Design of a composite filter realizable on practical spatial light modulators

Hybrid optical correlator systems use two spatial light modulators (SLM's), one at the input plane and the other at the filter plane. Currently available SLM's such as the deformable mirror device (DMD) and liquid crystal television (LCTV) SLM's exhibit arbitrarily constrained operating characteristics. The pattern recognition filters designed with the assumption that the SLM's have ideal operating characteristic may not behave as expected when implemented on the DMD or LCTV SLM's. Therefore it is necessary to incorporate the SLM constraints in the design of the filters. In this report, an iterative method is developed for the design of an unconstrained minimum average correlation energy (MACE) filter. Then using this algorithm a new approach for the design of a SLM constrained distortion invariant filter in the presence of input SLM is developed. Two different optimization algorithms are used to maximize the objective function during filter synthesis, one based on the simplex method and the other based on the Hooke and Jeeves method. Also, the simulated annealing based filter design algorithm proposed by Khan and Rajan is refined and improved. The performance of the filter is evaluated in terms of its recognition/discrimination capabilities using computer simulations and the results are compared with a simulated annealing optimization based MACE filter. The filters are designed for different LCTV SLM's operating characteristics and the correlation responses are compared. The distortion tolerance and the false class image discrimination qualities of the filter are comparable to those of the simulated annealing based filter but the new filter design takes about 1/6 of the computer time taken by the simulated annealing filter design

Determination of the possible conformations of the residues linked in a polypeptide chain

No Abstract.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/37817/1/360030510_ftp.pd

The stability of the two-bonded collagen triple helix

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/33425/1/0000827.pd

Micro finance

Poor people often have just hand to mouth existence and have few reserves for major expenses such as illness, weddings, house repairs or education. They are unable to build their savings and are forced to borrow at exorbitant rates. This further adds to their burden and worsens their economic situation. Micro finance is the supply of loans, savings, and other basic financial services to the poor. The idea of micro finance was developed as a survival strategy for the poor. In India, Ela Bhatt established the Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA) in 1974. Mohammed Yunus founded the Grameen Bank project in Bangladesh in 1976. Micro credit provides poor people with access to small loans at more manageable interest rates, and can lead to self-sufficiency and poverty alleviation. There are many models of micro credit. Saving and borrowing are really different ways of turning small amounts of money into lump sums. Saving involves building a lump sum by first accumulating smaller amounts. Borrower is taking the lump sum first and then 'saving' afterwards in the form of loan repayments Poor people have been able to reduce debt burdens and break the cycle of poverty, when the interest in low. Studies of the impact of micro finance in more than 24 countries have found dramatic improvements in household income levels. This paper looks at the various aspects of Micro finance

Micro finance

Poor people often have just hand to mouth existence and have few reserves for major expenses such as illness, weddings, house repairs or education. They are unable to build their savings and are forced to borrow at exorbitant rates. This further adds to their burden and worsens their economic situation. Micro finance is the supply of loans, savings, and other basic financial services to the poor. The idea of micro finance was developed as a survival strategy for the poor. In India, Ela Bhatt established the Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA) in 1974. Mohammed Yunus founded the Grameen Bank project in Bangladesh in 1976. Micro credit provides poor people with access to small loans at more manageable interest rates, and can lead to self-sufficiency and poverty alleviation. There are many models of micro credit. Saving and borrowing are really different ways of turning small amounts of money into lump sums. Saving involves building a lump sum by first accumulating smaller amounts. Borrower is taking the lump sum first and then 'saving' afterwards in the form of loan repayments Poor people have been able to reduce debt burdens and break the cycle of poverty, when the interest in low. Studies of the impact of micro finance in more than 24 countries have found dramatic improvements in household income levels. This paper looks at the various aspects of Micro finance

Glycerol conversion to 1, 3-Propanediol is enhanced by the expression of a heterologous alcohol dehydrogenase gene in Lactobacillus reuteri

In this work, Lactobacillus reuteri has been metabolically engineered for improving 1, 3-propanediol (1, 3-PD) production by the expression of an Escherichia coli alcohol dehydrogenase, yqhD, that is known to efficiently convert the precursor 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde (3-HPA) to 1, 3-PD. The engineered strain exhibited significantly altered formation rates for the product and other metabolites during the fermentation. An increase in the 1, 3-PD specific productivity of 34% and molar yield by 13% was achieved in the clone, relative to the native strain. A concomitant decrease in the levels of toxic intermediate, 3-HPA, was observed, with the specific productivity levels being 25% lesser than that of the native strain. Interestingly, the recombinant strain exhibited elevated rates of lactate and ethanol formation as well as reduced rate of acetate production, compared to the native strain. The preferential utilization of NADPH by YqhD with a possible decrease in the native 1, 3-PD oxidoreductase (NADH-dependent) activity, could have resulted in the diversion of surplus NADH towards increased lactate and ethanol productivities

Three chemotherapy studies of tuberculous meningitis in children

Chemotherapy studies were undertaken in 180 patients with tuberculous meningitis. They were treated for 12 months withlof3 regimens: the first consisted of streptomycin, isoniazid and rifampicin daily for the first 2 months, followed by ethambutol plus isoniazid for 10 months; in the second, pyrazinamide was added for the first 2 months, and in the third, rifampicin was re-duced to twice weekly in the first 2 months. In the first regimen alone, streptomycin was also given twice weekly from the third to the sixth month. Steroids were prescribed for all the patients in thc initial weeks of treatment. Approximately 50% of the patients were aged less than 3 years. On admission, 13%of the patients were classified as stage 1,77% as stage Hand 9% as stage III. Cere-brospinal fluid (CSF) culture results were available for all the 180 patients and M. tuberculosis was isolated in 59 (33%). CSF smear results for acid fast bacilli were available only for the 103 patients admitted to the second and the third studies, and of these, in 60 (58%) the CSF was positive cither by smear or culture. The response to therapy was similar in the 3 studies. Despite administration of rifampicin for 2 months, the mortality was high. In all, 27% of the patients died of tuberculous meningitis, 39% had neurological sequelae and 34% recovered completely. There was a strong association between ilu stage on admission and the mortality rate, the deaths being highest in stage III. In the first study; when isoniazid was prescribed daily in a dosage of 20 mg/kg, 39 % of the patients developed jaundice however, when the dosage was reduced to 12 mg/kg, the incidence was only 16%. In the third study. where rifampicin was administered twice a week, the incidence of jaundice was low (5%)

Chemical and Physicochemical Pretreatment of Lignocellulosic Biomass: A Review

Overcoming the recalcitrance (resistance of plant cell walls to deconstruction) of lignocellulosic biomass is a key step in the production of fuels and chemicals. The recalcitrance is due to the highly crystalline structure of cellulose which is embedded in a matrix of polymers-lignin and hemicellulose. The main goal of pretreatment is to overcome this recalcitrance, to separate the cellulose from the matrix polymers, and to make it more accessible for enzymatic hydrolysis. Reports have shown that pretreatment can improve sugar yields to higher than 90% theoretical yield for biomass such as wood, grasses, and corn. This paper reviews different leading pretreatment technologies along with their latest developments and highlights their advantages and disadvantages with respect to subsequent hydrolysis and fermentation. The effects of different technologies on the components of biomass (cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin) are also reviewed with a focus on how the treatment greatly enhances enzymatic cellulose digestibility

Hydroxyproline stabilizes both intrafibrillar structure as well as inter-protofibrillar linkages in collagen

This article does not have an abstract

Stabilization of the collagen structure by hydroxyproline residues

The molecular structure of collagen is now accepted to be based on a triple-stranded coiled-coil, in which the three strands are held together predominantly by hydrogen bonds. Recent experimental evidence has shown that the presence of hydroxyproline residues in the third position of the repeating tripeptide unit lends additional stability to the collagen structure. In this paper, we report a model structure, which is supported by these observations. In a model structure proposed earlier, there are two hydrogen bonds per tripeptide unit, one of which is a direct interchain hydrogen bond, while the second hydrogen bond can be formed via a water molecule. It has now been shown that the same water molecule can also form a hydrogen bond with the oxygen of the γ-hydroxyl group of hydroxyproline in the third position in the sequence (Gly-R2-R3). This hydroxyl group can also take part in an inter-triple-helix hydrogen bond. Our studies thus show the role played by hydroxyproline residues in the structure and stability of collagen