Effect of Spacing and Corm Size on Growth, Flowering and Corm Production in Gladiolus cv. White Prosperity under Kashmir Conditions

A study was carried out during 2005 - 2006 at the Division of Floriculture, Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, SKUAST-K, Shalimar, to determine the effect of corm size (4.1-4.5, 4.6-5.0 and 5.1-5.5 cm) and spacing (10 x 20, 15 x 20 and 20 x 20 cm) on growth, flowering and corm production in gladiolus cv. White Prosperity. Largersized corms (5.1-5.5 cm) with wider plant spacing (20 x 20 cm) gave the best performance. Number of days taken to spike emergence, plant height, number of leaves plant-1, spike length, number of florets spike-1 and diameter of floret were observed to be significantly better with larger-sized corms. Minimum days taken to slipping were also found to be due to larger size of the corms. Number of corms plant-1, corm weight, diameter of corm, number of cormel plant-1 and cormels weight plant-1, in terms of both quality and quantity, showed increasing trend with an increasing corm-size and spacing. Therefore, wider spacing and larger corm size may be recommended for realising better quality and higher production in gladiolus cv. White Prosperity under Kashmir conditions

A CLEAN-based Method for Deconvolving Interstellar Pulse Broadening from Radio Pulses

Multipath propagation in the interstellar medium distorts radio pulses, an effect predominant for distant pulsars observed at low frequencies. Typically, broadened pulses are analyzed to determine the amount of propagation-induced pulse broadening, but with little interest in determining the undistorted pulse shapes. In this paper we develop and apply a method that recovers both the intrinsic pulse shape and the pulse broadening function that describes the scattering of an impulse. The method resembles the CLEAN algorithm used in synthesis imaging applications, although we search for the best pulse broadening function, and perform a true deconvolution to recover intrinsic pulse structre. As figures of merit to optimize the deconvolution, we use the positivity and symmetry of the deconvolved result along with the mean square residual and the number of points below a given threshold. Our method makes no prior assumptions about the intrinsic pulse shape and can be used for a range of scattering functions for the interstellar medium. It can therefore be applied to a wider variety of measured pulse shapes and degrees of scattering than the previous approaches. We apply the technique to both simulated data and data from Arecibo observations.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

A Proposal to Localize Fermi GBM GRBs Through Coordinated Scanning of the GBM Error Circle via Optical Telescopes

We investigate the feasibility of implementing a system that will coordinate ground-based optical telescopes to cover the Fermi GBM Error Circle (EC). The aim of the system is to localize GBM detected GRBs and facilitate multi-wavelength follow-up from space and ground. This system will optimize the observing locations in the GBM EC based on individual telescope location, Field of View (FoV) and sensitivity. The proposed system will coordinate GBM EC scanning by professional as well as amateur astronomers around the world. The results of a Monte Carlo simulation to investigate the feasibility of the project are presented.Comment: 2011 Fermi Symposium proceedings - eConf C11050

Direct Measurement of the Top Quark Charge at Hadron Colliders

We consider photon radiation in tbar-t events at the upgraded Fermilab Tevatron and the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) as a tool to measure the electric charge of the top quark. We analyze the contributions of tbar-t-gamma production and radiative top quark decays to p-p, pbar-p -> gamma l^+/- nu bbar-b jj, assuming that both b-quarks are tagged. With 20~fb^{-1} at the Tevatron, the possibility that the ``top quark'' discovered in Run I is actually an exotic charge -4/3 quark can be ruled out at the 95% confidence level. At the LHC, it will be possible to determine the charge of the top quark with an accuracy of about 10%.Comment: Revtex, 24 pages, 2 tables, 9 figure

Prevalence of Dystocia in Sheep and Goats: A Study of 70 Cases (2004-2011)

A total of seventy (70) sheep and goats, suffering from dystocia were included in this retrospective study. At the time of presentation 28.57% of the animals were recumbent. More than half (54.29%) of the total cases were referred after unsuccessful handling. Significantly highest prevalence was recorded in sheep during first lambing, in winter season and in the dams carrying male fetuses (p ≤ 0.05). The average weight of male and female fetuses was 3.14 and 2.75 kg respectively. Foetal dystocia (54.29%) out-numbered maternal causes (37.14%). Both maternal and fetal causes accounted for 8.57% of the dystocia. Head deviation, fore limb flexion, breech presentation, dog sitting position and fetal monstrosities were the common fetal causes. Ring womb, the most common maternal cause of dystocia could be treated by hormones in 33.33% (5/15) cases. Fetuses could be delivered by obstetrical mutation and extraction method in 51.43% (36/70) animals and by caesarean section in the remaining cases. Fetal and dam survival was 23.08% and 94.29% respectively. The average total cost for relieving dystocia in small ruminants by obstetrical mutation and by caesarean (including cost of suture and anaesthesia) was Rs. 215.00 and 570.00 respectively. From this study, it is concluded that in order to obtain high fetal and dam survival and also to reduce the cost of treatment, sheep and goats with dystocia should be presented without undue delay

On-Board Oxygen Generation Using High Performance Molecular Sieve

The majority of high performance combat aircrafts presently being operated by Indian air Force are fitted with conventional oxygen systems in which a replenishable store of oxygen is carried, most often as liquid oxygen and the flow of gas to each crew member is controlled by an individual pressure demand regulator in which the oxygen is diluted with cabin air to provide breathing gas.Moreover, in-flight refueling capability of present generation fighter aircraft has made it possible to fly for long durations (6 to 8 hours). In such case, the oxygen source becomes one of the limiting factors. In order to meet this requirement, a large supply of Gaseous Oxygen (GASOX) or Liquid Oxygen (LOX) have proven to be a costly affair and the Onboard Oxygen Generating System (OBOGS) has become a very convenient and attractive proposal. The OBOGS employs molecular sieves to adsorb nitrogen from engine bleed air using pressure swing adsorption (PSA) technique, wherein two molecular sieve beds are continuously cycled between steps of pressurization (adsorption) and depressurization (desorption) to generate oxygen enriched breathing gas for aircrew. This paper describes the design of OBOGS using high performance Lithium based Low Silica X-type (Li-LSX) molecular sieves and its performance characteristics. It consists of two Zeolite beds filled with Li-LSX material which adsorbs nitrogen fromengine bleed air tapped from Environmental Control System pipe line. The two beds are cycled by a 5/2 way solenoid valve. The input air is supplied to the solenoid valve through a coalescent filter to reduce moisture from it and a pressure regulator is fitted at the upstream of solenoid valve to regulate the system pressure. The experimental setup for evaluation of OBOGS is also discussed. The OBOGS, presented in this paper, meets all the performance requirements as specified in MIL-C-85521 (AS).

Optical Periscopic Imager for Comets (OPIC) Instrument for the Planned Comet Interceptor Mission

This poster presents an update on the development of the Optical Periscopic Imager for Comets (OPIC) instrument [1], which will be hosted on one of three spacecraft making up the Comet Interceptor ESA-JAXA mission [2]. OPIC is a compact ( \u3c 0.5 kg) monochromic camera for taking images of the nucleus and coma of either a long-period or dynamically new comet, or an interstellar object for mapping, reconstruction and localisation purposes. The camera will operate in a harsh environment with continuous dust impacts throughout its multi-day operation; therefore, the instrument is equipped with a periscope, which protects optics from high-velocity impacts. The probe is spin-stabilised at 4-15 RPM and will be parked in Lagrange point L2 (launched with ARIEL telescope) and depart at a suitable time to intercept a target at velocity 10-70 km/s. The closest approach is approximately 400 km