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Abstract Since their invention, conventional plastics have contributed in the betterment of the society in numerous ways, nevertheless their deleterious impacts on the natural ecosystems and living creatures is irrefutable. The management of plastic waste generated is a concern worldwide and therefore quest for the plastic alternates or bioplastics is imminent. Here, we explore the suitability of keratin from human hair waste as the candidate for the production of bioplastic films. Keratin extracted from hair was used to form the films or ‘kertics’ by solution casting and curing. Ethanediol, di-ethylene glycol and tri-ethylene glycol were used as novel plasticizers along with glycerol in the keratin film formation. The film prepared were of the thickness 190–220 µm with the area of about 4.54 ± 0.2 cm2. Water uptake by G100, ED100, DEG100 and TEG100 films was recorded to be 4.8, 6.2, 4.9 and 6.3% respectively. FESEM analysis revealed that the films with 100 µl of 1% glycerol (G100) had continuous surface morphology except few pits of 0.1 µm, also DEG100 and TEG100 films have the most uniform surface morphology with no evident pits, holes or bulges. X-ray diffractogram showed characteristic peak of keratin at 19.5° and the d-spacing value observed was 0.45 nm. The FTIR studies suggested that the films retained keratin in non degraded form, and possessed the characteristic Amide peaks. The films were also found to be biodegradable in studies involving keratinophilic fungal strain of A. oryzae. These films could found potential applications in packaging industry, disposable items manufacturing and biomaterial generation.

Rajnish Nagarkar,1 Mamillapalli Gopichand,2 Suparna Kanti Pal,3 Ankur Gupta,4,5 Najmuddin Mohd Saquib,4,5 Ganga Sagar,4 Kanury VS Rao,4,5 Zaved Siddiqui,4,5 Imliwati Longkumer6 1Surgical Oncology, HCG Manavta Cancer Centre, Nashik, Maharashtra, India; 2Surgical Oncology, HealthCare Global Enterprises Limited, Vijayawada, India; 3Radiotherapy, Indoriv Clinical, Kolkata, India; 4Research and Development Section, PredOmix Technologies Private Limited, Gurugram, India; 5Research and Development Section, PredOmix Health Sciences Private Limited, Singapore; 6Biochemistry, North East Cancer Hospital and Research Institute, Guwahati, Assam, IndiaCorrespondence: Imliwati Longkumer; Zaved Siddiqui, Email ilongkumer@yahoo.co.in; zaved@predomix.comAbstract: We evaluated the potential relevance of our multi-cancer detection test, OncoVeryx-F, for ovarian cancer screening. For this, we compared its accuracy with that of CA125-based screening. We demonstrate here that, in contrast to CA125-based detection, OncoVeryx-F detected ovarian cancer with very high sensitivity and specificity. Importantly here, Stage I cancers too could be detected with an accuracy of > 98%. Furthermore, again unlike CA 125, the detection accuracy of OncoVeryx-F remained comparable in both Caucasian and South Asian/Indian women. Thus, the robustness and accuracy of OncoVeryx-F, particularly for early-stage detection, underscores its potential utility for ovarian cancer screening.Keywords: CA 125, Oncoveryx-F, OvC, NoC, LC-MS/MS

The aim of the paper is to explore the factors impacting export intensity of SMEs in India. It examines the influence of various firm level variables on export intensity. The sample considered for the study includes 50 SME firms from different industries ranging from equipment and manufacturing to textile. Data for ten years (2011–2020) has been analyzed for drawing relevant results. For regression, Least Square Dummy Variable corrected (LSDVC) estimates have been used to address the issue of heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation issue present in the data. The results arrived at indicate that the expenditure incurred on research and development, selling and distribution acts as an investment which provides returns in terms of better export performance. Also, top managers having international experience can be an important asset for a firm looking for expanding in international market. These results have substantial implications for the management of SME firms.

Sweksha Priya, Prabhakar Singh, Abhishek Gupta Department of Ophthalmology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Kalyani, West Bengal, IndiaCorrespondence: Sweksha Priya, Email sweksha.ophthal@gmail.com