A Unique Approach for Planar Parallel Robotic Arms

In the design of mechanism, a decision must first be taken regarding the type of mechanism to be employed. The number of links and connections required to give the desired degree of freedom must then be determined. Finally, the required dimensions needed to bring about a particular motion must be deduced. In the present study the main focus is to select a mechanism for parallel robotic arms. However there are a number of mechanisms available which can be used as robot hands. In the selection of mechanism for robotic hands, rigidity and grasping power are the main important considerations. In the present paper, a unique numerical method is used to measure the parallelism between the object and the ground link. This can be used to compare the robotic hands for rigidity and grasp

Simulating the Effect of the Climate Change, Genotypes and Management on the Productivity of Forage Cowpea in Semi-Arid Regions of India

Climate variability and change due to increase in green house gases concentration and the resultant increase in temperature has led to notable changes in different sectors including water and agriculture which would impact food security (Rai et al., 2014) in many regions of the developing world, which are largely dependent on rainfed and labor intensive agricultural production (Ziervogel and Calder, 2003). Eco-physiological models are widely used especially the potential impacts of climate change (Gitay et al., 2001; White et al., 2011). The cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) is an annual herbaceous legume cultivated for its edible seeds or for fodder. It is an obvious choice for intercropping with forage cereals like sorghum, maize and pearl millet in all growing region of India. The fresh fodder has 15-20 % CP content and being legume it fixes nitrogen in the soil which makes more suitable for rainfed marginal lands. In this context, CROPGRO- model calibrated and validated for forage cowpea and this was employed for assessing the impact of climate change as well as analyzing the climatic risk of forage cow pea production

Temporal variations in ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and ε_Nd in sediments of the southeastern Arabian Sea: impact of monsoon and surface water circulation

Sr and Nd isotopic composition of silicate fractions of sediments have been measured in two well dated gravity cores from the eastern Arabian Sea archiving a depositional history of ∼29 and ∼40 ka. The 87Sr/86Sr and εNd in the northern core (SS-3104G; 12.8°N, 71.7°E) ranges from 0.71416 to 0.71840 and −8.8 to −12.8; these variations are limited compared to those in the southeastern core (SS-3101G; 6.0°N, 74.0°E), in which they vary from 0.71412 to 0.72069 and −9.0 to −15.2 respectively. This suggests that the variation in the relative proportions of sediments supplied from different sources to the core SS-3104G are limited compared to core SS-3101G. The 87Sr/86Sr and εNd profiles of SS-3101G exhibit two major excursions, ca. 9 ka and 20 ka, coinciding with periods of Holocene Intensified Monsoon Phase (IMP) and the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) respectively with more radiogenic 87Sr/86Sr and lower εNd during these periods. These excursions have been explained in terms of changes in the erosion patterns in the source regions and surface circulation of the Northern Indian Ocean resulting from monsoon intensity variations. The intensification of North-East (NE) monsoon and associated strengthening of the East Indian Coastal Current in southwest direction during LGM transported sediments with higher 87Sr/86Sr and lower εNd from the western Bay of Bengal to the Arabian Sea. In contrast, enhanced South-West (SW) monsoon at ∼9 ka facilitated the transport of sediments from the northern Arabian Sea, particularly Indus derived, to the southeastern Arabian Sea. This study thus highlights the impact of monsoon variability on erosion patterns and ocean surface currents on the dispersal of sediments in determining the Sr and Nd isotopic composition of sediments deposited in the eastern Arabian Sea during the last ∼40 ka

HOMOLOGY MODELLING AND MOLECULAR DOCKING STUDY OF ORGANOPHOSPHATES AND PYRETHROIDS IN TERMS OF POTENTIAL TOXICITY

Objective: Though the adverse effects of pesticides used in agriculture may not immediately be visible in the human population however its long term exposure may cause detrimental effects by biomagnifications and bioaccumulation. Nowadays bioinformatics serves as an in silico tool not only for homology alignment but also for prediction of quaternary structures of biochemicals. The present study was aimed to compare the potential toxicities of triazophos and chlorpyrifos (organophosphates; OPs) and cypermethrin and deltamethrin (pyrethroids) and their interactions with cytochrome P450 functioning. Methods: The authors performed the BLAST for homology alignment for cytochrome P450 of human and Zebra fish and further proceeded for docking analysis of all the pesticides with cytochrome P450. Results: It was noted that 99% of query cover with 32% of homology in the sequences of cytochrome P450 between human and Zebra fish. Upon docking, the pesticide deltamethrin showed the highest interaction with cytochrome P450 with highest binding energy and least dissociation constant for Deltamethrin which was found to be 8.233 [kcal/mol] and 922849.687 [pM].Conclusion: Our preliminary results thus encompass/indicate that the deltamethrin is not only having detrimental effect on enzyme kinetics in general but also such similar effects be apprehended for human also

Sustainable Production of Guava Based Hortipasture System with Different In-Situ Soil and Moisture Conservation in Semi-Arid Region of India

In India, about 60 % of net sown area is rainfed, contributing 40 % of the total food production; it supports 40% of human and 60% of livestock population. Under such situation, incorporation of fruit trees along with animal husbandry in common farming system is advisable to improve income and nutritional security of the farmers. Horti- pasture system is the most ideal strategy to provide food, nutrition and income security to the people living in rainfed areas. System is socially accepted, ecologically feasible and economically viable for this region (Singh, 1996; Sharma, 2004; Kumar and Chaubey, 2008). Guava (Psidium guajava L.), is one of the most common and nutritious and hardy fruits of India, can thrive on all types of soil from alluvial to lateritic with pH value as low as 4.5 and on limestone with a value up to 8.2. It occupies about 1, 15,000-1, 62000 ha area in the country (Shikhamany, 2004). Two new cultivars viz., Lalit (CISH-G-3) and Shweta (CISH-G-4) were taken in this experiment. Stylosanthes hamata (Caribbean stylo) is an important range legume for semiarid region (Chandra et al., 2006). Similarly Cenchrus ciliaris (Buffel grass) is most suitable species for arid and semiarid region with rainfall range from 125-1250 mm (Trivedi, 2010). Establishment of hortipasture system is quite difficult task in rainfed region because of moisture stress. Providing regular irrigation is neither practically possible nor economical in rainfed region. Harvesting of rainwater and in-situ moisture conservation is only viable alternative to artificial irrigation. Shaping the surface in the immediate vicinity of the trees so that runoff collects at the root zone can enhance availability of moisture for long duration (Samra, 2010). Keeping these facts in view an experiment was conducted to sustain the productivity of guava based hortipastoral system with different in-situ soil and moisture conservation measures under rainfed situations

Neodymium Isotope Constraints on the Origin of TTGs and High-K Granitoids in the Bundelkhand Craton, Central India : Implications for Archaean Crustal Evolution

The Bundelkhand craton in central India consists mainly of abundant high-K granitoids formed at the Archaean-Proterozoic boundary and several enclosed rafts of TTGs (tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorites) up to 3.5 Ga. Therefore, the Bundelkhand craton is a key locality for studies on Archaean crustal growth and the emergence of multisource granitoid batholiths that stabilised a supercontinent at 2.5 Ga. Based on their geochemical characteristics, the high-K granitoids are divided into low silica-high Mg (sanukitoids and hybrids) and high silica-low Mg (anatectic) groups. We aim to provide new insights into the role of juvenile versus crustal sources in the evolution of the TTG, sanukitoid, hybrid, and anatectic granitoids of the Bundelkhand craton by comparing their key geochemical signatures with new Nd isotope evidence on crustal contributions and residence times. The ages and geochemical signatures as well as epsilon Nd(t) values and Nd model ages of TTGs point towards partial melting of a juvenile or short-lived mafic crust at different depths. Paleoarchaean TTGs show short crustal residence times and contributions from the newly formed crust, whereas Neoarchaean TTGs have long crustal residence times and contributions from the Paleoarchaean crust. This may reflect the transition from melting in a primitive oceanic plateau (3.4-3.2 Ga) in plume settings, resulting in a Paleoarchaean protocontinent, to 2.7 Ga subduction and island arc accretion along the protocontinent. The 2.5 Ga high-K granitoids formed at convergent subduction settings by partial melting of the mantle wedge and preexisting crust. Sanukitoids and hybrid granitoids originated in the mantle, the latter showing stronger crustal contributions, whereas abundant anatectic granitoids were products of pure crustal melting. Our Nd data and geochemical signatures support a change from early mafic sources to strong crust-mantle interactions towards the A-P boundary, probably reflecting the onset of supercontinent cycles.Peer reviewe

Tracing the Vedic Saraswati River in the Great Rann of Kachchh

© The Author(s), 2017. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Scientific Reports 7 (2017): 5476, doi:10.1038/s41598-017-05745-8.The lost Saraswati River mentioned in the ancient Indian tradition is postulated to have flown independently of the Indus River into the Arabian Sea, perhaps along courses of now defunct rivers such as Ghaggar, Hakra and Nara. The persistence of such a river during the Harappan Bronze Age and the Iron Age Vedic period is strongly debated. We drilled in the Great Rann of Kachchh (Kutch), an infilled gulf of the Arabian Sea, which must have received input from the Saraswati, if active. Nd and Sr isotopic measurements suggest that a distinct source may have been present before 10 ka. Later in Holocene, under a drying climate, sediments from the Thar Desert probably choked the signature of an independent Saraswati-like river. Alternatively, without excluding a Saraswati-like secondary source, the Indus and the Thar were the dominant sources throughout the post-glacial history of the GRK. Indus-derived sediment accelerated the infilling of GRK after ~6 ka when the Indus delta started to grow. Until its complete infilling few centuries ago, freshwater input from the Indus, and perhaps from the Ghaggar-Hakra-Nara, probably sustained a productive marine environment as well as navigability toward old coastal Harappan and historic towns in the region.The drilling effort and subsequent study of the cores was funded by Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India sponsored research project to DMM (Project No. SR/S4/ES-21/Kachchh Window/P1) under the science of Shallow Subsurface Programme (SSS). N. Khonde gratefully acknowledges Indo-US Post-doctoral Fellowship sponsored by SERB-IUSSTF for research work at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

What triggers Koyna region earthquakes? Preliminary results from seismic tomography digital array

The cause for prolific seismicity in the Koyna region is a geological enigma. Attempts have been made to link occurrence of these earthquakes with tectonic strain as well as the nearby reservoirs. With a view to providing reliable seismological database for studying the earth structure and the earthquake process in the Koyna region, a state of the art digital seismic network was deployed for twenty months during 1996-97. We present preliminary results from this experiment covering an area of 60×80 km2 with twenty seismic stations. Hypocentral locations of more than 400 earthquakes confined to 11×25 km2 reveal fragmentation in the seismicity pattern - a NE - SW segment has a dip towards NW at approximately 45°, whilst the other two segments show a near vertical trend. These seismic segments have a close linkage with the Western Ghat escarpment and the Warna fault. Ninety per cent of the seismicity is confined within the depth range of 3-10 km. The depth distribution of earthquakes delimits the seismogenic zone with its base at 10 km indicating a transition from an unstable to stable frictional sliding regime. The lack of shallow seismicity between 0 and 3 km indicates a mature fault system with well-developed gouge zones, which inhibit shallow earthquake nucleation. Local earthquake travel time inversion for P- and S-waves show ≈2% higher velocity in the seismogenic crust (0-10 km) beneath the epicentral tract relative to a lower velocity (2-3%) in the adjoining region. The high P- and S-wave velocity in the seismogenic crust argues against the presence of high pressure fluid zones and suggests its possible linkage with denser lithology. The zone of high velocity has been traced to deeper depths (≈70 km) through teleseismic tomography. The results reveal segmented and matured seismogenic fault systems in the Koyna region where seismicity is possibly controlled by strain build up due to competent lithology in the seismic zone with a deep crustal root