Heisenberg’s invention of matrices

Richard Feynman once said: “nobody understands quantum mechanics”. Still, those who devised it are perhaps the ones closest to understanding their creation. It suggests that whenever the weirdness of quantum mechanics haunts you, it is better to go back to its creators in terms of their original publications. In the present article, the author has tried to seek help from Heisenberg’s 1925 paper, in order to reduce the weirdness of going from classical observables to quantum operators.     

Identification of strategy parameters for particle swarm optimizer through Taguchi method

INTRODUCTION The particle swarm optimization (PSO) method is a member of the broad category of swarm intelli- gence techniques for finding optimized solutions. The PSO algorithm is based on the social behavior of animals such as flocking of birds and schooling of fish, etc. PSO has its origin in simulation for visual- izing the synchronized choreography of bird flock by incorporating concepts such as nearest-neighbor ve- locity matching and acceleration by distance (Par- sopoulos and V…     

Human governance: A neglected mantra for continuous performance improvement

Every individual should be entrusted with an internal driver to strive their best towards achieving their potential and to manifest their performance through innovative means. This can be reached only under circumstances where the abstract human values and principles are recognized and indoctrinated in the culture. The strategies discussed in this article will serve as input in proposing the areas of focus toward the practice of human governance.     

Neurochemical and Behavioral Dysfunctions in Pesticide Exposed Farm Workers: A Clinical Outcome

The problem of pesticides is not new and its exposure to human due to indiscriminate use is largely associated with the health related problems including neurotoxicological alterations. High levels of pesticide residues and their metabolites in the dietary constituents, food materials, maternal blood, cord blood, placenta breast milk have been reported and linked to alterations in birth weight, crown heel length, head circumference, mid-arm circumference and ponderal index of the neonates. Epidemiological studies have suggested that exposure of pesticide to human could be a significant risk factor for neurological disorders, including Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and multiple sclerosis. Cholinergic and non-cholinergic dysfunctions in pesticide exposed population, especially in children have also been frequently reported in recent years. Developmental neurotoxicity is another concern in the area where pregnant are more prone towards its exposure and which results in the abnormalities in the fetus. In view of the increasing risk of human health through pesticide exposure, the present review has been focused on the studies pertaining to pesticide induced neurochemical alterations and associated behavioral abnormalities in farm workers which could establish a possible link between the its exposure and associated health hazards.     

Study of Hormone Receptors and Epidermal Growth Factor Expression in Invasive Breast Cancers in a Cohort of Western India

The objective of study was to evaluate and correlate the pathological characteristics of breast cancer patients with estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (Her2/neu) detected by immunohistochemistry and/or fluorescent in situ hybridization method. We have conducted 2 year study of 204 cases of breast cancer at HCG-Medisurge Hospitals, Ahmedabad from 2009 to 2011. Significant correlation was found in ER and PR expression whereas no correlation was found in hormonal receptors and Her2/neu expression. ER and PR positivity increased with advancing age in breast carcinoma patients while not affecting Her2/neu expression. The expression of hormone receptors were higher in infiltrating lobular carcinoma and infiltrating duct carcinoma subtypes of breast carcinoma as compared to other subtypes such medullary and in situ carcinoma. High-grade carcinoma patients were predominantly ER/PR negative and Her2/neu positive as compared to lower grade breast carcinoma whereas high-stage carcinoma patients were ER/PR positive and Her2/neu positive as compared to lower stage breast carcinoma.     

Effect of Arsenic Contaminated Drinking Water on Human Chromosome: A Case Study

Arsenic contamination of ground water has become a serious problem all over the world. Large number of people from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal of India are suffering due to consumption of arsenic contaminated drinking water. Study was carried out on 30 individuals residing in Ballia District, UP where the maximum concentration of arsenic was observed around 0.37 ppm in drinking water. Blood samples were collected from them to find out the problem related with arsenic. Cytogenetic study of the blood samples indicates that out of 30, two persons developed Klinefelter syndrome.     

A conceptual framework for comparing instructional design models

Instructional design (ID) professionals typically employ models that guide their practice. However, it is unclear how a specific model is selected for an instructional situation. Andrews and Goodson (1980) provided a valuable procedure for comparing instructional design models, but because of the proliferation of variations in instructional design applications during the past decade, the introduction of instructional design into new learning contexts and the emergence of alternative approaches to instructional design, there has emerged a need for a new framework which assesses the potential success of any instructional design model. A framework is presented here which is intended to provide a conceptual tool for determining appropriate instructional design applications.     

Theorema aureum — 2

In the first part of this article, we had introduced the notion of quadratic reciprocity and dwelt briefly on its history, which goes back all the way to the work of Fermat. Then we discussed the Law of Quadratic Reciprocity (‘QRL’), which Gauss named Theorema Aureum. Following this, we gave a not too well known proof of the QRL, due to G Rousseau. Now we give two more proofs of the QRL, drawing respectively from ideas in linear algebra and field extensions; they too are not very well known. Shivam Kumar graduated from Indian Statistical Institute, Bangalore and is joining the London School of Economics for MSc in applicable mathematics. His interest lies in expanding the existing applied paradigm of mathematics from stock market to unchartered subjects such as sociometrics.