Improved results on frequency-weighted balanced truncation and error bounds

In this paper, we present some new results on frequency-weighted balanced truncation which is a significant improvement on Lin and Chiu's frequency-weighted balanced truncation technique. The reduced-order models, which are guaranteed to be stable in the case of double-sided weighting, are obtained by direct truncation. Two sets of simple, elegant and easily calculatable a priori error bounds are also derived. Numerical examples and comparison with other well-known techniques show the effectiveness of the proposed technique

Comparative Evaluation Of Analgesic, Antioxidant And Antimicrobial Activities Of Five Selected Medicinal Plants

Plants with medicinal values are known to possess bioactive compounds and contributed greatly to the existence of several currently available pharmaceuticals. In view of this the present study was conducted to evaluate the antioxidant, antinociceptive and antimicrobial activities of traditionally used local plants like Terminalia catappa, Piper betle, Bauhinia purpurea, Cinnamomum iners and Callicarpa furfuracea. In this study sonication, maceration and soxhlet extraction techniques were used to obtain their respective plant extracts. The in vitro antioxidant, antimicrobial activity and polyphenolic content determination revealed the presence of significant biological activities and phenolic content in the extract obtained by sonication followed by maceration and soxhlet extraction. Among the plant extracts studied for antioxidant activity, T. catappa extract showed remarkable antioxidant activity followed by P. betle, B. purpurea, C. iners and C. furfuracea extracts. The antioxidant activity displayed by T. catappa extract was significantly higher than commercially available grape seed extract and synthetic antioxidant butylated hydroxytoluene. In addition, T. catappa extract also revealed marked antimicrobial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains followed by B. purpurea, P. betle and C. iners. Soxhlet ethanolic extract of C. furfuracea leaf, stem and root possessed least polyphenolic content, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities when compared with other plant extracts. This is the first ever study regarding the biological investigations of C. furfuracea

Smart parking lot with just in time shuttle (SPLITS)

The purpose of this project is to study the benefit at large parking lots having shuttle busses by providing a system that dynamically routes a shuttle. The shuttle route will be set by the placement of the travelers returning from the terminal. A parking space is assigned to the incoming traveler based on the shuttle's current route and where the shuttle's current passengers are going to be dropped off. The SPLITS simulator is a program designed to simulate the traffic of cars and shuttles for PDX's Economy Parking Lot. In this project we have shown how the SPLITS system would better the existing parking system by simulating and comparing both the processes.1990 best estimate for issue date and commencement year based on available information

Adoption of recommended practices for cultivation of cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum Maton) in the Hill Zone of Karnataka, India

A study was conducted in the Hill Zone of Karnataka, India, to find out the relationship of selected independent variables with dependent variables on adoption of improved practices for cultivation of M-1 variety of cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum). The study indicated that experience had a positive significant relationship with adoption of improved practices' and education and land holding had no significant relationship with the same. &nbsp

The Protein-protein Interaction Map of the Treponema pallidum Flagellar Apparatus

Diese Studie stellt den ersten umfassenden Versuch dar, die Protein-Protein-Interaktionen (PPIs) eines bakteriellen Flagellenapparats genomweit zu erfassen. Wir haben dafür Treponema pallidum ausgewählt, also Spirochäten, die auch die Syphilis auslösen. T. pallidum hat ein kleines Genom mit nur 1,041 Genen, die alle in klonierter Form vorliegen. Die Flagellen von Spirochäten besitzen ausserdem einige spezielle Eigenschaften wie die periplasmatische Lokalisation der zwei polaren Flagellenbündel, welche sie für vergleichende Analysen besonders interessant machen Im Lauf dieses Projekts habe ich eine Yeast two-hybrid-Bibliothek des Treponema pallidum-Proteoms konstruiert und damit umfassende genom-weite Screens mit allen 75 Flagellen- und Motilitäts-Proteinen durchgeführt. Insgesamt wurden dabei 268 PPIs zwischen 174 verschiedenen Proteinen identifiziert. Davon waren zuvor nur 15 homologe Interaktionen (“Interologe”) aus der Literatur bekannt. Um die funktionelle Bedeutung dieser neuen Interaktionen für die bakterielle Motilität zu untersuchen, habe ich zuerst 23 Orthologe aller Treponema-Interaktoren in E. coli und 30 in B. subtilis vorhergesagt. Die Gene von 23 Orthologen wurden dann in E. coli und/oder B. subtilis (7 Gene) mutiert und deren Phänotyp in Motilitätsassays überprüft. Ich fand dabei 10 neue Proteine in E. coli (amiA, bcsC, rfaH, rpe, rpmJ, ycfH, yciM, yggH, yggW, und yncE) und 5 Proteine in B. subtilis (yaaT , yhbE/YhbF, yllB, yloS und yviF), deren Treponema-Homologe mit Flagellenproteinen interagierten und deren Mutanten einen Motilitätsphänotyp zeigen. Aufgrund ihrer Interaktionen und Phänotypen konnte ich 8 bisher nicht charakterisierten Proteinen eine Rolle als Motilitätsgene zuordnen, und zwar TP0046 (yaaT), TP0048 (yhbE/yhbF), TP0383 (yllB), TP0421 (yncE), TP0561 (ydjH), TP0658 (yviF), TP0712 (HP1034) and TP0979 (tatD). Basierend auf den 268 two-hybrid-Interaktionen konnte ich ausserdem 1455 Interaktionen in 30 anderen Bakterien vorhersagen. Mit 35 Flagellenproteinen von 30 Bakterienarten habe ich ausserdem einen phylogenetischen “Super-Stammbaum” erstellt, der die Flagellenapparate in einen evolutionären Kontext stellt und belegt, dass die Spirochäten einen ungewöhnlichen und abgeleiteten Flagellenapparat aufweisen. Ein Protein unbekannter Funktion, TP0658 (yviF in B. subtilis) wurde näher untersucht. Die Y2H-Interaktionen von TP0658 mit Flagellinen (flaB1-3) wurden biochemisch verifiziert. TP0658 bindet an eine C-terminale Sequenz von FlaB1 zwischen L231 und D247 (dem so genannten C-Loop der Flagelline). Dieses epitop ist in B. subtilis und anderen Bakterien konserviert. Ein hochkonserviertes Asparagin (N237 in FlaB1 bzw. N255 in B. subtilis hag) ist entscheidend für die Bindung. Eine ΔyviF Mutante in B. subtilis hatte einen starken Motilitätsphänotyp und keine nachweisbaren Flagelline. Koexpression von TP0658 und FlaB1 in E. coli stabilisiert FlaB1. Interessanterweise binden sowohl TP0658 als auch FliS (ein bekanntes aber nicht verwandtes Chaperon) an das gleiche Epitop in Flagellin, welches bei dessen Polymerisierung beteiligt ist. Meine Daten sprechen daher dafür dass TP658 und seine Verwandten “Assembly-Chaperone” der bakteriellen Flagelle sind

Behavior of Geotextile Reinforced Soil under Cyclic Loading

The vast potential of geotextiles for separation (reinforcement in pavements and rail roads is yet to be fully exploited in India, despite the initial successful trials. This is partly due to the lack of sufficient test data on the behavior under repetitive loading of indigenous geotextiles. This paper reports typical triaxial test results on reinforced and unreinforced specimens before and after cyclic loading. The reinforcement used is a needle punched polypropylene geotextile manufactured in India. The results reported include strength before and after cyclic loading (cyclic loading under both drained and undrained conditions), modulus of resilience and plastic strain. Limited test results on simulated rail road (pavement) specimens clearly reveal the absence of intermixing and improvement in strength and hence possible rutting

Adoption of recommended practices for cultivation of cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum Maton) in the Hill Zone of Karnataka, India

A study was conducted in the Hill Zone of Karnataka, India, to find out the relationship of selected independent variables with dependent variables on adoption of improved practices for cultivation of M-1 variety of cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum). The study indicated that experience had a positive significant relationship with adoption of improved practices' and education and land holding had no significant relationship with the same. &nbsp

Anemia in relation to body mass index among female students of North Kerala: a pilot study

Background: Anemia among women causes many serious health problems and is pervasive in developing country. Many research studies have documented that malnutrition affects body growth and development, especially during the crucial period of adolescence. The association between anemia and body mass index (BMI) is a measure of nutrition and health status of adults. Aim was to study the association between anemia and BMI among female students.Methods: An observational study was conducted among first year medical and dental female students (n=109) aged 18-20years. Hemoglobin (Hb) levels (g/dL) by Sahli’s hemoglobinometer and BMI (kg/m2) were estimated. Anemia was defined as Hb content <12g/dL. Subjects were classified by BMI categories as underweight (BMI <18.5kg/m2), normal weight (BMI:18.5-24.99kg/m2), overweight (BMI ≥25kg/m2) and obesity (BMI ≥30kg/m2) according to WHO. Then the relation between anemia and BMI were statistically analyzed.Results: Overall, 48.62% female students were anemic. Of which 43.4% were underweight, 22.6% normal weight and 34.5% were above normal weight (over weight and obese). Mean value of hemoglobin was significantly decreased in underweight and overweight compared to normal weight (p<0.001). Anemia was significantly associated with BMI (χ2 =46.48, p=0.000).Conclusions: The study concludes the occurrence of anemia in both undernourished and over-nourished individuals which were significantly associated. Further studies are needed with larger sample size to document the factors that may be associated with anemia in females