Analysis of Calcium Dynamics: Parameter Estimation Using Genetic Algorithm.

Live cell imaging of intracellular calcium is a cutting-edge tool used in drug design, delivery and screening. The aim of this study was to develop the mathematical model for the drug mediated (G protein coupled receptor targeting drug) intracellular calcium responses in fibroblasts and estimate the kinetic parameters. The current work proposes a computational framework for classification of heterogeneous data, model selection and parameter estimation using genetic algorithm(GA). Since the data is heterogeneous and large in size, we performed (1) reduction of the dimension using principal component analysis (PCA) and (2) classification of the calcium dynamics using K-means algorithm

Instability in turmeric (Curcuma Zonga L.) production in India

The factors responsible for the instability in turmeric (Curcuma longa) production in India were studied. Instability analysis showed that yield instability increased marginally in the eighties. However, the decrease in area instability more than compensated for the increase in yield instablitity resulting in reduction of production instability. Decomposition analysis showed that yield instability was the dominant factor affecting production instability. Therefore future development programmes should envisage stabilisation of yield which will stabilise production. The yield instability could be reduced by investing on research towards evolving of cultivars suitable for existing agroclimatic conditions. &nbsp

Outer Retinopathies Associated with COVID-19 Infection:Case Reports and Review of Literature

Background. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a highly contagious disease with profound health implications. It can affect any part of the body with variable severity. Various ophthalmic manifestations of coronavirus disease have been documented. Case Presentations. We reported three cases of outer retinopathies associated with COVID-19 infection. All three patients were young females. The first two patients presented within days of COVID-19 infection with complaints of black spots in the eyes. Multimodal retinal imaging showed lesions consistent with acute macular neuroretinopathy. Lesions were bilateral in the first patient and unilateral in the second one. Our third patient presented with blurred vision in one eye, 3 months after a suspected COVID-19 infection. Retinal imaging showed outer retinopathy. Our patients’ vision was good and maintained during the follow-up. All three were monitored on observation only, and symptoms and lesions improved with time. Conclusion. In conclusion, COVID-19-related thromboinflammatory response can result in localized vascular inflammation and hypoperfusion in any of the retinal capillary plexuses or choriocapillaris resulting in ischemia of the corresponding retinal or choroidal layers

Negative Emission Power Plants:Thermodynamic Modeling and Evaluation of a Biomass-Based Integrated Gasification Solid Oxide Fuel Cell/Gas Turbine System for Power, Heat, and Biochar Co-Production—Part 1

This article is the first of a two-part series presenting the thermodynamic evaluation and techno-economics of developing negative-emission power plants. The aim of this research is to evaluate the potential of biochar co-production in negative-emission power plants based on biomass-fed integrated gasification solid oxide fuel cell systems with carbon capture and storage (BIGFC/CCS) units. The influence of two gasification agents, namely, air and steam-oxygen, on the proposed system is investigated. In Part I, we present the thermodynamic models. A sensitivity analysis is carried out to investigate the system response to stepwise increase in biochar co-production (up to 10% by weight). Providing a secondary oxy-combustor in the steam-oxygen gasification case has been shown to be a solution to meet the heat requirements of the allothermal gasification process. A comprehensive exergy analysis indicated significant efficiency improvement for the steam-oxygen gasification case. The results show that the biomass steam-oxygen gasification yields the higher electrical exergy efficiency (48.3%) and combined heat and power (CHP) exergy efficiency (54.6%) for the similar rates of biochar co-production. The specific power output per unit of CO2 stored is 2.65 MW/(kg/s) and 3.58 MW/(kg/s) for the air and steam-oxygen gasification cases, respectively, when the biochar is co-produced at 10% by weight for the given biomass flow of 20 kg/s. Moreover, the total CO2 stored due to the proposed system is calculated as 133.9 t/h, and it is estimated to remove 1.17 Mt of CO2 from the atmosphere annually (when the biochar-based carbon storage is also considered). The models are used for the techno-economic analysis presented in Part II of the series

Study of Tribological Characteristics of Journal Bearing using Mixture of different Bio-Lubricants

Wear is the main reason for material losses & degradation of any machine component. If we reduce the magnitude of this wear can bring about enhanced performance. This can be possible by decreasing friction. Usage of Lubricant is a viable method for controlling the friction. This decreases wear and it has wide application in operation of machine component, for example, bearing. Nowadays different oils are used to diminish erosion and wear between mechanical contact surfaces however mineral oils are known for higher manufacturing expenses and low biodegradability. A few research works are going ahead keeping in mind the end goal to create bio-oil and to have tribological characteristic study between interacting mechanical surfaces

Breeding and larval rearing of three species of damselfishes (family: Pomacentridae)

The annual world ornamental fish trade is to the tune of around 4.5 billion dollars (1995) with a growth rate of about 8%. Nearly 50% of the revenue from the trade is contributed by marine ornamental fishes. With the spread of scientific knowledge on marine aquarium management and development of an array of aquarium gadgets, there is an Increased demand for tropical marine aquarium fishes in recent years and this opens up the possibility of developing a lucrative marine ornamental fish trade the worldover

Contemporary Information and Knowledge Management: Impact on Farming in India

Farming is an important part of Indian economy and it involves a wide range of stakeholders, of whom the small holder farmers are the largest group. Information sharing on new production processes with farmers was prominent in the ‘sixties which was key to the success of the Green Revolution. Agricultural extension, the process of enabling farmers and experts to exchange information with each other, has since been institutionalized to a high degree and is assessed to be not as effective as it had been a generation back. The advent of digital, technology-mediated information and knowledge management was thought to offer significant new opportunities for knowledge exchange in Indian farming as a whole. These hopes led to the launching of a number of initiatives in different parts of India, which has emerged as the host of the largest number of rural development projects where contemporary information and communication technology (ICT) play a pivotal role. While analyzing the outputs of such initiatives, many studies have pointed out that farming is not a priority concern of most of them. On the other hand, we can notice a non-complimentary strand of ICT in agriculture projects operated by a number of institutions with ICT resources playing a key role in some of them. These efforts, generally speaking, do not promote user participation in information flows quite unlike the contemporary trends

Effect of Feeding Frequencies on Growth and Profit of Asian Seabass (Lates calcarifer) in Cage Culture Systems

Cage culture is one of the most advanced aquaculture production systems where fishes are held in floating enclosures like net cages, moored in the open water systems, and allow free water flow. The open water cages developed by Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) during the last decade are becoming very popular in coastal waters. One of the major problems faced by farmers at all stages of culture is fish feed and feeding. A suitable feeding strategy is important to improve fish growth and reduce feed costs and environmental pollution. The study was conducted to investigate the effect of feeding frequency from sea bass cultured in cages on water quality, growth parameters, survival rate, economic return and bottom characters in Moothakunnam (N10011.478’ E076011.901’+ 4m) in Ernakulam district. Water and sediment samples and growth parameters were collected and analyzed monthly from inside and outside of the cages for a period of one year. Significant differences were found in growth parameters like weight gain (1.04±0.03-1.78±0.008), Specific growth rate (1.2±0.03-1.48±0.005), Survival rate (40%-61.53%) and FCR (4.3-4.56). The water quality parameters DO, Nitrate, Nitrite, Ammonia and Orthophosphate in the cage and reference sites did not show many significant variations indicating a healthy growth condition in the cages. Therefore it could be concluded that the growth performance of sea bass is increasing by feeding frequency, but the economic analysis indicated that net profit is negatively related to feeding frequency

Studies on the diversity and impact of macro biofouling organisms in brackish water finfish cage

Biofouling refers to accumulation of organisms on submerged surfaces. In case of open water cage culture, fouling organisms attached to cage nets block water flow and reduces waste removal resulting in increased stress levels on stocked fishes and reduces the rate of intake of feed and growth. It also increases weight of the nets leading to its damage. The quantity and diversity of biofouling organisms and their effects on the growth and survival of stocked fishes were studied

Connecting Numerical Relativity and Data Analysis of Gravitational Wave Detectors

Gravitational waves deliver information in exquisite detail about astrophysical phenomena, among them the collision of two black holes, a system completely invisible to the eyes of electromagnetic telescopes. Models that predict gravitational wave signals from likely sources are crucial for the success of this endeavor. Modeling binary black hole sources of gravitational radiation requires solving the Eintein equations of General Relativity using powerful computer hardware and sophisticated numerical algorithms. This proceeding presents where we are in understanding ground-based gravitational waves resulting from the merger of black holes and the implications of these sources for the advent of gravitational-wave astronomy.Comment: Appeared in the Proceedings of 2014 Sant Cugat Forum on Astrophysics. Astrophysics and Space Science Proceedings, ed. C.Sopuerta (Berlin: Springer-Verlag