Research Papers

PMMA-cellulose acetate phthalate nanocomposites reinforced with silane-treated nanoclay

Manjunath L, Sailaja R R N
| 2014

A blend of cellulose acetate phthalate with 8 poly (methyl methacrylate) has been developed by 9 reinforcing it with silane-treated nanoclay. In order to 10 enhance interactions between the nanoclay and blend 11 components, maleic anhydride was added as the 12 coupling agent. The mechanical properties were 13 enhanced and were further analyzed by theoretical 14 models. The thermal properties and water absorption 15 characteristics were also assessed.

Photochemical roles of rapid economic growth and potential abatement strategies on tropospheric ozone over South and East Asia in 2030

Chatani S, Amann M, Goel Anju, Hao J, Klimont Z, Kumar Atul, Mishra Arabinda, Sharma S, Wang S X, Wang Y X, Zhao B
| 2014

A regional air quality simulation framework including the Weather Research and Forecasting modelling system (WRF), the Community Multi-scale Air Quality modeling system (CMAQ), and precursor emissions to simulate tropospheric ozone over South and 5 East Asia is introduced. Concentrations of tropospheric ozone and related species simulated by the framework are validated by comparing with observation data of surface monitorings, ozone zondes, and satellites obtained in 2010. The simulation demonstrates acceptable performance on tropospheric ozone over South and East Asia at regional scale.

Outreach and dissemination of information services through electronic media: the case of Specialized Library on Climate Change, TERI

Deepa N, Ganguly Shantanu
| 2014

The dynamic library and information science sector demands that libraries maintain and develop the information resources and services to anticipate and serve the information needs of users. There is a growing need for developing and disseminating information resources and services pertaining to specific subject areas to enable easy access by focused user communities. Climate change is one such area that has generated much interest in the national as well as international arena.

Osmoregulation and the human mycobiome

Saxena Abhishek, Sitaraman Ramakrishnan
| 2014

The last one-and-a half decades have made it amply clear that the human microbiota have a very significant role to play in health and disease. The human body can (or should) be better viewed as a complex ecosystem inhabited by micro-organisms that outnumber human cells 10 to 1 (Ley et al., 2006). However, most research in this field has been focused on the prokaryotic (specifically, bacterial) component of the microbiota. Sampling, in turn, is carried out mostly from sites that are readily accessible (Human Microbiome Project Consortium, 2012).

Nuclear liability law of India: an appraisal of extent of liability, right of recourse and transboundary applicability

Ram Mohan M P
| 2014

The making of the 'Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act 2010' was one of the finest legislative endeavours in the recent times. The exercise was significant because nuclear energy and the consequences of pursuing such an energy form were debated extensively in the Parliament for the first time. The result was a liability law that had an exceptional domestic political acceptability, but in many ways appeared to defy conventional international practice.

Nuclear energy law and decision making in India

Ram Mohan M P, Rajesh Babu R
| 2014

Nuclear energy as a safe source of energy has been a subject of constant debate. The benefits of nuclear energy for power production and its allied applications on the one side and the risks posed by nuclear energy to public health and safety, and to the environment on the other side have been a source of concern. The Government of India has taken a policy view that nuclear energy is necessary to meet the growing energy needs of the country.

Newly modified silica-based magnetically driven nanoadsorbent: A sustainable and versatile platform for efficient and selective recovery of cadmium from water and fly-ash ameliorated soil

Sharma R K, Puri Aditi, Monga Yukti, Adholeya Alok
| 2014

The interface of magnetically driven nanotechnology with solid phase extraction methodology has been realized to form a novel nanoadsorbent via covalent linkage of amine functionalized silica-coated magnetic nanoparticles with a newly synthesized Schiff?s base. The final nanoadsorbent and parental nanosupport, with each step of successive modifications, were characterized by SEM, TEM, EDS, XRD, VSM and FT-IR.

Multi-scale patterns in co-occurrence of rocky inter-tidal gastropods along the west coast of India

Puri Mahi, Namboothri Naveen, Shanker Kartik
| 2014

Over the last five decades, inter-tidal ecology has evolved from being a purely descriptive science to using quantitative and experimental approaches to understand community structure. However, this has sometimes come at the cost of understanding generality since many studies have focused on local spatial scales and patch dynamics. This study aimed to assess the generality of co-occurrence patterns at a large spatial scale, covering over 1000 km, by comparing empirical association patterns with random patterns generated by simulations.

Multi-peak Gaussian fit applicability to wind speed distribution

Hossaina Jami, Sharma Suman, Kishore V V N
| 2014

Efforts to harness wind energy on a large scale have gained momentum across the world. By the end of December 2013, a cumulative capacity of more than 300 GW of wind power projects had been installed all over the world. One of the key aspects involved in implementing wind power projects is the analysis of wind speeds distributions observed or recorded and assessment of annual energy output from the wind turbines. The wind speed frequency distribution is generally assumed to follow two-parameter Weibull Distribution.

Moving towards inclusive urban adaptation: approaches to integrating community-based adaptation to climate change at city and national scale

Archera Diane, Almansi Florencia, DiGregorio Michael , Roberts Debra, Sharma Divya, Syam Denia
| 2014

Adaptation to climate change in urban areas presents a complex challenge. Consequently, approaches to urban adaptation should be both multilevel and multidimensional. Community-based adaptation (CBA) presents an opportunity for locallevel participation in framing adaptation planning and activities, with wider transformative potential for urban governance. This paper presents five case studies from cities in the Global South which offer insights into the different scales at which CBA can be mainstreamed in urban contexts, and the various ways in which this is happening.