GREEN SYNTHESIS OF PLANT-MEDIATED METAL NANOPARTICLES: THE ROLE OF POLYPHENOLS

The use of metal nanoparticles (MNPs) in various fields is increasing day-by-day leading to a genuine concern about the issues related to their environmental and biological safety. The major approaches for the synthesis of NPs include physical and chemical methods which are expensive and hazardous to health in addition to being toxic to the environment. This review highlights the potential of plant extracts to carry out the synthesis of MNPs with a special emphasis on the role of flavonoids in nanosynthesis. This green and clean approach have been actively utilized in recent years as an alternative to conventional hazardous approaches. It has proved as cost-effective, non-toxic, less time and labor consuming, efficient, and eco-friendly method for the synthesis of MNPs with specific biological actions. This review also focuses on the role of polyphenols, including the flavonoids as bioreductants of metal salts for the synthesis of NPs along with their biomedical applications. Various examples of the MNPs, along with their biological actions, have also been summarized

Modeling and Speed Control for Sensorless DC Motor BLDC Based on Real Time Experiement

This paper presents a modeling of the Brushless DC motor based on the system identification method. The input and output data were collected and simulated based on the real-time experiment. Taking a continues time form for the system model, a transfer function was selected in this work. The potentiometer has been used to send  Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) signals as input signal to the Brushless DC motor to determine the open-loop model of brushless DC motor (BLDC). LM2907 Tachometer attached with Brushless DC motor driver to measure the output speed. The input signal and measured output data were interfaced to plant by C code generation Matlab/Simulink through Arduino Mega controller. System identification toolbox was used for collecting data to obtain the estimates model. The best fit found for the system was 90.2%. The PID controller was developed to control the desired speed based on the given speed to demonstrate the feasibility of the given method.  &nbsp

Looking, seeing and believing in autism: Eye movements reveal how subtle cognitive processing differences impact in the social domain

Adults with High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) viewed scenes with people in them, while having their eye movements recorded. The task was to indicate, using a button press, whether the pictures were normal, or in some way weird or odd. Oddities in the pictures were categorized as violations of either perceptual or social norms. Compared to a Typically Developed (TD) control group, the ASD participants were equally able to categorize the scenes as odd or normal, but they took longer to respond. The eye movement patterns showed that the ASD group made more fixations and revisits to the target areas in the odd scenes compared with the TD group. Additionally, when the ASD group first fixated the target areas in the scenes, they failed to initially detect the social oddities. These two findings have clear implications for processing difficulties in ASD for the social domain, where it is important to detect social cues on‐line, and where there is little opportunity to go back and recheck possible cues in fast dynamic interactions

Synchronous presentation of acute acalculous cholecystitis and appendicitis: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Acute acalculous cholecystitis is traditionally associated with elderly or critically ill patients.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We present the case of an otherwise healthy 23-year-old Caucasian man who presented with acute right-sided abdominal pain. An ultrasound examination revealed evidence of acute acalculous cholecystitis. A laparoscopy was undertaken and the dual pathologies of acute acalculous cholecystitis and acute appendicitis were discovered and a laparoscopic cholecystectomy and appendectomy were performed.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Acute acalculous cholecystitis is a rare clinical entity in young, healthy patients and this report describes the unusual association of acute acalculous cholecystitis and appendicitis. A single stage combined laparoscopic appendectomy and cholecystectomy is an effective treatment modality.</p

Genetic Diversity Analysis of Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe.) Genotypes Using RAPD Markers

Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe.) is an important spice crop in Bangladesh as well as in all over the world for its economical and medicinal values. A measure of the existing genetic diversity is essential for planning a meaningful breeding strategy. Moreover, assessment and characterization of genetic diversity of the available germplasm is important to know the source of gene for particular trait of interest. The present investigation was undertaken to assess the genetic diversity among eight ginger genotypes using RAPD markers. A total of 16 distinct DNA fragments ranging from 100–1000 bp were amplified by using three selected primers of which 10 (62.50%) were polymorphic. BARI ada-1 was more homogenous than others and Syedpuri was found less homogenous showing the low intra-variety similarity value (75.56). the genotype ‘Syedpuri’ was found as more diversified from the viewpoint of lowest intra-variety similarity index value, highest gene diversity, proportion of polymorphic loci and highest level of genetic variation. The cluster analysis indicated that the eight genotypes were grouped into two major clusters. ‘Indian’ alone formed the first major cluster while the second major cluster had seven genotypes and was divided into two minor clusters. China and Sherpuri genotype pair were very close to each other with the lowest genetic distance (0.03). On the other hand, Indian and Syedpuri pair was more distant to each other with the highest genetic distance (0.55). RAPD analysis revealed a considerable level of polymorphism among the studied genotypes. The genetic variation thus detected has significance for ginger improvement programs

Bromocarbons in the tropical coastal and open ocean atmosphere during the 2009 Prime Expedition Scientific Cruise (PESC-09)

Abstract. Atmospheric concentrations of very short-lived species (VSLS) bromocarbons, including CHBr3, CH2Br2, CHCl2Br, CHClBr2, and CH2BrCl, were measured in the Strait of Malacca and the South China and Sulu–Sulawesi seas during a two-month research cruise in June–July 2009. The highest bromocarbon concentrations were found in the Strait of Malacca, with smaller enhancements in coastal regions of northern Borneo. CHBr3 was the most abundant bromocarbon, ranging from 5.2 pmol mol−1 in the Strait of Malacca to 0.94 pmol mol−1 over the open ocean. Other bromocarbons showed lower concentrations, in the range of 0.8–1.3 pmol mol−1 for CH2Br2, 0.1–0.5 pmol mol−1 for CHCl2Br, and 0.1–0.4 pmol mol−1 for CHClBr2. There was no significant correlation between bromocarbons and in situ chlorophyll a, but positive correlations with both MODIS and SeaWiFS satellite chlorophyll a. Together, the short-lived bromocarbons contribute an average of 8.9 pmol mol−1 (range 5.2–21.4 pmol mol−1) to tropospheric bromine loading, which is similar to that found in previous studies from global sampling networks (Montzka et al., 2011). Statistical tests showed strong Spearman correlations between brominated compounds, suggesting a common source. Log–log plots of CHBr3/CH2Br2 versus CHBr2Cl/CH2Br2 show that both chemical reactions and dilution into the background atmosphere contribute to the composition of these halocarbons at each sampling point. We have used the correlation to make a crude estimate of the regional emissions of CHBr3 and to derive a value of 32 Gg yr−1 for the Southeast (SE) Asian region (10° N–20° S, 90–150° E). Finally, we note that satellite-derived chlorophyll a (chl a) products do not always agree well with in situ measurements, particularly in coastal regions of high turbidity, meaning that satellite chl a may not always be a good proxy for marine productivity. We would like to thank MOSTI (Malaysian Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation). for giving opportunities and financial support for the University of Malaya (UM) and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia to participate in this scientific cruise, and other Malaysian public universities and agencies who helped during sampling. The Malaysian Royal Navy is thanked for their help and assistance in all aspects of the cruise. We also thank the SHIVA European FP7 project (grant 226224), NERC, NERC-NCAS and the British Council, through a PMI2 grant, for their support. Neil Harris would like to thank NERC for his Research Fellowship; Emma Leedham and Matt Ashfold thank NERC for studentships, and Doreena Dominick, Lin Chin Yik, Fatimah Ahamad and Nur Ily Hamizah for their assistance and the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia (KPT’s) ERGS grant ER025-2013A. Finally, we also would like to thank Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) for the ICONIC-2013-004 grant, MOSTI e-science grant 04-01-02-SF-0752 for Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), UKM GGPM-2013-080 and UKM DPP-2014-162 and GUP-2013-057 for financial support.This paper was originally published in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 14, 8137-8148, doi:10.5194/acp-14-8137-2014, 201

The Plasmodium falciparum STEVOR Multigene Family Mediates Antigenic Variation of the Infected Erythrocyte

Modifications of the Plasmodium falciparum–infected red blood cell (iRBC) surface have been linked to parasite-associated pathology. Such modifications enable the parasite to establish long-lasting chronic infection by evading antibody mediate immune recognition and splenic clearance. With the exception of the well-demonstrated roles of var-encoded PfEMP1 in virulence and immune evasion, the biological significance of other variant surface antigens (rif and stevor) is largely unknown. While PfEMP1 and RIFIN have been located on the iRBC surface, recent studies have located STEVOR at the iRBC membrane where it may be exposed on the erythrocyte surface. To investigate the role of STEVOR in more detail, we have developed antibodies against two putative STEVOR proteins and used a combination of indirect immunofluorescence assays (IFA), live IFA, flow cytometry, as well as agglutination assays, which enable us to demonstrate that STEVOR is clonally variant at the surface of schizont stage parasites. Crucially, expression of different STEVOR on the surface of the iRBC changes the antigenic property of the parasite. Taken together, our data for the first time demonstrate that STEVOR plays a role in creating antigenic diversity of schizont stage parasites, thereby adding additional complexity to the immunogenic properties of the iRBC. Furthermore, it clearly demonstrates that to obtain a complete understanding of how parasite-induced pathology is linked to variation on the surface of the iRBC, focusing the interactions of multiple multigene families needs to be considered

Affordable dye sensitizer by waste

Abstract The development of dye sensitizer is growing in line with the increasing demand for renewable energy. A research to obtain a dye sensitizer that is economical, safe, and produces a great value of DSSC efficiency is a challenge unresolved. On the other hand, the efforts for waste reduction are also intensively conducted to create better environment. In this paper, the variation of synthetic dye wastes from batik industries have been successfully applied as dye sensitizer and fabricated on DSSC cells. Congo red (1.0133%) yielded higher efficiency than rhodamine B (0.0126%), methyl orange (0.7560%), and naphthol blue black (0.0083%). The divergence of the efficiency of DSSC is very dependent upon the chromophore group owned by dye. This study has proven that the more chromophore group possessed by dye, the higher the efficiency of DSSC generated. This research concludes that the dye wastes have a bright future to be implemented as dye sensitizer on solar cells

Carbon emissions from oil palm induced forest and peatland conversion in sabah and Sarawak, Malaysia

© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. The palm oil industry is one of the major producers of vegetable oil in the tropics. Palm oil is used extensively for the manufacture of a wide variety of products and its production is increasing by around 9% every year, prompted largely by the expanding biofuel markets. The rise in annual demand for biofuels and vegetable oil from importer countries has caused a dramatic increase in the conversion of forests and peatlands into oil palm plantations in Malaysia. This study assessed the area of forests and peatlands converted into oil palm plantations from 1990 to 2018 in the states of Sarawak and Sabah, Malaysia, and estimated the resulting carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. To do so, we analyzed multitemporal 30-m resolution Landsat-5 and Landsat-8 images using a hybrid method that combined automatic image processing and manual analyses. We found that over the 28-year period, forest cover declined by 12.6% and 16.3%, and the peatland area declined by 20.5% and 19.1% in Sarawak and Sabah, respectively. In 2018, we found that these changes resulted in CO2 emissions of 0.01577 and 0.00086 Gt CO2-C yr−1, as compared to an annual forest CO2 uptake of 0.26464 and 0.15007 Gt CO2-C yr−1, in Sarawak and Sabah, respectively. Our assessment highlights that carbon impacts extend beyond lost standing stocks, and result in substantial direct emissions from the oil palm plantations themselves, with 2018 oil palm plantations in our study area emitting up to 4% of CO2 uptake by remaining forests. Limiting future climate change impacts requires enhanced economic incentives for land uses that neither convert standing forests nor result in substantial CO2 emissions