Search

The microbe-mediated conversion of nitrate (NO3−) to ammonium (NH4+) in the nitrogen cycle has strong implications for soil health and crop productivity. The role of prokaryotes, eukaryotes and their phylogeny, physiology, and genetic regulations are essential for understanding the ecological significance of this empirical process. Several prokaryotes (bacteria and archaea), and a few eukaryotes (fungi and algae) are reported as NO3− reducers under certain conditions. This process involves enzymatic reactions which has been catalysed by nitrate reductases, nitrite reductases, and NH4+-assimilating enzymes. Earlier reports emphasised that single-cell prokaryotic or eukaryotic organisms are responsible for this process, which portrayed a prominent gap. Therefore, this study revisits the similarities and uniqueness of mechanism behind NO3− -reduction to NH4+ in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Moreover, phylogenetic, physiological, and genetic regulation also shed light on the evolutionary connections between two systems which could help us to better explain the NO3−-reduction mechanisms over time. Reports also revealed that certain transcription factors like NtrC/NtrB and Nit2 have shown a major role in coordinating the expression of NO3− assimilation genes in response to NO3− availability. Overall, this review provides a comprehensive information about the complex fermentative and respiratory dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) processes. Uncovering the complexity of this process across various organisms may further give insight into sustainable nitrogen management practices and might contribute to addressing global environmental challenges.Highlights: DNRA is one of the potent beneficial pathways to maintain nitrogen pool in the system. Nitrate reduction is governed by both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Evolutionary linkage between these organisms is also established for NO3- reduction to ammonium. F-DNRA needs energy through substrate-level phosphorylation, whereas R-DNRA through oxidative phosphorylation. Post-translational and epigenetic modifications are the major factors influencing NO3- reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Now a days, secure data communication over computer network system is a major issue in which impact of feature reduction plays a vital role to secure network by early detection of intrusion. It not only keeps a deep impact on the performance of existing Intrusion Detection System (IDS) algorithms but also affects the computational complexity. Although lots of techniques have been offered for feature reduction by researchers and they have their own perks and quirks, but still they are several flows. To manipulate the same dataset for different classifiers and to select different number of features for the detection of attacks are not only having too much computational cost but also time consuming. The experiments have been carried out using "Python" programming language based library "Scikit‐Learn" software on "Kddcup99" dataset from UCI machine learning repository as a test bed. In this article a classification and regression trees (CART) based feature selection algorithm has been proposed which offers optimum set of features. Further optimum set of features has been offered by our proposed work passed over various classifiers for training and testing to establish network intrusion detection system (NIDS). We have compared the performance accuracy of various existing machine learning (ML) based classification algorithms and obtained higher performance accuracy with lower computational cost. The proposed algorithm having optimum time complexity and accuracy in designing of IDS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work presents a machine learning approach to predict novel perovskite oxide materials in the Pr-Al-O and Pr-Sc-O compound families with the potential for photoluminescence applications. The predicted materials exhibit a large bandgap and high Debye temperature, and have remained unexplored thus far. The predicted compounds (Pr 3 AlO 6 , Pr 4 Al 2 O 9 , Pr 3 ScO 6 and Pr 3 Sc 5 O 12 ) are screened using machine learning approach, which are then confirmed by density functional theory calculations. The study includes the calculation of the bandgap and density of states to determine electronic properties, and the optical absorption and emission spectra to determine optical properties. Mechanical stability of the predicted compounds, as demonstrated by satisfying the Born-Huang criterion. By combining machine learning and density functional theory, this work offers a more efficient and comprehensive approach to materials discovery and design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current article reports an effective and low-cost removal of Acid blue 93 dye using synthesised peanut (Arachis hypogaea) shells. In first step, the adsorbents were examined using pHpzc, TG-DTG, FTIR and SEM characterisation techniques. In the second phase, the parameters such as contact time (CT), pH, adsorbent dosage (AD) and initial concentration of dye (ICD) were assessed using one parameter at a time adsorption study (OPAT). Selecting the same parameters an effort was also made using design of experiment (DoE). It was found that, for maximum removal both the studies, OPAT and DoE delivered similar optimum conditions as CT 60 min, pH 7, AD 7 g l−1 and ICD 50 mg l−1. In addition, DoE added an edifying output in terms of percentage of contribution: ICD (36.35%) > AD (31.39%) > CT (27.03%)> pH (5.24%). In accordance with the above studies, kinetics, isotherm and thermodynamic analysis were also performed followed by error analysis. In kinetics, pseudo-second-order model was superior; in isotherm study, Langmuir model was dominant with a q m value of 23.36 mg g−1. Thermodynamic parameters such as Δ G ∘ , Δ H ∘ and Δ S ∘ stated the adsorption endothermic and spontaneous. The novelty of this work is in the development of the pre-treated peanut (A. hypogaea) shells for efficient and low-cost removal of Acid blue 93 dye from aqueous media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice is a major staple food crop for providing food security in Asian region. Rice crop mainly suffers from diseases like brown spot, leaf blast and hispa. Detecting rice crop disease in natural RGB images is a daunting task due the intricate texture of the region of the interest. The paper gives a novice approach to the detection of rice plant diseases. Here two different feature extraction methods were used one being Gray level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) and the other is Intensity level based on the multi-fractal dimension (ILMFD) technique. The three different types of classifiers such as Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Twin Support Vector Machine (TWSVM) were used. Initially, the input rice crop images were processed, features extracted and finally the classification was done. The combination of ILMFD and TWSVM significantly improves the classification results as compared to existing models. The ILMFD method and TWSVM gives the highest Kernel accuracy of 100% detection of rice crop diseases (for the sample database used in this work) which validates the efficiency of the above mentioned techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NrfA is the molecular marker for dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) activity, catalysing cytochrome c nitrite reductase enzyme. However, the limited study has been made so far to understand the structural homology modeling of NrfA protein in DNRA bacteria. Therefore, three model DNRA bacteria (Escherechia coli, Wolinella succinogenes and Shewanella oneidensis) were chosen in this study for in-silico protein modeling of NrfA which roughly consists of similar length of amino acids and molecular weight and they belong to two contrasting taxonomic families (γ-proteobacteria with nrfABCDEFG and ε-proteobacteria with nrfHAIJ operon). Multiple bioinformatic tools were used to examine the primary, secondary, and tertiary structure of NrfA protein using three distinct homology modeling pipelines viz., Phyre2, Swiss model and Modeller. The results indicated that NrfA protein in E. coli, W. succinogenes and S. oneidensis was mostly periplasmic and hydrophilic. Four conserved Cys-X1-X2-Cys-His motifs, one Cys-X1-X2-Cys-Lys haem-binding motif and Ca ligand were also identified in NrfA protein irrespective of three model bacteria. Moreover, 11 identical conserved amino acids sequence was observed for the first time between serine and proline in NrfA protein. Secondary structure of NrfA revealed that α-helices were observed in 77.9%, 73.4%, and 77.4% in E. coli, W. succinogenes and S. oneidensis, respectively. Ramachandran plot showed that number of residue in favored region in E. coli, W. succinogenes and S. oneidensis was 97.03%, 97.01% and 97.25%, respectively. Our findings also revealed that among three pipelines, Modeller was considered the best in-silico tool for prediction of NrfA protein. Overall, significant findings of this study may aid in the identification of future unexplored DNRA bacteria containing cytochrome c nitrite reductase. The NrfA system, which is linked to respiratory nitrite ammonification, provides an analogous target for monitoring less studied N-retention processes, particularly in agricultural ecosystems. Furthermore, one of the challenging research tasks for the future is to determine how the NrfA protein responds to redox status in the microbial cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Effect of elevated CO 2 and N-fertilizer was assessed in Azolla microphylla and A. pinnata under OTC. • Elevated CO 2 without N-fertilizer enhanced biochemical and physiological properties of Azolla. • N-fertilizer under ambient CO 2 reduced growth rate and abundance of cya and nifH genes in Azolla. • Interestingly, elevated CO 2 nullify the negative effect of high dose of N-fertilizer on growth rate, nitrogen fixation, photosynthesis and antioxidants in both Azolla species under OTC. • Higher values of these parameters were observed in Azolla microphylla than A. pinnata. Azolla is an aquatic fern and has multipurpose use in agriculture. Elevated carbon dioxide (eCO 2) and nitrogen (N) fertilizer are two important factors, influencing the growth, N-fixation and photosynthetic efficacy of Azolla. The combined effect of eCO 2 and N-fertilizer on growth and physiological parameters of Azolla is largely unknown particularly under CO 2 -maintained- open top chamber (OTC) condition. Therefore, the present study was conducted in OTC to assess these parameters under combined influence of eCO 2 [(550 ± 20 μmol mol−1 as compared to ambient CO 2 (aCO 2) i.e. 400 ± 10 μmol mol−1)] and higher dose of N-fertilizer (60 kg N ha−1, 50 % higher than recommended dose of N for duel cultivation of Azolla and rice i.e. 40 kg N ha−1) along with control (no N-fertilizer) in two Azolla species (Azolla microphylla and A. pinnata). The results indicated that growth, chlorophyll, carotenoids, cyanobiont heterocyst frequency, nitrate reductase, abundance of cya and nifH gene copy numbers were significantly higher under eCO 2 treatments without N-fertilizer, irrespective of Azolla species. The addition of N-fertilizers reduced all parameters except antioxidants in both aCO 2 and eCO 2. Interestingly, between two Azolla species, these parameters were observed higher in A. microphylla compared to A. pinnata. Treatments with aCO 2 separated from eCO 2 under influence of N-fertilizers, implied the significant interaction of CO 2 and N-fertilizers in both Azolla species. Moreover, two-way interactions of eCO 2 and higher N-fertilizer dose, showed a significant difference of all parameters in both Azolla species. Overall, the present study suggested that combination of eCO 2 and N-fertilizer, nullify the negative effect of higher dose of N-fertilizer on physiological variables in both Azolla species under CO 2 -maintained-OTC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Azolla is an aquatic fern that has a symbiotic association with nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria. It is mainly used as a biofertilizer in rice; however, its potential under salt-affected rice cultivated area was compromised. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to understand the effect of salinity stress on morpho-physiological, biochemical characteristics, photosynthetic efficacy, nutrient and High Affinity Potassium Transporter (HKT) genes in Azolla. The results indicated that out of 102, 8 Azolla (A. microphylla , BLCC 5, BLCC 18, BLCC 28, Pa Car WTY, R 18, R 54 and R 59) were found tolerant to 80 mM NaCl. The best species for salt tolerant (80 mM NaCl) was A. microphylla , whereas the least-tolerant was A. rubra. Fresh biomass production, frond length and width in A. microphylla were significantly (p < 0.05) higher in A. microphylla than A. rubra in both 40 and 80 mM NaCl. Moreover, chlorophyll a/b ratio, carotenoids and chlorophyll fluorescence (CHF)-derived F O , F m , F v /F m and root architecture (root length, average root diameter, root volume, projectile and surface area) were higher in A. microphylla than A. rubra under 40 and 80 mM NaCl. Contents of Na+ and Ca2+ increased in both A. microphylla and A. rubra , which can interfere with the uptake of essential macronutrients; however, these were accumulated comparatively less in A. microphylla than A. rubra , whereas a reverse trend was observed in cellular accumulation of K+ content. A. microphylla had higher superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and proline activities in 40 and 80 mM NaCl than A. rubra. For the first time, twenty six HKT primers were designed as a molecular marker to identify salt-tolerant Azolla. Out of these, three HKT primers (Req 6, Aeq14, and Aeq16) were amplified in A. microphylla under NaCl stress, while their amplifications were not observed in A. rubra (salt susceptible). In A. microphylla , the expression of the Req 6 (HKT) gene were more under NaCl stress. Moreover, further research is needed to discover and validate the biochemical and molecular processes that confer salinity tolerance in Azolla plants. • 102 Azolla strains were screened to identify the salt-tolerant and susceptible strains of Azolla. • Among 102, only 8 Azolla strains were found to be tolerant for 80 mM NaCl. • Antioxidant activities (SOD, APX, and proline) were higher in A. microphylla than A. rubra. • Out of 26 HKT primers, only 3 primers amplified HKT genes in A. microphylla under NaCl stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Groundnut is an important kharif crop in Rajasthan and occupies important position among state crop list. However, a vast yield gap exists between potential yield and the actual yield obtained due to partial adoption of recommended package of practices by the farmers. The technology gap is a major concern in achieving optimum and sustained production. Considering the facts, present study aimed to study the effect of adaptation of improved technologies in groundnut production, water productivity and sustainability in arid zone of Rajasthan. Methods: Field experiment of groundnut was carried out during four consecutive years 2016 to 2019 on farmer's field of Bikaner districts under cluster frontline demonstrations to assess the impact of improved technologies on yield sustainability, water productivity and economics of groundnut crop. The two treatments evaluated at 25 farmer's field were a) improved technologies i.e. high yielding varieties, seed treatment, timely sowing, optimum plant population, recommended fertilizer management, plant protection measures and irrigation management and b) farmers practice. The groundnut yield, water productivity, sustainability indices, economic returns and benefit to cost ratio of both the systems was compared using appropriate standard statistical procedure. Result: The results of the present field experiment revealed that, the improved practices gave higher and sustainable yield of groundnut over years compared to farmers practice. The mean pod yield recorded (3371 kg ha-1) with improved practices was 24.39 per cent higher than farmer's practice (2710 kg ha-1). Similarly, improved practices had higher sustainability yield index (0.63), sustainability value index (0.47), higher water expense efficiency (74.92 kg ha-1 cm-1), gross water productivity (16.58 m-3), net water productivity (11.89 m-3) and incremental benefit cost ratio (30.1) over farmers practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cymbopogon, commonly known as lemon grass, is one of the most important aromatic grasses having therapeutic and medicinal values. FISH signals on somatic chromosome spreads off Cymbopogon species indicated the localization of 45S rDNA on the terminal region of short arms of a chromosome pair. A considerable interspecific variation in the intensity of 45S rDNA hybridization signals was observed in the cultivars of Cymbopogon winterianus and Cymbopogon flexuosus. Furthermore, in all the varieties of C. winterianus namely Bio-13, Manjari and Medini, a differential distribution of 45S rDNA was observed in a heterologous pair of chromosomes 1. The development of C. winterianus var. Manjari through gamma radiation may be responsible for breakage of fragile rDNA site from one of the chromosomes of this heterologous chromosome pair. While, in other two varieties of C. winterianus (Bio-13 and Medini), this variability may be because of evolutionary speciation due to natural cross among two species of Cymbopogon which was fixed through clonal propagation. However, in both the situations these changes were fixed by vegetative method of propagation which is general mode of reproduction in the case of C. winterianus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have studied the influence of the structural disorder on the spatial distribution of the plasmonic field and its propagation in one and two dimensional arrays of coupled metallic nanowires. By solving the three dimensional Maxwell equations we have studied the Anderson localization of surface Plasmon polaritions for arrays of metallic nanowires with varying degree of the structural disorder. We have found that a random distribution of radii of the nanowires leaded to transverse spatial localization of collective surface plasmonic polarition excitations. The characteristic spatial confinement of the plasmonic field found smaller than the optical wavelength which demonstrated that plasmonic structures can be employed to implement the subwave length Anderson localization of the electromagnetic field. We have also found that influence of the metallic loss and the gain of the host medium on the plasmonic Anderson localization modes, loss was compensated by the gain whose strength was much smaller than the loss rate of the metallic component of the plasmonic array. The obtained results were found in good agreement with previously obtained results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present article, an attempt is made for simple, low‐cost, and efficient removal of Auramine dye using peanut (Arachis hypogaea) shells as adsorbents. Two different forms of adsorbents distilled water washed peanut shells (DPS) and NaOH treated peanut shells (NPS) were used as adsorbents. Both the adsorbents were studied using BET, pHPZC, FTIR, SEM, TGA, and XRD characterization techniques. Adsorption parameters such as effect of contact time, pH, initial dye concentration, adsorbent dose, and temperature were also assessed. Isotherm analysis at optimum conditions showed Langmuir fitted better with a qm value of 96.15 mg/g for DPS and 294.12 mg/g for NPS; while in kinetic analysis, pseudo‐second order was superior. Thermodynamics study stated that adsorption process was endothermic in nature. Overall outcomes establish that the two forms of peanut shells, DPS, and NPS were excellent in removal of Auramine dye and are low cost also as preparation cost of DPS and NPS is 68.73 INR and 106.19 INR per kg, respectively. Practitioner points: Removal of Auramine dye from aqueous media using different forms of peanut (Arachis hypogaea) shells as adsorbents is discussed.qm (Langmuir) using DPS and NPS were found to be 96.15 and 294.12 mg/g, respectively.Preparation cost of DPS was 68.73 INR per 1 kg, whereas for NPS it was 106.19 INR per 1 kg. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copper-catalyzed oxidative O-aroylation of phenolic oxime ethers with a wide range of aromatic aldehydes are described. This approach offers an efficient synthesis of phenolic oxime ether esters in good to excellent yields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have studied a mathematical framework of higher-order multipole fields in the vicinity of optical nanoantennas. We have exemplified at suitably chosen Nanoantennas i.e. a Nano antenna which strongly enhances the quadruple field. The modification of excitation rates in quantum mechanical systems due to this quadrupolar enhancement was studied. The hybrid system consisting of an optical Nano antenna and a quantum mechanical three level system was studied in detail. A properly designed Nano-antenna can excite dipole for bidden transitions in three level systems due to the enhanced higher order multipole fields. The dynamics of the system is strongly altered by the presence of the nanoantenna and cannot be done by the quadrupolar enhancement alone. This can be achieved by enhancing higher order multipole fields near the antenna. A quadrupole transition as the dominant excitation channel in a three level system was considered. It was found that the enhancement of this transition significantly intensify subsequent emission processes with respect to altered emission characteristics. The effects depend on geometrical parameters; the properties of the optical nanoantenna can be tailored and hence allowed for direct implementations in spectroscopies schemes. The obtained results were found in good agreement with previously obtained results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The samples of Sr2‐xNdxSnO4 with x = 0, 0.01, 0.02, 0.04, 0.06, and 0.10 were synthesized by a high‐temperature solid‐state ceramic route. Rietveld refining of X‐ray diffraction results showed that all the synthesized compositions are single phase under tetragonal crystal structure. The presence of functional group and local structure has been studied using FTIR and Raman spectroscopy, respectively. XPS study of samples showed the presence of oxygen vacancy and interstitial oxygen in the sample. Optical band gap of samples analyzed by UV‐Vis spectra gradually increases with dopant concentration, and Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy study showed most intense emission around 1064 nm. Room‐temperature magnetic hysteresis curve in sample SSN2 showed ferromagnetism, slowly decreasing with Nd and becoming antiferromagnetic for higher compositions. Utilizing the absorption state observed in PL as metastable state makes it promising candidate for laser and IR detector application and the ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic nature of sample makes it suitable candidate for spintronics device applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using machine learning (ML) approach, we unearthed a new III–V semiconducting material having an optimal bandgap for high-efficient photovoltaics with the chemical composition of Gallium–Boron–Phosphide ( GaBP 2 , space group: Pna2 1 ). ML predictions are further validated by state-of-the-art ab initio density functional theory simulations. The stoichiometric Heyd–Scuseria–Ernzerhof bandgap of GaBP 2 is noted to be 1.65 eV, a close ideal value (1.4–1.5 eV) to reach the theoretical Queisser–Shockley limit. The calculated electron mobility is similar to that of silicon. Unlike perovskites, the newly discovered material is thermally, dynamically and mechanically stable. Above all the chemical composition of GaBP 2 is non-toxic and relatively earth abundant, making it a new generation of PV material. Using ML, we showed that with a minimal set of features, the bandgap of III–III–V and II–IV–V semiconductor can be predicted up to an RMSE of less than 0.4 eV. We have presented a set of scaling laws, which can be used to estimate the bandgap of new III–III–V and II–IV–V semiconductor, with three different crystal phases, within an RMSE of ≈ 0.4 eV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbial communities provide useful information about any chemical and physical changes in the environment and play an essential role in maintaining soil fertility. Biolog® eco-plates method was used to study the functional diversity of microbial communities, and their correlation with soil organic carbon (OC), microbial biomass and activities, under three different soil conditions of Sukinda chromite mining area of Odisha, India during August 2016. The OC, available nitrogen, available phosphorus and available potash were significantly (p < 0.05) lower in in situ and overburden soils as compared to forest soil. The average development rate of average well color development values decreased with incubation time in all soil conditions. The utilization of six categories of carbon sources by soil microbes decreased with the increase in chromium load and biplot analysis suggested that carbohydrate, polymer and amino acid utilizing microbes were dominant in mining soils. The ecotoxicological status of chromite mine soil would be useful for formulating strategies of possible bioremediation program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have studied the resonant properties of circular optical nanoantennas as well as other shapes of optical antennas without requiring any fitting parameters. This allows for a deeper insight into scaling behavior and do faster further research since a desired simple tool is now available to design such nanoantennas. The theory has been applied to design antennas supporting various resonances at predefined frequencies to respond to the desire to have multi resonant antennas for applications. Raman sensors are extremely broad band resonators. Such circular patch nanoantennas consist in tailoring the dispersion relation and the complex reflection coefficient at will by carefully selecting a particular stack of layers. We have made to characterize the resonance behavior of the potentially simplest optical nanoantennas which is also called nanowire antennas. The nanowire as a plasmonic cavity, a resonance occurs when the phase accumulated on a single round trip amounts to multiple of 2π. This phase is determined by the propagation constant of the plasmonic mode supported by the nanowire and an additional phase on reflection at the wire termination. By fitting many resonance positions with different nanowire lengths, the phase change on reflection is determined. Such results are obtained only for a few simplified geometries. Nanoantennas are made from an arbitrary stack of homogeneous disks. Increasing the radius of a single disk toward infinitely and increasing its thickness yielded the reflection coefficient of surface Plasmon polariton propagating along a single metallic interface at a planar termination. The obtained results were in good agreement with previous results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new adsorbent for removing copper ions from aqueous solutions has been developed and characterized. The present study deals with the sorption of Cu(II) from aqueous solution on chemically pretreated sodium carbonate-treated rice husk (SCRH). The physico-chemical characteristics of rice husks were investigated to analyze their suitability to adsorb Cu(II) ions from water and wastewater. The raw rice husk (RRH), SCRH and Cu(II) adsorbed rice husk were analyzed by SEM-EDAX analysis. FTIR spectroscopy was also applied to identify functional groups, capable of adsorbing metal ions. Batch kinetic studies were conducted for the adsorption of Cu(II) on SCRH. It has been observed that 92.9–96.0% removal of Cu(II) is achieved at 4.8 mg of Cu(II)/g of adsorbent, adsorbent dose of 10 g L–1 and initial Cu(II) concentration of 10 mg L–1 in a temperature range of 15–50 °C. It was observed that the adsorption of Cu(II) on SCRH followed pseudo second-order kinetic and time to achieve equilibrium was found to be 60 min. The maximum uptake (97%) of Cu (II) was observed at pH 6. In this paper, an attempt has also been made to develop simple and readily understandable thermodynamic parameters related to sorption process at the equilibrium for understanding the adsorption mechanism. The Gibbs free energy ΔG° values for the adsorption processes of Cu(II) at 15, 30, 40 and 50 °C were calculated as –6.16, –6.84, –8.01 and –8.53 kJ mol–1, respectively. The negative value of ΔG° indicates spontaneity of adsorption. The values of ΔH° and ΔS° for Cu(II) adsorption were calculated as 14.37 kJ mol–1 and 70.92 J K–1 mol–1, respectively. The activation energy for the adsorption of Cu(II) was found to be 9 kJ mol–1 which is a characteristic for diffusion limited processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant tissue culture is the primary, fundamental, and applied aspect of plant biology. It is an indispensable and valuable technique for investigating morphogenesis, embryogenesis, clonal propagation, crop improvements, generation of pathogen-free plants, gene transfer and expression, and the production of secondary metabolites. The extensive use of various nanoparticles (NPs) in fields such as cosmetics, energy, medicine, pharmaceuticals, electronics, agriculture, and biotechnology have demonstrated positive impacts in microbial decontamination, callus differentiation, organogenesis, somatic variations, biotransformation, cryopreservation, and enhanced synthesis of bioactive compounds. This review summarizes the current state of knowledge with regard to the use of nanoparticles in plant tissue culture, with a particular focus on the beneficial outcomes. The positive (beneficial) and negative (toxic) effects of engineered NPs in tissue culture medium, delivery of transgenes, NPs toxicity concerns, safety issues, and potential hazards arising from utilization of nanomaterials in agriculture through plant tissue culture are discussed in detail, along with the future prospects for these applications. In addition, the potential use of novel nanomaterials such as graphene, graphite, dendrimers, quantum dots, and carbon nanotubes as well as unique metal or metalloid NPs are proposed. Further, the potential mechanisms underlying NPs elicitation of tissue culture response in different applications are critically evaluated. The potential of these approaches in plant nanobiotechnology is only now becoming understood and it is clear that the role of these strategies in sustainably increasing crop production to combat global food security and safety in a changing climate will be significant. [Display omitted] • Inclusion of nanoparticles in tissue culture medium enhance sustenance for culturing otherwise hard to propagate plants. • This study presents an overview of nanoparticles as a novel elicitor in plant tissue culture applications and challenges. • The phytotoxic effects of nanoparticles at physiological, biochemical and molecular levels are highlighted. • Provided information will be beneficial for plant improvement and enhanced production of significant secondary metabolites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have studied transmission through surface disordered waveguides in general and a solid basis. Our results showed that desired transmission properties on a waveguide through the roughness of its boundaries can be obtained. This surface scattering approach predicted that how mode specific scattering lengths in waveguides depend on the details of system's surface roughness. It was shown that previously neglected square-gradient scattering mechanism and predicted that this new scattering mechanism has to be considered together with the conventional amplitude scattering mechanism. Square gradient scattering is related to higher order terms in the disorder strength it can be the major scattering mechanism in system with modest disorder. Surface scattering theory is for long range correlations, which seems to restrict its applicability to very long waveguides. We have extended this surface scattering theory to short, individual waveguides. We found that an observed shift of the amplitude scattering gap could be attributed to the nonvanishing disorder strength. We also found that short wave lengths can exhibit effects predicted for systems with long range correlations leading to drastic changes in their transmission properties. The obtained results were compared with previously obtained results of theoretical and experimental works and were found in good agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxidative stress generates reactive oxygen species which causes cell damage of living organisms and are normally detoxified by antioxidants. Indirect reports signify the damages caused by reactive oxygen species and neutralized by antioxidant, but the direct evidence to confirm this hypothesis is still unclear. To validate our hypothesis, an attempt was made in a diazotrophic bacterium (Azotobacter chroococcum Avi2) as a biological system, and hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2) and ascorbic acid were used as oxidative stress and antioxidant supplement, respectively. Additionally, rice plant-growth attributes by Avi2 was also assessed under H 2 O 2 and ascorbic acid. Results indicated that higher concentration of H 2 O 2 (2.5 mM-4.5 mM) showed the complete mortality of Avi2, whereas one ppm ascorbic acid neutralized the effect of H 2 O 2. Turbidity, colony forming unit, DNA quantity, nifH gene abundance, indole acetic acid and ammonia productions were significantly (p < 0.5) increased by 11.93%, 17.29%, 19.80%, 74.77%, 71.89%, and 42.53%, respectively in Avi2-treated with 1.5 mM H 2 O 2 plus ascorbic acid compared to 1.5 mM H 2 O 2 alone. Superoxide dismutase was significantly (p < 0.5) increased by 60.85%, whereas catalase and ascorbate peroxidase activities were significantly (p < 0.05) decreased by 64.28% and 68.88% in Avi2-treated with 1.5 mM H 2 O 2 plus ascorbic acid compared to 1.5 mM H 2 O 2 alone. Germination percentage of three rice cultivars (FR13a, Naveen and Sahbhagi dhan) were significantly (p < 0.5) increased by 20%, 13.33%, and 4%, respectively in Avi2-treated with 0.6 mM H 2 O 2 plus ascorbic acid compared with uninoculated control. Overall, this study indicated that ascorbic acid formulation neutralizes the H 2 O 2 -oxidative stress and enhances the survivability and plant growth-promoting efficacy of A. chroococcum Avi2 and therefore, it may be used as an effective formulation of bio-inoculants in rice under oxidative stress. • Efficacy of Azotobacter chroococcum Avi2 was studied under H 2 O 2 stress and ascorbic acid. • Higher concentration of H 2 O 2 (2.5 mM–4.5 mM) showed a complete mortality of Avi2. • One ppm ascorbic acid neutralized the effect of H 2 O 2 (∼4.5 mM) and retrieved Avi2 growth. • Ascorbic acid increased the diazotrophic efficacy of Avi2 by 74.77% in 1.5 mM H 2 O 2. • Ascorbic acid enhanced the rice plant-growth attributes in Avi2-treated with 0.6 mM H 2 O 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The pseudorelativistic behaviour of carriers is found in the energy bands of certain class of two dimensional (2D) semi-conducting materials such as phosphorene. In this article, the nonlinear optical response of pseudorelativistic electrons in phosphorene under intense applied electromagnetic field is investigated. Using Floquet theory, we demonstrate the anisotropic behaviour of anomalous Rabi oscillations in phosphorene, which occurs far from the conventional resonance. The role of anisotropy on anomalous Rabi oscillations in phosphorene is also justified numerically. The Bloch-Siegert shift is observed under strong driving field that strongly depends on the anisotropy of the energy bands of phosphorene. A theoretical description of the pump-probe experiment is given to detect the anomalous Rabi oscillations in phosphorene. The differential transmission coefficient shows a sinusoidal behaviour as a function of pump pulse duration whose amplitude exhibits a power law decay, which is quite different from graphene (relativistic fermionic system). So the Floquet theory can be used to characterize the different fermionic systems. Highlights • Application of Floquet theory in phosphorene. • Bloch-Siegert shift nature in phosphorene. • Numerical model for Floquet theory oscillations. • Pump-Probe spectra of Floquet theory oscillations. • Comparison of Floquet theory oscillation between graphene and phosphorene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reaction mechanism for the formation of Sr2SnO4 by solid-state reaction between SrCO3 and SnO2 has been investigated using thermal analysis (TG and DSC) combined with X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. It is observed that the formation of single-phase Sr2SnO4 takes place by reaction between SrO and SrSnO3 at temperatures ≥ 900 °C. Based on these studies, a few compositions of the system Sr2−xLaxSnO4 (x = 0.01, 0.02, 0.04, 0.06 and 0.10) have been synthesized by calcination at 1000 °C for 8 h. Rietveld refinement of the XRD data confirmed that all the synthesized samples have tetragonal structure, space group (I4/mmm) and symmetry group D4h17. The crystallite size and induced lattice strain has been calculated using size strain plot (SSP), varies from 30 to 50 nm and from (3.00 to 6.27) × 10−3, respectively. Raman and Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy techniques have been utilized to ponder local changes in the structure of Sr2SnO4 with La incorporation. The optical properties of the samples have been studied using UV-Vis spectroscopy. The systematic shift in the position of the absorption edge (toward the higher wavelength) indicates the incorporation of La in the lattice of Sr2SnO4. The direct and indirect band gap of the samples calculated through Tauc's plot. The variation in the value of direct band gap is attributed to changes in the charge compensation mechanism or/reduction in particle size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present research is based on the removal of safranin (cationic) dye, an emerging contaminant from wastewater by sodium bicarbonate modified Bambusa tulda (variety of bamboo and a bioadsorbent) using adsorption technology. Characterization study of sodium bicarbonate-treated bamboo was done through scanning electron microscope analysis and it was found that after treatment with sodium bicarbonate, pore structure of B. tulda gets widened increasing active pore cavity in the adsorbent resulting in larger surface area for higher adsorption. Energy dispersive X-ray analysis showed the presence of Na, Cl, etc., in safranin dye adsorbed adsorbent; in Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis presence of Hydroxyl and Carboxyl group helps largely for adsorption of safranin dye. The batch study experiment gave optimum results for safranin dye at pH 7; rpm 200, temperature 298 K, with an initial concentration of 50 mg/L and a dose of 10 g/L with maximum adsorption capacity of 32.26 mg/g, followed by pseudo second order rate equation and a removal rate of 98.15% for 60 min of time duration. The activation energy was 17.376 kJ/mol. Two algorithms are used in artificial neural network (ANN), that is, Levenberg–Marquardt (LM) and Bayesian Regularization algorithm with different nodes. LM algorithm with three hidden nodes has higher R2 value with the lesser value of statistical error. Time, dose, and initial concentration can be considered for t-test. Intensive research has been carried out on the modified B. tulda along with characteristic study and modeling analysis by ANN and regression analysis Model Study and Error analysis. Taking considerations of all experimental results and model analysis, it is concluded that sodium bicarbonate treated B. tulda is a good, low cost, and effective adsorbent in comparison to commercially activated carbon for the removal of safranin (cationic) dye from wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ruddlesden Popper (RP) oxide Sr 2 SnO 4 has been synthesized via a solid state reaction route by calcination at 1000 °C for 8 h. The Rietveld refinement of X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern suggested tetragonal structure; I4/mmm space group and unit cell parameters a  =  b  = 4.05084(5) Å, c  = 12.59040(2) Å. Dielectric properties, electric modulus and ac conductivity have been studied as a function of both frequency (20 Hz–2 MHz) and temperature (70–600 °C) in air atmosphere. Dielectric constant and dissipation factor remains constant upto 600 °C above 1 KHz. AC conduction mechanism has been explained using Johnscher’s Power law. The value of the activation energy for conduction, E cond (obtained from DC conductivity) and dielectric relaxation, E relax (obtained from modulus) is found to be the same indicating similar mechanism for both the processes. Based on the numerical value of activation energy, the conduction and relaxation processes are attributed to transfer of electron from Sn 2+ to Sn 4+ through the thermally assisted quantum mechanical tunneling process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • Skermanella and Serratia spp. were isolated from diseased Sesamia inferens. • LC 50 of Skermanella sp. for Sesamia inferens and Cnaphalocrosis medinalis is low. • Skermanella sp. is pathogenic to Sesamia inferens and Cnaphalocrosis medinalis. Abstract Insect pests in the rice agroecosystem, particularly the leaf folder, Cnaphalocrosis medinalis (Guenee) and stem borer, Sesamia inferens (Walker), cause significant yield losses. These pests are generally managed by farmers by application of insecticides and a few biocontrol agents. As a component of integrated pest management, biocontrol agents play a dynamic role in pest control. Although diverse microbial communities are available in the rice ecosystem, bacterial genera such as Bacillus and Pseudomonas spp. are broadly used as biocontrol agents. Therefore, an attempt was made to identify other effective entomopathogenic bacteria to manage the above mentioned pests. In this study, the two entomopathogenic bacteria isolated from diseased pink stem borer ( S. inferens Walker) larvae collected from rice fields were identified as Skermanella sp. (KX611462) and Serratia sp. (KX761232). The larvicidal activity of these two bacteria was evaluated against third instar larvae of C. medinalis and S. inferens in in vitro assays and on potted rice plants ( Oryza sativa var. TN1). The results of this study demonstrated 50% (LC 50 ) larval mortality of C. medinalis at 2.95 × 103 and 5.88 × 103 colony forming units (CFU) ml−1 for Skermanella sp. and Serratia sp., respectively, under in vitro conditions, 2.57 × 104 and 3.38 × 104 CFU ml−1, respectively, in whole plant assays. Similarly, the LC 50 value for Skermanella sp. was 3.80 × 104 CFU ml−1 and Serratia sp. was 2.29 × 105 CFU ml−1 for S. inferens larvae. Our study reports the larvicidal activity of Skermanella sp. against C. medinalis and S. inferens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The conventional ceramic route successfully synthesized all the samples. • Jonscher power law was applied to the ac conductivity of all samples to study the conduction mechanism. • The conductivity spectrum of all samples follows Ghosh and Rolling scaling. • Kohlrausch-William-Watt function was applied to M ″ (f) to study the relaxation mechanism of samples. • Both the scaling behaviors reflected the temperature-independent conduction mechanism in the system. The mixed ionic and electronic conductor oxide with formula Sr 2-x La x SnO 4 (S2LS) within x ≤ 0.10 were synthesized via the conventional ceramic route and investigated. The structural analysis revealed the formation of single-phase materials with a tetragonal crystal structure. The presence of Sn in the form of Sn4+/Sn2+ ions and oxygen vacancies in the synthesized samples were investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The alternating current (AC) conductivity and modulus spectra of S2LS systems were obtained as functions of frequency and temperature and further scaled. The AC conductivity data were analyzed using Jonscher's power law (JPL) fitting to determine the hopping frequencies, DC conductivities, and power exponents. The obtained activation energy value suggests the dependence of conductivity primarily on the mobility of charge carriers. The conductivity spectra were analyzed using various formalisms, viz., Ghosh scaling and Rolling scaling, to understand the conduction mechanism. The scaling behaviors of AC conductivity and modulus spectra reflect the temperature-independent conduction mechanism of the system. [Display omitted] The following graph shows Rietveld refinement XRD pattern, high-resolution scanning electron micrograph, scaled conductivity and scaled modulus as a function of frequency at different temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil bacterial communities are considered as an essential member of the microbial community, contributing to soil health. Continuous application of chemical fertilizers alters the bacterial community structure (BCS) thereby disturbing the soil biogeochemical cycling. The present study highlights the 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing-based variation of BCS through Illumina-MiSeq ® in a 47 years old long-term fertilized paddy soil and its relation with grain yield (GY), straw biomass (SB) and various soil properties. The experiment comprising six treatments: control (no fertilizers), nitrogen (N), nitrogen + phosphorus (P) + potassium (K), farmyard manure (FYM), FYM + N and FYM + NPK. Data on rice crop performance indicated that GY and SB significantly ( p  ≤ 0.05) enhanced by 45.1%–49.3% and 36.9–39.4% in FYM + NPK compared to control. Relative abundance of bacterial phyla varied across inorganic and organic fertilizer treatments. Dominant phyla across all treatments were Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Chloroflexi, and Firmicutes, accounting for about 80–85% of total operational taxonomic units (OTUs). N application alone over 47 years encouraged certain bacterial phyla (Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, and Nitrospira) while major (Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria and Cyanobacteria) and minor (Fibrobacteres, Spirochaetes, TM7 and GNO4) bacterial phyla were found to be suppressed compared to other treatments. Moreover, continuous use of chemical N in paddy soil, considerably suppressed some diazotrophs taxa Burkholderiales, Enterobacteriaceae, and other taxa Kaistobacter, Anaeromyxobacter, Bdellovibrio, and MND1. Redundancy analysis coupled with principal component analysis revealed that BCS was significantly influenced by soil pH and presence of higher nitrogen content. Interestingly, the highest proportion of bacterial OTUs was recorded in balanced fertilizer (NPK) (without FYM) and therefore, this result suggested for the first time that continuous application of NPK encouraged the beneficial bacterial community without compromising of GY and SB. Overall, the present study indicated that continuous application of N and NPK with or without FYM for more than four decades in paddy soil, encouraged certain BCS whereas, N application alone suppressed certain beneficial bacterial phyla, resulting in the alteration of soil biodiversity and rice productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of different organic and inorganic fertilizers on the functional diversity of soil microbial community under a vegetable production system. The Biolog ® Eco-plate technique and indices, such as average well-colour development (AWCD), McIntosh and Shannon diversity were employed to study the diversity of soil microorganisms. The AWCD, i.e. overall utilization of carbon sources, suggested that different organic treatments had a significant impact on the metabolic activity of soil microorganisms. After 120 h, the highest AWCD values were observed in poultry manure (2.5 t·ha −1 ) + vermicompost (3.5 t·ha −1 ) (0.63) and farm yard manure (FYM) (10 t·ha −1 ) + vermicompost (3.5 t·ha −1 ) (0.61). After 72 h, the highest value of the McIntosh diversity index was recorded in poultry manure (2.5 t·ha −1 ) + vermicompost (3.5 t·ha −1 ) (3.87), followed by poultry manure (2.5 t·ha −1 ) + vermicompost (3.5 t·ha −1 ) + biofertilizers ( Azotobacter 500 g·ha −1 applied as seed treatment) (3.12). In the case of the Shannon diversity index, the highest values were noticed in organic treatments; however, there was no significant differences between organic and inorganic treatments. Biplot analysis showed a clear differentiation of organic treatments from the inorganic control. The amino acids, phenolics and polymer utilizing microorganisms were dominant in organic treatments. Inorganic control recorded the lowest values of the microbial diversity indices. Through this study, we have identified the best combination of organic nutrients, i.e. poultry manure (2.5 t·ha −1 ) + vermicompost (3.5 t·ha −1 ) for the stimulation of metabolically active soil microbial communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A field study was conducted from 2021 to 2023 in a rice–wheat cropping system in the Terai agro-ecological zone of West Bengal, India, using different management practices, i.e., tillage (conventional tillage, CT, and zero tillage, ZT), crop residue (R), and plant growth-promoting bacteria (B). This study was a part of long-term research on resource conservation technology (conservation agriculture, CA), undertaken on a research farm in Uttar Banga Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Pundibari (Cooch Behar), West Bengal. The project was established in 2006 in acidic alluvial soil. The aim of this study was to evaluate rice–wheat productivity, nutrient uptake, soil quality, and profitability after the 16th and 17th crop cycles under the above-mentioned management practices. The results revealed that the pooled yield of rice grain and straw was significantly higher under the CT + R + B treatment than under the other treatments (ZT, ZT + B, ZT + R, ZT + R + B, CT, CT + B, and CT + R). However, the wheat grain and straw yields were significantly greater under the ZT + R + B treatment than under other treatments. The system's grain yield and straw yield were significantly higher under the CT + R + B treatment, on par with ZT + R + B, compared to the other treatments. Nutrient uptake (nitrogen, N; phosphorus, P; and potassium, K) was increased by retaining R and inoculating B compared to the sample without R and without B. Soil properties, including organic carbon, available N, available P, and available K, were improved in all the treatments compared to the initial values, but the impact was greater in the treatments with R and B than in those without R and without B. In the 5–10-cm soil layer, the above-mentioned soil properties were also improved over the initial (2006) values by 37, 126, 65 and 60%, respectively, by applying the best treatment (ZT + R + B). In economic terms, the benefit–cost ratio was significantly higher under the CT + R + B treatment for rice crops (2.99) and ZT + R + B for wheat crops (3.37). Therefore, we can conclude that, after 17 years of cultivation, for rice, CT-based treatments performs better than ZT-based treatments; meanwhile, for wheat cultivation, ZT-based treatments produces greater yields than CT-based treatments in the Terai agro-ecological zone of West Bengal, India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Powders of a few compositions of solid solution BaTiSnO ( x = 0.0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.40) have been synthesized at 800 °C for 8 h using Ba(NO), TiO and SnCl·5HO as starting materials. The thermogravimetric (TG) and differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) analysis of mixture in the stoichiometric proportion for sample BaTiSnO have been carried out to understand the formation of solid solutions. Single-phase pure compounds (except x = 0.40) of the samples have been obtained at a lower calcination temperature (800 °C) than that of those reported in the literature for traditional solid-state synthesis making use of oxides and or carbonates as starting material (≥1200 °C). Tetragonal symmetry for compositions x = 0.0 and 0.10, cubic for x = 0.2 and 0.30 were found by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The transmission electron microscopic (TEM) analysis confirmed that calcined powders have a particle size between 30 and 50 nm. Ceramics of these powders were prepared by sintering at 1350 °C for 4 h. Properties of ceramics obtained in this work have been compared with properties reported in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diazotrophs are one of the most important microbial communities which play a key role in rhizosphere to enhance plant growth-promotion by supplying fixed nitrogen to the plants. The aim of present study was to analyze the frequency and diversity of diazotrophs in the rhizospheres of five genotypes of aromatic rice ( Oryza sativa cultivars Nua Kalajeera, Ketekijoha, Nua Desheri, Nua Chandan and Kala Namak) grown in ten years old long-term aromatic rice-rice (LARR) cropping system under sub-humid tropical condition. In this study, it was observed that very less frequency of active diazotrophs (0–14.28%) in the rhizosphere of aromatic rice genotypes based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based nifH gene amplification, dot blot hybridization and acetylene reduction assay (ARA). The following five isolates (B10, B12, B29, BK16, NKR16) from rhizosphere of aromatic rice and the reference strain Azospirillum brasilence showed nifH amplification and positive signal for dot blot. None of these isolates showed positive in ARA test except A. brasilence . Basic local alighnment search tool (BLAST) homology of nifH sequences of B10, B12, B29, BK16 and NKR16 matched with Gluconoacetobacter diazotrophicus , Pseudomonas stutzeri , Klebsiella sp., Klebsiella pneumoniae and Sinorhizobium meliloti, respectively. Whereas, isolates B10, B12 and BK16 were identified as Bacillus cereus, Enterobacter sp., and Lysinibacillus sp., respectively based on 16S-rDNA sequencing. As per nifH sequences, these diazotrophs (B10, B12, B29, BK16, NKR16) fall under α and γ-proteobacter, whereas 16S-rDNA sequences revealed that they belonged to firmicutes and γ-proteobacter. Multiple sequence alignment of nifH gene sequences showed wider variation among diazotrophs, however 3D structure of NifH protein revealed the less diversity among isolates. Moreover, restriction digestion of 16S-rDNA using tetracutters ( MspI, MboI and HaeIII ) deciphered a unique pattern among small population of diazotrophs.The results of this finding provided an interesting data and novel information of diazotroph diversity in LARR cropping system. Finally, the present study indicated that the continuous application of high dose of inorganic nitrogenous fertilizers (nitrogen at the rate of 60 & 80 kg N ha −1 year −1 in wet and dry seasons, respectively) limit the frequency and diversity of rhizospheric diazotrophs in the LARR cropping system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil microbial communities play an essential role in maintaining soil fertility and considered as ecological indicators to evaluate soil health. In the present study, long-term effects of organic and inorganic fertilizers on functional diversity of soil microbial communities, and their correlation with soil organic carbon, microbial biomass and activities, were observed under sub-humid tropical rice-rice cropping system. This experiment comprises six treatments viz . control (plots without application of chemical fertilizers and farm yard manure), nitrogen (N at the rate of 60 & 80 kg ha −1 in wet and dry seasons, respectively), nitrogen + phosphorus + potassium (NPK), farm yard manure (FYM), FYM + N and FYM + NPK. The results indicated that pH of the soil under the treatments decreased from its initial value, whereas total organic carbon increased in FYM-treated plots. Microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen in FYM + NPK were increased by 50.0 and 46.4%, respectively as compared to control treatment. Carbon and nitrogen mineralization; and soil enzyme activities were significantly ( p ≤ 0.05) higher in FYM + NPK over control. The average well color development (AWCD) values derived from Biolog ® eco-plates followed the order of FYM + N > FYM > FYM + NPK > NPK > N > Control. Shannon index was greater (p ≤ 0.05) in FYM-treated soil as compared to control and chemical treated soil. Principal component analysis (PCA) indicates a clear separation of the cluster of treatments with FYM application (FYM and FYM + NPK) and treatments without FYM (N and NPK). Shannon index was significantly correlated with available phosphorus ( p ≤ 0.002) and carbon mineralization ( p ≤ 0.015). Biplot analysis suggested that polymer and amino acid utilizing microbes were dominant, irrespective of all treatments. These results revealed that continuous application of nitrogen fertilizer alone has responded a shift in soil microbial community in the long run and decreased the functional diversity of microbes. However, application of FYM either alone, or in combination with chemical fertilizers, could restore soil fertility. Moreover, the information generated from this experiment though Biolog ® may be the first particularly with reference to the dominance of polymer and amino acid utilizing microbes, irrespective of treatments under long-term fertilized paddy soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Topological insulators are a new class of material, which consists of insulating bulk and conducting surface state. In this study, we investigated the behavior of bulk and surface state of topological insulator under a high frequency electromagnetic field, produce a kind of oscillation called as Floquet oscillation. We successfully identified the classical and quantum behavior of Floquet oscillation in the prospective of collapse revival spectra. This work shows the bulk and surface states behavior of a topological insulator with the help of Floquet and Rabi frequency and describes the dominancy of Floquet oscillation in the low energy physics. Numerical simulation has been applied for verifying the Floquet approximation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Predicting bandgap is a crucial topic in materials informatics, however, it is still difficult when the available dataset is limited and unbalanced. Here, we applied a machine learning approach to construct a prediction model for transition metal dichalcogenides and oxides. Using an oversampling technique and atomistic feature engineering, we successfully constructed the machine learning model and analyzed the correlation with other physical properties. Furthermore, we also utilized the model to obtain a compressive sensing model based on physical quantities for analytic interpretation and quick prediction. • Machine learning model for bandgap prediction. • Oversampling technique. • Compressive sensing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) contents in hexaploid wheat are very low and are further reduced because of the removal of micronutrient-rich bran of wheat grains during milling and processing. Therefore, hexaploid wheat, its wild species and wheat–Aegilops kotschyi substitution lines were evaluated to identify the genome(s) carrying gene(s) for high Fe and Zn concentrations in bran and endosperm fractions of grains. It is reflected from the results that Triticum monococcum (acc. W463) may serve as a promising donor for biofortification of Fe, and Aegilops speltoides (acc. 3804) may serve as a promising donor for biofortification of Zn in the endosperm of cultivated wheat. Further, among the three wheat–Ae. kotschyi substitution lines, the higher concentration of Fe and Zn in endosperm fraction was observed in BC2F4 63-2-13-1. The work on precise transfer of useful gene(s) from 7Uk chromosome of this line is in progress to reduce linkage drag. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports on the RIXS (Resonant inelastic X-ray scattering), XES (X-ray emission spectroscopy), and XAS (X-ray absorption spectroscopy) of the LaSr 2 Mn 2 O 7 , La 0.95 Ba 0.05 MnO 3 , and La 1.2 (BaCa) 1.8 Mn 2 O 7 at 40 K, 100 K and 300 K. The RIXS spectra of these samples show the presence of Mn in different valence states (Mn2+, Mn3+, and Mn4+) which is associated with the Jahn-Teller distortion due to overlapping between O2− and the unpaired electrons of transition metal Mn. It has also been noticed that the distortion observed in different valence states of Mn with O2− is found to be suppressed with dropping and the temperature. So, based on aforementioned studies, the Manganites have been considered as a strongly correlated magnetic system which would be useful in magnetic device applications. • Studies on the RIXS, XES, XAS of single crystal LaSr2Mn2O7, La0.95Ba0.05MnO3, and La1.2(BaCa)1.8Mn2O7. • Different valence states of Mn have been probed under different temperatures. • Jahn-Teller distortion have been observed in Mn-O bonds due to overlapping of 3d and 2p states, respectively. • Studies of different electronic structure reflect manganites as strongly correlated magnetic system. • Suitable and potential candidates for magneto-caloric, magnetoresistance and magnetic device applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A few compositions of (Ba 1-x La x) 2 SnO 4 with 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.10 have prepared via solid-state ceramic route followed by calcination at 1000 °C for 8 h. The preliminary phase of samples has analyzed using XRD and found to be crystallized into tetragonal structure up to 4 atoms %. The solubility limit of La at Ba-site has reconfirmed using FTIR and Raman analysis. The AC conductivity spectra of single-phase samples follow universal Jonscher's power law σ a c = σ d c (1 + (f f h) n). Further, the thermal dependence of dc conductivity (σ d c) and hopping frequency (f h), indicating the presence of Arrhenius type charge transport in the samples. Ghosh scaling applied to σ a c of all temperatures found to superimpose on a single master curve, indicates the invariance of conduction mechanism. The impedance spectroscopy studies reflect the major contribution of grain in the conduction and relaxation process of all sample. Based on present study, the present material can be potentially used in semiconductor devices, UV-detector, and mixed ionic and electronic conductor (MIECs) by utilizing absorption states and thermo-curves as metastable state. • Single phase samples of Ba 2-x La x SnO 4 (0 = x ≤ 0.10) are synthesized at 1000 °C. • The solubility limit of La is analyzed by XRD, Raman, and UV–Vis. study. • The AC conductivity of single-phase samples follow universal Jonscher's power law. • AC conduction mechanism is explained using OLPT model. • Contribution of grain/grain boundaries is analyzed by Impedance spectroscopy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Micromorphological characters for Ficus benghalensis are not reported. It is used in Ayurveda for the treatment of Diarrhea, Dysentery and piles, Rheumatism, skin disorders like sores, teeth disorders, to boost immune system, as a hypoglycemic. Literature reports the number of uses like anthelmentic, astringent, antidiabetic, dermatitis, and anti-inflammatory activity of this plant. The main constituents in the plant are carbohydrates, glycosides, tannins, steroids and gums and mucilage, lupeol, ceryl behenate, lupeol acetate, α-amyrin acetate, leucoantho cyanidin, and leucoanthocyanin. It is characterized by the presence of thick walled cork, several layered regularly arranged. Epidermis is thin walled and single layered, cortex and hypodermis is distinct, fibres and vessels are lignified, medullary rays are thick walled and lignified. Centre is occupied by the pith which is thin walled and has parenchymatous cells. Phytochemical investigation of root shows total ash (3.5% w/w), acid insoluble ash (4.0% w/w), and water soluble ash (5.0% w/w). Loss on drying is 4.6% w/w. Alcohol soluble extractive value (3.8% w/w), water soluble extractive value (10.5% w/w), chloroform soluble extractive value (10.4% w/w) and ether soluble extractive value (7.2%w/w). In alcoholic extract and aqueous extract, tannins and saponins are present in in major amount. Other constituents include carbohydrate, glycosides, phenolic compounds and gums and mucilage were present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Micromorphological characters for Ficus racemosa are not reported. It is used in Ayurveda for the treatment of diarrhea, dysentery and piles, rheumatism, skin disorders like sores, teeth disorders, to boost immune system, as a hypoglycemic. Literature reports the number of uses like anthelmentic, astringent, antidiabetic and anti-inflammatory activity of this plant. The main constituents in the plant are carbohydrates, glycosides, tannins, steroids, gums, mucilage, lupeol, ceryl behenate, lupeol acetate, α-amyrin acetate, leucoanthocyanidin, and leucoanthocyanin. It is characterized by the presence of thick walled cork, several layered regularly arranged. Epidermis is thin walled and single layered, cortex and hypodermis is distinct, fibres and vessels are lignified, medullary rays are thick walled and lignified. Centre is occupied by the pith which is thin walled and has parenchymatous cells. Phytochemical investigation of root shows, total ash (7.0 % w/w), acid insoluble ash (3.0 % w/w), and water soluble ash (4.0 % w/w). Loss on drying is 1.584 % w/w. Alcohol soluble extractive value (3.2% w/w), water soluble extractive value (10.4 % w/w), chloroform soluble extractive value (1.06 % w/w) and ether soluble extractive value (4.8% w/w). Alcoholic and aqueous extracts obtained from the plant are 10.6% w/w and 9.2% w/w. In alcoholic extract and aqueous extract, tannins and saponins are present in in major amount respectively. Other constituents include carbohydrate, glycosides, phenolic compounds, gums and mucilage were present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Individual and combined applications of Ascorbic acid (AA) and Azotobacter chroococcum Avi2 were assessed in DT and DS-rice cultivars for photosynthetic efficacy, antioxidants and PGP under moisture deficit stress (MS). • Avi2 + AA enhanced RWC and chlorophyll contents in rice leaves, while reduced EL and proline under MS. • SOD, CAT and nifH gene were increased in Avi2 + AA under MS in both DT and DS rice cultivars. • Avi2 + AA also increased the ChlF- coefficients under MS, indicating a sign of plant wellness. • Overall, Avi2 + AA could serve as an effective formulation to alleviate MS vis à vis enhance PGP traits in rice. This group has previously reported the role of ascorbic acid (AA) as an antioxidant for survivability and ability to enhancing diazotrophic efficacy in Azotobacter chroococcum Avi2 under hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2) stress. However, the present study showed the combined application of AA and Avi2 in drought-susceptible (IR64 and Naveen) and drought-tolerant (Ankit and Satyabhama) rice cultivars to determine their photosynthetic efficacy (chlorophyll fluorescence-imaging), antioxidants, and plant growth-promotion (PGP) under moisture deficit stress (MS, −60 kPa). The results indicated that combined application of AA and Avi2 significantly (p < 0.05) increased the total chlorophyll, relative water content, electrolytic leakage, super oxide dismutase, and catalase activities in all rice cultivars as compared to other MS treatments, whereas stress indicators like proline and H 2 O 2 contents were proportionally increased under MS and their concentration were normalized under combined application of AA and Avi2. Photochemical quenching, non-photochemical quenching, photosynthetic electron transport rate, and the effective quantum efficiency were found to be increased significantly (p < 0.05) in Avi2 + AA as compared to other MS treatments. Moreover, rice roots harbored significantly (p < 0.05) higher copy number of nifH gene in Avi2 + AA treatment followed by Avi2 compared to flooded control and other MS treatments. Combined application of AA and Avi2 also increased the grain yield significantly (p < 0.05) by 7.09 % and 3.92 % in drought-tolerant (Ankit and Satyabhama, respectively) and 31.70 % and 34.19 % in drought-susceptible (IR64 and Naveen, respectively) rice cultivars compared to MS treatment. Overall, the present study indicated that AA along with Avi2 could be an effective formulation to alleviate MS vis à vis enhances PGP traits in rice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A fixed bed of sodium carbonate treated rice husk was used for the removal of Cd(II) from water environment. The material as adopted was found to be an efficient media for the removal of Cd(II) in continuous mode using fixed bed column. The column having a diameter of 2cm, with different bed depths such as 10, 20 and 30cm could treat 2.96, 5.70 and 8.55l of Cd(II) bearing wastewater with Cd(II) concentration 10mg/l and flow rate 9.5ml/min. Different column design parameters like depth of exchange zone, adsorption rate, adsorption capacity, etc. was calculated. Effect of flow rate and initial concentration was studied. Theoretical breakthrough curve was drawn from the batch isotherm data and it was compared with experimental breakthrough curve. An amount of 0.01mol/l HCl solution was used for desorption of adsorption column. Column regeneration and reuse studies were conducted for two cycles of adsorption–desorption. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The sorption of Cd(II) from aqueous solution by rice husk, a surplus agricultural byproduct was investigated. Some simple and low-cost chemical modifications resulted in increasing the sorption capacity of raw rice husk (RRH) from 8.58mg/g to 11.12, 20.24, 16.18mg/g and reducing the equilibrium time from 10h of RRH to 2, 4 and 1h for epichlorohydrin treated rice husk (ERH), NaOH treated rice husk (NRH), sodium bicarbonate treated rice husk (NCRH), respectively. The effect of pH, sorption kinetics and isotherms were studied in batch experiments. Good correlation coefficient was obtained for pseudo second-order kinetic model, which agreed with chemisorption as the rate-limiting mechanism. Sorption isotherm test showed that equilibrium sorption data were better represented by Langmuir model than the Freundlich model. The highly efficient low cost and the rapid uptake of Cd(II) by NCRH indicated that it could be an excellent alternative for the removal of heavy metal by sorption process. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]