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A field experiment was conducted at the research farm of the Water Technology Centre for Eastern Region (Indian Council of Agricultural Research), Bhubaneswar, India, to study the effect of organic and inorganic sources of nitrogen fertilizer on nutrient use efficiency and productivity of rice and rice-fish farming systems. With the increase in inorganic sources of nitrogen, the rice crop responded positively in terms of grain yield and other yield attributes. The highest grain yield, straw yield, panicles and filled grains panicle-1 of rice were recorded when nitrogen was supplied in 100% through inorganic form. Similarly, the agronomic efficiency and apparent recovery were found to be at a maximum when nitrogen was supplied in 100% inorganic form. The productivity of rice was however found to be higher when fish was integrated into the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study has been carried out to understand benthic foraminiferal and sedimentary organic matter characteristics under low dissolved oxygen conditions off the central west coast of India. Based on the strong correlation between the present-day abundance of rectilinear bi- and triserial benthic foraminifera (RBF) and low dissolved oxygen conditions in the northeastern Arabian Sea, the geologic extent of low oxygen zone off the central west coast of India, is inferred from a core collected from the shallow water region. Persistently high relative abundance of RBF, large proportion of amorphous organic matter and protoperidinioid dinocysts throughout the time-span covered by the core that goes well beyond the beginning of human intervention, indicate that the eutrophication of coastal water and subsequent development of low dissolved oxygen conditions is a natural phenomenon that has been in existence even before anthropogenic influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A specific research and development program has been carried out in India by Bhabha Atomic Research Centre to develop the technology for 32-strip silicon sensors which will be used as Preshower sensors in the CMS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), CERN. The technology development was targeted to produce sensors which would qualify for reliable operation in a high radiation environment of LHC. As an outcome of this R&D effort, silicon sensors with very good performance have been produced and the production of thousand sensors for the CMS Preshower has been completed. In this paper, we present a summary of the R&D carried out to develop the technology of the silicon sensors. We report on various aspects such as sensor design, process development and characterization. The results of various tests carried out for evaluating the performance of the sensors during technology development and production phase have been presented. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The study area, Kuttanad Waters is a part of the Cochin estuarine system on the west coast of India. Kuttanad is well known for its agricultural activity and so the major contribution to the inorganic ions of nitrogen will be from fertilisers applied in agriculture. Based on observed salinity the stations have been divided into three zones. The fresh water zones had higher quantities of silt and clay whereas the estuarine zone was more sandy. The chemical speciation scheme applied here distinguishes three forms of ammoniacal nitrogen species: exchangeable, fixed, and organic ammoniacal nitrogen. No significant trends were observed in the seasonal distribution of total, exchangeable, fixed and organic nitrogen. A significant concentration of exchangeable ammonia was observed in the sediment due to their predominantly reducing environment, which restricts nitrification. High NH 4 -N concentrations in the pore waters, along with the sedimentary composition leads to a significantly high quantity of fixed NH 4 -N. The low values for N org is due to high mineralisation or deamination of organic nitrogen [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Available sulphur (S) extracted in five extractants, crop response to S application and use efficiency of S by mungbean (Vigna radiata L.) and urdbean (Vigna mungo L.) were studied on different soil types of pulse growing regions of India. Among extractants tested, 1 N NH4OAc extracted higher S followed by Morgan's reagent, 0.001 N HCl, 0.15% CaCl2, and 1% NaCl. Response of urdbean was in higher magnitude as compared to mungbean to 20 mg S kg−1. In both the crops, larger response was obtained in Inceptisols followed by Vertisols and lower response was found in Alfisols. Larger utilization of native soil S in case of Alfisols by both the crops resulted in lower levels of response to added fertilizer S. Owing to high degree of correlation with plant response, 0.15% CaCl2 and Morgan's reagent can be used as soil test methods for assessing the available S supply and predicting the crop response to applied S on these soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Indoor and outdoor 222Rn concentrations and their diurnal variations with atmospheric air pressure, humidity and temperature were studied in the southwest coast region of India using AlphaGUARD PQ-2000PRO and accessories. The indoor 222Rn concentration varied in the range 7–64 Bq m−3 with a mean value of 32 Bq m−3, and the outdoor concentration varied in the range 3–35.2 Bq m−3 with a mean value of 15.7 Bq m−3. The mean annual effective doses were 0.81 and 0.1 mSv for indoor and outdoor, respectively. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article discusses research on the contamination of ayurvedic medicines with lead, mercury or arsenic. It references a study by Dr. Robert Saper et al, published in the August 28, 2008 issue of "The Straits Times." From the 193 medicines bought from U.S. Web sites, 21 percent had lead, 3 percent had mercury and 3 percent contained arsenic. While those bought from Indian Web sites, 17 percent contained lead, 7 percent had mercury and none had arsenic. The researchers offered some explanations as to how the metals get into the medicines.