Genetic structure of the rattan Calamus thwaitesii in core, buffer and peripheral regions of three protected areas in central Western Ghats, India: do protected areas serve as refugia for genetic resources of economically important plants?

Given the increasing anthropogenic pressures on forests, the various protected areas-national parks, sanctuaries, and biosphere reserves-serve as the last footholds for conserving biological diversity. However, because protected areas are often targeted for the conservation of selected species, particularly charismatic animals, concerns have been raised about their effectiveness in conserving nontarget taxa and their genetic resources. In this paper, we evaluate whether protected areas can serve as refugia for genetic resources of economically important plants that are threatened due to extraction pressures. We examine the population structure and genetic diversity of an economically important rattan, Calamus thwaitesii, in the core, buffer and peripheral regions of three protected areas in the central Western Ghats, southern India. Our results indicate that in all the three protected areas, the core and buffer regions maintain a better population structure, as well as higher genetic diversity, than the peripheral regions of the protected area. Thus, despite the escalating pressures of extraction, the protected areas are effective in conserving the genetic resources of rattan. These results underscore the importance of protected areas in conservation of nontarget species and emphasize the need to further strengthen the protected-area network to offer refugia for economically important plant species

Evaluation of third order nonlinear optical properties of SiO2/PVA-PEG Nanocomposites by Z-Scan Method

SiO2 nanoparticles was synthesized by sol-gel method and polymer nanocomposites by solvo-casting method. XRD and SEM analysis have revealed the size, morphological structure and formation of SiO2/PVA-PEG polymer nanocomposites. The presence of hydrogen bond between SiO2 and PVA-PEG was proved with the help of Fourier Transform Infra Red Spectroscopy (FTIR). Further UV-Vis studies was used to find the optical band gap and linear refractive index. Third order nonlinear optical properties such as two photon absorption, nonlinear refractive index and third order nonlinear susceptibility was evaluated for the title compound using Z-scan method. The estimated nonlinear optical properties of title compound proved the appropriateness of the sample for optical applications

Fetal Metabolic Adaptations to Cardiovascular Stress in Twin-Twin Transfusion Syndrome

Monochorionic-diamniotic twin pregnancies are susceptible to unique complications arising from a single placenta shared by two fetuses. Twin-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) is a constellation of disturbances caused by unequal blood flow within the shared placenta giving rise to a major hemodynamic imbalance between the twins. Here, we applied TTTS as a model to uncover fetal metabolic adaptations to cardiovascular stress. We compared untargeted metabolomic analyses of amniotic fluid samples from severe TTTS cases vs. singleton controls. Amniotic fluid metabolites demonstrated alterations in fatty acid, glucose, and steroid hormone metabolism in TTTS. Among TTTS cases, unsupervised principal component analysis revealed two distinct clusters of disease defined by levels of glucose metabolites, amino acids, urea, and redox status. Our results suggest that the human fetal heart can adapt to hemodynamic stress by modulating its glucose metabolism and identify potential differences in the ability of individual fetuses to respond to cardiovascular stress

Metallic and nonmetallic double perovskites: A case study of A2_2FeReO6_6 (A= Ca, Sr, Ba)

We have investigated the structure and electronic properties of ferrimagnetic double perovskites, A2FeReO6 (A= Ca, Sr, Ba). The A=Ba phase is cubic (Fm3m) and metallic, while the A=Ca phase is monoclinic (P21/n) and nonmetallic. 57Fe Mossbauer spectroscopy shows that iron is present mainly in the high-spin (S=5/2) Fe3+ state in the Ca compound, while it occurs in an intermediate state between high-spin Fe2+ and Fe3+ in the Ba compound. It is argued that a direct Re t2g - Re t2g interaction is the main cause for the metallic character of the Ba compound; the high covalency of Ca-O bonds and the monoclinic distortion (which lifts the degeneracy of t2g states) seem to disrupt the Re-Re interaction in the case of the Ca compound, making it non-metallic for the same electron count.Comment: 1 eps fil

Abrasive water jet drilling of advanced sustainable bio-fibre-reinforced polymer/hybrid composites : a comprehensive analysis of machining-induced damage responses

This paper aims at investigating the effects of variable traverse speeds on machining-induced damage of fibre-reinforced composites, using the abrasive water jet (AWJ) drilling. Three different types of epoxy-based composites laminates fabricated by vacuum bagging technique containing unidirectional (UD) flax, hybrid carbon-flax and carbon fibre-reinforced composite were used. The drilling parameters used were traverse speeds of 20, 40, 60 and 80 mm/min, constant water jet pressure of 300 MPa and a hole diameter of 10 mm. The results obtained depict that the traverse speed had a significant effect with respect to both surface roughness and delamination drilling-induced damage responses. Evidently, an increase in water jet traverse speed caused an increase in both damage responses of the three samples. Significantly, the CFRP composite sample recorded the lowest surface roughness damage response, followed by C-FFRP, while FFRP exhibited the highest. However, samples of FFRP and hybrid C-FFRP recorded lowest and highest delamination damage responses, respectively. The discrepancy in both damage responses, as further validated with micrographs of colour video microscopy (CVM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray micro-computed tomography (X-ray μCT), is attributed to the different mechanical properties of the reinforced fibres, fibre orientation/ply stacking and hybridisation of the samples.Peer reviewe

Disorder-induced Room Temperature Ferromagnetism in Glassy Chromites

[[abstract]]We report an unusual robust ferromagnetic order above room temperature upon amorphization of perovskite [YCrO3] in pulsed laser deposited thin films. This is contrary to the usual expected formation of a spin glass magnetic state in the resulting disordered structure. To understand the underlying physics of this phenomenon, we combine advanced spectroscopic techniques and first-principles calculations. We find that the observed order-disorder transformation is accompanied by an insulator-metal transition arising from a wide distribution of Cr-O-Cr bond angles and the consequent metallization through free carriers. Similar results also found in YbCrO3-films suggest that the observed phenomenon is more general and should, in principle, apply to a wider range of oxide systems. The ability to tailor ferromagnetic order above room temperature in oxide materials opens up many possibilities for novel technological applications of this counter intuitive effect.[[journaltype]]國外[[incitationindex]]SCI[[booktype]]電子版[[countrycodes]]GB

Exfoliated graphite oxide modified electrode for the selective determination of picomolar concentration of lead

We report the selective, picomolar determination of lead(II) ions using exfoliated graphite oxide (EGO) modified glassy carbon electrode. Exfoliated graphite oxide is the oxidized form of exfoliated graphite containing a variety of functional groups such as hydroxyl, phenolic and carboxyl groups. The EGO can be dispersed as a stable colloid in a wide range of pH, from 2 to 11. This leads to the flexibility of film formation on substrates and use of a variety of functional groups to complex lead ions. The analyte is preconcentrated and subsequently determined using differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry. The factors influencing the determination of lead such as the pH of the analyte solution, preconcentration time and the thickness of EGO layer on the electrode surface have been optimized. Two linear ranges are observed between 1 mM and 10 µm and 0.1 µM and 1 pM for a 5 minute preconcentration time. The lowest detection limit is found to be 1 pM. The main advantages of the electrode are the ease of preparation of the modified electrode, low cost, sensitivity and selectivity. The analytical utility of the EGO modified electrode in the determination of lead is demonstrated by application to several water samples