Matrix Inflation and the Landscape of its Potential

Recently we introduced an inflationary setup in which the inflaton fields are matrix valued scalar fields with a generic quartic potential, M-flation. In this work we study the landscape of various inflationary models arising from M-flation. The landscape of the inflationary potential arises from the dynamics of concentric multiple branes in appropriate flux compactifications of string theory. After discussing the classical landscape of the theory we study the possibility of transition among various inflationary models appearing at different points on the landscape, mapping the quantum landscape of M-flation. As specific examples, we study some two-field inflationary models arising from this theory in the landscape.Comment: v1: 34 pages, 5 figures; v2: To be published in JCAP; v3: JCAP versio

Nutritional evaluation of yoghurt prepared by different starter cultures and their physiochemical analysis during storage

Yoghurt was prepared with two different types of starter cultures; Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Lactobacillus acidophilus. The preparation was made by 3, 4 and 5% concentrations. It was stored at 4°C for 12 days. To analyze the effect of the two different cultures and their concentrations on the properties of yoghurt, different physio-chemical tests were performed. These two starter culture slightly enhanced the quality of yoghurt. The results showed that the protein, lactose, ash, fat, acidity and total solid mass were slightly increased while pH and moisture values gradually decreased during the storage period of 12 days. The comparative study of starter cultures showed that L. acidophilus produced good quality yoghurt as compared to L. bulgaricus

Impact of Topical Nepafenac on Macular Thickness after Phacoemulsification with Intraocular Lens Implantation in Patients without Diabetic Retinopathy

PURPOSE:  To study the effect of post-operative Non-Steroidal Anti-inflammatory (NSAID) eye drops on macular thickness in patients without diabetic retinopathy measured by Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) STUDY DESIGN: Quasi experimental study PLACE & DURATION OF STUDY:  removed for blind review METHODOLOGY: Diabetic patients without retinopathy who required cataract surgery for visual rehabilitation were included in study. They were than divided into two groups. Group A included patients who received routine steroid+antibiotic post-operative drops while Group B comprised of patients who received nepafenac (0.1%) eye drops eight hourly in addition to routine post-operative eye drops. All patients underwent standard phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation followed by use of NSAID eye drops for a month. OCT measurements were done pre-operatively, 7 and 28 days post operatively. RESULTS: Comparison of central macular thickness between groups was significant at (Pre & 7 day post op) and insignificant at (7th day & 28th day post op) and (Pre & 28th day post op) i.e. 0.043, 0.834 and 0.084 respectively. However, difference of mean central macular thickness was significant at all follow-up periods i.e.0.003, 0.006, and 0.000 CONCLUSION: Post-operative NSAID in diabetic patients without retinopathy leads to a significant decrease in macular thickness as compared to controls after cataract surgery. KEY WORDS: Phacoemulsification, Optical Coherence Tomography, Non-steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Agent

Comparison of pain observed with sodium hypochlorite and chlorhexidine based root canal irrigant 24 hours post appointment

Objective: To compare the effectiveness of 2.5% sodium hypochlorite and 2% chlorhexidine, in reduction of frequency in pain 24 hours after endodontic treatment of teeth with chronic apical periodontitis Study design and Setting: Randomized Clinical Trial conducted –removed for blind review--from July 2018 to December 2018. Methodology: A total of 60 patients requiring management of chronic apical periodontitis and pulp necrosis were randomly allocated by lottery method to two groups of 30 each according to the irrigating solution employed: Group A (2.5% sodium hypochlorite) or Group B (2% chlorhexidine gluconate). To assess inter-appointment pain, a questionnaire with visual analogue scale was filled out by the patient at 24 hours after the procedure. The Chi-square test was used to compare the effectiveness between the two irrigation solutions.  Results: Group A (2.5% sodium hypochlorite) was effective in 83.3% cases i.e. no or mild pain compared to 76.7% in group B (2% chlorhexidine). In group A, 5(16.7%) patients suffered pain compared to 7(23.3%) in group B. This difference in pain was statistically insignificant. (p-value 0.519). Conclusion: Both 2.5% sodium hypochlorite and 2% chlorhexidine were equally effective in minimizing pain 24 hours post endodontic treatment. Keywords: Chlorhexidine gluconate, Sodium hypochlorite, Flare u

Quantifying Urban Karachi’s Air Quality Effect on Human Health and Policy Recommendations

Today’s environmental issues are systematic in nature and cannot be tackled in isolation from man-made activities and impacts. The change in land use and land cover resulting from urbanization has aggravated air quality in urban centers of the country. One of the main sources of air pollution is the use of automobiles in human populated regions resulting in an excess of carbon, sulfur and nitrogen compounds. The emission of greenhouse gases in the form of carbon dioxide from 1990 to 2005 showed an increase of 97.4%. The main source of this increment were vehicular and industrial emissions due to which Pakistan is facing glacier melt in northern areas, earthquakes, flooding and lack of fresh water availability. The authors analyze the effects of vehicular emission on human health; this study is focused on the commercial and industrial areas of Karachi where the flow of heavy traffic and heavy vehicular exhaust emissions are common. The sampled areas are Port Qasim, University Road, Korangi and Mosmiyat. The purpose of this study is to evaluate perceptions of health factors due to air borne pollution in 4 different localities in Karachi. The results showed predominance of headache which is due to an excessive quantity of carbon monoxide and air borne dust in the survey areas as slight exposure of Carbon monoxide affiliated with headache, the second highest complain from respondents is the  Eye Irritation, the exposure of NO2 has acute health effects which include eye irritation, cough and asthma. Based on the above study, recommendations are made to reduce GHG and other pollutants

Proportional Hysteresis Band Control for DC Voltage Stability of Three-Phase Single-Stage PV Systems

Ensuring the stability of DC-link voltage in grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) systems plays a critical role in their reliable and continuous operation. DC voltage fluctuation and, in the worst case, DC voltage collapse will dramatically hamper real and reactive power delivery to the grid. This is more the case in single-stage inverters with no DC-DC boost stage, and the DC voltage has a varying nature. This paper proposes a new control approach for ensuring DC-link voltage stability in single-stage PV systems. The proposed control strategy is based on an adaptive hysteresis band controller (HBC), supplementing the conventional control blocks. This strategy offers the capability to prevent fast discharge of DC-link capacitor and keeps it within acceptable limits by quickly modifying phase shift applied to inverter PWM through quick calculations. Results show that the approach greatly improves PV system performance, in various operating modes. The proposed control scheme is implemented in the real-time simulator, OPAL-RT, OP5600 to verify its applicability and effectiveness in real time

Total organic carbon evaluation of the Bowland Shale Formation in the Upper Bowland of the Widmerpool Gulf

Widmerpool Gulf is one of the basins in the carboniferous Bowland Hodder shale in Central Britain. The area of interest in the Widmerpool Gulf is the Bowland Shale Formation within the Upper Bowland. This paper focuses on evaluating the total organic carbon (TOC) from Rempstone 1 and Old Dalby 1 both penetrating the Bowland Shale Formation using Passey’s delta Log R method. TOC is an essential property needed to have a productive shale gas play - accurate characterisation of TOC is critical in evaluating the potential of shale gas reservoirs because it closely relates to the amount of kerogen and therefore total gas content. Passey’s method involves the use of well logs to obtain the organic richness i.e. TOC. It relies on the response of well logs to organic matter using an overlay of porosity logs and resistivity logs. Which causes a separation i.e. a delta Log R separation. The reasons for the delta Log R separation in an organic rich reservoir/non reservoir rocks is due to the presence of low density, high transit time kerogen and the presence of formation fluid i.e. oil, gas or water. Immature source rocks also observe a separation but only from the porosity log whilst non source rocks observe no separation. Rempstone 1 and Old Dalby 1 well logs were exported on Interactive Petrophysics to analyse the lithology of the intervals before been exported to Microsoft Excel to evaluate the parameters of Passey’s equation to enable TOC determination. TOC estimates for the Upper Bowland Shale section in the Widmerpool Gulf and was found comparable to estimates obtained from British Geological Survey (BGS) RockEval core analysis report. This method proved to be a suitable way of estimating the total organic carbon using simple well logs