Coordinates: 19°07′30″N 72°50′09″E / 19.125023°N 72.835885°E / 19.125023; 72.835885Bhavan's College is a prestigious college located in Andheri West, a neighborhood in western Mumbai, India. It was established in 1946, a year before India gained independence from the British in 1947. Dr. K.M. Munshi was the founding president of the college.[citation needed]Bhavan's College is a part of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. The college is built upon 45 acres (180,000 m2) of land and has huge volleyball and basketball courts, as well as football pitches, a botanical garden, beautiful lake, a nature adventure centre and a Lord Shiva temple within the campus (www.bnac.org.in). It primarily offers higher secondary (junior college) and undergraduate (bachelor's) courses. There a few postgraduate and PhD programs too..
Conducting polymer polypyrrole (PPy) and its metal oxide composites, namely PPy-TiO₂ and PPy-SnO₂, were synthesized via in-situ chemical oxidative polymerization with 10% (w/v) metal oxide loading. To advance beyond conventional bi-composites, a new synergistic tri-composite sensor PPy-TiO₂-SnO₂ was developed through ex-situ mixing of the two binary composites. UV–Visible spectroscopy was employed to determine the optical band gaps, while SEM revealed granular, densely connected morphologies, further supported by elemental confirmation from EDX. FTIR analysis verified the interaction between PPy and the incorporated metal oxides, and TGA established the thermal sustainability of the composites for room-temperature sensing applications. Impedimetric analysis showed a linear 45° complex impedance behaviour and confirmed that AC conductivity decreases with increasing bandgap. All composite films were fabricated on glass substrates and evaluated for CO₂ sensing using a laboratory-developed sensing unit. Linear, dynamic, and static responses were recorded across varying CO₂ concentrations. The bi-composites displayed sensitivities of 3.43 (PPy-SnO₂) and 14.15 (PPy-TiO₂), whereas the newly synthesized PPy-TiO₂-SnO₂ exhibited an intermediate yet enhanced sensitivity of 8.09. The tri-composite also demonstrated rapid gas-sensing performance, with a short recovery time of 76 s and response time of 184 s. Energy-level alignment and Fermi-level pinning effects correlated well with the bandgap values, supporting the proposed sensing mechanism involving interfacial depletion and accumulation layers. Overall, the PPy-TiO₂-SnO₂ tri-composite emerges as a robust, sustainable, and efficient room-temperature CO₂ sensing material. The sensor also exhibits good selectivity towards CO₂ over interfering gases such as NH₃, ethanol, and CO. Furthermore, it demonstrates excellent long-term stability with a sensitivity drift of 6.10% over 35 days and minimal baseline variation. The sensor performance remains largely unaffected under varying humidity conditions (30–70% RH), indicating its suitability for practical environmental applications.
Understanding how niche overlap is structured across multiple dimensions is central to explaining species coexistence. Most studies examining niche overlap focus on a single axis, and our understanding of ecological conditions that promote niche overlap is limited. Here, we examined multidimensional niche overlap among avian frugivores along dietary, vertical space-use, and temporal axes in tropical evergreen forests of Anamalai and Namdapha Tiger Reserves in the Western Ghats and eastern Himalaya, respectively. These sites differed in frugivore species richness but were otherwise environmentally similar. Using > 1100 hours of focal observations, we quantified pairwise frugivore niche overlap and tested how they varied with frugivore species richness, fruit abundance, tree identity, and body-size differences between species. Observed pairwise overlaps were lower than expected by chance across all niche dimensions, and were 1.6–2.2 times lower in Namdapha, the more species-rich site, indicating stronger niche differentiation in the more diverse assemblage. Overlap increased on trees with larger fruit crops and was particularly higher on Ficus . Overlap declined with increasing body-size differences between interacting frugivores. Our findings suggest that multidimensional niche overlap in tropical frugivore assemblages is structured by competition, local resource context, and species traits, thereby providing useful insights into the mechanisms promoting coexistence in diverse tropical communities.
The increasing demand for sustainable agricultural practices has intensified research on eco-friendly biofertilizers derived from natural resources. Fermented rice water (FRW), a common household by-product generated during rice washing, is rich in soluble nutrients and indigenous microbial populations. The present study investigates fermented rice water as a potential source of plant growth- promoting microorganisms (PGPM) and evaluates its effect on the growth of Coriandrum sativum L. Washed rice water was allowed to undergo natural fermentation for three days under ambient laboratory conditions. A significant reduction in pH from 7.5 to 5.0 indicated active microbial metabolism. Fourteen morphologically distinct isolates were obtained using selective and non-selective media. The isolates were screened for plant growth-promoting traits including phosphate solubilization, cellulase activity, and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) production. Among them, isolates I1, I8, I11, and I12 exhibited comparatively higher IAA production and were selected for consortium development after compatibility testing. Pot trials conducted under sterile and non-sterile soil conditions demonstrated enhanced germination rate, root length, and shoot length in treated plants compared to control. In non-sterile soil, seed soaking treatment showed maximum root elongation (5.3 cm), while microbial consortium application was more effective under sterile soil (3.5 cm). The findings suggest that fermented rice water serves as an inexpensive and sustainable reservoir of beneficial microorganisms with significant potential as a biofertilizer in sustainable agriculture.
Tropical rivers, are highly biodiverse yet they face significant threats from human activities, impacting overall their ecological health. We studied fish diversity (richness and abundance) and its relationships with environmental factors, understanding size class distribution and the role of land use land cover in a Rupnarayan river in east India. Using a hierarchical nested design and space-for-time replacement method to sample fishes from January 2024 to March 2024 over a 30 km stretch of the river. We recorded 40 species, comprising 774 individuals from 14 orders and 25 families. Multiple linear regression indicated that channel type, water temperature, river width and depth, and time spent on fish sampling were significantly associated with species richness and abundance. Flow-ecology relationships demonstrated a preference for slower currents among selected species. The fishing gears influences the body size class of fish species. Land Use Land Cover analysis showed that cropland (44%) dominates the study area followed by vegetation (25%), built-up areas (18%) etc. Despite the absence of immediate threats, the Rupnarayan River plays a crucial role in supporting significant riverine biodiversity which may be helpful for future ecological research and conservation efforts in similar tropical rivers in the world.
Human-carnivore relationships are complex and shaped by a multitude of socio-ecological factors. Unfortunately, human interactions with smaller, non-charismatic, solitary and elusive species remain largely overlooked. Here, we examined community perceptions towards the understudied striped hyaena Hyaena hyaena in West Bengal, India. The region has multi-use habitats shared between people and carnivores. We employed a mixed-methods approach to analyse 104 semi-structured interviews and found that local residents were less familiar with the striped hyaena's ecology compared to other sympatric carnivores. Confusion around its identity and several misconceptions about its behaviour, including its scavenging habits, were prevalent. Two contrasting cultural identities were ascribed to the species: Gaadha, the harmless scavenger with a fearless demeanour, and Kuia, the ferocious hunter that attacks humans. Infrequent human-hyaena interactions, coupled with the influence of legends, folklore, hearsay and chance negative encounters, have probably augmented people's misperceptions about the species. Opportunities for conservation interventions to foster human-hyaena coexistence in these shared spaces exist and need urgent attention.
