In Vitro Propagation,Encapsulation, and Genetic Fidelity Analysis of Terminalia arjuna: a Cardioprotective Medicinal Tree

The present study described an improved and reproducible in vitro regeneration system for Terminalia arjuna using nodal segment explants obtained from a mature plant. Shoot tips excised from in vitro proliferated shoots were encapsulated in 3 % sodium alginate and 100 mM CaCl₂?2H₂O for the development of synthetic seeds which may be applicable in short-term storage and germplasm exchange of elite genotype. Shoot multiplication was significantly influenced by a number of factors, namely types and concentrations of plant growth regulators, medium composition, repeated transfer of mother explants, subculturing of in vitro regenerated shoot clumps, agar concentrations, and temperature. Maximum numbers of shoots (16.50?±?3.67) were observed on modified Murashige and Skoog (MMS) medium containing 0.5 mg l^?1 of benzylaminopurine (BAP) and 0.1 mg l^?1 of naphthalene acetic acid (NAA). To shortening the regeneration pathway, rooting of micropropagated shoots under in vitro condition was excluded and an experiment on ex vitro rooting was conducted and it was observed that the highest percentage of shoots rooted ex vitro when treated with indole-3-butyric acid (IBA, 250 mg l^?1)?+?2-naphthoxy acetic acid (NOA, 250 mg l^?1) for 5 min. The well-developed ex vitro rooted shoots were acclimatized successfully in soilrite under greenhouse conditions with 80 % survival of plants. Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis confirmed that all the regenerated plants were genetically identical to the mother plant, suggesting the absence of detectable genetic variation in the regenerated plantlets. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on synthetic seed production as well as ex vitro rooting and genetic fidelity assessment of micropropagated shoots of T. arjuna.     

Topological properties of the multifunction space <Emphasis Type="Italic">L</Emphasis>(<Emphasis Type="Italic">X</Emphasis>) of cusco maps

A set-valued mapping F from a topological space X to a topological space Y is called a cusco map if F is upper semicontinuous and F(x) is a nonempty, compact and connected subset of Y for each x ∈ X. We denote by L(X), the space of all subsets F of X × ℝ such that F is the graph of a cusco map from the space X to the real line ℝ. In this paper, we study topological properties of L(X) endowed with the Vietoris topology. The second author is supported by the SPM fellowship awarded by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India.     

Computer simulation, thermodynamic and microstructural studies of benzamide–benzoic acid eutectic system

Phase diagram of benzamide–benzoic acid system has been studied by the thaw–melt method. Linear velocities of crystallization of the components and the eutectic mixture were determined at different undercoolings. Values of the heat of fusion were obtained from DSC studies. Excess Gibbs free energy, excess enthalpy and excess entropy of mixing were calculated. In order to know the nature of interaction between the two components, FT-IR spectral analyses were done. In addition to these studies, computer simulation has been done to obtain an idea about the interaction energy and the optimized geometry of the eutectic mixture. Microstructural studies showed the formation of an irregular structure in the eutectic mixture, which changed with aging and on addition of impurities.     

LiSn2(PO4)3-based polymer-in-ceramic composite electrolyte with high ionic conductivity for all-solid-state lithium batteries

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - In this work, fabrication and electrochemical behavior of polymer-in-ceramic composite electrolytes based on lithium-ion conducting triclinic LiSn2(PO4)3...     

Effect of surface treatment on the photovoltaic properties of titania nanorods and MEHPPV nanocomposites

In this work, anatase titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanorods (NRs) were synthesized by low-temperature hydrolysis of titanium tetraisopropoxide (TTIP) and using oleic acid (OA) as capping agent. The OA-capped titania NRs were then processed using surface ligand exchange by pyridine (Py). The two types of NRs, with different capping agents hence obtained, were blended with poly[2-methoxy-5-(2′-ethyl-hexyloxy)-l,4-phenylene vinylene] (MEHPPV) to prepare hybrid organic–inorganic nanocomposites. In order to elucidate the changes caused by the surface modifications, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and X-ray diffraction were used to study the morphology. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis confirms that the ligands coordinated with the Ti center of TiO₂ NRs. The optical properties of the modified TiO₂ NRs are characterized by UV–Vis absorption spectra and photoluminescence (PL) spectra. Photoluminescence lifetime studies were conducted to predict the capping agent more suitable for photovoltaic applications.     

Atsuji completions vis-à-vis hyperspaces

A metric space (X, d) is called an Atsuji space if every real-valued continuous function on (X, d) is uniformly continuous. It is well-known that an Atsuji space must be complete. A metric space (X, d) is said to have an Atsuji completion if its completion (, d) is an Atsuji space. In this paper, we study twelve equivalent (external) characterizations for a metric space to have an Atsuji completion in terms of hyperspace topologies. We also characterize topologically those metrizable spaces whose completions are Atsuji spaces. The first author was supported by the SPM fellowship awarded by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India, during the work of this paper.     

Atsuji completions: Equivalent characterisations

A metric space (X,d) is called an Atsuji space if every real-valued continuous function on (X,d) is uniformly continuous. It is well known that an Atsuji space must be complete. A metric space (X,d) is said to have an Atsuji completion if its completion is an Atsuji space. In this paper, we study twenty-nine equivalent characterisations for a metric space to have an Atsuji completion.     

Single nanoparticle spectroscopy for real-time in vivo quantitative analysis of transport and toxicity of single nanoparticles in single embryos

Nanomaterials exhibit distinctive physicochemical properties and promise a wide range of applications from nanotechnology to nanomedicine, which raise serious concerns about their potential environmental impacts on ecosystems. Unlike any conventional chemicals, nanomaterials are highly heterogeneous, and their properties can alter over time. These unique characteristics underscore the importance of study of their properties and effects on living organisms in real time at single nanoparticle (NP) resolution. Here we report the development of single-NP plasmonic microscopy and spectroscopy (dark-field optical microscopy and spectroscopy, DFOMS) and ultrasensitive in vivo assay (cleavage-stage zebrafish embryos, critical aquatic species) to study transport and toxicity of single silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs, 95.4 ± 16.0 nm) on embryonic developments. We synthesized and characterized purified and stable (non-aggregation) Ag NPs, determined their sizes and doses (number), and their transport mechanisms and effects on embryonic development in vivo in real time at single-NP resolution. We found that single Ag NPs passively entered the embryos through their chorionic pores via random Brownian diffusion and stayed inside the embryos throughout their entire development (120 h), suggesting that the embryos can bio-concentrate trace NPs from their environment. Our studies show that higher doses and larger sizes of Ag NPs cause higher toxic effects on embryonic development, demonstrating that the embryos can serve as ultrasensitive in vivo assays to screen biocompatibility and toxicity of the NPs and monitor their potential release into aquatic ecosystems.     

Effect of mercaptopropionic acid as linker on structural,thermal, and optical properties of TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript>–CdSe nanocomposites

In this study, we have studied the stability of TiO₂–CdSe nanocomposites in which the individual moieties are linked using a bifunctional linker (mercaptopropionic acid). Nanoparticles of TiO₂ and CdSe are synthesized by sol–gel and one pot methods. The equimolar amount of the above particles is utilized to prepare nanocomposites with and without linker. These samples are characterized for their structural, thermal, and optical properties using X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential thermal analysis (DTA), thermogravimetric analysis (TG), Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR), and UV–Vis spectroscopy. The average particle size of TiO₂ and CdSe are 16 and 23 nm, respectively. The addition of a bifunctional linker shows remarkable effect on the properties of TiO₂–CdSe nanocomposites.