The structure of integrated pulse profiles

We offer two possible explanations to account for the characteristics of integrated pulse profiles, in particular their degree of complexity, their variation from pulsar to pulsar, their stability, and the tendency of complex profiles to be associated with older pulsars. It is proposed that the pulse structure could be a reflection of surface irregularities at the polar caps, and it is shown how the surface relief can affect the number of positrons released into the magnetosphere which are subsequently responsible for the observed radio radiation. The electrons produced in the vacuum break-down in the gap carry enough energy to allow creating such a surface relief in ˜ 106 years, and one way in which this could be achieved is discussed. Alternatively, the presence of multipole components in the magnetic fields of older pulsars could lead to significant variations in the curvature of the field lines across the gap, and hence to structure in the integrated pulse profiles. An assessment of the two hypotheses from observed pulse profiles seems to favour the polar cap relief picture

On selection effects in pulsar searches

The problem of selection effects as a major source of error in statistical studies of pulsar data is examined. A previously neglected selection effect is found which is a function of the period P of the pulsar. It is shown that short-P pulsars are more difficult to detect than longer period pulsars, particularly if the dispersion measures of the short-P pulsars are high. In addition, a declination-dependent selection effect is found in the II Molonglo Survey (II MS), and some evidence is presented for the existence of both selection effects in the pulsar data from this survey. The implications of these additional selection effects are examined for the 'injection' of pulsars whereby pulsars seem to switch on only at longer P. The II MS data is used to calculate that the observability of pulsars with P between 0.0 sec and 0.5 sec is about 18% less when the new selection effects are included than with previous calculations. The mean correction is 6% for P between 0.5 sec and 1.0 sec. It is concluded that injection is not qualitatively affected by these corrections

Accurate Demarcation of Protein Domain Linkers Based on Structural Analysis of Linker Probable Region

In multi-domainproteins, the domainsare connected by a flexible unstructured region called as protein domain linker. The accurate demarcation of these linkers holds a key to understanding of their biochemical and evolutionary attributes. This knowledge helps in designing a suitable linker for engineering stable multi-domain chimeric proteins. Here we propose a novel method for the demarcation of the linker based on a three-dimensional protein structure and a domain definition. The proposed method is based on biological knowledge about structural flexibility of the linkers. We performed structural analysis on a linker probable region (LPR) around domain boundary points of known SCOP domains. The LPR was described using a set of overlapping peptide fragments of fixed size. Each peptide fragment was then described by geometricinvariants (GIs) and subjected to clustering process where the fragments corresponding to actual linker comeupasoutliers.We then discover the actual linkers by finding the longest continuous stretch ofoutlier fragments from LPRs. This method was evaluated on a benchmark dataset of 51 continuous multi-domain proteins, where it achieves F1 score of 0.745 (0.83precision and 0.66recall). When the method was applied on 725 continuous multi-domain proteins, it was able to identify novel linkers that were not reported previously. This method can be used in combination with supervised /sequence based linker prediction methods for accurate linker demarcation.

Marine fish landings in Odisha during 2016 - An overview

The state of Odisha has a long coast line of 480 km with numerous fisheries harbours and fish landing centres like Paradeep, Bahabalapur, Dhamra, Atharabanki, Nuagarh, Bada Arjipally etc. According to Marine Fisheries Census 2010, there are 1.14 lakh fishermen families with 3.95 lakh fisherfolk engaged in actual fishing activities. In 2016, the marine fish production in Odisha was 1.17 lakh tonnes (t) showing a decrease of 17% over the previous year

Mud bank fisheries at Chettuva

A survey was conducted at Chettuva, Thrissur District, Kerala to observe the mud bank fishery in July 2016. Very low fish catch was recorded at Chettuva Fisheries harbour prior to the formation of mud bank. A sudden increase in catch after onset of mud bank formation prompted many fishers from nearby fishing villages such as Kalamukku (Ernakulam district); Chettuva, Azhikode and Thalikulam (Thrissur district) and Ponnani (Malappuram district) to temporarily migrate to these fishing grounds during the period reported.Ring seiners, motorised mini trawlers and non-motorised crafts were operated. Motorised wooden mini trawlers with either double or single outboard motor, with each boat having 9.9 hp power were also employed for fishing. Since mini trawl was operated with two attached crafts, it was locally known as double net

केरल तट पर मद बैंक मात्स्यिकी का अध्ययन

केरल तट पर मद बैंक मात्स्यिकी का अध्यय

An overview of municipal solid waste management in Jaipur city, India - Current status, challenges and recommendations

In developing countries, urbanization and rapid population growth has resulted in a substantial increase in generation of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW). Safe collection, transportation and treatment of MSW are among the major issues for Indian cities. Poor MSW management practices have negative impact on public health, environment and climate change. India currently only treats 21% of MSW while the remainder disposed in unsanitary landfill sites with no recycling and treatment technologies. This paper reviews the existing MSW management practices, challenges and provides recommendations for improving MSW management for the city of Jaipur in Rajasthan, India. Despite being the state capital as well as the top tourist destination in northern part of India, there is no detailed study which reviews the waste management strategies of this city along with identifying the key challenges. The study reveals that the major challenges for MSW management in Jaipur include uncontrolled landfilling, inadequate public participation as well as failings of implementation of MSW legislation and waste conversion. Recommendations for improvement include public awareness campaigns, public-private partnership, investment in lined landfills, recycling and waste to energy techniques. Optimization models and life cycle assessment tools should be employed to minimize cost and the environmental impact of MSW management. This study will provide policy makers and private sector stakeholders to develop strategies for future planning, investment and execution of improved MSW management in Indian cities

Membranous Nephropathy

Membranous nephropathy (MN) is a glomerular disease that is the leading cause of nephrotic syndrome in non-diabetic Caucasian adults. MN is most often primary (idiopathic) and the remaining is secondary to systemic disease or exposure to infection or drugs. The majority of patients with MN have circulating antibodies to the podocyte antigens phospholipase A2 receptor (PLA2R) (70%) and thrombospondin type-1 domain-containing 7A (THSD7A) (3–5%). Immunologic remission (depletion of PLA2R antibodies) often precedes and may predict clinical remission. Untreated, about one-third of patients undergo spontaneous remission, one-third have persistent proteinuria but maintain kidney function and the remaining one-third will develop end stage kidney failure. All patients with idiopathic MN should be treated with conservative care from the time of diagnosis to minimise proteinuria. Immunosuppressive therapy is traditionally reserved for patients who have persistent nephrotic-range proteinuria despite conservative care. Immunosuppressive agents for primary MN include combination of corticosteroids/alkylating agent or calcineurin inhibitors and rituximab. This chapter will review the epidemiology, diagnosis and treatment of MN, particularly focusing on idiopathic MN

Approach and implementation strategies for Marine Fisheries Census 2016

Fisheries sector plays a significant role in the socio-economic development of a developing country like India by generating employment and income, besides being source of protein for a large section of the population. It generates a substantial amount of foreign exchange through exports. Over a period, marine fisheries sector in India has witnessed a significant improvement in fishing gear technologies, infrastructure, communication and transportation facilities which resulted in an increase in the annual marine fish production from 0.5 million tonnes in 1950 to 3.59 million tonnes in 2014. Marine fisheries are considered as renewable resources, but its management and development supported by focussed research activities are necessary to ensure sustainable fish production from the seas