Partially saturated soils are common in arid or semi-arid zones. It is a common practice to assume soil as fully saturated for estimation of bearing capacity. With this assumption, estimated bearing ...capacity is expected to be on conservative side. But sometimes it may be misleading. The motive of this study is to examine the effect of wetting induced collapse on the bearing capacity of shallow foundations. This paper presents the application of improved Barcelona basic model to the simulation of shallow foundation using coupled approach. A boundary value problem of strip footing resting over fully and partially saturated soil is analysed. Different loading and wetting sequences are followed to capture the effect of water table fluctuation on bearing capacity in partially saturated soils. From comparison of numerical prediction with analytical values of ultimate bearing capacity, a relationship for apparent cohesion is suggested for moderate range of angle of internal friction.
The fragility curve, which specifies the likelihood that a structure would sustain damage that exceeds a certain threshold for different levels of loading intensity, is a newly developed method for ...the seismic risk assessment of all at-risk projects. Median and log-standard distribution are the two parameters constituting the cumulative lognormal distribution function, typically used to describe fragility curves. An investigation of the response of a road embankment geotechnical structure exposed to liquefaction-induced deformation driven by earthquakes is presented in the current work. The elasto-plastic and effective stress-based UBC3D-PLM model is used in the numerical analyses based on 2D FE analysis. A rigorous calibration process is carried out to generate the model parameters concerning laboratory test findings from past literature. With increasing intensity of ground motion (PGA), permanent embankment settlement (PES) is used to indicate the extent of the damage. A collection of 9 separate ground motions, scaled to different intensity levels, were used in the incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) that has been used to perform the fragility analyses. It has been observed that the embankment experiences more settlement even with low to moderate ground motion intensity due to the existence of the liquefiable foundation layer. To assess the vulnerability of an earthen embankment exposed to liquefiable foundation soil, different factors have been taken into account, including the relative density of the liquefiable underlying soil, the thickness of the liquefiable layer, and the geometry of the embankment (height and width). It has been noticed that liquefiable layer properties are the primary and embankment properties are the secondary parameters influencing the vulnerability of embankment supported on liquefiable soil deposit.
The granular pile anchor foundation is an effective and economical foundation system to counter the pullout forces exerted in case of transmission towers or foundations in expansive soil. The pullout ...tests were performed to study the behaviour of a single granular pile anchor in the clayey soil bed. Tests were conducted in a steel tank of 1 × 1 × 1 m size with the help of loading frame arrangement. The pullout load required for upward movement equal to 10% diameter was considered as the pullout capacity of the granular pile anchor. In the parametric study, length and diameter of the granular pile anchor were varied to examine their effect. Number of anchor plates was also varied in few tests. The pullout capacity enhanced with an increase in the diameter and length to diameter ratio. The effect of the length to diameter ratio was appreciable up to the value of 10. However, no significant effect was found in the cases of multiple anchor plates. A relationship is proposed to predict normalized pullout capacity.
ABSTRACT
We report the detection of the far-infrared (FIR) fine-structure line of singly ionized nitrogen, N ii 205 $\mu$m , within the peak epoch of galaxy assembly, from a strongly lensed galaxy, ...hereafter ‘The Red Radio Ring’; the RRR, at z = 2.55. We combine new observations of the ground-state and mid-J transitions of CO (Jup = 1, 5, 8), and the FIR spectral energy distribution (SED), to explore the multiphase interstellar medium (ISM) properties of the RRR. All line profiles suggest that the H ii regions, traced by N ii 205 $\mu$m , and the (diffuse and dense) molecular gas, traced by CO, are cospatial when averaged over kpc-sized regions. Using its mid-IR-to-millimetre (mm) SED, we derive a non-negligible dust attenuation of the N ii 205 $\mu$m line emission. Assuming a uniform dust screen approximation results a mean molecular gas column density >1024 cm−2, with a molecular gas-to-dust mass ratio of 100. It is clear that dust attenuation corrections should be accounted for when studying FIR fine-structure lines in such systems. The attenuation corrected ratio of $L_{\rm N\,{\small II}205} / L_{\rm IR(8\!-\!1000\, \mu m)} = 2.7 \times 10^{-4}$ is consistent with the dispersion of local and z > 4 SFGs. We find that the lower limit, N ii 205 $\mu$m -based star formation rate (SFR) is less than the IR-derived SFR by a factor of 4. Finally, the dust SED, CO line SED, and $L_{\rm N\,{\small II}205}$ line-to-IR luminosity ratio of the RRR is consistent with a starburst-powered ISM.
► The study aims to unravel the mechanistic basis underlying phytodegradation studies. ► This forms the first report of the use of plant cell cultures for the degradation of dyes. ► The work analyses ...the enzymatic basis behind the degradation of Malachite Green. ► The study reports the decolorization of industrial effluents by plant cell cultures. ► It gives insights into basic understanding of processes for the application of these technologies.
Cell cultures of Blumea malcolmii Hook., developed in the laboratory, rapidly decolorized textile industry effluent along with a variety of dyes with diverse structural properties. Most rapid decolorization was observed in case of Malachite Green (93.41% decolorization within 24h). The cells were capable of tolerating and degrading high concentrations of the dye, thus making them remarkable systems for phytoremediation studies. The enzymatic analysis during decolorization of Malachite Green showed the induction of enzymes such as laccase, veratryl alcohol oxidase and DCIP reductase indicating the involvement of these enzymes in the degradation of the dye. The cell cultures also mediated the remediation of textile industry effluent by bringing about a decrease in the BOD, COD and ADMI values of the effluent within 48h. Phytotransformation was confirmed with the help of HPLC and the probable fate of metabolism of the dye was predicted with the help of GCMS analysis.
Granular pile anchor (GPA) is a relatively new foundation technique that is found to be effective in resisting uplift forces in expansive soils. GPA can be utilized as an economical substitute to ...other methods to resist the uplift loads in sandy soils. In this study, the performance of GPA and rough piles installed in the sand bed under uplift was examined using laboratory-scale model tests and numerical modelling under field-scale conditions. The laboratory-scale model tests were performed on GPA and rough pile installed in loose, medium dense, and dense sand beds by varying the embedment ratio. A numerical study was also done to check the findings from the experimental study and GPA suitability under field-scale conditions. The laboratory-scale and numerical study revealed that GPA performs better than bored pile under uplift force and can be used as an effective ground anchoring alternative.
It took several millennia to fully understand the scientific intricacies of the process through which grape juice is turned into wine. This yeast-driven fermentation process is still being perfected ...and advanced today. Motivated by ever-changing consumer preferences and the belief that the ‘best’ wine is yet to be made, numerous approaches are being pursued to improve the process of yeast fermentation and the quality of wine. Central to recent enhancements in winemaking processes and wine quality is the development of Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast strains with improved robustness, fermentation efficiencies and sensory properties. The emerging science of Synthetic Biology – including genome engineering and DNA editing technologies – is taking yeast strain development into a totally new realm of possibility. The first example of how future wine strain development might be impacted by these new ‘history-making’ Synthetic Biology technologies, is the de novo production of the raspberry ketone aroma compound, 4-4-hydroxyphenylbutan-2-one, in a wine yeast containing a synthetic DNA cassette. This article explores how this breakthrough and the imminent outcome of the international Yeast 2.0 (or Sc2.0) project, aimed at the synthesis of the entire genome of a laboratory strain of S. cerevisiae, might accelerate the design of improved wine yeasts.
•The emerging science of Synthetic Biology – including genome engineering and DNA editing technologies – is taking yeast strain development into a totally new realm of possibility.•The first example of how future wine strain development might be impacted by synthetic Biology technologies, is the de novo production of the raspberry ketone aroma compound in a semi-synthetic wine yeast.•The international Yeast 2.0 (or Sc2.0) project, aimed at the synthesis of the entire genome of a laboratory strain of S. cerevisiae, is expected to accelerate the design of improved wine yeasts.•There will be robust debates as to whether the wine industry should make room for Synthetic Biology in their toolkit of technologies to support their relentless pursuit of making ‘the best wine ever’.•The wine industry's long history of being reliant upon continuous innovation installs the necessary confidence that it has all the makings to be, once again, up for the challenges of the future.
The present study reports an optimized protocol for high frequency in vitro plant propagation through direct and indirect organogenesis, phytochemical accumulation, molecular profiling and ...antioxidant evaluation for micropropagated
Swertia minor
, a promising alternative to industrially important
Swertia chirayita
. Moreover, the study also aimed at enhancing the production of antidiabetic and anti-obesity drug swertiamarin using an alternative technology of elicitated cell suspension cultures. Different types, concentrations and combination of cytokinins and auxins showed their effects during various in vitro growth stages. A combination of BAP (3.0 mg/l) and TDZ (1.0 mg/l) had a dominant role in promoting multiple shoot proliferation with production of an average of 19.1 ± 0.95 shoots/node in 85% response. MS medium added with IBA (2.0 mg/l) showed optimal response for in vitro rooting (9.2 ± 0.56 roots/shoot). In order to establish genetic stability, molecular marker-based profiling of micropropagated plants were done and 'monomorphic banding pattern were identical to the mother plants. 2,4-D (2.0 mg/l) supported the maximum callus induction and proliferation rate (95%). The wild-grown plants showed higher polyphenols content and antioxidant activities as compared to callus and in vitro derived plantlets. However, chitosan-treated (25 ppm) methanolic extract of cell biomass accumulated in cell suspension cultures produced higher contents of swertiamarin (1.45 mg/g DW) than salicylic acid and methyl jasmonate. The described protocol can be effectively used for the large-scale propagation, exploitation of active compounds and will serve as potential alternative to
S. chirayita
for fulfillment of over-growing industrial requirements.
Key message
The present investigation addressed in vitro regeneration, callus culture, somatic embryogenesis, molecular profiling, secondary metabolite production, cell suspension culture studies for first time in Swertia minor.
Large-scale production of natural plant products has become a necessity for a wide range of applications in human health and industry. In recent years, yeast has become a potential biotechnological ...and bioengineering platform for the production of industrially relevant biochemicals, pharmaceuticals, and biofuels which are often not easy to produce by chemical mode and are generally derived via cumbersome extraction methods from bioresources including plants. The yeast system has been extensively used for the heterologous production of many natural products and/or their precursors owing to certain merits such as availability of highly efficient promoters for heterologous expression, codon optimization, suitable selection markers, co-transformation efficiency, and multiple expression constructs. Consequent to the availability of yeast genome sequence, and advances in systems and synthetic biology, new avenues have emerged for designing metabolic engineering strategies towards the synthesis of plant based metabolites. Herein, we have presented an account of the developments and challenges in employing yeast as a prospective platform for the production of some plant derived bioactive metabolites.
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