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India is an agricultural country. Nearly 70% of the populations thrive in rural areas, engaged in agriculture making the backbone of our economy. The Trichoderma genus is widely distributed and provides an alternative to chemical pesticides in crops and plants growth. Trichoderma species are free living and commonly found in soil and root ecosystems. Root colonization by Trichoderma also regularly promotes growth and development of plants. They also perform beneficial and significant role in enhancing crop productivity, fight against pathogens, resistant to abiotic stress and increase of nutrients uptake from soil. The present study was undertaken to investigate quantitative and qualitative estimation of phosphate solubilizer by using nineteen isolates of Trichoderma grown on Pikovskaya’s Agar and NBRIP media. It was found that all isolates were capable of differentially utilizing 5 g/L TCP in NBRIP broth. This was indicated by the soluble phosphate concentrations and increase in acidity of growth medium. Out of 19 isolates, all isolates were capable in phosphate solubilization. However, the P- solubilizing efficiency was found higher in case of the isolate number-59 and 89. While isolate number-102 was the strongest and isolate number-23 was the weakest P-solubilizer. Minimum Phosphate solubilization concentration was observed in 3rd day (0%) that simultaneously increased on 7th day (52.63%) followed by 9th day (100%) and remaining all days 13th, 17th and 21st days also observed 100% efficiency.

This work is done on the fabrication and characterization of hybrid metal matrix composite (MMC) using the matrix material Al-2014 alloy, reinforcements silicon carbide and the fly ash particulates of average size 25 μm by the stir casting process. The characterization included microstructure analysis, X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis, Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA), Thermo Gravimetric Analysis (TGA), tensile strength test, hardness test, impact strength test, density and specific strength evaluation test. The results revealed a fairly uniform distribution of reinforcement particulates in the matrix material. The XRD showed no harmful byproduct formation during the fabrication process. The DTA/TGA analysis showed that the sample containing 15%SiC/5%fly ash in hybrid MMC had a minimum loss of mass. The same composition of the hybrid MMC showed maximum tensile strength being 31% and 75% higher in comparison to its as cast and as heat treated conditions. Similarly the hardness was 32% and 48% higher, impact strength being 30.5% and 58.12% higher respectively. Also the density of this composition is found to be in close proximity with the base matrix material.

Capturing data in the form of networks is becoming an increasingly popular approach for modeling, analyzing and visualising complex phenomena, to understand the important properties of the underlying complex processes. Access to many large-scale network datasets is restricted due to the privacy and security concerns. Also for several applications (such as functional connectivity networks), generating large scale real data is expensive. For these reasons, there is a growing need for advanced mathematical and statistical models (also called generative models) that can account for the structure of these large-scale networks, without having to materialize them in the real world. The objective is to provide a comprehensible description of the network properties and to be able to infer previously unobserved properties. Various models have been developed by researchers, which generate synthetic networks that adhere to the structural properties of real networks. However, the selection of the appropriate generative model for a given real-world network remains an important challenge. In this paper, we investigate this problem and provide a novel technique (named as TripletFit) for model selection (or network classification) and estimation of structural similarities of the complex networks. The goal of network model selection is to select a generative model that is able to generate a structurally similar synthetic network for a given real-world (target) network. We consider six outstanding generative models as the candidate models. The existing model selection methods mostly suffer from sensitivity to network perturbations, dependency on the size of the networks, and low accuracy. To overcome these limitations, we considered a broad array of network features, with the aim of representing different structural aspects of the network and employed deep learning techniques such as deep triplet network architecture and simple feed-forward network for model selection and estimation of structural similarities of the complex networks. Our proposed method, outperforms existing methods with respect to accuracy, noise-tolerance, and size independence on a number of gold standard data set used in previous studies.

Nanostructured porous polyaniline (PANI) has been synthesized and coated simultaneously on a highly flexible and conductive carbon cloth (CC) substrate using a simple in-situ chemical oxidative polymerization technique. PANI coated CC (PANI−CC) based flexible electrodes were further used for the fabrication of flexible supercapacitor devices. For the comparison purpose, pure PANI has also been synthesized and tested for its electrochemical performance. The energy storage capacity of PANI and PANI–CC composite was investigated using electrochemical techniques like CV, GCD, and EIS in a potential range from 0 to 0.8 V in 1 M H2SO4 electrolyte. PANI−CC flexible electrodes exhibited the highest specific capacitance of 691 F/g; whereas, pure PANI could only achieve 575 F/g of specific capacitance at 1 A/g. Composite also exhibited outstanding cyclic stability by recollecting 94 % of its initial capacitance after 2000 GCD cycles. For actual implementation, a flexible supercapacitor device has been fabricated using stainless steel sheets and PANI−CC flexile electrodes. The energy storage performance of the PANI−CC flexible supercapacitor device was tested at several bending angles, which resulted in 72 % of capacitance retention at a maximum bending angle of 140° compared to the capacitance obtained at an angle 0° (flat state). PANI−CC exhibited improved electrochemical performance than pure PANI due to the synergistic effect between PANI and CC. Here, CC helped in enhancing the conductivity and stability; whereas, PANI boosted the capacitance owing to its excellent porosity and fast pseudocapacitive charge storage response.

Soil moisture (SM) estimation using coarse resolution satellite data, like Scatsat-1 scatterometer data (2 km spatial resolution), is still challenging due to various land cover classes present within a single pixel. To estimate SM from coarse resolution data, there is a necessity to study the contribution of different land covers to the total backscatter signal of the single pixel. The estimation of SM is very much dependent on the accuracy of the backscatter signal from the soil component. Therefore, this paper proposes a modified water cloud model to compute the soil-backscattering signal by correcting the backscatter contribution due to urban and vegetation fraction cover. The backscattering signal from the soil surface is then used to retrieve SM. The retrieved SM is compared with the ground truth SM using the error metrics such as root mean square error (RMSE), mean bias (b), correlation coefficient (r), and average relative error (ARE). The proposed model is tested in three conditions: first, when only vegetation correction is applied, RMSE, mean bias, r, and ARE are found to be 0.086 m3/m3, 0.70 m3/m3, 0.534, and 0.24, respectively, and results show an overestimation in SM. Second, when both vegetation and urban correction are applied using the actual fraction, the accuracy is improved with an RMSE, mean bias, and ARE of 0.071 m3/m3 , 0.056 m3/m3, and 0.20, respectively. However, in the third condition, when the urban fraction cover is considered twice the actual value, the RMSE and mean bias are found to be 0.22 m3/m3 and −0.10 m3/m3, respectively, and results show an underestimation in SM.

The present work reports a cost-effective way of fabricating porous Titanium (Ti)/Silica (SiO2) composite scaffold with tailored pore microstructure through powder metallurgy technique, considering the aspect of implants where low bearing load is required with low elastic modulus. Rice husk (RH) powder of different size range was used as fugitive pore former and sucrose was used as a binder which also acted as a pore former. The porosity of the scaffold was controlled by varying the size and amount of space holder. After sintering, the developed composite scaffold was characterized through SEM, XRD, and EDS. Mechanical and biological testing of the scaffold were performed to determine mechanical and biological properties. The resulting scaffolds have the porosity in the range of 15–34%. The addition of silica from RH increased the compressive strength of the scaffold (116–396 MPa). It was also observed that due to the incorporation of pores in Ti matrix there was reduction in Elastic Modulus of the scaffold which is significantly important for Ti based implant materials. Bioactivity of the scaffold was examined by using SBF solution and it was found that the Ti/SiO2 scaffold has ability to form apatite layer. Antibacterial behaviour and biofilm formation on the surface of scaffold were also studied. Obtained result was compared with the properties of natural bone. It was found that the properties of the developed Ti/SiO2 composite scaffolds are similar to that of natural bone and hence can be suitable for orthopaedic application.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a highly heterogeneous class of non-protein-encoding transcripts that play an essential regulatory role in diverse biological processes, including stress responses. The severe stunting disease caused by Citrus bark cracking viroid (CBCVd) poses a major threat to the production of Humulus lupulus (hop) plants. In this study, we systematically investigate the characteristics of the lncRNAs in hop and their role in CBCVd-infection using RNA-sequencing data. Following a stringent filtration criterion, a total of 3598 putative lncRNAs were identified with a high degree of certainty, of which 19% (684) of the lncRNAs were significantly differentially expressed (DE) in CBCVd-infected hop, which were predicted to be mainly involved in plant-pathogen interactions, kinase cascades, secondary metabolism and phytohormone signal transduction. Besides, several lncRNAs and CBCVd-responsive lncRNAs were identified as the precursor of microRNAs and predicted as endogenous target mimics (eTMs) for hop microRNAs involved in CBCVd-infection.

Consumption of poor quality water causes serious human health hazards. Therefore, it is very crucial to investigate factors influencing the quality of groundwater and its suitability for drinking purpose. In the present study, groundwater quality of the Dhenkanal district of Odisha, India was characterized and the spatial distribution of different water quality parameters were analyzed using the multivariate statistics, entropy theory, and geostatistics techniques. In the present study 112 number of groundwater tube well samples were collected from the study area. The entropy theory revealed that SO42-, Mg+2 and Cl- were the most influencing parameters. A similar observation was also observed based on the correlation coefficient analysis. Groundwater quality index (GWQI) and entropy-weighted water quality index (EWQI) classifications indicated that 78.57 and 43.75% of the collected groundwater samples were categorized under excellent water quality, whereas, the rest of the samples were varying from good to medium drinking water quality. In addition, the result of EWQI classification offers more realistic assessment than that of GWQIs owing to its high precision, simplicity and without application of artificial weight. The correlation coefficient between Ca+2 and HCO3-, Mg+2 and PO4- were significantly high which might be due the presence of CaHCO3 and MgPO4 in the groundwater samples. The GWQI revealed a weak spatial dependence of groundwater quality.

Chemoselective deoxygenation of carbonyls and alcohols using hydrogen by heterogeneous base-metal catalysts is crucial for the sustainable production of fine chemicals and biofuels. We report an aluminum metal-organic framework (DUT-5) node support cobalt(II) hydride, which is a highly chemoselective and recyclable heterogeneous catalyst for deoxygenation of a range of aromatic and aliphatic ketones, aldehydes, and primary and secondary alcohols, including biomass-derived substrates under 1 bar H2. The single-site cobalt catalyst (DUT-5-CoH) was easily prepared by postsynthetic metalation of the secondary building units (SBUs) of DUT-5 with CoCl2 followed by the reaction of NaEt3BH. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy (XANES) indicated the presence of CoII and AlIII centers in DUT-5-CoH and DUT-5-Co after catalysis. The coordination environment of the cobalt center of DUT-5-Co before and after catalysis was established by extended X-ray fine structure spectroscopy (EXAFS) and density functional theory. The kinetic and computational data suggest reversible carbonyl coordination to cobalt preceding the turnover-limiting step, which involves 1,2-insertion of the coordinated carbonyl into the cobalt-hydride bond. The unique coordination environment of the cobalt ion ligated by oxo-nodes within the porous framework and the rate independency on the pressure of H2 allow the deoxygenation reactions chemoselectively under ambient hydrogen pressure.

This article reported about the ultraviolet (UV) radiation effect on the resonance frequency response of a AT-cut piezoelectric quartz crystal. A large resonance frequency upshift was observed when the quartz crystal was irradiated by UV light of 355-nm wavelength using a Q-switched pulsed Nd:YVO4 UV laser. The dynamic frequency response behavior was systematically investigated by illuminating the quartz crystal with UV light in which the UV intensity was varied with time in staircase- and linear pulse-shaped patterns. From the experimental analysis, we measured the limit of detection and the sensitivity of the quartz crystal, which are about 0.5 mW/cm2 and 0.706 Hz/(mW/cm2), respectively. For a constant UV irradiation, a moderate response (

The selected 16 high-priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were characterized in PM2.5 in the indoor and outdoor air samples collected at the urban slum and rural sites in the Central East India. At the urban slum site, the indoor and outdoor concentrations of PAHs were 466.03± 11.94 ng/m3 and 321.71± 34.87 ng/m3, respectively. At the rural location, the indoor and outdoor concentrations were 294.85± 20.53 ng/m3 and 241.74± 29.04 ng/m3, respectively. Three-four and five-ring PAHs were found to be dominant in both urban slum and rural sites. Diagnostic ratio (DR) analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) conclude that diesel exhaust, gasoline, biomass, and coal combustion were the significant sources of 16 PAHs in indoor and outdoor environments, the urban slum and rural sites. Lifetime average daily dose (LADD) and incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) values were calculated for health risk assessment for 6-year-old children and 24-year-old adults. The ELCR values in the urban slum site and the rural location were calculated 43.24 × 10-6 and 28.3 × 10-6. The ELCR values were observed between the acceptable limit 10-6-10-4 given by regulatory agency USEPA United States Environmental Protection Agency (1989).

In this paper, a modification of Szasz-Kantorovich type operators based on Brenke-type polynomials is introduced, and the convergence properties of the proposed operators with the help of Korovkin’s theorem are discussed. The order of convergence of these operators with the aid of classical and second-order modulus of continuity is studied. A Voronovkaja-type theorem is also established. Lastly, the rate of convergence and error estimation of these operators compared with the existing operators with the help of some graphs and tables using Mathematica.

This paper proposes a new rad hard layout L style of nmos metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (n-MOSFET), which is evaluated to show that its efficacy at reducing radiation-induced leakage currents, thus improving the total ionization dose(TID) tolerance with very less area and parasitic capacitance as compared to enclosed layout transistor(ELT). This proposed layout structure is fully compatible to present commercial fabrication technology without any additional mask requirement as compared to conventional n MOSFET fabrication and can be used as radiation tolerant by design technique. The simulated ID - VG characteristics of the rad hard L n-MOSFET layout demonstrated the effectiveness of eliminating radiation-induced leakage current paths. The leakage current in proposed rad hard L n-MOSFET has been reduced by factor of 108 at 300Krad dose as compared to conventional layout n-MOSFET.

Indian mustard [Brassica juncea (L.) Czern.] is a major edible oil crop of India. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research—National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (ICAR-NBPGR) and ICAR—Directorate of Rapeseed Mustard Research (DRMR) together conserve one of the largest global collection of Indian mustard germplasm comprising 5950 accessions which includes indigenously collected landraces, exotic accessions, breeding lines, Improved/released cultivars, registered genetic stocks and other type of material of unknown origin. However, only a small fraction of this huge collection has been deployed in the breeding programme due to lack of information on majority of accessions. The objective of this study was to develop a core collection of Indian mustard to enhance utilization of conserved germplasm in crop improvement programme. For this purpose, the accessions were characterized at one ideal site (Bharatpur) using 14 agro-morphological traits and the resultant data was analysed using three state-of-the-art core collection construction tools—MSTRAT, Power Core and Core Hunter 3 (CH3), to obtain three core sets each with 595 accessions. The quality of these core sets was evaluated and compared using two genetic distance based metrices (E-NE & A-NE), several summary statistics, Shannon diversity index, phenotypic correlations etc. The core collection generated using CH3 which optimized simultaneously for both representativeness and diversity was found the best in capturing the genetic variation existed in the base collection for all the 14 traits. The diversity represented in the core collection will therefore, be a guideline to breeders for a wider use of the Indian mustard genetic resources available in the genebank for identification and introgression of new useful traits, as well as for delineation of their genetic basis particularly through marker-trait association.

Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax is one of the most potent listed biological warfare agents. The conventional microbiological methods of its detection are labor intensive and time consuming, whereas molecular assays are fast, sensitive and specific. PCR is one of the most reliable diagnostic tools in molecular biology. The combination of PCR with lateral flow strips can reduce the diagnostic/detection time. It gives an alternative to gel electrophoresis and offers easy and clear interpretation of results. In the present study, a PCR Lateral flow (PCR-LF) assay targeting cya gene present on pXO1 plasmid of B. anthracis has been developed. The forward and reverse primers were tagged with 6-carboxyflourescein (6-FAM) and biotin, respectively, at 5′ end. The dual labeled PCR products were detected using lateral flow (LF) strips developed in this study. The PCR-LF assay could detect ≥ 5 pg of genomic DNA and ≥ 500 copies of target DNA harboured in a recombinant plasmid. The assay was able to detect as few as 103 and 10 CFU/mL of B. anthracis Sterne cells spiked in human blood after 6 and 24 h of enrichment, respectively.

A cost-effective procedure to surface alloy WCB steel butterfly valve sand castings using mold coatings incorporating metal and ferroalloy powders has been described. The tooling, mold design, and casting conditions similar to plain WCB castings were successfully used to produce sound surface alloyed butterfly castings under industrial conditions. The surface alloying was achieved by adding powders of Ni, Cr, Fe–Si, Fe–Mn, and Mo to the slurry containing a binder coated on the mold surface. The surface alloyed coatings on the surface of WCB steel butterfly valve castings were enriched in Ni, Cr, Mo, and Mn up to 6.4, 23.2, 3.3, and 1.1%, respectively. The depths of coatings were as high as 420 µm. After normalizing and tempering heat treatment, the surface alloyed layer exhibited an increase in corrosion resistance as compared to base metal WCB steel.

With time, the Nipah virus has been proved as a fatal and dangerous pathogen for humanity. Nipah virus has its origin from bats and severely affects the respiratory as well as neurological organs. Regular outbreaks and unavailability of proper treatment for Nipah virus infection, demands the designing of vaccine for this disease. This prediction study was conducted to explore B cell epitopes from the Nipah virus's proteome using the immunoinformatics approach. In this curious quest of anticipation of antigenic sites for the Insilico peptide vaccine for the Nipah virus, nine NV-B strain proteins were retrieved for further series of investigations. After sequential refining through immunoinformatics approaches, a total of 26 epitopes was selected to perform molecular modeling and docking. PEPstrMOD and Swiss model, respectively performed 3D modeling of epitopes with their respective alleles. Based on minimum binding energy, four epitopes viz. LHLGNFVRR, LNLSPLIQR, YHNMSPINR and FRRNNAIAF were predicted as promiscuous B cell epitopes. Based on low binding affinity and high population coverage worldwide, epitope LHLGNFVRR was finally selected. Increased Stability of the LHLGNFVRR- HLA DRB_1301 complex during simulation studies exhibit it as the most promising vaccine bidder. So complex of LHLGNFVRR- HLA DRB_1301 has shown most significance result for vaccine and for further validation and confirmation, wet lab and clinical trials can provide the potential of predicted peptides for the subunit vaccine.

In today Internet era, confidential information transmitted over an insecure channel. With the significant development in the area of quantum computing, there is a need for unconditional security in confidential information. Quantum key distribution protocols are proven secure if all devices are perfect (in terms of technologies and proper protocol operations). The major challenges in quantum communication are secret key rate, distance, cost and size of QKD devices. The purpose of this survey article is to carry out a systematic review in the area of quantum cryptography by covering various aspects of non-deterministic quantum key distribution protocols, quantum secure direct communication, semi-quantum key distribution, secure multiparty communication protocol, post-quantum cryptography and device-independent cryptography techniques. In addition, we also discussed various experimental work carried out in the area of quantum cryptography, various attacks and challenges relative to the paradigm shift from classical cryptography to quantum cryptography. Quantum cryptography will become a future replacement of classical cryptography techniques after the development of the first physical quantum computer.

In this work, an attempt has been made to fabricate multifunctional composite photocatalysts by coupling sea urchin shaped ZnO with MoS2 and polyaniline (PANI) sheets, and a significant improvement in photocatalytic activity was perceived with composites in comparison to pristine components. It was found that the ternary ZnO–MoS2-PANI photocatalyst showed excellent adsorptive decomposition of organic pollutants natural sunlight irradiation. In addition, enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution was also evidenced, which revealed the multifunctional nature of the photocatalysts. In the case of organic pollutant decomposition, the presence of MoS2 in ZnO–MoS2-PANI offers abundant catalytic active sites which result in adsorption of the pollutants and boost the photocatalytic activity. While for the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution, the binary ZnO-PANI composite showed the utmost activity in comparison to the pristine components and ZnO–MoS2-PANI, which is due to the fact that the higher loading of MoS2 in the composite increases the number of S atoms on the basal planes, which are inactive for H2 evolution, and hence results in decreased photocatalytic activity. The results discussed in this work may pave the approach for the design and development of ZnO based multifunctional materials for diverse photocatalytic applications.

Abstract Investigations on the effect of single or double A-site cation engineering on the photovoltaic performance of bismuth perovskite-inspired materials (A3Bi2I9) are rare. Herein, we report novel single- and double-cation based bismuth perovskite-inspired materials developed by (1) completely replacing CH3NH3+ (methylammonium, MA+) in MA3Bi2I9 with various organic cations such as CH(NH2)2+ (formamidinium, FA+), (CH3)2NH2+ (dimethylammonium, DMA+), C(NH2)3+ (guanidinium, GA+) and inorganic cations such as cesium (Cs+), rubidium (Rb+), potassium (K+), sodium (Na+) and lithium (Li+) and (2) partially replacing MA+ with Cs+ in different stoichiometric ratios. Compared to single-cation based bismuth perovskite devices, the double-cation bismuth perovskite device showed an increment in the device power conversion efficiency (PCE) up to 1.5% crediting to the reduction in the bandgap. This is the first study demonstrating double-cation based bismuth perovskite showing bandgap reduction and increment in device efficiency and opens up the possibilities towards compositional engineering for improved device performance. Graphic Abstract

A metal catalyst and a hydrogen gas-free approach has been developed for selective reduction of aldehyde to an alkyl group of different substituted furan compounds. In this process, hydrazine hydra...

The development of chemoselective and heterogeneous earth-abundant metal catalysts is essential for environmentally friendly chemical synthesis. We report a highly efficient, chemoselective, and re...

Soft materials exhibiting large deformation under external stimuli have gained an increasing attention in the recent past because of their potential applications in soft transducers aimed at achieving biomimetic actuation. This paper theoretically analyzes the effect of internal properties, including entanglements, crosslinks and finite extensibility of polymer chains along with inherent viscoelastic properties of polymers on the performance of Dielectric Elastomer actuator (DEA) in dynamic modes of actuation. A physics based nonaffine material model proposed by Davidson and Goulbourne is used to model the polymer chains entanglements, crosslinks and finite extensibility. To incorprate the viscoelastic properties, a rheological material model based on the additive decomposition of the isotropic strain energy density into equilibrium and viscous parts is implemented. A computationally efficient method, which relies on the principle of least action is used for extracting the governing equation representing the dynamic motion of the DE actuator. The results demonstrate that DEAs with strong entanglements and crosslinks along with small finite extensibility of polymer chains exhibits lower deformation level in DC dynamic modes of actuation. It is inferred that the strong entanglements and crosslinks in polymer chains enhances the resonant frequency, but debilitate the intensity of vibration of viscoelastic DEAs. Further, the periodicity and stability of the nonlinear oscillations exhibited by the viscoelastic DEAs are assessed by employing the Poincare maps and phase portraits. The results of the present investigation can be applied effectively in bridging the mechanism between the microcosmic polymer chains and macroscopic dynamic behavior of viscoelastic DE actuators.

Night vision devices are used for capturing images under low light conditions ( $ lux), which are significantly different from images under standard illumination. The night vision devices based on image intensifier tube have power and cost advantages over other night vision devices, such as thermal imaging for short-range surveillance. However, these vision devices suffer from scintillation noise, which makes the resulting images noisy under very low light conditions. This paper presents a comprehensive methodology that uses a consolidated image processing module to improve the performance of low-light images acquired using image-intensifier-based night vision devices. The proposed module is a combination of a two-stage image processing framework. First, a spatio-temporal filter (based on wavelet and recursive frame averaging) is used to minimize inter-frame and intra-frame noise. Then, image enhancement is performed followed by residual noise reduction using a local spatial filter before applying image tone adjustment for display mapping. The results of the proposed module demonstrate performance enhancement of night vision devices under controlled simulated light conditions as well as field conditions. Objective and subjective analysis also reveals that the proposed module can effectively reduce noise and significantly improve visual image quality by 20–30%.

Secondary metabolites are produced by plants and are classified based on their chemical structure or the biosynthetic routes through which they are synthesized. Among them, flavonoids, including anthocyanins and pro-anthocyanidins (PAs), are abundant in leaves, flowers, fruits, and seed coats in plants. The anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway has been intensively studied, but the molecular mechanism of anthocyanin transport from the synthesis site to the storage site needs attention. Although the major transporters are well defined yet, the redundancy of these transporters for structurally similar or dis-similar anthocyanins motivates additional research. Herein, we reviewed the role of membrane transporters involved in anthocyanin transport, including ATP-binding cassette, multidrug and toxic compound extrusion (MATE), Bilitranslocase-homolog (BTL), and vesicle-mediated transport. We also highlight the ability of transporters to cater distinct anthocyanins or their chemically-modified forms with overlapping transport mechanisms and sequestration into the vacuoles. Our understanding of the anthocyanin transporters could provide anthocyanin-rich crops and fruits with a benefit on human health at a large scale.

Anaerobically treated molasses-based distilleries spent wash is a major source of terrestrial and aquatic pollution due to the mixture of the various unknown organometallic compounds in discharged waste. The nature of pollutants present in effluent has to be characterized prior to the evaluation of their fate in the environment at various tropic levels. The absorption maxima (λmax) were obtained at 295 nm of pollutants present in spent wash which indicated that melanoidins are a major colorant along with other organic compounds. Abundantly identified compounds with GC–MS in effluent were found: 1,2,4,5-tetrahydro-2-methyl-3H-2-benzazepine-3-one, 6-(trifluoromethyl)-1H-imidazole [4,5-c] pyridine, 4,6-di-t-butyl-1H, 3H-thieno[3,4-c] thiophene, butanoic acid, trimethylsilyl ester, silane, (dodecyloxy)trimethylsilyl ester, 4-styryl [2,2] paracyclophane, 4-(p-cumylphenoxy) phthalonitrile, hexadecanoic acid, trimethylsilyl ester, butyl ester, and squalene. Some of these compounds are known with mutagenic and androgenic properties. The toxicity test of post-methanated distillery effluent (PMDE) showed direct toxic effects on catfish (Heteropneustes fossilis) even at 1% (v/v) concentration and caused degeneration of primary and secondary lamellae of the gill and the epithelial layer. Further, higher concentrations between 5 and 10% of PMDE showed loss of primary and secondary lamellae of gills, and liver catalase activity was also increased dramatically in H. fossilis, indicating the generation of oxidative free radicals. Similarly, inhibition of α-amylase activities in germinating Zea mays L. (Maize) seeds was also noted at 10% PMDE. This study confirmed the environmental toxicity of effluent with freshwater fish and Zea mays seeds.

In the present comparative study, the authors studied the antioxidant and anticancer activity of commercially available polyherbal Indian Ayurvedic products namely Divya Sarvakalp Kwath (DSKK), Divya Sanjivani Vati (DSV), Kanchanar Guggulu (KG) and Shakti Drop (SD). Authors also quantified phenolic and flavonoid contents in the samples. Solid powdered samples (DSKK, DSV, and KG) were extracted in methanol and water (1:1) using cold extraction method. Spectrophotometry technique was used to quantify the phytochemicals present in test samples. DSKK showed comparatively higher content of total phenolics (247.65 ± 0.05 μgPGE/g) and flavonoid (34.66 ± 0.19 µgQE/mg). Radical scavenging, metal ion chelation and reducing potential of test products were studied using nitric oxide scavenging, DPPH, metal ion chelation, reducing power ability, and phosphomolybdate in vitro antioxidant assays at different concentration. Dose-dependent antioxidant activity was observed in all the test samples at 100–500 µg or µl/ml concentration. Anticancer efficacy of the test samples were studied in lung (A549), colon (Colo205), and breast cancer (MCF7) cell lines at different concentrations (10–100 µg or µl/ml) using MTT assay. Confocal microscopy was used to reveal the apoptotic induction, mitochondrial membrane integrity disruption and reactive oxygen species production ability of test products in cancer cells. The present study revealed that DSKK possesses comparatively better antioxidant potential and SD has potent anticancer activity against breast cancer cells.

An one-pot process has been developed for the conversion of lignocellulosic bio-mass and carbohydrates to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF), following a highly specific approach. First time, raw sugarcane bagasse and corn-cob biomasses were mechanically grinded to fine powder and further applied as feedstock for 5-HMF and furfural production in one-pot and scalable synthesis. A synergistic role of mixed organic and inorganic acids such as oxalic acid, AlCl3 and HCl, charcoal, and solvent system was critically investigated on cellulose with their proportion, which is responsible for the fruitful conversion to 5-HMF. Crucial role of charcoal was investigated under this study and noticeable improvement of yield ~ 16% was observed. The optimized process further tested up to 0.5 kg scale biomass conversion to 5-HMF production successfully. The scope of the process further extended for conversion of waste raw potato, corn powder, starch, glucose and fructose to 5-HMF production with high specificity and conversion. After solvent extraction, avoiding tedious column chromatography, the UPLC purity of 5-HMF was measured to 87–95%.

Dengue virus (DENV) is a major mosquito vector based human pathogenic flavivirus which is causing major threat worldwide, yet the availability of therapeutic treatment and several vaccines, still called for advance treatment and vaccine development. The present top down computational approach is a vaccine development step to find novel super antigenic HLA binding epitopes from DENV proteome. The approach used sequence based screening to find complete conserve and high population coverage, common epitopes among all DENV serotype. Propred and Immune Epitope Data Base were used for sequence based screening with recommended parameters. Among top 29 identified epitopes, five structural protein epitopes viz. 33LQGRGPLKL41, 249VVVLGSQEG257, 172LVGIVTLYL180, 146MKILIGVVI154, 72YIIVGVEPG80 and one nonstructural protein epitope 18LKNDIPMTG26 were showed high conserve nature and high population coverage from complete DENV proteome. Further structure based study involving docking and molecular dynamic simulation to confirm stable behavior of HLA allele–peptide complex to give potent cell mediated immune response. Docking of epitope 72YIIVGVEPG80–DRB1 0401 allele and epitope 33LQGRGPLKL41–B*5101 allele complexes showed the best binding energy of − 7.71 and − 7.20 kcal/mol, respectively and stable binding pattern over the time window during molecular dynamic simulation. This computational approach resulted novel epitopes which can be used in the design and development of short epitope based vaccines as well as diagnosis tools for dengue infection.

Present study was aimed to synthesize and characterize Chitosan-Catechol conjugates and to design and develop mucoadhesive pellets loaded with lafutidine. SEM images indicated the presence of fibrous structures responsible for enhanced mucoadhesive potential of Chitosan-Catechol conjugates. Thermodynamic stability and amorphous nature of conjugates was confirmed by DSC and XRD studies respectively. Rheological studies were used to evaluate polymer mucin interactions wherein strong interactions between Chitosan-Catechol conjugate and mucin was observed in comparison to pristine chitosan and mucin. The mucoadhesion potential of Chitosan-Catechol (Cht-C) versus Chitosan (Cht) was assessed in silico using molecular mechanics simulations and the results obtained were compared with the in vitro and ex vivo results. Cht-C/mucin demonstrated much higher energy stabilization (∆E ≈ −65 kcal/mol) as compared to Cht/mucin molecular complex. Lafutidine-loaded pellets were prepared from Chitosan (LPC) and Chitosan-Catechol conjugates (LPCC) and were evaluated for various physical properties viz. flow, circularity, roundness, friability, drug content, particle size and percent mucoadhesion. In vitro drug release studies on LPC and LPCC pellets were performed for computing t50%, t90% and mean dissolution time. The values of release exponent from Korsmeyer-Peppas model was reported to be 0.443 and 0.759 for LPC and LPCC pellets suggesting Fickian and non-Fickian mechanism representing drug release, respectively. In vivo results depicted significant controlled release and enhanced residence of the drug after being released from the chitosan-catechol coated pellets. Chitosan-Catechol conjugates were found to be a promising biooadhesive polymer for the development of various mucoadhesive formulations.

The CRISPR/Cas9-based targeted genome editing has emerged as a versatile technique, widely employed in plant genome engineering, both to decipher gene function and as an alternative to classical breeding technique for traits improvement in plants. However, to date, no such platform has been developed for hop (Humulus lupulus L.), which is an economically important crop producing valuable secondary metabolites utilized in the brewing and pharmaceutical industries. Here, we present the first report on the successful establishment of efficient CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing using the visible endogenous marker gene phytoene desaturase (PDS) involved in carotenoid biosynthesis to demonstrate successful genome editing in hop. Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation of in vitro generated internodal explants was used for the stable integration of constructs expressing plant codon-optimized Cas9 and a pair of co-expressed guide RNAs to target the distinct genomic sites of the PDS gene of hop. Analysis of RNA-guided genome-editing events, including mutant lines screening and homozygosity assessment using the T7 endonuclease assay showed that 33.3% of transformed plants were successfully edited at the target site, displaying albino and mosaic regenerants. Intriguingly, the detected mutations were ranges of deletions (16 bp to 39 bp) which led to disruption of the exon-intron boundary, few base substitutions, and a 1 bp insertion at 3 bp upstream of the PAM region of the target site. The decrease in chlorophyll a/b, and carotenoid content in the mutant lines further confirmed the functional disruption of the HlPDS gene. Taken together, our results demonstrate that the CRISPR/Cas9 system can precisely edit the targeted genome sequences, which may revolutionize our way to overcome some of the obstacles that have plagued the traits improvement in hop.

Two experiments were conducted to determine the cotton plant’s tolerance to Pb and its remediation potential. In the first experiment, the phytoremediation potential was determined by exposing the plant to four levels of Pb (0, 500, 750, and 1000 mg kg−1). The cotton plant exhibited an excellent tolerance index at Pb 1000 mg kg−1 (root 78.65% and shoot 93.08%) and lower grade of growth inhibition (root 21.35% and shoot 6.92%). Pb stress resulted in higher leakage of electrolytes and increased the synthesis of higher proline, total phenol, and free amino acid contents to mitigate stress. The plant could not meet the criteria of a hyperaccumulator of Pb. The concentration of Pb in the shoot was a mere 96 μg g−1 dry wt (< the critical judging concentration of 1000 μg g−1 dry wt), and bioconcentration and translocation factors were

In the present study, the uplift capacity of the under-reamed piles (also referred to as belled piles) in the sand was determined by following a finite element analysis. In this regard, the soil wa...

Triazophos is a commonly used organophosphate insecticide, which inhibits the acetylcholinesterase enzyme and causes paralysis and death of insects. Impact of the pesticides on immunity has scarcel...

Poplars play important role in global forestry. Besides being cultivated as an agro-forestry crop, they provide mankind with fuel wood, timber wood, plywood, sports goods, raw material for paper industry and recently, they are being used as a potential biofuel source. However, a number of biotic and abiotic stresses reduce poplar yield and productivity. Further, there is a strong felt need of paper and pulp industries to have reduced lignin content or modified lignin composition of poplar wood, which will assist in manufacturing better quality paper using less environmentally hazardous chemicals. Because of the non-availability of resistance donor sources and long generation period, conventional breeding could achieve success in genetic improvement of poplars. To circumvent these bottlenecks, genetic engineering interventions have been applied for poplar crop improvement. With the availability of Populus trichocarpa genome sequence in public domain, now numerous genes and transcription factors governing various metabolic pathways got identified, which can be targeted for genetic engineering for poplar improvement. Genome editing technology has really expedited the pace of poplar improvement programmes. This review provides an insight into various research efforts focused on poplar genetic engineering for improvement of silviculturally important traits.

Zinc-solubilizing bacteria (ZSB) are potential and ideal substitutes for Zn supplement. Currently, limited reports are available on the bacteria displaying capability to transform insoluble forms of zinc (Zn) to an available form. Therefore, attempts were made to identify and characterize Zn-solubilizing strains from chickpea rhizosphere for growth promotion and Zn biofortification. Sixty-one bacteria isolated from rhizosphere of chickpea from different parts of Indo-Gangetic plains (IGP) of India were screened for Zn-solubilizing capabilities by cultivating on BTG medium supplemented with ZnO, Zn3(PO4)2, and ZnCO3. Two potential ZSB (BT3 and CT8) were chosen based on their zinc solubilization index and zinc solubilization efficiency and later identified by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. In vitro assays were performed to determine their plant growth-promoting attributes. PCR assay was performed to confirm the presence of zinc uptake regulator (zur) gene in potential strains. Pot experiments were carried out to evaluate the effect of two potential ZSB (BT3 and CT8) on growth promotion and Zn biofortification in chickpea. Atomic absorption spectroscopy was employed to determine the Zn content in the plants. Out of twenty-four ZSB, only two strains (BT3 and CT8) were able to solubilize all the three Zn sources. Isolate, BT3 released maximum concentration of Zn from ZnCO3 (150.2 ± 1.1 mg l−1), while CT8 released maximum from ZnO (130.2 ± 1.2 mg l−1) and Zn3(PO4)2 (116.5 ± 1.2 mg l−1), respectively. The pH of medium was strongly acidic which ranged from 5.2 to 3.9, and the organic acid analysis revealed hexanoic acid, pentanoic acid, and mandelic acids as prime organic acids produced by isolates. The presence of zur genes indicated the involvement of zur-mediated molecular mechanisms in these strains. These isolates also showed plant growth-promoting traits such as production of indole acetic acid (IAA), ammonia, siderophores, and phosphate solubilization. The 16S rRNA sequence analysis revealed that both the isolates had close similarity with Bacillus altitudinis. Inoculation of isolates BT3 and CT8 improved the growth parameters of chickpea and increased the plant’s Zn uptake by 3.9–6.0%. B. altitudinis strains (BT3 and CT8) show excellent capabilities to solubilize insoluble Zn compounds like oxides, phosphates, and carbonates of Zn, making them valuable source for improving Zn uptake and growth of chickpea.

The present study incorporates laminar natural convection and entropy generation in Rayleigh–Benard (R–B) convection with air, water and alumina–water nanofluid as working fluids. The fluid flow and energy equations are solved using D2Q9 and D2Q5 LBM models, respectively. The effects of Rayleigh numbers (Ra = 5 × 103, 104, 105) and volume fractions ( $$\emptyset$$ = 0 to 0.08) of nanoparticles on heat transfer and irreversibility are investigated. Results show that the heat transfer evaluated based on Nusselt number is enhanced due to addition of nanoparticles in the base fluid. The maximum enhancement in Nusselt number is found to be 13.93% at Ra = 105 with 8% of nanoparticle in base fluid. The various irreversibilities considered in this study are thermal, fluid flow and total irreversibility, where fluid flow and total irreversibilities in the study depend on irreversibility ratio. The irreversibility ratios taken into account are 10–2, 10–3, 10–4 and 10–5. One facet of study shows the deviation in onset of critical Rayleigh number for air is 1.58%. The other facet indicates dimensionless heat transfer, fluid flow and total irreversibility decrease with the increase in volume fraction of nanoparticles in the base fluid. The analyzed results of irreversibilities are presented in normalized form. In addition, dimensionless entropy generation maps and Bejan number contours are also plotted.

The present study elucidates velocity of the Indian plate from 2013 to 2016 with the help of six continuously operating permanent Global Positioning System (GPS) stations and tracks the crustal motion and direction directly by means of space-based geodetic measurements. The GPS derived velocity estimates were computed with respect to 2008 International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF 08) and carried out almost all along the arc in the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR). The velocity vectors indicate that the Indian plate is moving towards the NE direction (average velocity of 46.95 ± 0.23 mm/yr) with higher movement towards the eastward direction (36.11 ± 0.17 mm/yr) compared to the northward direction (29.02 ± 0.16 mm/yr). Variations in the plate motion between IISC and permanent GPS stations suggest that presently, the convergence rate is about 8.06 ± 0.28 mm/yr and 5.71 ± 0.17 mm/yr for Higher Himalaya and Lesser Himalaya respectively. In addition, the deformation rate was also calculated on the basis of baseline shortening between IGS stations (IISC and LHAZ) and permanent GPS stations. The results suggest that the deformation is about 11.68 ± 1.32 mm/yr above the Main Central Thrust (MCT) and 6.74 ± 1.20 mm/yr above the Main Boundary Thrust (MBT) with respect to the Indian plate (IISC), while it is 20.60 ± 1.76 mm/yr above the MCT and 11.42 ± 1.21 mm/yr above the MBT with respect to Eurasian plate (LHAZ). The strain rate through GPS measurement reveals that the maximum strain is accumulated in the central part of the Himalaya between the MBT and MCT, indicating vulnerability of the central Indian Himalaya for future earthquakes.

Mapping and monitoring of the glacier changes over different regions of Earth surface is a challenging task due to regional rugged topography and climate conditions. This study focused on the monitoring of snow or ice cover changes over Chhota-Shigri glacier, Western Himalaya, India. A subpixel-based change detection (SCD) approach is proposed, aiming to identify the transition zones (mixed pixels) between the two class categories. The SCD approach involves the integration of subpixel classification and change vector analysis (CVA) to define the changes in the form of magnitude and direction between two multitemporal dates at the subpixel level. To check the efficacy of proposed SCD, experimental outcomes have also been compared with existing neural-network (NN) based SCD (NN‒SCD). The result analysis has shown that proposed SCD achieved better accuracy (84.80%) as compared to NN‒SCD (78.80%). In addition, a time series data was acquired using the Landsat series (Landsat 5, 7 and 8 as per availability) to perform the trend analysis over Chhota-Shigri glacier, during the period 2001–2019. This study offers the effective way of estimating the bi-temporal snow/ice changes especially over rugged terrains around the globe.

Torrential rains, landslides, and seismic activity are the common factors that are causing unprecedented damage to life, property and infrastructure in Mandakini and Bhilangana basins of Garhwal Himalaya. Owing to such conditions, we demonstrate the feedback this landscape in Garhwal Himalaya in response to episodic tectonic uplift and monsoon precipitation. We calculated conventional geomorphic parameters to access the tectonic deformation across the major thrusts and faults. We further analyzed the normalized steepness index (Ksn), Chi (χ), and knickpoints along the longitudinal course of rivers. Additionally, the study attributed to active nature of Chail/Ramgarh thrust along the Balganga valley as envisaged by five levels of unpaired fluvial terraces, entrenched stream course, river ponding, active and stabilized landslide deposits, etc. Moreover, the flooding during the heavy rainfall events induced river toe cutting makes an effect on settlement over fluvial deposits. Therefore, we suggested that the highly dissected and tilted basins with deep V shaped valleys and ongoing seismicity also fabricates the region more vulnerable for hazards which threaten the human lives.

Formation of large-scale deformations in the upper part of the crust during Quaternary resulted in the opening of cracks on the rising/bulging landscape of the E-W trending Kachchh basin. The present study pertains to the development of a deep Khari bedrock gorge (an open crack) in the mainland region of Central Kachchh, western India. The length of the crack, the narrow bedrock gorge is 220 m and the maximum depth is 27.3 m. The estimated results show the maximum dip dimension 49.9 m and a minimum 3.1 m. The study shows that there is a regular and direct connection between the size (length) of crack openings and the rate of displacement. However, the controlling dimension of displacement and widening of the fracture depends on volumetric fluid flow, overpressure of fluid, the ratio of length-displacement/width, and an elastic limit of sandstone, the host rock. The controlling dimension of a crack is geometrically denoted by the strike and dip of a fracture. The volume of water flow, the volumetric rate on the horizontal bedrock surface, and the subsequent crack opening is directed by the fracture aperture. The opening of a crack within the contact of two surfaces may have a variable aperture corresponding to the rate of volumetric fluid flow over the crack. The statistical parameter shows that the young's modulus of sandstone is 6 MPa and the Poisson's ratio is 0.2 and the tensile strength 14 MPa of the fault zone. Our estimates show that the initial opening displacement of Khari gorge is ∼0.6–0.8 mm with an initial volumetric rate of fluid is 22 Qc indicates enhanced discharge. Further, it is noticed that the fluid passing through the crack caused its widening by 0.2 mm with a gradual decrease of volumetric fluid rate 3Qc through the cracks during the decline condition of fluid discharge. The empirical relation of fracture direction with time factor suggests that the initial stage of gorge formation took place around 125 ka (Late Pleistocene) ago during the effective climatic condition and continuous modification for shaping the gorge took place until around 8 ka (Holocene). After that, the modification through climate is completely ceased.

Past earthquakes in the Himalayas are mainly due to tectonic activities along the thrust faults parallel to the Himalayan belt. In order to study the ongoing tectonic process, crustal deformation at a selected transect in a part of western Himalayas as well as of the Indian plate, then: are studied by the analyses of GPS data processed in a GAMIT/GLOBK platform. The data were collected from four local continuous operating reference stations (CORS), six International Global Navigation Satellite System Service (IGS) stations and five surveyed based GPS campaign stations transverse to major faults system. Results show an annual crustal motion of 19.18 mm Near Southern Tibetan Detachment (STD), 18.72 mm near Main Central Thrust (MCT), 11.93 mm near Main Boundary Thrust (MBT) and 11.53 mm near Himalayan Frontal Thrust (HFT) in India fixed reference. The present day Indian plate motion was estimated to be 55.33 mm/yr. In the study region at western Himalaya, crustal convergence of 13.83 mm/yr was observed in Dehradun-Badrinath sector in Uttarkhand. GPS sites near to north of HFT shows a westward movements and sites at peninsular India shows eastward movements suggesting possible counter clockwise rotation of the Indian plate. The annual motion across HFT varies between 0.1 and 2.0 mm, suggesting that HFT is locked in Garhwal region of western Himalaya. Insignificant movement across HFT indicates greater strain accumulation and the possibility of earthquakes in near future. The study suggests requirement of continuous monitoring of deformation across major thrusts in the Himalaya with dense network of GPS stations.

The study interprets the effect of seasonal (pre-, co- and post-monsoon) hydrological loading due to the Ganga river basin over the seismicity and geodetic deformation in the Garhwal Himalayan region. Geodetic data from six cGPS sites are used, three sites out of six are established in the Himalayan region, one is located in the Ganga basin and two sites are located in the Indian shield. First, we estimated the average seasonal variation in GRACE-derived TWS of entire India for the period of 2002–2016. It is observed the seasonal effect over TWS (Terrestrial Water Storage) due to hydrological fluctuations in the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP). It has also been noticed that the geodetic velocities for both the North and East components are more in pre-monsoon than post-monsoonal season. Whereas the vertical component in cGPS sites of Himalaya (DEHR and MAND) agrees to the hypothesis of upliftment during post-monsoon and subsidence in pre-monsoon. TWS mass change is detected high during the co-monsoon (2.32 × 104 km3) and it is observed low −2.22 × 104 km3 (in pre-) and −8.13 × 103 km3 (in post-) monsoon seasons respectively. GPS measured horizontal displacement agrees with seasonal loading but it contains some anomalous behaviour, which may be the result of surface hydrological mass movement or the effect of the Gorkha earthquake, 2015, however an inverse relation between vertical geodetic displacement and loading have been observed. The average strain rate values over cGPS sites during 2016–2018, are more negative in post-monsoon than in pre-monsoon which means that plate movement is highly compressional. We have also inferred a significant role of loading over the seismicity and linear strain rate, which increases with decreasing hydrological loading in the Ganga river basin and vice versa.

This study assesses the temporal changes of Swetvarn and Thelu glaciers between 1968 and 2019 in Rakvarn glacial valley of Bhagirathi basin. Here we utilized high-resolution satellite images of CORONA KHA (1968), LISS IV (2012) and SENTINEL-2 MSI (2019), along with medium resolution images of LANDSAT TM (1990) and SRTM (2000) to carry out the research work. Analytical viewed strongly convinced that the selected glaciers receding continuously with non homogeneous retreat rate since 1968. During 1968 to 2019 the snout of the Swetvarn glacier lost ∼623m total length with 12.21ma−1 retreat rate, while the snout of Thelu glacier lost ∼590m total length (11.56ma−1). Results further confirmed that about 16.60% glaciated area of Swetvarn glacier and 24.50% glaciated area of Thelu glacier also vanished completely between 1968 and 2019. During this tenure the ablation zone shows 160m upward shift for Swetvarn glacier and 145m for Thelu glacier respectively. Overall analysis explains that three climatic trends of Garhwal Himalayan region; (1) catastrophic variation between rainfall and temperature during 1960–1990, (2) gradual increase in temperature and decrease in precipitation, (3) increased liquid precipitation and decreased solid precipitation highly influences the process of melting of the study region.

We analyze the behavior of Total Electron Content (TEC) in the Ionosphere using the GPS data between 2009 and 2017 towards the western part of India. The GPS data used in the present study consists of 22 Continuously Operating Reference Sites (CORS), bounded between 200- 240 N Latitude and 680 - 740 E Longitude. All the GPS data used in the study are generated using the Leica 1200 receivers and AX1202GG antennas with a sampling interval of 0.03 Hz. The TEC value of this study is calculated using the L-band GPS frequencies L1 (1575.42 MHz) and L2 (1227.36 MHz). The results reveal maximum TEC values during the daytime (03.30–04.30 IST) for all the years and a maximum of 120 TECu (TEC unit) was observed during the year 2014. The reflection of seasonal variation was visible in the time-series of TEC in all the years, while E season (March, April, September and October) observed maximum TEC values in all the stations. The mean monthly TEC values of the present study illustrate the solar cycle-24 and the coefficient of correlation (r2) of 0.74 indicates a close relationship between the sunspot number and TEC values. A fall of 35% TECu was observed on the annular solar eclipse day on 15 January 2010.

A high-performance thin-layer chromatography method for the simultaneous quantitative determination of salicylic acid, kaempferol, gallic acid, and protocatechuic acid in hydro-alcoholic fractions of Cinnamomum verum J. Presl bark was developed for the first time in this species. For achieving good separation, a mobile phase of toluene‒ethyl acetate‒formic acid (5:4:1, V/V) was used. Densitometric determination was carried out at specified wavelengths for different standard compounds in reflection/absorption mode. The calibration curves were linear in the range of 100‒600 ng per spot for salicylic acid, kaempferol, gallic acid, and protocatechuic acid. During the analysis, defatted hydro-alcoholic fraction from C. verum J. Presl bark showed the presence of salicylic acid (0.098% w/w), kaempferol (0.24% w/w), gallic acid (0.01% w/w), and protocatechuic acid (0.27% w/w). The proposed method is simple, precise, specific, and accurate. The statistical analysis of the data obtained proves that the method is reproducible and selective and can be used for the routine analysis of the reported phenolic compounds in crude drug and extracts. The simultaneous quantification of these biomarkers has not yet been reported in C. verum J. Presl which may be utilized for the proper standardization of the drug. Research also provides new herbal options for different medicinally valuable secondary metabolites in polar categories with different therapeutic potentials. Exploration of bioactive metabolites in C. verum J. Presl bark can also increase its industrial value, which may promote its cultivation and may create a good commercial option for our farmers.

The change detection via remote sensing offers a cost-effective solution to monitor the earth surface variations and manage natural resources. Change vector analysis (CVA) is one of the most appropriate suitable amongst various change detection techniques that attract the interest of researchers due to its potential and overall applicability. However, the effectiveness of recently developed CVA methods is yet to be explored over the mountainous region like Himalayas with most commonly used satellite sensors such as MODIS and Landsat-8. In the present analysis, we have performed the qualitative and quantitative analysis of advanced CVA algorithms such as improved CVA (ICVA), posterior probability-based CVA (CVAPS), median CVA (MCVA) and fuzzy-based CVA (FCVA). Two experiments were conducted on different study sites of western Himalayas (Himachal Pradesh, India) using topographically corrected MODIS and Landsat-8 datasets. The experimental outcomes of change maps confirm the effectiveness of FCVA (86.80–87.6%) as compared to MCVA (78.4–83.6%), CVAPS (82.8–84%) and ICVA (73.6–80.4%). This study provides a comprehensive framework to explore the potential of different CVA algorithms to detect the land use and land cover changes especially over rugged terrain region.

In the present study, we evaluated Furcraea foetida for the phytoremediation of cadmium (Cd)-contaminated soils. We selected F. foetida because it is a drought-resistant plant, produces high biomass, and needs minimum maintenance. It belongs to the leaf fiber group of plants and therefore has economic importance. Since it is a non-edible crop, there is no danger of food chain contamination. Despite possessing these ideal characteristics, surprisingly, to date, the plant is underutilized for phytoremediation purposes. Therefore, to evaluate the phytoremediation potential of the plant, we exposed it to five levels of cadmium (0, 25, 50, 100, and 200 mg Cd kg-1 soil) and studied its influence on growth, dry matter production, uptake, and translocation efficiency. The plant showed good tolerance to Cd 200 mg kg-1 soil without exhibiting any visible toxicity symptoms. The metal mainly accumulated in the roots (233 μg g-1dw), followed by leaf (51 μg g-1 dw). The bioconcentration factor was > 1, but the translocation factor was < 1. The plant was not classified as a hyperaccumulator of Cd; however, because of its high uptake (897 μ g-1 plant) and translocation efficiency (78%), we concluded that the plant could be utilized for phytoextraction of Cd from soils with low to moderately contaminated soils.

Agave americana was evaluated for its phytoremediation potential of the soils contaminated with Cd. This plant was selected because of its drought tolerance and high biomass. The pot culture experi...

Micro-Electromechanical Systems (MEMS) based capacitive pressure transducers have a pivotal role in transducer devices for real-world applications. Thus, the efficient analysis for modelling these transducers is increasingly becoming important. These transducers use diaphragms of various geometries, however for the same active area, circular diaphragms are more sensitive as compared to square diaphragms. Pull-in voltage and touch-point pressure are two parameters which determine the performance of a micro- electromechanical systems device. In this work a complete analysis is presented for evaluating these parameters along with the mechanical and capacitive sensitivity for a circular diaphragm based capacitive pressure transducer. The effect of thickness and radius of the diaphragm has been illustrated, as they form the essential design parameters for fabricating the micro-electromechanical systems devices. Literature review suggests that relatively less work has been reported for this analysis and more complicated and computationally complex methods have been used. The semi-analytical approach presented in this research is less complex and computationally efficient, in comparison to finite element method (FEM). Critical differentiator of this formulation is related to its applicability for analysing sensor parameters with or without considering the effect of electrostatic pressure on diaphragm deflection. Furthermore, this analysis eliminates the need for determining spring constant k which is used in lumped element methods. MATLAB has been used to compute and simulate the results. The mathematical model developed is verified with a standard Finite Element Analysis (FEM) using COMSOL v5.5.