MS Plate Research Articles

Comprehensive analysis of the greenhouse solar tunnel dryer (GSTD) using Tomato, snake Gourd, and Cucumber: Insights into energy Efficiency, exergy Performance, economic Viability, and environmental impact

With the goal of sustainability, an innovative walk-in type Greenhouse Solar Tunnel Dryer (GSTD) with GI pipe and MS plate foundation, polycarbonate walls and roof, and cudappah stone flooring was developed and investigated. A comparison of GSTD and open sun drying was performed with tomato, snake gourd, and cucumber. The greenhouse drier drastically reduced the moisture content of the products, decreasing it from roughly 90 % to 2 % or less in 24 h. The developed GSTD was subjected to extensive energy, exergy, economic, and environmental assessments in order to examine its thermodynamic performance, economic viability, and environmental impact under forced convection by drying the three products chosen. The average efficiency of energy and exergy is 30.86 % and 14.76 %, respectively. The cost of utilizing GSTD to dry 1 kg of tomato, snack gourd, and cucumber was computed using the annualised cost technique to be 0.41, 0.1075 and 0.1232 USD, respectively. The lifetime savings range from 18,497 to 38,296 USD relying on the type of dried goods. The payback period for tomato is 1.34 years, snake gourd is 2.73 years and cucumber is 1.63 years. The lifetime carbon mitigation for tomato, snake gourd, and cucumber is 61.72 tonnes, 726.92 tonnes, and 175.74 tonnes, respectively, while the carbon credit earned is 1234.4 USD, 14538.4 USD, and 3514.8 USD.

Experimental Studies on Solar Chimney for Building Space Heating and Ventilation Enhancement: Energy, Exergy and Economic Analysis

Solar chimneys are with or without heat storage widely used for improving the ventilation and thermal comfort in buildings. The energy, exergy, economic analysis of solar chimney and the CO2 mitigations (EEEC) are evaluated in this communication. The improved solar chimney with MS plate and MS box was designed and developed by the author in the CBRI Roorkee. The observations of typical day of December have been taken for the presentation and the whole month data have been used to evaluate the EEEC parameters. The maximum energy efficiency has been observed by 26.68% during 12 hours of the typical day, and at the same time the exergy efficiency has obtained 3.69%. Approximately 2285kWh energy can be saved during a year through solar chimneys. The payback period of an improved solar chimney with MS plate (SCWMSP) is estimated to be less than one year and with MS box (SCWMSB)) it is likely to be one year. CO2 can also be saved with the energy conservation parameter observed saving of 4.37 ton / year CO2 by SCWMSP, on the other hand if SCWMSB have implemented than CO2 would be save by 5.51 ton/year.

Optimization and Standardization of Human Saliva Collection for MALDI-TOF MS.

SARS-CoV-2 outbreak led to unprecedented innovative scientific research to preclude the virus dissemination and limit its impact on life expectancy. Waiting for the collective immunity by vaccination, mass-testing, and isolation of positive cases remain essential. The development of a diagnosis method requiring a simple and non-invasive sampling with a quick and low-cost approach is on demand. We hypothesized that the combination of saliva specimens with MALDI-TOF MS profiling analyses could be the winning duo. Before characterizing MS saliva signatures associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection, optimization and standardization of sample collection, preparation and storage up to MS analyses appeared compulsory. In this view, successive experiments were performed on saliva from healthy healthcare workers. Specimen sampling with a roll cotton of Salivette® devices appeared the most appropriate collection mode. Saliva protein precipitation with organic buffers did not improved MS spectra profiles compared to a direct loading of samples mixed with acetonitrile/formic acid buffer onto MS plate. The assessment of sample storage conditions and duration revealed that saliva should be stored on ice until MS analysis, which should occur on the day of sampling. Kinetic collection of saliva highlighted reproducibility of saliva MS profiles over four successive days and also at two-week intervals. The intra-individual stability of saliva MS profiles should be a key factor in the future investigation for biomarkers associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, the singularity of MS profiles between individuals will require the development of sophisticated bio-statistical analyses such as machine learning approaches. MALDI-TOF MS profiling of saliva could be a promising PCR-free tool for SARS-CoV-2 screening.

Influence of wall friction on Active Earth Pressure in Model Test

Earth pressure theories occupy a paramount position in the field of geotechnical engineering. The knowledge of active earth pressure under static condition is essential in designing a retaining wall as the damage to such retaining structures may lead to disastrous failure. A retaining wall helps in maintaining the ground surface at different elevations on either side of it. Without such a structure, the soil at higher elevation would tend to move down till it acquires its natural, stable configuration. Laboratory model tests in geotechnical engineering are being performed in small steel test tanks to examine the lateral earth pressure on retaining walls. In present study laboratory model of retaining wall is cantilever type, having model tank of MS (1810 x 1210 mm) in plan and 1000 mm height. The MS plate (1210 x 1000 x 5 mm) acts as a retaining wall. Present work consists of evaluation of active earth pressure by conducting 18 tests on model with different frictional surfaces namely jute, geotextile, thick plastic sheet, cement bag and uniform surcharge of 2.0 kN/m2. All the tests are conducted on dry, cohesionless backfill. Test results show that, when frictional surfaces are attached on the side walls and retaining wall, the deflection of the retaining wall reduces and hence active earth pressure is also reduced. Earth pressure slightly reduces in case of frictional surfaces on side wall as well as on retaining wall as compared to that with frictional surface only on retaining wall. Further it is observed that the reduction of the active earth pressure depends on to the wall friction angle () of frictional surface. Increase in wall friction angle () of surface results in decrease in deflection and thereby corresponding decrease in active earth pressure. Earth pressure obtained in the present work agrees well with Culmann’s graphical method whereas earth pressure by coulomb method is slightly higher than that obtained experimentally.

A novel integrated computational TRIFMRG approach with grey relational analysis toward parametric evaluation of weld bead geometry of ms-grade: IS 2062

PurposeIn the presented research work, the authors fabricated the multiple MS plate (Grade: IS 2062) specimens and applied a novel integrated computational TRIFMRG approach with grey relational analysis (GRA) toward solving weld bead optimization problem in MIG welding procedure. The objective of research is to determine the optimum setting between MIG welding input process parameters, e.g. welding current, open circuit voltage and thickness of plate in attaining high tensile strength with weld bead geometry quality characteristics, e.g. bead width, reinforcement, penetration and dilution in investigating define MS specimens.Design/methodology/approachThe Taguchi's L9 orthogonal array (OA) design is respected to conduct the experiments on MS plate specimens to attain output objectives. Later, the evaluated multiple output objectives are transformed into single response by applying a novel integrated computational TRIFMRG approach with GRA. Thereafter, the outset of signal-to-noise ratio (S/N ratio) accompanied by ANOVA (Analysis of variance) is explored to optimize objective function.FindingsThe computed results are confirmed by conducting the experiments on same identical specimens. The outcome of the confirmation tests yielded an improvement of 0.24454, 0.372486, 0.686635 and 0.4106846 in grey relational grade (GRG), overall ratio index, reference grade and full multiplicative index, respectively, after validating the results.Originality/valueIn the presented work, the authors constructed a novel integrated computational TRIFMRG approach via clustering GRA, overall ratio index (ORI), full multiplicative index (FMI) with GRA-reference grade (RG) and tested as well as applied with Taguchi concept to attain objective of the research work.

Experimental Investigations of Stagnation Temperature and Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient of Flat Receiver for Solar Parabolic Dish Concentrator System

The parabolic dish concentrator is one of the most efficient technologies to convert direct beam radiation into thermal energy for steam and power generation. The parabolic dish concentrates direct beam radiation from the sun on to a receiver at the focal point. The receiver plays a major role to transform the reflected solar radiation into thermal energy. The conversion efficiency of the dish is severely influenced by imperfection of the dish collector such as the contour of parabola, size of the facets aligned, positioning of the receiver and tracking of the system. These imperfections are mainly involved in the design, manufacturing, construction and operation of a parabolic dish collector. To overcome this imperfection, secondary reflector are normally deployed at the focal region of the receiver. The function of the secondary reflector reradiates the deviated rays from the primary concentrator onto the receiver. In this aspect, flat receiver is initially fabricated to evaluate the performance of the flat receiver without secondary reflector. In this paper, the experimental investigations on flat receiver for 12.6 m2 area of solar parabolic dish concentrator system to estimate the receiver temperature and overall heat transfer coefficient of the flat receiver. In order to estimate this, rectangular box type aluminium receiver is fabricated and placed at the focal point of 2.42 m from the base of the dish. The aperture area of dish concentrator system is 12.6 m2 area and it consists of 12 petals and in each petals 128 flat mirrors of size 7.5 cm × 7.5 cm with reflectivity of 0.95 are pasted on 1.2 mm thickness MS plate to form a parabolic dish concentrator. The azimuth and elevation manual tracking arrangements are made to track the dish continuously for different orientation of the sun. K-type thermocouples are used to measure the temperatures of the top and bottom of the receiver. To measure the maximum temperature of the receiver, experiments are carried out for stagnation conditions (without heat retrieval from the receiver). Experiments are carried out on 5th, 6th and 7th March 2018 from 10.00 am to 3.00 pm. For different direct beam solar radiation, the top and bottom temperatures, ambient temperatures are measured. The maximum temperature of 399°C is achieved at the bottom surface of the flat receiver for the beam radiation of 955 W/m2, and the corresponding top surface temperature of 58°C is achieved for the same flux. Based on the measured bottom surfaces temperatures, the overall heat transfer coefficient of bottom surface are estimated as 145.56 W/m2 K. Based on this study, further heat transfer analysis will be carried out for the developed flat receiver.

Effect of optimised cutting constraints by AlCrN/epoxy coated components on surface roughness in CNC milling

Here in this work, the milling slots are produced on EN32 MS plate machined with coated HSS end milling cutters and fusion bonded epoxy coated BT40 tool holders. Tool coatings TiN, TiAlN, and AlCrN are preferred in the process of PVD method. This experiment benefited to differentiate the surface roughness for various speed, feed, and depth of cut. The prediction of effective stress for tool work interaction through the dynamic simulator deform 3D. An L27 array is designed with a controllable response to machining conditions, coating types which affect the desired output Ra. Taguchi and ANOVA approach supports to determine the most significant parameters. The influence of coated tools pooled with fusion-bond epoxy (FBE) coated taper end BT40 milling tool holder used to elevate Ra. Thus the optimised values of surface roughness were obtained and the effect of input parameters was identified on specimen roughness. Comparisons have made in between the roughness and stress effective of simulator tool for inspiring the clear solution.

Effect of Optimized Cutting Constraints by AlCrN/Epoxy Coated components on Surface roughness in CNC Milling

Here in this work, the milling slots are produced on EN32 MS plate machined with coated HSS end milling cutters and fusion bonded epoxy coated BT40 tool holders. Tool coatings TiN, TiAlN, and AlCrN are preferred in the process of PVD method. This experiment benefited to differentiate the surface roughness for various speed, feed, and depth of cut. The prediction of effective stress for tool work interaction through the dynamic simulator deform 3D. An L27 array is designed with a controllable response to machining conditions, coating types which affect the desired output Ra. Taguchi and ANOVA approach supports to determine the most significant parameters. The influence of coated tools pooled with fusion-bond epoxy (FBE) coated taper end BT40 milling tool holder used to elevate Ra. Thus the optimised values of surface roughness were obtained and the effect of input parameters was identified on specimen roughness. Comparisons have made in between the roughness and stress effective of simulator tool for inspiring the clear solution.

Optimization of weld bead geometry of MS plate (Grade: IS 2062) in the context of welding: a comparative analysis of GRA and PCA–Taguchi approaches

In the last few decades, researchers proceeded their foot for analyzing the weld characteristic index of materials since the development of novel materials began tremendously. Presently, evaluation of the optimum synchronization among considered input factors for materials are even now surviving into ill-defined mode; soliciting novel mathematical models as well as robustly designed decision support systems that could effectively handle nonpartial information (experimental data). In the present reporting, multiobjective optimization dilemmas have been answered in metal inert gas (MIG) welding process using MS plate (Grade: IS 2062) specimen. The considered specimen was checked to harmonize the optimum setting between input factors, for example, welding current, open circuit voltage, and thickness of plate, with respect to obtaining prosperous weld strength as well as bead geometry quality characteristics, for example, tensile strength, bead width, reinforcement, penetration, and dilution. In the present research work, the Taguchi’s L9 orthogonal array (OA) design was preferred to conduct the experiments on MS plate (Grade: IS 2062) specimens in the domain of MIG welding process. Thereafter, the evaluated multiple objectives transformed into a single response via exploration of grey relation analysis (GRA) and principal component analysis (PCA) approaches to determine the optimum setting between input factors. Next, the outset of signal-to-noise ratio (S/N ratio) along with Analysis of variance (ANOVA) productively was utilized to determine the priority weights against the defined input factors (significant factor). The significant contribution of the present report was to propose a robustly designed decision support system that could assist the readers/researchers to resolve the discussed problems.

Activation and enhancement of Fredericamycin A production in deepsea-derived Streptomyces somaliensis SCSIO ZH66 by using ribosome engineering and response surface methodology.

BackgroundMarine microorganisms are an important source of new drug leads. However, the discovery and sustainable production of these compounds are often hampered due to the unavailable expression of cryptic biosynthetic gene clusters or limited titer. Ribosome engineering and response surface methodology (RSM) integrated strategy was developed in this study to activate cryptic gene cluster in the deepsea-derived Streptomyces somaliensis SCSIO ZH66, and subsequently isolation, structural analysis, and the yield enhancement of the activated compound, anticancer drug lead Fredericamycin A (FDM A), were performed.ResultsIn order to discover novel natural products from marine Streptomyces strains by genome mining strategy, the deepsea-derived S. somaliensis SCSIO ZH66 was subject to ribosome engineering to activate the expression of cryptic gene clusters. A resistant strain ZH66-RIF1 was thereby obtained with 300 μg/mL rifampicin, which accumulated a brown pigment with cytotoxicity on MS plate while absent in the wild type strain. After screening of fermentation conditions, the compound with pigment was purified and identified to be FDM A, indicating that the activation of a cryptic FDM A biosynthetic gene cluster was taken place in strain ZH66-RIF1, and then it was identified to be ascribed to the mutation of R444H in the β subunit of RNA polymerase. To further improve the yield efficiently, nine fermentation medium components were examined for their significance on FDM A production by Plackett–Burman design and Box-Behnken design. The optimum medium composition was achieved by RSM strategy, under which the titer of FDM A reached 679.5 ± 15.8 mg/L after 7 days of fermentation, representing a 3-fold increase compared to the original medium. In terms of short fermentation time and low-cost fermentation medium, strain ZH66-RIF1 would be an ideal alternative source for FDM A production.ConclusionsOur results would hasten the efforts for further development of FDM A as a drug candidate. Moreover, this ribosome engineering and RSM integrated methodology is effective, fast and efficient; it would be applicable to genome mining for novel natural products from other strains.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12934-015-0244-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Overexpression of AcNIP5;1, a Novel Nodulin-Like Intrinsic Protein from Halophyte Atriplex canescens, Enhances Sensitivity to Salinity and Improves Drought Tolerance in Arabidopsis

Aquaporins (AQPs) in plants have been shown to facilitate the transport of water and other small molecules through biological membranes. This activity is essential for plant stress management during drought. Here, we describe and characterize a novel aquaporin gene AcNIP5;1 (Atriplex canescens nodulin 26-like intrinsic protein 5;1) isolated from an A. canescens cDNA library. qRT-PCR results indicated that the transcript level in leaf tissue of AcNIP5;1 was upregulated by 20 % PEG 6000 and downregulated by 400 mM NaCl. To further understand the function of AcNIP5;1, we generated transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana plants that expressed AcNIP5;1 under control of the CaMV35S promoter. The overexpression of AcNIP5;1 in these transgenic Arabidopsis plants resulted in higher drought tolerance and sensitivity to salinity compared to wild-type plants on both MS plate and pot experiments. AcNIP5;1 protein tagged with GFP was localized to the cell plasma membrane in Nicotiana benthamiana. Our results suggest that AcNIP5;1 might play a role in drought tolerance in A. canescens.

Experimental Investigation for Tool Life by Optimizing Machining and Geometric Parameters of CNC End Mill Tool

CNC end milling is a unique adaption of the conventional milling process which uses an end mill tool for the achining process. During the End milling process, the material is removed by the end mill cutter. The effects of machining parameters of end milling process like spindle speed, depth of cut and feed rate and geometric parameter rake angleof a 14 mm diameter HSS end mill tool have been investigated on a AISI 1025 MS plate work material for pocket milling operation to reveal their impact on tool life using Taguchi Methodology. Experimental plan is performed by a Standard Orthogonal Array three times. The results of analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicate that the proposed mathematical odel can be adequately describing the performance within the limit of factors being studied. The optimal set of process parameters has also been predicted to maximize the tool life.

Antigen digestion on the target plate of MALDI-TOF MS after isolation using an immunoaffinity membrane

A combination of methods is required to achieve separation of intact proteins and subsequently perform structure analysis to examine their unstable or external structures. The aim of this study was to develop a method of structure analysis in intact proteins after purification. Transferrin from human plasma was trapped by membrane-immobilized anti-transferrin antibody, which was produced by non-denaturing two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE), and transferred to a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane and stained with Ponceau S. The antigen transferrin was eluted by rinsing the membrane with trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) or aspartic acid. In addition, a method was established by which the purified human transferrin was enzymatically digested on a matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) target plate. Thus, after purification of the human transferrin antigen from tens of microlitres of human plasma using an immunoaffinity membrane, transferrin polypeptide fragments were obtained on the plate following digestion with pepsin in the presence of 0.1% TFA or endoproteinase Lys-C or Lys-C/trypsin with 0.001% sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS). The results indicated that the combined methods of isolation using an immunoaffinity membrane and enzymatic digestion on a MALDI-TOF MS plate could be applied to the purification and microanalysis of antigens. This approach would be particularly applicable to the analysis of the primary structure and the less stable and highly accessible regions of antigens from limited sample volumes.

Direct Identification of Urinary Tract Pathogens from Urine Samples by Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry

Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has been suggested as a reliable method for bacterial identification from cultures. Direct analysis of clinical samples might increase the usefulness of this method, shortening the time for microorganism identification. We compared conventional methods for the diagnosis of urinary tract infections (UTIs) and identification of the urinary tract pathogens (automated screening, plate cultures, and identification based on biochemical characteristics) and a fast method based on conventional screening and MALDI-TOF MS. For this latter method, 4 ml of urine was centrifuged at a low-revolution setting (2,000 x g) to remove leukocytes and then at high revolutions (15,500 x g) to collect bacteria. The pellet was washed and then applied directly to the MALDI-TOF MS plate. Two hundred sixty urine samples, detected as positive by the screening device (UF-1000i), were processed by culture and MALDI-TOF MS. Twenty samples were positive in the screening device but negative in culture, and all of them were also negative by MALDI-TOF MS. Two-hundred thirty-five samples displayed significant growth of a single morphological type in culture. Two-hundred twenty of them showed bacterial growth of >10(5) CFU/ml. Microorganism identifications in this group were coincident at the species level in 202 cases (91.8%) and at the genus level in 204 cases (92.7%). The most frequent microorganism was Escherichia coli (173 isolates). MALDI-TOF MS identified this microorganism directly from the urine sample in 163 cases (94.2%). Our results show that MALDI-TOF MS allows bacterial identification directly from infected urine in a short time, with high accuracy, and especially when Gram-negative bacteria with high bacterial counts are involved.

An HPLC-MALDI MS method for N-glycan analyses using smaller size samples: Application to monitor glycan modulation by medium conditions

Existing HPLC methods can provide detailed structure and isomeric information, but are often slow and require large initial sample sizes. In this study, a previously established two-dimensional HPLC technique was adapted to a two-step identification method for smaller sample sizes. After cleavage from proteins, purification, and fluorescent labeling, glycans were analyzed on a 2-mm reverse phase HPLC column on a conventional HPLC and spotted onto a MALDI-TOF MS plate using an automated plate spotter to determine molecular weights. A direct correlation was found for 25 neutral oligosaccharides between the 2-mm Shim-Pack VP-ODS HPLC column (Shimadzu) and the 6-mm CLC-ODS column (Shimadzu) of the standard two- and three-dimensional methods. The increased throughput adaptations allowed a 100-fold reduction in required amounts of starting protein. The entire process can be carried out in 2-3 days for a large number of samples as compared to 1-2 weeks per sample for previous two-dimensional HPLC methods. The modified method was verified by identifying N-glycan structures, including specifying two different galactosylated positional isomers, of an IgG antibody from human sera samples. Analysis of tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) from CHO cell cultures under varying culture conditions illustrated how the method can identify changes in oligosaccharide structure in the presence of different media environments. Raising glutamine concentrations or adding ammonia directly to the culture led to decreased galactosylation, while substituting GlutaMAX-I, a dipeptide of L-alanine and L-glutamine, resulted in structures with more galactosylation. This modified system will enable glycoprofiling of smaller glycoprotein samples in a shorter time period and allow a more rapid evaluation of the effects of culture conditions on expressed protein glycosylation.

Expanding the Subproteome of the Inner Mitochondria Using Protein Separation Technologies

Currently no single proteomics technology has sufficient analytical power to allow for the detection of an entire proteome of an organelle, cell, or tissue. One approach that can be used to expand proteome coverage is the use of multiple separation technologies especially if there is minimal overlap in the proteins observed by the different methods. Using the inner mitochondrial membrane subproteome as a model proteome, we compared for the first time the ability of three protein separation methods (two-dimensional liquid chromatography using the ProteomeLab PF 2D Protein Fractionation System from Beckman Coulter, one-dimensional reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography, and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis) to determine the relative overlap in protein separation for these technologies. Data from these different methods indicated that a strikingly low number of proteins overlapped with less than 24% of proteins common between any two technologies and only 7% common among all three methods. Utilizing the three technologies allowed the creation of a composite database totaling 348 non-redundant proteins. 82% of these proteins had not been observed previously in proteomics studies of this subproteome, whereas 44% had not been identified in proteomics studies of intact mitochondria. Each protein separation method was found to successfully resolve a unique subset of proteins with the liquid chromatography methods being more suited for the analysis of transmembrane domain proteins and novel protein discovery. We also demonstrated that both the one- and two-dimensional LC allowed for the separation of the alpha-subunit of F1F0 ATP synthase that differed due to a change in pI or hydrophobicity.

Position readout of MSGC by position encoding into signal pulses

We are currently developing a compact readout method for MSGCs based on a fast ADC system and position encoding in signal waveforms. In this method signals from MSGC are recorded and digitally analyzed to give an incident position of individual signals. Signal shapes are varied with the incident position of the MS plate. Both x and y axes can be encoded into one pulse signal for later analysis in the digital signal section. To realize this principle, first we have built a special type of MS plates. The MS plate consists of anode strips, cathode electrodes, and grid electrodes between the anode and the cathode. No backside electrode is required for two dimensional position sensing. After simulation calculations about ion collection, several prototype MS plates were fabricated. A test detector has shown a photopeak for 5.9 keV X-rays. The principle of the position detection has been checked using a fall time measurement of shaped signal pulses. Further development of the signal decoding process is being performed.