Maharshi Dayanand University, also called M.D. University or simply MDU, is a university in Rohtak, Haryana, India. Established in 1976 and named after the saint Dayananda Saraswati.Maharshi Dayanand University, ab initio established as Rohtak University, Rohtak, came into existence by an Act No. 25 of 1975 of the Haryana Legislative Assembly in 1976 with the objective to promote inter-disciplinary higher education and research in the fields of environmental, ecological and life sciences. It was rechristened as Maharshi Dayanand University in 1977 after the name of a great visionary and social reformer, Maharshi Dayanand. It had a unitary and residential character in its nascent stage, but became an affiliating University in November 1978. The University secured the recognition of University Grants Commission – the higher education regulatory body of India - for central Govt. grants in 16 Mar, 1979.
In this work, low-cost bio-sludge (BS) and bio-sludge-derived biochar (BSC) were employed as co-catalysts to fabricate BS/TiO2 and BSC/TiO2 composites for photocatalytic CO2 reduction. The incorporation of BS and BSC enhanced CO2 utilization, and promoted the separation of photogenerated charge carriers. Photocatalytic CO2 reduction experiments were performed in a continuous-flow photoreactor under UV-visible light irradiation. Among the BSC/TiO2 photocatalysts, the 3% BSC5/TiO2 synthesized at 500 °C exhibited the highest activity, producing 9.175 μmol g−1 of CO and 5.56 μmol g−1 of CH4 under lower light intensity, corresponding to 4.23- and 2.63-fold enhancements over pristine TiO2, respectively. The improved photocatalytic performance was attributed to the conductive carbon matrix and metallic constituents of BSC, which facilitated charge separation and suppressed electron–hole recombination. A comparative evaluation of BS and BSC-based composites revealed that BS/TiO2 favored CO production, whereas BSC/TiO2 promoted the formation of both CO and CH4. The effect of different sacrificial agents, including H2, and methanol, were also investigated. Under CO2 hydrogenation conditions, the BS/TiO2 composite achieved a CO yield of 14.15 μmol g−1, which was 10.26 times higher than that of the BSC5/TiO2 composite. Furthermore, feed mixtures containing H2 or methanol significantly enhanced CO production by serving as proton sources and effective hole scavengers. Both composites also exhibited excellent stability during prolonged continuous-flow operation, maintaining consistent CO and CH4 production over multiple reaction cycles. Overall, these findings demonstrate that bio-sludge and its derived biochar are sustainable, low-cost, and efficient co-catalysts for enhancing solar-driven photocatalytic CO2 conversion into value-added fuels.
Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a complex, aggressive and heterogeneous malignancy with trends rising rapidly worldwide. Tobacco use, alcohol consumption and human papillomavirus (HPV) infection are the leading risk factors associated with the occurrence of HNSCC. Standard treatments, including radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and surgical resection, are often associated with severe side effects and limited success, particularly in advanced, recurrent, or metastatic disease. Though the introduction of immune checkpoint inhibitors has reshaped the management of recurrent or metastatic disease, the clinical impact remains limited as a majority of patients do not achieve expected prognosis, attributed to a “cold” tumor microenvironment. Therefore, to enhance the clinical outcomes of HNSCC patients, it is priority to investigate more effective and well-tolerated targeted medicines. This review provides insights about the current treatment strategies, challenges associated with these traditional approaches along with shedding light on the state-of-the-art HNSCC treatment modalities such as advanced surgery, immunotherapy, epigenetics and cancer stem cell targeting, etc. Moreover, therapies involving varied sophisticated combinations of the abovementioned conventional approaches and these advanced treatment modalities have yielded better HNSCC prognosis in multiple preclinical and clinical settings. Continued multidisciplinary research targeting molecular pathways and innovative drug delivery systems hold the potential to remarkably enhance treatment efficacy while preserving patient’s quality of life.
Calcium (Ca2⁺) signaling plays a pivotal role in plant defense responses against pests and pathogens, serving as an early and highly coordinated intracellular messenger. Upon biotic stress perception, Ca2⁺ channels mediate rapid Ca2⁺ influx, triggering downstream signaling pathways that activate defense-associated genes, secondary metabolite production, and hormonal pathways. This review explores the molecular mechanisms underlying Ca2⁺ channel activation, the spatiotemporal dynamics of intracellular Ca2⁺ fluxes, and their crosstalk with phytohormones and other signaling pathways. We further highlight the role of key Ca2⁺ sensors, such as calmodulins (CaMs), calcineurin B-like proteins (CBLs) and CBL-interacting protein kinase (CBL-CIPK) complexes, and calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs) in decoding Ca2⁺ signals. In addition to this, emerging biotechnological approaches to enhance Ca2⁺-mediated resistance in crops like Nicotiana tabacum, Zea mays, and Arabidopsis thaliana has also been discussed. Understanding these mechanisms will provide valuable insights for developing new strategies to enhance plant resilience against evolving pest and pathogen threats under changing environmental conditions.
Rare-earth co-doped phosphors are gaining prominence for their potential to overcome the limitations of current white light-emitting devices by enabling efficient energy transfer and tunable emission properties. The Ce3+-Dy3+ co-doped nanocomposite phosphors MgO-La1-x-yCexDyyAlO3 (x = 0, 0.009; y = 0, 0.03, 0.05, 0.07 and 0.09) were prepared using citrate assisted sol–gel method. The X-ray diffraction and the corresponding Rietveld refinements were utilized to confirm the face-centered and rhombohedral crystal structures of MgO and LaAlO3, respectively. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy images equipped with Elemental Dispersive Atomic X-ray spectra and elemental mapping revealed the inhomogeneous grains with uniform elemental distribution while XPS shows the presence of each element in their respective oxidation states. The optical bandgaps of the synthesized nanocomposites were found to range from 5.53–6.04 eV. The energy transfer behavior from Ce3+ to Dy3+ has been extensively investigated via Photoluminescence excitation spectra, emission spectra and time-resolved photoluminescence. The plausible energy transfer mechanism was found to be d–d interlinkages with an energy transfer efficiency of 82
Bismuth borate glass samples with composition (70B2O3-(30-x)Bi2O3-xNiO), where x = 0, 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%, and 2.0%, were synthesized by the melt quenching method and investigated for their magnetic behavior, temperature-dependent dielectric properties and the electrical conduction mechanism. The dielectric measurements carried out in the frequency range of 1 Hz to 5 MHz, and a temperature range of 513 K to 613 K shows a significant decrease in dielectric constant from 95 for x = 0 to 35 for x = 2 sample, indicating structural modification in the glass network due to NiO doping. Nyquist plots of real (Z ') vs. imaginary (Z '') components of impedance exhibit depressed semicircular arcs whose radii decrease with NiO concentration and temperature, confirming enhanced electrical conductivity. The scaling behavior of the imaginary part of electric modulus (M '') for different compositions indicates that the relaxation processes are strongly composition-dependent. The dc conductivity and power exponent (s), obtained from fitting AC conductivity data using Jonscher's power law, provide insight into the conduction mechanisms of the glasses. The dc conductivity shows a significant increase from 3 & times; 10-12 (at 513 K) to 7 & times; 10-10 (ohm-m)-1 at 613 K, for x = 2 sample, confirming thermally activated conduction. All samples exhibit AC conduction via the Non-Overlapping Small Polaron Tunnelling (NSPT) model. Furthermore, Ni ions have been found to exhibit a dual role: at lower concentrations they act as charge-carrier facilitators, enhancing conductivity, while at higher concentrations they act as a network stabiliser.
