Standardization of stem thickness and length for harvesting cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum J. Pres.) bark

An experiment was conducted during 2008–09, 2009–10 & 2010–11 at Dapoli (Maharashtra) to study the effect of stem thickness and stem length for harvesting cinnamon bark. Twelve treatment combinations viz., two genotypes; Konkan Tej (G1), ACC-11 (G2), two lengths of stem; 50 cm (L1), 100 cm (L2) and three thicknesses of stem; 1–2 cm (T1), 2–3 cm (T2), 5–6 cm (T3) were used for experimentation. There were no significant differences in bark thickness before and after drying, fresh and dry weights of quill in the genotypes studied and length of cinnamon stem selected for bark extraction. Significantly highest bark thicknesses before (1.14 mm) and after (0.82 mm) drying and fresh (111.21 g) and dry (56.64 g) weights of quill were recorded in T3 (5–6 cm thick stem) treatment. Interaction effect of genotype, length and thickness of stem selected for coppicing indicate significant differences in bark thickness before and after drying and fresh and dry weights of quill. Significantly maximum bark thickness before drying (1.74 mm) was recorded in treatment combination G2L1T3, which was at par with G1L2T3 (1.72 mm), G2L2T3 (1.71 mm) and G1L1T3 (1.67 mm). The treatment combination G1L2T3 produced significantly highest bark thickness after drying (1.33 mm) fresh (223.31 g) and dry (117.28 g) weights of quill respectively. Significantly low bark thickness before drying (1.00 mm) fresh (49.13 g) and dry (22.92 g) weights of quill were recorded in treatment combination G1L1T1, which were at par with treatment combination G2L1T1. Higher oil percentage was observed in 5–6 cm thick stem i.e. Konkan Tej (3%) and ACC-11 (2.50%) respectively. Thus for coppicing of cinnamon for extraction of bark, harvesting of 5-6 cm thick stem is recommended. &nbsp

Brownian Motion and Polymer Statistics on Certain Curved Manifolds

We have calculated the probability distribution function G(R,L|R',0) of the end-to-end vector R-R' and the mean-square end-to-end distance (R-R')^2 of a Gaussian polymer chain embedded on a sphere S^(D-1) in D dimensions and on a cylinder, a cone and a curved torus in 3-D. We showed that: surface curvature induces a geometrical localization area; at short length the polymer is locally "flat" and (R-R')^2 = L l in all cases; at large scales, (R-R')^2 is constant for the sphere, it is linear in L for the cylinder and reaches different constant values for the torus. The cone vertex induces (function of opening angle and R') contraction of the chain for all lengths. Explicit crossover formulas are derived.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, RevTex, uses amssymb.sty and multicol.sty, to appear in Phys. Rev

Standardization of stem thickness and length for harvesting cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum J. Pres.) bark

An experiment was conducted during 2008–09, 2009–10 & 2010–11 at Dapoli (Maharashtra) to study the effect of stem thickness and stem length for harvesting cinnamon bark. Twelve treatment combinations viz., two genotypes; Konkan Tej (G1), ACC-11 (G2), two lengths of stem; 50 cm (L1), 100 cm (L2) and three thicknesses of stem; 1–2 cm (T1), 2–3 cm (T2), 5–6 cm (T3) were used for experimentation. There were no significant differences in bark thickness before and after drying, fresh and dry weights of quill in the genotypes studied and length of cinnamon stem selected for bark extraction. Significantly highest bark thicknesses before (1.14 mm) and after (0.82 mm) drying and fresh (111.21 g) and dry (56.64 g) weights of quill were recorded in T3 (5–6 cm thick stem) treatment. Interaction effect of genotype, length and thickness of stem selected for coppicing indicate significant differences in bark thickness before and after drying and fresh and dry weights of quill. Significantly maximum bark thickness before drying (1.74 mm) was recorded in treatment combination G2L1T3, which was at par with G1L2T3 (1.72 mm), G2L2T3 (1.71 mm) and G1L1T3 (1.67 mm). The treatment combination G1L2T3 produced significantly highest bark thickness after drying (1.33 mm) fresh (223.31 g) and dry (117.28 g) weights of quill respectively. Significantly low bark thickness before drying (1.00 mm) fresh (49.13 g) and dry (22.92 g) weights of quill were recorded in treatment combination G1L1T1, which were at par with treatment combination G2L1T1. Higher oil percentage was observed in 5–6 cm thick stem i.e. Konkan Tej (3%) and ACC-11 (2.50%) respectively. Thus for coppicing of cinnamon for extraction of bark, harvesting of 5-6 cm thick stem is recommended. &nbsp

Natural boundaries for the Smoluchowski equation and affiliated diffusion processes

The Schr\"{o}dinger problem of deducing the microscopic dynamics from the input-output statistics data is known to admit a solution in terms of Markov diffusions. The uniqueness of solution is found linked to the natural boundaries respected by the underlying random motion. By choosing a reference Smoluchowski diffusion process, we automatically fix the Feynman-Kac potential and the field of local accelerations it induces. We generate the family of affiliated diffusions with the same local dynamics, but different inaccessible boundaries on finite, semi-infinite and infinite domains. For each diffusion process a unique Feynman-Kac kernel is obtained by the constrained (Dirichlet boundary data) Wiener path integration.As a by-product of the discussion, we give an overview of the problem of inaccessible boundaries for the diffusion and bring together (sometimes viewed from unexpected angles) results which are little known, and dispersed in publications from scarcely communicating areas of mathematics and physics.Comment: Latex file, Phys. Rev. E 49, 3815-3824, (1994

Green's function for the Relativistic Coulomb System via Sum Over Perturbation Series

We evaluate the Green's function of the D-dimensional relativistic Coulomb system via sum over perturbation series which is obtained by expanding the exponential containing the potential term $V({\bf x)}$ in the path integral into a power series. The energy spectra and wave functions are extracted from the resulting amplitude.Comment: 13 pages, ReVTeX, no figure

Estimating Temperature Fluctuations in the Early Universe

A lagrangian for the $k-$ essence field is constructed for a constant scalar potential and its form determined when the scale factor was very small compared to the present epoch but very large compared to the inflationary epoch. This means that one is already in an expanding and flat universe. The form is similar to that of an oscillator with time-dependent frequency. Expansion is naturally built into the theory with the existence of growing classical solutions of the scale factor. The formalism allows one to estimate fluctuations of the temperature of the background radiation in these early stages (compared to the present epoch) of the universe. If the temperature at time $t_{a}$ is $T_{a}$ and at time $t_{b}$ the temperature is $T_{b}$ ($t_{b}>t_{a}$), then for small times, the probability for the logarithm of inverse temperature evolution can be estimated to be given by $$P(b,a)= |\langle ln~({1\over T_{b}}),t_{b}| ln~({1\over T_{a}}),t_{a}\rangle|^{2}$$ $$\approx\biggl({3m_{\mathrm Pl}^{2}\over \pi^{2} (t_{b}-t_{a})^{3}}\biggr) (ln~ T_{a})^{2}(ln~T_{b})^{2}\biggl(1 - 3\gamma (t_{a} + t_{b})\biggr)$$ where $0<\gamma<1$, $m_{\mathrm Pl}$ is the Planck mass and Planck's constant and the speed of light has been put equal to unity. There is the further possibility that a single scalar field may suffice for an inflationary scenario as well as the dark matter and dark energy realms.Comment: 8 pages, Revtex, title,abstract and format changed for journal publication,no change in basic results, clarifications and a figure added. Keywords: physics of the early universe,inflation, dark matter theory, dark energy theory. PACS: 95.35.+d ; 95.36.+x ; 98.80.Cq ; 98.80.-

Preliminary evaluation of turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) varieties at Konkan region of Maharashtra

The performance of 21 varieties of turmeric (Curcuma longa) for rhizome characters, yield and curcumin content was studied at Konkan region (Maharashtra). Salem was found to be the best variety, which recorded significantly higher weight of primary fingers (208.92 g), secondary fingers (243.75 g), yield plot' (11.99 kg) and yield hectare" (44,395 kg). The curcumin content was significantly higher in CA-71 (4.87%). The phenotypic and genotypic coefficient of variation, heritability and genetic advance on mean basis were appreciably high for yield and curcumin content. The magnitude for environmental coefficient of variation was very low

Quantum mechanical path integrals and thermal radiation in static curved spacetimes

The propagator of a spinless particle is calculated from the quantum mechanical path integral formalism in static curved spacetimes endowed with event-horizons. A toy model, the Gui spacetime, and the 2D and 4D Schwarzschild black holes are considered. The role of the topology of the coordinates configuration space is emphasised in this framework. To cover entirely the above spacetimes with a single set of coordinates, tortoise coordinates are extended to complex values. It is shown that the homotopic properties of the complex tortoise configuration space imply the thermal behaviour of the propagator in these spacetimes. The propagator is calculated when end points are located in identical or distinct spacetime regions separated by one or several event-horizons. Quantum evolution through the event-horizons is shown to be unitary in the fifth variable.Comment: 22 pages, 10 figure

The soft power of popular cinema: the case of India

Among BRICS nations, India has the most developed and globalised film industry, and the Indian government as well as corporations are increasingly deploying the power of Bollywood in their international interactions. India’s soft power, arising from its cultural and civilizational influence outside its territorial boundaries, has a long history. Focusing on contemporary India’s thriving Hindi film industry, this article suggests that the globalisation of the country’s popular cinema, aided by a large diaspora, has created possibilities of promoting India’s public diplomacy. It examines the global imprint of this cinema as an instrument of soft power