<p>Shiv Nadar University is a comprehensive, multidisciplinary, research-focused, and student-centric University offering a full range of academic programs at the undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral level. With state-of-the-art infrastructure, the University comprises of academic wings, sophisticated labs, international standard sports facilities, amphitheaters, auditorium, conference rooms and smart classrooms. The University&rsquo;s goal is to become internationally recognized for the quality of its research and creative endeavors and their applicability to improving quality of life, generating new insights and expanding the boundaries of human knowledge creativity. Committed to excellence in teaching, research and service, the University aims to serve the higher education needs of India and the world beyond.</p>

Shiv Nadar University

(SoNS) School of Natural Sciences

Urbanization destroys natural habitats, displaces native ecosystems and results in regional extinction of native species. Urbanization is also argued to cause homogenization during which native species are replaced with non-native species. Negative impact of urbanization on ecosystems and biodiversity is usually focused upon while the fact that high levels of biodiversity may flourish inside cities are frequently ignored. Cities comprise a mixture of remnants of the pre-existing urban habitats and new urban habitats. The remaining fragments of natural landscapes, and other vegetation areas constitute the green infrastructure supporting the biological diversity of cities. Several biotopes such as lawns, hedges, parklands and street trees occur in the cities. In the cities ambient temperatures are higher than those of the surrounding rural areas, exhibiting the phenomenon of urban heat island. Urban vegetation experiences longer growing seasons and exhibits earlier greening than vegetation in the surrounding rural areas. Trees comprise the natural capital assets for cities as they provide immense benefits and ecosystem services for the wellbeing of city dwellers, although there are some disservices also. Studies on urban vegetation are very few in the tropics and particularly in India. In this article we review several aspects of plant diversity in cities in order to sensitize scientists, city managers and lay public to the need for more research on socioeconomic benefits and costs of city vegetation and to augment the vegetation within cities through conservation. © 2018, Current Science Association.

Life Sciences

World University root node

Current Science

Plant diversity in cities: Call for assessment and conservation

Here, we have studied the colloidal properties of carboxyl-amine functionalized superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs with high saturation magnetization) based ferrofluids and their heating efficacies in magnetic fluid hyperthermia (MFH) via specific absorption rate (SAR)/intrinsic loss power (ILP). Moreover, we have systematically investigated the impact of the following heat influencing factors in MFH: (i) concentrations (0.5–8 mg/ml), (ii) surface coatings (trimesic acid (TMA), pyromellitic acid (PMA), terephthalic acid (TA) and aminoterephthalic acid (ATA)), (iii) applied alternating magnetic fields (AMFs - with amplitudes (H)/frequencies (f)) - chosen near to Hergt's biological safety limit, and (iv) dispersion media (biological/non-biological) for using SPIONs in in vitro cancer hyperthermia therapy. SPIONs (particularly decorated with dual-surfactants, i.e., TA-ATA) based aqueous ferrofluids have displayed excellent time-dependent temperature rise even at lower concentrations for the applied AMFs, which resulted in enhanced SAR values ranging from 12.5–200.1 W/gFe because of their high colloidal stability and enhanced π-π conjugations from the close structural orientations of TA/ATA molecules due to high electrostatic attractions of the respective functional groups (-COOH/NH2). Moreover, high ILP values of up-to 3.9 nHm2/kg (higher than the best commercial ferrofluids) are attained on exposure to magnetic fields below the safety limit. Besides, TA-ATA coated SPIONs dispersed in biological/non-biological media have exhibited better thermal responses as compared to their aqueous counterpart and reached therapeutic temperatures at faster rates due to prominent Neel relaxation mechanisms. The highest SAR value of 276.3 W/gFe is recorded for TA-ATA coated SPIONs dispersed in triethylene glycol (TEG - with high viscosity), ascribed to the lesser inter-particle interactions from electrostatic repulsions of negative charges among carboxyl/oxygen molecules from SPIONs/TEG respectively. Moreover, TA-ATA coated SPIONs have induced almost 90\% cell death in MCF-7 cancer cells in in vitro MFH studies. Thus, the TA-ATA coated SPIONs based ferrofluids have great potential for in vivo/clinical MFH cancer therapies. © 2018 Elsevier B.V.

Journal of Molecular Liquids

Systematic investigations on heating effects of carboxyl-amine functionalized superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) based ferrofluids for in vitro cancer hyperthermia therapy

Palmitoylation has been recently identified as an important post-translational rheostat for controlling protein function in eukaryotes. However, the molecular machinery underlying palmitoylation remains unclear in the neglected tropical parasite, Leishmania donovani. Herein, we have identified a catalog of 20 novel palmitoyl acyltransferases (PATs) and characterized the promastigote-specific PAT (LdPAT4) containing the canonical Asp-His-His-Cys (DHHC) domain. Immunofluorescence analysis using in-house generated LdPAT4-specific antibody demonstrated distinct expression of LdPAT4 in the flagellar pocket of promastigotes. Using metabolic labeling-coupled click chemistry method, the functionality of this recombinant enzyme could be authenticated in E. coli strain expressing LdPAT4-DHHC domain. This was evident by the cellular uptake of palmitic acid analogs, which could be successfully inhibited by 2-BMP, a PAT-specific inhibitor. Using CSS-Palm based in-silico proteomic analysis, we could predict up to 23 palmitoylated sites per protein in the promastigotes, and further identify distinctive palmitoylated protein clusters involved in microtubule assembly, flagella motility and vesicular trafficking. To highlight, proteins such as Flagellar Member proteins (FLAM1, FLAM5), Intraflagellar Transport proteins (IFT88), and flagellar motor assembly proteins including the Dynein family were found to be enriched. Furthermore, analysis of global palmitoylation in promastigotes using Acyl-biotin exchange purification identified a set of S-palmitoylated proteins overlapping with the in-silico proteomics data. The attenuation of palmitoylation using 2-BMP demonstrated several phenotypic alterations in the promastigotes including distorted morphology, reduced motility (flagellar loss or slow flagellar beating), and inefficient invasion of promastigotes to host macrophages. These analyses confirm the essential role of palmitoylation in promastigotes. In summary, the findings suggest that LdPAT4 acts as a functional acyltransferase that can regulate palmitoylation of proteins involved in parasite motility and invasion, thus, can serve as a potential target for designing chemotherapeutics in Visceral Leishmaniasis. © 2018 Ayana, Yadav, Kumari, Ramu, Garg, Pati and Singh.

Fulltext

Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

Identification and characterization of a novel palmitoyl acyltransferase as a druggable rheostat of dynamic palmitoylome in L. donovani

This work demonstrates the applicability of one-dimensional nitrogen-doped diamond nanorods (N-DNRs) for the simultaneous electrochemical (EC) detection of Pb2+ and Cd2+ ions in an electrolyte solution. Well separated voltammetric peaks are observed for Pb2+ and Cd2+ ions using N-DNRs as a working electrode in square wave anodic stripping voltammetry measurements. Moreover, the cyclic voltammetry response of N-DNR electrodes towards the Fe(CN)6 /4-/Fe(CN)6 /3- redox reaction is better as compared to undoped DNR electrodes. This enhancement of EC performance in N-DNR electrodes is accounted by the increased amount of sp2 bonded nanographitic phases, enhancing the electrical conductivity at the grain boundary (GB) regions. These findings are supported by transmission electron microscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy studies. Consequently, the GB defect induced N-DNRs exhibit better adsorption of metal ions, which makes such samples promising candidates for next generation EC sensing devices. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd

Physics

Electrochimica Acta

Nanostructured nitrogen doped diamond for the detection of toxic metal ions

In this paper we introduce some generalized difference sequence spaces by using Musielak-Orlicz function, ideal convergence and an infinite matrix defined on n-normed spaces. We study some basic topological and algebraic properties of these spaces. We also investigate some inclusion relations related to these spaces. © 2018 Forum-Editrice Universitaria Udinese SRL. All rights reserved.

Mathematics

Italian Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics

Ideal convergent generalized difference sequence spaces of infinite matrix and Orlicz function

In this paper we introduce some generalized difference sequence spaces of ideal convergence, infinite matrix and sequence of Or-licz functions of order a over n-normed spaces. We study some basic topological and algebraic properties of these spaces. We also investigate some inclusion relations related to these spaces. © 2018 JANGJEON Mathematical Society.

Advanced Studies in Contemporary Mathematics (Kyungshang)

Some difference sequence spaces of infinite matrix and Orlicz function

In this chapter, we study various mathematical programming problems in a common framework known as linear complementarity problem. Solving a linear complementarity problem depends on the properties of its underlying matrix class. In this chapter, we discuss matrix theoretic properties of some recent matrix classes encountered in linear complementarity literature and its processability using Lemke’s algorithm. © 2018, Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

Indian Statistical Institute Series

A Unified Framework for a Class of Mathematical Programming Problems

The matrix model involving the quotient of two Wishart matrices appears naturally in the investigation of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) multiple-access and relay channels. The available exact result for the eigenvalue density for this matrix model involves the determinant of a matrix whose dimension is related to the number of antennas in the channel. Consequently, the exact result becomes impractical while dealing with the case of large number of antennas. In this letter, we derive a novel expression for the asymptotic eigenvalue density of the quotient matrix model. This result is analogous to the Marčenko-Pastur density and can be conveniently applied to deal with the case of large matrix dimensions. Remarkably, satisfactorily results are obtained even for small matrix dimensions. As an application of our asymptotic result, we obtain an upper bound for the ergodic capacity in a full-duplex multi-hop decode-and-forward MIMO relay network. © 1997-2012 IEEE.

IEEE Communications Letters

Asymptotic Eigenvalue Density for the Quotient Ensemble of Wishart Matrices

Understanding the photophysical process governing the operation of the organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) and how they are affected by film morphology is crucial to the efficient design of future OLEDs. In particular, delayed fluorescence (DF), is known to contribute a significant fraction of the light emission from polymer-based OLEDs, but its mechanism remains unclear. Here, we investigate the origin of DF in the state of the art OLED polymer Poly (9, 9-dioctylfluorene-alt-benzothiadiazole) (F8BT), under both optical and electrical excitation using time-resolved emission spectroscopy (TRES) as a function of film thickness, excitation fluence, magnetic-field, and temperature. The temperature dependence of the DF for various film thicknesses suggests that thermally activated triplet migration is the dominant process controlling DF at room temperature. We found that thermal activation energy (Eeff) of triplet migration decreases from 179 ± 31 meV to 86 ± 11 meV as film thickness varied from ~110 nm to ~560 nm, respectively. The Eeff of triplet migration is found to be a function of the molecular packing of polymer chains as determined from synchrotron grazing incidence wide angle x-ray scattering (GIWAXS) studies and steady-state photoluminescence studies. Quantum chemical calculations of reorganization energy and singlet–triplet exchange energy gap in F8BT molecule as a function of the dihedral angle between donor &amp; acceptor moiety also confirm the experimental results. Our results show that DF in polymer OLEDs is significantly affected by parameters such as the film thickness and disorder, allowing for a high degree of control over the underlying photophysics to be achieved. © 2018, The Author(s).

npj Flexible Electronics

Kinetics of thermally activated triplet fusion as a function of polymer chain packing in boosting the efficiency of organic light emitting diodes

Isomerization of double bonds from an allylic to propenyl position is generally mediated by expensive metal catalysts, demanding an additional synthetic step, thereby reducing sustainability of the reaction. However, such functionalities are inherent in naturally occurring compounds, enabling a versatile protocol for their industrial utility. Herein, we report the synthesis of benzoxazine monomers based on biosourced isomeric phenols, eugenol (E) and isoeugenol (IE), and biobased amine, furfurylamine (fa) to form E-fa and IE-fa monomer, respectively. The structural variation in the phenols revealed a differential chemical reactivity, during both the synthesis of the monomer and the polymerization reaction, confirming a significant influence of isomerism. The monomers only differ in the position of the double bond in the para-substituted propylene unit forming nonconjugated vs conjugated alkylene chain with the benzene ring containing benzoxazine in E-fa and IE-fa, respectively. The structure of the monomers was confirmed by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, FTIR, XRD, and mass spectrometry. The high purity of monomer was further affirmed by HPLC and DSC to demonstrate the effect of isomerization on the polymerization behavior. The extended conjugation of the double bond in IE-fa with the proximal benzoxazine ring showed a higher reactivity toward ring-opening polymerization, polymer conversion, and cross-linking reactions as supported by FTIR, NMR, and DSC-based kinetic studies. Thermal stability, mechanical properties, and adhesive analysis by TGA, DMTA, and lap shear strength measurements further supported the effect of structural isomerism of monomers with a higher potential of PIE-fa over the PE-fa network. Current work illustrates an economic, one-step, microwave-assisted, and VOC's- and catalyst-free synthesis with a simultaneous solventless processing of synthesized monomers using renewable materials as feedstocks for high-performance polymers. © 2018 American Chemical Society.