Showing papers in "National Academy Science Letters-india in 2017"

Efficient Combination of Texture and Color Features in a New Spectral Clustering Method for PolSAR Image Segmentation

Abstract: In this paper, an efficient combination of texture and color features is proposed for polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (PolSAR) image segmentation. In proposed method, the PolSAR image is first segmented using the mean-shift method. Then, in each segment obtained from the mean shift, the first moment of color for the three color components of L* a* b* color space is obtained. On the other hand, a texture feature vector for each pixel of the image is formed corresponding to the texture edge energy at different directions with Gabor filter. Then, a new spectral clustering method is used to combine texture and color features. The results show that the proposed method is effective in PolSAR image segmentation.

On Analytical Solution of Ambartsumian Equation

Abstract: The Ambartsumian equation is used in the theory of surface brightness in milky way. This equation is a linear differential equation involving a proportional delay term. In this paper we use the Daftardar-Gejji and Jafari method to obtain analytical solution of Ambartsumian equation. The solution is provided in the form of a power series which is convergent for all reals. We prove the convergence of this series and plot solution graphs.

New Distributional Record of Invasive Pest Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) in North-Western Himalayan Region of India

Abstract: The invasive tomato leafminer, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Gelechiidae: Lepidoptera) was recorded feeding on tomato leaves, flower buds, apical shoots and fruits in sub-temperate mid-hills of Himachal Pradesh, India which is a new distributional record of the pest North-Western Himalayan region. Low to moderate incidence of T. absoluta was recorded on tomato during November 2015. The present study will be useful for the researchers and extension workers of the region for timely and effective management of this major invasive insect.

Effect of Magnetic Field on the Two Immiscible Viscous Fluids Flow in a Channel Filled with Porous Medium

Abstract: This paper concerns with the flow in a channel filled with porous medium of two immiscible, incompressible, electrically conducting viscous fluids of different viscosities in two separate layers of equal width in the presence of transverse magnetic field and constant pressure gradient The fluid viscosity in the upper layer is less than the fluid viscosity in the lower layer The Brinkman equation is used for the flow through porous medium Expressions for the fluid velocity and flow rate are obtained The influences of magnetic field and other parameters on the velocity profile and flow rate are presented graphically and discussed

Modelling and forecasting marine fish production in Odisha using seasonal ARIMA model.

Abstract: Auto-regressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) is one of the most popular models in time series data analysis. In the present study, total marine fish landings (quaterwise) in Odisha during the period 1985–2012 has been analysed to estimate the effect of possible intervention and also for short term forecasting by fitting ARIMA model in two situations: one by accounting for intervention in the model and the other with log transformed data. ARIMA model with log transformed data performed better than the model with intervention component based on Akaike information criterion and Bayesian information criterion of model selection. The model was used to forecast fish landings for the years 2013–2015.

Design of Multi-band Microstrip Antenna for Wireless Communications and ITU Applications

Abstract: A multi-band microstrip patch antenna for WiMAX, WLAN and ITU-Region1 applications is presented in this letter. The proposed antenna consists of FR4 substrate with dimensions of 15 × 15 × 1.6 mm3, ground plane and radiation patch that fed by 50 Ω microstrip line. This antenna with two symmetry of L-shape and U-shape slots and folded strip lines in the configuration of radiation patch, cover 3.5 GHz frequency for WiMAX, two 5.2 and 5.8 GHz frequencies bands for WLAN and 4.3 GHz for ITU-Region1 applications to consider simulated and measured results. The omnidirectional radiation pattern characteristics and −10 dB return loss for all frequencies bands are obtained in this antenna.

Chloride Analysis of Sea Sand for Making Concrete

Abstract: Usage of sea sand for concrete development is the possible alternative for river sand and avoids the excessive sand mining which may cause ecological and environmental problems. Sea sand is not used in concrete, since it contains chloride ions which can corrode steel. In order to avoid the corrosion, the salt content of the sea sand must be eliminated before being utilized in concrete. Present paper investigates adopting sea sand as fine aggregate in concrete. The physical properties like specific gravity, percentage of fineness and solubility were carried out in raw sea sand and treated sea sand. The results of the study reveal that the chloride level of treated sea sand is below the acceptable level of 0.075 % weight of sand. The chemical properties of sea sand were also studied by chloride ion estimation.

Influence of Diurnal Irradiance Variation on Chlorophyll Values in Wheat: A Comparative Study Using Different Chlorophyll Meters

Abstract: The canopy greenness, a visible indicator of crop nitrogen content, photosynthetic efficiency and overall crop health status is directly influenced by chlorophyll content. A lot of ambiguity exists over use of available chlorophyll meters and proper time of measurement during the day. In order to find differences between chlorophyll meters and the effect of diurnal variation of irradiance on chlorophyll measurements, three different chlorophyll meters (atLEAF+, Opti-sciences CCM200 and SPAD-Minolta) were used to repeatedly measure chlorophyll content index (CCI) on a specific marked region of leaf at five different hours of the day for three consecutive days on six different wheat genotypes grown under field condition. The CCI values of a genotype measured at different hours of a day by a chlorophyll meter did not vary significantly. Although some variation were observed in CCI values by different chlorophyll meters, the relative trend of CCI values across chlorophyll meters remained same for a genotype. The results indicate that the CCI values measured were un-affected by both variation in diurnal irradiance and make of the instruments. Therefore all three chlorophyll meters tested can be efficiently used for chlorophyll measurements which can be done at any time of the day under field conditions in wheat.

SVM Based Neuro Fuzzy Model for Short Term Wind Power Forecasting

Abstract: Wind power forecasting is the major area of concern in wind power generation due to the unpredictability of wind speed. Existing soft computing and statistical methods focus towards deterministic wind forecasting and neglects the uncertainties associated with wind flow. In this paper, the wavelet decomposition combined with adaptive neuro fuzzy inference system is used for short term wind power forecasting. Wavelet decomposition handles the wind power data series fluctuations and the neuro fuzzy system ensures fast learning in a real time scenario. Support vector machine (SVM) is utilized to reduce the prediction errors. A quantile regression has been applied on the SVM output to improve accuracy. The proposed forecasting method is assessed using the real time data collected from the Coimbatore wind farm, India. The assessment is conducted in different seasons to reduce the errors and improve the prediction accuracy.

Control F-policy for Fault Tolerance Machining System with General Retrial Attempts

Abstract: The fault tolerance problem of repairable redundant system with admission restriction is investigated by considering the general distributed retrial policy. Upon failure of a machining unit, if the repairman is occupied, the failed unit is forced to enter into the retrial orbit. From the orbit, the failed units repeat the request for the repair job. When the system reaches its capacity K, the failed units are stopped from entering in the system until the number of failed units is again ceases to the prefixed threshold value F. The life time of operating units and the repair times of failed units follow exponential distributed, whereas retrial time is governed by general distribution. By using the supplementary variable corresponding the remaining retrial time, we establish Chapman–Kolmogorov equations to obtain the steady state queue size distribution of the number of failed units. Various performance measures are obtained explicitly which are further used to facilitate the sensitivity analysis by taking numerical illustration.

An Effective Modification of Adomian Decomposition Method for Solving Emden–Fowler Type Systems

Abstract: The traditional Adomian decomposition method (ADM) usually is divergent to solve nonlinear systems of ordinary differential equations of Emden–Fowler type. To cover this deficiency, an effective modification of ADM is formally adopted in the current study. The method overcomes the singularity at the origin and provides the solution of the problems in the form of a convergent series. Some illustrative examples are considered to examine the effectiveness of the method.

A New Contourlet Based Multiresolution Approximation for MRI Image Noise Removal

Abstract: Modern medical diagnosis equipments included with digital signal processing capabilities have been used for fast and accurate diagnosis of brain structure abnormalities. In this paper a multi resolution based noise removal in magnetic resonance images for abnormality detection and recognition within the brain has been proposed. Wavelet and curvelet based multi resolution approximation has been used to decompose the inter-object relationships into different levels of detail. Contourlet based multi resolution approximation is presented in this work for better abnormality detection. Comparison of extracted feature points between the reference image and the image under study has been made in detection of the abnormality.

On Arithmetical Summability and Multiplier Sequences

Abstract: The aim of this article is to introduce a sequence space using arithmetical summability and multiplier sequence and study some interesting results related to this space.

An Efficient In Vitro Approach for Direct Regeneration and Callogenesis of Adhatoda vasica Nees, a Potential Source of Quinazoline Alkaloids

Abstract: The present study reports a comprehensive approach on in vitro direct regeneration and callus induction of Adhatoda vasica Nees from in vivo nodal segment (NS) explants. For direct initiation of shoots, 0.6–1.4 mg/l of N6-benzyladenine (BA) was employed in Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium. The earliest shoot initiation was recorded within 6 days of inoculation, whereas maximum number (7.4) and length (7.2 cm) of shoots with highest number (2.8) of leaves per shoot were recorded in MS medium plus 1.1 mg/l BA. Isolated shoots were transferred to MS medium, supplemented with diverse combinations of indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) (0.1–2.5 mg/l) and α-napthalene acetic acid (NAA) (1–3 mg/l), for the purpose of root induction. Maximum (94%) rooting was recorded in MS medium fortified with 1 mg/l IBA and 0.25 mg/l NAA (8.4 roots/shoot with 5.6 cm length). The regenerated plantlets were acclimatized initially in soil and sand (1:1; v/v) for 4 weeks recording a survival rate of > 95%. Finally, the surviving plantlets were established in sand, soil and farmyard manure (1:1:1; v/v) for another 4 weeks. For callus induction, NS explants were inoculated in MS medium fortified either with 2,4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2,4-D) (0.1–2.5 mg/l) or with different combinations of BA (0.5 mg/l) and NAA (0.5–2.5 mg/l). Highest (46%) callus induction was recorded in MS medium with 1 mg/l 2,4-D that subsequently induced ~ 60 roots per callus, devoid of adventitious shoots.

Elemental Investigation of the Leaf and Seed of Coriander Plant by Synchrotron Radiation X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy

Abstract: This study describes the potential of synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy technique for the investigation of elements present in the parts of the medicinally important coriander plant: leaf and seed. For this, X-ray fluorescence spectra of the leaf and seed of coriander plants have been recorded by exciting synchrotron radiation of energy 13 keV. The analyses of the procured spectrum show the presence of elements: potassium, calcium, titanium, chromium, manganese, iron, nickel, copper, zinc, and arsenic. A calibration free approach, PyMca has been used for the quantitative estimation of the detected elements in the leaf and seed of the coriander plant.

Anti-aspergillus Properties of Phytochemicals Against Aflatoxin Producing Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus

Abstract: Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus are the major contaminants known to produce aflatoxins in food crops (maize, cotton, corn, peanuts and oil-seed). Nowadays various modified cultural practices are being utilized and explored to overcome food contamination problem. The current study was aimed to evaluate the effect of phytochemicals (Ascorbic acid, Gallic acid, Caffeine and Quercetin) on toxigenic strains of A. flavus (MTCC 11866) and A. parasiticus (MTCC 8189) by Poisoned food plate technique and MTT assay (3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazole-2-yl)-2,5-Diphenyltetrazolium bromide). In comparison with control (Aspergillus spores without phytochemicals) a significant decrease in growth was observed with all the compounds. Quercetin showed strongest inhibitory effect with MIC50 at 36 µg/ml in A. parasiticus and MIC50 at 113 µg/ml in A. flavus. Caffeine showed good inhibitory effect in A. parasiticus (160 µg/ml) whereas Gallic acid showed good inhibitory effect in A. flavus (153 µg/ml). Ascorbic acid showed least effect among phytochemicals tested in both the Aspergillus species (322 µg/ml).

First GLORIA Site in Indian Himalayan Region: Towards Addressing Issue of Long-Term Data Deficiency in the Himalaya

Abstract: Under changing climate scenario, the need for Long-term Ecological Monitoring is well recognized for climate sensitive alpine environments in the Himalaya. Present study briefly describe the outcome of the attempt made for establishing first site of Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments in Uttarakhand, India. Base line on plant diversity (121 species) across observational sites (4 summits) has been prepared for comparison and detecting changes in vegetation diversity in future.

Automatic Detection of Lung Cancer Nodules in Computerized Tomography Images

Abstract: Lung cancer is the prime factor in cancer related deaths due to increasing rate of smoking and air pollution. The survival rate of cancer patients increases to 52% if it is localized, and decreases to 4% if it is metastasized. The existing system use simple thresholding approach and pattern recognition method to segment lung and identify nodules in the lung computerized tomography (CT) images. But quality of this process is affected by the image acquisition protocols, scanner types, and inhomogeneity of intensities in the lung region. In order to overcome the drawbacks of the previous process and for separation of nodules from non-nodules, there is a need for an automatic computer aided detection system. This paper proposes an automatic method for detecting nodules from patient lung CT images. In this automatic approach first step is a lung segmentation to differentiate lung and background and make the detection of nodule simple. Then the lung region is segmented by Contextual Clustering based region growing method. Vector quantization method is used to identify the nodules present in the lungs. False positive reduction is done by using various combination of rule based filtering, support vector machine, k-Nearest Neighbours and Random Forest classifier. The performance of this method is evaluated in terms of accuracy, sensitivity and specificity.

Package-Restructuring Based on Software Change History

Abstract: In component-based development of object-oriented software, modularization depends on how packages are structured or organized. Packages evolve over time and require re-structuring after some time so that understandability and maintainability gets improved. In this paper, a new approach for package-restructuring named as Change-History based Package-Restructuring (CHPR) is introduced to identify proper package-regrouping possibilities. CHPR approach considers past co-change patterns of packages along with their structural coupling. A series of experiments on open source software systems have been performed and preliminary results show that CHPR approach is able to indentify meaningful package restructuring.

Health Hazards Among Workers of Agro-Processing Industries: An Exploratory Research in Punjab’s Context

Abstract: Flour dust in Agro-Processing Industries (APIs) is one of the potential sources of health hazards among the workers. Hence, an investigation was undertaken in APIs of Punjab during 2012 to measure the dust particle size in small and medium sized mills run by the illiterate entrepreneurs. Data were solicited from purposively selected 15 Agro-Processing Centres (APCs) established and supported by Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. A total of 120 workers engaged in these APCs responded for this study. Study reveals that Total Suspended Particulate (TSP) near all work stations was found higher than the recommended value of 0.5 mg/m3 as given by ACGIH. The highest TSP was observed 17.94 mg/m3 at hopper (wheat pouring station), much greater than American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) limit. Study shows the representative example of current Indian situation, where the recommended value exceeded tremendously. Hence, emission sources of the dust particulate should be given special attention. There is also need to undergo the pre-employment and periodic medical surveillance tests of workers which should be ensured by the employer. The personal protective measures like use of face mask, proper ventilation and reduced working hours in high dust concentration areas are strongly recommended.

Adsorptive Removal of Alizarin Red S by a Novel Biosorbent of an Invasive Weed Mikania micrantha

Abstract: In this paper, the efficiency of biosorbent prepared from Mikania micrantha to remediate a hazardous dye Alizarin Red S from aqueous phase was investigated. Morphological and constitutional characteristics of the biosorbent were studied by performing SEM and FTIR. The adsorption equilibrium was modeled with the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm. The maximum monolayer adsorption capacity was found to be 46.51 mg g−1 at 50 °C. The isotherm data were better fitted to Freundlich model indicated heterogeneous nature of the adsorbent. The negative values of ∆G° and positive value of ∆H° demonstrated that the adsorption of Alizarin Red S onto Mikania micrantha were spontaneous and endothermic in nature, respectively. Positive value of ∆S° advocated the randomness at solid–liquid interface.

Secondary Metabolites Production Influenced with Soil Fertility and Irrigation in Medicinal Plant; Mandukaparni (Centella asiatica L.)

Abstract: Enhanced production of secondary metabolites per unit of inputs is prime requirement for quality raw drugs production. The effects of soil fertility and irrigation on secondary metabolites were studied in mandukaparni through field experiments for two years. Secondary metabolites content variably influenced with soil fertility as well as irrigation levels. Significantly highest asiaticoside, madecassoside and total secondary metabolites content were recorded with FYM 10 t ha−1, whereas, asiatic acid and madecassic acid were found maximum with FYM 15 t ha−1. Among inorganic fertilizers, application of NPK 40:30:40 kg ha−1 recorded highest AS and total secondary metabolites content, NPK 60:50:60 + N20 kg ha−1 as TD recorded AA and MA content, and NPK 30:40:50 + N15 kg ha−1 as TD recorded highest MS content. The Pearson’s correlation matrix revealed that N P and K content significantly correlated with AA and MA content. The various irrigation levels markedly influenced secondary metabolites and recorded highest madecassoside, madecassic acid and total secondary metabolites content at 0.6 IW/CPE ratio. The highest asiaticoside, asiatic acid found when water applied at 0.4 and 0.8 IW/CPE ratio, respectively.

Nitrogen Use Efficiency and Rice Yield of Different Locations in Northeast China

Abstract: An optimal temperature and sunshine hours (T&S) condition will contribute significantly to increase rice yield and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE). The T&S condition of a location serves as a limiting factor for NUE. The results of this study indicated that higher NUE and grain yield of rice could be obtained with the combination of higher effective active temperature and fewer sunshine hours during the entire growth period in Northeast China. The T&S conditions in the southern region of Northeast China promoted rice growth, and these conditions affected the assessment of local rice yield.

Rapid, Efficient Direct and Indirect Regeneration Protocol of Dioscorea deltoidea Wall

Abstract: The present study was explained about a direct and indirect regeneration protocol for an important wild medicinal plant Dioscorea deltoidea, a rich source of saponins and diosgenin. It was found that source of explant, basal medium composition, concentration of plant growth regulator and the photoperiod directly control morphogenetic responses. Out of all explants tested, only nodal segments performed better on the experimental growth media. Nodal segments initiated direct organogenesis when cultured on MS and RT (revised tobacco) medium supplemented with BAP and NAA or IBA. Growth medium supplemented with BAP (1.5 mg/l) and IBA (0.5 mg/l) induced maximum regeneration. Indirect roots regeneration was achieved on RT medium supplemented with IAA 1.0 mg/l and RT medium supplemented with BAP 1.0 mg/l and NAA 0.5 mg/l induced shoot regeneration through callus formed on MS medium containing 2, 4-D (2.0 mg/l).

A BP and Switching PSO Based Optimization Approach for Engine Optimization

Abstract: This paper proposes a Switching PSO (SW-PSO) based on entropy of swarm and switch mode. Further, a hybrid method based on SW-PSO and Back Propagation (BP) neural network algorithm has been presented for diesel engine optimization. BP was used to construct prediction model for chemical combustion in engine cylinders, and SW-PSO was employed to optimize engine parameters that achieve higher fuel efficiency and fewer exhausts. SW-PSO proved to be superior in convergence performance, and the hybrid method also showed advantages in dealing with practical engine optimization problem.

An ED-Based Enhanced Energy Efficient Cross Layer Model for Mobile Wireless Sensor Network

Abstract: Present study indicates to improve network performances which use cross-layer approach. Application of transmission power control technique to dynamically adjust transmission power results in significant reduction of energy consumption. Along with this, a weight is calculated by considering ‘ED’, associated with each node to reduce control overhead. ‘E’ stands for energy while ‘D’ stands for degree. Control overhead reduction during route discovery and dynamic adjustment of transmission power improves network performance and reduces energy consumption. The results are compared with popular algorithm which proved that proposed algorithm performs better in terms of efficiency metrics.

A Secure-Ware System for Web Server: Ensuring Platform Interoperability, Security, Privacy, Usability and Functionality

Abstract: Numerous software tools are available for systems biologist that primarily deals with the different kinds of biological data from the different kind of biological resources, such as micro-arrays, metabolic-networks and predicted protein-structure. A prime challenge of today is to commingle the data resources of the biological data; thus this letter designs a tool of secure-ware system to explore and analyze the data environment; and eventually the proposed system justifies that it can offer interactivity, scalability, flexibility, security and privacy to the complex system biological data sets. To provide the security, privacy, interoperability, usability and functionality, an efficient secure-ware system has been designed. Above all, the proposed system can support and recognize all types of data exchange formats and software to explore a wide range of biological data.

Elemental Analysis of Different Cultivar of Senna (Cassia angustifolia) using Microwave Digestion and Flame Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy

Abstract: Senna (Cassia angustifolia Vahl.) is known worldwide for its laxative properties. Essential element content in senna leaf and pod is important as they preferred as an ingredient of herbal tea, functional food and dietary supplements. So, elemental (Ca, Mg, K, Na, Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu) content in the leaf and pod samples of four different cultivar of senna were determined by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy after digestion in the closed vessel environment through a microwave digestion system. Powdered leaf and pod samples were digested with high-purity concentrated nitric acid (HNO3). The overall reproducibility of the method obtained from spiking experiment was within the range and recovery data indicated accurate and precise. The elemental content in the leaf and pod sample followed the order Ca > K > Mg > Na > Fe > Zn > Mn > Cu. While elemental content in pod samples were found lower as compared to leaf samples except potassium. Calcium content was found higher than other elements and level of Copper was the least among all elements in the leaf and pod samples. Significant differences were observed for elemental content among the cultivars. The cultivar KKM-1 recorded higher elemental content compared to other cultivars. This basic information generated from the study can be used for the varietal development of senna with improved nutritional quality apart from its medicinal properties.

A Novel Technique for Line Segmentation in Offline Handwritten Gurmukhi Script Documents

Abstract: Segmentation is an important step in Offline Handwritten Character Recognition (Offline HCR). Line segmentation is an important activity included in segmentation process. Line segmentation is a challenging task and it becomes even more challenging when one needs to segment lines in a skewed offline handwritten document. Improper segmentation decreases the recognition accuracy considerably. In this paper, strip based projection profile technique and smearing technique with contour tracing (proposed combination) have been used for line segmentation in offline handwritten Gurmukhi script documents. We have achieved an accuracy of 98.26% for line segmentation with proposed technique and an accuracy of 93.05% for line segmentation with strip based projection profile technique.

Inoculation of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi and Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria in Modulating Phosphorus Dynamics in Turmeric Rhizosphere

Abstract: Rhizomes of turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) are widely used for their medicinal as well as flavoring properties and in order to concentrate on biological means of promoting turmeric cultivation in Assam, North East India, a greenhouse study was carried out to investigate the effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi association in modulating soil phosphatase activity and phosphorus uptake by plants. The effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi alone and in combination with phosphate solubilizing and nitrogen fixing bacteria was assessed on turmeric rhizosphere and treated plants exhibited an enhanced phosphatase activity of 18.11–21.19 µg p-nitrophenol g−1 h−1 at 90 days and 18.33–21.39 µg p-nitrophenol g−1 h−1 at 150 days after planting and then reduced to 13.89–16.60 µg p-nitrophenol g−1 h−1 at the time of harvest i.e. at 210 days after planting as compared to control. Phosphatase activity showed a rapid increase in dual and consortium inoculation in comparison to mono inoculation. A significantly higher available phosphorus concentration (7.10–8.50 mg kg−1 soil) in rhizospheric soil was observed at 90 days after planting in all the treated plants over control. Total phosphorus uptake by plants inoculated with all the treatment types were significantly higher (21.40–26.32 mg plant−1) compared with the control. This study suggests a synergistic interaction between arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria on phosphorus dynamics in the rhizosphere of turmeric plants.