634 research outputs found
IRRI-DG’s visit of mechanized-DSR clusters and interaction with the stakeholders
No full textA Quick Overview
Dr. Yvonne Pinto, Director General of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), accompanied by Dr. Virender Kumar, Interim Research Director and Head of the Sustainable Impact Department, Research Leader for Climate-Resilient Farming Systems, and DSR-Odisha Project Lead, Dr. Sudhanshu Singh, Director of the IRRI South Asia Regional Centre (ISARC), and Dr. Ashok Kumar, Sr. Associate Scientist-II Program Coordinator, IRRI visited three mechanized direct seeded rice (mech-DSR) clusters viz. Danpur, Ramachandrapur, and Sujanapur villages in Delang block of Puri district in Odisha, India, on December 3, 2024. She interacted with demonstration farmers at the spot itself. At the Danpur cluster, in addition to the field visits and interactions with the concerned farmer Mr. Bikram Parida, Dr. Pinto visited stalls showcasing essential farm machinery including multi-crop planters fitted with inclined plate seed metering system for mech-DSR and other crops in sequence, power weeders, and sprayers, suitable herbicides, and IRRI-GoO-DSR-Odisha project publications and standees. Dr. Pinto also interacted with a wide range of stakeholders, including farmers, service providers, and strategic partners. Over 100 participants including 23 females from across 8- districts of Odisha (Bargarh, Bhadrak, Ganjam, Mayurbhanj, Puri, Khordha and Cuttack) attended the event, representing diverse groups such as farmers, service providers, agriculture officials, KVK scientist, NGO
partners, private companies, project staff, and the media. This way she could get a quick feedback and updates on the project's interventions, impacts and insights.
Two significant aspects of the event were: 1) an in-depth meeting with stakeholders, where Dr. Pinto engaged with farmers and strategic partners to discuss the challenges, benefits, and future opportunities related to mech-DSR based systems in Odisha, and 2) the stakeholders' expectations and keen interest in hearing Dr. Pinto’s vision for agricultural development, particularly regarding the mechanized DSR-based system in Odisha
On the Environmentally Friendly Synthesis of 2‐Hydroxyethyl Furan‐5‐Carboxylic Acid (MHEF) and bis(2‐Hydroxyethyl) Furan‐2,5‐Dicarboxylate (BHEF)
Full text linkTo better understand how the biocatalyzed depolymerization of polyesters works, model molecules are needed to develop activity assays and determine enzymatic kinetic parameters. In this communication the chemical synthesis and characterization of 2-hydroxyethyl furan-5-carboxylic acid and bis(2-hydroxyethyl) furan-2,5-dicarboxylates as potential model molecules to further study the enzymatic depolymerization of poly(ethylene furanoate) was investigated
Virender Sehwag and Cricket’s Existential Anxiety
No full textThe article is in the nature of a personal interpretation of the illustrious career of former Indian batsman Virender Sehwag. Known for his swashbuckling stroke play, he found his niche at the top of the famed Test batting line up that once boasted of the likes of Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, V.V.S. Laxman and Saurav Ganguly, despite unanimous opinion of critics about the glaring deficiencies in his batting technique. His rather inconsistent returns in limited overs cricket run counter to the conventional wisdom that associates the ‘copybook style’ of batting with greater successes in the longest format of the sport. The article is less of an attempt to a statistical analysis of the batsman for reaching a quantitative explanation for the said ‘anomaly’ in his performances, and more of an enquiry into his ‘inner world’ as a batsman, offering a metaphorical insight into the existential dichotomy of the longer and shorter formats of cricket. The author draws from the perspective of Danish theologian Soren Kierkegaard on anxiety and that of American anthropologist Ernest Becker on neurosis, reflecting on the various manifestations of despair that haunt batsmen across formats, as a window to Sehwag’s unique defences in dealing with the anxieties at the batting crease. In this quest, the author expresses concerns about the future of the game in the backdrop of the slippery slope of the age-old existential dilemma facing the governing body of the sport in its bid to go truly global
The quest for the new CaLB:Potential of three thermostable polyester hydrolases for esterification reactions
Full text linkThe potential of three thermophilic enzymes from the α,β-hydrolases superfamily, that have recently been described for polyester hydrolysis, was investigated for polyester synthesis, esterification and transesterification reactions. The hydrolases (LCC, leaf-branch compost cutinase; its variant LCCICCG, Thb from Thermoanaerobacterales bacterium) were recombinantly expressed, purified and immobilized onto polypropylene beads. A design of experiments (DoE) assisted study was performed to investigate their synthetic potential to produce short flavor esters by analyzing their thermostability and selectivity towards alcohols and acids with different chain lengths. The factors considered in the DoE (i.e., temperature, alcohol chain length, acid chain length and reaction time) were optimized using MODDE® software to generate a predictive model defining the optimal synthetic conditions for the three enzymes. In each experiment, the monitored response was the acid conversion rate, quantified with GC-FID analysis. For synthesis, the temperature optima of LCC, LCCICCG and Thb were 60 °C, 55 °C, and 80 °C, respectively, corresponding to the maximum percentage of monomers conversion for long-chain alcohols and acids as substrates. Polymerization of dimethyl adipate and 1,8-octanediol as building blocks was carried out to confirm the applicability of the obtained model for the synthesis of larger macromolecules via polycondensation reactions. The proposed approach highlights the innovative application of these novel thermophilic enzymes, traditionally associated with hydrolytic functions, as effective biocatalysts in synthetic processes, enabling the production of a well-known class of polyesters through an alternative and sustainable enzymatic route. Conversion of monomers, as determined by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis, was ∼90 % for all enzymes while the average molecular weights (Mn) of the polyesters, analyzed by gel permeation chromatography, were between 3600 Da, for LCC and its variant LCCICCG, and 3800 Da for Thb
Efficient Depolymerization of Poly(ethylene 2,5-furanoate) Using Polyester Hydrolases
Full text linkPoly(ethylene 2,5-furanoate) (PEF) is considered to be the next-generation green polyester and is hailed as a rising star among novel plastics. It is biobased, is nontoxic, and has comparable or improved properties compared to polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Biobased PEF offers lower life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions than PET. However, with its industrial production starting soon, relatively little is known about its actual recyclability. This work reports on the near complete depolymerization of PEF using two efficient PET hydrolases, FastPETase and leaf compost-cutinase (LCC), at loadings 4.5–17 times lower than previously reported. FastPETase and LCC exhibited maximum depolymerization of PEF, measured by weight loss and 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) production, using potassium phosphate–NaOH buffer at 50 and 65 °C, respectively. The 98% depolymerization of 13 g L–1 PEF film was achieved by three additions of the LCC in 72 h, while 78% weight loss was obtained using FastPETase in controlled conditions. Nonetheless, 92% weight loss was obtained with FastPETase when using only 6 g L–1 PEF. The main reaction products were identified as FDCA, ethylene glycol, and mono(2-hydroxyethyl)-furanoate. LCC performed better than FastPETase, in terms of both FDCA release and weight loss. The effect of crystallinity was evident on the enzymes’ performance, as only 4% to 7% weight loss of crystalline PEF (32%) was recorded. Microscopy studies of the treated PEF films provided information on the surface erosion processes and revealed higher resistance of the crystalline phase, explaining the low level of depolymerization. The study presents important insights into the enzymatic hydrolysis of biobased PEF material and paves the path toward more viable applications within biopolymer waste recycling
NOVEL HYDROLYTIC ENZYMES SCREENING: A DESIGN OF EXPERIMENT APPROACH FOR BIOCATALYZED POLYCONDENSATION REACTIONS
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GST: A Road for India to be a Developed Nation Dr. Virender Atwal and Adesh Kumar
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Goods and service is exceptionally exhaustive tax structure when executed at the national level. It is one of the noteworthy strides towards the development of the country. It is one of the biggest tax upheavals which is good to go to coordinate the state and national economy to help the overall growth of the country. By and by companies and businesses pay multiple taxes which increment the cost of product and additionally hamper the profit level of the company. Multiple tax and complex taxation system is one of the greatest obstacles for economic growth of the country once the GSTsystem is connected there would be single tax system which would record a critical development in complete indirect taxation change. Under the GSTsystem there would be just on rate applicable for both goods and services. GST will make a business well-disposed condition, as prices will fall and it would likewise control the inflation rates. Be that as it may, the possibility of GST in India was mooted by Vajpayee government in 2000 and the protected correction for the same was passed by the Lokshabha on sixth May 2015. The investigation means to show the definite Influence of GSTimplementation in Indian economic system.</p
Modelling and Analysis of TCSC Application to Transmission System
No full textM.E. (PSED)The need for more efficient electricity systems management has given rise to
innovative technologies in power generation and transmission. Flexible AC
Transmission Systems (FACTS) is one of such technologies that respond to these
needs. It significantly alters the way transmission systems are developed and
controlled together with improvement in asset utilization, system flexibility and
system performance. Different types of FACTS devices are being used now-a-days.
Thyristor Controlled Series Compensator is one of the series compensating FACTS
devices.
Thyristor Controlled Series Compensator (TCSC) consists of a series
compensating capacitor shunted by a Thyristor Controlled Reactor (TCR). The basic
idea behind the TCSC scheme is to provide continuously variable impedance by
means of partially canceling the effective compensating capacitance by the TCR.
Transmission lines compensation by means of TCSC can be used to increase the
power transfer capability, improve transient stability, reduce transmission losses and
dampen power system oscillations.
In this thesis work device modelling of TCSC has been carried out along with
development of transmission system using MATLAB7.5/Simulink. Then this device
has been applied to the transmission network using Power System blockset. The
response of transmission systems has been studied for various types of faults with and
without TCSC, thus analyzing the impact of TCSC on the performance of
transmission line in terms of various parameters, under consideration. Impact of
variation of degree of compensation on power flow has also been studied which
shows that for a fixed angular difference, with the increase in degree of compensation
power flow increases.EC
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