Polygala idukkiana (Polygalaceae), una especie nueva del sur de los Ghats Occidentales, India

Polygala idukkiana (Polygalaceae) is described as a new species from the Idukki district of Kerala in the southern Western Ghats. Detailed description along with colour photographs, distribution map, and key to the identification of Polygala species occurring in Kerala are provided. The new species is compared with the morphologically allied P. sibirica, P. rosmarinifolia, and P. chinensis. The conservation status of the new species is assessed provisionally as Data Deficient (DD) according to IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria.Se describe Polygala idukkiana (Polygalaceae) como una nueva especie del distrito de Idukki de Kerala en el sur de los Ghats occidentales. Se proporciona una descripción detallada junto con fotografías en color, un mapa de distribución y una clave para la identificación de las especies de Polygala presentes en Kerala. La nueva especie se compara con las especies morfológicamente afines P. sibirica, P. rosmarinifolia y P. chinensis. El estado de conservación de la nueva especie se evalúa provisionalmente como Datos Insuficientes (DD) de acuerdo con las Categorías y Criterios de la Lista Roja de la UICN

Henckelia khasiana, una nueva especie de Gesneriaceae de la India

A new species of Henckelia (Gesneriaceae) is here described and illustrated. It is morphologically most similar to H. oblongifolia but differs in having lanceolate calyx lobes, two prominent longitudinal flaps on the inner surface of the corolla tube, bilobed stigma and tomentose capsules. A detailed description of the new species with colour photographs, affinities and a comparison with related species is given. Based on the present data, the new species is provisionally assessed as Critically Endangered (CR) according to IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria.Se describe e ilustra una nueva especie de Henckelia (Gesneriaceae). Esta nueva especie es similar a H. oblongifolia, de la que se diferencia por tener lóbulos del cáliz lanceolados, dos láminas longitudinales prominentes en la superficie interna del tubo de la corola, estigma bilobulado y cápsulas tomentosas. Se proporciona una descripción detallada de la nueva especie y fotografías en color de sus principales órganos. Sobre la base de los datos actuales, se evalúa provisionalmente como en Peligro Crítico (CR) de acuerdo con las categorías y criterios de la Lista Roja de la IUCN

The effect of nutritional status on the response to highly active antiretroviral therapy in human immunodeficiency virus-infected children at regional antiretroviral therapy centre in Northern India

Background: Effect of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) on growth in children is well established but influence of prior nutritional status on the response to HAART is not well known. Objective: To determine the influence of prior nutritional status on the response to HAART in terms of growth and CD4 counts. Methods: It was a retrospective record review based study conducted at a regional ART centre at a tertiary care, teaching hospital in Northern India. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive children who were naïve to antiretroviral therapy and were initiated on treatment from January 2006 to December 2007 were included in this study. Age, weight, height and CD4 cell counts were recorded at the initiation of HAART and after 24 months of therapy. Data was analyzed using paired t-tests within the groups, Chi-square tests, and one-way analysis of variance. Results: Seventy-nine HIV positive children were included in the study. At baseline, 29% of children were normal weight, 27% moderately underweight and 44% severely underweight with mean CD4 counts 243.30±178.50, 282.95±173.69 and 215.11±85.71 respectively. After 24 months of HAART, mean CD4 cell counts as well as weight for age z scores increased significantly in all 3 groups with mean CD4 counts being 913.61±401.46, 931.24±363.54 and 775.31±424.43 respectively in the groups. There were no significant differences in CD4 counts in the groups both pre and post ART. Conclusion: Underlying malnutrition does not adversely affect growth and immunologic response (increase in CD4 count) to HAART in HIV-infected children

Polygala idukkiana (Polygalaceae), a new species from the southern Western Ghats, India

Polygala idukkiana (Polygalaceae) is described as a new species from the Idukki district of Kerala in the southern Western Ghats. Detailed description along with colour photographs, distribution map, and key to the identification of Polygala species occurring in Kerala are provided. The new species is compared with the morphologically allied P. sibirica, P. rosmarinifolia, and P. chinensis. The conservation status of the new species is assessed provisionally as Data Deficient (DD) according to IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria

Nano-Phased Materials and Thin Film Heterostructures: A Pathway to High-Efficiency Solar Energy Conversion Technologies

The sun fuel conversion, solar photovoltaics, bio-catalysis, and solar water splitting are all things that are covered in this road map. Perovskites, organic photovoltaics, and dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are several components of this category. The distribution and bridging of storage via the use of direct and indirect storage systems is the cornerstone of energy management for this electricity. This will exhibit energy efficiency ahead of several criteria, including mobility and light weight, high energy storage capacity, cheap manufacturing cost, low temperature performance, and quick energy transfer. Consequently, this will demonstrate energy efficiency. When an announcement is made on an increase in capacity, it is common practice to just include the installation of the equipment. Although it may seem like the manufacturing line is functioning well, this does not always mean that it is. It is possible that the installation of the manufacturing line and the actual sale of solar cells will be delayed for a period of time due to the introduction of new technologies. A semiconductor is the fundamental component of dye-sensitized solar cells. This semiconductor is produced by a photoelectrochemical system that consists of an electrolyte and a dye-sensitized anode

Self-supervised embedding for generalized zero-shot learning in remote sensing scene classification

Generalized zero-shot learning (GZSL) is the most popular approach for developing ZSL, which involves both seen and unseen classes in the classification process. Many of the existing GZSL approaches for scene classification in remote sensing images use word embeddings that do not effectively describe unseen categories. We explore word embedding to describe the classes of remote sensing scenes to improve the classification accuracy of unseen categories. The proposed method uses a data2vec embedding based on self-supervised learning to obtain a continuous and contextualized latent representation. This representation leverages two advantages of the standard transformer architecture. First, targets are not predefined as visual tokens. Second, latent representations preserve contextual information. We conducted experiments on three benchmark scene classification datasets of remote sensing images. The proposed approach demonstrates its efficacy over the existing GZSL approaches.publishedVersio

Enhancement of Photovoltaic Performance through Nano-Phased Materials and Thin Film Heterostructures in Solar Cells

The purpose of this research is to investigate the possibility of enhancing the efficiency of photovoltaic (PV) systems by incorporating nano-phased materials and thin film heterostructures into existing solar cells. As a result of the incorporation of these cutting-edge components, solar cells will perform more effectively overall, ultimately satisfying the need for energy sources that are more dependable and efficient. In the context of this study, nano-phased materials are important due to the unique features they possess, which have the potential to significantly improve the efficiency with which solar energy is converted. The use of nanomaterials in solar cells makes it possible to achieve a number of benefits, including greater light absorption, reduced electron-hole recombination, and improved charge carrier mobility respectively. The increased functionality of the photovoltaic system leads to a more efficient use of the sunlight that is flowing in, which in turn increases the overall power conversion efficiency of the system. As an additional benefit, the incorporation of thin film heterostructures into solar cells improves the use of nano-phased materials by boosting the charge transport channels that are present inside the cells. Thin films, when precisely integrated into heterostructures, provide efficient charge separation and collection, hence minimizing the amount of energy that is lost during the conversion process. Through the synergistic interaction of thin film heterostructures with nano-phased materials, it is possible to construct a solar cell that has improved performance characteristics. In addition to the fabrication of thin film heterostructures by the use of advanced deposition techniques, the research includes the meticulous analysis of a wide variety of nanostructured materials, including nanowires, nanoparticles, and nanotubes. A thorough analysis and comparison of the performance of these unique solar cell designs with that of traditional solar cells will be carried out. The results of this comparison will provide valuable new information about the possibility of this much enhanced technology being widely used. By bringing forth a novel approach to enhancing photovoltaic performance, the purpose of this study is to make a significant contribution to the ongoing efforts that are being made to enhance the technology that is used for renewable energy sources. A combination of thin-film heterostructures and nano-phased materials might make it feasible for future generations of solar cells to be powered in a manner that is both environmentally friendly and efficient in terms of energy consumption

Anticancer Activity of Hedychium Coronarium Rhizome Solvent Extracts on Colon Cancer Cells

Hedychium coronarium J. Koenig. is a rhizomatous herb of family Zingiberaceae. It is well known as white ginger lilly or butterfly lilly. The rhizome has been used to treat rheumatism, as a tonic and to avoid bad breath. The present study aim is to evaluate the anticancer, antioxidant and antibacterial activity of petroleum ether (HCPE) and ethanol (HCAE) extracts of Hedychium coronarium rhizome using in vitro methods. Anticancer activity of the extracts was assessed against human colon cancer cell lines (HCT-116). Antioxidant capacity of the HCPE and HCAE was assessed using phosphomolybdenum, DPPH and hydroxyl radical scavenging methods. In results, both HCPE and HCAE extracts have a good amount of total phenolics and flavonoids content. Ethanol extract showed a higher total antioxidant capacity than petroleum ether extract. Petroleum ether extract strongly reduced DPPH purple color, while ethanol extract significantly inhibited hydroxyl radicals. Cytotoxic study results revealed that, the extracts strongly suppressed HCT-116 cell lines in concentration dependent fashion. ELISA and TUNEL assay results showed that petroleum ether extracts enhanced caspase-3 mediated DNA fragmentation in HCT – 116 cell lines. In conclusion, H. coronarium could be used as a source of plant based antibacterial/antioxidant and anticancer components. Further molecular studies are required to isolate and characterize active principle and to validate its pharmacological properties in in vivo models

Investigation on the consequential features of Southwest Monsoon-2007 Onset and Super cyclone "Gonu" using Satellite, Model and Ground-based data

Onset features of the Summer monsoon-2007 were analyzed using data from five different sources, namely,the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) 3-hourly rainfall, National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR) wind reanalysis data set, NOAA Outgoing Longwave Radiation (OLR), cloud imageries from the meteosat satellite,cloud base height and cloud occurrence frequency from a ground-based Vaisala Laser Ceilometer at Thiruvananthapuram. On the day of onset, 33 mm of rainfall was registered by TRMM satellite over south Kerala region with 80% cloud frequency and an averaged cloud base height of 2 km. On the next day, the formation of ‘Gonu’ super cyclone as a consequence of the convergence of monsoon onset surge in the Arabian Sea has caused the dissipation of cloud bands in the Arabian Sea and in the Bay of Bengal, except over the region of the system. This caused a lull situation for about ten days after the India Meteorological Department (IMD) declared monsoon onset. In fact, the remarkable characteristics of onset, such as deepening of westerlies and strengthening of low level jet streams were observed only after two weeks of IMD declared monsoon onset. Another unique behavior of 2007 monsoon onset was that the Arabian Sea branch of monsoon onset surge has advanced faster than the Bay of Bengal branch in the early stage