An Improved Rotary Mechanism Engine

Developments in the field of rotary engines have been reviewed. Potential of scissor action type rotary engine with suitable innovations on linkage and multirotor configuration has been brought out

Recent Advances in Pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (l.) Millspaugh) Research

Pigeonpea or red gram [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millspaugh] is an important food legume of the semi-arid tropics of Asia and Africa. It occupies a prime niche in sustainable farming systems of smallholder rainfed farmers. It occupies a prominent place in Indian rainfed agriculture. It is an integral component in various agro ecologies of the country mainly inter cropped with cereals, pulses, oilseeds and millets. It is the second most important pulse crop next to chickpea, covering an area of around 4.42 m ha (occupying about 14.5% of area under pulses) and production of 2.86 MT (contributing to 16% of total pulse production) and productivity of about 707 kg/ha. It is mainly consumed as dry split dhal throughout the country besides several other uses of various parts of pigeonpea plant. Enhancing the productivity of the crop assumes specific significance in India mainly to combat protein malnutrition as it is the main source of protein to the predominant vegetarian population. The productivity of pigeonpea has remained low and stagnant over the last few decades thus this prompted scientists to search for novel ways of crop improvement. To tackle this challenge, ICRISAT and IIPR are working on number of innovative ideas like, genome sequencing (Varshney et al. 2012), development of CGMS hybrids with 30 to 40 % yield advantage over traditional varieties, development of photo insensitive super early maturing lines, introgression of cleistogamous flower structure to maintain genetic purity of elite lines, use of obcordate leaf shape as NEP to assess genetic purity of hybrid parental lines and development of disease resistant hybrids and elite breeding lines. These aspects are described briefly below

Strategies for pigeonpea improvement

In order to feed an ever-increasing population, it is essential to deal yield reducing factors. Climate smart crop varieties that yield more with fewer inputs will be required to achieve the success. In this scenario pigeonpea plays an important role as it can stand in relatively harsh environmental conditions. Hybrid breeding along with the pure line breeding, genetic resources and genomics advances are enriching this crop. However, the pigeonpea improvement program must be re-oriented in order to deal with the yield-reducing factors and to break the yield plateau

On the Number of Integer Recurrence Relations

This paper presents the number of k-stage integer recurrence relations (IRR) over the ring  Z2   which generates sequences of maximum possible period (2k-1)2e-1 for e>1. This number corresponds to the primitive polynomials mod 2 which satisfy the condition proposed by Brent and is2(e-2)k+1(2k-1-1) for  e>3. This number is same as measured by Dai but arrived at with a different condition for maximum period. Our way of counting gives an explicit method for construction of such polynomials. Furthermore, this paper also presents the number of different sequences corresponding to such IRRs of maximum period

Contamination, enrichment and translocation of heavy metals in certain leafy vegetables grown in composite effluent irrigated soil

The present investigation was carried out to determine the contamination, enrichment and translocation of heavy metals in vegetables viz., spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.), fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) and coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.) grown in the composite effluent (mixture of industrial and domestic wastewater) irrigated soil. The composite effluent of Hindon River was significantly (P<0.05/P<0.01) loaded with different physical (TDS, EC), chemical (pH, BOD5, COD, Cl –, TKN, PO43-, SO42-, Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+), heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, Zn) and microbial  (total bacteria, total fungi, total coliform and yeast) parameters in comparison to the ground water. The composite effluent irrigation significantly (P<0.05) altered the soil characteristics like EC, pH, PO43-, K+, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn and Pb in the soil used for the cultivation of S. oleracea, T. foenum-graecum and C. sativum. The composite effluent irrigation significantly increased the contents of Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn in the S. oleracea, T. foenum-graecum and C. sativum. The enrichment factor of Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn in vegetables was recorded to be plant part specific after irrigation with composite effluent. The enrichment factor of Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn were recorded in the order of Cd>Zn>Pb> Fe>Cr>Mn>Cu for S. oleracea, Cd>Zn>Fe>Mn>Pb>Cr>Cu for T. foenum-graecum and Cd>Zn>Pb>Fe>Cu>Mn>Cr for C. sativum after irrigation with composite effluent. Therefore, disposal of sewage and industrial effluents in the Hindon River must be strictly prohibited to save the existence of the Hindon River and irrigation practices using composite effluent should also be banned to prevent the possible health hazards due to consumption of contaminated vegetables

Study on Airborne Pollen in the Atmosphere of Bangalore City

The atmospheric pollen of Jnana Bharathi campus, Bangalore University was surveyed during one year period from January 2011 to December 2011 using a vertical cylinder trap. A total of 28 pollen types were identified, among which 7 were present throughout the year. These belonged to Poaceae, Tridax sp., Eucalyptus sp., Parthenium hysterophorus, Cocus nucifera, Croton sparsiflorus and Mimosa pudica. The most predominant Pollen was Parthenium hysterophorus (23.87%) followed by Poaceae (16.19%), Mimosa Pudica (11.31%), Delonix regia (8.77%) and Eucalyptus spp. (7.58%) were found in the atmosphere of Bangalore city. Maximum pollen concentration was observed in the month of May (880/m3) followed by April (552/m3) and minimum in June (163/m3). The total pollens as well as individual pollen types displayed distinct seasonal periodicity in their incidence. The present study will provide preliminary but useful data to the allergologists for effective diagnosis and treatment of local population suffering from pollen hypersensitivity

Comparative Analysis of MIT Rule and Lyapunov Rule in Model Reference Adaptive Control Scheme

Adaptive control involves modifying the control law used by the controller to cope with the fact that the parameters of the system being controlled change drastically due to change in environmental conditions or change in system itself. This technique is based on the fundamental characteristic of adaptation of living organism. The adaptive control process is one that continuously and automatically measures the dynamic behavior of plant, compares it with the desired output and uses the difference to vary adjustable system parameters or to generate an actuating signal in such a way so that optimal performance can be maintained regardless of system changes. This paper deals with application of model reference adaptive control scheme and the system performance is compared with Lyapunov rule and MIT rule. The plant which is taken for the controlling purpose is the first order system for simplicity. The comparison is done for different values of adaptation gain between MIT rule and Lyapunov rule. Simulation is done in MATLAB and simulink and the results are compared for varying adaptation mechanism due to variation in adaptation gain

Rapidity distribution as a probe for elliptical flow at intermediate energies

Interplay between the spectator and participant matter in heavy-ion collisions is investigated within isospin dependent quantum molecular dynamics (IQMD) model in term of rapidity distribution of light charged particles. The effect of different types and size rapidity distributions is studied in elliptical flow. The elliptical flow patterns show important role of the nearby spectator matter on the participant zone. This role is further explained on the basis of passing time of the spectator and expansion time of the participant zone. The transition from the in-plane to out-of-plane is observed only when the mid-rapidity region is included in the rapidity bin, otherwise no transition occurs. The transition energy is found to be highly sensitive towards the size of the rapidity bin, while weakly on the type of the rapidity distribution. The theoretical results are also compared with the experimental findings and are found in good agreement.Comment: 8 figure

Pigeonpea seed systems in Asia

Pigeonpea seed systems consist of the formal and informal seed sector. However, the informal seed sector dominates the seed production system. Majority of rainfed farmers who grow pigeonpea (about 80% - 90%) save a part of their produce as seed requirement. In the formal seed sector, government agencies and private companies are involved in production and distribution of quality seeds of improved varieties and hybrids. Role of private sector diffusion in pigeonpea market is not encouraging owing to lack of commercial perspective in the crop and other factors. The integrated approach that takes into cognizance the formal and informal seed sector in breeding, seed production and distribution has shown to have promising potential for improving seed supply to smallholder farmers. Moreover, any seed system, for that matter, requires a regulatory framework as well as a seed policy that considers regulations of an expanding and diversifying seed sector for the benefit of the farmers engaged in the seed production system