Search

Neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss.), an evergreen tree of the Meliaceae family, is known for its medicinal, cosmetic, pesticidal and insecticidal properties. We had previously sequenced and published the draft genome of the plant, using mainly short read sequencing data. In this report, we present an improved genome assembly generated using additional short reads from Illumina and long reads from Pacific Biosciences SMRT sequencer. We assembled short reads and error corrected long reads using Platanus, an assembler designed to perform well for heterozygous genomes. The updated genome assembly (v2.0) yielded 3- and 3.5-fold increase in N50 and N75, respectively; 2.6-fold decrease in the total number of scaffolds; 1.25-fold increase in the number of valid transcriptome alignments; 13.4-fold less mis-assembly and 1.85-fold increase in the percentage repeat, over the earlier assembly (v1.0). The current assembly also maps better to the genes known to be involved in the terpenoid biosynthesis pathway. Together, the data represents an improved assembly of the A. indica genome. The raw data described in this manuscript are submitted to the NCBI Short Read Archive under the accession numbers SRX1074131, SRX1074132, SRX1074133, and SRX1074134 (SRP013453).

Oral tongue squamous cell carcinomas (OTSCC) are a homogeneous group of tumors characterized by aggressive behavior, early spread to lymph nodes and a higher rate of regional failure. Additionally, the incidence of OTSCC among younger population (

© 2016 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press; All rights reserved; Although we are used to the idea that many organisms stop growing when they reach a predictable size, in many taxa, growth occurs throughout the life of an organism, a phenomenon referred to as indeterminate growth. Our comparative analysis suggests that indeterminate growth may indeed represent the ancestral condition, whereas the permanent arrest of growth may be a more derived state. Consistent with this idea, in diverse taxa, the basal branches show indeterminate growth, whereas more derived branches arrest their growth. Importantly, in some closely related taxa, the termination of growth has evolved in mechanistically distinct ways. Also, even within a single organism, different organs can differ with respect to whether they terminate their growth or not. Finally, the study of tooth development indicates that, even at the level of a single tissue, multiple determinate patterns of growth can evolve from an ancestral one that is indeterminate.

The kinase AMPK, a sensor of cellular energy stress, has been shown to oppose the growth-promoting activity of YAP, the transcriptional co-activator downstream of the Hippo signalling pathway. This finding may help to explain why the antidiabetic drug metformin, for which AMPK is a key effector, is linked to cancer-protective activity.

The coverage of sensing field is one among many noteworthy phase at the designing of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN). The coverage concern in WSNs depends on a number of aspects like topology of the network, sensing mode of sensors and most considerably is deployment. This methodology permits us to locate the sensor nodes in our field of interest which refers to the preferred field of coverage. A novel methodology for deployment of Hybrid sensor nodes has been proposed in this work. Hybrid implies that, this algorithm includes both static and mobile nodes. In order to triumph over the hurdle of coverage, mobile sensor nodes get included to the previously deployed stationary nodes. A well-structured method of sensor node deployment namely, grid deployment technique is proposed in this work which would generate supreme utilization of the covered area. The complete atmospheric region is partitioned into a number of individual grids along with which the weight value of each grid is estimated. Target grid of any mobile node will be the one which possesses the minimum weightage value among all grids. The coverage ratio is the performance parameter evaluated in order to estimate the precision of the proposed method. The ultimate result of coverage is found to be getting enhanced swiftly along with the increase in number of sensor nodes. When compared with the previously given deployment methodologies, this work has privileged performance in terms of coverage. Added advantages include lower value of computational cost.

In Conventional Direct Digital Frequency Synthesizer, the presence of ROM results in large size and complexity. Some DDFS is based on a mathematical series which also has some computational time delay. This paper deals with the Artificial Neural Network based DDFS architecture with linear transfer function, unlike the non-linear transfer function [3], which has low complexity, low computational delay and high spectral purity. The proposed DDFS has a high SNR (Signal to Noise Ratio) of about 48dB.

Of fundamental interest to biologists is how organs achieve a reproducible size during development. Studies of the developing Drosophila wing have provided many key insights that will help give a conceptual understanding of the process beyond the fly. In the wing, there is evidence for both "top-down" mechanisms, inwhich signals emanating from small subsets of cells direct global proliferation, and "bottom-up" mechanisms, in which the final size is an emergent property of local cell-cell interactions. Mechanical forces also appear to have an important role along with the Hippo pathway, which may integrate multiple types of inputs to regulate the extent of growth.

Multiplication of floating point numbers found extensive use in DSP applications involving huge range. The critical part in floating point multiplication is the multiplication of mantissas which uses 24∗24 bit integer multiplier for single precision floating point numbers. The speed of the system can be enhanced by improving the speed of multiplication. In this paper a 24 bit Vedic multiplier has been proposed using 3∗3 Vedic multiplier as its basic block. This paper proposes a IEEE-754 single precision floating point multiplier which handles over flow, under flow and rounding. The proposed and conventional floating point multipliers based on Vedic mathematics are coded in Verilog, Synthesized and simulated in ISE Simulator. It is implemented on iWave Systems Unified Learning Kit (ULK), which is Spartan6 family xc6slx25t-2fgg484 FPGA. Maximum combinational path delay and number of slices required on FPGA are compared for proposed and conventional multipliers. The results clearly indicate that proposed method have a great impact on improving the speed and reduce the area required on Spartan 6 FPGA.

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is among the most common genetic disorders of humans and is caused by loss of neurofibromin, a large and highly conserved protein whose only known function is to serve as a GTPase-Activating Protein (GAP) for Ras. However, most Drosophila NF1 mutant phenotypes, including an overall growth deficiency, are not readily modified by manipulating Ras signaling strength, but are rescued by increasing signaling through the cAMP-dependent protein kinase A pathway. This has led to suggestions that NF1 has distinct Ras- and cAMP-related functions. Here we report that the Drosophila NF1 growth defect reflects a non-cell-autonomous requirement for NF1 in larval neurons that express the R-Ras ortholog Ras2, that NF1 is a GAP for Ras1 and Ras2, and that a functional NF1-GAP catalytic domain is both necessary and sufficient for rescue. Moreover, a Drosophila p120RasGAP ortholog, when expressed in the appropriate cells, can substitute for NF1 in growth regulation. Our results show that loss of NF1 can give rise to non-cell-autonomous developmental defects, implicate aberrant Ras-mediated signaling in larval neurons as the primary cause of the NF1 growth deficiency, and argue against the notion that neurofibromin has separable Ras- and cAMP-related functions.

The Apaf-1 protein is essential for cytochrome c–mediated caspase-9 activation in the intrinsic mammalian pathway of apoptosis. Although Apaf-1 is the only known mammalian homologue of the Caenorhabditis elegans CED-4 protein, the deficiency of apaf-1 in cells or in mice results in a limited cell survival phenotype, suggesting that alternative mechanisms of caspase activation and apoptosis exist in mammals. In Drosophila melanogaster, the only Apaf-1/CED-4 homologue, ARK, is required for the activation of the caspase-9/CED-3–like caspase DRONC. Using specific mutants that are deficient for ark function, we demonstrate that ARK is essential for most programmed cell death (PCD) during D. melanogaster development, as well as for radiation-induced apoptosis. ark mutant embryos have extra cells, and tissues such as brain lobes and wing discs are enlarged. These tissues from ark mutant larvae lack detectable PCD. During metamorphosis, larval salivary gland removal was severely delayed in ark mutants. However, PCD occurred normally in the larval midgut, suggesting that ARK-independent cell death pathways also exist in D. melanogaster.

The effect of different concentration of Fe on the phase transition behavior of Lead ytterbium tantalate is investigated by dielectric and differential scanning calrimetry measurements. The samples are prepared through solid state reaction method and it has been found that the sintering temperature significantly lowered when the proportion of Pb(Fe1/2Ta 1/2)O3 increased. It has been observed that the doping in small amounts (0?x?0.2) of Fe could meliorate the dielectric and ferroelectric properties. The diffuseness in the mode of phase transition increases and the phase transition temperature decreases as a function of Fe content. It is revealed that the dielectric data and heat capacity data follow a similar trend in the variation of the mode of phase transition and phase transition temperatures. The phase transition temperature values obtained from the heat capacity measurement well agreed with the values obtained from dielectric measurement. � 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

This paper presents typical design, realization and space qualification tests of waveguide-iris filter used for space applications. Along with electrical specifications (including corona and multipaction) of the filter, various aspects of space requirements such as feasibility of fabrication, compatibility to work under free space environment, ability to work throughout the mission life without failures etc., are discussed. Measured and simulated filter characteristics show good agreement and is flown successfully.

Compact high power diplexer has been designed for Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) spacecraft of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), launched in November-2013. This is realized using waveguide combline filter structures with an additional objective of multipaction-free operation. Used in S-band TT&C transponder that handles continuous RF power of 200W in telemetry path besides an isolation of >145dB to telecommand path. Diplexer design, realization and test results are presented. Mission performance of on-board diplexer is normal.

The Multiply-Accumulator (MAC) unit always lies in the critical path that determines the speed of the overall hardware systems. Therefore, a high-speed MAC that is capable of supporting multiple precisions and parallel operations is highly desirable. This paper describes the implementation of a MAC unit using area efficient Vedic multiplier which enhanced in terms of area and path delay. Speed of the multiplier is very important to any Digital Signal Processors (DSPs). To construct a N×N bit Vedic Multiplier, four N/2×N/2 VM and three N-bit Ripple Carry Adders (RCAs) are required. But in our proposed VM, instead of 3 N-bit RCA, only one N-bit RCA and our two proposed adders are used. In our proposed Adders, the area required for N-bit RCA has been reduced, leading to a greater reduction in the logic delay. We have developed the generalized architectures for NxN VM, MAC unit and for our proposed Adders. The proposed MAC and conventional MAC are coded in Verilog, synthesized and simulated using ISE simulator. It is implemented on the Xilinx Spartan6 family xc6slx150t-4fgg900 FPGA. The Area and logic delay of the proposed MAC and conventional VM are compared.

The MARS Orbiter Mission (MOM) spacecraft carries on-board sensitive receiver and high gain antenna system to cater to the requirement of inter-planetary and deep space communication. This paper describes, among others, the stringent EMC requirements for MOM spacecraft, summary of EMC analysis carried out, modification on subsystem level EMI/EMC test limit and EMI/ESD mitigation techniques followed to achieve EMC compliance of MOM Spacecraft.

This paper elaborates implementation of new and advanced concepts such as Modular Power System and bus bar scheme for power distribution in ISRO's high power communication satellite. The advantages of using Modular Power System vs. conventional power packages, details of new design and realization of Modular Power System are discussed. New mechanical housings realized for high power communication satellite are described. Usage of bus bar for power distribution has many advantages (as compared to wired harness) such as, reduced power distribution loss, higher current carrying capability, improved EMC performance, better thermal management and scope for mass reduction.

Polycrystalline samples of (1 - x)Pb(Yb1/2Ta 1/2)O3-xPb(Fe1/2Ta1/2)O3 with x = 0.0, 0.1, 0.13, 0.15, 0.18 and 0.2 are prepared by solid state reaction method. The formation and structural changes are identified by X-ray diffraction studies. A uniform distribution of grains is observed from the microstructure by scanning electron microscopy. The dielectric measurement of the compounds is carried out at 1-200 kHz in the temperature range -100 to 300�C. The substitution of Fe3+ ion at Yb3+ sites of Pb(Yb1/2Ta1/2)O3 significantly enhances the dielectric constant value, increases the diffuseness in the mode of phase transition and lowers the transition temperature. A detailed analysis of the dielectric response of the compounds is given in conjecture with their structural data. ? 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

SummaryThe reproducible pattern of organismal growth during metazoan development is the product of genetically controlled signaling pathways. Patterned activation of these pathways shapes developing organs and dictates overall organismal shape and size. Here, we show that patches of tissue that are mutant for the Drosophila Tsg101 ortholog, erupted, cause dramatic overproliferation of adjacent wild-type tissue. Tsg101 proteins function in endosomal sorting and are required to incorporate late endosomes into multivesicular bodies. Drosophila cells with impaired Tsg101 function show accumulation of the Notch receptor in intracellular compartments marked by the endosomal protein Hrs. This causes increased Notch-mediated signaling and ectopic expression of the Notch target gene unpaired (upd), which encodes the secreted ligand of the JAK-STAT pathway. Activation of JAK-STAT signaling in surrounding wild-type cells correlates with their overgrowth. These findings define a pathway by which changes in endocytic trafficking can regulate tissue growth in a non-cell-autonomous manner.

The electrical conductivity of NaNO3-xAl2O 3 composites has been studied over the wide range of temperature and frequency by means of impedance spectroscopy. The real part of the frequency dependent conductivity exhibits a simple power law feature and the dimensionless frequency exponent n has been determined. The conductivity spectra show scaling behaviour when the conductivity spectra are scaled by �dcT, where T is temperature in Kelvin. The real part of dielectric permittivity shows saturation at higher frequencies and a strong dispersion at lower frequencies. The imaginary part of permittivity varies inversely with frequency, due to the presence of dc conductivity. The frequency dependent plots of M? and Z? show that the conductivity relaxation is non-Debye in nature. The Kohlrausch-Williams-Watts stretched exponential function was used to describe the modulus spectra and the stretching exponent ? is found to be temperature independent. The conductivity relaxation time has been estimated from the modulus spectra. The activation energy responsible for relaxation has been evaluated and it was found to be almost same as that of dc conductivity. ? 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The effect of post sintering annealing on the dielectric response of (Pb 1− x Ba x )(Yb 0.5 Ta 0.5 )O 3 ceramics in the diffuse phase transition range ( x =0.2) has been investigated. The samples are prepared by conventional solid-state reaction method. The samples are sintered at 1300 °C for 2 h and annealed at different temperatures (800, 900 and 1000 °C) for 8 h and at 800 °C for different time durations (8, 12 and 24 h). A significant change in the dielectric response has been observed in all the samples. The dielectric constant increases remarkably and the dielectric loss tangent decreases. The dielectric peaks of the annealed samples are observed to be more diffused with noticeable frequency dispersion compared to the as sintered sample.

Solid polymer electrolyte thin films based on poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) complexed with NaNO 3 salt with compositions between 2 and 10 ether oxygens per sodium have been prepared using the solution cast method as a possible sodium ion-conducting polymer electrolyte system. The complexation of the films has been investigated through X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) measurements. Electrical properties have been measured as a function of composition and temperature using complex impedance spectroscopy. The maximum ionic conductivity has been found to be ∼3.5×10 −6 S/cm at room temperature for the composition O/Na=3:1. The transference numbers of different mobile species have been determined by means of DC polarization and combined AC/DC techniques. The complex impedance data have been analysed in conductivity and permittivity formalisms to cast light on possible ion transport mechanisms. The peaks found in the electric modulus plot have been characterized in terms of the stretched exponential parameter.

The structure and low frequency dielectric properties of Pb 1 − x Ba x (Yb 1/2 Ta 1/2 )O 3 solid solutions with x = 0.00, 0.10, 0.15, 0.20 and 0.30 have been investigated using X-ray diffraction and dielectric constant measurements. As Ba 2+ concentration increases beyond x = 0.15, the crystal structure changes from monoclinic to pseudocubic at room temperature. The sharp paraelectric-antiferroelectric phase occuring in pure Pb(Yb 1/2 Ta 1/2 )O 3 , remarkably decreases and simultaneously the weak ferroelectric phase gets enhanced with increase in x. The maximum value of the dielectric constant (K max ) varies with x, showing a peak value at x = 0.20 whereas dielectric maximum temperature (T max ) continuously decreases with increase in x. The diffuseness exponent and degree of diffuseness are calculated for x = 0.15, 0.20 and 0.30 by fitting the dielectric data to the modified Curie-Weiss law and the values indicate that the compounds exhibit diffuse phase transition. The paper also discusses the influenc...

In this study, adoption rates of modern wheat varieties in India have been estimated using expert elicitation methodology. The study has found that the wheat varietal output has increased during the period 2010–2015. The most widely cultivated wheat varieties in the study states are HD 2967, PBW 343, PBW 550, Lok 1 and PBW 502. The temporal and spatial diversity indices have been calculated based on the perceived adoption rates. Wheat varietal turnover has been highest in Punjab (7.50 years) and lowest in Rajasthan (19.25 years). The Berger Parker index has shown that relative abundance of varieties was lowest in Punjab (1.76) and highest in Madhya Pradesh (7.10). The concentration of wheat area under dominant varieties was highest in Punjab and lowest in Rajasthan as indicated by the Marglef index. The cultivation of older varieties and dominance of a few varieties deprive the farmers of the advantages of productivity gains, genetic improvement, in addition to increasing crop vulnerability to pests and diseases. The study has concluded that besides varietal development, it is also important to focus on reducing the socioeconomic and institutional barriers to adoption of improved crop varieties. In this direction, it is important to create an enabling institutional environment for increasing the rate of varietal replacement, promote spatial heterogeneity in crop varieties cultivated, identify and effectively bring the potential varieties under the seed chain system and enhance the outreach of improved wheat varieties with an inclusive approach to reach even the resource-poor farmers.

Differential gene expression is fundamental to the existence of any complex metazoan organism: certain genes are only expressed in some cell types while others are turned on and off at specific stages in a developmental pathway. These changes in expression are activated by intracellular and extracellular signals - molecules that trigger a specific developmental pathway or cellular response (e.g., differentiation factors). However, with the possible exception of the steroid hormones, the pathways that link these differentiation signals with alterations in gene expression remain to be defined at a biochemical level. Immunoglobulin (Ig) genes present an attractive system for studying tissue-specific gene expression since they are not only rearranged in an orderly fashion during B-cell ontogeny, a phenomenon that has been the subject of intense investigation, but they are also expressed in a specific and ordered manner at clearly defined stages of B-cell differentiation 1. Over the last five years, gene transfer experiments have led to the identification of a range of DNA elements responsible for tissue-specific expression of Ig genes. These include enhancer sequences located between the variable and constant region exons of the heavy chain and kappa light chain genes and at least one element associated with the Ig promoters (Ref. 2 and references therein). It has been assumed that tissue-specific factors in the nucleus bind to these elements and modulate transcription from the adjacent promoters. Indeed, over the past year, several laboratories have identified at least five such factors using a gel retardation assay: they bind in vitro to cloned fragmeP*s of DNA containing the regulatory elements and alter the electrophoretic mobility of the fragments 3-6. Furthermore, so-called 'footprinting' experiments (performed either in vitro or in vivo) have been used to identify the residues in the DNA that actually interact with these proteins. However, despite an increasing body of data, many questions remain. How do these factors regulate gene expression? Does each factor act alone to regulate a small number of genes, or do they act in a combinatorial fashion to generate their specificity? Are these factors expressed only in particular cell types and, if so, what in turn regulates their expression? Recent work in the laboratories of Baltimore 7 and Perry 8 provide some intriguing insights into the behaviour of one of these factors: NF-KB. NF-KB is a nuclear factor which binds to a site in the K enhancer. It is of particular interest as it had hitherto only been detected in cells that express the K gene (mature B • cells and plasma cells) but was apparently absent from other cells (e.g. pre-B cells). The cell line 70Z/3 (a pre-B line) has a functionally rearranged K gene which is expressed when the cells are treated with bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS); it does not contain detectable NF-KB. However, Sen and Baltimore have shown that within 30 min of treatment with LPS, NF-KB activity could be detected, followed by the appearance of a DNase I-hypersensitivity associated with an activP K enhan

The preparation of single phase Li2FeP2O7 cathode material is optimized with respect to both inexpensive precursors and calcination conditions.

The Drosophila protocadherin Fat (Ft) regulates growth, planar cell polarity (PCP) and proximodistal patterning. A key downstream component of Ft signaling is the atypical myosin Dachs (D). Multiple regions of the intracellular domain of Ft have been implicated in regulating growth and PCP but how Ft regulates D is not known. Mutations in Fbxl7, which encodes an F-box protein, result in tissue overgrowth and abnormalities in proximodistal patterning that phenocopy deleting a specific portion of the intracellular domain (ICD) of Ft that regulates both growth and PCP. Fbxl7 binds to this same portion of the Ft ICD, co-localizes with Ft to the proximal edge of cells and regulates the levels and asymmetry of D at the apical membrane. Fbxl7 can also regulate the trafficking of proteins between the apical membrane and intracellular vesicles. Thus Fbxl7 functions in a subset of pathways downstream of Ft and links Ft to D localization. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.03383.001, eLife digest Multi-cellular organisms are made up of cells that are organized into tissues and organs that reach a predictable size and shape at the end of their development. To do this, cells must be able to sense their position and orientation within the body and know when to stop growing. Epithelial cells—which make up the outer surface of an animal's body and line the cavities of its internal organs—connect to each other to form flat sheets. These sheets of cells contain structures that are oriented along the plane of the sheet. However, how this so-called ‘planar cell polarity’ coordinates with cell growth in order to build complex tissues and organs remains to be discovered. A protein called Fat is a major player in both planar cell polarity and the Hippo signaling pathway, which controls cell growth. As such, the Fat protein appears to be crucial for controlling the size and shape of organs. Mutations in the Fat protein cause massive tissue overgrowth, prevent planar cell polarity being established correctly, and stop the legs and wings of fruit flies developing normally. The Fat protein also plays a role in distributing another protein called Dachs—which is also part of the Hippo signaling pathway. In epithelial cells of the developing wing, Dachs is mostly located on the side of the cell that is closest to the tip of the developing wing (the so-called ‘distal surface’). How Fat and Dachs work together is not understood, but it is known that they do not bind to each other directly. Now, Bosch et al. show that in the fruit fly Drosophila, the Fat protein binds to another protein called Fbxl7. Flies that cannot produce working Fbxl7 have defects in some aspects of planar cell polarity and a modest increase in tissue growth. Fbxl7 seems to account for part, but not all, of the ability of Fat to restrict tissue growth. Furthermore, a lack of the Fbxl7 protein results in a spreading of Dachs protein across the apical surface—which faces out of the epithelial sheet—of epithelial cells. On the other hand, if Fbxl7 is over-expressed, Dachs is driven to the interior of each cell. Hence, a normal level of Fbxl7 protein restricts the Dachs protein to the correct parts of the cell surface. Together, the findings of Bosch et al. show that the Fbxl7 protein is a key link between the Fat and Dachs proteins. These results also provide an understanding of how growth and planar cell polarity—two processes that are essential for normal development of all multi-cellular organisms—are coordinated. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.03383.002

The design of PID control in a boost converter, using linear small-signal models, often results in much restricted closed-loop bandwidth and stability margin, particularly in presence of the right-half-plane zero in the control-to-output transfer function. This paper attempts to enhance large-signal stability region and transient performance beyond linearization using phase-plane geometry. A first-order switching surface is considered during a large-signal recovery, which represents PD control in a current mode controlled boost converter with normalized load current feed-forward. This achieves improved load regulation, output impedance, and transient performance. Thereafter, a fixed gain discrete-time integral action is initiated (after reset) for further reduction in steady-state error. A boost converter prototype is fabricated, and test results are obtained using a FPGA device. The proposed architecture provides flexibility of tuning PID control based on phase-plane geometry, with possibility of achieving near time optimal transient recovery.

Even though the hardware complexity is reduced and precision is increased in the DDFS, the obtained signal is in no match with the ideal signal. This is because of the non-linearity of DACs present in the DDFS architecture. The conventional DDFS architecture doesn't account for the non-linearity of DAC which deteriorates the quality of the signal. This reduces the SNR and SFDR of the signal. This error can be reduced by the optimizing the values using Genetic algorithm.

The report investigates the effect of quenching rate on the structure, lithium ion dynamics, and crystallization kinetics of mol% 60Li 2O-40P2O5 glass. Quenching rate of the order of 105 K s-1 has been achieved using a twin-roller rapid quenching setup. Raman and FT-IR studies reveal that the rapidly quenched glass is more disordered with a reduced amount of pyrophosphate structural units (P2O74-) in the glass matrix as compared with the conventionally quenched glass. Non-isothermal differential scanning calorimetry brings out that the rapidly quenched glass undergoes three-phase crystallization while the conventionally quenched glass depicted predominantly single-phase crystallization. The phases are identified as lithium metaphosphate (LiPO3), pyrophosphate (Li4P2O7), and orthophosphate (Li3PO4). The activation energy for crystallization for the major phase Li4P2O7 calculated using thermoanalytical methods turns out to be 287 kJ mol -1. The above structural differences between the rapidly and conventionally quenched glasses result in superior conduction characteristics for the rapidly quenched glass depicting ionic conductivity of 1.0 � 10-6 S cm-1 at 343 K with an activation energy of 0.63 eV for lithium ion motion. Microstructural studies on the glass ceramics divulge surface, 2D, and 3D crystal growth mechanism for lithium meta-, pyro-, and ortho-phosphate phases, respectively. � 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York.

An S-band, compact, high power filter, for use in the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), has been designed and tested for multipaction. The telemetry, tracking, and commanding (TT&C) transponder of MOM is required to handle continuous RF power of 200 W in the telemetry path besides simultaneously maintaining an isolation of greater than 145 dBc to its sensitive telecommand path. This is accomplished with the help of a complex diplexer, requiring high power, high rejection transmit path filter, and a low power receive path filter. To reduce the complexity in the multipaction-free design and testing, the transmit path filter of the diplexer is split into a low rejection filter integral to the diplexer and an external high rejection filter. This paper highlights the design and space qualification phases of this high rejection filter. Multipaction test results with 6 dB margin are also presented. Major concerns of this filter design are isolation, insertion loss, and multipaction. Mission performance of the on-board filter is normal.

Presented in this paper is an overview of passive intermodulation (PIM) in microwave space systems. Application of some of the PIM analysis and prediction techniques to the Indian national communication satellite, INSAT-2E, has been discussed in some detail. PIM control measures and PIM testing techniques that are proposed to be adopted in the design of the communication payload have been briefly summarized.

The inherited human disease tuberous sclerosis, characterized by hamartomatous tumors, results from mutations in either TSC1 or TSC2. We have characterized mutations in the Drosophila Tsc1 and Tsc2/gigas genes. Inactivating mutations in either gene cause an identical phenotype characterized by enhanced growth and increased cell size with no change in ploidy. Overall, mutant cells spend less time in G1. Coexpression of both Tsc1 and Tsc2 restricts tissue growth and reduces cell size and cell proliferation. This phenotype is modulated by manipulations in cyclin levels. In postmitotic mutant cells, levels of Cyclin E and Cyclin A are elevated. This correlates with a tendency for these cells to reenter the cell cycle inappropriately as is observed in the human lesions.

The external surfaces of a spacecraft exposed to Earth's magnetospheric plasma can build up differential voltages which can result in an electrostatic discharge (ESD). This discharge may induce transient electromagnetic interference (EMI) in the electronics circuitry and may give rise to switching anomalies or system failure under certain environmental conditions. This paper outlines the development of Lumped Element Model (LEM) of a spacecraft for surface charging studies. A numerical solution procedure using method of moments and triangular patch modelling to determine the capacitance of conducting objects in free space has been developed. Differential equations of spacecraft charging have been derived and the surface charging of INSAT-2E spacecraft has been simulated. The results obtained for INSAT-2E using LEM concept are compared with those obtained using the NASA Charging Analysis Program (NASCAP) for a similar satellite.Using LEM of a conducting plate located in free space, and with the help of cir...

Solar irradiation that hits the photovoltaic modules has a variable character depending on the latitude of the earth, sun angle etc. The energy produced by the PV modules depends on the irradiation and temperature. Thus the changing environment creates a necessity to identify the point for every instant on the IV characteristics of the PV generator in which there is the maximum amount of power transfer from the source to the load. Proper tracking algorithm is needed to achieve the maximum power from the PV cell. In this paper, a new methodology called Equilibration Algorithm is proposed. This algorithm is formed by extracting the essence of two different conventional algorithms called incremental conductance algorithm and relative position algorithm. The algorithm gives good convergence speed and less hardware complexity. Thus, the advantages of the Equilibration algorithm has been compared and verified.

The composite solid electrolytes are classified as crystal-crystal composites and composite polymer electrolytes and glasses. Composite electrolytes exhibit ionic conductivity which is higher than of the pure host solid electrolyte. The factors that enhance ionic conductivity in these composite electrolytes can be described as concentration of dispersed particle, particle size of the dispersoid, temperature and method of preparation. The ionic conductivity exhibits a maximum at a particular concentration of the dispersoid and depends on the particle size of the dispersoid particle in the submicron range. The conductivity of the composite electrolytes and pure phases become almost same at higher temperatures.

The Cip/Kip family of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors (CKIs) has been implicated in mediating cell cycle arrest prior to terminal differentiation. In many instances, increased expression of CKIs immediately precedes mitotic arrest. However, the mechanism that activates CKI expression in cells that are about to stop dividing has remained elusive. Here we have addressed this issue by investigating the expression pattern of dacapo, a Cip/Kip CKI in Drosophila. We show that the accumulation of dacapo RNA and protein requires Cyclin E and that increased expression of Cyclin E can induce dacapo expression. We also show that the oscillation of the Cyclin E and Dacapo proteins are tightly coupled during ovarian endocycles. Our results argue for a mechanism where Cyclin E/Cdk activity induces Dacapo expression but only within certain windows that are permissive for dacapo expression.

The recent sequencing of the Drosophila genome as a collaborative effort between the Berkeley Drosophila Genome Project (BDGP) and Celera Genomics provides an unparalleled opportunity to assess the prevalence of human disease gene counterparts in the fly genome ([Adams et al. 2000][1]; [Rubin et al

The Ras-related Rap GTPases are highly conserved across diverse species but their normal biological function is not well understood. Initial studies in mammalian cells suggested a role for Rap as a Ras antagonist. More recent experiments indicate functions in calcium- and cAMP-mediated signaling and it has been proposed that protein kinase A-mediated phosphorylation activates Rap in vivo. We show that Ras1-mediated signaling pathways in Drosophila are not influenced by Rap1 levels, suggesting that Ras1 and Rap1 function via distinct pathways. Moreover, a mutation that abolishes the putative cAMP-dependent kinase phosphorylation site of Drosophila Rap1 can still rescue the Rap1 mutant phenotype. Our experiments show that Rap1 is not needed for cell proliferation and cell-fate specification but demonstrate a critical function for Rap1 in regulating normal morphogenesis in the eye disk, the ovary and the embryo. Rap1 mutations also disrupt cell migrations and cause abnormalities in cell shape. These findings indicate a role for Rap proteins as regulators of morphogenesis in vivo.

The Drosophila fat facets gene encodes a deubiquitinating enzyme that regulates a cell communication pathway essential very early in eye development, prior to facet assembly, to limit the number of photoreceptor cells in each facet of the compound eye to eight. The Fat facets protein facilitates the production of a signal in cells outside the developing facets that inhibits neural development of particular facet precursor cells. Novel gain-of-function mutations in the Drosophila Rap1 and Ras1 genes are described herein that interact genetically with fat facets mutations. Analysis of these genetic interactions reveals that Fat facets has an additional function later in eye development involving Rap1 and Ras1 proteins. Moreover, the results suggest that undifferentiated cells outside the facet continue to influence facet assembly later in eye development.

The activity of Ras family proteins is modulated in vivo by the function of GTPase activating proteins, which increase their intrinsic rate of GTP hydrolysis. We have isolated cDNAs encoding a GAP for the Drosophila Rap1 GTPase. Drosophila Rapgap1 encodes an 850-amino acid protein with a central region that displays substantial sequence similarity to human RapGAP. This domain, when expressed in Escherichia coli , potently stimulates Rap1 GTPase activity in vitro . Unlike Rap1 , which is ubiquitously expressed, Rapgap1 expression is highly restricted. Rapgap1 is expressed at high levels in the developing photoreceptor cells and in the optic lobe. Rapgap1 mRNA is also localized in the pole plasm in an oskar -dependent manner. Although mutations that completely abolish Rapgap1 function display no obvious phenotypic abnormalities, overexpression of Rapgap1 induces a rough eye phenotype that is exacerbated by reducing Rap1 gene dosage. Thus, Rapgap1 can function as a negative regulator of Rap1-mediated signaling in vivo .

Two important proteins that function in regulating cell growth are the transcriptional regulator FOXO and the protein kinase Tor. A recent publication shows that the Melted protein can modulate both FOXO and Tor activity and can also regulate fat levels in Drosophila.

Communication experiments using normal lab setup, which includes more hardware and less software raises the cost of the total system. The method proposed here provides a new approach through which all the analog and digital experiments can be performed using a single hardware-USRP (Universal Software Radio Peripheral) and software-GNU Radio Companion (GRC). Initially, networking setup is formulated using SDR technology. Later on, one of the analog communication experiments is demonstrated in real time using the GNU Radio Companion, RTL-SDR and USRP. The entire communication system is less expensive as the system uses a single reprogrammable hardware and most of the focus of the system deals with the software part.

Smoothing and differencing is one of the major important and necessary step in the field of signal processing, image processing and also in the field on analytical chemistry. The search for an efficient image smoothing and edge detection method is a challenging task in image processing sector. Savitzky Golay Filters are one among the widely used filters for analytical chemistry. Even though they have exceptional features, they are rarely used in the field of image processing. The designed filter is applied for image smoothing and a mathematical model based on partial derivatives is proposed to extract the edges in images. The smoothing technique of SG filter offers an extremely simple aid in extracting the edge information. An approach using SG filter which can be applied in preserving edge information is one of the major tasks involved in the classification process in the domain of Optical Character Recognition. The paper is focused on designing the Savitzky Golay filter by using the concepts of linear algebra. The main objective of the paper is to portray a clear cut idea about Savitzky Golay filter and to study the design of Savitsky Golay filters based on the concepts of Linear Algebra.

Investigation on the X-ray diffraction results of rare earth ions such as Eu3+ and Nd3+ doped BaSnF4 materials indicates that the doped materials show a similar pattern of BaSnF4 with the same tetragonal structure (P4/nmm). The transport properties of the materials have been investigated by impedance spectroscopy, and the results show that the conductivity values are closely related to both concentration and type of the dopant ion. All of these doped materials show an increase in conductivity over un-doped BaSnF4. The highest conductivity is observed in 3 mol% Nd3+ ion-doped BaSnF4 system (9.01 × 10−4 Scm−1), which is about one order higher in comparison to BaSnF4 conductivity (1.1 × 10−4 Scm−1). The room temperature emission spectrum of BaSnF4:Eu3+ and BaSnF4:Nd3+ shows the characteristic bands arising from 5D0 → 7F j (j = 1, 2, 3, and 4) and 4F3/2 to 4I j (j = 9/2 and 11/2) transitions of Eu3+ and Nd3+ ions, respectively.

The effect of partial supplementation of red palm oil (RPO) in saturated fats based on coconut oil (CNO) and hydrogenated fat (HF) was evaluated in a 16-week long experiment in rats. Male rats (wistar strain) were divided into 6 groups and fed with diets based on RPO. Group I with 20% RPO Group II with 20% CNO, group III with 20 HF group IV with 10% RPO and 10% CNO, group V with 10% RPO and 10% HF, and group VI 6.6% RPO and 6.6% CNO and 6.6% HF. The growth of the animals was proportional to the intake of fat and diet. No significant increase was observed in plasma total cholesterol. LDL-C was higher in groups fed with CNO and HF, and HDL-C was higher in the 20% RPO group. The 20% CNO groups had the lowest amount of liver cholesterol when compared to 20% RPO group while the blended oil groups had a higher liver cholesterol. Plasma triglycerides were high in the 20% RPO group whereas in the liver no significant difference observed. Analysis of plasma and liver fatty acids indicated the type of fat consumed as evidenced by the higher levels of palmitate (16:0), oleate (18:1) and linoleate (18:2 n6) in the RPO groups and higher levels of lauric (12:0) myristic (14:0) oleic (18:1) and palmitic (16:0) in 20% CNO groups. The hydrogenated fat group (HF) had a higher levels of lauric (12:0) oleic (18:1) and linoleic acids. The saturated fatty acids (SAFA) supplemented groups in general showed a mixed trend based on the fats. The saturated fatty acids (SAFA) was highest in group II (20% CNO) and group VI (mixed group based on RPO) (CNO and HF) indicating the type of fatty acid intake. PUFA was lowest in CNO group followed by group IV based on RPO and CNO. The various other ratios such as 18:1 18:2 , palmitic oleic ( 16:0 18:1 ) and arachidonic/linoleic ( 20:4 18:2 ) were all normal indicating the type of fat consumed. Thus our present study indicate that supplementation of palm oil (RPO) with other saturated fats like coconut oil and hydrogenated fat (HF) can have a protective effect due to the presence of lipid lowering factors.

Male weanling wistar rats were fed synthetic diets containing 20% safflower oil (SFO) or palm oil (PO) with and without cholesterol for a period of six weeks. Erythrocyte membranes were isolated and their fatty acid composition were determined at the end of the experiment. Besides the fatty acid composition of the kidney and spleen lipids were also determined. Erythrocyte membrane, kidney fatty acids of rats fed safflower oil (SFO) had in the majority of variants a higher level of n-6 fatty acids when compared to palm oil group. However, in the spleen, the level of n-6 fatty acids in the palm oil groups were higher than in the safflower oil group. In general the arachidonic acid [20:4 (n-6)] levels were higher in the spleen and erythrocytes particularly in the cholesterol fed groups when compared to the kidney levels. Palm oil fed rats had a higher level of palmitic (16:0) and oleic [18:1 (n-9)] acids. Rats fed diets containing cholesterol significantly reduced the level of stearic (18:0) but increased the level of oleic [18:1 (n-9)], linoleic [18:2 (n-3)], and arachidonic acids [20:4 (n-6)]. The ratios such as 18:1 (n-9)/18:2 (n-6), 18:1 (n-9)/18:0, 18:2 (n-6)/20:4 (n-6) and 20:4 (n-6)/18:2 (n-6) are all indicative of the normal activity of enzymes involved in the desaturation and elongation. Thus these studies indicate that addition of cholesterol can modify the fatty acid composition in erythrocytes, kidney and spleen lipids.

A careful analysis of the impedance spectra of PbF 2 :SiO 2 and PbF 2 :Al 2 O 3 composites reveals that the increased conductivity of the composites is due to enhanced fluorine ion vacancy concentration. The combination of homogeneous and heterogeneous doping is consistent with the above finding. These results are in reasonable agreement with the model of heterogeneous doping. Space charge mechanisms as well as various other processes that may contribute to the enhanced conductivity are discussed.