EVERYMAN’S SCIENCEsciencecongress.nic.in/pdf/e-book/Apr-May-2018.pdf · Everyman’s Science Vol. LIII No. 1 April-May ’18 Biofuel is essentially an alternative fuel source derived

EVERYMAN’SSCIENCE

Vol. LIII No. 1 (April-May ’18)

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Everyman’s Science Vol. LIII No. 1 April-May ’18

EDITORIAL :

PLASTIC EATING BACTERIA-A GREAT HOPE IN BIODEGRADATIONAshok Kumar Saxena 3

ARTICLES :

BIOREFINERIES, BIOMASSES, AND BIOFUELS : A HOPE FOR ALTERNATIVE FUELSManoj Kumar Mahapatra 4

MOBILE PHONES AND MOBILE TOWER RADIATION AND ITS ASSOCIATEDHEALTH HAZARDSM. Roy 9

INTERNET OF THINGSJyotsna Verma 12

EFFECTS OF CONSANGUINEOUS MARRIAGESV. Lakshmi 15

IMPACT OF COAL MINING AND MINE FIRES ON THE LOCAL ENVIRONMENT INJHARIA COALFIELD, JHARKHANDVarinder Saini 18

CLEANER TECHNOLOGY WITH ENFORCED HUMAN DISCIPLINE: KEY FORSUSTAINABLE HEALTH OF THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTPooran Koli 23

ALTERNATIVES TO FOOD CROPS FOR BIOFUELS PRODUCTION IN INDIAR. T. Gahukar 28

ECO-TOURISM : ROLE OF SOCIETY IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL UNDERSTANDINGSOF SUNDARBANSisir Chatterjee 33

LEISHMANIA VECTOR IN PROSPECTIVEGirish Maheshwari and Anushka Chhonkar 39

REVERSE VACCINOLOGY : THE NEW TREND IN DEVELOPING VACCINESRatanti Sarkhel and Avishek Paul 43

KNOW THY INSTITUTIONS 46

CONFERENCES/MEETINGS/SYMPOSIA/SEMINARS 50

S & T ACROSS THE WORLD 53

CONTENTS

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Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is achemically stable polyester. The use of PEThas increased by several times in the past fewyears specially in making food and drinkcontainer,electronic components etc., One ofthe most common uses of PET is in themanufacture of drinking water bottles. Usedwater bottles are regularly found littering theaquatic environment. Plastic also puts a bigchemical burden on the environment. The majorform of pollution associated with plastic iswasted plastic sent to landfills. Plastics arevery stable and stay in the environment for along time after they are discarded.

Several groups of scientists are workingthroughout the world to find out ways ofbiodegradation of plastics. Few species offungus having properties of growing on plasticswere isolated. But it is known that fungus cannot be easily grown like bacteria. Until now nomicrobes were isolated which can eat PET. Agroup of Japanese Scientists has identified aspecies of bacteria which eats PET found inmost disposable water bottles. This study hasraised a great hope in managing more than 50million tons of this particular type of plasticproduced globally each year.

PLASTIC EATING BACTERIA-A GREAT HOPE IN BIODEGRADATION

Scientists from Kyoto Institute of Technologyand Keio University collected 250 PETcontaminated samples such as sediment, soiland waste water from plastic bottles recyclingsite. In the laboratory they screened the samplesfor microbes and wanted to find out whetherplastic eating bacteria is present in the sampleor not. Ultimately they discovered that just oneof the bacterial species was responsible for thePET biodegradation.The bacteria was namedas Ideonellasakainesis. They also found thatthese bacteria used two enzymes to breakdownthe PET. After adhering to the PET surface thebacteria secrets one enzyme on to the PET togenerate an intermediate chemical.Thischemical is then taken up by the cell whereanother enzyme breaks it down further andthus provides the bacteria with carbon andenergy to grow.

The research team showed that the bacteriacould break down a thin film of PET over thecourse of 6 weeks at a temperature of 30°C. Itis an interesting study but there are severalthings to be done to come up with an yield towork outside the laboratory. It is not clearwhether it could help in keeping plastic out ofwaste area or not. However, this study hasshown a great hope for biodegradation of PET.

Dr. Ashok Kumar Saxena

EDITORIAL

Anyone who thinks science is trying to make humanlife easier or more pleasant is utterly mistaken.

— Albert Einstein

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Biofuel is essentially an alternative fuel sourcederived from biomasses. Rapid depletion of

fossil fuel reserves and increasing pollution issueshave rung an alarm to look for sustainablealternatives such as biofuels namely biogas,biodiesel, bioethanol, and biobutanol. Biofuelsare believed to be cleaner fuels since they do notadd up the carbon content in the atmosphere asthe carbon emission from their usage equalizesthe amount assimilated during growth of thebiomass.

In the current scenario, the biomass energyamounts approximately 50 EJ (exajoules), whichis about 10% of global energy demand. On thetop, that amount covers up 75% of the totalrenewable energy in use today.

The produced biofuels are available in all thethree principal forms of matter, i.e., solid, liquidand gas. However, the latter two forms arepredominant owing to the ease of usability andenvironmental concerns. Liquid ones are thealcoholic biofuels as mentioned earlier and the

gaseous ones are predominantly methane (CH4)and hydrogen (H2). Oil refineries produce thepetrochemicals and fuels from petroleum crude.Similarly, biorefineries yield biofuels from thebiomasses1.THE CONCEPT OF BIOREFINERIES

The biorefinery is essentially a collection offacilities in terms of technology and equipmentto process the biomasses and subsequently yieldbiofuels for transportation and chemicals fromthem. In a broad sense, biorefineries involvethree different steps for their functioning namely;pretreatment of biomasses for making them fitfor conversion. Conversion step is the one thatacts on the pretreated biomass to yield biofuelsand assorted chemicals. The final step is nothingbut separation and purification which eventuallymakes the products market worthy. In the currentglobal scenario, the major challenge forbiorefinery development process is the efficientproduction of transportation biofuels2.

The biorefineries have the need of renewableraw materials, and the following sectors qualifyto provide the desired raw materials. Agriculture

BIOREFINERIES, BIOMASSES, AND BIOFUELS : A HOPE FORALTERNATIVE FUELS

Manoj Kumar Mahapatra

Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute ofTechnology, Rourkela, 769008,E-mail: [email protected]

The quest for alternative transportation fuels has ended with the biofuels. They are economical,and efficient at par the conventional fossil fuels. Usage of waste biomasses for the biofuelsgeneration is the real deal. Biofuels production processes are still in rudimentary state and needextensive R&D to increase the yield per unit of biomass used.

INTRODUCTION

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sector provides dedicated crops and post harvestbiomass residues. Forestry sectror provideslignocellulosic bimasses abundantly, provided oneis following the sustainable route of harvestingforest biomasses. Industrial and domestic sourcesprovide solid wastes and wastewaters; these arethe potential candidates for biogas productionvia a biorefinery. Aquaculture sector providesseaweeds and algae as the raw materials.Although the biorefinery for aquaculture sectoris rudimentary, however, from ongoing researchand development, they have proven their mentleto become the raw material of future biorefineriesdedicated to producing transportation biofuels inbulk2.GENERATIONS OF BIOFUELS BASEDON THE BIOMASSES USED

The biomasses for biofuel production arecategorized in to various generations namely,first generation, second generation and the thirdgeneration of biomasses. Table-1 provides asummary of different generations of biomasses.Based on the generation of biomass used, thebiofuels are also named accordingly. Althoughfirst generation biofuel production is not inpractice today and third generation biofuelproduction still needs lots of research anddevelopment for efficiency enhancement3.

Table 1. Generations of biomasses3.Generation Type of Examplesof biomass cropFirst Food crop Sweet potato,generation sugarcane, and

ground nutSecond Non-food Lignocellulosicgeneration crop biomasses from

agriculture andwaste plants

Third Non-food Microalgae,generation crop photosynthetic

bacteria

First generation biomasses are harvested witha high carbohydrate or oil content. The biofuelsobtained from these biomasses are biodiesel,alcohols, and biogas (a mixture of CH4 andCO2). Although the first generation biomassesare produced abundantly because of their primaryneed, that is as food crops, and their usage forbiofuel production is discouraged since that mightlead to the increment of food crop prices3.Although the usage of first generation biomassesis the easiest one, however, their directcompetition with food demands makes the processa no sustainable practice.

The second generation biomasses are thepreferred biomasses for biofuel productionnowadays. The non-edible raw materialscomprised of lignocellulosic biomass and cropwastes constitute second generation biomasses.Dedicated energy crops do fall under this categoryand are namely; switch grass, Miscanthus,willows, and eucalyptus, etc3.

The Third generation of biomasses havesignificantly higher content of carbohydrates,proteins and lipids/oils. However, they are notthe plants rather microbes. The fermentative andphotosynthetic bacteria and algae constitute thiscategory. The microalgae have a lipid content of20-40% of their dry weight and hence arepotential candidates for biodiesel production. Themicroalgae based oil production platform is in arudimentary state and needs lots of research anddevelopment inputs. It is estimated that in futureonce microalgae based biofuel productionprocesses are in action, it can yield approximately10-300 times more biodiesel than the amountproduced using conventional biomasses3,4.CONVERSION PROCESSES

Conversion is the most important process inbiofuel production sector since it transforms thethrowaway biomasses in to the most valuablefuel alternatives. Broadly, the conversion

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processes are categorized in to three major typesnamely; (1) thermochemical conversions, (2)biochemical conversions and (3) physicochemicalconversions. The basic objectives of conversionprocesses are the conversion of complex formsof biomasses in to simpler forms and subsequentlyyield of final products from those intermediatesimpler forms. The divisions of differentconversion processes are summarized in table-2.

Table 2. Conversion processes for biomass to energy3.Biomass to energy conversion process

Broad Subclassification classificationThermochemical Gasification Pyrolysis LiquefactionBiochemical Microbial Anaerobic —

fermentation digestionPhysicochemical Mechanical — —

pressing andseparation

Thermochemical conversion processes involvetreating the biomass at high temperatures eitherin the presence or in the absence of oxygen.Again, the thermochemical conversion processesare of four sub-types : combustion, gasification,pyrolysis, and liquefaction. Each of theseprocesses differs from each other in terms ofheating rate, temperature, and oxygen presence3, 4.Combustion involves burning the biomass in thepresence of an abundant amount of oxygen andis one of the oldest methods for the generation ofheat and/or thermal electricity via a steam cycle.Essential criteria for biomasses in order to be thecandidates for combustion are ultra-low cost,abundance in availability and considerably lessermoisture content5. Some of the industrial scalecombustion devices those are in practice todayare grate boilers and underfeed strokers, whichare capable of producing heat energy in therange of (100-3000 MW).

Gasification is another thermochemicalconversion process that converts the biomass

into combustible gaseous mixtures like syngas athigh temperature ranges such as 800-900 oC inpartial presence of either of oxygen, air or steam5.The outcomes of this process are combustiblegaseous components such as CO, H2, CH4, andother gaseous hydrocarbons. This process has anadvantage in terms of minimal char and tarformation. Commercially four types of gasifiersare in usage, i.e., fixed bed co-current and fixedbed counter-current, fluidized bed, and entrainedflow. The performance of gasification processesis affected by different operation conditions, suchas physicochemical properties of biomass, thefeed rate of biomass, the flow rate of the gasifyingagent, and temperature6.

Pyrolysis is another thermochemical processfor biomass conversion but without the presenceof oxygen within the temperature ranges of 350oCto greater than 800oC. Residence time, heatingrate, and temperature are the parameters thosedefine efficiency of pyrolysis products. Dependingon the residence time pyrolysis is subdivided into slow pyrolysis, fast pyrolysis, and flashpyrolysis. Slow pyrolysis or conventionalpyrolysis of biomass yields charcoal, whereasboth fast and flash pyrolysis produces bio-oilsalso called pyrolytic oil7.

Liquefaction is a comparatively newthermochemical process. It is analogous topyrolysis process but at considerably lowertemperatures (200-350oC) and very high pressures(10-20 Mpa) in the presence of a catalyst. Thebiomass is depleted in to the lighter oil moleculesunder the influence of catalysis and issubsequently re-polymerized to yield heavier oilmolecules. Alkaline hydroxides and carbonatesare used as the catalysts, which play a crucialrole to reduce the yield of solid residues andsimultaneously improve bio oil yield. Theliquefaction process is generally discouragedowing to the high cost and complex technologyand machinery involved8.

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Biochemical conversion processes use themetabolism of microorganisms to convert thesimplest fermentable feedstock substrates likemonomeric sugars into fuels or other high-valuecommodities. In the course, they do involve theconcept of Biocatalysis, where enzymes involvedwith the metabolism of microbe play a majorrole in the conversion process. These conversionprocesses are eco-friendly in nature since theydo not leave gaseous and solid waste residuesbehind. Apart from being eco-friendlybiochemical conversions processes are the timeconsuming ones and take several days to becompleted in comparison to the rapid thermo-chemical processes which are usually over inminutes to hour-long duration. Broadlybiochemical conversion processes are divided into two sub categories namely, microbial processesand anaerobic digestion process9.

Microbial processes are essentiallyfermentation process to yield liquid biofuels ofalcoholic nature like ethanol, and butanol. Theagents of the same are microorganisms (hencethe name) such as fungus and bacteria. Microbesuse the simpler forms of sugars obtained frombiomasses as the raw materials for thefermentation process to yield biofuels. However,pretreatment of biomasses is a necessaryprocedure in this microbial mode of biofuelproduction. Pretreatment degrades the complexstructure of biomass, removes unwantedcomponents like lignin and renders simpler sugarsfor the microbes to act. Microbial processes arepreceded with pretreatment of lignocellulosicbiomasses, which accounts for about 40-70%cost of microbial biofuels. Enzymes are also apart of pretreatment process but at a later stageto breakdown, the oligomers, branched chains ofcarbohydrates in to monomers and straight chainsrespectively. Cellulase, hemicellulose, andcellobiase are some of the enzymes employed

for the purpose. Enzymatic pretreatment andmicrobial fermentation can take place in eitherof the two processes namely sequential hydrolysisand fermentation (SHF) and simultaneoussaccharification and fermentation (SSF)10.

The anaerobic digestion process is precisely adegradation process by anaerobic microbes suchas the methanogenic bacteria for the generationof biogas composed of methane and carbondioxide. This event of methanogenesis takes placein the absence of oxygen. Although the domesticbiogas or so called gobar gas plants are in usetoday are based on this principle. It is also seennaturally in landfills, animal intestines, andunattended waterbodies full of debris. Biogasexiting from landfills particularly adds up thegreenhouse gases in the troposphere. Hence, theyneed to be harvested and channelized postprocessing for its usage as fuel. The by-productof anaerobic digestion process is a slurrysynonymous as digestate rich in all the essentialnutrients needed for plants and is ideal organicmanure. The potential raw materials for anaerobicdigestion process are very diverse and are wastesfrom agriculture and industry, animal excreta,sewage sludge, food leftovers, and evenmicroalgae residues post oil extraction process10.The wood residues are generally discourageddue to the difficulty in lignin degradation.

The physicochemical conversion process isalso synonymous with mechanical extraction oragrochemical conversion. This process uses theoilseeds to yield oils by a physical operation likepressing and filtration. Although various types offeedstocks such as cottonseed, rapeseed, groundnut, etc. are used as raw materials for theproduction of either direct fuel or biodiesel viatransesterification. However, rapeseed is thepreferred one owing to its ease of cultivation andhigh oil content. The physicochemical process isnon-polluting one since glycerine and oil cakes

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come out at the end as byproducts. Glycerine isan important industrial chemical and is used inlubrication and cosmetic industries. Oil cakeshave dual end uses as fodder and as maunre in acrop field. This process is still not a popularprocess because of the high cost of raw materialsand is a time consuming process when focussedfor maximum yield3.CONCLUSIONS

Biofuels production via birefineries isdefinitely a sustainable approach to producealternative transporation fuels, biogas, andthermal energy. Thermochemical processes arebeing used widely for the biofuel production inthe current scenario because of the well developedtechnologies. Biochemical conversion techniquesalthough are ecofriendly but are having limitationsin terms of quantity of yield. Physicochemicalprocesses have proved themselves as the mostsustainable pathways for biofuel production, butneed significant downstream processing beforereleasing the biofuels to the market. However, alot of research and development inputs need tobe provided in each of the methods for makingthe processes more efficient.

REFERENCES1. H. Haberl, T. Beringer, S. C. Bhattacharya,

K-H. Erb, M. Hoogwijk, Curr Opin EnvironSustain, 2, 394–403, 2010.

2. F. Cherubini, Energy Convers Manage, 51,1412–1421, 2010.

3. K. Srirangan, L. Akawi, M. Moo-Young andC. Perry Chou, Applied Energy, 100, 172-186, 2012.

4. A. Demirbas, Energy Convers Manage, 41,633–646, 2000.

5. P. McKendry, Bioresour Technol, 83, 47–54,2002.

6. M. Balat, E. Kýrtay, and H. Balat, EnergyConvers Manage, 50, 3158–3168, 2009.

7. D. Mohan, C.U. Pittman, P.H. Steele, EnergyFuels, 20, 848–889, 2006.

8. M. Balat, Energy Source Part A, 30, 649–659, 2008.

9. M. Balat, Energy Convers Manage, 52, 858–875, 2011.

10. P. Claassen, J.B. van Lier, A.M. LopezContreras, E.W.J. van Niel, L. Sijtsma, A.J.M.Stams, Appl Microbiol Biotechnol, 52, 741–755, 1999.

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INTRODUCTION

MOBILE PHONES AND MOBILE TOWER RADIATION AND ITSASSOCIATED HEALTH HAZARDS

M. Roy

With the advent of mobile communication and cell phone technology, there is a tremendousincrease in the world wide usage of mobile phones and hence mobile towers have also beenrising globally, raising a health concern regarding the harmful effect of this technology. In thisarticle it is tried to answer some of the rising concerns regarding the health hazards of themobile towers and base stations, necessary for the basic knowledge to create awareness amonglocal people.

Cellular technology has grown tremendouslyin the last few decades. As on 2014 there

were more than 900 million mobile connectionsin the country. The popularity of the cell phoneand wireless communication devices has resultedin a huge proliferation of mobile towers andBase Transreciever Stations across the country.A large number of BTSs (Base TransrecieverStations) and Mobile towers have been emergedto keep in pace with the wide grown technology.Construction of these mobile towers and BTS inand near the populated areas has started thedebate and hence concern regarding thisconstructions and technology. Cellular wirelesstelephone uses Radiofrequency (RF) signals, aform of electromagnetic radiation (EMR), for adistance of up to 2-1/2miles. The RF energy ofnon ionizing radiation can heat the body tissuesthough in very substansive amount and hencearises a great deal of concern regarding thehealth consequences of the mobile towers andbase stations. IARC (International Agency forResearch in Cancer) has classified RF as possiblycarcinogenic to human in Group 2B not inGroup 2A, which is probably carcinogenic.

WHO (2014) stated that till date no adverseeffect is seen by cell phone use. Hence it is clearthat more research is needed to study the longterm effect of mobile tower radiations on humanhealth1,2.DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BASETRANSRECEIVER STATION (BTS) ANDMOBILE TOWERS

Firstly it is essential to understand the basicdifference between a Base Transreceiver Station(BTS) and Mobile Tower. BTS contains manyindividual radio transmitters with same maximumoutput power. They are mostly established atsuitable locations for proper coverage of the areaas per RF Network Planning3. Mobile towers onthe other hand are metal structure with 3 or moreantennas. They are generally mounted on theroof tops of building or are free standing and areprovided with a down tilt to direct the signalstowards ground level.

FREQUENCY RANGES OF MOBILETOWERS AND SAR VALUES

The Antennas of the mobile towers are dividedinto the following range based on the frequencyrange4 (Table 1).

Core Faculty, Environmental Science, D.D.E., VidyasagarUniversity, W.B.

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Table 1. Frequency range of different basestations

Base Station Frequency (MHz)CDMA 869-890GSM 900 935-960GSM1800 1805- 18803G 2110-2170

The frequency of different base stations arefurther divided to several operators for examplethe frequency of GSM 900 base station is 935 to960 MHz. The frequency band of 25 Mhz isfurther divided into 20 sub bands of 2 MHz,which is allocated to various operators. A singleoperator may transmit 50 to 100W power, sothere may be 3-4 operators on the same tower,adding the total power to about 400W. Thereforethe number of mobile towers is directlyproportional to the population density of thatarea5.

Another crucial factor is the distance fromthe source of radiation which determines theradiation effect. The power density variesaccording to: —, where R is the distance.

As one moves away from the antenna, theless is the radiation. Since a cell phone tower isshared by many operators, the more the numberof antennas, the greater is the power intensity inthe nearby area. In mobile phones, frequenciesranging from 800 MHz to 2100 Mhz are normallyused. However, the EMF radiation levels arewithin limits because the power radiated fromthe headset is very low (around 1W) and eachheadset operates within a prescribed SpecificAbsorption Rate (SAR). SAR is a measure of therate at which energy is absorbed by the humanbody when exposed to EMF, measured in Wattsper kilogram (W/kg). The limits for SAR, asdetermined by the strength of the electromagneticfield necessary to reach the body are accordinglyset and they are an indicator for ensuring thatequipment like mobile phones are operatingwithin the prescribed parameters. It has beenmade mandatory for mobile phone manufacturers

to display the SAR level. Every country hasprescribed a specific SAR value (Table 2)6.Table 2. SAR values for mobile handsetsCountries SAR LimitAustralia 1.6 W/kg averaged over 1 g of tissueBrazil 2W/kg averaged over 10g of tissueCanada 1.6 W/kg averaged over 1 g of tissueChina 2W/kg averaged over 10g of tissueEurope 2W/kg averaged over 10g of tissueGhana 2W/kg averaged over 10g of tissueIndia 1.6 W/kg averaged over 1 g of tissueJapan 2W/kg averaged over 10g of tissueNigeria 2W/kg averaged over 10g of tissueRep. of Korea 2W/kg averaged over 10g of tissueSingapore 2W/kg averaged over 10g of tissueUSA 1.6 W/kg averaged over 1 g of tissue

MOBILE TOWER CERTIFICATIONAND TESTING PROCEDURE IN INDIA

All mobile service providers and telecomoperators should ensure that radiation frommobile towers is within the prescribed limit.This is governed by the Department of Telecom(DOT). To monitor this all mobile serviceproviders has to submit annual or biannual self-compliance report to the telecom department.Further Telecom Enforecement Resource andMonitoring (TERM) tests BTS’s in theirjurisdiction per year as per DOT, there is aprovision of penalty for the BTS where theradiation limit exceeds.

Further the Mobile towers and BTS arecovered under various legal references. Theradiations from mobile towers, phones and BTSare covered under:

• Indian Wireless Telegraph Act, 1993• The Indian Telegraph Act, 1885• The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

Act, 1997

BIOLOGICAL EFFECT OF MOBILETOWERS AND BTS ON HUMANS

The RF energy is a non ionizing radiationwith relatively low frequency, i.e unlike ionizing

1R2

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radiation it has no effect on chemical bonds orD.N.A. Further the biological effect of RFradiation can be divided into two categories :

1. Thermal effect and2. Non Thermal EffectThermal effect : One of the well-known

effects of RF exposure is heating effect. In aperson using a cell phone the heating will occurin the surface of brain, which is of very shortduration and magnitude and the brain has theability to dispose the excess heat. Howeverprolonged thermal effect may lead to increase inbody temperature.

Non-Thermal Effects : These are theelectromagnetic effects inside the biological cellsof the body. These includes :

Cancer : Scientific evidence indicates thatexposure to RF fields is unlikely to induce orpromote cancers. Studies using animals have notprovided enough evidence in support of RFexposure and cancer. There have been somecancer reports near cell phone base stations;however studies have been inconsistent withregard to the relationship between cell phone useand tumors. Overall, epidemiological studies havenot supported a convincing relationship betweenRF exposures and increase risk of cancer.

Cellular Effects : Exposure to low-levels ofRF fields, produce heating, it has been found tochange the changing calcium ion mobility andhence effect the electrical activity of the brain insome animals. This effect has also been reportedin other tissues and cells alter enzyme activity oraffect the genes in the DNA. However, theseeffects are not well established, nor are theirimplications for human health are sufficientlyexplained to provide a basis for restricting humanexposure.

Electromagnetic interference and other effects:Mobile telephones can cause electromagneticinterference in other electrical equipment.Therefore; caution should be exercised whenusing mobile telephones around sensitiveelectromedical equipments such as cardiacpacemakers and hearing aids, etc.

CONCLUSIONSThe rapid development of cellular

communication all over the world has resulted inthe appearance of many hundreds of mobiletower base stations in and near the populatedarea. Installations of base station antennas haveproduced concerns about health and in somecases have resulted in several litigations in court.Independent researches and measurements onelectromagnetic fields and RF exposure limits inareas close to base stations and mobile towersare carried out in many countries. However assuch no strong evidence connecting these twohas been reported, many case studies have showna probable cause effect. However it is essentialto follow the regulations and norms as mandatedby the DOT, in order to avoid any future healthissues regarding this mobile tower radiationhazards. Hence it is very essential for the commonpublic to know the basic function, regulationsand laws regarding the installing and operationof BTS and mobile towers, to ensure that themobile operators are following the same.REFERENCES1. International Agency for Research on Cancer,

www.iarc.fr/en/mediacentre/pr/2011/pdfs/pr208_E.pdf

2. L. Pachuau; Z.Pachuau, IOSR Journal ofApplied Physics, 6, 1-6, 2014.

3. Awareness note on mobile tower radiation &its impacts on environment, published by cpcb,http://cpcb.nic.in/Note_Mobile_Tower_Radiation_UPCD_Div.pdf

4. G. Kumar, “Report on Cell Tower Radiation”,Submitted to Secretary, DOT, Delhi, http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/file/KumarCellTower-Radiation-Report-sent-to-DOT, 2010.

5. M. Kaushal, T. Singh, A. Kumar, IJAER, 7,1252-1255, 2012.

6. Telecom authority of India, Information Paperon Effects of Electromagnetic Field Radiationfrom Mobile Towers and Handsets, http://www.auspi.in/emf/01_TRAI-Information-Paper-on-EMF_30.07.2014.pdf

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INTRODUCTION

INTERNET OF THINGS

Jyotsna Verma

This article, discusses about Internet of Things (IoT) which is a new and emerging technology.Internet of Things is nothing but the interconnection of the physical objects with the internetfor communication with each other. The physical things areable to share, and exchange datawith each other by automatically identifying the things with their unique digital identitiesthrough IoT. This article covers the IoT architecture, challenges of IoT and its applicationsworld-wide.

Probably, Internet of Things (IoT) has madethe significant impact on the world we live

in and hasnow entered into our day to day lives.It is changing our world from the way we driveto, how we purchase things and even how we getenergies for our homes. Imagine a world wherewe can communicate with the things or thephysical objects which we live in with like homeappliances, vehicles and other electrical things.To your surprise, these all can actually be possiblewith the Internet of Things.

Internet of thingshas created a big revolutionin the IT world. The term “Internet of Things”was coined by Kevin Ashton in 1999. Way backin the twentieth century, computers had no senses;they only had brains that could understand whatwe told them to do. But, with “Internet of Things”this is not the case;rather the computers andother physical things can sense for themselves.Itis the network of physical objects that areconnected to the internet allowing them to send,receive and exchange data.

Department of Computer Science, Central Universityof Rajasthan, Ajmer, Rajasthan-305817,E-mail : [email protected].

HOW INTERNET OF THINGS WORK?In “Internet of Things” each physical device

over the network has a unique identity. Thus,things in IoT1, are embedded with sophisticatedsensors for sensing the environment of theapplication scenarios and RFID (Radio FrequencyIdentification) chips. RFID chips basically play akey role in IoT2 which is used for automaticidentifying the things with which they areconnected and allow the physical objects to haveunique digital identities which can be integratedinto the network.

Fig. 1. Internet of Things

Internet ofThings

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Now, question arises how they exchange suchlarge quantities of data?Where they put all ofthese data and how they apply these informationto the various application scenarios? Whetherthe information is about improving production ofa factory, real time updates on vehicle traffic orthe monitoring personal health; it is the “Internetof Things” platforms that brings the diverseinformation together and provides the commonlanguage for the devices and applications tocommunicate with each other. The process startswhen the devices communicate securely with theIoT platform which integrates the data fromseveral physical devices and applies analytics toshare most valuable information to theapplications.

IoT ARCHITECTUREWith the invention of IoT, which combines

the digital and physical devices together to createthe smart products for making life easier, itbecame possible to digitize the world. As can beseen in Fig. 2 each smart device in IoT isenabled with RFID technology along with theembedded sensor chips and actuators tocommunicate with other smart devices.

resources which make them unsuitable forcomplex data processing.

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGESOF IoT

Great technologies come with certainlimitations. Internet of things has severaladvantages which make life simpler and easierbut there are various limitationsassociated withit which need to be resolve for making it a bettertechnology.

LIMITATIONS OF IoT :1. Security : The communication between

the physical devices needs to be secure.2. Processing capabilities : Physical devices

in IoT have limited processing capabilities.3. Storage capacity :The physical devices

in IoT have limited storage capacities.4. Energy Constraints :The physical devices

in IoT have limited energy resources.

ADVANTAGES OF IoT :1. Data : IoT provides lots of information

which helps us to make right decisions atright time.

2. Time : IoT technology saves lots of timeby providing accurate and real timeinformation on time.

3. Economical : IoT technology is veryeconomical depending upon the applicationscenarios.

4. Tracking : IoT helps in keeping track ormonitoringvarious physical objects whichin turn save time and money.

APPLICATIONS OF IoTThere are diverse ranges of applications in

IoT which can be found in day to day lives.Smart industries are the most prominent area ofIoT applications, next to this, IoT applicationareas include smart home, security systems,intelligent thermostats, smart city applications,

Fig. 2. Architecture of Internet of ThingsInternet of things has the capability to sense

the environment, making it possible to createsmart application scenarios for global level. But,it has limited storage and processing capabilitywith the least number of energy computation

Smart Devices A with RFID

Send Data

With inbuilt sensors and actuators

Smart Devices B with RFID

Receives Data

With inbuilt sensors and actuators

Take necessary smart decisions

Internet

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smart energy applications, smart transportationsystems and monitoring of real time parkingspaces etc.

Internet of Things is transforming our lives incountless ways. For example imagine a scenariowhere smart traffic camera monitors the road,for traffic congestion, accidents, weatherconditions etc., and communicate that status tothe gateway that combines with the data obtainedfrom other smart traffic cameras; creating anintelligent city wide traffic system. Now thisintelligent city wide traffic system can beconnected to other city wide transportationsystems which get data from their own intelligentdevices creating an ever-larger system of systems.These ever-larger systems can helpin analysingthe end-to-end data across that systemofsystems.For example, a scenario of the cityintelligent traffic system which detects themassive congestion due to an accident, that insightcan be sent to the city wide transportation systemwhich can analyse the accidents on other citysystems; recognising the accident is near theairport and to city schools it could notify those

so they can adjust flight and school schedulesand can find the optimal route around theaccidents and send those instructions to citydigital signage system to guide drivers aroundthe accident. This is just one example from thenumber of various potential applications benefitsof the IoT when intelligent devices share insightwith other systems forming ever-expandingsystems of systems.

CONCLUSIONIoT represents the future internet which opens

the door for new research directions andtechnologies. The solution of the issues pertainingto the IoT can take this technology to the nextlevel and make a significant contribution to theIT world. This article discusses how IoT works,challenges of IoT and application of IoT.

REFERENCES1. J. Gubbi, R. Buyya, S. Marusic, & M.

Palaniswami, Future generation computersystems, 29, 7, 1645-1660, 2013.

2. A. Botta, W. De Donato, V. Persico, & A.Pescapé, Future Generation ComputerSystems, 56, 684-700, 2016.

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INTRODUCTION

EFFECTS OF CONSANGUINEOUS MARRIAGES

V. Lakshmi

Consanguinity is the marriage between close relatives. Though consanguineous matings havecultural and socioeconomic advantages, their offspring have an increased risk for recessivedisorders. The risk is not uniform in all cases and it varies based on several factors. The articlediscusses the different type of measures that can be taken by a consanguineous couple before andafter marriage to avoid genetic disorders in their progeny.

If two individuals have a common ancestor,they are said to be consanguineous. A marriage

between closely related individuals, up to secondcousins is considered to be consanguineousmarriage. Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, QueenVictoria, Franklin Roosevelt etc are some of thefamous persons who married their cousins.

Most human societies however primitive orgeographically isolated, prohibit parent-offspringor brother-sister matings (marriage among firstdegree relatives) and this taboo is based onobservation of abnormal children from suchmatings. Consanguineous unions are practicedamong more than 1 billion of the world’spopulation1, however the amount of inbreedingvaries in different populations. It is controlled bytraditional and cultural practices. Though it isnot allowed in some countries like China,Ethiopia, Philippines, Taiwan etc. it is high in

North Africa, the middle East and South Asiaand is common in our country1.

PROS AND CONSThere is a great controversy on the benefits

and risks of consanguineous marriages. Thepositive social effects of consanguineousmarriages are strengthening kinship relations,stable marital relationship, financial advantage,cultural continuity, maintenance of familystructure, political alliances etc. which are thereason for the preference for consanguineousmarriages. The effects of consanguinity on normalhuman variartions is not known. The negativehealth effects are increased incidence of raregenetic disorders, increase in mortality andmorbidity. Though the effects of consanguinityon non communicable diseases is still largelyunexplored, a recent study revealed a significantincrease in the incidence of common adultdiseases like cancer, diabetes, hypertension etc.2

in consanguineous population.We all carry more than 25,000 genes in each

cell as pairs, usually a pair for each character(some characters like tallness can be governed

Human Genetics Department, Andhra University,Visakhapatnam, Andhra PradeshE-mail: [email protected]

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by more than one pair of genes). Out of these,about 3-6 genes are deleterious, but as they arerecessive or weak they do not manifest thedisease. The reason is the other member of thepair is normal and dominant (heterozygous) andsuppresses the deleterious effect of the gene. Thedeleterious genes will be expressed only if thereare two copies of them in an individual(homozygous recessive).

Individuals with common ancestors are likelyto share the same alleles and their progeny hasan increased chance of being homozygous.Deleterious alleles are more frequently expressedin homozygotes, resulting in a variety of geneticdisorders such as birth defects, mental retardation,deafness and blindness or reduced viability knownas inbreeding depression. One of theconsequences of consanguinity is an increase infrequency of homozygotes. Increase inhomozygosity is applicable not only for abnormalalleles but also for normal alleles, i.e.,consanguinity can also result in perfectly healthyoffspring3 . For example Cleopatra who is knownfor her wit, beauty and intelligence was thedaughter of a brother and sister and great granddaughter of another brother and sister. Theadverse genetic effects on health do not affect90% of the offspring of consanguineousmarriages4.

Consanguinity risk is highest among familieswhich carry severe autosomal recessive diseases.Though the risk of congenital anomalies amongthe newborns of first cousin matings is claimedto be double the frequency among generalpopulation, the genetic implications is not thesame for all the cousins. The magnitude of riskdepends on the frequency of defective genes inthe population, the degree of relationship betweenthe parents, whether there are repeated cousinmarriages in the family etc. It may be more than

double in certain populations basing on repeatedcousin marriages through several generations.Sibs share 50% of their genes where as uncleniece and first cousins share 25% and 12.5%respectively while second cousins share only 3%of their genes. In marriage between individualsbeyond second cousins, the risk will be almostthe same as that in general population. Hencethere is no deleterious genetic effect on health inconsanguinity beyond second cousins.

The few deleterious recessive alleles presentin any population, rarely achieve homozygosityif population is outbreeding. They are mostlypassed on to future generations silently (hiddenor masked state), that is in a single copy orheterozygous state and when the allele comes incontact with the same allele in the partner thegenetic disease will surface again.. Unrelatedcouple may also produce a child with seriousbirth defect if unfortunately both of them havedefective alleles of the same gene which happenswhen the frequency of the recessive allele ishigh in the population. High levels of endogamyin the population can dramatically increase thepossibility of homozygosity at any locus. That isthe reason for the high frequency of rareautosomal recessive disorders in regions whereconsanguinity is high.

According to one school of thought byavoiding consanguineous marriages, the genewill be carried on to the future generationssilently without elimination. Some experts believethat inbreeding is helpful to a population byconstantly exposing harmful recessive genes toselection and thereby eliminating them from thepopulation.

CONCLUSIONInbreeding is a controversial subject and it is

very difficult to run experiments to determine itspossible effects in humans. It is not always

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harmful. It can produce perfectly normal offspringalso provided there is no genetic disease runningin the family or there is no earlier history ofconsanguinity. It is important to remember thatrandom mating does not eliminate deleteriousgenes from a population, but merely covers themup. While inbreeding does not create harmfulgenes, it merely tends to bring them out.

It is wise to consider the possible geneticconsequences before marriage itself, especiallyif there are any deleterious recessive genesrunning in a family. Premarital counseling isimportant as it causes awareness of the possibleharmful consequences among the related youngadults who are going to marry. Already married

cousins can use preconception counseling servicesto maintain health and in case of couples withaffected children, prenatal diagnosis can be doneto avoid genetic disorders.

REFERENCES1. H. Hamamy and S. Alwan, Genomics and

Society, Ethical, Legal, Cultural andSocioeconomic Implications, 2016, 335,Academic Press.

2. A. Bener and R. R. Mohammad, Egypt J MedHum Genet, 18, 315-320, 2017.

3. A. H. Bittles, W. M. Mason, J. Greene and N.A. Rao Science, 252, 789-794, 1991.

4. H. Hamamy, The Ambassadors OnlineMagazine—Selected Studies, 6, 2003.

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Coal is one of the most abundantly availablefossil fuels around the globe which meets a

major part of the energy need for humanconsumption. It is used in various industriessuch as power, steel, cement, alumina refineries,as well as for domestic purposes. India is thethird largest coal producer in the world afterChina and USA. Geological Survey of India hasestimated a cumulative total of 301.5 bn tonnesof coal resources in the country as on 1st April20141. The State of Jharkhand tops the list withthe maximum coal reserves at 80 bn tonnes.Coal accounts for 55% of the country’s energyneed and is the major source for power generationin India. However, coal mining adversely affectsthe environment of the area. A typical coal miningarea has many negative impacts such as

IMPACT OF COAL MINING AND MINE FIRES ON THE LOCALENVIRONMENT IN JHARIA COALFIELD, JHARKHAND

Varinder Saini

deforestation, changes in vegetation pattern,damage to the ecological system, loss ofagricultural land, loss of biodiversity, degradationof the air, water and soil quality, changes intopography and land use/land cover (LULC)1.

The first published record of coal mining inIndia dates to the year 1774 in Bengal. The maincoal fields in India are Jharia, Raniganj, Singareni,Talcher, Neyveli, Singrauli, Nagpur andChandrapur. Jharia has a long history of mining,which started towards the end of the 19th century.The mining activities intensified in Jharia in1920 and thereafter it has been growingextensively and exponentially. At present, thereare around 35 large underground and opencastmines in the Jharia coalfield (JCF). Economically,JCF produces largely bituminous coal. JCF isimportant in the Indian context as it is the mostimportant storehouse of prime coking coal that

Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute ofTechnology Ropar, Rupnagar, Punjab-140001E-mail: [email protected]

INTRODUCTION

Coal mining though provides a precious resource but is also a process that leads to degradationof the local environment to a large extent. Jharia coalfield holds unequivocal importance in theIndian context as it is the only source of prime coking coal in the country. Haphazard mining overnearly a century has led to environmental changes to a large extent such as degradation in qualityof air, water, soil, changes in landform, land use/land cover, vegetation distribution. Jharia is alsoinfamous for widespread development of surface and subsurface fires due to unsustainablemining practices. This article outlines the environmental issues related to coal mining in Jhariacoalfield, Jharkhand.

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feeds major percentage of our industrial demand.Coking coals are defined as those coals that oncarbonization pass through softening, swelling,and re-solidification to coke. Coke is a solid fuelmade by heating coal in the absence of air sothat the volatile components are driven off.

Like any other large coal mining area, overthe last century, JCF has also undergone a sea-change affecting the environment. The coalmining has affected air, water and soil resources,topography, land use/land cover, vegetationpatterns and has also led to the infamous coalmine fires that have remained active undergroundfor more than a century. The first coal fire wasdetected in 1916. These fires constitute a majorcause of hazard and have also been spoiling theprecious natural resource. The present articleaims at outlining the environmental issuesprevalent in JCF due to coal mining andassociated fires.

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN JHARIACOAL FIELD1. Air pollution

In the JCF, air pollution due to coal fires isalso a severe problem. The major pollutants areoxides of nitrogen and sulphur, fine coal dust,suspended particulate matter, respirableparticulate matter, polyaromatic hydrocarbons andbenzene soluble matter. The major sources aredrilling and blasting operations, coal fires,vehicular traffic, heavy trucks plying on haulroads, loading/unloading of coal, wind erosionfrom overburden dumps. Most of the dust iscategorized into respirable particulate matterwhich causes diseases of lungs and skin such asasthma and chronic bronchitis2,3. The soot andparticulate matter released from coal mine firesdecrease the visibility in the area. Also, coalfires volatilize many potentially harmful heavymetals like arsenic, selenium, mercury, lead,

sulphur and fluorine. These could condense ondust particles and get inhaled or ingested by thelocal people or they could gain entry to localwater bodies and thus enter food chain causingsevere diseases4. There have been documentedreports of stroke, pulmonary heart disease andchronic obstructive pulmonary disease due to airpollution. Heavy metals along with PAHs cancause a number of ill effects on health likecancer, neurotoxicity, cardiotoxicity,immunotoxicity, arsenosis, fluorosis, COpoisoning etc.5

2. Water pollutionDuring underground mining, excavated waste

materials are dumped and piled at the groundsurface creating runoff that both pollutes andalters the flow of local streams. As rain percolatesthrough these dumps and piles, solublecomponents are dissolved in the runoff and causethe increase of total dissolved solids in localwater bodies. The erosion from overburden dumpsand spoil heaps lead to increase in sediment loadof streams, lakes and ponds and thus leading tosiltation of surface water bodies. This maysometimes lead to alteration in their regime.Many of the mines exist below the ground waterlevel, which demand pumping out of water. Thiscan lower the water table and even dry upnearby wells. Moreover, when a mine is locatedbelow the water table, water seeps into the mineand must be pumped out. Further, physicaldisruption of aquifers can occur from blastingwhich can cause the groundwater to seep to alower level or even connect two aquifers (leadingto aquifer contamination). Huge volumes ofpolluted water from underground mines arechannelled into the Damodar thus polluting itchemically. The mine water discharged fromunderground mines has high hardness due todissolved sulphates and chlorides. Apart from

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actual mining activities, coal beneficiation andpreparation plants also release a large amount ofwater effluents in the river which poses a threatto aquatic ecosystem and prevailing biodiversity6.Besides, there is a scarcity of potable water dueto both, increased demand and contamination.3. Soil pollution

In JCF, soil is polluted due to strip mining asit involves removal of top soil, wind erosionfrom overburden dumps, coal heaps, tailingponds, dust generated due to heavy machineryused for extracting coal, burning of coal, loadingand unloading of coal as this dust settles onnearby areas. Soil has poor texture, low organicmatter, and exhibits change in nutrient contentdue to heavy metal toxicity, change in pH andelectrical conductivity. Also, the soil above thefire areas is devoid of moisture and is bakedmaking it biologically sterile7. The soil friendlyorganisms (bacteria, nematodes, earthworms, etc.)die under such harsh conditions, thus limitingthe ability of the soil to support vegetation. Theexisting vegetation also dries up and ultimatelydies due to the lack of water and other nutrients.Thus, it is observed that soils have poor potentialfor plant growth in JCF.4. Changes in Vegetation Pattern

In mining areas, vegetation plays a significantrole in modification of water balance, erosioncontrol and landscape rehabilitation8. Duringmining, the vegetation cover and the drainingregime are disturbed over enormous areas. InJharia alone, hundreds of square kilometres ofland are currently affected by surface andsubsurface mining, out of which a significantportion is without vegetation cover. Also, thevegetation pattern changes as once the diversevegetation with full grown trees and under coveris changed to herbaceous vegetation growing onthe overburden dumps and on areas immediately

around the mines. Regrowing vegetation onoverburden dumps and mine spoils is a gigantictask as the soil gets devoid of nutrients, hasacidic pH, and is often contaminated with heavymetals such as Fe, Al, Mn and Cu. Further,Jharia is encountered with an additional problemof coal fires. This aspect cannot be ignored inany study conducted in this coalfield. The hightemperatures associated with these fires lead toreduction in potential of soil to support plantgrowth.5. Changes in Topography

Topography is defined as the arrangement ofthe natural and artificial physical features of anarea like overburden dumps, hills, valleys, minepits etc. Changes in topography in JCF are deriveddue to clearing of land for opencast mining,erecting infrastructure related to undergroundmining, dumping of overburden in nearby areas,subsidence due to fires as there is volume losswhen coal turns to ash. JCF is facing significantsubsidence due to underground mining9.Generally, subsidence occurs after mining hasceased in an area. But sometimes it occurs whena mine is still in function. In such a scenario, itmay lead to destruction of mining infrastructureand a lot of mine able coal becomes locked andinaccessible due to subsidence. Subsidence alsoleads to damage of manmade infrastructure suchas houses, roads, pipelines etc. In rare cases,subsidence could also lead to changes in naturaldrainage pattern of the area.6. Changes in Land Use/Land Cover (LULC)

Land cover data documents how much of aregion is covered by forests, wetlands, impervioussurfaces, agriculture, and other land and watertypes. Land use shows how people use thelandscape – whether for development,conservation, or mixed uses. LULC changes occurdue to both opencast and underground mining

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and surface and subsurface coal fires. Since coalmining is a dynamic process, the areas regularlyundergo changes with one land use class changingto another. These changes may be easilyquantified using temporal change detection fromsatellite data. LULC maps of different timesthrow valuable light on the changing LULCpattern. Earlier, LULC maps were prepared usingfield data and toposheets but now remote sensingdata is widely used because of its ease ofavailability and periodic and synoptic coverageof an area. Many studies have been conductedand it has been reported that JCF has undergonemany changes that have remodelled its face.7. Surface and Subsurface Fires

Fire has beset Indian coal-fields since theearliest days of mining10-11. In 1986, 163 coalmine fires were identified in India. Surface andsubsurface fires are also serious problems insome coalfields. Considerable environmental andeconomic problems are directly related to coalfires. Apart from consuming a valuable resource,the fires pose operational difficulty in mining byincreasing the cost of production. Coal fires casta serious impact on the environment. Noxiousgases such as SO2, carbon monoxide, oxides ofnitrogen (NOx) and CO2 often affect theimmediate surroundings of active coal fires. Thesegreenhouse gases affect the local as well asglobal climate. NOx and SO2 react with volatileorganic compounds (released due to coal fires)in the presence of sunlight to form smog. Duringrainfall, NOx and SO2 combine with waterdroplets and their pH is reduced leading to acidrains. The soil above the fire areas is devoid ofmoisture and is baked. The existing vegetationalso dries up and ultimately dies due to the lackof water and other nutrients. Smoke emanatingfrom coal fires and windblown ash also affectthe health of the people residing near the

coalfields9. Other effects of coal mining includecracking and subsidence of land surface.Subsidence causes enormous damage toagriculture, buildings, transport network etc.Detecting the area covered and the extent of thefires may give estimates of the amount of gaseouspollutants released into the atmosphere. Andknowing the direction of propagation of fire willlead to the estimation of how much additionalarea would come under fire in a particular timeperiod. This information could be very helpful tomine planners for planning strategies so as howto control the spread.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONJCF has a long mining history. Intensive

mining activities in the JCF over more than acentury have brought out significantenvironmental changes in the area that arereflected in terms of degradation of the air, waterand soil, damage to the ecological system, lossof agricultural land, and change in the vegetationpattern.

Briefly, air pollution occurs due to blastingand drilling operations, wind erosion from variousdumps, vehicular traffic, and burning of coalfires. Particulate matter, coal dust and soot causerespiratory tract problems such as asthma,bronchitis etc. Acid rain damages infrastructure,crops and vegetation and pose a threat to theaquatic biodiversity.

Water pollution is caused due to erosion fromoverburden dumps and spoil heaps leading toincrease in sediment load of the streams, lakesand ponds. The effluents from coal mine relatedindustries lead to increase in the heavy metalconcentration. Field data on some parameterssuch as TDS, Fe, nitrite, hardness, conductivityand heavy metals indicate that their

22


concentrations exceed the permissible limits insome areas.

The soil quality is affected by removal of topsoil and low accumulation of humus resulting inlower organic content. The soils have high bulkdensity, large grain size, acidic pH and highelectrical conductivity, which cumulatively makethe soil less potent for plant growth. Besidesthese, other environmental effects includecracking and subsidence of land surfaces, changein landform and topography of the area due toregular excavations and dumping of overburdenmaterial. These environmental effects results inreduction of clean areas for developingrecreational facilities and ultimately destroys theaesthetics of the area.

It could be summarily concluded that theenvironment in JCF has deteriorated over theyears. All these factors cumulatively take a tollon the environment. Therefore, it becomesimportant to study the ecology of the coal miningarea to assess the damage to the environmentand consider appropriate remedial measures tominimize or restore the damaged areas. Thus,

these areas must be studied at regular intervalsand the impacts need to be monitored regularly.

REFERENCES1. V. Saini, R. P. Gupta, M. K. Arora, Renew.

Sust. Energy Rev., 53, 1222-1239, 2016.2. M. K. Ghose, and S. R. Majee, Environ. Int.

26, 81-85, 2000a.3. M. K. Ghose, and S. R. Majee, Atmos.

Environ. 34, 2791-2796, 2000b.4. R. B. Finkelman, Int. J. Coal Geol. 59, 19–

24, 2004.5. R. B. Finkelman, W. Orem, V. Castranova, C.

A. Tatu, H. E. Belkin, B. Zheng, H. E. Lerch,S. V. Marharaj, A. L. Bates, Int. J. Coal Geol.50, 425–443, 2002.

6. G. Singh, R. K. Gupta, Min. Eng. J. 44, 1-12,2005.

7. G. Singh, In: All India Workshop onUnderground Mine fires prevention, controland their impact on coal production, 2004.

8. A. A. Kamnev, D. van der Lelie, Biosci. Rep.,20, 239-258, 2000.

9. G. Singh, Proc. Int. Conf. TREIA, 23-25 Nov.,Nagpur, India, pp. 1- 10, 2008.

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All living beings on earth are disturbing finebalance of the nature. In this regards, the

humans have dubious distinction of being maincontributor to deteriorating health of the motherearth. The ecological and environmentalchallenges to global environment are imminent.Therefore, we cannot escape from damage tonature, but we can minimize it by way of moreand more use of eco-friendly technology withenforcement of human discipline. The humandiscipline should be at core of all cleanertechnology and policy framework.

DISCUSSIONSThe self-propagation and growth of living

beings necessitates consumption of naturalresources

CLEANER TECHNOLOGY WITH ENFORCED HUMAN DISCIPLINE:KEY FOR SUSTAINABLE HEALTH OF THE GLOBAL

ENVIRONMENTPooran Koli

ABSTRACTWorld over, there is hue and cry over the adverse impact of climate change. The globalcommunity under the aegis of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (a scientific and inter-governmental body) is dedicated to the task of providing the world with an objective, scientificview of climate change and its political and economic impacts. Here in this regard, The authorwould like to analyze in broader way who to be blamed for this state of affairs of adverse effectsof climate change, and what should be the core of initiatives for tackling the concerned problems?

INTRODUCTION

The Earth and its environment consist of non-living and living beings. The core differencebetween non-livings and living beings is basedon self-propagation and growth. The non-livingsnever self-propagate it and never grow in mass.For example, a ball cannot reproduce anotherball and it can never grow in weight by itself.But, the living beings have capacity to reproducetheir siblings (childrens). At birth, the normalweight of a child say of human beings is about2.5 Kg - 5 Kg. As child grows in age, his/herweight increases. Here is the importance of thefirst law of thermodynamics. According to thefirst law of thermodynamics, the energy canneither be created nor be destroyed but its oneform can be changed to another form. As per theEinstein’s mass energy equivalence law (E =mc2; m is mass, c is light velocity, and E isenergy), the mass is also one of the form ofenergy. Therefore, the first law of

Department of Chemistry, Jai Narain Vyas University,Jodhpur-342001, (Rajasthan,E-mail:[email protected],[email protected]

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thermodynamics also expands to cover mass toenergy change or vice-versa, and mass to massinterchange. So given the first law ofthermodynamics, the growth and weight gain ofliving being unavoidably requires to consumenatural resources like food, water, minerals andother nutrients from the nature. So this processof growth and weight gain of living beings likeanimals and plants put pressure on natural healthof globe and its environment. This pressure isfurther aggravated by the infallible concept ofsecond law of thermodynamics which states thatno process is 100 % efficient, in simple words;it means the weight of product manufactured isalways less than the weight of raw materials.Therefore, the intake of one Kg food not leads topermanent increase in weight of animal by oneKg.All living beings including plants, animals, humanbeings, etc. causing damage to earth and itsenvironment

We the scientists, academicians and allindividuals are discussing the environmentalproblems and its adverse effects on life andhealth of the earth. For all the ills of Earth, weare blaming ourselves (humans). But it is notwhole truth. The truth is that the plants, animals,micro-organisms are also damaging the globebut the humans far ought weigh others.

A small tree standing in farm land grows bytaking nutrients from productive land. In thecourse of time, the fertile farm land nearby tothis tree turns barren. How a big tree like Neem,Pipal, etc. standing in farm land deterioratesland fertility is very common. Similarly, theunwanted plants like weed adversely affect thehealth of the crop. The unbridled growth ofalgae and other vegetation pollutes the waterbodies.

Termites play havoc with the crops, vegetables,and plants. The over grazing of grass and plants

by animals leads to land degradation, soil erosion,desertification and loss of useful species.

Golovatin et al1 has demonstrated that reindeerovergrazing has resulted in a substantialtransformation of vegetation mostly in lichentundra and close to total extinction of lichenpastures on the Yamal peninsula. Overgrazinghas drastically reduced the total availability ofgrasses and shrubs. Overgrazing has also affectedthe animal populations and has reduced tundrabirds.

The micro-organisms also harm the sustainablehealth of global ecology by causing variousdiseases to animals and plants.Humans causes more damage to Mother Nature

The plants, organisms, and all animals (otherthan humans) harm the health of Mother Naturebut the humans far outweigh others. The reasonsfor this is that the humans have some peculiarcharacteristics-

One, the humans uses natural resources notonly for food and nutrition but for clothing,transportation and other luxury also. Whereas,the plants and animals uses natural resourcesonly for food and nutrition.

Two, the humans have capacity to mouldsnatural factors to their will. The animals usenatural resources in the form in which theyoccur in nature. For example, an animal will eatbrinjal, grass, plants, etc. in raw form. But, thehumans have capacity to mould form of thenatural resources. Humans may fry brinjal withoil and spices before eating it. Similarly, thehumans have capacity to change the atmospherictemperature by closing himself inside AC room.This way human can protect themselves fromvery uncomfortable temperature and windvelocity. Other animals like cow, buffaloes, wildanimals, etc. cannot modify atmospherictemperature and wind velocity.

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Most of the people justify the peculiar behavioron the basis that humans are most intelligentanimals on this earth. But in my opinion, otheranimals are intelligent as much as are humans.Even animals are more intelligent. No doubtanimals are much more intelligent than wegenerally give them credit for. Then what is thegod gift to humans which makes them superiorthan other animals? It is the dexterous hands ofhumans that enable them to manipulate objectsand build things.

It is the hand with special thumb and fingersof humans. The long fingers with special thumbenable humans to have tight and precise grip ofmaterial and machinery to change the naturalresources in to luxury of big houses,transportation, industry, etc. The humans areadaptable to most environments on earth becauseof their ability to use tools and in part toevolutionary traits.

All animals have hands but only humans canmove their thumbs all across the palm to theirring and little fingers. Humans can also flex thering and little fingers toward the base of theirthumb. This gives humans a powerful grip andexceptional dexterity to hold and manipulatetools with. Animal say Cimpanzees have lowerlimbs with fingers that are specialized formanipulation. The term ‘finger’ is not applied tothe digits of most other animals none of whichcan engage in fine manipulation with theirforelimbs as a primate can. Chimpanzees maketools and use them to acquire foods. One exampleof chimpanzee tool usage behavior includes theuse of a large stick as a tool to dig into termitemounds, and the subsequent use of a small stickaltered into a tool that is used to “fish” thetermites out of the mound. Chimpanzees arealso known to use smaller stones as hammersand a large one as an anvil in order to breakopen nuts.

Again there is difference between Chimpanzeeand in humans as far as the hand grip isconcerned. Humans are very skilled in usingtheir hands with opposable thumbs, and arms tothrow objects. The freeing of the hands in humansfrom their walking requirements is the mostimportant factor leading to the habile hand andits thumb. The humans have specialized andprecision gripping hand equipped with opposablethumb. The thumb, unlike other fingers, is onlydigit to oppose or turn back against the otherfour fingers enabling the hand to refine its gripto hold objects which it would be unable to dootherwise. Living great apes like chimpanzeesand gorillas do not have special bony contours inthumb. They can only manipulate small objectsby gripping them between the thumb and indexfinger tip-to-tip or pad-to-side, a pad-to-pad gripbeing impossible for them. Australopithecinesalso lack these grip-enhancing contours2.

So this is the luxury of humans with theircapacity to modify the natural resources primereasons that humans causes more damage tomother earth.Remedy for sustaining regenerative health of theglobal environment

The animals including humans, the plants,and the micro-organism are in some way orother way responsible for environmentalchallenges. But, the humans have contributedmost to environmental challenges by damagingthe regeneration power of the natural resources.Therefore, it is the duty of humans to take stepsto remedy the environmental challenges. It isalso because the plants and other animals cannotdo this. To remedy the problem of global health,the task should be to bring nature in equilibrium.The nature has inherent regeneration power ofrestoring ecological balance if damage to natureis limited. The nature has limited power to

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remedy the less natural disturbance. If the damageto natural resources is very high in magnitudethen restoration of natural equilibrium is difficultleading to multiplication of problem to alarminglevel. It is also pertinent to mention here thatsome damage to Mother Nature is imminent aswe humans including other animals and plantshave to take food from nature for survival.Therefore, we humans have to take steps toreduce problem like pollution to minimum level.In my opinion, this can be done by use of cleanertechnology with enforced discipline. Again, Iwant to mention that no technology is clean (100% eco-friendly). Every technology causes damageto the environment. The difference is merely ofrelativity. Some technology is more pollutingand some are less polluting. For example, theuse of earthen cup (kulhar) instead of plasticcup may be good idea for the health ofenvironment. But, it is to be mentioned that theearthen cup technology is not totally eco-friendly.The making of earthen cup will require clayfrom land causing land degradation. A lot ofamount of grass and wood will be required toklin the kulhar causing damage to forest, air, anduseful microorganisms.

Similarly, the use of jute bags, paper bags andclothing bags is good idea for the health ofnature. But again it is to be noted that the use ofjute, paper and clothing will not remove pollutionproblem altogether vis-a vis problem created byplastic bags.

Similar is the issue of power generationtechniques like thermal power, hydro power,wind power, solar power, nuclear power, etc.The thermal power (from coal, oil, gas) is dubbedas highly polluting energy technology, and othertechniques like hydro, nuclear, wind, solar, etcare held relatively eco-friendly technology. Butthe point to be noted is that the use of solar,wind, hydro, etc. is not totally eco-friendly. The

wind by itself cannot generate electricity. Forthis to happen, we have to manufacture metal/alloy made turbines, blades, poles, etc. Themining of metal ores, alloys formation,manufacturing of turbines, and their disposal(when they outlive their utility) involves pollutingprocesses. Similar logic may be given for solar,hydro, nuclear and other relatively eco-friendlytechnology. Quantitatively in terms of CO2pollution, all energy technology causes CO2pollution and difference is only of relative amountof CO2 pollution3 (Table 1).Table 1. CO2 (in gm) emitted per unit (KWH)of electricity3.Energy technology Japan Sweden FinlandCoal 975 980 894Gas Combined Cycle 519 450 472Solar Photovoltaic 53 50 95Wind 29 5.5 14Nuclear 22 6 10-26Hydro electric 11 3 –

Here, it is to be noted that we should focus onproblems like air pollution, land pollution, waterpollution, nuclear pollution, food adulteration,etc. The control of air pollution holds specialsignificance as it is used by living beingsthroughout the whole life (every seconds frombirth to death). During the last days of life, someold and ill humans abandon eating and drinkingbut they continue breathe air (oxygen). No humandrink water continuously every time from birthto death. Similarly, no human eat foodcontinuously every time from birth to death. But,every human breathe air continuously every timefrom birth to death. Therefore, the control of airpollution needs more attention. The emphasismust be more on energy technology as theycause about 40 % air pollution. We should focuson use of renewable and cleaner technology likesolar, wind and hydro power. The shift to these

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renewable power technologies is also being seenworld over. To tackle the environmental problem,we should move towards cleaner technology inall sectors like agriculture (like organic farming),cosmetics (like herbal), packaging (like jute,etc.), chemical synthesis (like green chemistry),etc.

The human shift towards the use of cleanertechnology alone will not be suffice in itself torestore the natural equilibrium. The humandiscipline is at the core of all activity; therefore,the environmental problems cannot be tackledwithout its help. The shift to cleaner technologywill be possible only when humans are enoughdisciplined towards cleaner technology. It is thelack of human discipline that we are wastingelectricity by operating electrical appliances evenwhen they are not in use. A bit element of humandiscipline will enable saving of natural resourceswhile using electricity at household and officesand PHED water supply. A disciplined planningfor the amount of food to be cooked at householdand various celebrations may save huge amountof edible materials. A disciplined way of use ofclothing may reduce pressure on textile industryand in turn on natural resources. Human disciplinemay play crucial role in different walks of lifeleading to the economic use of natural resources.This human discipline may be inculcated byawareness, counseling, motivation,encouragement, incentives, enactment and

enforcement of unambiguous law, and finally bysevere punishment. The governmental agenciesshould not hesitate from punishing defiant humansbecause it not only has deterrent effect onpunished human but also on others. Punishmentis also the law of the nature. The nature is verysmart when to punish man and when to givepleasure to man. The nature makes a man to feelenergetic and fresh in morning if that man hastaken sound sleep overnight. The nature punishesthose men in morning and over whole day thathave not slept well over night.

CONCLUSIONThe fine balance of nature may be restored

only by use of cleaner technology coupled withchange in human behavior for more discipline inlife through awareness and punishment. Theenforcement of human discipline throughawareness and counseling failing which throughsevere punishment is even more significant thancleaner technology.

REFERENCES1. M. G. Golovatin, L. M. Morozova, S. N.

Ektova, Czech Polar Reports 2, 2, 80-91,2012.

2. S. Almécija, S. Moyà-Solà, D.M. Alba, PLoSONE 5, 7, e11727, 2010.

3. Australian Nuclear Science & TechnologyOrganization (ANSTO), Exhibition No.74,Presentation by Dr. Ron Cameron & Dr. JanSmith, p.32.UIC, Submission No.12, pg.15,2005.

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CURRENT SITUATION OF BIOFUELDEMAND AND PRODUCTION

ALTERNATIVES TO FOOD CROPS FOR BIOFUELS PRODUCTIONIN INDIA

R. T. Gahukar

Energy security looms as one of the most important challenges of this century for scientists andusers in India. Resources alternative to fossil including fungi, grasses, algae, waste oils and non-food crops are being studied. In future, biofuels should ideally create the environmental, economicand social benefits to the communities and reflect energy efficicency. Thus, there is need for aroadmap for the industry to produce new generation biofuels.

Supply of bioenergy looms as one of theimportant challenges of this century for the

country. This fact also reflects indirectly on foodsecurity1. It is now necessary to reduce pressureon fossil-based diesel since this natural source islimited. Other bioenergy sources includebioethnaol, biobutanol, biodiesel, bio-oils,cellulosic ethanol, biohydrogen, biomethyl ether,dimethyl tephthalate, biomethanol, 2-5-dimethylfuran, hydro-thermal upgrading disel,Fischer-Tropsch diesel, mixed alcohols, wooddiesel, and biofuel from grasses, algae and fungi.High energy biofuel from agricultural residuesand energy crops is also envisaged.

Biofuels are meant to fight against climatechange by decreasing our dependence non-renewable deposits of coal and petroleum. Indiais the sixth largest energy consumer with 150-200 tonnes of ethanol used annually for fuel

Arag Biotech Pvt. Ltd., Plot 220, Reshimbag, Nagpur-440009Email: [email protected]

blending and current demand (annual rate of4.8%) would grow to 5.8% till 2030. In future,the importance of biofuels will depend uponpetroleum price, progress in bioscience andtechnology, and awareness among people aboutdangers of climate change.

India meets about 70% of its requirement incrude oil and petroleum products (diesel andaviation fuel) through imports. It is speculatedthat biofuel production on large scale will resultin non-availability of foods and increase in theirprices, deforestation, diminution in biodiversityand undesirable impact on local land and waterresources. Public and private firms are thereforeworking on technologies for the biofuelproduction from agricultural residues and energycrops. The government has plans to executegreening of countryside by providing green fuelsfor rural electrification programmes along withemployment opportunities as production willtrigger huge growth in domestic plantation andprocessing. This venture is welcome sinceavailability of land and the low cost of productionhas made India as one of the most favoured andpotential countries for biofuel production. In this

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sector, major activities include communitydevelopment through plantations, incentivizingthe operations across the value chain, regulatingthe markets by curtailing import of free fattyacids, restricting movement and distributionwithin and outside the states, and revisingperiodically the sale prices for the growers.

The government has announced the NationalPolicy on Biofuels on December 23, 2009. Thegoal of this policy is to ensure a minimum levelof biofuels and meet the public demand. Forthis, 20% blending of bioethanol is proposed by2017 instead of current mandatory 5% blendingof ethanol and optional 10% mixing. Althoughstatistics on use of biodiesel is not available as itis mostly distributed through unorganized means,the national mission on biodiesel forecastedblending of biodiesel with high speed diesel upto 20% by the end of 2012. For this, 11.19 m haof land has to be converted into plantations ofwhich 7.98% ha under jatropha (Jatropha curcas)alone. The policy also encourages industry withsubsidies to boost biofuel processing. But thepresent feedstock can meet the demand of onlysmall biofuel processing units. Therefore, basiccustom duty on biodiesel will be reduced frompresent 7.55 to 2.5% at par with petro-diesel. Ifdiesel or petrol price falls below the minimumpurchase price, the marketing companies will beduly compensated by the government.

PRODUCTION OF BIOFUELSAmong renewable energy sources, biofuels

are gaining importance and there had beenscientific progress in developing biofuels fromdifferent sources, The followings are thelandmarks in research and development activities.

The first generation bioethanol is generatedby fermenting plant-derived sugars to ethanol.Thus requires the use of field crops such as,corn, cassava, sweet sorghum, sugarcane etc.

and biodisel is derived from seed oils, animalfat, oilseed crops, forest trees, fats and greases.In general, bioethanol is produced by thefermentation of molasses (by-product of sugarmills) since sugarcane produces about 35-40tonnes of dry mass/ha, and one tonne of molassescan produce 12 litres of bioethanol, and isregarded as energy efficient and sustainable inthe long run2. But the sugar or starch-basedethanol can be used as an additive rather than analternative to fossil fuels.

The statutory minimum price mechanismdetermines the price for commercial crops likesugarcane and the processors/mill owners havetheir profit based on byproducts and processing(distilleries). But the supply of soybean, rapeseedand other feed stocks will be limited bycompetition from other uses and land constraints.Similarly, utilization of the food crops for biofuelis in a big controvercy since India is facingscarcity to supply sugar and foods. Thus, biofuelproduction may not be possible withoutthreatening food security and biodiversity 1. Thereis already stress on the wasteland for plantationswhich may make the land vulnerable leading tograbbing by corporate sector and farmers will bepushed from their own lands. Some food cropssuch as, beet root, corn and wheat need highdoses of fertilizers which augment the emissionof the Green house gases (GHGs). Coarse grainsare fed to animals and prices of animal feed andmeat may go up. Moreover, increasing corn onlarge scale for biofuel production reduces thebiocontrol services in agricultural landscapes3. Itseems that first generation biofuels are not cost-competitive with existing fossil fuels, their lifecycle emissions often exceed than that of fossilfuels, and some of them produce only limitedGHGs emission savings.

The second generation biofuel is produced byusing biomas of residual non-food parts of field

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crops such as, stems, leaves and husks which areleft in the field after harvest. This woody andfibrous biomass is locked in with useful sugarsby energy-rich cellulose and lignin; cellulose isa tough polymer from which cell walls of plantsare made. The lignocellulosic ethanol is made byfreezing the sugar molecules from cellulose usingenzymes, steam heating or other pre-treatments.These sugars are fermented to produce ethanolin the same way as first generation bioethanolproduction. One tonne of cellulosic biomassyields up to 400 litres of bioethanol making itpotential and feasible option. The byproduct(lignin) of this process is burnt as a carbonneutral fuel to produce heat and power for theprocessing plants and electrification. Whencellulose alone is used for biofuel, other biomassis used for human beings and animals. Anotheradvantage is that lignocellulosic ethanol canreduce GHG emissions by about 90% comparedto fossil petroleum.

Amongst available non-food crops such as,certain oilseeds, forest trees, cereals bearing littlegarins, rubber and industry waste (wood chops,skins and pulp from fruit pressing unitsj.jatrophahas been considered as an ideal crop from theview of land use pattern (cultivation along withhorticultural and medicinal plants), GHGsemissions and upliftment of marginal farmers forbetter livelihood. But in fact, contiguous land isneeded for jatropha cultivation and its oil contentis often over-estimated. Therefore, irrespectiveof long plant development period, an indigenoustree karanj (Pongamia pinnata) may be a viablechoice. Since it is a leguminous tree, soil fertilityis maintained. It grows well in wasteland. Itsseed contains 30-40% oil that can be convertedto biodiesel1.

The current approach is solely based on non-food crops/feed stocks to be raised on degraded

or fallow land, in forest and non-forest areas andwastelands that are not suitable for agriculture.Thus, a possible conflict of fuel versus foodsecurity could be avoided. There is no danger forthese crops since ethanol is obtained fromresidues and does not hamper crops for animalgrazing. Research is in progress to modify plantsgenetically to suit biofuel production. Forexample, biofuel produced from indigenousbrown rice in Japan is blended up to 3% withpetrol. In Europe, flax rich in cellulose produces0.3 kg ethanol/kg of dry biomass. Likewise,biofuel from a crucifer, Brassica carinata throughenzymatic hydrolysis followed by fermentationand distillation is encouraged for mixing withpetrol. The difficulty is how to separate energy-rich cellulose from the wood to make ethanoland it is a costly process requiring high amountof heat and caustic chemicals. Moreover, fungalenzymes that attack lignin are not very efficientin breaking up lignin and not easily available.Therefore, instead of decreasing lignin content,its biosynthesis or the structural rigidity of theplant and other mechanisms will have to besearched.

The third generation biofuel is extracted fromseveral recently identified sources such as, watermelon juice, algae, fungi, grasses etc. The watermelon juice contains 7-10% of glucose, fructoseand sucrose and 15-35 μ mol/ml of amino acids.High water content in fruit helps dilute molassesin biofuels by 25% although concentrated juice(3 times) can only be used.

Conversion of carbon emissions into biofuelthrough industrial bio-sequestration is possiblebecause this process converts waste CO2 intooxygen and biomass through photosynthesis ofmicro-algae4. Up to 60-80% of this biomass isconverted into oil or lipids and a maximumannual yield of oil (182000 litres/ha) can be

31


obtained. Algal fuel leaves no carbon residuesince up to 99% of CO2 in solution can beconverted and returned into the air when biofuelis burnt. From this emitted CO2, 50% can beused for algal farming and 25% for farmingSpirulina (edible algae). Bioreactors tap CO2streams from coal-based thermal power plants toproduce rich algae. Thus, CO2 content can bereduced for lowering global warming effect. Somealgae secrete hydrocarbons in a form that can becontinuously collected for use as fuel5 andproduce nearly 300 times more oil per unit areathan soybean or jatropha because of its shortharvesting cycle (1-10 days) thereby loweringthe production cost. Similarly, marine algae suchas, Thraustrochytriurn sp., Crypthecodiniurncohnii, Schizotrichiurn sp. can be grown in costalareas in India as a source of fatty acids6. Themajor constraints are: expensive oil than othercommercially available fuels, difficulty incultivation and harvesting under controlledcondition.

The endophytic fungi are well known forproduction of volatiles including low molecularmass hydrocarbons7. A reddish endophytic fungus,Gliocladiurn rose urn which lives between livingplant cells is found abundantly in the rainforestsin Brazil. It is capable of producing a mycodieselhydrocarbons and hydrocarbon derivatives thatare similar to diesel. Fungus can even makethese diesel compounds from cellulose whichcontributes to organic waste. Search for suchorganisms in the environment needs to belaunched because it may be possible in .future toproduce fuel straight out of tiny plants andmicrobes by using genetic engineering.

The buffalow grass (Buchloe dactyloides),duck weed (Lernna gibba) and switch grass(Panicurn virgaturn) have been identified as apotential source ofbiofuel. The genotypes that

are suitable for economic production are beingstudied to identify genetic basis for traitsparticularly for disease and drought resistanceand the composition of cells. But the breakingdown of cell walls which is an essential step inproducing ethanol from cellulosic biomass seemsto be difficult at present. Recently, another grass,Brachypodiurn distachyon has been consideredas a model organism for biofuel, because it iseasy to cultivate, its genome is similar to that ofswitchgrass but being smaller, its cell-walls canbe broken down easily. It facilitates to find geneslinked to specific traits such as, stem size anddisease resistance, and to insert foreign DNAinto it to study gene function and targetedapproaches. The slurry of duck weed has beenfound suitable for making medium for the growthof yeast, Saccharomyces cereviceae8.

CHALLENGES AND PERSPECTIVES1. Research is needed on waste (old/expired)

cooking/vegetable oil, rejected oil from animalfats particularly the tallow (from beef andmutton fat) collected from restaurants andfood processing units. Biofuel from thesesources emits significantly less GHGs thannormal diesel. On business side, there are noestablished players since technology is still indevelopment and demonstartion stages.

2. The biggest challenge is how to secure qualityseed stocks to keep up with growing demand.Contract farming in the degraded and non-forest lands involving farmers and landlesslabourers can be tried. Otherwise biofuel cropsmay attract deforestation. Another way is tolink employment wages injatropha and otherplantations with National Rural EmploymentGuarantee Act. Spending on research anddevelopment activity should. be prioritized infuture programmes; for example, cultivationof grasses on marginal lands should be

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sponsored because energy crops need fastgrowing cellulose. Policy on the Minimumsupport price for jatropha seed and theMinimum purchase price for biodiesel needsto be redefined with assessment of financialfeasibility and commercialization whileconsidering economic, social andenvironmental needs. Planting and processingof biofuel crops if looked after as primarysector by the financial institutions includingbanks, there would be an attraction forinnovative techniques, development andextension.

3. Biofuel production might increase the emissionofGHG through burning of fossil fuels duringcultivation and industrial processing.Therefore, raising the target to 20% blendingis rather questionable. As such, specificationsand standards for the quality production andblending of ethanol in gasoline have to be setup. Paying subsidy to farmers and industriesto encourage lower GHGs emissions andutilization of waste land may prove as viablesolution.

4. Biofuels can be toxic to micro-organismswhich convert the biomass into biofuelresulting in death of bacteria and stopping theconversion process.

5. Few NGOs argue that if government canprovide irrigation for biofuel crops, why it is

not provided for pulses and oil seed crops ofwhich country is facing acute shortage?

6. Patents on jatropha hybrids have been awardedrecently to private firms. This procedure maybe detrimental in future as it may result inreduction in genotypic variability, exploitationof farming communities and introduction ofrrionopoly system in villages.

REFERENCE1. R.T. Gahukar, Current Science, 96, 1, 26-28.

2009.2. B. Muthukumar, N. Gunasekhar, S.

Varanavasiappan, S. Vijayakumar, L.Guruswamy, K. Omkumar, K. Praveena andS. Nithya, Kisan World, 36, 10, 33-37, 2009.

3. S. Raghu, R.C. Anderson, C.C. Daehler, A.S.Davis, R.N. Wiedenmann, D. Simberloff andR.N. Mack, Science, 313, 1742,2006.

4. S.J. Horn, Seaweed Biofuels: Production ofBiogas and Bioethanol from BrownMacroalgae, VDM Verlag, Germany. 2009.

5. H.S. Ray, Everyman’s Science, 64, 1, 48-50.2009.

6. S.D. Doughman and S. Krupanidhi,Everyman’s Science, 63, 3, 164-168. 2008.

7. B. Shankar Naik and Y.L. Krishnamurthy,Current Science, 98, 7, 883. 2010.

8. D. Sharma, B. Subramanian and A.Arunachalam, Current Science, 98, 9, 1162-1163. 2010.

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INTRODUCTION

ECO-TOURISM : ROLE OF SOCIETY IN THE ENVIRONMENTALUNDERSTANDINGS OF SUNDARBAN

Sisir Chatterjee

Eco-tourism, as a catchword describing the development of tourism and environmental conservation,has become a global tourism agenda since the 1990s. Similar to the rise of the environmentalprotection movement, eco-tourism has likewise originated from the West. Nevertheless, the notionhas swiftly spread to the Sundarban and has thus been subject to much amendment underregional improvization and local practices.

Since the late 1980s, eco-tourism has beenendorsed by the World Tourism Organization.

The 1992 United Nations Conference onEnvironment and Development in Rio de Janeiro,popularly known as the Earth Summit, provideda new orientation for the eco-development of thetravel and tourism industry. Consequently, Agenda21, the global environmental agenda, endorsedsustainable guidelines and principles for the traveland tourism industry.

The rapid spread of the term has much to dowith the response of the tourism industry, whichhas capitalized on the public’s environmentalsenti-ment to produce new tourism products.Green travel in many practical cases has incomea marketing label and a mere strategy to devisea new market niche rather than fulfilling theprogrammes of conservation.

There has been a wide spectrum of definitionsof the term eco-tourism. Popular understandingof the term often relates eco-tourism to natureand wildlife tourism. Scholars and conservationDepartment of Geography Raidighi College, South 24 Parganas,W.B. E-mail : [email protected]

professionals, on the other hand, define it in adifferent light. Presently eco-tourists are not onlyenvironmentally conscious but also contribute apart of their travel expenditure to conservationprogrammes.

TOURISM IN SUNDARBANThe Sundarban mangrove forest; one of the

largest such forest in the world (1,40,000 ha),lies on the delta of the Ganges, Brahmaputra andMeghna rivers on the Bay of Bengal.6

The tourism industry has become verygrowthful in the Indian part of Sundarban, withannual visitation increasing from around 50,000in 2002 to around 117,000 in 2010. Now it ismore than 2 lakh because of the regularsightseeing of the main attraction for the tourists,the Royal Bengal Tiger.7 Although the growingcommercialisation of tourism business benefitsthe local economy, it has sometimes detrimentalto the ecosystem of the Sundarbans due to riverbank erosion, habitat destruction for hotelconstruction, contamination by waste disposal,unhealthy sanitation and pollution caused bymechanized boats. Commercially successful

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tourism is likely to lead to clearings of vegetationfor more roadways construction and erosion ofpeat banks, which will result in changes insubstrate structure, faunal diversity and speciescomposition.’

In order to reduce the external cultural effectson the environment, eco-tourism is beingencouraged in the Sundarban. One of the benefitsof eco-tourism is the economic favourability forlocal people who is one of its targetedbeneficiaries. Due to Sundarban’s residents’ highdependency on the forest, an effectiveconservation strategy needs to provide forsustainable living. Eco-tourism is seen as bothenvironmentally sustainable and economyboosting that’s why the residents with incomegeneration opportunities linked to forestprotection with micro-level initiatives.

CHANGING NATURE OF ECO-TOURISM IN SUNDARBAN

Depletion of Sundarban has gone hand in handwith the progress of civilization. Infact, declinein the geography and ecosystem of Sundarbanhas kept pace with human progress and underprepared and untimed technological advance andassociated policies. The permanent humanhabitation being established in the area since 19thcentury through the clearing of forest in lowlaying tracts. The first forest Mangement Devisionto have jurisdiction over the Sundarban wasestablished in 1869. Despite several regulationon land use and mangrove protection inSundarban between 1873 to 1968, the mangrovecovered area decreased by about half because ofconversion of forest to agricultural land andsettlements. This can be attribute to rapidmigration to the Sundarban after partition in1947.4 But man has not always been the solecause for this man-nature conflict. People realise

that the primary thrust of a conservation policyis to establish a regular system in an endangeredarea. Ecologically the Sundarban is very muchconcerned with the success of Social-forestryschemes, habitational crisis of Tiger and unwisePrawn fisheries system.6

Considering the ecologial concerns socialforestry scheme of Forest department must beregularly practiced in the Sundarban region.Biannual Tiger census has to be arranged by theForest department using modern devices in orderto prevent decrease in number of Tigers. Tigersthe most valuable part of sustainable Sundarbanare to be kept under constant watch by the forestguards to protect them from the greedy eyes ofpoachers. Ten forest protection committees andfourteen Eco-development committees have beenformed in the fringe of Sundarban Tiger Reserveto help in this regard. In 2014, a study by theNational Tiger Conservation Auttority and theWildlife Institute of India had pegged the tigercount at 76.5

Sundarban with luxuriant ever green tideinundated mangroves lining the inlets, creeks andriver side and tiger lurking inside the Phoenix(Rental) bushes, has just the perfect blend ofnatural beauty and mystery to make it a thrillingexperience for any tourist visiting the place. TheMangrove Interpretation centre is established atSanjekhali to make the community and touristsaware of the significance of conservation of theunique mangrove ecosystem. Eco-tourism is nowflourishing in the deep forests particularly in thebuffer zones of Sundarban. Of late a few privateorganisations are coming up with many newtourist projects.3

involving travel to natural destinations; minimizing impact to the hosting

environment and communities; developing environmental awareness;

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bringing net benefits to the environment; providing direct financial benefits for

conservation; providing financial benefits and

empowerment for local people; and respecting local cultures, and religious

sentiments.Indeed, nothing in it is new if eco-tourism

merely means appreciation of nature and naturallandscapes during travel. The recent trend of eco-tourism not only in Sundarban but also in otherpart of India development entails a deeperunderstanding of the impacts of tourism activitieson nature and culture, and a moral obligation torespect nature, support conservation andresponsible travel. However, popularunderstanding of the term still varies in differentperspectives. Sundarban is also within the debatesince its identy as Wildlife Sancturary (1977).Recently a proposal of hotel constructionincluding heli-pad in the core area of Sundarbanis reviewed and rejected by forest depertmentof both central and state government only toaddress ecological sustainability issue.Retrospectively, eco-tourism is recommended asan alternative kind of tourism with conservationpurposes.1

In Sundarban, the upsurge of claims to eco-tourism development has to do with thegovernment’s awareness of the developmentconstraints that the tourism industry began to facein the later half of the 1990s due to the emergenceof many other forest tourism destinations. By2000 tourism-related departments such as theWest Bengal Tourism Ministry and theAgricultural, Fishery and Sundarban DevelopmentDepartment have begun to river as well as creek-way journy in Sundarban. Most of the time, ‘eco-tourism’ is understood as something related tonature-based tourism in conjunction with some

sort of environmental education. With theinclusion of the Sundarban area in academic fieldaround 2004-05 the term popularised after itsconsideration as a World Network of BiosphereReserve (Man and Biosphere Reserve) from 2001and promoted locally in Bengalees well asinternationally.

Sundarban, a world Heritage site (announcedby UNESCO in 1987) evokes the message ofnature through out the world. The worlds largestesturion forest Sundarban is popular for closeencounter with the wild environment.

The development of eco-tourism in Sundarbantakes on another approach. It has been promotedby the government to combine leisure, family,culture and environmental and wildlile education.In contrast to eco-tourism elsewhere, which,emphasize donations to conservation work,Sundarban eco-tourism is heavily subsidized bythe local government.

CHALLANGES OF ECO-TOURISM :POST ‘AILA’ SCENARIO INSUNDARBAN

Eco-tourism, in Sundarban, is now facingsome challanges like basic amenities likedrinking water particularly after cycole AILA inMay, 2009. ‘AILA’ cyclone that drove theBengali to ‘new’ nature cannot be fullyexplainable here. The high-profile officialpromotion of eco-tourism is not at all a solutionhere. It will be interesting to trace the futureevolution of post-disaster forms of eco-travel.The affected area, the Sundarban is known forits wide range of fauna, including nearly 250bird species, the Royal Bengal Tiger and othersthreatened species in land and water.7

Now eco-tourism development activities areundertaken to minimise negative impact onhabitat and wildlife. It should increase visitor’sconcern for conservation of nature. Development

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of eco-tourism in the biotic region of Sundarbanis facing some problems as follows : There is insufficient modern amenities like

hotel, lodges, holiday-homes for enoughaccommodation for the tourists visitingSundarban. Home-Stay is still not popularhere.

Poor transport network, particularly tidalinlets, creeks and rivers are the only of waysby boats communications till date due tolack of sufficient metalled roadways.

Lack of co-operations and co-ordinationamong different administrative departmentslike Forest Dept., Tourism Dept., FisheriesDept. Sundarbans Development BoardIrrigation Dept. and Inland WaterwaysDepartment etc. for sustainable touristspackages.

COMPARISON BETWEEN ARRIVALSOF TOURISTS FROM JUNE TODECEMBER OF 2008 AND 2009 : CASESTUDY OF GOSABA REGION

On 25th may of 2009 the occurance of cycloneAILA has created a devastating impacts on theGosaba area of South 24 Parganas district.Therefore the arrival of tourists has declined fromJune 2008 to December 2009. The number oftourists arrival has declined in some hotels ofPakhirala area are follows... In Chital from Juneto December 2008 the number of tourists arrivedwas 288 and from June - December 2009 thenumber of tourists arrival has decreased to 144.In Apanjon from June-December 2008 the numberof tourists arrived was 284 and in 2009 thenumber has declined to 128. In Swastika fromJune-Dccember 2008 the number of touristsarrived was 127 and in 2009 the number hasdeclined to 27 only. In Hemanta from June-December 2008 the number of tourists arrivedwere 170 and in 2009 it has declined to 60.3

SOCIO-ECONOMIC COMPULSIONSAND THE CRISIS OF ECO-TOURISM

Sundarban is still socio-economically abackward area. Here, a mouza of Rangabelianationally recognized for a well known schooland a legendary headmaster Padmashri TusherKanjilal is set against a background of extremerurality with poverty. The lack of basic servicesis highlighted in the absence of proper healthcenters, proper electricity etc. Most of thevillagers are stagnently engaged in primaryactivities.

Here we all know that the socio-economicstructure is the outcome of the physical setup.The socio-economic structure has been evaluatedto find out the living standard of the villagers,educational status, income structure based onagriculture and tourism. House type :

In a rural area, one is bound to come acrosskuccha houses. In the study area of Sundarbanalso kuccha house type is very common. At thesame time pucca houses are also comparativelyfrequent. Few semi-pucca houses are noticed atplaces. Home-stay for tourists is not popular inthe island areas. Sources of drinking water :

The different sources of drinking water aretaps, tube wells and ponds. Out of all these,villagers mostly make use of the tap water. Whilesurveying it was noticed that at places villagersare collecting water from roadside running water.The regular supply of water gets hampered at thetime when the area is faced with any kind ofcalamity like flord or the tropical cyclones. Thissituation is not acceptable for tourists at any pointof consideration. Health condition :

It is needless to say that villagers usually sufferfrom various chronise diseases. In most of the

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areas villagers complains about fever, cold, flu,stomach ache etc because of crunch of medicalsupport and awareness. The incidences of waterborne diseases and skin diseases are no exceptionsfor visiting tourists also. Modes of entertainment :

Though the findings revealed the use of radioto top the list but the use of mobiles, televisionand even telephones are further surprising in manyparts of the Sundarban which is not comfortableand acceptable for tourists. In addition to this thestriking fact is that the various mobile networksare not running properly even in peripheral areas. Extreme hazards :

The study area, being the very part ofSundarban is most vulnerable to hazards likeflood, cyclone, river bank erosion and salinity.Peoples perception study in hazard intensityrevealed that cyclones are the most furious andextreme of all the hazards.

According to the regular tourists, the areamostly faces the fury of flood hazard followedby cyclone. Though, hazards like river bankerosion occupies a comparatively lowerproportion but their effect and importance cannotbe ignored even in tourists season. after moreadministrative involvment.

ROLE OF CULTURE ANDLIVELIHOOD IN SUNDARBAN ECO-TOURISM

Entire communities in the Sundarban dependdirectly on the forest and its waterways for theirlivelihood, from fisheries to honey productionon average 500 quintals of honey and 30 quintalsof wax are collected each year by local peopleunder the legal permission of Forest department.Almost 85 percent of the people living inSundarban are dependent on agriculture. Socio-economic status is heavily determined bypossession of land. Mangrove and other plants

are planted in the triger area to meet the localneed of fuel wood for about 1000 villages and toconserve the buffer area.

Tourists, as external visitors are frequentlyaffected by human-animal illegal conflicts; a fewtiger and crocodile attacks every year arecommon. In 2008, six people are known to havebeen killed by tigers inside the Sundarban TigerReserve. Because of issues such as deaths due tohuman-animal conflict, illegal population influx,over-fishing and deforestation, the stateadministration imposed justifying restrictions notonly on livelihood practices but also themovements of tourists.

Studies have shown that majority of populationunderstand and support the conservation ofmangroves and the ecosystem. However,perceived socio-cultural factors such as poverty,lack of political understandings and absence ofcommunity level interaction on village economyas well as forest issues are often barriers to thesuccessful implementation of conservationpolicies. That’s why services towards tourists arestill not truly professional here.

Presently quality of infrastructure facilities likeagro-service centres, fishing harbors, boatbuilding facilities, cold storages, are growing innumbers to meet the requirements of social-developmental activities. This situation hasaffected the positive communications with touristsfor longtime.

RUSH FOR TIGER SIGHTINGTHROUGH MEDIA HYPE

Tiger sightings in the Sundarban have led toa sudden rush of tourists particular in winterseason. The forest, which experiences heavyfootfall of tourists between October and January,is witnessing additional load in 2017-18. Thesimple reason is the multiple sightings of tigersince November, 2017 inside the tiger reserve

38


area, compared to minimum sightings during thesame period in 2016-17. Foresters are generallyobserve this as an indicator of a good habitat andhealthy prey base where tourists are counting theirluck.

Tripti Shah, DFO of South 24 Parganas forestdivision, said in media : “This is a good sign, anindicator of a good habitat. Both foresters andtourists have seen tigers this season. Tourists areinforming us about sightings regularly.” Tigersis the most valuable part of eco-tourism inSundarban.2

Sundarbans Tiger Reserve is a maze of forestedislands ruled by the tidal water that comes fromthe sea. There are two high tides and two lowtides in a day at an interval of six hours each.The tide level and timings change every day.During the low tides the mudflats get exposedand that is when one needs to look around forthe tiger. Local tour operators suggest thatexploration routes for tiger sightings should bespatio-temporally planned depending on thesighting chances, rather than favourable currentof concerned rivers to save fuel in one hand anddisturbing biosphere in other. This is the anotherconcern of eco-tourism.

CONCLUSIONThe Sundarban is very vulnerable to a variety

of anthropogenic activities, including intensiveboating and fishing, and various forms of tourism.

There are a number of endangered species in theSundarban, including river dolphins and oliveridlay turtle and most inportantly Royal BengalTiger at risk because of anthropogenicenvironmental threats. Eco-tourism is one of thesustainable way of living addressing all thecontemporary environmental threats. Both thelocal residents and the external visitors need towork cooperatively throughout the year to protectthe biodiversity as well as macro-climaticuniqueness of this part of deltaic Bengal.

REFERENCES1. Gautam Das, Sunderbans environment and

ecosystems, Levento Books, Kol-14, India,2006.

2. Monotosh Chakraborty and KrishnenduMukherjee, -Times News Network, Dec. 24,2017, https#timesofindia.indiatimes.com

3. Sisit Chatterjee, Participation of local peopleand their perception, unpub. UGC minorresearch project report, Dec. 2010.

4. Subrata Mukherjee Banabibi, Wildlife Issue,33-36p, Oct. 2007.

5. Suhal Sengupta, The Telegraph, Oct 14, 2017.6. Wikipedia-Environmental impact of development

in the Sundarbans, htts:#en.wikipedia.org/wikiEnvironmental_impact_of_development_in_the_Sundarbans 2018.

7. Wikipedia—Sundarbans National Park, https :#en.m.wikipedia.org ed. April 2018.

39


P hlebotomine sandflies are tinyhaematophagous insects which

morphologically resemble with mosquitoes, yetthere are many differences which established themas a separate subfamily, Phlebotominae underfamily Phlebotomidae. They are widely spreadin regions with warm temperate through sub-tropical to tropical zones. They originated about120 million years ago before the mammals. About800 species of sand flies have been described tillnow out of which 464 species are found in theNew World and 375 in the Old World1.

TAXONOMIC IDENTIFICATIONS OFPHLEBOTMINES

Phlebotmine sandflies can be distinguishedwith the help of few taxonomic characters, viz.the absence of an eye-bridge and the presence offive- segmented palp, biting type of mouth parts

LEISHMANIA VECTOR IN PROSPECTIVEGirish Maheshwari and Anushka Chhonkar

which are almost equal in length as that of thehead, antennal segments fairly cylindrical and afive branched radial vein i.e. R1 and four-branched radial sector. Apart from theseidentifications, when alive, Phlebotomines holdtheir wings above the body in a characteristic‘V’ shape.

VECTOR SPECIESSandflies feed on plant sap, nectar, honey dew,

larva and nymphs inhabiting the surface of soiland blood. Feeding is mainly nocturnal andcrepuscular. Why only female sandflies serve asvector for parasite transmission? The reason liesbehind the fact that male flies feed on plant sapbut never on animals while females feed on plantsap as well as blood of human, rodents and otheranimals for egg development. Females ofPhlebotomus and Lutzomyia species mainly feedon mammals thereby serving as a vector forLeishmania transmission.

Besides this Autogeny i.e. ability to produceeggs without a blood meal has also been reported

School of Entomology, St. John’s College, Agra, Uttar Pradesh,Email : [email protected]; [email protected]

Leishmaniasis is a vector borne disease which is caused by a protozoan Leishmania and istransmitted by Nematoceran insect viz. sandfly belonging to family Phlebotomidae. Study andidentification of Phlebotomus, being the most important and proven vector of Leishmania parasitein the Indian sub-continent, have been a major research issue since long. In India, it is endemicmainly in four states namely; Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Although anumber of cases were also reported from Delhi, Punjab, Gujarat, Sikkim, Assam and MadhyaPradesh occasionally. Some new foci of Leishmaniasis have been developed especially in HimachalPradesh and Jammu & Kashmir and more than 200 cases of Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) havebeen reported annually for last four years. Nowadays molecular tools & techniques along with the

INTRODUCTION

40


for some sandfly species. It may help a sandflypopulation to increase within short span of time.

identification may be limited by deterioration ofsamples or by improper mounting techniques. Butmolecular tools can identify the species from avery small piece of tissue from both the sexesand any developmental stages of the organismand thus would be of importance in understandingthe taxonomy of sandflies2.

Several molecular approaches are beingadopted by various researchers for theidentification and taxonomic study of sandfliesas random amplified polymorphic DNA-PCR(RAPD-PCR), restriction fragment lengthpolymorphism (RFLP), multiplex PCR targeting,semi-nested PCR method; DNA sequencing ofPCR- amplified segments for portions of nuclearand mitochondrial DNA and others. Maheshwari& Maheshwari, 2017 has provided COI DNAsequencing of all the species of India3.NEW FOCI FOR LEISHMANIASIS ININDIA

Apart from the endemic states ofLeishmaniasis occurrence in India namely: Bihar,Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal; fewsporadic cases were also reported from Delhi,Punjab, Gujarat, Sikkim, Assam and MadhyaPradesh. Some new foci of Leishmaniasis havebeen developed especially in Himachal Pradeshand Jammu & Kashmir and more than 200 casesof VL have been reported annually for last fouryears. But no information is available regardingthe factors responsible for new foci in the virginregion. Transport and migration of workers fromBihar may be a major factor of dispersion ofLeishmaniasis in the new foci of the highaltitude.

SCOPE FOR RESEARCHERSAs in recent days, molecular identifications

have been adopted by the researchers instead ofthe conventional tedious taxonomic identificationof the vector species but in India, little work hasbeen done on molecular aspect of this fly.

Thus bring a rapid onset of the maximumLeishmania transmission period.

In general, each species has fairly specificecological requirements and in some cases theseencompass the conditions in and around thedwellings of man or his domestic animals. Themajority of peridomestic species are vectors ofinfections to man. The highly focal nature ofvarious forms of Leishmaniasis might be aconsequence of ecological limitations on thevectors.

MOLECULAR TECHNIQUES :IDENTIFICATION TOOL FORTAXONOMY OF SANDFLIES

Sandfly taxonomy is based on themorphological and anatomical characteristicfeatures, mainly internal structures such as thespermatheca, cibarium and pharynx in females,and terminal genitalia in males; which needdissection and mounting of freshly collected orpreserved sandfly specimens. However, speciesidentification is somewhat complicated becauseit requires a considerable degree of skill andtaxonomic expertise. Along with it, morphological

Fig. 1 : Blood fed female of Sandfly.

41


Table 1 : Indian species of Phlebotomus with distribution and specific Leishmania pathogen.S. No. Species of Phlebotomus Location Leishmania spp. isolated from

the salivary gland of the fly1. Phlebotomus gigas Rohru Not available

Parrot & Schwetz (Himachal Pradesh)2. Phlebotomus papatasi Scopoli Agra (Uttar Pradesh) L. donovani (Laveran et Mesnil,

1903) Ross, 19033. Phlebotomus sergenti Parrot Agra (Uttar Pradesh) L. donovani4. Phlebotomus chinensis Newstead Agra (Uttar Pradesh) Not available5. Phlebotomus signatipennis Randal Not available

Newstead (Himachal Pradesh)6. Phlebotomus salehi Mesghali Kishtwar L. donovani

(Jammu & Kashmir)7. Phlebotomus tubifer Rohru L. donovani

Lewis & Lane (Himachal Pradesh)8. New species near to Seemah Not available

Phlebotomus alexandri (Himachal Pradesh)Sinton

9. Phlebotomus stantoni Rampur L. donovaniNewstead (Himachal Pradesh)

10. Phlebotomus sp. Nov. Neerath L. donovani(Himachal Pradesh)

11. P. teshi Lewis Una L. donovani(Himachal Pradesh)

12. Phlebotomus purii Sinton Kishtwar Not available(Jammu & Kashmir)

13. Phlebotomus bergeroti Parrot Kishtwar Not available(Jammu & Kashmir)

14. Phlebotomus minuta Rondani Kishtwar Not available(Jammu & Kashmir)

15. Phlebotomus duboscqi Kishtwar Not availableNeveu-Lemaire (Jammu & Kashmir)

16. Phlebotomus montanus Sinton Doda and Karnah L. donovani(Jammu & Kashmir)

17. Phlebotomus argentipes Doda and Karnah L. donovaniAnnandale & Brunetti (Jammu & Kashmir)

18. Phlebotomus eleanorae Sinton Doda L. donovani(Jammu & Kashmir)

19. Phlebotomus sergenti sergenti Agra (Uttar Pradesh) Not availableParrot

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Madhya Pradesh

Assam

Jammu & Kashmir

Himachal PradeshSikkim

BiharWest Bengal

Jharkhand

Punjab

DelhiUttar Pradesh

Gujarat

Fig. 2 : Endemic and new foci of Leishmaniasis in India.

Therefore intelligence is required to indulge inits study. It is to emphasize that not all but onlyapproximately 7 % of the total Phlebotminesrecorded serves as vector for disease transmission.Hence, vector status of many species is yet toestablish. Moreover, attempts are required toexplain the causes of formulation of new foci inthe new ecological zone of the India.

CONCLUSIONAs sandfly is potential proven vector for

Leishmania parasite, we need to emphasize thestudy and researches focused on various aspectsof this tiny fly. New foci of Leishmaniasis thatare being developed in India are needed to beexplored and apart from it researches based onmolecular aspects must also be encouraged.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTAuthors are grateful to DBT, New Delhi for

major Project and the Principal, St. John’sCollege, Agra for providing the opportunity toconduct advanced research on various aspects ofPhlebotomine sandfly.

REFERENCES1. M. Akhoundi, K. Kuhls, A. Cannet, J. Votýpka,

P. Marty, P. Delaunay, D. Sereno, Negl. Trop.Dis., 10, 3, 2016.

2. N. P. Kumar, R. Srinivasan and P.Jambulingam, Mol. Ecol. Res., 2012.

3. G. Maheshwari and G. Maheshwari, Vectordetermination of Visceral Leishmaniasis (Kalaazar) in the New Focus of Himalayas, India,DBT Report: 1-32, 2017.

Uttarakhand

43


Vaccination is a medical practice of ancientorigin that possibly started in Asia. Buddhist

monks drank snake venom to confer immunityto snake bite. In China during 17th century smearsfrom small pox lesions were used to transmit amild infection and thereby protect against moreserious disease. The practice was formallyintroduced into Western medicine in 1796 byEdward Jenner, who used infected materialsisolated from cows to immunize against smallpoxand introduced the terminology “Vaccine”. Itwas a century later, when it was discovered thatmicrobes are the culprits for the cause ofinfections. It was Louis Pasteur who proposedthe basic rules of vaccinology and started therational development of vaccines. According tohim, the tenet to be followed to produce avaccine is “Isolate, inactivate and inject themicroorganism” that causes the disease. Pasteur’srules were followed for a century by variousvaccine developers. Jonas Salk developed avaccine containing a poliovirus that had beenkilled by formaldehyde treatment. Albert Sabinused poliovirus that had been attenuated by serialpassage in vitro. Hilleman developed vaccinesagainst measles, mumps, and rubella byattenuating the viruses causing the diseases.

REVERSE VACCINOLOGY : THE NEW TREND IN DEVELOPINGVACCINES

Ratanti Sarkhel* and Avishek Paul**

*Division of Biochemistry, ICAR-IVRI, Bareilly, UP,**Division of Physiology and Climatology, ICAR-IVRI,Bareilly, UP, E-mail : [email protected]

Others, such as Ramon and Glenny, isolatedessential components from bacterial or viralcultures, inactivated them, and paved the wayfor the development of vaccines against diphtheriaand tetanus, Neisseria meningitidis, Streptococcuspneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, and soon. In the case of hepatitis B, it was found thatthe causative virus could not be cultured in vitro.As a result, the vaccine was initially developedby inactivating viral antigen present in the plasmaof chronically infected people. The vaccinesdeveloped using Pasteur’s rules became powerfultools in the history of medicine and, in less thana century, led to the elimination of some of themost devastating infectious diseases globally.

Most of the vaccines that could be developedby these traditional technologies had beendeveloped by the end of the 20th century. Noveltechnologies were required to battle against theremaining pathogens. Milestones were achievedby introduction of new technologies such asrecombinant DNA and chemical conjugation ofproteins to polysaccharides, as well as advancesin the use of novel adjuvants. In 1995. CraigVenter published the genome of the first freeliving organism. Thus, a new technology becameavailable by which genomes of microorganismscould be accessed. This technological revolutionallowed for the first time the capacity to move

INTRODUCTION

The past two decades have seen the application of molecular genetics and its increased insightsinto immunology, microbiology and genomics applied to vaccinology. Reverse vaccinology is amilestone in silico method which employs computational techniques to select the best vaccinecandidate eschewing rigorous wet lab techniques. Thus, this method has garnered attention in themodern time with a prime focus on pathogenic biology.

44


beyond the rules of Pasteur, using the computerto rationally design .vaccines starting withinformation present in the genome, without theneed to grow the specific microorganisms. Thisnew approach was denominated “reversevaccinology”.

The first pathogen addressed by the reversevaccinology approach was Meningococcus B(MenB), a pathogen that causes 50% of themeningococcal meningitis worldwide. Thisbacterium had been refractory to vaccinedevelopment because its capsular polysaccharideis identical to a human self-antigen, whereas thebacterial surface proteins are extremely variable.The basic idea behind reverse vaccinolcgy is thatan entire pathogenic genome can be screened foridentifying suitable accine candidate by usingbioinformatics approaches. Some of the traitsthat the genes are monitored for that may indicateantigenicity include genes that code for proteinswith extracellular localization, signal peptides,and B-cell epitopes. Next, those genes are filteredfor desirable attributes that would make goodvaccine targets such as outer membrane proteins.Once the candidates are identified, they areproduced synthetically and are screened in animalmodels of the infection. This allows thedevelopment of vaccines that were previouslydifficult or impossible to make and can lead tothe discovery of unique antigens that may improveexisting vaccines. The steps involved indevelopment of vaccine using reverse vaccinolcgycan be elucidated as follows :CONCLUSION

Unlike conventional methods, unravelingantigens and pathogens have become easier byemploying the technique of reverse vaccinology.The only requirement for this technique is theavailability of whole genome sequence of theorganism from which the anti genic sites can bepredicted computationally. Thus, Reversevaccinology can lead to swift identification ofpotential vaccine candidates even for highlypathogenic microbes.

The approved vaccine should becommercialized and used in large scale. Atthis point, phase-IV clinical studies confirmsafety.

Policy making bodies such as ACIP andequivalent bodies from other nationsmakes the recomendations on how thevaccine should be used.

Scientific, Clinical and technicalinformation are then analysed andcandidate vaccines are the tested forsafety and approved by regulatoryagenices Such as FDA and EMA.

Selected antigens are manufactured in largescale for clinical trials and candidate vaccinesare tested for safety and protective immunityin humans using established corrleates ofprotection or eficacy studies.

Protective antigens are tested for theirpresence and conservation in a collectionof strains representative of the species(molecular epidemiology).

The selected antigens are then used toimmunize animals and test whetherimmunization induces a protectiveresponse.

The identified antigens are screened forexpression by the pathogen and forimmunogenecity during infection.

Computer analysis of the whole genomeidentifies the genes coding for predictedantigens and eliminates antigens withhornoloaies to human proteins.

REFERENCES1. C. D. Rinaudo, .J. L. Telford, R. Rappuoli

and K. L. Seib, J Clin Invest, 119, 2515-2525, 2009.

2. R. Rappuoli, Curr Opin Microbial, 3, 445-450, 2000.

3. S.A. Plotkin, Pediatr. Infect. Dis. J, 24, 1-9, 20054. S. Alessandro and R. Rino, Immunity, 33, 530-541.

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To encourage Young Scientists, The Indian Science Congress Association has instituted a number ofawards in different disciplines. These awards carry a sum of Rs.25,000/- besides a Certificate of Merit.1. Applications are invited from members (Life &Annual) of the Association who have paid their

subscription on or before July 15, 2018. The upper age limit of the candidates for the award is32 years as reckoned on December 31, 2018 (born on and after January 01, 1987).

2. Four copies of the abstract (not exceeding 100 words) along with four copies of full length papermust reach the office of the General Secretary (Membership Affairs) not later than August 16,2018. At the top of each copy of the paper and its abstract, the name of the Section under whichthe paper is to be considered should be indicated. For details of Sections see http://www.sciencecongress.nic.in/html/paper/presentations.php.

3. Along with the Four copies of paper, Four copies of the Application Form (to be downloaded fromISCA website (http://www.sciencecongress.nic.in/html/young_sc_programme.php) with brief bio-data of the candidate (not exceeding 2 pages), list of publications, with copies of reprints of alreadypublished papers if any and a soft copy of the duly filled application form with scanned copies ofenclosures (excluding reprints), full length paper and abstract in MSWord (not PDF) along withbio-data in the form of a CD must also be sent simultaneously along with the hard copies.

4. The Paper submitted must be a single author paper and the research work should have beencarried out in India and this has to be certified by the Head of the Institution from where thecandidate is applying.

5. The candidate should give an undertaking that the paper being submitted has not been publishedin any journal or presented in any other Conference/Seminar/Symposium or submitted forconsideration of any award.

6. A Young Scientist can present only one paper in any one Section (and not a second paper on thesame or any other topic in any other Section).

7. A person who has already received Young Scientist Award in any section once will not be eligibleto apply for the above Award in the same or any other section.

8. Incomplete Applications will not be considered.9. The papers submitted will be subjected to verification for authenticity.

10. Full length paper will be evaluated by experts and the selected Young Scientists (maximum ofsix) in each section will be invited to make oral presentation of their paper during 106th IndianScience Congress. The selected candidates will be provided admissible travelling allowances byISCA.

11. The final selection for the Awards will be made by a duly constituted committee and the awardswill be given during the Valedictory Session of 106th Indian Science Congress session to be heldon January 7, 2019.

12. Applications submitted for the above award will not be returned.13. The last date for receiving papers at ISCA Headquarters is August 16, 2018.

All correspondences should be made to: The General Secretary (Membership Affairs), The IndianScience Congress Association, 14, Dr. Biresh Guha St., Kolkata-700017. Tel.Nos.(033) 2287-4530/2281-5323, Fax.no. 91-33-2287-2551/2287-2551, [email protected]:http://www.sciencecongress.nic.in

The Indian Science Congress Association

ISCA YOUNG SCIENTIST’S AWARD PROGRAMME : 2018-2019

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The National Institute of High SecurityAnimal Diseases (NIHSAD) of Indian

Council of Agricultural Research is a premierinstitute of India for research on exotic andemerging pathogens of animals. NIHSAD cameinto existence on 8th Aug., 2014 as anindependent institute under ICAR from itsoriginal status as High Security Animal DiseaseLaboratory (HSADL), a regional station ofIndian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI),Izatnagar. The institute has contributedsignificantly by detecting many animal diseasesof exotic origin and preventing them fromentering our country. The bio-containmentlaboratory of HSADL has been operationalcontinuously since year 1998 for handlingexotic/emerging animal diseases, providingrapid diagnosis and conducting basic and

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF HIGH SECURITYANIMAL DISEASES, BHOPAL

LABORATORY

&

ADMINISTRATIVE BLOCK

applied research on emerging animal pathogens.Realizing the challenging need of stringentbiological safety measures in the era ofglobalized animal trade and the growing threatof novel pathogens, the HSADL, as part ofIVRI, was upgraded as an independent nationallevel institute for extending better services tothe nation in animal health through its mandatedprogrammes and objectives.

The institute has a BSL-3+ biocontainmentfacility having a laboratory wing and an animalwing. Both the wings have separate entriesthrough shower system. The exit system withcompulsory shower out has airtight doorsoperated with PLC control. The primarycontainment barrier is provided in the laboratoryrooms where high risk organisms are to behandled for research purposes. The primary

KNOW THY INSTITUTIONS

47


barriers available in laboratory are biologicalsafety cabinets (Class II B1 and Class II B2),isolators (Class III BSC), personal suits,respirators, laboratory coats, gloves, head, eyeand face coverings. The secondary barrier isthe infrastructural facilities, which play a keyrole in preventing the escape of organisms tothe environment. These mainly include civilwork, effluent treatment plant, air handlingsystem, rendering plant, incinerator etc. Theair-handling system of the facility is comprisedof 23 air-handling units (AHUs) with 97 HEPAfilters fitted in 92 filter housings. The entirelaboratory including the animal wing functionsunder gradient negative pressure (-50 pascalsto –200 pascals) to prevent the possibility ofescape of pathogens to the exterior. All solidand liquid waste is decontaminated by heatsterilization, gaseous sterilization or liquiddisinfectant. The materials are removed tooutside through airlocks, dunk tanks and barrierautoclaves.

The laboratory wing has separate rooms fordisease diagnosis, immunology, pathology,biochemistry and molecular biology,recombinant DNA work, radioisotope handling,media preparation, cell culture, RNA extractionand infection room. Additional facilities includecold rooms, incubator room, glassware washingand preparation room, storage facilities, firstaid room, dirty dispatch areas and air locks.The animal wing has facilities for housinglarge and small livestock, and laboratoryanimals. The animal rooms have separate airhandling systems, which prevent crosscontamination among rooms and escape ofpathogens to surrounding areas and theenvironment. For remote handling ofexperimental animals inoculated with hazardouspathogens, three isolators (class III BSCs) have

been provided. In between the two rows ofanimal rooms, provision exists for post mortemfacility with cold storage. The post mortemroom is connected to the clean area by analkali wash room. All solid and liquid waste isdecontaminated by heat sterilization, gaseoussterilization, or liquid disinfectant. The materialsare removed through airlocks, dunk tanks andbarrier autoclaves. The animal carcasses fromanimal wing are processed through a renderingplant to ensure sterilization for safe discard.

Outside the main laboratory, animal facilitiesare also available for quarantine of incominganimals (animal receiving shed) and theirbreeding and maintenance (animal holdingshed) for regular supply of experimentalanimals. Supporting facilities for functioningof the laboratory/ animal wing are steam raisingplant (boilers) for sterilization, de-mineralization plant, soft water plant, airconditioning plant, air compressors, a 33 kvelectrical substation along with DG sets, storagetanks for diesel and furnace oil and engineeringworkshop etc. For safe handling of pathogensin the laboratory biosafety guidelines areavailable.The Mandate• Basic and strategic research on exotic,

emerging and re-emerging animal diseases.• Biorisk management and capacity building

in the areas of biosafety, biosecurity andbio-containment for handling high riskpathogens.

The objectivesThe major objectives of the institute include :

• To carry out basic & applied research onexotic, emerging and re-emerging diseasesof animals.

48


• To develop competency for diagnosis &control of exotic/emerging diseases ofanimals.

• To create & update repository and data-bank on exotic/emerging pathogens

• To develop skills in biorisk management &train manpower in the areas of biosafety,biosecurity and biocontainment.

Research Milestones• Prevented entry of diseases like RHD in2001, Avian Influenza H7N7 in smuggledpigeons in 2001 and MCF and BVDV (Exoticstrain) in cattle imported from Australia thatwere detected and checked at point of entry inthe country in year 2003. In 2006, when bird flu (Highly PathogenicAvian Influenza entered in India) causedunprecedented mortality in poultry inMaharashtra and then started spreading inGujarat and Madhya Pradesh, one cannotimagine what would have happened if thedisease was not controlled quickly. Thecatastrophe could be averted only after the quickdiagnosis by NIHSAD (formerly HSADL). During the last 15 years of functioningNIHSAD has confirmed the existence of Avianinfluenza, Swine Influenza, Bovineimmunodeficiency virus, Bovine virus diarrhea,Border disease, Malignant catarrhal fever,Porcine Circovirus, Porcine Parvovirus, PorcineReproductive and Respiratory Syndrome(PRRS) and Crimean Congo HemorrhagicFever. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that theviruses isolated from poultry in India belongedto two major genetic clades; clade 2.2 (isolatedduring 2006 to 2010) and clade 2.3.2.1 (isolatedduring 2011-13). Within clade 2.2, the H5N1viruses formed four distinct groups; 2006 and

2007 isolates formed two independent groups.The 2006 Indian isolates shared grouping with2006 swan isolates from Iran and Italy. The2007 isolates of Manipur grouped closely witha guinea fowl isolate from China. During 2008-2010, two independent introductions of theH5N1 virus have been detected; one fromBangladesh probably through land-based poultryand another thorough migratory bird. Theviruses isolated during 2011- 2013 from Indiabelonged to clade 2.3.2.1, and grouped closelywith isolates from Bangladesh and Bhutan. Allthe viruses were highly pathogenic to poultry;However, species specific variation withinH5N1 viruses of both the clades have beenfound in mice and ducks. The H5N1 HPAI virus was isolated fromother species including ducks [West Bengal andAssam (2008), Tripura (2008 and 2011), Odisha(2012)], Crows [Jharkhand (2011), Bihar(2012), Maharashtra (2012), Odisha (2012,2014); Assam (2008)], Goose [Tripura (2008)]and Turkeys [Karnataka (2012)]. Monoclonal antibodies against NS1and NPprotein of avian influenza has been developedand characterized that are most useful fordiagnostic purpose. Designing and validation of siRNAs (smallinterfering RNAs) against PB2, PB1, PA, NPand M2 gene inhibiting H5N1 virus (Thisresearch is helpful for deciding antiviraltherapy). The study on “Environmental persistence ofAI virus” gave an insight into the various factorsinvolved in the persistence of avian influenzavirus in feces, water and environment, on thebasis of which recommendations have beenframed regarding the temperature conditions forstorage and dispatch of avian influenza samplesand control of avian influenza infection in thepoultry farms and laboratories.

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During 2003, H9N2 strains of AvianInfluenza (low pathogenic-LPAI) werediagnosed in poultry from outbreaks in northernIndia. Since then, several H9N2 isolations haveproved that this LPAIV is widespread in India.Low pathogenic H9N2 virus was demonstratedin the brain of chicken naturally infected withthe virus for the first time. Surveillance of H1N1 influenza virus (swineflu) has indicated its presence in pig populationin India. Two viruses (H1N1) have been isolatedand characterized. Presently, the development of a DIVA-marker (Differentiating Infected fromVaccinated Animals) vaccine against HighlyPathogenic Avian Influenza (Lab-generatedH5N2) ready for validation) is in progressunder the National Fellow project at NIHSAD. During 2006 outbreak, as an emergencymeasure, AIV vaccine was developed andtested. However, Govt of India later decidednot to adopt vaccination policy in the country. Developed Mab based ELISA for diagnosisof BVDV and BIV, and recombinantnucleocapsid protein based indirect ELISAdiagnosis of PRRS. BVDV-1b was isolated from cattle for thefirst time in India. Phylogenetic analysisestablished prevalence of BVDV 1b & 1csubtype in Indian buffalo and close relationshipbetween cattle and buffalo BVDV-1b viruses.

Genetic and antigenic characterizationdemonstrated the first occurrence of BVDV-2subtype b in sheep providing the evidence thatthis subtype can also occur in species otherthan cattle. For the first time in the world BVDV-1 wasidentified in yaks of Himalayan region. Recent surveillance of samples from Jammuarea confirmed Border disease infection in smallruminants, first time reported from India. A TaqMan based one-step real time RT-PCR was developed and validated forsimultaneous detection and genetic typing ofBVDV-1, BVDV-2 and BDV in clinicalsamples. Detection of CpHV in ruminant populationof India for the first time. BVDV-3 (HoBi-like) was identified in Indiancattle for the first time and the phylogeneticanalysis revealed circulation of two novel andhighly divergent lineages of BVDV-3 virusesin India.Contact :Director,National Institute of High SecurityAnimal DiseasesIndian Council of Agricultural Research,Anand Nagar, Bhopal-462 022 (MP), INDIA. Phone Director’s Office : +91 755 2759204 EPABX : +91 755 2754674-75Fax : +91 755 2758842

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CONFERENCES/MEETINGS/SYMPOSIA/SEMINARS

5th IEEE Uttar Pradesh Section International Conference on Electrical,Electronics and Computer Engineering (UPCON 2018), 2-4 November2018, Gorakhpur

Topics :

Computer Science & Engineering

Data Mining, Big Data, and Cloud Computing

Computer Architecture, Systems and IOT

High Performance Computing

Image Processing, Computer vision, PatternRecognition and HCI

Language Technologies and InformationRetrieval

Bioinformatics and Machine LearningAlgorithms

AI and Soft-computing

Computer Networks, Wireless Network andSecurity

Software Engineering and Database Systems

Electrical Engineering

Electrical Machines and Instrumentation

Power Electronics and Drives

Control Systems and System Engineering

Power Systems and HV Engineering

Renewable Energy Technologies

Robotics, Control and Automation

Smart Grid Technologies, Planning,management, Security and Stability

Regulation and Electricity Markets

Electronics Engineering

Microelectronics and VLSI Design

Organic and Flexible Electronics

Devices, Materials and Processing

Micro- and Nano-electronics& Photonics

Signal Processing and Communication

Digital Electronics and Embedded Systems

Antenna, Microwave and RF Engineering

Nano and Semiconductor Technology

Photonic Technologies and Applications

Signal, Image and Video Processing

Wireless and Optical Communication

Humanitarian Technology

Contact :Dr. Brijesh Kumar, Associate Professor, Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering,MMMUT, Mobile:+91-9235500552, Email: [email protected] [email protected]

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International Conference on Climate Change impacts on Food Security Portof Spain, Trinidad. November 12-16, 2018

Agro-ecology Agroforestry systems and models Organic farming practices Energy systems in agricultural production Biodiversity Agribusiness and value addition Soil health management Integrated pest management Innovative tools in technology transfer Sustainability and rural development aspects

of food production Policy issues in climate change, its impact on

agriculture and mitigation measures

Topics :Impacts of climate change on foodsecurity and nutrition security Climate change impacts on crop production Climate change impacts on livestock and

poultry production Climate change impacts on fish production

Mitigation and adoption measures toclimate change Innovative sustainable agricultural practices Climate smart agriculture Precision farming Protected cultivation

World Congress on Cardiac Sciences-2018, 28-29 November 2018,Bengaluru.

Topics : Clinical & Interventional Cardiology Paediatric Cardiology Cardio-Oncology Nuclear Cardiology Cardiac Imaging Cardio-Nephrology Cardiovascular Disease Cardiovascular Nursing Cardiovascular Surgeries Cardiovascular MRI Cardiac Regeneration & Cardiomyopathies Current And Future Trends In CVD

Cardiac Pharmacology Diabetes, Heart and Stroke Heart Failure Hypertension Vascular Biology Current Research in Cardiology Heart Regeneration Molecular Cardiology Cardiac Devices Cardiology - Future Medicine Case Reports on Cardiology

Contact :World Congress On Cardiac Sciences-2018, Biogenesis Health Cluster, H.No. 362, 2nd Floor,11th Cross, 4th Main, 2nd Block, Behind B.D.A. Shopping Complex, R.T. Nagar, Bengaluru-560 032,T: +91 80 2333 0019, F: 080 2333 0058

Contact :Thara Gabriel, 1 868 662 3719, Sally-Ann Henry, 662-2002 ext. 82113

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Third edition of International Conference on Soft Materials (ICSM 2018),9-14 December 2018, Jaipur.Topics :Biological soft matterBio-inspired materialsColloids and interfaceDynamics of complex fluidsDrug design and deliveryElastomersFunctional and nanomaterialsGels and hydrogelsHydrogen: Generation /Separation /Sensing andStorageLiquid crystals

Materials for energy applications (photovoltaics,semiconductors, fuel cells, and energy storage)MembranesNano and microfluidicsNanocomposites and hybrid materialsPolymersSelf-AssemblySelf-propelled particlesSoft magnetic materialsSoft nanofabricationSurfactants & lipids

Contact :ICSM-2018, Department of Physics, Malaviya National Institute of Technology Jaipur-302017,E-mail : icsm[at]smrsi.org, Tel : +91-141-2713441/3496

International Conference on Smart Computer Applications andInnovations (ICSCAI 2018), 21-22 December, 2018, AurangabadTopics :Image Processing and GIS Signal Processing Image Processing GIS in Renewable Energy Sources Remote Sensing in Urban Environment GIS in Mapping GIS and RS in Climate Change Spatial Analysis With GIS Disaster Assessment and ManagementIntelligent Information Systems Artificial Intelligence IoT Neural Networks and Fuzzy Logic Expert and Multi-Agent Systems Ambient and Emotional Intelligence Data Mining Natural Language Processing

Query Analysis and Processing Personalized Recommendations RoboticsNext Generation Networks and Security Cyber Security Protocols Cryptography Security Impact on Performance Electronic Data Interchange BiometricsData Science Cloud Computing Big Data Analytics Applications of Big Data Analytics Parallel and Distributed Systems Big Data and Database Security Cyber Threat Intelligence in Big Data

Contact :Convener, Ms. Bhakti Ahirwadkar Head, Department of Computer Science and EngineeringEmail id : [email protected] , Mobile : 9823551111

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S&T ACROSS THE WORLDA EUROPEAN ORIGIN FOR LEPROSY?

New research by an international teamincluding scientists from the Max PlanckInstitute for the Science of Human History, theUniversity of Tübingen, EPFL Lausanne andthe University of Zurich has revealed that therewas much more diversity in the leprosy strainscirculating in Medieval Europe than previouslythought. This finding, based on the sequencingof 10 new ancient genomes from the leprosy-causing bacterium Mycobacterium leprae,complicates prior assumptions about the originand spread of the disease, and also includesthe oldest M. leprae genome sequenced to date,from about 400 AD in the United Kingdom.

Leprosy is one of the oldest recorded andmost stigmatized diseases in human history.The disease was prevalent in Europe until the16th century and is still endemic in manycountries, with over 200,000 new cases reportedannually. The bacterium Mycobacterium lepraeis the main cause of leprosy. Previous researchon the bacterium suggested that it clusters intoseveral strains, only two of which were presentin Medieval Europe. The present study,published in the journal PLOS Pathogens, 2018;14 (5) :, aimed to further investigate the historyand origin of M. leprae by looking for geneticevidence from a large number of ancientsamples from throughout Europe.10 new ancient genomes of M. lepraedating from approximately 400-1400 AD

The current study examined approximately90 individuals with skeletal deformations thatwere characteristic of leprosy, from acrossEurope and from time periods ranging fromapproximately 400 AD to 1400 AD. From

these samples, 10 new medieval M. lepraegenomes were fully reconstructed. Thesegenomes represent all known strains, includingstrains that are today associated with differentlocations around the globe, including Asia,Africa and the Americas. Additionally, in thisstudy multiple strains were often found in thesame cemetery, illustrating the diversity of theleprosy strains circulating throughout thecontinent at the time.

“We found much more genetic diversity inancient Europe than expected,” explainsJohannes Krause, senior author of the studyand a director at the Max Planck Institute forthe Science of Human History. “Additionally,we found that all known strains of leprosy arepresent in Medieval Europe, suggesting thatleprosy may already have been widespreadthroughout Asia and Europe in antiquity or thatit might have originated western Eurasia.”OLDEST LEPROSY GENOME TO DATEOne M. leprae genome reconstructed by theteam was from Great Chesterford, England,and dates to between 415-545 AD. This is theoldest M. leprae genome sequenced to dateand comes from one of the oldest knowncases of leprosy in the United Kingdom.Interestingly, this strain is the same found inmodern-day red squirrels and supports thehypothesis that squirrels and the squirrel furtrade were a factor in the spread of leprosyamong humans in Europe during the medievalperiod.

“The dynamics of M. leprae transmissionthroughout human history are not fully resolved.Characterization and geographic association ofthe most ancestral strains are crucial fordeciphering leprosy’s exact origin” states leadauthor Verena Schuenemann of the Universityof Zurich. “While we have some written recordsof leprosy cases that predate the Common Era,

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none of these have yet been confirmed on amolecular level.”

The abundance of ancient genomes in thecurrent study has resulted in a new and olderestimate for the age of M. leprae than previousstudies, placing its age at least a few thousandyears old. “Having more ancient genomes in adating analysis will result in more accurateestimates,” explains Krause. “The next step isto search for even older osteological cases ofleprosy than currently available, using well-established methods for identification ofpotential cases.”Source : Max Planck Institute for the Science ofHuman History. https://www.sciencedaily.com/2018

CLIMATE CHANGE THREATENSMARINE PROTECTED AREAS

New research from the University of NorthCarolina at Chapel Hill and collaborators foundthat most marine life in Marine Protected Areaswill not be able to tolerate warming oceantemperatures caused by greenhouse gasemissions. Marine Protected Areas have beenestablished as a haven to protect threatenedmarine life, like polar bears, penguins andcoral reefs, from the effects of fishing andother activities like mineral and oil extraction.The study found that with continued “business-as-usual” emissions, the protections currentlyin place won’t matter, because by 2100,warming and reduced oxygen concentrationwill make Marine Protected Areas uninhabitableby most species currently residing in thoseareas.

The study, which will be published on May7 in Nature Climate Change, predicts that underthe Intergovernmental Panel on ClimateChange’s Representative Concentration

Pathway 8.5 emissions scenario, better knownas the “business as usual scenario,” MarineProtected Areas will warm by 2.8 degreesCelsius (or 5 degrees Fahrenheit) by 2100.

The study concludes that such rapid andextreme warming would devastate the speciesand ecosystems currently located in MarineProtected Areas. This could lead to extinctionsof some of the world’s most unique animals,loss of biodiversity, and changes in oceanfood-webs. It could also have considerablenegative impacts on the productivity offisheries and on tourism revenue. Many ofthese marine species exist as small populationswith low genetic diversity that are vulnerableto environmental change and unlikely to adaptto ocean warming.

The study also estimated the year in whichMarine Protected Areas in different ecoregionswould cross critical thresholds beyond whichmost species wouldn’t be able to tolerate thechange. For many areas in the tropics, this willhappen as soon as the mid-21st century.

“With warming of this magnitude, we expectto lose many, if not most, animal species fromMarine Protected Areas by the turn of thecentury,” said John Bruno, lead author, marineecologist, and biology professor in the Collegeof Arts and Sciences at UNC-Chapel Hill. “Toavoid the worst outcomes, we need toimmediately adopt an emission reductionscenario in which emissions peak within thenext two decades and then decrease verysignificantly, replacing fossil fuels with cleanerenergy sources like solar and wind.”Key takeaways include :• There are 8,236 Marine Protected Areas

around the world, although they only coverabout 4 percent of the surface of the ocean.

• The projected warming of 2.8 degreesCelsius (or 5 degrees Fahrenheit) by 2100

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would fundamentally disrupt the ecosystemscurrently located in Marine Protected Areas.

• Mean sea-surface temperatures withinMarine Protected Areas are projected toincrease 0.034 degrees Celsius (or 0.061degrees Fahrenheit) per year.

• Marine Protected Areas in the Arctic andAntarctic are projected to warm especiallyquickly, threatening numerous marinemammals like polar bears and penguins.

• The Marine Protected Areas at the greatestrisk include those in the Arctic and Antarctic,in the northwest Atlantic, and the newlydesignated no-take reserves off the northernGalápagos islands Darwin and Wolf.“There has been a lot of talk about

establishing marine reserves to buy time whilewe figure out how to confront climate change,”said Rich Aronson, ocean scientist at FloridaInstitute of Technology and a researcher on thestudy. “We’re out of time, and the fact is wealready know what to do : We have to controlgreenhouse gas emissions.”Source : University of North Carolina at ChapelHill, https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018

GENE KNOCKOUT USING NEWCRISPR TOOL MAKES MOSQUITOESHIGHLY RESISTANT TO MALARIAPARASITE

Deleting a single gene from mosquitoes canmake them highly resistant to the malariaparasite and thus much less likely to transmitthe parasite to humans, according to a newpaper from scientists at Johns HopkinsBloomberg School of Public Health’s MalariaResearch Institute.

The scientists used the new CRISPR/Cas9system, which permits precise DNA editing, to

delete a gene called FREP1 from the genomeof Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes, the chieftransmitters of malaria to humans. Within themodified mosquitoes, malaria parasites weremuch less likely to survive and multiply. TheCRISPR/Cas9 system used in this study wasdeveloped by Eric Marois, research scientist atthe University of Strasbourg,

The study, published March 8 in PLoSPathogens, is the first to show that deleting agene from mosquitoes can make them resistantto malaria parasites. It also underscores thepotential of this strategy to modify wildmosquito populations and thereby reducemalaria transmission to humans.

The CRISPR/Cas9 system is a set of DNA-editing molecules implicated in bacterialdefense mechanism against viruses. In recentyears, biologists have adapted it as a precisetool for genetic engineering—in scientificexperiments, and in prospective genetic-modification strategies against diseases such asmalaria.

“Our study shows that we can use this newCRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technology to rendermosquitoes malaria-resistant by removing aso-called host factor gene,” says study seniorauthor George Dimopoulos, PhD, professor inthe Bloomberg School’s Department ofMolecular Microbiology and Immunology.“This gives us a good technological platformfor developing advanced malaria-controlstrategies, based on genetically modifiedmosquitoes unable to transmit the disease, andfor studying the biology of malaria parasites intheir mosquito hosts.”

The World Health Organization estimatesthere were more than 200 million cases of thedisease in 2016 and more than 400,000 deaths,the majority occurring among children underage five in sub-Saharan Africa. A malaria

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vaccine is available, but its protection is onlypartial and temporary, and like antimalarialmedicines, the vaccine has a limited supply.Researchers are turning to potentially cost-effective strategies that target malaria-carryingmosquitoes to prevent the spread of malaria inthe first place.

For the research, conducted in the insectaryat the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institutein Baltimore, Dimopoulos and colleaguesmodified Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes bydeleting the gene FREP1, which encodes animmune protein, fibrinogen-related protein 1.For reasons that aren’t fully clear, the proteinhelps malaria parasites survive within themosquito gut and progress to the developmentalstages needed for their transmission to people.FREP1 is thus considered a malarial “hostfactor.”

The elimination of this host factor via thedeletion of the FREP1 gene had other effectsbesides reducing the number of mosquitoesinfected with malaria. After the FREP1 deletion,most of the modified mosquitoes had noevidence in their salivary glands of thesporozoite-stage parasites that enter the humanbloodstream through a mosquito bite.

“The resistance to malaria parasites that’sachieved by deleting FREP1 is remarkablypotent,” Dimopoulos says. “If you couldsuccessfully replace ordinary, wild-typemosquitoes with these modified mosquitoes,it’s likely that there would be a significantimpact on malaria transmission.

Replacing ordinary mosquitoes in the wildwith genetically modified mosquitoes hasn’tyet been attempted, though scientists have beenworking on “gene drive” techniques that causeDNA modifications to spread quickly into awild population via ordinary breeding. Genedrives use CRISPR/Cas9’s DNA-editing abilityto essentially hack the conception process,

pushing a gene modification into all or nearlyall the offspring of a modified animal. In 2016,for example, researchers reported that they hadcreated a CRISPR/Cas9 gene drive that forcesa fertility-reducing gene modification intofemale Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes—whichcould quickly reduce local Anophelespopulations if unleashed in the wild.

In principle, the deletion or inactivation ofFREP1 also could be incorporated in a genedrive system. Because it doesn’t aim at reducingmosquitoes’ health or ability to reproduce —reducing “fitness” in the Darwinian sense — aFREP1 inactivation would create less of anopportunity for mosquito mutations that resistits effects.

Dimopoulos and his research team foundthat deleting FREP1 entirely from Anophelesdid however come with some fitness costs tothe modified mosquitoes. Compared to theirwild-type cousins, the FREP1-less mosquitoesdeveloped into adults more slowly, were lesslikely to take blood meals when given theopportunity and laid fewer and less viableeggs.

“We’re now making mosquitoes in whichFREP1 will be inactivated only in the adultgut,” Dimopoulos says. “We predict that whenwe do that, the mosquito won’t suffer the samefitness costs.”

In addition, he and his team are using theirCRISPR/Cas9 DNA-editing platform to studythe effects of deleting other potential malariahost-factor genes and to learn more about theroles of these host factors in mosquitoes. “We’refocused not just on developing a malaria controlstrategy, but also learning more about thebiology of malaria-carrying mosquitoes,”Dimopoulos says.Source : Johns Hopkins University BloombergSchool of Public Health. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018

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FORM IV

Rule 8

1. Place of Publication The Indian Science Congress Association14, Dr. Biresh Guha StreetKolkata 700 017West Bengal

2. Periodicity of Publication Bi-monthly (Published every two months)

3. Printer’s Name Dr. Ashok Kumar SaxenaNationality IndianAddress The Indian Science Congress Association

14, Dr. Biresh Guha StreetKolkata 700 017West Bengal

4. Publisher’s Name Dr. Ashok Kumar SaxenaNationality IndianAddress The Indian Science Congress Association

14, Dr. Biresh Guha StreetKolkata 700 017West Bengal

5. Editor-in-Chief’s Name Dr. Ashok Kumar SaxenaNationality IndianAddress 7/182, Swarup Nagar

Kanpur 208 002Uttar Pradesh

6. Name and Address of individuals The Indian Science Congress Associationwho own the newspaper and 14, Dr. Biresh Guha Streetpartners of shareholders holding Kolkata 700 017more than one percent of the total West Bengal

I, Ashok Kumar Saxena, hereby declare that the particulars given above are true to the bestof my knowledge and belief.

Date : 26/04/2018(Ashok Kumar Saxena)

PublisherEveryman’s Science

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÷Ê⁄UÃËÿ ÁflôÊÊŸ ∑§Ê¢ª˝‚ ‚¢SÕÊ14, «UÊÚ0 Á’⁄U‡Ê ªÈ„UÊ S≈˛UË≈U, ∑§Ù‹∑§ÊÃÊ–700 017, ÷Ê⁄Ã

THE INDIAN SCIENCE CONGRESS ASSOCIATION14, Dr. Biresh Guha Street, Kolkata-700 017, INDIA

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Membership of the Association is open to person with Graduate or equivalent Academic Qualificationsand interested in the advancement of Science in India.

1. flÊÁ·¸∑§ ‚ŒSÿ — ¡Ê √ÿÁÄÃ Ÿÿ M§¬ ‚ flÊÁ·¸∑§ ‚ŒSÿÃÊ ª˝„áÊ ∑§⁄ŸÊ øÊ„ÃÊ „Ò ©‚ flÊÁ·¸∑§ ‚ŒSÿÃÊ ‡ÊÈÀ∑§r 200/- ∑§ ‚ÊÕ ÷ÃË¸ ‡ÊÈÀ∑§ r 50/-* (ÁflŒÁ‡ÊÿÊ¢ ∑§ Á‹∞** U.S. $ 70) ◊ÊòÊ ŒŸ ¬«∏¢ª– flÊÁ·¸∑§ ‚ŒSÿÃÊ‡ÊÈÀ∑§ ¬˝àÿ∑§ fl·¸ ∑§ 01 •¬˝Ò‹ ∑§Ê Œÿ „Ê ¡Ê∞ªÊ– ¡Ê ÷Ë 15 ¡È‹Êß¸ ∑§ ÷ËÃ⁄ •¬ŸË ‚ŒSÿÃÊ ‡ÊÈÀ∑§ Ÿ„Ë¢•ŒÊ ∑§⁄ ¬Ê∞ªÊ fl„ ©‚ ‚Ê‹ ∑§ Á‹∞ •¬ŸË flÊ≈ ŒŸ ∑§Ë ˇÊ◊ÃÊ ‚ fl¢ÁøÃ „Ê ¡Ê∞ªÊ •ı⁄/ÿÊ fl„ ©‚ fl·¸∑§ Á‹∞ ‚¢SÕÊ ∑§ ∑§ÊÿÊ¸‹ÿ ∑§Ê ÷Ë ÁŸÿ¢òÊáÊ Ÿ„Ë¢ ∑§⁄ ¬Ê∞ªÊ– flÊÁ·¸∑§ ‚ŒSÿ •¬ŸË ‚ŒSÿÃÊ ŒÊ’Ê⁄Ê •ª‹‚Ê‹ 15 ¡È‹Êß¸ ∑§ ÷ËÃ⁄ Á’ŸÊ ‡ÊÈÀ∑§ ÁŒ∞ ¬ÈŸ— •¬ŸË ‚ŒSÿÃÊ ¬˝ÊåÃ ∑§⁄ ‚∑§ÃÊ „Ò¢–

‚ŒSÿªáÊ •¬ŸÊ ¬¬⁄ ∑§Ê¢ª˝‚ ‚òÊ ∑§ ‚◊ÿ ¬‡Ê ∑§⁄ ‚∑§Ã „Ò¢– ©ã„¢ flÊÁ·¸∑§ ÁflôÊÊŸ ∑§Ê¢ª˝‚ ‚òÊ ∑§Ë ∑§Êÿ¸Áflfl⁄áÊ∑§Ë ∞∑§ ¬˝ÁÃ Á’ŸÊ ◊ÍÀÿ ◊¢ ¬˝ÊåÃ „Ê ‚∑§ÃË „Ò– ß‚∑§ ‚ÊÕ fl ‚¢SÕÊ ∑§ ⁄Ê¡∏ŸÊ◊øÊ ““∞fl⁄Ë◊Òã‚ ‚Êß¢‚”” ∑§Ë¬˝ÁÃ ÷Ë Á’ŸÊ ◊ÍÀÿ ©‚ ‚Ê‹ ∑§ Á‹∞ ¬˝ÊåÃ ∑§⁄ ‚∑§Ã „Ò¢– ‚ŒSÿÃÊ ∑§ ŸflË∑§⁄áÊ ∑§ Á‹∞ ∑Î§¬ÿÊ ISCA fl’‚Êß≈‚ »§Ê◊¸ «Ê©Ÿ‹Ê« ∑§⁄¢–

1. Annual Member : A person willing to be enrolled as new Annual Member has to pay anannual subscription of r 200/- along with an admission fee of r 50/-* (for foreign** U.S.$70) only. The annual subscription of a Member shall become due on the 1st April of eachyear. Anyone who fails to pay the subscription on or before the 15th July in any year shalllose the right of voting and/or holding any office of the Association for that year. A memberfailing to pay the annual subscription by the end of March of the following year shall ceaseto be a Member. Annual members can renew their Membership without paying the admissionfee in the next year by remitting subscriptions in time i.e. within 15th July. Members maycontribute papers for presentation at the Science Congress. They will receive, free of cost,reprints of the Proceedings of the Session of any one section of their interest and also thebi-monthly journal of the Association Everymans Science for that year only. For Renewalof Membership please download the form from ISCA website.

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2. ‚òÊ ‚ŒSÿ — ÿÁŒ ∑È§¿ ∑§Ê⁄áÊÊ¢ ‚ flÊÁ·¸∑§ ‚ŒSÿ •¬ŸË ‚ŒSÿÃÊ ©‚ fl·¸ ∑§ 15 ¡È‹Êß¸ ∑§ •¢Œ⁄ ŒÊ„⁄ÊŸÊ÷Í‹ ¡Ê∞°, ÃÊ ©Ÿ∑§Ë ‚ŒSÿÃÊ, ‚òÊ ‚ŒSÿÃÊ ∑§ M§¬ ◊¢ Á’ŸÊ flÊ≈ «Ê‹Ÿ ∑§Ë ˇÊ◊ÃÊ ◊¢ ‚ËÁ◊Ã ∑§⁄ ÁŒÿÊ ¡Ê∞ªÊ–‚òÊ ‚ŒSÿ∑§Ê r 200/- (ÁflŒÁ‡ÊÿÊ¢ ∑§ Á‹∞ $ 50) •ŒÊ ∑§⁄ŸÊ ¬«∏ªÊ– ∞∑§ ‚òÊ ‚ŒSÿ ∑§Ê ‹π/¬ÊS≈⁄ ¬˝SÃÈÃË∑§⁄áÊ∑§Ê •Áœ∑§Ê⁄ ¬˝ÊåÃ „ÊªÊ Á¡‚ ∑§Ê¢ª˝‚ ‚òÊ ∑§Ê fl„ ‚ŒSÿ „Ò¢– ∞∑§ ‚òÊ ‚ŒSÿ flÊ≈ ¬˝Á∑˝§ÿÊ ◊¢ ÷Êª ‹Ÿ ∑§ÿÊÇÿ Ÿ„Ë¢ „Ò¢– ‚òÊ ‚ŒSÿ ∑§Ê Áfl÷ÊªÊ¢ ∑§ √ÿfl‚Êÿ ’ÒΔ∑§Ê¢ •ı⁄ ‚ÊœÊ⁄áÊ ’ÒΔ∑§Ê¢ ◊¢ ÷Êª ‹Ÿ ∑§Ë ÿÊÇÿÃÊ ¬˝ÊåÃŸ„Ë¢ „Ò¢–

2. Sessional Member : If for some reasons, Annual Members fail to renew their Membershipby remitting subscription prior to 15th July each year, their Membership for the year wouldbe restricted to Sessional Membership without voting right. Sessional Member has to payr 200/- (for foreign $50). A Sessional Member shall have the right to present paper/posterat the session of the congress of which he/she is a member. A Sessional Member shall notbe eligible to participate in the voting process. A Sessional member shall not be eligibleto participate in the Business meetings of the Sections and the General Body.

3. ¿ÊòÊ ‚ŒSÿ — ¡Ê √ÿÁÄÃ SŸÊÃ∑§ SÃ⁄ ‚ ŸËø ¬…∏Êß¸ ∑§⁄ ⁄„Ê „Ò¢, ©‚ flÊÁ·¸∑§ ‚ŒSÿÃÊ ‡ÊÈÀ∑§ r 100/- ◊ÊòÊŒŸ ¬«∏¢ª •¬ŸÊ ŸÊ◊ ¿ÊòÊ ‚ŒSÿ ∑§ M§¬ ◊¢ Á‹πflÊŸ ∑§ Á‹∞, ’‡ÊÃ¸ ©‚∑§ •ÊflŒŸ ¬òÊ ¬⁄ ©‚∑§ ¬˝ÊøÊÿ¸/Áfl÷ÊªÊäÿˇÊ/‚¢SÕÊŸ ∑§ ¬˝œÊŸ ∑§ „SÃÊˇÊ⁄ „Ê¢– ∞∑§ ¿ÊòÊ ‚ŒSÿ ∑§Ê ÿ„ •Áœ∑§Ê⁄ ÁŒÿÊ ¡Ê∞ªÊ, Á∑§ fl„ •¬ŸÊ¬¬⁄ ∑§Ê¢ª˝‚ ‚òÊ ∑§ ‚◊ÿ ¬‡Ê ∑§⁄ ‚∑§¢, ’‡ÊÃ¸ fl„ ¬¬⁄ fl„ Á∑§‚Ë flÊÁ·¸∑§ ‚ŒSÿ ÿÊ ‚¢SÕÊ ∑§ ∑§Êß¸ •flÒÃÁŸ∑§‚ŒSÿ ∑§ ‚ÊÕ ¬‡Ê ∑§⁄¢– ©‚ flÊ≈ ∑§⁄Ÿ ∑§Ê ÿÊ ∑§Êÿ¸Ê‹ÿ ∑§Ê ÁŸÿ¢òÊáÊ ∑§⁄Ÿ ∑§Ê •Áœ∑§Ê⁄ ¬˝ÊåÃ Ÿ„Ë¢ „ÊªÊ–¿ÊòÊ ‚ŒSÿ ∑§Ê Áfl÷ÊªÊ¢ ∑§ √ÿfl‚Êÿ ’ÒΔ∑§Ê¢ ◊¢ ÷Êª ‹Ÿ ∑§Ë ÿÊÇÿÃÊ ¬˝ÊåÃ Ÿ„Ë¢ „Ò¢–

3. Student Member : A person studying at the under-graduate level may be enrolled as aStudent Member by paying an annual subscription of r 100/- only provided his/herapplication is duly certified by the Principal/Head of the Institution/Department. Astudent member shall have the right to submit papers for presentation at the Session of theCongress of which he/she is a member, provided such papers be communicated through aMember, or an Honorary Member of the Association. He/She shall not have the right tovote or to hold any office. A student member shall not be eligible to participate in theBusiness Meetings of the Sections and the General Body.

4. •Ê¡ËflŸ ‚ŒSÿ — ∞∑§ ‚ŒSÿ •¬Ÿ ÷Áflcÿ ∑§Ë ‚Ê⁄Ë flÊÁ·¸∑§ ‚ŒSÿÃÊ ‡ÊÈÀ∑§ ∞∑§ ’Ê⁄ ◊¢ r 2,000/- (ÁflŒÁ‡ÊÿÊ¢ ∑§Á‹∞ U.S. $ 500) ◊ÊòÊ •ŒÊ ∑§⁄∑§ ¬Ê ‚∑§ÃÊ „Ò¢– ∞∑§ √ÿÁÄÃ ¡Ê 10 ‚Ê‹ ÿÊ ©‚‚ •Áœ∑§ ÁŸÿÁ◊Ã M§¬‚ ‚ŒSÿÃÊ ¬˝ÊåÃ ∑§⁄ øÈ∑§Ê „Ò, ©‚ ©‚∑§Ë ‚¢ÿÈÄÃ ‚ŒSÿÃÊ ‡ÊÈÀ∑§ ∑§ ™§¬⁄ ¬˝ÁÃfl·¸ r 50/- ∑§Ë ¿Í≈ ŒË ¡Ê∞ªË,’‡ÊÃ¸ Á∑§ ©‚∑§Ë ‚¢ÿÈÄÃ ‡ÊÈÀ∑§ r 1,200/- ‚ ŸËø Ÿ „Ê¢ (ÁflŒÁ‡ÊÿÊ¢ ∑§ Á‹∞ U.S. $ 12.50 •ı⁄ U.S. $300 ∑˝§◊‡Ê—)– ∞∑§ •Ê¡ËflŸ ‚ŒSÿ ∑§Ê ©‚∑§ ¬Í⁄ ¡ËflŸ ∑§Ê‹ ◊¢ ‚ŒSÿÃÊ ∑§Ë ‚Ê⁄ Áfl‡Ê·ÊÁœ∑§Ê⁄ ¬˝ÊåÃ „Ê¢ª–

4. Life Member : A Member may compound all future annual subscriptions by paying a singlesum of r 2,000/- (for foreign** U.S. $ 500) only. Any person who has been continuouslya member for 10 years or more, shall be allowed a reduction in the compounding fee ofr 50/- for every year of such membership, provided that the compounding fee shall not beless than r 1,200/- (for foreign** U.S. $ 12.50 and U.S. $ 300 respectively). A life Membershall have all the privileges of a member during his/her lifetime.

5. ‚¢SÕÊŸ ‚ŒSÿ — ∞∑§ ‚¢SÕÊŸ ¡Ê r 5,000/- ‚ŒSÿÃÊ ‡ÊÈÀ∑§ ∑§ M§¬ ◊¢ Œ fl„Ë ‚¢SÕÊ ∑§ ‚¢SÕÊŸ ‚ŒSÿ©‚ ÁflûÊËÿ fl·¸ ∑§ Á‹∞ ’Ÿ ‚∑§ÃÊ „Ò, (ÁflŒÁ‡ÊÿÊ¢ ∑§ Á‹∞ U.S. $ 2,500)– ß‚◊¢ fl„ ÁflôÊÊŸ ∑§Ê¢ª˝‚ ∑§flÊÁ·¸∑§ ‚òÊ ◊¢ •¬Ÿ ∞∑§ √ÿÁÄÃ ∑§Ê ŸÊ◊ ŸÊ◊Ê¢Á∑§Ã ∑§⁄ ‚∑§ÃÊ „Ò¢, ¡Ê ©Ÿ∑§Ê ¬˝ÁÃÁŸÁœ „Ê¢– ∞∑§ ‚¢SÕÊŸ ‚ŒSÿ

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∑§Ê flÊÁ·¸∑§ ÁflôÊÊŸ ∑§Ê¢ª˝‚ ‚òÊ ∑§Ë ∑§Êÿ¸Áflfl⁄áÊ ∑§Ë ∞∑§ ¬ÍáÊ¸ ¬˝ÁÃ Á’ŸÊ ◊ÍÀÿ ◊¢ ¬˝ÊåÃ „Ê ‚∑§ÃË „Ò– ß‚‚ ‚ÊÕfl ‚¢SÕÊ ∑§ ⁄Ê¡∏ŸÊ◊øÊ ““∞fl⁄Ë◊Òã‚ ‚Êß¢‚”” ∑§Ë ¬˝ÁÃ ÷Ë Á’ŸÊ ◊ÍÀÿ ¬˝ÊåÃ ∑§⁄ ‚∑§Ã „Ò¢–

5. Institutional Member : An Institution paying a subscription of r 5,000/- (for foreign**U.S. $ 2,500) only, can become an Institutional Member of the Association for that financialyear. It shall be eligible to nominate one person as its representative to attend Annual Sessionof the Science Congress. An Institutional Member shall be eligible to receive, free of cost,a copy of the complete set of Proceedings of the Annual Science Congress Session as alsoa copy each of the Associations journal Everymans Science.

6. ŒÊÃÊ — ∑§Êß¸ ÷Ë √ÿÁÄÃ ¡Ê ∞∑§‚ÊÕ r 10,000/- (ÁflŒÁ‡ÊÿÊ¢ ∑§ Á‹∞ U.S. $ 5,000) ◊ÊòÊ Œ¢, fl„ ‚¢SÕÊ∑§ ŒÊÃÊ ’Ÿ ‚∑§Ã „Ò¢– ∞∑§ √ÿÁÄÃªÃ ŒÊÃÊ ∑§Ê fl„ ‚Ê⁄ •Áœ∑§Ê⁄ •ı⁄ Áfl‡Ê·ÊÁœ∑§Ê⁄ Á◊‹¢ª ¡Ê ∞∑§ ‚ŒSÿ∑§Ê ©‚∑§ ¬ÍáÊ¸ ¡ËflŸ ∑§Ê‹ ◊¢ ¬˝ÊåÃ „ÊÃ „Ò¢–

∞∑§ ‚¢SÕÊŸ ¡Ê ∞∑§‚ÊÕ r 50,000/- (ÁflŒÁ‡ÊÿÊ¢ ∑§ Á‹∞ U.S. $ 25,000) ◊ÊòÊ Œ¢, ‚ŒÊ ∑§ Á‹∞ ß‚ ‚¢SÕÊ∑§ ‚¢SÕÊŸ ŒÊÃÊ ’Ÿ ‚∑§Ã „Ò, Á¡‚ fl„ ∞∑§ √ÿÁÄÃ ∑§Ê ŸÊ◊Ê¢Á∑§Ã ∑§⁄∑§ ©‚ •¬Ÿ ‚¢SÕÊŸ ∑§ ¬˝ÁÃÁŸÁœ ∑§M§¬ ◊¢ ÁflôÊÊŸ ∑§Ê¢ª˝‚ ∑§ flÊÁ·¸∑§ ‚òÊ ◊¢ ÷¡ ‚∑§Ã „Ò¢– ∞∑§ ‚¢SÕÊŸ/√ÿÁÄÃªÃ ŒÊÃÊ flÊÁ·¸∑§ ÁflôÊÊŸ ∑§Ê¢ª˝‚∑§ ∑§Êÿ¸Áflfl⁄áÊ •ı⁄ ‚¢SÕÊ ∑§ ⁄Ê¡∏ŸÊ◊øÊ ““∞fl⁄Ë◊Òã‚ ‚Êß¢‚”” ∑§Ë ¬˝ÁÃ ÷Ë ÁflŸÊ ◊ÍÀÿ ¬˝ÊåÃ ∑§⁄ ‚∑§Ã „Ò¢–

6. Donor : Any person paying a lump sum of r 10,000/- (for foreign** U.S. $ 5,000) only,can become an Individual Donar of the Association, an INDIVIDUAL DONOR shall haveall the rights and privileges of a member during his/her lifetime.An Institution paying a lump of r 50,000/- (for foreign** U.S. $ 25,000) only, can becomean INSTITUTIONAL DONOR of the Association forever, which shall have the right tonominate one person as its representative to attend Annual Session of the Science Congress.An Institutional/Individual Donor shall be eligible to receive, free of cost, a copy of thecomplete set of Proceedings of the Annual Science Congress Session as also the Associationsjournal Everymans Science.

* ÷ÃË¸ ‡ÊÈÀ∑§ r 50/- Á‚»¸§ ∞∑§ Ÿÿ flÊÁ·¸∑§ ‚ŒSÿ ∑§ Á‹∞ ¡∏L§⁄Ë „Ò– ÿ„ ‚òÊ ‚ŒSÿ/•Ê¡ËflŸ ‚ŒSÿ/‚¢SÕÊŸ‚ŒSÿ/¿ÊòÊ ‚ŒSÿ/ŒÊÃÊ ∑§ Á‹∞ ¡∏L§⁄Ë Ÿ„Ë¢ „Ò–

* Admission fee of r 50/- is needed only for becoming a new Annual Member and not forSessional Member/Life Member/Institutional Member/Student Member/Donor.

** (∞∑§ ÁflŒ‡ÊË ‚ŒSÿ ∑§Ê •Õ¸ „Ò¢, ¡Ê ÷Ê⁄Ãfl·¸ ∑§ ’Ê„⁄ ∑§Ê ŸÊªÁ⁄∑§ „Ê¢–)

** (A Foreign Member means one who is normally Resident outside India).(•) ¬¬⁄ ¬‡Ê ∑§⁄ŸÊ — ∞∑§ ¬ÍáÊ¸ ¬¬⁄ ∑§Ë ¬˝ÁÃ ©‚∑§ ‚ÊÕ ÃËŸ ‚Ê⁄Ê¢‡Ê ∑§Ë ¬˝ÁÃ ¡Ê 100 ‡ÊéŒÊ¢ ‚ íÿÊŒÊ Ÿ

„Ê¢ •ı⁄ Á¡∏‚◊¢ ∑§Êß¸ •Ê⁄π ÿÊ »§Ê◊Í¸‹Ê Ÿ „Ê¢, fl„ ¬˝àÿ∑§ fl·¸ 15 Á‚Ãê’⁄ ∑§ •¢Œ⁄ •ŸÈ÷ÊªËÿ •äÿˇÊÃ∑§ ¬„È°ø ¡ÊŸÊ øÊÁ„∞–

(A) Presentation of Papers : A copy of complete paper accompanied by an abstract intriplicate not exceeding one hundred words and not containing any diagram or formula,must reach the Sectional President latest by September 15, each year.

(’) ‚÷Ë flªÊZ ∑§ ‚ŒSÿ ¡Ê ÁflôÊÊŸ ∑§Ê¢ª˝‚ ‚òÊ ◊¢ ÷Êª ‹Ÿ ∑§ ¬‡øÊÃ ‹ÊÒ≈Ã ‚◊ÿ ∑§ Á≈∑§≈ ◊¢ Á⁄ÿÊÿÃ ¬˝ÊåÃ∑§⁄ ‚∑§ÃÊ „Ò, ’‡ÊûÊZ Á∑§ ©Ÿ∑§Ë ÿÊòÊÊ ∑§ πø¸ ∑§Ê ÕÊ«∏Ê ÷Ë ÷Êª ‚⁄∑§Ê⁄ (∑§ãŒ˛Ëÿ ÿÊ ⁄Êíÿ), ∑§Êß¸ ∑§ÊŸÍŸË

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‚ûÊÊ ÿÊ ∑§Êß¸ Áfl‡flÁfllÊ‹ÿ ÿÊ ∑§Êß¸ Ÿª⁄¬ÊÁ‹∑§Ê Ÿ ©ΔÊ∞° •ı⁄ ©Ÿ∑§Ë ∑È§‹ ∑§◊Êß¸ ÿÊ ¬Á⁄‹ÁéœÿÊ¢ r 5,000/-(¬˝ÁÃ ◊Ê„ ¬Ê°ø „¡Ê⁄ L§¬∞) ‚ •Áœ∑§ Ÿ„Ë¢ „Ò¢– ∑Î§¬ÿÊ ISCA fl’‚Êß≈ ‚ ⁄‹fl Á⁄ÿÊÿÃ »§Ê◊¸ «Ê©Ÿ‹Ê« ∑§⁄¢–

(B) Members of all categories are entitled to Railway Concession of return ticket by the sameroute with such conditions as may be laid down by the Railway Board for travel to attendthe Science Congress Session provided that their travelling expenses are not borne, evenpartly, by the Government (Central or State), Statutory Authority or an University or aCity Corporation and their total earning of or emoluments drawn do not exceed r 5,000/-(Rupees Five Thousand per month). Please download the Railway Concession form fromISCA Website.

(‚) ‚¢SÕÊ ∑§ ¬ÈSÃ∑§Ê‹ÿ ◊¢ ‚÷Ë flªÊZ ∑§ ‚ŒSÿ ∑§Ê ¬…∏Ÿ ∑§Ë ‚ÈÁflœÊ ‚È’„ 10.00 ’¡ ‚ ‡ÊÊ◊ ∑§Ê 5.30’¡ Ã∑§ ‚÷Ë ∑§Ê◊ ∑§ ÁŒŸÊ¢ ◊¢ (‡ÊÁŸflÊ⁄ •ı⁄ ⁄ÁflflÊ⁄) ∑§Ê ¿Ê«∏∑§⁄ ¬˝ÊåÃ „ÊªË–

(C) Members of all categories are entitled to reading facilities between 10.00 a.m. to 5.30p.m. on all weekdays (except Saturdays & Sundays) in the library of the Association.

(«) ‚◊ÿ ‚◊ÿ ¬⁄ ‚¢SÕÊ mÊ⁄Ê Ãÿ ∑§Ë ªß¸ ◊ÍÀÿ Œ⁄Ê¢ ¬⁄ ÁflüÊÊ◊ªÎ„, ‚÷ÊªÊ⁄ •ÊÁŒ ‚ÈÁflœÊ•Ù¢ ∑§Ë ¬˝ÊÁåÃ ÷Ë‚÷Ë flªÊZ ∑§ ‚ŒSÿ ∑§⁄ ‚∑§Ã „Ò¢–

(D) Members of all categories may avail Guest House facilities, Lecture Hall hiring at therates fixed by the Association from time to time.

(ß¸) ÷Áflcÿ ◊¢ ÷Ê⁄ÃËÿ ÁflôÊÊŸ ∑§Ê¢ª˝‚ ‚¢SÕÊ mÊ⁄Ê •ÊÿÊÁ¡Ã ¬Á⁄‚¢flÊŒ, ‚ê◊‹Ÿ •ı⁄ flÊÁ·¸∑§ ∑§Ê¢ª˝‚ ◊¢ ‚÷ËflªÊZ∑§ ‚ŒSÿÊ¢ mÊ⁄Ê ÷Êª ‹Ÿ ∑§ Á‹∞ •¬ŸËó•¬ŸË ‚ŒSÿÃÊ ¬òÊ ∑§Ê ‹ÊŸÊ ¡∏L§⁄Ë „ÊªÊ–

(E) Members of all categories should bring the Membership Card always for attending anySeminar, Conference and Annual Congress organized by ISCA in future.

äÿÊŸ Œ¢ — (1) ‚÷Ë ’Ò¢∑§ «˛Êç≈ The Indian Science Congress Association ∑§ ŸÊ◊ ‚ „Ë Á‹πÊ ¡Ê∞°,‚ŒSÿÃÊ ∑§ Áfl·ÿ ◊¢ ’Ò¢∑§ «˛Êç≈ ∑§Ë ¬˝ÊÁåÃ •ı⁄ ¡Ê ∑§Ê‹∑§ÊÃÊ ∑§ Á∑§‚Ë ÷Ë ‡ÊÊπÊ ◊¢ Œÿ „Ê¢– ‚ŒSÿÊ¢ ‚ ÿ„ÁŸflŒŸ Á∑§ÿÊ ¡Ê ⁄„Ê „Ò, Á∑§ fl •¬ŸË ‚ŒSÿÃÊ ‚¢ÅÿÊ ∑§Ê ©À‹π ÷Ê⁄ÃËÿ ÁflôÊÊŸ ∑§Ê¢ª˝‚ ‚¢SÕÊ ∑§ ∑§ÊÿÊ¸‹ÿ∑§ ‚ÊÕ ¬òÊÊøÊ⁄ ∑§ flÄÃ •fl‡ÿ ∑§⁄¢–

(2) ÷Ê⁄ÃËÿ ÁflôÊÊŸ ∑§Ê¢ª˝‚ ‚¢SÕÊ mÊ⁄Ê ◊ŸË•Ê°«¸⁄, •Êß¸. ¬Ë. •Ù., ß¸. ‚Ë. ∞‚. ÿÊ ø∑§ ‚ ÷ÈªÃÊŸ ª˝„áÊ Ÿ„Ë¢Á∑§ÿÊ ¡Ê∞ªÊ– ∑§Êß¸ ÷Ë ‚ŒSÿÃÊ ÁŸœÊ¸Á⁄Ã ‚ŒSÿÃÊ »§Ê◊¸ (•ÊflŒŸ-¬òÊ Ÿß¸ ‚ŒSÿÃÊ/‚ŒSÿÃÊ ∑§Ë ŸflË∑§⁄áÊ ∑§Á‹∞) ◊¢ ÁflÁœflÃ Á’ŸÊ ÷⁄Ÿ ‚ Ÿ„Ë¢ Á‹ÿÊ ¡Ê∞ªÊ–

(3) Ÿ∑§ŒË ∑§fl‹ ISCA ◊ÈÅÿÊ‹ÿ ◊¢ „ÊÕ ‚ Á‹ÿÊ ¡Ê∞ªÊ– ∑Î§¬ÿÊ «Ê∑§ mÊ⁄Ê Á‹»§Ê»§ ∑§ ÷ËÃ⁄ Ÿ∑§ŒË Ÿ„Ë¢ ÷¡¢–

Note : (1) All Bank Drafts should be drawn in favour of The Indian Science Congress Association,membership subject to realisation of the bank draft, Payable at any branch in Kolkata.Members are requested to mention their Membership No. while making any correspondenceto ISCA office.(2) No money order, I.P.O., ECS or cheque will be accepted by ISCA. No Membership willbe taken without duly filled in prescribed Membership Form (Application From for NewMembership/Application for Renewal of Membership).(3) Cash will only be taken by hand at ISCA Hqrs. Pl. do not send the Cash by Post withinthe envelop.

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÷Ê⁄UÃËÿ ÁflôÊÊŸ ∑§Ê¢ª˝‚ ‚¢SÕÊ14, «UÊÚ0 Á’⁄U‡Ê ªÈ„UÊ S≈˛UË≈U, ∑§Ù‹∑§ÊÃÊ–700 017, ÷Ê⁄Ã

THE INDIAN SCIENCE CONGRESS ASSOCIATION14, Dr. Biresh Guha Street, Kolkata-700 017, INDIA

ŒÍ⁄÷Ê· / Telephone : (033) 2287-4530, 2281-5323 »Ò§Ä‚ / Fax : 91-33-2287-2551fl’‚Êß≈ / Website : http://sciencecongress.nic.in ß¸-◊‹ / E-mail : [email protected]

[email protected]

‚ŒSÿÃÊ ∑§ Á‹∞ ŸÿÊ •ÊflŒŸ ¬òÊ/Application Form For New Membership

‚flÊ ◊¢/To

◊„Ê‚Áøfl (‚ŒSÿÃÊ ∑§Êÿ¸)/The General Secretary (Membership Affairs)÷Ê⁄ÃËÿ ÁflôÊÊŸ ∑§Ê¢ª˝‚ ‚¢SÕÊ/The Indian Science Congress Association14, «ÊÚ0 Á’⁄‡Ê ªÈ„Ê S≈˛Ë≈/14, Dr. Biresh Guha Street,∑§Ê‹∑§ÊÃÊ-700 017/Kolkata-700 017

◊„ÊŒÿ/Dear Sir,

◊Ò¢ ÷Ê⁄ÃËÿ ÁflôÊÊŸ ∑§Ê¢ª˝‚ ‚¢SÕÊ ∑§Ê •Ê¡ËflŸ ‚ŒSÿ/flÊÁ·¸∑§ ‚ŒSÿ/‚òÊ ‚ŒSÿ/¿ÊòÊ ‚ŒSÿ/‚¢SÕÊŸ ‚ŒSÿ/√ÿÁÄÃªÃŒÊÃÊ/‚¢SÕÊªÃ ŒÊÃÊ •¬ŸÊ ŸÊ◊ Á‹πflÊŸÊ øÊ„ÃÊ/øÊ„ÃË „Í°–

I like to be enrolled as a Life Member/Annual Member/Sessional Member/Student Member/Institutional Member/Individual Donor/Institutional Donor of The Indian Science Congress Association.(Pl. Tick)

◊Ò¢ ß‚∑§ ‚ÊÕ óóóóó ‚ŒSÿÃÊ ‡ÊÈÀ∑§ ∑§ M§¬ ◊¢ Ÿ∑§∏Œ r óóóóó/’Ò¢∑§ «˛Êç≈ ‚¢ÅÿÊ óóóóóÁŒŸÊ¢Á∑§Ã óóóóó ¬˝øÊ‹∑§ ’Ò¢∑§ óóóóó 01 •¬Ò̋‹ 20—— ‚ 31 ◊Êø¸ 20—— Ã∑§ ÷¡ ⁄„Ê/⁄„Ë „Í°–

I am sending herewith an amount of r in payment of my subscription by Cash/Bank DraftNo. dated issuing bank from the year 1st April 20_____ to 31st March 20_____.

◊Ò¢ ÁŸêŸÁ‹ÁπÃ Áfl÷Êª ◊¢ L§Áø ⁄πÃÊ/⁄πÃË „Í° (∑Î§¬ÿÊ Á∑§‚Ë ∞∑§ ◊¢ ÁŸ‡ÊÊŸ ‹ªÊ∞°)/I am interested in thefollowing section (Please tick any one).

Áfl÷Êª/Sections1. ∑Î§Á· •ı⁄ flÊÁŸ∑§Ë ÁflôÊÊŸ/Agriculture and Forestry Sciences

2. ¬‡ÊÈ, ¬‡ÊÈÁøÁ∑§à‚Ê •ı⁄ ◊àSÿ ÁflôÊÊŸ/Animal, Veterinary and Fishery Sciences

3. ◊ÊŸfl‡ÊÊùËÿ •ı⁄ √ÿfl„Ê⁄¬⁄∑§ ÁflôÊÊŸ (Á¡‚◊¢ ‚Áê◊Á‹Ã, „Ò¢, ¬È⁄ÊÃàfl-ÁflôÊÊŸ, ◊ŸÊÁflôÊÊŸ, ‡ÊÒÁˇÊ∑§ ÁflôÊÊŸ •ı⁄‚ŸÊ ÁflôÊÊŸ)/Anthropological and Behavioural Sciences (including Archaeology, Psychology,Education and Military Sciences)

4. ⁄‚ÊÿŸ ÁflôÊÊŸ/Chemical Sciences

S≈Òê¬ •Ê∑§Ê⁄ ∑§Ê»§Ê≈Ê /

Stamp SizePhotograph

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5. ÷Í-¬hÁÃ ÁflôÊÊŸ/Earth System Sciences

6. •Á÷ÿãÃÊ ÁflôÊÊŸ/Engineering Sciences

7. ¬ÿÊ¸fl⁄áÊ ÁflôÊÊŸ/Environmental Sciences

8. ‚ÍøŸÊ •ı⁄ ‚¢øÊ⁄áÊ ÁflôÊÊŸ •ı⁄ ¬˝ÊÒlÊÁª∑§Ë (Á¡‚◊¢ ∑¢§åÿÍ≈⁄ ÁflôÊÊŸ ÷Ë ‚Áê◊Á‹Ã „Ò)/Information andCommunication Science & Technology (including Computer Sciences)

9. ÷ÊÒÁÃ∑§ ÁflôÊÊŸ/Materials Science

10. ªÁáÊÃ ÁflôÊÊŸ (Á¡‚◊¢ ‚Ê¢ÁÅÿ∑§Ëÿ ‚Áê◊Á‹Ã „Ò)/Mathematical Sciences (including Statistics)

11. ÁøÁ∑§à‚Ê ‡ÊÊù (Á¡‚◊¢ ‡Ê⁄Ë⁄ ÁflôÊÊŸ ÷Ë ‚Áê◊Á‹Ã „Ò)/Medical Sciences (including Physiology)

12. ŸÿÊ ¡ËflÁflôÊÊŸ (Á¡‚◊¢ ¡Ëfl ⁄‚ÊÿŸ, ¡Ëfl ÷ÊÒÁÃ∑§Ë •ı⁄ •ÊáÊÁfl∑§ ¡ËflÁflôÊÊŸ •ı⁄ ¡Ëfl-¬˝ÊÒlÊÁª∑§Ë ÷Ë ‚Áê◊Á‹Ã„Ò)/New Biology (including Bio-Chemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology andBiotechnology)

13. ÷ÊÒÁÃ∑§Ëÿ ÁflôÊÊŸ/Physical Sciences

14. flŸS¬ÁÃ ÁflôÊÊŸ/Plant Sciences

(∑Î§¬ÿÊ ≈¢Á∑§Ã ∑§⁄¢ ÿÊ é‹ÊÚ∑§ •ˇÊ⁄Ê¢ ◊¢ ÷⁄¢/Please type or fill up in Block Letters)

ŸÊ◊/Name (é‹ÊÚ∑§ •ˇÊ⁄Ê¢ ◊¢/in Block Letters) :

üÊË/‚ÈüÊË/üÊË/üÊË◊ÃË/«ÊÚ0/¬˝Ê0/Mr./Ms./Shri/Shrimati/Dr./Prof (∑Î§¬ÿÊ Á≈∑§ ∑§⁄¢)/(Please tick)

∑È§‹ŸÊ◊/Surname ¬˝Õ◊ ŸÊ◊/First Name ◊äÿ ŸÊ◊/Middle Name

‡ÊÒˇÊÁáÊ∑§ ÿÊÇÿÃÊ/Academic Qualifications :

(•¢ÁÃ◊ ‡ÊÒˇÊÁáÊ∑§ ÿÊÇÿÃÊ ¬˝◊ÊáÊ-¬òÊ •¢∑§-‚ÍøË ∑§Ê SflÃ—‚àÿÊÁ¬Ã Á¡⁄ÊÄ‚ ¬˝ÁÃ ‚¢‹ÇŸ ∑§⁄ŸÊ „Ò/Self attestedxerox copy of last educational certificate/marksheet must be attached)

¬ŒŸÊ◊/Designation

‚ê¬∑¸§ ∑§Ê ¬ÃÊ/Address of communication :

(⁄Êíÿ, ‡Ê„⁄/Ÿª⁄ •ı⁄ Á¬Ÿ ∑§Ê« ‚Á„Ã/including state, city/town and pin code)

ŒÍ⁄÷Ê· ‚¢ÅÿÊ/◊Ê’Êß¸‹ ‚¢ÅÿÊ •ı⁄ ß¸-◊‹/Phone No./Mobile Number & E-mail :

Á∑§‚Ë ÷Ë ‚⁄∑§Ê⁄Ë •ŸÈ◊ÊÁŒÃ ¬„øÊŸ ¬òÊ (•ÁŸflÊÿ¸)/Any Govt. approved ID Card (Mandatory) :

flÃ¸◊ÊŸ fl·¸ Áfl‡flÁfllÊ‹ÿ ¬˝fl‡Ê-¬òÊ/Current Year University Admit Card :

SÕÊÿË ¬ÃÊ/Permanent Address :

ÁŒŸÊ¢∑§/Date : ÷flŒËfl/Yours Faithfully

„SÃÊˇÊ⁄/Signature

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äÿÊŸ Œ¢ — (i) ‚÷Ë ’Ò¢∑§ «˛Êç≈ The Indian Science Congress Association ∑§ ŸÊ◊ ‚ „Ë Á‹πÊ ¡Ê∞°, ‚ŒSÿÃÊ∑§ Áfl·ÿ ◊¢ ’Ò¢∑§ «˛Êç≈ ¬˝ÊÁåÃ •ı⁄ ¡Ê ∑§Ê‹∑§ÊÃÊ ∑§ Á∑§‚Ë ÷Ë ‡ÊÊπÊ ◊¢ Œÿ „Ê¢–

Note : (i) All Bank Drafts should be drawn in favour of The Indian Science Congress Association,membership subject to realisation of the bank draft, Payable at any branch in Kolkata.

(ii) ‚÷Ë ‚ŒSÿÃÊ •ı⁄ ‚ŒSÿÃÊ ∑§ ŸflË∑§⁄áÊ ∑§ Á‹∞ •ÊflŒŸ-¬òÊ •ÊflŒ∑§Ê¢ ∑§Ê •¬Ÿ πÈŒ ∑§ ¬Ã ©¬‹éœ∑§⁄Ê∑§ ∑§⁄Ÿ øÊÁ„∞ Ÿ Á∑§ Œπ÷Ê‹ ∑§ ¬Ã ¬˝SÃÈÃ ∑§⁄Ÿ øÊÁ„∞–

(ii) All Application Forms for Membership and the renewal of Membership must besubmitted by providing the address of the applicants themselves only and not any careof address.

(iii) ÷ÃË¸ ‡ÊÈÀ∑§ r 50/- Á‚»¸§ ∞∑§ Ÿÿ flÊÁ·¸∑§ ‚ŒSÿ ∑§ Á‹∞ ¡∏L§⁄Ë „Ò– fl„ ‚ŒSÿ/•Ê¡ËflŸ ‚ŒSÿ/‚¢SÕÊŸ‚ŒSÿ/¿ÊòÊ ‚ŒSÿ/ŒÊÃÊ ∑§ Á‹∞ ¡∏L§⁄Ë Ÿ„Ë¢ „Ò–

(iii) Admission fess of r 50/- is needed only for becoming a new Annual Member andnot for Sessional Member/Life Member/Institutional Member/Student Member/Donor.

(iv) ‚ŒSÿÊ¢ ‚ ÿ„ ÁŸflŒŸ Á∑§flÊ ¡Ê ⁄„Ê „Ò Á∑§ fl •¬ŸË ‚ŒSÿÃÊ ‚¢ÅÿÊ ∑§Ê ©À‹π ÷Ê⁄ÃËÿ ÁflôÊÊŸ ∑§Ê¢ª˝‚‚¢SÕÊ ∑§ ∑§ÊÿÊ¸‹ÿ ∑§ ‚ÊÕ ¬òÊÊøÊ⁄ ∑§ ‚◊ÿ •fl‡ÿ ∑§⁄¢–

(iv) Members are requested to mention their Membership No. while making anycorrespondence to ISCA office.

(v) ÷Ê⁄ÃËÿ ÁflôÊÊŸ ∑§Ê¢ª˝‚ ‚¢SÕÊ mÊ⁄Ê ◊ŸË•ÊÚ«¸⁄, •Êß¸. ¬Ë. •Ù., ß¸. ‚Ë. ∞‚. ÿÊ ø∑§ ‚ ÷ÈªÃÊŸ ª˝„áÊŸ„Ë¢ Á∑§ÿÊ ¡Ê∞ªÊ–

(v) No Money Order, I.P.O., ECS or Cheque will be accepted by ISCA.

(vi) ∑§Êß¸ ÷Ë ‚ŒSÿÃÊ ÁŸœÊ¸Á⁄Ã ‚ŒSÿÃÊ »§Ê◊¸ (•ÊflŒŸ-¬òÊ Ÿß¸ ‚ŒSÿÃÊ/‚ŒSÿÃÊ ∑§Ë ŸflË∑§⁄áÊ ∑§ Á‹∞)◊¢ ÁflÁœflÃ Á’ŸÊ ÷⁄Ÿ ‚ Ÿ„Ë¢ Á‹ÿÊ ¡Ê∞ªÊ–

(vi) No Membership will be taken without duly filled in prescribed Membership Form(Application Form for New Membership/Application For Renewal of Membership).

(vii) Ÿ∑§ŒË ∑§fl‹ ISCA ◊ÈÅÿÊ‹ÿ ◊¢ „ÊÕ ‚ Á‹ÿÊ ¡Ê∞ªÊ– ∑Î§¬ÿÊ «Ê∑§ mÊ⁄Ê Á‹»§Ê»§ ∑§ ÷ËÃ⁄ Ÿ∑§ŒËŸ„Ë¢ ÷¡¢–

(vii) Cash will only be taken by hand at ISCA Hqrs. Pl. do not send the cash by Post withinthe envelope.

Documents

EVERYMAN’S SCIENCEsciencecongress.nic.in/pdf/e-book/Apr-May-2018.pdf · Everyman’s Science Vol. LIII No. 1 April-May ’18 Biofuel is essentially an alternative fuel source derived