Brownian ratchet based particle separation systems for application in lab on chip devices have drawn interest and are subject to ongoing theoretical and experimental investigations. We demonstrate a ...compact microfluidic particle separation chip, which implements an extended on-off Brownian ratchet scheme that actively separates and sorts particles using periodically switching magnetic fields, asymmetric sawtooth channel sidewalls, and Brownian motion. The microfluidic chip was made with Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) soft lithography of SU-8 molds, which in turn was fabricated using Proton Beam Writing. After bonding of the PDMS chip to a glass substrate through surface activation by oxygen plasma treatment, embedded electromagnets were cofabricated by the injection of InSn metal into electrode channels. This fabrication process enables rapid production of high resolution and high aspect ratio features, which results in parallel electrodes accurately aligned with respect to the separation channel. The PDMS devices were tested with mixtures of 1.51 μm, 2.47 μm, and 2.60 μm superparamagnetic particles suspended in water. Experimental results show that the current device design has potential for separating particles with a size difference around 130 nm. Based on the promising results, we will be working towards extending this design for the separation of cells or biomolecules.
Purpose This study combines different perspectives on herding, viewing it as a social network heuristic in comparison to other heuristics. The purpose is to use the heuristic view of herding as found ...in early literature and test it on grounds of efficiency and payoff, in essence, combining the heuristic and rational agent view of herding. The simulated double auction setting includes agents embedded in a social network, allowing for an examination of herding alongside rational behaviour and imperfect signals. Design/methodology/approach In each round of the simulation, levels of homophily, density and fractions of types of agents is set and agents are allowed to follow their respective heuristics under those conditions. Characteristics of the social network, such as the size, levels of different homophilies, density and fractions of different types of agents are varied randomly to gauge their effect on the performance of herders vis-à-vis others and the overall market efficiency through simulation based approach. The data used for the study has been developed in Python and linear models are estimated using R. Findings Herding decreases total surplus in private value double auctions, but herders are not worse off than other agents and perform equally in common value auctions. Further, herders and random offerers reduce payoffs of other agents as well, and herding effects the surplus per transaction and not the quantum. Research limitations/implications This study explores herding as a strategic behaviour coexisting with rationality and other strategies in specific circumstances. It presents intriguing findings on the impact of herding on individual outcomes and market efficiency, raising new avenues for future research. Implication to research includes a dent on the “sieve” argument of markets rooting out irrationality and from it, a policy implication that follows is the need for corrective measures as markets cannot self-correct this, given herders do not perform worse than others. Originality/value The study links the phenomenon of herding to the dynamics of social networks and heuristic-based learning mechanisms that sets apart this research from the majority of existing literature, which predominantly conceptualizes herding as an outcome derived from a perfect Bayesian Equilibrium and a rational learning process.
Numerical simulation of large-scale fluidized beds presents significant challenges for both scaling up the simulations and evaluating their performance, as full-scale computational fluid dynamics ...(CFD) simulations incur substantial computational time and cost. To overcome these challenges, we propose a novel approach that combines CFD simulations with data-driven deep-learning models to predict complex hydrodynamics. In this study, we trained two machine learning (ML) algorithms, namely the Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) and Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU), using spatiotemporal data obtained from CFD simulations. Impressively, the trained models accurately predicted future events for successive time steps, exhibiting excellent agreement for mean voidage, gas velocity, and particle velocity. Among the models utilized, LSTM outperformed the other. This demonstrated its superior ability to capture spatiotemporal CFD data while requiring less computational time and power. The trained models provide a reliable means to extrapolate desirable mean particle velocity and voidage values within fluidized beds. These findings hold promising opportunities for enhancing the design and operation of gas-solid fluidized bed reactors, potentially leading to a significant reduction of up to 57–68% in simulation time.
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•ML models demonstrate potential for effective prediction of FB hydrodynamics.•CFD-based RNN models (LSTM, GRU) were developed for large range of datasets.•Limited data enabled promising predictions of solid velocity and volume fraction.•LSTM excelled over GRU, effective computation cost and time.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
In this study, the efficiency of free and immobilized cells of newly isolated hexavalent chromium Cr(VI) reducing Bacillus cereus strain Cr1 (accession no. KJ162160) was studied in the treatment of ...tannery effluent. The analysis of effluents revealed high chemical oxygen demand (COD-1260 mg/L), biological oxygen demand (BOD5-660 mg/L), total dissolved solids (TDS-14000 mg/L), electrical conductivity (EC-21.5 mS/cm) and total chromium (TC-2.4 mg/L). The effluents also showed genotoxic effects to Allium cepa. Treatment of tannery effluent with isolated B. cereus strain led to considerable reduction of pollutant load. The pollutant load reduction was studied with both immobilized and free cells and immobilized cells were more effective in reducing COD (65%), BOD (80%), TDS (67%), EC (65%) and TC (92%) after 48 h. GC-MS analysis of pre and post-treatment tannery effluent samples revealed reduction of organic load after treatment with free and immobilized cells. An improvement in mitotic index and reduction in chromosomal aberrations was also observed in A. cepa grown with post-treatement effluent samples compared to untreated sample. Results demonstrate that both methods of bacterial treatment (free and immobilized) were efficient in reducing the pollutant load of tannery effluent as well as in reducing genotoxic effects, however, treatment with immobilized cells was more effective.
•Novel chromium (VI)-reducing Bacillus cereus strain Cr1was isolated.•Bacterial treatment of effluent led to noticeable reduction in pollutant load.•Allium cepa bioassay showed reduced genotoxicity of treated effluent.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
Plans outlined in the conference of parties (COP) 26 included the restoration of degraded lands as one of the targets for achieving long-term food sustainability under climate change. The experiment ...aimed to assess carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration and improvement in soil physicochemical properties of agriculture ecosystem models. The results of the experiment shows that the bulk density (ρb) and particle density (ρd) were significantly influenced at both depths 0–10 and 10–20 cm in developed ecosystems. The lowest (1.36 g cc−1) and highest (1.57 g cc−1) values of ρb were recorded at the depth of 0–10 cm in forest land (FL) and mono-cropping rice (Oryza sativa) cultivation land (MCRCL), respectively. The minimum values (kg ha−1) of N (161.27), P (14.87), and K (152.07) were recorded at the depth of 0–10 cm in mono-cropping wheat (Triticum aestivum) cultivated land (MCWCL), guava (Psidium guajava) + green gram (Vigna radiata) cultivation land (GGCL), and MCRCL, respectively. Moreover, the maximum N (207.60 kg ha−1) and P (19.27 kg ha−1) were recorded at the depth of 0–10 in FL system, and K (204.60 kg ha−1) in Karonda (Carissa carandas) cultivation land (KCL). The minimum soil N (158.93 kg ha−1) was recorded in pasture land (PL), while P (13.37 kg ha−1) and K (146.0 kg ha−1) was found in MCRCL system at the depth of 10–20 cm. While the highest soil organic carbon (SOC) stock was recorded in FL (18.40 Mg ha−1) and least in MCWCL system (6.57 Mg ha−1). The highest to the lowest value of CO2 sequestration (Mg ha−1) was found in the FL system (115.06) followed by KCL (41.11), GGCL (38.93), MCWCL (22.10), MCRCL (17.65), PL (9.40), and seasonal pond area (SPA 0.87). Likewise, the highest to lowest value of total C credit (US$) was found in FL (342.03) after that KCL (122.2), GGCL (115.71), MCWCL (65.7), MCRCL (52.45), PL (27.94), and SPA (2.6), respectively. With the creation of agricultural ecosystem models on degraded land, this work gives a roadmap for repairing degraded land, enhance the terrestrial CO2 sequestration, C-credit, and boosting ecological services, which may contribute to attaining long-term food sustainability.
•At a depth of 0–20 cm, all physiochemical characteristics were altered.•NPK range was 207.60–19.27-18.10 kg ha−1 in agriculture models.•The FL has the highest rate of CO2 sequestration (115.06 Mg ha−1).
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Background
Direct-seeded rice (DSR) is a potential technology for sustainable rice farming as it saves water and labor. However, higher incidence of weed under DSR limits productivity. Therefore, ...there is a need to develop herbicide tolerant (HT) rice varieties.
Results
We used marker assisted backcross breeding (MABB) to transfer a mutant allele of Acetohydroxy acid synthase (
AHAS
) gene, which confers tolerance to imidazolinone group of herbicides from the donor parent (DP) “Robin” into the genetic background of an elite popular Basmati rice variety, Pusa Basmati 1121 (PB 1121). Foreground selection was done using the
AHAS
gene linked Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) marker RM6844 and background selection was performed using 112 genome-wide SSR markers polymorphic between PB 1121 and Robin. Phenotypic selection for agronomic, Basmati grain and cooking quality traits in each generation was carried out to improve the recovery of recurrent parent phenome (RPP). Finally, a set of 12 BC
4
F
4
near isogenic lines (NILs), with recurrent parent genome (RPG) recovery ranging from 98.66 to 99.55% were developed and evaluated. PB 1121-HT NILs namely 1979-14-7-33-99-10, 1979-14-7-33-99-15 and 1979-14-7-33-99-66 were found superior to PB 1121 in yield with comparable grain and cooking quality traits and herbicide tolerance similar to Robin.
Conclusion
Overall, the present study reports successful development of HT NILs in the genetic background of popular Basmati rice variety, PB 1121 by introgression of mutated
AHAS
allele. This is the first report on the development of HT Basmati rice. Superior NILs are being evaluated in the national Basmati trials, the release of which is likely to provide a viable option for the adoption of DSR technology in Basmati rice cultivation.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
The aim of the present study was to find environmentally friendly solutions for the disposal of problematic and toxic textile sludge (TS) by producing textile sludge biochar (TSB) by pyrolysis and ...evaluating its chemical properties, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) content, heavy metals (HMs) speciation, environmental risks, and effects on seed germination. Pyrolysis of TS at temperatures ranging from 300 to 700 °C significantly reduced (85–95%) or eliminated certain PAHs in the biochar, enriched heavy metal content within land use limits, and increased bioavailability of HMs in biochar produced at 300 °C and decreased leaching capacity of HMs in biochar produced at 700 °C. The speciation of HMs and their bioavailability during pyrolysis processes was strongly temperature dependent, with lower temperatures increasing the toxic and bioavailable forms of Zn and Ni, while higher temperatures converted the bioavailable Ni to a more stable form, while Cu, Cr, and Pb were transformed from stable to toxic and bioavailable forms. The ecological risk index (RI) values of TSB-300 and TSB-700 are below the threshold value of 150, indicating a low-risk level, and the risk level decreases at temperatures above 500 °C. Further, the extracts of TSB-300 and TSB-700 had the highest percentage of germinating seeds, while the extracts of TS and TSB-500 inhibited seed germination by 20–30% compared to the control. These results indicate that pyrolysis effectively reduces PAHs and binds leachable HMs in biochar, however, the specific pyrolysis temperature influences metal speciation, bioavailability, seed germination, and environmental risk.
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•Disposal of TS containing HMs poses a high environmental risk.•PAHs are reduced significantly by pyrolysis of TS into biochar.•Higher temperatures produce biochar with a stable form of Ni.•Environmental risk index of 700 °C biochar was the lowest.•Extracts of biochar produced at 700 °C promote plant growth.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Bakanae or foot rot disease caused by Fusarium fujikuroi (teleomorph: Gibberella fujikuroi, Sawada, Wollenweber) is emerging as a serious disease of rice. A simple, reliable and high-throughput ...method for screening the disease would enable rapid screening of germplasm aimed at identifying resistance sources, mapping QTLs/genes and developing resistant rice cultivars. In the present study, a highthroughput, reliable bioassay to screen rice germplasm for resistance to bakanae disease was developed and compared with the conventional screening technique. This technique involves soaking of rice seeds in fungal spore suspension (1.0x106 spores ml–1) for 24 hours at room temperature. Seedling growth at 30°/25° (±3)°C day/night temperature and 60/80(±10)% day/night relative humidity in glasshouse gave the best results. The new protocol described here produces consistent and reproducible bakanae disease symptoms and enables screening of hundreds of rice germplasm within 15 days without any loss of precision in screening of rice genotypes against bakanae disease. The resistant and susceptible genotypes can be used for developing mapping population and identification of QTLs/genes conferring resistance to bakanae disease.
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•Rapid Remazol Brilliant Blue R dye decolourisation achieved by laccase without redox mediator.•Optimization by Box–Behnken designenhanced dye decolourisation (97.18%).•Dye ...degradation has been affirmed by UV–visible spectroscopy and FTIR analysis.•Laccase treated dye found relatively less phyto- and cytotoxic.•Molecular docking analysis revealed the significant binding affinity between RBBR-laccase.
Biodegradation of environmentally hazardous synthetic dyes by enzymes has been achieved the highest interest in recent years. In this work, we optimized Remazol Brilliant Blue R (RBBR) dye biodegradation by Arthrographis kalrae derived laccase via the Box-Behnken design (BBD) approach of the surface response methodology (RSM). Optimization of dye decolourisation by one variable at a time (OVAT) approach resulted in optimal dye decolourisation at laccase dose (2 IU mL−1), pH (7.0), temperature (35 °C), incubation time (240 min), and initial dye concentration (100 mg L-1). The optimized process through BBD enhanced dye decolourisation (97.18%). Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and UV–Visible Spectrophotometry have proven biodegradation. In addition, in comparison to untreated samples, the laccase-treated dye sample showed relatively less phyto- and cytotoxic effect on Allium cepa L. Extra Precision Glide docking exhibited the binding affinity score of −5.355 kcal mol−1, between laccase-RBBR complex.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
In the context of sustainable development, this study investigates the intricate dynamics among good governance, renewable energy investment, and green finance in BRICS nations. The aim of the study ...is to assess how green finance and governance effectiveness moderate the impact of renewable energy investment on CO2 emissions. Utilizing the Cross-Sectional Autoregressive Distributed Lag (CS-ARDL) model, a meticulous analysis spanning two decades was conducted to unravel the relationships among key variables and CO2 emissions. The findings underscore a nuanced interplay where renewable energy investments, synergized with robust governance and strategic green finance, significantly mitigate CO2 emissions, contributing to sustainable economic development. However, the study reveals non-linear relationships, highlighting the necessity for optimal allocation and strategic planning to maximize environmental benefits. In the short-run, a government effectiveness policy threshold that should be attained in order for renewable energy investment to reduce CO2 emissions is provided. In the long-run, the negative responsiveness of CO2 emissions to renewable energy investment is further consolidated by green finance. Moreover, enhancing renewable energy investment in the long run is positive for environmental sustainability. It follows that policy makers should tailor policies aimed at enhancing renewable energy investment in the long-run as well as complementing renewable energy investment with green finance in the long-run in order to ensure environmental sustainability by means of reducing CO2 emissions. Policymakers in BRICS nations are urged to strengthen governance structures, promote renewable energy investments, leverage green finance, foster public-private partnerships, adopt a holistic approach, and address non-linear effects to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy.
•The study investigates linkages among governance, renewable energy investment, and green finance.•The study uses the Cross-Sectional Autoregressive Distributed Lag (CS-ARDL) model.•Renewable energy investments, with robust governance and strategic green finance, mitigate CO2 emissions.•The study reveals non-linear relationships, highlighting the necessity for optimal allocation and strategic planning.•Policy implications are discussed.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
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