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Project Aristotle is the flagship project of the Digital Constitutionalism cycle of the Institute for Internet and the Just Society. Together with our international partners, we publish a research guide on what a structure of governance for the digital realm can look like when it is informed by interdisciplinary country-specific legal and policy research and analysis. We believe that delving deep into these bodies of knowledge, as shaped by a people within a particular national context, has much to offer in response to the pressing questions posed by the digital ecosystem., The Institute for Internet and the Just Society is a think and do tank connecting civic engagement with interdisciplinary research focused on fair artificial intelligence, inclusive digital governance and human rights law in digital spheres. We collaborate and deliberate to find progressive solutions to the most pressing challenges of our digital society. We cultivate synergies by bringing the most interesting people together from all over the world and across cultural backgrounds. We empower young people to use their creativity, intelligence and voice for promoting our cause and inspiring others in their communities. We work pluralistically and independently. Pro bono.

To overcome the shortage of natural resources for the production of concrete, many waste materials are used to replace the raw materials of concrete. In this way, bottom ash is one of the major industrial wastes which shall be used as the replacement of materials in concrete production. It shall be used to replace the materials either up to one-third. This review brings out the evaluation of the industrial waste material which can be repeatedly used as a substitution for concrete as fine aggregate. This paper reviewed the use of industrial waste i.e., bottom ash as fine aggregate in the concrete. The parameters discussed were physical, chemical, fresh, and hardened properties of the concrete with partial replacement of bottom ash. By reviewing some of the research papers, concluded that 10-15% replacement of fine aggregates is acceptable for all the properties of concrete. High utilization of natural sources -gives the pathway to produce more industrial wastes which are responsible for the development of new sustainable development.

Fatigue damage evolution in CFRP is characterized by variation of local transverse strain from digital image correlation (un-notched) and temperature variation from infrared thermography (notched). The damage evolves over 2–3 stages. Matrix cracks and fiber matrix debonding are observed in ±45°, 90° and 0° plies in stage I. Fiber fracture is observed in 0° plies only in stage II of the un-notched specimen. It is present even in stage I for notched specimens . In notched specimens, extensive fiber fracture is observed in −45°, 90° and 0° plies in stage II due to higher local stresses. Fiber fracture causes a larger rate of increase in local temperature. A three parameter cumulative damage model is used for predicting the damage evolution and fatigue life . Predictions were good for tension–compression tests in unnotched specimens, but inadequate for compression-compression tests. While using temperature for damage characterization in notched specimens, additional parametrization is required.

Tensile properties of metals are typically measured using dog-bone shaped specimens having dimensions as per specifications imposed by international standards organizations. However, these properties may be influenced by the size of the specimen, especially when the cross-sectional dimensions are lower. At lower length scales, microstructure could have an effect on the mechanical behavior. In this study, tensile experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of cross-sectional dimensions on Young’s modulus of Al6061-T6 materials. Due to the small size of the specimens, digital image correlation, a non-contact measurement technique was used to obtain strain filed in the gage section of the specimen. Spray paint or toner powder were used to produce speckle pattern on the specimen surface for better correlation of the images. For specimens having the thickness of the order of a fraction of a mm, the natural gray pattern observed on the surface of the specimen was found to provide a good speckle pattern. This natural speckle pattern was used to correlate the images instead of synthetic speckles, to avoid the effect of paint on the Young’s modulus being measured on specimens with cross-sectional dimensions below 1 mm. Young’s modulus was found to be constant at about 67 GPa for specimens whose area of cross-section was more than 3 mm2. When the area of cross-section was lesser, Young’s modulus was found to decrease with a decrease in area of cross-section. Larger spread in Young’s modulus was also observed in the specimens with area of cross-section

In the decade past, the corporates were in need of help from the campus placement cell of the educational institutions to post their status in the bulletin board of the college campus. They work to get flood of applications from the college graduating students. But it is changed today. The demand of the students is high. Because of the stagnant recruiting budget of the corporates and their outdated recruitment process is not offering much excitement in the minds of the graduating students. The hiring authority should be creative and their position should create a pack with success in the recruitment process to hire high standard of students. This is a very critical task to control over the on-campus recruitment program’s budgets. The India Skills Report 2014 says that according to the Industry sector the sourcing channel preferences varied, while the BPO/ITES and Manufacturing sectors’ got only 16.81% candidates from the campuses hires. The today’s generations are expecting learn to enjoy their work at the workplace. But the reality differs. They should be flexible with the workplace/organizational culture. Many educational institutions are offering attractive courses for the students which give enjoyment during their learning period. This also will help to enjoy their work later. The internships are the crucial part of their courses. Students have to understand that no field is glamorous. The creation of any particular field as glamour is only an assumption of them. But the reality is far from their assumption. Hence, the present study is focusing on the trends and problems of campus recruitment in the educational institutions of Coimbatore. The study confined its research only to the Engineering Educational Institutions. The study is completed with the help of both primary and secondary sources of the data collections.

It has happened a generation ago, the young student has graduated from colleges, chosen a job and it has turned into a career for lifetime. They were given with loyalty and the situation for switchover from the present job has not aroused. Many opportunities were availed for switching over from the present job in the ladder of corporate while the increasing of prestige and mainly for salary. The recruitment has been taken as a function and it has evolved and has grown diversely at various levels. So it has become a vital and very crucial thing for all the entities which have an effective and systematic Recruiting Plan. But at the same time, many Educational Institutions have introduced the innovative methods of teaching by downing the practical approach. With this they are making the students market ready. The campus recruitment at any Educational Institutions is the most critical task and its main aim is all about making the students as a long-term investment for the stakeholders and also for the benefit of the entities for the future success[1]. There are many olden ways of using the recruitment from campus by corporate, educational institutions, body corporates and students in India. In order to make this way of recruitment as an effective and meaningful there are various models are availed and also adopted by many Educational Institutions, Body corporates and Corporates. The importance of reaching out the students’ community with the help of several forums has been realized by the organizations[2]. Hiring and recruiting the correct resources from the Engineering Educational Institutions is a high risky and critical task for all the business corporates. This task becomes a tougher one when the talent is in raw stage and the need is focused on grooming. Hence, the present study focused on the Engineering Institutions’ campus recruitment tendency and disputes. Both primary and secondary sources of data have been used for successful completion of the study.

The micro-end-milling operations typically have aggressive feed per tooth per radius compared to conventional milling operations thereby resulting in different forces and cutting force constants. In addition, the trochoidal nature of the tool path could also result in different force constants. An empirical model for the analysis of cutting forces in micro-end-milling operations is presented. The approach uses higher feed per tooth per radius of cutter ratios (compared to conventional end-milling operations) and the true trochoidial nature of the tool edge path in the derivation of a chip thickness for micro-end-milling operations. Cutting experiments were conducted in the micro-end-milling regime and forces were recorded. These forces were then decomposed in order to present new empirical formulae for cutting pressure constants in micro-end-milling operations. The model developed for cutting force constants will aid in better understanding of friction and forces in the micro-end-milling process.

Polyaniline is a widely studied conducting polymer and is a useful material in its bulk and thin film form for many applications, because of its excellent opt ical and electrical properties. Pristine and iodine doped polyaniline thin films were prepared by a.c. and rf plasma polymerization techniques separately for the comparison of their optical and electrical properties. Doping of iodine was effected in situ. The structural properties of these films were evaluated by FTIR spectroscopy and the opt ical band gap was estimated from UV-vis-NIR measurements. Comparative studies on the structural, optical and electrical properties of a.c. and rf polymerizatio n are presented here. It has been found that the optical band gap of the polyaniline thin films prepared by rf and a.c. plasma polymerization techniques differ considerably and the band gap is f urther re- duced by in situ doping of iodine. The electrical conductivity measurements on these films show a higher value of electrical conductivity in the case of rf plasma polymerized thin films when compared to the a.c. plasma p oly- merized films. Also, it is found that the iodine doping enhanced conductivity of the polymer thin films consi - derably. The results are compared and correlated and have been explained with respect to the different structures adopted under these two preparation techniques.

This paper presents a case study on process mapping and functional correlation in surface metrology. Stainless steel sheets are used for home and industrial applications in a variety of products. Visual characteristics form the dominant functional aspect in these sheets. Therefore, monitoring and controlling surface finish is critical. Because the process is in the development stage, there are no specifications for surface texture parameters. Therefore, quality control involves visual inspection by human inspectors. There is a need for mapping the process to develop a preliminary specification and researching tools for automating the process of quality assessment. While surface texture is traditionally measured only for tolerance compliance in most industrial situations, the case study developed in this paper captures the larger scope of surface texture measurement and analysis. Also, in developing the case study, novel techniques for functional correlation in surface metrology are explored .

Epichlorohydrin was polymerized using boron trifluoride etherate or stannic chloride as initiators in presence of diols. The molecular weight of the polymer increased with increase in the ratio of epichlorohydrin to the diol in the reaction mixture. The polymers were characterized by IR, proton NMR and 13 C NMR analysis. The terminal hydroxyl groups of the polymers were characterized by derivatizing them using trifluoro acetic anhydride and analyzing the resulting ester by NMR. Both primary and secondary hydroxyls were present in the polymer. The primary hydroxyl terminals of the polyepichlorohydrin (PECH) prepared using stannic chloride initiator were twice the amount of that present in the polymer prepared using BF 3 etherate initiator. The 13 C NMR spectrum of PECH prepared using BF 3 etherate indicates that the polymer backbone is rich in H–T diad. Both cationic and co-ordination mechanisms operate during the polymerization in the presence of SnCl 4 and the 13 C NMR spectrum of the polymer showed more of T–T and H–H sequences.

IntroductionTendo achilles (TA) ruptures are commonly encountered in orthopaedic practice. These can be managed operatively or conservatively depending on various factors like patient age, activity levels, co morbidities, patient expectations and surgeon preference. They are usually treated in plaster cast immobilisation if managed conservatively.Case reportWe present a case of fatal pulmonary embolism following conservatively managed Tendo achilles (TA) rupture in a young man treated as an orthopaedic outpatient.DiscussionThere are no current clear guidelines on venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis in conservatively managed outpatients with cast immobilisation.ConclusionOur case report highlights the importance of recognition of this aspect of patient management and reviews the current literature available on this debatable topic.

Rheokinetic studies on the formation of copolyurethane networks based on hydroxyl terminated polybutadiene, poly(12-hydroxy stearic acid-co-TMP) ester polyol and different isocyanates, such as toluene-di-isocyanate, hexamethylene-di-isocyanate, isophorone-di-isocyanate and methylene-di-cyclohexyl di-isocyanate were undertaken by following the build up of viscosity of the reaction mixture during the bulk polymerization reaction between the hydroxyl telechelic pre-polymers and the di-isocyanate compounds. Linear rheokinetic plots were obtained by plotting ln(viscosity) versus time and the slopes of which, are the rate constants for the viscosity build up. The rate constants range from 0.038×10−2 to 27.1×10 −2 min −1 and were found to have strong dependence on the isocyanate type, NCO/OH equivalent ratio (r-value) and copolyurethane composition as well as the structural characteristics, such as functionality distribution of the pre-polymers and the nature of the hydroxyl group.

Crosslinked polyacrylamide was prepared by the free radical polymerization of acrylamide and divinyl benzene and it was converted to crosslinked polyvinylamine by Hofmann’s degradation reaction using hypobromite. The polyvinylamine so obtained was functionalized with permanganate group to get the polyvinyl ammonium permanganate resin. The catalyst was evaluated to study the oxidation of six alcohols to their corresponding carbonyl compounds in cyclohexane medium. The extent of oxidation reaction with respect to reaction time and the nature of alcohol was studied. The effect of crosslinking the backbone polymer on the reaction was also studied and 5% crosslinking was found to be optimum. The spent polymeric reagent could be regenerated in single step many times with out loss of its capacity. The catalytic resin was insoluble in the medium during oxidation and, therefore, filtration and purification of the products were easy.

N -propargylanilines, under one-pot homologation conditions, undergo an in situ cyclisation catalysed by Cu(I) to yield 3-pyrrolines in good yield.

Capacitors with Al-pani (CH3SO3H)-Al sandwich film structure were fabricated. The top and bottom aluminium electrodes were deposited by vacuum evaporation and the pani (CH3SO3H) film deposited by a solution casting method. An X-ray diffractogram indicates the amorphous nature of the polymer films. The thicknesses of the films were measured by capacitance, weighing and Rutherford back scattering (RBS) methods. Annealing, dielectric and AC conduction properties were studied in the frequency range 10 kHz–10 MHz for various temperatures (303–423 K). DC conduction studies were made for these films in the temperature range 303–443 K. The capacitance of the film decreases with increasing frequency. AC conduction studies suggest that hopping of polarons are responsible for conduction. DC conduction studies reveal that the Poole-Frenkel type of conduction is predominant at high fields.

Surface properties of amorphous silicon thin films containing hydrogen, flourine and carbon obtained from hydrofluosilicic acid and ethylene glycol using the electrodeposition method are reported as a function of current density and deposition time. The Si2p core level X-ray photoelectron spectra exhibited binding-energy shifts corresponding to SiFx (x=1–4), SiC, Si-H and Si-O2 type bond formations. The shifts in 1s spectra of fluorine, carbon and oxygen confirmed the presence of fluorine, carbon and oxygen in bonded form. Theoretical binding-energy shifts calculated from Pauling's electronegativity values were in close agreement with the measured values. The relative concentration values of C/Si estimated in these films were found to be larger than those of F/Si and O/Si. The results were corroborated with infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy data.

Froth flotation of alumina particles was studied by employing electrogenerated oxygen and hydrogen gas bubbles. The effect of current density was studied over a range of 0.1 to 1.6 kA/m(2). Compared to hydrogen, the use of oxygen bubbles at any given gas evolution rate resulted in a higher flotation recovery. The existence of an optimum current density for each given particle size was indicated. Flotation at higher current densities resulted in better flotation kinetics, while flotation at lower current densities resulted in better gas utilization.

Oxidation of millerite by cupric chloride in sodium chloride solutions has been studied as a function of: rate of agitation; leaching time; temperature; acid concentration; and total initial cupric concentration. The reaction has a 0.5 order of dependence on initial cupric concentration in the range 0.0 – 0.5 M . The activation energy for the temperature range 333–363 K was found to be 65.2 kJ/mol with chemical reaction at the mineral surface as the rate-controlling step. The rate expression, for initial cupric concentrations between 0.0 and 0.5 M , is: {1−(1−α) 1 3 } = {9.27 × 10 3 ·[ Cu(II) ] 0.5 · r 0 −1 exp ( −7.847 × 10 3 T ) }·t according to the shrinking-core model.

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are used for the monitoring of physical and environmental phenomena, and applicable in a range of different domains (e.g., health care, military, critical infrastructure). When using WSNs in a variety of real-world applications, security is a vital problem that should be considered by developers. As the development of security applications (SAs) for WSNs require meticulous procedures and operations, the software implementation process can be more challenging than regular applications. Hence, in an effort to facilitate the design, development and implementation of WSN security applications, we introduce the Monitoring Core (M-Core). The M-Core is a modular, lightweight, and extensible software layer that gathers necessary data including the internal and the external status of the sensor (e.g., information about ongoing communications, neighbors, and sensing), and provides relevant information for the development of new SAs. Similar to other software development tools, the M-Core was developed to facilitate the design and development of new WSN SAs on different platforms. Moreover, a new user-friendly domain-specific language, the M-Core Control Language (MCL), was developed to further facilitate the use of the M-Core and reduce the developer's coding time. With the MCL, a user can implement new SAs without the overhead of learning the details of the underlying sensor software architecture (e.g., TinyOS). The M-Core has been implemented in TinyOS-2.x and tested on real sensors (Tmote Sky and MicaZ). Using the M-Core architecture, we implemented several SAs to show that the M-Core allows easy and rapid development of security programs efficiently and effectively.

Electrochemical reduction of 4-alkoxy-3-bromochromans in acetonitrile led to a facile ring cleavage reaction yielding 2(α-alkoxy- allyl)phenols which are not easily accessible.

Copolymers of acrylonitrile with methacrylic acid were synthesized electrochemically. The reaction system consisted of dimethyl formamide as solvent and various quarternary ammonium salts as supporting electrolytes. The influences of supporting electrolytes and electrode materials on the compositions of the copolymers were investigated. The copolymers were characterized by i.r., NMR and elemental analyses. Thermal decomposition studies of the polymer in air are also discussed.

Polarographic and cyclic voltammetric studies of bromohydrins in acetonitrile showed a single diffusion-limited two-electron irreversible cathodic wave/peak followed by chemical transformations. Controlled-potential electrolyses of the compounds gave a mixture of two products with epoxide as one of them in all cases. The mechanism of reduction is discussed in the light of proton-transfer reactions in neutral aprotic media. ? 1993.

Polymeric copper phthalocyanine containing peripheral carboxyl groups has been converted into the corresponding polyimides by condensing the anhydride of the latter with 4,4′-diaminodiphenyl ether. The resulting polyimides have been converted into an environmentally stable electrically conductive material by thermal means. The electrical conductivity of the heated polymer could be controlled by the duration of thermal treatment; there is a range of electrical conduction behaviour from an insulator to a semiconductor and tending to the metallic region.

RF plasma polymerised aniline thin films were prepared and irradiated with swift heavy ions. The effect of SHI on the structural, optical and electrical properties was studied. FTIR spectral results were compared with the standard data and based on the analysis a tentative structure for the pristine polyaniline and the irradiated polyaniline were proposed. The change in optical band gaps for irradiated samples was evaluated and found that the optical band gap reduces with increase of ion fluence. Electrical studies were carried out on the irradiated thin films and the results were compared with the pristine thin films.

Amorphous silicon thin films obtained from hydrofluosilicic acid using the electrodeposition method are analysed for structure and morphology. The chemical nature of the films is discussed using the data from IR spectroscopy. The electrical resistivity of these films is very high, of the order of 10(12)-10(13) OMEGA cm, under the present experimental conditions. X-ray diffraction spectra revealed that the films are not crystalline in nature. At low concentrations of the electrolyte, scanning electron microscopy photographs exhibited some microstructure with crystalline order of about 100 angstrom, At high concentrations, the structure of the films changed widely to be homogeneous.

Flotation of quartz fines of various size ranges has been carried out using electrolytically generated hydrogen and oxygen gas bubbles. The effect of change in diameters of hydrogen and oxygen gas bubbles on the recovery of quartz fines has been studied. A change in the electrode surface geometry and current density changes the bubble diameters as well as bubble flux thereby affecting flotation recoveries.

Measurements of dc electrical conductivity, σ, thermopower, S and magnetic susceptibility, χ on poly metallo phthalocyanines ([MPcs] n ) (MCu,Ni) before heat treatment (I[MPc] n ) and after heat treatment (II[MPc] n ) are reported. σ at room temperature (RT) for I[MPc] n is of the order of 10 −9 (ohm.cm) −1 . σ at RT for II[CuPc] n is 0.4 (ohm.cm) −1 and drops by three orders of magnitude as the temperature is decreased to 50K while for II[NiPc] n , σ drops from 10 −4 (ohm.cm) −1 at RT to 5 ∗ 10 −6 (ohm.cm) −1 at 200K. S at 240K is 11microV/K for II[CuPc] n and 105microV/K for II[NiPc] n . Both the polymers have a positive thermopower in the temperature range of our measurements. The temperature dependence of σ is in accordance with that expected for variable range hopping of carriers in 3-dimensions (VRH 3D) for II[CuPc] n and that expected for VRH of carriers in 2-dimensions (VRH 2D) for II[NiPc] n . S varies linearly with temperature for II[NiPc] n . For II[CuPc] n a sub-linear temperature dependence of S is observed. χ at 300K for I[NiPc] n is diamagnetic and for II[NiPc] n is paramagnetic. χ at 300K for both I and II[CuPc] n are paramagnetic. χ for both the II[MPc] n are temperature independent from 350K down to 120K and show a Curie like behaviour at lower temperatures.

A variety of hydrometallurgical techniques have been studied for the treatment of chalcopyrite concentrates. These include prior thermal treatment before leaching, direct leaching and direct electrochemical leaching. Thermal treatment to alter the mineralogical composition of the concentrate without oxidation with oxygen has been studied. In direct leaching, a variety of leaching systems like sulphate, chloride, nitric acid, ammoniacal systems and biological systems have been investigated. Direct electrochemical leaching of chalcopyrite concentrates with a view to recover copper and elemental sulphur has been proposed. Slurry electrolysis of chalcopyrite concentrates and basic studies to elucidate the mechanism of dissolution have been done. The development of a less polluting hydrometallurgical process as an alternative to smelting is the need of the future. The avoidance of air pollution as well as economic considerations such as capital cost, operating cost and recovery of byproducts will determine the adoption of these new processes.

Any manufacturing system has to attain key performance measures for its successful operation. Quality Function Deployment (QFD) is to convert the customer requirements into quality characteristics and develop a schedule for the jobs by systematically deploying the relationships between the due date and the completion time by adopting the just in time concept. Non-traditional optimization technique such as Neural Network (NN) technique provides a complete solution methodology for solving the shop floor scheduling problems. The problem considered in this study is to schedule different number of jobs on parallel machines with the objective of reducing the multiple objectives such as the earliness, the tardiness and the completion time of the jobs. All the objectives have been assigned with weights so that the priority of the objectives could be varied. It has been found that the proposed method simultaneously reduces all the performance measures considerably, thereby outperforming the existing heuristics Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Films of CuInSe2 were deposited onto glass substrates by a hot wall deposition method using bulk CuInSe2 as a source material. All the deposited CuInSe2 films were found to be polycrystalline in nature exhibiting the chalcopyrite structure with the crystallite orientation along (101),(112),(103),(211),(220),(312) and (400) directions. The photocurrent was found to increase with increase in film thickness and also with increase of light intensity. Photocurrent spectra show a peak related to the band-to-band transition. The spectral response of CuInSe2 thin films was studied by allowing the radiation to pass through a series of interference filters in the wavelength range 700-1200 rim. Films of higher thickness exhibited higher photosensitivity while low thickness films exhibited moderate photosensitivity. CuInSe2-based Solar cells with different types of buffer layers such as US, Cdse, CuInSe2 and CdSe0.7Te0.3 were fabricated. The current and voltage were measured using an optical power meter and an electrometer respectively. The fabricated solar cells were illuminated using 100 mW/cm(2) white light under AM1 conditions. (C) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Conjugated polymers in the form of thin films play an important role in the field of materials science due to their interesting properties. Polymer thin films find extensive applications in the fabrication of devices, such as light emitting devices, rechargeable batteries, super capacitors, and are used as intermetallic dielectrics and EMI shieldings. Polymer thin films prepared by plasma-polymerization are highly cross-linked, pinhole free, and their permittivity lie in the ultra low k-regime. Electronic and photonic applications of plasma-polymerized thin films attracted the attention of various researchers. Modification of polymer thin films by swift heavy ions is well established and ion irradiation of polymers can induce irreversible changes in their structural, electrical, and optical properties. Polyaniline and polyfurfural thin films prepared by RF plasma-polymerization were irradiated with 92 MeV silicon ions for various fluences of $1\hspace{5mm}\times\hspace{5mm}10^{11}\hspace{5mm}ions\hspace{5mm}cm^{-2}$, $1\hspace{5mm}\times\hspace{5mm}10^{12}\hspace{5mm}ions\hspace{5mm}cm^{-2}$, and $1\hspace{5mm}\times\hspace{5mm}10^{13}\hspace{5mm}ions\hspace{5mm}cm^{-2}$. FTIR have been recorded on the pristine and silicon ion irradiated polymer thin films for structural evaluation. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra were recorded for RF plasma-polymerized thin film samples before and after irradiation. In this paper the effect of swift heavy ions on the structural and photoluminescence spectra of plasma-polymerized thin films are investigated.

To compare the safety and efficacy of misoprostol with that of dinoprostone for the induction of labour at term, or near term.Three hundred and ninety-six women with term pregnancies were randomised to receive either oral or vaginal misoprostol, or dinoprostone. Women who had had a previous caesarean section (CS) or those with a malpresentation or who were parityor = 5, were excluded. The control group received dinoprostone 1 mg inserted in the posterior fornix and repeated 6-hourly to a maximum of three doses. The study group received either oral misoprostol 20 micrograms 2-hourly to a maximum of four doses (80 micrograms), or vaginal misoprostol 25 micrograms in the posterior fornix with a switch to the oral misoprostol regimen if there was no change in the Bishop's score or no palpable uterine contractions.There was no significant difference in vaginal delivery rate within 24 hours between the groups (58.1% v. 58%, p = 0.633). There were no significant differences in CS rates between the groups; however, more CSs were performed for fetal distress in the misoprostol group than in the dinoprostone group (28% v. 25%). There was a significantly higher incidence of hyperstimulation in the vaginal misoprostol group (21.4%) than in the other two groups (oral misoprostol 16.5%, dinoprostone 8.9%) (p = 0.004). The incidence of meconium staining of liquor was comparable between the groups.In selected women, the efficacy of misoprostol for the induction of labour at term is similar to that of dinoprostone but misoprostol is associated with a higher incidence of hyperstimulation.

Electrochemical (polarographic, cyclic voltammetric, and coulometric) and coordination behaviour of several symmetrically and unsymmetrically substituted phosphiniminocyclotrithiazenes have been studied. Polarograms of R3PN-S3N3 (R = C6H5, p-ClC6H4, p-H3CC6H4, and (OC4H8N)), Ph2(OC4H8N)PN-S3N3, and Ph(OC4H8N)2PN-S3N3 give two cathodic waves. Cyclic voltammograms of Ph3PN-S3N3 (1) and (OC4H8N)3PN-S3N3 (2) reveal nearly the same oxidation peak potential but different reduction potentials. Controlled potential electrolysis of 1 and 2 at +0.6 V indicates exocyclic cleavage and ring degradation. Cathodic reduction behaviour of Ph3PN-S3N3 suggests the possibility for the formation of 1,5-(Ph3PN)2S4N4 under electrochemical conditions. Reaction of nickel chloride hexahydrate with heterocycle 1 in 1:2 molar ratio in acetonitrile affords the complex, [Ni(S2N2H)2] (A) (90% yield) and [Ph3PNH2]Cl salt as products. Analogous reactions with other ligands of this type (two symmetrical (sym.) and three unsymmetrical (unsym.)) except 2 also give A, while ligand 2 reacts with anhyd NiCl2 in an equimolar ratio to afford a dark green, square-planar complex ((OC4H8N)3PN-S3N·NiCl2 (B)) whose ESCA results assist in providing its coordination details. The study reveals a high tendency of these heterocycles to different types of ring cleavage. Key words: phosphiniminocyclotrithiazenes, polarography and cyclic voltammetry, substituent effect, nickel complexes, ESCA.

This paper reports on an investigation on the zircon chlorination process. The chlorination was conducted (i) with static zircon-coke powder mixtures in horizontal and vertical reactors, (ii) with zircon-coke mixed powder compacts in the two reactors, and (iii) with a sintered zircon disc and a grooved carbon disc. Experiments with the zircon and carbon discs clearly revealed that physical contact between zircon and coke was mandatory for the chlorination to occur. It was also observed that a faster chlorination rate and a higher extent of chlorination with static charge were achieved if the charge was compacted prior to chlorination. This was explained as being due to the formation of fine zircon and coke particles in intimate contact with each other. Due to the complexity of zircon carbo-chlorination, system specific rate expressions have been proposed. For a loose charge in a horizontal static bed reactor, the rate expression was linear, while for a compacted (and crumbled) zircon-coke mixture held in a vertical pipe reactor the reduced time plots technique was used to arrive at the rate expression, which turned out to be the Ginstling-Brounshtein expression.

DNA damage from exposure to environmental chemical carcinogens and failure of repair systems to eliminate these lesions from the genome are considered as the crucial initial steps in the development of various human malignancies. Many cellular proteins are known to play vital roles to overcome the effects of DNA damage. Among such proteins, p53 is known to respond to DNA damage by accumulating in the nucleus and inhibiting cell cycle progression to facilitate DNA repair and the maintenance of genomic stability. In this study, we have investigated the role of p53 protein in modulating nucleotide excision repair of anti-benzo-(a)pyrene-diol-epoxide (BPDE)-DNA adducts and related effects using human fibroblasts with normal (p53-WT) and altered p53 protein (p53Mut and p53-Null). Interestingly, irrespective of the presence or absence of p53, the anti-BPDE dose-dependent p21 protein induction response was qualitatively comparable in all of the three cell lines. However, cells with defective p53 function were deficient for the removal of anti-BPDE-DNA adducts from the overall genome compared to cells with wild-type p53 activity. Strand-specific repair analysis within the individual strands of the p53 gene revealed decreased repair of adducts from the nontranscribed strand in p53-Mut and p53-Null cells. However, the repair of the transcribed strand appeared to be identical in all of the three cell lines. Furthermore, p53-Mut and p53-Null cells were more sensitive than p53-WT cells and displayed increased levels of anti-BPDE-induced apoptosis. Thus, wild-type p53 is required for the efficient global genomic repair of anti-BPDE-induced DNA adducts from the overall genome, but not for transcription-coupled repair of actively transcribed genes. These findings indicate that inefficient DNA repair of potentially cytotoxic and mutagenic lesions from the nontranscribed strand due to the loss of p53, but not the loss of p21, function might be responsible for enhanced cytotoxicity and apoptosis in human cells upon DNA damage.

This paper examines the effect of substitution of water by heavy water in a polymer solution of polystyrene (molecular weight = 13000) and acetone. A critical double point (CDP), at which the upper and the lower partially-miscible regions merge, occurs at nearly the same coordinates as for the system [polystyrene + acetone + water]. The shape of the critical line for [polystyrene + acetone + heavy water] is highly asymmetric. An explanation for the occurrence of the water-induced CDP in [polystyrene + acetone] is advanced in terms of the interplay between contact energy dissimilarity and free-volume disparity of the polymer and the solvent. The question of the possible existence of a one-phase hole in an hourglass phase diagram is addressed in [polystyrene + acetone + water]. Our data exclude such a possibility.

We report the preliminary findings concerning the nature of a quadruple critical point that evolves when two independent double critical points merge in a thermodynamic field space. This special critical point is realized in a quasibinary mixture of 3‐methylpyridine, water, heavy water, and KI. The critical behavior of osmotic susceptibility was deduced from the scattered intensity measurements at 90°. Our results suggest that the nature of a quadruple critical point is similar to that of a normal double critical point. In addition, we find that the significance of the leading correction‐to‐scaling term is markedly increased as a result of the presence of the salt (KI) in the system.