Biodegradation of Direct Red 5B, a textile dye by newly isolated Comamonas sp. UVS

Soil samples collected from the vicinity of "Manpasand textile industry", located near Ichalkaranji, India were studied for screening and isolation of bacterial strains capable of degradation of textile dyes. A potential strain was selected on the basis of rapid dye degradation and later identified as Comamonas sp. UVS. Comamonas sp. UVS showed 100% decolorization of Direct Red 5B (DR5B) dye at 40 degrees C and pH 6.5. The maximum Direct Red 5B concentration decolorized was 1100mg/l in nutrient broth within 125h. A numerical simulation with the Michaelis-Menten kinetics model gives an optimal value of 16.01+/-0.36mgdye/gcell/h for maximum rate (V(max)) and 7.97+/-0.21mg/l for the Michaelis constant (K(m)). The induction in the activities of laccase and LiP was observed during decolorization. These enzymes were inhibited by the addition of sodium azide. The biodegradation was monitored by UV-vis, FTIR spectroscopy and HPLC. The GCMS analysis indicated the presence of 7-benzoylamino-3-diazenyl-4-hydroxy-naphthalene-2-sulfonic acid in degraded product of the dye. The germination of Triticum aestivum seeds was inhibited with DR5B treatment but not with the treatment of dye degradation products.     

Vibrational properties of single-wall carbon nanotubes: a first-principles study

We present first-principles pseudopotential-based density functional theory (DFT) calculation of structures, full phonon dispersions and thermal properties of armchair single wall armchair carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) in the isolated and bundle forms. Comparison between the properties of isolated and bundled nanotubes is used to estimate the intertube interaction. We determine correlation between vibrational modes of a graphene sheet and of the nanotube to understand how rolling of the sheet results in mixing between modes and changes in vibrational spectrum. The radial breathing mode hardens with increasing diameter (or decreasing curvature). We estimate thermal expansion coefficient of nanotubes within a quasiharmonic approximation and identify the modes that dominate thermal expansion of some of these SWCNTs both at low and high temperatures.     

Transforming rice cultivation in flood prone coastal Odisha to ensure food and economic security

Flash floods leading to complete submergence of rice plants for 10–15 days is one of the major constraints for rice production, mainly in rainfed lowland areas. In India, 30% of the rice growing area (12–14 M ha) is prone to flash flooding with average productivity of only 0.5–0.8 t ha^?1. Coastal Odisha is one of the most flood prone areas of India where the paddy crop in the wet season is often devastated by flash floods, forcing farmers either to discontinue paddy cultivation or to revert to traditional varieties with very low yields. The flood tolerant variety, Swarna-Sub1 (SS1), was introduced through cluster demonstrations in some villages of the Bari block of Odisha in 2013. SS1 seeds were provided to 355 farmers in two villages affected by floods twice in 2013. The majority of the farmers cultivated SS1 in 2013 and about 75% of them persisted with the variety in 2014. There has been a steady and significant increase in paddy cultivation and yields per unit area between 2012 and 2014 and a sharp increase in paddy sales during 2013 and 2014. The present study showed that farmers preferred to cultivate low yielding traditional land races owing to their better flood tolerance and the unavailability of flood tolerant high yielding varieties (HYVs). Traditional varieties gave 30–42% higher yields than non-SS1 HYVs when flooding occurred. SS1 on the other hand offered a significant yield advantage of about twice that of traditional varieties, in both flooding and non-flooding years. There is an additional social advantage of SSI in that famers belonging to scheduled castes in flood prone villages, have greater numbers of plots that are exposed to prolonged floods. Thus they benefit proportionately more from the introduction of SS1.     

High-throughput analysis of multispectral images of breast cancer tissue.

Statistical analysis of genetic changes within cell nuclei that are far from the primary tumor would help determine whether such changes have occurred prior to tumor invasion. To determine whether the gene amplification in cells is morphologically and/or genetically related to the primary tumor requires quantitative evaluation of a large number of cell nuclei from continuous meaningful structures such as milk-ducts, tumors, etc., located relatively far from the primary tumor. To address this issue, we have designed an integrated image analysis software system for high-throughput segmentation of nuclei. Filters such as Beltrami flow-based reaction-diffusion, directional diffusion, etc., were used to pre-process the images resulting in a better segmentation. The accurate shape of the segmented nucleus was recovered using an iterative "shrink-wrap" operation. The study of two cases of ductal carcinoma in situ in breast tissue supports the biological observation regarding the existence of a preferential intraductal invasion, and therefore a common origin, between the primary tumor and the gene amplification in the cell-nuclei lining the ductal structures in the breast.     

Spatially resolved characterization of cellulose nanocrystal-polypropylene composite by confocal Raman microscopy

Raman spectroscopy was used to analyze cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) -polypropylene (PP) composites and to investigate the spatial distribution of CNCs in extruded composite filaments. Three composites were made from two forms of nanocellulose (CNCs from wood pulp and the nano-scale fraction of microcrystalline cellulose) and two of the three composites investigated used maleated PP as a coupling agent. Raman maps, based on cellulose and PP bands at 1098 and 1460 cm(-1), respectively, obtained at 1 μm spatial resolution showed that the CNCs were aggregated to various degrees in the PP matrix. Of the three composites analyzed, two showed clear existence of phase-separated regions: Raman images with strong PP and absent/weak cellulose or vice versa. For the third composite, the situation was slightly improved but a clear transition interface between the PP-abundant and CNC-abundant regions was observed, indicating that the CNC remained poorly dispersed. The spectroscopic approach to investigating spatial distribution of the composite components was helpful in evaluating CNC dispersion in the composite at the microscopic level, which helped explain the relatively modest reinforcement of PP by the CNCs.     

Development and characterization of triazine based dendrimers for delivery of antitumor agent

In the present study we developed the novel kind of triazine dendrimers by utilizing differential reactivity of the cyanuric chloride (triazine trichloride) which overcome the limitations associated with the others classes of dendrimers like toxicity, low yield, high synthesis cost etc. Triazine dendrimers were synthesized by divergent method using triazine trichloride as core and diethanolamine as branching unit to avoid the use of protecting group and functional group interconversion up to third generation. These hydroxyl terminated dendrimers were characterized by FTIR, 1HNMR, 13CNMR, ES mass spectroscopy, and by elemental analysis. The yield of pure G3 dendrimers was 63%. This novel dendrimers increases the aqueous solubility of hydrophobic drug Paclitaxel up to 0.562 mg/ml as well as showed control release behavior. Hemolytic and toxicology studies of this dendrimer in mice showed no adverse toxicity to the kidneys and the liver up to 200 mg/kg dose (i.p). Triazine being a hydrophobic compound, the core of this dendrimer is hydrophobic and supposed to easily incorporate the hydrophobic guest while presence of hydroxyl group on periphery increases its water solubility and reduces its toxicity; and thus it is useful in various fields like gene delivery, MRI contrasting agents, vaccines or as solubilization tool.     

Matrix Crack Detection in Composite Plate with Spatially Random Material Properties using Fractal Dimension

Fractal dimension based damage detection method is investigated for a composite plate with random material properties. Composite material shows spatially varying random material properties because of complex manufacturing processes. Matrix cracks are considered as damage in the composite plate. Such cracks are often seen as the initial damage mechanism in composites under fatigue loading and also occur due to low velocity impact. Static deflection of the cantilevered composite plate with uniform loading is calculated using the finite element method. Damage detection is carried out based on sliding window fractal dimension operator using the static deflection. Two dimensional homogeneous Gaussian random field is generated using Karhunen-Loeve (KL) expansion to represent the spatial variation of composite material property. The robustness of fractal dimension based damage detection method is demonstrated considering the composite material properties as a two dimensional random field.     

Experimental and first-principles studies of BiVO4/BiV1-xMnxO4-y n-n+ homojunction for efficient charge carrier separation in sunlight induced water splitting

Though bismuth vanadate (BiVO₄) is extensively used as a photoactive material, its performance in harnessing solar energy is limited by ineffective separation of photo-excited charge carriers. We demonstrate here a concept of n-n⁺ homojunction of BiVO₄/BiV_1-xMn_xO_4-y, which improves its charge separation efficiency. Using first-principles theoretical calculations, we determine the effect of Mn substitution on oxygen vacancy formation energies and associated changes in the electronic structure of BiVO₄. Showing that Mn substitution pushes the Fermi level of BiVO₄ towards its conduction band, we predict that the associated enhanced bending of bands at the homojunction (BiVO₄/BiV_1-xMn_xO_4-y) facilitates efficient separation of charge carriers. With Mott-Schottky experiments, we verify the increased band bending at the n-n⁺ homojunction, and show that the maximum photocurrent density measured in a sample with n-n⁺ homojunction is ten times higher than that obtained of the pristine sample. Secondly, Mn substitution in BiVO₄ also reduces the oxygen vacancy formation energy, promoting higher concentration of O-vacancies, further enhancing the photoelectrochemical response.     

Analysis of competition and market power in the wholesale electricity market in India

The electricity reforms were initiated in India with the objective of promoting competition in the electricity market. In order to promote competition, the Electricity Act 2003 was enacted and various policy initiatives were taken by the Government of India. Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) also facilitated competition through the regulatory framework of availability based tariff, Indian Electricity Grid Code, open access in inter-state transmission, inter-state trading and power exchanges. Despite these initiatives, electricity prices increased in the Wholesale Electricity Market in India (WEMI). This paper analyses the market structure and competitiveness in the WEMI. There are, of course, various potential reasons for the rise in the electricity price. This paper seeks to investigate, if market power was one of the reasons for increase in market prices. Concentration ratio, Herfindahl–Hirschman index, Supply Margin Assessment, and Residual Supply Index have been used to measure market power. This paper also uses the price–cost mark-up to examine, if exercise of market power led to higher margins. The analysis suggests that market power of firms may be part of the reason for the increase in electricity prices in WEMI. The study suggests various measures to increase competition in the WEMI.     

Processing of Alumina-Rich Iron Ore Slimes: Is the Selective Dispersion–Flocculation–Flotation the Solution We Are Looking for the Challenging Problem Facing the Indian Iron and Steel Industry?

Beneficiation of alumina rich iron ore slimes is a major challenge for the Indian iron ore industry. Considering the limits of gravity and magnetic separation processes in the relatively finer size range in terms of achieving adequate separation efficiency, selective flotation (with and without selective flocculation) of iron ore slimes, which is being used commercially in several countries for the beneficiation of iron ores, is worth exploring for the beneficiation of Indian iron ores. Based on the extensive work carried out in our laboratories, we have concluded that the design and development of highly selective reagents to achieve satisfactory separation of hematite and goethite from alumina containing minerals (gibbsite or kaolinite) in the ore and ore slimes, is the key to solving the challenging problem of processing alumina rich iron ores. Accordingly our research work has been focused on finding/designing selective reagents for iron oxide–gibbsite–kaolinite separation based on a molecular modeling computational approach developed by us for the design of mineral processing reagents. We present in this paper the results of our density functional theory computations to evaluate the interaction energies of a wide variety of different reagent functional groups such as carboxylic acid, hydroxamic acid, phosphonic acid, iminobismethyl phosphoric acid, xanthate and starch with hematite, gibbsite and kaolinite surfaces. Among all the reagents investigated so far, starch exhibits the highest selectivity towards the hematite surface with a difference in interaction energy of ~63 kcal/mol between hematite and gibbsite surfaces. Based on our earlier work which indicated polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) to be more selective dispersant for kaolinite compared to conventional sodium silicate and sodium hexametaphosphate, we have investigated selective flocculation–dispersion of natural iron ore slimes (three different samples obtained from three different mines in India) with PVP and starch reagent combination. The results are promising. While the work is still in progress, the implications of our recent results are discussed in the context of the challenging problem of processing of alumina rich iron ore slimes in India.