Temporal variations in ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and ε_Nd in sediments of the southeastern Arabian Sea: impact of monsoon and surface water circulation

Sr and Nd isotopic composition of silicate fractions of sediments have been measured in two well dated gravity cores from the eastern Arabian Sea archiving a depositional history of ∼29 and ∼40 ka. The 87Sr/86Sr and εNd in the northern core (SS-3104G; 12.8°N, 71.7°E) ranges from 0.71416 to 0.71840 and −8.8 to −12.8; these variations are limited compared to those in the southeastern core (SS-3101G; 6.0°N, 74.0°E), in which they vary from 0.71412 to 0.72069 and −9.0 to −15.2 respectively. This suggests that the variation in the relative proportions of sediments supplied from different sources to the core SS-3104G are limited compared to core SS-3101G. The 87Sr/86Sr and εNd profiles of SS-3101G exhibit two major excursions, ca. 9 ka and 20 ka, coinciding with periods of Holocene Intensified Monsoon Phase (IMP) and the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) respectively with more radiogenic 87Sr/86Sr and lower εNd during these periods. These excursions have been explained in terms of changes in the erosion patterns in the source regions and surface circulation of the Northern Indian Ocean resulting from monsoon intensity variations. The intensification of North-East (NE) monsoon and associated strengthening of the East Indian Coastal Current in southwest direction during LGM transported sediments with higher 87Sr/86Sr and lower εNd from the western Bay of Bengal to the Arabian Sea. In contrast, enhanced South-West (SW) monsoon at ∼9 ka facilitated the transport of sediments from the northern Arabian Sea, particularly Indus derived, to the southeastern Arabian Sea. This study thus highlights the impact of monsoon variability on erosion patterns and ocean surface currents on the dispersal of sediments in determining the Sr and Nd isotopic composition of sediments deposited in the eastern Arabian Sea during the last ∼40 ka

Performance Evaluation of Workers in a Government Undertaking Company of India

Humans are having unlimited potential for growth and development which is measured in an organisation under Performance appraisal System (PAS). PAS is the process of analyzing and recording information about the relative worth of an employee, that is a two way communication process. It involves an active communication between employee and supervisor about performance. PAS can be measured by a system of evaluation but since there is no unanimous system exists the companies are using any one or their own system. Their system of PAS may be older one and sometime unable to measures the performance of the employees. Hence in this paper a company CCI is selected which has given the time and information to analyse their system and an improved system made by the researchers already were also used by taking a census survey of all employees of the company. To test the hypothesis independent sample t test was used with SPSS-19 software. It was found that the company’s current PA system has some hidden difficulties and the new system is able to measure the employees potential in well manner

Effects of Curcumin-loaded PLGA Nanoparticles in MDA-MB231 Human Breast Cancer Cells

Aim: This study was aimed at evaluating the anticancer potential of curcumin-loaded poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) based nanoparticles (NPs) in MDA-MB231 human breast cancer cells. Methods: Curcumin-loaded PLGA NPs were developed using a modified solvent evaporation technique. Physical characterization was performed on the formulated NPs. Furthermore, in vitro experiments were conducted to study the biological activity of the curcumin-loaded NPs. Results: Curcumin-loaded PLGA NPs demonstrated high encapsulation efficiency and sustained payload release. Moreover, the NPs exhibited a significant reduction in cell viability, cell migration and cell invasion in the MDA-MB231 cells. Conclusion: The study revealed that the formulated curcumin-loaded PLGA NPs possessed significant anti-metastatic properties. The findings showcased the possible potential of curcumin-loaded NPs in the management of debilitating conditions such as cancer. In addition, this study could form the basis for further research and advancements in this area. </jats:p

XBRL Acceptance in India: A Behavioral Study

XBRL is fast becoming the new paradigm for reporting of financial information digitally. XBRL brings structure to business information with comprehensive description and contextual information for advanced analysis. It enhances the efficiency of financial reporting, accuracy, timeliness and reliability of financial data. Many Indian companies still resist using it. The present research uses technology acceptance model to analyze the perception of financial experts in respect of acceptance of XBRL as reporting method. The result revealed that using XBRL increases productivity but interacting with the XBRL requires lot of mental efforts. These findings can be an empirical and theoretical foundation to accelerate the adoption of XBRL in India. &nbsp

Impact of water mass mixing and dust deposition on Nd concentration and &#949;_Nd of the Arabian Sea water column

The concentration and isotopic composition (&#949;Nd) of dissolved Nd have been measured in the sub-oxic/denitrifying water column of the eastern Arabian Sea to explore the impact of water mass mixing and release from particles. Dissolved Nd in the north-eastern Arabian Sea is more radiogenic (&#949;Nd: −7 to −10) compared to its south-eastern part (&#949;Nd: −11 to −15) suggesting contribution of Nd from the Bay of Bengal (BoB). The vertical profile of Nd typically show higher values in surface waters (15.8–27.8 pmol/kg), followed by minima (12–18 pmol/kg) in the subsurface waters (200–300 m) and a gradual increase with depth thereafter. The Nd concentration does not seem to show any changes in the sub-oxic layers suggesting no impact of the sub-oxic/denitrifying conditions in this oceanic region on the biogeochemistry of Nd. The enrichment of Nd in surface waters can be explained either by supply from high Nd low salinity waters from the BoB to the Arabian Sea via the East India Coastal Current (EICC) or, alternatively the Nd surface excess can be result of release from aeolian dust depositing over the sea surface. Inverse modeling computations suggest that in addition to Nd contributed from water mass mixing, some additional excess Nd (Ndxs) is required to balance the Nd inventory in the water column. There is significant Ndxs in the surface waters of the north-eastern Arabian Sea with &#949;Nd &#8764; −6, similar to that of dust depositing over the Arabian Sea. The fractional solubility of Nd released from the aeolian dust was estimated to be varying from &#8764;3% to 17% (for excess Nd inventory per unit area (Ndxs*) of 20 &#956;g m−2 with &#964;Nd ranging from 1 to 3 years). This study highlights the significance of aeolian dust deposition in controlling the abundance and distribution of Nd in the Arabian Sea, the western arm of the northern Indian Ocean, lying in the proximity to the arid landmass and characterized by high lithogenic aeolian dust deposition

Molybdenum isotopes in two Indian estuaries: mixing characteristics and input to oceans

The distributions of dissolved and particulate Mo and their isotope composition (&#948;⁹⁸Mo) have been measured in the Narmada and the Tapi estuaries draining into the Arabian Sea. During monsoon, the &#948;⁹⁸Mo of dissolved Mo in the Narmada estuary ranges from 0.49&#8240; to 2.19&#8240; in the salinity range 0–17.2 practical salinity unit (psu) quite similar to that in the Tapi estuary, 0.99–2.36&#8240;, in the salinity range 0–20.3 psu. Mo concentration in suspended sediments of the Narmada estuary collected during monsoon average 512 &#177; 44 ng/g (range 459–602 ng/g) similar to that measured in one sample from the Tapi estuary 560 ng/g Mo. &#948;⁹⁸Mo of particulate Mo in the Narmada ranges from −0.21&#8240; to 0.48&#8240; with an average −0.03 &#177; 0.2&#8240;. Dissolved Mo in the Narmada and the Tapi rivers display isotopically heavier Mο compared to that in basalts, the major lithology of their drainage. This could result from a variety of processes, preferential weathering of Mo rich sulphide minerals dispersed in the basalts, preferential removal of isotopically lighter Mo during transport or contribution from marine cyclic salts supplied via rain or chemical weathering of organic rich shales in the basins. The distribution of &#948;⁹⁸Mo in the Narmada and the Tapi estuaries with salinity does not follow the theoretical mixing line between river and seawater endmembers suggesting its non-conservative behavior. Particulate Mo and &#948;⁹⁸Mo show concomitant increase with salinity in the Narmada estuary indicating loss of dissolved Mo by adsorption onto Fe–Mn oxyhydroxide. Balancing the Mo budget along the course of these estuaries using inverse model suggests that in the Narmada estuary there could be loss up to 8% of the dissolved Mo and that in the Tapi supply from anthropogenic sources could be up to 27%. The results obtained in this study bring out the processes modifying riverine input of Mo and its δ98Mo in the estuaries, oxic sink in the Narmada and anthropogenic input in the Tapi. Repetitive adsorption and desorption of Mo in the Narmada estuary can modify the supply of dissolved Mo and its &#948;⁹⁸Mo relative to riverine supply by up to 40%, this can significantly impact the Mo isotope budget of the oceans. In contrast, in the Tapi estuary there is enhancement in the dissolved supply of Mo relative to that from river due to anthropogenic input of Mo. The investigations in these two estuaries underscore the importance of solute particle interactions and anthropogenic input in determining the Mo flux and its &#948;⁹⁸Mo to the open Arabian Sea

Spatial distribution of dissolved neodymium and &#949;_Nd in the Bay of Bengal: role of particulate matter and mixing of water masses

The concentration and isotope composition of dissolved Nd have been measured in the water column along an 87&#176;E transect (GIO1 section of International GEOTRACES Program) in the Bay of Bengal (BoB) to investigate the effect of water mass mixing and Nd release from particulate matter in determining these properties. The concentration of Nd in surface waters of the BoB shows a North–South decreasing non-linear trend (&#8764;46 to &#8764;22 pmol/kg) with salinity, whereas its depth profiles typically show a high value in surface waters, a minimum (&#8764;15 to &#8764;23 pmol/kg) in the shallow subsurface (&#8764;50–200 m), followed by a gradual increase with depth. The Nd concentration of BoB waters is generally higher than that in nearby oceanic basins. On the other hand, the &#949;Nd values in the BoB are less radiogenic compared to those reported for other regions of the global oceans (except Baffin Bay, the North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre and the Niger delta margin), and show a greater variation in the upper water column. Surface waters of the southernmost profile (&#8764;6&#176;N) show a more radiogenic εNd value &#8764;−8, which decreases to −15 in the northernmost profile (&#8764;20&#176;N), close to the values for dissolved and particulate phases of the Ganga–Brahmaputra (G–B) Rivers. This latitudinal trend is most likely a result of variations in mixing proportion between the more radiogenic Indonesian Throughflow surface waters (IW) and unradiogenic BoB low salinity water; the former’s signature being more clearly discernible in surface waters of the two southernmost profiles (&#8764;6&#176;N and &#8764;8.5&#176;N). Attempts to balance the Nd budget in the water column based on an inversion model, suggest that in addition to water masses other source(s) is required, the strength of which is estimated to vary from 1% to 65% of the measured Nd concentration. The calculations also show that the εNd of this additional source(s) has to be in the range of &#8764;−16 &#177; 2, typical of G–B river sediments. These observations, coupled with the North–South distribution of dissolved Nd and εNd, indicate that this additional source is release from particulate phases supplied by the G–B river system. The calculations also bring out the presence of “hot-spots” of Nd release (excess Nd) near the sediment–water interface along the northern slope of the bay, indicating supply of Nd from continental margin sediments. This study underscores the significant role of dissolved/particulate Nd from the Ganga–Brahmaputra river system in contributing to the dissolved Nd budget of the global oceans

Temporal variations in Sr and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr of the Ganga headwaters: estimates of dissolved Sr flux to the mainstream

The headwaters of the Ganga (the Alaknanda, Bhagirathi and the Ganga) were analysed for their dissolved major ions, Sr and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr on a biweekly to monthly basis over a period of one year to determine their temporal variations and the factors contributing to them. The concentrations of major ions and Sr show significant seasonal variation with lower values during monsoon period in all the three rivers. A similar trend is also observed for ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and Na*/Ca (Na* = Na_r-Cl_r) suggesting relatively lower contribution of Sr and Na from silicates (which are more radiogenic in Sr) during monsoon. Budget calculations show that silicate derived dissolved Sr (Srs) in the river Ganga, Alaknanda and the Bhagirathi varied from 10 &#177; 4 to 27 &#177; 11, 7 &#177; 3 to 30 &#177; 12, 16 &#177; 6 to 57 &#177; 23% of measured Sr respectively with lower values during monsoon. The relative decrease in silicate erosion compared to carbonate during monsoon can result from several factors, these include higher dissolution kinetics of the carbonates, lower water–rock interaction time and availability of larger area for weathering. The annual discharge weighted Sr flux derived from the time series data is higher by &#8764;20% from that based on peak flow Sr, and lower by &#8764;40% compared to that derived from lean flow Sr concentration. The area-normalized annual flux of dissolved Sr from the Ganga at Rishikesh is about five times its flux at Rajshahi (Bangladesh) and a few other major global rivers, such as the Amazon, indicating higher erosion rate over the Himalaya