Comparison of UV Protection Properties of Cotton Fabrics Treated with Aqueous and Methanolic Extracts of Achyranthes aspera and Alhagi maurorum Plants

UV radiations are high‐energy radiations present in sunlight that can damage human skin. Protection against these radiations becomes vital especially in those areas of the globe where UV index is quite high that makes the inhabitants more prone to dangerous effects of UV radiations. Clothing materials are good blockers of UV radiations, particularly when the fabric cover factor is high and/or the fabrics contain suitable UV‐blocking finishes. In this study, effect of application of aqueous and methanolic extracts of two different plants, i.e., Achyranthes aspera and Alhagi maurorum on UV protection properties of cotton fabric was investigated. The results showed that the fabric samples treated with extracts of both the plants have excellent UV protection properties as indicated by their ultraviolet protection factor. It was concluded that both the aqueous and methanolic plant extracts are very effective in blocking UVA and UVB radiations, when applied on cotton fabrics. The UV protection performance of Achyranthes aspera extracts was much better as compared to that of Alhagi maurorum, and methanolic extracts of both the plants outperformed the aqueous extracts in terms of UV protection.     

Antifungal activities of amino acid ester functional pyrazolyl compounds against Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. albedinis and Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast

Series of functional multidendate ligands based on pyrazole and amino acid derivatives were prepared in good and excellent yields (75–5%) by condensation of one equivalent of amino acid ester hydrochloride substrates with two equivalents of (3,5-dimethyl-1H–pyrazol-1-yl)methanol. These tridentate functionalized compounds and their starting materials were screened for their antifungal activities against Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. albedinis and the yeast of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Considerable activities were recorded with respect to the two studied microorganisms.     

SAW sensor read range limitations and perspectives

Wireless monitoring systems with passive surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensors offer novel and prodigious perspectives for remote monitoring and control in harsh environments. This paper reviews the working principle of such passive sensors and their state-of-the-art behavior. All major fields of the SAW sensor require operation over a longer reading range, which is the current limitation, hindering the massive implementation of these passive devices. This foremost limitation of the SAW based sensor system occurs when the reply signal strength at the reader becomes too weak for reliable recognition and identification. SAW sensor network read range limitations and advanced techniques for its enhancement are deliberated. Deployment design to maintain the communication reliability and connectivity of the sensor/interrogators network is also discussed.     

Symbiotic signaling in actinorhizal symbioses

Actinorhizal symbioses are mutualistic associations between plants belonging to eight angiosperm families and soil bacteria of the genus Frankia. These interactions lead to the formation of new root organs, actinorhizal nodules, where the bacteria are hosted and fix atmospheric nitrogen thus providing the plant with an almost unlimited source of nitrogen for its nutrition. It involves an elaborate signaling between both partners of the symbiosis. In recent years, our knowledge of this signaling pathway has increased tremendously thanks to a series of technical breakthroughs including the sequencing of three Frankia genomes [1] and the implementation of RNA silencing technology for two actinorhizal species. In this review, we describe all these recent advances, current researches on symbiotic signaling in actinorhizal symbioses and give some potential future research directions.     

Chemical composition, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of essential oils from organically cultivated fennel cultivars

Essential oils of the fruits of three organically grown cultivars of Egyptian fennel (Foeniculum vulgare var. azoricum, Foeniculum vulgare var. dulce and Foeniculum vulgare var. vulgare) were examined for their chemical constituents, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis of the essential oils revealed the presence of 18 major monoterpenoids in all three cultivars but their percentage in each oil were greatly different. trans-Anethole, estragole, fenchone and limonene were highly abundant in all of the examined oils. Antioxidant activities of the essential oils were evaluated using the DPPH radical scavenging, lipid peroxidation and metal chelating assays. Essential oils from the azoricum and dulce cultivars were more effective antioxidants than that from the vulgare cultivar. Antimicrobial activities of each oil were measured against two species of fungi, two species of Gram negative and two species of Gram positive bacteria. All three cultivars showed similar antimicrobial activity.     

On one sided ideals of a semiprime ring with generalized derivations

Let R be a ring with center Z(R). An additive mapping ${F : R \longrightarrow R}$ is said to be a generalized derivation on R if there exists a derivation ${d : R \longrightarrow R}$ such that F(xy) = F(x)y + xd(y), for all ${x, y \in R}$ (the map d is called the derivation associated with F). Let R be a semiprime ring and U be a nonzero left ideal of R. In the present note we prove that if R admits a generalized derivation F, d is the derivation associated with F such that d(U) ≠ (0) then R contains some nonzero central ideal, if one of the following conditions holds: (1) R is 2-torsion free and ${F(xy) \in Z(R)}$ , for all ${x, y \in U}$ , unless F(U)U = UF(U) = Ud(U) = (0); (2) ${F(xy) \mp yx \in Z(R)}$ , for all ${x,y \in U}$ ; (3) ${F(xy) \mp [x,y] \in Z(R)}$ , for all ${x,y \in U}$ ; (4) F ≠ 0 and F([x,y]) = 0, for all ${x, y \in U}$ , unless Ud(U) = (0); (5) F ≠ 0 and ${F([x, y]) \in Z(R)}$ , for all ${x, y \in U}$ , unless either d(Z(R))U = (0) or Ud(U) = (0)n.     

Structural and optical properties of thermally reduced graphene oxide for energy devices

Natural intercalation of the graphite oxide, obtained as a product of Hummer's method, via ultra-sonication of water dispersed graphite oxide has been carried out to obtain graphene oxide(GO) and thermally reduced graphene oxide(RGO).Here we report the effect of metallic nitrate on the oxidation properties of graphite and then formation of metallic oxide(MO) composites with GO and RGO for the first time. We observed a change in the efficiency of the oxidation process as we replaced the conventionally used sodium nitrate with that of nickel nitrate Ni(NO_3)_2, cadmium nitrate Cd(NO_3)_2,and zinc nitrate Zn(NO_3)_2. The structural properties were investigated by x-ray diffraction and observed the successful formation of composite of MO–GO and MO–RGO(M = Zn, Cd, Ni). We sought to study the effect on the oxidation process through optical characterization via UV-Vis spectroscopy and Fourier Transform Infrared(FTIR) spectroscopy.Moreover, Thermo Gravimetric Analysis(TGA) was carried out to confirm 90% weight loss in each process thus proving the reliability of the oxidation cycles. We have found that the nature of the oxidation process of graphite powder and its optical and electrochemical characteristics can be tuned by replacing the sodium nitrate(NaNO_3) by other metallic nitrates as Cd(NO_3)_2, Ni(NO_3)_2, and Zn(NO_3)_2. On the basis of obtained results, the synthesized GO and RGO may be expected as a promising material in antibacterial activity and in electrodes fabrication for energy devices such as solar cell, fuel cell,and super capacitors.     

Comparative efficacy of locally isolated fungal strains for Pb(II) removal and recovery from water

The present investigation aimed to study and compare the efficiency of non-viable fungal isolates to remove divalent lead (Pb(II)) from aqueous streams. The selected fungal isolates showed identity with Aspergillus caespitosus, Aureobasidium sp. RBSS-303 and Aspergillus flavus HF5 as confirmed using gene sequencing of ITS regions of the ribosomal DNA (rDNA). The obtained equilibrium data for Pb(II) biosorption of A. caespitosus fitted better to Langmuir isotherm with maximum sorption capacity of 351.0 mg/g and A. sp. RBSS-303 and A. flavus HF5 showed good fit to Freundlich isotherm with maximum sorption capacity of 271.5 and 346.3 mg/g respectively. The values of thermodynamic factors ascertained the nature of adsorption process is endothermic with A. caespitosus and A. flavus HF5 but exothermic with A. sp. RBSS-303. The experimental data for Pb(II) biosorption fits very well to pseudo second order kinetic model. With HCl the maximum 85.5, 75.3, 73.7% recovery of Pb(II) was obtained from A. caespitosus, A. sp. RBSS-303 and A. flavus HF5, respectively. The observed percentage loss in sorption capacity of Pb(II) was 3.9% by A. flavus HF5, 12.2% by A. caespitosus and 26.6% by A. sp. RBSS-303 after five cyclic studies of sorption and desorption. Results from the study confirmed the efficiency order of A. caespitosus > A. flavus HF5 > A. sp. RBSS-303 to remove and recover Pb(II) from aqueous solution. Finally, the fungal biosorbents can be used as soil conditioning agent after compositing into valuables fungal protein.