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Isabel Hofmeyr's latest book begins with stories around and about the colonial port, though the initial spotlight is on decidedly nonnarrative texts such as classification lists of cargo items, customs handbooks, and what she intriguingly calls the "book-as-form," namely diaries and registers. These, she says, "offered one unwitting model of colonial writing in which a template from the metropolis was filled with local scribblings" (12). The port is, by definition, a liminal, watery, zone, with uncertain borders between land and sea, but which often acts as the site of border policing that regulates entry into and out of the colony and nation-state. It is a powerfully evocative place around which to set Hofmeyr's ambitious and wide-ranging book, and the port's polysemous implications allow her to intervene across a series of disparate fields: climate humanities, postcolonial studies, object-oriented ontology, South African literary histories, and studies of custom and copyright. It is a masterly and original revisioning of what it means to do book history, offering a radically new method of reading. Even more importantly, it proposes a new definition of the book as object: as customs cargo, as charismatic "thing" that creates literary canonicity far from the metropole, and as an epidemiological vector of "contamination" in the mind of the colonial customs official on the alert for seditious or obscene texts, among other suggestive meanings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we analyse the performance of infrastructure-based fixed relay with multi-antenna in cognitive radio. We derive the mathematical expression for detection probability of single cooperative relay system over Rayleigh fading channel. Relay and fusion centre may perform either selection combining or maximal ratio combining of the signals. Effect of number of relay antennas for all four combinations of combining schemes has been analysed and as expected, increase in relay diversity improves the sensing performance. This is because, on installing more number of receiving antennas on the relay, it's participation increases, so the detection performance also improves. In the non-cooperative system also, the performance improves on increasing the diversity order but on the other hand, this increment imposes burden on the fusion centre. Whereas in multi-antenna cooperative relay system, the burden of relay gets transferred on relay node and the fusion centre takes advantage of increased diversity order of relay. For cooperative spectrum sensing, we have used soft decision combining scheme in which secondary users send their test statistics calculated from their local observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the feminist, communist and antifascist campaigner Sylvia Pankhurst as a postcolonial intellectual for our times. A forgotten figure in the history of anticolonialism, Pankhurst was active in the suffragette movement and then the communist movement, before devoting her political energies to supporting Ethiopia against the Italian invasion led by Mussolini in 1935. Pankhurst's broadsheet New Times and Ethiopia News published articles denouncing the Italian occupation as well as writing by prominent African and Asian anticolonial voices. Through the analysis of Pankhurst, this article argues for an understanding of the postcolonial intellectual as a partisan who cuts across civilizational divides, bringing together metropolitan and colonial networks of resistance. I draw on Carl Schmitt's Theory of the Partisan in which he describes the partisan, exemplified in the political combatant of the wars of decolonization, as the emblematic figure of twentieth-century warfare. I adapt Schmitt's theory to read Pankhurst's militancy in favour of Ethiopia in order to argue that the partisan is not only an insurgent fighter but an individual who takes sides in the interconnected struggles against colonialism and fascism. I thus gesture to the possibility of a global theory of resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) is a key player in the reverse cholesterol transport (RCT) and HDL biogenesis. Since RCT is compromised as a result of ABCA1 dysfunction in diabetic state, the objective of this study was to investigate the regulation of ABCA1 in a stably transfected 293 cells expressing ABCA1 under the control of cAMP response element. Methods: To delineate transcriptional and posttranscriptional regulation of ABCA1, 293 cells were stably transfected with the full length ABCA1 cDNA under the control of CMV promoter harboring cAMP response element. cAMP-mediated regulation of ABCA1 and cholesterol efflux were studied in the presence of 8-Br-cAMP and after withdrawal of 8-Br-cAMP. The mechanism of cAMP-mediated transcriptional induction of the ABCA1 gene was studied in protein kinase A (PKA) inhibitors-treated cells. Results: The transfected 293 cells expressed high levels of ABCA1, while non-transfected wild-type 293 cells showed very low levels of ABCA1. Treatments of transfected cells with 8-Br-cAMP increased ABCA1 protein by 10-fold and mRNA by 20-fold. Cholesterol efflux also increased in parallel. Withdrawal of 8-Br-cAMP caused time-dependent rapid diminution of ABCA1 protein and mRNA, suggesting ABCA1 regulation at the transcriptional level. Treatment with PKA inhibitors abolished the cAMP-mediated induction of the ABCA1 mRNA and protein, resulting dampening of ABCA1-dependent cholesterol efflux. Conclusions: These results demonstrate that transfected cell line mimics cAMP response similar to normal cells with natural ABCA1 promoter and suggest that ABCA1 is a short-lived protein primarily regulated at the transcriptional level to maintain cellular cholesterol homeostasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To perform spectrum sensing in fading environment is one of the most challenging tasks for a CR system. Diversity combining schemes are used to combat the effect of fading and hence detection probability of CR gets improved. Among many diversity combining techniques, switched diversity offers one of the lowest complexity solutions. The receiver embedded with switched diversity looks for an acceptable diversity path (having signal to noise ratio (SNR) above the required threshold) to receive the data. In conventional switch and examine combining (SEC) scheme, when no acceptable path is found after all the paths are examined, the receiver randomly chooses an unacceptable path. Switch and examine combining with post-examining selection (SECp) is a modified version of conventional SEC. In SECp, the conventional SEC scheme is altered in a way that it selects the best path when no acceptable path is found after all paths have been examined. In this paper, formula for probability of detection () is derived using SECp and SEC diversity combining technique over Rayleigh fading channel. Also the performance of SECp is compared with SEC and no diversity case. Performance comparison is done with the help of SNR vs.and complementary receiver operating characteristic curves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper discusses the ion dynamics of a novel polymeric system prepared by doping of NaPF in a lab-prepared polymer matrix. Ion dynamics of the system is analyzed by presenting the impedance data in different formalisms. Mobility (and hence the conductivity) continuously increases with salt concentration, and the phenomenon is correlated with salt's plasticization nature, which is reconfirmed by the shifting of minima in ∂log ε′/∂log ω vs. log ω curve towards high frequency. It has been observed that number of charge carriers ( N′) estimated from conductivity data do not represent the real charge concentration in the system. Within the experimental frequency (∼MHz) range, three different regions are identified in ∂log σ vs. ∂log ω curves namely (i) dc conductivity/free hopping, (ii) correlated ion hopping, and (iii) caged movement of ions. In the present case, also a scaled master conductivity curve is obtained by estimating the σ and ω (exclusively in Jonscher Power Law or JPL region) according to our previously proposed method. Scaling is realized with respect to salt concentration and temperature, which is an indication that salt concentration and temperature are only governing the number of charge carriers and mobility without affecting the underlying ion transport mechanism. Non-Debye-type relaxation phenomenon is indicated by KWW exponent β (<1). Relaxation times, obtained from tan δ vs. log ω curves, inversely follow the conductivity, indicating strongly correlated ion-polymer segmental motions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 1990s, polymer-in-salt electrolytes (PISEs) came into the picture with the hope to overcome the problem of slow ion motion and low cation transference number in salt-in-polymer-electrolytes (SIPEs). The present paper reports an electrolyte membrane in the PISE range using renewable polymer (rice starch), synthesized using a simple solution cast technique having high moisture content (~ 12%). The synthesized flexible PISE membrane has high conductivity (~ 10−2 S/cm) and fast ion transport (relaxation time ~ µs). Conductivity is almost independent of relative humidity indicating the water molecules available in the matrix are involved in the lattice formation and the matrix is stable. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and optical photographs have confirmed that the crosslinked starch matrix accepts a large amount of salt, and even at 300 wt% of salt (i.e., at 3:1 salt: starch ratio), morphology remains homogenous, and no signature of salt is present in XRD spectra. The electrochemical stability window (ESW ~ 2.7 V) is also wide enough for energy device fabrication. To check its potential for supercapacitor application, the two most simple electrodes (anodized Al and carbon cloths) were selected. The approximate rectangular shape of cyclic voltammetry (CV) performed at different scan rates from 5 to 500 V/s, indicated the EDLC-type charge storage phenomenon in the studied voltage ranges. For scan rate above 300 V/s, the capacitance value is almost independent of scan rate. All these indicate that crosslinked starch-based PISEs are a successful step towards the target for possibilities of commercial application of polymer-in-salt electrolytes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This introduction to the special issue on ‘Frantz Fanon in Italy’ provides an overview of Fanon's influence on Italian intellectual and political life, with special focus on the significant impact his writings had on the renovation of the Italian Left in the 1960s, as well as highlighting the continuities between Italian anti-fascism and anticolonialism. Fanon's Italian reception is interesting for postcolonial scholars in that it differs from the Anglo-American tradition of Fanonian scholarship, and reveals a ‘pre-postcolonial’ Fanon, prior to his revival through the ‘symptomatic readings’ of Homi Bhabha, Stuart Hall and other theorists in the 1980s. I also discuss the editorial history of Fanon's publication in Italian; Italy was the first country after France in which Fanon's work appeared, and Giovanni Pirelli's 1971 edition of Fanon's writings,Opere scelte, is possibly the only anthology that presents a selection of essays culled from Fanon's different texts. The Italian Fanon, then, not only offers us an interpretation of the thinker that is specific to Italy, but also serves to historicize his impact in relation to the intellectual and political developments of his time. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A conducting polymer system, having room temperature conductivity ~1.26×10−4 S/cm (for 50% NaI concentration) and ionic transference number ~0.80, has been prepared by mixing NaI in a novel polymer host (synthesized polymer+poly (ethylene oxide)). Mobility (μ) and total number of charge carriers (N), estimated from dielectric parameters, have a value of ~1.65×10−2 cm2 V−1 s−1 and 4.70×1016 cm−3 respectively. Inverse relationship between conductivity power law exponent n and N/N 0 (fractional number of dissociated charge carriers) is explained in terms of statistical nature of ion dynamics. The temperature dependence of “n” studied separately in universal power law (UPL) and super linear power law (SLPL) region revealed that exponent n responds differently to temperature in these two different regions. Ion hopping frequency (ω p), obtained from universal power law (UPL) region, is used for scaling of conductivity and permittivity curves. Conductivity scaling followed a master curve Y =1+ Xn , having n =0.85±0.07, covering both UPL as well as SLPL region which confirms that both phenomena have the same origin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A polymeric system has been synthesized using Triethylenetetramine (TETA), 1-3 Propane Sultone and Glutaraldehyde (GA) in the ratio 1:1:1. The system is doped with NaI to make it conducting. Its electrical and dielectric properties are discussed in terms of conductivity, mobility and number of charge carriers as a function of salt concentration and temperature. Maximum conductivity (~10−4 Scm−1) is obtained for 50% NaI containing system. Before melting phase transition (Tm), conductivity, number of charge carriers, mobility and diffusion coefficient are all increasing with temperature and follow Arrhenius nature but after Tm mobility follows a decreasing trend. Both in ε″ vs logω and tanδ vs logω curves peaks become sharper after melting phase transition. Distribution of relaxation time, decreases with increasing temperature and salt concentration, indicating that material has a tendency to achieve Debye type behavior. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This special issue collects a series of essays that reimagine the positioning of translation as theory and practice in diverse postcolonial contexts. A rethinking of translation as a linguistic transaction which always necessarily involves a negotiation between cultures has been at the core of postcolonial theory almost since its inception. Much of the discussion of translation in relation to imperial formations has centred around the notion that translation between languages involves unequal power relations. English or French, as (post)imperial languages, are seen as inherently dominant in the postcolonial literary landscape. Thus translation is used as a powerful metaphor to evoke the complex economies of cultural exchange that take place under the sign of empire. These essays broaden the scope of postcolonial translation to include postcolonial multilingual contexts that necessitate constant translation and self-translation within their boundaries, though not always to one's benefit. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The author comments on the insights of Timothy Brennan regarding the book "The Postcolonial Gramsci.". The author states that Brennan sites that the book did not emphasize in general the existing scholarship on the politician Antonio Gramsci. The author mentions that the book aims to redress the crucial observation of Brennan to the book "Wars of Position," wherein he notes that postcolonial studies are not engaged with whole Italian writings of Gramsci.

Theeffect of different anions, namely, SCN-, I-, andClO4-, on the electrical properties of starch-based polymer electrolytes has been studied. Anion size and conductivity are having an inverse trend indicating systems to be predominantly anionic conductor. Impact of anion size andmultiplet forming tendency is reflected in number of charge carriers and mobility, respectively. Ion dynamics study reveals the presence of different mechanisms in different frequency ranges. Interestingly, superlinear power law (SLPL) is found to be present at <5MHz frequency, which is further confirmed by dielectric data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Identification, synthesis and structure–activity relationship of small-molecule VIPR1 antagonists encompassing two chemical series are described. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: To study the mechanism of low levels of full length and truncated apoB in individuals heterozygous for apoB truncation, a non-sense mutation was introduced in one of the three alleles of apob gene of HepG2 cells by homologous recombination. Despite very low levels of apoB-82 (1–2%) in the media, a prominent N-terminal apoB protein of 85kDa (apoB-15) was secreted that fractionated at d >1.065 in density gradient ultracentrifugation. The mechanism of production of this short protein was studied by 35S-methionine pulse–chase experiment. Oleate prevented presecretory degradation of apoB-100 in the cell and resulted in increased secretion of newly synthesized apoB-100 with decreases in the apoB-15, suggesting that rescue of pre-secretary intracellular degradation of apoB restricted the production and secretion of apoB-15. Further investigation on the degradation of transmembrane forms of apoB, in the presence and absence of a cysteine protease inhibitor, N-acetyl-leucyl-leucyl-norleucinal (ALLN), showed appearance of detectable levels of newly synthesized apoB-82 in the cell and the media together with increased apoB-100 secretion, and reduction in the secretion of apoB-15. Compared to ER membrane, the levels of apoB were higher in the luminal content, and presence of both oleate and ALLN had additive effect on apoB secretion. These results suggest that the presence of improper folding of apoB during translocation led to the cleavage of both apoB-100 and apoB-82 by ALLN-sensitive protease and generation of 85kDa N-terminal fragment of apoB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the relationship between violence, patriotism and the national-popular within the medium of film, by examining the Indian film-maker Rakeysh Mehra's recent Bollywood hit, Rang de Basanti (2006). This film forms part of a body of work that represents violence as integral to the emergence of an Indian national identity. It restages Indian nationalist history not in the customary pacifist Gandhian vein, but in the mode of martyrdom and armed struggle. It represents a more 'masculine' version of the nationalist narrative for its contemporary audiences by retelling the story of the Punjabi revolutionary Bhagat Singh as an Indian hero and as an example for today's generation. This article argues that its recuperation of a violent anti-colonial history is integral to the middle-class ethos of the film, presenting the viewers with a bourgeois nationalism of immediate and timely appeal, coupled with an accessible (and politically acceptable) social activism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses Italian director Gillo Pontecorvo's use and ethics of political violence in his cinema. It argues the relevance of his work concerning the role of counter-violence in political struggle. His filmography has been categorized in three phases. The first is the anti-Nazi resistance phase seen in the film "Kapò," the second is the anti-colonial resistance represented in the film "La battaglia d'Algeri," and the third is the evolution of armed struggle in the film "Ogro."

The editorial explores the history of colonial and postcolonial Italy. The Italian thought on postcolonialism, Italy's radical and nationalist traditions, and the influence of European civilization on the nationalist ideology of modern Italy are examined. The essays delve upon the Italian history and analyze the archives of the present from a modern outlook and the past and present identity of Italy.

Italy was, for a short period, an empire; and yet unlike other empires, it apparently lacked a vocal anti-colonial element. This article draws attention to the ambivalence of the Italian response to colonialism, by focusing on a specific moment of Italy's engagement with empire: the invasion of Ethiopia by Mussolini in 1935. On the one hand, this colonial war (one of the very last to be fought) consolidated a mass consensus around the regime. However, the Ethiopian war can also be read as the first opportunity that the Italian left had to articulate its anti-fascism on an international scale. The archives documenting the activities of the Italian Communist Party (PCI) between 1935 and 1946 allow us to reconstruct an oppositional narrative to colonialism that developed among the Italian left in the fascist years. The PCI sent an emissary, Ilio Barontini, to Ethiopia, to organize resistance against the Italian occupying forces. This mission, together with other anti-colonial activities of the PCI in those years, can be read as a pre-history of Italian anti-fascist resistance. The men who went to Ethiopia on an anti-colonial mission were there fighting against some of their fellow Italians, foreshadowing the civil war that would mark the Resistenza between 1943 and 1945. While Italian imperialism was among the bloodiest colonial enterprises ever undertaken, it is shown that in the 1930s there did emerge a vibrant critique of it, whose energies flowed into the anti-fascist struggle in the war years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents an interview with Gillo Pontecorvo, an Italian film director in Rome, Italy. Question on the decision of Pontecorvo to make the film "The Battle of Algiers in 1966"; Interest in the Algerian independence struggles; Involvement in the Algerian liberation struggle throughout Italy.

This article is a companion piece to my interview with the Italian film director Gillo Pontecorvo. The essay presents his two famous anti-colonial films, The Battle of Algiers and Burn!, in the context of Pontecorvo's life and work. His anti-colonialism is related to his anti-fascism, as is evident in the film Kapò, whose protagonist is a Jewish girl struggling to survive in a Nazi concentration camp. His films were influenced by neo-realism and adopted a documentary style of film-making. I examine the strong intertextual links between The Battle of Algiers and Frantz Fanon's writings that emerged out of his involvement with the Algerian war of independence against the French colonizers. I also examine Fanon's and Pontecorvo's different approaches to violence in the context of the anti-colonial struggle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents history and criticism of the postcolonial English-language Indic fiction of Salman Rushdie and Vikram Seth. The focus is on the books "Midnight's Children" and "A Suitable Boy," which deal with the hybridization of the English language with Indian vernacular languages, and politicization of English.

Examines the intertextual links of the book 'In an Antique Land' by Amitav Ghosh. Criticisms on the histographical and ethnographical depiction of the book; Overview of the book; Central theme of the book.

To induce dietary atherosclerosis in mice, high-fat/high-cholesterol (HF) diets are frequently supplemented with cholic acid (CA). This diet produces low plasma levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and high levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL). However, HF diets without any added CA, which more closely resemble human diets, increase levels of both HDL and LDL, suggesting that CA may be responsible for the lowering of HDL. Our aim was to examine the potential mechanism responsible for the lowering of HDL. Nontransgenic (NTg) C57BL mice and apoA-I-transgenic (apoAI-Tg) mice, with greatly increased basal apoA-I and HDL levels, were used. Mice were fed the following four diets: control (C), high-fat/high-cholesterol (HF), control and 1% cholate (CA) and HF + CA. Dietary CA reduced plasma HDL levels by 35% in NTg and 250% in apoAI-Tg mice, independent of the fat or cholesterol content of the diet. Hepatic apoA-I mRNA decreased 30% in NTg and 180% in apoAI-Tg mice. Hepatic apoA-I synthesis and apoA-I mRNA transcription rates also decreased in parallel with apoA-I mRNA levels, suggesting that the CA-induced decreases in plasma apoA-I levels occurred primarily via decreasing apoA-I mRNA transcription rates. An HF diet increased HDL levels 1.8-fold in NTg and 1.5-fold in apoAI-Tg mice. Addition of CA to the HF diet lowered HDL levels by 1.6-fold in NTg and 2.5-fold in apoAI-Tg mice. Transfection studies with the apoA-I promoter suggested the presence of a putative cis-acting element responsible for the CA-mediated down-regulation of the apoA-I promoter activity. Measurements of apoA-I regulatory protein-1 (ARP-1) mRNA, a negative regulator of the apoA-I gene in the mouse liver showed that CA increased the ARP-1 mRNA levels. Because apoA-I gene transcription alone was not sufficient to account for the lowering of plasma HDL levels, scavenger receptor-B1 (SR-B1) and hepatic lipase (HL) mRNAs levels were quantitated. The levels of SR-B1 and HL mRNA were not changed... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a quite promising green and clean approach toward the power generation. In MFC, electrochemically active bacteria present in the wastewater oxidizes the available carbohydrate thereby releasing electrons and protons. The proton conducts through separator membrane in the cathodic chamber combines with its counterpart and makes H2O. Thus the separator membrane is of utmost importance. Nafion is one of the most studied membranes at laboratory scale but for commercial MFC it is not cost effective and hence different membranes are explored. The authors' group is working on starch‐based electrolyte as an alternative membrane. The paper discusses the effect of the different constituent components of starch‐based membranes (namely salt and type of solvent) and the effect of membrane thickness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polymer‐in‐salt‐electrolytes (PISEs) are an important class of electrolytes as they carry the promise of faster and single ion transport. Unfortunately, due to unavailability of a suitable polymer host PISE has still not reached to commercial level. In the present work, using a novel synthesis protocol developed by the group, glutaraldehyde crosslinked wheat starch has been successfully modified with sodium iodide (NaI) to synthesize a flexible PISE membrane with desired electrochemical properties. Present paper reports the effect of crosslinker and exposure to high humidity ambience on electrochemical and morphological properties. It has been established that on exposure to higher humidity atmosphere starch‐based PISEs stabilize at lower resistance value, but with higher ion relaxation time, which indicates that effect of high humidity treatment is more on salt dissociation instead of assisting the ion transport. The studied materials have conductivity ≈0.01 S cm−1 range with ESW >2.5 V, ensuring its usability in electrochemical devices. The developed synthesis protocol does not require any complicated synthesis route and/or sophisticated instrument hence the overall process is economical also, adding up to its potentiality for energy device fabrication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, a new compact Circularly Polarized Antenna with wide operating bandwidth is proposed. The proposed structure consists of a Modified Circular Split Ring Resonator (MCSRR) as the radiating patch, which is fed by coplanar waveguide and loaded with 2 × 2 closed-ring resonantor (CRR) array on its FR4 epoxy substrate. The dimensions of the antenna are 0.329 λo x 0.329 λo x 0.024 λo (λo stands for the free space wavelength at center frequency of 4.94 GHz).The implementation CRR on modified printed monopole antenna leads to a wide measured impedance bandwidth of 2726 MHz with a peak gain of 5.09dBi and efficiency of 96.3% in the operating bandwidth. A prominent feature of the proposed antenna is that dual 3-dB axial ratio bandwidth of 430 MHz and 670 MHz is observed in the operating band, and thus, making it to be a promising candidate for recent day wireless applications. The simulated results was verified by measuring the characteristics of the fabricated antenna; the obtained results showed a good matching with the simulated results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, a hexagonal ring electromagnetic band gap (HREBG) structure‐based circularly polarized (CP) slot antenna for improving performance is proposed. The proposed antenna has a compact structure with a low profile of 0.517λo × 0.517λo × 0.055λo (λo stands for the free space wavelength at 5.10 GHz), is coplanar waveguide fed, and comprises of a circular microstrip patch with a T‐shaped slot. An inclined coupling slot loaded feed line is used on the ground for the generation of CP. Furthermore, eight HREBG's are implemented on the substrate to enhance the performance of the antenna, thereby achieving a measured impedance bandwidth of 18%, 3‐dB axial ratio bandwidth of 6.4%, and a peak gain of 5.93 dBi in the operating bandwidth. A close agreement is reached between the experimental results and the simulated results to verify the proposed antenna's performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OTP (One Time Passwords) are very important in today's scenario in various applications like in financial transactions, e-commerce etc. They are used for enhancing the security of data communication. Many security applications are based on the strength of OTP. Any prediction in OTP generation can create serious threats to information security. Many new methods have been presented by researchers for OTP generation in the past decade. In this paper, we present a new authenticated OTP generation procedure between client and server. We also provide illustration with complete security analysis in order to prove its utility in various applications. Our procedure is implementable very easily and has embedded authentication and randomness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For device fabrication, materials needs to satisfy 3Es (economical, environment friendly and easy to prepare) along with technical characteristics. Present paper reports an electrolyte synthesized by modifying potato starch by solution cast technique which is easy to synthesize, stretchable, bendable and twistable low cost (∼ INR 15/cm 2 ) free standing electrolyte film having wide electrochemical stability window (ESW ∼ 2.4 V), low equivalent series resistance (ESR ∼ 1.7 Ω) and small ion relaxation time (15 μs). Supercapacitors are fabricated using this electrolyte with two different electrodes (teflon coated carbon cloth and anodized aluminium). With laboratory prepared anodized Al as electrode, the electrochemical stability window is >4 V, ESR is <2 Ω and capacitance of ∼mF is obtained. Approximately −80° phase angle is obtained which remains constant from 1 Hz to 10 kHz range which covers the frequency requirement of ac line filtering application. The coulombic efficiency estimated from charging/discharging curves have values > 98% which approximately remains constant in studied number of cycle. All these indicate that prepared electrolyte is a potential candidate for electrochemical device applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Cheap and bio-degradable polymer electrolyte. [•] High conductivity ∼9.59×10−3 Scm−1. [•] Detailed ion dynamics stud. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A new bio-polymer electrolyte system is prepared by mixing NH4I with potato starch. Prepared material is an ionic conductor having ionic transference number (t ion) ∼0.95 and ambient electrical conductivity ∼2.4×10−4 S/cm. Relation between the conductivity trend, mobile ion concentration factor (K) and mobility factor (μ f) with respect to salt concentration and temperature, is established. The optical micrograph of starch+NH4I system indicated typical starch–iodine relationship in acidic medium. In conductivity formulism three different regions for power law exponent (n) having values between 0< n <2 is found. The regions are associated with dc conductivity, NCL and superlinear like behaviour. In starch electrolyte, NCL region is obtained at room temperature and low frequency region. Material is humidity immune up to 77% relative humidity and a very small variation with temperature has been found hence results are encouraging for possible use of starch based electrolytes in humidity immune devices. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Recent studies suggest that lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) and its G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) LPA1, LPA2, or LPA3 may play a role in the development of several types of cancers, including colorectal cancer. However, the specific receptor subtype(s) and their signal-transduction pathways responsible for LPA-induced cancer cell proliferation have not been fully elucidated. We show by specific RNA interference (RNAi) that LPA2 and LPA3 but not LPA1 are targets for LPA-induced proliferation of HCT116 and LS174T colon cancer cells. We determined that LPA-induced colon cancer cell proliferation requires the β-catenin signaling pathway, because knockdown of β-catenin by RNAi abolished LPA-induced proliferation of HCT116 cells. Moreover, LPA activates the main signaling events in the β-catenin pathway: phosphorylation of glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β), nuclear translocation of β-catenin, transcriptional activation of T cell factor (Tcf)/lymphoid-enhancer factor (Lef), and expression of target genes. Inhibition of conventional protein kinase C (cPKC) blocked the effects, suggesting its involvement in LPA-induced activation of the β-catenin pathway. Thus, LPA2 and LPA3 signal the proliferation of colon cancer cells through cPKC-mediated activation of the β-catenin pathway. These results link LPA and its GPCRs to cancer through a major oncogenic signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An environment friendly coupled mode surface plasmon resonance sensor structure with starch biofilm as sensing element for humidity detection of environment is fabricated and demonstrated. The surface plasmon resonances were created using PVC layer fabricated between silver and starch biofilm on a rectangular prism. The analyses of fabricated sensor have been done by both wavelength and angular interrogation methods. The proposed sensor has maximum sensitivity 0.45 nm/%RH in wavelength interrogation method and 0.09°/%RH in angular interrogation method. Here the variations in humidity of environment, changes the refractive index of starch biofilm and hence in the surface plasmon resonances. Also, the proposed sensor shows a linear variation in resonance wavelength and resonance angle with respect to the variation in humidity of environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environment friendly polymer electrolyte systems are the most sought over option for cheap energy efficient storage devices. The present paper discusses the results of potato starch + Mg(ClO4)2 system which satisfy the technical and economical criteria to become a potential candidate for future electrolyte systems. The developed system has high ionic conductivity (≈2.01 × 10−2 S cm−1), low relaxation time (55 µs), and wide electrochemical stability window (≈3 V). The phase angle approaches −78˚ and maintains its value for 10 Hz to 1 kHz frequency range. The prepared electrolyte system, being free standing, flexible, and having the ability of being bended and twisted, is the suitable candidate for flexible electrochemical device fabrication. The equivalent series resistance is quite low (3.6 Ω) and high self‐resonance frequency ≈0.1 MHz, below which energy can be efficiently stored. Hence, the present study reports an economical, easy to handle, and environment friendly electrolyte system suitable for flexible electrochemical device fabrication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbial fuel cell (MFC), a biochemical‐catalyzed system which generates electricity by oxidizing biodegradable organic matter in the presence of either fermentative bacteria or enzymes, is a growing technology for electricity generation. It is a dual functioning technology which not only generates electricity but also treats wastewater, thereby addressing two major problems of the present world. As the technology is an emerging one, there are numerous challenges to be confronted. One of the vital components of the MFC is the proton exchange membrane (PEM), and it is due to the high cost of this membrane that MFC technology is still running at laboratory scale. In the present study, a starch‐based electrolyte film is used as PEM. Electrochemical behavior exhibited by the starch electrolyte is studied and on using it as PEM in MFC it is found to exhibit power density of ≈16 mW m−2 and the current density of ≈85 mA m−2. One of the main advantages of the material is its cost which is approximately INR ≈940 per square foot compared to INR 70 000 per square foot of Nafion (the most popular membrane). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]