Determining Potassium (K+) Release, Crop Availability and Uptake from Three Red Algal (Rhodophyta) Species.

Ph.D. Thesis. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa 2017

Solution phase synthesis of Na0.28V2O5 nanobelts into nanorings and the electrochemical performance in Li battery

In this paper, we are the first to report a simple one step hydrothermal method to synthesize Na0.28V2O5 nanorings/nanobelts without using any organic surfactant/solvents at 130-160 degrees C for 1-2 days. The obtained products have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, morphology by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electrochemical discharge-charge test for lithium battery. XRD pattern exhibit a monoclinic Na0.28V2O5 structure. FTIR spectrum shows band at 958 cm(-1) is assigned to V=O stretching vibration, which is sensitive to intercalation and suggests that Na+ ions are inserted between the vanadium oxide layers. TEM analyses reveal that the products consist of nanorings of width about 500 nm and thickness of about 100 nm with inner diameter of 5-7 mu m. Nanobelts of width 70-100 nm and several tens of micrometers in length are observed. The electrochemical results show that nanorings/nanobelts exhibit an initial discharge capacity of 320 mAh g(-1) and its capacity still retained 175 mAh g(-1) even after 69 cycles. We have discussed the possible growth mechanism for the formation of nanorings/nanobelts. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Defluoridation of bore-​well water using combustion derived nanocrystalline magnesium oxide

Nanocryst. MgO powder was prepd. through combustion route using Mg(NO3)​2 as oxidizer and glycine as fuel; the combustion-​derived MgO powder was characterized using XRD, SEM, surface area, and porosity measurements. The powder XRD pattern confirms the crystallinity and phase purity of the as-​made powder. The SEM results reveal that the combustion derived powder is an agglomeration of fine particles. The particle size of the powder is found to be in the range of 12-​23 nm with a large surface area of 107 m2 g-​1. The as-​made MgO is used for defluoridation of groundwater samples with stirring time (5-​60 min)​, adsorbent quantity (0.05-​0.3 g L-​1)​, and pH 5-​9 as exptl. parameters. It is found that 92 and 97​% of F-​, resp., could be removed using 0.15 g of MgO from 10 ppm of synthetic F-​ soln. and std. NaF soln. In this technique 90​% minimization of sludge could be achieved. The regeneration of adsorbent with NaOH (15 mL of 0.1 N NaOH for 0.5 g of sludge) soln. gives better results than HCl (15 mL of 0.1 N HCl for 0.5 g of sludge) soln

Cost variation analysis of various brands of topical eye preparations currently available in Indian pharmaceutical market

Background: Ocular drug delivery is a complex drug delivery system, and topical administration being the most frequently employed route of drug delivery in eye diseases. Many topical eye preparations are sold under brand names. The variation in the costs of the same drug and inadequate information on quality and bio-equivalence makes it difficult for the physician to prescribe the most cost-effective treatment. The objective of this study was to analyse the cost variation in different brands of commonly used topical eye preparations in India.Methods: The minimum and the maximum cost in Rupees (INR) of particular topical eye preparations manufactured by various pharmaceutical companies in the same strength were noted. The percentage cost variation and cost ratio were calculated for each brand.Results: The costs of the total of 19 topical eye preparations available in 26 different formulations in India were analysed and a substantial variation in cost was observed. Of 19 drug formulations studied, the percentage cost variation of 10 drug formulations was more than 100% out of which one had more than 1000% variation. Cost ratio was also observed to be very high and 10 drug formulations had this ratio more than two.Conclusions: There is a wide variation in the prices of different brands, so there is an urgent need to raise the awareness of physicians about cost variation to lower the financial burden on patients

Structural, Electrical, and Magnetic Properties of Zn Substituted Magnesium Ferrite

Zinc substituted magnesium (Mg–Zn) ferrites with the general formula Mg1−xZnxFe2O4 (x=0.00, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, and 1.00) were prepared using the solution combustion route. The dried powder after calcination (700 °C for 2 h) was compacted and sintered at 1050 °C for 3 h. The structural, morphological, dielectric and magnetic properties of the sintered ferrites were studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), impedance spectroscopy, and vibration sample magnetometry (VSM). The XRD analysis of sintered samples confirmed that the expected spinel cubic phase was formed for all samples. The crystallite sizes evaluated using Scherre's formula were found to be in the range of 47–80 nm. SEM analysis showed homogeneous grains with a polyhedral structure. The electrical conductivity increased with increasing frequency, which is normal dielectric behavior for such materials. The dielectric constant, dielectric loss tangent, and AC conductivity were found to be lowest for x=0.50. The VSM results showed that the zinc concentration had a significant influence on the saturation magnetization and coercivity

Formation of Crystalline Na2V6O16·3H2O Ribbons into Belts and Rings

Single-​cryst. nanobelts and nanorings of Na2V6O16·3H2O structures have been facilely synthesized through a direct hydrothermal reaction between NaVO3 and H3PO4, without the addn. of any harmful solvents or surfactants. The anal. techniques of SEM, transmission electron microscopy (TEM)​, powder X-​ray diffraction, TGA, energy-​dispersive X-​ray spectroscopy, FTIR spectroscopy, high-​resoln. TEM, and selected-​area electron diffraction have been used to characterize the morphol., compn., and structure of the synthesized products. The Na2V6O16·3H2O nanobelts are up to several hundreds of micrometers in length and 100-​300 nm in thickness, and for nanorings, the diams. are 4.5-​6.5 μm. H3PO4 plays a key role in maintaining the pH of the soln. as well as producing PO43-​ ions in soln. The chem. reactions and a possible growth mechanism involved in the formation of Na2V6O16·3H2O nanobelts and nanorings are briefly discussed

Plant Leaf Disease Detection Using Efficient Image Processing and Machine Learning Algorithms

India is often described as a country of villages, where a majority of the population depends on agriculture for their livelihood. The landscape of Indian agriculture is approximately 159.7 million hectares. Agriculture plays a pivotal role in India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), accounting for about 18% of the nation's economic output. Diseases and pests can have detrimental effects on crops, leading to reduced yields. These challenges can include the spread of plant diseases, infestations by insects or other pests, and the overall degradation of crop health. Early detection of diseases in crops is crucial for several reasons. Detecting diseases at an early stage allows for prompt intervention, such as applying appropriate pesticides or taking preventive measures. The main aim of this study is to develop a highly effective method for plant leaf disease detection using computer vision techniques. Here, leaf disease detection comprises histogram equalization, denoising, image color threshold masking, feature descriptors such as Haralick textures, Hu moments, and color histograms to extract the salient features of leaf images. These features are then used to classify the images by training Logistic Regression, Linear Discriminant Analysis, K-nearest neighbor, decision tree, Random Forest, and Support Vector Machine algorithms using K-fold validation. K-fold validation is used to separate the validation samples from the training samples, and the K indicates the number of times this is repeated for the generalization. The training and validation processes are performed in two approaches. The first approach uses default hyperparameters with segmented and non-segmented images. In the second approach, all hyperparameters of the models are optimized to train segmented datasets. The classification accuracy improved by 2.19% by utilizing segmentation and hyperparameter tuning further improved by 0.48%. The highest average classification accuracy of 97.92% is achieved using the Random Forest classifier to classify 40 classes of 10 different plant species. Accurate detection of plant disease leads to the sustained growth of plants throughout the growing span of the plants

Anatomical Interpretation of Kakshadhara Marma and its Clinical Importance

The term Marma indicates the sense of vital parts of the human body. and injury to these spots leads to the death and death like miseries. The Knowledge regarding location and sites of the Marma in the body have great importance in Traumatology. Marmas are grouped separately on the basis of the structural classification, based on the injury consequence, based on the Pramana & based on the location in the body. Marma Viddha Lakshanas are explained in detail by the Acharya Sushruta. Kakshadhara Marma is Vaikalyakara Marma in the Urdhwa Shakha it is Snayu Marma according to the Sushruta which causes Vaikalyata once injured. The main of the study is to explore the structures present in the Kakshadhara Marma and to study its clinical importance

Insertion study of alkali metal cations into layered vanadium oxide foam

The reaction of inorg. ions (Li+, Na+, and K+) with the lamellar material of compn. (V2O5)​(C16H33NH2)​1.3 under reflux conditions in alc.-​water mixed medium results in the rapid and quant. displacement of the surfactant to form inorg. ions intercalated vanadium oxides. The products were characterized by employing powder X-​ray diffraction (PXRD)​, Fourier transform IR (FTIR)​, thermogravimetric​/DTA (TG​/DTA)​, and SEM (SEM)​. FTIR and thermal studies showed the displacement of surfactants by inorg. ions during ion-​exchange process. The XRD peaks obsd. at lower and wider 2θ angles reflect the interlayer sepn. and crystallinity of the host vanadium oxide framework