Prediction and management of natural disasters through indigenous Technical Knowledge, with special reference to fisheries

Traditional Indigenous knowledge has over the years played a significant role in solving several major social-ecological problems including those related to climate change and variability. People living close to nature often observe the circumstances around them and are the often the first to identify and adapt to any changes. The appearance of certain birds, mating of certain animals and flowering of certain plants are all seen as important signals of change with respect to timing and seasonality of natural phenomena that are well understood in traditional knowledge systems. Indigenous and local peoples have relied on biodiversity as a buffer against environmental variation, change and catastrophe

Effect of different growth regulators on in vitro micro-propagation of Kufri Frysona

In the present investigation, experiment was conducted for in vitro micro-propagation with different concentration of growth regulators in different explants Sprouts and Shoot tips of potato cultivar Kufri Frysona. The maximum survival percentage (40) of sprouts and (100%) of shoot tips were obtained when the explants were surface sterilized with 0.2% bavistin & 0.4% streptocyclin (45minutes) and 0.1% mercuric chloride (60seconds). Sterilized explants were inoculated on MS basal supplemented with various growth regulators and established successfully. The maximum shoot induction (62.5±1.44%) in 11.3±0.33 days and (74.0 ± 2.13 %) in 10.0 ± 0.50 days were reported on medium PM1 (BAP 0.25 mg/l) in sprouts and shoot tip explants respectively. The sprouted explants were further sub-cultured on MS media supplemented with various growth regulator alone and in combination for in vitro multiplication. In Kufri Frysona (11.2) shoots were obtained on MS medium fortified with 0.25mg/l BAP + 0.01mg/l IAA on 42th day of subculture. In vitro rooting was observed on MS basal medium supplemented with 2.0 mg/l NAA in Kufri Frysona after 10 days. Rooted plantlets were successfully hardened in green house using different types of potting mixture and finally transferred to field. The protocol will be very useful for large-scale production of disease free planting material of potato (S. tuberosum) in future

Exploring the optical behaviour of a type Iax supernova SN 2014dt

We present optical photometric (upto $\sim$410 days since $B$$_{max}$) and spectroscopic (upto $\sim$157 days since $B$$_{max}$) observations of a Type Iax supernova (SN) 2014dt located in M61. SN 2014dt is one of the brightest and closest (D $\sim$ 20 Mpc) discovered Type Iax SN. SN 2014dt best matches the light curve evolution of SN 2005hk and reaches a peak magnitude of $M$$_B$ $\sim$-18.13$\pm$0.04 mag with $\Delta m_{15}$ $\sim$1.35$\pm 0.06$ mag. The early spectra of SN 2014dt are similar to other Type Iax SNe, whereas the nebular spectrum at 157 days is dominated by narrow emission features with less blending as compared to SNe 2008ge and 2012Z. The ejecta velocities are between 5000 to 1000 km sec$^{-1}$ which also confirms the low energy budget of Type Iax SN 2014dt as compared to normal Type Ia SNe. Using the peak bolometric luminosity of SN 2005hk we estimate $^{56}$Ni mass of $\sim$0.14 M$_{\odot}$ and the striking similarity between SN 2014dt and SN 2005hk implies that a comparable amount of $^{56}$Ni would have been synthesized in the explosion of SN 2014dt.Comment: 12 figures, 7 tables, Accepted for publication in MNRA

Statistical Constraints on State Preparation for a Quantum Computer

Quantum computing algorithms require that the quantum register be initially present in a superposition state. To achieve this, we consider the practical problem of creating a coherent superposition state of several qubits. Owing to considerations of quantum statistics, this requires that the entropy of the system go down. This, in turn, has two practical implications: (i) the initial state cannot be controlled; (ii) the temperature of the system must be reduced. These factors, in addition to decoherence and sensitivity to errors, must be considered in the implementation of quantum computers.Comment: 7 pages; the final published versio

Self-Dual Non-Abelian Vector Multiplet in Three Dimensions

We present an N=1 supersymmetric non-Abelian compensator formulation for a vector multiplet in three-dimensions. Our total field content is the off-shell vector multiplet (A_\mu{}^I, \lambda^I) with the off-shell scalar multiplet (\phi^I, \chi^I; F^I) both in the adjoint representation of an arbitrary non-Abelian gauge group. This system is reduced to a supersymmetric sigma-model on a group manifold, in the zero-coupling limit. Based on this result, we formulate a 'self-dual' non-Abelian vector multiplet in three-dimensions. By an appropriate identification of parameters, the mass of the self-dual vector multiplet is quantized. Additionally, we also show that the self-dual non-Abelian vector multiplet can be coupled to supersymmetric Dirac-Born-Infeld action. These results are further reformulated in superspace to get a clear overall picture.Comment: 14 pages, no figure

Time-Dependent Physicochemical Changes of Carbonate Surfaces from SmartWater (Diluted Seawater) Flooding Processes for Improved Oil Recovery.

Over the past few decades, field- and laboratory-scale studies have shown enhancements in oil recovery when reservoirs, which contain high-salinity formation water (FW), are waterflooded with modified-salinity salt water (widely referred to as the low-salinity, dilution, or SmartWater effect for improved oil recovery). In this study, we investigated the time dependence of the physicochemical processes that occur during diluted seawater (i.e., SmartWater) waterflooding processes of specific relevance to carbonate oil reservoirs. We measured the changes to oil/water/rock wettability, surface roughness, and surface chemical composition during SmartWater flooding using 10-fold-diluted seawater under mimicked oil reservoir conditions with calcite and carbonate reservoir rocks. Distinct effects due to SmartWater flooding were observed and found to occur on two different timescales: (1) a rapid (<15 min) increase in the colloidal electrostatic double-layer repulsion between the rock and oil across the SmartWater, leading to a decreased oil/water/rock adhesion energy and thus increased water wetness and (2) slower (>12 h to complete) physicochemical changes of the calcite and carbonate reservoir rock surfaces, including surface roughening via the dissolution of rock and the reprecipitation of dissolved carbonate species after exchanging key ions (Ca2+, Mg2+, CO32-, and SO42- in carbonates) with those in the flooding SmartWater. Our experiments using crude oil from a carbonate reservoir reveal that these reservoir rock surfaces are covered with organic-ionic preadsorbed films (ad-layers), which the SmartWater removes (detaches) as flakes. Removal of the organic-ionic ad-layers by SmartWater flooding enhances oil release from the surfaces, which was found to be critical to increasing the water wetness and significantly improving oil removal from carbonates. Additionally, the increase in water wetness is further enhanced by roughening of the rock surfaces, which decreases the effective contact (interaction) area between the oil and rock interfaces. Furthermore, we found that the rate of these slower physicochemical changes to the carbonate rock surfaces increases with increasing temperature (at least up to an experimental temperature of 75 °C). Our results suggest that the effectiveness of improved oil recovery from SmartWater flooding depends strongly on the formation of the organic-ionic ad-layers. In oil reservoirs where the ad-layer is fully developed and robust, injecting SmartWater would lead to significant removal of the ad-layer and improved oil recovery

Noncommutative Supersymmetric Yang-Mills Theory in Ten-Dimensions with Higher-Derivative Terms

We present an action for noncommutative supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory in ten-dimensions, and confirm its invariance under supersymmetry. We next add higher-order derivative terms to such a noncommutative supersymmetric action. These terms contain fields as high as the quartic order. This resulting action can be regarded as supersymmetric generalization of noncommutative non-Abelian Dirac-Born-Infeld action. Some ambiguities related to field redefinitions are also clarified.Comment: 14 pages, late

DNA end resection by Dna2–Sgs1–RPA and its stimulation by Top3–Rmi1 and Mre11–Rad50–Xrs2

The repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) by homologous recombination requires processing of broken ends. For repair to start, the DSB must first be resected to generate a 3′-single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) overhang, which becomes a substrate for the DNA strand exchange protein, Rad51 (ref. 1). Genetic studies have implicated a multitude of proteins in the process, including helicases, nucleases and topoisomerases. Here we biochemically reconstitute elements of the resection process and reveal that it requires the nuclease Dna2, the RecQ-family helicase Sgs1 and the ssDNA-binding protein replication protein-A (RPA). We establish that Dna2, Sgs1 and RPA constitute a minimal protein complex capable of DNA resection in vitro. Sgs1 helicase unwinds the DNA to produce an intermediate that is digested by Dna2, and RPA stimulates DNA unwinding by Sgs1 in a species-specific manner. Interestingly, RPA is also required both to direct Dna2 nucleolytic activity to the 5′-terminated strand of the DNA break and to inhibit 3′ to 5′ degradation by Dna2, actions that generate and protect the 3′-ssDNA overhang, respectively. In addition to this core machinery, we establish that both the topoisomerase 3 (Top3) and Rmi1 complex and the Mre11–Rad50–Xrs2 complex (MRX) have important roles as stimulatory components. Stimulation of end resection by the Top3–Rmi1 heterodimer and the MRX proteins is by complex formation with Sgs1 (refs 5, 6), which unexpectedly stimulates DNA unwinding. We suggest that Top3–Rmi1 and MRX are important for recruitment of the Sgs1–Dna2 complex to DSBs. Our experiments provide a mechanistic framework for understanding the initial steps of recombinational DNA repair in eukaryotes