Green synthesis of magnesium oxide nanoparticles and their antibacterial activity

1210-1215Nanotechnology has prospects of opening new avenues to fight and prevent diseases using atomic-scale tailoring of materials. As the nano revolution emerges, it is imperative to develop “nano‑naturo” links between nanotechnology and green domains of the nature. The present investigation describes the mangrove Rhizophora lamarckii’s property of synthesizing magnesium oxide nanoparticles . The newly synthesized magnesium oxide nanoparticle morphology is nanohexagonal and spherical. The particles range in dimensions between 20 and 50 nm and are crystalline in nature. The functional groups of the mangrove, amine, and alkane are found to act as reductants and stabilizers. The newly synthesized MgO nanoparticles are found to have potent antibacterial activity

Protective and susceptibility effects of hSKCa3 allelic variants on juvenile myoclonic epilepsy

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Response of fertilizer treatments on agronomic and biochemical traits in main and ratoon crops of sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) cultivar ICSV 93046

The response of sweet sorghum cultivar ICSV 93046 to six fertilizer treatments viz., T1 (control - 80 Kg N ha-1 and 40 Kg P2O5 ha-1); T2 (Designed fertilizer from a commercial source); T3 (N + P with Zn and B soil application); T4 (N + P with Zn and B soil application); T5 (N + P with foliar application of 0.1% sodium borate and T6 (N + P with foliar application of 0.5% ZnSO4 and 0.1% sodium borate) was evaluated during the postrainy season (December-March, 2009−10) as main (plant) crop and during summer season (April-July, 2010) as ratoon crop. The combined ANOVA showed that there was no significant crop (main and ratoon) and treatment interactions for the qualitative and quantitative component traits of sugar yield measured and also no significant differences for main and ratoon crop except for non-significant numerical differences giving a trend. The stalk yield was highest for treatments T5 and T6 in main crop and in the ratoon the treatment T4 recorded the highest

Critical adsorption on curved objects

A systematic fieldtheoretic description of critical adsorption on curved objects such as spherical or rodlike colloidal particles immersed in a fluid near criticality is presented. The temperature dependence of the corresponding order parameter profiles and of the excess adsorption are calculated explicitly. Critical adsorption on elongated rods is substantially more pronounced than on spherical particles. It turns out that, within the context of critical phenomena in confined geometries, critical adsorption on a microscopically thin `needle' represents a distinct universality class of its own. Under favorable conditions the results are relevant for the flocculation of colloidal particles.Comment: 52 pages, 10 figure

Baseline status and effect of genotype, environment and genotype × environment interactions on iron and zinc content in Indian chickpeas (Cicer arietinum L.)

Genetic biofortification is a cost-effective strategy to address iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) deficiencies prevalent worldwide. Being a rich and cheap protein source, chickpea, a food legume grown and consumed across the globe, is a good target for biofortification. Nineteen popular commercial cultivars of India were analysed for Fe and Zn content at four locations representing different agro-climatic zones to study the genotypic and genotype 9 environment interactions on Fe and Zn. Distribution of phytic acid (PA), an important anti-nutrient that chelates and reduces the mineral bioavailability, was also analysed. Influence of other agronomic traits like days to flowering, plant height and 100 seed weight on Fe and Zn content was also studied. All the traits showed significant G and G 9 E interactions; however, the magnitude of variance of GXE was lesser than that of G alone. Genotype ? genotype-by-environment and genotype- by-trait biplots were used to assess the relations between different environments, genotypes and traits. Iron and zinc content showed positive correlation between them indicating a possibility of their coselection in breeding. A negative correlation between Zn and PA was observed. However, there was very low variability for PA content in the cultivars under study, indicating that moderate PA is naturally selected in these cultivars during breeding. Despite significant GXE interactions, cultivars with high Fe ([70 lg/g) and Zn content ([40 lg/g) at three out of four test locations were identified. Such genotypes will be useful in breeding programs for enhancing mineral micronutrient content and understanding the molecular mechanisms governing their differential uptake

Developments in the Ni–Nb–Zr amorphous alloy membranes

Most of the global H2 production is derived from hydrocarbon-based fuels, and efficient H2/CO2 separation is necessary to deliver a high-purity H2 product. Hydrogen-selective alloy membranes are emerging as a viable alternative to traditional pressure swing adsorption processes as a means for H2/CO2 separation. These membranes can be formed from a wide range of alloys, and those based on Pd are the closest to commercial deployment. The high cost of Pd (USD *31,000 kg-1) is driving the development of less-expensive alternatives, including inexpensive amorphous (Ni60Nb40)100-xZrx alloys. Amorphous alloy membranes can be fabricated directly from the molten state into continuous ribbons via melt spinning and depending on the composition can exhibit relatively high hydrogen permeability between 473 and 673 K. Here we review recent developments in these low-cost membrane materials, especially with respect to permeation behavior, electrical transport properties, and understanding of local atomic order. To further understand the nature of these solids, atom probe tomography has been performed, revealing amorphous Nb-rich and Zr-rich clusters embedded in majority Ni matrix whose compositions deviated from the nominal overall composition of the membrane

Chickpea Baseline and Early Adoption Surveys in South Asia Insights from TL-II (Phase-I) Project: Synthesis Report 2013

Chickpea is one of the most important pulse crops in India. Its area reached a peak at the beginning of the green revolution in the country, but rapid strides in wheat productivity have encouraged farmers in north-western India to substitute wheat for chickpea, causing a fall in its area and production. Nevertheless, the crop soon found a new home in the central and southern states of the country. It was a big challenge for the chickpea scientists in India’s national program and at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-arid Tropics (ICRISAT) to breed short duration but high yielding varieties and develop a package of practices suitable to the warmer growing conditions. Very soon, the crop recovered area as well as production on the back of rising productivity. For ICRISAT, the generous support received from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) was an excellent opportunity to work with its research and development partners in India to accelerate the productivity growth by following the strategy of Farmer Preferred Varietal Selection (FPVS). This approach shortens the time needed to popularize the new varieties by exposing them to farmers and by backing up the varieties preferred by the farmers through intensive seed production efforts. This report documents the rapid strides made in taking the new varieties to the farmers by the FPVS process, and producing and supplying the seeds of varieties preferred by them during 2007-10

Integrated breeding approaches for improving drought and heat adaptation in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is a dry season food legume largely grown on residual soil moisture after the rainy season. The crop often experiences moisture stress towards end of the crop season (terminal drought). The crop may also face heat stress at the reproductive stage if sowing is delayed. The breeding approaches for improving adaptation to these stresses include the development of varieties with early maturity and enhanced abiotic stress tolerance. Several varieties with improved drought tolerance have been developed by selecting for grain yield under moisture stress conditions. Similarly, selection for pod set in the crop subjected to heat stress during reproductive stage has helped in the development of heat‐tolerant varieties. A genomic region, called QTL‐hotspot, controlling several drought tolerance‐related traits has been introgressed into several popular cultivars using marker‐assisted backcrossing (MABC), and introgression lines giving significantly higher yield than the popular cultivars have been identified. Multiparent advanced generation intercross (MAGIC) approach has been found promising in enhancing genetic recombination and developing lines with enhanced tolerance to terminal drought and heat stresses

A Glucose Fuel Cell for Implantable Brain–Machine Interfaces

We have developed an implantable fuel cell that generates power through glucose oxidation, producing steady-state power and up to peak power. The fuel cell is manufactured using a novel approach, employing semiconductor fabrication techniques, and is therefore well suited for manufacture together with integrated circuits on a single silicon wafer. Thus, it can help enable implantable microelectronic systems with long-lifetime power sources that harvest energy from their surrounds. The fuel reactions are mediated by robust, solid state catalysts. Glucose is oxidized at the nanostructured surface of an activated platinum anode. Oxygen is reduced to water at the surface of a self-assembled network of single-walled carbon nanotubes, embedded in a Nafion film that forms the cathode and is exposed to the biological environment. The catalytic electrodes are separated by a Nafion membrane. The availability of fuel cell reactants, oxygen and glucose, only as a mixture in the physiologic environment, has traditionally posed a design challenge: Net current production requires oxidation and reduction to occur separately and selectively at the anode and cathode, respectively, to prevent electrochemical short circuits. Our fuel cell is configured in a half-open geometry that shields the anode while exposing the cathode, resulting in an oxygen gradient that strongly favors oxygen reduction at the cathode. Glucose reaches the shielded anode by diffusing through the nanotube mesh, which does not catalyze glucose oxidation, and the Nafion layers, which are permeable to small neutral and cationic species. We demonstrate computationally that the natural recirculation of cerebrospinal fluid around the human brain theoretically permits glucose energy harvesting at a rate on the order of at least 1 mW with no adverse physiologic effects. Low-power brain–machine interfaces can thus potentially benefit from having their implanted units powered or recharged by glucose fuel cells