Wetlands of Greater Bangalore, India: Automatic Delineation through Pattern Classifiers

Wetlands are the most productive and biologically diverse but very fragile ecosystems. They are vulnerable to even small changes in their biotic and abiotic factors. In recent years, there has been concern over the continuous degradation of wetlands due to unplanned developmental activities. This necessitates inventorying, mapping, and monitoring of wetlands to implement sustainable management approaches. The principal objective of this work is to evolve a strategy to identify and monitor wetlands using temporal remote sensing (RS) data. Pattern classifiers were used to extract wetlands automatically from NIR bands of MODIS, Landsat MSS and Landsat TM remote sensing data. MODIS provided data for 2002 to 2007, while for 1973 and 1992 IR Bands of Landsat MSS and TM (79m and 30m spatial resolution) data were used. Principal components of IR bands of MODIS (250 m) were fused with IRS LISS-3 NIR (23.5 m). To extract wetlands, statistical unsupervised learning of IR bands for the respective temporal data was performed using Bayesian approach based on prior probability, mean and covariance. Temporal analysis of wetlands indicates a sharp decline of 58% in Greater Bangalore attributing to intense urbanization processes, evident from a 466% increase in built-up area from 1973 to 2007.

Geoinformatics for Urbanisation and Urban Sprawl Pattern Analysis

Urbanisation is the increase in the population of cities in proportion to the region's rural population. Urbanisation in India is very rapid with urban population growing at around 2.3 percent per annum. Urban sprawl refers to the dispersed development along highways or surrounding the city and in rural countryside with implications such as loss of agricultural land, open space and ecologically sensitive habitats. Sprawl is thus a pattern and pace of land use in which the rate of land consumed for urban purposes exceeds the rate of population growth resulting in an inefficient and consumptive use of land and its associated resources. This unprecedented urbanisation trend due to burgeoning population has posed serious challenges to the decision makers in the city planning and management process involving plethora of issues like infrastructure development, traffic congestion, and basic amenities (electricity, water, and sanitation), etc. In this context, to aid the decision makers in following the holistic approaches in the city and urban planning, the pattern, analysis, visualization of urban growth and its impact on natural resources has gained importance. This communication, analyses the urbanisation pattern and trends using temporal remote sensing data based on supervised learning using maximum likelihood estimation of multivariate normal density parameters and Bayesian classification approach. The technique is implemented for Greater Bangalore – one of the fastest growing city in the World, with Landsat data of 1973, 1992 and 2000, IRS LISS-3 data of 1999, 2006 and MODIS data of 2002 and 2007. The study shows that there has been a growth of 466% in urban areas of Greater Bangalore across 35 years (1973 to 2007). The study unravels the pattern of growth in Greater Bangalore and its implication on local climate and also on the natural resources, necessitating appropriate strategies for the sustainable management.

Single Cavity Trapped Vortex Combustor Simulations

The present work describes steady and unsteady computation of reacting flow in a Trapped Vortex Combustor. The primary motivation of this study is to develop this concept into a working combustor in modern gas turbines. The present work is an effort towards development of an experimental model test rig for further understanding dynamics of a single cavity trapped vortex combustor. The steady computations with and without combustion have been done for L/D of 0.8, 1 and 1.2; also unsteady non-reacting flow simulation has been done for L/D of 1. Fuel used for the present study is methane and Eddy-Dissipation model has been used for combustion-turbulence interactions. For L/D of 0.8, combustion efficiency is maximum and pattern factor is minimum. Also, primary vortex in the cavity is more stable and symmetric for L/D of 0.8. From unsteady non-reacting flow simulations, it is found that there is no vortex shedding from the cavity but there are oscillations in the span-wise direction of the combustor.

When should fig fruit produce volatiles? Pattern in a ripening process

Ripe fruit need to signal their presence to attract dispersal agents. Plants may employ visual and/or olfactory sensory channels to signal the presence of ripe fruit. Visual signals of ripe fruit have been extensively investigated. However, the volatile signatures of ripe fruit that use olfactorily-oriented dispersers have been scarcely investigated. Moreover, as in flowers, where floral scents are produced at times when pollinators are active (diurnal versus nocturnal), whether plants can modulate the olfactory signal to produce fruit odours when dispersers are active in the diel cycle is completely unknown. We investigated day night differences in fruit odours in two species of figs, Ficus racemosa and Ficus benghalensis. The volatile bouquet of fruit of F.racemosa that are largely dispersed by bats and other mammals was dominated by fatty acid derivatives such as esters. In this species in which the ripe fig phase is very short, and where the figs drop off soon after ripening, there were no differences between day and night in fruit volatile signature. The volatile bouquet of fruit of F. benghalensis that has a long ripening period, however, and that remain attached to the tree for extended periods when ripe, showed an increase in fatty acid derivatives such as esters and of benzenoids such as benzaldehyde at night when they are dispersed by bats, and an elevation of sesquiterpenes during the day when they are dispersed by birds. For the first time we provide data that suggest that the volatile signal produced by fruit can show did l differences based on the activity period of the dispersal agent. (C) 2011 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

A tropical oviparous lizard, Calotes versicolor, exhibiting a potentially novel FMFM pattern of temperature-dependent sex determination

Among squamate reptiles, lizards exhibit an impressive array of sex-determining modes viz. genotypic sex determination, temperature-dependent sex determination, co-occurrence of both these and those that reproduce parthenogenetically. The oviparous lizard, Calotes versicolor, lacks heteromorphic sex chromosomes and there are no reports on homomorphic chromosomes. Earlier studies on this species presented little evidence to the sex-determining mechanism. Here we provide evidences for the potential role played by incubation temperature that has a significant effect (P<0.01) on gonadal sex and sex ratio. The eggs were incubated at 14 different incubation temperatures. Interestingly, 100% males were produced at low (25.5 +/- 0.5 degrees C) as well as high (34 +/- 0.5 degrees C) incubation temperatures and 100% females were produced at low (23.5 +/- 0.5 degrees C) and high (31.5 +/- 0.5 degrees C) temperatures, clearly indicating the occurrence of TSD in this species. Sex ratios of individual clutches did not vary at any of the critical male-producing or female-producing temperatures within as well as across the seasons. However, clutch sex ratios were female- or male-biased at intermediate temperatures. Thermosensitive period occurred during the embryonic stages 3033. Three pivotal temperatures operate producing 1:1 sex ratio. Histology of gonad and accessory reproductive structures provide additional evidence for TSD. The sex-determining pattern, observed for the first time in this species, that neither compares to Pattern I [Ia (MF) and Ib (FM)] nor to Pattern II (FMF), is being referred to as FMFM pattern of TSD. This novel FMFM pattern of sex ratio exhibited by C. versicolor may have an adaptive significance in maintaining sex ratio. J. Exp. Zool. 317:3246, 2012. (c) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Fast Robust Pattern Classification Algorithms for Real Time Neuro-Motor Prosthetic Applications

In this paper, we give a brief review of pattern classification algorithms based on discriminant analysis. We then apply these algorithms to classify movement direction based on multivariate local field potentials recorded from a microelectrode array in the primary motor cortex of a monkey performing a reaching task. We obtain prediction accuracies between 55% and 90% using different methods which are significantly above the chance level of 12.5%.

Urban Sprawl Pattern Analysis Using GIS

Urbanisation has evinced interest from a wide section of the society including experts, amateurs, and novices. The multidisciplinary scope of the subject invokes the interest from ecologists, to urban planners and civil engineers, to sociologists, to administrators and policy makers, students and finally the common man. With the development and infrastructure initiatives mostly around the urban centres, the impacts of urbanisation and sprawl would be on the environment and the natural resources. The wisdom lies in how effectively we plan the urban growth without - hampering the environment, excessively harnessing the natural resources and eventually disturbing the natural set-up. The research on these help urban residents and policymakers make informed decisions and take action to restore these resources before they are lost. Ultimately the power to balance the urban ecosystems rests with regional awareness, policies, administration practices, management issues and operational problems. This publication on urban systems is aimed at helping scientists, policy makers, engineers, urban planners and ultimately the common man to visualise how towns and cities grow over a period of time based on investigations in the regions around the highway and cities. Two important highways in Karnataka, South India, viz., Bangalore - Mysore highway and the Mangalore - Udupi highway, in Karnataka and the Tiruchirapalli - Tanjavore - Kumbakonam triangular road network in Tamil Nadu, South India, were considered in this investigation. Geographic Information System and Remote Sensing data were used to analyse the pattern of urbanisation. This was coupled with the spatial and temporal data from the Survey of India toposheets (for 1972), satellite imageries procured from National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) (LANDSAT TM for 1987 and IRS LISS III for 1999), demographic details from the Census of India (1971, 1981, 1991 and 2001) and the village maps from the Directorate of Survey Settlements and Land Records, Government of Karnataka. All this enabled in quantifying the increase in the built-up area for nearly three decades. With intent of identifying the potential sprawl zones, this could be modelled and projected for the future decades. Apart from these the study could quantify some of the metrics that could be used in the study of urban sprawl.

On pattern oriented software architecture for the grid

Precision, sophistication and economic factors in many areas of scientific research that demand very high magnitude of compute power is the order of the day. Thus advance research in the area of high performance computing is getting inevitable. The basic principle of sharing and collaborative work by geographically separated computers is known by several names such as metacomputing, scalable computing, cluster computing, internet computing and this has today metamorphosed into a new term known as grid computing. This paper gives an overview of grid computing and compares various grid architectures. We show the role that patterns can play in architecting complex systems, and provide a very pragmatic reference to a set of well-engineered patterns that the practicing developer can apply to crafting his or her own specific applications. We are not aware of pattern-oriented approach being applied to develop and deploy a grid. There are many grid frameworks that are built or are in the process of being functional. All these grids differ in some functionality or the other, though the basic principle over which the grids are built is the same. Despite this there are no standard requirements listed for building a grid. The grid being a very complex system, it is mandatory to have a standard Software Architecture Specification (SAS). We attempt to develop the same for use by any grid user or developer. Specifically, we analyze the grid using an object oriented approach and presenting the architecture using UML. This paper will propose the usage of patterns at all levels (analysis. design and architectural) of the grid development.

Pattern recognition and cellular immune responses to novel Mycobacterium tuberculosis-antigens in individuals from Belarus

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is an enduring health problem worldwide and the emerging threat of multidrug resistant (MDR) TB and extensively drug resistant (XDR) TB is of particular concern. A better understanding of biomarkers associated with TB will aid to guide the development of better targets for TB diagnosis and for the development of improved TB vaccines. Methods: Recombinant proteins (n = 7) and peptide pools (n = 14) from M. tuberculosis (M.tb) antigens associated with M.tb pathogenicity, modification of cell lipids or cellular metabolism, were used to compare T cell immune responses defined by IFN-gamma production using a whole blood assay (WBA) from i) patients with TB, ii) individuals recovered from TB and iii) individuals exposed to TB without evidence of clinical TB infection from Minsk, Belarus. Results: We identified differences in M.tb target peptide recognition between the test groups, i.e. a frequent recognition of antigens associated with lipid metabolism, e.g. cyclopropane fatty acyl phospholipid synthase. The pattern of peptide recognition was broader in blood from healthy individuals and those recovered from TB as compared to individuals suffering from pulmonary TB. Detection of biologically relevant M.tb targets was confirmed by staining for intracellular cytokines (IL-2, TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma) in T cells from non-human primates (NHPs) after BCG vaccination. Conclusions: PBMCs from healthy individuals and those recovered from TB recognized a broader spectrum of M.tb antigens as compared to patients with TB. The nature of the pattern recognition of a broad panel of M.tb antigens will devise better strategies to identify improved diagnostics gauging previous exposure to M.tb; it may also guide the development of improved TB-vaccines.

PAMAM Dendrimer-Drug Interactions: Effect of pH on the Binding and Release Pattern

Understanding the dendrimer-drug interaction is of great importance to design and optimize the dendrimer-based drug delivery system. Using atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, we have analyzed the release pattern of four ligands (two soluble drugs, namely, salicylic acid (Sal), L-alanine (Ala), and two insoluble drugs, namely, phenylbutazone (Pbz) and primidone (Prim)), which were initially encapsulated inside the ethylenediamine (EDA) cored polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimer using the docking method. We have computed the potential of mean force (PMF) variation with generation 5 (G5)-PAMAM dendrimer complexed with drug molecules using umbrella sampling. From our calculated PMF values, we observe that soluble drugs (Sal and Ala) have lower energy barriers than insoluble drugs (Pbz and Prim). The order of ease of release pattern for these drugs from G5 protonated PAMAM dendrimer was found to be Ala > Sal > Prim > Pbz. In the case of insoluble drugs (Prim and Pbz), because of larger size, we observe much nonpolar contribution, and thus, their larger energy barriers can be reasoned to van der Waals contribution. From the hydrogen bonding analysis of the four PAMAM drug complexes under study, we found intermolecular hydrogen bonding to show less significant contribution to the free energy barrier. Another interesting feature appears while calculating the PMF profile of G5NP (nonprotonated)-PAMAM Pbz and G5NP (nonprotonated)-PAMAM-Sal complex. The PMF was found to be less when the drug is bound to nonprotonated dendrimer compared to the protonated dendrimer. Our results suggest that encapsulation of the drug molecule into the host PAMAM dendrimer should be carried out at higher pH values (near pH 10). When such complex enters the human body, the pH is around 7.4 and at that physiological pH, the dendrimer holds the drug tightly. Hence the release of drug can occur at a controlled rate into the bloodstream. Thus, our findings provide a microscopic picture of the encapsulation and controlled release of drugs in the case of dendrimer-based host-guest systems.

Insights to urban dynamics through landscape spatial pattern analysis

Urbanisation is a dynamic complex phenomenon involving large scale changes in the land uses at local levels. Analyses of changes in land uses in urban environments provide a historical perspective of land use and give an opportunity to assess the spatial patterns, correlation, trends, rate and impacts of the change, which would help in better regional planning and good governance of the region. Main objective of this research is to quantify the urban dynamics using temporal remote sensing data with the help of well-established landscape metrics. Bangalore being one of the rapidly urbanising landscapes in India has been chosen for this investigation. Complex process of urban sprawl was modelled using spatio temporal analysis. Land use analyses show 584% growth in built-up area during the last four decades with the decline of vegetation by 66% and water bodies by 74%. Analyses of the temporal data reveals an increase in urban built up area of 342.83% (during 1973-1992), 129.56% (during 1992-1999), 106.7% (1999-2002), 114.51% (2002-2006) and 126.19% from 2006 to 2010. The Study area was divided into four zones and each zone is further divided into 17 concentric circles of 1 km incrementing radius to understand the patterns and extent of the urbanisation at local levels. The urban density gradient illustrates radial pattern of urbanisation for the period 1973-2010. Bangalore grew radially from 1973 to 2010 indicating that the urbanisation is intensifying from the central core and has reached the periphery of the Greater Bangalore. Shannon's entropy, alpha and beta population densities were computed to understand the level of urbanisation at local levels. Shannon's entropy values of recent time confirms dispersed haphazard urban growth in the city, particularly in the outskirts of the city. This also illustrates the extent of influence of drivers of urbanisation in various directions. Landscape metrics provided in depth knowledge about the sprawl. Principal component analysis helped in prioritizing the metrics for detailed analyses. The results clearly indicates that whole landscape is aggregating to a large patch in 2010 as compared to earlier years which was dominated by several small patches. The large scale conversion of small patches to large single patch can be seen from 2006 to 2010. In the year 2010 patches are maximally aggregated indicating that the city is becoming more compact and more urbanised in recent years. Bangalore was the most sought after destination for its climatic condition and the availability of various facilities (land availability, economy, political factors) compared to other cities. The growth into a single urban patch can be attributed to rapid urbanisation coupled with the industrialisation. Monitoring of growth through landscape metrics helps to maintain and manage the natural resources. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Suite of tools for statistical N-gram language modeling for pattern mining in whole genome sequences

Genome sequences contain a number of patterns that have biomedical significance. Repetitive sequences of various kinds are a primary component of most of the genomic sequence patterns. We extended the suffix-array based Biological Language Modeling Toolkit to compute n-gram frequencies as well as n-gram language-model based perplexity in windows over the whole genome sequence to find biologically relevant patterns. We present the suite of tools and their application for analysis on whole human genome sequence.