Water-mediated variability in the structure of relaxed-state haemoglobin

The crystal structure of high-salt horse methaemoglobin has been determined at environmental relative humidities (r.h.) of 88, 79, 75 and 66%. The molecule is in the R state in the native and the r.h. 88% crystals. At r.h. 79%, the water content of the crystal is reduced and the molecule appears to move towards the R2 state. The crystals undergo a water-mediated transformation involving a doubling of one of the unit-cell parameters and an increase in water content when the environmental humidity is further reduced to r.h. 75%. The water content is now similar to that in the native crystals and the molecules are in the R state. The crystal structure at r.h. 66% is similar, but not identical, to that at r.h. 75%, but the solvent content is substantially reduced and the molecules have a quaternary structure that is in between those corresponding to the R and R2 states. Thus, variation in hydration leads to variation in the quaternary structure. Furthermore, partial dehydration appears to shift the structure from the R state to the R2 state. This observation is in agreement with the earlier conclusion that the changes in protein structure that accompany partial dehydration are similar to those that occur during protein action

Unification of Multimedia with Techniques of Art and Vedic Aphorisms for Development of Mathematical Skills: A Study of Indian and UK School Students

Multimedia programs having a number of elements like Texts, spoken words, sound & music, graphics, animations and still pictures provide different stimuli in their presentations. Art is the field of education that provides a platform for rigorous investigation, representation, expression, and reflection of both scholastic content and the art form itself. The integration of art with other subjects of school curriculum can open new pathways of learning for students, particularly for those who are at risk and have special needs. Vedic Mathematics is an approach to resolve the crisis in education especially in the field of mathematics. It is not simply a collection of new computational techniques; rather, it provides an entirely different approach to mathematical computation based on pattern recognition. It has been shown that the system is applicable to up-to-date aspects of mathematics both at an elementary level as well as in more sophisticated fields. The present paper deals with the development of multimedia packages using techniques of art and Vedic aphorisms on some selected common topics of curriculum of UK and Indian elementary mathematics and the effectiveness of multimedia packages for the development of mathematical skills. The study was conducted using quasi experimental design for research in both the countries. The quantitative analysis of data revealed that the multimedia packages developed by using techniques of art and Vedic Aphorisms have significantly improved the mathematical skills of UK elementary school students

Effect of three decade long application of chemical fertilizer and amendments on crop yield under maize - wheat cropping system in an acid alfisol

The results on the effect of three decade long term application of chemical fertilizers and amendments on the yield of continuous maize-wheat crop rotation in an acid alfisol at Palampur revealed that continuous omission of essential nutrients in a maize-wheat sequence resulted in an appreciable decline in the grain yield of maize and wheat crops. A remarkable reduction in crop yield was noticed in plots where nitrogen was applied alone. Use of recommended level of N alone through urea had deleterious effect on crop productivity. The continuous exhaustionof native pools of K in 100% NP treated plots appreciably reduced percent grain yield. Application of farmyard manure (FYM) and lime along with NPK fertilizers increased the crop yield. The integrated use of optimal dose of NPK and FYM give better and more sustainable yields

Noether symmetries for two-dimensional charged particle motion

We find the Noether point symmetries for non-relativistic two-dimensional charged particle motion. These symmetries are composed of a quasi-invariance transformation, a time-dependent rotation and a time-dependent spatial translation. The associated electromagnetic field satisfy a system of first-order linear partial differential equations. This system is solved exactly, yielding three classes of electromagnetic fields compatible with Noether point symmetries. The corresponding Noether invariants are derived and interpreted

Development of New, High Yielding Tropical Grass Varieties for Increasing Productivity of Semi-Arid Grasslands in India

Indian agriculture has traditionally been a mixed farming system since ancient times with integration of arable crops and livestock. It provides employment and livelihood to 70% of the rural population. Livestock are predominantly cattle and small ruminants that graze extensively on rangelands/pasturelands and common property resources (CPRs). CPRs occupy approximately 54 million ha area including permanent pastures in the alpine and temperate parts as well as seasonal grazing lands and wastelands. The productivity and carrying capacity of tropical degraded grasslands is very low, the average carrying capacity being 1.0, 0.7, 0.7 Adult Cattle Unit (ACU)/ha in semi-arid, arid and hill areas respectively. One of the options to increase livestock productivity is to grow more pasture by introducing higher yielding tropical grass varieties. Sehima nervosum, Heteropogon contortus and Chrysopogon fulvus are major species components of semi-arid tropical grasslands. These peren-nial grasses dominate two of the five major grassland covers, viz. Sehima-Dichanthium cover and Dichanthium-Lasiurus-Cenchrus cover

Frobenius theorem and invariants for Hamiltonian systems

We apply Frobenius integrability theorem in the search of invariants for one-dimensional Hamiltonian systems with a time-dependent potential. We obtain several classes of potential functions for which Frobenius theorem assures the existence of a two-dimensional foliation to which the motion is constrained. In particular, we derive a new infinite class of potentials for which the motion is assurately restricted to a two-dimensional foliation. In some cases, Frobenius theorem allows the explicit construction of an associated invariant. It is proven the inverse result that, if an invariant is known, then it always can be furnished by Frobenius theorem