No-Cloning and No-Deleting Theorems through the Existence of Incomparable States Under LOCC

No-cloning and No-deleting theorems are verified with the constraint on local state transformations via the existence of incomparable states. Assuming the existence of exact cloning or deleting operation defined on a minimum number of two arbitrary states, an incomparable pair of states of the joint system between two parties can be made to compare under deterministic LOCC. We have restricted our proof with the assumption that the machine states of the cloning or deleting operations do not keep any information about the input states. We use the same setting to establish the no-cloning and no-deleting theorems via incomparability that supports the reciprocity of the two operations in their operational senses. The work associates the impossibility of operations with the evolution of an entangled system by LOCC.      

Variable repeat regions in the genome of Vibrio vulnificus and polymorphism in one of the loci in strains isolated from oysters

Vibrio vulnificus an estuarine bacterium is associated with severe wound infections and fatal septicemia related to consumption of raw shellfish. In this study we screened the two whole genome sequences available for V. vulnificus in GenBank for the presence of variable number of tandem repeat (VNTR) regions. Five potential VNTR loci with unit repeat size ranging from 6-7 nucleotides were identified for V. vulnificus genome. One of the loci designated Vv1 was selected to detect the repeat number present in V. vulnificus strains isolated from oyster samples in India. Twenty six of the thirty samples tested were found to be highly polymorphic for the Vv1 locus. Copy numbers for the hexanucleotide motif ranged from 4-55, giving rise to a total of 17 polymorphic groups. Our analysis, shows that different genotypic variants exist in the environment and the VNTR loci studied can be used as a marker for strain discrimination and in epidemiological study of this organism.     

A gyrB-based PCR for the detection of Vibrio vulnificus and its application for direct detection of this pathogen in oyster enrichment broths

A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method based on the gyrB (encoding gyrase B or topoisomerase II) gene sequence was developed for the detection of Vibrio vulnificus in seafood. The gyrB primers detected all laboratory isolates of V. vulnificus and did not cross react with other Vibiro and non-Vibrio species examined in this study. The sensitivity of detection of V. vulnificus by gyrB PCR was 300 CFU/g in artificially seeded oyster homogenate without enrichment while, 30 CFU/g could be detected following 18 h enrichment in alkaline peptone water (APW). The gyrB-specific PCR was employed for the direct detection of V. vulnificus in oyster enrichment broths. The assay detected V. vulnificus in 75% of natural oyster samples after 18 h enrichment in APW. The gyrB-based PCR described here offers a simple and specific one step PCR method for the detection of V. vulnificus in seafood enrichment broths.     

Stages of Design in Technology for Global Development

Information and communication technology projects designed to cost-effectively impact the world's poorest communities require more than technical solutions. A Microsoft research group shares its experiences and lessons learned implementing various ICT4D initiatives in India.     

Phase transition and electrical studies of wolframium doped SrBi2Ta2O9 ferroelectric ceramics

In this study, crystalline structure, dielectric and impedance properties of SrBi₂Ta₂O₉ (SBT) - based ferroelectric ceramics have been investigated with the substitution of wolframium/tungsten (W) onto the tantalum site. Wolframium doped SrBi₂(W _x Ta_{1 − x} )₂O₉ (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.20) ceramics were synthesized by solid state reaction method. The X-ray diffractogram analysis revealed that the substitution formed a single phase layered perovskite structure for the doping content up to x ≤ 0.05. The dielectric measurements as a function of temperature show an increase in Curie temperature (T _c ) over the composition range of x = 0.05 to 0.20. The W^{6 +} substitution in perovskite-like units results in a sharp dielectric anomaly at the ferroelectric phase transition. Furthermore, the dielectric constant at their respective Curie temperature increases with wolframium doping. Both enhanced Curie temperatures and dielectric constants at the Curie points indicate an increase in polarizability, which could be attributed to the increased “rattling space” due to the incorporation of the smaller tungsten cations. The dielectric loss reduces significantly with tungsten addition. AC impedance properties vis-à-vis wolframium content has also been studied.     

印度旱灾和水灾的区域变化

The most important climatological feature of the South Asian region is the occur-rence of monsoons. With increasing concerns about climate change, the need to understand the nature and variability of such climatic conditions and to evaluate possible future changes becomes increasingly important. This paper deals with long-term above and below normal monsoon precipitation causing prolong meteorological droughts and floods in India. Five re-gions across India comprising variable climates were selected for the study. Apart from long-term trends for individual regions, long-term trends were also calculated for the Indian region as a whole. The results show that intra-region variability for monsoon precipitation is large and there are increasing numbers of meteorological summer droughts. Meteorological monsoon floods were found to have negative long-term trends everywhere except in the peninsular Indian region. The results overall suggest generic conclusions concerning the region-wide long-term trend of severity of monsoon droughts and floods in India and their spatial variability.     

Multiscale Pattern Generation in Viscoelastic Polymer Films by Spatiotemporal Modulation of Electric Field and Control of Rheology

Electric‐field‐induced hierarchical, multiscale patterning of incompletely cross‐linked viscoelastic polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) films is achieved by spatiotemporal variation of the field, which produces a multiplicity of complex mesopatterns from the same electrode. Experiments and simulations are employed to uncover pathways of hierarchical pattern formation. Spatial modulation of the field is introduced by employing different types of simply patterned electrodes: stripes, elevated concentric circular rings, and box‐patterned ridges. Multiscale complex structures consisting of increasingly finer primary, secondary, and tertiary hierarchical structures are fabricated by progressively ramping up the electric field while maintaining the integrity of the already formed structures. The latter is achieved by partially cross‐linking the films before patterning, which engenders optimal viscosity to prevent a rapid ripening and coalescence of earlier formed patterns. These multiscale structures can be controlled by the geometry and periodicity of patterned electrodes, the strength of the electric field, and its programmable temporal variation. The PDMS patterns are made permanent by complete cross‐linking after a desired multiscale structure is obtained.     

Antifouling coatings: recent developments in the design of surfaces that prevent fouling by proteins, bacteria, and marine organisms

The major strategies for designing surfaces that prevent fouling due to proteins, bacteria, and marine organisms are reviewed. Biofouling is of great concern in numerous applications ranging from biosensors to biomedical implants and devices, and from food packaging to industrial and marine equipment. The two major approaches to combat surface fouling are based on either preventing biofoulants from attaching or degrading them. One of the key strategies for imparting adhesion resistance involves the functionalization of surfaces with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) or oligo(ethylene glycol). Several alternatives to PEG-based coatings have also been designed over the past decade. While protein-resistant coatings may also resist bacterial attachment and subsequent biofilm formation, in order to overcome the fouling-mediated risk of bacterial infection it is highly desirable to design coatings that are bactericidal. Traditional techniques involve the design of coatings that release biocidal agents, including antibiotics, quaternary ammonium salts (QAS), and silver, into the surrounding aqueous environment. However, the emergence of antibiotic- and silver-resistant pathogenic strains has necessitated the development of alternative strategies. Therefore, other techniques based on the use of polycations, enzymes, nanomaterials, and photoactive agents are being investigated. With regard to marine antifouling coatings, restrictions on the use of biocide-releasing coatings have made the generation of nontoxic antifouling surfaces more important. While considerable progress has been made in the design of antifouling coatings, ongoing research in this area should result in the development of even better antifouling materials in the future.     

Influence of surfactants on rheological characteristics of dough and quality of parotta

The effect of the surfactants glycerol monostearate (GMS), lecithin, diacetyl tartaric acid esters of monoglycerides (DATEM), polyoxyethylene sorbitan monostearate (PS‐60) and sodium stearoyl‐2‐lactylate (SSL) on the rheological characteristics of dough and quality of parotta was studied. Use of the surfactants increased stability as measured by the farinograph, valorimeter value, extensograph ratio figure and extensograph area, indicating an increase in the strength of the dough. Surfactants reduced the mixograph peak height, mixograph area, apparent biaxial extensional viscosity, compressive stress, force decay parameter, hardness and adhesiveness, and increased the cohesiveness of dough. The values for peak viscosity increased with DATEM, PS‐60 and SSL and decreased with GMS and lecithin. Among the surfactants tested, SSL and PS‐60 brought about the greatest improvement in the quality of parotta, followed in decreasing order by DATEM, lecithin and GMS.