57 research outputs found
GROWTH, SPECTRAL, NLO AND IMPEDANCE STUDIES OF POTASSIUM AMMONIUM SULPHATE CRYSTALS GROWN BY AQUEOUS SOLUTION TECHNIQUE
Single crystals of Potassium Ammonium Sulphate (PAS) have been grown by the free evaporation method and characterized structurally, electrically, optically and mechanically. X-ray diffraction analysis indicates the crystal system as orthorhombic .The functional groups have been identified using Fourier transform infrared spectral analysis. UV-visible transmittance spectra showed wide transparency window in visible and near IR region. The hardness values of the grown sample have been found by Vickers microhardness test. Studies of electrical properties of PAS crystal using a complex impedance spectroscopy (CIS) technique show the decrease of bulk resistance with rise in temperature indicating a typical negative temperature coefficient of resistance (NTCR) type behavior similar to that of an insulator. The nature of Nyquist plots reveals the presence of bulk and grain boundary effects in PAS crystal. Moreover, the variation in dc conductivity is found to increase with temperature
A review of antibiotic synergy in carbapenemase-producing bacteria
The problem of antibiotic resistance has garnered too much attention over the last few decades for posing a global hazard to the clinical handling and the inhibition of several deadly infections caused by bacteria. It burdens the world not only clinically but also economically... Antibiotic agents known as carbapenems are a very effective and typically designated for the treatment of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial infections. To identify a suitable antibiotic combination to be used in vivo, one must be able to determine the synergism between the antibiotics in vitro. Several methods, such as the checkerboard method, multiple-combination bactericidal test, time-kill and E-test, have been used for this purpose. However, the lack of proper standardization procedures, types of bacterial agents, bacterial load, stage of infection and other factors make it very difficult to reproduce or correlate the results with other methods.Carbapenem-destroying lactases, which have recently emerged as mechanisms of resistance, are increasing in number and decreasing the treatment alternatives available. These infections are treated with colistin and tigecycline, but monotherapy may result in clinical breakdown because of a variety of factors. To control these infections, clinicians often choose combinations of drugs over monotherapy. There is an extreme lack of information on synergistic antibiotic combinations accounting for the diverse mechanisms of GNB resistance commonly encountered. The incidence of carbapenem-resistant GNB in Indian articles is also unknown. Therefore, we anticipate that this study may provide methodology for the selection of an appropriate antibiotic combination
Cosmological distance indicators
We review three distance measurement techniques beyond the local universe:
(1) gravitational lens time delays, (2) baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO), and
(3) HI intensity mapping. We describe the principles and theory behind each
method, the ingredients needed for measuring such distances, the current
observational results, and future prospects. Time delays from strongly lensed
quasars currently provide constraints on with < 4% uncertainty, and with
1% within reach from ongoing surveys and efforts. Recent exciting discoveries
of strongly lensed supernovae hold great promise for time-delay cosmography.
BAO features have been detected in redshift surveys up to z <~ 0.8 with
galaxies and z ~ 2 with Ly- forest, providing precise distance
measurements and with < 2% uncertainty in flat CDM. Future BAO
surveys will probe the distance scale with percent-level precision. HI
intensity mapping has great potential to map BAO distances at z ~ 0.8 and
beyond with precisions of a few percent. The next years ahead will be exciting
as various cosmological probes reach 1% uncertainty in determining , to
assess the current tension in measurements that could indicate new
physics.Comment: Review article accepted for publication in Space Science Reviews
(Springer), 45 pages, 10 figures. Chapter of a special collection resulting
from the May 2016 ISSI-BJ workshop on Astronomical Distance Determination in
the Space Ag
Molecular breeding tools improved drought tolerant groundnut variety for resistance to foliar fungal diseases
A largely rainfed crop in India, drought tolerance, particularly
mid- and end-season tolerance, is a key trait in groundnut
varieties. A combination of both empirical and trait-based
approaches was used in breeding programs of ICAR and ICRISAT,
resulting in release of few tolerant varieties that have
superior pod yield under drought stress and/or have enhanced
water-use-efficiency. There is a need to breed varieties with
drought tolerance, disease resistance and quality traits that suit
different production ecologies as well as meet the needs of the
farmers, consumers and industries. ICRISAT has released an
early-maturing (90-95 d) and drought- tolerant variety ICGV
91114 for the drought-prone Ananthapur district of Andhra
Pradesh, India, where about 0.7 m ha area is under groundnut
cultivation and has low (300 mm) and erratic (30-40 rainy
days) rainfall. On-farm studies conducted with ICGV 91114
during 2008-10 showed 30% reduction in yield variability over
the years. Following screening in hot-spots of both rust and LLS
disease during 2014 rainy season, a total of 27 introgression
lines derived from ICGV 91114 were selected and advanced for
evaluation in multi-location trials at six locations in 2015 under
rainfed conditions. Based on the pod yield under rainfed conditions
and disease resistance, three superior introgression lines
(ICGV 14410, ICGV 13189, ICGV 14421) were proposed for the
first-ever NILs trial (near-isogenic lines trial) along with eight
others conducted under All India Coordinated Research Project
on Groundnut (AICRP-G) at national level
Balancing the Force in Criminal Mediation
Abstract There is a paradigm shift in the manner in which criminal cases are processed and resolved in the criminal justice system. Criminal mediation has become a fixture of the criminal justice system, running parallel to traditional adversarial system of adjudicating crimes. It is no longer a means to the end but rather an end in itself. Singapore's criminal mediation is at its infancy having started only in 2010, whereas in other jurisdictions it has been existence since 1990s. Hence it is important to cultivate the right environment for criminal mediation to grow and evolve. The objectives of this paper are as follows: first, to consider the process and genesis of criminal mediation in general; references are made to the criminal mediation model practiced in Singapore and variants in other jurisdictions, particularly the American states; second, the benefits of such a process in the criminal justice system; and third, the importance of maintaining integrity of the criminal mediation process and the end product, i.e. the negotiated plea settlement
- …