16 research outputs found
From non-Brahmin priests of the goddess to ascetics of god Mahima Alekha
No full textThis article deals with Mahima Dharma a contemporary vernacular ascetic religion of Odisha/Eastern India displaying a rich diversity in its regional configurations. In this paper the author proposes to look at the main protagonists of the religion, the ascetics (babas), as non-Brahmin priests, who have incorporated shakti, the power of local goddesses into their disciplined bodies and in doing so have transformed the feminine element of the Hindu belief into the belief of the indescribable and abstract god Alekha. Mahima Dharma is seen in this contribution as a sort of micro structure on the one hand of popular asceticism in rural India and on the other hand as a recent religious reform movement integrating local non-Brahmin priesthood and the local belief in goddesses into the mainstream of the male Hindu pantheon. This article draws on the author's PhD fieldwork research (1999-2002), published in 2002 as a monograph (Guzy 2002)
Integrated Nutrient Management Practices and their Effect on Soil Health in Relation of Enzyme Dynamics and Biota in a Long-Term Diverse Cropping System in Vertisols of Central India
No full textOrganic farming is gaining popularity as it maintains food yields and soil health without harming the environment. However, there is a dearth of global data on enzymes involved in the carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulphur cycles; microbial elemental stoichiometry; and soil functional diversity. On the other hand, organic farming lacks the most sensitive biological components and enzyme activity based on soil quality indices. It all started in 2004 when four of India\u27s largest soybean-based cropping systems participated in a trial to examine the viability of nutrient management in soybean-based cropping systems (soybean-wheat, soyabean-mustard, soybean-chickpea, and soybean-linseed). Herein, we report the findings of a soybean-wheat cropping system studied for Vertisol under six nutrient management practises. Chemical characteristics of the soil were studied before and after seeding. Enzyme activity, soil microbial biomass carbon (SMBC), and microbial count were studied in biological parameters. The chemical, biological and agronomic parameters of the soybean crop were statistically examined using the Randomized Block Design. The analysis of the various parameters from the surface soils (0–15 cm). The biological activity varied significantly between treatments. The agronomical indicators also exhibited significant values in the organically treated plot. Organic treatments improved agronomic conditions, stabilised soil, and improved its nutrient content, quality, and biological activity over time. The inorganically treated plot and the state recommended dose plot had the lowest nutritional content, as suggested by the lowest biological activity parameters. Soil fertility and nutrient availability were studied in this experiment in order to comprehend why switching from chemical to integrated nutrient application practises will be helpful towards the inception of a sustainable future
Role of Patenting Framework for Electric Vehicle Innovations from BRICS Perspective
No full text151-163Electric vehicle (EV) technologies are one of the fastest-growing segments in green technologies. Development and adoption of
EVs in BRICScountries is significant for the attainment of sustainable development goals (SDGs) and to ensure affordable, reliable,
and sustainable energy by boosting clean mobility. Towards achieving the SDGs and the Nationally Determined Contribution
(NDC) set in the Paris Agreement of 2015, countries are innovating in the domain of EV. The BRICS nations are emerging as a
potential market for development and utilization of such technologies. Patenting trends of a country indicate its technological
competitiveness and affordability. The present paper analyses the patent trends in the EV segment amongst BRICS countries. It
analyses the growth in EV technologies in these countries for a period of ten years, i.e., from 2012 to 2022, and tried to understand
the role of the intellectual property (IP) regime mainly patents in the development of EV technologies. By performing a
comparative analysis of the national patent laws of BRICS country’s role of patents and relevant provisions affecting the faster
promotion, development, and diffusion of EV technologies has been identified. Study shows that IP is an essential component in
accelerating green growth in the EV segment and a conducive patent regime promoting green inventions with supporting
administrative processes is needed for BRICS countries
Fish distribution dynamics in the Aghanashini estuary of Uttara Kannada, west coast of India
No full textFish diversity (77 species) in the Aghanashini River estuary of the Indian west coast is linked to variable salinity conditions and zones I, II and III for high, medium and low salinity respectively. Zone I, the junction between Arabian Sea and the estuary, had all species in yearly succession due to freshwater conditions in monsoon to high salinity in pre-monsoon. The medium (zone II) and low (zone III) salinity mid and upstream portions had maximum of 67 and 39 fish species respectively. Maintenance of natural salinity regimes in estuary, among other ecological factors, is critical for its fish diversity
Provisions, Applicability and Recent Amendments To The Maharashtra Stamp Act, 1958
No full textThis paper deals with the Maharashtra Stamp Act, 1958 and the recent amendments related to the same. Stamp Duty is an important part of Land Law and the relevant provisions, application and relevant judgments of the same are discussed in the paper. Stamp duty is charges by the government levied on documents or instruments which have certain transactional nature which forms a part of the government exchequer. It is required to pay the adequate stamp duty as regards to the Maharashtra Stamp Act, which mentions the rate of stamp duty applicable on specific instruments such as transfer, agreement, conveyance, etc. Recent cases of stamp duty evasion have been rising in the State of Maharashtra which has led to certain amendments in the Maharashtra Stamp Act, 1958 which has also been discussed herein. The author has taken up the case law of Trustees of H.C. Dhanda Trust v. State of Madhya Pradesh and Ors of 2020, to analyze one such case of stamp duty evasion and has commented upon the judgment delivered therein. This paper duly encompasses all aspects of stamp duty in consonance with the Maharashtra Stamp Act, 1958 and discusses the measures which could bring about more clarity upon the current laws of stamp duty and consequence of evasion, in accordance with the stamp duty law in the state of Maharashtra
Tracking Cancer Genetic Evolution using OncoTrack
No full textabstract: It is difficult for existing methods to quantify, and track the constant evolution of cancers due to high heterogeneity of mutations. However, structural variations associated with nucleotide number changes show repeatable patterns in localized regions of the genome. Here we introduce SPKMG, which generalizes nucleotide number based properties of genes, in statistical terms, at the genome-wide scale. It is measured from the normalized amount of aligned NGS reads in exonic regions of a gene. SPKMG values are calculated within OncoTrack. SPKMG values being continuous numeric variables provide a statistical metric to track DNA level changes. We show that SPKMG measures of cancer DNA show a normative pattern at the genome-wide scale. The analysis leads to the discovery of core cancer genes and also provides novel dynamic insights into the stage of cancer, including cancer development, progression, and metastasis. This technique will allow exome data to also be used for quantitative LOH/CNV analysis for tracking tumour progression and evolution with a higher efficiency.The final version of this article, as published in Scientific Reports, can be viewed online at: https://www.nature.com/articles/srep2964
Influence of protein damage and proteasome gene expression in longevity of recalcitrant Madhuca latifolia Roxb. seeds
No full textEnhanced cellular damage during desiccation is considered to be one of the key factors limiting vigour and viability of seeds. The uncontrolled accumulation of reactive oxygen species and resultant damaging reactions such as the oxidation of lipids and DNA in desiccating seeds of Madhuca latifolia (Roxb.) J. F. Macbr. has already been well characterized. However, hydrolytic and (or) oxidative damage to proteins requires further study. This study investigated the desiccation-induced oxidative damage to proteins and proteolytic systems in recalcitrant M. latifolia seeds during ambient storage. Seeds experienced a significant drop in seed water content [ca. 1.32 to ca. 0.23 g·(g dry mass)−1] during storage resulting in complete loss of viability after 35 days of storage. A considerable decline in total protein content (3.0–3.6 fold) and activity (4.8–13.8 fold) in the gene expressions of proteasome subunits (α, β, and E2) were recorded in the embryonic axis of desiccating M. latifolia seeds. In contrast, increases in the level of protein carbonyls (2.46 fold), hydroperoxides (2.31 fold), malondialdehyde- and 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal-protein adducts (1.8 and 3.9 fold), and Amadori and Maillard reaction products, along with proteases (14.5–30.4 fold) were observed in desiccating M. latifolia seeds. This study revealed that increased oxidation/modification of proteins and proteasome dysfunction are involved in the deterioration of desiccating M. latifolia seeds.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author
Prevention of Blackhole Attack in MANET using Certificateless Signature Scheme
No full text1061-1072Mobile AdHoc Networks (MANETs) are the network of self-configuring nodes. Such nodes communicate through single
as well as multi-hop modes without the aid of any centralized administrator or pre-existing network infrastructure. Due to
this reason, MANETs have gained a highly significance in modern wireless networking technologies. Such networks are
extremely vulnerable to one of the security attack i.e. blackhole attack. It is a malicious node when an attacker is able to
send a fake route reply to the originator of a route request packet. Such attackers discard the legitimate packets and replay
packets in the whole network thereby adversely affecting network performance. Most of the security protocols for MANET
are using bilinear pairing methods to provide security against security attacks and it takes high computing cost for the
computation of pairing operations. Nowadays, researchers are using certificate-less signature schemes in distributed
environments to provide efficient security. This signature scheme is very popular because it does not use any certificate
authority for the management of security certificates. In this paper, we proposed an efficient technique to prevent blackhole
attack in MANET using RSA-based certificateless signature scheme without using any bilinear pairing operations. Our
scheme provides security against forgery and blackhole attacks and is evaluated under a discrete logarithm problem.
Proposed scheme outperforms existing schemes in terms of these metrics viz., throughput, packet delivery ratio, routing
overhead and end-to-end delay when we are varying mobility and fixed percentage of malicious nodes. Our proposed
scheme not only detects or prevents the blackhole attack but it is also capable to provide important security services viz.,
integrity, authentication and non-repudiation
Colloid Transport in Porous Media at Multiple Length Scales
No full textColloidal contaminants such as pathogenic microorganisms and engineered nanoparticles enter subsurface from various sources such as land application of wastewater, reuse of untreated sewage for irrigation and sanitary landfills. Understanding colloid transport in the subsurface is essential for assessing the safe distance of drinking water wells from the source of contamination, bioremediation of contaminated sites, and degree of treatment required for land application of wastewater. There is a large disparity in the length scales associated with colloid transport in soil. This includes micrometre, centimetre, tens of centimetres, metre and kilometre scales which are representative of a single soil capillary, representative elementary volume scale, 1D lab scale, 3D lab scale, and the field scale, respectively. Colloid deposition mechanisms are scale dependent and are governed by the heterogeneity at that scale. Hence, the observed transport processes and the estimated parameters at a smaller scale may not simulate the observations at a larger scale. It is imperative to link the processes and the associated parameters across scales to better predict transport behavior at larger scales. This chapter discusses the mechanisms of colloid retention in porous media at various scales, the effect of heterogeneity on colloid transport at each scale, and upscaling of transport processes. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd
Impact of Covid-19 on the built environment
No full textPurpose – This literature review paper aims to discuss the impacts and measures taken on Covid-19 with respect to architecture, built form and its allied fields along with observations from around the world with the end results of its implementation. Design/methodology/approach – Various research journals from Science Direct and Taylor and Francis among others were referred and reviewed to learn more on Covid-19 along with its impacts on people and their built environment. Keywords that aligned with the topic of interest like pandemic, Covid-19, coronavirus, urban spaces, built environment and built-up space were identified. Research papers that aligned with the scope of the paper and its keywords were found. An excel sheet with the basic data of these papers was written down. The essence of each of these articles were understood and linked with the topic in hand. A review of all these papers was written coherently to the topic. Future scope in this field of study was also identified. Findings – It discusses the various measures taken around the world in built-up spaces along with the various measures given by researchers, architects and urban planners to mitigate and reduce the transmission of Covid-19 in the built environment and urban spaces. The discussed measures along with observations from around the world have also been discussed with its end results. Discussions and conclusions on these design strategies and recommendations are made with the anticipation of a paradigm shift due to post-pandemic changes. Current scenarios of public spaces in densely populated countries are discussed. Future scope in this ongoing field of study includes measures that can be taken in specific to some particular built-up typologies like markets, theaters, parks, bazaars, etc. Research limitations/implications – The limitation of this study is the restricting of the study of Covid-19 to only architectural, urban and public realm scales. The study does not facilitate the involvement of other fields and their influence with Covid-19. Originality/value – This paper has been completely written by the author and the co-authors and has not been copied from any other sources
