510 research outputs found
Kudakrumia rangnekari Kumar & Lelej & Das & Raveendran & Loktionov 2019, sp. nov.
No full text<i>Kudakrumia rangnekari</i> Girish Kumar & Lelej, sp. nov. <p>(Figs. 1–10)</p> <p> <b>Type material.</b> Holotype ♂, mounted on card stock, <b>India</b>: Goa, South Goa district, Kotigao Wildlife Sanctuary (14°58’36’’N 74°12’22’’E, 108 m), 18.v.2018, Coll. P. Girish Kumar, ZSIK Regd. No. ZSI/ WGRC /IR/INV.12178. Paratype ♂, <b>India</b>: Kerala, Kasaragod district, Ranipuram Hill (12°24’56’’N 75°21’11’’E, 901 m), 21.i.2018, Coll. P.M. Rajan, ZSIK Regd. No. ZSI/ WGRC /IR/INV.12179.</p> <p> <b>Diagnosis</b>. Male. This new species is characterized by the following combination of characters: metasomal sternum 1 basally with distinct, long process (Fig. 1); metapleuron uniformly punctured, except median small smooth area (Fig. 5); propodeum punctate laterally (near metapleuron) (Fig. 5); propodeum strongly punctate without microsculptures (Fig. 5); parapenial lobe of basiparamere apically not modified, simple (Fig. 10). Female unknown.</p> <p> <b>Description</b>. Holotype male. Length: 3.28 mm. Body black but mandible except base, scape, pedicel and flagellum beneath brownish red; palpi, tegulae and legs testaceous except mesocoxa partially, metacoxa, apical half of mesofemur, metafemur almost entirely, meso- and metatibia except base, protarsomere 2–5, meso- and metatarsomere 1–5 black. Vestiture short and silvery, moderately dense and appressed on most of body, sparse erect setae also present between punctures. Wings hyaline, veins testaceous.</p> <p> <i>Head.</i> Sculpture dense, fine, at higher magnification polygonal in shape (Fig. 2); eye setae length about half frons setae length; apical clypeus margin not emarginated; mandible with three teeth; POL 0.605 × OOL; POL 1.619 × LOL; POL 2.44 diameter of posterior ocellus; scape (Fig. 3) 1.59 × as long as wide, inner lateral margin carinate, inner surface of flagellomeres 2–10 with few shorter, stouter setae.</p> <p> <i>Mesosoma</i>. Notauli almost touching anterior border of mesoscutum, parapsidal lines two-thirds of mesoscutum length, dorsum with slightly larger, more separated punctures, with microsculpture similar to that of head (Fig. 4); propodeum strongly punctate without microsculptures; metapleuron uniformly punctured, except median small area smooth. Forewing as in Fig. 6; basal part of medial vein of hindwing curved but not angulate (Fig. 7).</p> <p> <i>Metasoma</i>. First two metasomal terga with fine, subcontiguous punctures, with microsculpture almost similar to that of mesosomal dorsum, remaining terga with finer, slightly separated punctures (Fig. 8); sternum 1 basally with distinct long process (Fig. 1); second sternum with larger subcontiguous punctures, remaining sterna with small subcontiguous punctures (Fig. 9). Genitalia as in Fig. 10. Parapenial lobe of basiparamere apically not modified, simple.</p> <p>Female. Unknown.</p> <p> <b>Etymology</b>. The species is named after Mr. Parag Rangnekar, a well-known butterfly and dragonfly specialist from Goa who helped the first author to conduct a collection tour in Goa state during which the holotype was collected.</p> <p> <b>Distribution</b>. India: Goa, Kerala.</p> <p> <b>Remark</b>. The differences between the male of this new species and <i>Kudakrumia mirabilis</i> are given in the key below.</p>Published as part of <i>Kumar, Girish P., Lelej, Arkady S., Das, Dipanwita, Raveendran, Hanima K. P. & Loktionov, Valery M., 2019, Discovery of the genus Kudakrumia Krombein, 1979 (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae) in India and description of a new species, pp. 260-266 in Zootaxa 4612 (2)</i> on pages 261-264, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4612.2.8, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/3234350">http://zenodo.org/record/3234350</a>
Article and Author Level Measurements
No full textArticle and author level measurements have been discussed in this Unit. Author and researcher identifiers are absolutely essential for searching databases in the WWW because a name like D Singh can harbour a number of names such as Dan Singh, Dhan Singh, Dhyan Singh, Darbara Singh, Daulat Singh, Durlabh Singh and more. The ResearcherID.com, launched by Thomson Reuters, is a web-based global registry of authors and researchers that individualises each and every name. Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID) is also a registry that uniquely identifies an author or researcher. Both have been discussed in this Unit. Article Level Metrics (Altmetrics) has been treated in this Unit with the discussion as to how altmetrics can be measured with Altmetric.com and ImpactStory.org. Altmetrics for Online Journals has also been touched. There are a number of academic social networks of which ResearchGate.net, Academia.edu, GetCited.org, etc. have been discussed. Regional journal networks with bibliometric indicators are also in existence. Two networks of this type such as SciELO – Scientific Electronic Library Online, and Redalyc have been dealt with. This Unit discusses in details aspects such as Unique Identifiers for Authors and Researchers; Article Level Metrics (Altmetrics); Academic Social Networks; and Regional Journal Networks with Bibliometric Indicators
Rheological Modelling and Simulations of Dilute Polyelectrolyte Solutions in Complex Geometries
No full textDilute polyelectrolyte solutions show viscoelastic behaviour different from solutions of uncharged polymers by virtue of the additional stiffness provided by the repulsion between charges on the polymer chain and screening of the charged sites by ionic species in the system. Experiments report an increase in chain extensions and polymeric viscosities due to the charged nature of the polymers. These effects impact the macroscopic flow behaviour of polyelectrolytes in complex geometries. In this work, we have developed a theoretical model describing the viscoelastic behavior of dilute polyelectrolyte (PE) solutions using Onsager’s variational principle. The PE molecules are described as finitely extensible charged dumbbells suspended in a solvent containing ionic species which screen the charged sites on the macromolecules. We first formulate the rheological model in a conformation tensor formalism and couple it to the steady Stokes equations to simulate the flow of dilute polyelectrolyte solutions in confined geometries. Our results indicate an increase in the drag experienced by the bodies in a flowing PE solution, increased pressure drops and normal stresses with increasing molecular charge density. Next, the model is reformulated to consider stress induced inhomogeneities in the system and the effect of counterion fluctuations on molecular migration of polyelectrolytes is investigated. We conclude that our model based on a simple charged dumbbell with counterion screening, together with Onsager’s variational principle is a powerful tool to investigate the dynamics of dilute polyelectrolyte solutions and the effects of the polyelectrolyte charge and solvent salinity
Redox-Responsive Nanocapsules for the Spatiotemporal Release of Miltefosine in Lysosome: Protection against Leishmania
No full textLeishmaniasis, a vector-borne disease, is caused by intracellular parasite Leishmania donovani. Unlike most intracellular pathogens, Leishmania donovani are lodged in parasitophorous vacuoles and replicate within the phagolysosomes in macrophages. Effective vaccines against this disease are still under development, while the efficacy of the available drugs is being questioned owing to the toxicity for nonspecific distribution in human physiology and the reported drug-resistance developed by Leishmania donovani. Thus, a stimuli-responsive nanocarrier that allows specific localization and release of the drug in the lysosome has been highly sought after for addressing two crucial issues, lower drug toxicity and a higher drug efficacy. We report here a unique lysosome targeting polymeric nanocapsules, formed via inverse mini-emulsion technique, for stimuli-responsive release of the drug miltefosine in the lysosome of macrophage RAW 264.7 cell line. A benign polymeric backbone, with a disulfide bonding susceptible to an oxidative cleavage, is utilized for the organelle-specific release of miltefosine. Oxidative rupture of the disulfide bond is induced by intracellular glutathione (GSH) as an endogenous stimulus. Such a stimuli-responsive release of the drug miltefosine in the lysosome of macrophage RAW 264.7 cell line over a few hours helped in achieving an improved drug efficacy by 200 times as compared to pure miltefosine. Such a drug formulation could contribute to a new line of treatment for leishmaniasis.A. Das acknowledges SERB (India) Grants (CRG/2020/000492 and JCB/2017/000004) and DBT Grant (BT/PR22251/NNT/28/1274/2017) for supporting this research. N. Mukherjee acknowledges SERB (India) Grant PDF/2016/001437 and K. Das acknowledges the grant EMR/2015/001674 for supporting this research. Financial support from DST (DST/INSPIRE/03/2017/002477) is acknowledged by R.T. This manuscript bears CSMCRI registration no 7/2021.Pramanik, SK (corresponding author), CSIR Cent Salt & Marine Chem Res Inst, Bhavnagar 364002, Gujarat, India.
Mukherjee, N (corresponding author), CSIR Indian Inst Chem Biol, Canc Biol & Inflammatory Disorder Div, Kolkata 700032, India.
Chattopadhy, S (corresponding author), BITS Pilani, Pilani 403726, Goa, India.
Das, A (corresponding author), Indian Inst Sci Educ & Res Kolkata, Mohanpur 741246, W Bengal, India.
[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]
Response surface based experimental analysis and thermal resistance model of a thermoelectric power generation system
No full textIn this work, a response surface analysis is carried out on an experimental setup of a combined two-phase flow thermosyphon and thermoelectric generator (TEG) system. Three-level Box-Behnken response surface method is adopted for the design of experiments, and analysis of variance is carried out to gauge the contribution of operating parameters on various performance parameters. Effects of operating parameters such as working pressure, filling ratio, evaporator length, and evaporator temperature are studied. The performance of the system itself is gauged concerning the maximum power obtained, open circuit voltage and short circuit current. With an increase in vacuum pressure and evaporator temperature, performance parameters are found to increase. However, performance parameters under the influence of filling ratio and evaporator length first decrease and then increase due to uneven variation in evaporation rate of working fluid. Experiments also reveal that the performance of the thermosyphon-assisted (TEG) system is mainly governed by pressure and evaporator temperature, whereas filling ratio and evaporator length have relatively lesser influence.Design and Development of a Solar Pond and Biomass Driven Thermoelectric Unit for Domestic Power Generation using Inverse Method from Science & Engineering Research Boar
A comparative study of dexamethasone ointment along with triamcinolone acetonide in treatment of recurrent aphthous stomatitis
No full textAim: To assess and compare the efficacy of dexamethasone ointment with triamcinolone acetonide, the gel form, in the treatment of minor recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS). Materials and Methods: This was a randomized clinical trial of 60 patients of either sex with clinically diagnosed RAS who were randomly divided into two groups—the dexamethasone ointment group (Group I) and the triamcinolone acetonide gel group (Group II). Patients were asked to apply the gel three times a day on each ulcer. Estimation of the efficacy of gel was done based on the time required for regression in pain, size, and number of ulcers. Results: The results showed there was a significant difference in size, pain, number, and duration of ulcers in Group I and Group II within 7 days. However, in both groups, no significant difference was noted in the treatment of RAS. Conclusion: Dexamethasone ointment was found to be efficient in this treatment and was safe as evaluated using clinical assessments
Short-chain n-alkanes in benthic mats and mosses from the Larsemann Hills, East Antarctica
No full textVariation in leaf colour (green, red and grey) of mosses and lake benthic mats in Antarctica is often linked to water stress and ultraviolet light (UV-B) exposure. Changes in the abundance of organic compounds, such as pectin and phenols, are associated with mechanisms protecting against desiccation and UV radiation. However, the function of n-alkanes, especially against UV radiation, is rarely examined. Here, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy analyses were performed to study the variation in n-alkanes in freshwater lake benthic mats and mosses collected from the Larsemann Hills in East Antarctica. Stable isotopes of organic carbon and nitrogen, environmental DNA characterisation and microscopy-based analyses are used to estimate the presence of cyanobacteria, algae and diatoms in moss and benthic mat consortia. Variation in the short-chain (n-C17 to n-C20) versus long-chain (n-C21 to n-C30) n-alkanes in the mosses and benthic mats with their colour were noted. The research links the relative abundance of short-chain n-alkanes to the UV-B exposure and proposes that Antarctic mosses and benthic mats synthesise short-chain n-alkanes for protection against UV-B.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Sanitary Engineerin
Regulations Aware Motion Planning for Autonomous Surface Vessels in Urban Canals
No full textIn unstructured urban canals, regulation-aware interactions with other vessels are essential for collision avoidance and social compliance. In this paper, we propose a regulations aware motion planning framework for Autonomous Surface Vessels (ASVs) that accounts for dynamic and static obstacles. Our method builds upon local model predictive contouring control (LMPCC) to generate motion plans satisfying kino-dynamic and collision constraints in real-time while including regulation awareness. To incorporate regulations in the planning stage, we propose a cost function encouraging compliance with rules describing interactions with other vessels similar to COLlision avoidance REGulations at sea (COLREGs). These regulations are essential to make an ASV behave in a predictable and socially compliant manner with regard to other vessels. We compare the framework against baseline methods and show more effective regulation-compliant avoidance of moving obstacles with our motion planner. Additionally, we present experimental results in an outdoor environment.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository 'You share, we take care!' - Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Learning & Autonomous Contro
Inverse prediction and optimization analysis of a solar pond powering a thermoelectric generator
No full textA given temperature difference across the upper and the lower convective zone of a solar pond is commonly
sought in thermoelectric power generation. Based on this consideration, this work is aimed at predicting the
lengths of various zones of a solar pond to ensure a minimum temperature potential throughout the year be-
tween its upper and lower convective zones. For predicting the critical lengths of various zones of the solar pond,
at first, the heat energy conservation-based model available in the literature is modified by accounting the effect
of salinity and temperature on various thermal parameters. The model is satisfactorily-validated with similar
model and experimental data reported in the literature. Thereafter, considering the requirement of a thermo-
electric power generator (TEG), an inverse problem is solved with the aid of a genetic algorithm-based opti-
mization method to predict feasible lengths of various zones satisfying a minimum temperature potential across
TEG considering suitable thermal resistances. The present results reveal improved pond dimensions achieving a
better temperature profile at a lower total height than that available in the literature. Further, case studies of
diverse meteorological conditions of India are carried out and it becomes apparent that, around the year,
multiple combinations of convective and non-convective regions of the solar pond can ensure the required
minimum (or more) temperature difference across relevant zones of the solar pond. Finally, the present study
also reveals that the temperature of the upper convective zone is largely governed by the thickness of this zone,
whereas, the thickness of the non-convective zone is largely responsible for the temperature within the storage
zone. The present study provides a novel inverse methodology to predict and optimize the suitable dimensions of
various regions of a salt-gradient solar pond to ensure a minimum temperature potential across the year for
thermoelectric power generation.Science & Engineering Research Board (SERB
Journal of Informetrics: A Bibliometric Profile
No full textThis paper critically analyses 239 scholarly communications published in the inaugural five volumes of Journal of Informetrics (JOI) to examine growth of literature, types of communications, authorship pattern, collaboration trend, predominant research domains, etc. Subsequent analysis focuses on prolific contributors, degree of collaboration, and time-lag trend. Findings reveal that - publication output doubles over the study period as article publications increase considerably; though single-authored
contributions were significant (30 %), majority of contributions were collaborated by two-authors (36 %),
while average authorship accounts for 2.28 per communications. Degree of collaboration (DC) was
impressive (0.699) but not overwhelming as research collaborations has emanated from 199 higher learning institutions of 32 countries across the globe. Ranking of prolific contributors has shown Prof. Egghe on the top followed by L Bornmann; R Rousseau and L Leydesdoff. Result also shows upward trend of keyword usage with an average of 4.55 per items, of which h-index, citation analysis,
bibliometrics, g-index, etc, expectedly predominates. Scholarly nature of source journal has been further ascertained from increasing citations and reference usage trend. Moreover, growing hardness of the field has been attributed to JOI due to the increasing usage of tables and figures. Study also showed that the journal takes an average of about four month time to publish a manuscrip
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