Current Science

S. Dwivedi ¹, S. Kumar ², K. C. Garg ²

Affiliations
1 Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 221 005, IN
2 CSIR-National Institute of Science Technology and Development Studies, Dr K.S. Krishnan Marg, New Delhi 110 012, IN

Abstract

An analysis of 17,344 papers published by Indian scientists and indexed by Web of Science in the discipline of organic chemistry and its sub-disciplines during 2004-2013 indicates that the Indian output has increased significantly in the later period. Academic institutions contributed about 46% of the total output followed by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) with 26% of the total output. The most prolific institutions among them mainly belonging to academic institutions and CSIR contributed about 60% of the total output. The value of citation per paper for most of the prolific institutions was higher than the Indian average. Similar trend was observed for the relative citation impact. Indian researchers in the discipline of organic chemistry published their papers in international journals with impact factor greater than 1. About 11% of the papers published by Indian scientists in the discipline of organic chemistry during 2004-2013 remained uncited.

Keywords

Bibliometric indicators, citation analysis, organic chemistry, scientometrics

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Rajesh Kumar ¹, V. N. Jha ¹, S. K. Sahoo ¹, S. Jha ², S. Kumar ², P. M. Ravi ¹, R. M. Tripathi ¹

Affiliations
1 Health Physics Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai 400 085, IN
2 Uranium Corporation of India Limited, Turamdih 832 102, IN

Abstract

Estimation of radionuclide content is essential for assessment of individual exposure in areas where groundwater is the principal source of drinking water. Elevated levels can be expected in areas known for radioactive mineral deposits and anthropogenic activities like mining and ore processing industry. The aim of this study is to determine the uranium and ²²⁶Ra in groundwater sources adjoining and away from uranium mining and ore processing industry at Turamdih, Jharkhand. The concentration of uranium in well/tubewell samples analysed nearby and away from the tailings ponds ranged from 0.1 to 8.4 μg l^-1 and ²²⁶Ra varied from 4 to 269 mBq l^-1. The wide variation of activity concentration is due to regions of uranium deposits with elevated level of radium in the earth's crust and geological faults, when compared to lower concentration profile of radium in earth crust. The ingestion of uranium and ²²⁶Ra in the adult population residing around Turamdih mining complex through drinking water sources ranged from 0.81 μSv year^-1 to 3.8 μSv year^-1 respectively. This is much lower than 100 μSv year^-1, that is recommended by WHO for ingestion from intake of a single radionuclide. The groundwater monitoring carried out over four years around Turamdih mining complex indicates that there has been no observable impact on groundwater sources due to mining and ore processing activities in this region.

Keywords

Groundwater, Ingestion Dose, ²²⁶Ra, Uranium.

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K. C. Garg ¹, S. Kumar ¹

Affiliations
1 CSIR-National Institute of Science, Technology and Development Studies, Dr K. S. Krishnan Marg, New Delhi 110 012, IN

Abstract

An analysis of 35,640 papers published by Indian scientists as journal articles and reviews in journals indexed by Science Citation Index-Expanded (SCI-E) in 2008 revealed that 6231 (17.5%) papers remained uncited during 2008-2013. Most of the uncited papers were published by State Agricultural Universities and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. The highest proportion of uncited papers was in the discipline of agricultural sciences followed by multidisciplinary and mathematical sciences. These uncited papers appeared in journals published from India, Singapore, Romania and Japan with low impact factor (IF). Lowest number of uncited papers was published by the Department of Biotechnology. It was also found that a small fraction of papers published in journals with IF more than 5 also remained uncited.

Keywords

Citation Analysis, Scientific Output, Scientometrics, Uncitedness.

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S. K. Naik ¹, S. S. Mali ¹, Bikash Das ¹, P. R. Bhatnagar ¹, S. Kumar ¹, A. K. Sikka ²

Affiliations
1 ICAR Research Complex for Eastern Region, Research Centre, Ranchi 834 010, IN
2 NRM Division, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi 110 012, IN

Abstract

Water is a vital component that determines the full potential of the agriculture sector of any country. The practice of rainwater harvesting (RWH) in ponds and reusing the stored water for lifesaving irrigation of crops is prevalent in India since ancient times. One can find efficient management of water in a region in traditional farming systems like kattas and surangams in North Kerala and Karnataka, and zabo system and bamboo drip system of Nagaland.

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K. K. Singh ¹, H. S. Negi ¹, A. Kumar ², A. V. Kulkarni ³, S. K. Dewali ¹, P. Datt ¹, A. Ganju ¹, S. Kumar ¹

Affiliations
1 Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment, Chandigarh 160 036, IN
2 National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra 136 119, IN
3 Divecha Centre for Climate Change, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560 012, IN

Abstract

In this study an airborne ground penetrating radar (GPR) is used to estimate spatial distribution of snow accumulation in the Samudra Tapu glacier (the Great Himalayan Range), Western Himalaya, India. An impulse radar system with 350 MHz antenna was mounted on a helicopter for the estimation of snow depth. The dielectric properties of snow were measured at a representative site (Patseo Observatory) using a snow fork to calibrate GPR data. The snow depths estimated from GPR signal were found to be in good agreement with those measured on ground with an absolute error of 0.04 m. The GPR survey was conducted over Samudra Tapu glacier in March 2009 and 2010. A kriging-based geostatistical interpolation method was used to generate a spatial snow accumulation map of the glacier with the GPR-collected data. The average accumulated snow depth and snow water equivalent (SWE) for a part of the glacier were found to be 2.23 m and 0.624 m for 2009 and 2.06 m and 0.496 m for 2010 respectively. Further, the snow accumulation data were analysed with various topographical parameters such as altitude, aspect and slope. The accumulated snow depth showed good correlation with altitude, having correlation coefficient varying between 0.57 and 0.84 for different parts of the glacier. Higher snow accumulation was observed in the north- and east-facing regions, and decrease in snow accumulation was found with an increase in the slope of the glacier. Thus, in this study we generate snow accumulation/SWE information using airborne GPR in the Himalayan terrain.

Keywords

Glacier, Ground Penetrating Radar, Snow Accumulation, Snow Water Equivalent.

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P. C. Panda ¹, S. Kumar ², J. P. Singh ², P. Gajurel ³, P. K. Kamila ¹, S. Kashung ³, R. N. Kulloli ², P. P. Singh ⁴, D. Adhikari ⁴, S. K. Barik ⁴

Affiliations
1 Taxonomy and Conservation Division, Regional Plant Resource Centre, Bhubaneswar 751 015, IN
2 Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Light Industrial Area, Jodhpur 342 003, IN
3 Department of Forestry, North Eastern Regional Institute of Science and Technology, Nirjuli 791 109, IN
4 Department of Botany, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong 793 022, IN

Abstract

Populations of threatened plants are declining rapidly in natural habitats due to various anthropogenic activities. Reinforcement of the dwindling populations through reintroduction is a promising aspect for conservation of threatened plants. However, due to lack of standardized propagation methods of such plants, mass production of planting materials has become a challenge, thereby constraining the replenishment process. Identification of factors constraining the seed germination of threatened plants and addressing it effectively, are among the most cost-effective strategies for large-scale multiplication and subsequent conservation of the threatened species. Similarly, conventional low-cost vegetative propagation techniques such as grafting, air layering, and regenerating plantlets from ischolar_main-suckers, apical meristems, and stem cuttings often prove more successful for multiplication than relatively costly micropropagation techniques. In this article, we present a few case studies on low-cost mass propagation techniques of threatened plant species of India through seed, stem/apical shoot cutting and airlayering, that helped in the restoration of the species.

Keywords

Conservation, Seed Germination, Threatened Plants, Vegetative Propagation.

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K. C. Garg ¹, S. Kumar ¹, Bebi ²

Affiliations
1 CSIR-National Institute of Science, Technology and Development Studies, Dr K. S. Krishnan Marg, New Delhi 110 012, IN
2 Department of Library and Information Science, University of Delhi, Delhi 110 007, IN

Abstract

An analysis of 17,344 papers published by Indian scientists and indexed by Web of Science in the discipline of organic chemistry during 2004–2013 indicates that collaborative coefficient has increased during the later years (2011–2013). Of the total published papers, 6312 (36.4%) were due to domestic and international collaboration. The share of papers in domestic collaboration was 77.3% (4882) and international collaboration was 22.7% (1430). Among the international collaborating countries, India had published highest number of papers with the USA followed by Germany. Academic institutions followed by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) contributed the highest number of papers in domestic as well as in international collaboration. However, the value of domestic collaborative index and international collaborative index was less than 100 for both the sectors. The labs funded by CSIR also topped the list of institutions having domestic and international collaborative papers. The compound annual growth rate in domestic and international collaborative papers was 4.7 and 5.3 respectively. The value of domestic collaborative index was highest for CSIR-CDRI, Lucknow and international collaborative index for Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai.

Keywords

Academic Institutions, Collaboration Pattern, Collaborative Index, Organic Chemistry.

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S. P. Rai ¹, D. Singh ², R. Saini ³, D. S. Rathore ³, S. Kumar ³, S. K. Jain ³, N. Pant ³

Affiliations
1 Department of Geology, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi 221 005, and National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee 247 667, IN
2 Symbiosis Institute of Geoinformatics, Symbiosis International (Deemed) University, Pune 411 016, National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee 247 667, IN
3 National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee 247 667, IN

Abstract

Considering the hydrological and religious significance of the Ganga River and the Manasarovar Lake in India, the present study has been devised to investigate the data related to the place of origin of the Ganges and to investigate the likely connection between waters of the two systems. Satellite data was employed to develop maps and find out the possibility of surface connectivity, whereas isotopic and chemical data, obtained from the field samplings and the published research literatures were used to investigate the possibility of subsurface connectivity of the Gangotri Glacier water with that of the Manasarovar Lake. Topographically, both the water systems are located in different catchment zones, separated by high mountain ridges; rejecting any possibility for the surface connectivity. Similarly, there are significant variations in isotopic and physiochemical properties of the water, suggesting no possibility of surface or sub-surface connectivity between water of the two systems.

Keywords

Ganga River, Gangotri Glacier, Mansarovar Lake, Satellite Data, Stable Isotope.

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Y. K. Tandel ¹, J. B. Baruah ², S. Budde ², S. Kumar ², C. H. Solanki ², B. G. Patel ³

Affiliations
1 Applied Mechanics Department, Government Engineering College, Dahod 389 151, IN
2 Civil Engineering Department, Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, Surat 395 007, IN
3 Civil Engineering Department, GIDC Degree Engineering College, Navsari 396 406, IN

Abstract

Stone column (SC) or granular column is widely used as a soil improvement method for flexible foundations such as oil storage tanks, embankments and rigid foun­dations. The confining pressure exerted by the surrounding soil allows the SC to develop its bearing capacity. The soft soil surrounding a SC may not provide sufficient lateral confinement. So, the design bearing carrying capacity may not be achieved. In such soils, a pervious concrete column (PCC) may be applied which deals with reinforcement as well as drainage. PCC can be constructed up to the full depth of soft soil or on the upper portion of a stone column up to which bulging is predominant. This study presents a parametric analysis of the performance of SCs, PCCs and composite columns (CCs) using three-dimensional numerical analyses. The parameters consider are: PCC diameter, PCC length in CCs surrounding soft clay cohesion, and full PCC length. Furthermore, the load transfer mechanism of pervious concrete is compared to that of a SC. In comparison to ordinary SCs, the findings of this study show that pervious concrete columns have a substantially better load carrying capacity and experience less lateral displacement. Furthermore, in a CC, the length of pervious concrete up to four times the column diameter may be sufficient to enhance the load carrying capacity of an ordinary SC.

Keywords

Finite element analyses, land carrying capacity, pervious concrete column, soil improvement, stone column.

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