TinkerCell: Modular CAD Tool for Synthetic Biology

Synthetic biology brings together concepts and techniques from engineering and biology. In this field, computer-aided design (CAD) is necessary in order to bridge the gap between computational modeling and biological data. An application named TinkerCell has been created in order to serve as a CAD tool for synthetic biology. TinkerCell is a visual modeling tool that supports a hierarchy of biological parts. Each part in this hierarchy consists of a set of attributes that define the part, such as sequence or rate constants. Models that are constructed using these parts can be analyzed using various C and Python programs that are hosted by TinkerCell via an extensive C and Python API. TinkerCell supports the notion of a module, which are networks with interfaces. Such modules can be connected to each other, forming larger modular networks. Because TinkerCell associates parameters and equations in a model with their respective part, parts can be loaded from databases along with their parameters and rate equations. The modular network design can be used to exchange modules as well as test the concept of modularity in biological systems. The flexible modeling framework along with the C and Python API allows TinkerCell to serve as a host to numerous third-party algorithms. TinkerCell is a free and open-source project under the Berkeley Software Distribution license. Downloads, documentation, and tutorials are available at www.tinkercell.com.Comment: 23 pages, 20 figure

Metastability and uniqueness of vortex states at depinning

We present results from numerical simulations of transport of vortices in the zero-field cooled (ZFC) and the field-cooled (FC) state of a type-II superconductor. In the absence of an applied current $I$, we find that the FC state has a lower defect density than the ZFC state, and is stable against thermal cycling. On the other hand, by cycling $I$, surprisingly we find that the ZFC state is the stable state. The FC state is metastable as manifested by increasing $I$ to the depinning current $I_{c}$, in which case the FC state evolves into the ZFC state. We also find that all configurations acquire a unique defect density at the depinning transition independent of the history of the initial states.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. Problem of page size correcte

A Relationship Between Ethnocentrism and Purchase Decision Pattern of Consumer in Chennai City

Purpose: This research aimed to find out what causes consumer ethnocentrism. In addition, the study will look into the relationship between ethnocentrism and consumer purchase patterns in Chennai.   Theoretical Framework: Consumers are increasingly confronted with a wide selection of home and foreign products as marketplaces become more globalised. Consumer ethnocentric attitudes are one factor affecting the purchase of domestic versus international products.   Design/Methodology/Approach: A total of 139 consumers in Chennai were polled in this face-to-face study. Correlation and regression tests were used to analyse the data.   Findings: Consumer ethnocentrism is most strongly predicted by the factor 'prejudice.'   Research, Practical & Social Implications: According to the study, consumer ethnocentrism significantly and positively impacts customers' purchasing decision patterns.   Originality/Value: To develop successful marketing tactics inside and outside national borders, marketers must comprehend consumers' ethnocentric tendencies. The study's findings will also help marketers create and tailor their own strategic initiatives for the home market. The results of this study suggest that customer ethnocentrism and consumer shopping habits in Chennai are related

Evaluation of phytochemical and antimicrobial properties of leaf extracts of Ardisia solanacea collected from Pathiramanal Island, Alappuzha District, Kerala State, India

Ardisia solanacea is a large evergreen shrub growing up to a height of 1.5 to 4 meter tall and native to Bangladesh, China, India, Malaya, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. A. solanacea is a one of the important herb reported to contain an array of phytochemicals and is widely used as food and in traditional medicine. The objective of this study was to analyze the phytochemicals present in the dried leaf samples and to evaluate its antibacterial and antifungal properties. For the evaluation of antibacterial and antifungal properties, agar well diffusion method was used. Phytosterols, phenols and tannins were present in all solvent extracts. Higher antibacterial activity was observed in aqueous hot leaf extract against Staphylococcus epidermidis (13 mm), Escherichia coli (12 mm) and Xanthomonas campestris (12 mm) and methanol cold extract showed the highest activity against Bacillus cereus (8 mm), Klebsiella pneumoniae (9 mm), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (10 mm) and Vibrio parahaemolyticus (8mm). Only methanol hot extract showed antifungal properties against Aspergillus fumigatus, Fusarium oxysporum, Rhizoctonia solani and Trichophyton rubrum

Peak Effect in Superconductors: Absence of Phase Transition and Possibility of Jamming in Vortex Matter

The magnetic field $B$ dependence of the critical current $I_c$ for the vortex phase of a disordered superconductor is studied numerically at zero temperature. The $I_{c}(B)$ increases rapidly near the upper critical field $B_{c2}$ similar to the peak effect (PE) phenomenon observed in many superconductors. The real space configuration across the PE changes continuously from a partially ordered domain (polycrystalline) state into an amorphous state. The topological defect density $n_{d}(B)\sim e^{\alpha B^{k}}$ with $k>1$ for $B\geq 0.4B_{c2}$. There is no evidence of a phase transition in the vicinity of the PE suggesting that an order-disorder transition is not essential for the occurrence of the PE phenomenon. An alternative view is presented wherein the vortex system with high dislocation density undergoes jamming at the onset of the PE.Comment: 8 pages and 5 figure

Nanosecond pulsed 620 nm source by frequency-doubling a phosphosilicate Raman fiber amplifier

We demonstrate a nanosecond pulsed source at 620 nm with watt-level average power by frequency-doubling a 1240 nm phosphosilicate Raman fiber amplifier. A gain-switched laser diode operating at 1064 nm is amplified in an ytterbium fiber master oscillator power amplifier system and then converted to 1240 nm using a phosphosilicate Raman fiber amplifier with a conversion efficiency of up to 66%. The Raman fiber amplifier is seeded with a continuous-wave 1240 nm laser diode to obtain narrow-linewidth radiation, which is subsequently frequency-doubled in a periodically poled lithium tantalate crystal. A maximum average power of 1.5 W is generated at 620 nm, corresponding to a pulse energy of 300 nJ at a repetition rate of 5 MHz. The source has excellent beam quality (M2≤1.16) and an optical efficiency (1064 nm to 620 nm) of 20%, demonstrating an effective architecture for generating red pulsed light for biomedical imaging applications

The magnetic environment in the central region of nearby galaxies

The central regions of galaxies harbor some of the most extreme physical phenomena, including dense stellar clusters, non-circular motions of molecular clouds and strong and pervasive magnetic field structures. In particular, radio observations have shown that the central few hundred parsecs of our Galaxy has a striking magnetic field configuration. It is not yet clear whether these magnetic structures are unique to our Milky Way or a common feature of all similar galaxies. Therefore, we report on (a) a new radio polarimetric survey of the central 200 pc of the Galaxy to better characterize the magnetic field structure and (b) a search for large-scale and organized magnetized structure in the nuclear regions of nearby galaxies using data from the Very Large Array (VLA) archive. The high angular resolution of the VLA allows us to study the central 1 kpc of the nearest galaxies to search for magnetized nuclear features similar to what is detected in our own Galactic center. Such magnetic features play a important role in the nuclear regions of galaxies in terms of gas transport and the physical conditions of the interstellar medium in this unusual region of galaxies.Comment: 8 pages; Proceedings for "The Universe under the Microscope" (AHAR 2008), held in Bad Honnef (Germany) in April 2008, to be published in Journal of Physics: Conference Series by Institute of Physics Publishing, R. Schoedel, A. Eckart, S. Pfalzner, and E. Ros (eds.