Permanent Genetic Resources added to Molecular Ecology Resources Database 1 August 2010-30 September 2010

This article documents the addition of 229 microsatellite marker loci to the Molecular Ecology Resources Database. Loci were developed for the following species: Acacia auriculiformis x Acacia mangium hybrid, Alabama argillacea, Anoplopoma fimbria, Aplochiton zebra, Brevicoryne brassicae, Bruguiera gymnorhiza, Bucorvus leadbeateri, Delphacodes detecta, Tumidagena minuta, Dictyostelium giganteum, Echinogammarus berilloni, Epimedium sagittatum, Fraxinus excelsior, Labeo chrysophekadion, Oncorhynchus clarki lewisi, Paratrechina longicornis, Phaeocystis antarctica, Pinus roxburghii and Potamilus capax. These loci were cross-tested on the following species: Acacia peregrinalis, Acacia crassicarpa, Bruguiera cylindrica, Delphacodes detecta, Tumidagena minuta, Dictyostelium macrocephalum, Dictyostelium discoideum, Dictyostelium purpureum, Dictyostelium mucoroides, Dictyostelium rosarium, Polysphondylium pallidum, Epimedium brevicornum, Epimedium koreanum, Epimedium pubescens, Epimedium wushanese and Fraxinus angustifolia.

Effect of January 15, 2010 annular solar eclipse on meteorological parameters over Goa, India

Atmospheric perturbations due to the annular solar eclipse were monitored to understand its influence on the meteorological parameters from surface to the lower stratosphere. A strong inversion at 13 km and an abnormal warming in the upper troposphere were noticed on the eclipse day. A decrease in tropopause height associated with increase in temperature caused anomalous warming. Considerable attenuation of incoming solar radiation resulted in abrupt increase of air temperature during the next 24 h followed by sharp decrease in relative humidity. The time lag is attributed to the distance from the totality and the response time between tropopause and surface layer. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The June 2010 Nicobar Earthquake: Fault Reactivation on the Subducting Oceanic Plate

The similar to 1300-km-long rupture zone of the 2004 Andaman-Sumatra megathrust earthquake continues to generate a mix of thrust, normal, and strike-slip faulting events. The 12 June 2010 M(w) 7.5 event on the subducting plate is the most recent large earthquake on the Nicobar segment. The left-lateral faulting mechanism of this event is unusual for the outer-rise region, considering the stress transfer processes that follow great underthrusting earthquakes. Another earthquake (M(w) 7.2) with a similar mechanism occurred very close to this event on 24 July 2005. These earthquakes and most of their aftershocks on the subducting plate were generated by left-lateral strike-slip faulting on north-northeast-south-southwest oriented near-vertical faults, in response to north-northwest-south-southeast directed compression. Pre-2004 earthquake faulting mechanisms on the subducting oceanic plate are consistent with this pattern. Post-2004, left-lateral faulting on the subducting oceanic plate clusters between 5 degrees N and 9 degrees N, where the 90 degrees E ridge impinges the trench axis. Our study observes that the subducting plate off the Sumatra and Nicobar segments behaves similarly to a chip of the India-Australia plate, deforming in response to a generally northwest-southeast oriented compression, an aspect that must be factored into the plate deformation models.

An experimental set-up for carbon isotopic analysis of atmospheric CO2 and an example of ecosystem response during solar eclipse 2010

We present here, an experimental set-up developed for the first time in India for the determination of mixing ratio and carbon isotopic ratio of air-CO2. The set-up includes traps for collection and extraction of CO2 from air samples using cryogenic procedures, followed by the measurement of CO2 mixing ratio using an MKS Baratron gauge and analysis of isotopic ratios using the dual inlet peripheral of a high sensitivity isotope ratio mass spectrometer (IRMS) MAT 253. The internal reproducibility (precision) for the PC measurement is established based on repeat analyses of CO2 +/- 0.03 parts per thousand. The set-up is calibrated with international carbonate and air-CO2 standards. An in-house air-CO2 mixture, `OASIS AIRMIX' is prepared mixing CO2 from a high purity cylinder with O-2 and N-2 and an aliquot of this mixture is routinely analyzed together with the air samples. The external reproducibility for the measurement of the CO2 mixing ratio and carbon isotopic ratios are +/- 7 (n = 169) mu mol.mol(-1) and +/- 0.05 (n = 169) parts per thousand based on the mean of the difference between two aliquots of reference air mixture analyzed during daily operation carried out during November 2009-December 2011. The correction due to the isobaric interference of N2O on air-CO2 samples is determined separately by analyzing mixture of CO2 (of known isotopic composition) and N2O in varying proportions. A +0.2 parts per thousand correction in the delta C-13 value for a N2O concentration of 329 ppb is determined. As an application, we present results from an experiment conducted during solar eclipse of 2010. The isotopic ratio in CO2 and the carbon dioxide mixing ratio in the air samples collected during the event are different from neighbouring samples, suggesting the role of atmospheric inversion in trapping the emitted CO2 from the urban atmosphere during the eclipse.

History of Computing in India: 1955-2010

The history of computing in India is inextricably intertwined with two interacting forces: the political climate determined by the political party in power) and the government policies mainly driven by the technocrats and bureaucrats who acted within the boundaries drawn by the political party in power. There were four break points (which occurred in 1970, 1978, 1991 and 1998) that changed the direction of the development of computers and their applications. This article explains why these breaks occurred and how they affected the history of computing in India.