TIRSPEC : TIFR Near Infrared Spectrometer and Imager

We describe the TIFR Near Infrared Spectrometer and Imager (TIRSPEC) designed and built in collaboration with M/s. Mauna Kea Infrared LLC, Hawaii, USA, now in operation on the side port of the 2-m Himalayan Chandra Telescope (HCT), Hanle (Ladakh), India at an altitude of 4500 meters above mean sea level. The TIRSPEC provides for various modes of operation which include photometry with broad and narrow band filters, spectrometry in single order mode with long slits of 300" length and different widths, with order sorter filters in the Y, J, H and K bands and a grism as the dispersing element as well as a cross dispersed mode to give a coverage of 1.0 to 2.5 microns at a resolving power R of ~1200. The TIRSPEC uses a Teledyne 1024 x 1024 pixel Hawaii-1 PACE array detector with a cutoff wavelength of 2.5 microns and on HCT, provides a field of view of 307" x 307" with a plate scale of 0.3"/pixel. The TIRSPEC was successfully commissioned in June 2013 and the subsequent characterization and astronomical observations are presented here. The TIRSPEC has been made available to the worldwide astronomical community for science observations from May 2014.Comment: 20 pages, 21 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in Journal of Astronomical Instrumentatio

Impaired CD8 T cell memory and CD4 T cell primary responses in IL-7Rα mutant mice

Loss of interleukin (IL)-7 or the IL-7 receptor alpha (IL-7Rα, CD127) results in severe immunodeficiencies in mice and humans. To more precisely identify signals governing IL-7 function in vivo, we have disrupted the IL-7Rα Y449XXM motif in mice by knock-in mutagenesis (IL-7Rα449F). Thymic precursors were reduced in number in IL-7Rα449F mice, but in marked contrast to IL-7Rα−/− knockout mice, thymocytes and peripheral T cells developed normally. Strikingly, Listeria infection revealed that CD4 and CD8 T cells had different requirements for IL-7Rα signals. CD4 T cells failed to mount a primary response, but despite normal CD8 primary responses, maintenance of CD8 memory was impaired in IL-7Rα449F mice. Furthermore, we show that Bcl-2 is IL-7Rα Y449 independent and insufficient for IL-7–mediated maintenance of CD8 memory

Effects of cooking methods and in-vitro digestion on the digestibility and antioxidant properties of ngari (a fermented fish product of India)

879-888Ngari is a popular ethnic fermented fish product from North-Eastern India. It is consumed after heat process either as a part of regular meal or as a condiment. However, there is no adequate knowledge on the digestion of ngari and the bioactive potential of the digest. The present study was aimed to evaluate the effect of different heat processes viz., air frying, roasting and sautéing on the chemical attributes and in-vitro digestion characteristics of ngari with reference to digestibility and antioxidant potential. The different heat processes significantly increased the dry matter content, thereby altering the proximate composition of the ngari. Nutritional analyses revealed that the highest value of protein is in air fried ngari (44.14%), while maximum fat in sautéed ngari (27.57%). Fatty acids analysis showed that palmitic, oleic and linoleic acid were the major fatty acids present in ngari irrespective of different heat processing. Antioxidant potential of ngari was significantly influenced by heating processes and digestion methods (pepsin or pepsin-cum-pancreatin). Heat processes significantly reduced DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and metal chelating activity, while increasing the reducing power of the nagri. Study on peptide released during digestion by SDS-PAGE (Sodium lauryl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis) showed that pepsin digestion led to formation of low molecular weight peptides (14-66 kDa). Subsequently, the pepsin-cum-pancreatin digestion degraded the relatively larger peptides into further smaller ones. The different heat processes enhanced the sensory appeal of the product without exerting any negative influence on its digestibility and bioactive properties

Effects of Cooking Methods and in-vitro Digestion on the Digestibility and Antioxidant Properties of Ngari (a fermented fish product of India)

Ngari is a popular ethnic fermented fish product from North-Eastern India. It is consumed after heat process either as a part of regular meal or as a condiment. However, there is no adequate knowledge on the digestion of Ngari and the bioactive potential of the digest. The present study was aimed to evaluate the effect of different heat processes viz., air frying, roasting and sautéing-on the chemical attributes and in-vitro digestion characteristics of Ngari with reference to digestibility and antioxidant potential. The different heat processes significantly increased the dry matter content, thereby altering the proximate composition of the Ngari. Nutritional analyses revealed that highest value of protein is in air fried Ngari (44.14%), while maximum fat in sautéed Ngari (27.57%). Fatty acids analysis showed that palmitic, oleic and linoleic acid were the major fatty acids present in Ngari irrespective of different heat processing. Antioxidant potential of Ngari was significantly influenced by heating processes and digestion methods (pepsin or pepsin-cum-pancreatin). Heat processes significantly reduced DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and metal chelating activity, while increasing the reducing power of the Nagri. Study of peptide released during digestion by SDS-PAGE (Sodium lauryl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis) showed that pepsin digestion led to formation of low molecular weight peptides (14-66 kDa). Subsequently, the pepsin-cum-pancreatin digestion disintegrated the relatively larger peptides into further smaller ones. The different heat processes enhanced the sensory appeal of the product without exerting any negative influence on its digestibility and bioactive properties

Following the TraCS of exoplanets with Pan-Planets: Wendelstein-1b and Wendelstein-2b

Hot Jupiters seem to get rarer with decreasing stellar mass. The goal of the Pan-Planets transit survey was the detection of such planets and a statistical characterization of their frequency. Here, we announce the discovery and validation of two planets found in that survey, Wendelstein-1b and Wendelstein-2b, which are two short-period hot Jupiters that orbit late K host stars. We validated them both by the traditional method of radial velocity measurements with the HIgh Resolution Echelle Spectrometer and the Habitable-zone Planet Finder instruments and then by their Transit Color Signature (TraCS). We observed the targets in the wavelength range of 4000−24 000 Å and performed a simultaneous multiband transit fit and additionally determined their thermal emission via secondary eclipse observations. Wendelstein-1b is a hot Jupiter with a radius of 1.0314_(−0.0061)^(+0.0061) R_J and mass of 0.592_(−0.129)^(+0.0165) M_J, orbiting a K7V dwarf star at a period of 2.66 d, and has an estimated surface temperature of about 1727₋₉₀⁺⁷⁸ K. Wendelstein-2b is a hot Jupiter with a radius of 1.1592_(−0.0210)^(+0.0204) R_J and a mass of 0.731_(−0.311)^(+0.0541) M_J, orbiting a K6V dwarf star at a period of 1.75 d, and has an estimated surface temperature of about 1852₋₁₄₀⁺¹²⁰ K. With this, we demonstrate that multiband photometry is an effective way of validating transiting exoplanets, in particular for fainter targets since radial velocity follow-up becomes more and more costly for those targets

Automated Galaxy Morphology: A Fourier Approach

We use automated surface photometry and pattern classification techniques to morphologically classify galaxies. The two-dimensional light distribution of a galaxy is reconstructed using Fourier series fits to azimuthal profiles computed in concentric elliptical annuli centered on the galaxy. Both the phase and amplitude of each Fourier component have been studied as a function of radial bin number for a large collection of galaxy images using principal component analysis. We find that up to 90 percent of the variance in many of these Fourier profiles may be characterized in as few as 3 principal components and their use substantially reduces the dimensionality of the classification problem. We use supervised learning methods in the form of artificial neural networks to train galaxy classifiers that detect morphological bars at the 85-90 percent confidence level and can identify the Hubble type with a 1-sigma scatter of 1.5 steps on the 16-step stage axis of the revised Hubble system. Finally, we systematically characterize the adverse effects of decreasing resolution and S/N on the quality of morphological information predicted by these classifiers.Comment: Accepted to Astrophysical Journal, 43 pages, 12 figure