Nutrient deficiencies in soil-crop contexts and inappropriate managements are the important reasons for low crop productivity, reduced nutritional quality of agricultural produce and animal/human ...malnutrition, across the world. The present investigation was carried out to evaluate nutrient deficiencies of sulphur (S) and micronutrients zinc (Zn), boron (B), iron (Fe), copper (Cu) and manganese (Mn) in agricultural soils of India for devising effective management strategies to achieve sustainable crop production, improved nutritional quality in crops and better animal/human health. A total of 2,42,827 surface (0-15 cm depth) soil samples were collected from agriculture fields of 615 districts lying in 28 states of India and were analysed for available S and micronutrients concentration. The study was carried out under the aegis of All India Coordinated Research Project on Micro- and Secondary-Nutrients and Pollutant Elements in Soils and Plants. The mean concentrations were 27.0 ± 29.9 mg kg
for available S, 1.40 ± 1.60 mg kg
for available Zn and 1.40 ± 4.70 mg kg
for available B, 31.0 ± 52.2 mg kg
for available Fe, 2.30 ± 3.50 mg kg
for available Cu and 17.5 ± 21.4 mg kg
for available Mn. There were variable and widespread deficiencies of S and micronutrients in different states. The deficiencies (acute deficient + deficient + latent deficiency) of S (58.6% of soils), Zn (51.2% of soils) and B (44.7% of soils) were higher compared to the deficiencies of Fe (19.2% of soils), Cu (11.4% of soils) and Mn (17.4% of soils). Out of 615 districts, > 50% of soils in 101, 131 and 86 districts were deficient in available S, available Zn and available B, respectively. Whereas, > 25% of soils in 83, 5 and 41 districts had deficiencies of available Fe, available Cu and available Mn, respectively. There were occurrences of 2-nutrients deficiencies such S + Zn (9.30% of soils), Zn + B (8.70% of soils), S + B (7.00% of soils) and Zn + Fe (5.80% of soils) to a greater extent compared to the deficiencies of Zn + Mn (3.40% of soils), S + Fe (3.30% of soils), Zn + Cu (2.80% of soils) and Fe + B (2.70% of soils). Relatively lower % of soils were deficient in 3-nutrients (namely S + Zn + B, S + Zn + B and Zn + Fe + B), 4-nutrients (namely Zn + Fe + Cu + Mn) and 5-nutrients (namely Zn + Fe + Cu + Mn + B) simultaneously. The information regarding the distribution of deficiencies of S and micronutrients (both single and multi-nutrients) could be used by various stakeholders for production, supply and application of right kind of fertilizers in different districts, states and agro-ecological regions of India for better crop production, crop nutritional quality, nutrient use efficiency, soil health and for tackling human and animal malnutrition.
In an uncoated vapor cell, transmission spectra obtained for electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) for D
2
line of
87
Rb show asymmetry and (or) absorption in the presence of a magnetic ...field. In this study, complete conversion from asymmetry/absorption to transmission is found using octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) as an anti-relaxation coating for a
Λ
system. The experimental results were interpreted in terms of velocity-dependent population re-distribution in the ground states induced by the coating, eventually resulting in the conversion from absorption to transmission. A simple theoretical model based on density matrix formalism is presented for qualitative interpretation of the results.
•Psidium guajava extract simultaneously reduces AgNO3 and graphene oxide.•The reduction yields Ag nanoparticle-reduced graphene oxide composite.•The composite exhibits remarkable enhancement of the ...Raman signal of the dye.•The reduce graphene oxide shows better PL quenching ability than the composite.•The PL quenching behaviour is ascribed to the charge transfer processes.
Here we present the synthesis of reduced graphene oxide and silver nanoparticle-reduced graphene oxide composites using aqueous extract of dry leaves of Psidium guajava by one pot reflux method. Psidium guajava extract simultaneously reduces silver nitrate and graphene oxide in the reaction mixture which is confirmed by various spectroscopic techniques. Variable concentrations of silver nitrate solution are used to obtain reduced graphene oxide with different dosage of silver nanoparticles and the resultant composites are examined using surface enhanced Raman scattering measurements. Considering methylene blue as a probe molecule, it is found that the surface enhanced Raman scattering activity increases with the increase in the dose of silver nanoparticles. Our as-synthesised silver nanoparticle-reduced graphene oxide composite shows remarkable performance in detecting methylene blue with concentration as low as 10−8M for which the enhancement factor is 4.6×105. In addition, we report that the reduced graphene oxide quenches the photoluminescence of methylene blue more efficiently than silver nanoparticle-reduced graphene oxide composite. The charge transfer states have been extracted which are mainly responsible for the quenching processes.
Nano-arsenic are synthesized using
Bergenia ciliata
root extracts in water from arsenic trioxide. The synthesized As nanoparticles, with an average diameter of 13(1) nm, self-assemble into ...nanotubules with average Feret diameter of 530(20) nm. These As nanotubules/nanoparticles have direct bandgap of 2.737 eV and incorporate multiple defect-related states within the gap. The presence of weak ferromagnetism in these nanotubules/nanoparticles are attributed to the dipolar interactions amongst the charges on the defect sites. Owing to van der Waals interactions between nanotubules and smaller nanoparticles, nanotubules present surface roughness and are utilized as surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy substrate for probing methylene blue dye with an enhancement factor
>
10
3
.
Nanosecond laser pulses (1064 nm, 8 ns and 10 Hz) were employed to ablate a Cu target immersed in deionized water (DI) and ethylene glycol (EG). The ablation process was carried out for 60 min for ...two different laser fluences, i.e.,
27
J
/
cm
2
and
80
J
/
cm
2
, which resulted in the formation of Cu/CuO nanoparticles (NPs) in both the media. The effects of laser fluence and solvents on the morphology of NPs were investigated using structural and optical characterization techniques (such as TEM, HRTEM, XRD, UV–visible and PL spectroscopy). The colloidal solution synthesized at the low fluence of
27
J
/
cm
2
in DI illustrated the presence of hollow structured CuO NPs and has been attributed to the Kirkendall effect. At the high fluence of
80
J
/
cm
2
, porous NPs were seen which has been attributed to the dissolution of
H
2
molecules. In EG, no signature of hollow or porous NPs was seen and this has been accredited to its oxygen deficiency and viscous nature. Additionally, the growth kinematics involved in the transformation of morphology are elaborately discussed.
We present the results of our experimental investigation performed for
D
2
line of
87
Rb. In this work, we have studied the phenomenon of electromagnetically induced transparency of
87
Rb in presence ...of a transverse magnetic field and it is interesting to find the EIT spectrum shows signature of the closely lying hyperfine excited states in particular
F
′ = 1. We choose two different configurations for our study namely, Λ
1
and Λ
2
realised by locking probe beam at two different transition i.e. |
F
= 1〉 → |
F
′ = 2〉 and |
F
= 2〉 → |
F
′ = 2〉 respectively. We observe asymmetric features in both configurations at high magnetic field and for Λ
1
configuration we find complete conversion from transmission to absorption. We explain the observations by quantitative assessment of the impurities in the dark states which arises because of the influence of the neighbouring states. We substantiate our experimental findings with density based numerical calculations.
Graphical abstract
We present green synthesis of silver nanoparticles in water using unirradiated and Ag
15
+
ion irradiated phytoextracts of
Bergenia Ciliata
leaf,
Eupatorium adenophorum
leaf,
Rhododendron
arboreum
...leaf and flower. The use of different plant extracts and their subsequent ion irradiation allow for successful refinement of nanoparticle size and morphology. Due to changes in reducing and capping agents the nanoparticle surface functionalization also varies which not only controls the morphology but also allows for surface oxidation and aggregation processes. In this work, we have synthesized silver nanoparticles which exhibit sizes in the range from 13 to 24 nm and having shapes like spherical, quasispherical, trigonal, hexagonal, cylindrical, dendritic assemblies, and porous nanoparticles. Owing to changes in the size and shape of the nanoparticles, their direct bandgap (2.05 eV - 2.48 eV) and local surface plasmon resonance (420 nm - 490 nm) could also be tuned. These nanoparticles are examined as SERS substrates, where their enhancement factors, limit of detection for methylene blue, and SERS substrate homogeneity have been tested. It has been observed the nanoparticles synthesized using unirradiated plant extracts present an enhancement factor of 10
6
with a limit of detection 10
-
8
M. Whereas nanoparticles with refined morphology and shapes upon irradiation present high enhancement factors of >10
7
and detection limit down to 10
-
9
M. In addition, uniformity in Raman spectra over the SERS substrates has been obtained for selected Ag NPs substrates synthesized using irradiated extracts with minimum relative standard deviation in enhancement factor < 12%.
Background: Chronic kidney disease CKD is linked to poor kidney function and a persistent decrease in glomerular filtration rate. Almost no lipid profile anomalies in CKD to patho-physiologically ...notable variations in lipid profile in patients with CKD such as raised triglycerides and low high-density lipoprotein levels have been reported in Indian research proving the pathophysiological link of CKD with Lipid profile.Aim of the Study: To estimate the thyroid hormone level and lipid profile in chronic kidney disease patients and to establish a correlation between them.Patients and Methods: CKD patients with moderate to severe disease, irrespective of gender, within the age groups 20-90 years were included in the study. Moderate CKD stage 3 is defined as an estimated glomerular filtration rate eGFR of 30-60 ml/min, whereas severe CKD stages 4 and 5 is defined as an eGFR of less than 30 ml/min & patients on maintenance hemodialysis were included. Blood urea, Serum creatinine, Lipid profile, TSH, total T3, and total T4 values of subjects were obtained and analysed. CKD staging was done on eGFR.Results: Our study included 123 CKD patients who met the criteria for the disease. 95 % of the patients had high TSH levels, 48% had low T3 levels, and 95 % had low T4 levels. Out of 123 patients, 87% N=108 patients had deranged lipid profiles.Conclusion: The study concluded that there is statistically significant association between Chronic Kidney disease and deranged lipid and thyroid profiles and hypothyroid state.
Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus-2 SARS CoV2, the virus that cause the COVID-19 pandemic remained a persistent challenge worldwide. India emerged as the second most affected ...nation after the United States. Many previous studies confirmed the association of comorbidities like diabetes, hypertension, etc. as associated with adverse outcomes in COVID-19.Aim of the work: The current study aimed to ascertain the association of comorbidities like diabetes, hypertension, and CAD with adverse disease outcomes in COVID-19 pneumonia.Patients and Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted with the data retrieved from medical records of patients admitted with a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction RT-PCR positive COVID-19 in the intensive care unit ICU of a tertiary medical college. We analyzed 467 RT-PCR confirmed COVID19 cases with respect to the association with adverse and critical disease states. Criticality was defined as any one of: a use of ventilation, b death or c Radiographic assessment of lung edema RALE Score >24.Results: Of the total cases among critical cases, 52% 95% CI 46%-59% has comorbidity and non-critical cases 41% had comorbidity 95% CI 34%-48%. The prevalence of diabetes among critical cases was 43% 95% CI 37%-49% while in non-critical cases it was 28% 95%CI 21%-34%. Hypertension was prevalent in 30% 95% CI 24%-37% in non-critical cases while it was prevalent in 33 % 95% CI 27%-38% in critical cases. We also examined the association of comorbidities in the ICU admitted cohort and found that there is a significant association of diabetes p-<0.01 and hypertension p-<0.01, Obesity p<0.05, and CAD p<0.05 with adverse disease outcome.Conclusion: Three most common comorbidities, diabetes, hypertension, and obesity have statistically significant associations with adverse outcomes in COVID 19. There was also a statistically significant association seen with CAD, probably due to the thrombogenic potential of COVID-19.
PDF
