Home based security and safety system

According to the Sri Lankan Police statistics house braking and theft incidents recorded in 2010, 2011 and 2012 was 18344, 17023 and 16759 respectively. There are considerable amount of house braking and theft happening in every year and also considerable amount of fire and liquefied petroleum gas explosion accidents taken place around our country. In order to solve these issues it is essential to develop a security and safety system that can affordable to any household. The system is mainly comprises of two units as security and safety. Security unit mainly detects movements and send messages to the user. Safety unit detects LP gas and smoke in the house and send messages accordingly. Whole system is designed to work without electricity for more than 3 days and cost effectively

How the Toxin got its Toxicity

Venom systems are functional and ecological traits, typically used by one organism to subdue or deter another. A predominant subset of their constituent molecules-"toxins"-share this ecological function and are therefore molecules that mediate interactions between organisms. Such molecules have been referred to as "exochemicals." There has been debate within the field of toxinology concerning the evolutionary pathways leading to the "recruitment" of a gene product for a toxic role within venom. We review these discussions and the evidence interpreted in support of alternate pathways, along with many of the most popular models describing the origin of novel molecular functions in general. We note that such functions may arise with or without gene duplication occurring and are often the consequence of a gene product encountering a novel "environment," i.e., a range of novel partners for molecular interaction. After stressing the distinction between "activity" and "function," we describe in detail the results of a recent study which reconstructed the evolutionary history of a multigene family that has been recruited as a toxin and argue that these results indicate that a pluralistic approach to understanding the origin of novel functions is advantageous. This leads us to recommend that an expansive approach be taken to the definition of "neofunctionalization"-simply the origins of a novel molecular function by any process-and "recruitment"-the "weaponization" of a molecule via the acquisition of a toxic function in venom, by any process. Recruitment does not occur at the molecular level or even at the level of gene expression, but only when a confluence of factors results in the ecological deployment of a physiologically active molecule as a toxin. Subsequent to recruitment, the evolutionary regime of a gene family may shift into a more dynamic form of "birth-and-death." Thus, recruitment leads to a form of "downwards causation," in which a change at the ecological level at which whole organisms interact leads to a change in patterns of evolution at the genomic level

A Tricky Trait: Applying the Fruits of the "Function Debate" in the Philosophy of Biology to the "Venom Debate" in the Science of Toxinology

The "function debate" in the philosophy of biology and the "venom debate" in the science of toxinology are conceptually related. Venom systems are complex multifunctional traits that have evolved independently numerous times throughout the animal kingdom. No single concept of function, amongst those popularly defended, appears adequate to describe these systems in all their evolutionary contexts and extant variations. As such, a pluralistic view of function, previously defended by some philosophers of biology, is most appropriate. Venom systems, like many other functional traits, exist in nature as points on a continuum and the boundaries between "venomous" and "non-venomous" species may not always be clearly defined. This paper includes a brief overview of the concept of function, followed by in-depth discussion of its application to venom systems. A sound understanding of function may aid in moving the venom debate forward. Similarly, consideration of a complex functional trait such as venom may be of interest to philosophers of biology

Causes and consequences of snake venom variation

Snake venoms are mixtures of toxins that vary extensively between and within snake species. This variability has serious consequences for the management of the world’s 1.8 million annual snakebite victims. Advances in ‘omic’ technologies have empowered toxinologists to comprehensively characterise snake venom compositions, unravel the molecular mechanisms that underpin venom variation, and elucidate the ensuing functional consequences. In this review, we describe how such mechanistic processes have resulted in suites of toxin isoforms that cause diverse pathologies in human snakebite victims, and we detail how variation in venom composition can result in treatment failure. Finally, we outline current therapeutic approaches designed to circumvent venom variation and deliver next-generation treatments for the world’s most lethal neglected tropical disease

Fossilized Venom: The Unusually Conserved Venom Profiles of Heloderma Species (Beaded Lizards and Gila Monsters)

Research into snake venoms has revealed extensive variation at all taxonomic levels. Lizard venoms, however, have received scant research attention in general, and no studies of intraclade variation in lizard venom composition have been attempted to date. Despite their iconic status and proven usefulness in drug design and discovery, highly venomous helodermatid lizards (gila monsters and beaded lizards) have remained neglected by toxinological research. Proteomic comparisons of venoms of three helodermatid lizards in this study has unravelled an unusual similarity in venom-composition, despite the long evolutionary time (~30 million years) separating H. suspectum from the other two species included in this study (H. exasperatum and H. horridum). Moreover, several genes encoding the major helodermatid toxins appeared to be extremely well-conserved under the influence of negative selection (but with these results regarded as preliminary due to the scarcity of available sequences). While the feeding ecologies of all species of helodermatid lizard are broadly similar, there are significant morphological differences between species, which impact upon relative niche occupation

Data for figures in the publication "Bubble-particle collisions in turbulence: insights from point-particle simulations"

Eularian and Lagrangian statistics from point-particle simulations of bubble and particles in homogeneous isotropic turbulence at Taylor Reynolds number of 72,175 and Stokes number between 0.1 and 3.</p

Data underlying the publication: Mirror Surface Nanostructuring via Laser Direct Writing - Characterization and Physical Origins

The addition of an optically absorptive layer to otherwise standard dielectric mirrors enables a set of laser direct writing nanostructuring methods that can add functionality to such mirrors while retaining their high reflectivity. A thorough characterization of this method is given in this paper, and its physical origins are investigated. In particular, our measurements show that laser direct writing of such mirrors has a reversible and a permanent component. The reversible process originates from the thermal expansion of the surface and allows a simple yet precise way to temporarily modify the shape of the mirror. Scanning electron microscope cross-sectional images suggest that the permanent part of the nanostructuring process is due to thermally induced pore formation and enlargement in the tantalum oxide layers of the used dielectric mirror.</p

Data underlying the publication: Relating uncharged solute retention of polyelectrolyte multilayer nanofiltration membranes to effective structural properties.

This dataset is meant as supplementary information to the publication: Junker, Moritz A., et al. "Relating uncharged solute retention of polyelectrolyte multilayer nanofiltration membranes to effective structural properties."&nbsp;Journal of Membrane Science 668 (2023): 121164.In this work, the fabrication and performance of polyelectrolyte multilayer based nanofiltration membranes were analysed by a combination of experimental filtration studies and theoretical transport modeling. Experimental methods applied for membrane characterisation include pure water permeability, MgSO4 retention, polyethylene glycol retention. The selective membrane layer was imaged using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy. Based on experimental results, different pore flow models were parametrised to describe the filtration behaviour.The dataset contains all relevant data for the study. This includes experimental and theoretical results. More information on the specific files can be found within the README.txt file.</p

Data underlying the publication: Mirror Surface Nanostructuring via Laser Direct Writing - Characterization and Physical Origins

The addition of an optically absorptive layer to otherwise standard dielectric mirrors enables a set of laser direct writing nanostructuring methods that can add functionality to such mirrors while retaining their high reflectivity. A thorough characterization of this method is given in this paper, and its physical origins are investigated. In particular, our measurements show that laser direct writing of such mirrors has a reversible and a permanent component. The reversible process originates from the thermal expansion of the surface and allows a simple yet precise way to temporarily modify the shape of the mirror. Scanning electron microscope cross-sectional images suggest that the permanent part of the nanostructuring process is due to thermally induced pore formation and enlargement in the tantalum oxide layers of the used dielectric mirror.</p