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An artificial diet and a rearing procedure for the polyphagous pest, Spodoptera frugiperda, were developed to facilitate its culturing under laboratory conditions [27 ± 1°C, 65 ± 5% relative humidity and a photoperiod of 14:10 (L:D) h] throughout the year. The efficiency of the diet was assessed through a comparative study with the natural host of the pest, maize. The biological, reproductive and population parameters of the pest on artificial diet were superior, especially the enhanced mean fecundity of 1796 per female which was more than that of the insect reared on its natural host. The meridic diet gave a higher mean pupal weight (0.217 g/pupa) than the natural diet (0.188 g/pupa). About 81.8% of neonates completed their developmental cycle on artificial diet and emerged as healthy adults, compared to only 57.5% normal adult emergence on the natural diet. On observation, there were 3678 and 3551 eupyrene sperm bundles in the adults emerged from larvae reared on artificial diet and natural diet, respectively. The net reproductive rate () for adults reared on artificial diet was 945.26, it being 703.7 for adults reared on a natural diet. With a sex ratio of 0.55, the biotic potential of S. frugiperda reared on artificial diet was 5.104 × 1028, which is more than that of natural diet (5.740 × 1026). The fertility life table constructed in the present study can play a significant role in predicting population dynamics, which will further help in developing an effective integrated pest management and the developed meridic diet with rearing procedure will be helpful in insecticide resistance monitoring programmes for this folivorous pest.

In this study, biochar derived from agricultural bio-wastes of rice husk was used as a biosorbent for dye sequestration of Basic Blue 41 (BB41) and Basic Red 09 (BR09) from the aqueous solution. The structural characteristics of the biochar were performed through TGA, BET, SEM, EDX, and FTIR. The experimental conditions proved that 80% of dye removal was attained in the optimal operating conditions (dosage of 6 g L−1 (BB41), 1 g L−1 (BR09), pH of 7 (BB41) and 8 (BR09), temperature of 35 °C, and initial dye concentration of 50 mg L−1). Four different isotherms models were used to describe the adsorption process. Based on the correlation coefficient and percentage of error values, BB41 and BR09 sorption revealed that Langmuir model has better fit when compared to other models. The maximum adsorption capacities of BB41 and BR09 on rice husk biochar are 17.596 mg g−1 and 168.49 mg g−1, respectively. The thermodynamic parameters △H

Pumpkin peel (Cucurbita pepo L.) and bracts of plantain flower (Musa acuminate) are cellulosic and bio-degradable agricultural wastes available in abundance. This paper is aimed at assessing their potential as adsorbents by modifying into activated carbon for the adsorption of turquoise blue dye (TB). The performance was evaluated by altering the adsorption parameters such as pH, dosage, temperature, and initial dye concentration. The batch adsorption experiments were carried out with a fixed RPM and suitable contact time with different temperature ranges. The adsorbents were characterized using FTIR and SEM techniques. Adsorption isotherm study was also carried out. Adequate samples were withdrawn during the experiments to find out the concentration of dye that is adsorbed using a UV-vis spectrophotometer. From the studies, it is observed that the adsorption efficiency of pumpkin peels (PP) is higher than that of bracts of plantain flower (BP) and found to be promising alternatives for the removal of dye. Adsorption studies were modeled using Freundlich and Langmuir adsorption isotherms, and it was well fitted with Langmuir isotherm. ANN result showed that Levenberg-Marquardt (LM) algorithm was the best model bearing coefficient of regression (R2 = 0.9968) and mean square error (MSE =0.00013), on the dye removal. These results are very promising and, in our opinion, establish a milestone to a vital research field.

This study reported that the preparation and characterization of multiwalled carbon nanotubes supported iron phthalocyanine (FePc/MWCNTs) composite catalyst and examined the treatment efficiency using wastepaper recycling mill wastewater in a microbial fuel cell (MFC). The MWCNTs were uniformly decorated over the FePc nano particles. The obtained catalyst was characterized using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray diffraction analysis, UV-visible spectrophotometry, energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX) Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis, BET analysis, Raman spectra, thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. In addition, the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) of the catalyst has been investigated by cyclic voltammetry, linear sweep voltammetry analysis, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis. There was an efficient removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD) with 87% and 0.650 W/m2 of power density achieved at 110 h of contact time. From this investigation, it is understood that the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) of the FePc catalyst was improved by MWCNT supporting material. The obtained results suggested the excellent ORR activity of nanostructured FePc/MWCNTs as a promising alternative to conventional platinum-based electro catalyst for fuel cells.

The current research article investigates the remediation of methylene blue (MB), in continuous operation mode, utilizing compost as an adsorbent. The adsorbent was prepared from the water hyacinth plant waste by using effective microorganism (EM) which acts as a decomposer for the materials used. EM contains the various microbes that are responsible for the decomposition and it is available in the dormant liquid form which requires activation. The researcher performed a continuous study in which the following parameters are varied—bed complexity and flow rate. The findings of the study revealed that a maximum uptake of 301.79 mg/g was achieved and the removal efficiency is found to be around 85.44%. The overall sorption time zone, exhaustion time, breakthrough time, and volume of dye treated are also calculated. Modeling of experimental data is performed using bed depth service time (BDST) model and Thomas model. 0.01 M HCL was used as an elutant for the regeneration studies and maximum desorption efficiency of 85.44% was obtained.

In recent years, numerous investigations have explored the use of biochar for the removal of organic and inorganic pollutants in single component systems. Biochar is a carbonaceous material produced from waste biomass, mainly by thermochemical conversion methods. This material was used as a biosorbent in various removal processes of pollutants, and its efficiency was strongly influenced by the characteristics of the biomass feedstock. This review integrates the recent works of literature to understand the biosorption behaviour of dyes onto biochar-based biosorbents. The factors influencing the biosorption process and the mechanisms describing the biosorption behaviours of the biochar have been broadly reviewed. Furthermore, the biosorption models can be used to comprehend the competence of the biochar as biosorbent for dye removal techniques. Graphical Abstract

The current study evaluates the adsorption capacity of Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) shell derived biochar for the basic dyes Basic Blue 41 (BB41) & Basic Red 09 (BR09) from aqueous solution. The adsorp...

In the present study, bioremediation of Basic Violet 03 is examined using biochar derived from agricultural wastes. The pyrolytic studies revealed that ideal temperature for maximum yield of biochar derived from Coconut Shell (CSB), Ground nut Shell (GnSB) and Rice Husk (RHB) was obtained as 400 °C, 350 °C and 300 °C respectively. Further from the batch mode of operations, it was concluded that the optimum conditions of biochar dose, pH, temperature and initial concentration are 4 g/L, 8, 40 °C and 75 mg/L with a maximum uptake of 15.79 mg/g, 17.28 mg/g, and 12.64 mg/g for CSB, GnSB and RHB. The adsorption isotherm studies concluded that the three-parameter Sips model was obtained to be the best fit with a maximum correlation coefficient (R2) of 0.9937, 0.9935 and 0.9965. The pseudo second order kinetic model was found to well represent the experimental kinetic data. The characterization results of biochar through SEM, EDX and FTIR revealed that there was a strong binding capacity of adsorbent was observed before and after adsorption process. The promising results concluded that biochar derived from agricultural wastes can potentially be utilized for the removal of cationic dyes.

This is the first reported case of a mesenteric lymphatic malformation in a toddler in Malaysia. It is a rare benign condition with incidence of 1 in 250,000 populations. Our patient presented to us at 2 years 11months old complaining of abdominal distension for 6 months without obstructive symptoms. Clinically there was a vague soft central abdominal mass. CT abdomen done revealed a large multiloculated intraperitoneal mesentery cystic mass within the central abdomen extending to pelvis. A semi-emergency laparotomy was performed. Intra-operatively the multiloculated mesenteric cyst measured 20cm x 30cm, adherent to the small bowel beginning at 12cm from duodeno-jejunal junction. Resection of the mesenteric cyst with adherent small bowel and primary anastomosis was done. Histopathological examination revealed multiple large lymphatic channels of various sizes in the mucosa and submucosa. Our patient has no signs of recurrence and remains symptom-free after 1 year since his surgery. Surgery with clear margins of resection is the recommended gold standard based on available literature. Type of surgical resection required will depend on the type of mesenteric lymphatic malformation. An awareness of this rare pathology is required to ensure proper management is given to these patients.

Malaria is the major health issue in African, Asian and Mediterranean regions of the world. Due to the emerging resistance by the parasites and mosquitoes for the current medications and insecticid...

A series of eleven ethoxysubstituted chalcones (E1-E11) were synthesized and investigated for their inhibitory potential towards human recombinant monoamine oxidase A and B (hMAO-A and hMAO-B, respectively) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE). IC50 values of 4.63 +/- 0.15 and 0.053 +/- 0.003 mu M were obtained for MAO-A and MAO-B, respectively, by the most interesting compound (2E)-1-(4-ethoxyphenyl)-3-(4-fluorophenyl)prop-2-en-1-one (E7), and it was characterized by a high selectivity index (SI=87.4) for MAO-B. Inhibitions by E7 against MAO-A and MAO-B were recovered (75.9 and 74.5%, respectively) to near the levels of reversible references (77.1 and 77.4%, respectively). The inhibition modes of E7 for MAO-A and MAO-B were competitive with K-i values of 2.65 +/- 0.064 and 0.011 +/- 0.0011 mu M, respectively. Compounds (2E)-1-(4-ethoxyphenyl)-3-(4-ethylphenyl) prop-2-en-1-one (E10) and (2E)-1-(4-ethoxyphenyl)-3-[4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]prop-2-en-1-one (E11) showed good inhibitions against AChE with IC50 values of 2.86 +/- 0.041 and 3.23 +/- 0.0073 mu M, respectively. A combined molecular docking/MM-GBSA approach was used that employed quantum mechanics (QM) partial charges; this technique revealed the molecular rationale behind the observed MAO-B selectivity for this molecular series. Taken together, these results indicate that E7 is a potent, selective and reversible competitive inhibitor of MAO-B with moderately potent AChE inhibitory activity that has potential as a multi-targeting drug

In the present study, we have explored the anti-malarial potential of epoxyazadiradione, the natural entity extracted from the neem seed oil and its chemical derivatives, against Plasmodium falciparum. The Surflex dock analysis of 41 compounds against an indispensable target, plasmepsin I (PM-I) revealed that around 70% of the compounds are found to have good binding capacity with the consensus score (C-score) of 5 to 4 with few hydrogen bonds. To elucidate the major structural requirements, vital for binding with the plasmepsin enzyme and to develop the predictive models, three-dimentional quantitative structural activity relationship (3D-QSAR) - comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA) was carried out using Sybyl X.0. Robust and predictive models were obtained with cross-validated correlation coefficient (q2) value of 0.967 and the non-cross-validated correlation coefficient (r2) value of 0.825, which were validated by an external test set with the predictive correlation coefficient r2(pred) values of 0.773. Three zones were identified for substitution with bulky groups and one zone for substitution with non-bulky groups. Three positions favouring the electronegative group substitution and one for the electropositive group substitution were identified. The physicochemical properties of ligands with the highest C-score were studied. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

In this study, Levenberg Marquardt back propagation algorithm was used to train the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) and to predict the adsorptive removal of cationic dye Basic Violet 03 (BV03) by biochar derived from biowaste of groundnut hull. The experimental conditions such as solution pH, biochar dose, initial dye concentration, contact time and temperature were used as input variables and BV03 percentage removal as target. The hidden and the output layer of the network was trained by tangent sigmoid and liner transfer functions. The feasibility of the adsorption process is evaluated by the kinetic studies and it exhibited that pseudo-second order kinetic models fit well with experimental data. The adsorbent stability and adsorption mechanism has been discoursed by the thermodynamic characteristics and sorption free energy. The predicted target values were compared with the experiment resulted in a better correlation coefficient of 0.9920. Thus, the results attained from this ANN model was found to be effective in predicting the percentage removal of BV03 dye at any given operating condition.