Crystallization of sheep (Ovis aries) and goat (Capra hircus) haemoglobins under unbuffered low-salt conditions

The haemoglobins from low oxygen affinity species, sheep and goat are crystallized under unbuffered low-salt conditions to explore the possibility of obtaining new crystal forms

Purification, crystallization and preliminary crystallographic study of low oxygen-affinity haemoglobin from cat (Felis silvestris catus) in two different crystal forms

Preliminary studies were carried out to purify and crystallize the sample from cat (Felis silvestris catus), a low oxygen-affinity haemoglobin in different crystal forms

Purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction studies on avian haemoglobin from pigeon (Columba livia)

Crystallization of pigeon haemoglobin at low pH (5.5) and high ionic concentration (1 M) using the hanging-drop vapour-diffusion method is reported

Influence of Microplastics on Seedling Growth of Blackgram under Different Soil Types

The prevalence of microplastics in soil has recently attracted substantial interest as they pose a major threat to agricultural system. A pot experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of polyethylene microplastics (PE-MPs) on seedling development of blackgram (Vigna mungo L.) in two different types of soil during April, 2022 under controlled conditions in the Department of Environmental Sciences, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, India. The treatments included four different concentrations of PE-MPs (0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1.00%) along with a control which had no microplastics. All the treatments were replicated thrice. In loamy soil type, germination rate declined from 87.1±0.57 (control) to 73.1±0.33 (1.00% PE-MPs) and in clay loam soil, from 83.3±3.08 (control) to 79.8±0.03 (1.00% PE-MPs). Similarly root and shoot characteristics also showed distinct reduction along with increasing microplastics concentrations. Hence, the results of the study reveal that soil type has influence over the magnitude of variations in blackgram growth parameters in the presence of polyethylene microplastics

Synthesis and Characterization of Silica Nanoparticles Derived from Tea Factory Generated Wood Ash

India is the second most prolific tea producing nation in the world, which consumes 82% of its tea production, accounting for 19.5% of global tea consumption. Despite the improvement in technology, employing wood to produce heat has been a vital element of tea processing for generations. Many tea specialists experience that it adds a particular fragrant touch to the finished tea product. However, the management of wood ash generated by tea factories is a significant concern due to the large amount of wood burned during tea processing. Therefore, transportation and effective disposal of these large quantities of wood ash is a great challenge. Hence, this study aimed to effectively transform wood ash into a valuable product, nano silica particles so as to explore the scope for its better utilization in various applications. A series of experiments were carried out to optimize the parameters in the sol-gel technique for synthesizing silica nanoparticles from wood ash. Further, the synthesized nano silica particles were characterized by employing transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The standard operational protocol developed through this study demonstrated that wood ash can be effectively converted to silica nanoparticles in the size range of 20-50 nm, spherical in form with crystalline properties. Overall, the results of this work highlights the possibility of utilizing tea factory generated wood ash into silica nanoparticles with an immense potential for varied applications without environmental hazards