A Dynamic Inertial Weight Strategy in Micro PSO for Swarm Robots

Wireless Personal Communications - A relatively new area of research and development is Swarm Robotics. It is a part of the swarm intelligence field. In the proposed paper, we shall use swarm...     

Biosynthesised silver and copper nanoformulation as foliar spray to control bird's eye spot disease in tea plantations

Tea leaves have economic importance in preparation of the popular beverage of the world “tea”. Bird’s eye spot disease of tea leaves creates significant revenue loss in tea trade of many tea plant cultivating countries. Management of this disease by silver (AgNps) and copper (CuNps) nanoparticles that are biosynthesised by efficient antagonists was studied. The biocontrol agents like Pseudomonas fluorescens, Trichoderma atroviride and Streptomyces sannanensis were evaluated for nanoparticle synthesis against Cercospora theae isolates namely KC10, MC24 and VC38. Initially, the freshly prepared extracellular AgNps showed high disease control (59.42 – 79.76%), but the stability of antagonistic property in stored nanoparticles were significantly high in CuNps (58.71 – 73.81%). Greenhouse studies on various treatments imposed also showed reduced disease incidence percentage of 13.4, 7.57 and 10.11% when treated with CuNps synthesized by P. fluorescens, T. atroviride and S. sannanensis respectively. Various treatment schedule in fields suggested the use of Bionanocopper@1.5 ppm for highest yield (3743 kg/ha) with 66.1% disease prevention. The results suggest the use of biosynthesised CuNps using Streptomyces sannanensis for controlling the tea plant pathogens causing foliar disease with higher stability in releasing the antagonistic activity during sporadic disease incidence of bird’s eye spot disease in tea plants.Inspec keywords: silver, copper, crops, plant diseases, nanoparticles, air pollution, agrochemicals, nanobiotechnologyOther keywords: biosynthesised silver, biosynthesised copper, nanoformulation, foliar spray, bird eye spot disease control, tea plantations, tea leaves, economic importance, revenue loss, tea trade, tea plant cultivating countries, silver nanoparticles, AgNps, copper nanoparticles, CuNps, biocontrol agents, nanoparticle synthesis, Cercospora theae isolates, KC10, MC24, VC38, greenhouse studies, antagonistic property, P. fluorescens, T. atroviride, S. sannanensis, fungicides, synthetic nanomaterials, bionanomaterials, disease prevention, green leaf yield, BionanoCu, tea plant pathogens, foliar disease     

Quickly locating efficient, equitable deals in automated negotiations under two-sided information uncertainty

This paper develops an automated negotiation procedure inclusive of mechanism design and agent design for bilateral multi-issue negotiations under two-sided information uncertainty. The proposed negotiation mechanism comprises a protocol called MUP (Monotonic Utility-granting Protocol) and a matching strategy called WYDIWYG (What You Display Influences What You Get). The proposed preference elicitation procedure makes the agents faithful surrogates of the user they represent while the proposed Frontier Tracking Proposal Construction Algorithm (FTPCA) makes them learn the opponent's flexibility in negotiation and respond appropriately. The mechanism design and the agent design together help in locating efficient and equitable deals quickly. The efficiency, stability, simplicity, distribution symmetry and incentive compatibility of the proposed procedure are demonstrated through negotiation simulation experiments.     

A new fluoride mediated synthesis of mesoporous silica and their usefulness in controlled delivery of duloxetine hydrochloride a serotonin re-uptake inhibitor

A new type of mesoporous silica nanoparticle (MSN) was synthesized in fluoride media via sol–gel technique using TritonX 100 and Tween-20. The surface area and pore volume of the MSN particles were modified by varying the concentration of Tween-20. The prepared MSN nanoparticles with large surface area and pore volume (T-2, T-3) were selected to accommodate the model drug duloxetine hydrochloride (DX) for evaluation of their drug-loading and release abilities. Calcined and DX loaded nanoparticles were characterized by Brunauer–Emmett–Teller technique (BET), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric (TG) analysis and UV-diffuse reflectance (UV-DRS). In vitro release studies proved that the particle displays an initial burst release followed by sustained release for up to 140 h. From the studies it is evident that the synthesized particle may be useful as a carrier for sustained release of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs).     

Use of poultry litter for biodegradation of soil contaminated with 2,4- and 2,6-dinitrotoluene

Pseudomonas sp. and Pseudomonas putida can utilize dinitrotoluene (DNT) as N-source after the enzymatic removal of nitro groups from the aromatic ring. Addition of nutrients is known to stimulate the biodegradation process. Poultry litter has consortia of microorganisms (including Pseudomonas) along with many nutrients. The objective of this research was to study the biodegradation of 2,4- and 2,6-DNT contaminated soil (from Badger Army Ammunition Plant) using poultry litter. Complete biodegradation of both 2,4- and 2,6-DNT in the soil was observed after 1-day interaction with poultry litter. No degradation was observed using autoclaved litter.     

Sesame lignans enhance the thermal stability of edible vegetable oils

The effect of sesame lignans on the thermal and storage stability of edible vegetable oils (soybean-SBO, sunflower-SFO and ricebran-RBO) was studied by (i) determining the total free radical scavenging activity (RSA) using DPPH, (ii) % total tocol retention, (iii) lignan profile and (iv) PUFA composition. The order of RSA and retention of total tocols of oils heated up to 120 min at frying temperature (FT) were RBO = SBO > SFO and RBO > SBO > SFO, respectively. Heating SBO or SFO at FT after addition of 1.2% lignans increased RSA of SBO to a greater extent than that of SFO, and increased retention of total tocols only in SBO. However, addition of lignans did not further increase the RSA of RBO. Heating oils with added lignans, increased sesamol and decreased sesamolin while sesamin was relatively resistant to heat. These findings suggest that sesame lignans may have potential application as natural antioxidants in the edible oil and food industry.     

Influence of amylases and xylanase on chemical, sensory, amylograph properties and microstructure of chapati

Effect of enzymes on the quality of chapati - the flat unleavened bread made from different wheat varieties was studied. Doughs treated with fungal α-amylase, bacterial α-amylase, xylanase and combination of bacterial α-amylase and xylanase were examined for chapati making quality. The shear force of chapatis treated with bacterial α-amylase, xylanase, fungal α-amylase and combination of bacterial α-amylase and xylanase were in the range of 2.5-2.8 N, 2.3-2.5 N, 3.5-3.7 N and 2.2-2.5 N, respectively, and they were found to be lower and significantly different than that of their corresponding controls (4.7-6.5 N). Soluble starch and soluble amylose content of the chapatis prepared from dough treated with amylases were significantly different than that of control. Chapatis prepared from dough treated with bacterial α-amylase had shown higher amount of soluble amylose (around 0.5 g/100 g) compared to other treatments (0.2-0.25 g/100 g). In chapatis prepared from dough treated with bacterial α-amylase, and combination of bacterial α-amylase and xylanase, the amylograph paste viscosities were 38-66 BU, and were very much lower and significantly different from that of control (232-390 BU) may be due to the residual enzyme activities. The microstructures of chapatis prepared from dough treated with enzymes were uniform with distorted starch granules surrounded with protein matrix, while in control, the starch granules were spherical with protein matrix overlapping on one another to form aggregation. Chapatis prepared from dough treated with enzymes had softer texture, better pliability and higher overall quality scores compared to control.     

Investigation of antimicrobial properties and in-vitro bioactivity of Ce3+-Sr2+dual-substituted nano hydroxyapatites

Dual doped calcium apatite has been widely focused as it enhances the osteoconductive property for the possible applications in orthopedic and dental implants. In this work, we investigate the antimicrobial and bioactive properties of cerium/strontium (Ce³⁺/Sr²⁺) co-substituted hydroxyapatite (HA) nanoparticles synthesized by sol-gel assisted precipitation method. The structure, morphology, functional groups, photoluminescence, and thermal stability of the developed systems are examined. The comparative studies performed among the pure HA, Sr²⁺, and Ce³⁺-substituted HA nanoparticles illustrate higher antibacterial activity with lowered apatite-forming ability and biocompatibility for the Ce³⁺-substituted HA. However, the Ce³⁺/Sr²⁺co-substituted HA exhibits better biocompatibility, apatite-forming ability, and good antimicrobial properties. Sr²⁺ ion inclusion leads to better biological properties and compromise the cytotoxic nature of the Ce³⁺-HA. In addition, the Ce³⁺/Sr²⁺-HA nanoparticles prevent thermal decomposition up to 700°C, pointing also toward the possibility of this co-substituted HA in bone implant applications.     

Helices on Interdomain Interface Couple Catalysis in the ATPPase Domain with Allostery in Plasmodium falciparum GMP Synthetase

GMP synthetase catalyses the conversion of XMP to GMP through a series of reactions that include hydrolysis of Gln to generate ammonia in the glutamine amidotransferase (GATase) domain, activation of XMP to adenyl-XMP intermediate in the ATP pyrophosphatase (ATPPase) domain and reaction of ammonia with the intermediate to generate GMP. The functioning of GMP synthetases entails bidirectional domain crosstalk, which leads to allosteric activation of the GATase domain, synchronization of catalytic events and tunnelling of ammonia. Herein, we have taken recourse to the analysis of structures of GMP synthetases, site-directed mutagenesis and steady-state and transient kinetics on the Plasmodium falciparum enzyme to decipher the molecular basis of catalysis in the ATPPase domain and domain crosstalk. Our results suggest an arrangement at the interdomain interface, of helices with residues that play roles in ATPPase catalysis as well as domain crosstalk enabling the coupling of ATPPase catalysis with GATase activation. Overall, the study enhances our understanding of GMP synthetases, which are drug targets in many infectious pathogens.