Validation of multi-channel scanning microwave radiometer on-board Oceansat-I

Sea surface temperature (SST), sea surface wind speed (WS) and columnar water vapour (WV) derived from Multi-frequency Scanning Microwave Radiometer (MSMR) sensor on-board IRS-P4 (Oceansat-I) were validated against the in situ measurements from ship, moored buoy (MB), drifting buoy (DB) and autonomous weather station (AWS). About 1400 satellite in situ match-ups were used for the validation of SST and WS, while only 60 match-ups were available for the validation of WV. Therefore specific humidity, Q a was used as a proxy for validating WV. The drifting buoy SSTs showed good correlation with the satellite values (r = 0.84). The correlation of MB SSTs was better during night when the WS varied between 0 and 10 m/s. During the day, correlation peaked for higher wind speeds (> 10 m/s). MB (r > 0.80) was relatively better than AWS (r � 0.70) and ship (r < 0.50) for validating satellite-derived WS. Daytime winds exhibited better correlation with satellite values when measured from ocean platforms (MB and ship), but the winds measured from land-based platforms (AWS) were closer to satellite values during night-time. Q a values consistently showed higher correlation with satellite values during night-time. The low root mean square deviation (RMSD) of DB SST (1.17°C) and MB WS (1.52 m s -1) is within the achievable accuracy of the microwave sensor when validated with data collected over the tropical Indian Ocean. The RMSD of Q a (1.81 g kg -1), however, falls much beyond the attainable accuracy of the microwave sensor

Potential role of p21 Activated Kinase 1 (PAK1) in the invasion and motility of oral cancer cells.

Background Oral cancer malignancy consists of uncontrolled division of cells primarily in and around the floor of the oral cavity, gingiva, oropharynx, lower lip and base of the tongue. According to GLOBOCAN 2012 report, oral cancer is one of the most common cancers among males and females in India. Even though significant advancements have been made in the field of oral cancer treatment modalities, the overall prognosis for the patients has not improved in the past few decades and hence, this demands a new thrust for the identification of novel therapeutic targets in oral cancer. p21 Activated Kinases (PAKs) are potential therapeutic targets that are involved in numerous physiological functions. PAKs are serine-threonine kinases and they serve as important regulators of cytoskeletal dynamics and cell motility, transcription through MAP kinase cascades, death and survival signalling, and cell-cycle progression. Although PAKs are known to play crucial roles in cancer progression, the role and clinical significance of PAKs in oral cancer remains poorly understood. Results Our results suggest that PAK1 is over-expressed in oral cancer cell lines. Stimulation of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) cells with serum growth factors leads to PAK1 re-localization and might cause a profound cytoskeletal remodelling. PAK1 was also found to be involved in the invasion, migration and cytoskeletal remodelling of OSCC cells. Conclusions Our study revealed that PAK1 may play a crucial role in the progression of OSCC. Studying the role of PAK1 and its substrates is likely to enhance our understanding of oral carcinogenesis and potential therapeutic value of PAKs in oral cancer

Does sea level pressure modulate the dynamic and thermodynamic forcing in the tropical Indian Ocean?

Three areas, the north Indian Ocean (NIO), the equatorial Indian Ocean (EIO) and the south Indian Ocean (SIO), were chosen over the tropical Indian Ocean to investigate the dependency of sea surface temperature (SST), wind speed (WS) and sea level pressure (SLP) on latent heat flux (LHF). The dynamic and thermodynamic behaviour of the tropical Indian Ocean was studied from the trends of the scatter represented by the mean and standard deviation of LHF, WS and humidity gradient, q s - q a, D q, binned in 1°C SST interval plotted against SST. The direct linear relationship of LHF with SST reverses at some point to display an inverse relationship when the atmosphere is coupled with the ocean. The point at which the reversal takes place marks the threshold SST which appears to have an inherent relationship with the SLP, especially when the ocean-atmosphere system is coupled. North of 5° S, the LHF peaks at the threshold SST of 27.5°C and decreases gradually on either side. The resemblance of the SST-LHF curve of SIO and EIO to that of the equatorial Pacific Ocean can be attributed to the fact that both regimes fell under the same pressure band that covers the equatorial Pacific. Shifting of LHF maxima to a lower SST regime as SLP increases is noticed at southern and northern latitudes, while such a regime shift is not noticed at the equator. This phenomenon can be attributed to relatively weaker air-sea coupling and subsequent lower LHF production at the EIO

SYNTHESIS, CHARACTERIZATION AND ANTIMICROBIAL STUDIES OF SOME LANTHANIDE (III) COMPLEXES WITH A TRIDENTATE ONO DONOR SCHIFF BASE LIGAND

Some new lanthanide(III) complexes- La(III), Ce(III), Pr(III) and Nd(III) have been synthesised from Schiff base ligand 4-{[(2-hydroxyphenyl)imino]methyl}-1,5-dimethyl-2-phenyl-1,2-dihydro-3H-pyrazol-3-one (L1) whose precursors are 4-antipyrine carboxaldehyde and 2-aminophenol. The metal to ligand ratio (1:2) and the general formula [Ln(L1)2(NO3)2]NO3 were established by elemental analysis, conductivity measurements, spectral techniques such as IR, UV-Visible, 1H NMR as well as magnetic susceptibility measurements. L1 behave as a neutral tridentate (ONO) ligand and Ln(III) ion display coordination number eight in all complexes. The Schiff base and complexes were screened for their in vitro antimicrobial activities against selected human pathogenic bacteria by agar disc diffusion method. Most of the synthesized complexes were found to be more potent bactericides than the corresponding free ligand

Thermodynamic structure of the Atmospheric Boundary Layer over the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean during pre-INDOEX and INDOEX-FFP campaigns

Spatial and temporal variability of the Marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer (MABL) height for the Indian Ocean Experiment (INDOEX) study period are examined using the data collected through Cross-chained LORAN (Long-Range Aid to Navigation) Atmospheric Sounding System (CLASS) launchings during the Northern Hemispheric winter monsoon period. This paper reports the results of the analyses of the data collected during the pre-INDOEX (1997) and the INDOEX-First Field Phase (FFP; 1998) in the latitude range 14°N to 20°S over the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean. Mixed layer heights are derived from thermodynamic profiles and they indicated the variability of heights ranging from 400m to 1100m during daytime depending upon the location. Mixed layer heights over the Indian Ocean are slightly higher during the INDOEX-FFP than the pre-INDOEX due to anomalous conditions prevailing during the INDOEX-FFP. The trade wind inversion height varied from 2.3km to 4.5km during the pre-INDOEX and from 0.4km to 2.5km during the INDOEX-FFP. Elevated plumes of polluted air (lofted aerosol plumes) above the marine boundary layer are observed from thermodynamic profiles of the lower troposphere during the INDOEX-FFP. These elevated plumes are examined using 5-day back trajectory analysis and show that one group of air mass travelled a long way from Saudi Arabia and Iran/Iraq through India before reaching the location of measurement, while the other air mass originates from India and the Bay of Bengal

Diagnosing barren plateaus with tools from quantum optimal control

Variational Quantum Algorithms (VQAs) have received considerable attention due to their potential for achieving near-term quantum advantage. However, more work is needed to understand their scalability. One known scaling result for VQAs is barren plateaus, where certain circumstances lead to exponentially vanishing gradients. It is common folklore that problem-inspired ansatzes avoid barren plateaus, but in fact, very little is known about their gradient scaling. In this work we employ tools from quantum optimal control to develop a framework that can diagnose the presence or absence of barren plateaus for problem-inspired ansatzes. Such ansatzes include the Quantum Alternating Operator Ansatz (QAOA), the Hamiltonian Variational Ansatz (HVA), and others. With our framework, we prove that avoiding barren plateaus for these ansatzes is not always guaranteed. Specifically, we show that the gradient scaling of the VQA depends on the degree of controllability of the system, and hence can be diagnosed through the dynamical Lie algebra g obtained from the generators of the ansatz. We analyze the existence of barren plateaus in QAOA and HVA ansatzes, and we highlight the role of the input state, as different initial states can lead to the presence or absence of barren plateaus. Taken together, our results provide a framework for trainability-aware ansatz design strategies that do not come at the cost of extra quantum resources. Moreover, we prove no-go results for obtaining ground states with variational ansatzes for controllable system such as spin glasses. Our work establishes a link between the existence of barren plateaus and the scaling of the dimension of g

Environmental set-up and tidal propagation in a tropical estuary with dual connection to the sea (SW Coast of India)

The Kochi Backwater (KB) is the second largest wetland system in India. It is connected to the sea at Fort Kochi and Munambam (Pallipuram) (30 km north of Kochi). As the tide is forced through two openings, its propagation in the backwater system is very complicated, particularly in the northern arm of the estuary. Using synchronous water level (WL) and current measurements in the KB from a network of stations during 2007-2008, it was convenient to demarcate the northern KB into two distinct regions according to the tidal forcing from the north (Pallipuram) and south (Vallarpadam). This demarcation is useful for computing the propagation speeds of the dominant tidal constituents in the northern branch of the KB with dual opening for opposing tides. WL variations indicated that M 2 tide (Principal lunar semidiurnal constituent) dominated in the sea level variance, followed by the K 1 constituent (Luni-solar declinational diurnal constituent). The M 2 tidal influence was the strongest near the mouth and decayed in the upstream direction. The propagation speed of the M 2 tide in the southern estuary was ~3.14 m/s. The ratio of the total annual runoff to the estuarine volume is ~42 that indicates the estuary will be flushed 42 times in a year. KB can be classified as a monsoonal estuary where the river discharge exhibits large seasonal variation

Advancing thermal performance in PCM-Based energy Storage: A comparative study with Fins, expanded Graphite, and combined configurations

Phase Change Material (PCM) thermal energy storage systems have emerged as a promising solution for efficient thermal energy storage from low to very high-temperature applications. This paper presents an investigation into the utilization of medium temperature range PCM-based systems for domestic hot water application, focusing on different techniques to overcome the low thermal conductivity of the PCM. Five shell and tube heat exchangers were fabricated employing different heat transfer enhancement methods including fin, expanded graphite (EG), and a combination of fin and EG. The combination of EG and circular fins exhibited the best performance in terms of charging and discharging, maintaining a uniform temperature distribution throughout the system due to extensive conductive network provided by the combination of EG and circular fins. When the PCM/EG/fin heat exchanger system is fully charged, the energy stored in the system is 109% higher than that of the PCM heat exchanger at the same elapsed time. Furthermore, the PCM/EG/fin system demonstrated a faster discharging response compared to other thermal energy storage (TES) configurations, with over 160% higher discharging power than a system without any enhancement methods. These findings emphasize the practical viability of integrating PCM/EG composite materials into thermal energy storage systems, offering a viable solution for meeting high heat demand requirements in domestic hot water applications. Furthermore, the enhanced discharging response observed in the PCM/EG/fin system has significant implications for improving energy efficiency and reducing operational costs in real-world applications

Toxic Metals Enrichment in the Surficial Sediments of a Eutrophic Tropical Estuary (Cochin Backwaters, Southwest Coast of India)

Concentrations and distributions of trace metals (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn) in surficial sediments of the Cochin backwaters were studied during both monsoon and pre-monsoon periods. Spatial variations were in accordance with textural charaterstics and organic matter content. A principal component analysis distinguished three zones with different metal accumulation capacity: (i) highest levels in north estuary, (ii) moderate levels in central zone, and (iii) lowest levels in southern part. Trace metal enrichments are mainly due to anthropogenic contribution of industrial, domestic, and agricultural effluents, whose effect is enhanced by settling of metals due to organic flocculation and inorganic precipitation associated with salinity changes. Enrichments factors using Fe as a normalizer showed that metal contamination was the product of anthropogenic activities. An assessment of degree of pollution-categorized sediments as moderately polluted with Cu and Pb, moderately-to-heavily polluted with Zn, and heavily-to-extremely polluted with Cd. Concentrations at many sites largely exceed NOAA ERL (e.g., Cu, Cr, and Pb) or ERM (e.g., Cd, Ni, and Zn). This means that adverse effects for benthic organisms are possible or even highly probable