Shiv Nadar University

About: Shiv Nadar University is a education organization based out in Dadri, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Graphene. The organization has 1015 authors who have published 1924 publications receiving 18420 citations.

A De novo Peptide from a High Throughput Peptide Library Blocks Myosin A -MTIP Complex Formation in Plasmodium falciparum

Abstract: Apicomplexan parasites, through their motor machinery, produce the required propulsive force critical for host cell-entry. The conserved components of this so-called glideosome machinery are myosin A and myosin A Tail Interacting Protein (MTIP). MTIP tethers myosin A to the inner membrane complex of the parasite through 20 amino acid-long C-terminal end of myosin A that makes direct contacts with MTIP, allowing the invasion of Plasmodium falciparum in erythrocytes. Here, we discovered through screening a peptide library, a de-novo peptide ZA1 that binds the myosin A tail domain. We demonstrated that ZA1 bound strongly to myosin A tail and was able to disrupt the native myosin A tail MTIP complex both in vitro and in vivo. We then showed that a shortened peptide derived from ZA1, named ZA1S, was able to bind myosin A and block parasite invasion. Overall, our study identified a novel anti-malarial peptide that could be used in combination with other antimalarials for blocking the invasion of Plasmodium falciparum.

An assessment on crystallization phenomena of Si in Al/a-Si thin films via thermal annealing and ion irradiation

Abstract: In the present study, crystallization of amorphous-Si (a-Si) in Al/a-Si bilayer thin films under thermal annealing and ion irradiation has been investigated for future solar energy materials applications. In particular, the effect of thickness ratio (e.g. in Al : a-Si, the ratio of the Al and a-Si layer thickness) and temperature during irradiation on crystallization of the Si films has been explored for the first time. Two sets of samples with thickness ratio 1 : 1 (set-A: 50 nm Al/50 nm a-Si) and thickness ratio 1 : 3 (set-B: 50 nm Al/150 nm a-Si) have been prepared on thermally oxidized Si-substrates. In one experiment, thermal annealing of the as-prepared sample (of both the sets) has been done at different temperatures of 100 °C, 200 °C, 300 °C, 400 °C, and 500 °C. Significant crystallization was found to initiate at 200 °C with the help of thermal annealing, which increased further by increasing the temperature. In another experiment, ion irradiation on both sets of samples has been carried out at 100 °C and 200 °C using 100 MeV Ni7+ ions with fluences of 1 × 1012 ions per cm2, 5 × 1012 ions per cm2, 1 × 1013 ions per cm2, and 5 × 1013 ions per cm2. Significant crystallization of Si was observed at a remarkably low temperature of 100 °C under ion irradiation. The samples irradiated at 100 °C show better crystallization than the samples irradiated at 200 °C. The maximum crystallization of a-Si has been observed at a fluence of 1 × 1012 ions per cm2, which was found to decrease with increasing ion fluence at both temperatures (i.e. 100 °C & 200 °C). The crystallization of a-Si is found to be better for set-B samples as compared to set-A samples at all the fluences and irradiation temperatures. The present work is aimed at developing the understanding of the crystallization process, which may have significant advantages for designing crystalline layers at lower temperature using appropriate masks for irradiation at the desired location. The detailed mechanisms behind all the above observations are discussed in this paper.

Many lives of the dead in Banaras: Towards an anthropology of the indefinite social

Abstract: The article seeks to redraw some key discussions on death in Banaras by focusing on the subject matter of the ‘dead’ rather than that of death. Pitched in the shadow of select earlier works on anthropology of death pertaining to Banaras, the general probing centres on the query whether the three realms of dying, death and dead can be delinked and thus seen in a certain relative autonomy from each other. Further, how do the anthropological accounts of death get refracted when seen from the vantage point of the dead? Based on ethnographic fieldwork at intertwined field sites of the home and the hospital, manual and electric cremation ghat and the shaivite aghorashram (hermitage) in relation to the river Ganga, the descriptions involve discussion over declaration of death versus discovery of the dead, distinction between touching and handling of the dead and latent implications of the varied names of the dead. The core concern of the article is to explore the nature of the social vis-a-vis the dead. I show h...

Modeling vehicle indoor air quality using sensor data analytics

Abstract: A working person on an average spends 1.5–2 h every day traveling either to their places of work or for other daily activities, using metros, trams, buses, and cars, as common modes of travel. Most of such commuters regularly suffer from health conditions like headache, breathless condition, drowsiness, etc. Numerous accidents have been reported due to drowsiness while driving, which may occur due to the build-up of carbon-dioxide (CO2) build in the vehicle chamber. This paper attempts to monitor, analyze, and predict air quality inside the vehicle. This work proposes a sensing system using an off-the-shelf sensor Sensordrone which is connected to an Android Smartphone using Bluetooth Low Energy. The data obtained from the proposed sensing system are then utilized to perform predictive analysis of CO2 build-up inside the vehicular chamber using Auto Regressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) and Support Vector Regression (SVR). Root-Mean-Square Error for SVR and ARIMA models is 47.91 ppm and 55.32 ppm CO2, respectively, indicating that SVR outperformed ARIMA in predicting the CO2 build-up inside the vehicle.