Webometric Analysis of National Importance Libraries and Archives under the Ministry of Culture, India

The study aimed to analyse the websites of national importance libraries and archives, comes in group namely Knowledge Resources Heritage, under Ministry of Culture, India, which includes 16 websites. The websites were analysed based on languages, rich files, social media presence and network diagrams. Tools used to collect required data were Google Search Engine, Alexa Internet Tool and SocScibot4. The study found that English and Hindi languages are predominantly used in the website content. National Archives of India and Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti has the highest number of rich files, about 506 and 488, respectively. Also, the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies has the lowest bounce rate, i.e. 50%, which is the best among the websites. Through the network diagram, it is visible that very few websites are linked to others. National Archives of India connected to 4 other websites is significant in number. Websites need to improve their SEO results for better visibility

Sustainable Changes in the Contents of Metallic Micronutrients in First Generation Gram Seeds Imposed by Carbon Nano-onions: Life Cycle Seed to Seed Study

Plant-nanocarbon interactions have been mostly explored for enhanced germination, cell growth, and plant growth, with a limited study on the productivity of seeds under controlled conditions. The present finding reports the sustainable impacts of biowaste (wood wool) derived nanocarbons as carbon nano-onions (CNOs) on the entire life cycle of gram plants to obtain the first generation seeds (FGSs) as “seed to seed”. A water-soluble version of CNOs as water-soluble carbon nano-onions (wsCNOs) at 0 (control), 10, 20, and 30 μg mL -1 were used for the germination of gram seeds, for the initial 10 days only. Followed by transferring of 10 days old baby plants into the soil to complete their natural life cycle (∼4 months). FGSs harvested from the wsCNOs treated plants showed a significant increase in their yield and health with respect to their individual weight, overall dimensions, enhanced protein, stored electrolytes and metallic micronutrient contents. The protein content increased from 96 to 170 μg mL -1, and the level of electrolytic conductivity increased from 2.2 to 3.4 mS in the FGSs, harvested from the plants treated with 0 (control) to 30 μg mL -1 of wsCNOs, respectively. wsCNOs used here were presumably acting as a stimulant to increase the contents of metallic micronutrients (Mn, Mo, Cu, Zn, Fe, and Ni) in FGSs without showing its inside accumulations as a contaminant examined by transmission electron microscope (TEM) and Raman spectral analysis. In the future, a sustainable approach for the utilization of wood waste as a nanofertilizer could provide a possible approach in agricultural science to overcome the shortage of stored nutrients inside the seeds and also to limit the excessive use of fertilizers.</p

Surface-passivated, soluble and non-toxic graphene nano-sheets for the selective sensing of toxic Cr(vi) and Hg(ii) metal ions and as a blue fluorescent ink

Non-toxic amine-functionalized soluble graphene nano-sheets (f-GNS) were synthesized by using an old and well-known simple organic procedure. The f-GNS exhibited enhanced optical properties, such as strong blue fluorescence emission with a high value of quantum yield (∼13%). The O,O′-bis-(2-aminopropyl) polypropylene glycol-block-polyethylene glycol-block-polypropylene glycol 800 as block polymeric amine (BPA)-passivized surface of f-GNS exhibited high aqueous solubility and excitation-dependent fluorescence emission behavior with a strong photo-stability performance. These f-GNS were tested for the significant selective sensing of toxic metal ions Cr(vi) and Hg(ii) from various tested toxic metal ions. The sensing experiment was supported by cyclic voltammetry analysis. The dual metal ion sensing method based on fluorescence showed the limit of detection (LOD) of ∼56 nM for Cr(vi) and ∼45 nM for Hg(ii) through a fluorescence quenching process. f-GNS were found to be non-toxic when tested over Escherichia coli (E.coli) cells. Additionally, the strong blue emission properties of f-GNS enabled their use as a suitable blue fluorescent ink under UV light illumination

Soluble non-toxic carbon nano-rods for the selective sensing of iron(iii) and chromium(vi)

Herein, we report a simpler functionalization of the CNR by the amine (2,2′-(ethylenedioxy)-bis(ethylamine)) (H 2NCH 2CH 2OCH 2CH 2OCH 2CH 2NH 2 (EDA)) molecules as a surface passivating agent to achieve soluble functionalized carbon nano-rods (f-CNR). The surface-functionalized fluorescent f-CNR exhibited the quantum yield value of ∼16% and were used as a fluorescent probe for the selective detection of the Cr(vi) and Fe(iii) ions in a homogeneous aqueous phase based on fluorescence quenching. In particular, the limits of the detection for both metal ions were obtained to be ∼43 nM for Fe(iii) and ∼11 nM for Cr(vi), which were quite significant in aqueous media. Moreover, the f-CNR showed non-toxicity and was biocompatible with Escherichia coli (E. coli) (ATCC 25922) cells when tested up to 9 mg mL -1.</p

Sunlight-Induced Selective Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue in Bacterial Culture by Pollutant Soot Derived Nontoxic Graphene Nanosheets

Herein, a potential approach is described for assessing the ecological importance of the graphitic nanocarbons isolated from dirty, dangerous black pollutant particulate material. A simple experiment of photodegradation and a toxicological test were done using the natural sunlight as a source of energy and the pollutant petrol soot derived water-soluble graphene nanosheets (wsGNS) as photocatalyst to achieve complete degradation of pollutant organic dye as methylene blue (MB). Compared to the artificial source of visible light (60W tungsten bulb), the sunlight-induced photodegradation using wsGNS show ∼1.5 times higher rate of photodegradation. The toxicological test confirmed the nontoxic behavior of wsGNS against the two different types of bacterial strains: Gram-negative and Gram-positive cells, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, respectively. Moreover, wsGNS are precisely used for the selective photodegradation of MB without harming the bacterial growth from the pool of MB-bacterial strains. Nontoxicity and selectivity along with the improved in photodegradation efficiencies by wsGNS under the influence of sunlight are the most significant and sustainable perspectives of the present finding.</p