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Green-synthesized silver and copper nanoparticles (NPs), along with their composites, exhibit various biological activities. Ocimum sanctum (Holy basil), traditionally used as medicine in South Asia, treats respiratory disorders, digestive issues, skin diseases and inflammatory conditions. Modern scientific studies support these bioactivities; however, no studies have investigated their bioactivity in combination with NPs. In this study, silver and copper NPs were synthesized using AgNO3 and CuSO4·5H2O solutions, respectively, with Ocimum sanctum leaf extract, and their antibacterial, antioxidant and anticancer properties were examined. Spectroscopic analyses, including Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), elucidated the physicochemical characteristics of the green-synthesized nanoparticles (Os-AgNPs and Os-CuNPs), revealing sizes of 11.7 and 13.1 nm, respectively. The Os-AgNPs:Os-CuNPs nano-composite with a 1:2 ratio exhibited a zone of inhibition ranging from 8 to 12 mm against tested bacterial pathogens. Additionally, the NPs and their composites demonstrated potent antioxidant activity, with notable 2-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) scavenging activity observed in composites with ratios of 2:1 and 1:2. Furthermore, they displayed potential anticancer activity against human leukaemia (Jurkat) cancer cells. Although no distinct difference in anticancer property was observed among the NPs and their composites, our study highlights their well-defined nanostructure and significant biological activity, suggesting their potential as therapeutic agents in the pharmaceutical industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The volatile oil of cardamom capsules is an expensive ingredient in food preparation, beverages, perfumery and traditional medicines. The capsules of 65 promising cardamom accessions were used to evaluate the volatile oil content estimation. The volatile of cured capsules were extracted by hydro-distillation method and it was ranged from 2.2 % - 9.6%. Five cardamom accessions were observed highest volatile oil content, which was HY-3 and HY-4 (9.6 %), S1 × GG (Type 2) and SAM-5 (9.3%) and PPK-2 (9.1%). This higher volatile oil content is due to the more number of seeds per capsule, capsule maturity and curing period. The number of seeds per capsules was ranged 6.1 in SAM-3 and 17.8 in HY-3 and HY-4. In this study, we have identified 5 high volatile oil content cardamom accessions that could be used for future breeding programs for developing varieties with high yielding as well as high volatile oil content.

The lack of access to hygienic conditions and clean water is a serious issue in developing countries. Eco-friendly, bio-synthesised nanomaterials-based catalyst will be potential candidate material for waste water treatment. In this study, Phyllanthus niruri plant extract was used to make non-toxic, cost-effective ZnO NPs. The X-ray diffraction pattern was shown that the bio-synthesised ZnO NPs were in hexagonal wurtzite structure. The SEM image was used to analyse the surface morphology of the NPs, and the chemical purity of the NPs was analysed by EDAX spectrum. The various functional groups that exist in the NPs and purity of the prepared samples were analysed by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The bio-synthesised ZnO NPs decolourised the methylene blue dye and Reactive Red 120. The larger surface area of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) and wide absorption band of the NPs led to superior photocatalytic activity under the sunlight irradiation. The bio-synthesised ZnO NPs prevented or slowed down the oxidative damage of cells by controlling the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monitoring freshwater quality in urban like Chennai is indispensable as the chief drinking water source for the city originates from freshwater lakes. This study portrays an economical, user‐friendly, economical method to detect water quality. A machine learning‐based portable water quality check test kit was developed along with a user interface. To validate the efficiency of the portable kit, this study focussed on the ten major freshwater lakes of Chennai City. Basic quality parameters of water, such as the potential of hydrogen (pH), level of ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and total phosphate (T.P.), were considered when designing this mobile phone‐compatible user interface application. The experiment used and tested water samples from ten different lakes with the commercially available freshwater master test kit. The images of color developed during the test were captured, and corresponding Red, Green, Blue (RGB) values were calculated. These values were used in Igray, Iavg, and Euclidean distance algorithms to predict the pollution level of the samples. Based on the models, the Euclidean model fitted well with the calibration data with a correlation value of more than 0.98 for all the parameters. Percent accuracy values of the methods used in this study were compared, and the Euclidean model showed more than 98% accuracy for all parameters. The result of this study is alarming that all the ten freshwater lakes considered in this study were hypereutrophic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mn3O4 quantum dots (QDs) are synthesized at room temperature, and the resulting samples are annealed at the temperature of 523 K and 773 K. The crystallinity, average particle size, and lattice parameters of the prepared manganese oxide QDs are analyzed using X-ray crystal diffraction (XRD) studies. Furthermore, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is used to investigate the elements present on the surface of nanomaterials, the oxidation state, and the type of functional groups attached to the surface of QDs. The optical and magnetic properties of the produced QDs have also been studied with UV–Visible absorption spectra and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), respectively. Single-phase Mn3O4 QDs with the most stable tetragonal structure are detected by XRD. Due to grain growth, the optical band gap of Mn3O4 QDs has shifted from 4.12 to 3.96 eV, reaching the lowest value (3.96 eV) for the sample annealed at 773 K. All of the prepared samples of Mn3O4 QDs exhibit ferromagnetism at room temperature (300 K), with the sample annealed at 773 K having higher saturation magnetization (Ms =366 memu/gm) and remanence (Mr = 73memu/gm) when compared with the same QDs annealed at low temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gasification-fermentation is a thermochemical-biological platform for the production of fuels and chemicals. Biomass is gasified at high temperatures to make syngas, a gas composed of CO, CO2, H2, N2 and other minor components. Syngas is then fed to anaerobic microorganisms that convert CO, CO2 and H2 to alcohols by fermentation. This platform offers numerous advantages such as flexibility of feedstock and syngas composition and lower operating temperature and pressure compared to other catalytic syngas conversion processes. In comparison to hydrolysis-fermentation, gasification-fermentation has a major advantage of utilizing all organic components of biomass, including lignin, to yield higher fuel production. Furthermore, syngas fermentation microorganisms do not require strict CO:H2:CO2 ratios, hence gas reforming is not required. However, several issues must be addressed for successful deployment of gasification-fermentation, particularly those that involve the integration of gasification and fermentation. Most previous reviews have focused only on either biomass gasification or syngas fermentation. In this review, the critical factors that affect the integration of biomass gasification with syngas fermentation, such as carbon conversion efficiency, effect of trace gaseous species, H2 to CO ratio requirements, and microbial preference of carbon substrate, are thoroughly discussed.

In Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), Clustering aids in maximizing the lifetime of the network with sustained energy stability in the sensor nodes during data dissemination. In this clustering process, the sensor nodes are organized into clusters with the potential fitness node designated as Cluster Heads (CHs) for collecting and forwarding the data to the sink. In specific, the energy consumption of sensor nodes during their role as CH is maximized with great impact over the network lifespan. In this paper, a Weight-imposed Elite Hybrid Binary Cuckoo Search (EHBCS)-based Clustering Mechanism is proposed for facilitating potent data transmission with minimized energy consumption and improved network lifetime. This EHBCS is proposed as a novel energy-sensitive CH selection framework based on the process of hierarchical routing through the inclusion of hybrid optimization algorithm. It selected CH depending on the parameters of Quality of Service (QoS), delay, distance, and energy into account. It integrated the merits of Binary Cuckoo Search and Elite Mechanism for selecting CHs and performing effective processes by preventing sinkhole issues in WSNs. The results of EHBCS confirmed better throughout by 11.32%, minimized energy consumption by 13.84%, and minimized delay by 16.12% with an increasing number of sensor nodes, compared to the baseline CH selection approaches used for exploration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]