Harmonic Amplitude Measures to Note Gender Difference

The present study was taken up with an objective to find whether harmonic amplitude measures can be used to note gender differences. A total of sixty subjects were divided into two groups. Group I consisted of 30 male subjects and group II consisted of 30 female subjects. They were instructed to produce three trials of sustained vowels (/a/, /i/ and /u/). The harmonic amplitude difference measures (H1-H2; H1-A1; H1-A2 and H1-A3) were extracted from Praat software. Results revealed significant difference between male and female subjects for all the harmonic amplitude difference measures. On measuring the difference between male and female subjects, the values ranged from 3.09 to 24.04. The results are discussed with respect to the underlying physiological differences and glottal chink during phonation across gender. Keywords: Spectrum, FFT, Speech synthesis, Gender, Praa

Yang-Mills theory for bundle gerbes

Given a bundle gerbe with connection on an oriented Riemannian manifold of dimension at least equal to 3, we formulate and study the associated Yang-Mills equations. When the Riemannian manifold is compact and oriented, we prove the existence of instanton solutions to the equations and also determine the moduli space of instantons, thus giving a complete analysis in this case. We also discuss duality in this context.Comment: Latex2e, 7 pages, some typos corrected, to appear in J. Phys. A: Math. and Ge

Effect of monoclonal and Assorted Seedling Rootstocks on Long Term Growth and Yield of Hevea Clones

Seven Hevea brasiliensis clones were evaluated on two types of rootstocks, assorted seedling rootstocks (AR) and monoclonal rootstock (MR) over 19 years. Influence of rootstock on scion growth and rubber yield was assessed based on juvenile height, circumference of the main trunk (cm), number of branches, branching height and cumulative dry rubber yield (g per tree per tapping, conventionally abbreviated gt–1 t–1). Highest cumulative yield (g per tree per tapping) over the 12 years for which the trees were tapped was obtained from clone RRII 105 (MR: 1076 g per tree per tapping and AR: 497 g per tree per tapping), followed by RRII 203 (MR: 661; AR: 538), RRII 208 (MR: 477; AR: 486), RRII 118 (MR: 497; AR: 452). Gl 1 yielded the least, 219 g per tree per tapping (MR) and 378 g per tree per tapping (AR); GT1 produced 335 g per tree per tapping (MR) and 375 g per tree per tapping (AR). RRII 118 had the greatest circumference at age 19 (91.4 cm on MR) 88.8 on AR, followed by RRII 105 (MR: 87.4 cm AR: 89.2 cm) and GT 1 (MR: 88.5 cm; AR: 84.4cm). Effect of scion clone was significant (p\u3c0.01) only for trunk circumference at opening, but not for cumulative rubber yield at age 11 (4 years after opening) or cumulative rubber yield at age 19 (12 years after opening). Most importantly, rootstock and clone x rootstock interaction did not significantly affect rubber yield or tree circumference at any evaluation time. There was no evidence to suggest that growth and yield of clones was influenced significantly by rootstock typ

DARWIN CORE BASED DATA STREAMLINING WITH DigiMus 2.0

Cataloguing biological specimen is a important activity of biological museums world over. Software developed especially for this purpose have evolved overtime to achieve more accuracy in retrieving data from large and diverse datasets. Combining smaller datasets in to a larger information system requires uniformity of data based on a single data standard. In the developing world smaller datasets are maintained by individual researchers or small college and university groups. For standardizing data from such datasets, software needs to be developed, which require expertise and sufficient funds which are often unavailable. We present a simple open source web based tool developed using PHP to enable an individual with little or no knowledge of information systems or databases, to effectively streamline specimen data with data standard Darwin Core 1.2 ( DwC 1.2). Such data can then be shared and easily provided to larger datasets like Ocean Biogeographic Information Systems (OBIS) and Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). This tool can be accessed at http://www.niobioinformatics.in/digimus.php and its source code is freely available at http://www.niobioinformatics.in/digimus_source.ph

On the addition of hectors bases to the heterocumulene viz. isothiocyanates: Formation of 1-alkyl/aryl-3-(4-aryl-3-arylimino-5-imino-1,2,4-thiadiazolidin- 2-yl)thiourea and 6aSIV -4-aryl-2,5-bisarylamino[1,2,4]dithiazolo[2,3-b][1,2,4]-thiadiazoles

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The anaerobic bacteriology of intrapulmonary infections in Kuwait

Objective: The primary objective of this study was to ascertain the association of anaerobic bacteria in intrapulmonary infections and their susceptibility pattern to commonly prescribed antibiotics. Methods: One hundred clinical samples (85 broncho-alveolar lavage and 15 lung abscess aspirates) from suspected intrapulmonary infection cases were investigated in order to determine the role of anaerobic bacteria in these infections. The anaerobic bacterial isolates were identified by using the Vitek Anaerobic Card System and conventional methods. Susceptibility of these isolates was determined by Etest method against eight commonly prescribed antibiotics. Results: A total of 42 anaerobes were isolated, of which Prevotella spp. were the commonest isolates, made up of 42.9% (18/42), followed by Peptostreptococcus spp. 33.3% (14/42). Only two Bacteroides fragilis strains were isolated. All the isolates were sensitive to metronidazole, clindamycin, imipenem and meropenem; however, one Prevotella was resistant to piperacillin-tazobactam. The two B. fragilis isolates were susceptible to metronidazole, imipenem, meropenem and piperacillin-tazobactam, and one was found to be resistant to clindamycin. Conclusion: Overall, Prevotella spp. were found to be the predominant anaerobic bacteria associated with intrapulmonary infections in Kuwait. All the commonly prescribed antibiotics had excellent in vitro activities against nearly all the isolates

Hyperphosphatemia in chronic kidney disease exacerbates atherosclerosis via a mannosidases-mediated complex-type conversion of SCAP N-glycans

Blood phosphate levels are linked to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), but the molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Emerging studies indicate an involvement of hyperphosphatemia in CKD accelerated atherogenesis through disturbed cholesterol homeostasis. Here, we investigated a potential atherogenic role of high phosphate concentrations acting through aberrant activation of sterol regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP) and cleavage-activating protein (SCAP)-SREBP2 signaling in patients with CKD, hyperphosphatemic apolipoprotein E (ApoE) knockout mice, and cultured vascular smooth muscle cells. Hyperphosphatemia correlated positively with increased atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk in Chinese patients with CKD and severe atheromatous lesions in the aortas of ApoE knockout mice. Mice arteries had elevated SCAP levels with aberrantly activated SCAP-SREBP2 signaling. Excess phosphate in vitro raised the activity of α-mannosidase, resulting in delayed SCAP degradation through promoting complex-type conversion of SCAP N-glycans. The retention of SCAP enhanced transactivation of SREBP2 and expression of 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl coenzyme A reductase, boosting intracellular cholesterol synthesis. Elevated α-mannosidase II activity was also observed in the aortas of ApoE knockout mice and the radial arteries of patients with uremia and hyperphosphatemia. High phosphate concentration in vitro elevated α-mannosidase II activity in the Golgi, enhanced complex-type conversion of SCAP N-glycans, thereby upregulating intracellular cholesterol synthesis. Thus, our studies explain how hyperphosphatemia independently accelerates atherosclerosis in CKD

Draft Genome Sequence of Frankia Strain G2, a Nitrogen-Fixing Actinobacterium Isolated from Casuarina equisetifolia and Able To Nodulate Actinorhizal Plants of the Order Rhamnales

Frankia sp. strain G2 was originally isolated from Casuarina equisetifolia and is characterized by its ability to nodulate actinorhizal plants of the Rhamnales order, but not its original host. It represents one of the largest Frankia genomes so far sequenced (9.5 Mbp)

Fast and Compact Distributed Verification and Self-Stabilization of a DFS Tree

We present algorithms for distributed verification and silent-stabilization of a DFS(Depth First Search) spanning tree of a connected network. Computing and maintaining such a DFS tree is an important task, e.g., for constructing efficient routing schemes. Our algorithm improves upon previous work in various ways. Comparable previous work has space and time complexities of $O(n\log \Delta)$ bits per node and $O(nD)$ respectively, where $\Delta$ is the highest degree of a node, $n$ is the number of nodes and $D$ is the diameter of the network. In contrast, our algorithm has a space complexity of $O(\log n)$ bits per node, which is optimal for silent-stabilizing spanning trees and runs in $O(n)$ time. In addition, our solution is modular since it utilizes the distributed verification algorithm as an independent subtask of the overall solution. It is possible to use the verification algorithm as a stand alone task or as a subtask in another algorithm. To demonstrate the simplicity of constructing efficient DFS algorithms using the modular approach, We also present a (non-sielnt) self-stabilizing DFS token circulation algorithm for general networks based on our silent-stabilizing DFS tree. The complexities of this token circulation algorithm are comparable to the known ones