Significance of secondary metabolites and enzymes secreted by Trichoderma atroviride isolates for the biological control of Phomopsis canker disease

Phomopsis theae Petch, the causative agent of Phomopsis canker diseases, is one of the major constrain in tea plants. The present study deals with development of efficient biological control agent against canker based on the secretion of several secondary metabolites and defense enzymes under in vitro conditions. Among the isolates evaluated, the antifungal compounds obtained from Tv1 Trichoderma atroviride was able to inhibit the growth of pathogen and showed 100% inhibition at concentration of 500 ppm. Synthesis of extracellular enzymes such as amylase, cellulase, polygalacturonase, protease and chitinase correlate with the antagonist activity of the isolates and maximum enzymatic activity was observed for Tv1 isolates followed by Tm3 and Tc3 isolates. The antifungal compounds responsible for the biological control activity were characterized through gas chromatography - mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) analysis.Key words: Trichoderma atroviride, Phomopsis theae, tea plants, antifungal compounds, enzymatic activity

Nanostructured RuO2 on MWCNTs: Efficient catalyst for transfer hydrogenation of carbonyl compounds and aerial oxidation of alcohols

Multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)/ruthenium dioxide nanoparticles (RuO2NPs) composite was prepared by a straightforward ‘dry synthesis’ method. After being well characterized, the prepared composite was used as a nanocatalyst (RuO2/MWCNT) for the transfer hydrogenation of carbonyl compounds. The excellent adhesion of RuO2NPs on the anchoring sites of MWCNTs was confirmed by TEM and Raman analyses. The weight percentage (7.97 wt%) and the chemical state (+4) of Ru in RuO2/MWCNT was confirmed by EDS and XPS analyses, respectively. It was found that the RuO2/MWCNT has a higher specific surface area of 189.3 m2 g?1. Initially the reaction conditions were optimized and then the scope of the catalytic system was extended with a wide range of carbonyl compounds. The influence of the size of RuO2NPs on the transfer hydrogenation of carbonyl compounds was also studied. The RuO2/MWCNT is highly chemoselective, heterogeneous in nature, reusable and highly stable. Owing to the high stability of the used catalyst (u-RuO2/MWCNT), it was further calcinated at high temperature to obtain RuO2 nanorods (NRs) hybrid MWCNTs. Then the hybrid material was used as a catalyst (r-RuO2/MWCNT) for the aerial oxidation of alcohols and the result was found to be good.ArticleApplied Catalysis A. 484(22):84-96 (2014)journal articl

Investigation on Microstructure, Hardness, Wear behavior and Fracture Surface Analysis of Strontium (Sr) and Calcium (Ca) Content A357 Modified Alloy by Statistical Technique

The aluminum alloy are extensively used in several industrial applications. Stir casting is one of the most frequently accepted methods. In the present investigation, how the microstructure, mechanical and wear mechanics of A357 alloy were impacted by the presence of Sr/Ca was investigated. The outcomes revealed that addition of elements (Sr/Ca) enhance the microstructural features. Uniform dispersal of particulates (Sr/ Ca) in Al357 alloy and also the modified structure of silicon (Si) were observed. Hardness of modified alloy was evaluated by using hardness tester. A result reveals that hardness of modified alloy was improved by increasing in the Sr/Ca content. The wear rate of modified alloy was evaluated by using Pin and Disc wear test rig. Test trials were conducted according to Taguchi technique. L27 array was implemented for evaluation of data. The effect of varying parameters (factors) on wear loss and COF were analyzed using ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) method. ANOVA outcomes shown that, the Sr/Ca content has a better significant impact on wear behavior and COF of the modified alloy. A wear fractography result shows the internal fracture structure of a wornout surface which was studied by SEM analysis

Awareness and practices on eye effects among people with diabetes in rural Tamil Nadu, India

Background: Recently eye effects of Diabetes Mellitus (DM) are an important concern due to increase in its trend especially in developing countries.Objectives: To assess the awareness related to eye effects of DM and its prevention practices among people with diabetes.Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted from January 2013 to April 2013 in Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu, India. All 105 people with diabetes from the service area of two sub-centres were included. Data on socio demographic details, history of DM, awareness on systemic complications of DM, effects of DM on eyes, practice on regular blood check-up, eye examination and source of information were collected by interview technique using a structured questionnaire. Univariate and multiple logistic regression analysis were done to assess the association of awareness of eye examination with socio-demographic variables.Results: Mean age of the study population was 56.7 years. About 93 people with diabetes (88.6%) tested their blood sugar at least once in every 3 months. About 80 people with diabetes (76.2%) were aware of at least one systemic complication of DM. Although 78 (74.3%) people with diabetes were aware that DM could affect the eyes, majority of this group (68, 87.2%) did not know the specific effects of DM on eyes. In this group, about 28(35.9%) people with diabetes were not aware of the reasons for eye effects, while others mentioned that persistent high blood sugar level (n=26, 33.3%), longer duration of DM (n=14, 17.9%) and lifestyle (n=10, 12.8%) were the reasons for the eye effects of DM. Only 31 (29.5%) of them knew that their eyes must be regularly examined. People with diabetes who had post-secondary and above (>10th standard) level of education had significantly higher awareness on examination of eye (Adjusted OR=19.63).Conclusion: Although awareness of people with diabetes on systemic effects of DM was more, their awareness on specific eye effects and need for regular screening was low. Systematic efforts are required to increase awareness on eye effects and importance of regular screening in this population.Keywords: Awareness, diabetes, eye effects, India, practic

IKP Based Biometric Authentication Using Artificial Neural Network

The primary objective of this paper is to verify individuals as indicated by their finger surfaces. We propose to remove Finger Texture (FT) highlights of the two finger pictures (center, ring) from a low goal contactless hand picture utilizing LBP strategy. The utilization of Inner-Knuckle-Print (IKP) in biometric recognition is the most broadly proposed validation work. The unique characteristics of the IKP give us the requirement for recognizable proof. During the IKP filtering process, the image created by the scanner might be partially unique. This paper proposes artificial neural networks for effectively coordinating procedures to IKP validation. By utilizing the Back-Propagation method, the algorithm coordinates IKP and relates them to a novel accomplished client. After grouping, the procedure restores to the best counterpart for the given finger impression variables

An Efficiency Study On Water Extraction From Air Using Thermophoresis Method

Only three-dimensional of the world’s water is H2O, and common fraction of that's tucked away in frozen glaciers or otherwise out of stock for our use. As a result, some 1.1 billion individuals worldwide lack access to water, and a complete of two.7 billion realize water scarce for a minimum of one month of the year.An AWG extracts water from air.Water vapour within the air are often extracted by condensation - cooling the air below its saturation point, exposing the air to desiccants. At the same time applying thermophoresis method where the system is cooled to its max and surrounding atmospheric air is forcefully heated such that during there contact water droplets formation is increased and efficiency is increased which would be inversely proportional to the time taken. Even if applying cascade system of refrigeration, the efficiency of water generation from humid air is increased

Path Planning Optimization for Agricultural Spraying Robots Using Hybrid Dragonfly – Cuckoo Search Algorithm

Finding collision-free paths and optimized path coverage over an agricultural landscape has been a critical research problem among scientists and researchers over the years. Key precision farming strategies such as seeding, spraying fertilizers, and harvesting require special path planning techniques for efficient operations and will directly influence reducing the running cost of the farm. The main objective of this research work is to generate an optimized sequential route in an agricultural landscape with the nominal distance. In this proposed work, a novel Hybrid Dragonfly – Cuckoo Search algorithm is proposed and implemented to generate the sequential route for achieving spraying applications in greenhouse environments. Here the agricultural routing problem is expressed as a Travelling Salesman Problem, and the simulations are performed to find the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. The proposed algorithm has generated better results when compared with other computational techniques such as PSO in terms of both solution quality and computational efficiency