Exact Wave Packet Dynamics of Singlet Fission in Unsubstituted and Substituted Polyene Chains within Long-Range Interacting Models

Singlet fission (SF) is a potential pathway for significant enhancement of efficiency in organic solar cells (OSC). In this paper, we study singlet fission in a pair of polyene molecules in two different stacking arrangements employing exact many-body wave packet dynamics. In the non-interacting model, the SF yield is absent. The individual molecules are treated within Hubbard and Pariser-Parr-Pople (PPP) models and the interaction between them involves transfer terms, intersite electron repulsions and site-charge--bond-charge repulsion terms. Initial wave packet is constructed from excited singlet state of one molecule and ground state of the other. Time development of this wave packet under the influence of intermolecular interactions is followed within the Schr\"odinger picture by an efficient predictor-corrector scheme. In unsubstituted Hubbard and PPP chains, $2{}^1A$ excited singlet state leads to significant SF yield while the $1{}^1B$ state gives negligible fission yield. On substitution by donor-acceptor groups of moderate strength, the lowest excited state will have sufficient $2{}^1A$ character and hence results in significant SF yield. Because of rapid internal conversion, the nature of the lowest excited singlet will determine the SF contribution to OSC efficiency. Furthermore, we find the fission yield depends considerably on the stacking arrangement of the polyene molecules.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, 4 table

Model for Triplet State Engineering in Organic Light Emitting Diodes

Engineering the position of the lowest triplet state (T1) relative to the first excited singlet state (S1) is of great importance in improving the efficiencies of organic light emitting diodes and organic photovoltaic cells. We have carried out model exact calculations of substituted polyene chains to understand the factors that affect the energy gap between S1 and T1. The factors studied are backbone dimerisation, different donor-acceptor substitutions and twisted geometry. The largest system studied is an eighteen carbon polyene which spans a Hilbert space of about 991 million. We show that for reverse intersystem crossing (RISC) process, the best system involves substituting all carbon sites on one half of the polyene with donors and the other half with acceptors.Comment: 7 Pages; 10 Figure

Influence of Foliar Applied Gaba on Growth And Yield Contributing Characters of White Gourd (Benincasa Hispida)

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of GABA on growth, yield and yield attributes of white gourd. The concentrations of GABA were 0.5 mg L-1, 1.0 mg L-1, 1.5 mg L-1 and 2.0 mg L-1 along with the control (no hormone). GABA was applied as foliar spray at 60 days after planting. Result showed that GABA had positive regulatory effect on growth, yield and yield contributing characters of white gourd. GABA @ 1.0 mg L-1 was the best for vine length, leaf length, leaf breadth, number of internodes, number of nodes at which first male and female flower appeared, number of male and female flowers per plant, number of seeds per fruit, weight of 100 seeds, seed length, number of fruits per plant, weight of fruits per plant and total yield of fruits. It was concluded that GABA @ 1.0 mg L-1 as foliar spray could be the suitable concentration for enhancing growth and yield of white gourd

Development of an Efficient in Vitro Regeneration System for Endangered Wild Orange Citrus Chrysocarpa L.

A method for in-vitro propagation of wild type Indian orange (Citrus chrysocarpa L.) was developed by shoot organogenesis from seed. Mature seed embryos were used as explants and treated with different hormones and plant growth regulators on MS medium for callus, shoots and roots induction. For callus inductio

Mature seed-derived callus of the model indica rice variety Kasalath is highly competent in Agrobacterium-mediated transformation

We previously established an efficient Agrobacterium-mediated transformation system using primary calli derived from mature seeds of the model japonica rice variety Nipponbare. We expected that the shortened tissue culture period would reduce callus browning—a common problem with the indica transformation system during prolonged tissue culture in the undifferentiated state. In this study, we successfully applied our efficient transformation system to Kasalath—a model variety of indica rice. The Luc reporter system is sensitive enough to allow quantitative analysis of the competency of rice callus for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. We unexpectedly discovered that primary callus of Kasalath exhibits a remarkably high competency for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation compared to Nipponbare. Southern blot analysis and Luc luminescence showed that independent transformation events in primary callus of Kasalath occurred successfully at ca. tenfold higher frequency than in Nipponbare, and single copy T-DNA integration was observed in ~40% of these events. We also compared the competency of secondary callus of Nipponbare and Kasalath and again found superior competency in Kasalath, although the identification and subsequent observation of independent transformation events in secondary callus is difficult due to the vigorous growth of both transformed and non-transformed cells. An efficient transformation system in Kasalath could facilitate the identification of QTL genes, since many QTL genes are analyzed in a Nipponbare × Kasalath genetic background. The higher transformation competency of Kasalath could be a useful trait in the establishment of highly efficient systems involving new transformation technologies such as gene targeting

Bt Eggplant Project in Bangladesh: History, Present Status, and Future Direction

The purpose of this article is to provide information on the history, accomplishments, and future direction of the Bt brinjal (eggplant) program in Bangladesh, formerly under the Agricultural Biotechnology Support Project II, now the South Asia Eggplant Improvement Partnership (SAEIP). The India-based Maharashtra Hybrid Seed Company (Mahyco) developed an eggplant expressing Cry1Ac (EE-1) for control of the eggplant fruit and shoot borer (EFSB). In a partnership among Mahyco, USAID, Sathguru Management Consultants and Cornell University EE-1 was provided to the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) who bred it into local varieties. After regulatory approval, four varieties were distributed to 20 farmers who harvested Bt brinjal in 2014. Adoption in subsequent years has increased rapidly so that, in 2018, 27,012 farmers used this technology. This article provides background information on the process leading up to current adoption levels, the level of control of EFSB achieved and the economic benefits of Bt brinjal. Efforts on stewardship, farmer training and communication are discussed. In order to ensure the long-term future of the partnership, we discuss the need to enhance involvement of the private sector in the production and stewardship of Bt eggplant. Bt brinjal is the first genetically engineered crop to be commercially released in Bangladesh, and other GE crops are in the pipeline. Hence, success of the Bt brinjal partnership is likely to affect the future of other GE crops in Bangladesh, as well as other parts of the world where biotechnology is needed for food security and environmental safety

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for Acute Pediatric Respiratory Failure

This article is made available for unrestricted research re-use and secondary analysis in any form or by any means with acknowledgement of the original source. These permissions are granted for the duration of the World Health Organization (WHO) declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic.The use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) to support children with acute respiratory failure has steadily increased over the past several decades, with major advancements having been made in the care of these children. There are, however, many controversies regarding indications for initiating ECMO in this setting and the appropriate management strategies thereafter. Broad indications for ECMO include hypoxia, hypercarbia, and severe air leak syndrome, with hypoxia being the most common. There are many disease-specific considerations when evaluating children for ECMO, but there are currently very few, if any, absolute contraindications. Venovenous rather than veno-arterial ECMO cannulation is the preferred configuration for ECMO support of acute respiratory failure due to its superior side-effect profile. The approach to lung management on ECMO is variable and should be individualized to the patient, with the main goal of reducing the risk of VILI. ECMO is a relatively rare intervention, and there are likely a minimum number of cases per year at a given center to maintain competency. Patients who have prolonged ECMO runs (i.e., greater than 21 days) are less likely to survive, though no absolute duration of ECMO that would mandate withdrawal of ECMO support can be currently recommended