88 research outputs found
Electrochemically impregnated aluminum-stabilized alpha-nickel hydroxide electrodes
No full textNickel-positive electrodes obtained by electrochemical impregnation of aluminum-substituted alpha-nickel hydroxide are found to deliver a reversible discharge capacity of ca. 450 mAh/g. This is much higher than the capacity of beta-nickel hydroxide electrodes [200 mAh/g: this work; 225 mAh/g: Dixit et al., J. Power Sources, 63, 167 (1996)] prepared under identical conditions and pasted electrodes comprising cobalt-doped nickel hydroxide [345 mAh/g: Faure et al., J. Power Sources, 36, 497 (1991)]. These observations suggest that the theoretical target-capacity for high-performance nickel-positive electrodes must be revised from the currently accepted value of 289 mAh/g (le exchange) to 491 mAh/g [1.7e exchange: Corrigan and Knight, J. Electrochem. Soc., 136, 613 (1989)]. (C) 1999 The Electrochemical Society. S1099-0062(98)08-044-4. All rights reserved
Pseudoceros vishnui Dixit, Raghunathan & Chandra, 2017, sp. nov.
No full textPseudoceros vishnui sp. nov. Figures 6–8; Table. 1 Type material: Holotype: One specimen (20 x 15 mm) as serial sections of reproductive structures (7 Slides), remainder of animal in 70% ethanol. Collected 19.03.2015, subtidally from 10 m depth, Pongibalu (Lat: 11°30.573’N, Long: 92°39.123’E), South Andaman, India (ZSI/ANRC-16841). Paratypes: One specimen (15 x 10 mm) as serial sections of reproductive structures (5 Slides), remainder of animal in 70% ethanol. Same as holotype (ZSI/ANRC-16842). One specimen (11 x 8 mm) in 70% EtOh. Collected 0 8.09.2015, subtidally from 15 m depth, Pongibalu (Lat: 11°30.573’N, Long: 92°39.123’E), South Andaman, India (ZSI/ANRC-16843). One specimen (11 x 8 mm) in 70% EtOh. Collected 15.12.2016, subtidally from 9 m depth, Rutland Island (Lat: 11°30.119’N, Long: 92°37.112’E), South Andaman, India (ZSI/ANRC-16844). Distribution. Pongibalu, South Andaman, India. Additional photographic record from Burma (Newman & Cannon, 2005). Diagnosis. Body colour cream, solid purple to violet spots all over body. Margin made up of non-continuous dark blue spots of various sizes. Etymology. This species is named after Vishnu Kumar Dixit, father of the first author, in acknowledgment of his support throughout his research on marine flatworms. Synonyms. It is likely that it corresponds to Pseudoceros sp. 38, Newman & Cannon (2005), CD-ROM and to Pseudoceros sp., Kuiter & Debelius (2009), see taxonomic remarks below. Description. Live. Body oval and smooth, margin without any ruffles. Many purple to violet coloured spots, of variable sizes, more or less circular are present all over the body (Fig. 6A, B). Blue pseudotentacles, small, formed by simple folds of the anterior margin with scattered eyespots on each pseudotentacle on either side. Cerebral eyespot cluster with 40–43 eyes (Fig. 6 C). Ventral side cream in colour. Margin made up of small blue coloured discontinuous spots of various sizes. Preserved. Holotype 15 mm long and 12 mm wide at central portion. Translucent due to loss of colour on fixation but some faint purple spots visible in paratype specimen. Dorsal epidermis very rough and uneven with thickens 45 to 55 µm and is twice the thickness of ventral epidermis which is 18–22 µm and smooth. Nucleus present at the base while rhabdites near dorsal surface. A distinct basement membrane clearly separates epithelium from underlying muscles. Distance between pharyngeal mouth and sucker is 4.53 mm. Male and female gonopores 1.03 mm apart. Pharynx small and ruffled with 7 folds. Male pore 1.93 mm from pharyngeal mouth and is situated between last pair of pharyngeal folds. Sucker 1.3 mm from female pore. Reproductive characters. Measurements refer to length in a 15 mm long worm, the holotype. Seminal vesicle (Fig. 7 A) elongate and oval (490 x 421 µm), heavily muscularized, parallel to longitudinal body axis. Prostatic vesicle (Fig. 7 A) located anterior to seminal vesicle and just above male atrium. It is slightly tapering in shape downwards (180 x 168 µm) with thickness of inner wall varying from 30 to 50 µm. Male atrium deep with many folds and stylet 197 µm long. Female atrium 188 µm long while vagina is 384 µm long tube curved towards posterior end. Well defined cement pouches with numerous cement glands present (Fig. 7 B & 8). Taxonomic remarks. The presence of this species is recorded on many occasions from Andaman Islands (Sreeraj & Raghunathan 2013; Sreeraj et al. 2015); however, no attempt had been made in the past to make a formal description. To date, only 4 species under the genus Pseudoceros are described from India: Pseudoceros gamblei Laidlaw, 1902; P. tigrinus Laidlaw, 1902; P. galatheensis Dixit et al. 2017 and P. nigropunctatus Dixit et al. 2017. The general spotted pattern of newly described species P. vishnui sp. nov. resembles with P. nigropunctatus described from same geographical area but the difference in appearance and colour of the spots on dorsal surface and background colour distinguish them from one another. In addition, P. laingensis Newman & Cannon, 1998 described from Papua New Guinea is the most resembled species to P. vishnui sp. nov. in terms of margins, background colour and spots. Both species have purple spots on dorsum but the spots in P. laingensis are smaller and more in number in comparison to P. vishnui sp. nov. with bigger and few spots. Border of P. laingensis is made up of numerous purple spots (same colour as that of spots on dorsum) of different sizes (Bolanos et al. 2016) while the border of P. vishnui sp. nov. is characterised by numerous spots of blue colour and never of same colour as of spots on dorsum. Bolanos et al (2016) mentioned that the purple dots on the dorsal surface of P. laingensis were numerous in some individuals but scarce in others while the frequency of spots in P. vishnui sp. nov. remained almost similar in all the studied individuals. There are few more species under the genus Pseudoceros with presence of spots on their body namely Pseudoceros nipponicus Kato, 1944; P. lindae Newman & Cannon, 1994 and P. scintillatus Newman & Cannon, 1994. P. nipponicus have black spots on the dorsum and a russet brown sub marginal band with a black rim while P. lindae is characterised by golden yellow spots on dorsum. In P. scintillatus the spots are very big, differently coloured, clearly outlined and touching the margin. Newman & Cannon, 2005 reported this undescribed species as Pseudoceros sp. 38 from Burma and mentioned colour of spots as red and margins to be made up of purple spots. Kuiter & Debelius (2009) also reported this species as Pseudoceros sp. from Andaman Sea based on photographic record. But the overall appearance and pattern of the species agrees to the newly described species and existence of both in same geographical area led us to assume that both can be same species. Table. 1 is provided with detailed comparisons between newly described species and similarly coloured species. TABLE. 1. Comparison of Pseudoceros vishnui sp. nov. characters with similarly coloured and patterned species.Published as part of Dixit, Sudhanshu, Raghunathan, C. & Chandra, Kailash, 2017, Two new Pseudoceros (Polycladida: Pseudocerotidae) and a Prostheceraeus (Polycladida: Euryleptidae) from Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India, pp. 495-512 in Zootaxa 4269 (4) on pages 501-503, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4269.4.5, http://zenodo.org/record/58274
Electrochemically Impregnated Aluminum-Stabilized α-Nickel Hydroxide Electrodes
No full textNickel-positive electrodes obtained by electrochemical impregnation of aluminum-substituted α-nickel hydroxide are found to deliver a reversible discharge capacity of ca. 450 mAh/g. This is much higher than the capacity of β-nickel hydroxide electrodes 200 mAh/g: this work; 225 mAh/g: Dixit et al., J. Power Sources, 63, 167 (1996) prepared under identical conditions and pasted electrodes comprising cobalt-doped nickel hydroxide 345 mAh/g: Faure et al., J. Power Sources, 36, 497 (1991). These observations suggest that the theoretical target-capacity for high-performance nickel-positive electrodes must be revised from the currently accepted value of 289 mAh/g (1e exchange) to 491 mAh/g 1.7e exchange: Corrigan and Knight, J. Electrochem. Soc., 136, 613 (1989). © 1999 The Electrochemical Society. S1099-0062(98)08-044-4. All rights reserved
Combustion and emission characteristics of variable compression ignition engine fueled with Jatropha curcas ethyl ester blends at different compression ratio
No full textEngine performance and emission characteristics of unmodified biodiesel fueled diesel engines are highly influenced by their ignition and combustion behavior. In this study, emission and combustion characteristics were studied when the engine operated using the different blends (B10, B20, B30, and B40) and normal diesel fuel (B0) as well as when varying the compression ratio from 16.5 : 1 to 17.5 : 1 to 18.5 : 1. The change of compression ratio from 16.5 : 1 to 18.5 : 1 resulted in 27.1%, 27.29%, 26.38%, 28.48%, and 34.68% increase in cylinder pressure for the blends B0, B10, B20, B30, and B40, respectively, at 75% of rated load conditions. Higher peak heat release rate increased by 23.19%, 14.03%, 26.32%, 21.87%, and 25.53% for the blends B0, B10, B20, B30, and B40, respectively, at 75% of rated load conditions, when compression ratio was increased from16.5 : 1 to 18.5 : 1. The delay period decreased by 21.26%, CO emission reduced by 14.28%, and NO emission increased by 22.84% for B40 blends at 75% of rated load conditions, when compression ratio was increased from 16.5 : 1 to 18.5 : 1. It is concluded that Jatropha oil ester can be used as fuel in diesel engine by blending it with diesel fuel
Nozzle Spacing on Sprayer Boom
No full textAgricultural sprayers are frequently used to spray pesticides on standing crops to avoid pest attack. Nozzles are placed on sprayer boom in such a way that the chemical is spread evenly over the plant canopy. The spacing between the nozzles on the boom of commonly used sprayers is quite speculative and not based on the type of nozzle, the discharge from the nozzle, operating pressure, height of the boom, etc. A computer program was developed to select appropriate spacing between the nozzles based on operating pressure, height, spray pattern, etc. The best-suited nozzle spacing was calculated on the basis of overlap of the spread patterns., Coefficient of Variation was calculated for the different levels of overlap of the spread patterns. Spacing for which the Coefficient of Variation was minimum was taken as the best suitable spacing for nozzles on the sprayer boom. The program was validated by using operational parameters of a Triple Action Nozzle with a hollow cone spread pattern. The nozzle was operated at working pressure of 4.0 kglcm2, at a height of 40 cm moving at the forward speed of2.5 km/h. The best spacing was found to be around 57 cm. The program was also used to find out the number of nozzles required for a given boom length and the total volume of chemical sprayed per hectare
Book review: Tourism in Asian cities
No full textRoy C. Wood, Visiting Professor, Tourism and the Visitor Economy, University of Cumbria, UK reviews 'Tourism in Asian Cities', Saurabh Kumar Dixit (Ed.), Routledge (2021), ISBN 9780367210021.
First, a declaration of interest: this reviewer is an erstwhile Routledge author and has contributed to several ‘handbook’ collections by the editor of the volume under review. A search through ‘top’ tourism journals and book publishers' websites reveals that with the exception of numerous contributions from academics in the People's Republic of China and Taiwan, researchers from other Asian countries are comparatively absent. The same is true for Africa and South America. On those grounds alone the present volume could be welcomed for the fact that a significant number of its contributors come from a range of Asian countries. The book comprises sixteen contributions beyond a brief introduction and these are organized into three sections
Studies on Selected Mechanized Solutions for Efficient Incorporation of Green Manure Crop
No full textA comparative study on incorporation of green manure crop (Sesbania aculeata) with a newly developed tractor operated biomass incorporator (BI) was conducted in contrast to prevailing technologies. Average depth of soil cut with BI (174.7 mm) was significantly higher than rotavator (71.3 mm), disc harrow (114 mm) and disc harrow plus cultivator (121 mm) at crop growth stage I (36 DAS) and stage II (50 DAS). Size of cut with BI (202 mm and 326.5 mm) was significantly lower than disc harrow, disc harrow pluscultivator and mould board plough at crop growth stage I and II. Field capacity of BI and conventional mould board plough was significantly lower than rotavator and disc harrow because of smaller width of coverage of two-bottom implements. Fuel consumption was significantly higher for rotavator at both stages of crop growth. Pulverization index was lowest with rotavator (6.70 mm and 6.98 mm), followed by BI, disc harrow plus cultivator, disc harrow and mould board plough at both crop stages. Bulk density index was significantly high for BI, followed by rotavator, mould board plough, disc harrow plus cultivator and disc harrow at both crop stages. Mixing index with BI (97.1 %) was significantly higher than all other implements. Biomass incorporator resulted in analogous mixing index at both crop stages. For all other implements, decrease in mixing index was recorded
Studies on Physical Properties of Pelleted Onion (Allium cepa L.) Seeds
No full textOnion (Allium cepa L.) is one of the major vegetable crops grown throughout India. Pelletizing of the onion seed by providing a seed coat helps in changing the physical characteristics of the seed. Experiment was conducted for studying the physical properties of pelleted onion seed and these were compared to un-pelleted seed. The onion seed of variety Punjab Naroya (PN) was used throughout the experiment. The physical properties namely size, shape, thousand grain weight, angle of repose, bulk density and coefficient of static friction are important from engineering view point. The seeds were got pelletized in three categories i.e. the seed to coating material was in the ratio of 1:1, 1:2 and 1:3. The geometric mean diameter was measured for the three categories are 2.45, 2.82, and 3.07 mm. In comparison, the geometric mean diameter for un-pelleted seed was 2.00 mm. The average values of angle of repose for the cultivars under study as observed in the laboratory was 29.50°, 24.78°, and 23.70° respectively for Pelleted 1:1, 1:2 and 1:3 onion seeds. In comparison, the average value of angle of repose for un-pelleted seed was 31.61°. The values of porosity are decreased in gradually un-pelleted to 1:1, 1:2 and 1:3 pelleted seeds whereas the porosity for 1:3 Pelleted seed was 41.84% and is the lowest amongst the other cultivars. The porosity of un-pelleted seed was the highest (53.3%)
Design of Ingenious Electronic Actuated Tractor Operated Liquid Urea Applicator
No full text92-101The paper contains the design, development details, and field performance of an ingenious electronic actuated tractor
operated liquid urea applicator. The fundamentals of farm machinery design were taken into consideration in order to design
and select the various components for the liquid urea applicator. The five-row prototype had a row spacing of 40 cm and
applied liquid urea at a spacing of 30 cm in each line. The cut-off mechanism was controlled electronically with the help of
a limit switch, sensor, solenoid valve, and relay. All the selected components in the designed electronic circuit for cut-off
mechanism were powered by 12V DC, and to function properly, power was taken from the tractor's battery. The applicator
was developed based on design calculations and then evaluated in the laboratory as well as in field conditions. During field
evaluation of the developed prototype, it was found that the application rate was 392 L∙h⁻1, actual field capacity was 0.36
ha∙h⁻1, fuel consumption was 11.3 L∙ha⁻1 with a 2.7 km∙h⁻1 forward speed of the machine. The developed machine is
suitable for applying liquid urea in the mulch field with minimum disturbance of soil, plant and residue. It would help in
curbing paddy straw burning and reduce fertilizer losses due to volatilization
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