Nanoparticle-coated microcrystals

Coprecipitation provides a rapid high-yield method for self-assembly of nanoparticles on the surface of flat water-soluble crystalline surfaces and a simple immobilisation technique prior to storage or thermal and chemical modification

Effect of different phosphoms sources and soil amendments on the yield and quality of aswagandh (Withania somnifera Dunal) under acid soils

Trials were conducted in acid soil at Yercaud (Tamil Nadu, India) with the objective of identifying the ideal source of phosphorus and soil amendment in aswagandh (Withania somnifera Dunal) in acid soils. Application of 60 kg ha-1 P205 as rock phosphate along with dolamite (5.688 t ha-1) for increasing the yield resulted in the highest dry root yield of 814.5 kg ha-1 in the present study. There was also an improvement in the total withanolides content due to the application of dolomite and rock phosphate. &nbsp

DNA-coated microcrystals

Coprecipitation leads to self-assembly of bioactive DNA on the surface of salt, sugar or amino-acid crystals and provides a rapid inexpensive immobilization method suitable for preparing dry-powder formulations of nucleic acids, useful for storage, imaging and drug delivery

Secondary Metabolites and Nutrient Balance in Casuarinas: an Insight Into Protein Competition Model (PCM)

The total phenolics, total condensed tannins (TCT), nitrogen (N) and total protein (TP) in needles of Casuarina equisetifolia and Casuarina junghuhniana were studied to understand the carbon-nutrient balance (CNB) and the growth-differentiation balance (GDB) hypotheses. The carbon-nutrient balance (CNB) hypothesis postulates that phenolic levels in plants are determined by the balance between carbon and nutrient availability1. The growth-differentiation balance (GDB) hypothesis2 considers factors that limit growth and differentiation. The production of phenolics dominates when factors other than photosynthate supply are suboptimal for growth (e.g., under nutrient limitation). Resource-based theories assume that the synthesis of defensive compounds is constrained by the external availability of resources and internal trade-offs in resource allocation between growth and defense. It is stated that growth processes dominate over the production of defensive compounds and that more carbon is left for defensive compounds only when plant growth is restricted by a lack of mineral nutrient (emphasized by the CNB hypothesis) or by any factor (according to the GDB hypothesis). Jones and Hartley3 presented a protein competition model (PCM) for predicting total phenolics allocation and content in leaves of higher plants. Protein competition model (PCM) stated that “protein and phenolics synthesis compete for the common, limiting resource phenylalanine,” so nitrogen (N) rather than C is the limiting resource for synthesis of phenolics. In our study, the contents of Total Phenolics, and Total Condensed Tannin (TCT) in needles of C. equisetifolia were higher than the C. junghuhniana. However, Total protein and nitrogen (N) contents were higher in C. junghuhniana than C. equisetifolia. There was a significant negative correlation between Total phenolics, TCT and Total Protein, N contents. Therefore, it is found from the present investigation that C. equisetifolia follows CNB hypothesis. However, C. junghuhniana follows GDB hypothesis, since it contains low defense chemicals viz., phenolics & TCT and high nitrogen and protein contents. Hence, the adaptability of C. equisetifolia in coastal areas and C. junghuhniana in drier inland condition is realized

Effect of CuO, MoO3 and ZnO nanomaterial coated absorbers for clean water production

Solar energy is one of the most powerful sources for many sustainable applications. Recently, efficient water distillation has attracted significant attention. The fresh water productivity depends on how efficiently the system harvests the incoming solar energy and converts it into useful heat. In the present work, nano-coated absorber plates (NCAPs) were examined in the single slope solar still (SSSS) for clean water production. The NCAPs were CuO, MoO3 and ZnO, respectively. The CuO-NCAP was fabricated with the thermal evaporation method while the radio-frequency Magnetron Sputtering technique was used to fabricate the MoO3 and ZnO NCAPs. The attained particle size of the CuO, MoO3 and ZnO are 30–34 nm, 25–30 nm and 30–35 nm, respectively. The sphere (CuO), plate (MoO3), and wedge (ZnO) like morphologies are identified with field emission-scanning electron microscope. All the NCAPs and reference solar still were tested under the same environmental conditions. The climatic parameters (solar influx, ambient temperature and wind) and SSSS's temperatures including water temperature (Tw), internal air temperature (Tint-air), inner cover (Tic), outer cover (Toc), and absorber plate temperature (TNCAP) were measured at 30 min intervals with the help of Type-J thermocouples. Herein, we present an evaporative heat transfer (hew), efficiency, and cost analysis of the SSSS with CuO, MoO3 and ZnO-NCAPs. Three different feed waters fetched from the surface well water, hill side well water and hill side pond water were used in this work for evaporation. The result reveals that the evaporation of conventional single slope solar still, CuO, MoO3 and ZnO NCAPs were 2.1 l/m2 day, 2.9 l/m2 day, 2.7 l/m2 day and 2.6 l/m2 day, respectively

Life cycle and host range of Phycitasp. rejected for biological control of prickly acacia in Australia

Prickly acacia (Vachellia nilotica subsp. indica), a native of the Indian subcontinent, is a serious weed of the grazing areas of northern Australia and is a target for classical biological control. Native range surveys in India identified a leaf webber, Phycita sp. (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) as a prospective biological control agent for prickly acacia. In this study, we report the life cycle and host-specificity test results Phycita sp. and highlight the contradictory results between the no-choice tests in India and Australia and the field host range in India. In no-choice tests in India and Australia, Phycita sp. completed development on two of 11 and 16 of 27 non-target test plant species, respectively. Although Phycita sp. fed and completed development on two non-target test plant species (Vachellia planifrons and V. leucophloea) in no-choice tests in India, there was no evidence of the insect on the two non-target test plant species in the field. Our contention is that oviposition behaviour could be the key mechanism in host selection of Phycita sp., resulting in its incidence only on prickly acacia in India. This is supported by paired oviposition choice tests involving three test plant species (Acacia baileyana, A. mearnsii and A. deanei) in quarantine in Australia, where eggs were laid only on prickly acacia. However, in paired oviposition choice trials, only few eggs were laid, making the results unreliable. Although oviposition choice tests suggest that prickly acacia is the most preferred and natural host, difficulties in conducting choice oviposition tests with fully grown trees under quarantine conditions in Australia and the logistic difficulties of conducting open-field tests with fully grown native Australian plants in India have led to rejection of Phycita sp. as a potential biological control agent for prickly acacia in Australia