654 research outputs found
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Advances in Agrionics
No full textAgriculture is the backbone of the Indian economy which contributes around 32 % of national income providing more than 70% employment. During the sixties, the farmers did not have technological inputs apart from factors such as agricultural implements etc which led to agrarian
and economic crisis in the country. CSIR-CSIO realizing its social responsibilities focused on agriculture and agro based industries through the S&T intervention and introducing instrumentation at various stages. Range of instruments for measurement and analysis of soil, environment and plant activity like crop growth were developed and extensively tested. In the beginning, CSIR-CSIO developed a wide range of instruments like specific Ion analyzer for detecting ion levels in soil, storage houses, digital multigrain moisture meter, digital electromagnetic soil salinity tester, field usable pH meter, automation system for post harvest storage of potato
under controlled environmental, electro-optical system for sorting and grading of fruits and vegetables specially for the apple growers in classifying their produce according to its quality, microprocessor based soil analyzer, etc.
In the present scenario, CSIR-CSIO, a leading research organization in India is concentrating on agro instruments which are cost effective, farmer friendly and eco-friendly. The laboratory is currently pursuing research work leading to technology development in the broad areas such as
agro-climatic measurements (soil parameters, crop health and pesticide estimation); quantification of quality for agri-produce with focus on beverages like tea and honey; environment controlled manufacturing of tea, electrostatic nozzle for controlled release of pesticides; food storage
technologies; et
Sensing behavior of silica-coated Au nanoparticles towards nitrobenzene
No full textIn the present work, we report silica-stabilized gold nanoparticles (SiO2/Au NPs) as a wide-range sensitive sensing material towards nitrobenzene (NB). Surface hydroxyl groups of silica selectively form Meisenheimer complex with electron-deficient aromatic ring of NB and facilitate its immobilization and subsequent catalytic reduction by Au cores. Silica-coated Au NPs were synthesized and characterized for their chemical, morphological, structural, and optical properties. SiO2/Au NPs-modified electrodes were characterized with impedometric and cyclic voltammetric electrochemical techniques. SiO2/Au NPs are found to have a higher optical detection window of range, 0.1 M to 1 μM and a lower electrochemical detection window of range, 10−4 to 2.5 × 10−2 mM with a detection limit of 12.3 ppb. A significant enhancement in cathodic peak current, C 1, and sensitivity (102 μA/mM) was observed with modified electrode relative to bare and silica-modified electrodes. The I P was found to be linearly co-related to NB concentration (R 2 = 0.985). The interference of cationic and anionic species on sensor sensitivity was also studied. Selectivity in the present sensing system may be further improved by modifying silica with specific functional moietie
Comparative Study of Storage Phosphor Plate and Flat panel Detectors using Phantoms
No full textImage quality measurement procedures are used to
evaluate and compare the performance of different detector
systems. In routine medical application, a partial usage of the detector is perceived and the overall characteristics of the whole detector are not generally available. Recently, development has been accelerated for the flat-panel digital X-ray image sensors that have the potential to supersede the other detector systems. The paper is aimed at the comparison of two detector systems in medical imaging namely the storage phosphor plates and the flat panel detectors used in digital radiography. Test object (phantom) is an object that can generate a sharp edge in the X-ray image.The parameters of objective assessment of image quality are MTF, NPS and DQE which are under concern. The methodology for measuring DQE in a digital detector has been standardized in IEC 62220-1. This standard is applicable to two dimensional detectors in general radiography. This standard includes the measurement of MTF and NPS which is used for measuring DQE
Optimization of Process Parameters to Achieve Nano Level Surface Quality on Polycarbonate
No full textOptical grade plastics are increasingly being used as
magnifiers in Ophthalmic Optical Instrumentation
applications. In its effort to develop indigenously aspheric technology-based Ophthalmic Optical aids, the Aspheric Group at CSIO has studied the machining and surface characteristics of optical grade plastics. Generally, PMMA and polycarbonate considered as suitable candidates for aspheric Visual aids. In the study presented, optical grade polycarbonate is explored for its single-point diamond turning (SPDT) features and its profile characteristics. This study focuses on the optimization of SPDT machining parameters viz: tool feed rate, depth of cut, spindle speed for a given tool nose radius. In this study, the machining sensitivity in terms of surface roughness and profile error (Pt) is investigated. It is found that machining parameters play a major role in surface quality optimization in terms of roughness and profile. Based on optimized machining parameters, good quality aspheric lens is developed
Performance and Characterization of Different Material Electrodes in Electrostatic Pesticide Spraying Nozzle System
No full textPerformance and characterization of required electrode material and its insulation for high voltage application in electrostatic spray nozzle system has been presented. The electrode materials for comparative studies were Copper (98% pure), Stainless Steel (grade 304), Brass (70% Cu, 30% Zn) and Aluminium (98% pure). All electrodes were ring electrode of same inner diameter 15 mm and outer diameter of 22 mm of thickness 3.5 mm suited for designed nozzle system used in experiments. The insulating material was Teflon (PTFE), whose loss factor is zero and has an almost universal chemical inertness, suited to electrode materials. The experiments were conducted in air atmosphere at ambient conditions (T=16±2 °C, RH= 57±3%), for air feed rate (18.5 lt/min) and liquid feed rate (93.5 ml/min), applied voltage ranging from 0 V to +5 kV. Although a lot of literature was available for electrode material but performance and characterization of electrode material for high voltage applications in electrostatic spraying was not identified properly. The results of applied induction electrification process were characterized by a charge-to-mass (Q/m) factor as a function of electrode and its insulating material
Electrostatic Hand Pressure Swirl Nozzle for Small Crop Growers
No full textElectrostatic (ES) force fields have been employed in the design of Electrostatic swirl nozzle for increasing deposition efficiency, reducing the drift of pesticides. The designed induction charge based electrostatic hand pressure knapsack sprayer offered minimum possible distance between induction electrode and liquid sheet. The experiments were conducted in air atmosphere at ambient conditions (T=20±2 °C, RH= 57±3%) for liquid feed rate 340ml/min at applied hand pressure of 30psi and applied voltage ranging from 0 V to +5 kV. The charging efficiency of 0.37mC/kg at volume median diameter (VMD) of 100 μm has been measured at 3.3 kV. The evaluation was done with an artificial target in laboratory. Uniform deposition in hidden areas of the target was 2.0-2.5 fold increment
Sensing behavior study of silica-coated Ag nanoparticles deposited on glassy carbon toward nitrobenzene
No full textIn this study, we report the synthesis and
characterization of silica-coated silver core/shell
nanostructures (NSs) and their sensing behavior when
deposited on glassy carbon (GC) electrode for nitrobenzene
(NB) detection. Synthesized silica-coated silver core/shell NSs were characterized for their chemical, structural and morphological properties. TEM analysis confirmed that the silica-coated silver nanoparticles (size *200 nm) are spherical in shape and the core diameter is *38 nm. FT-IR spectra also confirmed the coating of silica on the surface of silver nanoparticles. Cyclic voltammetry studies of NB with silica-coated silver core–shell nanoparticles-modified
GC electrodes revealed two cathodic peaks at -0.74 V (C1) and -0.34 V (C2) along with two anodic peaks at -0.64 V (A1) and -0.2 V (A2). Enhanced cathodic peak current (C1, IP) of the core– shell NSs-modified electrode is observed relative to bare and silica-modified electrodes. Amperometric studies revealed a very high current sensitivity (114 nA/nM) and linearly dependent reduction current with NB amount in the low concentration range and a
detection limit of 25 nM. Moreover, the core–shell
NSs-modified electrode showed good reproducibility and selectivity toward NB in the presence of many cationic, anionic, and organic interferents
Nanostructured polyaniline–silicon substrate for protein biosensing
No full textPolyaniline (PAni) has been electrochemically deposited on a silicon (Si) substrate to form thin nanostructured films of around 50 nm thickness. These films have been modified with avidin, followed by the immobilization of biotinylated anti-human IgG to form a sensing bioelectrode. The deposited PAni thin films on the Si substrate have been characterized by electron and atomic force microscopy. Successful immobilization of the biomolecules has been confirmed by Raman spectrometric studies. The current–voltage characteristics of the prepared sensor are exploited for the determination of human IgG antigen in the concentration range of 5–550 μg mL−1. The proposed biosensor's detection limit and sensitivity are 5 μg mL−1 and 0.15 μS ppm−1 human IgG, respectively
Interfacing of DNA with carbon nanotubes for nanodevice applications
No full textIn nanotechnology, carbon nanotubes are evolving as ‘hot spot’ due to their applications as most sensitive biosensors. Thus, study of effect of biomolecular interaction is prerequisite for their electrical application in biosensors and bioelectronics. Here, we have explored this effect on electrical properties of carbon nanotubes with DNA as a model biomolecule. A stable conjugate of carbon nanotubes with DNA is formed via covalent methodology employing quantum dot as fluoropore and characterized with various spectroscopic, fluoroscopic and microscopic techniques. CNT–DNA adduct showed decreased transconductance (from 614.46 μS to 1.34 μS) and shift of threshold voltage (from −0.85 V to 2.5 V) due to change in Schottky barriers at metal–nanotube contact. In addition, decrease in hole mobility (from 4.46 × 106 to 9.72 × 103 cm2 V−1 s−1) and increase in ON-linear resistance (from 74 kΩ to 0.44 MΩ) conclude large change in device parameters. On the one hand, this substantial change in device parameters after interfacing with biomolecules supports application of carbon nanotubes in the field of biosensors while on the other hand, the same can limit their use in future power electronic devices where stability in device parameters is essential
Edge Based Fiber Bragg Grating Interrogator
No full textFiber Bragg Grating (FBG) interrogation system based on spectral edge characteristics of Chirped Fiber Bragg Grating (CFBG) is reported to measure temperature of hot water bath. We use in-house fabricated FBG and CFBG as an edge filter in developing FBG interrogator. The CFBG transmission profile at rising and falling edge varies linearly with wavelength. The Bragg wavelength of FBG as a function of temperature forms the basis of temperature measurement. The ratio of optical intensity of Bragg wavelength due to edge slope of CFBG and intensity of the Bragg wavelength vs. temperature of water bath observed is linear. Using the slope of linear curve, the temperature measurement resolution of 0.30C with temperature range of 300C was achieved