Neem Oil As Pesticide

Use of synthetic pesticides has resulted into health hazards, ecological imbalance, resistance in pests and environmental pollution.1 Singh, R. 1997. “Studies in formulation of pesticide emulsion”. India: UDCT, University of Mumbai. , Ph.D. Thesis [Google Scholar] Neem oil is natural pesticide and has excellent insecticidal properties. Hence, attempts are being made to develop neem oil emulsions to be used as pesticide. Surfactants like castor‐oil based, nonyl phenol‐based, sodium lauryl sulphate, and calcium alkyl benzene sulphonate were tried to develop stable emulsions. Neem extract based emulsifiable concentrates were prepared by using methanol. Stability of emulsion as a function of type of surfactants, hydrophile‐lipophile balance (HLB) of surfactants and hardness of water was studied. Larvasidal effects of emulsions and emulsifiable concentrates were examined. Laboratory experiments have shown effectiveness of these emulsions and emulsifiable concentrates as pesticide.     

Origin and Use of Hydroxyl Group Tolerance in Cationic Molybdenum Imido Alkylidene N-Heterocyclic Carbene Catalysts

The origin of hydroxyl group tolerance in neutral and especially cationic molybdenum imido alkylidene N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) complexes has been investigated. A wide range of catalysts was prepared and tested. Most cationic complexes can be handled in air without difficulty and display an unprecedented stability towards water and alcohols. NHC complexes were successfully used with substrates containing the hydroxyl functionality in acyclic diene metathesis polymerization, homo-, cross and ring-opening cross metathesis reactions. The catalysts remain active even in 2-PrOH and are applicable in ring-opening metathesis polymerization and alkene homometathesis using alcohols as solvent. The use of weakly basic bidentate, hemilabile anionic ligands such as triflate or pentafluorobenzoate and weakly basic aromatic imido ligands in combination with a sterically demanding 1,3-dimesitylimidazol-2-ylidene NHC ligand was found essential for reactive and yet robust catalysts.     

New and efficient routes for the synthesis of murrayaquinone A and murrayanine

Three new routes were established for the synthesis of biologically active murrayaquinone A and a new method was developed for synthesis of murrayanine from the same starting material as 4-hydroxy carbazole. During the synthetic course a few novel observation were recorded, which include two one pot reaction sequences and C–N bond cleavage by sodium cyanoborohydride.     

Mesoporous silica-coated hollow manganese oxide nanoparticles as positive T1 contrast agents for labeling and MRI tracking of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells

Mesoporous silica-coated hollow manganese oxide (HMnO@mSiO(2)) nanoparticles were developed as a novel T(1) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agent. We hypothesized that the mesoporous structure of the nanoparticle shell enables optimal access of water molecules to the magnetic core, and consequently, an effective longitudinal (R(1)) relaxation enhancement of water protons, which value was measured to be 0.99 (mM(-1)s(-1)) at 11.7 T. Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were efficiently labeled using electroporation, with much shorter T(1) values as compared to direct incubation without electroporation, which was also evidenced by signal enhancement on T(1)-weighted MR images in vitro. Intracranial grafting of HMnO@mSiO(2)-labeled MSCs enabled serial MR monitoring of cell transplants over 14 days. These novel nanoparticles may extend the arsenal of currently available nanoparticle MR contrast agents by providing positive contrast on T(1)-weighted images at high magnetic field strengths.     

Involvement of central noradrenaline, serotonin and dopamine system in the antidepressant activity of fruits of Solanum torvum (Solanaceae)

The methanolic extract (ME) of Solanum torvum seeds and its ethyl acetate fraction (EAF) were investigated for their antidepressant activity using behavioral (forced swim test, FST and tail suspension test, TST) and biochemical (monoamine oxidase, MAO reduced activity) tests. ME (10, 30 and 100?mg?kg(-1)) and EAF (10 and 30?mg?kg(-1)) dose dependently inhibited the immobility period, increased noradrenaline, serotonin and dopamine levels and inhibited the MAO enzymes in FST and TST using mice. Furthermore, we have observed antagonism between the threshold dose of ME (30 and 100?mg?kg(-1)) and EAF (10 and 30?mg?kg(-1)) with antagonists on behaviour mediated by neurotransmitters noradrenaline, serotonin and dopamine. MAO-A inhibition was more prominent as compared to MAO-B inhibition. The study provides evidence for antidepressant actions of S. torvum.     

Optosensing of chlorine gas using a dry reagent strip and diffuse reflectance spectrophotometry

Chlorine gas concentrations in the range 0–5 ppm can be measured with a limit of detection of 0.043 ppm using an immobilized reagent (o-tolidine is best) and refiectance spectrophotometry. The system described utilizes a nylon tape dry reagent carrier whose change in reflectance over 10 s is probed in real time by means of an optical fibre.