425 research outputs found
The State of Cities – #CityConversations
No full textThe WebPolicyTalk series by the IMPRI Center for Habitat, Urban, and Regional Studies (CHURS) carried out a discussion series called The State of Cities – #CityConversations to engage with experts on urban and regional studies, who shared their insights on urbanization and challenges towards sustainable and inclusive cities. The audience comprised mostly of policymakers, practitioners, researchers, faculty from across India and other countries. The outcome of the deliberations was disseminated through various social media platforms and media outlets and was aimed at contributing to the future courses of action for policymakers, practitioners, researchers, and civil society organizations
Migration studies and chemical characterization of short chain cyclic polyester oligomers from food packaging laminate adhesives
No full textLaminates are extensively used for food packaging applications such as retort pouches and retort packaging, boil in the bag, microwavable packaging, military meals ready to eat (MRE’s), single serving dispensers, etc. Laminates are manufactured by bonding multiple layers of films together using adhesives, where each layer acts as a functional component and contributes to overall integrity of the package. Polyurethane adhesive, the most common choice of adhesive for flexible packaging, is the reaction product of polyurethane pre-polymer and/or diisocyanate with polyester. The polyester component reacts with isocyanate, forming urethane bonds and introduces soft chain segments into the final, cured polyurethane. During the formation of polyester, low molecular weight cyclic diesters and oligoesters are formed as unwanted byproducts. These low molecular weight species often migrate out of packaging into the contents of the package. Since these species are novel compounds, the safety and toxicological properties have not been investigated. Our research focused on studying the chemistry and migratory properties of these compounds. We conducted migration testing of laminates using USFDA recommended food simulants such as 10% Ethanol for aqueous and acid foods and 95% Ethanol for the fatty foods. Single side extraction cell assembly was used for the purpose of extraction which was conditioned at 100 °C for 30 min. In our research GC-MS analysis was used to determine chemical structures, gas chromatography retention time indices and the average migratory concentration levels of ten short chain cyclic diesters and oligoesters. The chemical structures were deduced by analyzing the characteristic fragmentation pattern. Also to investigate the predicted metabolic fate of short chain cyclic diesters and oligoesters after their ingestion and potential absorption into the bloodstream, they were treated with non-specific porcine esterase enzyme at 37 °C for 1 h. In our research it was also shown that the enzyme treatment metabolized the short chain cyclic diesters and oligoesters back into their original corresponding diol and dicarboxylic acid precursors.M.S.Includes bibliographical referencesby Aditi Shrikhand
Occupational Therapy Within an Intensive Comprehensive Aphasia Program: Outcomes for People Living With Chronic Stroke
No full textAbstract
Date Presented 4/1/2017
This poster presents findings from a study that supports inclusion of occupational therapy in an intensive, comprehensive aphasia program to increase performance of and satisfaction with valued occupations focusing on instrumental activities of daily living, leisure, work, and social participation for people with chronic stroke and aphasia.
Primary Author and Speaker: Anne Escher
Additional Authors and Speakers: Aditi Amlani, Angela Viani, Sue Berger</jats:p
Women in HPC Australasia, 3 years on
No full textThe Australasian Chapter of the global organisation Women in High Performance Computing (WHPC) began as a collaboration between New Zealand eScience Infrastructure, NCI Australia, Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre, Monash University, and Australasian eResearch Organisations (AeRO). Launched in 2020, the Chapter (WHPC+ AusNZ)* is celebrating three years of hosting events and creating spaces where anyone interested in supporting diversity & inclusion in our HPC and eResearch communities can feel welcome, connect with others, and contribute to discussions and positive change. This lightning talk will share:an overview of the Chapter's purpose and objectiveshighlights from the last three years of activityways you can get involved We welcome anyone interested in learning more about the Chapter or who is keen to connect with others interested in supporting diversity & inclusion in HPC and eResearch.*Our Chapter has added a "+" to our name to encourage people from all walks of life, not just gender, to join and participate in our community.ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S)Based at the University of Auckland, Jana Makar coordinates communications and engagement strategies for New Zealand eScience Infrastructure (NeSI). She has a degree in Communications from the University of Calgary and spent the early part of her career working as a newspaper journalist.Based at the Pawsey Supercomputing Centre, Aditi Subramanya is a communicator in the digital world. Aditi loves tech and is passionate about creating diverse, inclusive mindsets and cultures. Aditi’s goal is to break global barriers to create fair opportunities for all.For more information about eResearch NZ / eRangahau Aotearoa, visit:https://eresearchnz.co.nz/</p
Development of photochemical etching and its application in fabrication of integrated reflector metal semiconductor metal photodetectors
No full text"Photolithography and etching form the basis of any microfabrication process. Consequently, there is a lot of interest in the research community to improve and innovate on these crucial steps so as to realize the fabrication of complex devices. Once limited to use as physical photomasks for producing planar features, photolithography and etching are now being expanded to function with virtual programmable masks and to produce complex non-planar structures. These ""3-D"" structures are of great interest in fields like photonics, microfluidics and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). A number of competitive solutions have been proposed to enable this ""grayscale"" processing of materials.
This thesis discusses digital projection photochemical etching as a possible tool for maskless, grayscale lithography and etching in a single step. It is based on light-assisted etching of semiconductors placed in a suitable chemical solution. By projecting spatially varying intensity light, grayscale etching can be achieved. The thesis begins with the motivation and literature review of this area of study, and then discusses the fundamental mechanisms of the photochemical etching process. Finally, an application of the fabrication of high-responsivity metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) photodetectors is discussed to show how photochemical etching can be integrated with conventional microfabrication to enhance device fabrication capability."Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'U of I Access', the embargo will last until 2019-05-01The student, Aditi Udupa, accepted the attached license on 2017-04-25 at 14:27.The student, Aditi Udupa, submitted this Thesis for approval on 2017-04-25 at 14:31.This Thesis was approved for publication on 2017-04-26 at 12:16.DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #11051 on 2017-08-10 at 15:07:00Made available in DSpace on 2017-08-10T20:33:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2
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Editing by leucyl-trna synthetase: Discrimination of norvaline and isoleucine
No full textAminoacyl tRNA-synthetases (AARS) are housekeeping enzymes that are tasked with accurate synthesis of aminoacylated tRNA for protein synthesis and other cellular functions. The specificity of amino acid attachment challenges the AARSs that need to distinguish between structurally similar amino acids. In such cases, AARSs have developed editing mechanisms to circumvent the issue of misaminoacylation.
Leucyl-tRNA synthetase (LeuRS), for instance selectively edits misactivated and mischarged non-leucine amino acids via pre-transfer editing of misactivated adenylates in the synthetic site or by hydrolyzing mischarged amino acids in the CP1 editing domain. The enzyme’s dependence between the two editing mechanisms can shift based on the origin from which the AARS is derived, the amino acid that is targeted for editing, or presence of a mutation in the enzyme. In the absence of the CP1 domain, E. coli LeuRS (LeuRS-ΔCP1) maintains fidelity by clearing non-leucine aminoacyl-adenylates in the enzyme’s synthetic site. The intact tRNA 3’-terminal adenosine (A76) residue is a prerequisite for aminoacylation.
Leveraging A76 essentiality tRNA analogues were designed to investigate amino acid dependent specificity of editing by LeuRS. The tRNA analogues were synthesized by addition of a modified adenosine triphosphate to an in vitro transcribed E. coli tRNALeuUAA using the CCA-adding enzyme from E. coli. Incorporation of unchargeable tRNA analogues stimulated ATP hydrolysis by wild type LeuRS in the presence of norvaline. In contrast, pre-transfer editing occurs independent of the tRNA for LeuRS-ΔCP1, which lacks the CP1 domain. Therefore it is hypothesized that the CP1 domain of LeuRS plays a critical role for tRNA-dependent pre-transfer editing.Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'U of I Access', the embargo will last until 2020-12-01The student, Aditi Banerjee, accepted the attached license on 2018-12-04 at 09:13.The student, Aditi Banerjee, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2018-12-04 at 09:24.This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2018-12-05 at 08:43.DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #13192 on 2019-02-07 at 14:18:57Made available in DSpace on 2019-02-07T20:44:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 3
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Engineering Disease Models for Cardiac and Skeletal Muscle Tissues
No full textBiomedical research aims to gain deeper insights into the mechanisms of human pathophysiology to develop improved therapies and diagnostics. Despite significant advances made in the understanding and treatment of human diseases, many bottlenecks persist in successful clinical translation. Conventional culture techniques and animal models suffer from various limitations that fail to recapitulate human physiology and impede the clinical translation of therapies. Among various human diseases, cardiovascular diseases account for the highest number of deaths worldwide. Similarly, skeletal muscle disorders are the leading contributor to disability across the globe. Given the enormous health burden associated with ailments of cardiac and skeletal muscles, the broad goal of this work was to engineer tissue-mimetic templates for these tissues that can serve as reliable in vitro disease models.
Toward this goal, simplified methods were standardized to obtain functionally superior primary cardiomyocytes and skeletal myotubes as a robust source of cells for these models. Alongside this, an unconventional and cost-effective surface coating, keratin, derived from human hair was reported to be effective and found comparable to ECM-derived proteins, fibronectin and gelatin, in supporting primary cardiomyocyte culture. Thereafter, microscale and nanoscale surfaces were designed and utilized for gaining unique insights into the cardiac and skeletal myocytes function in normal as well as the diseased state. Specifically, UV lithography and etching techniques were used to create micro-ridges as an organotypic platform to study cardiac hypertrophy and live calcium currents in cardiomyocytes. It was established that aligned cardiomyocytes showed an enhanced response to hypertrophic cues as compared to the unaligned ones and exhibited unidirectional flow of calcium currents. This approach was further extended to develop a potential antioxidant and anti-hypertrophic cardiac patch using PCL and PCL-gelatin electrospun nanofibers decorated with cerium oxide nanoparticles. The cardiomyocytes grown on ceria decorated PCLG nanofibers showed reduced ROS production in the presence of hydrogen peroxide and rescued hypertrophic response when treated with phenylephrine, a GPCR agonist. Furthermore, screening for a variety of engineered substrates was done to retain skeletal myotubes in culture for longer durations, which often detached on smooth surfaces. A nanofibrous platform was thus optimized and investigated as a disease model for muscle degeneration using western blotting and immunofluorescence techniques. Overall, the study revealed different aspects of culturing skeletal myotubes in comparison to cardiomyocytes. This work highlighted the cell-dependent response to topography even among structurally similar cell types. The developed platforms integrating primary cells and anisotropic substrates allowed to achieve precise cellular architecture and study their function in specific pathophysiological conditions. An improved understanding of alterations in cell function in response topography may lead to the development of laboratory models that better recapitulate the in vivo milieu than conventional culture and thereby improve the translation of devised therapies from bench to bedside
Automated profile builder: one stop portal for creating and sharing your personal profiles
No full textThe explosive growth in digital presence have changed the way people form and stay connected to their professional networks, leading to the rise in multiple online profile management tools each catering to custom profile generation needs. With digital presence being split across multiple online tools, the challenge to maintain, update and customize details of all online profiles has been a challenge, perhaps more so in the academic researcher and professional community where a long list of publication and multiple pages of online profile is the norm. Today a typical researcher can have profiles that range from 1-2 pages like the typical industry standard to several pages as per typical academic standards where publications, patents, talks, workshops, etc are all part of a researchers profile. Maintaining this profile online across various independently run profile management system has created the problem of tedious multiple locations of data managements. As no existing profile management system leverages data from other systems it has been difficult for researchers to maintain and update online profiles. In addition, most of the profile management system have a fixed schema while creating online profile so the user does not have the flexibility to create a customized profile. In this thesis, we propose an Automated Profile Builder(AutoPB) which acts as a one stop portal for all the online profile management system. AutoPB aims to solve the issues surrounding current distributed and scattered profile management systems by its three main features: a) schema sharing, b) centralized multi format data in/out portal and c) client-side data retrieval system. First concept is known as schema sharing, which is a unique feature that no other profile management system has. This feature lets user to learn and share schema that are used while building an online profile. Secondly, the system provides flexible Import and Export feature. The user can import data from external sources as well as export the profile in different formats. Lastly, the profile builder performs client-side searching, crawling and parsing to minimize the server work load. Using our profile builder users can import data from their existing online profile and would not need to manually type their information which is easily available in the internet. In this thesis, we demonstrate that AutoPB with these features can act as a one stop portal especially for researchers to more easily manage their online profile by centralized data management paired with distribution of multiple custom profiles.Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'Closed Access', the embargo will last until 2019-08-01The student, Aditi Adhikari, accepted the attached license on 2017-07-12 at 00:56.The student, Aditi Adhikari, submitted this Thesis for approval on 2017-07-12 at 01:22.This Thesis was approved for publication on 2017-07-12 at 16:45.DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #11418 on 2017-09-29 at 11:19:05Made available in DSpace on 2017-09-29T16:39:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2
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Development Of Efficient Control Strategies For Single Phase Grid Integrated Inverters For Photovoltaic Applications
No full textDiminution of fossil fuel reserves and increased concern about environmental pollution has amplified the demand of renewable energy sources (RES) for power generation. Penetration of renewable energy based power plants into the conventional distribution system has increased the use of power electronics converters (PEC). The PECs are used to convert the power generated by the RES based distributed generation(DG) plants into a form of power which is compatible with the distribution grid. The PECs integrating the DG plants with the grid have stringent control requirements, which are specified in the standards such as IEEE 1547 and IEC 61727.
Solar energy utilization is the fastest growing sector among all forms of renewable energy, with net increase in solar power generation by an average of 8.3 % per year as per
International Energy Outlook (IEO), 2016 report. Single phase voltage source inverter (VSI) is used to interface photovoltaic (PV) based DG plants with the single phase grid in residential areas. Generally, there are two controllers associated with grid connected PV systems. One is the input side maximum power point tracking (MPPT) controller and the
other is the grid side controller. The grid side controller has to perform multiples tasks, which include DC-link voltage control, grid synchronization, regulation of active and reactive power exchange between the DG plant and the grid and injection of high quality power into the grid. The grid side controller incorporates two control loops: the outer voltage control loop and the inner current control loop. The inner current control loop is responsible for injecting good quality current into the grid, power flow control and grid synchronization. Researchers have proposed several current control techniques for single phase grid tied inverters in recent years. Several drawbacks have been identified with the conventional control techniques. Hence, there is a need to develop control strategies with
intuitive design methodology, to satisfy the control requirements of grid tied DG inverter under both steady state and transient operating conditions.
In this thesis, various current control strategies for single phase grid integrated inverters have been reviewed with their pros and cons. The significant control strategies
namely current hysteresis control (CHC), proportional integral (PI) control, proportional resonant (PR) control and dead beat control (DBC) have been designed and analyzed for a grid tied single phase VSI. A digital model predictive control (MPC) based current controller is introduced for single phase grid tied inverter. A comparative performance
assessment of the proposed current control strategy with the conventional controllers is also performed. The model predictive current controller (MPCC) is found to outperform
the other existing current controllers in steady state and transient state operating conditions. The design and implementation of the MPCC scheme is simple. The proposed
control strategy is implemented on a hardware prototype using TMS320F2812, digital signal processor (DSP). A delay compensation technique is also proposed for the MPCC
to compensate for the delay that is introduced when the control scheme is implemented on digital platform. The delay compensated model predictive current controller (DC-MPCC)
is implemented for a dual stage single phase grid integrated PV system.
A grid voltage sensorless control algorithm is also introduced for single phase grid tied VSI. In this control algorithm, a damped resonant compensator (DRC) is used to
estimate the voltage reference signal and the grid voltage is estimated using some simple mathematical calculations. A phase locked loop (PLL) less synchronization scheme is
proposed to synchronize the inverter output current with the grid voltage. The DC-MPCC is employed for current control. The voltage sensorless control technique does not interfere with the current controller performance. Decoupling control of active and reactive power is achieved through the proposed scheme. When the grid demands reactive power, the same can be provided by the VSI, by controlling the reactive current component which is in quadrature with the active current component. Elimination of voltage sensor reduces the overall cost of the system and improves the system reliability. The efficacy of the proposed grid voltage sensorless control scheme is validated by experimental implementation using dSPACE 1104 real time controller
PIM1 kinase promotes gallbladder cancer cell proliferation via inhibition of proline-rich Akt substrate of 40kDa (PRAS40)
No full text"We thank the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India for research support to the Institute of Bioinformatics. IOB is supported by DBT Program Support on Neuroproteomics and infrastructure for proteomic data analysis (BT/01/COE/08/05). We thank the ""Infosys Foundation"" for the research support to the Institute of Bioinformatics. This work was supported by the Science and Engineering Research Board, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India grant ""miRNAs in chronic tobacco-induced oral cancer (SR/S0/HS-02081/2012)""; NCI's Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium initiative (U24CA160036) and FAMRI-funded 072017_YCSA. P.K. Tiwari acknowledges research support from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), MP Council of Science & Technology (MPCST), Bhopal and Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. Harsha Gowda is a Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance Early Career Fellow. Juan Carlos Roa acknowledges research support from the National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development (FONDECYT 1170893), and Millennium Institute on immunology and immunotherapy (IMII P09/016-F), Government of Chile. Pamela Leal acknowledges research support from the National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development (FONDECYT 1151008), Government of Chile. Niraj Babu is a recipient of Senior Research Fellowship from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Government of India. Remya Raja is a recipient of Research Associateship from Department of Biotechnology, Government of India. SnehaM. Pinto is a recipient of DST INSPIRE Faculty award from Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. We thank Dr. S.K. Shankar of National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences for providing the use microscope facility.
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