Angular separations of the lensed QSO images

We have analyzed the observed image separations of the gravitationally lensed images of QSOs for a possible correlation with the source redshift. Contrary to the previously noted anti-correlation based on a smaller data set, no correlation is found for the currently available data. We have calculated the average image separations of the lensed QSOs as a function of source redshifts, for isothermal spheres with cores in a flat universe, taking into account the amplification bias caused by lensing. The shape of the distribution of average image separation as a function of redshift is very robust and is insensitive to most model parameters. Observations are found to be roughly consistent with the theoretical results for models which assume the lens distribution to be (i) Schechter luminosity function which, however, can not produce images with large separation and (ii) the mass condensations in a cold dark matter universe, as given by the Press-Schechter theory if an upper limit of 1-7$\times 10^{13}$ M$\odot$ is assumed on the mass of the condensations.Comment: 20 pages, 7 postscript figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

Mathematical Model: Comparative Study of Thermal Effects of Laser in Corneal Refractive Surgeries

Lasers have been widely used in ophthalmology. Refractive errors are some of the most common ophthalmic abnormalities worldwide. Laser refractive surgery was developed to correct refractive errors myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism. Two types of laser surgical techniques: lamellar and thermal are available to reshape the corneal curvature. Ultraviolet (UV) emitting argon fluoride (ArF) excimer laser is used to sculpt cornea in lamellar procedures, whereas, infrared (IR) emitting holmium yttrium aluminum garnet (Ho: YAG) laser is used to shrink cornea in thermal procedure. Tissue heating is common in all types of laser surgical techniques. Hence, in this paper, a finite element model is developed to investigate the temperature distribution of cornea in different laser refractive surgeries. Characteristics of optical and thermal processes and influence of the parameters of radiation and tissues on the results of laser action are investigated. The results of mathematical modeling in different surgical techniques are discussed, compared, and validated with experimental results

Global Integration and Rupee Depreciation: Are Times Good Forward?

The S&P BSE Sensex has plunged over 1,000 points so far in August, weighed by a host of factors, including weakness in the currency, possible tapering of US Fed's bond-buying program and threats of ratings downgrade. The Indian rupee has depreciated by over ten per cent since May 2, 2013 against the US dollar, and eleven per cent against the Euro. Depreciating currency will adversely impact capital-intensive sectors and firms with foreign borrowings and those who import raw materials heavily. Automobiles, capital goods, petroleum, power and telecom companies will bear the brunt of a weak rupee. But sectors such as software services and pharma, with major export revenues, will benefit. The rupee's decline in the last six months has deep consequences for the Indian economy and various asset classes. Thus in the study, we examined the impact of rupee depreciation on broad and sectoral indices of BSE and NSE markets. Sample T-tests for means and variances were conducted on both the price returns and volume changes to understand the behavior of stock market in unison. The study finds conclusive evidence of impact of rupee depreciation on indices considered

Microstrip Patch Antenna for GPS Application

The study and the design of rectangular microstrip patch antenna for multiband applications are presented in this paper. They can be simulated on antenna design software’s such as High Frequency Simulation Software (HFSS), Advanced Design System Momentum (ADS) and Agilent Vector Network Analyzer (E8361A) where different feeding techniques have been deployed to get the desired results. Two rectangular microstrip patch antennas of frequencies 1.5 GHz and 2.4 GHz are designed and simulated on HFSS

Microstrip Patch Antenna for GPS Application

The study and the design of rectangular microstrip patch antenna for multiband applications are presented in this paper. They can be simulated on antenna design software’s such as High Frequency Simulation Software (HFSS), Advanced Design System Momentum (ADS) and Agilent Vector Network Analyzer (E8361A) where different feeding techniques have been deployed to get the desired results. Two rectangular microstrip patch antennas of frequencies 1.5 GHz and 2.4 GHz are designed and simulated on HFSS

Robust recognition technique for handwritten Kannada character recognition using capsule networks

Automated reading of handwritten Kannada documents is highly challenging due to the presence of vowels, consonants and its modifiers. The variable nature of handwriting styles aggravates the complexity of machine based reading of handwritten vowels and consonants. In this paper, our investigation is inclined towards design of a deep convolution network with capsule and routing layers to efficiently recognize  Kannada handwritten characters.  Capsule network architecture is built of an input layer,  two convolution layers, primary capsule, routing capsule layers followed by tri-level dense convolution layer and an output layer.  For experimentation, datasets are collected from more than 100 users for creation of training data samples of about 7769 comprising of 49 classes. Test samples of all the 49 classes are again collected separately from 3 to 5 users creating a total of 245 samples for novel patterns. It is inferred from performance evaluation; a loss of 0.66% is obtained in the classification process and for 43 classes precision of 100% is achieved with an accuracy of 99%. An average accuracy of 95% is achieved for all remaining 6 classes with an average precision of 89%

Efficient Data Transfer Over Wireless Networks

In the present day, efficiency in the field of communication is of utmost importance. In this study, data is transmitted over a wireless network supported by helical antennas. The efficiency is obtained by encoding the data by the Reed Solomon (RS) encoding scheme. The added advantage of this encoding scheme is its error detection and correction scheme in addition to the productive bandwidth usage. The data is encoded from the source and will be modulated using Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) scheme. The modulated data is then transmitted over a wireless network supported by the helical antenna. In the receiving end, the received signal is demodulated and then decoded. In this study, errors are introduced by the user to demonstrate the error detecting and correcting capabilities. The entire set up is simulated on the MATLAB version 9.5b 2018 software

Atmospheric concentration of pollen grains at human height

An atmospheric survey at human height (1.5-1.8 ft) was carried out from February 1988 to January 1990, in four different ecozones of the Delhi metropolis. The samples were collected by using Burkard Personal Volumetric Sampler at weekly intervals. The sampler was operating for 15 min three times a day (07, 14, 20 hrs). Altogether, 84 pollen types were identified. Some of the dominant pollen types recorded were Poaceae (25.1%), Cheno/Amaranthaceae (14.5%) and Ricinus communis (12.3%) followed by Morus, Cannabis, Prosopis, Parthenium and Artemisia. Weekly variations were recorded for the total number of pollen of different types in different months. Two major pollen seasons 1. February - April and 2. August - October were observed, although pollen was recorded throughout the year. Significant variation in total and individual pollen concentration was recorded from different inhabited areas in the same urban locality. Any definite daily pattern in the occurrence of pollen was not recorded. The concentration at lower height was also poor

GENETIC INVOLVEMENT OF INTERLEUKIN 4 FOR ASTHMA AND IDENTIFICATION OF POTENTIAL PHYTOCHEMICAL SCAFFOLD THROUGH MOLECULAR DOCKING STUDIES

Objective: Interleukin 4, an important cytokine, has the major role in the immunomodulatory responses associated with asthma. The present study focused on the involvement of single nucleotide polymorphism variation (SNP) of interleukin 4 (IL4) in the development of disease, asthma and designing small molecules for the inhibition of IL4 through in silico strategy.Methods: Identification of disease causing SNP will be a wise approach towards the phenotype specific treatment. A human origin deleterious no synonymous SNP of IL4 were found out in the chromosome region 5q31-q33 (rs199929962) (T/C). Proteins of the corresponding nucleotide variation were identified and were subjected to characterization studies for selecting the most appropriate one for further mutational analysis and molecular docking studies.Results: Influence of microbes on SNP variation of IL4 gene leading to asthma was found to be insignificant by metagenomic studies. Gene responsive drugs were identified through environmental factor analysis. The drug candidates including corticosteroids were subjected to protein interaction studies by in silico means. The pharmacophoric feature derived from drug receptor interaction was utilized for virtual screening on a dataset of anti-inflammatory phytomolecules. The scaffolds of ellagic acid and quercetin were identified as potential nonsteroidal entities which can shield the asthmatic activities.Conclusion: Developing small molecules using these scaffolds taking interleukin 4 as a target will be an adequate solution for steroid resistant asthma

Comparative study of hyperbaric 0.5% bupivacaine and hyperbaric 0.5% bupivacaine with low dose dexmedetomidine in spinal anaesthesia

Background: Spinal anaesthesia remains one of the basic techniques in the arsenal of modern anaesthesiology despite the waxing and waning of its popularity over last 100 years since its introduction into clinical practice.It avoids biochemical and metabolic changes consequent to the stress of general anesthesia for surgery as well as provides near optimal conditions for surgery. In present study, we tried to study effectiveness of intrathecal 0.5% heavy bupivacaine alone with Dexmedetomidine as an adjuvant to intrathecal 0.5% heavy bupivacaine for lower limb and lower abdominal surgeries.Methods: The present study was conducted in the department of anaesthesiology from December 2011 to September 2013.This study was a prospective, randomised controlled, single blind, study conducted in 100 patients of ASA grade I and II undergoing elective surgeries under spinal anaesthesia. The patients were divided randomly into two groups, containing 50 patients in each group. Dosages of drugs selected are divided as Group B: Patients received 3 ml of 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine (15mg) and Group BD: Patients received 3 ml of 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine (15mg) plus 10 µg Dexmedetomidine. Spinal block characteristics, Mean arterial pressure, Mean pulse rate, sedation and side effects were studied during intra-operative and postoperative period.Results: It was found from present study that in Dexmedetomidine group time to reach T10 sensory blockade and complete motor blockade was earlier and a higher level of sensory blockade compared to control group achieved. Duration of sensory, motor blockade and duration of analgesia was significantly prolonged in the Dexmedetomidine group compared to the control group. Hemodynamic parameters were preserved both intra-operatively and postoperatively. However there were a small percentage of patients who developed hypotension and bradycardia which were easily managed without any untoward effect. Hence Dexmedetomidine is a better neuraxial adjuvant for providing early onset of sensory and motor blockade, prolonged sensory blockade and post operative analgesia and adequate sedation.Conclusions: Intrathecal low dose Dexmedetomidine in a dose of 10µg along with 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine is an addition into anaesthesiologist's armamentarium for spinal anaesthesia in patients undergoing elective lower abdominal and lower limb surgeries