Conventional rice-wheat systems in the eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) are challenged by declining soil health, rising greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and production costs, underscoring the need for climate-smart management. Therefore, this study evaluated the long-term effects of conservation agriculture (CA) on productivity, soil organic carbon (SOC), carbon sequestration, GHG emissions and profitability in a rice-wheat cropping system. A field experiment established in 2015 was assessed during 2023-2024 season using six crop establishment methods ranging from conventional (CE1 and CE2) to partial (CE3 and CE4) and full CA (CE5 and CE6) with residue retention and mungbean incorporation. CE6 increased rice and wheat yield by 34.6% and 17.9%, respectively, compared with CE1. SOC increased by 34%, resulting in higher carbon stock (23.36 t C ha(-1)) and net CO2 sequestration (18.40 t CO2e ha(-1)) under CE6. Simulation studies indicated a 29.5% reduction in seasonal GHG emissions and an improved SOC dynamic under CE6 compared with CE1, highlighting efficient carbon balance under long-term residue retention and reduced soil disturbance. Economic analysis showed that CE6 reduced cultivation costs and increased net returns by 61%, resulting in the higher benefit-cost ratio (1.89). Overall, long-term CA, enhanced productivity, improved SOC, carbon sequestration and reduced GHG emissions. These results support CA as a viable strategy for sustainable intensification in rice-based systems of the eastern IGP.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) represent persistent contaminants in aquatic environments, and developing effective absorbents for their removal is a major challenge. This study has been conducted for absorbent design using density functional theory (DFT) and molecular dynamics (MD) in order to understand the process of adsorption of the following PFAS species: PFBA−, PFBS−, PFOA−, and PFOS− on nitrogen-, oxygen-, and sulfur-containing linker models. For this, geometry optimizations were performed at ωB97XD/6-311++G(d, p) level under implicit aqueous solvation, and the adsorption energies were calculated using the counterpoise correction technique. The final results showed that four PFAS molecules exhibited appropriate counterpoise-corrected adsorption energies ranging from −0.700 to −20.047 kcal mol−1, with the strongest interaction between the PFOS− molecule and the sulfur-containing linker model (−20.047 kcal mol−1). As for the effect of sulfur substitution on the mean energy of adsorption for various PFAS species, it was negative, but the identity of the heteroatom affected PFAS adsorption behavior. Conceptual DFT descriptors based on frontier orbitals showed weak and statistically insignificant linear relations with adsorption energies, indicating that a single comprehensive electronic descriptor is not sufficient to explain the trend in adsorption energy across the data set. The analyses based on ALIE, RDG and NCI showed that the electronic activity depends on the ligands and involves both dispersive and attractive non-covalent interactions. Hirshfeld analysis revealed the predominance of ligand-H contacts, while other analyses (ELF and DOS) indicated that electron localization and redistribution depend on the heteroatoms. Finally, the 100 ns aqueous MD simulations provided evidence of continuous interaction between PFOS and ligands, accompanied by significant conformational and interfacial alterations, as well as sampling of low-free-energy states. The conclusions drawn from these results indicate that PFAS adsorption at the linker level arises from the combined effects of molecular structure, the electronic environment influenced by heteroatoms, and noncovalent interactions.
Seed endophytic bacteria (SEB) play an important role in maintaining seedlings and plant fitness in terms of their development and protection against pathogens. The role of SEB in protecting wheat seedlings against R. solani and the underlying defense mechanisms remain poorly understood. In this study, nine wheat seed endophytic bacteria were isolated and identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and evaluated for antifungal activity against Rhizoctonia solani, Fusarium oxysporium, and Alternaria sp. Among them, the most potent isolate, Bacillus inaquosorum WM1, was selected for further investigation. B. inaquosorum showed positive drop collapse assay, and lipopeptide screening revealed the presence of the surfactin gene in its genome. Antifungal potential of lipopeptide was further confirmed through disc diffusion assays. Microscopic observations showed noticeable damage and cell death in fungal hyphae treated with the bacterium or its lipopeptides. B. inaquosorum treated wheat seedlings also showed higher chlorophyll content and improved photosynthetic efficiency. Histochemical analysis showed less ROS accumulation and cell death in seedlings receiving bacterial treatment than in the untreated control. The defense enzyme activities such as PAL, SOD, POD, and PPO were significantly higher in treated seedlings. In addition, RT-qPCR results showed increased expression of defense related genes (PAL, POD, PPO, SOD, PR1, PR2, PR5, TaMPK3, Chit, and LOX) in both roots and leaves. These findings suggest that B. inaquosorum WM1 exhibits strong antifungal activity and strengthens plant defense responses, making it a promising candidate for sustainable disease management.
Synergistic lattice and interfacial engineering provide an effective route to address the intrinsic limitations of sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) anodes, including poor conductivity, sluggish Na+ diffusion kinetics, and structural instability. However, achieving simultaneous enhancement in kinetics and cycling durability remains challenging. Herein, a dual-engineered Bi2Se3-xSx/RGO composite was synthesized via a modified Bridgman technique, followed by hydrothermal processing. The key innovation lies in the combined effect of sulfur-induced lattice modulation and RGO- enabled interfacial engineering that facilitates Na+ diffusion and enhance charge transport. Structural analysis confirms the formation of a crystalline Rhombohedral (R-3m) phase with uniform RGO wrapping. The optimized Bi2Se3-xSx/RGO anode delivers a high reversible discharge capacity of similar to 710 mAh g(-1) at 20 mA g(-1) and exhibits stable cycling performance over 250 cycles with high coulombic efficiency. Kinetic analysis reveals a predominantly diffusion-controlled process with additional capacitive contribution at higher scan rates. This work demonstrates an effective dual-engineering strategy for improving provide sodium storage performance in layered chalcogenide anodes.
A novel series of coumarin-based 1,2,3-triazole glycoconjugates 7(a-j) was synthesized via a copper(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) between a coumarin-derived alkyne and sugar azides. The synthesized compounds were thoroughly characterized using FT-IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and HRMS analyses. In vitro anticancer screening against MCF-7 human breast cancer cells revealed moderate cytotoxicity for compounds 7a, 7d, and 7e, exhibiting IC50 in the range of 49.48-70.08 mu M, while the remaining analogues showed weak activity. Molecular docking studies of the active compounds 7a and 7e against CDK2 (PDB ID: 2A4L) revealed strong binding affinities, with docking scores of-9.2 and-9.1 kcal/mol, respectively, indicating favorable interactions within the enzyme's active site. Density Functional Theory (DFT) analysis further provided insights into electronic properties such as HOMO-LUMO energy gaps, stability, and electrophilicity, elucidating their influence on molecular reactivity and drug-receptor interactions. Overall, these findings highlight coumarin-triazole glycoconjugates as promising scaffolds for the development of new anticancer agents.
