Use of micelles in photogalvanic cell for solar energy conversion and storage: Azur A-glucose system

Sodium lauryl sulphate (NaLS), tetradecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (TTAB) and Brij-35 were used in a photogalvanic cell containing azur A as a photosensitizer and glucose as a reductant for solar energy conversion and storage. The photopotential and photocurrent generated by the cell in the presence of NaLS were 811.0 mV and 1470 μA, respectively. The effect of variation of the concentrations of the surfactants on the electrical output, the fill factor, the conversion efficiency and the performance of the cell in the dark was studied in detail.     

Association of cerebral palsy with epilepsy

Fifty patients of various types of cerebral palsy were studied to find out an association between cerebral palsy, EEG abnormalities and development quotient. Seventy-six per cent patients had spastic cerebral palsy. Hypotonic cerebral palsy was the next common type (14%). Athetosis and ataxic forms were found to be rare (2% each). Epilepsy was associated with 56% patients. Clinical types of seizures observed were: Generalised tonic-clonic (43%), myoclonic (17.9%), generalised tonic (10.7%), partial simple (10.7%) and partial complex (17.9%). The incidence of seizures was highest in hypotonic type in which 85.7% had epilepsy. Mean developmental quotient of cerebral palsy patients was 34.9% with maximum retardation in hypotonic cerebral palsy (25.14%). Sixty per cent of patients had abnormal EEG, out of these hypotonic patients had maximum (70%) chances of EEG abnormality followed by spastic patients (55%). Developmental retardation was more severe statistically in the patients with abnormal EEG than normal EEG.     

Quality of dried coriander leaves as affected by pretreatments and method of drying

Coriander (coriandrum sativum), an annual herb/spice crop is widely used for culinary purpose In India, fresh coriander is abundantly available during winters from December to March but has very short shelf life even under refrigerated conditions. This leads to a marked scarcity in availability and a sharp rise in price in the lean period. During peak period, most of the crop is lost/wasted due to lack of proper post harvest processing techniques. The fresh green coriander (soft stems and leaves) if properly dried, packaged and stored may help in increasing its availability during lean periods at a lower price. Different pretreatments and methods were studied and evaluated on the basis of quality and rehydration characteristics. The best pretreatment was found to be dipping for 15 min in solution of 0.1% Magnesium chloride, 0.1% Sodium bicarbonate and 2.0% KMS in water at room temperature and the best method was drying in mini multi rack solar dryer.     

Convective Drying Kinetics of Red Chillies

The drying kinetics of four varieties of chillies (Pb-Lal, Pb-Guchhedar, Pb-Surkh, and CH-1) was studied. The chillies (pricked and unpricked) were pretreated in the dip sol solution. The treated chillies were dried in an automatic weighing experimental dryer at selected temperatures (45°, 50°, 55°, 60°, and 65°C). The results indicated that drying took place in the falling rate period. Out of three models considered, Page's model was found to be the most suitable for describing the drying behavior of chillies. The dependence of drying constant on temperature was analyzed using an Arrhenius equation. The variety Pb-Lal has the maximum value of activation energy (42.59 kJ/mol), which is also reflected in the reduced drying time for this variety. The results of quality studies of dried chillies in terms of capsaicin content and coloring matter indicated that the Pb-Lal variety had acceptable capsaicin content of 532.08 µg and coloring matter of 73.8 ASTA.     

Investigation of SrS under high pressure including the role of temperature

In this paper we focus on the structural and elastic properties of the B1 phase of SrS by using the modified TBP model, including the role of temperature. We have successfully obtained the phase transition pressures and volume changes at different temperatures. In addition elastic constants and anisotropy factor (A) of B1 phase of SrS at different temperatures are discussed. Our results are comparable with the previous ones at high temperatures and pressures. The elastic properties of the B1 phase of SrS have been discussed with various temperature and pressure. More over the thermal properties like Debye temperature, Thermal expansion coefficient (α) and Gruneisen parameter (γ) and anisotropy factor at high temperatures have also been discussed successfully.     

Use of essential oils and phytochemicals against the mycotoxins producing fungi for shelf-life enhancement and food preservation

Mycotoxin-producing fungi are a significant source of crop and food contamination, posing a significant threat to global food safety and security. Essential oils, plant extracts and phytochemicals have emerged as green preservatives to extend the shelf-life of foods due to their unique antimicrobial properties. Unlike conventional synthetic preservatives, they are a sustainable and safe way to preserve food with no or little harmful effects on the environment. Use of nanoformulations containing essential oils and phytochemicals offer enormous potential as a mitigation strategy to lower mycotoxin contamination incidences in food and crop with enhanced release behaviour to efficiently transport them to the target location for a rapid reaction without much impact from environmental variables. Hence, this review overviews various essential oils and phytochemicals utilized through nanoformulations to control the mycotoxigenic fungi, probable mechanism of actions involved as well as emerging mycotoxins and associated safety concerns to ensure food sustainability.     

Improvement in greenhouse solar drying using inclined north wall reflection

A conventional greenhouse solar dryer of 6 m² × 4 m² floor area (east-west orientation) was improved for faster drying using inclined north wall reflection (INWR) under natural as well as forced convection mode. To increase the solar radiation availability onto the product (to be dried) during extreme summer months, a temporary inclined wall covered with aluminized reflector sheet (of 50 μm thickness and reflectance 0.93) was raised inside the greenhouse just in front of the vertical transparent north wall. By doing so, product fully received the reflected beam radiation (which otherwise leaves through the north wall) in addition to the direct total solar radiation available on the horizontal surface during different hours of drying. The increment in total solar radiation input enhanced the drying rate of the product by increasing the inside air and crop temperature of the dryer. Inclination angle of the reflective north wall with vertical (β) was optimized for various selective widths of the tray W (1.5, 2, 2.5 and 3 m) and for different realistic heights of existing vertical north wall (h) at 25°N, 30°N and 35°N latitudes (hot climatic zones). Experimental performance of the improved dryer was tested during the month of May 2008 at Ludhiana (30.56°N) climatic conditions, India by drying bitter gourd (Momordica charantia Linn) slices. Results showed that by using INWR under natural convection mode of drying, greenhouse air and crop temperature increased by 1-6.7 °C and 1-4 °C, respectively, during different drying hours as compared to, when INWR was not used and saved 13.13% of the total drying time. By using INWR under forced convection mode of drying, greenhouse air and crop temperature increased by 1-4.5 °C and 1-3 °C, respectively, during different drying hours as compared to, when INWR was not used and saved 16.67% of the total drying time.     

MoWhi2 Mediates Mitophagy to Regulate Conidiation and Pathogenesis in Magnaporthe oryzae

Mitophagy refers to the specific process of degrading mitochondria, which is an important physiological process to maintain the balance of mitochondrial quantity and quality in cells. At present, the mechanisms of mitophagy in pathogenic fungi remain unclear. Magnaporthe oryzae (Syn. Pyricularia oryzae), the causal agent of rice blast disease, is responsible for the most serious disease of rice. In M. oryzae, mitophagy occurs in the foot cells and invasive hyphae to promote conidiation and infection. In this study, fluorescent observations and immunoblot analyses showed that general stress response protein MoWhi2 is required for mitophagy in M. oryzae. In addition, the activation of the autophagy, pexophagy and cytoplasm-to-vacuole targeting (CVT) pathway upon nitrogen starvation was determined using the GFP-MoATG8, GFP-SRL and MoAPE1-GFP strains and the ΔMowhi2 mutant in these backgrounds. The results indicated that MoWhi2 is specifically required for mitophagy in M. oryzae. Further studies showed that mitophagy in the foot cells and invasive hyphae of the ΔMowhi2 was interrupted, leading to reduced conidiation and virulence in the ΔMowhi2 mutant. Taken together, we found that MoWhi2 contributes to conidiation and invasive growth by regulating mitophagy in M. oryzae.     

Convective Drying Kinetics of Red Chillies

The drying kinetics of four varieties of chillies (Pb-Lal, Pb-Guchhedar, Pb-Surkh, and CH-1) was studied. The chillies (pricked and unpricked) were pretreated in the dip sol solution. The treated chillies were dried in an automatic weighing experimental dryer at selected temperatures (45°, 50°, 55°, 60°, and 65°C). The results indicated that drying took place in the falling rate period. Out of three models considered, Page's model was found to be the most suitable for describing the drying behavior of chillies. The dependence of drying constant on temperature was analyzed using an Arrhenius equation. The variety Pb-Lal has the maximum value of activation energy (42.59 kJ/mol), which is also reflected in the reduced drying time for this variety. The results of quality studies of dried chillies in terms of capsaicin content and coloring matter indicated that the Pb-Lal variety had acceptable capsaicin content of 532.08 µg and coloring matter of 73.8 ASTA.     

ZnO/PPy Hybrid Heterojunction as an Ultraviolet Photosensor

The electrodeposition method was used to deposit a zinc oxide (ZnO) layer on an indium tin oxide substrate. Polypyrrole (PPy) was deposited also by the electrodeposition method on the same ZnO layer to form a ZnO/PPy interface. Scanning electron microscopy was performed to investigate the morphology of the organic–inorganic interface. The p–n junction so formed was subjected to electrical studies. The junction was found to be sensitive to exposure to ultraviolet light, which increased the junction’s current density. The diode was found to have an open-circuit voltage (V _oc) of 0.518 V and a short-circuit current density (J _sc) of 9.86 × 10^?7 A/cm². The fill factor was estimated to be 0.37 with a rectification ratio of 93. Photoluminescence studies revealed quenching of the excitonic emission at the ZnO/PPy interface. The interface is thus found to be responsible for the effective separation of charge carriers.