Ground water quality assessment for irrigation in Palwal block of Palwal district, Haryana, India

The present study examined the quality of groundwater for agriculture purpose in a 49785 ha region comprising Palwal block of Palwal district of Haryana state by focusing on spatial variability of electrical conductivity (EC), cationic and anionic composition of CO32-, HCO3-, Cl-, SO42-, Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+ and K+ of the ground water. It was found 75% of the samples showed EC values up to 4 dS/m and the maximum value of EC was found as 10.55 dS/m. Out of one hundred thirty three ground water samples 34.8 % were of good quality, 49.2 % saline and 16.0 % alkali in nature. Out of the saline water, 24.2, 1.5 and 23.5 % were marginally saline, saline and high SAR saline, respectively. In alkali group, 2.3, 2.3 and 11.4 % were marginally alkali, alkali and high alkali, respectively. Residual sodium carbonate (RSC) and sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) varied from nil to 5.50 me L-1 and 2.50 to 23.41 (m mol L-1)½, respectively. Counter map maps of EC, SAR, RSC and water quality of groundwater used for irrigation in the block were prepared through GIS to study spatial variability

The prevalence of headache may be related with the latitude: a possible role of Vitamin D insufficiency?

According to recent observations, there is worldwide vitamin D insufficiency (VDI) in various populations. A number of observations suggest a link between low serum levels of vitamin D and higher incidence of chronic pain. A few case reports have shown a beneficial effect of vitamin D therapy in patients with headache disorders. Serum vitamin D level shows a strong correlation with the latitude. Here, we review the literature to delineate a relation of prevalence rate of headaches with the latitude. We noted a significant relation between the prevalence of both tension-type headache and migraine with the latitude. There was a tendency for headache prevalence to increase with increasing latitude. The relation was more obvious for the lifetime prevalence for both migraine and tension-type headache. One year prevalence for migraine was also higher at higher latitude. There were limited studies on the seasonal variation of headache disorders. However, available data indicate increased frequency of headache attacks in autumn–winter and least attacks in summer. This profile of headache matches with the seasonal variations of serum vitamin D levels. The presence of vitamin D receptor, 1α-hydroxylase and vitamin D-binding protein in the hypothalamus further suggest a role of vitamin D deficiency in the generation of head pain

Recognition and Classification of Leaf Disease in Potato Plants

Farming is one of the most important lifelines of the country. A nation’s growth majorly depends on how advanced and effective their agricultural practices are in improving the crop yield. When a crop is grown many at times, farmers are unable to identify the health and wellbeing of the plant; they only recognize the problems when it becomes too late hence losing out on that year's expected yield. In this study, we have introduced a recognition and classification technique which is able to detect any ailments that the plant is suffering from at an early stage itself thus enabling the farmers to do the needful at a recoverable stage itself. To make the system as user-friendly as possible, we have provided a feature where the farmers are able to assess the health of the plant by providing a picture of the potato plants’ leaf

Neutrino processes in the K0K^0 condensed phase of color flavor locked quark matter

We study weak interactions involving Goldstone bosons in the neutral kaon condensed phase of color flavor locked quark matter. We calculate the rates for the dominant processes that contribute to the neutrino mean free p ath and to neutrino production. A light $K^+$ state, with a mass $\tilde{m}_{K^+} \propto (\Delta/\mu) (\Delta/m_s)(m_d-m_u)$, where $\mu$ and $\Delta$ are the quark chemical potential and superconducting gap respectively, is shown to play an important role. We identify unique characteristics of weak interaction rates in this novel phase and discuss how they might influence neutrino emission in core collapse supernova and neutron stars.Comment: 21 pages, 4 figure

Neutrino Interactions in Hot and Dense Matter

We study the charged and neutral current weak interaction rates relevant for the determination of neutrino opacities in dense matter found in supernovae and neutron stars. We establish an efficient formalism for calculating differential cross sections and mean free paths for interacting, asymmetric nuclear matter at arbitrary degeneracy. The formalism is valid for both charged and neutral current reactions. Strong interaction corrections are incorporated through the in-medium single particle energies at the relevant density and temperature. The effects of strong interactions on the weak interaction rates are investigated using both potential and effective field-theoretical models of matter. We investigate the relative importance of charged and neutral currents for different astrophysical situations, and also examine the influence of strangeness-bearing hyperons. Our findings show that the mean free paths are significantly altered by the effects of strong interactions and the multi-component nature of dense matter. The opacities are then discussed in the context of the evolution of the core of a protoneutron star.Comment: 41 pages, 25 figure

First Order Kaon Condensation in Neutron Stars: Finite Size Effects in the Mixed Phase

We study the role of Coulomb and surface effects on the phase transition from dense nuclear matter to a mixed phase of nuclear and kaon-condensed matter. We calculate corrections to the bulk calculation of the equation of state (EOS) and the critical density for the transition by solving explicitly for spherical, cylindrical, and planar structures. The importance of Debye screening in the determination of the charged particle profiles is studied in some detail. We find that the surface and Coulomb contributions to the energy density are small, but that they play an important role in the determination of the critical pressure for the transition, as well as affecting the size and geometry of favored structures. This changes the EOS over a wide range of pressure and consequently increases the maximum mass by about 0.1 solar masses. Implications for transport properties of the mixed phase are also discussed.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figure

Gangotri glacier dynamics from multi-sensor SAR and optical data

The present study has analyzed dynamics of Gangotri glacier using multiple remote sensing (RS) datasets and ground based observations. Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) data pairs from European Remote Sensing satellite (ERS 1/2) tandem pair for spring of 1996, Sentinel-1 SAR pairs and Japanese's Advance Land Observation System (ALOS) PALSAR-2 SAR data for Spring of 2015 were used to derive glacier-surface velocity at seasonal time scale using Differential InSAR (DInSAR) techniques. Bi-static TanDEM-X (Experimental) data was used for the 1st time to estimate glacier surface elevation changes for a period of 22, 44, 88 days during summer of 2012 using InSAR techniques in this study. Annual glacier velocity was also estimated using temporal panchromatic data of LANDSAT-5 (30 m), LANDSAT-7/8 (15 m), Sentinel-2 (10 m) and Indian Remote Sensing Satellite IRS-1C/1D panchromatic (5 m) data during 1998–2019 with feature tracking approach. This study has estimated glacier surface velocity and surface elevation changes for the major parts of Gangotri glacier and its tributary glaciers using medium to high resolution optical and SAR datasets, at annual and seasonal time scale, which is an improvement over earlier studies, wherein snout based glacier recession or only main glacier velocities were reported. The velocity and slope were used to assess glacier-ice thickness distribution using Glabtop-2, slope dependent and laminar flow based methods over the Gangotri group of glaciers. The estimated ice thickness was estimated in the range of 58–550 m for the complete glacier while few small areas in middle &amp; upper regions carry higher thickness of about 607 m. The estimated glacier-ice thickness was found in the range of 58–67 m at the snout region. The estimation was validated using 2014 field measurements from Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS) for the first time and correlation was found to be 0.799 at snout of the glacier.</p

Distribution of polychlorinated biphenyls in agricultural soils from NCR, Delhi, India

ABSTRACT Twenty eight polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) congeners including twelve dioxin-lik

Neutrino Propagation In Color Superconducting Quark Matter

We calculate the neutrino mean free path in color superconducting quark matter, and employ it to study the cooling of matter via neutrino diffusion in the superconducting phase as compared to a free quark phase. The cooling process slows when quark matter undergoes a second order phase transition to a superconducting phase at the critical temperature $T_c$. Cooling subsequently accelerates as the temperature decreases below $T_c$. This will directly impact the early evolution of a newly born neutron star should its core contain quark matter. Consequently, there may be observable changes in the early neutrino emission which would provide evidence for superconductivity in hot and dense matter.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figure

Phantom headache: pain-memory-emotion hypothesis for chronic daily headache?

The neurobiology of chronic pain, including chronic daily headache (CDH) is not completely understood. “Pain memory” hypothesis is one of the mechanisms for phantom limb pain. We reviewed the literature to delineate a relation of “pain memory” for the development of CDH. There is a direct relation of pain to memory. Patients with poor memory have less chance to develop “pain memory”, hence less possibility to develop chronic pain. Progressive memory impairment may lead to decline in headache prevalence. A similar relation of pain is also noted with emotional or psychiatric symptoms. Literature review suggests that there is marked overlap in the neural network of pain to that of memory and emotions. We speculate that pain, memory, and emotions are interrelated in triangular pattern, and each of these three is related to other two in bidirectional pattern, i.e., stimulation of one of these will stimulate other symptoms/networks and vice versa (triangular theory for chronic pain). Longstanding or recurrent noxious stimuli will strengthen this interrelation, and this may be responsible for chronicity of pain. Reduction of both chronic pain and psychological symptoms by cognitive behavioral therapy or psychological interventions further suggests a bidirectional interrelation between pain and emotion. Longitudinal studies are warranted on the prevalence of headache and other painful conditions in patients with progressive memory impairment to delineate the relation of pain to memory. Interrelation of headache to emotional symptoms should also be explored