Seismic Analysis of High- Rise Building by Response Spectrum Method

Reinforced Concrete Frames are the most commonly adopted buildings construction practices in India. With growing economy, urbanisation and unavailability of horizontal space increasing cost of land and need for agricultural land, high-rise sprawling structures have become highly preferable in Indian buildings scenario, especially in urban. With high-rise structures, not only the building has to take up gravity loads, but as well as lateral forces. Many important Indian cities fall under high risk seismic zones, hence strengthening of buildings for lateral forces is a prerequisite. In this study the aim is to analyze the response of a high-rise structure to ground motion using Response Spectrum Analysis. Different models, that is, bare frame, brace frame and shear wall frame are considered in Staad Pro. and change in the time period, stiffness, base shear, storey drifts and top-storey deflection of the building is observed and compared

BGREI Impact on Productivity & Income from Rice: Western Vs. Northern Odisha

The article provides a comparison of the impact of the BGREI on rice productivity and income in the western and northern portions of Odisha in 2016–17. After consulting with scientists of ICAR-NRRI, Cuttack, 2 districts Mayurbhanj and Bargarh were selected as the research location. Two blocks from each district, 4 villages from each block were taken into consideration purposively and 10 farmers were selected randomly. Two pre-tested questionnaires were administered separately to the randomly selected beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries to collect the required data. After analysis of the data, it was observed that there is an increase of 8.83 quintals/acre (61.92%) in the productivity of Kharif rice in western Odisha, whereas in northern Odisha it is 6.1 quintals/acre (60.10%). Likewise, in case of Income from Kharif rice, there is an increment of Rs.12980/acre in western Odisha, whereas in northern Odisha it is Rs.8967/acre. After a critical statistical study, it was also clarified that there is no such major difference in the impact of BGREI on the income of rice farmers and productivity of rice, based on the location (i.e. between western Odisha and northern Odisha). It can be said that there is no such biasness in the BGREI scheme implemented areas of Odisha

In vivo experiments demonstrate the potent antileishmanial efficacy of repurposed suramin in visceral leishmaniasis

Background: Treatment failure and resistance to the commonly used drugs remains a major obstacle for successful chemotherapy against visceral leishmaniasis (VL). Since the development of novel therapeutics involves exorbitant costs, the effectiveness of the currently available antitrypanosomatid drug suramin has been investigated as an antileishmanial, specifically for VL,in vitro and in animal model experiments. Methodology/Principal: Leishmania donovani promastigotes were treated with suramin and studies were performed to determine the extent and mode of cell mortality, cell cycle arrest and other in vitro parameters. In addition, L. donovani infected BALB/c mice were administered suramin and a host of immunological parameters determined to estimate the antileishmanial potency of the drug. Finally, isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) and enzymatic assays were used to probe the interaction of the drug with one of its putative targets namely parasitic phosphoglycerate kinase (LmPGK). Findings: The in vitro studies revealed the potential efficacy of suramin against the Leishmania parasite. This observation was further substantiated in the in vivo murine model, which demonstrated that upon suramin administration, the Leishmania infected BALB/c mice were able to reduce the parasitic burden and also generate the host protective immunological responses. ITC and enzyme assays confirmed the binding and consequent inhibition of LmPGK due to the drug. Conclusions/Significance: All experiments affirmed the efficacy of suramin against L. donovani infection, which could possibly lead to its inclusion in the repertoire of drugs against VL

AN APPROACH FOR IRIS PLANT CLASSIFICATION USING NEURAL NETWORK

ABSTRACT Classification is a machine learning technique used to predict group membership for data instances. To simplify the problem of classification neural networks are being introduced. This paper focuses on IRIS plant classification using Neural Network. The problem concerns the identification of IRIS plant species on the basis of plant attribute measurements. Classification of IRIS data set would be discovering patterns from examining petal and sepal size of the IRIS plant and how the prediction was made from analyzing the pattern to form the class of IRIS plant. By using this pattern and classification, in future upcomin

Forensic implication of seized drug imitating methamphetamine with mileage in crime

Abstract Background The increase in drug abuse a major global issue. Clandestine laboratories along with illegal drug trafficking and trade increase the menace. Increased confiscation of illicit drugs not only indicates the manifold rise in drug abuse in Delhi and its neighboring region but also signifies an escalation and proliferation in other drug-related criminal activities. Investigating agencies around the world are working hard to combat and eradicate this problem. The samples seized by these agencies are subsequently sent for forensic examination to rule out the presence of any illicit drugs. Few such seized crystalline samples such as “methamphetamine” were submitted for examination with a query for the identification of any scheduled substance. The analysis outline followed was physical, chemical, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer analysis for detection, identification, and confirmation of seized drug samples. The purpose of a detailed investigation regarding the identification of the crystalline sample was also to understand the criminal activities involved in the consistent seizures and the forensics behind it. Results The comprehensive examination identified the sample as an inorganic salt of sodium thiosulfate with the absence of contraband methamphetamine. The study on salt-imitating methamphetamine underlines its diverse uses as in adulteration, trafficking to camouflage narcotics drug and its involvement in numerous other illegal purposes which on the other hand has a very crucial impact on society and its well-being. Conclusions The novel findings will update the investigating agencies and other experts regarding the importance of the detection of sodium thiosulfate salt in seized samples and will well establish the foul play behind large seizures to justify the role of forensic science. This unique finding deals with a very sensitive issue that has immense social impact and needs exceptional thoughtfulness

Photosynthetic Activity, Nutrient Concentration, Yield and Soil Properties Altered by Long Term INM Practices of Knol-khol (Brassica oleracea var. gongylodes L.) under Acidic Inceptisols

A long-term field experiment was started in the campus of College of Agriculture, OUAT, Bhubaneswar, Odisha since kharif 2010 in a randomized block design with 08 treatments and three replications under a cereal-vegetable-pulse cropping system. Different observations on plant and soil parameters were taken during kharif 2018 to evaluate the performance of the test crop towards different package and practices followed. The test crop was Knol-khol, the 25th crop in the sequence. The treatments were T1: Control, T2: Soil Test Dose (STD), T3: STD + Farm Yard Manure (F), T4: STD + Vermicompost (VC), T5: STD + F + Biofertilizers (BFs), T6: STD + VC + BFs, T7: STD + F + L + BFs, and T8: STD + VC + L + BFs which consisted of different combinations of inorganic fertilizers, organic manures (FYM and vermicompost), ameliorant (lime) and biofertilizers. Knol-khol crop was grown in the experimental plot with different organic and inorganic fertilizers as per the treatment plans. Leaf samples from different treatments were collected at 45 days after planting (DAP). The economic yield was highest (3.44 t ha-1) in the treatment supplied with inorganic and organic source of nutrient with lime (T7) which was at par with T8 (3.34 t ha-1) whereas significantly higher than rest other treatments and lowest was obtained in STD (1.45 t ha-1).  The highest values 2.68%, 1.11mg g-1 of fresh leaves and 46.34 were recorded for leaf nitrogen content, chlorophyll content and SPAD value respectively were recorded with treatment T7 whereas lowest value of 1.91%, 0.54 mg g-1 of fresh of leaves and 21.81 were recorded for leaf nitrogen content, chlorophyll content and SPAD value respectively with T1. However, the soil properties after harvest of the crop were found to be better with T8 where vermicompost was integrated with inorganic fertilizer and lime

Genomewide Expression and Functional Interactions of Genes under Drought Stress in Maize

A genomewide transcriptome assay of two subtropical genotypes of maize was used to observe the expression of genes at seedling stage of drought stress. The number of genes expressed differentially was greater in HKI1532 (a drought tolerant genotype) than in PC3 (a drought sensitive genotype), indicating primary differences at the transcriptional level in stress tolerance. The global coexpression networks of the two genotypes differed significantly with respect to the number of modules and the coexpression pattern within the modules. A total of 174 drought-responsive genes were selected from HKI1532, and their coexpression network revealed key correlations between different adaptive pathways, each cluster of the network representing a specific biological function. Transcription factors related to ABA-dependent stomatal closure, signalling, and phosphoprotein cascades work in concert to compensate for reduced photosynthesis. Under stress, water balance was maintained by coexpression of the genes involved in osmotic adjustments and transporter proteins. Metabolism was maintained by the coexpression of genes involved in cell wall modification and protein and lipid metabolism. The interaction of genes involved in crucial biological functions during stress was identified and the results will be useful in targeting important gene interactions to understand drought tolerance in greater detail

Western Indian Rural Gut Microbial Diversity in Extreme Prakriti Endo-Phenotypes Reveals Signature Microbes

Heterogeneity amidst healthy individuals at genomic level is being widely acknowledged. This, in turn, is modulated by differential response to environmental cues and treatment regimens, necessitating the need for stratified/personalized therapy. We intend to understand the molecular determinants of Ayurvedic way (ancient Indian system of medicine) of endo-phenotyping individuals into distinct constitution types termed “Prakriti,” which forms the basis of personalized treatment. In this study, we explored and analyzed the healthy human gut microbiome structure within three predominant Prakriti groups from a genetically homogenous cohort to discover differentially abundant taxa, using 16S rRNA gene based microbial community profiling. We found Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes as major gut microbial components in varying composition, albeit with similar trend across Prakriti. Multiple species of the core microbiome showed differential abundance within Prakriti types, with gender specific signature taxons. Our study reveals that despite overall uniform composition of gut microbial community, healthy individuals belonging to different Prakriti groups have enrichment of specific bacteria. It highlights the importance of Prakriti based endo-phenotypes to explain the variability amongst healthy individuals in gut microbial flora that have important consequences for an individual's health, disease and treatment

Network of Interactions between ZIKA Virus Non-Structural Proteins and Human Host Proteins

The Zika virus (ZIKV) is a mosquito-borne Flavivirus and can be transmitted through an infected mosquito bite or through human-to-human interaction by sexual activity, blood transfusion, breastfeeding, or perinatal exposure. After the 2015–2016 outbreak in Brazil, a strong link between ZIKV infection and microcephaly emerged. ZIKV specifically targets human neural progenitor cells, suggesting that proteins encoded by ZIKV bind and inactivate host cell proteins, leading to microcephaly. Here, we present a systematic annotation of interactions between human proteins and the seven non-structural ZIKV proteins corresponding to a Brazilian isolate. The interaction network was generated by combining tandem-affinity purification followed by mass spectrometry with yeast two-hybrid screens. We identified 150 human proteins, involved in distinct biological processes, as interactors to ZIKV non-structural proteins. Our interacting network is composed of proteins that have been previously associated with microcephaly in human genetic disorders and/or animal models. Further, we show that the protein inhibitor of activated STAT1 (PIAS1) interacts with NS5 and modulates its stability. This study builds on previously published interacting networks of ZIKV and genes related to autosomal recessive primary microcephaly to generate a catalog of human cellular targets of ZIKV proteins implicated in processes related to microcephaly in humans. Collectively, these data can be used as a resource for future characterization of ZIKV infection biology and help create a basis for the discovery of drugs that may disrupt the interaction and reduce the health damage to the fetus