Conservation of a resource based fishery through optimal taxation

In the present paper, we study a dynamic reaction model in which (i) the predator is provided with an alternative food in addition to the prey species, (ii) the predator is harvested, and (iii) a tax is imposed to regulate the system. The existence of possible steady states along with their local as well as global stability is discussed for both the exploited and unexploited systems. Boundedness of the system is also discussed. It is seen that the system undergoes a Hopf bifurcation by the addition of alternative prey and the criteria for the Hopf-bifurcation is also discussed. Optimal tax policy is discussed using Pontryagin’s maximal principle. Finally, some numerical simulations are given to show the consistency with theoretical analysis.     

A facile microwave assisted synthesis of spiro-1,3-oxazines from N-(2-(cyclohex-1-en-1-yl)ethyl)amides

A mild and efficient methodology has been developed for the synthesis of spiro-1,3-oxazine derivatives by the microwave assisted cyclization of N-2-(1′-cyclohexenyl)ethyl-acetamides/benzamides. The reaction was catalyzed by in situ generated trimethylsilyl iodide and featured by its very short reaction time. The starting materials were easily obtained by the condensation of substituted acetic/benzoic acids with 2-(1′-cyclohexenyl)ethyl amine.     

First-order antiferro-ferromagnetic transition in Fe(49)(Rh(0.93)Pd(0.07))(51) under simultaneous application of magnetic field and external pressure

A magnetic field-pressure-temperature (H-P-T) phase diagram for first-order antiferromagnetic (AFM) to ferromagnetic (FM) transitions in Fe(49)(Rh(0.93)Pd(0.07))(51) has been constructed using resistivity measurements under simultaneous application of magnetic field (up to 8 T) and pressure (up to 20 kbar). The temperature dependence of resistivity (ρ-T) shows that the width of the transition and the extent of hysteresis decreases with pressure and increases with magnetic field. By exploiting opposing trends of dT(N)/dP and dT(N)/dH (where T(N) is the first-order transition temperature), the relative effects of temperature, magnetic field and pressure on disorder-broadened first-order transitions has been studied. For this, a set of H and P values are chosen for which T(N)(H(1),P(1)) = T(N)(H(2),P(2)). Measurements for such combinations of H and P show that the temperature dependence of resistivity is similar, i.e. the broadening (in temperature) of transition as well as the extent of hysteresis remains independent of H and P. Isothermal magnetoresistance measurements under various constant pressures show that even though the critical field required for AFM-FM transition depends on applied pressure, the extent of hysteresis as well as transition width (in magnetic field) remains constant with varying pressure.     

Antitumour effect of Diospyros cordifolia bark on Ehrlich ascites carcinoma-bearing Swiss albino mice

Diospyros cordifolia Roxb. (Ebenaceae), commonly known as Indian ebony, is used traditionally for several medicinal purposes. In this study, the methanol extract of D. cordifolia bark (MEDC) was evaluated for its antitumour effect against Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC)-bearing Swiss albino mice. Twenty-four hours after intraperitoneal inoculation of tumour (EAC) cells in mice, MEDC was administered intraperitoneally at 25 and 50?mg kg?1 bodyweight for 9 consecutive days. On the 10th day, half of the mice were sacrificed to determine the tumour volume, viable and non-viable tumour cell counts, and rest were kept alive for the assessment of median survival time and increase in life span. Haematological profiles were also determined. MEDC exhibited a marked decrease in tumour growth parameters and increased the survival rate of EAC-bearing animals. MEDC normalised the haematological parameters as compared with the EAC control mice. Therefore, this study demonstrated that D. cordifolia bark possessed remarkable antitumour efficacy.     

Cardiac-induced physiologic noise in tissue is a direct observation of cardiac-induced fluctuations

Recent studies have shown that in certain cases, cardiac and respiratory rate fluctuations in BOLD-weighted MRI time courses may be an artifact unique to rapid sampled acquisitions and may not be present in longer repetition-time acquisitions. The implication of this is that, in these cases, cardiac and respiratory rate fluctuations are not aliased into data that undersample these effects and do not affect the resulting time course measurements. In this study, we show that these cases are specific to regions of large cerebrospinal fluid content and are not generally true for gray matter regions of the brain. We demonstrate that in many brain regions of interest, these fluctuations are directly observed as BOLD fluctuations and thus will affect measurements that undersample these effects.     

Microstructure characterization of porous silicon as studied by positron annihilation measurements at low temperatures and high vacuum

Atomic scale properties of thin porous silicon (PSi) layers, characterized by the formation of positronium, are investigated using positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy in the temperature range 20-300 K under 10⁻⁷ Torr vacuum. The longest orthopositronium as well as the shortest parapositronium components are found to have quite low intensities in the thin layer at room temperature. It is also found that at temperatures ≤240 K, these two components do not show up in the spectrum. The reason for this absence of the longest lifetime component is suggested.     

Hydrodynamic and thermal interactions of a cluster of solid particles in a pool of liquid of different Prandtl numbers using two-fluid model

The knowledge of thermal interaction between hot particles and liquid is essential for many engineering applications. The main focus of the present study is to understand the underlying phenomena of transient interaction between the hot particles and the liquid of varying Prandtl number under different parametric conditions. Analysis is carried out numerically using in-house multiphase code based on Eulerian two-fluid laminar model. The code is validated against existing results. The dispersion and penetration characteristics of the particles are observed to be a strong function of Prandtl number as well as volume fraction and particle diameter, with a stronger mushrooming observed for lower particle size or high Prandtl number liquid. The thermal interaction is observed to be between the particles and the narrow thermal envelope surrounding the particles. The particles cooling rate are observed to be several orders faster in a liquid with lower Prandtl number.     

Conservation of a prey-predator fishery with predator self limitation based on continuous fishing effort

The paper deals with the problem of selective harvesting in a prey-predator model with predator self limitation. Criteria for local stability and global stability for both the exploited and unexploited system are derived. The effort has been considered as a dynamic variable and taxation as a control instrument to protect the fish populations from over exploitation. Finally, the optimal taxation policy is discussed with the help of control theory.     

A CRITICAL STUDY ON THE INTERACTIONS OF HESPERITIN WITH HUMAN HEMOGLOBIN: FLUORESCENCE SPECTROSCOPIC AND MOLECULAR MODELING APPROACH

Hesperitin, a ubiquitous bioactive flavonoid abundant in citrus fruits is known to possess antioxidant, anti-carcinogenic, hypolipidemic, vasoprotective and other important therapeutic properties. Here we have explored the interactions of hesperitin with normal human hemoglobin (HbA), using steady state and time resolved fluorescence spectroscopy, far UV circular dicroism (CD) spectroscopy, combined with molecular modeling computations. Specific interaction of the flavonoid with HbA is confirmed from flavonoid-induced static quenching which is evident from steady state fluorescence as well as lifetime data. Both temperature dependent fluorescence measurements and molecular docking studies reveal that apart from hydrogen bonding and van der Waals interactions, electrostatic interactions also play crucial role in hesperitin-HbA interactions. Furthermore, electrostatic surface potential calculations indicate that the hesperitin binding site in HbA is intensely positive due to the presence of several lysine and histidine residues.