Validation of MODIS derived aerosol optical depth over Western India

MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) derived aerosol optical depths (AODs) were compared against the ground based observations from Microtops sunphotometer over Ahmedabad (72.5°E, 23.03°N) in Western India. The region is semiarid and poses challenge for the satellite remote sensing of aerosols. Besides comparing the ground truth with the Collection Version 4 of MODIS aerosol product, the paper reports the first ever validation of the updated Collection Version 5 of the MODIS aerosol product over India. The AOD data from Aqua platform is averaged over 0.5° × 0.5° centered at Ahmedabad and compared with the sunphotometer observation taken within half an hour to the satellite overpass time. The Version 4 data comparison showed a large scatter. Further, the comparison for 470 nm and 660 nm behave differently over different years. Overall, the comparison shows considerable improvement in the Collection Version 5 aerosol product. Among seasons, Pre-Monsoon (April to May) has the best correlation and Dry season (December to March) the least. The updated product has scope for further improvement as the correlations are less than unity, and the extent of underestimation for 470 nm is more during Dry and Post-Monsoon seasons whereas that for 660 nm is more during Pre-Monsoon and Monsoon seasons which are dominated by fine and coarse particles respectively. The results show a better surface reflectance parameterization by the MODIS Collection Version 5 algorithm as compared to Version 4 but the aerosol model used in the retrieval algorithm is still not adequate

Clustering using Vector Membership: An Extension of the Fuzzy C-Means Algorithm

Clustering is an important facet of explorative data mining and finds extensive use in several fields. In this paper, we propose an extension of the classical Fuzzy C-Means clustering algorithm. The proposed algorithm, abbreviated as VFC, adopts a multi-dimensional membership vector for each data point instead of the traditional, scalar membership value defined in the original algorithm. The membership vector for each point is obtained by considering each feature of that point separately and obtaining individual membership values for the same. We also propose an algorithm to efficiently allocate the initial cluster centers close to the actual centers, so as to facilitate rapid convergence. Further, we propose a scheme to achieve crisp clustering using the VFC algorithm. The proposed, novel clustering scheme has been tested on two standard data sets in order to analyze its performance. We also examine the efficacy of the proposed scheme by analyzing its performance on image segmentation examples and comparing it with the classical Fuzzy C-means clustering algorithm.Comment: 6 pages, 8 figures and 1 table (Conference Paper

Several Trade off Features of Quantum Steering in Distributed Scenario

In the present work, we address the question of how bipartite steering violation takes place among multi-partite systems (where each sub-system have Hilbert space dimension restricted to two) based on the maximal violations of the bipartite steering inequality of the reduced pairwise qubit systems. We have derived a trade-off relation which is satisfied by those pairwise bipartite maximal steering violations, which physically can be understood as providing restrictions on the distribution of steering among subsystems. For a three-qubit system, it is impossible that all pairs of qubits violate the steering inequality, and once a pair of qubits violates the steering inequality maximally, the other two pairs of qubits must both obey the steering inequality. We also present a complementarity relation between genuine entanglement present in a tripartite state and maximum bipartite steering violation by its reduced states.Comment: Close to published versio

Garcinol loaded vitamin E TPGS emulsified PLGA nanoparticles: preparation, physicochemical characterization, in vitro and in vivo studies

Garcinol (GAR) is a naturally occurring polyisoprenylated phenolic compound. It has been recently investigated for its biological activities such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti ulcer, and antiproliferative effect on a wide range of human cancer cell lines. Though the outcomes are very promising, its extreme insolubility in water remains the main obstacle for its clinical application. Herein we report the formulation of GAR entrapped PLGA nanoparticles by nanoprecipitation method using vitamin E TPGS as an emulsifier. The nanoparticles were characterized for size, surface morphology, surface charge, encapsulation efficiency and in vitro drug release kinetics. The MTT assay depicted a high amount of cytotoxicity of GAR-NPs in B16F10, HepG2 and KB cells. A considerable amount of cell apoptosis was observed in B16f10 and KB cell lines. In vivo cellular uptake of fluorescent NPs on B16F10 cells was also investigated. Finally the GAR loaded NPs were radiolabeled with technetium-99m with >95% labeling efficiency and administered to B16F10 melanoma tumor bearing mice to investigate the in vivo deposition at the tumor site by biodistribution and scintigraphic imaging study. In vitro cellular uptake studies and biological evaluation confirm the efficacy of the formulation for cancer treatmen

Optimization of process parameters for catalytic conversion of solid bio-waste during thermophilic anaerobic digestion

Biomethanation is a process by which organic material is microbiologically converted under anaerobic conditions to biogas. Three main physiological groups of microorganisms are involved: fermenting bacteria, organic acid oxidizing bacteria, and methanogenic archaea. Microorganisms degrade organic matter via cascades of biochemical conversions to methane and carbon dioxide. Syntrophic relationships between hydrogen producers (acetogens) and hydrogen scavengers (homoacetogens, hydrogenotrophic methanogens, etc.) are critical to the process. Determination of practical and theoretical methane potential is very important for design for optimal process design, configuration, and effective evaluation of economic feasibility. The present work is undertaken for generating bio-gas from food waste, kitchen waste, water hyacinth and Parthenium biomass separately using anaerobic digestion process. Attempts have been made to optimize various parameters viz. pH, temperature, volatile fatty acid (VFA), chemical oxygen demand (COD) in order to determine the most favorable condition for maximum biogas production from the different substrates. The biogas yields have been determined using batch anaerobic thermophilic digestion tests with a retention time of 55 days using biogas plant slurry and water treatment plant sludge separately as inoculum and bakhar, acetic acid and cow urine as catalyst. The methylotroph consortium present in the biogas slurry or water treatment sludge use the carbon source from methane for their growth due to which there is a significant change in methane production in different substrates under different conditions. The total biogas generated in the system over the experimental period was the sum of methane and carbon dioxide. Biogas produced from the decomposition of food waste produced a mixture of 65% methane and 24% carbon dioxide

Optimization of process parameters for catalytic conversion of solid bio-waste during thermophilic anaerobic digestion

Biomethanation is a process by which organic material is microbiologically converted under anaerobic conditions to biogas. Three main physiological groups of microorganisms are involved: fermenting bacteria, organic acid oxidizing bacteria, and methanogenic archaea. Microorganisms degrade organic matter via cascades of biochemical conversions to methane and carbon dioxide. Syntrophic relationships between hydrogen producers (acetogens) and hydrogen scavengers (homoacetogens, hydrogenotrophic methanogens, etc.) are critical to the process. Determination of practical and theoretical methane potential is very important for design for optimal process design, configuration, and effective evaluation of economic feasibility. The present work is undertaken for generating bio-gas from food waste, kitchen waste, water hyacinth and Parthenium biomass separately using anaerobic digestion process. Attempts have been made to optimize various parameters viz. pH, temperature, volatile fatty acid (VFA), chemical oxygen demand (COD) in order to determine the most favorable condition for maximum biogas production from the different substrates. The biogas yields have been determined using batch anaerobic thermophilic digestion tests with a retention time of 55 days using biogas plant slurry and water treatment plant sludge separately as inoculum and bakhar, acetic acid and cow urine as catalyst. The methylotroph consortium present in the biogas slurry or water treatment sludge use the carbon source from methane for their growth due to which there is a significant change in methane production in different substrates under different conditions. The total biogas generated in the system over the experimental period was the sum of methane and carbon dioxide. Biogas produced from the decomposition of food waste produced a mixture of 65% methane and 24% carbon dioxide