North Eastern Regional Institute of Science and Technology

About: North Eastern Regional Institute of Science and Technology is a education organization based out in Itanagar, India. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Raman spectroscopy. The organization has 813 authors who have published 1429 publications receiving 16122 citations.

Experimental investigations on a sodium-ion-conducting polymer electrolyte based on poly(ethylene oxide) complexed with NaPF6

Abstract: Poly(ethylene oxide)-NaPF6 polymer electrolytes have been studied by X-ray diffraction, IR, differential thermal analysis, optical microscopy, polarization, and impedance spectroscopic techniques. The material is shown to be an ionic conductor with tion ≈ 0.98, tNa+ ≈ 0.45 and tanion ≈ 0.53. The σ vs. 1 T curves show apparent Arrhenius behaviour below and above Tm.

Fumonisins: Impact on Agriculture, Food, and Human Health and their Management Strategies.

Abstract: The fumonisins producing fungi, Fusarium spp., are ubiquitous in nature and contaminate several food matrices that pose detrimental health hazards on humans as well as on animals. This has necessitated profound research for the control and management of the toxins to guarantee better health of consumers. This review highlights the chemistry and biosynthesis process of the fumonisins, their occurrence, effect on agriculture and food, along with their associated health issues. In addition, the focus has been put on the detection and management of fumonisins to ensure safe and healthy food. The main focus of the review is to provide insights to the readers regarding their health-associated food consumption and possible outbreaks. Furthermore, the consumers’ knowledge and an attempt will ensure food safety and security and the farmers’ knowledge for healthy agricultural practices, processing, and management, important to reduce the mycotoxin outbreaks due to fumonisins.

Antioxidants: Positive or Negative Actors?

Abstract: The term “antioxidant” is one of the most confusing definitions in biological/medical sciences. In chemistry, “antioxidant” is simply conceived “a compound that removes reactive species, mainly those oxygen-derived”, while in a cell context, the conceptual definition of an antioxidant is poorly understood. Indeed, non-clinically recommended antioxidants are often consumed in large amounts by the global population, based on the belief that cancer, inflammation and degenerative diseases are triggered by high oxygen levels (or reactive oxygen species) and that through blocking reactive species production, organic unbalances/disorders can be prevented and/or even treated. The popularity of these chemicals arises in part from the widespread public mistrust of allopathic medicine. In fact, reactive oxygen species play a dual role in dealing with different disorders, since they may contribute to disease onset and/or progression but may also play a key role in disease prevention. Further, the ability of the most commonly used supplements, such as vitamins C, E, selenium, and herbal supplements to decrease pathologic reactive oxygen species is not clearly established. Hence, the present review aims to provide a nuanced understanding of where current knowledge is and where it should go.

Light-weight trust-based routing protocol for mobile ad hoc networks

Abstract: Mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) were originally designed for a cooperative environment. To use them in hostile environments, trust-based routing can be used, where instead of establishing the shortest routes as done in traditional routing protocols, most trusted routes are established. In this study, the authors present a light-weight trust-based routing protocol. It is light-weight in the sense that the intrusion detection system (IDS) used for estimating the trust that one node has for another, consumes limited computational resource. Moreover, it uses only local information thereby ensuring scalability. Our light-weight IDS takes care of two kinds of attacks, namely, the blackhole attack and the grey hole attack. Whereas our proposed approach can be incorporated in any routing protocol, the authors have used AODV as the base routing protocol to evaluate our proposed approach and give a performance analysis.

Effectiveness of the Protected Area Network in Biodiversity Conservation: A Case-study of Meghalaya State

Abstract: The North-Eastern region of India is significant for biodiversity conservation because of its floristic richness and high levels of endemism. Deforestation levels are high in the region due to anthropogenic pressures. We accessed various literature sources to create a database for Meghalaya state containing information on plant species, habit, altitudinal distribution, endemism, and endangered status. Information on the existing protected area network (type, extent, and altitudinal representation) was added to the database. The database was used to assess the effectiveness of the existing protected area network in conserving the floristic biodiversity of the state. Of a total of 3331 plant species, 1236 (37.11%) are endemic of Meghalaya and 133 (4%) are confined to 'sacred forests'. However, 'sacred forests' are not legally protected areas. Only 32 220 ha (1.43% of the state's geographical area) is protected under the category of National Park or Sanctuary. Although 212 species (17.15% of the state's endemic species) occur only in Meghalaya at altitudes above 1500 m, none of the forests at these altitudes are protected as National Parks or Sanctuaries. We conclude that the existing protected area network does not effectively conserve the state's unique biodiversity and suggest measures by which its effectiveness might be increased.