Volume 12, Issue 2, 2012 April-June


Volume 12, No 2 Pages:
2012 April-June Articles: 5

How to write a rather tenacious and legible scientific paper, and convince a bunch of self-acclaimed pundits called editors

A formal academic writing is primarily primed with two basic ingredients: organization and language. The rest is merely the spice and seasoning. Science has become a gigantic body of knowledge – ever growing – and a scientist is compelled to get his/her findings published. A myriad of scientific papers are churned out every moment so that science professionals are confronted with a staggering array of new information. Thus, it is vitally critical that writing such invaluable material is done in a clear, concise, and accurate manner. Preparing the manuscript in a systematic fashion is the beginning of good scientific literature. It reflects the overall attribute, suitability and impression on the intended readers. As it happens inevitably, a considerable number of manuscripts are being turned down on account not of the standard of the data per se, but ignorance on the way it is presented; they are predestined doom from the start, branded rubbish and straight into waste bin. Although the formats and styles vary from time to time and place to place, the eloquent, succinct, and logical style does not. Therefore, I try to explain, to the best of my ability, I confess which is not much, in this paper the general strategy of constructing a proper scientific literature.


Fossils bivalves from the Upper Bhuban unit, Bhuban Formation of western Aizawl, Mizoram, India

The intraformational conglomeratic bands and brown silty-sandstones of the Upper Bhuban unit, Bhuban Formation of western Aizawl, India, have yielded 44 species of bivalves belonging to 26 genera and 17 families. Out of these 44 species, seven species, namely Barbatia sp., Arcopsis sp., Cyclocardia sp., Clinocardium sp., Cultellus sp., Gari (Psammobia) kingi (Noetling), and Corbula (Corbula) mekranica Vredenburg are reported and illustrated for the first time from the Bhuban Formation of Mizoram. The first-five species listed above, however, could not be identified at the specific level for want of better- preserved materials and more detail information. A close study of these fossil assemblages reveals that, the Upper Bhuban unit of Bhuban Formation of western Aizawl has a geological age ranging from Aquitanian to Burdigalian, i.e. Lower Miocene age (20 to 23 million years).


Fossils bivalves from the Upper Bhuban unit, Bhuban Formation of western Aizawl, Mizoram, India

The intraformational conglomeratic bands and brown silty-sandstones of the Upper Bhuban unit, Bhuban Formation of western Aizawl, India, have yielded 44 species of bivalves belonging to 26 genera and 17 families. Out of these 44 species, seven species, namely Barbatia sp., Arcopsis sp., Cyclocardia sp., Clinocardium sp., Cultellus sp., Gari (Psammobia) kingi (Noetling), and Corbula (Corbula) mekranica Vredenburg are reported and illustrated for the first time from the Bhuban Formation of Mizoram. The first-five species listed above, however, could not be identified at the specific level for want of better- preserved materials and more detail information. A close study of these fossil assemblages reveals that, the Upper Bhuban unit of Bhuban Formation of western Aizawl has a geological age ranging from Aquitanian to Burdigalian, i.e. Lower Miocene age (20 to 23 million years).


Study of the structural properties of Co2YGe (Y=Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe) by GGA method

The structural properties of Co2YGe, a Heusler alloy have been evaluated by first principles density functional theory through total energy calculations at 0 K by the full potential linearized augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method as implemented in WIEN2K code. The calculated results were compared with the previously reported results. Generalized gradient approximation (GGA) was used to study the structural properties of Co2YGe. The calculated values of lattice parameters were in qualitative agreement with the previously reported results.


FP-LAPW calculations of electronic band structure of NbC and NbN

We have studied the equilibrium lattice constants and energy band structures of NbC and NbN using the full-potential linearized augmented-plane-wave (FP-LAPW) method within the framework of the density functional theory (DFT). The calculation has been performed by using the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) for the exchange and correlation potential. Computations have been performed using the WIEN2k codes. The result obtained is reasonable and compares well with the experimental data and other calculations.


Intercropping of nitrogen-fixing tree species (NFTs) with agriculture crops as a sustainable farming system

A study was carried out on the intercropping of nitrogen-fixing tree species (NFTs) with maize and rice on hill slopes of Mizoram. Three species of nitrogen fixing trees, namely Flemingia microphylla Willd. Merr. (family Fabaceae), Leucaenia leucocephala Lam. de Wit (family Fabaceae) and Tephrosia candida Roxb. DC. (family Fabaceae) were planted as hedgerows. The different nitrogen-fixing tree species introduced as hedgerows were found to increase the yield of the test crops, conserve soil nutrients, and improve efficiency of the system. The present study reveals that NFTs can be successfully intercropped with agriculture crops such as rice and maize in the hill slopes of Mizoram, India.