Gujarat University

Herein, we designed two fluorescent tetrasubstituted benzene sulfonyl appended Thiacalix[4]arene receptors named L¹ and L², which sensitively and selectively detect Sulfosulfuron among other herbicides and pesticides. The detection limit (LOD) was found to be 0.21 ppm and 0.35 ppm, and the enhancement constant (Ks) was determined to be 7.07 X 10⁴ M⁻¹ and 5.55 X 10⁴ M⁻¹ for L¹ and L², respectively. Using the non-linear regression method, the association constant was obtained as 2.1 X 10⁴ M⁻¹ and 2.23 X 10⁴ M⁻¹ whereas, the binding ratio was found to be 1:1 for both L¹ and L², respectively. Additionally, the interference studies show the selective nature of receptors for Sulfosulfuron among its sulfonylurea family. To further confirm the interaction mechanism, ¹H-NMR spectroscopy, and a computational investigation were carried out, which validates the 1:1 binding ratio. The receptors were found to be recyclable in nature with simple acid–base treatment. This new approach of using supramolecules as fluorescent probes for sensitive and selective detection of herbicides is rare in the literature.

In present article, the polycrystalline composites, BaxY(1-x)TixFe(1-x)O3 (BYTFx), were synthesized through the solid-state reaction method with different concentration of x. The prepared composites were characterized by XRD, FTIR, SEM and UV–Visible spectroscopy. The crystallographic studies of doping effect of BaTiO3 (BTO) in YFeO3 (YFO) are studied through detailed analysis of XRD data. Scherer and W–H plot analyses have been carried out to estimate the crystallite size and amount of the strain present in the composites. The results of XRD show that unit cell is contracting and the structural symmetry is varying from orthorhombic to tetragonal in nature on doping of BTO. The surface morphology of the compounds is studied through SEM micrographs. The bond formation and distortions induced by doping are probed through FTIR analysis. The force constant and bond length are estimated through detailed analysis of FTIR data. The obtained results promise us for better dielectric properties of compounds. Band gap of prepared compound is estimated through UV–Vis data analysis. The obtained wide band gap nature as semiconductors make them suitable as photorefractive materials.

A rapid and easy approach for producing very stable gold nanoparticles has been discovered. Calix[4]pyrrole tetrahydrazide (CPTAH) was utilized effectively in the synthesis of gold nanoparticles as a reducing and stabilizing agent. These functionalized AuNPs were characterized by Surface Plasmon Resonance, Transmission Electron Microscopy, Selected Area Electron Diffraction, and Energy Dispersive X-ray techniques. CPTAH-AuNPs possessed a particle size of 11±2 nm and are highly stable at pH 7.0 for more than 150 days. The selectivity and sensitivity of CPTAH-AuNPs as a fungicide sensor was assessed for Metalaxyl, Mancozeb, Tebuconazole, Tricyclozole, Dimoxystrobin, Kresoxim-methyl, and Carbendazim, amongst which Dimoxystrobin (DMX) was sensed exclusively with naked eyes by means of aggregation of CPTAH-AuNPs with a detection limit of the order of 5 ppm using “Turn-on” fluorescence enhancement. Additionally, the CPTAH-AuNPs were found to be effective cytotoxic agent against the human cervix cancer cell line KB-3-1 with IC50 value of 64.63 μg/mL which admits the employability of CPTAH-AuNPs in the study of development of anti-cancer drug.

Karma is Self-Generated: A man's actions create his future karmas to be experienced, why wait seven more births to achieve spiritual maturity when you could achieve it in existing birth? That is the idea behind writing paper on karma management. When we begin to apply principles of management in managing karma, our individual karma is intensified. Quite often our actions are based upon an emotional reaction to what someone has done or said to us. The consequences of such actions are often not clearly and carefully thought about. For example, someone insults you, so you insult them back. If you did reflect, you would see that the consequence of harming someone else with your words in the present is for you to be harmed again in the future by someone else's words. This behaviour creates an endless cycle of being harmed and harming others, which is only stopped by considering the consequences before acting and not harming back. Mahatma Gandhi once said, "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind." So, too, instinctive retaliation ultimately makes the whole world angry. The principle of considering the karmic consequences pertains equally to positive actions. The wisest approach is to not simply react to things that happen to us, but to take time to consider the karmic repercussions of all actions before we take them. The habit of considering the consequences before acting can be developed at an early age when parents and teachers utilize positive discipline methods to help children face the natural and logical consequences of their actions. Each mark is a reward or a stumbling block. Learn to look at the step you have made and the step you have not made yet. This brings you close to Me." Gurudeva elucidates our fourth principle: "It is our reaction to karmas through lack of understanding that creates most karmas we shall experience at a future time." Tirukural: "All suffering recoils on the wrongdoer himself. Paper is an attempt for managing your own karma by utilizing the correct understanding of karma to refine your actions and reactions in life.

This study describes On-Orbit absolute radiometric calibration for the Ocean Colour Monitor2 (OCM2) onboard Oceansat-2 satellite through a vicarious calibration experiment performed at the Great Rann of Kutch calibration site in Gujarat, India, in February 2022. To achieve accurate and consistent calibration for the OCM2 channels, a reflectance-based calibration method was used which relies on synchronous in-situ measurements of surface reflectance and atmospheric parameters at the time of satellite overpass. In this exercise, the 6 SV (Second Simulation of a Satellite Signal in the Solar Spectrum Vector) radiative transfer (RT) model was used to simulate the Top Of Atmosphere (TOA) spectral radiance for the OCM2 channels. The on-orbit radiometric performance/changes were derived by comparing the 6 SV simulated TOA radiance with those of the OCM2 Level 1B (L1B) data product. The results indicate that the average gain for band 1 to band 8 was found in the range from 0.88 to 1.23 and the relative error from 1.58% to 18.79% for the OCM2 sensor. However, the Root-Mean-Square-Error (RMSE) between the OCM2 measured and the 6 SV simulated TOA radiance data range from 0.17 (µW cm⁻² sr⁻¹ nm⁻¹) at 443 nm to 2.04 (µW cm⁻² sr⁻¹ nm⁻¹) at 620 nm. Furthermore, we analysed in detail the various uncertainties in this approach emanating from surface reflectance, atmospheric conditions (ozone, water vapour and aerosol optical depth), aerosol-type assumption in the RT model, BRDF, and inherent accuracy of the 6 SV RT model. The overall uncertainty was within 6% estimated using the reflectance-based calibration method.

The carotenoid pathway in plants has been altered through metabolic engineering to enhance their nutritional value and generate keto-carotenoids, which are widely sought after in the food, feed, and human health industries. In this study, the aim was to produce keto-carotenoids by manipulating the native carotenoid pathway in tobacco plants through chloroplast engineering. Transplastomic tobacco plants were generated that express a synthetic multigene operon composed of three heterologous genes, with Intercistronic Expression Elements (IEEs) for effective mRNA splicing. The metabolic changes observed in the transplastomic plants showed a significant shift towards the xanthophyll cycle, with only a minor production of keto-lutein. The use of a ketolase gene in combination with the lycopene cyclase and hydroxylase genes was a novel approach and demonstrated a successful redirection of the carotenoid pathway towards the xanthophyll cycle and the production of keto-lutein. This study presents a scalable molecular genetic platform for the development of novel keto-carotenoids in tobacco using the Design–Build–Test–Learn (DBTL) approach. Graphical Abstract This study corroborates chloroplast metabolic engineering using a synthetic biology approach for producing novel metabolites belonging to carotenoid class in industrially important tobacco plant. The synthetic multigene construct resulted in producing a novel metabolite, keto-lutein with high accumulation of xanthophyll metabolites. This figure was drawn using BioRender (https://www.biorender.com).

Indiscriminate use of antibiotics to treat microbial pathogens has caused emergence of multiple drug resistant strains. Most infectious diseases are caused by microbes that are capable of intercommunication using signaling molecules, which is known as quorum sensing (QS). Such pathogens express their pathogenicity through various QS-regulated virulence factors. Interference of QS could lead to decisive results in controlling such pathogenicity. Hence, QS inhibition has become an attractive new approach for the development of novel drugs. Many quorum sensing inhibitors (QSIs) of diverse origins have been reported. It is imperative that more such anti-QS compounds be found and studied, as they have significant effect on microbial pathogenicity. This review attempts to give a brief account of QS mechanism, its inhibition and describes some compounds with anti-QS potential. Also discussed is the possibility of emergence of quorum sensing resistance.

Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) have the potential to promote plant growth under extreme environmental conditions. The purposes of the present study were first to isolate and identify drought tolerant ACC deaminase producing PGPR from rhizosphere soil of cluster bean (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba), and second to study the effect of selected bacterial isolates on plant growth, nodulation and soil properties of cluster bean under drought. Rhizosphere bacterial isolates were tested for their drought tolerance ability, ACC deaminase activity and other PGP attributes such as the production of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), ammonia, HCN, siderophore and phosphate solubilization. The selected isolates were identified by 16S rRNA sequencing analysis. These selected isolates were further evaluated for plant growth promoting traits and other attributes, such as ethylene emission, osmolytes accumulation, nutrients uptake, soil nutrient availability and soil enzymes activities under drought stress. Three isolates were positive for ACC deaminase activity and identified as Bacillus sonoresis (KM1), Psuedomonas stutzeri (AK17) and Paenibacillus polymyxa (KM6). Under drought stress, inoculation with AK17 and KM6 isolates significantly improved plant growth, RWC and lowered the ethylene emission as compared to uninoculated plants. These isolate also helped in mitigating the adverse effects of drought stress in Cyamopsis by enhancing the accumulation of proline, glycine betaine and decreasing lipid peroxidation. Availability of soil nutrients and soil enzymes activities were also increased in treated plants. These findings show that isolates AK17 and KM6 helps in improving tolerance of cluster bean seedling and can act as potent bioinoculants for crops cultivated under water-stressed conditions.

Co-cultures of bacteria are more metabolically flexible and more tolerant to changes in the environment than single cultures. In order to test for plant growth promotion in a medicinal herb Anethum graveolens L, potent phosphate-solubilizing rhizobacteria were selected, characterized and assessed for their compatibility with each other. Molecular identification of isolates was made by 16s rRNA sequence, and they were identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosaNJC4 (OP289324), Serratia marcescens NJC21 (OP289323) and Bacillus spp. Dual species consortia, namely, Bacillus spp. + Serratia marcescens NJC21 (T1), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa NJC4 + Serratia marcescens NJC21 (T2), were tested for their ability to produce multiple plant beneficial activities such as phosphate solubilization, and ammonia and indole acetic acid production. The best isolate and consortium were evaluated for plant growth promotion activity. A plant treated with consortia T-2 seemed most effective in seed emergence at 84.66%, which was four times superior to the control. Growth and yield characters, along with all different rhizobacterial treatments, were examined by principal component analysis (PCA), where PC1 can explain 51.37% of the total variance and PC2 can explain 26.75%. PC1 was associated with wet biomass, chlorophyll b, and total chlorophyll content, which reflect the strong influence of consortia T-1. At the same time, PC2 was found to be related to dry biomass and chlorophyll a content. This study lends credence to the theory that microbial consortiums consisting of more than one efficient strains may be more effective than single cultures in boosting the increase of agricultural output in a sustainable way.

Advanced remote sensing technologies, such as light detection and ranging (LiDAR), offer significant potential to mapping the alpine treeline ecotone (ATE) based on its actual definition (tree height ≥ 3 m) and contribute to the generation of baseline data for future change detection investigations. We propose an approach for combining LiDAR-derived absolute tree height data with elevation data to delineate the ATE in Uttarakhand, India. The approach was implemented using observations from the recently launched Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation system and validated with field measurements. The LiDAR-derived treeline was compared with the traditional normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) treeline. The tree-line derived from LiDAR was found to have root mean square error of ∼60 m with respect to the ground verified treeline location. The NDVI treeline was overestimated in comparison to the LiDAR treeline by an average surface distance of 290, 232, 257, and 237 m in the south, north, west, and east aspects, respectively. It is observed that the overestimation was higher at the lowest and highest elevation zones. We prove that LiDAR-based treeline mapping is an efficient method to delineate alpine treelines at a landscape scale.

Several fields like biological, medical, public health, agricultural sciences, etc., require circular balanced repeated measurements designs in a less unequal number of repeated measurements than the number of treatments. Also, the availability and high cost of experimental subjects in these fields prefer the design in fewer experimental units. However, balancing the carryover effects of the treatments in a minimal number of experimental subjects is one of the problems in this case. In this paper, several new series of minimal circular nearly strongly balanced RMDs in periods of two and three different sizes are constructed. The proposed construction of designs has high efficiency and therefore they can save the cost of experimentations due to smaller number of experimental subjects. Most of the designs are very useful because of the unavailability of strongly balanced RMDs for these combinations of parameters. A list of sets of shifts for the construction of minimal circular nearly SBRMDs has also been mentioned in appendix.

In recent years, certain environmental stresses in the agriculture system have gained attention due to their deleterious influence on the crop production, crop protection and soil health. Crop productivity is severely affected by certain biotic and abiotic stresses, and its prevalence is predicted to be enhanced under environmental fluctuations and climate change worldwide. Increased incidence of abiotic stresses prompting adversely plant growth and productivity in crops, thus global food safety is being witnessed around the world. The abiotic stresses like drought, heavy metal and salts directly or indirectly influence the global environmental pollution and reduce the agricultural productivity. These abiotic stress factors include chemical pollutants, drought (water deficit), flooding, heavy metal toxicity, high and low temperature, nutritional imbalance, salinity, UV radiation, light, etc. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) show a dynamic role in plant growth promotion, plant hormone production, improvement of plant nutritional status, crop protection, enhancement of soil fertility and the reduction of the stress-related damage without environmental contamination. Implementation of PGPR as inoculants is a measure to conflict stresses in agricultural fields, thereby enhancing global food production. In general, applying various abiotic stress-tolerant PGPR with multiple plant growth-promoting attributes could improve the abiotic stress tolerance of crop. Future agricultural production to feed all of the world’s population in these stresses affected agricultural environments, thus requiring the development of stress-tolerant crops. The capabilities of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) to promote plant growth and deliver protection from environmental stresses could be used as a very inexpensive, environmentally friendly and promising approach for mitigating the adverse effects of various environmental stresses on crops.

Resistive switching (RS) behavior in mixed oxide insulators has shown a great promise as memristors or non-volatile resistive random-access memory (RRAM) applications. For dilute magnetic oxide multilayers, a novel approach of controlled defects induced and the magnetic field control of RS behavior is proposed. Resistive switching in Bi 0.6 Sr 0.4 FeO 3 /CoFe 2 O 4 /LaNiO 3 (BSFO /CFO /LNO) multilayer heterostructures has been investigated as a case study. All oxide junctions consisting of conducting LaNiO 3 (LNO) bottom electrode and BSFO-CFO active layers were fabricated by using chemical solution deposition. A set of samples were irradiated with 150 MeV Ag ¹¹⁺ ions for three different ion fluence of ~ 1×10 ⁺¹¹ ions/cm ² , 1×10 ⁺¹² ions/cm ² and 5×10 ⁺¹² ions/cm ² . Polycrystalline phase pure films with smooth, crack free surfaces were observed for pristine and irradiated samples. Optical spectroscopy revealed a decrease in the transmittance upon increasing ion fluence due to increase in the light scattering centres. The optical band gap showed a systematic decrease from 2.09 eV to 1.65 eV with increasing ion fluence. Room temperature I-V characteristics showed consistent and pronounced bipolar switching for all samples below ± 5 V. Upon applied magnetic fields of 0.58 T, the resistive switching ratios were found to increase significantly and were further tuned by 150 MeV Ag ¹¹⁺ ion beam irradiations. The magnetic field control of electrical transport properties in the controlled defect assisted oxide heterojunctions offers new insights to the existing understanding of oxide-based RS mechanism.

COVID-19 vaccine has emerged as the most powerful weapon against the spread of the coronavirus. Therefore, the management of the vaccine inventory is undoubtedly the most influential and important task for the global distribution of the vaccine. This paper is an attempt to model the vaccine inventory system having time-varying holding costs and partially backlogged shortages. The concept of fuzzy set and cloud pentagonal fuzzy number has been incorporated to make the models more realistic and applicable. Models are solved and validated through numerical examples and graphical representation. Further, sensitivity analysis has been done to identify the most sensitive parameters of all. Finally, managerial insights and conclusions have been drawn to make the vaccine inventory system more robust.

Recent developments in heterogeneous nanocatalysis have illustrated the great strides metal nanoparticles (NPs) have made due to their several significant features. However, the major lingering challenge has been their deactivation in organic reactions by migration-coalescence largely due to their high surface energy. In this context, various supports materials have been designed to overcome the stability issues for metal NPs. Furthermore, the activity and selectivity could be simultaneously enhanced by taking advantage of the synergy between the metal NPs and the support material, like abundantly available inexpensive polystyrene resins (PSR). Herein, the recent developments on PSR-supported catalysts are deliberated for assorted organic reactions conducted under sustainable conditions. The salient advantageous attributes of nanocatalyst-adorned PSR are discussed in terms of their activity, recyclability, stability and selectivity for various organic transformations. Further, the enduring challenges associated with the PSR-supported nanocatalysts and future perspectives for further developments are explicated.

Background: Oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF), a premalignant condition of oral cavity is associated with usage of smokeless tobacco. The growing prevalence and cultural acceptance of consumption of flavored arecanut and related products along with traditional smokeless tobacco products are confounding the scenario. Objectives: To find out clinical staging of OSMF and correlate it with consumption of smokeless tobacco usage related factors among subjects with oral sub mucous fibrosis in Ahmedabad city. Methods: A cross sectional hospital-based study was conducted on 250 randomly selected clinically diagnosed OSMF subjects. The data regarding various demographic details and habit related factors was recorded in a pre-designed study proforma. The data obtained was statistically analyzed. Results: Among 250 OSMF subjects, 9% were having grade I, 32% were having grade II, 39% were having grade III and 20% were having grade IV OSMF. 81.6% of males and 18.4% of females were having OSMF. The youngest age when habit was initiated was around of 8 years which is alarming in nature. The lowest duration reported to develop OSMF was 6 months. Statistically significant difference was observed between gender, duration, chewing time, swallowing of tobacco juice and clinical staging of OSMF. Conclusion: It is alarming that around 70% of the total subjects of OSMF were in the younger age group. The community-oriented outreach programs along with strict policy formulation and implementation should be developed to curb the usage of arecanut and smokeless tobacco derivatives. Key words: arecanut, smokeless tobacco, OSMF.

Climatic variability causes loss of biodiversity in high-elevation ecosystems. Monitoring of biodiversity along the temperature-sensitive treeline ecotone in the Himalaya is necessary. The applications of information theory in understanding the patterns of biodiversity along the alpine treeline ecotone in the Himalaya are highlighted in the chapter. Spatially explicit monitoring of plant biodiversity using satellite remote sensing imagery and information theory was conducted. α-and β-diversity were estimated using high-resolution imagery of the MultiSpectral Instrument (MSI) onboard the Sentinel-2A satellite. The relationship between topography and biodiversity along the treeline ecotone in the Eastern Himalaya was studied. There was a statistically significant (p < 0.001) difference in the spectral Shannon’s entropy along the gradients of elevation, slope, and summits’ aspects. The highest biodiversity (Shannon’s entropy, 3.04) was observed in the 4000 to 4500 m elevation range. The chapter concludes with the limitations and prospects of remote sensing biodiversity along the treeline ecotone in the Himalaya from space.

Foodborne outbreaks urge public health domain to upgrade diagnosis by means of simpler, quicker, and more affordable pathogen detection methods. A molecular recognition probe against an analyte of interest makes up a biosensor, along with a method for turning the recognition event into a quantifiable signal. Single-stranded DNA or RNA aptamers are promising bio-recognition molecules for a range of targets, including a wide range of non-nucleic acid targets with which they are highly specific and affine. In the proposed study, 40 DNA aptamers were screened and analyzed interactions using in-silico SELEX procedures, which can selectively interact with active sites at the extracellular region of the Outer membrane Protein W (OmpW) of Vibrio Cholerae. Multiple modeling techniques, like protein structural prediction with I-TASSER, aptamer structural modeling using M-fold, RNA composer, protein-DNA docking using HADDOCK, and large-scale (500 ns) molecular dynamics simulations through GROMACS have been employed. Out of 40, six aptamers having lowest free energy were docked against the predicted active site at the extracellular region of OmpW. VBAPT4-OmpW and VBAPT17-OmpW, the two highest-scoring Aptamer-Protein complexes, were chosen for molecular dynamics simulations. VBAPT4-OmpW is quite unable to attain its structural local minima after 500 ns. But VBAPT17-OmpW is showing great stability and is not destructive even after 500 ns. RMSF, DSSP, PCA, and Essential Dynamics all provided additional confirmation. Current findings, combined with the fabrication of biosensor devices, could pave the way for an innovative pathogen detection platform with high sensitivity, along with an effective and low-impact curative strategy for corresponding diseases. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma

This study explored the structural and dielectric features of Zn0.94Tm0.01Cu0.05O (Tm = Mn, Cd) nanoparticles that were synthesized by the sol–gel auto-combustion method. With a modest amount of CuO phase, the single phase of nanoparticles has been confirmed for all samples. The Rietveld refinement of X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns confirms the hexagonal structure with the P63cm space group. Co-doping causes a decrease in crystallite size and a little improvement in unit cell volume when compared to Zn0.95Cu0.05O. The Raman spectra of the two samples are remarkably similar which supports the XRD results. The co-doping affected the formation of oxygen vacancies which alter its electrical characteristics and lowered the bandgap energy from 3.25 eV to 3.1 eV. This tuning of bandgap without much affecting the structural stability promises the application in stabilizing solar cells. Additionally, we noted the co-doping of Mn and Cd ion in Zn0.95Cu0.05O decreases the dielectric constant. Hence, it is potential candidate to minimize the power loss at high frequency and power applications. The hopping mechanism accounts for the rise in ac conductivity with frequency in the specified frequency range.

Hpa1 (a type of harpin) is involved in T3SS (Type III Secretion System) assembly in the infection mechanism by Xanthomonas Oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo). Hpa1 interacts with the plasma membrane components of plants thereby assisting effector proteins toward the cytoplasm, wherein effectors execute their pathological functions. Independently, harpins also induce hypersensitive response and systemic acquired resistance in plants. However, lack of knowledge regarding the plant–harpin interaction mechanism constrains the pathway of its agricultural application. Although an in vitro study proved that Hpa1 protein can interact with OsPIP1;3, a rice aquaporin, the structural basis of the interaction is yet to be discovered. The presented work is the first of its kind where an in silico approach is used for the PPI (protein–protein interaction) of harpin protein. The study discovered participation of Hpa1 N-terminal amino acids at the interface. Besides, MD simulation studies were performed to assess the stability. RMSD values were 0.35 ± 0.049, 0.73 ± 0.11, and 0.50 ± 0.065 nm for OsPIP1;3, Hpa1, and Hpa1-OsPIP1;3 complex, respectively. Additionally, Residue-wise fluctuations have also been studied post-MDS. Taken together, these findings not only give a solid foundation for a deeper knowledge of various interacting target molecules with Harpin protein orthologs but also bring a new avenue for the structural–functional relationship study of harpin proteins.