Felsic Volcanic Rocks, a Potential Source of Uranium - An Indian Overview

AbstractFelsic volcanics constitute a primary source of uranium for forming an economic deposit. All over the world, volcanic rocks have not received due attention they deserve in uranium exploration. The volcanogenic deposits have been grouped with “other deposits”, as they constitute a meager<0.5% of world uranium resources. Exploration inputs in the western world have identified a number of uranium deposits associated with volcanic rocks. The uranium resources contributed by volcanic type deposits all over the world stand at 3, 62,000 te U3O8 (IAEA 2008 Compilation). The significance of acid volcanic rocks as a potential uranium source lies in the readily leachable form of their uranium content. A detailed study carried out in Australia to understand the spatial and temporal relationsh ip between the uranium deposits and the unmineralized, uranium enriched rocks from across the continent clearly indicated the role of the acidic volcanics as a potential provenance. Among the acid volcanics, rhyolites form an ideal source followed by welde d tuffs, ignimbrites, etc. The alkali or topaz rhyolite is ideal for its enrichment in many lithophile elements including uranium, which are amenable to subsequent leaching by meteoric water.In India the uranium exploration activities in the early 50s till the 90s were mainly confined to the Singhbhum Shear Zones, the Himalayas,Meghalaya plateau, parts of Central India and the geological environs of the Dharwar Craton. The granitic rocks, especially the peraluminous biotite – granite was always considered as a potential source for uranium and the geological environs closer to these granites always remained the first order targets. A number of small to medium size uranium deposits have been identified in Singhbhum Shear Zone, parts of Cuddappah, Bhima Basins and in Meghalaya. Now since the significance of the volcanic rocks, especially the felsic volcanics as a potential source of uranium has been clearly understood, it is imperative to reorient our exploration strategy to tap the potential of these volcanic rocks. The Malani Magmatic Province (MMP) in the northwestern part is the largest suite of an -orogenic acid volcanics in India occupying an area of 50000 sqkm. The Proterozoic Basins of India are replete with volcanic activity, mainly acid volcanism. In the southern and Central India, Dharwar and parts of Central Indian Craton also witnessed significant acidic igneous activities. The Cuddapah and the Vindhyan Basins have also recorded extensive acidic volcanic activity in the Papaghni, Chitrvati, Nallamalai Groups and Semri and Kaimur Groups respectively. In view of this the Proterozoic Basins mentioned above and the geological environs adjacent to the MMP deserve a re -look to have a proper assessment of their uranium potential, using integrated exploration inputs

The gesturing screen : art and screen agency within postmedia assemblages

This thesis investigates screens as key elements in postmedia assemblages where multiple technical devices and media platforms function relationally to activate new capacities. I characterize the agency of screens as a gesturality that re-arranges and sustains medial relations with and between other components. The gestures of screens reformulate mediality, but also shift experiences and open elements to novel formations and affects. In each re- organisation of the postmedial assemblage, the function and relations of screens are not pre-defined but emerge in process. I develop this dynamic conception of screens and assemblages to account for their diverse manifestations in postmedia. Here I employ an agential realist framework found in the work of Karen Barad and draw on the concept of gestures set out by Giorgio Agamben. This research contributes to a new understanding of postmediality in conjunction with a new conception of the agency of screens. The thesis focuses on mainly digital screen-oriented artworks, repositioning these as heralding or firmly engaging with the postmedial condition. By challenging an understanding of screens that limits them to mere casings for images, this thesis expands the scope and role of screens in postmedia art practices stretching as far back as three decades. It argues that such art works and practices foreground the gesturality of screens and offers in-depth studies of works by Shilpa Gupta, Ulrike Gabriel, Natalie Bookchin, Blast Theory, Ragnar Kjartansson, Sandra Mujinga and Sondra Perry. Such works highlight how screens come to be relationally enacted in postmedia and how that enactment occurs through their performance of medial gestures. I identify two kinds of gestures of postmedia screens that support and connect the technical, aesthetic and in some cases political components of an assemblage. I turn to the multiplicity of frames both on-screen and distributed across screens observed by theorists of media such as Lev Manovich and Anne Friedberg. But the postmedial frame is consistently accompanied by what is out-of-frame – scrolling, swiping and ‘pinching’ continually calls on the out-of-frame to be moved on-screen. The out-of-frame is a postmedial screen gesture, then, that maintains an ongoing relation to the ‘inside’ of the frame, supporting and conditioning it. The multiple temporalities of postmedia assemblages – such as that of images, participants and software – allow an ‘out-of-frame’ to endure beyond the framed image. The second gesture is observed in the pervasiveness of chroma screens — blue and green screens used for compositing other images in postproduction. I suggest that this now ubiquitous technique suspends images from screens. Through a relational analysis of colour, and focusing on Perry’s work, I draw upon ways in which the blankness of chroma screens can be made to gesture a different enactment of race – ‘blackness’ as productive difference. Such gesture in postmedia entails the circulation and transference of social and cultural setting. These two gestures of screens highlight multiple dimensions of the relations of postmedial screens beyond that of framed images, offering us ways to be attentive to enactments of screens as they continue to gather relevance in our expanded visual setting. As screens multiply, this research suggests alternate ways of conceiving the aesthetics and experience of screens’ persistent medial configurations

How a Buddha Acts: Laying Bricks for a Buddhist Theory of Action

Buddhist philosophers generally hold that concepts like “I” and “me,” while useful in everyday life, are ultimately meaningless. Under this view, there would be no “agents” because it is meaningless to say “I did so and so....” How do we explain the occurrence of actions without referring to agents? I argue that Cappelen and Dever’s Action Inventory Model (AIM) is a useful resource for developing a Buddhist theory of action. In response to an objection that AIM cannot explain a buddha’s action, I show that a slightly tweaked version of AIM succeeds in explaining how a buddha acts

In-Silico Pharmacokinetics and Molecular Docking Study of The Newly Designed Benzimidazole Derivatives as An Antiepileptic Agent

The moiety benzimidazole exhibited a broad range of pharmacological activity. A molecular docking study is a valuable tool used in recent drug discovery to understand the possible interaction between medicines and receptors. Several benzimidazole derivatives are docked with the active site of human carbonic anhydrase isozyme-II (PDB code: 5LL4) to examine its anticonvulsant properties. The auto-dock Vina platform is used for molecular docking. The outcomes of molecular docking showed that compounds 1a, 1b, 1c, 1f, 1h, 1j, 2f, and 2g had excellent scores for docking and improved interactions with vital amino acids. Furthermore, SwissADME and pkCSM software are used to perform ADMET investigations and calculate physiochemical parameter values. The findings showed that all other study parameters including Lipinski's rule of five requirements are significantly satisfied by designed substituted benzimidazoles. According to the in-silico study's findings, all newly framed benzimidazole derivative

Improved method for image security based on chaotic-shuffle and chaotic-diffusion algorithms

In this paper, we propose to enhance the security performance of the color image encryption algorithm which depends on multi-chaotic systems. The current cryptosystem utilized a pixel-chaotic-shuffle system to encode images, in which the time of shuffling is autonomous to the plain-image. Thus, it neglects to the picked plaintext and known-plaintext attacks. Also, the statistical features of the cryptosystem are not up to the standard. Along these lines, the security changes are encircled to make the above attacks infeasible and upgrade the statistical features also. It is accomplished by altering the pixel-chaotic-shuffle component and including another pixel-chaotic-diffusion system to it. The keys for diffusion of pixels are extracted from the same chaotic arrangements created in the past stage. The renovation investigations and studies are performed to exhibit that the refreshed version of cryptosystem has better statistical features and invulnerable to the picked plaintext and known plaintext attacks than the current algorithm

Enhanced heat transfer using oil-based nanofluid flow through conduits

The application of nanofluids for enhancing the heat transfer rate is widely used in various heat exchanger applications. The selection of oil as the base to prepare nanofluids significantly enhances the thermal performance, due to its high heat carrying capacity as compared to conventional base fluid. A review is performed of various heat exchanger conduits having base fluid as nanoparticles with oil. It is reported that the heat transfer rate of a heat exchanger is significantly increased with the use of oil-based nanofluids. The rate of heat transfer depends on the type of nanoparticle, its concentration and diameter, the base fluid, as well as factors like the mixture of more than two nanoparticles (hybrid nanofluids) and stability. A review is also performed of the thermal performance of the different nanofluids analyzed by various investigators. The heat transfer system reviewed in this work includes triangular, square, and circular conduits, as well as rib surface conduits. The review of various applications viz. solar thermal systems, heat exchangers, refrigerators, and engines, is carried out where the inclusion of the oil base is used. It is reported that the amalgamation of the nanomaterial with the oil as base fluid is a prolific technique to enhance thermal performance. The performance of the reviewed research work is comparatively analyzed for different aspects viz. thermal oil, mineral oil, hybrid, and conventional nanoparticles, concentration of nanoparticles, etc. The novelty of the present work is the determination of the effective performing oil-based nanofluid in various applications, to figure out the selection of specific mineral oil, thermal oil, nanoparticle concentration, and hybrid nanofluids.https://www.mdpi.com/journal/energiesam2023Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineerin

Synergistic impact of nanomaterials and plant probiotics in agriculture: A tale of two-way strategy for long-term sustainability

Modern agriculture is primarily focused on the massive production of cereals and other food-based crops in a sustainable manner in order to fulfill the food demands of an ever-increasing global population. However, intensive agricultural practices, rampant use of agrochemicals, and other environmental factors result in soil fertility degradation, environmental pollution, disruption of soil biodiversity, pest resistance, and a decline in crop yields. Thus, experts are shifting their focus to other eco-friendly and safer methods of fertilization in order to ensure agricultural sustainability. Indeed, the importance of plant growth-promoting microorganisms, also determined as “plant probiotics (PPs),” has gained widespread recognition, and their usage as biofertilizers is being actively promoted as a means of mitigating the harmful effects of agrochemicals. As bio-elicitors, PPs promote plant growth and colonize soil or plant tissues when administered in soil, seeds, or plant surface and are used as an alternative means to avoid heavy use of agrochemicals. In the past few years, the use of nanotechnology has also brought a revolution in agriculture due to the application of various nanomaterials (NMs) or nano-based fertilizers to increase crop productivity. Given the beneficial properties of PPs and NMs, these two can be used in tandem to maximize benefits. However, the use of combinations of NMs and PPs, or their synergistic use, is in its infancy but has exhibited better crop-modulating effects in terms of improvement in crop productivity, mitigation of environmental stress (drought, salinity, etc.), restoration of soil fertility, and strengthening of the bioeconomy. In addition, a proper assessment of nanomaterials is necessary before their application, and a safer dose of NMs should be applicable without showing any toxic impact on the environment and soil microbial communities. The combo of NMs and PPs can also be encapsulated within a suitable carrier, and this method aids in the controlled and targeted delivery of entrapped components and also increases the shelf life of PPs. However, this review highlights the functional annotation of the combined impact of NMs and PPs on sustainable agricultural production in an eco-friendly manner

Aloe barbadensis: how a miraculous plant becomes reality

Aloe barbadensis Miller is a plant that is native to North and East Africa and has accompanied man for over 5,000 years. The aloe vera plant has been endowed with digestive, dermatological, culinary and cosmetic virtues. On this basis, aloe provides a range of possibilities for fascinating studies from several points of view, including the analysis of chemical composition, the biochemistry involved in various activities and its application in pharmacology, as well as from horticultural and economic standpoints. The use of aloe vera as a medicinal plant is mentioned in numerous ancient texts such as the Bible. This multitude of medicinal uses has been described and discussed for centuries, thus transforming this miracle plant into reality. A summary of the historical uses, chemical composition and biological activities of this species is presented in this review. The latest clinical studies involved in vivo and in vitro assays conducted with aloe vera gel or its metabolites and the results of these studies are reviewed