Community learning groups must continue

As many reports have revealed, India lacks the required base for affordability and access to digital services and resources to ensure that every child gets an equal opportunity to learn using smartphones/digital devices with uninterrupted internet service. In the context of Karnataka, initially, the teachers had tried, wherever possible, to engage their students through virtual classrooms and WhatsApp groups. Only students of private and public schools from privileged families who had access to internet services and smartphones could access online classes conducted by their teachers. The transition to online learning was not easy, and in most cases, impossible, for students from economically deprived backgrounds. Though parents and teachers tried their best, very few children could be helped

Neuropsychiatric manifestations in patient with normal pressure hydrocephalus improved with therapeutic lumbar tapping

Normal pressure hydrocephalus is a communicating hydrocephalus without evident obstruction of the normal pathway of CSF flow. Normal-pressure hydrocephalus is a common cause of reversible dementia and it can also present with various psychiatric symptoms. A 76-year old man was brought to psychiatry OPD with history suggestive of decreased need for sleep for 8 days, disinhibited behaviour, increased libido, increased activity and increased talk for 4 days. On examination patient was noticed to be having increased psychomotor activity with increased talk, mood reported to be happy with elated affect, no content or perceptual disturbances were elicited. Cognitive functions were within normal limits. Personal and social judgement was impaired with grade 0 insight. General physical and systematic examinations were within normal limits. MRI reports showed ventricular enlargement suggestive of normal pressure hydrocephalus. Patient underwent diagnostic and therapeutic lumbar tapping. There was significant improvement in patient’s behavioural symptoms following therapeutic lumbar tapping. Therapeutic lumbar tapping in this case of normal pressure hydrocephalus was effective in the management of manic symptoms. Early identification of organic cause in late onset psychiatric disorders is necessary. Prompt intervention of the organic cause was effective in the management of manic symptoms

Improved mechanical and microstructural performance of high-density polyethylene-chitosan-hydroxyapatite composites as potential bone implant materials

High-density polyethylene (HDPE)-chitosan-hydroxyapatite hybrid composite series with varying concentration of hydroxyapatite were prepared and compared with its corresponding HDPE-chitosan binary composite. The microstructural and mechanical characterizations of the prepared composites were studied. A 12% increase for the composite system with 8 wt% hydroxyapatite (HA4) has been noted when compared with its corresponding binary system and has been optimized for further applications. The structural characterization and miscibility of the components in the composite system were studied by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffractometry. Positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy studies showed that the free holes are formed in the range of similar to 115.8 angstrom(3). Contact angle studies and sorption studies were further correlated with the biocompatibility analysis to study cell adhesion and protein absorption on the surface of the composites. MC3T3 E1 cell lines showed good cell proliferation on the optimized systems. The presence of micropores along with chitosan and hydroxyapatite promoted cell growth in the prepared composites. The current research study presents the development of an improved hybrid biocomposite material that has potential in biomedical implants. (C) 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

New Dependencies of Hierarchies in Polynomial Optimization

We compare four key hierarchies for solving Constrained Polynomial Optimization Problems (CPOP): Sum of Squares (SOS), Sum of Diagonally Dominant Polynomials (SDSOS), Sum of Nonnegative Circuits (SONC), and the Sherali Adams (SA) hierarchies. We prove a collection of dependencies among these hierarchies both for general CPOPs and for optimization problems on the Boolean hypercube. Key results include for the general case that the SONC and SOS hierarchy are polynomially incomparable, while SDSOS is contained in SONC. A direct consequence is the non-existence of a Putinar-like Positivstellensatz for SDSOS. On the Boolean hypercube, we show as a main result that Schm\"udgen-like versions of the hierarchies SDSOS*, SONC*, and SA* are polynomially equivalent. Moreover, we show that SA* is contained in any Schm\"udgen-like hierarchy that provides a O(n) degree bound.Comment: 26 pages, 4 figure

Floral biology studies in wild melon [Cucumis melo L. ssp. agrestis (Naudin) Pangalo var. agrestis Naudin]

Studies on floral morphology, phenology and biology of wild melon revealed that the ratio of staminate and pistillate flowers was 3.40:1. The longevity of the male flowers were between 5 and 6 days, whereas, female flowers between 6 and 7 days. Anthesis was observed from 4.00 am to 10.00 am, while, the anther dehiscence started from 5.00 am which was continued to 7.00 am. The peak anthesis was observed from 8.00 am to 9.00 am and anther dehiscence from 6.00 am to 6.30 am. Freshly opened flowers showed pollen viability up to 98.35%, decreased upon closure and crashed to 17.48% in 3 days. Pollen germination was occurred after 15 minutes of incubation and continued up to 24 h of incubation. The stigma receptivity lasts from one to two days of anthesis. Major pollinator of wild melons observed was honey bee, mostly visited between 9:00 am to 6:00 pm

Visualization of parallel molecular dynamics simulation on a remote visualization platform

Visualization requires high performance computers. In order to use these shared high performance computers located at national centers, the authors need an environment for remote visualization. Remote visualization is a special process that uses computing resources and data that are physically distributed over long distances. In their experimental environment, a parallel raytracer is designed for the rendering task. It allows one to efficiently visualize molecular dynamics simulations represented by three dimensional ball-and-stick models. Different issues encountered in creating their platform are discussed, such as I/O, load balancing, and data distribution

Informant consensus factor and antimicrobial activity of ethno medicines used by the tribes of wayanad district kerala

The ethno botanical investigation of medicinal plants used by the Kurichia, Kuruma, Kattunaika, Adiya and Paniya tribes of Wayanad district, Kerala were recorded. One thousand(1000)ethno medicines derived from 500 plants used by the tribal medical practitioners weredocumented. Of this, 10 species were frequently used for treating various infectious diseases. An informant consensus factor was calculated for 10 species which are being frequently used. The leaf extracts of these plants were screened for antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureusand Aspergillus niger.Among the plants screenedGarcinia gummi gutta(Clusiaceae) was found to possess highly significantantibacterial activity and significant antifungal activity was observed inNothapodytes nimmoniana (Icacinaceae) which possess highest antifungal activity. These two species have shown the highest informant consensus factor values

Parasitic Strip Loaded Dual Band Notch Circular Monopole Antenna with Defected Ground Structure

In this article a parasitic strip loaded monopole antennas are designed to notch dual and triple bands. The designed models are constructed on one side of the substrate material and on the other end defected ground structures are implemented. The basic antenna comprises a tuning stub and a ground plane with tapered shape slot as DGS. Another model is constructed with circular monopole radiating element on front side and similar kind of ground structure used in the basic rectangular tuning stub antenna. To create notched bands with tuning stubs, two symmetrical parasitic slits are placed inside the slot of the ground plane. The basic model is of the rectangular stub notching triple band and the circular tuning stub antenna notching dual band. Dual band notched circular tuning stub antenna is prototyped on FR4 substrate and measured results from vector network analyzer are compared with simulation results of HFSS for validation

The Origin of Blue-Green Window and the Propagation of Radiation in Ocean Waters

A review of the present knowledge about the origin of blue-green window in the attenuation spectrum of ocean waters is presented. The various physical mechanisms which contribute to the formation of the w-indow are dealt separately and discussed. The typical values of attenuation coefficient arising out of the various processes are compiled to obtain the total beam attenuation coefficient. These values are then compared with measured values of attenuation coefficient for ocean waters collected from Arabian sea and Bay of Bengal. The region of minimum attenuation in pure particle-free sea water is found to be at 450 to 500 nm. It is sbown that in the presence of suspended 'particlesand chlorophyll, the window shifts to longer wavelength side. Some suggestions for future work in this area are also given in the concluding section