Nature watch

Deer are some of the commonest, most visible, and attractive mammals in many forests and grasslands of India. They display a fascinating variety in their antlers, social systems, herd-forming behaviour, and ecology. Unfortunately, several factors have brought some species to the brink of extinction today.     

Error correcting codes

Linear algebraic codes are an elegant illustration of the power of Algebra. We introduce linear codes, and try to explain how the structure present in these codes permits easy implementation of encoding and decoding schemes.     

A new method for the measurement and analysis of biomechanical energy delivered by kicking

An accurate measurement of force and biomechanical energy that people can impart through kicking is useful for kick-related sports training. Existing methods are indirect measurements or focus on force and not on the total energy of the kick. A kick test rig was designed, constructed and instrumented to measure the force and displacement of a vertical target subjected to kicking. The kick energy was calculated from the recorded force and displacement histories. The methodology for measurement of kick force and energy was validated by an open stance front kick test by 52 volunteers. The results showed that 67% of the participants could achieve an average energy above 100 J. An increasing trend of kick energy with increasing body weight of participant was observed. The participant’s gender had a strong influence on the kick energy, while training in martial arts does not appear to be a significant parameter. A probability analysis showed that one in one hundred adults will be able to kick with energies exceeding 215 J.     

Electron paramagnetic resonance imaging

In this part we shall outline the challenges one faces while developing time-domain radiofrequency (RF) EPR imaging spectrometer for in vivo studies. Time-domain or FT-EPR is quite a different animal compared to the CW modality. The evolution of FT-EPR instrumentation at the National Cancer Institute, NIH, USA and representative examples of application in cancer research are outlined in this article.     

Nature watch

In our previous article ‘On observing the night sky’¹ we had introduced the reader to the stars and constellations and suggested how they may be observed. In this article we will provide a few technical details, which we had deliberately left out earlier and also introduce the reader to a number of the other remarkable objects that may be seen in the sky.     

Urban‐rural dichotomy in Malaysian elections

This article synthesizes the findings of two empirical surveys carried out in 1986 and 1990 in Malaysia. It also presents a brief historical background of the political process in the country, as well as an overview of the Malaysian media. Finally, it touches on the latest general elections in Malaysia, held in 1995, and their implications.     

Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria

Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) are a group of bacteria that enhances plant growth and yield via various plant growth promoting substances as well as biofertilizers. Given the negative environmental impact of artificial fertilizers and their increasing costs, the use of beneficial soil microorganisms such as PGPR for sustainable and safe agriculture has increased globally during the last couple of decades. PGPR as biofertilizers are well recognized as efficient soil microbes for sustainable agriculture and hold great promise in the improvement of agriculture yields.     

Ludwig Prandtl and boundary layers in fluid flow

In 1904, Prandtl proposed the concept of boundary layers that revolutionised the study of fluid mechanics. In this article we present the basic ideas of boundary layers and boundary-layer separation, a phenomenon that distinguishes streamlined from bluff bodies.