Green Synthesis/Biosynthesis of Silver Nanoparticles by Using Orange Peel Extract

Joshi, Leela, Green Synthesis/Biosynthesis of Silver Nanoparticles by Using Orange Peel Extract. Master of Science (MS), December, 2018, 40 pages, 23 figures, references, 36 titles. In this work, we report synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) with an average size of ~6 nm. The aqueous solution of Ag+ ions is reduced using an aqueous extract from orange peel (Citrus Sinensis) at varying pHs. Reduction of Ag+ ions in solution was monitored using UV-visible absorption spectroscopy, and the corresponding surface plasmon resonance of AgNPs at 435 nm. The solution changed color from yellow to reddish-brown upon bioreduction of silver nitrate in orange peel extract. This eco-friendly nanobiotechnology synthesis route is preferred over toxic and expensive chemical and physical methods. The synthesis performed using a 3 mM concentration of silver nitrate at two different temperatures—room temperature and 80 °C. The resultant products were characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, high performance liquid chromatography, and transmission Electron Microscopy techniques

Bio-Synthesis of copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) using Garlic extract to investigate antibacterial activity

Bio-synthesis of metal nanoparticles (CuNPs) is regarded as one of the recently developed, economic and environmentally benign method. In the present investigation, Copper nanoparticles were synthesized reacting garlic (Allium sativum) extract with Copper Sulphate (CuSO4∙5H2O) solution over magnetic stirrer at 80 °C for 1 hour. So-prepared CuNPs were studied by observing the color change at various time intervals.  Further, the nanoparticles were characterized using UV-Visible spectroscopy, Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The results of UV-Vis   spectroscopy   clearly showed presence of absorption peak at 595 nm which confirmed   the   formation   of   copper nanoparticles. Likewise, the EDX spectrum depicts the presence of optical band at 8 eV which is the characteristic peak of Copper consisting of 38.747 % by weight and FTIR spectra revealed presence of various phytochemicals possessing characteristic functional groups such as carbonyl and phenolic at the surface of CuNPs. Thus, natural products available in the garlic extract help in reduction and stabilization of Copper nanoparticles.  The antibacterial activity of Copper nanoparticles was investigated against Gram +ve (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram –ve bacteria (Escherichia coli) using Agarwell diffusion method. The results of antibacterial test showed that CuNPs were found to be much sensitive towards Gram –ve bacteria compared to gram +ve bacteria.  BIBECHANA 17 (2020) 12-18  

Bio-Synthesis of copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) using Garlic extract to investigate antibacterial activity

Bio-synthesis of metal nanoparticles (CuNPs) is regarded as one of the recently developed, economic and environmentally benign method. In the present investigation, Copper nanoparticles were synthesized reacting garlic (Allium sativum) extract with Copper Sulphate (CuSO4∙5H2O) solution over magnetic stirrer at 80 °C for 1 hour. So-prepared CuNPs were studied by observing the color change at various time intervals.  Further, the nanoparticles were characterized using UV-Visible spectroscopy, Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The results of UV-Vis   spectroscopy   clearly showed presence of absorption peak at 595 nm which confirmed   the   formation   of   copper nanoparticles. Likewise, the EDX spectrum depicts the presence of optical band at 8 eV which is the characteristic peak of Copper consisting of 38.747 % by weight and FTIR spectra revealed presence of various phytochemicals possessing characteristic functional groups such as carbonyl and phenolic at the surface of CuNPs. Thus, natural products available in the garlic extract help in reduction and stabilization of Copper nanoparticles.  The antibacterial activity of Copper nanoparticles was investigated against Gram +ve (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram –ve bacteria (Escherichia coli) using Agarwell diffusion method. The results of antibacterial test showed that CuNPs were found to be much sensitive towards Gram –ve bacteria compared to gram +ve bacteria.  BIBECHANA 17 (2020) 12-18  

A high solids field-to-fuel research pipeline to identify interactions between feedstocks and biofuel production

Background: Environmental factors, such as weather extremes, have the potential to cause adverse effects on plant biomass quality and quantity. Beyond adversely affecting feedstock yield and composition, which have been extensively studied, environmental factors can have detrimental effects on saccharification and fermentation processes in biofuel production. Only a few studies have evaluated the effect of these factors on biomass deconstruction into biofuel and resulting fuel yields. This field-to-fuel evaluation of various feedstocks requires rigorous coordination of pretreatment, enzymatic hydrolysis, and fermentation experiments. A large number of biomass samples, often in limited quantity, are needed to thoroughly understand the effect of environmental conditions on biofuel production. This requires greater processing and analytical throughput of industrially relevant, high solids loading hydrolysates for fermentation, and led to the need for a laboratory-scale high solids experimentation platform. Results: A field-to-fuel platform was developed to provide sufficient volumes of high solids loading enzymatic hydrolysate for fermentation. AFEX pretreatment was conducted in custom pretreatment reactors, followed by high solids enzymatic hydrolysis. To accommodate enzymatic hydrolysis of multiple samples, roller bottles were used to overcome the bottlenecks of mixing and reduced sugar yields at high solids loading, while allowing greater sample throughput than possible in bioreactors. The roller bottle method provided 42–47% greater liquefaction compared to the batch shake flask method for the same solids loading. In fermentation experiments, hydrolysates from roller bottles were fermented more rapidly, with greater xylose consumption, but lower final ethanol yields and CO2 production than hydrolysates generated with shake flasks. The entire platform was tested and was able to replicate patterns of fermentation inhibition previously observed for experiments conducted in larger-scale reactors and bioreactors, showing divergent fermentation patterns for drought and normal year switchgrass hydrolysates. Conclusion: A pipeline of small-scale AFEX pretreatment and roller bottle enzymatic hydrolysis was able to provide adequate quantities of hydrolysate for respirometer fermentation experiments and was able to overcome hydrolysis bottlenecks at high solids loading by obtaining greater liquefaction compared to batch shake flask hydrolysis. Thus, the roller bottle method can be effectively utilized to compare divergent feedstocks and diverse process conditions

CMFRI Marine Fisheries Policy Series No-4; Indian Marine Fisheries Code: Guidance on a Marine Fisheries Management Model for India

India’s marine fisheries are at a turning point; the rapid increase in yields witnessed during the first 60 years of independence has slowed down and the scope for increase in yields from new unexploited and underexploited fish stocks and grounds seems limited. The situation calls for urgent measures to sustain the production close to the target potential yield of 4.41 million tonnes. These measures would mean implementation of science based fisheries management and regulations. Although much has been accomplished by way of research and development in marine fisheries in India, the transformation and implementation of the outcome of these studies into effective management of marine fisheries resources of the country has been a shortcoming so far. The FAO brought out the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (FAO-CCRF) in 1995 to serve as a guidance for countries for a sound and effective management of fisheries resources. This FAO-CCRF has not been put into practice in India, althrough there are some compliances. Scientists of the CMFRI and CIFT, two of India’s major fisheries research institutes, have come together to develop a guidance on how the code can be put into practice in the country. Aptly named as Indian Marine Fisheries Code (IMFC), it is expected to give an impetus to bring about a sea change in the manner in which marine fisheries is managed in the country. The IMFC explains in detail each sub-article of the FAOCCRF and provides information on how the article can be implemented and by whom. The IMFC further proposes several new bodies which are necessary to place fisheries management in the country on an unassailable footing. It is expected that all fisheries management bodies in the country, both at central and state levels would find the IMFC as a useful guidance for the future

High temperatures and low soil moisture synergistically reduce switchgrass yields from marginal field sites and inhibit fermentation

‘Marginal lands’ are low productivity sites abandoned from agriculture for reasons such as low or high soil water content, challenging topography, or nutrient deficiency. To avoid competition with crop production, cellulosic bioenergy crops have been proposed for cultivation on marginal lands, however on these sites they may be more strongly affected by environmental stresses such as low soil water content. In this study we used rainout shelters to induce low soil moisture on marginal lands and determine the effect of soil water stress on switchgrass growth and the subsequent production of bioethanol. Five marginal land sites that span a latitudinal gradient in Michigan and Wisconsin were planted to switchgrass in 2013 and during the 2018–2021 growing seasons were exposed to reduced precipitation under rainout shelters in comparison to ambient precipitation. The effect of reduced precipitation was related to the environmental conditions at each site and biofuel production metrics (switchgrass biomass yields and composition and ethanol production). During the first year (2018), the rainout shelters were designed with 60% rain exclusion, which did not affect biomass yields compared to ambient conditions at any of the field sites, but decreased switchgrass fermentability at the Wisconsin Central–Hancock site. In subsequent years, the shelters were redesigned to fully exclude rainfall, which led to reduced biomass yields and inhibited fermentation for three sites. When switchgrass was grown in soils with large reductions in moisture and increases in temperature, the potential for biofuel production was significantly reduced, exposing some of the challenges associated with producing biofuels from lignocellulosic biomass grown under drought conditions

Anticipatory anti-colonial writing in R.K. Narayan's Swami and Friends and Mulk Raj Anand's Untouchable

This article uses the term “anticipatory anti-colonial writing” to discuss the workings of time in R.K. Narayan’s Swami and Friends and Mulk Raj Anand’s Untouchable. Both these first novels were published in 1935 with the support of British literary personalities (Graham Greene and E.M. Forster respectively) and both feature young protagonists who, in contrasting ways, are engaged in Indian resistance to colonial rule. This study examines the difference between Narayan’s local, though ironical, resistance to the homogenizing temporal demands of empire and Anand’s awkwardly modernist, socially committed vision. I argue that a form of anticipation that explicitly looks forward to decolonization via new and transnational literary forms is a crucial feature of Untouchable that is not found in Swami and Friends, despite the latter’s anti-colonial elements. Untouchable was intended to be a “bridge between the Ganges and the Thames” and anticipates postcolonial negotiations of time that critique global inequalities and rely upon the multidirectional global connections forged by modernism

Prunus domestica dye extraction for fabrication of zinc oxide based dye-sensitized solar cells

Aluminium doped Zinc Oxide (AZO) seed layers were deposited on Fluorine doped Tin Oxide (FTO) substrates using a spin coating technique. These were then immersed in growth solutions of zinc nitrate, hexamethylenetetramine and distilled water to develop nanoplates of Zinc Oxide (ZnO). The nanostructures of ZnO grown on FTO were studied using x-ray diffraction techniques. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) were fabricated using two prepared electrodes, one of dye-loaded zinc oxide and another that was platinum coated. The electrolyte used was potassium iodide iodine solution. The performance of the assembled DSCCs was tested by drawing an IV curve. The results showed that the short circuit current and open circuit voltages were about 10 microamperes and 270 millivolts respectively. BIBECHANA 13 (2016) 23-2

Work-related musculoskeletal symptoms among Traffic police: A Review

Workplace environment plays an important role in the health of the working population. The risk of adverse effects on health becomes high with the increase in duration of exposure to occupational hazards. Traffic police personnel are vulnerable to such situations. They undergo various hazards ranging from road injuries, physical hazards, biological hazards, chemical hazards, ergonomic hazards and psychological stress while they are at work. They have to keep on standing on same place throughout the duty hours, which also increases the risk of musculoskeletal problem. There have been very few researches to explore the situation of work-related musculoskeletal symptoms in traffic police. Recently, work-related musculoskeletal symptoms were the main cause of sickness absenteeism, reduction in productivity, and chronic occupational disabilities in traffic police have received much attention. Thus, this review has been designed to help the health care professional and occupational health and safety professionals to know the most prone body areas for Musculoskeletal Disorders so as to plan for ergonomic modification and improve quality of life of Traffic Police Personnel. It will also help in uplifting musculoskeletal health for Traffic Police Personnel