Publications
Special Issue on ‘Nuclear energy and Indian society: public engagement, risk assessment and legal frameworks
Research Paper
| January 11, 2018
India’s Parliamentary election in 2014 witnessed formation of a new government. One of the first visits the new Prime Minster made was a trip to Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in Mumbai – cradle of India’s nuclear programme (Department of Atomic Energy 2014). The visit is historic and has wider significance in many ways; showing continuity of policy and purpose and a real political statement that the government may be new, but the government’s thrust on nuclear programme is not for bargain.
Specific oxygen uptake rate gradient – Another possible cause of excess sludge reduction in oxic-settling-anaerobic (OSA) process
Research Paper
| January 11, 2018
Oxic-settling-anaerobic process (OSA) has established that anaerobic followed by aerobic process in a cyclic reaction reduces the biological sludge growth. However, the mechanism behind the process of reduction is still undefined. The recirculation of aerobic sludge from a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) to an anaerobic side reactor at the rate of 3.8–9.8 gVSSrecycled/gVSS resulted in sludge reduction from 3% to 51% (Average = 14.6–39.8%) in comparison to absence of OSA process in conventional SBR.
Starch/polyethylene nanocomposites: Mechanical, thermal, and biodegradability characteristics
Research Paper
| January 11, 2018
Tapioca starch has been crosslinked and blended with 10% low density polyethylene (LDPE) with varying quantities of silane treated nanoclay using an epoxy functionalized LDPE as compatibilizer. The mechanical, thermal, water absorption, and biodegradability characteristics were investigated. The mechanical properties were considerably improved by crosslinking as compared to uncrosslinked composites. The flexural properties increased by more than 50% while tensile strength increased by one and half times.
Study of nanotoxicity: Current need
Research Paper
| January 11, 2018
Nanotechnology has potential to improve almost all aspect of human life. With the advent of nanotechnology a number of engineered nanoparticles have made their importance in our day to day life. But history has taught us that the development of every new technology is accompanied by risks. Hence it is highly required to study all possible risk factors associated with any technology. This article is a glimpse of the toxic effects of nanoparticles and emphasizes on detailed effects on nanoparticles on human health and environment.
Trust and cooperation among urban poor for transition to cleaner and modern cooking fuel
Research Paper
| January 11, 2018
A significant percentage of households in India still use firewood, kerosene and other biomass as cooking fuel. A survey on household energy consumption patterns in Hyderabad revealed that monthly expenditure of urban poor on firewood or kerosene is as much as the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder. However, poorer households do not switch to LPG due to the high initial investments for an LPG connection.
Village-level solar power in Africa: Accelerating access to electricity services through a socio-technical design in Kenya
Research Paper
| January 11, 2018
Village-level solar power supply represents a promising potential for access to electricity services.Increased knowledge is needed for the development of solutions that work for the users and are viable inthe long run. This article analyzes a solar power model developed and tested through action research incollaboration between a community in Kenya and a team of social scientists and technical experts. Theanalysis includes the reasons for its socio-technical design, and the actual functioning of the model.
Wildfires, Ecosystem Services, and Biodiversity in Tropical Dry Forest in India
Research Paper
| January 11, 2018
This review is intended to contribute to the understanding of the interlinkage between wildfire in India’s tropical dry forest (TDF) and selected ecosystem services (ES), namely forest provisioning and water regulating services, as well as biodiversity. TDF covers approximately 146,000 km2 (4.4 %) of India, whereas according to the MODIS fire product about 2200 km2 (1.4 %) burns per year. As studies on wildfire effects upon ESs and biodiversity in Indian TDFs are rare we partly transferred findings from other (dry) forest areas to the environmental situation in India.
Nuclear energy and risk assessment by Indian courts: analysis of judicial intervention in the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project
Research Paper
| January 11, 2018
Judicial intervention on nuclear energy safety discourse in India is very recent. The debate on the Civil Nuclear Liability for Damage Act 2010 in the Parliament and the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan provoked public apprehension about nuclear safety in India. The Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) in South India became the flash point. The localized agitation against the project consequently gained momentum and was taken up aggressively by civil society groups citing safety compromise on various technical parameters.
A comparison of different regression models for downscaling Landsat and MODIS land surface temperature images over heterogeneous landscape
Research Paper
| January 11, 2018
The present study reports a natural variation in microRNA172 (MIR172) family members isolated from six species of genus Brassica. The analysis of nucleotide polymorphism across 44 Brassica MIR172 homologs revealed a higher conservation in the predicted precursors relative to flanking regions. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were detected in miRNA and miRNA*. The 21-nt miRNA sequence was conserved in all MIR172 members except MIR172a. However, the miRNA* sequence was conserved only in MIR172a compared to A. thaliana.
A comparison of selected classification algorithms for mapping bamboo patches in lower Gangetic plains using very high resolution WorldView 2 imagery
Research Paper
| January 11, 2018
Bamboo is used by different communities in India to develop indigenous products, maintain livelihood and sustain life. Indian National Bamboo Mission focuses on evaluation, monitoring and development of bamboo as an important plant resource. Knowledge of spatial distribution of bamboo therefore becomes necessary in this context. The present study attempts to map bamboo patches using very high resolution (VHR) WorldView 2 (WV 2) imagery in parts of South 24 Parganas, West Bengal, India using both pixel and object-based approaches.