuals with celiac disease and 1,422 controls. Outside the HLA region, the most significant finding (rs13119723; P = 2.0 x 10(-7)) was in the KIAA1109-TENR-IL2-IL21 linkage disequilibrium block. We independently confirmed association in two further collections (strongest association at rs6822844, 24 kb 5' of IL21; meta-analysis P = 1.3 x 10(-14), odds ratio = 0.63), suggesting that genetic variation in this region predisposes to celiac disease.     

Effect of molasses binder on the physical and mechanical properties

Molasses was used as an alternative binder to the bentonite binder. The change in moisture absorption by pellets prepared with different iron ores and different molasses contents were investigated. Iron ore properties exerted the major effect on pellet behavior and final pellet quality. The absorbed moisture content of pellets prepared without binder, bentonite-added pellets, and molasses-added pellets were in the range of 7.72%–9.95%, 9.62%–10.84%, and 6.14%-6.69%, respectively. The wet pellet compressive strength of molasses-added pellets(43–230 N/pellet) was superior to that of bentonite-added pellets(9.47–11.92 N/pellet). The compressive strength of dried molasses-modified pellets increased to 222–394 N/pellet, which is currently the highest value achieved for dried pellets.     

Formalising and Detecting Community Structures in Real World Complex Networks

Community structure is an integral characteristic of real world networks whichever processes or areas they emerge from. This paper addresses the problem of community structure detection theoretically as well as computationally. The authors introduce a number of concepts such as the neighbourhood and strength of a subgraph, p-community, local maximal p-community, hubs, and outliers that play elemental role in formalising the concept of community structure in complex networks. A few preliminary results have been derived that lead to the development of an algorithm for community structure detection in undirected unweighted networks. The algorithm is based on a local seed expansion strategy that uses the concept of interaction coefficient. The authors have analysed the algorithm on a number of parameters such as accuracy, stability, and quality on synthetic and real world networks from different areas.     

Optimal sampling frequency for volatility forecast models for the Indian stock markets

This paper evaluates the performance of conditional variance models using high‐frequency data of the National Stock Index (S&P CNX NIFTY) and attempts to determine the optimal sampling frequency for the best daily volatility forecast. A linear combination of the realized volatilities calculated at two different frequencies is used as benchmark to evaluate the volatility forecasting ability of the conditional variance models (GARCH (1, 1)) at different sampling frequencies. From the analysis, it is found that sampling at 30 minutes gives the best forecast for daily volatility. The forecasting ability of these models is deteriorated, however, by the non‐normal property of mean adjusted returns, which is an assumption in conditional variance models. Nevertheless, the optimum frequency remained the same even in the case of different models (EGARCH and PARCH) and different error distribution (generalized error distribution, GED) where the error is reduced to a certain extent by incorporating the asymmetric effect on volatility. Our analysis also suggests that GARCH models with GED innovations or EGRACH and PARCH models would give better estimates of volatility with lower forecast error estimates. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Common variants on 1p36 and 1q42 are associated with cutaneous basal cell carcinoma but not with melanoma or pigmentation traits

To search for new sequence variants that confer risk of cutaneous basal cell carcinoma (BCC), we conducted a genome-wide SNP association study of 930 Icelanders with BCC and 33,117 controls. After analyzing 304,083 SNPs, we observed signals from loci at 1p36 and 1q42, and replicated these associations in additional sample sets from Iceland and Eastern Europe. Overall, the most significant signals were from rs7538876 on 1p36 (OR = 1.28, P = 4.4 x 10(-12)) and rs801114 on 1q42 (OR = 1.28, P = 5.9 x 10(-12)). The 1p36 locus contains the candidate genes PADI4, PADI6, RCC2 and ARHGEF10L, and the gene nearest to the 1q42 locus is the ras-homolog RHOU. Neither locus was associated with fair pigmentation traits that are known risk factors for BCC, and no risk was observed for melanoma. Approximately 1.6% of individuals of European ancestry are homozygous for both variants, and their estimated risk of BCC is 2.68 times that of noncarriers.