The effect of hydrogen plasma treatment on indium tin oxide (ITO), fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO), and indium-doped zinc oxide (IZO) films has been studied. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis shows that ITO and FTO surfaces get reduced to yield elemental indium and tin, respectively. Annealing of the plasma treated films in air leads to re-oxidation of the reduced surface and the electro-optical properties are recovered. In contrast, IZO films are not reduced by plasma treatment and show no changes in the electrical and optical properties. The surface of plasma treated IZO films shows a higher binding energy O(1s) peak probably due to OH or OH...O species which appear to form a protective layer against plasma degradation.

The water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) is an important dairy animal on the Indian subcontinent and in Southeast Asian countries. The diversity and differentiation among 12 populations or breeds of buffalo were studied. Data were generated and analyzed from 527 animals belonging to 10 recognized breeds and 2 additional populations of Indian buffalo by using 22 microsatellite loci. Relationships among buffalo breeds and populations were estimated based on genetic distances. The Bayesian analysis grouped 12 populations into 8 distinctive clusters. Geographically close breeds clustered together, except for the Jaffarabadi and Murrah, which were not in geographic contiguity. The Mantel test revealed nonsignificant correlations between genetic and geographic distances. This supports the hypothesis that buffaloes have been domesticated at different places for specific purposes. The phylogenetic relationship based on microsatellite loci supported the breed classification based on body size. The Toda breed, which is considered to be endangered, had genotypes similar to those of the surrounding buffalo populations.

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Raman scattering (RS) from semiconductor nanostructures provide excellent information on the size of the crystallites. Processing history of most nanocrystalline semiconductors suggests natural incorporation of a distribution of crystallite sizes. In this paper, we report on the influence of crystallite size distribution on the shifts in RS frequencies and line shapes. A phenomenological model is developed to obtain an analytical expression for the Raman spectral profile from semiconductor nanostructures having a Gaussian distribution in the crystallite sizes. Computer simulations of RS profiles on nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si) demonstrate the effects of a size distribution on the Raman shifts. In particular, the effects on the asymmetry in Raman line shapes are emphasized. The model is applied to the published Raman data on nc-Si samples where size distributions are known from the direct measurements. The size distribution obtained from Raman analysis is in good agreement with that reported by direct measurement techniques. Further, Raman as well as photoluminescence measurements were made on the same spots on our stress-free porous silicon samples using a Raman microprobe. The present model leads to crystallite size distributions self-consistent with the photoluminescence data.

A sound knowledge of the genetic diversity among germplasm is vital for strategic germplasm collection, maintenance, conservation and utilisation. Genomic simple sequence repeats (SSRs) and random amplified microsatellite polymorphism (RAMPO) markers were used to analyse diversity and relationships among 48 pepper (Capsicum spp.) genotypes originating from nine countries. These genotypes covered 4 species including 13 germplasm accessions, 30 improved lines of 4 domesticated species and 5 landraces derived from natural interspecific crosses. Out of 106 SSR markers, 25 polymorphic SSR markers (24 %) detected a total of 76 alleles (average, 3.04; range, 2-5). The average polymorphic information content (PIC) was 0.69 (range, 0.29-0.92). Seventeen RAMPO markers produced 87 polymorphic fragments with average PIC of 0.63 (range, 0.44-0.81). Dendrograms based on SSRs and RAMPOs generated two clusters. All 38 Capsicum annuum genotypes and an interspecific landrace clustered together, whereas nine non-annuum (three Capsicum frutescens, one Capsicum chinense, one Capsicum baccatum and four interspecific landraces) genotypes clustered separately. Genetic variation within non-annuum genotypes was greater than the C. annuum genotypes. Distinctness of interspecific derivative landraces grown in northeast India was validated; natural crossing between sympatric Capsicum species has been proposed as the mechanism of their origin.

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First-order Raman spectra from nanocrystalline semiconductors reflect the influence of crystallite sizes on the Raman shifts and line shapes. A Gaussian distribution in crystallite sizes is explicitly included to calculate the Raman spectra of porous silicon. Several porous-silicon samples were prepared using electrochemical anodization, and Raman as well as photoluminescence measurements were carried out on the same spots using a micro-Raman probe. The size distribution obtained from fitting the Raman data using our procedure is able to predict the photoluminescence accurately in the quantum-confinement models.