Presidency University

Salinity is a major abiotic stress limiting growth and productivity of plants in many areas of the world due to increasing use of poor quality of water for irrigation and soil salinization. Plant adaptation or tolerance to salinity stress involves complex physiological traits, metabolic pathways, and molecular or gene networks. A comprehensive understanding on how plants respond to salinity stress at different levels and an integrated approach of combining molecular tools with physiological and biochemical techniques are imperative for the development of salt-tolerant varieties of plants in salt-affected areas. Recent research has identified various adaptive responses to salinity stress at molecular, cellular, metabolic, and physiological levels, although mechanisms underlying salinity tolerance are far from being completely understood. This paper provides a comprehensive review of major research advances on biochemical, physiological, and molecular mechanisms regulating plant adaptation and tolerance to salinity stress.

Abstract The simplest ΛCDM model provides a good fit to a large span of cosmological data but harbors large areas of phenomenology and ignorance. With the improvement of the number and the accuracy of observations, discrepancies among key cosmological parameters of the model have emerged. The most statistically significant tension is the 4 σ to 6 σ disagreement between predictions of the Hubble constant, H 0 , made by the early time probes in concert with the ‘vanilla’ ΛCDM cosmological model, and a number of late time, model-independent determinations of H 0 from local measurements of distances and redshifts. The high precision and consistency of the data at both ends present strong challenges to the possible solution space and demands a hypothesis with enough rigor to explain multiple observations—whether these invoke new physics, unexpected large-scale structures or multiple, unrelated errors. A thorough review of the problem including a discussion of recent Hubble constant estimates and a summary of the proposed theoretical solutions is presented here. We include more than 1000 references, indicating that the interest in this area has grown considerably just during the last few years. We classify the many proposals to resolve the tension in these categories: early dark energy, late dark energy, dark energy models with 6 degrees of freedom and their extensions, models with extra relativistic degrees of freedom, models with extra interactions, unified cosmologies, modified gravity, inflationary models, modified recombination history, physics of the critical phenomena, and alternative proposals. Some are formally successful, improving the fit to the data in light of their additional degrees of freedom, restoring agreement within 1–2 σ between Planck 2018, using the cosmic microwave background power spectra data, baryon acoustic oscillations, Pantheon SN data, and R20, the latest SH0ES Team Riess, et al (2021 Astrophys. J. 908 L6) measurement of the Hubble constant ( H 0 = 73.2 ± 1.3 km s −1 Mpc −1 at 68% confidence level). However, there are many more unsuccessful models which leave the discrepancy well above the 3 σ disagreement level. In many cases, reduced tension comes not simply from a change in the value of H 0 but also due to an increase in its uncertainty due to degeneracy with additional physics, complicating the picture and pointing to the need for additional probes. While no specific proposal makes a strong case for being highly likely or far better than all others, solutions involving early or dynamical dark energy, neutrino interactions, interacting cosmologies, primordial magnetic fields, and modified gravity provide the best options until a better alternative comes along.

Cancer is an abnormal state of cells where they undergo uncontrolled proliferation and produce aggressive malignancies that causes millions of deaths every year. With the new understanding of the molecular mechanism(s) of disease progression, our knowledge about the disease is snowballing, leading to the evolution of many new therapeutic regimes and their successive trials. In the past few decades, various combinations of therapies have been proposed and are presently employed in the treatment of diverse cancers. Targeted drug therapy, immunotherapy, and personalized medicines are now largely being employed, which were not common a few years back. The field of cancer discoveries and therapeutics are evolving fast as cancer type-specific biomarkers are progressively being identified and several types of cancers are nowadays undergoing systematic therapies, extending patients' disease-free survival thereafter. Although growing evidence shows that a systematic and targeted approach could be the future of cancer medicine, chemotherapy remains a largely opted therapeutic option despite its known side effects on the patient's physical and psychological health. Chemotherapeutic agents/pharmaceuticals served a great purpose over the past few decades and have remained the frontline choice for advanced-stage malignancies where surgery and/or radiation therapy cannot be prescribed due to specific reasons. The present report succinctly reviews the existing and contemporary advancements in chemotherapy and assesses the status of the enrolled drugs/pharmaceuticals; it also comprehensively discusses the emerging role of specific/targeted therapeutic strategies that are presently being employed to achieve better clinical success/survival rate in cancer patients.

Faradaic and non-faradaic energy storage mechanisms, impact of the nano-structuring of electrode materials and state-of-art applications in robotics,<italic>etc.</italic>of hybrid supercapacitors, and their coupling with batteries and solar cells are elucidated.

Abstract The Raman and mid‐range infrared spectra have been measured on natural limestone and dolomite minerals. The carbonate minerals show four prominent absorption bands in the regions 1450–1420, 890–870, 720–700 and 1000–1100 cm −1 . The positions of the wavenumbers are unique for each carbonate mineral and are thus diagnostic of their mineralogy. Calcite and dolomite groups are characterized by the Raman wavenumbers at 288 and 309 cm −1 and the infrared absorption bands at 712 and 728 cm −1 , respectively. The principal wavenumber at 1092 cm −1 in the limestone spectra is accompanied by two satellites with values of 1062 and 1075 cm −1 . The observed non‐split peaks ν 2 and ν 4 in the infrared spectra of limestone indicate the presence of calcite structure in all these samples. The principal reflections occurring at the d ‐spacings, 3.03482, 1.91658 and 1.87962 Å, confirm the presence of calcite structure in limestone minerals. The principal reflections occurring at the d ‐spacings, 3.037, 1.79179 and 2.19750 Å, confirm the existence of dolomite structure in the dolomite minerals. The calculated lattice parameters for the limestone minerals are: a = 4.9781 Å, c = 17.1188 Å and V = 367.392(Å) 3 and the corresponding values for the dolomite minerals are: a = 4.8247 Å, c = 15.9868 Å and V = 322.28 (Å) 3 . Copyright © 2006 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Propolis is a natural substance collected by honey bees from various plants such as, poplar, palm, pine, conifer secretions, gums, resins, mucilage and leaf buds. It is collected and brought very painstakingly by honey bees to be used for sealing cracks and crevices occurring in their hives. Originally, it as an antiseptic meant for preventing bee-hive from microbial infections along with preventing decomposition of intruders. Additionally, propolis has been used in folk medicine for centuries. The biological characteristics of propolis depend upon its chemical composition, plant sources, geographical zone and seasons. More than 300 compounds have been identified in propolis such as, phenolic compounds, aromatic acids, essential oils, waxes and amino acids. Many scientific articles are published every year in different international journals, and several groups of researchers have focused their attention on the chemical compounds and biological activity of propolis.

The articles published by the Annals of Eugenics (1925–1954) have been made available online as an historical archive intended for scholarly use. The work of eugenicists was often pervaded by prejudice against racial, ethnic and disabled groups. The online publication of this material for scholarly research purposes is not an endorsement of those views nor a promotion of eugenics in any way.

India. India has a wealth of wetland ecosystems that support diverse and unique habitats. These wetlands provide numerous ecological goods and services but are under tremendous stress due to rapid urbanization, industrialization and agricultural intensification, manifested by the shrinkage in their areal extent, and decline in the hydrological, economic and ecological functions they perform. This paper reviews the wetland wealth of India in terms of their geographic distribution and extent, ecosystem benefits they provide, and the various stresses they are exposed to. The paper also discusses the efforts at management of these fragile ecosystems, identifies the institutional vacuum and suggests priority area where immediate attention is required in order to formulate better conservation strategies for these productive systems. It has been found that management of wetlands has received inadequate attention in the national water sector agenda. As a result, many of the wetlands are subject to anthropogenic pressures, including land use changes in the catchment; pollution from industry and households; encroachments; tourism; and over exploitation of their natural resources. Further, majority of research on wetland management in India relates to the limnological aspects and ecological/environmental economics of wetland management. But, the physical (such as hydrological and land use changes in the catchment) and socio-economic processes leading to limnological changes have not been explored substantially.

The review focuses on recent developments in the synthetic methodologies of COFs and their applications in the field of organocatalysis, electrocatalysis and photocatalysis. Future scope of COFs in the field are also described.

Chalcones are among the leading bioactive flavonoids with a therapeutic potential implicated to an array of bioactivities investigated by a series of preclinical and clinical studies. In this article, different scientific databases were searched to retrieve studies depicting the biological activities of chalcones and their derivatives. This review comprehensively describes preclinical studies on chalcones and their derivatives describing their immense significance as antidiabetic, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant, antiparasitic, psychoactive, and neuroprotective agents. Besides, clinical trials revealed their use in the treatment of chronic venous insufficiency, skin conditions, and cancer. Bioavailability studies on chalcones and derivatives indicate possible hindrance and improvement in relation to its nutraceutical and pharmaceutical applications. Multifaceted and complex underlying mechanisms of chalcone actions demonstrated their ability to modulate a number of cancer cell lines, to inhibit a number of pathological microorganisms and parasites, and to control a number of signaling molecules and cascades related to disease modification. Clinical studies on chalcones revealed general absence of adverse effects besides reducing the clinical signs and symptoms with decent bioavailability. Further studies are needed to elucidate their structure activity, toxicity concerns, cellular basis of mode of action, and interactions with other molecules.

Abstract In this paper we present a non-perturbative approach to the calculation of correlation energies of open-shell systems. The formulation utilizes an Ursell-type expansion about a multi-determinant starting wavefunction. We have proved a theorem which enables us to derive an effective hamiltonian for the system consisting entirely of linked terms. In the symmetry-degenerate case this effective hamiltonian acts within the subspace of a set of symmetry-degenerate functions, and generates the energy eigenvalues of the system. The present theory has been cast in a diagrammatic language which facilitates the analysis of the correlation problem. The workability of the theory has been tested on a 4 π electron problem, transbutadiene, for which we have calculated the lowest π-π* singlet and triplet energies. The agreement between the results of the present theory and that found from a full CI calculation is excellent. The desirable feature of the theory is that the effective hamiltonian is energy-independent. We have demonstrated the connection of the present theory with open-shell perturbation theories. We have also indicated a method for extending this theory to general open-shell systems.

Several alkalic igneous complexes of nephelinite-carbonatite affinities occur in extensional zones around a region of high heat flow and positive gravity anomaly within the continental flood basalt (CFB) province of Deccan, India. Biotites from two of the complexes yield (40)Ar/(39)Ar dates of 68.53 +/- 0.16 and 68.57 +/- 0.08 million years. Biotite from a third complex, which intrudes the flood basalts, yields an (40)Ar/(39)Ar date of 64.96 +/- 0.1 1 million years. The complexes thus represent early and late magmatism with respect to the main pulse of CFB volcanism 65 million years ago. Rocks from the older complexes show a (3)He/(4)He ratio of 14.0 times the air ratio, an initial (87)Sr/(86)Sr ratio of 0.70483, and other geochemical characteristics similar to ocean island basalts; the later alkalic pulse shows isotopic evidence of crustal contamination. The data document 3.5 million years of incubation of a primitive, high-(3)He mantle plume before the rapid eruption of the Deccan CFB.

Material-bank for chemical supercapacitors.

There are three categories of stars whose masses have been found accurately in recent times: (1) two for which Shapiro delay is used, which is possible due to GR light bending as the partner is heavy – PSR J1614−2230 and PSR J1903+0327, (2) six eclipsing stars for which numerical Roche lobe geometry is used and (3) three stars for which spectroscopic methods are used and in fact for these three the mass and radii both are estimated. Motivated by large colour (Nc) expansion using a modified Richardson potential, along with density-dependent quark masses thereby allowing chiral symmetry restoration, we get compact strange stars fitting all the observed masses.

The possibility of strange stars is one of the most important issues in the study of compact objects. Here we use the observations of the newly discovered millisecond x-ray pulsar SAX J1808.4-3658 to constrain the radius of the compact star. Comparing the mass-radius relation of SAX J1808.4-3658 with theoretical models for both neutron stars and strange stars, we argue that a strange star model could be more consistent with SAX J1808.4-3658, and suggest that it is a likely strange star candidate. Our results are useful in constraining microscopic chiral symmetry restoration parameters in the quantum chromodynamics (QCD) modeling of strange matter.

Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal (Solanaceae) has been used as a traditional Rasayana herb for a long time. Traditional uses of this plant indicate its ameliorative properties against a plethora of human medical conditions, viz. hypertension, stress, diabetes, asthma, cancer etc. This review presents a comprehensive summary of the geographical distribution, traditional use, phytochemistry, and pharmacological activities of W. somnifera and its active constituents. In addition, it presents a detailed account of its presence as an active constituent in many commercial preparations with curative properties and health benefits. Clinical studies and toxicological considerations of its extracts and constituents are also elucidated. Comparative analysis of relevant in-vitro, in-vivo, and clinical investigations indicated potent bioactivity of W. somnifera extracts and phytochemicals as anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, apoptotic, immunomodulatory, antimicrobial, anti-diabetic, hepatoprotective, hypoglycaemic, hypolipidemic, cardio-protective and spermatogenic agents. W. somnifera was found to be especially active against many neurological and psychological conditions like Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, ischemic stroke, sleep deprivation, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, bipolar disorder, anxiety, depression, schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorder. The probable mechanism of action that imparts the pharmacological potential has also been explored. However, in-depth studies are needed on the clinical use of W. somnifera against human diseases. Besides, detailed toxicological analysis is also to be performed for its safe and efficacious use in preclinical and clinical studies and as a health-promoting herb.

Context. The quest for the cosmological parameters that describe our universe continues to motivate the scientific community to undertake very large survey initiatives across the electromagnetic spectrum. Over the past two decades, the Chandra and XMM-Newton observatories have supported numerous studies of X-ray-selected clusters of galaxies, active galactic nuclei (AGNs), and the X-ray background. The present paper is the first in a series reporting results of the XXL-XMM survey; it comes at a time when the Planck mission results are being finalised.

ADVERTISEMENT RETURN TO ISSUEPREVCommunicationNEXTNi(II), Cu(II), and Zn(II) Cryptate-Enhanced Fluorescence of a Trianthrylcryptand: A Potential Molecular Photonic OR OperatorPradyut Ghosh, Parimal K. Bharadwaj, Shampa Mandal, and Sanjib GhoshView Author Information Department of Chemistry Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur Kanpur 208016, India Department of Chemistry, Presidency College Calcutta 700073, IndiaCite this: J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1996, 118, 6, 1553–1554Publication Date (Web):February 14, 1996Publication History Received27 July 1995Published online14 February 1996Published inissue 1 January 1996https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/ja952520dhttps://doi.org/10.1021/ja952520drapid-communicationACS PublicationsCopyright © 1996 American Chemical SocietyRequest reuse permissionsArticle Views1594Altmetric-Citations245LEARN ABOUT THESE METRICSArticle Views are the COUNTER-compliant sum of full text article downloads since November 2008 (both PDF and HTML) across all institutions and individuals. These metrics are regularly updated to reflect usage leading up to the last few days.Citations are the number of other articles citing this article, calculated by Crossref and updated daily. Find more information about Crossref citation counts.The Altmetric Attention Score is a quantitative measure of the attention that a research article has received online. Clicking on the donut icon will load a page at altmetric.com with additional details about the score and the social media presence for the given article. Find more information on the Altmetric Attention Score and how the score is calculated. Share Add toView InAdd Full Text with ReferenceAdd Description ExportRISCitationCitation and abstractCitation and referencesMore Options Share onFacebookTwitterWechatLinked InRedditEmail Other access optionsGet e-AlertscloseSupporting Info (2)»Supporting Information Supporting Information SUBJECTS:Ethers,Fluorescence,Ions,Macrocyclic compounds,Receptors Get e-Alerts

The practice of cultivating the soil, producing crops, and keeping livestock is referred to as farming. Agriculture is critical to a country’s economic development. Nearly 58 percent of a country’s primary source of livelihood is farming. Farmers till date had adopted conventional farming techniques. These techniques were not precise thus reduced the productivity and consumed a lot of time. Precise farming helps to increase the productivity by precisely determining the steps that needs to be practiced at its due season. Predicting the weather conditions, analyzing the soil, recommending the crops for cultivation, determine the amount of fertilizers, pesticides that need to be used are some elements of precision farming. Precise Farming uses advanced technologies such as IOT, Data Mining, Data Analytics, Machine Learning to collect the data, train the systems and predict the results. With the help of technologies Precise farming helps to reduce manual labor and increase productivity. Farmers have been facing various challenges in these recent times, this includes crop failure due to less rainfall, infertility of soil and so on. Due to the changes taking place in the environment the proposed work helps to identify how to manage crops and harvest in a smart way. It guides an individual for smart farming. The aim of this work is to help an individual cultivate crops efficiently and hence achieve high productivity at low cost. It also helps to predict the total cost needed for cultivation. This would help an individual to pre-plan the activities before cultivation resulting in an integrated solution in farming.

Antibiotic resistance or microbial drug resistance is emerging as a serious threat to human healthcare globally, and the multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains are imposing major hurdles to the progression of drug discovery programs. Newer antibiotic-resistance mechanisms in microbes contribute to the inefficacy of the existing drugs along with the prolonged illness and escalating expenditures. The injudicious usage of the conventional and commonly available antibiotics in human health, hygiene, veterinary and agricultural practices is proving to be a major driver for evolution, persistence and spread of antibiotic-resistance at a frightening rate. The drying pipeline of new and potent antibiotics is adding to the severity. Therefore, novel and effective new drugs and innovative therapies to treat MDR infections are urgently needed. Apart from the different natural and synthetic drugs being tested, plant secondary metabolites or phytochemicals are proving efficient in combating the drug-resistant strains. Various phytochemicals from classes including alkaloids, phenols, coumarins, terpenes have been successfully demonstrated their inhibitory potential against the drug-resistant pathogens. Several phytochemicals have proved effective against the molecular determinants responsible for attaining the drug resistance in pathogens like membrane proteins, biofilms, efflux pumps and bacterial cell communications. However, translational success rate needs to be improved, but the trends are encouraging. This review highlights current knowledge and developments associated challenges and future prospects for the successful application of phytochemicals in combating antibiotic resistance and the resistant microbial pathogens.