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Microbial solubilization of rock phosphate (RP) considered being an alternative to chemical phosphorous (P) fertilizer, causing high costs and environmental pollution. This work aimed to isolate efficient phosphate solubilizing strains from the estuary region of the Mahanadi river to check their RP solubilizing efficiency, and the mechanisms were discussed. Two strains of bacteria (Bacillus thuringenesis P0B11 and Lysinobaccillus fusiformis P0B28) and a fungus (Aspergillus aculeatus P0F3) were the most effective strain solubilizing RP. This is the first report of RP solubilization by L. fusiformis P0B28 and the first report of in vitro stearic acid production during RP solubilization. In particular, the potent strain A. aculeatus P0F3 produced the highest soluble P (345.6 mg/l) on 5th day. The soluble P concentration showed a significant negative correlation (r = − 0.88, p ≤ 0.01) with the pH, while it is positively correlated with the growth of B. thuringenesis P0B11 (r = 0.87, p ≤ 0.01), L. fusiformis P0B28 (r = 0.55, p ≤ 0.01) and A. aculeatus P0F3 (r = 0.96, p ≤ 0.01), respectively. The P release process from rock phosphate fit the first-order kinetics model well (R2 = 0.8046–0.8401). Organic acids produced by the isolates found to be the major mechanism for RP solubilization by supplying H+ ions and organic anions. High P concentration was related to the high corroded structure formation on the RP surface, reduction in all mineral peak intensities and a large decrease in the intensity of vibrational bands of calcite and fluorapatite confirmed by SEM, XRD, and FTIR, respectively.

A study was conducted to examine the interrelationships among socioeconomic factors, household consumption patterns, calorie intake and greenhouse gas emissions factors in rural eastern India based on household survey data. Findings indicated that higher monthly per capita incomes (12.1–80.1$) were associated with greater average calorie intakes (2021–2525 kcal d−1). As estimated by the FEEDME model, in total 17.2% of the population was calorie malnourished with a regional disparity of 29.4–18.2% malnourishment. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were calculated only on the basis of crop and livestock production and consumption. Rice accounted for the highest share of total GHG emissions, on average 82.6% on a production basis, which varied from 58.1% to 94.9% in regional basis. Rice contributed the greatest share (~ 65% and 66.2%) in terms of both calories and GHG emissions (CO2 eq y−1), respectively, on a consumption basis. We conclude that extensive rice farming and increasing animal product consumption are dominant factors in the higher carbon footprint in this region and are likely to further increase with increase in per capita income. This study provides useful information to help for better crop planning and for fine-tuning food access policy, to reduce carbon footprint and calorie malnutrition.

The significant technological evolution for the machining of Ti-6Al-4V alloy has been a continuous talk for scientific and academic researchers. The analysis for a new methodology for improving performance and the implications needs to be explored further in this advanced aerospace alloy steel. Despite the advanced performance and due to the adverse characteristics of titanium alloy, for instance, thermal conductivity, chemical reactivity, and extreme temperature strength obstruct its potential application in the field of machining. The application of this titanium alloy revealing a great perspective in the field of the aeronautical realm. With this backdrop, this scoping review work aims for the apples-to-apples comparison machining conditions, characterization techniques, and influence of main cutting input parameters on output efficiencies during the turning process. A state of art recent technologies, issues, challenges, and with this the machining of material is also illustrated along with the possible research future directions.

External strengthening using Jacketing technique can suitably use for increasing the Axial and shear strength of RC square Column [1] . This paper includes an experimental investigation for studying the effectiveness and suitability of high performance ferrocement mortar mixes as a retrofitting material and its use as jacket for square columns. The experimental programme included development of high performance ferrocement mortar mix by adding 10% of silica fumes and 1% of super plasticiser and its use in retrofitting of square column specimens which were either intact or distressed earlier to certain level [2] . The experimental programme consisted of testing 2 controlled specimens and 6 retrofitted specimens initially distressed to 80–85% of theoretical stress level, repairing, and retrofitting prior to testing. The control specimens were of dimension 100mmx100mm and 500 mm height, cast in M30 conventionally vibrated concrete, reinforced longitudinally with four bars of 8 mm diameter and six lateral ties of 6 mm diameter as transverse reinforcement [3] . Three different mixes proportions of 1:1.5, 1:2, 1:3, were used for jacketing around the columns. The jacket was reinforced with mild steel welded wire mesh 50 mm × 50 mm made of 1.16 mm diameter wire. The retrofitted specimens were tested after 28 days of curing. Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) Sheet is provided at top and bottom of the specimens. And then the results are compared at the end the Retrofitted specimen of 1:1.5 Ferrocement mix has more Load carrying capacity than other Ferrocement mix when compared with controlled of 8.85%.

Nanotechnology provides environmentally friendly green technique for synthesizing silver nanoparticles using various parts of the plant. Here we used aqueous leaf extract of Symplocos racemosa for synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) by adding 1 mM AgNO3 as reducing agent. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) from aqueous leaf extract and 1 mM AgNO3 are successfully synthesized here. The characterization of the silver nanoparticles were carried out by UV–visible spectroscopy, XRD (X-Ray Diffraction), FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), FE-SEM (Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope), EDX (Energy Dispersive X Ray Spectroscopy) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The limit of UV–visible spectroscopy at 422 nm supported the reduction AgNO3 to AgNPs. FTIR peaks were observed in the frequencies near 3270, 1640, 1408, 1080 cm−1 implying that O–H stretch, C–C, –CH3, and C–O–C groups respectively from the extracts, which were capped with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). Antimicrobial activity of synthesized silver nanoparticles have been studied on Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Iron oxide has various applications used in steel industry. In this work composites of graphene oxide and iron oxide have been prepared by horizontal dry planetary ball milling technique. Graphene oxide (1, 2 wt%) is reinforced to iron oxide to develop composites with improved hardness. Compositions of iron oxide and graphene oxide were ball milled for 14 hrs followed by sintering. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis shows peaks of iron oxide and graphene oxide (GO). The agglomeration of phases were found in field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) study. From microstructural analysis, graphene oxide is found to be randomly distributed in the grain of iron oxide. Micro hardness value of iron oxide and GO composite was found to increase significantly when 2% of GO is added to composite. The microstructure and hardness values of the composite of iron oxide-GO (2 wt%) can be considered as the suitable potential coating material for using on surface of conventional material like mild steel to improve its mechanical behavior and wear resistant property.

Total and sequentially extracted fractions (exchangeable, bound to carbonate, bound to iron and manganese oxides, bound to organic matter and residual) of eight heavy metals (Cu, Mn, Zn, Ni, Fe, Cr...

Nature-inspired optimization algorithms are simple and effective tools for solving highly non-linear and multi-modal real-world problems. Nowadays this kind of methods is very attractive for researchers in different fields of science and engineering. The aim of this article is to provide a review that includes the general implementation view of nature-inspired algorithms, the brief over view of random walks, improvement strategies of NIOAs, efficiency comparison techniques and so on. Selection and development of NIOAs are the main challenges to the researchers. Therefore, this paper also includes the recently developed popular NIOAs depending on citation metric and presents their working strategies in brief to meet the main thrust of this domain. At last, the study also briefly discusses the possible applications of NIOAs over digital image processing domain.

Rock Phosphate (RP) is a natural phosphorus source which can be an alternative to chemical fertilizers; but unfortunately, we lack technologies to make it applicable in alkaline soils. Therefore th...

Net ecosystem exchange of CO2 (NEE) measurement was carried out in tropical lowland paddy at ICAR-National Rice Research Institute, Cuttack, Odisha, India, in 2015 using eddy covariance technique with the objective to assess the variation of NEE of CO2 in lowland paddy and to find out the most suitable model for better partitioning of net ecosystem exchange of CO2 in tropical lowland paddy. Paddy is grown twice (dry and wet season) a year in this region in the lowland, and the field is kept fallow during the remainder of the year. Two different flux partitioning models (FPMs)—the rectangular hyperbola (RH) and the Q10, were evaluated to assess NEE of CO2, and its partitioning components—gross primary production (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (RE), and the resulting flux estimates were compared. The RH method assessed the effects of photosynthetically active radiation on the NEE, whereas the Q10 method utilized the relationship between ecosystem respiration and temperature in lowland paddy. The average NEE during the dry season and wet season was − 1.62 and − 1.83 g C m−2 d−1, respectively, whereas it varied from − 5.71 to 2.29 g C m−2 d−1 during the observation period covering both the cropping seasons and the fallow period. The mean difference between modeled GPP and RE from two FPMs was found significant in both the seasons. The maximum correlation for GPP estimation was found between two FPMs at the panicle initiation stage during both the dry season (R2 = 0.767) and wet season (R2 = 0.321). It was evident from the study that the Q10 method reliably produced the most realistic carbon flux estimates over the RH method, for the lowland paddy. The Q10 model which used nighttime flux and temperature data to estimate RE produced estimates that had lower prediction error (RMSE) as compared to the RH model. It can be concluded that in lowland paddy, the Q10 predicted better estimates of RE and GPP values than the RH method, suggesting that the Q10 model can be used for partitioning of NEE in tropical lowland paddy.

Secondary tropical forests sequester atmospheric CO2 at relatively faster rates in vegetation and in soil than old-growth primary forests. Spatial understanding of biomass and carbon stocks in different plant functional types of these forests is important. Structure, diversity, composition, soil features and carbon stocks in six distinct plant functional types, namely: Moist Mixed-Deciduous Forest, Peninsular Sal Forest (PSF), Semi-Evergreen Forest (SEF), Planted Teak Forest, Bamboo Brakes (BB), and Degraded Thorny Shrubby Forest were quantified as secondary tropical deciduous forests of the Chandaka Wildlife Sanctuary, Eastern Ghats of Odisha, India. Seventy-one species ≥ 10 cm Girth at breast height (GBH) were recorded, belonging to 38 families and 65 genera. Above- ground biomass carbon and soil organic carbon ranged from 2.1–72.7 Mg C ha−1 and 20.6–67.1 Mg C ha−1, respectively, among all plant functional types. Soil organic carbon and important value index were positively correlated with above- ground biomass carbon. Maximum carbon allocation was in SOC pool (51–91%), followed by the above- ground biomass pool (9–52%), indicating SOC is one of the major carbon sinks in secondary dry forests. The results highlight the importance of secondary tropical deciduous forests in biodiversity conservation and ecological importance in reducing greenhouse gases.

In the consumer electronics field, the main challenge in image processing is to preserve the original brightness. Histogram Equalization (HE) is one of the simplest and widely used methods for contrast enhancement. However, HE does not suit into the consumer electronics field as this procedure flattens the histogram by distributing the entire gray levels uniformly. Therefore, several HE variants have been proposed based on proper histogram segmentation, histogram weighting, and range optimization techniques to overcome this flattening effect. However, sometimes these modifications become complex and computationally expensive. Recently, researchers have formulated the HE variants for image enhancement as optimization problems and solved, using Nature-Inspired Optimization Algorithms (NIOA), which starts a new era in the image enhancement field. This study presents an up-to-date review over the application of NIOAs for HE variants in image enhancement domain. The main issues which are involved in the application of NIOAs with HE are also discussed here.

The oxidation of carbon monoxide (CO) is highly applications in the fields of gas masks, gas sensors and the catalytic converter in fuel cells. These reactions attracts much attention both in their primary and functional research of catalysis. Productions of cerium (Ce) particles for CO oxidation catalysts, mainly in the last three decades are reviewed. The new investigations and processes in the preparation of cerium catalysts for CO oxidation are discussed in this review. Different modifications are made in the cerium catalysts to synthesis approaches for the suitable catalysts are critically analyzed. In this review, studied the different types of cerium catalysts developed to oxidised CO at a low temperature. In comparisons of activity, stability, toughness, and prices of various CO oxidation catalysts, the cerium catalysts have been reviewed. This review represents that the main information of cerium catalysts development for low-temperature CO oxidation in the future. There are lots of research articles are present on this topic, but very few numbers of review papers are published on this issue. So this is a gap fulfilled by this manuscript.

In recent years, advanced research progress has been widely developed in regard to bioremediation of heavy metal pollution by using bacteria. The biopolymer of bacteria i.e. the extra cellular polymeric substances displays noble physiological, Rheological and physico-chemical properties with special reference to the metal ion sequestration from polluted environment. This paper enlightens the role of exoploysachharide in biomineralization process and their effect on heavy metal sorption mechanism. Moreover, it also discusses heavy metal sorption abilities of EPS by elucidating the mechanism of action and remediation. Based on the review of literatures, further potential work is needed in this context to entangle the mechanistic role of EPS and also explore the cell surface morphology of bacteria for better sorption and exclusion of heavy metals.

The conversion of carbon monoxide (CO) at ambient condition is major procedure for human life protection. The Hopcalite (CuMnOx) is one of the best known catalysts for lower temperature CO conversion. The synthesis of hopcalite catalysts by various methods including Co-precipitation (CP), Sol-gel (SG), Reactive grinding (RG), Impregnation (I) and Pyrolysis (P) highly effects on the performance of final catalysts for CO conversion. In this experimental work various types of hopcalite catalysts prepared by various methods (CP, SG, RG, I, and P) followed by calcination in reactive (CO-air) mixture and traditional calcination conditions. The performance of different hopcalite catalysts for CO conversion reaction was as follows: CuMnCP > CuMnRG > CuMnSG > CuMnP > CuMnI. The Co-precipitation method synthesized hopcalite catalyst followed by reactive calcination conditions represents that the most excellent catalytic performance for complete conversion of CO at 80 °C. The order of synthetic conditions based on the activity of hopcalite catalysts matched with their characterization. Our effort to demonstrates that the simplistic and potential strategy for improvement of catalytic perfromances over hopcalite catalysts, which should be suitable for different chemical reactions. Hopcalite is a lower cost, simply aviliable and recycle catalysts for application in catalytic converter for CO conversion purposes.

Carbon monoxide (CO) oxidation has been huge interest in recent years due to its importance in various fields. The applications of spinels catalysts for catalytic oxidation of CO are discussed in this review. Spinels with general formulation A2+B3+2O24 which crystallize, the oxide anions set in a cubic close-packed lattice and cations. The spinel catalysts are shows good performance in CO oxidation at low temperature. It is group of minerals with general formulation which crystallize in the cubic (isometric) crystal system, with the oxide anions arranged in a cubic close-packed lattice and cations. The performance of spinel catalysts mainly dependent on their morphology, size and properties of designed catalysts. It could be used as an ideal candidate not only for automobile industry through cross-coupling reactions but also for ambient temperature catalytic conversion of CO. There are lots of papers associated to CO oxidation over spinel catalysts have been available but no review papers appears in the literature that is dedicated to the CO oxidation. Keywords: Carbon monoxide, Spinel, Catalysts, Catalytic and Ambient conditions

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are tailor-made synthetic antibodies possessing specific binding cavities designed for a target molecule. Currently, MIPs for protein targets are synthesized by imprinting a short surface-exposed fragment of the protein, called epitope or antigenic determinant. However, finding the epitope par excellence that will yield a peptide "synthetic antibody" cross-reacting exclusively with the protein from which it is derived, is not easy. We propose a computer-based rational approach to unambiguously identify the "best" epitope candidate. Then, using Saturation Transfer Difference (STD) and WaterLOGSY NMR spectroscopies, we prove the existence of specific binding sites created by the imprinting of this peptide epitope in the MIP nanogel. The optimized MIP nanogel could bind the epitope and cognate protein with a high affinity and selectivity. The study was performed on Hepatitis A Virus Cell Receptor-1 protein, also known as KIM-1 and TIM-1, for its ubiquitous implication in numerous pathologies.

Mesoporous MCM-41 and MCM-41 impregnated with structural iron (Fe–MCM-41) were prepared by a facile surfactant based wet chemical method using tetraethyl orthosilicate, cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide in the presence of ammonium hydroxide and FeSO4·7H2O as impregnated reagent. The prepared mesoporous materials were characterized by small and wide angle X-ray diffraction (XRD), XPS, FESEM, HRTEM, FTIR and N2 gas adsorption/desorption isotherm techniques. The results indicate the formation of high surface area (1266 m2/g) porous structure with particle size in the range of 200–400 nm for MCM-41. In case of Fe–MCM-41 the surface area decreases (880 m2/g) substantially with formation of iron oxide nanoparticles in the frame work of MCM-41. The obtained mesoporous materials were used as adsorbents for the removal of methylene blue from aqueous media. The percentage removal of the dye was found to be 99.9% for Fe–MCM-41 and 94.5% for MCM-41, respectively, by using 20 mL of dye solution with initial concentration of 100 mg/L and 0.05 g of each adsorbent. The maximum adsorption capacity of Fe–MCM-41 was found to be 194 mg/g and for MCM-41, it was 149.5 mg/g. This result suggests that the prepared Fe–MCM-41 is an effective adsorbent for decontamination of Methylene blue from aqueous media.

A novel strategy for wastewater recycling by removing Chromium [Cr(III)] from water, utilizing the treated water for agricultural purposes and the saturated adsorbent used as the catalyst for p-nitrophenol reduction was successfully incorporated for sustainable environmental application. Removal of Cr(III) by adsorption on Cymbopogon flexuosus waste material entrapped within sodium alginate beads was investigated. Sorption behavior of Cr(III) on to the biosorbent phase showed to follow pseudo first order kinetic model. The thermodynamic variables such as ∆G (−2.59 kJ mol−1), ∆H (4.57 kJ mol−1) & ∆S (0.024 J mol−1 K−1) was evaluated and the corresponding values ensure on favoring endothermic nature of adsorption. Isotherm studies strongly supports on Freundlich model (R2 = 0.99) rather than Langmuir isotherm model (R2 = 0.93), Temkin (R2 = 0.89) and Dubinin-Radushkevich (R2 = 0.77) confirming on multilayer chemisorption behaviour with immobilized Cymbopogon flexuosus having the maximum loading capacity of 121.64 mg.g−1. The sorption of Cr(III) by immobilized Cymbopogon flexuosus was quantitative (99.9%) at the optimum condition: Cr(III) concentration:50 ppm, pH:4.5, agitation speed:150 rpm, temp.:298 K. The above sorption mechanism was well supported by the intraparticle diffusion model. Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was also introduced to investigate for optimization of process parameters during removal of Cr(III) from aqueous solution. The adsorbent material saturated with Cr(III) ascertained first order kinetics with kapp value of 2.5 × 10−1 min−1 for catalytic reduction of toxic p-nitrophenol to p-aminophenol. The phytotoxicity study of treated water on Zea mays plant has been analyzed and a considerable result obtained with regards to the usage of Cr(III) contaminated-water in plant growth. The change in the crystal structure, surface morphology and surface functional groups of the adsorbent before and after the process was analyzed and well ascertained by XRD, SEM and FTIR analysis. This investigation suggests the possible application of this low-cost material in fine chemical manufacturing.

Background Rice is a major cereal crop and staple food of eastern India, and most farmers depend solely on rice for their livelihood. Rice farming provides both tangible and non-tangible benefits to ecosystems which need to be maintained and enhanced. These benefits are provided through ecosystem services (ES) that include both marketable and non-marketable. Methods In this study, the rice farms in eastern India were valued by quantifying the economic value of the services under conventional method of rice cultivation and the gap of ecosystem services value and farm income per unit area were assessed. A stratified random sampling technique was used in this study for selection of agro-climatic zones, districts, blocks, gram panchayat, and study units (households). Soil sampling was also performed for assessing the regulating services (biocontrol of pests, carbon flow, soil erosion, nitrogen fixation), provisioning services (food and by-products), and supporting services (soil fertility, hydrological flow, nutrient cycling, and soil formation). Results The results indicated that the total economic value of ecosystem services ranged from US$ 1238 to 1688 ha−1 year−1. The marketed (primary production) and non-marketed ecosystem services values ranged from 66–89 to 11–34% of the total, respectively. Valuation of some of the ecosystem services such as cultural services, biodiversity, and gas regulation, which may play a significant role in total ecosystem services, has not been made due to non-availability of data and appropriate methodology for rice ecosystem. Different values of parameters can explain the variability in ecosystem services among the agro-climatic zones in eastern India. Clustering of locations based on variability of ecosystem services helps in identifying intervention points for sustaining and improving ecosystem services, while permitting sustainable agro-ecological intensification. The highest total economic gap between ES value and farm income was found in the north central plateau zone (US$ 1063 ha−1 year−1) and the lowest in the north western plateau zone (US$ 670 ha−1 year−1). Conclusion We suggest various measures to reduce the economic gap, including payments for ecosystem services for rice farming for sustainability of the ecosystem and agricultural development, while ensuring reliable farm income.

Magnetism at the nanoscale is intriguing, but that on the magnetic properties of a dilute antiferromagnetic (AFM) system is rarely studied. Presence of uncompensated spins at the lattice as well as on the nanoparticle surfaces could lead to interesting magnetic behaviour. We present the combined effect of reduction in particle size and dilution of exchange interactions on the magnetic properties of an AFM perovskite oxide. A dilute AFM compound, La2Fe0.875Cr0.125GaO6 nanoparticles (average particle size ∼ 44.5 (7) nm), has been synthesized where non-magnetic Ga-ions are introduced to interrupt the superexchange pathways. The compound crystallizes in orthorhombic structure with Pbnm space group, where Fe, Cr and Ga ions are distributed randomly in the B-site. DC magnetic studies show superparamagnetic behaviour at room temperature, spin-flop transition and a prominent hysteresis loop with sufficiently high coercivity around 6.69 kOe at ∼138 K. The analysis of thermoremanent and isothermoremanent magnetization curves reveal SPM behaviour at 300 K and 2-dimensional dilute antiferromagnetic in field like nature at 5 K. AC magnetic susceptibility analysis confirms the presence of non-interacting clusters having SPM behaviour with blocking temperature ∼280 K. Furthermore, temperature variation of coercivity shows a Gaussian nature, mainly associated with competing Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions between disordered B-site ions along with strong uncompensated surface spin effects.

Environmental pollution by dumping of tailings and overburden from different industrial activities has become a critical issue due to considerable increase in heavy metals (HMs) in all compartments...

Radiation exposure and heavy metal (HM) exposure are serious health hazards causing DNA mutation, oxidative damage and may also be responsible for various life-threatening human diseases, while bacteria can withstand such toxicity easily. This study attempted to identify inhabitant bacterial isolates from radon-contaminated groundwater of Tantloi, India, and effort has also been made to characterize their response against radiation, oxidative stress as well as heavy metal tolerance and removal. Total sixteen (16) bacterial isolates were identified as Bacillus spp., Stenotrophomonas spp., Brevibacillus sp., Chryseobacterium sp., Escherichia sp. and Microbacterium sp., which showed less number of distinct carbohydrates utilization potential but high salinity tolerance properties. In addition, Gram-positive Bacillus spp. can tolerate 1 kGy of γ radiation, 10 mM H2O2, 7 days of desiccation and different heavy metals (Cu, Pb, Cr, Zn and As). Four Bacillus spp. and Microbacterium sp., which showed total maximum tolerable concentration (MTC) > 8 out of 5 heavy metals, were considered for their HM removal property analysis. Five multimetal resistance strains had strong removal capacity of Pb and Zn (89–94%) followed by Cr (49–56%) and Cu/As (0.4–22%). This investigation may provide baseline information of radon-contaminated groundwater microbiology, thus could be used to formulate an appropriate strategy for radon and radionuclides remediation.

Precise estimation of the rare direct 3α decay of the Hoyle state of 12C has been made to unveil its unusual α-cluster configurations ranging from linear 3α chain structure to diffuse Bose gas as well as Bose Einstein condensate. The present new high precision, nearly zero background experimental study with 1.6×105 Hoyle events has converged on the upper limit for direct decay at ∼0.019% with 95% confidence limit, which is more than a factor of 2 lower than the limit obtained in the previous studies. Keywords: 3α cluster state, 12C(α, α)3α reaction, Complete kinematics reaction, The Hoyle state decay, Direct versus sequential decay, Inelastic scattering

The manganite Nd0.15Ca0.85MnO3 crystallizes in GdFeO3-type, orthorhombic structure (space group Pnma) at 300 K and orders antiferromagnetically at 112 K (TN). Magnetization-field (M-H) isotherms indicate metamagnetic transition at temperatures below TN. However, metamagnetism does not lead to saturation in magnetization. The magnetization value at 2 K in 140 kOe field is only 0.4 μB/f.u. The isothermal magnetic entropy change (ΔSm) has been calculated using the M-H data and inverse magnetocaloric effect is observed around TN and the maximum value of ΔSm is ∼12.2 J kg−1K−1 at 107.5 K for 140 kOe field change. Powder neutron diffraction study in zero applied field reveals monoclinic distortion of Nd0.15Ca0.85MnO3 crystal lattice and antiferromagnetic ordering of Mn sublattice in ac-plane with wave vector K = [1/2, 0, 1/2] at 125 K. From the neutron data, the Mn magnetic moment value at 3 K is found to be 2.54 μB. Electrical resistivity increases tremendously below TN to an insulating state and shows thermal hysteresis near TN in zero field. Large magnetic fields drive insulator to metal-like transition and negative colossal magnetoresistance of about 70% is realized at 50 K in 70 kOe field and that could be due to the field-induced order.

This review covers the current and emerging analytical methods used in laboratory, field, landscape and regional contexts for measuring soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration in agricultural soil. Soil depth plays an important role in estimating SOC sequestration. Selecting appropriate sampling design, depth of soil, use of proper analytical methods and base line selection are prerequisites for estimating accurately the soil carbon stocks. Traditional methods of wet digestion and dry combustion (DC) are extensively used for routine laboratory analysis; the latter is considered to be the “gold standard” and superior to the former for routine laboratory analysis. Recent spectroscopic techniques can measure SOC stocks in laboratory and in-situ even up to a deeper depth. Aerial spectroscopy using multispectral and/or hyperspectral sensors located on aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or satellite platforms can measure surface soil organic carbon. Although these techniques' current precision is low, the next generation hyperspectral sensor with improved signal noise ratio will further improve the accuracy of prediction. At the ecosystem level, carbon balance can be estimated directly using the eddy-covariance approach and indirectly by employing agricultural life cycle analysis (LCA). These methods have tremendous potential for estimating SOC. Irrespective of old or new approaches, depending on the resources and research needed, they occupy a unique place in soil carbon and climate research. This paper highlights the overview, potential limitations of various scale-dependent techniques for measuring SOC sequestration in agricultural soil.

The present research shows that the addition of silver (Ag), by the deposition-precipitation method, to a mixed CuMnOx catalyst can improve the activity of carbon monoxide (CO) oxidation. The CuMnOx catalyst doped with 3 wt.% Ag shows a higher catalytic activity as compared to the 1, 2, 4 and 5 wt.% Ag doped samples. The loading of Ag could introduce new active sites into the CuMnOx catalyst and reduce its deactivation. The order of the optimal calcination strategies based on the performance of catalysts for CO oxidation is as follows: Reactive Calcination > Flowing air > Stagnant air. All the catalysts were characterized by XRD, FTIR, BET, XPS and SEM-EDX techniques. It was found that the high active surface area was one of the main factors for the high catalytic activity of the Ag-promoted CuMnOx catalyst. Keywords: Hopcalite (CuMnOx) catalyst, Silver, Carbon monoxide, Deposition-precipitation, Reactive calcination

The present study was to delineate management zones (MZs) in salt affected Mahakalpada block in eastern India by capturing both spatial variability of soil parameters along with satellite d...

The separation and estimation of natural products by chromatographic techniques such as high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) are widely preferred. The present work reveals the quantification of morphine (a regulated narcotic agent) in the Ayurvedic formulation ‘Kamini Vidrawan Ras’ using reversed-phase HPLC (RP-HPLC). The results obtained herein were compared with the results of earlier reported work using HPTLC. The HPTLC separation of morphine was performed on an aluminum-backed layer of silica gel 60 F254 using ethyl acetate—methanol—ammonia solution as the mobile phase, while RP-HPLC was performed on Kromasil C8-column (150 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 µm) using a mobile phase comprising of N-heptane sulfonate sodium salt—acetonitrile (70:30, v/v) at a flow rate of 1.5 mL min−1. The International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH) guidelines were followed for validation of both the chromatographic methods. Both the developed chromatographic methods are simple, rapid, accurate, and sensitive.

We report a modular approach to synthesize maleimido group containing hydrophilic dolastatin 10 (Dol10) derivatives as drug-linkers for the syntheses of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). Discrete polyethylene glycol (PEG) moieties of different chain lengths were introduced as part of the linker to impart hydrophilicity to these drug linkers. The synthesis process involved construction of PEG maleimido derivatives of the tetrapeptide intermediate (N-methylvaline-valine-dolaisoleucine-dolaproine), which were subsequently coupled with dolaphenine to generate the desired drug linkers. The synthetic method reported in this manuscript circumvents the use of highly cytotoxic Dol10 in its native form. By using trastuzumab (Herceptin®) as the antibody we have synthesized Dol10 containing ADCs. The presence of a discrete PEG chain in the drug linkers resulted in ADCs free from aggregation. The effect of PEG chain length on the biological activities of these Dol10 containing ADCs was investigated by in vitro cytotoxicity assays. ADCs containing PEG6 and PEG8 spacers exhibited the highest level of in vitro anti-proliferative activity against HER2-positive (SK-BR-3) human tumor cells. ADCs derived from Herceptin® and PEG8-Dol10, at a dose of 10 mg kg-1, effectively delayed the tumor growth and prolonged the survival time in mice bearing human ovarian SKOV-3 xenografts.

The research associated the comparison of soil properties influencing organic carbon between forest of Chandaka Wildlife Sanctuary (CWS), Bhubaneswar and Bhitarkanika National Park (BNP), Rajnagar of Odisha. Soil samples were collected randomly from sampling plots (20 m × 50 m) and characterized by SEM and FT-IR, etc. The SEM micrographs analyze the aggregate-dominant fabric soil (Fine sand type) of CWS and matrix-dominated fabric soil (Clay loam type) of BNP. The FT-IR spectroscopy ensured the variant and prominent C-functional groups in both forest soils. The soil organic carbon of CWS (47.51 ± 2.16 Mg C/ha) and BNP (54.3 ± 3.0 Mg C/ha) directed through soil physico-chemical properties. The C/N ratio of CWS (51.3 ± 13.8) and BNP (21.6 ± 2.6) soil indicated the freshly added stable carbon compound availability at CWS. These results encourage study of soil organic carbon perspectives for sustainable forest conservation.

Mechanism of Cr(VI) bio-removal from mine drainage was studied using a native fungal isolate. The Cr(VI) tolerant species, from chromite mining at Sukinda mine water fungus characterized as Aspergillus fumigatus Fresenius was applied after inactivation in an autoclave, to optimize the parameters of biosorption. Maximum uptake of 48.2 mg Cr(VI) g−1 of inactivated biomass at pH 5.5, 35 °C and 1% sorbent/solution (w/v) ratio was obtained (> 96% sorption) in 120 h from 50 mg L−1 Cr(VI) solution. The chemisorption mechanism involved the functional groups of treated biomass which was elucidated by the Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy studies. The XRD phase analysis of the biosorbed material confirmed the limited reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) unlike previous studies. Actual mine drainage containing Cr(VI) and Co(II) was treated with the fungal biomass and was effectively eluted with 0.5 M HCl solution. The study demonstrates the potential application of native fungal isolate to remediate Cr(VI) from the chromite mine drainage. Keywords: Chromite ore, Mine drainage, Hexavalent chromium, A. fumigatus Fresenius, Biosorption

In this research work, we have discussed about the effect of catalyst preparation and their calcination strategy on the characterization property and activity of the final catalyst. The AgCoO2 catalyst was prepared by the co-precipitation method gave the highest activities for the preferred reactions. The recent study was carried out in the laboratory shows that the calcination strategies of the AgCoO2 precursor highly affect on the activity of resulting catalysts for CO oxidation. The AgCoO2 catalyst obtained by calcination of the precursors in the presence of chemically reactive (CO + air) mixture exhibits the best catalytic activity as compared to the traditional method of calcination. The reactive calcination of the AgCoO2 catalyst produces partially reduced phase of the catalyst causing the highest activity in the reaction. The remarkable activity of the novel catalyst over conventional ones (obtained by calcination of the precursors in reactive calcination) in CO oxidation was associated with the presence of AgCoO2 and its unusual morphology as evidenced by XRD, SEM-EDX, TEM, XPS and FTIR characterization. Further, the activity order of the AgCoO2 catalysts obtained by different calcination conditions was as follows: RC > flowing-air > stagnant-air.

Macronutrient-enriched biochars have potential for nutrient recycling from waste, enhance soil fertility, reduce consumption of fertilizers, and thereby promoting sustainable agriculture. The focus of the recent research studies has been on exploring different methods for production of macronutrients (nitrogen [N], phosphorus [P], and potassium [K]) enriched biochar fertilizers. There is now an urgent need to comprehend the work carried out on biochar fertilizers for a proper scientific understanding and advancement. This review provides crucial information about nutrients enriched biochars production and the underlying mechanisms toward its use in agriculture. The production methods, nutrient characteristics, potential major challenges and future perspectives of using these nutrients enriched biochars have also been dealt in the present review. Among primary macronutrients, the main focus of nutrients enriched biochar are on N and P. Total N, P, and K enriched up to 10%, 15.32%, 25.85% in biochar through controlled (primarily temperature) pyrolysis and utilization of specific feedstock. Although total macronutrients content in nutrients enriched biochar were thoroughly studied, but the bio-labile and plant available fractions of these nutrients are yet to be extensively researched. Nutrients transformation in biochars revealed about comparatively higher bio-available K fraction due to formation of water soluble kalicinite (KHCO3) minerals. The efficacy of biochars toward soil fertility and plant growth was widely studied (mainly as pot experiments) and there results varied. Overall, the prospects of nutrients enriched biochars toward sustainable agriculture has gained momentum with time and further engineered biochars hold great potential to cater for specific soil-plant-environment system.

A two-year (2015 and 2016) field experiment was carried out to study the surface energy budget and energy balance closure (EBC) in a tropical lowland rice paddy in Cuttack, India. Maintenance of a standing water layer in lowland irrigated rice ecosystem makes it unique and this strongly influences the surface energy balance which may alter the surface runoff, ground water storage, water cycle, surface energy budget, and possibly microclimate of the region. To study this, an experiment was conducted using eddy covariance system to measure the surface energy balance components during two cropping seasons (dry season, DS and wet season, WS) and two consecutive fallow periods (dry fallow, DF and wet fallow, WF). The rice was grown in puddled wet lands in DS and WS and the ground was left fallow (DF and WF) during the rest of the year. Results displayed that daily average latent heat flux at surface (LE) and at canopy height (LEc) dominated over sensible heat flux at surface (H) and canopy height (Hc), respectively due to the presence of water source coming from the standing water in the rice field. The EBC was evaluated by ordinary least square (OLS), energy balance ratio (EBR) and residual heat flux (RHF). In OLS, the slope ranged 0.38-0.89 (2015) and 0.28-0.99 (2016) during the study period. Average RHF was 10.3-12.0% higher in WS as compared to DS. It was concluded that the EBC estimated using RHF is the most suitable way to calculate closure for lowland rice paddy since it can distinguish different seasons distinctively, followed by OLS. Much variation was not observed in EBR after inclusion of storage terms (water, soil, photosynthesis, canopy) to the classical EBR.

Hybrid optimization is used to maximize the savings through reconfiguration, type-1 and type-2 distributed generators (DG) placement. The PSO and SSA are used for reconfiguration and DG placement respectively. The major objective for this algorithm is to maximize the economy by minimizing the loss, by including loss cost. The suggested algorithm is checked on two IEEE radial distribution system (RDS) which are IEEE 119 RDS and IEEE 136 radial distribution network. The installation cost and maintenance of DG is included in objective of hybrid optimization while installation of DG along with reconfiguration and without reconfiguration.

The present work explored the prospect of corncob biochar (CCBC), Ipomoea biochar (IBC), and modified corncob biochar composites (MCBC) for abatement of Cr-polluted mine wastewater and overburden collected from Sukinda chromite mine, India. Biochars are produced through the thermo-chemical process at 300, 500, and 700 °C, and MCBC using 1 M FeSO4·7H2O at 800 °C. Synthetic Cr solutions (10–800 mg/L) batch adsorption experiments with varying pH (2 – 10), time (5 min – 48 h), and biochar doses (0.1–7 g/100 mL) ascertained Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm along with maximum Cr adsorption capacity. Subsequently, adsorptions of Cr from chromite mines wastewater by biochars were assessed. Also, the influence of biochars’ dose (1 and 5 % w/w) on water and plant available Cr in overburden was determined for 90 days timespan. Maximum Cr (VI) adsorption was relatively higher from synthetic Cr solution by MCBC (142.8 mg/g). Among biochars, MCBC also adsorbed comparatively higher Crtotal (> 90%) and Cr (VI) (> 75%) from all the three wastewater. MCBC reduced relatively higher water leachable (from 4.88 to 0.87 mg/L) and enhanced phytoavailable Cr fraction (5.73 to 7.41 mg/L) in overburden with a 5 % dose within 90 days. The MCBC larger surface area (308.37 m2 g−1), acidic pH (≤ 3), and presence of iron/sulfur (Fe/S) resulted in better Cr pollution reduction (higher adsorption and lower water leachability) and remediation (higher plant available fraction) potential. The research findings recommend utilization of MCBC for Cr pollution remediation in both chromite mine wastewater and overburden dump.

International audience; 3,4‐Dihydro‐2H‐pyrans are present in the skeletons of several natural products, and these versatile synthetic intermediates are readily transformed into tetrahydropyrans, pyridines, or 1,5‐dicarbonyl units. Among the strategies developed to access 3,4‐dihydro‐2H‐pyrans, the hetero‐Diels‐Alder reaction between an oxadiene and a dienophile is particularly valuable because up to three contiguous stereogenic centers can be created diastereo‐ and/or enantioselectively in a single step. This review addresses the mechanism of the reaction and presents methods for preparing the product dihydropyrans enantio‐ and diastereoselectively. Thermal and Lewis acid promoted cycloadditions are discussed, as is the role of activating groups on the oxadiene.

Day by day demand of electrical power has been increasing. The paper presents a novel idea of an implementation of particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm to the non linear congestion management problem. When the load of the system have overloaded generally in peak time, some of the lines might be overloaded. Then the loadability should have increased optimally for the securing smooth power transfer in the system. The proposed approach identified that photo voltaic (PV) set has been fixed as such manner, the losses has been minimized and maximizing loadability tuned by PSO technique. It has been produced better result compare to without PV system in IEEE 30 bus.

Field trial were conducted following split plot design in the year 2008–2009 and 2009–2010 under All India Co-ordinated Potato Research Project, Orissa University of Agriculture &Technology, Bhubaneswar with chemical soil amendments in main plots followed by individual and combine treatment of chemical and bio-agent treatments in the sub plots to study synergistic effect of Bacillus subtilis and boric acid on management of bacterial wilt of tomato caused by Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith) Yabuuchi. Combined potato seed treatment with B. subtilis BS-5 (6 × 106 CFU /ml) and 3% boric acid coupled with soil application of bleaching powder showed lower wilt incidence (9.55%) and enhanced yield (17.31 t/h) over control after 75 days of sowing under field conditions which is economical and also eco-friendly. With single application of boric acid (3%) or B. subtilis BS-5 (6 × 106 CFU /ml), wilt incidence were significantly higher 11.82 and 17.06% and yielded less healthy tubers 15.49 and 13.65 t/h, respectively. Though, the tubers treated with antibiotic streptocycline (150 ppm) followed by application of the same antibiotic at 10 days interval for four times after planting resulted in minimum wilting (3.83%) of plant and maximum of tuber yield (18.21 t/h) however it is more expensive and perilous.

We present an in-depth study on the structure and magnetic properties of a novel layered oxide, Ca2Fe0.875Cr0.125GaO5. Structural studies from laboratory X-ray diffraction, synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction and neutron powder diffraction reveal that the compound crystallizes in an orthorhombic Brownmillerite phase with Pnma space group having Fe/Cr – octahedral layers and Ga – tetrahedral layers with around 9.0% of Fe occupying tetrahedral sites. The temperature evolution of Neutron powder diffraction confirms the absence of any structural changes in the range 300–6 K. Magnetic characterizations show antiferromagnetic ordering at room temperature and the co-existence of antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic phases at low temperature. The magnetic structure derived from neutron powder diffraction is a G-type antiferromagnetic. The ordered magnetic moments at 6 K on the octahedral and tetrahedral sites are 3.15 (2) µB/cation and 0.93 (4) µB/cation, respectively oriented in the ac-plane.

Passive air samplers (PAS) were evaluated for measuring indoor concentrations of phthalates, novel brominated flame retardants (N-BFRs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and organophosphate esters (OPEs). Sampling rates were obtained from a 50-day calibration study for two newly introduced PAS, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) or silicone rubber PAS (one with and one without a coating of styrene divinyl benzene co-polymer, XAD) and the commonly used polyurethane foam (PUF) PAS. Average sampling rates normalized to PAS surface area were 1.5 ± 1.1 m3 day−1 dm−2 for both unsheltered PDMS and XAD-PDMS, and 0.90 m3 ± 0.6 day−1dm−2 for partially sheltered PUF. These values were derived based on the compound-specific sampling rates measured here and in the literature for the PAS tested, to reasonably account for site-specific variability of sampling rates. PDMS and PUF were co-deployed for three weeks in 51 homes located in Ottawa and Toronto, Canada. Duplicate PUF and PDMS samplers gave concentrations within 10% of each other. PDMS and PUF-derived air concentrations were not statistically different for gas-phase compounds. PUF had a higher detection of particle-phase compounds such as some OPEs. Phthalate and OPE air concentrations were ∼100 times higher than those of N-BFRs and PBDEs. Concentrations were not systematically related to PM10, temperature or relative humidity. We conclude that both PAS provide replicable estimates of indoor concentrations of these targeted semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) over a three-week deployment period. However, PUF is advantageous for collecting a wider range of compounds including those in the particle phase.

The hopcalite (CuMnOx) catalyst is a well-known catalyst for CO oxidation at a low temperature and it is synthesized by the co-precipitation method with different types of precursors. Activity of the CuMnOx catalysts for CO oxidation is strongly dependent upon the combination of precursors, ranking in order {Mn(Ac)2 + Cu(NO3)2} > {Mn(Ac)2 + Cu(Ac)2} > {Mn(NO3)2 + Cu(NO3)2} > {Mn(NO3)2 + Cu(AC)2}. All the precursors were precipitated by KMnO4 solution and the precursors mostly comprised of MnO2, Mn2O3 and CuO phases. Keeping the same precipitant while changing the precursors caused a change in the lattice oxygen mobility which influenced the CO oxidation activity. The calcination strategy of the precursors has great influence on the activity of resulting catalysts. The reactive calcination (RC) conditions produce multifarious phenomena of CO oxidation and the precursor decomposition in a single-step process. The activity order of the catalysts for CO oxidation was as follows: reactive calcination (RC) > flowing air > stagnant air. Therefore, we recommended that the RC route was the more appropriate calcination route for the production of highly active CuMnOx catalysts. All the catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy technique. The influence of precursors on the structural properties and the catalytic activity of co-precipitation derived binary CuMnOx catalysts for CO oxidation has been investigated.

The High-spin states in 195Tl, populated through the 185,187Re(13C, xn) fusion evaporation reaction at the beam energy of 75 MeV, were studied using the Indian National Gamma Array (INGA). More than 50 new γ transitions have been placed in the proposed level scheme which is extended up to the excitation energy of ≈ 5.6 MeV and spin=22.5ħ. Two pairs of degenerate bands based on two different quasi-particle configurations have been identified in this nucleus indicating the first observation of such bands in an odd-A nucleus in A∼190 region and signify the first evidence of multiple chiral bands in a nucleus in this region. The total Routhian surface calculations predict triaxial shapes for both the configurations and thereby, support the experimental observation. The importance of multiple neutron holes in the i13/2 orbital and the stability of shapes for these two configurations have been discussed. Keywords: Nuclear Structure, γ-ray spectroscopy, Doubly degenerate bands, TRS calculation

The low temperature catalytic oxidation of CO conceivably the most extensively studied reaction in the history of heterogeneous catalyst and it is important in the context of cleaning the air and lowering the automotive emissions. Among a variety of manganese oxides catalyst, the Mn2O3 is considered to be the most favorable with respect to the catalytic activity. A novel route of reactive calcination (RC) of Mn-salts (Mn-Acetate and Mn-Nitrate) for the synthesis of highly active catalysts was studied. The calcination of the precursor produced manganese oxide species (Mn2O3 and MnO2) in thermodynamic equilibrium, with the major nano-size Mn2O3 phase having a large surface area, and lower crystallinity. The amazing activity of the novel MnOx catalysts over the conventional ones obtained by calcination of the precursors in stagnant air, flowing air and reactive calcination (4.5%CO in air) in CO oxidation was associated with the presence of Mn2O3 and its unusual morphology as evidenced by XRD, SEM-EDX, XPS and FTIR characterization. The catalysts obtained by calcination of various MnOx precursors showed activity for the CO oxidation in the following order: Mn-Acetate > Mn-Nitrate and all the traditional route of calcination was also followed the same activity order. Further, the activity order of the catalysts obtained by various calcination conditions was as follows: RC > flowing-air > stagnant-air.

Hopcalite (CuMnOx) is a highly efficient catalyst for low temperature oxidation of Carbon monoxide (CO). As synthesized by Co-precipitation method, it shows the high activity for CO oxidation. The coordination between CuO and MnOx in CuMnOx catalyst improves the catalytic activity for CO oxidation. In this research work, we investigate the individual catalytic activity of CuO and MnOx and compare with the multiphase CuMnOx catalyst. The performance of multiphase catalysts CuO and MnO2 were numerous times higher as compared to single phase CuMnOx. The activity order of catalysts for CO oxidation was as follows: CuMnOx> MnOx > CuOx. The success of CuMnOx catalyst has prompted a great deal of research work into each component and nature of active sites. In CuMnOx catalyst, the MnOx acts as an oxygen donor and CuO acts as an oxygen acceptor. The presence of MnOx is possible to assist in the reduction of CuO, due to the coordination between CuO and MnOx. The calcination strategies of precursors highly affect the physicochemical and catalytic properties of the catalysts for CO oxidation. The reactive calcination (RC) conditions (4.5% CO in air) for prepared catalysts showed the best activity result for CO oxidation, as compared to the traditional method of calcination.

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a poisonous gas, recognized as a silent killer for the 21st century. It is produced from the partial oxidation of carbon containing compounds. The catalytic oxidation of CO receives a huge attention due to its applications in different fields. In the present work, hopcalite (CuMnOx) catalysts were synthesized using a co-precipitation method for CO oxidation purposes. Also, it was doped with the cobalt by varying concentration from 1 to 5wt%. It was observed that the addition of cobalt into the CuMnOx catalyst (by the deposition-precipitation method) improved the catalytic performance for the low-temperature CO oxidation. CuMnOx catalyst doped with 3wt% of cobalt exhibited most active performance and showed the highest activity than other cobalt concentrations. Different analytical tools (i.e. XRD, FTIR, BET, XPS and SEM-EDX) were used to characterize the as-synthesized catalysts. It was expected that the introduction of cobalt will introduce new active sites into the CuMnOx catalyst that are associated with the cobalt nano-particles. The order of calcination strategies based on the activity for cobalt doped CuMnOx catalysts was observed as: Reactive calcinations (RC) > flowing air > stagnant air. Therefore, RC (4.5% CO in air) route can be recommended for the synthesis of highly active catalysts. The catalytic activity of doped CuMnOx catalysts toward CO oxidation shows a correlation among average oxidation number of Mn and the position and the nature of the doped cobalt cation.

The diesel engine generally achieves the highest fuel, energy, and thermal efficiency due to its very high compression/expansion ratio (14:1 to 25:1). Diesel engines can have a thermal efficiency that exceeds 50%. The main problem is that they emit more pollution like fine black soot particulates (C8H to C10H) and nitrogen oxides (NOX). These pollutants have been causing serious problems for human health and the global environment and also impacts on the engine. There are many types of catalysts investigated for simultaneous control of these two pollutants, i.e., platinum group metals (PGM; Pt, Pd, Rh, and Ir) based, spinel-type oxides, hydrotalcite, rare earth metal oxides, mixed transient metal oxides, etc. The high raw material cost of PGM catalysts has become a significant issue, so developing non-PGM catalysts are one of the promising challenges. There are no extra reductants required because soot catalytically oxidizes itself in the presence of NOX at a faster rate than molecular oxygen and ...

Removal of Congo Red (CR) azo dye by adsorption process using Amberlite IRA-400 resin was evaluated in both batch and fixed bed system. From the batch adsorption results, maximum loading efficiency (99.99%) of CR dye was obtained at the conditions pH 4.5, temp. 303 K, contact time 180 min., Amberlite IRA-400 dose 0.5 g. The isotherm study ascertained on favorability of adsorption process as the value of separation factor (KL = 0.88) and Freundlich constant (1/n = 0.96