Derivation of sorting programs

Program synthesis for critical applications has become a viable alternative to program verification. Nested resolution and its extension are used to synthesize a set of sorting programs from their first order logic specifications. A set of sorting programs, such as, naive sort, merge sort, and insertion sort, were successfully synthesized starting from the same set of specifications

The Microscopic Structure of Adsorbed Water on Hydrophobic Surfaces under Ambient Conditions

The interaction of water vapor with hydrophobic surfaces is poorly understood. We utilize graphene templating to preserve and visualize the microscopic structures of adsorbed water on hydrophobic surfaces. Three well-defined surfaces [H–Si(111), graphite, and functionalized mica] were investigated, and water was found to adsorb as nanodroplets (~10–100 nm in size) on all three surfaces under ambient conditions. The adsorbed nanodroplets were closely associated with atomic-scale surface defects and step-edges and wetted all the hydrophobic substrates with contact angles < ~10°, resulting in total water adsorption that was similar to what is found for hydrophilic surfaces. These results point to the significant differences between surface processes at the atomic/nanometer scales and in the macroscopic world

A pilot study on culture of Asian seabass Lates calcarifer (Bloch)in open sea cage at Munambam, Cochin coast, India

India ranks third in global fish production with 6.4 million metric t, but mariculture in the Indian seas is yet to be popularised. The limited availability of protected sites and the probable conflicts with other activities such as fishing, tourism and navigation are factors likely to influence mariculture development in India, besides finance, technology, expertise and government policy. A pilot scale inshore marine cage culture experiment has been undertaken since 2007 at Visakhapatnam coast of India in the Bay of Bengal. A similar cage was launched at Munambam for the culture of Asian seabass Lates calcarifer. Asian seabass seed (3.5 ±1.5 g) reared in hapa installed in ponds for a period of 30 days were stocked in the cage and cultured for a period of 120 days and harvested at an average weight of 315.5 g. Analysis of nutrient levels in seawater near the cage, revealed no noticeable accumulation of solid particulate wastes indicating that water current (0.5 to 1.0 m sec-1) was adequate in the site to prevent accumulation of wastes in the cage as well as in the premises. The cage culture activity was found to influence the planktonic and benthic fauna

Large sized moustached Thryssa, Thryssa mystax (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) recorded from Cochin coast in Kerala

Two large sized specimens of Thryssa mystax (Family: Engraulidae) were caught in Chooda valai and landed at Chellanam fish landing centre on 20th July 2013. The specimens measured 24.8 cm (Fig. 1) and 24 cm in total length and weighed 100 g and 80 g respectively. These sizes of this species are recorded for the first time in the world

Preliminary studies on the impact of open sea cage culture of Lates calcarifer (Bloch) on the planktonic and benthic fauna off Cochin, Kerala

The plankton and benthic macrofauna in relation to the open sea cage culture of Lates calcarifer during the period from October 2008 to March 2009 off Munambam near Cochin were studied. The cage site and a reference site were selected for simultaneous sampling. During the study, the cage culture activity was not found to influence the plankton population but there is an indication of its influence on the benthic macrofauna

Antitumor and Immunopotentiating Activity of Polysaccharide PST001 Isolated from the Seed Kernel of Tamarindus indica: An InVivo Study inMice

Antitumor activity of polysaccharide PST001 isolated from the seed kernel of Tamarindus indica was evaluated using different cancer cell lines. Human cancer cell lines A549, KB, and MCF-7 and murine cancer cell lines DLA and EAC were treated with PST001 and cell growth inhibition was assessed by MTT assay. In vivo studies were carried out for toxicity, tumor reduction and immunomodulation. The respective IC50 of PST001 in A549, KB, and DLA was at 80.72, 190.99, and 91.14 μg/mL. Significant tumor reduction was obtained in both DLA and EAC tumors on treatment with PST001 which was more prominent when PST001 was administered with CTX/5-fluorouracil. Increase in total WBC, CD4+ T-cell population, and bonemarrow cellularity suggested strong immunomodulatory activity for this compound. No significant abnormality was observed in toxicity studies. Thus the results of the present study suggest that PST001 has immunomodulatory and tumor inhibitory activities and has the potential to be developed as an anticancer agent and immunomodulator either as a sole agent or as an adjuvant to other chemotherapeutic drugs

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Reduction of thermal conductivity in phononic nanomesh structures

Controlling the thermal conductivity of a material independently of its electrical conductivity continues to be a goal for researchers working on thermoelectric materials for use in energy applications and in the cooling of integrated circuits. In principle, the thermal conductivity κ and the electrical conductivity σ may be independently optimized in semiconducting nanostructures because different length scales are associated with phonons (which carry heat) and electric charges (which carry current). Phonons are scattered at surfaces and interfaces, so κ generally decreases as the surface-to-volume ratio increases. In contrast, σ is less sensitive to a decrease in nanostructure size, although at sufficiently small sizes it will degrade through the scattering of charge carriers at interfaces. Here, we demonstrate an approach to independently controlling κ based on altering the phonon band structure of a semiconductor thin film through the formation of a phononic nanomesh film. These films are patterned with periodic spacings that are comparable to, or shorter than, the phonon mean free path. The nanomesh structure exhibits a substantially lower thermal conductivity than an equivalently prepared array of silicon nanowires, even though this array has a significantly higher surface-to-volume ratio. Bulk-like electrical conductivity is preserved. We suggest that this development is a step towards a coherent mechanism for lowering thermal conductivity