University of Kerala, formerly the University of Travancore, is a state-run public university located in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital of Kerala, India. It was established in 1937 by a promulgation of the Maharajah of Travancore, Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma who was also the first Chancellor of the university. C. P. Ramaswamy Iyer, the then Diwan (Prime Minister) of the State was the first Vice-Chancellor. It was the first university in Kerala, and among the first in the country. Accredited by NAAC with highest grade of A++ and scored 3.67 points out of 4.The university has over 150 affiliated colleges and has sixteen faculties and 43 Departments of teaching and research. The Governor of Kerala serves as the Chancellor of university. C. P. Ramaswamy Iyer, the then Diwan (Prime Minister) of the State was the first Vice-Chancellor. It was the first university in Kerala, and among the first in the country. P.
A comparative density functional theory study was performed to investigate the adsorption and sensing behavior of glucose on C24, Be12O12, and Ca12O12 nanocages in vacuum and aqueous media. Geometry optimization and electronic structure calculations were carried out at the B3LYP/6–31 + G(d, p) level, with water effects incorporated through an implicit solvation model. The adsorption process was analyzed using adsorption energies, optimized interaction distances, frontier molecular orbitals, Density of states, global reactivity descriptors, charge transfer, and recovery-time considerations. The results show that glucose interacts weakly with C24, with adsorption energies of about − 0.57 eV in vacuum and − 0.68 eV in water, indicating physisorption. In contrast, much stronger adsorption is found for Be12O12 and Ca12O12, with adsorption energies of − 1.52/− 1.79 eV and − 1.16/− 1.33 eV in vacuum/water, respectively, suggesting stronger interfacial interactions with partial chemisorption character. Adsorption also modifies the electronic properties of the nanocages, particularly for Ca12O12, which exhibits a favorable balance between electronic response and reversible desorption. Recovery-time analysis further indicates that C24 allows very fast desorption but may suffer from limited sensitivity, whereas Be12O12 binds glucose too strongly for efficient sensor reuse. Among the three systems, Ca12O12 emerges as the most promising candidate for practical glucose sensing, especially under aqueous conditions where both sensitivity and reusability are required.
Pyrochlore structure, Ce2Sn2O7 (CSO), with an ideal cubic structure, was successfully synthesised by two methods, the hydrothermal and microwave methods. Owing to their strong catalytic activity, oxygen defects, and unique size, pyrochlore-based oxides have attracted considerable attention in innumerable fields. Cerium stannate (Ce2Sn2O7) shows high efficiency in energy conversion and durability in performance, which makes it a promising candidate in the field of energy production. The crystal structure, morphology and sizes have been characterised by X-ray diffractometer (XRD), Raman spectrum, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS). The absorbance at 552 nm in the UV–Visible spectra of Ce2Sn2O7 (CSO) indicates the photocatalytic activity of the material and shows that the sample is optically active in the given configuration. The electrical measurements of the material over a range of temperatures show the effective ionic conductivity in the order of 10–7 S/cm. The results suggested that Ce2Sn2O7 has promising potential for electrochemical applications. The photocatalytic activity of the Ce2Sn2O7 solid solution was investigated under visible light irradiation in an ambient environment. The obtained Ce2Sn2O7 material possesses increased photocatalytic activity for the degradation of Rh B as well as various organic pollutants. These findings establish CSO as a high-performance, sturdy, and scalable photocatalyst, offering a promising resolution for pharmaceutical wastewater treatment and sustainable hydrogen production with minimal ecological risks.
Computation of sediment volume and accurate modeling of run-out using high-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs) are essential for assessing debris flow hazard. In this study, we used stereo-derived DEMs coupled with field observations and high-resolution LiDAR DEM to compute the depleted and accumulated sediment volume, and interpret the initiation phase of mobilized sediment from one of the catastrophic debris flows of the Western Ghats in India, the 1.2 km long Pettimudi debris flow of 2020 that killed over 70 people. Over 180 field-observed measurements were used to rectify the stereo-DEM, which was affected by dense vegetation. Accordingly, the depth of depletion over the scarp region was corrected from an overestimated value of similar to 25 m to a more accurate value of 7.08 m. The volume estimated using the DEM of Difference (DoD) of rectified DEMs shows that this debris flow progressively entrained and mobilized 17 x 10(4) m(3) of sediments. The Rapid Mass Movement Simulation (RAMMS) tool was used to simulate flow characteristics under conditions similar to those in the field. The high-resolution LiDAR DEM enabled us to validate debris flow simulations and provided an unprecedented record of their development and evolution at sub-second time resolution.
The Manimala River Basin (MRB) and its hinterland were one of the severely battered river basins in Kerala during the 2018 floods. This study aims to demarcate the flood-risk zones in the MRB through five different models: Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), Fuzzy-AHP (F-AHP), Frequency Ratio (FR), Statistical Index (SI), and Height Above Nearest Drainage (HAND). Furthermore, this modelling also aims to suggest specific recommendations. A total of 10 conditioning factors (CFs), namely, geomorphology, slope, soil texture, land use and land cover (LULC), stream density, stream power index (SPI), normalized difference water index (NDWI), topographic ruggedness index (TRI), soil adjusted vegetation index (SAVI), and enhanced built-up and bareness index (EBBI), have been employed for the hazard modelling. Ultimately, the data on vulnerability (deprivation) and composite exposure are merged with the hazard data to generate the flood risk maps. With an area under the curve (AUC) value above 0.900, the hazard maps created employing the AHP (AUC: 0.913), F-AHP (AUC: 0.914), FR (AUC: 0.935), and SI (AUC: 0.934) models are found to have excellent performance, whereas the HAND (AUC: 0.861) model has good performance. Of these five models, the data-driven (FR and SI) models show more efficacy than the knowledge-driven (AHP and F-AHP) models, and the hydrological (HAND) model. According to the best performed model (FR), 5.89
Cellulose-modified zeolitic imidazolate framework, denoted as CEL-67, is developed as a sustainable, multifunctional material that integrates low-permittivity dielectric behaviour with carbon dioxide capture within a single platform. Structural integrity of ZIF-67 is preserved upon cellulose functionalization, while hydroxy-rich insulating interfaces suppress interfacial polarisation. Comprehensive structural, surface, and physicochemical characterization using FTIR, UV–visible spectroscopy, TG/DTG, PXRD, BET, XPS, SEM, and photoluminescence spectroscopy confirms the successful formation of the composite without structural degradation. CEL-67 exhibits a CO2 uptake of 0.76 mmol g−1 at 298 K and 1 bar and 0.80 mmol g−1 at 273 K, comparable to pristine ZIF-67 despite the surface area. Broadband dielectric performed over 1 Hz–106 Hz reveals a pronounced reduction in dielectric constant, dielectric loss, and loss tangent for CEL-67, particularly in the low-frequency regime. Electric modulus and conductivity analyses further demonstrate that dielectric relaxation in CEL-67 is governed by interfacial (Maxwell–Wagner–Sillars) polarization, resulting in enhanced dielectric stability and reduced energy dissipation. This study is presented as a proof-of-concept demonstrating how cellulose functionalization can balance dielectric stability and gas accessibility within a single MOF-based composite.
