Satellite-retrieved vertical profiles of methane over the Indian region: impact of synoptic­scale meteorology

The altitude distribution of methane (CH₄) is the least addressed topic in the greenhouse gas assessment over the Indian region. In the absence of the in-situ measurements, the satellite-based retrievals of the vertical distribution of CH₄ using Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) measurements during the period 2003–2015 were made use in this study for the first time to understand the 3D distribution (latitude-longitude-altitude) of CH₄ over Indian region. Significant regional and seasonal variations are observed in the vertical distribution of CH₄, even though it is a long-lived greenhouse gas and known to be well-mixed. Over most of the regions, the highest mixing ratio is observed during post-monsoon months and minimum in the pre-monsoon/monsoon season. The presence of a ‘high altitude peak’ in CH₄ (around 1880 ppbv) around 300 hPa–250 hPa was noted in post-monsoon which is caused by the monsoon-associated convective updrafts and the anti-cyclonic system. The vertical profiles show seasonal variations which are region as well as altitude-dependent. Over the oceanic region, the highest seasonal amplitude of CH₄ mixing ratio was observed over North–Arabian Sea due to the proximity of the source rich land regions. During the winter and pre-monsoon months, the latitudinal differences are absent throughout the troposphere. A consistent increasing trend in CH₄, ranging from 1 ppbv year^–1 to 6 ppbv year^–1 is seen at all the tropospheric altitudes, with faster growth rates at higher altitudes, maximizing at 300 hPa–150 hPa. An approximate estimate of direct forcing due to CH₄ lies in the range 0.80 W m^–2–0.83 W m^–2. The paper also presents a comparison of the in-situ measured upper tropospheric CH₄ mixing ratio from CARIBIC (Civil Aircraft for the Regular Investigation of the atmosphere Based on an Instrument Container) flight data and AIRS retrievals.     

Radical Roles for RAGE in the Pathogenesis of Oxidative Stress in Cardiovascular Diseases and Beyond

Oxidative stress is a central mechanism by which the receptor for advanced glycation endproducts (RAGE) mediates its pathological effects. Multiple experimental inquiries in RAGE-expressing cultured cells have demonstrated that ligand-RAGE interaction mediates generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and consequent downstream signal transduction and regulation of gene expression. The primary mechanism by which RAGE generates oxidative stress is via activation of NADPH oxidase; amplification mechanisms in the mitochondria may further drive ROS production. Recent studies indicating that the cytoplasmic domain of RAGE binds to the formin mDia1 provide further support for the critical roles of this pathway in oxidative stress; mDia1 was required for activation of rac1 and NADPH oxidase in primary murine aortic smooth muscle cells treated with RAGE ligand S100B. In vivo, in multiple distinct disease models in animals, RAGE action generates oxidative stress and modulates cellular/tissue fate in range of disorders, such as in myocardial ischemia, atherosclerosis, and aneurysm formation. Blockade or genetic deletion of RAGE was shown to be protective in these settings. Indeed, beyond cardiovascular disease, evidence is accruing in human subjects linking levels of RAGE ligands and soluble RAGE to oxidative stress in disorders such as doxorubicin toxicity, acetaminophen toxicity, neurodegeneration, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, preeclampsia, rheumatoid arthritis and pulmonary fibrosis. Blockade of RAGE signal transduction may be a key strategy for the prevention of the deleterious consequences of oxidative stress, particularly in chronic disease.     

Multilevel spatial modulation

In this paper, a new Multilevel Spatial Modulation technique is proposed. It combines computationally efficient multilevel oding and spatial modulation based on trellis codes to increase coding gain, diversity gain, and bandwidth efficiency. The trellis complexity of the single-stage system increases exponentially, whereas in the proposed multilevel system the complexity increases linearly. The proposed system is analyzed with optimal Viterbi and suboptimal sequential decoding algorithms. The results show that sequential decoding saves 75% of the computational power with a loss of 2 dB SNR approximately, when compared with optimal Viterbi decoding, over both fast- and slow-fading channel conditions. Since the antenna index is used as a source of information in spatial modulation, the number of antennae required increases with the throughput and packing a large number of antennas make cross-correlation unavoidable. In this paper, a low complexity modified decoding technique is also proposed for the multilevel spatial modulation system, in which the correlated received signals are equally combined and decoded by the multistage decoder using the Viterbi algorithm. This technique exploits the receiver antenna correlation and makes the decoding complexity independent of number of antennas. The simulation results indicate that the proposed low complexity algorithm gives approximately 8–10 dB gain when compared with optimal Viterbi decoder with equivalent computational complexity when the eight highly correlated signals are equally combined. This may be a suitable solution for mobile handsets where size and computational complexity are the major issues.     

Evaluation of hydroxyapatite coatings on borate passivated 316L SS in Ringer's solution

Surgical grade stainless steel (316L SS) is one of the widely used implant material in orthopedic surgeries. But often the release of metal ions is evidenced from the implants and subsequently a second surgery is required to remove the implant material. One way to control this release of metal ions is to coat the implant material with a biocompatible material like hydroxyapatite. In this paper we have reported a successful coating of hydroxyapatite over borate passivated 316L SS by a dip coating method. The coatings were characterized by electrochemical techniques such as potentiodynamic polarization, electrochemical impedance and cyclic voltammetry (CV). Also X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopic (SEM) studies were performed to confirm the quality of the coatings. Results of accelerated leach out characteristics by inductively coupled plasma–atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP–AES) and the evaluation of shear strength are also presented to support the corrosion resistant nature of the coatings. The enhanced bio-resistivity of the as-formed HAP coatings on passivated 316L SS is attributed to the protective passive layer formed by borate buffer solution at selected potentials.     

Thermomechanical behavior of single crystalline tantalum in the static and dynamic regime

This paper reports the thermomechanical behavior of single crystalline tantalum (Ta) in the [1 0 0] and [1 1 0] orientations. Mechanical testing was carried out at low and high strain rates using a Kolsky bar together with the simultaneous recording of the specimen’s temperature by means of an infrared detector. The results show a marked difference in terms of flow curve and strain hardening between the two orientations, irrespective of the strain-rate. Similarly, the thermomechanical behavior, namely the efficiency of the thermomechanical conversion at high strain-rates (β_int), is observed to be different for each orientation. A comparison of the present results with those obtained for pure polycrystalline Ta (Rittel et al., 2007) reveals some similarity of flow curves with the [1 0 0] orientation. By contrast, the [1 1 0] orientation is observed to possess β_int characteristics that are similar to those of the polycrystalline material. These results are presented and discussed, thus completing the overall experimental characterization of this material in order to enable the simulation and validation of the dynamic behavior of polycrystalline Ta on the basis of its single-crystal characteristics.     

Plasma treated fabrics coated with naturally derived Ag‐NPs for biomedical application

Ethnic value of many known plants are underexploited for medicinal application besides their proven traditional qualities. One such plant known for wound healing is Tridax procumbens. This plant has wound healing property and is commercially unexploited. Silver nanoparticle (Ag‐NP) were synthesized using this plant extracts using different solvents (methanol, ethyl acetate and aqueous), which exhibit resonance at 426, 424 and 418 nm, respectively. This plant‐mediated Ag‐NPs have strong anti‐bactericidal activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus pyogenes, Klebsiella pneumonia, Serratia marcescens and Bacillus subtilis with methanol extract. Further instance, elemental composition was confirmed by energy dispersive X‐ray analysis and particle size ranges were observed at 80–200 nm with spherical shape nanoparticles by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy analysis. The biocompatibility of Ag‐NPs was assessed using fibroblast cell line (L929) by MTT assay with 109.35 µg IC₅₀ value. The oxygen plasma treated and non‐treated bamboo spunlaced nonwoven fabrics were coated with the Ag‐NPs by exhaust method. Contact angle and water retention revealed significant difference in absorption ability of plasma treated fabric. Field emission scanning electron microscopy revealed the presence of Ag‐NPs in plasma coated fabrics. The fabricated cloth was studied for anti‐microbial and microbial penetration ability.Inspec keywords: solvents (industrial), organic compounds, woven composites, field emission scanning electron microscopy, plasma materials processing, contact angle, transmission electron microscopy, X‐ray diffraction, fabrics, biomedical materials, wounds, silver, nanoparticles, particle size, nanofabrication, thermal analysis, antibacterial activity, microorganisms, X‐ray chemical analysisOther keywords: biomedical application, ethnic value, medicinal application, wound healing property, silver nanoparticle synthesis, methanol, ethyl acetate, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus pyogenes, Klebsiella pneumonia, nonwoven fabrics, field emission scanning electron microscopy, plasma coated fabrics, fabricated cloth, solvents, antibactericidal activity, Staphylococcus aureus, particle size, transmission electron microscopy, oxygen plasma treatment, bamboo material, Tridax procumbens extracts, Serratia marcescens, Bacillus subtilis, elemental composition, energy dispersive X‐ray analysis, scanning electron microscopy, material biocompatibility, fibroblast cell line, exhaust method, contact angle, water retention, absorption ability, antimicrobial property, microbial penetration ability, size 424.0 nm, size 418.0 nm, size 80.0 nm to 200.0 nm, size 426.0 nm, Ag     

Influence of Annealing Temperatures on Structural and Magnetic Properties for Cr-Based Inverse Heusler Alloy Nanoparticles

Journal of Superconductivity and Novel Magnetism - The Cr2FeAl inverse-based Heusler alloy nanoparticle was synthesized using mechanical alloy method. The as-prepared sample was annealed at various...     

Task unit bid- spatial coverage and post input density (TUBSC_PID) based crowd sourcing network

Multimedia Tools and Applications - A huge number of items are associated with the Internet of Things (IoT) which is fixed with software, electronics and sensors. It has a wide variety of...