Effect of soybean plant phenols and flavonoid on the mean leaf area consumed by Spodopteralitura and Spilosoma obliqua larvae

The aim of the present investigation was to study the effect of soybean plant phenols and flavonoid content on the mean leaf area consumed by Spodopteralitura and Spilosoma obliqua larva. Phenols and flavonoid content in methanolic leaf extract of thirty three genotypes of soybean were determined by spectrophotometrically. Thehighest and lowest phenolic content were found in genotypes JS-20-41(2.2±0.073 mg/g) and CSB 904 (0.45 ±0.11 mg/g), respectively. While the highest and lowest flavonoid content was found in genotypes SL 979 4.686± 0.062 mg QE/ g, respectively. In correlation study a highly significant negative correlation was observed between mean leaf area consumed (cm2) by S. litura, phenol content (-0.741 ) and flavonoid content (-0.737) similarly a highly significant negative correlation was observed between mean leaf area consumed by S. obliqua, phenol content (-0.728) and flavonoid content (-0.736) in leaves. Hence it can be concluded that, the genotypes which were having higher phenol and flavonoid content in their leaves offered resistance against S. litura and S. boliqua in soybean

Multi-enzyme cascade reactions using protein-polymer surfactant self-standing films

Hierarchical self-assembly is used to fabricate bio-catalytically active, self-supporting protein-polymer surfactant films capable of sustaining two-or three-enzyme cascade reactions

Novel Multifunctional Porous Liquid Composite for Recyclable Sequestration, Storage and In-situ Catalytic Conversion of Carbon Dioxide

Novel Multifunctional Porous Liquid Composite for Recyclable Sequestration, Storage and In-situ Catalytic Conversion of Carbon Dioxide Archita Bhattacharjee, Raj Kumar and Prof. K. P. Sharma* Department of Chemistry, IIT Bombay, Powai, India * E-mail: [email protected] Keywords: Porous liquid composite, mesoporous liquid, hollow silica nanorods, CO2 capture, CO2 catalytic conversionAbstract: Permanent pores combined with fluidity renders flow processability to porous liquids otherwise not seen in porous solids. Although, sequestration of different gases has recently been shown in porous liquids, there is still adearth of studies for deploying in-situ chemical reactionsto convert adsorbed gases into utility chemicals in this phase. Here, a facile method for the design and development of a new class of solvent-less porous liquid composite which, as shown for the first time, can catalyze the conversion of adsorbed gaseous molecules into industrially relevant product, is shown. The recyclable porous liquid composite comprising polymer-surfactant modified hollow silica nanorods and carbonic anhydrase enzyme not onlysequesters (5.5 ccg-1 at 273 K and 1 atm) and stores CO2,but is also capable of driving an in-situ enzymatic reaction for hydration of CO2 to HCO3- ion, subsequently converting it CaCO3 due to reaction with pre-dissolved Ca2+. Light and electron microscopy combined with x-ray diffraction reveals the nucleation and growth of calcite and aragonite crystals. Moreover, the liquid-like property of the porous composite material can be harnessed by executing the same reaction via diffusion ofcomplimentary Ca2+ and HCO3- ions through different compartments separated by an interfacial channel.</div

Analysis of Soil and Crop Parameters for the Development of Power Tiller-Operated Groundnut Digger

Groundnut (Arachis hypogea L.) is a major oilseed crop and holds an important place in the Indian agricultural economy. Odisha occupies 6th place in the major groundnut-producing states of the country with a total production of 0.388 MT and is grown in both Kharif and Rabi seasons. Harvesting is one of the major unit operations in groundnut cultivation and is mechanically harvested by tractor-operated diggers but their use is limited because of small land holdings and high capital costs and is not economical for small and marginal farmers of the state. However, the groundnut diggers to match with power tillers are not commercially available, therefore, efforts were made to develop a single-row groundnut digger operated by a power tiller. The study was conducted to relate the soil and crop parameters for the digger design, which influences the harvesting of groundnut. The design of a power tiller-operated groundnut digger to harvest a single row of groundnut requires the data of soil parameters (soil type, bulk density, cone index and soil moisture content) and crop parameters (plant population, plant height, pod zone, pod spreading radius, taproot length, taproot diameter, pod-vine ratio), suitable for different groundnut varieties. It was found that the majority of groundnut varieties were grown in sandy soils and harvested at 12-15 % soil moisture for more yield with a minimum power requirement. It was observed that for all types of groundnut varieties the plant population, plant height, pod zone depth, pod spreading radius, taproot length, taproot diameter and the number of pods per plant varies from 24-29/m2, 31-49.18 cm, 5.79-6.86 cm, 5.87-9.15 cm, 11.70-13.78 cm, 4.64-5.84 cm and 11-27/plant, respectively

Efficient Carbon Capture and Mineralization Using Porous Liquids Comprising Hollow Nanoparticles and Enzymes Dispersed in Fatty Acid-Based Ionic Liquids

Deploying permanent porosity in the liquid phase provides significant opportunities for innovative industrial usage. Liquid-like novel porous materials can thus be employed in continuous flow processes related to toxic gas capture and conversion. Porous liquids (PLs) are a new class of materials that have been used for the capture, sequestration, and separation of various gases. Although, in the past few years, research in this field has garnered a lot of interest, materials that not only combine high fluidity with permanent porosity but also exhibit catalytic activity are still scarce. Here, we show a simple and facile strategy to develop another class of highly stable PLs obtained by the dispersion of surface-engineered hollow silica nanorods in sterically hindered fatty acid (laurate or myristate) and phosphonium-based ionic liquids at room temperature. The PLs show high thermal stability (up to 340 °C) with a rheological behavior suggesting high fluidity (viscosity ∼1.8 Pa•s at 25 °C). Furthermore, the PLs can adsorb gaseous carbon dioxide up to 7.4 folds higher than the pure ionic liquids at low pressure and 25 °C. In a significant advancement, we show that carbonic anhydrase enzyme can be incorporated and stabilized in the PLs to allow in situ biomineralization of carbon dioxide into bicarbonate ions and further conversion to CaCO3. Polarized light and scanning electron microscopy along with PXRD and FTIR studies confirm the coexistence of the calcite, aragonite, and vaterite polymorphs of CaCO3. These findings provide new insights into making fluid-like materials with permanent porosity for low-pressure carbon dioxide uptake and enzyme-based carbon mineralization for the ultimate utility-based materials approach