Spatial heterogeneity in the radiogenic activity of the lunar interior: Inferences from CHACE and LLRI on Chandrayaan-1

In the past, clues on the potential radiogenic activity of the lunar interior have been obtained from the isotopic composition of noble gases like Argon. Excess Argon (40) relative to Argon (36), as compared to the solar wind composition, is generally ascribed to the radiogenic activity of the lunar interior. Almost all the previous estimates were based on, 'on-the-spot' measurements from the landing sites. Relative concentration of the isotopes of 40Ar and 36Ar along a meridian by the Chandra's Altitudinal Composition Explorer (CHACE) experiment, on the Moon Impact Probe (MIP) of India's first mission to Moon, has independently yielded clues on the possible spatial heterogeneity in the radiogenic activity of the lunar interior in addition to providing indicative 'antiquity' of the lunar surface along the ground track over the near side of the moon. These results are shown to broadly corroborate the independent topography measurements by the Lunar Laser Ranging Instrument (LLRI) in the main orbiter Chandrayaan-1. The unique combination of these experiments provided high spatial resolution data while indicating the possible close linkages between the lunar interior and the lunar ambience

Development of Indices for Effectiveness of Renewable Energy Technologies Impacting Change in Quality of Life of Rural Residents

The history of economic development is on the cost of ecology rather than the sustaining environment and development. The countries that became centrally located in the stream of economic exchanges among people around the world impacted the environment in the long run. Newspapers and editorials include environmental horror stories almost on a daily basis and demand better management of natural resources (Jangu, 2014). But who is listening? The environment is not just lush green trees, threated plant and animal species. It is the entity on which humans primarily exist, and agricultural and industrial development depends. Development on the cost of the environment can never be sustainable rather it would take us to a point causing enormous ecological losses and human sufferings primarily because of the present rate of development in developing countries. In order to contribute to the overall development in India, access to modern energy and cleaner fuel for rural households is important. The Brundtland Commission in its 1987 report ‘Our Common Future\u27 coined the most quoted definition of the term sustainable development, i.e., development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs (Mathur and Goswami, 2016). Sustainable production and consumption of resources helps to satisfy necessities of life such as nutritious food, good health, clean water and sanitation, clean energy, education, employment creating sustainable communities while combating climate change. Having a negative energy balance for decades, India is forced to purchase energy from other countries to fulfil the needs of the entire country. Hence, energy access is an important component of poverty alleviation and an indispensable element of sustainable human development. Government of India has initiated numerous development programmes focussing on providing sustainable energy solutions to rural communities often deprived of clean and uninterrupted energy supply for their daily energy requirements. The study entitled ‘Renewable Energy Options among Rural Households\u27 was conducted in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh states. The outcomes of the study provide a roadmap for future programmes promoting the use of clean, efficient and modern energy technologies, to be implemented more effectively. Findings would further benefit the primary and secondary key stakeholders involved in research and development, formulation of policies and regulations, promoting sale and purchase and provide financial assistance to future energy programmes meant to popularize the use of Renewable Energy Technologies

Black Hole Geometries in Noncommutative String Theory

We obtain a generalized Schwarzschild (GS-) and a generalized Reissner-Nordstrom (GRN-) black hole geometries in (3+1)-dimensions, in a noncommutative string theory. In particular, we consider an effective theory of gravity on a curved $D_3$-brane in presence of an electromagnetic (EM-) field. Two different length scales, inherent in its noncommutative counter-part, are exploited to obtain a theory of effective gravity coupled to an U(1) noncommutative gauge theory to all orders in $\Theta$. It is shown that the GRN-black hole geometry, in the Planckian regime, reduces to the GS-black hole. However in the classical regime it may be seen to govern both Reissner-Nordstrom and Schwarzschild geometries independently. The emerging notion of 2D black holes evident in the frame-work are analyzed. It is argued that the $D$-string in the theory may be described by the near horizon 2D black hole geometry, in the gravity decoupling limit. Finally, our analysis explains the nature of the effective force derived from the nonlinear EM-field and accounts for the Hawking radiation phenomenon in the formalism.Comment: 30 pages, 2 figure

Inheritance of powdery mildew resistance in sunflower (Helianthus annuss L.)

Powdery mildew caused by Golovinomyces cichoracearum is the most important disease on sunflower worldwide. The investigation was undertaken to determine the mode of genetic inheritance of powdery mildew resistance in five F1 and F2 populations of sunflower. The four hybrids were derived by crossing resistant with susceptible genotype and one hybrid between resistant and highly susceptible genotype. Out of 23 hybrids, five crosses viz., PM-22x PM-36, PM-14xPM-36, PM-16xPM-38, PM-17xPM-35 and PM-34x PM-23 were resistant under natural as well as artificial epiphytotic screening conditions and the same five resistant hybrids segregated in 9R:7S ratio in F2 population indicating involvement of two independent loci controlling powdery mildew resistance in sunflower

Post-Harvest Behavior of Different Lettuce Cultivars and their Cut Form sunder Different Storage Conditions

The four leaf type lettuce cultivars i.e. GKL-1, GKL-2, GKL-3 and Chinese Yellow were evaluated for postharvest behavior during storage. The harvested fresh leaves of different lettuce cultivars were processed into two forms i.e. whole leaf form and cut form (5x3 cm) and were stored at two storage conditions i.e. refrigerated storage (5±1°C) and ZECC (9-15°C). Results revealed that whole leaf form of lettuce cultivars stored in refrigerated condition recorded minimum changes in physico-chemical parameters. With the advancement of storage period decrease in per cent moisture, ascorbic acid and polyphenol content was observed in all treatments irrespective of cultivars, forms and storage conditions. The maximum per cent browning and decay was observed in ZECC storage which was minimum in refrigerated storage.The whole leaf form of lettuce cultivar Chinese Yellow recorded shelf life of 15 days when stored at refrigerated storage (5±10C), whereas other cultivars (GKL-1, GKL-2 and GKL-3) recorded shelf life of 12 days. Whole leaf form of Lettuce cultivars stored in ZECC condition recorded shelf life upto 6 days while fresh-cut lettuce recorded shelf life of 3 days in ZECC. Fresh-cut lettuce recorded accelerated physiological loss in weight, moisture loss with increase in browning and decay percentage. Decrease in per cent moisture, ascorbic acid and polyphenol content with increase in physiological loss in weight was recorded in all treatments over the period of storage irrespective of cultivars, forms and storage conditions. The whole leaf form of lettuce cultivar Chinese Yellow recorded minimum changes in physico-chemical parameters and controlled enzymatic browning which maintained sensorial marketable quality and enhanced acceptability of lettuce leaves up to 15 days when stored at refrigerated storage (5±1°C)

Center to limb observations and modeling of the Ca I 4227 A line

The observed center-to-limb variation (CLV) of the scattering polarization in different lines of the Second Solar Spectrum can be used to constrain the height variation of various atmospheric parameters, in particular the magnetic fields via the Hanle effect. Here we attempt to model non-magnetic CLV observations of the $Q/I$ profiles of the Ca I 4227 A line recorded with the ZIMPOL-3 at IRSOL. For modeling, we use the polarized radiative transfer with partial frequency redistribution with a number of realistic 1-D model atmospheres. We find that all the standard FAL model atmospheres, used by us, fail to simultaneously fit the observed ($I$, $Q/I$) at all the limb distances ($\mu$). However, an attempt is made to find a single model which can provide a fit at least to the CLV of the observed $Q/I$ instead of a simultaneous fit to the ($I$, $Q/I$) at all $\mu$. To this end we construct a new 1-D model by combining two of the standard models after modifying their temperature structures in the appropriate height ranges. This new combined model closely reproduces the observed $Q/I$ at all the $\mu$, but fails to reproduce the observed rest intensity at different $\mu$. Hence we find that no single 1-D model atmosphere succeeds in providing a good representation of the real Sun. This failure of 1-D models does not however cause an impediment to the magnetic field diagnostic potential of the Ca I 4227 A line. To demonstrate this we deduce the field strength at various $\mu$ positions without invoking the use of radiative transfer.Comment: 20 pages, 10 figures, Accepted for publication in Ap