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Undoped and niobium (Nb) doped indium oxide (In2O3) thin films are prepared by radio frequency magnetron sputtering technique. The effect of Nb on the structural, morphological, optical and electrical properties of In2O3films are analyzed using techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), micro-Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, UV-visible spectroscopy, spectroscopic ellipsometry, photoluminescence spectroscopy and Hall effect measurements. XRD analysis reveals that the as-deposited undoped and Nb doped films are polycrystalline in nature with cubic bixbyite structure. Raman analysis supports the presence of cubic bixbyite structure of In2O3in the films. XPS analysis shows a decrease of oxygen deficiency due to Nb and the existence of Nb as Nb4+ in the In2O3lattice. The band gap energy of the films increases with increase in Nb concentration. PL spectra reveal intense UV and visible emissions in all the films. Optical constants of the films are determined using spectroscopic ellipsometry. The thickness of films estimated using FESEM and ellipsometry are in good agreement. The carrier concentration, mobility and nature of carriers are measured using Hall measurement technique in Van der Pauw configuration at room temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The developments in the area of lasers and photonics opened new applications in biology and biotechnology. Solid state lasers can create highly localized traps at its depth of focus using specially designed beam expansion and focusing optics. In the present investigation, we report the design and development of an arc lamp pumped Nd:YAG laser operating at 1064nm with high beam quality for optical tweezers applications. The laser sources can be operated at lower power levels up to 2W and with high beam quality (M² factor) for optical tweezers applications. Such laser tweezers can be used effectively for studying the interaction force between arterial cells and implant surfaces and also in the study of cellular and drug biomechanism. The mode limiting aperture is restricting higher order modes and therefore in TEM00 mode also, the slope efficiency decreases more. The beam quality should be high for creating a better optical trap for microscopic objects and hence use of mode limiting apertures are highly necessary in the present optical resonator configuration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Microbiome and dietary manipulation therapies are being explored for treating ulcerative colitis (UC). We aimed to examine the efficacy of multidonor faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) and anti-inflammatory diet in inducing remission followed by long-term maintenance with anti-inflammatory diet in patients with mild-moderate UC., Design: This open-labelled randomised controlled trial (RCT) randomised patients with mild-moderate (Simple Clinical Colitis Activity Index (SCCAI) 3-9) endoscopically active UC (Ulcerative Colitis Endoscopic Index of Severity (UCEIS)>1) on stable baseline medications in 1:1 ratio to FMT and anti-inflammatory diet (FMT-AID) versus optimised standard medical therapy (SMT). The FMT-AID arm received seven weekly colonoscopic infusions of freshly prepared FMT from multiple rural donors(weeks 0-6) with anti-inflammatory diet. Baseline medications were optimised in the SMT arm. Clinical responders (decline in SCCAI > 3) at 8 weeks in both arms were followed until 48 weeks on baseline medications (with anti-inflammatory diet in the FMT-AID arm). Primary outcome measures were clinical response and deep remission (clinical-SCCAI <2; and endoscopic-UCEIS <1) at 8 weeks, and deep remission and steroid-free clinical remission at 48 weeks., Results: Of the 113 patients screened, 73 were randomised, and 66 were included in (35-FMT-AID; 31-SMT) modified intention-to-treat analysis (age-35.7±11.1 years; male-60.1%; disease duration-48 (IQR 24-84) months; pancolitis-34.8%; SCCAI-6 (IQR 5-7); UCEIS-4 (IQR 3-5)). Baseline characteristics were comparable. FMT-AID was superior to SMT in inducing clinical response (23/35 (65.7%) vs 11/31 (35.5%), p=0.01, OR 3.5 (95% CI 1.3 to 9.6)), remission (21/35 (60%) vs 10/31 (32.3%), p=0.02, OR 3.2 (95% CI 1.1 to 8.7)) and deep remission (12/33 (36.4%) vs 2/23 (8.7%), p=0.03, OR 6.0 (95% CI 1.2 to 30.2)) at 8 weeks. Anti-inflammatory diet was superior to SMT in maintaining deep remission until 48 weeks (6/24 (25%) vs 0/27, p=0.007)., Conclusion: Multidonor FMT with anti-inflammatory diet effectively induced deep remission in mild-moderate UC which was sustained with anti-inflammatory diet over 1 year., Trial Registration Number: ISRCTN15475780., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Chemical investigation of root bark of Glycosmis pentaphylla and stem bark of Tabernaemontana coronaria led to the isolation of three carbazole alkaloids glycozoline, glycozolidine and methyl carbazole 3-carboxylate, two furoquinoline alkaloids skimmianine and dictamine, an acridone alkaloid arborinine, three monomeric indole alkaloids coronaridine, 10-methoxy coronaridine and tabernaemontanine, and two dimeric indole alkaloids voacamine and tabernaelegantine B. Their structures were established by detailed spectral analysis. Mutagenic and antimutagenic potential of methanol extract of both plant materials were evaluated by Ames test against known positive mutagens 2-aminofluorine, 4-nitro-O-phenylenediamine and sodium azide using Salmonella typhimurium TA 98 and TA 100 bacterial strains both in the presence and absence of S9. Both the extracts were non-mutagenic in nature. Both the extracts of G. pentaphylla and T. coronaria exhibited significant antimutagenic activity against NPD and sodium azide for S. typhimurium TA98 and TA100 strains. The results indicated that the extracts could counteract the mutagenicity induced by different genotoxic compounds.

Silver/tungsten oxide multi-layer films are deposited over quartz substrates by RF magnetron sputtering technique and the films are annealed at temperatures 200, 400 and 600°C. The effect of thermal annealing on the phase evolution of silver tungstate phase in Ag/WO3 films is studied extensively using techniques like X-ray diffraction, micro-Raman analysis, atomic force microscopy and photoluminescence studies. The XRD pattern of the as-deposited film shows only the peaks of cubic phase of silver. The film annealed at 200°C shows the presence of XRD peaks corresponding to orthorhombic phase of Ag2WO4 and peaks corresponding to cubic phase of silver with reduced intensity. It is found that, as annealing temperature increases, the volume fraction of Ag decreases and that of Ag2WO4 phase increases and becomes highest at a temperature of 400°C. When the temperature increases beyond 400°C, the volume fraction of Ag2WO4 decreases, due to its decomposition into silver and oxygen deficient phase Ag2W4O13. The micro-Raman spectra of the annealed films show the characteristic bands of tungstate phase which is in agreement with XRD analysis. The surface morphology of the films studied by atomic force microscopy reveals that the particle size and r.m.s roughness are highest for the sample annealed at 400°C. In the photoluminescence study, the films with silver tungstate phase show an emission peak in blue region centered around the wavelength 441 nm (excitation wavelength 256 nm)., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)