Herein, a new and straightforward approach for the fabrication of a stable and multifunctional white light emitting (WLE) hydrogel is reported. For the first time, the utility of such hydrogels for ...protein packaging with enhanced activity and stability is presented. Initially, a WLE composite with color chromaticity of (0.33, 0.27) is fabricated by engineering the surface of an orange light emitting Mn2+‐doped ZnS quantum dot (QD) using a blue‐emitting choline‐tosylate ionic liquid (IL). The color chromaticity can be tuned by altering the concentration of the IL and excitation wavelengths. The WLE hydrogel is constructed through the conjugation of the WLE QD‐IL composite with an alginate biopolymer. Remarkably, the WLE QD‐IL composite and WLE hydrogel show preservation of their structural and luminescence properties for an extended time and thus indicate a potential for storage applications. When cytochrome c (Cyt C) is caged within the WLE hydrogel matrix, the peroxidase activity increases by more than 1.7‐times compared with native Cyt C and a Cyt C‐loaded QD hydrogel at room temperature. Also, Cyt C‐immobilized WLE hydrogel shows a 3.5‐fold increase in activity (compared with native Cyt C) at a higher temperature (120 °C) and in the presence of a denaturation agent.
A new and sustainable approach for fabricating stable and multifunctional white light emitting hydrogel is demonstrated and their use as a packaging platform for enzyme with enhanced catalytic activity is reported herein for the first time.
Nanowires of copolymers film based on aniline and 1-amino-2-naphthol-4-sulphonic acid were electrochemically synthesized on the iron electrode by cyclic voltammetry using oxalic acid as a supporting ...electrolyte. Protective properties of copolymer film on the iron surface in 1.0
M HCl solution was investigated by chronoamperometry, potentiodynamic polarization technique and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results showed that the copolymer film showed the significant shifting in the corrosion potential and greater charge transfer resistance. Moreover, the copolymer showed the larger degree of surface coverage onto the iron surface, reflecting the higher protection for corrosion of the iron in acidic medium. In addition, the film constitutes a physical as well as a chemical barrier layer due to the presence of –OH and –NH groups in ANSA unit, which provides passivity protection in polymer coatings. The mechanism of corrosion protection of iron by these copolymers was investigated by surface morphology and EIS techniques. In addition, by using scanning electron microscopy, the effect of morphology of copolymer on corrosion protection of metal was investigated.
Growth curve models are routinely used in various fields such as biology, ecology, demography, population dynamics, finance, econometrics,
etc. to study the growth pattern of different populations ...and the variables linked with them. Many different kinds of growth patterns have been used in the literature to model the different types of realistic growth mechanisms. It is generally a matter of substantial benefit to the data analyst to have a reasonable idea of the nature of the growth pattern under study. As a result, goodness-of-fit tests for standard growth models are often of considerable practical value. In this paper we develop some natural goodness-of-fit tests based on finite differences of the size variables under consideration. The method is general in that it is not limited to specific parametric forms underlying the hypothesized model so long as an appropriate finite difference of some function of the size variables can be made to vanish. In addition it allows the testing process to be carried out under a set up which manages to relax most of the assumptions made by
Bhattacharya et al. (2009); these assumptions are generally reasonable but not guaranteed to hold universally. Thus our proposed method has a very wide scope of application. The performance of the theory developed is illustrated numerically through several sets of real data and through simulations.
Percutaneous mitral balloon valvotomy (PBMV) is an alternative to surgery for patients with severe mitral valve (MV) stenosis. However, the safety and feasibility of same-day discharge (SDD) in ...patients undergoing elective PBMV for severe MV stenosis is yet to be investigated. This study aimed to assess safety and feasibility of SDD in patients undergoing elective PBMV because of severe MV stenosis in a tertiary-care hospital in India.
From January 2018 to November 2018, patients with a diagnosis of severe MV stenosis were treated with PBMV at our institution. Among these patients, those suitable for SDD were prospectively included in this registry. Vascular access was achieved in forearm arteries and femoral veins. Clinical, echocardiographic and hemodynamic features were collected before and after PBMV. The primary outcome was 30-day mortality. The secondary outcome was incidence of in-hospital complications. Other outcomes of interest were arterial spasm and forearm haematoma.
A total of 98 patients scheduled for SDD after elective PBMV were included in the registry. Mean MV area increased from 0.8 ± 0.1 to 1.6 ± 0.2 cm
2
(p < .001). Severe MV regurgitation after PBMV occurred in 3 patients, and 1 patient developed pericardial tamponade. Severe arterial spasm occurred in 2 patients. None of the included patients developed a clinically relevant haematoma of forearm. A total of 94 (96%) were discharged on the same day. No patient died up to 30-day follow-up.
PBMV from the venous access site can reduce the hospital stay of patients to less than a day with less local site complications.
Ferrofluid flow in a rotating system is useful due to its potential applications in spin coating, effective electrical motors and rotating shaft sealing. This work investigates the flow and heat ...transfer of a non-conducting magnetic fluid due to the uniform rotation of a cone under the influence of a magnetic dipole. The finite element approach is used to numerically solve the nonlinear coupled differential equations. Comparison of the current numerical model with prior numerical results is also shown by discarding some physical characteristics of the current model. Increasing the buoyancy force and thermomechanical interaction increases circumferential velocity while decreasing tangential and normal velocity, whereas increasing the Prandtl number increases circumferential velocity while decreasing temperature. The dominance of buoyancy force increases tangential and circumferential friction on the cone surface as well as the heat transfer rate.
In this article we deduce fixed point results for multi-valued contraction mappings. We primarily established two fixed results. One of them is the generalization of Nadler's contraction and the ...other result is the generalization of Mizoguchi-Takahashi's contraction. Some corollaries have been obtained from the main results and our results generalize some of the existing results. Illustrative examples are also constructed to support our main results. Keywords: Fixed point, Hausdorff metric space, Multivalued mapping, Common fixed point. AMS Subject Classification: 41A50, 47H10, 54H25
Desmoid tumour is a common extraintestinal manifestation of patients with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) who have undergone prophylactic colectomy. We aimed to determine whether MRI provides ...equivalent or better assessment of desmoid tumours than CT, the current first-line investigation.
Following ethics approval and informed consent, FAP patients with known desmoid tumour underwent contrast-enhanced 64-slice multidetector CT (MDCT) and 1.5 T MRI (incorporating T(1) weighted, T(2) weighted, short tau inversion-recovery and T(1) weighted with contrast, axial, sagittal and coronal sequences). The number, site, size, local extent, tumour signal intensity and desmoid-to-aorta enhancement ratio were analysed.
MRI identified 23 desmoid tumours in 9 patients: 9 intra-abdominal desmoid (IAD) tumours, 10 abdominal wall desmoid (AWD) tumours and 4 extra-abdominal desmoid (EAD) tumours. CT identified only 21 desmoids; 1 EAD and 1 AWD were not identified. The two modalities were equivalent in terms of defining local extent of desmoid. Five IAD tumours involved the bowel, six caused ureteric compression and none compromised the proximal superior mesenteric artery. There was no difference in median desmoid size: 56.7 cm(2) (range 2-215 cm(2)) on MDCT and 56.3 cm(2) (3-215 cm(2)) on MRI (p=0.985). The mean MRI enhancement ratio, at 1.12 (standard deviation 0.43), was greater than the CT enhancement ratio, which was 0.48 (0.16) (p<0.0001). High signal intensity on T(2) MRI was associated with increased MRI enhancement ratio (p=0.006).
MRI is at least equivalent (and may be superior) to MDCT for the detection of desmoid tumours in FAP. Coupled with the advantage of avoiding radiation, it should be considered as the primary imaging modality for young FAP patients.
Cysticercosis is a parasitic infection with potential of causing significant morbidity especially in developing countries. The larval form of the parasite Taenia Solium, 'Cysticercus Cellulosae' ...primarily colonizes in the small intestine and has the potential to disseminate to different sites of the body. Oral presentation is rare and difficult to detect owing to its innocuous presentation. This report describes the presentation of cysticercosis involving the tongue and presenting as a submucosal mass. An incisional biopsy was performed and evaluation of the histopathological features lead to the diagnosis of oral cysticercosis. This article highlights the importance of inter-departmental collaboration for the accurate diagnosis and effective management of oral cysticercosis in order to avoid potential systemic complications.
A total of 373 species of wild relatives of crop plants representing 120 genera and 48 families were collected from different phytogeographical regions of India during a mission mode sub-project on ...Sustainable Management of Plant Biodiversity under National Agricultural Technology Project during 1999-2005. Significant diversity representing endemic/rare/endangered species has been discussed in this paper. The information on phytogeographical distribution, life form, economic types and assessment of threat has also been included. Thrust areas for future target collections and conservation have been discussed to serve as reference for management of genetic resources.
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