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Highlights: [•] Thin films of Ce doped ZnO were prepared by nebulizer spray pyrolysis technique. [•] Films were deposited at different cerium concentrations 2.5%, 5.0%, 7.5% and 10%. [•] Ce doped ZnO films are found to have more grains along [002] direction. [•] The band gap energy was found to be decreased with the increase of Ce doping. [•] Ce x Zn1−xO films ensure their stability and suitability for gas sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taguchi method has been a successful technique in improving the product quality and process performance for the past couple of decades. The present study optimizes the wearing rate of AISI 202. Since the price of nickel is so high, low nickel or non-nickel grade stainless steel is recommended to design the product. Dry sliding wear test was conducted to understand the wear and friction characteristics of samples. The tests were carried out in a purpose built-in vacuum pin-on-disc tribometer capable of testing the material up to a temperature 1000°C and in vacuum. Relationships between the weight loss and applied load, time in seconds and friction coefficient were established. It was observed that reduction in the applied load reduces the friction factor and reduction in load reduces the weight loss. Also, the friction coefficient reduces when temperature increases, for all the parameters considered. The design of experiment approach was employed to determine the optimal combination of the testing parameters in a controlled way using Taguchi method for minimum wear rate. An orthogonal array and signal-to-noise ratio were employed to investigate the wear behaviour of AISI 202. The confirmation test was conducted to verify the experimental results. SEM images have been taken for certain wear specimens and the observations have been reported in this paper. The morphology of the worn surface was examined using scanning electron microscope and the micro-structure of the sub surface is also studied. It is observed that at temperatures above 400°C, this material exhibits adhesive wear and the evidence of self-welding of mating parts has been observed in microstructures. It is also observed that the SS202 undergoes shear deformation during sliding wear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Thin films of Gd x Zn1−xO prepared by nebulizer spray pyrolysis (NSP) technique. [•] Gd doping increases (x ⩾5%) with increase the crystallite size and then decreased. [•] The band gap energy (Eg) values found to be increases from 3.2eV to 3.6eV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pure and cadmium doped tin oxide thin films were deposited on glass substrates from aqueous solution of cadmium acetate, tin (IV) chloride and sodium hydroxide by the nebulizer spray pyrolysis (NSP) technique. X-ray diffraction reveals that all films have tetragonal crystalline structure with preferential orientation along (200) plane. On application of the Scherrer formula, it is found that the maximum size of grains is 67nm. Scanning electron microscopy shows that the grains are of rod and spherical in shape. Energy dispersive X-ray analysis reveals the average ratio of the atomic percentage of pure and Cd doped SnO2 films. The electrical resistivity is found to be 102 Ωcm at higher temperature (170°C) and 103 Ωcm at lower temperature (30°C). Optical band gap energy was determined from transmittance and absorbance data obtained from UV–vis spectra. Optical studies reveal that the band gap energy decreases from 3.90eV to 3.52eV due to the addition of Cd as dopant with different concentrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The cadmium sulfo selenide CdS1−x Se x thin films were chemical bath deposited in aqueous media onto coated glass substrates. As-deposited CdS1−x Se x thin films were annealed at 350°C in air for 30min. The structural, morphological, compositional and optical properties of deposited CdS1−x Se x thin films were studied using X-ray diffractometer (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Energy dispersive analysis by X-ray (EDAX), and UV-Vis-NIR spectrophotometer respectively. X-ray diffraction patterns of CdS1−x Se x thin films reveal the polycrystalline nature and hexagonal structure. The microstructural parameters such as crystallite size (D), micro strain (ɛ), and dislocation density were calculated and found to depend on compositions. The surface morphology and grain size are found to be influenced with the annealing temperature. The presence of Cd, S and Se of the CdS1−x Se x thin films and the composition of CdS1−x Se x thin film are estimated by EDAX analysis. The optical transmittance and absorption spectra were recorded in the range 400–2500nm. The band gap of the CdS1−x Se x thin films is found to decrease from 2.5eV to 1.75eV. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

SnS thin films were electrodeposited on ITO (indium tin oxide) glass substrates maintained at different temperatures using aqueous solutions containing 33 mM of SnCl2 and 91 mM of Na2S2O3⋅5H2O. The films were characterized to study the structural, morphological and optical properties. The X-ray diffraction studies of the films show the polycrystalline nature with orthorhombic crystal structure. Microstructural parameters such as crystallite size, microstrain, and dislocation density were calculated with respect to various temperatures. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) studies reveal good surface morphology with a large number of grains at the optimized temperature. The optical band gap of the SnS film was determined from optical transmittance data, in the spectral range 400-1100 nm and the direct band gap energy (Eg) was found to be 1.2 eV, which does agree well with earlier reported values. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) studies confirm the presence of SnS films in the molecular structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Cd1−x Zn x S (0≤ x ≤1) thin films have been deposited by chemical bath deposition method on glass substrates from aqueous solution containing cadmium acetate, zinc acetate and thiourea at 80±5°C and after annealed at 350°C. The structural, morphological, compositional and optical properties of the deposited Cd1−x Zn x S thin films have been studied by X-ray diffractometer, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), photoluminescence (PL) and UV–vis spectrophotometer, respectively. X-ray diffraction analysis shows that for x <0.8, the crystal structure of Cd1−x Zn x S thin films was hexagonal structure. For x >0.6, however, the Cd1−x Zn x S films were grown with cubic structure. Annealing the samples at 350°C in air for 45min resulted in increase in intensity as well as a shift towards lower scattering angles. The parameters such as crystallite size, strain, dislocation density and texture coefficient are calculated from X-ray diffraction studies. SEM studies reveal the formation of Cd1−x Zn x S films with uniformly distributed grains over the entire surface of the substrate. The EDX analysis shows the content of atomic percentage. Optical method was used to determine the band gap of the films. The photoluminescence spectra of films have been studied and the results are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Thin films of CdSe and In:CdSe were deposited onto indium doped tin oxide coated conducting glass (ITO) substrates by electrodeposition technique. The appropriate potential region for the formation of stoichiometric CdSe and In-doped CdSe thin films occurs was found to be -700 mV versus SCE. The structural investigations performed by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive analysis by x-rays (EDS), and optical studies for the determination of structural, morphological, compositional and optical properties. X-ray diffraction shows development of well-crystallized film with hexagonal structure. The parameters such as crystallite size, strain, and dislocation density are calculated from X-ray diffraction studies. SEM studies reveal that the films with uniformly distributed grains over the entire surface of the substrate. The surface morphology is found to be modified due to doping. The energy dispersive X-rays analysis indicates that the atomic percentage. The films show good optical properties and transmittance study shows the presence of direct transition and a considerable decrease in band gap, Eg 1.7 eV to 1.63 eV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tin selenide (SnSe) thin films have been deposited using chemical spray pyrolysis on non-conducting glass substrates at temperatures from 250 °C, 300 °C, 350 °C, and 400 °C. The composition, surface morphology, structural, optical and electrical properties of deposited films were studied using energy dispersive analysis by X-rays (EDAX), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-Vis spectrometry and four probe techniques. EDAX analysis yielded an atomic ratio of (50.3) Se: (49.7) Sn. SEM studies reveal that the SnSe films exhibited uniformly distributed grains over the entire surface of the substrate. The XRD studies reveal that all the films are crystalline with orthorhombic structure. Microstructural parameters such as crystallite size, micro strain, and dislocation density are calculated and found to depend upon temperatures. The optical band gap of SnSe thin films is evaluated using transmittance and absorbance data. A direct band gap of the 1.08 eV is estimated and the value is in conformity with 1.1 eV reported earlier for SnSe thin films. The electrical resistivity shows that the films are semiconducting and the resistivity is found to be minimum at optimized substrate temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main goals of neuroanesthesia are the maintenance of adequate cerebral perfusion pressure, avoidance of hypercarbia, hypoxemia, and to provide better brain relaxation. Providing anesthesia for a patient with bronchiectasis needing lung isolation for craniotomy can be challenging. A 56-year-old male patient, case of right lung bronchiectasis with a right cerebello pontine angle tumor underwent excision in the left lateral position. Since he had severe bronchiectasis of the right lung, we had isolated the right lung using right-sided double lumen tube to avoid spillage. Intraoperative split lung test was performed to assess the right lung contribution on carbon dioxide (CO2) elimination and found that there was a significant contribution from the right lung. Hence, both lungs were ventilated to control CO2. The importance of lung isolation to prevent spillage and avoidance of one lung ventilation to control the arterial CO2 are highlighted in this case report. By providing a balanced anesthetic keeping both, the neurosurgical and thoracic concerns are important for better postoperative outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The various synthesis methods of LaPO 4 nanoparticles were an active area in many fluorescent applications. Several methods have been introduced for the synthesis of rare earth metals doped LaPO4 nanoparticles. In general, phosphor particles with a relatively large crystallite size with a spherical and agglomerated morphology are favoured for emitting the highest PL intensity. This study is an attempt to present an overview of pure and doped LaPO 4 nanoparticles. • Precipitation method for good results as compared with other methods. • LaPO 4 nanoparticles ensure their stability and suitability for LED applications. • Lanthanum orthophosphate has important properties such as low water solubility, high thermal stability, high index refraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an analysis is made on Jelly fish, merge graphs, Shells and K1,n@2Pm under super vertex graceful labelling using different operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films deposited on glass substrates at various temperatures 300, 400 and 500 °C by the nebulizer spray pyrolysis technique. X-ray diffraction results indicate that the films are polycrystalline in nature having hexagonal crystal structure with preferred grain growth orientation along (002) plane. The crystallite size increases along (002) plane with temperature increase from 350 to 500 °C and attains a maximum 109 nm at 500 °C. High resolution scanning electron microscopy (HR-SEM) study shows the formation of good quality film on total substrate surface with uniformly distributed tiny spherical shaped grains at 350 °C. The UV–Vis–NIR spectroscopy confirms the possibility of good transparent ZnO thin films deposited with an average transmission of ∼85% in the visible region. Optical band gap energy increases from 3.19 to 3.27 eV with the substrate temperature 350–500 °C. The depression of NBE emission and DL emission of the films were estimated through PL measurements. As the substrate temperature increases, the peak of NBE emission is found to have a blue shift towards lower wavelength side and the same result is also found from the band gap energy determination of optical transmittance measurement. The complex impedance shows two distinguished semicircles and the diameter of the arcs got decreased in diameter as the temperature increases from 350 to 500 °C and thereafter slightly increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly uniform and well-dispersed ADC (Aluminum doped ceria) films are successfully deposited by NSP technique using cerium nitrate and aluminum nitrate. Effect of Al concentration on the crystallite growth of cerium oxide films is investigated by PL, XRD, FTIR, SEM, AFM UV–vis and I – V studies. Cubic fluorite crystallites are detected by X-ray diffraction pattern with preferred orientation along (1 1 1) direction. Al concentration affects the crysrallinity and structural parameters like grain size, texture coefficient, lattice constant and dislocation density. The change in lattice parameter in doped samples is directly related to the ionic size of the dopants. Because of the smaller size of the dopants, there should be considerable decrease in the lattice parameter of the CeO 2 lattice. The transmittance decreases with increasing Al concentration upto 20% and then decreases due to the presence of covalent bonds between cerium and oxygen or the increase in scattering of photon by crystal defects created by doping or due to the increase in the metal to oxygen ratio and lower ionic size of Al. PL spectra revealed that strong and broad emission band is observed at 425 and 469 nm due to the presence of blue and green shift in the visible region. Large agglomerated ring and hollow spherical crystallites are obtained with the typical size in the range 40–68 nm. I – V characteristics show the rectifying nature of this hetero-junction with a typical forward to reverse current ratio of ~7 in the range −4 to +4 V. The turn-on voltage of the hetero-junction is found to be ~2.1 V. The high values in the ideality factor are caused possibly by various effects such as inhomogeneities of inorganic film thickness, nonuniformity of the interfacial charges and the effect of the series resistance ( R s ). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The optoelectronic properties of nebulizer sprayed Cd 1-x Zn x O films at 400 °C with volume ratio of Cd:Zn varying from x = 0 to 1. The prepared films were characterized by structural, morphological, optical, electrical and gas sensing properties. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results suggest that the samples are of a polycrystalline nature and have a mixed hexagonal and cubic crystal structure with orientation growth along (111), (102) plane. Transmittance and the optical bandgap values were found to increase from 2 to 3 eV with increase in concentrations from x = 0 to 1. High resolution scanning electron microscope (HRSEM) studies show changes in surface morphology even after zinc incorporation of the films. The presence of Cd, Zn and O in the deposited films is confirmed by energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDS). The photoluminescence reveals at room temperature does not exhibit any luminescence related to the detects of the oxygen vacancies for x = 0 and x = 1, as usually shown by CdO and ZnO films. The blue luminescence was shifted to a lower wavelength region and defects was observed from x = 2.5 to 7.5. The complex impedance of the Cd 1-x Zn x O films shows the semicircles and the diameter of the arcs got increased as the concentration increased from x = 0 to1. The maximum ammonia response for Cd 0.25 Zn 0.75 O film was achieved at 50%. • Cd 1-x Zn x O has potential in gas sensor and solar cell applications, such as biological sensing, biological labeling and nano-medicine. • The grain sizes increase with increasing zinc concentration while decreases dislocation density and micro strain. • The surface of Cd 0.75 Zn 0.25 O, Cd 0.5 Zn 0.5 O film belonging to the transition between two structures has mixed together. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Cerium oxide (CeO2) nanoparticles with good crystallinity and smooth surface are prepared by chemical precipitation method with different bases (NH3, NaOH and KOH) using cerium nitrate as a source material. The effect of precipitating agents on the growth of cerium oxide nanoparticles are investigated by Photoluminescence (PL), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform-infra red spectroscopy (FTIR), thermo gravimetric–differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), Scanning electron microscope (SEM), Transmission electron microscope (TEM), and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). Cubic fluorite crystallites are detected by XRD pattern with preferred orientation along (111) direction. PL spectra revealed the presence of a strong and broad emission band at425nm due to the blue shift in the visible region. The broad band below 700cm−1 is due to the envelope of the phonon band of metal oxide (Ce–O) network as revealed by the IR spectra. The TG-DTA curves revealed that the total weight loss of the samples is 19.67% when the samples are heated upto 800°C. SEM images exhibits weakly agglomerated spheroid crystallites are obtained with the typical size in the range 10–50nm. TEM images display that the particles are nearly spherical and square in shape with diameter 8–12nm. XPS spectrum confirms the existence of Ce4+ oxidation states in CeO2samples. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights: [•] V2O5 were synthesized by low temperature chemical pyrophoric reaction method. [•] HR-SEM studies reveal the formation of V2O5 films consisting of nano-rods. [•] V2O5 used as potential applications for optoelectronics as well as solar cell applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cerium oxide thin films are coated on glass substrates by nebulizer spray pyrolysis technique using cerium nitrate as a source material. Their crystallographic structures, surface morphology, optical properties and I–V characteristics are studied as a function of substrate temperature (300–500°C). XRD is used to estimate the crystallographic texture, grain size, strain and lattice constants. All the films exhibit a cubic fluorite structure with different preferred orientations depending on the preparation conditions. Optical analysis reveals that the films are transparent (70%) in the visible region. The optical bandgap (E g) is calculated in the range 3.28–3.52eV. The optical parameters like absorption coefficient, extinction coefficient, packing density and refractive index are calculated for different substrate temperatures. SEM images exhibit golf-ball like morphology with small cracks and pores. The maximum conductivity obtained is 2.90×10−6 S/cm at 400°C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Highly uniform and well-dispersed cerium oxide nanoparticles are successfully synthesized by simple precipitation method using cerium nitrate and ammonia. Effect of annealing temperature on the crystallite growth of cerium oxide nanoparticles is investigated by PL, XRD, FTIR, SEM, TEM, XPS, TG–DTA and I–V studies. Cubic fluorite crystallites are detected by X-ray diffraction pattern with preferred orientation along (111) direction. Annealing temperature affects the crysrallinity and structural parameters like grain size, texture coefficient, and dislocation density. The activation energy of cerium oxide (CeO2) nanoparticles during annealing is found to be 1.004eV. PL spectra revealed that strong and broad emission band is observed at 425nm due to the presence of blue shift in the visible region. Large agglomerated spheroid crystallites are obtained with the typical size in the range 4–12nm. XPS spectrum confirms the existence of Ce4+ oxidation states in Cerium oxide nanoparticles. The activation energy is calculated as 0.984eV. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The CdTe thin films were prepared by chemical bath deposition technique using commercial glass substrates with bath temperature 85°C and annealing temperatures 350°C, 400°C and 450°C. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis shows that the prepared samples are polycrystalline in nature. A significant increase in the XRD peak intensities for the CdTe films after annealing can be observed.. Optical absorption shows the presence of direct transition with band gap energy 1.5eV and after annealing it decreases to 1.4eV. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) reveals that spherically shaped grains are more uniformly distributed over the surface of the substrate for the CdTe films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zinc sulfide (ZnS) nanoparticles have been successfully prepared by sol–gel precipitation method. The successful formation of cubic structure is ensured by XRD analysis and Debye Scherrer's equation is used to determine the crystallite size which was found to be 36 nm for ZnS sample annealed at 200 °C. Surface morphology was studied using HRSEM as well as HRTEM and lattice parameters of the samples were obtained from SAED pattern which was found to have close resemblance to values attained from XRD pattern. Further elemental mapping of ZnS nanoparticles is confirmed by EDX studies. Further Kubelka Munk function was employed to estimate the band gap value which was seen lying within 3.58 to 3.64 eV. Further the antibacterial activity of ZnS is investigated and it is found to be an antibacterial agent of Escherichia coli and staphylococcus aurous, further it can be employed as an antimicrobial agent for prohibiting implant linked infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Synthesis of polypyrrole and polypyrrole/TiO2 composites samples using chemical oxidative method at room temperature with various dopant percentages of TiO2. The samples were characterized by UV–vis spectrometer, Fourier transmittance infra red (FTIR) spectrometer, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and non linear optics (NLO) studies. Optical spectra reveal the absorbance band at 250nm represents the characteristic peak of TiO2 particles. The second band is shifted at 300nm with π–π* transition. FTIR confirms the presence of TiO2 in the molecular structure. The intensity of peaks found to be decreased with the increase of TiO2 content. A small band at 1699cm−1 and 1107cm−1 corresponds to Ti–O–C stretching mode in each case. This band indicates the formation of polypyrrole/TiO2 composites. XRD patterns reveal the samples were polycrystalline nature with tetragonal structure and (101) plane as preferential orientation. SEM studies reveal the formation of uniform granular morphology with average grain size of ∼0.4μm for (50%) TiO2 sample. NLO studies reveal that the polypyrrole and polypyrrole/TiO2 composites possess non-linear optical properties. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highly uniform and well-dispersed ring shaped particles of CDC (Cobalt doped cerium oxide) films are successfully deposited by Nebulizer Spray Pyrolysis (NSP) technique. The structural, morphological, optical and photo-diode properties of the films are investigated. Cubic fluorite crystallites are detected by X-ray diffraction pattern with preferred orientation along (111) direction. Co concentrations distress the crystallinity and structural parameters. The transmittance decreases with increasing Co concentration due to the presence of covalent bonds between cerium and oxygen. PL spectra revealed that three consistent sharp and broad peaks observed at 369 (3.31 eV), 394 (3.14 eV) and 425 nm (2.91 eV) correspond to near-band-edge emission (NBE) in UV region, deep level emission (DLE) in violet and blue of the visible region respectively. The deep level emissions result from the recombination of electrons with holes trapped in singly ionized oxygen vacancies (Vo+). Large agglomerated ring, button and spherical crystallites are obtained with the typical size in the range 83–207 nm. XPS analysis exhibits the presence of Ce, Co, O, C and Na in the films that indicates the non-stoichiometric behavior. I-V characteristics show the rectifying nature with a typical forward to reverse current ratio of ~7 in the range −4 to +4 V. The turn-on voltage of the hetero-junction is found to be ~1.7 V. The transient photocurrent behavior indicates that the device has a good stability and quick response to suggests that the prepared heterojunction device can be used as a white light photodetector and UV detector applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tin oxide thin films doped with different concentrations of ruthenium were deposited on the glass substrates at 450 °C by nebulizer spray pyrolysis technique. The structural, morphological, thickness and optical properties of thin films were investigated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, stylus profilometer and ultra violet spectrometer techniques. X-ray diffraction pattern confirms the tetragonal crystal structure for pure and ruthenium doped tin dioxide thin films. Ruthenium doped tin dioxide thin films are polycrystalline in nature. Scanning electron microscopy shows the modification of surface morphology of tin dioxide films due to varying concentration of ruthenium. Largest spheres, rings and interconnected fibers are present in the scanning electron microscopy images. Energy dispersive analysis reveals the average atomic percentage of pure and ruthenium doped tin dioxide present in the films developed. Stylus profilometer was used to measure the film thickness. Pure, 5, 10 and 15 wt% ruthenium doped tin dioxide thin films are found to have 327, 349, 386 and 425 nm thickness. Optical studies divulge that the band gap energy decreases from 3.55 eV to 3.04 eV due to the increased ruthenium concentrations. Gas sensing properties of pure and ruthenium doped tin dioxide thin films have been studied for various gases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simple, less time consuming, cost ineffective sol–gel method was used to synthesis TiO 2 nanoparticles (TiO 2 ) and TiO 2 –SiO 2 nanocomposites (TiO 2 –SiO 2 ) using titanium tetra isopropoxide as TiO 2 and silicic acid as SiO 2 precursors respectively. The synthesized nanocomposites were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, UV–visible, FTIR and BET analysis. The quantum confinement effect of TiO 2 and TiO 2 –SiO 2 was confirmed by a blueshift observed in UV–visible spectra. The band observed at 950 cm −1 in FTIR analysis confirmed the presence of Ti–O–Si bonds, the TEM analysis shows both the TiO 2 and TiO 2 –SiO 2 were in nanometer size. The BET (Brunauer– Emmett–Teller) specific surface areas of the samples were 65 and 75 m 2 /g for TiO 2 and TiO 2 –SiO 2 respectively. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the nanocomposites were studied by using Keithely electrometer and multimeter and it was found to be 2% and 2.5% for eosin-Y sensitized TiO 2 and TiO 2 –SiO 2 nanocomposites respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Polyaniline (PANI)/TiO2 nanocomposite samples with various dopant percentages of TiO2 were synthesized at room temperature using a chemical oxidative method. The samples were characterized by ultraviolet-visible spectrometer, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), EDAX and conductivity measurements. Incorporation of TiO2 nanoparticles caused a slight red shift at 310nm in the absorption spectra due to the interactions between the conjugated polymer chains and TiO2 nanoparticles with π–π⁎ transition. FTIR confirmed the presence of TiO2 in the molecular structure. In PANI/TiO2 composites, two additional bands at 1623cm−1 and 1105cm−1 assigned to Ti–O and Ti–O–C stretching modes were present. It can be concluded that Ti organic compounds are formed with an alignment structure of TiO2 particles. XRD patterns revealed that, as the TiO2 percentage was increased, the amorphous nature disappeared and the composites became more strongly oriented along the (110) direction, which showed the tetragonal structure of nanocrystalline TiO2. SEM studies revealed the formation of uniform granular morphology with average grain size of 200nm for (50%) PANI/TiO2 nanocomposite samples. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Cadmium chromium sulphide (CdCr2S4) thin films have prepared on indium doped tin oxide coated conducting glass (ITO) substrates from an aqueous electrolytic bath consists of CdSO4, Cr2O3 and Na2S2O3 using potentiostatic electrodeposition technique. The deposited films are characterized using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive analysis by X-rays and optical absorption techniques, respectively. X-ray diffraction pattern reveals that the deposited films possess polycrystalline nature with cubic structure. Surface morphology and film composition shows that the films with smooth surface and better stoichiometry are obtained under optimized deposition condition. The optical parameters such as band gap, refractive index and extinction coefficient are calculated from optical absorption measurements. The experimental observations are discussed in detail. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Epidural opioids provide effective postoperative analgesia after lumbar spine surgery. Ketamine has been shown to reduce opioid-induced central sensitization and hyperalgesia. We hypothesized that adding ketamine to epidural opioids would prolong the duration of analgesia and enhance analgesic efficacy after lumbar spine surgery., Methods: American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status class I to II patients aged between 18 and 70 years with normal renal function undergoing lumbar laminectomy were recruited into this single-center randomized trial. Patients were randomized to receive either single-dose epidural morphine (group A) or epidural morphine and ketamine (group B) for postoperative analgesia. The primary objective was to compare the duration of analgesia as measured by time to the first postoperative analgesic request. Secondary objectives were the comparison of pain scores at rest and movement, systemic hemodynamics, and the incidence of side effects during the first 24 hours after surgery., Results: Fifty patients were recruited (25 in each group), of which data from 48 were available for analysis. The mean±SD duration of analgesia was 20±6 and 23±3 hours in group A and group B, respectively ( P =0.07). There were 12/24 (50%) patients in group A and 17/24 (71%) patients in group B who did not receive rescue analgesia during the first 24-hour postoperative period ( P =0.07). Pain scores at rest and movement, systemic hemodynamics, and postoperative complications were comparable between the groups., Conclusions: The addition of ketamine to epidural morphine did not prolong the duration of analgesia after lumbar laminectomy., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (Copyright © 2023 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

The semiconducting materials of pure zinc sulfide (ZnS), 2.5 wt%, 5.0 wt%, 7.5 wt%, and 10 wt% of Ag-doped ZnS nanoparticles were prepared using the sol-gel technique. The prepared nanoparticles were analyzed by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR), UV-visible absorption, diffuse reflectance photoluminescence (PL), high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM), and field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) to study the properties of pure ZnS and Ag-doped ZnS nanoparticles (NPs). The Ag-doped ZnS nanoparticles have a polycrystalline nature, which is confirmed by PXRD analysis. The functional groups were identified by the FTIR technique. The bandgap values decrease with increasing Ag concentration compared to pure ZnS NPs. The crystal size lies between 12 and 41 nm for pure ZnS and Ag-doped ZnS NPs. The presence of Zn, S, and Ag elements was confirmed by EDS analysis. Using methylene blue (MB), the photocatalytic activity of pure ZnS and Ag-doped ZnS NPs was performed. The highest degradation efficiency was observed for 7.5 wt% Ag-doped ZnS NPs., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Background and Aims: Epidural blood patch (EBP) is performed by injecting autologous blood into the epidural space using a Tuohy needle. Certain clinical scenarios mandate an epidural catheter (EC)-assisted EBP. Collecting blood in a 20-ml versus 5-ml syringe appears to influence the quality of the clot. This in vitro study compared the techniques of performing the EC-assisted EBP using 20-ml versus 5-ml syringe on clotting time (CT), clot retraction (CR) and haemolysis., Methods: This in vitro study was performed in a haematology laboratory. Five consented adult healthy male volunteers donated blood. In the 5-ml syringe technique, blood was injected through an EC, and as it flowed out of the tip, it was collected at the beginning and the end of 1 min. With the 20-ml technique, blood was collected at the beginning and end of the first, second and third minute. The samples were tested for CT, CR and haemolysis by measuring the plasma-free haemoglobin (PFHb)., Results: Five injections were made using a 5-ml syringe, and another five with a 20-ml syringe. Injection time was shorter in the 5-ml technique (80.80 ± 5.89 vs. 272 ± 28.4 s, P < 0.0001). With the 20-ml technique, CT progressively increased (>15 min), whereas, with the 5-ml syringe, the CT was normal. Both techniques caused mild, insignificant haemolysis (PFHb >0.005 g/dl), without affecting the quality of CR., Conclusion: EC-assisted EBP using a 5-ml syringe technique shortens the injection time and deposits fresh blood quickly without affecting CT and CR., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2023 Indian Journal of Anaesthesia.)

Paediatric Bow Hunter's syndrome (BHS), or rotational vertebral artery syndrome, is a rare cause of posterior circulation insufficiency in children. It results from mechanical obstruction of the vertebral artery by the transverse process of cervical vertebrae resulting in vertebrobasilar insufficiency during the neck rotation to the sides. Paediatric dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a rare myocardial disease that presents with ventricular dilatation and cardiac dysfunction. This case report describes the successful anaesthetic management of an boy with BHS due to atlantoaxial dislocation and DCM. The child was anaesthetised by keeping the following anaesthetic goals in mind such as maintenance of the heart rate, rhythm, preload, afterload and contractility close to the baseline for both DCM and BHS. Haemodynamic management with optimal fluids, inotrope and a vasopressor and titrating its volume and doses using multimodal haemodynamic monitoring while keeping both cardio and neuroprotective strategies, and the multimodal analgesia techniques helped the child for faster recovery., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© BMJ Publishing Group Limited 2023. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background: Patients with cervical/upper thoracic compressive myelopathy may have autonomic dysfunction. The composite autonomic severity score (CASS) is the gold standard test to detect autonomic dysfunction, and the self-rated composite autonomic system scale (COMPASS-31) questionnaire is a screening tool to diagnose autonomic dysfunction. This study compared the COMPASS-31 and modified CASS scores for the detection of autonomic dysfunction in patients with compressive myelopathy., Methods: Patients with cervical/upper thoracic compressive myelopathy scheduled for decompressive surgery completed a COMPASS-31 questionnaire and underwent autonomic function tests to calculate the modified CASS score before surgery., Results: Forty-two patients were included in the study; 19 (45.2%) had mild autonomic dysfunction, 5 (11.9%) had moderate autonomic dysfunction, and 18 (42.9%) had severe autonomic dysfunction. Median (interquartile range) of modified CASS and COMPASS-31 scores were 19 (6.33) and 3 (2.5), respectively. There was a positive correlation between modified CASS and COMPASS-31 scores ( r =0.43; P =0.004). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis confirmed that COMPASS-31 had fair accuracy for prediction of moderate to severe autonomic dysfunction (area under the curve, 0.74; 95% confidence interval, 0.64-0.82; P =0.009). A cut-off of 30 for total COMPASS-31 score had a sensitivity of 52.2% and specificity of 89.5% to detect moderate to severe autonomic dysfunction, with positive and negative predictive values of 85.7% and 60.7%, respectively., Conclusion: Patients with cervical/upper thoracic compressive myelopathy had varying degrees of autonomic dysfunction based on the modified CASS. There was a positive correlation between the modified CASS and COMPASS-31 questionnaire. A COMPASS-31 score of >30 30 could be utilized to predict moderate to severe autonomic dysfunction in patients with compressive myelopathy., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (Copyright © 2021 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3) is the catalytic subunit of the N 6 -adenosine methyltransferase complex responsible for N 6 -methyladenosine (m 6 A) modification of mRNA in mammalian cells. Although METTL3 expression is increased in several cancers, the regulatory mechanisms are unclear. We explored the regulatory roles of peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase NIMA-interacting 1 (PIN1) in METTL3 stability and m 6 A modification of mRNA. PIN1 interacted with METTL3 and prevented its ubiquitin-dependent proteasomal and lysosomal degradation. It stabilized METTL3, which increased the m 6 A modification of transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motif (TAZ) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mRNA, resulting in their efficient translation. PIN1 knockout altered the distribution of TAZ and EGFR mRNA from polysomes into monosomes. Inhibition of MEK1/2 kinases and PIN1 destabilized METTL3, which impeded breast cancer cell proliferation and induced cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phases. METTL3 knockout reduced PIN1 overexpression-induced colony formation in MCF7 cells and enhanced tumor growth in 4T1 cells in an orthotopic mouse model. In clinical settings, METTL3 expression significantly increased with tumor progression and was positively correlated with PIN1 expression in breast cancer tissues. Thus, PIN1 plays a regulatory role in mRNA translation, and the PIN1/METTL3 axis may be an alternative therapeutic target in breast cancer., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.)

Single cell data integration methods aim to integrate cells across data batches and modalities, and data integration tasks can be categorized into horizontal, vertical, diagonal, and mosaic integration, where mosaic integration is the most general and challenging case with few methods developed. We propose scMoMaT, a method that is able to integrate single cell multi-omics data under the mosaic integration scenario using matrix tri-factorization. During integration, scMoMaT is also able to uncover the cluster specific bio-markers across modalities. These multi-modal bio-markers are used to interpret and annotate the clusters to cell types. Moreover, scMoMaT can integrate cell batches with unequal cell type compositions. Applying scMoMaT to multiple real and simulated datasets demonstrated these features of scMoMaT and showed that scMoMaT has superior performance compared to existing methods. Specifically, we show that integrated cell embedding combined with learned bio-markers lead to cell type annotations of higher quality or resolution compared to their original annotations., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

The practice of neuroanaesthesia has expanded significantly in recent years to keep up with various challenges posed in the perioperative care of patients for neurosurgical, interventional, neuroradiological, and diagnostic procedures. Technological advancements in neuroscience include the intraoperative use of computed tomography scans and angiograms for vascular neurosurgery, magnetic resonance imaging, neuronavigation, expansion of minimally invasive neurosurgery, neuroendoscopy, stereotaxy, radiosurgery, the performance of increasingly complex procedures, advancements in neurocritical care, etc. Recent advancements in neuroanaesthesia that can meet these challenges include the resurgence of ketamine, opioid-free anaesthesia, total intravenous anaesthesia, techniques to facilitate intraoperative neuromonitoring, awake neurosurgical and spine surgeries, etc. The current review provides an update on the recent advancements in neuroanaesthesia and neurocritical care., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2023 Indian Journal of Anaesthesia.)

Background and Aims: Substitutional urethroplasty with buccal mucosal grafting for urethral stricture is associated with significant pain, and thus inappropriate perioperative pain management could delay postoperative recovery. The objective of our research was to determine the effects of analgesia with systemic or epidural or intrathecal morphine on quality of recovery (QoR) in patients undergoing substitutional urethroplasty with buccal mucosal grafting., Material and Methods: This prospective, double-blinded, randomized control trial was conducted over 2 years in ASA I and II patients who underwent substitutional urethroplasty with buccal mucosal graft. Patients were randomized into three groups, and Group A received systemic morphine (0.1 mg/kg), Group B received epidural morphine (3 mg), and Group C received intrathecal morphine (150 μg). The QoR between the groups were compared postoperatively using the 40-item QoR questionnaire, and the hemodynamic variations, time taken for ambulation, resumption of oral intake, and incidence of complications were also compared., Results: Out of the recruited 93 patients, 88 patients were analyzed. The QoR score for each domain was comparable between the three groups. The total QoR score for systemic, epidural, and intrathecal morphine groups were 189 (185-191), 189 (187-191), and 185 (183-189), respectively. Additionally, the hemodynamic variations, time taken for ambulation, and resumption of oral intake were comparable between all three groups except the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) and pruritis, which were higher in the intrathecal group., Conclusion: All three modalities, namely systemic morphine (0.1 mg/kg), epidural morphine (3 mg), and intrathecal morphine (150 μg), offer similar QoR after substitutional urethroplasty. However, the incidence of PONV and pruritis was higher with the administration of intrathecal morphine., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2022 Journal of Anaesthesiology Clinical Pharmacology.)

Motivation: In many biomedical studies, there arises the need to integrate data from multiple directly or indirectly related sources. Collective matrix factorization (CMF) and its variants are models designed to collectively learn from arbitrary collections of matrices. The latent factors learnt are rich integrative representations that can be used in downstream tasks, such as clustering or relation prediction with standard machine-learning models. Previous CMF-based methods have numerous modeling limitations. They do not adequately capture complex non-linear interactions and do not explicitly model varying sparsity and noise levels in the inputs, and some cannot model inputs with multiple datatypes. These inadequacies limit their use on many biomedical datasets., Results: To address these limitations, we develop Neural Collective Matrix Factorization (NCMF), the first fully neural approach to CMF. We evaluate NCMF on relation prediction tasks of gene-disease association prediction and adverse drug event prediction, using multiple datasets. In each case, data are obtained from heterogeneous publicly available databases and used to learn representations to build predictive models. NCMF is found to outperform previous CMF-based methods and several state-of-the-art graph embedding methods for representation learning in our experiments. Our experiments illustrate the versatility and efficacy of NCMF in representation learning for seamless integration of heterogeneous data., Availability and Implementation: https://github.com/ajayago/NCMF&#95;bioinformatics., Supplementary Information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background: Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs)/angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) are commonly prescribed to patients with hypertension. These drugs are cardioprotective in addition to their blood pressure-lowering effects. However, it is debatable whether hypertensive patients who present for non-cardiac surgery should continue or discontinue these drugs preoperatively. Continuing the drugs entails the risk of perioperative refractory hypotension and/or angioneurotic oedema, while discontinuing the drugs entails the risk of rebound hypertension and myocardial ischaemia. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of continuation vs withholding of ACEIs/ARBs on mortality and other major outcomes in hypertensive patients undergoing elective non-cardiac surgery., Methods: The continuing vs withholding of ACEIs/ARBs in patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery is a prospective, multi-centric, open-label randomised controlled trial. Two thousand one hundred hypertensive patients receiving ACEIs/ARBs and planned for elective non-cardiac surgery will be enrolled. They will be randomised to either continue the ACEIs/ARBs including on the day of surgery (group A) or to withhold it 24-36 h before surgery (group B). The primary endpoint will be the difference in the composite outcome of all-cause in-hospital/30-day mortality and major adverse cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular events. Secondary endpoints will be to evaluate the differences in perioperative hypotension, angioneurotic oedema, myocardial injury, ICU and hospital stay. The impact of the continuation vs withholding of the ACEIs/ARBs on the incidence of case cancellation will also be studied., Discussion: The results of this trial should provide sufficient evidence on whether to continue or withhold ACEIs/ARBs before major non-cardiac surgery., Trial Registration: Clinical Trials Registry of India CTRI/2021/01/030199. Registered on 4 January 2021., (© 2022. The Author(s).)