Evolution of Quantum Discord and its Stability in Two-Qubit NMR Systems

We investigate evolution of quantum correlations in ensembles of two-qubit nuclear spin systems via nuclear magnetic resonance techniques. We use discord as a measure of quantum correlations and the Werner state as an explicit example. We first introduce different ways of measuring discord and geometric discord in two-qubit systems and then describe the following experimental studies: (a) We quantitatively measure discord for Werner-like states prepared using an entangling pulse sequence. An initial thermal state with zero discord is gradually and periodically transformed into a mixed state with maximum discord. The experimental and simulated behavior of rise and fall of discord agree fairly well. (b) We examine the efficiency of dynamical decoupling sequences in preserving quantum correlations. In our experimental setup, the dynamical decoupling sequences preserved the traceless parts of the density matrices at high fidelity. But they could not maintain the purity of the quantum states and so were unable to keep the discord from decaying. (c) We observe the evolution of discord for a singlet-triplet mixed state during a radio-frequency spin-lock. A simple relaxation model describes the evolution of discord, and the accompanying evolution of fidelity of the long-lived singlet state, reasonably well.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, Phys. Rev. A (in press

Conceptual Model for Smart Cities: Irrigation and Highway Lamps using IoT

Keeping in mind the need to preserve energy as well as utilize the available at its best the need was felt to develop a module that would be able to sort out the problem where resources such as water and electricity were wasted, in urban as well as rural area. Resource (electricity) was wasted as beside the point operation of Highway & High Mast Lamp; while wastage of water followed by improper trends and methodologies imparted for watering of city park, road side plantation and highway plantation. Thus as per Energy survey statistics of a City (Lucknow, India) it was found that major portion of resources (water and electricity) were being wasted due to negligent activities of officials who were in charge of resource management. So to facilitate energy saving trends and to completely modernize it to autonomous system, module below is proposed which incorporates modern technological peripheral and has its base ingrained in IoT (Internet of Things) which when put into consideration would result in large scale resource and energy saving.This developed module incorporates the peripherals such as Arduino, Texas Instruments ultra low power kits etc. in accordance with software technology including Lab View which help to monitor as well as control the various operation from the base station, located far away from the site. Lab View Interface interacts with all the module located at various city parks, subways and highway lighting modules. Later below in several section a detailed pattern and application frame has been put up

Lapatinib-binding protein kinases in the African trypanosome: identification of cellular targets for kinase-directed chemical scaffolds.

Human African trypanosomiasis is caused by the eukaryotic microbe Trypanosoma brucei. To discover new drugs against the disease, one may use drugs in the clinic for other indications whose chemical scaffolds can be optimized via a medicinal chemistry campaign to achieve greater potency against the trypanosome. Towards this goal, we tested inhibitors of human EGFR and/or VEGFR as possible anti-trypanosome compounds. The 4-anilinoquinazolines canertinib and lapatinib, and the pyrrolopyrimidine AEE788 killed bloodstream T. brucei in vitro with GI(50) in the low micromolar range. Curiously, the genome of T. brucei does not encode EGFR or VEGFR, indicating that the drugs recognize alternate proteins. To discover these novel targets, a trypanosome lysate was adsorbed to an ATP-sepharose matrix and washed with a high salt solution followed by nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD(+)). Proteins that remained bound to the column were eluted with drugs, and identified by mass spectrometry/bioinformatics. Lapatinib bound to Tb927.4.5180 (termed T. brucei lapatinib-binding protein kinase-1 (TbLBPK1)) while AEE788 bound Tb927.5.800 (TbLBPK2). When the NAD(+) wash was omitted from the protocol, AEE788, canertinib and lapatinib eluted TbLBPK1, TbLBPK2, and Tb927.3.1570 (TbLBPK3). In addition, both canertinib and lapatinib eluted Tb10.60.3140 (TbLBPK4), whereas only canertinib desorbed Tb10.61.1880 (TbCBPK1). Lapatinib binds to a unique conformation of protein kinases. To gain insight into the structural basis for lapatinib interaction with TbLBPKs, we constructed three-dimensional models of lapatinib•TbLBPK complexes, which confirmed that TbLBPKs can adopt lapatinib-compatible conformations. Further, lapatinib, AEE788, and canertinib were docked to TbLBPKs with favorable scores. Our studies (a) present novel targets of kinase-directed drugs in the trypanosome, and (b) offer the 4-anilinoquinazoline and pyrrolopyrimidines as scaffolds worthy of medicinal chemistry and structural biology campaigns to develop them into anti-trypanosome drugs

Observational study of tympanic membrane changes in allergic rhinitis

Background: Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a common condition affecting 20-30% of the population. This condition affects not only the nose but also the sinuses and ears in many ways. Many studies are there worldwide implicating AR as a cause of serous otitis media. But only few studies have actually studied the tympanic membrane (TM) changes observed in patients with allergic rhinitis. The aim of this study is to document the TM changes observed in patients with AR and to correlate them with the duration of symptoms and also influence of prior treatment of AR on the TM changes observed.Methods: A total of 111 patients and so 222 ears were studied. A detailed history of the duration of symptoms and any prior treatment for AR was recorded. The TM changes seen were classified and recorded. The duration of disease and treatment were taken as grouping variables and the tympanic membrane changes were ranked and used as testing variable. The results were statistically analyzed using non- parametric test, Kruskal – Wallis test.Results: There was no statistically significant correlation between duration of AR and the TM changes observed. However there was a significantly less number of patients with TM retraction observed in the patients who had taken prior treatment compared to those patients who had taken no prior treatment.Conclusions: It is concluded that institution of early treatment may prevent development of Eustachian tube dysfunction and TM changes in patients with AR

Silymarin Protects Epidermal Keratinocytes from Ultraviolet Radiation-Induced Apoptosis and DNA Damage by Nucleotide Excision Repair Mechanism

Solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation is a well recognized epidemiologic risk factor for melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers. This observation has been linked to the accumulation of UVB radiation-induced DNA lesions in cells, and that finally lead to the development of skin cancers. Earlier, we have shown that topical treatment of skin with silymarin, a plant flavanoid from milk thistle (Silybum marianum), inhibits photocarcinogenesis in mice; however it is less understood whether chemopreventive effect of silymarin is mediated through the repair of DNA lesions in skin cells and that protect the cells from apoptosis. Here, we show that treatment of normal human epidermal keratinocytes (NHEK) with silymarin blocks UVB-induced apoptosis of NHEK in vitro. Silymarin reduces the amount of UVB radiation-induced DNA damage as demonstrated by reduced amounts of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs) and as measured by comet assay, and that ultimately may lead to reduced apoptosis of NHEK. The reduction of UV radiation-induced DNA damage by silymarin appears to be related with induction of nucleotide excision repair (NER) genes, because UV radiation-induced apoptosis was not blocked by silymarin in NER-deficient human fibroblasts. Cytostaining and dot-blot analysis revealed that silymarin repaired UV-induced CPDs in NER-proficient fibroblasts from a healthy individual but did not repair UV-induced CPD-positive cells in NER-deficient fibroblasts from patients suffering from xeroderma pigmentosum complementation-A disease. Similarly, immunohistochemical analysis revealed that silymarin did not reduce the number of UVB-induced sunburn/apoptotic cells in the skin of NER-deficient mice, but reduced the number of sunburn cells in their wild-type counterparts. Together, these results suggest that silymarin exert the capacity to reduce UV radiation-induced DNA damage and, thus, prevent the harmful effects of UV radiation on the genomic stability of epidermal cells

Assessing landscape changes of catchment area of Upper Lake Bhopal using patch analysis

Anthropogenic activities impart serious challenges on wetland management. The issues of Anthropogenic Activities manifest in the form of environmental degradation, point and non-point source pollution of lake water. Catchment area of upper lake Bhopal has been witnessing the same scenario; raising the question of its planning and management to control water pollution. It shows the necessity to analyse and study the pattern of land use & land cover(LULC). In order to assess the LULC pattern and spatio-temporal dynamics the changing pattern of patch number(NP), class area(CA), mean patch size(MPS), mean shape index (MSI), Shannon’s Diversity index(SHDI), Simpson’s Diversity Index(SDI) of all land use/land cover categories. In this researchpaper above mentioned parameters were measured and analyzed for landuse/landcover change from year 2003 to 2011. Area of agriculture and built up land expanded 16.18% and 4.77% while number of patches reduced by 332 and 187 for these two classes respectively. On the other hand class area of vegetation and barren land reduced 9.33% and 11.62%. Few patches of vegetation completely eliminated resulted in reduction of number of patches by 1250. Increased no. of patches of barren land by 150 shows fragmentation. Reduction in diversity indices indicates that area becomes less diversified during study period. During the period of 2003 to 2011 shape of patches of agriculture and built up land becomes more complex and that of barren land and vegetation converted to simpler shape. These indices provided meaningful insights pertaining to the spatiotemporal dynamics prevailing in the catchment area of Upper Lake Bhopal

Impact of institutional educational program on compliance of implementation of surviving sepsis campaign guidelines, total ICU and hospital mortality

Background: To determine whether educational program based on the surviving sepsis campaign (SSC) guidelines affects the compliance of implementation of SSC guidelines, total ICU and hospital mortality.Methods: A prospective observational study conducted in adult patients with severe sepsis or septic shock admitted to 11 bedded adult medical and surgical ICU of Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. In pre-education period all patients in ICU were daily screened according to severe sepsis screening tool and followed up daily during their entire period of ICU stay. Outcome measures were compliance of implementation of SSC guidelines, total ICU and hospital mortality noted. Education program of resident doctors of the ICU, emergency department, medical and surgical units was carried out. Post-education period data noted similar to the pre-education period. Comparative statistics applied by using Chi-square test and paired Student t-test.Results: Compliance to all resuscitative measures in SSC guideline both 3 hour and 6 hour bundles significantly improved after education program (P-value 0.014). In pre-education period 33.3% patients were treated with complete implementation of SSC Guidelines Bundles compared to 63.6% in post-education period. Total ICU mortality and hospital mortality did not change significantly after education program during study period. Total ICU mortality during pre-education period was 29.52% as compared to 25.45% in post-education period (P-value 0.44) while total hospital mortality in pre-education period was 5.18% as compared to 5.62% in post-education period (P-value 0.07).Conclusions: The Institutional educational program has significant impact on increasing compliance to both 3 hour and 6 hour bundles in SSC guideline but failed to show any significant impact on decreasing overall total ICU and hospital mortality

Micromechanics-Based Structural Analysis (FEAMAC) and Multiscale Visualization within Abaqus/CAE Environment

A unified framework is presented that enables coupled multiscale analysis of composite structures and associated graphical pre- and postprocessing within the Abaqus/CAE environment. The recently developed, free, Finite Element Analysis--Micromechanics Analysis Code (FEAMAC) software couples NASA's Micromechanics Analysis Code with Generalized Method of Cells (MAC/GMC) with Abaqus/Standard and Abaqus/Explicit to perform micromechanics based FEA such that the nonlinear composite material response at each integration point is modeled at each increment by MAC/GMC. The Graphical User Interfaces (FEAMAC-Pre and FEAMAC-Post), developed through collaboration between SIMULIA Erie and the NASA Glenn Research Center, enable users to employ a new FEAMAC module within Abaqus/CAE that provides access to the composite microscale. FEA IAC-Pre is used to define and store constituent material properties, set-up and store composite repeating unit cells, and assign composite materials as sections with all data being stored within the CAE database. Likewise FEAMAC-Post enables multiscale field quantity visualization (contour plots, X-Y plots), with point and click access to the microscale i.e., fiber and matrix fields)

Morphological adaptation in an energy efficient vibration-based robot

Morphological computation is a concept relevant to robots made of soft and elastic materials. It states that robot's rich dynamics can be exploited to generate desirable behaviors, which can be altered when their morphology is adapted accordingly. This paper presents a low-cost robot made of elastic curved beam driven by a motor, with morphological computation and adaptation ability. Simply by changing robot's shape and the rotating frequency of the motor that vibrates the robot's body, the robot is able to shift its behavior from showing a tendency to slide when it needs to perform tasks like going under confined space, to have more tendency to hop diagonally forward when the robot stands upright. It will also be shown that based on the proposed mechanism, the energy efficiency of the robot locomotion can be maximized