Evidence of microRNAs origination from chloroplast genome and their role in regulating Photosystem II protein N (psbN) mRNA.

The microRNAs are endogenous, regulating gene expression either at the DNA or RNA level. Despite the availability of extensive studies on microRNA generation in plants, reports on their abundance, biogenesis, and consequent gene regulation in plant organelles remain naVve. Building on previous studies involving pre-miRNA sequencing in Abelmoschus esculentus, we demonstrated that three putative microRNAs were raised from the chloroplast genome. In the current study, we have characterized the genesis of these three microRNAs through a combination of bioinformatics and experimental approaches. The gene sequence for a miRNA, designated as AecpmiRNA1 (A. esculentus chloroplast miRNA), is potentially located in both the genomic DNA, i.e., nuclear and chloroplast genome. In contrast, the gene sequences for the other two miRNAs (AecpmiRNA2 and AecpmiRNA3) are exclusively present in the chloroplast genome. Target prediction revealed many potential mRNAs as targets for AecpmiRNAs. Further analysis using 5' RACE-PCR determined the AecpmiRNA3 binding and cleavage site at the photosystem II protein N (psbN). These results indicate that AecpmiRNAs are generated from the chloroplast genome, possessing the potential to regulate mRNAs arising from chloroplast gene(s). On the other side, the possibility of nuclear genome-derived mRNA regulation by AecpmiRNAs cannot be ruled out.

A high-performance metal halide perovskite-based laser-driven display.

Laser-driven liquid crystal displays (LCDs) comprising metal halide perovskites (MHPs) as the blue-to-green/red color converters are at the forefront of ongoing intense research on the development and improvement of display devices. However, the inferior high photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of MHPs under the excitation of high-power blue light and photoluminescence deterioration at high temperatures remain major concerns. Herein, we design a kind of octylamine-modified MHP via binding energy engineering, and the synthesized materials show PLQY of 97.6% under the excitation of a blue laser at 450 nm. Meanwhile, this design endows a structural self-healing ability to achieve a high PLQY and luminescence stability under high temperature (90 °C) and high flux excitation (386 mW cm-2). The blue light-excitable MHPs with a near unity PLQY, strong stability, and low PLQY deterioration are further encapsulated into a laser-driven LCD device. This prototype demonstrates excellent color gamut (132% NTSC, 98% Rec. 2020), illuminance intensity (>10 000 lux), and energy consumption (47.5% of commercial consumption), and hence is expected to be beneficial for the reduction of energy consumption in backlight display devices, particularly in large-screen outdoor displays.

Rheometric and stability analysis of additive infused magnetorheological fluids: a comparative study.

Magnetorheological fluid (MRF) is a smart responsive fluid, when exposed to the magnetic field, reflects a noticeable transformation in fluid viscosity due to the presence of field responsive particles in the fluid. MRF has been utilized in variety of applications, which despite possess significant concerns regarding on sedimentation due to the density mismatch between the carrier fluid and the suspended magnetic particles. To improve the resistance of rapid sedimentation, this research aims to incorporate one of the component (additive/surfactants) blended into the fluid. The objective of the study focuses to determine the efficient incorporate-infused fluid for further application and sedimentation resistance. In this study, MRF is infused with siloxane, lithium, oleic acid and SDBS (Sodium Dodecyl Benzene Sulfonate) as additive and surfactants along with silicon oil as a carrier fluid. The significant repercussion parameters such as rheology behavior of the samples, temperature and particle sedimentation has been examined and interpreted. Substantially, the effective sample and performance has been comprehended with the insightful comparative results obtained.

Ho3+-Induced ZnO: Structural, Electron Density Distribution and Antibacterial Activity for Biomedical Application.

The current investigation focused on the synthesis and characterization of Zn1-xHoxO (X = 0, 0.02, 0.04, 0.06, and 0.08) materials. The rare-earth Ho3+-doped ZnO materials have been prepared using a chemical precipitation process. The phase pure hexagonal structured ZnO crystal system has been observed by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) characterization. The detailed structural analysis of prepared materials has been investigated by the Rietveld refinement method. The surface morphology and elemental composition of the prepared materials have been characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDAX). The presence of vibrational links associated with various functional groups has been displayed by FTIR spectroscopy. The energy gap of synthesized materials has been studied using UV-Vis spectroscopy. To study the luminescence activity of produced materials, photoluminescence (PL) analysis has been utilized. The light-green emission at around 507 nm has been obtained by synthesized materials under 380-nm excitation. In addition, the electron density distribution has been accomplished in synthesized materials. At 6% of Ho3+, substituted ZnO exposes the maximum covalent and ionic nature between Zn-O bond along with horizontal and vertical axis, respectively. Moreover, the antibacterial activity of synthesized materials has been done through Proteus vulgaris and Enterococcus faecalis. Following that the destruction of human red blood cells has been examined by hemolysis investigation. All experimental results suggested that the 6% of Ho3+ dopant is the optimized level of ZnO host lattice. The present work paves a promising path to get efficient material for biomedical applications.

The Effect of Plasticizers on the Polypyrrole-Poly(vinyl alcohol)-Based Conducting Polymer Electrolyte and Its Application in Semi-Transparent Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells.

In this work, the quasi-solid-state polymer electrolyte containing poly(vinyl alcohol)-polypyrrole as a polymer host, potassium iodide (KI), iodine (I2), and different plasticizers (EC, PC, GBL, and DBP) was successfully prepared via the solution casting technique. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to analyze the interaction between the polymer and the plasticizer. X-ray diffraction confirmed the reduction of crystallinity in the polymer electrolyte by plasticizer doping. The ethylene carbonate-based polymer electrolyte showed maximum electrical conductivity of 0.496 S cm-1. The lowest activation energy of 0.863 kJ mol-1 was obtained for the EC-doped polymer electrolyte. The lowest charge transfer resistance Rct1 was due to a faster charge transfer at the counter electrode/electrolyte interface. The polymer electrolyte containing the EC plasticizer exhibited an average roughness of 23.918 nm. A photo-conversion efficiency of 4.19% was recorded in the DSSC with the EC-doped polymer electrolyte under the illumination of 100 mWcm-2.

Optimization of Nicotinamides as Potent and Selective IRAK4 Inhibitors with Efficacy in a Murine Model of Psoriasis.

IRAK4 is an attractive therapeutic target for the treatment of inflammatory conditions. Structure guided optimization of a nicotinamide series of inhibitors has been expanded to explore the IRAK4 front pocket. This has resulted in the identification of compounds such as 12 with improved potency and selectivity. Additionally 12 demonstrated activity in a pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics (PK/PD) model. Further optimization efforts led to the identification of the highly kinome selective 21, which demonstrated a robust PD effect and efficacy in a TLR7 driven model of murine psoriasis.

Characterization of a new cellulosic natural fiber extracted from the root of Ficus religiosa tree.

Physical, chemical, thermal and crystalline properties of new natural fiber extracted from the root of Ficus Religiosa tree(FRRF) are reported in this study. The chemical analysis and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis results ensured the presence of higher quantity of cellulose content (55.58 wt%) in the FRRF. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy analysis is transported away to support the chemical groups present in the considered fibre. Thermal stability (325 °C), maximum degradation temperature (400 °C) and kinetic activation energy (68.02 kJ/mol.) of the FRRF areestablished by the thermo gravimetric analysis. The diameter (25.62 µm) and density (1246 kg/m3) of the FRRF have been found by the physical analysis. Scanning electron microscope analysis (SEM) and Atomic force microscope analysis (AFM) outcomes revealed that FRRF has the relatively smoothest surface. Altogether the above outcomes proved that novel FRRF is the desirable reinforcement to fabricate the fiber reinforced composite materials.

Characterization of raw and alkali treated new natural cellulosic fibres extracted from the aerial roots of banyan tree.

The objective of this investigation is to check the suitability novel cellulosic fibre extracted from the aerial roots of Banyan tree (ARBFs) as reinforcement in fibre reinforced plastics. The Fundamental properties of ARBFs such as density, tensile strength, chemical composition, crystallinity index, crystalline size, thermal stability, maximum degradation temperature and surface roughness were studied. The chemical analysis results revealed that after the alkalization cellulose content was improved while hemi-cellulose, lignin and wax content were demised. The enhancement in the crystallinity index (76.35% from 72.47%) and crystalline size (7.74 nm from 6.28 nm) of alkali treated ARBFs were evidenced by the X-ray diffraction analysis. Thermal analysis results confirmed that maximum degradation temperature (368 °C) and kinetic activation energy (75.45 kJ/mol) of alkali treated ARBFs had increased from 358 °C and 72.65 kJ/mol respectively. The results of scanning electron microscopic and atomic force microscopic analysis exhibited that impurities and wax on the outer surface of the ARBFs were removed after the alkali treatment. All the above finding concluded that ARBFs is the appropriate material to use as a reinforcement in fibre reinforced plastics.

Characterization of cellulose fibers in Thespesia populnea barks: Influence of alkali treatment.

Natural fibers are emerging as best alternatives for synthetic materials in selective applications. These fibers may not have the required properties in its raw form and hence needs some alterations in its characteristics. Likely, this article reports enhancement in surface and structural properties of Thespesia populnea bark fiber treated with NaOH under various concentration and soaking period. Fibers treated with 5% NaOH for 60 min yields noteworthy mechanical strength (678.41 ± 48.91 MPa) owing to its relatively high cellulose fraction (76.42%). Fourier transform infrared spectra endorses the removal of non-cellulosic compounds and X-ray diffraction studies reveals 13.6% growth in the size of cellulose crystals on optimally treated fibers. Weibull distribution model statistically interprets the reliability of acquired tensile test results. Finally, microscopic examinations with scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy explore that fiber surface turns rough after alkali treatment and makes it appropriate for reinforcement in polymer matrices.

Assessment of cellulose in bark fibers of Thespesia populnea: Influence of stem maturity on fiber characterization.

Cellulose is the key constituent of natural fibers and its proportion significantly varies with the growth of the plant. Hence, a study on the influence of plant maturity on fiber properties is essential to recognize optimal fiber source. In this investigation, cellulose fibers were successfully extracted from Thespesia populnea tree barks of approximately 10 mm-80 mm diameter stem and the influence of stem growth on physiochemical, thermal, mechanical and morphological characteristics of the fiber were investigated. The diameter of fiber increased from 150 µm to 200 µm with stem growth meanwhile its water uptake capability decreases by 13.8%. FTIR spectra and thermal analysis confirm the presence of cellulose compound in fiber structure, also the fiber can be stable up to 318 °C. The XRD outcome estimates 44-49% crystallinity index with an average crystallite size of 29.625 Å. Under the tensile load, fiber fails primarily by brittle fracture and its tensile strength ranges from 559 MPa to 329 MPa with an average elongation between 2.9% and 1.7%. Morphology analysis illustrates that fiber surface is becoming rough on maturity and can offer good interfacial strength when reinforced with composites.

Isolation and characterization of cellulose fibers from Thespesia populnea barks: A study on physicochemical and structural properties.

Cellulose, a major proportion of all plant resources are not utilized at its best. Hence, this investigation explores the potential of cellulose fraction in bark fibers of Thespesia populnea for real time use by evaluating its anatomical, physicochemical, mechanical, thermal and morphological properties. Anatomical studies confirm two types of phloem fiber cells based on dimensions of secondary cell wall and lumen. Significant concentration of cellulose (70.12%) helps to attain favorable outcomes in tensile strength (557.82 ±â€¯56.29 MPa). FTIR spectra confirm the presence of cellulosic compound in fiber structure and the size of crystalline cellulose is estimated as 35.76 Šusing XRD results. Thermal profile of TGA and DSC validates that fiber is steady up to 245.4 °C and cellulose degradation befalling between 250 °C and 370 °C accounts for major weight loss in fiber. Images acquired through SEM and AFM depict that the fiber surface is smooth with average roughness of 3.002 nm.

A Computer Aided Diagnosis System for Identifying Alzheimer's from MRI Scan using Improved Adaboost.

The recent studies in Morphometric Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) have investigated the abnormalities in the brain volume that have been associated diagnosing of the Alzheimer's Disease (AD) by making use of the Voxel-Based Morphometry (VBM). The system permits the evaluation of the volumes of grey matter in subjects such as the AD or the conditions related to it and are compared in an automated manner with the healthy controls in the entire brain. The article also reviews the findings of the VBM that are related to various stages of the AD and also its prodrome known as the Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). For this work, the Ada Boost classifier has been proposed to be a good selector of feature that brings down the classification error's upper bound. A Principal Component Analysis (PCA) had been employed for the dimensionality reduction and for improving efficiency. The PCA is a powerful, as well as a reliable, tool in data analysis. Calculating fitness scores will be an independent process. For this reason, the Genetic Algorithm (GA) along with a greedy search may be computed easily along with some high-performance systems of computing. The primary goal of this work was to identify better collections or permutations of the classifiers that are weak to build stronger ones. The results of the experiment prove that the GAs is one more alternative technique used for boosting the permutation of weak classifiers identified in Ada Boost which can produce some better solutions compared to the classical Ada Boost.

Effect of bio-additives on physico-chemical properties of fly ash-ground granulated blast furnace slag based self cured geopolymer mortars.

Heat curing catalyzed the geopolymerization reaction in geopolymers whereas the practical challenges in applying heat curing process limited the applications of geopolymers to precast elements alone. Bio-additives inclusion could facilitate ambient temperature curing that lead to environment friendly self cured geopolymers. Natural sugars (molasses/palm jaggery/honey) and terminalia chebula were used as bio-additives in fly ash (FA) and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) based geopolymer mortars. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectral (FTIR), thermogravimetric (TG/DTG) and scanning electron microscopic (SEM) studies were used for the characterization for all geopolymer mortar samples. Physico-chemical test results of bio-additives added FA-GGBS based self cured geopolymer mortar samples showed XRD peaks at 2θ = 20°, 26°, 39°, 48°, 66° and 75°, FTIR bands at 3430, 2922, 1390, 1270, 1120 and 881cm-1, DTG peaks at 120 °C, 126 °C and 134 °C that led to the conclusion that development of differences in geopolymer reaction products, intense structural reorganization leading to stable geopolymer matrix and more ordered geopolymer gels. Further SEM observations revealed compact and dense microstructure development in bio-additives added FA-GGBS based self cured geopolymer mortar samples.

In vitro fungicidal activity of biocides against pharmaceutical environmental fungal isolates.

AIMS: To determine the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of a range of cleanroom fungi against three disinfectants common to the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors: biguanide (chlorhexidine) and two quaternary ammonium compounds (benzalkonium chloride and cetrimide). METHODS AND RESULTS: The in vitro fungicidal activities of the three biocides were studied against 112 cleanroom fungal isolates using broth microdilution technique (CLSI M38-A2 standard). CONCLUSIONS: Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for all three biocides against hyaline fungi showed results of not more than 16 µg ml(-1). Alternaria showed <32 µg ml(-1) and other dematiaceous fungi reported that 8-16 µg ml(-1) for biguanides and QACs. This study clearly demonstrates that the most frequently isolated micro-organisms from an environmental monitoring programme may be periodically subjected to broth microdilution testing with cleanroom disinfectant agents used in the disinfection programme confirm their sensitivity profile. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: No large collection of data exists on the activity of biocides on pharmaceutical cleanroom fungal isolates. This is the first study report with large collection of cleanroom fungal isolates tested against common biocides using the broth microdilution antifungal susceptibility testing to determine the MIC value. The data presented support a quality control procedure for cleanroom disinfection.

TiO2 nanowires grown from nanoparticles: structure and charge density study.

We report the synthesis of TiO2 nanowires with high aspect ratio using a two step hydrothermal process using TiO2 nanoparticles and 10 M NaOH solvent at a reaction temperature of 180 degrees C. These nanowires are characterized by field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), micro-Raman and X-ray photo emission spectroscopy (XPS). Phase of the nanowires are found to be anatase, confirmed from both XRD and Raman spectroscopic measurements. High resolution electron microscopy (HREM) further supports the anatase structure and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) pattern indicate the single crystalline nature of the nanowires. Addition to these techniques, XPS and EDS refutes the presence of any impurity elements like Na as reported in the literatures. The electronic structures of the nanoparticles and nanowires are studied with maximum entropy method (MEM) using the XRD tools. Nanowires are found to be more ionic than the nanoparticles evidenced from the MEM simulations.

Characterization of a novel natural cellulosic fiber from Prosopis juliflora bark.

Natural fibers from plants are ideal choice for producing polymer composites. Bark fibers of Prosopis juliflora (PJ), an evergreen plant have not been utilized for making polymer composites yet. Hence, a study was undertaken to evaluate their suitability as a novel reinforcement for composite structures. PJ fiber (PJF) was analyzed extensively to understand its chemical and physical properties. The PJF belonged to gelatinous or mucilaginous type. Its lignin content (17.11%) and density (580 kg/m(3)) were relatively higher and lower, respectively in comparison to bark fibers of other plants. The free chemical groups on it were studied by FTIR and XRD. It had a tensile strength of 558±13.4 MPa with an average strain rate of 1.77±0.04% and microfibril angle of 10.64°±0.45°. Thermal analyses (TG and DTG) showed that it started degrading at a temperature of 217 °C with kinetic activation energy of 76.72 kJ/mol.

Cutaneous absorption of Oleander: Fact or fiction.

Cardiac conduction disorders following oral ingestion of Oleander plant materials were documented earlier. Transcutaneous absorption of yellow oleander (Thevetia peruviana) leaf extract applied over non intact skin (raw wound) resulting in reversible cardiac conduction disorder observed in four healthy males who were free from any other systemic or electrolyte or metabolic disorders or exposure to pesticide or toxins is reported for the first time. Their hematological, biochemical, clinical, and echocardiogram status were within normal limits and free of any abnormalities. One among the four, presented for weakness and breathlessness (class II). He had bradycardia with Mobitz II block and hypotension without any other demonstrable localizing signs. The other three were identified in the community and without any symptoms. However, their ECG revealed bradycardia with Mobitz I block in two and complete heart block in the other. All of the four recovered well without any untoward events. Hence, it is suggested that physicians and practitioners have to elicit history and route of administration of unconventional therapy, whenever they are confronted with clinical challenges and during medical emergencies before embarking final decision.