Geena Prasad

Estimating changes of coastal land using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing, over
a period can provide insights into sustainable use of natural resources, especially land. In this study, images
captured from Landsat Multispectral-scanner (MSS), Landsat 5 and Landsat 7 of Alappad, a coastal town
in Kerala in 1990, 2001, 2005 and 2009 are used to elucidate spatial distribution of land and land use pattern
over a period of two decades. During 1990 - 2009, remarkable decline of vegetation and sand from coastal
areas is seen. Understanding land use patterns over a period is essential for decision makers to implement
sustainable land use measures and policies.

Industrial waste disposal is one of the major causes for the contamination of water bodies and soil. This leads to increase in the amount of elements like phosphorous in the water bodies. As a possible solution to this problem, we investigate the effect of introducing a nano sized coating of graphene on coastal sand in the adsorption of phosphate. In the present study we employ batch adsorption techniques to perform Phosphate adsorption (p-Adsorption) on rich black coastal sand and nano composite. This will help us in understanding the physical properties of clay soils, the effect of nanoscale coating on the adsorption of phosphate in soil and its dependence on contact time, concentration and ph values.

The efficient groundwater utilization, planning and management, is inconceivable without the proper recognition of potential zones. The present study aimed to assess the groundwater potentiality in district Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. The weighted overlay analysis methodology is used in this paper. A total of seven influence factors were used in the present study, viz. slope, drainage density, geology, rainfall, soil, land use/land cover and lineament density. The weight and score of each influencing factor is computed using multi influence factor (MIF) techniques. Within each influencing factor the subclasses were assigned a weightage of (A) (major effect) and (B) (minor effect) depending upon their effectiveness to the recharge of aquifers and groundwater potentiality. The combined weightage of both major and minor effects (A + B) was considered for computing the relative effect which was used to compute the score of each subclass within each influencing factor. The thematic layers were then integrated with weighted overlay using ArcGIS 10.2.1 and groundwater potential zone were delineated. The delineated groundwater potential zones were classified into four categories, i.e., (1) poor, (2) good, (3) high and (4) very high potentiality. The findings revealed that very high groundwater potential zone cover an area of 342.57 km2 (6.7%), high 1506 km2 (29%), good 2384.8 km2 (45.91%) and poor 960.28 km2 (18.48% of total area). The results of this paper are believed to be useful for effective groundwater harvesting and management and can also be used as helping material for future research work.

Cancer, is a group of diseases characterized by the cells having the potential to invade surrounding cells and to trigger exponential growth in them. A group of these cells, with similar cancerous behavior forms a tumor. Thus the removal of these cancerous cells from the body turn out to be a hectic process as the ambience in which they grow remain unaltered. Thus, here we bring in the concept of decade old “Reverse Current Technology”, wherein the direction of a current could be reversed without altering its magnitude. Identifying the magnitude and direction of the current passing through the cancerous cells, and applying this concept would help in suppressing this favorable condition for the tumor. This concept is backed by the fact that, the electric field produced by a current in one particular direction will be opposite to the electric field produced by the same current in the reverse direction. By this method, tumor is restricted to a defined area and thus the removal process is simplified to the core.

In recent times, ensuring availability of adequate supply of potable water for its citizens is of great concern for nations across the globe. Water purification is a matter of high immediacy in developing countries, where enough supply of clean drinking water is unavailable. Globally, in consideration of the water-related diseases, assurance of an affordable, scalable water treatment infrastructure is of paramount significance. Many states in India face are confronted by scarcity of safe water and pollution, evoked mainly by anthropogenic activities. Majority of the population is unable to either access or afford safe drinking water. More than 60% of this population rely on groundwater for the purpose of drinking alone and on surface waters for all other purposes. In this era of high-water necessity, the aim of this paper is to develop a handy personal, water purifier, which is a ubiquitous, cost-effective access to healthy potable water for humans. This portable water purifier is a multi-stage filter constituted of a fabric filter, graphene-oxide coated sand filter, vetiver grass filter, and a UV filtration system. Water quality test show drastic reductions in the total dissolved solids (TDS), hardness, chloride and calcium ions. Implementation of this filtration unit in water-stressed countries is expected to serve as an efficient and affordable appliance for daily consumption of water.

Air pollution has an appalling effect on human health and our planet has a whole. This study quantifies air pollution using a parameter – Air Quality Index and compare the pollution of air in six major sites across Kerala, India (South over bridge and Eloor in Ernakulam district, Pettah and Veli in Thiruvananthapuram district, Chavara and Kadappakada in Kollam district). The significant differences in seasonal variation of pollutants in the three districts are also studied. The conclusion of the study shows: a) Air Quality Index in all these areas is predominantly determined by Particulate Matter concentration; b) Ernakulam district has the highest Air Quality Index among both industrial and residential areas and Kadappakada, Kollam has the lowest Air Quality Index among all the six areas studied; c) The air quality deteriorates during winter and summer because of limited pollutant dispersion.