ORCID Profile
0000-0001-9010-8506
Current Organisations
Aberystwyth University
,
University of Adelaide
,
RMIT University
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Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 25-08-2023
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 20-12-2022
DOI: 10.1101/2022.12.19.520744
Abstract: Red clover ( Trifolium pratense L.) is an outcrossing forage legume that has adapted to a wide range of climatic and growing conditions across Europe. Red clover is valued for its high yield potential and forage quality. The high amount of genetic ersity present in red clover provides an invaluable, but often poorly characterized resource to improve key traits such as yield, quality, and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. In this study, we examined the genetic and phenotypic ersity within a erse set of 395 diploid red clover accessions via genome wide allele frequency fingerprinting and multi-location field trials across Europe. We found that the genetic structure of accessions mostly reflected their geographic origin and only few cases were detected, where breeders integrated foreign genetic resources into their local breeding pools. Phenotypic performance of accessions in the multi-location field trials revealed a very strong accession x location interaction. Notably, breeding material and cultivars generally performed well at the location where they were developed. Local adaptation was especially prominent in Nordic red clover accessions that showed a distinct adaptation to the growing conditions and cutting regime of the North. Our results confirmed that red clover cultivars were bred from regional ecotypes and show a narrow adaptation to regional conditions. Our study can serve as a valuable basis for identifying interesting material that express the desired characteristics and contribute to the adaptation of red clover to future climatic conditions.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 15-02-2023
DOI: 10.3390/NANO13040738
Abstract: Membrane fouling is a major drawback in the membrane filtration industry for water treatment. Mixed-matrix membranes (MMMs) are well known for their enhanced antifouling and antibacterial properties, which could offer potential benefits for membrane filtration processes in the water treatment field. In this work, three electrospun nanofibrous MMMs (P, CP, and MCP, which were, respectively, the pristine polysulfone membrane and mixed-matrix membranes (MMMs) consisting of GO–ZnO and GO–ZnO–iron oxides) were studied for antifouling and antibacterial properties with respect to the arsenic nanofiltration process. The effects of these composites on the antifouling behaviour of the membranes were studied by characterising the bovine serum albumin (BSA) protein adsorption on the membranes and subsequent analysis using microscopic (morphology via scanning electron microscopy) and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analyses. The antibacterial properties of these membranes were also studied against Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Gram-negative Escherichia coli (E. coli). The composite nanoparticle-incorporated membranes showed improved antifouling properties in comparison with the pristine polysulfone (PSF) membrane. The excellent antimicrobial properties of these membranes make them appropriate candidates to contribute to or overcome biofouling issues in water or wastewater treatment applications.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2023
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 21-06-2021
Abstract: Magnesium (Mg) and its alloys are promising biodegradable metallic implant materials. However, their clinical applications are limited by their fast corrosion rate in the biological environment. In this work, with an outlook to improve the
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 23-05-2022
DOI: 10.1101/2022.05.23.493028
Abstract: Red clover ( Trifolium pratense L.) is an important forage legume of temperate regions, particularly valued for its high yield potential and its high forage quality. Despite substantial breeding progress during the last decades, continuous improvement of cultivars is crucial to ensure yield stability in view of newly emerging diseases or changing climatic conditions. The high amount of genetic ersity present in red clover ecotypes, landraces and cultivars provides an invaluable, but often unexploited resource for the improvement of key traits such as yield, quality, and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. A collection of 397 red clover accessions was genotyped using a pooled genotyping-by-sequencing approach with 200 plants per accession. Resistance to the two most pertinent diseases in red clover production, southern anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum trifolii , and clover rot caused by Sclerotinia trifoliorum , was assessed using spray inoculation. The mean survival rate for southern anthracnose was 22.9% and the mean resistance index for clover rot was 34.0%. Genome-wide association analysis revealed several loci significantly associated with resistance to southern anthracnose and clover rot. Most of these loci are in coding regions. One quantitative trait locus (QTL) on chromosome 1 explained 16.8% of the variation in resistance to southern anthracnose. For clover rot resistance we found eight QTL, explaining together 80.2% of the total phenotypic variation. The SNPs associated with these QTL provide, once validated, a promising resource for marker-assisted selection in existing breeding programs, facilitating the development of novel cultivars with increased resistance against two devastating fungal diseases of red clover. High variability for and candidate loci associated with resistance to southern anthracnose and clover rot in a worldwide collection of red clover provide a first basis for genomics-assisted breeding.
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 24-11-2020
Abstract: Resilin-like polypeptides (RLPs) are an important class of intrinsically disordered multistimuli-responsive bioelastomers. The nanostructure of RLPs in solution has been extensively studied in the past few years, from dilute to molecular crowding conditions, and with the addition of rigid biopolymers. Modification of the hierarchical network structure of RLP hydrogels using graphene oxide (GO) as an additive is a burgeoning prospect for their application in the bioelectronic and biomedical fields. In this work, we systemically study the influence of incorporating GO into RLP (Rec1) hydrogels for tuning their physicochemical properties and understanding the gel-cell interactions. The nature of GO interaction with the Rec1 hydrogel is deduced from the change in structure and properties. Contrast-matching small-angle and ultra-small-angle neutron-scattering techniques were used to investigate the network structure of the Rec1 hydrogel and how this structure is modified in the presence of GO. Incorporation of GO in the Rec1 hydrogel matrix results in an increase in the micromechanical resilience, equilibrium water swelling ratio, micropore size, cross-linked domain size with a decrease in the cross-link density, mass fractal cluster size, local compressive elastic modulus, and cell inert characteristics. These property combinations achieved with the addition of GO further open up the available structure-property design window for RLP applications.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 08-01-2008
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 12-05-2022
Abstract: In recent years, significant attention has been paid towards the study and application of mixed matrix nanofibrous membranes for water treatment. The focus of this study is to develop and characterize functional polysulfone (PSf)-based composite nanofiltration (NF) membranes comprising two different oxides, such as graphene oxide (GO) and zinc oxide (ZnO) for arsenic removal from water. PSf/GO- and PSf/ZnO-mixed matrix NF membranes were fabricated using the electrospinning technique, and subsequently examined for their physicochemical properties and evaluated for their performance for arsenite–As(III) and arsenate–As(V) rejection. The effect of GO and ZnO on the morphology, hierarchical structure, and hydrophilicity of fabricated membranes was studied using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), small and ultra-small angle neutron scattering (USANS and SANS), contact angle, zeta potential, and BET (Brunauer, Emmett and Teller) surface area analysis. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to study the elemental compositions and polymer-oxide interaction in the membranes. The incorporation of GO and ZnO in PSf matrix reduced the fiber diameter but increased the porosity, hydrophilicity, and surface negative charge of the membranes. Among five membrane systems, PSf with 1% ZnO has the highest water permeability of 13, 13 and 11 L h−1 m−2 bar−1 for pure water, As(III), and As(V)-contaminated water, respectively. The composite NF membranes of PSf and ZnO exhibited enhanced (more than twice) arsenite removal (at 5 bar pressure) of 71% as compared to pristine PSf membranes, at 43%, whereas both membranes showed only a 27% removal for arsenate.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-2019
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2022
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 05-11-2020
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 25-09-2022
DOI: 10.1007/S00122-022-04223-8
Abstract: High variability for and candidate loci associated with resistance to southern anthracnose and clover rot in a worldwide collection of red clover provide a first basis for genomics-assisted breeding. Red clover ( Trifolium pratense L.) is an important forage legume of temperate regions, particularly valued for its high yield potential and its high forage quality. Despite substantial breeding progress during the last decades, continuous improvement of cultivars is crucial to ensure yield stability in view of newly emerging diseases or changing climatic conditions. The high amount of genetic ersity present in red clover ecotypes, landraces, and cultivars provides an invaluable, but often unexploited resource for the improvement of key traits such as yield, quality, and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. A collection of 397 red clover accessions was genotyped using a pooled genotyping-by-sequencing approach with 200 plants per accession. Resistance to the two most pertinent diseases in red clover production, southern anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum trifolii , and clover rot caused by Sclerotinia trifoliorum, was assessed using spray inoculation. The mean survival rate for southern anthracnose was 22.9% and the mean resistance index for clover rot was 34.0%. Genome-wide association analysis revealed several loci significantly associated with resistance to southern anthracnose and clover rot. Most of these loci are in coding regions. One quantitative trait locus (QTL) on chromosome 1 explained 16.8% of the variation in resistance to southern anthracnose. For clover rot resistance we found eight QTL, explaining together 80.2% of the total phenotypic variation. The SNPs associated with these QTL provide a promising resource for marker-assisted selection in existing breeding programs, facilitating the development of novel cultivars with increased resistance against two devastating fungal diseases of red clover.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 21-02-2022
DOI: 10.3390/SU14042459
Abstract: Magnesium alloys are next generation biodegradable implants for clinical applications. However, their medical applications are currently h ered by their rapid corrosion rate in the physiological environment. To overcome such limitations, we have applied a novel layer-by-layer engineering approach of introducing anodization-induced microrough oxidized surface on ZK60 magnesium alloy, followed by surface mineralization with natural calcium apatite (hydroxyapatite, HA), and surface coating with natural protein (silk fibroin, SF) which, effectively reduces corrosion and degradation rate of ZK60 in simulated body fluid. Anodization of ZK60 improved the surface adhesion strength of HA layer HA layer increased the surface roughness, hydrophilicity and micro-hardness, whereas decreased ionic release SF layer decreased surface microroughness and hydrophilicity, whereas improved the stability of HA layer. The SF + HA coating on anodized ZK60 effectively decreased the in vitro weight loss (degradation) by almost six times, whereas corrosion rate by more than two orders in magnitude. Such interfacial coatings, with biocompatible SF on the outer surface, could potentially expand the application of ZK60 in the field of biomedical engineering.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 02-11-2018
DOI: 10.1111/CDOE.12348
Abstract: To use recent national survey data to compare dentition status and oral diseases in China and New Zealand (NZ), with a particular focus on differences by sex and education level. We undertook secondary analysis of representative data from oral health surveys conducted in 2009 in Sichuan (China) and NZ. Both surveys had an oral examination component and collected detailed demographic data. Socioeconomic position in this analysis was represented by the highest level of education completed. Participants were allocated to 1 of 3 comparable ordinal categories of years of education (primary, middle or tertiary). Analyses used survey weights. The proportion of Chinese who had been educated to only primary level was 3 times higher than that among their NZ counterparts, and the proportion with a tertiary education was correspondingly lower. In the 35-44 age group, the dentate proportions were similar, although the mean number of teeth was higher in China than in NZ. There were substantial differences in dental caries experience, with the mean DMFT in NZ being almost 3 times that observed in China. New Zealanders had more filled teeth, but the prevalence of 1+ missing teeth was lower. Periodontitis was more common in the NZ s le than in the Chinese one, although the extent of bleeding on probing was almost 3 times higher among the latter. For the 65-74 age group, there were significant differences in dentition status, with greater tooth retention among Chinese people. There were also significant differences in dental caries experience, with Chinese 65- to 74-year-olds having more decayed teeth but fewer filled or missing teeth, and lower DMFT scores, on average. Periodontal health was better among the New Zealanders. There were notable differences by sex and education level. The differences observed in this study provide strong support for using broader sociocultural models of oral health.
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 28-06-2017
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 11-01-2023
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 11-09-2023
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 19-07-2018
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-018-29028-Y
Abstract: Polyionic liquid based gels have stimulated significant interest due to their wide applications in flexible electronics, such as wearable electronics, roll-up displays, smart mobile devices and implantable biosensors. Novel supported liquid gel electrolyte using polymerisable ionic liquid and an acrylate monomer, has been developed in this work by entrapping ionic liquid during polymerisation instead of post polymerisation impregnation. The chemically crosslinked polyionic liquid gel electrolyte (PIL) is prepared using 2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate (HEMA) monomer and a polymerisable ionic liquid, 1,4-di(vinylimidazolium)butane bisbromide (DVIMBr) in an ionic liquid (IL- 1-butyl-3 methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate) as the polymerisation solvent, which resulted in in-situ entrapment of the IL in the gel during polymerisation and crosslinking of the polymer. The supported liquid gel electrolyte (SLG) material was characterised with thermal analysis, infrared spectroscopy, and dynamic mechanical analysis, and was found to be stable with good mechanical properties. The electrochemical analysis showed that these chemically cross-linked PIL gel electrolyte-supported ILs are suitable for solid-state, flexible supercapacitor applications.
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 10-07-2018
DOI: 10.1021/ACS.LANGMUIR.8B01141
Abstract: The development of protein-based hydrogels for tissue engineering applications is often limited by their mechanical properties. Herein, we present the facile fabrication of tough regenerated silk fibroin (RSF)/graphene oxide (GO) nanocomposite hydrogels by a photochemical cross-linking method. The RSF/GO composite hydrogels demonstrated soft and adhesive properties during initial stages of photocrosslinking (<2 min), which is not observed for the pristine RSF hydrogel, and rendered a tough and nonadhesive hydrogel upon complete cross-linking (10 min). The composite hydrogels exhibited superior tensile mechanical properties, increased β-sheet content, and decreased chain mobility compared to that of the pristine RSF hydrogels. The composite hydrogels demonstrated Young's modulus as high as ∼8 MPa, which is significantly higher than native cartilage (∼1.5 MPa), and tensile toughness as high as ∼2.4 MJ/m
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 23-01-2020
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 08-11-2022
Abstract: Plastic waste pollution, including non-biodegradable landfills, leaching of toxic chemicals into soil and waterways, and emission of toxic gases into the atmosphere, is significantly affecting our environment. Conventional plastic waste recycling approaches generally produce lower value materials compared to the original plastic or recover inefficient heat energy. Lately, upcycling or the valorization approach has emerged as a sustainable solution to transform plastic waste into value-added products. In this review, we present an overview of recent advancements in plastic waste upcycling, such as vitrimerization, nanocomposite fabrication, additive manufacturing, catalytic transformation, and industrial biotechnology, envisaged with technical challenges, future developments, and new circular economy opportunities.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 08-01-2021
DOI: 10.1038/S41467-020-20375-X
Abstract: Intrinsically disordered proteins have dramatically changed the structure–function paradigm of proteins in the 21 st century. Resilin is a native elastic insect protein, which features intrinsically disordered structure, unusual multi-stimuli responsiveness and outstanding resilience. Advances in computational techniques, polypeptide synthesis methods and modular protein engineering routines have led to the development of novel resilin-like polypeptides (RLPs) including modular RLPs, expanding their applications in tissue engineering, drug delivery, bioimaging, biosensors, catalysis and bioelectronics. However, how the responsive behaviour of RLPs is encoded in the amino acid sequence level remains elusive. This review summarises the milestones of RLPs, and discusses the development of modular RLP-based biomaterials, their current applications, challenges and future perspectives. A perspective of future research is that sequence and responsiveness profiling of RLPs can provide a new platform for the design and development of new modular RLP-based biomaterials with programmable structure, properties and functions.
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 30-08-2021
Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
Date: 2023
DOI: 10.1039/D2YA00298A
Abstract: The surface of pristine graphene is engineered toward hydrophilicity by interfacing with hiphilic PTEBS molecules, creating a new class of water-redispersible graphene with high conductivity and electrocatalytic activity for energy applications.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 19-10-2022
DOI: 10.3390/PH15101282
Abstract: Advancements in the material design of smart hydrogels have transformed the way therapeutic agents are encapsulated and released in biological environments. On the other hand, the expeditious development of 3D printing technologies has revolutionized the fabrication of hydrogel systems for biomedical applications. By combining these two aspects, 4D printing (i.e., 3D printing of smart hydrogels) has emerged as a new promising platform for the development of novel controlled drug delivery systems that can adapt and mimic natural physio-mechanical changes over time. This allows printed objects to transform from static to dynamic in response to various physiological and chemical interactions, meeting the needs of the healthcare industry. In this review, we provide an overview of innovation in material design for smart hydrogel systems, current technical approaches toward 4D printing, and emerging 4D printed novel structures for drug delivery applications. Finally, we discuss the existing challenges in 4D printing hydrogels for drug delivery and their prospects.
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 21-12-2022
Abstract: The consequences of crowding on the dynamic conformational ensembles of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) remain unresolved because of their ultrafast motion. Here, we report crowder-induced interactions and conformational dynamics of a prototypical multistimuli-responsive IDP, Rec1-resilin. The effects of a range of crowders of varying sizes, forms, topologies, and concentrations were examined using spectroscopic, spectrofluorimetric, and contrast-matching small- and ultrasmall-angle neutron scattering investigation. To achieve sufficient neutron contrast against the crowders, deuterium-labeled Rec1-resilin was biosynthesized successfully. Moreover, the ab initio “shape reconstruction” approach was used to obtain three-dimensional models of the conformational assemblies. The IDP revealed crowder-specific systematic extension and compaction with the level of macromolecular crowding. Last, a robust extension-contraction model has been postulated to capture the fundamental phenomena governing the observed behavior of IDPs. The study provides insights and fresh perspectives for understanding the interactions and structural dynamics of IDPs in crowded states.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 30-08-2016
Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
Date: 2020
DOI: 10.1039/D0RA03964K
Abstract: Silk biomaterials in different forms such as particles, coatings and their assemblies, represent unique type of materials in multiple scales and dimensions.
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 26-11-2018
Abstract: Aqueous dispersions of poly(3-hexylthiophene):phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (P3HT:PCBM) nanoparticles (NPs) have been fabricated using a thiophene-based surfactant 2-(3-thienyl)ethyloxybutylsulfonate sodium salt (TEBS) for the first time via the mini-emulsion process. The use of TEBS resulted in a stable colloidal dispersion of P3HT:PCBM NPs, of which the effect of various fabrication parameters is investigated. The fabricated NPs were characterized by dynamic light scattering, scanning electron microscopy, UV-visible spectroscopy, contrast-variation small and ultra-small angle neutron scattering, and cyclic voltammetry. The internal structure and electrochemical performance of TEBS-stabilized P3HT:PCBM NPs were compared to those of sodium dodecyl sulfate-stabilized core-shell (PCBM-P3HT) NPs at the same surfactant concentration. Neutron scattering and cyclic voltammetry results reveal a homogeneous distribution of small de-mixed P3HT and PCBM domains in the internal structure of TEBS-stabilized P3HT:PCBM NPs, reminiscent of cast film. Moreover, electron microscopy images show evidence of diffused NP surface/interface upon drying (without annealing), which indicates that the thiophene-containing TEBS may improve compatibility and film-forming properties of fabricated P3HT:PCBM NPs, and consequently be more suited for conventional film-processing methods for organic solar cell applications.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 2010
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
No related grants have been discovered for Namita Roy Choudhury.