In the near future, i.e., beyond 4G, some of the prime objectives or demands that need to be addressed are increased capacity, improved data rate, decreased latency, and better quality of service. To ...meet these demands, drastic improvements need to be made in cellular network architecture. This paper presents the results of a detailed survey on the fifth generation (5G) cellular network architecture and some of the key emerging technologies that are helpful in improving the architecture and meeting the demands of users. In this detailed survey, the prime focus is on the 5G cellular network architecture, massive multiple input multiple output technology, and device-to-device communication (D2D). Along with this, some of the emerging technologies that are addressed in this paper include interference management, spectrum sharing with cognitive radio, ultra-dense networks, multi-radio access technology association, full duplex radios, millimeter wave solutions for 5G cellular networks, and cloud technologies for 5G radio access networks and software defined networks. In this paper, a general probable 5G cellular network architecture is proposed, which shows that D2D, small cell access points, network cloud, and the Internet of Things can be a part of 5G cellular network architecture. A detailed survey is included regarding current research projects being conducted in different countries by research groups and institutions that are working on 5G technologies.
► Nanostructured thin film of tin disulfide (SnS2) was deposited on p-silicon substrate using sol–gel spin technique. ► The ideality factor and barrier height of the Al/p-Si/SnS2/Ag diode were ...obtained to be 1.54 and 0.53 eV, respectively. ► The photocurrent in the reverse bias voltage is increased by increasing photo-illumination intensity. ► The Al/p-Si/SnS2/Ag diode can be used for optical sensor applications.
The Schottky barrier junctions of tin disulfide (SnS2) on p-silicon were fabricated using sol–gel spin technique. The photoresponse and junction properties of the diode were investigated. The ideality factor and barrier height of the Al/p-Si/SnS2/Ag diode were obtained to be 1.54 and 0.53eV, respectively. The photocurrent properties of the device under various illuminations were also explored. The photocurrent in the reverse bias voltage is increased by increasing photo-illumination intensity. The transient photocurrent results indicate that photocurrent under illumination is higher that the dark current. The capacitance–voltage characteristics of diode were also investigated at different frequencies. The capacitance decreases with increasing frequency due to a continuous distribution of the interface states. These results suggest that the fabricated diode can be used for optical sensor applications.
The human population is increasing at an alarming rate, whereas heavy metals (HMs) pollution is mounting serious environmental problem, which could lead to serious concern about the future ...sufficiency of global food production. Some HMs such as Mn, Cu, and Fe, at lower concentration serves as an essential vital component of plant cell as they are crucial in various enzyme catalyzed biochemical reactions. At higher concentration, a vast variety of HMs such as Mn, Cu, Cd, Fe, Hg, Al and As, impose toxic reaction in the plant system which greatly affect the crop yield. Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs) that are small class of non-coding riboregulator have emerged as central regulator of numerous abiotic stresses including HMs. Increasing reports indicate that plants have evolved specialized inbuilt mechanism viz. signal transduction, translocation and sequestration to counteract the toxic response of HMs. Combining computational and wet laboratory approaches have produced sufficient evidences concerning active involvement of miRNAs during HMs toxicity response by regulating various transcription factors and protein coding genes involved in plant growth and development. However, the direct role of miRNA in controlling various signaling molecules, transporters and chelating agents of HM metabolism is poorly understood. This review focuses on the latest progress made in the area of direct involvement of miRNAs in signaling, translocation and sequestration as well as recently added miRNAs in response to different HMs in plants.
Summary
Canine distemper (CD) is one of the highly contagious and invariably fatal viral diseases of dogs and other carnivores. Despite the widespread use of modified live vaccines to control CD, the ...prevalence of disease has increased at an alarming rate in recent years. Although a number of factors may be ascribed for vaccine failure, antigenic differences among the vaccine and wild‐type strains have gained the interest of researchers. Considering the high genetic variability of haemagglutinin gene (H gene) and its role in eliciting the immune response to canine distemper virus (CDV), we have generated nine full‐length CDV H gene sequences from infected dogs including three vaccinated cases. Bayesian analysis was performed using 102 full‐length H gene nucleotide sequences over a time frame of 76 years (1940–2016) from 18 countries. The time to the most recent common ancestor (tMRCA) of CDV was estimated to be 1696 AD. Phylogenetic reconstruction clustered Indian wild‐type viruses into a distinct monophyletic group clearly separated from the previously established CDV lineages. This signifies the presence of a novel genetic variant (proposed as “Lineage India‐1/Asia‐5”) circulating among dog population in India. To investigate the importance of substitutions at amino acid residues 530 and 549 of CDV H protein in determining the host switches from canid to non‐canid hosts, we analysed 125 H gene sequences including nine sequences generated in this study. Selection pressure analysis and analysis of amino acid sequences revealed a trend towards adaptation of 549H variants in non‐canid hosts although no role of G/E530R/D/N substitution could be identified. This is the first comprehensive study about the nature and ecology of CDV circulating among dog population in India. Outbreaks in vaccinated animals as observed in this study have raised a concern towards the effectiveness of current vaccine strains warranting detailed investigation.
One hundred forty one basmati rice genotypes collected from different geographic regions of North Western Himalayas were characterized using 40 traits linked microsatellite markers. Number of alleles ...detected by the abovementioned primers were 112 with a maximum and minimum frequency of 5 and 2 alleles, respectively. The maximum and minimum polymorphic information content values were found to be 0.63 and 0.17 for the primers RM206 and RM213, respectively. The genetic similarity coefficient for the most number of pairs ranged between of 0.2-0.9 with the average value of 0.60 for all possible combinations, indicating moderate genetic diversity among the chosen genotypes. Phylogenetic cluster analysis of the SSR data based on distance divided all genotypes into four groups (I, II, III and IV), whereas model based clustering method divided these genotypes into five groups (A, B, C, D and E). However, the result from both the analysis are in well agreement with each other for clustering on the basis of place of collection and geographic region, except the local basmati genotypes which clustered into three subpopulations in structure analysis comparison to two clusters in distance based clustering. The diverse genotypes and polymorphic trait linked microsatellites markers in the present study will be used for the identification of quantitative trait loci/genes for different economically important traits to be utilized in molecular breeding programme of rice in the future.
Magnetoelectric coupling phenomenon in multiferroics has attracted considerable research activities in the last decade due to its wide range of applications in spintronic, data storage and ...electrically tunable microwave devices. From the first realization of magnetoelectric coupling in Cr
2
O
3
, numerous single-phase and composite multiferroics have been explored for obtaining a stable room-temperature magnetoelectric coupling and many of them have been translated into device applications. Different magnetoelectric coupling effects are responsible for different device applications of multiferroic materials. Fundamental understanding of dynamics of these remarkable magnetoelectric coupling mechanisms in various multiferroic materials has been a prime aspect to develop new high-performance multiferroic devices. In this article, a comprehensive review on the mechanisms of breakthrough magnetoelectric coupling results in a variety of multiferroic materials has been presented with an intercomparison of their highest reported magnetoelectric coupling coefficients. A brief summary of some significant results on the room-temperature magnetoelectric coupling has been made that can be applied for practical magnetoelectric device fabrication.
Graphical abstract
Graphical abstract representing different magnetoelectric coupling mechanisms in single phase and composite multiferroic materials.
The adsorption of Cr(VI) from aqueous solutions on formaldehyde treated sawdust (SD) and sulphuric acid treated sawdust carbon (SDC) of Indian Rosewood, a timber industry waste, was studied at ...varying Cr(VI) concentrations, adsorbent dose, pH and agitation time. Similar experiments were conducted with commercially available coconut based activated carbon to compare the results. The Cr(VI) adsorption efficiency on SDC was higher than SD. The adsorption followed first order rate expression and Lagergren equation. An initial pH of 3.0 was most favorable for Cr(VI) removal by both the adsorbents. Maximum Cr(VI) was sequestered from the solution within 60 min after the beginning for every experiment. It is proposed that SDC and SD can be potential adsorbents for Cr(VI) removal from dilute solutions.
Understanding the pathophysiology of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection remains a significant challenge of our times. The gingival crevicular fluid being representative of systemic ...status and having a proven track record of detecting viruses and biomarkers forms a logical basis for evaluating the presence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The study aimed to assess gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) for evidence of SARS-CoV-2 in 33 patients who were deemed to be COVID-19 positive upon nasopharyngeal sampling. An attempt was also made to comparatively evaluate it with saliva in terms of its sensitivity, as a diagnostic fluid for SARS-CoV-2. GCF and saliva samples were collected from 33 COVID-19–confirmed patients. Total RNA was extracted using NucliSENS easyMAG (bioMérieux) and eluted in the elution buffer. Envelope gene (E gene) of SARS-CoV-2 and human RNase P gene as internal control were detected in GCF samples by using the TRUPCR SARS-CoV-2 RT qPCR kit V-2.0 (I) in an Applied Biosystems 7500 real-time machine. A significant majority of both asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic patients exhibited the presence of the novel coronavirus in their GCF samples. Considering the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the nasopharyngeal swab sampling as gold standard, the sensitivity of GCF and saliva, respectively, was 63.64% (confidence interval CI, 45.1% to 79.60%) and 64.52% (CI, 45.37% to 80.77%). GCF was found to be comparable to saliva in terms of its sensitivity to detect SARS-CoV-2. Saliva samples tested positive in 3 of the 12 patients whose GCF tested negative, and likewise GCF tested positive for 2 of the 11 patients whose saliva tested negative on real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The results establish GCF as a possible mode of transmission of SARS-CoV-2, which is the first such report in the literature, and also provide the first quantifiable evidence pointing toward a link between the COVID-19 infection and oral health.
Mulching is one of the important agronomic practices in conserving the soil moisture and modifying the soil physical environment. Wheat, the second most important cereal crop in India, is sensitive ...to soil moisture stress. Field experiments were conducted during winter seasons of 2004–2005 and 2005–2006 in a sandy loam soil to evaluate the soil and plant water status in wheat under synthetic (transparent and black polyethylene) and organic (rice husk) mulches with limited irrigation and compared with adequate irrigation with no mulch (conventional practices by the farmers). Though all the mulch treatments improved the soil moisture status, rice husk was found to be superior in maintaining optimum soil moisture condition for crop use. The residual soil moisture was also minimum, indicating effective utilization of moisture by the crop under RH. The plant water status, as evaluated by relative water content and leaf water potential were favourable under RH. Specific leaf weight, root length density and dry biomass were also greater in this treatment. Optimum soil and canopy thermal environment of wheat with limited fluctuations were observed under RH, even during dry periods. This produced comparable yield with less water use, enhancing the water use efficiency. Therefore, it may be concluded that under limited irrigation condition, RH mulching will be beneficial for wheat as it is able to maintain better soil and plant water status, leading to higher grain yield and enhanced water use efficiency.
The development of food packaging films from nanocellulose has received attention from researchers. In this study, the chemo‐mechanical method has been used to obtain nanocellulose from sugarcane ...bagasse. The shape and size of the nanocellulose were examined by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE‐SEM) using ImageJ software, and the result was found to be in good agreement with that of dynamic light scattering (DLS) analysis. Various characterizations such as X‐ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), thermo‐gravimetric analysis (TGA), and ultraviolet visible (UV–Vis) spectrometer for the analysis of crystallinity, chemical structure, thermal stability, and optical properties were performed for fibers and nanocelluloses. Moreover, antibacterial evaluation was also carried out using the disc diffusion method with Bacillus and Escherichia coli bacteria. The removal of noncellulosic elements from fibers after treatment and grinding was revealed by FTIR analysis. Furthermore, nanocellulose exhibited not only higher thermal stability and crystallinity but also acceptable antibacterial properties. Based on the results of this study, polymeric films and composites of the presented nanocellulose might be utilized in food packaging, plastic packaging, and container fabrication.
PDF
