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Sundarbans in West Bengal, India located in the eastern coast of the Bay of Bengal is one of the vulnerable zones subjected to abrupt climate change. The region receives 2.7 times surplus rainfall as compared to crop evapotranspiration during monsoon months causing widespread waterlogging of the low lying agricultural fields and impedes the productivity. The present study assessed the effects of different land shaping models namely, farm pond (FP), deep furrow and high ridge (RF) and paddy cum fish (PCF) systems for rainwater harvesting in restoring the productivity of degraded coastal soils in Sundarbans. A water balance was run to estimate the soil moisture, crop evapotranspiration, runoff and water depth in the reservoir during normal, excess and deficit rainfall years. The average annual harvested runoff was 2709, 1650 and 1169 m3 per hectare in FP, RF and PCF systems, respectively. The runoff going out of the system was 19.5, 29.1 and 27.75% of the annual rainfall in FP, RF and PCF systems, respectively, whereas in monocrop rice-fallow system it was 34.6% of the annual rainfall. We estimated all the three components of water footprints (WF) i.e., blue WF (WFblue), green WF (WFgreen) and gray WF (WFgray) as an aggregative indicator to evaluate environmental impact. The results indicated that total as well as the components of WF was higher in rice-fallow and rice-rice systems than in each of the land shaping system. Large scale adoption of different land shaping systems increased the cropping intensity and net farm income and there was reduction in salinity during summer and waterlogging during rainy season and overall improvement in soil quality. The dominant soluble salts identified in the study region were NaCl and MgSO4.

The fiber wrapped tuberose structured Fe:Sr(OH)2 have been successfully deposited by using a simple and low cost chemical approach of successive ion layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method as binder-free electrodes for supercapacitors. The structural properties have been obtained by the XRD patterns, while FTIR shows the chemical bond analysis. The FE-SEM micrographs show fiber wrapped tuberose structured morphology and the Fe doping into Sr(OH)2 is confirmed by EDX. The deposited films show the battery type electrode behaviour in 1 M Na2SO4 aqueous solution. As an active electrode material, the specific capacity of 871 C g−1 (specific capacitance of 792 F g−1) at 1.2 mA cm−2 with cycle retention of ∼79% at 5 mA cm−2 has been obtained for 0.5 at.% Fe:Sr(OH)2. The electrochemical properties of the synthesised electrode reveal that it has the great potential for next-generation energy storage applications.

E-Commerce is growing day by day at a great velocity and is going to have a major impact in the agricultural sector as well. The way people are exploiting e-commerce is just at another level of growing small businesses into the new heights. Very often customers have to go for the ages to meet their required product which lead them to a huge expenses and invaluable time. Our platform aims to help farmers as well as consumers of agricultural products for effortless buying and selling agricultural products across the country with the use of leading IT technology for the seamless operations. The very uniquely designed platform will guide and provide the farmers to every possible help they required for farming to get the best and experienced output. With the new farming techniques, they would be able to compare current market rates of different products, the entire sale of products and thus landing them at the place where their profits would be incomparable for the sold products. The website creates a platform for farmers to ensure that the farmers would understand about increasing profitability through user communication. The platform will act as a unique and secure path to perform agro marketing.

This work presents Direct Numerical Simulations to study the effect of base plate oscillations on nucleate boiling heat transfer at low superheat, in the isolated bubble regime, under zero gravity conditions. An in-house solver, based on sharp interface dual grid level set method (SI-DGLSM), is used to carry out the numerical simulations. To enable nucleate boiling in zero gravity, an asymmetric periodic motion of the base plate is proposed, in which the average acceleration of the plate is different along the two plate-normal directions. This time-asymmetry in plate motion imparts net motion of bubbles away from the plate, which in turn sustains nucleate boiling. The departure of the bubble is presented first for cases with no phase change, where the effect of varying plate oscillation parameters on the departure of single bubble over the plate is studied for zero gravity conditions. Thereafter, the effect of the plate motion on nucleate boiling characteristics is presented, and the regime in which nucleate boiling is sustained is identified. We report the effect of plate motion on time series of bubble departure radius, Nusselt number and overall flow dynamics during nucleate boiling in zero gravity. The proposed technique for the sustenance of nucleate boiling in zero gravity conditions has numerous space-related applications for heat transfer enhancement.

The maximum diameter criterion is the most important factor in the clinical management of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA). Consequently, interventional repair is recommended when an aneurysm reaches a critical diameter, typically 5.0 cm in the United States. Nevertheless, biomechanical measures of the aneurysmal abdominal aorta have long been implicated in AAA risk of rupture. The purpose of this study is to assess whether other geometric characteristics, in addition to maximum diameter, may be highly correlated with the AAA peak wall stress (PWS). Using in-house segmentation and meshing algorithms, 30 patient-specific AAA models were generated for finite element analysis using an isotropic constitutive material for the AAA wall. PWS, evaluated as the spatial maximum of the first principal stress, was calculated at a systolic pressure of 120 mmHg. The models were also used to calculate 47 geometric indices characteristic of the aneurysm geometry. Statistical analyses were conducted using a feature reduction algorithm in which the 47 indices were reduced to 11 based on their statistical significance in differentiating the models in the population (p < 0.05). A subsequent discriminant analysis was performed and 7 of these indices were identified as having no error in discriminating the AAA models with a significant nonlinear regression correlation with PWS. These indices were: D(max) (maximum diameter), T (tortuosity), DDr (maximum diameter to neck diameter ratio), S (wall surface area), K(median) (median of the Gaussian surface curvature), C(max) (maximum lumen compactness), and M(mode) (mode of the Mean surface curvature). Therefore, these characteristics of an individual AAA geometry are the highest correlated with the most clinically relevant biomechanical parameter for rupture risk assessment. We conclude that the indices can serve as surrogates of PWS in lieu of a finite element modeling approach for AAA biomechanical evaluation.

An intensified method for treatment of wastewater containing a commercial dye (Methyl Violet 2B (MV 2B)) has been studied with novel approaches based on UV-air bubble induced oxidation. A modified reactor containing small glass balls was used for this purpose. The impact of the operating parameters such as initial concentration and pH as well as the effect of loadings of various catalysts likeTiO2, MnO2, ZnO etc. on the extent of removal of MV 2B dye have been investigated. So as to maximize the efficacy of removal of the dye, the reactor used in the author’s earlier work was modified by incorporating ultraviolet light source in the system. The removal of Methyl Violet (2B) was found to be maximum (96.8%) with the loading of a mixture of TiO2 and MnO2 catalysts. Also, the effect of various metal oxide catalysts on the removal of methyl violet 2B has been observed in the order of TiO2 > MnO2 > ZnO. Overall, the present investigation established that hybrid processes with the use of optimized loading of catalysts have promising future and can be successfully applied for the removal of toxic dyes from aqueous solution with intensification benefits.

The compliance of patients to solid oral dosage forms is strongly conditioned by the perceived ease of swallowing, especially in geriatric and pediatric populations. This study proposes a method, based on an in vitro model of the human oropharyngeal cavity, to study quantitatively the oral phase of human swallowing in presence of single or multiple tablets. The dynamics of swallowing was investigated varying the size and shape of model tablets and adjusting the force applied to the mechanical setup to simulate tongue pressure variations among individuals. The evolution of the velocity of the bolus, the oral transit time, and the relative position of the solid oral dosage form within the liquid bolus were measured quantitatively from high speed camera recordings. Whenever the solid dosage forms were big enough to interact with the walls of the in vitro oral cavity, a strong effect of the volume of the medication in respect of its swallowing velocity was observed, with elongated tablets flowing faster than spherical tablets. Conversely, the geometrical properties of the solid oral dosage forms did not significantly affect the bolus dynamics when the cross section of the tablet was lower than 40% of that of the bolus. The oral phase of swallowing multiple tablets was also considered in the study by comparing different sizes while maintaining a constant total mass. The predictive power of different theories was also evaluated against the experimental results, providing a mechanistic interpretation of the dynamics of the in vitro oral phase of swallowing. These findings and this approach could pave the way for a better design of solid oral medications to address the special needs of children or patients with swallowing disorders and could help designing more successful sensory evaluations and clinical studies.

Electronic devices with high power density require efficient and compact heat transfer management methods. While passive fins have been routinely used for heat dissipation, they usually have a limited range of operating conditions in electronic applications. In this study, we explore experimentally and numerically active enhancement of convective heat transfer using a magnetically actuated array of fins. In our experiments, the fins are rectangular nickel strips attached to a silicon substrate via flexible joints and actuated by an alternating electromagnetic field. We observe that angular oscillation of the fins leads to significant enhancement in heat transfer coefficient. Specifically, at high actuation frequencies and amplitudes, the heat flux enhancement for a fixed wall temperature may be up to 100%. We examine the scaling between the measured heat flux, frequency, and temperature difference. For an actively cooled substrate, the Nusselt number is primarily determined by forced convection due to fin motion, while the contribution from buoyancy is weak. In our two-dimensional numerical simulations, we use a dual-grid immersed boundary method for a flow geometry consisting of a single actuated fin in a rectangular domain. The simulated flow field and isotherms indicate the formation of thin thermal boundary layers on the fin and base plate. The tip vortices shed by the fin are instrumental in mixing and transport of temperature field. The active cooling principle described in this work may be employed as an efficient and compact thermal management method for small electronic devices with high power densities. Ministry of Education (MOE) Nanyang Technological University This work was supported by the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Ministry of Education (MOE, grant number MOE2018-T2-2-113), Singapore, and Department of Science and Technology (DST), India. T.B. Nguyen acknowledges the support from MOE. A.B. acknowledges project staff and travel support from (DST) (No: INT/SIN/P-02).

The first report, on tuberose surface morphology of strontium hydroxide (Sr(OH) 2 ) has been achieved on stainless-steel (SS) substrate in the form of thin film by easy, economical efficient and less time consuming successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) technique at room temperature. X-ray diffraction analysis reveals polycrystalline nature of film with orthorhombic crystal structure. Fourier Transmission Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and Raman analyses reveal the composition and phase purity of the active material. The morphology of the prepared sample was characterized by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM), Higher Resolution Transmission Emission Microscopy (HR-TEM) which confirms the tuberose morphology of the Sr(OH) 2 thin film. Furthermore, tuberose surface architecture has been successfully utilized as supercapacitive electrode with high specific capacity of 413C g −1 in 1 M NaOH aqueous electrolyte at 2 Ag −1 current density. Also, the electrode has emerged with 45.95 Whkg −1 of energy density and 2.6 kWkg −1 as power density at 2 Ag −1 current density.

Rice (Oryza sativa) based cropping in the Asian region is considered as one of the most significant agricultural practices that contribute to climate change due to high energy use and carbon footprints (CF). To assess the contributions of rice-based cropping in lowland coastal ecosystems to environmental change, energy budgets, CF, exchange of CO2 and fluxes of non-CO2 greenhouse gases (GHGs) were determined for an array of conservation tillage practices under rice-rice (RR) and rice-cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) (RC) systems as main plot treatments, tillage intensity [zero tillage (ZT), reduced tillage (RT), conventional tillage (CT)] as sub-plot treatments, and residue (R) or no residue (NR) as sub-sub plot treatments. The energy use was calculated operation-wise and RT was recorded to be most efficient in terms of energy utilization. Rice-based cropping system enhanced soil organic carbon (SOC) at the rate of 0.22 to 0.69, and 0.09 to 0.45 Mg ha−1yr−1 in rice-rice and rice-cotton systems, respectively, with the exception of RC-ZTNR which depleted SOC by 0.11 Mg ha−1yr−1. Static chamber-gas chromatography-based methodology along with biometric data collection was used for the carbon and GHG budgeting. The evaluation of net ecosystem carbon budget (NECB, based on net ecosystem exchange of CO2 and non-CO2 carbon via crop harvest, CH4-C, C inputs to soils and C loss through runoff), and GHG budget (GHGB, adding CH4 and N2O fluxes, and emissions from inputs used to the NECB on CO2 equivalent basis) showed that the rice-based cropping systems in lowland coastal ecologies functioned as carbon sinks (NECB:1523 and 944 Kg C ha−1yr−1 in rice-rice and rice-cotton system, respectively) but GHG source except under reduced tillage with residue (RTR) management which was a GHG sink (−68 to −228 Kg CO2-eq ha−1yr−1). The treatment RTR also recorded the least CF, and highest ecosystem service values of climate regulation among all tillage practices.

Bi 2 S 3 thin film electrode has been synthesized by simple and low cost successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method on stainless steel (SS) substrate at room temperature. The formation of interconnected nanoparticles with nanoporous surface morphology has been achieved and which is favourable to the supercapacitor applications. Electrochemical supercapacitive performance of Bi 2 S 3 thin film electrode has been performed through cyclic voltammetry, charge-discharge and stability studies in aqueous Na 2 SO 4 electrolyte. The Bi 2 S 3 thin film electrode exhibits the specific capacitance of 289 Fg −1 at 5 mVs −1 scan rate in 1 M Na 2 SO 4 electrolyte.

Present investigation describes the photoelectrochemical studies of electrosynthesized CdSe and indium doped CdSe (In:CdSe) thin films deposited on stainless steel (SS) substrates. The photoelectrochemical (PEC) studies of both films are carried out with CdSe and In:CdSe(SS)/1 M Polysulfide/C cell. It is observed that indium doping in CdSe enhances the fill factor from 0.56 to 0.63 and photo-conversion efficiency from 0.80% to 2.01%. In order to study the consequence of doping, undoped and indium doped CdSe thin films are further characterized by capacitance-voltage, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), spectral response, transient response, speed of response characterization techniques. By using capacitance-voltage measurement, various physical parameters are estimated and accordingly energy band diagrams have been constructed.

One-step, simple and inexpensive successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method has been used to synthesize porous network of zinc cobaltite (ZnCo 2 O 4 ) in 2D form on stainless steel (SS) substrate. Porous structure of ZnCo 2 O 4 electrode enables electrochemical specific capacitance of 675 Fg −1 at 5 mV s −1 sweep rate with high rate capability and cycling performance of 69% over 2000 cycles. Furthermore, fabricated ZnCo 2 O 4 solid-state supercapacitor cell in symmetric mode using PVA-KOH gel electrolyte exhibited a specific capacitance of 69.65 Fg −1 with specific energy of 9.67 Wh kg −1 and specific power of 1.45 kW kg −1 at a current density of 1.07 Ag −1 . The results clearly demonstrate the facile method for the synthesis of porous network of ZnCo 2 O 4 and make them promising electrode material for energy storage application.

The effect on the structure of a Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate (SDS) micellar solution confined within the porous structure of a bentonite has been investigated using Small Angle Neutron Scattering. Normal bentonite and that saturated with sodium of varying molar concentrations were infused with SDS. From X-ray diffraction, the interplanar separation in normal bentonite is 13 A while in the clay saturated with Na + ions and loaded with SDS solution it is 20 A. Similarly, pore sizes from SANS for bentonite and Na bentonite were 13 A and 20 A respectively. For an unconfined SDS solution, the aggregation number, effective charge and intermicellar distance are known to increase with concentration of SDS but decrease when SDS is confined in sodium saturated bentonite. These parameters were here found to substantially decrease by up to 50% for increasing SDS concentrations confined in the bentonite. The Na + ion in the sodium saturated bentonite is thought to play a vital role in the change of these parameters by effectively reducing charge on the micellar aggregates.

Hasan, M. Shahnaz/0000-0002-7493-7416; Abouqal, Redouane/0000-0002-6117-4341; Altindis, Mustafa/0000-0003-0411-9669; Masjedi, Mansoor/0000-0001-6175-9289; Popescu, Roxana/0000-0002-9387-1141; Mikaszewska-Sokolewicz, Malgorzata A/0000-0002-1148-7817; Meco, Basak Ceyda/0000-0003-2951-9634; Kumar, Perikala Vijayananda/0000-0001-8315-7000; Zand, Farid/0000-0003-3489-3372; Maghsoudi, Behzad/0000-0002-1279-8799; KAMARUL ZAMAN, MAZUIN/0000-0002-7920-6399; Gan, Chin Seng/0000-0002-6758-4798; Horoz, Ozden Ozgur/0000-0001-7590-650X; Medeiros, Eduardo A/0000-0002-6205-259X; Sabetian, Golnar/0000-0001-8764-2150; UNAL, SERHAT/0000-0003-1184-4711; Gan, Chin Seng/0000-0002-6758-4798; Delia, Muntean/0000-0001-9100-4530; Yalcin, Ata Nevzat/0000-0002-7243-7354; Leblebicioglu, Hakan/0000-0002-6033-8543; Horhat, Florin George/0000-0001-6133-0204; Yousef, Reham H. A./0000-0003-4004-3008; Delgado Aguirre, Hector Alberto/0000-0001-5448-7975; El Kholy, Amani/0000-0002-0645-7664; Rodriguez Ferrer, Marena Luz/0000-0002-8053-8454; Sanaei Dashti, Anahita/0000-0002-2827-3575; KARABAY, OGUZ/0000-0003-1514-1685; Barahona G., Nayide/0000-0003-3559-6900; Stagnaro, Juan Pablo/0000-0003-3836-9957; Alexandru Florin, Rogobete/0000-0003-1286-4431; KAYA, ZEYNEP/0000-0002-8468-2103; Dragan, Barbara/0000-0003-3108-4211; alvarez Moreno, carlos Arturo/0000-0001-5419-4494; Gonzalez Martinez, Marisela del Rocio/0000-0003-1474-736X; Jayatilleke, Kushlani/0000-0002-3931-6630; Unal, Necmettin/0000-0002-9440-7893; Duszynska, Wieslawa/0000-0002-5880-4904; Ngo, Quy Chau/0000-0002-6787-2757; Elmanakhly, Arwa/0000-0001-8557-0536; yildizdas, dincer/0000-0003-0739-5108; Kanj, Souha/0000-0001-6413-3396; Gupta, Umesh/0000-0001-7717-1404 WOS: 000392626300014 PubMed: 27742143 Background: We report the results of International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC) surveillance study from January 2010-December 2015 in 703 intensive care units (ICUs) in Latin America, Europe, Eastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asia, and Western Pacific. Methods: During the 6-year study period, using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Healthcare Safety Network (CDC-NHSN) definitions for device-associated health care-associated infection (DAHAI), we collected prospective data from861,284 patients hospitalized in INICC hospital ICUs for an aggregate of 3,506,562 days. Results: Although device use in INICC ICUs was similar to that reported from CDC-NHSN ICUs, DA-HAI rates were higher in the INICC ICUs: in the INICC medical-surgical ICUs, the pooled rate of central lineassociated bloodstream infection, 4.1 per 1,000 central line-days, was nearly 5-fold higher than the 0.8 per 1,000 central line-days reported from comparable US ICUs, the overall rate of ventilator-associated pneumonia was also higher, 13.1 versus 0.9 per 1,000 ventilator-days, as was the rate of catheterassociated urinary tract infection, 5.07 versus 1.7 per 1,000 catheter-days. From blood cultures samples, frequencies of resistance of Pseudomonas isolates to amikacin (29.87% vs 10%) and to imipenem (44.3% vs 26.1%), and of Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates to ceftazidime (73.2% vs 28.8%) and to imipenem (43.27% vs 12.8%) were also higher in the INICC ICUs compared with CDC-NHSN ICUs. Conclusions: Although DA-HAIs in INICC ICU patients continue to be higher than the rates reported in CDC-NSHN ICUs representing the developed world, we have observed a significant trend toward the reduction of DA-HAI rates in INICC ICUs as shown in each international report. It is INICC's main goal to continue facilitating education, training, and basic and cost-effective tools and resources, such as standardized forms and an online platform, to tackle this problem effectively and systematically. (C) 2016 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. VDR; Foundation to Fight against Nosocomial Infections The funding for design, development, maintenance, technical support, data validation, and report generation of the Surveillance Online System, and the activities carried out at International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium headquarters, were provided by VDR and the Foundation to Fight against Nosocomial Infections.

We have used Direct Numerical Simulations to study the effect of base plate oscillations on nucleate boiling heat transfer at low super heat in the isolated bubble regime. A sharp interface dual grid level set method (SI-DGLSM) has been used to carry out the numerical simulations. Here, dual grid implies that the grid points for the discretized temperature and level set functions are twice as refined as that for the discretized velocity and pressure fields. A semi-implicit projection method is used to solve the mass, momentum and energy conservation equations. For nucleate boiling on oscillating plate with oscillations perpendicular to plate surface, a lock-on regime has been observed, during which the frequency of bubble departure synchronizes with the frequency of plate oscillation over a range of oscillation amplitude and frequencies. The size of the bubbles have been shown to be effectively controlled by the frequency of plate oscillation within this lock-on regime. The lock-on of bubble departure and plate oscillations is especially robust when the amplitude of plate oscillations is increased. The increase in oscillation amplitude also helps in increasing the average Nusselt number by around 22%. We use data from our simulations to show that the enhancement in Nusselt number can mainly be attributed to larger downflow in the liquid, and therefore thinner thermal boundary layer, due to plate oscillation.

Prototype solid-state symmetric supercapacitor (SSS) device has been designed by using two MWCNT/Fe2O3 electrodes assembled through polyvinyl alcohol-lithium chloride gel electrolyte as mediator onto flexible stainless steel substrate. Through electrochemical investigation as-fabricated device demonstrated 70.16 F g−1 of specific capacitance with remarkable 9.74 W h kg−1 specific energy and 487 W kg−1 specific power at current density of 0.57 A g−1. Assembled device delivers an outstanding volumetric energy of 24.36 mW h cm−3 compensating volumetric power of 1218 mW cm−3 at a current density of 1.42 mA cm−3. The cycle repeatability test of MWCNTs/Fe2O3 SSS device exhibited capacitance retention of 75% for 1500 cycles.

The ordered arrays of nanostructure with vertically aligned tube like structure hold great promise as an electrode material for high-performance energy storage devices. Such binder-free structure of Titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) has been synthesized by anodization of titanium (Ti) foil. The use of TiO 2 nanotube as an electrode material attain a specific capacitance of 207 F g − 1 at 5 mV s − 1 scan rate in 1 M potassium hydroxide (KOH) electrolyte. Extra ordinary cycling performance with 103% capacitance retention of their initial capacitance for 1500 cycles has been achieved, suggests its promising candidate as highly stable electrode material for supercapacitor application.

The zero-valent copper (Cu(0)) nanoparticles were prepared by chemical reduction method. The morphology of nanoparticles was investigated by using X ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X ray, UV-visible spectrophotometer and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area analyser. The Cu(0) nanoparticles along with reducing agents, NaBH4/5% acidified alcohol were used for the dechlorination of chloroaromatics at room temperature. Chlorobenzene (Cl-B), chlorotoluene (Cl-T), chloropyridine (Cl-Py) and chlorobiphenyl (Cl-BPh) were selected as the contaminants. The effect of various operating parameters such as pH, concentration of the catalyst and reducing agent (NaBH4), and recycling of the catalyst on dechlorination were studied. Nearly complete dechlorination of all the chloroaromatics were achieved in the presence of Cu(0) nanoparticles (2.5 g L(-1)) and NaBH4 (1.0 g L(-1)) within 12 h. On the contrary, approximately 70% of dechlorination was observed in the presence of 5% acidified alcohol at similar experimental conditions. The dechlorination mechanism highlighted the importance of Cu(0) nanoparticles as a surface mediator. The kinetics of the dechlorination of chloroaromatics was investigated and compared with chloroaliphatics. The dechlorination rate differed from 0.23 h(-1) (Cl-B) to 0.15 h(-1) (Cl-BPh) in the presence of Cu(0) nanoparticles and NaBH4. The effectiveness of Cu(0) nanoparticles with NaBH4 (1 g L(-1)) and 5% acidified alcohol as electron donors were studied by oxidation-reduction potential and observed to be -1016 mV and -670 mV, respectively. Final products of the dechlorination were benzene, toluene, pyridine and biphenyl, as identified by gas chromatograph mass spectrometer and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

ZnFe 2 O 4 thin film has been synthesized by a simple and low cost successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method without the use of surfactant or template. The nanoplate composed of nanoparticles with porous surface morphology has been revealed which is beneficial towards supercapacitor application. Formed ZnFe 2 O 4 thin film has been tested as an electrode material for supercapacitor through electrochemical analysis. First attempt for SILAR synthesized ZnFe 2 O 4 thin film exhibited a specific capacitance of 471 Fg −1 at a scan rate of 5 mVs −1 in 1 M NaOH aqueous solution. Further, ZnFe 2 O 4 solid-state symmetric (SSS) supercapacitor device demonstrated voltage window of 1.0 V with specific capacitance of 32 Fg −1 , energy density of 4.47 Whkg −1 and power density of 277 Wkg −1 at 1 Ag −1 current density. Such high performance capacitive behavior indicates ZnFe 2 O 4 thin film is promising and low cost electrode material towards energy storage devices for various portable electronic systems.

Current smart energy storage technology needs flexible, compact and even wearable devices with a wide potential window. As a requisite, a novel flexible all-solid-state asymmetric capacitor (ASC) based on worm-like nanostructured iron oxide (γ-Fe2O3) as negative electrode have been selected properly in combination with poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): polystyrene sulfonate (MWCNTs/PEDOT:PSS) coated multi-walled carbon nanotubes as a positive electrode to achieve wide potential window of 1.8 V and the use of facile, low cost and binder free approach for the synthesis are the novelties of the present report. These two electrodes have been sandwiched by CMC-Na2SO4 gel electrolyte. Chemical bath deposition method has been used to deposit γ-Fe2O3 thin film while ‘dip and dry’ coating technique to deposit MWCNTs/PEDOT:PSS composite thin film. Strikingly, the resulting γ-Fe2O3//MWCNTs/PEDOT:PSS asymmetric cell yields a wide voltage window of 1.8 V with a high specific capacitance of 65 F g−1 at 2.4 A g−1 current density with good specific energy and specific power. Furthermore, ASC device was capable of 80% retention at 5000 cycles through charge-discharge studies at current density of 2.5 A g−1 along with the flexibility test by bending the device to 170° delivering only 15% capacity loss as per initial one.

Chlorophenol (CP) is considered as environmentally hazardous material due to its acute toxicity, persistent nature and strong bioaccumulation. The dechlorination of 4-CP was investigated by using various catalysts such as bimetallic (Fe0/Cu0, Al0/Fe0), Pd/C, Raney Ni and Fe0 at room temperature. Among the catalysts studied, Raney Ni proved to be very economical and efficient catalyst that worked without the use of an external reducing agent. The dechlorination of 4-CP by Raney Ni was therefore further explored. Complete dechlorination of 4-CP (30 mg L−1) was achieved in 6 h at an optimum Raney Ni catalyst loading of 3 g L−1. The effect of triethylamine (TEA) and tripropylamine (TPA) was also investigated and it was observed that 100% dechlorination is possible in presence of 45 mg L−1 of TEA. The kinetics of dechlorination of 4-CP was investigated and found to be first order with a rate constant of 0.017 min−1 at 50 οC, and it enhances to 0.109 min−1 with addition of TEA. In the absence of a reducing agent, acidic to neutral pH favors dechlorination of 4-CP. The final product of dechlorination was estimated to be phenol by performing HPLC, LCMS and NMR analysis. Based on the results, a probable dechlorination mechanism of 4-CP is also proposed. It can be concluded that the catalytic hydrodechlorination is an effective and economical technique for dechlorination of 4-CP and it has a potential for the dechlorination of other toxic derivatives of chlorinated aromatics.

The Cu(OH)2@Cd(OH)2 core-shell nanowire structure have been successfully synthesized by facile cation exchange reaction based on negative free energy of formation through topotactical transformation from their cadmium hydroxide to copper hydroxide. The encapsulation of the copper into the cadmium hydroxide nanowires was confirmed by X-ray diffraction studies, elemental analysis and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Electrochemical study shows that Cu(OH)2@Cd(OH)2 core-shell nanowire structure possess high specific capacitance of 374 Fg−1 in an aqueous 1 M NaOH electrolyte. Present work demonstrates Cu(OH)2@Cd(OH)2 nanowires, synthesis and application as supercapacitive electrode.

Opalescence indicates physical instability of a formulation because of the presence of aggregates or liquid-liquid phase separation in solution and has been reported for monoclonal antibody (mAb) formulations. Increased solution opalescence can be attributed to attractive protein-protein interactions (PPIs). Techniques including light scattering, AUC, or membrane osmometry are routinely employed to measure PPIs in dilute solutions, whereas opalescence is seen at relatively higher concentrations, where both long- and short-range forces contribute to overall PPIs. The mAb molecule studied here shows a unique property of high opalescence because of liquid-liquid phase separation. In this study, opalescence measurements are correlated to PPIs measured in diluted and concentrated solutions using light scattering (kD ) and high-frequency rheology (G'), respectively. Charges on the molecules were calculated using zeta potential measurements. Results indicate that high opalescence and phase separation are a result of the attractive interactions in solution; however, the presence of attractive interactions do not always imply phase separation. Temperature dependence of opalescence suggests that thermodynamic contribution to opalescence is significant and Tcloud can be utilized as a potential tool to assess attractive interactions in solution.

Essential oils (EOs) are complex mixtures of low molecular weight compounds extracted from plants by steam distillation and various solvents. Terpenoids and phenylpropanoids are the major constituents which provide characteristic aroma and biological properties to EOs. Essential oils are prescribed for a variety of health problems by traditional systems of medicine, all over the world. Various pharmaceutical and biological activities like, antibacterial, antifungal, anticancer, antimutagenic, antidiabetic, antiviral, antiinflammatory, and antiprotozoal properties are assigned to them. Extensive phytochemical analysis has lead to the characterization and identification of major components of EOs which are of wide interest, especially to cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. Current status of the bio-active properties of EOs and their medicinal potential are covered in this review.

Occurrence of left atrial myxoma with severe ventricular dysfunction without any obstructive coronary artery disease, as presented in our case, is very rare. It may be due to undiagnosed concomitant dilated cardiomyopathy or unknown cardiodepressant effect of myxoma which warrants further research.

A small library of structurally diverse α-aminophosphonates has been synthesized by reacting alkyl/aryl aldehydes, alkyl/aryl amines and alkyl/aryl phosphites in one-pot catalyzed by Amberlite-IR 120 resin (acidic). All the synthesized α-aminophosphonates were assayed for their in vitro cytotoxic activities against a panel of five human cancer cell lines including A-549, NCI-H23 (Lung), Colo 320DM (Colon), MG-63 (Bone marrow) and Jurkat (Blood T lymphocytes). Compound 4n having (R)-1-phenylethanamine was found to be the most active amongst all the synthesized α-aminophosphonates against all the five cancer cell lines, most prominent being against Jurkat cell line with an IC50 value of 4 μM. Surprisingly, compound 4o having (S)-1-phenylethanamine was found to be devoid of any cytotoxicity. Our finding suggests that these chemical entities could further serve as interesting template for the design of potential anticancer agents.

Ionic liquid ethyl ammonium nitrate is used as an excellent catalyst and solvent for three-component one-pot reaction of an aldehydes, amines and diethylphosphite to form novel α-aminophosphonates at room temperature. Among the various catalysts, the preparation of ethyl ammonium nitrate is an environmental friendly, cost effective and recyclable catalyst. Compounds 4b, 4c, 4d, 4f and 4j were found more potent antibacterials against pathogenic microorganisms. Whereas, compounds 4a, 4g, 4h and 4j inhibits growth of active Escherichia coli NCIM 2645 and Salmonella typhi NCIM 2501. Compound 4j was found a promising antiproliferative agent against A549 and SK-MEL2 human melanoma cell lines.

The use of Cu(OTf) 2 as a catalyst for tandem hydroalkoxylation–hydroarylation reaction of alkynes tethered with hydroxyl group is reported. The reaction proceeds at 60 °C or even at room temperature with 5 mol % catalyst loading and produces C-3-substituted indoles in good to high yields. The method was shown to be applicable to a broad range of indoles, containing electron-withdrawing and electron-donating substituents, and alkynol substrates bearing sterically demanding substituents in the tether. Interestingly, it was found that Thorpe–Ingold effect is operating for this cyclization reaction. Easy availability and low cost of Cu(OTf) 2 make this method attractive and amenable for large-scale synthesis compared to known literature methods.

In most cancers peripheral blood lymphocytes exhibit DNA damage. In the case of thyroid cancer the micronucleus (MN) assay has been used to assess DNA damage before and after exposure to iodine-131 (131I). The aim of our study was to use this method to assess DNA damage in peripheral blood lymphocytes of thyroid cancer patients and search for its relationship with metastasis as well as 131I exposure. A significant increase in micronuclei frequency was observed in peripheral blood lymphocytes of 54 thyroid cancer patients in comparison to 38 controls (p = 0.000). Further analysis revealed significant elevation in micronuclei index from 48.5 MN/1000 BN cells (range: 25.1–111.2, n = 25) in patients without metastasis to 68.1 MN/1000 BN cells (range: 26.2–135.5, n = 29, p = 0.001) in group of patients with metastasis to one or more sites. There was no clear correlation between the micronuclei frequency and the therapeutic 131I dose ranging from 0.41 to 31.5 GBq with the exposure interval of

A 65-YEAR-OLD MAN with 3-vessel coronary artery disease presented to the authors’ institution for coronary artery bypass graft surgery. After anesthetic induction and endotracheal intubation, the patient was placed in the reverse Trendelenburg position and his head was turned to the left for insertion of a central venous catheter through the right internal jugular vein. A large mass (approximately 5 3 cm) was noted in the patient’s right neck above the right clavicle (Figs 1 and 2; Video clips 1 and 2). The mass was pulsatile and easily compressed. What is the diagnosis?

It has been well documented that there is an uncertainty over the true factor (F)VIII level in postinfusion samples due to assay discrepancies. The thrombin generation test (TGT) was used as a potentially more physiological approach to assess and compare FVIII concentrates. FVIII concentrates were added to artificial FVIII-deficient plasma. Thrombin generation was initiated by the addition of FIXa (14 nm), phospholipid and CaCl2. Thrombin was measured by subsampling into fibrinogen, and curves quantified as area under the curve (AUC) and time taken to half-maximum (t(1/2)max). Addition of one plasma-derived concentrate to as little as 0.005 IU mL-1 gave a normal AUC, but prolonged t(1/2)max. Increasing FVIII to 1 IU mL-1 had little effect on AUC, but did reduce the t(1/2)max to 64 s (normal 114 s). A range of plasma-derived and recombinant concentrates were tested at 1 IU mL-1; results were similar, except the B-domain deleted concentrate, which had the most rapid initial rate of thrombin generation (t(1/2)max 48 s, P < 0.05). Two hemophilic plasmas (< 0.01 IU mL-1) produced large amounts of thrombin (AUC 65% and 69%), although t(1/2)max was prolonged. Addition of a FVIII antibody abolished thrombin generation, indicating that these plasmas contained low levels of FVIII. Decreasing the FIXa concentration (0.2 nm) minimized thrombin generation in hemophilic plasma but not in normal plasma. These results indicate that FVIII < 0.01 IU mL-1 can generate significant quantities of thrombin depending upon the amount of FIXa present. The TGT could prove useful for patient monitoring in gene therapy and prophylaxis.