Late Quaternary drainage disorganization, and migration and extinction of the Vedic Saraswati

Several lines of geological evidence confirm the existence of a high-energy fluvial regime in western Rajasthan during the Late Quaternary period. Geomorphic description of the extinct river system matches well with the Saraswati River described so vividly in the Rig Veda. The Vedic river which presumably flowed parallel to the Aravalli Mountains during its initial stages, migrated westward during neotectonic uplift of the Aravalli Mountains. The neotectonic movements, which brought about the down-sagging of the northern part of Aravalli Mountains also forced the Yamuna River to swap its original course to flow across the flattened 'mountain'. The river presumably pirated the Saraswati waters while it drifted eastward to join the Ganges

Electrochemical bleaching of cotton

An attempt has been made to compare the effect of electrochemical bleaching with conventional bleaching of cotton. Electric current is used in the preparation of a bleaching agent to replace bleaching powder. The NaOCl generated from electrolytic cell (2.5-3.5V potential difference) is sufficient to produce powerful bleaching agent with available chlorine varying from 1.2 g/L to 1.3g/L. Time required for bleaching reduces to 10-20 min, as compared to 90 min in conventional bleaching. Whiteness index, brightness index and yellowness index have been measured by a spectrophotometer. There is a remarkable increase in whiteness index and brightness index and decrease in yellowness index in the electrochemically bleached samples as compared to that in conventionally bleached cotton. Dye uptake values show an increasing trend with electrochemical bleaching. The present study aims for achieving the desired efficiency to remove conventional drawbacks of sodium hypochlorite bleaching

Impulsive noise removal from color images with morphological filtering

This paper deals with impulse noise removal from color images. The proposed noise removal algorithm employs a novel approach with morphological filtering for color image denoising; that is, detection of corrupted pixels and removal of the detected noise by means of morphological filtering. With the help of computer simulation we show that the proposed algorithm can effectively remove impulse noise. The performance of the proposed algorithm is compared in terms of image restoration metrics and processing speed with that of common successful algorithms.Comment: The 6th international conference on analysis of images, social networks, and texts (AIST 2017), 27-29 July, 2017, Moscow, Russi

Fusion Nuclear Data activities at FNL, IPR

This paper briefly describes the current fusion nuclear data activities at Fusion Neutronics Laboratory, Institute for Plasma Research. It consist of infrastructure development for the cross-section measurements of structural materials with an accelerator based 14 MeV neutron generator and theoretical study of the cross-section using advanced nuclear reaction modular codes EMPIRE and TALYS. It will also cover the proposed surrogate experiment to measure 55Fe (n, p) 55Mn using BARC-TIFR Pelletron facility at Mumbai

Application of algal nanotechnology for leather wastewater treatment and heavy metal removal efficiency

Wastewater from tanneries may ruin agricultural fields by polluting them with trace metals. The synthesis of nanoparticles (NPs) from algal sources and their application could help in decreasing hazardous materials, for environmental safety. The potential of zinc oxide nanoparticles made from Oedogonium sp. was evaluated for removal of heavy metals from leather industrial wastewater. Synthesized algal nanoparticles (0 (control), 0.1, 0.5, and 1 mg) were applied to treat wastewater by using different concentrations of leather industrial effluents (0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 100%) for 15, 30, and 45 d. The wastewater collected was dark brown to black in color with very high pH (8.21), EC (23.08 μs/cm), and TDS, (11.54 mg/L), while the chloride content was 6750 mg/L. The values of biological oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) ranged between 420 mg/L and 1123 mg/L in the current study. Prior to the application of nanoparticles, Cr (310.1), Cd (210.5), and Pb (75.5 mg/L) contents were higher in the leather effluents. The removal efficiency of TDS, chlorides, Cr, Cd, and Pb was improved by 46.5%, 43.5%, 54%, 57.6%, and 59.3%, respectively, following treatment with 1 mg of nanoparticles after 45 d. Our results suggested that the green synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles is a useful and ecofriendly biotechnological tool for treating tannery effluents, before they are discharged into water bodies, thus making the soil environment clean.Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | Ref. PNURSP2022R7

Drought effects on yield and its components in Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L.)

Effects of drought on yield and yield components were investigated during the spring season 2000-2001 by growing 14 Indian mustard genotypes under irrigated and rain-fed conditions at Bharatpur and Jobner. A disease and pest management schedule was followed when required. The drought susceptibility index (DSI) for seed yield and component characteristics was calculated to characterize the relative tolerance of genotypes. Plant height, primary branches, secondary branches per plant, 1000-seed weight and seed yield were reduced under rain-fed conditions. The top five genotypes at 13haratpur that showed tolerance to moisture stress for seed yield, as indicated by their lowest DSI, were, in descending order PSR-20, PRO-97024, JMMWR-941, IS-1787 and PCR-7, whereas at Jobner these were JMMWR-941, RC-1446, PSR-20, RH-819 and 'Varuna'. Of these, PSR-20 and JMMWR-941 were among the top six at both locations. These genotypes also showed relatively low DSI for one or more characteristics, such as primary branches per plant, secondary branches per plant, harvest index and seed : husk ratio. Genotypes with the lowest DSI, particularly for seed yield at both locations, would serve as useful donors in the breeding programme for improving the drought tolerance of existing Indian mustard cultivars

Study of role of bacterial vaginosis in pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility and preterm labor

Background and Objective: Prevention is better than cure. Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is associated with a two fold increased risk of preterm birth but its role in upper genital tract infection (pelvic inflammatory disease), tubal damage and infertility is less certain. Our study aimed at detecting the incidence of BV in infertility, preterm labour and pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). Material and Methods: Study comprised of 50 preterm labor women subjects, 12 infertile women subjects and 12 women subjects with pelvic inflammatory disease. Gram staining, Giemsa staining, KOH mount, pH determination of vaginal swabs from posterior fornix of women subjects of reproductive age(15 – 45 years) group who attended Gynaecology and Obstetrics OPD/IPD of our tertiary care hospitals were carried out. Results: Of the 50 preterm labor cases, 10 % (5) cases were of asymptomatic BV, 46% (23) case where of symptomatic BV. Of the 12 infertile women, 50% (6) cases were diagnosed to have BV. Of the 12 women with PID, 83 %( 10) cases were diagnosed to have BV. Conclusion: Most of the complications due to BV like pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility, preterm labor can be prevented if BV is diagnosed early and treated. In view of the potentially serious complications associated with BV, a routine screening of these patients is essential and simple tests like Gram Stain, Giemsa Stain, monitoring of pH should be recommended to be included as a routine screening test as part of Ante-Natal Care

A similarity solution for phase change of binary alloy with shrinkage or expansion

A similarity solution for solidification of an undercooled binary alloy is developed including the effect of shrinkage or expansion due to change in the density. The proposed similarity solution takes into account the change in density of the alloy while undergoing a phase change. Thermo-physical properties are assumed to be constant. An analytical solution (which is an outcome of the similarity solution) for temperature and concentration distribution has been established. The effect of the density ratio and Lewis number on both interface motion and conjugate heat and mass transfer is studied. It is found that the interface moves faster with the decrease in density ratio and initial temperature during solidification

Assess the effect of natural ageing and storage containers on seed quality of tomato seeds

The present study entitled "Seed quality assessment in the naturally aged seed of tomato was conducted during rabi 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 at the Department of Seed Science and Technology, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar. The freshly stored seed was observed to be highest in seed quality parameters i.e., germination per cent, seedling length, seedling dry weight and seed vigour indices as compared to when seeds were stored in different containers during 18 months storage period. As the storage period increase, the seed quality parameter goes on decreasing. Among the containers, 18-month seeds stored in a polythene bag (> 700 gauge) recorded significantly higher seed germination (60.67%), seedling length (8.77cm), seedling dry weight (11.42 mg), vigour index -I (532) and seed vigour index-II (793) as compared to a cloth bag. Standard germination percentage was maintained up to 15 months of storage in a polythene bag. In both containers, polythene bags performed better than cloth bags throughout the storage period

Assess the effect of natural ageing and storage containers on seed quality of tomato seeds

The present study entitled "Seed quality assessment in the naturally aged seed of tomato was conducted during rabi 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 at the Department of Seed Science and Technology, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar. The freshly stored seed was observed to be highest in seed quality parameters i.e., germination per cent, seedling length, seedling dry weight and seed vigour indices as compared to when seeds were stored in different containers during 18 months storage period. As the storage period increase, the seed quality parameter goes on decreasing. Among the containers, 18-month seeds stored in a polythene bag (> 700 gauge) recorded significantly higher seed germination (60.67%), seedling length (8.77cm), seedling dry weight (11.42 mg), vigour index -I (532) and seed vigour index-II (793) as compared to a cloth bag. Standard germination percentage was maintained up to 15 months of storage in a polythene bag. In both containers, polythene bags performed better than cloth bags throughout the storage period