Availability and Usage of Information Sources and Services at Select Media Libraries in Delhi Region: A Study

Information is a basic need of today’s fast changing world important for one’s day to day life. People need information to efficiently carry out work in their respective fields. Media professionals working in Media organisations needs current, authoritative and factual information to construct news and programmes. Such information is made available by Media libraries in the shortest time frame to meet the targets of the Media Professionals. The information is collected from the printed as well from the electronic resources available in the Media libraries. In view of the remarkable contribution made by the media libraries, the present research has been conceive with the broad objective of studying the adequacy and availability of information sources and how optimally the same has been used by the users. The study is confined to two Media Libraries such as The Indian Institute of Mass Communication Media Library and Anwar Jamal Kidwai Mass communication Research Centre Media Library in the NCT of Delhi have been taken for research investigation. The study adopted the survey method and data was gathered through close ended questionnaire and through in-depth personal interviews with the Media Professionals and media library staff. Two separate sets of questionnaire were used to elicit the desired information. The Research investigation highlighted survey findings in term of availability of sources in two media libraries. Apart from media professionals and media librarians, the library use pattern, e-resources use pattern, library visit pattern and the problems encounter by media professionals in accessing the information sources etc. were highlighted. At the end, the researcher made some suggestions and important recommendations for the overall improvement in providing quality services to the users

A Landslide in Glacial Soils of New Jersey

On August 13, 2000, a massive landslide occurred in Northern New Jersey following an extreme rainfall event during which at least 381mm (15 in) of precipitation fell during a 4-day period. The composite earth slide-earth flow, with an estimated volume of 22,800 m3 (29,821 yd3) traveled up to 365 m (1200 ft) in a short period. While landslides do occasionally occur along the coastal bluffs of the Atlantic Coastal Plain, slides of this magnitude are uncommon in the glacial soils of the New Jersey Highlands section, where the slide occurred. A geotechnical investigation was undertaken to identify the causative factors of the slide. Soils within the rupture zone were found to be distinctly stratified in a direction parallel with the ground slope, which averaged 15% to 20%. The soil profile consisted of an Upper Till overlying a more compact Lower Till. A rupture surface developed at the stratigraphic contact between the two tills, with the Upper Till failing in translation. A significant factor in the location of the rupture surface was the density difference between the Upper and Lower Tills (averaging 16.11 kN/m3 (102.5 lb/ft3) and 20.44 kN/m3 (130 lb/ft3), respectively). Grain size analyses confirmed that the dominance of silt and sand in the Upper Till made it especially prone to sliding. Land use of the site was also a factor, since the rupture occurred on a hay field that was within a residential subdivision in the early stages of construction. The beneficial effects of root reinforcement were especially evident around the rupture scar, since headward and lateral migration of the slide were arrested by a bordering forest. Analyses suggest that the main trigger of the landslide was groundwater perching at the contact between the two tills leading to excess pore pressure which caused failure. Two other conditions contributing to elevated groundwater pressure were a small topographic swale and outcrops of low permeability granite bedrock directly above the rupture zone. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of the implications of the Sparta landslide on the burgeoning development of Northern New Jersey

A Controlled Study on the Characterisation of Bioaerosols Emissions from Compost

Bioaerosol emissions arising from biowaste treatment are an issue of public concern. To better characterise the bioaerosols, and to assess a range of measurement methods, we aerosolised green waste compost under controlled conditions. Viable and non-viable Andersen samplers, cyclone samplers and a real time bioaerosol detection system (Spectral Intensity Bioaerosol Sensor (SIBS)) were deployed simultaneously. The number-weighted fraction of fluorescent particles was in the range 22–26% of all particles for low and high emission scenarios. Overall fluorescence spectral profiles seen by the SIBS exhibited several peaks across the 16 wavelength bands from 298 to 735 nm. The size-fractionated endotoxin profile showed most endotoxin resided in the 2.1–9 μm aerodynamic diameter fraction, though up to 27% was found in a finer size fraction. A range of microorganisms were detected through culture, Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption and Ionisation Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF) and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), including Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1. These findings contribute to our knowledge of the physico-chemical and biological characteristics of bioaerosols from composting sites, as well as informing future monitoring approaches and data interpretation for bioaerosol measurement

Long-range potential fluctuations and 1/f noise in hydrogenated amorphous silicon

We present a microscopic theory of the low-frequency voltage noise (known as "1/f" noise) in micrometer-thick films of hydrogenated amorphous silicon. This theory traces the noise back to the long-range fluctuations of the Coulomb potential produced by deep defects, thereby predicting the absolute noise intensity as a function of the distribution of defect activation energies. The predictions of this theory are in very good agreement with our own experiments in terms of both the absolute intensity and the temperature dependence of the noise spectra.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, several new parts and one new figure are added, but no conceptual revision

Association among plasma levels of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, traditional cardiovascular risk factors, and subclinical atherosclerosis

ObjectivesWe sought to evaluate the association between plasma levels of monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1 and the risk for subclinical atherosclerosis.BackgroundMonocyte chemoattractant protein is a chemokine that recruits monocytes into the developing atheroma and may contribute to atherosclerotic disease development and progression. Plasma levels of MCP-1 are independently associated with prognosis in patients with acute coronary syndromes, but few population-based data are available from subjects in earlier stages of atherosclerosis.MethodsIn the Dallas Heart Study, a population-based probability sample of adults in Dallas County ≤65 years old, plasma levels of MCP-1 were measured in 3,499 subjects and correlated with traditional cardiovascular risk factors, high-sensitivityC-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and coronary artery calcium (CAC) measured by electron beam computed tomography.ResultsHigher MCP-1 levels were associated with older age, white race, family history of premature coronary disease, smoking, hypertension, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, and higher levels of hs-CRP (p < 0.01 for each). Similar associations were observed between MCP-1 and risk factors in the subgroup of participants without detectable CAC. Compared with the subjects in the lowest quartile of MCP-1, the odds of prevalent CAC (CAC score ≥10) for subjects in the second, third, and fourth quartiles were 1.30 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.99 to 1.73), 1.60 (95% CI 1.22 to 2.11), and 2.02 (95% CI 1.54 to 2.63), respectively. The association between MCP-1 and CAC remained significant when adjusted for traditional cardiovascular risk factors, but not when further adjusted for age.ConclusionsIn a large population-based sample, plasma levels of MCP-1 were associated with traditional risk factors for atherosclerosis, supporting the hypothesis that MCP-1 may mediate some of the atherogenic effects of these risk factors. These findings support the potential role of MCP-1 as a biomarker target for drug development

Improving child survival under National Health Mission in India: Where do we stand?

India contributes to around one-fifth of the global under-five mortality and also maternal mortality besides one-third of the neonatalmortality. Since any reduction in child mortality in India is crucial for the global decline, therefore, the Indian Government decidedto undertake massive correction of the health system. This led to the launch of National Rural Health Mission in the year 2005. Sincethen, significant progress has been made and child mortality rates have shown a sharp decline. On comparing the progress made by theworld toward Millennium Development Goals, India fares better by showing a decline of 46.5% in comparison to 41% for the entireworld during the same period. In order to assess the state-wise reduction, data from sample registration system of the Registrar Generalof India which is available for most of the States/Union Territories (UTs) have been analyzed. States such as Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu,and Kerala have shown an impressive decline but some states such as Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Mizoram, and Delhi still have a longway to go to reach the state specific goals and targets. Any further decline would only be possible by addressing inter-district variationsthat are still lagging behind and focused efforts need to be made, in order to reach these desired goals. This analysis would be valuablein planning future program implementation plans

Identification of QTLs associated with oil content and mapping FAD2 genes and their relative contribution to oil quality in peanut (Arachis hypogaeaL.)

Background Peanut is one of the major source for human consumption worldwide and its seed contain approximately 50% oil. Improvement of oil content and quality traits (high oleic and low linoleic acid) in peanut could be accelerated by exploiting linked markers through molecular breeding. The objective of this study was to identify QTLs associated with oil content, and estimate relative contribution of FAD2 genes (ahFAD2A and ahFAD2B) to oil quality traits in two recombinant inbred line (RIL) populations. Results Improved genetic linkage maps were developed for S-population (SunOleic 97R × NC94022) with 206 (1780.6 cM) and T-population (Tifrunner × GT-C20) with 378 (2487.4 cM) marker loci. A total of 6 and 9 QTLs controlling oil content were identified in the S- and T-population, respectively. The contribution of each QTL towards oil content variation ranged from 3.07 to 10.23% in the S-population and from 3.93 to 14.07% in the T-population. The mapping positions for ahFAD2A (A sub-genome) and ahFAD2B (B sub-genome) genes were assigned on a09 and b09 linkage groups. The ahFAD2B gene (26.54%, 25.59% and 41.02% PVE) had higher phenotypic effect on oleic acid (C18:1), linoleic acid (C18:2), and oleic/linoleic acid ratio (O/L ratio) than ahFAD2A gene (8.08%, 6.86% and 3.78% PVE). The FAD2 genes had no effect on oil content. This study identified a total of 78 main-effect QTLs (M-QTLs) with up to 42.33% phenotypic variation (PVE) and 10 epistatic QTLs (E-QTLs) up to 3.31% PVE for oil content and quality traits. Conclusions A total of 78 main-effect QTLs (M-QTLs) and 10 E-QTLs have been detected for oil content and oil quality traits. One major QTL (more than 10% PVE) was identified in both the populations for oil content with source alleles from NC94022 and GT-C20 parental genotypes. FAD2 genes showed high effect for oleic acid (C18:1), linoleic acid (C18:2), and O/L ratio while no effect on total oil content. The information on phenotypic effect of FAD2 genes for oleic acid, linoleic acid and O/L ratio, and oil content will be applied in breeding selection

Multipole moments on the common horizon in a binary-black-hole simulation

We construct the covariantly defined multipole moments on the common horizon of an equal-mass, non-spinning, quasicircular binary-black-hole system. We see a strong correlation between these multipole moments and the gravitational waveform. We find that the multipole moments are well described by the fundamental quasinormal modes at sufficiently late times. For each multipole moment, at least two fundamental modes of different $\ell$ are detectable in the best model. These models provide faithful estimates of the true mass and spin of the remnant black hole. We also show that by including overtones, the $\ell=m=2$ mass multipole moment admits an excellent quasinormal-mode description at all times after the merger. This demonstrates the perhaps surprising power of perturbation theory near the merger