Simple Pendulum Revisited

We describe a 8085 microprocessor interface developed to make reliable time period measurements. The time period of each oscillation of a simple pendulum was measured using this interface. The variation of the time period with increasing oscillation was studied for the simple harmonic motion (SHM) and for large angle initial displacements (non-SHM). The results underlines the importance of the precautions which the students are asked to take while performing the pendulum experiment.Comment: 17 pages with 10 figure

Barnacle larval transport in the Mandovi–Zuari estuarine system, central west coast of India

A two-dimensional hydrodynamic and particle tracking model was used to estimate the dispersion and retention of barnacle larvae from their possible spawning sites in a tropical monsoon-influenced estuarine system (central west coast of India). Validation of the hydrodynamic simulations yielded a good match with field measurements. The pattern of larval dispersal in the region varied with the winds and currents. The seasonal changes in abundance could be attributed to physical forcing and weather conditions. The extent of barnacle larval dispersal from spawning sites varied from 10 to 78 km for different sites and seasons. During a 24-h cycle, the larval abundance showed one to two peaks in the estuarine area. The increased larval abundance is favored by the flood currents, pushing the larvae into the estuary. Physical forcing in the region helps in transport of the larvae from their spawning sites hugging to the coast and contributing to the population within the estuary. Field observations and numerical experiments suggest the occurrence of higher larval abundance in the estuary during post-monsoon. The dispersal pattern indicated that the barnacle population present in the estuary is well mixed, and with a seasonally changing pattern

Future Logistics: What to Expect, How to Adapt

As a result of global societal and economic as well as technological developments logistics and supply chains face unprecedented challenges. Climate change, the need for more sustainable products and processes, major political changes, the advance of “Industry 4.0” and cyber-physical system are some of the challenges that require radical solutions, but also present major opportunities. The authors argue that logistics has to reinvent itself, not only to address these chal-lenges but also to cope with mass individualization on the one hand while exploit-ing broad-fielded business applications of artificial intelligence on the other hand. An essential challenge will be to find a compromise between these two develop-ments – in line and in combination with the known triple-bottom line for sustaina-bility – that will define supply chains and logistics concepts of the future

First narrow-band search for continuous gravitational waves from known pulsars in advanced detector data

Spinning neutron stars asymmetric with respect to their rotation axis are potential sources of continuous gravitational waves for ground-based interferometric detectors. In the case of known pulsars a fully coherent search, based on matched filtering, which uses the position and rotational parameters obtained from electromagnetic observations, can be carried out. Matched filtering maximizes the signalto- noise (SNR) ratio, but a large sensitivity loss is expected in case of even a very small mismatch between the assumed and the true signal parameters. For this reason, narrow-band analysis methods have been developed, allowing a fully coherent search for gravitational waves from known pulsars over a fraction of a hertz and several spin-down values. In this paper we describe a narrow-band search of 11 pulsars using data from Advanced LIGO’s first observing run. Although we have found several initial outliers, further studies show no significant evidence for the presence of a gravitational wave signal. Finally, we have placed upper limits on the signal strain amplitude lower than the spin-down limit for 5 of the 11 targets over the bands searched; in the case of J1813-1749 the spin-down limit has been beaten for the first time. For an additional 3 targets, the median upper limit across the search bands is below the spin-down limit. This is the most sensitive narrow-band search for continuous gravitational waves carried out so far

Benzothiazinones kill Mycobacterium tuberculosis by blocking arabinan synthesis

New drugs are required to counter the tuberculosis (TB) pandemic. Here, we describe the synthesis and characterization of 1,3-benzothiazin-4-ones (BTZs), a new class of antimycobacterial agents that kill Mycobacterium tuberculosis in vitro, ex vivo, and in mouse models of TB. Using genetics and biochemistry, we identified the enzyme decaprenylphosphoryl-beta-d-ribose 2'-epimerase as a major BTZ target. Inhibition of this enzymatic activity abolishes the formation of decaprenylphosphoryl arabinose, a key precursor that is required for the synthesis of the cell-wall arabinans, thus provoking cell lysis and bacterial death. The most advanced compound, BTZ043, is a candidate for inclusion in combination therapies for both drug-sensitive and extensively drug-resistant TB

Unraveling the Shift to the Entrepreneurial Economy

A recent literature has emerged providing compelling evidence that a major shift in the organization of the developed economies has been taking place: away from what has been characterized as the managed economy towards the entrepreneurial economy. In particular, the empirical evidence provides consistent support that (1) the role of entrepreneurship has significantly increased, and (2) a positive relationship exists between entrepreneurial activity and economic performance. However, the factors underlying this observed shift have not been identified in a systematic manner. The purpose of this paper is to suggest some of the factors leading to this shift and implications for public policy. In particular, we find that a fundamental catalyst underlying the shift from the managed to the entrepreneurial economy involved the role of technological change. However, we also find that it was not just technological change but rather involved a number of supporting factors, ranging from the demise of the communist system, increased globalization, new competition for multinational firms and higher levels of prosperity. Recognition of the causes of the shift from the managed to the entrepreneurial economy suggests a rethinking of the public policy approach. Rather than the focus of directly and exclusively on promoting startups and SMEs, it may be that the current approach to entrepreneurship policy is misguided. The priority should not be on entrepreneurship policy but rather a more pervasive and encompassing approach, policy consistent with an entrepreneurial economy

Constructing a Distant Future: Imaginaries in Geoengineering

We develop the concept of the distant future as a new way of seeing the future in collective efforts. While a near future is represented in practical terms and concerned with forming expectations and goals under conditions of uncertainty, a distant future is represented in stylized terms and concerned with imagining possibilities under conditions of ambiguity. Management research on future-oriented action has developed around problems of the near future. To explore distant futures, we analyze the case of geoengineering, a set of planetary-scale technologies that have been proposed as solutions to the threat of climate change. Geoengineering has increasingly been treated as if it were a reality, despite continued controversy and in the absence of any implementation. We find that societal-level imaginaries that were built on deeply-held moral bases and cosmologies underpinned the conception of geoengineering, and that a dialectic process of discursive attempts to reconcile oppositional imaginaries increased the concreteness and credibility of geoengineering so that it increasingly has been treated as an ‘as-if’ reality. We suggest that distant futures orient collective efforts in distinctive ways, not as concrete guides for action but by expressing critiques and alternatives, that can become treated as ‘as-if’ realities

Improving the biopharmaceutical attributes of mangiferin using vitamin E-TPGS co-loaded self-assembled phosholipidic nano-mixed micellar systems

The current research work encompasses the development, characterization, and evaluation of self-assembled phospholipidic nano-mixed miceller system (SPNMS) of a poorly soluble BCS Class IV xanthone bioactive, mangiferin (Mgf) functionalized with co-delivery of vitamin E TPGS. Systematic optimization using I-optimal design yielded self-assembled phospholipidic nano-micelles with a particle size of  80% of drug release in 15 min. The cytotoxicity and cellular uptake studies performed using MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cell lines demonstrated greater kill and faster cellular uptake. The ex vivo intestinal permeability revealed higher lymphatic uptake, while in situ perfusion and in vivo pharmacokinetic studies indicated nearly 6.6- and 3.0-folds augmentation in permeability and bioavailability of Mgf. In a nutshell, vitamin E functionalized SPNMS of Mgf improved the biopharmaceutical performance of Mgf in rats for enhanced anticancer potency

Supplement: "Localization and broadband follow-up of the gravitational-wave transient GW150914" (2016, ApJL, 826, L13)

This Supplement provides supporting material for Abbott et al. (2016a). We briefly summarize past electromagnetic (EM) follow-up efforts as well as the organization and policy of the current EM follow-up program. We compare the four probability sky maps produced for the gravitational-wave transient GW150914, and provide additional details of the EM follow-up observations that were performed in the different bands