On the landing of spinner dolphin Stenella longirostris at Lawson's Bay, Visakhapatnam

Three adult spinner dolphins were caught by mechanised, fibre-glass, beach landing craft and landed at Lawson's Bay on 19-4-'93 They were caught off RushikondalO km from Visakhapatnam at a depth of 15 metres

Optimal Load Shedding for Public Safety Power Shutoffs

Public utilities are faced with situations where high winds can bring trees and debris into contact with energized power lines and other equipments, which could ignite wildfires. As a result, they need to turn off power during severe weather to help prevent wildfires. This is called Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS). We present a method for load reduction using a multi-step genetic algorithm for Public Safety Power Shutoff events. The proposed method optimizes load shedding using partial load shedding based on load importance (critical loads like hospitals, fire stations, etc). The multi-step genetic algorithm optimizes load shedding while minimizing the impact on important loads and preserving grid stability. The effectiveness of the method is demonstrated through network examples. The results show that the proposed method achieves minimal load shedding while maintaining the critical loads at acceptable levels. This approach will help utilities to effectively manage PSPS events and reduce the risk of wildfires caused by the power lines.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, 3 Tables. Accepted at IEEE ETFG 202

Reconstructing Indian-Australian phylogenetic link

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>An early dispersal of biologically and behaviorally modern humans from their African origins to Australia, by at least 45 thousand years via southern Asia has been suggested by studies based on morphology, archaeology and genetics. However, mtDNA lineages sampled so far from south Asia, eastern Asia and Australasia show non-overlapping distributions of haplogroups within pan Eurasian M and N macrohaplogroups. Likewise, support from the archaeology is still ambiguous.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In our completely sequenced 966-mitochondrial genomes from 26 relic tribes of India, we have identified seven genomes, which share two synonymous polymorphisms with the M42 haplogroup, which is specific to Australian Aborigines.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results showing a shared mtDNA lineage between Indians and Australian Aborigines provides direct genetic evidence of an early colonization of Australia through south Asia, following the "southern route".</p

Studies of preliminary phytochemical and Anti-arthritic activity of heart wood of Cedrus deodar (Roxb.)

ABSTRACT The aim of the research was to validate the use of cedrus deodar in external applications in the ayurvedic system of medicine.and conduct a preliminary phytochemical study of the same to help deduce the possible active ingredients.The petroleum ether, chloroform, alcoholic extracts of the heart wood of Cedrus deodar were prepared by Soxhlet extractor and examined for its external anti arthritic activity in rats using the freunds adjuvant method. The results of the phytochemical study revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, glycosides, phenolic compounds, saponins and proteins. Application of all the three extracts exhibited significant inhibition of CFA (Complete Freund&apos;s Adjuvant) induced rat paw edema when compared with the arthritic control group. These findings seem to justify the use of the plant in traditional Indian medicine in the treatment of inflammation, including arthritic conditions

Effect of organo-modified nanoclay on the mechanical properties of sugar palm fiber-reinforced polyester composites

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of nanoclay on the mechanical properties of sugar palm fiber-reinforced polyester composites. Organo-modified nanoclay (OMMT) was dispersed in unsaturated polyester resin at various weight contents from 1% to 5% using a mechanical stirrer. Naturally woven sugar palm fibers were reinforced in the nanoclay-modified resin, which were then hot compressed to form the composites. The effect of the OMMT weight content on the tensile, flexural, and impact properties of the composites were analyzed. The addition of OMMT resulted in a noticeable improvement in all of the investigated properties, until a certain weight percentage. The tensile properties showed the best improvements at a 2% nanoclay content. However, the 4% nanoclay content resulted in the best enhancements to the flexural and impact properties

Effect of freezing temperature and stacking sequence on the mechanical properties of hybrid fibre metal laminates made with carbon, flax, and sugar palm fibres

Fibre metal laminates (FML) were reinforced with flax and sugar palm fibres in different stacking sequences and exposed to freezing conditions. The effects on the mechanical properties were explored. Both the stacking sequence and freezing condition affected the mechanical properties. The FML with flax fibres showed the highest strength and modulus under tension and bending, while the FML with sugar palm fibres showed the lowest strength and modulus. The FML with flax fibres experienced a fibre bridging effect and showed promising behaviour for aircraft applications by sustaining nearly 40000 cycles of fatigue load. Decreases in the strength, modulus, and fatigue life occurred when the FML specimens were exposed to freezing conditions. Micrographs from the tensile fractured specimens indicated delamination, fibre splitting, fibre breakage, and fibre/matrix de-bonding as the failure pattern for the pristine and conditioned laminates

A systematic review of coastal vulnerability assessment studies along Andhra Pradesh, India: A critical evaluation of data gathering, risk levels and mitigation strategies

The establishment and alteration of any coastal feature is largely dependent upon complex hydrological and geomorphologic processes. Therefore, understanding hazard factors and threat risk level is crucial for mitigating risk in coastal zones. This study examines coastal vulnerability factors and their influence along the Coastal Andhra Pradesh (CAP) region in India. CAP has been exposed to frequent hydrological and meteorological hazards due to variations in the geographical, geological, and bathymetric characteristics. Despite substantial vulnerabilities, the risk to the coastline of Andhra Pradesh has not been rigorously evaluated. The current research systematically reviews the drivers and effects of hazards and vulnerabilities in CAP. Findings indicate that urban cities have a considerably higher risk of cyclones and floods due to their locations on the Bay of Bengal tectonic plate, the topology of this coastal region and higher population density. The study revealed that the Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI) data along CAP is mostly gathered using low-resolution satellite data and/or field observation surveys. The study further revealed that there are very few existing mitigation strategies developed or discussed within the obtained results. However, more accurate data gathering techniques for coastal vulnerability factors are available such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs): Air-borne and LiDAR sensors which provide very high resolution data and low-cost accessibility to physically inaccessible places, making them suitable for vulnerability data collection in coastal locations. These findings are useful for stakeholders seeking to reduce or ameliorate the impact of coastal disasters and their impacts on the CAP economy, environment and population. The study further helps to reduce the existing shortcomings in the assessment techniques used previously

Suppression of uPA and uPAR Attenuates Angiogenin Mediated Angiogenesis in Endothelial and Glioblastoma Cell Lines

In our earlier reports, we showed that downregulation of uPA and uPAR inhibited glioma tumor angiogenesis in SNB19 cells, and intraperitoneal injection of a hairpin shRNA expressing plasmid targeting uPA and uPAR inhibited angiogenesis in nude mice. The exact mechanism by which inhibition of angiogenesis takes place is not clearly understood.In the present study, we have attempted to investigate the mechanism by which uPA/uPAR downregulation by shRNA inhibits angiogenesis in endothelial and glioblastoma cell lines. uPA/uPAR downregulation by shRNA in U87 MG and U87 SPARC co-cultures with endothelial cells inhibited angiogenesis as assessed by in vitro angiogenesis assay and in vivo dorsal skin-fold chamber model in nude mice. Protein antibody array analysis of co-cultures of U87 and U87 SPARC cells with endothelial cells treated with pU2 (shRNA against uPA and uPAR) showed decreased angiogenin secretion and angiopoietin-1 as well as several other pro-angiogenic molecules. Therefore, we investigated the role of angiogenin and found that nuclear translocation, ribonucleolytic and 45S rRNA synthesis, which are all critical for angiogenic function of angiogenin, were significantly inhibited in endothelial cells transfected with uPA, uPAR and uPA/uPAR when compared with controls. Moreover, uPA and uPAR downregulation significantly inhibited the phosphorylation of Tie-2 receptor and also down regulated FKHR activation in the nucleus of endothelial cells via the GRB2/AKT/BAD pathway. Treatment of endothelial cells with ruPA increased angiogenin secretion and angiogenin expression as determined by ELISA and western blotting in a dose-dependent manner. The amino terminal fragment of uPA down regulated ruPA-induced angiogenin in endothelial cells, thereby suggesting that uPA plays a critical role in positively regulating angiogenin in glioblastoma cells.Taken together, our results suggest that uPA/uPAR downregulation suppresses angiogenesis in endothelial cells induced by glioblastoma cell lines partially by downregulation of angiogenin and by inhibition of the angiopoietin-1/AKT/FKHR pathway

Role of VEGF and matrix metalloproteinase-9 in peritumoral brain edema associated with supratentorial benign meningiomas

Accumulating evidence indicates that VEGF and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) play a central role in the development of peritumoral brain edema (PTBE) associated with human brain tumors. However, the roles of these proteins, particularly of MMP-9, in PTBE associated with benign meningiomas have not been elucidated. We investigated the association between clinical features and biological factors, such as VEGF and MMP-9, and the incidence of PTBE and edema index (EI) in 60 patients with benign meningiomas. In this study, supratentorial lesions were examined for evaluating the extent of PTBE in the surrounding normal brain tissue. VEGF and MMP-9 expression was immunohistochemically examined. Multivariate analysis revealed that the presence of pial blood supply (odds ratio [OR] 12.250; P = 0.0096) and VEGF (OR 7.683; P = 0.0155), but not MMP-9 (OR 1.178; P = 0.8113), expression are significant factors that independently predict the incidence of PTBE and influence EI. VEGF (P = 0.0397) and MMP-9 (P = 0.0057) expression correlates with the presence of pial blood supply. Moreover, tumors with high VEGF and MMP-9 expression had higher EIs than those with high expression of either (P = 0.030). Our findings suggest that MMP-9 expression was positively related to VEGF expression and pial blood supply and promoted the occurrence of PTBE by inducing the disruption of the arachnoid membrane and formation of pial blood supply