Biofortification—A Frontier Novel Approach to Enrich Micronutrients in Field Crops to Encounter the Nutritional Security

Globally, many developing countries are facing silent epidemics of nutritional deficiencies in human beings and animals. The lack of diversity in diet, i.e., cereal-based crops deficient in mineral nutrients is an additional threat to nutritional quality. The present review accounts for the significance of biofortification as a process to enhance the productivity of crops and also an agricultural solution to address the issues of nutritional security. In this endeavor, different innovative and specific biofortification approaches have been discussed for nutrient enrichment of field crops including cereals, pulses, oilseeds and fodder crops. The agronomic approach increases the micronutrient density in crops with soil and foliar application of fertilizers including amendments. The biofortification through conventional breeding approach includes the selection of efficient genotypes, practicing crossing of plants with desirable nutritional traits without sacrificing agricultural and economic productivity. However, the transgenic/biotechnological approach involves the synthesis of transgenes for micronutrient re-translocation between tissues to enhance their bioavailability. Soil microorganisms enhance nutrient content in the rhizosphere through diverse mechanisms such as synthesis, mobilization, transformations and siderophore production which accumulate more minerals in plants. Different sources of micronutrients viz. mineral solutions, chelates and nanoparticles play a pivotal role in the process of biofortification as it regulates the absorption rates and mechanisms in plants. Apart from the quality parameters, biofortification also improved the crop yield to alleviate hidden hunger thus proving to be a sustainable and cost-effective approach. Thus, this review article conveys a message for researchers about the adequate potential of biofortification to increase crop productivity and nourish the crop with additional nutrient content to provide food security and nutritional quality to humans and livestock.     

On Galerkin models for transport in groundwater

The Galerkin finite element model (GFEM) may provide oscillatory results when employed to predict contaminant transport in groundwater unless a very fine mesh is used. Adaptation of a very fine mesh may make the application of the GFEM impractical to field problems. The Petrov—Galerkin finite element models (PGFEMs) can provide oscillation free results for relatively coarser mesh. However, the PGFEM violates the Galerkin principle and introduces large “numerical” dispersion. The objective of this paper has been to develop accurate criteria to improve the applicability of the GFEM to obtain oscillation free accurate results for coarser mesh and compare its performance with that of the PGFEM. It has been shown that the GFEM provides oscillation free accurate results for coarser mesh with Peclet number Pe 20. Further, the GFEM prediction has always been more accurate than the PGFEM for a variety of source configurations and flow fields.     

The Multifunctional Role of Herbal Products in the Management of Diabetes and Obesity: A Comprehensive Review

Obesity and diabetes are the most demanding health problems today, and their prevalence, as well as comorbidities, is on the rise all over the world. As time goes on, both are becoming big issues that have a big impact on people’s lives. Diabetes is a metabolic and endocrine illness set apart by hyperglycemia and glucose narrow-mindedness because of insulin opposition. Heftiness is a typical, complex, and developing overall wellbeing worry that has for quite some time been connected to significant medical issues in individuals, all things considered. Because of the wide variety and low adverse effects, herbal products are an important hotspot for drug development. Synthetic compounds are not structurally diverse and lack drug-likeness properties. Thus, it is basic to keep on exploring herbal products as possible wellsprings of novel drugs. We conducted this review of the literature by searching Scopus, Science Direct, Elsevier, PubMed, and Web of Science databases. From 1990 until October 2021, research reports, review articles, and original research articles in English are presented. It provides top to bottom data and an examination of plant-inferred compounds that might be utilized against heftiness or potentially hostile to diabetes treatments. Our expanded comprehension of the systems of activity of phytogenic compounds, as an extra examination, could prompt the advancement of remedial methodologies for metabolic diseases. In clinical trials, a huge number of these food kinds or restorative plants, as well as their bioactive compounds, have been shown to be beneficial in the treatment of obesity.     

Thermoluminescence energy response of TLD-100 subjected to photon irradiation using Monte Carlo N-particle transport code version 5

Useful TL properties of TLD-100 that is an excellent candidate for using in TL dosimetry of ionizing radiation are demonstrated. This study is focused on response of TLD-100 subjected to photon irradiation. The thermoluminescence (TL) response of TLD-100 subject to various photon energy, ranging from 20 keV to 6 MeV, was investigated as energy absorbed in the TL material using Monte Carlo N-Particle transport code version 5 (MCNP5). The input parameters included in this study are experimental geometry specification, source information, material information, and tallies. Tally F6 is used in this simulation. The results from MCNP5 simulation show good agreement with previous experimental data. However, the data obtained from the simulation are greater than the experimental data especially in lower energy ranges.     

Transverse Wave Propagation in Relativistic Two-Fluid Plasmas around Reissner–Nordström Black Hole

We investigate transverse electromagnetic waves propagating in a plasma influenced by the gravitational field of the Reissner–Nordström black hole. Applying 3+1 spacetime split we reformulate the relativistic two-fluid equations to take account of gravitational effects due to the event horizon and describe the set of simultaneous linear equations for the perturbations. Using a local approximation we investigate the one-dimensional radial propagation of Alfvén and high frequency electromagnetic waves. We derive the dispersion relation for these waves and solve it for the wave number k numerically.     

Synthesis,structure, and biological properties of a Co(II) complex with tridentate Schiff base ligand

A new Co(II) complex of general formula [Co(L)₂] has been synthesized from a NNO tridentate Schiff base ligand, 2-[(piperidin-2-ylmethylimino)-methyl]-phenol (L). The title complex is characterized by elemental, spectroscopic, antibacterial, and single crystal X-ray structural studies. X-Ray crystallography reveals that the complex shows a distorted octahedral geometry around the Co(II) ion. The complex was tested against several bacteria and shows good antibacterial activities against almost all of the bacteria. The interactions of the title complex with calf thymus deoxyribonucleic acid (CT-DNA) have been investigated by electronic absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy, showing that the complex interacts with CT-DNA via partial intercalation. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of the complex has also been reported and the result shows that the complex is thermally stable up to 134 °C.     

Doping radius effects on an erbium-doped fiber amplifier

In an erbium-doped fiber amplifier(EDFA), erbium ions act as a three-level system. Therefore, much higher pump energy is required to achieve the population inversion in an erbium-doped fiber(EDF). This higher pump energy requirement complicates the efficient design of an EDFA. However, efficient use of the pump power can improve the EDFA performance. The improved performance of an EDFA can be obtained by reducing the doping radius of the EDF. A smaller doping radius increases pump–dopant interactions and subsequently increases the pump–photon conversion efficiency. Decreasing the doping radius allows a larger proportion of dopant ions,which are concentrated near the core, to interact with the highest pump intensity. However, decreasing the doping radius beyond a certain limit will bring the dopant ions much closer and introduce detrimental ion–ion interaction effects. In this Letter, we show that an optimal doping radius in an EDF can provide the best gain performance. Moreover, we have simulated the well-known numerical aperture effects on EDFA gain performance to support our claim.     

Preparation and Characterization of Bhant Leaves‐derived Nitrogen‐doped Carbon and its Use as an Electrocatalyst for Detecting Ketoconazole

In this study, the electrocatalytic characteristics of nitrogen‐doped carbon (NDC) prepared from Clerodendrum Infortunatum L leaves on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) surface was evaluated with regards to its ability to detect the electroactive drug ketoconazole (KCZ). The NDC was prepared by carrying out a simple pyrolysis of dry powder of the leaves at 850 °C. The prepared NDC was characterized using field‐emission scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Brunauer‐Emmett‐Teller analysis, and was then used as an electrode material. The performance of the electrochemical KCZ sensor with the NDC‐modified glassy carbon electrode (NDC/GCE) was found to be optimal when using PBS buffer at pH 3 and a concentration of 0.1 mg/ml of NDC in the conjugate with Nafion polymer. Under these conditions, the NDC/GCE displayed a KCZ detection limit of 3 μM and a linear dependence of its response on KCZ concentration over a wide range of KCZ concentrations from 47 μM to 752 μM (R²=0.9742). These results confirmed the potential of NDC as an electrocatalyst.