Search

Introduction: Screening mammography is used for detection of breast cancer and is interpreted using the Breast Image Reporting and Data System (BIRADS) convention. It is not routinely offered to women in countries which do not have a national screening programme resulting in a challenge for the radiologist who has to interpret these in the absence of previous mammograms. Aim: To analyse benign and probably benign lesions in screening mammograms in a hitherto unscreened population and suggest protocols to increase diagnostic confidence. Materials and Methods: Screening mammograms of 362 asymptomatic women in the age range of 40 to 60 years carried out over a two year period were retrospectively analysed. Patients of breast cancer and those who had palpable lumps were excluded from the study. All images were analysed in standard Mediolateral Oblique (MLO) and Craniocaudal (CC) projections with additional views wherever necessary. Corroborative ultrasound had been carried out wherever indicated in the opinion of the interpreting radiologist. The mammograms were finally classified according to the BIRADS convention. Results: Of the total number of 362 women screened, most of whom did not have any previous mammogram, 162 were reported as BIRADS I, 179 as BIRADS II and 18 as BIRADS III. The mammograms reported as BIRADS II had various findings including dystrophic calcification/macrocalcification, vascular calcification, simple cysts and fibroadenomas. Only 26 (16.04%) of the BIRADS I mammograms had undergone further evaluation with Ultrasound (US) due to dense breasts or asymmetrical involution of breast tissue whereas 76 (42.5%) of the BIRADS II mammograms had undergone further evaluation with US to characterize lesions like cysts and fibroadenomas, but occasionally also for benign clustered calcification. Of BIRADS III mammograms, 12 (66.6%) had required US correlation to exclude a mass in cases with dense breasts. The increased likelihood of ultrasound corroboration in BIRADS II and BIRADS III was analysed using the Chi square test and was statistically significant. Conclusion: In the absence of previous screening mammograms, a small number of BIRADS I mammograms and a significant number of BIRADS II and BIRADS III mammograms undergo a corroborative US examination. The addition of supplemental US to the evaluation of these lesions increase diagnostic confidence and lesion characterization in a population which is not subject to routine screening.

Wireless mesh networks in general, and WiFi mesh networks in particular, offer a cost-effective option to provide broadband connectivity in sparse regions. Effective support for real-time as well as high throughput applications requires a TDMA-based approach. However, multihop TDMA implementations in wireless have been few and far-between, and for good reasons. These present significant issues in terms of time synchronization, TDMA schedule dissemination, multichannel support, routing integration, spatial reuse and so on. And achieving these efficiently, in the face of wireless channel losses presents a formidable challenge. In this work, we present an implementation of LiT MAC, a full-fledged multihop TDMA MAC, on commodity WiFi platforms. We undertake extensive evaluations using microbenchmarks as well as application level performance, using outdoor as well as indoor testbeds. We also present an integration of LiT MAC with various routing metrics, and a routing stability study of recently proposed routing metrics (ROMA, SLIQ). Our results show that we can achieve mu s granularity time synchronization across several hops, and TDMA slot size as small as 2 ms. These imply low control overheads. Experiments over several days, on our nine-node outdoor testbed shows that LiT MAC's soft-state-based approach is effective in robust operation even in the presence of significant external interference.

Medulloblastoma (MB), a central nervous system tumor that predominantly affects children, requires aggressive therapy. It can recur as resistant disease and is recurrent medulloblastoma is frequently fatal. There are four groups of MBs (WNT, SHH, Group III, and Group Ⅳ) and they are characterized by specific mutations, copy number alterations, transcriptomic profiles, and clinical outcomes. Recent advances in noncoding RNA genome could contribute to sub-classification of medulloblastoma. The focus of this study is to identify novel long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) as molecular markers and potential therapeutic targets within each subgroup of MBs, in particular within the Group III. We analyzed publicly available 723 microarrays and 123 RNA-seq datasets using machine-learning statistical algorithms (random-forest and Lasso) to identify a group of putative lncRNA signatures that may be able to differentiate medulloblastoma subgroups accurately. Among those, lncHLX2-7 was highly upregulated in Group III MBs compared to other groups. RNA-FISH analysis revealed that lncHLX2-7 is highly expressed primarily in Group III MB as compared to other groups and normal brain (cerebellum). Furthermore, depletion of lncHLX2-7 significantly reduced 20- 30% of cell growth together with the induction of apoptosis in MED211 and D425-MED Group III MB cell lines (n=3, p< 0.01, t-test). We present here supporting evidence that lncHLX2-7 is a novel molecular marker and potential therapeutic target for Group III MBs in children.

The microRNA miR-211 is an established participant in melanomagenesis, but controversy exists as to whether it acts as a bone fide tumor suppressor or oncogene. Here we ectopically expressed miR-211 in the BRAF v600E-mutant A375 melanoma cell line and examined its effect in xenografts in vivo. The miR-211 ectopic expression promoted aggressive tumor xenograft growth with extensive cell proliferation, and angiogenesis. ChIP-seq and single cell sequencing analysis of xenograft tissues demonstrated that aggressive tumor formation is partly associated with H3K27me3 and H3K4me3, and migration of cells from mouse tissues to tumor locus. Interrogation of xenograft transcriptomics data revealed activation of the ERK5 pathway, itself negatively regulated by miR-211 target genes, BIRC2 and DUSP6, further confirmed as direct miR-211 target genes by RNA immunopurification with RNA-seq (RIP-seq) and site-directed mutagenesis. miR-211 conferred resistance to the BRAF inhibitor vemurafenib, and MEK inhibitor cobimetinib with corresponding increases in ERK5 phosphorylation. The miR-211-ERK5 axis may represent a novel therapeutic target, but however, miR-211 is exquisitely pleiotropic in the complex in vivo tumor environment and its context must be considered carefully in diagnostic and therapeutic development. Citation Format: Bongyong Lee, Anupama Sahoo, Junko Sawada, Dimitrios G. Zisoulis, John Marchica, Sanjay Sahoo, Fabiana I Alves De Lima Layng, Darren Finlay, Joseph Mazar, Piyush Joshi, Masanobu Komatsu, Kristiina Vuori, Garth Powis, Petrus R. de Jong, Animesh Ray, Ranjan J. Perera. microRNA-211 promotes aggressive melanoma growth in vivo by epigenetic modification, and contributes to BRAFV600E inhibitor resistance via ERK5 signaling [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 3550.

Background & objectives: Dengue virus infection is endemic in India with all the four serotypes of dengue virus in circulation. This study was aimed to determine the geographic distribution of the primary and secondary dengue cases in India. Methods: A multicentre cross-sectional study was conducted at Department of Health Research / Indian Council of Medical Research (DHR)/(ICMR) viral research and diagnostic laboratories (VRDLs) and selected ICMR institutes located in India. Only laboratory-confirmed dengue cases with date of onset of illness less than or equal to seven days were included between September and October 2017. Dengue NS1 antigen ELISA and anti-dengue IgM capture ELISA were used to diagnose dengue cases while anti-dengue IgG capture ELISA was used for identifying the secondary dengue cases. Results: Of the 1372 dengue cases, 897 (65%) were classified as primary dengue and 475 (35%) as secondary dengue cases. However, the proportion varied widely geographically, with Theni, Tamil Nadu; Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh and Udupi-Manipal, Karnataka reporting more than 65 per cent secondary dengue cases while Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir reporting as low as 10 per cent of the same. The median age of primary dengue cases was 25 yr [interquartile range (IQR 17-35] while that of secondary dengue cases was 23 yr (IQR 13.5-34). Secondary dengue was around 50 per cent among the children belonging to the age group 6-10 yr while it ranged between 20-43 per cent among other age groups. Interpretation & conclusions: Our findings showed a wide geographical variation in the distribution of primary and secondary dengue cases in India. It would prove beneficial to include primary and secondary dengue differentiation protocol in the national dengue surveillance programme.

iwoZ dh vksj tkus okyh flukWfIVd ekSle iz.kkyh vFkkZr if’peh fo{kksHk ¼MCY;w-Mh-½ dh otg ls if’peh fgeky; esa fge ds :i esa cgqr vf/kd ek=k esa o"kZ.k gksrk gSA ,e- ,e- 5] la[;kRed ekSle iwokZuqeku ¼,u- MCY;w- ih-½ ekWMy fxzM esa o"kZ.k iwokZuqeku miyC/k djkrk gSA ,u-MCY;w-ih- vkmViqV dh lkaf[;dh; MkmuLdsfyax ls iwokZuqeku dh lVhdrk esa lq/kkj vk ldrk gSA if’peh fgeky; esa ,e- ,e- 5 ekWMy iwokZuqeku dks LFkku fof’k"V o"kZ.k iwokZuqeku esa MkmuLdsy djus ds fy, bl v/;;u esa ,d vjSf[kd i)fr] —f=e raf=dk latky ¼,- ,- ,u-½ dk mi;ksx fd;k x;k gSA bl v/;;u ds fy, o"kZ 2003 ls 2008 rd ds 'khrdkyhu eghuksa ¼uoEcj ls ekpZ½ ds vk¡dM+sa fy, x, gSaA izf’k{k.k ds fy, 2003 ls 2007 ds vk¡dM+sa vkSj oS/krk iz;kstu ds fy, o"kZ 2007&2008 ds 'khrdkyhu vk¡dM+sa fy, x, gaSA izf’k{k.k dh izfØ;k esa vkxr&fuxZr laca/k dk irk yxk;k x;k vkSj vafre Hkkj eSfVªDl dk vkdyu fd;k x;kA Western Himalaya receives enormous amount of precipitation in the form of snow due to eastward moving synoptic weather system called western disturbance (WD). MM5 a numerical weather prediction (NWP) model, provides precipitation forecast over a grid. Statistical downscaling of NWP output can improve forecast accuracy. In this study artificial neural network (ANN), a non linear method is used to downscale MM5 model forecast to location specific precipitation forecast over western Himalaya. Data of winter months (November to March) from 2003 to 2008 are considered for the study. Data from 2003 to 2007 is used for training and data of winter 2007-2008 is used for validation purpose. In the training process the input-output relationship is extracted and final weight matrix are computed.

Psychrotolerant Pseudomonas isolates (RT5RP2 and RT6RP) isolated from the rhizoplane of wild grass at 3,100 and 3,800 m above mean sea level, respectively, from Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand (India), were found to solubilize Udaipur rock phosphate (URP). Both isolates grew at temperatures ranging from 4 to 30 °C. Kinetics of phosphate solubilization by the bacterial strains showed a nonlinear regression of the rate of P solubilization, which fitted best in the power model, and showed a declining trend across three different temperatures. Under pot culture conditions, bacterization of lentil seeds (cv. VL Masoor 507) with the psychrotolerant Pseudomonas strains when combined with URP as a sole source of phosphorus resulting in significant enhancement in P uptake of the plants, compared to the application of rock phosphate alone.

Quality of an image plays a fundamental role in taking vital decisions. In various walks of life, one such decision is personal identification. Hence, it's assessment is essential prior to using it in many biometric applications such as face recognition, iris, fingerprint analysis etc. The proposed technique classifies images into four classes based on their illumination and contrast quality. Then, the proposed technique chooses the most suitable enhancement technique for particular class to get best possible image. The proposed technique has been experimented on the Yale B database and the results obtained are 97.14% accurate on an average in terms of the correct classification of images into the appropriate classes. In another experiment where 50 random images of 30 random subjects were selected and this process repeated over 10 times, the classifier was 99.17% accurate in classifying the images.

The process of economic liberalization commenced in India in the 1990s, and has resulted in regulatory reform to allow for increased private sector participation in sectors such as national highways, airports, ports, electricity generation and distribution, etc. However, there has been no significant legislative reform in laws relating to the natural resources sector, where the prevailing legal framework in sectors such as coal, petroleum, and natural gas, dates back to the 1950s and vests the central and state governments with comprehensive jurisdiction and control over natural resources. A key reason for lack of legislative reform in this sector is the sensitivities involved at the local and state levels, and absence of a single party government that can initiate and sustain legal reforms. To keep pace with a liberalized investment regime, the executive wing of the government has been initiating actions to encourage private sector participation. This has in turn triggered increased scrutiny of government action by the judiciary. The Supreme Court of India has recognized that the natural resources of India are impressed with a public trust that limits in certain ways the ways the government may exploit and allocate these resources. The public trust doctrine as interpreted by the Supreme Court prevents the government from conferring a benefit on private persons without adequate consideration of the public interest, including the protection of environmental quality. India maintains and levies export taxes on several types of natural resources.

Aims The WNT/β-catenin pathway is temporarily activated in the heart following myocardial infarction (MI). Despite data from genetic models indicating both positive and negative roles for the WNT pathway depending on the model used, the effect of therapeutic inhibition of WNT pathway on post-injury outcome and the cellular mediators involved are not completely understood. Using a newly available, small molecule, GNF-6231, which averts WNT pathway activation by blocking secretion of all WNT ligands, we sought to investigate whether therapeutic inhibition of the WNT pathway temporarily after infarct can mitigate post injury cardiac dysfunction and fibrosis and the cellular mechanisms responsible for the effects. Methods and results Pharmacologic inhibition of the WNT pathway by post-MI intravenous injection of GNF-6231 in C57Bl/6 mice significantly reduced the decline in cardiac function (Fractional Shortening at day 30: 38.71 ± 4.13% in GNF-6231 treated vs. 34.89 ± 4.86% in vehicle-treated), prevented adverse cardiac remodeling, and reduced infarct size (9.07 ± 3.98% vs. 17.18 ± 4.97%). WNT inhibition augmented proliferation of interstitial cells, particularly in the distal myocardium, inhibited apoptosis of cardiomyocytes, and reduced myofibroblast proliferation in the peri-infarct region. In vitro studies showed that WNT inhibition increased proliferation of Sca1+ cardiac progenitors, improved survival of cardiomyocytes, and inhibited collagen I synthesis by cardiac myofibroblasts. Conclusion Systemic, temporary pharmacologic inhibition of the WNT pathway using an orally bioavailable drug immediately following MI resulted in improved function, reduced adverse remodeling and reduced infarct size in mice. Therapeutic WNT inhibition affected multiple aspects of infarct repair: it promoted proliferation of cardiac progenitors and other interstitial cells, inhibited myofibroblast proliferation, improved cardiomyocyte survival, and reduced collagen I gene expression by myofibroblasts. Our data point to a promising role for WNT inhibitory therapeutics as a new class of drugs to drive post-MI repair and prevent heart failure.

Nanotechnology has potentially promising applications to improve agriculture. Here we review the application of nanofertilizers, nanopesticides and nanosensors in agriculture. Nanofertilisers include Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Mo, Ti and carbon nanotubes. Nanofertilisers improve plant growth and save money because they are more efficient. Nanopesticides for plant protection include Ag, Cu, SiO2 and Zn. Nanopesticides also save money because they are more efficient. Nanosensors are useful in precision agriculture, for instance to detect pests and weeds locally in real time, and thus to apply pesticides fast and locally. We also discuss toxicity and risk assessment of nanoparticles.

Methotrexate induced pneumonitis (MTX-P) is an uncommon, but potentially serious and life-threatening adverse event. The dose, duration of treatment and route of administration of methotrexate bear no relationship to MTX-P. Many risk factors have been studied but no definitive risk factor is identified. Pre-existing pulmonary disease may be associated with increased risk of MTX-P. Several sets of criteria have been proposed for diagnosis of MTX-P but none are validated. Diagnosis is mainly clinical and requires a high degree of suspicion. Treatment is mainly supportive along with discontinuation of methotrexate. Most patients recover. Mortality up to 17% has been reported in literature. Reintroduction of methotrexate after recovering from MTX-P is generally avoided. This article focuses on the epidemiology, clinical presentation, pathology, laboratory features and management of MTX-P.

This article addresses regulatory reforms in the Indian telecommunications sector and emphasizes the role of the Indian judiciary. Our claim is that when confronted with a series of disputes relating to the nascent telecom regulatory landscape, the Supreme Court of India sought to make a constructive contribution to both the actual disputes as well as the overall regulatory framework. Our reading of these cases suggests that in the sphere of telecom, the Supreme Court has been less interested in stamping its own authority on issues, and has instead sought to bolster the authority and legitimacy of the recently constituted telecom regulatory institutions. We seek to draw attention to the role of the Indian judiciary as marking an exceptional feature of evolving regulatory systems in the Global South. Conventional wisdom in the regulatory jurisprudence that has evolved in the Global North suggests that judiciaries should have little or no role to play in regulatory systems. We suggest that to overcome the special challenges that regulatory systems in the Global South confront, more established institutions and actors might have to lend credibility and legitimacy to enable nascent regulatory actors to develop over time. At least in the Indian case, this is one way to understand the Indian judiciary's interventionist actions in the sphere of telecom regulation.

lkj & iwokZfHkeq(kh fn'kk dh vksj pyus okys flukWfIVd ekSle ra=) ftls if'peh fo{kksHk ¼MCY;w- Mh-½ dgrs gS) ds dkj.k if'peh fgeky; esa 'khr _rq ¼uoEcj ls vizSy½ ds nkSjku fge ds :i esa cM+h ek=k esa o"kZ.k gksrk gSA ;g o"kZ.k bdV~Bk gksrk tkrk gS ftlls fgeL(kyu dk (krjk gks tkrk gSA fgeL(kyu ds vkjaHk gksus esa rkieku dh egRoiw.kZ Hkwfedk gksrh gSA vr% vf/kdre vkSj U;wure rkieku dk iwokZuqeku fgeL(kyu ds iwokZuqeku ds fy, dkQh lgk;d jgsxkA bl v/;;u esa if'peh fgeky; {ks= esa fofHkUu os/k'kkykvksa ds izsf{kr lrgh ekSle foKku vkidM+ksa dk mi;ksx djds vf/kdre vkSj U;wure rkieku dk iwokZuqeku djus ds fy, ,d vjSf(kd i)fr) df=e U;wjy latky ¼,- ,u- ,u-½ dk mi;ksx fd;k x;k gSA ,- ,u- ,u- cgqr ls buiqV vkSj ,d vFkok vf/kd vkmViqV ds chp vkuqHkkfod laHkkfor vjSf(kd laca/k dk fu/kkZj.k djus ds fy, vfHkdYiukRed izHkkoh rjhdk miyC/k djkrk gSA bl v/;;u esa cSd izksisxs'ku yfuZx ,yxksfjFe dk mi;ksx latky ds izf'k{k.k ds fy, fd;k x;k gSA izf'k{k.k dh izfO;k esa buiqV vkSj vkmViqV ds chp laca/k dk irk yxk;k gS vFkkZr vafre Hkkj dk vkdyu fd;k x;k gSA latky dks O;ofLFkr djus ds fyk, yxHkx 25 o"kksZa ds iqjkuskiM+sk mi;ks fd;k x;k gS vkS O;ofLFkr fd, x, laky dk mi;ks iki 'khr _rqvks ¼2005&06 rFkk 2009&10½ ds rkieku dk iwokZuqeku djus ds fy, fd;k x;k gSA U;wure vkSj vf/kdre rkieku ds rnuq:Ik oxZ ek/; ewy =qfV;ksa ¼vkj- ,e- ,l- bZ-½ dk vkdyu fd;k x;k gSA Lora= lsV ds fy, Oe'k% vkj- ,e- ,l- bZ- 2-18 ls 2-48 vkSj 1-99 ls 2-78 dk varj jgk A ABSTRACT. Due to eastward moving synoptic weather system called Western Disturbance (WD), Western Himalaya receives enormous amount of precipitation in the form of snow during winter months (November to April). This precipitation keeps on accumulating and poses an avalanche threat. Temperature plays an important role for the initiation of avalanches. Therefore, prediction of maximum and minimum temperature may be quite helpful for avalanche forecasting. In the present study Artificial Neural Network (ANN), a non-linear method is used for the prediction of maximum and minimum temperature using surface meteorological data observed at various observatories in Western Himalaya region. ANN provides a computational efficient way of determining an empirical possible non-linear relationship between a number of input and one or more outputs. In present study back propagation learning algorithm is used to train the network. In the training process the relationship between input and output is extracted i.e., final weights are computed. Past data of about 25 years is used for training the network and trained network is used for temperature prediction for five winter seasons (2005-06 to 2009-10). Root mean square errors (RMSE) corresponding to maximum and minimum temperature are computed. For independent data set RMSE vary from 2.18 to 2.48 and 1.99 to 2.78 for maximum and minimum temperatures respectively.

Fourteen cold tolerant phosphate solubilizing bacteria isolated from high altitude representative locations of the two major mountain aspects of the Uttarakhand Himalayas (cooler north and warmer south facing slopes) were selected for this study. The tricalcium phosphate (TCP) solubilizing abilities of the isolates were estimated at three different incubation temperatures viz., 4, 15, and 30 degrees C under in vitro conditions. Irrespective of their geographical origin, all the isolates recorded maximum P release values at 30 degrees C. At 4 degrees C, the isolates from the north facing slope were found to release significantly higher levels of P, as compared to the isolates from the south facing slopes. Alternatively at 15 degrees C, the isolates from the south facing slope were found to release significantly higher levels of P. Initial confirmation of their genus level identity as Pseudomonads was arrived by amplification of a 990 bp fragment of the 16S rRNA gene using genus specific primers. Further putative species level identification was arrived by sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. The diversity among the isolates was determined by rep-PCR using the primers BOX, ERIC, and ERIC2. A composite dendrogram constructed using the rep-PCR profiles revealed that the isolates from the north and south mountain aspects formed separate major clusters. The extent of diversity was greater among the isolates from the south mountain aspect. This study reveals the potential of rep-PCR in determining the genetic diversity among Pseudomonads selected for a single functional trait, but varying in their geographical origin.

Exiguobacterium acetylicum strain 1P (MTCC 8707) is a gram-positive, rod-shaped, yellow pigmented bacterium isolated from soil on nutrient agar plates at 4°C. The identity of the bacterium was arrived on the basis of the biochemical characterization, BIOLOG sugar utilization pattern and sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. It grew at temperatures ranging from 4 to 42°C, with temperature optima at 30°C. It expressed multiple plant growth promotion attributes such as phosphate solubilization, indole acetic acid (IAA), siderophore and hydrogen cyanide (HCN) production, differentially at suboptimal growth temperatures (15 and 4°C). At 15°C it solubilized phosphate (21.1 μg of P ml(-1) day(-1)), and produced IAA (14.9 μg ml(-1) day(-1)) in tryptophan amended media. Qualitative detection of siderophore production and HCN were possible at 15°C. At 4°C it retained all the plant growth promotion attributes. Seed bacterization with the isolate, positively influenced the growth and nutrient uptake parameters of wheat seedlings in glass house studies at suboptimal cold growing temperatures.

Phosphate solubilization and growth promotion by Pseudomonas fragi CS11RH1 (MTCC 8984), a psychrotolerant bacterium isolated from a high altitude garlic rhizosphere from the Indian Himalayas, are reported here. The identity of the isolate was arrived on the basis of its biochemical features and sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. The isolate grew and solubilized phosphate at temperatures ranging from 4 to 30°C. Besides solubilizing P it produced indole acetic acid (IAA) and hydrogen cyanide (HCN). Seed bacterization with the isolate significantly increased the percent germination, rate of germination, plant biomass and nutrient uptake of wheat seedlings. While Pseudomonas fragi is normally associated with the spoilage of dairy products stored at cold temperatures, this is an early report on the plant growth promoting ability of the bacterium.

Exiguobacterium acetylicum strain 1P (MTCC 8707) is a rhizospheric, Gram positive, rod shaped, yellow pigmented bacterium isolated from an apple orchard rhizospheric soil, on nutrient agar plates incubated at 4°C. The species level identification was arrived on the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The sequence showed 98% similarity with sequences of E. acetylicum available in the public domain. The strain was positive for siderophore and HCN production. In separate invitro assays it was found to inhibit the growth and development of Rhizoctoniasolani, Sclerotium rolfsii, Pythium and Fusarium oxysporum. The volatile compound produced by the bacterium was found to be the most potent in inhibiting the hyphal development of R. solani, S. rolfsii, Pythium and F. oxysporum by 45.55, 41.38, 28.92 and 39.74% respectively. Commonly observed deformities caused by the diffusible and volatile compounds produced by the bacterium included hyphal inhibition, constriction and deformation. Under pot culture conditions the bacterium improved the germination and early growth parameters of pea (Pisum sativum) in the presence of R. solani and S. rolfsii.

Aim: To determine the cold tolerance and plant growth promotion potential of Serratia marcescens strain SRM (MTCC 8708). Methods and Results: Serratia marcescens strain SRM was isolated from the flowers of summer squash plants, showing no apparent symptoms of yellow vine disease. It was evaluated for growth and plant growth promotion attributes at 15 and 4°C. At 15°C, the isolate was able to solubilize 76·6 μg ml−1 of P and produce Indole Acetic Acid, IAA (11·1 μg ml−1). HCN and siderophore production were also detected at 15°C. The isolate retained all the plant growth promotion traits at 4°C. Seed bacterization with the isolate significantly enhanced plant biomass and nutrient uptake of wheat seedlings grown in cold temperatures. Conclusion: Serratia marcescens strain SRM is a promising cold-tolerant isolate that can significantly influence wheat seedling growth at cold temperatures. Significance and Impact of the Study: This strain can be employed as a bioinoculant in cold temperature conditions.

Pantoea dispersa strain 1A is a Gram-negative rod-shaped, yellow-pigmented bacterium isolated on nutrient agar plates incubated at 4°C. The identity of the bacterium was confirmed by sequencing of the 16 S rRNA gene. It was capable of growing at temperatures ranging from 4 to 42°C, but maximum growth was observed at 30°C. It is endowed with multiple plant growth promotion attributes such as phosphate solubilization, IAA production, siderophore production and HCN production, which are expressed differentially at sub-optimal temperatures (15 and 4°C). It was able to solubilize phosphate (17.6 μg of P2O5 ml−1 day−1), and produce IAA (3.7 μg ml−1 day−1), at 15°C. Qualitative detection of siderophore production and HCN were also observed at 15°C. At 4°C it was found to express all the plant growth promotion attributes. This bacterial isolate was able to positively influence and promote the growth and nutrient uptake parameters of wheat (cv. VL.802) under glasshouse conditions. Hence in the context, of cold wheat-growing environments, it is proposed that Pantoea dispersa 1A (MTCC 8706), could be deployed as an inoculant to attain the desired results of bacterization.

Cdx factors expressed in caudal regions of vertebrate embryos regulate hox patterning gene transcription. While loss of Cdx function is known to shift hox spatial expression domains posteriorly, the mechanism underlying the shift is not understood. We addressed this problem by analyzing the spatiotemporal expression profile of all 49 zebrafish hox genes in wild-type and Cdx4-deficient embryos.Loss of Cdx4 had distinct effects on hox spatial expression in a paralogous group-dependent manner: in the head, group 4 expression was expanded posteriorly; in the trunk, group 5-10 expression was shifted posteriorly; and in the tail, group 11-13 genes were expressed in the tail bud but not in more differentiated tissues. In the trunk neural tissue, loss of Cdx4 severely delayed both transcriptional activation of hox genes during the initiation phase, and the anterior-ward expansion of hox expression domains during the establishment phase. In contrast, in the trunk mesoderm, loss of Cdx4 only delayed the hox initiation phase.These results indicate that Cdx4 differentially regulates the transcription of head, trunk and tail hox genes. In the trunk, Cdx4 conveys spatial positional information to axial tissues primarily by regulating the time of hox gene transcriptional activation during the initiation phase.

Noise is a very common factor for degradation of images and for better performance of any image based biometric system, enhancement of poor quality images due to noise is necessary. In most of the previously proposed techniques in the literature, it is assumed that all the images participating in the recognition process are of poor quality and an enhancement technique is blindly applied to all the images to enhance them. For example, apply Gaussian smoothing on all the images to make them noise free, however, such blind application of image enhancement degrades the quality of good images. This paper presents a quality aware technique for biometric recognition. It has utilized our previously proposed technique for image quality assessment based on noise detection. The technique first estimates the quality of the images used in the recognition and if the quality value is found to be below a certain threshold, an enhancement is applied on the image before using it for recognition. Experimental analysis has been conducted on Yale Extended Cropped Face Database. Obtained results show the effectiveness of the proposed technique.

In light of the fact that the initial development of the LNG industry depended upon the development of a large gas reserve and the construction of a suitable liquefaction facility, the LNG industry traditionally has been a seller-driven market dominated by long-term LNG sale-and-purchase contracts that do not provide any flexibility to the consumer and require dedicated LNG tankers and a strict framework governing the shipping of LNG. However, the future projections of the international LNG industry indicate a rapid increase in liquefaction and shipping capacity that may lead to greater short-term LNG sales and could result in the shifting of the LNG industry from being seller-dominated to one that is equally controlled, if not driven by, the buyers and end consumers of LNG. In addition to discussing such trends, this article describes the LNG chain and the way it is financed, project structure and documentation for upstream and downstream LNG projects, and typical LNG purchase and sale agreements.

This article presents some the issues that arise in the context of restructuring a project finance transaction. The Dabhol Power Project, one of the largest independent power projects being implemented in India, is used for illustration. The issues faced by this project are a reflection of what ails the Indian electricity sector: low tariff collection, high subsidies, high transmission losses, poor transmission and distribution infrastructure, and political unwillingness to undertake measures necessary to reform the electricity distribution regime. The article concludes by outlining a possible option for restructuring the project.

The recent literature on face recognition technology discusses the issue of face spoofing which can bypass the authentication system by placing a photo/video/mask of the enrolled person in front of the camera. This problem could be minimized by detecting the liveness of the person. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a robust liveness detection scheme based on challenge and response method. The liveness module is added as extra layer of security before the face recognition module. The liveness module utilizes face macro features, especially eye and mouth movements in order to generate random challenges and observing the user's response on account of this. The reliability of liveness module is tested by placing different types of spoofing attacks with various means, like using photograph, videos, etc. In all, five types of attacks have been taken care of and prevented by our system. Experimental results show that system is able to detect the liveness when subjected to all these attacks except the eye & mouth imposter attack. This attack is able to bypass the liveness test but it creates massive changes in face structure. Therefore resultant unrecognized or misclassified by the face recognition module. An experimental test conducted on 65 persons on university of Essex face database confirms that removal of eye and nose components results 75% misclassification.

A new technique for image quality assessment based on noise detection is devised in this paper. Many applications like face recognition, ear recognition etc. are dependent on training images. Poor quality training images lead to inefficient training which in turn degrades the performance of a biometric system. This paper has proposed a technique for quality estimation of biometric images. The technique does not need any reference image for image quality assessment. Experimental analysis has shown the efficiency of the proposed technique.

The environmental conditions on planet earth are extremely diverse, with enormous variations in pressure, pH, temperature and salt concentration. All these environments are inhabited by living organisms, particularly microorganisms which have adapted to the different extremes of environments. Among various extreme environments, low temperature is very common both in natural and man-made environments. Microorganisms play a significant role for maintaining the ecological balance in any ecosystem. During the long journey of evolution, they have undergone changes at different levels for adaptation and thus show huge genetic diversity for exploration. Extremely low temperature environments are generally inhabited by the cold adapted microorganisms which have the ability to grow and survive under harsh conditions. These cold adapted microorganisms, known as cold loving (psychrophiles) and cold tolerant (psychrotrophs).

Energy is an issue that is strategically important for all countries—whether they are inherently energy-surplus or energy-deficit countries. Most countries worldwide typically use export or import restrictions as well as pricing regulations in order to regulate energy production, consumption, and trade. The WTO framework does not address all the issues that arise in the context of trade in energy. Energy-related discussions are however likely to gain prominence under the WTO with the increasing presence of oil-producing countries becoming WTO members in the past decade. The Doha Ministerial Declaration also highlights the need for deeper discussions on several aspects impacting trade in energy. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) are two examples of legally binding instruments at the multilateral level that address the trade-energy linkage. Both the NAFTA and the ECT emerged in distinct and very specific economic contexts, and hence cannot be transposed into the WTO framework or that of a separate agreement on energy. Nevertheless, provisions of these instruments are instructive of the type of provisions that are likely to be negotiated in the event of any multilateral negotiations on energy. The domestic regulatory framework governing energy in India is largely liberalized. There has been a gradual dismantling of regulatory controls over the past decade, and an ongoing liberalization process which has significantly enhanced private participation in sectors such as electricity, petroleum, and natural gas. Disinvestment in public-sector enterprises is also another core area where significant progress has been made. Nevertheless, as will be discussed in this chapter, there are gaps between the Indian regulatory framework and the mandate specified under the NAFTA and the ECT. Any engagement in the trade and energy debate would need to be assessed from a strategic perspective of India as an energy-deficit country, whose enterprises are gaining significant interests in export of petroleum products, and in investment in oil and gas assets worldwide.

Fig. 2 e ‘Coral bead’ appearance at the nail beds. A 32 year old lady with no past commorbities presented with inflammatory deforming polyarticular arthritis of small and large joints, upper and lower limbs, symmetrically for last 2 years. She also had developed nodular and papular skin lesions simultaneously with the onset of the joint pains with low grade fever andweight loss of 10 kg in 2 years. Shehadactive synovitis with swollen and tender knees, elbows, metacarpophalangeal joints. She had ‘Piano hand’ deformities of hands (Fig. 1). Skin colouredpapulonodular lesionswereseenover extensor surface of forearms, knees, elbows, knuckle, proximal interphalangeal jointsofhandandpinna.The lesionsrangedfrom1 to5cm.Over the knees the nodules coalesced to give a ‘cobble stone appearance’. At the nail beds there was clustering of the small papules giving to the characteristic ‘coral bead’ appearance (Fig. 2). X-ray both handswithwrists showed a severe erosive arthritis (Fig. 3). Biopsy from her nodular skin lesions showed focal papillomatosis in the dermis and well circumscribed nodular zone comprised of sheets of histiocytes with epitheloid and xanthomatous change. Majority of histiocytes had abundant granular eosinophilic cytoplasm (oncocytic histiocytes) consistent with reticulohistiocytosis. Patient was put on treatment with methotrexate15mg/week þ lefunomide 10 mg/day.

A58yearmanwithdiabetes,presentedwitha2monthhistoryof bilateral lower abdominal, dull aching pain with no radia-tion. It was not relieved or aggravated by any known factors.There were no systemic features like fever, night sweats,weight loss, sicca symptoms, decreased urine output or he-maturia. 2 years prior he had an appendectomy the histologyof which showed eosinophilic infiltration of the laminapropria without granulomas or evidence of malignancy. Pa-tient had history of right sided facial palsy a year ago thatrecovered completely with treatment.Except for fullness in left parotid region the examinationwas unremarkable.Investigations showed: hemoglobin: 11.6 gm/dl, WBCcounts 7200/mm

Background Abatacept is a biologic option for patient with Rheumatoid arthritis who have not responded to conventional disease modifying drugs as well as to TNF alpha inhibitors. It has been approved by the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence in UK. Objectives We share our experience with Abatacept in patients with Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in routine clinical practice focussing on clinical response, disease remission and drug survival. Methods A retrospective analysis of RA patients on Abatacept from November 2012 to November 2014 was performed. Data collected included baseline demographics, number of previous synthetic and biologic DMARDs (Disease modifying drugs), baseline DAS 28 (Disease activity score) and change in DAS28 at 6 months. Results Total patients: 138 (100 females and 38 males, F: M ratio 2.63:1). Mean age of population was 63 years. Mean disease duration prior to abatacept was 12.8 years. Mean number of conventional DMARDs used before abatacept were 3.1 and biological DMARDs were 1.8. Abatacept was the first biological therapy used in 10 (7.2%) patients. At last follow up 59 (42.8%) and 57 (41.3%) patients were on intravenous and subcutaneous abatacept. Mean DAS score before starting abatacept 5.89. Clinical response with a change in DAS 28 >1.2 was seen in 76% patients on Abatacept at 6 months. 15.9% Abatacept patients achieved remission at 6 months. 22 (15.9%) patients discontinued abatacept. Drug survival over 6 months was seen in 102 (73.9%) patients. Conclusions Abatacept showed response rate of 76% similar to reported in literature. Drug survival beyond 24 weeks was higher compared to other studies. Abatacept is safe, well tolerated and clinically effective in RA patients in real life. Disclosure of Interest None declared

Background Iloprost (Prostacyclin) is effective for resistant Raynaud9s phenomenon. We describe our practice of seasonal once monthly infusion which is more cost-effective and flexible than the usual practice of giving iloprost for 3 to 5 days. Objectives To identify the characteristics, response and tolerance of patients on seasonal monthly infusions of Iloprost from a regional centre in Cannock, United Kingdom. Methods Retrospective data analysis of patients having monthly iloprost infusions before and during winter for 3–4 months a year (November to February) for resistant Raynaud9s phenomenon in 2013 and 2014. Results There were 72 patients; 57 females and 15 males (F/M =3.8/1), with a mean age of 50.2 (±15.1) years at the start of the iloprost infusion. Underlying diagnosis: Sixty-four patients (88.9%) received calcium channel blockers like nifedipine prior to iloprost and 2 of them also had sildenafil. Thirteen (18.1%) patients had iloprost for 3 to 5 days before switching to seasonal monthly treatment; 8 of them had a digital ulcer or gangrene at presentation. Average follow up was 3.4 (± 2.3) years and mean number of infusions/patient/year was 3.28 ± 0.98.Iloprost improved Raynaud9s symptoms in winter in all the patients and was well tolerated by most. Dose adjustment of the iloprost was necessary in 6 (8.3%) patients while 5 (6.9%) of them discontinued due to intolerance. Conclusions Monthly seasonal iloprost during winter is effective and well tolerated in patients with resistant Raynaud9s phenomenon. It is also less expensive than longer courses of iloprost. Disclosure of Interest None declared

Aspergillus is a common opportunistic pathogen of the lungs especially in immunocompromised or immunosuppressed individuals. The radiological manifestations of aspergillosis include colonization of pie-existing cavity (Aspergilloma). invasive aspergillosis and allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis. Aspergillomas are also known to colonize rheumatoid lung. The aim of this presentation is to emphasize the evolution of the fungal ball in aspergillosis.

Cold-tolerant microorganisms are endowed with the ability to grow at 0°C, though their growth optima lie in the mesophilic range. To overcome the stress induced by low temperatures they have evolved a variety of adaptive responses at the cellular and molecular levels. Multiple cell membrane modifications ensure that solute transport is not impaired at low temperatures. Other mechanisms include the synthesis of cold-shock proteins (Csps), cold acclimation proteins (Caps), cryoprotectants, ice nucleation factors, cold-adapted enzymes, and RNA degradosomes. The agricultural importance of such microbes stems from the fact that the world over temperate agro-ecosystems are characterized by low temperatures and short growing seasons that subject both plant and microbial life to cold temperature induced stress. Hence, there is a need to identify potential microbes that retain their functional traits under low temperature conditions. Such microbes can be profitably used as inoculants in agricultural production systems in the temperate regions of the world. This chapter deals with the cold tolerance/resistance mechanisms operating in microorganisms and the utility of cold-tolerant microbes in improving soil quality and productivity of agricultural crops.

Proximal focal femoral deficiency (PFFD) is a rare congenital anomaly resulting in limb shortening and disability in young. The exact cause of the disease is not known and it may present as varying grades of affection involving the proximal femur and the acetabulum. Recognition of this rare abnormality on radiographs can help manage these cases better since early institution of therapy may help in achieving adequate growth of the femur.

Background Takayasu arteritis (TA) is a rare large vessel vasculitis predominantly affecting young females in Indian subcontinent. Objectives To know predictive factors for progression of Takayasy arteritis. Methods Retrospective proforma based analysis of all patients diagnosed with TA with minimum two year followup and followup imagining at two centersfrom 2007-2012 was performed. Results Data of 42 patients was available [31 (73.81%) females and 11 (26.19%) males] with mean age of 32.7±12.6 (16-54) years. Mean delay in diagnosis 2.9±2.2 (0.25-10) years.Absent peripheral pulse and arterial bruits were present in 24 (57.14%) and 33 (78.57%) patients respectively. 5 (11.90%) patients diagnosed in prepulseless stage with pyrexia of unknown origin (PUO) with high ESR. Mean ESR 63±29 mm/hr (8-135) and mean CRP 28±22 mg/dl (4-90). All treated with steroidsand immunosuppressants by treating physician. New onset arterial bruit or loss of pulse was found in 16 (38%) and 7 (16.66%)patients respectively. (Table-1)Of the 5 patients who presented in prepulseless stage, 2 had no further progression.At 2 year follow up mean ESR (p=0.03) and mean CRP (p=0.01) were associated with new onset pulse loss. Conclusions Patients with persistently high ESR and CRP were more prone for new onset arterial bruit or loss of palpable pulse. References Misra R, Danda D, Rajappa SM, Ghosh A, Gupta R, Mahendranath KM, Jeyaseelan L, Lawrence A, Bacon PA; Indian Rheumatology Vasculitis (IRAVAS) group. Devlopment and initial validation of the Indian Takayasu Clinical Activity Score (ITAS 2010).Rheumatology (Oxford). 2013 Oct;52(10):1795-801 Disclosure of Interest None declared DOI 10.1136/annrheumdis-2014-eular.6087

Liveness detection is a way to detect whether the person is live or not during submission of his/her biometric trait. It is mandatory in order to prevent face spoofing attacks. Therefore, in this paper, we proposed a robust face structure analysis mechanism to detect the liveness by exploiting face shape information. 3D structure/shape of the face is measured on the basis of disparity map between left and right image taken by stereoscopic vision. A gradient–based eight neighbour feature extraction technique has been proposed to extract unique features from these disparity images. It produces minimal computational cost by taking subset of the overall image. We have applied linear discriminant analysis (LDA), C–means algorithms on these features while principal component analysis (PCA) is applied on raw disparity images. We have achieved a recognition rate of 91.6%, 97.5% and 98.3% using PCA, LDA and C–means respectively, which strengthened the confidence of our proposed feature extraction technique.

Background Epidemiological studies on rheumatic diseases in India are few. Vasculitic disorders are under-diagnosed and under-reported. Epidemiological data of AAV is especially scant from western India.1 Objectives To describe the clinical profile and outcome of patients with ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV) from western India. Methods Demographic profile, clinical features, laboratory data, treatment details, BVAS, EULAR disease stages and therapeutic outcome of patients were analyzed retrospectively. The patients were diagnosed and followed up in the Rheumatology clinic between 2003 and 2011. The patients were classified as per the EULAR guidelines for clinical trials in AAV.2 Results A total of 75 patients were studied. 41were females (55%) and 34 were males (45%). Mean age of the patients was 43.4±20.7 years and mean duration of illness 18±16.6 months. The clinical diagnoses were Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (Wegener’s) (n=33,44%), Churg-Strauss Syndrome (n=7,9%), Microscopic polyangiitis (n=2) and unclassified AAV (n=33,44%). Systemic involvement: Upper respiratory tract (67%) & lower respiratory tract (60%), skin (44%), kidney (40%), peripheral nerves (40%) and eye (31%). c-ANCA was positive in 41 (53%) and p-ANCA in 34 (47%). 53% had anemia, 59% had leukocytosis and 57% had thrombocytosis. Histopathology (from relevant sites) and imaging studies were obtained in 43 (60%) and 58 (80%) patients respectively. Mean BVAS at presentation was 17.5±7.5. The EULAR disease stage at presentation were: Localised (11%), early systemic (53%), generalised (33%) and severe (3%). Methylprednisolone (70%), cyclophosphamide (60%), methotrexate (25%) and azathioprine (15%) were used for induction. 3 patients underwent plasmapheresis. Maintainence immunosuppressants were prednisolone (96%), cyclophosphamide (39%), azathioprine (33%), methotrexate (28%), and mycophenolate (8%). The mean duration of follow-up was 35.2±20.8 months. 54 (72%) patients achieved remission. Low disease activity was seen in 13 (17%) patients and refractory disease in 8 (11%). Mean duration to achieve remission was 6.7±3.6months. Relapse occurred in 14/54 (26%) patients after a mean duration of 21 months. Death occurred in 3 (4%) patients (pulmonary hemorrhage in 2, MAS in 1). Conclusions GPA (Wegener’s) and Unclassified AAV were the common clinical diagnoses. Early systemic and generalised disease were the commonest EULAR types. Methylprednisolone and cyclophosphamide were the common induction agents while prednisolone and cyclophosphamide were the common maintenance agents. Majority achived remission but relapses were common. References Joshi VR, G Mittal. Vasculitis–Indian perspective. J Assoc Physicians India 2006;54(Suppl):12–14 Hellmich B,Flossmann O,Gross WL,Bacon P,Willem Cohen-Tervaert J,Guillevin L,et al.EULAR recommendations for conducting clinical studies and/or clinical trials in systemic vasculitis:focus on anti-neutrophil cytoplasm antibody-associated vasculitis. Ann Rheum Dis 2007;66:605–17 Disclosure of Interest None Declared