Resource Allocation in a MAC with and without security via Game Theoretic Learning

In this paper a $K$-user fading multiple access channel with and without security constraints is studied. First we consider a F-MAC without the security constraints. Under the assumption of individual CSI of users, we propose the problem of power allocation as a stochastic game when the receiver sends an ACK or a NACK depending on whether it was able to decode the message or not. We have used Multiplicative weight no-regret algorithm to obtain a Coarse Correlated Equilibrium (CCE). Then we consider the case when the users can decode ACK/NACK of each other. In this scenario we provide an algorithm to maximize the weighted sum-utility of all the users and obtain a Pareto optimal point. PP is socially optimal but may be unfair to individual users. Next we consider the case where the users can cooperate with each other so as to disagree with the policy which will be unfair to individual user. We then obtain a Nash bargaining solution, which in addition to being Pareto optimal, is also fair to each user. Next we study a $K$-user fading multiple access wiretap Channel with CSI of Eve available to the users. We use the previous algorithms to obtain a CCE, PP and a NBS. Next we consider the case where each user does not know the CSI of Eve but only its distribution. In that case we use secrecy outage as the criterion for the receiver to send an ACK or a NACK. Here also we use the previous algorithms to obtain a CCE, PP or a NBS. Finally we show that our algorithms can be extended to the case where a user can transmit at different rates. At the end we provide a few examples to compute different solutions and compare them under different CSI scenarios.Comment: 27 pages, 12 figures. Part of the paper was presented in 2016 IEEE Information theory and applicaitons (ITA) Workshop, San Diego, USA in Feb. 2016. Submitted to journa

Correlation of Pseudo Cholinesterase level with clinical assessment and outcome in organo phosphorus poisoning

INTRODUCTION: The organophosphorus compounds may be inhaled or ingested accidentally or intentionally, in industries, trade, agricultural fields or homes. The German chemist Gerhard Schrader is credited for the discovery of the general chemical structure of anticholinesterase OP compounds, and for the synthesis of the first commercialized OP insecticides. (Bladan, containing TEPP (Tetra ethyl pyrophosphate) as the active ingredient, and for one of the most known, parathion in 1944. Since then hundreds of OP compounds have been made and commercialized worldwide in a variety of formulations. Organophosphorus compounds are antiacetyl cholinesterases which exert their toxicity by interfering with the normal function of acetyl choline, an essential neuro transmitter throughout the autonomic and central nervous system. The manifestations of toxicity are a result of this effect, affecting the patients physiology. The anticholinesterase effects can be evidenced biochemically by suppression in the plasma levels of pseudocholinesterase (PChE) and of red cell cholinesterase (AChE). AIM AND OBJECTIVES: 1. To estimate Pseudo cholinesterase enzyme levels at the time of admission in acute organophosphorus poisoning. 2. To determine whether the Pseudo cholinesterase level has a diagnostic significance. 3. To assess whether the Pseudo cholinesterase levels correlate with the severity and outcome of organophosphorus poisoning. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 100 patients with history and clinical features of organophosphorus poisoning admitted to the IMCU of Tirunelveli Medical College hospital between October 2009 to August 2010 were included in this study. Patients were selected irrespective of their age or sex. INCLUSION CRITERIA for the study were as follows: 1. Provisional diagnosis of organophosphorus poisoning in a patient irrespective of age / sex, based on history by attenders. This was substantiated by examination of the containers. 2. Clinical features suggestive of severe grade of organophosphorus poisoning with clinical evidence of respiratory insufficiency. EXCLUSION CRITERIA for the study as follows: 1. Patient with double insecticide / multiple poisoning with other drugs such as opioids, diazepam, barbiturate etc. 2. Patients with history of respiratory diseases like bronchial asthma, cardiac diseases, neuromuscular diseases like myasthenia graves or muscular dystrophy or other concomitant illness. OBSERVATION AND RESULTS: In this present study, the study subjects were analysed according to their demographic characteristics by computing the averages and compared by the test of significance students 't' tests. The study variables and attributes were correlated and associated by correlation coefficients and P2 (Chi-square) tests where ever applicable. The above statistical procedure were undertaken by statistical package S.P.S.S (13.0). The value of P < 0.05 was treated as significant. CONCLUSION: The present study on pseudo cholinesterase levels in organophosphorous poisoning patients was conducted in 100 patients admitted in Intensive Medical Care Unit of Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital. 1. We found in our study that the patients were predominantly males, between the age group of 20 to 40 years. There was significant association between the presence of nicotinic features or respiratory failure, atropine dose used and outcome of poisoning. 2. In majority of cases, we found suppression of Pseudo cholinesterase level at the time of admission to the hospital, which confirms the diagnosis of organophosphorus poisoning. However our study did not reveal any relation between • PChE levels and the time of presentation after poisoning. • PChE levels and respiratory insufficiency. • PChE levels and atropine dose used. • PChE levels and mortality

Ethnomedicinal and ecological status of plants in Garhwal Himalaya, India

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The northern part of India harbours a great diversity of medicinal plants due to its distinct geography and ecological marginal conditions. The traditional medical systems of northern India are part of a time tested culture and honored still by people today. These traditional systems have been curing complex disease for more than 3,000 years. With rapidly growing demand for these medicinal plants, most of the plant populations have been depleted, indicating a lack of ecological knowledge among communities using the plants. Thus, an attempt was made in this study to focus on the ecological status of ethnomedicinal plants, to determine their availability in the growing sites, and to inform the communities about the sustainable exploitation of medicinal plants in the wild.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The ecological information regarding ethnomedicinal plants was collected in three different climatic regions (tropical, sub-tropical and temperate) for species composition in different forest layers. The ecological information was assessed using the quadrate sampling method. A total of 25 quadrats, 10 × 10 m were laid out at random in order to sample trees and shrubs, and 40 quadrats of 1 × 1 m for herbaceous plants. In each climatic region, three vegetation sites were selected for ecological information; the mean values of density, basal cover, and the importance value index from all sites of each region were used to interpret the final data. Ethnomedicinal uses were collected from informants of adjacent villages. About 10% of inhabitants (older, experienced men and women) were interviewed about their use of medicinal plants. A consensus analysis of medicinal plant use between the different populations was conducted.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Across the different climatic regions a total of 57 species of plants were reported: 14 tree species, 10 shrub species, and 33 herb species. In the tropical and sub-tropical regions, <it>Acacia catechu </it>was the dominant tree while <it>Ougeinia oojeinensis </it>in the tropical region and <it>Terminalia belerica </it>in the sub-tropical region were least dominant reported. In the temperate region, <it>Quercus leucotrichophora </it>was the dominant tree and <it>Pyrus pashia </it>the least dominant tree. A total of 10 shrubs were recorded in all three regions: <it>Adhatoda vasica </it>was common species in the tropical and sub-tropical regions however, <it>Rhus parviflora </it>was common species in the sub-tropical and temperate regions. Among the 33 herbs, <it>Sida cordifolia </it>was dominant in the tropical and sub-tropical regions, while <it>Barleria prionitis </it>the least dominant in tropical and <it>Phyllanthus amarus </it>in the sub-tropical region. In temperate region, <it>Vernonia anthelmintica </it>was dominant and <it>Imperata cylindrica </it>least dominant. The consensus survey indicated that the inhabitants have a high level of agreement regarding the usages of single plant. The index value was high (1.0) for warts, vomiting, carminative, pain, boils and antiseptic uses, and lowest index value (0.33) was found for bronchitis.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The medicinal plants treated various ailments. These included diarrhea, dysentery, bronchitis, menstrual disorders, gonorrhea, pulmonary affections, migraines, leprosy. The ecological studies showed that the tree density and total basal cover increased from the tropical region to sub-tropical and temperate regions. The species composition changed with climatic conditions. Among the localities used for data collection in each climatic region, many had very poor vegetation cover. The herbaceous layer decreased with increasing altitude, which might be an indication that communities at higher elevations were harvesting more herbaceous medicinal plants, due to the lack of basic health care facilities. Therefore, special attention needs to be given to the conservation of medicinal plants in order to ensure their long-term availability to the local inhabitants. Data on the use of individual species of medicinal plants is needed to provide an in-depth assessment of the plants availability in order to design conservation strategies to protect individual species.</p

Organic farming: Present status, scope and prospects in northern India

Organic agriculture has emerged as an important priority area globally in view of the growing consciousness for safe and healthy food, long term sustainability and environmental concerns despite being contentious in history. Green revolution although paved way for developing countries in self-sufficiency of food but sustaining production against the limited natural resource base demands has shifted steadily from “resource degrading” chemical agriculture to “resource protective” organic agriculture. The essential concept remains the same, i.e., to go back to the arms of nature and take up organic farming to restore the loss. Organic farming emphasizes on rotating crops, managing pests, diversifying crops and livestock and improving the soil. The rainfed areas particularly north-eastern regions where least or no utilization of chemical inputs due to poor resources provides considerable opportunity for promotion of organic farming thereby reflecting its vast but unexplored scope. However, significant barriers like yield reduction, soil fertility enhancement, integration of livestock, marketing and policy etc., arise at both macroscopic and microscopic levels; making practically impossible the complete adoption of ‘pure organic farming’; rather some specific area can be diverted to organic farming and thus a blend of organic and other innovative farming systems is needed. Adoption of Integrated Green Revolution Farming can be possible to a large extent, where the basic trends of green revolution are retained with greater efficiency and closer compatibility to the environment. This review paper attempts to present the recent global and regional scenario of organic farming particularly highlighting the scope, prospects and constraints in the northern areas

Analytical study of training needs of olive growers in various subject matter areas of olive cultivation in Uri Block of district Baramulla, J&K, India

The main purpose of this study was to know the training needs of olive growers in different subject matter areas of olive cultivation undertaken in Uri block of district Baramulla of Jammu and Kashmir State. A sample size of 150 respondents was randomly selected from 5 villages and from each village 30 farmers were selected randomly. It was observed during the study that majority of farmers require training and with emphasis on latest transfer of technology in establishing olive farm, procurement of root stocks of improved varieties, soil management,proper spacing and planting, manures and fertilizers, irrigation and drainage, insect-pests and diseases, harvesting and marketing, etc. The area of insect-pests and diseases require high training need followed by soil management, selection of varieties, manures and fertilizers, harvesting and marketing, irrigation and drainage, establishing olive farm and procurement of root-stocks of improved varieties. Therefore, the study has highlighted the need for restructuring the training programme to benefit the olive growers in the region. Such an approach would boost production and generate additional income for the orchardists

Relationship between incidence of Leucinodes orbonalis (Guenee) and Chlorophyll content in leaves of Brinjal (Solanum melongena L.)

The present study on biochemical basis of resistance against Leucinodes orbonalis infestation was conducted during the year 2011-2012. The results revealed that highest chlorophyll-‘a’- content of 0.497 mg/gfw was recorded in the susceptible genotype SHB-1.The lowest amount of 0.319 and 0.381 mg/gfw was observed in the resistant genotypes Brinjal-85 and Local long respectively, which were significantly different from other evaluated genotypes. The chlorophyll ‘a’content was positively correlated with the brinjal shoot and fruit borer infestation. Thehighest chlorophyll -‘b’- content of 0.442 mg/gfw was recorded at 70 DAT (days after transplanting). The amount of chlorophyll -‘b’- varied significantly among the genotypes at different ages and decreased with the age of crop. The average highest amount of chlorophyll -‘b’- was estimated in the genotype SBH-1 which was significantly at par with hybrid SBH-2. The lowest chlorophyll -‘b’- content was recorded at 40 DAT in the genotype Brinjal-85 followed by Local Long. The lowest amount of total chlorophyll was estimated in the resistant variety as compared to susceptible therefore exhibiting lowest level of infestation

In Arabidopsis thaliana Heterosis Level Varies among Individuals in an F1 Hybrid Population.

Heterosis or hybrid vigour is a phenomenon in which hybrid progeny exhibit superior yield and biomass to parental lines and has been used to breed F1 hybrid cultivars in many crops. A similar level of heterosis in all F1 individuals is expected as they are genetically identical. However, we found variation in rosette size in individual F1 plants from a cross between C24 and Columbia-0 accessions of Arabidopsis thaliana. Big-sized F1 plants had 26.1% larger leaf area in the first and second leaves than medium-sized F1 plants at 14 days after sowing in spite of the identical genetic background. We identified differentially expressed genes between big- and medium-sized F1 plants by microarray; genes involved in the category of stress response were overrepresented. We made transgenic plants overexpressing 21 genes, which were differentially expressed between the two size classes, and some lines had increased plant size at 14 or 21 days after sowing but not at all time points during development. Change of expression levels in stress-responsive genes among individual F1 plants could generate the variation in plant size of individual F1 plants in A. thaliana

Characterization of Histone H3 Lysine 4 and 36 Tri-methylation in Brassica rapa L.

Covalent modifications of histone proteins act as epigenetic regulators of gene expression. We report the distribution of two active histone marks (H3K4me3 and H3K36me3) in 14-day leaves in two lines of Brassica rapa L. by chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing. Both lines were enriched with H3K4me3 and H3K36me3 marks at the transcription start site, and the transcription level of a gene was associated with the level of H3K4me3 and H3K36me3. H3K4me3- and H3K36me3-marked genes showed low tissue-specific gene expression, and genes with both H3K4me3 and H3K36me3 had a high level of expression and were constitutively expressed. Bivalent active and repressive histone modifications such as H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 marks or antagonistic coexistence of H3K36me3 and H3K27me3 marks were observed in some genes. Expression may be susceptible to changes by abiotic and biotic stresses in genes having both H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 marks. We showed that the presence of H3K36me3 marks was associated with different gene expression levels or tissue specificity between paralogous paired genes, suggesting that H3K36me3 might be involved in subfunctionalization of the subgenomes