Synthesis, Spectroscopic Characterization, and In Vitro Antimicrobial Studies of Pyridine-2-Carboxylic Acid N′-(4-Chloro-Benzoyl)-Hydrazide and Its Co(II), Ni(II), and Cu(II) Complexes

N-substituted pyridine hydrazide (pyridine-2-carbonyl chloride and 4-chloro-benzoic acid hydrazide) undergoes hydrazide formation of the iminic carbon nitrogen double bond through its reaction with cobalt(II), nickel(II), and copper(II) metal salts in ethanol which are reported and characterized based on elemental analyses, IR, solid reflectance, magnetic moment, molar conductance, and thermal analysis (TG). From the elemental analyses data, 1 : 2 metal complexes are formed having the general formulae [MCl2(HL)2] · yH2O (where M = Co(II), Ni(II), and Cu(II), y = 1–3). The important infrared (IR) spectral bands corresponding to the active groups in the ligand and the solid complexes under investigation were studied. IR spectra show that ligand is coordinated to the metal ions in a neutral bidentate manner with ON donor sites. The solid complexes have been synthesized and studied by thermogravimetric analysis. All the metal chelates are found to be nonelectrolytes. From the magnetic and solid reflectance spectra, the complexes (cobalt(II), nickel(II), and copper(II)) have octahedral and square planner geometry, respectively. The antibacterial and antifungal activity’s data show that the metal complexes have a promising biological activity comparable with the parent ligand against bacterial and fungal species

Development and evaluation of nitrogen (liquid Urea) applicator for straw mulched no-till wheat

The broadcasting of urea under high straw no-till farming often exhibit suppressed yields because of lesser nitrogen availability due to slower soil mineralization and greater N immobilization, de-nitrification and ammonia volatilization.  Prior to development of nitrogen (liquid urea) applicator, appropriate machines were not available for application of urea into the soil surface in a directly sown high straw mulched wheat crop.  To solve the problems of urea application in high straw no-till farming, self-propelled nitrogen (liquid urea) applicator was developed and evaluated under actual field conditions.  Average field capacity and efficiency of the applicator were found to be 0.33 ha/h and 80.49%, respectively.  Total plant N uptake at maturity was higher with wheat fertilized with developed nitrogen applicator (121.24 kg ha-1) in comparison to conventional broadcasting (81.69 kg ha-1).  Yield of wheat fertilized with the developed nitrogen (liquid urea) applicator was 20% higher than with broadcasting.  The increase in wheat yield under nitrogen applicator was primarily due to higher spike density, higher spike length, more grains per spike, more grain weight and higher nitrogen uptake.  Among point injection nitrogen application, the grain yield was at par at different straw load conditions; however, in case of broadcast N application, significantly lower grain yield was obtained under high straw load conditions compared to that of low straw load conditions.  This effect was attributed to the low accessibility of fertilizer N to the plant at high straw load in case of broadcast of urea.   Keywords: Nitrogen (liquid urea) applicator, broadcasting, straw load, field capacity, nitrogen uptake, yiel

Stability Constants of Metal Complexes in Solution

In the formation of metal complexes in an aqueous medium, equilibrium constant or stability constant is used to determine the strength of interaction between reagents that make the final product after the formation of bonds. In general stability means that a complex may be stored for a long time under suitable conditions or this compound may be existing under suitable conditions. Regarding how much is the concentration of complexes in solution, stability constant provides this information via calculations. These calculations are very much important in many areas of science like chemistry, biology, and medicine. During the complex formation in aqueous medium, two types of stabilities are considered: one is the thermodynamic stability, and the other is kinetic stability. Stability of metal complexes may be affected by various factors like nature of central metal ion and ligand, chelating effect, etc., and some parameters like distribution coefficients, conductance, refractive index, etc. are useful for the determination of stability constants. Various modern techniques are used to determine the stability constant of simple as well as mixed ligand compounds

First Record of Neogerris Assimilis Anderson, 1975 From India with Description of Copulatory Complex

The genus Neogerris is recorded for the first time from India. The copulatory complex, a feature of a great taxonomic significance is studied and described for the first time

Description of Copulatory Complex in Relation to Taxonomy in Gerridae

The family Gerridae is represented in India by 67 species (of which 4 are undescribed species and only known by the nymphs) belonging to 20 genera and representing 7 subfamilies (10 new species are described in the present work). The subfamily Charmatometrinae is not represented in India. The Gerrids or water striders are well known aquatic insects and they are the most interesting and fascinating among all insects of the tropics and subtropics. They skate, skip, glide or literally walk upon the surface of the water. The relation of copulatory complex with taxonomy is described in this research article

Identification and Description of Copulatory Complex in Tarsotrechus polhemi Anderson, 1980

The genus Tarsotrechus was described by Anderson. Belonging to the subfamily Eotrechinae Anderson, 1975 is represented by a single species, Tarsotrechus polhemi Anderson, 1980. The present contribution provides an account of copulatory complex of the species for the first time

Description of Copulatory complex of Eotrechus kalidasa Kirkaldy, 1902 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera, Gerridae)

The genus Eotrechus Kirk, 1903 belonging to the subfamily Eotrechinae Anderson, 1975 is represented by a single species Eotrechus kalidasa Kirk, 1902 in India. The description of species by Kirk, 1903, Distant, 1903, Paiva, 1919 and Lundblad, 1933 has not taken into account the structure of copulatory complex, a feature of great taxonomic significance. The present contribution provides the description of copulatory complex of Eotrechus kalidasa for the first time

First record of Neogerris assimilis Anderson, 1975 from India with Description of Copulatory Complex

The genus Neogerris is recorded for the first time from India. The copulatory complex, feature of a great taxonomic significance is studied and described for the first time

Relationship between Size of Cloud Ice and Lightning in the Tropics

The association of lightning flashes with mean cloud ice size over continental and oceanic region in the tropical areas has been analyzed using the observations from various satellite platforms (MODIS, TRMM, and LIS) for the period 2000–2011. We found that frequency of lightning in general is higher over the continental region compared to oceanic region, whereas larger size of cloud ice is observed over the oceanic regions compared to the continental regions. Relationship between lighting and cloud ice size shows similar features over both continental and oceanic regions. For the first time, we show that total lighting increases with increase in the cloud ice size; attends maximum at certain cloud ice size and then decreases with increase in cloud ice size. Maximum lightning occurred for the mean cloud ice size of around 23–25 µm over the continental region and mean cloud ice size of around 24–28 µm over the oceanic region. Based on our observation we argue that the relation between lightning and mean cloud ice size follow the curve linear pattern, and not linear