Effect of loop length variation on quadruplex-Watson Crick duplex competition

The effect of loop length on quadruplex stability has been studied when the G-rich strand is present along with its complementary C-rich strand, thereby resulting in competition between quadruplex and duplex structures. Using model sequences with loop lengths varying from T to T5, we carried out extensive FRET to discover the influence of loop length on the quadruplex-Watson Crick duplex competition. The binding data show an increase in the binding affinity of quadruplexes towards their complementary strands upon increasing the loop length. Our kinetic data reveal that unfolding of the quadruplex in presence of a complementary strand involves a contribution from a predominant slow and a small population of fast opening conformer. The contribution from the fast opening conformer increases upon increasing the loop length leading to faster duplex formation. FCS data show an increase in the interconversion between the quadruplex conformers in presence of the complementary strand, which shifts the equilibrium towards the fast opening conformer with an increase in loop length. The relative free-energy difference (ΔΔ G °) between the duplex and quadruplex indicates that an increase in loop length favors duplex formation and out competes the quadruplex

Object Recognition Using Perspective Glass For Blind/Visually Impaired

Perspective glass is wearable pair of glass which is designed for blind people which helps them in resolving a major difficulty they face such as identifying the objects or obstacles present before them during walking. The Perspective glass consists of a raspberry pi board, 5mpcamera, ultrasonic sensors, buzzer, headphone, power source. This glass is controlled by a Power button which when pushed ON, will take pictures of the surroundings with respect to the position of the person wearing it. The clarity and the resolution of the picture purely reside on the camera used. The captured information is transferred to the application software which is manually built with the help of Fire Base application. The transferred data is then analyzed with the help of library files that are interfaced to the application via Neural Network “Tensor Flow”. Finally the captured image is recognized with the help of Tensor Flow, and the information regarding the object is given out as a voice output to the person via speaker/headphones. All the components are interfaced to the Raspberry pi board which act as the central processing unit. It has the overall control on this setup. In addition to that an Ultrasonic Sensor is connected to the setup which when sensing an obstacle within a particular distancze of 3 meter, will produce a buzzer sound instantly giving a caution alert to the blind person. The overall setup is powered through an external power source (power bank). These Smart Glasses for Blind people is a portable device, easy to use, light weight, and user friendly. These glasses could easily guide the blind people and help them in better handling of obstacles.                    

Study on interventions to reduce vibration transmission to power tiller operator

Present study focuses on interventions to reduce vibration transmitted to power tiller operator. In this study two operations (namely: standing mode and transportation) and three forward speeds (1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 kmh-1) were selected. In both selected operations vibration magnitudes were maximum at 2.0 kmh-1. In the standing mode vibration magnitudes in x, y and z direction were 5.83, 1.37 and 2.36 ms -2 at 2.0 kmh-1. In transportation vibration magnitudes were 6.81, 1.49, 2.82 ms-2 respectively in x, y and z direction at 2.0 kmh-1. The selection of vibration isolators were done on the basis of the transmissibility curves and the isolation region. The selected isolators were installed at interface between engine and the chassis. These interventions along with previously developed bush and sheet type interventions reduced vibrations up to 50.24, 69.06 and 59.08 % at 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 kmh-1 in stationary mode. In transportation vibration reduction were 52.96, 65.98 and 36.67 % at 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 kmh-1, respectively. The vibration reduction were high in stationary mode than transportation mode because in stationary mode vibration comes only from the engine but in transportation vibration comes from engine and the surface profile as well

Effect of Temperature and Period of Storage on Breaking Dormancy in Gladiolus (Gladiolus grandiflorus Hort.) Corms

An experiment was conducted in 2010-2011 at Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bengaluru, on three gladiolus cultivars viz., 'Arka Amar', 'Darshan' and 'Kum Kum' to study effects of storage temperature (4°C and room temperature 27±2°C) and length of storage (50, 70 and 90 days) on dormancy of corms. Cv. 'Kum Kum' registered minimum number of days for sprouting (42.71 days), spike emergence (116 days) and days to opening of first floret (128 days). Corms stored at 4°C resulted in lowest number of days for-sprouting (45.24 days), days to spike emergence (114.63 days) and days to opening of first floret (126.60 days) and resulted in highest sprouting percentage (58.7%). Interaction effects revealed that cv. 'Kum Kum' stored at 4°C for 90 days after harvest took minimum number of days to sprouting (25.07 days), days to spike emergence (90.38 days) and days to opening of first floret (102.38 days) resulting in 100% sprouting

Beach Morphological Characteristics and Coastal Processes Along Dakshina Kannada Coast, West Coast of India

Source: ICHE Conference Archive - https://mdi-de.baw.de/icheArchiv

Far-Ultraviolet to Near-Infrared Observations of SN 2023ixf: A high energy explosion engulfed in complex circumstellar material

We present early-phase panchromatic photometric and spectroscopic coverage spanning far-ultraviolet (FUV) to the near-infrared (NIR) regime of the nearest hydrogen-rich core-collapse supernova in the last 25 years, SN~2023ixf. We observe early `flash' features in the optical spectra due to a confined dense circumstellar material (CSM). We observe high-ionization absorption lines Fe II, Mg II in the ultraviolet spectra from very early on. We also observe a multi-peaked emission profile of H-alpha in the spectrum beginning ~16 d, which indicates ongoing interaction of the SN ejecta with a pre-existing shell-shaped CSM having an inner radius of ~ 75 AU and an outer radius of ~140 AU. The shell-shaped CSM is likely a result of enhanced mass loss ~ 35 - 65 years before the explosion assuming a standard Red-Supergiant wind. Spectral modeling of the FUV, NUV, and the optical spectra during 9-12 d, using the radiative transfer spectrum synthesis code TARDIS indicates that the supernova ejecta could be well represented by a progenitor elemental composition greater than solar abundances. Based on early light curve models of Type II SNe, we infer that the nearby dense CSM confined to ~7+-3e14~cm(~45 AU) is a result of enhanced mass loss ~1e-(3.0+-0.5) Msol/yr two decades before the explosion.Comment: Submitted to AAS Journals, 4 figures, 2 table

Predictive modeling of die filling of the pharmaceutical granules using the flexible neural tree

In this work, a computational intelligence (CI) technique named flexible neural tree (FNT) was developed to predict die filling performance of pharmaceutical granules and to identify significant die filling process variables. FNT resembles feedforward neural network, which creates a tree-like structure by using genetic programming. To improve accuracy, FNT parameters were optimized by using differential evolution algorithm. The performance of the FNT-based CI model was evaluated and compared with other CI techniques: multilayer perceptron, Gaussian process regression, and reduced error pruning tree. The accuracy of the CI model was evaluated experimentally using die filling as a case study. The die filling experiments were performed using a model shoe system and three different grades of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) powders (MCC PH 101, MCC PH 102, and MCC DG). The feed powders were roll-compacted and milled into granules. The granules were then sieved into samples of various size classes. The mass of granules deposited into the die at different shoe speeds was measured. From these experiments, a dataset consisting true density, mean diameter (d50), granule size, and shoe speed as the inputs and the deposited mass as the output was generated. Cross-validation (CV) methods such as 10FCV and 5x2FCV were applied to develop and to validate the predictive models. It was found that the FNT-based CI model (for both CV methods) performed much better than other CI models. Additionally, it was observed that process variables such as the granule size and the shoe speed had a higher impact on the predictability than that of the powder property such as d50. Furthermore, validation of model prediction with experimental data showed that the die filling behavior of coarse granules could be better predicted than that of fine granules

Deep Rooting In-Situ Expansion of mtDNA Haplogroup R8 in South Asia

The phylogeny of the indigenous Indian-specific mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroups have been determined and refined in previous reports. Similar to mtDNA superhaplogroups M and N, a profusion of reports are also available for superhaplogroup R. However, there is a dearth of information on South Asian subhaplogroups in particular, including R8. Therefore, we ought to access the genealogy and pre-historic expansion of haplogroup R8 which is considered one of the autochthonous lineages of South Asia.Upon screening the mtDNA of 5,836 individuals belonging to 104 distinct ethnic populations of the Indian subcontinent, we found 54 individuals with the HVS-I motif that defines the R8 haplogroup. Complete mtDNA sequencing of these 54 individuals revealed two deep-rooted subclades: R8a and R8b. Furthermore, these subclades split into several fine subclades. An isofrequency contour map detected the highest frequency of R8 in the state of Orissa. Spearman's rank correlation analysis suggests significant correlation of R8 occurrence with geography.The coalescent age of newly-characterized subclades of R8, R8a (15.4+/-7.2 Kya) and R8b (25.7+/-10.2 Kya) indicates that the initial maternal colonization of this haplogroup occurred during the middle and upper Paleolithic period, roughly around 40 to 45 Kya. These results signify that the southern part of Orissa currently inhabited by Munda speakers is likely the origin of these autochthonous maternal deep-rooted haplogroups. Our high-resolution study on the genesis of R8 haplogroup provides ample evidence of its deep-rooted ancestry among the Orissa (Austro-Asiatic) tribes

The Influence of Natural Barriers in Shaping the Genetic Structure of Maharashtra Populations

BACKGROUND: The geographical position of Maharashtra state makes it rather essential to study the dispersal of modern humans in South Asia. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the cultural, linguistic and geographical affinity of the populations living in Maharashtra state with other South Asian populations. The genetic origin of populations living in this state is poorly understood and hitherto been described at low molecular resolution level. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To address this issue, we have analyzed the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of 185 individuals and NRY (non-recombining region of Y chromosome) of 98 individuals belonging to two major tribal populations of Maharashtra, and compared their molecular variations with that of 54 South Asian contemporary populations of adjacent states. Inter and intra population comparisons reveal that the maternal gene pool of Maharashtra state populations is composed of mainly South Asian haplogroups with traces of east and west Eurasian haplogroups, while the paternal haplogroups comprise the South Asian as well as signature of near eastern specific haplogroup J2a. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our analysis suggests that Indian populations, including Maharashtra state, are largely derived from Paleolithic ancient settlers; however, a more recent (∼10 Ky older) detectable paternal gene flow from west Asia is well reflected in the present study. These findings reveal movement of populations to Maharashtra through the western coast rather than mainland where Western Ghats-Vindhya Mountains and Narmada-Tapti rivers might have acted as a natural barrier. Comparing the Maharastrian populations with other South Asian populations reveals that they have a closer affinity with the South Indian than with the Central Indian populations

Phylogenetic analysis, based on EPIYA repeats in the cagA gene of Indian Helicobacter pylori, and the implications of sequence variation in tyrosine phosphorylation motifs on determining the clinical outcome

The population of India harbors one of the world’s most highly diverse gene pools, owing to the influx of successive waves of immigrants over regular periods in time. Several phylogenetic studies involving mitochondrial DNA and Y chromosomal variation have demonstrated Europeans to have been the first settlers in India. Nevertheless, certain controversy exists, due to the support given to the thesis that colonization was by the Austro-Asiatic group, prior to the Europeans. Thus, the aim was to investigate pre-historic colonization of India by anatomically modern humans, using conserved stretches of five amino acid (EPIYA) sequences in the cagA gene of Helicobacter pylori. Simultaneously, the existence of a pathogenic relationship of tyrosine phosphorylation motifs (TPMs), in 32 H. pylori strains isolated from subjects with several forms of gastric diseases, was also explored. High resolution sequence analysis of the above described genes was performed. The nucleotide sequences obtained were translated into amino acids using MEGA (version 4.0) software for EPIYA. An MJ-Network was constructed for obtaining TPM haplotypes by using NETWORK (version 4.5) software. The findings of the study suggest that Indian H. pylori strains share a common ancestry with Europeans. No specific association of haplotypes with the outcome of disease was revealed through additional network analysis of TPMs