Fluoride removal from water by zirconium (IV) doped chitosan bio-composite

Water containing fluoride above 1.5 mg/L leads to health and environmental harms that creates skeletal and dental fluorosis. Adsorption technique prominently removes fluoride from water and its competence is reliant on development of recyclable, environmentally benign adsorbents. Many reported sorbents for defluoridation below stringent level 1.5 mg/L, displayed low to moderate adsorption capacity at varied concentrations and pH. Besides, viable defluoridation techniques are usually unsuccessful in developing countries. In this novel, cheap and efficient porous chelating resin, chitosan doped 20% zirconium (IV) with control morphologies were synthesized for delfuoridation. This bio-composite was at par with commercial alumina to mitigate water fluoride limit up to 1 to 1.5 mg/L. Effect of parameters namely pH, adsorbent dose, contact time and initial fluoride concentration were studied in batch scale. Kinetic data showed a rapid adsorption, indicated practicable operations in packed column. Findings encourage blending with other polymers as an effective option for defluoridation on a large scale.Key words: Fluorosis, chitosan, zirconium, bio-composite, defluoridation, water

Berry Weight, Quality and Cane Biochemistry Changes in Relation to Cane Thickness of Own-Rooted and Grafted 'Tas-A-Ganesh' Grape

A field trial was conducted to determine the effect of cane thickness on berry quality and other biochemical parameters in 'Tas-A-Ganesh' grape at National Research Centre for Grapes, Pune, during the year 2008- 2009. Average bunch weight increased with increase in cane diameter. Own-rooted vines of cane thickness <6mm sprouted earlier than thicker canes. TSS of berries decreased with increase in berry size. Berries on grafted vines recorded lower TSS than on own-rooted vines. Biochemical parameters such as content of reducing sugars, carbohydrat and phenols were higher in grafted vines of cane thickness >10mm. Results indicate that thicker canes either on their own roots or on grafted vines are superior for yield and yield components, as also for physical properties of bunches and berries and total carbohydrate content of the canes

Heavy metal stress tolerance in Enterobacter sp. PR14 is mediated by plasmid

115-121Last two decades have witnessed the significant exploitation of many plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) as bioinoculants and biocontrol agents (BCAs). However, PGPR with potential of producing multiple biocontrol traits along with heavy metal stress tolerance and ACC deaminase activity are expected to control phytopathogens and increase tolerance of crop to heavy metal stress, thus helping in bioremediation of heavy metal ions and reducing ethylene level in the root zone. The present work reports the production of multiple biocontrol traits like ammonia (NH3), hydrogen cyanide (HCN), siderophore (79%), ACC deaminase (0.8 µM/mg/h), chitinase (9.7 U/mL) and tolerance to heavy metal ions (3200 μg/mL) and trace minerals in Enterobacter sp. PR14 isolated from the model organic farm of Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences (SHUATS), Allahabad, India. Elimination of plasmid in the organism resulted in the loss of tolerance of heavy metal ions and trace elements, indicating the role of the plasmid in heavy metal tolerance

High Speed Modified Booth’s Signed 64x64 Bit Multiplier Using Wallace Structure by Radix-32

The Main objective of the implemented work is completely based on enhancing speed performance multiplication process using radix-32 modified Booth algorithm and Wallace Tree Structure. It is designed for fixed length 64x64 bit operands. In Wallace structure, 3:2and 4:2 Compressors are used which accumulate the partial products. The implemented modified Booth multiplier is verified and advantages over the existing multiplier are quantitatively analyzed. This implemented multiplier provides less delay 0.238 ns. Many researchers had been worked and presented the modified booth multiplier with optimized delay. In this paper, it has been shown that the implemented 64 bit multiplier provides better delay in comparison with those existing papers. A VHDL code has been written and successfully synthesized and simulated using Xilinx ISE 13.1 simulator software. Also partial products which are generated are less as compared to conventional multiplier. No. of logic blocks required for fast multiplication process has been reduced in terms of no. of slices in comparison with previous ones. DOI: 10.17762/ijritcc2321-8169.150712

Effect of Canopy Management Practices during forward Pruning on Berry Development and Photosynthesis in Tas-A-Ganesh Grapes

Effect of canopy manipulation during forward pruning on berry development and photosynthetic parameters was studied in Tas-A-Ganesh grape grafted onto Dogridge rootstock. Canopy manipulation including shoot thinning, leaf removal, shoot thinning with leaf removal, and shoot pinching, was done after forward pruning. Significant differences were observed in yield and quality. Shoot thinning to about 40 shoots per vine, with removal of three basal leaves, resulted in significantly higher yield, followed by that in shoot thinning alone. Lowest yield was recorded in the Control. Leaf removal drastically reduced bunch development affecting berry weight, diameter and length compared to other treatments. Among different canopy manipulation treatments, higher average bunch weight was recorded in shoot thinning plus leaf removal, whereas, lowest bunch weight was recorded with leaf removal alone. At harvest, the amount of total soluble solids in berries was low in leaf removal at pre-bloom stage, but increased in the treatment of shoot thinning with leaf removal, at the same stage. Different canopy manipulation treatments had significant impact on photosynthesis and transpiration rates. Overall results indicated that canopy manipulation practices such as shoot thinning, to retain 40 shoots per vine with or without leaf removal, followed by pinching, can be recommended to grape growers

Synergistic Effect of Azotobacter nigricans and Nitrogen Phosphorus Potassium Fertilizer on Agronomic and Yieldtraits of Maize (Zea mays L.)

Peer reviewe

DFT and experimental investigations on the photocatalytic activities of NiO nanobelts for removal of organic pollutants

NiO nanobelts synthesized using the hydrothermal method are explored for photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants like RhB, MO, MB, and CV. The XPS analysis confirmed the formation of the stoichiometric NiO nanobelts. Few micrometer long cubic crystalline NiO nanobelts of the average thickness of ∼75 nm delivered a bandgap of 4.07 eV. The FTIR studies revealed that the mesoporous NiO nanobelts delivered stable photocatalytic activities after controlled irradiation under a xenon lamp. The kinetic studies showed the 79.1, 82.7, 76.7, and 89% degradation of MO, MB, CV, and RhB after 140 min at the rate constants (k) of 0.007, 0.008, 0.009, and 0.012 min−1, respectively. Complementary first-principles Density Functional Theory (DFT) and scavenging studies revealed the chemical picture and influence of the , and photogenerated from NiO nanobelts in the photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes. These studies corroborate the use of the NiO nanobelts in the stable and eco-friendly photocatalytic degradation activities of a wide range of organic pollutants

Heavy metal stress tolerance in Enterobacter sp. PR14 is mediated by plasmid

Last two decades have witnessed the significant exploitation of many plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) as bioinoculants and biocontrol agents (BCAs). However, PGPR with potential of producing multiple biocontrol traits along with heavy metal stress tolerance and ACC deaminase activity are expected to control phytopathogens and increase tolerance of crop to heavy metal stress, thus helping in bioremediation of heavy metal ions and reducing ethylene level in the root zone. The present work reports the production of multiple biocontrol traits like ammonia (NH3), hydrogen cyanide (HCN), siderophore (79%), ACC deaminase (0.8 µM/mg/h), chitinase (9.7 U/mL) and tolerance to heavy metal ions (3200 μg/mL) and trace minerals in Enterobacter sp. PR14 isolated from the model organic farm of Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences (SHUATS), Allahabad, India. Elimination of plasmid in the organism resulted in the loss of tolerance of heavy metal ions and trace elements, indicating the role of the plasmid in heavy metal tolerance

Impact of heavy metal contamination in different soil towards microbial characteristics and nutrient availability

An intensive investigation for detecting source of the heavy metals contamination in different areas (within industry, at roadside, adjacent agriculture lands) of various industries located at two sites A & B were made. Co-relationshipswere determined for specificmetal contamination in leacheates at sites with total contents of heavy metal at source.At siteA, it was observed that the leached fractions were highly correlated with the total contents of all tested heavy metals showing same source of contamination, whereas at site B relation was obtained only in case of Mn i.e 0.99, Zn i.e 0.82 and 0.70 for Cu, while, rest had sparse relationship, showing that the variability in heavy metal contents was caused by the different sources of contamination. The soil samples showed different microbial groups (cfu), in the order Bacteria > Fungi > Actinomycetes > RhizobiumandAzotobacters. The results indicated that the lowavailability of nutrients (NPK) in soil could be due to the heavy metal contamination which reduced the beneficial microbes such as Rhizobia and Azotobacters in contaminated soil

Prox-imal Femoral Nail in Reverse Trochanteric Femoral Fractures: An Analysis of 53 Cases at One Year Follow-Up

Abstract Treatment of reverse oblique trochanteric femoral fractures poses a lot of challenges. There have been proponents of intramedullary devices as well as extramedullary devices. We present the results of proximal femoral nailing surgery performed for reverse obliquity intertrochanteric fractures using two proximal lag screws and a nail of 250 mm. There is prospective study of fifty three patients with AO/OTA 31 A-A3 fractures being treated by proximal femoral nailing in our institute after seeking approval from the Hospital ethics board. The quality of the reduction, the operative time, complications and the functional status of the patients were the parameters on which the results were evaluated. The mean Harris hip score was 76.66 (range 70 -93) and the mean Barthel activity score was 16.21 (range 12 -20). The average surgical time was 50 minutes and the mean consolidation time was 11.5 weeks. Intramedullary nailing with proximal femoral nails seems to be a good option in the treatment of reverse obliquity intertrochanteric fractures as against the various existing options available for the management