The floating churches of Volgograd: river topologies and warped spatalities of faith

This paper explores creative reuse as an alternative modality to upcycle the ateriality and documentary capacities of things, beyond the linear entrapments of historical or functional redundancy. Drawing on an amphibious ethnography of Volgograd’s riverscapes, we analyse the floating churches inaugurated after the collapse of the Soviet Union to support the revival of faith practices. Acting as mobile centres of religious activity, they morph various temporalities, functions and places into multidimensional operative domains that range from the embodied practices of sailing and engaging in religious rituals to the making of sacred space at a regional level. We conclude by suggesting that their perations and impact rely on topologies of fixed points and shifting spatialities,which provide a salient vehicle for broader geographical interrogations of memory, creativity and mobility

40 years of Studies on the Relationships Between Grass Species, N Turnover and Nutrient Cycling in the Lamto Reserve in the Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire)

The Lamto Station, dominated by grass savannas, was created in 1963. Among other problems, the relationships between savanna grasses (mainly Andropogoneae supertribe) and nutrient cycling, mainly nitrogen (N), have been intensively studied. Such grass systems are of major interest. Savannas represent 25% of terrestrial biomes and are second to tropical forests in the contribution to terrestrial primary production and are predominant in African social and economic environments. The Andropogoneae grasses are of particular interest for pastures. Second, savannas are generally extremely nutrient-poor, especially for N, which often limits productivity. Third, little is known about possible controls of grasses on N processes (e.g. nitrification) which could provide plants with potential advantages in competing for N, and induce changes in system N balance. Finally, these areas are considered to be non-emitting for NO and N2O as a result of extremely low nitrificatio

Pair Correlation Functions and a Free-Energy Functional for the Nematic Phase

In this paper we have presented the calculation of pair correlation functions in a nematic phase for a model of spherical particles with the long-range anisotropic interaction from the mean spherical approximation(MSA) and the Percus-Yevick (PY) integral equation theories. The results found from the MSA theory have been compared with those found analytically by Holovko and Sokolovska (J. Mol. Liq. $\bf 82$, 161(1999)). A free energy functional which involves both the symmetry conserving and symmetry broken parts of the direct pair correlation function has been used to study the properties of the nematic phase. We have also examined the possibility of constructing a free energy functional with the direct pair correlation function which includes only the principal order parameter of the ordered phase and found that the resulting functional gives results that are in good agreement with the original functional. The isotropic-nematic transition has been located using the grand thermodynamic potential. The PY theory has been found to give nematic phase with pair correlation function harmonic coefficients having all the desired features. In a nematic phase the harmonic coefficient of the total pair correlation function $h({\bf x_1},{\bf x_2})$ connected with the correlations of the director transverse fluctuations should develop a long-range tail. This feature has been found in both the MSA and PY theories.Comment: 27 pages, 11 figures, Accepted in J. Chem. Phy

Study on safety of non-descent vaginal hysterectomy for enlarged uterine size for benign uterine pathologies

Background: Vaginal hysterectomy is less commonly performed for benign pathologies if the uterine size exceeds 12 weeks in the belief that complications could be higher in this group. The aim of this prospective study was to compare surgical outcomes and safety of vaginal hysterectomy in women with non-prolapsed uteri of >12 weeks size to those with uteri of12 weeks), while the control group consisted of 60 women with uteri 0.05). The mean operative time was significantly longer in the index group (62.47min; vs 48.17 min; p 0.05). Intra- and post-operative complications such as blood transfusion and pelvic sepsis, post-operative febrile illness and systemic infections were comparable in both groups.Conclusions: Vaginal hysterectomy in larger non-prolapsed uteri takes longer to perform and is associated with more blood loss compared to uteri <12 weeks but is not associated with a significant increase in complication rates

Pre-main-sequence population in NGC 1893 region: X-ray properties

Continuing the attempt to understand the properties of the stellar content in the young cluster NGC 1893 we have carried out a comprehensive multi-wavelength study of the region. The present study focuses on the X-ray properties of T-Tauri Stars (TTSs) in the NGC 1893 region. We found a correlation between the X-ray luminosity, $L_X$, and the stellar mass (in the range 0.2$-$2.0 \msun) of TTSs in the NGC 1893 region, similar to those reported in some other young clusters, however the value of the power-law slope obtained in the present study ($\sim$ 0.9) for NGC 1893 is smaller than those ($\sim$1.4 - 3.6) reported in the case of TMC, ONC, IC 348 and Chameleon star forming regions. However, the slope in the case of Class III sources (Weak line TTSs) is found to be comparable to that reported in the case of NGC 6611 ($\sim$ 1.1). It is found that the presence of circumstellar disks has no influence on the X-ray emission. The X-ray luminosity for both CTTSs and WTTSs is found to decrease systematically with age (in the range $\sim$ 0.4 Myr - 5 Myr). The decrease of the X-ray luminosity of TTSs (slope $\sim$ -0.6) in the case of NGC 1893 seems to be faster than observed in the case of other star-forming regions (slope -0.2 to -0.5). There is indication that the sources having relatively large NIR excess have relatively lower $L_X$ values. TTSs in NGC 1893 do not follow the well established X-ray activity - rotation relation as in the case of main-sequence stars.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, Accepted for publication in New Astronom

Marine fisheries of Orissa

A brief account of marine fish landings in Orissa during 1985 to 1995 is given in this paper. Gearwise, groupwise and districtwise marine fish landings in this state was also discussed together with a critical analysis of marine fishery of the state during the last five decade

Cathodoluminescence hyperspectral imaging of trench-like defects in InGaN/GaN quantum well structures

Optoelectronic devices based on the III-nitride system exhibit remarkably good optical efficiencies despite suffering from a large density of defects. In this work we use cathodoluminescence (CL) hyperspectral imaging to study InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well (MQW) structures. Different types of trench defects with varying trench width, namely wide or narrow trenches forming closed loops and open loops, are investigated in the same hyperspectral CL measurement. A strong redshift (90 meV) and intensity increase of the MQW emission is demonstrated for regions enclosed by wide trenches, whereas those within narrower trenches only exhibit a small redshift (10 meV) and a slight reduction of intensity compared with the defect-free surrounding area. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed that some trench defects consist of a raised central area, which is caused by an increase of about 40% in the thickness of the InGaN wells. The causes of the changes in luminescences are also discussed in relation to TEM results identifying the underlying structure of the defect. Understanding these defects and their emission characteristics is important for further enhancement and development of light-emitting diodes

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor delta limits the expansion of pathogenic Th cells during central nervous system autoimmunity.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs; PPAR-alpha, PPAR-delta, and PPAR-gamma) comprise a family of nuclear receptors that sense fatty acid levels and translate this information into altered gene transcription. Previously, it was reported that treatment of mice with a synthetic ligand activator of PPAR-delta, GW0742, ameliorates experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), indicating a possible role for this nuclear receptor in the control of central nervous system (CNS) autoimmune inflammation. We show that mice deficient in PPAR-delta (PPAR-delta(-/-)) develop a severe inflammatory response during EAE characterized by a striking accumulation of IFN-gamma(+)IL-17A(-) and IFN-gamma(+)IL-17A(+) CD4(+) cells in the spinal cord. The preferential expansion of these T helper subsets in the CNS of PPAR-delta(-/-) mice occurred as a result of a constellation of immune system aberrations that included higher CD4(+) cell proliferation, cytokine production, and T-bet expression and enhanced expression of IL-12 family cytokines by myeloid cells. We also show that the effect of PPAR-delta in inhibiting the production of IFN-gamma and IL-12 family cytokines is ligand dependent and is observed in both mouse and human immune cells. Collectively, these findings suggest that PPAR-delta serves as an important molecular brake for the control of autoimmune inflammation

Maturity determination of red and white pulp dragon fruit

There is a huge potential for dragon fruits grown in India but insufficient information may hamper its production and postharvest handling. The aim of this study was to investigate the right harvest time and maturity indices for red and white pulp dragon fruit. Growth and developmental studies were undertaken using destructive (total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity and TSS: acid ratio) and non-destructive methods (fruit weight, specific gravity, peel colour and heat units). Fruits were collected at seven intervals (7, 14, 21, 26, 31, 36 and 41 days after flowering) to assess the right maturity. All these methods were used to standardize the optimum maturity and right time for the harvest of red and white pulp dragon fruit. Harvesting dragon fruits between 31-36 days after flowering (DAF) was found ideal for optimum maturity and quality. Both red and white pulp fruits harvested at 31 DAF showed better quality in terms of physic-chemical and sensory attributes