High-pressure micro-discharges in etching and deposition applications

High-pressure micro-discharges are promising sources of light, ions, and radicals and offer some advantages in materials processing applications as compared to other more conventional discharges. We review here results from etching experiments using stencil masks where the discharge is formed only in the pattern cutout. The mask consists of a thin metal-dielectric structure and is pressed against a Si wafer, which becomes part of the electric circuit. Pattern transfer takes place, albeit the profile shape appears to be limited by the expansion of the plasma into the etched hole at long etch times. We also review experiments on using micro-discharges as sources of radicals for materials deposition applications. In the latter case, the micro-discharges form in metal capillary tubes permitting incorporation of gas flow and a short reaction zone that can be controlled to favour production of specific radicals. We demonstrate these concepts by using CH4/H2 chemistry for diamond deposition on a heated Mo substrate. Good quality micro- and nano-diamond crystals could be produced

India's twelfth finance commission : a view from Kerala

The focus of the paper is to review the Terms of Reference (TOR) of the Twelfth Finance Commission with special reference to Kerala. It also critically examines the emphasis on fiscal deficit reduction without paying attention to its quality and finds that this has led to the Centre and the States resorting to a softer option of cutting productive capital and necessary maintenance and social sector expenditure. This is likely to have adverse consequences on equitable growth and to impede the process of relieving the economy of structural constraints on growth. There is an urgent need for analysing the quality of fiscal consolidation instead of focusing merely on quantity of reduction of deficits as a proportion of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The study hence suggests incorporating the concept of Quality of Fiscal Discipline. It is found that there has been an enlargement of the scope of Finance Commissions [since the Eleventh Finance Commission (11th FC)] into mandates for recommending mechanisms for achieving macroeconomic balance, equitable growth, and suggestions for disinvestments and privatisation, while its role in the traditional area of grant devolution has been restricted to non-Plan grants only. In fact, the enlargement of the role in the traditional area of grant devolution would be more desirable. There is sufficient scope for augmenting resource mobilisation from direct and indirect taxes at the Central level. Emphasis is to be placed on integrating services and manufacturing into a single CENVAT (Central Value Added Tax) and on direct taxes reform. The second generation tax reform should concentrate on States’ tax administration and inter-State coordination prior to moving on to a State level VAT. There is need for a constitutional amendment to place service tataxation in the Concurrent List and enable States to tax more services. On the expenditure side, steep increases in items like wages and salaries and interest expenditure are unlikely in the near future. Hence maintenance and social sector expenditure should not be sacrificed. At the same time, efficiency in spending and cutting unproductive expenditure and leakages should be strictly monitored. A decentralised district level monitoring system for maintenance expenditure of capital assets is also suggested. The paper argues that bringing privatisation in the Terms of Reference of the Finance Commission seems avoidable. It is also felt that more effective time bound implementation of State Finance Commission Reports is needed. Along with devolution of funds, transfer of administrative functions is necessary for avoiding duplication of expenditure. As for Kerala-specific issues, it is found that achievements on the human development front are not rewarded. Certain changes in the existing criteria (of the Eleventh Finance Commission) are hence suggested. Kerala’s tax effort, though better than richer States like Punjab, is facing structural constraints. The fast expanding services sector is outside the tax net of the State. The tax-GDP ratio of Kerala showed a mild decline at 9.84 percent in the 1990s as compared to 10.29 percent in the 1980s despite a much higher growth rate of State Domestic Product, mainly because the State was not able to tax the dominant sector of the State Domestic Product, that is, the services sector. Key words : finance commission, fiscal deficit, revenue mobilisation, devolution JEL Classification : H77, H60, H2

Direct senstivity test for isoniazid.

IT is well known that the results of isoniazid sensitivity tests by the indirect method have prognostic significance in the treatment of tuberculosis with regimens containing isoniazid (Tuberculosis Chemotherapy Centre, Madras, 1960 ; Devadatta et al., 1961) ; the indirect method is, however, complex and time-consuming, and therefore not feasible in institutions with limited facilities. Direct sensitivity tests are attractive because they involve only one stage of handling (i.e. cultures need not be set up), are simpler and less expensive, and consume less time. Although the direct sensitivity test introduced by Middlebrook and co-workers (Middlebrook and Cohn, 1958 ; Russell and Middlebrook, 1961) using 7H10 agar medium yielded satisfactory results, it has certain disadvantages. Thus, the medium employed is expensive, the in are not readily available in this country and, in our experience at Madras, losses due to contamination can be considerable. This paper describes a direct sensitivity test for isoniaid using Lowenstein- Jensen medium, and compares the findings obtained by this method with those obtained by the indirect method

Concepts on the fluctuations in the Indian Oil Sardine fishery - A Review

Oil sardine resources of the Indian Ocean, especially along the West Coast of India contribute considerably to our total marine fish produ.ctioll . If properly exploited and suitably processed, this can even be utilised to earn foreign exchange, besides being a 'Kudumbam Pularthy ' for our poverty•stricken fishermen folk

Effect of storage for three months at different temperatures on the sensitivity to streptomycin and isoniazid of cultures of tubercle bacilli

MAINTENANCE of bacterial strains by repeated subcultivation is both expensive, laborious and time-consuming ; moreover, there is always the possibility of contamination or of differential selection of sub-strains with specific properties. In consequence, several methods, such as freeze-drying or storage at low temperatures, have been introduced by which bacterial cultures can be kept alive for long periods with their reproductive and metabolic activity at an extremely low level. However, information is rather sparse on such methods for the storage of tubercle bacilli. For instance, Corper and Gauss (1923) found that tubercle bacilli remained viable in Petroff's egg medium or glycerol agar after storage in the incubator or refrigerator for 4 to 8 months. Later workers (Heckly, 1950 ; Stern and Tompsett, 1951 ; Jones, 1957 ; Tsukamura, 1965) suggested preservation of cultures by freezing them in various diluents. More recently, Tarshis (1961) compared storage of cultures in various diluents at –20°C. and concluded that, with minor exceptions, most types of mycobacteria (including tubercle bacilli) can be stored for at least 3 years without any major change in their viability or drug resistance. However, these procedures are time-consuming, expensive and require special equipment and are? therefore, not very practicable in developing countries with limited resources

2-Mercapto-4,4,6-trimethyl-lH,4H-pyrimidine as a Spectrophotometric Reagent for Bi(III) & Te(IV)

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Spectrophotometric Determination of Os(VIII) & Ru(III) with 4,5-Diamino-2-mercaptopyrimidin-6-ol

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Wheat Genomics: Present Status and Future Prospects

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), with a large genome (16000 Mb) and high proportion (∼80%) of repetitive sequences, has been a difficult crop for genomics research. However, the availability of extensive cytogenetics stocks has been an asset, which facilitated significant progress in wheat genomic research in recent years. For instance, fairly dense molecular maps (both genetic and physical maps) and a large set of ESTs allowed genome-wide identification of gene-rich and gene-poor regions as well as QTL including eQTL. The availability of markers associated with major economic traits also allowed development of major programs on marker-assisted selection (MAS) in some countries, and facilitated map-based cloning of a number of genes/QTL. Resources for functional genomics including TILLING and RNA interference (RNAi) along with some new approaches like epigenetics and association mapping are also being successfully used for wheat genomics research. BAC/BIBAC libraries for the subgenome D and some individual chromosomes have also been prepared to facilitate sequencing of gene space. In this brief review, we discuss all these advances in some detail, and also describe briefly the available resources, which can be used for future genomics research in this important crop

Antimicrobial Activity and Phylogenetic Analysis of Streptomyces Parvulus Dosmb-D105 Isolated from the Mangrove Sediments of Andaman Islands

Actinomycetes, especially species of Streptomyces are prolific producers of pharmacologically significant compounds accounting for about 70% of the naturally derived antibiotics that are presently in clinical use. In this study, we used five solvents to extract the secondary metabolites from marine Streptomyces parvulus DOSMB-D105, which was isolated from the mangrove sediments of the South Andaman Islands. Among them, ethyl acetate crude extract showed maximum activity against 11 pathogenic bacteria and six fungi. Presence of bioactive compounds in the ethyl acetate extract was determined using GC-MS and the compounds detected in the ethyl acetate extract were matched with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) library. Totally eight compounds were identified and the prevalent compounds were 2 steroids, 2 alkaloids, 2 plasticizers, 1 phenolic and 1 alkane. Present study revealed that S. parvulus DOSMB-D105 is a promising species for the isolation of valuable bioactive compounds to combat pathogenic microbes

Interconversion of Octacyanides of Molybdenum in +4 & +5 Oxidation States by Photodecomposition & Radiolysis

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