To investigate the possible role of arbuscular mycrrhizal fungi (AMF) in alleviating the negative effects of salinity on Stevia rebaudiana (Bert.), the regenerated plantlets in tissue culture was transferred to pots in greenhouse and inoculated with Glomus intraradices. Salinity caused a significant decrease in chlorophyll content, photosynthesis efficiency and enhanced the electrolyte leakage. The use of AMF in salt –affected plants resulted in improved all above mentioned characteristics. Hydrogen peroxide and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents increased in salt stressed plants while a reduction was observed due to AMF inoculation. CAT activity showed a significant increase up to 2 g/l and then followed by decline at 5 g/l NaCl in both AMF and non-AMF treated stevia, however, AMF inoculated plants maintained lower CAT activity at all salinity levels (2 and 5 g/l). Enhanced POX activities in salt- treated stevia plants were decreased by inoculation of plants with AMF. The addition of NaCl to stevia plants also resulted in an enhanced activity of SOD whilst, AMF plants maintained higher SOD activity at all salinity levels than those of non-AMF inoculated plants. AMF inoculation was capable of alleviating the damage caused by salinity on stevia plants by reducing oxidative stress and improving photosynthesis efficiency. 

Polymers obtained from renewable sources are gaining popularity over their petroleum based counter parts in recent years due to their capability to address the environmental pollution related concerns emanating from the widespread usage of synthetic polymers. Even though the polymers from renewable sources are attractive in an environmental point of view, some of the property limitations and the high cost of these materials pose limitations for their extensive commercial applications. These aspects opened the door for a large chunk of research activities in development of polyblends and composites containing polymers from renewable sources as one of the components. Poly (lactic acid) (PLA) is one of the most discussed and commercialized polymer originated from renewable resources. Even though it has many useful properties, certain disadvantages like high brittleness, low impact resistance etc. limit the wide spread commercialization of PLA. In this review article, the recent research activities which are aimed to fill this gap by various modifications of PLA are discussed with special emphasis on the latest research advancements in the field of biodegradable and non biodegradable systems containing PLA.

Regarding to the influence of chloride and fluoride ions on the corrosion resistance, the electrochemical behavior of Ti alloys has been deeply studied. In this work, the main goal was to investigate the electrochemical behavior of cp-Ti and Ti-Mo alloys containing 6, 10 and 15 wt% of Mo concentrations. All the samples were immersed in different solutions, such as 0.15 mol L^-1 Na₂SO₄, 0.15 mol L^-1 Ringer, 0.15 mol L^-1 Ringer plus 0.036 mol L^-1 NaF and 0.036 mol L^-1 NaF. Simulating the commercial fluorinated gels, the NaF solutions naturally-aerated were prepared with 1450 ppm of fluoride ions. The electrochemical techniques applied in this work were the open-circuit potential, cyclic voltammetry, besides the technique for chemical identification, which was X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The formation and growth of TiO₂ and MoO₂ were identified, without pitting corrosion. The electrochemical stability and the corrosion resistance of the Ti-Mo alloys decreased in the solutions containing chloride and fluoride ions, with an appreciative decrease especially in the fluorinated medium. The Ti-Mo alloy with higher Mo content concentration was the material with higher corrosion resistance. Therefore, it is a promising candidate as a biomaterial, once the osseointegration needs a satisfactory corrosion resistance for being achieved.

Helical deep hole drilling is a process frequently used in industrial applications to produce bores with a large length to diameter ratio. For better cooling and lubrication, the deep drilling oil is fed directly into the bore hole via two internal cooling channels. Due to the inaccessibility of the cutting area, experimental investigations that provide information on the actual machining and cooling behavior are difficult to carry out. In this paper, the distribution of the deep drilling oil is investigated both experimentally and simulatively and the results are evaluated. For the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation, two different turbulence models, i.e. the RANS k-ω-SST and hybrid SAS-SST model, are used and compared. Thereby, the actual used deep drilling oil is modelled instead of using fluid dynamic parameters of water, as is often the case. With the hybrid SAS-SST model, the flow could be analyzed much better than with the RANS k-ω-SST model and thus the processes that take place during helical deep drilling could be  simulated with realistic details. Both the experimental and the simulative results show that the deep drilling oil movement is almost exclusively generated by the tool rotation. At the tool’s cutting edges and in the flute, the flow velocity drops to zero for the most part, so that no efficient cooling and lubrication could take place there. In addition, cavitation bubbles form and implode, concluding in the assumption that the process heat is not adequately dissipated and the removal of chips is adversely affected, which in turn can affect the service life of the tool and the bore quality. The carried out investigations show that the application of CFD simulation is an important research instrument in machining technology and that there is still great potential in the area of tool and process optimization.

Agroforestry holds the key in providing alternative economically viable livelihood development and to support mountainous farmers to adapt to climate change. Innovative agroforestry interventions integrating animal production, horticulture etc into cropping systems exist that can help farmers improve yields and build resilience for supporting livelihoods particularly among marginal communities. But, the lack of knowledge, technical know-how and other information among the farmers are major barriers in adoption of agroforestry. Millions of the farmers of mountainous regions are already wrestling with water scarcity, which would be more severe in climate change scenario. The Himalayan regions are have been considered to be highly sensitive to climate change. Indeed, Innovative agroforestry interventions have the potential to conserve natural resources, improve productivity and provide resilience to climate change. The present paper highlights the need for developing innovative agroforestry interventions to promote various alternate livelihood options through diversification, adoption of high yielding varieties and development of innovative products from forest resources.  Of these spice based agroforetry, silvi-medicinal systems, Van silk cultivation, bamboo and ringal cultivation  and development and use of farm resources based products like  bamboo based composite structures, Seabuckthorn herbal tea, Ghingaroo juice  (Crataegus crenulata) and incense products etc holds a promising potential to be explored as better options for future scenario.