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The effect of the thyme extract and wheat form of the diet on performance, digestive organ weights and serum lipoproteins was studied in 320 male day old (ROSS 308) chicks. From 1 to 42 d of age, 8 diets arranged factorial with 4 thyme extract level (0.0, 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6%) and 2 wheat forms (ground vs whole) was used. Each treatment was replicated 4 times (10 birds per replicate). Thyme extract had no significant effect on body weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion ratio irrespective of wheat form used over whole trial period (1-42 d). From 1 to 21 d of age, broilers fed the whole wheat diet grew faster than the broilers fed ground wheat based diet (609.06 vs 573.34 g). Relative abdominal fat and gizzard weight was significantly higher (P

The polymerization of two monomers 2,6-dimethylphenol and 2,6-diphenylphenol was carried out by an oxidative route in the presence of Cu(I) as a catalyst and amine complex as a solvent assisted by microwave heating. The synthesized polymers were characterized by NMR spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). It was observed that this process of polymerization gives high yield (98 wt%) of poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (PPO) and poly(2,6-diphenyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (PPPO) with a molar mass of 1180 (M¯n), 1400 (M¯w) and 28000 (M¯n), 46500 (M¯w) gm/mol, respectively. A negligible amount of diphenoquinone was also observed and its dispersity was rather moderate, 1.17 and 1.68, respectively.

Pongamia oil (PO) was converted to Pongamia oil hydroxyl (POH) via epoxidation process. The esterification of POH with linolenic acid was carried out to form hyperbranched polyester (HBPE), and further styrenation was performed at the conjugated double bond in the chain of linolenic acid. After styrenation, silver nanoparticle was added in different weight percentages (0.1–0.4 wt%). The structural elucidation of POH, HBPE, and HBPE-St was carried out by FT-IR, 1H-NMR, and 13C-NMR spectroscopic techniques. Physicochemical and physicomechanical analyses were performed by standard method. Thermal behavior of the HBPE-St was analyzed by using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The coatings of HBPE-St were prepared on mild steel strips. The anticorrosive behavior of HBPE-St resin-based coatings in acid, saline, and tap water was evaluated, and the molecular weight of HBPE-St was determined by gel permeation chromatography (GPC). The antibacterial activities of the HBPE-St copolymers were tested in vitro against bacteria and fungi by disc diffusion method. The HBPE-St copolymers exhibited good antibacterial activities and can be used as antimicrobial and corrosion-resistant coating materials.

In this study, porous silicon (PSi) was prepared and tested as an extended gate field-effect transistor (EGFET) for pH sensing. The prepared PSi has pore sizes in the range of 500 to 750 nm with a depth of approximately 42 µm. The results of testing PSi for hydrogen ion sensing in different pH buffer solutions reveal that the PSi has a sensitivity value of 66 mV/pH that is considered a super Nernstian value. The sensor considers stability to be in the pH range of 2 to 12. The hysteresis values of the prepared PSi sensor were approximately 8.2 and 10.5 mV in the low and high pH loop, respectively. The result of this study reveals a promising application of PSi in the field for detecting hydrogen ions in different solutions.

Amiodarone therapy in adults with congenital heart disease (CHD) is associated with a significant risk of amiodarone-induced thyrotoxicosis (AIT). We developed a risk index to identify those patients being considered for amiodarone treatment who are at high risk for AIT. We reviewed the health records of adults with CHD and assessed the association between potential clinical predictors and AIT. Significant predictors were included in multivariate analyses. The parameter estimates from multivariate analysis were subsequently used to develop a risk index. 169 adults met eligibility criteria and 23 developed AIT. The final model included age, cyanotic heart disease and BMI. The risk index developed identified 3 categories of risk. Their AIT likelihood ratios were: 0.37 for low risk (95% CI 0.15–0.92); 1.12 for medium risk (95% CI 0.65–1.91); and 3.47 for high risk (95% CI 1.7–7.11). The AIT predicted risk in our population was 5% for the low risk group, 15% for the medium risk group and 47% for the high risk group. Conclusions. We derived the first model to quantify the risk for developing AIT among adults with CHD. Before using it clinically to help selecting among alternative antiarrhythmic options, it needs validation in an independent population.

Objective Examine pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP) response to exercise in isolated borderline and mild to moderate pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Methods Doppler stress echocardiography was performed in 32 healthy volunteers with resting PASP of 29 mm Hg or less, 39 with resting PASP between 30 and 40 mm Hg, and 7 with resting PASP between 41 and less than 60 mm Hg. All subjects had otherwise normal echocardiograms. Results Rate of increase in PASP with exercise was positively associated with resting PASP ( P < 0.001), increased age ( P < 0.001), and estrogen use among women ( P = 0.001). On multivariate analysis, PASP slope was independently related ( P = 0.03) to resting PASP and inversely associated with exercise time ( P < 0.001). Conclusions Patients with borderline and mild to moderate resting PAH have an exaggerated PASP response to exercise. PASP slope is a strong independent predictor of exercise time. Outcome studies are needed to determine the prognostic significance of this finding.