Petrographical Characteristics of Bituminous Coal from Jharia Coalfield India: It's Implication on Coal Bed Methane Potentiality

AbstractThe ever increasing demand for energy resources forces India to hunt for alternate resources like coal bed methane (CBM) and shale gas. CBM is considered as clean source however its occurrence and extraction poses many challenges. The challenges vary widely across region, depth of occurrence, rank of coal, feature of cover etc. So, its characterization is important for successful extraction. The present paper discussed about the Petrographic study of coal and its correlation with different parameters that influence the recovery of CBM. Sample from deep seated coal field have been evaluated with respect to its proximate and ultimate parameters. Mutual correlations have also been developed statistically among parameters

Sixth-order compact finite difference method for singularly perturbed 1D reaction diffusion problems

AbstractIn this paper, the sixth-order compact finite difference method is presented for solving singularly perturbed 1D reaction–diffusion problems. The derivative of the given differential equation is replaced by finite difference approximations. Then, the given difference equation is transformed to linear systems of algebraic equations in the form of a three-term recurrence relation, which can easily be solved using a discrete invariant imbedding algorithm. To validate the applicability of the proposed method, some model examples have been solved for different values of the perturbation parameter and mesh size. Both the theoretical error bounds and the numerical rate of convergence have been established for the method. The numerical results presented in the tables and graphs show that the present method approximates the exact solution very well

Assessment of heavy metal contamination in Kali river, Uttar Pradesh, India

The River Kali is an important surface water body in the western Uttar Pradesh (U.P). It is an intermittent river which flows throughout the monsoonal months. The present study aims to assess the heavy metal contamination in the river Kali using pollution index (PI), based on five heavy metals (Fe, Zn, Cd, Pb, and Cr) during pre and post monsoon seasons in the year 2014. The PI evaluated during pre and post monsoon seasons with respect to drinking water quality standards was found as 5.04 and 7.08 respectively, while related to inland water quality standards were found as 4.37 and 3.62, respectively. The results indicate that the river Kali was severely contaminated (PI>3) in both seasons. Therefore, water of Kali River is not fit for drinking as well as for agriculture purposes

Relationship between earthquake fault triggering and societal behavior using ant colony optimization

In this analysis, we use the ant behaviour in simulating a framework for analysis of complex interplay amongst short time-scale deformation, long time- scale tectonics for positive stress coupling and slip interactions in earthquake genesis modeling. Using the proposed improved ant colony algorithm for global optimization the best solution ants within the search and the circulation of the optimal solution as the initial solution search, to expand its search, to avoid falling into local optimum  of  trigger zones analysis for earthquake occurrences. In order to validate the avalanche behaviour and corresponding nucleation we  best solution as the initial solution is adopted in order to widen searching scope to avoid getting into local optimum . In this proposed framework, an ant colony model is simulated to identify the physical framework of identifying trigger basins for the precursors to geodynamic model of propagation for precursory stress-strain signals. The disturbances at trigger basins cause the collapse of a subsystem leading to stress evolution and slip nucleation. Trigger basins help identify the zone of earthquake source nucleation as an index of ? and ? for strain analysis. The stress strain network can be interpreted by the increase in steady-state energy transmitted due to redistribution of stress accumulation into the earth tectonic framework. Sand pile behaviour model has been modeled through ant colony optimization for forecasting of likelihood time of triggering influences of lithosphere on the basis of critical zones of lithosphere where dump of elastic pressure is possible. The ant colony adaptive framework consisted of vertices representing the stress-strain component and edges, representing scored transformations for global coupling effects have been constructed for dynamic monitoring of stress and strain behaviour. Triggering basins serve as harbingers of large earthquake where stress-strain interactions have been analyzed by the quasi-static mechanics of seismic precursory stress-strain propagation in the crustal lithosphere. The study shows that dynamic variation of stress drop due to saved up pressure can be modeled by ant colony framework for steady state release due to trigger and global correlation framework. The simulation framework shows that with time, spatial triggering points can be negatively coupled and these interact with lesser impact, while positive coupling occurs only with more distant zones of stress generation for geodynamic frameworks, suggesting that the structural heterogeneities within the causative rocks associated with cracks and pores can dictate the pattern of stress – strain interactions and earthquake generating processes. Keywords: crack–porous, ant colony, geo-dynamical framework, stress-strain transmission, emergenc

Neutron Diffraction Study of Field Cooling Effects on Relaxor Ferroelectrics Pb[(Zn_{1/3} Nb_{2/3})_{0.92} Ti_{0.08}] O_{3}

High-temperature (T) and high-electric-field (E) effects on Pb[(Zn_{1/3} Nb_{2/3})_{0.92} Ti_{0.08}]O_3 (PZN-8%PT) were studied comprehensively by neutron diffraction in the ranges 300 <= T <= 550 K and 0 <= E <= 15 kV/cm. We have focused on how phase transitions depend on preceding thermal and electrical sequences. In the field cooling process (FC, E parallel [001] >= 0.5 kV/cm), a successive cubic (C) --> tetragonal (T) --> monoclinic (M_C) transition was observed. In the zero field cooling process (ZFC), however, we have found that the system does not transform to the rhombohedral (R) phase as widely believed, but to a new, unidentified phase, which we call X. X gives a Bragg peak profile similar to that expected for R, but the c-axis is always slightly shorter than the a-axis. As for field effects on the X phase, we found an irreversible X --> M_C transition via another monoclinic phase (M_A) as expected from a previous report [Noheda et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 3891 (2001)]. At a higher electric field, we confirmed a c-axis jump associated with the field-induced M_C --> T transition, which was observed by strain and x-ray diffraction measurements.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures, revise

directional genome walking using pcr

We describe here a PCR-based "directional genome walking" protocol. The basic procedure for the amplification consists of two rounds of PCR. A primary PCR was performed, on the genomic DNA using a ..

Pyrenocarpous lichens in Goa with five new records to India

The pyrenocarpous lichens are the one which produces perithecial ascocarps. They are one of the prominent groups of lichens in tropical forests. Frequent incidence of pyrenocarpous taxa in lichen biota of Goa prompted us to take up the exclusive study of this group in the State. The study revealed the occurrence of 79 species belonging to 15 genera and seven families. The family Pyrenulaceae had the maximum number of 23 species, while 20 belonged to the family Porinaceae. In comparison to North Goa, South Goa is fairly well explored for lichens representing 71 species from 11 localities. The following five species are reported as new to India — Porina exserta, P. siamensis, Pyrenula dissimulans, P. pyrenastrospora and P. rinodinospora. With the addition of five new records, the Goa State now represents 165 species of lichens, out of which 48% is represented by pyrenocarpous lichens. The present study will be useful for monographic studies on pyrenocarpous lichens and for environmental monitoring studies in the area, as this can be considered as a key indicator species

Functional improvement of dystrophic muscle by repression of utrophin: let-7c interaction

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a fatal genetic disease caused by an absence of the 427kD muscle-specific dystrophin isoform. Utrophin is the autosomal homolog of dystrophin and when overexpressed, can compensate for the absence of dystrophin and rescue the dystrophic phenotype of the mdx mouse model of DMD. Utrophin is subject to miRNA mediated repression by several miRNAs including let-7c. Inhibition of utrophin: let-7c interaction is predicted to 'repress the repression' and increase utrophin expression. We developed and tested the ability of an oligonucleotide, composed of 2'-O-methyl modified bases on a phosphorothioate backbone, to anneal to the utrophin 3'UTR and prevent let-7c miRNA binding, thereby upregulating utrophin expression and improving the dystrophic phenotype in vivo. Suppression of utrophin: let-7c interaction using bi-weekly intraperitoneal injections of let7 site blocking oligonucleotides (SBOs) for 1 month in the mdx mouse model for DMD, led to increased utrophin expression along with improved muscle histology, decreased fibrosis and increased specific force. The functional improvement of dystrophic muscle achieved using let7-SBOs suggests a novel utrophin upregulation-based therapeutic strategy for DMD

Analysis of dynamic path loss based on the RSSI model for rupture location analysis in underground wireless sensor networks and its implications for Earthquake Early Warning System (EEWS)

Sensors deployed in underground tunnels found that radio frequency signals suffer significant signal strength attenuation which can result in considerable variation of link quality on the receiving end. This study analyzes the received signal strength index (RSSI) based on  the development of a theoretical wireless sensor model for  data  collection by  enabling  sensors  to  determine  the  location  from  which  each  data packet is obtained. To improve positioning accuracy, the complex radio wave propagation environment requires the use of a voronoi cell to minimize signal attenuation. A relatively simple calculation is used to predict the intensity and perception range of the received wireless signals to measure the extent of signal reduction in the attenuating rock medium. Simulation results show that RSSI-based localization and wireless network lifetime and throughput measurements are more accurate when the node concept is applied to the self-locating rupture zones than the maximum likelihood estimation method. The proposed minimum energy relay routing technique based on beacon node chain deployment is found to help correct localization errors resulting from interference caused by the underground tunnel environment. The extent of localization and power of the sensor nodes are determined based on the beacon node chain deployment of tunnel wireless sensor networks. The algorithm accounts for the distance and the corresponding RSSI between adjacent beacon nodes to calculate the actual path loss parameter in the tunnel. The proposed model can serve as the theoretical basis for locating ruptures in underground wireless sensor network nodes, thus maximizing the monitoring range of large scale tectonic environments while minimizing equipment cost. We recommend that this model can be field tested through a series of experiments by researchers and engineers working in seismology, telecommunication, and information technology.<br /