Channel routing optimization using a genetic algorithm

A modified approach for the application of Genetic Algorithm (GA) to the Channel Routing Problem has been proposed. The code based on the algorithm proposed in [1] has been implemented for the GA procedures of Initial Population Generation, Crossover, Mutation and Selection. A few improvements over the existing work have been made and the results so far obtained have been encouraging. Further experimentation is being done on the algorithm and other ideas generated during the development of the code are being implemented for faster convergence of the algorithm and for generation of more efficient results. Also application of variations of the GA technique like Vector GA and even other computationally intelligent techniques like Particle Swarm Optimization to the channel routing problem is being thought of

Ground Water Pollution and Emerging Environmental Challenges of Industrial Effluent Irrigation: A Case Study of Mettupalayam Taluk, Tamilnadu

Industrial disposal of effluents on land and the subsequent pollution of groundwater and soil of surrounding farmlands – is a relatively new area of research. The environmental and socioeconomic aspects of industrial effluent irrigation have not been studied as extensively as domestic sewage based irrigation practices, at least for a developing country like India. The disposal of effluents on land has become a regular practice for some industries. Industries located in Mettupalayam Taluk, Tamil Nadu, dispose their effluents on land, and the farmers of the adjacent farmlands have complained that their shallow open wells get polluted and also the salt content of the soil has started building up slowly. This study attempts to capture the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of industrial effluent irrigation in different industrial locations at Mettupalayam Taluk, Tamil Nadu, through primary surveys and secondary information. This study found that the continuous disposal of industrial effluents on land, which has limited capacity to assimilate the pollution load, has led to groundwater pollution. The quality of groundwater in shallow open wells surrounding the industrial locations has deteriorated, and the application of polluted groundwater for irrigation has resulted in increased salt content of soils. In some locations drinking water wells (deep bore wells) also have a high concentration of salts. Since the farmers had already shifted their cropping pattern to salt-tolerant crops (like jasmine, curry leaf, tobacco, etc.) and substituted their irrigation source from shallow open wells to deep bore wells and/or river water, the impact of pollution on livelihoods was minimized. Since the local administration is supplying drinking water to households, the impact in the domestic sector has been minimized. It has also been noticed that in some locations industries are supplying drinking water to the affected households. However, if the pollution continues unabated it could pose serious problems in the future

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Not AvailableSusceptibility to root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) is one of the major factors limiting mungbean production in South and South-east Asia. Host-pest-environment interaction in mungbean and rootknot nematode (M. incognita) was investigated in multi-location feld evaluation using 38 promising mungbean genotypes extracted from initial evaluation of 250 genotypes under sick plots considering second stage freshly hatched juvenile as inoculants. the extent of environmental and genotypeby-environment interactions (GGe) was assessed to comprehend the dynamism of resistance and identifcation of durable resistant mungbean genotypes. Among environmental factors, nematode activity was highly infuenced by rainfall and minimum temperature. The GGE biplot and multiple comparison tests detected a higher proportion of genotype × environment (Ge) interaction followed by genotype and environment on number of nematode galls, gall index and reproduction factor. The frst two principal components (PCs) explained 64.33% and 66.99% of the total variation of the environment-centered gall scoring and reproduction factor data, respectively. the high Ge variation indicated the presence of non-cross over interactions which justify the necessities of multi-location testing. Detection of non-redundant testing locations would expedite optimum resource utilization in future. The GGE biplot analysis identifed genotypes such as PM-10-12, IPM-410-3 and NVL-641 as the outperforming and desirable genotypes with durable resistance against M. incognita which can be exploited in mungbean breeding programmes globally. on the contrary, the highest gall scoring and reproduction factor were recorded in genotype IPM-9901-8. Computation of confidence interval (CI) at 95% level through bootstrapping increased precision of GGE biplot towards genotype recommendation. furthermore, total phenol content, ascorbic acid, phenlylalanine ammonia lyase (pAL) and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activities were also higher in identified resistant genotypes and this information would be useful for devising mungbean breeding strategies in future for resistance against root-knot nematodes.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableImbalanced application of nutrients in the intensively cropped areas results in deterioration of soil fertility. Application of recommended dose of potassium (K) is essential for improving the use efficiency of other nutrients. To assess the buffering capacity of soil, three composite soil samples were collected from the surface soil (0–30cm) during 2015 from 3 production systems viz., organic, inorganic and integrated which was maintained from 2004 with basmati rice–wheat–Sesbania system under Network Project on Organic Farming at ICAR-Indian Institute of Farming Systems Research, Modipuram. Fractionation of potassium (K) was achieved by sequential extraction of soil samples with distilled water, ammonium acetate and nitric acid in the same order. The relationship between the adsorbed and equilibrium potassium concentration, quantity was determined by plotting Freundlich adsorption isotherms. This was used to determine the buffering capacity and the concentration levels of potassium adsorbed on un-specific sites in the soil. The suitability of the adsorption equation was determined by applying the least square regression analysis. The results revealed that available potassium in the soils ranged from 119.51 to 135.01mg/kg with 126.02±5.24mg/kg as mean (ammonium acetate method) while water soluble and nitric acid extracted potassium ranged from 28.51 to 29.05mg/kg and 2594.49±19.33mg/kg (mean) in various production systems. The mean free energy of replacement was found to be 1998.01±28.38cal/ mol indicating that soils have comparatively higher potassium supply under organic system. The potassium buffering capacity of the soils was found to be 0.7462±0.16mg/kg, 0.6295±0.20mg/kg and 0.6774±0.09mg/ kg in organic, integrated and inorganic systems, respectively. The amount of potassium adsorbed on un-specific sites of the organic, integrated and inorganic systems was found to be 7.4730±1.81, 15.11±2.40 and 11.6 89±3.58mg/kg, respectively. It can be concluded that long-term organic production system improves Kþ buffering capacity of Typic Ustochrept soil as compare to the integrated as well as inorganic production systems.Not Availabl

Metabolic engineering of CHO cells for the development of a robust protein production platform

<div><p>Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells are the most preferred mammalian host used for the bio-pharmaceutical production. A major challenge in metabolic engineering is to balance the flux of the tuned heterogonous metabolic pathway and achieve efficient metabolic response in a mammalian cellular system. Pyruvate carboxylase is an important network element for the cytoplasmic and mitochondrial metabolic pathway and efficiently contributes in enhancing the energy metabolism. The lactate accumulation in cell culture can be reduced by re-wiring of the pyruvate flux in engineered cells. In the present work, we over-expressed the yeast cytosolic pyruvate carboxylase (PYC2) enzyme in CHO cells to augment pyruvate flux towards the TCA cycle. The dual selection strategy is adopted for the screening and isolation of CHO clones containing varying number of PYC2 gene load and studied their cellular kinetics. The enhanced PYC2 expression has led to enhanced pyruvate flux which, thus, allowed reduced lactate accumulation up to 4 folds and significant increase in the cell density and culture longevity. With this result, engineered cells have shown a significant enhanced antibody expression up to 70% with improved product quality (~3 fold) as compared to the parental cells. The PYC2 engineering allowed overall improved cell performance with various advantages over parent cells in terms of pyruvate, glucose, lactate and cellular energy metabolism. This study provides a potential expression platform for a bio-therapeutic protein production in a controlled culture environment.</p></div

Amino acid analysis of spent medium.

<p>Concentration of the glutamic acid, aspartic acid and alanine profile of parental CHO cells and clone#12 grown in a fed -batch culture at different time interval. (<b>A</b>) Glutamic acid (<b>B)</b> Aspartic acid (<b>C)</b> Alanine.</p