The mechanosynthesis route is a physical top–down strategy to produce different nanomaterials. Here, we report the formation of graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) through this route using carbon bars recovered from discarded alkaline batteries as raw material. The mechanosynthesis time (milling time) is shown to have an influence on different features of the GNRs such as their width and edges features. TEM revealed the presence of GNRs with widths of 15.26, 8.8, and 23.55 nm for the milling times of 6, 12, and 18 h, respectively. Additionally, the carbon bars evolved from poorly shaped GNRs for the shortest milling time (6 h) to well-shaped GNRs of oriented sheets forming for the longest milling time. Besides GNRs, graphene sheets (GNS) of different sizes were also observed. The Raman analysis of the 2D bands identified the GNS signal and confirmed the GNRs nature. ID/IG values of 0.21, 0.32, and 0.40 revealed the degree of disorder for each sample. The in-plane sp2 crystallite sizes ( La) of graphite decreased to 91, 60, and 48 nm with increasing peeling time. The RBLM band at 288 cm− 1 confirmed the formation of the GNRs. Mechanosynthesis is a complex process and the formation of the GNRs is discussed in terms of a mechanical exfoliation, formation of graphene sheets and its fragmentation to reach GNR-like shapes. It is shown that the synthesis of GNRs through the mechanosynthesis route, besides the use of recycled materials, is an alternative for obtaining self-sustaining materials.

Fluorescent nanostructures based on carbon, or carbon dots, are attracting much attention and interest because of their diverse properties which can be applied in several fields of knowledge, such as optics, biomedicine, environmental research, among others. Such properties are in part, derived from its intrinsic luminescence from tunable functional groups. In this work, we produced carbon nanodots (CND) using agro-industrial residues, such as Lolium perenne and malt bagasse. The methods used were conventional hydrothermal syntheses and microwave-assisted hydrothermal synthesis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that carbon dots synthesized from this ryegrass type are reported. The synthesis methods were one step (no catalyst, base, or acid were added for passivation), and the functional groups responsible for the luminescence and high solubility in water were identified by infrared spectroscopy, being mainly C=O, C–OH, C–N, and N–H. According to our theoretical studies, the C=O group introduced a new energy level for electronic transitions that can affect the emission properties. Fluorescence images of osteoblasts using CNDs were acquired and their chelating property towards Pb2+ and Cr6+ detection was tested.

Anion assisted [4 + 2] cycloaddition reaction via indolo[2,3]-dienolate by reacting 1,2-dimethylindole-3-carboxaldehyde with aromatic nitriles using lithium diisopropylamide in terahydrofuran, a facile and convenient regiospecific route designed and developed for the synthesis of γ-carbolines.

We investigated the effect of a synthetic complement peptide C3a on the outcome of Brucella abortus 544 infection in a murine macrophage cell line RAW264.7 cell. First, we determined the highest non-cytotoxic concentration of the peptide in the cell line. We also found that the peptide significantly increased the growth of the bacteria at 8 and 24 h. Although the number of bacterial CFU was also elevated at 48 and 72 h, the increases were not significant as compared to controls. We further investigated the effect of C3a peptide on the growth of Brucella by pre-incubating the peptide at various temperatures and found that the effect was reversed at 24 h post-incubation suggesting that incubation of peptide at high temperatures including 65°C or 95°C could inactivate its action. This also could indicate the beneficial effect of high temperature during infection. Although several studies reported the inhibitory effect of different antimicrobial peptides including C3a, the present study preliminarily revealed that it had no positive contribution on the control of B. abortus 544 infection in vitro and indirectly to its receptor, CD88, which belongs to GPCR. Moreover, the encouraged further exploration of the effect of other similar peptides would be performed for the purpose of finding Brucella-host cell interaction for the control of disease progression.

This study aims to investigate the effects of exogenous succinic acid (SCA) on Brucella (B.) abortus infection in macrophage RAW 264.7 cells and ICR mice. Firstly, the in vitro experiment was conducted by MTT cytotoxicity and bacterial internalization assay to evaluate the uptake of B. abortus into macrophage cells. Two non-cytotoxic concentrations of SCA demonstrated attenuated invasion of Brucella into macrophages at 30 and 45 min post- infection (pi). Secondly, ICR mice were treated with SCA and infected with B. abortus. On day-14 pi, spleen and blood serum were collected to evaluate the bacterial burden and total spleen weight as well as the production of cytokine/chemokine, respectively. The results showed that SCA treatment promoted bacterial growth and reduced the total spleen weight in mice. Furthermore, SCA treatment increased the level of IL-10 cytokine in the sera, while dampening the production of MCP-1 chemokine compared to the control. The results of bacterial load in spleen and spleen weight together with cytokine/chemokine production profile in the sera indicated that SCA induced the host anti-inflammatory response which is beneficial for the survival of Brucella. Therefore, these findings suggest that SCA contributed to host immunity against Brucella infection and the emerging potential topic-immunometabolism should be invested for further investigations.

In Nepal, about 73% of the vegetable production area is estimated to be covered by hybrid varieties. Most of the hybrid seeds in vegetable crops are imported from abroad. Considering the demand for hybrid vegetable varieties, the National Horticulture Research Centre (NHRC), Khumaltar, Lalitpur has started hybrid breeding of vegetables using a conventional approach since the fiscal year 2003/04. With this effort, the tomato hybrid ‘Srijana’ was developed and registered in 2010. This variety was estimated to cover about 35% of the total tomato cultivated area. Two tomato hybrids, namely ‘Khumal Hybrid Tomato-2 (HRA14 × HRD7) and ‘Khumal Hybrid Tomato-3’ (HRA20 × HRD2), showed good performance and were released in the National Seed Board in 2021. It was found that the heterosis for the yield was 87% in ‘Khumal Hybrid Tomato-2’ and 95% in ‘Khumal Hybrid Tomato-3’ with a potential yield of 70 MT/ha and 60 MT/ha, respectively, under open field conditions. Similarly, a comparative study of 7 tomato hybrids at different research stations was carried out and it showed that F1 (HRA13 × HRD7) could be a potential hybrid for the western region with a potential productivity of 116.8 MT/ha under a protected cultivation system. Hybrid breeding of cucumber was also initiated in the fiscal year 2007/08. A total of 12 crosses in cucumber were performed and two hybrids F1 (HRDCUC004 x RDCUC001), 107 MT/ha and F1 (HRDCUC009 × HRDCUC003) 150 MT/ha were found promising. Hybrid breeding in brinjal, hot pepper and bitter gourd has also been started. Furthermore, key problems and way forward to strengthen hybrid vegetable breeding in Nepal were also discussed.

The lack of short baselines, referred to as the short-spacing problem (SSP), is a well-known limitation of the performance of radio interferometers, causing a reduction of the ux detected from source structure on large angular scales. The very large number of antennas operated in the Atacama Large Millimeter/sub-millimeter Array (ALMA) generates situations for which the impact of the SSP takes a complex form, not simply measurable by a single number, such as the maximal recoverable scale. In particular, extended antenna congurations, complemented by a small group of closeby antennas at the centre of the array, may result in a double-humped baseline distribution with a signicant gap between the two groups. In such cases one should adopt as the effective maximal recoverable scale the one associated with the extended array and use only the central array to recover missing ux, as one would do with single dish or ACA (Atacama Compact Array) observations. The impact of the missing baselines can be very important and may easily be underestimated, or even overlooked. The present study uses ALMA archival data of the 29SiO(8-7) line emission of the AGB star W Hydrae for a demonstration. A critical discussion of the reliability of the observations away from the star is presented together with comments of a broader scope. Properties of the circumstellar envelope of W Hya within 15 au from the star, many of which are not mentioned in the published literature, are brie y described and compared with R Doradus, an AGB star having properties very similar to W Hya.