Structural and Electrical properties of ZnO Nanorod based dye sensitized solar cell

ThePreparation of nanorod involves simple and novel design of sol-gel process. Further, by using the prepared nanorods,working electrode will be prepared and it will be sensitized with ruthenium dye. A platinum coated FTO electrode will beused as a counter electrode. Dye sensitized solar cell will be assembled by using the working electrode and counterelectrode. FE-SEM and UV characteristics have been carried out at 250ᵒC, 350ᵒC&450ᵒC. The size and band gap ofnanorod at these temperatures has been found out to be 1μm and 2.95eV, 200nm and 2.86eV, 100nm and 2.79eVrespectively. The power conversion efficiency and the fill factor have been obtained as 2.72% and 0.722 respectively

Bioremediation of mercury: not properly exploited in contaminated soils!

© 2017, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. Contamination of land and water caused by heavy metal mercury (Hg) poses a serious threat to biota worldwide. The seriousness of toxicity of this neurotoxin is characterized by its ability to augment in food chains and bind to thiol groups in living tissue. Therefore, different remediation approaches have been implemented to rehabilitate Hg-contaminated sites. Bioremediation is considered as cheaper and greener technology than the conventional physico-chemical means. Large-scale use of Hg-volatilizing bacteria are used to clean up Hg-contaminated waters, but there is no such approach to remediate Hg-contaminated soils. This review focuses on recent uses of Hg-resistant bacteria in bioremediation of mercury-contaminated sites, limitation and advantages of this approach, and identifies the gaps in existing research

Transport of trace gases via eddy shedding from the Asian summer monsoon anticyclone and associated impacts on ozone heating rates

The highly vibrant Asian summer monsoon (ASM) anticyclone plays an important role in efficient transport of Asian tropospheric air masses to the extratropical upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS). In this paper, we demonstrate long-range transport of Asian trace gases via eddy-shedding events using MIPAS (Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding) satellite observations, ERA-Interim reanalysis data and the ECHAM5–HAMMOZ global chemistry-climate model. Model simulations and observations consistently show that Asian boundary layer trace gases are lifted to UTLS altitudes in the monsoon anticyclone and are further transported horizontally eastward and westward by eddies detached from the anticyclone. We present an event of eddy shedding during 1–8 July 2003 and discuss a 1995–2016 climatology of eddy-shedding events. Our analysis indicates that eddies detached from the anticyclone contribute to the transport of Asian trace gases away from the Asian region to the western Pacific (20–30°N, 120–150°E) and western Africa (20–30°N, 0–30°E). Over the last two decades, the estimated frequency of occurrence of eddy-shedding events is  ∼ 68% towards western Africa and  ∼ 25% towards the western Pacific. Model sensitivity experiments considering a 10% reduction in Asian emissions of non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) were performed with ECHAM5–HAMMOZ to understand the impact of Asian emissions on the UTLS. The model simulations show that transport of Asian emissions due to eddy shedding significantly affects the chemical composition of the upper troposphere ( ∼ 100–400hPa) and lower stratosphere ( ∼ 100–80hPa) over western Africa and the western Pacific. The 10% reduction of NMVOCs and NOx Asian emissions leads to decreases in peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) (2%–10% near 200–80hPa), ozone (1%–4.5% near  ∼ 150hPa) and ozone heating rates (0.001–0.004Kday−1 near 300–150hPa) in the upper troposphere over western Africa and the western Pacific

Future changes in tropical cyclone activity in the North Indian Ocean projected by high-resolution MRI-AGCMs

Open Access at publisher's web site: http://www.springerlink.com/content/b682734237171631

Differentiating Non-Motor Symptoms in Parkinson's Disease from Controls and Hemifacial Spasm

10.1371/journal.pone.0049596PLoS ONE82

Hippocampus Shape Analysis and Late-Life Depression

Major depression in the elderly is associated with brain structural changes and vascular lesions. Changes in the subcortical regions of the limbic system have also been noted. Studies examining hippocampus volumetric differences in depression have shown variable results, possibly due to any volume differences being secondary to local shape changes rather than differences in the overall volume. Shape analysis offers the potential to detect such changes. The present study applied spherical harmonic (SPHARM) shape analysis to the left and right hippocampi of 61 elderly subjects with major depression and 43 non-depressed elderly subjects. Statistical models controlling for age, sex, and total cerebral volume showed a significant reduction in depressed compared with control subjects in the left hippocampus (F1,103 = 5.26; p = 0.0240) but not right hippocampus volume (F1,103 = 0.41; p = 0.5213). Shape analysis showed significant differences in the mid-body of the left (but not the right) hippocampus between depressed and controls. When the depressed group was dichotomized into those whose depression was remitted at time of imaging and those who were unremitted, the shape comparison showed remitted subjects to be indistinguishable from controls (both sides) while the unremitted subjects differed in the midbody and the lateral side near the head. Hippocampal volume showed no difference between controls and remitted subjects but nonremitted subjects had significantly smaller left hippocampal volumes with no significant group differences in the right hippocampus. These findings may provide support to other reports of neurogenic effects of antidepressants and their relation to successful treatment for depressive symptoms

UMP/CMPK Is Not the Critical Enzyme in the Metabolism of Pyrimidine Ribonucleotide and Activation of Deoxycytidine Analogs in Human RKO Cells

Human UMP/CMP kinase was identified based on its enzymatic activity in vitro. The role of this protein is considered critical for the maintenance of pyrimidine nucleotide pool profile and for the metabolism of pyrimidine analogs in cells, based on the in vitro study of partially purified enzyme and recombinant protein. However, no detailed study has yet addressed the role of this protein in nucleotide metabolism in cells.Two stable cell lines in which UMP/CMP kinase (mRNA: AF087865, EC 2.7.4.14) can be either up-regulated or down-regulated were developed using Tet-On Gene Expression Systems. The amount and enzymatic activity of UMP/CMP kinase extracted from these two cell lines can be induced up by 500% or down by 95-98%. The ribonucleotides of endogenous pyrimidine as well as the metabolism of exogenous natural pyrimidine nucleosides and their analogs were not susceptible to the altered amount of UMP/CMP kinase in these two stable RKO cell lines. The level of incorporation of pyrimidine nucleoside analogs, such as gemcitabine (dFdC) and troxacitabine (L-OddC), into cellular DNA and their potency in inhibiting cell growth were not significantly altered by up-regulation or down-regulation of UMP/CMP kinase expression in cells.The UMP/CMP kinase (EC 2.7.4.14) expressed in RKO cells is not critical for the phosphorylation of (d)CMP and the maintenance of natural nucleotide pools. It also does not play an important role in the activation of dFdC and L-OddC. The increase by 500% or decrease by 95-98% in the levels of UMP/CMP kinase do not affect steady state levels of dFdC and L-OddC in RKO cells. Overall, the activity and possible mechanisms of recombinant UMP/CMP kinase expressed in the in vitro system can not be extended to that of UMP/CMP kinase expressed in a cell system or an in vivo system