Sustainability of Participatory Projects: Study of Productive Sector under Peoples’ Planning in Chempu Village Panchayat of Kottayam District

The study has wider policy implications as it identifies the possible variables which influence the sustainability of participatory productive sector projects. The method which is developed to study the sustainability of projects under People’s Planning in Chempu Panchayat could be used for studying the same in other panchayats also. Unlike the case of the standard features of sustainability identified, the independent variables vary according to the nature of the project. Hence, this needs to be modified accordingly while applying the method in a dissimilar domain. Selection of a single panchayat for the present study is relevant on the basis of a common package of inputs for decentralised planning which is forwarded by the State Planning Board respectively for the three-tier panchayat system in Kerala. The dynamic filed realities could be brought out in view of a comprehensive planning approach through an in depth study of specific cases.The assessment of the nature and pattern of productive sector projects in the selected Village Panchayat puts the projects under close scrutiny. The analysis has depended largely on secondary sources of information, especially from panchayat level plan documents, and also on the primary information obtained using direct observation and on-site inspection of project sites. An analysis of the nature and pattem of productive sector projects is important as it gives all necessary information regarding follow-up, monitoring/evaluation and even termination of a particular project. It has also revealed the tendencies of including infrastructure and service sector projects under ‘productive’ category, especially for maintaining the stipulated ratio (40:30:30) of grant-in-aid distribution. The study regarding the allocation and expenditure pattern of plan funds is vital in policy level as it reveals the under-noticed allocation and expenditure pattern of plan funds other than grant-in-aid. One major limitation of the study has been the limited availability of secondary data, especially regarding project-wise expenditure and monitoring/evaluation reports of various project committees.

Isolation, purification, characterization and application of proteinaceous protease inhibitor from marine bacterium Pseudomonas mendocina BTMW 301

The microorganisms are recognized as important sources of protease inhibitors which are valuable in the fields of medicine, agriculture and biotechnology. The protease inhibitors of microbial origin are found to be versatile in their structure and mode of inhibition that vary from those of other sources. Although surplus of low molecular weight non-protein protease inhibitors from microorganisms have been reported, there is a dearth of reports on proteinaceous protease inhibitors. The search for new metabolites from marine organisms has resulted in the isolation of more or less 10,000 metabolites (Fuesetani and Fuesetani, 2000) many of which are gifted with pharmacodynamic properties. The existence of marine microorganisms was reported earlier, and they were found to be metabolically and physiologically dissimilar from terrestrial microorganisms. Marine microorganisms have potential as important new sources of enzyme inhibitors and consequently a detailed study of new marine microbial inhibitors will provide the basis for future research (Imada, 2004).

Investigations on TiO2 Based Nanocomposites as Potential Photonic Materials

This Study overviews the basics of TiO2with respect to its structure, properties and applications. A brief account of its structural, electronic and optical properties is provided. Various emerging technological applications utilising TiO2 is also discussed.Till now, exceptionally large number of fundamental studies and application-oriented research and developments has been carried out by many researchers worldwide in TiO2 with its low-dimensional nanomaterial form due to its various novel properties. These nanostructured materials have shown many favourable properties for potential applications, including pollutant photocatalytic decomposition, photovoltaic cells, sensors and so on. This thesis aims to make an in-depth investigation on different linear and nonlinear optical and structural characteristics of different phases of TiO2. Correspondingly, extensive challenges to synthesise different high quality TiO2 nanostructure derivatives such as nanotubes, nanospheres, nanoflowers etc. are continuing. Here, different nanostructures of anatase TiO2 were synthesised and analysed. Morphologically different nanostructures were found to have different impact on their physical and electronic properties such as varied surface area, dissimilar quantum confinement and hence diverged suitability for different applications. In view of the advantages of TiO2, it can act as an excellent matrix for nanoparticle composite films. These composite films may lead to several advantageous functional optical characteristics. Detailed investigations of these kinds of nanocomposites were also performed, only to find that these nanocomposites showed higher adeptness than their parent material. Fine tuning of these parameters helps researchers to achieve high proficiency in their respective applications. These innumerable opportunities aims to encompass the new progress in studies related to TiO2 for an efficient utilization in photo-catalytic or photo-voltaic applications under visible light, accentuate the future trends of TiO2-research in the environment as well as energy related fields serving promising applications benefitting the mankind. The last section of the thesis discusses the applicability of analysed nanomaterials for dye sensitised solar cells followed by future suggestions.