Hith-temperature dehydration melting and decompressive textures in Mg-Al granulites from the Palni hills, South India

The Palni hills form part of the granulite facies terrain of the south Indian shield which contains a variety of rock types.The Mg-Al granulites of the Palni hill display evidence of metamorphic reactions involved in the formation of diverse mineral assemblages documented in different types of reaction textures,coronas and symplectites.Petrographic studies show evidence for melting and decompression reactions that are preserved in individual samples.The UHT assemblage includes some of Opx,Crd,Sil,Grt,Kfs,Qtz,Spr and Bt which coexisted with melt in equilibrium at the thermal peak.In a later stage,the majority of the reactions involve cordierite formation at the expense of partial or complete breakdown of garnet.A possible correlation of similar post-peak decompression textures in the high-grade granulites in the continental fragments of southern India,Sri Lanka,Madagascar and East Antarctica support the probability that they share similar lithologies and thus form an integral part of a megacontinent

Comparative evaluation of maize (Zea mays L.) genotypes based on distinctness, uniformity and stability (DUS) testing using physiological and morphological characters

A major challenge facing those involved in the testing of new plant varieties for Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability (DUS) is the need to compare them against all those of ‘common knowledge’. A set of maize inbred lines was used to compare how morphological and physio- logical characterization described variety relationships. An experiment was carried out to evaluate test of Distinctiveness, Uniformity and Stability using 26 physiological and 12 morphological characters. Minimum days for 50 % tasseling (50.66 and 50.66 days), minimum days for 50 % silking (53.66 and 53.66 days), minimum days for anthesis silking interval (3.0 and 2.6 days), maximum tassel branching (22.66 and 21.66), maximum cob height (89.70 and 89.16 cm) and maximum cob length (16.96 and 17.75 cm) were recorded in genotype AAIMS-1 in both experiments (2011 and 2012 respectively) and maximum cob width (12.51 and 13.11 cm) and maximum number of grain rows per cob (12.66 and 12.66) were recorded in genotype AAIMS-2 in both experiments (2011 and 2012 respectively). But maximum plant height (155.13 and 153.71cm), minimum days for maturity (86.00 and 88.00 days), maximum grain yield per plant (72.80 and 72.00 g) and maximum 100 seed weight (21.51 and 20.96 g) were recorded in genotype AAIMS-2 and AAIMS-1 respectively in both experiments conducted at experimental farm of Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Sam Higginbottom Institute of Agriculture, Technology & Sciences during the year 2011 and 2012 respectively

A Ferredoxin Disulfide Reductase Delivers Electrons to the to the Methanosarcina barkeri Class III Ribonucleotide Reductase

Two subtypes of class III anaerobic ribonucleotide reductases (RNRs) studied so far couple the reduction of ribonucleotides to the oxidation of formate, or the oxidation of NADPH via thioredoxin and thioredoxin reductase. Certain methanogenic archaea contain a phylogenetically distinct third subtype of class III RNR, with distinct active-site residues. Here we report the cloning and recombinant expression of the Methanosarcina barkeri class III RNR and show that the electrons required for ribonucleotide reduction can be delivered by a [4Fe-4S] protein ferredoxin disulfide reductase, and a conserved thioredoxin-like protein NrdH present in the RNR operon. The diversity of class III RNRs reflects the diversity of electron carriers used in anaerobic metabolism.Singapore. Agency for Science, Technology and ResearchNational Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant GM081393

Data-Driven Management: The Impact of Big Data Analytics on Organizational Performance

Inevitably, in such a fast-moving landscape of big data analytics lies the transformative opportunity for any organization to unlock new avenues of growth, operational efficiency, and strategic decision-making. This paper contributes a comprehensive methodology that will help businesses take advantage of big data analytics to secure a continued competitive advantage. At the core of this methodology is to have a robust data governance framework that will establish the security, integrity, and accessibility of the enterprise data assets by specifying relevant policies, processes, and technologies. This, in turn, within such a framework, allows state-of-the-art AI-driven anomaly detection mechanisms for encryption and access control to implement protection measures around sensitive information while enabling secure yet efficient data utilization. The methodology also continues its approach of putting in place an integrated data ecosystem that brings together different pockets or sources of data, such as real-time operation data, customer interaction, and unstructured information. A critical component of this methodology is putting in place the advanced predictive analytics capabilities that could be run based on tapping into the power of machine learning algorithms; by doing so, the organization will be predicting market trends, customer behavior, and risks highly accurately. This will be a very proactive way of making decisions that would let the business efficiently use the available resources, innovate products and services ahead of time, and create a distinctly competitive advantage. The transformative ability of this methodology for big data analytics opened new channels toward growth and innovation and firmly established the organization as an industry leader with long-lasting competitive advantage. The place of data-driven insight, data culture, and responsible data practice has been the key to success in this organization

OptiMediaAI :Transforming Customer Support with AI-Driven Video Innovation

In a customer-first era, effective care is paramount in driving satisfaction and loyalty. OptiMediaAI, an AI-powered video care platform, revolutionizes customer experiences with state-of-the-art technology including AI, machine learning, video communications, and emotion analysis. Personalized, empathetic, and effective contact through NLP, emotion analysis, and gesture analysis enables deeper relationships and reduced attrition of customers. The solution integrates face recognition, speech-to-text, and LSTM-powered chatbots for inclusivity, correct communications, and real-time responsiveness. Meeting both apparent and unobvious customer needs, OptiMediaAI maximizes fulfillment and enables operational perfection. As a 24x7 AI service agent, it transforms customer care into a real-time and efficient experience, driving business and supporting economic growth. OptiMediaAI is an AI-powered customer care breakthrough innovation

Methyl-coenzyme M reductase: Elucidating the process of activation and study of the effect of the methanogenesis inhibitor 3-nitrooxypropanol

To use methane as a biocatalyst, it is important to establish a cell free system to convert the inactive form of methane forming enzyme i.e Methyl-coenzyme M reductase (MCR) to the active form. MCR catalyzes the reversible reduction of methyl-coenzymeM (CH3-S-CoM) and coenzyme B (HS-CoB) to methane and heterodisulfide CoM-S-S-CoB (HDS). It contains the hydroporphinoid nickel complex coenzyme F430 in its active site, and the Ni center has to be in its Ni(I) valence state for the enzyme to be active. Until now, no in vitro method that fully converted the inactive MCRsilent-Ni(II) form to the active MCRred1-Ni(I) form has been described. With the potential use of recombinant MCR in the production of biofuels and the need to better understand this enzyme and its activation process, we studied its activation under nonturnover conditions and achieved full MCR activation in the presence of dithiothreitol and protein components A2, an ATP carrier, and A3a. It was found that the presence of HDS promotes the inactivation of MCRred1, which makes it essential that the activation process is isolated from the methane formation assay, which tends to result in minimal activation rates. Component A3a is a multienzyme complex that includes the mcrC gene product, an Fe-protein homolog, an iron-sulfur flavoprotein, CODH/ACS complex and protein components involved in electron bifurcation. According to our postulated model of activation, electrons from polyferredoxin or an artificial electron source with a potential close to that of polyferredoxin (Eo' ~ 500 mV at pH 7 vs. SHE) can reduce the Fe-S cluster in PISF and concomitant hydrolysis of ATP by the A2 protein/Fe protein homolog will lower the potential of this cluster allowing reduction of the Ni centers on MCR. Activation studies were performed in the presence of the artificial electron sources dithionite (Eo' ~ 420 mV at pH 7 vs. SHE) or Ti (III) citrate (Eo' ~ 500 mV at pH 7 vs. SHE). The rate of methane formation increased almost two fold in the presence of McrC, PISF, the Fe-protein homolog, the A2 protein, and Ti(III) citrate as an artificial electron source. There was no activation observed when dithionite was used instead of Ti(III) citrate. The fact that activation is only observed in the presence of Ti(III)citrate which has a midpoint potential close to that of polyferredoxin (Eo' ~ 500 mV at pH 7 vs. SHE), would be in line with our proposal that polyferredoxin is the direct electron donor and possible A3a protein would be McrC, Iron Sufur Flavoprotein and Fe-Protein Homolog. On the other hand, Methane is an important greenhouse gas and it has a global warming potential 21 times more than that of carbon dioxide. Digestive processes of ruminants contribute a significant amount of methane. It has been estimated that cattle alone are responsible for emission of around 11-17% of methane globally. Additionally, between 2-12% of ingested gross energy of ruminants is lost due to the formation of methane. This loss of energy could be potentially used by the animal. Hence, controlling methane formation is important from the perspective of both environmental impact and animal productivity. 3-Nitrooxypropanol (3-NOP) has been identified and shown to be effective at inhibiting methane production both in vitro and in vivo with no signs of animal toxicity. 3-NOP is speculated to inhibit the key enzyme of methanogenesis, i.e. MCR, however, no studies describing the effect of 3-NOP against MCR have been reported in the literature to date. Considering this fact effect of 3-NOP on MCR was studied and it was found that 3-NOP quenches the active form of MCR via a radical type mechanism in which nitrite is released as a byproduct of this reaction

Ion Size Effects on the Properties of Charge Regulating Electric Double Layers

The behavior of charged interfaces formed in various systems like colloidal solution, fuel cells, battery, electro-deposition, catalysis is governed by the properties of electrical double layer(EDL). Civilized model with charge regulation boundary condition determined by thermodynamic equilibrium at the interface has been used to model electrical double layer and shows that size of the solvent plays a critical role in characterizing the properties of EDL using classical density functional theory.This thesis investigates the impact of ion size in electrolyte solutions on the electrical double layer formed at the interface using a similar model. It is found that ion size greatly enhances the wall and bulk interactions for a ternary Lennard-Jones fluid system consisting of solvent, potential determining ion, positive and negative ion with a negatively charged interface. The surface charge and charge at shear plane are very sensitive to the size of positive ion compared to that of negative ion for a negatively charged wall

Optogenetic Brain Interfaces

The brain is a large network of interconnected neurons where each cell functions as a nonlinear processing element. Unraveling the mysteries of information processing in the complex networks of the brain requires versatile neurostimulation and imaging techniques. Optogenetics is a new stimulation method which allows the activity of neurons to be modulated by light. For this purpose, the cell-types of interest are genetically targeted to produce light-sensitive proteins. Once these proteins are expressed, neural activity can be controlled by exposing the cells to light of appropriate wavelengths. Optogenetics provides a unique combination of features, including multimodal control over neural function and genetic targeting of specific cell-types. Together, these versatile features combine to a powerful experimental approach, suitable for the study of the circuitry of psychiatric and neurological disorders. The advent of optogenetics was followed by extensive research aimed to produce new lines of light-sensitive proteins and to develop new technologies: for example, to control the distribution of light inside the brain tissue or to combine optogenetics with other modalities including electrophysiology, electrocorticography, nonlinear microscopy, and functional magnetic resonance imaging. In this paper, the authors review some of the recent advances in the field of optogenetics and related technologies and provide their vision for the future of the field.United States. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center, Pacific Grant/Contract No. N66001-12-C-4025)University of Wisconsin--Madison (Research growth initiative; grant 101X254)University of Wisconsin--Madison (Research growth initiative; grant 101X172)University of Wisconsin--Madison (Research growth initiative; grant 101X213)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (MRSEC DMR-0819762)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (NSF CAREER CBET-1253890)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (NIH/NIBIB R00 Award (4R00EB008738)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (NIH Director’s New Innovator award (1-DP2-OD002989))Okawa Foundation (Research Grant Award)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (NIH Director’s New Innovator Award (1DP2OD007265))National Science Foundation (U.S.) (NSF CAREER Award (1056008)Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (Fellowship)Human Frontier Science Program (Strasbourg, France) (Grant No. 1351/12)Israeli Centers of Research Excellence (I-CORE grant, program 51/11)MINERVA Foundation (Germany