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In plants, hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) is mainly considered as a gaseous transmitter or signaling molecule that has long been recognized as an essential component of numerous plant cellular and physiological processes. Several subcellular compartments in plants use both enzymatic and non-enzymatic mechanisms to generate H 2 S. Under normal and stress full conditions exogenous administration of H 2 S supports a variety of plant developmental processes, including growth and germination, senescence, defense, maturation and antioxidant machinery in plants. Due to their gaseous nature, they are efficiently disseminated to various areas of the cell to balance antioxidant pools and supply sulphur to the cells. Numerous studies have also been reported regarding H 2 S ability to reduce heavy metal toxicity when combined with other signaling molecules like nitric oxide (NO), abscisic acid (ABA), calcium ion (Ca2+), hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2), salicylic acid (SA), ethylene (ETH), jasmonic acid (JA), proline (Pro), and melatonin. The current study focuses on multiple pathways for JA and H 2 S production as well as their signaling functions in plant cells under varied circumstances, more specifically under heavy metal, which also covers role of H 2 S and Jasmonic acid during heavy metal stress and interaction of hydrogen sulfide with Jasmonic acid. • Various heavy metal stressors adversely affect the growth and development of plants. • In order to meet the food demand of increasing population It becomes decisive to protect the plants from these stressors. • Hydrogen sulfide and Jasmonic acid could enhance the crop production by increasing stress tolerance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitric oxide (NO) is a diatomic gaseous molecule, which plays different roles in different strata of organisms. Discovered as a neurotransmitter in animals, NO has now gained a significant place in plant signaling cascade. NO regulates plant growth and several developmental processes including germination, root formation, stomatal movement, maturation and defense in plants. Due to its gaseous state, it is unchallenging for NO to reach different parts of cell and counterpoise antioxidant pool. Various abiotic and biotic stresses act on plants and affect their growth and development. NO plays a pivotal role in alleviating toxic effects caused by various stressors by modulating oxidative stress, antioxidant defense mechanism, metal transport and ion homeostasis. It also modulates the activity of some transcriptional factors during stress conditions in plants. Besides its role during stress conditions, interaction of NO with other signaling molecules such as other gasotransmitters (hydrogen sulfide), phytohormones (abscisic acid, salicylic acid, jasmonic acid, gibberellin, ethylene, brassinosteroids, cytokinins and auxin), ions, polyamines, etc. has been demonstrated. These interactions play vital role in alleviating plant stress by modulating defense mechanisms in plants. Taking all these aspects into consideration, the current review focuses on the role of NO and its interaction with other signaling molecules in regulating plant growth and development, particularly under stressed conditions. [Display omitted] • Various abiotic and biotic stressors adversely affect the growth, development and productivity of plants. • It becomes decisive to protect the plants from these stressors to meet the food demand of increasing population. • Nitric oxide (NO), a gaseous signaling molecule could enhance the crop production by increasing stress tolerance. • NO also interacts with other signaling molecules and may induce resistance in plants against different types of stresses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract An iterative method with fifth order of convergence for solving systems of nonlinear equations is presented. The scheme is composed of three steps, of which the first two steps are that of double Newton’s method with frozen derivative and third step is second derivative-free modification of Chebyshev’s method. The semilocal convergence of the method in Banach spaces is established by using a system of recurrence relations. Then an existence and uniqueness theorem is given to show the R -order of the method to be five and a priori error bounds. Computational complexity is discussed and compared with existing methods. Numerical results are included to confirm theoretical results. A comparison with the existing methods shows that the new method is more efficient than existing ones and hence use the minimum computing time in multiprecision arithmetic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vegetation coverage has a significant influence on the land surface temperature (LST) distribution. In the field of urban heat islands (UHIs) based on remote sensing, vegetation indexes are widely used to estimate the LST–vegetation relationship. This paper devises two objectives. The first analyzes the correlation between vegetation parameters/indicators and LST. The subsequent computes the occurrence of vegetation parameter, which defines the distribution of LST (for quantitative analysis of urban heat island) in Kalaburagi (formerly Gulbarga) City. However, estimation work has been done on the valuation of the relationship between different vegetation indexes and LST. In addition to the correlation between LST and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), the normalized difference build-up index (NDBI) is attempted to explore the impacts of the green land to the build-up land on the urban heat island by calculating the evaluation index of sub-urban areas. The results indicated that the effect of urban heat island in Kalaburagi city is mainly located in the sub-urban areas or Rurban area especially in the South-Eastern and North-Western part of the city. The correlation between LST and NDVI, indicates the negative correlation. The NDVI suggests that the green land can weaken the effect on urban heat island, while we perceived the positive correlation between LST and NDBI, which infers that the built-up land can strengthen the effect of urban heat island in our case study. Although satellite data (e.g., Landsat TM thermal bands data) has been applied to test the distribution of urban heat islands, but the method still needs to be refined with in situ measurements of LST in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a persistent need to assess the effects of TiO 2 nanoparticles on the aquatic ecosystem owing to their increasing usage in consumer products and risk of environmental release. The current study is focused on TiO 2 nanoparticle-induced acute toxicity at sub-ppm level (≤1 ppm) on the three different freshwater sediment bacterial isolates and their consortium under two different irradiation (visible light and dark) conditions. The consortium of the bacterial isolates was found to be less affected by the exposure to the nanoparticles compared to the individual cells. The oxidative stress contributed considerably towards the cytotoxicity under both light and dark conditions. A statistically significant increase in membrane permeability was noted under the dark conditions as compared to the light conditions. The optical and fluorescence microscopic images showed aggregation and chain formation of the bacterial cells, when exposed to the nanoparticles. The electron microscopic (SEM, TEM) observations suggested considerable damage of cells and bio-uptake of nanoparticles. The exopolysaccrides (EPS) production and biofilm formation were noted to increase in the presence of the nanoparticles, and expression of the key genes involved in biofilm formation was studied by RT-PCR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) pose a high risk of exposure to the natural environment owing to their extensive usage in various consumer products. In the present study we attempted to understand the harmful effect of AgNPs at environmentally relevant low concentration levels (≤1 ppm) towards two different freshwater bacterial isolates and their consortium. The standard plate count assay suggested that the AgNPs were toxic towards the fresh water bacterial isolates as well as the consortium, though toxicity was significantly reduced for the cells in the consortium. The oxidative stress assessment and membrane permeability studies corroborated with the toxicity data. The detailed electron microscopic studies suggested the cell degrading potential of the AgNPs, and the FT-IR studies confirmed the involvement of the surface groups in the toxic effects. No significant ion leaching from the AgNPs was observed at the applied concentration levels signifying the dominant role of the particle size, and size distribution in bacterial toxicity. The reduced toxicity for the cells in the consortium than the individual isolates has major significance in further studies on the ecotoxicity of the AgNPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Detection of microalbuminuria is an analytical challenge. There are dye-based methods and immunochemical methods. However, these methods are less specific and sensitive respectively. So, people are trying new approaches for microalbuminuria detection. In this context, we have developed a fluorescent spectroscopic method to detect human serum albumin using its pseudoesterase property. Recently, we had discovered that neostigmine does not inhibit Human serum albumin pseudoesterase activity. Using such a phenomenon, we have devised a specific fluorimetric detection method of HSA using 2NA as a substrate for the pseudoesterase activity. The developed method can sense as low as 0.1 μM of HSA in the urine matrix without dye or antibody. We have proposed a scheme of automation of the proposed method. [Display omitted] • 2NA behaves as a substrate for fluorometric detection of HSA pseudoesterase activity. • Sense as low as 0.1 μM of HSA in the urine matrix. • Neostigmine does not inhibit pseudoesterase activity of HSA. • Can distinguish organocarbamate (neostigmine) from organophosphate (dichlorvos) by fluorimetry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: With an objective to understand the nature of forces which contribute to the disjoining pressure of a thin water film on a steel substrate being pressed by an oil droplet, two independent sets of experiments were done. (i) A spherical silica probe approaches the three substrates; mica, PTFE and steel, in a 10mM electrolyte solution at two different pHs (3 and 10). (ii) The silica probe with and without a smeared oil film approaches the same three substrates in water (pH=6). The surface potential of the oil film/water was measured using a dynamic light scattering experiment. Assuming the capacity of a substrate for ion exchange the total interaction force for each experiment was estimated to include the Derjaguin–Landau–Verwey–Overbeek (DLVO) force, hydration repulsion, hydrophobic attraction and oil-capillary attraction. The best fit of these estimates to the force–displacement characteristics obtained from the two sets of experiment gives the appropriate surface potentials of the substrates. The procedure allows an assessment of the relevance of a specific physical interaction to an experimental configuration. Two of the principal observations of this work are: (i) The presence of a surface at constant charge, as in the presence of an oil film on the probe, significantly enhances the counterion density over what is achieved when both the surfaces allow ion exchange. This raises the corresponding repulsion barrier greatly. (ii) When the substrate surface is wettable by oil, oil-capillary attraction contributes substantially to the total interaction. If it is not wettable the oil film is deformed and squeezed out. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Oil droplets are dispersed in water by an anionic surfactant to form an emulsion. The lubricity of this emulsion in steel/steel interaction is explored in a ball on flat nanotribometer. The droplet size and charge are measured using dynamic light scattering, while the substrate charge density is estimated using the pH titration method. These data are combined to calculate the DLVO forces for the droplets generated for a range of surfactant concentration and two oil to water volume ratios. The droplets have a clear bi-modal size distribution. The study shows that the smaller droplets which experience weak repulsion are situated (at the highest DLVO barrier) much closer to the substrate than the bigger droplets, which experience the same DLVO force, are. We suggest that the smaller droplets thus play a more important role in lubricity than what the bigger droplets do. The largest volume of such small droplets occurs in the 0.5mM–1mM range of surfactant concentration and 1% oil to water volume ratio, where the coefficient of friction is also observed to be the least. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Determination of probability density function (PDF) of the response for strongly nonlinear single-degree-of-freedom system subjected to both multiplicative and additive random excitations using stochastic averaging technique is faced with few difficulties. Firstly, the size of excitations should be small such that the response of the system converges weakly to a Markov process. Secondly, the excitations should preferably be broad banded so that the analytical results are reasonably accurate and finally, the nonlinear functions should be integrable if closed-formed expressions for the result are desired. The above issues are examined in the paper with a view to show (a) limiting values of the size parameter of excitations for which stochastic averaging technique can be applied to obtain reasonable estimates of PDF and mean square value of response, (b) the effect of the nature of the frequency contents of excitation on the response and (c) the use of the stochastic averaging method employing generalized harmonic functions for nonintegrable functions representing the dynamic system. It is shown that the stochastic averaging procedure provides results which compare very well with those obtained from simulation analysis not only for wide band excitations, but also for narrow band excitations for a wide range of the size parameter of excitation. Further, the procedure can be easily implemented for highly irregular functions by employing a numerical scheme with FFT. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Among Flaviviridae, in West Nile virus (WNV) and Hepatitis C virus (HCV), the non-structural protein NS4A modulates the NTPase activity of viral helicases during nucleic acid unwinding through its N-terminal disordered residues (1-50). In HCV, the acidic NS4A also serves as a cofactor for regulating the NS3 protease activity. However, in case of Zika virus (ZIKV), the role of NS4A and its impact on activities of NS3 helicase and protease is not known. In order to elucidate the role of NS4A, we checked the NTPase activity of NS3 helicase and protease activity of NS3 protease in presence of NS4A N-terminal region (residues 1–48) peptide. Our enzyme kinetics results together with binding experiment clearly demonstrate that NS3 helicase in presence of NS4A peptide increased the rate of ATP hydrolysis whereas the protease activity of NS3 protease was not affected. Therefore, like WNV and HCV, our results establish a role of ZIKV NS4A being a cofactor for modulating the NTPase activity of ZIKV NS3 helicase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the mystery molecule p53 has been studied extensively, still several unknown mechanisms need to be elucidated. Being a central hub of cellular signaling pathways, the function of p53 is precisely executed synergistically by its intrinsically disordered and structural domains. The disordered N-terminal region further modulates p53 function by undergoing promiscuous binding and folding with several partners with the help of TAD1 and TAD2 motifs. Among these regions, a significant contribution is made by TAD2 in terms of binding affinities. This heterogeneity in p53 TAD region motivates to employ a reductionist approach to understand the folding behavior of TAD2 region independently under a broad range of different pH, temperature and solvent conditions. Since the intracellular environment is complex and crowded with a variety of molecules providing different type of surfaces from polar to hydrophobic, it is mandatory to characterize the conformational heterogeneity of disordered proteins to completely understand their function. Different types of alcohols were used to estimate the structure forming capabilities of the TAD2 peptides using circular dichroism, fluorescence and lifetime spectroscopy. The alcohols ethanol, TFE and HFIP were previously known to induce increasing levels of hydrophobic environments in water-alcohol mixtures respectively. Our results have shown that TAD2 peptide undergoes a dehydration dependent induction of hydrophobic interactions leading towards structural transitions in presence of organic solvents. This study is highlighting the importance of hydrophobic surfaces playing a crucial role in TAD2 interaction and conformational transitions. • TAD2 peptide resistant to conformational changes over neutral and alkaline pH range except acidic. • In presence of TFE, the TAD2 peptide could not take up clear alpha helix conformation. • The TAD2 peptide undergo alpha-helix transitions in HFIP due to more hydrophobic environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of the present investigation is appraisal of human health hazard based on the intake and dermal contact of fluoride enriched potable groundwater used for rural water supply in a semi-arid region (Shanmuganadhi River basin) of south India. A variance decomposition based Sobol sensitivity method was used to assess the relative contribution as well as interaction of input variables for both oral and dermal models. Three different scores were evaluated: FOE (first order effect), SOE (second order effect) and TE (total effect) for different age groups of population including gender (kids, women and men). The spatio-temporal mapping indicates that about 26% of water supply wells exceeded the recommended limit (WHO) of fluoride (>1.5 mg l−1) for safe intake. These wells spread over 104.03 km2 area consisting 16 villages in the basin. To assess the human health risk related to fluoride enrichment in potable water, hazard index (HI) was calculated as per USEPA guidelines. The non-carcinogenic risk based on oral intake ranges from 0 to 1.81, from 0 to 1.59 and from 0 to 1.29 for kids, women and men respectively. Nearly 30%, 21% and 12% of well samples exceeded the upper permissible limit (HI > 1) for kids, women and men respectively. The Sobol sensitivity analysis reveals that, C w (concentration of F− in water) and IR (intake rate) combination plays a vital role in the HQ oral model for the appraisal of health hazard in kids. However, these two parameters have negligible effect on health hazard for adult population (men and women). Therefore, lower age group people especially kids have significant ill effect due to the consumption of fluoride enriched potable water. The model output suggests that body weight (BW) has least effect on health hazard in the lower age group of population. Interestingly 'exposure frequency (EF)' and 'body weight (BW)' have not much effect on health hazards related to dermal contact, and 'skin surface area (SA)' has minimal effect for men (TE = 0.92) and women (TE = 1.26). However, 'SA' has vital effect for kids (TE = 17.39). Because of this, older age group people have more dermal risk than the younger people. Therefore, the HQ dermal results indicate that 49%, 64% and 67% of samples possess non-carcinogenic risk to the kids, women and men respectively. • More than 1/4th of the sampled well waters in Shanmuganadhi Basin have > 1.5 mg l−1 of fluoride. • Appraisal of health hazard is based on Sobol sensitivity approach on oral intake and dermal contact of fluoride enriched groundwater. • Hazard Quotient (HQ) on oral intake indicates higher non-carcinogenic risk for kids compared to women and men. • HQ on dermal contact indicates higher non-carcinogenic risks for men and women compared to kids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability of an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to measure the concentration of charge variants of a monoclonal antibody (mAb) biotherapeutic has been investigated. Percentage recovery was found to be in the range of 80%–120% with inter and intra assay variation between 5% and 15%. Linear regression analysis of ELISA output at different dilutions yielded a good fit (R2 > 0.98). Assay output was not hindered by the presence of serum proteins and other analytes such as GCSF, demonstrating acceptable precision and specificity. It was concluded that the charge variants of the mAb can be accurately quantified by ELISA. • Ability of an ELISA to measure the concentration of charge variants of a mAb has been investigated. • It was found that the percentage recovery was in the range of 80%–120%. The inter and intra assay variation varied from 5% to 15%. • The linear regression analysis of ELISA output with different dilutions of charge variants yielded a good fit (R2>0.98). • The assay output was not hindered by the presence of serum proteins and other analytes such as GCSF. • It can be concluded that the charge variants of the mAb can be accurately quantified by ELISA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experimental study is conducted to investigate the frequency dependent decay of free-surface water waves in a sloshing tank with partially-submerged floating plastic balls on the free-surface. The present study is motivated by the need to understand the possible mechanisms for ocean wave decay in the marginal ice zone. Laboratory experiments are performed to estimate the wave decay rate due to floating balls representing ice floes. The decay rates with the balls are sufficiently greater than the decay rates without the balls and we assume the effect of the balls dominates the decay. The temporal decay rates of the free-surface wave amplitudes are measured for a small excitation amplitude and different water-depths. The decay rates for the first and third modes of sloshing are extracted, even when these two modes are combined. It is shown that the decay rates obtained from the present study match with the exponent three power-law dependence on wave frequency as observed for the decay rates in the marginal ice zone. This matching of exponent suggests that the same mechanism may be responsible for both types of decay. • A study on the decay of water waves due to floating balls is carried out. • Temporal decay rates are measured for a small excitation under different depths. • Floating balls enhance the decay rates compared to the case without balls. • Decay rates for the sloshing modes are extracted, even when two modes are combined. • Decay rates match with a power law observed in waves in the marginal ice zone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We develop a class of n -point iterative methods with optimal 2 n order of convergence for solving nonlinear equations. Newton's second order and Ostrowski's fourth order methods are special cases corresponding to n = 1 and n = 2 . Eighth and sixteenth order methods that correspond to n = 3 and n = 4 of the class are special cases of the eighth and sixteenth order methods proposed by Sharma et al. [25] . The methodology is based on employing the previously obtained ( n − 1 ) -step scheme and modifying the n -th step by using rational Hermite interpolation. Unlike that of existing higher order techniques the proposed technique is attractive since it leads to a simple implementation. Local convergence analysis is provided to show that the iterations are locally well defined and convergent. Theoretical results are verified through numerical experimentations. The performance is also compared with already established methods in literature. It is observed that new algorithms are more accurate than existing counterparts and very effective in high precision computations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamics of slosh induced wave systems in shallow water tanks is analyzed for various excitation conditions. Shake table experiments have been systematically performed to understand the complex interaction of multi-wave system under harmonic excitation. From the experiments, it was observed that, for relatively large excitation amplitudes, the hydraulic jumps emanated around the resonance region. The hydraulic jump phenomenon is further explored for different tank aspect ratios, i.e, 2.5 ≤ L ∕ B ≤ 4.038. To establish the frequency bounds for hydraulic jumps, excitation amplitude and frequency are demarcated over the range of 0.841 ≤ β ≤ 1.628 and liquid depth range of 0.034 ≤ h ∕ L ≤ 0.069. The experimental bounds are juxtaposed with the theoretical bounds to analyze the margins present in hydraulic jumps. Although, the theoretical bound is independent of liquid depth, experimental observations clearly indicate a strong dependency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A scientific approach is presented describing the fabrication of nanoprobe (GloTrack) that can act as cardiac precursor label to segregate cells from cardiac/non cardiac origins and traced by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Signal regulatory protein alpha (SIRPA) and kinase domain receptor (KDR) recognizing antibodies, form a layer on super paramagnetic iron oxide nanoparticle – poly-ethylene glycol (SPION-PEG) complex, and bind to protein expressed on the surface of cardiac muscle cells. Physical attributes size, distribution, labelling efficiency, echocardiogram (ECG) changes and bio-distribution by MRI were analysed. The results indicate that GloTrack has an average size of 471 nm, exhibits negative potential and promotes labelling efficiency. The bio-distribution of GloTrack in in vivo experiments was traceable in 7T MRI showing high accumulation of GloTrack in cardiac muscles as compared to the liver and spleen. ECG data revealed that GloTrack segregated cardiac precursors has the potential benefit in treating heart failure, thereby paving way in the development of minimal cell manipulation with targeted cell delivery approaches. • The cardiac specific mAb receptors are bound to SPION-PEG micelle through covalent bonding. • The engineered cardiac specific nanoprobe when incubated with the MSCs of stromal vascular fraction yields positively selected cells through the magnetic assorted cell sorting column. • Myocardial infarction is introduced in the healthy mice using isoproterenol through the intraperitoneal route. Later GloTrack labelled cardiac precursors are administered. • Visualisation of the stem cells is done using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and functional studies through echocardiogram (ECG). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Toxic industrial wastes and microbial pathogens in water pose a continuous threat to aquatic life as well as alarming situations for humans. Developing advanced materials with an environmentally friendly approach is always preferable for heterogeneous visible light photocatalysis. As a green reducing tool, LBG-s-AgNPs@ g-C 3 N 4 NS hybrid nanostructures were anchored onto graphitic carbon nitride (g-C 3 N 4) using an environmentally friendly approach of anchoring/decorating AgNPs onto g-C 3 N 4. With the help of advanced techniques, the fabricated hybrid nanostructures were characterized. Using a sheet like matrix of g-C 3 N 4 , nanosized and well-defined uniform AgNPs displayed good antibacterial activity as well as superior photodegradation of hazardous dyes, including methylene blue (MB) and Rhodamine B (RhB). Based on the disc diffusion method, three pathogenic microorganisms of clinical significance can be identified by showing the magnitude of their susceptibility. As a result, the following antimicrobial potency was obtained: E. coli ≥ M. luteus ≥ S. aureus. In this study, green synthesized (biogenic) AgNPs decorated with g-C 3 N 4 were found to be more potent antimicrobials than traditional AgNPs. Under visible light irradiation, LBG-s-AgNPs@g-C 3 N 4 NS (0.01 M) demonstrated superior photocatalytic performance: ∼100% RhB degradation and ∼99% of MB degradation in 160 min. LBG-s-AgNPs@g-C 3 N 4 NS showed the highest kinetic rate, 3.44 × 10−2 min−1, which is 27.74 times for the control activity in case of MB dye. While in case of RhB dye LBG-s-AgNPs@g-C 3 N 4 NS showed the highest kinetic rate, 2.26 × 10−2 min−1, which is 17.51 times for the control activity. Due to the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and reduction in recombination of the electrons and holes generated during photocatalysis, anchoring AgNPs to g-C 3 N 4 further enhanced the photocatalytic degradation of dyes. Using this photocatalyst, hazardous dyes can be efficiently and rapidly degraded, allowing it to be applied for wastewater treatment contaminated with dyes. It also showed remarkable antimicrobial activity towards Gram-ve/Gram + ve pathogens. [Display omitted] • Highlights (for review). • LBG-s-Ag-loaded g-C 3 N 4 nanosheets hybrid nanostructures was successfully synthesized. • Nanostructures was physico-chemically characterized by UV–vis spectroscopy, XRD, FTIR, PL, XPS, TEM. • Well-defined uniform AgNPs demonstrated good antibacterial activity and superior photodegradation of hazardous dyes. • LBG-s-AgNPs@ g-C 3 N 4 NSs (0.01 M) demonstrated superior photocatalytic performance: ∼100% RhB degradation and ∼99% of RhB degradation in 160 min. • Antimicrobial potency obtained was as follows: E. coli ≥ M. luteus ≥ S. aureus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Bacterial seed endophytes of sorghum inhibited the growth of fungal pathogens. • The presence of surfactin (Sfp) gene was confirmed in Bacillus pumilus. • B. pumilus and its lipopeptide extract caused structural deformations in R. solani. • B. pumilus significantly protected the sorghum seedlings from R. solani infection. • B. pumilus up-regulated the expression of defense genes in sorghum seedlings. The goal of this study was to evaluate the role of seed endophytic bacteria (SEB) in fungal disease protection in sorghum seedlings. Total six SEB, including two Bacillus spp. (SM1 and SM6), and four Paenibacillus spp. (SM2, SM3, SM4, and SM5) were isolated from sorghum seeds. All isolates produced auxin while only SM3 isolate showed phosphate solubilization activity. All SEB inhibited the growth of tested fungal pathogens. Bacillus pumilus (SM1) and Bacillus subtilis (SM6) showed positive drop collapse assay, and presence of surfactin gene was also screened in their genomes. Further, lipopeptides extracted from SM1 and SM6 strongly inhibited Rhizoctonia solani growth in disc diffusion assay. Live-dead staining and fluorescence microscopy revealed the structural deformations and cell death in R. solani by lipopeptides. In microcosm assay, seeds inoculated with B. pumilus significantly protected the seedlings from Rhizoctonia infection. B. pumilus inoculated seedlings showed significant increase in the levels of PAL and SOD enzymes and their gene expressions (2.76, 2.00 and 4.61, 2.25 folds, respectively) compared to control. PR1 gene expression was also increased by 2.68 folds compared to the control. Present study concludes that sorghum seeds inhabit SEB like B. pumilus which is crucial in protecting seedlings from R. solani by producing lipopeptides, enhancing antioxidant and defense enzymes level and their gene expressions. This study is significant in terms of its originality which presents a first report on SEB of sorghum roles in seedlings protection against soil borne fungal pathogen like Rhizoctonia solani. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is a promising, simple, rapid and sensitive molecular detection method. In the present study, LAMP assay was developed for detecting Clostridium perfringens in chevon. Primers were designed to detect the cpa gene of C. perfringens. A panel of 19 bacterial strains, including 3 C. perfringens and 16 other strains, were included in this study to standardize and evaluate the LAMP assay. No false positive amplification was observed indicating 100% specificity of the assay. The detection limit of LAMP and conventional PCR in the DNA extracted from pure C. perfringens was 0.34 pg and 3.4 pg, respectively. This revealed that LAMP assay is 10 times more sensitive than conventional PCR. The sensitivity of the LAMP assay for the detection of C. perfringens in raw chevon was found to be 1.2 × 102 CFU/g after 6-h enrichment and 1.2 × 105 CFU/g without enrichment in artificial spiking studies. Improved C. perfringens detection of 12 CFU/g within 12 h was obtained proving that LAMP assay is significantly faster than traditional methods that take >2 d. The developed LAMP assay also detected the targeted organism in clinical and environmental samples with the sensitivity and specificity of 97% and 84%, respectively with Kappa agreement of 0.824 respects to PCR assay. This method shows immense potential for routine diagnosis and monitoring of C. perfringens in food, environment and clinical samples. This is the first report in which the LAMP assay was optimized for the detection of C. perfringens in chevon. Highlights • A rapid LAMP assay was developed for detecting Clostridium perfringens in chevon. • This is the first report in which the LAMP assay was optimized for the detection of C. perfringens in chevon. • Developed LAMP assay is 10 times more sensitive than conventional PCR. • The developed LAMP assay also detected the targeted organism in clinical and environmental samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] The overuse and inappropriate use of antibiotics to treat bacterial infections has led to the development of multiple drug resistant strains. Biofilm is a complex microorganism aggregation defined by the presence of a dynamic, sticky, and protective extracellular matrix made of polysaccharides, proteins, and nucleic acids. The infectious diseases are caused by bacteria that flourish within quorum sensing (QS) mediated biofilms. Efforts to disrupt biofilms have enabled the identification of bioactive molecules produced by prokaryotes and eukaryotes. The QS system is quenched predominantly by these molecules. The phenomenon is also termed as quorum sensing (QS). Both synthetic and natural substances have been discovered to be useful in QS. This review describes natural and synthetic quorum sensing inhibitors (QSIs) with the potential to treat bacterial infections. It includes the discussion on quorum sensing, mechanism of quorum sensing, effect of substituents on the activity. These discoveries could result in effective therapies using far lower dosages of medications, particularly antibiotics, are currently needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fluorescent carbon dots (CDs) are prepared from a natural resource Carica Papaya Leaves, by sand bath method. The as-synthesized CDs optical and structural properties were characterized by UltraViolet-Visible, FT- IR, and fluorescence spectroscopy. Also the size, shape, and particle size distribution was studied using Transmission electron microscopy technique. These CDs were examined for biomedical applications like free radical scavenging activity using DPPH assay, antioxidant activity using phosphomolybdate assay, and in vitro anti-inflammatory activity using membrane stabilization protocol. The CDs exhibited excellent biological activities at lower concentrations and showed notable half-maximal effective concentration (EC 50). The EC 50 of free radical scavenging activity (27.6 μg/mL), antioxidant activity (23.00 μg/mL), and in vitro anti-inflammatory activity (15.52 μg/mL) signifies that CDs can be potential therapeutic agents. • Fluorescent Carbondots (CDs) are prepared from a natural resource Carica Papaya Leaves without usage of external passivating agents. • A facile, economic, and green approach was utilized to synthesize CDs in bulk using sand bath assisted method. • The CDs were examined for radical scavenging activity and antioxidant capacity and in vitro anti-inflammatory activity. • CDs exhibited excellent EC 50 for DPPH (27.6 μg/mL), TAC (23.00 μg/mL), and HRBC (15.52 μg/mL) activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, we used a variance decomposition based global sensitivity index to evaluate the sensitivity of input variables and their contribution for non-carcinogenic health risks via intake and dermal pathways. Groundwater samples were collected from an industrial sector (Tiruppur region) of south India during the month of January 2020. These samples were analysed for nitrate, which varied from 10 to 290 mg L−1 having the mean of 87 mg L−1. Nearly 58% of the samples surpassed the permissible limit (45 mg L−1) defined by the World Health Organization. Total hazard index (THI) ranged from 0.29 to 8.52 for children, 0.28 to 8.26 for women, and 0.24 to 6.99 for men. The first-order effect (FOE) and second-order effect (SOE) were derived for the three different age groups using Sobol sensitivity approach. The FOE scores showed that nitrate concentration in groundwater is the most sensitive parameter followed by exposure frequency for children, men and women via oral pathway. The SOE scores showed that nitrate concentration along with ingestion rate had greater sensitiveness in the oral input model. The higher SOE was obtained for the interaction of nitrate with skin surface area for children via dermal pathway, but it was not significant for women and men. These results suggest that epidemiology due to nitrate risk should be studied taking into account of concentration of nitrate, exposure frequency, fraction of contact and body weight. Additionally, ingestion rate and skin surface area were considered for the assessment of health risks for children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present investigation was conducted to find the possible chromium contamination in groundwater and the related health risks in a leather industrial region of south India using Sobol sensitivity modeling. Thirty-five groundwater samples were sampled from the field sites and were analyzed for pH, TDS (Total Dissolved Solids), EC (Electrical Conductivity), F− (Fluoride), NO 3 − (Nitrate) and Cr (Chromium). The concentration of nitrate varied from 3 to 81 mg/L with a mean of 48.6 mg/L. About 57% (n = 20) of the wells surpassed the drinkable limit (45 mg/L) for NO 3 − as per World Health Organization (WHO). The fluoride ion ranged from 0.1 to 2.7 mg/L with a mean of 1.5 mg/L. Around 51% (n = 18) of the samples crossed the recommended limit of WHO for F− (1.5 mg/L). The chromium varied from 0.01 to 0.19 mg/L in groundwater with a mean of 0.1 mg/L. About 66% (n = 23) of the samples overshoot the permissible limit of WHO standards (0.05 mg/L) for Cr. The spatial distribution map of chromium in the groundwater showed that 271.76 km2 area is under risk. Based on total hazard index (THI), 66%, 46%, and 43% of the groundwater samples surpassed the allowable limit (THI > 1) for children, women and men, correspondingly. Children pose severe health risks than women and men in this region. Using Sobol sensitivity indices, three different categories of risk effects were assessed: first order effect (FOE), total effect (TE) and second order effect (SOE). In the oral sensitivity model, concentration of Cr (C w) in water and ingestion rate (IR) had the dominant role, whereas in the dermal model, skin surface area (SA) and contact fraction by skin (F) had vital role in addition to the concentration (C w). Further, the outcome of this study insists the responsibilities of industrial, municipal and agricultural sectors to keep the environment pollution free and to ensure the supply of potable water to the people. • Cr concentration was measured in groundwater samples in the parts of South India. • 66% samples were not suitable for drinking purposes due to higher Cr concentration. • Sensitive parameters in oral Sobol model were Cr concentration and ingestion rate. • Skin surface area and Cr concentration were sensitive parameters in dermal pathway. • Children are more vulnerable to Cr in groundwater than women and men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salmonella, recognized as one of the most important foodborne bacteria has worldwide health and socioeconomic impact. To prevent the occurrence of outbreaks and recall of food, a simple, rapid and robust detection test is needed. In the present study, a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay was developed for rapid, sensitive and visual detection of Salmonella spp. and validated in meat using chevon as a model. The specificity of the developed LAMP was ascertained by using Salmonella and non- Salmonella strains. The developed LAMP assay was 10 fold more sensitive than conventional PCR with the analytical sensitivity of 5 fg and 50 fg of DNA, respectively. In chevon samples artificially contaminated with S. Typhimurium, the LOD of LAMP was log 10 8.50 CFU/g, without enrichment, whereas, after short enrichment of meat for 6 h and 12 h, the sensitivity significantly improved with the detection limit of log 10 2.50 CFU/g and log 10 1.50 CFU/g, respectively. The current study demonstrates that the developed LAMP assay is a simple, sensitive and specific method to identify Salmonella which may be utilized in future for rapid detection of Salmonella in meat. The present study also highlights the importance of enrichment for sensitive detection of Salmonella from meat samples. • A simple LAMP assay was developed for visual detection of Salmonella in meat. • Limit of detection of 32 CFU/g of meat was achieved after 12 h of enrichment. • The developed LAMP may be used for rapid onsite detection of Salmonella in foods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of multi-cycle multi-pressure microfluidization on the rheological properties of sugarcane juice has been reported for the first time in this work. Microfluidization pressure was varied in defined steps from 50 to 200 MPa with 1–7 cycles of processing. Rheological measurements were carried out at 30, 40 and 50 °C. Increase in microfluidization pressure up to 150 MPa showed an increase in consistency index. Beyond 150 MPa, an observed reduction in consistency index was attributed to the reduction in carbohydrate polymer chains, agglomeration, and molecular degradation. At low processing pressures, microfluidized sugarcane juice exhibited pseudoplastic behavior but showed a dilatant tendency at higher pressures (>150 MPa). Microfluidization increased the flow behavior index by 24–38% as compared to unprocessed sugarcane juice. No prominent trend in rheological data was observed with change in microfluidization cycles. Consistency index was reduced with increase in temperature and was found in the range of 1.5 × 10−3 ─ 5.3 × 10−3 Pa.sn whereas the flow behavior index was found in the range of 0.71 ─ 0.99. A GA mediated ANN model with 12 hidden layer neurons was found to predict the rheological properties of microfluidized sugarcane juice with a reasonable level of accuracy (R 2 = 0.86–0.93). • First report of rheology of microfluidized sugarcane juice. • Microfluidization increases the consistency index of sugarcane juice. • Pressures above 150 MPa causes over processing leading to particle agglomeration. • More than five processing cycles reduces juice viscosity at room temperature. • ANN-GA model can predict (R2 ≈ 86–93%) rheological data of microfluidized sugarcane juice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]