Continuous Time Control for Bilateral Telemetry Application

Time delay or dead time is defined as the response time required for a process/ a device when an input is applied. Dead time is a phenomena commonly occurring in industrial processes, biological systems and engineering applications. Transport lags, communication lags, computational delays are various types of time delays which inherently cause improper functioning of the system unless compensated for. Bilateral telemetry is one such application which faces instability in operation when subjected to time delay. The master robot in the virtual environment is ’motion and force coupled’ with the slave robot in the virtual environment. This bilateral feedback provides better tracking results as compared to the unilateral scenario at the cost of introducing a transport lag in the communication channel. The present work focuses on addressing this time delay using classical control methods to provide for stability in event of large time delays

Viral Marketing for Smart Cities: Influencers in Social Network Communities

Social networks are used by cities primarily for announcing local-area events, but also for increasing engagement of citizens in votes and elections. Given the current plethora of heterogeneous social networks, city administrators can benefit from social networks to promote initiatives, which are important to a current smart city as well use them to discover future needs in order to manage resources more efficiently. Our focus in this paper is how we can adapt commercial and viral marketing techniques to smart city systems to influence the behavior, opinion and choices of citizens in order to improve their well being and that of the whole society as well as predicting future trends and events

Role of ubiquitination in <em>Caenorhabditis elegans</em> development and transcription regulation during spermatogenesis

Regulation of gene function can be achieved through a variety of mechanisms. In this dissertation, I present the genetic and molecular characterization of two genes involved in two distinct mechanisms of control. Each gene was initially identified by its functional role in sperm development in the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans. The first gene, uba-1, is an essential enzyme involved in protein turnover through ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis. A temperature-sensitive allele, (uba-1)it129, was isolated in a classical genetic screen for mutations that cause sperm-specific sterility. The second gene, spe-44, encodes a putative transcription factor. Its identification by microarray screening for sperm-enriched genes led to the cytological analysis of the deletion allele spe-44(ok1400), by reverse genetics approach. it129 encodes a conditional allele of uba-1, the sole E1 ubiquitin-activating enzyme in C. elegans. E1 functions at the apex of the ubiquitin-mediated conjugation pathway, and its activity is necessary for all subsequent steps in the reaction. Ubiquitin is covalently conjugated to various target proteins. Poly-ubiquitination typically results in target protein degradation, which provides an essential mechanism for the dynamic control of protein levels. Homozygous mutants of uba-1(it129) manifest pleiotropic phenotypes, and include novel roles for ubiquitination in sperm fertility, control of body size, and sex-specific development. We propose a model whereby proteins normally targeted for proteasomal degradation instead persist in uba-1(it129ts) and impair critical cellular processes. The second gene, spe-44, was identified as a putative sperm gene regulator in C. elegans based on its up-regulated expression during spermatogenesis and its significant sequence homology to the DNA-binding SAND domain. Genetic analysis of a deletion allele of spe-44(1400) has revealed its functional role during sperm development. Cytological analysis of spe-44(ok1400) showed developmental arrest of spermatocytes prior to spermatid differentiation. spe-44 mRNA is expressed in a narrow spatial and temporal window, just prior to spermatocyte differentiation, consistent with its functional role during spermatogenesis. Future study will be directed to find putative targets of spe-44 and the mechanisms that regulate gene expression using microarray analysis and yeast-one hybrid screens. These studies will help to understand transcriptional regulatory aspects of spermatogenesis in C. elegans

GPGPU Processing in CUDA Architecture

The future of computation is the Graphical Processing Unit, i.e. the GPU. The promise that the graphics cards have shown in the field of image processing and accelerated rendering of 3D scenes, and the computational capability that these GPUs possess, they are developing into great parallel computing units. It is quite simple to program a graphics processor to perform general parallel tasks. But after understanding the various architectural aspects of the graphics processor, it can be used to perform other taxing tasks as well. In this paper, we will show how CUDA can fully utilize the tremendous power of these GPUs. CUDA is NVIDIA's parallel computing architecture. It enables dramatic increases in computing performance, by harnessing the power of the GPU. This paper talks about CUDA and its architecture. It takes us through a comparison of CUDA C/C++ with other parallel programming languages like OpenCL and DirectCompute. The paper also lists out the common myths about CUDA and how the future seems to be promising for CUDA.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures, Advanced Computing: an International Journal (ACIJ) 201

Institutionalizing effective grant funded programs: A success story

As budgets tighten, universities are increasingly struggling with questions of how to institutionalize and sustain successful grant-funded programs. Creative approaches to leveraging existing infrastructure and resources can make it possible. Here, we present our experiences and approaches that could benefit those seeking to institutionalize effective pilot or grant-funded programs

1,3-Bis(hydroxy­meth­yl)benzimidazolin-2-one

The title compound, C9H10N2O3, crystallizes with one and a half mol­ecules in the asymmetric unit, one lying on a general position and the other on a twofold rotation axis. The dihedral angle between the two independent benzimidazole ring systems is 18.96 (5)°. In the crystal, mol­ecules are linked into a three-dimensional network by O—H⋯O hydrogen bonding involving N-hydroxy­methyl and carbonyl groups, and C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds

Development of SSR markers for Robusta coffee (Coffea canephora)

Coffee has long been bred with the view of improving important agronomic characteristics such as yield, bean size, cup quality, caffeine content, disease, drought resistance etc. However, the progress in coffee breeding using conventional approaches has been slow due to the narrow genetic base of cultivated coffee and the long generation time. The use of modern tools of molecular biology holds great promise for the faster development of improved varieties. A primary prerequisite is the availability of suitable marker systems. Co-dominant maker systems like SSRs provides comprehensive genome coverage, are locus specific and multi allelic. However, the number of SSR markers available for coffee is limited and there is an urgent need for generating large number of microsatellite markers. Aim of the study was to develop and characterize a comprehensive set of genomic and genic SSR markers for Robusta coffee by pre-cloning enrichment strategy and also by annotating Robusta specific unigene sequences. The pre-cloning enrichment (selective hybridization) strategy followed in the study resulted in identification of 405 SSRs in 267 sequences. The 405 SSRs isolated consisted of more of mono-nucleotide repeats (40.2%) followed by penta (33.3%), di (12.1%), tri (10.6%) and tetra (3.7%) nucleotide repeats. Among the genic SSRs identified, 43.7 per cent contained penta-repeat motifs followed by 22.5 per cent and 22.5 per cent sequences with hexa and mono repeat motifs respectively. The remaining identified motifs consisted of 5.5 per cent tri nucleotide repeat motifs, 3.5 per cent di repeat motifs and 2.2 per cent tetra repeat motifs. The study resulted in development of 31 genomic SSRs and 86 genic SSRs which were validated for locus specific amplification

The evolution, seasonality, and impacts of western disturbances

Western disturbances (WDs) are upper-level synoptic-scale systems embedded in the subtropical westerly jet stream (STWJ), often associated with extreme rainfall events in north India and Pakistan during boreal winter. Here, a tracking algorithm is applied to the upper-tropospheric vorticity field in 37 years of ERA-Interim reanalysis data, giving a catalogue of over 3000 events. These events are analysed in a composite framework: the vertical structure is explored across a large number of dynamic and thermodynamic fields, revealing a significant northwestward tilt with height, strong ascent ahead of the centre which sits above the maximum surface precipitation and a warm-over-cold, dry-over-moist structure among other signatures of strong baroclinicity. Evolution of the structures of cloud cover and vertical wind speed are investigated as the composite WD passes across northern India. Cloud cover in particular is found to be particularly sensitive to the presence of the Himalayan foothills, with a significant maximum at 300 hPa approximately one day after the WD reaches peak intensity. k-means clustering is used to classify WDs both according to dynamical structure and precipitation footprint, and the relationship between the two sets is explored. Finally, the statistical relationship between the STWJ position and WDs on interannual time scales is explored, showing that WD frequency in north India is highly sensitive to the jet location over Eurasia. Years with a greater number of WDs feature a STWJ shifted to the south, a pattern that is substantially more coherent and reaches as far west as North America during boreal winter. This suggests that it may be possible to predict the statistics of western disturbance events on seasonal time scales if suitable indicators of jet position can also be predicted

Food Insecurity During the First Year of COVID-19: Employment and Sociodemographic Factors Among Participants in the CHASING COVID Cohort Study

Objective: While much has been reported about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on food insecurity, longitudinal data and the variability experienced by people working in various industries are limited. This study aims to further characterize people experiencing food insecurity during the pandemic in terms of employment, sociodemographic characteristics, and degree of food insecurity. Methods: The study sample consisted of people enrolled in the Communities, Households and SARS-CoV-2 Epidemiology (CHASING) COVID Cohort Study from visit 1 (April–July 2020) through visit 7 (May–June 2021). We created weights to account for participants with incomplete or missing data. We used descriptive statistics and logistic regression models to determine employment and sociodemographic correlates of food insecurity. We also examined patterns of food insecurity and use of food support programs. Results: Of 6740 participants, 39.6% (n = 2670) were food insecure. Non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic (vs non-Hispanic White) participants, participants in households with children (vs no children), and participants with lower (vs higher) income and education levels had higher odds of food insecurity. By industry, people employed in construction, leisure and hospitality, and trade, transportation, and utilities industries had the highest prevalence of both food insecurity and income loss. Among participants reporting food insecurity, 42.0% (1122 of 2670) were persistently food insecure (≥4 consecutive visits) and 43.9% (1172 of 2670) did not use any food support programs. Conclusions: The pandemic resulted in widespread food insecurity in our cohort, much of which was persistent. In addition to addressing sociodemographic disparities, future policies should focus on the needs of those working in industries vulnerable to economic disruption and ensure those experiencing food insecurity can access food support programs for which they are eligible