Entrepreneurial Behaviour of the Agriculture Students-A review

The present study aimed to investigate the factors that influence the entrepreneurial behavior of college students. The study identified various personal and situational factors that may affect entrepreneurial behavior. The results showed that personality traits, such as openness, extraversion, and conscientiousness, had a significant positive impact on entrepreneurial behavior. Specific motivational traits, such as entrepreneurial self-efficacy, internal locus of control, and risk-taking propensity, were also significant predictors of entrepreneurial behavior. Situational factors, such as entrepreneurship education, were found to have a significant positive impact on entrepreneurial behavior, with entrepreneurial self-efficacy playing a key mediating role in this relationship. Attitudes towards entrepreneurship were found to be a significant driver of entrepreneurial intention, with perceived desirability and feasibility, as well as perceived individual and collective efficacy, also significant predictors of entrepreneurial intention. Sustainable entrepreneurial intention was found to be influenced by attitude towards the behavior variable, with subjective norms playing an indirect role in mediating this effect. Overall, the study suggests that personal traits, such as personality and motivational factors, as well as situational factors, such as education and attitudes towards entrepreneurship, are significant predictors of entrepreneurial behavior. These findings have important implications for educators and policymakers who seek to promote entrepreneurial behavior among college students. Future research should continue to explore the complex relationships between personal and situational factors and entrepreneurial behavior to further enhance our understanding of this important phenomenon. &nbsp

Medicinal plants used by tribal population of Coochbehar district, West Bengal, India–an ethnobotanical survey

Objective: To explore traditional ethnomedicinal knowledge of different tribes of Coochbehar district of West Bengal, India, and its present status. Methods: With the help of standardized questionnaires, traditional healers and resource persons were interviewed on medicinal use of local flora in all the tribal villages of Coochbehar district during July, 2007 to December, 2009 and some of the places were revisited for this purpose again during July to December of 2012. Results: A total of 46 plant species belonging to 42 genera and 27 families were reported to be used for treating 33 various physical ailments. In terms of the number of medicinal plant species, Fabaceae (5 species) and Euphorbiaceae (4 species) are dominant families. Among different plant parts used for the preparation of medicine, leaves were most frequently used for the treatment of diseases. Conclusions: In all tribal villages we found the use of medicinal plants, particularly to treat common physical problems like smaller injuries, stomachache and abdominal disorder. However, non-availability of such plants in close vicinity is imposing restriction on using medicinal plants. Further research on these species may lead to the discovery of novel bioactive molecules in one hand and also it may open up a new horizon of sustainable development

Steady state and time resolved spectroscopic study of C-dots–MEH–PPV polymer nanoparticles composites

Fluorescent carbon dots (C-dots) have been found to be a new class of nanomaterial for potential applications. Herein, polyethylenimine branched (BPEI) functionalized carbon dots (C-dots) are synthesized by changing the synthesis time using a microwave pyrolysis method. The photoluminescence intensity and average decay time of C-dots are found to be increased with increasing the crystallinity of the C-dots. C-dots–MEH–PPV polymer nanoparticles composites are formed by electrostatic interaction between these particles. The intensity of C-dots quenches dramatically with increasing the concentration of MEH–PPV nanoparticles (PNPs) and the intensity of PNPs increases gradually under excitation at 370 nm. This phenomenon may be due to energy transfer from C-dots to PNPs because there is a good spectral overlap between the emission spectra of C-dots and the absorption spectra of PNPs. The drastic photoluminescence quenching and the shortening of the decay time of C-dots in the composites confirms the efficient resonance energy transfer from C-dots to polymer nanoparticles. The energy transfer efficiency (66% to 89%) and rate of energy transfer are found to depend strongly on the time of pyrolysis. These C-dots–polymer composites will open up a way for developing new challenging materials for potential applications

Manipulating the anisotropy and field emission of lanthanum hexaboride nanorods

The present study describes the controlled synthesis of lanthanum hexaboride nanostructures with efficient field emission properties. The synthesis is mediated by a nanostructured lanthanum hydroxide precursor, which is controlled by varying the capping agent and pH using a hydrothermal route. The effect of charge on the capping agent (surfactant) strongly affects the shape and size of the precursor (neutral surfactants lead to the formation of nanorods while a cationic surfactant results in the formation of particles). This precursor mediated route leads to lanthanum hexaboride nanostructures at much lower temperatures (∼500 °C lower than the conventional solid state route) and allows for variation of morphology of nanostructured films. Vertically aligned nanorods (30 nm × 200–400 nm), nanoparticles (25 nm) and sub-micron particles (0.2–0.25 microns) could be precisely obtained. Field emission studies of these vertically aligned nanorods show a very high field enhancement factor (4191), which is required for an efficient field emitter

Photophysical properties of doped carbon dots (N, P, and B) and their influence on electron/hole transfer in carbon dots–nickel (II) phthalocyanine conjugates

Doping in carbon nanomaterial with various hetero atoms draws attention due to their tunable properties. Herein, we have synthesized nitrogen containing carbon dots [C-dots (N)], phosphorus co-doped nitrogen containing carbon dots [C-dots (N, P)], and boron co-doped nitrogen containing carbon dots [C-dots (N, B)]; and detailed elemental analysis has been unveiled by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements. Our emphasis is given to understand the effect of doping on the photophysical behavior of carbon dots by using steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopy. Nitrogen containing carbon dots have quantum yield (QY) of 64.0% with an average decay time of 12.8 ns. Photophysical properties (radiative decay rate and average decay time) are found to be increased for phosphorus co-doping carbon dots due to extra electron incorporation for n-type doping (phosphorus dopant) to carbon dots which favors the radiative relaxation pathways. On the contrary, boron (p-type dopant) co-doping with nitrogen containing carbon dots favors the nonradiative electron–hole recombination pathways due to incorporation of excess hole; as a result QY, radiative rate, and average decay time are decreased. To understand the effect of doping on charge transfer phenomena, we have attached nickel (II) phthalocyanine on the surface of C-dots. It is seen that phosphorus co-doping carbon dots accelerates the electron transfer process from carbon dots to phthalocyanine. In contrast, after boron co-doping in carbon dots, the electron transfer process slows down and a simultaneous hole transfer process occurs

Multifunctional magnetic reduced graphene oxide dendrites: Synthesis, characterization and their applications

In this paper, for the first time, we have reported the novel synthesis of reduced graphene oxide (r-GO) dendrite kind of nanomaterial. The proposed r-GO dendrite possesses multifunctional properties in various fields of sensing and separation. The dendrite was synthesized by chemical reaction in different steps. Initially, the r-GO sheet was conjugated with silane group modified magnetic nanoparticle, resulting in nanoparticle decorated r-GO. The above r-GO sheet was further reacted with a new r-GO sheet, resulting in the formation of r-GO dendrite type of structure. Multifunctional behavior of this r-GO dendrite structure was studied by different methods. First, magnetic properties were studied by vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and it was found that dendrite structure shows good magnetic susceptibility (180.2 emu/g). The proposed r-GO dendrite also shows a very good antibacterial behavior for Escherichia coli and excellent electrochemical behavior towards ferrocyanide probe molecule. Along with these, it also acts as a substrate for the synthesis of molecularly imprinted polymer for europium metal ion, a lanthanide. The proposed imprinted sensor shows a very high selectivity and sensitivity for europium metal ion (limit of detection= 0.019 mu g L-1) in aqueous as well as real samples. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Photoswitching and thermoresponsive properties of conjugated multi-chromophore nanostructured materials

Conjugated multi-chromophore organic nanostructured materials have recently emerged as a new class of functional materials for developing efficient light-harvesting, photosensitization, photocatalysis, and sensor devices because of their unique photophysical and photochemical properties. Here, we demonstrate the formation of various nanostructures (fibers and flakes) related to the molecular arrangement (H-aggregation) of quaterthiophene (QTH) molecules and their influence on the photophysical properties. XRD studies confirm that the fiber structure consists of >95% crystalline material, whereas the flake structure is almost completely amorphous and the microstrain in flake-shaped QTH is significantly higher than that of QTH in solution. The influence of the aggregation of the QTH molecules on their photoswitching and thermoresponsive photoluminescence properties is revealed. Time-resolved anisotropic studies further unveil the relaxation dynamics and restricted chromophore properties of the self-assembled nano/microstructured morphologies. Further investigations should pave the way for the future development of organic electronics, photovoltaics, and light-harvesting systems based on π-conjugated multi-chromophore organic nanostructured materials

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Not AvailableSoil proximal sensing technologies provide an excellent opportunity for rationalizing input use. This paper critically reviews the current technologies available for soil and crop sensors and suggests effective, economically attractive alternatives for conventional methodologies. It also sheds light on the different types of sensors, including hand-held sensors and soil spectroscopy for precision agriculture. Additionally, this article explores options for drought monitoring and crop yield modelling through remote sensing. An overview of the Decision Support System (DSS), including ICAR Geoportal, is also presented to provide the real-time solution.Not Availabl

Shape effect on the fabrication of imprinted nanoparticles: Comparison between spherical-, rod-, hexagonal-, and flower-shaped nanoparticles

In this work, we prepared four different shaped silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) (spherical, rod, hexagonal, and flower shaped) by using the green synthesis approach. The synthesized AgNPs were characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy, which showed that AgNPs have a very narrow size distribution with visible and confined geometry and shape. The synthesized AgNPs were modified by 2-bromoisobutyryl bromide, developed as a nanoinitiator, and then used for the synthesis of phenformin-imprinted polymers (MIP@AgNPs). A comparative study was performed between different shaped MIP-modified AgNPs; in addition, the effect of AgNPs on electrocatalytic activity, surface area, adsorption capacity, and electrochemical and photoluminescence sensing of phenformin was also explored. Among the different shaped MIP@AgNPs, the anisotropic AgNPs have multiple facets and planes, i.e., the flower-shaped AgNPs showed the best performance and were successfully applied for trace-level detection of phenformin in an aqueous sample. Furthermore, the MIP@AgNPs were also applied for the detection of phenformin in human serum, plasma, and urine samples without any cross-reactivity effect, suggesting a bright prospect for the use of anisotropic nanomaterials in future clinical trials. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved