2009

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2.45 GHz low level CW microwave radiation affects embryo implantation sites and single strand DNA damage in brain cells of mice, mus musculus
(IEEE Computer Society, 2009) Vineet Prakash Singh; Priyanka Singh; Chandra Mohini Chaturvedi; Ritesh K. Shukla; Alok Dhawan; Ravi Kumar Gangwar; Surya Pal Singh
To study the effect of microwave radiation on the early stages of pregnancy (implantation) and DNA damage in brain cells, female mice were exposed to 2.45 GHz electromagnetic field (EMF) for 2 hours/ day at power density of 0.1250 mW/cm2 for the period of 30 days (pre-mating period, 22 days; mating period, 5 days; post mating period, 3 days). The results indicate asymmetrical implantation in the two horns of the uterus in addition to alteration in embryo positioning and altered embryo spacing in exposed mice as compared to control. The microwave radiation also induced significant DNA break in brain cells. Our findings point towards microwave radiation induced adverse effects on early embryonic development (implantation) as well as increased DNA damage in brain cells, although further studies are required to understand the extent and the mechanism of these effects. In view of the increased use of microwaves in the modern society and MW induced pathogenesis reported earlier as well as in the present study, it is necessary to define the safer use and threshold limit of the non-ionizing radiation in terms of its biological effects.
A maturity model for CBSE
(2009) Ratneshwer
The Capability Maturity Model (proposed by SEI-CMU) does not consider Component Based Software Engineering (CBSE) principles in its considerations of levels and KPAs. It is therefore necessary to consider a model that is based on peculiarities and importance of CBSE and hence a new model under the name ICMM (Integrated Component Maturity Model) for this purpose is being proposed herein. The model, ICMM, is applicable for many types of organizations like organizations that develop components only, organizations that develop CBS or organizations that develop components along with CBS. This work starts a discussion and calls for more extensive research oriented studies by professionals and academicians for perfection of the model. Copyright is held by the author/owner(s).
A novel approach to the interpretation of PAL spectra in glycerol
(Trans Tech Publications Ltd, 2009) S.V. Stepanov; D.S. Zvezhinskii; G. Duplatre; V.M. Byakov; V.S. Subrahmanyam
A new strategy for the treatment of positron annihilation lifetime (PAL) spectra in viscous liquids is proposed, enabling to extract values of the Ps reaction rate constants with intratrack radiolytic products as well as parameters of the free volume distribution in viscous media. © (2009) Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland.
Acoustic wave propagation in barium monochalcogenides in the B1 phase
(2009) R.K. Singh; Rishi Pal Singh; M.P. Singh; S.K. Chaurasia
Temperature dependence of ultrasonic attenuation due to phonon-phonon interaction and thermoelastic loss have been studied in (NaCl-type) barium monochalcogenides [BaX, X = S, Se, Te], in the temperature range 50-500 K; for longitudinal and shear modes of propagation along 〈100〉, 〈110〉, 〈111〉 directions. Second and third order elastic constants have been evaluated using electrostatic and Born repulsive potentials and taking interactions up to next nearest neighbours. Gruneisen parameters, nonlinearity constants, nonlinearity constants ratios and viscous drag due to screw and edge dislocations have also been evaluated for longitudinal and shear waves at 300 K. In the present investigation, it has been found that phonon-phonon interaction is the dominant cause for ultrasonic attenuation. The possible implications of results have been discussed. © 2009 Pleiades Publishing, Ltd.
Agent based models of social systems and collective intelligence
(2009) Vivek Kumar Singh; Ashok K. Gupta
Agent-based modeling and simulation techniques have now become a suitable and popularly used approach to build useful models of social systems, which not only helps to get better understanding of various social phenomena but also enriches the agent-based computing paradigm in return. Agent-based models allow simulating social units such as individuals, households, organizations or nations and their direct or indirect interactions. These models demonstrate how global order and collective intelligence can emerge from relatively simple local interactions and can explain the dynamics of the emergent behaviour. The Agent-based modeling approach has provided the bridging link between psychological & sociological analysis of individual and social behaviours respectively, which was otherwise missing. This generative, proof-by- construction approach has also complemented the individual-centered research in cognitive science by showing that individual alone is not the crucial unit of cognition but is affected by environment and society besides affecting them as well. In this paper, we have given an analytical account of Agent-based modeling of emergent collective social behaviours, on these lines, along with relevant theoretical & experimental outcomes and their implications for multi-agent systems. ©2009 IEEE.
Agent-based computational modeling of emergent collective intelligence
(Springer Verlag, 2009) Vivek Kumar Singh; Divya Gautam; Rishi Raj Singh; Ashok K. Gupta
Collective Intelligence is a form of intelligence which emerges out of collaboration and coordination of many individual agents. A group of actors performing simple behaviours and interacting with fellow group members & the environment often produce global behaviours which seems intelligent. Understanding the emergence of intelligent collective behaviours in social systems, such as norms & conventions, higher level organizations, collective wisdom and evolution of culture from simple and predictable local interactions; has been an important research question since decades. Agent-based modeling of complex social behaviours by simulating social units as agents and modeling their interactions; provides a new generative approach to understanding the dynamics of emergence of collective intelligence behaviours. In this paper, we have presented an analytical account of nature, form and dynamics of collective intelligence, followed by some of our experimental work on evolution of collective intelligence. The paper concludes with a short discussion of the results and relevant implications for designing systems for achieving desired collective intelligence. © 2009 Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
Air - Borne heavy metal contamination to River Ganga (India)
(2009) J. Pandey; K. Shubhashish; Richa Pandey
A two year study was undertaken at Ganges basin of India to evaluate the atmospheric input of six heavy metals to river Ganga. Atmospheric bulk deposition was collected on a fortnightly basis at 8 river sites from April 2006 through March 2008 to determine atmospheric loading of heavy metals to river Ganga. The sampling protocol consisted of bulk collectors placed at 24 locations (3 at each site) selected along a 20 km long tract of river Ganga at Varanasi, India. The atmospheric fluxes of six heavy metals to river Ganga were estimated as (gha-1y-1): Cd - 0.56 - 20.15; Cr - 0.34 - 8.87; Cu - 1.63 - 58.17; Ni - 0.21 - 7.32; Pb - 1.80 - 124.00; Zn - 124.15 - 477.18. Atmospheric deposition of all the elements was lowest at Adalpura (site 1) and highest at Rajghat downstream site (site 8) receiving maximum down - wind urban industrial emissions. Zinc alone contributed to more than 68 of total measured heavy metal input. for season, the atmospheric fluxes were measured highest during winter followed by summer and rainy seasons. Data on heavy metal concentrations in mid - stream water showed significant correlation with their respective values received through atmospheric deposition. Corresponding to the atmospheric deposition, except for Zn, highest concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni and Pb in mid - stream were recorded during winter followed by summer and rainy seasons. Concentrations were recorded highest for Zn followed by Ni, Cr, Pb, Cu and Cd. Concentrations of all the heavy metals were high in down - stream sampling locations. Although the concentrations of Cr, Cu and Zn remained well below their maximum admissible concentrations (MAC), more than 80 of water samples of 7 out of 8 locations sampled, showed Cd, Ni and Pb levels above their respective MAC. Heavy metal loading to mid - stream implicates the adjoining urban agglomeration of Varanasi as the principal emission source area. The atmospheric loading to the river will continue to rise with the completion of Ganga Express highway. This may lead to serious health implications in long - run since Ganga water is also used for drinking purpose by a large population. © 2009 ASCE.
Antibodies to dynorphin A (1-17) attenuate closed head injury induced blood-brain barrier disruption, brain edema formation and brain pathology in the rat
(Springer-Verlag Wien, 2009) H.S. Sharma; R. Patnaik; S. Patnaik; A. Sharma; S. Mohanty; P. Vannemreddy
The potential neuroprotective efficacy of dynorphin A antiserum on BBB dysfunction, edema formation and brain pathology was examined in a closed head injury (CHI) model in the rat. The CHI was produced by an impact of 0.224 N on the right parietal bone under anesthesia by dropping a weight of 114.6 g on the skull from a height of 20 cm through a guide tube. This concussive brain injury resulted in profound BBB disruption as evidenced by leakage of Evans blue and radioiodine in the brain. Edema formation and swelling at 5 h were most pronounced in the contralateral cerebral hemisphere. Pretreatment with dynorphin A antiserum (1:20, monoclonal) infused into the left lateral cerebral ventricle (30 μL in PBS) either 30 min before or 30 min after CHI significantly attenuated BBB dysfunction, brain edema formation, volume swelling and brain pathology. However, no reduction in brain edema, BBB permeability or improved brain pathology was seen when the antiserum was given 60 min post-CHI. These observations are the first to suggest that antiserum to dynorphin when administered into the CSF during early phase of CHI is neuroprotective. Our work further indicates that dynorphin is actively involved in the cellular and molecular mechanisms of edema formation and BBB breakdown in CHI. © 2009 Springer-Verlag Vienna.
Assessment of Bacillus licheniformis (vbr-1) against phytopathogenic fungi and its plant growth-promoting effect on wheat
(2009) Shrilekha Mishra; Rashmi Srivastava; Amitabh Singh; B.K. Sarma; U.R. Singh
The microorganisms have established themselves as an effective alternative to control plant pathogens. There are many examples of formulations using bacterial or fungal strains for biocontrol applications. Bacillus licheniformis (isolate vbr-1) which has been used in the present experiment showed antagonistic activity against several fungi viz., Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc., Curvularia lunata (Walk.) Boedijn, Bipolaris oryzae (Breda de Haan), Fusarium udum Butler, Macrophomina phaseolina (Tassi) Goid, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) de Bary, Aspergillus flavus Link ex Fr., and Alternaria alternata (Fr.) Keissl when tested in dual culture technique. The ethanolic extract of test bacteria have revealed antifungal compounds of different Rf values in TLC. The bacterial culture extract also stimulated growth of wheat seedlings. The in vitro results of the experiments revealed that this bacterium may prove worthy for protecting plants from fungal infection. Its plant growth-promoting property is an additional factor in increasing crop yields. The leaves obtained from the treated and untreated wheat seeds with bacterial extract showed high amount of phenolic acids in the former as compared to control, when analyzed through High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC).
Assessment of support capacity requirement for longwall working under difficult caving strata conditions
(International Society for Rock Mechanics, 2009) G.S.P. Singh; U.K. Singh
Reliable assessment of caving behavior of strata and support capacity requirement has been an issue of great demand for reducing the strata control risk while planning of longwall workings specially in difficult to cave strata conditions. This paper describes the findings of an integrated modeling approach for assessment of roof cavability and estimation of optimal support capacity for longwall workings in a given geo-mining condition. A numerical modeling approach is described for assessing the progressive caving behavior of strata and performance of a hydraulic powered roof support in a given geo-mining and strata condition. The modeling approach for support selection is suggested for regular as well as en masse caving conditions integrating the results of numerical modeling and field observation of 23 longwall panels worked in different coalfields of India. A mathematical approach is used to assess the effect of dynamic loading due to en masse caving and to estimate the design requirement of rapid yield valve. The modeling results of a case study of Churcha mine, a mining site well known for its difficult caving strata characteristics in Sonhat coalfield of India is also described. © ISRM International Symposium on Rock Mechanics, SINOROCK 2009.
Better-fit heuristic for one-dimensional bin-packing problem
(2009) A.K. Bhatia; M. Hazra; S.K. Basu
This paper reports a study on better-fit heuristic for classical bin-packing problem, proposed in [1]. Better-fit replaces an existing object from a bin with the next object in the list, if it can fill the bin better than the object replaced. It takes 0(n2m) time where n is the number of objects and m is the number of distinct object sizes in the list. It behaves as off-line as well as on-line heuristic with the condition of permanent assignment of objects to a bin removed. Experiments have been conducted on representative problem instances in terms of expected waste rates. It outperforms off-line best-fit-decreasing heuristic on most of the instances. It always performs better than the on-line best-fit heuristic. ©2009 IEEE.
Characterization of vane-loaded cylindrical wave guiding structure using NRP technique by simulated experiment
(IEEE Computer Society, 2009) S. Umamaheswara Reddy; P. Raja Ramana Rao; Bhanu Naidu; Lalit Kumar; P.K. Jain
There is a lot of interest in vane-loaded cylindrical wave-guiding structures for fast-wave devices. Dispersion and interaction impedance are the two basic characteristics defining the structures for their relative merits and demerits for an intended application. A mmwave vane loaded structure is evaluated for these parameters by using a non-resonant perturbation (NRP) technique. The results are compared with the results obtained from analysis and simulation.
CO2 sequestration and cushion gas for geological storage
(2009) Sunjay
The scientific and technological knowledge needed to activate a CO2/CH4 exchange into natural gas hydrate fields is presented. This exchange should permit the recovery of methane from natural gas hydrate, concomitantly capturing an equimolar amount of CO2 in the same field, thus providing for a permanent geologic storage thereof. This presentation covers the methods of underground storage of natural gas; the types of underground natural gas storage facilities, such as depleted oil and gas reservoirs, salt caverns, mines, aquifers, and hard-rock caverns; and geosciences, gas storage geomechanics, and reservoir engineering. This is an abstract of a paper presented at the International Gas Union World Gas Conference (Buenos Aires, Argentina 10/5-9/2009).
Collective intelligence based computational approach to web intelligence
(2009) V.K. Singh; R. Jalan; S.K. Chaturvedi; A.K. Gupta
The World Wide Web has undergone major transformation during last few years, primarily due to its newly discovered ability to harness collective intelligence of the millions of users across the world. Users are no longer only passive consumers; they are actively participating to create new and useful content and more rich & personalized web applications. Techniques to leverage user contributions are on one hand making the Web a collective knowledge system (applications like Wikipedia), and on the other hand provide a new approach to mine the unstructured web-content for useful inferences & new knowledge. In this paper, we have discussed how the collective intelligence phenomenon is bringing about the paradigm shift in the Web; and presented our experimental work on a social-inference oriented approach for opinion analysis on the Blogosphere. © 2009 IEEE.
Comprehensive epilepsy early warning system & seizure alarm
(2009) Neeraj K. Singh; Ravindra Kumar Singh
Epilepsy is characterized by unprovoked, recurring seizures that disrupt the nervous system and can cause mental and physical dysfunction. It affects all age groups. About 14% of epilepsy patients are under 15 years old and 24% are over 64, with 62% being between those ages. There is an increased risk of death due to accidents, suicide and other medical conditions. There are also cases where the death appears to be directly related to epilepsy itself, usually referred to as Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP). This information is not always passed from doctor to patient, for various reasons. Epilepsy share is an uncontrolled electrical discharge from nerve cells in the cerebral cortex. This is the part of the brain that integrates higher mental functions, general movement, and the functions of the internal organs in the abdominal cavity, perception, and behavioral reactions. The early warning system will be based on three factors 1. Detection of abnormal electrical activity of brain. 2. Detection of abnormal breathing (too fast or too slow) that almost always accompanies the onset of an attack. 3. Unusual sensations or movements of parts of body such as muscles relaxation and tightening. Copyright © 2009 by ASME.
Detection and characterization of a sialoglycosylated bacterial ABC-type phosphate transporter protein from patients with visceral leishmaniasis
(2009) Chitra Mandal; Angana Ghoshal; Sumi Mukhopadhyay; Rodion Demine; Michael Forgber; Saulius Jarmalavicius; Bibhuti Saha; Shyam Sundar; Peter Walden; Chhabinath Mandal
We report the discovery and characterization of a glycosylated bacterial ABC-type phosphate transporter isolated from the peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) fraction of patients with visceral leishmaniasis (VL). Three disease-associated 9-O-acetylated sialoglycoproteins (9-O-AcSGPs) of 19, 56 and 65 kDa, respectively, had been identified and their purity, apparent mass and pI established by SDS-PAGE and isoelectric focusing. Western blot analyses showed that the 9-O-acetylated sialic acid is linked via α2→6 linkage to a subterminal N-acetylgalactosamine. For the 56 kDa protein, N- as well as O-glycosylations were demonstrated by specific glycosidase treatment and found to account for more than 9 kDa of the protein mass. The presence of sialic acids was further confirmed through thin layer chromatography, fluorimetric HPLC and electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry. The protein was identified by mass spectrometry and de novo sequencing of five tryptic fragments as a periplasmic ABC-type phosphate transporter of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The amino acid sequences of the assigned peptides had 83-100% identity with the NCBI entry for a Pseudomonas transporter protein. Based on the recently reported X-ray structure of a human phosphate-binding protein, we predicted a 3D structural model for the 56 kDa protein using homology and threading methods. The most probable N- and O-glycosylation sites were identified by combinations of sequence motif-searching bioinformatics tools, solvent accessibility calculations, structural environment analyses and mass spectrometric data. This is the first reported glycosylation as well as sialylation of the periplasmic component of an ABC-type phosphate transporter protein and of one of few identified bacterial glycoproteins. © 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.
Development of window for first indian gyrotron
(2009) Subrata Das; Narugopal Nayek; K. Subhadra; Manoj Kandpal; A. Naik; S. Chatterjee; A. Majumdar; M.V. Kartikeyan; A.K. Sinha; P.K. Jain; K. Satyanarayana; JoshiS.N.; A.L. Das
Window happens to be the most critical and vulnerable component in high-power gyrotrons. For the first Indian gyrotron window, a face cooled double sapphire disc structure has been decided for delivering 200 kW power at 42 GHz. Development of sapphire machining and techniques for its UHV grade joining to metals are the major achievements so far. Optimisation of electrical and thermal parameters is in progress. ©2009 IEEE.
Effect of extender composition on sperm cryopreservation of Asian catfish Heteropneustes fossilis (Bloch) and Clarias Batrachus (linnaeus)
(Asian Fisheries Society, 2009) Kuldeep K. Lal; Anindya S. Barman; Peyush Punia; Praveen Khare; Vindhya Mohindra; Bechan Lal; A. Gopalakrishnan; Rama. S. Sah; Wazir S. Lakra
Air breathing catfish species Heteropneustes fossilis (Bloch) and Clarias batrachus (Linn.) are important table fish and fetch high market price. Cryopreservation of spermatozoa can be a useful tool in captive seed production for domestication and aquaculture of these catfish species. The objective of the present study was to identify optimum extender composition for sperm cryopreservation of the two species, H. fossilis and C. batrachus. Four extender compositions Hank’s Balanced Salt Solution (HBSS), Modified Hank’s Balanced Salt Solution (M-HBSS), Modified Hank’s Balanced Salt Solution with hen’s egg yolk (M-HBSS with EY) and European catfish were evaluated for cryopreservation of catfish sperm and 10 % Dimethyle Sulphoxide (DMSO) was used as a cryoprotectant. The pooled milt exhibiting 70-80% motile sperm was used for cryopreservation experiment. After storage for 48 hrs at -196ºC, the milt was thawed and evaluated for fertility test. The percentage of hatching was used as a parameter for the comparative evaluation of different extender composition. In H. fossilis extender M-HBSS indicated highest hatching rate (49.06%), followed by HBSS (42.76%), M-HBSS with EY (37.46%) and European catfish (29.47%). The hatching success with extender M-HBSS did not differ significantly (P > 0.05) from the control group (51%). In C. batrachus extender HBSS exhibited highest hatching (62.1 %), followed by M-HBSS with EY (51.6%), European Catfish (46.3%) and M-HBSS (40.9%). The hatching rate in control was 90% in C. batrachus. The results indicated that the two species differ in the protocol for sperm cryopreservation. The paper presents successful cryopreservation of sperm with the production of viable hatchlings of H. fossilis and C. batrachus for the first time. The protocol reported in the study can be used for scaling up of seed production of these two catfish species. © 2009, Asian Fisheries Society. All rights reserved.
Ethnobotany: Problems and prospects in Indian context
(2009) N.K. Dubey; Ravindra Shukla; Ashok Kumar; C.S. Prasad
Vast ethnobotanical knowledge exists in India from ancient times. Many plant species have been used traditionally by the ethnic groups of the country. Different aspects regarding potential application of the ethnobotanical information have been discussed in the article.
Formation of nano-quasicrystalline decagonal phase in the ai 70cu 10co 5ni 15 system by high energy ball milling
(2009) T.P. Yadav; N.K. Mukhopadhyay; M.A. Shaz; R.S. Tiwari; O.N. Srivastava
A nano decagonal quasicrystalline phase in the Al 70Cu 10Co 5Ni 15 alloy has been synthesized by mechanical alloying of a mixture of elemental powders followed by annealing. A high-energy ball milling of the elemental mixture of Al, Cu, Co and Ni leads to the formation of B2 type quaternary intermetallic alloys. The X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy techniques have been employed for characterization of the samples. It was observed that the dissolution of the individual elements into an alloy led to the formation of a nano B2 phase. This phase was found to be quite stable against milling and no other crystalline or amorphous phases could be detected. Milled powder after annealing at 700 °C for 60 h was found to transform to nano-decagonal phase. Attempts have been made to understand the evolution of the complex intermetallic nano phases and their relative stability during milling. Copyright © 2009 American Scientific Publishers All rights reserved.