Volume modelling for emerging manufacturing technologies

The next generation manufacturing technologies will draw on new developments in geometric modelling. Based on a comprehensive analysis of the desiderata of next generation geometric modellers, we present a critical review of the major modelling paradigms, namely, CSG, B-Rep, non-manifold, and voxel models. We present arguments to support the view that voxel-based modellers have attributes that make it the representation scheme of choice in meeting the emerging requirements of geometric modelling.

Greater Bangalore: Emerging Urban Heat Island

Bangalore is experiencing unprecedented urbanisation and sprawl in recent times due to concentrated developmental activities with impetus on industrialisation for the economic development of the region. This concentrated growth has resulted in the increase in population and consequent pressure on infrastructure, natural resources and ultimately giving rise to a plethora of serious challenges such as climate change, enhanced green-house gases emissions, lack of appropriate infrastructure, traffic congestion, and lack of basic amenities (electricity, water, and sanitation) in many localities, etc. This study shows that there has been a growth of 632% in urban areas of Greater Bangalore across 37 years (1973 to 2009). Urban heat island phenomenon is evident from large number of localities with higher local temperatures. The study unravels the pattern of growth in Greater Bangalore and its implication on local climate (an increase of ~2 to 2.5 ºC during the last decade) and also on the natural resources (76% decline in vegetation cover and 79% decline in water bodies), necessitating appropriate strategies for the sustainable management.

Consumerist Predators"? Emerging lifestyles between McDonaldization and sustainability perspectives: the case of highly qualified employees (HQEs) in India

In industrializing countries new groups of consumers with remarkable purchasing power are emerging. Representing a ?new middle class? they are seen as a carrier and promoter of a so-called ?western way of life? beyond the OECD countries. They are presented as having a consumerist predator lifestyle which stands in conflict with the requirements for a sustainable future. Furthermore, they are imputed a profound lack of a sense of responsibility towards society. However, such a ?civil society spirit? is a core prerequisite for coping with the challenge of changing existing lifestyles to insure a more sustainable future....

Existing and emerging strategies for the synthesis of nanoscale heterostructures

Development of new multifunctional nanostructures relies on the ability to make new materials at the nanoscale with control over size, shape and composition. While this control is extremely important to tune several properties, an alternative strategy is to create active interfaces between two or more nanostructures to form nanoscale heterostructures. In these heterostructures, the interfaces play a key role in stabilizing and enhancing the efficiency of the individual components for various applications. In this article, we discuss synthesis methods of different types of nanoscale heterostructures and the role of interfaces in various applications. We present the current state-of-the-art in designing heterostructures and possible upcoming synthetic strategies with their advantages and disadvantages. We present how such heterostructures are highly efficient for catalytic, photovoltaic and nanoelectronic applications drawing several examples from our own studies and from the literature.

Pricing Defaultable Bonds in a Markov Modulated Market

We address the problem of pricing defaultable bonds in a Markov modulated market. Using Merton's structural approach we show that various types of defaultable bonds are combination of European type contingent claims. Thus pricing a defaultable bond is tantamount to pricing a contingent claim in a Markov modulated market. Since the market is incomplete, we use the method of quadratic hedging and minimal martingale measure to derive locally risk minimizing derivative prices, hedging strategies and the corresponding residual risks. The price of defaultable bonds are obtained as solutions to a system of PDEs with weak coupling subject to appropriate terminal and boundary conditions. We solve the system of PDEs numerically and carry out a numerical investigation for the defaultable bond prices. We compare their credit spreads with some of the existing models. We observe higher spreads in the Markov modulated market. We show how business cycles can be easily incorporated in the proposed framework. We demonstrate the impact on spreads of the inclusion of rare states that attempt to capture a tight liquidity situation. These states are characterized by low risk-free interest rate, high payout rate and high volatility.

Draft Genome Sequence of Staphylococcus aureus ST672, an Emerging Disease Clone from India

We report the draft genome sequence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strain ST672, an emerging disease clone in India, from a septicemia patient. The genome size is about 2.82 Mb with 2,485 open reading frames (ORFs). The staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) element (type V) and immune evasion cluster appear to be different from those of strain ST772 on preliminary examination.

The dynamics between forward citations and price of singleton patents

In recent years, business practitioners are seen valuing patents on the basis of the market price that the patent can attract. Researchers have also looked into various patent latent variables and firm variables that influence the price of a patent. Forward citations of a patent are shown to play a role in determining price. Using patent auction price data (of Ocean Tomo now ICAP patent brokerage), we delve deeper into of the role of forward citations. The successfully sold 167 singleton patents form the sample of our study. We found that, it is mainly the right tail of the citation distribution that explains the high prices of the patents falling on the right tail of the price distribution. There is consistency in the literature on the positive correlation between patent prices and forward citations. In this paper, we go deeper to understand this linear relationship through case studies. Case studies of patents with high and low citations are described in this paper to understand why some patents attracted high prices. We look into the role of additional patent latent variables like age, technology discipline, class and breadth of the patent in influencing citations that a patent receives.

Catalytic Enantioselective Halocyclizations beyond Lactones: Emerging Routes to Enantioenriched Nitrogenous Heterocycles

Electrophilic halogen-induced reactions of unactivated olefins are an important class of transformations, whose catalytic enantioselective variants have surfaced during the past few years as effective means of olefin heterodifunctionalization. This article covers important developments in the area of enantioselective halocyclizations, specifically in the context of the synthesis of nitrogenous heterocycles.

Emerging roles of MCPH1: Expedition from primary microcephaly to cancer

Genetic mutations in microcephalinl (MCPH1) cause primary autosomal recessive microcephaly which is characterized by a marked reduction in brain size. MCPH1 encodes a centrosomal protein with three BRCT (BRCA1 C-terminal) domains. Also, it is a key regulator of DNA repair pathway and cell cycle checkpoints. Interestingly, in the past few years, many research studies have explored the role of MCPH1, a neurodevelopmental gene in several cancers and its tumor suppressor functions have been elucidated. Given the diverse new emerging roles, it becomes critical to review and summarize the multiple roles of MCPH1 that is currently lacking in the literature. In this review after systematic analysis of literature, we summarise the multiple functional roles of MCPH1 in centrosomal, DNA repair and apoptotic pathways. Additionally, we discuss the considerable efforts taken to understand the implications of MCPH1 in diseases such as primary microcephaly and its other emerging association with cancer and otitis media. The promising view is that MCPH1 has distinct roles and its clinical associations in various diseases makes it an attractive therapeutic target. (C) 2014 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

How Does Effectual Logic Impact Survival of High-tech Startups in an Emerging Economy? - Evidence from 99tests.com Case Study

During the early stages of operation, high-tech startups need to overcome the liability of newness and manage high degree of uncertainty. Several high-tech startups fail due to inability to deal with skeptical customers, underdeveloped markets and limited resources in selling an offering that has no precedent. This paper leverages the principles of effectuation (a logic of entrepreneurial decision making under uncertainty) to explain the journey from creation to survival of high-tech startups in an emerging economy. Based on the 99tests.com case study, this paper suggests that early stage high-tech startups in emerging economies can increase their probability of survival by adopting the principles of effectuation.

Multifarious facets of sugar-derived molecular gels: molecular features, mechanisms of self-assembly and emerging applications

The remarkable capability of nature to design and create excellent self-assembled nano-structures, especially in the biological world, has motivated chemists to mimic such systems with synthetic molecular and supramolecular systems. The hierarchically organized self-assembly of low molecular weight gelators (LMWGs) based on non-covalent interactions has been proven to be a useful tool in the development of well-defined nanostructures. Among these, the self-assembly of sugar-derived LMWGs has received immense attention because of their propensity to furnish biocompatible, hierarchical, supramolecular architectures that are macroscopically expressed in gel formation. This review sheds light on various aspects of sugar-derived LMWGs, uncovering their mechanisms of gelation, structural analysis, and tailorable properties, and their diverse applications such as stimuli-responsiveness, sensing, self-healing, environmental problems, and nano and biomaterials synthesis.