International Environmental Agreements in the Presence of Adaptation

We show that adaptive measures undertaken by countries in the face of climate change, apart from directly reducing the damage caused by climate change, may also indirectly mitigate greenhouse gas emissions by increasing the stable size of international agreements on emission reductions. Moreover, we show that the more effective the adaptive measure in terms of reducing the marginal damage from emissions, the larger the stable size of the international environmental agreement. In addition, we show that larger coalitions, in the presence of adaptation, may lead to lower global emission levels and higher welfare.International Environmental Agreements, Adaptation, Coalition Formation, Climate Change

“The Voracity Effect” and Climate Change: The Impact of Clean Technologies

We show that a technological breakthrough that reduces CO2 emissions per output can exacerbate the climate change problem: countries may respond by raising their emissions resulting in an increase of the stock of pollution that may reduce welfare. Using parameter values based on empirical evidence we obtain that any 'new technology' that reduces the emissions of CO2 per dollar of GDP by less than 76% from their current level is welfare reducing. Developing clean technologies as well as transferring “cleaner” technologies to developing countries make a global post-Kyoto agreement over the control of emissions all the more urgent.Transboundary Pollution, Renewable Resource, Climate Change, Clean Technologies, Differential Games

Affected Relative Pair Linkage Statistics That Model Relationship Uncertainty

Most of the complex diseases have major public health concern in United States. Linkage analysis helps to map disease genes, and we have proposed linkage statistics that give higher power in real data scenario where the true family structure might not be known. In linkage analysis with affected related pairs (ARP), stated familial relationships are usually assumed to be correct, thus misspecified relationships can lead to either reduced power or false-positive evidence for linkage. In practice, studies either discard individuals with erroneous relationships or use the best possible alternative pedigree structure. We have developed several linkage statistics that model the relationship uncertainty by properly weighting over possible true relationships. We consider ARP data for a genome-wide linkage scan. Simulation study is performed to assess the proposed statistics, and compare them to maximum likelihood statistic (MLS) and Sall LOD score using true and discarded structures. We have simulated small and large pedigree datasets with different underlying true and apparent relationships, and typed for 367 microsatellite markers. The results show that two of our relationship uncertainty linkage statistics (RULS) have power as high as MLS and Sall using the true structure. Also, these two RULS have greater power to detect linkage than MLS and Sall using the discarded structure. Thus, our RULS provide a statistically sound and powerful approach for dealing with the commonly encountered problem of relationship errors.To apply RULS on a real data, we have used Otitis Media with effusion (OME) data from Caucasian families. OME is an infection causing fluid in the middle ear, and is the most common cause of hearing loss among young children. We have recruited subjects (with history of tympanostomy tube insertion) and their families (parents and affected/unaffected siblings). Genotyping was done using Affymetrix 10K SNP chip technology, and out of 1584 enrolled individuals (322 families), 1191 (305 families) are genotyped at this date. We performed nonparametric multipoint linkage analysis using conservative dataset. The preliminary results show suggestive linkage peaks on chromosomes 2, 7 and 10, the highest being on chromosome 7 (rs2014450, 153cM) with Sall LOD score of 2.08 (p-value 0.001)

Bio-Micro-Systems for Diagnostic Applications, Disease Prevention and Creating Tools for Biological Research

This thesis, divided into two parts, describes the development of 5 novel Bio-Micro-System devices. The term Bio-Micro-System has been used here to describe BioMEMS and 3D printed devices, with the dimensions of key components ranging from micrometers to a millimeter. Part A is focused on ‘Medical’ Micro-System devices that can potentially solve common medical problems. Part B is focused on ‘Biological’ Micro-System devices/tools for facilitating/enabling biological research. Specifically, Part A describes two implantable, electronics-free intraocular pressure (IOP) microsensors for the medical management of glaucoma: 1) Near Infrared Fluorescence-based Optomechanical (NiFO) technology - Consists of an implantable, pressure sensor that ‘optically encodes’ pressure in the near infrared (NIR) regime. A non-implantable, portable and compact optical head is used to excite the sensor and collect the emitted NIR light. The thesis discusses optimized device architecture and microfabrication approaches for best performance commercialization. 2) Displacement based Contrast Imaging (DCI) technology - A proof of concept, fluid pressure sensing scheme is shown to operate over a pressure range of 0–100 mbar (∼2 mbar resolution between 0–20 mbar,∼10 mbar resolution between 20–100 mbar), with a maximum error of <7% throughout its dynamic range. The thesis introduces the DCI technology and discusses its application as an IOP sensor. Moreover, Part A also describes a Touch-activated Sanitizer Dispensing (TSD) system for combating community acquired infections. The TSD can be mounted on any surface that is exposed to high human traffic and consists of an array of human-powered, miniaturized valves that deliver a small amount of disinfectant when touch actuated. The device disinfects the person’s hand that is touching it while being self-sterilized at the same time. The thesis describes the design and implementation of a proof of concept TSD that can disinfect an area equivalent to the size of a thumb. A significant (~ 10 fold) reduction in microbiological load is demonstrated on the fingertip and device surface within the first 24 hours. The size and footprint of the TSD can be scaled up as needed to improve hand hygiene compliance. In Part B, we developed a microfluidic chip for immobilizing Drosophila melanogaster larva by creating a cold micro-environment around the larva. After characterizing on chip temperature distribution and larval body movement, results indicate that the method is appropriate for repetitive and reversible, short-term (several minutes) immobilization. The method offers the added advantage of using the same chip to accommodate and immobilize larvae across all developmental stages (1st instar-late 3rd instar). Besides the demonstrated applications of the chip in high resolution observation of sub cellular events such as mitochondrial trafficking in neurons and neuro-synaptic growth, we envision the use of this method in a wide variety of biological imaging studies employing the Drosophila larval system, including cellular development and other studies. Finally, Part B also describes a 3D printed millifluidic device for CO2 immobilization of Caenorhabditis elegans populations. We developed a novel 3D printed device for immobilizing populations of Caenorhabditis elegans by creating a localized CO2 environment while the animals are maintained on the surface of agar. The results indicate that the method is easy to implement, is appropriate for short-term (20 minutes) immobilization and allows recovery within a few minutes. We envision its use in a wide variety of biological studies in Caenorhabditis elegan, including cellular development and neuronal regeneration studies.PHDBiomedical EngineeringUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/144050/1/amritarc_1.pd

A comparison between microsatellite and single-nucleotide polymorphism markers with respect to two measures of information content

Using the Genetic Analysis Workshop 14 (GAW14) simulated dataset, we compare microsatellite and single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers in terms of two measures of information content, the traditional entropy-based information content measure, and a new "relative information" measure. Both attempt to measure the amount of information contained in the markers about the identity-by-descent (IBD) sharing among relatives. The performance of the two information measures are compared based on their variability and ability to predict change in the LOD score (ΔLOD) as map density increases for SNP markers. Although in a linked region, LOD scores are correlated with measures of information, we observe that none of the measures predict the LOD score itself very well. In an unlinked region, the LOD score is not related to either measures of information. The information content of microsatellite markers with 7.5-cM spacing is slightly higher than that of SNP markers with 3-cM spacing. At these map densities, microsatellites are found to be uniformly more informative than SNPs irrespective of their level of heterozygosity. For SNPs, we found that as the level of heterozygosity increases, the information content increases. As reported in all other previous studies, we also found that high-density SNPs have higher information content compared to low-density microsatellites. Performance of both the two information measures considered here are similar, but the relative information measure predicts ΔLOD as marker density increases better than the traditional entropy-based information measure

In situ and ex situ bioremediation of heavy metals: the present scenario

Enhanced population growth, rapid industrialization, urbanization and hazardous industrial practices have resulted in the development of environmental pollution in the past few decades. Heavy metals are one of those pollutants that are related to environmental and public health concerns based on their toxicity. Effective bioremediation may be accomplished through “ex situ” and “in situ” processes, based on the type and concentration of pollutants, characteristics of the site but is not limited to cost. The recent developments in artificial neural network and microbial gene editing help to improve “in situ” bioremediation of heavy metals from the polluted sites. Multi-omics approaches are adopted for the effective removal of heavy metals by various indigenous microbes. This overview introspects two major bioremediation techniques, their principles, limitations and advantages, and the new aspects of nanobiotechnology, computational biology and DNA technology to improve the scenario

A lean neck mass clinic model: Adding value to care

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/115945/1/lary25535.pd

Comparative Study on the Efficacy of Lignocaine Nebulisation Vs Topical Lignocaine Spray in Attenuation of Haemodynamic Surge in Patients Undergoing Surgery Under General Anaesthesia - A Single Blinded Randomized Controlled Study

Introduction: Laryngoscopy and tracheal intubation are powerful noxious stimuli that should be attenuated. The present study is to compare the efficacy of lignocaine nebulisation vs topical lignocaine spray in attenuation of haemodynamic surge in patients undergoing surgery under general anaesthesia. Methodology: After ethical committee clearance, a single blind randomized control study was done on sixty patients of either sex aged between 18-55 years of ASA status I undergoing elective surgery under general anaesthesia with endotracheal intubation. Patients were randomly allocated into 2 groups: GROUP A:received nebulised Lignocaine Hydrochloride 4% at 2 mg/kg. GROUP B: received Topical Lignocaine spray 10% at 2mg/kg. Heart rate, Systolic, diastolic and mean blood pressure was documented before administering premedication (T0), at the time of intubation (TI) and at 1min (T-1), 2min (T-2) & 5min (T-5) after intubation. Attenuation in HR, SBP, DBP and MBP were found statistically significant (p<0.05) in group A in comparison to group B. Thus in conclusion Lignocaine nebulisation is far more effective in comparison to topical lignocaine spray in attenuation of the laryngoscopic surge. Results: After conducting the study on a total of sixty patients it was found that there was statistically significant reduction in SBP, DBP, MBP and HR in GROUP A receiving lignocaine nebulisation compared to GROUP B receiving topical lignocaine spray. Conclusion: Lignocaine nebulisation is more effective than topical lignocaine spray in attenuation of haemodynamic surge following laryngoscopy and intubation in patients undergoing surgery under general anaesthesia. Keywords: Laryngoscopy, Tracheal Intubation, Lignocaine Nebulisation, Lignocaine Spray, Heamodynamic Surg

Microbe-Based Strategy for Plant Nutrient Management

The rapid industrialization and urbanization of developing countries such as India have encroached on cultivable lands to meet the demands of an ever-increasing population. The altered land use patterns with increased fertilizer use has increased crop yields with leaching of major portion of the applied nutrients from the soil. Nitrates and phosphates are the agricultural pollutants that are discharged into aquifers due to anthropogenic reasons causing severe environmental and health problems. Production of these nutrients requires energy and finite resources (rock phosphate, which has gradually depleting reserves). An alternative management strategy would be to sequester excess nutrients within a biomass that is reused for agriculture. Two discrete enriched microbial consortia with the potential of simultaneous nitrate and phosphate sequestration upon application as biofertilizer restricted them within the plant root zone, ensuring prevention of eutrophication through leaching while making it available for uptake by plants. The nutrient accumulated biomass enhanced the crop yield by 21.88% during mung bean cultivation with maintained elemental content and other nutritional qualities. The major drawback of conventional biofertilizer application (slow release and action) could be overcome using this formulation leading to environmental protection, crop yield enhancement and soil fertility maintenance post-cultivation

Novel Microbial System Developed from Low-Level Radioactive Waste Treatment Plant for Environmental Sustenance

A packed bed bioreactor efficiently treated low-level radioactive waste for years with a retention time of 24 h using acetate as the sole carbon source. However, there was generation of dead biomass. This bioreactor biomass was used to develop a bacterial consortium, which could perform the function within 4 h while simultaneously accumulating nitrate and phosphate. The dead mass was negligible. Serial dilution technique was used to isolate the world’s first pure culture of a nitrate accumulating strain from this consortium. This isolate could simultaneously accumulate nitrate and phosphate from solution. Its ability to form biofilm helped develop a packed bed bioreactor system for waste water treatment, which could optimally remove 94.46% nitrate within 11 h in batch mode while 8 h in continuous mode from waste water starting from 275 ppm of nitrate. The conventional approach revealed the strain to be a member of genus Bacillus but showed distinct differences with the type strains. Further insilico analysis of the draft genome and the putative protein sequences using the bioinformatics tools revealed the strain to be a novel variant of genus Bacillus. The sequestered nitrate and phosphate within the cell were visualized through electron microscopy and explained the reason behind the ability of the isolate to accumulate 1.12 mg of phosphate and 1.3 gm of nitrate per gram of wet weight. Transcriptome analysis proposed the mechanism behind the accumulation of nitrate and phosphate in case of this novel bacterial isolate (MCC 0008). The strain with the sequestered nutrients work as biofertilizer for yield enhancement in case of mung bean while maintaining soil fertility post-cultivation