Surface sediment samples collected from the inner shelf region of the Bay of Bengal, were analysed for the major elements and total and acetic acid available trace elements (Al, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, ...Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, P, Pb, Si, Zn) to evaluate geochemical processes influencing their distribution. Major elemental analysis showed that the sediments had high concentrations of Si and relatively low concentrations of Al and Fe. Both major elemental and trace metal concentrations indicated that the sediments represent weathered products of granite and charnockite. Normalization of metals to Al indicated relatively high enrichment factors for Pb, Cd, Zn and Cr. The higher proportions of nondetrital Pb (66%), Cd (41%) and Co (28%) reveal metal contamination due to anthropogenic inputs. Factor analysis (FA) identified six possible types of sedimentological and geochemical associations. The dominant factor accounting for 26.9% of the total variance identifies an anthropogenic input and accumulation of nondetrital Cd, Co, Cr, Ni and Pb. Association of these metals with CaCO
3 reveals that shell fragments in the surface sediments are likely act as a carrier phase for nondetrital metals. The results are discussed in the context of the sources and pathways of elements in the Bay of Bengal.
Objectives In this study, with the use of computational fluid dynamics, we evaluate the postoperative hemodynamic performance of the first cohort of patients undergoing a handcrafted Y-graft Fontan ...procedure and validate simulation predictions of hepatic blood flow distribution against in vivo clinical data. Methods An 18-12 × 2–mm handcrafted Y-graft modification of the Fontan procedure was performed in 6 patients. Early (at the time of discharge) and 6-month postoperative 3-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging data were collected. Patient-specific models were constructed for flow simulations. Results Hepatic blood flow distribution varied among patients. Lung perfusion data (n = 3) showed good agreement with simulations. Postoperative asymmetry in hepatic blood flow distribution was reduced 6 months postoperatively. In 1 patient, low wall shear stress was found in the left limb of the Y-graft, corresponding to the location of subsequent thrombosis in the patient. Conclusions The credibility and accuracy of simulation-based predictions of postoperative hepatic flow distribution for the Fontan surgery have been validated by in vivo lung perfusion data. The performance of the Y-graft design is highly patient-specific. The anastomosis location is likely the most important factor influencing hepatic blood flow distribution. Although the development of thrombosis is multifactorial, the occurrence in 1 patient suggests that simulations should not solely consider the hepatic blood flow distribution but also aim to avoid low wall shear stress in the limbs.
The significant quantities of food waste that require disposal have a high environmental impact, and the depletion of non-renewable fuel sources has heightened the need to investigate sustainable and ...efficient methods of biomass conversion into energy. This research focuses on utilising pumpkin peel as a feedstock for energy recovery through microwave pyrolysis under different operating conditions. The study demonstrated that a higher biochar yield (11 wt%) was achieved at 0.9 kW. However, results revealed that superior quality biochar was obtained at 1.2 kW, characterized by high carbon content (70.33%), low oxygen content (23%), and significant pore formation in the carbon surface area. Optimal operating conditions, such as 1.2 kW, resulted in superior quality biochar and higher bio-oil generation. The pumpkin peel demonstrated the potential for CO2 (carbon dioxide) sequestration, with a rate of 14.29 g CO2 eq/kg. The research findings contribute to the exploration of sustainable solutions for biomass conversion and emphasize the importance of utilizing food waste for energy production while mitigating environmental impacts.
Silver nanoparticles (AgNP-P) from AgNO
3 were synthesized by using the broth prepared from the aromatic spath of male inflorescence of screw pine,
Pandanus odorifer (Forssk.) Kuntze AgNP-P was then ...characterized by UV–visible spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Functional groups in the broth were analyzed by Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Genotoxicity of AgNP-P was assessed by utilizing our well-established
Allium cepa assay system with biomarkers including the generation reactive oxygen species (ROS:
O
2
·
-
and H
2O
2), cell death, mitotic index, micronucleus, mitotic aberrations; and DNA damage by Comet assay. Other chemical forms of silver such as Ag
+ ion, colloidal AgCl, and AgNP-S at doses 0–80
mg
L
−1 were included for comparison with AgNP-P. The results revealed that AgNP-P and AgNP-S exhibited similar biological effects in causing lesser extent of cytotoxicity and greater extent of genotoxicity than that was exhibited by Ag
+ ion alone. Among different tested chemical forms of silver, colloidal AgCl was identified to be the least cytotoxic and genotoxic. Cell death and DNA-damage induced by AgNP-P were prevented by Tiron and dimethyl thiourea that scavenge
O
2
·
-
and H
2O
2, respectively. The present findings demonstrated the role of ROS in the AgNP-induced cell death and DNA damage.
This investigation highlights the viability of utilizing recently synthesized solid-state polymer electrolyte thin films in the fabrication of solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). ...Specifically, composite solid polymer blend electrolytes comprising poly(ethylene glycol)/poly(vinylidene) fluoride/titanium dioxide (PEG/PVDF/TiO
2
) nanoparticles, as well as PEG/TiO
2
nanoparticle composite solid polymer electrolytes, were made-up via a solution-casting method. To overcome the issues related to liquid and gel electrolyte consumption, leading to problems such as leakage and solvent evaporation, the utilization of solid electrolytes has been introduced for practical applications in dye-sensitized solar cells. The solid-state polymeric composite materials are proposed to substitute of TiO
2
nanoparticles as fillers in the poly(ethylene glycol) host to augment the efficiency of solid electrolytes. The results recommend that the ionic conductivities of the solid-state electrolytes are comparable to those observed in PEG/TiO
2
nanoparticle composite solid polymer electrolytes. This suggests that the blend polymer matrix itself may play a significant role in facilitating effective charge transport within the channels of the nanocomposite solid network. The application of pressing force enables effective penetration of the solid electrolyte into the TiO
2
film, establishing a robust contact with the photoelectrode. The PEG/PVDF/TiO
2
nanoparticle composite solid polymer blend electrolyte-based dye-sensitized solar cells show an open-circuit voltage of 0.641 V and solar cell efficiency increases to 5.5% better performance, as compared to the solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells with PEG/TiO
2
nanoparticle composite solid polymer electrolytes.
Enhancing carbohydrate export from source to sink tissues is considered to be a realistic approach for improving photosynthetic efficiency and crop yield. The rice sucrose transporters OsSUT1, ...OsSWEET11a and OsSWEET14 contribute to sucrose phloem loading and seed filling. Crucially, Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) infection in rice enhances the expression of OsSWEET11a and OsSWEET14 genes, and causes leaf blight. Here we show that co‐overexpression of OsSUT1, OsSWEET11a and OsSWEET14 in rice reduced sucrose synthesis and transport leading to lower growth and yield but reduced susceptibility to Xoo relative to controls. The immunity‐related hypersensitive response (HR) was enhanced in the transformed lines as indicated by the increased expression of defence genes, higher salicylic acid content and presence of HR lesions on the leaves. The results suggest that the increased expression of OsSWEET11a and OsSWEET14 in rice is perceived as a pathogen (Xoo) attack that triggers HR and results in constitutive activation of plant defences that are related to the signalling pathways of pathogen starvation. These findings provide a mechanistic basis for the trade‐off between plant growth and immunity because decreased susceptibility against Xoo compromised plant growth and yield.
Summary statement
The study reported in this manuscript concerns the emerging topic of the roles played by SWEET sugar transporters in plant immunity. The data reported in this manuscript show that overexpression of Clade III SWEET sucrose transporters OsSWEET11a and OsSWEET14 that are exploited by bacterial blight pathogen Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae to acquire sugars for its propagation elicits immune responses and activates plant defence responses leading to enhanced resistance against bacterial as well as fungal pathogens. The findings obtained by the overexpression of OsSWEET11a and OsSWEET14 in rice show that sucrose transport occurs via an apoplastic route, and overexpression of these sugar transporters inhibits sucrose synthesis and transport, which explains the inverse relationships between plant growth and yield, and resistance to pathogens. Moreover, our results show that sucrose transport and pathogen responses are coupled processes, and provide evidence for the concept that pathogen‐induced starvation is linked to plant defence.
Also, to the best of our knowledge this is the first study where we show that disease susceptibility genes OsSWEET11a and OsSWEET14 can lead to hypersensitive reaction leading to enhanced plant immunity.
•Aerobic granular biomass was cultivated by feeding TBP along with acetate.•Rapid biodegradation of TBP when used as a co-substrate or as the sole carbon source.•Biodegradation of 2mM TBP in 5h with ...degradation rate of 0.4μmolmL−1h−1.•High phosphatase activity was observed in TBP-degrading granular biomass.•n-Butanol, hydrolyzed product of TBP, was rapidly metabolized by aerobic granules.
Tributyl phosphate (TBP) is commercially used in large volumes for reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel. TBP is a very stable compound and persistent in natural environments and it is not removed in conventional wastewater treatment plants. In this study, cultivation of aerobic granular biofilms in a sequencing batch reactor was investigated for efficient biodegradation of TBP. Enrichment of TBP-degrading strains resulted in efficient degradation of TBP as sole carbon or along with acetate. Complete biodegradation of 2mM of TBP was achieved within 5h with a degradation rate of 0.4μmolmL−1h−1. TBP biodegradation was accompanied by release of inorganic phosphate in stoichiometric amounts. n-Butanol, hydrolysed product of TBP was rapidly biodegraded. But, dibutyl phosphate, a putative intermediate of TBP degradation was only partially degraded pointing to an alternative degradation pathway. Phosphatase activity was 22- and 7.5-fold higher in TBP-degrading biofilms as compared to bioflocs and acetate-fed aerobic granules. Community analysis by terminal restriction length polymorphism revealed presence of 30 different bacterial strains. Seven bacterial stains, including Sphingobium sp. a known TBP degrader were isolated. The results show that aerobic granular biofilms are promising for treatment of TBP-bearing wastes or ex situ bioremediation of TBP-contaminated sites.
Due to the shortage of fossil fuel usage, the solar Photovoltaic (PV) energy has increased grownup over the last decade. Most conventional applications of renewable energy are being phased out in ...order to reduce costs and save the environment. PV plants undergo numerous failures in faults detection and ultimate power developments. These consequences demonstrate in the environmental field and internal components. Even when internal standards are followed, the faults are unavoidable and undetectable. Due to this, the performance of manufacturing plants are not predictable. As a result, a proper fault detection mechanism is required for a PV system to detect faults and avoid energy losses. To address these issues, this research work proposed Internet of Things (IoT) sensor-based fault identification in a solar PV system. The PV panel status is monitored using pressure, light intensity, voltage, and current sensors. These sensor data’s are stored in the cloud for further analysis using a web-based control server. To classify the sensor data, models of Support Vector Machine (SVM), and Extreme Learning Machine (ELM) are utilized. The experimental results indicate that ELM achieves a classification accuracy of 96.32%. Which is higher than SVM and other optimization control techniques. The proposed model uses the IoT cloud to provide real-time monitoring and fault detection in plant environmental and electrical parameters.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
KY boost converter (KBC) finds wide application in photovoltaic (PV) and single-phase inverters. In this study, a novel KBC containing seven levels of a multilevel inverter (MLI) is presented. Here, ...KBC between the direct current (DC) source and the inverter is proposed. Moreover, the authors considered a closed-loop response of the KBC-MLI system with a proportional integral (PI) controller and a fractional-order PID (FOPID) Controller. The main purpose of this suggested technique is to match the output current, total harmonic distortion (THD), and dynamic response of closed-loop PI and FOPID-controlled KBC-MLI systems. The proposed model is simulated with the MATLAB software, and the attained outcome illustrated an enhanced dynamic performance by using the FOPID-controlled KBC-MLI system. The simulation results of the KBC-MLI technique have been evaluated against the theoretical models. Finally, extensive experiments were carried out to validate the theoretical results.
Key message
The
Osckx2
mutant accumulates cytokinin thereby enhancing panicle branching, grain yield, and drought tolerance, marked by improved survival rate, membrane integrity, and photosynthetic ...function.
Cytokinins (CKs) are multifaceted hormones that regulate growth, development, and stress responses in plants. Cytokinins have been implicated in improved panicle architecture and grain yield; however, they are inactivated by the enzyme cytokinin oxidase (CKX). In this study, we developed a
cytokinin oxidase 2
(
Osckx2
)-deficient mutant using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing in indica rice and assessed its function under water-deficit and salinity conditions. Loss of
OsCKX2
function increased grain number, secondary panicle branching, and overall grain yield through improved cytokinin content in the panicle tissue. Under drought conditions, the
Osckx2
mutant conserved more water and demonstrated improved water-saving traits. Through reduced transpiration,
Osckx2
mutants showed an improved survival response than the wild type to unset dehydration stress. Further,
Osckx2
maintained chloroplast and membrane integrity and showed significantly improved photosynthetic function under drought conditions through enhanced antioxidant protection systems. The
OsCKX2
function negatively affects panicle grain number and drought tolerance, with no discernible impact in response to salinity. The finding suggests the utility of the beneficial
Osckx2
allele in breeding to develop climate-resilient, high-yielding cultivars for future food security.
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