Influence of Aluminium on Performance of HTPB-based Aluminised PBXs

The paper describes the development of aluminised plastic-bonded explosives (PBXs) based on aluminium and nitramine explosives using hydroxy-terminated polybutadiene as polymer matrix. The PBXs were processed as per standard procedures. Compositions with different formulations were prepared by varying the percentages of aluminium and RDX and their explosive properties, including velocity of detonation (VOD), peak overpressure, duration, impulse and sensitivity to different types of stimuli, were studied. The experimental and theoretical values of the VOD have been compared. It is observed that about 15 per cent aluminium content in the aluminised PBXs shows the optimum VOD

Genomics and breeding innovations for enhancing genetic gain for climate resilience and nutrition traits

Accelerating genetic gain in crop improvement programs with respect to climate resilience and nutrition traits, and the realization of the improved gain in farmers’ fields require integration of several approaches. This article focuses on innovative approaches to address core components of the breeder’s equation. A prerequisite to enhancing genetic variance (σ2g) is the identification or creation of favorable alleles/haplotypes and their deployment for improving key traits. Novel alleles for new and existing target traits need to be accessed and added to the breeding population while maintaining genetic diversity. Selection intensity (i) in the breeding program can be improved by testing a larger population size, enabled by the statistical designs with minimal replications and high-throughput phenotyping. Selection priorities and criteria to select appropriate portion of the population too assume an important role. The most important component of breeder′s equation is heritability (h2). Heritability estimates depend on several factors including the size and the type of population and the statistical methods. The present article starts with a brief discussion on the potential ways to enhance σ2g in the population. We highlight statistical methods and experimental designs that could improve trait heritability estimation. We also offer a perspective on reducing the breeding cycle time (t), which could be achieved through the selection of appropriate parents, optimizing the breeding scheme, rapid fixation of target alleles, and combining speed breeding with breeding programs to optimize trials for release. Finally, we summarize knowledge from multiple disciplines for enhancing genetic gains for climate resilience and nutritional traits

Imperial legacies and southern penal spaces: a study of hunting nomads in postcolonial India

Southern penal spaces are marked by resemblances and affinities with colonial regimes of control, yet they also reflect quite distinctive postcolonial social and political dynamics found in the global south. Here, legacies of control, forms of exile, status reductions, hierarchical social stratifications and other like forms come together in robust modes of containment suitable for managing ‘marginal’ and ‘suspect’ populations. We draw on ethnographic empirical work with two hunting nomadic groups in India by two of the co-authors who are working with the Kheria Sabar community in Purulia district in West Bengal and Pardhi community in Mumbai. The latter were subject to notification under the notorious Criminal Tribes Act 1871, marking them out as ‘criminal tribes’ until their de-notification shortly after India's independence in 1947, yet the Kheria Sabars too feel its effects. We draw attention here to the continual negotiation and (re)fabrication of both state and citizen at the point of their everyday contact. Our notion of southern penal spaces contributes to penal theory by breaking from northern societies’ focus on institutional carcerality and capturing instead both the variety and the dispersal of penal and punitive practices found in postcolonial societies of the south