Performance Evaluation of Spectral Clustering Algorithm using Various Clustering Validity Indices

In spite of the popularity of spectral clustering algorithm, the evaluation procedures are still in developmental stage. In this article, we have taken benchmarking IRIS dataset for performing comparative study of twelve indices for evaluating spectral clustering algorithm. The results of the spectral clustering technique were also compared with k-mean algorithm. The validity of the indices was also verified with accuracy and (Normalized Mutual Information) NMI score. Spectral clustering algorithm showed better results when compared to k-mean algorithm. All indices showed consistent results with spectral clustering technique. Silhouette Index, Hartigan Index, Davies-Bouldin (DB) index and Krzanowski-Lai (KL) index failed to evaluate k-mean clustering. Surprisingly, all eleven indices showed acceptable results for spectral clustering algorithm. This article confirms the superiority of spectral clustering algorithm and also confirms that all 12 indices are suitable for evaluating spectral clusterin

Evaluation of fungal pathogens, Fusarium semitectum Berk. and Ravenel and Hirsutella thompsonii Fisher against red spider mite, Tetranychus neocaledoni-cus (Andre) of okra under laboratory and greenhouse conditions

Efficacy of fungal pathogens, Fusarium semitectum Berk. and Ravenel and Hirsutella thompsonii Fisher was evaluated against red spider mite, Tetranychus neocaledonicus (Andre) of okra under laboratory and greenhouse conditions. Among the treatments evaluated under laboratory conditions, the highest mortality of 78.20 and 88.34 percent adults and immatures, respectively was recorded at 2.10 x 109 spores per ml of F. semitectum, whereas it was 82.05 and 92.31 per cent adults and immatures, respectively in case of H. thompsonii at 4.60 x 108 spores per ml. Among the twelve treatments evaluated under greenhouse conditions, H. thompsonii 4.60 x 108 spores per ml, F. semitectum 2.10 x 109 spores per ml + H. thompsonii 4.60 x 108 spores per ml, H. thompsonii 4.60 x 108 spores per ml + dicofol 0.025% and F. semitectum 2.10 x 109 spores per ml + H. thompsonii 4.60 x 108 spores per ml + dicofol 0.025% were found to be on par with each other with a cumulative percent mortality of 81.20, 81.48, 81.21 and 82.59 percent, respectively. By testing the field efficacy of F. semitectum and H. thompsonii against T. neocaledonicus, these fungal pathogens can be used as potential biocontrol agents for the sustainable management of mites on okra. Hence the present study evaluates the potentiality of F. semitectum for the management of T. neocaledonicus by comparing with the well-known acaricidal fungus, H. thompsonii

Qualitative Analysis of Subsurface Water Quality in Challakere Taluk, Karnataka, India

Rural India relies mainly on groundwater for drinking and agriculture. Unsustainable withdrawal of groundwater has led to the spectra of depleting the problem of water scarcity. The available groundwater quality is not only contaminated by hazardous pathogenic germs and anthropogenic substances but also geogenic substances is adversely affect the water supply of many regions. The groundwater of Challakere taluk had many threats such as anthropogenic activities, quality deterioration by agricultural activities and over exploitation and also persistence of continuous drought condition. This paper mainly addresses the physico-chemical concentration of 30 groundwater samples during August 2009 in Challakere taluk, Karnataka (India). The results of all the findings are discussed in details which reflect the present status of the groundwater quality of the study area. Groundwater is extremely important to the future economy and growth of rural India. If the resource is to remain available as high quality water for future generation it is important to protect from possible contamination. Hence it is recommended that suitable water quality management is essential to avoid any further contamination

Co-existence of distinct supramolecular assemblies in solution and in the solid state

The formation of distinct supramolecular assemblies, including a metastable species, is revealed for a lipophilic guanosine (G) derivative in solution and in the solid state. Structurally different G-quartet based assemblies are formed in chloroform depending on the nature of the cation, anion and salt concentration, as characterized by circular dichroism and time course diffusion-ordered NMR spectroscopy data. Intriguingly, even the presence of potassium ions that stabilize G-quartets in chloroform was insufficient to exclusively retain such assemblies in the solid state, leading to the formation of mixed quartet and ribbon-like assemblies as revealed by fast magic-angle spinning (MAS) NMR spectroscopy. Distinct N-H∙∙∙N and N-H∙∙∙O intermolecular hydrogen bonding interactions drive quartet and ribbon-like self-assembly resulting in markedly different 2D 1H solid-state NMR spectra, thus facilitating a direct identification of mixed assemblies. A dissolution NMR experiment confirmed that the quartet and ribbon interconversion is reversible - further demonstrating the changes that occur in the self-assembly process of a lipophilic nucleoside upon a solid-state to solution-state transition and vice versa. A systematic study for complexation with different cations (K+, Sr2+) and anions (picrate, ethanoate and iodide) emphasises that the existence of a stable solution or solid-state structure may not reflect the stability of the same supramolecular entity in another phase

Interplay of non-covalent interactions in ribbon-like guanosine self-assembly : a NMR crystallography study

A NMR crystallography study shows how intermolecular NH...O, NH...N, OH...N, OH...O and CH–π interactions stabilize the ribbon-like supramolecular structures of three different guanosine derivatives; guanosine dihydrate (G), 3/, 5/–O– dipropanolyl deoxyguanosine (dGC(3)2) and 3/, 5/ –O– isopropylideneguanosine hemihydrate (Gace). Experimental solid-state 1H NMR spectra obtained at 20 T using fast Magic-Angle Spinning (MAS), here at 75 kHz, are presented for a dihydrate of G. For each guanosine derivative, the role of specific interactions is probed by means of NMR chemical shifts calculated using the Density Functional Theory (DFT) Gauge-Including Projector-Augmented Wave (GIPAW) approach for the full crystal and extracted isolated single molecules. Specifically, the isolated molecule to full crystal transformations result in net changes in the GIPAW calculated 1H NMR chemical shifts of up to 8 ppm for OH...O, up to 6.5 ppm for NH...N and up to 4.6 ppm for NH...O hydrogen bonds; notably, the presence of water molecules in G and Gace reinforces the molecular stacking through strong OH...O hydrogen bonds. The sugar conformations are markedly different in G, dG(C3)2 and Gace, and it is shown that the experimental 13C solid-state NMR chemical shift at the C8 position is a reliable indicator of a ‘syn’ (> 135 ppm) or ‘anti’ (< 135 ppm) conformer

Biological relationship of Bean common mosaic virus (BCMV) infecting cowpea with leguminous plant species

Bean common mosaic virus (BCMV) associated with cowpea mechanically inoculated to different legumi-nous plants. Out of nineteen including cowpea Var.C-152, the virus was easily transferred to ten different legumi-nous hosts. All other hosts assessed for the presence of BCMV were found to be uninfected. The number of days taken for symptom expression and symptoms were varied within plant species. Pole bean expressed mosaic symp-tom after long incubation period (15-18 days) whereas, shorter incubation period was observed in common bean and rice bean (7- 10 days). BCMV produced chlorosis, mosaic, leaf distortion, puckering, vein banding, vein clearing and vein netting on cowpea(C-152). A typical virus symptom, mosaic was observed in green gram, common bean, lime bean, rice bean and yard long bean, whereas, leaf rolling and leaf distortion was observed in black gram, pole bean and snap bean. The virus-host relationship was confirmed by back inoculation test to C. amaranticolor. Further symptomatic plants were subjected for Reverse Transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for molecular confirmation using BCMV coat protein (CP) specific primer pair. A PCR fragment size of 439bp was amplified for the symptomatic plants. The results generated indicated the ability of a plant to support virus expression and host speci-ficity of BMCV within the leguminous plant species

DETERMINANTS OF VALUE OF FIRM FOR INFRASTRUCTURE INDUSTRY: AN EMPIRICAL EXAMINATION IN INDIA

The paper aims at ascertaining the determinants of market value of infrastructure industries in India. We use the financial data of three hundred and fifty-four Indian infrastructure companies. The results of the study show that independent variables viz. long-term debt to total asset, total debt to total assets ratio emerge as determinants of total market value of firm for construction, telecommunication, steel and cement industry. Further, none of the independent variables are able to determine of market value and market capitalisation of firm for construction, power, telecommunication, steel and cement industry during the study period. Implication of the study may be used by researchers to compare with other foreign infrastructure companies to understand the determinants of value of firm of the infrastructure industry

G4-Quartet·M+Borate Hydrogels

The ability to modulate the physical properties of a supramolecular hydrogel may be beneficial for biomaterial and biomedical applications. We find that guanosine (G 1), when combined with 0.5 equiv of potassium borate, forms a strong, self-supporting hydrogel with elastic moduli >10 kPa. The countercation in the borate salt (MB(OH)4) significantly alters the physical properties of the hydrogel. The gelator combination of G 1 and KB(OH)4 formed the strongest hydrogel, while the weakest system was obtained with LiB(OH)4, as judged by 1H NMR and rheology. Data from powder XRD, 1H double-quantum solid-state magic-angle spinning (MAS) NMR and small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) were consistent with a structural model that involves formation of borate dimers and G4·K+ quartets by G 1 and KB(OH)4. Stacking of these G4·M+ quartets into G4-nanowires gives a hydrogel. We found that the M+ cation helps stabilize the anionic guanosine-borate (GB) diesters, as well as the G4-quartets. Supplementing the standard gelator mixture of G 1 and 0.5 equiv of KB(OH)4 with additional KCl or KNO3 increased the strength of the hydrogel. We found that thioflavin T fluoresces in the presence of G4·M+ precursor structures. This fluorescence response for thioflavin T was the greatest for the K+ GB system, presumably due to the enhanced interaction of the dye with the more stable G4·K+ quartets. The fluorescence of thioflavin T increased as a function of gelator concentration with an increase that correlated with the system’s gel point, as measured by solution viscosit

In-vivo Anti-Cancer activity of Polysaccharide Conjugate on DLA Cell lines

Cancer is a complex disease with various forms that affect individuals globally. Projections for 2040 suggest a concerning surge, with the global burden of cancer expected to reach 28.4 million cases, representing a substantial 47% increase compared to 2020. The main limitations to the use of 5-FU in cancer therapy are based on its high water content and low oral bioavailability. The conjugation with chitosan can overcome the limitations of the pure 5-FU, which include insufficient bio distribution and less systemic circulation.Therefore, the current research aimed to assess the in-vivo anti-cancer efficacy of the 5-Fluorouracil conjugate. When compare to the cancer control, the results showed a significant decrease WBC and an increase in RBC count and haemoglobin levels after treatment with the conjugate.Moreover, treatment with the 5-FU combination resulted in a significant increase in the levels of anti-oxidant parameters like glutathione, nitric oxide, catalase, and superoxide dismutase