Water poverty in the northeastern hill region (India): potential alleviation through multiple-use water systems: cross-learnings from Nepal Hills

Water poverty index / Construction / Multiple use / Water storage / Farming systems / Villages / Social aspects / Drip irrigation / India / Nepal / Nagaland / Mon district / Lampong Sheanghah

An improved block matching algorithm for motion estimation in video sequences and application in robotics

Block Matching is one of the most efficient techniques for motion estimation for video sequences. Metaheuristic algorithms have been used effectively for motion estimation. In this paper, we propose two hybrid algorithms: Artificial Bee Colony with Differential Evolution and Harmony Search with Differential Evolution based motion estimation algorithms. Extensive experiments are conducted using four standard video sequences. The video sequences utilized for experimentation have all essential features such as different formats, resolutions and number of frames which are generally required in input video sequences. We compare the performance of the proposed algorithms with other algorithms considering various parameters such as Structural Similarity, Peak Signal to Noise Ratio, Average Number of Search Points etc. The comparative results demonstrate that the proposed algorithms outperformed other algorithms

Cell transformation assays for prediction of carcinogenic potential: State of the science and future research needs

Copyright @ 2011 The Authors. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Cell transformation assays (CTAs) have long been proposed as in vitro methods for the identification of potential chemical carcinogens. Despite showing good correlation with rodent bioassay data, concerns over the subjective nature of using morphological criteria for identifying transformed cells and a lack of understanding of the mechanistic basis of the assays has limited their acceptance for regulatory purposes. However, recent drivers to find alternative carcinogenicity assessment methodologies, such as the Seventh Amendment to the EU Cosmetics Directive, have fuelled renewed interest in CTAs. Research is currently ongoing to improve the objectivity of the assays, reveal the underlying molecular changes leading to transformation and explore the use of novel cell types. The UK NC3Rs held an international workshop in November 2010 to review the current state of the art in this field and provide directions for future research. This paper outlines the key points highlighted at this meeting

Molecular composition of organic aerosols at urban background and road tunnel sites using ultra-high resolution mass spectrometry

Organic aerosol composition in the urban atmosphere is highly complex and strongly influenced by vehicular emissions which vary according to the make-up of the vehicle fleet. Normalized test measurements do not necessarily reflect real-world emission profiles and road tunnels are therefore ideal locations to characterise realistic traffic particle emissions with minimal interference from other particle sources and from atmospheric aging processes affecting their composition. In the current study, the composition of fine particles (diameter ≤2.5 μm) at an urban background site (Elms Road Observatory Site) and a road tunnel (Queensway) in Birmingham, UK, were analysed with direct infusion, nano-electrospray ionisation ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry (UHRMS). The overall particle composition at these two sites is compared with an industrial harbour site in Cork, Ireland, with special emphasis on oxidised mono-aromatics, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and nitro-aromatics. Different classification criteria, such as double bond equivalents, aromaticity index and aromaticity equivalent are used and compared to assess the fraction of aromatic components in the approximately one thousand oxidized organic compounds at the different sampling locations.University of Birmingham, European Research Council (Grant ID: 279405

Efeito do cruzamento sobre o crescimento de caprinos no Ceará.

Cruzaram-se, na Fazenda Iracema, da Empresa de Pesquisa Agropecuaria do Ceara - EPACE -, em Quixada, CE, 420 cabras Sem Raça Definida (SRD) com reprodutores das raças e/ou tipos Nativos - Marota, Canindé, Moxoto, Repartida e SRD - e exoticas Anglo-Nubiana e Bhuj. Pesaram-se as crias ao nascer e a intervalos de 28 dias até 112 dias (desmama) e a cada dois meses, até 12 meses. 0 peso ao nascer, dos descendentes de raças exoticas, foi maior que o das lrças nativas. Subseqüentemente, os pesos foram idênticos em todos os grupos, refletindo efeito materno. Aos 12 meses, os descendentes de Anglo-Nubiana tenderam a ser mais pesados que os de Bhuj e SRD, e estes, que aqueles das raças nativas (22,09; 20,55 e 19 kg). Os descendentes das raças nativas foram levemente inferiores aos de SRD, mostrando que essas raças podem estar estreitamente relacionadas corn o tipo SRD. Os machos foram mais pesados que as fêmeas, ao nascer (2,28 e 1,94 kg) e no período pos-desmama. Os nascidos de partos simples foram mais pesados que os nascidos de partos gemelares, até seis meses de idade. 0 peso da mae no parto influenciou o peso das crias no nascimento. [Cross-breed effect upon the growth of goats in Ceará state]. Abstract: Four hundred and twenty SRD (nondescripted breed) does were cross-breeded at Iracerna Farm of the Empresa de Pesquisa Agropecuária do Ceará in Quixadá, Ceará, CE, Brazil, with sires of the nativo breeds Marota, Canindé, Repartida, Moxotó and SRD and exotic breeds Anglo-Nubian and Bhuj. The kids were weighed at birth and each 28 days up to weaning and each two months frorn weaning to 12 months of age. At birth, livo weight were higher for exotics cross-breeded kids as compared to native ones. Subsequently, live weights were the sarne for ali kids, showing great maternal effect on the growth of kids. By 12 rnonths old Anglo-Nubian cross-breeded kids were heavier than Bhuj and SRD, and these were heavier than the nativo ones (22.09, 20.55 and 19kg). Nativa breed progeny did not show advantage over SRD crosses. This suggests that native breeds may be closely reiated to SRD. Male kids were havier than female at birth (2.28 to 1.94 kg), and even during post-weaning growth. Kids bom single were heavier than twins from birth to Mx month old. Does weight at parturition affected the kids weight at birth

North-South Distribution of Solar Flares during Cycle 23

In this paper, we investigate the spatial distribution of solar flares in the northern and southern hemisphere of the Sun that occurred during the period 1996 to 2003. This period of investigation includes the ascending phase, the maximum and part of descending phase of solar cycle 23. It is revealed that the flare activity during this cycle is low compared to previous solar cycle, indicating the violation of Gnevyshev-Ohl rule. The distribution of flares with respect to heliographic latitudes shows a significant asymmetry between northern and southern hemisphere which is maximum during the minimum phase of the solar cycle. The present study indicates that the activity dominates the northern hemisphere in general during the rising phase of the cycle (1997-2000). The dominance of northern hemisphere is shifted towards the southern hemisphere after the solar maximum in 2000 and remained there in the successive years. Although the annual variations in the asymmetry time series during cycle 23 are quite different from cycle 22, they are comparable to cycle 21.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, 1 table; Accepted for the publication in the proceedings of international solar workshop held at ARIES, Nainital, India on "Transient Phenomena on the Sun and Interplanetary Medium" in a special issue of "Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy (JAA)

The Dynamical Instability of Static, Spherically Symmetric Solutions in Nonsymmetric Gravitational Theories

We consider the dynamical stability of a class of static, spherically-symmetric solutions of the nonsymmetric gravitational theory. We numerically reproduce the Wyman solution and generate new solutions for the case where the theory has a nontrivial fundamental length scale \mu^{-1}. By considering spherically symmetric perturbations of these solutions we show that the Wyman solutions are generically unstable.Comment: 13 pages, uses amslatex, graphicx and subfigure package