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The photodegradation of the steroid estrone (E1), an endocrine disrupting hormone which is commonly released into aquatic environments, was investigated in aqueous solution using natural sunlight (290-700 nm) produced using a solar simulator. The degradation of E1 was found to follow pseudo-first-order kinetics, with the rate constant decreasing slightly with increasing initial concentration and varying linearly with solar intensity in the region of 25-100 mW cm -2 . The half-life of E1 using 1 Sun (100 mW cm -2 ) was measured to be 52.50 min in natural conditions. The rate of mineralization based on total organic carbon (TOC) reduction was lower than E1 degradation, while the TOC of the solution decreased steadily with increased irradiation time.In the presence of humic acid, the photodegradation rate increased significantly, attributed to photosensitization by the reactive species. The solution pH also had a considerable effect on the rate with maximum degradation occurring around neutral pH of 7.

Tremendous interest exists towards synthesizing nanoassemblies for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) using earth-abundant and -friendly materials with green synthetic approaches. In this work, high surface area TiO(2) nanowire arrays were grown on the surface of functionalized graphene sheets (FGSs) containing -COOH functionalities acting as a template by using a sol-gel method in the green solvent, supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO(2)). The effect of scCO(2) pressure (1500, 3000 and 5000 psi), temperature (40, 60 and 80 °C), acetic acid/titanium isopropoxide monomer ratios (HAc/TIP = 2, 4 and 6), functionalized graphene sheets (FGSs)/TIP weight ratios (1:20, 1:40 and 1:60 w/w) and solvents (EtOH, hexane) were investigated. Increasing the HAc/TIPweight ratio from 4 to 6 in scCO(2) resulted in increasing the TiO(2) nanowire diameter from 10 to 40 nm. Raman and high resolution XPS showed the interaction of TiO(2) with the -COOH groups on the surface of the graphene sheets, indicating that graphene acted as a template for polycondensation growth. UV-vis diffuse reflectance and photoluminescence spectroscopy showed a reduction in titania's bandgap and also a significant reduction in electron-hole recombination compared to bare TiO(2) nanowires. Photocurrent measurements showed that the TiO(2)nanowire/graphene composites prepared in scCO(2) gave a 5× enhancement in photoefficiency compared to bare TiO(2) nanowires.

The commercial growth in chickpea production for exportation purposes is not keeping pace with increasing demand for protein and protein derived products. In this concern, a pot experiment was conducted under field conditions during winter 2013-2014 at Botany department, AMU, Aligarh, India. Treatment consists of (1) FW (2) FP (3) FS (4) FPS (5) SGA (6) SGA+FP (7) SGA+FS (8) SGA+FPS (9) FGA (10) FGAP (11) FGAS (12) FGAPS (13) SGA+FGA (14) SGA+FGAP9 (15) SGA+FGAS (16) SGA+FGAPS. Before sowing, the seeds of chickpea are soaked for 8 h in 10-6M GA3. After 60 and 70 days of sowing, the plants were sprayed with 10-6MGA3 along with 2 kg P and /or S/ha in equal splits. Performance of the crop was assessed especially in terms of nodule number per plant, nitrate reductase activity (NR), nitrogenase (N-ase) two most significant N-fixing enzymes, leghaemoglobin content (Lb), pod weight per plant, seed yield per plant, and seed protein content. Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) content in leaves were influenced almost non-significantly due to applied P and S level. Treatment (16) SGA+FGAPS proved best, it enhanced NR by 22.37% and 22.46%; Lb by 206.113 and 215.38% respectively at 90 and 100 DAS. Seed yield per plant and seed protein content enhanced by 86 and 21% by the same treatment at harvest without compromising the N-fixing activity.