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Ferrocene-based polythiophene (PT) composites containing different carbon fillers like multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and carbon black (CB) were prepared through in situ chemical oxidative polymerization method. The prepared PT composites were characterized by employing SEM, TEM, FTIR, XRD and XPS techniques. The thermal stability of the PT composites was investigated by TG analysis. It was found that the thermal stability of PT composites was highly improved as compared with pure PT. The electrical conductivity of the composites was measured by a typical four-probe method. Electrical conductivity measurements indicated that the PT composites showed excellent electrical conductivity. Electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) of the composites was measured by using coaxial method in the frequency range of 1–4.5 GHz. The total shielding effectiveness (SET) achieved for PT composites along with MWCNT, RGO and CB was − 24 dB, − 11.27 dB, and − 10.46 dB at 50 wt% composite sample loading in the paraffin wax matrix, respectively. Therefore, the PT-MWCNT composite can be used for the EMI shielding applications.

A theoretical study of a second-grade nanofluid over a porous medium has been conducted. Stagnation point flow is considered. Effects of nonlinear radiative heat flux, dissipation and Joule heating are considered in the modeling of energy equation. Furthermore, chemical reaction is accounted. The wall is not stationary, but stretching at rate a. Total irreversibility rate is obtained through the second thermodynamics law. Slip mechanism of nanoparticles like Brownian movement and thermophoresis are considered. Suitable transformations lead to ordinary system. Solution development is done through HAM. Effects of pertinent variables are graphically discussed. Skin friction and temperature gradient are examined graphically versus different parameters. It is observed that velocity field decreased versus larger magnetic parameter. Temperature enhances versus rising values of magnetic and radiation variables. Main idea of present flow is listed.

Salinity poses serious threats to landscapes across the globe, decreasing the capacity of all types of terrestrial ecosystems in providing services by threatening our biodiversity, lowering agricultural productivity, deteriorating the environment, contaminating groundwater below standard level, enhancing flood risks, food security issues and restricting the economic growth of a community. Reclamation measures are required to reverse the process of land degradation caused by salinization; otherwise, the trend towards salinization is expected to grow beyond control in developing countries. The scientific community and the policy-makers around the globe have been testing long-term technologies including physicochemical, conventional breeding and genetic engineering involving state of the art molecular tools for more than three decades. Nevertheless, they have failed due to reasons like non-technical feasibility reports, reliability and affordability issues coupled with sustainability constraints at field level. This review discusses the potential prospects of Pennisetum genus (Poaceae) for integrated, sustainable, robust and profitable saline agriculture based on phytoremediation agro-technique. Our approach is the first ever record, providing a novel insight into a cost-effective biotech agro-technique. Pennisetum species are environment-friendly future candidates with prospects for all stakeholders to materialize higher average productivity at the field level, posing lesser competition for resources with standard conventional crops.

We have studied the advances made in chemical modification of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and their corresponding applications. Different synthetic methods such as esterification and etherification, cross-linking and grafting techniques parameters, etc., are used in CNCs formation. As CNCs are well studied for their renewable purposes like oxidation, grafting, copolymerization reaction, etc. Their biodegradability is of great advantage as it can easily be modified with other related functional groups giving high stiffness, strength, low density and long life to metals and other materials. Cellulose polymer is mostly used due to its neutrality and its wide applications in furniture, packaging, textile, food medical products, etc. Mankind has found a great deal of benefit from cellulose owing to its many applications over a period of hundreds of years. This review presents a detailed account of pronounced effect of CNCs, revealed during their numerous applications and their potential use in wide ranging fields. The recent research reveals multidimensional properties and great advancements of CNCs made at an industrial level. CNCs also exhibit high efficiency in all application areas, described in detail here.

With the development of society, plastics play a significant role in daily supplies owing to their advantages. Whereas, insufficient scratch resistance and vulnerable plastic surfaces result in the constraint of their range of application fields, for instance, electronic products. Hence, it is a highly desirable objective of researchers to investigate hardening coatings for protecting plastic surfaces, by selecting polyurethane acrylate (PUA) as film-forming materials attributing to their adjustable features. This article reveals components of PUA and principles for its hardening modification, and summaries various methods of hardening modification of PUA-based coatings, such as improving the crosslinking density, strengthening hydrogen bonding, incorporating rigid groups into molecular structure, introducing inorganic nanoparticles into resin matrix and transferring linear PUA into hyperbranched analogs. Moreover, optimal strategies for the preparation of PUA-based hardening films from above five tactics are discussed.

Two-dimensional stagnation point flow of single and multi walls carbon nanotubes towards a stretching sheet is addressed. Induced magnetic field is considered. Homogeneous-heterogeneous reactions is accounted. Both SWCNTs (single wall) and MWCNTs (multi wall) are considered as nanoparticles whereas water and kerosene oil are considered as base liquid. Xue’s model is used for the physical characteristics of density, specific heat and thermal conductivity. The consequences of present work is to investigate impact of induced magnetic field in quartic chemical reactive stagnation point flow with influence of SWCNTs (single wall) and MWCNTs (multi wall). Dimensionless variables are introduced to model physical problem mathematically. Equations are then solved numerically with the help of Built-in-Shooting technique for non-dimensional induced magnetic field, velocity, concentration and temperature. The impacts of different dimensionless flow variables like stretching rate ratio parameter, magnetic parameter, thermal radiation, reciprocal magnetic Prandtl number, homogeneous reaction and heterogeneous reactions parameters and heat generation parameter are depicted through graphs. Computational analysis for surface drag force and Nusselt number are tabulated to examine the behaviors at stretched sheet. It is noticed that induced magnetic field enhances via higher nanoparticles volumetric fraction. Furthermore, multi (MWCNTs) has more contribution in enhancing induced magnetic field when compared with single (SWCNTs).

Phenylboronic acids (PBAs) have gained considerable interest in recent years due to their recognition for diol-containing molecules such as glucose. Their response to the elevated glucose concentrations can be reported by measuring the change in the size or optical properties of polymers-bearing PBAs. In this context, fast response and good mechanical properties are crucial factors for constructing glucose-responsive sensors. Toward this goal, we have synthesized glucose-responsive nanostructured gels (NSGs) using 3-acrylamidophenylboronic acid and N-isopropylacrylamide. Herein, activated nanogels with controllable size were prepared and used as nano-cross-linkers. The prepared NSGs showed glucose-responsiveness in a remarkable concentration-dependent manner, exhibited high elasticity upon compression and slicing and resisted high level of deformation such as bending, twisting and stretching.

This research presents the applications of entropy generation phenomenon in incompressible flow of Jeffrey nanofluid in the presence of distinct thermal features. The novel aspects of various features, such as Joule heating, porous medium, dissipation features, and radiative mechanism are addressed. In order to improve thermal transportation systems based on nanomaterials, convective boundary conditions are introduced. The thermal viscoelastic nanofluid model is expressed in terms of differential equations. The problem is presented via nonlinear differential equations for which analytical expressions are obtained by using the homotopy analysis method (HAM). The accuracy of solution is ensured. The effective outcomes of all physical parameters associated with the flow model are carefully examined and underlined through various curves. The observations summarized from current analysis reveal that the presence of a permeability parameter offers resistance to the flow. A monotonic decrement in local Nusselt number is noted with Hartmann number and Prandtl number. Moreover, entropy generation and Bejan number increases with radiation parameter and fluid parameter.

The road traffic accidents (RTAs) have raised concern globally and become worsen with the passage of time that expedite issues of social exclusion and public health. There are approximately 1.35 million people involved annually in road crashes and 3,700 people died on daily basis. A ratio of happening an accident has found greater in developing countries due to govern of their socio-economic factors. It would contribute in long-lasting cost of pain and sufferings at micro to macro level at large. Pakistan has been experiencing the same with an annual trend of increase in RTAs. There are many demographic factors involved particular to urbanization, and willingness to pay etc. where policies had contributed a major role. A loss of 30 thousand lives on annual basis has placed Pakistan at 67th position on global ranking of having higher percentage of RTAs. This number could expect to be doubled with the functional operation of road projects associated with China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Currently, the main challenge is to sustain the growing number of RTAs by promoting mitigation measures that aimed to move ahead on sustainable and balanced development. An adequate response to address these challenges will require best available scientific knowledge and constant re-evaluation of the developments. It will fulfil the scope of this study to identify frequent causes and propose strategies for traffic calming measures in light of those findings, and also to make ensure that it would respond to emerging needs. A comparative investigation into the literature has assisted to identify key issues for occurrence of road accident fatalities (RAFs) and severe injuries. It has highlighted and recommended those gap areas either in policy or strategy domain that need to consider in dealing with RTAs mitigation tactics (e.g., licencing system upgradation, enforcing safety laws, and etc.).

Aedes aegypti is a type of mosquito which can carry dengue virus, the etiological agent of dengue fever, Chikungunya and Zika virus, and is known to have a medium to grow only in fresh water. Environmental changes due to the rapid development have occurred, while the dengue fever is also widespread. The breeding of mosquitoes is reviewed as input in making a policy of the dengue mosquito control. This research was conducted by growing Aedes aegypti mosquito larvae in various type of water to know the ability of these mosquito larvae to hatch and breed. The water used here was fresh water as a control, sea water, diluted sea water, sewage water, brackish water used in mosques and houses of Karachi. This was an observational and experimental pilot study. Twenty five larvae of Aedes aegypti were exposed to each container in which each treatment was repeated three times. The results were analyzed by looking at the graph of observation, showing that Aedes aegypti mosquitoes can survive and breed well in polluted water and in diluted sea water/boring water. The highest average number of larvae can survive in 7.9 ppt salinity and up to 8.3 pH. From this study, it can be concluded that the Aedes aegypti has the ability to breed and survive in sewage and diluted sea water/boring water. Further in-depth study of the behavioral changes in the vector of dengue infection needs to be carried out by which the control program can be well targeted.

This article aims to study the Quasi-least square mixed finite element (FE) method for the approximate solution of Magnato-Hydro-Dynamic equations (MHD). The resulting non-linear system of equations are linearized around a characteristic state, resulting in first order linearized least-square models that yield algebraic system of equations with symmetric positive definite coefficient matrices. A central feature of the method is that it does not require (Ladyzhenskaya-Babuska-Brezzi) LBB conditions on the finite dimensional subspaces and the resulting bilinear form is symmetric and positive definite. Secondly, it only needs to choose the value of a single parameter to find the well-posedness of the model equations. For the theoretical accuracy and authentication of the method, we investigate existence of the solutions and obtain a priori error estimates. The variables are fluid velocity, fluid pressure and magnetic field. Numerical tests are performed in order to assess the stability and the accuracy of the resulting methods. Result shows good agreement with analytical solutions.

In this article, starch phosphate-g-poly (methacrylic acids) (SP-g-PMAAs) were synthesized by dual modification. Firstly starch phosphate (SP) was synthesized by phosphorylation of native starch (NS) with mono sodium-phosphate and di sodium-phosphate. Afterwards, methacrylic acid (MAA) was grafted onto SP via free radical polymerization to synthesize SP-g-PMAAs. The structure of the SP and SP-g-PMAAs was investigated by phosphorus nuclear magnetic resonance, proton nuclear magnetic resonance and fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The X-ray diffraction studies showed that the modification diminished the crystalline nature of SP and SP-g-PMAAs. The SEM images showed spherical or polyhedral smooth surface for the starch. After modification, SP and SP-g-PMAAs exhibited distorted and rougher surfaces which are assumed to be good for adsorption. The dual modification produced phosphate and carboxylic groups on the starch backbone. The phosphate and carboxylic groups have high tendency to make hydrogen bonding with phenol. The comparative adsorption studies of NS, SP and SP-g-PMAAs were checked for phenol. The experimental results showed adsorption efficiencies of 0.022 g/g, 0.082 g/g, 0.100 g/g, 0.148 g/g and 0.151 g/g for NS, SP, SP-g-PMAA1, SP-g-PMAA2 and SP-g-PMAA3, respectively. The following findings revealed that dual modification enhanced the adsorption ability of NS.

Isatin is an indole derivative firstly synthesized in the laboratory by Erdmann and Laurent by oxidation of indigo pigment having chromic acid. It is orange-red in color with freezing point 2000C...

Isatin is an important class of nitrogen containing heterocyclic aromatic compounds, found in plants, human blood and tissue...

Plant pathogenic bacteria engage in an ongoing struggle for survival. Gram negative phytopathogenic prokaryotes deploy type III secretion system to deliver effector proteins into plant cells to manipulate the host cellular environment. In many cases, the targets of these effector proteins are unknown. The bacterial blight pathogen, Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo), causes a devastating disease in rice and the Xoo-rice interaction is an example of the ongoing evolutionary battle between plants and pathogens. In this study, we show that an effector XopL from Xoo exhibits E3 ubiquitin ligase activity and induces cell death in the nonhost Nicotiana benthamiana (Nb). Through yeast two-hybrid, co-immunoprecipitation, and biomolecular fluorescence complementation assays, it was shown that XopL interacts with ferredoxin (NbFd), an electron transport molecule in plant chloroplasts. XopL induced defense-related response in Nb and specifically targeted NbFd for ubiquitination and ubiquitin-mediated degradation, a process that increased the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). This study demonstrates the ubiquitination and degradation of NbFd as a result of XopL activity, which further illustrates the tremendous functional diversity in Xanthomonas effector proteins.

Background Bacterial blight of cotton (BBC), which is incited by Xanthomonas citri pv. malvacearum ( Xcm ), is a destructive disease in cotton. Transcription activator-like effectors (TALEs), encoded by tal -genes, play critical roles in the pathogenesis of xanthomonads. Characterized strains of cotton pathogenic Xcm harbor 6-13 different tal genes and only one of them is functionally decoded. Further identification of novel tal genes in Xcm strains with virulence contributions are prerequisite to decipher the Xcm -cotton interactionsResults In this study, we identified six tal genes in Xss-V 2 -18, a highly-virulent strain of Xcm from China, and assessed their role in BBC. RFLP-based Southern hybridization assays indicated that Xss-V 2 -18 harbors the six tal genes on a plasmid. The plasmid-encoded tal genes were isolated by cloning Bam HI fragments and screening clones by colony hybridization. The tal genes were sequenced by inserting a Tn 5 transposon in the DNA encoding the central repeat region (CRR) of each tal gene. Xcm TALome evolutionary relationship based on TALEs CRR revealed relatedness of Xss-V 2 -18 to MSCT1 and MS14003 from the United States. However, Tal2 of Xss-V 2 -18 differs at two repeat variable diresidues (RVDs) from Tal6 and Tal26 in MSCT1 and MS14003, respectively, inferred functional dissimilarity. The suicide vector pKMS1 was then used to construct tal deletion mutants in Xcm Xss-V 2 -18. The mutants were evaluated for pathogenicity in cotton based on symptomology and growth in planta . Four mutants showed attenuated virulence and all contained mutations in tal2 . One tal2 mutant designated M2 was further investigated in complementation assays. When tal2 was introduced into Xcm M2 and expressed in trans , the mutant was complemented for both symptoms and growth in planta , thus indicating that tal2 functions as a virulence factor in Xcm Xss-V 2 -18.Conclusions Overall, the results demonstrated that Tal2 is a major pathogenicity factor in Xcm strain Xss-V 2 -18 that contributes significantly in BBC. This study provides a foundation for future efforts aimed at identifying susceptibility genes in cotton that are targeted by Tal2.

Additional file 1: Table S1. Primers used for amplifying genes encoding T3E from X. oryzae pv. oryzicola.

Additional file 4: Table S2. Strains and plasmids used in this study.

Additional file 1: Table S1. Primers used in this study. Figure S1. Predicted theoretical target site logo. (A) Target site logo for Tal2 of Xss-V2-18. (B) Target site logo for Tal6 of MSCT1 and Tal26 of MS14003. Based on TALgetter (Galaxy v1.1 http://galaxy.informatik.uni-halle.de/)

Additional file 9: Supplemental methods. Methods S1, DNA manipulation and plasmid construction. Methods S2, transient expression in Nb. Methods S3, protein production and purification. Methods S4, RNA isolation and gene expression analysis. Method S5, ion leakage test. Methods S6, overexpression and RNAi-mediated silencing of NbFd.

Additional file 8: Table S3. Primers used in this study.

Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo), the causal agent of bacterial leaf blight in rice, delivers transcription activator-like effector (TALE) proteins into host cells to activate susceptibility or resistance (R) genes that promote disease or immunity, respectively. Nonhost plants serve as potential reservoirs of R genes; consequently, nonhost R genes may trap TALEs to trigger an immune response. In this study, we screened 17 Xoo TALEs for their ability to induce a hypersensitive response (HR) in the nonhost plant Nicotiana benthamiana (Nb); only AvrXa10 elicited an HR when transiently expressed in Nb. The HR generated by AvrXa10 required both the central repeat region and the activation domain, suggesting a specific interaction between AvrXa10 and a potential R-like gene in nonhost plants. Evans blue staining and ion leakage measurements confirmed that the AvrXa10-triggered HR was a form of cell death, and the transient expression of AvrXa10 in Nb induced immune responses. Genes targeted by AvrXa10 in the Nb genome were identified by transcriptome profiling and prediction of effector binding sites. Using several approaches (in vivo reporter assays, electrophoretic mobility-shift assays, targeted designer TALEs, and on-spot gene silencing), we confirmed that AvrXa10 targets NbZnFP1, a C2H2-type zinc finger protein that resides in the nucleus. Functional analysis indicated that overexpression of NbZnFP1 and its rice orthologs triggered cell death in rice protoplasts. An NbZnFP1 ortholog was also identified in tomato and was specifically activated by AvrXa10. These results demonstrate that NbZnFP1 is a nonhost R gene that traps AvrXa10 to promote plant immunity in Nb., Seventeen Xoo TALEs were screened for their ability to cause a hypersensitive response (HR) in N. benthamiana (Nb), and only AvrXa10 elicited a stable HR in Nb. AvrXa10 was shown to activate NbZnFP1, a C2H2-type zinc finger protein, which led to HR in Nb. These results demonstrate that TALE proteins can be trapped by R-like genes in nonhost plants to promote immunity.

This article is concerned with the review of periodic heat transfer through extended surfaces known as fins. In this review, we bring out the detail study of heat transfer of periodic type variation through extended surfaces. Heat transfer which has been remained a warm area of research under various conditions for the researchers in last many decades. In the current analysis, an attempt is appointed to study, analyze and summarize the result of the periodic heat transfer and flow in various fins. Further, we are carried out the analysis for the periodic heat transfers through various kind of extended surface also called fins in the presence of periodic base and ambient temperature. The performance of the extended surface is expressed in terms of the fin effectiveness and its efficiency. The heat transfer process is regulated by three experimentally determined dimensionless parameters such as the frequency parameter w, the convectional fins parameter N, and the amplitude parameter A. Further the fins performance and efficiency are demonstrated through several examples.

Ice formation and accretion on surfaces is a serious economic issue in energy supply and transportation. Recent strategies for developing icephobic surfaces are intimately associated with superwettability. Commonly, the superwettability of icephobic materials depends on their surface roughness and chemical composition. This article critically categorizes the possible strategies to mitigate icing problems from daily life. The wettability and classical nucleation theories are used to characterize the icephobic surfaces. Thermodynamically, the advantages/disadvantages of superhydrophobic surfaces are discussed to explain icephobic behavior. The importance of elasticity, slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces (SLIPSs), amphiphilicity, antifreezing protein, organogels, and stimuli-responsive materials has been highlighted to induce icephobic performance. In addition, the design principles and mechanism to fabricate icephobic surfaces with superwettability are explored and summarized.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as an attractive class of porous crystalline polymers in recent decade years, which are built from metal nodes and organic linkers with highly regular spatial structures, tunable pores and enormous surface areas. Compared with common bulky MOFs, two-dimension MOFs nanosheets (2D MNS) exhibit outstanding properties like ultrathin thickness and more accessible active sits are considered as a compelling two-dimension material now. Here various methods to obtain MNS including “top-down” and “bottom-up” will be introduced and their applications in separation, catalysis and sensors will also be discussed in this review.

Microneedle technology relates to pharmacy, polymer chemistry and micromachining. Microneedle can effectively deliver insulin into systemic circulation across the skin. This process does not affect the activity of insulin. Compared to subcutaneous injection, microneedles cause less pain for their special structure. This review thoroughly discusses the preparation technologies of the microneedles-based insulin delivery system including solid, hollow, dissolving, phase transition, glucose-responsive microneedle patches. In the meantime, the properties, challenges and clinical/commercial status of the microneedles-based insulin delivery system are also discussed in this review.

The Burning rate of a solid propellant predominantly influences its internal ballistic behavior and it has been well known that incorporation of small quantities of certain classes of organic and inorganic substance to a propellant can drastically alter its burning rate characteristics. The inclusion of energetic materials and burning rate catalysts (BRCs) from the metallocene family (e.g., ferrocene (Fc) and 2,2-bis (ethylferrocenyl) propane also known as catocene (Cat)) has been a promising avenue for efficiently increasing the burning rate of propellants. Fc-based materials are dominantly used as burning rate catalysts in solid propellants because of their low volatility, higher compatibility with organic binders, microscopic homogeneities in distribution, broad range of burning rate adjustments, better ignitability and distinct catalytic features. However, in solid composite propellants, Fc-based polymers and derivatives show undesired properties of high migration, that is travelling out from propellant grain to surrounding insulation material on prolong storage, evaporation or sublimation loss during processing and curing as well as phase separation by crystallization in low-temperature applications, limiting their application as BRCs. This article outlines the latest synthetic advancements in the field of Fc-based BRCs, as well as highlighting their catalytic and anti-migration mechanisms.

The present studies provide qualitative aspects of pine wilt disease model while incorporating convex incidence rate. Studying the nature of the proposed model, it is shown that the basic reproductive number completely determine various dynamics of the model. The global asymptotic stability analysis is expounded at different equilibrium points. The model has shown that the disease disappear, when the threshold quantity falls below unity. Numerical results are presented graphically to illustrate theoretical discussions.

Antifogging agents are very important for use on agricultural films. Fogging reduces crop yield and causes other negative effects. To overcome fogging problems on agricultural films, several approaches including surface coating and reactive extrusion methods have been used. To date, researchers have designed a variety of agents to prepare antifogging films. The mechanism and rules for the composition of such agents have also been reported. However, reported antifogging films do not exhibit satisfactory results. Therefore, antifogging methods require further improvement. In this review, different preparation methods for antifogging agents and films are summarized, along with the advantages and disadvantages of each method. Moreover, test methods for antifogging performance are introduced.

Transportation network plays a substantial role in the everyday life of social beings. The preservation of this vast infrastructure needs appropriate and cost-effective design techniques, which depends upon the selection and proportion of binder and aggregate. With the passage of time, as compared to HMA (Hot Mix Asphalt), WMA (Warm mix asphalt) has become extreme prevalent in the road construction industry, because WMA offers the opportunity of production asphalt mix at a reduced temperature than conventionally used for HMA, hence saving energy, cutting CO2 emission and improve environmental quality. This study aims to assess the impact of sasobit (an organic WMA additive) on permanent deformation and moisture susceptibility of asphalt mixes. Under the scope of this paper, the authors have added three percentages of sasobit that is 1%, 2% and 3% to check the effect of increasing sasobit percentage on rutting and moisture damage of asphalt mixes. In summary, rut depth of WMA as obtained from Hamburg Wheel Tracker Device (HWTD) slightly decreased from that of HMA, while rut depth at 1% and 2% was even less than that of 3% sasobit. A slight increase in moisture damage as compared to control mix was observed by adding sasobit, as illustrated by decreased Tensile Strength Ratios TSR.

Present article addresses mixed convection magnetohydrodynamic Casson nanomaterial flow by stretchable cylinder. The effects of thermal, solutal and motile density stratifications at the boundary of the surface are accounted. Flow governing expressions are acquired considering aspects of permeability, thermal radiation, chemical reaction, viscous dissipation and activation energy. The obtained flow model is made dimensionless through transformations and then tackled by NDsolve code in Mathematica. Physical impacts of sundry variables on nanomaterial velocity, temperature distribution, volume fraction of microorganisms and mass concentration is investigated through plots. Furthermore, quantities of engineering interest like surface drag force, heat transfer rate, density number and Sherwood number are computed and analyzed. We observed that fluid velocity diminishes for higher curvature variable, Casson fluid material variable, Hartmann number and permeability parameter. Fluid temperature has a direct relation with Eckert number, thermophoresis variable, Brownian dispersal parameter, Prandtl number and Hartmann number. Volume fraction of gyrotactic microorganisms is decreasing function of bioconvection Lewis number, stratification parameter and bioconvection Peclet number. Detailed observations are itemized at the end.

Silver nanowires (AgNWs) have attracted growing interest because of their wide range of applications in modern nano electronic appliances. During polyol method, the presence of cations and anions in the reaction solution has influence on the final morphology of AgNWs. Here we report a feasible way to prepare AgNWs by polyol method. Copper bromide (CuBr2) salt was used to provide anions and cations in the reaction solution. The anions (Br−) helps in reducing the amount of free Ag+ by forming silver bromide (AgBr) during initial silver seeds formation and the cations scavenge oxygen from the surface of AgNWs during preferential growth of the AgNWs. Ethylene glycol (EG) was used as a solvent and reducing agent, silver nitrate (AgNO3) was used as Ag source and polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) was used as a capping agent. The effects of various factors which influence the final morphology of AgNWs were studied. AgNWs were successfully synthesized in the presence of CuBr2 salt. The morphology of the synthesized AgNWs was characterized by the SEM and TEM. The crystallinity was characterized by HRTEM, SAED and XRD. The LSPR peaks of Ag nanostructures were revealed by UV–Vis spectroscopy. The conductive properties of AgNWs thin conductive films were studied by coating the synthesized nanowires on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate.

In this article, we study existence and uniqueness of a class of highly non-linear boundary value problem of fractional order differential equations. The concerned problem is investigated by means of classical fixed point theorem for the mentioned requirements. The Ulam–Hyer’s stability is also established for the class of fractional differential equations. Appropriate example is also provided which demonstrate the applicability of our results.

Bacterial leaf streak caused by different pathovars of

Background Bacterial blight of cotton (BBC), which is caused by the bacterium Xanthomonas citri pv. malvacearum (Xcm), is a destructive disease in cotton. Transcription activator-like effectors (TALEs), encoded by tal-genes, play critical roles in the pathogenesis of xanthomonads. Characterized strains of cotton pathogenic Xcm harbor 8–12 different tal genes and only one of them is functionally decoded. Further identification of novel tal genes in Xcm strains with virulence contributions are prerequisite to decipher the Xcm-cotton interactions. Results In this study, we identified six tal genes in Xss-V2–18, a highly-virulent strain of Xcm from China, and assessed their role in BBC. RFLP-based Southern hybridization assays indicated that Xss-V2–18 harbors the six tal genes on a plasmid. The plasmid-encoded tal genes were isolated by cloning BamHI fragments and screening clones by colony hybridization. The tal genes were sequenced by inserting a Tn5 transposon in the DNA encoding the central repeat region (CRR) of each tal gene. Xcm TALome evolutionary relationship based on TALEs CRR revealed relatedness of Xss-V2–18 to MSCT1 and MS14003 from the United States. However, Tal2 of Xss-V2–18 differs at two repeat variable diresidues (RVDs) from Tal6 and Tal26 in MSCT1 and MS14003, respectively, inferred functional dissimilarity. The suicide vector pKMS1 was then used to construct tal deletion mutants in Xcm Xss-V2–18. The mutants were evaluated for pathogenicity in cotton based on symptomology and growth in planta. Four mutants showed attenuated virulence and all contained mutations in tal2. One tal2 mutant designated M2 was further investigated in complementation assays. When tal2 was introduced into Xcm M2 and expressed in trans, the mutant was complemented for both symptoms and growth in planta, thus indicating that tal2 functions as a virulence factor in Xcm Xss-V2–18. Conclusions Overall, the results demonstrated that Tal2 is a major pathogenicity factor in Xcm strain Xss-V2–18 that contributes significantly in BBC. This study provides a foundation for future efforts aimed at identifying susceptibility genes in cotton that are targeted by Tal2.

Background In this article, impact of gyrotactic microorganisms on nonlinear mixed convective MHD flow of thixotropic nanoliquids is addressed. Effects of Brownian motion and thermophoresis diffusion are considered. Characteristics of heat and mass transfer are analyzed with activation energy, Joule heating and binary chemical reaction. Nonlinear PDE's are reduced to ordinary equation by using suitable transformations. Method For convergent series solution the given system is solved by the implementation of the homotopic analysis technique (HAM). Results Influences of different flow controlling variables on the velocity, microorganisms, concentration and temperature are examined through graphs. Surface drag force, density number, Sherwood number and gradient of temperature are examined versus different flow parameters through graphs. For larger thixotropic fluid parameters the velocity field boosts up. For rising values of Hartmann number the velocity and temperature have opposite behaviors.

Background Bacterial blight of cotton (BBC), which is incited by Xanthomonas citri pv. malvacearum (Xcm), is a destructive disease in cotton. Transcription activator-like (tal) effectors (TALEs) play critical roles in the pathogenesis of xanthomonads; however, TALEs have not been well-investigated in the Xcm – cotton interaction.Results In this study, we identified six tal genes in Xcm Xss-V2-18, a highly-virulent strain from China, and assessed their roles in BBC. RFLP-based Southern hybridization assays indicated that Xss-V2-18 harbors the six tal genes on a plasmid. The plasmid-encoded tal genes were isolated by cloning BamHI fragments and screening clones by colony hybridization. The tal genes were sequenced by inserting a Tn5 transposon in the DNA encoding the central repeat region of each tal gene. Phylogenetically the TALEs in Xss-V2-18 show close similarity to the TALEs in Xcm strains MSCT1 and MS14003 from the United States. Tal2 in Xss-V2-18 differs from Tal6 and Tal26 in MSCT1 and MS14003, respectively, at two repeat variable diresidues (RVDs) indicates that they are functionally different. The suicide vector pKMS1 was then used to construct tal deletion mutants in Xcm Xss-V2-18. The mutants were evaluated for pathogenicity in cotton based on symptomology and growth in planta. Four mutants showed attenuated virulence and all contained mutations in tal2. One tal2 mutant designated M2 was further investigated in complementation assays. When tal2 was introduced into Xcm M2 and expressed in trans, the mutant was complemented for both symptoms and growth in planta, thus indicating that tal2 functions as a virulence factor in Xcm Xss-V2-18.Conclusions Overall, the results demonstrated that Tal2 is a major pathogenicity factor in Xcm Xss-V2-18 that contributes significantly in BBC. This study provides a foundation for future efforts aimed at identifying susceptibility genes in cotton that are targeted by Tal2.

Diabetes, as a global threat nowadays, causes the wide usage of exogenous insulin. Subcutaneous injection is the traditional insulin administration in the diabetes treatments and is inconvenient and painful, which results in potential side effects of hypoglycemia. Scientists have made great efforts to develop alternatives. As the promising solutions, smart insulin delivery systems fabricated with glucose- responsive compounds attract considerable attention in the field of diabetes treatments. This review discusses the classifications, properties, response mechanisms of the glucose-responsive compounds, glucose oxidase and concanavalin A and recent progress of glucose-responsive insulin delivery systems.

Xanthomonas translucens pv. cerealis (Xtc) causes bacterial leaf streak (BLS) of important cereal crops, including wheat (Triticum aestivum) and barley (Hordeum vulgare). Transcription activator-like effectors (TALEs) play vital roles in many plant diseases caused by Xanthomonas spp., however, TALEs have not been previously characterized in Xtc. In this study, the whole genome of NXtc01, a virulent strain of Xtc from Xinjiang, China, was sequenced and compared with genomes of other Xanthomonas spp. Xtc NXtc01 consists of a single 4,622,298 bp chromosome that encodes 4,004 genes. Alignment of the NXtc01 sequence with the draft genome of Xtc strain CFBP 2541 (United States) revealed a single giant inversion and differences in the location of two tal genes, which were designated tal1 and tal2. In NXtc01, both tal genes are located on the chromosome, whereas tal2 is plasmid-encoded in CFBP 2541. The repeat variable diresidues (RVDs) at the 12th and 13th sites within Tal2 repeat units were identical in both strains, whereas Tal1 showed differences in the third RVD. Xtc NXtc01 and CFBP 2541 encoded 35 and 33 non-TALE type III effectors (T3Es), respectively. tal1, tal2, and tal-free deletion mutants of Xtc NXtc01 were constructed and evaluated for virulence. The tal1 and tal-free deletion mutants were impaired with respect to symptom development and growth in wheat, suggesting that tal1 is a virulence factor in NXtc01. This was confirmed in gain-of-function experiments that showed the introduction of tal1, but not tal2, restored virulence to the tal-free mutant. Furthermore, we generated a hrcC deletion mutant of NXtc01; the hrcC mutant was non-pathogenic on wheat and unable to elicit a hypersensitive response in the non-host Nicotiana benthamiana. Our data provide a platform for exploring the roles of both TALEs and non-TALEs in promoting BLS on wheat.

In this paper, we apply a hybrid method due to coupling the Laplace transform with the Adomian decomposition method (LADM) for solving nonlinear fractional differential equations that appear in the model of Keller-Segel equations with one dimension. We explain the adopted method is with several examples. It turns out that the reliability of LADM and the reductions in computations show that LADM is widely applicable. We also compare our results with the results of homotopy decomposition method (HDM).

Back in 1993, Strategic Highway Research Program introduced new mix design method known as SUPERPAVE that is an acronym of Superior Performing Asphalt Pavement. Superpave caters filed performance of bituminous mixes and Superpave gradation chart includes 0.45 power line, restricted zone and control points. In Superpave, the gradation that compliance with the restricted zone was considered less rut resistant as compared to gradation passing outside the restricted zone. This study targets three types of gradations that passed above, below and through the restricted zone. The results show that the gradation passing through the restricted zone not only satisfy Superpave volumetric requirements but also performs better against rutting as compared to gradation passing outside the restricted zone. Resilient modulus (MR) measured through indirect tensile strength setup that defines the elastic properties of bituminous mix under repeated load test. Laboratory study was conducted to find factors that affect the gradation. Two-way factorial design was carried out by using Minitab-15 statistical software and the results reflected that the individual factor i.e. loads duration and temperature as well as interaction of factors has significant effect on the performance of HMA.

Cigarette smoke contains a lot of harmful chemicals which cause different diseases like cancer, heart disease, bronchitis and ulcer etc. Ammonia and phenol are among those chemicals which cause cancer, fibrosis, respiratory disorder and pneumonia. So, to remove ammonia and phenol from cigarette smoke, five different types of carboxymethyl starch- g -polyacrylic acids (CMS- g -PAAs) were synthesized by using different initiators, different mole ratio of acrylic acid to CMS anhydroglucose unit (AGU) and different amount of water. Three types of modified CMSs, CMS- g -PAA1, CMS- g -PAA3 and CMS- g -PAA4 were selected for further characterization and application for ammonia and phenol adsorption. The 1 H NMR and FT-IR spectroscopy confirmed the successful grafting of PAA on CMS. Crystallinity of CMS and three modified CMSs was checked by their XRD analysis. The XRD analysis showed that CMS had crystalline nature which was lost after modification. The thermal properties of CMS and the modified samples were checked by TGA and DTG which also gave information about the successful grafting on PAA on CMS. Finally the modified CMSs were further used for the adsorption applications of ammonia and phenol from the gaseous stream. It was found that CMS- g -PAA4 showed the highest adsorption efficiency towards ammonia (0.352 mmol/g) and phenol (0.18 mmol/g).

In this paper, the trigonometric cubic B-spline collocation method is extended for the solution of a second order partial integro-differential equations with a weakly singular kernel. The method is obtained by discretization of time derivative using backward finite difference formula while trigonometric cubic B-spline functions are used to approximate the spatial derivative. The scheme is validated through two benchmark test problems. Accuracy of the present approach is assessed in terms of \( L_{\infty } \), \( L_{2} \) error norms and pointwise error. Better accuracy is obtained and the results are compared with quasi wavelet method (QWM), quintic B-spline collocation method (QBCM) and sinc-collocation method using Linsolve Package (SMLP).

Water remains one of the most important mediums for the survival of Living organisms. However, because of the human activities, it has lost its nature and becomes extremely polluted. Among various pollutants, the synthetic dyes have huge contribution for the contamination of the natural water bodies because of their vast application in food, cosmetics, pharmaceutical, textile etc. The presence of such hazardous contaminants causes cancer, kidney failure, dysfunction of brain, infertility etc. Consequently, their removal is indispensable prior to releasing them in natural water resources. Here, low cost adsorbent (activated carbon) was prepared from date palm trunk fiber by using chemical activation using H 3 PO 4 as activating agent. That was utilized for removal of basic cationic dye Malachite Green as a model dye from water by using the Batch adsorption method. The effect of different parameters including adsorbent amount, pH and contact time were studied. The optimum conditions determined were adsorbent dosage 0.5g, contact time 20 minutes and pH5-7. From the result, we conclude that activated carbon of date fiber remains an efficient adsorbent for removal of Malachite Green and may prove the best low cost adsorbent for other dye effluents and wastewater treatment.

Recently, metal organic frameworks (MOFs) have attracted tremendous research attention in many fields, including gas separation, wastewater treatment, energy storage and conversion, catalysis, sensors, etc. To satisfy various demands of special practical applications, the pristine MOFs were usually hybridized with other molecules to form multifunctional materials. Due to their unique reversible redox properties, outstanding optical and electrochemical activities, ferrocene (Fc) and its derivatives have been employed as the guest molecules or functional units in MOFs, these Fc-contained MOFs usually exhibit unique performance in many fields compared with pristine MOFs and bare Fc molecules. In this review, the recent progresses of Fc-contained MOFs and their derived materials are reviewed, including the role of Fc in Fc-contained MOFs, synthesis methods and corresponding applications. The challenges and potential research directions of Fc-contained MOFs are also presented and highlighted.