N.e.quest Volume 2 Issue 4 January 2009

Newsletter of North East India Research Forum

N. E. Quest; Volume 2, Issue 4, January 2009, 1

Newsletter of North East India Research Forum

Newsletter of NORTH EAST INDIA RESEARCH FORUM (Dedicated to Late Mohinibala Rabha)

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/northeast_india_research/ www.neindiaresearch.org

N. E. Quest; Volume 2, Issue 4, January 2009, 2

Newsletter of North East India Research Forum

From the desk of Editor It is my great privilege and honour to have the opportunity to write the editorial of this issue of the NE Quest. After a successful journey of 4 years of this forum, while taking the pen to write for the news letter, suddenly an Assamese poem has pop up to my mind:

Although these beautiful words are impossible to translate, still if I try perhaps it may look like “Every droplets of water falling from the clouds, fills the vast ocean; the coagulation of smallest sand particles builds the mighty earth….” As said in this poem, our forum was also started only with two members on a golden moment of 13th November, 2004, and by now in its 5th year of span we have strength of 263 members. Hereby, I would like to thank Arindam for conceiving and executing such a beautiful idea and giving us a glorious platform to share our thoughts. I strongly believe that this forum will help us to develop our writing or expression ability, and also to build constructive thoughts to help the progress of our region. I wish a very bright future of our forum. Today, through this column of editorial I would like to take the opportunity to put forwards few of my bubble of feelings for your kind attention. Firstly, I would like to draw our attention towards the increasing terrorist activities in Indian; particularly in our NE region. Probably nobody will ever be able to forget the incident of 31 October, 2008; even though presently living far away still when I got the news I felt myself deep and deep inside sea – everywhere I saw only blue…. We really don’t know in which

direction our nation has been driven by these present situations. Probably except terrorism activities, our nation is lagging behind in all respect from rest of the world. We can’t compete with the world, why? What we don’t have - resource, manpower, or knowledge? I think, actually we have everything. For instance, if we compare the available natural resources only of NE Region, probably we will be in a very good rank in the world. Just for statistical data, if I compare one of the states of north east India, Assam with Israel, which is considered as one of the most advance countries in south west Asia then we will find Israel has total area of 20,770/22,072 km2, total population just above 7,337,000 and Assam stands with 78,438 km2 of land having approximate 26,656,528 population. Most interesting data is the population density, i.e. 324/km2 and 340/km2 for Israel and Assam, respective; really very close figure. On the other hand, Israel is a nation with very limited natural resources, even dry and with limited water resources; in contrast Assam has everything in plenty. But where is Israel and where is Assam? Why so? I know that there are many factors, but at this moment I think terrorism and its related happenings are the biggest curse for the people of Assam as well as for the nation. One day there will be a bomb blast, and from the next day different parties (either political or non-political) will start to call “ASSAM BANDH” to protest it. Is there any positive out put from the “Bandh” culture? I think no, the only impact is that we are directly going down in path of progress by one day from the rest of the world. So, the “Bandh” is becoming a prime detrimental factor in progress of the state, and it is giving just political advantage to some groups or people. Even probably calling a “Bandh” is also against our constitution as it affects the “individual freedom”, so it is against the law and should be consider as a crime. This black snack, “Bandh” is squizzing us from all direction. Therefore, I request everybody to think something to make aware the common people of our region about this silent killer. I strongly believe that general awareness is

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Newsletter of North East India Research Forum the only solution to fight against such an enemy; otherwise, very soon it is going destroy us. As a detrimental factor of progress, I want to point out another fact, “The honesty”. I am sure that many of us will not be agree with this, but if anyone think from his/her soul, he/she will agree that either willingly or unwillingly most of us doing very dishonest works; may be some time for personal benefit, or may be due to survive in a particular situation, or may be sometime under pressure. Now, we are in a situation that dishonesty (corruption) is in our gene, so we don’t think some dishonest work as to be dishonest. From a service man to a daily wage labour; from a politician to common people dishonesty has touched everybody in different form. As an example, let us consider a daily wage man and you employed him to work at your home, but if you don’t observe him he definitely will not do his duty properly, so that is also a kind of dishonesty. Therefore, to climb the ladder of progress we have to bring back our honesty. Somehow we have to show the common people that how dishonesty is pulling us from our back and we are walking years after years but still in the same place. If we become honest to some extent, then at least we will be able to use the funds for various works properly and there will be progress. Therefore, in my opinion to overcome all these factors, public awareness and motivation of common people towards the right path of progress is the only solution. So, hereby I would like to through a query towards our honourable members that - is there anything that we can do which will have a direct physical impact to awake the people of our region from their deep sleep, and also to make aware of power and extreme strength that the common people have with them. If somehow this can be done, then we will see that politician or the group of people who nowadays most of the time seeks only individual benefits will not be able to motivate them, rather general people will be motivating them and the nation will start to climb the ladder of progress.

Finally, I would like to say my personal thanks to Dr. Arindam Adhikari for his help in every step, and gratefully acknowledge members of the editorial board for their suggestions. I thank all the contributors for their articles and my special thanks goes to Mr. Anirban Adhikari for his effort in making the magnificent work for the cover page. At the last, I pray to God to bring peace and progress to our region. -Manab Sharma ----------------- // --------------An oldest printing press

PRINTING PRESS “COLUMBIA” (1859) Courtesy – Technion Museum, Israel -----------------//---------------

N. E. Quest; Volume 2, Issue 4, January 2009, 4

Newsletter of North East India Research Forum

CONTENTS The forum Science, R&D News North East India made us proud Events and news from north east India North East India research forum members in news, awards / fellowship received by members Guest column Bioactive secondary metabolites from selected plants and their endophytic microorganisms:Problems and Prospects Dr. Debananda Ningthoujam Articles The World Class Universities and Rankings Dr. Abdul Wahab

6 8 14 15 17

18

25

Flora of Arunachal Pradesh and its conservation: An overview Mr Chandan Tamuly

30

Arsenic problem in north-east: a future threat!!! Dr. Oinam Jayalakshmi Devi

35

Fiction Consequences of Time Machine Himangshu Paul

38

Poem “Bhraman Kahini” Mr Kamal Kumar Tanti

41

Slums Dwellers Dr. Manabendra Pathak

42

Abstract of PhD thesis of Mohit Lal Dev

44

Higher study abroad Country of this issue: Australia

49

Through the lens of the forum members

51

Job advertisement

52

Details about the Northeast India Research Forum

54

Do you know?

15, 16, 42

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Newsletter of North East India Research Forum 1. Nanoscience & nanotechnology = 22% 2. Biotechnology = 11% 3. Nanobiotechnology = 38% 4. Chemical Engineering = 0% 5. Medicine = 11% 6. Others = 16% 7. None = 0%

THE FORUM North East India Research Forum was created on 13th November 2004. 1. How we are growing. Every forum has to pass through difficult phases at the time of birth. NE India Research Forum is also no exception. At the very beginning, it was a march hardly with few members (from chemistry only) and today the forum comprised of a force of more than 260 elite members. Now we are in a position such that people voluntarily come and join the group irrespective of disciplines.

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Kindly let us know your view regarding the following topic. What activities of this group you like most ? 1. Research articles= 33% 2. Information about vacancy/positions available=10% 3. Way to have a contact with all members =29% 4. Scientific discussions = 14% 5. Others = 2%

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Selection of name for Newsletter There were total 36 proposals submitted by members of the forum for the Newsletter. The name proposed by Mr. Abhishek Choudhury, N. E. QUEST received the maximum number of votes and hence it is accepted as the name of the Newsletter.

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How often should we publish newsletter '' N. E. Quest'' ? 1. Every 3 months = 61% 2. Every 6 months = 38% 3. Once a year = 0%

300

No of Members

250 200 150 100 50 0 0

10

20

30

40

50

Months

Graph of no of members w.r.t. months 2. Discussions held in the forum • Necessity of directory of all the members of the forum. • Possibility of organizing conference in the N E India. • Taking initiation on setting up of South East Asian Scientific Institute. • On selection of Best paper award. • Let us introspect. 3. Poll conducted and results. • North East India is lacking behind the rest of the country due to1. Geographical constrain =0% 2. Bad leadership = 40% 3. Lack of work culture = 36% 4. Corruption = 18% 5. Apathy from Central Govt. = 4% •

Which area of science is going to dominate by creating a great impact on society in next decade?

our

4. Previous NE-Quest Edition and Editors: 1. Vol 1 Issue 1 April, 2007 Editor: Dr. Arindam Adhikari 2. Vol 1 Issue 2 July 2007 Editor: Dr. Tankeswar Nath 3. Vol 1 Issue 3 October 2007 Editor: Dr. Ashim Jyoti Thakur 4. Vol 1 Issue 4 January 2008 Editor: Mr. Pranjal Saikia 5. Vol 2 Issue 1 April 2008 Editor: Dr. Sasanka Deka 6. Vol 2 Issue 2 July 2008 Editor: Dr. Rashmi Rekha Devi 7. Vol 2 Issue 3 October 2008 Editor: Dr. Prodeep Phukan

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Newsletter of North East India Research Forum 5. A domain in the name of www. neindiaresearch.org is booked 6. Future activities Proper planning and consequent implementation always play an important role in every aspect. Some of the topics/activities/suggestions which were being discussed, time to time in the forum will get top priorities in our future activities. Those are mentioned here, • Preparing complete online database of N.E. researchers with details. • Organizing conference in the N.E. regionproposed by Dr. Utpal Bora. • Research collaboration among forum members. • Motivate student to opt for science education. • Help master’s students in doing projects in different organization-proposed by Mr. Khirud Gogoi. • Supporting schools in rural areas by different ways. • Best paper awards. 7. New activity To run the forum smoothly, to make it more organised and to speed up activities, formation of a committee/team is essential. The combined discussion of the moderators and senior members make the forum feel the importance of Advisors, coordinator, volunteer, webmasters etc. Of course it needs more discussion and will be approved by poll. 8. Guidelines for the forum: The moderators formulated some guidelines for the forum which are as follow. These guidelines were kept open for discussion in the forum. With time and need the guidelines will be changed. i.

Anybody in the forum can start a meaningful and constructive discussion after discussion with moderators. ii. Comments from the individual members do not necessarily reflect the view of the forum.

iii. No single moderator can take a crucial decision. All decision would be taken by the moderators unanimously or together with the group as majority. iv. One should not write any massage to the forum addressing some particular members. It should always start with Dear all / Dear esteemed members etc. v. If one has to write a mail to a particular member she/he should write personal mail. vi. Everyone has the freedom to speak but that doesn’t mean that one should attack personally. Of course we do have differences. There can be debate or discussion, but it should always be a healthy one. One’s personal comment should be written in such a way that it reflects his/her view only. It should not touch other's sentiments/emotions. vii. Whenever we are in a forum, society, home, members should be sensitive / caring enough to their comments so that it does not hurt sentiment of any second members. viii. Members should not post greetings messages (Bihu wish, New Year wish etc) to the forum. ix. Members should post authentic news only. The source of the news should be authentic. No controversial news or comment should be posted to the forum. x. Our main aim is to discuss science to generate science consciousness, scientific temperament, sensitivity, awareness and research for the benefit of the mankind in general and North East India in particular. xi. In severe cases, moderators can take a hard decision unanimously or majority wise ( may be through poll). (This point needs to be accepted by all the members). While sending request or while fulfilling request for articles please follow the following points. •

The forum has been formed to help each other. When a member requests articles/literature to forum, members of the forum are always happy to help the person by supplying the articles. But at

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Newsletter of North East India Research Forum this stage we have to keep in mind that the article should be sent to the person who requested it, not to the whole forum as it creates lots of unnecessary mails in the message box of the forum. Moreover if it continues, it become a irritation also for many members. •

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It is also the duty of the person who requests article to acknowledge the person who helped him/her. This can be done by writing ' Request fulfilled by......' in the subject area while composing the mail and write a thanking message in the main message board. Once this is done, then if some other members want to send the article will know about the status of the request. This will also help members in keeping mailbox clean. Before asking for article, he/she should always check his/her institute/university libraries (online resources). If it is not available or accessible then only the member should request to the forum. Moreover sending articles (copyright protected articles) to the open forum violates copyright act. So please send the article to the person who requests not to everybody through this open forum.

------//-------Quote of the month.. 15th January, 2009

"Daddy, the plane turned into a boat." -- 4year-old daughter said to her father, Martin Sosa, who was with his family on the emergency landed US Airways flight in the Hudson River

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SCIENCE NEWS ¾ Cosmic Ray 'Hot Spots':

Los Alamos National Laboratory cosmic-ray observatory has seen for the first time two distinct hot spots that appear to be bombarding Earth with an excess of cosmic rays. The research calls into question nearly a century of understanding about galactic magnetic fields near our solar system. The hot spots were identified in the two red-colored regions near the constellation Orion in the above picture.

¾ Bendable electronics: Flexible, translucent and ultrathin, layers of carbon atoms called graphene are also excellent electrical conductors that could find use in flexible computer displays, molecular electronics and new wireless communications. Making high-quality graphene sheets is usually a slow, painstaking process, but now several research groups have discovered ways to make patterned graphene circuits using techniques borrowed from microchip manufacturing, which can be scaled up for mass production. Layers of graphene — carbon atoms arranged in a chicken-wire pattern one atom thick — can be manually peeled away from the graphite in pencils using adhesive tape. In contrast, the new technique causes carbon atoms in a vapor of hydrocarbons to settle onto a nickel surface and arrange into graphene’s characteristic pattern of hexagons. Using standard chipmaking techniques, circuit designs are etched into the nickel surface. As the graphene layers form, they take on the shape of the circuit template, researchers report in the Jan. 15 Nature. “Finding a suitable material that’s

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Newsletter of North East India Research Forum transparent yet conducting and thin is a big deal,” says Philip Kim, coauthor of the study and a condensed matter physicist at Columbia University. Kim and his colleagues showed that the vapor-deposited graphene retains the excellent electrical properties of manually peeled graphene, even when bent on a flexible surface. (Source: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/access/id/39 865/title/Graphene_from_gases_for_new%2C _bendable_electronics_

¾ China builds inland Antarctic base After a three-week crawl carrying 625 tonnes of cargo towards the highest ice in Antarctica, a Chinese expedition is expected to begin building a research base at Dome Argus, or 'Dome A', 4,093 metres above sea level. The station, called Kunlun and scheduled to open on 28 January, will gather data in fields ranging from global climate change to the origin of the Universe. The 250million-renminbi (US$37-million) Kunlun will be China's third Antarctic station, joining the Great Wall station in the South Shetland Islands and the Zhongshan station in east Antarctica. On 20 October, the Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration (CAA) sent its expedition team from Shanghai aboard the icebreaker Xue Long ('Snow Dragon' in English) to the coastal Zhongshan station. Bad ice conditions delayed their arrival, but on 18 December — two weeks behind schedule — a 28-man 'inland team' began the nearly 1,300kilometre traverse to Dome A. On arriving at Dome A this week (2nd week of January), the expeditioners will have just 20 days to build the station before temperatures drop sharply to below –50 °C in early February. At the end of this year's first phase of construction, Kunlun is expected to have a main building of 230 square metres, with 11 units for sleeping, eating and working. It will have space for up to 25 people, says Qu Tanzhou, director of the CAA. Six more units are expected to be added next year, for a total area of 327 square metres.

(Source:http://www.nature.com/news/2009/09 0106/full/457134a.html)

¾ News from Mars Scientists have announced the discovery of substantial deposits of carbonate rocks on Mars. Although the new rocks are not from the bed of a long-lost ocean, as would once have been hoped, the discovery is still fanning hopes that the rocks might hold preserved traces of organic matter from the planet's early history. The carbonates were discovered using the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM), an instrument carried on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). CRISM results show evidence of magnesium carbonate (magnesite) in an area known as Nili Fossae that sits on the edge of Isidis Planitia, one of the planet's great impact basins. (for details: Ehlmann, B. L. et al. Science 322, 2008, 1828). More than four years after researchers first said they had found methane gas on Mars, a scientist claims that he has "nailed" the controversial detection and identified key sources of the gas. On Earth, methane is mostly biological in origin; on Mars, it could signal microbes living deep underground. The latest work suggests that martian methane is concentrated in both space and time — at a handful of hotspots hundreds of kilometres across, plumes of methane bloom and dissipate in less than a year. Scientist Michael Mumma, a spectroscopy expert, obtained data from telescopes in Hawaii and Chile that supported the notion of methane hotspots. According to the scientist, he has confirmed the presence of methane by matching four lines in his infrared spectra of the planet's atmosphere to the characteristic signature of methane — a more definite determination than previous analyses — and

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Newsletter of North East India Research Forum found more evidence that the methane is localized in discrete hotspots, which peak at levels of 60 parts per billion. The more important observations is the short lifetimes of the plumes. Previously, methane was thought to be destroyed in the atmosphere by sunlight — a slow process that allows the gas to mix in the atmosphere and persist for about 300 years. A global level of 10 parts per billion and a lifetime of hundreds of years means that a few hundred tonnes of methane are entering the atmosphere each year: the work of a few thousand cows. But plumes of 60 parts per billion that live for less than a year imply a methane-production rate several orders of magnitude higher. "This is a big deal," says Sushil Atreya of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, a co-author of the 2004 Mars Express paper. At the moment whether the methane plumes are biological or geological in origin is impossible to know at the moment. But NASA's next Mars rover will be able to analyse, at levels of parts per trillion, the fractional concentrations of the carbon isotopes in each methane molecule. Life on Earth prefers to process lighter carbon-12 atoms. And so, on Mars, methane freighted with carbon-12 could be a sign of a biological origin. (Souece: http://www.nature.com/news)

¾ Chandrayaan News Radar image Haworth This radar image (Recorded Nov. 17, 2008, and released January 16), taken by a NASA instrument aboard lunarIndia’s orbiting Chandrayaan-1 craft, shows part (rectangular strip) of Haworth, a south-polar crater on the moon. Haworth’s interior has never been seen before because the crater never receives direct sunlight. The image shows features as small as 150 meters across and is superimposed on an Earth-based radar image to show surrounding features. Over the next year, Chandrayaan-1 will map both poles to look for hidden

reserves of water-ice in Haworth and other permanently shadowed craters. Three elements: Chandrayaan-I has picked up first X-ray signals from the Moon with the help of Imaging X-ray Spectrometer (CIXS), one of the 11 payloads onboard Chandrayaan1, and detent the presence of aluminium, magnesium and silicon. CIXS detected the Xray signals on December 12, 2008 from a region close to the Apollo landing sites. CIXS was jointly developed by ISRO and United Kingdom’s Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL). (Source: http://www.sciencenews.org &The Hindu, January 24, 2009) ¾ After Chandrayaan-I After the Chandrayaan-I what is the next target for the mighty Indian Space Research Organisation, nothing more than the Sun, it will be the first attempt by India to unravel the mysteries associated with coronal heating of Sun. Now ISRO scientist are in the advanced stage of designing a spacecraft, named 'Aditya', to study the outermost region of the Sun called corona. According to the ISRO Chairman, G Madhavan Nair, "That's a mini satellite. In fact, the design is just getting completed". When he was asked what is the theme of the mission he replied, "During solar maxim...which is happening...we would like to see the type of emissions which are taking place in the Sun and how it interacts with the ionosphere and atmosphere and so on". According to Dr Jayati Datta, deputy programme director, Space Science Office, ISRO, Aditya is the first space based Solar Coronagraph intended to study corona. With the help of 'Aditya' Indian scientific community will try to unravel the mysteries associated with coronal heating, coronal mass ejections and the associated space weather processes and study of these would provide important information on the solar activity conditions, she said. ISRO is planning to launch 'Aditya Mission' during the next high solar activity period. However, the exact date/time is not yet confirmed. (Source: PTI)

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Newsletter of North East India Research Forum ¾ Successful test of GSLV: th

On 20 December, 2008, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has successfully conducted a test of its indigenous cryogenic (supercooled fuel) engine to be used in the next geosynchronous launch vehicle (GSLV-D3) launch in April 2009 for carrying the 2.3-tonne geo-stationary experimental satellite (GSAT) mission. Typically, hydrogen and oxygen are used which need to be held respectively below -253 degrees Celsius and 183 degrees Celsius to remain in liquid form. The cryogenic engine develops a thrust of 73 kilo Newtons (kN) in vacuum with a specific impulse of 454 seconds (7.56 minutes) and can carry 2.2 tonnes. Working on a staged combustion cycle with an integrated turbopump, the engine will have 42,000 rotations per minute (rpm). It also has two steering engines developing a thrust of 2 kN each to enable three-axis control of the launch vehicle during the flight mission. According to the statement of ISRO, "The hot test was carried out for 200 seconds (3.33 minutes) during which the engine was operated in the nominal and 13 percent up-rated thrust regimes. All the propulsion parameters were satisfactory and matched with predictions". Cryogenic engine technology is currently present only in Russia and the US. The semi-cryogenic engines will facilitate applications for future space missions like the reusable launch vehicle, the unified launch vehicle and the vehicle for inter-planetary missions, Chidambaram added. The central government has already approved the development of semi-cryogenic engines for space transportation at a cost of Rs.1,798 crore (approx Rs.18 billion) with a foreign exchange component of Rs.588 crore (Rs.5.88 billion). ¾ ISRO’s next dream : 2015 Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to send its first manned flight into space by 2015. K Radhakrishnan, Member of the Space Commission and Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre said that the proposal has been sent to the government and approval was being awaited. According to ISRO, the space craft will carry two crew and

suppose to orbit around 200 km away from Earth. The scientist said ISRO was on the process of developing sophisticated versions of the PSLV launch vehicles. ¾ NE herb – remedy to Malaria: In search of alternative drugs for Chloroquine, recently DRDO reported a probability of development of an anti-malarial drug from a herb available in the North East. Dr W Selvamurthy, chief controller of the DRDO, revelled, "Six months back, we discovered the anti-malarial qualities in a herb Gommstema found exclusively in the North East." DRDO claims the drug would remove the Plasmodium Vivax strains from the blood of the affected person. The drug is now on its clinical trial after it had been tested and approved by Dr Padmanabhan of IIS, Bangalore. He said “We are also identifying the chemical structure of the herb so that it could be cultivated for mass production of the drug.” (Source-PTI)

¾ Enzyme that degrade fat Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, under the supervision of Prof. Hei Sook Sul, identified a new enzyme that plays a far more important role than expected in controlling the breakdown of fat. The new enzyme within fat cells that is a key regulator of fat metabolism and body weight, making it a promising target in the search for a treatment for human obesity. In a new study to be published Jan. 11 in the journal Nature Medicine, researchers report that mice that have had this enzyme disabled remained lean despite eating a high-fat diet and losing a hormone that suppresses appetite. The enzyme in the spotlight, adipose-specific phospholipase A2 (AdPLA), is found in abundance only in fat tissue. AdPLA sets off a chain of events that increases levels of a signalling molecule called prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), which suppresses the breakdown of fat. Mice that have no AdPLA have lower PGE2 levels and a higher rate of fat metabolism. (Source:http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/

releases/2009/01/12_fatmetabolism.shtml)

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Newsletter of North East India Research Forum

¾ Modification need in fMRI According to a new study carried out by Aniruddha Das and Yevgeniy Sirotin at Columbia University in New York reported that the popular brain-imaging techniques may be painting a misleading picture of brain activity. Scientists using techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) make the assumption that blood flow into a particular brain region is directly linked to the amount of activity in the cells of that region. This is because active cells need more oxygen, and blood ferries it to them, but according to the report (Ref.: Sirotin, Y. B. & Das, A. Nature 457, 2009, 475–479) this is not necessarily the case. The findings suggest that scientists who use fMRI may need to interpret their data differently, concludes neuroscientist David Leopold at the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland (Ref.: Leopold, D. A. Nature 457, 2009, 387–388). Most fMRI experiments with human subjects involve presenting visual stimuli at intervals and rely on lining up the blood flow in time with the stimuli, Leopold explains. But, he adds, the mismatch between neural activity and blood flow demonstrated in the paper is "extreme". Das indicates that it should be possible to design experiments that are not confounded by the extra signal. But, he warns, "what our work suggests is that what people interpret as attention in functional MRI may not reflect local changes in neuronal activity." (Source:http://www.nature.com/news/2009/09 0121/full/news.2009.48.html#B1)

¾ Alge – future fuel: The simplest organisms on the planet may be an alternative to the impending global fuel crisis. In the coming fuel crisis time researchers are trying to find alternative and the most popular has been biofuel: oil derived from corn, rape and soya. But, as indicated by Dr Richard Pike, the chief executive of the Royal Society of Chemistry, "Typically, the figure for the gross amount of

biodiesel produced per hectare excludes the cost of fertiliser, harvesting, transportation," he says. "You actually end up with as little as one or two tons", therefore, the main hurdle for these is the cost effectiveness. But recently it has been found that producing biofuel from algae would get around this problem, because the organism neither competes for arable land nor requires nutrients. Instead, algae use sunlight and carbon dioxide to produce minute amounts of nutrients – lipids (fatty oils) – which can, after processing, be used as biodiesel. Algae grow at a phenomenally fast rate and have a very high yield: 10,000 gallons of biodiesel per acre compared to 48 gallons from soya and 120 gallons from rape. Recently, Solazyme, a "synthetic biology" firm in San Francisco, has produced an algaebased kerosene suitable for commercial and military jet engines, by using a strain of algae that produces an oil naturally analogous to aviation oil. (Souece:www.telegraph.co.uk) ¾ Stem cell therapy at kolkata Calcutta is on the verge of getting a final and definite answer to Type I diabetes and cerebral palsy before long. Singapore-based CordLife, the prominent network of private cord blood banks in the Asia-Pacific, pledged to introduce yields of latest global research in stem cell therapy to the city soon. Mark Kirkland, the Chief Scientific Officer of CytoMatrix, an associate of CordLife said, "Type 1 diabetes and cerebral palsy are two critical areas where stem cell transplant could soon provide a cure. We are hopeful of bringing home some therapeutic products in the next 18 months." It has been learnt that CordLife will bring about technologies from within the group's portfolio. Besides the help of the network's global partners in the Netherlands, Australia and Indonesia will be taken by means of close associations with institutions locally to encourage therapeutic applications in India. Furthermore, the company has been found to dedicate Rs 30 crore to make stem cell therapy "a reality and cord blood banking accessible across India".

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Newsletter of North East India Research Forum ¾ Global warming could create 'dead zones' in oceans Scientists in Denmark say global warming could create dead zones (Low-oxygen areas known as dead zones) in oceans that could remain for thousands of years. The study used a computer model to simulate global warming in over the next 100,000 years. The worst-case scenario — if emissions continue at their current rate — would have carbon dioxide concentrations increase to 1,168 ppm by 2100, a three-fold increase.The oceans would get warmer and water circulation would slow down which in turn diminishes the ability of oxygen to dissolve in sea water This would bring about a dramatic drop in oxygen levels in vast ocean tracts. (Source – BBC) ¾ CSIR's institute to get autonomous university status The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)'s upcoming Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (AIST) got clearance by the Central Government on Thursday to be an autonomous university. The university will like to offer many courses like various innovative courses that have never been offered in India. The university will be spread across CSIR's 30 laboratories in the country. (Source: Express news service) ¾ New Catalyst : Ethanol-powered Fuel Cells A team of scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Delaware and Yeshiva University, has developed a new catalyst that could make ethanol-powered fuel cells feasible. The highly efficient catalyst performs two crucial, and previously unreachable steps needed to oxidize ethanol and produce clean energy in fuel cell reactions. With the help of platinum and rhodium atoms on carbon-supported tin

dioxide nanoparticles, the research team’s electrocatalyst is capable of breaking carbon bonds at room temperature and efficiently oxidizing ethanol into carbon dioxide as the main reaction product. Scientists claimed, “The ability to split the carbon-carbon bond and generate CO2 at room temperature is a completely new feature of catalysis. There are no other catalysts that can achieve this at practical potentials.” (Source: www.sciencedaily.com)

¾ First Gene Discovered For Most Common Form of Epilepsy An international team of researchers, led by investigators at Columbia University Medical Center, has uncovered the first gene linked to the most common type of epilepsy, called Rolandic epilepsy. The finding is the first step in unlocking the causes of common childhood epilepsies (a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizures) and developing more effective treatments. Children with Rolandic and other types of epilepsies are usually treated with drugs that prevent seizures by suppressing electrical activity in the entire brain. Pediatric neurologist Deb Pal, M.D., Ph.D., Columbia University research scientist in the Department of Psychiatry at the College of Physicians & Surgeons said, "Most epilepsies have a genetic influence, much of which has yet to be discovered. If we knew the actual genetic causes, then we could try to stop or reverse the processes that lead to seizures and other neurological impairments. This finding will hopefully help lead us to the right intervention." The findings also offer possible insights into the causes of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), speech dyspraxia (a speech disorder in which a person has a delay in speech development due to motor coordination difficulties), and developmental coordination disorder (DCD). Findings will be published in an advance online issue of the European Journal of Human Genetics on January 28, 2009. (Source:www.sciencedaily.com)

N. E. Quest; Volume 2, Issue 4, January 2009, 13

Newsletter of North East India Research Forum

NORTH EAST INDIANS MADE US PROUD 1. Prof. Dipak C. Jain has been dean of the

Kellogg School of Management, Evanston, Illinois since July 2001. Dean Jain is the Sandy and Morton Goldman Professor in Entrepreneurial Studies and a professor of marketing at the Kellogg School, where he has been a member of the faculty since 1987.

Prior to his appointment as Dean, he served as the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs for five years and worked closely with former Kellogg School Dean Donald P. Jacobs to set the agenda for the school’s curriculum, faculty and research activities. His student career was started in Tezpur (Assam), India. In 1976 he completed his bachelor’s degree in mathematics and statistics and was the Gold Medalist for the Best Graduate of the year from Darrang College. Then he completed his master in mathematical statistics from Gauhati University in India in 1978. He taught at Gauhati for the next five years before leaving for Dallas to pursue his PhD in marketing at the University of Texas. In addition to his positions at the Kellogg School, Dean Jain has been a visiting professor of marketing since 1989 at the Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. During this period he has gathered a numerous number of awards in his credit including Sidney Levy Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1995; the Outstanding Educator Award from the State of Assam in India in 1982; the Gold Medal from Jaycees International in 1976; the Youth Merit Award from Rotary International in 1976; and the Jawaharlal Nehru Merit Award, Government of India in 1976. He was a

former member of the editorial board of the Journal of Marketing Research. His research Interests: Market segmentation and competitive market structure analysis,

new product diffusion, forecasting models, pricing models, analyzing the impact of marketing mix variables on consumer purchase behavior 2. Dr. Matiur Rahman is Professor of Applied Mathematics and Fluid Mechanics in the Department of Engineering Mathematics of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada. He had received his BSc (Hons) (1962) from Cotton College, and MSc (1964) from Gauhati University. Then he moved to Imperial College, UK from where he received DIC (1969) and MPhil (1969) from London University, UK. He received his PhD (1973) from Windsor University, Canada and his DSc (Eng) (1992) from London University, UK.

His long list of awards includes the Fellow of the Institute of Mathematics and Its Applications (FIMA), in 1991, a Chartered Mathematician of IMA, and in 1992 the American Biographical Institute selected him as Man of the Year, WIT (UK) Eminent Scientists Award for his outstanding research contributions in Fluid Mechanics Science. At the International Conference on Advances in Fluid Mechanics held at Lisbon, Portugal 2224 March 2004, Professor Rahman, was admitted as a Fellow of Wessex Institute of Great Britain (FWIGB). He was also presented with a certificate for his outstanding research and leadership in the field of Fluid Mechanics. He was also been felicitated for his outstanding research and teaching accomplishments by the Assam Sahitya Sabha at its 68th Open Session held at Sipajhar, Assam, India on 19 February 2005. Professor Rahman has published 17 textbooks and research monographs and over 250 research papers in refereed journals and proceedings. Professor Rahman has been awarded the 2001 Outstanding Academic Title Award for his

N. E. Quest; Volume 2, Issue 4, January 2009, 14

Newsletter of North East India Research Forum book Mathematical Methods with Applications by the CHOICE Magazine, which is published by the Association of College and Research Libraries in the USA. This book has been chosen to be one of the “best of the best”' among the 23,000 books reviewed by CHOICE in the year 2001. Professor Rahman is currently Managing Editor of the international series on Advances in Fluid Mechanics, published by WIT Press, UK, 50 volumes of which has been published since it was created by him in 1993. Research interests: in areas of waves and hydrodynamic loading, fluid-structure interaction, natural convection flows with diffusion and reaction, stability of tubular chemical flow reactors, temperature stratification in large bodies of water, and nonlinear ocean waves.

------------------//---------------------Do you know? Major portions of the habitat that live in North-east India are tribes inhabit. • Arunachal Pradesh has 26 major tribes and a number of sub tribes with their own patois and cultural identities. • Nagaland has 16 major tribes along with other sub-tribes. • Manipur has 29 tribes communities. • The major tribes in Mizoram are Lushais,

Hmar, Mara, Paite, Lai, Ralte. •Tripura has a total of 19 tribes and all tribes have their own festivals, rituals and customs. The Mog tribes of Tripura have come to inhabit the land in 957 AD • Meghalaya tribes can mainly be classified into three groups - Garos, Khasis and Pnars or Jaintias • Assam, excluding the autonomous districts, contains 9 major tribes.

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EVENTS AND NEWS FROM NORTH EAST INDIA A supercomputing facility, PARAM Sheersh, for bioinformatics and computational biology was formally inaugurated at the North Eastern Hill University in Shillong on 5 January, 2009 was inaugurated by Prof M.G.K. Menon. Developed by Pune-based Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC), the facility will take up in conducting research in strategic areas of Weather, Seismic, Bio-informatics, Physics, Computational Fluid Dynamics, Material Sciences and Life Sciences. PARAM Sheersh facility consists of 4 TF peak supercomputing power along with 10 TB High Performance storage scratch space and 24 TB on-line storage. (Source: UNI) An asteroid which was discovered on November 21, 2000 by the Lincoln Laboratory Near Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) team in Socorro, USA has been named after Nandini Sarma as '23228 Nandinisarma' to honor her research. Nandini Sarma who won the first place at the 2007 Intel International Science & Engineering Fair for her Microbiology project. She is currently residing in US and has been conducting research to find solutions to common health hazards and her prize-winning research focused on natural food preservatives. She has proved that garlic can effectively replace synthetic chemical preservatives. December 27, 2008, another remarkable day for the NE Region. Former President APJ Abdul Kalam inaugurated the 16th National Children Science Congress at Dimapur, Nagaland.

N. E. Quest; Volume 2, Issue 4, January 2009, 15

Newsletter of North East India Research Forum This event gives a unique opportunity to children from age group of 10 to 17 years to quench their thirst for scientific knowledge. Around 600 child scientists and 200 teachers are expected to participate in the event, besides 1,000 to 1,200 people. The theme of the mega event was ‘Planet Earth, Our Home: Explore, Care & Share’. The 96th Indian Science Congress was held in NEHU, Shillong from 3rd January 2009. Rich biodiversity, disaster management and traditional knowledge of the northeast was the key issues for the congress. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inaugurated the congress which has been first time hosted in NE region. The theme this year is "Science Education and Attraction of Talent for Excellence in Research". About 23 states participated with over 200 students putting up more than 100 stalls, representing states such as Uttarkhand, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, as well as the NE states. In absence of former President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, Professor M.G.K. Menon, who is also the Chancellor of the NEHU, inaugurated the Children Science Congress. M.S. Swaminathan, father of India’s green revolution, put forwarded the concept for the region to adopt to preserve its rich biodiversity in his lecture on the second day of the National Science Congress on the North Eastern Hill University (Nehu) campus. According to Swaminathan, “Evergreen revolution would mean the need to carry out organic agriculture, maintaining the ecology of the Northeast,” explaining that every species of flora was precious and needed care. “The Northeast is one of the 12 mega-bio diversity areas of the country and this itself indicates the urgency of tapping the region’s potential by the indigenous communities.” He also called for tapping floriculture in the Northeast, as the orchids and other flowers are

in high demand in India and abroad. He said orchids are believed to have evolved in the region. “Of the 1,300 species belonging to 158 genera reported from India, the Northeast has the highest concentration with nearly 700 species of orchids.” Attention should be given to conserve many vanishing species, like the 34 species of orchids from the region that are listed among are should be in much priority. He also mentioned the “sacred groves” of Meghalaya — the community-preserved trees — and said this concept of local conservation tradition could be used to create a herbal biovalley. The 21 January, 2009, the crying crow spread the sad news that Mohinibala Rabha; wife of ‘Kola Guru’, freedom fighter Bishnu Rabha, is no more with us. She was also a soldier of India’s freedom movement and finally she dedicated her entire life just serving for the social and cultural improvement of our region without looking any personal benefit. Her lost has definitely created a never ending vacuum to our society. -----------//------------

Do you know? Tibeto-Burman populations have derived from more than one common source. The Adi and other Tibeto-Burman speaking populations of India are regionally well differentiated and exhibit genetic affinity with the neighbouring populations of East/Southeast Asia, based on their shared ethno-history – results reported based on 15 autosomal microsatellite markers (STR) genetic evaluation study by Dr T.S. Vasulu and colleagues at the Indian Statistical Institute on one of the remotely located tribal cluster - the Adi, a Tibeto-Burman-speaking tribe of Arunachal Pradesh. (Source: http://esciencenews.com)

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Newsletter of North East India Research Forum

NORTH EAST INDIA RESEARCH FORUM MEMBERS IN NEWS, AWARDS / FELLOWSHIP RECEIVED BY MEMBERS

Assistant Professor in Mechanical Eng. Dept. of Indian Institute of Technology-Patna,

Dr. Biswajit Saha, a research a Research Scientist at Chembiotek Research International Ltd., Kolkata, have received the Humboldt fellowship for postdoctoral Research (2008-2009) in Germany and has joined as Guest Scientist (Humboldt fellowship) in the Department of Organic Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Chemnitz University of Technology, Chemnitz, Germany. He obtained his Ph.D in Chemistry from Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, India

Dr. Binoy Kumar Saikia, presently in Tezpur University, Assam has given a offer from Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Kolkata for a post doctorate fellowship to work on protein crystallography.

Dr. Ankur Bordoloi has joined as postdoctoral Fellow at Center for Catalysis Research and Innovation Dept. of Chemistry, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Dr. Sahid Hussain has joined as Assistant Professor in IIT-Patna at Department of Chemistry in December 2008. He received his M.Sc. from Cotton College, and PhD from IIT-Guwahati under Prof. Mihir K Chaudhrui in 2007 and then he worked for more than a year at Nnanophotonics and Nanomedical Lab in Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), Korea as a postdoctoral fellow.

approximately in the first week of March, 2009.

Mr. Satyanya Bharadwaj of IIT, Guwahati, a PhD student under Prof. M.K. Chaudhury; Mr. Sonit K Gogoi of IIT Guwahati, PhD student under Dr. Anumita Paul and Mr. Subrato Das of Department of Chemical Sciences, Central University, Tezpur, student of Dr. Ashim J Thakur have been selected as young scientists by the Indian Department of Science and Technology (DST) to attend the 59th Annual Meeting of the Nobel Laureates and students in Lindau, Germany. The group will visit Germany for two weeks, which included the Lindau-Meet and visits to various premier German research institutions. Pranjal Saikia will be joining as a Post Doctoral Research Fellow at the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Cincinnati, USA from 1st February, 2009. He has completed his doctoral thesis work under the supervision of Dr. B M Reddy, Deputy Director, IICT Hyderabad. Dr. Manabendra Pathak, presently working as a Postdoctoral fellow in Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Israel; will join as

Dr. Manabendra Sarma has joined as a Senior Lecturer at Department of chemistry, IIT-Guwahati, in May 2008. After completing his M.Sc from IIT-Guwahati in 2002 and he has completed his PhD under the supervision of Prof. Manoj K. Mishra from IIT-Bombay.

Mahananda Chutia, has recently joined as a Scientist-B under Central Silk Board, Bangalore and posted at Central Muga Eri Research & Training Institute (CMER&TI), Lahdoigarh, Jorhat. After completing his M.Sc. in Botany (Microbiology) from Gauhati University in 2003, he joined North East Institute of Science& Technology (NEIST), Jorhat in a project and presently he also pursuing his PhD in the Department of Biotechnology, Gauhati University.

-------//-------“When people go to work, they shouldn't have to leave their hearts at home”. -- Betty Bender

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Newsletter of North East India Research Forum

GUEST COLUMN Bioactive secondary metabolites from selected plants and their endophytic microorganisms:Problems and Prospects Dr. Debananda Ningthoujam Preamble Endophytes are microorganisms that colonize the interior of healthy plants without causing any discernible disease symptoms to their host. They can be isolated from plant tissues using strict surface sterilization methods (Schultz et al., 1993; Zhi-Qi et al., 2006) .Compared to rhizosphere microbes, endophytes have a more intimate relationship with the host plants. Endophytes, of late, have been shown to produce diverse secondary metabolites including cytotoxic and anticancer compounds. Secondary metabolite: definition Secondary metabolites, sometimes referred to as also as natural products, are products of metabolism in plants, animals, and microorganisms that are not essential for normal growth, development, or reproduction of the organism, i.e. these are metabolites that are ‘secondary’ to these normal life processes. However it is increasingly becoming a debatable issue whether they are not absolutely essential or, at lest, not conferring any benefits whatsoever to the host organism(s) producing them. One can only say that they are less essential to the normal functioning of the organism as compared to ‘primary metabolites’ such as acetyl CoA or other products generated during glycolysis or TCA cycle etc. Most bioactive compounds from plants or microbes are secondary metabolites. Need for novel bioactive metabolites Worldwide people are threatened with new diseases such as cancer, AIDS, SARS, Bird Flu, Chikangunya etc. associated with increasing environmental degradation, climate change, global warming and biodiversity erosion (Guo et al., 2008). Hence there is imperative need for discovery of novel bioactive compounds. Endophytes are promising sources of novel natural products for use in medicine, agriculture, industry, and

environment etc. (Bacon et al., 2000; Strobel & Daisy, 2003). Each of the 3,00,000 plant species on earth is host to one or more endophytesbacteria, fungi, and actinobacteria (Strobel & Daisy, 2003). A rough estimate says there may be more than 1 million endophytic spp., but only a handful of them have been characterized so far (Petrini, 1991). This calls for renewed research efforts on endophytes all over the world. Because of their versatility, endophytic microorganisms have been appropriately called ‘chemical factories’ inside the plants (Owen & Hundley, 2004). What are endophytes? The term endophyte (Gr. Endon, within; phyton, plant) was first coined by de Bary (de Bary, 1866) and has become deeply embedded in the literature since then (Rai et al., 2007). Kado (1992) defined endophytes as, “bacteria that reside within living plant tissues without doing substantive harm or gaining benefit other than securing residence”. Quispel (1992) considered endophytes as, “bacteria that establish an endosymbiotic relationship with the plant, whereby the plant receives an ecological benefit from the presence of the symbionts, such as increased stress tolerance or plant growth promotion. According to Hallman et al. (1977) defined an endophyte as, “any bacterium that does not visibly harm the plant and can be isolated from surfacedisinfected plant tissue or extracted from inside the plant”. This definition includes internal colonies-neutral as well as symbionts”. The definition of an endophyte has evolved over time (Conn & Franco, 2004); the most precise definition is, “fungi or bacteria, which for all or part of their life cycle, invade the tissues of living plants and cause unapparent and asymptomatic infections entirely within plant tissues, but cause no symptoms of disease (Wilson, 1995). The question remains, however, whether endophytes must be considered symbionts, commensals, mutualists, or mild pathogens.

N. E. Quest; Volume 2, Issue 4, January 2009, 18

Newsletter of North East India Research Forum Historical background One of the earliest publications on an endophytic fungus was by Freeman (1904), referring to four other papers on endophytes published in 1898. Freeman found the endophytic fungus in Persian darnel (annual grass). Grasses with high endophyte content are often resistant to attack by certain herbivores or insects. Endophytes have then been isolated from several trees and horticultural plants, e.g. apple and kiwifruit. They have since then been found in virtually all plant species studied including medicinal plants. Other than bacterial pathogens, there is no evidence that endophytic bacteria show the same host specificity, though several fungal endophytes have been shown to exhibit host specificity, e.g. fescue and ryegrass endophytes. The first actinobacterial endophyte isolate was Frankia, which is N-fixing actinobacterium that forms actinorhizae with 8 families of angiosperms (Provorov et al., 2002). Strobel (Fig 1) et al. at Montana State University, USA has work intensively on endophytes esp. fungi and explore them in several tropical rainforests. According to him, rainforests are the most promising sources of endophytes. He has isolated several novel endophytic microbes producing bioactive compounds such as antibiotics.

Fig. 1 Gary Promising screening targets: which plants are promising? ¾ Plants in unique environments ¾ Plants with extreme longevity ¾ Plants with ethnobotanical history

¾ Plants growing in biodiversity hotspots or in unique endemic locations. Plants in unique environments are more likely to host endophytes which can generate secondary metabolites that will assist the planet’s survival and healthy growth. The promising biotopes for exploring endophytes are: • Tropical forests • Arid lands • Marine coral environments Endophytes from tropical regions produce significantly more bioactive secondary metabolites than those from temperate parts of the world (Shimizu et al., 2000) It is to be expected that even plants growing in cultivated gardens host endophytes. Endophytic Microorganisms: The major groups of endophytic microbes are: A. Fungi B. Bacteria C. Actinomycetes Some actinobacterial endophytes reported in the literature and their host plants are shown in Table 1. Bioactive metabolites: Endophytic microorganisms have been shown to elaborate a plethora of bioactive metabolites. They exhibit antimicrobial, antiviral, herbicidal, plant growth promoting, biocontrol, antimalarial, anticancer, and various activities. Some major categories of bioactive metabolites produce by endophytic microbes are as follows: • Antibacterial antibiotics • Antifungal agents • Antiviral compounds • Antimalarial agents • Herbicidal compounds • Phytohormones • Cytotoxic compounds Anticancer and cytotoxic agents from endophytes: Several endophytic microbes have recently been shown to be a promising source of anticancer agents. Though fungal endophytes have been the predominant source earlier, actinomycete endophytes have recently

N. E. Quest; Volume 2, Issue 4, January 2009, 19

Newsletter of North East India Research Forum become a prolific source of antitumor and cytotoxic compounds. Table 2 lists some prominent anticancer metabolite-producing endophytic actinomycetes and their host plants. Besides cytotoxic compounds, endophytic actinomycetes have proved to be versatile producers of a variety of secondary metabolites including antifungal, antimalarial, and antibacterial agents. Some biotechnologically significant bioactive metabolites elaborated by actinomycete endophytes that have been reported recently are shown in Table 3.

(Conn & Franco, 2004) whereas Streptomyces, Microbispora, Micromonospora and Nocardioides were found as dominant endophytic genera in cultivation-based approaches (Conn & Franco, 2004). An endophytic-host Snake vine (Kennedia nigriscans) is shown is Fig.2 and an endophytic Streptomyces sp is shown on Fig. 3.

Predominant endophytic actinomycetes: Conn & Franco (2003) isolated actinobacteria from surface-sterilized wheat roots. The major actinobacaterial genera based on cultivation methods were Streptomyces, Microbispora, Micromonospora, and Nocardioides. Many of these isolates were active against R. solani, Pythium spp., and G. graminis var. tritici (In vivo and in planta; Coombs et al., 2004) Dominant genera found, based on T-RFLP patterns were: • Mycobacterium, Rhodococcus, Streptomyces, Nocardia and and Geodermatophilus in plants from Swedes flat soil • Streptomyces, Arthrobacter, Kineococcuslike isolates, Amycolatopsis, Nocardia in plants from Red loamy soil • Kitasatospora and Mycobacterium in plants from West flat soil Actinomycetes identified as endophytes are Arthrobacter, Kitasatospora, Micromonospora, Microbispora, Nocardia, Nocardioides, Streptomyces and tsukamurella (Araujo et al., 2002 from citrus; Coombs & Franko, 2003 from wheat; Doumbon et al., 2001 from potato; Garveva et al., 2001 (potato); Sturz et al., 1999 (potato). Streptomyces is a ubiquitous endophyte and have been found in Ficus, Dieffenbachia, Allium porrum, Brassica oteracera and Quercus sp. (Sardi et al., 1992). The predominant actinobacterial genus based on molecular methods was Mycobacterium followed by Streptomyces

Fig. 2 Snake vine (Kennedia nigriscans)

Fig.3 Streptomyces sp.

Applications of endophytes: Besides producing antimicrobial, antimalarial, and anticancer agents, endophytic microbes especially fungal strains have also been recently considered as potential biological fumigants of fresh fruit. Muscodor albus (fungal endophyte, Fig.4) volatiles inhibited and killed a wide range of storage pathogens-Bortrytis, Colletotrichum, Geotrichum, Monilinia, and Rhizopus. Since M. albus is a sterile mycelium and does not require direct contact with the crops to be treated, it could be an attractive biological fumigant for controlling post-harvest diseases (Mercier & Jimenez, 2004).

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Newsletter of North East India Research Forum Dept. of Biochemistry, MU has already initiated isolation of rare endophytic actinomycetes from endemic plants including medicinal plants in Manipur. Work on endophytes of Leibaak kundo and Damdawi plant have already begun. Several interesting actinomycetes strains isolated & bioactivity assay is being undertaken. Endophytic actinomycetes from bamboo leaves and other promising plants in Manipur are our next target.

Fig.4 Muscodor albus Conclusion Endophytes are a poorly investigated group of microorganisms that represent an abundant and dependable source of bioactive and chemically novel compounds with potential for use in diverse medical, agricultural, and industrial applications (Strobel et al., 2005). The mechanisms of endophyte function must be better understood to be more predictive about which higher plants to seek, study, and spend time isolating bioactive compounds. This may facilitate the product discovery process. Although work on the utilization of this vast resource of poorly understood microbes has just begun, it has already become obvious that an enormous potential for organism, product, and utilitarian discovery in this field holds exciting possibilities. One of the major problems facing the future of endophyte biology and natural product discovery is the rapidly diminishing rainforests and other forested areas which hold the greatest possible resource for acquiring novel microorganisms and their products. The total land-mass of the world that currently supports rainforests is about the size of USA (Mittermeier et al., 1999). Each year, an area the size of Vermont or more is lost to anthropogenic activities. As entire plant species disappears, few bother about the consequent loss of microbial diversity. When a plant species disappears, so too does its entire suite of associated endophytes. Introduction of endophyte research at Manipur University (MU) The research group at Molecular Biotechnology Research Laboratory (MBRL),

What is to be done? Multi-step processes are now needed to secure information and life-forms before they continue to be lost. Areas of our planet that are unique places housing biodiversity need immediate conservation. Biodiversity-rich regions and areas such as North Eastern India and Manipur need to establish information bases of their biodiversity and at the same time begin to make regional and area-specific collection centres of medicinal plants and microorganisms (including endophytes) that live within these areas. Endophytes are only one example of a life form that holds enormous promise to impact many areas of human existence. The problem of the loss of biodiversity should be one of concern to the entire world (Strobel et al., 2005). References (only selected one are listed here): • Araujo, W.L., Maccheroni, W., AguilarVildosa, C.L., Barrosa, P.A.V., Saridakis, H.O., and Azevedo, J.L. (2001). Variability and interactions between endophytic bacte4ria and fungi isolated from leaf tissues of citrus rootstocks. Can. J. Microbiol. 47: 229-236. • Conn, V.M. and Franco, C.M.M. (2004). Effect of microbial inoculants on the indigenous actinobacterial endophyte population in the roots of wheat as determined by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism. Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 70: 6407-6413. • Coombs, J.T., Michelsen P.P., and Franco C.M.M. (2004). Evaluation of endophytic actinobacteria as antagonists of

N. E. Quest; Volume 2, Issue 4, January 2009, 21

Newsletter of North East India Research Forum Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici in wheat. Biol. Control. 29: 257-268. • Hallmann, J., Quadt-Hallmann, A., Mahaffee, W.F., and Kloepper, J.W. (1997). Bacterial endophytes in agricultural crops. Canadian J. Microbiol. 43: 895-914. • Kado, C.I. (1992). Plant pathogenic bacteria. In: The Prokaryotes. pp. 660-662. Ballows, A., Truper, G.G., Dworkin, M., Harder, W., and Schleifer, K.-H., Eds., Springer-Verleg, New York. • Mano, H., Tanaka, F., Nakamura, C., Kaga, H., and Morisaki, H. (2007). Culturable endophytic bacterial flora of the maturing leaves and roots of rice plants (Oryza sativa) cultivated in a paddy field. Microbes Environ. 22: 175-185. • Mano, H., Tanaka, F., Watanabe, A., Kaga, H., Okunishi, S., and Morisaki, H. (2006). Culturable surface and endophytic bacterial flora of the maturing seeds of rice plants (Oryza sativa) cultivated in a paddy field. Microbes Environ. 21: 86-100. • Quispel, A. (1992). A search for signals in endophytic microorganisms. In: Molecular Signals in Plant-Microbe Communications. pp. 471-490. Verma, D.P.S., Eds. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL. • Shimizu, M., Nakagawa, Y., Sato, Y., Furumai, T., Igarashi, Y., Onaka, H., Yoshida, R., and Kunoh, H. (2000). Studies on endophytic actinomycetes (1). Streptomyces sp. isolated from rhododendron and its antifungal activity. J. Gen. Plant Pathol. 66: 360-366. • Strobel, G., Daisy, B., and Castillo, U. (2005). The biological promise of microbial endophytes and theirs natural products. Plant Pathol. J. 4: 161-176. • Strobel, G., & Daisy, B. (2003). Bioprospecting for Microbial Endophytes and Their Natural Products. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. 67: 491-502. • Zhi-Qi, Q., Li-Xiang, C., Hong-Ming, T., and Shi-Ning, Z. (2006). Isolation and characterization of endophytic Streptomyces sp. S5 with herbicidal activity from tomato roots. Chinese J. Agricul. Biotechnol. 3: 712.

Table 1: Bacterial endophytes & their host plants Endophytes Actinobacteria Arthrobacter globiformis Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens Kocuria varians

Host plant Maize Citrus plants Marigold

Lichen Rice (seed)

Mano et al., 2006

Rice (seed)

Mano et al., 2006

Rice (leaf)

Mano et al., 2007

Rice (leaf) Rice (root)

Mano et al., 2007 Mano et al., 2007

Rice (root)

Mano et al., 2007

Cereal plants

Coombs et al., 2004

Lupin

Igarashi et al., 2007 Tuntiwachwuttikul et al., 2008 Kim et al., 2006

Marigold

Nocardia sp Streptomyces (sp) Nocardioides exalbibidus Curtobacterium sp. Micrococcus luteus Curtobacterium sp. Streptomyces sp. Mycobacterium petroleophilum Micrococcus luteus Streptomyces , microbispora, micromonospora nocardiodes Micromonospora lupini Streptomyces sp. SUCA Streptomyces strain MS53 Actinoplanes missouriensis Streptomyces albus Corynebacterium spp Actinomycesc sp

Citrus plants Wheat

Streptomyces sp R5

Chelius & Triplett, 2000a Araujo et al., 2002 Sturz & Kimpinski, 2004 Sturz & Kimpinski, 2004 Zinniel et al., 2002 Conn & Franco, 2004; Prittila et al., 2002 Araujo et al., 2002 Coombs & Franco, 2003a Li et al., 2007

Microbacterium esteraromaticum Microbacterium testaceum Mycobacterium sp.

Streptomyces sp

Reference

Maize Wheat, scots pine

Ficus benjamina Ricinus communis Lupin

El-Tarabily ,2003

Tobacco

Lukic et al., 1972

Jacaranda decurrenes Jacaranda decurrenes Aegiceras comiculatum Rhododendron

Carrim et al., 2006 Carrim et al., 2006 Lin et al., 2005 Shimizu et al., 2000

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Table 2: Anticancer compounds from endophytic actinomycetes: Endophyte Kitasatospora sp. str. P&U 22869 Nonomuraea pusilla TPA0861 Actinosynnema pretiosum

Host

Plant part

Metabolite

Activity

Target/Mode of action

Reference

Taxus baccata

---

Paclitaxel

Cytotoxic

---

Caruso et al., 2000

Soybean

Root

Myxochelin A

Antitumor

---

Miyanaga et al., 2006

---

---

Ansamitocinoside P-2

Cytotoxic

---

Lu et al., 2004

Cytotoxic (and Anti-S. aureus and M. tuberculosis)

---

Zhao et al., 2005

---

Streptomyces sp. ls9131

Maytenus hookeri

Seed

Dinactin, nonactin, cyclononactic and cyclohomononactic acids

Streptomyces thermoviolaceus TP-A0648

---

---

Anicemycin

Cytotoxic

Nocardia sp.

---

---

Ansamitocin

Anticancer

Streptomyces laceyi M553

Ricinus communis L.

Stem

Salaceyins A & B

Antitumor

---

Kim et al., 2006

Streptomyces sp. DSM 11575

Alnus glutinosa

Root nodule

Alnumycin

Cytotoxic (and antibacterial)

---

Bieber et al., 1997

Micromonospora lupine sp. nov.

---

---

Lupinacidins A & B (Anthraquinones)

---

---

Igarashi et al., 2007

Streptomyces sp. SUC1

Ficus benjaminica

Aerial roots

Lansai A-D

Anticancer (and antifungal)

---

Tuntiwachwuttikul et al., 2008)

Zingiber officinale

Root

4-Arylcoumarins

Anticancer

---

Tachowisan et al., 2007, 2003a, 2003b

Salicornia herbacea(marine plant, China)

---

Novel anthraquinone

Cytotoxic

HL-60, BCTC-823, MDA-MB435

---

---

New chromone and anthraquinone

cytotoxic

---

---

---

Anthraquinone

Anticancer

---

Streptomyces aureofaciens CMUAc130 Streptomyces sp. FX-58 Streptomyces sp. Fx-58 Micromonospora lupine sp. nov.

--Higashide et al., 1977

Huang et al., 2006

-doIgarashi et al., 2007

N. E. Quest; Volume 2, Issue 4, January 2009, 23

Newsletter of North East India Research Forum Table 3: Bioactive metabolites from selected endophytic actinomycetes of some medicinal plants Endophyte

Host

Metabolite

Activity

Kitasatospora sp.

Taxus baccata

Paclitaxel

Cytotoxic

Reference Caruso et al., 2000 Castillo et al., 2002 Castillo et al., 2003

Streptomyces sp. NRRL 30562 Streptomyces sp. NRRL 30566

Snake vine

Munumbicins

Antibiotic and Antimalarial

Grevillea pteridifolia

Kakadumicins

Antibiotic

Streptomyces sp.

Monstera sp.

Coronamycin

Antifungal and antimalarial

Streptomyces aureofaciens Streptomyces sp ls 9131

Zingiber officinale Maytenus hookeri

4-arylcoumarins

Cytotoxic

Dinactin, nonactin etc.

Antibacterial and antitumour

Zhao et al., 2005

Streptomyces sp

Allium fistulosum

Fistupyrone

Antifungal

Aremu et al., 2003; Igarashi et al., 2006

About the author:

Dr. Debananda Ningthoujam from Manipur, did his B.Sc (1982) from NEHU, Shillong, M.Sc (1985) from Jawaharlal Nahru University, Delhi. Then he did his PhD from Nagpur University in the year 1999. He is at present serving as the head of the department of Bichemistry, Manipur University, Imphal. His area of research includes, Microbial degradation of nitroaromatic compounds, microbial diversity of soil actinomycetes in Manipur, exploration of PGP bacteria in Manipur. He has written several book chapters apart from peer reviewed publications. He is also actively involved in many projects for popularizing science in the hilly state of Manipur. He writes regularly in the newspaper and internet and can be seen in the TV channels frequently. -----------//----------Melody: Three handsome male dogs are walking down the street when they see a beautiful, enticing, female Poodle.

Ezra et al., 2004 Taechowisan al., 2003

et

The three male dogs fall all over themselves in an effort to be the one to reach her first, but arrived in front of her at the same time. The males are speechless before her beauty, slobbering on themselves and hoping for just a glance from her in return. Aware of her charms and her obvious effect on the three suitors, she decides to be kind and tells them, "The first one who can use the words 'liver' and 'cheese' together in an imaginative, intelligent sentence can go out with me." The sturdy, muscular black Lab speaks up quickly and says, "I love liver and cheese." "Oh, how childish," said the Poodle. "That shows no imagination or intelligence whatsoever." She turns to the tall, shiny Golden Retriever and says "How well can you do?" "Um. I HATE liver and cheese," blurts the Golden Retriever. "My, my," said the Poodle. "I guess it's hopeless. That's just as dumb as the Lab's sentence." She then turns to the last of the three dogs and says, "How about you, little guy?" The last, tiny in stature but big in fame and finesse, is the Taco Bell Chihuahua. He gives her a smile, a sly wink, turns to the Golden Retriever and the Lab and says.... Liver alone. Cheese mine. (Collection) -------------//-----------

N. E. Quest; Volume 2, Issue 4, January 2009, 24

Newsletter of North East India Research Forum ARTICLE The World Class Universities and Rankings -Dr. Abdul Wahab Introduction These days the term “World Class” is widely used in the discussions regarding the status of academic institutions or infrastructure. With rapid industrialization many developing nations are wishing or investing to establish world class universities towards the aspiration of societal and educational excellence. India is not an exception because in the modern world, universities are the key elements in driving economic development and in facing the challenges of global competition. But, what does it mean to be a World Class University? What makes a university world class? What are the criteria for the world ranking of universities? The dictionary defines world class as "ranking among the foremost in the world; of an international standard of excellence." The concept of a world class university loosely reflects the norms and values of the world’s dominant research-oriented academic institutions – especially the United States and the major Western European countries. Major factors of World Class Universities There is no absolute set of performance criteria or benchmarks for world class universities. However, there is wide agreement on four major factors which are central to a world class university. Those are (a) academic excellence and freedom, (b) research, development and dissemination of knowledge, (c) permeable academic boundaries, and (d) adequate funding and facilities. (a) A world class university must show commitment to breadth and excellence in all fields of human inquiry – education – not simply in a particular branch or faculty. Of course, uniform excellence across all fields of study is an ideal that no university achieves in practice, but it is a prerequisite ambition. The excellence in education is directly linked to the resources and organization of undergraduate, graduate, and

professional instructions and educational opportunities for students. All these require outstanding faculty, high quality teaching and other instructional activities as well as highly prepared and motivated students. These necessitate a vibrant internal selfgovernance system. World class universities produce students who will go on to be leaders in all walks of life. Academic freedom and an atmosphere of intellectual excitement are crucial to a world class university. This means that professors and students must be free to pursue knowledge wherever it leads and to publish their work freely without fear of sanction by either academic of external authority. In many countries, academic freedom also extends to expression of opinions by members of the academic community on social and political issues. (b) Excellence in research underpins the idea of a world class university. That is, world class universities engage in cutting-edge research whilst at the same time teaching the next generation. Much of the talk about world class universities centers around the production of exciting discoveries and contributions to the economy and to human enrichment through the development of cultural knowledge. So, for making outstanding research possible, top-quality professors and students are, of course, central. And to attract and retain the best academic staff, favorable working conditions must be available. These include arrangements for job security – many countries call it tenure – and appropriate salaries and benefits. (c) World class universities have permeable boundaries. This means encouraging interdisciplinary research and teaching; it means working with the private sector, for example, fostering and encouraging partnerships with industry; and it means encouraging international collaboration at various levels. World class universities look outward, and think beyond conventional boundaries. World class universities educate students more and more of whom will go on to live and work in a range of cultures and societies. They must be well equipped for

N. E. Quest; Volume 2, Issue 4, January 2009, 25

Newsletter of North East India Research Forum life both from what is taught and from the other experiences or exposures offered to them. (d) Adequate facilities for academic work are essential – the most advanced and creative research and the most innovative teaching must have access to well equipped libraries and laboratories as well as to the Internet and other electronic resources. At the same time, adequate funding must be available to support the research and teaching as well as the other functions of the university. Maintaining a complex academic institution is always expensive and so support must be consistent and for longterm. The cost of maintaining a research university continues to grow because of the increasing complexity and cost of scientific research. Although research universities have the ability to generate significant funds through a variety of means, but there is no substitute for consistent and substantial public financial support. Without it, developing and sustaining a world class university is impossible. International Ranking of Universities Several organizations provide worldwide rankings of universities based on a range of academic and associated benchmarks. Some of these are: (a) The Academic Ranking of World Universities by Shanghai Jiao Tong University, which is a major Chinese project to provide independent rankings of universities around the world primarily to measure the gap between Chinese and world class universities. (b) The Times Higher Education, a British publication which in association with Quacquarelli Symonds (THE-QS), annually publishes a list of 200 top-ranked universities from around the world. (c) The Newsweek magazine of United States published a ranking of the Top 100 Global Universities in 2006, utilizing some selected criteria from the Academic Ranking of World Universities by Shanghai Jiao Tong University and The Times Higher Education as well as the additional criteria of library holdings. (d) The Webometrics Ranking of world universities is compiled

by the Cybermetrics Lab, a unit of the National Research Council, the main public research body in Spain. It is offering information about 4,000 universities since 2004 according to their web-presence over a database of 16,000 universities worldwide. Institutions from developing countries benefit from this policy as they obtain knowledge of their current position even if they are not world class (eg, the latest world ranking of IIT-Guwahati is 3,770). (e) The École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris established the Professional Ranking of world universities in 2007 to measure the efficiency of each university on a professional basis. Its main compilation criterion is the number of Chief Executive Officers in the "500 leading worldwide companies" as measured by revenue who studied in each university. Among these rankings of universities, two main studies and in fact much publicized and referred are the Academic Ranking of World Universities by Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) and the World University Rankings by Times Higher Education (THE-QS). 1. The Academic Ranking of World Universities by SJTU The Academic Ranking of World Universities is compiled by the Institute of Higher Education at Shanghai Jiao Tong University starting from 2003. Table 1 shows the latest 20 top-ranked universities along with two ranked Indian universities. Rankings are based upon several indicators of academic and research performance. For each indicator, the highest scoring institution is assigned a score of 100, and other institutions are calculated as a percentage of the top score. The distribution of data for each indicator is examined for any significant distorting effect; and standard statistical techniques are used to adjust the indicator if necessary. Scores for each indicator are weighted as follows: alumni winning Nobel Prizes and Field Medals (10 percent) which reflect education quality; staff winning Nobel Prizes and Fields Medals (20 percent) and highly-cited

N. E. Quest; Volume 2, Issue 4, January 2009, 26

Newsletter of North East India Research Forum Table 1: Academic Ranking of World Universities 2008 by SJTU World rank

Institution

Country

National rank

Score on alumni

Score on award

Score on HiCi

Score on N&S

Score on PUB

Score on PCP

Total score

1

Harvard Univ

US

1

100

100

100

100

100

74.1

100

2

Stanford Univ

US

2

40

78.7

86.6

68.9

71.6

66.9

73.7

3

Univ CaliforniaBerkeley

US

3

69

77.1

68.8

70.6

70

53

71.4

4

Univ Cambridge

UK

1

90.3

91.5

53.6

56

64.1

65

70.4

5

Massachusetts Inst Tech

US

4

71

80.6

65.6

68.7

61.6

53.9

69.6

6

California Inst Tech

US

5

52.8

69.1

57.4

66.1

49.7

100

65.4

7

Columbia Univ

US

6

72.4

65.7

56.5

52.3

70.5

46.6

62.5

8

Princeton Univ

US

7

59.3

80.4

61.9

40.5

44.8

59.3

58.9

9

Univ Chicago

US

8

67.4

81.9

50.5

39.5

51.9

41.3

57.1

10

Univ Oxford

UK

2

59

57.9

48.4

52

66

45.7

56.8

11

Yale Univ

US

9

48.5

43.6

57

55.7

62.4

48.7

54.9

12

Cornell Univ

US

10

41.5

51.3

54.1

52.3

64.7

40.4

54.1

13

Univ CaliforniaLos Angeles

US

11

24.4

42.8

57.4

48.9

75.7

36

52.4

14

Univ CaliforniaSan Diego

US

12

15.8

34

59.7

53

66.7

47.4

50.3

15

Univ Pennsylvania

US

13

31.7

34.4

58.3

41.3

69

39.2

49.0

16

Univ WashingtonSeattle

US

14

25.7

31.8

53.1

49.5

74.1

28

48.3

17

Univ WisconsinMadision

US

15

38.4

35.5

52.6

41.2

68.1

28.8

47.4

18

Univ CaliforniaSan Francisco

US

16

0

36.8

54.1

51.5

60.8

47.5

46.6

19

Tokyo Univ

Japan

1

32.2

14.1

43.1

51.9

83.3

35

46.4

20

Johns Hopkins Univ

US

17

45.8

27.8

43.1

48.7

68.5

24.8

45.5

303401

IIScBangalore

India

1-2

0

0

12.6

8.2

33

16.7

303401

IITKharagpur

India

1-2

0

0

10.3

4.8

28.8

14.3

N. E. Quest; Volume 2, Issue 4, January 2009, 27

Newsletter of North East India Research Forum researchers in 21 broad subject categories (20 percent) which measure quality of faculty; articles published in Nature and Science (20 percent) and article indexed in Science Citation Index, Social Sciences Citation Index, and Arts and Humanities Citation Index (20 percent) to account research output; and the per capita academic performance (on the indicators above) of an institution (10 percent). An institution's rank reflects the number of institutions that sit above it. 2. The World University Rankings by THE-QS The THE-QS World University Rankings is an annual publication that ranks the "Top 200 World Universities" to present a multi-faceted view of the relative strengths of the world's leading universities. They have been running since 2004 identifying four pillars as the basis for evaluation like research quality, teaching quality, graduate employability and international outlook. Accordingly the overall rankings are compiled based on the scores obtained from six distinct indicators (by their weightings): Academic Peer Review (40 percent), Employer Review (10 percent), Faculty Student Ratio (20 percent), Citations per Faculty (20 percent), International Faculty (5 percent), and International Students (5 percent). Table 2 shows the latest 20 topranked universities along with two ranked Indian institutions. The current ranking (2008) was based on a survey of 6,354 academics from across the world for the academic peer review score. Weightings are applied both geographically and by discipline to ensure as fair a representative spread as possible. The number of principal academic areas represented included science, technology, social science, biomedicine, and arts, approximately, equally represented in the survey. Furthermore, data were supplemented by opinions from the previous year to increase the consistency and reliability. These are combined with a series of measures including the number of times that research papers are cited by academics, staff-to-

student ratios, number of students and staff from abroad, and views of international employers on which universities they prefer to recruit from. Discussion and conclusion If one compares the two latest rankings of universities (2008), the Harvard University is ranked unanimously as the top by both – finds some reliability apparently. Cambridge is within the top 4 in both rankings. California Institute of Technology is in the top 6 in both rankings. Massachusetts, Oxford, Columbia and Chicago are all in the top 10. University of Tokyo is ranked 19 by both studies. Although 14 universities are listed in the top 20 according to both rankings, there are some large disparities between the two surveys. Stanford University, for instance, is ranked number two by the SJTU ranking, but placed at seventeen by the THE-QS ranking. Another example is the University of Yale, ranked number 11 by the SJTU, while THE-QS ranked it next to Harvard. There are five Californian universities ranked within 20 by the SJTU but no Californians are there within or near 20 in THE-QS ranking except California Institute of Technology. According to SJTU rankings, 17 of the 20 top-ranked universities are in the US, 2 are in the UK, and 1 from Japan. No Indian institution appeared within 300; nevertheless two institutions (IISc-Bangalore and IITKharagpur) are ranked at 303-401 range. While according to the THE-QS ranking, the top 20 universities are in 5 countries, 13 of them from US. All the 200 top universities are in 33 countries including India, and IITDelhi and IIT-Bombay are ranked at 154 and 174, respectively, although they could not make a place in the top 500 universities ranked by SJTU. Thus, it is quite clear that with the exception of the reputational rankings of the top 10-12 institutions, there is relatively wide disagreement on the status of other institutions. People speculate that the definition of a world class university is subjective. The subjective nature of world class status means

N. E. Quest; Volume 2, Issue 4, January 2009, 28

Newsletter of North East India Research Forum Table 2: World University Rankings 2008 by THE-QS Rank

Institution

Country

Peer review score

Employer review score

Staff/student score

Citations/staff score

International staff score

International student score

Overall score

1 2

Harvard Univ Yale Univ Univ Cambridge Univ Oxford California Inst Tech Imperial College London Univ College London Univ Chicago Massachusetts Inst Tech Columbia Univ Univ Pennsylvania Princeton Univ Duke Univ Johns Hopkins Univ Cornell Univ Australian National Univ Stanford Univ Univ Michigan Univ Tokyo McGill Univ IIT Delhi IIT Bombay

US US

100 100

100 100

96 100

100 98

87 89

81 71

100 99.8

UK

100

100

99

89

98

95

99.5

UK

100

100

100

85

96

96

98.9

US

100

74

98

100

100

93

98.6

UK

99

100

100

83

98

100

98.4

UK

96

99

100

89

96

100

98.1

US

100

99

98

91

78

83

98.0

US

100

100

90

100

33

94

96.7

US

100

99

98

94

29

89

96.3

US

97

98

88

99

83

79

96.1

US

100

98

75

100

91

82

95.7

US

97

98

100

94

30

66

94.4

US

99

78

100

100

30

68

94.4

US

100

99

90

96

28

76

94.3

Australia

100

93

82

74

99

91

92.0

US

100

100

67

100

26

87

91.2

US

99

99

85

84

59

51

91.0

Japan Canada India India

100 100 64 74

94 97 84 76

98 99 69 44

78 51 47 43

27 62 16 23

40 95 14 13

90.0 89.7. 60.1 57.6

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 13 15 16 17 18 19 20 154 174

that institutions will attempt to address those dimensions that are considered in assessing reputations and that are visible. In this respect, research activity, publications, citations, and major faculty awards are highly visible and measurable while the quality of the educational process is not. Thus, it is not surprising to see a focus on research criteria in the surveys and in the efforts of institutions to promote their importance and little or no attempt to measure and assess teaching quality or educational activities. However, despite the technical and methodological problems and limitations of the ranking systems, these web-published academic rankings of world

universities have received great attention. They present a picture of the leading higher institutions around the world and provide guidance for universities that are striving to improve their education quality under the competition of globalization. References • Altbach, P.G. “A World-Class Country without World-Class Higher Education: India's 21st Century Dilemma” International Higher Education, Summer 2005. • Altbach, P.G. “The costs and benefits of world-class universities”, International Higher Education, Fall 2003.

N. E. Quest; Volume 2, Issue 4, January 2009, 29

Newsletter of North East India Research Forum • Levin, H.M.; Jeong, D.W.; and Ou, D. “What is a world class university?” Presented at the conference of the Comparative & International Education Society, Honolulu, Hawaii, March 2006. • Richard, A. “What makes a world class university?” The Economic Times, January 2008. • www.arwu.org/; www.en.wikipedia.org/; www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/; www.webometrics.info/ About the author:

Dr. Abdul Wahab completed his Ph.D from RRL, Jorhat, Assam, then joined IISc, Bangalore as Post doctoral fellow and presently pursuing his second postdoctoral research in J. Heyrovsky Institute of Physical Chemistry,Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague. (email: [email protected]) ----------------------//----------------------A tribute to the legends: Ambikagiri Raichowdhary pointed out the ill of modern society through his poem “Moi biplovi, moi tandavi” : Lust for status and power, Has swallowed out man’s humanity, Soul’s hunger has been trampled under feet, Sex impulses have been exalted, They have maddened me. -------Bloodshed everywhere, everyday we are at the door step to forget about the humanity, lets feel the humanitism though the great poem “Manavbandana” by Chandrakumar Agarwalla, the “Protimar khonikar” Man alone is God; man is to be defined None else but man, Worship him with flower and offerings And sign his glory.

Flora of Arunachal Pradesh and its conservation: An overview - Chandan Tamuly Introduction: Arunachal Pradesh is known as one of the 18th “Biodiversity Hotspot” of the world, having a geographical area of 83,743 sq km and population of 10,97,968 (census 2001), the state has been the traditional habitat of tribal people of Paleo-Mongoloid stock, speaking mostly the Tibeto-Burman group of Sino-Tibetan language. The state is sparsely populated and is both biologically and ethically diverse. The state is situated on the extreme northeastern tip of India between lat 26·28' to 29·30' N and long 91·31' to 97·30' E. Total 51,540 sq km is covered by the forest in the state. Arunachal Pradesh represent as “Cradle of flowering plants” and “Biogeographical gateway” of biological resources. The phytogeographical position, irregular and soil have resulted in the formation of various ecological diversity which has influenced the rich and fascinating vegetation of the state. Background: The History of evaluation of the Flora of the state was quite old. The European Botanist and Explorer visited the area from early 19th century (Buchanan-Hamilton, 1820; Roxburgh, 1820-24; Griffith, 1847; Hooker, 1854, 1872-1897; Hooker & Thomson, 1855; Clarke, 1889; Burkill, 1924-25, 1965; Kingdom Ward, 1929, 1960 etc.). In 20th century some of the important document/report/ books/journal were published on this issue. These are Botany of Abor Expendition by I.H. Burkill (1924-25), Botanical Expendition of Mishmi Hills by Kingdom Ward (1929-1931), A Sketch of vegetation of Aka hills by N.L.Bor (1938), Lohit vally by Kingdom Ward (1953), Flora of Aka Hills by K.P Biswas (1941) and Flora of Assam ; 5 Vols by Kajilal (19341940). And lately lots of contribution was given by the Scientists/experts of Botanical survey of India, State Forest Research Institute, Itanagar, Forest Research Institute

--------//------N. E. Quest; Volume 2, Issue 4, January 2009, 30

Newsletter of North East India Research Forum Dehra Dun and other a few organizations of our country. Vegetation: Due to various climatic condition and different altitude the state influenced a rich diversity of vegetation of the region. The vegetation can be classified under following categories: (i) Tropical (ii) Subtropical (iii) Temperate (iv) Alpine and Sub Alpine (i)Tropical Forest: The tropical forests area is confined up to 900m above sea level. This can be divided into three subtypes (a) Tropical evergreen forests, (b) Tropical semi evergreen forest and (c) Tropical wet evergreen forest. Some of the important plant species seen in tropical vegetation are Bischofia javanica, Bombax ceiba, Gynocardia odorata, Leea robusta, Lagerstroemia parviflora, Turpinia nepalensis, Quercus lamellosa, Ardisia virens, Maesa indica etc. (ii) Subtropical forests: The subtropical forests are confined within 900-1800m from the sea level. It can be divided into two subtypes (a) Subtropical broad leave forest and (b) Subtropical pine forest. Some of the examples of the plants available in these forests area are Actinodaphne obovata, Ficus gaspurriniana, Kidia calycina, Michelia oblonga, Pinus roxburghii and Pinus wallichiana etc. (iii) Temperate vegetation: The forest in the belt is range 18003500m in altitude. It can also divide into two subtypes. a) Temperate broad leaved forest and b) Temperate conifer Forest. Some of the important plants of this zone are Rhododendron spp, Illicium griffithii, Lyonia ovalifolia, Mahonia acanthiifolia etc. Lichens, bryophytes, fungi and ferns dominate epiphytes flora are present in this region. (iv) Alpine and sub alpine: This belt is range in altitude 35005500m. Since this area generally covers by snow in the winter season so the plant need special adaptation for survival in such area.

The common species of this area are like Berberis asiatica, Berberis wallichiana, Abies spectabilis, Vaccinium venosum, Aconitum ferox, Aconitum nagarum, Arenaria spp, Gentiana paralota Taxus wallichiana Pleione hookeriana, Bulbophyllum spp., Herminium longilobatum etc. Many endangered species are also found in this area. Aquatic Vegetation is also very important natural resources of the state. Some of the important hydrophytes growing in the marshes pools, paddy fields are Alisma plantago, Monocharia vaginalis, Polygonum alatum, Potamogeton nodosus, Sagittaria sagittifolia, Sanicula europea, Utricularia bifida etc. Floristic diversity and its distribution: The total geographical area cover by Arunachal Pradesh is about 2.54% of the country. More than 23% of the flowering plant and 76.93% of the total families of India represent by the state. It is interesting to note that enumerates 4500 species of angiosperms belonging to 1295 genera and 192 families represent from the state. India is covered by about 17,500 species in 2984 genera and 247 families. The non flowering plants are also well known in the state. Out of 1020 spceies of ferns occupying in India 452 species are recorded in Arunachal Pradesh. Table 1 reveals that the most dominating families of Angiosperms of Arunachal Pradesh are Orchidaceae (genera 122; spp. 545), Legunminosae (genera 67; spp. 196), Asteraceae (genera 68; spp. 186), Rubiaceae (genera 52; spp. 159), Ericaceae (genera 9; spp. 158), Poaceae (genera 76; spp. 153), Urticaceae including Moraceae (genera 25; spp. 129), Rosaceae (genera 18; spp 111), Cyperaceae (genera 22; spp. 96), Euphorbiaceae (genera 39; spp. 94). Out of all Orchidaceae is the most dominating and fascinating family of the plant with 545 spp. is belonging to 122 genera in Aurnachal Pradesh where as 1229 species belong to 184 genera in India. So Orchids are often associated as “Jewel of Arunachal Pradesh”. Out of 545 species, 20 species are endemic to the state. A large number of primitive

N. E. Quest; Volume 2, Issue 4, January 2009, 31

Newsletter of North East India Research Forum flowering plants are found in the state. Many species of Annonaceae, piperaceae and Lauraceae of Arunachal Pradesh are not occurred other part of the country except NE region and Eastern Himalaya. Some of the dominant genera of Arunachal Pradesh are Bulbophyllum (62 spp.), Rhododendron (61 spp.), Ficus (51 spp.), Dendrobium (47 spp.), Primula (40 spp.), Agapetes (34 spp.), Impatiens (33spp.), Carex (31 spp.), Eria (31 spp.), Rubus (29 spp.) etc. The state has large number of primitive flowering plants. Some of the important primitive flowering plants of the state are Alnus nepalensis, Aspidocarya uvifera, Houttuynia cordata, Illicium cambodianum, Illicium griffithii, Magnolia griffithii, Magnolia pealiana, Myrica esculanta , Tetracentron sinense etc. Due to geographical position, climatic condition and unique ecosystem it provide high endemism in relatively younger mountain system in the state. Out of 17,500 species of flowering plants, about 5000 species belonging to 140 genera and 47 families are endemic to India. There are total 238 endemic species occur in Arunachal Pradesh. Some of the endemic species occurring in Arunachal Pradesh are Aconitum lethale, Aglaia edulis, Albizia arunachalensis, Anoectochilus sikkimensis, Begonia aborensis, Dioscorea wattii, Gastrodia arunachalensis, Litsea mishmiensis, Magnolia griffithii, Rhododendron nuttalli, R. tawangensis, Syzygium mishmiense etc. As per utilization of these plants by the tribal people of the state can be categorized as follows: (i) Cultivated Plants (ii) Timber Yielding plants (iii) Wild ornamental plants and (iv) Medicinal plants. (i) Cultivated Plants: The state is rich in crop plant diversity mainly on maize, barley, buckwheat, finger millet, pea, scarlet, alliums, ginger and different types of fruits etc. Cultivated a few vegetable species are Alocasia macrorhiza, Amorphophallus bulbifer, Cucumis hystrix, Monordica cochichinenis, Clerodendrum

colebrookianum, Piper pedicellatum, Vernonia anthelmintica, Solanum indicum etc. A few fruits species are Abelmoschus manihot, Artocarpus chama, Citrus assamensis, C. aurantium, C. indica, C. medica, Rubus ellipticus, Myrica esculenta, Musa acuminata, M.glauca, M.nagensium, M. Rosacea etc. Spices plant has also tremendous demand in the state as well as in whole country. A few spices species cultivated by the tribal people are Allium turberosum, Amomum aromaitcum, Amomum subulatum, Curcuma amada, Curcuma Zedoaria, Piper longum, Piper peepuloides, Piper mullesua etc. Timber yielding plants: The economy of the state depends upon the timber plant of the state. The timber of this state had great demand throughout the country. The bamboo canes also play an important role in the economy of the people of the state. A few important timber yielding plant are Actinodaphne obovata, Albizia lucida, Alostonia schlaris, Artocarpus lacucha, Biscofia javanica, Bombax ceiba, Cinnamommum glaucescens, Dipterocarpus retusus, Gynocardia odorata, Kydia calycina, Pinus roxburghii, Quercus griffithii etc. A few common bamboo species are Bambusa pallida, Bambusa tulda, Dendrocalamus hamiltoni, Dendrocalamus strictus, Melocanna baccifera etc. Another a few cane species are Calamus flagellum, Calamus floribundus, Calamus latifolius etc. Wild ornamental plants: Orchid of Arunachal Pradesh is very famous all over the world. The state represents highest number of Orchid in NE region. A few species of orchid are Calanthe, Coelogyne, Cymbidium, Dendrobium, phaius, Phalaenopsis etc. one of the rarest orchids of the state is Paphiopedilum fairieanum. It is also known as Lady’s slipper. It is found in West Kameng dist in the state. Another a few endangered species are Cymbidium, grandiflorum, C. longifolium, C. macrorhizon, C. mackinnoni etc.

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Newsletter of North East India Research Forum Table 1: Comparison of ten dominant families of Angiosperms of Arunachal Pradesh, India and World Name of the family Arunachal Pradesh India World Gen. Spp. Gen. Spp. Gen. Spp. Orchidaceae 122 545 184 1229 735 20000 Leguminosae 67 196 191 1152 690 17600 Asteraceae 68 186 167 950 900 1300 Rubiaceae 52 159 115 659 500 6000 Ericaceae 9 158 115 199 50 1350 poaceae 76 153 260 1200 620 10000 Urticaceae (including 25 129 25 114 45 550 Moraceae) Rosaceae 18 111 44 492 100 2000 Cyperaceae 22 96 38 545 90 4000 Euphorbiaceae 39 94 84 528 300 5000 Rhododendron is one of the most fascinating flower in the state and it has a great demand out side the state. Medicinal plants: Medicinal plants have a greatest demand in all over the world. These medicinal plant are used in different diseases like cut, wound pain, fever, Dysentery, body ache, cough, ulcer blood pressure, toothache, indigestion, asthma etc. Taxus baccata has very high demand in the pharmaceutucal chemistry. This valuable medicinal plant is found in Arunachal Pradesh. Most valuable anti cancer drug “Taxol” can be extracted from this plant. An American famous Scientist, K.C. Nicolaou succeeded in manufacturing “Taxol” synthetically. In the case of ‘Taxol’ there are good reasons to improve upon nature. While natural Taxol has been shown to shrink cancers of the ovary as well as the breast, it is a wonder drug. Poor solubility of synthetic Taxol makes it hard to administer, and tumor cells tend to develop resistance to the drug. So the drug obtains from the natural ‘Taxol’ may be possible to find one that is less toxic and more effective than synthetic ‘Taxol’. The traditional knowledge of medicinal plants is becoming a potential source for the Pharmaceutical Industries. So collection of these medicinal plants in the bulk amount for the industries has posed a great threat to the wild valuable medicinal plant of the state.

Some of the common medicinal plants and their uses are Allium cepa (eye pain), Allium hookeri (cough, cold), Alstonia scholaris (headache), Andrographis peneculata (dysentery), Artimesia indica (bodyache, asthma), Buddleja asiatica (Inflammation), Curcuma caesia (diarrhea), Carex polycephala(fever), Clerodendrum colebrookianum (hypertension), Callicarpa arborea (rheumatism), Elastostemma rupestre(headache), Ficus infectoria (cuts & wounds), Houttuynia cordata (cough). Piper longum (Tuberculosis), P. nigram (fever), P. pedicellatum (fracture of bone), P. thomsonii (urinary disorder), Rhus javanica (Diarrhoea & Dysentery), Spilanthes acemella(cuts & wounds), S. paniculata (pyorrhea & toothache), Zanthoxylum armatum (pyorrhea & toothache), Zehneria umbellate (Jaundice) etc. Some of the very important bioactive constituents and its biological activities evaluated from the flora of the state. Conservation of the flora: All people habitat in Arunachal Pradesh are tribal of different communities. World over, tribal population still stores a vast knowledge on utilization of local plants as medicine, food items, cultural activities and other specific uses. The tribal communities draw their sustenance mainly from the forests, which provide them food plants, health caring resources, expressing their traditional cultures and other material requirement.

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Newsletter of North East India Research Forum Due to abiotic and biotic factor such as flood, landslide, earthquakes, completion between the different species and forest fire affected the flora of Arunachal Pradesh. To conserve the biodiversity Government have formulated law and legislative Act. These are (i) Indian Forest Act., (ii) the wild life protection Act. 1972, (iii) the forest conservation Act. 1980. To protect and conserve the natural resources Government setup 9 wild sanctuaries, 2 National parks, 1 Biosphere reserve and 1 Orchid Sanctuary. Presently 9815 sq. km, as reserve forest, 6677 sq. km as wild life sanctuary, 2468.23 sq. km as National park, 5111.5 sq. km as Biosphere reserve and 100 sq. km as Orchid sanctuary are protected area of the state. Some of important medicinal plant like Coptis teeta, Taxus wallichiana, Rauvolfia serpentina, Ladies slipper orchid (Paphiopedilium species), Aconitum spp, Dioscorea deltoidea, Picrorhiza, kurrooa, Swertia chirata etc, exported to the other state of India and outside the country. But under regulation Act Convention of International Trade in Endangered species of flora and fauna (CITES) the above plants are protected. It is important to note that most of endangered species of the state are out side the protected area. So Government should take initiative to bring such type of zone under the protected area. Awareness among the people is very essential to save the natural resources. In this state jhum cultivation is very popular among the tribal people. So they exploited some of the endangered plant species due to lack of knowledge on importance of plants. Unfortunately large number of plant species disappears from this state. So the tribal people of this area should be taken as coordinating effort to create the awareness in the public through Govt. and NGOs. There are also lots of scopes to evaluation of bioactive constituent from the flora of the state. These bioactive constituents may be utilized in future in preparation of drugs & drugs intermediate, chemical industries, pharmaceutical industries etc. So conservation of the flora is very much essential at any cost. It is very

difficult to conservation of flora by only law and order if there is a lack of interaction between the scientific community and ST people of the state. So organizing Van Mahotsava, World Environment Day, workshop and training program with common public is essential for creating awareness among the general public of the state. References: 1. Arunachal Forest News Vol. 19, 2001, 1-25 2. Arunachal Forest News Vol. 18, 2000, 5-26 About the Author:

Chandan Tamuly had completed M.Sc in Organic Chemistry from Gauhati University in 2002. Presently he is working as a Scientist in North East Institute of Science & Technology Branch Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh-791110 in the field of Natural Product Chemistry. (email: [email protected]) ----------------//------------Example of quality print, from a book published at the beginning of 16th century –

Courtesy – Technion Museum, Israel

-------//-------

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Newsletter of North East India Research Forum Arsenic problem in north-east: a future threat!!! -Dr. Oinam Jayalakshmi Devi Groundwater arsenic contamination and sufferings of people have been reported in 20 countries in different parts of the world. The magnitude is considered highest in five Asian countries and the severity is in order of Bangladesh > India > Mangolia > China > Taiwan. The world's two biggest cases of groundwater arsenic contamination and those that affected the greatest number of people were in Bangladesh and West Bengal (Chowdhury, 2000, Saxena et al., 2004, Bhatacharya et al., 2002). Arsenic is a semimetal, or metalloid, occurring naturally in the environment and as a by-product of some agricultural and industrial activities. It can enter drinking water through the ground or as runoff into surface water sources. Industrial effluents also contribute arsenic to water in some areas. It is widely thought that naturally occurring arsenic dissolves out of certain rock formations when groundwater

levels drop significantly. Surface arsenicrelated pollutants enter the groundwater systems by gradually moving with the flow of groundwater from rains, melting of snow, etc. Drinking water, especially groundwater, is a major source of arsenic for most people. In many parts of world, including Taiwan, Argentina and Chile, it is natural contaminant of ground water; elsewhere, it has leach into drinking water through mining waste (CMAJ, 2002). The health of tens of millions of people world-wide is at risk from drinking arseniccontaminated well water. In most cases this arsenic occurs naturally within the subsurface aquifers, rather than being derived from identifiable point sources of pollution. The mobilization of arsenic into the aqueous phase is the first crucial step in a process that eventually leads to human arsenicosis. Arsenic occurs in four oxidation states: As+5, As+3, As0 and As-3. As+5 and As+3 are the most common in nature, whereas the As-3 and As+5 are rare.

Fig: Origin of Arsenic

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Newsletter of North East India Research Forum Distribution of arsenic in groundwater in northeastern states In the North Eastern region of India, natural springs and dug wells are the only cost effective and viable means of fulfilling the needs of freshwater for present population. High concentration of arsenic (As) in groundwater in the northeastern states of India has become a major cause of concern in recent years. As in groundwater has been detected in some parts of Assam, Tripura, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. In India after West Bengal and the bordering districts of Bangladesh, arsenic in groundwater was detected in part of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland and Tripura. Maximum arsenic content was observed in Jorhat (Titabor, Dhakgorah, Selenghat and Moriani Block), Dhemaji (Sissiborgoan and Dhemaji Block), Golaghat district (Podumani Block) and Lakhimpur (Boginodi, Lakhimpur Block) in Assam; West Tripura (Triania Block), Dhalai (Salema Block) and North Tripura (Dharmanagar Block) districts in Tripura, Thuobal (Kakching Block) in Manipur and

Dibang valley (Midland) in Arunachal Pradesh The presence of arsenic (As) in groundwater in the north-eastern states of India and its effect on human health has become a serious concern in recent years. A long-term environmental planning is essential to blunt the danger from such pollution. Chakraborti et al. 2003 and 2007; Nickson et al. 2005 has been reported that most of the arsenic affected floodplains in Asia are by the side of the rivers that originate in the Himalayas or Tibet Plateau. Thus it is considered that Himalayas and surrounding mountains are potential sources of arsenic bearing minerals. Because the North-Eastern Hill states are part of the Himalayan mountain range, we anticipated finding groundwater arsenic contamination in the Newer Alluvium (Holocene) of the Brahmaputra, Barak, Surma and Imphal rivers. These basins cover parts of all the seven North- Eastern Hill states: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya,Tripura, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram (Fig. 1).

Fig 1: Distribution of Arsenic in North Eastern Region of India (Sources: Chakraborti Dipankar et al. (2007). Environ Geol.)

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Newsletter of North East India Research Forum Baruah et al., (2003) reported a significant variation of As in nature organic matter of North east, India and nature of accumulation of As in these substance. They concluded that total arsenic content shows an increasing enrichment from east to west of North eastern region of India. The concentration of arsenic in ground water exceeds the permissible level (10µg/L, WHO) in one district out of 9 districts in Manipur (Arsenic concentration was very high and varies between 798-986 µg/l in Kakching block area of Thoubal district (Singh, 2004). Singh, 2006 made report that because high arsenic concentration people were suffering from many types of arsenical skin lesions, skin cancer and other internal cancer like lung in North eastern region. He made report that one district out of 9 districts in Manipur, Arsenic concentration was very high and varies between 798-986 µg/l in Kakching block area of Thoubal district. However latest studies (Chakraborti et al., 2007) reported arsenic contamination in groundwater of three districts, Imphal west, Imphal East and Thoubal exceeding 10 and 50 µg/l are quite high.

Table 1: Arsenic concentration in five states States Arsenic Concentration (µg/L) Arunachal Pradesh 58-618 Assam 50-657 Manipur 10-986 Nagaland 50-657 Tripura 65-474 (Sources: Singh, A.K. (2004).In Proceedings of National Seminar on Hydrology with focal theme on Water quality, National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee. pp. 255-262.) Table 1 indicate that arsenic pollutant in groundwater of northeast states are very high and people may be at risk of consumption of water contaminated by arsenic >50µg/L. The adverse impact of As on human health has been documented and

there are now indications that As can also have a negative effect on agricultural production systems. Remediation of As contaminated water is therefore critical. Arsenic contamination in Northeastern states is possibly mainly geological and the immediate source material for groundwater is likely to be ferric arsenate (with or without ferric arsenite) derived from an alternation product of the mineral arsenopyrite that was geologically transported to the Bengal delta and Assam valley. There is a need for integrated research to understand sources, release mechanisms, mobilization of As in aquifers and the chemistry of arsenic and high arsenic variance in groundwater of Northeastern state. Reference: Baruah MK, Kotoky P, Baruah J, Borah GC, Bora PK (2003) Arsenic association and distribution in carbonaceous materials in North-eastern India. Current Science 85(2): 204-208. Chakraborti D, Mukherjee SC, Pati S, Sengupta MK, Rahman MM, Chowdhury UK, Lodh D, Chanda CR, Chakraborti AK, Basu GK (2003) Arsenic groundwater contamination in middle Ganga plain, Bihar, India: a future danger. Environ. Health Perspect 111:1194–1201 Chakraborti Dipankar, Jayantakumar Singh, Bhaskar Das, Babar Ali Shah , M. Amir Hossain , Bishwajit Nayak ,Sad Ahamed , Rajmuhon Singh (2007) Groundwater arsenic contamination in Manipur, one of the seven NorthEastern Hill states of India: a future danger. Environ Geol. Nickson R, McArthur JM, Shrestha B, Kyaw-Myint TO, Lowry D (2005) Arsenic and other drinking water quality issues, Muzaffargarh District, Pakistan. Appl Geochem 20:55–68 Singh, A. K. (2007). Approaches for removal of arsenic from Groundwater of North-Eastern India. Current Science, vol. 92(11, 10):1506-1515

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Newsletter of North East India Research Forum Singh, A.K. (2006). Chemistry of Arsenic in groundwater of Ganges-Bramapurtra River. Current Science. 91(10): 599606. Singh, A.K. (2004). Arsenic Contamination in Groundwater of North Eastern India. In Proceedings of National Seminar on Hydrology with focal theme on Water quality, National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee. pp. 255-262. Singh, A.K. (2004). Arsenic Contamination in Groundwater of North Eastern India. In Proceedings of National Seminar on Hydrology with focal theme on Water quality, National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee. pp. 255-262. About the author:

Dr. Oinam Jayalakshmi Devi, after completion of her graduation in chemistry from Manipur University (1998), joined Jiwaji University, Gwalior for her master’s degree (2002) in Environmental chemistry. Then she joined Mysore University for PhD in environmental science and completed in the year 2007 (March). At present she is working as a DST- Young Scientist in School of Environmental Science, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She has successfully completed several projects. At present she is involved in one important project entitled “Arsenic and Fluoride distribution and Migration in ground water of Imphal, Thoubal and Bishnupur districts in Manipur- an Approach for ground water resource management” under Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, New Delhi. Email: [email protected]

FICTION Consequences of Time Machine Himangshu Paul (In this short story, I have tried to highlight what may happen if a time machine, ever invented, fall in wrong hands. I am also questioning if a time machine will ever be invented). It was 21st May 2299. I was already getting late for the conference. Actually that day was a great day for me as the government had decided to unveil my invention “THE TIME MACHINE” to the public. My time machine would enable a person to travel to any point of time in the past or the future just on pressing of a button. It could also make one travel to a desired destination. The unveiling ceremony was to be held at 7 o’clock in the evening I was very excited thinking about the possible reactions of the people. Some might be amazed, some might be shocked while some might not believe it calling it a hoax or there would be some people who might question its usefulness or its threat to humanity. All these thoughts were roaming in my mind, not just that day but for the last few days. But, whatever be the situation, I believed that this invention could never go wrong. Recovering from my sea of imagination, I hurried for the ceremony. Fortunately I reached there just on the nick of time. A very tight security arrangement was made by government, which was quite obvious for such a important and unique invention. Then I saw the large crowd that has gathered to witness the invention. As I expected, most of the people were curious to know what it was as it was a never-before experience for all of them. But, there are, still, some frowned and expressionless faces questioning the whole idea. I proceeded towards the place where my invention was covered behind a curtain. The mayor of the city was going to unveil the ‘Machine’ which would be followed by my speech. In my speech I was going to address the crowd how my machine would enable people to discover all those unresolved

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Newsletter of North East India Research Forum mysteries of past, prehistoric age, even may be the facts behind the formation of universe. Not only that, I will outline how it might help to protect our world from future natural calamities, future alien attacks etc. When commercialized this machine could act as “time traveller” taking people anywhere in anytime. These thoughts bring a sense of pride to me from the time I was building the machine, and then the moment of glory arrived. After the curtains were drawn there was a great applaud and I was asked to deliver the speech. As I was just about to speak, an unexpected thing happened---the lights went off and there was darkness everywhere. Then suddenly there was a loud roaring sound of an engine followed by a bang and a flash of lightning. After a few moments lights came, but the Time Machine was not there where it was. Everybody was confused what had happened, but I think I knew that ….. my Time Machine…… is gone. Someone stole it. There was no clue whatsoever for few days of my ‘Time Machine’. Then suddenly one day the local police station received a report that identical people were seen in the suburb region of the city. At first, the police gave no notice as identical twins were common, but soon it was found out that the number of identical persons increased upto 10 or 12. This time the cops got alarmed and decided to visit the place. On first look, it seemed a deserted factory having barely a soul. But on closer inspection it was found out that the factory had been occupied by no less than thousand soldiers and though they (cops) were not sure, each soldier seemed to be equipped with highly sophisticated weapons. And there, one of the officers peeping through an opening in the wall of the factory saw the ‘Time Machine’ heavily guarded by the soldiers. The police decided not to fight with handful officers, but to return with a greater army. When the police related the story to me, I was happy as well as frightened. Happy for I have found my machine at last and frightened for I have to fight an army much larger and stronger than the police itself to

get it. Nonetheless I decided to go with them to get my machine back. The next morning I, along with an army of about thousand cops marched towards their hideout. As we reached there, we warned them to surrender or else they will be killed. There was silence for a moment but soon the marching of the soldiers could be heard. In the next moment there were soldiers in front of us and as doubted equipped with sophisticated weapons. But they were not there to surrender but to fight and they were not thousands but millions. They were led by a man whom I seemed to know. He was none but one of my rival scientists. They attacked us. The cops’ weapons seemed toys before theirs. In an instant the whole army of ours was destroyed. I could just mange to flee from there. I told the government about the incident. The government decided to take measures to cope with the situation. A tight security was provided to me but there was something that was still disturbing me. In the comfort of my home I reanalyzed the whole situation------as observed the army of millions had identical soldiers. It seemed as if he has turned a few soldiers into million copies of themselves. Has he cloned them? No, it couldn’t be because cloning is a lengthy process and in this case, only the previous day the cops observed only thousand soldiers and now they are million. How come such fast copying could be done? In the back of my mind I knew that all these things are somehow related to my time machine. After a long thought, I came to the conclusion that he brought advanced weapons from the future. But copying oneself to such a large scale was still a great mystery. Then suddenly an idea strokes me. This building of large army in a short time can be had if we play with the time. It could have happened that he has brought himself or a few of his best soldiers to the present time from a certain time in the past using my time machine. He again went back to an earlier time and brought them again. Doing it again and again, each time going to a time earlier than before, he created an army for

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Newsletter of North East India Research Forum himself consisting of his best soldiers. This process might not be fast but time is not a factor with my Time Machine as he could arrive just at any moment he desires. He could even immortalize himself as he could build an army of himselves by bringing himself from different point of time. Thus, the cause of calamity is known and I feel that the criminal is not him but me as I was the creator of destructive Time Machine. The present owner of the Time Machine was gradually becoming a threat to the world. His army was getting larger and larger. The entire police force was unable to stop him. Being the creator of the calamity, the moral responsibility to stop him was vested upon me. The only thing that could help me to fight him was another Time Machine. If I kill him, he could be brought again from an earlier time. The only way to kill him once and for all was by killing him just before his birth. This would require another Time Machine to go to the past and kill his mother before his birth. It was a risk as it could again fall into wrong hands but I had to take the gamble. Immediately, I started working on it. After much hardship, as the work was proceeding towards completion another unexpected misfortune happened. Somehow, the villain came to know about my plan and it seemed as if he was all prepared for this. He decided to give me a taste of my own medicine. Before I could complete my Machine, he went to the past and killed my grandfather in his childhood. But, he could not understand till late, that this act of him has started an infinite space-time cycle which swallowed everyone including me and him. The space-time cycle started as soon as he killed my grandpa and …….. ……. “The death of my grandfather meant that my father and subsequently I were not born. As I was not born, the time machine has never been invented which meant that Time Travel was not possible yet and this prevented my rival scientist to go to the past to kill my grandfather. That means my grandpa was alive and so do I. As I was born, I grew up to build the Time Machine which he stole and used to do all the

misdeeds including the one –going to the past to kill my grandfather, and thus this cycle continues.” I think God has punished me for building such a destructive invention and for my dauntlessness to mess with the spacetime cycle and to play with the laws of nature. As a consequence I have been left trapped in this cycle in which I am getting vanished and materializing every couple of seconds and there is least hope that I could recover from here…….. Could you ….help me out? About the author: Mr. Himangshu Paul, is a student of M.Sc in Nanoscience & Technology, Department of Physics, Tezpur University, and is in his 4th semester. (email: [email protected]) -------------//---------------The climate change wants a Green revolution. Green is the beauty of nature. To preserve the nature, to keep the green, let us recall a great poem: October Landscape (AAHINOR LANDSCAPE) by Hiren Bhattacharjya

I The frenzy of a brutal sky Has ended. Green waves ripple Through the restive fields. II White flowers of the sugarcane Pierce the inky sky As autumn whispers — Every poem has its season. III With every shaft of light — Amazement. With passion — Words awaken. ---------------//-------------

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Newsletter of North East India Research Forum

POEM It is our proud privilege to congratulate Mr. Kamal Kumar Tanti for receiving the “Munin Borkotoki Literary Award” for his poetry book 'Maarangburu Amar Pita' and I am taking the opportunity to publish one of his award wining poem, “Bhraman Kahini”.

Probably, an exact translation of words that come out spontaneously form the heart of a poet is impossible; still a creditable effort was taken by Geetika Phukan to translated it to English) Travelogue On the silent street in Salonah tea garden We lost our way. Grieving at our grief An old Kachari said, “Children, follow your noses There are dreams on the way, not reality. At the end of the dreams, there will be dawn.” We realized, Looking for flowers is easier Than finding thorns. Flowers do not make us feel, They feel themselves. Thorns do not feel their sharpness, They make others feel. As travelers, We wanted to thank the Old Kachari So, halfway through we killed him And left his blood for the vultures and crows. The cuckoos loved us for that. And finally, we reached a land of swords. ---------//-------“In science one tries to tell people, in such a way as to be understood by everyone, something that no one ever knew before. But in poetry, it's the exact opposite”. - Paul Dirac "I have become my own version of an optimist. If I can't make it through one door, I'll go through another door - or I'll make a door. Something terrific will come no matter how dark the present”. - Rabindranath Tagore --------//----------

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Newsletter of North East India Research Forum Do you know? POEM Slums Dwellers Dr. Manabendra Pathak (Inspired by the movie "Slumdog millionaire") In a city of dream and destiny of millions, I discovered a strange place and a stranger. He asked me how much time is required. To count the numbers from one to two millions? I could n't answer. He asked me "Is there a more secured shelter than the sky"? I could n't understand him.

There is a prize which is just opposite (rather parody) to actual Nobel Prize, The Ig Nobel Prizes, which is also given each year in early October for ten achievements that "First make people laugh, and then make them think." The prize is organized by the scientific humour magazine “Annals of Improbable Research” (AIR), and are normally presented by genuine Nobel Laureates at a ceremony at Harvard University's Sanders Theatre and then they give public lectures at MIT. The first Ig Nobels were awarded in 1991 for the discoveries "That cannot, or should not, be reproduced."

He asked me "Is there any drug that may cure hunger? I was numb. He asked "Do you have the guts in listening to my song"? A song of paradise… Without delay, I left the place. As I missed all the questions, I was out of the race of becoming a Millionaire…

Fig: The Ig Nobels: a festival of daftness

The poet: Dr. Manabendra Pathak is presently working as a Post-doctorale Fellow in Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Israel. ----------------//--------------Knowledge of the history and evolution of our ideas is absolutely vital for wise understanding. It is also important to read the original source (not a later interpretation which often leads to misrepresentation and error) and that these original quotes should give confidence to the truth of what we say. --------Albert Einstein --------------//------------

The 2008 Ig Nobel Prizes were awarded on 2nd October at the 18th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize ceremony. The winners of 2008 are listed below: Nutrition Prize: awarded to Massimiliano Zampini of the University of Trento, Italy and Charles Spence of Oxford University, UK, for their study showing that food actually taste better if it sounds crunchier. They electronically modified the sound of a potato chip to make the person chewing the chip believe it to be crisper and fresher than it really is. Peace Prize: Received by The Swiss Federal Ethics Committee on Non-Human Biotechnology (ECNH) and the citizens of Switzerland for adopting the legal principle that plants have dignity.

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Newsletter of North East India Research Forum Archaeology Prize: awarded to Astolfo G. Mello Araujo and José Carlos Marcelino of Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil, for measuring how the course of history, or at least the contents of an archaeological dig site, can be scrambled by the actions of a live armadillo. Biology Prize: awarded to Marie-Christine Cadiergues, Christel Joubert, and Michel Franc of Ecole Nationale Veterinaire de Toulouse, France for discovering that the fleas that live on a dog can jump higher than the fleas that live on a cat. Medicine Prize: awarded to Dan Ariely of Duke University (USA), Rebecca L. Waber of MIT (USA), Baba Shiv of Stanford University (USA), and Ziv Carmon of INSEAD (Singapore) for demonstrating that expensive fake medicine is more effective than cheap fake medicine. Cognitive Science Prize: received by Toshiyuki Nakagaki of Hokkaido University, Japan, Hiroyasu Yamada of Nagoya, Japan, Ryo Kobayashi of Hiroshima University, Atsushi Tero of Presto JST, Akio Ishiguro of Tohoku University, and Ágotá Tóth of the University of Szeged, Hungary, for discovering that slime molds can solve puzzles. Economics Prize: awarded to Geoffrey Miller, Joshua Tybur and Brent Jordan of the University of New Mexico, USA, for discovering that professional lap dancers earn higher tips when they are ovulating. Physics Prize: awarded to Dorian Raymer of the Ocean Observatories Initiative at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, USA, and Douglas Smith of the University of California, San Diego, USA, for proving mathematically that heaps of string or hair or almost anything else will inevitably tangle themselves up in knots. Chemistry Prize: awarded to Sharee A. Umpierre of the University of Puerto Rico, Joseph A. Hill of The Fertility Centers of New England (USA), Deborah J. Anderson of Boston University School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School (USA), for discovering that Coca-Cola is an effective spermicide, and to Chuang-Ye Hong of Taipei Medical University (Taiwan), C.C.

Shieh, P. Wu, and B.N. Chiang (all of Taiwan) who showed the opposite. Literature Prize: received by David Sims of Cass Business School. London, UK, for his lovingly written study "You Bastard: A Narrative Exploration of the Experience of Indignation within Organizations."

Fig: In the photo here, Nobel Laureate William Lipscomb (left) and Benoit Mandelbrot, the inventor of the mathematical concept of fractals, drink Coca-Cola to toast the winners of the Ig Nobel Chemistry Prize. (Source:http://improbable.com/2008/10/03/t he-2008-ig-nobel-prize-winners/) ---------------//-----------------Ancient History of NorthEast India at Mahabharat The earliest references to 'Manipur' date back to the ancient Indian epic Mahabharata, in which several characters, such as Chitrāngadā , Ulupi, Babruvahana, and Iravan, are 'Manipuris'. Chitrāngadā, daughter of the king of Manipur, married Arjuna and Babrubahana was born to the couple. Ulupi, was one of Arjuna's wives. She was the mother of Iravan. Iravan fought on the side of the Pandavas in the Kurukshetra war and was killed by the Rakshasa Alumvusha on the eighth day of the war.

----------//-----------

N. E. Quest; Volume 2, Issue 4, January 2009, 43

Newsletter of North East India Research Forum

ABSTRACT OF PhD THESIS Ph. D. thesis abstract of Mohit Lal Dev

Chapter 1, Section A: Stereoselective intramolecular hetero Diels–Alder reactions of 1-oxa-1,3-butadienes: Synthesis of novel annelated pyrrolo[1,2-a]indoles The mitomycins are an important class of naturally occurring heterocyclic antitumour antibiotic that possess a 2,3,9,9a-tetrahydro-1H-pyrrolo[1,2-a]indole unit as a basic skeleton. Subsequent to the discovery of these molecules a number of compounds have been synthesized by molecular modification at the pyrrolo[1,2-a]indole unit without significant loss of biological activity.

Me

N 1 H 1. Allyl bromide 2. DMF+POCl3 PTC/NaOH

Me

N

CHO

2 3a.X=Z=O; Y=CMe2 b-d.X=NMe,NH;Y= CO Z=NMe,NH

O

N NPh

z Y O

Me O

Me

O

X

6

Me Me

z

N

Y X

N

NPh

N

O

O

4a-d

Me O

4 3

4a

2

12b 1

5 12a

N 12

H

6

5b

11a

z7

11

MeMe

Y

N

8 9

5c

5a

7

H

X

N Ph

N

9a

O

O10 H

H

8

5a-d Scheme 1

N. E. Quest; Volume 2, Issue 4, January 2009, 44

Newsletter of North East India Research Forum

Chapter 1, Section B: Stereoselective intramolecular hetero Diels-Alder reaction of 1-oxa-1,3-butadienes: Synthesis of some novel annulated uracils Uracils and its annulated derivatives are well recognized by synthetic as well as biological chemists. The preparation of naturally occurring complex molecules containing a uracil ring possess significant synthetic challenges. A large number of uracil derivatives are reported to exhibit antimycobacterial, antitumor, antiviral, anticancer, anti-inflammatory properties. O O

O

Me

CHO

N

Me

HX

2

O

N

Cl

O

Et3N

Me

CHO

N

O

Y

1

O

Me

4 N

X

Base cat.

Me

Y Z Y

O

Y Z

O

N

O

N

X

Me

5

3 reflux in toluene Y O O

Me

Z

O

Me H

N

O

O O

H

N

Z

Y

Y

+

Y O

H

N

H N

O

X

X

Scheme-2a

Me

Me

7

Y = NCH3, Z= CO Y = O, Z = C(CH3)2 X = NR, O

6

Basically substituted barbituric acids and Meldrum’s acid were used for the in situ generation of oxa-1,3-butadiene system. But when 1-phenyl-3-methyl-5-pyrazolone 8 was reacted with 3 (Scheme-2b) under the similar reaction conditions, a dark orange coloured compound 9 was obtained. After determining the structure from the spectroscopic data and elemental analysis, it was concluded that the compound 9 was 4,4′-methylidyne bis-(1-phenyl-3-methyl-5-pyrazolone). N

N

Me O Me O Me

Me

CHO +

O

N Me 3

X

O

N H

N N

N O Ph 8

Scheme-2b

O

N N Me

X O

Me

Me N

Ph

N O O Ph 9

N

N

Ph

Me

N

+ O

N Me 10

X

N. E. Quest; Volume 2, Issue 4, January 2009, 45

Newsletter of North East India Research Forum

Chapter 1, Section C: Synthesis of Novel Classes of Pyrido[2,3-d]-pyrimidines, Pyrano[2,3-d] pyrimidines, and Pteridines

O

R2 N

R2

NH2

N

O

+ N

O

O

O CHO

N

O

O

O

COOH

N

H

R1

R1 2

1a-c O

R2

O

R2

N

OH

H

O

+ N

O

O

N

O

O

O

2

O

O NO

O

NH2

Pyrano[2,3-d]pyrimidines 5a-c O

O

R2

N

O

+ N

O

R1

4a-c

N

COOH

N

R1

R2

O

Pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidines 3a-c

O CHO

N

N H

H

N

O

O

N

R1

R1 2

6a-c

N

COOH

N H

O

Pteridines

7a-c

Scheme 3

Chapter 2, Section A: A Green and Practical Method for the Michael Addition of Indole and Pyrrole to Nitroolefins. NH2

Tryptamine HO N H Serotonin

R

N H

N H

NO2

1 + R

R1

R2

1a-b

R2

2a-e

NH2

+ N H

4

NO2 R1

NO2

MW

R2 2a-f

3a-h

N H

R

R2

MW N H

5a-f

NO2 R1

Scheme 4

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Newsletter of North East India Research Forum

Chapter 2, Section B: Uncatalysed Michael addition of indoles: Synthesis of some novel 3-alkylated indoles via a three-component reaction in solvent-free conditions Synthesis of some novel 3-alkylated indoles via a three-component reaction in solvent free conditions. The reaction, which gave access to an important class of novel indole (or 5alkylated barbituric acid) derivatives in good to excellent yields also demonstrates an uncatalysed Michael addition of indoles to α,β-unsaturated systems viz α,β -unsaturated cyclic β-diamides (Scheme 5). R2

O N

N H

O R1 + N H

R2

H O

2a-g

1a-b

+ O

N

R3

R1 O 4a-p +

N O 3 R 3a-b

N

R3 O

R3

R2

N H

N R1 R1 H 5a-p

Scheme 5

Chapter 3, Section A: An efficient and clean synthesis of bis(indolyl)methanes in a protic solvent at room temperature Methanol r.t, stir + N H 1

RCHO

water r.t, stir

2 Scheme 6

R

N H

N H 3

Both solvents had their own advantages in terms of the reaction simplicity, time required, easy work-up procedure and overall yields. The reactivity increased with the increasing order of acidity of the solvents (H2O>CH3OH). Moreover, the reaction was highly chemoselective and applicable only to aldehydes and not to ketones, containing both the functional groups in a same compound.

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Newsletter of North East India Research Forum

Chapter 3, Section B: A novel and efficient method for the synthesis of unsymmetrical diindolylmethanes and indolyl-heterocyclic alkanes Symmetrical diindolylalkanes can be readily synthesized by Lewis or protic acid catalyzed indole-aldehyde condensation reactions, but synthesis of unsymmetrical DIMs is still highly demanding in synthetic community. There are very few reports on the synthesis of unsymmetrical DIM and all of them have a number of drawbacks and limitations.

O

R1

+

N H

2 R CHO

1

N

+

O

N

R3

N H

C2H5OH-H2O

N H

O

3

N

R2

5

O

R3

+

N H

N H

O

Me

4

R1

4 +

Me

N

O

Me

2

R2 O

R1

Me

O

N N

Me O

Me

6

3

scheme 7

It was very interesting to note that the addition of a few drops of water to the reaction mixture accelerates reaction considerably with improved yields. Chapter 4, Section A: A facile synthesis of 6,12-disubstituted 5,7-dihydroindolo[2,3-b]carbazoles from the reaction of indole and aldehyde catalysed by molecular iodine. In the reaction strategy, utilizing equimolar amounts of indole 1 and bezaldehyde 2a in the presence of catalytic amount of molecular iodine (2 mol %) in refluxing acetonitrile afforded 6,12-diphenyl-5,7-dihydroindolo[2,3-b]carbazole 3a in excellent yields (Scheme 8). The product was isolated simply by filtration and recrystallized from a mixture of DMF and CHCl3.

R1 N H 1

+

R1CHO

CH3CN I2 ,

2 Scheme 8

N H 3

R1

N H

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Newsletter of North East India Research Forum

Chapter 4, Section B: An Efficient Method for the Synthesis of Indolo[3,2-b]carbazoles bis(indolyl)methanes Catalysed by Molecular Iodine

from

3,3′-

In this reaction strategy, utilizing 3,3′-bis(indolyl)methanes 1 with catalytic amount of molecular iodine in refluxing acetonitrile for 20-35 minutes afforded after work-up indolo[3,2b]carbazoles 2 in good yields. Although the yield of products in the reaction is not very high in some cases, there is selective formation of the indolo[3,2-b]carbazole.

R

R CH3CN I2 , N H

N H

N H 1a-j

H N

+ N H

R

3

2a-j

Scheme 10

About the Author: Mohit Lal Deb was born in Kailasahar (Tripura) in 1978. After completing his MSc. from Tripura University he came to NEIST (Formerly RRL) Jorhat as JRF to pursue his PhD. He joined in Medicinal Chemistry Division under the guidance of Dr. P. J. Bhuyan in the area of synthesis of heterocyclic bioactive analogues, development of new synthetic methods, green chemistry. Currently he is working on asymmetric total synthesis with Dr. K. R. Prasad in IISc Bangalore.

---------------------------------//---------------------------Some Australian Scholarships are also HIGHER STUDY ABROAD Country of this issue: Australia available for three programs Australia is one of the best places in the world to live while you learn. The standard of living is amongst the highest in the world, yet costs remain competitive. Moreover Australian education has a strong international reputation for excellence. Whether you study at a university, school, vocational or English language institute, you will receive a quality education that will form a strong foundation for your future success. Scholarships Information about the scholarships can be obtained through the Scholarships Database (http://www.studyinaustralia.gov.au/Sia/en/ CourseSearch/ScholarshipSearch.htm).

Endeavour Awards – The Endeavour Awards is the Australian Government’s internationally competitive, merit-based scholarship program providing opportunities for citizens of the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions to undertake study, research and professional development in Australia. Further information can be found at: www.endeavour.deewr.gov.au Australian Leadership Awards (ALA) – focus on developing leaders who can influence social and economic policy reform and development outcomes in both their own countries and in the Asia-Pacific region. ALAs provide scholarship support for postgraduate studies in Australia and

N. E. Quest; Volume 2, Issue 4, January 2009, 49

Newsletter of North East India Research Forum short-term fellowship opportunities in specialised research, study or professional attachments through participating Australian organisations. Further information can be found at: www.ausaid.gov.au/scholar Australian Development Scholarships (ADS) – aim to contribute to the long-term development needs of Australia's partner countries to promote good governance, economic growth and human development. ADS provides people with the necessary skills and knowledge to drive change and influence the development outcomes of their own country, through obtaining tertiary qualifications at participating Australian institutions. Further information can be found at: www.ausaid.gov.au/scholar Australian Catholic University [ACU] Australian Defence Force Academy [ADFA] Australian Graduate School of Management [AGSM] Australian National University [ANU] Bond University [Bond] Central Queensland University [CQU] Charles Darwin University [CDU] Charles Sturt University [CSU] Curtin University of Technology [CURTIN] Deakin University [Deakin] Edith Cowan University [ECU] Flinders University [FLINDERS] Griffith University [GRIFFITH] James Cook University [JCU] La Trobe University [LATROBE] Macquarie University [MACQUARIE] Monash University [MONASH] Murdoch University [MURDOCH] Queensland University of Technology [QUT] RMIT University [RMIT] Southern Cross University [SCU] Swinburne University of Technology [SWINBURNE] University of Adelaide [ADELAIDE] University of Ballarat [BALLARAT] University of Canberra [CANBERRA] University of Melbourne [MELBOURNE]

University of New England [UNE] University of New South Wales [UNSW] University of Newcastle [NEWCASTLE] University of Notre Dame Australia The [UNDA] University of Queensland [QUEENSLAND] University of South Australia [UniSA] University of Southern Queensland [USQ] University of Sydney [SYDNEY] University of Tasmania [TASMANIA] University of Technology Sydney [UTS] University of the Sunshine Coast [USC] University of Western Australia [UWA] University of Western Sydney [UWS] University of Wollongong [UOW] Victoria University [VU] ----//--The Legend Rabindranath Tagore : various stages

1879 studying in England With wife Mrinalini, 1883

The legend with the legends

Visiting a youthgroup in Germany, 1930 -------------//----------------

N. E. Quest; Volume 2, Issue 4, January 2009, 50

Newsletter of North East India Research Forum

THROUGH THE LENS OF THE FORUM MEMBERS

A smile of sky The power of wind -by Dr. Arindam Adhikari

(a rare combination of Moon, Jupiter and Venus, Dec. 08) - by Manab Sharma

Frozen beauty

The landscape - by Manab Sharma

-by Dr. Arindam Adhikari

N. E. Quest; Volume 2, Issue 4, January 2009, 51

Newsletter of North East India Research Forum JOB ADVERTISEMENT:

1. UK/EU PhD Studentships Department of Chemistry For entry from September 2009 Applications are invited for our three year research programmes leading to the degree of PhD. The Department performed very impressively in the latest RAE appraisal with every submission being ranked as internationaly recognised or better which means that even members of staff that are in the very beginning of their career are world class. Prospective candidates are expected to contact members of the academic staff working in their fields of interest via. http://www.chem.ucl.ac.uk/people/acadstaff. html Our main research activities are in the following areas: Chemical Biology Chemical Physics Chemical Magnetism Computational Chemistry Crystallography/Industrial Materials Electrochemistry High Performance Scientific Computing Inorganic and Materials Chemistry Nanoscience Synthetic Organic Chemistry Spectroscopy Further information on our research programmes is available from http://www.chem.ucl.ac.uk/research/index.ht ml The department has world class facilities in the areas of scanning probe microscopy, xray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, mass spectrometry, NMR, XPS, ultra fast laser spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, computational chemistry, time-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy, attosecond science, FTIR RAIRS spectroscopy, and thermal imaging. The Department also makes extensive use of national and international neutron and synchrotron radiation facilities. Close collaborative links exist with industry and other university departments in the UK and abroad.

The minimum academic requirement for admission is an upper second class honours degree, or a lower second with a Master's, (or overseas equivalents) in a relevant subject. Applications can be filled out on line at http://www.ucl.ac.uk/admission/graduatestudy/application-admission/ and information on English requirements are at http://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospectivestudents/graduate-study/applicationadmission/english-language. Information on our Postgraduate Open Day on 18 February 2009 can be found at http://www.chem.ucl.ac.uk/events/pgopenda y_UCL.pdf You may contact Mary Lou Jabore ([email protected]) who is happy to answer questions about the admissions process and funding opportunities available.

2. Research Associate (postdoctoral) UCL Department of Mathematics Applications are invited for a postdoctoral Research Associate to work with Professor Minhyong Kim on the project "Noncommutative fundamental groups in Diophantine geometry". The responsibilities of the Research Associate will include carrying out vigorous, high-level research into non-abelian methods in Diophantine and arithmetic geometry. This research is funded by the EPSRC. Candidates should have a PhD in number theory, algebraic geometry or a related field. Candidates should also have experience in (one of) the following areas: Algebraic number theory, arithmetic fundamental groups, Galois representations, automorphic forms and representation theory, theory of motives, arithmetic topology. The post is available from 1 May 2009 (or as soon as possible thereafter) for 36 months. Starting salary for the post will be on Grade 7 point 29, £28,839 per annum plus London Allowance of £2,781 per annum. Contact for informal enquiries: Professor Minhyong Kim email: [email protected], tel. 020 7679 1333.

N. E. Quest; Volume 2, Issue 4, January 2009, 52

Newsletter of North East India Research Forum Application process: Letters of application, including a CV, names of three referees and a completed Personal Details/Equal Opportunities Form should be sent to: Ms Soheni Datta, Department of Mathematics, UCL, Gower Street, London. WC1E 6BT Tel: 020 7679 2839, email: [email protected]. The Personal Details/Equal Opportunities Form and Further Particulars of the post can be found at: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/maths/Adverts/Vacanc ies.html 3. Marie Curie Early Stage Researcher Department of Chemistry £25,824 pa (Including allowances) To work on projects within the European Union Initial Training Network ELCAT (Electrocatalysis) within Professor David Schiffrin's group. You should have an appropriate degree in the area of Physical Chemistry/Electrochemistry. Both posts could lead to a higher degree. You will investigate the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide to obtain useful products. The post is available for 3 years. Job Ref: R-569028/JAC The post Is funded from EU-Marie Curie grants, and due to requirements of the funding body, candidates should be non-UK nationals and have up to four years' research experience. Closing Date: 13 February 2009 For full details, or to request an application pack, visit www.liv.ac.uk/working/job_vacancies/ or e-mail [email protected] Tel 0151 794 2210 (24 hr answerphone) 4. The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Job Title: Computational Drug Discovery Postdoctoral Positions

Job Number: 4004738 Date Posted: 01/26/2009 Application Deadline: Open Until Filled Job Description Computational drug discovery postdoctoral positions are available immediately at the Department of Experimental Therapeutics, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX. Job Responsibilities: The research projects are to discover and design specific inhibitors for targets implicated in cancers using stateof-the-art hit identification and lead optimization techniques. The individuals are also expected to develop programs to study ligand polypharmacology using both cheminformatics and bioinformatics concepts. Qualifications/Skills Candidates should have PhD degrees in cheminformatics, bioinformatics, computational medicinal chemistry, physics or related fields. The individuals should be self-motivated and quick-learners. They should have prior experience in biomolecular modeling and drug discovery. Practical knowledge and experience of using current CADD techniques is desirable. Applicants should have excellent programming skills, in-depth knowledge of cheminformatics and bioinformatics, and proficiency with chemical biological databases. If interested, please send your application (curriculum vitae, reference contact and a cover letter describing research interests and goals) to Dr. Shuxing Zhang: shuzhang AT mdanderson DOT org. Contact: The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center 1515 Holcombe Blvd. Houston, TX 77030 United States Employer's Web Site: Visit employer's website

N. E. Quest; Volume 2, Issue 4, January 2009, 53

Newsletter of North East India Research Forum

Details about the Northeast India Research Forum Date of creation of the forum : 13th November 2004 Area: Science and Technology Total number of members till date: 263 Moderators: 1. Arindam Adhikari, Ph.D. Institute of Surface Chemistry, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden Email: [email protected]

2. Ashim J. Thakur, Ph.D. Chemical Science Dept, Tezpur University, Tezpur, Assam Email: [email protected]

3. Utpal Borah, Ph.D. Dibrugarh University, Assam, India Email: [email protected]

University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, USA; Email:[email protected]

4. Khirud Gogoi, Ph.D.

Editorial Team of NE Quest 1. Dhanapati Deka, Ph.D. Tezpur University, Assam Email: [email protected]

2. Tankeswar Nath, Ph.D. Jubilant Organosys Ltd. Gajraula, UP, India Email: [email protected]

3. Manab Sharma, Ph.D. UTAS, Australia, Email: [email protected]

4. Rashmi Rekha Devi, Ph.D Defence Material & Stores Research & Dev. Establishment, DRDO, Kanpur. Email: [email protected]

5. Joshodeep Boruwa, Ph.D. Université Louis Pasteur (ULP), France: Email : [email protected]

6. Pankaj Bharali, Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad, India. Email: [email protected] 8. Sasanka Deka, Ph.D. National Nanotechnology Laboratory, Lecce, Italy Email: [email protected]

7. Pranjal Saikia Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, IICT, Hyderabad, India Email: [email protected] 9. Shanta Laishram, Ph. D. Dept of Pure Mathematics, University of Waterloo, Canada Email: [email protected]

10. Áshim Thakur, Ph.D. 11. Utpal Borah, Ph.D. 12. Arindam Adhikari, Ph.D.

Logo designed by: Manab Sharma, Ph.D. Email: [email protected]

Cover page designed by: Anirban, Pune

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/northeast_india_research/ http://www.neindiaresearch.org/

N. E. Quest; Volume 2, Issue 4, January 2009, 54