Attack Aware RWA for Sliding Window Scheduled Traffic Model

In Transparent optical networks (TONs), the data signals remain in the optical domain for the entire transmission path. The capability of handling high data rates and features like transparency makes TONs susceptible to several physical layer attacks. Hence, designing TONs with a capability of handling such high power jamming attacks is an important network security problem. In this work, we propose an integer linear program (ILP) formulation to control the propagation of these physical layer attacks in TONs, for the demands which need periodic bandwidth usage at certain predefined timings. There are two different approaches for handling these scheduled traffic demands, fixed window and sliding window. Our research deals with the sliding window scheduled traffic model, which is more flexible when compared with fixed window, as the start and end timings of the demand are unknown and they slide within a larger window setting. Hence, we present an ILP to handle the routing and wavelength assignment (RWA) problem for sliding window scheduled traffic model, with an objective to minimize the attack radius for all the commodities

Neural Dynamics, Adaptive Computations, and Sensory Invariance in an Olfactory System

Sensory stimuli evoke spiking activities that are patterned across neurons and time in the early processing stages of olfactory systems. What features of these spatiotemporal neural response patterns encode stimulus-specific information (i.e. ‘neural code’), and how they are translated to generate behavioral output are fundamental questions in systems neuroscience. The objective of this dissertation is to examine this issue in the locust olfactory system. In the locust antennal lobe (analogous to the vertebrate olfactory bulb), a neural circuit directly downstream to the olfactory sensory neurons, even simple stimuli evoke neural responses that are complex and dynamic. We found each odorant activated a distinct neural ensemble during stimulus presentation (ON response) and following its termination (OFF response). Our results indicate that the ON and OFF ensemble neural activities differed in their ability to recruit recurrent inhibition, entrain field-potential oscillations, and more importantly in their relevance to behavior (initiate versus reset conditioned responses). Furthermore, when the same stimulus was encountered in a multitude of ways, we found that the neural response patterns in individual neurons varied unpredictably. Intriguingly, a simple, linear logical classifier (OR-of-ANDs) that can decode information distributed in flexible subsets of ON neurons was sufficient to achieve robust recognition. We found that the incorporation of OFF neurons could enhance pattern discriminability and reduce false positives thereby further improving performance. These results indicate that a trade-off between stability and flexibility in sensory coding can be achieved using a simple computational logic. Lastly, we examined how the ON and OFF neural ensembles varied with stimulus intensity. We found that neurons that were ON responsive at low intensity switched and became OFF responsive at higher intensities. Similarly, OFF responsive neurons at low intensity were recruited and responded during odor stimulation at higher intensities. We found a competitive network involving two sub-categories of GABAergic local neurons can mediate this switch between ON and OFF responsive ensembles and how they vary as a function of stimulus intensity. In sum, our results provide a comprehensive understanding of how a relatively simple invertebrate olfactory system could perform complex adaptive computations with very simple individual components

EVALUATION OF CARDIOVASCULAR AND PHARMACODYNAMIC EFFECTS OF TERMINALIA ARJUNA SINGLE DOSE AND MULTIPLE DOSE IN HEALTHY HUMAN MALES

Context: Terminalia arjuna is a medicinal plant used as a cardiotonic in Ayurveda. The presence of potent antioxidant constituents results in improvement in endothelial dysfunction seen in coronary artery disease.Aim: To evaluate the cardiovascular and pharmacodynamic effects of single and multiple doses of Terminalia arjuna in healthy human male subjects.Settings and Design: Randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled dose ranging study.Methods and Material: After approval from the institutional ethics committee, written informed consent was taken from subjects. Eligible subjects were allocated to the single and multiple dose groups, with six subjects in each group. The active treatment (Terminalia arjuna crude powder capsules of 500 mg, 1000 mg, 1500 mg & 2000 mg single dose and 1500 mg multiple dose) and placebo capsules were administered in 2:1 ratio in all the study groups. Vital parameters and pharmacodynamic assessment of cardiac profiling were performed using cold pressor test (CPT), tilt table and platelet aggregation tests.Statistical analysis used: The data was presented as mean ±SD. No statistical tests were applied as the sample size was less (n=6 in each group).Results: During CPT, Terminalia arjuna attenuated the rise in SBP, DBP and pulse rate in all the treatment groups compared to baseline. The CPT induced arterial stiffness was counteracted by treatment with 1500 mg & 2000 mg single dose and 1500 mg multiple doses of Terminalia arjuna. Cardiac output was increased with 1500 mg multiple dose at 600 tilt (Day 1) and at 450 & 600 phases of the tilt (Day 11). Platelet aggregation was markedly inhibited in 1500 mg multiple doses at Day 11.Conclusions: Treatment with single (1500 mg & 2000 mg) and multiple doses (1500 mg for 10 days) of Terminalia arjuna produced remarkable changes in the cardiovascular profile. Further studies in larger number of subjects and in patients with cardiovascular diseases are needed to confirm these effects

Engaging and disengaging recurrent inhibition coincides with sensing and unsensing of a sensory stimulus

AbstractEven simple sensory stimuli evoke neural responses that are dynamic and complex. Are the temporally patterned neural activities important for controlling the behavioral output? Here, we investigated this issue. Our results reveal that in the insect antennal lobe, due to circuit interactions, distinct neural ensembles are activated during and immediately following the termination of every odorant. Such non-overlapping response patterns are not observed even when the stimulus intensity or identities were changed. In addition, we find that ON and OFF ensemble neural activities differ in their ability to recruit recurrent inhibition, entrain field-potential oscillations and more importantly in their relevance to behaviour (initiate versus reset conditioned responses). Notably, we find that a strikingly similar strategy is also used for encoding sound onsets and offsets in the marmoset auditory cortex. In sum, our results suggest a general approach where recurrent inhibition is associated with stimulus ‘recognition’ and ‘derecognition’.</jats:p

Neural circuit dynamics for sensory detection

We consider the question of how sensory networks enable the detection of sensory stimuli in a combinatorial coding space. We are specifically interested in the olfactory system, wherein recent experimental studies have reported the existence of rich, enigmatic response patterns associated with stimulus onset and offset. This study aims to identify the functional relevance of such response patterns (i.e., what benefits does such neural activity provide in the context of detecting stimuli in a natural environment). We study this problem through the lens of normative, optimization-based modeling. Here, we define the notion of a low-dimensional latent representation of stimulus identity, which is generated through action of the sensory network. The objective of our optimization framework is to ensure high-fidelity tracking of a nominal representation in this latent space in an energy-efficient manner. It turns out that the optimal motifs emerging from this framework possess morphologic similarity with prototypical onset and offset responses observe

INVESTIGATION OF MULTI-MATERIAL BIRD MODELS FOR PREDICTING IMPACT LOADS

ABSTRACT This research work investigated the use of multi-material bird models for accurately predicting bird impact loads. Numerical simulations carried out using the SPH (Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics) technique of LS-Dyna showed excellent correlation with the experimental results. The multi-material bird models of this work are more rigorous than in any previously published work, and include a realistic bird shape. Each material model was distinct, having its own density value (different from the other materials) and an associated equation of state. Results indicated that using a multi-material bird with various combinations of materials permits better correlation with experimental results. NOMENCLATURE A, B, k = material constants c 0 = isentropic wave speed E = internal energy P = pressure P H = Hugoniot pressure T = temperature u p = projectile velocity u s = shock velocity V = volume z = porosity = densit

A male sterility-associated cytotoxic protein ORF288 in Brassica juncea causes aborted pollen development

Cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) is a widespread phenomenon in higher plants, and several studies have established that this maternally inherited defect is often associated with a mitochondrial mutant. Approximately 10 chimeric genes have been identified as being associated with corresponding CMS systems in the family Brassicaceae, but there is little direct evidence that these genes cause male sterility. In this study, a novel chimeric gene (named orf288) was found to be located downstream of the atp6 gene and co-transcribed with this gene in the hau CMS sterile line. Western blotting analysis showed that this predicted open reading frame (ORF) was translated in the mitochondria of male-sterile plants. Furthermore, the growth of Escherichia coli was significantly repressed in the presence of ORF288, which indicated that this protein is toxic to the E. coli host cells. To confirm further the function of orf288 in male sterility, the gene was fused to a mitochondrial-targeting pre-sequence under the control of the Arabidopsis APETALA3 promoter and introduced into Arabidopsis thaliana. Almost 80% of transgenic plants with orf288 failed to develop anthers. It was also found that the independent expression of orf288 caused male sterility in transgenic plants, even without the transit pre-sequence. Furthermore, transient expression of orf288 and green fluorescent protein (GFP) as a fused protein in A. thaliana protoplasts showed that ORF288 was able to anchor to mitochondria even without the external mitochondrial-targeting peptide. These observations provide important evidence that orf288 is responsible for the male sterility of hau CMS in Brassica juncea

Functional Identification and Characterization of the Brassica Napus Transcription Factor Gene BnAP2, the Ortholog of Arabidopsis Thaliana APETALA2

BnAP2, an APETALA2 (AP2)-like gene, has been isolated from Brassica napus cultivar Zhongshuang 9. The cDNA of BnAP2, with 1, 299 bp in length, encoded a transcription factor comprising of 432 amino acid residues. Results from complementary experiment indicated that BnAP2 was completely capable of restoring the phenotype of Arabidopsis ap2-11 mutant. Together with the sequence and expression data, the complementation data suggested that BnAP2 encodes the ortholog of AtAP2. To address the transcriptional activation of BnAP2, we performed transactivation assays in yeast. Fusion protein of BnAP2 with GAL4 DNA binding domain strongly activated transcription in yeast, and the transactivating activity of BnAP2 was localized to the N-terminal 100 amino acids. To further study the function of BnAP2 involved in the phenotype of B. napus, we used a transgenic approach that involved targeted RNA interference (RNAi) repression induced by ihp-RNA. Floral various phenotype defectives and reduced female fertility were observed in B. napus BnAP2-RNAi lines. Loss of the function of BnAP2 gene also resulted in delayed sepal abscission and senescence with the ethylene-independent pathway. In the strong BnAP2-RNAi lines, seeds showed defects in shape, structure and development and larger size. Strong BnAP2-RNAi and wild-type seeds initially did not display a significant difference in morphology at 10 DAF, but the development of BnAP2-RNAi seeds was slower than that of wild type at 20 DAF, and further at 30 DAF, wild-type seeds were essentially at their final size, whereas BnAP2-RNAi seeds stopped growing and developing and gradually withered

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Not AvailableMitochondria are derived from ancient prokaryotic endosymbionts, and their genomes exhibit similarities to prokaryote genomes. Therefore, it was hypothesized that the molecular techniques suitable for distinguishing prokaryotic genomes could also be used to assess mitochondrial diversity. The rep-PCR (repetitive element palindromic-PCR) technique, based on the repetitive sequences found in bacterial genomes, has been used extensively for identifying and distinguishing bacterial strains. This study was undertaken to evaluate the utility of rep-PCR for identifying mitochondrial (mt) genome diversity in safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) and its wild relatives. Using three sets of commonly used primers, BOX, ERIC and REP, both inter-specific and intraspecific mt genome diversities in Carthamus were identified. To confirm that the amplicons obtained with rep-PCR were derived from mitochondrial genomes, we cloned and sequenced six randomly chosen bands from rep-PCR gels and demonstrated that the amplified products were mitochondrialgenome- specific. The advantages of rep-PCR in assessing chondriome variability are discussed.Not Availabl