Utilization of wetland ecosystem through fish-crop diversification for enhanced productivity and economic stability for fish-farm community of Indian sub-continent

This paper deals with a number of case studies that were undertaken during the last 8- 10 years in utilizing divergent æTalÆ wetland ecosystems (deep, semi-deep, temporary in a range of agro-ecological zones like NAZ, OAZ and Coastal Zone of the region) for the development of integrated management programmes using a range of approaches. These included (i) system approach (excavation & renovation, methodological approach), (ii) management (fish-crop management, inter & post-harvest care & processing, marketing), (iii) integrated natural resource management utilizing organic as well inorganic sources, and (iv) low-cost fish-feeds, based on fish-crop diversification. This paper also deals with some endangered indigenous fish species. The unique approach of watershed plans (bherri system), which were formulated for upright production systems, was economically successful. Economic indicators reveal there were comparative advantages of mixed farming systems compared to monoculture, exhibiting less than 2.5 fold gains even for resource poor fish farming families.Fishery management, Resource management

A Diachronic Analysis of Paradigm Shifts in NLP Research: When, How, and Why?

Understanding the fundamental concepts and trends in a scientific field is crucial for keeping abreast of its continuous advancement. In this study, we propose a systematic framework for analyzing the evolution of research topics in a scientific field using causal discovery and inference techniques. We define three variables to encompass diverse facets of the evolution of research topics within NLP and utilize a causal discovery algorithm to unveil the causal connections among these variables using observational data. Subsequently, we leverage this structure to measure the intensity of these relationships. By conducting extensive experiments on the ACL Anthology corpus, we demonstrate that our framework effectively uncovers evolutionary trends and the underlying causes for a wide range of NLP research topics. Specifically, we show that tasks and methods are primary drivers of research in NLP, with datasets following, while metrics have minimal impact.Comment: accepted at EMNLP 202

Stabilization of Polar Nano Regions in Pb-free ferroelectrics

Formation of polar nano regions through solid-solution additions are known to enhance significantly the functional properties of ferroelectric materials. Despite considerable progress in characterizing the microscopic behavior of polar nano regions, understanding their real-space atomic structure and dynamics of formation remains a considerable challenge. Here, using the method of dynamic pair distribution function, we provide direct insights into the role of solid-solution additions towards the stabilization of polar nano regions in the Pb-free ferroelectric of Ba(Zr,Ti)O3. It is shown that for an optimum level of substitution of Ti by larger Zr ions, the dynamics of atomic displacements for ferroelectric polarization are slowed sufficiently, which leads to increased local correlation among dipoles below THz frequencies. The dynamic pair distribution function technique demonstrates unique capability to obtain insights into locally correlated atomic dynamics in disordered materials, including new Pb-free ferroelectrics, which is necessary to understand and control their functional properties

Biomimetic synthesis of hybrid nanocomposite scaffolds by freeze-thawing and freeze-drying

The aim of this study is to biomimetically synthesize hydroxyapatite - hydrophilic polymer scaffolds for biomedical applications. This organic-inorganic hybrid has been structurally characterized and reveals a good microstructural control as seen by the SEM analysis and the nanosize of the particulates is confirmed by AFM microscopy. The characterization of such nano-structured composites would allow researchers to design new systems, tailoring properties for different applications. © Indian Academy of Sciences

INTEGRATED NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT IN POTATO WITH COMPOST MADE THROUGH DIFFERENT BIO-DEGRADATION PROCESSES

To achieve the goal of safe and sustainable food, the only realistic option now-a-days lies with the introduction of a low input farming system concept i.e. organic and integrated agriculture. Keeping in view the present scenario, a study was undertaken in Satyapole village, Haringhata block of Nadia district, West Bengal on integrated nutrient management in potatoes during rabi 2018 and 2019. The efficacy of different composts, in terms of their quality, easiness of preparation along with yield and economic attributes were accessed for the high nutrient loving crop, potato. The experiment was planned out in randomized block design (RBD) with 5 treatments and 4 replications. High yield with a marginal difference was found among all the treatments with integrated management. But, the treatment with 50% of recommended inorganic fertilizer dose (recommended dose N:P: K @ 200:150:150 kg/ha, 1/3 N, full P and 1/3 K as basal; 1st and 2nd top dressing with 1/3 N and 1/3 K) and vermicompost @ 5 ton/ha showed the best result. According to the B: C ratio composting with NOVCOM showed the best result whereas, in terms of the bio-degradation process with respect to its end-product quality, easiness of procedure, and cost, compost made through waste decomposer and NOVCOM has better results in comparison with vermicompost

Growth of carbon nanotubes on quasicrystalline alloys

We report on the synthesis of carbon nanotubes on quasicrystalline alloys. Aligned multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) on the conducting faces of decagonal quasicrystals were synthesized using floating catalyst chemical vapor deposition. The alignment of the nanotubes was found perpendicular to the decagonal faces of the quasicrystals. A comparison between the growth and tube quality has also been made between tubes grown on various quasicrystalline and SiO2 substrates. While a significant MWNT growth was observed on decagonal quasicrystalline substrate, there was no significant growth observed on icosahedral quasicrystalline substrate. Raman spectroscopy and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) results show high crystalline nature of the nanotubes. Presence of continuous iron filled core in the nanotubes grown on these substrates was also observed, which is typically not seen in MWNTs grown using similar process on silicon and/or silicon dioxide substrates. The study has important implications for understanding the growth mechanism of MWNTs on conducting substrates which have potential applications as heat sinks

Reversible adiabatic temperature changes at the magnetocaloric and barocaloric effects in Fe49Rh51

We report on the adiabatic temperature changes (Delta T) associated with the magnetocaloric and barocaloric effects in a Fe49Rh51 alloy, For the magnetocaloric effect, data derived from entropy curves are compared to direct thermometry measurements. The agreement between the two sets of data provides support to the estimation of Delta T for the barocaloric effect, which are indirectly determined from entropy curves. Large Delta T values are obtained at relatively low values of magnetic field (2 T) and hydrostatic pressure (2.5 kbar), It is also shown that both magnetocaloric and barocaloric effects exhibit good reproducibility upon magnetic field and hydrostatic pressure cycling, over a considerable temperature range. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLCPostprint (published version

Heterogeneous grain-scale response in ferroic polycrystals under electric field

Understanding coupling of ferroic properties over grain boundaries and within clusters of grains in polycrystalline materials is hindered due to a lack of direct experimental methods to probe the behaviour of individual grains in the bulk of a material. Here, a variant of three-dimensional X-ray diffraction (3D-XRD) is used to resolve the non-180?? ferroelectric domain switching strain components of 191 grains from the bulk of a polycrystalline electro-ceramic that has undergone an electric-field-induced phase transformation. It is found that while the orientation of a given grain relative to the field direction has a significant influence on the phase and resultant domain texture, there are large deviations from the average behaviour at the grain scale. It is suggested that these deviations arise from local strain and electric field neighbourhoods being highly heterogeneous within the bulk polycrystal. Additionally, the minimisation of electrostatic potentials at the grain boundaries due to interacting ferroelectric domains must also be considered. It is found that the local grain-scale deviations average out over approximately 10-20 grains. These results provide unique insight into the grain-scale interactions of ferroic materials and will be of value for future efforts to comprehensively model these and related materials at that length-scaleopen

Cytotoxic Withanolide Constituents of Physalis longifolia

Fourteen new withanolides, 1–14, named withalongolides A–N, respectively, were isolated from the aerial parts of Physalis longifolia together with eight known compounds (15–22). The structures of compounds 1–14 were elucidated through spectroscopic techniques and chemical methods. In addition, the structures of withanolides 1, 2, 3, and 6 were confirmed by X-ray crystallographic analysis. Using a MTS viability assay, eight withanolides (1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 15, 16, and 19) and four acetylated derivatives (1a, 1b, 2a, and 2b) showed potent cytotoxicity against human head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (JMAR and MDA-1986), melanoma (B16F10 and SKMEL-28), and normal fetal fibroblast (MRC-5) cells with IC50 values in the range between 0.067 and 9.3 μM